Tag Archives: Washington

Hoopla and Hootenannism

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Nationals Jersey Spelling Issue - Source: totalprosports.com

Nationals Jersey Spelling Issue - Source: totalprosports.com

Some minor updates to df.com have been implemented, that should help keep things humming along:

  • I updated the CAPTCHA feature used to post comments. This will add some complexity to the graphic and deter comment spammers from trying to put junk ads on article/posts. I’ve also updated the verbal read out button so if you have trouble reading a particular CAPTCHA output you can click on the little speaker icon and it will read what the letters are (pretty nifty huh?). That feature also helps the vision impaired browse the blog with ease. We try with every effort to make our site accessible to those with special needs and this is just one way we accomplish that.
  • Updated background caching system, which helps the site load faster.
  • Also updated the optimization tools I use to help speed up page loads.

All in all these are minor changes, but they keep things humming along well enough to be noted.

Over at the df.com Merch Shop, I’ve added a whole line of kids, toddlers, and infants clothing. This rounds out our offerings for the holiday season. If you haven’t checked out the merchandise, please do. You’re sure to find something for yourself or someone you know who loves our site.

This week’s DF Pirate Radio will be out on 12/5/09 (Volume 5 Episode 3). It will be the infamous and much loved mixtape seasonal bonanza known as “The Beat Feast”. Our previous editions have been very popular with our viewers so with that in mind you’ll be sure to want to download this one as well.

Finally, don’t you hate it when you forget to spell check an email? How about if you forgot to spell check a message that some million people would see? Like say– a Major League Baseball jersey? It happened to the poor Washington Nationals this year back in April 2009. Nobody is quite sure how it happened, but some of the players’ jerseys sported the logo of “NATINALS”. On top of it, they lost the game to the Florida Marlins as well. Can you say “served”?

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My Beloved Mets & 2009

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NY MetsMathematically speaking, the NY Mets were eliminated around two weeks ago when even if they were to hypothetically win every game they had left in the year and the lead wild card team where to lose every game left there would still be no way the Mets would have more wins then that other team.

As a die hard Mets fan this did not persuade me to give up on watching my team. No, like the true fan I am I wore my orange and blue ball cap every day. Every day I tuned in for as long as possible to watch them play on TV. And every day I watched them at least try to win or even sometimes manage to win games. They lost no more than they did the rest of the year, but this week that all came to a grinding halt. Over the past three games including today‘s 7-4 embarrassment, the Mets lost to the most losing team in baseball– the Washington DC Nationals. This meant the worst team in the Major League Baseball system had swept the Mets without a blink or whimper. In all, this basically summed up the entire year in a nutshell.

Let’s put this in perspective for those of you who are not baseball fans or those of you who may not understand just how bad this is in terms of losses. The Nationals have lost 103 games this year. They have only won 55. There are only four games left in this season. That means the Nationals have a .348 win percentage. For those of you out there who are not statistics majors, that means that just below 35% of the time the Nationals will win a game. A decent team will post a win percentage of around .500 (50% chance of win) and a great team will be around .600 (60% chance of winning– the NY Yankees right now are at .646 and the winningest team in the MLB). The Mets pulled in at a mediocre .421. This is way below average and just above really bad. Any bad team’s main goal is not to get 100 losses and with 92 in the books the Mets are nearly there though they will not reach that horrible 100 loss plateau even if they lose the last four games (which they just might– they’re playing slightly better Houston Astros who are at .465).

Like I said in the beginning of this blog entry though, mathematically speaking the season ended some two weeks ago; but with some 20 games left I wanted to watch my team finish with honor, with dignity, and to see this season out. Today the season did end though not officially, but in my heart as a fan. I watched the bats come as alive as they ever have this year mustering a 4-2 lead. I then watched my team’s multi-million dollar closer (the finishing pitcher whose supposed to shut down the game) Francisco Rodriguez blow the game. He loaded the bases, proceeded to walk in a run, and then gave up a grand slam home run to a batter who was rated lackluster at best. Last year Francisco Rodriguez earned the nickname “K-rod” on the LA Angels where he had the most saves ever in a year. Rodriguez holds the MLB record for saves in a single season with 62; which he set in 2008. This year he mustered some 50% of that effort at 34 for the year. Before we get too down on Rodriguez I must point out he has six blown saves and five relief losses. Those numbers are no worse than 2008 when he saw seven blown saves and three loses. He simply had more opportunities to win with the Angels.

