One more person went home on Rockstar last night. After what I considered to be a butchering of Baba O’Reilly by Ryan, he was the first of the final 6 to be sent home. He made a lot of progress but I never thought he was right for Supernova. His departure was no shock for sure but there were 2 big surprises last night.
First, Magni was the only rocker that was never in the bottom 3 of the voting and was the leading vote getter. Now, that’s more like it, maybe my prior post asking the voters to wake up had an effect. I’d like to think so… :)
Secondly, Dilana was in the bottom 3 for the first time and had to perform. She was never in any danger of going home going up against Storm and Ryan and she performed like she knew that, staggering through an uninspired Talking Heads track that barely kept me from pushing the fast forward button on my tivo.
Supernova performed a 3rd crappy tune, this time with the Lucas freak singing. These songs suck and I think they need to hire 2 additional people: 1) a song writer and b) a better guitar player. Gilby is ok as second fiddle on guitar but he can’t lead the show. The riffs are boring and he can’t fill at all. I can’t see myself paying money for their album.
Golf league concluded last night in a dramatic fashion. While the top 2 teams were battling for the team championship, I was making a play for the individual honors. I came in 1 shot behind co-leaders at -2. 1 of them fell apart early so it became a 2 man race. Unfortunately I came up a shot short. I started out well going par, bogey, par but after that I just had bogies the rest of the way for a 7 over 43 and a net 35. The other guy had a net 35 as well which left me one shot behind. To make matters worse, I missed a 4 foot par putt on the last hole which sat on the lip dangling over the cup and wouldn’t fall. AND, the other guy had a hole-in-one! Of all the rotten luck. If mine goes a half inch left and his goes a half inch left I win. Golf is definitely a game of inches (or half inches in this case).
We have another Whistling Straits trip planned for Monday (Labor Day) and the weather is not looking very good. Currently it looks like rain from Sunday through Tuesday which doesn’t bode well for going up there.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Father/Son Match Champs!
Dad and I won our 1st annual father/son match by 3 holes on Sunday. Good for $3 each! And the bonus is we didn’t even argue once! He played very well, I played like poop. I couldn’t get much of a rhythm going and the other son acted like a teenager throwing a temper tantrum. And he’s older than me too.
On the back 9 we ended up having a group of members behind us that were pretty good. They hit close to us a couple times (not bad but looked like a message to me). That turned this guy into a raving lunatic, yelling and throwing his clubs. He even called the clubhouse and threatened to shove his putter up their asses (he would have gotten his ass kicked by these guys easily). It really threw me off and was a total downer. Finally on 12 I said “hey, why don’t we just stop and let them play through”. So, we did, which cost us about 15 minutes of waiting around. At that point I went for beer…
We were pretty fortunate that Sunday was a very nice day. We had severe rain and t-storms from Wednesday through Saturday and then it rained again yesterday and could today as well. Tomorrow is supposed to get nice finally. I’m hoping that we get some great weather for Labor Day, as we’re making our 3rd trip to Whistling Straits this year. This time we got 2-1 pricing (only $70 each). 5 of the original 8 are going again so we’ve added 3 newbies to the mix.
Packers… sheesh. Could they have looked any worse last night? Or is Cinci just that good? I can’t imagine the Pack doing better than 6-10 this year. Cinci could be in line for a shot at the Super Bowl. I have the Giants at 15-1 in our pool this year. Shooting for my 3rd win in 4 years (I had TB 3 years ago and Pitt last year). I’m pretty happy I got the team I wanted with the 2nd to last pick.
Prior to the Packer game I installed new LED lights in our entertainment center. We had older, bigger lights under there and a few of them broke. These new ones are smaller and don’t give off as much light, giving a nice, soft appearance. They will also last 10 times longer.
All this rain allowed me to work on the basement some more and I finally finished the ceiling. That only took about 4 months! I’ll post some pictures on my other blog when I have time. Next up is getting all the trim and staining it while the weather is nice. Speaking of stain, I am also planning to stain our fence next week (we’re taking the week off to do stuff around the house, what a fun vacation!). I also need to decide on the flooring too. I’m going to do laminate wood flooring throughout most of the basement but am not sure on the workout room. I am leaning towards doing interlocking rubber tiles in there instead. They’re pretty expensive though. I checked out the floor pretty thoroughly last night and it’s flat with the exception of one area in the hallway where the center dips down about a quarter inch. I’ll need to spread some leveling compound in there to even it out. I’m pretty lucky as we’ve never had any water issues in the basement at all. Knock on wood!
Well, better get back to it. Tomorrow is our last week of golf league and I’m in the hunt for the individual championship that we do the last 3 weeks. Check back Thursday for the results!
