Sharks

Peter Benchley died, the author of Jaws, which was made into a movie three or four times. Here is a quote from his daughter:

"Spielberg certainly made the most superb movie; Peter was very pleased," Wendy Benchley told The Associated Press.

"But Peter kept telling people the book was fiction, it was a novel, and that he no more took responsibility for the fear of sharks than Mario Puzo took responsibility for the Mafia."

Okay, I blame it on Spielberg then.. By the way, I'm sorry Mr. Benchley passed away.

Here is another article from today, Shark frenzy closes Australian Beaches:

Blame it on human instinct, or blame it on the glorious great white shark from Jaws? Richard Dreyfus was never the same after that movie anyway.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this--other than, it was interesting seeing both of these articles in the same news day, a mere few posts apart on most major news wires.

I hope they had a "bug" in the room

They don't mention it in this article, but one would think that Sheriff Daren Hall and company would have some sort of listening device planted in the room when allowing Perry March to meet with his father at the county jail. Or, am I giving our local law enforcement officials too much credit? It would be easy to "rip-em" here, so let's see what develops.

Exit Wound for Team USA--Michelle Kwan

Michelle Kwan has always had a competitive spirit, an incredible smile, and wonderful grace on the ice. Add to her list of descriptive talents---maturity beyond her years. She has always been one of my favorite women athletes. Here is what she had to say about pulling the plug on her final attempt to compete in the 2006 Olympics:

"I've learned it's not about gold," she continued. "It's about the spirit of it. I have no regrets. I tried my hardest and if I don't win gold, it's OK. I've had a great career. I've been lucky. This is a sport and it is beautiful."

For Kwan, the ultimate dream will never come true. She'll never win Olympic gold, but her impact on the sport will last forever. Good bye and farewell to a great, great lady who ironically, has achieved so much more than Olympic Gold in her short life. She has achieved maturity beyond her years, a maturity about which most professional athletes have no clue.

Winter Bummer Land

Looks like a surge of warm air pushed up into Middle Tennessee right after sunset on Friday, which raised the surface temps from 33 degrees to 36 degrees. We were looking great around 5 pm and then POOF, all the early snow turned to rain and snow mix. Par for the course for Nashville. It's about 11 pm on Friday, and all we have is a wet, nasty, mix of rain and some snow. We had all snow at 5:30 pm. We have digressed snow fans. Once again, we were on the border, and the border turned to the "dark side". We were bracing for a fabulous concentration of a winter wonder land, and well, we ended up with a winter bummer land.

I'm jumping on the bandwagon

...HEAVY SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
CST SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A HEAVY SNOW
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM CST
SATURDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

Best Part of Bredesen's Budget

You read it here first--check out this appropriation:

$23 million for renovation of UT-Knoxville’s Ayers Hall

Thank you Governor. This building was a rat hole when I was up there in the early 80's. It looks nice from the road, but up close, it's in desperate need of updating and repair. I hope the legislature passes this part of the budget.

Their Day Is Coming

Zillow is aimed at generating profit from advertising and is not intended to put real estate agents out of work by letting home shoppers and sellers do their own research, according to Barton.

This quote was taken from an article about the new web site, Zillow.com
which launched this week. It's a new web site aimed towards the residential real estate market.

What they are trying to do is to create a site that gives people an idea of what a particular home is worth in markets all across the country.

The title of this post is--"their day is coming". That is in reference to real estate agents and the entire process of consumers paying 6% of the purchase price of a home to real estate agents, which, as the reader should know, is split 3% and 3% to the buying and selling agent.

Here is my question--Why is the commission still 6% when home prices have quintupled in the past 10 years? Has the work load of the real estate quintupled? Doubtful. It could be argued that their work load has decreased because of the internet. Oh sure, the advertising costs have increased for the agents to run a print ad in the newspaper---probably from $100 to $300, but the prices of homes have absolutely skyrocketed, so the commission of 6% is completely whacko in my opinion.

I do think the point of Zillow is to slowly erode the "worth" of real estate agents, and I do think there will be more sites in the future that chip away at the "tools" that previously were only known to agents. This will result in real estate agents, at the minimum, to decrease their commission rates to consumers.

