I wonder how cool he keeps his hotel rooms. I wonder how cool the conference rooms are kept. I wonder what his monthly air conditioning electricity bill from all his houses adds up to.
Here in Texas, I don't think it's air conditioners as much as a) lawn care services; and, b) outdoor barbecuing. My hunch is that air conditioners in the states have gotten quite efficient and folks use them judiciously. On the other hand, the lawn mowers I see, the leaf blowers, the edgers, etc., seem to be about as inefficient as ever and way overused. I remember the good ol' days when the only noise caused by mowers was on a Saturday morning for a couple of hours. Now it seems, lawn care is all-day, every day.
Thank goodness for YouTube to take my mind off nuts like the elitist above.
The Munsters theme by Messer Chups.
Surfer Joe Summer Festival, Livorno, Italy, 2015.
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More Surfing
After watching The Endless Summer for the umpteenth time, this video means a lot more to me. I understand a whole lot better the whole "concept" of surfing. I still say it was a shame that The Endless Summer could not have been filmed in high definition.
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Muscle Shoals
By the way, another "shout out" to the reader who introduced me to
"Muscle Shoals." You have no idea how often I come across Muscle Shoals
music. In a most obscure YouTube video (with all of 342 views), "Almost
Persuaded" with this little gem: "For 46 years and two months, no #1
song matched the chart-topping longevity of "Almost Persuaded" until
Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" notched its
ninth week atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart the week of
December 15, 2012." I think "Almost Persuaded" was a signature song of
my coming-of-age years.
"Almost Persuaded" was written by Glenn Sutton and Muscle Shoals songwriter Billy Sherrill and first recorded by David Houston in 1966.
And that's why I love the United States: every locale in "America" has something to be proud of, something to be known for, and where anyone can "hit it big."
A huge "shout out" to John Boykin.
The Man Who Liberty Valance, Gene Pitney
"Almost Persuaded" was written by Glenn Sutton and Muscle Shoals songwriter Billy Sherrill and first recorded by David Houston in 1966.
And that's why I love the United States: every locale in "America" has something to be proud of, something to be known for, and where anyone can "hit it big."
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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
A huge "shout out" to John Boykin.
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Social Media
I think I've written about this before. A lot of folks don't like
Twitter; a lot of folks don't understand Twitter. At one time I fell
into both categories.
But, if one understands Twitter, it's an incredible tool. The most important thing, I think, for anyone with a life, is to minimize the number of hash tags one follows. But that doesn't mean staying in a rut. When something is trending, join in, and then when it falls off the radar scope, stop following. For example, right now, our Southlake, Texas, water polo teams (male and female) are participating in the National Junior Olympic competition in San Jose, CA. The boys left Friday and are out there playing now; the girls leave this next Wednesday.
But, if one understands Twitter, it's an incredible tool. The most important thing, I think, for anyone with a life, is to minimize the number of hash tags one follows. But that doesn't mean staying in a rut. When something is trending, join in, and then when it falls off the radar scope, stop following. For example, right now, our Southlake, Texas, water polo teams (male and female) are participating in the National Junior Olympic competition in San Jose, CA. The boys left Friday and are out there playing now; the girls leave this next Wednesday.
To keep up with what is going on, the water polo team has a Twitter
account. Photos and updates are incredible. And most important, the
coach can easily remind players when and where to report. Every team
member no doubt has a smart phone, and is following along on Twitter.
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Notes To The Granddaughters
Speaking of Livorno, Italy
Your mom and your aunt had a number of trips to Italy when we were assigned to Germany. I do not recall if we ever made it to Livorno; if not, it was one of the few major destinations in Italy we did not visit.
We did so much while we were in Europe for thirteen consecutive years, 1983 - 1996. I can say unequivocally I do not regret having not done more. Having said that, I can think of a lot more things we could have done. But no regrets.
Without question, the best family "trip" to Italy was when I was sent to Aviana, Italy, a small air base north of Venice, Italy, to provide medical coverage for a full month. It was the first time in my life, if I recall correctly, that I had "banker's" hours, and "no call" after the clinic closed for the day. The clinic closed precisely at 4:00 p.m. every day. The clinic was not open on weekends. It was July, and very, very hot.
Every day, for a full month, I rushed home at 4:00 p.m. and then we headed up into the Dolomite Mountains to cool off. I don't recall the names of any of the villages we visited in the Dolomites. All I remember was how incredibly cool the mountains were and how wonderful the food was. And inexpensive.
Generally when tasked to provide coverage in a temporary setting, families do not accompany the active duty member. But the air base was very accommodating. They provided us a "family suite" in temporary lodging on base. That must have been in 1986.
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