The Grand-Dog

Tech has certainly improved. UNC could not stop GT's offense. A great win. Perhaps UNC was looking past Tech, but how could they considering Tech had won the past two meetings? I stayed up to the end of the game.

Early in the GT game things did not look good for Tech. C had wanted to watch Colorado @ UCLA because she likes announcer Herbstreit. I was following GT on my phone and saw they had scored. I flipped it back to UNC@GT. The ACC Network announcer was former GT announcer Wes Durham (who graduated from UNC, where his dad Woody was the Heels legendary announcer Woody Durham).

In the second half Wes Durham kept saying how the exhausted UNC defense simply could not stop GT's no huddle offense, which was mostly run, with a few passes thrown in. That statement alone made me stay up to watch to the end. Late in the game UNC kicker missed a field goal. He'd been 910 before then. GT quickly scored to take the lead. NC responded with a score, but Tech drove down and threw a game-winning TD pass. Exciting game.

And if GT can beat NC, there's no reason poor Clemson can't beat UNC. The Tigers have a better defense than GT. All Clemson has to do is run the ball, with their two talented RBs. No reason to throw.

Ceil nursed a sourdough starter for several days, following directions from Claire Saffitz (below), before baking her bread (above). My tweet gained attention from several bread loving accounts.

Last week I hadn't been sleeping well. Thought it might be caffeine, or worries over work. Then I was checking benefits & side effects of a new supplement I had started taking, and it causes sleeplessness. Then I got my prescription filled, and I'm not crazy about those side effects either. I know you're supposed to take them as directed, but maybe I'll alternate the supplement and prescription every other day. I seem to be doing better already. We'll see.

C had been under the weather on Saturday. For supper I picked her up a bowl of chicken tortilla soup from Chickfila. Stopped by Taco Bell for me. She stayed home from church Sunday morning.

Sunday was so bright and sunshiney, and I was outside a good chunk of the day. Long walk to Sunday School from the parking lot, and the long walk back. 23 in attendance.

Afterward I dropped off a box at Goodwill. Stopped by a cookie place but it was closed. Filled up with gas at RaceTrac. Grabbed a pizza for lunch. Stopped by CVS for the prescription. Back home I raked leaves, in preparation for Halloween. Then the sunny drive down to W&MCs. By the time I got there I realized how tired I was.

Monday: up early to run at the gym. Got to work at 7:20 am. Got to facetime with Shivonne on her actual birthday. She enjoyed flipping the phone upside down.

Veterans Day: JFBC does a "parade" through the building, with lunch afterward.

Shivonne's 2nd Birthday

Shivonne’s birthday party was a big bash. Several couples from their church. MC’s parents and siblings. A&C. Joel and Charles Norman, with wives and kids. 

Nineteen kids and babies – 51 total. The theme was pajama party. All the kids wore PJ’s so they could go home after the party and go to bed. Millie (top) and her friends hung out together: Asher Anello in orange, Joel's son (right), and Charles' youngest (blue).

Will cooked breakfast for supper on his new propane griddle: pancakes, bacon, sausage. Others brought quiche, potatoes, pumpkin muffins, etc.

MC’s parents gave Shiv a real metal coaster bike. No training wheels or pedals. Shiv called it fun.

A&C gave her a pink Patagonia hat and an etch-a-sketch. Some else gave her an easel. Got home at 10 pm and went to bed.

Sunday

Have I mentioned this? Ernie called the games of Krukow and Kuiper, when Joe Buck was a kid. 

Know anyone like this? Besides me?

Uniforms in the 60's were the best.

Halloween decorations at the dentist.

Fourth Saturday in October

Clemson falls to 4-4 and 7-7 in their last 14 games. Complaints about QB play. Couldn't watch the game because it was on the CW Network, whatever that is. Tigers host Notre Dame next week, with UNC and SC still to go. The only way Clemson will be able to wear their orange "championship pants" is to become bowl eligible. Even then, the way Dabo had been acting he may not let the team wear the orange pants in a minor bowl game.

Jackets looked good in their "mustard-ish" jerseys. Paul Johnson was honored, and participated in the pregame coin toss.

Oklahoma loses to Kansas. South Carolina beat A&M. USC came back to edge Cal only because the Golden Bears went for two instead of kicking the point to tie. 

