Ousted Merrill Lynch CEO Not Up To Par

Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O'Neal stepped down this week due to the multi billion dollar loss the company took with the crash of the sub-prime mortgage market. While things were imploding, was the CEO at the helm, trying to ride out the storm? Not even close.

Wall Street blogger Jeff Matthews has uncovered, courtesy of this very Internet, that O'Neal was spending his precious time on the golf course. Between August 12 and September 30, while Merrill Lynch was posting $7.9 billion third quarter loss, O'Neal spent at least 13 days on the course. He played 20 rounds, including four 18-hole rounds in one day alone.

By the way, O'Neal walks away with $161.5 million in stock, options and retirement benefits.

Middle Georgia Blogger Recognized

The Telegraph, the largest newspaper in Britain, has named local blogger Erick Erickson as the 69th most influential Conservative in the U.S.

There's always been a link to Erick's peachpundit.com over on the right side of this page. Erick also is founder and CEO of the conservative website redstate.com and blogs on his personal site erickerickson.org.

Amazing Football Game Ending

This clip is from yesterday's Division III game between Trinity University (San Antonio, TX) and Millsaps College (Jackson, MS). It's one of the most amazing plays to ever end a football game.

Liberals To Ruin G.I. Joe

"Real American Hero" G.I. Joe is coming to the big screen... sort of. The movie is being made, but with a liberal, P.C., America-less slant. No longer will Joe be a brave American soldier. Instead, he's part of a Brussels-based outfit that stands for Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity. Apparently, Hollywood believes an American soldier-as-hero won't sell the movie internationally.

Got a really, really bad feeling about this movie.

Hospital Damaged By Tornado Needs Your Help

A tornado ripped through Americus, Georgia on March 1st, nearly destroying Sumter Regional Hospital. The community, and its hospital, are rebuilding. But these things take time and money. They also take the help of average folks like all of us. There's one way we can all help the hospital, and in turn, help the people of Americus.

Medical equipment manufacturer Seimans is having a contest to give away a $1 million MRI machine to one hospital in the U.S. The hospital must come up with a video spotlighting their need. The videos are voted on, with the winner receiving the MRI machine. There have been many videos submitted. Some are silly, some are business-like, but none are as touching as the story of the tornado that tore apart Americus.

To help steer the vote in their favor, all you have to do is go to this web site and vote. Select the video for Sumter Regional Hospital, let it play, and after it's done click on the VOTE button. You can vote once a day, through December 31st. And please encourage others to help out.

Nice Article About GSU Football's 25th Anniversary

Just in time for Homecoming...

This article from SavannahNow.com spotlights our football program's silver anniversary. It covers so much of the school's history, and the football program's achievements. And it brings back so many great memories. The article includes a list of 25 GSU football greats who "Made A Difference". Here's that list:

1. TRACY HAM, QB, 1983-86 - Led the Eagles to two national championships while rushing for 3,212 yards and passing for 5,757.

2. ADRIAN PETERSON, FB, 1998-2001 - A four-year All-American who broke the I-AA mark with 6,559 rushing yards and 84 touchdowns.

3. JOE ROSS, FB, 1987-1990 - Three-time All-American who ranks second at Southern with 3,876 career rushing yards.

4. RAYMOND GROSS, QB, 1987-1990 - Underrated leader who was 44-8 as a starter and led the Eagles to two national titles.

5. MARK WILLIAMS, OG, 1996-1999 - Leading blocker and three-time All-American for a team that averaged 46-plus points a game his last two seasons.

6. VONCELLIES ALLEN, DT, 1996-1999 - A three-time All-American who caused havoc for opposing offense despite being double-teamed.

7. JERMAINE AUSTIN, FB, 2002-05 - Three-time All-American is second in school history with 5,411 rushing yards.

8. EDWARD THOMAS, LB, 1993-1996 - Owns the school record with 30 career sacks; is fifth with 308 career tackles.

9. GIFF SMITH, DE, 1987-1990 - A three-time All-American who ranks fourth in school history with 23 ½ career sacks.

10. FRED STOKES, OG, 1983-1986 - Dominate offensive lineman who moved to the defensive line in the NFL and had a stellar career.

