Clubhouse Grille (*** NO LIV DISCUSSIONS ***) (*** NO POLITICS/RELIGION ***)

[tolmij]

And speaking of cooties...

 

https://www.amazon.c...e/dp/B00000IWDO

 

Or more the way I remember it...

 

https://www.ebay.ca/...cQTgB:rk:6:pf:0

 

 

Never seen these before, must be the American and Canadian thing.

We had that very same cootie game (the vintage one) at my grandma's house on the farm. I remember having lots of other games there too. Pick up sticks, heaven forbid a kid would hold a pointy piece of plastic nowadays. His parents would be carted off by 'the autorities' never to be seen again. https://www.etsy.com..._gallery-1-4 I got mad at my brother and dumped them down the (coal) furnace outlet on the floor. They must have made their way into the furnace as they made an awful burnt plasticky smell. I remember Mr. Potatohead https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MR-POTATO-HEAD-HASBRO-1954-1956-ORIGINAL-LIFE-BOX-MANUAL-VERY-RARE-/253294723065?hash=item3af98abff9 Wish we still had that, it was the original that you actually put in potatoes. Again, 'wrong', why destroy a potato?

Funniest thing I ever did at my grandma's was when my mom's sister came one time and my brother and I were sitting on the back porch lounging, reading comic books and stuff like Mad Magazine. There were some flies on the back porch, so she said I'm going shopping, I'll give you a penny for every fly you swat dead on this porch when I get back (thinking we'd probably kill 2 or 3 and that would be on the floor). Well the porch had just been painted freshly white. So I made sure inner door to the house was shut, and we took fly swatters and started letting flies in the back screen door and swatting them on the walls of the porch. We brought out some hamburger to attract them, by the time we were done, I think she owed us $1.86, and the walls looked like a battlefield. She flipped her lid when she got back, so did grandma, and grandpa, and my mom. Kids, they have no sense of responsibility. We didn't get paid. Somehow in the world to this day there are several missing generations of flies. You're welcome...

 

Yes it’s amazing what we used to do as children, I remember having a friend who lived far away and I would think nothing of getting on my bicycle and dissapearing for most of the day, never even considered there could be any danger. Regularly went out most of the day and no concern from my mother. We had a washouse at one place we lived and we were all over that playing pirates cowboys and Indians, falling over scraping shins and knees. Don’t know what has happened but the adventure seems to have dissapeared out of childhood. Some of the games we played in the school playground without any concern from teachers would give them a heart attack today. I watch them when we are out and about, sitting next to each other texting instead of talking and wonder where it will all end.

[tolmij]

This baby was 15ft long and weighed 80 lbs. these pythons are non venemouse and not aggressive, same species and same size live in the Forrest next to our house. They reckon this one was around 40 years old, it was relocated away from houses. It was caught just north of us.

 

 

 

[BIG STU]

A picture of the bench.

 

Nice piece of retro furniture Wriggs, one of those that can always look in place

 

Nice refurb Wrigs. I remember those, most homes at one time had one. BITD when one was tethered to a phone cord. Remember Mom had like a 10' cord on the handset in the kitchen. She could roam about while doing her kitchen thing talking on the phone. A piece of furniture antiquity rendered obsolete with the advent of cordless phones. Now, what's a telephone? Don't even need a land line anymore.

 

While cleaning out some junk in the basement awhile back, found an old rotary dial "princess" phone. Showed it to my Granddaughter as I was throwing it in the trash. She didn't know how to use it.

The phone thing reminded me of something else. First off I do not want to offend anyone who has kids and grandkids--- Most of the younger set today can not tell time on a clock that has hands and numbers. I can remember my Aunt who was a 1st grade teacher teaching me with an old school clock with the face removed. Other teachers like my real first grade one used a paper plate with hands. LOL I can remember when my late son came to live with us. This was around 94 or so. I had a old 8 track with 12 volt DC supply hooked up in the shop. He wanted to know "what the heck that was?" Heck it was economics. I got the 8 track out of a junked car and at the time you could buy a 5 gallon bucket full of 8 track tapes at the flea market for $1. I still have my grannie's metal rotary phone packed up someplace. She had that phone for 40 years or more. After she died and we sold the place I kept the phone. Actually when we lived in the upstate I had it hooked up for a while in the shop until I went with an answering machine type phone. I was just thinking too we have not had a land line in over 20 years.

[BIG STU]

pl

 

plunged on ice, placed in squad, plentiful checkup, plexor pain

 

Yes Rad, I headed home afterwards, then layed my head down and slept for a while. Neck and back muscles are tight, hopefully will feel better tomorrow.

I ain't a doctor and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night--- but from a redneck MD review my prognosis is you are ok--- Number one you are a tough old bird from what you have wrote over the years on here but the main thing showing me you are ok is you have not lost your sense of humor.

[BIG STU]

Magna Carta Magna Carta Magna Carta

 

Marco

 

Anyone gonna try the new Callaway Magna oversized ball?

 

Well, this is the Grille............maybe when they release a 4 piece urethane covered "Tour" Magna.

Not no but hell no!!! The first ones were a nightmare for me. Back when they came out I was assistant pro at a course. Back in those days was when I had the bad rope hook problem. We had a bunch of those 2 ball sample packs. I was messing around one day with one of the guys that had one of those new fangled King Cobra graphite shafted metal drivers. I hit one of those Spalding Magna balls with it and it went out about 150 yards or so and turned left bouncing and turning over it went over the creek on the left side and over the barbed wire fence still bouncing like the energizer bunny. There was about 6 or 8 of us out there and we rolled on the ground laughing. All in all it was a combo of those flimsy graphite shafts in those days , metal driver and my quick hands. Funny thing is I found what was left of the paper sleeve and 2 of those balls deep in the recesses of my old Ping Staff bag a few months back. I was looking for my balata ball roundness gauge because someone in classics had mentioned one. I did have that thing hanging on the strap loop but could not find it. I about fell out when the article came out this week about the "new" Callaway Magna. I will more than likely find one and will try to repeat the feat with the KZG 4 iron since that seems to be the rope hook club of the month now for me.

[BIG STU]

Doubtful. If I was to find one in the wild, I'd give it a whack. But not going to drop coin to buy any Magna's. Don't want the .04" oversize affecting my decision on whether to leave in the pin or not. Now if they're reported to be game changers.......

