Best Round Ever

I took a few days off work this week. Work has been extremely stressful and I have been feeling really burned out. So I met Rachel's dad at the commuter lot today around 1:00PM and we headed down to a local golf course in Woodbridge. We checked in and they said we could tee off at around 2:00. So I hit the putting green, hit about a dozen balls off of the mat, and then it was time to tee off. One more thing to consider, I shot a 101 on Sunday. I seemed to be putting really well on the putting green, but I figured it was just a fluke. About 1:45 they called us inside and by about 2:00 we were on the first tee. SWEET!!!


The front 9 started out pretty average for me. I was 9 over after the first 5 holes. Good, but not great. Then I parred 7 and parred 9, I was starting to hit the ball really well. I ended up finishing the front with a 45. Slightly better than usual for me, but I didn't feel like I was making really crisp iron contact. We tee off on the par 5 10th and I hit a nice drive, lay up about 120 yards out and my third shot lands about 20 feet from the hole. I knock my 1st putt close, and tap in for par. Two pars in a row. Number 11 was a 135 yard par 3. I hit an 8 iron and land it in the front of the green, two putt for another par. Three in a row!!! Now I'm starting to get really exited, waiting for my luck to run out and for the "wheels to fall off the bus". Number 12 is a 155 yard par 3. Hit a 7 iron a but right, ball lands, kicks left and rolls into the green. Two putt for par. Four pars in a row. My longest stretch ever.

Number thirteen is a short par 4. I grab a 5 wood and in hind sight, should have used driver. Hit an awful tee shot with the 5 wood, hit my recovery shot into the bunker, hit it our of the bunker but short of the green, chipped on and two putted for a 6. The streak was over, but my confidence was still pretty high. Ended up parring 3 of the next 5 holes and shooting 42 on the back 9. That included a bit of a meltdown on 18 where I ended up with a 6. Ended up with a final score of 87!!! Not only did I break 90, but I beat Rachel's dad by 10 strokes!!! BOOYAH!!!Ended up with 8 pars overall and no 3 putts on the back 9.

We are supposed to play again Wednesday if the weather cooperates. So I'll get to see if it was a fluke, or if I "made the turn" and my game has started coming together.

Hybrid?

Who knew the Rockies had such a dominating pitching staff. Seems like all their starters have ERA's in the 2's. Geesh. Stupid thin air of Colorado. I wish Steve Balboni could played a game at Coors field. I would live to see that tub of lard legging out a double at 5000 feet above sea level.

I'm really digging the message of Ron Paul. He talks about how dangerous it is forcing democracy throughout the world like the current administration. He talks about making things better stateside which I haven't really heard many others discuss. He talks about responsible spending and budgeting, not spending money like a sailor in Times Square during feel week errr fleet week. And he talks about doing all those things without stretching the limits of the US constitution. Amazing. Problem with Ron is that he a white guy, who's a republican from Texas. People won't do the research and just assume he is another "Dubyah". Another reason for getting behind Ron is because his name kind of sounds like a porn actors name.

A friend at work just bought a new Prius with all the bells and whistles. I road in it for the first time yesterday. I was pretty disappointed. Other than the really cool navigation system, the inside of the car is ugly and laid out really weird. It was just so weird for him to throw the car into gear and stomp the gas and take off without "starting the car". It was like being in a golf cart. And you have to press a button on the dash to put the car in "park". If I get a hybrid, I would lean towards a Civic. Although $22,000 for a hybrid Civic is kind of pricey when you only increase your gas mileage about 10-15 mpg over the regular gas engine. I would have to drive a lot of miles before I made back that $4000-5000 difference over the regular Civic. Something like 8 years of driving 15,000 miles a year to save $4000 in gas. But regardless, the styling of the Civic wins hands down.

Ahoy hoy!

I love Steve Carell, but that movie Evan Almighty looks ridiculous. Im not going to be suckered in to seeing it at the movies. Maybe Ill check it out on Netflix.

I just heard that Jack Black is set to star in a comedy called Manwitch. And no, it's not about Sloppy Joes. Supposedly it's about a school teacher (played by Jack), who discovers he has mystical powers. How does Jack Black continue to get starring roles?

Tiger Woods wife had a baby girl yesterday. They named her Sam. Hrmm you think Tiger is a little upset his first born was not a boy? I thought the Nike commercial where they make the clubs for "baby Woods" was clever. Wow imagine if his daughter looks like her mom and can hit a golf ball like dad? Look out Natalie Gulbis!!!

The results of the chromosomal triple test came back. All three came back negative. So no Down Syndrome, no Spina Biffida and no Edwards syndrome.

Holy carp is it hot out today. They have been saying how hot it was supposed to get, but yesterday and the day before were tolerable. Today it's like walking into Satan's crotch outside. It's not the heat, it's the humidity you bastards!!! 88 degrees with a heat index of 113. Yowsa!!!

