My Road Trip History

Thinking about long road trips made me realize that I have been on a few long trips already. Here’s a sampling:

Cooperstown New York Trip

303 04:43 Atlanta to Jefferson SC

781 11:56 Jefferson to Cooperstown

240 03:57 Cooperstown to Staten Island

225 03.40 Staten Island to Washington

061 01:10 Washington to Fredericksburg (526)

423 06:32 Fredericksburg to Knoxville

204 03:02 Knoxville to Atlanta (627)

2237 miles 35:00 hours total

1996 Olympic Torch Relay Trip

679 09:53 Atlanta to Auburn Indiana

138 02:53 Auburn to Gary Indiana

033 00:42 Gary to Chicago Illinois  

097 01:37 Chicago to South Bend

098 01:37 South Bend to Auburn

179 02:49 Auburn to Detroit

742 10:51 Detroit to Atlanta

1966 miles 31:22 hours total

Little Rock Work Trip

163 02:32 Atlanta to Birmingham

238 03:34 Birmingham to Memphis

137 02:04 Memphis to Little Rock

538 08:10 Return trip

1076 miles 16:20 hours total

Orlando Work Trip

466 06:39 Atlanta to Orlando

085 01:21 Orlando to St. Pete

551 08:00 Return trip

1102 miles 16:00 hours total

Will’s East Cobb Baseball Bus Trip

976 14:12 Marietta to Omaha Nebraska

1952 miles 28:24 hours total

SPdL Choir Tour

509 07:24 Atlanta to West Monroe LA

317 04:35 West Monroe to Fort Worth

342 05:15 Ft Worth to Amarillo

364 05:30 Amarillo to Colorado Springs

070 01:10 Colorado Springs to Denver

521 07:15 Denver to Wichita Kansas

577 08:21 Wichita to Memphis

450 06:30 Memphis to Atlanta

3150 miles 46:00 hours total

1976 Missouri Trip

400 05:55 Macon to Hopkinsville Kentucky

245 03:45 Hopkinsville to St. Louis

365 05:25 St. Louis to Tarkio

262 04:50 Tarkio to Winterset (& back)

569 08:20 Tarkio to Dyersburg TN

496 07:15 Dyersburg to Macon

2237 miles 35:30 hours total

1982 Sugar Bowl Trip

133 02:35 Macon to Auburn Alabama

112 02:00 Auburn to Birmingham

344 04:55 Birmingham to New Orleans

495 07:10 New Orleans to Atlanta

1084 miles 16:40 hours total

Maybe Don can help me remember where the Rochester NY choir tour stopped. I know we went to Niagara Falls, Samford NY, a cave in Kentucky, and Lexington Kentucky. I’m not exactly sure I got the Colorado choir tour stops right.

In college we traveled to Elmira NY, Sevierville TN, and Terre Haute Indiana for mission trips, as well as Knoxville, Chapel Hill, Birmingham, Athens, and Auburn for football games. Brett Freemon and I road-tripped to Kitty Hawk NC to check out a summer opportunity. There were actually two choir tours to Colorado Springs. In the early 90’s Ceil and I drove to Chicago for a vacation, stopping off in Ladoga IN to visit Dic Dac’s family. We’ve also taken two car trips to Washington and others to Richmond, Destin, Rosemary Beach, Panama City, St. Georges Island, Lake Guntersville, Memphis, Charleston, Hilton Head, and Nashville. We’ve been on shorter Living Science trips to Jekyll Island, St. Augustine Beach, Merritt Island, St. Georges Island, Gulf Shores, and Tybee Island. As a kid we twice drove to Tarkio Missouri to visit family.    

School Days

TUESDAY: Last night I even missed the Bears and Packers – a game I would normally watch for a play or two. I walked my two miles yesterday. Just finished mile one and should get in mile two this afternoon. Boss is off the first three days this week. He bought a condo in Gulf Shores.

