I am a great project starter but a horrible project finisher. A month or so ago and I found myself in the middle of about 10 projects, and I just couldn't take it anymore. So I decided that I wasn't going to let my self start anything new until I finished all of my current projects. It was difficult, but I managed to stick to my plan and these are some of the results:
This week, I like The Three Stooges. The Stooges have always been around and I can remember watching episodes with my grandfather in Camden when I was younger. It seems that the rights to the old episodes frequently bounce from one cable company to the next. AMC apparently has the rights at the moment and have been showing a lot of episodes lately. I’ve had to program the DRV to catch the airings (in HD!) because they’re shown at random hours. The Stooges are funny. They relied more on physical comedy than today’s snarky-smart material. Julie hates the Stooges, which is fine because I like to watch the old episodes by myself anyway.
Check out the Stooges’ Wikipedia pagewhen you get a chance. Their story is actually a pretty sad tale. The episodes you see on TV are actually referred to as “shorts”. My uneducated assumption is that these shorts were shown prior to full feature movies in theaters, back when going to the movie theater was a lot more common than today. A varied combination of the Stooges made over 100 of these shorts. Their careers were most successful prior to the dawn of TV. As TV grew in popularity, the need for shorts declined. The avenue that made the Stooges famous ultimately vanished altogether but the boys took to performing live shows and the syndication of their shorts on TV actually created demand for their own TV appearances. I won’t spoil it for you – go check out that link!
This week, I love the upgrade to our DVR. Yep, only a few months after I blasted the quality and functions of our DVR, Charter snuck in late one recent night and performed a major upgrade. The menu and guide graphics received a much-needed makeover. We no longer have to rewind the player up a few seconds after fast-forwarding through commercials – it performs that step automatically now, just like our TiVo! Best of all, if we stop watching a recorded program, we can now resume watching later at the same stopping point. We previously had to restart at the beginning of the program and fast forward to the stopping point. Charter has made some other changes that are to tiny to go into detail about but nonetheless, we now have a respectable DVR.
Funny thing is…Charter never announced the upgrade and has not sent any emails or literature about the new design and function. So, “kudos” on the upgrade but yet another “thumbs down” on the customer service.
This week, I don’t like SEC media days. The SEC media days, held annually in Hoover, do not directly affect me or my daily routine. My disdain stems from a fan’s viewpoint. Why do we need this event? It’s more of a tease than it is informative. All the head football coaches and a few player representatives from each team share the same recycled speeches packed with the usual clichés. I guess if you’re looking for a silver lining, you could view SEC media days as a sign that college football season is just around the corner. I’m really looking forward to this season. Of course I anxious to see how well Auburn performs this year but there’s so much more that interests me. The season starts with a unique game between Boise State and Virginia Tech. The careers of two head coaches at prominent SEC schools are on life support (Les Miles and Mark Richt). And Coach Tommy Tuberville is going to be coaching ‘em up at Texas Tech. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. And SEC Media days serve as filler while we wait. I’m sure it was designed to help break up the monotony of the off season, but it only adds to the wait, it seems.
Earlier this month was a milestone for me. For most of the people who probably read this blog have always known me in my white Toyota 4 Runner. I got it for Christmas in 1999, so I drove it for over 11 years! It was a wonderful car, but after much thought we determined that it was time for an upgrade. So a couple of weekends ago we purchased Big Blue.
We are enjoying the Tahoe and are looking forward to taking it on our trip to North Carolina next weekend.
I will miss my 4 Runner, but a co-worker bought it for his 16 year old daughter and she is loving it just as much as I did.
I feared that I possibly jinxed myself when I mentioned how well I had been hitting my driver in a recent post. I have since played a round at Oxmoor Valley's Ridge course and I am happy to say that the kid's still got it! I didn't score well but I did hit 10 fairways, which I don't think I've ever come close to accomplishing. Here's some videos as promised.
Here's my tee shot on #7.
A bad putt that I wish I could say was for birdie...
My tee shot on #11. The cameraman's reaction says it all.
Claybo cuts the corner on #11, leaving me 45 yards behind him.
Clay's approach shot on #17. He would make this birdie putt.
This week, I like the Rolling Stones. I’ve always liked their music but I recently finished reading an unauthorized autobiography of Mick Jagger and it made me realize their significance as a band. The Rolling Stones basically started as a group of teenagers that plucked and strummed on guitars while accompanied by a prancing, attention-craving lead “singer”. Half-hearted practice sessions and performances were confined to the living room of the band members' parents before enough courage was mustered for an open-mic night at a local pub. The next thing you know, the band produces a likeable single, then tours the UK and other European countries before taking the United States by the throat.
The Rolling Stones are approaching their 50th year. Mick Jagger is only one year older than my dad. I’ll be reading more books about the Stones to help me perceive just how this band of essentially non-musicians came from nowhere (without the Internet!) and lasted for so long. Now, the musical abilities of Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman (original Stones) all improved vastly over time but the act would have never worked without the showmanship of Mick Jagger. Mick's stage presence "covered" for the band's lacking play. Mick was always an entertainer and it is interesting to note that, yeah – they all tried their own thing at one time or another. But they all enjoyed their highest level of success together. And what a ride along the way! I can’t wait to read more stories! Here’s a clip of the Stones listening to “Wild Horses” just after it was recorded.
