Amazing:

Before Clay Buchholz made his major league debut two weeks ago, the Boston Red Sox told him he was going back to the minors — even if he pitched a no-hitter.

Got to keep the kid now.

The 23-year-old rookie pitched that no-hitter in just his second outing, using a dazzling three-pitch assortment of fastballs, curves and changeups to beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-0 Saturday night.

He might never win another game. He might not be ready. He might be anything, but one thing he is is amazing.

Anyone who thinks you can’t learn anything about real life from sports does not get it. Being good enough — getting good enough — to make it into major league play already requires enormous commitment and discipline, as much mental as physical. But what this kid did was throw a no-hitter — a task that gets geometrically harder to achieve, as a psychological matter, the further you proceed toward its completion — in one of the most intense sports environments in the world, Boston’s Fenway Park — in only his second major league game ever.

I don’t know anything about Buchholz. He could be an axe murderer, a dogfight promoter, a drug kingpin. I am not saying that professional athletes ought to normally be considered heroes for their on-field performances, nor emulated by children or adults because they are good or even great at what they do. A lot of them are huge lugs, worthless or even downright menaces to society.

People can achieve amazing things, though, on their own terms, and Clay Buchholz is one of those people — no matter who he really is and no matter what else happens.

Dandyism presents a “terpsichorean tribute to dapper dress.”

Thanks to franchise law!

The AP has a story about how E-Z Pass records have been used to trip up philanderers and criminals by destroying alibis and creating records of who was where, when.  I was wondering how long until the reporter paid the toll and quoted the ACLU, and here it was:

Some worry that using those records for other purposes is a violation of drivers’ privacy.

“When you’re marketed for this new convenience, you may not realize there are these types of costs,” said Nicole Ozer of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.

Surprisingly tame.  It sounds like she’s saying the problem is in the disclosure of the rather obvious fact that E-Z Pay tracks your tolls in its “marketing,” but if she’s claiming the violation of some fundamental right, that didn’t make it into the article.  Not only that, the story balanced that though with this sensible quote, from none other than our old friend Bob Barr:

Bob Barr, a former Republican congressman from Georgia turned Libertarian and privacy rights advocate, said people who want to protect their privacy shouldn’t use electronic toll systems.

That’s the difference between a “civil libertarian” and a “libertarian,” I guess.   Score one for the latter kind.

James Lileks (via Insty) on the bridge disaster:

I’ve driven across this bridge every few days for thirty years. There are bridges, and there are bridges; this one had the most magnificent view of downtown available, and it’s a miracle I never rear-ended anyone while gawking at the skyline, the old Stone Bridge, the Mississippi. …. We’ll have that view again – but it’ll take a generation before it’s no longer tinged with regret and remembrance.

Here in New York, we know the feeling, James. It will never be the same; but with God’s help, it won’t feel this bad as long as you think. Our thoughts are with you.