Worked until five last night and stopped by Kroger on the way home. Stocked up on more yogurt, forgetting about all the yogurt I already had. Spent $19.00 – a lot for me. Ceil cooked chili. Took leftovers for lunch today. Matthew cooked cheese dip – Velveeta and Rotel tomatoes. Afterwards I cleaned up some and helped M with his paper on water pollution. Due to the time change and walking, I was tired early. Fell asleep at 10 pm and woke up at midnight.

WEDNESDAY: Another evening filled with schoolwork. Ceil fixed grilled chicken, green bean casserole topped with breaded onion bits, baked potato squares, tossed salad, and cling peaches. Later I helped clean the kitchen and finally caught up with stuff on the computer.

Packaged a felt Batman pennant to ship. The pennant needed to ship flat, but it was larger than most of the cardboard I had. Taking it to the post office during lunch.

Will arrives at my office around 1:30. I’m driving him to the airport for his flight to Oklahoma. Then I have to get the emissions checked on his car, then renew his tag.

Today is Ceil’s birthday, so I guess we’re going out tonight. The Pie Place sounds good, but I doubt she’ll want to go there. I doubt she’ll want to go down to Jalisco’s or Nuevo Laredo Cantina. There’s also a new place that moved into the old Huey’s location called Bell Street Burritos that’s supposed to be good. Bell Street used to have a location over on Howell Mill, and just lost their lease in Inman Park.

On the way home Tuesday night I stopped by Publix and picked up a little cake and some Blue Bell ice cream.

UGA's G Book

Something I did not know about being a student at the University of Georgia: as a freshman each student is given a copy of the “ G Book” which tells of new and old traditions. Students are encouraged to take part in as many traditions as possible. The book has places for the student to paste photos of the of the student taking part in each tradition. After you keep so many traditions you get a prize.

Traditions Kept / Prize

10: Future Tradition Keeper button

20: tradition keeper lapel pin

30: G Book T shirt

40: Tradition keeper plaque

So far Will has at least 25 photos. When the students first arrived on campus in August Will took some of the guys on his hall around campus, and together they snapped several of them then. There are at least 32 traditions that should be easy for Will to get, marked: (W) below.

LOST TRADITIONS

1. Rat Caps

2. Rat Court

3. The Goat Mascot

4. Shirttail Parade

5. Senior Parade

6. Little Commencement

7. The Toombs Oak

8. Tradition of saying “hello”

9. Mandatory Chapel

10. Sitting on the railroad tracks for a game.

TRADITIONS OF ALL TIME

1. The Arch (W)

2. Founders Week (W)

3. Literary Societies

4. The Tree that owns itself (W)

5. The Red & Black (W)

6. Attend an event in the chapel

7. Student organizations (W)

8. Class ring

9. Participate in homecoming events (W)

10. The Chapel Bell (W)

11. Participate in a Greek Event

12. Attend an athletic event (W)

13. The Creamery (W)

TRADITIONS OF OUR TIME

14. The Student Alumni Association

15. Picture with UGA or Hairy Dog (W)

16. Watch a game between the hedges (W)

17. Take a picture on the arch logo tile (W)

18. Tailgate on gameday (W)

19. The Dawg Walk (W)

20. Center for Leadership and Service

21. Georgia-Florida Game

22. Sit with Bernard Ramsey ’37

23. Late Night Snelling (W)

24. Athens Music Scene (W)

25. Dawgs After Dark (W)

26. Intramural Sports (W)

27. Performing Arts Center

28. Street painting (W)

29. Attend an intercultural event

30. The Tate Plaza (W)

31. Herty Field Activities

32. The Abraham Baldwin Statue (W)

33. Richard B Russell Building Special Collection Library

34. State Botanical Garden of Georgia (W)

35. See a movie at the Tate Student Center (W)

36. Ghost Tour

37. Georgia Museum of Art (W)

38. Education Abroad

39. 100 days until graduation (W)

