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Post by kaybli on Feb 2, 2024 12:33:17 GMT -5
Yes it happens once in a while. They have a pretty good support board here too if there are problems. As for me Verizon Fios gave me another update. Now no internet until 3 am tonight. Who knows how many more times they’re going to keep pushing this back. 🙄 They should at least give you a credit. Yea good point. I’m going to call them and ask for one. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 7, 2024 10:13:27 GMT -5
A quick shout out to chiyankee. I thought of you a few weeks ago when we passed through Marathon, site of an important Greek military victory in 490 BC during the Persian War. Not a lot to see there today -- basically just the setting where the battle took place. There is a Museum of Marathon racing that I would have loved to visit, but unfortunately it is closed in winter. I didn't realize that the Marathon wasn't standardized at 26.2 miles until the 1936 Olympics. Earlier versions were around 25 miles, but then somebody figured out that the Athenian messenger Phidippides would have had to run over much steeper terrain to go from Marathon to Athens in that distance and that he would have been smart enough to take the longer but more level bypass around the mountain. You probably know that they still run this original Marathon every year, I believe in November. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 7, 2024 10:39:34 GMT -5
There aren't many baseball-related places in Greece, but we made a brief visit to the Dodecanese Island of Kalymnos, which is where the only Greek-born MLB player ever was from. That would be Al Campanis, better known as the long-time Dodgers GM who famously made some ill-conceived racial remarks about the dearth of black managers during a "Nightline" interview in 1989 that cost him his job and obscured the reality that he was an early supporter of his minor league teammate Jackie Robinson.
Kalymnos is also where Bob Costas's family originated. It was once the sponge-diving center of Greece. When the sponge population declined, many Kalymnians settled in the wonderful town of Tarpon Springs Florida, which itself became the sponge-diving center of the US and home to the incomparable Sponge-O-Rama Museum which I have proudly visited three times. Talk about an absorbing topic!
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Post by inger on Feb 7, 2024 10:43:05 GMT -5
A quick shout out to chiyankee. I thought of you a few weeks ago when we passed through Marathon, site of an important Greek military victory in 490 BC during the Persian War. Not a lot to see there today -- basically just the setting where the battle took place. There is a Museum of Marathon racing that I would have loved to visit, but unfortunately it is closed in winter. I didn't realize that the Marathon wasn't standardized at 26.2 miles until the 1936 Olympics. Earlier versions were around 25 miles, but then somebody figured out that the Athenian messenger Phidippides would have had to run over much steeper terrain to go from Marathon to Athens in that distance and that he would have been smart enough to take the longer but more level bypass around the mountain. You probably know that they still run this original Marathon every year, I believe in November. I was watching a You Tube video that showed a Marathon gas station. That’s about as close to Greece as I’m getting, though I did clean grease off the kitchen stove yesterday. Really sounds like you two are getting the most of your Mediterranean adventures, Pipps! … |
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 7, 2024 10:52:56 GMT -5
A quick shout out to chiyankee. I thought of you a few weeks ago when we passed through Marathon, site of an important Greek military victory in 490 BC during the Persian War. Not a lot to see there today -- basically just the setting where the battle took place. There is a Museum of Marathon racing that I would have loved to visit, but unfortunately it is closed in winter. I didn't realize that the Marathon wasn't standardized at 26.2 miles until the 1936 Olympics. Earlier versions were around 25 miles, but then somebody figured out that the Athenian messenger Phidippides would have had to run over much steeper terrain to go from Marathon to Athens in that distance and that he would have been smart enough to take the longer but more level bypass around the mountain. You probably know that they still run this original Marathon every year, I believe in November. I was watching a You Tube video that showed a Marathon gas station. That’s about as close to Greece as I’m getting, though I did clean grease off the kitchen stove yesterday. Really sounds like you two are getting the most of your Mediterranean adventures, Pipps! … Hah, no Marathon gas stations in Marathon. I don't think there are any gas stations; it's pretty remote. Thanks Inger. Yeah, it would be my own fault if I weren't enjoying this adventure. Just incredible historical sites everywhere. And so much natural beauty. |
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Post by chiyankee on Feb 7, 2024 11:06:36 GMT -5
A quick shout out to chiyankee . I thought of you a few weeks ago when we passed through Marathon, site of an important Greek military victory in 490 BC during the Persian War. Not a lot to see there today -- basically just the setting where the battle took place. There is a Museum of Marathon racing that I would have loved to visit, but unfortunately it is closed in winter. I didn't realize that the Marathon wasn't standardized at 26.2 miles until the 1936 Olympics. Earlier versions were around 25 miles, but then somebody figured out that the Athenian messenger Phidippides would have had to run over much steeper terrain to go from Marathon to Athens in that distance and that he would have been smart enough to take the longer but more level bypass around the mountain. You probably know that they still run this original Marathon every year, I believe in November. Hey Pipps, glad to see you back on the board! Tacking on that extra 1.2 miles...they just had to make us suffer a little more!  I'd love to visit that marathon museum and actually run that original Marathon. I'd have to find a way to get to Greece first. |
