what recession.....

This was the first part of an article on Yahoo yesterday morning:

Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rate Three-Quarters of a Point to Try to Head Off Recession

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve unexpectedly slashed a key interest rate by a bold three-fourths of a percentage point on Tuesday, responding to a global plunge in stock markets that heightened concerns about a recession. The Fed signaled that further rate cuts were likely.

I was a little surprised that Bernanke took such drastic measures, especially since this was an unplanned meeting that took place Monday night by video conference. Rate cuts have been expected, but not by this much all at once.

While at lunch, I heard that almost $100 million will be bet on this year's Super Bowl. And that's just the piece from the Las Vegas Hilton. The guy from the Hilton said that this represents only 1 1/2 - 2% of the total money that will be wagered on the Super Bowl this year. So if my math is correct, that means the total amount bet for the Patriots/Giants game will reach somewhere around $5 BILLION dollars.

Only in America could you be on the brink of recession and still have people with money like that "left over" to gamble.....

a needed day off.....

It's pretty pitiful when you take almost two weeks off and then need a vacation day less than three weeks later. But that's what I did yesterday. Work has been pretty hectic these past few weeks.

I played the role of "old man" again for the bride by going to Cool Springs Galleria and sitting on a bench waiting for her as she shopped. In all fairness, I shopped too. In fact I ended up with more stuff than she did. But mine was bought pretty quickly, while she lingered more around her purchases.

In my only celebrity siting for the day, I saw Mike Keith, voice of the Titans, coming out of Kroger's with his kids. Nice guy. Met him at a father/daughter dance a few years back.

Now, back to work. I think I've got about 7 more weeks until I get another day off. I'll try to pace myself this time.....

ut over vandy.....

Over the years I've become less of a basketball fan. The only thing I know about the NBA any more is what I see on Sportscenter. College basketball used to be my favorite sport to watch, but as I've gotten older it just hasn't held as much appeal. Until about three years ago.

When Bruce Pearl came to UT, everyone could tell there was something different about this guy. Tennessee men's basketball was an afterthought in Knoxville - behind football and the Lady Vols basketball team. But things are changing. Sure, football will always be king and the women's team will always be held in high esteem. But the men's team it on the rise.

I watched the entire UT/Vandy game last night. It's the first regular season basketball game I've sat down and watched in years. I was a little nervous the first ten minutes of the game. Tennessee's shot selection was terrible and they couldn't rebound to save their lives. The the pace of the game picked up and the Vols took control. Their agressive defense kept Vanderbilt on their heels the entire game.

I came down to the kitchen at halftime and bride mentioned that it had been a long time since I'd been this vocal during a basketball game. (I "encouraged" the referees vocally quite a bit in the first half.) Seems that I've come back to my first love in sports after all these years.....

testing windows live

Just to see if this thing works, here's picture from Christmas of Lizzy and me.....

simon cowell loves the writers' strike.....

American Idol is the New England Patriots of television. There's no competition for either of them.

I couldn't care less about the program this year. Maybe as the season progresses and they show people with talent I'll change my mind. Watching 2 hours of mostly horrible "singers" just isn't as entertaining to me as it used to be. And last year's show left alot to be desired. But this year there's nothing else for the American public to watch because of the writers' strike. Simon is snickering.

I thought that Season 5 was the best. And even though Daughtry wound up as the eventual winner in record sales, I still think Taylor Hicks brought a dimension to the show that was fresh and new. Now that he's no longer with the AI label, I'm looking forward to his next album. (Yeah, I'm alone on that in my household.)

In a related AI note, the bride and Meg saw Season 6 contestant Phil Stacey at church on Sunday.....

we may have something here, chief.....

Marin Independent Journal - 12/12/07

Arthur Cheney, 64, was arrested near Marysville, Calif., in December driving a car that had been spotted at a bank robbery. On the center console of the car, officers found a yellow "sticky" note with a handwritten "Robbery 100s and 50s only."

Said an officer, "We call that a clue."

great gifts equal great responsibilities.....

The Tennessean - 1/14/08

Two UT football players issued citations

KNOXVILLE – Tennessee wide receivers Gerald Jones and Ahmad Paige were cited for simple possession of marijuana, which is a misdemeanor, on Friday night, according to a report from the Knoxville Police Department.

-----------------------------------------------------

I'm about to sound like a bona fide old fart, but here goes anyway.

