Bradberry: Caffeine is Bad

Four ways caffeine keeps you from realizing your potential. For many this tip has the potential to have a bigger impact than any other single action, but it’s easier said than done. The ability to manage your emotions and remain calm has a direct link to your performance. Doesn’t matter if you are 7 or 87.

 

The Good – isn’t really good. Studies suggest caffeine actually improves cognitive task performance (memory, attention span, etc.) – in the short-term. But new research shows that any performance increases due to caffeine intake are the result of caffeine drinkers experiencing a short-term reversal of caffeine withdrawal. In fact caffeine-related performance improvement is nonexistent without caffeine withdrawal. Coming off caffeine reduces your cognitive performance and has a negative impact on your mood. Then the only way to get back to normal is to drink caffeine. When you drink it, you feel like it’s taking you to new heights. In reality caffeine just takes your performance back to normal for a short period.

 

The Bad: Adrenaline. Drinking caffeine triggers a release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the source of the “fight or flight” response, the survival mechanism when faced when a threat. This mechanism sidesteps rational thinking in favor of a faster response. This is great when a bear is chasing you, but no so great when responding to a curt email. Caffeine can let your emotions overrun your behavior.

 

Irritability and anxiety are the most commonly seen emotional effects of caffeine, but it enables all your emotions to take charge. With the popularity of coffee and coffee-shops sweeping the nation, this has all the makings of a bad TV episode.

 

It gets worse. The negative effects of a caffeine-generated adrenaline surge are not just behavioral. Large doses of caffeine raise blood pressure, stimulate the heart, and produce rapid shallow breathing, which deprives the brain of the oxygen needed to keep your thinking calm and rational.

 

The Ugly: Sleep. Your self-control, focus, memory, and information processing speed are all reduced when you don’t get enough – or the right kind of – sleep. For you to wake up feeling rested your brain needs to move through an elaborate series of sleep cycles. You can help this process and improve the quality of your sleep by reducing your caffeine intake.

 

Caffeine has a six hour half-life, so it takes a full 24 hours to work its way out of your system. Anything you drink after noon will still be at half strength at bedtime. Any caffeine in your bloodstream makes it harder to fall asleep. When you finally fall asleep the worst is yet to come. Caffeine reduces the quality of REM sleep, the deep sleep when your body recuperates. Without REM sleep you feel tired the next day, making you inclined to grab a cup of coffee or energy drink to make yourself feel better. The caffeine produces a rush of adrenaline, which furthers your emotional handicap. Then caffeine withdrawal and lack of deep sleep leaves you feeling tired in the afternoon – so your drink more caffeine, leaving even more of it in your bloodstream at bedtime. This quickly creates a vicious downward spiral.  

 

Side effects of caffeine: irritability, anxiety, restlessness, confusion, delirium, headache, insomnia, sleep deprivation, seeing flashes, ringing in the ears, increased sensitivity to touch or pain, muscle trembling, twitching, and overextension, rapid or irregular heartbeat, rapid breathing, frequent urination, and dehydration.

 

Withdrawal: like any stimulant caffeine is physiologically and psychologically addictive. If you do choose to lower your intake, do so slowly. Caffeine withdrawal causes headache, fatigue, sleepiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some report flu-like symptoms, depression, and anxiety after reducing intake by as little as one cup a day. Slowly tapering your caffeine dosage can greatly reduce these withdrawal symptoms.

 

I retype these Bradberry columns to learn and hopefully improve my own life. This subject seemed out of the ordinary and interesting. I used to drink a ton of Diet Coke, but finally quit buying it. The past 2-3 years I’ve bought the RaceTrac free summer refill cup, but drank more caffeine-free Vitamin Water lemonade than Mtn Dew or Dr. Pepper. Perhaps I’ll pass completely this year.

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/4-ways-caffeine-keeps-you-from-realizing-your-dr-travis-bradberry

Feelings of Accomplishment

While I never did anything close to basic training in the army, three events in my life stand out where I felt a great sense of accomplishment. Interestingly, all three took place less than seven miles apart.

 

December 1975: the Lakewood Stadium clock ran down and we won the state championship, the weight of 4-1/2 months of practices and games came crashing down on me. Even before the August two-a-days I had spent the previous seven months kicking and lifting weights. The feeling I had after the game was one I would never forget.

