Just general thinking..oh yeah, it’s called scattershooting

If you Google the word “scattershooting” you will find lots of Texas results or results that are Texas related. I wonder why that is?

It’s Sunday evening and I have tons of things in my head, but nothing specific. Just thinking about a lot of things at once. Attention Deficit Disorder? I dunno. Here’s what I do know though, in order for a blog post to be interesting, it has to be interesting. Well duh, what does that mean? It means I shouldn’t write about myself but write about what’s interesting for the readers. Hello? No one really cares what I think, and I really don’t blame them for that.

The Rangers are in first place and the last game of the series with the Astros is tonight. Looks like the Rangers win the Silver Boot …again. Will Roy Oswalt become a Ranger? Will the Rangers ever get sold to Nolan Ryan et al? It’s somewhere in the future at this point.

Well boys and girls, it’s almost the national party that is the 4th of July! Hard to imagine time goes so fast that it’s almost the middle of summer already. I’m always amazed at how fast time goes from July 4th, until school starts. Seems like only minutes.

This week begins my last week at school. Yay. I had some good classes this semester.

I’ve also been watching lots of baseball this summer. The Grand Prairie AirHogs rock!

So I’ve been working, going to school, and blogging the AirHogs and I’ve been having a blast. I’ve been going to church, and trying to also do some volunteer work at work. I’ve been very blessed. I’m thankful for many things.

Oh, and here is a great picture of my team from work. We had an outing at the bowling alley. I had fun in spite of my 97.

Don’t look now, but it’s almost time for Cowboys training camp…the cycle continues.

Well I guess that’s about it. In honor of the Eagles who were in town this weekend, I’ll leave you with this…

Thanks for reading my blog!

Being a mascot is no easy gig

Have you ever dreamed about being a mascot for a sports team? I know, you dream of all of the attention and laughter you can create by just putting on a costume and then just being you? You think you have what it takes?

Follow along as we see just what minor league mascot Ace Bacon goes through at a Grand Prairie AirHogs game last night. I mean, kids were running into his crotch, kids slapping his hand so hard it made Ace flinch at times. No sir, being a mascot is not an easy gig.

The Big Lead = the big money

Proof positive that if you stick with something, good things can happen. The sports blog that is The Big Lead, was recently bought for tons of money.

The Big Lead, an independent blog that Jason McIntyre began as a hobby, is fixated on sports media, news and gossip. Along the way, it has built a devoted, if not huge, social media following.

Now, a buyer has established a value for the blog by acquiring it for a figure in the low seven figures.

The buyer, Chris Russo, chief executive of Fantasy Sports Ventures, a network of 600 sports sites, said: “You can’t out-ESPN ESPN, but you can take a different approach. Jason covers general sports and celebrity with an in-depth focus on sports media. Through good journalism and good luck, The Big Lead has succeeded.”

Wow. Jason McIntyre, the writer of the blog, is about to become a very rich man.

When McIntyre began his site in 2006, he was still an editor at US Weekly. “I really didn’t know what I was doing,” he said. He wrote it anonymously until his identity was revealed by Sports Illustrated (which later named it one of the five most influential sports blogs of the decade).

Congrats to Jason, and I wonder if he will be looking for any other writers?

Blog that found a market for sports news is purchased (WSJ)

Bowler has striking success

I always like a good story of success and positive results in a person’s daily battle to succeed in life.

Enter one Tom Smallwood.

Two days before last Christmas, Tom Smallwood found himself, like millions of Americans, jobless and wondering how he would support his family.The General Motors plant Smallwood worked at closed down, and the Saginaw, Mich., native was suddenly out of a job when he needed it most.

 Michigan’s struggling economy didn’t leave the Smallwoods with many options, but “we didn’t panic,” he says.

Smallwood, 32, has always been a good bowler, even supplementing his income in some local tournaments, and he saw there was a Professional Bowlers Association qualifying tournament in Detroit.

 So, with the blessing of his wife, Jennifer, Smallwood set out to chase his dream.

 ”I always felt I could compete out there (on the Tour), but I was also content with working and staying with my family,” Smallwood says. “I have a 2 1/2-year old (Hannah Rose) and she’s my life.”

 Smallwood qualified, gained a one-year exemption, and nearly a year after being laid off, finds himself in a dream scenario — ranked seventh in the world and one of four semifinalists in the PBA World Championship, which will air Sunday (ESPN, 1-2:30 p.m. ET) in Wichita.

I wish Smallwood much success this Sunday. It’s always easy to be negative when bad things happen, but it’s always such a delight to see someone make lemonade out of lemons.

Unemployed Michigan Bowler Having Striking Success With PBA (USAToday)

A Fall Rain Falling

Are you like me and love the change of seasons from summer to fall?

It’s been awhile since I’ve been motivated to write, but that happens every now and then. I’m back.

