Random Sports Mumblings was a series I started a couple weeks ago here. However, I thought it was more appropriate at RedshirtFootball. These are just random sports thoughts by Craig T. Feel free to chime in with your comments any time.
I do not care for Tennessee’s football coach Lane [...]So often today, we want to help folks out. We want to help them “get out of poverty.” I certainly agree with this in the sense that if we can reduce the number of folks in poverty and on government programs, our country will flourish. However, what it ultimately comes [...]
Well, I have been wetshaving with my DE razors for a couple weeks now. Everything is going pretty well. Thanks to all the advice from Badger & Blade, I think I have picked it up fairly quickly. I have only really cut myself once; I bumped my nose with [...]
This is my second installment of Random Sports Mumblings. Let’s get started.
Brandon Spikes’s suspension is a joke. Spikes apparently tried to gouge the eyes of a University of Georgia player in Saturday’s game. As a penalty, he has to miss one half of the Vanderbilt game. Give me a [...]I am going to start a new series of posts, hopefully. The plan is to talk about what is on my mind for sports. This will comprise the previous weekend’s games, current news, etc. The plan is to have a “quick hitting” summary of my thoughts.
Instant Replay – The big [...]Moving Day came and went on Saturday, and it was a day filled with work and furniture that seems to get heavier every time I move it. Thanks to the folks from our Sunday School class and my parents for helping with the move. Also, thanks to the in-laws for [...]
Men’s Health has an outstanding piece on Barber Shops. It was written by Craig Bridger and is wonderfully written. It is a five pager (really, five web segments) and will take a few minutes of your time, but it is well worth it.
How the barber has fallen. His [...]
The purpose of this blog is to provide information that can be used to protect men and women who travel on public highways by private automobile from heavy handed enforcement, while researching true safety solutions.
My name [...]
Well, Tennessee recently passed a law to allow you to carry guns in parks if you have the proper carry permit. However, they left it up to the individual municipalities if they want to opt out. Many did, but Blount County actually did not, even though at leasat the two major cities [...]
As mentioned in a previous post, here are a couple pictures of my new razors.
First is a Gillette 1940s style Superspeed from the 1950s (not sure of the exact date until I get it).
The next is a Gillette Tech.
I am excited, if [...]
Many of you folks that know me probably will not be too surprised with this, but my recent interest is traditional wetshaving. Until a couple months ago, my exclusive means of shaving was an electric Norelco razor. It has always given me pretty good shaves, and the convenience of shaving [...]
If you want to clean up your Wordpress titles, check out this excellent post by Megan McDermott. I finally removed the unnecessary “Blog Archive” that was included in every post’s title on the title bar.
Default title formatThe default wordpress titles look like this:
Home page: Blog Name (and that’s it)
[...]
For those of you using mobile phones to access my blog, I have enabled a mobile interface. I am using Alex King’s WordPress Mobile Edition Plugin. Let me know what you think. There should be a link at the bottom if you prefer to see the full version of [...]
With the news that the 2 billionth iPhone app has been downloaded, I thought I would take this time to detail a few apps for Windows Mobile that I highly recommend and use. Please note, I am using these on Windows Mobile 6.1 on a Samsung Omnia (i910, Verizon, [...]
Here’s a good website on Sports Journalism.
H/T Michael Silence
© Craig Thomas - visit the author for more great content.
[...]Earth to President Carter, Just because one man opposes something another man believes or says does not make him a racist. For Mr. Carter and others, we can disagree in this country about policy without being racists.
© Craig Thomas - visit the author for more great content.
[...]After putting the Little One to bed yesterday evening, Mrs. Thomas and I went outside for a little bit to enjoy the absolutely beautiful evening. I had run to AutoZone to pick up some more car wash soap, so we decided to clean up the cars. We got both of [...]
I found a cool Firefox add-on this morning called Invisible Hand. If you are viewing an item for purchase on a site, it will show you a notification of the price on other sites and how much you can save if you purchase it on the other site. I [...]