11. FREDDY PESQUEIRA, DT, 1999-2002 - A four-time All-American who finished second in career tackles with 353.

12. JAYSON FOSTER, QB, 2004-present - School record holder in multiple categories has led the Eagles to a 13-5 mark at quarterback; has run for 3,122 yards and 46 touchdowns.

13. TIM FOLEY, K, 1984-1987 - Made 50 career field goals, including a 63-yarder that tied a Division I-AA record.

14. RODNEY OGLESBY, CB, 1988-1991 - A three-time All-American who holds school career marks in interceptions (14) and pass breakups (35).

15. GREG HILL, QB, 1996-1999 - Third in career passing yardage (3,369) and second in career touchdown passes (22) while directing a national-championship run in 1999.

16. PAUL CARROLL, LB, 1991-1994 - Holds school record with 375 career tackles.

17. ALEX MASH, DT, 1990-1993 - Two-time All-America who is second in school history with 25 career sacks.

18. JESSE JENKINS, LB, 1982-85 - Team leader in tackles in 1982 and 1985; finished with school's third-best tackle total, 343.

19. CHAZ WILLIAMS, QB, 2001-04 - Second only to Peterson with 62 career touchdowns; led the Eagles to the 2002 semifinals.

20. GERALD HARRIS, FB, 1983-1986 - His 53 career touchdowns and 340 points are third only to Peterson and Williams.

21. DENNIS FRANKLIN, C, 1985-1988 - Two-time first-team All-America who bridged the Ham and Gross eras.

22. MONTY SHARPE, WR, 1983-86 - School leader in career receptions (93) and career passing yardage (1,854).

23. J.R. REVERE, QB, 1998-2001 - Underrated leader who compiled a 24-3 mark and a national championship while starting his final two seasons.

24. DAVID YOUNG, SS, 1999-2002 - Big hitter of the secondary; became a sixth-round pick of Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003.

25. JOHN MOHRING, LB, 2003-06 - Two-time All-American led team in tackles in 2004 and 2005 and finished fourth in career tackles.

More on West Point Lake, Drought

The headline on the story in today's LaGrange Daily News is pretty grim: "We've already lost West Point Lake". The Corps of Engineers and the Fish and Wildlife Service continue to deny culpability in the ongoing demise of the lake, as well as Lake Lanier upstream and Lake Eufaula downstream. As more water is being released from these lakes than is naturally entering them, water levels continue to drop.

West Point Lake is close to the point where the lake level is too low for the dam to generate electricity. At that level, water will be extremely expensive to treat for human consumption. As Dick Timmerberg, West Point Lake Coalition director, explains:

“I’m extremely surprised and disappointed that be-tween the two agencies, they’re not able to see the urgency of the situation, when (Lake Eufaula) and West Point are at dead pool and Lake Lanier is headed that way.

“I would urge the agencies to get together and quickly resolve this. West Georgia and East Alabama already have lost West Point Lake. (The corps and Fish and Wildlife Service) need to get together before Lake Lanier is lost as well.”

Personally, I still like Neal Boortz's idea of Governor Perdue calling up the Georgia National Guard and taking state control of the dams.

Drought News

Now that Governor Perdue has declared a state of emergency for much of the state, we're waiting to see if President Bush will follow suit. I have to agree with the comments made by the governor about the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is continuing to release large amounts of water from Lake Lanier and West Point Lake, releases mandated to protect endangered mussels and sturgeon in the Apalachicola River in Florida. Governor Perdue said the Corps, along with the Fish & Wildlife Service, are putting mussels in front of people. He said:

"The actions of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Fish and Wildlife Service are not only irresponsible, they are downright dangerous... If the corps and the Fish and Wildlife Service do not act now, I will hold them fully responsible for endangering the people of Georgia. Any harm that comes to humans is 100 percent on their hands."

Human consumption should be the number one priority for water. Period.

While Lake Lanier gets the majority of attention, the situation is dire at West Point Lake. The city of LaGrange draws drinking water from the lake, but the lake level is so low that it's near the so-called "dead pool" level. At that point, any water that's drawn for human consumption requires more intensive treatment.

Governor Perdue made his case Sunday morning on CNN, pointing out that the reservoirs around Georgia that are managed by utility companies are in much better shape than those governed by the Corps. He blames it on the Corps' release of water unnecessarily downstream, in order to maintain outdated standards that he says are not based on science.

