Shout out to VT Softball

Virginia Tech's softball stepped up to the plate Wednesday night and defeated the US Olympic softball team 1 - 0.  Rock star Angela Tincher doled a no hitter to the U.S. in ending the national team's 185 game winning romp through pre-Olympic exhibitions.

Daddy's new camera and new favorite pics

 

So we bought a new digital camera as ours had four solid years of service, and coincidentally 4 megapixels of resolution.  Needless to say unless you're not a digital cam fan, that is nothing.  Today's average camera is at least 7 megapixels.  Anyway, we were torn between buying a point-and-shoot camera or a dlr camera.  At first, somewhat encouraged by keeping up with the Jones' so to speak, we were leaning toward the DLR camera....you know the one that people take classes to properly learn.  Then, in January, I stumbled upon an article about the forthcoming Fujifilm s8100FD.  I liked what I read and decided that it was more of an advanced point and shoot which should suit us nicely.

Anyway, long story short (and because the experience with the scam artists Broadway Photo.com continues to piss me off anytime I think of it), here are my early favorite pics:

 

Random Thoughts

The Lakers are again at the top of the West tied with Houston at 46 - 21.  Pau Gasol is out indefinitely and Bynum is expected back by the first round of the playoffs.  If Ariza can come back as well, the Lakers would be at full strength but would still need a couple of games to gel and play together.  There has been concern that Kobe, Pau, and 'Drew haven't played together yet.  I'll put it like this:  Pau gelled with the team almost immediately playing out of position.  There's no reason that bringing young 'Drew back to a team he's played for at the positions he plays should be a huge cause for concern.  A bigger concern may be finding a way to make sure that the bench players that have stepped up during our bouts with injury don't lose focus like V. Rad. 

Check the following from Charley Rosen (whose book about the 71-72 Lakers is a great read) when asked which two players he would take from today's NBA to build a team around:

That's easy.

Kobe Bryant, because he's a better shooter and defender than LeBron James, and can easily play both wing positions. Not to mention Kobe being one of the game's greatest clutch performers.

Tim Duncan, for his versatility and his championship-attitude. TD is a jack-of-all-trades and master of every one.

Kobe and TD would provide an inside presence as well as an outside one — and would enable a team to play inside-out basketball. Having them both on the floor would also discourage defenses from double-teaming either one.

There's no other possible combo that comes close.

Big win at Dallas last night though we almost blew a 21 point halftime lead.  These are the kind of games where you don't know which team walks away with the most (besides the win of course).  Do the short-handed Lakers realize the accomplishment of coming out with a victory over a playoff bound team or do they realize they lost all but 2 points of a 21 point lead?  Does Dallas hang their heads for losing to a team missing it's two big men or do they realize that each of their past two losses could have gone either way?  I don't know.  But in the competitive West right now, the win is all that matters.  I'll let the Zen Master put together the mental gymnastics!

Congrats Houston on your run!  And bigger congrats to those happily living in Lakers land knowing our streak is still THE STREAK!

Technorati tags: Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Charley Rosen

Possible New Tattoo

I am thinking about getting this tattoo on my back.  I have been going back and forth about whether I want to get another tattoo.  If I do get this one though, it means I will need to get a tattoo for every child we have, if I want to be fair and not show favoritism.  Whatcha think?  I may add 'Lil Man' above or below it....

Same Difference?

From an AJC story regarding the removal of the ad valorem tax: 

Most Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the legislation. However, Rep. David Lucas (D-Macon) warned that lawmakers might wind up starving state coffers by cutting taxes at a time when the population is increasing, along with the need for services.

"You've got to fund state government," Lucas said, "and state government runs off money, not water."

Uh, Mr Lucas, this is Georgia...we ain't got no damn water either!!!

Technorati tags: Rep. David Lucas

First Black President

As I'm sure everyone this side of Europe is aware, Barack Obama has gained an explosive amount of momentum in his quest for a Democratic Presidential nomination.  Unfortunately, I think a lot of folks, should he go on to win the presidency, are misguided in their thoughts concerning what a 'first black president' means.

If it does happen, it is without a doubt a great moment in history.  Years of struggle have led to this potential monstrous historical event.  An Obama presidency would provide validation for several people in terms of how far this country has come. 

To my dismay, though, I fear that an Obama win may be misleading on two counts.  I fear that too many blacks will be voting for Obama simply because he is black.  I voted for Obama as the nominee but not because of his race.  I have a very simple tenet in voting, I try to vote for somebody but I find I am usually voting against others.  In the democratic race, something about Hilary Clinton rubs me wrong.  I think I would have respected her more if she had stood up against Bill Clinton.  Now don't get me wrong, and this sounds hypocritical, I am a Bill Clinton fan -- at least during his presidency.  My reasons are purely selfish, my life seemed more affordable and less stressful when he was in office.  But for Hilary to stand by her man in the situation he got himself into, though somewhat noble at the time, seems like a very politically motivated move in hindsight.  And someone who would use their marriage as a political maneuver doesn't inspire trust from me.  I didn't want to vote Republican simply because the past eight years have not left me with a good taste in my mouth, kinda like Lewinsky.

Secondly, there are few examples in history where a U.S. president single-handedly changed the world.  Perusing the internet I'll see comments suggesting that a change is gonna come for my black sistas and brothas out there because now there's a black president.  It's not going to happen.  Nothing happens in a vacuum.  Obama will still have Congress, the Supreme Court, and state Governments to deal with.  Checks and balances -- learned it (or at least memorized it for the test) in high school.  Along these lines, we also have the possibility of unrealistic expectations.  If Obama wins and if the change that black folks (an undefined change by the way) expect doesn't occur, will that tarnish his legacy.  Worse, (and this goes for Hilary as well), will the unfulfilled expectations provide ammunition against the next black or women candidate.  'Well ya see what happened when let one of 'em in office last time' motto will become rampant. 

What initially made our form of government great is that leadership was elected based on common values, beliefs, and ideals.  Far too often these days, elections are driven by party affiliations and money.  And that makes it a bit difficult to vote and feel particularly confident. 

For the record, I will likely vote for Barack should he win the nomination because a fresh outlook is what I think our leadership needs right now.  If he doesn't win, I can't say for sure that I would simply vote Democrat for the sake of party affiliation.  Just can't do it......I kind of wish there was a black woman running so we could get the 'firsts' out of the way!

Technorati tags: Barack Obama, Presidential Elections

Still no worries

It had to come to an end.  The Lakers ten game win streak came to an end last night with a 119-111 loss to the Portland Trailblazers.  It was one of those games I kind of felt was coming.  The way the Blazers played us earlier in the week showed a lot of heart.  And they did that on the road so this definitely had the feel of a caught-off-guard game.  Add the return of the Blazers court general Brandon Roy and 4 straight losses in the Rose Garden, there shouldn't be too much surprise with the outcome of this game.

With that said, the only alarm that goes off in this loss is the amount of points given up.  119 is a big number even in today's higher scoring NBA (when compared to the less talented 90's).  The defense should be fine come playoff time as the talent is there to play defense, it's just going to be a matter of wanting to give it 100% on both sides of the floor.