West Michigan’s 5/3 BP is not what I’d call a charming yard–really it’s just a big bowl–but it’s a comfortable place. Kinda like an old sofa. The Caps don’t really do things differently from the other successful minor league organizations, but they work harder on the ballpark ambiance. Lansing, in a more interesting ballyard and with a similarly excellent staff, produces a harder-edged experience that’s more exciting but less cozy. In Battle Creek, the ballpark layout and the small crowds force a focus on the game, which works well for me but less well for the business. That I think all three are worthwhile should be pretty obvious.
Filed under
Baseball CrankSpace
Posted on
June 11th 2004
There was a bookstore/candle shop/concert space just off the campus. The place doubled as a coffeehouse (only on weekends, I think), and the house band was a folky quartet–a girl singer, her husband on guitar and harmony, a bassist (I think), and a drummer. here was a bookstore/candle shop/concert space just off the campus. The place doubled as a coffeehouse (only on weekends, I think), and the house band was a folky quartet–a girl singer, her husband on guitar and harmony, a bassist (I think), and a drummer. It was the first time I’d found a drummer in a folk group, and the first time I’d ever seen a girl play a conventional drum kit. The group’s repertoire was pretty standard for a coffeehouse band, except they had an unaccountable affection for Tim Buckley. For me, the attraction (besides the drummer) was the opportunity to hear “my” music.
Filed under
Musicks
Veteran Testimony
Yarns and Tales
Posted on
June 10th 2004
Margie was tracking down a lost transaction this morning when she noticed a hole in the logs for May 18, and asked me to verify. I looked, and agreed: There was a four hour stretch–basically, all afternoon–when the web app wasn’t working. Near as we can tell, the back end was accepting transaction information from the web, but wasn’t doing anything with it. While that’s technically harmless behavior (ignoring a couple problem cases just as the system fell apart), it must have been pretty annoying to our customers.
Filed under
Bureaucratic Whimsy
Semi-Geekery
Posted on
June 9th 2004
Sunrise, and we discovered the Huachuca Mountains, like an unexpected island in the plains. Never–never–have I been so astonished by the morning.
Filed under
Veteran Testimony
Yarns and Tales
Posted on
June 9th 2004
There’s a mind behind Witty, folks. Wonder what she learned from the experiment.
Filed under
Semi-Geekery
Posted on
June 7th 2004
Where, Exactly, is Tombstone?
Filed under
History Scrapbook
Posted on
June 6th 2004
When Dad died, someone gave Mom an Azalea to honor his memory. Mom planted it, tended it, cared for it; things didn’t work out. After a couple years of fighting for and with the plant, it was still just a twig in the yard. Mom offered it to me; hoping I’d have better luck.
Filed under
Life's Stories
Yarns and Tales
Posted on
June 5th 2004
Our press office announced our web app’s existence today. Since we’ve already got a couple thousand users registered, the announcement’s a bit of an anti-climax. Regardless, we’re planning to celebrate. To our amazement, and to our dismay, we’ve been working on this for two full years. It’s about time we close this project down.
Filed under
Bureaucratic Whimsy
Semi-Geekery
Posted on
June 2nd 2004
My “play a randomly-selected selection you haven’t played yet” playlist has just popped up Ian Tyson’s Someday Soon, the best song on an album I’ve purchased several times. A short story….
Filed under
Life's Stories
Musicks
Posted on
June 1st 2004
