East Cobb Small Group

Our longtime East Cobb small group. For the most part, the kids have known each other their entire lives.

Steve & Beth W: Steve works for Cox Communications, and can build or fix anything: houses, cars, computers, etc. Tech Grad. Beth sings, and organized the trip. After growing up at Eastside Baptist and Wheeler High, they now attend Johnson Ferry.   

Reid & Noelle H: UGA grad Reid writes and produces music for Turner. I hung out with Reid at the Labor Day concert, and passed my UGA tickets to him. Born on Christmas Day, Noelle is from Augusta. Johnson Ferry members, though they married at SPdL. At the campfire Noelle talked about her post-high school graduation year in Europe, and trip to Hilton Head.

Lee & Nancy E: Attended North Point for several years, but are now back at Johnson Ferry. Before moving to Atlanta, Ceil knew Lee and Nancy when they all lived in Columbia as singles. Lee has run the Peachtree with me. Nancy works out at the East Cobb Y every morning, and has run a few triathlons. The Halls, Watkins, Earhart’s and Murphy’s started the small group around the time we started having children twenty years ago.

Steve & Sarah F: From Ohio. Steve & Sarah joined our group shortly after the turn of the century. They were at North Point, but now attend Johnson Ferry. Steve F is a CPA, and hosts guys cards night in his basement. Sarah, a schoolteacher, grew up on a farm and is very task-oriented (hence two-week vacations to Yosemite and Europe, and family season passes to Whitewater and Six Flags).

The older teens: Josh W is a freshman at Kennesaw. At Pope he wrestled and played rugby. Now he starts for Kennesaw’s rugby club team, at the “quarterback” position. Short but personable, like his dad. East Cobb moms are clamoring for Josh to become a Young Life leader, but he’s too busy.

Alyx F. is a studious Walton senior, captain of the Robotics Team, dead set on matriculating at Georgia Tech. Fun girl. Dixon E is a Pope junior, working at Zaxbys. Also UGA students Martha E and our Will, both absent. High school junior Addy F was back in East Cobb attending homecoming festivities. Addy attends Veritas with Anna and Matthew.

The sophomores (besides Anna): quiet, athletic Mary Lee E (swims at Pope), outgoing Bethany W (Pope), and tall, quiet Andrew H (Walton).

The 13 year-old boys (besides Matthew): trip-planner Daniel E, fun-loving John W, and the athletic Nathan H.

Dan & Mollie, our newest group members, were not along for the trip. Dan graduated from Michigan and recently made partner at his large accounting firm. Molly has run marathons. Their four children are all younger.

Back in the Hood

Wednesday I saw the signs in Garden Hills for the annual ice cream social. They have been having that social since the early 1980’s. The signs haven’t changed too much. Nice to see the Wednesday night folk at SPdL: the Heads, Ramsey’s, Cheathams, Bill Dukes, Joy Callaway, Drew Kelly, Don & Miriam Taylor, Sue Stumm, John Roma, and Charles Qualls. Thought that one of my best readers, Don Head, would appreciate this update.

The new GT arena was nice Reid W took me to the Open House. Like the Ted, there is a mezzanine where you can follow the game while walking around. Above that is a small upper deck. The old roof still remains, mixing the old and new. A nice touch. We thought there would be something to do…tour the locker rooms, etc, but there was nothing to do but walk around. The basketball players were there, dressed in navy t-shirts, so it was hard to tell who they were. Also the cheerleaders. Seems like they would’ve done a little more. Connie Morris posted a photo from right above us in the upper deck, but I don’t know if she was there at the same time.

The Braves almost came back Wednesday night…exciting 9th inning, both the top and bottom of the inning. I hate it when the batter got hit, putting the winning run in scoring position. They shouldn’t have given Reyes anything to hit. With two out, better to walk him and take their chances with the next batter.

A week or so ago I saw where Stuart and Susan Condra had gone to a Braves game together. John and Margaret may have been with them.

Saw where the new Marlins stadium displays the world’s largest collection of bobblehead dolls…over eight hundred. A Houston Astros employee began collecting them about twelve years ago, and sold them to the Marlins.  

Crazy Thursday. Left work at 1:45 to go to the doctor. Only then did I realize I’d been working so hard that I forgot to eat lunch. I was on the phone the whole way over to the Northside Hospital, and my five minute walk to the building. In the waiting room I was sending email. Left the doctor’s office and stopped by Taco Bell, four thrift stores, Marshalls, and TJMaxx. Saw I nice pair of Under Armor golf pants at TJ Maxx that I may go back and get.

When I got home we went to Moes for free queso night. Half of Walton High School was there. Instead of my usual soft taco, I got a veggie quesadilla. Not bad. The burrito is too much for me.

We’re spending the weekend at Sloppy Floyd State park, near Rome, with three other families from our small group. I’ll have a full report next week. I was going to take today off, but kids had schoolwork to do. Hopefully I will leave work early.

Books: I’m finishing up Steven King’s 11-22-63. I’ve really enjoyed it. Hopefully they’ll make it into a movie. I’ll actually be starting the Litigators next week. The first chance I get I’ll watch Prince of Tides, and Anna will watch Titanic with me.

Odds & Ends

Ceil cooked spaghetti and meatballs Thursday night. They took our dog Barney with them to the pet store…Barney really liked that. I cleaned out some old clothes. Wished I could’ve made the Bobby Johnson funeral.

I’m getting into the bad weekend habit of watching all the Braves games, plus GT, UGA, and Clemson. Did get a little done around the house. Could’ve gone to the UGA game, but Ceil didn’t want to stay out so late. TV’s…if I hit the wrong button, the TV can be messed up bad.