FSU in head to toe white, beats Wake Forest wearing head to toe black.

UCLA wearing the old Gary Beban / Billy Kilmer era uniforms (with the Air Jordan logo) against Colorado. Nice. Great how the Bruins left the helmet's front nose bumper and rear bumper uncluttered. Wish more teams would do that.

Dawgs looked good. Defense bent but rarely broke. Gators hurt themselves with fumbles, a blocked punt, and a couple of bad play calls. Refs missed 3 face mask calls on one play. Few penalties on either team.

UGA offense moved the ball in the air and on the ground, even without Heisman candidate Brock Bowers. Back in the CBS Studio, former Florida head coach Dan Mullen predicted a Gator win. No one ever holds these talking heads accountable for their idiotic predictions. A nice win leading into the first playoff ranking coming out on Tuesday night.

Bought a cheap pair of Nike Space Hippie sneakers. Nice colors, blue with a green swoosh. Forgot what colorway Lang had. Didn't mean to be a copycat, these were just available at a great price. As usual, I'm two years late to the party.

2023 has been a year of shoes: Cole Haans, brown wingtips, black Pumas, black Hokas, now these Nikes. I know I keep saying it, but I gotta put up some of my other shoes for sale.

After work Friday I met ten coworkers at the Medlock Tavern. Ate appetizers and played Family Feud. Garrett, Buck, Crazy John, Doug, Sue, Rachel, Angie, Joyelle, Alex, and Brad. Good time.

Played golf this morning. Found many more ball than I lost. Hit an approach shot to 3 feet. Missed the putt. Did make 3 or 4 relatively long putts on other holes.

Back home I cleaned out in the garage. Tuesday workmen are repairing the ceiling in our garage, and in the upstairs bathroom.

Sunday night is Shivonne's second birthday party.

Results from my annual physical this past week were "the best ever" according to my doctor. Must be all the vitamins I've been taking.

I cut out the caffeine again, but still am having trouble sleeping. Concern over this computer changeover. Did make good progress on Friday.

Listening to Tom Hanks' audiobook "The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece", read by the author and his wife Rita Wilson. Sixteen hours, but very good.

R.I.P. Coach Reid

 

One of my coaches from high school passed away this week: Robert Reid. He coached both football and basketball. Had a great smile. Teammate David Cape called him a gentle giant, and he was. Unlike some of the other coaches, Reid rarely showed his temper. One time though I was the object of his temper. A young father, Reid drove an old pickup truck that he parked outside the locker room. One day on the way out to the practice field I grabbed his son’s tiny football helmet, and wore it out on the field. Coach Reid was not happy. I returned the helmet to his truck.

Jessie Anthony remembered the day in class when Reid had left the room to run an errand, a “student” put a thumb tack in Reid’s chair. At first Reid just sat there before finally asking “Who done it?” No one said a word. Coach Reid took an old school chair and broke off one of the wood slats to make a paddle. “Jerry! (Anderson, the running back) – was it you?” It wasn’t, but the real culprit paid dearly. Roger added that It was quiet in class, but outside after the bell rang the class really cut loose.

The funeral is Saturday.

If I’m going to write a book about our state championship, I’d better get started. So many are passing away. Hodges Glover. Randy Rutherford. Stan Putnal. Johnny Dennis, Coach Brodie, Jeff Stewart, Ricky Kurtz, and others have already passed. In the book I will review each 1975 game, have a chapter on my 9th grade and B team, recap the 1974 season and perhaps touch on history before then, our trips to Atlanta to practice on the artificial turf, the time the coaches uncharacteristically let down their guard to dance in tutus at a school assembly, how the coaches bolted after the season for greener pastures, and the disappointing 1976 season. Also what happened to the each player after high school. Looking forward to it.

Questions to ask when faced with a decision…

1. Why am I doing this – really?
2. If someone in my circumstances came to me and asked my advice, what would I tell them to do?

