Psychic Income, Movie Reviews

Over the past 21 years it has been my pleasure, most of the time, to be in the business of race directing triathlons. This experience has been both rewarding and challenging, to say the least. The highs are way into the clouds while the lows are below the surface of the West Texas sandstone. So, as I sit back and reflect on the 21st year of the Buffalo Springs Ironman 70.3 I still wonder what the attraction is to do this and why when it feels good, it feels real good. So good in fact it is almost like sex or riding the Hog, two of the most enjoyable things I can think of. When you spend the time preparing for the event starting one year out, then the last week before the event comes up and the unexpected happens. Now this is stuff that you can’t plan for so you have to shoot from the hip to get it done. Such things as weather, illness or injury to key volunteers, problems with the venue, unhappy athletes for one reason or the other, faulty equipment, etc., etc. So, you dig down deep and make it happen. You actually make it happen so well the athletes never know there was a problem of any kind. I have always said that the key to putting on a successful event is to have things happen behind the scenes that could put a negative on the event but proper correction is done so smoothly that the athletes are not aware of it. My goal has always been to put on a race that all the athlete has to worry about is racing. If he or she has to worry about anything going on with the venue then I have not done my job properly. Then the proof in the pudding is when the event comes to the last racer crossing the finish line and the remark, “great race!!” comes out of their mouth. That is what I call psychic income and I am convinced, after talking to many race directors, that is what keeps all of us in the race directing business. When the racers come up to you and tell you what a great race you have just directed is there is no better feeling. Then the e-mails start coming in about how great the race is, etc. Even when you get the one sore head who thought the down hill on Spiral Staircase was too dangerous, you still just sit back and say,”I love this sport and aren’t downhills part of riding a bicycle?” It was even suggested at one time that maybe we should take that downhill out of the race course, and my reply was simply, “over my dead body.” I have ridden this down hill for over 20 years and have never come close to going down and I tell the racers to be careful and respectful of it or it might get the best of you. If they don’t listen then they may go down, so when you are in my pre-race meeting please listen and ride the course with a good attitude and common sense. On the same token I will have people tell me they love the challenge of the hills, especially Spiral Staircase, and they look forward to doing the race each year. This again puts large tokens of psychic income in the cash drawer of the mind, and prompts me to come back and do it again and again. Fact is, planning is going on for 2012 right now as we speak. Thanks to all my readers out there who might also be competitors in the annual Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3 and if you are not, please take a ride to Lubbock and compete next year.

Movie Reviews:

“The A Team”, ***, Not a bad action movie headed up by Llam Neeson as Hannibal the very smart and cunning leader of some apparent misfits but in the end real action heroes. These guys are Special Forces type guys who get booted out of the service on drummed up charges then decide to make it right by blowing all the bad guys up. Some funny stuff also happens and the “right stuff” good guys win in the end. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence throughout, language and smoking(stogies actually).

“Grown Ups”, ***, Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and David Spade co-star in the comedy about five friends and former teammates who reunite years later to honor the passing of their childhood basketball coach. Now with wives and kids this makes for a very funny movie. Rated PG-13 for crude material including suggestive references, language and some male rear nudity.

“Killers”, *, While I hate to agree with the local critic, it is not a real good movie. Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigi meet in France by mistake, he a contract killer, she an everyday tourist. Some how they get involved and he decides to leave the contract killer business, and she goes goggle eyes with him. Tom Selleck and Catherine O’Hara are supporting characters and they don’t make much sense either. Rated PG-13 for violent action, sexual material and language.

“Knight and Day”, ***, In this case I really disagree with the local critic. This movie stars Tom Cruise, and Cameron Diaz, he a rogue government agent, she is a business person traveling on the same plane. The fire works begin during the flight and then it is an endless parade of action and some great chase scenes. Of course good wins over evil and you have just seen an enjoyable movie. Rated PG-13 for sequences of action violence throughout, and brief strong language.

