Hydraulic Toilet Seats and the Law of Unintended Consequences
About eight months ago, I came home from work
and was greeted at the door by my lovely wife
who was clearly beaming with pride and grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
She gleefully proclaimed, “I have solved the problem! Life is good.”
She grabbed me by the hand and walked me to each of our three bathrooms
and showed me her new discovery:
Hydraulically lowering toilet seats!
My wife lives in a world of testosterone.
We have 3 boys, ages 22, 18, and 15,
and she is severely outnumbered in our...
Hey Pitcher! Does Your Game Need a Boob Job?
When I joined the US Air Force in 1986, I was 23 years old,
and I was a Missile Launch Officer.
Basically, I was trained to launch nuclear weapons
that could end the world as we know it.
How comforting is that?
Those who know me the best are probably shuddering as they read this.
The first requirement was to spend 4 months in training
at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
During my initial 3 weeks of training I became very good friends with another
Second Lieutenant named Gene...
Just When You Think You Know It All: Why Every Player Deserves A Coach’s Best- Always
About 12 years ago, my son's little league team needed a coach
so I volunteered.
I had just completed 2 books, which have since heavily influenced
my coaching career: "Positive Coaching" by Jim Thompson and
"Championship Team Building" by Jeff Janssen.
I was eager to try some of the fresh ideas.
Anyone who has been around Little League knows the tryout drill.
3 fly balls, 3 grounders, 5 swings, and run the bases.
They give you a spreadsheet to grade each player on a 1-5 scale.
The columns...
Myelination Nation–More on How Pitchers Learn
In the winter of 1988 I was a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force,
assigned to Francis E Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Here’s the number one thing I remember about Wyoming:
IT WAS COLD!
Very cold.
In fact I’m pretty sure there was snow on the ground 8 months out of the year
--paradise for a guy with and incurable baseball addiction.
In December, my little brother, Tim, came to visit.
He was 17, strong, athletic (all state soccer goalie,
national champion knee...
The Words Get In The Way-Pitchers Learn Through Feel
A few years ago I was seeing a 75 year-old physical therapy patient
with Parkinson's and early Alzheimer's.
We'll call him Bob.
I performed the visit in his home,
since he was completely bedridden and homebound.
According to his family he hadn't been able to stand,
walk, or talk for over a year.
Parkinson's causes an erosion of motor skills, and Alzheimer's
degrades cognitive abilities, so Bob had a bad combination.
As he lay in the hospital bed in his living room
I could tell he was a big...
Uncommon Effort = Uncommon Results
It was the fall of 1984, Saturday night in Charleston, South Carolina.
I had just finished a grueling baseball practice.
No workouts the next day,
so I wanted to go out on the town and blow off some steam.
I got showered and dressed in the required Citadel "out on the town" uniform.
Gray polyester slacks,
light blue Oxford button down shirt,
navy blue blazer and Citadel tie.
I was looking....well…as good as I could.
My friend Greg Styles joined me for the evening.
We were dressed exactly...
Chicken Bowl! Objective Measurement Accelerates Learning
IF WE’RE NOT KEEPING SCORE, I’M NOT PLAYING!
I love competition. I compete at everything.
I mean EVERYTHING.
Here's an example:
I'm a notoriously fast eater. It's something I learned during my first year at The Citadel.
Mealtime at a Military Academy is a stressful event for a first year student.
It's the time when upper classmen typically seize the opportunity to harangue and harass
the plebes, knobs, or rats, or whatever freshmen are called at that particular institution.
Have you...
Living off Your Blubber: Another Reason We Don’t Run Poles
Saturday morning I woke up early and did 4 pitcher assessments at The ARMory.
My wife, Kathy, and middle son, Ryan (age 18) helped with admin and videography (Ryan is a video whiz).
Two of the pitchers were new guys in whom we found multiple significant opportunities for improvement.
I always get a kick when I see a player’s eyes light up with the realization of a plan to get better.
The other two were quarterly reassessments.
Both of these guys were initially assessed at the beginning of...
Born to Run? Not at The ARMory!
Geez!
Some people take their Springsteen way to serious!
After yesterday's post about my first concert and the Bernstein principle I received some vitriolic responses.
"Hey knucklehead don't you know his name is spelled Springsteen, not Springstein?"
And
"Hey! The name of the song is "Born to Run", not "Tramps Like Us"
And
"Oh yeah? Well he's still the Boss!"
That's an impressive argument. What are we 12 years old? Very mature.
To my cyber critics who are also apparently card carrying...
Bernstein-Not Springstein is The Boss Here!
Bernstein—Not Springstein is the Boss Here!
It was the summer of 1982. I was 19 years old, just after my freshman year of college. I left the comforts of my Sumter, South Carolina home and traveled to Keyport, New Jersey because I heard of something called The Jersey Shore League, where college kids could play summer baseball.
I lived with a guy from my college team named Nick Russo. He could really hit. His batting average was over .400 that season so I thought it would be a good idea to...
