It's Getting Crowded

Diesel in Maine in 2007:



Diesel in Maine in 2008:


Diesel in Maine in 2009:


Diesel in Maine in 2010:


Diesel in Maine in 2011:

Why Does This Keep Happening?

In a few days Casey Anthony will be released from prison, serving three years for lying to police, but literally getting away with murder – the murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.
This is quite probably the biggest miscarriage of justice since the OJ (I think it’s worse). So the big question is, what is wrong with our legal system? Why does this keep happening?



The culprit I’m angriest about is the idiotic juries. In order to be a juror on a huge case like this, that got so much media attention before the trial started, you basically have to be an idiot. I can’t imagine anyone with a curious mind, capable of deductive reasoning, meeting the standards (the incredibly low standards) required to serve on a jury in a case of such significance. These people tend to be simple-minded, and in this case and the OJ case they fell for far-fetched implausible narratives fed to them by the prosecution.
These same idiot jurors I feel have taken the meaning of the phrase “beyond a reasonable doubt” way too literally. Yes you can have doubts, in a situation of this magnitude, a young woman’s life is at stake, the decision-maker should always have doubts, it’s our minds’ way of making sure we make the correct decision. But are those doubts reasonable? What if they said aliens came down and abducted Caylee and dropped her in the woods 6 months later, then showed tiny footprints and crop circles in the area? Would that be a reasonable doubt? No of course not. But it seems to me these cases have become about keeping score, if the defense can get 2 points on the board, it doesn’t matter if the prosecution wins 98-2, they have to have a perfect shutout. The way I thought about it when I was on a jury was this: is there any reasonable doubt that the prosecution’s version of events is not true? Did the defense team’s evidence and testimony give you a substantial reason to think the events could have unfolded differently? If this jury had applied those standards I think they would have come back with a guilty verdict, or at least a hung jury. Remember, similar to the OJ trial, several of them said they were pretty sure she was involved somehow, but said the prosecution didn’t prove its case. Again, it’s a scorecard, not a right or wrong, fact or fiction, innocent or guilty.