 

Wish I still had the sleeve of the old Dunlop 65 British small balls I was given years ago. Smaller the ball, easier to roll into the cup.

I still have some of the old "English" balls as we call them mostly Penfolds--- I do have one Dunlop 65 still in the wrapper a friend of mine gave me a few years back. I also have a couple of small Spalding Dots.

[BIG STU]

Anything, word from the P.Hammer?

He made an "appearance" the other day over in the confessions thread. He is working at a driving range and playing music a few nights a week and working on his golf game

[BIG STU]

Aah the subject of telephone paraphernalia...

 

My uncle was a regional manager for Bell. We managed to get a few perks from that relationship. WE had this huge old oak desk that came from an office building when they modernized and it sat in the kitchen. Big old country kitchen; you can envision the sight. That's where our phone sat and it happened to be one of those switchboard style with the pushbuttons on the bottom so that you could access different lines. The barn was on a separate line from the house.

 

The upstairs phone sat on one of those telephone benches. Ours was metal; steel legs painted black, in fact that looked as though it was part of a kitchen set as the table top was arborite with the chrome edge trim. The arborite and vinyl seat coverings were a fine pink and black pattern. There was a basket attachment under the table to hold the telephone books. Very 1950's. It didn't really match anything upstairs, but there it sat at the top of the stairway on the landing in a small alcove.

 

--------------------------------------

 

I think that I may have posted this before, so apologies for that if I have, but this sums up the old rotary phone in the eyes of most youngsters today:

 

[media=]

[/media]

 

Telephone books there is a blast from the past, stopped issuing those two years ago in Australia.

Darn if they did over here---- We get them thrown up on the steps every few months or so---- Everybody in the world around here publishes a phone book

[BIG STU]

One thing to know about Australians is they are very friendly and very trusting, unless you screw with them then it's goodbye. The BBQ is a must in Australia, whilst they love good quality food they also love the BBQ and there would not be many homes without one. A funny thing happened to us when we first came over here. We decided to do the Australian thing and have a BBQ, as we did not have one we went to a public park where they always have them to use for free, even the wood to light them. We cooked our food, sat down to eat and a group of workmen came along, stopped by the table where we were eating and said, English are you, we were surprised how they knew just by seeing us. Talking to friends later we realised Australians having a BBQ do not use table mats, napkins or tablecloths. Sort of gave us away.

Wonder if they'd known we were Americans, what with my DW having the same setup on the table. Plus if the grandkids were there, there would have been post-meal hand wipes of some sort, or ziplocs full of clean damp washcloths. If our oldest daughter would have been there, the barbie would have been scoured with vinegar spray and scraped first, then tested, spayed again, then covered with new tin foil. After using she probably would have been asked to leave the country. We love her to pieces. The kids will get cooties some day simply from never having been exposed to cooties :) Our youngest daughter, heck, her and the family would have eaten off of everything as is, she would have become an Aussie the first hour...

I think a Southern Redneck born and bred like I am would fit right in over there. Yep with our fine China ( paper plates) and a roll of paper towels from the Dollar General thrown up in the middle of the table. And when we BBQ I cook enough for Solomon's Army. Of course we would be drinking Foster's hey when in Rome do as the Romans---right?----- Hey guys grab you some BBQ and a Foster's we got plenty----

[BIG STU]

And speaking of cooties...

 

https://www.amazon.c...e/dp/B00000IWDO

 

Or more the way I remember it...

 

https://www.ebay.ca/...cQTgB:rk:6:pf:0

 

 

Never seen these before, must be the American and Canadian thing.

We had that very same cootie game (the vintage one) at my grandma's house on the farm. I remember having lots of other games there too. Pick up sticks, heaven forbid a kid would hold a pointy piece of plastic nowadays. His parents would be carted off by 'the autorities' never to be seen again. https://www.etsy.com..._gallery-1-4 I got mad at my brother and dumped them down the (coal) furnace outlet on the floor. They must have made their way into the furnace as they made an awful burnt plasticky smell. I remember Mr. Potatohead https://www.ebay.com...=item3af98abff9 Wish we still had that, it was the original that you actually put in potatoes. Again, 'wrong', why destroy a potato?

Funniest thing I ever did at my grandma's was when my mom's sister came one time and my brother and I were sitting on the back porch lounging, reading comic books and stuff like Mad Magazine. There were some flies on the back porch, so she said I'm going shopping, I'll give you a penny for every fly you swat dead on this porch when I get back (thinking we'd probably kill 2 or 3 and that would be on the floor). Well the porch had just been painted freshly white. So I made sure inner door to the house was shut, and we took fly swatters and started letting flies in the back screen door and swatting them on the walls of the porch. We brought out some hamburger to attract them, by the time we were done, I think she owed us $1.86, and the walls looked like a battlefield. She flipped her lid when she got back, so did grandma, and grandpa, and my mom. Kids, they have no sense of responsibility. We didn't get paid. Somehow in the world to this day there are several missing generations of flies. You're welcome...

My old man would have thought that was funny and he would have paid me too. He would have said "the boy is learning to hustle"

I had my hustles back in the day.

Once in Jr High school I got caught hustling individual cigarettes. Kids were starting to experiment with smoking I never did. But I would salvage cigarettes left in golf carts. Cigarettes were cheap then and folks would leave a partial pack with a couple left in the carts when I cleaned them out. We also gave out free books of matches with the course name on them. I sold those cigarettes for a nickel each and had them separated according to brand in baggies in my locker. Gave a partial book or a full book of matches with every purchase. Yep someone told on me and I got busted and sent home. My Step Mom was not amused but my old man was. He went with me to school the next day and the Principal was mad because my old man backed me up.

