Aggie87

Happy Birthday, Flurin! Cheers!

Thanks gents (and Buzz)!!!

Good info on the VPN stuff, thanks. I'm not a season ticket holder, but we do go to our share of Hooks games. They're a blast! Right now Yuli Gurriel has been playing for the Hooks, before he returns to the Astros. Unfortunately the first few games have been on the road, so I haven't seen him yet. First home game isn't until the 12th. The current Hooks team also includes Jon Singleton, who's had issues but has been on the Astros rosters a few times. And Ryne Birk, who I've followed since his days at Texas A&M. And one of the players with probably the biggest potential to move up is 1B Yordan Alvarez - keep an eye out for him.

If you have T-Mobile for your cell service, they offer you MLB.TV for free each year (though there is a window to subscribe to MLBTV each time, and if you miss it you're out of luck I guess - this year it ended on April 2nd). I'm a long time Astros fan. The thing that sucks about MLBTV from my experience is that because I am considered to be in the Houston Astros tv market, I am not able to watch Astros games on MLBTV. But the Astros games (shown on AT&T Sportsnet Southwest) are not available on either of the two cable company's channel lineups for Corpus Christi, so I am not able to watch them on tv or on MLBTV either. So I get to watch Rangers games on Fox Sports Southwest, even though they're 8+ hours away by car, versus 3 for the Astros. Anyway, T-Mobile might be a cheaper alternative for you in the future, potentially.

I don't recall. People watch so much content online today (versus exclusively on tv) that it makes sense that tv channels have jumped onboard (HBO, ESPN, etc) with online programming. It also makes sense that successful websites like FB and Twitter would also be trying to reach the same customers who will watch live sports online. I think that's a growing platform, unlike cable/satellite tv.

Twitter has also shown live sports. They, like Facebook, are interested in the eyeballs on their sites. It's really no different than watching ESPN channels online, as a consumer. Actually it's better, in the sense that it costs you nothing, unlike watching ESPN online. Other than having a FB or Twitter account, but nothing as far as a monthly fee, like ESPN (which you get when you have ESPN through your cable/satellite provider etc).

I discovered Korean bbq in 1975 in a little divey place near where I lived in Tokyo. Went back regularly for the next 4 years, it was fantastic. Wish there was a good place here in CC. We tried a shabu-shabu place a couple of weeks ago here, that was interesting. Boil the food yourself in a bowl over fire on your table. These two statements seem contradictory.

Hamilton Pool: Enchanted Rock:

Bluebonnets will be gone by May. The bats under the Congress St bridge are fascinating - I've seen them from the river shore and out in a boat while they pass overhead, both are cool. Largest urban bat colony in the world, I believe. If you want barbecue, there are plenty of excellent places within a 30-40 mile drive from Austin. Lockhart has excellent barbecue at any of Smitty's, Black's, or Kreuz. Luling has the City Market as well. All are great. Austin has good bbq as well, but be prepared to wait in ridiculously long lines these days. Literally hours. Salt Lick is pretty damn good - I got married about 3 miles away from there in a little open-air nondenominational chapel in Driftwood (south of Austin). If you venture out into the Hill Country, check out Wimberley, Fredericksburg, and that area. Wimberley has alot of small mom & pop arts & crafts stores in the downtown area. Enchanted Rock is pretty cool. Cool swimming hole at Krause Springs. Also Hamilton Pool. Barton Springs is also a cool swimming place - natural springs in Zilker Park right in Austin. Water is like 68 degrees year round. Zilker Park is where the ACL Fest is held each year. BFrank's recommendation to check out the Austin Chronicle is spot on - there's so much music available, and it's constantly updating. That's probably the best place to see what's available when you're there. Also, second the recommendations for Continental Club and Antones. For another out of town dance hall, Schroeder Hall is pretty cool, way out in the country near Goliad (and literally nothing else within 10-20 miles). Probably too far to travel though, but it's the real deal. Took my wife there a few years back (not my first wife, the one you met in D.C.) and 10 year old local kids were embarrassing us on the dance floor, two-steppin'. Gruene Hall gets more big-name acts due to location, and is also well worth a visit. If you're music hunting, check out Waterloo on the corner of 6th and Lamar. Best vinyl & cd store in Texas. Also, End of an Ear is well worth a visit, with a more diverse inventory. The SRV statue on the bank of Town Lake (now called Lady Bird Lake) is a tourist thing, but still cool.

But it's not against MLB rules to do what the Astros did. It's against NFL rules for WRs to line up anywhere, or the QB to throw past the line of scrimmage. And offsides is an offense in soccer as well.

Nice leadoff HR by Happ, first pitch of the season. The Astros' George Springer also had a leadoff HR today, on the third pitch of the game against the Rangers. He also had a leadoff HR last season - first player in MLB history to have leadoff HR's on opening day two seasons in a row.

