Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Wednesday, July 17
About midnight two guys came in looking for a room and based on the way they were dressed – more or less in their jammies – their story about their condo flooding was believable…We had plenty of rooms available and I quoted them a rate of $129, plus tax, not too bad and a full $30 off what the system was asking…That wasn’t good enuff, tho, for the dude who was paying.
The Daily Dose/July 17, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Leading Off will return.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow has both the phone and the Internet go out a the hotel, and he is back in the gym following Monday’s overeating session. Today’s Diary.
You know, on the one hand, today’s workout was just one of many I’ll do this month and really wasn’t all that important…On the other hand, following Monday’s calzone gorgefest, it was supremely important because without it the next thing you know a bad day eating has turned into a bad week eating before you can say “extra cheese” most of the gains you’ve made in the gym the past couple of months are gone and you are darn near back to square one.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life.
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On This Date
In 1955 – Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California, for the media, invited guests and a live TV audience. It wasn’t a complete success. Workers were still finishing their work and the TV broadcast was rife with miscues. Walt Disney had gotten the idea for an amusement park while watching his family ride the merry-go-round at Los Angeles’ Griffith park, and got further inspiration after visiting amusement parks around the world. Construction had begun a year and a day earlier and Disneyland cost $17 million to build, about $161 million in today’s money. Disneyland opened to the general public the following day and has hosted well over 700 million guests over the years.
In 1941 – Joe DiMaggio’s major league record 56-game hitting streak comes to an end, as he goes 0-for-3 with a walk as the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-3. The streak had started on May 15 with a 1-for-4 effort against the Chicago Cubs and DiMaggio batted .408 during the streak with 15 home runs 55 RBIs. The following day DiMaggio started a 15-game hitting streak.
In 1976 – Something He Can Feel by Aretha Franklin is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Soul Singles chart – for the fourth and final week. It was Franklin’s 15th of a soul chart record 20 #1 songs (a record she shares with Stevie Wonder) and her 31st Top 40 pop hit. The song also peaked at #28 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and returned to the top of the soul chart in 1992 with a version done by En Vogue.
Quotebook
It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement.
Mabel Newcomber
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
The backup crew for Apollo 11 was James Lovell, William Anders, and Fred Haise.
Today’s Stumper
Hw many games with one hit did Joe DiMaggio have during his 56-game hitting streak? – Answer next time!
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Tuesday, July 16
Boy, both phone service and front desk Internet were down at various points tonight…When I reported for duty Mark reported he hadn’t received an incoming call in hours and, it turned out, phone service was down all over the place…Maybe cell service was down too, but who knew…It was all rather confusing – the newspaper even had a headline online that said “Landline service disrupted, use landline to call 911″ – so I don’t think anybody knew what the heck was going on.
The Daily Dose/July 16, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
We were reading an article on Novak Djokovic’s apparently thrilling five-set, tie-breaker victory over Roger Federer in the men’s Wimbledon final when we came across a quote from Federer. It came in response to a question about the new fifth set tiebreak, which goes into effect when the fifth set is tied 12-12. It’s a new rule at the Championships, designed to cut to the chase and prevent matches from lasting three days. It was the first Wimbledon final to utilize the 12-12, fifth set tiebreaker, probably a good thing because without it they might still be playing. Federer said:
I respect whatever the rule is.
Imagine that, a professional athlete, any athlete, publicly declaring respect for a rule. What a refreshing point of view, especially nowadays when respect for anything, rules, authority, oneself is a vanishing commodity.
We see it on a daily basis. We saw it last week when a minor league pitching coach got thrown out of an Atlantic League game for arguing balls and strikes called by an electronic pitch-calling program. This is where we are at right now: arguing decisions not even made by a human!
Now, in fairness to the coach – former major league pitcher Frank Viola – he wasn’t actually arguing with a computer program, he was arguing with the plate umpire who declined to exercise his prerogative to overrule the electronic umpire, something you probably won’t see unless a pitch that ends up in the nickel seats is called a strike. Viola completely lost his mind, something we are seeing more and more of in sports, and elsewhere, nowadays. Lighten up, Frank. You are arguing, in essence, with an experimental technology that your league is the petri dish for. There was no reason to take to DefCon 1.
And, of course, there are the daily examples provided by our president, Donal Trump, who every day continues to ignore the rules of protocol and civilized discourse. In fact, the only rule Trump seems to follow is the rule – usually adhered to only by first-graders – of drawing as much attention to yourself as possible.
We continue to tolerate it, though. We are tolerating the blather and the venom and the racism and friends when we ignore our leader(s) ignoring these rules we are ignoring them ourselves. There are no two ways about it.
We deserve better than this. We deserve an America that has some sort of dignity and respect for decorum, for others, and for ourselves. We are not going to get the America we deserve though, until we start demanding it, both individually and collectively.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: There was an inspection at the hotel, Sparrow goes out to lunch and has the latest on the nesting robins at The Shire. Today’s Diary.
