New name....

Dear Friends and Family -

I actually do plan on getting back to this thing again now that things have sort of settled down. I hope everyone has had a good summer. For those who haven't heard, the wedding date is June 11, 2011

Game 2: Spread Eagle vs. Golden Eagle

Since we are now two games into the Spread Eagle Era of Auburn football, I thought I'd offer a few thoughts, both of yesterday's game and where we may be headed.

The Good:

The offense was much improved. Yeah, there were plenty of mistakes, but it looked like they had a purpose to be on the field this week. It wasn't the breakout performance everyone was wanting, but there was steady progression from week one, and enough mistakes to let the coaches ride some ass this week at practice to get the team ready for the three upcoming critically important conference games.

Chris Todd. It was time for one of the qb's step up and deliver, and Todd did that with a sold performance going 21-31 for 248 yards. I'm also, not buying into talks of a qb controversy or any of the Kodi didn't get a fair chance hogwash . Personally, I don't give a chit who plays qb. I just want to win games. I hope that at some point Kodi does put it all together, because he is a dynamic athlete.

Special Teams looks to be special. Robert Dunn has emerged as a real threat at punt returner, although his TD got called back on an illegal block on the backside of the play. What Dunn lacks in speed, he makes up for in the ability to make tacklers look stoopid. Clinton Durst had another great day punting the ball. Who would have thought we'd have a walk-on unseat the pre-season All-SEC punter. What a find. Morgan Hull looks good on kick offs, and Wes Byrum shows he does have a bit of a leg by booting one in from 52 yards. And mercifully, kick coverage appears to be much improved to this point.

The Defense is good. Just how good they are remains to be seen, but Southern Mississippi is no slouch offensivly. This is a team that has a couple legitamate playmakers in Shawn Nelson and Austin Davis, and it seems to be apparent now why DeAndre Green was such a hotly sought recruit. Auburn's defensive front dominated the line of scrimmage, and more importantly guys like Michael Goggans and Mike Blanc had big games. Both were in the USM backfield early and often. Building depth by getting some of the guys to step up at the DL positions was a big concern going into the season. The early returns indicate that the Dline may end up being much better than advertised. The linebackers look solid, and the defensive back play has been stellar to this point with cornerbacks actually turing around to make a play on the ball instead of playing slappy hands with the receiver as the ball comes. Coach Rhoads impact seems to be evident as well. A noted stickler for coaching fundamentals over complex schemes, there have been very few missed tackles in the first two games.





The Bad: Fumbles. Can't have 'em. An Auburn coach once said, "better to have died a young boy than to fumble this ball". I've got a feeling that the offensive backfield is going to have a new appreciation for that quote after Coach Gran runs them through a week of practice. Maybe he'll make them carry around a pink football to class this week, or wear a baby bib through the Sewell Hall chow line. Whatever it is, it had better work for their sakes. If there is one thing coaches can't stand, it's putting the ball on the ground. Auburn was never in danger of losing to USM, but had they not had the fumbles it would have been out of reach by halftime.

Receiver play. Although improved over last week, I'd give the receivers a solid C+ this week, there is still a lot to be desired from that position. Guys, we need to see a little more success in getting separation from defenders. Also, there are still some issues with drops. There were some solid performances turned in, most notably Tommy Trott and Montez Billings, but no one really stands out. When your "go to" guy is a former walk on it says something about this unit (and it's not a positive something - no knock at Rod Smith). This is an area that is going to have to improve if we are to be successful on offense.

The Take Away Message: Two games in and we are 2 - 0. That's a better start than last year. Still, the road is long and winding and there is much room in which to improve. The thing that gives me hope is the apparent strength of our defense and special teams. These areas appear to be very good. I mean SEC-championship-good. What we need now is for this offense to come together, and we could be in for a very fun ride. Given that this spread eagle is such a departure from anything we've seen in the past, it should be no surprise that it didn't take off like a ball of butcher knives rolling downhill. Personally I have my reservations (I'd rather see us pound it in a heavy I-set formation on short yardage and when inside the 5). That said, I'm willing to give it a chance... At least through September.

Fun with Youtube (and Katie)

I'm bored, so I messed with Katie and now you can watch it.

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As many of you know, Katie has a way to vocalize her discontent. Apparently, most Springers do this. Wooo wooo wooo.

