Sport

LaRussa Tirade

I’m occasionally reminded of my old childhood passion – baseball. Combine the topic of baseball and sportsmanship and you’ve got premium fodder for blairsblog.

You see, Whitesox manager, Tony La Russa, had scolded his all star hitter Yermin Mercedes for swinging for the fence (finely executed the homer) on a 3-0 count against a position player pitcher with the score at 14-4 in favour of the Sox the other night. Traditionally we “take” (take in baseball terms means let it go) that pitch. The bizarre follow on was that after the next game when Twins pitcher deliberately threw at Mercedes’ knees – LaRussa condoned it.

It’s only recently that position players have been taking the mound when games get out of control on the score board. This never used to be the case. Relievers have traditionally “mopped up” so now there’s a disconnect between the quality of the pitch and the quality of the batter. Should LaRussa have put in a pinch hitter (utility player) for Mercedes? Well, I suppose every manager could now unroll a wholesale change of the lineup in concert with the opponent’s mop up position player pitcher but this is not what the fans necessarily paid for at the ticket wicket.

It’s pretty tough not to sanction LaRussa for basically condoning violence but he certainly was within his  right mind to condemn Mercedes for not heeding the “take” sign.

I also have a sneaky feeling that LaRussa would have known he was out of line in applauding the Twins pitcher but certain men of this age and ilk are growing intemperate with the era of political correctness.    

Free Enterprise

Crossroads For Tech Behemoths

Are Facebook, Google, and Twitter here to stay? Dumb question? Is there a barrier to entry for new players? What happened to MySpace? USA Today reports that Florida Governor DeSantis will be drafting new legislation to impose significant fines for “deplatforming” ( never used to be a word right?) users without cause. You bet – DeSantis is a Trump supporter.

Frankly, I’m confused why the tech behemoths have not faced some competition. It would appear that there are some intellectual property rights facilitating their market monopoly along with a fickle public way too docile in accommodating unsolicited non-friend / follower posts through their feeds.

Of course there is the issue of impersonal  customer service and “no-reply” emails associated with all tech companies’ conduct which have become the industry norm. Individuals no longer put their names in signatures of email correspondence. Other companies have taken heed. Anonymity is the name of the game while taking your money should you decide to “partner” with them.  

It seems that these tech behemoths had an appealing offering at first and have worked their business systems so poetically that they are now completely estranged from users behind a partition cloaked in indifference. 

Now a legislator has stepped forward with a bill in conjunction with a disgruntled ex-President looking for redress which ironically despite the persona inciting the motion could benefit consumers if stamped with a consumer advocacy complement.

Uncategorized

Letter to Calgary Mayor Beltline Pool

Dear Mr. Nenshi.

RE: Beltline Pool

I see in the news that a report is expected to be tabled this week pertaining to the recommendation of closing the Beltline pool. Although, I ‘m not a resident of Beltline (Marlborough Park) I draft this letter in the context of my background as a Physical Education graduate having had attained lifeguarding credentials and as a concerned citizen having witnessed poor zoning decisions downtown which are now going to require remediation. There are quality of life considerations in Calgary to consider in the context of a bold move such as closing a public pool. As you know, with the closure of the Eau Claire pool, aquatic leisure in the central core will be limited. I’m not certain that the Repsol Centre’s pools are the best teach pools. Repsol is accommodating to competitive and recreational swimmers but not so much for fostering early development swimming skills. Should better programming, scheduling, and management of the Beltline pool be implemented in the context of Eau Claire’s closure, revenues should grow.

I’ve noticed from the city website that a study has been undertaken to identity recreation needs of residents in the Beltline and Inglewood. This study appears to have taken a sincere “what do you want” approach reflective of one common answer to this demographic….”like going to the bar with my friends”. I suppose if the upcoming report is going to recommend the closure of a pool in the context of such community feedback, then my appeal would seem futile. However; I’m not so cynical. Ambassadors of sport such as I believe that good people like you are cognizant of the benefits of good health over beer and the long term correlation of healthy citizens as long term taxpaying citizens.   

I have much difficulty with the prospect that operating short falls of the Beltline pool can’t be overcome in the climate of complicity with demands from the Calgary Flames organization that they needed a new Stadium partly funded by taxpayer dollars. This makes zero sense to me. I can’t fathom the notion that wealthy hockey players and sport executives are deserving of taxpayer assistance but not the lower income couple looking to put their kids in swimming lessons in need of a facility.  Something is amiss if this pool closes from the standpoint of the city’s soul. Mr. Nenshi – you cannot allow this to happen.

You have my permission to disseminate this appeal freely.

Sincerely,

Blair Sveinson

Health, Lifes Lessons, Politics

Kenney on COVID

What is the Kenney position on COVID? I listen to him from time to time on the COVID updates. Most of the time I find him balanced, reasonable, and thoughtful. The one noticeable verbal slip was couple of weeks ago when he suggested that Alberta was going to have the best summer in its history. I just don’t have the problem with Kenney that  so many others do. He’s a good orator and his convictions are supported by his policy. He has not infused (yet anyway) any of his social policy biases into legislative proposals which was frankly my biggest concern when he became the Premier of Alberta. I ‘m insufficiently versed on alleged shenanigans during his rise to the leadership of the UCP.   

He handles media questions quite well in the context of COVID. Every province has been at the mercy of poor federal handling of COVID from the outset. It’s become apparent from his comments today that dozens of municipalities in Alberta have flagrantly disavowed restrictive measures and it is in this context that Alberta faces infractions by its citizenry. It’s become obvious that our legal system with all its intricacies and high power prosecutors have much to account for right now with the lack of enforcement and conviction around laws which have been ignored by hordes of people across the province. In lieu of the Bowden rodeo on the weekend, I had expected more on the topic of justice and COVID from the premier today. He has referenced another announcement upcoming tomorrow.    

I have witnessed indifference from law enforcement in Alberta pre-pandemic. I’m sensing that fellow Albertans are now also asking the question as to why people can flagrantly break the law with no consequences. I predict that there was no police officer nor Alberta Health Services marshal recording license plate numbers at the Bowden Rodeo over the weekend.  

Lifes Lessons

Covid Rational Mind In Overdrive

Post inspired by friend because of an engaging conversation. Let me start out by saying – you may have come to learn more about human nature in the past year than in your entire life time.

Too many people have not known how to allocate their mental resources in the midst of government regulations arising from the pandemic. There is evidence galore. Those who haven’t been able to assert their mental faculties in productive ways have hence allowed the default to pervade via the newswire and daily COVID stats. Some have been so obsessed with manifestation of COVID that they’ve gone so far as to think that the bogeyman is out to get them through planned annihilation. Apparently some feeble minded have been so brash that they’ve been compelled to make an unmasked scene at the grocery store.

Here is the thing. If you have nothing going on in your life, you’ll reduce yourself to minimalism through an unfiltered reactive mind accessible to the slightest in perturbation. If your mental construct is not sufficiently fertilized with creativity, spirit, gratitude, purpose, and wonderment, you will be exposed to negative threat. If you are not continually nourishing the mind through learning you will be stagnant in your personal development thereby impeding the prospect of hopeful utility.

If you gossip or engage in the company of people who are innately negative, their negativity will rub off on you. If you are desperate for the company of others, you may not have found comfort in your own skin. If you judge quickly, you will drown in absolutism and behave boorishly. It didn’t take a pandemic in order to espouse such revelation but it certainly has brought clarity.