After this week, I am wondering if I should move to Dallas. Why should I move to Dallas? Because the Miami Heat won the NBA championship. Do I dislike the Heat so much that their title requires me to move? No. I was rooting against them, but that's not the exact reason I should move.
Since I moved to Miami, the Florida Marlins and Miami Heat have both won professional championships. Furthermore, I spend a year in Gainesville, and the Gators go and win the NCAA basketball tournament. I'm starting to think that my presence has something to do with a team's success. So I think maybe I should go to Dallas so the Cowboys can win the Super Bowl again. Or better yet, I should go to Los Angeles because the Dodgers have gone a lot longer without a championship than the Cowboys.
Of course, cynics and skeptics will point out that in that same time span, the Miami Hurricanes lost the Fiesta Bowl and have been unsuccessful in two trips to the Collge World Series. So it's just a theory. I'm still working on it. But if you want your team to win, just tell me where to go, help me find a job and pay for my move, and you'll be rewarded in no time.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
40 Days
How long is 40 days? Is it a short time or a long time? Jesus spent 40 days in the desert being tempted. He also did not eat for that amount of time. During the flood, it rained for 40 days and nights.
I’m moving back to Miami in 40 days. When this occurred to me, I got very excited. I remember that first day I was here, how lonely I felt after Julie left and how long a year seemed at the time. As with most experiences, what seemed like a long time beforehand has flown by as I look back at it. Now I will be going home for good in 40 days.
But as I was pondering this, I began to view the number from different perspectives. I moved here on August 20 last year. I will be leaving exactly 3 weeks shy of being here a full year. That’s 344 days. 40 days is more than 10% of the number of days I will have lived in Gainesville. 40 days is more than a month, out of 11 months that am staying here. 40 days is almost six weeks. When I think about it terms of weeks, months or even a percentage of time, I realize I have left what could be considered a fairly significant portion of my time in Gainesville.
40 days could be considered a long time. For me, it doesn’t seem that long. I am ready to live under the same roof as Julie again. We have survived the time apart (so far) and have even had positive experiences as a result of this time. I’ll tell you this, though, it’s 344 days longer than I ever want to live apart again. But it also seems too short. I’m not necessarily ready to leave Gainesville. I’ve made good friends here. I have a great church home. There are things I haven’t done yet. Gainesville is surrounded by state parks and nature preserves that I would like to have visited, but haven’t had the chance or haven’t taken the opportunity to do so. Not to mention the fact that as each one of those days goes by, I’m that much closer to taking the bar exam and I still feel so far away from being adequately prepared.
So I look on the next 40 days with mixed emotion. While I hope it doesn’t rain for the next 40 days, and I certainly wouldn’t want to give up food that whole time, it will go by too quickly in some respects. In other respects it can’t get by soon enough. Regardless of the perspective, I know this: On the night of July 30 as I finally get to go to sleep in my own bed again, I will look back and wonder where the time went and be thankful for each one of the days. Thankful for the new experiences they have brought me. And thankful that they are behind me.
I’m moving back to Miami in 40 days. When this occurred to me, I got very excited. I remember that first day I was here, how lonely I felt after Julie left and how long a year seemed at the time. As with most experiences, what seemed like a long time beforehand has flown by as I look back at it. Now I will be going home for good in 40 days.
But as I was pondering this, I began to view the number from different perspectives. I moved here on August 20 last year. I will be leaving exactly 3 weeks shy of being here a full year. That’s 344 days. 40 days is more than 10% of the number of days I will have lived in Gainesville. 40 days is more than a month, out of 11 months that am staying here. 40 days is almost six weeks. When I think about it terms of weeks, months or even a percentage of time, I realize I have left what could be considered a fairly significant portion of my time in Gainesville.
40 days could be considered a long time. For me, it doesn’t seem that long. I am ready to live under the same roof as Julie again. We have survived the time apart (so far) and have even had positive experiences as a result of this time. I’ll tell you this, though, it’s 344 days longer than I ever want to live apart again. But it also seems too short. I’m not necessarily ready to leave Gainesville. I’ve made good friends here. I have a great church home. There are things I haven’t done yet. Gainesville is surrounded by state parks and nature preserves that I would like to have visited, but haven’t had the chance or haven’t taken the opportunity to do so. Not to mention the fact that as each one of those days goes by, I’m that much closer to taking the bar exam and I still feel so far away from being adequately prepared.
