I am so sorry, dear readers, to have been gone so long. I have many updates to provide, which I will be posting over the next week or two. Lots of news, lots of good stuff.
But first, since the holiday season is upon us again, I wanted to start off by posting something wonderful, an old favorite of mine from our friends at Saturday Night Live. I hope you will enjoy this classic as much as I do.
Check back again soon...more coming as soon as I can get it up on this thing.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Being Part Of A Small Piece Of History
In Oklahoma, football is king. Always has been...in fact, Oklahomans have been playing football for longer than Oklahoma has been a state. OU played its first football game (and the only game of that season) against the Oklahoma City team on November 7, 1895. The next year, OU played the squad from Norman High School. So in 1896, eleven years before statehood, there were at least three football teams: Oklahoma City, Norman High School, and the University of Oklahoma. Undoubtedly, there were more. We play regular 11-man, of course, but we also have at least 78 schools that play 8-man football. One of those 78 is a very-small-town school southwest of Oklahoma City, Gracemont. Gracemont is something special, because in spite of the school's existing for over 100 years, Gracemont has never fielded a football team. In fact, most of Gracemont's starters had never touched a football in an organized game or even organized practice prior to two months ago.
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This past Friday night, Gracemont played its first varsity football home game ever. They played a scrappy squad from Riverfield Country Day School, a small independent school in the country-suburban area of west Tulsa. The Gracemont folks obviously have a lot of pride in their new team, as evidenced by the huge turnout, and the fact that nearly everyone in attendance wore their blue "Year 1" shirts for the game. The atmosphere was incredible...both teams worked together to unfurl a huge 40-foot-long American flag that they held and fluttered during the National Anthem (if you look at the video in the link above, you'll be able to see it in action). The clock operator and announcer were both obviously new, not knowing all the officials' signals or understanding exactly what calls were being made when. But it was an exciting experience. From the opening prayer (remember, small-town Oklahoma football) to the final play, it was special; historic, in its own small way.
How do I know all of this? I was there. I had the honor and privilege of officiating this game, at the back judge spot. It was special for me, because it was only the second varsity game I have officiated, and my first of this season. But it was made even better by the special status and atmosphere of this game. I wish I could tell you that this story had a Cinderella ending, and that Gracemont fought hard and beat Riverfield. Unfortunately, that would not be the truth. Gracemont's players showed a lot of heart, but in the end, they lost, as they did with their program's first-ever game the week before, an away game at tiny Waynoka. In fact, thanks to the 45-point mercy rule used in Oklahoma 8-man football, we were finished a mere two minutes into the third quarter. But that didn't seem to matter as much to the hometown folks, who were just thrilled to be there, in that place, for that game, just like I was.
In officiating, you get some interesting experiences that you would never get anywhere else: watching some very exciting games from the best seat in the house, being in close proximity celebrities, watching the Sports Stars of Tomorrow as they grow into their potential. But every once in a while, you get to be part of something great, something better than the average game. I am just thrilled and honored that I was able to be part of it. I'm not trying to make it out to be some amazing thing, something earth-shattering; but to those players, and to the people of Gracemont, it was momentous, something they'll remember for the rest of their lives and beyond. I got to be a small part of that. And THAT is what it's all about.
View Larger Map
This past Friday night, Gracemont played its first varsity football home game ever. They played a scrappy squad from Riverfield Country Day School, a small independent school in the country-suburban area of west Tulsa. The Gracemont folks obviously have a lot of pride in their new team, as evidenced by the huge turnout, and the fact that nearly everyone in attendance wore their blue "Year 1" shirts for the game. The atmosphere was incredible...both teams worked together to unfurl a huge 40-foot-long American flag that they held and fluttered during the National Anthem (if you look at the video in the link above, you'll be able to see it in action). The clock operator and announcer were both obviously new, not knowing all the officials' signals or understanding exactly what calls were being made when. But it was an exciting experience. From the opening prayer (remember, small-town Oklahoma football) to the final play, it was special; historic, in its own small way.
