Sunday Sevens

I'm going to try to to blog more so I'm starting what I'll call "Sunday Sevens". I used to do Sunday Observations, so this is not something totally new to the blog. Having something regular will help me get to the computer more. I'll miss weeks, but my goal is to blog at least weekly. It will be somewhat random, where I write some thoughts on what's going on in my life and the world around me that week. There are really no rules or format, I'll highlight some thoughts on work, church, play, sports, politics and the interesting things I read and see throughout the week.

So, here's the first ever "Sunday Sevens":

1) School year is off to a fantastic start. We had a great pep rally on Friday. There's a lot of spirit and great things happening at North Henderson. Even the freshmen got involved. Here they are, facing off with our seniors for the "Spirit Stick". The freshman are always so lame at pep rallies and this year's group is different. I love it.

2) Tuesday, I'll go to the funeral of a former student and athlete. Earlier this summer, I attended one for another student. People need to know they are loved.

3) September 11 is not in my curriculum, but we spent a class talking about it on Friday. It's amazing, because the kids I'm teaching don't really recall the day as they were 1-2 years old when it happened. Beginning next year, I'll be teaching students that were born after the event.

4) It's football season, and I went down to watch GT-Tulane yesterday. This Tech team is exciting. In the past, we'd play down to our opponents. So far, we've outscored inferior opponents 134-17 and had a chance to play lots of back ups. Lots of football to be played, but the Tech fans are hopeful. Here's the obligatory me sleeping at tailgate pics. There's literally a decade worth of these somewhere.

5) Speaking of football, here are this week's thoughts on today's AP rankings. It's too early for me to rank teams, but I can tell you who I think is overranked and underranked:

• Overranked: Georgia (7) and FSU (10)- these teams have done nothing to show me that they belong in the top ten. FSU's offense is a mess outside of Cook. UGa's QB looked shaky yesterday. They may end up fine, but based on two weeks I think they are more mid teens than top ten.
• Underranked: Northwestern (23) and Duke (NR). Shout out to the nerds. Northwestern only blanked Eastern Illinois yesterday 41-0 to follow their upset of Stanford. I'd have Northwestern just inside the top 20. I get that Duke has played patsies, but they've handled them well, Cutcliffe can coach and they have some players. I don't see how they've only got one vote. That's the disrespect these schools get since they are not traditional powers or in the SEC.

6) Two close brushes that fortunately turned out okay for me:

• Friday, I was riding down Laurel Park Highway from Jump Off Rock on my bike. Was looking at something left and next thing I know, I'm off the road into the grass. All that mountain biking I've done helped, even though I was on my road bike. I balanced the bike with my body while I slowed the bike, kept everything upright and hopped back onto the pavement. I was shaken up because I knew, at the speeds I was at, that had there been a mailbox or fence there, it could have really ruined my weekend.
• Today, coming back from Atlanta, I was passing a tractor trailer. Next thing I know, it's coming left, into my lane. I can't believe it. I steer left and honk, but it doesn't hear me. It comes all the way into my lane. I was pushed off the road, since the left side didn't have a very wide shoulder. I slowed down, but was still driving in the grass at 50-60 MPH. Again, fortunately, there not a barrier or fence there. I'm glad I didn't panic and swerve hard or brake hard, I think that would have had worse results. I got off at the next exit and checked out my tires and suspension. All seems well, but could have been worse. Thank the Lord I wasn't on the motorcycle.

7) When I arrived at Paul's house in Atlanta on Friday, he turned on the old Nintendo and we played some Super Mario 3. We died pretty quickly in Giant Land. Forgot how hard some levels were on that game. Then I read that today is the 30th birthday of Super Mario Bros. Between this and the fact that my students don't remember 9/11, I'm feeling old.