My Daughter had the Pouty Sad Face today

My Daughter has been bugging me to go to TCBY for several months. Today, I took her, but when we got there, they did not have the Cotton Candy Flavored Cold Yogurt that she so yearned for. Their refrigerator was broken, so all they had was the soft serve, and this brought out the Pouty sad face.

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More on Last nights Loss and drama

Our team, Werther's Originals, received the following E-mail today from the Management of the company that runs our softball league:

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Werther’s Team:

My apologies for the situation last night. I am unhappy with the way things were handled and I am sorry. Knowing that Roland has been on the roster and played all season, he should have been given the opportunity to sign the roster and play last night. I understand that there were some unhappy people vocalizing their displeasure using curse words. While this is not allowed in our league, I understand the circumstances.

I am in the process of updating our policies/procedures and making some changes with staff to make sure this dosen't happen again.

I would appreciate the opportunity to have your team play with us again.

Thanks!

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And then she signed her full name here.



To which, I responded with this:



Tracey

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Thanks for that E-mail and following up with us. It did seem very bureaucratic, and made no sense, but at the same time, our guys did not handle it as well as they should have. I do think the umpires did a great job of handling everything within the parameters of the situation. ( as best we could tell, we think Roland must have signed some other teams roster, because he got his shirt that opening day and clearly remembers signing something to get that, I.e. they wont give you your shirt if you don't sign)

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Anyways, I appreciate you reaching out. I know some of the hotheads last night did talk about finding another league for next season, but Personally I love the league we are in and the setup of the location, the shorter fence, and the Wednesday night time slot, along with having playoffs.

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Then a little while later, one of the lawyers on our team sent this E-mail:
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Tracey,

We appreciate your apology and action to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again. We apologize for the demonstration of our displeasure by way of profanity, as this was certainly not how we sought to end the championship game of our team’s seventh season in the league.

Over the past few seasons, Spencer has become increasingly abrasive towards our team for reasons we do not understand. Last night appeared to be a culmination of his dislike for our team. During the past few seasons, Spencer has substituted as a player for nearly every opposing team during regular season play. That has never been a problem for us. Through this past season, Spencer was fully aware that Roland was a paid for member of our team, that he was our regular first baseman, and that he was on the roster. However, last night, Spencer chose to wait until the bottom of the first inning to bring the signature issue regarding Roland to our attention. Had this been a simple oversight, we would clearly understood, and done what was needed to move on. Instead, Spencer belatedly walked onto the field with a condescending smile and announced that Roland could not play because he failed to sign the roster sheet prior to the beginning of play. When Roland offered to sign the form, we were told that rules were rules, and that because the game was already under way, he was disqualified. Spencer later noted that he knew of the signature issue prior to the start of the game. Knowing of the technicality, he failed to bring the issue to our attention. Instead, Spencer chose to disqualify Roland, by way of a technicality that he purposefully chose not to correct. By these actions, Spencer has fallen woefully short of his task of “making sure every one's having fun and things run smoothly” as stated on the league website. Further, it seems that Spencer has neglected his responsibility to verify signatures on rosters prior to allowing anyone to play from the beginning of the season in this case.

Unfortunately, Roland’s mid -game disqualification and the ensuing discussions led our team to became more focused on mitigating an escalating situation than winning the championship game at hand. This distraction manifested itself through our play and frustration. This situation was completely avoidable. We understand and appreciate the umpires actions in applying the rules regarding profanity and thank you for your efforts to prevent this in the future. Nevertheless, we feel that Spencer’s actions deprived our team of a fair chance to compete for the championship.

We have enjoyed all but the end of the seven seasons we have played in this league, and appreciate your efforts to provide a quality recreational experience. However, we will not return for another season without assurance that Spencer has been removed as commissioner.

Thank you for your contact and efforts,

And then he signed it.

Colossal Fail in the Championship game

Colossal fail tonight in the Hack League Softball Championship Game.

