Here's the airline I plan on flying across the pond, if ever... Make mine business class, please!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Should the learn economics, or spelling first?
This story out of Salt Lake City amused me. Then I saw the spelling on the signs... At 7 and 9, you'd think one of them could spell cable or money!
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Friday, June 20, 2008
Slippery slope
PETA is well known as a ruthless organization with the express goal of removing any human-animal interaction. It scares me that the CEO of Churchill Downs fails to see PETA as they are and actually grant them an audience. To the CEO, remember you saw it here first - If you give in to their seemingly benign "requests", they'll be back next year with even more radical ideas.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Somthing is wrong with this picture
Don't get me wrong, I love me some scattered, smothered, covered and chunked just as much as the next guy, but for the Waffle House to be named the official restaurant of a road race, that's just silly!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Mmmmmmm....
Tasty!!! I've been waiting for the 3G iPhone since the iPhone first came out last year. I knew that the price was way too high and the performance way too low for me to jump to the first generation of iPhone. Jobs & Co. have done the iPhone up right, though, in it's 2.0 version. Sporting 3G speed (actually 3.5G if you check out the specs), GPS, MS Exchange support and 3rd party app support, Apple has raised the bar on smartphones to a level that won't be surpassed in a long, long time.
My only slight disappointment is that the camera on the phone is still 2 megapixels. Apple could have put a slightly higher quality camera in, but probably couldn't have kept the price down in doing so. Oh, the price? You say you won't spend $600 for any phone? How about $199? Yeah, the price will be $199 for the 8 GB model and $299 for the 16 GB. Extremely reasonable for the features the device sports.
I'll be in line on July 11th, count on it! :)
My only slight disappointment is that the camera on the phone is still 2 megapixels. Apple could have put a slightly higher quality camera in, but probably couldn't have kept the price down in doing so. Oh, the price? You say you won't spend $600 for any phone? How about $199? Yeah, the price will be $199 for the 8 GB model and $299 for the 16 GB. Extremely reasonable for the features the device sports.
I'll be in line on July 11th, count on it! :)
Saturday, June 07, 2008
My (short) Mike rememberance
Today is the memorial service for my good friend Mike. I want to share with you what I wrote to be included in the scrapbook that Ruthanna put together.
Mike.
Mike Lorenzo was a good friend. His passing has helped me to realize to not take for granted the time I have with the people I love. I always figured I’d have forever to sit around and shoot the bull with Mike about dogs, beer, motorcycles, his business, politics and life in general. I’ll miss those conversations.
I got to know Mike and Karen about 10 years ago. I was new to the sport of lure coursing with my adopted Greyhounds and they were the Yankees with the awesome running dogs. I met Karen first at a field trial in south Georgia, she lived up to the reputation as the brassy, loud Yankee that I had heard about. It didn’t take long though for me to realize that she was one of the special people in the sport. I met Mike soon after and realized what a wonderful couple these two were. It turned out that even though they were quite competitive, they were humble when victorious and gracious in defeat. I remember quite vividly the II in Virginia in 1999 when Kookie won from Open but tore a muscle during his final run. We forfeited him to their dog (I think it was Red) who ended up winning the breed. Karen and Mike were ecstatic and were effusive in their praise of us for what we did.
I became friends with Mike over the years as they would make the trip from New York down to Cartersville to go up against the competition we had. I was a relatively new lure operator and learned much from not only Mike’s advice but also just watching how he handled the situations when he was running the lure. We were of a like mind in how to handle the dogs that we were responsible for on the field. I always enjoyed our time after the trials when we could sit around with a beer and remember the runs and what we did right and wrong. I probably took away from that more than I’ll ever realize.
There was an II in Colorado, I believe it was 2003, when Ruthanna and I drove out with Cindy Owens. It was an extremely grueling trip, driving straight through from Atlanta to Colorado Springs in a little more than 24 hours. Luckily I got to spend a lot of time with Mike that weekend. The two of us watched the Best in II runs from the top of the motorhome, critiquing the runs. Once again it was a great opportunity to share and learn.
The next year Ruthanna and I drove to Iowa for the II and stayed with Mike and Karen in the motorhome. That was a great time since we were able to spend a lot of time relaxing and socializing in the evenings.
2005 was the apex for us with Mike and Karen at the II. That’s the year that Sweeney, Mike and Karen’s wedding gift to Ruthanna and I won Best in II. I remember the run like it was yesterday and how amazed I was at the run he put in. Even knowing how Sweeney ran that day, I was floored when it was announced that Sweeney had won Best in International Invitational! We were so lucky to have been able to share that wonderful moment with our friends. Ruthanna and I will be forever indebted to Mike and Karen for that special gift! I don’t think that any of us, Mike, Karen, Ruthanna or I, have ever come down from that high!
Amazingly, though we had been close friends for so many years, we had never had the opportunity to visit each others homes. Finally in 2007, I was asked to judge a trial in Connecticut. On the way up, Ruthanna and I arranged to stop by their home and have dinner before continuing up to the hotel. We had an awesome time and a great dinner with them that evening.
The following weekend we were able to return the hospitality (at least I hope we did) and have Mike and Karen stay with us while she was judging the SEGC trial in Moreland, GA. We all had a great time even though we were quite exhausted! Mike was a godsend that weekend for SEGC as I was judging the IG Nationals close by and was not able to help with the SEGC trial. Mike was Johnny on the spot and did yeoman’s work to keep the trial moving.