What actually goes through a kid's mind when they make poor choices like Paige and Jones? Do they not understand the unbelievable opportunity they're potentially letting slip away?

I'm 43 years old. I can't imagine the absolute thrill of being able to play football at a major university, let alone in the SEC, let alone THE University of Tennessee. As the father of a daughter who's heading to school this fall, the cost alone is a big enough benefit. But to be a part of a major college team just makes it that much more special.

I understand that we're all human and all prone to screw up. I've had my share of screw ups. But do kids today not realize the responsibility that comes with this opportunity? Do they not know that for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction?

Coach Fulmer, now's the time to set the standard for the upcoming football season.....

new menu item for the mouse.....

Sara and her friends have had a new place to go for dinner the last few months. Chuck E. Cheese. Yep, 12-and 13-year-olds like to hang out where 3-year-olds have birthday parties. So the bride and I dropped them off Saturday night and decided to have dinner out with just the two of us.

Because we like to really do it up and live large when we have a dinner date, we chose to dine at Captain D's. Yeah, that's right, I know how to treat my lady. As we're about to order, Sara calls. Turns out they can't be seated without an adult since they're under 16. Makes no sense to us because they've done this without us at least three times in the past couple of months. So the bride and I signaled to the the maitre d' that we would be unable to dine with them and left. We spent the next hour sitting at a table in Chuck E. Cheese while the girls spent their tokens and earned tickets.

As we sat there, the bride and I kept wondering aloud as to why the kids had to have adults in attendance in order to stay there. Then we looked to the table to our left and saw something we found hard to believe. Chuck E. Cheese, the place for little kid parties, now serves beer. Maybe I shouldn't have been shocked, but I was. Then we figured that management was probably afraid that teens might wander by tables waiting to be bussed with half-full glasses of beer and consume it.

Seems that the Mouse would be afraid of parents consuming beer during a child's party and getting in the car to drive home inebriated. But maybe that's just me being silly.....

thoughts for today.....

Birds of a feather flock together--and poop on your car.

When I'm feeling down, I like to whistle. It makes the neighbor's dog run to the end of his chain and gag himself.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

Did you ever notice: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are " XL."

If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.

If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know why I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

First you forget names, then you forget faces. Then you forget to pull up your zipper. It's worse when you forget to pull it down.

Change is what happens when the pain of holding on becomes greater than the fear of letting go.

Thanks to Chris for the list.....

better place my order for 2028.....

LAS VEGAS - 2008 Consumer Electronics Show

How do you bring a 150-inch plasma TV from Japan to the U.S.? One plane at a time.

The 150-inch plasma TVs that Panasonic is showing off this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas can only be carried in the storage container in the nose of a 747, said Toshihiro Sakamoto, president of Panasonic AVC Networks company.

Watch the Panasonic TH46PXZ850 video on CNET TV.

And only one TV fits at a time. The TV has to go in the middle of the storage unit. There isn't enough clearance on the edges. Panasonic has three of the sets at the show, so three planes were used.

Panasonic expects to sell these commercially in the future. Most of the time, these big TVs get bought by hotels or stadiums. Some people, however, buy big TVs for their home. Mark Cuban owns a 100-inch plus Panasonic plasma.

football year in review.....

No, football season isn't officially over yet. But it is for me. Part of it ended January 1st at around 2:00 after Tennessee won over Wisconsin. That was the biggest part. Then another (very small) part ended when the Titans lost on Saturday. The rest of it ended Monday night when LSU whipped up on Ohio State.

Sure, I'll still watch the NFL playoffs, but I really don't have a team in it any more. But I'll pull for the Colts in the AFC and the Packers in the NFC. Besides, they need to just give the Patriots the trophy and be done with it. Maybe the Colts can beat them, but that's about it.

So here's my review on my two teams along with college football in general for the past season:

University of Tennessee - Once again, the Vols had the ability to leave me both elated and frustrated this season. As good as they looked against Georgia, they looked that much worse when they played Cal, Florida and Alabama. I was ready to see the whole coaching staff fired midway through the season. I guess I got my wish as most of the offensive staff is now gone. (Here's an update on that situation. More to come.) But I'll have to hand it to Fulmer. He piloted the team to a 10-win season when I thought there was no way it could happen. Big win in a New Years day bowl game. We ended up #12 for the season. I'm anxious to see how the coaching staff will end up and who will win the starting QB spot next season. As always, it's great to be a Tennessee Vol.