“Twilight Saga: Eclipse”, ***, To me this was a very boring movie, but well done and for those who like Vampire, Werewolf love stories it is a must. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality.

greerman

Retail service sucks, Movie Reviews

Maybe I have mentioned this before but here goes again, SERVICE in retail stores now really sucks. While tooling down the loop the other day my left front tire on my pick up blew out, at about 70 mph. The good news is that while I lost over half of the tread the wire mesh that is under the treads was able to hold the tire together enough that it held air and I could drive it about 30 mph. So, I pulled into the closest new tire replacement center and tell the guy I want 4 new tires for my pickup. Now this tire store has been in business in Lubbock since 1937 so I am assuming that they do their thing very good, and have for a long time. Turns out that when I went in the one guy that was behind the desk acted like it was an inconvenience for me to be there and he really didn’t have much time to deal with me. Ordinarily I would make an about face and go somewhere else, but as I mentioned my tire blew out (I also emphasized this with him, again), so I was stuck with him and his place of business. After I nearly pried him off of his dead butt to walk 3 feet to the counter to wait on me he gave me the price, installed and I said okay do it. After paying for the tires he then tells me that he doesn’t have anyone in the shop to install them and I would have to go across town to their other store to get them installed. Did I mention here that I had a blow out??? So, I figured out the best route to get to his other store and I walk in with my receipts you would think I was completely camouflaged since there was no recognition of my entrance. Two of the guy were working their I phones and the other one was ignoring me. When I finally got their attention I am told that it may be an hour and a half before they can get to it, then another 45 minutes to complete it. Now the original guy told me 30 minutes, total. When I told the new guy this he got very belligerent, and said it wouldn’t happen in 30 minutes. He then proceeded to tell me he didn’t care what the other guy promised me, that what he said was the final word. Now, I am getting steamed and I advise him that I really don’t like the way this tire installation is going and that I have my receipt and promises but see nothing happening. He then says, “well where are your new tires? Didn’t you bring them with you he asks?” I then reply that I was not told I had to bring them with me from the other store and I really wasn’t in the tire delivery business. And these guys have been in business one year longer than my age, bet they didn’t build their business on this kind of service. Finally he agreed to get it done as soon as possible but he was really pissed about it. So, I take my seat in the dusting, dirty, rodent infected waiting room, pick up a book about junk automobiles, naked women, and the best tattoo artists in the city. About that time a fellow customer of this place comes in and sits down beside me with his dirty white tank top and body art from each wrist all over his arms, top part of his chest and who knows what below the waste. After looking at his body art I look at my one lonely piece of work on my left arm and wonder how he took the pain I know is associated with kind of application, especially on the inside of the arms. After wondering for a few minutes I just had to ask him, “hey dude just out of curiosity how did you take the pain associated with the application of those body arts?” I showed him mine and told him it hurt like hell and having it done all over my arms would have been like some kind of Chinese torture. He said it took him over 8 hours to get them done and he actually went to sleep while the artist was going their thing. Amazing I thought but then the real kicker came out of his mouth, he said, “I actually had just got out of 12 years being in prison so anything I did felt better than being in the slammer.” Funny the kind of people you meet in a sleazy tire shop with lousy service. After a few more minutes the guy comes into the waiting room and says, “your truck is ready and I am not going to charge you any extra.” I look at him and grin wondering what would I be charged extra for? But I just said, “thanks”, got me keys and peeled out my new rubber as I left his place. WARNING: If you are ever in Lubbock, Texas and have need of new tires DO NOT go to York Tire Company Inc., I don’t care if they have been in business since 1937. They suck!!

Movie Review: “Prince of Persia”, **, This movie is just above the old Grade B movie recognition with some good acting by Jake Gyllenhall, and Sir Ben Kingsley. The princess played by Gemma Aterton is very fitting to provide a good looking woman for all the men to lust after. Gyllenhall plays a poor urchin orphan that is adopted by a King and treated as his own, so he is privileged with good upbringing and position but really remains a street fighter and un- disciplined adopted prince. The story revolves around the princess’s quest for a magical dagger that can actually turn back time. So, the fight is on so see who can come up with this dagger. Somewhat boring, but does have some deceit action scenes. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.