 

My next hustle did get the old man sorta mad though. Beer was cheap in those days too and the guys would leave a semi cold beer unopened in a cart in a heartbeat. Of course I kept them and drank some too I ain't gonna lie. In NC in those days you could not sell beer on Sunday. Now the course could get around that by being "private" memberships sold for $1 and selling the beer with a receipt on Saturday. I got the idea especially in the summer because some folks simply did not know. I set up "shop" in the woods behind the 4th hole. Had a wash tub full of ice and beer. Sold it for the same price as the pro shop at .75 a can. Someone told on me inadvertently. My old man heard some one say something about a "bootlegger kid " selling beer over on 4 tee. He caught me. At first he was livid because I could have been busted for selling beer and being underage. He also thought our beer license could have been revoked but I pointed out to him that I was a foot behind the golf course property line and his license was not in jeopardy. He laughed after that. We made a deal and he tried to screw me. Wanted to give me .22 per can because that was what wholesale was at the time. I told him he had already made profit off of it one time and the price was .25 a can. He did it. I did not stop my bootleg activity all together though. I just sold it on word of mouth to trusted locals had it hid in an old cooler from the clubhouse in the top of the barn. On the barn deal I did cut my price though because I could not sell as much so it was .50 a can. Still made $10 or $15 a weekend and had my private beer supply

 

Footnote--- My Step Mom got busted for technically bootlegging. When they went back to the Charlotte area this guy they knew bought a course. Now it was in Cabarrus county which is a dry county (still is) But they still (sic) sold beer. Heck I was even involved. The owner had a deal with a store and was buying it in lots for the weekend. They never sold beer during the week. Of course I transported it which technically was not illegal in NC because there was no limit in how much you could buy as long as you had a receipt on it and it was purchased from a licensed retailer. I remember when they got busted I had 50 cases of beer on my truck. I laughed at the Sheriff and told him he needed to read the law he was being paid to enforce. He got pissed had the ABC man up there and on my part he told him the same thing.I told the Sheriff now take those cuffs off of me before I sue the crap out of you. They did get Step Mom and the owner. I raised so much hell in the local paper and the guy that owned the course threatened to close the course and put a hog lot there that the whole thing was dropped. I got $1 a case for purchasing and hauling it. After all of that he quit selling beer per say on a big time basis and upped the greens fees slightly and let guys bring their own beer which was legal. But if someone that was a trusted "local" was short he could get a 6 pack in case of emergency. They could not do anything if the beer was in a private residence for personal consumption. He did have a camper he stayed in on premise so that was legal from time to time. Now some of us worked hard to get the Sheriff defeated in the next election and he was

[SixtySomePing]

pl

 

plunged on ice, placed in squad, plentiful checkup, plexor pain

 

Yes Rad, I headed home afterwards, then layed my head down and slept for a while. Neck and back muscles are tight, hopefully will feel better tomorrow.

I ain't a doctor and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night--- but from a redneck MD review my prognosis is you are ok--- Number one you are a tough old bird from what you have wrote over the years on here but the main thing showing me you are ok is you have not lost your sense of humor.

I went back to work yesterday, seemed like the right thing to do. Not that they weren't glad to see me but they took me back home. I guess in today's world you're supposed to be off if you hit your head, so if any of them do it, they don't want somebody else to show up. Especially if they are old, it sets a precedent or something. So I had to take the day off as a 'precaution'. Heck, I've precautioned enough, I wanted to get out and work, only have 30 days left now.

Anyway, my DW and I are going to Columbus to take our son out for dinner. I'd play golf if it was warmer...

[tolmij]

And speaking of cooties...

 

https://www.amazon.c...e/dp/B00000IWDO

 

Or more the way I remember it...

 

https://www.ebay.ca/...cQTgB:rk:6:pf:0

 

 

Never seen these before, must be the American and Canadian thing.

We had that very same cootie game (the vintage one) at my grandma's house on the farm. I remember having lots of other games there too. Pick up sticks, heaven forbid a kid would hold a pointy piece of plastic nowadays. His parents would be carted off by 'the autorities' never to be seen again. https://www.etsy.com..._gallery-1-4 I got mad at my brother and dumped them down the (coal) furnace outlet on the floor. They must have made their way into the furnace as they made an awful burnt plasticky smell. I remember Mr. Potatohead https://www.ebay.com...=item3af98abff9 Wish we still had that, it was the original that you actually put in potatoes. Again, 'wrong', why destroy a potato?

Funniest thing I ever did at my grandma's was when my mom's sister came one time and my brother and I were sitting on the back porch lounging, reading comic books and stuff like Mad Magazine. There were some flies on the back porch, so she said I'm going shopping, I'll give you a penny for every fly you swat dead on this porch when I get back (thinking we'd probably kill 2 or 3 and that would be on the floor). Well the porch had just been painted freshly white. So I made sure inner door to the house was shut, and we took fly swatters and started letting flies in the back screen door and swatting them on the walls of the porch. We brought out some hamburger to attract them, by the time we were done, I think she owed us $1.86, and the walls looked like a battlefield. She flipped her lid when she got back, so did grandma, and grandpa, and my mom. Kids, they have no sense of responsibility. We didn't get paid. Somehow in the world to this day there are several missing generations of flies. You're welcome...

My old man would have thought that was funny and he would have paid me too. He would have said "the boy is learning to hustle"

I had my hustles back in the day.

Once in Jr High school I got caught hustling individual cigarettes. Kids were starting to experiment with smoking I never did. But I would salvage cigarettes left in golf carts. Cigarettes were cheap then and folks would leave a partial pack with a couple left in the carts when I cleaned them out. We also gave out free books of matches with the course name on them. I sold those cigarettes for a nickel each and had them separated according to brand in baggies in my locker. Gave a partial book or a full book of matches with every purchase. Yep someone told on me and I got busted and sent home. My Step Mom was not amused but my old man was. He went with me to school the next day and the Principal was mad because my old man backed me up.

