Two days after my previous post, the owners of the Washington Nationals all but admitted the 2018 season is lost.  They did so by trading away two of their more prolific players, Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams.

It’s weird how things work.  There is this thing called “revocable waivers,” which means a player placed on this list can be obtained by another team, but the owning team has three options:

1. Work out a trade deal with the claiming team.
2. Pull the player back off waivers (thereby revoking it).
3. Do nothing, and let the player negotiate a contract with the claiming team.

In this case, they let Murphy and Adams go by negotiating with the claiming teams. The Chicago Cubs took Murphy in exchange for cash and a minor league player, and the St. Louis Cardinals took Adams for “cash considerations.”

Pulling a layer back off the baseball “onion,” this is all business. Both Murphy and Adams would have been free agents after the end of the season.  This frees up money the Nationals can use for next year.

It also signals surrender.  The Nationals have now given up hope of a 2018 postseason, and are looking toward next year.

My apologies, but I’m in somewhat of an “I told you so” mood, and since this is my place to spout and spew, I’m gonna do just that.  And what do I want to spout and spew about?  The Washington Nationals baseball team.

I’ve been a baseball fan since I was a kid. I remember sitting out on our screened-in porch, in the dark, with my dad, listening to Washington Senators games on a transistor radio. Every so often we’d go to a game at Griffith Stadium, where I’d watch Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Gil Hodges, Camilo Pascual, Eddie Brinkman, and others. I still remember the saying, “Washington: First in war, first in peace, last in the American League!”

Washington, D.C. lost the Senators not once, but twice. The current Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins began their existence in Washington. For years, D.C. had no professional (or even minor league) baseball, and many locals adopted the nearby Baltimore Orioles. Not I, however. I want baseball that’s a “home team.”

In 2005, the Lerner family, wealthy from their real estate works, brought the Montreal Expos to D.C. It was a rocky start, and for the first few years, it wasn’t certain if this was going to be a D.C. team or a transplanted Canadian team. Some people latched on quickly, and when the Nationals drafted University of Virginia’s Ryan Zimmerman, things began to look up.

This isn’t supposed to be a history lesson. The above is simply background. The recent history is that the Nationals developed into one of the game’s top teams. They won their division (NL East) twice. And lost the league title twice by one run in game five. They were on the brink.

So, now this is a eulogy. There are 37 games left to play in the 2018 regular season. The Nats are 62-63, and have been hovering around the .500 mark since about July 3, when they hit 42-42.

Statistically, they could still make the playoffs.  Yeah, and there’s a statistical chance that I could be elected Pope.

Today (August 19, 2018) the Nationals got drubbed by the last place Miami Marlins, 12-1. This, on the heels of a tenth inning loss to the same Marlins the night before.  To say the Nationals are foundering is to say the Titanic has sprung a leak.

Prior to the season opener, many in the media were crowning the Nats the obvious World Series Champs (Sports Illustrated cover jinx, anyone?).  These same prognosticating experts should be eating their words.  They won’t, of course.

Technically, I think part of the problem is that opposing teams got better in the off-season and the Nationals didn’t keep pace.  There was a pleasant surprise in the activation of rookie Juan Soto, but he’s been the bright spot in a year otherwise marked by injury and less-than-stellar play.

That a team which can boast as much talent as the Nationals can be a mediocre .500 speaks volumes about sports, human nature and relying on predictions.

I just returned from my first-ever trip to Central America (okay, I’m ignoring the several trips I’ve taken to Mexico). Costa Rica, to be precise.  A wonderful trip with a Road Scholar group, which made it “extra” compared to the “beach and bistro” vacations taken by many.

Road Scholar trips are vacation tours with an educational “wrapper.”  The trips include lectures and activities that are geared to enhancing one’s knowledge of an area, history, culture, people and more. All transportation, lodging, meals and tips are included.

There were lectures on Costa Rica’s history, biological corridors, chocolate, insects and bats, Quaker settlers, butterflies, coffee and more.  Many of these lectures were performed while touring.

Costa Rica’s major exports are pineapples and bananas, but their coffee is right up there with the world’s best!

Did somebody say pineapples?  A visit to a pineapple plantation yielded lots of information, not to mention tasty bites and drinks.  Take-away:  Pineapples are picked ripe and cooled to 45° immediately, where they will stay fresh for up to 40 days.  Pineapples in your grocery are already fresh — no need to poke, punch, pull or tilt.

Costa Rica is one of the densest bio-diverse areas on earth.  It’s a haven for researchers and scientists.

I attended a fascinating lecture and demonstration on insects and bats.  A side trip to a hummingbird sanctuary was included.

I’m still reviewing photographs, so I may post a follow-up to this article.  But for now, Road Scholar has gone five-for-five in my satisfaction rating!