The blessing and curse of DNA evidence. There is no doubt modern technology aids us in almost every aspect of human life. But in some cases it becomes a crutch. Facebook, twitter, bbm, this blog. I haven’t spoken to a human being in years. I rely on the technology. And such is the case with DNA evidence. I am sure DNA evidence has cleared many innocent people, and save many more from wrongful convictions, but in this case it got Casey Anthony off the hook. Basically, the new standard has become, if you can’t tie the accused to the murder scene with DNA, you can’t get a murder conviction. This is why many experts say the prosecution overreached in its charges, a legal stratagem I don’t feel equipped to discuss.
But I think that’s intellectually lazy on the part of these jurors (whom I doubt are all that smart to begin with). Casey (or the “real killer”) was obviously very careful to not leave any evidence, and in the most important aspect of the entire case, the body was hidden so well, it was not discovered for 6 months at which time the autopsy was of little help. Though it did initially say the cause of death was homicide, it was unable to come up with a definitive cause of death to the satisfaction of the jurors. During this intervening 6 months, any trace of a heart-shaped sticker (if there ever was one) wore off the duct tape, eliminating a potential smoking gun.
When I was on a jury (again I am basing a lot of my feelings about these idiots on my own experiences) the judge told us our job as a jury was to listen to conflicting accounts of the same events and to decide which person was telling the truth. It seems these jurors heard differing accounts, and punted. They chose not to believe either person, and just pointed at the lack of DNA evidence as a failure by the prosecution to score enough points.
For instance, Cindy Anthony says she was the one who Googled “chloroform” on the family’s home computer. The prosecution introduced evidence showing Cindy was at work when those searches were conducted. Instead of throwing out Cindy’s testimony has that of a desperate woman trying to save her daughter, they seemed to just ignore the obvious: Casey googled it, then used it to kill her daughter.
And then there is the smell of the car. Before there was even a case, there was the car. The mother, the brother and I think even a clerk at the impound yard, all said it smelled like a dead body. Even some cockamamie test the prosecution ran out there said the odor was consistent with that of a decomposing body. But because no hair fiber, or other DNA was ever found in the trunk, the jurors ignored this evidence too. This to me is one of the bigger pieces of evidence in the case. This convinces me there was a dead body in the car. How else could all these people (in their honest moments, before lying to protect Casey) say the trunk smelled like a dead body, scientific testing say there was a dead body and there have been no dead body? What the hell else was it? Did Casey hit a deer and put it in the trunk? Did she park it at the same valet Jerry used during the B.B.O. episode? Does that sound “reasonable” to you?
The other big mystery in this case was how did the body of Caylee end up tied up in the woods if she simply drowned in the family pool? The defense blamed George Anthony (World War II was his fault also according to Jose Baez) and the prosecution never really challenged it. And if she drowned and they were going to dispose of the body, why did they put duct tape on her mouth? Again these were complete lies thrown out there by the defense, unchallenged by the prosecution which obviously felt it didn’t need to disprove the outrageous lies of Casey’s lawyers, it only needed to bolster its own case.
There is no overall presentation score in a murder case. I have often complained about boxing and MMA scoring when the officials’ decision does not match up with what every spectator can plainly see with his or her own eyes. Similar to the legal system, in boxing the judges are asked to score each round separately, and add those up for a winner. Using the 10 point-must system not all 10-9 rounds are equal. So sometimes you can have a guy lose the majority of the rounds close, and dominate those he wins, but by the numbers, he comes up short.
That’s sort of what happened here, thanks to everything I mentioned above. The defense scored enough points, and the prosecution had enough holes in its case. But if you had to choose one story which of these would you believe (oversimplified for your reading pleasure):
A young woman who had an unplanned pregnancy (likely the result of a one-night stand with a now deceased man) at age 19, was desperate to move out of her parents’ home (likely a dysfunctional one) so she killed her two-year old daughter. She researched chloroform and neck-breaking on her computer then used what she learned to kill her daughter. She stashed the body in the trunk of her car. And when the smell got too great she dumped the body in the woods. She was very careful in plotting this crime – thus the lack of DNA evidence, but also the DA’s desire to get her for Murder 1, the premeditation of the crime – and left no smoking gun evidence of her crime. During the next month she moved in with at least two boyfriends, went out partying with friends, including the now infamous hot bodies contest. She even got a tattoo – Bella Vita – Italian for “beautiful life.” She also wrote in her journal of things being better this way.



Or
A loving mother who lives with her parents is so distraught by a terrible accident – her daughter drowning in a pool – that she goes out and does all those above activities to hide her guilt. She does this at the behest of her father who had been molesting her (and possibly forcing her to have sex with her brother) for years. This same father was the one who left the backdoor open and the ladder by the pool and he was the one who suggested the whole cover-up plan because he felt guilty. And even though he denied all this you can’t believe him because he is a suicidal adulterer.
Which one do you believe? And do you believe it beyond a reasonable doubt? Could you send a woman to likely death based on your belief?
I could, these jurors couldn’t which to me means Pascal’s Wager is probably the biggest reason for a not guilty verdict.
The jurors did what came at little cost to them. Maybe they were 90% sure, 95% or even 99% percent sure Casey did it, or was involved somehow. But they figured if they let her go, she’d probably never do anything like this again, meaning an acquittal comes with very little cost. Maybe a little guilt for letting her get away with murder, maybe the fear that someday she would kill again and you set a murderer loose, but that’s unlikely. But looking at it the other way, that small chance that they sent an innocent woman to Death Row (and not the really awesome record label) would have probably kept them up at night. So they took the easy way out. They let Casey Anthony get away with murder.

That Would Be a Record

A major cable news network screws up the announcement of Derek Jeter's 3000th hit. It came via home run which must have confused the idiots who work there, who are such humorless tightasses not one of them knew enough about baseball to know this was incorrect. Or maybe it was just your average Yankees fan.

Song of the Week

"I Can See Clearly Now" - Johnny Nash
One of the most positive uplifting songs ever.

"Here is the rainbow I've been praying for."