 

My next hustle did get the old man sorta mad though. Beer was cheap in those days too and the guys would leave a semi cold beer unopened in a cart in a heartbeat. Of course I kept them and drank some too I ain't gonna lie. In NC in those days you could not sell beer on Sunday. Now the course could get around that by being "private" memberships sold for $1 and selling the beer with a receipt on Saturday. I got the idea especially in the summer because some folks simply did not know. I set up "shop" in the woods behind the 4th hole. Had a wash tub full of ice and beer. Sold it for the same price as the pro shop at .75 a can. Someone told on me inadvertently. My old man heard some one say something about a "bootlegger kid " selling beer over on 4 tee. He caught me. At first he was livid because I could have been busted for selling beer and being underage. He also thought our beer license could have been revoked but I pointed out to him that I was a foot behind the golf course property line and his license was not in jeopardy. He laughed after that. We made a deal and he tried to screw me. Wanted to give me .22 per can because that was what wholesale was at the time. I told him he had already made profit off of it one time and the price was .25 a can. He did it. I did not stop my bootleg activity all together though. I just sold it on word of mouth to trusted locals had it hid in an old cooler from the clubhouse in the top of the barn. On the barn deal I did cut my price though because I could not sell as much so it was .50 a can. Still made $10 or $15 a weekend and had my private beer supply

 

Footnote--- My Step Mom got busted for technically bootlegging. When they went back to the Charlotte area this guy they knew bought a course. Now it was in Cabarrus county which is a dry county (still is) But they still (sic) sold beer. Heck I was even involved. The owner had a deal with a store and was buying it in lots for the weekend. They never sold beer during the week. Of course I transported it which technically was not illegal in NC because there was no limit in how much you could buy as long as you had a receipt on it and it was purchased from a licensed retailer. I remember when they got busted I had 50 cases of beer on my truck. I laughed at the Sheriff and told him he needed to read the law he was being paid to enforce. He got pissed had the ABC man up there and on my part he told him the same thing.I told the Sheriff now take those cuffs off of me before I sue the crap out of you. They did get Step Mom and the owner. I raised so much hell in the local paper and the guy that owned the course threatened to close the course and put a hog lot there that the whole thing was dropped. I got $1 a case for purchasing and hauling it. After all of that he quit selling beer per say on a big time basis and upped the greens fees slightly and let guys bring their own beer which was legal. But if someone that was a trusted "local" was short he could get a 6 pack in case of emergency. They could not do anything if the beer was in a private residence for personal consumption. He did have a camper he stayed in on premise so that was legal from time to time. Now some of us worked hard to get the Sheriff defeated in the next election and he was

 

Now there’s a real big surprise for me, BIG StU a hustler. Some have what it takes and you my friend have it in buckets full.

[BIG STU]

pl

 

plunged on ice, placed in squad, plentiful checkup, plexor pain

 

Yes Rad, I headed home afterwards, then layed my head down and slept for a while. Neck and back muscles are tight, hopefully will feel better tomorrow.

I ain't a doctor and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night--- but from a redneck MD review my prognosis is you are ok--- Number one you are a tough old bird from what you have wrote over the years on here but the main thing showing me you are ok is you have not lost your sense of humor.

I went back to work yesterday, seemed like the right thing to do. Not that they weren't glad to see me but they took me back home. I guess in today's world you're supposed to be off if you hit your head, so if any of them do it, they don't want somebody else to show up. Especially if they are old, it sets a precedent or something. So I had to take the day off as a 'precaution'. Heck, I've precautioned enough, I wanted to get out and work, only have 30 days left now.

Anyway, my DW and I are going to Columbus to take our son out for dinner. I'd play golf if it was warmer...

Like I said you are one tough old bird like me---- Heck nothing stops me if I wanna do something--- I was released from the hospital one Friday from kidney stone surgery drove a race car on Friday and Saturday nights with the tube still in. Got a finger crushed on the end one Wednesday night at work. They had to do emergency surgery but I delayed it until my wife could run up to the hospital with my race car steering wheel in hand so they could set my finger to accommodate my steering wheel> Drove 3 different cars and events that weekend including a 100 lap super V-8 Modified race. The owner of the super mod car did put the automatic transmission in that Saturday morning because he figured my hand would be hurting and I would not have to shift. It was throbbing and more than likely cost me the race or at least 2nd place in the Modified 4 cylinder race because I missed a shift on the last restart with 5 laps to go. The guy who owned the super mod V-8 remarked " you missed a shift on the last restart" yep I told him " glad I got the automatic 2 speed in my car for you" Yep you are just like me nothing phases you if you want to do something

[tolmij]

One thing to know about Australians is they are very friendly and very trusting, unless you screw with them then it's goodbye. The BBQ is a must in Australia, whilst they love good quality food they also love the BBQ and there would not be many homes without one. A funny thing happened to us when we first came over here. We decided to do the Australian thing and have a BBQ, as we did not have one we went to a public park where they always have them to use for free, even the wood to light them. We cooked our food, sat down to eat and a group of workmen came along, stopped by the table where we were eating and said, English are you, we were surprised how they knew just by seeing us. Talking to friends later we realised Australians having a BBQ do not use table mats, napkins or tablecloths. Sort of gave us away.

Wonder if they'd known we were Americans, what with my DW having the same setup on the table. Plus if the grandkids were there, there would have been post-meal hand wipes of some sort, or ziplocs full of clean damp washcloths. If our oldest daughter would have been there, the barbie would have been scoured with vinegar spray and scraped first, then tested, spayed again, then covered with new tin foil. After using she probably would have been asked to leave the country. We love her to pieces. The kids will get cooties some day simply from never having been exposed to cooties :) Our youngest daughter, heck, her and the family would have eaten off of everything as is, she would have become an Aussie the first hour...

I think a Southern Redneck born and bred like I am would fit right in over there. Yep with our fine China ( paper plates) and a roll of paper towels from the Dollar General thrown up in the middle of the table. And when we BBQ I cook enough for Solomon's Army. Of course we would be drinking Foster's hey when in Rome do as the Romans---right?----- Hey guys grab you some BBQ and a Foster's we got plenty----

 

Stu you would be a perfect fit over here, have to look at trying the two beers though, down south it is definately Foster but in Queensland it is four X our local Brisbane brewery. The funny thing is not many people like both.

 

BBQ in Queensland in particular is cook for the multitude, not many walk away empty handed when they go home always plenty left, and yes mostare cooked redneck style.

[Wriggles]

And speaking of cooties...

 

https://www.amazon.c...e/dp/B00000IWDO

 

Or more the way I remember it...

 

https://www.ebay.ca/...cQTgB:rk:6:pf:0

 

 

Never seen these before, must be the American and Canadian thing.

We had that very same cootie game (the vintage one) at my grandma's house on the farm. I remember having lots of other games there too. Pick up sticks, heaven forbid a kid would hold a pointy piece of plastic nowadays. His parents would be carted off by 'the autorities' never to be seen again. https://www.etsy.com..._gallery-1-4 I got mad at my brother and dumped them down the (coal) furnace outlet on the floor. They must have made their way into the furnace as they made an awful burnt plasticky smell. I remember Mr. Potatohead https://www.ebay.com...=item3af98abff9 Wish we still had that, it was the original that you actually put in potatoes. Again, 'wrong', why destroy a potato?

