When your faithful correspondent was a tyke one of the indications of moving from being a "baby" to being a "big boy" was the ability to tell time using an analog clock or watch. In those days there really was no such thing as an analog timepiece. A watch or a clock always hand the numerals 1 through 12 placed in a roughly circular fashion around the face and hand two or three hands to tell the hour, minute, and sometimes second of the day.
Telling time was a tricky thing for a kid; big hand, little hand, second hand were often confused. After all, an hour is bigger than a minute and a minute is bigger than a second, so the hour hand should be the longest hand (The second hand) the minute should be the middle length hand (the minute hand) and the shortest hand should be the second hand (the hour hand). But most kids got through it and learned that instinct, especially in measurement,was not always the best guide and that the resisting of instinct in favor of certain rules, whether man-made or God proclaimed, were, and are, the mark of a human.
This writer's first watch was awarded to him at the age of five. The watch was a Zorro watch. The face of the watch was black and the numerals and hands were white. Emblazoned just above the center of the face was the word "Zorro." Zorro was a popular children's television program starring Guy Williams at the time. And while yours, at the time of the receiving of the watch, was still a little shaky on the concept of time telling, he enjoyed wearing, winding and listening to the watch.
Upon graduation from high school, this writer was awarded a Gruen chronometer. which was a real prize. Four dials in one watch! It was used several times at the drag races to measure the speed of cars and was used in the Navy to estimate the distance of 5 inch guns being fired from nearby destroyers.
It was at this time that digital watches (first invented by Hughes Aircraft) became popular and it was assumed that the dreary display of numerals on an LED or LCD watch face would soon take over the the analog watch market. At first the digital watches were rather expensive, but new technology always starts out dear. The arguments for buying a digital watch were that the watches were more accurate than digital watches (whether spring driven or electric) and that they could (at least the LED watches) could be easily read in the dark.
At the time such watch companies as Timex (probably the maker of more watches than any other company in the world) and Seiko started tooling up to make digital watches and pretty much considered their analog watches as supply for a niche market. New companies such as Citizen and Casio popped up to make digital watches and seemed to fully expect that everyone would be walking around and telling time by looking at looking at their wrists and seeing LCD or LED numerals telling them that it was 12:35:54 instead of at an analog watch telling them that it was about twelve-thirty.
But guess what? The digital watch, as a wrist watch, pocket watch or even clock, lost out. Well, really it didn't lose out, but it took second place to the analog watch after a short period of supremacy. If one goes to a department store, jewelry store or watch store one will see that the vast majority of watches are of the analog type. Some of them are spring driven and others are electronically driven, but they have hands that point to numerals. Those digital watches that are offered are either very cheap (this writer has seen digital watches for as little as five dollars) or are specialty watches for sailors, runner or hikers. Or anal retentive geeks.
What happened to the great digital watch revolution? This writer posits that the reason is that digital watches are seen as cheap and that they are, in fact inhumanly ugly. Compare the the face of a Casio Yachtsman to a Movado or Rolex Submariner. Also, they represent nothing. They're displays are nothing more than bare numerals that really mean nothing outside the watch or clock. An analog watch, one the other hand, and in a sense, represents the rotation of the earth.
A wrist or pocket watch is a piece of jewelry as well as a time keeping device. The watch says something about the owner and most people are content to know the time of day within plus or minus five minutes and have no need to split seconds while they are driving to work.
This, to your faithful correspondent, shows the triumph of the common man. Despite the ubiquity of digital clocks in cars and on bank buildings, the average man and woman prefers an analog watch or clock to the geekness of digital display. It is a triumph of common sense over marketing, though one sees young people using the clocks on their cell phones instead of watches when one asks them the time of day despite the fact that they are wearing an analog wrist watch. But young people are foolish and are blinded by shiny things and one can only hope that they get some about time. Being within fifteen minutes of the correct time is good enough for most things.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Termites and termite fighters
Our Mussalman friends keep do a good job of keeping a bitch going and a good job of getting those who should know better consider their nonsense seriously:
Islamic fundamentalism promoted on websites at some Muslim schools in the UK, think tank finds - Telegraph
In the above article note that there are some UK officials who defend people who want to do nothing but bury the Union Jack under a pile of rubble.
British Muslims 'providing Taliban with electronic devices for roadside bombs' - Telegraph
One wonders if the British officials are looking for the British orcs who are cooperating with the Afghan orcs in trying to kill British soldiers and marines. Or are they bureaucrats afraid of hurting the feelings of the Islamic "disenfranchised" youth?
Meanwhile, there are several governmental agencies and politicians who are willing to take on the burrowing of the Islamic termite:
Man arrested who has possible tie to bin Laden | charges, authorities, taken, custody, immigration - News - OCRegister.com
Admittedly, the above arrest has more to do with an immigration violation than an attack on the traitorous nature and ramblings of one of our Islamic brothers, but it's a start on the right road.
