Month: March 2024

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Superstitious

Are you superstitious?

Being superstitious means believing in superstition. Superstition is believing in something magical, irrational, something not based on facts. Basically this all has to do with luck. There is the old saying I would rather be lucky than good. To avoid bad luck don’t walk under a ladder, don’t pass in front of a black cat, don’t step on the cracks of a sidewalk, just to name a few. To have good luck, carry a rabbits foot, have a lucky charm, or keep your fingers crossed. There are some out there who claim not to be superstitious but is anybody really not superstitious? What about praying? Doesn’t that meet the defined criteria of superstition. Thinking there is life after death, especially heaven, certainly meets the criteria for a superstition. It certainly dictates the way one behaves. You had better be good so you can meet a loved one in heaven. How about having a routine? There are a lot of healthcare professionals that think having a routine is good for mental health. So if you get up at 7:15 instead of 7 is your day ruined. Sports are famous for superstitions. Fans think if they turn on a game and their team starts losing, that they had something to do with it. There is the old baseball saying never mess with a hot streak, meaning whatever your doing before the game keep doing it. Being superstitious is just part of human nature. One of the reasons I think this is true is because there are so many things in the world that are unexplainable. How many times have we heard the story about a person, who doctors said only had days to live and they unexpectedly recover and live for years. Do you think their family prayed, held a rosary, or kept their fingers crossed. Just take a deep breath, admit you’re superstitious, and be damn proud of it.

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My 100-Year-Old Self

Daily writing prompt
Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.
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Where do they come up with this stuff? When I first saw this prompt, I thought that I would just ignore it and write about one of the prompts I put out there a couple of days ago. Then I thought this is just too weird not to write something. I most likely would be writing a letter to a dead person. There is not much of a chance that I or anybody is going to live to a 100. I know there are a few that do it. As of right now there are a little over 100,000 people in the United States that are 100 years or older. That is about .03% of the population. Not as bad as lottery odds but still pretty slim. Most likely I would be writing to my dead self. My letter would be short and to the point. How does it feel to be dead? If possible, please let me know. Signed your 73 soon to be 74 year old self. Now if somehow, I managed to make it to 100 still alive this letter would also be brief. Dear 100-year-old self. Looks like I even screwed this up because there was no way I wanted to live to be 100 years old. I just hope that I know what day it is, and I can get out of bed. I hope I can control my bowels and bladder. I do not care if I can even play golf at this point. I did it but this has to be the worst writing prompt of them all and there have been some pretty bad ones. At least this one is not something you answer with one sentence. Back to doing my taxes and watching the golf tournament.

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Shopping Spree

Daily writing prompt
Where would you go on a shopping spree?
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I would go to my den, get on my computer, and get on E Bay. I have been an E bay member since around 2003. I buy golf balls, golf clubs, golf shoes, golf tees, golf bags, running shoes, dress shoes, golf shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, shorts, hats, shampoos, reading glasses, kitchen accessories, slippers, dental floss. athletic shoes, hand lotion, ski caps, marking pens, electric toothbrushes, I pad covers, underwear, and that was just last week. It’s been over 20years that I have shopped at E Bay and overall it has been a very good experience. I have had a few problems, but the folks at E Bay have always come through, and I have never been stuck with something or paid for something and never got it without reimbursement. If I was going to a brick-and-mortar store, I would have to go to Macy’s. If I was going on a shopping spree, it would definitely be for clothes. Macy’s always has great sales going on and when you use their credit card you save even more. Their selection is good and arranged very nicely. They have a very good kitchen section. Here is where I would not go for a shopping spree. Dicks Sporting Goods, because their prices suck and the so-called rewards card is a joke. Target and Walmart because of the overall lack of quality. I think the clubs like Cosco and Sam’s Club and there are other ones are great for families and the quality of merchandise is above average. For two old people buying in bulk like that, especially when it comes to food, almost makes me physically ill. It’s almost like belonging to a country club. Because you have to pay a fee to belong you always feel like that is the only place you should shop. I looked up the definition of spree and I know I really have never been on a shopping spree. Spree is defined as an unrestrained indulgence in or outburst of an activity. A secondary definition read a drunken revel. Then I looked up revel which means to take intense pleasure or satisfaction. The key words here are unrestrained and intense. I think we just explained Black Friday. I’ll be damned.