 

At Tech all students were required to take the drown-proofing class. We’d have to spend 45 minutes in 7-8 feet of water with both our hands and feet tied. We’d have to jump in the deep end and make our way to the middle of the pool for the rest of the time. Later in the semester we had to swim the length of the pool underwater, without rising up to take extra breaths. You had to make it the entire length of the pool to get a passing grade. To get an A you had to swim all the way back underwater as well. One student would make the swim at one time. The rest of us cheered each other on. My goal was to swim the length of the pool. Anything else would be gravy. I made it to the end in decent shape and made the turn. I figured I would go until I gave out. I swam and swam and before I knew it I was touching the other end of the pool. I got an A for the test, and a solid B for the class. I felt as if I had done something.

 

On July 4, 1993 I ran the Peachtree Road Race. Will was born the next day. Back then I was meeting Scot Wright and David McDaniel at the FLC at 6 am to work out. Every other Friday I would add an extra half mile to my run, always north on Peachtree from Second-Ponce. By October I was running past the old Frito Lay plant in Chamblee and back. On Thanksgiving morning I ran the Atlanta Half Marathon, from Chamblee down Peachtree to Atlanta Stadium – in under two hours. Another great feeling of accomplishment.

BRAVES: Here we go again. People are already having unrealistic expectations about the Braves in general and specifically Colon and Dickey. Steak has it all wrong, saying they should let the prospects pitch at SunTrust. The high end of this team is 81 wins and third place. Colon and Dickey will eat innings, but maybe nothing else. Winning half their games will be a plus. The Cubs and Mets spent years rebuilding – Atlanta is still in the middle of theirs.

 

Star Wars Day is May 6th. I guess I will go for the RA Dickey bobblehead. That will be my first game. I’ll also go to the Star Wars game the next Saturday in Gwinnett for the Sean Kazmar Yoda bobble. Gotta get an extra Kazmar to trade for a Uecker Magic 8 Ball, the only 2017 giveaway I really wanted.

 

Been listening to 680 hoping to win Braves Yankees tickets, but no dice. Might’ve told you coworker Chris won a pair. He’s also going to the first two games in April.

 

Any other observations? Are the Sox asking too much for their lefty?

 

ROB: I think they came to the conclusion last year that Wisler and Blair were not long term answers.  They will still get some starts, but like Coppy said, they will need to be earned, not just given. I think the 8 man bullpen and 4 man bench is a mistake.  With the deeper pen, the manager will over-manage and give pitches to someone who probably should not be in the majors.  And with a 4 man bench, you have to keep versatile, light hitting players as opposed to defensively limited players who may be better hitters.  I hope the Braves don't bite on Quintana.

 

ME: Left work Wednesday at 5:55. Stopped by Taco Bell and walked into the classroom at JFBC right at 6 pm. Of the 21 in attendance I noticed at least 13 had beverages. Used to be taboo, but not any more.

 

Was home by 8:30. Stayed up to watch Designated Survivor at ten. Every week it gets better. At 9:30 I remember I hadn’t registered for the Peachtree Road Race. The deadline was midnight, so I got on line and registered. This will be my 30th Peachtree, and Will’s 14th.  M arrived home from work, and sat with us for a while.

MyCokeRewards

For several years Coca-Cola has had a rewards program. You key in the code from the cap or box. While I rarely buy Coke products, I collect the codes from work and other places. Over the years I’ve used them to get Nike apparel, magazine subscriptions, even a pair of sneakers. The points program was launched right when I had won a year’s supply of Coke. The past few years it would take longer to build up enough points to get something halfway substantial. Since only 75 points can be entered per week, and I only keyed in codes every six weeks or so, I’d always have a bagful of codes to enter. Kinda like a hobby, like stamp collecting. Coke recently announced the program would be discontinued, so I finally got all the codes entered. “Bought” two Amazon gift certificates and a magazine subscription.   

 

Typical Monday evening. Left work at six and drove straight home. Haven’t felt like stopping much. Back kinda hurt. Ceil baked pizza. Very good. Also salad. Wheel. Jeopardy. The Voice. The Middle. Bed. M worked.
 
Left home Tuesday morning without lunch. Means I’m falling behind in the leftover battle. Stopped by Chickfila for a free biscuit. I was all set to go out for lunch but there was a group having a lunch meeting, so I waited to see if there would be leftovers. In the meantime I grabbed a cup of Cheerios from my car. Then Rodney brought over a Chickfila chicken biscuit. Then Sherryl had extra baked beans from Fresh Market. Extra tasty. Then the meeting leftovers came out, so I ate half a turkey wrap. Good thing I hadn’t eaten the cereal.
 
