Golf Quiz / Vardon Trophy: The Vardon Trophy is awarded to
the player with the lowest scoring average for the year, adjusted
for average score of the field in tournaments entered. Tiger has
won it each of the last three years (‘99-’01). 1) But, given the
following initials, can you guess the appropriate winner?
1984: C.P.
1985: D.P.
1986: S.H.
1987: D.P. [different from ‘85]
1988: C.B.
2) What player with the initials B.C. was a two-time Vardon
winner in the 70s? 3) In the 1960s, what two players won 9 of
the 10 Vardon trophies? Answers below.
Omigod…Thar She Blows!
Mount Tambora, that is, and way back in 1815. It was an
incredible, and important, event.
Robert Evans has a piece in the current issue of Smithsonian and
the story goes something like this. While the eruption of
Krakatoa (East…of Java) gets all the publicity, the fact is that
this 1883 catastrophe was only 1/10th the size of Tambora in
Indonesia.
Mount Tambora began to make noise in April 1815, when ring
announcer Michael Buffer proclaimed for the first time, “Ahhhh,
Let’s Get Ready to Rumm-ble!” Soldiers hundreds of miles
away thought they were hearing cannon fire, it was that loud.
Then on April 10, Tambora blew…KAPOW!…and 12 cubic
miles of gas, rock and dust were thrown into the atmosphere by 3
separate plumes of smoke which reached, now get this, 25 miles
into the atmosphere. The “pyroclastic” flows of incandescent
ash streamed down the mountainside at 100 m.p.h., in a rush to
the sea, 25 miles away, which killed 10,000 instantly.
The ash plume was so severe that homes hundreds of miles away
were crushed by the weight of the debris. The ash rained down
for weeks and the final death toll, thanks to the famine that
followed in the region, reached 90,000.
The main eruptions are said to have ended in mid-July, but the
ash and dust circled the earth for at least another year, blocking
the sunlight in many parts of the world, including the good old
U.S. of A. Which is why, boys and girls, the following summer
of 1816 was known in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, in
particular, as the “year without summer.”
By mid-May of that year, Robert Evans writes that the weather in
parts of the U.S. had turned “backwards.” Virginia had snow in
June and July (on the Fourth), for example, and Thomas
Jefferson had to apply for assistance at Monticello because of a
failing harvest.
[However, to be fair, a cooling trend was in place at the time, so
you can’t necessarily blame all the weather changes on Tambora,
just 95% of them!]
But something else was going on in the dark summer of 1816.
The weather around Lake Geneva was pretty miserable, as well,
while Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and his soon-to-be-wife Mary
Wollstonecraft, among others, were whiling away their summer
vacation. According to legend, a huge storm came up as Byron
was reading ghost stories to the group. They then challenged
each other to write some scary tales, with the result being John
Polidori’s “The Vampyre” and the eventual Mary Shelley’s
“Frankenstein,” which, as Evans points out, serves as a warning
not to screw with Mother Nature. All this while the eruption of
Mount Tambora was impacting nature in a most insidious way.
But wait…there’s more…Supervolcanoes!
Tony P., who keeps this site running for me at CSI MultiMedia
and suffers along with yours truly when it comes to the New
York Mets, passed along some thoughts on supervolcanoes that
you need to be aware of. [Tony has a ‘minor’ in geology, which
is enough to make him our new Senior Professor of Volcanology
here at StocksandNews. Don’t worry, Harry K., you are
Chairman Emeritus of the Department.]
Super-Vs, as we’ll call them, are hidden deep beneath the Earth’s
surface. Only a few of them are known to exist, but if one ever
erupts, look out…because the entire planet will be plunged into
the equivalent of nuclear winter.
Normal volcanoes are formed by a column of magma, or molten
rock, rising from deep within the Earth, erupting on the surface.
Super-Vs, however, begin life when magma rises from the
mantle to create a boiling reservoir in the Earth’s crust. This
chamber increases to an enormous size, building up colossal
pressure until it finally erupts.
According to the best research, Toba in Sumatra was the last
Super-V, erupting some 74,000 years ago. It is estimated it
would have been 10,000 times greater than Mount St. Helens.
Scientists know that another one is due, but where?
How about Yellowstone? Yup, there is a Super-V below its
surface, one that last erupted 640,000 years ago, and supposedly
is on a 600,000 year cycle, ergo…you do the math. And this
Super-V is also on the move…to the point where the ground has
risen in certain parts of the park over the last century.
So we’re doomed. Time for a beer. And, oh yeah, there will
likely be zero warning. Make that a six-pack.