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Not To Expect Much From The Writing Prompts

Daily writing prompt
What is the last thing you learned?
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Yes, that is the last thing I learned is not to expect much from the writing prompts. Now I know this has to be a pretty thankless job, so if I am going to be critical maybe I should help out. I did this once, pretty much as a joke. This time I am going to get serious and off the top of my empty head I am going to try to put out at least 10 good writing prompts and feel free to write about any of them.

  1. What is the worst vacation you have ever had?
  2. What is your strategy when you have to buy a car?
  3. Do you believe in the adage you can choose you friends but not your relatives and how has that worked out for you?
  4. What was your worst and best restaurant experience?
  5. What are your feelings about organized religion.
  6. Can you legislate morality?
  7. Is a college education worth it?
  8. Will you retire or work until you drop dead?
  9. What happens after you die?
  10. Is it safe to discuss politics today?

Well, there it is and have at it. That should keep you busy for a while. I may even write about a few of those subjects myself. What is the last thing I really learned? Quite frankly, I do not remember. First of all, define learn. Did I find out about something that I did not know before or did I learn a new skill. The former I did this morning and the latter I did about 50 years ago. I would be curious, how many new skills do you learn after the age of 25. You might hone some previously learned skills but to learn a totally new skill after that age I do not think it happens that often, but I am probably wrong. Wait a minute, I forgot, I am just like my father. He always told me, son I may not always be right, but I am never wrong.

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Just One Question?

Daily writing prompt
What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.
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I don’t know of any question that I liked to be asked. Let’s look at some of the more common ones. How are you doing? Now you know whoever is asking that question, really does not give a shit how you are feeling. Everybody answers that question fine even if they are not. When I was a kid, it was even part of etiquette to say fine thank you and you? A rehearsed answer to an inane question. What did or do you do for a living? As soon as I said I was a veterinarian two things would happen. They would ask me another question about their dog or cat, to get free advice. It would be real tempting to give them false information, but I never did. The other statement would be, that is what I or one of my children always wanted to be. I stated my feeling about that one in a previous blog. Where are you from? Like what does that have to do with the price of bread. Where do live now? None of your business. If I want you to visit me, I will tell you. What are you doing today? First do they really care and second, I don’t have any idea. Then there are the real nib shit questions. Are you married? Do you live alone? What you do for a living, is it lucrative. When you go to the doctor, they ask you if you are taking your medications? Are you really going to tell the truth on that one. If you’re not, they are going to find out anyway because of poor test results. Where are you going? If I wanted you to know, I would have told you. Then there are the questions that the person who is asking the question knows that you have no idea, but they ask anyway. Where are my glasses? Where is my phone? Do you know where I put my car keys? Are you ever going to do this or that? A better writing prompt may have been, is there a question you liked to be asked? Now that I have asked that question, despite what I wrote in my opening line, come to think of it, there are some questions I do not mind. A question that evokes a discussion about sports. How do you think the Pirates are going to do this year? Who should the Steelers draft this year? On the whole however, most questions are just annoying inquiries into phases of your life that you do not want to discuss with people that you don’t know all that well or at all. When someone knows that their question is annoying, they will say I was just curious. Go read the National Enquirer and leave me alone. By the way, I never ask the questions that I just mentioned above. Yes, I don’t give a shit how you are feeling and so don’t ask. However, you better not give me your damn cold.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Boredom Goes On.