That was just the kind of guy that Mike was. He always came to trials prepared to lend a hand or a machine, was always working to be innovative with equipment. He was always willing to take time to teach up and coming lure operators. He always took the time to just hang out and shoot the bull.
Mike.
Mike Lorenzo was a good friend. His passing has helped me to realize to not take for granted the time I have with the people I love. I always figured I’d have forever to sit around and shoot the bull with Mike about dogs, beer, motorcycles, his business, politics and life in general. I’ll miss those conversations.
I got to know Mike and Karen about 10 years ago. I was new to the sport of lure coursing with my adopted Greyhounds and they were the Yankees with the awesome running dogs. I met Karen first at a field trial in south Georgia, she lived up to the reputation as the brassy, loud Yankee that I had heard about. It didn’t take long though for me to realize that she was one of the special people in the sport. I met Mike soon after and realized what a wonderful couple these two were. It turned out that even though they were quite competitive, they were humble when victorious and gracious in defeat. I remember quite vividly the II in Virginia in 1999 when Kookie won from Open but tore a muscle during his final run. We forfeited him to their dog (I think it was Red) who ended up winning the breed. Karen and Mike were ecstatic and were effusive in their praise of us for what we did.
I became friends with Mike over the years as they would make the trip from New York down to Cartersville to go up against the competition we had. I was a relatively new lure operator and learned much from not only Mike’s advice but also just watching how he handled the situations when he was running the lure. We were of a like mind in how to handle the dogs that we were responsible for on the field. I always enjoyed our time after the trials when we could sit around with a beer and remember the runs and what we did right and wrong. I probably took away from that more than I’ll ever realize.
There was an II in Colorado, I believe it was 2003, when Ruthanna and I drove out with Cindy Owens. It was an extremely grueling trip, driving straight through from Atlanta to Colorado Springs in a little more than 24 hours. Luckily I got to spend a lot of time with Mike that weekend. The two of us watched the Best in II runs from the top of the motorhome, critiquing the runs. Once again it was a great opportunity to share and learn.
The next year Ruthanna and I drove to Iowa for the II and stayed with Mike and Karen in the motorhome. That was a great time since we were able to spend a lot of time relaxing and socializing in the evenings.
2005 was the apex for us with Mike and Karen at the II. That’s the year that Sweeney, Mike and Karen’s wedding gift to Ruthanna and I won Best in II. I remember the run like it was yesterday and how amazed I was at the run he put in. Even knowing how Sweeney ran that day, I was floored when it was announced that Sweeney had won Best in International Invitational! We were so lucky to have been able to share that wonderful moment with our friends. Ruthanna and I will be forever indebted to Mike and Karen for that special gift! I don’t think that any of us, Mike, Karen, Ruthanna or I, have ever come down from that high!
Amazingly, though we had been close friends for so many years, we had never had the opportunity to visit each others homes. Finally in 2007, I was asked to judge a trial in Connecticut. On the way up, Ruthanna and I arranged to stop by their home and have dinner before continuing up to the hotel. We had an awesome time and a great dinner with them that evening.
The following weekend we were able to return the hospitality (at least I hope we did) and have Mike and Karen stay with us while she was judging the SEGC trial in Moreland, GA. We all had a great time even though we were quite exhausted! Mike was a godsend that weekend for SEGC as I was judging the IG Nationals close by and was not able to help with the SEGC trial. Mike was Johnny on the spot and did yeoman’s work to keep the trial moving.
That was just the kind of guy that Mike was. He always came to trials prepared to lend a hand or a machine, was always working to be innovative with equipment. He was always willing to take time to teach up and coming lure operators. He always took the time to just hang out and shoot the bull.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Zippy little critter!
We spent much of Sunday at John Parker's place over in Newnan, GA practicing the dogs on a 200 yd straight. We ran Lobo, Nellie and Carmela a couple of times each (We had forgotten our accouterments for taking care of Sweeney's and Everett's feet so they didn't get to run). Everyone had a great time and we got to see some pretty fast runs. I was really impressed with Carmela the most. She's a speedy thing, running completely like a grown up dog. Actually, she's really never run like a puppy, always running with her head down and reaching well with her front legs. She seems to always be in control of her body. I was also impressed with Nellie's runs. I slipped her so all I could see was her ass as it quickly faded into the distance, but what I could see was something I've recently learned from reading Gazehounds and Coursing by Dutch Salmon. Nellie tracks very well when she runs. It looks like she's running a rail and her feet occupy a width of about 4 inches on the ground beneath her. Very pretty to watch!
I don't think the dogs will be running much for the next few months since it's going to be so hot. I'm really looking forward to the fall racing season so we can get Carmela out and see how she does!!
Speaking of Carmela and racing, I'm going to need to get her box trained. I'd like to build a simple one hole contraption that I can use to get her accustomed to going in and out. I'm thinking of using corrugated plastic board and making something simple. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
I don't think the dogs will be running much for the next few months since it's going to be so hot. I'm really looking forward to the fall racing season so we can get Carmela out and see how she does!!
Speaking of Carmela and racing, I'm going to need to get her box trained. I'd like to build a simple one hole contraption that I can use to get her accustomed to going in and out. I'm thinking of using corrugated plastic board and making something simple. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
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