How do I know all of this? I was there. I had the honor and privilege of officiating this game, at the back judge spot. It was special for me, because it was only the second varsity game I have officiated, and my first of this season. But it was made even better by the special status and atmosphere of this game. I wish I could tell you that this story had a Cinderella ending, and that Gracemont fought hard and beat Riverfield. Unfortunately, that would not be the truth. Gracemont's players showed a lot of heart, but in the end, they lost, as they did with their program's first-ever game the week before, an away game at tiny Waynoka. In fact, thanks to the 45-point mercy rule used in Oklahoma 8-man football, we were finished a mere two minutes into the third quarter. But that didn't seem to matter as much to the hometown folks, who were just thrilled to be there, in that place, for that game, just like I was.
In officiating, you get some interesting experiences that you would never get anywhere else: watching some very exciting games from the best seat in the house, being in close proximity celebrities, watching the Sports Stars of Tomorrow as they grow into their potential. But every once in a while, you get to be part of something great, something better than the average game. I am just thrilled and honored that I was able to be part of it. I'm not trying to make it out to be some amazing thing, something earth-shattering; but to those players, and to the people of Gracemont, it was momentous, something they'll remember for the rest of their lives and beyond. I got to be a small part of that. And THAT is what it's all about.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Important Message to Oklahoma Drivers
Your car comes from the factory with turns signals installed. They are a truly wonderful advance in the annals of motoring; they let you easily communicate your intentions to other drivers! (Due to the limitations of humanity, other drivers are not capable of reading your mind and thus anticipating your changes of direction, you see.) I highly recommend you use them. Use them when you're going to turn left. Use them when you're going to turn right. Use them even when you're going to change lanes! They are so, so simple, and well worth the extra $25 you paid for them to be installed by the manufacturer.
Friday, September 03, 2010
Youtube Of The Day
Today's Football Joke (in honor of Heidi, who got this via Facebook from a friend):
The Red Cross in Stillwater has revised its tornado warning procedures. For absolute safety in the event of a tornado warning, all citizens are instructed to proceed immediately to T. Boone Pickens Stadium...as there's no chance of a touchdown there.
Today's YotD comes courtesy of my sister Misty, who sends along this hilarious video:
Hope ya'll enjoyed that one as much as I did.
The Red Cross in Stillwater has revised its tornado warning procedures. For absolute safety in the event of a tornado warning, all citizens are instructed to proceed immediately to T. Boone Pickens Stadium...as there's no chance of a touchdown there.
Today's YotD comes courtesy of my sister Misty, who sends along this hilarious video:
Hope ya'll enjoyed that one as much as I did.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
So Long, Bob
Bob Barry Sr. will retire as the voice of OU football after this season.
I've got very mixed feelings on this. Let's get the more negative stuff out of the way first. Bob has been slipping for several years, a clear sign of his age. He would regularly miss players' names and mis-call the occasional play, or stumble over his call. Also, while I enjoyed his radio calls, he is nowhere near my favorite Sooner play-by-play man...that honor goes to the great John Brooks, the man who I essentially grew up with as the weekly voice of the Sooners.
However, it cannot be denied that Bob Barry Sr. is an Oklahoma legend. He did OU football for many years, in two stints. He fit a brief period as the OSU play-by-play man, then came back to OU, his alma mater. He did a great job for OU's games, and while he's not my favorite, I still always enjoyed his calls (even when he made mistakes). He was quick and always capable, and had a great voice. Plus, the fact that he's a local guy made a difference for me; another "hometown boy makes good" story, and I love those with Oklahoma guys. In the bigger media markets, you always get these ambitious outsiders who see the job they do as just one stop on their career path. Life's different here, though, and it's great having guys like Bob, who are from here and want to build up their home, rather than just taking their first opportunity to get out and move on to something "bigger". Finally, Bob Barry Sr. started doing OU games in 1961...during Bud Wilkinson's tenure as OU's head coach. Bud Wilkinson. Consider that for a moment as you think about his career...essentially, Bob has done games during the time of two of Oklahoma's four greatest head coaches (and probably would have done games during Barry Switzer's time as well, just with odd timing putting his last season of his initial time as OU's radio man as the last season before Switzer moved up to head coach). He's a legend.
