What Republicans need to know if they want my vote in November

Six Word Saturday

My Six:



I'll never vote for Donald Trump.


Let me bullet point it for you.

•  Back in August of last year I ranked the 17 republican candidates for president. the Donald came in 17th.  
• The only reason why he comes in 6th now is that 11 of the candidates have since dropped out of the race.One of the 16 other candidates was a pro choice republican.  I am on the record of stating that I would never again vote for a pro-choice republican.  I would be hundreds of times more likely to vote for that candidate than Trump

• I don't hate Trump.  I just don't trust him.
• I don't trust anyones whose go to answer is I'll be great at it.
• I don't hate Trump.  I just don't respect him.
• I cant respect anyone whose answer to those who disagree with him is to deride them.
• I get very upset when any of the other candidates when trying to frame the discussion back to Republican versus Democrat state that any republican candidate would be better than Obama, Sanders or Clinton.
• It only takes watching 1 debate (and I have watched all but 1 of them) to see that Trump does not have the character to lead this country.
• When he is booed which is often. He assumes  The people booing are wrong.
• In the last debate he took a pot shot at Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina who had been out of the race for some time.  When booed he attributed it to donors who back Jeb Bush.  The truth is he was attacking Graham in a debate in South Carolina, a week before the primary there.  
• I feel there are many people like me who will never vote for Trump.  
• But I am afraid there are more people who are willing to go along with who ever secures the nomination.
• I will not be among them.

For more six word saturday click here.



Also posted at YBD #YBD=HSD

The Pac Man Special

Frank & Ernest by Thaves, February 13, 2016 Via @GoComics:









 One of the many great comics you can read for free at GoComics.com! Follow us for giveaways & giggles.



Also posted at YBD #YBD=HSD

Songs from my cassette collection Volume I

It has been a while since I have participated in Six Word Saturday at Show My Face.  So I have two for the price of one.  

We Bought a Jeep on Monday

It has a working cassette player.

We have not owned a cassette player for sometime and once I noticed that we now did.  I pulled out my 200 or so cassettes from under my bed and have started listening to them again.  I forgot about a lot of the music down there and have decided to post lyrics from songs occasionaly here and if possible videos of said songs at Dave Out Loud.  

Today's song comes from Steve Scott a poet/musician whose 1983 album love in the western world contained this gem.

This Sad Music

The whales are dying now,
hurling themselves upon the beaches
black dice reckoned under the sun's watchful gaze

There's sweat on the preacher's brow
as he talks about damnation.
The whales are in love with no one
They wanted to die without explanation

He mops his brow and quotes Malcolm Muggeridge
on - quote -
"the collapse of western civilization"
- end quote -
and the book he waves in the air
is as black as whaleskin

He urges people to "make their decision"
and the whales have made their decision

An awful silence surrounds them
Like a ruined castle they lie
still, passive, beyond explanations

Beads of sweat on the preacher's brow
like small clear animals clinging to a rock face
or like tiny transparent whales
flinging themselves from the boiling seas of his eyes
into a slow, certain dying

The sad music in their brains, a piper's lament
from that old castle in the mist-thickened night

"FIFTEEN THOUSAND CINEMAS ACROSS THIS LAND,
DEPICTING EVERY SEXUAL ACT KNOWN TO
THE HUMAN IMAGINATION!" shouts the preacher

His voice is a door slamming shut
the sea's noise is a vast intake of breath
a gesture in a room to break the silence
now the whales have broken the silence

They are the color of the preacher's harsh words

The white foam rushes to embrace them
like mother and father
The whales do not want to know, and now

There are people sprawled on the beaches
chained together by "HUMAN IMAGINATION"
All the music has bled out of them,
drained from the ends of their fingers
splashed from the loudspeakers of their wallets

And at the end of the service, people walk forward
Perhaps it is "the collapse of western civilization"
that moves them
or the sad music of their slow, certain dying
that guides their feet

And at the end of this poem
a strange light comes off the bodies of the whales
gathering up the shadows like driftwood
and splashing them against the far walls

you would think the shadows would make
the words there hard to read
However, I find it's at a time like this
I see the writing clearest of all

(c) Steve Scott 1983

Click here to watch the video at Dave Out Loud.

Click here for more Six Word Saturday

Also posted at Home School Dad #HSD=YBD

I have decided

I left this blog behind last year because our family was no longer home educating.  And I started a new blog YBD: Your Basic Dave

What I have noticed is despite the fact that I am never here, I get much more traffic here than at my new place.  So I have decided to just do a name change on this blog to YBD and start posting here again.

I have already signed up for the A to Z Challenge at YBD so, I will just continue posting there until 5-1.  But going forward.  I will post all content simulpost if you will here and at YBD.

