GrillSgt's Firepit

Palm Pre Themes

For the past couple of months, I’ve been creating themes for the Palm Pre, which can be downloaded at PreThemer.com and installed using WebOS Quick Install, or they can be downloaded and installed using Preware, which is an app that can be installed on the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi. Below are the main screenshots of the themes I’ve created so far. If you’re a Palm Pre or Pixi owner and you try out, use or look at my themes, please leave feedback. If you like them, please donate via PayPal using the button below. Thx

For additional screenshots of each theme, click the image to go to the theme page at PreThemer.com.
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Softball – Game 9

Last night we played Texas Catheters for the second time. Same result – we lost. This time 7-17. It was more or less a comedy of errors defensively. I had no fielding chances at 1st base. It seemed no one could catch the ball. Lots of errors and bad fielding decisions. That’s not to say there weren’t any good plays made, just not enough of them. Offensively, it took a couple of innings to get going. I was 2 for 2 with 2 singles, an RBI and a run scored. Next week we have a doubleheader.

Softball – Game 8

Optimism from our first win against Sam’s Club All-Stars quickly turned to disappointment. Playing Silverchair for the second time and looking for revenge from a 47-2 throttling, we met with a similar result as the first time around (although not as bad) as we lost 16-0. They aren’t the top team in the league, but they seem to play very well. They don’t make a lot of errors and they all can hit, including the ladies. We didn’t help ourselves either, making some errors on easy plays and allowing some walks. The game only lasted 3 1/2 innings. I didn’t start and because of the mercy/slaughter rule, I never got to play the field. I did have one at bat in the top of the 4th inning and laced a line drive between the right and right-center fielders that rolled to the fence. I ended up with a stand up triple. 20 years ago it would have been an inside-the-park home run. HA HA! Unfortunately, then next two batters grounded out and I was unable to score.

Halfway through the season, here’s my stats:
Batting
10 at bats
3 hits
1 single
1 double
1 triple

Batting Average – .300
Slugging Average – .600
On Base Percentage – .364
On Base + Slugging – .964

Fielding (all at 1st Base)
19 chances
17 putouts
1 assist
1 error
Fielding Percentage – .950

So halfway through the season, we are 1-7 and in 7th place, just ahead of Sam’s Club All-Stars. We’re playing better, but really could use more consistent pitching. We still give up too many walks. Otherwise, defensively and offensively we are playing much better. The errors are fewer and almost everyone is hitting better, especially the ladies. Hopefully the second half of the season will have more games ending up in the win column rather than the loss column.

Softball – Game 7

Woo Hoo! We finally won a game and are no longer cellar dwellars. We beat the Sam’s Club All-Stars 10-0. Everyone contributed in some way. Tony Marbury hit a 3-run homer, our team’s first of the year, well, sort of. It was the first one to be hit out of the park. Earlier in the season Matt Froelich hit an inside the park home run. I didn’t hit, going 0-2, but I had 5 putouts, including a low line drive from the game’s first batter. Definitely our best game of the year, although I will temper the enthusiasm a bit because the Sam’s Club team isn’t all that good. In fact, one of our player’s son had to fill in for Sam’s Club All-Stars because they didn’t have enough players to start. So rather than accept a forfeit, we loaned him out until their player arrived.

Still there is some optimism. We are playing better than we did at the beginning at the season. While I’m almost certain that we’ll win a second game (we play Sam’s Club All-Stars again toward the end of the season), I’m optimistic that we can beat one or more of the other teams in our last 9 games.

Softball – Game#6

Well, we’re still winless, 0-6. We lost again tonight, 15-4. Once again, I played 1st base. Not much action there tonight. I had 2 putouts, although one of the putouts was called against us… interference. Our pitcher stumbled into the baseline as I tagged the runner out, but the umpire ruled her safe because our pitcher tripped over his own feet into the baseline. Kind of a ticky tack call. She would have been out even if our pitcher hadn’t fallen. As usual, I only got one at bat… I walked so it wasn’t even an official at bat. I was left on base.

Next up is Sam’s Club All-Stars. We may have a shot at our first win. They have forfeited 3 of their 5 games and the other 2 they have had scores not unlike some of our worst games.

