http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVcJttcRknE
there are lots of U2 songs that i've loved over the years but this one has always spoken to me when i get in the midst of some of the depression/anxiety crap that i sometimes get buried in.
and nobody seems to talk about this tune as one of their greats. i've always loved it.
the embed option was removed so you'll have to go to youtube to check it out.
Friday, July 31, 2009
i know how to save a life
i've always liked this tune. interesting that i seem to be linking to tunes lately eh? whatever, that's not the point today.
i gave blood a couple days ago. i'm a regular donor and have been for several years now. i've endured newbie nurses drilling for oil and missing because i believe it to be important. i've even turned it into a race of sorts. i try to get my pulse rate down when the nurse checks amidst the miriad of questions she throws at you and then during the actual drilling for gold i concentrate really hard at bleeding and i've found that in 5 mins i can be done the formal vampiring (you realize that's a joke right?). of course you have to sit in the chair another 5 mins after that to make sure you don't faint through the experience but i've never been a fainter.
this time a cutey nurse completely missed the vein and all i heard was, "oops, sorry". that's all good though, i'm here because it's important to be here and i'll still be able to donate through the oops. so, my left arm is bruised up over the experience but ... i saved a life. seriously, i saved a life.
donating blood saves lives and it's only an hour of your life. step up. by the way, i don't watch Grey's Anatomy although this tune is apparently featured there regularly.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
i want to be a hero
i don't know if i can express this well enough ... but i've always wanted to be a hero. i want to save a life, be the knight in shining armour, the cavalry to the rescue, ... i wanted to be Superman.
i'm not. i don't have the jam. it's not like i freeze under pressure, in fact i react just fine under pressure but i'm talking about something bigger.
i'm married to a wonderful and strong woman. she knows what she wants and she's determined that she can get what she needs. it gets to a point sometimes that i question what it is that i'm about to get for her since i want to be sure that it is something that she actually wants. so i can get a bit gunshy sometimes.
she and i have a general rule that if the other is having a bad dream, you wake the person up so that they don't have to live in the little hell that they're surrounded by. she's done this for me in the past but seldom do i recall having to wake her in the midst of a bad dream.
last night in the middle of the night i was woken in the dead of night at 330 by a cry for help. my thoughts were, was that Wendy? did i just hear what i thought i heard? does she need me? i wasn't sure. Wendy was beside me and she seemed, ok. do i wake my wife who has horrid troubles sleeping, out of the dead of sleep because i thought i might've heard her call me for help? if she's struggling in her dreaming then i don't want her trapped in some hellish place of her own making. what do i do?
some seconds later she began to groan and squirm and i knew that i HAD heard her call for help, so i woke her. the problem was in how long it took me to decide if she needed my help or not. i don't want to be a contributing factor to leaving her stranded in her own pain so i need to jump in but i also don't want to wake her when she's found some relief in sleep if it turns out that i'm wrong about what she needs.
so you see? i want to be a hero and i'm also gunshy about helping when it might just turn around and bite us both in the butt.
i don't know if you listened to that tune to the end but if i can take some snippets for you.
hero. it's a nice boy notion that the real world's gonna destroy. you know, it's a Marvel comic book, saturday matinee, fairy tale boy.
growing older you find, that illusions are bought, and the idol you thought you'd be, was just another zero.
i wanna be a hero.
as the house fell asleep, through a book i was lead to a life that i never knew.
I wanna be your hero.
and it spoke to my heart, from the moment i prayed. here's a pattern i made for you.
I wanna be your hero.
I wanna be your hero.
I wanna be your hero.
after i woke Wendy she told me she loved me and she managed to go back to sleep. i tossed and turned, dozed and prayed and wept because i wanna be a hero and i just won't ever measure up.
i have a hero though. i have a hero.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Let's make a deal
i write a monthly baseball article for Dobberbaseball.com and if you're interested then i just want to put this down here also. if you're not interested then ... move on with my blessings, i'll post again on other issues later.