After spending most of Thursday and Friday in pricing meetings with my boss, a four week brown paper meeting kicked off Monday. Spent all afternoon in the project, that will involve lots of my time. We started with lunch at Dreamland BBQ. Tuesday morning we had a conference call.  

Co-worker was out Monday. Her grown daughter was driving 75 mph in her SUV in the rain, and hydroplaned and crashed…totaling the SUV. Lucky she wasn’t killed.

Monday night I helped Matthew with an essay, and watched the Braves and Falcons. I was worried the Broncos would come back, but still went to bed before the 4^th quarter started. Went to tour the new Tech arena Wednesday night. Doctor’s appointment Thursday.

Braves: the division is a longshot. Hopefully they can continue to roll, though the Marlins always play the Braves tough. I’m getting one of those Dale Murphy replica jerseys…thought I’d have to wait to find one at a thrift store.

The eBay comic book project sounds interesting. I’ll need details about one or two of the comic books, and I’ll check out current auctions on eBay. I’m to the point where I need to start working to get more money for what I’m selling. That means doing more research before I list the item with a starting price.

Hopefully Kate learned a lesson. They live in a different world, but they still should’ve known that no where is really private.

Football Roundup

Lazy weekend of watching sports, though I did do some cleaning upstairs and in the garage.

Spent most of Friday in the boss' office working on pricing. Around 4 pm the VP of Purchasing came in with two UGA tickets: 50 yard line. For the past month Ceil had been saying she wanted to go to a UGA game, so I snatched up the tickets for her. Went home, and Ceil got cold feet. It was a 7:30 kickoff, Anna needed help on a project, Will had a busy day, Matthew wasn't crazy about going. I even offered to drive Ceil and Matthew over for the game, but no dice. Co-worker Darryl had other plans, so I gave the tickets to my friend Reid, a UGA grad whose son loves the Dawgs. Hopefully I won't get in trouble at work.

When FAU scored two early touchdowns to stay even with UGA, I wasn't worried. Watched some of the Clemson game as well. As usual, the Tigers are looking strong early in the season. This week they play at FSU on national TV, so we'll see what Clemson is really made of.

Great that the Braves swept…I watched most of all three games. With 15 game remaining the braves are still 5-1/2 back, so its doubtful they'll catch Washington. Sure would be nice if they did. The Nats are playing with fire, shutting down Strasburg. Their playoff run probably won't go as deep, and an embittered Strasburg could eventually leave as a free agent.

After beating Penn State, I thought Virginia had a strong team. QB Tevin Washington seemed to pass better, though last season he threw well early in the season. I enjoyed watching backup QB Vad Lee have another good game. Tech is going to need his arm when they fall behind late in the game, though I hate the Tech makes their right-handed QB's drop back looking left, where they have to turn their body around to throw the ball. No one else does that.

As I suspected, Virginia Tech is weak this year. They got killed by unranked Pittsburgh. The division could still be up for grabs. Tech still has a chance to go to the championship game.

eBay Update

Did some work this weekend posting shirts on eBay. The last few things I've sold haven't brought huge prices, though I'm still making twenty bucks for something I paid five dollars or less. If something doesn't sell, I just keep posting it until it does. The goal is to clean out my closets. In 2013 my goal will be to post one item per day.

Sunday I posted a game worn 1996 Syracuse Chiefs minor league baseball jersey. The Chiefs were obviously a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate. The blue trimmed jersey has several stains, as well as a MacArthur Stadium patch. As soon as I posted the jersey, I received an offer to buy it. By midnight it had received four bids and had eight watchers, and there is still a week to go on the auction. Should be an interesting week.

During the Sunday night Braves game I made a deal for a light blue replica Dale Murphy Braves jersey off Craig's List. I had hoped to find one before next season at a thrift store, but this one fell into my lap. It's a cheap knockoff, but it still looks good.

Low Key 25th Anniversery

Ceil didn't feel like eating at Canoe last night, or PF Chang, OK Café, the Big Ketch, or Bonefish. Cheesecake Factory was ok, but we settled on Houston's. Hadn't eaten there in many years. She had a steak and baked potato. I had a taste, and it was great. I had what I always used to order at Houston's: a hickory cheeseburger, with Canadian bacon. Also very good, though I didn't feel that great afterward. I'm getting too old to eat such things, I suppose. Need to eat more salads.

After eating we swung by Barnes & Noble. By the time we returned home the Braves were losing big, so I hardly bothered with them.

With the playoffs on the line, I guess managers are figuring out they need to win at all costs, like in the playoffs. Somewhere along the line that must've been forgotten. Glad Soriano is not on the Braves.

Umpires these days sure do think that fans come to watch them. Then again, Bobby Valentine thinks the same thing. Valentine claims that he invented the "wrap" type of sandwich, you know.

Thursday I hit the Taco Bell dollar menu for lunch.

RIP Bobby Johnson

Bobby Johnson passed away Wednesday morning. Jennifer had been giving updates the past few months. Kenneth lives not far from Claire's old house. Hated to miss the funeral.

I thought it was interesting how Aimee Copeland's father was so open to the press throughout this entire ordeal. It would've seemed like the press would've been a huge hindrance. By Mr. Copeland being so open, there was probably a larger outpouring of help…like the car. Back when Jenny was killed, the family stayed away from the press. I know it wasn't the same thing.

Interesting about Notre Dame joining the ACC. Football will probably join the conference in a few years.

Maddux 355, Clemens 354

I got to see Clemens pitch against the Braves in the playoffs, when he was with the Astros. Comparing his stats to Maddux, both are very impressive. Different kinds of pitchers. The reason I hope Roger Clemens doesn't pitch: if he lucks into a win, he will tie Greg Maddux on the all time wins list. I don't want that. Of course, Maddux is probably fit enough to come back and pitch a whole season. Not that Mad Dog was big on fitness.