Scott, Steve - This Sad Music

Welcome from YBD. Here is the video of Steve Scott's 1983 This Sad Music



 

I hope you liked it.

Return to YBD by clicking here

2016 HOF . IF I had a ballot.

In late 2009 after I started this blog, I began previewing the HOF class for 2010.  I took 2 years off in 2012 and 2013.  I probably still did it, but I didn't post them on line.  My process is this,  first I preview those returning to the ballot  and then I preview those new to the ballot,

Then finally I list out who I would vote for if I had a ballot.  But I actually do a little more than that. Since the official ballot allows for 10 selections I always start with the idea of who I would vote to if I had to pick 10 players and then order my selections by saying who the 10th player would be and who the 9th player would be and so on,  When I get to the point of who I would vote for if I could vote for any # of players between 1 and 10 I announce that as my official ballot but then keep on counting down until I imagine I could only vote for 1 player.

This year there has been a lot of discussion on line about the limit of 10.  I think 10 is a fine limit and my official ballot has never been more than 8.  But this year I will start  if writers were allowed 12 votes and work my way down from there.  The reason why I do this is two fold. 1 every year when I research my selections  I do it mostly with pen and paper and generally the only notes I have from the previous years are the blog posts themselves.  Which means I am often hard pressed to remember who was thinking about at 11.  Last year 4 people got elected and they were on my list so knowing who was on the cusp of making it last year would be helpful.  The second reason is that the extra votes allow me a little leeway in making my choices which is evidenced by my first choice.

If I were allowed to vote for 12 players elgible for the 2016 HOF class. My12th vote would go to Garret Anderson (Anderson was not on the ballot last year).  There are certainly other players on the ballot who I normally would consider before Anderson.  Larry Walker has been in my top 10 in other years for example.  However I would choose Anderson for 1 reason only.  I have a friend named Garret Anderson and if you ever get a chance to nominate a friend into the HOF, I think you should!

If I were allowed to vote for 11 players, my 11th vote would go to Mike Mussina (I did not vote for Mussina last year).  Mussina is definitely worth of consideration in the hall. He just falls short of my top 10.

If I were allowed to vote for exactly 10 players, my 10th vote would go to Jim Edmonds.  (Edmonds is on the ballot for the 1st time this year)

If I could only vote for exactly 9 players my 9th vote would go to Trevor Hoffman.  (Hoffman is a first timer as well). I may consider Hoffman on my official unofficial ballot in years to come, but I don't feel comfortable support candidacy until my 3rd choice in this years ballots HOF fate is decided)

My 8th choice if I could vote for 8 would be Allen Trammel  (Allen was not in my top 10 last year) .  I have alway been on the fence about Trammel,  Ihave him in my top 8 this year as a sense of urgency since this is his last year on the ballot.

My 7th choice on a 7 player ballot would be Edgar Martinez.  (Martinez was 10th on my list in 2015).  I have no problem voting for a lifelong DH in the HOF my main reason for not having him any higher is that was consistently the 2nd or 3rd biggest offensive producer on his team.

In my 4 previous ballots, my 6th and 5th choices have appeared 2 times each in the position right before my official unofficial ballot.  That is because, in my mind they are both inches shy of being so HOF worthy that I would link their name with mine.  This year # 6 is Mike Piazza (9 last year) and # 5 is the crime dog himself , Fred McGriff (McGriff was not in my top 10 last year.)

If I were given a HOF ballot, my ballot would contain 4 names.  Th 4th name would be Jeff Bagwell.  (Jeff was 7th on my list of 8 players on my  official unofficial ballot last year.

If I was given a HOF ballot and told to vote for only 3 players, the 3rd player would be Lee Smith (he was my 5th choice last year) .  Relievers and Designated hitters get discriminated on by many voters and it is a shame that Smith is not yet in and does not figure to get in on the writer's ballot.

If I could only vote for 2 players in the HOF, it would be very easy to pick those 2.  #2 would be Ken Griffey Jr.(This is his first year on the ballot.

#1 would be Tim Raines.  (Raines was my 2nd choice in 2015, thrird choice in 2014, 1st choice  back in 2011 and 2nd choice  in 2010) Raines should already be in by now.  he only has 2 more years to go from his 55% of the vote last year to the 75% needed,

That is who I would vote for.  Here are my predictions for how I think the vote went.

I think 3 of the following 5 players will be elected to the Hall this year.  Well, Ken Griffey is a lock.
So actually 2 of  Raines, Bagwell, Piazza and Hoffman.  My heart says Bagwell and Raines my head says Piazza and either Bagwell or Hoffman.

Preview of 2016 HOF 1st time ballot and rev

Each year there players on the Baseball Writers Association of Anaerica (BBWAA) ballot for the first time.  These players have been retired from baseball the requisite amount of years and now get consideration for enshrinement in Cooperstown.  This year there are 15 such players.  Last year there were 17.  Before I preview the 15 players on the ballot for the first time in 2016, lets review the 17 former newbies and see how they did. The 17 from 15 and the 15 from 16 will fall into 4 potential categories  ...