Tennessee Titans - I love to watch the Titans on defense. (Well, except against San Diego.) They dominate the line of scrimmage. The only problem is they have to stay out on the field too much. The offense is horrible. Not just bad, horrible. It's painful to watch that offense. As good as Vince Young was last year, he's that much worse this year. Maybe he was injured and couldn't run. Maybe Fisher and Chow told him to stay in the pocket. All I know is that the production wasn't there this year. Yeah, I know, he didn't have the receivers. But he had a hard time getting the ball to the receivers he had. Rumors around camp is that VY doesn't like Chow's offense and isn't putting forth the effort. Don't know how true that is. Hopefully they can address some positions via free agency and have the offense help the defense some next year. I won't call VY a bust yet, but another season like this might have ol' Bud scratching his head and wondering why he didn't take Cutler in the draft.

College football in general - Definitely the most exciting season I've ever seen. The highlight, beside the Vols, was Appalachian State beating Michigan. I don't care if Michigan did beat Florida in their bowl game, they still got beat by Appy State. Brilliant.

Only 234 days until UT kicks off their next game.....

this guy has all kinds of work-related experience.....

San Jose Mercury News - 12/8/07

Police in Oakland, California, charged Jason Brooks, 24, who had just recently applied to be an Oakland police officer, with a string of 18 armed robberies dating back to May. Brooks told the arresting officers that, still, he'd like to join the force.

precious and few are the moments we two can share.....

I went out to dinner and then shopping with the bride and Meg Friday night. While in TJ Maxx, I held a black G-Unit hooded sweatshirt up to me and said rather loudly to Meg about 20 feet away, "Meg, whatta' you think?" She turned her head in embarrassment and walked away.

College starts this fall. I have to get in as many of these special moments as possible while I can. I know she'll miss stuff like that.....

pumpkins may cause teenage obesity.....

UPI - 10/21/07

Alex Noel, 16, a finalist in Rhode Island's Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off in October, said his success raising his (1,224-pound) pumpkin was because "You spend all your time with it. No sports. You just come home and be with the pumpkin."

two words i never thought i'd hear my grandmother say.....

I love my grandmother. Since I was the only grandchild on my dad's side of the family for 6 years, she spoiled me. I pretty much got anything I ever wanted. And when you're a kid, you tend to like people who spoil you.

I usually try to call her every couple of weeks on my way home from work. I ask her how she's feeling, what the weather's like, stuff like that. The week before Christmas, we were talking about us coming up to see her during the week of Christmas. She told me she had gotten a Hawaiian cheeseball for us to eat. And we started talking about Hawaii and the things we both liked about it when we went there. That's when the conversation got interesting. Here's what was said:

Mamaw - "Have you ever heard of a drink call tequila?"

OFIT - "Uh, yeah."

Mamaw - "Well, when I was there, the lady who was our tour group leader told me that I just had to try this drink they had there called tequila. Except she said it was a virgin tequilla. So I had one and it was so good I had another one. I bet I had about 5 or 6 of them. Lord, if they'd had liquor in them I'd have been high as a kite after all that!"

Mamaw is almost 87. And she's never had a drop of alcohol to drink in her life. Ever. And she's not that well versed in the different kinds of alcoholic beverages, either. I may be wrong, but to my knowledge there's no such thing as a virgin tequilla. She must have meant margarita or some other kind of drink instead of tequila.

At this point I quickly changed the topic of discussion because my grandmother had used the words "tequila" and "virgin" in the same sentence.....

first day back.....

The great thing about being off for 12 days straight is that it allows one to rest and get recharged. The bad thing about being off for 12 days straight is day 13.

Plenty of "material" was provided over the past couple of weeks. However, day 13 will not allow for any time to write. In the meantime, here are my three favorite ladies all dressed up for Will's and Caity's wedding on Saturday night.....

merry christmas from the ofit.....

Decided at lunch yesterday to leave for Christmas vacation a day early. I'm glad I did. Looking forward to a lot of things. Get caught up on some sleep. Spend some time with family. Relax.


Think I'll take a little break from blogging for a few days. Maybe the next week or so will provide me with some new stories.


I hope you and those you love have a great Christmas and wonderful New Year.

The OFIT

favorite ad of the year.....

