I am old school.
No one will ever refer to me as a technology geek, despite the fact that I swim in this stuff an inordinate amount of time every day.
That's why I was sitting outside yesterday with my trusty radio listening to the Phillies game. Remember, I actually like this kind of weather. Now, I'm not a masochist. I had enough common sense not to be sitting in the sun. I'm sure my dermatologist will be glad to hear that. Then again, maybe not, since I seem to keep him in business carving suspicious-looking moles off my body. Who knew that baby oil and iodine was not exactly a great way to protect against the damaging effects of the sun. But that's another column.
Yes, it was hot out. But to be honest, I was perfectly comfortable sitting on my covered back patio yesterday afternoon. I have a rotation I use as I meander from one outdoor spot to the next. I started on the deck in the sun with the morning paper. This is early, before the heat builds up.
When the sun gets a bit much I move down to the covered patio.
Once the shade hits the assortment of chairs I have scattered around the back yard.
But that presents a problem. The radio I use on the patio to listen to the Phils is actually plugged in. Once I head out to the yard, I can either crank up the volume, or let the tech gods actually help me for once.
Who knew that you could actually use the Sirius XM app on the phone to listen to the Phillies games?
I didn't. I kind of wandered into this one last summer.
But yesterday I discovered a serious (or is that Sirius) flaw in this system.
I was now back up on the deck getting ready to fire up the grill for dinner. The Phils and Nats were headed to the bottom of the 13th inning. Can you imagine playing 13 innings - about four and a half hours - in that heat?
It was right about then that Andrew Knapp drove a ball into the right-field bleachers just inside the foul pole. A Phils walk-off homer.
Of course I rushed into the house to catch the replay on TV.
That's when the tech gods played one more cruel trick on me.
Did you know that the play-by-play on the app runs behind the actual game time. I'm not talking about a few seconds. I'm talking several minutes.
I rushed into the kitchen and flipped on the TV only to find Knapp being interviewed on the post-game show.
Sirius-ly? Apparently so.
I think I'll stick to the radio from now on.
For the rest of us, there is going to be no let-up to the heat. We're under an excessive heat warning right up until 8 p.m. Tuesday. We just might hit triple digits this afternoon.
Get the full forecast here.
In the meantime, I'll be back on the deck tonight. With my radio at my side.
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