I used to quite enjoy doing those logic problems that were popular when I was an adolescent and a couple of days ago I came across one that is similar to those but for some reason has captured the imagination of the inhabitants of the internet and has been discussed widely. Here it is:
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Last Friday, the baseball team of my home town Cleveland lost their home opening game for the sixth time in seven years. Good. I am glad. Although there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth among local fans, I was delighted because this is exactly what I wanted. I hope that they continue to lose all their remaining games or, failing that, that they end up with the worst record of all the teams, or failing that, they do not make it into the playoffs. I also hope that their games experience torrential downpours. In other words, I place upon the team the curse of all the atheist gods.
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I am back in Cleveland from Auckland, recovered from flying for almost 24 hours, including the eight-hour layover Los Angeles. The older I get the more I dread these long flights before they begin but, oddly enough, the less tired I am upon arrival and hardly troubled by jet lag. In both directions, I was comfortably on local time almost immediately upon arrival. The only thing I do is try and sleep as much as I can on the planes (allowing for the cramped flying conditions that are now the norm) but it seems to work.
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The same day that Sri Lanka received a thumping at the hands of South Africa in the World Cup cricket tournament, they also suffered a shock defeat to Bhutan in a qualifying game for the 2018 football World Cup. Bhutan is ranked as the worst of 209 teams in FIFA and needless to say they are thrilled at winning the two games 1-0 and 2-1.
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Within the space of two days, the following things happened to me during my daily commute.
A car that was behind moved into the left lane and passed me and then drifted right back into my path, forcing me to brake sharply and cut to the right to avoid colliding with it. At the next light the car was halted and I drove up next to it to glare at the idiot who was driving the flashy BMW. Of course, the young man did not see me because he was too busy reading what was on his damn phone!
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The film Best in Show took a humorous look at the obsessive personalities of the people who enter their dogs in dog shows. The world of show dogs can be as fiercely competitive as any other beauty contest but it is hard for me to imagine that anyone would stoop to such a thing as poisoning a champion dog.
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Via Jonathan Turley I came across this video of a crazy driver of a car speeding through Los Angeles recently, where a news helicopter followed the car as it wove through busy streets and intersections, going the wrong way, with the driver not seeming to care in the least that he was damaging other vehicles and putting people’s lives at risk, even taking over a new car when his was involved in an accident.
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The last bit of snow and sleet and freezing rain earlier this week was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back or, in my case, caused the roof of my garage to collapse last night. The garage is a total wreck with the roof completely caved in and one wall flat on the ground. It is a detached garage so the house was not affected. Luckily, there were no people or animals or cars in the garage when it happened.
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The song American Pie was, despite its unusually long 8½ minutes, a big hit for Don McLean when he released it in 1971. It was a big hit in Sri Lanka too and I liked it a lot. The words were strange, lurching from one mental image to another seemingly with no connection, but I didn’t worry about it, just enjoying the bouncy beat. You can read the lyrics here or read it along with hearing the song below.
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