“Sex and The City 2”, ***, Since I had never watched any of the previous TV or the movie concerning S & S I really did not know what to expect. But now that the four ladies who play the lead parts are grown up and mature I probably enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. Sarah Jessica Parker is back as Carrie (now married), Kim Cattrall is back as the successful slut Samantha and she does her sexual stuff with two great soft porno scenes and gets the other three in trouble while in Abu Dhabi. Kristin Davis plays Charlotte, and Cynthia Nixon plays Miranda. A massive gay wedding gets starts the movie with Carrie being the best man/woman. With some side stories concerning each of the four best friends and then the top story concerning their trip to exotic Dhabi keeps you interested. It is definitely a girlie movie but was interesting to me since I had never watched any of them in the past. Rated R for some strong sexual content (you mean when Samantha is laying naked with a naked man in between her and there are simulating sexual intercourse in two different scenes?) Soft porn all the way and language.

greerman

Camouflage, Book Reviews, Movie Reviews

Camouflage is the art of disguising something so you can’t see it, or you look in the direction it is located in and it doesn’t appear to be there. The military, especially the Army has this art down to a science. When I was a 2nd Lt. platoon leader while on active duty I was told by my commanding officer to take my platoon, including 37 men, two tanks, two recon vehicles, and one armored personnel carrier and camouflage it so he couldn’t see it. So, me being 24 years of age and eager to please my commander I told my non-commissioned officers what the CO has ask me to do. These guys were combat veterans with many years experience hiding their position from the enemy. After we got the platoon into the combat camouflaged position the CO headed our way and then came on the radio with something like this: “Romeo 16 this is Romeo 6, what is your position?” I replied, “Romeo 6 this is Romeo 16, look straight ahead and you will find our location.” A few minutes passed(in my camouflaged position I could see the CO with his binoculars out trying to find us, so I knew we had done our job very well) and he still couldn’t see us. Our position was in real green foliage and until the leaves turned brown from winter we were likely to stay hidden until the seasons did change. He then got real pissed and said, “Romero 16 this is Romero 6, where in the hell are you?” My reply, “Romeo 6 this is Romeo 16, you are looking straight at us but for us to make any movement we will reveal ourselves to our enemy and we can’t do that.” Now he was double pissed and I wondered what the hell I was thinking. This guy was a seasoned Captain and a ring knocker from West Point, while I was a lowly 2nd Lt. from some ROTC program in Texas and what did I know? What I did start to consider was he would get so mad that he might relieve me of my command and send me to the brig for insubordination. While I was just having a little fun with him he was shining his Captain bars to the point of them not having a shine left and I could see my butter bar Lt. bars turning to real butter as they melted off of my collar and I was now a much lower private. Maybe this was a little extreme, but this guy was a career guy and I was just in for the mandatory 2 year active duty hitch(little did I know that I would continue in the active reserves for another 22 years and then retire as a Lt. Colonel, actually out ranking this guy). But wait a minute I have started to ramble, I must get back to the story. Now I have to figure out how to get out of this quagmire brought on by doing my job better than he thought I could and making him feel I was his top platoon leader. So, I decided to have my tank gunner move the main gun of the tank just a little bit and see if they could pick up on this. Turns out the Captain did see it and now he was a happy camper knowing exactly where I was, but also knowing that the thoroughness of my camouflage job and had come out with very high. While I didn’t get promoted right there on the spot he was shaking my hand later that night around the officers’ club bar!! He even bought me a beer!! What a guy!! Now as I look around me some 40 plus years later I see camouflage stuff everywhere. The other day I went into Ganders to buy some hand held radios, lo and behold they are camouflaged and as I looked around the store I had trouble finding the sales clerks because they had on camouflaged jackets and pants. They just blended in to the point that I thought they might be manikins. Finally I found someone moving around the store and realized I had a real live person. My memory went back to the day my Captain couldn’t find me and now here I am in a retail store and I can’t find the sales person because of their camouflaged outfit. The simple conclusion here is that, sometimes things are just not what they appear to be!! Duh!!