We went Willys Tuesday night. Lately we've been liking Moes better than Willys. The chips and salsa are better at Moes. Willy's has $4.00 burritos on Tuesday nights in September, if you wear a sports jersey. The four of us ate cheaper than we could at home. I did eat Moe's both yesterday lunch and Sunday dinner.

Monday night Ceil cooked beef tips, egg noodles, and salad. She was offended when I used ketchup, but the meat needed something. Lately I've liked to add BBQ sauce or steak sauce to burgers. Tomatoes, but not lettuce. I like mustard, but lately I've been leaving it off. At Moxie Burger the ketchup squeeze bottle exploded open on me. Anna thought it was hilarious.

Ceil, Anna, and Matthew are at school all day every Wednesday. On Wednesday nights Ceil is always exhausted, and crashes on the couch. With no homework due for a week, M and A usually take a break from their studies.

The new GT BBall unis look good…like throwbacks. Perhaps the Hawks will get going this year. We shall see. That column by Lang was one of the most encouraging things that came out of 9/11.

Kickers

Good weekend for kickers:

…61 yard field goal by the Clemson punter, to close the first half. ACC record.

…63 yard field goal by the 49ers kicker. Tied the NFL record.

…55 yard field goal by former UGA kicker Blair Walsh, to send the Vikings game into OT. Then he kicked the game-winner.

…the freshman kicker at UGA also kicker a 50+ yarder for the Dawgs (then missed a PAT).

…even Tech’s Scully made a FG at the end of the first half.

I follow ex-UGA kicker Rex Robinson on Facebook. He coaches kickers, and often posts about who he is mentoring. This weekend he mentioned that Walsh had made the Vikings.

As soon as I saw the SI cover mentioned kickers, I flipped to the article and read it. Good story. The SI story about the Patriots tight end was interesting. Wonder if there will be an outcry against the writer, who seemed to poke fun at the family. Very non-SI like. Similar to Pearlman/Rocker.

The reason I hope Roger Clemens doesn’t pitch: if he lucks into a win, he will tie Greg Maddux on the all time wins list. I don’t want that. Of course, Maddux is probably fit enough to come back and pitch a whole season. Not that Mad Dog was big on fitness.

On Twitter DOB was hit with the Kimbrell in a game tied situation. His followers were really getting onto him about re-tweeting dumb questions.

We’d been to a wedding at the Whitlock. The two weddings our kids were in turned out to be quite memorable. Claire’s twins were in a wedding Friday night.

Took A to a football game Friday night, though her friend didn’t play (home sick). Watched football and the Braves all Saturday. Went to Passion Sunday afternoon. The Braves game was at it’s most crucial moment when the service started.

The new GT BBall unis look good…throwbacks. Perhaps the Hawks will get going this year. We shall see.

Willy’s has $4.00 burritos on Tuesdays in September, if you wear a sports jersey. Ceil and I split a burrito, making it cheaper than we can eat at home. I did eat Moe’s both for the Monday lunch (special) and Sunday dinner (coupon).

Monday night Ceil cooked beef tips, egg noodles, and salad.

In God We Trust?

In today’s age of political correctness and “separation of church and state” I am surprised that the state of Georgia approved adding “In God We Trust” stickers on license plates. Surely this infuriates many. Soon the argument will be made that other religions should receive equal treatment. We shall see.

Over the past year or two the sticker became an option to add to the old plates. This year those with the oldest plates were forced to purchase their choice of two new plates: a plain white plate similar to the old plate (but cleaner), or a more colorful plate with a picture of a peach tree. The lower section of the colored plate has green grass, but it is covered up by the white county sticker.

Georgia dropped the ball on the county stickers. In the past the bold font made the counties easily readable. Now the counties are printed in a tiny, thin, close-together font that is pretty much unreadable. The lone exception: the “In God We Trust” sticker, which is much more readable than the counties.

Last month when it was time to buy new tags, I thought the colored plate would be a nice change of pace. Georgia has had the all white plate for years, with few changes. Ceil wanted to go down to the tag office to get the “In God We Trust” stickers, so she chose plain white for both our cars. At least we still have plate numbers that are just one off the other, which is kinda cool.

Had the tag office given us the “In God We Trust” stickers to apply ourselves, I thought a fun idea would’ve been to rearrange the words to read” We Trust In God.” Or simply "Trust in God." But the new plates came with the sticker already applied. Can’t say that I blame them.

Driving around town I sometimes wonder if some drivers behind me take offense at the God sticker, and tailgate or pass in their fury. Or if drivers deliberately cut me off because of the plate. Hard to tell. In the past I’ve always refrained from putting Christian stickers on the car…not as much to avoid persecution than to dishonor God with bad driving.

Sunday at PCC I only counted four “In God We Trust” license plates (but we were early, and parked close). Since the stickers are a relatively new phenomenon, it should be interesting to see if those numbers go up.

IDEA: Like in many states, here in Georgia drivers can pay an additional annual fee to display a special license plate. Wildflowers, wildlife, golf, historic preservation, Falcons, UGA, Tech, Auburn, Clemson…there is a whole list of choices. I have a good idea: a throwback plate, made to look like the simple old-school plates from the fifties or sixties.

Followers

However unlikely it is, I’d like to think my followers on Twitter hang on everything I tweet. There aren’t many followers, but hopefully they are loyal. Some are Facebook friends who like my posts enough to add my Twitter. All but two are individuals. Of the people, I know all but one.

Some unknown followers come and go, following after me after I tweet something of particular interest to them. I’ll pick up a couple of newbies, then go through a dry spell, and they drop me. Perhaps one day legions will follow.

