As we progress towards the Ides of March, one of my best friends-who-I’ve-never-met, Jimmy May , notes our annual transition to Daylight Savings Time , in a post he generously concludes with a link to one of this very blog’s oldies but goodies . In his blog’s title, Jimmy humbly refers to himself...

UPDATED 21 FEBRUARY 2009 in the cold morning light: grammar in the introduction and #s 1, 5, 10, 12, 15, 18, and 20; new links in #1; and new information in #18. UPDATED 21 FEBRUARY 2009 later in the day because I just remembered I've been to Texas (#9, #11). It’s the third Friday in February,...

Last Tuesday and Wednesday very little was right with the world, as the first two games of the 2008 regular Major League Baseball season were played half a world away, and they started at 3AM Seattle time.  I'm all for globalizing the appeal of the game, but 3AM?!?   And then have both teams...

..pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training. This is better than the groundhog and his shadow.. -wp

Sad news that one of the iconic voices of my youth, Phil Rizzuto, has passed on at the age of 89. "The Scooter" was the oldest living Hall of Famer at the time of his passing. After an incredible 13-season playing career (interupted, as so many were, by the most recent War To End All Wars), Rizzuto...

Kyle and I are back in Redmond after our weekend in Yakima . Yesterday, the Redmond boys faced Strategic Energy of Gig Harbor for third place in the tournament. The boys played well, but lost in the end, 10-6. Although they finished in fourth place with a 1-3 record, all of the teams that beat them...

Hello once again from Yakima, Washington, where frequent visitors to this space will recall I've traveled to watch my son Kyle's team compete in the Yakima Mid Summer Special baseball tournament. After yesterday's victory against the Red Sox and this morning's loss to Prairie , Redmond returned to...

Hello again from Yakima, Washington, where frequent visitors to this space will recall I've traveled to watch my son Kyle's team compete in the Yakima Mid Summer Special baseball tournament. After yesterday's victory in the tournament opener, Redmond is playing a doubleheader of sorts today, with...

Greetings from Yakima, Washington, where frequent visitors to this space will recall I've traveled to watch my son Kyle's team compete in the Yakima Mid Summer Special baseball tournament. Today they faced the Red Sox, who certainly appear to be a local team here in Yakima (several members of the...

It's been awhile since I posted any non-technical news, and since the current non-technical news is going to result in blog neglect until August 9, I figured I'd let you know what's up. Of course, that's the pivotal piece of information right there. After this week, I'm going to be willfully neglecting...

The day brings much remarkable news. Kyle and Zach worked the 9-12 year old Little League tryouts today, assisting about 250 of the younger competitors in the league through a day of skills evaluation. The day also served as an impromptu reunion of last year's Redmond Red Sox. Many of the boys were...

Yesterday was the last day of the annual Microsoft Giving Campaign Auction, and tomorrow is the last day of the Giving Campaign as a whole. An all-employee email from Bill Gates reminding us of this latter fact provides some fodder for reflection. In his mail, BillG reflects that while the first Giving...

I haven't subjected you to a baseball post in awhile . Don't worry, I'll be brief.. I can't let the day pass without noting that the great Peter Gammons has returned to his nonpareil column (link requires subscription) on ESPN.com after his health issues in early July . He will also return to his...

The 3rd Annual Baseball Challenge, for the benefit Cocoon House and the Ronald McDonald House of Western Washington , took place yesterday at Everett Memorial Stadium. The Cocoon House team won again this year, 11-5, despite my contribution of an 0-for-3 afternoon at the plate. The game featured participation...

If this post looks familiar to long-time denizens of this space, it's most likely because you read this one last year. What follows is a shameless solicitation, directed towards my friends and colleagues in the Puget Sound region and throughout the country, to provide financial assistance to some...

My final dispatch re: the Northern Washington Babe Ruth 13U Tournament (edited on 18 July to include final result) : The game against Central Kitsap didn't fall the Raiders' way. They fell to a 7-0 deficit after two innings and rallied to within 9-6 before falling, 13-6. They finished with a 2-2 record...

Another dispatch from the Northern Washington Babe Ruth 13U Tournament.. Last night, the Redmond Raiders came back from a 4-1 deficit to defeat the host team, the Moses Lake Desert Dogs, 7-4. The boys scored three runs in the fifth to tie the game, and took the lead with three runs in the sixth. ...

Today's action in the Northern Washington Babe Ruth Tournament saw our Redmond Raiders fall to the Ellensburg Pounders, 12-5. The boys were up 3-0 after the top of the first inning, but the Pounders responded with five runs of their own in the bottom of the first, and were never headed after that. ...

Frequent visitors to this space will recall that I'm spending the rest of this week in Moses Lake, WA, watching my son Kyle play in the Northern Washington Babe Ruth Baseball 13U Tournament. This afternoon, Kyle's Redmond Raiders played their first game, against the Anacortes Hawks. The Raiders jumped...

A brief update for those of you interested in Babe Ruth basball: Kyle's team, the Redmond Raiders, won the District 3 All-Star Tournament, sweeping three games without a loss. The team will be the 3A representative to the state tournament, which starts on July 12 in Moses Lake, WA. The boys won...

With last night's posts, you might have noticed a couple of loose ends being tied up. I'm trying to get loose ends tied up all over the place, because.. As of this afternoon, I'm on vacation until the morning of July 10th. Other than some "deferred" posts which will show up on the DWWTWT? thread next...

I just wanted to follow up yesterday's post on the Redmond Red Sox. Last night, the boys played in their district championship game against, of all teams, the North Bend Rainiers. They fought hard, but eight unearned runs in the fourth inning proved too much to overcome. The boys lost a game for only...

Databases are important. Databases pay my bills, and presumably those of many of you reading this blog. But there are more important things in life than databases. I’d like to tell you a short story of how faith and perseverance can move mountains. I’d like to tell you about Ryan FitzPatrick, his family...

Full details here .. please support this worthy cause if you can! More next week.. -wp

Warning: what follows is a shameless solicitation, directed towards my friends and colleagues in the Puget Sound region and throughout the country, to provide financial assistance to some of the most innocent, wonderful people you will ever meet. If this particular type of conversation is not your pint...