Mario Party 8 for the Wii is pretty cool. Rachel and I played it a little last night. Took a little time to figure out what the hell was going on, but once we did it was fun. I was particularly fond of the mini game "Surfs Way Up"!!!

The huntress becomes the hunter, the hunter becomes the preeeeeyyyyyahhhhaaaayyyy.

Best Buy blows.

Fathers Day

Fathers day started out nicely. Rachel had bought me a few baby related items like a cool Yankees bib, and a little baby shirt that says My First Yankees Tee. Then we went for breakfast over at her parents house. Audra and Mike were still in town with the kids, so we spent some time with them and I got some cool Godfathers day presents. Including a Titleist hat with the Yankees logo on the side. Combining two of my favorite things, golf and the Yankees. GENIUS!!!!


Audra and Mike left at around 1PM. We said goodbye, and since it was a pretty hot day, Rachel and I decided to go swimming in her parents pool. I had a slight headache when we went in, but by the time we got out, my headache had gotten a lot worse. I don't know if it was from being in the sun or what. By the time we got home, my head was pounding. I went upstairs to lay down while Rachel started dinner. After laying down for a few minutes, I got sick to my stomach. Long story short, my headache got so bad I threw up for the next 8 hours or so off and on. SO I didn't get to see the end of the US Open or the finale of the Subway Series. But luckily today I am feeling much better and Im quite hungry.

Got my hands on an advanced copy of Icky Thump. By far my favorite song is Conquest. It's a pretty different sound, which included Mexican style trumpets. Very cool song. Little Cream Soda is also very good. Sounds like a song you would expect from the White Stripes. Kind has a bluesy feel to it. Bone Broke is pretty awesome too. The title track is fun, but the rest of the CD isn't so hot. So maybe 1/2 of the songs are good, the rest of the CD Im not too impressed with. You Dont Know what Love Is, has potential.

The party for Mike's parents 40th anniversary was a success. They looked genuinely surprised and seemed very happy to see people from Vermont they hadn't seen in several years. The video seemed to be a big hit as well. It was funny watching peoples reactions to some of the baby pictures of wedding pictures of Mike's parents.

Happy Thursday

Wow 8 in a row!!!I almost hoped the Yankees lost last night, just so they wouldn't potentially be going for 10 in a row vs the Mets tomorrow. The Yankees are on a roll, while the Mets are slumping a bit. Good combination. And as predicted the Red Sox have come back down to earth. So the Yankees started out 2 weeks ago 14.5 games back and have since gained 6 games on the Sox. I think the Yankees just need to jump over to the National League. So far they are 6-2 vs the national league.

The new Queens of the Stone Age is pretty good. It sounds more like the Songs for the Dead CD and has some Eagles for Death Metal feel to it. I didn't like their last CD much, but this new one is pretty good so far. Not sure Dave Grohl did the drumming on this album, but the beats are pretty awesome. Especially on In the Hollow and Sick, Sick, Sick. Makes you just want to start banging stuff. Turnin on the Screw is just so trippy. Makes you want to eat some magic mushrooms and go see Circe De Soleile. Awesome!

Adobe Lightroom is pretty awesome. I've switched to shooting RAW and processing my photos in Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw 4. The pictures in Raw format look quite dull and lifeless like an old negative, but you really have a lot of creative control. I was even able to take a pretty ordinary shot from golfing in PA, and really make the image pop. Click the photo for a larger size.






If your camera allows you to shoot RAW, I highly recommend doing so.


So glad Rescue Me started it's new season last night on FX. Summer TV is pretty bad. Although I have been oddly drawn to American Inventor and Hells Kitchen. If you don't watch Rescue Me, you should give it a try. It's really a well done show. I think if it was on a major network it would be up there in the ratings with ER and Grays Anatomy.

While working on the anniversary video for Mike's mother and father, I really got hooked on the song The Wonder of You by Elvis. It was his parents wedding song, and it's really a great song.

I was bummed to hear that Mr. Wizard died yesterday from bone cancer. I used to love that show.

Yesterday as I was getting out of work this crazy line of thunderstorms moved through the area. The sky got so black and the winds were pretty gusty. Then came the downpours and the hail. Then the winds became pretty stiff and consistent and it got really loud. Turns out there was a small tornado spotted near Dulles Airport.

Some weekend stuff

Does Al Roker deserve to be fired? Apparently Al was one of the driving forces behind Don Imus getting fired. Now Al has made some rather insensitive remarks about people with epilepsy. Better be careful what you wish for Al.

Wow the Yankees have won 6 straight. Amazing what happens when the middle of your lineup comes alive. Bobby Abreau and Robinson Cano in particular have really been helping the team lately. They have been scoring bunches of runs every night like that lineup is capable of. Lets hope they can continue this trend through the next few months and make the pennant race interesting.

Audra and Mike are in town with the kids. Went swimming with the kids yesterday. They really enjoyed dunking Uncle Mikey, maybe even a little too much. They were giggling pretty loudly the whole time. Andrew seemed to take great pleasure in forcing my head underwater.