Make it into the HOF on their first ballot by receiving at least 75% of the votes.

Receive enough votes to stay on the ballot for the next election (5%) but not enough for enshrinement in their first year (75%)

Receive some votes but not the 5% needed to appear on subsequent ballots.

Recieve no votes what so ever.

The 17 player on the ballot for the first time in 2015 were ...

all lists in alphabetical order

Look Ma no votes!

Rich Aurilla

Tony Clark

Jermaine Dye

Cliff Floyd 

Brian Giles

Eddie Guardado 

Jason Schmidt

Some but not enough to stay.

Aaron Boone

Carlos Delgado

Darin Erstad

Tom Gordon 

Troy Percival

Maybe Later

Nomar Garciaparra 

Gary Sheffield

HOF Baby!

Randy Johnson 

Pedro Martinez

John Smoltz

It is noteworthy, but not surprising that 7 of the 17 (41 %)1st timers on the ballot failed to get even one vote.  Add that to the 5 who failed to get 5 % or more and you have 71% attrition rate.  In 2014 there were 19 1st timers on the ballot 3 were elected to the hall, 2 received enough votes to stay on the ballot for the next year, 8 received some votes but less than 5 %, and 6 failed to get any votes.  In 2013 none of the 24 appearing on the ballot for the first time were elected in their first year,  6 remained on the ballot for the next year,  8 received some votes but less than 5 % and 10 failed to get any votes.

In the last 3 years 35 % of first time players on the ballot received some votes but not enough votes for future consideration with 38.33% getting no votes at all.  whereas 26.67% were either voted into the HOF on the 1st ballot (10%) or were able to come back the next year (16.67%)

If the percentages hold for the 15 newcomers on this years ballot 1.5 players will be elected on the first ballot and 2.5 players getting enough votes to stay on for the 2017 ballot.  Since there are no half players lets's say 1-2 will be first ballot hallof famers and 2-3 will hang on until next year.  This leaves 11 to not get enough votes to return in 2017.  Again if recent percentages hold 6 will get no votes at all,  and 5 will get some votes but less than 5 % as you peruse the list below imagine which ones will be in what category come Tuesday night

Garret Anderson (Angels,Braves,Dodgers)

Brad Ausmus (Astros,Tigers, Padres, Dodgers)

Luis Castillo (Marlins, Mets, Twins)

David Eckstein (Angels,Cardinals,Padres,Blue Jays, Diamondbacks)

Jim Edmonds (Cardinals,Angels,Cubs,Brewers,Padres,Reds)

Troy Glaus (Angels,BlueJays,Cardinals,Diamondback,Braves)

Ken Griffey Jr. (Mariners, Reds, White Sox)

Mark Grudzielanek (Dodgers,Royals,Expos,Cubs,Cardinals)

Mike Hampton (Astros, Braves Rockies, Mets, Mariners, Diamond Backs)

Trevor Hoffman (Padres,Brewers,Marlins)

Jason Kendall (Pirates,Athletics,Brewers,Royals,Cubs)

Mike Lowell (Marlins,Red Sox, Yankees)

Mike Sweeney (Royals,Mariners,Athletics,Phillies)

Billy Wagner (Astros,Braves,Phillies,Mets,Red Sox)

Randy Winn(Giants,Devil Rays, Mariners,Cardinals,Yankees0

.  

HOF 2016 Ballot Returning Players Preview

The 2016 HOF election results will be revealed at 6 pm EST on January 6th.  I will be reviewing everyone on the ballot and submitting who I would vote for   over the next few days as I have over the past 5 years or so.  Today I look at those returning tot he ballot from previous years.

Note:  In 2014 the years a returning player could be on the ballot was reduced from 15 to 10 with those who had more than 10 years on the ballot grandfathered in to the full 15.  This is why I state how many years each candidate has remaing on the ballot after this year.  Obviously that # become moot, if they are elected, or fail to receive the 5% needed to remain on the ballot.  

The 17 players returning from last years ballot listed from highest percentage of votes received to lowest are ...

Mike Piazza 69.9% of vote in 2015.  4th year on ballot,  Additional time to be on ballot: 6  years. Highest vote total 2015.

Jeff Bagwell 55.7% of vote in 2015. 6th year on ballot with 4 years remaining.  Highest vote total was 59.6% in 2013 his 3rd year of eligibility

Tim Raines 55%  of vote in 2015. 9th year on ballot  with 1 year remaining. Highest vote total  was 2015.

