College Football Questions: Kickoff

You see the sun break through the blinds on a quiet Saturday morning. You blink slightly then sit up immediately. You swing your legs off your bed then run down the hallway. You peek around the corner into the living room…could it be? Is it really here?

You see the Gameday set and you jump as you exclaim,

“IT’S HERE! IT’S FINALLY HERE!”

Okay maybe you didn’t do this, but you should have. We’ve watched a few night games already, but nothing compares to that first Saturday. We’ve got an entire slate of games to watch. I hope you cut your grass earlier in the week because today promises to be unproductive. Push that “honey-do” list off to the side and let’s get started! Here’s a few questions for kickoff:

• Did you see where Iowa ranks this season? The Hawkeye’s are finally topping the college ranks, just not for play on the field.
• Bought anything good on Ebay recently? I bet a few Longhorn fans might have looked.
• Did you know most ATM fees are around two to three dollars? This one only charges you the first half. 
• Did you know the beast of a freshman for Ole Miss is pronounced kim-deech-ee and spelled Ndkeklii;asdche, but there’s no way I’m telling him that. 
• Did you know a Clowney blamed his fatigue on a little tummy ache? And there’s no way I’m telling him I said that.  
• Did you know that the Numbers Never Lie? 
• [in a woman’s voice] “Notice anything different about me? What? You didn’t” Thanks to conference expansion I’ve had to change the logo.
• Do you like flowcharts? Here’s one

Let’s enjoy the games and be glad we are sitting where none of the players and coaches can here us!

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Me in One Hundred Ways

This is my 100th post. I wanted to do something special for it. I’ve read that successful blog posts are either entertaining or informative. After 99 posts I agree with that but also think they can be one other thing – honest. People enjoy reading honest experiences and the open thoughts of others. A brief look at Freshly Pressed will show this. So here are 100 things about me.

The Basics

1My Faith 2Wife 3Lincoln & 4Sawyer 5Mom & 6Dad 7Jack & 8Lady 9My first hometown 10My current hometown 11High School 12Church 13My college 14Fraternity 15Chapter 16My first home away from home 17My vice 18My necessity 19My drink 20What makes me laugh 21What makes me cry 22What I think about when I think of God 23Favorite book 24Favorite movie 25First book I remember reading 26First author I liked 27Favorite author 28Superhero 29Favorite highlight reel 30How I like to read 31I know every word to this rap song 32Favorite picture 33Favorite pic I’ve taken 34Favorite place to eat 35Pro-life 36Anti-death penalty 37Fiscal conservative 38Highest honor I’ve received (National Runner-up) 39Farthest I’ve been from home 40My tattoo 41My first truck 42Favorite non-fiction 43Favorite character 44Favorite trilogy 45Favorite show 46Favorite funny movie 47My choice of truck 48Favorite classic 49Second favorite trilogy 50Favorite speech

People I Like/Admire

51Matthew 52St Francis 53C.S. Lewis 54Billy Graham 55J.R.R. Tolkien 56Donald Miller 57John Maxwell 58Francis Chan 59Louie Giglio 60John Steinbeck 61John Grisham 62Bear Grylls 63Ernest Hemingway 64Otis Allen Glazebrook 65Thomas Arkle Clark 66George W. Bush 67Harper Lee 68Jack London 69Ian Fleming 70Nick Saban 71Paul “Bear” Bryant 72Andrew Jackson 73Tim Tebow 74George Washington 75Joe Frazier

OK, Good Stuff

76When I was 12 I was squirrel hunting by myself and was chased by a red fox 77I have a rational fear of alligator 78I like to make lists 79I ran away from home when I was five and cried when my dad turned the porch light out and begged to come inside 80I get migraines 81I think spoken words have power. I can’t pray out loud without getting emotional 82I’ve experienced a single event that I have know way of understanding how it happened 83Organ donor 84My wife and I washed each other’s feet at our wedding 85I waited until I was married but I could care less who didn’t 86I think marriage is between one man and one woman 87I don’t think Jesus would hold a picket sign 88I almost always have a pocket knife with me 89I’m really good at throwing a frisbee 90I wrote a novel 91I’ve been drunk & hungover several times & always regretted it 92I believe God was involved in the founding of the United States and I don’t think He’s left 93I cut my own hair 94I’m a light sleeper 95I never wore braces 96I was tripped in front of the entire student body by my best friend & still think it was hilarious 97I was mistaken as a stripper once when I went to the wrong house to buy a puppy 98I worry I will pass on the things I dislike most about myself on to my children 99I think that when people are drowning you should throw them a float instead of critiquing their swimming technique 100Boston’s “More Than A Feeling” is the greatest song ever made

There it is. Now watch this and tell me I’m wrong.

1000 Per Point Campaign

If you’ve followed the blog for a while you may have realized that I’m an Alabama fan. A quick look at the topics cloud to the left is a dead giveaway. I try to be somewhat objective, but usually fail. This is actually a trademark of the fan base. We are a passionate bunch. We come out in huge numbers and cover places with crimson. We like to win. Which is a reason I think this campaign will be so successful.

