This American Life article on Baghdad Workers

I am not a big fan of "This American Life". It is usually too crazy or too left leaning for my tastes. Today, though, there was a fantastic article on two guys who worked their way to Baghdad and started working. It is in Act 2. Listen to the whole thing, because it had a dramatic ending.

Oak Mountain - Mountain Bike Trail

Had a great ride today, in Birmingham, Al, and thought that I would promo the park. Oak Mountain State Park is located near the intersection of I65 and I459 and is very accessible. The park charges a $3 daily entrance fee, but well worth it.


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The trail was built and is maintained by BUMP (Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers). Their trail map is located here and the club information on the trail is here.

I started at the North Trailhead and went counter-clockwise. This took me through the sections of the trail named Red Road to Cabin Road, The Chimneys, The Rock Garden, the Camp Road, Seven Bridges, Terrace Drive (Road), Mr Toad's Wild Ride, Foreplay and Johnson's Mountain. Due to time limitations, I returned to the road and returned to the North Trailhead (a mistake, by the way - all uphill). A very good beginner and intermediate ride. Johnson's Mountain has a couple of tough uphill sections, but the other sections were very fun and most were pretty fast.

In the past, I have have started at the North Trailhead and ridden clock-wise, up the Red Road and the BUMP Trail. The rise is a killer up the Red Road and the BUMP Trail is tough. This is the reason that I started counter-clockwise this time.

The next planned ride will be to start at the South Trailhead and ride up Johnson's Mountain, the BUMP Trail and the Red Road, then either road back to the South Trailhead or take the North to South Trailhead sections.

Kudo's to BUMP for a great riding trail!

An Eagle Ceremony for Jake Dovgan

Attended a great Eagle award ceremony for a scout, or whom I was Den Leader. The Scout is Jake Dovgan. He asked me to speak and I thought that I would attach my speech to give an impression of what a great scout this boy is. The ceremony was great with presentation of the Eagle Rank, presentation of special congressional letter from Congressman John Duncan's office and a great reception.

My speech:

Quiet Determination. As I pondered how best to describe Jake and my observations of him throughout his Cub Scouting, these words came immediately to mind. Quiet describes how he conducts himself and approaches the world.

In Isaiah 32:17, Isaiah writes….

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet and confidence forever.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:11 we are exhorted to ….

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands

Jake you certainly embody this exhortation throughout your cub scouting, whether through attentiveness in Den meetings or leadership of activities, such as our many hikes through the Charit Creek area. I know that you will continue to carry the quiet of righteousness throughout your life.

Determination has certainly been reflected in your scouting career.

I recently read a biography on President Harry Truman, where, when facing continuous crises, his motto was to simply get the job done. No fuss. No expectation of accolades. Harry Truman said

America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to simply do the job at hand.

I saw these same characteristics reflected repeatedly, whether through determination in earning your Webelos swimming pin or in diligence to completing your scouting advancement. As Cubmaster for Pack 22, I saw your work as Den Chief as integral to the success of our pack and clear exhibition of determination to give back to the Cub Scout pack. I like sports quotes, so I picked this out. Vince Lombardi wrote….

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the
determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of
ourselves to the task at hand.

Jake you have certainly applied the best of yourself to the task at hand, in achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, with quiet determination. I congratulate you and I am proud to have been associated with a small part of your journey.

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Cheekwood Mansion - Nashville

Got a chance to visit Cheekwood Mansion in Nashville, TN for an all too brief Saturday afternoon. A wonderful place and a credit to Nashville. The museum contains an art collection, where they were featuring a display on "The 8", american artists at the turn of the century, who defied conventional art wisdom of the time.

The grounds were also nice. Though hot, the walk around the gardens was cooling and fun. There are many garden sections and a person can find an area which they will like. I wish we lived in the Nashville area, simply to have a garden pass and be able to come and go for relaxation.

Cheekwood was a great place to visit.

Maggiano's Italian Restaurant - Nashville

My wife and I got a chance to have a free night in Nashville and found a great restaurant. Named Maggiano's and located in the Vanderbilt area, the restaurant had great food, great wine and a family atmosphere. The portions were good and the waiter was especially good! I recommend it highly!

Traffic - looks like an interesting new book

An interesting new book is be promoted, related to the causes of behavior in traffic situations. USA today had an interesting review and NPR's Fresh Air had a short interview with the author, Tom Vanderbilt. Among the thought are Mr. Vanderbilt's support for "zippering", as I have discussed in a previous post, and support for traffic circles, which I like.

In addition to these areas, he delves into the psychology of what causes different driving behaviors in different people. Looks like a good read. Ordered my copy from Amazon today!

The Teton's Trip

We pulled the "Great American Vacation" with a trip from Knoxville to the Grand Teton's National Park for the last two weeks. Absolutely beautiful and relaxing. We stayed at Coulter Bay Campground. Hiking, fishing, canoeing, swimming, all done. The highest recommendations possible.

Two and a half days driving from Knoxville to the park, so a long haul, but well worth it.




We took a day trip to Yellowstone and could have spent the whole time there (except for the crowds). Fantastic.

A Great Summer Day

Summer is finally here. Today is a great day. We started with baseball games, to finish the KYS season. A loss for the Mets and we are in the lower bracket for the tournament next week.

Following the games, a little light yard work, refurbishing the pond, with new fish, a new filter and new plants. Colleen got to pick and name a new fish, classically called "Goldie" (very original).