Funniest thing I ever did at my grandma's was when my mom's sister came one time and my brother and I were sitting on the back porch lounging, reading comic books and stuff like Mad Magazine. There were some flies on the back porch, so she said I'm going shopping, I'll give you a penny for every fly you swat dead on this porch when I get back (thinking we'd probably kill 2 or 3 and that would be on the floor). Well the porch had just been painted freshly white. So I made sure inner door to the house was shut, and we took fly swatters and started letting flies in the back screen door and swatting them on the walls of the porch. We brought out some hamburger to attract them, by the time we were done, I think she owed us $1.86, and the walls looked like a battlefield. She flipped her lid when she got back, so did grandma, and grandpa, and my mom. Kids, they have no sense of responsibility. We didn't get paid. Somehow in the world to this day there are several missing generations of flies. You're welcome...

 

Yes it’s amazing what we used to do as children, I remember having a friend who lived far away and I would think nothing of getting on my bicycle and dissapearing for most of the day, never even considered there could be any danger. Regularly went out most of the day and no concern from my mother. We had a washouse at one place we lived and we were all over that playing pirates cowboys and Indians, falling over scraping shins and knees. Don’t know what has happened but the adventure seems to have dissapeared out of childhood. Some of the games we played in the school playground without any concern from teachers would give them a heart attack today. I watch them when we are out and about, sitting next to each other texting instead of talking and wonder where it will all end.

 

Can't say it's comforting to know, that the insanity of the world isn't restricted to just the USA. I try not to dwell on the ills of the world. Maybe, that's why I take comfort in stories of old, and items of the past.

 

Anyhow, rode out to the course yesterday. No one there, I walked two holes and quit. The wind was really howling, pretty miserable.

 

Calling for snow tomorrow.

[scomac2002]

My attention is elsewhere at the moment with pitchers and catchers reporting yesterday, the talk of collusion and the like. Well, actually not. My attention has been more firmly focused on the ice, as in curling sheets with yesterday marking the start of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the 10 day marathon to determine Canada's women's curling champion.

 

The provincial playdowns have been ongoing over the past month with your typical combination of favourites advancing with upsets mixed in as well as the arrival of new fresh faces from the junior ranks forcing their way onto the national stage. Last night was the wild card game to determine the final berth between the two next best ranked teams amongst the losers of the provincial playdowns. The exact specifics as to who these two participants were is of less importance that the result that has played out over the past month or so, well actually the last 12 months or so...

 

A year ago team Einarson from Manitoba gained entry to the Scotties via the wildcard game and parlayed that into a run to the title game eventually losing to team Jones, also from Manitoba. Now Jennifer Jones is a 6 time Canadian Champion. Even getting out of Manitoba is a stiff challenge with her standing in the way, so with that in mind I'm sure, Kari Einarson decided to fire her team at the end of the season. She wasn't quite as blunt as that, but that is in effect what she did in order to put together a super team consisting of four skips, two of whom had just graduated from the junior ranks with extremely strong pedigrees, one of them playing for Jennifer Jones while her third was away last year at the Olympics.

 

That left Einarson's former teammates without a skip, so rather than fold they searched for a replacement. Enter Tracey Fleury from Ontario whose former team was disbanding. So with the deck shuffling done we had two new teams to face-off in Manitoba this season. Of lesser importance, but also significant was Val Sweeting's old team from Alberta had found an new skip to lead them after she had bailed to join Einarson's super squad.

 

With Jennifer Jones having an automatic berth into the Scotties as the reigning Canadian Champ the battle was on for Manitoba culminating in an epic game between Einarson and her former team skipped by Fleury. Fittingly, Fleury and the former Einarson team prevailed. You could tell it was the sweetest victory of their careers! You just knew that Einarson would be hot for revenge as she would most certainly make it through the wildcard game to join the Scotties tournament field.

 

Ahh, but not so fast as the wildcard opponent would be team Sheidegger from Alberta who had just lost to the reformed Sweeting team that was now skipped by Chelsea Carey, a former Canadian Champion in her own right. Looks like the path to a rematch may not be so easy after all and sure enough it wasn't as the Albertan's played a solid game to dispose of the wannabe superteam 8-6.

 

So there will be no rematch and no chance for revenge. In fact, kharma played out perfectly in this instance as those abandoned would rise from the ashes to dispense of their former teammates on a couple of different fronts. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out going forward. The thing about superteams is that they're super as long as they win, but when they don't, egos can begin to clash. The pro tour teams tend to reform every four years on the Olympic cycle with only minor changes along the way. We'll see if the Einarson supersquad can keep it together that long.

 

In the meantime, the round robin play begins today for the Scotties and I will be treated to a full week's worth of great curling with three draws a day all of which are televised up here. If anyone is interested, the games should be available on SportsNet.ca.

[Conrad1953]

pl

[tolmij]

Wow Sco, I thought curling was a gentle sport, sounds more like our state of origin rugby league teams, that is an anual three game event, players are picked dependant and the state in which you were born, because of this and the transfer system it always means you are playing against your normal team mates, who you play for in the everyday league has no bearing on state of origin selection, but If you are looking for drama back biting and eye scratching, watch the ladies top teams, more volatile than any mans league. How often have teams broken up to chase a win and then find themselves in the losers chair, happens in most sports, curling it seems also.

[SixtySomePing]

We went to Columbus tonite to one of those endless modern shopping/restaurant town (they are always called something 'Town Center' even though they themselves are not a town per se) things. We've got 2 or 3 of these Town Center things, you might have them too. So we took our son out to a nice restaurant for his birthday. BJ's Brewhouse Town Center in Columbus. Lest you think Polaris is a town it's not. Columbus is. Polaris is a place where a field was when I was growing up as a little kid. Now there's a bunch of stores there, with a bunch of plastic mannequins in the windows and other stores that sell tea pots for $300. Then there's restaurants. You give it a fancy name, add 'Town Center', and people will come. On Saturday nights they will drive around in circles for hours trying to find their way out and honk a lot. My DW knows how to get out, she just goes, then thanks them for things they didn't know they let her do in traffic. She can be fun to ride with sometimes...