My good friend Brett has launched a campaign to raise money for the charitable foundation Nick’s Kids called the 1000 Per Point Campaign. It is a 100-hour grass roots campaign that launched 12:30pm CST on Tuesday, August 27, and will wrap up on Saturday, August 31 when the Tide kicks off against the Virginia Tech Hokies in Atlanta.

All money raised will benefit Coach Saban’s charity, the Nick’s Kids Fund, “a non profit organization dedicated to supporting children, family, teacher and student causes.” The Nick’s Kids Fund is a subsidiary of the Alma Foundation. Last year at its annual giveaway luncheon, the fund distributed $418,644 to a variety of organizations. The total donations distributed by the Sabans and the Nick’s Kids Fund in 2012 was approximately $1.2 million. Since the storms of April 27, 2011 that touched down in Tuscaloosa, the fund has distributed more than $1.3 million to tornado relief.

This is a great campaign and I encourage everyone who reads this to give. Whether you are a die hard Bammer, a fan of a lesser another school, or don’t give a rip about college football, this is a worthy cause.

Help the Kids | Thank Coach | Roll Tide

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Keys to Anti-Social Networking

You’ve seen it. You thought to yourself, “What are they doing? Don’t they know how that looks?” No, they don’t. But you do. Whether it’s that emotional drama queen or the creepy guy you know who has song lyrics tattooed on his forearm, these people have being antisocial down to an art form. Now they’ve put there skills to status updates and let the world see what you already knew – that these peeps are awkward.

And you’ve wondered how do they do it? What’s their secret? Too long have you thought to yourself, “How can I become a social pariah?” Search no more! Here now are the keys to becoming completely inept at status updates and showing everyone that if they accept that friend request from you they had better get ready for a wild ride.

• Third-person narratives – Posting as an observer of your own life such as “that moment you realize ….” or “when you ….” This alone won’t get you shunned but do this enough and you are definitely on your way to sitting alone in the lunchroom.
• Political Incorrectness – Ask Paula Dean about this one.
• Incorrect Politicalness – Yeah I made that word up. It means sharing your opinion on politics/current events when you have no idea what in the world you are talking about.
• Mirror shots – Nothing tells the world you have no friends like standing in front of a bathroom mirror taking pictures of yourself. You can really add a layer of creepy by making sure you have a bunch of junk piled on your counter tops. Toss in a comment like,”Anyone like the new goatee?” or “I’m not just too sure about this shirt. Do these stripes make me look fat? I mean I know I am, but does this make it obvious?” They’ll be no doubt now how desperate you look to everyone.
• “Like” posts inappropriately – What’s that? Your grandma just died? LIKE. You just lost your job? LIKE. Car finally broke down? LIKE. You get the picture. A great way to stifle relationships is being “liking” the worst moments in people’s lives. At first they’ll think your being nice, but the more they think about they’ll soon begin to wonder what the heck is wrong with you.
• Address pronouns – Forget talking to actually people on Facebook, just talk to vague pronouns. Save tagging people in posts for the cool kids. Tell the world your sanity is slowly eroding and you are nothing but impulse and emotion with a post such this:

And that’s how it works. Now go out there and make us all realize that we can be just as uncomfortable on the Internet as we can in real conversations.

Finding Your Next Best Book

You’ve read the final sentence on the final page. You’ve turned the each page, one by one, and now you know how all the twists and turns in the plot came together. Conflict is resolved and the story has ended.

Now what?

If you are anything like me, you move on to the next book. But sometimes that next one is hard to come by. It always takes me some time to decide and I think it should. I read as a hobby so I want to read something that is enjoyable, not something that will feel like an obligation. So for that, here’s a few tips to find your next book.

• Sites-There are thousands of places on the internet to help you find what you should read next, like whatshouldIreadnext.com. You can check out Goodreads, Amazon, best sellers lists, or literary awards. A few minutes searching here can save you time and money before you start reading a book you’ll never finish. I wish I would have gotten a refund on this one…
• Friends/Family– This one if pretty obvious. Of course the people you know are going recommend books, but there’s more to it than that. As much as you may like a friend or family member, that’s not the person you should ask. You should ask someone you look up to. This is someone you know and would like to learn from. Parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, friends from college, coworkers, it could be anyone of these but it needs to be someone you admire. And don’t to ask them about a book they thought was good, ask them about a book that changed their life. Ask them about the one book they’ll never forget. The book they’d take with them on a desert island. The one they want their children to read. That’s how you ask for a book recommendation.
• You– The only person that has best perspective on what you need to read, is you. You know not only what you like to read, but what you need to read. I try to balance out my reading list. If I know the last few books I’ve read were novels, I’ll pick something nonfiction next or vice versa. If there’s a topic or skill I know I’d like to improve I’ll use the previous steps to find a good nonfiction book to start. If I want to read a good novel, I’ll think about what I’m in the mood to read. Is it something like a mystery/thriller, an inspirational novel, or a book that is about to be turned into a movie. Regardless of what you pick, a good place to start is yourself.
• Don’t Wait– One final tip I use is not to wait until I’m finished. When I’m getting close to the that final chapter I like to know exactly what I’ll be picking up as soon as I put the current one down. The more eager I am to read the next book, the quicker I’ll finish this one. It’s helped me read book after book without lag time in between. Some people prefer not to read book after book, but you do the same thing with everything else so why shouldn’t you do the same with books? Most people watch hour after hour of television, don’t let reading be any different. You’ll find it’s just as enjoyable and much more rewarding.