It's been a while since I drank beer out of a can. Drank a Michelob Ultra on Saturday and it was like drinking tin foil. Gross.

Got Rachel a iPod Nano. Holy crap are those things tiny. I never realized how much nicer and brighter the new color displays are. My 2nd gen ipod still works, so I can't justify replacing it, but man I have the itch.

Been working on this video for my brother in law Mike's parents. They are celebrating their 40th anniversary in July. So we have been compiling pictures of them from their child hood, to their wedding, baby pictures of Mike and his brother and photos of the grandkids. A lot of work so far, but Im pretty happy with how it turned out so far. Apparently, one of Mike and Audra's neighbors does these kind of videos and gets like $500 a pop for them. Maybe if I get good enough and efficient enough at it, I can turn it into a little side business. The video for Mike's parents I did for free, but Audra is pretty handy with a paintbrush, so she's agreed to help paint the nursery. WOOHOO!!!


A-rod could finish the season with 100 home runs and 300 RBI's and the media would still find something to pick on him about. Geesh, give the guy a break.

Got to use my DSLR camera for the first time in a few months on Saturday. Rachel's aunt and uncle threw an engagement party for Rachel's brother and sister in law to be. Was cool to see the Pennsylvania crew up there. Haven't seen Rachel's "pop pop" in over a year. He's now 92 and looks pretty great. He has trouble with the circulation in his legs, so he has to keep his legs wrapped and wear surgical stockings, but he still faster than some 20 year old I know. Got a cool picture of him while he was telling Mike and I a story. I'll have to post some of those pics later on.

If anyone is looking to learn how to do camera lighting rather inexpensively (~$100), check out Strobist. They are gearing up to start their Lighting 102 Online class. It's free and very informative. So if your camera has a hot shoe, all you need is a hot shoe flash that can manually have the power adjusted, a way to fire the flash remotely (you can order these remote triggers from Ebay for about $30), and of course, a hot shoe mount on your camera. A tripod, umbrella and umbrella clip are also helpful, but not really necessary at first. You can bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling like I did here. Give nice balanced lighting when you play around with it a bit. Much better than relying on your indoor lighting.

Squilkdaddy

Sorry it's been a while. Not sure what happened between my ISP host and Blogger, but I've tried numerous times to fix it myself and make a few phone calls to tech support last week and noone can seem to figure it out. So I'm back to using blogger webspace.

So I'm really curious about the father in law in this TB scare case. Lets see, the guy who has this rare strain of TB has a father in law who works for the CDC and specializes in TB. Sounds like the father in law may be up to no good.

I'm bummed to hear that Rockstar will not be back on CBS anymore. Damn, I loved that show. And no more Brooke Burk in hot outfits. Damn!!! But there is a new show coming on this week called Super Stars and Fast Cars or something like that. The basic premise of the show is that athletes, former athletes and William Shatner (WTF?) go to this Nascar Fantasy camp sort of place and learn to drive stock cars. My money is on Tony Hawk. I think to do the kinds of things he does on a skateboard, you have to have a few screws loose, so I think he will be more aggressive and a little crazier than Gabby Reese and Shatner. I can't wait for Steve O and Wee Man to show up on the show to pull a prank, like stuffing a giant dildo in his exhaust pipe.

Even though the Yankees are still 12.5 games behind the Red Sox, it was nice to see them take back to back series from the Sox. I'm not giving up just yet. No way the Red Sox are going to continue to play .700 baseball. And if any team knows how to blow a giant lead, it's the Red Sox. Plus there is always the wacky wild card. With Giambi gone for the season, and Mientkevic gone for about 2 months, I wouldn't be surprised if Mark Texiera wound up in the Bronx. Would be nice to have an American born guy on the Yankees for a change. Or bring Tino out of retirement ;-). But for now, I really like Josh Phelps. Not sure why he wasn't getting more playing time to begin with. The guy is a spark plug.

Went to see Knocked Up on Friday. The movie wasn't bad, but it had way too much chick flickidness to it. Any movie where two women lay on a bed eating ice cream bashing men belongs on Lifetime. If it was a true classic like Animal House, or Old School, the two said women would have been topless and kissing. And the birthing scenes at the end scared the crap out of Rachel and I. I almost passed out watching those parts, I don't know how I'll do when it's for real. I do know one thing, I'm staying up top near Rachel's face, and nowhere near "south of the border" if you know what Im saying.

Wow Apple must have some real pull with Fedex. Ya know how when you get free shipping with a lot of companies, it's usually ground service and it takes like a week to arrive? Well not with Apple, they can get a package from SHENZHEN China, to Dulles VA in 3 days, even when two of those three days are weekend days. Booyah!!!

I'm glad the FBI caught those "terrorists" over the weekend. But it sounds like these guys were not very bright. It's like Moe, Larry and Curly turned Muslim and declared jihad. I though Richard Reed the shoe bomber guy was dumb, but these guys take the cake. When I heard a few of the suspects were from Trinidad, someone who will remain nameless immediately came to mind.