40. State of the University Address

41. Freshman Welcome (W)

42. Senior Signature (W)

43. Picture with your school or college (W)

44. The Great Southland Stampede Rodeo

45. Athens Cultural Scene (W)

46. Enjoy the great outdoors (W)

47. G Day and tailgate (W)

48. Make your own tradition (W)

Since some of the “traditions of our time” seem obviously manufactured to increase participation in a particular organization or event, and since certain student populations are represented like the Greeks, internationals, and student government, it’s a shame a new religious tradition could not be manufactured to replace the Mandatory Chapel tradition, which was lost when the student population grew too large to fit in any one building.

Too bad Georgia Tech didn’t have something like that. Don Lott and I would’ve been all over it.

TV Shows w/ Obamacare Plotlines

According to this Associated Press story, a grant is being provided to Hollywood to insert Affordable Care Act propaganda into the plotlines of television shows and movies.    http://www.wgem.com/story/23868167/hollywood-targeted-to-give-health-care-law-a-boost#.UnfhZ4T54IA.facebook

Great idea. In general I try to stay unbiased on the internet (and not mean) but this was too fun to pass up. This would be funnier if I knew more about Obamacare (and current TV shows).

Perhaps some of these plotlines could be used:

Seinfeld: Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer stand in line at the doctor’s office the entire episode. George thinks their afternoon would make a great pilot episode for a sitcom. Elaine has a meltdown, screams at nurses behind the desk. Kramer gets paid for standing in line for others, though one time the line moved quicker than he planned and he gets a mammogram. George meets a girl, but she dumps him after breaking in line. Later Jerry’s comedy routine is about standing in line.   

Seinfeld: Kramer gets job going door-to-door enforcing Obamacare. Turns George in for not signing up. George goes to jail. At the office, Peterman raises health insurance rates. Elaine organizes a revolt, but her only follower is the creepy guy who wants a date with her (guest star Rob Schneider).

Duck Dynasty: Uncle Si refused treatment due to his old age. Si dies. At funeral Phil speaks out against Obamacare. Without Si the ratings plummet. Show cancelled.

60 Minutes: Reporters try to sign on for insurance on line, but fail. Investigative reports show Obamacare to be a complete failure. Anther segment reveals that Andy Rooney still receives Social Security and food stamps - and voted for Obama in the last election - despite passing away two days BEFORE the 2012 election. Administration forces CBS to cancel show after 45 years.

Star Trek: Black hole sends Enterprise back to 2013. Spock scans United States and determines Affordable Care Act to be “illogical.” Dr. McCoy quits medical profession, claiming to be “just an old country doctor.” Kirk confronts President Obama, which leads to fisticuffs. Kirk is defeated when Obama doesn’t fight fair. Chekov, Sulu, Worf, Data, and Chewbacca sign up for ACA without any problems.

Jeopardy: All questions about Obamacare. Contestants don’t know the answers, leading to record low scores. Ratings plummet. Show cancelled.

Family Ties: Alex P. Keaton now has his own show on Fox News. Parents Elyse and Steven, now empty-nesters, quit their jobs and invest life-savings in the health food store they always dreamed of running. Unfortunately they have to cut back their employees’ work hours to part time to avoid paying for health insurance. Ashamed, the Keatons close the store in disgrace. Mallory is married to Skippy, who is now a doctor struggling to earn a living under the new ACA guidelines. To Alex’s horror, younger sister Jennifer takes a job as a White House intern.   

Last Man Standing: Since sitcoms are mostly watched by working-class Democrats, show loses audience due to Tim Allen’s weekly Tea Party-slanted monologues. Production stops when Allen disappears. Early reports indicate foul play. Official FBI report claims Allen lost at sea. Show cancelled.      

Saturday Night Live: No programming changes needed.

