Random conversation thread

[DavePelz4]

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1402197645' post='9451691']
Boooo.

Hey, this random conversation thread has almost 1/2 of all the posts in the "Classic Tales From the Rough" section.

Not bad, not bad at all.

BTW, enjoyed "The Sixties" episode today about the nuclear arms race on CNN. Funny how worried about a nuclear war I was as a kid (remember "The Morning After" - now that was a television EVENT!), and my kids have no real awareness of it.
[/quote]

Yeah but the "Morning After" was about blowing up Kansas. Why would anyone blow up Kansas? To disable the BBQ sauce supply chain?

[oldschoolrocker]

BZ Solo. Keep us informed.

[oldschoolrocker]

Since it is fair game now. The subject has been broached. BBQ sauce, wet or dry rub? With or without vinegar? I have always found BBQ to be a great topic for debate.
Had some at a little shack on Johns Island last evening.
I prefer a dry Memphis rub on my ribs, and a mildly sweet, vinegar on a sandwich.

[HoldenCornfield]

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1402197645' post='9451691']
BTW, enjoyed "The Sixties" episode today about the nuclear arms race on CNN. Funny how worried about a nuclear war I was as a kid (remember "The Morning After" - now that was a television EVENT!), and my kids have no real awareness of it.
[/quote]

I remember that well and was quite disturbed by that as a teenager. My father was a staunch democrat at the time and was convinced Ronald Reagan was going to start WWIII.

Btw, according to its [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After"]wikipedia page[/url], that is still the highest rated television film in history, seen by over 100 million people in his first airing.

[Soloman1]

Aye, captain...

And put me down for dry rub on ribs and North Carolina vinegar sauce & slaw on sandwich.

[birly-shirly]

[quote name='profsmitty' timestamp='1402184890' post='9450605'] I'd love to see a really good movie made about Titanic Thompson. There are so many great stories about Thompson, a few of them golf related. Some incredibly funny, some not so much. [/quote]

Have you read this? I picked it up recently but as a pile of books and not got round to it yet. [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Titanic-Thompson-The-Man-Everything/dp/0330529951"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Titanic-Thompson-The-Man-Everything/dp/0330529951[/url]

[DavePelz4]

[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1402224507' post='9452403']
Since it is fair game now. The subject has been broached. BBQ sauce, wet or dry rub? With or without vinegar? I have always found BBQ to be a great topic for debate.
Had some at a little shack on Johns Island last evening.
I prefer a dry Memphis rub on my ribs, and a mildly sweet, vinegar on a sandwich.
[/quote]

Yes...all of the above...any of the above...it's BBQ.

[HoldenCornfield]

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1402197125' post='9451651']
Based on your novel solo?

Congratulations.....and I'm sure it's not crap. [b]After many aborted attempts to write something other than editorials, movie reviews, and GolfWRX posts, I have developed a real admiration for anyone who can actually finish a book.[/b]
[/quote]

Agreed. Most people think writing a book is like designing a house. But the truth is its more like [i]building[/i] a house, it takes months of hard work and planning. 10-12 years ago I had some free time between jobs so I sat down and plotted out about 80 chapters, start to finish, on a novel. It was something I'd always wanted to do.

It took over a week just for the outline. Then I started writing the chapters. About two months and forty chapters later, I realized: A) this was a ton of work; B) the first 40 chapters were terrible; and C) I better get my a** back to work. Lol

[profsmitty]

I hadn't seen the Thompson book. Thanks for the Titanic Thompson book. I have a couple of other books, one non-fiction the other non-fiction. Both were good.

Holden - I have to admit that I am just making your acquaintance. I am alway impressed with writers who succeed in finishing a book length manuscript whether it ever gets published or not. As I've sand before, I've never written a book except for my dissertation. I've writing a collection of poems that may eventually become a book length collection. We'll see. I've also got a short story that I have been encouraged to make into something longer. Again, we'll see.

I love the quote I've heard attributed to Hemingway. I have no idea if it is his but it could be. It goes something like this. Writing is easy. You set down in front of your keyboard, crack your knuckles and open up an artery.

[oldschoolrocker]

Writing is like golf and lovemaking, raw talent will only get you so far. Perhaps when I retire...

Profsmitty,
Poetry and golf, which plays the muse?

[profsmitty]

Good question. They feed off each other. I just wish I was better at both!

