Saturday, November 30, 2024
Game For the Ages
Friday, November 29, 2024
We Are Not Alone
Reading a scary book: “IMMINENT: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFO’s”, by Luis Elizondo, the former head of the Department of Defense’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. A New York Times bestseller.
Mind boggling. Thought provoking. Not sure what I was thinking when I chose to listen to this audiobook. Am I glad I did? Not sure. Author Luis Elizondo shares his journey. Husband. Father. Son. Soldier. Patriot. Faced with what the US government was hiding, he gave up his career at the Department of Defense to share what he'd learned with his family, his country, his planet. He considered it his duty. Elizondo presents the facts and data from dozens of eyewitness accounts - including his own. Earlier this month he testified before both the US Senate and House of Representatives. Of all the books I've read this year, this one stands out the most.
You may think this is crazy, but the author presents data and verified accounts going back decades. When the US entered the nuclear age, the UFO sightings increased. These crafts are interested in our military capabilities – some believe that back during the Cold War they were trying to provoke a nuclear exchange between the US and Russia.
The author shares this information as a warning, similar to how information about Pearl Harbor and September 11th and other surprise attacks were not taken seriously, when the intelligence was there to serve as a warning. The author has been interviewed on cable news programs, which can be googled and watched. After college Elizando enlisted in the Army, and was later recruited by the DoD to research UFOs because of his no nonsense, analytical demeanor.
When his duties at the Pentagon caused him to travel to remote military bases, the author had more in common with the sergeants and privates. He’d turned down dinner with the base commander so he could drink beer with the privates. He’d rather catch a flight on a military cargo plane than the luxurious jet the generals would take. He admitted that for decades the US government has done everything in its power to cover up all this evidence.
Close human encounters with these craft have resulted in burns, rashes, eyesight issues, blindness, headaches, and cancer. Tiny alien implants have been found in some who had encountered these alien crafts. When doctors worked to remove the implants, sometimes the implant would move in an effort to escape. Several people working on this project have experienced visitations at their homes by small basketball sized balls of light, including the author.
There is simply too much evidence to deny the existence of these crafts. They've been seen to make a 90 degree turns while flying at Mach 17, defying what we know about physics. Our most advanced jets can barely reach Mach 5. In one case an entire Italian soccer stadium filled with thousands of fans all saw a UFO fly overheard. At the Los Alamos Air Force Base in New Mexico, while testing an advanced military rocket, a group of scientists, security guards, and FBI agents witnessed a group of four UFOs approach from a mountain range, stop and hover over the US rocket’s launch pad, then fly away – passing directly over the heads of the group.
Through the years there have been a few UFOs that had crashed where the crafts and alien bodies recovered and researched. There are two different alien “species” one taller and the other shorter and grey. One theory Is that the shorter greys are a subservient species perhaps created by the taller species, to be clones / slaves / workers. The book tells of the reactions various Department of Defense and other government officials have had when tidbits of this information is discussed, both positive and negative.
Crazy stuff. What we know about physics, the space time continuum, and even extra sensory perception could very well just a small part of what is possible. These UFOs are not bound by the effects of gravity, which could mean that time travel is possible. And all those rumors of a UFO crash in Roswell New Mexico back in the day? True story. While much is revealed, the author was not at liberty to share everything.
The book touches on the spiritual implications of these aliens, whether they visited centuries ago and were considered as angels / demons / gods – similar to how when US airmen landed on remote Pacific islands during WW2, gifting the natives with trinkets and food. After the airmen departed, the natives constructed bamboo airplane looking structures in an effort to woo these men to return to them from the air. As a Christian believing in Jesus and the triune God, this does not change my faith in God, though it does raise so many questions – which I don’t think God has a problem with me asking.
What es this all mean? I don’t know. Is this why the deep state does what it does, funneling away billions of US taxpayer money? Is there where much of the Ukraine "aid" going? Is this what is mentioned in the book of Revelation? Could the antichrist be an alien being? Lots more research to be done.
This week: Mysterious lights over Capitol Hill sparks fears in DC.