3. In light of my past experiences and future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing to do?

Denison: is the US on the brink of global war?

https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/is-the-us-on-the-brink-of-global-war/#readmore

Annika Sorenstam is a new member at Augusta National.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.golfdigest.com/story/report-annika-sorenstam-is-new-member-at-augusta-national-2023__;!!AE29DT8V!XrMieVOVxv9XkH2a3S5RPsZvKqEl7i9QoGkT2GMIXQQjG4mwPIDorhZjqHh5GeBbcTMlJk9GSDhMfHZUFdA$

Ways to improve life, Japanese style.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.mrporter.com/en-gb/journal/lifestyle/life-lessons-people-tokyo-japan-style-food-24538500__;!!AE29DT8V!Vn8U4kXJD8cnoBTk9pNRuaqbUQ1XbIE57VYoiheERmBCv-qr76ia3hyDjbPLDfqo3-eMjFVeAnWtlI8dawk$

Japanese Philosophies To Help Live A Happier Life

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.primermagazine.com/2023/live/5-beautiful-japanese-philosophies-that-will-help-you-live-a-happier-life__;!!AE29DT8V!W3UvEpBXg2bZRxxlHWrG9toUx1k15GGsDLB8cyEOTLzOUOaOWieFckQcoIFddDCMyTSEN3p8dSQrGdB7RK4$

On Oct 17 Dr. D Webb prescribed my antibiotic, ciprofloxacin.

Mercy Before Judgement

Finishing up Harrison Scott Key’s “How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told”. What a good book. Life and marriage and parenting and following Jesus is never hard. Losing parents to divorce and cancer doesn’t help. We are all broken vessels. Most people have to overcome circumstances in life. May not all be the same.

Author Key displayed great courage and love, fighting for his wife and marriage, growing as a husband, father, and Christian in the process. He knew he was at fault just as much as his wife. He may not have known exactly what he wanted, but took the proper actions and stepped out in love because he knew it was the right and mature and Godly thing to do. Wasn’t easy or fun.

A tale of brokenness. Not the type of post one sees on Facebook – which is usually reserved for whitewashed look-how-wonderful-my-life-is type stories. Instead many lessons to be learned from his story, which he tells humbly and with humor.

The book is a tale of two churches, both filled with broken people: one who lived accepting their brokenness, the others not so much. Fortunate they were able to find a group of believers who loved, and showed mercy without judgement, who dropped what they were doing to help out when needed. So hard for me to do this in this age of busyness (and selfishness).

Wednesday I was in training from 7-10 am and then from noon – 3 pm. Lunch yesterday was Chickfila boxes. As usual I gave away my waffle chips. Worked past six with two other night owls, and was rewarded with another Chickfila box for supper.

C had her small group. I didn’t get home until 7:30, after dropping off more items at Goodwill. Plopped on the couch for Jeopardy and Quantum Leap. Entered my usual contests, but inexplicably forgot to post to my blog until this morning.

Didn’t sleep well, perhaps because I drank caffeine yesterday morning. Was up at 4:30 am, then finally drifted off to sleep – until 7:20 am. I had to be at the doctor at 8 am, and barely made it. I hate being late. Was worried my blood pressure would be higher because of my rush, but it was fine.

Then I stopped by the DMV in Alpharetta and got a new drivers license. I think. Hard to understand the guy. Slightly better photo. Had to take off my glasses for the photo. Was apprehensive about the eye test, but the man didn’t tell me to take off my glasses. I could easily read all three lines (probably even without my glasses), but I was told to only read the top line.

Article: how to age better.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/sep/23/eat-beans-and-scratch-your-own-back-expert-advice-on-how-to-age-better-inside-and-out__;!!AE29DT8V!XDV_uS1duqGW9uk7OgIXBXAR23K8TSag1EOG48g1YER5pJWmi32lKcLqyu1wrx8TByjkYuF6GCZrbUqwDBE$

Life Imitates Art

A few weeks ago we hired young inside salesman Justin, a recent Ole Miss grad (below). Not long thereafter I walked past his desk to talk football with Ben, the outgoing UGA fan. When I was leaving young Justin introduced himself to me. He reminded me of Davis in the movie The Intern, the disorganized buddy of main character Ben.

Then we started SAP training, and I wound up sitting next to Justin – making The Intern reference all the more of a connection, and me like the old guy in the movie. Guys in our office chide Justin for being so positive. He went out of his way to meet my team member Brad. Later Brad thought Justin must’ve wanted something, since he was being so nice.

This gave me an idea. Later I went around the corner to talk to Justin, telling him to ask Brad if he could borrow Brad’s boat. Justin played it up perfectly. When he asked, Brad’s jaw dropped. “Uh, how did you know I had a boat?” Justin cooly replied “Oh, everyone’s talking about your boat!” After that Justin let him off easy, saying he’d ask again next spring when the weather was warmer.

