Using the Sims 3 Weather Stone
I finally picked up a copy of Seasons (I found it on sale for half off - that never happens!) One of the first things I played with was the Weather Stone.
- Witch: Bewitching Rain. The rain gives a positive moodlet, and makes Sims do a special rain dance.
- Werewolf: Hunter's Storm. This snowstorm makes your werewolf more likely to find collectibles, and can also drop collectibles on the ground for you to find (rather than spawning them as usual).
- Vampire: Eclipsing Fog. This makes other Sims willing to do your bidding, whether it's submit to being turned, or just being drained for a meal.
- Fairies: Reviving Sprinkle. This rains down flowers from the sky, and gives your gardens a boost.
Following up on The Simpsons: Tapped Out
I have been playing The Simpsons: Tapped Out for iPad for a few months now. There is a lot to like about the game, but some frustrations as well.
We know when to cut and run!
I'm sure you have heard the news by now - the Lamestream Media sure does love a good story about my family! They eat that stuff up, no foolin'. My son Track and his wife filed for divorce 18 months after they got married.
Last-minute Christmas knitting advice
We are getting down to the wire when it comes to Christmas knitting. Every year I tell myself I won't knit anything for Christmas, or that I will knit something earlier in the year and save it for Christmas. And every year I find myself doing last-minute calculations a week before Christmas in despair.
The three ways to win a potluck
This is potluck season. Whether it's an office potluck, a family potluck, or a social event at your church, hobbyist group, knitting circle, or what have you, potlucks are an event with a surprisingly high emotional overhead. How do you want to win? What strategy should you employ?
Are you ready for the apocalypse?
No one believes the Mayan apocalypse. Well, almost no one. Your crazy uncle on Facebook probably does. Maybe that coworker who still can't stop talking about The Da Vinci Code. But no one credible has any stock in the magic date of 12/21/12.
2012 Spectometer Hitting Leaderboards -- "Authority Percentage" (Equivalent of ISO)
Our leaderboard series continues.
Once again, a recap of the ground rules:
- Ages 26 and over are considered "post-prospect" (for hitters), and are not counted (sorry Luis Rodriguez for plate skills and Joseph Dunigan for slugging).
- A season needs at least 100 plate appearances to count. Seasons between 50 and 99 PAs I will look at, and might note, but they won't go on the leaderboard.
- Seasons that are entirely in foreign leagues don't count. Mixed seasons with some foreign and some domestic stats I will count (but note with a caveat). Good news for Gaby Guerrero fans (of which I am one).
- The normal age-arc I use is Rookie/Short Season: 19 ... Low-A: 20 ... High-A: 21 ... AA: 22 ... AAA: 23. A guy who is younger than age-arc is noted in green. One year older than normal age-arc is not noted, but two years or more older earns an "age caveat" and is noted in blue.
- Ages are from baseball-reference.com "age season" (age as of midnight on June 30 of the season).
***
Stat: Authority Percentage (ISO by another name, really)
Formula: [(2*doubles)+(3*triples)+(4*HR)]/AB
Interpretive rule of thumb: The formula for ISO (SLG - BA) reduces to [(doubles)+(2*triples)+(3*HR)]/AB, so the difference between "Authority Percentage" and ISO is not meaningful, just mathematical. I use it because it plugs into my formula for "Plausibility Index" and ISO does not, and by using it I avoid having to have another column on the spreadsheet. That's all. In terms of interpreting it ... over .300 is good, and is essentially the same as a .200 ISO.
All hitters:
- Mike Zunino (21): .497
- Carlos Peguero (25): .402
- Nate Tenbrink (25): .397
- Leon Landry (22): .388
- Stefen Romero (23): .382
- Gabriel Guerrero (18): .364 (includes foreign stats)
- Jack Marder (22): .360
- Steven Proscia (22): .338
- David Villasuso (22): .337
- Taylor Ard (22): .334
- Jabari Henry (21): .333
- Julio Morban (20): .330
- Mickey Wiswall (23): .326
- Patrick Kivlehan (22): .323
- Ramon Morla (22): .310
***
Below age-arc hitters:
- Gabriel Guerrero (18): .364 (includes foreign stats)
- Julio Morban (20): .330
- Nick Franklin (21): .286
- Joe DeCarlo (18): .269
- Isaiah Yates (17): .269
- Timmy Lopes (18): .269
[I thought it was interesting that DeCarlo, Yates and Lopes all ended up with the same number.]
***
Glove-position hitters:
- Mike Zunino -- C (21): .497
- Leon Landry -- CF (22): .388
- Stefen Romero -- 2b (23): .382
- Jack Marder -- 2b/C (22): .360
- David Villasuso -- C (22): .337
***
Top 15 hitters with age-caveat hitters excluded:
- Mike Zunino (21): .497
- Leon Landry (22): .388
- Stefen Romero (23): .382
- Gabriel Guerrero (18): .364 (includes foreign stats)
- Jack Marder (22): .360
- Steven Proscia (22): .338
- Julio Morban (20): .330
- Mario Martinez (22): .308
- Alex Liddi (23): .291
- Brad Miller (22): .289
- Johermyn Chavez (23): .283
- Joe DeCarlo (18): .269
- Isaiah Yates (17): .269
- Timmy Lopes (18): .269
- Marcus Littlewood (20): .262
***
As I have noted, you gotta love that Zunino out-slugged Carlos Peguero and also out-walked Brad Miller (in ratio terms, anyway). And how 'bout those Teen Titans once again ...
I'm bidin' my time, makin' my plans
We're almost at the shortest day of the year, which is a big deal up here in Alaska. It's dark, a lot of dark, you know? Real dang dark. A lot of people can't handle it, those big sissies! That's not the same as like how my kids all fled to, like, California and Arizona and stuff. That's different.
Ikea monkey captures the Internet's heart
The story first broke via Twitter and Facebook: a small monkey dressed in a dapper shearling coat was loose in the Toronto Ikea. The monkey was first spotted in the parking lot. Later, he was snapped leaning against a wall inside the store and gazing pensively out the window. Twitter user Lisa Lin sent out the picture with the caption, "Anyone lose their monkey at Ikea?" Another image was uploaded to Reddit.
Meatballs: Easy, delicious and versatile
Meatballs were something I had always wanted to try making. I assumed they were a difficult, time-consuming chore. I could not have been more wrong! Not only are meatballs easy to make, they also are great in the slow cooker.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix up about a pound of hamburger with an egg, plus a dash of salt.
- Form them into balls about an inch across, somewhere around the size of a golf ball. Small enough that you can eat it in one bite, in other words.
- Bake the meatballs in a greased 9x13 pan for 20 minutes, until there is no pink in the middle (165 degrees F).