So I look on the next 40 days with mixed emotion. While I hope it doesn’t rain for the next 40 days, and I certainly wouldn’t want to give up food that whole time, it will go by too quickly in some respects. In other respects it can’t get by soon enough. Regardless of the perspective, I know this: On the night of July 30 as I finally get to go to sleep in my own bed again, I will look back and wonder where the time went and be thankful for each one of the days. Thankful for the new experiences they have brought me. And thankful that they are behind me.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
You can take the girl out of South Florida...
My wife has officially turned into a South Floridian. She went to see a movie a few days ago and as she was leaving the theater, she thought it was freezing outside. On the way home, she drove by a bank with an exterior time/temperature sign. It was 66 degrees! Now my wife has always been felt cold easily. But to describe 66 degrees as “freezing” just shows that the heat and humidity have gone to her head.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
hurricane, Hurricanes!
It's been a busy couple of days. Of course the big news has been Alberto, the hurricane that wasn't. Alberto has typified what it means to live in Florida in the latter half of the year. As of this weekend, Alberto was supposed to be nothing more than a mild tropical storm that did nothing more than bring much needed rain to an area that has been unusually dry and struggling with wild fires. Conditions quickly changed yesterday. In a matter of hours, Alberto's wind speed had increased to near hurricane strength. As I was walking to my car yesterday afternoon, I was surprised to see someone putting up plywood. I came home to find all of the 24 hour news networks talking about Alberto and the network news shows led their evening broadcasts with Alberto. Alberto, which had been poorly organized, was getting more organized and was certain to become a hurricane overnight. The good news was the storm track. The first predictions had Gainevsille squarely in the potential path. This was no concern if the storm remained a mild tropical strom. Fortunately, the storm track moved north as the storm intensified, making a direct hit on Gainesville less likely. However, many of the news shows had stationed their reporters in Cedar Key. This is a tourist island community about an hour southwest of Gainesville. Julie and I actually took a drive over there in the fall. Despite the change in the storm track, I was getting nervous. Throughout the evening, the rain and the wind were getting stronger, much like the other storms I've been through so far. By the time I went to bed, it had been raining for a couple of hours straight and was very strong with no signs of letting up. Everything had a really ominous feeling as I went to bed.
I was very surprised when I woke up. There was no rain, no wind and there was actually some sunshine breaking through the clouds. It seemed as if it was a typical morning following routine, overnight thunderstorms. According to the weather channel, the storm never reached hurricane status and had actually become disorganized and weakened from the night before. What a relief. Throughout the day, there were some quick squalls and some periodic strong gusts of wind. Gainesville hardly felt the effects other than a bunch of leaves on the ground and a few small, broken limbs. And I think most of the areas in the storm's path have fared well, other than some localized flooding. Of course, coastal areas have issues, even with a minor storm. But certainly no widespread damage.
There was another kind of storm brewing last night. The Miami Hurricane baseball team won a very exciting game to get to the College World Series. This was quite a surprise. Miami wasn't expected to do much in the playoffs this year. This is a team that got swept, AT HOME, by the Florida Gators early in the year. Florida ended up being the worst team in the SEC. Miami also lost 20 games in a season for the first time in many years. In fact, they have struggled with the move into the ACC for the last couple of years. Prior to the last two years, Miami was a baseball independent and did not have to play many games on the road and did not have to worry about a conference tournament at the end of the year. It has been quite an adjustment. But they got to the CWS anyway and it is quite an accomplishment. What is even more impressive is four of the eight teams in Omaha are from the ACC. That makes me feel a little better about the struggles in the ACC, knowing the ACC is a far superior baseball conference, at least for this year. And it also feels good that Miami beat Ole Miss, an SEC team, on the way to Omaha. Beating an SEC team always makes an accomplishment feel better.
The baseball game was a great end to my birthday. My family showed me extreme generosity, as always, and I had a lot of well-wishes. It felt really nice and I appreciate the attention.
Of course, all was not perfect yesterday. The U.S. soccer team got spanked by the Czechs, 3-0. Im not a soccer expert, so I can't really talk intelligently about the game. But it is hard to accept after all the hype. For several months, people have been talking about how much the team has improved. Well, they didn't live up to it and may be on their way to a repeat of 1998 (or worse, pulling a flop like France did in 2002, 0-3 with no goals scored). I would like to see soccer be more accepted in the U.S. and see our national team have some success on the international level. But laying an egg like they did yesterday will not accomplish these goals.
I was very surprised when I woke up. There was no rain, no wind and there was actually some sunshine breaking through the clouds. It seemed as if it was a typical morning following routine, overnight thunderstorms. According to the weather channel, the storm never reached hurricane status and had actually become disorganized and weakened from the night before. What a relief. Throughout the day, there were some quick squalls and some periodic strong gusts of wind. Gainesville hardly felt the effects other than a bunch of leaves on the ground and a few small, broken limbs. And I think most of the areas in the storm's path have fared well, other than some localized flooding. Of course, coastal areas have issues, even with a minor storm. But certainly no widespread damage.