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I honestly believe if we play those guys 10 times we would beat them 7, but, tonight it was not meant to be. We had a player ejected for allegedly not signing the roster, but we know he did. We Just could not prove it. Its Possible he signed some other teams roster at the beginning of the season, because his name was not on the sheet, but they would not have given him a jersey if he had not signed. All this happened in between the two halves of the first inning, and of course, most everyone on my team are a bunch of lawyers so they had to argue, and it was a losing battle from the beginning.

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That didn't lose it for us though, what lost it was how horrible we played. Psychologically I think we got out of sorts because of the random arbitrary enforcement of the sign the sheet rules, but that's just an excuse. How do they not catch that until the championship game though?

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Anyways, tonight we were the Louisiana Pelicans and the other team was the Oil. We just got smothered in gunk and we could not fly.

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There was some other drama, but in the end it was another season without bringing home the championship.

How I met your mother

Watching re-runs of "How I Met Your Mother" and just realized I need a friend like Barney. That guy is LEGEN---- Wait for it, wait for it.....DAIRY.

Depressing stuff is depressing.

So another Police officer was killed in St Pete today. This to go with the two that were killed a few weeks ago. And the woman who shot her two children because she said they were "mouthy", and the sicko who poisoned his two children in the pickup truck, killing one of them, and maiming another. It's Just a messed up world we live in.

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Its all so very depressing. Depressing is just Depressing.

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Then I have been listening to some C'D's on Existentialism to try to understand it better, and ultimately that is some depressing stuff as well.

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Harvey Updyke the Tree Poisoner

I am so angry at this Harvey Updyke Fellow. It's not like I am an Auburn Fan, I Love it when the Gators Beat them, but I honestly thought what they had with that Toilet Paper business and that Oak Tree was awesome college football stuff. I respected that tradition, and think its just a really cool thing that they did after Wins.

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Hopefully when that Oak Tree eventually Does Die, they can replace it with Some Kind Of a Junior College, Oak Tree Transfer. Maybe The Auburn administration can go over to Texas again and see what kind of Oak Trees they have growing on the Blinn Junior College Campus. It worked for them last year when they needed a Quarter -Back?

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Also, Auburn has Two Mascotts, The Tigers and the War Eagle. Maybe they could just get some really nice Pine Trees?-- Plus I heard that Cam Newton is Unaware the Oak Tree Has Been Poisoned, just like he was unaware of His Father trying to sell his services to Mississippi State, so if he is not aware, maybe the Tree Really didn't get Poisoned?

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Sure he has a Laptop now though that wasn't thrown out a window and he has probably been on the internet so he must know by now.

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http://www.huliq.com/3257/police-arrest-harvey-updyke-poisoning-auburns-toomers-corner-trees

Harvey Updyke, I Hope You Rot in Prison

Got some insight yesterday on all the Michael Vick haters.
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Basically What Vick did to those dogs was horrible, but I understood part of why he did it was because he had a different perspective on it then most people. From where he was coming from, it was a sport. He grew up in the culture of dog fighting. This doesn't make it any less horrible, but I understood, to some degree anyway that he came to that life and that perspective from a place and a culture I will never know. For lack of a better term, I just think he may not have known any better.
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He paid dearly for it as well. He lost tons of money, his name will always be associated with what he did, and he spent nearly two years in Jail because of it. He has shown genuine remorse, and I had basically forgiven him. He paid his Penance for the mistake he made, and the lack of judgment he showed.
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Many others had not though, and I didn't fully understand the intransigence on forgiveness for him over this dog fighting episode.
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Now I know. What Harvey Updyke did to that beautiful Oak tree, and his reasoning behind that attack is absolutely disgusting. He committed a Hate Crime against a Tree, basically because he is a stupid imbecilic Alabama Fan, and Alabama's Arch Rival was enjoying some good times. Most Alabama Fans are also disgusted with him. That Tree was Majestic, and over 150 years old, and he poisoned it and then called into the Paul Finebaum Radio show to brag about it in a smug and self righteous manner.
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Dude some how lived to be sixty something years old and couldn't figure out the meaning of the word "perspective" No matter what happens in the future with this guy, I will always have a High disdain and disgust. He can go to prison, show remorse, Pay fines, whatever, it is just unforgiveable. I get it now how some hold Vick in this same regard. I personally think Vick paid for his mistake, but Harvey Updyke, I judge you a despicable human being. Hope you Rot in Prison.
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From Seth Godin's Blog