[oldschoolrocker]

One can gain some degree of proficiency at both by adhering to fundamentals, and while mechanics does factor into the equation, true genius is experienced by the feel player.

In my humble opinion,

Philip Levine
Severiano Ballesteros

[dbuck47]

[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1402224507' post='9452403']
Since it is fair game now. The subject has been broached. BBQ sauce, wet or dry rub? With or without vinegar? I have always found BBQ to be a great topic for debate.
Had some at a little shack on Johns Island last evening.
I prefer a dry Memphis rub on my ribs, and a mildly sweet, vinegar on a sandwich.
[/quote]

I use a dry rub on ribs, butts, and shoulders. The recipe came from "The BBQ Bible" and is called "Memphis Rub". It has the usual suspects in ingredients, including Paprika, brown sugar, garlic, onion salt, dry mustard, etc. and red pepper to taste. I prefer just a little kick, but more toward the sweet end.

For sauce, I am more of a Kansas City, St Louis, Memphis style--tomato based and sweet/tangy with just a slight kick on the finish. I have a recipe from a book that I have modified. Basically start with a er, uh ketchup base. I then use vinegar, mustard (dry and prepared), Worcestershire,onion powder,lime juice, brown sugar, molasses, honey, and just a touch of red or cayenne pepper. I want it to be very sweet on the tip of the toungue at first bite, to pinch my jaw muscles a little with tanginess, and to have just a hint of hot as it goes down the throat.

In a pinch I will use a commercial sauce, especially on sandwiches, my favorite being Sweet Baby Ray's. If I do use it for basting, I will add a little water and lime juice.

I use the above sauce on ribs and sandwiches. As mentioned, I cook the butts or shoulders with the dry rub, as well as the ribs, then use the sauce at the table. With ribs, I will also cook some with no rub and baste in the sauce as they are cooking, allowing the sugars in the sauce carmelize and burn slightly. I will also sometimes baste a dry rubbed rack toward the end of the cooking with the sauce.

I have little experience with the Piedmont/North Carolina/South Carolina vinegar base sauces, but I am trying to increase my knowledge, doing a few experiments last season which I hope to continue this season. My sister and her family transplanted to the Raleigh/Durham/CH area around 12 years ago, but haven't aquired the taste for it. My son however does like it, as well as a buddy who grew up in Virginia Beach.

[joey2aces]

[quote name='dbuck47' timestamp='1402327518' post='9459209']
[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1402224507' post='9452403']
Since it is fair game now. The subject has been broached. BBQ sauce, wet or dry rub? With or without vinegar? I have always found BBQ to be a great topic for debate.
Had some at a little shack on Johns Island last evening.
I prefer a dry Memphis rub on my ribs, and a mildly sweet, vinegar on a sandwich.
[/quote]

I use a dry rub on ribs, butts, and shoulders. The recipe came from "The BBQ Bible" and is called "Memphis Rub". It has the usual suspects in ingredients, including Paprika, brown sugar, garlic, onion salt, dry mustard, etc. and red pepper to taste. I prefer just a little kick, but more toward the sweet end.

For sauce, I am more of a Kansas City, St Louis, Memphis style--tomato based and sweet/tangy with just a slight kick on the finish. I have a recipe from a book that I have modified. Basically start with a er, uh ketchup base. I then use vinegar, mustard (dry and prepared), Worcestershire,onion powder,lime juice, brown sugar, molasses, honey, and just a touch of red or cayenne pepper. I want it to be very sweet on the tip of the toungue at first bite, to pinch my jaw muscles a little with tanginess, and to have just a hint of hot as it goes down the throat.

In a pinch I will use a commercial sauce, especially on sandwiches, my favorite being Sweet Baby Ray's. If I do use it for basting, I will add a little water and lime juice.

I use the above sauce on ribs and sandwiches. As mentioned, I cook the butts or shoulders with the dry rub, as well as the ribs, then use the sauce at the table. With ribs, I will also cook some with no rub and baste in the sauce as they are cooking, allowing the sugars in the sauce carmelize and burn slightly. I will also sometimes baste a dry rubbed rack toward the end of the cooking with the sauce.

I have little experience with the Piedmont/North Carolina/South Carolina vinegar base sauces, but I am trying to increase my knowledge, doing a few experiments last season which I hope to continue this season. My sister and her family transplanted to the Raleigh/Durham/CH area around 12 years ago, but haven't aquired the taste for it. My son however does like it, as well as a buddy who grew up in Virginia Beach.
[/quote]

isn't the butt and shoulder the same cut?