It seems though even he has gotten caught up in the injuries, management problems, and general malaise that has taken over the Mets this year. And with that the season ends for me– what happens in the next four games will not make these past three games any better; nor the 92 other losses disappear. With still many starting players on the injured list and Jose Reyes (the staring short stop) looking like his injury may last until Spring Training next year this one is done. And with it– goes the hopes and dreams of another year.

I think SNY‘s Bob Ojeda (himself a former Mets all star pitcher) said it best during the post game wrap up, “You can blame the coaches and the players somewhat. The real person you have to hold responsible is the team’s manager. You can think about firing the whole team, but realistically the manager is who needs to be held accountable.” I could not have echoed any better sentiments. How much longer can Jerry Manuel stay? I’m not sure, but I do sure as Hell miss Willy Randolph. The Mets may have swooned in the post-season with him; but at least they made it past October 4th and worse yet– I didn’t stop watching before October 1st.

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Classic DF – 10/18/01

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October 18, 2001: [•] The Capital Building has shut down in Washington DC after 31 people tested positive for anthrax exposure.[•] Airborne radio stations are sending Taliban soldiers an ultimatum. [•] The FAA is checking all employees’ backgrounds. [•] Israel has moved tanks into Palestinian neighborhoods hoping to keep the calm during an assassinated official’s funeral. [•] An envelope containing anthrax was sent from Atlanta, Georgia to a private citizen in Kenya. It looks like someone is testing international mail limits, now doesn’t it? [•] Japan’s Lower House has passed an anti-terrorism bill to support the US’s war on terrorism. [•] APEC is meeting in China this week and instead of economics they will be discussing terrorism. [•] Bodies from the sunken research vessel have started to be recovered. [•] Russia has pulled out of a spy base in Cuba. [•] The Canadian Navy has started making its way to join with US allies near Afghanistan. [•] Eliecer Meneses, an ex-Colombian congressman, was assassinated. [•] Diane Pretty, a terminally ill UK citizen, has lost her court case and the right to die on her own terms. [•] Saudi Arabia has asked its citizens not to sympathize with Islamic militants since they are perverting the religion instead of furthering it. [•] An unidentified man tried to hijack a bus and failed. He fled with an unknown woman into a car that was apparently following the bus. [•] Over $1 billion have been raised by charities for the victims and their families of the September 11th attacks. [•] The USS Kitty Hawk is armed with helicopters and special forces. It is only a matter of time now. [•] Before closing, the US House passed a bill that extends the ban on sales tax for items purchased over the Net by 2 years. [•] Microsoft has decided to start labeling security threats by genre and severity since users seem too incompetent to judge for themselves. [•] Apple has announced upgraded G4s and iBooks. [•] Everybody run for cover! AOL 7 is here! [•] The Ozone Hole over Antarctica hasn’t grown or shrunk for 3 years. [•] Due to anthrax fears Bayer is upping the production of the antibiotic Cipro. [•] Fleischmann’s recalls its unsalted stick margarine because whey isn’t listed on the ingredients label though it is used to create the food product. [•] So what’s stopping terrorists from tainting the illegal drug supply? I don’t know, but Wired is wondering the same thing. [•] Bell Labs scientists have developed a transistor a million times smaller than a grain of sand. [•] Yihat is looking for government support to hack terrorists. [•] GovNet may be separate from the Net, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be hackable. [•] The technicalities always get you. [•] How Route 17’s conversion to I-86 will affect traffic in Orange County, NY. [•] A cyclist collides with a van, Wanted: Politicians, a burglar is found guilty, restore your barn for free, Philip Halasz is arrested for fondling a teenage girl’s breasts, a drive-by shooting, switching from O&R Electric saves Port Jervis big money, and the debate over whether or not the Tappan Zee Bridge should be repaired begins. [•] Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson broke his foot when he threw a hissy fit and kicked a steel door. [•] Here’s Ozzy! [•] Sony and Toyota are developing a car that can understand human emotion (Ummm… great… I think). [•] Anthrax shows up at CBS. [•] Surgeons develop a way to insert an implant to restore hearing through a tiny incision. [•] Arrested Rapper of The Day: Jay-z has pleaded guilty to assaulting a record executive. [•] First pictures of the production Mazda RX-8 and 6. Very cool indeed. [•] DaimlerChrysler shows off its Mercedes F400 concept model. [•] 2002 will see the return of the Dodge to the police market with the Intrepid police car package. [•] Volkswagen unveils its new D1 and it has a 411 hp W12 engine. What more could you ask for? [•] If you look close at the 2002 Holden Monaro you can see the Australian version of the Chevrolet Camaro. Just “sigh” and think of all that could have been. [•] Sony continues its trend of integrating all of its products together with the TiVo. [•] Microsoft says that many of the exploits that turn up are due to vendors giving out early source code (Sure, blame someone else LOL). [•] I love you wife and daughter! [•] Immy reports that Reboot, a popular computer animated cartoon, will be running season four in the US. That rules. [•] I’ve been busy as heck at work. I had to compose a training transcript and work up a presentation. I completed a broadband presentation the other day. I keep getting stuck late at work solving implausible problems. I’ve had two meetings this week and next week I am going to an expo on local commerce. So faced with not enough time during prime time I got up a 5AM with Li’l Pooh this morning and had playtime. If one thing irks me about this world it’s that I don’t really see my daughter a lot during the week. I guess it’s time to wake up earlier to get some quality time– I hate getting up before the sun, but for her it’s worth it 🙂