OJ's Legacy

It has been more than 20 years since the release of the first Naked Gun movie and I would have to say, for the most part, the movie holds up.
With one minor exception -- OJ Simpson.
But I can't decide whether his presence actually makes the movies better and funnier on repeated viewings, for instance, him creeping around in a black knit cap



or does it make them worse because him being a murder now dominates discussion of the movies. And you are so angry about his acquittal you wish his nuts really would get bitten off by a Laplander.

Did Josh Hamilton Kill A Man?

One of the saddest things I have ever seen at a baseball game occurred during yesterday's Rangers-A's game.
After a foul ball was hit down the left field line, Josh Hamilton tossed the ball up into the stands.
39-year-old Shannon Stone reached for the ball and fell over the railing.



He landed headfirst on the concrete below after a 20-foot fall and died before he even got to the hospital.
If this could get even worse, Stone was at the game with his 6-year-old son. Presumably the little guy with the glove and red shirt and red hat you see in the video.

What Do You Give Me For? Jake Shields & John Hensley

What do you give me for UFC welterweight Jake Shields and John Hensley, better known as Matt McNamara from Nip/Tuck?

Seven Years Squared

Happy 7th birthday to the much-maligned but also much-loved Diesel.
He is far from the perfect dog, but he is perfect for us.
Through him I have become a lover of all animals and a much more compassionate loving person. I regret that we no longer have the long walks we had before the kids intervened but to me there are few things more special than when it's just me and him loping along side by side.

Song of the Week

"Collard Greens and Cornbread" - Fantasia
I love cornbread. I love Fantasia. I love songs that sample "Your Precious Love." When she sang this on Idol we scanned through it and didn't even pay attention. So now I'm making up for it.

Does the New York Times Hate the Fourth of July?

The Obama Re-Election leaflet once known as the New York Times published a stunning op-ed this week. It was written by Brian Palmer and it questions many of the most sacred traditions of July 4th. It literally goes after apple pie.
In "Fire Up the Grill, Not The Atmosphere" Palmer says cooking is a big culprit of greenhouse gas emissions.

Here's Palmers take on three July Fourth barbecue staples:

Hamburgers and hot dogs: Beef is an environmental disaster, no matter how you cook it

Potato salad: sometimes appetizing but always wasteful. An overwhelming majority of the energy in boiling goes into heating the water rather than cooking the potatoes.
Direct-heat methods are more efficient and usually tastier. Cubed and pan-fried potatoes take just 10 minutes to cook and require less than one-third the energy of boiling.

Apple pie: Skip the pie. Baking is so energy profligate...

Is there anything more American than apple pie? Is there anything less American than saying skip the pie?

Basically this all comes do to your perception of the author's intent. Palmer does offer several disclaimers about not wanting everyone to give up meat, or use the microwave, which is the most energy-efficient. But I doubt his sincerity. To me, this doesn't come off as "tips to have a greener barbecue" it comes off as a lecture on what we are doing wrong and why we as Americans are gluttonous pigs who are ruining the environment and getting obese all at the same time.


Moving on, the July 3rd issue of the New York Times featured a front page story about how states are incrasingly allowing the sale of fireworks because of the revenue it brings in. New York, Massachusetts, Delaware and New Jersey are the last four holdouts. Residents of those states travel across state lines to purchase fireworks.

The article was accompanied by a picture of a New Jersey resident, Reggie Noble, loading up on fireworks in Easton, Pennsylvania.



“My father took me to buy fireworks, and now I’m doing it for my kids,” said Reggie Noble, who was filling his cart with fireworks at the Phantom Fireworks in Easton one day this week. Mr. Noble, 41, who is better known as the rap artist Redman, said it did not make much sense that he cannot buy fireworks in New Jersey, where he lives.

“I can see the dangers they are trying to prevent, but it’s still happening,” he said. “I vote that they should lift it up.”

Cars 2 Review

Chase's review of Cars 2:
"There were a lot of bad guys. And they shooted at the racecars. And they crashed. And the ambulance had to come fix them."