The new job rocks, the training is great, and it’s all only 5 minutes from my apartment! The people I am working with are all very smart, and could be the best group of people I have ever been around.  I have been coming home for lunch! That’s just unheard of. I have been getting home by 6:00 every evening and that was unheard of before. I can remember many days where I wished I got off at 6:00 in Dallas.

Anyway, we’ve been getting our share of rain..That’s ok with me. I like the idea of trying to feel snuggled in a nice environment.

And oh by the way, I am going to school and things are going good there too. I have a B and an A in classes so far. Couple that with tuition reimbursement, and life is great!

I still have chest pains every now and again…but life is really pretty good considering it all. I feel very fortunate that I was only unemployed for 6 weeks. Thanks Lord.

I’ll get this posted, but before I go for the evening, let’s watch a cool video.

It’s fun to let God drive my life

Hello there. It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged anything. I’ve been kind of busy looking for employment and just haven’t felt the need to write. By the way, thanks for continuing to read this blog.

I wanted to tell you this story that happened to me today. I took some garbage out to the dumpster and on the way back in I noticed a bag that looked like a computer bag resting by a pole under the covered parking area where we park our cars here at the apartment complex. There were no other vehicles around it, so I just assumed someone got in their car and forgot their bag.

I went over and picked it up and took it inside my apartment to see if I could find the rightful owner. There was a plastic tag on it that said “If found, contact so-and-so” which was a company e-mail address. I immediately sent an e-mail and went on about my business of trying to find a job. Being in college admissions, I needed to hurry and find a job since school had just started at most high schools in the area.

At about 3:00, a gentleman called and said that that is his bag, and when and where could he pick it up? Turns out he and his family live here at the apartments. I told him I would meet him at the leasing office in 5 minutes. He walked in the door of the office and flashed his airlines credentials verifying his name, and I handed him the bag. It was a heavy bag complete with a laptop and other stuff that he needed to do his job. He was so thankful to get it back and wanted to pay me, for which I refused.

Good morning!

I had an idea to just start a thread, and just add to it all day…check back often.

 So I went to the college bookstore, and got my last book to start classes next Monday.  Just wanted to mention how God works again. I’m am applying for unemployment, and the book that I needed for my Managment class cost 175.00! But the business office wrote me a book voucher and covered the cost of the book.

Isn’t that so like God? To have paid the price for us on the Cross?

All things are taken care of with him by our sides.

OK, so I have some big news! At least it’s big news for me. I’m going to the Homecoming in Sweetwater to see the game!

Not only that, I’ve been allowed to write about it! I get a pass to the pressbox so I can hook up to the internet and report directly from the game!!! How cool is that? I will be posting the game on my other blog for the Abilene Reporter News. So yeah, there’s that.

And I’m just now seeing this…it looks exciting for Tarrant County’s future!

 

And so, I guess I’ll end this thread with the way it started off. A tribute to our men and women who serve this great country..

I wasn’t sure why I posted that video right off the top this morning…but after reading this a bit ago, now I know.

Sometimes, it’s just difficult to comprehend it all

I’m sort of in a bizarre mood this evening. Maybe it had something to do with the Rangers game today. Did you know at one point today, the Rangers were in the 9th inning, the score was 9-0, and today is 9-9-09? How bizarre is that?

And the Rangers won yesterday as well. The weird thing about yesterday’s game was Julio Borbon made the biggest impact in the opening victory.

The outfielder swatted two solo homers, and the second sparked a crucial three-run ninth inning as the Rangers outlasted Cleveland, 11-9.

“I’m kind of surprised. I’m not going to lie,” said Borbon, who had only two homers in 96 games this year for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Did you get that? He only had two homers in 96 games in Triple A, but had two homers in one game yesterday! Weird.

Yes, God works, even in my life…

 

I don’t know how or where to begin with this…

All I know is I have to tell it. You may find it interesting how God works in people’s lives or not…like salvation, the choice is yours. What I’m about to tell you may not seem earth-shattering to you, but I am absolutely stoked with excitement. And as of yet, I don’t even know why. Let me explain, but before I do, you have to believe I am telling you the truth because I could not make this up, nor would I want to claim God is working and he wasn’t.

There’s just no other way to say it…

 

 

There’s no delicate way to say it…

Ummm, I’m unemployed.

24 hours ago I was planning to go to a regional meeting in Austin. Today, I’m unemployed. But see, unemployment is like that. Here today, gone tomorrow. And it’s not like I’m an isolated case. It happens to lots of people.

So now it’s time to go through the muck of getting my resume up-to-date, and doing the whole looking for a job again fiasco.

I’ll delve into what went wrong later, but for now I’m enjoying a nice cup of coffee and listening to the rain outside my patio door at 3:22 AM.

I think God works in ways we can’t understand at the moment. I plan on letting him drive today.