The Fine Art of Procrastination

Daisy says "Get on with it already"

For someone who has accomplished a lot of things in their life, it's sometimes amazing that I get anything done.

It seems like...and I've been told this too, that I am decent at a lot of things but really good at one: Procrastinating.

Yeah, sure, I always get things done and I am obsessively organized, but everyone...including me, wonders how it gets done. To look at my desk, heck at TLB (The Lovely Bride) says, look at my living area, you'd never think anything gets done. But it does. Despite my lack of tidiness, I know exactly where everything is. Despite my forgetfulness about writing down what I need to do and when I need to do it, things always do get done.

Oliver says "Just get it done and stop bothering me"

Today is a prime example of my procrastination skills. I got up around 7, which is normal for me on a day off. I really didn't have anywhere that I had to be. No appointments, no go get at the store moments...nothing. And guess what I got done today? I can't say nothing, because I did do a little, I got our first moving estimate and I posted a couple of stories to the OSG Sports website...but that was about it.

I'm staring at a pretty lengthy list of stuff that needs to be done before we move, really I can't do much until I secure a mover, which I hope to on Tuesday. Once I do that, I can start working down the list. And I will.   I keep threatening to start boxing stuff up. Nope. Haven't done much of that yet. TLB wants me to go through the office closet and try and condense. I need to do that, but haven't yet. Although a lot of it is old file tapes and things like that from my TV life. That stuff may go to storage, but ain't getting thrown away.

Oh...and I keep telling myself I need to post some stuff here too, I really haven't been good about keeping up the blog. Sorry.

Sure, I know that I sound like just about everyone else. Yeah...I'm pretty frighteningly normal. I know that. I'm okay with that. Tomorrow is another day. I don't, again have much to do. I do have to take the Wonder Dog to the Vet's office for a shot, but that is about it. Hopefully I'll get some packing in. And the other moving estimate that I want. I can start the rest of the process from there. I do have to get things moving. We go out of town for a week starting the 13th. When we get back. 3 weeks to get packed and moved and while we no longer have an inordinate amount of stuff. We have a decent amount. If it doesn't get started now, those last three weeks may not be so much fun.

In the meantime, enjoy some classic Cars...Moving in Stereo. Thanks You Tube:

Driving me crazy!

Before anyone goes all Fine Young Cannibals on me, listen to my story. I'm going to provide some observations and reason...with some evidence that there really, truly are very...very few good drivers anywhere. Oh...and everyplace you go has a different problem.

We all know that I'm stuck in Ohio right now after living in Atlanta for 10 years. Most probably know that I was raised in beautiful central Florida and since 1988, have lived in no less than 5 different towns.

That alone, should qualify me as the random observer of peculiar driving habits.

It's simple. Really. It is. Here is your breakdown:

Florida (mostly Orlando)- Tough place to drive because its mostly a mix of the elderly and tourists. Neither have their wits about them any more. Yes, the people who are actually from there have an idea of what they are doing...but they are in the minority. By a large margin. You really have to pay attention driving in Florida because you never know what the person in front of you is going to do.

Lynchburg, Virginia - I lived there in 1988-89 while working at a TV station there. Two BIG issues. One...no acceleration lanes for the highway. None. You stop...you get on the highway. That is tough if you've lived anywhere else with major highways. Think about it.

But there is more from Lynchburg. The biggest problem in my time there was the green light stopping. Yes, you read that correctly. People would just randomly stop at intersections when the light was green. No rhyme or reason. They'd just stop. Again, a scary thought if you aren't locked in. I can only imagine the amount of wrecks in this eating food, texting society today.

Jacksonville, Florida - Not horrible drivers, but it is tough on the highways (see above). A few who thought they were on NASCAR tracks, but not too many. Really, I didn't see any major issues there.

Nashville, Tennessee - Them folks in Tennessee ain't right. You can call them the Tennessee Divebombers. What do I mean by that you ask? Well...imagine you are in the right lane getting to exit off of the highway and all of a sudden a car from 4 lanes over, against the wall wants to get off at the same exit. No, there usually isn't that much traffic. The only thing I can figure is either they didn't know they wanted to exit or they just weren't paying attention.