Now the question will be, who takes over? For many Sooner fans, the spot of play-by-play man is just as important as the head coach. We want someone great, someone capable, and someone who makes the games that much greater. We want someone who will make us want to turn off the TV guys so we can get the radio call. The Oklahoman is reporting on several possible replacements, but none of them really blow my skirt up. Of course, to be honest, I probably want the job as badly as anyone. (Broadcasting background? Radio experience? PSHAW...I can do that job.) It has been my secret dream to one day be the radio play-by-play voice of Oklahoma Sooner football. Maybe I'll at least send in a tape.
I've got very mixed feelings on this. Let's get the more negative stuff out of the way first. Bob has been slipping for several years, a clear sign of his age. He would regularly miss players' names and mis-call the occasional play, or stumble over his call. Also, while I enjoyed his radio calls, he is nowhere near my favorite Sooner play-by-play man...that honor goes to the great John Brooks, the man who I essentially grew up with as the weekly voice of the Sooners.
However, it cannot be denied that Bob Barry Sr. is an Oklahoma legend. He did OU football for many years, in two stints. He fit a brief period as the OSU play-by-play man, then came back to OU, his alma mater. He did a great job for OU's games, and while he's not my favorite, I still always enjoyed his calls (even when he made mistakes). He was quick and always capable, and had a great voice. Plus, the fact that he's a local guy made a difference for me; another "hometown boy makes good" story, and I love those with Oklahoma guys. In the bigger media markets, you always get these ambitious outsiders who see the job they do as just one stop on their career path. Life's different here, though, and it's great having guys like Bob, who are from here and want to build up their home, rather than just taking their first opportunity to get out and move on to something "bigger". Finally, Bob Barry Sr. started doing OU games in 1961...during Bud Wilkinson's tenure as OU's head coach. Bud Wilkinson. Consider that for a moment as you think about his career...essentially, Bob has done games during the time of two of Oklahoma's four greatest head coaches (and probably would have done games during Barry Switzer's time as well, just with odd timing putting his last season of his initial time as OU's radio man as the last season before Switzer moved up to head coach). He's a legend.
Now the question will be, who takes over? For many Sooner fans, the spot of play-by-play man is just as important as the head coach. We want someone great, someone capable, and someone who makes the games that much greater. We want someone who will make us want to turn off the TV guys so we can get the radio call. The Oklahoman is reporting on several possible replacements, but none of them really blow my skirt up. Of course, to be honest, I probably want the job as badly as anyone. (Broadcasting background? Radio experience? PSHAW...I can do that job.) It has been my secret dream to one day be the radio play-by-play voice of Oklahoma Sooner football. Maybe I'll at least send in a tape.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
HOLY COW! A MUSINGS POST!
I haven't done a "musings" post in a while, but I'm kind of pressed for time and I have a lot of little things to say so I felt it would be best for this post. (Besides, I needed to post something, since I hadn't put anything up in several days.)
My very tiny inner chef has come out recently, as I have made my favorite Italian dish, Chicken Piccata, twice in the past week. And it was actually tasty and not screwed up. Those of you who know me, know that I'm not much of a cook. I can follow directions OK and usually make it out of the kitchen alive, but I'm not exactly Mario Batali or Bobby Flay. So actually succeeding in making such a tasty dish was a point of great pride and pleasure for me.