The next day as I was leaving work, I thought about the episode – and cracked up all over again.

Coworkers Angie and Rachel decorated their desks for Halloween. Angie hung a sign “JUST CREEPING IT REAL”. Her friend Daniel put tape over “IT REAL”. Friday when Angie worked from home, I taped a “Y” over the “ING” in “CREEPING”. Angie prides herself in being creepy, though I think that as the office old guy, I give her a run for her money.

ERNIE BANKS [SABR Bio] is the only first baseman since 1938 to hit three triples in one nine-inning game, on 11-Jun-1966. The only other position Banks played that year was eight games at 3B. In 1954 NL ROY voting, Wally Moon won the honor with Banks right behind. Gene Conley was third followed by Henry Aaron. Banks was the first National League First Baseman to record 22 putouts in a game, on 09-May-1963

Most games played for the original eight National League teams, as listed in “Leaders” Baseball-Reference.com.

Player         Team      # Games           WAR

Aaron ......... ATL......... 3,076.............. 143.0

Banks ........ CHC........ 2,528................ 67.7

Clemente ... PIT.......... 2,433*............... 94.8

Mays .......... SFG......... 2,957.............. 156.1

Musial ........ STL......... 3,026.............. 128.6

Rose .......... CIN.......... 2,722................ 79.6

Schmidt ..... PHI.......... 2,404.............. 106.8

Wagner ...... PIT.......... 2,433*............. 131.0

Wheat ........ LAD......... 2,322................ 60.4

Current vitamin intake:

1. Low dose aspirin.

2. B

3. C

4. D

5. Elderberry

6. Multivitamin

7. Omega

8. D-Mannose + Cranberry

9. Butchers Broom / Chestnut / Grape Seed / Cayenne / Ginkgo Biloba for blood circulation

10. Glucosamine Chondroitin for healthy joints & cartilage production

11. Tribulus, for prostate health.

12. Probiotic

13. Calcium

Run In With the Law

On the way home last night, as I was rolling to a stop at a red light I noticed a police car swiftly stop behind me. When the light turned green I drove normally, but after a couple hundred yards the police car flipped on its lights. I immediately pulled over and got out my license. “Sire, my records are showing that the owner of this car has an expired license”.

I looked down at my license in my hand, that I had recently renewed. Expiration date read 2031. I showed it to the officer, and admitted my license had expired in August, but I renewed it soon thereafter. The officer took my license back to her car. When she returned she pointed out that what I had was an ID card, not a driver’s license. She asked if I had renewed in person or through the mail. Mail, I replied.

I remembered how hard it had been to renew on line. Obviously I had renewed incorrectly. She gave me a ticket, but said it would go away when I correctly renew my drivers license. Great. Nothing is easy. Been a while since a policeman had pulled me over. Kinda good that she did, or I wouldn’t have realized that I didn’t have a license.

When I pulled back into traffic (on busy Holcomb Bridge Road), I stayed in the right lane for about a mile. The police car pulled out behind me. Couple of cars passed us on the left. Eventually I merged into the left lane, as I would be turning left at the next light. The police car roared past me on the right, flipped on its lights, and pulled over another car.

Worked past 5:30 on Monday. C cooked chicken tenders and rice, and tossed a salad.

Lunch today was Jason’s Deli sliders, potato salad, raw vegetables and fruit. I hate the term veggies. No one over 13 should use that word, except when speaking to a child. Sorry.

Goodness gracious The Voice on what, NBC? Shoot is it on two hours a night 5 nights a week? NBC ain't got nothing better to put on TV? Half the time the first hour is a repeat of the night before. Not exactly the golden age of TV. Love that Reba though.

Did you see any of the Vikings/49ers? On one of the first plays of the game, a SF DB stole the ball from the Vikings WR for an interception. But later that Minn WR caught a TD pass. Then just before the half that same SF DB stepped in front of that same Minn WR to intercept the pass. But this time the Minn WR stole the ball from the SF DB – and ran untouched for a long TD. Amazing play.

C is liking Peyton Manning, so we watched the Manningcast. Peyton had a bunch or boys in his basement demonstrating formations. Aaron Rodgers was the guest, and he got along with Peyton and Eli well. Later Klay Thompson was the guest.

