Eight Humble Thoughts

 1.  Over the past thirty-odd years....I've come to assess folks that I bump-into or have to deal with....on a IQ-level....is the guy/gal 'DIM' or 'bright'.  Statistically over a year?  I probably have to deal a minimum of twenty 'DIM' folks.

2.  It's just odd...since 2016....when I start hearing a speech of doom, despair and gloom....I'm eyeballing a particular political party.  I didn't feel that way in the 1980s/1990s. I can't seem to figure out why they believe it's uplifting or feeling-good.

3. Each month that passes....I get this impression that US universities are run by IQ-lacking folks....who seem to 'sell' a worthless degree.

4.  With all the hurricane chatter of the past week....one almost gets the impression that Alabama folks had never experienced a hurricane in their lives.

5.  Oddly, it seems like that various states have a ultra-negative hype about AI-centers....while drug-neighborhoods in the same states....are 'blessed'.

6.  It's just odd...you can hand a plain Bible to one-hundred enthusiasts.....with the group coming to one-hundred variations of religion.

7.  The Trump-Russia-Putin-diesel saga....is bait...for someone....to fall into a trap.  But you'd have to read through 700 pages of strategy BS to see the angle.

8.  Just my humble belief....99-percent of aliens visiting Earth....are hyped-up to watch and understand Trump.  They stand around and discuss his strategy and thinking...with other aliens.

If You Put Me In Charge Of Fixing Major League Baseball (My 10 Suggestions)

 1.  I'd limit the regular season to 148 games...allowing one off-day every 10 days.  Naturally, it'd lessen your pay by 5-to-8 percent.

2.  I'd have a rule....no multi-year contracts past 3 years.

3.  Home-plate umpire....gone.  Replaced by AI.  

4.  At the end of the 7th inning, if one team is 6 runs ahead....the game ends.  

5.  Experiment with the idea of 6 games at a destination site...meaning 5 days and one double-header. 

6.  Allow aluminum bats.

7.  If you get to a 2-strike/3-ball count, and foul-off 3 consecutive balls....you get a 'free' ball.....and 'walk' to 1st base.

8.  If you have a road-trip and the next game is less than 500 miles away....you have to make the trip by bus (not plane).

9.   Study the idea of putting three pro-clubs into Mexico City, Havana, and Caracas.

10.  Accept the idea that the Dodgers (over the next 20 years) will win the WS at least 12 times.

StarGate Chatter

 For about five years, there's been hype that StarGate will be brought back.  About six months ago....that suggestion crashed and burned.  This week....Amazon went and said they'd hired a new producer.....Jan Schaeffer.....the WandaVision creator to develop Stargate.

For those who might remember WandaVision....it was a dead-end production.

Yeah....so fans of Stargate are fairly negative.

About eight months ago....I went back to season one of Stargate, and have been watching three to five episodes a week. I'm up to season nine presently.

Five observations over the series:

1.  Up to season season season seven ending....it made sense.  Season eight development with he stupid 'Ori' characters....was a bunch of BS.  I'll just say it....season 8 and 9 are marginally worth viewing. 

2.  If the gate were real.....it'd be in the Area-51 region....NOT the 'Mountain'.

3.  The success of StarGate was it built itself into a 50-percent drama....50-percent humor.

4.  The WandaVision crew likely making the team into a LGBTQ thing?  Very likely.

5.  If you were looking for pure science fiction.....seasons one to seven are worth watching.

Major League Baseball 'Agenda'

 There's talks scheduled after the World Series....to open up 'change'.  

Chief issue/problem?  Decline in doubles/triples noted.  I checked the numbers (say over 30 years)....doubles are down by probably 4-percent, and triples down by 30-to-35 percent. 

Reason?  Nothing obvious.  Some suggest that players today are more injury-prone.  Some suggest that 'rifle-arms' of outfielders are hampering running style.  Some suggest defensive positioning has improved.

So what does the MLB intend to do?  Well....'spots'.

They would put a circle (probably eight-foot) in a central point of the outfield for each of the three folks....telling them that they must be in the circle....before the pitcher can pitch.  So the left-fielder might be 40 feet away from where he normally would be positioned. The idea is.....he'd fail to catch the ball, and have to run....to recover the ball.

Crazy-talk?  Well....lot of folks are suggesting this.

History to this?  If you go back to the 1960s/1970s.....a fair number of outfielders were chunky/over-weight, and couldn't run that gracefully....so the doubles/triples went to some significant point.  We accepted that as a 'normal' number after a while.

Consequences to come?  I'm of the mind that if you really put spots on the field.....you might start to see 11-to-8 scores as a normal thing.  Chances of no-hitters? I would imagine those no-hit games would be finished.  

DC and Robo-Taxis?

 It came up this week in DC....that some company is asking for permission to run robo-taxi service.

Naturally, there is a pro-robo group and anti-rob group.

My bet?  The city council will assign some commission and try to delay it....maybe for several years.  

Odd factor?  Well....they are only asking for DC permission....not Virginia or Maryland.  So if you tasked robo to serve you....it's only to get from one part of DC....to another part.

People entering....having to show a credit card?  Yeah, that's probably part of the story....NO cash.

Gen-Z Folks Exiting California?

Well....yes.  I read through several items this week, and the key one....Census-based data....show California Gen-Zers are exiting the state.

This goes to a LendingTree analysis of 2024 American Community Survey data....saying around 58,109 Gen Z adults (roughly ages 18–27 that year)....left.  Most going to Texas.

Trigger?  Affordability....they can't afford housing in California.

Then taxes got brought up.

Finally....job opportunities.

This brings me to a odd pondering....would there be a need to have a Gen-Z category (Westies for California Zers) and Tex-ers (for Texas Zers)?  I have this odd feeling that the two groups will not be of the same Z-mentality.

I Voted This Past Week

 Absentee......of course.  Things worked as advertised....Alabama has a pretty simple method.  

So toward the end....came ballot measures, and it got pretty crazy.  There are two odd measures listed.

First being....if you vote 'yes'....the state gives each board (of each county) the power to require the Pledge of Allegiance to start the school-day.  

The second being....if you vote 'yes'....the state gives each board (of each county) to 'sing' the National Anthem. 

I paused over both.

Probably up to the fifth grade (1960s)....my rural Alabama school had a prayer and the Pledge.  That kinda went away by the 6th grade.

If you went up to individual adults (over the age of 40)....probably two-thirds of Alabama folks would say the Pledge should be mandated.  Oddly, if you ask about NPR-listening or CNN-viewing....probably 90-percent of folks are likely anti-Pledge and anti-Anthem.

I'm mostly anti-singing (in-general).....not against the Anthem itself.  It'd be the same if you asked me to sing some Johnny Cash tune, or Achy Breaky Heart.  If someone has a voice....fine.  But the majority of folks....even at age 12....can't sing.

Where this is going to lead onto?  I think the Pledge agenda will pass (maybe 60-40)....but most school boards will simply require it cited once a week.  The Anthem business?  I don't think it will pass (45-55).