Despite only having three items to share with you for this edition of Really?, I couldn’t wait to share the first one.

There’s a chance you may have already read about this one. If not, it’s quite the story. It also ranks right up there with some of the more dumber social media things I’ve ever seen — and that’s saying something.

On Instagram, I’ve seen many people show their love of weed. There are images of people smoking, bowls and everything else. Alas, those don’t even come close to this one.

See, there was a bike race in England. During the race, somebody got hit by a car. The driver then took off.

Now I have heard and read stories about road rage in the states, especially against bikers. Stories such as a driver staying right behind a biker and laying on the horn, rather than go around the bike. It’s pretty obnoxious.

But this takes the cake.

See, some time later, this driver — identified as Emma Way — took it to Twitter.

No, people, I’m not kidding.

The tweet and its account seem to have been deleted.

Here’s what our future brain surgeon had to say, though. You have to love the Internet — things like this live forever.

Really?

Apparently, according to some reports, she only had 100 followers or so.

But when did we ever expect social media to keep quiet, especially in times like this? Exactly.

This is where it gets even more fun. See, apparently the Norwich (UK) police were notified of said Tweet. So what did they do? What any good social media account would do — they responded!

@emmaway20 we have had tweets ref an RTC with a bike. We suggest you report it at a police station ASAP if not done already & then dm us

— Norwich Police (@NorwichPoliceUK) May 19, 2013

Well, that’s interesting, no?

Apparently the investigation is still underway, but they’ve chatted with Emma Way. The Daily Mail article linked above has quotes from the biker, as well as one of Way’s friends. It’s even better as, according to the ipayroadtax.com report, police found some interesting photos connected to Way’s social media profiles, including shots of tailgating other motorists and one of her speedometer showing a speed of 95 mph!

Turns out she’s apparently been suspended from her place of employment, too.

Way has talked publicly (video in link, well worth watching), now. And, of course, she is apologizing for the comment on Twitter. Alas, she said she didn’t think she hit the rider, or if she did, she didn’t stop because she didn’t think he was hurt or came off the bike.

Really?

Also, she claims to be a cyclist. Yeah, of course.

The biggest thing to take out of this is how crazy social media is. The younger generation doesn’t always take into account what can come from these photos. Whether it’s stuff like this, drugs, alcohol items or sexual things — these follow you around. We’re in a generation where things are easily found online. Be smart.

Thankfully, in this spot, the person wasn’t smart and hopefully the justice system in England will take care of the situation.

**** 

Time for a little more absurdity.

Apparently, a young lad in kindergarten is quite the nuisance when he has a Mohawk haircut. For real.

And with that comes some serious reprimands.

See, this five-year-old kid returned from spring break to his school in Springfield, Ohio. He had begged his mother to get the new hairdo, and she relented.

Why not?

Alas, when he showed up at school with the short, albeit spiky, Mohawk haircut, the top school official didn’t agree with classmates that the cut was cool. In fact, he said the haircut was disruptive.

Then he sent the kid home until he adopted a tamer cut.

Yeah, a 5-year-old was suspended for a Mohawk haircut.

Really?

Apparently one of the issues was because classmates and such were in awe of the awesome cut. They were even touching and feeling it. Maybe a whole class full of Mowhawks could have followed?

So, superintendent Gregg Morris acted quickly.

In the report on Yahoo! Shine, Morris, through a statement, explained the decision.

Our dress and grooming policies are designed to ensure that clothing and hairstyles do not cause a distraction to the learning environment.

This is just ridiculous.

These are kids in kindergarten. A haircut isn’t going to cause a distraction to the learning environment. What in the heck could it disrupt? Nap time? Counting? Show and tell?

Come on, people. This stuff is starting to become absolutely idiotic.

I do realize society has changed since I was a kid, but being an individual is part of growing and learning. With more and more regulations being put on what kids can and can’t do, we suffer in the long run. This is downright moronic and people need to look in the mirror a bit more when it comes to situations like this.

****

Let me leave you with something quite interesting.

Tattoos.

I’ve always thought tattoos should be something to truly matter. After all, it’s something that goes with you for life, unless you opt for expensive surgery to remove it. And, in that case, why get it at all?