On the back 9 we ended up having a group of members behind us that were pretty good. They hit close to us a couple times (not bad but looked like a message to me). That turned this guy into a raving lunatic, yelling and throwing his clubs. He even called the clubhouse and threatened to shove his putter up their asses (he would have gotten his ass kicked by these guys easily). It really threw me off and was a total downer. Finally on 12 I said “hey, why don’t we just stop and let them play through”. So, we did, which cost us about 15 minutes of waiting around. At that point I went for beer…
We were pretty fortunate that Sunday was a very nice day. We had severe rain and t-storms from Wednesday through Saturday and then it rained again yesterday and could today as well. Tomorrow is supposed to get nice finally. I’m hoping that we get some great weather for Labor Day, as we’re making our 3rd trip to Whistling Straits this year. This time we got 2-1 pricing (only $70 each). 5 of the original 8 are going again so we’ve added 3 newbies to the mix.
Packers… sheesh. Could they have looked any worse last night? Or is Cinci just that good? I can’t imagine the Pack doing better than 6-10 this year. Cinci could be in line for a shot at the Super Bowl. I have the Giants at 15-1 in our pool this year. Shooting for my 3rd win in 4 years (I had TB 3 years ago and Pitt last year). I’m pretty happy I got the team I wanted with the 2nd to last pick.
Prior to the Packer game I installed new LED lights in our entertainment center. We had older, bigger lights under there and a few of them broke. These new ones are smaller and don’t give off as much light, giving a nice, soft appearance. They will also last 10 times longer.
All this rain allowed me to work on the basement some more and I finally finished the ceiling. That only took about 4 months! I’ll post some pictures on my other blog when I have time. Next up is getting all the trim and staining it while the weather is nice. Speaking of stain, I am also planning to stain our fence next week (we’re taking the week off to do stuff around the house, what a fun vacation!). I also need to decide on the flooring too. I’m going to do laminate wood flooring throughout most of the basement but am not sure on the workout room. I am leaning towards doing interlocking rubber tiles in there instead. They’re pretty expensive though. I checked out the floor pretty thoroughly last night and it’s flat with the exception of one area in the hallway where the center dips down about a quarter inch. I’ll need to spread some leveling compound in there to even it out. I’m pretty lucky as we’ve never had any water issues in the basement at all. Knock on wood!
Well, better get back to it. Tomorrow is our last week of golf league and I’m in the hunt for the individual championship that we do the last 3 weeks. Check back Thursday for the results!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Wake Up Rockstar Voters!
Who are you people that continually put Magni in the bottom 3? It makes no sense to me at all. He's cranking out great performance after great performance and yet, twice in the bottom 3? Makes no sense, you people are idiots.
And to top things off, I think he might be numero uno now that Dilana has decided to slit her own throat with her new found joy of being a bitch to everyone else. Where did that come from? Man, she did not impress the band with that crap. I had said that she would have to fall on her face to lose this gig and that just might have done it. Personally, I think Magni would be the best fit for that band.
Ok, on to golf. I began my recovery from the crap I called golf last weekend. In week 2 of a 3 week (27 holes) "league club championship" we played the front 9 from the red tees, which I just hate. It makes the par 3's into totally strange little shots where you can't hit them full. I mean the 115 yard one was short to begin with but from the reds it's 83 yards. The other was 159 and the reds turn it into 66 yards! 66! What a joke. Anyway, I shot a 38 with a lost ball and an unplayable lie. I really was relaxed and I think I realistically could have shot under par if not for a couple unlucky breaks. On the first hole I took my tee shot down the right side and it caught the side slope and rolled into the crap. I dropped and still saved bogey. Parred 2 and 3.
Then came 4, the par 5, I drove through the end of the fairway at about 145 yards out. I then missed the green right, then chunked my chip short. My 2nd chip ended up about 6" from the cup and I got my par but I wasn't happy about it.
Parred 5 with another nice chip from just off the green to within 3". Missed the fairway left on 6 but hit a gap wedge to within 7 feet and just missed the birdie putt but got par. On 7 I hit through the fairway again and got lucky that it went past a huge oak tree and left me a shot, which I hit to within 2 feet from about 110 yards. Got the birdie there to put me back to even par after 7.
Then came 8, the 66 yard par 3... I took a nice easy half sand wedge and... flew it over the green. This green runs severely back to front and the last place you want to be is long. But, I made the chip I wanted, hitting a soft lob to the fringe but it still ran about 12 feet past the hole. I then compounded things by 3-putting for a double bogey and my dreams of breaking par were shattered.
So, on to 9 I went, looking for redemption and here it was. This par 4 dropped to 260 at the red tees and I'm looking to drive the green and make eagle and get back to even, my only chance. So, we wait and wait for the group in front of us to finish. The other 3 have already hit and I can feel they'd like to move along. Finally, my chance comes, but I am concerned about hitting it over the green and into the pond behind it. I decide to choke down on my driver a little. That probably wasn't the right idea because it took me out of my normal swing and I blasted it WAY right, across a cart path and under a pine tree. I had to take a drop from there and then proceeded to hit a sand wedge from about 90 yards out of the rough to within 2 feet. Unfortunately, I got nervous about the side hill/downhill lie and didn't get the putt on line and ended with bogey for 3 over. At least it wasn't a 50 like my final 9 Sunday!
