A Man of God and Full of Love

Watch until the very end.

The Great Blizzard of 2010

This morning I went out and took a few pictures of the snow on the ground. You can see them here

Big Trucks go Zoom

The best thing about the training I went to yesterday was the location. During lunch I walked to an overpass of I-85 and took some pictures and the video below. Tractor trailers passing 20 feet below you at 80mph is quite a rush.

An Older Live Photograph

This picture of Patterson Hood of the Drive by Truckers is from the second time I saw the band. I've always liked this picture. I like the blurred motion of Patterson and the big smile on the fan at his feet. This show took place at the Visulite Theater here in Charlotte, NC. This show was the first time I saw them after they broke out. I was afraid I would be the only big DBT fan there and was surprised to see about 1000 other screaming maniacs. Classic show for me.

Resting Players at the End of a Football Season

I know there is some controversy concerning playoff bound teams resting players at the end of the long NFL season. Even the commissioner isn't crazy about it. I find this to be similar to the concern NASCAR has about restrictor plate racing; neither side is addressing the real issue. The only solution to playoff teams sitting down their starters when winning no longer helps their playoff seeding is to make the season shorter. With a shorter season it will not be as easy to lock up top seedings and there will be less concern with the wear and tear of a brutal sport. With the NFL considering adding more games to the regular season you can see that there will be no solution to this problem. I don't really see it as a problem. That's is just the nature of football; it's a tough sport and it's a long season. Being able to rest your starters is a reward for having a big season and securing your division early and getting a high playoff seed.

Put down phone, focus on driving

The blog at Creative Loafing has a nice entry about cell phones and driving. I am very down with this. A few years ago I had two very close calls while driving and both involved some guy yacking away on his cell phone. I am guilty of picking mine up now and then when it rings but I get off ASAP and hang up immediately if I enter tricky traffic. Talking on a cell phone and driving is a lot like using your cell phone in the library, if you are going to have a half hour conversation do it somewhere else.

Hick'ry Hawkins

Yesterday there was a benefit at the Comet Grill and one of the performers was Hick'ry Hawkins. This is a video of a real good song called "New York Doll." Hick'ry is kind of a mixed bag because his serious songs are really, really good but he has a few novelty type songs that aren't of the same caliber.

What a hose job

I didn't watch consistently but when I checked it in it was hilarious. Too bad he wasn't given a chance to make the show his own.

Airport Overlook

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day Melanie and I went out to the airport overlook here in Charlotte for the first time. Ever since seeing pictures that others have taken there on Flickr I've been wanting to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found there.

The first thing you notice is a lot of other cars there and then a great view of downtown Charlotte
























Then you see all the people who arrived there in all those cars.
























There are a lot of kids there. Must be a nice cheap way to keep your kids occupied for a couple of hours.

























Then big airplanes start dropping out of the sky













































My favorite part of the landing is the wheel smoke.


























I want to go out there again soon. I hope next time I can catch some departures.

A Mystery

I discovered my bird bath shattered so I called in the local crime scene investigator.

Untitled from ed mcdonald on Vimeo.