Just a gentle Friday

Ho-Hum! That’s all the weather is worth! On the other hand, a tidy little thunder shower just rolled through the area.

I mentioned yesterday that Wife Gator and I were going shopping for a new vacuum cleaner. I had said I would like the new machine to be in the fifty dollar range but I thought she had something else in mind. I lost. We did find a new machine and it did cost just a bit more than $50.

The Olympics begin today. Big Yawn for me. I do like sports, but I dislike immensely the television coverage of the Olympics. I have nothing to back my feelings, but it seems to me that for every minute of competition the television broadcasts 30 minutes of drivel. If Ian Crocker should be swimming during our time, I might watch him. But if the swimming is when I’m sleeping, I’ll glance at the results in the morning. Then there’s no need to watch.

That’s another major complaint I have about the games. Because they’re in the other side of the world this year, most of the competition will be held while I’m sleeping. I’ll know the results of anything I even remotely care about shortly after I arise, so I won’t then go back and watch an event I already know the results.

The possible exception might be watching Crocker swim. When I was in cardio rehab a few years back, the director of the facility was Crocker’s mother. She may still be the director, I don’t know, but that brought the young man a little closer to personal. I never did meet him, though. There are, of course, some other Mainers competing in China and I might watch them, too; but I think it’s safe to say that the huge majority of the games won’t reach my TV.

Last night was a rough one. WG went to bed early so I was faced with a major decision. Watch Little League Baseball, the Patriots pre-season football game, or a different pre-season game. Youth sports are my favorite. I like the innocence of the young people showing off their best. Football is my second favorite, especially college football, but the NFL is right up there. I think my favorite sport of all, however, is baseball. Except baseball is 100% better when one is actually at the game than it is on TV. You miss at least half the game on TV because you can’t see all the little things going on at every position.

Last night I watched the New England semi-final as New Hampshire advanced to the regional game Saturday against Connecticut. Earlier, Connecticut had ripped Vermont. Then I watched a little of the Patriots’ game. ‘Nuff said about that game. It was back to Little League at 9 when I saw a little of the Texas/Louisiana regional championship. In Little League, the regional champions all head for Williamsport, PA, for the Little League World Series.

And while we’re at it, we should give great credit to the Westbrook Babe Ruth team heading for Arkansas for the Babe Ruth World Championships. Most of these Westbrook kids just a couple or three years ago were playing in Williamsport for the LL title. They did an excellent job there so we’re wishing them even better results in Arkansas.

And finally today, the non-profit Tax Foundation has changed its methodology of determining the tax burden on residents of the states. Until the change, it said Maine was ranked as the second highest. With the new way of doing it, Maine is now down around 15th. Apparently nothing has changed except the way the group does its calculations. I wonder just how accurate they can be under any circumstances now since they apparently can simply make a few changes and arrive at new figures. I wish I could do that with my budget. I just might be very rich.

GiM