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Paul Graham: The Top Idea in Your Mind (Do you have attention sinks?)

Hey girls and guys,  I found the space to dive into another powerful essay from Paul Graham. Please find 15 minutes to read and think about ...

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Stay Whole Tuesday: Be a thriver, not a survivor

Hey nugs,

Yesterday we celebrated Jim Herndon: Make it a Great Monday: Remembering Jim Herndon. 

Today, I am reminded of Jim again when reading this incredible story Uncle Ricky shared from The Washington Post: My neighbor lived to be 109. This is what I learned from him.

This opener will grab you and make you want to learn more about Dr. Charlie White:

"My new neighbor was washing a car. In my memory (this detail is a matter of some disagreement around the neighborhood), it was a shiny new Chrysler PT Cruiser, the color of grape soda pop. It belonged to my neighbor’s girlfriend, and I couldn’t help noting that the vehicle in question was parked in the same spot where she had left it the night before. I deduced that a Saturday night date with the glamorous driver had developed into the sort of sleepover that makes a man feel like being especially nice the next morning. 
My neighbor was bare-chested, dressed only in a pair of old swim trunks. With a garden hose in one hand and a soapy sponge in the other, he flexed his muscular chest with each splash and swirl, his wavy hair flopping rakishly over one eye. 
This was Dr. Charlie White. Age 102."

For more on Stoicism, my UNC bud, Dr. Jack King shares that we need to read A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine. 

Check it out if the spirit moves you.

Love,

Dad

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Monday, May 22, 2023

Make it a Great Monday: Remembering Jim Herndon

Good Monday morning all,

Thinking of Jim and, of course, Mikey this morning from London. Today is Jim's full military burial service at Arlington Memorial Cemetary. What an incredible honor for serving our country so well for many years.

Here's today's schedule, and Jim is the leadoff hitter.

Celebration of Life: James Dewey Herndon (1931-2021)

Godspeed to a dear friend and neighbor,

Dad





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Friday, May 19, 2023

FaaFF: BARCH sessions and grass court tennis


Howdy nugs,

Five mornings of BARCH training this week and two nights of grass court tennis. So easy on the joints and legs, and nice clean bounces of the ball. The grass is fantastic.

Fit as a Fiddle in Richmond!

gPa and Peach

P.S. The electric toothbrush has officially been put in the lineup. Using it each evening for a nice daily electric clean!

Other Nuggets about life in The Kingdom:

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Wednesday, May 17, 2023

WPW: Jo Jo Henderson - they don't come any better

Hey nugs,

It is Woman Power Wednesday, and I'm thinking about Jo Jo. She was such a blessing in our life during that final stretch in Nashville. One day we will reunite with her, and it will be special. In the meantime, I offer up this on Woman Power Wednesday.

Ride forever,

Dad


WPW Nuggets from the past (other powerful women):

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Tuesday, May 16, 2023

SWT: Good read on Chattanooga (Go LuLu!, Go Trey!)

 

The next Austin? This booming city in Tennessee is about to take a leap into quantum networking.

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Monday, May 15, 2023

MiaGM: Mum amongst the Cow Parsley

Happy Mother's Day, Cathy! Out amongst the Cow Parsley with Sally yesterday. Looks like you can actually eat this stuff, but be careful!



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Friday, May 12, 2023

Happy Birthday to the newly married Emily Cazzetta

Trey: One thing I love about Emily is that she is the definition of FUN. And not only is she a joy to be around, but she is also dedicated to those around her having a great time. I saw how fun Emily was at her and Kyle's wedding last month. Everything about the wedding was a blast; from the pre-ceremony cocktail hour to the dance floor, it was all amazing. Happy Birthday, Emily!

