04/18/24
December 30, 2022
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
RIP Barbara Walters. I'm thinking that Howard was probably the obstetrician for her birth?
posted by NoMich at 11:15 PM on December 30, 2022
Howard was probably the obstetrician for her birth?
She would have been about 12 when I was born. Although we are both native Bostonians, I never had the pleasure of meeting her, let alone being in charge of her birth. That's probably a good thing. I don't remember a course in obstetrics being among the requirements for a degree in Electrical Engineering. Perhaps 'Pulse and Digital Circuits' might have had a few hints.
posted by Howard_T at 01:24 AM on December 31, 2022
Good story about Gabbert. Interesting that he expressed distances in meters. Maybe his team has been playing overseas too much.
When I read about the "popping sound" on the helicopter, it reminded me of a friend who used to fly helicopters for the US Navy, stationed mainly at Coronado. He said there wasn't much standing between mechanical success and failure in the equipment he flew. In particular, the main rotor shear pin was referred to as the Jesus pin - because if it suddenly failed, you had a significant problem.
His lovely wife had a strategy for dealing with that concern. She'd get all dressed up like it was date night and bring lunch to her husband's ground crew. After feeding them aplenty and giving them an eyeful, she'd pack up her picnic basket and ask them to take extra good care of her husband's helicopter. And off she'd go, leaving slacked jaws and traces of perfume in her wake.
posted by beaverboard at 10:38 AM on December 31, 2022
'Citizen hero' Blaine Gabbert