But one New York company is taking it to a new level. See, this real estate company is offering a raise should you get its logo tattooed somewhere — anywhere — on your body. If you do so, it’s a 15 percent increase on your salary. And, the company said no size or location restrictions. So one can, essentially, hide it.

Apparently the idea came about when one employee opted to do the tattoo on his own. He told the boss and the idea came about.

It seems at least 40 employees have already done it. But at least the tattoo is paid for by the business owner.

There was one employee, only with the company for about a month, who took part in it.

Really?

What will society think of next? I’m not sure I want to know.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

The comments seem to be getting better.

With that in mind, I think I’m going to likely make this a monthly feature. I’ll go through and get some of the best “spam comments” that arrive on the blog and share them with you.

I have to be honest, though. Wherever this spam is coming from, it’s getting more creative. And, at times, they almost make sense. Almost.

Oh, and for the record, since the last time I ran a comments post, I have more than 9,000 messages in the spam folder. Soon, that will be zero. At least for a little while.

So, without further ado, let’s continue with some of the best spam comments I’ve recently had.

This one is a doozy. This comment appears on a post where I talk about the importance of triple-checking coordinates when placing a geocache.

Hello There. I discovered the site employing live messenger. This is a well authored write-up. I will always book mark that in addition to return to examine added of this techniques. Thanks for the particular submit. Let me surely return.

I’m trying to figure out why he needs my permission to return?

This next one came from a post I titled “Get me re-write,” originally posted in 2011 and talking about me needing to re-write my resume.

You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I
find this topic to be really something which I think I would never
understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me.

I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get
the hang of it!

Your comment is written in a way that I don’t think I’d ever understand!

In this next one, I believe I found a fan! This came on a post that tackled whether or not it would be fun to go back to college.

Thanks for sharing superb informations. Your site is very cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this site. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for extra articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found simply the info I already searched all over the place and just couldn’t come across. What a perfect website.

I will continue to share good “informations” and I do appreciate you thinking I ROCK! (For the record, I do.)

The flattering comments keep coming, too! This one came from a post about a disc golf Ace Race tournament, which originally was featured on my other blog.

Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So nice to uncover somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for beginning this up. this web page is something that is necessary on the internet, a person having a little originality. useful job for bringing something new to the world wide web!

I’m telling you, if I keep getting all these comments, I don’t know what I’ll do with myself!

Speaking of my other blog, I saved one from there as I knew I needed to share it. One of the other writers on the site is working on a book and, occasionally, he shares an excerpt. This comment came from one of those posts.

Greetings! I’ve been following your blog for a while now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out from Huffman Texas! Just wanted to tell you keep up the good work!

Who knew it took some bravery to post a comment on a blog?

This one came on one of my completed Day Zero Project posts. Seems fitting. Or not.

888, a London, UK-listed practitioner of online casino, bingo and poker games, today announced that it has gained a approve to be adapted to in the Coordinated States.

The online gaming living abortion, which is headquartered in and regulated at after all perfectly little short of the Sweep of Gibraltar, says the Nevada Gaming Commission has approved the licensing of 888 as an ‘Interactive Gaming Case Provider’ at a designation held in Las Vegas, and in jerk therewith the licensing of its ilk executives and controlling shareholders.

Reuters reported the sully on the escutcheon this morning, noting that it isn’t much of a shocker as the Nevada utter gaming in limit billet voted to disclose inviting condone earlier this month.

Well… word choice is always important when posting online.

Finally, I’ll leave you with this one. It comes from a post from the daily writing challenge I was in during the month of February. The theme for the day? Abraham Lincoln. My post was a couple of photos and a few words about seeing the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. So, yeah, this comment fits…

The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my selection to read, but I essentially thought youd have something intriguing to say. All I hear is actually a bunch of whining about some thing that you simply could fix when you werent too busy looking for attention.

Yep, totally nailed it!

And now? Time to empty the spam folder. I’m sure I’ll be back with more in a month or so.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Lace ‘em up and play ball!

It seems like I probably use this day for the same sort of post each year.

But softball season starts today.

Softball has been a massive part of my life since I was in high school. Once baseball season ended, we turned to softball. I’m pretty sure the first time I ran a team was my senior year in high school. Since then, I’ve continued with a team and have had varying sponsors. We’ve been bad, we’ve been good and everything in between.