Impressive set of shows there, Buzz! How were Hidalgo & Ribot? Interesting pairing - I enjoy Ribot's Prosthetic Cubans albums. Curious if they played Lobos material or more traditional stuff. I would have loved to have seen every show you saw on Friday as well (Saturday too for that matter), though I'm unfamiliar with Nest Egg.

Went to a small Hurricane Harvey benefit concert in Port Aransas last night. The artists played for free, the venue donated it's space, the only open hotel in town donated rooms to the artists, and a couple of local cooks volunteered to feed the musicians. So all proceeds literally went to storm recovery for this tiny town. Wasn't jazz (hard to find that down here) but got to hang with some excellent, legendary Texas musicians. Joe Ely, Terry Allen (and sons Bukka Allen and Bale Creek Allen), Terri Hendrix, Lloyd Maines, and Richard Bowden. There were also some poetry readings throughout the evening, from Jo Harvey Allen, and two Texas Poet Laureates, 2005's Alan Birkelbach and 2010's Karla Morton, with poetry written specifically for the hurricane. With Terry & Jo Harvey Allen & Joe Ely:

This was their other big song, alonside Linger and Zombie. And it has 91 million views, jeez. Though that's just a drop in the bucket compared to Zombie's 665 million views.

I met Joe Musgrove (and Chris Devenski) last Thursday, so of course Musgrove would get traded two days later to the Pirates. Devenski won Game 2 of the WS, and Musgrove won Game 5. I'd be happy if Cole can equal Musgrove's World Series win/loss record, for the Astros.

I lost my mother earlier this year, and didn't hesitate to wish her a happy birthday on Dec 11th. For me it is a way to honor her memory and share that it's a special day for those of us she left behind. I also try to acknowledge my father on his birthday each year, and he's been gone for 26 years. I have a number of my parents friends on my FB friend list, and it is a nice way for them to be reminded of that day as well, and it usually results in some comments or memories from them of good times they had together. Likewise, for friends I've lost, or parents of friends, etc., it's nice to be reminded of their birthday as well, so I can offer well wishes. Do I understand those people are gone, and it's not the same as wishing someone who's living a happy birthday? Of course.

I don't think we're supposed to feel better or safer. He died where he was supposed to die, behind bars. Time moves on. My 19 year old and my 16 year old didn't know who he was. Explained it to my 16 year old, but to him something that happened in the late 60's/early 70's is ancient history. As it probably should be. To many people this happened a LONG time ago. And I say that as someone who was about 4-5 and lived in Los Angeles at that time. I remember my parents being nervous about Manson.

I think it is a complicated issue. Had Gurriel been born and grew up in the U.S., he would've been no doubt aware of how inappropriate his gesture/words were. And if he still chose to do them, then any fine/suspension would be appropriate and deserved. But he was born into and grew up in a culture where that type of communication is still acceptable. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, he only defected to the USA in 2016. Is it wrong that he acted in the way he considered to be common where he's from? I believe Carlos Beltran brokered some communication with Darvish, and has been talking with Gurriel about what is and isn't appropriate in the culture here. I believe he's also remoreseful and has apologized for his actions, and it seems clear it's already been a learning point for him. I doubt he does something like that again. He's also stated he's not going to appeal his suspension, and has agreed to take sensitivity training. He appears to have learned from this already. So is it worth condemning him for the culture he grew up in (and fled)? As an aside, I've lived in both Asia and Europe multiple times, and have noticed in both cases, with populations that aren't as diverse racially, there seems to be a more open willingness to make racial comments/gestures openly. It's seems not to be considered offensive. So I would suspect that people that grow up in other places and move to the U.S. take a while to figure out that what was acceptable "back home" may not be in the new country. It's a learning curve like anything else.

Nuevo Progreso, Mexico on Saturday, 28 October 2017

I'm not defending Gurriel's actions and comments, but there appears to be something of a cultural difference where he grew up, versus the U.S. Things that are unacceptable here in 2017 may be different than what's acceptable in Latin American countries. And despite Gurriel's age (33), he's a rookie here in the U.S., having defected from Cuba just last year. Ozzie Guillen's comments: http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=21216279

In the NBA they go 2-2-1-1-1 in the Finals (and probably the earlier rounds as well). It's accepted that there are days in between games in the NBA though.

I found a Tom Verlander that lives in England and used to tweet. Maybe that's who you're thinking of. He seems like a pretty regular guy though, so I doubt he's Tom Fucking Verlander. https://twitter.com/tomv23

Those guys (possibly your roommates) used to accost me on Guadalupe all the time, starting in the fall of '83. They were as desperate as the junkies a block down the street in front of the baptist church (at least I think it was a baptist church).

Tom Fucking Verlander only wishes he made Justin Verlander money, and slept with Justin Verlander fiances.