Thirty two is certainly a manageable number. As I do many things, listing my followers here will help me track who’s who, who’s coming and going. In alphabetical order:

Amber, Anna, Bill, Billy, Body by Vi, Ceil, Charisa, Charlie, Dave M, Dave T, Don, Haley, Joel, Laney, Lang, Lynne, Margaret, Mary, MC, Matthew, Michael Ann, Nathan, Nita, Nora, Perry, Rebekah, Rob, Scott, Thomas, Trey, Will, and Zoom Water

Managing for the Pennant

Fredi is beginning to place more importance on winning each game…bringing in Kimbrel in the 8th, playing Prado at SS, then bringing in Janish at the end. Wednesday night Uggla put the ball in play, but it didn’t appear that he’s figured anything out. Seems like he will only play when the pitching matchup is favorable, or unfavorable for Reed Johnson or Constanza (then over the weekend he started hitting).

I do think the batting coaches are helping: more players are cutting down on their swings and stroking singles, instead of continuously swinging from the heels for the fences. Chipper has been like that for years. Great to see Heyward lead off a late inning with a bunt. Even Francisco and McCann bunted for hits.

Left work at four last Wednesday and drove to the Roswell Wal-Mart. They didn’t have my size battery, so I had to fight traffic up to Windward Parkway. I wanted them to change out the connecting wires, but the mechanic didn’t think I needed to…until he finished. He seems like a reliable guy, so I’ll probably go back. While I was waiting I checked out the optical department, did some shopping. The waiting room had the issue of GQ with Lang’s Dream Team article. Didn’t get home until after eight.

Weekend: Football & Food

Took Anna to the Fellowship Christian School football game Friday night, down the road from Roswell High. They beat Troup County. Fielded only about 35 players…20 of whom were freshmen, and about ten sophomores. Fellowship’s little kicker nailed a field goal, and made all his extra points. Nice traditional uniforms: burgundy with white stripes on the shoulders and pants. Anna’s friend Bo didn’t play: he was home with pneumonia. Caught up with Bo’s dad, who is the host for the officials. Also saw Bill Chapman, who runs Camp Highland.

Saturday I watched sports. ESPN College Gameday, Clemson/Ball State, Braves/Mets, Tech/Presbyterian (on the internet), and UGA/Missouri. Clemson looked good, as they usually do against weaker opposition. I’m still not sold on their QB.

Against the weakest opposition possible, GT QB Tevin Washington managed to struggle. He and backup QB S Days fumbled four times (though Days’ fumble appeared to be after he crossed the goal line). Redshirt freshman Vad Lee appeared to have a great third quarter. Hope to see more of him in the near future.

Glad UGA put it to trash-talking Missouri. The passing game was working, though QB Aaron Murray repeatedly missed open receivers (like he did last year). Can they hang with Bama in the SEC Championship Game?

Weekend meals…

…Friday night Ceil cooked homemade pizza. She makes the dough in her breadmaker,

…Ate leftover pizza Saturday for lunch.

…Saturday night Ceil cooked hamburgers, French fries, and fixed salad.

…For Sunday lunch she baked a chicken, with scalloped potatoes and green beans.

…On the way home from church Sunday night I cashed in a free burrito coupon at Moes, so the four of us ate for $12.00.  

During the final minutes of the SF/GB game Sunday night, there were talking heads on four other networks discussing the days’ action. ESPN, MLB Network, NFL Network, and NBC Football Night in America. Lots of talk, scores, and statistics, but hardly any of what I wanted to see: highlights.

Girl's Night Out

Thursday I left work at 4 pm for the second straight day. Had to go home and drive Anna to her girl’s night out. Eight – ten girls got all dressed up, ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and then walked next door to North Point Mall to browse the stores. She split a guacamole dish with her friend Emily. I went back to pick her up at nine. Caroline Hargreaves was in the group.

For our dinner Ceil cooked breaded chicken and soup. They had mac & cheese and other leftovers for lunch. I had leftover grilled chicken and rice. That afternoon Ceil had taken Matthew to one of his weekly appointments, so she was unavailable to drive Anna.

Speaking of weddings, I found out on Facebook that my brother’s son just got engaged. He graduated from Lenoir Rhyne in 2011, and is taking classes at Kennesaw for another degree while working as a soccer coach. His finance is Will’s age, grew up in Powder Springs, and takes classes at Kennesaw.

I’m having a hard time working this week. We’re all getting a second computer monitor, so we can do twice as much work. Trying to catch up on paperwork and clean off my desk. Hopefully this weekend I’ll get some work done around the house, now that I’m starting to feel better.

Favorite Active Athletes

Talking the other day about who my favorite active athletes are, so naturally I made a list. Most are good guys, but not all of them.

Derek Jeter…Jeter is like Chipper.

Calvin Johnson…most talented receiver ever. Sports Illustrated just predicted that he would break Jerry Rice’s records.

Peyton Manning…hilarious in advertisements

Kris Medlin

Chipper Jones

Mike Trout…seems to be the real deal, could win ROY and MVP.

Eli Manning…plays the little brother role well.

Tiger Woods…makes golf worth watching, though I wonder if he’ll ever make it all the way back.

Kevin Durant…really don’t know enough about him, but I wanted to pick a basketball player. Almost picked Kobe for his competitiveness.

Maria Sharapova…I like her too. Hated that she lost in the Olympics. She tweets a lot.

Lexi Thompson…good article several months ago in SI.
Jeremy Lin…I hope he comes back strong. I love him, and probably should’ve included him.
Jeff Francouer…great guy, great arm and defense, which I like. Gets a lot of press, for being in KC.
Matt Kuchar…good guy. He seems to be in the thick of things most of the time.
Hope Solo…I like her as well.