All in the Family: Entire family excited with Affordable Care Act. Meathead gets government job signing people up for food stamps and is exempt from Obamacare. Archie doesn’t like this. He goes off to work, expecting Edith to register on line while he’s gone. When she reports the true cost – and that she was unable to sign up – Archie goes on one of his tirades. Disillusioned, Meathead quits job and registers for food stamps himself. Archie has heart attack. meathead attempts mouth-to-mouth. Archie can’t get transplant, and dies. Ratings plummet. Show cancelled.     

Two and a Half Men: Alan asks out government door to door worker, but she leaves him after Alan signs up for Obamacare despite not have an income to pay for it. He loves shopping with the food stamps, bringing home wine, shrimp, and other delicacies. Walden warns Alan that he won’t get away with it. Lyndsey likes the new Alan, until she discovers his scam. Walden feels guilty. The government paid him billions for creating the original ACA website. When the government calls in the military to enforce ACA, soldier Jake leads his father away at gunpoint. Ratings plummet. Show cancelled.    

Big Bang Theory: Raj has no problem signing up for Obamacare, since he is not a US citizen. Government hires Leonard to fix the Obamacare website. Halfway through the project Sheldon sees how bad ACA is, and takes it upon himself to revise it. New website includes cat icon that plays Penny singing “Soft Kitty.” Penny becomes famous actress, moves out of apartment building. This depresses Leonard. ACA website runs even slower. Ratings plummet. Show cancelled.      

2 Broke Girls: Max and Caroline sign up for Obamacare but struggle to make the monthly payment on their low waitress salary. Max protests as only she can, but later disappears. Caroline gets a new roommate, played by Michelle Obama. First Lady changes diner menu to vegan. Later shows panned by critics for being unrealistic. Ratings plummet. Show cancelled.   

Monk: Adrian refuses to register due to his fear of germs. Monk turns the tables on government workers knocking on his door, sneaking out the back. During Presidential visit to San Francisco Monk points out all the lies. Monk seen being ushered off by Secret Security. Series tries to continue with episodes centered on Stottlemeyer. Ratings plummet. Show cancelled.     

White Collar: Tasked with tracking down Obamacare scofflaws, FBI special agent Peter Burke repeatedly closes in on law-breakers, only to see them slip through his fingers – thanks to Neal Caffrey’s “help.” Repeating sub-plot has Mozzie fighting Obamacare maze to get a heart transplant. Every week he faces a new hurdle. Cliffhanger: will he ever get it?

Dallas: Cause of JR’s death revealed – new ACA website prescribed incorrect drugs. Cliff Barnes elected as ineffective Republican congressman.  

Real Housewives of Atlanta: Government tells Kim Zolciak to quit having babies. New episodes show current cast members discussing ways to increase government assistance and food stamp allotments, as well as how to get additional free cell phones. Ratings skyrocket. NeNe elected to Congress. Reruns air on PBS as educational programs.

Psych: Shawn and Gus investigate a series of murders. All turn out to be Republicans speaking out against Obamacare. Search leads them to the White House, where Shawn’s senses detect demonic activity.

CNN: No programming changes needed.

West Wing: Despite protests by Josh and Toby, after Leo dies from slow treatment, in a rage President Bartlet overturns Obamacare and outlaws abortion – thanks to Martin Sheen’s critically panned screenplay. Episode is never aired.

RESULT: With so many hit shows suddenly cancelled, the TV networks lose billions. Government nationalizes all media: television, movies, radio, newspapers, the internet. Only government approved storylines broadcast. TV manufacturers forced to remove the OFF button from their devices.

Saturday in Athens

Friday I only worked half a day. Didn’t walk in the morning, as I was busy trying to finish everything up. Spent the afternoon getting out and organizing all the winter clothes. Was tired at the end of the day. We have two big containers of clothes to sell and a bunch to give away. Lots of empty containers left over, so perhaps we’re making progress. Ceil didn’t leave to go grocery shopping until after 6:30, so we really didn’t have supper. I ate popcorn, yogurt, and a little of Matthew’s Tombstone Pizza.

