World's Fastest Pitch!

Not every milestone of sports is hyped to the sky beforehand, and often the greatest moments in sports are completely unexpected. Consider Aroldis Chapman's 105-mph pitch which was the fastest in baseball history.

“I didn’t see it until the ball was behind me,” Gwynn said. “I was trying not to look at the radar reading because I’d be intimidated. I saw how hard he was throwing and just tried to be slow and work my hands.”

The 105-mph pitch was inside for a ball and evened the count at 2-2. Gwynn had fouled off the previous two pitches and fouled off the next before striking out. He ought to be pleased with his effort, forcing Chapman to make seven pitches, the slowest of which was 102 mph.

Vending Machine for Bicycles!

Those who have been following Mod-Blog long-term have seen my transformation into a bicycle nut, as treading the pedal has melted away many unsightly pounds for me and brought me to a point of moderate fitness. I love my bikes - one hybrid and one folding - and am trying to expand their use into regular transportation, which is harder than you might think in the hilly, sprawling New England landscape. So, I was very interested to hear about a Dutch company hawking bicycle vending machines for communities. The idea is you pick up a bike at one vending machine, pay a rental fee, and use it until you're done traveling at which point you return it to another vending machine for the next person to use. Low cost for the user, no storage issues, and it encourages use of a sustainable, low-energy, low-emission transportation for the populace. It would be a great way to clean up cities and reduce traffic congestion.

CORRECTED: Obama flirts with greatness, egomania

CORRECTION: Bowhunter is correct. I misheard the quote. I am going to wimp out and blame the fact that I am still recovering from the flu, which may have clogged my ears. Obama does say "I DO NOT want to portray myself as a singular individual." My apologies. - Nomad

Take a look at this clip from an Obama interview earlier today. In it, he calls himself a "singular individual" in the model of Reagan. Someone who can "change the directory of America" in way that Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon could not.

This kind of talk reflects the sense of destiny that Obama feels, and speaks to the possibility of greatness, since this sense may give him the ability to reach across the aisle in ways that Bush never could. On the other hand, it flirts with egomania as Obama almost sounds like the ruler who once proclaimed "I am France!"