Anyway, our son now is studying for his IFR or instrument certification for flying. Should take about 6 months, then he wants to become a flight instructor on the side besides his regular job. Should be quite interesting.

https://www.bjsrestaurants.com/

[tolmij]

We went to Columbus tonite to one of those endless modern shopping/restaurant town (they are always called something 'Town Center' even though they themselves are not a town per se) things. We've got 2 or 3 of these Town Center things, you might have them too. So we took our son out to a nice restaurant for his birthday. BJ's Brewhouse Town Center in Columbus. Lest you think Polaris is a town it's not. Columbus is. Polaris is a place where a field was when I was growing up as a little kid. Now there's a bunch of stores there, with a bunch of plastic mannequins in the windows and other stores that sell tea pots for $300. Then there's restaurants. You give it a fancy name, add 'Town Center', and people will come. On Saturday nights they will drive around in circles for hours trying to find their way out and honk a lot. My DW knows how to get out, she just goes, then thanks them for things they didn't know they let her do in traffic. She can be fun to ride with sometimes...

Anyway, our son now is studying for his IFR or instrument certification for flying. Should take about 6 months, then he wants to become a flight instructor on the side besides his regular job. Should be quite interesting.

https://www.bjsrestaurants.com/

 

Hope the meal went well, and you being the non driver had plenty of wine.

 

Did you know, and this is a scientifically proven fact, if you have enough wine all your aches and pains go away. The reason I mention this is it could be a short term solution for your accident pain.

[Wriggles]

We went to Columbus tonite to one of those endless modern shopping/restaurant town (they are always called something 'Town Center' even though they themselves are not a town per se) things. We've got 2 or 3 of these Town Center things, you might have them too. So we took our son out to a nice restaurant for his birthday. BJ's Brewhouse Town Center in Columbus. Lest you think Polaris is a town it's not. Columbus is. Polaris is a place where a field was when I was growing up as a little kid. Now there's a bunch of stores there, with a bunch of plastic mannequins in the windows and other stores that sell tea pots for $300. Then there's restaurants. You give it a fancy name, add 'Town Center', and people will come. On Saturday nights they will drive around in circles for hours trying to find their way out and honk a lot. My DW knows how to get out, she just goes, then thanks them for things they didn't know they let her do in traffic. She can be fun to ride with sometimes...

Anyway, our son now is studying for his IFR or instrument certification for flying. Should take about 6 months, then he wants to become a flight instructor on the side besides his regular job. Should be quite interesting.

https://www.bjsrestaurants.com/

 

Took a look at BJ's website. Two locations in Pittsburgh, both in wealthy suburbs. I'm about 15-20 miles from the one in McCandless, a bit farther in Upper St. Clair. I'm sure there's some normal wage earners in the two communities, but one thinks of the beautiful people in their $1+ million estates. Loved the picture of the couple in the t shirts. Years ago, jacket and tie would be required. Rib eye steak, $24, etc. I'll make my own.

 

I'll buy a package of Filet Mignons, at around $8-10, usually two or three small in the package. I'll cut up one or two in small pieces, and sautee with onions. Bake a potato, maybe a vegetable. Or Hungry Jack instant potatoes, much better than in years past. Freeze the remaining piece of steak for another meal. (Wife rarely eats steak, so it's just me and Penny and the filet. Less than $10 for the meal.)

 

Most restaurants are casual...That means the guy and gal in the next table look like they've been doing yard work all day. Usually, guys nowadays don't even remove their stained ball cap.

 

I'm not really knocking the casual attire. But, I always liked to wear a jacket and tie for something special, like a $24 rib eye. Makes the occasion much more special.

 

I guess I'm old school, but a lady in a dress and pearls, and a guy in a jacket and tie was something to aspire to.

 

Glad you had a nice time.

[scomac2002]

We went to Columbus tonite to one of those endless modern shopping/restaurant town (they are always called something 'Town Center' even though they themselves are not a town per se) things. We've got 2 or 3 of these Town Center things, you might have them too. So we took our son out to a nice restaurant for his birthday. BJ's Brewhouse Town Center in Columbus. Lest you think Polaris is a town it's not. Columbus is. Polaris is a place where a field was when I was growing up as a little kid. Now there's a bunch of stores there, with a bunch of plastic mannequins in the windows and other stores that sell tea pots for $300. Then there's restaurants. You give it a fancy name, add 'Town Center', and people will come. On Saturday nights they will drive around in circles for hours trying to find their way out and honk a lot. My DW knows how to get out, she just goes, then thanks them for things they didn't know they let her do in traffic. She can be fun to ride with sometimes...

Anyway, our son now is studying for his IFR or instrument certification for flying. Should take about 6 months, then he wants to become a flight instructor on the side besides his regular job. Should be quite interesting.

https://www.bjsrestaurants.com/

 

Hope the meal went well, and you being the non driver had plenty of wine.

 

Did you know, and this is a scientifically proven fact, if you have enough wine all your aches and pains go away. The reason I mention this is it could be a short term solution for your accident pain.

 

I find that the third glass is the ticket. Works far better than any of the over the counter stuff that I've been taking for the last year and a half. I don't think my doc is necessarily on board with it as for the medical community one-a-day is more in keeping with their cost benefit analysis. Mind you, I'm not getting behind the wheel either after my third, so generally other considerations come into play.

[scomac2002]

We went to Columbus tonite to one of those endless modern shopping/restaurant town (they are always called something 'Town Center' even though they themselves are not a town per se) things. We've got 2 or 3 of these Town Center things, you might have them too. So we took our son out to a nice restaurant for his birthday. BJ's Brewhouse Town Center in Columbus. Lest you think Polaris is a town it's not. Columbus is. Polaris is a place where a field was when I was growing up as a little kid. Now there's a bunch of stores there, with a bunch of plastic mannequins in the windows and other stores that sell tea pots for $300. Then there's restaurants. You give it a fancy name, add 'Town Center', and people will come. On Saturday nights they will drive around in circles for hours trying to find their way out and honk a lot. My DW knows how to get out, she just goes, then thanks them for things they didn't know they let her do in traffic. She can be fun to ride with sometimes...