Saturday…

1. Drove Matthew down to PCC at 8:30 am for the student’s day of service. They had about four busloads of kids that went to four different Atlanta City elementary schools to work and play with the kids. M and A’s school was down south of Grant Park, near the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. Anna took the SAT Saturday morning, then drove downtown. Afterwards the students went back to PCC for Bible Study and worship and then to various homes to spend the night.

2. Drove back home, stopping by the store for new sunglasses and Crystal Lite.

3. Then Ceil and I drove to Athens to take Will his warm clothes.

4. We walked from his dorm to the Trial Garden, where various plants are grown next to the classroom building.

5. Then we drove just out of town to the UGAarden (pronounced U-garden). Ceil loved seeing the crops: pumpkins, bell peppers, hot peppers, beets, kale, broccoli, and more. I snapped lots of pictures.

6. We ate lunch at a new burger place he had had yet to try. It was good, but not spectacular.  

7. After lunch we walked to a bakery, …

8. …a favored coffee house, …

9. …and a health food grocery.

10. We drove downtown, …

11. …then out to the mall. Bought him a pair of jeans.  

12. Will got his hair trimmed and shaped (you couldn’t call it a haircut).

13. Drove back to town to a children’s store Ceil wanted to see.

14. While she was in the children’s store Will and I listened to the GA/FL game, then walked across the street to “Vic’s Vintage” antique store. Will wanted the $95.00 gold velour sofa for his dorm room. Lot’s of “character” but it had several cigarette burns. There was a neat cowboy bobblehead, but I passed. Will also liked a huge old city of Atlanta map, but not the $125.00 price tag.

15. Went back to Will’s dorm and unloaded the clothes, and took them to his room.

16. Watched the rest of the GA/FL game.

17. Afterwards we loaded up his bike to take home.

18. For supper we went to eat burritos at Barbaritos.

19. Ceil made a few purchases at the health food grocery.

20. Dropped Will off at his dorm and drove home, listening to the second half of the Tech game on the radio.   

Sunday Ceil left for church at 9 am. I was left home without a car. Cleaned up, did laundry, and watched some Netflix. Caught up to on World Without End. Also watched a JFK conspiracy movie and another about Air Force One. Skipped the Falcon game but saw a good chunk of the Pats/Steelers. Ceil cooked breakfast for dinner. Afterwards I gassed up her CRV and read my book.

Total QB Rating w/ Nov 2 Games

rank / rating / QB / school / strength of schedule

1. 95.3 Bryce Petty, Baylor (93)

2. 94.9 Marcus Mariota, Oregon (62)

3. 93.4 Jameis Winston, FSU, (54)

4. 88.6 Aaron Murray, Georgia (1)

5. 88.3 Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M (46)

6. 86.0 Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville (103)

7. 85.7 Zach Mettenberger, LSU (26)

8. 85.3 Taylor Kelly, Arizona State (10)

9. 83.2 AJ McCarron, Alabama (47)

10. 83.1 Braxton Miller, Ohio State (81)

12. 81.9 Blake Bortles, Central Florida (82)

15. 78.4 Tajh Boyd, Clemson (42)

20. 77.9 Brett Hundley, UCLA (41)

22. 76.2 Stephen Morris, Miami (56)

32. 72.9 Blake Bell, Oklahoma (48)

35. 71.8 Connor Shaw, South Carolina (16)

37. 70.5 Chase Rettig, Boston College (20)

39. 70.0 Anthony Boone, Duke (84)

41. 69.4 Nick Marshall, Auburn (50)

42. 69.3 Bryn Renner, North Carolina (26)

47. 66.9 Brandon Connette, Duke (84)

51. 66.0 Tom Savage, Pittsburgh (32)

54. 64.7 Terrel Hunt, Syracuse (53)

60. 62.8 Tyler Murphy, Florida (9)

67. 59.9 CJ Brown, Maryland (85)