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Here I am just straight up annoying the dog. She hates it when you tickle the hair on her rump. I think it's funny. She won't bite you, she just snaps and acts like she is going to bite. But she's just a big baby

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Summer in Vice City

It's official, summer is here. Summer time in Florida leaves a lot to be desired. You only think the humidity is high in Alabama. Here, the temp rarely pushes pass the low 90's during the day, but the air is so humid that the lows rarely make it below 80 degrees. That means the A/C gets quite the workout. Still, it could be worse I guess. Not much going on other than trying to beat the heat and staying busy at work. Speaking of which, We had a 4-H fishing trip recently and I thought that I'd share some pictures. This is the 2nd full year of our 4-H fishing program. I got started with this youth fishing back at Auburn, and it's something I got going down here. I think I actually enjoy watching kids catch fish as much as I enjoy catching them on my own (not that I'm wanting kids of my own anytime soon). Anyway...




Here is one of my colleagues with his daughter and her first fish (a juvi red grouper).


South Beach



A look down Government Cut towards downtown, with the port on the right.



Fisher Island- The likes of Oprah and Bill Clinton have condos here.



Here is my new boat, the Morgan Star (yeah, I'm moving to the Cayman Islands). Seriously, there are some ridiculous boats/yachts/ships at the Miami Beach Marina. Several of them actually have helicopters on them. I saw one last week that had to have been 250 feet long. Considering diesel is running over $5 a gallon at the marina, I don't think I'd want to pay that bill.



I also had my annual hurricane drill last month at the Miami-Dade County EOC. We are good to go now (hopefully, it won't be necessary). I've also had my requisite NIMS training and have been certified by the Dept of Homeland Defense. I have discovered that if FEMA is running the show, the food is generally good. Last year we had Chicken Monterey, mixed fresh veggies, and creme brulee. This year was a morning activation, but we had a selection of bagels, lox, cream cheeses, fresh fruit, and coffee. Rest assured, if Armageddon does come I will at least eat well.



Here is my station. #43.



Here's just a bit broader view. There are LCD screens lining the pit. All of the broadcast channels are on the screens, as well as two walls of data screens, radar loops, and real time info. It's like some hardcore Star Wars shit going on in there. We've also got this red phone (in addition to a normal office-style phone), like one of those cliche phones that launches missiles, which really vexes me. I've been tempted to mess with it, but figured it's probably best left alone. The press is back to my left (as well as the room where the mayor/gov/president would address the media). I'm considered an essential employee by the county, which means I can't leave no matter what is coming. I chose to work the EOC because a.) it's basically a bomb shelter b.)it has a hard core generator so I should have a/c, TV, hot food, and internet.

Katie

Katie says hello. And then she sits down and licks herself. It must be a hard life being a dog. Lay around all day, go out and chase some birds, have some treats, lay around a bit more, go to the dog park, come back and lay around some more, have a couple more treats, lay around, chase a few lizards, lay around, beg for some food, lay around a bit more.... well you get the point. Here are some choice shots.























Katie's favorite activity is chasing small animals. In this case, Hemidactylus mabouia, or the tropical house gecko.














Here's that laying around thing. Katie's favorite place to lounge is under the bed. I haven't quite figured this one out yet, but if Katie is known to be around but you can't find her chances are good that she is under a bed/chair/table somewhere.











Of course sometimes she prefers the comfort of the actual bed.

















And Katie at play. Her trips to the dog park always include a dip in the pond, and she likes a nice dark beer... Preferably Amberbock

Tennessee trip

Here are some pictures that I've been planning to get up for a while. The first set are from my trip to the Smokies back in January. It was nice to have a bit of change of scenery from SoFlo for a while. Not to mention a bit more of a real winter atmosphere, of only for a few days. I traveled up to spend a few days in the Gatlinburg area with Clint and his family. We went with the intention to catch some trout, "some" being the operative word.














Here are a few of the few fish that we caught. All rainbows.














I call this shot "A river runs through it... and in it there are no fish".















There was actually a good bit of a snow pack once you got up around 4,000 feet. Not something one normally comes across in Dade County.










And a few more scenic shots
















And a couple in B&W

Nice...

I guess not all the Europeans have sand in their hoo-has.