Atlanta, Georgia - Some of the worst traffic in the world. But really, I don't think that people there don't know how to drive. They do. They just don't care. They are crazy. They all think that they are Bill Elliot or Dale Jr. Either that or they are so late due to the traffic and living so far away from work that they just say "Fuck it".

If you've ever sat through rush hour in Atlanta, think about what I'm saying. It makes sense...doesn't it?

Cincinnati, Ohio - Really, here the drivers are just stupid. They have no sense or idea about what they are doing. By the way, you have to lump Northern Kentucky in here too, because if it is possible...Northern Kentucky drivers are stupider. It's like they've come off the side of a mountain to drive or have never left the farm. They don't get simple traffic laws, lane changing or speed limits.

Back to Ohio...the biggest problem I've run into....nobody will change lanes. Ever! They lock into whatever lane they are in and won't move. If they are doing 80 in the right lane, they'll slow down to 55 behind the car in front of them...even if they are the only 2 cars on the road. And they won't pass. They do this in every lane on every road. You could be going 20 in the passing lane and they'll get right behind you and won't go around. EVER!

I don't get this.

Quite honestly, this is just something that has been on my mind for awhile. I'm not sure what made me think about it, though I have a suspicion. I'm really not an angry driver, an aggressive driver or a heavy speeder. I'm not, ask my wife. It is just random observation, stream of thought....and yeah...a slight bit of underlying annoyance.

We'll go with the obvious music choice here...enjoy your Cannibals (Thanks You Tube):

Annoying people....

If you've spent time with me, then you know that I'm not a particularly judgmental person. I've been told that I am very open minded and willing to listen to or look for the best in just about everyone.

I had to throw that out the window today. Not permanently, just for today.

You might be asking: What happened today? The answer: I had class today.

For those who don't know, I've been taking computer web design classes which are fairly complicated and very monotonous. A lot of it is learning computer programming code and language...and let me tell you, if you think learning Spanish or French is tough...

((My brain after class//Courtesy: My Mac))

So anyway, today was Web Design/HTML/XHTML and CSS, Level 2 class. One day...8 hours. Not fun...but interesting. Most of the classes have had 5...maybe 6 people in them. Today, we had 10.

I knew we were in trouble, when class member number 10 walked in. Okay, made his entrance.

Picture this guy if you can: 40 or so years old...maybe 5-10 or even 6-feet tall, about 40 pounds overweight. He's wearing a yellow t-shirt that says "Security". Not a big deal unto itself. The issue came when you looked at the head. He had...god's honest truth...a full-fledged, out of date, lead singer of the Clash...or Mr. T...mohawk.

Again, I don't judge, but it was a giveaway. No sooner did the guy sit down, then he started asking questions. About everything. And talking about what he did in his other classes and his website.

The problem came in when the guy teaching the class, kept talking to him. He would talk and just go off on tangents. Complete...out in left field tangents. It doesn't bother me when people ask legitimate questions. Questions that they can't answer. It bugs the crap out of me when people hijack rooms and don't shut-up.

I'm hoping I don't have Mr. Mohawk in any other classes. It's hard enough staying focused on the complicated task at hand. It's really...really annoying when you get completely distracted by someone who thinks that nobody else is in the room...or trying to learn something.

There...I feel better now...I got to vent.

The only fitting video I could find is the trailer to Despicable Me...which by the way is a pretty funny movie: Thanks YouTube

Time to pack the boxes...

Do you know anyone who actually likes moving? I don't. Not that I know a ton of people...I do know a decent amount and I've never heard any of them say that they liked it. I sure don't.

But it comes with the territory. I guess before anyone starts asking, I better add that we are staying in Cincinnati (Southern Siberia)...for now, we are just going to change addresses. We are leaving the 105-year old house we've been living in and moving to an apartment, which will be weird unto itself.

((Moving in 10/1/09//Courtesy: Me))

In my chosen profession, moving has been part of the price of being in it. Lynchburg, Chattanooga, Jacksonville, Nashville, Atlanta and Cincinnati all cities that have been part of my wandering life since 1988. All of them have been fun experiences...and in most cases I moved more than once in some of the cities.

