6/15/05
Softball: The Ironic Melding of Cyber and Sport
Dear People,
After two months of forced exile, our community made a triumphant return to our cherished Codornices homeland, although it may not have felt so joyous to those who floundered on Jeff’s team. Sure, they could savor the sublime aroma of fresh redwood and birch, and they could even frolic anew with the local aphids and yak. Unfortunately, though, they simply couldn’t bat with any greater power than their little aphidic amigos, and I’m not saying that just because I like to come up with frisky verbal combos that almost guarantee a deeply satisfying one-hit Google search.
Indeed, try it in a couple days (Search engine spiders are always pitifully late to the party), and if your computer isn’t immediately whisked to http://www.eslnotes.com/ray/061505.html,I will personally run stark naked down Shattuck Avenue in epistemological repentance. But I digress; The point is that Alan Brill shut down all of Jeff’s most fearsome hitters (including Jeff himself, Paul and Ken), and thus the raw emotive thrill of their Codornices homecoming was clearly marred by their sucking so bad. In other words, my team won, 19-12.
Regardless, it has come to my attention that AOL is apparently twisting the codified integrity of these missives, thereby making me look like some sort of drunken retardo. For the record, I am a stout supporter of the possessive S in its most pristine form, and have never wavered in my belief that its corresponding apostrophe is a vital bulwark in the battle against terror. More precisely, I find no advantage in writing "Daveâ ™s rumpside" over "Dave’s rumpside," and if such transitions were simpler, I would have moved to more promising email options years ago. Alas, writing to 300 people simultaneously is not as easy as one would think (Gmail limits you to 100), and thus the harsh reality is that AOL continues to grab me by the metaphorical balls of technological inertia. Ouch.
Having said that though, I did just spend half an hour on the phone with some delightful chap named Raji, who works for AOL customer support, lives in Bombay, and converts every tag question into "isn't it?" (Reason enough to make Indian English my 7th favorite dialect). In any case, Raji agreed that adding an a-based-tilda-thing and trademark sign to a perfectly innocent apostrophe violates the most basic norms of linguistic decency, and thus he has helped me to reinstall a variety of peripheral software. He assures me that this will certainly solve the problem, unless by chance it doesn't.
I told him that my integrity was now on the line, to which he responded in his charming Indian lilt, "Mr. Ray, Sir, I think this should work. I really do." Well, this may sound naïve, but I so totally believe in that boy’s abilities that if by chance the reinstall fails, I would run stark naked down Shattuck Avenue in digital repentance. And therefore there will be a game at Codornices this Sunday at 11, IF I get enough commits by this Friday morning…Raymond
6/17/05
Softball: The Perks of Commitment
Dear People,
There will be a game at Codornices this Sunday at 11AM, and as of now, there are still five slots left. If there is significant rain tomorrow or climatic conditions are ambiguous, you will need to check email or voicemail.
This week’s field fee is just $2, and that includes valet parking, all gratuities and a complimentary pannier of seasonal legumes…Ray 845-7552
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