Tonight officially starts the football season for me! I had some youth league games last Friday night, so I suppose in terms of actual official paid work, that was it. But my first school games are tonight, at Norman North High School. I am really looking forward to it. This season has been huge for me so far, and it continues to get bigger. I am really having to work my butt off, because not only am I getting back in for my second season, but I have the coordinators pushing me hard to move up, and I already have at least 4 varsity games scheduled as a sub for guys who will be out! For a second-year guy, that's huge. Plus, I'm learning other positions, specifically the back judge position, and so there's that much more I'm having to cram into my head. But things are going well...in fact, I'm really amazed and thrilled at how well things are going for me in football. I hope I am able to keep this momentum going. Again, it just means I have to keep working my butt off to stay on top of it all (and not screw up too much).
We are having a lot of challenges with the kids. Our lives are not terribly routine...we have a great deal going on and so we aren't able to provide a definite, set time for dinner, or baths, or bed, for example. That makes it difficult to get the kids into a good routine, and small children thrive on routine. So not having that is causing us issues. For example, Owen is boycotting naps. This is upping his cranky level to 11, and it's making things difficult for Heidi. To make matters that much more challenging, Heidi is trying to get her new day routine set, with school starting and her home daycare kids finally getting enrolled. So there is a great deal of change at home and it's making things difficult for everyone. Throw in my being gone more for my football officiating, and it's certainly a rough time for us all. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we try to get things settled down.
Also, Donovan is struggling right now. He's not motivated to do anything, he is combative and argumentative all the time, and he doesn't even have much drive in playing football. Heidi and I are about at the end of our rope with him, because we are just running out of options as to how to keep him under control and going. Again, pray for us all.
I haven't had time to mention it, but I sold the Bronco. I didn't want to, and I would still like to get another one eventually, but I also needed something I knew was going to be dependable. As much as I loved it, the Bronco just wasn't being dependable enough for me. Mom and Dad had a 1994 BMW 325i convertible that was mostly sitting around doing nothing. They've been toying with the idea of selling it for quite a while, but I think the issue is that they just love it too much and didn't really WANT to sell it. So instead, they're selling it to me. That sort of gives them the best of both worlds. It's got 184K miles on it, but it was also maintained by my parents for the past 7-8 years, meaning that it has religiously had oil changes and all the good preventive maintenance mechanically that cars need. I've been through the receipts and seen all that they have done, and for a car of its age and mileage, it's in surprisingly good shape. I have some things I will be doing to make it better, and to keep it in great shape, of course. I do have to say this: if you ever have the opportunity to get a nice convertible, and drive to work on a beautiful sunny morning with the top down, DO IT. It is an experience not to be missed, and it certainly provides a great start to the day. I'll get some pics up of it later, when I have a chance to do so.
That's all for now. I'll have some more coming later.
My very tiny inner chef has come out recently, as I have made my favorite Italian dish, Chicken Piccata, twice in the past week. And it was actually tasty and not screwed up. Those of you who know me, know that I'm not much of a cook. I can follow directions OK and usually make it out of the kitchen alive, but I'm not exactly Mario Batali or Bobby Flay. So actually succeeding in making such a tasty dish was a point of great pride and pleasure for me.
Tonight officially starts the football season for me! I had some youth league games last Friday night, so I suppose in terms of actual official paid work, that was it. But my first school games are tonight, at Norman North High School. I am really looking forward to it. This season has been huge for me so far, and it continues to get bigger. I am really having to work my butt off, because not only am I getting back in for my second season, but I have the coordinators pushing me hard to move up, and I already have at least 4 varsity games scheduled as a sub for guys who will be out! For a second-year guy, that's huge. Plus, I'm learning other positions, specifically the back judge position, and so there's that much more I'm having to cram into my head. But things are going well...in fact, I'm really amazed and thrilled at how well things are going for me in football. I hope I am able to keep this momentum going. Again, it just means I have to keep working my butt off to stay on top of it all (and not screw up too much).