July 9, 1850
I forgot to include this little tale last time, but back in 1850,
President Zachary Taylor, “Old Rough and Ready,” hero of the
War of 1812 and the Mexican War, attended the Fourth of July
festivities at the Washington Monument. He sat out in the
stifling heat for two hours and returned to the White House, a
hungry camper, or so legend has it. Taylor proceeded to dine on
cherries, cucumbers, other fruits and veggies, washing them
down with milk and ice water.
Now Taylor had a history of digestive problems and by July 5 he
wasn’t feeling too well. On July 6, he began experiencing
intense pain and the doctor administered opium. Then on July 7,
his condition still worsening, Taylor said, “In two days I shall be
a dead man.”
July 9, Congress was notified that Taylor was in critical
condition and members gathered at the White House. That
evening he died. He was a man of his word. [Sorry.] What was
the consensus medical opinion? Zachary Taylor died from eating
bad cherries, developing cholera morbus, gastroenteritis.
[Source: Frederic Schwarz / American Heritage]
Army Captain Rocky Versace
On Monday, President Bush awarded a posthumous Medal of
Honor to Captain Rocky Versace, a West Point grad and
intelligence officer who, while on patrol in Vietnam in October
1963, was captured during a fight with the Viet Cong, one in
which he displayed great courage in covering for his South
Vietnamese colleagues who were able to retreat.
Versace was thrown in a hellhole, one which he attempted to
escape from 4 times. He was beaten constantly, yet refused to
give up any information and Rocky could often be heard singing
“God Bless America” at the top of his lungs, infuriating his
captors even further. In September 1965 he was executed.
Monday’s Medal of Honor, given to Rocky’s brother,
represented the first time it was granted posthumously “for
actions taken during captivity.” We honor him.
Baseball Update
So I’m watching the All-Star Game and “Anastasia” is marched
out to sing the national anthem. Great, I’m thinking, I always
wondered what happened to Tsar Nicholas II’s daughter. But
wait, who the hell is this? A famous recording artist? Sorry, I
may be showing my age, but couldn’t baseball do better? Like
even the DeFranco Family (“Heartbeat – It’s A Lovebeat”)
would have been an improvement.
Anyway, Anastasia proceeded to butcher the anthem and we
were introduced to new lyrics such as “rockets gave glare” and
“land of the fray.”
As for the game itself, I managed to get my laundry done and
rearrange the sock drawer, but I didn’t stay up for the ‘tie,’ a
result which matches the state of the game today…abysmal.
Meanwhile, in case you’re interested, for all the talk about
baseball’s lack of competitiveness, thus far in ’02 some of the
teams at the bottom of the payroll list are faring pretty well, even
as those at the top are largely shining, too.
Top 4 in payroll
N.Y. Yankees ($125.9 mm)…55-32 (won-loss record)
Boston Red Sox ($108.3 mm)…52-33
Texas Rangers ($105.3)…39-47
Arizona Diamondbacks ($102.8 mm)…51-36
Bottom 4 in payroll
*Tampa Bay Devil Rays ($34.3 mm)…28-57
Montreal Expos ($38.6 mm)…46-41
Oakland A’s ($39.6 mm)…50-38
Minnesota Twins ($40.2 mm)…50-39
*It doesn’t help Tampa Bay that they are shelling out $8.7
million for Greg Vaughn and his .165 batting average.
Derrick Caracter
Jot this name down. Caracter (sic) is the 6’8” 14-year-old who is
touted as the best freshman basketball player in America.
Hailing from Scotch Plains, N.J., Derrick weighed 11 lbs. 4 oz.
and was 25 inches long at birth. He was in the news here
recently because he has decided to attend high school
powerhouse St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth.
Rod Steiger, RIP
Steiger, a method actor (as opposed to yours truly, a method
writer), appeared in flicks such as “On the Waterfront,” “In the
Heat of the Night” (for which he won an Oscar) and “Waterloo,”
my personal favorite. But he’ll long be known for turning down
George C. Scott’s role in “Patton.” Idiot.
Fore!
The reconditioning and recycling of golf balls is a $200 million
industry, according to a recent story by Bill Pennington in the
NY Times. Approximately 300 million balls are lost each year,
which, left unsaid, is also at least 300 million penalty strokes.
Top 3 songs for the week of 7/10/71: #1 “It’s Too Late” (Carole
King) #2 “Indian Reservation” (Raiders) #3 “Treat Her Like A
Lady” (Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose)
Vardon Trophy Quiz Answers: 1) 1984: Calvin Peete, 1985:
Don Pooley, 1986: Scott Hoch, 1987: Dan Pohl, 1988: Chip
Beck. 2) Bruce Crampton was a two-time winner in the 70s (’73
and ’75). 3) Arnold Palmer (4 times) and Billy Casper (5)
dominated the 1960s, with the only other winner in the decade
being Dave Hill in 1969. *Surprisingly, Jack Nicklaus never
won the Vardon.
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday.