I will be making another attempt to play golf with my dad Sunday. We're actually teammates in a father/son challenge match. Pray for his safe return... ;)
And to top things off, I think he might be numero uno now that Dilana has decided to slit her own throat with her new found joy of being a bitch to everyone else. Where did that come from? Man, she did not impress the band with that crap. I had said that she would have to fall on her face to lose this gig and that just might have done it. Personally, I think Magni would be the best fit for that band.
Ok, on to golf. I began my recovery from the crap I called golf last weekend. In week 2 of a 3 week (27 holes) "league club championship" we played the front 9 from the red tees, which I just hate. It makes the par 3's into totally strange little shots where you can't hit them full. I mean the 115 yard one was short to begin with but from the reds it's 83 yards. The other was 159 and the reds turn it into 66 yards! 66! What a joke. Anyway, I shot a 38 with a lost ball and an unplayable lie. I really was relaxed and I think I realistically could have shot under par if not for a couple unlucky breaks. On the first hole I took my tee shot down the right side and it caught the side slope and rolled into the crap. I dropped and still saved bogey. Parred 2 and 3.
Then came 4, the par 5, I drove through the end of the fairway at about 145 yards out. I then missed the green right, then chunked my chip short. My 2nd chip ended up about 6" from the cup and I got my par but I wasn't happy about it.
Parred 5 with another nice chip from just off the green to within 3". Missed the fairway left on 6 but hit a gap wedge to within 7 feet and just missed the birdie putt but got par. On 7 I hit through the fairway again and got lucky that it went past a huge oak tree and left me a shot, which I hit to within 2 feet from about 110 yards. Got the birdie there to put me back to even par after 7.
Then came 8, the 66 yard par 3... I took a nice easy half sand wedge and... flew it over the green. This green runs severely back to front and the last place you want to be is long. But, I made the chip I wanted, hitting a soft lob to the fringe but it still ran about 12 feet past the hole. I then compounded things by 3-putting for a double bogey and my dreams of breaking par were shattered.
So, on to 9 I went, looking for redemption and here it was. This par 4 dropped to 260 at the red tees and I'm looking to drive the green and make eagle and get back to even, my only chance. So, we wait and wait for the group in front of us to finish. The other 3 have already hit and I can feel they'd like to move along. Finally, my chance comes, but I am concerned about hitting it over the green and into the pond behind it. I decide to choke down on my driver a little. That probably wasn't the right idea because it took me out of my normal swing and I blasted it WAY right, across a cart path and under a pine tree. I had to take a drop from there and then proceeded to hit a sand wedge from about 90 yards out of the rough to within 2 feet. Unfortunately, I got nervous about the side hill/downhill lie and didn't get the putt on line and ended with bogey for 3 over. At least it wasn't a 50 like my final 9 Sunday!
I will be making another attempt to play golf with my dad Sunday. We're actually teammates in a father/son challenge match. Pray for his safe return... ;)
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
You Shall Bow Before Me
My posting on the Beer Fest was quoted in the Isthmus Daily Page in Madison!
Thanks to CB for finding it for me, since I never read that rag... :)
Thanks to CB for finding it for me, since I never read that rag... :)
Monday, August 21, 2006
Staggering to the finish
What a beautiful day for golfing yesterday, couldn't have been nicer... didn't help my game however.
I walked up to the 10th tee (we started on the back) with all good intentions, wanting to redeem myself for my poor showing Saturday. I was ready, feeling pretty good since I didn't drink Saturday night and got a decent night's sleep. The 10th hole is a dogleg left and I usually go over the corner or attempt to anyway, and usually hit a draw. This time I aimed just over the corner and that's where it went, straight as a grizzly's dick, and of course, completely flew over the fairway, over the rough and directly into the pond. Nice start.
I ended up shooting 45/51 for 96 and managed to beat 5 people with my 2 day total of 49 OVER PAR, hahahaha. I also managed to get completely blotto by the end... I could barely see straight as I took a 7 on the last hole.
Highlights:
Long Drive contest - I sucked so bad it was pathetic. 1 low scooter down the middle for 229 was the only one that hit the grid. 1 wide right and 1 wide left. Guy before me hit 291 which held up. Of course, when I played that hole yesterday I crushed it 292. Figures.
I birdied #1 yesterday after that big drive and was the only one in my flight to do that so I should be getting money for the skins game.
I just missed eagle on #15 after hitting a 3-wood out of the left rough to the middle of the green from 238. Tapped in for birdie.
I parred #18 both days, the only hole I played well both times.
Dr. Mike shot 90 yesterday and ended up in a 4-way tie for 3rd place for his flight. He plays better when I'm not around I think. Maybe there's too much pressure playing against me. Who knows?
