Tim’s Blog

Debbie and I recently took a trip to Las Vegas for a little R&R. The weather was not as nice as we had hoped. Kind of windy and partly sunny. But all in all it was a fun trip.

While we were there we went to the Starbucks in the hotel we stayed at. Generally you expect all Starbucks to be similar in offerings and customer service. Maybe being from the birthplace of Starbucks we get spoiled.

But our experience with the Starbucks at the Treasure Island was less than what we have come to expect. I don’t know if it is due to language issues, or if not having many of the same customers return regularly (I’m guessing they don’t see many people more than once or twice), but the service was not friendly and the person stocking in front of the counter appeared unaware that she was blocking customers from getting to their completed drinks. This is a franchised Starbucks so maybe expectations need to be lower.

The next day we went to a Starbucks in the Fashion Mall, the big mall on the strip. This was a corporate store and they were friendlier, but still seemed to take a long time for the number of customers there.

So I have to say I appreciate the quality and customer service at our regular Starbuks, at 26th and Proctor, and in the Westgate South shopping center. I can highly recommend both of these.

Have you ever been really focused on something. When I am watching a television show that is interesting, and especially if there is a plot, I focus on it. My wife gets upset with me when she talks to me while I’m watching TV and I miss what she says.

Then there is the psychological condition called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD. This is where a person continues to perform irrational behaviors when they are in situations that cause anxiety.

Some people are OCD about cleaning. If they see a smudge they will clean it, no matter where they may be. Or will pick up and replace things that are out of place. Think Felix from the Odd Couple.

Then there are extremes, like Jack Nicholson in the movie As Good As It Gets. His character avoids stepping on cracks in the sidewalk, opens a new bar of soap every time he washes his hands, locks and unlocks the deadbolt three times every time he goes through a door, and eats the same breakfast every day served by the same waitress using silverware he brings from home. Changing any of these routines causes him severe distress.

There are some that are OCD about germs. Any potential for germs is met with antibacterials and facemasks. Think Monk from the TV show. Or maybe Michael Jackson.

Our Yellow Lab, Jake, is focused on tennis balls. Actually he can focus on just about anything you will throw for him to chase. But I think his favorite things are tennis balls. He will chase them down and bring them back for about as long as you will throw. And if you stop throwing the ball, he will pick it up and drop it at your feet. Over and over. There are times when Jake is just a pest. Like at 9:00 at night when he decides he wants you to throw the ball and you would rather relax. I don’t think Jake is OCD since he will stop if you ignore him long enough.

My 3 year old grandson is focused on rocks. He collects rocks in his bucket or his pockets. He makes piles of rocks. And the he throws them. He gets so focused on throwing rocks he doesn’t pay attention to where he is throwing them. Or to anyone that is talking to him. My wife says it’s just a 3-year-old thing. And I suppose not hearing someone talk while you are focused on a task is a guy thing. Maybe he’ll grow up to be a geologist or a heavy equipment operator. He’s probably not OCD but he can really get into throwing rocks.

My mom tells me that my brother Tom had a thing for rocks when he was young also. Apparently he and the neighbor kid, Vern, would throw rocks together a lot. Then one day Vern hit Tom between the eyes with a rock which resulted in a stream of blood down Tom’s nose. Mom says Tom didn’t throw rocks after that.

So, I suppose that everyone has something that the are obsessive about. As long as it doesn’t get you in trouble it’s probably ok.

I haven’t posted a song of the week for a while but this is one that I keep playing on my commute. I love the tune and the guitar work. This song has a kind of haunting melody and a very strong message.

The song is titled Prodigal by Casting Crowns. It is based on the biblical story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15: 11 -- 32.

I contemplated in a prior post about whether C. B. Bucknor was the worst umpire in all of baseball. This was after watching him blow several calls in a Mariner’s game.

So to my chagrin, I see that Major League Baseball is letting him umpire in the post season, in the Angels – Red Sox series.

I flipped on the game Thursday night in time to see first base umpire Bucknor blow a call my grandmother could have made. (My grandmother was a big baseball fan.)

The Angels Howie Kendrick hit a ball to short that was fielded by 3rd baseman Mike Lowell who threw to first. It was a little high, but Red Sox 1st baseman Kevin Youkilis came down with it and tagged the bag while Kendrick was still 2 feet away. And to everyone’s amazement, Bucknor called him safe. And then the TV announcer says that is the second play like that which Bucknor screwed up.

The following night, to the horror of most people who watched the game, Bucknor was behind the plate. And sure enough, he had no concept of a “strike zone”. He made strike calls that the pitch tracker showed to be way outside. And ball calls that were over the plate.

If I were the Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig, I would be aghast at the damage Bucknor does to the credibility of the game. How can Baseball put up with this guy?

For the good of the game, fire Bucknor. You can do you part by signing the Fire C. B. Bucknor Petition.

Ryanair is always looking for ways to increase their revenue streams. Recent examples include proposals to charge passengers to use the on-board bathrooms and charging fat people more. So it shouldn’t be surprising to hear their latest plans for improving the bottom line. Smoking.

Smoking on commercial flights has been banned since the 1990’s and Ryanair even reports recently that they have banned eight people from flying the airline for life because they were caught smoking on the plane.

But this addiction smokers have has apparently given the folks at Ryanair an idea to make money. They are going to start selling “smokeless” cigarettes on flights.

For about $9 you can buy a 10 pack of Similar Smokeless Cigarettes. According to Ryanair, these are not actually lit up and contain no toxic or harmful chemicals, only nicotine.

“To help passengers who like to smoke and find it difficult to travel on an aircraft for a couple of hours without getting their nicotine hit Ryanair has launched Similar Smokeless Cigarettes … As these cigarettes are smokeless they cause no discomfort to other passengers and can ensure a more enjoyable and stress free flight for all passengers as non-smokers will no longer have to cope with moody smokers in need of nicotine.” – Stephen McNamara, Ryanair spokesman.

Ryanair says that surveys of their passengers indicate that over 24,000 of them would like to smoke during flights. Since most of their flights are an hour or less, these are the really addicted people. The ones that rush off the plane at their destination – scurrying for the smokers lounge so they can light up.

I did find a news article from April of 1995 that said Ryanair was considering a “smokers” flight, where passengers could pay additional to actually light up during the flight. Non-smokers would be allowed on the flights, but only after they sign a disclaimer in which they agree not to hold the airline responsible for any health effects and relieve it of any potential legal liability. They stated at that time they were going to conduct a pilot test of the plan. I could find no information subsequent to that.

So if you are going to be flying in Europe and can’t make it an hour without lighting up, Ryanair is your airline.