Looks Like I'm Getting Married

http://amyharrison.blogspot.com/2008/04/mark-your-calendars.html

Well, a 20th anniversary special would be nice. Plus, Amy would get the ceremony she really wanted.

Why Baseball is the Best

As seen on kottke.org today - Why baseball is the best game ever. From the Boston Review's article on John Rawls, baseball fan and philosopher. (A lot like my friend Tim Dillon.)

First: the rules of the game are in equilibrium: that is, from the start, the diamond was made just the right size, the pitcher’s mound just the right distance from home plate, etc., and this makes possible the marvelous plays, such as the double play. The physical layout of the game is perfectly adjusted to the human skills it is meant to display and to call into graceful exercise. Whereas, basketball, e.g., is constantly (or was then) adjusting its rules to get them in balance.

Second: the game does not give unusua1 preference or advantage to special physical types, e.g., to tall men as in basketball. All sorts of abilities can find a place somewhere, the tall and the short etc. can enjoy the game together in different positions.

Third: the game uses all parts of the body: the arms to throw, the legs to run, and to swing the bat, etc.; per contra soccer where you can’t touch the ball. It calls upon speed, accuracy of throw, gifts of sight for batting, shrewdness for pitchers and catchers, etc. And there are all kinds of strategies.

Fourth: all plays of the game are open to view: the spectators and the players can see what is going on. Per contra football where it is hard to know what is happening in the battlefront along the line. Even the umpires can’t see it all, so there is lots of cheating etc. And in basketball, it is hard to know when to call a foul. There are close calls in baseball too, but the umps do very well on the whole, and these close calls arise from the marvelous timing built into the game and not from trying to police cheaters etc.

Fifth: baseball is the only game where scoring is not done with the ball, and this has the remarkable effect of concentrating the excitement of plays at different points of the field at the same time. Will the runner cross the plate before the fielder gets to the ball and throws it to home plate, and so on.

Finally, there is the factor of time, the use of which is a central part of any game. Baseball shares with tennis the idea that time never runs out, as it does in basketball and football and soccer. This means that there is always time for the losing side to make a comeback. The last of the ninth inning becomes one of the most potentially exciting parts of the game. And while the same sometimes happens in tennis also, it seems to happen less often. Cricket, much like baseball (and indeed I must correct my remark above that baseball is the only game where scoring is not done with the ball), does not have a time limit.

TV on Demand

In a move that makes many of us who work from our computers a bit happier, Fox has opened the floodgates and is offering Fox on Demand so you can get your TV fix without actually watching TV.

http://www.fox.com/fod/

Two of My Favorites (NSFChildren)

Snorg Tees is a great place for t-shirts and to see what the kids think nowadays. These two, below, are some of my favorites.

'The Life Aquatic' in Lego Form

Look here.

April Fools!

What would 1 April be without great web hoaxes? This year promises to be another bang-up occasion for April Fools as evidenced by the following I've seen early today:

Virgle - A New JV between Virgin and Google, dedicated to the colonization of Mars
http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html

The Kia Kee-Wii - A new vehicle which utilizes Wii controllers to drive
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/01/april-foolery-kia-introduces-the-radical-new-kee_wii-sans-stee/

iPark - A new joint venture between Apple and Disney that puts a Disney theme park on your iPod
http://www.iparkland.com/
http://www.miceage.com/allutz/al040108a.htm

Mentioned elsewhere but a hoot is the fact all 'featured' YouTube videos are posting to this gem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI

A compendium of Google gags may be found here
http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-04-01-n71.html

Not satisfied with the 'time' your G-mail was sent? No sweat.
http://mail.google.com/mail/help/customtime/index.html

Death Match, Winner Take All for the Democratic Presidential Nomination
http://www.espn4.com/

This one's just plain painful
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/04/01/mccain-chooses-al-gore-for-vice-president/

Whereas this one's a little bit funny
http://science.howstuffworks.com/air-force-one-hybrid.htm

I've still not heard nor located NPR's annual treat. I'll update when it becomes available. In the meantime, here's an article from Slate magazine, a sort of self-defense kit for this day.
http://www.slate.com/id/2187681/

***Update 2 April***
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89284569