[ScooterMcTavish]

[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1402279528' post='9456533']
One can gain some degree of proficiency at both by adhering to fundamentals, and while mechanics does factor into the equation, true genius is experienced by the feel player.

In my humble opinion,

Philip Levine
Severiano Ballesteros
[/quote]

The level of literacy and breath of life experience on this board never fails to amaze me.

The muse is an interesting question - I believe golf is the muse for the other things in my life. Not necessarily writing, but all other aspects.

It is becoming increasingly difficult in today's fast-paced, yammering, clammering, online 24/7 world, finding a way to get away from the noise and properly reflect on what percolates up from our brains. It may be a book idea. It may be a work problem. It may be nothing but random chaff and garbage that needs to be sifted through and disposed of to help release the important thoughts.

Only on the golf course do I get the quiet and solace needed for this time of contemplation. I believe this is why I've become a solitary golfer. Although I enjoy rounds with friends, this is a social occasion, not a time for reflection and rejuvenation. When I am on a course alone, I can turn the eye inward, and reflect on all manner of things in a way I cannot when stationed at any other location of my life.

A very interesting book (and in some ways very prescient) is "Creative Brooding" by Robert Raines, which in many ways is a call to thought, and engaging in turning the eye inward. Although the book has a very strong theological basis, I believe the principles behind the theology are universal, and are worth brooding over. Anything we can do to live our lives better, in a moral, productive and positive fashion is something we should all contemplate. And this is something we unfortunately see less in the younger folks of today, this ability to think critically, and reflecting before acting or speaking. All one has to do is go to Twitter, Facebook, or even the Equipment forum to see signs of this.

[scomac2002]

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1402329664' post='9459547']
Only on the golf course do I get the quiet and solace needed for this time of contemplation. I believe this is why I've become a solitary golfer. Although I enjoy rounds with friends, this is a social occasion, not a time for reflection and rejuvenation. When I am on a course alone, I can turn the eye inward, and reflect on all manner of things in a way I cannot when stationed at any other location of my life.
[/quote]

And that is why I ride...a bicycle. It is there on the road alone where I can commune with my inner spirit. It is something that I haven't done much of this year. First the never-ending winter; then an inordinate amount of yard work and gardening trying to resurrect the flora from the ravages of ice and severe cold. Lately, my BIL's crash and subsequent broken body have been cause for me to ignore my steed as she sits quietly waiting against the basement wall. It is time!

[dbuck47]

[quote name='joey2aces' timestamp='1402327902' post='9459267']
[quote name='dbuck47' timestamp='1402327518' post='9459209']
[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1402224507' post='9452403']
Since it is fair game now. The subject has been broached. BBQ sauce, wet or dry rub? With or without vinegar? I have always found BBQ to be a great topic for debate.
Had some at a little shack on Johns Island last evening.
I prefer a dry Memphis rub on my ribs, and a mildly sweet, vinegar on a sandwich.
[/quote]

I use a dry rub on ribs, butts, and shoulders. The recipe came from "The BBQ Bible" and is called "Memphis Rub". It has the usual suspects in ingredients, including Paprika, brown sugar, garlic, onion salt, dry mustard, etc. and red pepper to taste. I prefer just a little kick, but more toward the sweet end.

For sauce, I am more of a Kansas City, St Louis, Memphis style--tomato based and sweet/tangy with just a slight kick on the finish. I have a recipe from a book that I have modified. Basically start with a er, uh ketchup base. I then use vinegar, mustard (dry and prepared), Worcestershire,onion powder,lime juice, brown sugar, molasses, honey, and just a touch of red or cayenne pepper. I want it to be very sweet on the tip of the toungue at first bite, to pinch my jaw muscles a little with tanginess, and to have just a hint of hot as it goes down the throat.

In a pinch I will use a commercial sauce, especially on sandwiches, my favorite being Sweet Baby Ray's. If I do use it for basting, I will add a little water and lime juice.

I use the above sauce on ribs and sandwiches. As mentioned, I cook the butts or shoulders with the dry rub, as well as the ribs, then use the sauce at the table. With ribs, I will also cook some with no rub and baste in the sauce as they are cooking, allowing the sugars in the sauce carmelize and burn slightly. I will also sometimes baste a dry rubbed rack toward the end of the cooking with the sauce.