Slowly but surely, consumers see the non commission based competitors creeping up--Red Rocket Realty is the only one that comes to mind right now. Most consumers can buy and/or sell a house now with the help of the internet.

Much in the same way discount brokers have taken over the buying and selling of equities in the stock market, I predict the same will happen in real estate in the next 10 years.

Just as full service stock brokers still have a place in the world of stock market trading, there will always be a place for full service real estate brokers as well. But, there is going to be a major shake out one day , and Zillow.com is just the beginning.

This is not original thinking, as I'm sure you've been exposed to this thought before. Why hasn't this happened sooner, might be the best "topic" to be posted.

Not Too Fast--on the Snow

With temps in the 40's on Friday afternoon, I have a hard time believing Nashville will see much snow.

Special Weather Statement from the National Weather Service:
AFTER A VERY WARM JANUARY...FEBRUARY IS TURNING OUT TO BE MUCH MORE WINTER-LIKE. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE GULF COAST AND MOVE NORTHEAST FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL...UP TO 4 INCHES OR MORE...OVER THE MID STATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY.

Now, read this post from Jason, at nashvillewx.com, the news 2 weather blog:

For Nashville and points south, I think our surface temperatures will be stubborn and have a tough time falling below the freezing mark before midnight. Bear in mind, it can be above freezing and still snow (like Wednesday evening) but it's tough for the snow to stick when temperatures are in the middle 30s. In the higher elevations north and east of town, the change to snow should occur more quickly...and I expect slightly higher accumulations in those areas as a result. For the snow lovers, I do think just about everyone sees snow by early Saturday morning. My gut tells me that 4" is probably too high for Nashville, but possible in the higher elevations. For Music City and points south...at this point in time...let's shoot for around an inch or two, and see what happens over the next 24 hours.

Makes Total Sense to Me

QALAT, Afghanistan - Police killed four people Wednesday as Afghans enraged over drawings of the Prophet Muhammad marched on a U.S. military base in a volatile southern province, directing their anger not against Europe but America.

The U.S. base was targeted because the United States "is the leader of Europe and the leading infidel in the world," said Sher Mohammed, a 40-year-old farmer who suffered a gunshot wound while taking part in the demonstration in the city of Qalat.

It may take 200 years for the Middle East to come around

Here is quote from President Bush today-

"We believe in a free press," the president said. "We also recognize that with freedom comes responsibilities. With freedom comes the responsibility to be thoughtful about others."

I agree. Let's talk about Al Jazeera here and other press sources of Middle East populist anger. Why do they air comments, video, and audio from Al Quaeda? Do they not realize that this behavior is insensitive to Us(a)? Why do they ridicule and conduct violence over the Danish press for doing nothing more than airing their views (and cartoons) via freedom of the press? Oh, because of the sacred Koran? Is the Koran more sacred than human life? These people are imbedded in a culture thrown back to the Dark Ages. Their behavior is incredulous.

We are heading for a war between the 21st century and the 15th Century. I hope it is a cold war and not a nuclear war. I am an optimist by nature believe it or not. The only hope is for moderate Islamists to step up to the plate and lead. That is not happening. This is a slow burning fuse.

Add another team to the list--2005/6 UT VOLS basketball team

From John Pennington--I'd link you to the site, but it's a paid site--

The seasons that are the most special are the ones that no one sees coming. (I'm speaking of positives here, not of #3 football rankings that lead to 5-6 seasons.)

I remember the 1985 Tennessee football team that slugged it's way to UT's first SEC Championship in 16 years. The year before, the Vols had finished with 8 wins, but there were no high expectations for '85. No one saw the championship, the blowout of Miami, and a #4 national ranking coming. That's why the '85 team, that didn't even win 10 games, is in most circles more beloved than the undefeated National Championship team of 1998.

I remember the 1991 Atlanta Braves. "From worst to first," Skip Caray screamed. A team of ne'er-do-wells that won and won and won... nip and tucking their way past the Dodgers for their first division title in nearly a decade. No Braves fans (were there Braves fans in '91?) saw that coming before the season.

