But then Kathy sent me the following Op/Ed piece published in the NY Times last week: A Degree in Three (again, click to read).  And that changed my whole perception of my blog entry.  Suddenly I felt validated, by someone with President Emeritus in their signature no less!  I had clearly miscategorized my entry as boring/silly when in reality I was prescient/revolutionary.

But then I read my entry.  And I still had the same takeaway from it as I did the first time I read it.  Still, I couldn’t help but feel a bit proud by what I felt was a corroborating, external validation of my thinking.  Yeah, the name of my blog is “Trees Falling in the Forest”, and I really do write this stuff so I can see what I was thinking at certain points in time.  And yet, I like that I had a similar idea as an Op/Ed piece in the NY Times, and that if you Google “Kars for Kids” or “Frogosphere” there is a link to my blog that comes up on the first page.

This desire for some form of external validation, though not nearly as noble, is a part of human nature.  But I think the really cool people are those who can minimize this want for external validation much better than I can.

Like Armando Galarraga.

Galaragga is the pitcher who pitched a perfect game last night.  Except that the umpire completely blew the call on what should have been the final out of the game.

So Galarraga, a pitcher who has had mixed success in his young career, does not join one of the most exclusive clubs in baseball history: those who have pitched a perfect game.  He did his part but will not go into the record books, through no fault of his own.

But does that make Galarraga’s game any less “perfect”?  Does he truly need the external validation that the correct call would have given him?  For most people the answer would be “yes”.  But for Galarraga the answer seems to be “no”.  I love his expression after umpire Jim Joyce blew the call (just a calm, chagrined smile).  I love the fact that he took the ball and simply retired the next batter, #28 (making this an even more perfect game than those who joined the club ahead of him and only had to get 27 outs).  I love the compassion he showed for the apologizing ump after the game, giving him a hug and saying “nobody’s perfect”.   And most of all, I love this quote from Armando Galarraga:

“I got a perfect game,” Galarraga said. “Maybe it’s not in the book, but I’m going to show my son the CD.”

See, Galarraga realizes it is not the external validation of the ump’s call that makes a perfect game.  It is the mastery he showed by besting every batter he faced last night.  Armando Galarraga’s ability to realize he pitched a perfect game based on his internal validation will not add him to the record book roster of the 20 pitchers who completed externally valid “perfect games”, but it puts him in an even more exclusive group: those who do not need external validation.

On the first play, Rajon Rondo drove to the basket, saw a big defender and turned out to the side to take the ball back to the top of the key.  Or that’s what the defender thought.  Rondo somehow saw the defender relax (Rondo’s back was to the defender at this point so he must have just known/sensed it), and quickly turned around, drove the baseline and laid it in.

After that basket, the Magic brought the ball down the court against the Celtics.  A pass was deflected, and rolled into the Magic backcourt with a Magic player (Jason Williams) in hot pursuit.  Williams did not loaf after it, but Rondo somehow closed ground, dove, hit the ball with one hand between the feet of Williams, extended his super-long arm to grab the ball, sprung up without traveling, took a couple dribbles, laid the ball up and scored.

Amazing plays.  Back to back.  But the most impressive thing to me about Rondo on those plays is that I don’t think there’s any way he would have made them a year ago.  He very well may have been able to outthink (the first play) and outhustle (the second play) his opponent in the past.  But in the past I’d see him make an amazing play only to have him throw the pass away or bang the shot off the backboard. This year Rondo finishes.  In each case he scored.  And after that 30 second span in the 2nd quarter, Rondo had psychologically finished the Magic and won the game.

I’m not sure the last time I bought plain white t-shirts.  But based on some of the t-shirts I wear that are not plain white, and have the concert dates from the late ’80′s still (barely) readable, it’s likely been a loooooong time.

So for $15 I’ve been able to minimize the morning hunt for presentable clothes.  No more frayed collars.  Just plain white, which feels very fancy.  And maybe the iPad gives more overall utility, but I can’t wear my iPad (and it would definitely break if I put in the wash).

There have been signs pointing to this all year.  On New Year’s Day I turned on the Winter Classic from Fenway Park and saw the Bruins score two goals in the last five minutes to win the game.  Then I watched a couple Olympic games including the very exciting US-Canada final.  I tuned in for the post Savard concussion Penguins-Bruins matchup (disappointing and boring), and Game 6 of the Bruins first round playoffs (appointing and interesting).