I walked up to the 10th tee (we started on the back) with all good intentions, wanting to redeem myself for my poor showing Saturday. I was ready, feeling pretty good since I didn't drink Saturday night and got a decent night's sleep. The 10th hole is a dogleg left and I usually go over the corner or attempt to anyway, and usually hit a draw. This time I aimed just over the corner and that's where it went, straight as a grizzly's dick, and of course, completely flew over the fairway, over the rough and directly into the pond. Nice start.
I ended up shooting 45/51 for 96 and managed to beat 5 people with my 2 day total of 49 OVER PAR, hahahaha. I also managed to get completely blotto by the end... I could barely see straight as I took a 7 on the last hole.
Highlights:
Long Drive contest - I sucked so bad it was pathetic. 1 low scooter down the middle for 229 was the only one that hit the grid. 1 wide right and 1 wide left. Guy before me hit 291 which held up. Of course, when I played that hole yesterday I crushed it 292. Figures.
I birdied #1 yesterday after that big drive and was the only one in my flight to do that so I should be getting money for the skins game.
I just missed eagle on #15 after hitting a 3-wood out of the left rough to the middle of the green from 238. Tapped in for birdie.
I parred #18 both days, the only hole I played well both times.
Dr. Mike shot 90 yesterday and ended up in a 4-way tie for 3rd place for his flight. He plays better when I'm not around I think. Maybe there's too much pressure playing against me. Who knows?
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Day 1 blowup
Well, so much for the excitement of the club championship... I played pretty well on the front nine only to have my putter go haywire and shot 45 with a ton of putts. I fell apart on the back nine for a 50. Pretty much out of contention now. The lack of sleep the last 2 nights really caught up to me on the back nine as I ran out of gas completely.
My only hope now is the long drive contest which starts in an hour. I decided to come home and take a quick nap and watch a little of the PGA championship for inspiration. I just need to suck it up for 3 shots.
Dr. Mike got off to a terrible start, going quad, double, triple. He finally settled down and shot 50 and then got a 46 on the back. With his handicap he's sitting at 73, not too far behind the leaders. Maybe he'll have something to play for tomorrow.
My only hope now is the long drive contest which starts in an hour. I decided to come home and take a quick nap and watch a little of the PGA championship for inspiration. I just need to suck it up for 3 shots.
Dr. Mike got off to a terrible start, going quad, double, triple. He finally settled down and shot 50 and then got a 46 on the back. With his handicap he's sitting at 73, not too far behind the leaders. Maybe he'll have something to play for tomorrow.
Game day
It's 7:50am and I've been awake since 5:15. I just can't sleep any more. Even getting fairly drunk and going to bed after midnight when I awoke and realized that I had a tee time in the club championship in a mere 5 hours I couldn't get back to sleep. Now I'm down to about 2 hours left and my stomach is starting to rumble, the nerves are tingling and I'm starting to sweat... ok, maybe I've had too much coffee!
Oh, a word of warning. Mike had a bourbon barrel stout from Central Waters Brewing ($12 a 6 pack) so I tried one. Holy shit, that's not beer. That's Jack Daniels disguised in a beer bottle. One bottle of that was plenty for me. I switched to a couple Guinness after that followed by another one I hadn't heard of called Estes Park Gold, which was an amber ale that wasn't too bad, pretty mild. After a couple of those I switched to Fat Squirrel Nut Brown from New Glaurus, I always like those. I think that's what I ended on, hard to remember now.
We played Mexican last night, which is a dice game for those that haven't played it. The last time I played it was in high school and I remember getting pretty damn hammered on it. We played a more mild version as old people... After that was poker but not for money which is unfortunate because I was hotter than a gas fire in pit row. I hooked every time I needed something and ended up with a huge pile of chips at the end. Just goes to show what I always tell the Grinder, it's all about the freakin' cards and whether you're in a lucky streak or not. There was very little skill in anything I did, I wasn't even paying attention that much.
132 minutes till my tee time, I'm soooo excited!!!!!!
Oh, a word of warning. Mike had a bourbon barrel stout from Central Waters Brewing ($12 a 6 pack) so I tried one. Holy shit, that's not beer. That's Jack Daniels disguised in a beer bottle. One bottle of that was plenty for me. I switched to a couple Guinness after that followed by another one I hadn't heard of called Estes Park Gold, which was an amber ale that wasn't too bad, pretty mild. After a couple of those I switched to Fat Squirrel Nut Brown from New Glaurus, I always like those. I think that's what I ended on, hard to remember now.
We played Mexican last night, which is a dice game for those that haven't played it. The last time I played it was in high school and I remember getting pretty damn hammered on it. We played a more mild version as old people... After that was poker but not for money which is unfortunate because I was hotter than a gas fire in pit row. I hooked every time I needed something and ended up with a huge pile of chips at the end. Just goes to show what I always tell the Grinder, it's all about the freakin' cards and whether you're in a lucky streak or not. There was very little skill in anything I did, I wasn't even paying attention that much.