My review of Cars 2:
Chase is right. There were a lot of bad guys in this movie. Unlike the first one which had a cute plot with no antagonists, this one wasn't as good. It played out like a bad spy movie.
Mater was mistaken for a spy. And by the time everyone figured out what was going on it was too late, Mater had to act like a spy. There were car chases (of course), there was shooting and there were ridiculous plot leaps that made no sense, just to keep the action going.
That said, I liked the movie, it was cute, it was fun and there were enough jokes designed to keep the adults interested, that went right over the kids' heads, like Mater on a bidet.
There was also the hidden environmental agenda storyline targeting the parents.
The whole idea of the World Grand Prix was started by a billionaire who had discovered a new clean fuel which would eliminate the need for oil. But he turned out to be an evil oil baron who was sabotaging the racecars so the world would reject clean fuel forever.

But the important thing was Chase liked it, though he did get a little bored in the middle. He loved the car racing scenes, they were loud (at one point he covered his ears), colorful and he knew a lot of the racecars because we bought him the toys before the movie. I think it would have been good in 3-D (though we thought we should ease into that) because the cars drove towards the front of the screen, there was water splashing and guns firing.



Chase also loved the experience. He loved the popcorn. He loved the cushy seat. He loved the big screen. Hopefully he will always remember his first movie.

Baseball is Poop - We're Halfway There

Most teams have played between 80 and 82 games so it's time for me to be lazy and mathematically unsound and simply double players' stats to get their projections over a full season.
I'll also be giving out mid-season awards, since Master Bates and I have been debating it recently.

Yankee Stadium is a Joke
They really need to move back the right field wall in Yankee Stadium this offseason. The new ballpark is an embarrassment. If they haven't done so already the sabremetricians need to come up with separate ballpark adjustments to gauge the impact of this bandbox has on left-handed hitters. Mark Teixeira has 25 (16 home, but I couldn't find his lefty/righty split at Yankee Stadium specifically), Curtis Granderson 21 (12 home). I guess those splits aren't incredibly out-of-whack but Tex is not even having a good season. and he's still on pace to hit 50.

Joey Bats
Jose Bautista has really slowed down. His OPS is down to only 1147. Yes, I said only facetiously. No he couldn't have kept up a 1300 pace but 1100 is usually good enough to lead the majors. Good things RBI is an overrated statistic, he's on pace to barely reach 100.

A Change of Scenery Did Him Good
Adrian Gonzalez is enjoying his trip from the outhouse to the penthouse. He is putting up sick numbers roughly .350/.400/.600 in the slash numbers. He's 9 homers behind Teixeira but if he hits 30 homers, drives in 140 and hits even .330, that would be an incredible season -- for the traditional stats.

Triple Your Pleasure
Jose Reyes is almost a lock to break the modern-day (post-war) record for triples in a season. Curtis Granderson hit 23 in 2007, and Reyes already has 15 at the halfway mark.

Let's Check the Pitchers
Right now we have three guys with 11 wins, who could easily get to 20: Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia and Jair Jurrjens. At 10 you have Jon Lester, but also Roy Halladay and Kevin Correia. It's also amazing that at this point in the season you still have two starters with sub-2 ERAs, Jered Weaver and Jurrjens.

And the Closers
It is simply amazing that Mariano Rivera is still closing games (on pace for 42 save, slightly more than his age) at this stage in his career, with a 1.69 ERA. The other among the leaders in saves do surprise me though. You've got Joel Hanrahan, Craig Kimbrel, Brandon League and Serigo Santos all on pace for at least 35.

Now onto the Awards
NL MVP: Prince Fielder
Matt Kemp might be having the best season statistically in the NL, but his team stinks so he's out. Jose Reyes is carrying the Mets right now, he is always on base and he is the catalyst for a surprisingly good offense (4th in the NL in runs scored). I just don't think a leadoff hitter can quite measure up to a slugging middle of the order guy. Especially when the slugger is on base more frequently than the leadoff hitter. The other mitigating factor for Reyes might be that Ryan Braun, is nearly as good as Fielder. Still, I would go with Prince.

AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez
You can't really make an argument for anyone else. Bautista, Miguel Cabrera and Paul Konerko are all having good seasons, but no one is pounding the ball the way Gonzalez is or producing runs the way he is.