Found a recent UGA basketball bobblehead last night at a thrift store. C was working on report cards. Spaghetti, Jeopardy, The Middle, and GT/Ole Miss. Sounds like next Tuesday GT will play the winner of two smaller schools, Bakersfield and someone else. GT is good at defending teams that rely on three-pointers, like Indiana and Belmont did.

 

Around 8:30 I walked outside to make a call on my cell phone. Glenn Burns had been breaking in to discuss the storm, which he said was approaching West Cobb. I could see lightning off in the distance. All of a sudden the tops of the tall pine trees across the street starting whipping around furiously. Had to run for cover. M was on his way home so I tracked him in.

 

MC works with the teenagers at Augusta Frist Presbyterian, and has been having the girls over to their townhouse on Tuesday nights for coffee and tea.

 

Had a headache Wednesday morning.

 

Wednesday lunch = Pappasitos leftovers.
Thursday lunch = homemade pizza or other leftovers.
Friday lunch = lunch meeting catered by Ippilitos Italian   

 

When C is out of town I’m usually eating up leftovers and other food we have in the fridge and cupboard. I’d cook eggs and bacon and chicken and chili and quesadillas and burritos and salad, just off the top of my head. Maybe black beans. Guess I’d get good at hamburgers as well. Wouldn’t get too fancy. Ceil’s been buying freshly made pizza dough. I could make pizzas out of that. I’ve cooked pancakes and waffles in the past. Never was a big smoothie person but those would be healthy. I don’t like bananas but would add strawberries and vanilla or chocolate protein powder. But saying is easier than doing.

 

I like boneless wings – oriental or bbq. Regular wings are so much trouble to eat. M brought home a bottle Korean BBQ sauce. A tiny taste is ok, but when I put it on my turkey sandwich it wasn’t so good.

 

Speaking of Whole Foods, I asked M what happens to all the food on the buffet when they close. At his merchants Walk store someone from Johnson Ferry Baptist Church picks it up and takes it to feed the homeless.

Andruw Jones: HOF?

Watched the Driven episode featuring Andruw Jones this weekend. They state his case for the Hall of Fame. For ten years Andruw was at the top of his game, winning ten straight Gold Gloves and averaging 36 home runs a year. Five of those years he made the All-Star team and garnered MVP votes, finishing as high as second in 2005. One argument is that Andruw was every bit of an excellent fielder the great shortstop Ozzie Smith was – plus Andruw slugged 406 more home runs more than the Wizard. Is this a valid argument?

 

While Ozzie was no slugger, he outperformed Andruw in many offensive categories: average, runs, hits, double, triples, stolen bases, more walks. Andruw struck out at a rate three times more often than Ozzie. Dale Murphy’s stats are comparably to Andruw’s, and Dale’s two MVP’s haven’t gotten him into the HOF. While Chipper only hit 34 more homers, his 303 career average as a switch-hitter will make him a first-ballot inductee.

 

avg.OBP.SLG.OPS.TB..gdp.hbp.SH.SF.mvp.GG.as

254 337 486 823 3690 192 97 006 71   05  10  05 AJ

262 337 328 666 3084 167 33 214 63   06  13  15 OS

265 346 469 815 3733 209 28 006 60   07  05  07 DM

303 401 529 930 4755 253 18 003 97   13  00  08 CJ

Ozzie played in three times as many All-Star games. He was also one of the most popular players in baseball history. He rightly deserves his spot in Cooperstown.

 

YR….G……PA……runs...hits..2B..3B.HR..RBI…SB….BB.…SO…

17 2196 08664 1204 1933 383 36 434 1289 152 0891 1748 AJ

19 2573 10778 1257 2460 402 69 028 0793 580 1072 0589 OS

18 2180 09041 1197 2111 161 68 398 1266 161 0986 1748 DM

19 2499 10614 1619 2726 549 38 468 1623 150 1512 1409 CJ

 

Andruw’s perpetual smile and graceful play translated into a laissez-faire attitude that some writers and fans thought lackadaisical. Though Andruw played in 153 or more games for eleven straight years, many mistakenly thought he was loafing. But all the spectacular diving catches and crashes into outfield walls took their toll on his body. The Braves let him walk at just the right time. Jones bounced around to five teams in five years, adding only 66 home runs to his total.

