- Talking points
- Alliances
- Mega-wealthy (usually preceded by "tax breaks for the")
- I approve this message
- Playing the game
I'm sure I will think of more later.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Words and Phrases I'm Tired of Hearing
I'm sure I will think of more later.
Monday, September 25, 2006
New House
After jumping through a bunch of hoops and hitting every possible roadblock when buying a house, I just closed on a condo. It's in Hendersonville, across the street from the lake. 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. I will post some pictures this week. I will be moving this weekend.
Pending updates
I haven't updated in a while. I've got a few big news items that I will be sharing, but I'm not ready just yet. Look for an update tonight.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Finally!
Our Tuesday game was rained out and we made it up last night. We were playing the team that had beat us so bad last week. They didn't really beat us, we just walked most of them the entire game. Anyway, last night the boys came out in the first inning and played good defense and kept them from scoring the 1st 2 innings. We scored 3 in the bottom of the first on actual hits! They were really hitting the ball last night. I haven't checked the book, but I think everyone at least put the bat on the ball. During the 3rd inning, they scored 3 to even it up. We threatened, but couldn't score in the 4th.
We started the 5th and held them from scoring. We got up to bat with Z being the lead off. I told him to bunt so we'd have a baserunner. He laid down a beautiful bunt that just barely went foul down the 3rd base line. I signaled for him to swing away because they were playing in looking for the bunt. He fouled one down the 3rd baseline again. So now he's got 0-2 count. Next 3 pitches were balls. Next pitch, he hits back up the middle for a single. My #2 batter gets up and gets a wild pitch, Z steals 2nd. #2 batter hits it back to the pitcher, who throws to first getting the out. But Z advanced to 3rd. I was coaching 3rd, so I had Z make the turn and threaten to go home. The 1st baseman ran in towards home to keep Z from going, then when Z turned back to 3rd, 1st threw it to the pitcher and he missed it. I sent Z in and he scored the winning run. Because we still had 1 minute, we kept playing (we play 6 innings, but won't start a new inning after 1.5 hours). We had a K and a out at first, then they called ballgame. Final score: 4-3. I had to take the boys to Sonic for ice cream after that one.
We started the 5th and held them from scoring. We got up to bat with Z being the lead off. I told him to bunt so we'd have a baserunner. He laid down a beautiful bunt that just barely went foul down the 3rd base line. I signaled for him to swing away because they were playing in looking for the bunt. He fouled one down the 3rd baseline again. So now he's got 0-2 count. Next 3 pitches were balls. Next pitch, he hits back up the middle for a single. My #2 batter gets up and gets a wild pitch, Z steals 2nd. #2 batter hits it back to the pitcher, who throws to first getting the out. But Z advanced to 3rd. I was coaching 3rd, so I had Z make the turn and threaten to go home. The 1st baseman ran in towards home to keep Z from going, then when Z turned back to 3rd, 1st threw it to the pitcher and he missed it. I sent Z in and he scored the winning run. Because we still had 1 minute, we kept playing (we play 6 innings, but won't start a new inning after 1.5 hours). We had a K and a out at first, then they called ballgame. Final score: 4-3. I had to take the boys to Sonic for ice cream after that one.
Monday, August 28, 2006
0-3
Game 2 was rough. We let a few kids who had never pitched before pitch and it was a walk-fest. The good news was we hit the ball a little better, but wasn't able to make up all the walked in runs.
Game 3 this past Saturday was a little better. We pitched another new pitcher, but he threw strikes. The other team was hitting everything he threw, but that's better than walks. On the offensive side, we got the bases loaded a couple of times but couldn't really take advantage of it. Z did steal 2 bases, 1 of which was home, scoring the first run of the game. We put in our star pitcher the last 2 innings and shut them down, but we couldn't mount enough offense to come back.
Game 3 this past Saturday was a little better. We pitched another new pitcher, but he threw strikes. The other team was hitting everything he threw, but that's better than walks. On the offensive side, we got the bases loaded a couple of times but couldn't really take advantage of it. Z did steal 2 bases, 1 of which was home, scoring the first run of the game. We put in our star pitcher the last 2 innings and shut them down, but we couldn't mount enough offense to come back.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Baseball game
Well, my record as head coach is now 0-1. We lost our game last night 4-3. We definitely need some work on hitting. I haven't reviewed the scorebook yet, but I'm pretty sure all 3 runs were from walks and steals.
Next game is Monday night.
Next game is Monday night.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Racism and Christianity
Wow, our church service today was amazing. The pastor spoke about racism. Growing up in the south, even in the 80's, I was exposed to a lot of racist attitudes. My parents and their friends often told racial jokes and made comments. It was just something I never really thought much about until I was an adult. Because I have been able to work and interact with people of different races and nationalities, I realized that you cannot judge a person by their color.
