The Buhner.com Blog

Yeah, you have to figure so many updates in a row would cause a lag.

Actually, I’ve just been really busy this week. I’ve got a lot of stuff to write about, and it’ll be up soon enough. In fact, I wasn’t even going to update today until I finished one of two articles I’m working on, but they can wait, wanted to get something out quickly.

The thing I wanted to point out is that we here at Buhner.com really do know what’s best, especially when it comes to opinions about baseball. When the Mets fired manager Bobby Valentine after the conclusion of the 2002 season, the regime said that they had done what they had to do, because of an underperforming team. The team’s actions were a direct result of their manager, and with a new manager in place, the Mets would play the way they should play; like a first place team. Now, with the Mets sitting in last place, behind the two worst drawing (and therefore cheapest) teams in baseball in the Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins, the Mets let the shoe drop on general manager Steve Phillips.

Now, while no one was really surprised at the firing of Phillips, especially after the Mets’ weak April (11-16, with a fun 6 game losing streak in there), no one was really saying anything about Phillips and the job he had done. No one, that is, except Buhner.com, which pointed out who the real problem was in New York. While it may not have been telling the future, it was more of looking at reality and seeing what the actual problem was, and knowing that the Mets would eventually see it. Give the Mets credit, though. They actually did see the problem, something that many clubs still have difficulty seeing.

It’s two updates in two days. Whoo hoo! Anyway, if you’re curious to the lack of updates to the news page (I explained the lack of articles a few days back), it’s mainly because the “news updates” (which would be this page) were usually about me and my personal life, and lately I haven’t felt like writing stuff about me, for a few reasons.

One of the main reasons is with the influx of articles lately, I’ve kind of gotten into the mindframe again of what I was in last year, when this page was about the articles that myself and a few others wrote, and little else. While it was fine when the articles were rolling in, when the articles stopped coming, the updates did too, and the page went dormant. I don’t want to do that again, and regardless of how many articles come into Buhner.com, I’ll still be boring you as often as possible with the nuances of my life in this space, while at the same time telling you about any new articles on the website. Although the “latest articles” link now eliminates the “need” to read through my chatter to see if anyone has written a new article, I’d like to think that some people actually enjoy reading the little things that piss me off, make me pull out hair, and make me hate life, just so they feel a little better about their life.

If you’ve ever been to the “About Us” link, you’ll see a little rant from me, along with a single question FAQ. In reality, I’ve been probably asked two questions frequently, both of which are currently answered (one directly, one less so) in that page. However, since no one asked, I’m going to work on a more complete FAQ for the “About Us” page, just because I like writing FAQs and pretending that people would normally ask lots of questions about the site if given the forum.

And, for the record, if you do want to get in contact with me, it’s tom@buhner.com.

Had an interview today, which makes two in less than seven days. This one seemed very positive, in addition to the fact that they called me the day after I had sent them a resume for a different job. The job would be a good commute, seems to be friendly, the company is new (at least in their current location) and seems to have some financial backing. Plus, it seems to be originally out of Manhattan, so it can’t hurt to have some kind of connections there.

The other interview I had I don’t necessarily want to talk about, not because it went badly (on the contrary, it went rather well, I think), but because it’d be an idea job for me. The work environment is excellent, the job would be something I enjoy doing, and from what I heard, the pay would be pretty decent. The only problem with the job would be the commute. It’d be quite a long one, and while I don’t mind the drive, I don’t currently have the car to pull it off. I’ve looked into the train, but the trains out here are horrible, and don’t cooperate with the schedule I’d be pulling with this job.

Then again, nothing’s confirmed yet, so I’m not going to worry about making a decision until one of them officially wants to give me a job. Until then, I wait and see.

The lack of updates recently doesn’t mean that Buhner.com is lacking in material. Quite the opposite, actually, as the reason behind the lack of updates is that there is too much stuff to write about. Right now, I’ve got two articles that I just need to put into HTML form and put onto the site, another article halfway done, a review that has been started, and two more things that I’ve started but put off to the side. So, just when you least expect it, Buhner.com is going to have more content than you can handle.

On a side note, my lack of finances has caused me to put my childhood up for sale. I’ve put a good number of my “good” original Transformers up from the mid 80s. When I mean “good”, I mean Transformers that those of us who grew up during the 80s would actually recognise, not obscure pieces of crap that are “valuable” solely because of their rareness and the fact that their have a sticker placed backwards. Names like Megatron, Optimus Prime, Shockwave, Hot Rod, and Jetfire are what I’m talking about. Anyway, I’m selling them on eBay, and you can check out the auctions here.

UPDATE!: As I mentioned, the articles are here, they just need to put up. Two articles follow, with the first being the return to Buhner.com of Chris Buse. Buse writes The State Of Professional Sports, where Mr. Buse lets his feeling be known about the status of sports today, the views of the fans, and sports economics.

The second article is a very special one to me. A Martyr to Duty: Remembering Giuseppe “Joe” Petrosino, the Original “Untouchable” was written by Joe Avella, who recently contributed an article about Billy Mitchell for Buhner.com. Many people don’t know about the legend of Joe Petrosino, who fought the Black Hand of the mafia in New York in the early 20th century. However, Petrosino’s heroic actions have made him a hero of New York City police officers and in his native Italy. If you think you know “the mafia” or have an interest in things like “The Godfather”, the true story of Joe Petrosino is one that needs to be known, and Joe Avella brings it to us in his article. After reading it, you’ll see why movies have already been made about this man, with another one currently in the works. And the best part? He’s related to my wife.

Anyway, read, and I’ll get back to work.