I’m just a poor, dumb white boy from Hampden…
October 5th, 2023Brief historical note, suitable for use in schools.
October 4th, 202330 years ago yesterday and today, a group of UN soldiers (including US Special Operations troops, and units from Malaysia and Pakistan) went out on a mission to capture high-ranking members of the Somali National Alliance (SMA) in Mogadishu.
Things went bad. Then they went very bad. When it was all over, 18 US soldiers had been killed, and another 73 were wounded. One Malaysian Army soldier and one Pakistani soldier were also killed.
Battle of Mogadishu from Wikipedia.
Also killed:
- Staff Sergeant Daniel Darrell Busch.
- Sergeant First Class Earl Robert Fillmore, Jr.
- Master Sergeant Timothy Lynn Martin.
- Sergeant First Class Matthew Loren Rierson.
- Corporal James E. Smith.
- Specialist James M. Cavaco.
- Sergeant James Casey Joyce.
- Corporal Richard W. Kowalewski, Jr.
- Sergeant Dominick M. Pilla.
- Sergeant Lorenzo M. Ruiz.
- Staff Sergeant William David Cleveland, Jr.
- Staff Sergeant Thomas J. Field.
- CW4 Raymond Alex Frank.
- CW3 Clifton P. Wolcott.
- CW3 Donovan Lee Briley.
- Sergeant Cornell Lemont Houston, Sr.
- Private First Class James Henry Martin, Jr.
- Lance Corporal Mat Aznan Awang (Malaysian Army, posthumously promoted to Corporal).
I have been unable to find a name for the Pakistani soldier who was killed.
Black Hawk Down is still a heck of a book, in my opinion. The movie’s pretty good, too, but I’m not going to stake my life on it being 100% accurate. (Though I do believe the movie makers tried very hard.)
“Folly and Redemption: Thirty Years After Black Hawk Down” from The American Conservative.
We have a new winner!
October 3rd, 2023That is, a new winner of the highly un-coveted Saturday Dining Conspiracy “Die In a Fire” award.
Yes, I am pretty peeved right now. Yes, I am using the power of my blogs to work on a grudge: but if you can’t do that on your blog, what’s the point of having one?
I used to (sort of) like Mod Pizza. We have better local pizza places, but sometimes it was just nice to be able to get a small personal pizza with exactly the kind and variety of toppings I wanted.
There’s one within easy driving distance from the house out here in the hinterlands. Mom was craving pizza, and I thought a small pizza sounded good myself. So I placed an online order.
Below is the feedback I left Mod Pizza corporate on their website. I’ve left out the original order number (referenced in the email) because it wouldn’t mean anything to anyone except corporate.
——————
I placed this order at 3:30 PM for pickup at 4:15 PM. When I got to the store (around 4:10 PM) I gave the employee my name. He wasn’t clear about what was going on. I waited about 30 minutes for my food.
Finally, one of the other employees informed me that the store had CANCELLED MY ORDER (my because “they didn’t have enough people to make it”. I counted four employees in the store at the time.
I was further told that if I wanted my food I would have to place my order all over again, while I was in the store waiting, because they had enough people (in the store with no other customers) to make it now. No offer to place the order themselves based on my original receipt, just “you have to do it all over again”. That’s ridiculous.
I left and went to another local pizza place. I will NEVER EVER order from ANY Mod Pizza ever again. Especially this one, as this is the second time in a row they have messed up a pickup order.
Y’all need to shut this location down, as it is doing real harm to your brand.
——————–
I should add to this: the Mod Pizza claims to have refunded my card for the order I placed, but I see no evidence of that in my account yet.
(Crossposted to the Logbook of the Saturday Dining Conspiracy.)
Edited to add 10/4: I did get a refund credited to my card this morning, just for the record.
Obit watch: October 3, 2023.
October 3rd, 2023Jim Caple, sportswriter.
I sort of remember the name: I was probably reading him back in the good old “Page 2” days. My feelings about lyrical happy horsepucky baseball writers are well known, but it seems like he wasn’t one of those guys:
…
This is intended to enrage you. (#10 in a series)
October 3rd, 2023I’m going to put a jump here, for those of you who want to avoid being enraged. Something else will be coming along eventually.
Blood in the streets!
October 2nd, 2023Phil Nevin out as manager of the Los Angeles Angels.
ESPN calls this a firing, while other sources say they “declined the option on his contract”. That to me is functionally indistinguishable from a firing, but maybe it makes some sort of difference to someone.
Obit watch: October 2, 2023.
October 2nd, 2023Lucy Morgan, Florida journalist. She wasn’t someone I had heard of before, but the obit (which I encourage you to read) makes her sound fascinating.
She specialized in uncovering political corruption. In 1973, she went to jail because she refused to reveal her source for grand jury proceedings.
