Moneyball

Last night, Melis' and I watched Moneyball -- it's the (mostly) true story of Oakland A's GM Billy Beane and his effort to put together a competitive baseball team on a comparatively small budget.  I say "mostly" true because Hollywood altered the story a little to make for more compelling cinema.  For example, Billy Beane is played by (ahem) Brad Pitt.

Someday, Hollywood will tell my story too...

The movie was entertaining enough -- way more so than a typical major league baseball game.  Brad Pitt and his nerdy sidekick (Jonah Hill) are able to determine the real value of otherwise flawed baseball players using newfangled mathematical equations.  As a result, the A's are able to get the same number of wins as their deep-pocketed opponents at only a fraction of the payroll cost.

I was intrigued by the idea of finding hidden value in things that others deem less-desirable.  I love factory outlet malls after all.  Surely, this concept extends to areas beyond professional baseball.

For example, Langdon began potty training this week.  The New York Yankees probably would have gone with this potty training system that guarantees Langy would be completely housebroken in a single day.  It costs $120.  A small market team, like us, went with a cheap plastic toilet seat topper and a king-sized bag of Starbursts for motivation.

The boots were thrown in at no additional cost.  Langy is currently batting over .500 and only commits a couple of errors per game.  That's value!

Karsten and Taegan finished their final session of basketball camp this morning.  They've been learning the fundamentals of the game -- dribbling, passing, and shooting.  Karst' hit a nice shot during his 3-on-3 game and is convinced there's little else for him to learn.

The boy's younger sister, however, still has a long road to travel.  In view of her dribbling struggles, perhaps I shouldn't even mention traveling.  As far as her jump shot goes, well, have a look...

A big market team would probably go with a more polished player.  On the other hand, a Moneyball team would realize the girl can run sideways exceptionally well and could be acquired for peanuts.  Seriously, she would accept a case of honey-roasted peanuts for her salary.

Way to go Taeg-a-roo!  That's value!

First Tee

Happy New Year!

Melissa Dearest gave me the gift of golf for Christmas -- a pre-paid gift card at a local golf course.  I've always favored this particular golf course for its covered driving range -- it's pretty nice.

After finishing work this afternoon, I invited Karsten and Taegan to join me on the range.  They eagerly accepted and grabbed Karst's clubs.  He only has two -- but that technically still qualifies as "clubs."  Taeg' had never swung a golf club at an actual golf ball before -- so she was particularly excited.

Our excitement turned to disappointment, however, upon pulling into the empty clubhouse parking lot and seeing a sign announcing that the whole facility was closed for the holidays.  Argh!

Because someone might care

This is for my sister that lives in a totally different country, called OHIO.  She and her family were the last people to use our guest bathroom before we gutted it.  I am sure they will be sad about some of the changes that we have made, but change is good.  Here are a few:

Upon entry of this bathroom you were greeted with a fabulous vanity with a teal counter top with doors that were crooked and a storage mirror thingy above the sink.

Happy Thanksgiving to me!

Remember my bathroom?  Don't pretend you don't.

It looked like this in July!