Welcome once again to An Expert’s Audit – baseball edition. In this article we take a look at the fantasy team of a reader to see if there are areas we can improve so that we’re moving down a winning road. If you’re interested in getting your baseball team audited you can begin the procedure by emailing your league and team particulars to ian@dobberbaseball.com
Well, this has been an interesting month. The team that I contacted about an audit … didn’t email back after the initial email and a couple other subsequent attempts also failed. I just don’t get it. I’m a nice guy and I shower regularly so I know it’s not that. So, I decided that I’d run down some of the moves that I’ve been making in my own leagues and deals that have been made with my influence. You’ll notice there’s no team breakdown this month but it’s because I must be more menacing than I think I am, seriously I’m not bad-tempered at all so what’s up with that?
Free Agent Options over the last month
Miguel Batista – nobody talks about holds. I like holds. Valuable MR can be invaluable to a fantasy team as you keep your ratios low. Batista’s value is found in the fact that he’s SP eligible so he doesn’t use up a RP slot but he also is one of the first options out of the pen so he’s got a decent shot at holds. His win totals so far this season have been a huge bonus for my team although the WHIP is too high for my taste. There’s a good chance he wouldn’t make my team if I wasn’t buried in injury.
Chan Ho Park – he’s 2-1 with 7 holds since the beginning of June, he’s dropped his ERA by nearly 2 runs in those 20 IP and he’s put up 12 zeros for ER in those 18 appearances. Additionally, he’s eligible at SP so I can slide him into one of those slots and just take those extra holds to my standings.
Yunel Escobar – Dobber dropped him in the Expert’s League and I thought hard over a weekend about whether I wanted to my #1 waiver priority on a guy that I think could make the jump into the elite tier of SS’s in the game. He has 12 hits, 3 dingers and 12 RBI in the 7 games since the break and has looked really nice in my utility slot.
Brad Bergesen – 9 of his 10 starts since the end of May have been QS. If the O’s can put some more offense together then I think Bergie is going to be a special option.
Casey Blake – he’s carried a significant weight while Manny’s been shelved, so much so that he’s 2nd on the team for RBI and tied for 2nd in HR. He’s not a glamour add but he’s a solid citizen if you’re struggling to find an option that someone like Garrett Atkins was supposed to fill.
Paul Konerko – just as he got dropped by Dobberbaseball’s own Rich Dillon in a fun league I play in, he went on a nice power streak. Rich is a NL fan and missed out on the 10 dingers Konerko has hit since mid-June. Thanks though Rich, it’s appreciated.
Jake Fox – as a general rule I don’t add some rook that comes along but I had space on my roster in the league that I care the least if I win. He’ll be a nice bench option for me and who knows, maybe he explodes and becomes a roster regular. He’s on a 30 HR pace if he were to get regular AB’s, which he isn’t.
Trade Options over the season so far
Traded Miguel Tejada for Paul Maholm – this happened in April and then Tejada was Player of the Month for May so that didn’t feel so good. Maholm’s stats at home until recently have been well worth the cost for a guy that was on my bench when I traded him anyway.
Traded Bobby Abreu and Chad Qualls for Adam Dunn and Javier Vazquez – I did this deal in May after I was lagging in power and had some speed to spare. I had tallied 15 SB’s out of Abreu when I dealt him and I certainly didn’t see that continuing so I loaded on a K pitcher and some dingers for guys that I didn’t see continuing at the same pace. I jumped to 1st place in that league so I think this deal was worth it.
Traded Pablo Sandoval for Bengie Molina and Jermaine Dye – I was languishing in RF after losing Nady there at the start of the season and running Jose Guillen out there as my best option. Sandoval is a special talent and I fully believe he’ll be monstrous down the road if he isn’t already but I absolutely had to improve my RF situation. This deal let me roster a catcher that I didn’t “hate” to roster and improved me at a traditional power slot. Dye’s avg has jumped 20 points since I made this trade and his SLG has jumped 35 points. I’ll take that. This trade was made with Dobberbaseball’s own Dan Hiebert, who came out of the deal just fine I’ve got to think.
Traded Jose Lopez and Raul Ibanez for Chone Figgins – I’m in 1st place in my money league and I need to move in runs and SB’s. I also have 4 LF options for only 2 spots, including Manny Ramirez, Carlos Lee and Carlos Quentin. Yes it is an 8 team league in case you’re wondering. I’ll continue to play Manny and Carlos in LF and I’ll slot Chone into the spot previously held by Lopez. I should be ok for power and I’ll undoubtedly improve my lot in the speed categories if Chone stays healthy.