A very good friend of mine does almost all of the graphic design work for our office. I asked him to create an ad for a Christmas program we help sponsor. He sent me five different options, but when I saw this one I knew it was the one.....

i said, get on this bike with your grandaddy.....

MWTW-TV (Auburn, ME) - 11/8/07

In November, a 77-year-old man in Jacksonville, Fla., intending to help his daughter by riding his bicycle to Long Branch Elementary School to pick up her 4-year-old son (his grandson), arrived back home with a kid on the bike but did not realize that he had picked up the wrong boy. Said the picked-up kid's frantic mother, "(The two boys) don't even look alike."

so it's not just the bride who does this.....

My lovely bride likes for me to share my food with her when we dine out. Whenever we go out to eat, the following statement is almost always made: "Ooo, I know! You get that and I'll get this and we'll share!" We even got into an argument about it once on the way to a Kenny Loggins concert. Over time I've gotten used to this request from her.

But I do think this is a problem for men in general. When we get something to eat, we want to eat it, and we want to eat all of it. We don't want to share. You want to eat what I ordered? Then you should order some, too. I'm not keeping you from ordering it. You want a backup policy in case you don't like what you ordered? Don't order it. It's that simple.

I did discover that my lovely bride isn't the only female who does this. Our office staff is going out for our Christmas lunch today to the Cheesecake Factory in Green Hills. Yesterday one of the ladies in the office said, "Ooo, I know! We should all order different kinds of cheesecake and we can all share!" Another lady chimed in with "Oh, great idea! That sounds like fun!"

Fun? How can having someone who's not family taking food off your plate be fun?

I've warned them that anyone who puts a fork near my white chocolate macadamia nut carmel cheesecake could be injured. Might be the first office lunch that a workman's comp claim gets filed.....

and there you have it.....

Ever have a "light bulb" kind of moment? You know, the kind of moment when a light bulb goes off in your head and you realize something, profound or not? I had one of those Thursday night while Christmas shopping with the bride.

The bride and I finally got the opportunity to do a little shopping on our own the other night. She had it mapped out, where we were going, what we were looking for, all that. The bride knows how I like to shop - we're in, we're out, we're done, bada-bing, bada-boom. That's the way it's done. Especially during the Christmas season with all the crowds.

So the bride decides that she needs to go into one of these shops where most dads feel really uncomfortable. I like to think I can handle just about anything, but there are certain articles of girls' clothing that dads want absolutely zero input on the purchases. Once we hit that juncture of the shopping excursion, I went to find a place to sit in the mall.

I didn't stay too long on the first couch. The second place, where the bride suggested I not go in because it was one of those places where I might embarrass her by saying stuff like, "Oh, wow, you'd look hot in that!" or, "Say, you mind trying that one on?" (I won't mention the name of the store because it's a "secret"), was more towards the middle of the mall. There were several leather-like couches and chairs. I found a comfortable chair, right beside the desk where kids signed up to see Santa. To my left, I heard a couple of older men debate the Mitchell Report from earlier in the day. They went from that to NASCAR to Pacman Jones and then back to baseball.

And then it hit me - I'm one conversation like that away from being an old man. Because that's what old men do in the mall. They sit outside the stores while their wife shops and they talk to other old men about anything and everything.

In an effort to recapture my youth, I got up, charged into the store where the bride was shopping, grabbed the skimpiest, most degrading outfit I could find and once I made eye contact with her said, "Hey, sweet thang, I done found me what I want for Christmas!"

OK, that last thing? I didn't really do that, but that would have been funny.....

and the winner is.....

And now, the winners of the 11th Annual Wacky Warning Label Contest:

Grand Prize: A label on a small tractor that warns: "Danger! Avoid Death."

Second place: An iron-on T-shirt transfer that warns: "Do not iron while wearing shirt."

Third place: A baby stroller featuring a small pouch for storage that warns: "Do not put child in bag."

Honorable Mention: A letter opener that says,"Caution: Safety goggles recommended."

careful what you say.....

Times-Tribune - 10/16/07

In October a police officer in Scranton, Pa., charged Dawn Herb with disorderly conduct after he passed her home and heard her, through an open window, cussing her toilet, which at the time was overflowing and leaking into the kitchen. Herb, and the American Civil Liberties Union, were incredulous.

a new milestone in our household.....

