Indian Summertime Blues

I'm not exactly a happy camper these days, but whatever; I got a lot done over the weekend. I had a To-Do list that was a mile long, but I got everything on it done.

Yesterday after a morning of correspondence and editorial work I walked to Fred Meyer along the Burke-Gilman trail. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I swung by the Fremont Sunday Market to grab some tacos at the taqueria mlamprey recommended last week. After a couple of weeks of cooler, autumnal weather, I was only too happy to slip back into a tank top, soaking in the rays. The neighborhood was full of other people doing the same.

I bought Roundup at Fred Meyer. I don't like using poison, but sometimes it's necessary. Amongst other things, the eucalyptus that we had cut down last winter is not dead and keeps putting out new shoots. Blackberries are also resurging on the back retaining wall, and poison is the only way I know to really control them. So I applied Roundup to various problem plants, and did some pruning as well. Mostly it was just a way to spend more time in the sun.

The pubmeet at Third Place was well-populated this time. We filled three tables. jackwilliambell brought the new robot that he built from a kit. He was controlling it via wi fi with his laptop. Pretty cool. He has plans to modify it so it can do more than just zip around the floor taking pictures of peoples' shoes. Conversation was wide-ranging as usual, from the New York state of mind ("hey, people want to order food over here!") to the Shanghai state of mind (Jack had just been there) to progress on Potlatch to architectural style (or lack thereof) in Seattle.

Got home and started adding more stuff to the To-Do list. What the hell. Just got to work through these blahs.

Ichiro's milestones

Yesterday Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki became the first Major League Baseball player to get 200 hits in nine consecutive seasons. Wee Willie Keeler had done it in eight consecutive seasons ending in 1901 -- a record that lasted for over a hundred years. Pete Rose holds the record for most seasons with 200 hits -- ten -- but they weren't consecutive. Ichiro could tie that record next year. The only other player to have nine 200-hit seasons (also not consecutive) was Ty Cobb. This is some pretty elite company that Ichiro is joining.

Earlier in the week Ichiro got his 2000th MLB hit. He had 1278 hits during his early career in Japan. He'll turn 36 in October, so I'm not sure how much longer he'll play, but if he could manage five more years of 200-hits per season (unlikely, but maybe on average), he could get to 3000 in the MLB. He'll never get to Pete Rose's record for total hits in the MLB (4,256), although he could very well get there if his hits in the Japanese league are included.

Most eyes in this country have been on Derek Jeter surpassing Lou Gehrig's record for most hits as a Yankee, but baseball fans in Seattle and Japan have had their eyes on Ichiro. He is a unique talent. It has been a privilege to watch him play the game.