Netcast or Podcast?

Which is better, or is there another name that is even better? Personally, between the two, I like Podcast better. Maybe it's because I'm used to it, but to me, Netcast doesn't solve any problems. The big move to change the name is based partially on the fact that some less tech-savvy people hear the name Podcast and assume that you have to have an iPod to listen to it, when in fact any audio player, even your own computer, is capable of playing a Podcast.

My whole thing is this: how is Netcast any better? Again, for the less tech-savvy out there, they will hear the new name and assume first that it's something totally different than a Podcast, because Podcast is already 'out there', and second, they will hear Netcast and just assume that it's something that you have to listen to or watch streaming over the net. Which to me is worse, because it might turn off people with iPods. Now all of a sudden you're not only turning away the people without iPods, you're turning away the iPodders too!

Sure, with enough education, people could be taught that this isn't the case, but with enough education, folks could be taught the same thing about a Podcast. There might be a better term out there than Podcast, but in my opinion, Netcast is not it.

Golf Great Byron Nelson Dies At 94

This is truly a sad day for all who love the game. Byron Nelson, who had the greatest year in the history of professional golf when he won 18 tournaments in 1945, including a record 11 in a row, died Tuesday. He was 94.

If You're Not First, You're Last

I really don't know what to say. The US has been beaten for the third straight year, and beaten 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 for the second straight year. It is embarassing to say the least. What will it take for the US to get back their Ryder Cup mojo? Who knows at this point? It's been talked about over and over, with the so-called 'experts' coming up with everything from "we have to play more loose" to "we have to find Tiger a partner". Nothing has worked and at this point, I don't see anything that will work. The Euros have the momentum going into each Ryder Cup and they are able to build on that momentum as they continually dominate us in the team portion of the competition.

But the idea that "they've always been better than us in the team format" is no excuse. There's no reason for that that I can see. Why can't we be just as good as a 2-man team as the Euros? Do all of our players hate each other or something? I don't know, but I don't think so.

It's a strange, strange thing that no one has managed to figure out and that no one is likely to figure out in the near future, or so it seems. Perhaps we need to name a Captain that demands more respect from his team, someone they can use as a rallying point, someone they will listen to and not have it go in one ear and out the other. That's no disrespect to Tom Lehman. I think he did a fine job this week. But in terms of legendary status, he's not up there with the likes of Jack, Arnie or Tom. I say ask one of them to lead our next team, or heck, ask them all to be Co-Captains. We need all the help we can get at this point.

Lefty and the Cat

Much has been made about then Ryder Cup Captain Hal Sutton pairing together Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and them getting their butts handed to them by Monty and Padraig Harrington. It was said to be a mistake, as reportedly Phil and Tiger don't really like each other and therefore didn't mesh well as a team.

While that may be true, it's also true that at the time, neither was playing their best golf. Phil had just made an ill-advised equipment change (ill-advised for the timing of the change, not for the equipment itself), and Tiger was in the middle of his now famous swing changes. To me, that was the biggest catalyst for the fact that they didn't play well as a team, not the fact that they do or don't like each other.

The fact is, they are professionals. Each was playing their own ball and their feelings for each other, in my opinion, was not that big of a deal at the end of the day. Also, let's give Monty and Padraig a little credit here. They're not too shabby when it comes to the game of golf.

While it probably will never happen again, I think it's a possibility that should be explored again, if for no other reason so that Phil and Tiger can prove that they can win as a team.

Star of the Week

I wonder who will rise up as the star of this year's matches? Right now I'm focusing mainly on the US side. Of course Tiger will get his usual press and praise, as will probably the numbers 2 and 3 in the world, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson. Chris DiMarco has proven himself over the last few years in these types of team events, so he is a good candidate. But it's also possible that one of the rookies will arise as a force. If Cap'n Lehman can manage to match up the rook's with the right partners, it can build the confidence in them that they will need to go into the Sunday singles.

My personal opinion? I think if the US manages a win, the star of the week will be none other than Captain Lehman himself. I was a little hesitant when I heard that he had been named Captain a couple of years back. I didn't think it was time yet for him. After all, he's still got enough game to have made the team himself, and he probably would have if it hadn't been for the Captain's duties that he's had to deal with over the past two years. But he has changed my mind. He wants this. Sure, it's a friendly competition, an exhibition, but make no mistake about it... he wants this win.

New Nano in the Hizzouse!!

I've always wanted to talk like that. While the title is not exactly true (I'm still waiting for the FedEx delivery... I think FedEx has been bought out by someone's grandma, or perhaps some Amish folks who are delivering packages on a horse and carriage), I have ordered one of the new black 8gb iPod Nanos (black is the new black, folks, in case you didn't get the memo).

I can't wait to receive my new toy, but it does leave me in a bit of a pickle. Counting my new purchase, I will have a total of 4 iPods... a white 30gb 5G iPod, a 2gb black Nano and a 512mb Shuffle. My plan is to sell off everything but the Shuffle, so if anyone is interested, shoot me an email (my address is at the bottom of the left-hand column). I can say that both the 30gb and the 2gb are in excellent shape. I added Power Support Crystal Skins to both soon after purchasing them, and they have each been in cases as well. Also, I have the original boxes for both. Pictures available upon request.

Ryder Cup Diary

I think I've mentioned before that the Ryder Cup might be my favorite week of golf, in close competition with the Masters for tops on my list. I'm sure the folks at Augusta and the PGA are in a bitter fight for my attention. Anyway, thanks to a kind email from a friend, I have stumbled upon a nice little site called Ryder Cup Diary, which offers up some nice tidbits for those curious about the history of one of the best weeks in golf.

Ben Curtis: The Closer

Okay, so I'm not saying Ben Curtis is Tiger Woods-like in his ability to close out a tournament when he's in the lead... what I'm saying is that, of late, it seems that the Benster has a talent for winning tournaments that are not coming back next year. From Yahoo! Golf:

"For the second time in three months, Curtis won a tournament that's not scheduled to return next year, stringing a series of big putts down the stretch to claim the 84 Lumber Classic title by two shots Sunday over Charles Howell III."

It's a pretty good way to get a win if you think about it. You get the notariety of winning and the winning check, and you don't have to commit to playing in the same event next year.

Tiger Throws Match Play

This just in: Tiger has thrown the World Match Play in the first round in order to rest up for the Ryder Cup next week. I reported a few weeks ago that Tiger was taking more of a leadership roll on this year's team. This proves his commitment. Jim Furyk followed suit, deciding he only wanted to play 32 holes before moving on to the K club next week. If this kind of commitment is what we have to look forward to from our veterans, the Europeans don't have a chance next week.

One More Thing...

Apple had its big "It's Showtime" event earlier today, announcing several new products including:

• iPod goes from 60gb to 80gb with better screen resolution and battery life, but still no widescreen format.
• iPod Nanos get new colors and form factor, get bumped to 8gb at the high end and the 1gb Nano is retired.
• iTunes 7 released with an updated layout and gapless playback (translates to iPod too).
  
• Movies now available for download from iTMS.
  
• A new set top box dubbed iTV that will help marry iTunes on the computer to the living room (available Q1 2007).
  

Nothing that surprising, considering the name of the event. I think all those "in the know" predicted the movie store at least, and the rest is just a natural extension of that. For me personally, the thing I'm most interested in is the new Nanos. I could care less about watching movies on an iPod and the prices seem a little steep to me ($9.99 to $14.99). I would have hoped they would be significantly cheaper than buying the DVD, maybe $9.99 as a top-line price.

But the new Nano is interesting to me for the fact that they have now been increased to 8gb, and also because they have gone "old school" a little bit and brought back the design element of the former iPod Mini. I think this is a good move, as it gives the Nano its own personality, so to speak. I just hope the new Nano is as durable as the Minis were.

They also revealed a new iPod Shuffle, which looks like an aluminum version of the iPod remote. It's cute and all, but it doesn't really interest me personally.