Senate bill S.773 allows the President to seize control of the Internet in “emergencies,” according to a CNET article.
CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773, which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.
The [...]
Senate bill S.773 allows the President to seize control of the Internet in “emergencies,” according to a CNET article.
CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773, which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.
The [...]
College Football is upon us! My alma mater, Clemson, takes the field in five days! The season kicks off in three days! I am excited. If you are looking for some good college content, and more importantly good CONTESTS, check out Redshirt Football. Hopefully you will find something of [...]
Senator Robert Byrd is now suggesting that the healthcare bill be renamed in Ted Kennedy’s honor, upon hearing the news he had passed away. That is fine if they want to do that, put I certainly hope that the debate is not emotionally tied simply to the memory of [...]
It is looking more and more like there will be golf in the 2016 Olympics. When I first heard about this, I was actually pretty excited. I thought it would be good fun to watch. Yet, as the details have come out, it appears that it will be no different [...]
PC World has a good article about the need for a standard in the e-book world. This is starting to come to a head as Sony has released two new e-book readers, and Barnes and Noble has announced a deal with Plastic Logic to use their new e-reader when [...]
Does anybody else find it disturbing that we are paying people $4500 for a vehicle and then destroying it?! Only the government would propose a program like that. Of course they need the business for Government Motors. Why in the world would we not just give an extra $1000 above [...]
If you disagree with the current healthcare reform, go check out and sign the petition against it. Here is what the petition states:
I support the following as key elements of any health care reform plan:
Choice: I support the right to choose my own doctor and to choose a [...]If you disagree with the current healthcare reform, go check out and sign the petition against it. Here is what the petition states:
I support the following as key elements of any health care reform plan:
Choice: I support the right to choose my own doctor and to choose a [...]Mr. Obama’s health care push has been all the rage lately. A few Blue Dog Democrats have come to the center of the debate, as they appear to be the linchpin to passage of the bill. However, public support seems to be eroding quickly as details from this 1000+ page [...]
Mr. Obama’s health care push has been all the rage lately. A few Blue Dog Democrats have come to the center of the debate, as they appear to be the linchpin to passage of the bill. However, public support seems to be eroding quickly as details from this 1000+ page [...]
Wired has a great post titled 100 Things Your Kids May Never Know. Here are a few good ones:
20. The buzz of a dot-matrix printer
30. Blowing the dust out of a NES cartridge in the hopes that it’ll load this time.
70. Taking turns picking a radio station, [...]
I heard this song yesterday as I was flipping through the 70’s Channel on XM. I have heard it before, but ever since I heard it, I have been whistling the song. (H/T to Eric for the word earworm).
Jim Valvano gave this speech on March 3, 1993 after being diagnosed with brain cancer. I heard the speech (again) on my way into work this morning. I want to hear this speech at least once a year. It is emotional but powerful. As he is giving the speech remember [...]
I heard this song the other day while mowing the yard. Since then, it has been stuck in my head (an earworm Eric would say). I am sure I had heard it before, as Billy Joel is one of my favorite artists, but it really struck me this time. [...]
Shortly before Sarah Palin was introduced as John McCain’s running mate for the 2008 election, I had heard rumors she was on a short list. Even after she was announced, I was excited about the Alaska Governor. She seemed to be conservative and add something exciting to the Republican ticket. [...]
A couple weeks ago, Mrs. Thomas and I ventured out west. We made our way to San Francisco for the week. I had Cisco Live to attend, but we had some free time as well. We got to see Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars, Fisherman’s Wharf, etc. The [...]
Jim Byrd, father of PGA golfer Jonathan Byrd (a Clemson golfer), has passed away. Mickey Plyler has a nice write-up on him. My prayers go out the the Byrd family.
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[...]Michael Jackson’s death is untimely for he and his family. However, the 24 hour news obsession has been insane. In much the same way Princess Diana’s death was publicized for weeks, the media has done the same for Michael Jackson. I guess the public desires this “round the clock” coverage, [...]
