As if you need to read one more person's opinion about this guy. In short, I think he's the right hire for this team at this time. Who knows what the situation will be in 2-3 years but right now we need a presence like Bobby V's.
He's no nameless guy. He's no player's manager. He is his own man and he is a bigger "celebrity" than most MLB players. No one will walk over him and he'll happily call out anyone -- regardless of status or salary -- who gets out of line. And that, my friends, is what this team needs most. Order. Direction. Someone to draw a hard line and dare anyone to cross it.
There will be no more Wakefield quests for 200 wins; no more Big Papi interrupting press conferences; no more chicken & beer in the clubhouse. All the detestable, egotistical things our hometown boys did this year will end today. And for that we must be thankful. Because the only thing worse than rooting for a bunch of rich ballplayers is rooting for a bunch of lazy, selfish, rich ballplayers.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Baby you can drive my car
I've never cared much for racing (NASCAR or otherwise) but I read this intro to a Sports Illustrated article once and it blew me away.
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The first time I drive the car it feels like rage, apocalypse in every cylinder, pistons hammering hot and remorseless as hell’s forge, the manifold ravenous, roaring for air and explosives, belts shrieking, crankshaft screaming threats, spinning off metal shavings like a lathe, the oil tortured, a black ruin of subatomic corruption boiling in the spattered bowel, rods, valves, lifters and springs flying apart, colliding and crashing back, the relentless cycling a hundred times a second, sickle on scythe, shrapnel clattering in the dark, anxious to fail, to escape, blazing, on razor wings, and the exhaust thundering fire and stench and the mourning blast of Armageddon--all of it held together by nothing more than an idea, by the faded ink on an engineer’s blueprint--and like everything else in the universe, the inevitability of its own spectacular end was sown in the first moment of its creation--a big racing V-8 is all intricacy and vanity and the outrageous noise of self-love on the way to self-destruction--everything in this engine is beating itself to pieces. Jesus, this isn’t a car, it’s entropy, a fast unraveling of thermodynamics, it’s the cosmic triumph of chaos, it’s war!
Jeff MacGregor
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The first time I drive the car it feels like rage, apocalypse in every cylinder, pistons hammering hot and remorseless as hell’s forge, the manifold ravenous, roaring for air and explosives, belts shrieking, crankshaft screaming threats, spinning off metal shavings like a lathe, the oil tortured, a black ruin of subatomic corruption boiling in the spattered bowel, rods, valves, lifters and springs flying apart, colliding and crashing back, the relentless cycling a hundred times a second, sickle on scythe, shrapnel clattering in the dark, anxious to fail, to escape, blazing, on razor wings, and the exhaust thundering fire and stench and the mourning blast of Armageddon--all of it held together by nothing more than an idea, by the faded ink on an engineer’s blueprint--and like everything else in the universe, the inevitability of its own spectacular end was sown in the first moment of its creation--a big racing V-8 is all intricacy and vanity and the outrageous noise of self-love on the way to self-destruction--everything in this engine is beating itself to pieces. Jesus, this isn’t a car, it’s entropy, a fast unraveling of thermodynamics, it’s the cosmic triumph of chaos, it’s war!
Jeff MacGregor
Monday, November 28, 2011
Apps for Apps (& Meals too)
The explosion of Foursquare is a good and a bad thing. The positive is that it allows you the ability to get recommendations from friends, unlock rewards and discover new restaurants. The negative is that the rewards/repeat business aspect of it is really lacking. That hasn't been a problem until recently with new competitor SCVNGR.
SCVNGR is a company that currently has 2 apps, SCVNGR and LevelUp. The namesake is the most similar to Foursquare. You can find local places and check in to alert your friends. However, where SCVNGR tops Foursquare is its rewards system. With Foursquare, you can only get a deal if you are the Mayor of a certain location. SCVNGR is different because you can earn points every time you visit towards discounts. It's a game within a game that makes it interesting.
LevelUp is similar in that they reward for repeat business. For example, if you spend $50 at one restaurant over a period of time then you will receive $5 off your next order. Not just that but LevelUp is also on the cutting edge of mobile credit cards. Simply enter your card details and all you have to do is flash your personal QR code at the counter and the transaction is complete. Plus, almost every place has an extra discount for your first visit ($1-2 off).
Rest assured there are many, many more competitors that we don't even know about. On Friday, we went to Ducali Pizzeria on a friend's recommendation. When we walked in there was a sticker in the window showing that they did LevelUp. Sweet, I thought, I can get a couple bucks off our meal. But wait, there was another sign hanging up for an app called Scout Mob. I downloaded it to see what it was about and amazingly they were offering 50% off! It's still getting up and running in Boston -- there are only about 8 restaurants registered -- but with discounts that severe there is no reason not to take advantage.
SCVNGR is a company that currently has 2 apps, SCVNGR and LevelUp. The namesake is the most similar to Foursquare. You can find local places and check in to alert your friends. However, where SCVNGR tops Foursquare is its rewards system. With Foursquare, you can only get a deal if you are the Mayor of a certain location. SCVNGR is different because you can earn points every time you visit towards discounts. It's a game within a game that makes it interesting.
LevelUp is similar in that they reward for repeat business. For example, if you spend $50 at one restaurant over a period of time then you will receive $5 off your next order. Not just that but LevelUp is also on the cutting edge of mobile credit cards. Simply enter your card details and all you have to do is flash your personal QR code at the counter and the transaction is complete. Plus, almost every place has an extra discount for your first visit ($1-2 off).
Rest assured there are many, many more competitors that we don't even know about. On Friday, we went to Ducali Pizzeria on a friend's recommendation. When we walked in there was a sticker in the window showing that they did LevelUp. Sweet, I thought, I can get a couple bucks off our meal. But wait, there was another sign hanging up for an app called Scout Mob. I downloaded it to see what it was about and amazingly they were offering 50% off! It's still getting up and running in Boston -- there are only about 8 restaurants registered -- but with discounts that severe there is no reason not to take advantage.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
I'm nobody! Who are you?
As some of you may know I named this blog after an Emily Dickinson poem. I thought it fit perfectly with the whole narcissistic concept of blogging. My thoughts, my views, my words.
By now you have probably noticed I changed the background layout to something a little more interesting than the cut-and-paste one from before. While fooling around with it for way longer than I will admit to I began to think back to what it was I originally wanted to do with this blog... which brings me back to Dickinson. I wanted to use this as a platform to share some engaging words or lyrics from time to time that I found contemplative or thought-provoking.
I figure there's no better place to start than the "Favorite Quote" I've had on my Facebook page since 2004.
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Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around—nobody big, I mean—except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.
J.D. Salinger
By now you have probably noticed I changed the background layout to something a little more interesting than the cut-and-paste one from before. While fooling around with it for way longer than I will admit to I began to think back to what it was I originally wanted to do with this blog... which brings me back to Dickinson. I wanted to use this as a platform to share some engaging words or lyrics from time to time that I found contemplative or thought-provoking.
I figure there's no better place to start than the "Favorite Quote" I've had on my Facebook page since 2004.
---------------
Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around—nobody big, I mean—except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.
J.D. Salinger
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