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gbdub,

We have a watch club…

gbdub,

We have a watch club here in Huntsville but it hasn't been very active this year; we met for every game last year.  If you are on Facebook, the group is North Alabama UofM Fans. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/121351124881823/).  There are just under 100 people in the group.

There are a lot of Michigan alums here in Huntsville and a lot of non-alum, transplanted Michigan people fans as well.  I have been here for 33 years.

We had family in town for the semifinals and secured the club room at our apartment complex and it was a pretty good place to watch though we had to bring in our own food and drinks.  We may do the same for this game.  Otherwise, we will probably watch at Drake's on Whitesburg - and hopefully they will turn up the sound on the TV's.

Send me a PM if you are interested.  Wait, do we have PM's on this site?  If not, we can figure out an alternate means of contact.

 

Funny thing..  I missed it…

Funny thing..  I missed it but my girlfriend saw it and she had to rewind to watch it again!

 

8) Ryan Day's excessive use…

8) Ryan Day's excessive use of Grecian Formula 16 on his beard.

I saw this today and it made…

I saw this today and it made me laugh.  Note the misspelling is not mine!

I second the recommendation…

I second the recommendation for LMNT (pronounced 'Element').  I am a climber and both did heavy keto last summer to cut 35 pounds *and* climbed tons outdoors in the heat here in Alabama.  I had nasty cramps; I even had both thighs cramp at the same time.  I do 2 - 3 LMNT packets *and* drink GatorLyte when I climb or work outdoors in the heat.

Note: I am a cpa/computer geek and not a doctor, so this is not official advice.  For your kids, I would run it by a doctor.

I have a female friend who…

I have a female friend who recently got divorced.  She filed for divorce due to severe emotional abuse.  Unfortunately, her husband did not want to get divorced and wouldn't negotiate during mediation; he told her to take him to court as it would take more than 2 years in the county she lived in.  She ended up with nothing but her personal possessions.  She did, however, get out with her life as he is no longer waving a gun at her saying that "she should be a good wife".

There are some real bad situations out there.  Your sister has a stronger position from which to negotiate.

My favorite business that no…

My favorite business that no longer exists was my grandpa's gas station in Crystal, Mi as I would always find my grandpa there.  When we were kids, the candy counter was basically free to my sister and me.  When I was 13, I started pumping gas there and I started changing tires when I was 14.

My grandpa passed in 1976 shortly after Jerry Ford took office.  My grandpa attended high school with Jerry Ford in Grand Rapids.

My son is getting beat by…

My son is getting beat by his wife in their brackets, but she is changing her picks after the games are over so there is that.  I hope he gets rewarded for his efforts.

The winner of the 2023…

The winner of the 2023 edition of The Game gets to call the coin flip that will determine the ownership of Toledo.  The loser of the coin flip has to have Toledo in their state.

Apologies to any residents of Toledo..

Poo brother,

I went back…

Poo brother,

I went back and took a second poo, so I am feel really good.  I am also feeling even better about the game!

I got up this morning and…

I got up this morning and took the biggest dump of my life.  I am light on my feet, I feel great, and that is a sign.

Michigan 42-26

 

 

This is the first year I…

This is the first year I have missed Open World / Cloud World in 15 years.  

As an aside, I am hiring developers with C# experience.  The caution around an upcoming recession gives us smaller companies a chance to get some really good talent (and gives a few people a glimpse of a better work experience)..

My vote is Counterpunt.  I…

My vote is Counterpunt.  I give it a =MAX(.5, 1) for the Excel reference.

I would upvote this a…

I would upvote this a thousand times if I could.  After reading this thread, I finally had the epiphany that this trip will help the team better understand, and thus better represent, the University and our great state.

My best ski buddy in…

My best ski buddy in Colorado used to be Christopher Reeves brother-in-law.  He was married to Dana Reeves sister.

When I was growing up, I was…

When I was growing up, I was always told that my grandfather went to high school with Jerry Ford.  A few years ago, I contacted the curator of the museum who sent me some yearbook photographs confirming they were in high school together (though they were apparently not in any photos together).

