Welcome Your 2017 Purple Whales

This afternoon was Draft Day for the EZEFFL. It was the league’s 8th year, my 7th and my 5th & last as Commissioner.

Rnd# Pick# Player Team Pos.
1 Keeper Rob Gronkowski NE TE
2 13 Jay Ajayi Mia RB
3 36 Terrelle Pryor Sr. Wsh WR
4 37 Christian McCaffrey Car RB
5 60 Emmanuel Sanders Den WR
6 61 Kirk Cousins Wsh QB
7 84 Ameer Abdullah Det RB
8 85 Martavis Bryant Pit WR
9 108 Tevin Coleman Atl RB
10 109 Cardinals Ari D/ST
11 132 Willie Snead NO WR
12 133 Mason Crosby GB K
13 156 Carson Wentz Phi QB
14 157 Giants Nyg D/ST

Mother Would Be So Proud II

On Friday I did something that my mother would routinely tell me to do after I did some sort of stupid thing or another while growing up – I had my head examined.

Remember the earache steroid episode from back in June/July? Well, after the doctor ordered the second round of steroids to clear hearing issue he also scheduled an MRI. Two weeks after finishing the steroids and a week before the MRI my hearing is fine so I think I’ll just call off the scan. But I waited another 6 days, until the day before, to call and cancel.

Wouldn’t you know it, but on the way home from work on the Friday the MRI was scheduled for the left ear acts up again. Not only that, it sort of sounds like the right ear going a little wonky too. Naturally by the time I get home and call on a Friday everyone has gone home for the weekend.

I called the imaging place on Monday and ask if I can reinstate the MRI appointment that I had cancelled on Thursday. The nice lady said that she’d be happy to reschedule me. But – uh oh – it looks like the Southside Imaging Center’s MRI machine was down for maintenance. I asked, “Well when will it fixed?” “November,” she says. “You can have the scan done at the hospital,” she says, “They have an MRI machine.” “Great,” I say. “Let’s see when I can get you in…” “How about September 1st?” It is now the third week of July. “Wow,” I say, “If that is as soon as I can get in, I’ll take it.”

The left ear has been good and bad, off and on ever since. The last few days it has seemed fine, so does that mean the MRI won’t see anything up with the auditory nerve? But more importantly will they be able to locate the source inside the brain that causes me to do those stupid things or anothers?

Here is Part 1 of Mother Would Be So Proud from 2006.

Second Saturday in a Row


We have led a Masters Miata Club Event…this week was the annual Bug Splat.

When Donna and I put on this event for the very first time way back in 1999 I had devised it sort of like a rally style start, I would send each car out at 3 minute intervals to guarantee clean air in front of the cars for maximum exposure to bugs. When I tried that the next year everyone balked at it, so I handed out the maps and sent them all on their way. I had underestimated the Club’s love of driving all in one long line (which as it turns out is second only to the love of all eating at one long table no matter how big the group or small the venue.)

By the third year everyone wondered why Donna and I weren’t playing along. When I explained that we didn’t want to steal anyone’s chance at a prize, they all went, “Pshaw, you should have some of the fun too.” We have been leading the line of cars around the route ever since.

It took me a couple of years to figure out the group had ulterior motives for this. They just wanted someone to lead so they wouldn’t have look at a map and/or not get lost, but probably the most likely reason was to decrease their odds of winning the Biggest Bug Trophy which is so ugly it is kind of cool. You either love it or hate it, with the haters having the larger numbers.

As we were loading the trophy in the trunk to bring to the starting point on Saturday, Donna was looking over the list of names of those who have held it in the last 18 years and asked, “How come we haven’t ever won it?”

“Alexa: play ominous music”

That’s right, we won the trophy this year with a silver dollar size splat on the nose of the CTBNL right next to the Mazda logo.