Curt Schilling 39.2% of vote in 2015. 4th year on ballot,  Additional time to be on ballot: 6.  Curt's highest % was in 2015

Roger Clemens   37.5 % of vote in 2015. 4th year on ballot,  Additional time to be on ballot: 6  years. Clemens received his highest % (37.6)  in 2013, his first year on ballot.

Barry Bonds  36.8 % of vote in 2015. 4th  year on ballot,   Additional time to be on ballot: 6  years.  Bonds received his highest %  in 2015

Lee Smith 30.2%  of vote in 2015. 14th year on ballot  with 1  year remaining.  Lee's highest % 50.6  was in 2012, his 10th year on ballot.

Edgar Martinez 27% of vote in 2015. 7th year on ballot  with 3  years remaining. Edgar's  highest %  of 36.5 came  in 2012 his 3rd year of HOF consideration.
his

Alan Trammell  25.1% of vote in 2015. 2016 is his 15th and final  year on ballot.   His highest % , 36.8,  came in 11th year of eligibility (2012) 36.8 in 2012

Mike Mussina 24.6  %  of vote in 2015.  3rd year on ballot  with 7 additional years remaining. Mussina's highest % came in 2015.

Jeff Kent 15.2%  of vote in 2015. 3rd year on ballot  with 7 additional years remaining. Kent's highest % was 15.2 in 2014

Fred McGriff  12.9% of vote in 2015.  7th year on ballot with 3  years remaining  Highest % 23.9 in 2012 (3rd year)

Larry Walker 11.8% of vote in 2015. 6th year on ballot  with 4  years remaining. Larry's highest  % 22.9  came in 2012, his 2nd year on the ballot

Gary Sheffield 11.7 % of vote in 2015. 2nd year on ballot with 8 years remaining.

Mark McGwire 10 % of vote  in 2015. 10th and final  year on ballot,   His highest % 23.7 in 2010 (4th year)

Sammy Sosa received 6.6% of the vote in 2015.  This is 4th year on the ballot with 6 years remaining.  In 2012 Sosa received 12.5%, his highest percentage so far.

Nomar Garciaparra only received 5.5% of the vote in 2015.  2nd year on the ballot with 8 years remaining.

That's it for remaining players.  I will preview first year players tomorrow.

My playoff pics

I have not been paying a lot of attention to baseball this year besides the Cubs and the Sox.  Even so here are my 2015 playoff predictions

AL Wildcard Astros over Yankees

ALDS Bluejays over Rangers

Astros over Royals

ALCS Astros over Bluejays

NL Wildcard Cubs over Pirates

NlLDS Cubs over Cardinals

Dodgers over Mets

NLCS Cubs over Dodgers

World Series

Cubs over Astros

I know it's a stretch.  But I like the idea of the Cubs and Sox beating the same team to win the World Series ten years apart

If the NFC playoffs were today 10/5/15

Now that 4 weeks are in the books in the AFC (the Monday nigh game is 2 NFC rivals) I can tell you what would happen in the AFC if the playoffs began today.

Division Champions

NFC East Dallas Cowboys (winner of 3 team tiebreaker) (2-2)

Week 4 result Lost to New Orleans (1-3) 26-20

Week  5 opponent New England 3-0

NFC North Green Bay Packers (4-0)

Week 4 Result: Beat San Francisco (1-3) 17-3

Week  5 opponent St. Louis* (2-2)

NFC South Carolina Panthers (winner of 2 team tiebreaker)(4-0)

 

Week 4 result Beat Tampa Bay)37-23

Week  5 Bye

NFC West Arizona Cardinals (3-1)

Week 4 result Lost to St. Louis (2-2) 24-22

Week  5 opponent @Detroit (0-4)

Wild Card

Atlanta Falcons (4-0)

Week 4 result Beat Houston(1-3) 48-21
Week % opponent Washington 2-2

St. Louis Rams 2-2 (winner of 5 team tiebreaker)

Week 4 result Beat Arizona (3-1) 24-22

Week  5 opponent @Green Bay (4-0)

FAST FACT Each current nfc playoff bound team takes on an opponent with either 0 , 2 or 4 losses.   

 

NFL : If the playoffs were today 10/5/15 AFC

Now that 4 weeks are in the books in the AFC (the Monday nigh game is 2 NFC rivals) I can tell you what would happen in the AFC if the playoffs began today.

Division Champions

AFC East New England Patriots (3-0)

Week 4 result BYE

Week  5 opponent @Dallas (2-2)

AFC North Cincinatti Bengals (4-0)

Week 4 Result: Beat Kansas City (1-3) 36-21

Week  5 opponent Seattle* (1-2)

AFC South Indianapolis Colts (2-2)

Week 4 result Beat Jacksonville (1-3) 16-13

Week  5 opponent @Houston (1-3)

AFC West Denver Broncos (4-0)

Week 4 result Beat Minnesota (2-2) 23-20

Week  5 opponent @Oakaland (2-2)

Wild Card

New York Jets (3-1)

Week 4 result Beat Miami(1-3) 27-14

Week  5 BYE

Buffalo Bills 2-2 (winner of 4 team tiebreaker)

Week 4 result Lost to New York Giants (2-2) 24-10

Week  5 opponent @Tennessee (1-2)

FAST FACT 80% of current afc playoff bound teams play on the road in week 5. Although all of their opponents are .500 are under.  