I remember the 1995 baseball Vols. Helton, Trammell, Dickey. "The team of destiny is going to the field of dreams," Mike Keith yelled. It was a feel-good moment for the entire area... especially Knoxville, which had provided many of Rod Delmonico's stars.

Not only were those teams and their seasons unexpected successes, but they all had something else in common, too... they all served notice of more success to follow.

Tennessee's greatest football era in history has covered the 20 years since 1985. The Atlanta Braves still haven't lost a division title since 1991. The baseball Vols have now been to 3 College World Series in 10 seasons.

Add another team to the list: The 2005-2006 UT men's basketball team.

(note --in case you missed it--The Vols slammed KY last night at Rupp Arena--if you are keeping up, they are in sole possession of first place in the eastern division, with an 8-1 SEC record and a 17-3 overall record)

Apple Geek Update

Most of us don't care how the things work, as long as they work. But there is a rabid local Mac community that watches every move that the (now fabled again) company makes, both with their new world of digital music players, and with their traditional hardware computers. No one I know is jumping up and down (with joy) about the switch to Intel chips (and they certainly are not buying the new laptop), despite the reveling in the traditional media and the praising by the analysts.

Here is yet another article that points to the possibility that they jumped the gun with the switch to Intel, which, in case you missed the post last week, can't even run the Adobe software yet.

I still say he is Guilty, Guilty, Guilty

But, this article shows how much I know about solving a crime at least when it comes to the Perry March/Janet Levine case.

Chris Matthews of MSNBC--Bloggers Can Cause Riots?

Here is quote from last night's "Hardball"--Chris Matthews posing a question to correspondent David Shuster--

"Let me ask you this. We have a blogging situation out in this country where people basically through their own ingenuity and their own wit are able to develop messages based on their own personal reporting and editing that they can send anywhere. They are their own editors. What happens when bloggers sending stuff out without even the institution of a newspaper or TV station behind them and that incites a riot? How do we avoid this?”


Chris, get a grip. Bloggers aren’t going to start riots unless all you mainstream media representatives get together to demonstrate against the truth.-- --Noel Sheppard from NewsBusters.com

Don't Laugh--World War 3 looming?

I've assembled several quotes from articles in recent days about the escalation of radical islam in the Middle East and in Europe. As I have opined in recent days, the emergence of Hamas in Palestine, the election of the radical islamist in Iran, plus the situation in Syria and other middle East countries, combined with the incredible outpouring of contemptable behavior over the caricatures of Mohammed in the Danish newspapers----have left people over here wondering about a situation far more serious than our administration realizes...Remember when the Bush administration said that we would be "welcomed with open arms" in Baghdad? More and more, we are witnessing a clash of cultures, a clash of religions too. Plus, we are seen as favoring Israel despite the facts of democratic elections in Palestine, and we are knocking on the door for another war in Iran. How can these developments be justified by a general cry of a "War on Terrorism?" Read on...

From Gene Inger



This is more, as we see it; a clash between modernity in Islam and fundamentalism; as contrasted to a 'clash of cultures' between East and West. It may become that if all the fanatics like the Ayatollahs, and their quislings in Syria and even Iraq have their way. It's already almost impossible to stand-up for what is right, decent or tolerant in so many Islamic countries (by civilized standards); so governments kowtow basically to the mob, and you hear things like Pakistan refusing to allow doctors or hospitals to buy pharmaceuticals from any country where the cartoons were reprinted. Nonsense. They hurt themselves, and deprive their people; largely not the big drug companies.

We'll not have much more to say on this for now; other than the overtones of a world war emerging are there; that's what the Islamic extremists actually want, we're fairly convinced. It's going to be tough, but only the Islamic world can defuse this situation. The rhetoric from the Islamists won't allow the rest of the world to calm the issue very much; because they don't want it calmed, no matter what they may say to the media. They are agitators.




From Tom Porteous


Worse, Bush's State of the Union address marked a clear broadening of the war on terror. No longer does the U.S. government limit itself to speaking of a narrow war against terrorists, or a struggle against an "evil ideology" of Islamic extremism.

