Monday, June 18, 2007

As a golfer, I’ve been there

The Average Joe has a tale almost all of us hackers can appreciate.

A case of the Monday’s?

Well, Phil Mickelson didn’t even make the cut.

I guess we’re blaming the injured wrist on that one.

Anyway, its Monday and I’m back to it.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Watching Phil… Live… At Work!

Alright, I’ll lay it out there.  I’m a big Phil Mickelson fan.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am left handed.  Maybe it has something to do with his nerdiness, his everyman-ness, his always smiling-ness.  Who knows, but I love watching him.

That’s why I am watching him this morning, while I sit at my desk at work.

You’re probably thinking that because I work at a TV station, I’m surrounded by television sets, playing stations from all over the world.  Well, that’s sort of true.  I am surrounded by TVs.  I even have one on my desk.  But they’re all locked on news.

Boring!

I’m watching Phil, and the rest of the U.S. Open field on my computer!  In widescreen, “HD”.  Pretty cool, huh?

You can too.

Just go to the U.S. Open web site, but following this link.

Go Phil!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Anybody have a glass of water?

Today I’m working out of the Opelika-Auburn News.

I usually like days like today, because I leave my home in Columbus at 8:30am, stop to get coffee and arrive in Opelika at about 8:15am or so.  It’s sort of fun for me to think that I am travelling back in time, kind of, two days a week, due to the time change.

Anyway, the trip over to Opelika is usually an nice easy drive down 280.  But today it was anything but nice and easy.

The drive started alright but as soon as I hit the Opelika city limit sign on 280 about a mile from I-85, my drive came to a screeching halt.  (WARNING: The link takes you to a scene from Office Space.  There is some bad language near the end of the video.)

It seems morning rush hour is the ideal time to do repave 280 near the interchange with I-85, at least according to whoever is in charge of the construction.

So, as I sat behind a double-wide (I always get stuck behind those things, seems I was to be double punished this morning), I considered driving my car into a brick wall* out of frustration.

I grew up in Atlanta.  Traffic is really nothing new to me.  But at least in Atlanta, they did major road construction in the middle of the night and on weekends (generally speaking) to avoid causing major traffic delays.  Why don’t they do that here?

When I lived in Atlanta, I think it’s safe to say I had a fair amount of road rage.  But since I’ve moved down to the Columbus area, I have calmed down a lot.  But today, I wanted to get out of my car and scream through a microphone (this one would be good).**

You may be asking, “Chris, what would you say if you had a skinny Bob Barker microphone?“

Well, really only one thing comes to mind.  It’s a sentence that truly expresses the level of deep frustration I was at this morning.

“These pretzels are making me thirsty!“

*Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have released over 150 videos showing how cars perform in crashes.
**Ebay.com is auctioning off Bob Barker’s microphone.  If I had money.  I’d bid.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Wacky Wednesday

Have you ever had one of those days, when it seems like you’re juggling ten balls at one time?

I’m having one of those days.

We’re working on a lot of exciting project, I’ll have details in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, if you live in Chattahoochee County, you are being advised to boil your water before drinking it.  A broken water main was discovered just after midnight today.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

The Power of Prayer?

Yesterday, we had an AP article on WRBL.com about how Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue declared Monday a “day of prayer for rain“.

I guess you could make an argument that the power of prayer worked.

Last night Western Georgia and East Alabama got pounded with heavy rain, wind and even hail.  I was driving up Veterans Parkway, after an evening of trivia at the Cannon Brew Pub uptown when the rain hit.  I had pretty much come to a stop a couple of times because the rain and wind limited my visibility to basically nothing.

I must say, mother nature put on one heck of a lightning show too.  I saw a lot of dramatic bolts streak from the sky to the ground.

There were some scattered damage reports from the storms which also hit areas of East Alabama.

And today, much of Southern Georgia is picking up some rain, and there’s a chance for rain again in our area.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Faith-based News of the Day

Here’s are a couple of thought provoking articles from the Associated Press.  Both of them involving faith.

Colson sees twin threats: Islamo-fascism and neo-atheism
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Prison Fellowship Ministries founder Charles Colson says that while faithful Christians are willing to die for their faith, Islamic fascists are willing to kill for theirs.

Today designated ‘Prayer Day’ for rain
ATLANTA (AP) - State officials have designated today as a ‘Prayer Day’ in light of the drought gripping the state.

Cool Stuff on NASA.gov

I have to admit, I’m sort of a nerd.

I’ll pause while you gasp in surprise.

Alright, now that we’re over that, my nerdiness really comes out when it comes to space shuttles and astronauts, and stuff like that.  I’m not really into the whole sci fi movie thing, but the space stuff that is reality, that’s pretty cool.

Anyway, with the Space Shuttle Atlantis over our heads, there’s some really cool stuff on NASA’s site.

Check it out.

Modays after a vacation are hard

I took a few days off to go down to the beach with my girlfriend for a long weekend, so I’m sorry for not updating.

But, I’m back in the office and ready to dive into a new week.

There are a couple of interesting stories this morning.

Cogon grass spreading through South
One of the world’s worst weeds is thriving in the Southern summer.

Kids Use Geocaching to Find Hidden Treasure
If you’ve ever lost something, it may be a little easier to find thanks to geocaching.  Geocaching is a computer-based treasure hunting game where participants use a GPS system to find an object.

AU finds success with voting system
The Prime III voting system developed by students and faculty at Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has tested well on three separate attempts.

And News 3 Sports’ Jack Rodgers is weighing in on what a professional athlete should be.  Hint… it’s not Barry Bonds.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

“Cash Cow”

That creative headline is courtesy of WRBL Producer Troy Danekes.

Those were his remarks after writing this story.

Man in critical condition after being stabbed with deer antler

Man in critical condition after being stabbed with deer antler

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - A Columbus man is in critical condition today after he was stabbed with a deer antler during a fight.

Read More

Getting Started on a Wednesday

As we get started on this Wednesday morning, a couple of intersesting stories have crossed my desk.

First, there is the heroic story of two Fort Benning soldiers who earned the Bronze Star a few days ago.

Mike Szvetitz, the Sports Editor over at the Opelika-Auburn News has some thoughts on kid guitar players.

And while we’re on the subject of kids, if this story doesn’t warm your heart, I don’t know what will.  There’s video included, and it is much better than the article.

Bucks County 5-Year-Old Golf Prodigy
Many are calling a 5-year-old Bucks County boy a golf prodigy. But his prowess on the course in only half his story.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Much Needed Rain

Alright, maybe I spoke to soon in my previous entry.

The rain here in Opelika is continuing with thunder and even lightning.

The folks here at the Opelika-Auburn News are calling the rain the most important local story of the day.

Everybody be safe out there, and keep it tuned to WRBL-TV WRBL.com, and OANow.com for the latest weather updates.

Easy to Please

I’m over in Opelika today and let me tell you:  It doesn’t take much to please this newsroom.

Here at our building off Society Hill Road, it rained… for about 10 minutes.  I thought they were going to hang streamers from the ceiling and have a party.

We got some rain in Columbus over the weekend, but according to the folks here, they didn’t get a drop.

They’re very excited about today’s rain.

Now it’s over.  The sun is out.

So much for that.

Election Day in Alabama

Alright, be honest.

How many of you knew today was an election day in Alabama?

Well, even if you did know, poll experts are predicting that less than 1 in 10 Alabamians will actually cast a ballot.

Judge expects little turnout at polls today
Lee County residents go to the polls today to vote either “yes” or “no” on two statewide amendments. Polls throughout the county will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CDT.

“It is rare for a special election to generate more turnout than a regular election.“