70. 57.4 Pete Thomas, NC State (80)

84. 50.7 Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech (35)

85. 50.5 Vad Lee, Georgia Tech (40)

87. 49.4 David Watford, Virginia (23)

89. 47.6 Austyn Carta-Samuels, Vandy (22)

98. 43.8 Tanner Price, Wake Forest (71)

105. 40.4 Christian Hackenberg, Penn State (49)

Those writing “what’s wrong with the SEC?” are just trying to stir things up. If they really don’t know, they shouldn’t be writing about football. Six of the top 15 teams are from the SEC, with only half as many from the ACC. I don’t hear any of the usual ACC shrills barking this week. Looking above, it’s easy to see that the SEC plays much tougher schedules than the ACC (or most other conferences).    

Baylor has played the 93rd toughest schedule: Wofford, Buffalo, Louisiana-Monroe, West Virginia, at Kansas State, Iowa State, and at Kansas. We’ll see how Baylor fares Thursday night at home against 10th ranked Oklahoma. The Sooners are 7-1, but are not having a particularly powerful season.

Oregon has played the 62nd toughest schedule:  UCLA, Washington State, at Washington, at Colorado, California, Tennessee, at Virginia, and Nicholls State.

Georgia has played the toughest schedule in the country: at Clemson, South Carolina, North Texas, LSU, at Tennessee, Missouri, at Vandy, and at Florida.

Nov 2 College Football Roundup

Georgia/Florida: Listened to parts of the first half on the radio as we drove around Athens, then watched the second half on one of the big screens in Will’s dorm. It seemed like for the entire time I watched the Florida players were trying to get in the extra late hit or push, mouthing off to the Georgia players, trying to start fights. And for almost the entire game the Florida players got away with it. Very rarely did I see a Georgia player initiate unbecoming behavior. Still, every time an unsportsmanlike penalty was called, they most often went against both teams. Only when the hands inside the facemask penalty was called against the Florida noseguard did an official’s call go against Florida - giving Georgia the first down they needed to run out the clock. On the next play the Gator players responded by initiating more scuffles, tying to get Georgia players thrown out of the game. It was obvious that Aaron Murray was going to take a knee, but a Gator defender charged through the line. It appeared that Murray and Gurley were called for penalties just for what they said.

Mark Bradley may have been accurate with his assessment that Will Muschamp is not the answer as coach at Florida. I have no respect for the Gators. After the game, after Mark Richt kissed his wife, he was seen limping off the field. I thought he got a hip replacement after last season. Perhaps he will always have that limp, or the hip was sore was tired after standing all day. Several plays went against the Dawgs in the second half that Richt had no control over, like the dropped lateral. Too many defenders on the field was the defensive coordinator’s fault.

Georgia Tech/Pittsburgh: So many times Tech plays to the level of their competition. Even with the improved defense I do not see Tech stopping Clemson’s potent offense, or being able to score many points against Clemson’s defense. Tech’s only hope is that Clemson will once again fall flat in front of a national audience. Many Tiger fans think that Tech has Clemson’s number, but I don’t.

Reid’s Weekend Football Review, with my comments…

1. Loved  Georgia over Florida. Agreed. More on that game above.

2. Hated  W Ky over Ga State. Agreed. 
3. Loved  Auburn over Arkansas. Agreed. I dislike Arkansas. I like Auburn ok, but want them to have the big head going into the Georgia game.

4. Hated  Texas A&M over UTEP. The Aggies might be invited to the Chickfila Bowl.
5. Loved  Tech over Pitt. Agreed. Not looking good for Tech against Clemson, though.
6. Loved  Missouri over Tennessee. Disagree. I don’t like Missouri, though I do like their backup QB.
7. Hated  Dallas over Minnesota. Agreed. I only watched the last two plays of the game. Was hoping Dallas would lose on the last play of the game two weeks in a row.
8. Loved  Philadelphia over Oakland. Agreed. Oakland got the big head after winning one game.