*Seattle plays Detroit tonight so record will change before Bengals matchup

Some Dreams ~ Steve Earle

I like music and movies with some of the same intensity that I like sports.  I just finished watching the Rookie for the umpteenth time.  This song appears at the end of the movie.  I like this video as it tells the story of the movie in a way that is enjoyable whether you have seen the film or not.








 

Summer Book Review: Persuasion

I am not the voracious reader that my wife is.  I like books and I have lots of them.  Most of which, I accumulated we got married.  I just don't usually spend as much time reading as she does.  Each  summer, I try to read more than I usually do and as I've tried here before, I will try to review each book I finish this Summer.

Today's Review

Persuasion by Jane Austen



My experience when it comes to reading a book adaption of a movie I have seen or seeing a movie version of a book I have read is generally the same.  I tend to like the version which  I have read or seen first better than the one I've experienced second.  This is not necessarily the Case with Jane Austen's Persuasion.

I really enjoy the film Persuasion and have just recently finished the novel.  I am a big  fan of Austen's works generally through the medium of film.  I found that the reading of Persuasion really enhanced my appreciation of the film.  Much of the dialogue in the movie is pulled verbatim from the book.  The only difference being that it was adapted into dialogue from exposition in the original source.  This task is done artfully by the filmmakers and removes any need of a voiceover narration which would have hampered the cinematic presentation.

On the other hand,  a reading of Persuasion gave me new insights and understanding of her characters some that I had grown to love and others I had learned to disdain in my multiple viewings.  Mary, for example, is a much worse sister to Anne on paper than celluloid.  If you have seen the film, you know that is quite an achievement.  There is also more to like about Captain Wentworth, Mrs. Smith and even Lady Russell.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, especially those fond of any Austen work in print or pixel.

Next Time: Post of the Week

You can find this post at both Home School Dad and Your Basic Dave where I am posting concurrently over the summer.

Friday Fragments: Donut Edition

Today is National Donut Day.  It is  on the first Friday of June each year.

For Friday Fragments at   Half Past Kissing Time I will share some fragments of donuts with you.


Fragment 1.  Donut History

 Did you ever wonder what donuts have to do with the salvation army?  This short video explains...




Fragment 2:   Donut Music
About 20 years ago, I wrote a song that is not specifically about donuts but chronicles a relationship that takes place at a Krispy Kreme.  I called it the wall of glaze as a tribute to the glaze waterfall that engulfs the donuts on the donut assembly line there.

Here are the lyrics

The Wall of Glaze  
Lyrics by Dave Roller
Music by Jeff Half Dozen (actually Jeff Six, but half dozen has a more donut themed approach)

It was our first date
On a Friday night
She got a blueberry donut and a medium Sprite
She looked so good and I stood amazed
That I could lose my heart at the wall of glaze.

At the Krispy Kreme
At the Wall of Glaze
Just a memory of my younger days
Of how she looked so good
And how I stood amazed
That I could lose my heart
At The Wall of Glaze

End of senior year
Going separate ways
I was off to the army
Her to the college days
We promised to write every week
It would be like we never went away
How we cried and cried at The Wall of Glaze

At the Krispy Kreme
At The Wall of Glaze
Just a memory of my younger days
Of how we promised to write every week
Like we never went away
But the tears fell like rain
At The Wall of Glaze

Well you know the story
Left a boy came back a man
And I wrote her in my letters
Things I still don't understand
Oh my love for her just grew and grew
I was longing for that day
When I'd ask for her hand at The Wall of Glaze

So on a Friday night
Got down on my knees
Put a ring on her finger
Said will you marry me please
She said I'm sorry
But you were just a passing phase
And she broke my heart at The Wall of Glaze

At the Krispy Kreme
At The Wall of Glaze
It's the end of the story
Not the starting page
I put a ring on her finger
She said "Boy, you're just a phase"
And she broke my heart at The Wall of Glaze

Now I sit alone
On a Friday night
With a blueberry donut
And it don't feel right
I know I shouldn't be here
But I feel trapped in a cage
Since she broke my heart at The Wall of Glaze

At the Krispy Kreme
Called The Wall of Glaze
Just a memory
Of my younger days
I know I shouldn't be here
I feel trapped in a cage
since I lost my heart, since she broke my heart, now that we're apart
At The Wall of Glaze.