…did Presidents start criticizing other Presidents? I don’t know that it happened before President Clinton criticizing President Bush. Now Mr. Obama is criticizing the former President. Then today Bush is criticizing Obama. I’m not commenting on the content. But current and past Presidents should not criticize other Presidents.
© [...]
There have been a couple new search engines in the news lately. I have used both of them, and I am impressed. The first is Wolfram Alpha. This is certainly not your traditional search engine. It is more of a computational search engine. For instance, you can search for [...]
I have been pretty much opposed to TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) from the start. I felt we were bailing out businesses that either had the capital to help themselves or needed to go through the bankruptcy process. However, TARP was the easy way out. With that said, I [...]
Here is a quick observation I have about daytime running lights and automatic headlights over the last few weeks. We have had quite a bit of rain in East Tennessee over the last few weeks, and thus I have been driving in rain. One thing I have noticed was the [...]
On my way home from playing golf yesterday, I decided to stop and pick up some supper for Mrs. Thomas and myself. Along the way is a new barbecue place that has been open for a couple months. It is called Full Service BBQ. It is located on South [...]
Well, after about 20 years of playing golf, I finally did it. I made a Hole-in-One! It happened last night (4/17/2009) at Green Meadow Country Club. It was hole #3, which was playing 179 yards to the middle of the green from the white tees. The ping was pretyy much [...]
I love this week every year. The week starts with baseball’s Opening Day yesterday and today. Then tonight ends the best overall sporting event of them all, the NCAA Tournament. Then we get to finish the week with the Masters. Not to mention it is Spring and perfect outdoor weather. [...]
I dislike the way the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) determines a national champion as much as the next guy, but THIS is ridiculous.
Everyone from President Barack Obama on down to fans has criticized how college football determines its top team. Now senators are getting off the sidelines to examine [...]
A website is up that is organizing “Tea Parties” for April 15. About a month ago, there were some tea parties across the country on very short notice. The Tea Parties are where “we the people” (remember that unique concept in the Constitution) can speak out against the irresponsibility [...]
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law a bill that makes the use of red-light cameras in the state illegal. At least eight other states have also banned the cameras. Unfortunately one of those is not Tennessee.
Mississippi joins at least eight other states in banning the automated technology, including [...]
I have remained mum on the AIG bonuses for a few days. However, here are my thoughts on the matter. Firstly, if Congress did not want them to get the bonuses, they should have actually read the legislation they passed (there’s a novel idea) and removed the bonuses from that [...]
In an odd move for a sitting President, especially one that is 3.5 years away from an election, President Obama will hit the campaign trail again tonight. The President will appear on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight.
However, by taking a seat Thursday night on “The Tonight Show [...]
Man must work. That is certain as the sun. But he may work grudgingly or he may work gratefully; he may work as a man, or he may work as a machine. There is no work so rude that he may not exalt it; no work so impassive that he [...]
Jenny and I got out of the house for a few hours Friday night to go see a movie. Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to babysit so we could get out. We headed to the dollar theatre (now the two-dollar theatre) in Knoxville. There were a couple things we [...]
If you have never tried grilling pizza, I highly recommend you give it a try. It is easy to do, once you figure out a couple tips. I will try to enlighten you on some secrets I have learned. Here is what you will need:
Toppings. Cook sausage and any raw [...]
Earlier this month, the family took a walk around downtown Maryville on a beautiful day. I took the camera along. Here is one of my favorite shots. It is of Sullivan’s Restaurant (Click to enlarge).
Sullivan's - Downtown Maryville
© Craig Thomas - [...]
America’s North Shore Journal has a list of Tea Party Sites for February 27, 2009. Unfortunately the closest one to me is about two hours away (in Asheville) and I won’t be able to make it. However, if you can get to one go. Let your voice be heard [...]
Ol’ Broad posted this School House Rock video about the Boston Tea Party, which I remember growing up as a kid. The video is so simple, even our politicians can understand it. (However, I am sure they will ignore it). So go watch an learn. And don’t miss the [...]