There are many more: Bubba Watson, Albert Pujols, Rory McElroy, Justin Verlander, Martin Prado, R A Dickey, that pitcher for the Mariners, Ichiro, Andrew Luck, Kobe. I could go on and on.

My Favorite Movies

I wrote down some movies I like. Then I organized them by actor. Tough to narrow it down.
Tom Hanks: Splash, Forrest Gump, Big, Castaway, A League of their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, DaVinci Code, Toy Story, Angels & Demons, Catch Me if You Can, You've Got Mail, Larry Crown
Bill Murray: Tootsie, Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters
John Travolta: Broken Arrow, Grease
Meryl Streep: Julie and Julia, The Devil Wears Prada, The Manchurian Candidate
Harrison Ford: Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc, Star Wars, Random Hearts, Patriot Games
Nicolas Cage: The Family Man, National Treasure & National Treasure Book of Secrets, It Could Happen to You
Amy Adams: Enchanted, Leap Year, Sunshine Cleaning, Night at the Museum 2
Michael Keaton: Speechless, Multiplicity
Other movies: Animal House, Joan of Arc, The Aviator, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Up in the Air, Source Code, Night at the Museum, Back to the Future, Hunt for Red October, Single White Female, Eagle Eye, Independence Day, and Dave (watched it this week).

September Baseball

Fredi is beginning to place more importance on winning each game…bringing in Kimbrel in the 8th, playing Prado at SS, then bringing in Janish at the end. Watching the game last night I was thinking about you.

Last night Uggla put the ball in play, but it didn't appear that he's figured anything out. Seems like he will only play when the pitching matchup is favorable, or unfavorable for Reed Johnson or Constanza.

I do think the batting coaches are helping: more players are cutting down on their swings and stroking singles, instead of continuously swinging from the heels for the fences. Chipper has been like that for years. Great to see Heyward lead off a late inning with a bunt.

Left work at four yesterday and drove to the Roswell Wal-Mart. They didn't have my size battery, so I had to fight traffic up to Windward Parkway. I wanted them to change out the connecting wires, but the mechanic didn't think I needed to…until he finished. He seems like a reliable guy, so I'll probably go back. While I was waiting I checked out the optical department, did some shopping. The waiting room had the issue of GQ with Lang's Dream Team article. Didn't get home until after eight.

I wanted the Giants to win. I'm not a big planner, but I know women like to sweat over all those wedding details. All those Hargreaves girls will be at the wedding…friends of Anna's. Little Caroline just turned 16. She always calls me "Uncle Dave" because Andrew is her cousin, and Claire is my "sister".

Joe Maddon apologized to the press for being late to a press conference, because his manicure went long.

Getting the Worm

Somewhere along the way I fell into the good habit of being on time or early. Many people I know are not like this.

Advantages to being early:

…allows extra time to chat and get to know people. Being late to a social event means missing out on time with others. People dislike those who wear our their welcome.

…in case of traffic or car trouble, being early means an on-time arrival is still possible.

…being early helps me get my bearings, figure out where things are, and where I’m supposed to be.

…most of the time leaving early doesn’t make me miss anything that important, because I left early.

…you are able to choose where you want to sit when you’re early.

…there’s time to learn things you didn’t know, and figure out what’s going on.

Being early to church helps me better prepare to worship. When I arrive on time or late, looking for a seat and walking past those already in place can be stressful.

When you’re late you miss the beginning. It tells others that they’re not as important as you. When you have to rush, mistakes can be made: speeding tickets or accidents. Running late to the airport means you might miss your flight: a huge embarrassment if someone else is paying for your ticket.

Celebrate Freedom 2012

I'd forgotten what happened Friday night. Think I went home and crashed. Saw where the older twins went to their first football game.

Saturday M and I drove to Woodstock to pick up his buddy, then hit Subway and QT for sandwiches and drinks. By the time we made it to Jim R Miller Park on the other side of downtown Marietta, the parking lots and pavilion were full of cars and people. I was able to weave my way around and find a space on the front row.

Set up our chairs, but people came and stood right in front of me. I followed the UGA game on my cell phone, and took a nap. I took Lang's recommendation and received humorous PGA golf updates from Norm MacDonald on Twitter. The boys went walking around and hung out with friends. They scored seats in the VIP area, and only came back to see me when they needed money for food.

Later that afternoon I spied my friend Reid, so I went to sit with him. He had arrived at 8 am to set up chairs, and he met a man doing the same thing. That turned out to be a Living Science dad I knew. Reid and I walked around and secured places in the Switchfoot autograph line for our sons.

We both grabbed hot dogs to support a local little league, and Reid ate some Williamson Brothers BBQ. Matthew ate a Moes burrito. Other eating options were papa johns, chickfila, snowcones, and cotton candy. People came and went to the concert all day. Earlier in the day there were loads of families with kids, and lots of grandparents as well. After sunset the younger crowd drifted in. The pavilion was jam packed, and outside chairs were set up all the way to the back fence. Air didn't circulate inside the pavilion, so it was stuffy and dusty. After sunset it was much more pleasant outside, though we had a great view from our seats right in front of the sound table.

We heard Jars of Clay, Amy Grant, Jeremy Camp, Leeland, and Switchfoot. Good shows, but I wasn't feeling well, so it was hard for me to enjoy. I followed the Clemson/Auburn game on my phone. The post concert fireworks went off at 11 pm. My front row parking space made leaving easy. Stopped by QT again for more eats and drinks. Famished, I downed a 32 ounce Gatorade. At midnight after we dropped off Justin, Matthew wanted to stop by Taco Bell.

Will had come home from Athens after the UGA game. I spent most of Sunday recovering from Saturday. I was watching the Braves, but turned it off after everyone came home. Joel was there for pancakes, then Becky arrived to pick him up. After Overbay struck out for the second out, I stopped following on Twitter. Only then did we discover that Chipper had won the game.