We’ve gone to many tournaments where, like our league play, we’ve been bad and good. We’ve placed as high as fifth at a state tournament and more than once gone 0-2 barbecue.

Softball begins today (maybe)!

The bad for our league ended a few years after starting a team. Since then, we’ve always seemed to be in the mix some. I believe it was our fourth year as a team when we were seeded sixth in the playoffs and made a run to the championship series. We lost, but getting there — that year — was the story.

We made several return trips to the finals and never found a way to win. Finally breaking through in 2001 was one of the coolest softball moments I ever had. The league was my local one and several of us finally got to hoist the cup.

The league folded two years later.

We switched to a new league and lost a few people from the team who already committed to another team. No worries, away we went. We competed in the league, reaching the league finals a few times. We broke through again in 2011, winning the championship. We followed that up with another title in 2012.

Last year was a bit rougher. we went through good and bad stretches. In the semifinals, we played the team we had faced in the championship the year before. It was a solid series (low-scoring for the most part, only a few runs difference in each), but we were swept and the season ended.

So goes the run.

Alas, we’re back again this year.

Though the team is similar to last year, we have a few guys playing full-time again, which is awesome. But, we had a few people who were going to play back out on us. That stinks, of course, but we’ll persevere and see what happens.

Line ‘em up!

It’s nice just to get out and play the game and still be able to (somewhat) do it.

As long as we can stay competitive and play right, who knows what will happen. And as long as Mother Nature cooperates today, we’ll be opening the season.

And we should even have enough to field a full team.

In the end, it’s about playing the game. With that in mind, I’ll leave you with a quote from the best movie of all time:

A good friend of mine used to say, ‘This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’ Think about that for a while.

Play ball!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

A couple of years ago, I did a blog post about Zander Hollander.

Earlier this year, I got a comment on the post from his nephew, who also gave me the e-mail address of his wife Phyllis. I had planned to e-mail, but didn’t really know how to approach it as Zander’s nephew had noted his uncles wasn’t in great health.

Autographed book.

Recently, a freelance writer happened upon my blog, hoping to find some info about Zander. He is working on a piece about Zander, so he’s looking for all he can get.

That made me remember the e-mail to Phyllis.

I wrote to Phyllis to see if I should forward her e-mail address and such to the writer. I also mentioned meeting them when they came to my town as part of the local book fair. She remembered, which was quite cool.

I’m going to be, in the next week or so, calling Phyllis. I’ll write a little more on the blog after that, to update my post from 2011.

With all of this, however, I went digging for some books by Zander in hopes of finding a signed one. Turns out, I have two signed books. These are very cool to have.

I love signed books and they are ones I really like to keep. So having these two is a bit of a thrill.

Check out the post linked above for the full story.

****

As much as I hate to say it, I guess I have to start working.

I’ve pointed this out on the blog before, but I’m a dreamer. So I’d be lying if I said I didn’t dream big when I purchased my Powerball ticket for the $600 million jackpot.

No winner for me.

Though there was a slight disappointment when I heard the ticket was sold in Florida, it’s also reality. Think about how many tickets were sold for that lotto. Imagine the odds of winning. I only buy one ticket, so my odds are even greater.

It still would have been cool though.

Have you ever read the stories about people who win a massive lotto and are broke in a couple of years? I can assure you that wouldn’t have been me. Many of those stories repeat themselves — the person gives away money, is silly with his spending etc.

No chance for me.

I’m not going to lie — if I won $600 million, I would have tried to spend a million in a week or so. House/land, cars, some other things. All frivolous  Why? Because I could.

After that? Back to being smart with it. Invest it. Pay off bills for myself, family and close friends. Set up some college funds for certain youngsters. Set up a charitable foundation.

Then, have it set up so I get paid weekly. A certain amount. That way, I don’t just go spending money for the sake of spending it.

Alas, that won’t happen.

So when this new summer job of mine starts in a few weeks, I’ll be heading there. And I’m OK with that.

Though $600 million would have been sweet.

****

For the past week or so, I’ve been out finding spots to place geocaches in my area. I am hosting an event this upcoming Sunday and I wanted to have some new caches available.

You can find some interesting things while doing this.

Old ball caught in a bush.