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Classic DF – 10/17/01

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October 17, 2001: [•] Rechavam Zeevi, an Israeli government minister, has been assassinated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. [•] Al Jazeera, the Arabic news channel, has offered CNN a chance to submit questions to Osama bin Laden who will respond by videotape (maybe). [•] Iran has agreed to rescue US military troops if they somehow end up in Iran by accident. [•] US warplanes accidentally bombed a Red Cross warehouse in Afghanistan. [•] China has unblocked news sites it has previously deemed inappropriate. [•] A mob of angry citizens attacked a police station in Guatemala after authorities failed to find a suspect in a recent murder. [•] A small plane crashed in Canada. [•] Canada’s Ontario Premier Mike Harris will resign his post in order to focus on his personal life. [•] Australian Prime Minister John Howard has suggested to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri to continue to support the US and to avoid making US strikes against the Taliban seem like a war against Islam when it isn’t. [•] An auto accident in a Denmark tunnel has left 3 people dead and 6 injured. [•] An underground money transfer network called hawala is most likely the method used by al-Qaida to move large amounts of money without a paper trail. [•] Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has criticized fellow Arab nations for siding with the US since he sees nothing wrong with killing people as long as they aren’t Muslim. [•] The first body from a research boat sunk by a US submarine has been spotted. [•] Attorney General John Ashcroft met with Arab and Muslim leaders about racism issues in the US. [•] Jack Shroder, a geologist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, believes that he knows where Osama bin Laden is hiding. [•] Handspring has created a line of cell phones with integrated PDA functions called Treo. [•] Microsoft Windows XP hits PCs as the preloaded OS of choice. [•] News sites take the top viewership spots on the Net. [•] The US government is considering building its own private Internet. [•] How to tell if your Linux box has been hacked. [•] The anthrax sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle was very strong biologically. [•] Women exposed to elongated repeated periods of light after sunset run a 60% higher chance of breast cancer. [•] Please do your kids a favor and don’t smoke around them. Secondhand smoke really hurts kids bad! [•] Smallville looks pretty darn cool. [•] MSNBC will be launching an Arabic version of its web site to fight anti-American propaganda. [•] The RIAA plans on tracking the highest MP3 traders on the Net and convincing ISPs to ban them from their service. Can you say illegal denial of service? I knew you could! [•] A charity concert called New Yorkers Against Violence will include performances by the Beastie Boys, the Strokes, Cibo Matto, poet Saul Williams and DJ Stretch Armstrong. [•] Ars Technica previews Mac OS X 10.1. [•] Over 20 people have been exposed to anthrax in Washington DC thus far. [•] The Northern Alliance is advancing with the help of US air support. [•] A new computer virus could have been as evil as Hell especially since it was trying to capitalize on the fear of anthrax; only one problem: the author screwed up the programming (Doh!). [•] One of the things you learn about a 7-month old is they have no concept of night or day. Up at 3AM? Sure, why not! Then again at 6AM? No problem! Hell, why don’t we just stay up all night? LOL 🙂 [•] The CVS & Warwick Page is all updated with the latest developments.

