I know I won't be popular for this comment but I'm not trying to win a popularity contest.  Certainly the disaster that hit Japan is devastating and many lives were lost unfortunately.  They face a huge task of rebuilding, just like most cities and countries face after a natural disaster.  Americans are being asked to help Japan via donations.  To that, I say we are through our tax dollars that the President has committed to assist Japan with.  For me, giving more out of my pocket is not an option.

JD and I went to William Jewell College yesterday to watch their baseball team play.  It was a nice day to do so and we enjoyed the company of another baseball dad and his son.  Jewell is transitioning to NCAA Division 2 next year and they are in the process of upgrading their athletic facilities.

I picked up a new fish for my reef tank yesterday.  It is a Magnificent Foxface and it has three spines on it's dorsal fin that are poisonous.  The local saltwater fish store has had it for about a month and I really wanted it but was waiting to see if the price would drop on it.  Well, yesterday they marked it down by 50% and I took it home.  Here's a pic.

 

A Pei Wei restaurant chain was raided in Arizona by Sheriff Joe and his deputies, armed with 121 warrants for the arrest of illegals who had committed I.D. theft to gain employment.  The raid effectively shut down 4 locations of the restaurant chain, forcing the company to take out a full page ad to announce they were hiring.  Now, since these are jobs Americans won't do, obviously no one showed up to take advantage of these jobs, right?  WRONG!!!  Throngs of American citizens waited hours to apply and be interviewed with many being hired right on the spot.  Many had college degrees and one had an MBA and just needed a job!  Meanwhile, supporters of illegal immigrants complained that the sheriff's office shouldn't be going after people who aren't hurting anybody.  Really?  I.D. theft doesn't hurt anybody huh?   You can't fix stupid, can you?

Happy Profit Sharing Day!

A couple weeks ago, Ford CEO, Alan Mulally came to our plant to congratulate the workforce on our performance in regard to our production efficiency and our quality.  He came up to me on the plant floor and we talked for a minute or two before he moved on.  When I told him I had moved to KC from St. Louis, he shared a story with me about how he and some friends saw Ike and Tina Turner perform down on Gaslight Square.  He was very personable and it's easy to see why he is well liked.  You can click on the picture for a larger view of my "meet and greet".

High school baseball games start two weeks from today.  It's been a long winter for us baseball fanatics and I'm ready to start spending my afternoons and evenings at games.  Based on the schedule for both Spring and Summer baseball, I figure I'll be at over 75 games this year.  That's almost half of a MLB schedule.



Tryouts have officially ended and JD is "officially" on the Varsity baseball team.  JD was disappointed to see some friends get cut but is also excited for baseball games to start.  He came home with three brand new jerseys, a couple jackets and some other uniform items.  The uniforms are very sharp and the players will wear them with pride this season.  JD will take the hill for the first time as an Eagle on 3/21/11 against Raytown South, weather permitting. 



 

Opening Day News

Tryouts aren't even over yet and JD has been named the opening day starting pitcher.  Since it's a new school and a new program, it's going to be pretty special for him to be the first pitcher to ever take the mound for his high school.  There will be many first's that day that he will remember for the rest of his life.  Dad and Mom are extremely proud of his hard work to get to where he is today. 

JD set a new personal best for himself on Monday when he lit up the radar gun at 87 mph during his bullpen session at his high school tryouts.  The workouts and strength training have added 10 lbs of muscle to his frame and he's showing some very good improvement.  His fastball has a lot of life to it and the coaches appear to be very impressed with his curve ball. 

I went and bought new metal halide bulbs for my reef tank last night as I have a coral shipment arriving Thursday.  The corals are all high end (i.e. expensive) Zoanthids.  I started a growout group of 13 local reefers and we each will take one coral and grow it out until a time in which we frag it and give pieces to the others in the group.  Over time, we will all have a coral of each variety we ordered. 

On April 2nd, my fireworks group will be having a get together in Smithville.  We intend to build some racks and then have a small shoot at my friends property.  Our big shoot will be this fall and it may be associated with a non-profit organization's fundraiser.