 

While none of the sluggers on the all-time home run list ahead of Andruw have ten straight Gold Gloves, few of the 19 players with fewer than 500 homers are in the Hall – only Gehrig, Musial, Stargell, Chipper, Winfield, Yaz, Bagwell. All played longer than Andruw and had other reasons for induction.

 

Despite being one of the greatest centerfielders of all time, It’s highly doubtful Andruw Jones will ever be voted into the Hall of Fame.

Brady's Receivers

Just read another excellent Sports Illustrated article about Tom Brady, this one from the January 23rd issue. In it author Tim Layden writes about the many connections Brady had quietly made with receivers over the past 26 seasons (including four at Sierra High School and five at Michigan). In 17 NFL seasons Brady has thrown completions to 99 different receivers, including 16 receivers who only caught a single pass. This group includes HOF TE Kellen Winslow and offensive linemen Joe Andruzzi and Logan Mankins. Some of the highlights:

 

John Kirby was Brady’s receiver when they were both high school freshmen. Now Kirby is an assistant coach at their alma mater. They still talk or text a couple times a year. Last summer a Sierra graduate was shot and killed in a San Francisco Park. The grad’s family had moved from Boston to SF a few years ago. The grad had been friends with Kirby. Kirby talked to Brady, who volunteered to write a letter to the family. Brady’s letter, two handwritten pages, was delivered ten days after the shooting.

 

Giovanni Toccagino was another receiver in high school, who hadn’t stayed in touch with Brady (he didn’t want to be “that” guy). When his six year-old had to write a celebrity for a school assignment, Giovanni suggested Brady. A few weeks’ later a note arrived in the mail from Brady, along with some autographed pictures.

 

At Michigan Brady shared an apartment with tight end Aaron Shea, who remembered hearing Brady leave every morning at 5:30 am to run steps. When his son was born in 2011 Shea texted Brady, asking him to be the godfather. Brady texted back “It would be my honor.”

 

Last fall Shea and his family met Brady in the stadium tunnel after the game in Cleveland. Without being asked, Brady gave the family his jersey.  

 

Tai Sheets, one of Brady’s receivers at Michigan, doesn’t text Tom much, but traveled to Indy and met Brady after the Colts game. Sheets called him “down to earth.”

 

In 2006 David Terrell, another Wolverine receiver of Brady’s, took his 8 year-old son to watch one of Brady’s off-season workouts. Brady threw passes to the kid, who last year played for the Illinois state championship (and is a huge Brady fan).

 

When Brady won his record 201st game, former Patriots receiver Deion Branch sent him a congratulatory text: “it was an honor to have played some of those games with you.” Brady texted back “It was an honor to play with you.”

 

Patriots receiver Julian Edelman: “Tom taught me how to be a professional, how to treat people in the workplace.” “He went out of his way to take me under his wing.”

 

When Donte Stallworth dropped a touchdown pass in practice Brady started yelling. Stallworth though the QB was mad at him, but Brady was mad that he hadn’t led Stallworth enough. Against the Cowboys Brady called a play. After the huddle broke he and Stallworth realized the receiver had never practiced it before. Brady said “just go deep” – and they connected on a 69 yard TD.

 

Pats receiver Chris Hogan played lacrosse in college, was cut by three teams, played four years for the Bills before signing with the Pats. When he introduced himself to Brady, Tom knew who he was.

Late Friday afternoon I got involved in some projects and stayed at work until six. C was going shopping and I was to meet her at the Avalon in Alpharetta. On the way I stopped by the bank and two thrift stores. After we met I headed out toward Roswell and realized I needed to drop off my car at the shop. While she shopped I stopped by two QuikTrips looking for their pizza, RaceTrac, two more thrift stores, a Shell station, and Taco Bell. 

 

The drive thru line at Taco Bell was too long so I went inside. Ordered one of those triple layer crunchwap supremes. Had it been fewer layers it would’ve been all taco shells. Good though. Then I met C at the shop. So it was late when we got home.

 

Saturday morning I cleaned some upstairs. C went to the Y and later took me to get my car. She drove to Clarkston to help with the Refuge Coffee yard sale. I was headed to the office to do taxes. As a pre-reward I stopped by Ci Cis Pizza for lunch. Got to the office at 12:30 and stayed past six. First did Anna’s taxes then Matthew’s, then got going on mine. Did 95% of the taxes but have a few things I need to look up. Didn’t get home until after 7 pm.

