I drove by a really nice cemetery today, and I started thinking…Where will I rest eternally?  That is, if you can call being dead, resting.
It really isn’t that big of a deal to me, but I hope it will matter to somebody:  I’m pretty sure I won’t notice.  My paternal grandparents are buried behind the church that I grew up in.  That would be fine with me, but I don’t know how much room is left.  Dead or alive, I need my space.
To be honest, I would like to be preserved and put on display.  Maybe in a glass coffin, like Stalin, except with my eyes open.  It’s easy for people to talk bad about you when they’re just looking at a tombstone, but if they were looking at me, and I was looking right back at them…They might show a little more respect!

I can hear ’em now, “Look!  Wherever I go in the room, his eyes follow me!”

Wherever I end up, I sure hope it’s a long time from now.  I’ve got a lot left to do in this life.

Here’s a quote from an article I read today…

“I’m not worried about it because they have never said Coach Cal did anything wrong at all,” said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who appeared with Calipari at the Kentucky State Fair on Thursday before the NCAA announcement. “I think he’s a very upstanding guy. I think that’s his reputation and I think that reputation will be with him here. I really don’t foresee any problems.”

In other news…

The Governor recently approved a bill, allocating 4.3 million dollars to a project that will renovate Kentucky’s entire Atlantic coastline.

The above excerpt, excluding the coastline joke, is from rivals.com at yahoo sports.  Read the entire article here.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news;_ylt=AoxQOmjlKmGhys1zuFxEtCoOvbYF?slug=ap-memphis-vacatedwins&prov=ap&type=lgns&start_row=26#comments

I want to go on record.  In many of the years passed, I have made some extremely accurate predictions that were not documented, and people seem to forget that I was the one that said it 1st!  (Eg.  I said D.J. Shockley would have a great season in his one year to shine…SEC title.  When I saw Barack Obama at the 2004 DNC, I said, ‘there’s your next President’.  I could go on and on.)   So this year, I am documenting my statements so there will be proof.

-I still stand behind my earlier prediction, (please see archives), that Georgia will go undefeated and win the National Championship.  If somehow, OSU did pull off a miraculous victory, it would only inspire us more to go on and win the rest of our games and secure the crystal trophy.
Here’s why…

-Offensive and Defensive lines.
Our O-line played through some very trying times last season and they developed as a solid unit.  We are getting back a huge talent from injury.
Someone will emerge from our strong and experienced D-line as a game-changer,  once again making UGA a powerhouse on defense.  Not to mention, Willie is coaching for his job this year!

-Our QB is extremely talented and has been studying and practicing this offense for over 3 years.  He will succeed.
 
-A running back will step up and be a solid performer, with many other quality options platooning in, to keep him fresh.  They may not hurdle any players, but they will get the job done.

-We won’t have to listen to every sports reporter talk about our future NFL, 1st round pick, quarterback. By the way, I don’t know if Mel Kiper gets enough credit for his prediction that Stafford would be the 1st overall NFL draft pick…He said this before Stafford’s 1st season at Georgia!

-This year we have a TEAM, not a collection of individuals.

-There is not a game on our schedule that is not winnable and in most, we have an advantage.

–Florida will fall, mightily.  If you keep telling someone over and over and over again, how great they are…They will eventually prove you wrong.  Maybe we’ll even learn what Tebow’s darkside is…You know he’s got one.

Go Dawgs!

Whatever you dream about doing, make a plan, and do everything you can to make it happen.  When I was young(er), I didn’t really think about what I would be doing the rest of my life.  Now that’s all I think about.  I love my wife and child more than I could ever love a career, but just think how much of a better husband and dad I would be if I loved what I did.  Some people just stumble into a career, work hard at it, do fine in life, and then retire.  Other people, (me for example), just stumble around looking for something that fits, something that feels right.  I don’t think that right job ever just ‘comes along’.  I think that all these jobs along the way, that don’t work out, are part stepping stones/part signs, pointing us in the right direction.  I have learned a lot at every job I’ve had; sometimes it’s what to do, sometimes, (most times), it’s what not to do.  The point is, it was all part of the process of making me…And I’m still not complete, but I’m getting there. 
I think all of the jobs I’ve had were signs pointing me towards what I have to do to be happy in life…Happy, we’ll talk about that word some other time.