132 minutes till my tee time, I'm soooo excited!!!!!!
Friday, August 18, 2006
Center action
We were short handed for hockey last night which meant instead of 3 full lines of forwards we had 3 sets of wingers but only 2 centers. We rotated 2 people as the centers each period. What does this mean? It means that I played center the first period and damn near died of exhaustion! The other center and I busted ass that first period, so much so that by the end we were each taking about 34 second shifts. It paid off though as we closed the period with a 2-0 lead. I scored with about 40 seconds left in the period at the end of a strenous 15 second shift... haha.
The second period I don't think either of us could do a thing for about the first 7 or 8 minutes. We ended up losing the lead and went to the 3rd tied at 2. Luckily we scored another goal early in the 3rd and held on for a 3-2 win.
Unfortunately, after a couple beers I didn't get home till after 11pm and had to get up early as usual. Cdubya didn't think it would be fair if she had to get up early and I didn't and I didn't feel like fighting about it so around 6am I staggered out of bed. Probably got about 5 hours sleep and had to do a bunch of mentoring this morning which always wears me out but the morning ended quickly.
Lunch time now then I have to mow the lawn. I wish it would just go dormant already but every time I think it will we get some more rain. At least it's cooler out, only in the 70's.
Tomorrow starts the Door Creek Club Championship, which is a 36 hole event with a long drive contest, keg of beer and a big cookout on Sunday. They have 4 flights for the men: Championship, which is the super stars; 1st flight which is the low handicappers; 2nd flight which is 15 to 20 handicaps which I'll be in; and 3rd flight which is over 20, which Dr. Mike sucked ass into, the freakin' sandbagger has a 23.
The only flight that uses handicaps is the 3rd so I'll be competing for gross score only. The winner of each flight gets their own private parking spot! That's been my goal, really want that baby this year. The long drive winners in each flight also win $75. I won the 3rd flight 2 years ago but couldn't do it in the 2nd flight last year.
Well, that's all for now, come back Monday to read all about it!
The second period I don't think either of us could do a thing for about the first 7 or 8 minutes. We ended up losing the lead and went to the 3rd tied at 2. Luckily we scored another goal early in the 3rd and held on for a 3-2 win.
Unfortunately, after a couple beers I didn't get home till after 11pm and had to get up early as usual. Cdubya didn't think it would be fair if she had to get up early and I didn't and I didn't feel like fighting about it so around 6am I staggered out of bed. Probably got about 5 hours sleep and had to do a bunch of mentoring this morning which always wears me out but the morning ended quickly.
Lunch time now then I have to mow the lawn. I wish it would just go dormant already but every time I think it will we get some more rain. At least it's cooler out, only in the 70's.
Tomorrow starts the Door Creek Club Championship, which is a 36 hole event with a long drive contest, keg of beer and a big cookout on Sunday. They have 4 flights for the men: Championship, which is the super stars; 1st flight which is the low handicappers; 2nd flight which is 15 to 20 handicaps which I'll be in; and 3rd flight which is over 20, which Dr. Mike sucked ass into, the freakin' sandbagger has a 23.
The only flight that uses handicaps is the 3rd so I'll be competing for gross score only. The winner of each flight gets their own private parking spot! That's been my goal, really want that baby this year. The long drive winners in each flight also win $75. I won the 3rd flight 2 years ago but couldn't do it in the 2nd flight last year.
Well, that's all for now, come back Monday to read all about it!
Monday, August 14, 2006
Beerfest
Saturday was the Great Taste of the Midwest beer fest in Madison. Breweries from all over the great lakes region brought their brews to share with us. Our group of 8 showed up about 90 minutes ahead of time and got a good spot in line so we could stake out or site inside before it was full. We like to set up a base camp with chairs, coolers, food, etc. from which to branch out.
My goal was to try every Stout available so I marked them out in the booklet and found 21 of them. I made it to about 15 and couldn't take it any more. Every oatmeal stout tasted the same. There were a couple of interesting ones though, a creme' brule stout that was good for sipping and a nitro stout that was very smooth (guinness like). After those I had a few IPA's and pale ales that were decent too. I think I ended up trying 23 different beers and actually wrote them down but I don't think I can read what I wrote, especially the last 10 or so...
We went out for dinner (mexican) afterwards and while the food was good, our waitress was horrible. Took us 40 minutes just to pay the bill!
