Monday: Arrived early and joined a superfluity of loopers looking for a job. This is a tough week for work if you haven't set something up coming in. The only snag of the day came to ICE (Chad) picking up Christina Kim as her dad is stuck in Korea.

• Party on: The annual player/caddie/guest party held at The Beer Hunter changed venue this year and was a day earlier. Mission Hills Country Club hosted the event and it just wasn't the same. More akin to the snoozer at Bushwood Country Club in the movie Caddyshack than the traditional get-together we're all used to was my observation. Many didn't even know about the changes and missed it entirely. The food was still terrific but the atmosphere just didn't click. One high note, they did have female billiards trick shot artist Ewa Mataya Laurence give a demonstration and then take on all comers in nine ball. I'll post some pics later on.

• Double-trouble: One of our caderos who takes his home (fifth-wheel trailer) with him on the road, ran into some bad luck on the way here. Tommy Grogan blew a tire on his rig outside of Phoenix but it didn't take long for a call to AAA to get him back on his way. His troubles were not over though as the tire adjacent to the one that blew also bit the dust and Tommy's dilemma worsened. The repairman returned and had to remove a shock to dislodge the tread that rapped around it and, since the spare was already used, went back to Phoenix for another tire. All told, a 5-6 hour journey turned into a 14 hour nightmare.

• Will this go on his record? Jerry (The Visor) a PGA Tour looper, who occasionally toils with our humble organization, got into a bit of a tussle at the Rivera event this year and it cost him big time. The story goes, he wanted an extra $20 from his roommate for the week for gas money but the other guy wouldn't have up. A shoving hatch ensued and they knocked of over a plasma TV that I assume was in the caddie area. They had to split the cost of the fancy screen and Jerry got a four week suspension.

Tuesday: Arrived early and grabbed the first loop available. It was a 7:40 tee time with Wendy Ward with "The Machine" on the bag. Throw in "Fingers" on another sack and we wound up with a very affable group. The golf wasn't the best but the camaraderie top notch.

• Another stranger: It seems the last two weeks have produced some "blasts from the past" appearances from former players and this week is no exception. To our surprise, we found Debbi Koyama taking the group photos on the second tee. 

• Promised pics: Let's shoot some stick.

The "Striking Viking" showing off.

Annika, will the interviews ever stop?

Wednesday: Another early pro-am this time with Morgan Pressel. We were accompanied by BOB, Stick Puller and Perm-a-Grin, accomplished loopers all. Plenty of banter as you would assume which made the day pass just a bit more quickly.

• The wonders of technology: Do you have one of them fancy GPS thingamajigs for in-car navigation? If so, I would like to pass along a cautionary concerning its accuracy. The quickest path may be a straight line but you need to get the correct parameters to make it matter. Case in point. Rick and myself planned dinner yesterday with Herr Steffler but we were staying at different motels so, Steffler entered the restaurant name into his GPS and off he went. Ignoring our verbal directions, he followed the electronic counselings, went right by the eatery (where we were waiting)  and wound up by our motel! A quick call had him returning with little time lost. Just because it's the latest, doesn't make it the greatest.

• That's the spirit: A program to establish a driving range facility, by the LPGA, for our troops in Iraq is under way. Equipment is being donated and used balls collected to aid in its construction. Rumor has it, even some players may venture over eventually and provide instruction.

• I'm out a here! That's my plan for early tomorrow morning as I just hate to stick around watching from the sidelines. Need to stop in Mobile on Monday for a car repair that has gone South. Back in November, I had the interior mirror replaced and it's about to fall off. Had it checked here and the diagnosis was poor workmanship.

• Still working on it: A new tournament for this year at Castle Pines in Denver (to replace the men's event), that is. It would be in the off week after The Open.

• This is weird: With four holes remaining, my pro-am loop switched balls to one found along the way. It was a red Titleist #7 personalized with the name "Dano" on the side but unfortunately, it found the water on his tee ball on the eighteenth hole. This is where the oddity materialized. Our next shot found the rough near the right fairway bunkers but as we approached the area, another pellet was only inches away and did not belong to our group. It was another red Titleist #7 with "Dano" on the side! Figuring this was some kind of sign from above, and another shot over water up next, it was securely hidden in the bowels of his bag for use (or worship) at a later time.

Thursday: Made it all the way to Van Horn TX. It was smooth sailing but take note. If you have a hankerin' to try the select chicken strips from Mickey D's, forget it. THERE'RE AWFUL! Gas is only $2.55 here in Texas compared to the $3.25 back in the Springs.

Friday: Lafayette LA is my resting place this evening. Ran into a wicked thunderstorm in Kerrville TX which had me pull off till it let up. Heard there was a tornado watch at the time.

• Not for me: Approaching the Houston area (Katy to be exact), I could not believe the construction nightmare. Mile after mile of unfinished highway with traffic backed up as far as you could see and an overpass like something out of the future. Looks as if they were building a monorail not a highway. If I was forced to traverse this commuter hell every day, you'd find me soaking in a hot bath after puffing on a fine cigar, having drunk a legendary Bordeaux and opera in airing in the background. Of course, my wrists would be opened up ala Frankie Pentangeli in The Godfather II. Hey! It's just a metaphor.

Saturday: Arrived in Mobile without a hitch but a trio of vehicles headed the other way wasn't so lucky. Just a couple miles from my destination, an accident blocked the West bound lanes and it was a doozy. One car rolled over into the median and a SUV was flayed open like a tin can through a shredder.

• Listen up: If you consider yourself "road kill on the information technology super highway" when it comes to the knowledge of that electronic gizmo you use to serf the Net with, an easy and fun way to enlighten yourself is to download the podcasts of Leo Leporte The Tech Guy. He hosts three hours of tech talk each Saturday and Sunday on KFI AM 640 out of Los Angeles and archives all his shows. They're free for the taking and full of useful info. I subscribed through iTunes, download the shows, transferred them onto my MP3 player and use a MP3 cassette car adapter to listen while I drive. There's nothing like concentrating on the spoken word to make the time and miles go by faster. Could have been the most enjoyable long haul I've ever taken. One handy tip though, keep a pad and pen handy to take notes. Leo also covers cell phones, TVs, cameras and most things in the tech field.