We are getting closer to opening day and Pirates are basically standing pat with this team. I am not that upset with the lack of real moves, but it would have been nice to see them make a real upgrade somewhere. I have an idea when it comes to writing about the Pirates. Instead of writing about trade rumors, title the articles wishful thinking trades. There is plenty of time for a trade and a good number of free agents are still available. For now, we must assume that the current roster is what the Pirates are going to put on the field. There are some interesting facts about the position players on this team and I will write about what this team must do to make the playoffs. The pitching is deep but already David Bednar is dealing with an injury that is probably going to jeopardize him being on the opening day roster. Everything discussed today will be mostly about position players.

Here is an interesting fact about this team. During the last 3 seasons, there are very few players on this team that have played more than 130 games in a season or catchers that have played 120 games. This has been due to injuries or being sent down to the minors. There are some surprising names on the list. Ke’Bryan Hayes has done it just once. Grandel has not done it since 2019, although he came close last year at 118. Rowdy Tellez has done it once. Olivares has never done it. Henry Davis has not done it at either the minor or major league level. McCutchen has been durable over his career but last year was the fewest games he has played since 2019. You have to wonder how many of these players are going to continue to be fragile. Right now, the Pirates have 17 players that they acquired by free agency or played a significant role on last year’s team. There are only 13 spots on the roster for position players. The Pirates will have some tough choices to make or will they be saved by the mysterious injury and the 25-day rehab assignment. What has to happen for this team to make the playoffs.

They have to avoid the catastrophic injury. Speaking of which, Oneil Cruz will need to have the big bounce back season that everyone is hoping for. To put it in WAR terms, he needs to have a 5-6 win season. It would be nice to see Bryan Reynolds get to that 4-6 WAR season again. He has had a slight decline every year over the last 3 seasons. I do not look at this as an essential part of the picture, but it would be a nice bonus. As long as we at least get the 2023 version of Reynolds it will benefit this team. One of the biggest keys to this season will be can Hayes and Jared Triolo continue the hitting like they did after the All Star break last year. Both of these players are elite glove men. After the All Star break, they both mashed. Hayes slashed .299/335/539, and Triolo slashed .298/.394/411. If they can continue to put up those numbers during the season, then this team could be an offensive juggernaut. Triolo did this while being a super utility player, playing three infield positions and being a plus defender at all 3. If he can hit like he did after the All Star break, I would love to see him settle in at 2b. That brings us to Liover Peguero and Nick Gonzales. Both were negative WAR players last year. Granted the sample size was not the largest, especially for Gonzales, but one of these players needs to step up and show that he can hit Major League pitching. The so-called fragile players need to have a healthy season, at least 80% of them. If Rowdy Tellez can approach his 2022 season that would be a plus barely. In 6 seasons he has never had a WAR 1 or over. This has to be close to wishful thinking that he will have a career year. Pitching looks like the Pirates strength, but we all know how that can go speaking of fragile. By mid-season the Pirates will have 15 pitchers that can be put into the 5-man rotation. The Pirates should be a team that considers the 6-man rotation. The battle for a spot in the starting rotation should be one of the most interesting things of spring training. The bullpen looks really solid with really no weak links.

I was very optimistic about this team last year and thought they would contend for a playoff spot. Then Oneil Cruz broke his leg and essentially the season was over. Over this winter Endy Rodriguez went down with a season ending injury. His loss is not as big as Cruz’s was, but it is still significant. This teams pitching is so deep that you would think that they have to contend for a playoff spot this year. On the other hand, I have used the phrase wishful thinking twice in this article. One thing for sure is that April, no matter what the Pirates do, will be a bad month. If the Pirates get off to a hot start, the media will say they did that last year and look what happened. If they get off to a bad start, the consensuses will be that they should have made more moves in the offseason, and they are still the same old mediocre or worse Pirates with a tightwad owner. Probably the best thing for them to do is to tread water for those first 30 games right around .500. Last year they were 20-10 at the 30-game mark. I would not mind seeing that again and be damned what anybody thinks. Bring on opening day, I can’t wait to start following.