Whether it’s piles of trash, makeshift memorials, the beauty of nature, or whatever else, you never know what you’ll find.

When inspecting at a local field, an old baseball was found.

This isn’t rare. I’ve come across old baseballs many times. And they often make for good photos.

But this one was different. It wasn’t just a ball in the middle of an old field or something. It was stuck. In a bush. We didn’t remove it as we thought it seemed cool an had its place.

It also looked like it had been there for a while.

Just another interesting find while out and about with geocaching.

****

That will do it for this edition of Notes from my noodle. I’ll be back with another edition of this shortly has I have a few more things to randomly share!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Another blast from the past!

Hitting up my father’s side of the family. This is my grandparents. No date on the shot.

A few years ago, I was looking for different subjects for photography.

I did a search for independent wrestling and came up with a group — 2CW — out of Syracuse. A couple of us went to an old Legion hall in Binghamton and watched. I was sold.

I’ve long been a fan of pro wrestling and have written about it here at times. I’ve done photo posts and other things. I’m slowly even working on a few bigger writing projects about wrestling. Slowly being the key term.

I’m heading off to see an event tonight. It’ll be the first live show I’ve seen in several months. It’s always a lot of fun to watch, from the action in the ring to the fans in the stands.

And, as always, I’ll bring my camera.

Since that first event, though, I’ve hit up more than 20 independent events and they’ve been a hoot. There’s been some great stuff, some bad stuff and everything in between.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to make this week’s Foto Friday about the squared circle and the battles going on. I probably have done this before, whether in a regular post or a Foto Friday, so I’m going to try and pick a few different shots.

I’ll be sure to leave the gore elsewhere though.

No matter what, though, I have to start with a certain image. Truthfully, it’s what sold me on going to many more independent shows, especially 2CW. From there, the images are in no particular order and I’ve tried to mix the federations a bit.

1. Fire!

This came after the last match of the evening. The one guy — Jason Axe — dragged his foe out of the ring, brought him back to this spot and set up a table. As he started squirting lighter fluid on the table, I knew what was coming. The camera had already been put away as this was it — but I quickly grabbed it and the flash and started snapping. (From 2CW in Binghamton, Sept. 24, 2010)

Through the table, Mikey.

2. Here’s dust in your eye!

One thing with pro wrestling is knowing how things work. I’ve watched and learned about the way things go for a long time. So I can usually anticipate. This one was setting up pretty well and I was just hoping I’d snap at the right time — and I did. (From BTW in Delhi, Sept. 30, 2011)

I can’t see!

3. Packed house

Sometimes, it’s about capturing the atmosphere. With the lights on only over the ring, the dusty look and feel and a packed house inside an old Legion hall, this is independent professional wrestling. (From 2CW in Binghamton, Feb. 24, 2012)

A packed house makes it even better.

4. Up close and personal

In many independent setups, you are really close to the action. So if you are prepared and snapping away, you can come up with some cool shots. Such as this one with Tommy Dreamer and Colin Delaney. (From XCite in Binghamton, Sept. 28, 2012)

Beat down!

5. Stars of the past

Finally, going to independent shows often gives you the chance to see the stars of the past and those you watched growing up. Many of them are very approachable and friendly, which makes it even better. These guys have been through it all in the industry, and are still going. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is one of my all-time favorites and I’ve had the chance to see him on these indy shows several times. (From 2CW in Rome, April 14, 2012)

Hacksaw!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

I’m one of those baseball nerds you might see at a baseball game — a scorebook in my lap.

Sometimes, I’ll have a beer. More often than not, a hot dog or two as well.

But I keep score.

It’s something I’ve always done. It’s not something that was passed down to me from my father or anything, but it’s something I do. When I go to some pro games with one friend, we’ll often pass the book back and forth and take turns with innings. This allows time for bathroom breaks or to grab a drink or a bite to eat.

Scorekeeping at games is a lost art form.

It’s a shame I haven’t kept all of those scorecards. Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of great players. Hall of Famers. Minor leaguers who eventually made it to the show. And everyday guys who had their journey end not long after I saw them play.

Those scorecards showed a lot, including a lot of memories. I still have some. I have one or two of the scorebooks I used for the six years I covered professional baseball.