I came across this on Seth Godin's blog. I think he has an interesting way to look at this issue of "worth"
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From His Blog:
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On pricing power
If you’re not getting paid what you’re worth, there are only two possible reasons: 1. People don’t know what you’re worth, or 2. You’re not (currently) worth as much as you believe.
The first situation can’t happen unless you permit it to. If you’re undervalued, then you have a communication problem, one that you can solve by telling accurate stories that resonate. Far more likely, though, is the second problem. If there are reasonable substitutes for your work, and those substitutes are seen as cheaper, then you’re not going to get the work. 'Worth' in this case means, "what does it cost to get something like that if something like that is what I want?" A cheaper substitute might mean buying nothing. Personal coaches, for example, usually sell against this alternative. It’s not a matter of finding a cheaper coach, it’s more about having no coach at all. Same with live music. People don't go to cheaper concerts, they just don't value the concert enough to go at all.
And so we often find ourselve stuck, matching the other guy's price, or worse, racing to the bottom to be cheaper. Cheaper is the last refuge of the marketer unable to invent a better product and tell a better story.
The goal, no matter what you sell, is to be seen as irreplaceable, essential and priceless. If you are all three, then you have pricing power. When the price charged is up to you, when you have the power to set the price, there is a line out the door and you can use pricing as a signaling mechanism, not merely a way to make a living. Of course, the realization of what it takes to create value might break your heart, because it means you have to specialize, take risks, create art, leave a positive impact and adopt generosity in all you do. It means you have to develop extraordinary expertise and that you are almost always hanging way out of the boat, about to fall out.
The pricing power position in the market is coveted and valuable... The ability to have the power to set a price is at the heart of what it means to do business profitably, so of course there is a never-ending competition for pricing power. The curse of the internet is that it provides competitive information, which makes pricing power ever more difficult to exercise. On the other hand, the benefit of the internet is that once you have it, the list of people who want to pay for your irreplaceable, essential and priceless contribution will get even longer.

Atlas Shrugged

Never in my life have I wanted to see a movie so badly. Can't wait! - Opens on April 15th.

Bill observes the NFL's blown meeting and has some comments

So today, the NFL Owners group and the Players union blew off their negotiations.

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They had their reasons, which basically comes down to: "Hey, yall, it's hard arguing about money."

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No shit Mr. Goodell, It cost me a freaking marriage. Is that what you want? you want to divorce the players and then send them Alimony checks, and only get to see the college games every third weekend?

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Get yourselves a mediator and get to work. Start with this idea of mine, set up a meeting, and then, Oh, I don't know? GO TO THAT MEETING.

A bunch of Migrant Fruit pickers, playing a softball game

Epic Softball game tonight for Werther's Originals. It was a back and forth type of deal early, then we built an 8 run lead late. The bad guys managed to score 9 in their last at bat, but we were the home team, and had the hammer. (Having "the Hammer" is actually a term they use in the sport of Curling, but it fits)

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We scored the tying run and winning run on the same play, from a shot that first hit off the pitchers glove on its way to Center Field. The Tying run was on 3rd and scored easily, the winning run started on second, and ended up in a collision at home plate with their catcher dropping the ball. Awesome walk off double right there.

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Just Hack league Softball, but a win is a win is a win. We should go into the playoffs as the 2 seed and bring home the hardware.

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At the bar afterwards there was lots of talk about if we were going to be the one, two or three seed in the playoffs. We figured as best we could tell that we would be the two, but really it doesn't matter.

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In the end its like We are just a bunch of Migrant Farm Workers. It doesn't matter what seed we end up with, because all we are going to do is get up at the proverbial break of dawn and start picking that fruit off the trees, because Fruit needs picking, and it doesn't matter if its raining, if your sick, or even hungover. Fruit has to be picked, Softball games have to be won.

I have a Sad.

Bottom line - Football season is over. I have a Sad.

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Also its not just over, it may be over for longer then it usually is. Sure we will have the college Game, but the Pro-Game may be on Hiatus for longer than usual.

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This past weekend didn't suck.

Did Friday and Saturday Night, out and about in the Dallas/ FortWorth/ Metroplex area of Northern Texas. Friday was Dallas, and Saturday was Fort Worth.

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Saturday Night we were in the absolute Largest Bar I have ever seen. The place had live bull riding. Not Mechanical Bull riding, but live, honest to goodness, that's a Bull right there that actually poops and pisses, Type of a bull. That Mechanical stuff is for those dudes in Houston. I wanted to get up on one of them, but obviously don't have my Professional Bull Rider Card. Funny how having some beer and wine makes you think you would do stupid stuff like get on a 2000 pound bull, and ride it a little bit.

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https://www.billybobstexas.com

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Its Okay though, because although I could not ride a bull, due to my lack of Bull riding credentials, I was able to buy a Cowboy Hat that didn't fit Me. Its just ridiculous. Drinking to much, and then buying a Cowboy Hat is also something I recommend you avoid, along with riding a 2000 pound bull, while drunk, and wearing a hat that is just to damn small for you.

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A Limo was rented as well. Our Driver even had us going sideways down the Icy Roads of Texas a little bit. As we drove by all the cars that had spun out onto the side of the road, we hit a patch of Ice ourselves, and went sideways and then sideways the other way until He righted it.

Just scary stuff, but in the end, No foul was called, no barriers were hit and we never even slid off the road. Just good out of control limousine driving right there.

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Saw a local disco Cover band on Friday Night. they billed themselves as "LeFreak" and they were over the top. Danced a little bit, had some Sushi, Just your typical Friday Night out In Dallas Texas.

Sunday was Fun day, Hanging out with the cool kids.

down in Arlington Texas.

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It is a truly awesome stadium. And they had A Steeler and a Packers' Hot air balloon as well.

Green Bay Cheese head Lady might not have been drunk when she bought that hat because, evidently those Packer fans will wear those things completely sober.

Love Muschamps attitude.

Just fell in love with my new coach a few seconds ago. Not because in a short time he got the number 8 ranked class according to ESPN, Nor because he got the number 14th ranked class according to Rivals. No, Its because of something he said about all that bullshit. He said: " I haven't watched ESPN all day to see what all those people think. I am not worried about what others think. I am worried about what I think."

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Ladies and Gentlemen, that is the only way to be. Think for your own damn self and don't worry about what others are saying. He said he they got better today, and they did. Thats what I think also. I like Driskell, Saw him play in the Under Armour game. Like Roberson, watched his highlight real. Like the younger Burton coming in to play a little D. Like that Blakely is a Gator. and Like that kid whose name is also a complete sentence. Valdez Showers.

Tomorrow is a traveling day for the Billster.

Tomorrow is all about flying and fighting terrorism by arriving early at the airport so dudes can look at my junk as I pass through the Junk watching machine.

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Supposed to be a high of 25 degrees in Dallas tomorrow, plus windy.

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Not wearing the boots, even though I think Texas is a perfect place to be wearing em. Its a storage issue.

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Next couple of days should be down right awesome. There is a private party where some current NFL players are going, that we may end up at. We will see how it all works out.

Signing Day Today

Signing Day. - Gators have a few key guys. I Like that we got Burton's little, bigger brother, also Jeff Driskell, Marcus Roberson, Blakely --- The experts say its around the 22nd best class in the nation, but don't forget, there are players already at Florida as well. They will be all right, and basically, those rankings are just guesses.