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Rooting interests (NFL edition)

A Bills-Lions Super Bowl would be cool

Part of my enjoyment of watching the National Football League this season was developing rooting interests. Some are long-standing, such as the New York Giants (6-11 this season) I followed as a kid. Likewise, the teams I rooted against.

When the New England Patriots and Tom Brady were winning several Super Bowls, I actively rooted against them. But now that Brady is gone, and the Pats are… not good (4-13), it’s difficult even to care, though I was glad the New York Jets (7-10) beat them on January 7.

Here is my list of rooting interests for teams in the playoffs.

I’m an upstate kid

Buffalo Bills (11-6, 1st in the AFC East) is the only team in the NFL to play its home games in New York State. They got to four Super Bowls in the 1990s and lost them all. The team was 6-6 five weeks ago.

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7, 3rd in the AFC North) had an up-and-down season. Still, their head coach, Mike Tomlin, has never had a losing season. I’ve been a fan since the 1970s when they had defensive stars as Mean Joe GREENe and L.C. GREENwood. So, who are the Steelers playing this weekend? Sunday, January 14, 2024, 1 p.m. Steelers at Bills (CBS)

Detroit Lions (12-5, 1st in the NFC North) haven’t won their division in three decades. They used to play on Thanksgiving Day and, if I recall correctly, lost often.

Cleveland Browns (11-6, 2nd in the AFC North) is not exactly the team of Jim Brown and Otto Graham as that team moved and became the Baltimore Ravens. (It’s complicated.) They were reestablished in 1999.” From 2003 to 2019, the Browns had a 17-season playoff drought.”

Green Bay Packers (9-8, 2nd in the NFC North) has an exciting and very young team, with many starters in their first or second year. And it’s GREEN Bay.

I rooted for the San Francisco 49ers (12-5, 1st in the NFC West, first-round bye) in the 1980s in the Joe Montana and Steve Young era, and I still have a fondness.

Philadelphia Eagles (11-6, 2nd in NFC East) collapsed in the latter part of the season.

My favorite team from Texas

Houston Texans (10-7, 1st in AFC South) won their division last weekend and have a great rookie quarterback, C.J. Stroud, with a compelling storyline. The Texans are a 2002 expansion team after the Oilers moved to Nashville in 1997 and became the Tennessee Titans. Saturday, January 13, 2024, 4:30 p.m. Browns at Texans (NBC, Peacock)

Miami Dolphins (11-6, 2nd in the AFC East)

Los Angeles Rams (10-7, 2nd in the NFC West) Sunday, January 14, 2024, 8:15 p.m. Rams at Lions (NBC, Peacock)

Baltimore Ravens (13-4, 1st in the AFC, first-round bye) is likely the best team in the NFL after they beat the 49ers and Dolphins back-to-back.

Kansas City Chiefs (11-6, 1st in the AFC West), Super Bowl defending champions, were often underwhelming on the field. But they are overexposed in Allstate commercials and that other thing. Saturday, January 13, 2024, 8:15 p.m. Dolphins at Chiefs (only on Peacock -meh)

Tampa Bay Buccanneers (9-8, 1st in the NFC South), winner of the weakest division Monday, January 15, 2024, 8:15 p.m. Eagles at Buccaneers (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2)

I’ve disliked the Dallas Cowboys (12-5, 1st in the NFC East) for decades. “America’s Team,” indeed. Sunday, January 14, 2024, 4:30 p.m. Packers at Cowboys (Fox)

What the heck is Varo?

online bank

What the heck is Varo? This is not just a rhetorical musing.

I have looked it up at varomoney.com. It is an online banking company. “Varo is a digital bank that offers early direct deposit, high-yield savings, credit score tracking, and a debit card with cashback rewards. Find answers to common questions about opening an account.”

The Google Play app says:

Join 3+ million people getting ahead with their money at Varo!

Varo Bank Account: 4.5/5 stars on Nerdwallet
• No monthly bank account fees or min balance
• Get paid up to 2 days early³
• Instantly send/receive money fast & free with Zelle®⁶ & Varo to Anyone

BTW, I have no idea what the footnotes are about.

The Forbes Advisor likes it, giving it a 4.7 out of five stars.