Softball – Game #5

This week’s game was against Spring Hill Baptist Church. As has been the case the last few games, we played pretty well throughout the game, except for one inning when we just couldn’t get the outs we needed to keep them from scoring bunches of runs. This time it was the 4th inning. We lost this game 15-3. Although he called a good game, the umpire didn’t help. In one at bat, we had runners on 1st and 2nd. Our batter hit a pop fly right on the line to 3rd base. Since it dropped fair (the lady playing third base didn’t catch it), it should have been called an infield fly and the batter out. But the umpire failed to call it. So, instead of having a male on first base with two outs, we now had a lady on seond base with two outs. It probably wouldn’t have mattered much, and perhaps the fact that it could have been a foul ball fooled the umpire into not calling the infield fly rule, but he blew that call.

Since I played the entire game the previous Sunday (Game #2), I rode the pine for this game and kept score. I don’t like sitting but we’ve got 13 guys on the team and coach tries to get everyone playing time, even if they aren’t very good. I’m sure I’ll be in the lineup next game against Second Street Swingers.

If you haven’t been keeping track, we’re now 0-5. The season stretches into mid-July, so I remain optimistic that we’ll win one eventually.

Softball – Game #2

Game #2 was against Texas Catheters. Once again, I played first base the second half of the game. Once again, the 5th inning was our downfall. We lost 22-4. I got one at bat. I hit a solid line drive over the first baseman’s head, but he made a good play and caught it.

We’re improving, but we always seem to have that one inning in which we just seem to let the other team score too many runs. I started working with our weaker hitters, especially the ladies. They are improving. I hope that means that they won’t be the automatic out anymore.

Softball – Game #4

Game #4 was going along pretty well. We had a 3-1 lead going into the top of the 5th inning, but the other team, International Auto, started hitting them where we couldn’t catch them. Our pitcher also walked a few, which, if you walk a guy in coed softball, he gets two bases. The final ended up 13-7. This was the first game in which I played the entire game. I’ve been playing 1st base exclusively, which suits me fine since I’m still rather out of shape. I went 2-4, with a single (to right field) and a double (to left field) and a run scored. But, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, which was the last inning (because of time), I grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game. I was a little frustrated at that. Overall, I’m hitting .286, which isn’t bad, but I know it can be better.

Next up, game #5 against Spring Hill Baptist Church.

Softball – Game #3

This is a week late, sorry.

Our 2nd game was rained out. The makeup is scheduled for April 27. The 3rd game on our schedule was against Jager Bomb Squad. We had a practice the weekend before the game and it showed. We still lost, but it was competitive. The final score was 10-7. We tied the game at 7 in the bottom of the 4th. We held them in the top of the 5th, but couldn’t generate any offense in the bottom of the inning. So going into the 6th inning, it was still 7-7. They scored 3 runs to take the lead. Unfortunately, we couldn’t push across any runs in the bottom of the 6th and the game was called for time, so we didn’t get to play the 7th inning.

Ryan made a couple of really good running catches in center field that prevented runs from scoring. I played first base once again. I went 0 for 1, but it should have been a hit. I hit it in the hole between short and third with a runner on first. But the person on base was a very slow runner and was thrown out at second. Had the runner been faster, or no one on base, I would have had a hit. But that’s the way softball goes sometimes. So, my batting average is still goose eggs, .000. Although I’ve been on base both times, I have nothing to show for it. Even though we lost, there was significant improvement.

This week is a bye week, so the next game is April 24, then again on April 27.

Softball Season Starts

Spring has arrived in Central Virginia. Well sort of… it can still be a little chilly some days. The company where I work put together a co-ed softball team, which I decided to join. The team is in one of the Co-ed Rookie Leagues. It’s going to be a blast! I’m not coaching, and since I can pretty much play any position, I have no idea where the coach is going to play me. He mentioned catcher on occasion, which is ok I guess, but I hope it’s not every game. After Saturday’s practice, I think it would be a waste of my abilities and experience to put me there all the time. There are a few good players, but not as many as I had on the Las Vegas Corporate Challenge team last year. I don’t expect us to challenge for the league championship, but you never know.

Keep watching the GrillSgt’s Firepit to see how the team, Lucky 7s, is doing. Our games are on Thursday nights. I’ll post each games result as well as how I did. The game schedule will be posted in the Events Calendar in the right sidebar.