My first car was a 1971 Ford…

My first car was a 1971 Ford Pinto that I bought from my uncle for $100.  The car was so rusted that I couldn't close the driver's door from the inside.  Instead, I had to open the door, roll down the window, lift and close the door, and then crawl in through the window.  You could also basically pull rusted pieces of fender off the front of the car.  I was, however, fun to drive and before I got rid of it, a friend and I removed the doors and drove it around on mid-Michigan country roads at night.

On September 10, 2001, I…

On September 10, 2001, I flew from my home in Huntsville, Alabama to Seattle for a one day meeting.  It took a few days to get home after that; I was on the second flight out of Seattle after that happened.  I was lucky that I had Platinum status on Delta as I didn't have to stand in the line that was a 1/4 mile long to get to the ticket counter.

To get away from the reality that was happening at the time, I spent a day at the Experience Music Project and saw some of the most famous guitars in the world (including Brownie, the guitar used by Clapton on Layla).  I also spent a day driving up to the Paradise Lodge on the south side of Mt Rainier.

I had a six-figure software…

I had a six-figure software developer position open for my small company (<20 employees) and advertised online.  We got around 10 resumes and only 2 of them were qualified.  We hired one of them.  He is our first H1B and our first employee in yet another state.  It is the 8th state in which we have employees.

 

I met Matt and his wife a…

I met Matt and his wife a couple of years ago in Breckenridge, CO.  Ironically, I met Sarah Harbaugh earlier that same day (and saw her again that evening on the condo shuttle that happened to be filled with other Michigan fans..)

I am so sorry.  I can't…

I am so sorry.  I can't imagine how hard this must be for you.

Here is my Flightaware track…

Here is my FlightAware track from Wednesday.  It is quite apparent that I am going nowhere, but I am getting there fast.

Brady Quinn is just trying…

Brady Quinn is just trying to fire up his alma mater for their game this weekend against..  (checks the schedule..)  Nobody!

 

I think we used to take my…

I think we used to take my wife's and my step-son's insulin and checker's into games, but it has been quite a few years since we have been to a game so I don't remember the exact protocol.

Re: a pump.  Both my wife and my step-son are now using the Omnipod and the Dexcom CGM.  My step-son - a former Michigan student who dropped out with a 4.0 GPA - has hooked the two together using an open source app called Loop.  The Dexcom provides the glucose reading, the Omnipod contains a 3 day supply of insulin, and Loop manages delivery.  My step-son set his limits really low and his A1C dropped to 5.2; his endocrinologist said it was the lowest A1C she had ever seen for a Type-1 diabetic.  It is a tubeless system and you don't need to carry anything other than your phone and a small electronic controller that measures 1" x 1" x 1/2".

 

I have 1 Gbps Google Fiber…

I have Google Fiber 1 Gb at my house and I still had a little bit of buffering on the last game I watched in 4K.  That being said, my TV is located about as far as it could be in my house from where the actual cable comes in and the signal to the TV travels on Google Mesh Wifi.

Fuck you Ohio State!  Fuck…

Fuck you Ohio State!  Fuck you!!!

I had my eye on the score…

I had my eye on the score for the last hour or so..  Wow.  Just wow.

Thanks to both of you for…

Thanks to both of you for your kind words. 

I am lucky that I can afford multiple full-time assistants so I can continue to run my company.  I will keep her at home as long as she knows me.  She has declined unbelievably fast since the pandemic started; she could use the bathroom herself when it started, but now she needs guidance to find the bathroom and assistance to sit on the toilet.  Incontinence is right around the corner.

Last week, we were at Kroger and I was helping her get into the car.  It took three attempts with her nearly falling on the ground before I finally just picked her up and set her into the car seat.  Apparently, someone in the parking lot thought we fighting and called 9-1-1.  I was sitting in the driver's seat getting ready to order takeout when a cop in SWAT gear tapped on the passenger side window and asked, "What's going on here?"  I said, "I am ordering dinner."..  I was frisked, etc, before they determined that it wasn't a domestic violence thing.  Frankly, I am surprised that this is the first time after all of the times she has been agitating in the car - screaming, hitting herself in the head, and kicking the dash of the car.

I hate that my wife has Alzheimer's.  I hate that Bill Freehan had Alzheimer's.  I hope that sometime we find a cure.