There was another kind of storm brewing last night. The Miami Hurricane baseball team won a very exciting game to get to the College World Series. This was quite a surprise. Miami wasn't expected to do much in the playoffs this year. This is a team that got swept, AT HOME, by the Florida Gators early in the year. Florida ended up being the worst team in the SEC. Miami also lost 20 games in a season for the first time in many years. In fact, they have struggled with the move into the ACC for the last couple of years. Prior to the last two years, Miami was a baseball independent and did not have to play many games on the road and did not have to worry about a conference tournament at the end of the year. It has been quite an adjustment. But they got to the CWS anyway and it is quite an accomplishment. What is even more impressive is four of the eight teams in Omaha are from the ACC. That makes me feel a little better about the struggles in the ACC, knowing the ACC is a far superior baseball conference, at least for this year. And it also feels good that Miami beat Ole Miss, an SEC team, on the way to Omaha. Beating an SEC team always makes an accomplishment feel better.
The baseball game was a great end to my birthday. My family showed me extreme generosity, as always, and I had a lot of well-wishes. It felt really nice and I appreciate the attention.
Of course, all was not perfect yesterday. The U.S. soccer team got spanked by the Czechs, 3-0. Im not a soccer expert, so I can't really talk intelligently about the game. But it is hard to accept after all the hype. For several months, people have been talking about how much the team has improved. Well, they didn't live up to it and may be on their way to a repeat of 1998 (or worse, pulling a flop like France did in 2002, 0-3 with no goals scored). I would like to see soccer be more accepted in the U.S. and see our national team have some success on the international level. But laying an egg like they did yesterday will not accomplish these goals.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Military policy at its finest!
In a recent test, the government has been determining what items to include in military MRE's beginning in 2009. New items will include instant granola and vegetarian lasagna. However, as a result of the test, stuffed-cabage was rejected, apparently for morale purposes. As one marine put it:
Of course, this is too funny to be made up. Read about it here if you don't believe me.
You wouldn't want to be sleeping in a tent next to someone who had stuffed cabbage, would you, ma'am?
Of course, this is too funny to be made up. Read about it here if you don't believe me.
Who says cats aren't tough?
I love cats. As a guy, people sometimes find this amusing. Guys are supposed to like dogs, not cats. But I like them. Many guys think cats are too wimpy. Well, you need to read about Jack, the cat. This cat in New Jersey treed a bear! Twice! Not that my cat could do this. My cat would hide under the bed if she didn't get eaten. But cats, as a species, are tough!
Instant Information?
One of the great things about the internet is access to all kinds of information and the ability to do it quickly. This has revolutionized the sports world for the common fan. In the "old" days, the only sports coverage you got was in your local paper. And if you didn't live where the team of your interest was located, it was very difficult to get information about your team. With the advent of the internet, sports fans have that same access to quick information as other interenet users. You can be a fan of the Miami Dolphins living in Seattle and have no problems getting info on the Dolphins. College alumni who are displaced all over the country have immediate access to information about the old alma mater's upcoming game agains the arch rival. And therein lies the other interesting phenomenon in the sports world. In the past, fans pretty much only got local coverage of their own teams. Now, through the internet, it is possible to access information about upcoming opponents. Fans from all over can access the local paper of an opponent to learn about players, injuries and anything else. I am thinking about this today because there are preliminary news reports that Ben Rothliesberger, quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the defending Super Bowl champs, has been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. But the articles on ESPN, etc. don't have much information. I thought I would be clever and go the local paper, but apparently, I'm not so clever. I can't even get the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to load. I guess NFL fans all over the country are trying to do the same thing and have crashed the servers. So, it's back to the old days...waiting for ESPN.com to get information.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
That was fast!
