The Message Forum is an ongoing dialogue among classmates. The goal is to encourage friendly interaction, including interaction among classmates who really didn't know each other. Experience on the site has revealed that certain topics tend to cause friction and hard feelings, especially politics and religion. 

Although politics and religion are not completely off-limits, classmates are asked to be positive in their posts and not to be too repetitive or allow a dialog to degenerate into an argument. 

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Lowell Tuttle

happy birthday david cordell

David Wier

yeah - happy birthday DC - it'll be me a couple of weeks from now, so I can't kid you about being so old !

Steve Keene

Lance,

When you used the expression "test your medal" in regard to your snarky posts, you probably did not realize that a metallurgist might be required to insure David's gold medal awards are the read deal.

i got the pun.  But it does beg the question, "Are Olympic medals pure gold?"  The answer is that the Gold medals have 6 grams of gold plating over pure silver.  The silver medals are pure silver.  The bronze medals are red brass which is 95% copper and 5% zinc.

Lawrence (Lance) Cantor

AUTHENTIC

Good catch Stevo!

Such a disappointment to give our Olympic athletes medals that are fake...is anyone or anything authentic these days?

Better ask Saul...or Brene and Tommy!

So Steve, will you be the next Forum contestant to take the Opposite Strengths authenticity assessment?

I'm defintely hoping so...cuz otherwise...you're outta tough, and running outta time!

https://youtu.be/D00M2KZH1J0

Daryl Hall & John Oates - Out Of Touch (Official HD Video)
17,559,540 viewsApr 20, 2015

!

David Cordell

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Had a good day and a great family dinner for eight --  beef tenderloin filets, those little round potatoes, broccoli, salad, rolls, and birthday cake, with lots of wine. Woke up this morning after 6, which is a victory of sorts. First, I usually can't sleep that late, and second, just waking up at all is a victory. I remember seeing as a pre-teen that male life expectancy was 67. Every day is a gift!

David Cordell

Lance, you seem to work very hard to try to analyze and categorize yourself and others. I hope you can find peace. 

Kurt Fischer

David:

I learned a lesson from you today on Next Door.  Ask a question for which everyone has an opinion and a favorite choice, then sit back and see the messages come in.  

"Hamburgers? Where can I find the juiciest burger with grilled onions and a great bun?"

Did I see 115 comments thus far?

I'm not sure you have a concensus....

Wayne Gary

David, Kurt,

Some of the best and juciest hamburgers I know of are at Burger Island.  All oare locally owned.  I go to one at 1529 W Buckingham and North Garland.  This is owned by a Korean family.  The first time I went in after I ordered my burger and paid for it, the ownner took one step back and did a bow while saying thank you.  Later I went there with my wife and after we fininshed eating Jo Ann headed to the car while I asked the owner to come out and told her how much I appreciated the tretment previously and went out the door. As I was getting into my car the woman appeared at Jo Ann's window and thanked her for coming in. 

Where else do you get thanked by the owner for buying two hamburgers and drinks?

Jim Bedwell

On one of Ken Burns's "Baseball" TV series episodes, comedian/actor Billy Crystal was talking about meeting Ted Williams. Crystal as a kid lived on Long Island, New York and went to games. Billy told him, "Mr. Williams, I've got video footage of you in a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium striking out against (lefty) Bobby Shantz".

Walking hitting scientist & encyclopedia Ted replied, "Curve ball. Low and away." (so he was chasing the pitch, both being lefties)

Also on "Baseball", Mickey Mantle (according to David Mercer, Mickey Mantle Jr. went to Lamplighter) was playing in spring training once in 1963 as rookie Pete Rose, playing in the outfield, tried to climb the wall obviously futilely trying to catch one of Mickey's LONG homers, DOZENS of feet over Pete's head. After the homer Mickey sat down on the bench next to teammate & lefty pitching ace Whitey Ford, who said, "Hey, Mick, did you see Charley Hustle trying to catch that one?" Later Pete said he actually liked that acquired nickname.