We watched part of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech from 1963. It moved me to tears because I realized that it's been a couple of weeks shy of 43 years since he gave that speech and most of what he spoke about has not come to pass. And the truly sad part is that a lot of the people who still harbor prejudice towards other races were sitting in churches today. I personally know several people who regularly attend church, yet use racist words to describe entire groups of people. How can they reconcile this? I knew a woman who told me that I shouldn't let my son read the Harry Potter books because they were evil, when she freely used the "N" word around her son. Our children will learn from us. We should be teaching them to love, not to hate.
There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
We watched part of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech from 1963. It moved me to tears because I realized that it's been a couple of weeks shy of 43 years since he gave that speech and most of what he spoke about has not come to pass. And the truly sad part is that a lot of the people who still harbor prejudice towards other races were sitting in churches today. I personally know several people who regularly attend church, yet use racist words to describe entire groups of people. How can they reconcile this? I knew a woman who told me that I shouldn't let my son read the Harry Potter books because they were evil, when she freely used the "N" word around her son. Our children will learn from us. We should be teaching them to love, not to hate.
There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:28
Friday, August 11, 2006
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Happy Birthday
to me! I've been 34 for about 3 hours now. There's nothing like having a birthday and having your son start high school the next day to make you feel old.
I'm celebrating by picking A and Z up tonight, going to dinner and then a round of mini-golf.
I'm celebrating by picking A and Z up tonight, going to dinner and then a round of mini-golf.
Friday, July 28, 2006
First night of baseball practice
Well, I survived my first night of coaching the baseball team Monday night. I had a couple of dads volunteer to help out and we split the kids up and had some hitting practice balls and the rest taking infield. We've got some pretty good kids. There are 2 that have never played before, so I want to make sure I work with them. I have 6 more practices to get them all ready to play.
One thing I learned about being the coach. There is no leaving right after practice. I ended up talking to various parents for 15 minutes after practice. Z and I had just enough time to run through Wendy's drive-through and make it to the high school for A's band meeting.
Our next practice is Saturday at high noon. I hope it's not too hot.
One thing I learned about being the coach. There is no leaving right after practice. I ended up talking to various parents for 15 minutes after practice. Z and I had just enough time to run through Wendy's drive-through and make it to the high school for A's band meeting.
Our next practice is Saturday at high noon. I hope it's not too hot.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Coaching
I found out Monday that I will be the head coach for Z's fall baseball team. Z is very excited about it. I went to the coach's meeting/draft last night. I think this will be very fun. I've assistant coached before back when A played ball, but never head coached. I ended up w/ ten 8, 9 & 10 year olds, 2 w/ pitching experience. The fall league is a lot more relaxed than spring. There's only going to be 3 teams in our age group. It will be good for the kids to work on the fundamentals of the game and not have as much pressure to win. I think striving to win is important, but I don't like the situations where I've seen coaches focus all their attention on those 5 or 6 good players and forget about the 3 or 4 that could be good if they just had some instruction.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Gatlinburg
I am on vacation this week and it has been the week A and Z stay with me in the summer. We went to Gatlinburg for a couple of days and had a great time. We went to the aquarium which is awesome. We went to a place called Wonderworks which was dubbed as "An amusement park for the mind." It was fun, but a little crowded. Later that night, we went on a 3D ride which was fun. The next day, we drove up to Newfound Gap and hiked up a trail. It was very cool to get away from all the crowds and be the only 3 people in sight. I got a lot of good pictures, i'll include a few here
Shark at the aquarium
Wonderworks (yes the building is upside down)
View from Newfound Gap
A & Z during our hike
A big log + 10 second timer = picture of all 3 of us
River in the Smokies
Shark at the aquarium
Wonderworks (yes the building is upside down)
View from Newfound Gap
A & Z during our hike
A big log + 10 second timer = picture of all 3 of us
River in the Smokies
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Baseball playoffs
Z's team played in their 2nd playoff game last night and won 7-1. They are playing the championship game tonight. They have played great all year, but last night they were just awesome. They were very fired up. The game was 1-1 up until the 4th inning when his team scored 6 more runs. There were several defensive plays late in the game that kept the other team from scoring. Z struck out once and hit a fly out to 1st base.
We're heading to the championship game now.
We're heading to the championship game now.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Nashville Zoo
This weekend, my company had a picnic at the Nashville Zoo. I got to take A & Z even though it wasn't my weekend. They've improved the zoo since it moved to Grassmere, but they still need to expand it (which they are). We had a pretty good time and some good food. Here are some pictures...
Elephants
The newest addition, giraffes (they were pretty far away)
"Are you lookin at me?"