March’s Audit Marcel traded Jason Bay and Angel Guzman for Ben Zobrist and Brian Wilson – Marcel was hurting at 2b and in saves and he had some depth at LF so made this move in an attempt to get better where he needed it. If he can get some SB’s then this team is poised for a run at the championship. I think we gave up a tiny bit too much but, you have to do what you can in order to make a big move. Z is the real deal and he’s got a shot to be viewed in the same tier as Bay sometime soon anyway.
April’s Audit Johnny traded Ted Lilly and James Loney in his NL only league for Matt Kemp and Hunter Pence – I just plain think we smoked the other guy across the board on this deal.
Conclusions
I tried to give you a view of moves that I’ve made from several different leagues and when I could I took a shot at a guy just because I can.
I’m leading 2 of my six leagues, I’m top three in 2 more leagues and I’m sitting in a playoff spot in the last 2 leagues. I figure I have a shot at a championship in just about any of those leagues. I’ll need some quick healing on my Expert’s team with 6 guys on the DL, 5 of whom are pitchers, and I’ll have to hold off the reigning champ in my money league but I have a 5 pt lead there. It’s always a fun season though eh?
If you want to get an audit done you’ll need to submit your team information … and it’ll probably also be wise to respond when I email you about it. Please?
Welcome once again to An Expert’s Audit – baseball edition. In this article we take a look at the fantasy team of a reader to see if there are areas we can improve so that we’re moving down a winning road. If you’re interested in getting your baseball team audited you can begin the procedure by emailing your league and team particulars to ian@dobberbaseball.com
Well, this has been an interesting month. The team that I contacted about an audit … didn’t email back after the initial email and a couple other subsequent attempts also failed. I just don’t get it. I’m a nice guy and I shower regularly so I know it’s not that. So, I decided that I’d run down some of the moves that I’ve been making in my own leagues and deals that have been made with my influence. You’ll notice there’s no team breakdown this month but it’s because I must be more menacing than I think I am, seriously I’m not bad-tempered at all so what’s up with that?
Free Agent Options over the last month
Miguel Batista – nobody talks about holds. I like holds. Valuable MR can be invaluable to a fantasy team as you keep your ratios low. Batista’s value is found in the fact that he’s SP eligible so he doesn’t use up a RP slot but he also is one of the first options out of the pen so he’s got a decent shot at holds. His win totals so far this season have been a huge bonus for my team although the WHIP is too high for my taste. There’s a good chance he wouldn’t make my team if I wasn’t buried in injury.
Chan Ho Park – he’s 2-1 with 7 holds since the beginning of June, he’s dropped his ERA by nearly 2 runs in those 20 IP and he’s put up 12 zeros for ER in those 18 appearances. Additionally, he’s eligible at SP so I can slide him into one of those slots and just take those extra holds to my standings.
Yunel Escobar – Dobber dropped him in the Expert’s League and I thought hard over a weekend about whether I wanted to my #1 waiver priority on a guy that I think could make the jump into the elite tier of SS’s in the game. He has 12 hits, 3 dingers and 12 RBI in the 7 games since the break and has looked really nice in my utility slot.
Brad Bergesen – 9 of his 10 starts since the end of May have been QS. If the O’s can put some more offense together then I think Bergie is going to be a special option.
Casey Blake – he’s carried a significant weight while Manny’s been shelved, so much so that he’s 2nd on the team for RBI and tied for 2nd in HR. He’s not a glamour add but he’s a solid citizen if you’re struggling to find an option that someone like Garrett Atkins was supposed to fill.
Paul Konerko – just as he got dropped by Dobberbaseball’s own Rich Dillon in a fun league I play in, he went on a nice power streak. Rich is a NL fan and missed out on the 10 dingers Konerko has hit since mid-June. Thanks though Rich, it’s appreciated.
Jake Fox – as a general rule I don’t add some rook that comes along but I had space on my roster in the league that I care the least if I win. He’ll be a nice bench option for me and who knows, maybe he explodes and becomes a roster regular. He’s on a 30 HR pace if he were to get regular AB’s, which he isn’t.
Trade Options over the season so far
Traded Miguel Tejada for Paul Maholm – this happened in April and then Tejada was Player of the Month for May so that didn’t feel so good. Maholm’s stats at home until recently have been well worth the cost for a guy that was on my bench when I traded him anyway.