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Post by kaybli on Feb 7, 2024 11:31:16 GMT -5
There aren't many baseball-related places in Greece, but we made a brief visit to the Dodecanese Island of Kalymnos, which is where the only Greek-born MLB player ever was from. That would be Al Campanis, better known as the long-time Dodgers GM who famously made some ill-conceived racial remarks about the dearth of black managers during a "Nightline" interview in 1989 that cost him his job and obscured the reality that he was an early supporter of his minor league teammate Jackie Robinson. Kalymnos is also where Bob Costas's family originated. It was once the sponge-diving center of Greece. When the sponge population declined, many Kalymnians settled in the wonderful town of Tarpon Springs Florida, which itself became the sponge-diving center of the US and home to the incomparable Sponge-O-Rama Museum which I have proudly visited three times. Talk about an absorbing topic! lol at the sponge-o-Rama museum. Nice to hear from you pipps and glad you are having a great time in Greece! |
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Post by inger on Feb 7, 2024 11:43:23 GMT -5
There aren't many baseball-related places in Greece, but we made a brief visit to the Dodecanese Island of Kalymnos, which is where the only Greek-born MLB player ever was from. That would be Al Campanis, better known as the long-time Dodgers GM who famously made some ill-conceived racial remarks about the dearth of black managers during a "Nightline" interview in 1989 that cost him his job and obscured the reality that he was an early supporter of his minor league teammate Jackie Robinson. Kalymnos is also where Bob Costas's family originated. It was once the sponge-diving center of Greece. When the sponge population declined, many Kalymnians settled in the wonderful town of Tarpon Springs Florida, which itself became the sponge-diving center of the US and home to the incomparable Sponge-O-Rama Museum which I have proudly visited three times. Talk about an absorbing topic! lol at the sponge-o-Rama museum. Nice to hear from you pipps and glad you are having a great time in Greece! No wonder the Greeks didn’t do baseball in those days. It just doesn’t strike me as a good naked sport… Foul tips, bad bounces, sliding stops. I bet they wouldn’t have been sliding head first… |
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 7, 2024 13:08:14 GMT -5
A quick shout out to chiyankee . I thought of you a few weeks ago when we passed through Marathon, site of an important Greek military victory in 490 BC during the Persian War. Not a lot to see there today -- basically just the setting where the battle took place. There is a Museum of Marathon racing that I would have loved to visit, but unfortunately it is closed in winter. I didn't realize that the Marathon wasn't standardized at 26.2 miles until the 1936 Olympics. Earlier versions were around 25 miles, but then somebody figured out that the Athenian messenger Phidippides would have had to run over much steeper terrain to go from Marathon to Athens in that distance and that he would have been smart enough to take the longer but more level bypass around the mountain. You probably know that they still run this original Marathon every year, I believe in November. Hey Pipps, glad to see you back on the board! Tacking on that extra 1.2 miles...they just had to make us suffer a little more! I'd love to visit that marathon museum and actually run that original Marathon. I'd have to find a way to get to Greece first. You could do this Chi. Flights to Athens from ORD shouldn't be budget-busters, probably no more than a lot of domestic flights. We just used cash-back credit card dough to get round-trip flights out of Newark. If you really want to do it, it's very doable, especially in off-season when they run the Marathon. And Greece is much less expensive than most European countries to visit. Marathon is an easy day trip from Athens. I really encourage you to look into it. I know guys who have done it and they loved it. I'm not sure what the qualifications are. But how cool would it be to run the original Marathon? BTW, even though the story of Phidippides running to Athens and dying after proclaiming victory to the Legislature is considered highly doubtful, there was a real distance runner of that name in the Athenian army (or possibly his name was Philippides) who more verifiably did a round trip from Athens to Sparta, a distance of 75 miles each way, over an approximately two-day period. At least according to our otherwise rational guide. |
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 7, 2024 13:18:35 GMT -5
There aren't many baseball-related places in Greece, but we made a brief visit to the Dodecanese Island of Kalymnos, which is where the only Greek-born MLB player ever was from. That would be Al Campanis, better known as the long-time Dodgers GM who famously made some ill-conceived racial remarks about the dearth of black managers during a "Nightline" interview in 1989 that cost him his job and obscured the reality that he was an early supporter of his minor league teammate Jackie Robinson. Kalymnos is also where Bob Costas's family originated. It was once the sponge-diving center of Greece. When the sponge population declined, many Kalymnians settled in the wonderful town of Tarpon Springs Florida, which itself became the sponge-diving center of the US and home to the incomparable Sponge-O-Rama Museum which I have proudly visited three times. Talk about an absorbing topic! lol at the sponge-o-Rama museum. Nice to hear from you pipps and glad you are having a great time in Greece! Sponge-O-Rama is a big hit with anyone we send there Kaybli. They usually come back loaded with gift specialty sponges. Plus there is a cheesy film from the 1960s you get to watch explaining the process and making it clear that sponges are "the second-lowest form of life" as if that were a great achievement. About 40 years ago we took a sponge boat excursion from Sponge-O-Rama and in about ten minutes a diver came back on the boat with a huge sponge. We suspected that it was planted on the hull of the boat, but it was too much fun to dispute. |