 

My stomach wasn’t feeling well the rest of the evening – I have no idea why. Didn’t eat anything else. Watch the new Hallmark Channel movie starring Danica McClellar (aka Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years). Slept real good.

 

M had a big weekend. Worked Friday night. Drove west to Douglasville, then east to Chamblee, south to Little Five Points, and back west to Douglassville before coming home. Sunday his band practiced, then he worked again.

 

I wasn’t 100% Sunday AM but went to church anyway. Grilled chicken and salad for lunch. PB&J for supper. Took it easy. Watched GT beat Belmont. Also C’s favorite movie: Two Weeks’ Notice. Then “Tootsie.” M arrived just after the climactic scene. Had he been there I would’ve had him watch it.

Bigger Threat: ISIS or Climate Change?

I don't want to simply reprint emails and blog posts very frequently, but this poll was hard to resist.

 

joelcrosenberg posted: " (New York City) -- A stunning finding in the new poll we released today: almost two-out-of-three liberals believe climate change poses a greater threat to the American people than Iran and the Islamic State obtaining nuclear, chemical and/or biological "     American liberals fear climate change more than ISIS with weapons of mass destruction, finds new poll. [Rush Limbaugh discusses the poll and my book on his program.] by joelcrosenberg (New York City) -- A stunning finding in the new poll we released today: almost two-out-of-three liberals believe climate change poses a greater threat to the American people than Iran and the Islamic State obtaining nuclear, chemical and/or biological weapons. This is just one of several intriguing if sobering findings in a national survey we recently commissioned from McLaughlin & Associates, a leading U.S. polling firm. Today, Rush Limbaugh -- the leading radio talk show host in the country with more than 20 million listeners -- discussed the poll on his program. Here's the transcript from his website: RUSH LIMBAUGH: You know, our old buddy Joel Rosenberg — who is now an acclaimed novelist about fictional events in the Middle East and the United States that are very closely attached to potential reality — has a new book out, and it centers on an ISIS plan to attack the U.S., Israel, and Jordan. Joel partnered with the McLaughlin group [McLaughlin & Associates] not long ago to do a massive nationwide poll of the American people and their thoughts on ISIS. How big a threat do you think ISIS is? Are we beating ISIS? Are we even engaging ISIS? Is ISIS okay? Is ISIS bad? Are we winning? Are we losing? He called me and said, "Would you like to add a question to the survey?" And I said, "Really?" He said, "Yeah." I said, "Okay. Ask the respondents if they fear climate change or ISIS the most." It was a joke question! He said, "It's a great question; I'll put it in there," and he did. And you know what? A majority of [liberal] Americans fear climate change more than they do ISIS, according to Joel's poll. Ha! I think everybody that was… I mean, Joel thought I was cracking a joke when I wanted the question in there. And I said, "Joel, you'll be surprised here. I mean, the left has been pushing this issue far more than they've been pushing ISIS. Climate change is considered a greater threat by a majority of Americans than is ISIS." So Joel's got the poll. He's got a piece at Fox News today analyzing and reporting on the poll results. It is designed to coincide with his new book, which was released on Tuesday. And, again, all of this is being done on the basis that there really isn't a heightened awareness or concern or — not fear, but — an alertness to the threat that we face from Islamic jihadists, be it ISIS or Al-Qaeda or whoever. And clearly the Democrat Party and their judicial branch, they're willing to roll the dice. They'll do anything to stop Trump, mount the resistance, and they'll deal with the fallout (if there is any) later. Here's some of the key takeaways from Joel Rosenberg's poll: "How do Americans view the war with the Islamic State?"  You ready for this? It found 63% of liberal Americans believe "the threat of climate change is greater than the threat of Iran and ISIS obtaining weapons of mass destruction."  Of liberal Americans, Democrats think climate change is a greater threat than Islamic terrorism. Less than 10% of the American people believe we are engaged in a war against Islam.  That's big, that less than 10% believe that we're engaged in a war on Islam, because the judge claims the exact opposite. Trump's trying to wipe Islam out, keep 'em from coming into the country and so forth.  Forty-one percent of Americans believe we're losing the war against the Islamic State.  Twenty-five percent say they're not sure. This morning, FoxNews.com published a column of mine — "Are We Winning Or Losing The War Against ISIS?" — in which I examine the latest intelligence, and reveal some of the polling data. You can read the full column by clicking here. We have published a detailed polling memo so you can see all the questions we asked, the results, the methodology, and many of the cross-tabs. You can read the polling memo by clicking here. We have also issued a press released explaining the poll. You can read the full press release by clicking here.

