It’s elevation for Flagstaff, altitude for a big home run

Today’s question: We were driving from Flagstaff to Sedona. I said we were going down in altitude. My wife said we were going down in elevation. We argued about this. Which of us was right? I hope you weren’t arguing while you were driving. That’s never a good idea. For one thing, it distracts the driver. Worse, when you argue in the car and one of you gets mad there is no place to go. You can’t storm out of the room or walk around the block or something like that. You can’t even throw anything very well.

So if you have to have a real argument, wait until you have some room to maneuver.

Anyway, about the difference between altitude and elevation.

For our everyday purposes, elevation refers to points on the Earth’s surface, such as Flagstaff and Sedona. Altitude refers to how high some object, such as an airplane or satellite, is above the Earth’s surface or mean sea level.

So your wife was right, but you’re probably used to that by now.

Baseball pitchers no longer have to pitch the four balls when the walk is intentional. Why do batters have to run the bases on an obviously legitimate home run?

Well, because they just do, don’t they? This new intentional walk rule makes sense, but they should quit messing with baseball. First the designated hitter rule. Now this. Where will it end?

The rules say a hit — whether a single or a homer — doesn’t count unless the hitter touches the bases.

Plus, why deprive the home run hitter his moment of glory as he trots around the bases?