Kerr Takes Down Annika

Props to Christie Kerr for staring down World #1 Annika Sorenstam this weekend and coming out on top. It's nice to see an Amercian player able to bring out her 'A' game when it counts.

Tiger Lets Furyk Win

In a show of ultimate selflessness, Tiger Woods decided to take in the U.S. Open this weekend and let someone else win a golf tournament for a change. Not only that, according to his instructor Hank Haney, he talked to Tiger Sunday morning and Tiger predicted that Jim Furyk would win. I think this demonstration of generosity and psychic ability proves my earlier theory that Tiger has in fact risen to More Than a Man, Less Than a God status.

Dvorak Was Right

Once again, it looks like famous curmudgeon and whipping boy of most of the western tech world, John C. Dvorak was right. Digg is being gamed and it's not even big time gaming. It's gaming that doesn't even matter. It's just so some dude in East Philly can go to bed at night knowing he's one of the coveted 'Top 100' on the site. What happens when, as Dvorak mentions, someone with an agenda tries to game the system to get one of their stories promoted to the all important front page? It can be done. The Digg Powers That Be (DPTB) have admitted that they are contstantly having to tweak the secret algorithm that says whether a story is promoted or not.

Kudos to them for doing what they can to keep Digg as democratic as they can, but the fact remains that as long as there is someone out there who wants to use a site or an idea like Digg to their advantage, they will eventually figure out a way to do it. Right now it doesn't really matter. The gaming taking place is apparently all about ego at this point. But some day, it will be about more than that, and that's when the Digg crew will have a real problem on their hands.

What the Heck is a Stimp Meter?

Anyone who has been playing or watching golf for any amount of time probably has heard of the Stimp Meter. You may have heard the term, but do you really know how it works? Here's a good description of what exactly a Stimp Meter is:

"A stimp meter is the device used to measure the speed of the greens. To get the stimp rating, a ball is rolled down a little ramp (the stimp meter) in eight different directions. The stimp rating is the average distance the ball rolls once it touches the greens. For instance, a course with a stimp rating of 12 is a course in which the ball rolled an average of 12 feet once it hit the greens. Most Professional Golfers Association courses run at a 10 to 12 stimp rating. The higher the number, the faster the course. Most municipal golf courses have an average stimp reading range from 7 to 10."

Click to read more.

More Than a Man, Less Than a God

From my understanding, it was confirmed late Monday afternoon that Tiger Woods has been promoted to 'God-like' status, indicating that he is indeed more than a man, but less than a God. Over his past five tournaments, Tiger has not lost. It's certainly not something that hasn't been done before, but it's damn impressive nonetheless. What blows my minds is that from what I have observed, I don't personally think he's playing as well as he can. If he ever puts together his 'A' game, he might achieve full-blown 'God' status.

Chances Are...

What I love about the game of golf is that it is so complicated, yet so simple. If you have sufficent talent and practice enough, you can physically execute the shots that are needed in pretty much any given situation. But as any golfer knows, executing the shots and actually pulling off the shots at the right times are two very different things.

You can practice for as long as you want, for as many days in a row as you want, play practice rounds to your heart's content and work on your game until the cows come home, but if you can't pull it off when it counts, golf can destroy you. Golf is the master and we are the students and that will never change.

Practice makes perfect. We all know that. I firmly believe in the theory that if you can practice, practice, practice, develop a routine and stick to it on every shot, that in pressure situations you will pretty much go into automatic mode and the routine will act as a calming mechanism to help you execute the shot. I know this because I've done it. I have been able to execute shots in what for me are pressure situations and I can look back and know without a doubt that the mindset that the routine put me in is what helped me through it.

But before the shot, before the routine comes the decision making process. For me, decision making is beginning to come with age and experience. I can stand over a shot now and run the scenarios over in my head and most of the time I can come up with a decision that I am confident in. Harvey Penick called it 'controlled agression'. If you want to take chances, you can, but you want to be sure to put yourself in a position where the percentages are in your favor when you take that chance.

If I'm a professional gambler and I don't play the percentages, I won't be a professional gambler for very long. It's the same on the golf course. You and you alone are in control of when it's best to take the chance and when it's best to lay up. If you always take the chance no matter the situation, you're not a 'Riverboat Gambler', you're just a high handicapper with delusions of grandeur.

Natalie Gublis 'Girls of FHM' Interview

I'll be honest, I don't think Natalie Gulbis is necessarily better looking or sexier than a lot of the girls on the LPGA, but for some reason she has become the Anna Kournikova of golf. I guess at the end of the day it's all marketing hype. Anyway, she does seem to be a nice girl, and I do wish she would get her first win out of the way. Anyone who watches the LPGA at all knows she's got the talent, so in theory it's only a matter of time.

Click on the link below to read her interview in FHM and see a few nice photos.

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Woods Takes Ryder Cup Leadership Role

Once the U.S. team was set for the Ryder Cup, the running joke was that Brett Wetterich had never met Tiger Woods. By the end of last week, Woods got to know all four rookies quite well. In another sign that Woods is taking on more of a leadership role, he took the quartet of Ryder Cup rookies to dinner Friday night at the Diamond Grill restaurant.

All I can say is, it's about time!

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Flash Golf Anyone?

I just got an email from my sister with a link to an online flash-based miniature golf game, which took me on a quest for some more of the same. I'll probably be adding more as I find them, but here is what I've found so far:

• Mini Golf (mini golf)
  
• Flash Golf ('real' golf)
  
• Flash Golf v1.3 (mini golf)
  
• Flash Golf 2001 ('real' golf)

I'm beginning to get the impression that the names of these online flash games are not particularly original.

Hmm, I Wonder?

Happy Gilmore was released in 1996. This Nike commercial aired circa 1993, featuring Andre Agassi and a friend playing golf. I wonder if Adam Sandler got the idea for Happy's unique swing from watching this commercial?

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US Ryder Cup Team Arrives at K Club for Practice

All 12 members of the U.S. squad flew into Dublin early on Monday for a two-day team-building exercise and played 18 holes in wet and windy conditions at next month's Ryder Cup venue. The Ryder Cup is Sept. 22-24 at the K Club.

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Off The Cart Path, Over The Clubhouse...

So I guess Tiger hit his approach into the 9th hole (his 18th) yesterday over the green, it bounced off the cart path behind the green, and then over the clubhouse and into a cart of crunchy cream pies being unloaded by a kitchen employee, one Josh Stuber. I guess Tiger also didn't get assessed any penalty strokes for this shot, and instead got a free drop after a laser was used to measure the distance from the flag. This brings up a question I have wondered about for a long time:

Are there ANY out of bounds areas on a golf course used in a professional tournament?

Sure, I have seen OB's in a very few instances, mostly in Europe, but you would think the way these guys seem to be spraying it all over God's Green Earth these days, they would run into OB's a lot more often than they do. I'm wondering now if the local rules of these courses aren't softened up a bit during a pro tourney week. You know, because TV types figure that we don't want to see our favorite players having to take stroke and distance like we have to every Sunday afternoon at the club.

Does Jim Furyk get to punch a 9-iron off the dinner plate of an old lady who lives just off the 8th fairway, but if I do the same thing next week I have to drop another ball and add a stroke?

Everyone has been talking about how to make these courses long enough and fair enough to deal with the extra distance gained by new technology. Here's my idea:

I say we start making "the ropes" OB in every pro tournament that's played. That way, when Phil sprays a ball into the gallery while trying to drive a short par 4, guess what? He's got to drop another ball and add a stroke just like me.

Woods on PGA Drug Testing: "Bring It On!"

Tiger Woods said he would like to see testing on the PGA Tour for performance-enhancing drugs as soon as possible to make sure golf remains clean. "I don't know when we could get that implemented," Woods said. "Tomorrow would be fine with me."