As I said a few days ago, hurricane season is here. While the heavy part of the season is August and September, you never know when a storm will form. As of this morning, Tropical Depression #1 has formed and is likely to at least become a a named tropical storm sometime today or tonight. Read about it here if you want. It sounds like this is just going to be a rain event, but we'll keep our eye on it.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Quick Musings
Haven't had time to post in a few days. Study time is really filling my days between bar prep and my class. I'm really buckling down and trying to be focused. I can already feel the time starting to slip away from me. So here are some thoughts on goings-on this week:
First the Senate was unable to get 60 votes to close debate and have an actual vote on estate tax repeal yesterday. I'm really not in favor of repeal personally. (Of course, as a wannabe estate planner, some cynics out there might think I say that out of self-interest.) Repeal proponents have convinced a lot of people that the estate tax is evil, but most of the people yelling the loudest will never be subject to it. Repeal proponents have also neglected to inform people of some of the tax costs that come along with estate tax repeal. For example, when you buy a house, your cost is called your basis. When you sell the house, anything you receive over the basis is your gain and you pay income tax on that. But if you die and your house passes on to an heir, they get a basis in the house equal to its fair market value (called stepped up basis) and the appreciation up to that point won't be taxed when the house is sold. The theory for that is that value is captured by the estate tax. But if the estate tax goes away, people who get property by inheritance will no longer get a stepped up basis and will be taxed on any appreciation since the dead person bought the property when the heir sells it. That's enough boring tax talk. The point is, the government doesn't just give away tax revenue without find sources of revenue somehwere else.
If you made it through the tax talk and are still reading, another interesting event this week was the attempt to bring the Gay Marriage Constitutional Amendment to a vote. Personally, I think we should not sanction gay marriage and I believe the majority of Americans agree with me. However, I don't think the place to do it is in the Constitution. I consider myself a states' rights conservative before I am a religious conservative. Marriage regulation has historically been a function of the state and it should stay there. Even though I oppose the concept, if Massachusetts wants gay marriage they can have it (the debate over how Mass. ended up with it through judicial fiat can be argued another day). One of the concepts of American federalism is that we have 50 states which act as "laboratories of democracy." My main concern would be if federal courts began forcing states that don't have gay marriage to recognize marriages performed in other states. That might make a Constituational amendment appropriate. But I don't think it is appropriate at this time. Charles Krauthammer has an excellent column in the Washington Post stating much of what I thought about this issue, if you care to read it (you'll have to sign up, at no cost, to read it).
Finally, you may recall that I posted a reference to the Titans for my friend Mark. The reason I did that was because he and his wife were married on the Saturday of the Music City Miracle. My how time flies. The Titans traded away Steve McNair yesterday, effectively closing the book on the franchise's best era. Bruce Matthews and Frank Wycheck are retired. Eddie George broke down. Guys like Jevon Kearse, Samari Rolle, and Kevin Dyson have been lost to free agency. Even Jeff Diamond, one of the materminds behind the team, has been gone for a few years. As far as I can tell, the only ones left are Floyd Reese, Jeff Fisher and some assistants. While I was never a big fan of McNair, he had a good career and led some really good teams. Just after we were married, Julie and I had the opportunity to see the first game in the new stadium (more on that in a bit). The Titans were coming off three consecutive 8-8 finishes playing before a bunch of small crowds at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis and Vanderbilt's stadium. The Titans opened the season with the Bengals (seven years ago, that should have been a cupcake game). The Bengals were in control much of the first half and into the second half. At some point, McNair left the game with an injury. In the second half, he trotted back on the field to some very pronounced boos. He led a comeback and the Titans went on to win the game 35-34 or something like that. It was a pretty exciting game. It set the tone for the year and the Titans went 9-0 at home that year, including the Music City Miracle, on their way to the Super Bowl. We were in downtown Nashville for the Super Bowl game and had so much fun even though we were disappointed in the loss. It was great to be a fan of Nashville's first successful pro team. That first game also set the tone for McNair's career as a player who succeeded despite injuries and did well in the face of crtics. Since that first official game as a Titan, McNair grew to be loved by the city and many hate to see him go. I wish him luck, but I understand why the Titans are doing it. It's time to move on and start a new era, and that can't be done with number 8 hanging around.
Finally, I saw where the stadium will now be called LP Field, named after Louisiana Pacific, a building products maker. Exciting, huh? This is now the third name the stadium will be called in its short 7 year history. It was first called Adelphia Coliseum after Adelphia Communications. But that name was no good when Adelphia had some ENRON type issues. Then it was the Nashville Coliseum and now LP Field. Not that it matters since I don't live in Nashville, but I like Nashville Coliseum. I'm not a big fan of corporate naming of stadiums. Long live the Orange Bowl, Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Fenway, Wrigley and all the other venues that have been able to retain their original names.
Oh well, back to the books.