Moral of the story…Just go for it!  And do it while you’re young, while you have nothing to lose.  Then again, maybe when you’re young, you don’t have the wisdom and experience you need to know what it is you are actually going for.  And maybe you need to have something to lose, like a family.  Maybe that gives you no option but succeeding.  You know, maybe 36 is just the right age to go for it.  Happy birthday Monkey, wish me luck!

I’ll never listen to The Doors song, “Break on Through”,on my Ipod while spreading pine straw, again.  It seems that none of my neighbors are on peyote, and they have no desire to see a fat dude dancing around his yard, like a Psychedelic Indian.

Yorkshire Stingo
Samuel Smith
Tadcaster Brewery
8% ABV

Dark amber to brown-Susprisingly light color, bottle is Dark brown.

Wondrous beer, maybe the most complex I have ever tasted.
I know this flavor from somewhere…Flan maybe? Dry, oakey finish.  I don’t want to say anymore and spoil it for you.  Well done Sam Smith, definitely in my top 5 of all time, (maybe top 1!)
Go find this beer!  Buy two and put one away to age.  This was a limited production, so I don’t know how many are out there. It’s pricey, but when you break it down by each, individual flavor, it’s pretty cheap.  This beer could easily sway the beer vs. wine debate.

Saaalut!!!

10 Extra large, Grade A Bananas!

(Did you ever make an A on a test before the curve?  Do you remember how it felt?  That’s how Yorkshire Stingo feels!)

Today was a pretty good day.  Two out of the three public restrooms I stopped in, had Xlerator hand dryers, (the spelling’s right, I looked it up).  Man I freakin’ love those things!  My hands were completely dry before the timer ran out!  At the second hand dryer, I even had time to notice that if you put your palms loosely together, under the Xlerator, you can make a really funny noise that is appropriate for the surroundings.  The other restroom I stopped in had an automatic towel dispenser which worked, so that was ok.  Of course, the towels came out too short, so I had to get two.  By the time the second towel was dispensed, an older gentleman had rushed past me, gone into a stall and locked the door.  Needless to say, my hands were still a little damp when I left that restroom.

                                              We all feel a little crazy now and then.  Never assume that you’re the one that’s crazy, and everyone else is completely sane.  Everybody’s crazy!  (Some more than others.)  Now, if you KNOW for sure that you are 100% sane, you might be the craziest one of us all!  Work ethic, exercise, religion, booze, drugs, sex, causes, etc., can all help hide away the crazy, but it’s still there.  Stay busy: That helps keep it away.  If you ever take the time to stop and look at it all, you’ll see; but be careful opening that door.  Its like that hall closet.  Once all the shit, that you’ve been stuffing away for years, comes crashing out into the floor, you can’t just shut the door.

A lot of times, when I’m talking to someone, I notice that we are making the exact same gestures.  If my arms are crossed, their arms are crossed.  If my face is resting in my right hand, their face is resting in their right hand.  If my pants are down around my ankles, well, you get the picture.  The question is, who made the gesture first?  I’ve always assumed that I was copying them, and I would quickly change whatever it is I was doing.  But maybe, they were the ones copying me!  Maybe I was winning the subconscious battle and they felt more comfortable with themselves by copying me!  Then again, maybe not.

Stone Levitation Ale
4.4% ABV
Stone Brewing Co.
Escondido, CA

Dark amber color.

Him’s an itty-bitty, teeny-weeny Arrogant Bastard…Ittin’ him.
You’re not foolin’ anybody, Stone Brewery!  Trying to masquerade this huge, hoppy,  flavorful beer off as a low alcohol session beer?   Seriously???
Seriously, this a hopped-up amber ale, that is very well balanced.  It may be a little bitter for non-hopheads, but I think it’s just right.  Maybe a little pricey for a session beer, but you can tell there’s a lot of work behind this one.  I had a draft that was much darker than the bottled one I’m having now, but it was just as good, if not better.

Saaalut!

8.5 bananas!