So that’s five games in four months, or roughly three games more than any four month period in the past 15 years.

So maybe my momentum was headed in the right direction when I heard that the 8 seed Canadiens were ahead of the 1 seed Capitals after two periods.  I started searching my cable system to see the final period, finally realizing it was on some channel called VS.  By time I could find the channel there were 13 minutes left in the game.

And it was riveting.  I don’t really know why, but my heart was pounding as I watched Montreal try to hang on.  I had a rooting interest since the Bruins would have a much easier opponent in the next round if the Canadiens were to win, but still, my attachment was way out of proportion.  It may have been the most vested I’ve been in any sporting event in the past year, including Red Sox/Celtics/Bruins/Patriots playoff games.

And that showed me: hockey is a great sport.  Well, at least playoff hockey is.  When it is a game 7, and the whistles are few and far between, and the players are not mucking around and posturing for the next fight, it is incredibly captivating.  I even knew 2 players on the ice: Ovechkin, who kept making breathtaking end to end runs, and Hal Gill, a former Bruin who made a handful of great plays to propel the Canadiens to victory.  I saw two goals, and desperation play that you just don’t see in the constantly interrupted games of baseball, football, and basketball.

So now the Bruins play the Flyers.  And I can name more players from the 1975 Flyers than I can for the 2010 Bruins.  But I’m now up to six games watched in the past four months, and I have a feeling by the end of next week I’ll be praising and cursing a whole host of Bruins and Flyers by name.

Clarke, Leach, McLeish, Schultz, Parent, Van Impe.....if the Bruins get the trophy in the front row in this picture, I'll need to learn at least seven of their names

Me: Dad, Emma keeps repeating everything I say.

Molly: It’s really annoying.

Me: It’s really annoying.

Molly: Aarghhhh!

Me: Aarghhhh!

It’s really fun being a Dad.  Must be frustrating at times to be Molly though.

And looking back on the surprising winter of 09-10, I have learned the following: Rain is the new snow.

Here in New England we spent most of the winter worrying about snow storms that never turned into anything significant.  The forecasters had a really bad season, just when I thought they had this whole gig down pat.  It was as if all the Doppler Radars conspired to rise up against the media outlets in some sort of technological rebellion.  Schools canceled classes on the mere prospect of snow multiple times only to have kids laughing by noon as they ran through the sprinklers (okay not quite).

The rain on the other hand was truly frightening.  The month of March was so wet that I almost bought my first umbrella.  I found myself sending Molly and Emma downstairs to the basement every other day to see if there was any water damage (I’m still recovering from my torn achilles, and hey, the basement can be kind of scary even when it’s not raining).  Eventually I took the advice of my friend Neil who told me his secret for making sure there was no flooding in the basement: don’t check.

So as we move into the much happier spring of 2010 I am glad that we don’t need to deal with any more snow false alarms.  And that I still don’t own an umbrella.

Pretty amazing that wireless/satellite technology and costs have come down so much that we can get caught up on critical news while at the gas station.  I mean when else in the busy day could I hear how Erin Andrews may have a crush on her DWTS partner?

While I thought about how incredible technology is in 2010, I put my credit card into the gas pump reader and waited.  And waited. And waited.  Then I got a message “Beginning approval process”.  And waited. And waited. And waited.

And yes, I realize if I really stop to think about what is happening (a plastic card unlocking the right for me to fill my tank with a liquid so I can magically transport myself for 300 miles at a time), I’d have been less frustrated.  But it was raining. Hard.  For the 3rd day in a row.  And I was getting colder, wetter, and grumpier by the second.  And hearing about Fergie’s tripping while in concert didn’t help me feel warmer, drier, and sunnier.

Can the person who’s figuring out how to get television access everywhere be reassigned for a few hours to figure out how to speed up the credit card transaction process?

And now I find myself feeling like my uncle when I explain that when I was a kid the milkman used to deliver glass bottles of milk on a weekly basis to our house.  I even show them where the little hatch was built into the external wall at my parents’ house for the deliveries.  The milkman would open the little compartment, leave the bottles, and then later we would open the coonecting door from inside the kitchen and take the bottles out (this hatch also served as the emergency plan for entering the house when we were locked out…..I was small enough to fit through and come around to the back door and let everyone in).  But as delivery and pasteurization became less costly and more efficient, the milkman went the way of the iceman.