Late Monday morning I drove Anna up to the Hargreaves farm. They went to the Braves game and the Varsity for Caroline's birthday. I swung by Fuddruckers for a burger. Back home we watched the game and golf tourney. Ceil fixed wings, then I took Will to meet his ride, and picked up Anna. Got home just as the Tech game was coming on.

Smash Burger: Thumbs Up

Last Friday I ate at Smash Burger for lunch. Much better than Five Guys or Flip Burger, and just about as good as my favorite Fuddruckers. They smash the burger flat, so it sticks out from the bun a little, and is cooked all the way through. Great taste. The sweet potato fries were also excellent. I didn't get a milkshake, but they looked much smaller than Fuddrucker milkshakes.

I like to keep a bottle of BBQ sauce in the fridge to use on sandwiches and dry chicken and other meats where ketchup wouldn't be appropriate (not that I use a lot of either). At the grocery store I found a bottle of Dr Pepper flavored BBQ sauce, so I tried it out. The first taste wasn't that good. They also had Coke flavored BBQ sauce.

Yesterday there was a photo of Fred O holding his grandson on Facebook. Neither had any hair, so I commented: "same haircut!"

Jim Haskell was older than me, and I always used to hear people like Fred O talk about him. Hopefully he would hear people talk about me. I had forgotten about being a pallbearer at Norman's funeral. I do remember Fred O's wonderful eulogy, and going to the cemetery.

The waitresses at OK Café do seem to be good at their job. They appear to all have worked there a long time.

GT: No Cigar

Georgia Tech did well to play with Virginia Tech for over 59 minutes, before stumbling at the end of an exciting, nationally televised season opener.

Several first half mistakes didn’t kill the Jackets. Illegal motion, offsides, sacks. A high, mishandled snap on a VT punt gave GT field position. Only then did Paul Johnson call outside running plays, and GT was able to tie the game.

A stupid unnecessary roughness call on the defense opened the fourth quarter, and appeared to be a game-changer. After that VT started reeling off the yardage, quickly taking the lead on a long pass. It didn’t surprise me that Tech came out in the shotgun, for the most part abandoning the running game (without the athletes to run the passing game).

Tech’s defense played great, but VT learned which play GT couldn’t defend: the slant. GT seemingly had the game won, but the one last slant pass. With GT’s offense and kicking game, there’s little hope in winning overtime games.

For an option team, GT doesn’t have many talented running backs. It’s supposed to be a system thing: supposedly any back can gain a thousand yards if they get enough carries. I’d like to see backup QB Days get some carries…he is supposed to be a talented, strong runner. Bostic is ok, but Orwin Smith didn’t show me anything. I’m sure the Virginia Tech defense had something to do with GT’s limited production.

Tevin Washington played ok. I have to think he was instructed to continuously hand the ball off on the fullback dive…probably a safe strategy to gain two, three, or four yards. VT was crashing in and often cutting off outside plays. It wasn’t until the third quarter before Washington started keeping the ball. Perhaps they wanted to keep him from getting hurt. In the first half Tevin took a shot while throwing a pass. He passed well late in the fourth quarter, but Paul Johnson kept the routes simple. As usual, GT’s receivers repeatedly gave up on routes. In the end, that cost GT the game.

Had Washington not thrown the overtime pass up for grabs, GT could’ve attempted a field goal. It appeared the GT receiver (Bostic) wasn’t aware that Tevin had thrown the ball. After the game-winning VT field goal, it appeared GT didn’t participate in the postgame prayer at midfield.

VT QB Logan Thomas hasn’t improved as a passer. Last year GT couldn’t tackle him, so I thought they’d run him more. His poor passing has kept Tech’s defense from staying on the field and getting worn out. It could be that VT isn’t that good.

I’m sure plenty of GT fans were mad at Lou Holtz for continuing to call Tech’s offense the wishbone. As smart a man as Holtz is, I’m sure he knows the proper term. Surely he isn’t senile.

David Scully appears to be a typical GT kicker: nothing special. I hope I am proven wrong. He hit the clutch field goal, extra point, and put three of four kickoffs deep into the end zone. Sean Poole’s punts didn’t travel all the way to the VT return man, though favorable rolls resulted in punts of 49 and 50 yards. As usual, the kicking game could bite GT again this year.

Georgia Tech has had crummy uniforms for so long, I’m to the point where if they win, I don’t care what they wear. I didn’t think the honeycomb helmet would show up on TV, so I really like the “white” helmet. In photos it looks like Tennessee's helmet, so I'd add two navy stripes. As usual, the uniforms are ridiculous. Plain jerseys and ugly pants. The white socks looked good. 

I could have easily designed a much better bold honeycomb uniform: white jersey with gold honeycomb shoulders and sleeves…with a thicker black outline so you can actually see the honeycomb. If they’re enamored with white pants, the honeycomb could be a thick stripe all the way down the sides of the pants, like a stripe.

The Hokies easily had the best-looking uniform, with their beautiful striped jerseys with huge, plain, block numbers. Their best look is with the striped helmets, jerseys, and pants.

Sean McDonough and Chris Spielman are solid announcers. Several times Spielman flat out told it like it is.

As well as the Jackets played, they don’t appear to be above stumbling against a lesser opponent. Several games could go either way: Clemson, Miami, Boston College, and others. Many GT fans think the Jackets have a chance against Georgia. What say you?

MLB Uniform Rankings

Recently Uni-Watch and ESPN ranked all the uniforms, a task that proved to be interesting reading. Naturally, I disagreed with some of the picks. Ranking uniforms is something I do almost every year, so here is the way they line up in my book. In General, most of the MLB uniforms are decent. hardly any are terrible.