Book Review, Past and Current: “Living Successfully with Screwed-Up People” ****, written by Elizabeth Brown and possibly reviewed by me before. Regardless, I have found it an interesting book and one that can be reviewed, especially after having to deal with “screwed up people” in my daily life. Guess this happens to all of us and Ms. Brown has some interesting observations.

“Unplayable” ****, written by Robert Lusetich. This is the story of the 2009 golf season as experienced by Tiger Woods. It is not a tell all or one that dwells on his off the golf course problems, even though it is mentioned infrequently. Lusetich has been writing about Tiger since he came on the tour as a professional and is very fair with him. He has no axe to grind and is very fair in his assessment and is very thorough about his comeback season of 2009, also billed as an inside account of Tiger’s most tumultuous season. Whether you like golf, or Tiger you will find this a good read about the subject. It will not move mountains, and tall buildings, or even change the world, but it is interesting.

Movie Review: “Ironman 2”, ****, this is a very good movie starting where it left off with Ironman 1 in 2008. Robert Downey Jr. remains fun to watch both as cocky billionaire Tony Stark and Iron Man. The big difference now is that he announced to the world that he is Ironman and now he is expected to save the world by signing over the rights of Ironman to the government defense program. Can you imagine how screwed up it would be with the government in charge of it. In addition there is a true villain in tattooed Russian physicist Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke. Samuel L. Jackson is back with a small but effective role, and Gwyneth Paltrow is back to be promoted to CEO of Stark Industries. Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language.

“Robin Hood”, ****, this is also a very good movie, very entertaining and gives us the prequel to Robin Hoods’ life before he became the folk hero of Sherwood Forest and Nottingham. The acting is beyond reproach with Russell Crowe, Kate Blanchett, and William Hurt. The photography of the battle scenes was excellent, very realistic. Rated: PG-13 for violence including intense sequences of warfare, and some sexual content.

greerman

No time, Book Reviews, Movie Reviews

Well it is about time I got back to this blogging thing and it is not like I haven’t had anything to say, it is just that the time has gotten away from me and I have that age old excuse, just too busy. My too busy excuse is a good one but along the way I have missed out on sharing some big items in life. For example, I went to Home Depot the other day to shop for a new lawn mower and when I went into the yard care department I ask the guy if he could help me (fair question I thought!). He looked at me kind of strange and then said, “just a minute I am helping a customer.” Well bub, what do you think I am fried minced meat? I went ahead and waited for help and then lo and behold I bought the mower in spite of just being another platter of fried minced meat. Retail sales people just don’t get it sometimes. Without the steady flow of customers into their stores they would not be in business, so how about appreciating us a little bit. Then I had the excuse of helping host the USA Triathlon National Collegiate Championship, held for the second year in a row in Lubbock. This event is really kind of weird since it brings college triathletes from over 100 universities/colleges throughout the USA to compete for the title of National Champions. Not quite like the collegiate major sports playoffs or bowl games, but still a very competitive group of college athletes. The event went off well except for some very bad weather with rain for 5 days, high winds and cold temperatures. In spite of that the event went off as planned and we had a new National Champion team from the University of Colorado, while the defending champions from the Naval Academy came in third. Lubbock did a great job of hosting the event and could not be held responsible for the weather, God did that!! The other thing that is taking my time is the marketing work I am doing for Athletes Honey Milk, ever try getting the suppliers to milk 200,000 dairy cows and then chase down some honey bees for the sweetness that goes in Athletes Honey Milk? Not an easy task I can tell you. I was asked how we milk honey bees (cows are easy) and my reply is simple, very carefully. My promise now is to get a post at least once a week; I have too much to say to not be typing.

Book Reviews: “Vampire Hunter”, ****, the story (true from his journals) about Abraham Lincoln (yes the 16th president of the United States) and his vampire hunter days. Whether you believe it or not a very well done book by Seth Grahame-Smith. If for no other reason read it out of curiosity, I did.

“The Stuff of Thought”, **, written by Steven Pinker to give us a little idea of why the thoughts of our mind work the way they do. Very intellectual and confusing, hard to follow, hard to concentrate. Probably a pass on this book is my recommendation.

“Murder City”, ****, A true story of the “killing fields” of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. This was recommended to me by my good friend, Mark Balsiger, since he lived very close to this danger every day in his past work. A very sad true story of the many murders that transpire in this border city next to El Paso, Texas, almost every day of the week. More have been murdered in the last year than the total deaths of the Iraqi war. If the USA doesn’t have enough to do with the wars in the Iraq and Afghan maybe we need to invade Mexico and clean this place up, after all it is on our borders.

Movie Reviews: “Date Night”, ***, Tina Frey and Steve Carell play a typical suburban couple whose lives have become routine. To reignite their marital spark, they visit a trendy Manhattan bistro. But when they claim a missing couple’s reservation, a case of mistaken identity turns their evening into a horror and humorous story. A good one to go see and relax a little bit. Rated PG-13 for sexual and crude content throughout, language, some violence and a drug reference. (Not really as bad as it sounds in this description).

“Kick-Ass”, ***, A well done cute movie about new action heroes. Chloe Grace Moretz plays Hit Girl the 11 year old crime fighter Mindy, with affection for butterfly blades and aiming kill shots into the head. While Kick Ass is really the star of the movie Hit Girl actually takes the spot light. The story line is guided by Hit Girls father, played by Nicolas Cage, and it involves sweet revenge on the mafia types who have betrayed him in the past. Rest assured the action heroes get their man, after much battle and bloodshed. Entertaining movie and the sequel will be great. Rated R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and drug use, some involving children. WOW—I didn’t realize it was all that bad, but guess it was.

greerman

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Why is it(continued?), Movie Review(ugh!!)

Why is it (continued)? _When two dogs, one small and one large, chase me while I am riding the bicycle, why is it the little dog bites me and the large dog just barks? Is this where the saying, “his bark is much bigger than his bite” came from? _Why is it when I ride the bicycle the wind is always in my face? Could this be why they call it a “head wind?” _Why is it when I turn my left signal light on while driving and then I turn right, people look at me strange? Could it be they just don’t get creative people and it confuses them? _ Why is it that when I was driving on the highway today and the Texas state trooper was on the other side of the four lane Interstate I felt secure, even though I was speeding. Could it be he couldn’t make a U turn or did he have his radar turned off or maybe he was taking a nap or maybe he just didn’t care at that point or possibly his radar was out of order or maybe he wears glasses and didn’t have them on?_ Why is it that it seems as though everyone is dying, every time I open the arbitrary page of the newspaper it has nothing but death notices in it?_Why is it everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die to get there? Could it be they might be afraid of going straight to hell, not passing go and not collecting $200.00?_Why is it we don’t have to lick stamps anymore? Could it be that the glue was actually toxic and all the people in the arbitrary pages use to lick more than their share of stamps, and just died?_Why is it when I go to a restaurant and order water to drink they still ask me what I want to drink? Seems clear to me, I am drinking water for my drink. Then I find that to get a refill of water, when water is my drink, it is much harder than if say I was drinking a margarita. The way they pounce on you to order another one you would think the world is running out of tequila._Why is it when I am riding my big black Hog with all kinds of noise and poise, men stare at me? Is it possibly a gay thing and I don’t realize it, or is it just outright unadulterated jealousy? It really doesn’t matter to me but I hate for them to waste time looking at me when they could be scoping the good looking women!

Movie Review: “Repo Men”, 0 no star here, This is one of the most gross movies I have even seen. Such a waste of good acting talent in Jude Law and Forest Whitaker. It is way into the future, year not given, and people can buy artificial hearts, pancreas, and livers; however, the cost is over $600,000.00 and they can finance them. The big kicker is that if they get 90 days behind in their payments the repo men will come cut the parts out of the body and leave them to die. It is the bloodiest movie I have seen in some time, maybe even the bloodiest of all. It is a very depressing stupid movie and the producers tried to redeem themselves with a reasonably happy ending, I think. Go at your own risk and do not pay full fare. Rated PG-13 for strong bloody violence, grisly images, language and some sexuality/nudity.
greerman