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Nicklaus wants to spice up Valhalla for '08 Ryder Cup

The golfing great spent several hours at Valhalla on Wednesday, home of the 2008 Ryder Cup, trying to find a way to counter the modifications in equipment that have allowed today's pros to turn some of golf's most revered courses into glorified pitch and putts.

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5 Best Uses for Hybrid Utility Clubs

Hybrid utility clubs are showing up all over the place, rescuing golfers from all kinds of situations. The reason for this is simple; they open up opportunities for a number of great new shots. Here are but a few...

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Ratings for PGA Jump With Woods' Win

Tiger Woods' victory at the PGA Championship helped the TV ratings increase 22 percent from last year. CBS' final-round coverage Sunday drew an average overnight household rating of 7.2 with a 16 share. That's up from last year's 5.9 rating with a 13 share for Phil Mickelson's victory.

I honestly don't understand these figures, as I stopped watching once I realized that no one was gonna catch Tiger. And that's not just because it's Tiger in the lead. I have the same reaction to any golf tournament I'm watching where the competition is no longer in question. I guess that's why I have slowly been finding myself watching more LPGA golf lately. It seems no matter who is playing and how small or big time the tournament is, it's always close.

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Ogilvy Earns His Spot

Looks like Geoff Olgivy is slowly proving to himself and others that he really does belong in the upper ranks of professional golfers. Through a two day stretch of a circus he surely is not accustomed to, Ogilvy not only held his own with his playing companions, he has put himself squarley in the hunt for the championship.

It's great to see Ogilvy doing well and holding his own in the spotlight. He reminds me a little of Retief Goosen, in that he just quietly goes about his business and let's those who want the spotlight, have the spotlight.

Final Major, Final Chance

With the PGA Championship this week, it will be the final chance for a lot of big names, and small names, to make their mark on this season and history. Everyone knows names like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, but I'm talking about players like Vijay and Ernie and Retief, players who go into a season thinking primarily about the majors and who have not gotten it done this season. A major victory for Ernie this week could turn a bad year into a pretty good one. A major victory could turn a so-so year from Vijay into a successful season. That's what happened to Phil in last year's PGA. He was having a so-so season, and all of a sudden he was the guy who had won two majors in as many years.

But I'm also talking about players like Mike Weir and Kenny Perry, two players who I think would have a good chance at Medinah, but neither has done a lot in the past few years. Perry is coming off knee surgery, and Weir is coming back from being off the grid since, arguably, the 2003 Masters.

Can it be that any of these guys will win, or perhaps it will be the new Best Yet To Win, Sergio. Maybe good memories from '99 will carry him through to victory. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. One more day. One more day.

What If Tiger Woods Played Another Sport?

Here's an interesting story that tries to put in perspective Tiger Woods' 50th win at 30 years old by asking the question, "What if Tiger were a pitcher?", "What if Tiger played football?", et cetera.

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Golf Can Draw Out Multiple Intelligences

Very interesting article here...

Your multiple intelligences, hold surprising approaches to the green, if you're willing to accept that one way rarely fits all golfers. Conversely, golf helps you to develop and draw from hidden or unused new intelligences that you'll find useful this week at work. How so? Read on...


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Amazing Air Jordan Dunk Video

Going off the golf and tech theme momentarily. Jordan was the greatest, and I have to give props to any link I can find that acknowledges that fact in some small way. Whether you're from Chicago or not this compilation of Jordan's top 10 dunks is great. Ahh the memories.

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Can't Have It Both Ways

Now, I'm not saying Michelle Wie isn't a great player. I think she is "the real deal" and will probably one day be the best player in Women's Golf and the first woman in 'X' amount of years to make a PGA cut. But you also can't have it both ways. This post talks about Michelle not winning the Evian Masters this past week, but says it's okay because she's only 16. But I don't think you can't have it both ways. She can't be ranked #2 in the world, yet it's still okay that she hasn't won, 16 or not.

Why Does My Golf Ball Do That?

Most golfers rarely hit the ball dead straight. This troubleshooting guide will tell you why the ball is moving in a certain flight path and golf coach, Nick Bradley, will tell you how to correct it.
Click through the links on the right hand side of the article.


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Random Thought

There has been some uproar on the 'nets the past couple of days and I just wanted to post a random thought about it. I won't mention any names because I don't anyone to get any undue publicity from my little hole in the wall site that only I visit. For those who follow the same types of things I follow and visit the same websites I do, you'll know what I'm talking about. Here goes...

If I had a social news site who's main mantra was no editorial control, that was a completely user driven experience, and all of a sudden it was suggested to me that I should pay the top 10 or 20 users of my site because they're what keeps the site going... if I did that, what would stop me from coming back to those same users who are now on my payroll and telling them, "I'm your boss, I want to make sure 'Story X' is promoted to the front page"?

Not saying that would happen, but it's sure something that would be a possibility. Then all of a sudden we don't have a completely user driven site. We have a user driven site, driven by users who are paid by the site owners. Heck, we could almost go so far as to call these paid users "editors", in that they are paid and, in theory at least, have some control over what stories are submitted. This of course goes against said site's main mantra.

Some people just don't get it, and some just want to buy it I guess.

Is Tiger the Best Ever Yet?

With his Open Championship win and his 11th major victory this past weekend, can we finally say Tiger is the best ever to play the game? In my eyes, no… not yet. He is clearly the best of our time, and I firmly believe one day we will call him the best ever, but I just can't make myself give him the title of "Best Ever" until he has the stats to prove it. Matching his stats to Jack's at this point in their careers, is he better? According to this chart, at 29, Tiger was 16 Tour wins and 3 Majors better than Jack at 29. That's pretty impressive and shows that Tiger is on a pretty good path to better Jack probably before he hits 40, if he manages to keep up his current pace.

But the problem is that we just don't know what the future will hold for Tiger or for the game of golf. Anything can happen in the next 10 years that could put a serious hurt on Tiger's quest. There might be some 14 year old out there right now whose quest is to be the next Tiger and he might have the talent to do it. Just imagine, if Tiger gets to 14 wins in the next 3 years and then all of a sudden the next Tiger, or maybe two more Tigers come to the tour and start dominating the game like Tiger does now. Add some maturity to the games of current players like Sean O'Hair and Luke Donald and now all of a sudden Tiger has 4 or 5 real opponents at every single major he plays.

Am I saying the game is going to pass Tiger by? Not bloody likely. I'm just saying that I think Tiger's first 10 majors were a lot easier for him than his next 10 will be. We're used to him winning at least one per year, and he might just continue that streak. But it's also possible that just like Jack's legend to a large extent created Tiger, Tiger's legend might (and probably will) help create the next Tiger, or the next 10 Tigers. And unlike Jack, Tiger might not have the luxury of waiting until his career is in it's twilight to see the results of his greatness.

Components of a Golf Exercise Program

A golf exercise program should help any golfer improve their game dramatically and feel much more confident every time they set foot on the course.

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Golf is the Devil

Why, oh, why must golf be such a hard game? How is it that we can be "in the slot" for weeks on end and then all of a sudden we lose it? I have been playing much better for most of this season, and all of a sudden the last two weeks have been a nightmare. There are several possibilities that I have come up with:

• I know I have been playing well, but by trying to "lock it in" I have taken away the one thing that was making me play so well: I am now trying to hit the ball rather than just make a confident swing.
• I have shaved about five strokes off my game this season, and now I want more. So now I am trying to shoot a score rather than just playing each shot as it comes and accepting whatever score results.
• I am now focusing more on swing than on target.

The problem is that I'm not a range rat. I usually can't just go to the range and work out my problems. As a matter of fact, it generally hurts my game to go to the range. As I understand it, the range is more for focusing on technique and I tend to swing better if I just play. This brings me to another problem though, and that is if I go play alone for the purpose of practice, I play too fast because I'm alone and get out of my routine. This causes me to play badly, lose confidence and it spills over to the next time I am in real competition.