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nypost.com/2024/11/28/us-news/mysterious-lights-over-capitol-hill-causes-ufo-panic-in-dc/__;!!AE29DT8V!XcZthixDM1mClhOgqxkGgQbYBQv0LenplosSk7v4ao0tBoIxTFzT-5CfQA-Ise3M365TaE7N3cepxH9k9kI$And: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://nypost.com/2024/11/28/us-news/mysterious-lights-over-capitol-hill-causes-ufo-panic-in-dc/__;!!AE29DT8V!XcZthixDM1mClhOgqxkGgQbYBQv0LenplosSk7v4ao0tBoIxTFzT-5CfQA-Ise3M365TaE7N3cepxH9k9kI$
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Happy Thanksgiving
I have been on the go these past two days.
Tuesday: worked until almost 6 pm. C was down babysitting. Drove home and ate leftover spaghetti for supper. Watched Elsbeth and Georgie & Mandy.
Wednesday: up early to play golf again. Tuesday morning it was like 57 degrees. Twenty degrees colder 24 hours later. Like Tuesday, I played halfway good.
1. Decent 6 iron off the tee, then another from the fairway. Found ten balls scattered around the first fairway. Crazy. Decent chip.
2. I just can’t hit those lighted balls very far. Then three terrible chips. Actually lost a lighted ball in the leaves in the left rough.
3. Two decent 8 irons off the tee. Made a couple of passable chips onto the green.
4. Pulled two tee shots just left, but the distance was good. Three passable chips.
5. Three flubs off the tee.
6. Smashed the hybrid off the tee, so I didn’t hit a second. Hit a good 5 iron from the fairway.
7. Hit another good hybrid off the tee, most of the way up the hill. Then I hit a good 6 iron. My attempts at an approach shot weren’t great, but one made it to the fringe. Lag putts were short.
8. Two bad drives off the tee, but one made it through the trees and down the fairway. Lofted three decent wedge shots down close to the green. Couple of good chips.
9. Hit a pretty good hybrid. Then 2 of my 3 chips settled on the sloped green. But for the life of me I couldn’t sink the par putt.
After (1) golf, the traffic headed home on the downtown connector was jammed. I detoured to (2) the Northside Drive Goodwill. Then (3) RaceTrac. (4) East Cobb Goodwill. (5) WalMart, (6) Ace Hardware. (7) Kroger. Got home at 11 am. Drove C to (8) the shoe store and (9) Publix. Drove her home, then went back out to (10) Warby Parker, (11) a haircut, (12) another eyeglass place, then (13) back to Warby Parker. And traffic has horrible the whole time.
Raked the yard, then crashed on the couch. For the day I’d walked 8 miles / 15000 steps. Ceil made a pizza for supper. Lost six pounds, even after the pizza.
For some reason she selected the 1999 teen movie ”Ten Things I Hate About You”. A slutty remake of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”.
Fun fact: the high school where the movie was filmed was historic Stadium High in Tacoma Washington, an amazing structure.
Thursday: slept until 830 am. Nice, Cleaned upstairs. Walked Winnie. Left at 1145 for Cartersville. Thanksgiving dinner at Mary-Clayton’s parents Tom & Regina, his mother Gigi & husband Lewis. Her mother Joanne. Tom’s brother Clay and his wife, in from Athens. MC’s brother Thomas, sister Anna and her husband Zack and son Asher. Also Will and the girls, so 17 in all. Made it back home by 7 pm.
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
R.I.P. The Beeg Boy
Former Braves batting champ Rico Carty passed away this weekend. Rico collected the team’s first hit in Atlanta.
I will always remember sitting in the left field bleachers in old Atlanta Stadium. The Braves got several of the opposing team’s baserunners into rundowns, tagging two of them out. During the play Rico jogged in from left field and tagged out the third baserunner, completing a rare triple play.
Carty was rumored to play with his thick wallet stuffed into the rear pocket of his unform pants.
Might’ve been the only player voted into the MLB All Star Game as a write in – and this was back when the vote was on paper ballots with hanging chads, pre-internet (above).
The Beeg Boy played for the Braves in Milwaukee and Atlanta, and then Texas, the Cubs, Athletics, Indians, and Blue Jays.
A career .299 hitter who missed both the 1968 and 1971 seasons, Rico hit 330, 310, 326, 255, 342, and 366 his first 7 seasons with the Braves.
In Milwaukee Carty wore the 1962 unis with the huge lettering on the back of the jersey (below). Also the 1972 feather unis with the italic numbers (above).