Gates of Vienna: Viennese School Draws the Line at Schnitzel
Let's think a moment. Pretend for a moment that you want to make a living as a plumber. During your training in the program you are expected to learn how to install and repair toilets and sewage lines. You tell your instructor that you only want to repair sinks and bathtubs and that you find toilets disgusting. Do you think that you'd be receiving your journeyman's card anytime soon?
Gates of Vienna: Geert Wilders’ Speech in Rome
Wilders is one of the few Dutch and European politicians who seem to understand that Islam is a threat to the Western ethos, and he has been treated badly by the Quislings who run the EU. Recently he was barred entry into the U.K. because a Muslim member of the House of Lords pitched a bitch about a film that Wilders produced. Oddly enough, the film was made up of nothing much more than clips of Mohammedans making statements about the West and the Jews.
Sometimes it seems that all is lost, but occasionally there is cause for hope.
Islamic fundamentalism promoted on websites at some Muslim schools in the UK, think tank finds - Telegraph
In the above article note that there are some UK officials who defend people who want to do nothing but bury the Union Jack under a pile of rubble.
British Muslims 'providing Taliban with electronic devices for roadside bombs' - Telegraph
One wonders if the British officials are looking for the British orcs who are cooperating with the Afghan orcs in trying to kill British soldiers and marines. Or are they bureaucrats afraid of hurting the feelings of the Islamic "disenfranchised" youth?
Meanwhile, there are several governmental agencies and politicians who are willing to take on the burrowing of the Islamic termite:
Man arrested who has possible tie to bin Laden | charges, authorities, taken, custody, immigration - News - OCRegister.com
Admittedly, the above arrest has more to do with an immigration violation than an attack on the traitorous nature and ramblings of one of our Islamic brothers, but it's a start on the right road.
Gates of Vienna: Viennese School Draws the Line at Schnitzel
Let's think a moment. Pretend for a moment that you want to make a living as a plumber. During your training in the program you are expected to learn how to install and repair toilets and sewage lines. You tell your instructor that you only want to repair sinks and bathtubs and that you find toilets disgusting. Do you think that you'd be receiving your journeyman's card anytime soon?
Gates of Vienna: Geert Wilders’ Speech in Rome
Wilders is one of the few Dutch and European politicians who seem to understand that Islam is a threat to the Western ethos, and he has been treated badly by the Quislings who run the EU. Recently he was barred entry into the U.K. because a Muslim member of the House of Lords pitched a bitch about a film that Wilders produced. Oddly enough, the film was made up of nothing much more than clips of Mohammedans making statements about the West and the Jews.
Sometimes it seems that all is lost, but occasionally there is cause for hope.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Juicers Up!
Professional football season has thankfully come to an end. Some team won the Superbowl game and another team has won the Pro Bowl game and now those with any lick of sense, and appreciation for beauty, drama and athleticism, can concentrate on the upcoming baseball season without being accused of being premature in our pondering of how will our favorite team do during this year's campaign. The intelligent person knows many things and one of those is that in team sports Only Baseball Matters. All others are chaff mistaken for grain.
But, as usual, modern life and and science have inserted themselves into the sublimity of the Great Game. It was revealed this weekend that Alex Rodriguez (aka A-Rod) tested positive for the use of steroids during the 2003 season. There's really no surprise in this revelation for those of us who have watched the man over the years. He's shown himself to be hungry for money and for glory, going so far as to attempt to make himself the unofficial leader of the Yankees during his first year with the team.
Mr. Rodriguez, in reply to a query from Sports Illustrated concerning the matter replied that the writers should talk to the players' union about the matter and that he had nothing to say.
In other words, he had neither the courage and honesty to 'fess up and claim that he made a youthful mistake nor the brass to deny the findings of the test and call the charges damnable lies. He, in effect, ran to Mommy and hid behind her skirts. He sees the players' union as his protector instead of manning up, getting on the horse and riding it until he defeats it or falls off.
Now, admittedly, A-Rod is not the most popular members of the Yankees. Noo Yawkers have long known him to be a preening would-be usurper of the Black Adder type without the humor. A-Rod now joins the company of Clemens, Sosa, McGwire, Canseco, Bonds et al who have been proven or heavily suspected of being juicers and thus who's hard work and talent are suspect because the relied on better living through chemistry. And he, and they, have helped to besmirch the great game.
One finds one's self wishing for the days of good, honest cheating: cheating that risked instant detection such as throwing spitters, using corked bats, not touching base. The use of steroids is more underhanded than physically cheating and is thus to be more condemned.
