Ball Four! Cleaning out the inbox

Before I begin,it's been tough for motivation this week and the month of November is very busy.
As in three days off for the month-busy.
So,I've been missing games,no recaps and a phone issue at the road office hasn't helped either.
I've had two podcast guests delay appearances and the podcast suffered for the week.
However,even if things won't be slowing down from the road office (I'm off Sunday and Monday and not again until December 1st),I've started with some ideas to perk things up and I think I have a good idea for a podcast-assuming I have time to get it "on the air".
Just an update....

I've written before that Jim Bouton's 1970 best seller Ball Four is my favorite sports book of all time.
Many agree as Bouton's book was the only sports book to make the top 100 books of the 20th century as voted on by the New York Public Library.
Hardball Times did a two part series on the teams (Seattle Pilots and Houston Astros) to see what happened to the Men of Ball Four-45 years after the book hit the printers.
Click here for the Pilots and here for the Astros.
If you are a true baseball fan,I highly recommend this book for baseball in the 60's and to understand dozens of "code" as others have called it between Ryan and I,but it also comes through as a look at society in the late 60's as things began to turn in sports,media and so many other things in our time...

Betamax is dead?
Sony announced that in March,the last of Betamax tapes will roll off the line.
Which brings me to this question? Who was still buying Betamax blanks?
As someone (the only person I know) that hangs on to VHS, who is hanging onto Betamax,which was the clear loser in the 80's home video war?
The interesting note brought here by the Guardian,discusses the turning point in the VHS vs Betamax war was the porn industry!
Yes,the porn industry decided that VHS served their purposes better and that nod began to turn the tide.
Still sad though and someday that will be me and VHS too....

We wrap up with the Cleveland Plain Dealer's coverage of Jeff Ruetter's talk on Lake Erie and how to fix it.
Five things to focus on the lake after a record setting algae bloom on continuing to rehab the shallowest of the Great Lakes.
Reutter was also the leader of the attack to rid Lake Erie of invasive species and pollution to become the Walleye capital of the world.
Love that Lake Erie perch and walleye!

I'm planning a podcast from the road office today.
Wish me luck!