1230 Bears@Lions Thursday
430 Giants@Cowboys
730 Memphis@Tulane
820 Dolphins@Packers
1200 Oklahoma State @ Colorado Friday
1200 Oregon State @ Boise State
300 Raiders @ Chiefs Friday
330 Miss State @ Ole Miss
730 GT @ UGA
1200 Tenn @ Vandy Saturday
1200 Michigan @ Ohio State
1200 #18 SC @ #17 Clemson
200 Coastal Carolina @ Georgia State
330 Auburn @ Alabama
330 Notre Dame @ Southern Cal
730 #3 Texas @ #15 Texas A&M
100 Chargers@Falcons Sunday
100 Texans @ Jaguars
820 49ers @ Bills
815 Browns@Broncos Monday
I received an email update from the GT BSU about their new building. Did not realize the Georgia Baptists are involved with the new building, which will pay for itself from the student housing. “…We have received rezoning approval for the project…We are slated to move out in December…The new building is projected to be completed the summer of 2027.
132 hamsters escaped their cage and caused havoc on an airplane for 4 days.
CHARLIE MORTON [B-R Bio] is the active leader in most batters hit by a pitch. Morton’s 186 is significantly ahead of Johnny Cueto’s 120, who is second on the list. In eleven of his 17 seasons he hit at least ten batters. He led his league in HBP in 2013 (16), 2014 (19), 2017 (13), and 2018 (16). Morton played for the 2017 World Series-winning Houston Astros and in 2021 he was with the Atlanta Braves who won it all.
Active Pitchers with at least 115 career wins
Player Wins IP Years
Cole.............153....1954...12
Cueto...........144...2256....17
Kershaw......212...2742....17
Lynn............143...2006....13
Morton........138...2125.....17
Sale.............138...1958.....14
Scherzer.....216...2878.....17
Verlander....262...3415.....19
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Birdie!
Monday: worked until 530. Driving home in the twilight is tough. Slow evening.
Tuesday: got a little rain earlier this morning, but it clearing off in time for me to golf. Teed off just before 7 am using my lightup balls.
1. Flubs, then a couple of passable shots. Then overclubbed, hitting two 9 irons just over the green. Chipped back and 2 putted. Triple.
2. Hit 7 irons that didn’t go too far. Several bad chips. Give me another triple.
3. Hit three tee shots, each better than the previous one. Still short of the green. Chips were better. Ish. Putts went long. “Bogey”.
4. Hit three decent tee shots – two to the fringe of the green. Par!
5. Hit two 6 irons onto the green. Then I sank a long 20 footer for a birdie. Nice.
6. Hit two good hybrids off the tee, the second better than the first. Then a good 5 iron. Hit two wedges just over the green, but they were pretty. Then an even better 56 degree wedge onto the green. Two putt for a “bogey”.
7. Hit two more good hybrids off the tee. Then 2 of three 5 irons were good. Hit one wedge just over the green, and a second to the front fringe. An okay lag putt set up a “bogey”.
8. Still can’t hit my driver. Was under a tree so I pulled out my 3 iron, but swung too hard and flubbed them. Found my first drive, and lofted a nice 9 iron to the front rough. Three chips, each better than the previous. Good lags. “Bogey”.
9. Hit a real good hybrid off the tee. Hit 2 wedges just short of the green and a third too long. Good lag putt. “Bogey”.
Plenty to do at work.
Years ago Reid started using the day of the week as the subject of his email. Can’t tell you how much that helps me remember what day it is.
All this year I have been saving one photo / video a day on a phone app called “one second a day”. At the end of the year I will have a 6 minute video with 366 images of events from throughout the 2024 year. Lots of the grandkids but also my activities and some from the world of sports. The bad thing is that I haven’t figured out a way to transfer the info over to my new phone.
Monday, November 25, 2024
Face Painting
Friday I left work after 330 to volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club in Norcross. Rode over with coworkers Doug, Marty, and Deb. Met up with boss Eric, GT grads Steve and Anu, as well as Jason, Ginger Sherry, and a few others. Lots of standing around before the Thanksgiving dinner finally got going. Most served food, but I opted to help out with the face painting.
Pretty fun. It was loud in the crowded gym, making it hard to hear. I tried to talk to the kids that I was painting, asking their name, grade, and where they went to school. Showed them what they looked like with my phone camera. Most were pleased. Made it home by 8 pm.
Front: Shelly, Deb, Miss Richardson, HR, Ginger, Anu. Back: Doug, Eric, GT, me, Miss Beard, Marty.