According to Bush, the West's opponent in a new global conflict that has replaced the Cold War is now "radical Islam"—the very political ideology to which increasingly large numbers of Muslims are committed, if the successes of radical Islamists in recent democratic elections in Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and Iran are any evidence.

As the furor over the cartoons shows, the further we go down this road, the more the "war on terror" will infect cultural outlooks and popular attitudes both in the West and in the Muslim world, poisoning relations between them. We must not allow a military and intelligence battle between a coalition of governments and a bunch of extremists and desperados to develop into a real conflict between cultures and peoples.






From Rhami Khouri


I nearly fell out of my car window Monday morning while traveling around several of the fine universities in North Carolina, when I read U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's statement on the Hamas election victory in Palestine. She stated: "I've asked why nobody saw it coming. It does say something about us not having a good enough pulse."

Good grief, Condoleezza, this is not about having or not having a good enough pulse. It's about the consequences of the last decade of Israeli and American policies toward the Palestinians in general, and the Islamist resistance movements in particular. This is not a time to persist in simplistic, counterproductive policies that will only further strengthen the forces of military resistance against the Israeli occupation, and wider Arab-Islamic political resistance against America 's blatantly pro-Israeli position.

To add a new dose of American perplexity and wonderment now to several existing layers of mistaken policies on Arab-Israeli peacemaking will be of no help to anyone. If Washington 's initial reaction is bewilderment at why it did not see this coming, and a reaffirmation of its policy of placing Israeli security above Palestinian security, then we are all in far more serious trouble than we can imagine. What is required now is a combination of honesty, independent analysis and composure that have long been missing in Washington's policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


Thanks to my brotherly sources for sending me these articles from which to quote-

On To Marcia Trimble and Tabitha Tudors

I know he is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but I think Perry March is toast.

Torry Johnson is going to have to seriously think about going for the death penalty.

Now, I don't have time to look up the links, but it's time to find the killers of Marcia Trimble and Tabitha Tudors.

Bonaroo 2006--Woodstock Grown Up

Have you ever noticed the impact of Bonaroo on the local economy, or otherwise, have you ever thought about attending this most magnificent concert event just down the road from Nashville? I'm talking to the probable readers of this site--you know--the well adjusted, 30's/40's/50's something crowd that normally has sworn off large concert events...like me??? Too many people our age think this event is what Woodstock used to be--but I think Bonaroo has grown up and ultimately achieved what Woodstock could never become---the ultimate repetitive outdoor concert event.

Of course, the major local media always seems to concentrate on the drug intake aspect of the (very minor portion of the) attendees, or, in the same vein (no pun intended) of the News of the Weird of how some people die at the event. The media will never give credit where credit is due. You've read it here on this site--Bonaroo is a cultural and economic phenomena--and I officially salute it's creators and management.

We were sitting in a restaurant in SteamBoat Springs, Colorado about 3 years ago and we were chatting up the server. She about flipped when she realized we lived about 60 miles from the Bonaroo event location. She had purchased her tickets on line (Which by the way, is the ONLY way to buy tickets--NO TICKETMASTER ALLOWED--which is another subject, but which it totally and completely a great idea)---but anyway, it's totally amazing what Bonaroo has accomplished in such a short amount of time.

It has become THE concert event for most 20's/30/s something (concert-going) people. It continues to draw as many people as they allow tickets to be sold.

Just last summer, we were at the airport a few days before the event, and there were tons of people picking up their back packs and their gear at the baggage claim area, obviously, not heading to local hotels. They were totally phsyched about heading down towards Manchester (we overheard these conversations), and they were renting cars, stopping by local restaurants, basically going by grocery stores, and doing most of their prep work here in Nashville. Quite an impact here locally.

Also last summer (pre-blogging), Sharon and I took our daughter, Rachel, to camp in Mentone, Alabama. We happened to be traveling around the second week of June. We stopped in Monteagle on the way back, and noticed a bunch of people at a local restaurant taking a break from Bonaroo. The interstate was packed and so was the town. Bonaroo impact is well known south of here.

All in all, it was a slow news day, and just thought I'd share these thought with you. If you want to look at who is playing this year, or if you would like to get up a group of people and go, here is where you need to click to read about Bonaroo.