The first thing I do when I get the Sunday paper (after telling PigDog to move and get out my way 17 times) is I pull the Target ad, the Williamson A.M., and the front page out for the bride to look through. I then read the sports section and comment that there's not enough UT football news in the paper today. Then I pull all the ads and start looking for deals. Not that I'm going to buy anything, I just like to say things like, "Wow, if we needed an electric potato peeler, I'd buy this one and we'd save 75%!"

A couple of weeks ago Toys R Us inserted their annual toy catalog into the Sunday Tennessean. When I saw it I set it aside for Sara. She came down a little later and laid on the couch in the den. I took the catalog to her. When she came in for breakfast, I asked her if she found anything that she wanted from Toys R Us for Christmas. She said, "No, not really. It's just toys in there." Buh-bye childhood, hello teenager.

There is one shred of childhood left this year. The girls have each asked for a doll. A "bla-bla doll". To me they're nothing more than a glorified sock monkey. But the bride says they're sweet. Mmmm-kay.

Guess Santa won't need any help putting toys together this year.....

just stop it.....

I like receiving Christmas cards, both at home and at work. It's nice to know that someone took the time to include me in their mailing list, whether the address is handwritten or they simply slapped on an address label.

But I do have a problem with some of the cards I've been receiving at the office. It's the cards that have glitter, and lots of it, on them. I can't get rid of it. I open up the envelope and out sprays about 3 1/2 pounds of glitter. And I can't get it off my desk. Just when I think it's all gone it reappears. Or, even worse, I'll look in the mirror during the day and realize that the glitter has somehow attached itself to my face. I look like a middle school girl on her way to her first dance.

Send me Christmas cards, I love them. But skip the glitter. Especially if you're a guy who owns his own business. Pick out a glitterless card next year, dude.....

so now i'm a snob.....

I've never considered myself as a snob of any kind. I can almost always get along with anyone or in any situation. Except if the person's a jerk, then it's not being snobbish but rather keen discernment on my part (nod-nod, wink-wink, say no more).

I talked with a friend of mine at church last weekend and told her that we'd bought a plasma TV but hadn't had the chance to set it up yet. She said, "You know, I never thought I'd like a piece of technology like I do that one. I've gotten to where if a show's not broadcast in HD, I'm really disappointed." I laughed when she said this, but now I understand.

The colors are clearer. Like they always say, it's almost like you're watching it live. I watched a football game Saturday evening in which I had no interest. Just because. But the two channels we're most impressed with (after the ESPNs) are the Food Network and HGTV. Yeah, we're nerds.

I wonder how good "Blazing Saddles" would look in HD.....

that would be one big litter box.....

San Francisco Chronicle - 11/12/07

In October, Patty Cooper, 50, accused her landlord (the Central Vermont Community Land Trust) of failing to "accommodate" her disability under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act when it barred her "service horse" from living in her apartment. Cooper uses a wheelchair because of a brittle-bones disorder and says the miniature horse (100 pounds, 32 inches tall) not only pulls the chair but cheers her up. A trust spokesman said keeping rats out of the hay bales would be difficult enough, but he doubted Cooper's assurance that the horse could be easily housebroken.

most ridiculous baby product.....

From cnet.com.....

This is a set of fake hands that lays against your newborn to trick her into thinking that it's you. It's almost too creepy for words. And wrong. So very wrong. Even the description is creepy: "Leave a hand with your child!" We'd like to see the studies of these poor babies 10 years from now who found out their loving parents were really disembodied mummy hands…

it takes years of training to be this indifferent.....

Yeah. I see you. Standing in line. MY line. Which was EMPTY until you had to go stand in it and mess it all up.

Huh? Yeah, I know nobody's at my window. But I'm not going to ask if you need any help. If I do that, you may approach me. And I don't want that.

Excuse me? Why don't I have my "Next Window" sign up if I'm not going to help anyone? That's just how I roll.

What's that? Why am I just standing here looking at you instead of inviting you over to make a purchase? Because I'm going to lunch in 30 minutes and if I offer to assist you, you might make me late.

You just want to buy Christmas stamps? Three books? I've seen your type before. First you say you want to buy three books of stamps. But then you'll ask me how much it would cost to send a 3 pound box to Jersey. Where does it all end? I can't take that chance.

I'm sorry? You're on your lunch break and you don't have time to waste standing in line when I seem perfectly capable to help you? Then I suggest you get out of my line and stop wasting your time.