Bill Freehan was my role…

Bill Freehan was my role model as I was a catcher as well (and an All-Star every year of my six years through Little League).  Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall for me as a left-handed catcher.  My pitcher during those days turned around to be a catcher in high school and I think he was All-State; he caught for one of our high school pitchers who ended up with the Tigers for a bit.  I do remember getting off the school bus in 1968 and running in the house to the TV just in time to see the iconic jump into Mickey Lolich's arms.

Alzheimer's sucks big dick.  I am the primary caretaker for my 59-year-old wife with early-onset Alzheimer's who has lost the ability to do almost any task.  She literally can't figure out how to spit out gum or even how to open her mouth so we can fish it out.  She won't make 79; I have my doubts as to whether she will make 60.

I will keep Bill Freehan's family in my thoughts.

 

I used that line in the last…

I used that line in the last day or so..

I logged in solely to give…

I logged in solely to give you a thumbs-up..

Close and dramatic to the…

Close and dramatic to the finish!

 

I grew up in mid-Michigan …

I grew up in mid-Michigan (Montcalm County) and have lived in north Alabama for 30+ years.  I like it or I wouldn't have stayed.

I concur with the comments that Nashville traffic is bad and housing prices there have been rising.  That is really only a problem, though, if you have a job that requires you to work on-site in Nashville itself.  I have customers there who would start at 6 am and leave at 3 pm to beat traffic (pre-pandemic/pre-work-at-home).

Michigan will always be home and nearly all of my relatives are there, but I don't see myself ever moving back.  I just come back and visit a few times a year.

 

Sounds like a surrender…

Sounds like a surrender cobra gif to me..

My wife's grandfather was…

My wife's grandfather was Miami Vice / Intelligence in the early 1960's and was Kennedy's personal security detail when he visited Miami.  Grandpa/Sarge was a Marine that landed 5 beaches in the South Pacific during the war - including one where they lost 45 of 52 men in his unit during the first night.  They had a lot in common.  Kennedy invited Grandpa to sit next to him at the 1961 Orange Bowl (<== nice college football tie-in).

He is now 97 and still lives alone in Cincinnati.  He talks more now about the war than he used to and remembers every detail.

Apparently, there has been a…

Apparently, there has been a petition started to save the program.

https://www.waff.com/2020/05/24/petition-started-save-uah-hockey-program/

 

I run into other Michigan…

I run into other Michigan people down here in Huntsville on nearly a daily basis - on the days I leave the house, that is.  A friend of a friend here even made me some Michigan masks for when I do have to go out..

I have read that the test…

I have read that the test currently available are not very reliable. 

I am waiting to take the test though I believe I had COVID-19 mid-March through early April.  I had a fever for 9 days - up to 104 - and aches/pains/severe fatigue for another week and half following that.  I quarantined for 35 days.

 

We left Breckenridge, CO on…

We left Breckenridge, CO on the morning of March 16th and arrived back in Alabama late in the afternoon of the 17th.  I got up on the 18th and went out to stock up on supplies.  Later that day, I developed a fever that lasted 9 day; it averaged around 100.5 and peaked over 104.  I was completely wiped out until around April 2nd and the aches/pains - some of which were from just lying around for days on end - lasted until the beginning of this week. Was it COVID-19?  My guess is yes, but my tele-doc declined to send me for testing.

On the work front, our software company has always taken a conservative approach.  Our entire team continues to work remotely; more than half work remote on a daily basis.  In other words, I don't have stress extra due to the company beyond making sure the six-figure monthly payrolls are met.

Today marks 25 days since we have left our house/yard with the exception of 3 short walks in the neighborhood.  I am using this time to catch up on some things I wanted to do in our software; I may even have time to start blogging again.  The biggest challenge I have is that my wife has early-onset Alzheimer's, so it has been hard to make her understand that we shouldn't go to stores.  I also do all of the cooking / cleaning / laundry / shopping.  I may continue to shop online when we are socially distancing.

Stay isolated for now and try not to worry about things.  This time will pass and we will get back to somewhat of a normal existence again.  Stay healthy and Go Blue.

I loved that song since my…

I loved that song since my step-son's friends used to sing it about my wife - "Billy's Mom Has Got It Going On"..

I just came off of 9 days of fever as high as 104 and have been in quarantine for 15 days.  Hard to believe that 19 days ago, I was hiking with skis on my pack at 13,000' to ski double-black extreme terrain.