One thing good has come out of all this and that is that I have been trying really hard to learn to play the percentages more, missing on the correct side of the green and all that, and that mentality has allowed me to save par a lot more now that I'm not striking the ball as well. It's all a learning experience I suppose and a game in which very few of us obtain a Masters Degree.

Inside the Mind Of Phil Mickelson

This is a humorous article written on the collapse of Phil Mickelson during the 2006 U.S. Open. This satire piece discusses all of the things that could have been going through Mickelson's head to cause him to make awful decisions on the 18th hole at Winged Foot. Definitely a good read for those who love golf.

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Tiger's 4,000 Frame Per Second Golf Swing

Nice video from Nike's site showing Tiger's swing shot with a 4,000 frame per second camera. Pretty neat. Of course this is used for advertisement purposes, but I bet someone who knows a lot more about the golf swing than I would be able to use this technology for some serious breakdown of swing flaws.

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What do you do with 3,000 golf balls?

Hilarious prank where a guy's car gets filled with tons of golf balls. Semi golf-related I guess.

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Faldo Joining The Golf Channel

So this is pretty cool news. Like him or not, it looks like Nick Faldo will be joining The Golf Channel when it's PGA Tour coverage takes off in 2007. I have to admit, back in the day when Nicky was playing and appeared a bit robotic and personality-less (and was waxing my hero Greg Norman at every major it seemed), I was not a big Faldo fan. Since he has become a TV personality, however, and according to some reports mellowed out a little bit, I find myself enjoying his commentary... although admittedly he can go off on some wild tangents now and again. Anyway, I think this will be a good move for The Golf Channel, for Faldo, and for the Fans.

Meet Phil Mickelson, AKA 'The Hindenburg'

What a disgusting display. Even though I am a Phil Mickelson fan, I found myself pulling for him not to win yesterday's U.S. Open Championship. He didn't deserve it. There was absolutely no reason for him to be hitting drivers all over the course yesterday, and especially not on the last hole. He could have pulled a Tin Cup and played the final hole with a 7 iron and would have at least gotten into a playoff. It was stupid, stupid golf. Bones should have broken the driver over his knee around about the 14th hole and walked off the course.

Mike Weir is my new hero. I have officially disowned Phil Mickelson.

Tiger Apologizes for 'Spaz' Comment

Okay, I'm sorry, but this is just ridiculous. I remember seeing this comment live. I thought it was funny. Of course, most of the time I don't consider myself a spaz. I guess if I was a spaz, I might have taken offense to the comment. But then again, if I was a spaz and Tiger admitted to being a spaz as well, I think I might take that as a badge of honor rather than an insult. Does that make any sense?

Apple Truck

I just purchased a new truck a few weeks back. Well, not a new truck, but new to me. Anyway, it's a pretty common style and color for around these parts, so I was thinking that I might have to do a little something to set it apart from the others. The obvious choice is a novelty license plate for the front, but I don't want the normal "I'd rather be golfing" or "I'd rather be driving a Titleist". I want something a little different. Everyone around here knows I'm a computer geek, so what I was thinking is that I wanted to get one with an Apple computer logo. Problem is, I can't find one anywhere. What I was looking for is basically the top of a Macbook Pro or Powerbook, a simple brushed metal design with the Apple logo. I've looked all over the net and can find nothing. Anyone got any ideas?

My Thoughts on Phil's Two Drivers

Much has been made of Phil Mickelson's use of two drivers in the Masters last week. Some have said it was genius, some have bordered on calling it blasphemy. No matter what your opinion, the fact is that it worked. I don't know when I can remember seeing Mickelson have a better driving week, especially during a major.

I have to admit that when I first heard about it, I wasn't that thrilled. There's something about the 'he copped out' idea, when you consider that he was basically using technology, not talent, to his advantage. As someone said, he was able to step up to the tee and make the same swing, but get different results because of the way the club was built. But then I got to wondering, what's the difference between having two drivers and having three or four wedges? Certainly a pro is talented enough to make a 56 degree wedge do whatever he wants, especially when you consider that it would be milled to his exact specifications, so why would he need to have a 60 degree wedge also?

I guess my point is that at the end of the day, you are allowed 14 clubs in your bag. If you want two drivers, five 7-irons, four wedges and three putters, and it's legal to carry that configuration, who's to say whether it's right or wrong to do so?

Philly Slam

Props to Phil Mickelson for winning the Masters yesterday. If he can manage to win the next two this year, he will have his own little Philly Slam. While the folks on the Golf Channel last night seemed to think he went out and got this one, my thoughts as I was watching the final round yesterday were that he wasn't so much winning as everyone else was falling back. Sure, Phil played the best golf yesterday, and that's what ultimately won it for him, but it's also true that every time anyone started to put a little run together (Tiger, Vijay, Olazabal), they would bogey the next hole. Consistency is what won this title for Mickelson, not a back nine charge like we saw in 2004. Funny, I never thought I would be writing that last sentence when talking about Phil Mickelson.

Apple Boot Camp Public Beta Announced

A few weeks ago John C. Dvorak received a bunch of flak because of his idea that one day Apple might ditch OS X for Windows. Actually it wasn't his idea. It came from some dude named Yakov Epstein. But Dvorak has more readers than Epstein, so he ended up taking most of the heat for the idea. Anyway, with Apple's announcement today of Boot Camp, which is their own attempt at supporting Windows on an Apple, I get the feeling that someone might owe Dvorak an apology on some level. While I'm not too sure that I agree that Apple will end up dumping their OS altogether, if they can accomplish seamless integration with Windows at some point in the future, one can't deny that Dvorak and Epstein are right in their predictions, at least in some weird, twisted way.

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Masters Week

It is upon us. The week of weeks. It is easily my favorite week all season in terms of pro events. I love the Masters. I love the tradition, the spectacle, the back nine on Sunday, the drama of Amen Corner, Pimento Cheese sandwiches (I don't even like Pimento Cheese), all of it. In case anyone couldn't tell, I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl. No matter who wins or who loses, it's a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned.

RIAA and MPAA merge to form MAFIAA

Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) chairman Dan Glickman and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) president Cary Sherman today announced the historic merger of the two organizations. The newly-created entity is being called the Music And Film Industry Association of America, Inc.

April Fools joke, but pretty funny.

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Tourney Time

So here we go again. The annual tournament that I play with my Dad and a couple of other friends will be coming up in about three weeks. It's not a big tournament by any means, but it's just about the only one I play all year, and I always look forward to it. This year I have two problems, though. Number one, I weigh about 40 pounds more than I did at last year's tournament, and two, I haven't touched a club since last fall. Neither is that big of a deal I guess. Since it's a scramble format, I can just ride the coat tails of my partners, but I'd still like to not embarass myself.

Anything is Possible

So I guess it's true after all, anything is possible. I refer of course to the comments that Stephen Ames made prior to his World Match Play match earlier this year against Tiger Woods, a match in which he was most definitely trounced. Ames won the Players Championship today and one would have to admit that this indicates he was able to bounce back from the "lesson" that the much younger Woods was able to teach him.

Honestly, I thought that whole thing was silly when it happened and, as they are known to do (especially when Tiger is involved), the media managed to make a bit of a mountain out of a mole hill. While he probably didn't put things as eloquently as some of the more seasoned members of the media tent, the fact is Ames was right. Anything can happen, especially in the game of golf, and even more especially in match play. Sure, Ames' comments lit a fire under Tiger the likes of which probably haven't been seen before or since, but it's also a fact that Tiger got knocked out of the Match Play a couple of days later. Anything is possible. UConn got beat by George Mason. Anything is possible. In sports and in life, anything is possible.