NL Cy Young: Jair Jurrjens
I obviously love the fact that Halladay has 5 complete games, and Cliff Lee has 4 shuouts, compared to Jurrjens's 2 and 1, but if a guy has half a run lead in ERA and is still not the Cy Young, what the hell would he have to do. That said, there is a strong possibility Jurrjens will fall off in the second half. His BABIP is .257, compared to a more normal .303 for Halladay. And his FIP is 3.07 compared to 2.40 for Halladay and 2.55 for Lee. That tells me Jurrjens is getting the benefit of good fielding and balls hit right at his fielders. Some of that is skill, but some of that is luck as well, very often fleeting.

AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander
This is very close between Verlander and Jered Weaver. Weaver is better in ERA (1.97 to 2.32) but everything else is very close. Weaver has 3 CG and 2 SHO, Verlander has 4 and 2. Walks are almost identical, Verlander has more strikeouts. My perception of how they are doing tilts it to Verlander. Weaver started off incredibly well, then lost 4 starts in a row. Verlander has had a no-hitter, a near no-hitter and some other dominating performances. One note: Verlander has a .222 BABIP. And he strikes out of a ton of guys. So even when they are making contact, it's not going for hits. Let's see if that keeps up.

Two Celebrities, One Block

I saw Bobby Ojeda parking his car at the same garage I use. At first I thought it was Paul Reiser. But then the parking attendant called him Bobby. He was talking to the attendant when I started to drive, and I almost hit him because he started walking without looking.

Then, when I drove around the corner I saw a very tall man getting into a taxi. A taxi stopped at a red light in a center lane, not the far left lane. That is an unadvisable practice. But I guess no one is going run over former Knick great and U.S. Senator, Bill Bradley.

Song of the Week

"Love You Like I Did" - 112
Still one of my favorite groups ever. This one never got released as a single and it was one of the rare songs Slim didn't sing lead. I believe this is Daron.

Julian is Going to Have a Low Daytime Batting Average

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton was asked the explain the wide disparity between his performance during the day (399 OPS) and at night (1070 OPS). Basically he is Mickey Mantle at night, and Mickey Mouse when the sun is out.
And that may be the reason. Hamilton says because he has blue eyes, he has a harder time seeing during the day.



Of course a few other ballplayers with blue eyes backed him up, including Jason Bay who is actually doing better during the day (695 vs. 590 at night). But ESPN actually found an optometrist to back him up:

Dr. Richard L. Ison says, "Because of the lack of pigment in lighter color eyes -- like blue or green eyes as opposed to brown -- you get a lot more unwanted light and that can create glare problems".
Ison said the phenomenon is called intraocular light scatter, meaning the light scatters as it enters, producing a focal point that isn't as good.

For his career, Hamilton has a 723 OPS during the day and 977 at night. Now I suppose there are other reasons that could explain this though we don't think he is out at night boozing and chasing skirts like he used to be. So if it's not lack of sleep, it could be randomness, some guys just do better during the day, others do better at night. Or maybe there really is something to this eye thing.

If so we're going to have to get Julian to wear eye black at an early age.

Do Bumblebees Have Sex?

I think I saw two bumblebees fucking. They landed on a leaf on a bush where I was standing and they were not disturbed at all by my flash photography.




The internet says they do in fact mate, and they usually mate with the male hanging on to the queen's back.

Jennie Finch is Biting My Style

Jennie Finch, the lovely softballer player, and her husband, minor league pitcher Casey Daigle welcomed a new baby into the world on June 19th.
Their first child is named Ace, fitting for two pitchers.



The new child, Diesel. Diesel Dean Daigle. And the little kid is pretty cute. Let's just hope he doesn't grow up to scream his head off every time a squirrel goes by.

Story suggested by BC

You Never Forget Your First Time

The first movie I ever saw in the theater was "E.T." I don't remember anything about the movie except that I fell asleep.
My second (presumably) movie in the theater was two years later. I saw "The Natural." I loved it, it's my favorite movie ever. I even remember specifics about the movie-going experience including the guy who said "I've seen Kingman hit some shots, but nothing like that."

My first baseball game was also in 1982. Mike Scott pitched, the Mets won. But I don't really remember it.
A couple years later I would have vivid recollections of games. I even remember having tickets in the middle of August, presumably around Mama Poop's birthday and being worried the 1985 players strike would like to the cancellation of the game.