Super Bore Overview

Sierra Mist was by far the best commercial so far (this was written at half time). This was the commerical with the guy at the airport security point--who gladly gave up his Sierra Mist as opposed to getting a more detailed screening shall we say from the security folks. Who cares about Pittsburgh and Seattle?---the game that is. I have no allegience or interest in either team. So, it has become the Super Bore Game at our house. The interest is in the commercials, and the entertainment factor, as it is with many other homes in this area I assume. Have you ever heard so much hype for the Rolling Stones? Mick is the fossilized star of stars, is he not, and most assuredly, will put a new twist on rock till ya drop. And how about Bud Light? Their commercials were not so humorous this year. Definitely an off year for the Budweiser creative ad agency folks. However, the streaker commerical (the lamb without any fur) who ran through the football game between the Clydesdales was by far the best.

Okay, I went off line for a few minutes to watch Mick and the Boys. My most favorite recent memory of a Super Bowl half time show was Bono's and U-2's tribute to America in 2002. Paul McCartney last year was pretty good. And now, ranked third in recent history....is the Stones. I do think they need to finally give it up. Start Me Up was never a great song, who knows what the second song was, and Satisfaction, was too long, too stale, and too redundant. The stage was cool with the tongue and the people in the middle. Ron Wood looked okay, and so did Charlie Watts. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger weren't necessarily over the hill as much as trying too hard to be actively entertaining. At one time in my life, I enjoyed these guys. True enough, I had the volume cranked this year and was hoping to be inspired, but I kept thinking--these guys were so good about 20 plus years ago---We were in college when the classic, classic album, Some Girls, was released. We played that album (and cassette) incessantly. Here we are 27 years later, and they are headlining America's Favorite Football Party. I'm just glad there was not a material malfunction, and I was just wondering--why couldn't we have Stevie Wonder at half time and Mick at the Pre Game Show? Stevie and company (despite microphone issues ) was superbly excellent before the game--the Stones were just not that good, sorry folks...Give them an "A" for persevering and for performing through the ages, but enough is enough. If you want to listen to a band that sounds just as great now as they did in the 1960-s, look no further than the MOODY BLUES !!!!!! Justin Hayward gets my vote for the rock star of the ages----and now, yes, the football game has been completed, no new memorable commercials were premiered in the second half, and the Steelers won the game.

After a front page article on Saturday....

About Perry March's dad possibly pleading guilty ....Plus the article hinted that the authorities were close to finding out details of Janet Levine's whereabouts.....

You'd think the Tennessean would have had a follow up article on Sunday--somewhere, anywhere in the local, or front section. Again, not that I read the TNSN as much as I used to--- but this case sells papers. The Tennessean continues to baffle me.

Vol Men's Basketball--How Good Are They?

..Looks like we'll find out these next 2 weeks as the Vols go on the Road. Read these comments from John Penningon-


Another week, another couple of wins for Bruce Pearl's Band of Believers. Ho-hum.

At 16-3, there's no question that this team is now in the NCAA Tournament (probably a 3 or 4 seed) barring a total collapse.

But at their current pace, a total collapse doesn't even seem like a remote possibility. This team, which has already maximized its potential, seems to be getting better as the season goes along.

The short bench, which had the potential for being a weakness, has proven to be just the opposite.

The fact that UT does not have a consistent scoring threat aside from CJ Watson and Chris Lofton has not hurt because a different player seems to step up in each game... when needed.

The fact that 6'4" Dane Bradshaw is the team's leading rebounder hasn't hurt, either. Don't get me wrong, the Vols' losses have come when they've shot poorly in games against tough post-dominated teams, but so far... there have only been 3 such games.

Now, after a heart-to-heart with Bruce Pearl, even Major Wingate, who had been a bit of a disappointment on the year, has begun to assert himself.

The 13th ranked Vols now face a tough stretch in their schedule. Four of their next five games will be played away from Thompson-Boling Arena:

At Kentucky
At Georgia
Auburn (and one-time UT coaching candidate Jeff Lebo)
At Alabama
At Florida