This writer has no solution to the problem. The club owners, in their search to pad their bank accounts, are loathe to enforce the anti-steroid rules. The only thing that would make the owners pay attention to the rule would be if the club were heavily fined for steroid use by its team members as well as the players being fined and/or suspended. But the union covers for the players and greed drives the owners to the expense of the game.
The only thing that the fans can do is shun and mock the juicers and praise and support the clean players. Instead of talking about Roger Clemens' record we should look at the heroic performances of Curt Schilling, razz A-Rod and praise Garrett Anderson, forget McGwire and remember Ted Williams.
Despite what one would think, baseball is not the property of the MLB, the Steinbrenners, the McCourts or the Morenos. Baseball is, and always has been the people's game from the days when it developed from rounders. We may not be able to control the professional game, but we can influence it. We can demand that the game be played clean. Otherwise, if the owners and the dirty players prevail our game will turn into professional wrestling.
But, as usual, modern life and and science have inserted themselves into the sublimity of the Great Game. It was revealed this weekend that Alex Rodriguez (aka A-Rod) tested positive for the use of steroids during the 2003 season. There's really no surprise in this revelation for those of us who have watched the man over the years. He's shown himself to be hungry for money and for glory, going so far as to attempt to make himself the unofficial leader of the Yankees during his first year with the team.
Mr. Rodriguez, in reply to a query from Sports Illustrated concerning the matter replied that the writers should talk to the players' union about the matter and that he had nothing to say.
In other words, he had neither the courage and honesty to 'fess up and claim that he made a youthful mistake nor the brass to deny the findings of the test and call the charges damnable lies. He, in effect, ran to Mommy and hid behind her skirts. He sees the players' union as his protector instead of manning up, getting on the horse and riding it until he defeats it or falls off.
Now, admittedly, A-Rod is not the most popular members of the Yankees. Noo Yawkers have long known him to be a preening would-be usurper of the Black Adder type without the humor. A-Rod now joins the company of Clemens, Sosa, McGwire, Canseco, Bonds et al who have been proven or heavily suspected of being juicers and thus who's hard work and talent are suspect because the relied on better living through chemistry. And he, and they, have helped to besmirch the great game.
One finds one's self wishing for the days of good, honest cheating: cheating that risked instant detection such as throwing spitters, using corked bats, not touching base. The use of steroids is more underhanded than physically cheating and is thus to be more condemned.
This writer has no solution to the problem. The club owners, in their search to pad their bank accounts, are loathe to enforce the anti-steroid rules. The only thing that would make the owners pay attention to the rule would be if the club were heavily fined for steroid use by its team members as well as the players being fined and/or suspended. But the union covers for the players and greed drives the owners to the expense of the game.
The only thing that the fans can do is shun and mock the juicers and praise and support the clean players. Instead of talking about Roger Clemens' record we should look at the heroic performances of Curt Schilling, razz A-Rod and praise Garrett Anderson, forget McGwire and remember Ted Williams.
Despite what one would think, baseball is not the property of the MLB, the Steinbrenners, the McCourts or the Morenos. Baseball is, and always has been the people's game from the days when it developed from rounders. We may not be able to control the professional game, but we can influence it. We can demand that the game be played clean. Otherwise, if the owners and the dirty players prevail our game will turn into professional wrestling.
The Baseball Fan's Prayer
Heavenly Father, most High and Powerful, all Knowing and perfect Umpire,
We confess to Thee our manifest fouls and errors and beg forgiveness through our most gracious Mediator and Advocate Jesus Christ.
We thank Thee for all the blessings Thou hast deigned to give us, especially for the game of baseball, which Thou mentioned in the first words of the Scriptures (In the big inning).
We beseech Thee to give us a season of good, clean baseball and pray that our ash wielding warriors of the diamond will fairly and cleanly defeat our enemies. Lead us not into the temptation of band wagonism, but deliver us from the evil ones called the Yankees. Give us patience during loss and humbleness during victory.
We ask these things in the name of our most blessed Savior, Jesus Christ the Righteous.
Amen and Play Ball
Heavenly Father, most High and Powerful, all Knowing and perfect Umpire,
We confess to Thee our manifest fouls and errors and beg forgiveness through our most gracious Mediator and Advocate Jesus Christ.
We thank Thee for all the blessings Thou hast deigned to give us, especially for the game of baseball, which Thou mentioned in the first words of the Scriptures (In the big inning).
We beseech Thee to give us a season of good, clean baseball and pray that our ash wielding warriors of the diamond will fairly and cleanly defeat our enemies. Lead us not into the temptation of band wagonism, but deliver us from the evil ones called the Yankees. Give us patience during loss and humbleness during victory.
We ask these things in the name of our most blessed Savior, Jesus Christ the Righteous.
Amen and Play Ball
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