It’s been nearly four months since my last post, so I felt like I needed to freshen the place up. Searching for a topic, I thought I’d mention my latest acquisition, a new guitar by G&L.

Some background: After Leo Fender sold his eponymous company to CBS in 1965, he spent some time designing and producing guitars for Music Man and then with partners George Fullerton and Dale Hyatt, founded G&L Musical Instruments. The name stands for George and Leo (not sure what happened to Dale). So, in the truest sense, a G&L guitar is a Fender!

I’ve read many good reviews of G&L guitars but never had the inclination to buy one. There are no shops near my home where I can go try one, so they have always remained in the periphery of my guitar world.

Until recently. Musician’s Friend, one of the online stores I visit, has a “Stupid Deal of the Day” offering, and I’ve purchased a few items that way. One day, they were offering this G&L Tribute Legacy in a color called “Irish Ale” at a price that was too low to resist. So, thanks to a tax refund, I pulled the trigger.

What intrigued me about this guitar besides the color, were the specs. The body is made of Nyato(h) a wood according to the wood database, is common to “India through Southeast Asia to the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Western Pacific Islands.” The neck is maple, but the fingerboard is Brazilian Cherry (not rosewood, which is now on the CITES endangered list). I’ve preferred maple fingerboards, but I thought I’d see how this compares.

Now, let’s be fair. My “other” red guitar is a Fender Custom Shop Robin Trower Signature Stratocaster that costs ten times as much. At this point, the Fender plays better, but I have to admit, the G&L sounds sweet, and I am sure I’ll really enjoy playing it after it gets some proper set up,

My new fascination is with hats.  Fedoras, Pork Pies, Trilbys — not with caps, which so many men are wearing these days.

Facing the weather and the fact that my always thin hair has become terribly fly-away, I’ve decided to upgrade my image by donning headwear that will not only keep my hair in place (unlike a baseball cap), but will add a sense of fashion.

To date, I have a small collection of hats. I tend to favor the smaller brims (Trilbys, Pork Pies), but I purchased a 1960s Mallory Eagle that is the best fitting and stylish hat of the bunch.

I have on order a rabbit fur Sterkowski fedora. It’s coming from Poland and is due to hit my address any day now. I’ll post more when it arrives.

For now, I have a Loden Green and an Oxblood by Bailey’s of Hollywood, which round out the collection. For now.

I have grown increasingly disappointed and frustrated with the management of the condominium association where I live.  To the point where I started looking for a new home.

Okay, there’s more to it than just that: my growing guitar collection and desire to have somewhat of a photo studio have made me realize I’ve outgrown my digs.

So, I started looking. And I found some places that were “acceptable.” The real estate market around here is such that no sooner does a property go on sale, someone snaps it up. I had several such experiences.

I guess that made me anxious and willing to settle for less. Which led me to almost buying a home that failed the home inspection. But, as both my realtor and God know better than I what’s best for me, I finally landed on the “right” home!

The previous owner (a bit anti-social, according to the neighbors) apparently worked in the security field, and so the home came equipped with a security camera system (active) and a home security system (inactive). It also comes with an Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), commonly known as a charging station.

Which leads me to research and probably buy a small electric car, for local errand running and tooling about.

https://fredpuhan.smugmug.com/Random-Shots/Smart-fortwo-electric/Smart/i-qCnWVLD/A

https://fredpuhan.smugmug.com/Random-Shots/Smart-fortwo-electric/Smart/i-pzJc3zb/A

https://fredpuhan.smugmug.com/Random-Shots/Smart-fortwo-electric/Smart/i-82t6fT9/A

(The above photos are not of the car I’m likely to buy. I saw this in the lot of a dealer and just shot photos of it).

Sunday is moving day!  I’m both dreading it (a lot of work + expense) and anticipating it!

 

 

Hello!

I first built the Music For A New Age web site in 1995.  At one time, it was the number one Google hit when “New Age Music” was the search criteria.

That was then, this is now.

I’ve let the site go catatonic, having found work, life and technology take priority.  So, I thought maybe it’s time to get modern.  With the latest and greatest software, I chose to turn my “first generation portal” into something a little more interactive. And personal.

The title of this blog comes from two of my primary interests: Running and politics.  I’ve been a runner for decades, and although I can tell my days of distance running are numbered, I still have a love for the activity, and hope to be running into my declining years. My interest in politics goes back to my childhood, growing up in a government service family, and my undergraduate studies in international relations.  I confess, that the current state of politics – American politics in particular – distresses me.  I think we’ve come so far from what the original framers intended that they wouldn’t recognize the country they birthed.  And many died to preserve.

So, I’ll be writing about things that interest me.  I have no intention of running for office; I served six years as a volunteer in a state-mandated organization and feel I’ve done my part for public service.  From here on in, I’ll be an observer, running FROM office!