Note: the strike only wiped out two games (they were rescheduled). I even remember Papa Poop remarking that we didn't miss anything because both of the postponed games would have been on Sportschannel which we didn't have at the time.

With Chase, while we had the opportunity (as opposed to my parents who had me third and had no choice but to drag me along to these things) I wanted to hold off these special experiences as long as possible, so he would remember them forever.

We have somehow convinced him that you have to be 5 to go to a baseball game. And I do intend to take him on his 5th birthday (or thereabouts) and get a picture of his face the first time he sees the green grass and all the seats at CitiField.

But as far as the movie thing goes, the dam has broken. Cars 2 is coming out on Friday, June 24th. And we are taking him on Sunday at noon. And leaving Julian with BC and LCC.

Chase has probably watched 100 movies in his life, Madagascar once, Evan Almighty once (he still grabs a stick and yells "get in the ark now") and Cars 98 times.

His favorite song is "Life is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts because it's in "Movie Cars" as Chase sometimes calls it.

Combine the fact that every character in "Cars" is a car, toy cars are so cheap ($5), we (and especially grandma) love to spoil him, the marketing geniuses at Disney are evil (we have a toy of Hank Haulsum who doesn't even have a speaking part in the first movie, he's just drinking motor oil at Flo's Cafe) and Chase is absolutely obsessed with the movie, we have so many toy cars our house looks like a miniature version of an athlete's garage on "Cribs."

We have 10 different Lightning McQueens ("why does Grandma always call him Steve?"), 6 different Cars that change color when you make them hot or cold, and 7 or 8 different Maters including a Dr. Mater and El Materdor.



Those last two come from "Mater's Tall Tales" which was a series of short films (4 to 6 minutes) they released during the 5 year break between movies. They were actually quite clever. Because they were only a few minutes long they got in a lot of funny jokes in a short time. One of our favorites was "Monster Truck Mater" where Mater and Lightning McQueen (Frightening McMean) become pro wrestlers and compete against the likes of I-Screamer (evil ice cream truck) and Patty O'Concrete (evil Irish cement mixer). We of course bought both of those villains. What else do you give a half-Irish boy on St. Patrick's Day if not Patty O'Concrete?

But the genius of the marketing people at Disney doesn't end with toys. The promotional tie-ins for this movie are incredible. Band-aids, Cheez-its (with a character imprinted on each cracker), macaroni and cheese (macaronis in the shape of Mater and McQueen), juice boxes, yogurt, tissues even a commercial for State Farm.



The plot of Cars 2 seems to revolve around McQueen going overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix (with stops in Italy, Japan and London). While in London, in addition to meeting The Queen and Prince Wheeliam, Mater gets mistaken for a spy.

I hope, for the sake of Mater's biggest fan, it is a movie experience he will never forget.

Song of the Week

"Hold Me (remix)" Brian McKnight featuring Kobe Bryant
Yes, that Kobe Bryant. This is a fantastic song and even Kobe's verse isn't bad.
If Billy and I shared one brain (I know, tough hypothetical to imagine) this would be one of our 5 favorite songs ever.

Chase's Underwhelming Reaction to Something I Thought Was Really Cool

I have met many celebrities in my career, most of them didn't even register with me as anything more than a smile and a good to meet you. There were a few I wanted to get a picture with (Uncle Mick Foley, Jonathan Duhamel and Jon Bones Jones).

But never have I been more insistent on meeting a celebrity, tried harder to do it, and had a more unusual request than when I recently met Larry the Cable Guy.

For those of you without children, please understand that LTCG (nee Daniel Whitney) is the voice of Mater in "Cars" and the forthcoming sequel "Cars 2."

Chase absolutely loves Mater and is so excited to see the new movie (I will elaborate in a future post) that I just had to get him to record a brief message on my blackberry.

I had all my minions following his every move throughout the building but my schedule and his just didn't work out and I thought I had missed him. As luck would have it I was walking right past where he was, so I waited around and much to the dismay of his PR person, I accosted him and he complied with my request.

He couldn't have been a nicer guy to everyone, not just me. And his message was pretty awesome, even though Chase didn't react with the amazement I expected.