Don't make me get my supervisor. Because then you'd have two people ignoring you at once. And trust me, you can't handle that, punk.....

come on, comcast.....

Last Thursday night I started painting the bonus room. We've got furniture that will be delievered this Saturday, and I've got a new plasma television just sitting in its box waiting for the room to be painted, so I figured I'd better get started. (At about 12:30 early Saturday morning, I think the paint fumes were getting to me. I could have sworn the plasma television was talking to me, mocking me, saying things like, "Dude, the SEC Championship game is tomorrow afternoon and I'm still in a box????? Be a man! Get me out of this box and let's hang high-def style!" After a quick shake of the head I was OK.) You may recall that I despise painting. I would rather take a beating than paint. But there was a carrot on the end of the stick, so I perservered.

I have a strict policy about the music I listen to between Thanksgiving and Christmas - it can only be Christmas music. A friend gave me a couple of CDs to listen to last week. She asked if I'd listened to them yet and I told her about my Christmas music policy. She looked at me as if I had just told her I was from Jupiter.

So as I began to paint the bonus room I turned the television (stupid analog, antiquated, square, non-plasma thing) on and went to the music section of channels. Channel 401 was "Sounds of the Season", so I landed there. The first song was "O Holy Night" by the Temptations. The lead singer evidently had a 7-octave range and mosied between octaves 6 and 7 during the whole song. My right eardrum burst during the final chorus. Robert Goulet was next. I can't hear or see Robert Goulet now without thinking of Will Ferrell. Then it was Doris Day. But the one that got me was when they played Carol Channing. Carol Channing? Really?

I love to hear the old Christmas songs and those who sang them. Bing Crosby. Dean Martin. Perry Como. But Carol Channing? (At least it wasn't Celine Dion. I swear, I'd rather hear an elephant strain during a bowel movement than to listen to her.)

Considering that my Comcast bill every month is closing in on what I pay for my mortgage, I'm expecting a little better than Carol Channing sings "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".....

almost sweet.....

You can ask the bride. With the exception of about 3 very brief occasions, I was calm throughout most of Saturday's game. When it was over, it was obvious that LSU had done enough to win.

At first I put all the blame on Ainge. But that's not altogether accurate. Sure, his interceptions came at really bad times, especially the one returned for the eventual winning touchdown. But there were two missed field goals. If those had been made, the final drive could have had us setting up for a field goal instead of having to go for the endzone. And except for the opening drive, we didn't run the ball all that effectively. You lose your balance when you have to put the ball in the air most of the time. Hats off to the defense. They rattled some fillings with some of their hits during the game. The young and inexperienced secondary has done a lot of growing up over the course of the season.

So the Sugar Bowl goes to Georgia, and LSU's in the title game. And we play Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. Just four more weeks.....

cautiously optimistic, expectations aren't too awfully high.....

As I mentioned in a post a week or so ago, I never expected UT to be in the SEC Championship game after losing to both Florida and Alabama by such large margins. But here we are, about 32 hours from kickoff.


On paper, LSU should win by at least two touchdowns. On paper, LSU has all the athletes. On paper, LSU is ranked higher. The thing is, I'm not so sure the Tennessee players understand all that. These guys now believe that they can win regardless of the circumstances. Blow a lead in the second half? No problem, we'll win in overtime. Vandy has a chance to blow you away going into the fourth quarter? No problem, we'll just score 16 points in the last 15 minutes and hope they miss the field goal.


I really want to see Tennessee win this game tomorrow. That's obvious. I don't look for them to win it, but I hope they do. The way things have gone in college football this year, one never knows. Go Vols.....

i like mine with blueberries.....

KPRC-TV (Houston) - 10/1/07

Ticketed for DWEC (Driving While Eating Cereal): Four people were injured in Houston in October when a driver failed to stop for a red light while eating a bowl of oatmeal and collided with a transit bus. (Three passengers were hurt, in addition to the motorist, and witnesses said oatmeal was found all over the inside of the car, and also inside the bus and on the ground, according to a KPRC-TV report.)

ain't rivalries great.....

I love college football rivalries. One of the most heated rivalries is that between Auburn and Alabama.

Last week, Bromberg's Jewelry placed ads in Auburn and Tuscaloosa to poke fun at the other university. I thought they were hilarious, but the ad apparently offended many Auburn fans. Bromberg's Executive Vice President has since issued an apology.