Mac Update

I absolutely love my new Mac Mini so far. It does take a little getting used to. The mouse movements are, for lack of a better word, a little "muddy". Thankfully, I found a nice little program called Steermouse via a post on Plastic Bugs. Other than that little hiccup, I would have to say that working on a Mac (compared to Windows) is an exercise in elegance. Everything about it OSX seems to have been put together with 'user experience' in mind. This is no surprise to me, being an iPod user. The iPod user experience is second to none in my opinion.

Next to OSX, Windows feels more of a tool. OSX is an experience. Admittedly, this is from someone who's Windows experience is now old news, but I think I would be safe in saying that someone who switched from OSX to Windows would not come to the reverse conclusion.

I will say that my experience with Front Row has not been all that I expected. I'm still having some troubles getting it to talk to my Windows machine, as my plan was to be able to stream content from my main box with more drive space (Windows) to my Mac Mini. I'm sure this is just some setting that I'm not seeing, and truthfully, I've not taken the time to try to figure it out. I purchased the Mini as a computer first and media center second, so right now Front Row is not a big priority.

All in all, I am very happy with my purchase. If it wasn't for the fact that I have a few things I still have to do that are Windows specific, I'd probably get rid of my Windows box altogether and make the Mini my full time PC.

Taking the Plunge

Well, I've finally gone and done it. I've been waiting and waiting, and with today's announcement of new Intel-based Mac Minis, I have taken the plunge and placed my order. I look forward to my first real foray into the world of Apple and, more specifically, Macs. I have to admit that I've been an Apple fanboy for a while now, which might seem odd to some, seeing as how I just admitted that this new purchase will be my first Mac. But with all I have read and heard over the last couple of years, and with my love of all things iPod, I just like the company and have wanted to experience Macs for a while, in all their glory.

I kicked around the idea of a MacBook Pro for a while, but finally decided that with my plan to use it as a part-time computer, coupled with my bank account cringing at the thought of shelling out $2,000+ for a laptop, I decided the Mini would be the best choice for me... at least for now. So anyway, hopefully I will be posting my review of my new toy sometime in the next couple of weeks.

X-Outs

There's an interesting FAQ over at About.com Golf on X-Out golf balls. I have used X-Outs on many occasions, mostly as a practice ball, but sometimes in a friendly competition with my friends. Most of the time X-Outs only have cosmetic defects which truthfully, I usually can't find anyway. I think they are a great way to get the performance of a higher priced ball at a discount price.

Holmes Wins FBR

As a Kentuckian, it was great to see J.B. Holmes win the FBR Open this week. I have to admit that I haven't been following his career as much as I should. My boss and I almost went to the Southern Farm Bureau last year just to see J.B. play, but it's a pretty long trip and we ended up not being able to make it. At the time, I barely knew who he was, if at all. I just hope that he will be able to deal with his new success and recognition and take it all in stride. I wouldn't be surprised if his phone is ringing off the hook today with supposed swing gurus calling to tell him they can "fix" his swing. Just because he can stripe it down the middle 350 yards doesn't mean anything, because you know, his swing doesn't look like Adam Scott's.

Vijay, My Idol

The more I learn about and observe Vijay Singh, the more I like the guy. As a matter of fact, I think he's the person I'm going to try to pattern my golf after this season. A lot has been made of his incredible work ethic, but I have really been noticing it the past couple of weeks. I mean, he's in his 40's and looks and swings like he's in his 30's. He's not the prototype for the "popular" player on tour, but I think he should be the prototype for anyone out there who wants to improve their game. I just wish he could putt.

The Chinese Invented Golf- in 945 A.D.

So this is kind of cool and off the wall. Apparently the Chinese are claiming that they, in fact, are the birthplace of golf and that it was exported to Europe via Mongolian travellers during the late Middle Ages.

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Why iPod?

I was just reading an interesting post on digg on why all of the supposed iPod killers out there haven't been able to actually kill the iPod. A lot of people have a lot of opinions on the subject, so I figured I might as well give mine too.

While it's arguable that the iPod is still the best player on the market, the fact is that the iPod is a freight train that was started several years back when the iPod first debuted. Back then, I'd say it was definitely the best player out and a breath of fresh air in a market that was just getting off the ground. It was a player that could be used on a Mac and was made by a company that had an underground cult following, and oh by the way, it was a great little device with a great interface and was easy to use.

Fast forward a couple of years and here I am looking for another mp3 player. I had owned several by now, including one of the first CD-based players, and I was looking for something with a little bit more storage than my current Smartmedia-based Rio would allow. I did the research and the iPod topped the list of what I wanted and had the biggest choice of accessories (by now the freight train was rolling down the track), so that's what I got. And I couldn't have been happier. By that time, I had owned and sold probably 5 different types of mp3 players and the iPod was the best one I had ever used, bar none.

Fast forward another couple of years, I'm ready to upgrade, and the iPod with video hits the market. At this point, I don't even do any research. I already know that I love the iPod and so I buy the iPod with video without a second thought. I don't take time to look at the iRivers or the Creatives of the world. I'm faithful to a player that I know will give me the functionality that I want and I stick with it. It's got nothing to do with fashion or being hip. It's loyalty, simple as that.

While the iPod may or may not still be the best player out there with the most features out of the box, I think there are a lot more people out there like me who fell in love with the iPod several years back when it definitely was the best, and now it's just a matter of brand loyalty when we're ready to upgrade. Sure, there are no doubt a lot of people out there who buy the iPod because "everyone who's anyone has an iPod", but I don't have the kind of money to throw away on something just because it's popular. I buy it because it works, and that's what the iPod does... it just works.

Just My Luck

Question: What could be worse than getting a new driver delivered to you on a day when it's raining?

Answer: Waking up the next morning to find about an inch of snow on the ground!!

Creative's Version Of "Podcast"

I saw this a few days ago on Digg, and now it's showing up on The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Apparently everyone is snickering about Creative's attempt at rewriting history by saying that the term "podcast" stands for "Personal On Demand Broadcast". While I agree that this is somewhat lame in it's execution, I actually like the new "definition".

I like the term podcast, I don't think it's going anywhere, but I'm sure a lot of people don't realize that most podcasts can be played on any old mp3 player. And while the term may have been coined with the iPod in mind, the fact is that Apple doesn't own the word, nor do they own podcasts... so why not come up with a definition that is a little bit more all-inclusive?

MacWorld Tomorrow

So everyone is all a buzz over what the big announcements will be tomorrow at the big keynote when MacWorld kicks off tomorrow. I have to say, I have never owned a Mac of any kind. The closest I have come to Apple products is current ownage of 4 iPods (yeah, I know, I have to get off my lazy butt and sell a couple). But even I am excited about what's next for the little company that could.

I have been kicking around the idea of getting a Mac Mini for a while now, but when I heard that they were going to be switching to Intel a few months back, I decided to wait. Rumors have been floating for a while that the first MacIntels might be introduced this week, roughly 6 months ahead of the schedule that Steve Jobs laid out originally. I think it's possible, and it's at least probable that there will be a working prototype at the event this week, with a promise of it's release in the spring.

Other rumors suggest an update of something in the iPod family, with (in my opinion) an update in the Shuffle line the most likely. The Nano is barely 6 months old and the big daddy, the iPod with Video is even younger. The Shuffle is easily the oldest in the group, and the one most in need of an overhaul. If they want to keep the "no screen, life is random" concept with the Shuffle, I'm not sure what they can do with it that will be that big of a deal, though. Maybe smaller, maybe thinner, maybe cheaper... who knows? I don't think they will go with a 2GB Shuffle and have it be at the same capacity as the smallest Nano, unless they drop the 2GB Nano and go with a 4GB and 8GB version. That's possible I guess. But in my opinion, 2GB is a little too much storage for a device with no screen.

I guess we'll all find out tomorrow. If they do introduce Intel-based laptops... my credit card is probably going to take a little beating in the near future.