The Stones pioneered the concept of a music video way before MTV came along (not sure where the videos were shown though…). They crafted and scratched their way through a variety of music genres and always came out on top. Most importantly, they always gave 100% on stage. Here’s a clip of Keith Richards defending his territory MID-SONG against a crazed fan. Keith takes care of business during a performance of "Satisfaction" and picks up right where he left off!
This week, I love tomatoes. Especially tomatoes grown in Alabama’s Black Belt region (see: Camden, Wilcox County). Julie and I were fortunate enough to receive some samplings from my parent’s garden, which included LOTS of tomatoes. I can’t begin to describe the sweetness and taste. Fun fact: my wife puts PEPPER on her tomatoes! GROSS! Only a heavy dose of sodium for me, thank you.
This week, I don’t like Chris Berman. I intended to mention my disdain for Berman a few weeks ago when he single-handedly ruined ESPN’s coverage of the first two rounds of the US Open. This week, he made the MLB Home Run Derby miserable for millions of Americans. Many people share the same opinion of Berman. And many people are much more vocal about their feelings. One of the world’s biggest mysteries is Chris Berman and his unfathomable ability to stay employed. This guy is bad. He is the exact opposite of the poise and stature that you expect from a golf broadcaster, his trademark baseball slogans are a 1.5 decades out of style and the meaning of the nicknames he gives to unfortunate football players often reference a person, place or thing that viewers today have no knowledge of. But Berman has been with ESPN since day 1, I think. That’s impressive but it shouldn’t override the fact that he is so reviled. The stories of Berman’s elitist attitude are too shocking to ignore, which only adds to the number of people attempting to comprehend his continued employment. For a clip of Berman in all his glory, click here- but be warned that it contains some comments that can’t be taken backbackbackbackbackback.
This week, I like the Major League Baseball All-Star game. It's coming up, you know. The Home Run Derby (which is annually ruined by Chris Berman) is on July 12th and the actual game is on the 13th. This year's venue is in Anaheim, California. Remember the last time the All-Star game was played in that city?
This week, I don't like Facebook. In terms of Facebook, I was late to the game. I've only had my page for a few months. I like Twitter much better. I've been charged with creating a Facebook fan page for my company. I was originally excited about this task but let me tell you, a fan page is a lot different than your personal page. Fan pages are difficult to operate and really take the fun out of it. If you look at it for what it really is, Facebook was wholly created as a marketing tool. I find it very ironic that it is so frustratingly difficult to market your company via Facebook. If anyone knows the ins and outs of a Fan page, please enlighten me.
This week, I love the way I am hitting my driver. I got to play a lot of golf in June and even played during this past holiday weekend. I've still got lots of work to do with my irons and putter but I've never been more pleased with the way I am hitting my driver.* I'm not hitting it amazingly far (still 20 to 40 yards behind my buddy Clay on most holes) but I'm in the fairway more often. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more vids soon!
es and a few player representatives from each team share the same recycled speeches packed with the usual clichés. I guess if you’re looking for a silver lining, you could view SEC media days as a sign that college football season is just around the corner. I’m really looking forward to this season. Of course I anxious to see how well Auburn performs this year but there’s so much more that interests me. The season starts with a unique game between Boise State and Virginia Tech. The careers of two head coaches at prominent SEC schools are on life support (Les Miles and Mark Richt). And Coach Tommy Tuberville is going to be coaching ‘em up at Texas Tech. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. And SEC Media days serve as filler while we wait. I’m sure it was designed to help break up the monotony of the off season, but it only adds to the wait, it seems. 
Stones basically started as a group of teenagers that plucked and strummed on guitars while accompanied by a prancing, attention-craving lead “singer”. Half-hearted practice sessions and performances were confined to the living room of the band members' parents before enough courage was mustered for an open-mic night at a local pub. The next thing you know, the band produces a likeable single, then tours the UK and other European countries before taking the United States by the throat.
enough to receive some samplings from my parent’s garden, which included LOTS of tomatoes. I can’t begin to describe the sweetness and taste. Fun fact: my wife puts PEPPER on her tomatoes! GROSS! Only a heavy dose of sodium for me, thank you.
t me tell you, a fan page is a lot different than your personal page. Fan pages are difficult to operate and really take the fun out of it. If you look at it for what it really is, Facebook was wholly created as a marketing tool. I find it very ironic that it is so frustratingly difficult to market your company via Facebook. If anyone knows the ins and outs of a Fan page, please enlighten me.
even played during this past holiday weekend. I've still got lots of work to do with my irons and putter but I've never been more pleased with the way I am hitting my driver.* I'm not hitting it amazingly far (still 20 to 40 yards behind my buddy Clay on most holes) but I'm in the fairway more often. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more vids soon!