Author: Matthew Groff
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Pools are Open!
My kid loves to swim, and wants to swim all the time as soon as it starts getting hot out. That can be a rather tough request to fulfill, as we do live in New York City. There are beaches, and a Jersey Coast. There also happens to be lakes upstate, and New England does have many swimming holes. But those are all exercises for vacations. Speaking of vacations, we are at the age where if hotel doesn’t have pool, we have killed our child’s will to live.
Now, we have one great advantage in our neighborhood, which is that we are only a few blocks from the community pool. (There are two City services that make New York an amazing place to live; the first is the libraries, and the second is the City Park Service. They both don’t receive enough credit, nor enough funds.) We have an awesome pool that is run well, and is filled with kids. The window that these pools are open is short, normally 4th of July to Labor Day, and even by Labor Day, it can start getting cool out.
This year the pools opened a week early, and we would have been there if the kid didn’t get a nasty Summer cold last week. BUT, today we were all healthy and headed out, to jump and splash around. And being that this is our fifth year of doing this, I’ve started looking forward to going. It’s part of our Summer, either early mornings, or late afternoons at the pool; The kid does make swimming friends, who we will only see at the pool, and never anywhere else in the neighborhood. I get some quality reading done while lounging in the plastic Adirondack chairs, while keeping on eye on the kids screaming and splashing.
Pools are open. Have fun and stay cool.
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Euro Cup 2024 – A Casual Fan’s Impressions – Round of 16 Day 1 and Day 2
The Group Stage was fun, but the Knock Out Rounds is why were all here. The best players step up, and the drama! So much drama!
Day 1
Switzerland v Italy
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that Italy would play so flat. The Italians played like a team that snuck into this round, while Switzerland behaved like they expect to make a deep run.
Germany v Denmark
I do have a soft spot for Denmark, but there was no way Germany was going to lose this match. Yeah, Germany clearly thinks this is their tournament.
Day 2
England v Slovakia
Now, here was your drama match. Won’t lie, I was pulling for England, and for 80 minutes, they were playing to lose. England may have better players, but Slovakia was the better team. And yet, when England needed them, the better players showed up and have four amazing minutes. Bellingham and Kane are two dangerous players, and you can never count them out, or forget about them on the pitch. A goal in the last thirty seconds in stoppage time. A goal in the first few minutes of extra time. Slovakia played a better match, but games like this are why international tournaments are so much fun. Drama, drama, drama!
Spain v Georgia
For a few minutes, it looked like this might be a huge upset, and then Spain started playing. There really wasn’t much Georgia could do to stop Spain. Yeah, Spain is planning on winning this whole thing.
Thoughts:
Well, the England win was tons of fun, but I don’t think they will get by Switzerland. England has a couple days to figure out how to play like a team, and if they don’t Switzerland will pick them apart
And Spain against Germany might just well be the match of the tournament; who wins this one will most likely win in all. I’m clearing my calendar for this one.
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ODDS and ENDS: The Debate and Then Some
(Hello, Hey You! Who Said That?)
I didn’t watch the debate last night. The first and biggest reason is that no matter what happened, it wouldn’t change how I am voting. Second is that after 2020’s debates, I had no intention of giving my time to the Trump Shit Show. And from what I have seen and read this morning, if I would have watched it, I would have thrown up in the middle of my living room.
Trump came with a muted Shit Show, but it was his normal shit show of lies and falsehoods. Trump’s performance will go over well with his supporters and kept them loyal. For Democrats, Trump only reminded them why his unfit for office. For the undecided, it was the same old Trump, and I don’t think Trump did anything to sway them to his camp.
But Joe. He needed to get the Undecided on his side, and all Biden did was confirm that he’s very old, and not as sharpe as he used to be. You can’t convince people to unsee what they just saw. And if the election comes down to 12,000 votes in Michigan, Wisconsin, or Pennsylvania, then Biden’s performance was campaign killing.
As of this morning, Trump has won the Electoral College, but not the popular vote. I believe the Anti-Trump vote is so strong that Biden will win the popular vote, but Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada have slipped out of Joe’s hands.
Biden needs to withdraw, and do it fast. A July 4th speech would be a good and patriotic time to do it. That gives over a month before the Convention for the Democrats to sort it out, then roll out the Unity Candidate. Sadly, this doesn’t guarantee a Trump loss, but it gives Democrats a chance. And a chance is better than a sure fire Biden loss.
