reading lately

I realize I haven't written anything about what I've been reading lately. I finished the mad dash through entire Harry Potter series in time to read a Popular Science and to catch up with an issue and a half of the local alternative newsweekly.

Our local alternative newsweekly was recently purchased by our local regular ol' news daily which in turn is owned by a much larger company that owns things like that. We'd like to expect the same old what-they-call-news that we've come to expect, but one always has to wonder when the little, pretty cool independent gets bought up by the old guy in the somber suit.

I've started reading and, sadly, replying to the comments at the local news blogging site. I've been reading there for some time, neat little progressive, mostly left leaning sorts of folks. There is the one woman who mentioned affluence and homeschooling after I mentioned homeschooling. I've actually gone out of my way not to mention it before. If child education comes up at all it is relation to a local school issue and of minimal interest to me, but this was one of those subjects that I just couldn't not discuss. I might have to post about it later tonight. Yeah, affluence and homeschooling.

I think next we probably have rules. I've been reading rules. Throughout the soccer season I keep my FIFA/AYSO Laws of the Game close. I'll flip through it while taking a dump or while sweltering outside for a cigarette. There are also the AYSO books, Guidance for Coaches and Refs. I've probably been through the referee class workbook a couple of times as well. Those are understandable I'm sure as we head into a new season. I want to do a good job, and it helps to keep it on my mind when I can, to take time to consider how I want to approach coaching. I'd also like to think I can rein in the coming nervousness that will rain down on me when I finally get around to reffing a game.

You want more rules? WFTDA Standardized Flat Track Roller Derby Rules v.2.1. It's always close, but I've been looking at them lately in considering an issue I saw at some point in the past year. I suppose I hadn't looked at them in a while and discovered them on my clipboard while trying to find some clean paper to write soccer stuff on. And then I wanted to look at all the references to elbows, try to get the issue out off my mind.

Finally is the even more local news weekly that's an alternative to nothing other than more annoying things should you happen to run across something more annoying. If you want news of the business and professional association, you can get it, but only if you live in this basic part of the north side. It's the kind of newspaper that is not only free, but they bring it to your house without you even asking. I really don't read that much of it usually, and I always complain about what I do write. The old lady that always copied the crazy and/or "patriotic" with fundy leaning and/or inherently racist emails that people sent her and called it a newspaper column hasn't been doing that lately, but her name does still appear next to the bowling scores.

It's time to pay off the library, so I can start reading books again. I can't find a single book in this house I'm really willing to read right now. At some point I'm going to end up pulling out random cookbooks, which wouldn't be a bad thing if I'd use them to then go and cook something, but I don't. But, for better or worse, that's what I've been reading lately.

baseball caps

It's time for a new post about something that I hate. I'm full of hate, really I am, and I'm sure it's sad and stuff, but . . .

I don't hate baseball caps. I own several, though I haven't really worn them lately. As part of the letting the hair grow thing, I find currently I don't need a hat to keep my head from getting sunburned. With fall approaching, we know winter is on the way, yet I may not then need a hat to keep my bald head from freezing, assuming I haven't freaked out and shaved my head again.

I do hate when people turn the baseball caps slightly to the side, though slight is better than the full quarter turn that places the bill of the cap directly above either ear. The slight turn trades the old cocked fedora for a modern hat, even though most people with the slight turn look a little "special."

The new baseball cap trend that irritates me is the tucking of ears into the cap. I think it was that Monster Garage guy that started it all, but maybe I'm wrong; regardless, it looks stupid. It's even worse when the guy in the hat didn't get one big enough and you can see his hat squeezing the shit out of the tops of his ears. Honestly, if you need the tops of your ears covered, a baseball cap is not the way to go. It's looks ridiculous, suffering physical discomfort in the name of an idiot fashion trend. I'll accept physical discomfort for the sake of beauty, but the beauty has actually to be beauty or at least moderately cool looking.