Mickey was talking about being at an All-Star game with Ted Williams once. Ted was asking him all kinds of questions, like "Do you move you right arm like this when you're hitting left-handed........" and telling him all kinds of batting tips. Mickey said that he went 0 for 15 or 20 or such after going back to the Yankees and trying to use all that stuff in his head so he went back to his normal batting approach!

Finally also on "Baseball" being discussed was Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson, who apparently threw faster than anybody then (1907-27) and also what made it worse for the hitters was his kind of a high sidearm delivery, which really threw them off. But also tall Walter, aka The Big Train, was a very nice, gentle soul who was afraid of hurting anybody with his FAST pitches. So Ty Cobb said that since he knew that, he would always at the start of his at-bat, crowd the plate against Johnson, daring him to throw inside to him. Then, usually after a couple of called balls (or at least speedy pitches), Cobb would be ready to hit the next Johnson pitch as it was likely to be slower and fatter for him.

Lowell Tuttle

Baseball video from 38 years ago last night watching the Astros/Rangers...  One of the best managers in baseball    I remember when he got busted in a topless joint in Dallas or Arlington one time, the press asked his wife if she minded Billy hanging out in one of those places and she said something like, Honey, I don't care where the man gets his appetite, just where he comes to feast.

Steve Keene

Wayne,

I bet those burgers are good.   I love Seoul food.

Lowell,

Is that a double play?  

I see you took down one of the posts to ruin my joke.

Chief JimBob Bedpost,

One of life's great mysteries to me is why pigskin classics are played with balls made of cowhide.

Steve Keene

Lance,

I won't be asking Tommy to analyze my strengths and weaknesses. That's like agreeing to meet Jeffrey Dahmer for a meal and then wondering  "What's for lunch?"

Jim Bedwell

I worked with a fellow programmer at the city of Anchorage. We were IT for the city's business applications, the financial support for the finance/personnel Peoplesoft application/monstrosity), born in 1953-55 (so just barely 21 for the beer or maybe not but he got drunk with a bunch of pals) who was from Cleveland and attended the 10-cent beer night in Cleveland against the Rangers in 1974 when Billy Martin was the Texas manager. Yes, total chaos, especially as the game ensued. Billy Martin took a bat to right field to protect his right-fielder Jeff Burroughs from the fans on the field, etc. A real wing-ding of an affair! Here's the Wikipedia article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Cent_Beer_Night

plus here's a 45-minute video (haven't watched it):

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=10+cent+beer+night+cleveland+video&va=b&t=hc&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEJOQ11paScQ

David Cordell

Kurt,

Yeah, I thought posting my question on Next Door would be helpful in my quest. One problem -- I checked the box to have any response sent to me via email. So, you can imagine what my in box looks like.

Jim B,

I read the Wikipedia article about 10 cent beer night. Favorite part -- Tim Russert was a law school student who attended the game. "I went with two dollars in my pocket. You do the math."

Wayne Gary

Steve,

Is this what you think is an answer to Lance?

Or maybe this

Jim Bedwell

Chief Toenails,

I guess it's the same reason that we "chose" a poster child for the 25th Amendment BEFORE he was "elected" President. And Janalu's quote of 119 for Slow Joe's IQ? C'MON, (WO)MAN!! Maybe 79 (before the dementia) - after all, Jack Ruby, a rare Jewish dunce, tested at 82-85. And from what I remember, Lee Harvey got 105 or thereabouts and then, must have had a good day, with his 119, was it? And 119 is over a standard deviation above the mean, so better than 84+% of the general population. Hard to see that in our Confused in Chief even way back when.

But think about it. Whom would you entrust with planning & carrying out BY HIMSELF the most infamous assassination EVER, our old pal Lee Harvey Oswald or our old pal Joe Robinette Jr. Biden (another JRB - NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!  PLUS why couldn't J. Robinette Biden have been a GIRL?!?!?!?!)? I rest my case.

Also those balls of pigskin/cowhide/whatever don't come close to comparing to HilLIARy's - hers, made of steel, TRUMP anything, including those using testosterone. A lot of people don't know about those - you're welcome. And I'm pretty sure that's what scared Caitlyn into the surgery! REALLY!