Sunday I met up with a couple friends from Seattle that were visiting at Devil's Head resort about an hour north of me. We golfed there in the afternoon. I actually played pretty well and shot an 86 from the blue tees. They added a new 9 recently and mixed that in with the original course. Those new holes were terrible. The grass was all weeds and dirt. The greens sucked too. Hard so they wouldn't hold a shot but fuzzy so they were super slow. If I had putted worth a crap I might have broken 80. I reached 2 of the par 5's in 2 and 3 putted each time for par. Crap... I did manage 8 pars and birdied one hole, which was my only 1 putt of the day. Luckily that one was only from 2 feet away. The course is definitely not worth the $70 I had to pay. They had a deal (there were 11 guys), where they paid $250 for 2 nights at the resort including unlimited golf and all meals. I guess that's worth it but the single play was not. I now know why there were no Wisconsin cars in the parking lot. Way too many better courses around the area for that money.
I suggested they try Whistling Straits next time.
My goal was to try every Stout available so I marked them out in the booklet and found 21 of them. I made it to about 15 and couldn't take it any more. Every oatmeal stout tasted the same. There were a couple of interesting ones though, a creme' brule stout that was good for sipping and a nitro stout that was very smooth (guinness like). After those I had a few IPA's and pale ales that were decent too. I think I ended up trying 23 different beers and actually wrote them down but I don't think I can read what I wrote, especially the last 10 or so...
We went out for dinner (mexican) afterwards and while the food was good, our waitress was horrible. Took us 40 minutes just to pay the bill!
Sunday I met up with a couple friends from Seattle that were visiting at Devil's Head resort about an hour north of me. We golfed there in the afternoon. I actually played pretty well and shot an 86 from the blue tees. They added a new 9 recently and mixed that in with the original course. Those new holes were terrible. The grass was all weeds and dirt. The greens sucked too. Hard so they wouldn't hold a shot but fuzzy so they were super slow. If I had putted worth a crap I might have broken 80. I reached 2 of the par 5's in 2 and 3 putted each time for par. Crap... I did manage 8 pars and birdied one hole, which was my only 1 putt of the day. Luckily that one was only from 2 feet away. The course is definitely not worth the $70 I had to pay. They had a deal (there were 11 guys), where they paid $250 for 2 nights at the resort including unlimited golf and all meals. I guess that's worth it but the single play was not. I now know why there were no Wisconsin cars in the parking lot. Way too many better courses around the area for that money.
I suggested they try Whistling Straits next time.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Receiving End
No, I’m not in prison being abused by Bubba… Karma gave me a little payback for my hit on that jackass a couple weeks ago though. 2nd shift of the game last night, the puck is dumped into the right corner. It’s just me and the 240 lb defenseman going for it. Of course I beat him to the puck but not by much. As I spun to my left to try to center it towards the net he arrived… Next thing I remember I was off the ice pancaked flat against the glass and slowly sliding down to a lying position like maple syrup oozing down the side of the bottle after you finish pouring it on your pancakes…
I survived, obviously, but it set the tone for the whole night as we were out hit, out skated, out shot, out goalied, whatever... and lost 6-2.
I know I had not much in the tank to start with so I wasn’t very helpful. After getting up at 5:15am I met CB by the Interstate at 6 and we began our long day of slacking off. First up, 7:04 tee time at Naga-waukee Golf Course in Pewaukee. Weather was a little cloudy and moist but no rain and it actually felt pretty nice, in the low 70’s. The rain from the night before made everything a little damp though so the greens were a little slow but you sure didn’t have to worry about your approach shots running off the green. In fact, my 9 iron from 135 on the 3rd hole (par 3) was a good example. The green sloped down from back to front, pin was back. I drilled a really nice shot that landed about 10 feet right of the pin and I thought would stick right there but when I looked back after I picked up my tee the ball had spun all the way back to the front of the green leaving me a nice 50 foot putt instead.
That was just 1 of about 4 super long putts I had on the day. Just couldn’t hit the right part of the green. CB had a couple bad holes on 2-4 but recovered nicely and we pretty much played even from there on out. In fact, we tied on the back 9 after I got totally robbed on my par putt as the ball hit an old ball mark and deflected away from the hole. CB had 54/47 for 101 and I had 46/47 for 93.
We finished our round a little after 10:30 and headed for Miller Park. We arrived about 11:05 and parked in Preferred parking (a must do for those that live west of the park). We walked up to discover the gates don’t open till 11:30. Our plan was to eat at the TGI Friday’s in left field. There was already a huge line formed at that gate (maybe because it was water bottle giveaway day?). CB went to investigate as I got in line. He found that there was another line with about 10 or 15 people in it so we walked up to that one and voila, no problemo, we’re gold. At 11:30 they finally opened the gates and we high-tailed it for Fridays and got in quickly. I learned 2 things at Fridays: 1 – The don’t know how to spell Guinness (they had it with 1 "n" on the menu) and B – they have Guinness on tap for $5.50 for a pint. What the hell??? It’s $6 for a bottle of Miller Lite in your seat. (That reminds me, at Naga-waukee they had a sign by their bar saying “Featured Beer of the Month for August – Miller Lite, I had to laugh).
