Texsox

I am enjoying an outsider trying to play a game they have no idea how it is played, or what the rules are. He will eventually have a few wins.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 16, 2017 -> 09:10 AM) And on the continuing list of positions that have been completely flip-flopped, now the Democrats are talking about shutting down the government if they don't get their way. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/us/polit...crats.html?_r=0 I already wrote my representative and viewed my displeasure at resorting to those tactics. Of course y'all don't mind and believe it is a fine strategy.

Nice.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 28, 2017 -> 03:00 PM) TV is the perfect retirement venue for AJ. 2nd best. I'd like to see him uncensored.

QUOTE (StrykerSox @ Mar 18, 2017 -> 01:08 AM) Not sure what I want to hear in response to this, but I hate my job. I teach high school. I like my subject, I like my bosses, I like my students (mostly). On top of it, I am almost finished with a graduate program that will allow me to go into educational leadership. So it's weird that I now find myself scoffing at this entire field, and I'm not sure why. All the time I hear it from those above me that this is the most important and noble work that there is. Seems narcissistic and simply wrong, and also unnecessary. While I think my background makes me well-suited for the logistics of school leadership, I always find myself hoping that I won't be required to pump up people's egos so they can successfully do their jobs. I really wish I could better explain my point. I think I just want to do something else with my life. Go back to the military, sell real estate, go into law enforcement, private business, something. It's not a money thing, either. I don't think teacher pay is s***, and admin pay certainly isn't. I can't quite put my finger on it. So take this post for whatever it's worth. Helping people be successful is a key component of leadership. Pumping up egos may be part of it. We both now how f***ing tiring teaching is this time of year. A good word from an admin can make a difference in a day, which may help someone get through this week. I left corporate life for education and it is unreal at times. I'm sure you are enjoying T-Tess. Putting a new scale on teachers has everyone's complaining as if suddenly they suck at their jobs. I'll stay in the classroom and coaching. It feels like the busiest semi-retired job you can have. I could not have done this my entire career. I've already experienced the stuff that folks who have been teaching right out of college wonder about.

Spring - Break My Back-Yard So this has been a busy week of manly stuff, building decks, using power tools, and getting stuff done. Today was the pinnacle moment. Yesterday we started sodding our back yard. This would ultimately require two pallets of sod. I have a common Texas vehicle, a Ford F-150. Stock in almost everyway. I was a bit worried about putting so much weight in the bed of the truck and did some research. My research led to a forum and FordFan4Ever said no problem! It’s a Ford! How was I to argue with a guy who had over 10,000 posts on a Ford forum? As the fork lift driver lowered the pallet into my truck the truck slouched 12 inches. It dropped like a rock, I half expected the tires to pop. But they held just fine. Driving home I was passed by a Prius driver and we were eye level to eye level. My truck was a close to a Cheech and Chong low rider as I ever want to get. Eventually I arrived at home relieved. We laid that 450 square feet and thought about tomorrow. This time I was confident. I took my place in the lineup, we were door to door, probably six trucks total. . I was second to last pulling in next to a large enclosed landscapers trailer. When I walked back outside a Chevy 1500 was parked next to me. A few minutes later the owner of the truck came out, lowered his tailgate like mine and we both waited. We were striking the macho guy pose. Foot up on the bumper, gloves in hand, you could smell the testosterone in the air. This was guy stuff. Guys with trucks that were being used for real work. Not the usual commute to work stuff. As we watched the forklift guy I thought what is more manly than having your truck loaded by a forklift? This isn’t lifting a couple bags of cat litter in the bed, this is major weight with a forklift. The guy with the Chevy starts to look a little a nervous. He asks me if I think his truck can handle a pallet. I reply, “I dunno, but my Ford handles it just fine”. Yeah, I went there. That’s manly trash talking. He nods knowing he was upstaged. We discussed the manly projects we were doing. We agreed how great it is that we have trucks and don’t have to pay to have stuff delivered like guys without trucks. We continue our manly poses, clutching our work gloves as if we would be needed to instantly spring into action. Because that’s what manly men do. Then forklift guy grabs a pallet of sod and heads our way. I move to the other side of the truck and look back just as he turned to load the truck two spaces away. The landscaper's truck pulls away and we’re staring at the biggest, black, F350 diesel dually being loaded with a second pallet of sod. His truck doesn’t budge. It just stands there and takes 3,500 pounds on it.s back like it was nothing. That diesel engine was sucking up all the testosterone in the air and spitting it out. Suddenly I was back to being an English Teacher with baby soft hands :”So what did you think of Laurie Hernandez winning last season’s Dancing with the Stars?”

QUOTE (Wanne @ Mar 12, 2017 -> 11:03 PM) lol...geezus...beer snobs at a baseball game....mkay. Honestly...I couldn't give two craps what a venue has for the beers when I get there as long as it's COLD! Bud Light...Lite...Coors Light...bfd...you're there to watch baseball...not lift your little pinky fingers while you watch as you sip beer out of your Solo plastic cup and swoosh it around your palette to right a review! I don't pick a venue based on the food or beverages, but I enjoy an event if they have the beverages and food I like. And that is the trend in stadiums.

QUOTE (ypres @ Mar 12, 2017 -> 12:15 PM) Needs Busch light. Which is like making love in a canoe -- f***ing close to water.

QUOTE (WBWSF @ Mar 11, 2017 -> 12:01 PM) Losing somewhere between $7-$10 million dollars a year from Miller Beer advertising can't be a good thing or a smart move. Unless the replacements offer something close to that.