Fragment 3 Free Donuts

The aforementioned Krispy Kreme was giving away free donuts today.  Dunkin Donuts was giving away 1 free donut if you bought a drink, which was fine if you were getting a drink.  If you were not all the drinks cost more than one donut so it would not have been worth the trip.

We did not get any free donuts today, but you can enter here to win free donuts a year from Entenmanns.

For more Friday Fragments click here.

Next Time: Summer Book Review

You can find this post at both Home School Dad and Your Basic Dave where I am posting concurrently over the summer.

HSD Rewind:Because they're nouns

This summer is the last summer I will be posting here at Home School Dad, as I announced yesterday.  So over this summer I will be reposting  at HSD and YBD some of the previous posts.  This was one of the first posts I did back in 2009 . . .



Home School Dad: Because they're nouns....: A noun is a person, place, or thing!

Next Time: Summer Book Review

The New Switcheroo

Wow!  I just looked back at some of my earliest content on this blog, and I've been here since 2009!  Yep, I wrote The Old Switcheroo 6.5 years ago, give or take, and now I'm here to tell you of a new switcheroo.  I am actually going to close this blog down.  I have started a new blog and will be doing my posting there going forward.


That is a pretty big switcheroo, but it is not the one I am referring to in the title.  The switcheroo in other title refers to the reason why I am changing blogs. That reason is because it would be really weird to have a blog called Home School Dad, when I am no longer one.

Now of course, I have not been the main teacher of our homeschool since May of 2013.  As of last Friday, we are no longer a homeschooling family.  All of our kids will be returning to public school next year.  I say returning because each of them has completed 1 year there in the past.  Spider droid will be finishing middle school at the same school he did 6th grade 2 years ago.  Wolfina will be going to 4th grade at a different school than she did 2nd grade, at , as she has qualified for an advanced program.     Bunny Girl has the hardest transition as she hasn't been to public school since 1/2 day kindergarten in 2004 -2005.  She  moves from IBHS (Izola Becker Home School) to BHS
(Barrington High School) for her Junior year.  I guess there is no I in public school.

So why the new switcheroo?  Because Amy's part time position at her school has been eliminated and she has taken a full-time position.  This means we have the desire for home education but lack the requisite personnel. We became aware of this a few months ago and we explored many avenues on how best to approach the 2015-2016 school year and beyond and for at least the next 2 years.  We
decided that we were being directed to change the educational direction of our family.

We told our kids a few  weeks ago and they each had different reactions.  All in all the 5 of us are moving tot his new chapter in our lives by God's grace.  Which led me to my initial dilemma, how how can I continue to blog at Home School Dad, If I am not in fact a home school dad?  It would be a very water buffalo situation and we really don't want to go there.



So here is the plan, blog-wise I will keep HSD  up for the rest of the summer, and I have also started a new blog Called YBD: Your Basic Dave.    During this transition, I will put up my posts in both places. I know I probably could just switch names of this blog, but I would rather just start a new chapter in my life in a new blog.

Over the next few weeks I will be reposting some old HSD content as well as finalizing the look at YBD.

Thanks for taking time to read this.  Please keep our family in prayer that Goe would  direct  us and give us  a vision for what lies ahead.

Next time: A return to nouns

Your Basic Dave: An Intro

 When I went back to work in 2013 and stopped being the everyday home educucator.  I  began to think whether I would still blog and what I would blog about.  I opened this blog, but only posted one time. . I have since deleted that post.  I wrote at that time that " If our family ever does stop homeschooling.  I intend YBD to become my main blog. "  As I announced in the recent HSD, we have stopped homeschooling, at least for a sesaon.  I am in the process of mothballing HSD, and will be posting here and at HSD concurrently through the summer.  In September, I will be posting only here.

What can you expect at YBD?  You can expect your basic Dave.  Funny.  Crazy.  Sarcastic.  Eclectic, Encouraging,  Absent Minded.  I am not sure exactly what this blog will look like in the next few months and years.  But as Kermit and Fozzie like to sing, getting there is half the fun, come share it with me.

I have to be moving right along. Later Gators.

Next Time:  Nouns.

Sports Catechism: NHL: 2 teams are 4 wins away from 2015 Stanley Cup

Q: What is a catechism

A: A summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians. It is also a series of fixed questions, answers, or precepts used for instruction in other situations.

Q.  Why a sport's catechism?
A: Because sports loyalty is sometimes described or lived out in spiritual terms.  
Examole.  The Cubs faithful were delighted with the late inning heroics in today's game.  

Q: What is the Stanley Cup?

A: It is the Championip Trophy of the National Hockey Leagu (NHL)

Q:  How many NHL teams are there? 
A: 30.  The 30 teams are divided into 2 conferences (Western and Eastern)  and divided further into divsions


Q: What is required to win the Stanley Cup

A: 16 playoff wins

Q:  How many teams go to the playoffs?