9. Hated  Carolina over Falcons. Agreed. I really dislike the Panthers, even before they drafted Cam Newton. Season not turning out well for the Falcons, but fans can’t expect elite seasons every year. At least they’re having more good seasons than bad seasons. I did not watch the game.

RUMORED BOWL MATCHUPS:

Georgia: Gator or Outback

Clemson: Sugar or Chick-fil-a

Georgia Tech: Belk or Russell Athletic

Central Florida: Fiesta or Orange

Chick-fil-a: Clemson or Miami vs Missouri or Texas A&M (though Clemson played in last year’s CFA Bowl. They did not travel to Atlanta this season, though they played THREE games in Atlanta in 2012.

Roy's Retirement

My main responsibility at work is making sure the operation of our on-site VMI warehouse at EZGo runs smoothly. One of the bright spots at work every day these past few years has been talking to Roy, one of the VMI employees. Roy looks like a little mischievous elf – always up to something with a smile on his face. Like clockwork every morning Roy would call first thing – not about work, but about the world in general and the Braves in particular. During day games I would provide updates and scores, though he had his ways of keeping up himself. Though he came off as a younger man, Roy’s knees were suffering from standing on concrete every day, so he had to move on. He’s applying for Social Security and taking on a part time job. In his spare time Roy gardens and sometimes conducts funerals. Wednesday two big-wigs from Norcross drove over to Augusta to take him to lunch – a nice touch. Roy will be missed.   

THURSDAY: Got hit with so many things Thursday morning at work that I needed my walk just to get away and sort things out. It’s month end AND Halloween, and I need to get out of here early today.

Matthew’s get-together in Alpharetta was cancelled, and his buddies from our East Cobb small group are all doing different things for the first time in 15 years. We knew this would eventually happen, and are surprised it hadn’t happened years earlier. Matthew wants for us to take him the 30 miles up to Canton so he can trick or treat with his girlfriend. Anna is getting together with friends, but they’re not trick-or-treating.

When the boys moved in next door last year, they made friends with a few other boys in the neighborhood. They don’t ride mini-bikes behind our houses any more, but they still hang out and shoot baskets or throw the football. I really don’t want to leave the house vacant tonight with all those boys next door…plus our dog will be going crazy with all the activity out on the street.

Those Red Sox were on a roll. Interesting interview with the 88 year old man, and nice that Jim Joyce spoke to him. I wonder if Joyce “knew” the man from his games at Fenway over the years. Also a good summation blog post on AJC.com by DOB. I happened to read it not long after it had been posted – only 3 comments. I couldn’t resist asking if the Braves might re-sign Francoeur.

FRIDAY: Picked up six bags of candy at Kroger on the way home yesterday, but there were so few trick or treaters that I didn’t give out two bags worth. Boys next door must’ve gone somewhere else. Ceil took Matthew to Sarah’s. On the way they stopped at Chipotle for their $3.00 burritos. Anna and her friends also went to Chipotle. She spent the night at one of her friends. Saturday she takes the SAT.

Wednesday when co-worker Chris was driving up to her house she noticed flyers in all her neighbors’ doors and mailboxes. A kid had typed up a notice for everyone in the neighborhood, reminding everyone about Halloween and listed the preferred treats – no dum dums. In Orlando Chris’ dad wanted a quiet evening of watching the South Florida football game, but the trick-or-treaters wanted his autograph instead of candy.

Last night I watched the first 90 minutes of the World Without End miniseries. Quite different from the book. Every time Reid mentions Kingsbridge I think about Ken Follett’s books. I am about 20% of the way through World Without End. The queen and her son are hardly mentioned in the book, but are shown often on the show. Later I had to go pick up Matthew in Milton.

Looks like we’re going to Athens this weekend to visit with Will. Taking him over some winter clothes.