Resolutions

So like 90% of the rest of the free world today, I have resolutions. Sometimes I do pretty well with my resolutions, but most of the time, like probably 90% of the resolution makers, I fail. I decided this year I would try something a little different by actually writing down my resolutions, and just now I decided to make it even more real by posting it on this blog. Now, I don't know if anyone besides me actually reads this thing, but it's still a bit more significant to me to do it this way than burying my resolutions in some text file in My Documents.

1. Finally lose the weight. Been trying for years and it always comes back. I want to be able to finally finish the "weight loss" chapter of my life and move on to something else.
2. Spend more time playing golf and trying to improve my handicap. I've been stuck at the 18-20 mark for over 10 years. It's time to move on. My goal for this year: get to the 12-15 range.
3. Also in relation to golf, take time to find some new competition, maybe by entering a few tourmaments even though I know I don't have a chance to win, or maybe playing in a few of the weekly scrambles. Nothing can improve your game like some good competition.
4. Manage my money better. Stop adding stuff to my credit cards and start paying them down a little. Stop being lazy and sell some of my old junk on eBay and use the money to pay off a bill or two.
5. Stop being a Kotex. It's time to take my life back.
   

AllPeers for Firefox

So apparently someone is working on what will essentially be a P2P Firefox extension called AllPeers. At first glance, it looks like a nice little tool and I'm sure I'll be giving it a test drive once it comes out. I have to admit though, while I enjoy all the great Firefox extensions out there, and this one seems to be right up there with the best of them, I'm afraid the "peers" or "P2P" monikor will end up sullying Firefox's name to those out there not in the know. It doesn't help that apparently AllPeers will have a bittorrent client built into it.

Firefox has been slowly gaining on IE in terms of popularity. Folks are finally beginning to realize that it helps cut down on spyware and is just an overall better browser. I would hate to see it's popularity diminished because the uninformed masses start thinking of it as the next Napster or Kazaa.

Performancing For Firefox

I have been looking for a good, simple blogging tool for a long while now. Blogger's editor is fine, but sometimes it's a pain to have to go login to the site in order to add in something. I'm currenty working with a Firefox extension called Performancing For Firefox, and it might just be what I have been looking for. It's got a nice, simple looking interface, and I guess we'll see how it looks one I post to this page. I have used similar tools in the past, and they have always left something or another to be desired. If this works... well, I'll be happy.

Local Boy Makes Good

OK, so John Holmes isn't exactly a local, but he is from my home state of Kentucky, so it was great to see him dominate in Q-School this past week. I think he's got a bright future ahead of him. I was also glad to see Bill Haas get his card, although he seemed to have tried really hard to not get it.

Winter Rules

With winter upon us, I thought I would be interesting to talk a little bit about what most golfers like to call "winter rules". As most of us know, the terms winter rules refers to being allowed to improve your lie in less than optimum conditions, mostly brought on by winter weather. Barren areas of the fairway are what we mostly see, and it's reasonable to assume that one might be able to improve his lie if he ends up in one of these areas.

Personally, I don't like to play by winter rules, but if I'm in a group that is recognizing winter rules, I am perfectly willing to take every advantage I am allowed. I like to go by the concept of "fair for one, fair for all", meaning basically that anyone can have bad luck, anyone can have good luck, no matter what the season. I don't get any breaks for landing in a divot in the summer, so why should I get one for landing in a bare spot in the winter? I do make an exception to this line of thinking, however, in that if a person or his equipment might be injured or damaged because of a certain shot (tree root, rock, etc.), I am perfectly willing to let them improve their lie. I don't follow this rule just because of the season. I will do this any time of year.

Here's a great article explaining what a lot of us probably don't know about winter rules.

Skins Game Today

Looks like the annual Skins Game is starting today, and I have to say, I'm looking forward to it. First you have the best player in the world, Tiger Woods, then you have the most prolific Skins winner in history, Fred Couples. But perhaps the most interesting is the final two participants, Annika Sorenstam and Fred Funk, or as I like to call him, The Funker. Apparently, Tiger has been ribbing the Funker that Annika might outdrive him at some point and that he'll never live it down if she does. I wouldn't worry about it if I were him. I mean, she probably will outdrive him at some point, but he can always bring up the fact that he's got a Players title and she doesn't.

Tiger 360

This is a couple of weeks old, but with the release of the Xbox 360 in a couple of weeks, I thought somebody might be interested in some videos of the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 for the new console. I'm pretty excited about the 360's release, even though I probably won't be buying one for a while... that is unless I get a boatload of gift cards or money for Christmas.

I've not really done a lot of research on it, but popular opinion is that you'll be out in the neighborhood of at least $500 to get a decent version of the system (including accessories, games, et cetera). I'm not saying I haven't blown that kind of cash before on something frivolous, but until some more games come out that interest me, I'll probably hold off for a while.

My, How Time Flies

Looks like the Golf Channel is already gearing up for the next installment of their successful Big Break franchise. The Big Break V: Hawaii debuts in February and looks like it's the ladies' turn again. According to About Golf, this crop of ladies might be the best yet, in terms of credentials, of any of the Big Break series. They've got several Futures Tour (the ladies' version of the Nationwide Tour) members, as well as a few who have won major amateur titles. Sadly, Michelle Wie isn't on the list.

Across The Pond

I have enjoyed The Big Break since it's inception a few years back. For those not in the know, it's basically a golf-based game show where the winner gets a shot at playing in a professional event. Past seasons have included spots in Canadian Tour, Nationwide Tour and LPGA Tour events, while this season features a spot in a European Tour event.

This, of course, leads to the format change for this season. In previous seasons, all players have played individually from the start of the show, with the final two going head-to-head in an 18 hole match play finale. This season, with the show taking place in Europe, they have decided to take the show to the next level and add a Ryder Cup, or probably more accurately, a Survivor-type element to the game.

Two teams, USA and Europe, go head to head each week in what they call an immunity challenge, with the losing team going on to an elimination challenge, or tribal council in Survivor terms. The difference here from Survivor is that you don't get to vote someone off. Players are elimintated if they lose the challenge, simple as that.

So far this season has been pretty decent. I do find myself pulling for Team USA, even though the team part of the show is just a gimmick and doesn't really mean anything as far as the ultimate goal of the show. At the same time, I do like some of the Europeans and would like to see them advance just as much as I want to see the Americans advance.

My current favorites are Randall from the Americans and Marty from the Europeans, with American T.J. not far behind. Unfortunately, I don't see any of them making it to the finale. If I was a betting man, I would go with American Paul and European Warren to go all the way. They are both seasoned veterans who seem to know that flash doesn't necessarily always get it done. Although neither is my favorite character, I think if it does come down to the two team captains in a head-to-head match play finale, it will be fun to watch. I currently don't see any weaknesses in either of their games and that should make for a good match to watch.

On a side note, I think I might be enjoying The Big Break: All Access show a little bit better than the regular series. It comes on Wednesday nights and is basically a behind the scenes recap of the Tuesday night episode. It's nice to see what goes on behind the cameras and that the things we see on these reality shows don't happen as "naturally" as we might initially think.

Missed Opportunity

Dunlop missed the boat on this one. If they had been able to get a hold of this technology, they could have had the 'High Tech Redneck'.

Extra! Extra!! Get you free iPod Nanos here!!!

The Wie Situation

Reading this article on the Michelle Wie disqualification this weekend got me to thinking about an issue that I've discussed with my golfing buddies several times:

Should spectators be allowed to call players on rules violations?

As far as someone being allowed to call in because they see an infraction on TV, my vote would be no. My reasoning is simple. Every player can not be seen by the cameras. Tiger Woods, for example, has a lot more camera time than any other player on the tour. Phil Mickelson might make the same rules boo boo as Tiger, but since they never show Phil on TV, he would get away with it where Tiger might not. It's not fair to Tiger, and unless every player's every shot could be seen, I think it should not be allowed.