Chief Bedpost

Lowell Tuttle

Any other baseball watchers out there?

Nolan Ryan pitched 222 complete games in his 27 year carreer....

Jim Bedwell

Lowell,

Nolan Ryan was AWESOME! He's one of my 10 pitchers on my top 25 team ever (11 if you count Babe Ruth in right field who was the best lefty pitcher in the AL before his fame).

I just looked up Bobby Shantz. He was 5'6" tall and about 140 pounds. I know most pitchers are (very) tall since long(er) legs enable pitching strength/speed. He only won 20+ games once, in 1952 with the old Philadelphia A's before my (our) time when he was 24-7 and was the MVP for the ENTIRE AMERICAN LEAGUE! He also led the league in ERA in 1957, his first year with the Yankees. He was with the Yankees in 1960 in that World Series where the Yanks lost to the offensively overmatched & heavy underdog Pittsburgh Pirates. The next year in 1961 he was pitching for the Pirates when the Yankees won the Series yet again. I remember him mostly as a reliever with them & the Cardinals. Also I hadn't remembered in those pre-DH days that he batted right while throwing left - just the opposite of Ted Williams. Finally Bobby Shantz, born September 26, 1925, is STILL ALIVE today at age 95 - so is David's father, announcer Bill Mercer, born in early 1926, also 95 and kicking. Bobby born in Pottstown, PA.

Jim Bedwell

This is just too good not to post and see again:

https://pics.me.me/hello-again-everyone-this-is-howard-cosell-im-looking-into-the-27783753.png

Lowell Tuttle

I delivered the Mercer's paper on one of my paper routes.  The Mercer's lived on Inglewood across the street from The Maupins.   Shirley and Tommy were their kids.   Jack Maupin was a great friend of my mom and dad as was Mrs. Maupin...

I think the best single season pitching performance was by Steve Carlton of the 1972 Phillies.   27-10 as a starter on a team whose record that year was 32-87 and he had a season era of 1.97.

There are a lot of other great ones   That one stands out for me because of the team's lousy record. 

It's sort of an unknown feat because Carlton was such a silent type who refused interviews and had a sour relationthip with the press.

David Cordell

Bob Gibson 1968. 22-9. 1.12 ERA

Sandy Koufax 1966. 27-9. 1.73 ERA

ERA is not so much subject to team quality. But you have a point about the quality of the team regarding won-loss record. Carlton was a horse.

Not sure when the mound was raised/lowered. That makes a difference.

David Wier

Had not thought about it much, because I didn't end up playing much, but I remember that, I played on a neighborhood football team coached by Bill Mercer. There was none of that "everyone gets to play" crap. If you weren't good enough, you didn't play.

We lived in what we then called the "Indian Reservation" because all of the street names were Indian (Native American for those PC enfranchised) names. We lived 2 houses from Coit on Chickasaw. 

Who remembers that, back then, Coit was a 2 lane blacktop road that ended around where Renner Road is now (and where some Texas A&M center of some sort was)? You had to turn left, and it was a gravel road. Also, everything west of Coit was a cotton field. Therefore, (because I actually did it a few times) I told my kids I picked  cotton walking, on the way home from RHS. Of course in the winter, it was raining and freezing rain always blowing in my face.  

When they started building the cul-de-sacs for the new houses in place of the cotton field, we used the tall weeds as cover when we went 'parking' there, as I remember. Got 'parker-busted once there, too.

In 1969, RISD offered to LET me change high schools to Pearce for my senior year since I was so much closer. Who did they think I was?

Well, enough rambling memories for now.

Steve Keene

Lance,

Be sure and let me know when you finish your hagiography.

Jim Bedwell

Chief Toenails,

I knew that word. And after I looked it up, hagiography means "biography of saints or venerated persons". WOW, I didn't know it before, but Lance is going to write about ME!! YEE HAW!!!!!

Chief Bedpost

Wayne Gary

David Weir

Where the Coit Rd pavement ended is at Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center.  The old name was the Texas Agriculture Research and Extension Center (Part of the A&M system)