First the Senate was unable to get 60 votes to close debate and have an actual vote on estate tax repeal yesterday. I'm really not in favor of repeal personally. (Of course, as a wannabe estate planner, some cynics out there might think I say that out of self-interest.) Repeal proponents have convinced a lot of people that the estate tax is evil, but most of the people yelling the loudest will never be subject to it. Repeal proponents have also neglected to inform people of some of the tax costs that come along with estate tax repeal. For example, when you buy a house, your cost is called your basis. When you sell the house, anything you receive over the basis is your gain and you pay income tax on that. But if you die and your house passes on to an heir, they get a basis in the house equal to its fair market value (called stepped up basis) and the appreciation up to that point won't be taxed when the house is sold. The theory for that is that value is captured by the estate tax. But if the estate tax goes away, people who get property by inheritance will no longer get a stepped up basis and will be taxed on any appreciation since the dead person bought the property when the heir sells it. That's enough boring tax talk. The point is, the government doesn't just give away tax revenue without find sources of revenue somehwere else.
If you made it through the tax talk and are still reading, another interesting event this week was the attempt to bring the Gay Marriage Constitutional Amendment to a vote. Personally, I think we should not sanction gay marriage and I believe the majority of Americans agree with me. However, I don't think the place to do it is in the Constitution. I consider myself a states' rights conservative before I am a religious conservative. Marriage regulation has historically been a function of the state and it should stay there. Even though I oppose the concept, if Massachusetts wants gay marriage they can have it (the debate over how Mass. ended up with it through judicial fiat can be argued another day). One of the concepts of American federalism is that we have 50 states which act as "laboratories of democracy." My main concern would be if federal courts began forcing states that don't have gay marriage to recognize marriages performed in other states. That might make a Constituational amendment appropriate. But I don't think it is appropriate at this time. Charles Krauthammer has an excellent column in the Washington Post stating much of what I thought about this issue, if you care to read it (you'll have to sign up, at no cost, to read it).
Finally, you may recall that I posted a reference to the Titans for my friend Mark. The reason I did that was because he and his wife were married on the Saturday of the Music City Miracle. My how time flies. The Titans traded away Steve McNair yesterday, effectively closing the book on the franchise's best era. Bruce Matthews and Frank Wycheck are retired. Eddie George broke down. Guys like Jevon Kearse, Samari Rolle, and Kevin Dyson have been lost to free agency. Even Jeff Diamond, one of the materminds behind the team, has been gone for a few years. As far as I can tell, the only ones left are Floyd Reese, Jeff Fisher and some assistants. While I was never a big fan of McNair, he had a good career and led some really good teams. Just after we were married, Julie and I had the opportunity to see the first game in the new stadium (more on that in a bit). The Titans were coming off three consecutive 8-8 finishes playing before a bunch of small crowds at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis and Vanderbilt's stadium. The Titans opened the season with the Bengals (seven years ago, that should have been a cupcake game). The Bengals were in control much of the first half and into the second half. At some point, McNair left the game with an injury. In the second half, he trotted back on the field to some very pronounced boos. He led a comeback and the Titans went on to win the game 35-34 or something like that. It was a pretty exciting game. It set the tone for the year and the Titans went 9-0 at home that year, including the Music City Miracle, on their way to the Super Bowl. We were in downtown Nashville for the Super Bowl game and had so much fun even though we were disappointed in the loss. It was great to be a fan of Nashville's first successful pro team. That first game also set the tone for McNair's career as a player who succeeded despite injuries and did well in the face of crtics. Since that first official game as a Titan, McNair grew to be loved by the city and many hate to see him go. I wish him luck, but I understand why the Titans are doing it. It's time to move on and start a new era, and that can't be done with number 8 hanging around.
Finally, I saw where the stadium will now be called LP Field, named after Louisiana Pacific, a building products maker. Exciting, huh? This is now the third name the stadium will be called in its short 7 year history. It was first called Adelphia Coliseum after Adelphia Communications. But that name was no good when Adelphia had some ENRON type issues. Then it was the Nashville Coliseum and now LP Field. Not that it matters since I don't live in Nashville, but I like Nashville Coliseum. I'm not a big fan of corporate naming of stadiums. Long live the Orange Bowl, Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Fenway, Wrigley and all the other venues that have been able to retain their original names.
Oh well, back to the books.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Juiced Stats
I know the timliness of this is off a little, but I just haven't taken the time to write about it. So here goes:
Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth on the all time home run list last week. This makes me sad. While I am convinced he was pumped up on steroids and I don’t disagree with those who think his records should have an asterisk by them, that’s not why it really bothers me. What bothers me is that Bonds comes across as a jerk with no respect for the game. We want our sports heroes to be likable. When talking about Michael Jordan, people talked about his infectious smile as much as his skill. I doubt there were many people who begrudged Emmitt Smith when he passed Walter Payton because people like him. People don’t like Bonds. People don’t enjoy watching him play. Part of the allure of sports is that it is comforting to people. I don’t think people get any comfort out of Bonds’ accomplishments. So I am sad. I just hope he gets no where near Hammerin’ Hank.
Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth on the all time home run list last week. This makes me sad. While I am convinced he was pumped up on steroids and I don’t disagree with those who think his records should have an asterisk by them, that’s not why it really bothers me. What bothers me is that Bonds comes across as a jerk with no respect for the game. We want our sports heroes to be likable. When talking about Michael Jordan, people talked about his infectious smile as much as his skill. I doubt there were many people who begrudged Emmitt Smith when he passed Walter Payton because people like him. People don’t like Bonds. People don’t enjoy watching him play. Part of the allure of sports is that it is comforting to people. I don’t think people get any comfort out of Bonds’ accomplishments. So I am sad. I just hope he gets no where near Hammerin’ Hank.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
’Tis the Season
For those of you that don’t live in Florida or on the coast, Thursday was the first official day of the 2006 hurricane season. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to December 1, a full six months. Late July through September is the heaviest part of the season. Of course, storms are possible all throughout the season.
It appears that Julie and I chose the perfect time to move to South Florida. The experts say that hurricane activity is cyclical and that we are now in an upswing in the cycle where hurricane activity is going to be high. And we got here just in time for the upswing. Great! Don’t we have excellent timing? Since we have been in South Florida, we have experienced: 1. a storm forming before June 1 (the official start of the season); 2. a storm forming after December 1 (the official end to the season) (both are supposed to be rare occurrences); 3. the first time EVER Florida has been hit by four storms in the same season (2004, Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne) and 4. the first time all the hurricane names have been exhausted in a single season. We’ve experience a lot of history. We feel special.
Last year, as everyone knows, was one of the worst hurricane seasons ever. Everyone knows about Katrina’s effects on the Gulf Coast. What many people don’t realize is Katrina came through South Florida as “only” a category one storm before it got into the gulf and grew into the monster we all know. Last year also saw hurricane Wilma rip across South Florida very late in the year and do a lot of damage. Julie’s school was closed for a week and public schools were closed even longer. So even though we did not have near the catastrophe as New Orleans, it was a rough year for South Florida.
So Floridians and other people living in hurricane zones go into this season with a great deal of apprehension. While hurricanes should be taken very seriously, the beginning of hurricane season creates an amusing phenomenon around here. The media, print and TV, spend a lot of time talking about hurricanes and having your plans ready to go. We first experienced this phenomenon before we even moved here. We traveled to Miami in June before I started school to find an apartment. We experienced all of the hype of that official start to hurricane season and amount of time spent talking about it was surprising. That year, the big news was the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew and the fact that in the two prior years, no hurricane had made landfall in the United States. That is significant because there has never been a three year period where a hurricane did not hit somewhere in the United States. Though Florida was spared that year, it proved to be true. All of the hype had an ominous foreshadowing to it. If only we had known what lie in store for us.
It is important to be prepared for a hurricane and have your supplies ready, but to hear some of the talking heads, if you don’t have a fully stocked hurricane kit by June 1, you might die. They’ve been even more hyper this year. The local NBC channel here televised a “town hall” a couple of nights ago. This show had a forecaster from the national hurricane center, various politicians and county emergency management officials. They talked about how people should be prepared, what to expect, etc. That type of show seems reasonable, right? It’s informative and performs a public service. But this show is an example of how little thought the media puts into these things. You see, Florida has a sales tax holiday for a week before hurricane season starts so people can buy certain things considered to be essential hurricane supplies (flashlights, batteries, sterno, etc.). But NBC did not run the town hall until the night before the last day of the tax holiday. That just strikes me as funny. They were imploring people to have a plan and be prepared, but they didn’t do the show in time for people to take advantage of the tax savings. Makes you wonder how genuine they were in doing the show.
Anyway, hurricane season is here. I’ll do my best to use this as a way to communicate if (ha ha, if) any hurricanes head our way and let you know how we are doing. So just sit tight and we’ll see what happens. In the meantime, I’m going to go buy some batteries.
It appears that Julie and I chose the perfect time to move to South Florida. The experts say that hurricane activity is cyclical and that we are now in an upswing in the cycle where hurricane activity is going to be high. And we got here just in time for the upswing. Great! Don’t we have excellent timing? Since we have been in South Florida, we have experienced: 1. a storm forming before June 1 (the official start of the season); 2. a storm forming after December 1 (the official end to the season) (both are supposed to be rare occurrences); 3. the first time EVER Florida has been hit by four storms in the same season (2004, Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne) and 4. the first time all the hurricane names have been exhausted in a single season. We’ve experience a lot of history. We feel special.