A:16

Q: What is the playoff format?

A: The top 3 teams in each division qualify for the Playoffs.  The next best 2 teams in each conference qualify as wild cards.  So each division can have as many as 5 and as few as 3 teams participating in the post season.  The 16 teams are seeded as the top 3 teams from each divison 1-3  respectively and the wild card teams seeded 4th.  The division champion in each conference with the better record plays the wild card team with the worse record in the 1-4 match ups.

Q: Which teams qualified for the playoffs this year.

A: In the Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference the,Montreal CaLightinnadiens were seeded 1st, Tampa Bay Lightning 2nd, Detroit Red WIngs 3rd and the Ottawa Senators were the first Eastern Wild card: In the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Divison 1st was New York Rangers, 2nd Washington Capitals, 3rd New York Islanders and Pittsburg Penguins as the 2nd Eastern Wild Card.  Montreal drew Ottawa , Leaving New York for the Penguins, and the 2nd and third teams in each division faced each other.  In the Western Conference's Central division 5 teams made the playoffs the top 3 finishers were (in order) St. Louis (Blues), Nashville (Predators) and Chicago (Black Hawks) .  3The Western Conference wildcard teams from the Central were in order Minnesota (Willd) and Winnipeg (Jets) The Pacific divison top 3 finishers were the Ducks (Anaheim) Canucks (Vancouver) and Flames (Calgary).  The Blues drew the Wild leaving the Jets for the Ducks.

Q: The first team to win 16 games wins the Stanley  Cup how does that work.

A: A series of 4 rounds of playoff games matchups where the first teams to win 4 games go on to the next round.

Q: How many teams are left now:

A: Two

Q: How did the first round play out

In the East

Canadiens 4 Senators   2
Lightning    4 Redwings 3
Rangers     4 Penguins  1
Capitals     4  Islanders  3

In the West

Wild             4 Blues        2
Blackhawks 4 Predators 2 
Ducks          4 Jets          0  
Flames        4 Canucks   2

This left 8 teams remaining each looking for 12 more wins

Q: What happened in the next 2 rounds"

In Round 2 The Lighting beat the Canadiens in 6 games, Where the Rangers need 7 to advance past the Capitals.  The Ducks doused the Flames Stanley Cup chances in 5 games.  The Blackhawks swept the Wild in 4.  
4 teams remained with 8 more wins needed for the Cup.  

The Conefernce Finals took 7 games to settle with the road teams (Lightning and Blackhawks) each beating the home squads (Rangers and Ducks).

Q: Which team has the home ice in the FInals?
A; Tampa Bay

Q: What is the Playoff record for each of the remaining teams in the last 10 seasons excluding this one
A: Lightning 5 apperance in 10 years 2 straight playoff appearance (including this year)

1 Stanley Cup Championship 03-04
3 Conference Quarter Final losses ( 05-06,06-07,13-14)
1 Conference Final loss 10-11
Total playoff wins in last 10 season 30 plus 12 this year for total of 42

Blackhawks 6 appearance in 10 years, 7 straight playoff appearances (including this year)
2 Stanley Cup Championships (9-10 and12-13)
2 Conference Final losses (08-09 and 13-14)
2 Conference Quarter Final Losses (10-11 and 11-12)
Total playoff wins in last 10 season 57 plus 12 this year for total of 69

Post of the Week

I just read an excellent post  entitled when you're a Christian but not a virgin.  It is about virginity, the loss of virginity, forgiveness and hope. As the father of 2 daughters and one son who are in their teen years or quickly approaching their teen years I was really glad to see such good instruction that I could pass along to them,  So,  Raquel, of  It's Raquel ,  thanks for writing such  a fine post and congratulations on being. post of the week

Announcement coming June 1st

We interrupt your Memorial Day to tell you that there are changes coming to this blog starting June 1st.  I know, I know, I should probably just tell you now.  But it's like the old joke goes ...

How do you keep a blog reader in suspense?

I'll tell you June 1st.

Post of the weekFlorida!

This week's post of the week comes from my daughter. I know that seems like a little bit of nepotism. I was on the same trip as she was and took all of the pictures and still found her post interesting.



Wolfina's Secrets: Florida!: Last week I went to Florida and had a great time.  I went to Walt Disney World (Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Downtown Disney), Seaworld, Cl...

Post of the week is ontime. Wow, I did that.

For the first time since I started Post of the week, I have turned one in a timely fashion.  The goal for Post of the week is for me to read the accumulated posts on my blogroll for a given week and choose one as the post of the week.

It is not necessarily the best post, just the one that is most significant to me. 