 

I was skiing Breck yesterday…

I was skiing Breck yesterday and hiked the top of Peak 8 with a bunch of instructors who said they had just been laid off.  It didn't register with me then that the resort was closing and those runs would probably be my last tracks of the year. 

I hope the actions we all take serve to limit the spread of this virus and we get back towards normal when it is over.  As for us, we plan to head out for Alabama at daybreak.

T

 

Who has time for fun in bed…

Who has time for fun in bed if you are outside raking?  She wanted me to rake last Saturday; I said no fucking way.  I do hire someone to take care of the lawn.

Fun in bed?  Yes, but certainly not in the immediate aftermath of *that* conversation.

"Honey-do Lists" are much…

"Honey-do Lists" are much more tolerable if you simply call them "MILF Missions".  Oh, and I don't do them; I hire someone to do them..

 

Cali Wolverine..  I had…

Cali Wolverine..  I had planned skiing every day this week until a freak fail/fall landed me in a snow melt waterfall last Sunday at Squaw. I am nursing some bruised ribs, but on the other hand it made a great GoPro video.  My wife especially likes the sound I made when I hit the rocks.  I am thinking I will be out skiing Monday to get another day in before heading back east.

Watch for a Michigan shirt around town this weekend; it may be me.. 

Cali Wolverine may live in…

Cali Wolverine may live in Mammoth; we don't.  We live in Alabama most of the year and are just visiting friends here for a week or so.  That being said, we probably *could* live in Mammoth; we fit in better here.. 

Up here in Mammoth Lakes, we…

Up here in Mammoth Lakes, we felt this one stronger and longer than the one yesterday.  It lasted about 45 seconds here.

 

Sorry, I am an Excel and…

Sorry, I am an Excel and Essbase geek - and work a good bit with SQL and write in Java as well..

Harbaugh said it

Coach Harbaugh said about Brandon Peters earlier in the year that he (paraphased) - "Didn't take control of the huddle" or something to that effect.  After watching the NC game and how the Alabama freshman QB was a leader that increased the level of play for his entire team, it is easy to see how important that leadership quality is to a team.  Here is to having a QB that leads our team next year.

 

I, too, am in Huntsville

I, too, am in the Huntsville area and can help provide a support network.  There are a lot of us Wolverines here to help.

I have been lucky health-wise, but I have a couple of stories in my immediate family.  My wife, a Type 1 diabetic who believed she had CFS at one point, had a spinal fusion, followed by a near-fatal Diabetic Ketoacidosis incident and, year later, a bout with Skull-based Osteomyelitis.  The Osteomyelitis caused her a tremendous amount of pain and was originally thought to be a tumor.  The good news is that, after her fifth different ENT doctor, at the University of Alabama-Birmingham made the proper diagnosis on the first visit and prescribed treatment that cleared up the problem.  UAB has extremely talented medical people.  UAB is also affiliated with the Huntsville Hospital System, so if you come here to Huntsville, you will get the same top-notch care.

Ace, your story is very similar to my second "immediate family" story.  My step-son, also a Type 1 diabetic, was at Michigan for his senior year majoring in Philosophy, Greek, and Latin with the goal of being a Philosophy Professor.  He fell into a major depression and didn't leave his room in his off-campus housing for several weeks.  As he was quite independent and didn't really check in much with us, it didn't concern us until he didn't respond to several calls; police were sent to the house and found him alive but quite ill.  Needless to say, we brought him home and he was diagnosed with obsessive perfectionism.  He stopped going to class because, though he had a 4.0 going in his final semester, he felt as though he wasn't doing good enough work for his professors.  He was treated and is better now, though he did not return to complete his degree.  He now works for me as a software developer (and he is really good at that)..

In summary, I hope you find relief in Alabama.  I am sure I speak for the entire Alabama Michigan family in saying, "We are here if you need us."

Tim

Harbaugh said it

Regarding Brandon Peters, Harbaugh said earlier in the season that he "didn't take command on the field" or something to that effect.  That is absence of leadership on the field was evident in the bowl game. 

It takes more than being able to throw a perfect spiral to be a quarterback that leads their team to greatness.  It takes that extra something that inspires teammates to play up to - and to exceed - their expectations.  Hopefully Brandon will find that fire that will transform him and, if he doesn't, my guess is that Dylan or Shea will have it (and the starting job).

Go Blue..