After too busy of an offseason to pay much attention I return and after scanning the thread headlines decided this was the most interesting news. Because if the product on the field is bad, at least the products off the field better be good. I'm a Negra Modelo fan, so I am happy with this plan. But it doesn't make sense to me to get rid of the lowest common denominator.

So he was involved in illegal activities, just not a violent crime.

Sleep is so overrated. I've been busting my ass to complete a book project, teach, coach, and take care of some family health issues. Book? finished. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url...ton+mack+thomas Coaching? District Tourny next month. I have the top female and a top three male player. The plan is working so far. Teaching? Seniors voted me the third most popular male teacher. Not bad when I'm out 60 times a year with the golf teams. Family? It's just going to keep going and going. We cancelled our Spring Break plans to stay close to home. At least we're getting some projects done around the house. I can't believe how much I missed this place.

Grandbabies are the best. In the southern tradition I was asked to select a "name". Grandpa isn't an option. So I selected G-Pa. My little grandson in his infinite wisdom has taken to calling his one Yankee grandpa "Bubba".

Geek alert. I love my students. We are doing a sonnet project and one of my better students who also loves to play an angle was working with As a kind of easy throw away portion of the project they were asked to find a companion song or poem that deals with the same theme. She came up with She's presenting the project to me and I see that and start laughing. Come on, you listen to Aerosmith?? Or did you figure the old white guy must be an Aerosmith fan? She had a great analysis and just nailed the project. Way cool when that happens. I'm trying to picture Tyler high on some drug and ripping off Shakespeare

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 12, 2017 -> 01:20 PM) So confession time. Today is day 52 of my sobriety. Some random combination of an always-brewing controlled alcoholism plus lots of nights where wife and kid were in bed nice and early had me drinking like a mad man. I came to a point where it just had to stop yay those days ago, and needless to say life is pretty good. Anyone else out there ever struggle with booze? I just always wanted 10 after I had one and kept finding reasons to have that one which led to the 10 and so on. While I was a high-performing gentleman prior to quitting drinking, I think I'm only now starting to realize the very real benefits of not drinking the massive amount of booze I was consuming on a most-of-the-time nightly basis. I'm pretty stoked. Anyway, likely TMI for an internet message board, but y'all's my peeps! Congrats. It's a tough path. My family suffered for years with my wife's alcoholism until we left. My son still talks to her occasionally, but for the most part she lost almost everything. I get nervous now when I have a few drinks every day for a few days. It kind of killed my social drinking enjoyment.

Clinton Obama Bush 41 Bush 43 Carter Reagan Ford Nixon Looking over the list, makes me feel better about Trump. I could even name a few things about Nixon's terms that were beneficial. Reagan help restore credibility and confidence to the office of President, which was so important when he took office. His low taxes and high spending set a dangerous trend that I would argue is the most long lasting damage any one of these presidents has done.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 7, 2017 -> 10:40 AM) Trump really heaping on the Russia love this morning. It's the one thing he's actually been consistent on, I guess. I find his loyalty to the people that got him elected refreshing. Communist wives? Check Extensive business dealings in communist countries? Check Unwilling to see anything wrong with Russia injecting themselves into our elections? Check He's got more communist ties than Oswald.

When will we start to address the mental health crisis we have in America?

Because it is HS Sports related I must say I am shocked by how much more work it is to coach a hs team that is winning versus one that sucks. Helping athletes with recruiting videos, more travel, balancing the top 3 or 4 player's needs versus the 25 - 30th best players. Picking tournaments that will help my top 2 without crushing my 4th and 5th players. Practicing over breaks. Gathering resources. It's really fun to watch these players reach goals and set new ones. My #1 and #2 both won their flights in the District Match Play Championships. My #1 and his opponent in the first round played one of the best matches I have ever witnessed including a final hole that had more drama, and great sportsmanship, than I can ever remember. But we have five more months and already I am exhausted.

I just want to be caught up sometime in 2017.

Blacks have to stop protesting so violently. You are ruining your neighborhoods. Find a non violent means to protest. Black man doesn't stand for the anthem Not that way! White guy tells us America sucks and we have to make it great again -- wins his party's nomination for President. Black guys tells us America sucks and is flooded with pictures of dead soldiers and told to show respect. These men and women died for your rights! -- Don't use those rights! NO race problem in America. And when did the Anthem only represent veterans? I guess it doesn't represent all of our society? Seems like it only represents veterans and their sacrifice.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 10, 2016 -> 11:56 PM) OMG, many of you have screamed at me and told me to stop mentioning Chelsea for the Presidency. Hmmm ... Greg isn't as fricking dumb as you think. Now it's on CNN!! She will not discount her political aspirations and already has Bill's support. Great. ... http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/...r-the-long-run/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/...nancy-president 16 straight years of Clinton rule, folks. Let's hope the Clintons know what they are doing.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 11, 2016 -> 11:16 AM) Is there any way to "schedule" a light to turn on and off at certain times? It'd be nice to have the upstairs hallway light kick on in the morning because the switch is on the other side of the hallway from the bedroom and we trip over cats every day. I do mine through the HUE Pro app and not the echo. I also use a IFTTT to turn on the lights when I drive into my neighborhood. The only problem is sometimes I drive by between school and golf practice and it triggers.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 8, 2016 -> 06:38 PM) My wife got me an Amazon Echo for my birthday. What cool things can I do with it? Mine is paired with my Philips Hue lights. IT is more of a novelty than anything else but it is nice to turn off the lights without getting out of bed. I also removed my alarm clock from the nightstand and just use the Echo.

John from Cincinnati?