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Classic DF – 8/10/00

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Aug 10, 2000: [•] The US Army is sending more troops in to fight wildfires. [•] Did a strip of metal slice the fatal wound into the Concorde. [•] A group of rebels fighting for Kashmiri independence are claiming responsibility for a car bomb in India. [•] A university is being chosen to review Carnivore. [•] Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is visiting Saddam Hussein in Iraq. [•] Comet LINEAR has revealed that it was made up of a bunch of mini-comets at its core. [•] One sailor is dead after a US Navy helicopter crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. [•] British boys suck. [•] Communists everywhere are angry that a Vodka company is using Ernesto “Che” Guevara to sell their booze. [•] A fire in the US Capitol building was caused by a cigarette butt. So much for The Clean Air Act. [•] 319 miners have been laid off from the Willow Creek Mine. [•] A misprinted gold dollar featuring an erroneous Washington quarter front was auctioned for $29,900. [•] Panasonic has announced the first public DVD recording camera and it rules. [•] More tips on securing your PC. [•] A former Disney executive got a sentence of nine months home detention with electronic monitoring, a $20,000 fine, and five years probation for attempting to cross state lines to have sex with a minor. Once again, must be nice to be rich. [•] Netscape 6 Beta 3; it may not be perfect, but it’s a welcome improvement. [•] 50% of premature babies now have a chance for a normal life. [•] Cells have a switch which when turned on can make people obese. [•] The Reform Party Convention starts today. [•] The Alaska State Snowmobile Association is suing the National Park Service for their ban on snowmobiles. Can you say frivolous? [•] Spanish beaches are being hit by illegally dumped oil. [•] The first bald eagle has been born in Washington DC since the 1940s. [•] Isn’t it ironic that one of Jeph.net’s biggest proponents to censorship and oppression would support censoring others? Not really. [•] Adobe is suing Macromedia for making products that look too much like theirs. [•] Mitel has figured out how to carry more information over fiber optic networks. [•] AOL has closed down an MP3 search engine over concerns that they will get sued by the RIAA. [•] Dr. Khaja Naseeruddin has surrendered his medical license after being charged with 25 counts of professional misconduct by the Department of Health. [•] The Galleria at Crystal Run wants police on patrol in the mall. [•] Gerald Doolan Sr. killed himself before he could be tried for his indictment of 113 counts of rape, sodomy and sexual assault. [•] Selling crack to undercover police, a fallen tree cuts power to many people, a woman gets cut in a fight with her boyfriend, a disturbing diary is found, a cab driver is robbed, a women beats her child, an arrest is made for a drive-by shooting, and a missing man is found. [•] Slipknot will re-release its Slipknot album in a digipak with six previously unreleased tracks. [•] Marilyn Manson has begun previewing his new single Love Song on a web site. [•] Check out Chris Vrenna’s new song off the videogame Alice in MP3 format. [•] Rage Against the Machine to play the Democratic National Convention? [•] Johnathan Davis (Korn) is being sued by his ex-wife for half his income. Ouch. [•] STP has ditched its greatest hits album. [•] The White House staff has a secret addiction– porn sites. [•] Pictures from the Warped Tour. [•] How to setup your own e-commerce web page. [•] One keyboard, mouse, and monitor with many PCs hooked up to them. Nice. [•] Cool your Athlon. [•] GM is building a retro-pickup called the Chevy SSR and Ford is going to put traction control on their light trucks. [•] I love you Azazel :* [•] All is quiet on the Western Front. [•] The Mervernation continues to grow. [•] Mmmm… Mcrae ZX3 wallpaper. [•] Learn to talk Japanese like an anime character. Neato. [•] Talk to you tomorrow night. Okay, make that type to tomorrow night. LOL.

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