One thing I’ve always been in search of is a smaller scorebook, one I could carry in and out of parks without feeling like I am lugging a briefcase. I’ve seen the old ones reporters used back in the golden age of baseball. They were small and without frills.

I’ve never been able to find a scorebook like that. They were thicker, too. Thick enough to hold at least a season’s worth of games. But I don’t see those much. And for the few people I know who cover professional baseball, they all seem to use the Bob Carpenter book. I used that for a couple of years, too. But, in all honesty, unless you are on a good beat where there are press boxes and tables and such, Carpenter’s book isn’t easy. It’s about 8.5 x 11 inches, so it’s not tiny. And with so many pages, it’s a bit bulky.

But for a baseball nut, it’s heaven.

The scorebook is filled with everything a writer would need. And if you’re an announcer, this book is even better as it really gives you room to work. I love it, personally. But in my post-sports writing life, when I keep score at a park, I want something a bit more simple. I don’t need a lot of bells and whistles, so to speak. I need a scorebook I can carry into parks with me and not have it be too big. I still carry my camera with me, so if I can tuck it into my camera bag or backpack and have it not add a lot of weight? Bonus.

The art

Scorekeeping is a lost art.

Years ago, you’d be able to go to a park on a sunny Saturday afternoon and, without a doubt, you’d be able to find many father’s keeping score with their sons. Or people would do it on their own.

The scorecard (home team) from the first professional baseball game I covered.

In the six years I covered professional baseball, it was a rarity. There were a few who made every home game for the Single-A team I covered. And they all kept book. I’d say 3-4 of them. It was a way of keeping in touch with the game.

And the team I covered was a no-frills team — so no between-innings shenanigans or anything like that. Just baseball. On a field that had been in places for decades.

This was baseball. Nothing more, nothing less.

Heck, the owner — then in his 80s — used to carry the nightly till out in a lock box. Talk about trust in society!

Scorekeeping is more than just filling in the diamonds to show how many runs were scored. It’s a narrative of the game. The best part? No two scorecards are the same. The beauty of baseball is it allows those who keep score to develop their own way of keeping score, or tweak something from other things they’ve seen.

People mark hits differently. Same with outs. Errors, passed balls, extra-base hits and everything in between can all be marked differently. Some people have systems so complex, only they can decipher them.

For many, keeping score at a game will keep them focused on what’s happening. It also allows people to look at the game in a different way.

A few years ago, while still working at the newspaper, I did a story about those who keep book at games. They all seemed to agree it was a lost art form.

When you go to major league games, your more apt to see more people doing it. There are kid’s scorebooks and cards now, so that often helps getting youngsters involved.

But with so many other activities going on, sometimes it’s hard to keep a kid settled down long enough to be able to keep score.

Still searching for the perfect book

For years, I’ve been looking for that book. The smaller version of a scorebook. Something easier to carry.

I think it finally ended.

The scorecard (visiting team) from the first professional baseball game I covered.

A post by a friend on Facebook got me thinking about scorecards as he noted keeping score at a game. So I decided to — as I do a few times every year — look to see if I could find a smaller book.

That brought me to a Kickstarter campaign from two years ago — The Eephus League Baseball Scorebook Revival. This book is small and made for simple scoring. Maybe a little too simple for me, but the size? Perfect!

But the campaign was over. What to do?

I visited the Eephus League website. Sure enough, the books were for sale. My hesitation is the book only holds 20 games. That would last me a couple of years as I don’t do 20 games per year. Still, I was hoping for something a little thicker.

Then something else caught my eye. The Halfliner. This book, designed by the same person — Bethany Heck — was bigger, but not massive sized like many others. It was hard cover and held 81 games!

Score!

(See what I did there?)

And the best part? This Halfliner isn’t fully ready. She has a Kickstarter campaign going and it was still active. Even better!

Needless to say, I’m a backer. I can’t wait for this to finish up and to eventually get my Halfliner.

This book is almost everything I’ve ever looked for in a scorebook for fan use. It’s a little bigger than I hoped, but the thickness, the hard binding and pretty much everything else is perfect.

I look forward to getting this one when the campaign is all over. After that, I’ll look forward to hitting up a game (or 10) so I can get back into keeping book at games and knowing I’ll have everything in one place.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!