World Series < Super Bowl

Interesting video by Keith Olbermann on how a series of bad decisions caused the World Series audience to drop from over 60% of all televisions being watched (37 millions viewer) in the 1970's to less than ten million viewers today. No sporting events are scheduled while the Super Bowl is being played because no one would watch, but the World Series schedules its games up against the NFL and college football – starting games after 8 pm on the east coast…losing half its audience. This has been going on for so long that the generation of kids that quit watching has grown up and continues to not watch. Here's an article that shares the video: http://throughthefencebaseball.com/why-i-hate-keith-olbermann/39397

Didn't realize there was a World Series game until about 10 pm. Earlier in the day I had actually checked MLB.com to see when the next game was, and it obviously wasn't clear.

See where Shaq filmed a political campaign advertisement for New Jersey governor Chris Christie? There was a AJC.com blurb that mentioned it. What the AJC didn't say was that Shaq's part of the ad was filmed here in metro Atlanta, at a school near his house in Gwinnett County. My co-worker's daughter is principal of the school, and Shaq patiently posed for pictures with all the teachers and students – wearing the same outfit he wore in the commercial. Here's the link: http://www.accessatlanta.com/weblogs/buzz/2013/oct/28/shaquille-oneal-gets-politics/

Read the long interview that had been posted on Lang. Interesting website. I may read a few more interviews on there, like the shoe designer.

I'm sure having a problem keeping up with the walking. I was ready to go yesterday morning, but it was raining. Was a few minutes late on my afternoon walk, and barely saw the guy I pass every day. Worked til 5 pm. Looked for my running outfit, but didn't have a shirt to run in. I brought it today.

Stopped by Kroger on the way home. Yogurt and Tombstone pizzas were on sale, so I stocked up. Ceil fixed French toast for dinner. Also bacon. I also fixed bowls of popcorn for me and Matthew – using my new red air popcorn popper. I've had the same air popper for many years, and worry it will give out one day. The new one is ok, just smaller and louder. I'll stick with my old one as long as it lasts. While eating the popcorn I watched a JFK documentary on Netflix.

Reading List: May-October

Inferno, by Dan Brown

The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood, by Jane Leavy

Decision Points, by George W Bush

The Racketeer, by John Grisham

A Painted House, by John Grisham

The Street Lawyer, by John Grisham

Damascus Countdown, by Joel C Rosenberg

Micro, by Michael Crichton. Crichton’s final novel, published posthumously. Excellent.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Brison

Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

Killing Kennedy, by Bill O'Reilly

Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero, by Chris Matthews

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard. The story of the extraordinary James Garfield, along with the roles inventor Alexander Graham Bell and Doctor Joseph Lister played in trying to save the President.

Falling Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success, by John C Maxwell

My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business, by Dick Van Dyke. Disappointing. Like the title suggests, the former church deacon spent his career making family-friendly performances, only to leave the church because of the wrong-minded opinions of others. He doesn’t have to give credit to God, but instead he goes out of his to instead claim the nebulous concept of love is the over-riding force in the universe.

Both of Us: My Life with Farrah, by Ryan O’Neal. The wealthy actor tries to explain his failures as a partner and father. Sad.

Old School Football and Faith: Played Out on the Flats, by Frank Sexton. Written by the former Georgia Tech end, Second-Ponce de Leon deacon that I have known for years. His story, from birth through college. Who knew Mr. Sexton had a book in him?

The Third Bullet (Bob Lee Swagger #8), by Stephen Hunter

Executive Intent, by Dale Brown

There may have been more - I did a poor job of keeping up.

Least Reliable Cars

Consumer Reports 10 Least Reliable Cars

1. Ford CMax Energi plug in hybrid

2. Ford Escape 1.6L ecoboost

3. Mini Cooper Countryman

4. Ford CMax hybrid

5. Nissan Pathfinder

6. Volkswagen Beetle

7. Cadillac XTS

8. Ford Explorer V6 4WD

9. Hyundai Genesis coupe

10. Ford Taurus turbo