Early on...moving wasn't a huge deal other than the fact that I did it primarily myself. The chief would inevitably come to wherever I was and help as did my grandfather. Of course at that time, I didn't have too much stuff. Hand-me down furniture, a TV, some clothes and a few odds and ends.

Funny thing that happens over time, you accumulate things. I'm no exception to that and by the time I arrived in Atlanta, I had accumulated a pretty good amount of stuff. The initial move to town was aided by my friends Dave and Michael who after helping get the sleeper-sofa that I had owned up 3 flights of stairs said "Dude...we love you, but unless you get rid of that, we'll never help you move again".

Really, unlike Jacksonville, where I lived in 4 apartments in 5 years, I only moved twice in 10-years in Atlanta. Both moves in Atlanta were done with a mover, I'll never move myself again. Of course, I got married in Atlanta and the amount of stuff I now have doubled.

We had a relocation company move us from Atlanta to Cincinnati. That was interesting and forced us to get rid of some stuff. We left a 2600 square foot house in the ATL to come to a 1250 square footer here. The house in Cincy has some good things: A backyard for Daisy....a nice back deck and cool front porch, but it also has a leaky basement, no insulation and only one bathroom.

The thought of going back to an apartment isn't particularly appealing, but it will work for now. Just the idea of not banging my head in the low clearance basement will be an improvement. We can't keep the house cool...or at least the upstairs because there is no insulation in the house...at all. During the winter, we had to keep the heat on 56...to keep the gas/electric bill around $300.

((Winter in Southern Siberia//Courtesy: Me))

So it is back where we started...an apartment. We are going to do some of the moving ourselves since we are just going down the block (less than 1-mile). We'll hire someone to move the big stuff.

By no means is it permanent. We still don't know yet if we are staying here. While the town is decent and I really like my job and the people that I work with...it has been a very tough adjustment. I can't speak for TLB...but I still feel like a visitor here, like I am on a long assignment or something. Maybe that will change...either way, we will probably have to move again around this time next year. Where we go...we will see.

Enjoy today's music...Unto itself an okay song...but possibly one of the coolest things I've ever heard is when 92,000 Auburn and Georgia Football fans sang this in unison at the end of the 3rd quarter in the 2008 game at Auburn's stadium...kinda gave me the chills.

Anyway enjoy your Jovi...Thanks You Tube:

Long, long way from home....

I'm just going to say it. I miss my Braves baseball. Right now, sitting in Southern Siberia (Cincinnati) the city that denies that its southern because its in Ohio, I miss my Braves baseball.

Why can't we go back to the days of the superstation? You, I suppose could argue that if I miss it so much, I should just by the MLB package on DirecTV or MLB.com. And you know what; you are right, I could spend the money, but that would take only part of the pain away.

Even when we lived in Atlanta, we didn't go to a lot of the games. Sure, I would work them from time to time and there was a stretch where I would take my credential and just go and hang out, but that is no longer an option.

((Braves Spring Training//Courtesy: Me))

You see, I grew up on Braves baseball. When I was a kid, we didn't have a Major League team playing in Florida, now there are two. Sure, they came for Spring Training, but that is not quite the same thing. No. The closest thing we had were the Braves. WTBS was on the cable as far back as I can remember and we could on occasion pick up 750 WSB Radio.

My first Major League regular season game. A Braves game. In 1976, we saw the Braves play the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fulton County Stadium. I don't remember much other than they lost and Richie Zisk had a ton of RBI's.

Even as I got older. I would make the pilgrimage. In college, we went once or twice. Got cheap centerfield tickets and made our way around the stadium. The Braves weren't very good back in the 80's (understatement) and you could get away with it because there might have been 5,000 people in a 50,000 seat stadium.

I had to live without them for a year or so when I moved to my 1st job in Virginia, but I came back. My parents moved to Atlanta by 1990 so I always had an excuse to come visit and I would drag the Chief (father) with me. He's not much into baseball, but always humored me.