We used to always get reamed on these inspections at the timeshare I used to work at…Good gravy, the Son of Man could have been running the place and there would still have been five pages of discrepancies…I was a supervisor and I’d get called into the office and get beaten upside the head and I’m thinking damn, guests (owners, actually, and boy, they are exponentially more tedious to deal with than hotel guests) are being treated cordially and the phone is getting answered and I’m Satan incarnate because some BS forms aren’t filled out or desk clerks are being friendly and personable instead of reciting the lousy, corporate-scripts we’re given.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life.
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On This Date
In 1969 – Man’s greatest adventure begins when, at 9:32am EDT, Apollo 11 lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s east cost. Commanded by Neil Armstrong and manned by lunar module pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and command module pilot Michael Collins, Apollo 11 would enter Earth orbit twelve minutes later and after an orbit-and-a-half began the three-day trek to the moon. The crew had been woken at 4am and were served the traditional pre-flight meal of steak and eggs. They began their trek to launch pad 39 at 6:30 – about the time fueling of the Saturn V rocket commenced – and began entering the command module a bit before 7am.
In 1950 – Uruguay wins their second World Cup, defeating host Brazil 2-1 in the final game of the championship round robin. Trailing 1-0, Uruguay got goals in the 66th and 79th minute, to win a game most everybody, especially the Brazillians, thought Brazil would win. The 1950 World Cup remains the only one where the title was not determined in a championship game that followed a single-elimination stage and remains the last World Cup title match featuring two teams from South America. The crowd 199,584 remains the largest crowd to see a sports event that was not an auto or a horse race.
In 1977 – The Commodores are at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Soul Singles chart – for their only week with Easy. It was the third of seven #1 songs on the soul chart for the group, and their fifth of 13 Top 10 soul hits. The song also peaked at #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100, their biggest pop hit until Three Times a Lady hit #1 the following year. The Commodores last hit the Hot 100 in 1985 when Nightshift went to #5.
Quotebook
If I should die it would only be a sign that my star has run its course.
Adolf Hiter
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
The Philadelphia Phillies have lost the most games in major league history, 10,964.
Today’s Stumper
Who was the backup crew for Apollo 11? – Answer next time!
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Monday, July 15
It turns out we had an inspection from the home office while I was on my days off…It happened Thursday and I saw the report in the back office and we did really good…Our lowest score was 93.00 and we even got a hundred on a couple of things…The only thing found wrong at the front desk had to do with the home office’s human rights policy…I forget exactly what the policy entails, but I seem to recall it being rather silly for a hotel to have a human rights policy and I don’t think it involved anything more than reading a form that said the parent company supports human rights for all people, whether they work here or not…I’ve been working front desks a long time and I’ve yet to run into a human rights issue, but ol’ Sparrow is certainly on board with it…The problem, the report said, was that our human rights training wasn’t properly documented.
The Daily Dose/July 15, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Friends, The Daily Dose will return Tuesday.
Click here to read today’s edition of The Diary of a Nobody.
Thank you,
Gaylon
The Daily Dose/July 14, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
The Sunday Bottom 5
Celebrating the worst of the week that was.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow gives a clinic in letting a guest who has lost their key into their room. Today’s Diary.
You don’t always need ID in this situation, tho…I remember working security in Sin City – and forgive me if you’ve heard this before – and I let this young lady into her room and she couldn’t find her ID…She is searching her suitcase and ultimately pulls out a pair of brown bra with white dots on them…Then she pulls up her dress to reveal the matching panties, which I declared satisfactory and moved on to my next call.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life.
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On This Date
In 2015 – Man visits Pluto for the first time, as the American spaceship New Horizons flies by what used to be the ninth planet and what is now regarded as merely a big rock. New Horizons had left Earth in January 2006 and at its closest approach came within 7,800 miles of Pluto’s surface. New Horizons remains on duty, too, on its way to the outer limits of our Solar System. Also on this date, in 1965, Mariner 4 passes by Mars, providing man’s first close-up pictures of another planet.
In 2005 – The San Francisco Giants become the first major league team to win 10,000 games, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3. The Giants won their first game on May 1, 1883 when, as the New York Gothams, they defeated the Boston Beaneaters – now the Atlanta Braves – 7-5. To date, the Giants have won 11,130 games, still best in major league history, and have won 23 National League pennants and eight World Series titles.
In 1984 – Prince is at #1 for the second of five consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 with When Doves Cry. It was the first of five #1s for Prince and his third of 19 Top 10 hits. The song also went to #1 in Canada and Australia, was in its third of eight weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart and was Billboard’s biggest song of 1984. The song recharted in 2016, peaking at #8 on the Hot 100 and at #5 on the soul chart, making it one of the few songs in the Rock Era to make the Top 10 in separate chart runs.
Quotebook
But his time is not now, and so the legend dies.
Charles Kuralt
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
A host nation has won the World Cup six times: Uruguay, 1930; Italy, 1934; England, 1966; West Germany (1974; Argentina, 1978; France, 1998.