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Post by chiyankee on Feb 7, 2024 13:36:10 GMT -5
Hey Pipps, glad to see you back on the board! Tacking on that extra 1.2 miles...they just had to make us suffer a little more! I'd love to visit that marathon museum and actually run that original Marathon. I'd have to find a way to get to Greece first. You could do this Chi. Flights to Athens from ORD shouldn't be budget-busters, probably no more than a lot of domestic flights. We just used cash-back credit card dough to get round-trip flights out of Newark. If you really want to do it, it's very doable, especially in off-season when they run the Marathon. And Greece is much less expensive than most European countries to visit. Marathon is an easy day trip from Athens. I really encourage you to look into it. I know guys who have done it and they loved it. I'm not sure what the qualifications are. But how cool would it be to run the original Marathon? BTW, even though the story of Phidippides running to Athens and dying after proclaiming victory to the Legislature is considered highly doubtful, there was a real distance runner of that name in the Athenian army (or possibly his name was Philippides) who more verifiably did a round trip from Athens to Sparta, a distance of 75 miles each way, over an approximately two-day period. At least according to our otherwise rational guide.75 miles each way? That would be an Ultra-Marathon.  |
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 7, 2024 13:44:56 GMT -5
You could do this Chi. Flights to Athens from ORD shouldn't be budget-busters, probably no more than a lot of domestic flights. We just used cash-back credit card dough to get round-trip flights out of Newark. If you really want to do it, it's very doable, especially in off-season when they run the Marathon. And Greece is much less expensive than most European countries to visit. Marathon is an easy day trip from Athens. I really encourage you to look into it. I know guys who have done it and they loved it. I'm not sure what the qualifications are. But how cool would it be to run the original Marathon? BTW, even though the story of Phidippides running to Athens and dying after proclaiming victory to the Legislature is considered highly doubtful, there was a real distance runner of that name in the Athenian army (or possibly his name was Philippides) who more verifiably did a round trip from Athens to Sparta, a distance of 75 miles each way, over an approximately two-day period. At least according to our otherwise rational guide.75 miles each way? That would be an Ultra-Marathon. Yeah, not a lot of downtime in there. There is an event in his honor -- I believe called the Spartathon? There is no sporting event so insane that someone won't try it. |
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Post by kaybli on Feb 7, 2024 13:59:35 GMT -5
lol at the sponge-o-Rama museum. Nice to hear from you pipps and glad you are having a great time in Greece! Sponge-O-Rama is a big hit with anyone we send there Kaybli. They usually come back loaded with gift specialty sponges. Plus there is a cheesy film from the 1960s you get to watch explaining the process and making it clear that sponges are "the second-lowest form of life" as if that were a great achievement. About 40 years ago we took a sponge boat excursion from Sponge-O-Rama and in about ten minutes a diver came back on the boat with a huge sponge. We suspected that it was planted on the hull of the boat, but it was too much fun to dispute.
If sponges are the second lowest form of life, what are the lowest? (no inger jokes please)
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Post by pippsheadache on Feb 7, 2024 14:10:40 GMT -5
Sponge-O-Rama is a big hit with anyone we send there Kaybli. They usually come back loaded with gift specialty sponges. Plus there is a cheesy film from the 1960s you get to watch explaining the process and making it clear that sponges are "the second-lowest form of life" as if that were a great achievement. About 40 years ago we took a sponge boat excursion from Sponge-O-Rama and in about ten minutes a diver came back on the boat with a huge sponge. We suspected that it was planted on the hull of the boat, but it was too much fun to dispute.
If sponges are the second lowest form of life, what are the lowest? (no inger jokes please)
I won't go there. I think they meant that only maybe an amoeba was further down the chain, but these guys clearly were not biologists. They made their living off of sponges, but clearly didn't hold them in high esteem. Sponge-O-Rama is one of the few survivors of old school Florida tourist traps like Monkey Jungle and Parrot Jungle and Cypress Gardens and the Seminole versus alligator wrestling bouts. I think Weekie-Watchie Water Ballet might still be hanging in there. The kind of entertainment we used to watch on View Masters back in the 50s and 60s. I'm so glad I got to Vegas when they still had Nudes On Ice and Bob Berosini's Trained Orangutans. You youngsters don't know what you missed. |
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Post by kaybli on Feb 7, 2024 14:20:21 GMT -5
If sponges are the second lowest form of life, what are the lowest? (no inger jokes please)
I won't go there. I think they meant that only maybe an amoeba was further down the chain, but these guys clearly were not biologists. They made their living off of sponges, but clearly didn't hold them in high esteem. Sponge-O-Rama is one of the few survivors of old school Florida tourist traps like Monkey Jungle and Parrot Jungle and Cypress Gardens and the Seminole versus alligator wrestling bouts. I think Weekie-Watchie Water Ballet might still be hanging in there. The kind of entertainment we used to watch on View Masters back in the 50s and 60s. I'm so glad I got to Vegas when they still had Nudes On Ice and Bob Berosini's Trained Orangutans. You youngsters don't know what you missed. I can't decide which sounds more tempting, Nudes on Ice or Bob Berosini's Trained Orangutans.  |
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