Peter Bloeme Founder's Blog

Those of you who know anything about baseball know that when I refer to “blue,” I am referring to an umpire (because they most often wear blue on the field).

You may, or may not, know that I don’t have much of a competitive bone in my body…

I still remember losing the “best athlete in the sixth grade award” to Joe Kearing at Allen-Stevenson, I may have lost a game of disc golf to Jeff Perry, and I still lose sleep over finishing second to the Santa Barbara Condors for the National Ultimate title in 1988. Ok, maybe it would be more accurate to say, there isn’t a bone in my body that isn’t competitive…

High school soccer rookie of the year, mvp three years, captain three years, all-city one year, World Frisbee champion, World Canine Frisbee Champion, etc. I’ve had my share of athletic successes.

But, as competitive as I can be, I think of myself as a good sport and honest. I want to win, but I want to win fair and square, and if I don’t win, I congratulate the winner and then try to beat them the next time. I think that taunting and mouthing off is bush league and for those who don’t have the confidence in their own abilities. I have no interest in watching “Professional” athletes talking about how great they are and how they are going to beat their opponent, then demeaning their opponent(s). Or having some stupid little dance, choreographed autograph session, and/or made up photo op after doing their job for scoring or winning a game. Anyway, I digress…

In my career as father and part-time coach (beginning with my son’s T-ball and my daughters first soccer game), I have experienced a vast range in the quality of sports officials. On Wednesday, I was delighted to witness an outstanding umpire…

So, my daughter Sydney calls me from my ex-wife’s house and tells me their internet is down and asks if I can pick up a new modem.

Sydney is only 13 (in girl years), so I’m wondering how she knows they need a new modem.

After going through various tech support type stuff over the phone with her, I tell that I think it’s an AT&T service problem since that is who they have their internet and telephone service with.

Later she calls back and tells me that they spoke with AT&T and they told her they needed a new modem.

I should have seen this coming…Did I say Sydney is 13 (in girl years)?

So, I go online searching for dsl modems at Best Buy and find an AT&T dsl wireless modem with four ports. That way, they can use the ports for their computers in the basement and wireless throughout the house without having to hook up a wireless router to the new modem. Less things for me to troubleshoot…And, it being an AT&T modem means they should all play nicely together.

I email the particulars to my exwife.

Her response is, “But the AT+T lady said to get another Motorola modem like the one I have. That way, they can offer service over the phone w/o bringing in a contractor.”

My response…”Are you kidding me? AT&T told you not to get an AT&T modem, but a Motorola one because they could offer service on it w/o bringing in a contractor?”

It must be me…

*Stupidity—I’m not referring to any instances where someone got seriously injured or died.

We all do stupid things and have done stupid things in our lives. Television shows and YouTube videos are full of examples of such things.

Sometimes, as a kid, you do something stupid simply because…well, you’re a kid…like when I shot a friend’s pellet gun at an insulator on top of a telephone pole, setting it sparking and flashing. I was just trying to see if I could hit it, then I was scared the rest of the night thinking “they” would track me down and throw me in jail. I thought I was the only kid ever to do that until I looked up the correct word, on the internet, for the object I shot (insulator) and saw the following…

“Insulators? You mean those glass things on the tops of telephone poles we used to shoot out as kids?”

Anyway, other times, we realize we are doing something stupid and do it anyway…like the time I was slicing some food while pulling the blade towards my hand. I remember thinking, moments before the knife slipped, that it was dangerous to be cutting in that direction. The end result was a tri-fecta: I was mad at myself, cut, and bleeding.

Finally, there are times when you’re an adult and don’t realize how stupid you are being until a split second after the fact.

My son Wesley has always been a great baseball player and an allstar since he was seven years old (He’s now 16). I have been his coach many times and one of my duties as a coach and father is to throw batting practice for him. One day when he was ten, we were rained out of practice, so the team went to an indoor facility for some batting practice. For those who don’t know, this is most often done behind what is called an L-screen. An L-screen is netted, shaped like a large letter “L” and you throw from behind it, releasing the ball over the short part of the L, while standing behind the large part of the L. That way, if a ball get’s hit back at the pitcher, the L-screen is supposed to absorb the blow.

Today, my van was running on empty, so I stopped at my local Sam’s Club for a fill-up. The lanes were all one-way. As I approached, I looked for a free spot on the right side of the pumps because my gas tank is on the left side. I saw an open pump beyond another car, but found as I pulled up that the pump was blocked by cones, so I continued driving.

On the way around, I noticed a car with an eldery gentleman (yes, even older than I) at a pump parked in the wrong direction. I could have simply pulled in behind him, but while I wasn’t going to begrudge him for what he did, I didn’t feel comfortable following suit.

On my next approach to the pumps, I decided to take the first opening which happened to be on the opposite side of the vehicle to my tank. I have refilled in that manner many times before and thought nothing of it. I parked, swiped my Sam’s Club card, then my credit card, and pulled the hose around the van and into my tank. I set the nozzle flow to automatic, and patiently waited by the back of the vehicle. A few minutes later my calm was shattered with the sound of gas spurting everywhere. Fortunately, I was able to quickly grab the hose, pull some slack, and shut off the nozzle before I was swimming in gas.

As I was trying to digest what had just happened, and why, the Sam’s Club attendant shouted at me that I should always pull up to the pump closest to my tank or this sort of thing can happen.

I swallowed my anger and frustration, but couldn’t help but wonder, since he seemed well aware their pumps had this potential, why hadn’t he mentioned this to me when I pulled up and wound the hose around my van. Was I simply a live YouTube video to him and he didn’t want to put me on notice and spoil the show?

In the name of Karma, I bit my tongue and didn’t reply that I have filled my gas tank in this manner numerous times at Costco without incident and I would have appreciated him warning me about this potential problem.

But, I do wish I had the incident on video…

In my first “official” blog post, I’d like to make a public apology to J. K. Rowling for her “Harry Potter” series. Joanne (can I call you Jo?), I’m sorry I badmouthed your series as being stupid, boring, and too over-the-top (and this is coming from someone who loves James Bond).

My dislike for your series was based upon my seeing the first Harry Potter movie, then the second with my kids. I think I fell asleep during the second…watching was so boring.

I stand corrected after reading your first three books, well reading isn’t entirely accurate. See, I find exercise, pure exercise (not sport play), even more boring than a Harry Potter movie. The only way I can make it through an hour on the treadmill or stair stepper is by listening to an audio book.

OK, so Harry Potter wasn’t my first choice, but that’s how much I hate to exercise. It was the only audio book at the library that I had any interest in. I thought by “reading” the first book, it would simply reinforce my disdain for the series. And, as bad as the book might be, it would still be better than exercising without something to take my mind off the sweat dripping off my face and the misery I was putting myself through.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised. I actually looked forward to each chapter, and then to each book. OK, I’m only through three of them so far, so it’s possible that I will be posting a retraction, but at this point, I’m really enjoying your tales of fantasy. Yes, there are times I have more questions than answers about wizards, witches, flying brooms, etc…but, I have proven that I can suspend belief enough to enjoy them.

The books are so much better than the movies. If you are a Harry Potter hater because of the movies, like I was, give one of Rowling’s books a shot (start at book one so, if you like it, the rest of the series will make sense).

What this goes to highlight is how much different movies are from their books. Perhaps if I read the books first, and then seen the movies, I would have different feelings, but I don’t think so. Just so you know, this is coming from someone who didn’t think the Hobbit (books or movies) was cool, and had no desire to see ET (years ago) or Avatar (lately).