 This week we sold all our copies of Mystery of History at a curriculum sale.  This was a gutwrenching thing for me.  I taught the kids volumes I and II myself and Amy taught III this year.  It is a fabulous curriculum but due to other considerations we chose to sell them.  

Then Laurie Bluedorn of Trivium Pursuit comes out with a great review of the product and some thoughts on comments regarding the resource.  It easily became the Post of the week.  

Now that I have put two posts of the week together in a timely fashion, I hope to make it an everyday Sunday afternoon thing.  Time will tell.

The nounsense is over

My A to Z Challenge  theme was nouns.

A noun is a person, place or thing.

My people were:

Allen Levi
Dave Ramsey
Frank Thomas
Hank Aaron
King Tut
Minnie Minoso
Nobody
Paul  Konerko
Jimmy Stewart
Bob Wallace

My Places were

Comiskey Park
Debt
Elgin
Illinois
Nowhere
Turkey
Uzbekistan
Virginia
Zoos

My Things were
Bibimbap
Discussions
Giraffe Poop
Jack & Diane
Library
Nothing
Oreos
Quinjet
Ragamuffin
Xanthosis
Yoyo

I enjoyed my time doing a to z blogging.

Here are three things I learned.

1) It is a lot easier to do a to z blogging as a full time home school dad than it is working outside the home.

2) I tried to do two blogs at the same time and had to give up on my  baseball one at U.

3)  Blogging here everyday for a month has gotten me more psyched for blogging than I have been in 2.5 years.  I am actually planning on participating next year in 3 blogs but have already picked my themes and hope to be much more prepared then I was this year.

I am sorry it took me a few weeks to post my thoughts.  But i went to Florida for 1 week right after this ended and it's taken me about a week to get back in the swing of things.

Speaking of road trips I am participating in the a to z road trip .  For more info click here.

Friday Fragments @ Half Past Kissing Time

Here are today's fragments . . .

Trix are for the bathroom?

 I was at Target today and went into the Men's bathroom.  The bathroom smelled exactly like Trix cereal.   I have been noticing this for a few years.  Many bathrooms smell like this but especially Target.  I  have been wanting to post about it  for quite a while.  It is perfect for Friday fragments, because I could not imagine ever writing an entire post about bathrooms that remind me of cereal I ate as a kid.  In fact, I can hardly believe I've written a pargagraph about it.

Saint John the Evangelist



While I was in the  Trix smelling bathroom, I picked up  a religuous tract that had been left in one of the stalls.  It seemed to be left there for the purpose of distribution.  Now, I have handed my share of tracts out in my life.  I know this is not method I would use.  My critics would say, hey it worked, you picked it up.  Christians are supposed to display the aroma of Christ.  Trix or worse bathroom smells are definitely not the aroma I would want to compare my Savior to.

Milking Robotics for all it's worth.

Tomorrow is the big day,  Spider Droid's FLL Robotics Tournament.  His team has been working so hard to get ready for this day.  The theme of this yearsis Food Factor and his team has been working on a solution to prevent the spoiling of milk.  One of the things I love about F.L.L is their Core Values.  The core value I like best is: What we discover is more important than what we win.  So, while the tournament is a culmination of several months of work and research, their season has already been succesful no matter where they finish.



Hof Trip Day 1

I just came home from a trip with one of my kids.  Before I get into it.  Let me tell you about  a trip my son and I took last year.

On Thursday 7/23 SD and I drove to  New York for the primary purpose of going to Baseball Hall of Fame.  We left home at 4 a.m.  and drove out of Illinois  into and out of Indiana and breakfasted in Michigan.

We ate at Cracker Barrel

After breakfast we headed towards the border and at 11:30 a.m. central drove into Canada. We drove a few more hours and stopped for lunch at A&W which are more like the A&W's I remember as a kid and not like the few still in Illinois.

We started a root beer trend that continued on the trip.

I got excited when I saw the above sign and even more excited when we saw the below sight.

Over the past year, I have been writing a limerick each day.  I will share at the end of each post that day's limerick.



Setting 3:40 a.m. alarm
Does my sleeping a great deal of harm
But gives vacay great start
And sure played a big part
Ending day at Niagara with charm.

GoodArticle on the Culture of Dating

Kudos to the matriarch of a local home schooling family who alerted me about an article by Bryana Johnson in The College Conservative via Facebook.

Post of the Week - Mothers day edition

Time again for another monthly edition of post of the week.  I would change it to post of the month, but then  I would probably do it annually.

  The jist of post of the week is to find the most excellent post on my blogroll from the last week and repost it here.

Yesterday, was Mother's day and my sister-in-law who blogs at Peace, Love and Yoga Pants totally nailed it with 5 Lessons My Mom Taught Me.

Puppy was talking about cheerios tonight and how they are good for you. She said if you opened your heart you would see Cheerios and Jesus.