“With top-notch customer service, a user-friendly mobile app, and nearly no fees, Varo Bank is an excellent choice for anyone looking to simplify their finances. Varo offers competitive interest rates on savings accounts, up to 6% cash back on select purchases, and the ability to borrow up to $250 with Varo Advance. Even though it’s an online bank, there are plenty of ways to access your money by visiting any of the over 40,000+ ATMs in the Allpoint network.”

I got it.

My problem

At the end of December, I got a Visa credit card from Varo in the mail. It was sent to our home but addressed to someone we never heard of, and we’ve been here for over two decades.

So I called the phone number on the card. But that line was only appropriate for “members.” After some trial and error, I found an email address to send information to. It’s been 12 days, yet I have not received a response.

One can legitimately complain about the traditional banking system. Still, they would have responded immediately if I told their offices I had a credit card that did not belong to me. Since I have no relationship with Varo, how did they send it to my address? And I assume the actual customer must have been frustrated waiting for the card.

A 2020 article reads, “Varo notes it’s the first U.S. consumer fintech to be granted a banking charter… ‘This is a thrilling milestone for Varo, as the bank charter has been a core part of Varo’s disruptive vision from the very beginning,’ said Varo Bank founder and CEO Colin Walsh.”

Varo’s credo appears to be “Believe.” I believe I won’t be recommending them to anyone as they disrupted my day.

Sunday Stealing: My Favorite…

King Derwin of Didd summons his royal magicians

This week’s Sunday Stealing is My Favorite…whatever.

1. Favorite food

I always say spinach lasagna because I like lasagna, and I like spinach. I actually like making lasagna once a year, usually three or four of them, because it does not that much more effort. (It’s messy, or I’d do it more often.) But it has to be cold outside, so turning on the oven is worth my while.

But in truth, my fave is probably chicken. Baked, fried, Cajun, whatever.

2. Favorite color

There’s this existential war between green, which is, after all, my last name, and blue. It’s somewhere in that “cool” color range.

3. Favorite Animal

In that aren’t they interesting category, sloths. There was a piece about them on 60 Minutes recently. Their slow motions allow them to survive. That sounds like good advice for many humans.

Most of my pets have been cats, though.

4. Favorite thing to do on a cold day

If not making lasagna, then reading a book while listening to music.

5. Favorite vacation spot

The two places are both in upstate New York: Lake Placid and Niagara Falls.

6. Favorite TV show

CBS Sunday Morning. It’s a magazine of the air I’ve watched regularly since 1979. I’m really happy that the video recorder and then the DVR player exist because they’re on while I’m at church.

7. Favorite Mythical creature

Lenny, named for Leonard Bernstein: see above

Theodor Geisel

8. Favorite fairy tale

Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss. It’s a kid speaking truth to power. And Oobleck is green.

9. Favorite thing to draw

Somewhere in this blog, though I can’t find it immediately, I wrote that I can’t draw. I almost failed 4th grade art. You do NOT want me to be the person who draws for your Pictionary team. And when I wrote about this, a few people said anyone can draw. This may be true, but I have been shamed for decades out of even wanting to try.

10. Favorite scent

Lilacs. Growing up in Binghamton, NY, we had a tree right next to our house.

11. Favorite mode of transportation

The train, such as Amtrak. I don’t like flying, though I did it twice in 2023 for reasons of time.

12. Favorite vegetable

Corn on the cob

13. Favorite candy

York Peppermint Patty or a Mounds bar, which I find in my Christmas stocking every year. Santa remembered!

14. Favorite sport

To play, when I was able to, racquetball, which I loved not just because I didn’t suck at it, but for the relationships. I used to play with, among others, two of my best friends, Norm and Mike, both of whom died too early. I also liked volleyball.

To watch: the National Football League, but not in real time. I record it, avoid the email/phone, and watch a 60-minute game in about an hour and a quarter instead of three hours.

15. Favorite weather

Temperate. My tolerance for extreme weather – hot and muggy or frosty – has definitely declined. Albany is getting snow right now, but it hasn’t been that frequent, so I don’t mind.

#1 hits of 1904

celebrating the anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase

The #1 hits of 1904 include a few songs you know. You’re older than you look.

Sweet Adeline (You’re the Flower of My Heart) – Haydn Quartet (Victor), ten weeks at #1. The Crew-Cuts covered this in 1959. I have heard Sweet Adeline groups (female barbershop quartets) sing this song. I checked the Social Security database. Adeline was Top 1000 from 1900 to 1952. It fell off the list until 1999. In 2022, it was #92. Adaline (#242) and Adelina (#401) also ranked.

Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis– Billy Murray (Edison), nine weeks at #1. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition in that year was described as “the most lavish fair of the era.” Louis was a Top 30 name between 1900 and 1927, in the Top 100 through 1959, and is still #246 in 2022; Luis is currently #125.

Bedelia – Haydn Quartet. I couldn’t find a particularly clean copy. (Victor), Seven weeks at #1. I checked the Social Security database. Bedelia has never been in the top 1000 names since 1900.

Navajo – Billy Murray (Columbia), five weeks at #1. A piece of music of its time.

Silver Threads Among The Gold – Richard Jose (Victor), four weeks at #1

Blue Bell – Byron Harlan and Frank Stanley (Edison), four weeks at #1

You’re The Flower Of My Heart, Sweet Adeline – Columbia Male Quartet (Columbia), three weeks at #1

Bedelia – Billy Murray (Edison), three weeks at #1

Alexander– Billy Murray (Edison), three weeks at #1. A “comedy record” because Murray is presumably singing from the female POV? Alexander has been a Top 250 name since 1900, #4 in 2009, and #17 in 2022.

Blue Bell – Haydn Quartet (Victor), three weeks at #1

A couple more

All Aboard for Dreamland– Byron Harlan (Edison), two weeks at #1. This is about the Coney Island amusement park. I had a difficult time finding a decent recording.

Toyland – Corrine Morgan and Haydn Quartet (Victor), two weeks at #1

Adeline, Louis, Bedelia, and Navajo also reached the top 3 by other artists.

One song that my high school Glee club performed was a version of The Woodchuck Song. It was sung by Bob Roberts (Edison) and went to #3.

My favorite 1904 title is Under the Anhauser Bush, a comedy record by Arthur Collins and Bryan Harlan (Edison), which reached #2. The tune was used in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), starring Judy Garland, as was Louis, sung by Judy.

Boxing Day 2023

my ever-present past

Boxing Day 2023 was intriguing.

The doorbell rang around 7:30 a.m. It was a guy from the City of Albany’s Department of General Services. He and his colleagues would trim the branches from the trees in the neighborhood. A branch of our neighbor’s tree was leaning heavily on the power lines in front of our house.

Were any of the cars on your side of the street ours? No, our car was across the street. Even though I’m car blind – I don’t recognize vehicles well – I could identify our next-door neighbor’s from an item he placed in front of the car so people were less likely to run into it while parking.

They spent over an hour trimming one tree. It had a lot of problematic branches, and they had to cut them into smaller parts. Then they put those branches in in the mulcher.

I suspect they picked that week to do our street because there is an elementary school on the block, and many teachers park on the street. Too many people grumble about government employees, but I was quite pleased with these.

Book review intro

I stopped at the bank to get cash. I had to wait because a bank employee showed a young woman how to use the ATM.

Then, I took the bus to the Albany Public Library’s Washington Avenue branch to meet the author, Michael Sinclair. He has written a series of 1920s mysteries centered in Albany or Schenectady, NY.

Interestingly, his presentation was much more about Albany’s history, complete with many photos, and less about the books.

My past converges

After the talk, I talked to a reference librarian who’s often at the desk when I’m there on Tuesday afternoons. Michael Sinclair thanked her for some technical assistance, mentioned that he had graduated from UAlbany’s library school in 2003 and that the APL librarian had attended a decade earlier.

I asked her, “When did you graduate?” “1992.” I graduated in 1992. She asked who I knew from there then. I mentioned two future NY SBDC colleagues and my ex-wife. “She was married to this guy who was in the program.” I shook my head and said, “That was ME!”

Okay, so that was weird. Then she said, “And you used to go out with” this woman I dated off-and-on from 1978 to 1983. How did she know THAT? She used to work for said girlfriend at her office at UAlbany, and I would go there occasionally. So the librarian and I used to talk 40 years ago! She said I had a big ‘fro at the time; I didn’t think so, but it was an occasionally scruffy mess.

Altercation

As I’m standing at the reference desk, we hear one person yelling at another. And it got weird. I won’t talk much about it here because no great harm occurred, though it was unsettling to the library staff and me. Oh, and I was wearing a Santa hat at the time. The police arrived after one of the two had departed.

I went home, and then my wife and I went to the movies, which I wrote about separately.

How was YOUR Boxing Day 2023? Mine didn’t involve boxing, but it came close.