Anyway, our son now is studying for his IFR or instrument certification for flying. Should take about 6 months, then he wants to become a flight instructor on the side besides his regular job. Should be quite interesting.

https://www.bjsrestaurants.com/

 

Took a look at BJ's website. Two locations in Pittsburgh, both in wealthy suburbs. I'm about 15-20 miles from the one in McCandless, a bit farther in Upper St. Clair. I'm sure there's some normal wage earners in the two communities, but one thinks of the beautiful people in their $1+ million estates. Loved the picture of the couple in the t shirts. Years ago, jacket and tie would be required. Rib eye steak, $24, etc. I'll make my own.

 

I'll buy a package of Filet Mignons, at around $8-10, usually two or three small in the package. I'll cut up one or two in small pieces, and sautee with onions. Bake a potato, maybe a vegetable. Or Hungry Jack instant potatoes, much better than in years past. Freeze the remaining piece of steak for another meal. (Wife rarely eats steak, so it's just me and Penny and the filet. Less than $10 for the meal.)

 

Most restaurants are casual...That means the guy and gal in the next table look like they've been doing yard work all day. Usually, guys nowadays don't even remove their stained ball cap.

 

I'm not really knocking the casual attire. But, I always liked to wear a jacket and tie for something special, like a $24 rib eye. Makes the occasion much more special.

 

I guess I'm old school, but a lady in a dress and pearls, and a guy in a jacket and tie was something to aspire to.

 

Glad you had a nice time.

 

I agree. I still wear a jacket and tie on Sunday. You got dressed up when you went to church. That's how I was raised.

 

I always take a couple of changes involving tie and jacket when we're on a cruise. They call them formal nights for a reason.

When we first started to cruise a number of years ago they would make you wear a tie and jacket (and had plenty on hand) on formal nights. Now that's gone by the wayside as people complained I suppose. They figure that it gives them the right now to look like a slob and you'll always run into one or two that look like they just rolled out of bed to get their fillet and lobster tails. I remember one incident distinctly where a single guy at a table of eight showed up late for dinner that evening rather disheveled looking while the rest of the table were in evening gowns and tuxes. The men just rolled their eyes and i think at least one of the women gave the bum a piece of her mind. He didn't eat at that table the rest of the cruise, in fact I think he just stuck to the buffet deck...

[Reasonability]

So this lowly poster is ambivilant about "the clothes make the man."

 

Back in the day, folks dressed up for a train ride. No joke. It was common to put on the Sunday-best, snap photos, send post cards, write letters, and phone others (party line and all) to celebrate the big trip taken on the train.

 

Then there was a certain reverence and expectation in play to look very presentable at Church, when dining out, at job interviews, etc. Whatever your "best" was, even if that meant clean and neat in your best T shirt and jeans, at least "some" effort to clean-up and look your best was common place for a handful of occasions.

 

Here's the ambivilance part from my perspective.

 

I've met, known, worked with, and golfed with some snakes in a $1000 suit. Have had similar encounters with scoundrels who didn't care to wear a belt and hitch their $2 pants up above their own plumber's butt.

 

Flip that around 180, and some of the best souls I've ever known were folks who wore whatever felt right to them at the time and didn't give two hoots what anyone else thought of it.

 

The book and the cover just don't always match up.

 

Guess what I'm searching for words to express is, for me, I'm not impressed by the plumber's butt OR the flashy suit. If anything, it looks to my eye like an attention grab. Trying to get my attention based on the outrageous "look" backfires since I tend to ignore both the outfit and the person trying too hard to make a statement. I don't care what "statement" is being made. Not even some. He who tries to get my attention in such ways is denied it.

 

But, if you're going out in public then IMO clean-up enough to avoid looking/smelling like the dregs of hell, , cover up your butt crack, tie your shoes, and from that point on whatever makes you happy makes me. I don't want or need to be impressed. Casual attire is fine with me personally.

 

All that said, I think we've surrendered a little piece of our cultural soul when we stopped getting dressed for the train ride. Life is a train ride. A little reverence for it isn't a bad thing. Thus, the ambivalence.

 

[Reasonability]

Another layer of skepticism orbits around modern golf equipment.

 

In a nutshell, I don't get it when it comes to injecting hunks of plastic behind the face of irons (and now even drivers).

 

Here's why. The ball squishes (compresses) when struck by the metallurgy of a clubhead. Modern polymer technology can behave in structural and dynamic ways that are surprisingly like or even better than metals.

 

Why am I to suddenly believe my clubs are under-performing if they lack some mythical combo of metal clubhead with polymer inserts? Why would such inserts be buried back behind or inside the outer shell of metals I already rely on to squish the ball? And if these polymers are so good at doing what they do, why not go ahead and make the entire clubhead out of this miracle material?

 

Putter inserts trot that nonmetal material right out in the sunshine - where the clubface impacts the ball. The old persimmon drivers had a plastics face insert - right where the rubber meets the road.

 

Now, I'm suddenly supposed to accept "something" buried behind/inside the metal clubface actually changes things in measurable ways? Sorry but that one smells funky to me personally.

 

Color me confused. Call me skeptical. And, make no mistake about it, I've yet to perform any side-by-side performance testing by switching back/forth between my gamers and these polymer inserted sticks. So what do I know? Just really having trouble with the whole premise behind it. Tend to believe "if" they're actually better/straighter/longer, it's got more to do with the distribution and properties of metallurgy ahead of scientific features/benefits of any plastic. As said, if the plastic is the secret weapon, the whole clubhead would spit out of a mold and metals wouldn't need to be in the mix at all. At a minimum, metal inserts would be found in plastic heads rather than the other way around.

[scomac2002]

Funny that you should mention metal inserts in plastic heads, because that exactly describes the insert in my Never Compromise NCX Ray tau putter. It's a pretty basic Anser style heel/toe weighted putter with a full off-set plumber's neck. I was rolling a few putts with it yesterday when I wasn't finding the magic with my as yet to be extended and counter-weighted mallet. The insert is a hard plastic material with metal blades embedded in it to act as grooves to impart roll on the ball. Seems to work OK. It's a pretty nice putter for the $40 investment.