There were more trips. The drunken Jacksonville sojourn with 3 some friends from work. Seeing my 1st World Series game in 1996. Unfortunately it was the Game 6 that the Braves lost late to the Yankees and ended up losing the series. Heck, I even got to see the Braves play the Cubs...at Wrigley Field (Scratch one off the list).

Once I got to Atlanta, I lived the dream, I got to cover my favorite team. The 1st time that I walked into the locker room, the producer I was with had to punch me in the arm to keep me from drooling. I got to know some of the guys. Good people. Sure, they sort of lived in their own universe, but pretty friendly. I would run into a handful of the guys at the LA Fitness that I was working out in for awhile. They would play pickup basketball. I played a couple of times and we got some good laughs out of it.

Now I'm not anywhere close to Atlanta (7-hours away). Plus I work on the weekends. We get a steady diet of Cincinnati Reds baseball. Yeah, we've been to a few games. The stadium is actually very nice, a comfortable place to go watch baseball. But when the national games are regionalized on TV, we get the Northeast team. Not the Southern team.

We do have tickets to see the Braves when they come here and we are really looking forward to it. I still know a few of the guys on the team and who work for them, but I probably won't get to visit. But I'll be happy. I'll get my Braves fix. I'll see my team play in the town I'm currently located in. Not ideal....but it will do....for now.

Check this out. The Superstation TBS Braves Open from 1986. Pretty Cool eh? Thanks You Tube:

Writing is such sweet sorrow....

Man, just when I thought that I had become a good writer, I discover that I am struggling to write news.

Granted, news is an entirely different beast. It's a prepositionally challenged, detail oriented, shortened version of storytelling. But it's something that I've dabbled in before with no real problems.

You would think that if I could write entire Sports shows, 30-minutes and hour versions, that I wouldn't have any problems. You would think even more so if I told you about the book (which is about to go to print)...but then again, it was a sports book. You would definitely think so if I told you that I've written tons of reporter packages for News....so it is not like I've never done it.

((Writing on the computer//Courtesy: clipartguide.com))

But I'm struggling for some reason. Stylistically, I've adjusted. I get the format. A sentence to set up and then write your voice-over. Yeah, I can do that. I can summarize just about anything in 30 seconds or less. But I've been sloppy.

It's my own fault, I know better. And as someone with a ton of experience, I'm the only one who can make it stop. Still, it's a struggle.

I've never had a problem expressing myself through writing. Never. Even as a kid when I was painfully shy and didn't talk much, I wrote. Wrote about everything and expressed myself well.

All through school and even in college, I was a good writer. Loved essay tests because even if I didn't know the subject that I had to write about well, I could fake my way through it.

Maybe it's the OSG Sports blog. I don't know. The rules don't totally apply there and I can add dashes and doses of humor and opinion.

We will see. It's time for me to make the adjustment and make it soon. I'm expected to write 5-7 stories a day along with doing all of the research for them. The research has been a challenge and very time consuming, but it isn't an excuse. Sure, I had a similar issue when I was learning to shoot, I was wildly inconsistent and I know that. There were days where my stuff was "Holy Crap" good and other days when it was just "Crap". I grew out of it. It took awhile, but I did.

I don't have the luxury of time with it now. No, I didn't get chewed out at work, but I did get a subtle reminder that I need to pick it up. Nothing else I guess, really needs to be said.

So, in the spirit of this being Friday, enjoy some Todd Rundgren. Thanks You Tube:

Getting old.....Must Excercise

As much as I like to think that I'm still oh...somewhere south of 30 in age, the fact is, I'm not. When I was younger, I was a pretty decent athlete, moved pretty well for someone 6-5.

Now, I don't move nearly as well as I used to. I'm still trying to stay active without having to dish out money or sign a contract for a health club.

No, I haven't found some folks to play golf with though I have found an ok driving range. I don't, well really, can't play basketball much any more, which isn't such a bad thing. I'd love to find a softball team here, but I haven't.

So in the meantime, I run. I've blogged about running before, so I won't go into too much detail. I was running on a treadmill for a good while and really started running out in the neighborhood for most of the past year and a half.