Anyway, now I gotta work all day today instead of my normal half day. Gonna be a busy weekend too. Tomorrow is the Great Midwest Beerfest in Madison. It’s awesome, 5 hours of drinking some great beer. Sunday I’m meeting a friend from Seattle at Devil’s Head for golf, should be fun, if I’m not too hung-over.
I survived, obviously, but it set the tone for the whole night as we were out hit, out skated, out shot, out goalied, whatever... and lost 6-2.
I know I had not much in the tank to start with so I wasn’t very helpful. After getting up at 5:15am I met CB by the Interstate at 6 and we began our long day of slacking off. First up, 7:04 tee time at Naga-waukee Golf Course in Pewaukee. Weather was a little cloudy and moist but no rain and it actually felt pretty nice, in the low 70’s. The rain from the night before made everything a little damp though so the greens were a little slow but you sure didn’t have to worry about your approach shots running off the green. In fact, my 9 iron from 135 on the 3rd hole (par 3) was a good example. The green sloped down from back to front, pin was back. I drilled a really nice shot that landed about 10 feet right of the pin and I thought would stick right there but when I looked back after I picked up my tee the ball had spun all the way back to the front of the green leaving me a nice 50 foot putt instead.
That was just 1 of about 4 super long putts I had on the day. Just couldn’t hit the right part of the green. CB had a couple bad holes on 2-4 but recovered nicely and we pretty much played even from there on out. In fact, we tied on the back 9 after I got totally robbed on my par putt as the ball hit an old ball mark and deflected away from the hole. CB had 54/47 for 101 and I had 46/47 for 93.
We finished our round a little after 10:30 and headed for Miller Park. We arrived about 11:05 and parked in Preferred parking (a must do for those that live west of the park). We walked up to discover the gates don’t open till 11:30. Our plan was to eat at the TGI Friday’s in left field. There was already a huge line formed at that gate (maybe because it was water bottle giveaway day?). CB went to investigate as I got in line. He found that there was another line with about 10 or 15 people in it so we walked up to that one and voila, no problemo, we’re gold. At 11:30 they finally opened the gates and we high-tailed it for Fridays and got in quickly. I learned 2 things at Fridays: 1 – The don’t know how to spell Guinness (they had it with 1 "n" on the menu) and B – they have Guinness on tap for $5.50 for a pint. What the hell??? It’s $6 for a bottle of Miller Lite in your seat. (That reminds me, at Naga-waukee they had a sign by their bar saying “Featured Beer of the Month for August – Miller Lite, I had to laugh).
Anyway, now I gotta work all day today instead of my normal half day. Gonna be a busy weekend too. Tomorrow is the Great Midwest Beerfest in Madison. It’s awesome, 5 hours of drinking some great beer. Sunday I’m meeting a friend from Seattle at Devil’s Head for golf, should be fun, if I’m not too hung-over.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Altercation on the Links
Well, it finally happened. I could take no more of my dad's constant "helpful advice" on the course and I blew up. It didn't take long either, just 6 holes into our 36 hole marathon Friday. As some of you know, having played with him before, he always is telling me something that I'm doing wrong. Top one... "keep your head down"... hit it right... "your feet weren't lined up"... on and on this goes. For the most part I've just quietly told him to stick it and I don't want his advice...
But Friday, it finally happened. 5th hole is a par 3 that I missed the green to the right and down a hill. I chipped up and ran up the hill to see where it was going only to see him tapping my ball on the green with his putter. I was like "what are you doing?" to which he replied "helping you, just stopping the ball, it was rolling off". I was seriously confused as to why he would do something like that. I just said "don't do that, just let me play the game" and moved my ball to the rough and played out the hole.
With that still in my mind, trying to figure out what would make a person do something like that, we moved on to the 6th tee box. I'm lined up for my tee shot, which takes me a good 20-30 seconds to get just that right feeling and I initiate my backswing and I hear this "WAIT!". I abort and spin around on him like he'd just murdered my dog and let fly with a "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR!?!?" and he says "your feet were lined up to the right". Ok, that was all I could take. I let loose with about 700 profanities that I'm sure could not only be heard at the clubhouse but also in the cars on the freeway a quarter mile away. I don't even remember what all I said but I do know he had a strange look in his eyes like this might be the end.
I turned around, and quickly blasted my drive down the middle. He hits and we get back in the cart and I start in again with the "why in the hell would you do that?" and "just play the f'ing game and try to enjoy it." He finally tries to calm me down and says "ok, let's just drop it, I won't say any more". And he didn't. Finished the 18 peacefully and had a nice lunch. I still sucked and shot a 101.
We went back out 90 minutes later for our next 18 and my next door neighbor joined us. It was peaceful despite my poor play but dad couldn't make it past the 9th (his arthritis was bothering him) so we played the last 9 without him. I sucked again and shot another 101. Pretty pathetic. I keep telling myself it's all good since I was just padding my handicap for the club championship in a couple weeks.
Ah, parents...