I have little experience with the Piedmont/North Carolina/South Carolina vinegar base sauces, but I am trying to increase my knowledge, doing a few experiments last season which I hope to continue this season. My sister and her family transplanted to the Raleigh/Durham/CH area around 12 years ago, but haven't aquired the taste for it. My son however does like it, as well as a buddy who grew up in Virginia Beach.
[/quote]

isn't the butt and shoulder the same cut?
[/quote]


Yes and no. I am not an expert on the cuts, but a shoulder is more like what is called a "picnic". If you get a Boston butt, it is usually a little smaller than what is considered a shoulder- cut a little different and trimmed a littler neater. Some butts are bigger than others, though, LOL!

[HoldenCornfield]

Random but important life lesson learned this morning: don't try to make coffee while eating cereal -- there's a reason why the Cheerios box has a picture of [i]fruit[/i] sprinkled on top and not [i]coffee grounds[/i].

[profsmitty]

Holden - I just want you to know that my knee hurts so bad that I am sitting on the couch watching The Heat, moderating WRX.com, and laughing my head off at the image of coffee grounds on a fresh bowl of Cheerios. How dare you ruin a perfectly good day of feeling sorry for myself.

Scooter, I have played this stupid, frustrating game all of my conscious life. I don't play golf to do anything more than I breathe to do anything except live. I am reasonably sure that for me, golf and writing poetry is a genetic defect. I started writing poetry at about the same time I started playing golf. Looking back, I think I would have been a better wrier if I had figured out that eight year olds don't win many Majors with a 9 piece Wilson Crest ladies set in a red plaid golf bag and they don't win Pulitzers using a Big Chief tablet and red, big barreled, pencil writing poems about little dogs named Peppy. At 63 years old I am happy to do both and I want to get better with each. I know I'll get better with golf because I finally hear the game's rhythm. I know that I am getting better as a poet because I've learned that poetry isn't a game of perfect. The very best poem is like a great round of golf. It's full of almosts, good and bad luck, and one hell of a lot of fun.

[dbuck47]

Profsmitty, the last 2 sentences in your post are definitely poetry!

[ScooterMcTavish]

[quote name='profsmitty' timestamp='1402348866' post='9461991']
I know I'll get better with golf because I finally hear the game's rhythm.
[/quote]

This is a very interesting sentence Smitty - one that requires further contemplation.

I have approached a Zen-like euphoria on some occasions at the course. Almost as if the body is functioning flawlessly, the brain is on idle, and every iron swing feels like the most natural thing you could be doing. And usually the results match this state of consciousness; I shy from hyperbole, but it is almost a state of transcendence.

Is this hearing the rhythm of the game? Or is it a seldom-visited point where our minds and bodies are in sync, and through a gift of the Fates, we receive benediction at the hands of the Golf Gods.

[profsmitty]

Scooter, you have a sophisticated feeling for the words. It's great to have members among us who are willing to see golf as a transcendental pathway and then be willing to discuss the possibilities!

[Sean2]

Smitty, I'd give you a "like" or two, but I can't. :-)

[ScooterMcTavish]

[quote name='profsmitty' timestamp='1402438525' post='9469369']
Scooter, you have a sophisticated feeling for the words. It's great to have members among us who are willing to see golf as a transcendental pathway and then be willing to discuss the possibilities!
[/quote]

Considering I've had about all of 12 moments of complete clarity in my life, and probably 10 of those have been on a golf course, I can certainly attest to the transcendental power of golf.

Being able to attain that state of Zen is the difficult part....be it a bad shot, one too many tins of lager, an annoying partner, a stiff breeze, your gautch riding up the crack of your butt, etc., it is incredibly difficult to completely cleanse your mind of all distractions while on a course. Kind of like the Fakirs or Monks who practice meditation - if you can scrub the mind clean enough, it is stated you can reach a higher level of consciousness.

Bobby Jones said the most important 5" in golf is between the ears. I agree completely....if we can make good shots, why can we not make them every shot? It is our brain and the signals that it sends down the neural pathways that actually execute the shot.

I would equate it to listening to a radio station (as us old fogies like to do); when there is interference, listening becomes an arduous chore. When the signal is clean and strong, it is a pleasure.

I believe golf is much the same - if we can turn off the "static" in our brains, we can execute a flawless round of golf. The question is, how to do it? How does one mentally "get in the zone"?

