Grey water

it's fully permitted and 80% of the way installed.   We just need loose ends tied up and the final inspection.

got the new camera

Nikon Coolpix B500. Paid $325.00 for the camera, case and rechargeable batteries.

The Phenomenon by Rick Ankiel and Tim Brown (2017)

This is an autobiography written by major league baseball player Rick Ankiel, with help from sports writer Tim Brown.  This player came up as a pitcher, the next Coufax, and found during a playoff game that he couldn't throw a strike.   He had the yips, which is performance anxiety that besets professional athletes.  Thereafter, after a painful many years fighting it, he transformed himself as a batter and batted well.

It's a good baseball story and a good life comeback story.  Read it

One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard (2012)

I was at our little league Fiesta about 2 weeks ago and found a beat up paperback gem of a book on my chair.

It is a non-fiction account of a high school baseball team in rural Illinois 1971 that went all the way to state and nearly won the whole thing.  It's a David and Goliath story, and more.  It's also about the hippie coach that made practices optional and encouraged players to do their own thing. These corn fed kids sewed peace symbol patches on their caps.

You may call it mixing your metaphors.  I call it balance. I call it taking the best from both worlds.

Read this one, James.

Where Nobody Knows your Name (2014) by John Feinstein

This is a book by a sports journalist about life in the major leagues. He walks through the career of players looking to make it to the big show, managers, and umpires. It's a great peek into their personal lives and the business aspects of this great game.  How does it feel to be a 40 YO old pitcher whose best case scenario is another season starting at Triple A for a new team?  Interesting stuff.

Read it.