 

 

Cartoon Man & The Beard

A Sports Illustrated article detailing the resurgence of Houston Rocket James Harden listed as one of the factors Atlanta-based “motivational speaker” Tim Elmore, a frequent guest preacher at North Point. Tim’s specialty is teenagers and parenting. He used to give devotionals during children’s church as “Tim the Cartoon Man” and seek out celebrities on airplanes to discuss their faith. 

 

Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni used to coach the Suns, Knicks, and Lakers. The Rockets lead the NBA in three-pointers made and attempted. D’Antoni thinks the number of three-pointers will continue to increase. Is this a good thing? Yet the pick and roll is the most common set in the NBA, and no one uses it more efficiently than the Rockets James Harden.

 
I’m hearing rumors of a new professional 3 on 3 basketball league for older players. Allen Iverson and Charles Oakley will be player coaches. Other coaches include Dr. J and George Gervin. You’d think Michael Jordan would be all over this, but I know his knees aren’t too good.  

https://growingleaders.com/tim-elmore/?gclid=CjwKEAjwtbPGBRDhoLaqn6HknWsSJABR-o5sKoRj_P2Zqii-_OQQ2F58526x3ollVbdFyS2c53bc5xoCdNLw_wcB

680 is giving out tickets to the March 31 Braves Yankees game. Register at 680.com and listen to win. They call out names periodically throughout the day. One of the 30-60 ticket winners wins season tickets. Both me and coworker Chris have registered. He came in this morning and said to listen at 10:45 for the name. I listened – and they called out his name! Hopefully he will take me.

 

FUN FACT: my blog posts about UGA receive more than ten times the visits of my posts about Georgia Tech.

 

Coworker Rodney was eating at a seafood place on Washington Road in Augusta this week and saw Dustin Johnson and wife Paulina Gretzky.

 

Is now the time for Christians to object to immoral behavior from their president? Why start now? Trump is not the first chief executive to make a practice of lying or engaging in other amorous activities. He’s not the first president who professes to be a Christian to lie and cheat. Who are we to judge?

 

Presidents should be held to a higher standard, I agree. But Christians can’t hold non-Christians to Christian standards (though God judges all men by the same standard). But why all of a sudden call out the new president – after living through eight years of deceit and outright lies? I still don’t know who all these evangelical Christians are that supposedly support Trump. The same people who keep bringing up these Christian Trump supporters also want to throw out discussion of the election, and how neither candidate was honest. I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for all politicians to suddenly become honest. What’s next? Expecting car salesmen to be honest? Living in an increasingly fallen world is a fact of life. Pretty sure that’s Biblical as well.

 

On the subject of politics, have you seen the ultra-hokey Judson Hill ad? I pledge my support to the guy from East Cobb and what does he do? Who’s idea was that? If Hill loses, he only has himself to blame.  

 
I hate it when people interrupt speakers. They are in their own world and don’t realize that this is a speaking giving a speech, as opposed to a conversation between people. Interrupting is just plain rude and selfish. It’s the world we live in today. People are so self-centered they don’t even realize they’re doing it. I used to have a friend that every time I was in a big group and tell a joke, right after I told the punch line – but before everyone could laugh – would almost shout “Oh! I get it! That’s funny because…” and proceed to explain the joke. Jokes are a lot less funny once someone takes five minutes to detail why they’re funny.

 

Read an article about taking a hot shower 60-90 minutes before bed. Cooling off gets your brain and body ready for sleep. I also read another article about how taking a 30 second cold shower before bed helps you lose weight. Guess I need to try it.

 

When I was a kid I’d have come up to Lenox to see an allergist. That was back in the 60’s when there was a Colonial grocery store down at the far end.  Also saw an allergist in Macon. They’d do the back scratch tests. I was allergic to dogs, cats, chicken, and lots of other things. Not sure if they figured out then that I was allergic to fish.

 

That’s wild about Charles Q moving to Virginia. A gig he can keep until retirement, perhaps.

 

After the last major ice storm Governor Deal passed a law requiring citizens seeing a snowflake to report it on social media.