She shared a Pulitzer (with Jack Reed) for exposing the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.
She also exposed the sheriff of Gulf County, who got sent to prison for extorting oral sex from female inmates.
…
…
Russ Francis, former tight end for the Patriots and 49ers, was killed in a plane crash on Sunday. Also killed was Richard McSpadden, a vice-president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).
It appears they were taking off from Lake Placid Airport and there was some sort of problem. Reports say they tried to make it back to the airport but couldn’t.
Mr. Francis, in additional to a successful NFL career (first round NFL draft pick, three time Pro Bowl player) was also an avid pilot. He’d recently bought an interest in Lake Placid Airways, a local charter and scenic flight service.
Mr. McSpadden, in addition to being an AOPA VP, was a former commander and flight leader for the Thunderbirds.
Tim Wakefield, former Boston Red Sox pitcher (and a past winner of the Roberto Clemente Award). Cancer got him at 57.
Chris Snow, of the Calgary Flames. He was diagnosed with ALS in 2019, and passed away after a “catastrophic brain injury”.
Your loser update: special MLB 2023 edition.
October 2nd, 2023How did our high hopes for the MLB season turn out?
Well, the Oakland Athletics finished at the bottom, 50-112, .309 winning percentage. That’s bad, but it isn’t quite historically bad: Wikipedia’s list cuts off at .300.
Kansas City finished slightly better: 56-106, .346.
Colorado: 59-103, .364.
And the White Sox: 61-101, .377 winning percentage.
Firings watch.
October 1st, 2023Another one down, another one down, another one rides the bus bites the dust…
Buck Showalter out as manager of the Mets.
I was initially a little confused by this: was it a firing, or a retirement, but later articles make it clear it was a “forced resignation”.
ESPN:
Also ESPN:
New York is 74-87 and 29½ games behind National League East champion Atlanta.
Your loser update: week 4, 2023.
October 1st, 2023Lawrence asked me last night which of the remaining teams I favored to go 0-17.
My answer: da Bears and Carolina. I don’t believe the Vikings are that bad, and Denver at least has a coach who’s won a Superbowl.
How did that work out for me? Actually, pretty well.
NFL teams that still have a chance to go 0-17:
da Bears
Carolina
da Bears play Washington on Thursday this week, while Carolina plays Detroit at noon next Sunday. Right now, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network favors Washington (but not overwhelmingly) and Detroit (overwhelmingly). I’ll be joining FotB pigpen51 in rooting for the Lions, and the entire civilized world in rooting for an asteroid strike on FedEx Field.
Firings watch.
September 29th, 2023The baseball season’s ending, and we all know what’s coming: the ceremonial throwing out of managers.
The San Francisco Giants started today: Gabe Kapler out. SF Chronicle.
The big problem seems to be that the Giants pretty much fell apart:
Sort of on the margin for sports firings (and from ESPN, who I have a high barrier for), but I’ll allow it: an oral history of Lane Kiffin’s legendary “tarmac firing” (which really wasn’t) from USC.
I’m allowing this because there’s a couple of quotes that struck me:
Kiffin
It’s 5 a.m. The sun’s getting ready to come up. I’m sitting in the backyard, and I said to my wife, “When I go to bed, I don’t want to wake up.” She’s got a little more perspective, and she said, “You have three children upstairs. Don’t ever say that again.”
Men: marry that kind of woman.
Kiffin
I saw a podcast the other day on the rapper Macklemore, and he’s talking about, he’s winning the Grammy. He’s on stage. He’s got everything. And he’s not fulfilled. And later, he’s in rehab. He’s making coffee in the morning for people. He’s serving others. And he says, “I felt more fulfilled doing that than when I was on stage.”
Obit watch: September 29, 2023.
September 29th, 2023Dianne Feinstein. NYT. LAT. WP.
This doesn’t quite qualify as an obit, but I don’t have any place else to put it (other than a separate entry, which I’d rather not do) and I feel like it is close enough for government work. The Las Vegas Police department has made an arrest in a 27-year old cold case.
But:
The other point that I think should be made: an arrest is one thing. A conviction is another. More from the tabloid of record.
Edited to add: A two-pack (see what I did there?) of additional coverage from the NYT and the LAT.
“Dwight, shouldn’t you be linking to the actual Las Vegas newspapers?” Well, yes, except: the Las Vegas newspapers are generally not great. Though they have had some good columnists working for them in the past…but for the record, here’s the Review-Journal coverage.
Also not quite an obit, but within this blog’s area of coverage:
This is just a very preliminary report from the NTSB: we probably won’t get the full report for two years or more. And no, I’m not noting it because moose. RoadRich can argue with me in the comments if he knows more, but I believe this is one of the biggest killers of pilots out there, especially pilots of small aircraft: trying to take off with an overloaded aircraft, or an aircraft out of balance.