Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year....

Happy New Year from kevinandjoe!

2009 will bring more ramblings, some will come from joe who will have moved south in retirement. I can't wait to spend some time at his retirement villa in the south, with it warm breezes and rebuilding pro football team. In fact, just about every pro team in his new location will be in a rebuilding mode.

So, our best to all our loyal reader(s). I think that there might be a book in our creative, yet personal comments. Probably well after we have moved to the next level and will make our heirs rich!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Favorite Baseball Team

Sometime back I recall some comments about changing favorite teams if you moved to a city that had a major league team. Chris sent me a note recently that I think addresses that question as it regards the SF Giants.

"A simple question with a great answer…

What's the point of being a Giants fan? Managing general partner Bill Neukom said on KNBR that he hopes the team will finish .500 next year ... then become a contending team two years after that. I appreciate his honesty, but man, after four losing seasons, all we get is three years from now. It's obvious why players like Mark Teixeira and Carlos Lee don't want to play for the Giants. So I ask, other than being interested in Pablo Sandoval and Tim Lincecum, what is the point for a fan to root for a self-proclaimed hope-to-be-.500 club?

-- Billy R., San Jose, Calif.



You stick with the Giants because that's just what fans do. Otherwise, you're something else beginning with the letter "f" -- fickle. You stick with the Giants because you understand that baseball is a game of failure (remember, even the best hitters return to the dugout fruitlessly seven times every 10 at-bats) and only people who can't grasp what the game's about demand constant success. You stick with the Giants because hope is one of the biggest words in the English language, and because watching guys like Matt Cain, Fred Lewis, Randy Winn, Brian Wilson and Sandoval give you hope. You stick with the Giants because Lincecum pitches every five days, and there isn't a better show in baseball than that.


You stick with the Giants because they're among baseball's crown jewel franchises and they play in a gem of a ballpark. You stick with the Giants because you cherish the link to legends like Mathewson, Mays, Marichal and Bonds (pick either one). You stick with the Giants because, if you're around 40 or older, you saw them almost move to Toronto and Denver and Tampa-St. Petersburg, so now you'll never let them go. You stick with the Giants because you feel like your scalp would break out in a rash if you put on a different team's cap. Go ahead and switch to the A's or Dodgers or Phillies; life is full of many more important choices. If it's that easy to jump ship, you never were a true fan anyway."

I was there when they almost moved to Toronto and I can tell you the fear and panic of losing the Giants to Canada or anywhere was significant. The City rallied around the Giant's and Bob Luire came to the rescue, along with Cattle guy, I think. Botton line, live in a city with a baseball team that isn't the Giants if you must, but I would find it very difficult not to continue as a Giants fan.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Economy at Christmas

I, like many others in the world, have watched the economy sink slowly and marvel at the revelations that seem to come out each week. The specter of de-regualtion at its best as financial giants tumble into the abyss that is a government bailout. The market moves up and down like a hookers skirt and my retirement money along with it.

Doom and gloom is the order of the day and if that wasn't bad enough we have 1/2 inch of ice with 4 inches of snow and temps in the single digits. I think it easier to be depressed in warm weather.

Having said I heard someone, there so many people with advice these days, speak to spending and it made some sense. His point was that in spite of nearly 10% unemployment, there are a significant number of people who are no worse off (except for 401K's etc) now than they were last year. While managing your expenses is always important one the ways to move pass these economic hard time is to spend.

I am not suggesting that everyone run out and buy a 50 inch TV, but if we all quit spending at the same time the economy will never turn around. Frankly I need it to turn around soon as I can almost see my retirement. So, go ahead take a chance and spend a little at your local stores, try and do your part to get the economy moving again, don't just leave it to Washington or Wall Street.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

First color TV

Someone mentioned the "great Sony TV Joe bought" on a previous comment. I laughed, figuring the statute of limitations had clearly run out on something that happened over 34 years ago.
Little did I relize I am still in the marital doghouse, with room, it appears for Kevin, strictly as a bad influence. When I mentioned it, all of the anger quickly was brought back.
Here's the honest story. In 1974, when we moved to San Francisco, we lived with Sally and Kevin for about five weeks, just long enough for us to find an apartment, get the lease signed, and move in on July 1.
To be all too honest, we weren't at all worried about cash flow. We were still being paid on twelve month teaching contracts, so we were going to receive, both of us, our full monthly check, close to the end of June, July, and August. Actuallly, it is germane to the story that Suzanne was paid on the 20th of each month, Joe on the
25th.
So about June 23, Suzanne's paycheck arrived in the mail. Now we were going to need a television in the next couple weeks, Suzanne already had a job, and Joe was starting one on July 15, so cash was next to no concern. Therefore, Kevin and I shot down to Eber Electronics, which by the way, remained in business in the same location until just a couple years ago. I also bought my first cd player there, in the early 1980s.
Well, it did not take us long to pick out a brand new Sony 17 inch color television. It was a KV-1722, and it was beyond wonderful. Here's a link, cut and paste to see picture: http://store.vintagepaperads.com/servlet/-strse-18163/1975-Sony-Trinitron-KV-dsh-1722/Detail
The decision to purchase might very well have been affected by an upcoming three game televised series the Giants were playing in Los Angeles.
Now, I am sure I discussed this at length, and no one shoulsd have been surprised, or upset 34 years later. The fact that it took one whole monthly paycheck, almost exactly, for a 17 inch TV seems a little steep now, particularly as you see what you can buy for about the same amount of money, but we could afford it easily enough and the television gave us years of faithful service.
Of course, after remote controls became common, it was easy to decide not to fix it when it malfuntioned about twenty years later, after we had moved back to Nebraska.
I certainly can't say it did not serve us very well, even if it cost a month's salary.
But I sure think I should not still be in trouble for the purchase.