CARDINALS…simple, classic, large name on back (NOB), road cap.

GIANTS…Good: classic, cream, no NOB, nice alt cap. Bad: orange alt jersey.

TIGERS…simple, classic, cool belt loops, huge NOB. Road uni could be better.

PHILLIES…classic, simple, great road & alt uni.

YANKEES…classic, simple. Didn't realize all their batting helmets match.

BRAVES…classic. Love the cream alt uni. Dislike the red jersey, & the navy one is just ok.

METS…classic, now that they've ditched the black trim.

PIRATES…classic, simple, unchanging.s match.

DODGERS…classic, except for the LA sleeve patch. Nice road uni.

RED SOX…classic uni. Dislike red alt jersey, & road grey uni has been tinkered with too much.

BLUE JAYS…carved out a distinctive uni, with a nice baby blue alt.

CUBS…great home uni. Road uni just average. Dislike the royal alts.

WHITE SOX…nice that they haven't changed in years. Love the red alts.

ATHLETICS…distinctive uni set.

ORIOLES…fine uni & cap. Dislike the script used for both "Orioles" & Baltimore " Hate the black jersey, as well as the orange.

MARINERS…simple and unchanged. Nice colors.

INDIANS…home uni could be better. Love the cream alts & caps.

RANGERS…typeface could be better, but use of color is great.

ANGELS…simple, but perhaps too simple. Bring back the halo.

TWINS…not a fan of the home uni, but the alts are great.

ROYALS…simple & classic. Need baby blue pants to match jersey.

RAYS…nice colors & stirrups. Winning makes them look better.

MARLINS…new unis are an upgrade, but still too much black.

DBACKS…like the dark red. Uni just doesn't stand out.

NATIONALS…nice big numbers & NOB. Too many combos?

ROCKIES…hate those weird black vest things.
PADRES…nice colors, but a plain uni.

BREWERS…could be better, bolder. Too nondescript.

ASTROS…nice colors, but a bland uni.

REDS…un-needed black trim & number font sets uni back.

CNN on Romney

Ceil had a doctor’s appointment Monday morning, and she was feeling puny the rest of the day. I went home shortly before three and took Matthew to his appointment. He’s looking for ways to earn money to save for a car. Anna wasn’t feeling well either. She didn’t want to go to Moes. Since it was Moe Monday, I upgraded my usual taco to a burrito, and stuffed myself. M devoured his on the way home.

I hung out with Ceil on the couch, watching the CNN special on Mitt Romney. Appeared they went out of their way to dig up old enemies. CNN ran commercials on a similar Obama special. Wonder if they’ll interview any of his enemies?

I knew I wouldn’t catch much of the Braves game Monday night, but I did see the first few innings.  

My car seems to run better (sound better) when I’m by myself. I can hear the tires when I have a passenger. Probably just jinxed my car.

Social Media for Seniors

Facebook and Twitter are fun because you can get an inner glimpse into the lives of people like Gary McKee. Some personalities will comment on your posts or wish you happy birthday, or you can comment on their posts. Brian “Grandma” Giffin, the Braves radio producer, is like that. Some personalities like Fran Tarkenton use FB to promote themselves.

Kids used to use FB to connect with others. Now that adults have jumped on the bandwagon, kids have moved on to other social media like Instagram. Still, its fun to see photos friends share on FB, or to see what others are up to. Claire is good about giving FB updates on the girls. It’s interesting to see how college classmates have changed over the years…people like Wayne Smith, Rick and Miriam Statham, or Mark and Marnie Crumpler.

People like John Condra, Danny and Connie Morris, and Pam Mullen seem to use Facebook to keep up with their children and grandchildren, or distant friends. Suzi Voyles is giving convention updates from Tampa. Drew Kelly is on FB much more than me.

Some use FB to share “funny” photos of animals or stuff, similar to the way some used to share on email. That’s one of the reasons lots of kids quit using Facebook. My kids rarely use FB, but my in-laws love it. Businesses now promote on FB. If you “like” a TV station, network, or business, you’ll receive daily advertisements from them. Sometimes I try to un-clutter my Facebook by un-liking certain businesses. I need to give some FB friends the boot as well.

I use Twitter to get Braves updates from the beat writers, and jokes from Steve Martin, Conan O’Brien, and the writers from the Letterman show. I may post random facts or things I find funny, though few others do (based on the lack of responses and Twitter followers).

Puma Faas 550

Nice shoes. Lightweight. My size. Felt great. But I just couldn't get over the color, so I didn't buy them.

Moxie Burger

Last Thursday night I read of a hot new burger joint just across the river in East Cobb: Moxie Burger. Run by a young man who grew up in East Cobb, his dad fronted the money. Gary McKee, the old Quixie DJ, said it was good. So did the AJC. Lots of burger and chicken and salad variations. Fried green tomatoes, sweet potato fries, etc.

Friday night I couldn't talk Ceil into Fuddruckers, but she wanted to go out. I made her go to Moxie. She and Anna loved it. Ceil had a grilled chicken salad. Anna had her chicken sandwich. My burger was pretty good. I bet the plain bun taster better than the wheat bun. The place was packed.

Left Moxie and drove due north: past Trader Joes, past the Super Target, past Crabapple and Birmingham into Cherokee County to pick up Matthew at his friends house. Saw two baby deer and their mother. Beautiful farmhouse with all kind of animals: goats, a bulldog, etc. It had that farm smell.

Saturday I spend all day cleaning out Will and Matthew's room. Best cleaning it has had in over ten years. Took everything out and dusted and cleaned. Rearranged the bobbleheads and baseballs on the shelves. Looks much better now.

Sunday I cleaned out all the stuff that had piled up in the master bedroom: clothes, etc. Also did some eBay work. At Passion they called Maya Moore on stage, and she spoke about the Olympics.