((See look at the gray in my beard//Courtesy: TLB))

On the good side, I lost some weight. I was in very good condition and just generally felt better. Really, I hoped there wasn't going to be a downside, but it is now showing up. I missed most of the past two weeks due to tendinitis in my left foot and ankle and I'm just trying to get back up to speed.

That is all good, but my foot still hurts after I run as does my right ankle (the one with 2 bone spurs). I'm guessing that means it is time to give in. If I want to try and stay in shape I'm going to have to go to a health club. Running on the pavement, I knew would eventually get to me, I was just hoping that it would take longer.

I hate doing that mostly because I don't want to be tied to a contract. But, I don't want to be out of shape again. I got up to 270lbs when I got married in 2007, I'm down under 230 now and want to stay there.

Maybe it is just age, I don't know. Things don't come as easy and the hurt a lot longer, but the work is necessary. I could just take the lazy way out, particularly since I've been really busy, but I don't want to. I like being in decent shape. I like being able to move. It affects the energy level each day. Really it does.

Enjoy today's music of appropriateness: We have Van Halen....need we say more. Thanks You Tube:

The Love of Being Busy...

You know...there was a time, not too long ago, where I complained that I was too busy, that I had too much to do and that I just wanted to do nothing. I will never do that again. After being essentially unemployed for 7 months, I'll do every...and anything.

The past two weeks...they've been real busy and quite honestly....I've loved every minute of it. I'm working full-time again and loving every minute of it. I'm learning every day and its a challenge, there isn't much else that I can ask for is there?

((The Wonder Dog has been missing me//Courtesy: TLB))

I'm making the transition into writing news. It's been a bit of a challenge, but I'm getting there. The style and structure of how news is written as opposed to sports is 180 degrees different. There is also a big difference between writing full-fledged packages (stories with reporters voices) and writing anchor voice-overs.

The tough part has been the editing. The workflow for it is totally different than the last place that I worked as is the actual editing program. I'm starting to pick it up and actually cut a package on Friday in less than an hour, which surprised everyone...including me. But I already knew how to edit, I just needed to figure out how to get the program to do what I needed.

I've also been posting stories to the station website (WCPO.com). Needless to say, this has been a little easier to learn since I post here and on the Onlinesportsguys websites. But, its kinda fun to able to say that I am technically a web producer as well.

The other time eater has been school. Yes, that's right...I'm taking classes. Computer Web Design to be specific. I had class this past Monday and Tuesday which were my off days. That's why I've been so busy and haven't been able to post much.

Class has been interesting. I've learned how to use Photoshop and Dreamweaver and some programming language. I get the concepts, I just have to start getting in there and start practicing...though I also need the money to buy the programs (they ain't cheap). But that too will come. I'm patient. I'm not in a hurry. No, I'm actually enjoying the thought of being busy again. You don't really know how much you miss it...until you aren't busy.

With all of the Dreamweaver jokes flying around since I posted on Facebook about taking a class in the program...it's only appropriate that I post the song. Enjoy Gary Wright playing live...Thanks You Tube:

Craziness!

Whew! You know I really never thought that it would be "Big City" crazy living in Cincinnati, but I'll be damned if the city isn't trying to prove me wrong.

Last night (Saturday) at work was one of the strangest shifts that I've worked in my going on 22 years in the News business.

Starting at 2pm yesterday we had: 4-people shot, 2 of whom are dead, a murder-suicide, a 2-alarm house fire and another homicide.

Now I realized that we live in troubled times and all of that and yes, I know that I've been working mostly in Sports over the past 10 years. But geez, the only thing missing was a plane crash (Maybe I shouldn't say that out loud).

((Me at a Reds game//Courtesy: TLB))

I'm hoping that it won't be like that all of the time. Heck, even in Atlanta we didn't have many days like that.

Somehow, even with very limited weekend staffing, we got it all covered. Even with only one reporter and one nightside photographer. The dayside guy was able to keep us going with the stuff in the afternoon, that freed up the night shooter to do the other stuff.