Up early to play golf in the 37 degree chill. Bundled up with four layers on top, longjohns, knee socks, gloves, and my new Braves toque. Was almost hot by the third hole. Teed off right at 7 am. Played my light up balls on the first three holes, which don’t travel as far. Hit three shots on every hole.
1. Several terrible shots. Scored a double bogey at best.
2. Another double.
3. Finally a decent tee shot. Bogey.
4. Didn’t hit my 7 irons very far. Bogey.
5. Hit one tee shot to the fringe. Chip. Good lag. Bogey.
6. Hybrid off tee was okay, just not as far. Maybe it was the cold. Good 5 iron, but again, not that far. Hit one approach onto the green. Good lag. Bogey.
7. Decent hybrids off the tee. Wormburners up the hill. Flub, then a great approach onto the narrow green, from over 100 yards away. A rare event. Two putt for a double.
8. Forgot how to hit a driver. Flub, then a nice 7 iron down the fairway. And another nice approach onto the green. Double.
9. Good hybrid. Two of the 3 chips were decent. Good lag. A nice closing bogey.
After golf I continued my tour of Atlanta. Texted Matthew for a meet up but no answer. Drove north past 285 to Delk Road to get my RaceTrac drink. Matthew texted, so I drove back to Decatur: 75 south to 85 north, then North Druid Hills and into Decatur on Clairmont. Then Ponce to 286 to 400 home. Quesadillas for brunch. Pulled out the Christmas decorations.
Watched UGA beat UMass. Ohio State beat Indiana. Kansas beat Colorado. Gators beat Rebels. Clemson beat The Citadel.
We both ordered grilled chicken sandwiches at Moxie Burger.
Sunday School and worship. Stir fry for lunch. Watched some Chiefs@Panthers and 49ers@Packers. Went to a prayer meeting at the Cox house. Later I gassed up Ceil’s car.
Monday: up early this morning to go to the gym. Hopefully slow at work this week. I got plenty to do.
CLAYTON KERSHAW [B-R Bio] led the majors with the lowest ERA from 2011 through 2014 with season totals of 2.28, 2.53, 1.83 & 1.77. His 1.69 ERA in 2016 fell short of the number of innings needed to be in the running. He had 149 IP but needed 162. He was affected by a back injury that put him on the disabled list multiple times that season. He once struck out all 15 batters in a 5-inning perfect game in his senior year in high school. He also hit a grand slam himself in the game. He attended Highland Park H.S. in a suburb of Dallas. Watch his 15-K H.S. gem a of a playoff game against NW HS in Justin, TX.
DENISON: the Harvard Medical School assures us that gratitude brings positive health benefits. Research associates thankfulness with social, emotional, and psychological well-being.
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Upset Saturday
UMass did a decent job throttling back UGA yesterday - for a while at least. The Minutemen took the opening kickoff, drove down the field, and scored to take a 7-0 lead. Dawgs only had one possession in the first quarter, but of course eventually righted the ship and cruised to a victory.
And thanks to the many upsets Saturday, for better or worse UGA backed into a spot in the SEC Championship Game. When the Dawgs are firing on all cylinders I have no doubt they could win out, there's still plenty of doubt as to which team will show up on any given week.
Kansas beat Colorado, most likely ending Deion's playoff hopes.
Arizona State fans stormed the field and tore down a goal post - but the game wasn't over. BYU still had time to score a game-winning TD. With Sun Devil fans crowded back in one end zone, BYU was able to run a play - but failed to score. Odd ending.
Ohio State knocked off Indiana's Cinderella season. It was the Hoosiers' first loss, but the Buckeyes were the only ranked team they've played all season. Not sure if Indiana will make the playoff or not.
While the Chairman of the Playoff Committee said they'd consider taking the loser of the SEC CHampionship game, he gave no guarantee. Best for the Dawgs to win out. We shall see.
That time of year: Clemson broke out their purple jerseys and britches.
Tigers will have their work cut out for them this Saturday against SC.
Had reason to dig out some photos of Bill Murray's guest appearance on Square Pegs.
He played a substitute teacher, sharing a scene with Johnny Slash and Muffy Tepperman. Muffy was played by actress Jami Gertz, now a part owner of the Atlanta Hawks.
This weekend Murray played in a pro am golf tourney telecast on TNT, with Charles Barkley and others - but it didn't seem to be widely publicized. I missed it.