Ceil had another doctor's appointment this morning, so I took the kids to school again. She had a minor procedure and is feeling woozy. I may have to leave early this afternoon. Sounds like we're going to Moe's tonight.

In Athens Friday night Will went out to eat with Kara, Charisa, and Lisa. Then he went to the UGA women's volleyball game. I think he won a pizza for cheering loudly.

I hadn't heard about that old 90 yard football field. Ivy Street downtown? I'll see if my dad remembers.

Six man rotation is over…Sheets went to the DL. ESPN or Fox said that Fredi said what he learned from last year's collapse was that you can't keep putting guys out there who aren't getting the job done when the season is on the line. After last week's skid, I think we may be seeing more of your alignment: Prado at 2B and Johnson in LF. We'll see.

Asics GT-2170

This past Saturday Matthew decided he wanted some running shoes. Not just any running shoes. While most boys his age rock Nike Frees or Reebok Zigs, my 13 year old went straight for these electric blue/white/red Asics GT-2170's. 

The newly opened Merchants Walk Roadrunner Sports sized him in a size 9, so if Matthew ignores the shoes, his older brother will quickly gobble them up. We shall see.

Perhaps they are a trendy choice after all. Friday night I dragged Ceil and Anna to a hot new restaurant on nearby Paper Mill Road: Moxie Burger. Ceil loved her salad, and my burger was excellent. Much better than Five Guys or Flip Burger, at a reasonable price. Anna enjoyed seeing the ketchup bottle explode in my hands. And all the teenage waitresses rocked Asics, similar to Matthew's.

After dinner we made the drive up Birmingham Highway into south Cherokee County to pick up Matthew at a friend's house. Saw two baby deer, and their mother.  

Back to School, Sales

A and M started school this week. School always runs Ceil ragged, trying to get Matthew to study. It's during the school year when he produces most of his artwork. Here is today's example:   

After a month of craziness at work coordinating parts for a new EZGo car, things are starting to settle down. Bass Pro Shops ordered 100 of the new Bad Boy Buggy Ambush model, and they sold 63 in the first week.

Three good Braves games to watch this week against Washington. Anna may be going to a game during the Phillies series. Think the Braves brass finally keep Medlin in the starting rotation next year?  With Beachy coming back at some point next season, how hard will the Braves try to sign Sheets?

39 Games To Go

The Braves were seven back after 123 games. Last year’s World Champions were also seven games back after 123 games. I’m sure there were plenty of Cardinals fans that had given up on the season. They had lost 8 of their first 11 games against division-leading Milwaukee. The Braves have lost a similar number of games to the Nats.

Ross will be played Wednesday, as did Pastornicky and Johnson. I’d like the Prado at second and Reed in left scenario as well. When Francoeur struggled they took him out of the lineup. To me, Uggla is in a similar situation. What baffles me is he’ll have a big game, like he did in New York recently. Seems like they would rest him more. We’ll see how bad Bourn’s arm is, after getting hit Tuesday night (not bad).

By the 9th inning Tuesday night I was just barely paying attention. I was hoping Chipper would hit for Uggla or Francisco. At it was, the game ended with Chipper in the on deck circle.

Tuesday I saw Lang’s book on display at my library, with other newly acquired books. I checked out Grisham’s latest: Calico Joe. This afternoon I’ll be finishing up The Associate. Haven’t read the Litigators yet, but I just bought the book. Trying to knock out all the Grisham books, so it’s high on my list. With school started, things are slowing down around the house. I have plenty to do, but I haven’t done much yet.

July-August Reading List

11-22-63, by Stephen King. Time travel and the Kennedy assassination…my king of book.

Calico Joe, by John Grisham (2012). The Mississippi author’s latest work is about a baseball pheenom just called up to the majors. Interesting that the book came out just as real-life pheenoms Mike Trout and Bryce Harper hit the show.   

The Associate, by John Grisham. A bright young Yale Law School grad matches wits with a thug trying to extort him. Dull ending.

The Litigators, by John Grisham. The editors left in the humorous parts, for once.

Autobiography of Mark Twain. Had the great author seen how scholars had published his autobiography, with all manner of footnotes, Twain surely would have cried foul. Only the parts written by Twain are interesting.

Starting and Closing: Perseverance, Faith, and One More Year, by John Smoltz. While I learned some things I didn’t know, Smoltz really didn’t reveal that much. He seemed more interested in setting the record straight, on stories long forgotten.

Consent to Kill, by Vince Flynn. Another in the Mitch Rapp series.

Starters Rotating

By the beginning of August four of the five starting pitchers at the beginning of the Braves rotation had been replaced.

APRIL

Jurrjans. Poor performance and injuries.

Hanson. Missed starts due to injuries

Beachy. Tommy John surgery, after a great start.

Delgado…lacked killer instinct, returned to minors.

Minor. After a slow start, has pitched well

AUGUST

Hudson. Another strong year.

Maholm. Best trade acquisition in majors.

Medlin. Complete game shutout.

Sheets. Comeback player of the year?

Minor. July pitcher of the month runner-up.

Now that Hanson has returned, the Braves are going with a six man rotation during a tiring stretch of the schedule, into early September. Manager Fredi Gonzalez says the best five will pitch the stretch run. Each has plusses and minuses.

Hudson: early inning struggles, then settles down.

Maholm: lost to Nats, but should pitch in September.

Medlin: September shoo-in.

Sheets: recent struggles put him on the bubble.

Minor: should get the September nod.

Hanson: also could be on bubble.

With Beachy’s return at some point next season, it will be interesting to see if the Braves move to re-sign Sheets. Medlin is often considered a reliever, but to me he appears more suited for a starting role.