Cathy: Emily is amazing. I get chill bumps when I think of the beautiful and perfectly executed wedding. It was as spectacular as she is. The attention to detail, the organization, and the love were evident. Even throughout the endless preparation, she was kind and respectful to everyone. The guests felt love, joy, and happiness. Everyone in that room loves you and Kyle and will be there for you throughout your life. I know work is a challenge right now. Take it one day at a time and remember the cream always rises to the top. You are the cream of the crop. I am so proud of you and love you immensely.

Lucy: E is truly my partner in crime! The time we spent together over the past few years has been some of my favorite memories! We certainly have done our due diligence to maintain normal Austin life while everyone is over in London with consistent ACC or Tiny Boxwood lunches, red wine, Netflix shows, Las Palomas, workout trends, and Valentine's shopping. I love our jokes and how silly we get to be together. If I had to be stateside with just one other piece of our family, I am so glad it is E&K! I will certainly miss being just a 2-hour drive away, but I am so excited for y'all to visit and see what kind of trouble we can find in Tennessee! I love you, Meme!

Taylor: I still can't believe I got to officiate Emily and Kyle's wedding. I am so happy to have been asked to share such an incredible memory with my family. I was struck by several things during the wedding weekend. 

Emily is one of the most thoughtful people I know. She makes an effort to include everyone and makes them feel welcome and like they have a part in whatever happens. Her relationship with the Cazzettas and the depth she has developed with them impressed me. She's a great sister! 

Sally: Happy birthday to the bride of the year!!! This year, I have had the time of my life celebrating my middle sister and spending time with her amazing friends and new extended family. It has highlighted my favorite things about her - she is so lovable, hilarious without always meaning to be, kind and inclusive to all, knows how to have a really good time, hardworking and resourceful, and she's beautiful inside and out. I love you, E!

gPa: Happy Birthday, middle daughter. I love you! A little bit of History, Heart, and Hope.

Kyle: We love and appreciate each other, and both know that. (-:







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Happy 30th Birthday Kyle Cazzetta

Our very own Don Quixote
Trey: One thing I love about Kyle is how funny he is. His honest humor has always made me laugh, but he had me rolling during his speech at their wedding. He's a great storyteller! Happy Birthday, Kyle! I hope to hear many more stories in the future.

Cathy: I have a deep appreciation for Kyle. During the wedding week, I got to know his family and friends. Kyle has surrounded himself with intelligent, kind, impressive people. His family is warm, generous, and funny. It is a testament to Kyle that many people love and respect him. I know he is active in fostering and maintaining these relationships. I also know that Kyle will be a wonderful husband to Emily and an incredible father one day. Thank you, Kyle, for making me happy and content.

Lucy: I love how thoughtful Kyle is. On my last trip to Austin, Emily and I went to a movie, and I came back to ice-cold water by my bed and the throw blanket I had used earlier on the couch rolled up on my pillow! Kyle always thinks of the small and large details and goes the extra mile to achieve them. He is also the best gluten-free chef I know and always caters to my dietary needs! Hearing how he cares for his family members was so fun at the wedding. K, we are so lucky to have you as a brother! Happy 30th!!!

Taylor: I still can't believe I got to officiate Emily and Kyle's wedding. I am so happy to have been asked to share such an incredible memory with my family. 

I was struck by several things during the wedding weekend. Kyle is clearly the glue for his friend group. They are all so different, and being around was a lot of fun. Coming from a very homogenous group in college and now moving to a foreign country with all different backgrounds, I appreciate more how much that matters. They're a very solid group. I'm happy to officially call Kyle a brother, although it's been that way for some time now. 

Sally: Happy 30th birthday to my first bro! I could not have asked for a better one. I love Kyle's energy and how he is always on a mission. I got a 360 view of him after meeting his extended family and many friends at the wedding. They all reflect how great of a person he is and how lucky we are to have him officially as a part of our family.

gPa: Three quotes I researched that speak to Kyle, the man:
  1. Show me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are.
  2. Tell me your company, and I’ll tell you who you are.
  3. By the company you keep I can tell what life you lead.