Last year, as everyone knows, was one of the worst hurricane seasons ever. Everyone knows about Katrina’s effects on the Gulf Coast. What many people don’t realize is Katrina came through South Florida as “only” a category one storm before it got into the gulf and grew into the monster we all know. Last year also saw hurricane Wilma rip across South Florida very late in the year and do a lot of damage. Julie’s school was closed for a week and public schools were closed even longer. So even though we did not have near the catastrophe as New Orleans, it was a rough year for South Florida.
So Floridians and other people living in hurricane zones go into this season with a great deal of apprehension. While hurricanes should be taken very seriously, the beginning of hurricane season creates an amusing phenomenon around here. The media, print and TV, spend a lot of time talking about hurricanes and having your plans ready to go. We first experienced this phenomenon before we even moved here. We traveled to Miami in June before I started school to find an apartment. We experienced all of the hype of that official start to hurricane season and amount of time spent talking about it was surprising. That year, the big news was the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew and the fact that in the two prior years, no hurricane had made landfall in the United States. That is significant because there has never been a three year period where a hurricane did not hit somewhere in the United States. Though Florida was spared that year, it proved to be true. All of the hype had an ominous foreshadowing to it. If only we had known what lie in store for us.
It is important to be prepared for a hurricane and have your supplies ready, but to hear some of the talking heads, if you don’t have a fully stocked hurricane kit by June 1, you might die. They’ve been even more hyper this year. The local NBC channel here televised a “town hall” a couple of nights ago. This show had a forecaster from the national hurricane center, various politicians and county emergency management officials. They talked about how people should be prepared, what to expect, etc. That type of show seems reasonable, right? It’s informative and performs a public service. But this show is an example of how little thought the media puts into these things. You see, Florida has a sales tax holiday for a week before hurricane season starts so people can buy certain things considered to be essential hurricane supplies (flashlights, batteries, sterno, etc.). But NBC did not run the town hall until the night before the last day of the tax holiday. That just strikes me as funny. They were imploring people to have a plan and be prepared, but they didn’t do the show in time for people to take advantage of the tax savings. Makes you wonder how genuine they were in doing the show.
Anyway, hurricane season is here. I’ll do my best to use this as a way to communicate if (ha ha, if) any hurricanes head our way and let you know how we are doing. So just sit tight and we’ll see what happens. In the meantime, I’m going to go buy some batteries.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
File Under “M” for Moron
I’m intimidated by my father-in-law. "Why?" you ask.
Of course, there is the fact that I am responsible for his daughter’s well-being, so anything I do wrong feels like it is magnified ten times.
But I bring this up for another reason:
The reason I am intimidated is because he is always right. And as sure as I don’t follow his advice, something comes along to make me feel foolish.
Confused? Let me enlighten you.
Back in March, my car broke down. Kaput. Julie and I were in no position to buy a car and it would be a little hard for us to share a car living in two different cities. So my in-laws came to my rescue. They got a car to get me through the rest of school. And the timing was great because it was just a couple of weeks before my mother-in-law’s Spring Break, so they were able to bring the new car to me.
Now you have to understand, my father-in-law has some obsessive compulsive tendencies. When he arrives with the car, he has a whole list of things for me to do to the car. Then he pulls a small envelope out of his pocket. The envelope is full of keys. When my father in law gets a key copied, he can’t get just one. It has to be a multiple of at least three. Then he distributes keys to everyone and their mother. The keys in this envelope were for this purpose. One set of keys was for Julie and of course, a set for me. My father-in-law then suggests I get one of those magnetic key boxes and put it somewhere underneath the body of the car. Me? I think it’s not necessary…either the box will fall off and become pointless, or someone will find them and steal the car. So I choose not to put the keys in a box under the car. Guess what happens next?
Friday, after I spent most of the day studying and I can’t take anymore, I leave the library and decide to stop by the grocery store on the way home. I hadn’t prepared my grocery list, so I parked and rolled the windows down to look at my coupons and make a list. When I was done, I turned the key over and rolled the windows up. I go inside, do my shopping and am walking out with the bag boy and go to pull my keys out of my pocket and they aren’t there. I get a sick feeling in my stomach as I run through what I did before I got out of the car. I walk up to the car and sure enough, there they hang in the ignition. Here I am, grocery cart full of milk, cheese, TV dinners, etc., and I can’t get in my car to go home. It’s not like I can call Julie and tell her to come over with the spare.