It does seem that with Atlanta's phenomenal growth, more preparation should have been done to prevent a situation like this. With all the growth the metro area has seen the last couple of decades, we really should have seen this coming. More regional reservoirs would certainly help. Desalinating sea water and piping it to Atlanta might be an option. Our leadership over the last twenty or so years failed to plan for this. Maybe this drought will bring about positive changes. It's a shame it took this disaster to get the ball rolling.

A few days of heavy rain would surely be nice.

Stossel "Give Me A Break" Clip

Here's the John Stossel story from Friday night's 20/20 that I mentioned last week...

Uncovering the Secrets of Scientology

We've all seen and heard the kookiness that is Scientology. But what are the true beliefs to which Scientologists adhere? Just how dangerous are their beliefs? This web site has all you could ever want to know. Actually, probably more than you would want to know. As an example, this is part of the Scientology story on the creation of life on Earth...

Once upon a time (75 million years ago to be more precise) there was an alien galactic ruler named Xenu. Xenu was in charge of all the planets in this part of the galaxy including our own planet Earth, except in those days it was called Teegeeack.

Xenu had a problem. All of the 76 planets he controlled were overpopulated. Each planet had on average 178 billion people. He wanted to get rid of all the overpopulation so he had a plan.

Xenu took over complete control with the help of renegades to defeat the good people and the Loyal Officers. Then with the help of psychiatrists he called in billions of people for income tax inspections where they were instead given injections of alcohol and glycol mixed to paralyse them. Then they were put into space planes that looked exactly like DC8s (except they had rocket motors instead of propellers).

These DC8 space planes then flew to planet Earth where the paralysed people were stacked around the bases of volcanoes in their hundreds of billions. When they had finished stacking them around then H-bombs were lowered into the volcanoes. Xenu then detonated all the H-bombs at the same time and everyone was killed.

There's much, much more at the web site. Lots of it... pretty darn scary.

It's Almost Halloween

And to get you ready, here are 15 famous freaky ghost pictures. A few are pretty odd, if the stories that accompany them are actually true.

John Stossel To Al Gore: Give Me A Break

On this week's 20/20 (Friday night on ABC), John Stossel looks at the myths surrounding the global warming debate. In particular, he chides Al Gore for claiming the scientific debate over global warming is over.

“Mr. Gore says ‘The debate is over,’ and those who disagree with his take on global warming have been ‘purchased’ in order to create ‘the illusion of a debate.’ Nonsense. It's as if the Vice President and his allies in the environmental movement plan to win the debate through intimidation.

“The Vice President's much-applauded movie, ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ claims warming is man’s fault and a coming crisis! While the earth has certainly warmed over the last century, plenty of independent scientists say scientists cannot be sure that man caused the warming or that warming will be a crisis.

Should be a good show...

College Student Suspended For Advocating Gun Rights

This story is dated yesterday, but actually goes back to the Virginia Tech shootings in April. I the wake of those shootings, Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota announced that counselors would be available for students, if necessary. The school's president later sent an email about the shootings. Student Troy Scheffler replied with an email to Hamline's president, suggesting that the Virginia Tech massacre might have been stopped if students had been allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus.

The University president, by suspending Scheffler, and requiring him to undergo a mandatory “mental health evaluation” before being allowed to return to school. Clearly the student is deranged, promoting radical, right-wing ideologies such as the First and Second Amendments.

Man vs. Wild

There's a TV show on the Discovery Channel called Man vs. Wild, which basically shows both basic and advanced tips on how to survive in wild, desolate locations. It's a fascinating program, at least to me, although I doubt I will ever have a need to locate edible plants while trapped on a desert island or in the African wilderness.

Anyway, the show is hosted by a man named (seriously) Bear Grylls, a former member of the British Special Forces and a survival expert. And, Bear just happens to have a blog.

Incredible Bear Rescue - With Pics

A bear was walking across a bridge at Donner Pass in California when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear. In its attempt to get away from the cars, it leaped over the edge of the bridge. Somehow, it managed to catch itself on the way over, and clung to the side of the bridge until rescued. The pictures are pretty awesome.

Erk Tribute

Earlier this week, the Board of Regents approved naming the main athletics area on the Georgia Southern campus , including Paulson Stadium, the "Erk Russell Athletic Park." No one is more associated with Georgia Southern athletics, nor is anyone more revered in the history of the school, that Erk. The tribute is fitting, perhaps overdue, and undoubtedly deserved.