PC Authority has published a list of the 30 Best Features in Windows 7. I have been using Windows 7 Beta on an older laptop, and I have been pleasantly surprised. I actually am one of the few that likes Vista, but Windows 7 improves on Vista. Particularly its [...]
In taking an idea from my blogging friend, Straight White Guy, I decided to write a food post.
Last weekend was Valentine’s Day. Mrs. Thomas and I made the mistake ONE time of going out to eat on Valentine’s Day. It took forever to get seated and the food was [...]
CNBC’s Rick Santelli went on a bit of a rant on the trading floor in Chicago the other day. You have probably already seen it, but if not, check it out:
Hopefully more people feel this way, and we will force our government to take notice. We must start voting these [...]
To get a guage on where all the Senators stand on the First Amendment, Sen. Jim DeMint is going to force a vote on a bill that would prohibit the Fairness Doctrine.
“I’m glad President Obama finally confirmed his opposition to the Fairness Doctrine, which attacks the right of free [...]
Abraham Lincoln, in a letter to his brother-in-law wrote the following:
Dear Johnston:–
Your request for eighty dollars, I do not think it best to comply
with now. At the various times when I have helped you a little, you
have said to me, “We can get along very well now,” [...]
Everywhere we look around us, it seems like we see “Made in China” or some other country. Rarely do we see “Made in USA” on our everyday goods. However, the US manufacturing industry is still strong. It has just transitioned to higher class goods. This stat amazed me:
The U.S. [...]
Sarah at MooreThoughts has an excellent post about college. She says, GASP, college is not for everyone. I think she hits the nail on the head.
President Obama wants to make college more financially accessible for everyone who wants to go. Wonderful. Let’s make sure that everyone who wants to [...]
Well, just like the trend has been going over the last several years, the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives have broken their promise in an effort to cram through their “Stimulus” bill. The House voted to allow the American people to read the text of the bill for [...]
Unfortunately, the President of this great country has completely dismissed the people of the country to solve problems. He thinks the people are helpless and hapless. In gathering support for the second spending bill in less than a year he said:
But at this particular moment, with the private sector [...]
Approximately a year after beating current Zimbabwe “President,” Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai was seated yesterday as Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister. Tsvangirai had beaten Mugabe in the March 2008 elections, but he was unable to obtain the necessary 50% of the vote. Thus a runoff had to be held. In typical [...]
Apparently all Best Buy stores will be accepting E-Waste.
Starting Feb. 15, consumers can bring up to two units per day, per household, for recycling at any U.S. Best Buy store. The company will accept most consumer electronics, including televisions and monitors up to 32 inches, computer CPUs and notebooks, [...]
The state legislature has filed fewer bills this year. According to the WBIR story:
By this time in most years, there are typically as many as 2,500 bills filed. But as of Wednesday, there were only about 377on file with the House clerk, about 291 with the Senate clerk, and [...]
Amazon has unveiled the Kindle 2 today. For those of you unfamiliar with the Kindle, it is an e-book reader. It uses a non-backlit screen, so that it is easier on the eyes and very similar to reading a book. Well, the second edition was announced, and it looks [...]
Well, the news this weekend is that Alex Rodriguez also tested positive for steroids in 2003. Apparently this was part of a test Major League Baseball was doing to see if steroid testing needed to be implemented. (Guess it did!) The results were not supposed to be released. However, [...]
A friend of mine has started a new food blog. He plans to rate/critique local Knoxville-area restaurants. He has a couple posts up already, and it is good stuff. I have added it to my blogroll and Bloglines. Go check it out at knoxfood.net and let him know what [...]
Mrs. Thomas saw advertisements for a new show a few weeks back. One of the cast is Tom Cavanagh. We loved him in the show Ed, and we were sad to see it go off the air. However, he is back in a new show on TNT called Trust [...]
NPR has an article about the earmark-free stimulus bill. Apparently the bill gives up control of how the spending is done and allocates this to states and lower levels of government.