Why Is It? Book Review, Movie Reviews

Why is it: 1. when I walk up to a place of business and they have two entrance doors, one is always locked and I pick that one to enter the store? Why not just leave both unlocked? 2. When I walk up to these two doors and there is a sign pointing to the unlocked door and I always pull or push on the locked door? 3. When I walk up to the same set of doors and it says, “pull” I always “push?” or When I walk up to the same set of doors and it says, “push” I always, “pull?” 4. When I have to pee real badly I hit all of the red lights in town? 5. When I have to pee real badly and I go to a public rest room there is someone in the rest room taking what seems like 30 minutes to get out of there? 5. When I am in a hurry to get somewhere I pick the roads that are being worked on? 6. When I am on these same roads the traffic is worse than ever and the turn lanes are to the left and I need to go right. 7. When I fill up the Explorer with gasoline and sit in inside to get in out of the cold the automatic release doesn’t work and gasoline fills the streets? 8. When I order jalapeno peppers at Col Sanders they are out? 9. When I go into the post office to send a package there is a big line in addition there are people sending at least 100 packages each. 10. When I go into the post office to get my passport done they are out of forms? 11. When I go into to have buy license plates for my automobiles I forget the insurance form? 12. When I go to the grocery store I can’t find what I am looking for and then the person I ask can’t find it either? 13. When I get caught speeding I never have an emergency excuse when the officer asks me, “do you have an emergency?” 14. When I get ready to mow the yard, someone has stolen my lawn mower? 15. When I get ready to edge the grass after buying a new lawnmower someone has stolen my edger? 16. When I work a trade show people always ask if I am having fun? 17. When I work a trade show my feet always hurt so badly I feel like I have been standing on concrete all day, which I have? 18. When Christmas approaches everyone ask, “Are you going to have a big Christmas?” 19. When Christmas is over everyone asks, “Did you have a big Christmas?” 20. When it rains the cattle feed lots smell worse than other times plus the odor blows in my direction no matter which way I am going? Enough for today, now back to my George Carlin book. He is my hero of sarcasm, too bad he decided to die.

Book Review: “Getting Naked”, ****, No this is not a porno book and is really a straight forward business fable. Written by Patrick Lencioni, it is a true story about shedding the three fears that sabotage client loyalty in the consulting business world. Has great application in any business atmosphere and really has to do with, “being yourself!” Nothing wrong with that and it is a great story about being honest with yourself and other people. One noted person, the author of The One Minute Manager said: “Put your feet up, check your ego at the door, and read Getting Naked. It’s such an enjoyable read, you may finish the book in one sitting, but you will remember its message forever.”

Movie Reviews: “Alice In Wonderland,” ***, Johnny Depp plays the part of the mad hatter while Mia Wasikowski portrays the 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl. Well done movie with great color and imagination in the supporting characters. One for the kids for sure. Rated PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar (WOW, I don’t remember all that violence, but do remember the smoking caterpillar).

“The Bounty Hunter,” ** overall rating, but ***** for having to watch Jennifer Aniston in nearly every scene. This is basically a very boring movie and really wastes some good actors. Gerald Butler, current gruffly looking heart throb, plays a disgraced policeman turned bounty hunter. His next bail-jumping client is his ex-wife, Aniston, and the story goes from there to the bitter end, which is very predictable. Don’t spend prime time fare on this one. Rated PG for sexual content including suggestive comments, language and some violence (you mean when he locks poor Jennifer up in the trunk of the car?)

“She’s Out of My League,” *** overall rating, but ***** for having to watch Alice Eve as Molly, (WOW, you talk about easy to look at, even brings out some lust thoughts!!). Jay Baruchel stars as an average, everyday guy who cannot believe his good luck. While stuck in a seemingly dead end job as an airport security agent (TSA), he meets Molly, a successful and outrageously gorgeous woman—and she falls for him. He is stunned. So are his friends (funny conversations between his group in weird airport scenes make the movie worthwhile), his family (very dysfunctional bunch, but puts some good rough edge comedy in the movie), and even his ex-girlfriend. Rated R for language and sexual contact.

greerman