With some help from Google, here is what I learned: 

"The earliest close match known appeared in the influential Spanish novel "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes, which appeared in two parts published in 1605 and 1615. The Spanish title was "Ingenioso Cavallero Don Quixote de la Mancha" ("Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha"). The second part in 1615 included the following passage using non-standard spelling. The saying was spoken by Sancho Panza, the faithful servant and squire of the main character Don Quixote." - See link here.

Happy Birthday, Kyle. We are all thrilled to officially have you in the family. It is time to get Pine Valley on the books!
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Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Dear Harvey: Appendicitis leads to Ballybunion, Dingle, and Dooks ⛳️⛳️⛳️

Harvey on the practice tee at ACC

Dear Harvey,

Before Emily and Kyle's wedding, I came down with appendicitis. Ouch! I thought I had pulled an abdominal muscle working on a more shallow angle of attack. It turned out to be a bit more serious. Fortunately, the appendectomy was a smooth laparoscopic procedure, and I mended well.

While bedridden, with an upcoming business trip to Dublin, I had time to plan three golf days at Ballybunion, Dingle, and Dooks. Play often, play hard, eat well, rinse, and repeat! Perhaps a bit much for Cathy, but it gave her a taste of what a boys' golf trip is all about. She was a trooper.

John Keane (1928-2002)
We rented a tiny car in Dublin, where I learned Avis is serious about car insurance in Ireland. A £2500 deposit was required just in case this American-trained driver found the roads too skinny! "Keep the curb on the left, gPage!" 

We headed to the Southwest and spent our first night in The Listowel Arms Hotel. "The town (of Listowel) is sometimes described as the "Literary Capital of Ireland" and several internationally known playwrights and authors have lived there, including Bryan MacMahon and John B. Keane." Reference Irish Tourism: Listowel.

Drinks with John Beary at The Listowel Arms
In addition to hanging with John Keane, we were greeted by our host, John Beary, for drinks before dinner. John is a friend of Uncle Charlie, who is a 'Country Member' at Ballybunion. John proved a most outstanding host. 

You can tell from our smiles how excited we were to play what many consider the finest links course in the world. John is on the greens committee and was also recovering from surgery. But he walked nearly every hole with us. I loved his stories about the club as well as interesting tips on agronomy. For example, the native grass is called marram grass. In the photo below, John has noted the marram is improperly positioned. The natural runoff of a shot should collect in the fairway bunker, not in the grass.

As for the overall course description, I can't do better than Tom Coyne, who writes this towards the end of his epic walk around Ireland in A Course Called Ireland. 

"I'm not going to tell you much about the Ballybunion links. If you've played it, you know. If you haven't, I'm sorry. Other places I visited were Irish links golf courses; to me, Ballybunion was Irish links golf. Bold but still subtle, grand without feeling pretentious, it was an ancient course where every inch still felt relevant.

The second with its green tossed high above a hilltop; the seventh where the waves licked your cheeks and hopefully not your Titleist; the meanest 130 yards in Ireland covered with sand pits and uncharitable caroms on 8; and what about 11, a par-four rippling downward through the dunes, dollops of fairways spread here and there between the sand hills, or 16, where you fired over a ridge of dunes in search of a ribbon of fairway from which you would fight your way upward to a green floating on the horizon. Seventeen along the beach was hard to play as you fumbled for your camera, and if there was a better approach to a finishing hole than the second shot to the vaulted eighteenth at Ballybunion, the deep green set into a saddle of gentle humps and dune grasses, I had yet to play it. I'll stop there so as not to spoil the movie, because even if you're better with a camera than a pitching wedge, you should still go down to Kerry and see it."

"..... if there was a better approach to a finishing hole than the second shot to the vaulted eighteenth at Ballybunion, the deep green set into a saddle of gentle humps and dune grasses, I had yet to play it." - Tom Coyne

View of 18 from our lunch table. Amazing!

Also enjoyed the company of our 4th, Dan Molyneaux, a local member and friend of Uncle Charlie. Dan added plenty of great course knowledge to the round including this gem: "A golf journalist once described hitting your shot from the second fairway like hitting it from the midriff of a reclining Dolly Parton." (Harvey, I'll post a photo of that approach shot below my signature just for you.)

With John on the famous back tee of the 11th hole. Now named in honor of Tom Watson, many consider this one of the best golf holes in the world. A 385-yard par four. Plays much longer. Stunning views from the tee. Just hit it out there and hope to find some fairway. Then proceed down to what they call 'the steps' - three distinct plateaus unlike anything you have ever seen. The shot into the green is daunting, to say the least, regardless of which level you are on. Here's a good look at the hole from the green back towards the tee.

The pros refused to play from this back tee box on 11 during an Irish Open. We refused to as well. (-; (Footnote: Uncle Charlie chimes in that he once holed out with an 8-iron for eagle on 11. Get out of here!)

After finishing at Ballyb, we headed to an Airbnb in the small village of Cromane, near Killorglin. We explored the Dingle Peninsula the next day before an afternoon tee at Dingle Golf Links, also known as Ceann Sibéal. It was another excellent links, and as you will see, the weather cooperated again. Below is a short video of the drive, plus photos from our lunch stop in the quaint town of Dingle, CO, Kerry, followed by a few photos from the course.








The nice setup here, just need a little stronger left-hand grip, says not her husband . . . Cathy's game is really improving!

On day three, we stayed close to home and had another afternoon tee time at Dooks Golf Club. The weather was even better, and the experience was nice with a forecaddie and paired with two retired dentists from London. I tried to explain the Carolina-Duke rivalry to one of the assistant professionals in the shop, but it may have yet to resonate. On the other hand, I digested a full-on version from our caddy when I asked about the frog. 





On day four, without a tee time, we adventured around the Ring of Kerry before heading to Dublin for our evening flight. 



It was a great 'boys' golf trip, Harvey, and I look forward to returning to Ireland for more. Next up, Cornwall, for another crack at Trevose and St. Enodoc at the end of May. Hooray for three bank holidays in a month!

Taking dead aim,

gPage

From the second fairway at Ballybunion. Hello Dolly! (By the way, Ballybunion is actually a fairly new course, compared to many of the other famous links-style courses I have had the chance to play these past couple of years. Records indicate the club was founded in 1896, but fell on hard times and reopened in 1908. The course you play today (The Old Course) was opened in 1927.)

Letters to Harvey from The Kingdom:

Other 'golfy' scribblings:
"Millions of people were charmed by the homespun golf advice dispensed in Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, a sports classic that became the best-selling sports book of all time. Yet, beyond the Texas golf courses where Penick happily toiled for the better part of eight decades, few people knew the self-made golf pro who coaxed the best out of countless greats -- Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright -- all champions who considered Penick their coach and lifelong friend." - Kevin Robbins, author of Harvey Penick: The Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf.
"And if you play golf, you are my friend." - Harvey Penick
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Friday, May 5, 2023

FaaFF peeps: keep those bodies moving!

Hey Nugs,

Mom and I got back in the Fit as a Fiddle Friday: BARCH this week, and it sure felt good. Also a bit sore! I'm trying to get my core functioning again after the appendectomy. 

Mom looks amazing. I was so proud of how she played three days of golf in Ireland. Not easy on those hills and in that wind.

If you think about it, send a picture on Hoot Hoot from your workouts this weekend.

Love,

Dad

P.S. Updates on my 2023 fitness goals:

Averaging 15 no-alcohol days a month = sleeping better, feeling better, and living longer! Remember, alcohol is a poison. No matter what you may read about it being good for you, it is not. And it has a cumulative negative effect on our bodies. Do yourself a favor, and drink less. Please take days off and consider limiting to 7-8 drinks a week, spread over several nights (not all at once!)

Five BARCH functional training sessions per week and TPI drills for golf-specific fitness. On track!

The electric toothbrush is now out of the box and charging . . .

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