The kids spent two hours at the pool and Dad got a two hour afternoon nap. The pool was newly cold, which won't last. Two weeks from now, the water will move from cool to tepid to bathwater warm by August. The nap was a classic warm, laying in the sun, in-and-out sleep, with the radio lightly going with classical music.

We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner, with fresh corn on the grill. A great dinner for a great day. The simple satisfaction of a day restfully spent. The night closed with flashlight tag with the neighborhood kids in pack, while we eagerly await the fireflies.

Knox Catholic wins TN State Soccer Championship A/AA

Knox Catholic won the Tennessee State Championship for soccer, beating CAK (5 time state champs) 3-0. Good coverage for the game at the following links:

WBIR Coverage.

Knoxnews.com article.

WVLT TV Sports Extra.

Life Lessons - The fine art of water-balloon tying

A great afternoon, heading into summer. I spent a few minutes this afternoon passing on a crucial life skill to my sons. Most dad's would pass on business skills, discussions of the opposite sex, or fighting arts. Today, though, I transcended all these more mundane topics and passed on the fine art of how to tie a water balloon. A skill much used in the summer months at our house, this crucial skill is slowing dying in the U.S., I am afraid. More water balloons, anyone?

NPR misses with the Body Farm report

NPR had an article today related to the Charles Manson ranch near Death Valley, and in the article referred to the Oak Ridge National Lab Body Farm. As a proud Tennessee alumni, I was unhappy with the inaccuracy of the reporting. NPR is usually better about checking their facts and relationships, especially when they themselves have reported on the Body Farm in past articles. The Body Farm, started by Dr. Bill Bass, is associated with the University of Tennessee, not ORNL.

Knox Catholic heading to the State Soccer Playoffs

Knox Catholic is heading for the state soccer playoffs this week. Games Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday (as long as they keep winning). I believe that the most serious competition will be CAK out of the loser's bracket. We have to see about another split soccer weekend this weekend!

Good luck Catholic!

Severe Weather - Knoxville

Maureen and I drove through the area of severe weather in Knoxville. Evidently, a microburst rolled through Knoxville. We drove through the Rocky Hill area and Northshore and Papermill area. At Aubrey's in Papermill, we noticed cars up to the door in water.



The creek at Northshore and Baum Drive (in front of Sacred Heart) was running at the bridge in front of the Cathedral and over the bridge at the Chancellery Office.

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A Major Defficiency in Auto Web Sites

I am in the market for a new car, as I have a 16 year old soon-to-be licensed driver. Don't get me started on the insurance costs..... Anyway, with a large family, I have special requirements (at least five seats). As I have scanned and scanned new and used car web sites, I have not found, on a single site, how many can fit in a car. No listing of number of seat belts, no listing of number of passangers, nothing. I have looked in the build section, in the specifications, on the front pages, nothing. I challenge the web site designers and marketers to fix this greivous deficiency.

Traffic Circle Suggestions for Knoxville

I have written in the past about traffic circles. I have two additional intersections which would benefit from traffic circles, where traffic needs to kept moving and in general is low to moderate pace of traffic. The first is at the intersection of Gleason and Gallaher View. This intersection is usually low traffic, but backs up tremendously during rush hour and on Saturday mornings. The shape of the intersection is also odd, which could rectified or fit into the traffic circle design.


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The second intersection which could benefit from a traffic circle is the intersection Cross Park Drive and Park Village Drive in the Cedar Bluff area. Traffic backs up during early morning and late morning rush hour.


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Both these intersections are four way stops and suffer from the "Stop Sign Menace", where you have drivers who are too impatient to wait their turn and double-pull into the intersection and suffer from drivers who do not monitor whose turn is is to go through the four way stop. A traffic circle is the best option for these intersections.

Are you a good steward?

I was asked this question yesterday and it had a profound effect on my thoughts for the last 24 hours. "Are you a good steward?" In both a religious and secular sense, this question brings quick clarity. A steward is a person who controls assets and makes decisions for those things which do not belong to him. Your goal as a steward is to continually improve those assets which are entrusted to you. The status quo is not acceptable for a true and good steward.

"Are you a good steward?" This question strikes quickly to any issue facing where a person spends their time. "Are you a good steward?" Am I spending my time as I should, with my work, home and family life? Am I giving guidance to my children? Am I doing all that I should to help my work colleagues? Is my attitude correct in all relationships? There are a host of questions which are generated when this question is applied.

Are you a good steward? I am still working to answer this question.

Mu Alpha Theta for Marty

Marty was inducted into Mu Alpha Theta, high school math honor society, this afternoon. Short but good ceremony for both Mu Alpha Theta and National Honor Society, held at Knox Catholic.

Zipper in merging situations

I heard the zipper term from a European colleague of mine. The definition is that, during merging situations from two lanes to one, that cars alternate in merging. What a great concept for the United States. There are too many situations where the signs for merging indicate that a merge is required 1-2 miles down the road. All the traffic comes to a screeching halt and the merging process starts way to early. The entire lane that is being merged is empty, and a lot of road capacity is wasted.

What is worse are those individuals who feel the need to enforce this premerger behavior, by getting in the merging lane and going as slow as possible. Then there are the people who will swerve into your lane as you pass, to intimidate you, and creating a dangerous situation.

Now we have highway signs that indicate "Start Merging Now", two miles before the merge occurs. Not only is is crazy, but the state governments are supporting it. Let's use common sense, some merging civility (see previous post) and also use the highway capacity. Zipper together and keep the traffic moving.