I originally thought this would work well as a tweet. It ended up being a little long for that.
Last week was Spring Break for our kids. It wasn’t in the cards for us to do a big SB trip but we also didn’t want the boys to not have anything the whole week, either. We opted for a few days of mixed rest, chores, and play for them and them and then Melanie and I both took Friday off to hang and do a bit of a stay-cation date with them. If you’re local to DFW and wanting to pull one of your own off, here’s our itinerary and my feedback:
9:30a La La Land Coffee (Oak Lawn)
★★★★☆
Cool spot. Lots of yellow. Plenty of parking behind the building. Wait was probably 15 mins from entry to getting coffee. Limited seating inside and tables were totally full, had to get it to go. Cohen got some sort of “campfire” drink that was pretty cool — they dropped some marshmallow cream on top and cooked it with a torch, crumbled graham crackers, etc.
10:30a OSO Climbing Gym (Design District)
★★★★☆
If I could figure out how, I’d give this 4.5 stars. I had a blast and I think the boys did as well. Melanie enjoyed it but I don’t think it’s going to be her “thing.” OSO is a ‘bouldering’ gym only which means that there are no harness or ropes, just shorter walls that you climb down or jump off when you’re done and mats at the bottom. OSO was welcoming and friendly; the place was super-clean; they were cool with the boys being there; and I felt zero judgement from anyone. They had ‘routes’ for everyone from beginners to experts. We just bought day-passes which gave us access to everything but if I was 10 years younger and 10 miles closer, they might have been able to talk me into a membership. Lessons learned: (more…)
At the time of this writing, I’ve been married over 21 years. I bought this hat in college, prior to getting married, meaning that I’ve owned it for more than 21 years. As you can see, it’s been worn a couple times.
The bill shows signs of wear. A frayed edge; exposed guts; sweat rings; a faded autograph. There’s paint on it. The blues are muted and the whites definitely aren’t white when you set it next to something that is.
I don’t wear it that much anymore. Sometimes I’ll pull it out of the closet and toss it on backwards. The barrelled curve of the bill isn’t as trendy as it used to be, but more than that, it’s a little hard to finagle when wearing with my glasses. I’ve mowed in it. I’ve surfed in it. I’ve rescued it just before sinking to the bottom of the lake on a summer day. I’ve worn it to baseball games. I’ve tucked it under my leg while riding my motorcycle knowing that when I took my helmet off I would want something to hide the craziness of helmet-hair.
On the back, it has a ‘1974’ embroidered on it. It’s a commemorative hat. April 8, 1974 was the day that Hank Aaron hit career home run number 715, passing the mark set by Babe Ruth. Hammerin’ Hanks record (755) stood for another 30 years (and if you ask some purists, still stands today).
The lower case ‘a’ on the front is a throwback to the one worn by the Atlanta Braves in the 70’s. Today’s version is a capital ‘A’, sometimes combined with a tomahawk.
There’s controversy with the name. There’s precedence for change. The Football Team went first and then the Guardians. One has to wonder how much longer before the Braves become the Vipers, or the Pine Trees, or the all encompassing Team of Baseball Players. (more…)
This is a public plea to @melanieross to let me buy this place in Bjarkøy, Norway. I bet the weather is terrible. And the sun shines for like 3 hours per day. And the food would cause my stomach to do backflips. But those all seem like minor hurdles to owning this slice of heaven.
Gamestop as a company shouldn’t be doing all that well, honestly. With a ton of brick & mortar stores in a pandemic and an audience who has largely shifted to online playing and buying, I’m kind of surprised to see them still in business. [Interesting side note, they’re headquartered right here in Grapevine, Texas but I’m kind of happy that doesn’t get a lot of airplay.] Their stock price was probably on target at $5/share.
Mob mentality is weird. And scary. I don’t have a full knowledge of why a bunch of people on an internet forum decided to gang up and attack. The first reasons given (as I understand them) were that they were fighting against the system. It was a power play. But in the end, I think it was about greed. They figured out a way to beat the hedge funds at their own game.
I don’t like the fact that the markets shut it down. That doesn’t seem like a free-market economy; I also understand why they did it. It could have spiraled at a massive scale quickly and done some serious damage to an economy that already has some fissures in it. I have a feeling the occurrences from this week might cause some changes to the rules.
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I like to play 42. Though I don’t play it all that often. It’s a game of dominoes. You play with a partner against another team of two. There are seven hands each round and your goal is to try and bid the right amount of hands (and points) you think you can get. Some times you just don’t have it and you are mostly just a filler, helping your partner or trying to trip up your opponent. (more…)