Traded Bobby Abreu and Chad Qualls for Adam Dunn and Javier Vazquez – I did this deal in May after I was lagging in power and had some speed to spare. I had tallied 15 SB’s out of Abreu when I dealt him and I certainly didn’t see that continuing so I loaded on a K pitcher and some dingers for guys that I didn’t see continuing at the same pace. I jumped to 1st place in that league so I think this deal was worth it.
Traded Pablo Sandoval for Bengie Molina and Jermaine Dye – I was languishing in RF after losing Nady there at the start of the season and running Jose Guillen out there as my best option. Sandoval is a special talent and I fully believe he’ll be monstrous down the road if he isn’t already but I absolutely had to improve my RF situation. This deal let me roster a catcher that I didn’t “hate” to roster and improved me at a traditional power slot. Dye’s avg has jumped 20 points since I made this trade and his SLG has jumped 35 points. I’ll take that. This trade was made with Dobberbaseball’s own Dan Hiebert, who came out of the deal just fine I’ve got to think.
Traded Jose Lopez and Raul Ibanez for Chone Figgins – I’m in 1st place in my money league and I need to move in runs and SB’s. I also have 4 LF options for only 2 spots, including Manny Ramirez, Carlos Lee and Carlos Quentin. Yes it is an 8 team league in case you’re wondering. I’ll continue to play Manny and Carlos in LF and I’ll slot Chone into the spot previously held by Lopez. I should be ok for power and I’ll undoubtedly improve my lot in the speed categories if Chone stays healthy.
March’s Audit Marcel traded Jason Bay and Angel Guzman for Ben Zobrist and Brian Wilson – Marcel was hurting at 2b and in saves and he had some depth at LF so made this move in an attempt to get better where he needed it. If he can get some SB’s then this team is poised for a run at the championship. I think we gave up a tiny bit too much but, you have to do what you can in order to make a big move. Z is the real deal and he’s got a shot to be viewed in the same tier as Bay sometime soon anyway.
April’s Audit Johnny traded Ted Lilly and James Loney in his NL only league for Matt Kemp and Hunter Pence – I just plain think we smoked the other guy across the board on this deal.
Conclusions
I tried to give you a view of moves that I’ve made from several different leagues and when I could I took a shot at a guy just because I can.
I’m leading 2 of my six leagues, I’m top three in 2 more leagues and I’m sitting in a playoff spot in the last 2 leagues. I figure I have a shot at a championship in just about any of those leagues. I’ll need some quick healing on my Expert’s team with 6 guys on the DL, 5 of whom are pitchers, and I’ll have to hold off the reigning champ in my money league but I have a 5 pt lead there. It’s always a fun season though eh?
If you want to get an audit done you’ll need to submit your team information … and it’ll probably also be wise to respond when I email you about it. Please?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
i could see Jackie doing this sort of thing
this is way cool. i love joyous behaviour and it looks like it was a great day. i thought of my sister-in-law who gets married next summer. i hope she doesn't make me dance because i'm not nearly this cool.
thanks to randallfriesen.com for putting this up.
thanks to randallfriesen.com for putting this up.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
what's out there?
do the hands and feet of Christ also have a voice? the church needs to speak out against injustice. i agree and am posting this because it must be said.
labyrinths hold a special spot in my spiritual development. i'm working on another post about this very link and it may even get posted before this one does.
actually, i reacted pretty strongly to this post. he talks about the 100 mile diet and then equates it to church shopping. he flat out says that he had a great experience going away for a weekend and attended a church 7 hrs from home that was the point of the trip. i'm pleased that his experience was great but i wanted to beg him to find that sort of experience locally. i didn't know how to comment to him appropriately so i said nothing. i'm still chewing on what and how i should say anything to him about this.
the First Nations need a strong leader. say some prayers.
labyrinths hold a special spot in my spiritual development. i'm working on another post about this very link and it may even get posted before this one does.
actually, i reacted pretty strongly to this post. he talks about the 100 mile diet and then equates it to church shopping. he flat out says that he had a great experience going away for a weekend and attended a church 7 hrs from home that was the point of the trip. i'm pleased that his experience was great but i wanted to beg him to find that sort of experience locally. i didn't know how to comment to him appropriately so i said nothing. i'm still chewing on what and how i should say anything to him about this.
the First Nations need a strong leader. say some prayers.
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