Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Beer = good

Hey everyone.

Well, it's been another week. What have I learned? I have great friends.

I knew that before, of course, but it's always affirming when you get in a big group of happy friends. The picture above was taken at the epicenter of a happy group of friends Monday night in suburban Montgomery. Beer is good. Friends are good. It's all good.

Speaking of All Good, I recently downloaded a copy of Lotus' set at the All Good Festival from earlier this year. It's outstanding. I learned of Lotus only a few weeks ago while listening on Jam_ON via SiriusXM. They're right in my wheelhouse -- a fusion of rock, electronica and jammy jam.

You know what I like about Lotus? They used to be 100% jammy, like a watered-down version of Phish, but they began adding an synth element to their stuff. They have created a new kind of sound; one that is unique to Lotus. It takes courage to break away from the norm, the safe path, and instead do what feels best to you.

I think there's a lesson in there somewhere. It may be applicable.

... and as always, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

A Sunset Strip

Hey everyone.

It's another great day in Lee County. I'm having a great time with my new job, snapping colorful photos, writing fun stories/notebooks and doing play-by-play analyses of the SEC team I cover. You may know them by the "AU" on their helmets.

So what's the latest with me? I love my new camera lenses. I snapped the photo above at dusk one day in July. How did I do that? Well, I used the camera as I navigated down a paved asphalt surface. It's called multi-tasking and I'm pretty new to the whole thing.

I thought the song was appropriately inappropriate.

Don't we all have friends whom we wish would follow "ancient history" and strip? Adam Ant sure does. Or at least did in 1983 when he recorded this minor hit. I'd never name names, of course, and it's important to note that Adam Ant didn't.

So how are you?

(I want to end it there, but I'd be remiss without offering you my favorite salutation: Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.)

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Game Day and Ants: Together As One

Hey everyone.

It's GAME DAY here in the South. It may be GAME DAY somewhere else in the world, too, but I don't care about that. I'm just happy to have a game to attend tonight somewhere in the middle of Georgia.

It involves a team from upstate South Carolina and a team from eastern Alabama. I don't want to spoil it for you.

So why a turtle? Well, we canceled our subscription to the Montgomery Advertiser earlier this week. Until that moment, I had received a newspaper daily since May 1994. It was a sad moment until I realized that newspapers are like turtles -- they change directions slowly, wallow in dirt and honestly believe they're the best animal out there.

We all know the anteater is way better. YOU ALL ARE WITH ME, RIGHT?

If it's good enough for UC-Irvine, it's good enough for me.

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. If you keep grinding, you can rise above the tomfoolery and become a better turtle anteater.

Pass the ants, people. Slurp, slurp, pass. xoxoxo

PHOTO CREDIT: Me. San Diego Zoo, June 2008

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Happy days continue

Hey everyone. Gosh, what a great weekend I had.

Since my new job allows me to cover Auburn athletics without a bunch of busywork piled on, I'm able to finish my work and live my life. It's wondrous. So now I don't have to miss my daughter's soccer matches because of a high-school game or call-ins or similar time-wasting enterprises that appeal to no more than 10 human beings.

Anyway, the Capital City Streaks 02 Girls went 1-2 at the Vestavia tournament last weekend. Lost a heartbreaker to Vestavia, throttled Hoover, took a beatdown from North Atlanta SA.

I'm happy to report that my daughter wasn't carded. That's good.

Just a friendly reminder about my new professional life: I drive to AUBURN, I enjoy SPORTS and I work for a dot.COM.

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

If you keep grinding, better opportunities will come your way. Look at me!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Who's happy? THIS GUY.

Hey everyone.

Well, here's another picture from the Tate Family Stash, this one of a tree outside my home that has been pruned. It's not an analogy about my time with my previous employer, how they broke up with me after I told them I wanted to break up, or anything like that.

It's just a picture of a tree outside my home that has been pruned.

It's been an awesome month. My professional life may be busier, but it's far more enjoyable. I won't go into details about where I work or the web site's address. I can say that I spend a lot of time at AUBURN and I enjoy SPORTS and working for a .COM.

I hope 2012 is being awesome to you as well.

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars! If you're not where you want to be, keep grinding and YOU'LL GET THERE. I'm living proof.

Friday, August 10, 2012

BREAKING NEWS: Dodo lives!

Hey everyone.

Our friends at the Montgomery Advertiser suggested via their forum that "HABOTN.com is going the way of the dodo."

So here, live on the Internet, is a picture of the NOW-EXTINCT DODO.

Please don't distribute this picture among your friends or other media outlets. This is legitimate scoop gleaned from hundreds of hours of interviews and/or investigation.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Isn't Life Rad?

Hey everyone. Well, I sure am enjoying life these days. The weather has been great and my new job is more rewarding than I ever expected. Parlay that with a wonderful wife and daughter -- and you have perfection.

Here's a few pics that demonstrate the wonder of what lies ahead.

But first ... some of you have asked what I've been doing.

I commute to Auburn for work. It's fun.


My life couldn't be better. If you KEEP GRINDING, good people will take notice and you'll be on your way to the big time.

Don't believe me? CHECK THIS OUT :

I enjoyed these after my last day on the previous job. That's a celebration I won't soon forget. LOL




Here's our cat, Sammy. Isn't he lovable? LOL 




This is my younger pug, Howie. Isn't he lovable? LOL LYLAS 




Here's my daughter and her favorite teacher. They're awesome together. LOL LYLAS 


Check out the view from the Ober Gatlinburg chairlift. RIDE THE LIGHTNING. LOL


Mmmm. Pizza. Yummy. LOL


Look at these crazy kids. No, I don't mean Denton and Jimmy Fallon. LOL 


I'm on the track SHOCKING everyone! LOL

Life's so rad!