“Someone has to decide how money gets spent. It’s either going to be Congress or the executive branch or [...]
As I mentioned previously, I believe, Mrs. Thomas and I got a new Canon XSi just before Christmas. I have been playing around with it at the house and a few other places. However, I had a friend, who is a photographer, go out with me [...]
President Obama mentioned in an interview that “I screwed up.” He was referencing his nomination of Tom Daschle as Health and Human Services Secretary. Like several of Mr. Obama’s other nominations he has tax problems.
Daschle had apologized Monday for what he said were honest mistakes, calling them an embarrassment. [...]
Like it or not Mr. Barack Obama is now our 44th President of the United States. My prayers are with him. In case you missed the speech, I will compare it with John Kennedy’s historic speech”
Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do [...]
I picked up a daily desk calendar and it has daily quotes. The quote from the other day was the following, which I thought was very applicable:
I never knew an early-rising, hardworking, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest, who complained of bad luck. A good character, good [...]
Well, Mrs. Thomas and I got a new Canon XSi DSLR camera just before Christmas. I have been playing with it quite a bit, but due to quite a bit of rain, I haven’t really been able to get outside and play with it much. However, I took this picture of [...]
Bryan Haynes of the East Tennessee Conservative appears to have broken the story about a Kent Williams radio interview. In it, Mr. Williams says he planned to support Mumpower for Speaker of the TN House. Of course, in a power-hungry grab, he aligned with the Democrats and voted for [...]
After the intermission (you can see my first half post), the full orchestra came back minus the piano. They played Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90 in honor of what would have been Mendelssohn’s 200th birthday. I really enjoyed this piece. It consisted of four [...]
Well, we are at the halfway point of the symphony, and so far it has been very good. It started differently with no on stage when the lights went down. Then a group of 11 (an eleventet ?) came out and played a Bach Concerto.
Then the featured pianist came out [...]
The Wall Street Journal has a good editorial from Friday about the novel Atlas Shrugged becoming a reality today.
[The author of the book, Ayn] Rand, who had come to America from Soviet Russia with striking insights into totalitarianism and the destructiveness of socialism, was already a celebrity. The left, [...]
…Now if you are a Republican, sit down and shut up. That is essentially what Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats said on day 1.
The rule changes passed Tuesday, on the first day of the 111th Congress, are “designed to silence” Republicans, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said.
“The new [...]
According to the Fair Tax Blog, the Fair Tax Bill (H.R. 25) has been reintroduced in the new Congress by Congressman John Linder. Per Rep. Linder:
Friends,
I am extremely happy to tell you that HR 25, the FairTax, has been reintroduced and is alive and well in the 111th Congress. [...]
I heard about Ted Bell’s new book, Tsar, and it interested me, so I investigated what else he wrote. It turns out the first book in his series is Hawke. So I picked it up and read the book. It was excellent. Bell keeps the action going, and makes [...]
College Instant ReplayI sat at the Clemson vs. South Carolina football game yesterday (a Tiger domination - again!) in the rain and cold. After seeing college football instant replay over the last few years, I am over it. It takes too long and too often a call is reviewed. I don’t propose [...] Let Them Go BankruptMitt Romney has a good piece about the “Big 3 Bailout” in the New York Times.
A New Chapter
Number of comments: 2
Well, I have been unusually quiet over the last few weeks. That has been because of some big decisions that were in progress. I have made a decision to switch jobs, and I start just after Thanksgiving. This is an exciting opportunity that I am certainly looking forward to. Mrs. [...] If At First You Don’t Succeed…
Number of comments: 2
…try, try again. Apparently that is the economic policy of the Obama administration. In his first press conference since being elected on Tuesday, Senator Obama said he wanted another economic stimulus package, ASAP.
Election Day
Number of comments: 2
Well, I haven’t posted in a couple weeks. Quite honestly I have been very busy, and even though I love politics, I just am not inspired about either candidate. I obviously think Obama would be very bad for the country, but Senator McCain is not someone I can campaign for, [...] So TrueBlog Info:
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