Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Well, I finally broke down and did it. Frustrated that I’ll never become a member of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club For Scientists like some people I know, I dispatched with my hair altogether. I’m now a member of the no-hair posse, including Michael Stipe, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Jordan, Patrick Stewart, and Jimmy Buffett. Heck, even some local geeks have “the look.”

I’ll try this out this holiday season to see how it fits. If I like it, I may never use a comb again.

(Pics of this metamorphasis coming soon, of course.)

Dear Tom Cruise

Dear Tom Cruise,

Please – as fast as you possibly can – please drop off the face of the Earth. Your fifteen minutes of fame were up perhaps twenty years ago. You couldn’t act your way out of a wet paper bag, you’re as dumb as a box of rocks, and to top it off you’re a fruitcake of the first order.

Please – do the rest of us a favor and just go away.

Your Pal (not),
Mark

Arrivederci, Amato

After yesterday’s trouncing by the lowly Tar Heels, I think Chuck will soon be packing his bags.

I hear there’s a spot open on Bobby Bowden’s staff . . .

Outage No More

MT.Net is back online after some unfortunate timing. The server went offline Tuesday morning, right when I was due to catch a plane. I had 20 minutes to try to fix things but was unsucessful. Today (Sunday) was the first day I had a chance to work on it again. Turns out that a bad switch is at fault. Bah.

I’ve been saving up the posts since then, so don’t worry your pretty little heads. It’s good to be back.

November Sailing

That. Was. Awesome.

Four hours sailing on Lake Gaston. Steady breeze and sunny skies, with a high in the upper 70s. Even the launching and recovering wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected.

We took my buddy Scott with us, who had fun in spite of missing his sunglasses. The kids did well, too. Hallie took the helm for a moment yesterday as I went forward to retrieve a line. Travis had a nasty fall late in the day, falling backward in the cabin and hitting his head. He recovered quickly like the champ he is, though.

That marks the sixth time we’ve taken the boat out since we bought it in August. I think it was the best sail yet.

Happy Veteran’s Day

Happy Veteran’s Day to my fellow vets. You know who you are. Never forget what you’ve done, and what those vets who came before you have done. And above all, don’t let pretenders take away those things for which you’ve worked so hard.

We’re going to spend Veteran’s Day sailing on Lake Gaston if I can find the courage to launch and recover the boat while waist-deep in water in the middle of November. Above the surface things should be perfect with highs in the upper 70s and a 10 to 15 MPH wind. Wish us luck.

RIP, Ed Bradley

I was saddened to read that longtime “60 Minutes” reporter Ed Bradley died today from complications from leukemia. If reporters get any better than Bradley, I haven’t seen ’em. That man was so smooth that just about everyone opened up and spilled their guts to him. Man, I loved watching his stories. I always learned something.

When you compare him to what passes for network news today (cough Katie Couric cough) you really appreciate guys like Bradley. Can you imagine Couric walking around the dangerous streets of Baghdad the way Bradley did Saigon during Vietnam? I didn’t think so.