Big anaconda
Iguana
Huge turtle. I took one w/ Z standing next to it to get some scale, but it was dark in the room w/ the aquarium lighted, so I used a flash and it darkened the aquarium. Trust me, it was huge.
The antelope looking animal is a Bongo.
Elephants
The newest addition, giraffes (they were pretty far away)
"Are you lookin at me?"
Big anaconda
Iguana
Huge turtle. I took one w/ Z standing next to it to get some scale, but it was dark in the room w/ the aquarium lighted, so I used a flash and it darkened the aquarium. Trust me, it was huge.
The antelope looking animal is a Bongo.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Summer Movies
This has been the weekend for summer blockbusters. Sunday, I took A & Z to see X-Men: The Last Stand. You could tell Bryan Singer wasn't at the helm for this one, because it just didn't have the character development like 1 & 2. Also, I despise Halle Berry because she, from what I heard, bucked for more screen time for her character, Storm. Storm happens to be my least favorite character in the franchise, so thanks Halle. Yea, you look good in a leather suit, but your character is lame.
Today, I went to see Mission Impossible 3. The following paragraph will contain discussion about scenes from the movie, not spoilers, I will sanitize it so I don't give anything away. But if you don't want to know anything about the movie, don't read anymore.
I have yet to see MI:2, but I don't think anything carried over. Let's face it, these aren't exactly Lord of the Rings. Anyway, the movie itself was pretty good, very action packed. One thing I didn't like was, even though we are following the hero (Ethan Hunt), there were several action sequences when we don't know his objective. One second, he's deciding to go to city X, then it cuts to him running through a factory planting bombs. It was pretty easy to figure out what he was after, but how bout a little setup? Also, I'm fine with suspension of disbelief. I believe I have written on here before about it being okay to change the rules of the universe, but you must follow the rules the movie sets up. I can believe there really is a gov't agency called IMF that has highly trained agents. I can believe that Ethan Hunt can do these awesome stunts and not get hurt. But if you are going to use real world objects, don't change the rules just to build dramatic affect. A defibrillator that takes 30 seconds to charge? How useful would that be? These things are meant to save a person's life in an emergency, you can't tell me they take 30 seconds to turn on. My laptop boots faster than that. I may be wrong, it just seems they did it to build drama. Another thing I'm sick of seeing: someone getting shot and flying backwards. There's this annoying little thing we have called physics. In fact, in one scene Ethan is doing some calculations as a nod to physics, so why do they have to have one scene (no one else who is shot in the movie flys backwards) where someone gets shot and they go flying out the window behind them? There's that little law about equal and opposite reactions. Basically, in order for a bullet to strike someone with that much force, it would have to expend the same amount of force in the opposite direction, blowing the shooter back the same way the shootee was. Another nitpick, why cut down the time left to accomplish the mission to a point where it becomes unbelievable? At one point, they have 2 hours left til their objective and they are just now planning it. They come up w/ a lot of specialized equipment within 1.5 hours, plus apparently do more planning since things happen that we didn't see them talking about. We're talking stuff you don't go pick up at the corner Walgreens. My point is, it would have been more dramatic to say they had 6 hours left, then they pull it off at the last minute; instead of having this totally unbelievable time remaining.
Today, I went to see Mission Impossible 3. The following paragraph will contain discussion about scenes from the movie, not spoilers, I will sanitize it so I don't give anything away. But if you don't want to know anything about the movie, don't read anymore.
I have yet to see MI:2, but I don't think anything carried over. Let's face it, these aren't exactly Lord of the Rings. Anyway, the movie itself was pretty good, very action packed. One thing I didn't like was, even though we are following the hero (Ethan Hunt), there were several action sequences when we don't know his objective. One second, he's deciding to go to city X, then it cuts to him running through a factory planting bombs. It was pretty easy to figure out what he was after, but how bout a little setup? Also, I'm fine with suspension of disbelief. I believe I have written on here before about it being okay to change the rules of the universe, but you must follow the rules the movie sets up. I can believe there really is a gov't agency called IMF that has highly trained agents. I can believe that Ethan Hunt can do these awesome stunts and not get hurt. But if you are going to use real world objects, don't change the rules just to build dramatic affect. A defibrillator that takes 30 seconds to charge? How useful would that be? These things are meant to save a person's life in an emergency, you can't tell me they take 30 seconds to turn on. My laptop boots faster than that. I may be wrong, it just seems they did it to build drama. Another thing I'm sick of seeing: someone getting shot and flying backwards. There's this annoying little thing we have called physics. In fact, in one scene Ethan is doing some calculations as a nod to physics, so why do they have to have one scene (no one else who is shot in the movie flys backwards) where someone gets shot and they go flying out the window behind them? There's that little law about equal and opposite reactions. Basically, in order for a bullet to strike someone with that much force, it would have to expend the same amount of force in the opposite direction, blowing the shooter back the same way the shootee was. Another nitpick, why cut down the time left to accomplish the mission to a point where it becomes unbelievable? At one point, they have 2 hours left til their objective and they are just now planning it. They come up w/ a lot of specialized equipment within 1.5 hours, plus apparently do more planning since things happen that we didn't see them talking about. We're talking stuff you don't go pick up at the corner Walgreens. My point is, it would have been more dramatic to say they had 6 hours left, then they pull it off at the last minute; instead of having this totally unbelievable time remaining.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Proud dad
I am very proud of A, my oldest son. Tonight was his school's awards ceremony. For the second year in a row, he won Best Percussionist for his grade.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Upcoming Concerts
Awesome, I just heard The Black Crowes are playing this summer and Robert Randolph and the Family Band is opening.