We are having a lot of challenges with the kids. Our lives are not terribly routine...we have a great deal going on and so we aren't able to provide a definite, set time for dinner, or baths, or bed, for example. That makes it difficult to get the kids into a good routine, and small children thrive on routine. So not having that is causing us issues. For example, Owen is boycotting naps. This is upping his cranky level to 11, and it's making things difficult for Heidi. To make matters that much more challenging, Heidi is trying to get her new day routine set, with school starting and her home daycare kids finally getting enrolled. So there is a great deal of change at home and it's making things difficult for everyone. Throw in my being gone more for my football officiating, and it's certainly a rough time for us all. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we try to get things settled down.
Also, Donovan is struggling right now. He's not motivated to do anything, he is combative and argumentative all the time, and he doesn't even have much drive in playing football. Heidi and I are about at the end of our rope with him, because we are just running out of options as to how to keep him under control and going. Again, pray for us all.
I haven't had time to mention it, but I sold the Bronco. I didn't want to, and I would still like to get another one eventually, but I also needed something I knew was going to be dependable. As much as I loved it, the Bronco just wasn't being dependable enough for me. Mom and Dad had a 1994 BMW 325i convertible that was mostly sitting around doing nothing. They've been toying with the idea of selling it for quite a while, but I think the issue is that they just love it too much and didn't really WANT to sell it. So instead, they're selling it to me. That sort of gives them the best of both worlds. It's got 184K miles on it, but it was also maintained by my parents for the past 7-8 years, meaning that it has religiously had oil changes and all the good preventive maintenance mechanically that cars need. I've been through the receipts and seen all that they have done, and for a car of its age and mileage, it's in surprisingly good shape. I have some things I will be doing to make it better, and to keep it in great shape, of course. I do have to say this: if you ever have the opportunity to get a nice convertible, and drive to work on a beautiful sunny morning with the top down, DO IT. It is an experience not to be missed, and it certainly provides a great start to the day. I'll get some pics up of it later, when I have a chance to do so.
That's all for now. I'll have some more coming later.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
More Tron Legacy
A new trailer is up:
It just keeps getting better and better. I have maintained to many folks I know that if you are an IT person, watching the original Tron is a requirement. This one might be even better.
It just keeps getting better and better. I have maintained to many folks I know that if you are an IT person, watching the original Tron is a requirement. This one might be even better.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The New New Hotness
I've already talked about the 2011 Ford Mustang GT. It's got the brand-spaking new "Coyote" 302 (ACTUAL 5.0L) V8 engine. I want one.
Well..........................then they came out this this.
The 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302. Even though it's available in three color combinations, I LOVE how they got the Grabber Orange with Black from the original model is one of those options (and the option I would be choosing for mine.) Just for fun, here's a teaser vid of the thing.
For those of you unfamiliar with Mustang lore, the original Boss 302 was produced in the 1969 and 1970 model years. The 1969 Boss 302 is (or was) my all-time, numero-uno favorite dream car. Here's a pic of one tear-assing around a track at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed (photo credit Jarod Carruthers, via Jalopnik).
One of these days, I'm gonna have MY OWN hot cars to take pictures of. Instead, I just troll the Internet and look at pictures taken by other photographers of other people's hot cars.
Well..........................then they came out this this.
The 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302. Even though it's available in three color combinations, I LOVE how they got the Grabber Orange with Black from the original model is one of those options (and the option I would be choosing for mine.) Just for fun, here's a teaser vid of the thing.
For those of you unfamiliar with Mustang lore, the original Boss 302 was produced in the 1969 and 1970 model years. The 1969 Boss 302 is (or was) my all-time, numero-uno favorite dream car. Here's a pic of one tear-assing around a track at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed (photo credit Jarod Carruthers, via Jalopnik).
One of these days, I'm gonna have MY OWN hot cars to take pictures of. Instead, I just troll the Internet and look at pictures taken by other photographers of other people's hot cars.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
This Needs No Further Comment
"Shut Up! You Can't Sing The National Anthem Here!"
And we wonder why Americans are so unhappy with government these days.
And we wonder why Americans are so unhappy with government these days.
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