Today’s Stumper
What major league team has lost the most games? – Answer next time!
Meet Sparrow, an average man passing an average life…
Saturday, July 13
Another desk clerk and a part-time night auditor were added to the schedule at the hotel, making a total of 73 front desk personnel on staff, none of them working more than ten minutes a week…Devani, the former assistant front desk manager is back, and our friend Amy has hired on as the part-time night auditor…She appears to be getting a lot of front desk training, too, something I didn’t, because I won’t see her for night audit training until next week.
The Daily Dose/July 13, 2019
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
Leading Off
Proof that this nation will bicker about anything can be found in our national yapping about putting a citizenship question on next year’s census questionnaires. President Trump wanted to include one because he thinks it will make it easier to deport illegals, while the Democrats opposed it because the GOP supports it, though the argument that such a question would result in non-citizens not participating has some merit. We don’t buy that this is the reason Trump wanted the question included on the grounds Trump doesn’t think that far ahead.
There is no reason not to include a citizenship question with the census. One, a government is entitled to know how many citizens it has in its country. Two, it could result in some statistical funsies. Three, answering ‘no’ doesn’t mean you are going to be deported. There are a variety of ways for non-citizens to be in this country legally. The government is sending out roughly 130 million census forms and to think they are going to audit and follow-up on each one is silly. We don’t have the resources for that.
Citizenship questions have been included with the census off and on over the years. The first time was in 1820 when households were asked how many foreigners, not naturalized, were living in the home. Among other things. Census takers also asked about people engaged in agriculture, commerce and manufacturing. Since then, citizenship questions have appeared 13 other times, sometimes asking every household, sometimes only a few. Sometimes it asked about citizenship and sometimes it asked about naturalization status. Sometimes it asked about men, free men, or everyone. A citizenship question most recently appeared in 2000.
Under normal circumstances, we don’t see a problem with a citizenship question. One, a government, but these are not normal times. America and its government are a partisan, fractured and bickering mess and it’s not the est time to go around proclaiming you aren’t a citizen right now, so perhaps it’s best the question is being left off.
Today At The Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow books his hotel reservation for his trip next month to the VSO conference.
I called back and was greeted by someone who appeared to have started speaking English last week and who spoke as if she got cash for saying as many words as possible in as short a time as possible…There was no point to this, so I hung up…The third girl had a sultry voice that had me wanting to leave a personal Visa number…She didn’t know what she was doing, either, quoting me a rate of $148, plus tax, $20 more than the rate on our flyer…She said that was the rate and followed that up with the silence of someone who didn’t know what the hell they were doing – I’ve been there myself – so I said I would call back…I lied…I went online and reserved there…The system had the rate code and corresponding rate entered and I was done in three minutes.
Now the real work begins…Booking a sub-orbital flight would be easier, because there is a ream of paperwork I need to fax in because this is government travel and my stay is tax exempt and being paid for with a county credit card that is made out to Stephanie in Infant Services and not me…There is also the county’s tax exempt certificate, the hotel’s credit card authorization form, an affidavit of sale, plus pics of the front and back of the credit, plus a pic of Stephanie’s ID…Fortunately I have these pics from my April training in the big city.
It’s Sparrow, an average man passing an average life.
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On This Date
In 1977 – The New York City Blackout of 1977 begins around 8:30pm with a lightning strike at a substation north of the city. Other lightning strikes were followed by some technical problems beyond the scope of even this feature and power was out citywide within the hour. The only areas not affected were portions of the city served by the Long Island Lighting Company and, interestingly enough, Pratt Institute, a Brooklyn college that generated its own power. Looting and rioting followed, with over 1,600 businesses affected. Power was fully restored by the following evening.
In 1930 – The first World Cup soccer tournament begins in Montevideo, Uruguay, with France defeating Mexico 4-1 and the United States defeating Belgium 3-0. There was no qualification for the tournament, and 13 teams were divided into four groups, with the group winners advancing to the semifinals. Uruguay ultimately defeated Argentina for the first World Cup title 4-2. The next World Cup is scheduled for Qatar in 2022 while the previous 21 World Cup titles have been won by eight nations, with Brazil having won the most titles, five.
In 1974 – George McCrae is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks with Rock You Baby. The song was written by Harry Casey and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band and McCrae only sang on it because he happened to be in the studio when Casey and Finch were looking for a singer. The song went to #1 in ten other countries, including Great Britain and Switzerland, and was also in its second and final week at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart.
Quotebook
The president pointed out his oath of office required him to „preserve, protect and defend“ the Constitution. This duty overrode any specific constitutional constraints on executive action.
James McPherson
Tried By War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-In-Chief
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
The US Air Force Medal of Honor was established in 1965, while the lone Coast Guard recipient of the Medal of Honor (Douglas Munroe, 1942) was awarded the Navy Medal of Honor.
Today’s Stumper
How many times has the host nation won the World Cup? – Answer next time!