This week it hit me: Molly and Emma’s version of milkman and iceman will be the postman.  The need for mail delivered to your house daily seems already outdated.  Bills can be both delivered and paid online; personal interactions are much more immediate and easier (no searching for a stamp) online; even receipt of personal checks are being sent more often online. 

The USPS has noticed this too.  It seems all but ineveitable that within the next year or two Saturday delivery will be halted.  That whole thing about rain, and snow, and sleet, and hail also seems to have been given a bit of slack in the past few years as I have noticed the occasional suspension of delivery when the weather is less than ideal.  Having a whole government supported enterprise dedicated to an outdated idea seems incongruous: wouldn’t it be money better spent to ensure everyone has access to a computer and an email account?  The spillover effect (increased computer literacy, a population that is increasingly in touch and not separated) of diverting funds away from the USPS and to computer access would also be positive for the country.

I could send the above to your land address where you would receive it in 2-3 days, or I could find it online and add it into this post in about 30 seconds.

There’s definitely a nostalgic sadness when I mention that I think the days of post delivery are numbered.  But like with the iceman and milkman, it’s just a sign that we’re finding more logical ways to get things done.

I always felt Pelosi was putting her ideological and self promoting agendas ahead of what was best for her country and party (and called her a “speed bump” for Obama in this post last spring).  But it seems more and more apparent that the Healthcare reform will pass where other attempt over decades and decades have failed.  And it looks like she is the key reason for that.

And while I’m sure I support this healthcare reform bill, I really am not sure it will be a complete success or an abject failure.  I mean one side says it will save us lots of money and jobs while the other side says it will cost us lots of money and jobs.  Each side says their statements with utmost confidence.  I’m not sure who is right or if we’ll even ever be able to measure who is right.

But it seeems clear at least to me that there are two truths:

1) More people will have access to healthcare than in the past

2) The current situation is not a workable solution for the long term

These two facts on their own are more than enough to make me a strong supporter for the current healthcare reform bill.  Will the economic impact be hugely positive or devastating?  I really don’t know.  And I don’t think anyone does.  But I have been convinced that the current situation must change due to the two reasons above.

And news is emerging that Nancy Pelosi is the fundamental reason this will get done.  Apparently, post Scott Brown’s election, President Obama was leaning toward an extremely watered down version of healthcare reform.  But Nancy Healthcare convinced the president that the current bill was needed and would pass.  She gave Obama the spine he needed to deliver on the promise of CHANGE instead of “change” that had provided such optimism during his campaign.

And if providing that encouragement and support comes along with some ideology and occasional self promotion, that seems fine with me.

And today the dream got more specific.

First, I heard a segment on NPR (excellent drift in, drift out environment for daydreaming) saying that current humans likely descended from one common woman.  This woman had an unusually large brain for her time.  Really she was a mutation.  But it was this mutation that helped separate humans from all other species.  Scientists call her Mitochondrial Eve.  And now I call my daydream band the same.

Second, I found the perfect concert for Mitochondrial Eve.  Yes the venue would be in the real world, which would be problematic for an imaginary band, but as Kevin Garnett said, “Anything is possible”. 

A key to making the concert perfect is to realize that Mitochondrial Eve is now several albums into their career.  They are critical darlings and have had a strong measure of popular success (but not enough to alienate their original fans).  They make anywhere they go instantly the place to be.  And the place to be on April 2 would be Fulton, Mississippi.

Fulton is where a female senior high school student made it clear that she intends to go to the prom with her girlfriend (click here  for an article).  The school board got really scared about the idea of having a girl dressed up in a tuxedo and said she couldn’t go (though this likely would have been fine with everyone if the prom were held on Halloweeen).  The ACLU came to the defense of the girl.  And then the school board said, “Screw it, we’re canceling the prom, and it’s all her fault.”

So apparently the evil plan of the school board is working.  The girl reports many classmates sarcastically thanking her for ruining their senior year.  If the senior year could have been ruined by a tuxedo, then my version in 1985 would have done it.  Now I know that it simply cannot be done.  But certainly a narrow minded school board can minimize the fun of a senior year, and that is what is happening in Fulton.

Mitochondrial Eve to the rescue.  Or in the real world how about Black Eyed Peas, or Green Day, or Dixie Chicks (it is Mississippi after all)?  Even the school board agrees that if a private party stepped forward to fund and host the prom it could still go on.  Well, Mitochondrial Eve would definitely step forward.  And we’d play all our hits.

The concert poster for Mitochondrial Eve, Live in Fulton, 4/2/10