This past week the Jags wore their black helmet. Colts debuted a new black helmet. Texans and Titans wore navy helmets. When everyone is super, no one is.

Still haven’t started training on what we’ll really be doing. We convert over late next week. Not sure everyone realizes the number of transactions that go on every day. Hundreds and hundreds. Over 400 parts going back and forth between like 20+ vendors RMP MOB COL SUN EV CH FAN ACM RP PFI GAPL BC PRO INT DAL WIN MT HUD OHIO BAK EST RLHUD ETC - why we’ve been playing zone defense all this time instead of man to man. Way too much for 4 people to handle every individual tag each step along the way. Hope I'm wrong. I have a hard time following my mouse as it moves across the screen.

JOHN McGRAW   [SABR Bio] is third on the all-time career on-base percentage list, trailing only Ted Williams and Babe Ruth. McGraw’s OB % was .466 (Williams’ is .482, Ruth’s .474). He played and managed the NL Orioles in 1899 and the AL Orioles in 1901 & 1902. McGraw made eight errors in ten chances in his first professional game, playing for the 1890 Olean Miners. In 1898, McGraw’s 143 R & 112 BB were tops in the NL.

DENISON: Mosab Hassan Yousef is the son of a founding Hamas leader. He told a reporter: “I was born at the heart of Hamas leadership . . . and I know them very well. They don’t care for the Palestinian people. They do not regard the human life. Hamas is not a national movement. Hamas is a religious movement with a goal to establish an Islamic state. Hamas does not serve the Palestinian people. Hamas serves Iran. . . . They are using Palestinian people as a human shield.” Why, then, are so many “pro-Palestinian” advocates in the West supporting them?

Face Mask News

Just learned that Cowboys kicker Toni Fritsch was the last player to not wear a face mask, in 1971. The same year, the Lions' Wayne Rasmussen wore a maskless helmet while holding, and a masked helmet on defense. 

Lion Pat Studstill went maskless while punting, and a single bar while playing wideout. Who knew players switched helmets during games - back in the 60's! Sure, with the Cowboys Deion Sanders wore one helmet on defense, and a different helmet with a different face mask on offense. 

I remember Studstill on the Rams. After retirement he became an actor, and landed a role of The Dukes of Hazzard.

Falcons. First and goal from the one yard line, and Ritter fumbles. On the local Falcons postgame show, the host tried to be upbeat, all happy about the win, but AM680’s Matt Chernoff bashed the Falcons.

Falcons need to draft Drake Maye from UNC. USC’s Caleb Williams wants part ownership in whatever team drafts him. If a team is worth $1 billion, a 1% share is worth $10 million. Does that mean his salary is $10 million less than it would’ve been? Giving a draft pick a share in ownership would be a bad precedent. Soon everyone would want the same deal.

I have a hard time even making football picks, much less getting them right.

According to Lang, today is NBA Jersey Day.

Sunday: cleaned upstairs. Winnie took me for a short walk. A late breakfast of leftover chicken meatballs. Later for lunch I heated up the leftover patty melt and roasted potatoes. Supper was grits & eggs, and bacon.

After I’d had enough of the Falcons, I went outside to rake leaves. So I got exercise both Saturday and Sunday. Today Shivonne asked to facetime with me.

Every now and then a meal is a dud. Not tonight.

DENISON: Former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus is warning the Middle East conflict could escalate significantly. The battle between Hamas and Israel is dividing world opinion, pitting nations against nations. According to former US Defense Secretary Bob Gates, America is facing the most crises since World War II ended 78 years ago. All could spiral into something much worse. US officials are especially worried these five threats could fuse into one.

1. The war in the Middle East

2. China and Russia’s growing military and economic collaboration

3. A malicious Iran

4. The unhinged leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un

5. A massive spread of doctored or wholly fake videos to manipulate world news and opinion.

ROBERTO CLEMENTE [SABR Bio] had debilitating back pain throughout his career due to a car accident the year before he broke into the majors. Clemente said he would not have been able to play without quality, professional chiropractic. He even got very conversant in it himself, like here, starting at 1:12. Scouts from ten major league teams were present at his high school graduation. There are now more than 40 schools named in his honor, in locations from Puerto Rico to Germany. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, a suburb of San Juan.