Endorsement

I'm not generally a fan of chains, and would rather patronize independent businesses. But those are becoming increasingly scarce, and there a few chains that I do like, for instance, Nordstrom and Ruth's Chris. It doesn't hurt that these were started in two of my favorite cities, Seattle and New Orleans, but I digress. A new (to me) chain has appeared in Tucson, and I love it. I'm talking about QuikTrip (QT) convenience stores. When I'm cruising around Tucson, as I often am, I like to pick up the occasional fountain diet Pepsi. My local QT is big, clean, and staffed by friendly employees, who are constantly straightening and cleaning things when they're not pleasantly assisting customers. They have every self-serve beverage imaginable, and you can choose between crushed & cubed ice (cubed for me, please). The restrooms are clean, and everything about shopping there is a good experience. These stores are not dim, dingy, and scary, like some other convenience stores have become. There you have it: a shout out to capitalism done right.

Tucson

I have always been proud to be a native of Tucson, Arizona. I love the mountains, desert, sunshine, quail, saguaros, sunsets, monsoons, U of A basketball, Sabino Canyon, and all my family and friends here. All of us in Tucson have been experiencing indescribable pain since Saturday. We hate having Tucson in the news because of a devastating tragedy. But it is reaffirming that heroes and goodness shine through in dark times. The inspiring stories that we've heard in the last few days reflect well on Tucson, Arizona, the USA, and humanity.

Connectivity

OK, I admit it. Mr. Beisbolfan & I are geeks. We really enjoy gadgets. Between us, we use, on a daily basis, 3 laptops, an iPad, a Blackberry, and an iPod touch. And two regular (non-smart) cellphones, numerous televisons, DVRs, XM radios, etc. We've come to rely on being connected to everything, any time, all the time. But now that I have multiple devices from which to access e-mail, social media, etc., each time I pick up one of them, it demands my attention for everything. You have a new facebook message! But I read that 6 hours ago on my computer. You have 43 new e-mails! But I deleted 41 of them already -- they're junk. Attention, all you hackers, identity thieves, and other cybercriminals who are trolling blogs, facebook, etc. trying to make a quick buck. Please develop an app / add-on / program / something that I can install to let all my electronic devices know that I've already checked my e-mail, facebook, etc. I'd probably pay money for it. C'mon, you computer geniuses!

It's me, it's me, it's Ernest T! (a shout-out to the Andy Griffith Show)

I was recently reminded by my readership (Mr. Beisbolfan, to be exact) that it's been a while since I posted. I knew that, but didn't think anyone else noticed. He likes me, he really likes me!

Something I enjoy

I love to explore cities. OK, I also like to explore towns, suburbs, rural areas, and places in general, but since I've lived my life and spent most of my time in cities, that's where I tend to ramble around. When I was in college, some of my favorite classes were in urban geography. Whenever I see a road, I want to know where it goes, and see what things look like along the way. Why do they put stores where they do? My urban geography professor was often hired as a consultant by companies trying to decide where to expand. I'm always interested to see what businesses end up where.

One of the things I do when I have time is drive around different parts of Tucson. It's certainly not the most interesting city I've visited, but I'm constantly amazed at the neighborhoods that I see in this town. The diversity can be quite striking. I find myself wondering how so many people can afford the really expensive houses, and then I'm sad about how many people live in depressing, dingy trailer parks & run-down neighborhoods. Inevitably after one of my drives around town I'm really glad to get home, and thankful for all that I have.

Preggers

Almost as beautiful as my gorgeous niece Dani:

What a game!

Mr. Beisbolfan and I watched part of the Rockies game last night, then went outside to enjoy a beautiful cloudy, breezy August evening. When we came back inside, the game was still going, tied 1-1 in the 9th. I can't resist an extra inning game, because you never know what you might see. This time we saw last year's Cy Young award winning pitcher, Tim Lincecum, used as a pinch runner. Then we saw the Giants (boo) go ahead 4-1 in the top of the 14th. Things didn't look so good for our Rockies, until Ryan Spillborghs came up with 1 out in the bottom of the 14th, and the bases loaded. I wouldn't be writing this post if he hadn't hit a walk-off grand slam home run. That's my boy!