Got a feeling this may be a life-long quest.

[ScooterMcTavish]

I tried to summon the Zen tonight in league, and there were times when I was able to, and times when I was unable to.

Bears some further discovery - when I summoned the Zen, I hit a perfect 7i, hit every drive (4/4) decently into the fairway, and sank a 15' putt. Was such a strange feeling - like I could do no wrong.

Now the trick will be to summon this on every shot.

Net result - a crap round (+9 for 9) but ooooooh, I felt so close on so many shots. Mind you conditions were far less than ideal tonight (gusting 30 MPH wind), but I feel it is within my grasp. I'm sure my approach shots won't suffer quite as badly in better conditions, and this is where the game fell short tonight.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Mind you, shooting an equivalent of an 88 is a very good round for so many people - maybe I need to start seeing the glass as 1/2 full......

[Kirasdad]

I'm up late and can't sleep which is when I do my best thinking and writing, well at least I think so, anyway.

I just was trolling around on the site, going to forums I never go in, and I read a thread entitled "Dick's CEO is a doofus" in the deal or no deal forum on the other (dark) side of golfwrx. The tenor of the thread was the Dick's Sporting Goods CEO had criticized "average core golfers" for not understanding the ever more sophisticated new tech that was going into their inventory, and that lack of knowledge was keeping them from buying big enough quantities of golf gear to justify Dick's fairly recent large investment in golf. Golf sales at Dick's and many other big box places are apparently way down. The golf industry is "in trouble". I wrote a post from our point of view that was "pointed" shall we say? It will be interesting to see what the response is, if any.

[scomac2002]

I read (and liked) your post KD and read the conference call transcript that was linked to in the thread. Certainly lots of jargon being thrown around trying to rationalize the company's sales performance. If the core golfer doesn't understand the benefits of the new technology, doesn't that really fall upon the shoulders of the sales staff? ISTM that this new equipment, particularly driver is extremely dependent upon proper fitting for the benefits to shine through. As a big box retailer they will play lip service to that in a simulator. Whether it works on the course/range is another matter. We've all had disappointments that way. After a while, you ask is this real or just another version of smoke and mirrors? Even if the benefits are real, will it make a difference on my score card and if it will is it worth the $400? Most golfers just want to go out, play a round and enjoy themselves. We're not being paid to play where marginal gains matter. But, when you're a CEO that is trying to obfuscate failed hubris, you'll look for any rationalization available.

[HoldenCornfield]

[quote name='Soloman1' timestamp='1402196813' post='9451607']
I agree that losing would have been an embarrassment, but people had a lot of money on the line on that match. Losing for them was a different kind of consequence. Six figures was real money in those days.

This movie is based on a novel about a contemporary of Ken Venturi who backed him in those big money games, keeping him afloat during the lean times, who made millions himself playing as an "amateur" in high-stakes golf. It's about the world and characters of high-stakes golf.

Of course [i]The Match[/i] is a much better book than mine. I would never criticize it. My book is crap. However; being crap apparently doesn't disqualify it from becoming a movie. I'm still in shock about it.
[/quote]

Solomon, I just finished your book this morning, and it is DEFINITELY not crap! It might benefit from a little tighter editing, but I found the story to be wonderful, as were the characters and the dialogue. I especially liked the way you bounced back and forth in time, developing both storylines. That was very well crafted. And Peter's stories about the hustlers and the cons definitely had the ring of authenticity -- note to board: do not ever, under any circumstances, play Solomon for money! Lol. Have to say, though, I'd LOVE to play a round of golf with this Peter fellow

I can see why somebody is interested in making a movie of this. It's a very good story with a somewhat unusual finish -- both triumphant and tragic. Its my understanding that lots and lots of books get optioned for movies, and a relative few ever make it into production. But I hope yours does. Best of luck to you, Solomon. I enjoyed the book very much.

Of course, any book with golf [i]and[/i] Evel Knieval is gonna have me hooked. I still remember my 2nd grade Evel Knieval lunchbox. All my friends were very envious, lol.

[Soloman1]

You are right about the editing. No editor would come within an 8-iron of the awful thing.

You are also too generous in your comments. I just finished up my chores in Atlanta and will be off to sushi land in the morning. Maybe we can tee it up on my next trip. The pleasure would be mine. Thanks for the kind words.

Cheers