Saturday and Sunday I spent more time trying to finish the basement ceiling but ran out of tiles. Need to go back tonight and get another box. We also discussed flooring possibilities. I think we're going to tear all the remaining carpet out of the house and put down hardwood laminate flooring throughout the whole place, including the basement. Not really looking forward to doing all that. I guess I'll try to do the basement first so I can be done down there then start on the rest of the house. Trouble is going to be finding a match to the Pergo I put in the living room. Home Depot doesn't carry it any more. Hope I can order it online or something.
Took mom to American Players Theater (outdoor amphitheater) to see a Shakespeare play called "Measure for Measure". First bad show I've seen there. The story sucked and the actors actually didn't seem to into it either, quite a few line flubs which I'd never seen there before. They lost me a half hour into a 3 hour performance. That makes for a long night.
But Friday, it finally happened. 5th hole is a par 3 that I missed the green to the right and down a hill. I chipped up and ran up the hill to see where it was going only to see him tapping my ball on the green with his putter. I was like "what are you doing?" to which he replied "helping you, just stopping the ball, it was rolling off". I was seriously confused as to why he would do something like that. I just said "don't do that, just let me play the game" and moved my ball to the rough and played out the hole.
With that still in my mind, trying to figure out what would make a person do something like that, we moved on to the 6th tee box. I'm lined up for my tee shot, which takes me a good 20-30 seconds to get just that right feeling and I initiate my backswing and I hear this "WAIT!". I abort and spin around on him like he'd just murdered my dog and let fly with a "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR!?!?" and he says "your feet were lined up to the right". Ok, that was all I could take. I let loose with about 700 profanities that I'm sure could not only be heard at the clubhouse but also in the cars on the freeway a quarter mile away. I don't even remember what all I said but I do know he had a strange look in his eyes like this might be the end.
I turned around, and quickly blasted my drive down the middle. He hits and we get back in the cart and I start in again with the "why in the hell would you do that?" and "just play the f'ing game and try to enjoy it." He finally tries to calm me down and says "ok, let's just drop it, I won't say any more". And he didn't. Finished the 18 peacefully and had a nice lunch. I still sucked and shot a 101.
We went back out 90 minutes later for our next 18 and my next door neighbor joined us. It was peaceful despite my poor play but dad couldn't make it past the 9th (his arthritis was bothering him) so we played the last 9 without him. I sucked again and shot another 101. Pretty pathetic. I keep telling myself it's all good since I was just padding my handicap for the club championship in a couple weeks.
Ah, parents...
Saturday and Sunday I spent more time trying to finish the basement ceiling but ran out of tiles. Need to go back tonight and get another box. We also discussed flooring possibilities. I think we're going to tear all the remaining carpet out of the house and put down hardwood laminate flooring throughout the whole place, including the basement. Not really looking forward to doing all that. I guess I'll try to do the basement first so I can be done down there then start on the rest of the house. Trouble is going to be finding a match to the Pergo I put in the living room. Home Depot doesn't carry it any more. Hope I can order it online or something.
Took mom to American Players Theater (outdoor amphitheater) to see a Shakespeare play called "Measure for Measure". First bad show I've seen there. The story sucked and the actors actually didn't seem to into it either, quite a few line flubs which I'd never seen there before. They lost me a half hour into a 3 hour performance. That makes for a long night.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
All is well
Left at 10:30 last night and just went right to bed. Back to work by 7am and we did manage to get everything working by 10:00. Crisis over... Looks like golf league is safe tonight (as long as it doesn't rain).
With the 15 hour day yesterday I'll be taking Friday off. My dad and I are going to go play 36 holes at The Oaks.
With the 15 hour day yesterday I'll be taking Friday off. My dad and I are going to go play 36 holes at The Oaks.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
I'm gettin' sleepy
Ok, this is officially becoming quite a long night. It's 10pm and I'm still at work. I've been here since 7am with just a quick break for lunch.
It's amazing how, for such a big company with a huge IT staff, that application deployment is an incredibly long and painful process. We've been in deployment since 3:30 and, oh great, the lights just shut off.... at least my computer still has power. I'm giving it a half hour and giving up. The servers are now totally screwing up. Oh boy...
Cdubya is not a happy camper either so I still have that to deal with when I get home. The best part is that it appears we will not get moved into production tonight and will have to try again tomorrow night and that's golf league! If they mess up league night I will be quite pissed.
Ok, we've officially passed my bed time. Good night Irene....
It's amazing how, for such a big company with a huge IT staff, that application deployment is an incredibly long and painful process. We've been in deployment since 3:30 and, oh great, the lights just shut off.... at least my computer still has power. I'm giving it a half hour and giving up. The servers are now totally screwing up. Oh boy...
Cdubya is not a happy camper either so I still have that to deal with when I get home. The best part is that it appears we will not get moved into production tonight and will have to try again tomorrow night and that's golf league! If they mess up league night I will be quite pissed.
Ok, we've officially passed my bed time. Good night Irene....
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