 

The rest of this stuff, I just don't know about. Hand me a club and i'll know pretty quickly if it's going to work for me or not. Usually within three swings. That's not to say that i'm good, just that I'll know if I'm comfortable with something that quickly and like the result I'm getting. It's rare that I'm going to spend a whole lot of time getting used to something and then declare that it's a good tool. It's usually much more immediate than that.

[Conrad1953]

I have a set of Cobra S9 irons in my golf room (circa 2006). These irons have lightweight

plastic inserts top and bottom on the back of the iron. My understanding of these irons; and

other clubs that have lightweight materials inserted in various places, from drivers to irons,

is this is a method of repositioning weight around the club head.

 

Likewise, the use of heavier materials, primarily tungsten, is also to reposition weight around

the club head.

 

You will often read in manufacturer's descriptions of these clubs, the reasons for these weight

repositions and why it benefits the golfer using those clubs; higher or lower launch, more or

less spin, expanded sweet spot, forgivenes on toe hits, etc., etc.

 

The larger the club head the more a manufacturer can redistribute weight so, naturally, weight

redistribution in a 460cc driver head will bring the more benefit than it would with a much

smaller iron head. This is the reason for larger iron heads; more room to redistribute weight.

And also the reason large mallet head putters have become more popular.

 

Most golfers that prefer to play a small blade iron; think PGA Tour, will often use the most

forgiving driver and putter available to them; despite wanting no forgiveness benefit in their

irons and wedges. For an iron to be truly forgiving, it necessarily must have a larger head

than many golfers want............and so they take a pass on those larger iron heads.

 

That doesn't mean the technology doesn't work, or is a scam or a "carney" game as our old

friend used to say. Some golfers just don't want the large headed iron and are willing to

have less forgiveness in that aspect of their game while some prefer to have the forgiveness

a larger iron head gives. No one is right or wrong; it's just a matter of personal preference.

 

My Ping S58 irons (also circa 2006) have a plastic insert right behind the face. This insert

adds nothing as far as performance but is there as a vibration dampener so mishits don't

feel so harsh. All subsequent S Series Ping irons have this insert. It's strictly a "feel" insert.

 

It's my understanding that this new wave of injecting polymers into a small cavity behind

the club face is more a feel/sound thing than some technical performance benefit. At least,

I don't know of any claimed performance benefit behind this; maybe some claim so but I

haven't read up on it entirely so I can't say with 100% certainty one way or the other.

 

Ha, my windy 2 cents on this, lol. I'll step back and listen to others now.

[billh17]

PLethysmograph

[Conrad1953]

pl

[Reasonability]

Last one and I'll STFU. :)

 

Golf ball sits on the ground. Clubhead strikes it. Ball flight lawyers break out their compasses and protractors.

 

At the end of the day, there are four and only four variables in play as that clubhead travels through the space occupied by the ball. FOUR! Not one. Not fourteen. Not nine thousand. FOUR!

 

* path

* squareness (or not) of the club face relative to path

* steepness or shallowness in the angle of attack as that clubhead performs it's touch and go landing on the deck.

* a WAY over complicated and misunderstood critter called the "D" plane - which amounts to nothing more than how high or low the handle is through impact.

 

If you wanted to get picky, there's a 5th one... Speed/acceleration. But that one (IMO) is a given just as much as holding the skinny end and hitting the ball with the fat end.

 

Of those true four, the biggest rabbit hole (IMO) with the most banana peels is Angle of Attack. The "stuff" of endless debate. Rife with so much complex, confusing, nebulous crapola, that it stands out as the messiest of they messy.

 

All of the following are "true":

 

1). A shallower angle of attack increases the opportunity for the clubhead's energy to smack that ball without hitting it fat.

 

2). Despite this, a golfer "can" chop down hard at the ball - steep AoA - take big chunky divots - and possibly play well/consistently

 

3). It "seems" logical that the wider away from the body the club travels during the downswing (which might tempt us to sway during the backswing), the shallower the AoA, and faster the clubhead speed would be traveling on the downswing. In reverse, in "seems" logical that setting the hands and handle too close to the trail side shoulder at the top is a fast ticket to a steep "V-shaped" downswing. In short, the long wide take-away, getting the hands/handle WAY back and AWAY "appears" to be the way to fly. Otherwise, no true shallow AoA is possible. (It's true this "seems" logical but it's a TOTAL banana peel to fall in love with. You'll end up fighting your own setup posture while feeling more tension at the top of your backswing than you can measure).

 

So then, amid all this conflicting logic, how do we let that airplane approach the ground nice and shallow but avoid all manner of stress and strain on the body to achieve it???? And if #2 above is true, why bother considering it at all.

 

Dirty little secret - the hands and handle don't have to swing WAY back there, or WAY high up over the head - They are far from being the ONLY major contributors.

 

To turn a steep "v" shaped angle of attack into more of a "u" shape, oil up those wrists! LET the arms relax and LET that clubhead FLY past the butt end of the handle. The handle might just barely beat that clubhead to the ball, but those oily wrists allow and encourage that clubhead to release from waist-high before the to waist-high after the ball where that trail hand-arm flatten out and extend to that handshake position. Oily wrists in transition actually drops that shat closer to your trail shoulder to start the downswing. Duruing the backswing, It's OK to SLIGHTLY open that club face and feel like your setting the hands/handle a little closer to your trail shoulder. (Straight-ish lead arm going back is good but locked dead stiff iand over extended is BAD).

 

This action gives us that "U" shape (shallow AoA at the bottom or ground level where it counts. Your airplane does come in steep, at first, but then it shallows out thanks to your release (wrists).

 

Oil those wirists up gents!

 

The hardest thing to tell a hooker to do is to release those wrists! Scares him to death! Until he realizes he's been swinging his arms hard - rather than releasing those oily wrists. He "gets it" when he relaxes his arms and starts using his wrists to swing that clubhead rather than trying to jamb the butt end and handle "at" the ball.

 

The hardest thing for a slicer to believe is allowing his club and shaft to move along his lead arm plane all the way down to waist-high and let that clubhead fly past his hands into that handshake. He'll look at you like you must be crazy!

 

Both get a nice AoA when the light bulb turns on. Ball goes far. Golfer goes into the happy happy joy joy dance. Other golfers pretend they don't know him.

 

But he's ok with it. He knows the dirty little secret. He demystified the AoA without really trying.

 

Thank you for flying Reason Airlines.