Allowing spectators at the event to call rules violations might be a little different, but you still get back to the fact that the popular players have a lot bigger gallery than the less popular ones, and therefore there are more eyes on them judging their every move. Mr. Bamberger couldn't see whether Natalie Gulbis made the same mistake as Michelle, because his eyes were trained on Michelle Wie. That's not fair to Michelle.

What does concern me about this whole situation is that apparently Mr. Bamberger (who seems to have been made the villian in this story) did approach Michelle about the possible rules violation after Saturday's third round...

"He questioned her about it after the round. He slept on it Saturday night. Still bothered, he brought it to the attention of rules officials on Sunday."

Yet we didn't hear anything about it until after the final round on Sunday. Everything I've read or heard about this incident seems to have glossed over this fact and it disturbs me a little bit. I'm wondering if Michelle had been approached about it, why didn't she mention it to a rules official herself? Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Michelle or her team had bad intentions. She probably just didn't think there was a problem and that this strange reporter was just trying to stir up trouble. It's just something that's not clear to me and I would like to know why she didn't question it more than she apparently did.

In the end, the rules are the rules, and they handled this situation according to them. Should the rules be changed? I don't know, but I do think they need to at least be looked at for the future.

Extra! Extra!! Get your free iPod Nanos here!!!

Long Time Coming

Here's a cool story about the longest ever recorded Hole-In-One... 1 hour, 4 seconds to be exact. Something about the tee and the green being in different time zones. Anyway, I thought it was a cool story, and a nice piece of trivia.

Extra! Extra!! Get your free iPod Nanos here!!!

Rescue Review

Well, as indicated by my In The Bag section to your right, I have recently added a couple of rescue/hybrid clubs to my bag. I figured after a couple of years of hype, I may as well give them a try. I must say, so far I am pleasantly surprised. When the rescue/hybrid fad hit, I looked at it as just that, a fad. I figured, what do these things have that a good fairway wood doesn't? I also bought into the theory that if you couldn't hit a decent long iron, you weren't really a golfer. The last thought might be true, but I don't buy it anymore.

The first thing I noticed about them is that I can absolutely hammer them off the tee. Of course, they're not a driver or 3 wood, but they definitely go longer (for me) than a 3 or 4 iron, which is what they're supposed to be replacing. And while I had some control issues with them the first couple of rounds, they still give me more control than I would have on a day when my driver or 3 wood leaves me, and with acceptable distance too.

Secondly, out of the rough they are a dream. I don't know what it is about them, but they will smoke out of the rough where the same shot with a 4 iron would get you maybe 3/4 of your normal distance. Used to if I found myself in some of the bermuda rough that we have at my home course, I would pull out a 7 iron and not give it a second thought. Now I will be giving it a second thought.

Finally, I messed around a little with some off-the-green "putts" with, again, amazing results. I had previously practiced the same shot with a 7 wood with acceptable results. I don't know what it is about these rescue clubs, but they seem to give me much more control than the 7 wood.

I know some of this can be attributed to the "new club confidence" factor. Obviously, I will have to get some more rounds in before making them a permanent part of my bag. For now, though, I am very pleased with my results.

Texas Golf Made Easy

I've always been a little partial to Texas golf, which is strange because I'm not from anywhere near Texas. But ever since reading Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, I've had an interest in following all of the Texas golfers: Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Roy McAvoy, all of those dudes. Well, imagine my happiness to discover the Texas Golf Blog, a blog about, you guessed it, golf in Texas. I highly recommend checking it out. There's some great insight and news on Texas golf, and just plain old golf in general.

USGA To Allow Rangefinders

I've been meaning to post about this for a few days now, but I've been kind of lazy. Apparently, the USGA has decided to make a huge amendment to one of their rules, allowing electronic rangefinders to be used in tournament play. Rangefinders have been used for years by amateurs, but until now, have never been allowed during tournament play. The new rule doesn't allow rangefinders across the board, but does allow clubs to make rangefinders legal via their own local rule.

I think this is a move in the right direction, and a move into the 21st century for the USGA. As I have stated before, PGA Tour Pros have essentially the same information fed to them from their caddies from week to week, and I think I should be allowed the same information, even though my local club doesn't have caddies.

Tiger Woods On Xbox 360

I just found some screenshots of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 on the Xbox 360. They look pretty good. I just hope they don't get too enthralled with the looks off all these new games on the new systems and remember the gameplay aspect.

We're All Spoiled

I just had a thought with regards to how pampered and spoiled we have become in today's society. I was just looking on my desk and admiring how small my iPod Shuffle is and got to thinking about how it's neat and all that it's so compact, but like many others, I wished it had some sort of display. Then it hit me. Back in the day, back when I was in high school in the 80's, my portable CD player, which was huge by comparison, didn't have any real display to speak of either. Sure, you could tell on the little digital readout what track was playing, but for it to display the actual track name wasn't even something that was considered. Now, I understand that CD's didn't have near as many tracks to have to keep up with and therefore it was easier to remember which track was which, but my point is that today people (even me) seem to get caught up in criticizing what something doesn't have, rather than appreciating what we do have.

Wie Turning Pro Soon?

It's been going around for months that Michelle Wie will turn pro after her 16th birthday next month. Looks like there is more evidence now. Juli Inkster's (now former) caddie Greg Johnston, who has caddied for Wie in the past when Juli was taking a week off, is going to be taking over as full-time caddie for Wie. I don't know if Wie's turning pro was supposed to be a big secret or not, but if it was, it seems to me letting the caddie announce his intentions a month early is not a good way to keep up the suspense.

Much Love To The Fox

I love Firefox. I think it is teh shiz, if you know what I mean. One of it's greatest assets is the many extensions that it offers. I remember reading an article a while back which stated that Opera was better, because most of Firefox's essential extensions were just automatically built into Opera from the get go. Opera may indeed be better. I can't say because I haven't ever used it, but in my opinion the sheer barebonesedness (I know, not a word) of Firefox is what makes it so great. Some of the "essential" extensions listed in the article that I read are not ones that are essential to me. I don't want someone else deciding for me what extensions, or features, I need in a browser.

That being said, you need these two extensions: Save Link in Folder and Save Image in Folder. They are essential.

Shameless Plug

Ok, I'm going to give this a shot. For anyone interested in a "free" iPod Nano, please click on the link below and at least check out the offer. From all of the research I've done, this company is legit and does give out free items, as long as you jump through their hoops. You just need to sign up for one of their offers, get 6 friends to do the same, and you get your free Nano. I've never tried one of these things, but figured it was worth a few bucks and a little time to see what happens. Would you please be my friend?

http://www.ipodnanos4free.com/default.aspx?r=470544

Floaters Explained

This Wiki entry explains what those things are, where they came from, and (most importantly) confirm that your aren't "seeing things".

Hopefully this also will explain why I keep seeing Boomer from Battlestar Galactica floating around in front of me. Heh.

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The New iPod Nano Is Here

Well, looks like the big announcement from Apple today didn't go anything like I had hoped. No bigger Shuffle, no flash Mini... well, that's not entirely accurate I guess. Looks like the big Shuffle and the flash Mini are the same thing, namely the iPod Nano. Apple decided to introduce the 2GB and 4GB flash player, which will take the place of the iPod Mini in the lineup, and will sport benefits of both the Shuffle (flash-based) and the Mini (screen). It's a neat looking little unit, but I have to be honest that I'm a little disappointed. I was hoping for something to help drive down the price of the Shuffle, but instead it looks like all we got was a replacement for the Mini.

MP3 Players Can Cause Hearing Loss?

Leave it to the New York Times to post something like this. Apparently some dudes over at Harvard Medical School have discovered that in-ear headphones produce higher output levels than traditional headphones. Thing is, headphones have been around a lot longer than MP3 players, so I don't think I would blame the MP3 players specifically. Heck, now that I think about it, I wouldn't even blame the headphones. I'd blame the people who have their volume too loud.

Red Cross Katrina Dog Ears For Your Website

Brian Alvey created these very cool and easy to install "dog ears" for your blog/website... you can install them quickly--just please download the images to your own server so Brian's server doesn't get jammed up.

Obviously I have added this to the top right corner of my site. Just click and donate whatever you can. Also, thanks to the folks at Extrabigfoot and TheJosher for volunteering to help host the image.

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Have I Lost Interest?

Obviously, I've not been posting a lot of golf-related stuff of late. I think the reason is that there's not a lot going on in the world of pro golf right now, and neither is a lot going on in my own personal quest to become a better golfer.

After the majors, I guess the next big thing that peaks my interest is going to be the Presidents Cup coming up at the end of the month. It's not surprise that the USA vs. the International Team is not as big to me as the Ryder Cup. It just doesn't have as much history to it yet, even though the players on the International team are usually more familiar to me than the European team of the Ryder Cup. Also, after last year's debacle, I hesitate to get too worked up about it, lest I become sorely dissapointed again.

On my own personal front, I've just not been into the game that much this season. I don't know why. It just seems like I go through these phases where I either don't have time or just don't care about it that much. Next year I might play every day, but I've pretty much given up on this season. It's funny, because earlier this year I shot the best round I've had in several years, but still didn't have any real desire to go back out and build on it.

One other interesting thing that I'm looking forward to is the Big Break IV on the Golf Channel. Looks like they're going to go for some kind of Ryder Cup feel with a USA vs. Europe thing. It will be interesting I think. I just hope I don't end up disliking everyone on the US team.

Enough With The Shuffle Already!!

A few days ago I posted about some issues I had with my iPod Shuffle. Thanks to some suggestions from Erik at The Sand Trap (thanks, Erik!) and this page, I think I'm finally working things out a little bit. My favorite feature, which I'd noticed before but hadn't tried, is the option to "keep this iPod in the source list". Basically, it keeps a little image of my Shuffle contents in iTunes even when it's not connected. This way I can edit the contents any way I want and my Shuffle will be updated with that list whenever I connect it.

By the way, the White Stripes rock.

Flash Mini & More Shuffle

According to this article, Apple will shortly upgrade its iPod Mini line with color screens and flash memory, and its iPod Shuffle line with increased storage capacity. For anyone thinking about buying a Mini or a Shuffle, you might want to wait until after this announcement. I was thinking of upgrading my Shuffle to a 1GB model, but after reading this article, I think I'll wait. If a 2GB Shuffle is released, the 1GB model will almost certainly drop in price.

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Logitech’s Latest Harmony, The 520

I love Logitech's Harmony remotes. I've got one of the cheaper models, the 659 I think. Looks like they're going away from the peanut look with this new one.

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Yahoo! Domains Only $1.99/year

Yahoo is currently offering domain names for $1.99/year or $9.95 for 5 years. Hurry while this offer lasts!

I have taken advantage of this deal to register rubofthegreen.org and it is now pointing to this website. For anyone interested in registering their own domain, this deal expires September 2nd at 11:59 PST.

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Starry Night 1.5 Gigapixel Image!

This is pretty cool.

This image is a photomosaic of the famous painting 'Starry Night'. The image is made with over 210.000 tiny photographs and a total size of over 1.500.000.000 points in other words it is a 1.5 Gigapixel Image. Click over the image (Zoom In) until you start to see the tiny images.

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Avoiding & Removing Spyware

This looks like a nice little article for helping to prevent my current most hated aspect of Windows-based PC's... the dreaded spyware!

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Shuffle Woes

I purchased myself an iPod Shuffle a couple of months back and have been using it off and on, mostly when I go to play golf and want something light to carry around with me to listen to various podcasts, music or whatever. I have to say, it sounds great and is very small and handy, but it's also got some serious issues.

First off, with my other iPod, I have the choice upon plugging it into my computer on whether or not to auto-sync or not. With the Shuffle, I don't have the choice. It syncs, and syncs, and syncs. So sometimes I end up having to wait for it to copy a bunch of unwanted music, eraseit, and drag what I really want to it manually.

Secondly, I know life is random, but I tend to want to listen to things in the order that I have set them up. For some reason, the Shuffle sometimes doesn't want to play my playlist in the order in which I had it on my computer. Maybe I'm not doing something right, I don't know. I
guess I need to research it more.

And lastly, the darn thing doesn't seem to want to plug into my front usb connector, so I have to use a usb extension cable that I have run from the back of my pc. Annoying. I'm currently looking into getting a new lcd monitor with a built in usb hub, so hopefully that will solve
that problem.

If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free. This thing drives me nuts sometimes.

Asterisk@Home (v1.3) Review

With the costs for VoIP coming down, the acceptance of personal use of Vonage et al. for home phones rising, and open source projects becoming more capable, Asterisk is at the cutting edge of a new breed of PBX-replacement products for small and medium business.

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Golf GPS 'Caddy' System

The new 'Caddy' system can be clipped to a belt or golf bag and will provide exact read-outs of distances to bunkers, ponds and greens. Uses gps technology. Not sure what's so special about this thing, as I've been seeing Peter Jacobson push the Sky Caddy on the Golf Channel for weeks.

My thoughts on this are probably not the most traditional. I can't afford a real life caddy, and even if I could, not many courses around these parts even offer caddies. So I don't see anything wrong with using technology to basically give me the same advantages that tour pros get. As long as everyone else has the same technology available to them, I don't see anything wrong with it.

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Mars Lander found?

An imaging specialist thinks he may have found the Sars lander, Spirit, that crased in 1999 due to rocket failure 130 ft. above Martian surface.

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Google Talk

So Google released it's much anticipated IM service today, dubbed Google Talk. I've been using it this morning and so far, I have to say I like it. As one would expect of Google, it's small, simple and bloatless. It does what you want it to do and seems to do it well.

Also, and this is my favorite part, it uses the open source Jabber protocol, which means you don't have to use the Google Talk client at all, you can use other clients out there that support Jabber. That's always been my beef with IM services... being tied to a certain client. It's like having to use a GE phone to talk to someone on another GE phone. Of course, you do have to have a Gmail account, but who doesn't have one of those nowadays?

Validation

I've often wondered, and unfortunately I'll never know for sure, if winning one's second major was more difficult than the first. Phil Mickelson won his second today, ridding himself of the title "Best Player Lucky Enough To Win Only One Major".

Validation is the word that comes to my mind. Proof that you're as good as everyone thinks you are and that you can get it done at crunch time. The thing is, and what's great about the game of golf, I can kind of know how it feels too, by dropping a 20 footer on the 18th hole on a Sunday afternoon at my local club tournament. Golf doesn't know that I'm not a pro playing for millions of dollars, and neither does my heart.

Props to Phil. If I'd known predicting Tiger to win would produce these results, I'd have started doing it a long time ago.

What Is It With Me?

Ok, so I guess I'm a jinx or something. No sooner do I predict Tiger to win the PGA handily, and he decides to barely make the cut. Not that he can't come back and win the thing, but something is telling me that this golf course is going to be hard for anyone to make up a lot of ground... especially for someone like Tiger, who likes to eat par 5's for lunch. They're basically playing several par 5's on this course, but only two of them have that designation on the score card.

It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend. I think Tiger can still pull it together and have a respectable showing, but unless the entire rest-of-the-field collapses, he's going to have a big crowd to push through in order to get the job done.

(There, maybe that will lift the curse...)

Who Will Get 2nd?

With the way he's been playing in the majors this season, as far as I'm concerned, it's a foregone concusion that Tiger will take the PGA this week. So I'm wondering who will finish 2nd? Or, if you want, who has the best chance at the upset?

We all know if Vijay can make a putt, he's probably got the best chance of the lot, and with Retief's win yesterday, he's probably gained a little confidence back. As for a wildcard, I've not been following golf very much lately, so I would have no idea... maybe Roy McAvoy?