 

Q: Name the player…pro football hall of fame. College football hall of fame. NFL champion. National champion in college football. Two-time All-American. Batted .340 three straight years as a pro. Rushed for 344 yards against Vandy – on 12 carries – for Georgia Tech. Came to Tech after playing for Pop Warner at the Carlisle Indian Technical School in Minnesota. Played on GT’s 1917 national championship team. Coached by John Heisman and Pop Warner. Played with Jim Thorpe. Later a backfield coach at Tech, head football coach at Union College in Tennessee, head baseball coach  at Clemson, and managed minor league baseball teams in Anderson and Asheville.

A: Joe Guyon.

Baskin-Robbins: True Confessions

At Baskin Robbins the low man would have to mop the floor at closing. If a guy was working with a girl the guy would mop, but there weren’t that many female employees. High man would put the money in the safe, wash the dishes, and clean the glass. On winter nights we’d try and have everything done by closing time (10 pm) if possible, even mopping. We’d get paid until 10:30 regardless.

 

During summer we’d stay open until 11 pm, then clean up. In summer we were busier, so the store would get messier.

 

Every night when I’d leave I usually took a double dip to eat on the way home. Milkshakes and malts were ok, as were “sundaes” – ice cream with a topping. Wasn’t a fan of too many ingredients put together, like banana splits. The ice cream was so good nothing extra needed to be added.

 

My favorite flavors: chocolate ribbon, pralines and cream, peanut butter & chocolate, daiquiri ice, English toffee, chocolate chip, chocolate mint chip, peach, peach melba, strawberry. Various flavors with chocolate, caramel, and peanuts, like Tin Roof. I started liking the cheesecake ice creams before I’d ever eaten cheesecake: strawberry cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, and cherry cheesecake would rotate periodically. Perhaps now I’d like Pistachio ice cream, or at least Pistachio Almond Fudge. Since I wasn’t a coffee drinker I didn’t really like Jamoca, or Jamoca Almond Fudge. Never a big fan of Rocky Road due to the marshmallows. Flavors with a little marshmallow ribbon was ok, as long as it wasn’t too much.

 

Maconites love black walnut ice cream, though we’d rarely have it. Guess the home office in California didn’t realize the sales potential for this flavor in the South. Customers would have to settle for Butter Pecan.

 

Pink Bubble Gum ice cream was good, but the real pieces of gum were frozen and hard - until they warmed up in your mouth. You couldn’t eat too much of it because you’d have too much gum in your mouth. We’d call it “Pink Bubblescum” because kids would leave the gum everywhere.

 

At Chickfila I was glad I opened the store instead of closed. Closers had to mop and clean. When opening I got to cook (and eat) breakfast. 

Cow Fish sounds like a place I need to check out. Last weekend I was going through deleting junk emails and noticed Ruby Tuesday had a burger BOGO on Sunday. We’d eaten out 2 of the past 3 Sundays so I made note. Sure enough Sunday C was tired of chicken since we had it both Friday and Saturday. I suggested Ruby Tuesday, but we really didn’t feel like getting out.

 

Monday night C cooked spaghetti. Jeopardy, The Voice, and The Middle.

 

Tuesday M had a doctor’s appointment. Could be a vitamin deficiency. All the caffeine he drinks probably doesn’t help. Afterwards he went to work.

 

I left work at six. With all the clouds I have yet to notice the difference with the time change. Made one quick stop. Ceil cooked beef tips, rice, and broccoli. The beef was too chewy so I didn’t eat much. Afterwards I packed up the leftovers while C did the dishes. We’re still working through leftovers from last week. I put all of Thursday night’s pizza in the freezer for later. C’s been eating the chicken from Friday night, but there’s still a little left. I put last night’s broccoli in with the chicken. I’ve been eating Saturday night’s burritos for lunch yesterday, today, and tomorrow. There’s also the leftover beef tips and Monday night’s leftover spaghetti.  

 

In addition to GT/Indiana we watched The Middle and The Voice.

 

Had a dream I was chaperoning a youth retreat at SPdL.  Tony Korey was wearing a navy blazer, khaki slacks, white dress shirt, and tie. Benjamin Sheffield was wearing a dark tweet suit. Not sure why they were so dressed up, or why Sheffield was on a youth retreat.

 

Wednesday: just tried to stay warm. Left at five. Stopped by Taco Bell. JFBC for class. Guest teacher was good. Stopped by the library and bank on the way home. The Voice and bed. M worked late.

