Hi Guys! I'm really excited to be participating in the PEBA universe once again. It's really great to see familiar member names and team logos once again.
I've been a long time baseball fan, favoring the Cardinals (second only to the Yankees in championships), as a lifelong Saint Louis area resident. I remember my grandpa taking me to games where I saw Bob Gibson pitch. Though at the time, to me, he seemed just another good Cardinal player. I clearly remember Lou Brock and the
Brockabrella. Willie McGee was one of my personal favorites, for his humble approach. Jose Oquendo was also a favorite of mine for his utility. I was not a big fan of the slugfest sideshow Big Mac performed wonderfully in. Because playoff hopes were beyond reach. While casual fans and non-fans flocked to Busch Stadium, my interested faded, with a bit of a resentment.
I recently watched the documentaries
Fastball and
No No: A Dockumentary.
Here are some opinions that might trigger discussion.
Steroid era players deserve their place in the Hall of Fame, along with Pete Rose, at a minimum for his prominence as a player (my hero for besting Cobb's hits record), along with all the other cheaters previously inducted.
Honus Wagner was the best player of his day, though I'd have trouble disregarding the impressive statistics of his rival Ty Cobb.
I agree with sentiments of Cobb that Ruth walking the bases after knocking a ball over a fence was not good for the game.
The Designated Hitter should never have come to existence and should be immediately abolished (though I'm not holding my breath).
My perspectives may have been formed as a boy who needed to take advantage of abilities consistent with my nicknames "speedy" and "lightning", sacrificing my body in the dirt, along with intelligence rather than brawn, to contribute to baseball teams. I eventually gave up the sport when entering high school, switching to slow pitch softball which lasted into my late 40s.
I have far too many hobbies and interests to list here. Highlights include music, history (particularly war), science, as well as a wide range of atypical social, cultural, religious, spiritual, psychological, and philosophical notions. I was an avid reader until I became busy with career and family as an adult. I typically checked out my limit of books from the library on a weekly basis, even with a young family and career. Learning about my interest of the month. Then becoming quickly bored after I'd learned all I wished to understand about each topic, ready to move on to the next. One of my favorites was studying to become an FCC licensed General Class Amateur radio operator. But not spending more than a few minutes on the air. I went as far as taking a few lessons toward a pilot license. I abandoned the dream of flying aircraft due to significant obstacles in opposition of benefits. Such as cost and the tragic consequences of mistakes.
I've always been interested in games. I prefer games that involve study, learning, and decision processes, rather than "play". Risk, Battleship, Stratego, chess,
Feudal,
Third Reich, poker, bridge, and spades, amongst others.
Computer games became my preferred form after purchasing
Aces of the Pacific for my first Gateway home PC. Favorite titles included
Mech Warrior,
Panzer General,
The Operational Art of War,
Age of Empires,
Total War, Civilizations, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Sim City, Railroad Tycoon, Hearts of Iron,
Mount and Blade: Warband,
West Front, Diamond Mind Baseball, and
Season Ticket.
I still have the boxes from most of these games in my basement. Opening the box from a retail store, which included a floppy disk, is quite different than the online experience of today.
The first computer game I remember playing was a text-based Star Trek, using new fangled video displays rather than only punch cards and printouts. A chess game on a friend's
Tandy with cassette tape based primary storage device, predated that. For some reason, I don't consider that as having been a computer game.
I've started creating mods to computer games in the last few years.
I remember Civilization and Diplomacy interactions with PEBA members in the past. As well as somewhat of a less formal game guessing who the good guys and bad guys were. Particularly well run with Lego images. Can anybody remind me of the name of that game? LOL
I tend to question and think deeply about everything. Including common sense, which many consider so pat, trivial, fundamental, and obvious, as not requiring assessment or experimentation. I consider acceptance at face value of such preconceived notions as common NONsense. After all, the world is not flat. The theory of relativity revealed how extremely limited even our most thorough collective human scientific thoughts had previously been. A penny saved is really only a penny earned in extremely limited circumstances. LOL
And if you have not yet noticed, words and ideas spew from my mind as a firehose rather than trickle. I have become quite the extrovert, despite my roots as an introvert rarely sharing much of anything with others. These days when nobody is around to chat with, thoughts roll off my fingers onto the keyboard rather than my tongue. One acquaintance commented "I rarely read novels. But when I do, it is a Facebook post by James".
I've gratefully accepted a position as General Manager of the London Underground.
I had been the General Manager of the Lupin Cliff Hangers of the LRS, from the initial bidding process, wherein human GMs took over the LRS management after the 2009 season, until shortly before the close of the 2018 season. If my recollection is accurate, Kevin (Shin Seiki) was involved in that process as well. Not sure if any of those other original LRS GMs are still around. I'd be curious to hear how many of the initial PEBA GMs have been involved for the long haul.
So many things have changed in the PEBA universe during my absence. One of my favorite aspects of the PEBA are the exciting changes and dynamic movement. Though I was a bit surprised to discover that some of the LRS has been absorbed into the PEBA.
It will take quite a while to get back up to speed with the Constitution, how things work, catch up on articles, story lines, characters, details of the Underground, etc. I intend to be quite active in the universe. If it seems I'm sleeping for a while, I'm probably just soaking up details in the background. My presence will most likely soon seem over familiar.
I consider myself an active trader. I would not be surprised to eventually undergo a complete face lift of the London organization. But first, I'd just like to feel somewhat comfortable while I patiently plot my master strategy. In any case, I am always very open to receiving any trade offer or interest.
I've been involved for quite a while with the World Baseball Hierarchy (initial GM of the Pacora Jaguars, current GM of the Seoul Warlords). I took a hiatus from the WBH as well as the PEBA for a while. I'm glad to be active in both OOTP online leagues again.
I wonder if I've forgotten to mention anything. LOL You'll be sure to hear about it, if I have.