Whatever unsure-ness that I had about being back at at a TV station and not in the field pretty much has now gone away. Between running the dayside desk by myself on Friday and dealing with yesterday, I feel much better.

Now it is on to learning the producing systems. I'm beginning to post stories and video to the website, which is now a very big deal and I'm getting more comfortable writing for news. It is a little more difficult than I thought. Writing my own Sports stories and an occasion News package isn't too difficult, its the breaking news voice overs and the re-writes of poorly written wire stories where it becomes a challenge.

But, as they say...challenges are good. It is a lot more fun to be on the upside of a learning curve than the down side. At least for me...it keeps me involved and pushing forward. Learning is always a challenge and that folks...ain't such a bad thing.

Enjoy your accompanyment music...Ozzie does the "Crazy Train":

Different Food for Different Folks....

When you live in an area that is different from the area of which you are from, you sometimes notice differences. Granted, sometimes they are subtle or cultural, but they are all the same still differences.

TLB (The Lovely Bride) and I spent part of a warm, sunny Memorial Day afternoon at the Taste of Cinicnnati food festival. We consider ourselves somewhat enlightened on good, quality food and we expected nothing less at "The Taste".

((Me and a Peroni beer//Courtesy: TLB))

The Taste of Cincinnati is one of the country's oldest "Food" festivals. It's held in the downtown area, spread out along 5th street for about 6-8 blocks.

I guess that I should take the time now to point out that...well...we ain't from this part of the world. Granted, Cincinnati is more Northern Kentucky than a part of Ohio, but either way it is a pretty good distance from most of the world that we were raised in. Much like people in the North tend to mock the Southern lifestyle, that works both ways.

We've been to a couple of "Festivals" on the streets of downtown Cincy and quite honestly, though it was a somewhat strange event, we thoroughly enjoyed the "Oktoberfest Zinzinnati" event back in late September. How can you not love a 6-block long street party to celebrate beer?

So we went to the "Taste" with an open mind, looking for some adventure. We found it. We started at a pizza place. I had a sub with some pretty good Italian cold-cuts, TLB, a slice of their 4-cheese and spinach pizza. Yummm...pretty good stuff.

We made our way down the street noting places and items that sounded interesting. By the time we hit the mid-point of our walk, it was time for something else. Our choice "Bumble-bee stew" from a restaurant called J-Gumbo's. I was a mix of rice, corn, black beans, tomato's and a honey sweet broth. Yes, it was every bit as good as it sounded.

((Sauerkraut balls//Courtesy: TLB))

The next stop came after we finished our 1st lap of the festival. We stopped at a Thai food place (I can't remember the name) and got something called "Golden Delight". It essentially was a dumpling wrapped in a noodle shaped like a pouch and tied at the end. Combined with a spicy-sweet dipping sauce, it was pretty good.

After re-stocking the beer supply at the Blue Moon booth, we rolled on. Our last stop took us to something that we both had been curious about. When at the Oktoberfest event, we noticed that all the German places sold "Sauerkraut Balls". **Note to my friends** please stop snickering here.

We decided it was time to try the "Sauerkraut Balls". Thankfully, they were about what you would think they'd be. Think "hush-puppy" stuffed with Sauerkraut and you'd be pretty spot on.

Needless to say, some of this you would never find in the South. I don't think I am being disparaging in saying this. We've been to the "Taste of Atlanta", it was nothing like this. Well, actually they had a bunch of restaurants serving their foods too, the foods were just a tad bit different.

I won't totally go on record as saying that they have some odd tastes here because there are some really good eating places in town if you know where to look. What I am saying is that it is just different.

The food here is good, it is just mostly fried. It's mostly the heavy stuff, though we've found some awfully good hamburgers in this part of the world.

I'll also add that the beer selection is fantastic too. They have the usual people and places that don't expand there repertoires past Budwater and Millwater Lite, but not nearly as much as they do down south. No, there's some seriously good, deep, wide ranging beer taste's here, something that makes someone like me, who's into the craft beers....very, very happy.

Just because this is a kind of cool song...and there are some latent cultural differences in play too. Enjoy your music fix featuring Sweet singing "Ballroom Blitz". Thanks You Tube: