Baseball Season is Upon Us

Tomorrow is Opening Day in the big leagues.  Having baseball start really means the start of spring to me.  It conjures up thoughts of sitting on my chair in my living room, warm breeze blowing through the house, bowl of ice cream, watching some baseball on TV.  Baseball is a warm weather sport for more then just the obvious reasons.  You don't want to be yelling and screaming at the TV for a huge hit in football, or sitting nervously for the last 45 seconds (that take 10 minutes) during a tie basketball game or hockey match when the weather is warm.  You want to be chill, and baseball is the ultimate chill sport.  Whether at the ballpark or at home, you can have a drink, some food and just chill out and watch one of the greatest sports ever.  Castro was good at it, Buffett blew he knee out playing it, Caribbean kids play it with sticks and balls in the streets, it isn't made to be played in the cold, and you can catch some kind of game almost anywhere in the world.  It is simply the greatest summer game ever.

On a side note, it isn't summer here in Ohio, and the local AAA team is playing their big league counterpart and it is snowing out.  Baseball is the greatest summer sport, but it is not a fun winter spectator sport!

Mobile Beach Office

Today I am posting for the first time from my cell phone, so forgive the spelling, or should I say auto-correct, errors. We have all dreamed of living in a remote beach in the Caribbean or South Pacific and working over the internet to do all of our business. Sitting on a beach chair, sun beating down on you wide brimmed hat, cold drink just in reach off your right hand, clicking away at your keyboard as the waves crash a 100 ft away sounds like the perfect office. With mobile broadband, smartphones, and modern business practices this isn't too far out of reach. I am not sure how good mobile broadband coverage is on remote islands, but most of the Florida Keys have good 3G coverage and would make for a perfect office. Just think, your breaks could consist of a dip in the ocean!  Now that is work to me!

Something to Ponder

What if the world had not lost some of the great musical artists at such a young age.  What kind of music would Bob Marley be putting out right now?  Would reggae be even more popular, would Bob Marley ever been as popular as he is now?
How many times would Jimi Hendrix changed they way we think of guitar playing?  Would we have fallen in love with Stevie Ray Vaughn, would Jimi be busting out the Star Spangled Banner after 911?
Would Led Zeppelin still rock?  Would Plant be playing bitch music with Allison Kraus?  Would they be washed up but still cool like the Stones, or would they still rock hard?
What about Elvis, would he beat out Jack Nicholson as the coolest old dude alive?  Would he still be bustin moves in his late 70's?  Would we have had those bad Elvis remix songs?
How about Guns and Roses, what if Axel would have died, would they have gone down as a top 5 band of all time instead of a wacky Days of Our Lives episode?  Just some thoughts for a weekend pondering.

There are a lot of days where I have just had it at work.  I get so close to losing my mind and going all Charlie Sheen on the world.  As was sitting here doing some mindless work and Kenny Chesney's "Reality" came on my iPod.  Very interesting thoughts in the song.  He speaks of needing an escape from reality.  Often I daydream of Key West or the Caribbean to escape reality and leave my worries behind.  The thought of sitting at an open air bar, drinking a bunch of cold drinks in the middle of the day can really ease my mind.  This doesn't even have to be in the southern latitudes for me, it can just be a hot day and a cold drink anywhere.  I sat one afternoon just past noon at the Margaritaville Vegas rooftop tiki bar, it was perfect.  I was drinking Fat Tire drafts, it was breezy and about 95 degrees out, but somehow i stayed cool enough to make it the perfect 45 minutes.  I was with other people and we had "places to be", so that is all the longer it lasted.  But, those 45 minutes were as perfect as they could have been north of Dade County (the southern most county in the US).  Here is to hoping to meet that perfect few minutes again soon...

Spring in the Mid-West, should be in Key West!

The weather in the mid-west is miserable this time of year.  You get days near 70, like today.  Then you get snow, like tomorrow.  We all have a severe case of cabin fever, and my freezer has 6 holes i shot in it.  This is the time of year I had wish I had made some reservations for Key West...
I would start my day around 9am with a cup of cuban coffee and guava pastry at 5 Bros.  From there, head to Fort Zach beach for a few hours of sun.  Lunch is the perfect time to hit of Kelly's(owned by Kelly Mcgillis of Top Gun fame) and have some mango BBQ pulled pork sandwich with a draft beer to wash it down, then back to the beach or maybe jump on the Conch Train for some sight seeing.  If you go to Key West you have to hit up the Conch Train, it is how a newcomer learns all about Key West and what makes it so weird and wonderful.  If I wore a watch in Key West, I don't, when it would strike 3pm I would be at the Green Parrot for some afternoon beers.  I just love that place, has such an old school feel to it.  You get the warm breeze blowing in, usually a couple locals hanging at the bar, and just the chillest afternoon atmosphere you could ask for.  Appetizers would be eaten at the Half Shell Raw bar, "oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year" as Jimmy says.  I love raw oysters, and I really love them at the Half Shell.  Then around to Capt. Tony's for some pirate punch before sunset, that is when Captain Tony used to show up, so that is why I like that time there.  I just see that old man sitting in the corner watching the world turn.  Catch the sun set at the carnival at Mallory Sq and hope for a green flash.  Then off to Pepe's for a nice dinner, man that place is awesome.  Just a great vibe and great food.  I would finish the night at Schooner Warf, my dream bar.  This is the bar I think of when i think of a pirate bar, there is just something awesome about it.

Boat Shoes

So, I caved and bought a pair of boat shoes all thanks to @rumshopryan and his review of his Cushe sandals.  I had a pair of these when i was a kid back in the 80's when everyone wore the dark brown "Dockers" and the girls had that little curly cue, loopy lace tie job.  I have wanted a pair of Cushe shoes for a while but couldn't find anything that was "dressy" enough to wear to work.  Well, two things happened, one my standard of business casual is getting lower and lower, and these look cool.  They are called Drifts, and I will post a review on them in the next week or so or whenever the weather gets warm enough to wear them.