 

Coworker Alex sometimes drives a jacked-up monster pickup truck to work. Not sure how he climbs inside. Wednesday afternoon when leaving work he turned the wheel too tight and felt a little bump like he’d run something over. He got out to check. He’d run over something all right: the hood of coworker Julie’s car. $5,000.00 worth of damage.

 

Things are going well with our team. There are fewer problems to fix. RH is working hard to resolve problems that in the past no one had the time to work on. Young RG and AH are learning and performing tasks, taking work off me. BM is streamlining things and fixing problems that I used to have to fix. Believe it or not there are some things I know that he doesn’t. JH now has more time to work on getting new business. Things aren’t perfect, and we might have excess material down the road (we have some now), but we have ways to address these problems.

 

Thursday we went out to eat, to Pappasitos again. Split the chicken fajitas and still had some to take home. Both the chicken and the steak just melt in your mouth. Always super crowded, but we didn’t have to wait. Drove around SunTrust Park again. Saw some new pedestrian bridges on the northwest side of the park for the first time. Several roads were blocked. I’ll go back a week from tomorrow to walk around.

 

Got home at 9:30 and watched the second half of Chicago Med. Flipped around to check on all the games but missed Vandy’s flubs. My voice had been scratchy all day. M met with some of his classmates before work yesterday afternoon. He filled out a bracket.

Today: green-trimmed sneakers and baseball-themed socks never clash on St. Patrick's Day.

Top Ten Dawgs

The Top 13 Georgia Bulldogs football players. All were All-Americans and members of the college football hall of fame.

 

13. Bill Hartman FB

12. John Rauch QB

11. Bob McWhorter HB

10. Kevin Butler 2xAA. Only kicker in the CFHOF.

9. Fran Tarkenton QB PFHOF

8. Vernon Catfish Smith DE CAA

7. Jake Scott FS CAA

6. Bill Stanfill DT CAA Outland Trophy

5. Terry Hoage FS 2xCAA

4. David Pollack 3xAA Lombardi & Bednarik Awards

3. Charley Trippi HB CAA Maxwell Award

2. Fireball Frankie Sinkwich HB  2xCAA Heisman 

1. Herschel Walker RB 3xCAA Heisman. Gained more yards than any other football player in history.

 

Honorable mentions:

 

Two-time All-Americas: Joe Bennett T, Zeke Bratkowski QB, Pat Dye G, Edgar Chandler OG, Tommy Lyons C, Rex Robinson K, Matt Stinchcomb OL (Draddy Award),  Jarvis Jones LB

 

Consensus All-America: Tom Nash E, Royce Smith OG, Randy Johnson OG, Joel Parrish OG, Jeff Sanchez S, Peter Anderson C, Tim Worley TB, Garrison Hurst (Doak Walker Award), Thomas Davis FS, Greg Blue FS, Max Jean Giles OG, Drew Butler (Ray Guy Award)

 

All-Americans: David Paddock QB, Chick Shiver End, Herb Maffett End, Red Maddox G, John Bond HB, George Poschner End, Mike Castronis T, Herb St John G, Dan Edwards End, Harry Babcock End, Johnny Carson End, Jim Wilson T, Ray Rissmiller T, George Patton DT, Lynn Hughes S, Steve Greer DT, Royce Smith, Craig Hertwig OT, Mike Moonpie Wilson OT, Ben Zambiasi LB, Allan Leavitt K, George Collins OG, Bill Krug LB, Scott Woerner CB, Jimmy Payne DT, Freddie Gilbert DE, John Little S, Wilbur Strozier OT, Troy Sadowski TE, Richard Seymour DT, Jon Stinchcomb OT, Sean Jones R, Knowshon Moreno RB, Rennie Curran LB, Justin Houston LB, Bacarri Rambo FS

 

Retired number: Theron Sapp RB (the drought breaker). Also Trippi, Sinkwich, and Walker.

 

Other notables: Buck Belue, Rodrigo Blankenship, Chris Carpenter, Nick Chubb, Steve Dennis, John Kasay, Bobby Etter, David Greene, Mack Guest, Todd Gurley, Zippy Morocco, Marshall Morgan, Aaron Murray, Rex Putnal, Peter Rajecki, Lindsay Scott, Matt Stafford, Hines Ward, David Weeks, Gene Washington

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Bulldogs_football