I called a locksmith and the operator tells me it will be about 15 minutes. So I kick back and wait for him to show up. Meanwhile, I realize that the key is still turned over so I look in the car, and sure enough, the dashboard lights are on, mocking me. The guy parked next to me comes out, sees me standing there, looks in the car and says “that sucks!” Understatement of the year. One other kind gentleman asked if he could help, but no, I’ve got a locksmith on the way. As I wait, it is getting darker. It was a pleasant evening and I enjoy that time as the sun goes down on a pleasant evening, but these weren’t the ideal circumstances to enjoy this evening. After an hour, I call the locksmith and there is no answer. My gut tells me no one is on the way. So I call Triple A, and a guy shows up less than ten minutes later. He pops the door open with a tool and I’m in my car on my way home tired and hungry. (The tool was pretty nifty...it was not your regular slim jim. It was a long piece of metal with several curves. He slides it down into the passenger door and before I know it, it is inside the car, through the door handle, he gives it a flick and flips the unlock button. Pretty cool!)
All in all, not a pleasant evening. But I guess it could have been worse. I just hope this is not an indication of how the rest of the summer is going to go.
By the way, don’t tell my father-in-law about this.
Of course, there is the fact that I am responsible for his daughter’s well-being, so anything I do wrong feels like it is magnified ten times.
But I bring this up for another reason:
The reason I am intimidated is because he is always right. And as sure as I don’t follow his advice, something comes along to make me feel foolish.
Confused? Let me enlighten you.
Back in March, my car broke down. Kaput. Julie and I were in no position to buy a car and it would be a little hard for us to share a car living in two different cities. So my in-laws came to my rescue. They got a car to get me through the rest of school. And the timing was great because it was just a couple of weeks before my mother-in-law’s Spring Break, so they were able to bring the new car to me.
Now you have to understand, my father-in-law has some obsessive compulsive tendencies. When he arrives with the car, he has a whole list of things for me to do to the car. Then he pulls a small envelope out of his pocket. The envelope is full of keys. When my father in law gets a key copied, he can’t get just one. It has to be a multiple of at least three. Then he distributes keys to everyone and their mother. The keys in this envelope were for this purpose. One set of keys was for Julie and of course, a set for me. My father-in-law then suggests I get one of those magnetic key boxes and put it somewhere underneath the body of the car. Me? I think it’s not necessary…either the box will fall off and become pointless, or someone will find them and steal the car. So I choose not to put the keys in a box under the car. Guess what happens next?
Friday, after I spent most of the day studying and I can’t take anymore, I leave the library and decide to stop by the grocery store on the way home. I hadn’t prepared my grocery list, so I parked and rolled the windows down to look at my coupons and make a list. When I was done, I turned the key over and rolled the windows up. I go inside, do my shopping and am walking out with the bag boy and go to pull my keys out of my pocket and they aren’t there. I get a sick feeling in my stomach as I run through what I did before I got out of the car. I walk up to the car and sure enough, there they hang in the ignition. Here I am, grocery cart full of milk, cheese, TV dinners, etc., and I can’t get in my car to go home. It’s not like I can call Julie and tell her to come over with the spare.
I called a locksmith and the operator tells me it will be about 15 minutes. So I kick back and wait for him to show up. Meanwhile, I realize that the key is still turned over so I look in the car, and sure enough, the dashboard lights are on, mocking me. The guy parked next to me comes out, sees me standing there, looks in the car and says “that sucks!” Understatement of the year. One other kind gentleman asked if he could help, but no, I’ve got a locksmith on the way. As I wait, it is getting darker. It was a pleasant evening and I enjoy that time as the sun goes down on a pleasant evening, but these weren’t the ideal circumstances to enjoy this evening. After an hour, I call the locksmith and there is no answer. My gut tells me no one is on the way. So I call Triple A, and a guy shows up less than ten minutes later. He pops the door open with a tool and I’m in my car on my way home tired and hungry. (The tool was pretty nifty...it was not your regular slim jim. It was a long piece of metal with several curves. He slides it down into the passenger door and before I know it, it is inside the car, through the door handle, he gives it a flick and flips the unlock button. Pretty cool!)
All in all, not a pleasant evening. But I guess it could have been worse. I just hope this is not an indication of how the rest of the summer is going to go.
By the way, don’t tell my father-in-law about this.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
P.S. for Mark
I used the last match from one of your wedding matchbooks yesterday. I guess it far outlasted the Titans' Super Bowl window, huh? (If you don't know Mark, he got married the same day as the Music City Miracle.) At least the matches didn't outlast your marriage. (Not that they even stood a chance.)
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