Read them for yourself. Here's the one for Alabama, and here's the one for Auburn. My guess is that the Brombergs are Alabama fans.....

not smart enough to play the lottery.....

Manchester Evening News - 11/3/07

In November, Britain's new weather-themed Cool Cash lottery game was canceled after one day because too many players failed to understand the rules. Each card had a visible temperature and a temperature to be scratched off, and the purchaser would win if the scratched-off temperature was "lower" than the visible one. Officials said they had received "dozens" of complaints from players who could not understand why, for example, minus-5 is not a lower temperature than minus-6.

thankful.....

Great Thanksgiving weekend! The tribe and I headed to Johnson City on Wednesday and came back home Saturday. Mom's food was wonderful as always. We all had a great time together as a family.

We got back with about 3 minutes to go in the first half of the Tennessee/Kentucky game. At the end of the half, I felt really good. Then the 4th quarter happened and I almost lost my mind. I came up with several new nicknames for John Chavis. Our receivers couldn't catch a cold. Then the 4th overtime happened, and we pulled out the win. Unbelievable. Now it's on to the SEC Championship game against LSU. I don't know if we have a chance, but I sure do hope they can shock everyone and come out on top.

I'm sure not looking forward to getting back to work this morning.....

tell me this ain't fo' shiggity.....

SYDNEY (AFP) - Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.
Sydney's Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say "ha ha ha" instead, the Daily Telegraph reported.

One disgruntled Santa told the newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use "ho ho ho" because it could frighten children and was too close to "ho", a US slang term for prostitute.
"Gimme a break," said Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B Kids.

"We are talking about little kids who do not understand that "ho, ho, ho" has any other connotation and nor should they," she told the Telegraph.

"Leave Santa alone."

A local spokesman for the US-based Westaff recruitment firm said it was "misleading" to say the company had banned Santa's traditional greeting and it was being left up to the discretion of the individual Santa himself.

a crying shame.....

Last Thursday we had a birthday in the office. I usually bring in a cake or pie or something. That day, though, the employees wanted something different, so they opted for Krispy Kreme doughnuts. No way I was going to fight them on their fine choice.

I'm one of these people who always buys more stuff than I think I'm going to need. Same thing with Krispy Kremes. I bought 2 dozen for 8 people. But they lasted for 2 days, so it was a good deal.

On Friday, I decided to go back to see if there were any apple cinnamon left after lunch. I've been lucky and I've kept off the weight I lost, so I figured I could handle a doughnut since I'm still running every other day.

I got back there and there's still one left. As I'm eating it, I look into the trash can and someone has thrown one of the apple cinnamon doughnuts away. And there's only one bite taken out of it! Not that I would have eaten a once-bitten doughnut, but what a waste! (No, it wasn't even above the rim.) I felt like the Indian (sorry, Native American) in the pollution ads from the 70's. A tear may have even journeyed down my cheek.

Here's some helpful advice. If you ever happen to work with someone who loves Krispy Kreme doughnuts, don't try to eat one if you're not sure you'll like it. If you don't know what's in it, ask someone. But don't take a bite, say "Eww, yucky!" and then dispose of it. You just wasted it.

Consideration for others, that's all I'm asking for.....

all i want to do is dance.....

I'm not much of a dancer. Dancing requires a certain flow of ones body. I've always been pretty coordiated when it comes to sports, but never with dancing. It just doesn't work the same way for me.

I didn't go to my first dance until I was a senior in high school. Just never was all that interested. But I went to the homecoming dance that year. I told my parents that morning, "Oh, by the way, I'm going to the homecoming dance tonight after the football game." I think it shocked them. But I had a good time.

My freshman year in college, I didn't miss a dance or mixer on campus. I wasn't there for the dancing. I was there because it was the best place to meet girls. And lots of them. Ray was my "wing man", and he was the best kind to have. He had a girlfriend at home, so he wasn't there to do anything but to help me meet girls. No interference, just assistance. It worked out great.

I haven't done much dancing over the past 20-plus years, but there are a few times every year that I do break out and dance. I'm getting ready to dance later this afternoon. Any time I've got a week off, I come through the front door of the house on Friday afternoon and do my "vacation" dance. The neighbors stop by to watch. It's a party. We're thinking about having it catered.

I just hope I don't pull a muscle in all the excitement.....