June 27 at Starwood, tickets go on sale Saturday (May 13). Anyone want to go?
And as mentioned by the photogenic Jane, Steely Dan is playing Starwood on July 10, tickets are on sale now.
I need to start saving my pennies for tickets.
June 27 at Starwood, tickets go on sale Saturday (May 13). Anyone want to go?
And as mentioned by the photogenic Jane, Steely Dan is playing Starwood on July 10, tickets are on sale now.
I need to start saving my pennies for tickets.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
New Music
I've been sitting on this post for a week and a half, I just haven't had time to throw it out here.
A couple of new bands and an old band w/ new music...
Damone - Out Here All Night. I got the title track as a free iTunes download and liked it. It reminds me of 80's hard rock. I listened to the samples of the rest of the album and bought it. It's pretty good. I don't imagine it will stay in heavy rotation once it falls out of my "New Songs" playlist, but it's nice to hear a guitar solo that's more than 3 notes in modern music.
Wolfmother - Dimensions EP. I got Dimension as a free iTunes download and just went and bought the 4 song EP. Awesome. Take 3 Aussies, lock them in a room with a guitar, bass, drums and keyboard. Only let them listen to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Who and Pink Floyd for 6 months and this is what you get. They just released a full LP, but I haven't picked it up yet. Target has it for $7.99 vs. iTunes at $9.99.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium. It's not out yet, but I grabbed the single "Dani California" and it's really good. I haven't been really into RHCP since Mother's Milk/Blood Sugar Sex Magic, but their new one is on my wishlist.
A couple of new bands and an old band w/ new music...
Damone - Out Here All Night. I got the title track as a free iTunes download and liked it. It reminds me of 80's hard rock. I listened to the samples of the rest of the album and bought it. It's pretty good. I don't imagine it will stay in heavy rotation once it falls out of my "New Songs" playlist, but it's nice to hear a guitar solo that's more than 3 notes in modern music.
Wolfmother - Dimensions EP. I got Dimension as a free iTunes download and just went and bought the 4 song EP. Awesome. Take 3 Aussies, lock them in a room with a guitar, bass, drums and keyboard. Only let them listen to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Who and Pink Floyd for 6 months and this is what you get. They just released a full LP, but I haven't picked it up yet. Target has it for $7.99 vs. iTunes at $9.99.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium. It's not out yet, but I grabbed the single "Dani California" and it's really good. I haven't been really into RHCP since Mother's Milk/Blood Sugar Sex Magic, but their new one is on my wishlist.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Minimum Wage Update
I received a comment from State Representative Susan Lynn, who was quoted in my recent rant on Minimum Wage. It turns out she has a blog. Since I called her comments "idiotic", I thought I would be nice and include her comment to me and a link to the article she references.
Public Policy & Raising the Minimum Wage
I'm betting she found my rant by doing a "vanity search", but I still think it is great that lawmakers are taking the time to see what the public is saying about them and sharing information via blogs. What's even more impressive is that I'm not one of her constituents, I don't even know where the 57th district is. So it wasn't a case of "vote grubbing."
Dear Jeff,
I was pretty frustrated by the article too. Please remember, articles omit a lot of other comments.
Actually, I wrote a guest column in the Nashville City Paper. You can see that article on my blog: http://susan-lynn.blogspot.com
The article is called: Public Policy & Raising the Minimum Wage
Thank you for allowing me to respond.
Rep. Susan Lynn
Public Policy & Raising the Minimum Wage
I'm betting she found my rant by doing a "vanity search", but I still think it is great that lawmakers are taking the time to see what the public is saying about them and sharing information via blogs. What's even more impressive is that I'm not one of her constituents, I don't even know where the 57th district is. So it wasn't a case of "vote grubbing."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