Charleston II

It was nice getting away, and a sad trip (as always) back to reality coming home. We always enjoy Charleston. This trip brought new sights, and one of that was especially moving was the USS Yorktown.



This aircraft carrier was the second to carry the Yorktown name. The first was lost in the Battle of Midway, and this second carried the name in honor of the first. The new Yorktown saw action in the Pacific beginning in 1943, and also served during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. It also was primarily responsible for the sinking of the Japanese destroyer Yamato, the largest ever built at that time. The ship displays tributes to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice during and since WWII. What amazing people - those who volunteer to risk everything to protect this great land.

Charleston

This is our second trip to Charleston. We were actually here at the same time last year, and enjoyed it so much that we decided to return. Our hotel is in the town of Mount Pleasant, just across the Cooper River from downtown Charleston. Mount Pleasant is a charming, relaxed suburb which still holds tightly to its own identity and sense of community. I suppose you could say we fell in love with the town last year. It is certainly a place we could live in, though I have no idea how we'd be able to afford a home.

About five minutes from our hotel is Sullivan's Island, which we hit after coming into town. The public beaches there are nice because they are commercially undeveloped. No hotels, no bars, no shops. It's simply a nice, wide beach. The island does have a few shoppes and restaurants, but they've kept the beach unspoiled.

One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to eat at local restaurants, experiencing the flavors unique to the area. Charleston is certainly one of the best places for dining. For example, last night we ate at the Charleston Crab House. We learned about the place from the TV show Flip This House, in which a real estate company (with close ties to the place) renovated the restaurant. The restaurant sits along Wappoo Creek, and offers docks for boaters to sail up to. Excellent seafood.

In the historic downtown, in a three story Charleston shotgun house built in 1897, is The Hominy Grill. This traditional neighborhood restaurant is home to delicious, made-from-scratch traditional Southern dishes. I'd heard about one of their signature dishes, and knew I had to eat there. The dish is called The Big Nasty. It's a fried chicken breast, served on a light, flaky biscuit. That is smothered in shredded cheese and sausage gravy. Believe me, it is a wonderful thing. Very good eats...

On the agenda for the rest of the trip... a visit to the USS Yorktown, a WWII aircraft carrier; historic downtown Charleston; and more great eating!

Vacation Time

The weekend is finally here, and the wife and I are leaving for a much needed vacation. We're headed to Charleston for a few days of R&R. Back on Thursday, Oct. 11th.

New Home For GSU Comm Arts Students

As a Communication Arts graduate at Georgia Southern, I know how bad the old Comm Arts trailer was. Going back to 1988, when we met in the South Building, things were even worse. So I'm very happy to see that the department has finally moved into a real building. Veazey Hall, located just off Sweetheart Circle, is now home to Communication Arts.

The Communication Arts Department offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Broadcasting, Communication Studies, Journalism and Public Relations, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication Arts and Theater.

When I started at Southern, our department was based in a "temporary" facility known as the South Building. The ROTC students were in there also. I even took a history class and two Spanish classes in the building. We later moved into "The Trailer", our name for the most recent Comm Arts Building.

It's nice to finally see the staff there getting a real home. I have memories of visiting friends who lived in Veazey back in the day. I'm looking forward to seeing what Kent Murray, Chris Geyerman, Beverly Graham and the rest of Comm Arts make of their new place.

Sweet Georgia Pecan Popcorn

Dale and Thomas Popcorn has several unique popcorn flavors available, chocolate, caramel, cheddar and peanut butter. They also have one combining sweet caramel with hunks of Georgia Pecans, called Sweet Georgia Pecan Popcorn.

Life Imitates "Seinfeld"

In Michigan, you can return empty soft drink cans for a ten cent refund. Apparently it's against the law to bring cans in from other states and attempt to get the refund. In the Detroit area, police arrested 13 people and seized more than $500,000 in cash after breaking up a smuggling ring. The accused supposedly collected millions of beverage containers in other states and cashed them in for 10 cents apiece in Michigan.

This is straight out of Seinfeld, from the 1996 episode "The Bottle Deposit", in which Kramer and Newman attempt the same scam.