Richardson Women’s Hockey League: First Contact

Due to a rare weekend off, I was finally able to make the trek to Richardson to check out the Richardson Women’s Hockey League (RWHL). Games are held at the Ice Training Center on Sundays (normally a work day for me) and admission is free.

Note to self: Bring a chair next time as the ice-level benches weren’t particularly inviting and the “crow’s nest” didn’t have a chair up there. But it offered an excellent vantage point compared to ice level for evaluating the quality of play.

The short answer: Officially, these are “pick up” games with a little more organization. No (obvious) coaches, lots of on-the-job training. Not that it’s a bad thing, but I’d be a major ass if I treated this like pro hockey.

The backup line for Team Green.

CHL: Allen Americans vs Odessa Jackalopes

The NHL Network has been touting Hockey Weekend Across America for months, and we’re still officially a month away. But I say, why wait? CHL game last night (live, in person), Dallas Stars game (TV) today followed by Hockey Night in Canada (TV), and if plans hold up, Richardson Women’s Hockey League (live, in person) tomorrow. That’s a lotta hockey. Not to mention the two Chicago Blackhawks games I have on the DVR for future review – whenever I have time to watch stuff on the DVR what with all of these other hockey games to attend to.

While I have a moment to breathe, here’s what you need to know about the CHL and our local team, the Allen Americans, so you can plan your own Hockey Weekend sometime.

One Wish

I have a recurring thought:

I need least, yet want;
I want for nothing, yet need.

2009 saw the end of my 10-year relationship (and 8-year marriage), the end of the Detroit Shock (reborn in Tulsa) and the Sacramento Monarchs (gone, future TBD), and the death of Kay Yow, to name a few revolting developments.

This is not an article about any of those events.

Instead, I believe that much energy has been devoted to pessimism at the expense of appreciation.

EM Reprint: Meditation II

(Originally published July 10, 2006)

Infinity itself looks flat and uninteresting. Looking up into the night sky is looking into infinity — distance is incomprehensible and therefore meaningless. – Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

I spend too much time contemplating the nature of the infinite. The short and simple truth is, the finite mind cannot comprehend the infinite. And there are plenty of pressing concerns for me or anyone else to apply thought and action to.

EM Reprint: A# (A Sharp)

(Originally published May 16, 2006)

Some questions about A# (A Sharp):

1. How is A# represented visually?
2. What is the difference between A Sharp and B Flat (as a single note)?
3. Do we produce A#, or do we express it?
4. What is the gender of A#?
5. What is the morality of A#?
6. Does A# exist naturally, or is it sounded solely by artificial means?
7. Suppose that you had no external musical instrument or other equipment. If someone were to ask you to describe A#, how would you do this?
8. Does the representation of “A#” in print convey its essence?
9. Do you believe that A# exists on a tangible level?
10. If yes, where is it found?
11. What are the politics of A#?
12. Does A# judge you?
13. If you asked A# a question, what would it say?
14. If you asked A# for help, what would it do?
15. Are overtones, undertones, and harmonics present when A# is sounded with other musical notes, including octave spans of A# with no other sounded notes? (Meaning only octave notes of A#.)
16. If yes to the above, how would you express these tones in print?
17. Are the overtones, harmonics, etc produced consistently when A# is combined with other notes?
18. Is A# eternal?
19. Is A# universal?
20. Does A# think?
21. Does A# reason?
22. Does A# show emotion?
23. Does A# die?

EM Reprint: Enemies of the Future

(originally published July 31, 2007)

As much as I’d like to completely shred the interview CNN conducted with Trilby Lundberg that I read this morning, in fairness, I respect that people have differing views of How Things Ought To Be™. Though I may not agree with their point of view, I appreciate the opportunity to evaluate those views and accept or reject them as I may.

EM Reprint: 3:15pm

(Originally published July 21, 2008)

I have been clinging to part of the July 6 edition of the Dallas Morning News as it was chock full of Power Plus-related material, most notably a story about wind power in Texas. For the purposes of this installment, I am going to zero in on a sidebar item from the wind power story about the “grid” and peak demand.

EM Reprint: Independence Ain’t Dependence

(Originally published August 9, 2008)

It’s time for the “silly season” in US politics, which means this year the candidates are spewing sound bytes and similar bumper sticker-ese in hopes of swaying the voters. An example of this is direct from a recent bumper sticker sighting around town: “Drill here, drill now, pay less.” Sure, maybe in 10 years, assuming that the oil/gas market mirrors current conditions, rather than being a last-ditch effort to placate “demand” with “supply”. This is apparently a new Republican meme. On the “eco” side of things, which tends to skew left, a common refrain is “[whatever] will save the planet.” Cut/paste/replace with any of the following: CFL bulbs, “green” grocery bags, wind power, solar power, geothermal power, SIGG™ water bottles, etc etc ad infinitum. I don’t disagree with the assertions that many (and more) of these things can be good decisions, and yield positive benefits, but “save the planet”? What is this, Marvel Comics?

EM Reprint: When the Drilling Stops

(Originally published September 8, 2008)

If nothing else came out of this year’s Republican National Convention, it was the chant of “drill baby, drill!” Because nothing solves an energy crisis like drilling for a finite resource. Incredibly, a writer for The Economist agrees:

Fugue for WNBA Draft Picks

It’s never too early to obsess over the 2010 WNBA draft, if Rebkell’s Junkie Boards are any indication. “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls played in my head as I read the idle speculation, which led me to adapt it to the proceedings: