Monday, January 7th: My goal in the off-season was to spend time in places I've never or rarely been to so, after Daytona Beach, a week in Ocala FL filled some time. Last Wednesday I moseyed on over to the Gulf Coast and settled in Panama City Beach. Another waterfront room with great views just outside my door awaited but the recent cold snap put a damper on my daily walks. It's warmed up nicely though and I've been taking in my surroundings.

No takers when it's 30° out.

Much better today. Can you spot the surfers?

•  Better than a dog: My proclivity of exploring the byways in the local area has been made much easier since the recent purchase of my Tom Tom GPS. I just set my current domicile as the "Home" location and no matter how twisted around I get, being lost is a thing of the past.

• Persistence pays off: Rental cars in Hawaii always seem to be way out of line but a check on rentalcars.com came up with a super deal. Two weeks for $290. That's about $100 less than when I booked my flight.

Sunday, January 13th: Along Interstate 10, on the outskirts of Mobile AL, lies the USS Alabama Memorial Park. I've passed it's daunting silhouette many times but never stopped to explore the 35,000 ton behemoth. Yesterday was different. I've been in the area a few days so a a trip to the park was a given.

Come on board.

There are three self-guided tours and I didn't miss a one. What a fantastic display! To stand by the big guns and go below deck to experience a fraction of what it must have been like to serve on such a mighty vessel, is well worth a visit. A display of aircraft, armored vehicles and the submarine USS Drum completes the exhibit. I'll be posting a more complete array of pics once my metamorphosis is complete. See below.

Bet my guns are bigger than yours.

• Good stretch: A new event has been added in Mobile next year and completes a perfect trifecta of three tournaments within close proximity of each other (about time). Rogers AR, Mobile then Prattville AL. There should be a huge bonus if someone sweeps them all. 

• New look a comin': Starting soon, I will be compiling my site using WordPress. This is the content management system many bloggers use. One of the features will be the ability of readers to comment on my postings. Just can't wait to see what venomous attacks the "Seoul Sister sycophants" will reply with after I diss another Korean.

• Sad news: Veteran looper Mike Troublefield (AKA Country Club) lost his mom this week. After an excellent run of ninety years, she has passed into the great beyond.

Monday, January 14th: I organized all the photos from the Alabama Memorial visit and uploaded them to Flickr.com. Click here then choose which set you wish to view. The slideshow option is the best. Click on the photo to see or remove the captions. Enjoy.

Sunday, January 20th: Well, I made the move. The migration to the new site is well under way and may be viewed here. Bookmark the new URL and you're ready to go.

This site will remain active for awhile if you wish to return but why would you? See ya on the other side.