Those are the tips I use to find my next book. I hope that helps you find yours. I’d definitely recommend this one (just had to slide that in there).

A Busy Weekend

I didn’t post anything this weekend so I wanted to make a quick post today. I try to post every Saturday, but this weekend was an exception. My oldest turned two so we had a joint party with my nephew, who also turned two. It went great & everyone had a good time. Here’s a few pics from the day.

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Novel Wisdom: Grylls & Maxwell

This post is apart of a series where I discuss quotes from books.

I most recently finished reading A Survival Guide for Life by Bear Grylls. I did a post about it here. There’s a lot about this book I enjoyed. So much that it reminded me of one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell. After looking into the two books, it’s amazing how much great advice they hold.

As I had mentioned in the previous post I have been a fan of Bear Grylls for a long time. I read Mud, Sweat, and Tears and thought the story of his life was compelling and motivational. I was excited to read his follow-up book that offered advice on adversity, growth, and reaching your goals. It didn’t disappoint.

I first was introduced to John Maxwell’s book in college by one of my fraternity brothers. They told me it was a book that would quickly change the way I looked at things and people. It did. It caused me to re-evaluate so much of what I did each day and the impact I really had.

Because the books are so similar I thought I’d share portions of them here. Each quote offers advice that I feel is incredibly significant and applicable to most everyone.

From Chapter 53- Use time wisely:

“Unlike talent, or money, or luck, there is one resource that is distributed to every one of us equally. We each get 24 hours a day – and it is how we use those 24 hours that sets people apart.”

“Change the way you use your time, and you change your life.”

“People are careful how they spend their money, but are often less careful how they spend their time – yet no man is rich enough to buy back his past.”

“As they say: today is the first day of the rest of your life. So live it boldly.”

From Chapter Seven-The Law of Respect:

“People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. That’s how the
Law of Respect works.”

Top Six Ways That Leaders Gain Others’ Respect

1) Natural Leadership Ability – if you possess it, people will want to follow you. They will become excited when you communicate vision.

2) Respect For Others – when leaders show respect for others –especially for people who have less power or a lower position than theirs – they gain respect from others. If you continually respect others and consistently lead them well, you will continue to have followers.

3) Courage – Good leaders do what’s right, even at the risk of failure, in the face of great danger and under the brunt of relentless criticism. Can you think of one great leader from history who was without courage? A leader’s courage gives his followers hope.

4) Success – When leaders succeed in leading the team to victory, then followers believe they can do it again. As a result, followers follow them because they want to be part of success in the future.

5) Loyalty – When leaders stick with the team until the job is done and look out for their followers best interests even when it hurts them personally, followers will in turn learn to respect them.

6) Value Added to Others – Followers value leaders who add value to them and their respect for them carries on long after the relationship has ended.

These books are an incredible resource for anyone looking to make an impact. If you haven’t read any nonfiction books, you should, and these two are a great place to start.

Worst Logos of CFB

I recently did a post about the best logos of the Southeastern Conference. I thought I’d continue in that direction as college football kickoff gets closer everyday. We’ve seen the best of the SEC, now I wanted to take a look at what the rest of the college football world had to offer. Not to my surprise, it didn’t look good. Here’s a few of my thoughts on the worst logos of college football.

• East Carolina– Pirates are by most accounts pretty cool, especially when you toss in an eye patch. One surefire way to mess it up is to toss in a purple hat and a colorful sash. Maybe it’s the yellow but this guy looks like the Gypsy brother of the Gorton’s Fisherman.

• Illinois– A block letter “I”, that’s original! Just as a reminder, block letters are not logos. What makes this one so much worse is they had so much potential. Check out the earlier version with the sweet headdress. I’m guessing they got busted by the PC police. Now they are left with this as the Fighting Illini. Is that really much better than the Illinois Illinoisans? Surely you could’ve come up something better i.e. feel the Ill-a-NOISE!

• Kansas– You have “Jayhawks” to work with and this is what you decided on? I don’t know what a Jayhawk is but I picture something between a griffin and a falcon. And he definitely wouldn’t be wearing sweater and walking around with his hands behind his back. Kansas was on the right track from ’41-’45 but somewhere the train derailed.

• Monmouth– Bird or creepy magician?

• Northwestern-Dorothy dropped her house on the Wicked Witch. Who dropped the “N” on this albino cat?

• Oklahoma– Block letters are bad enough, but to not even get an outline or an intertwine. At least Notre Dame has a decent intertwine to go with their plain letters. You know you have it bad when a covered wagon graphic is better than your current logo. 

• Oregon State– You are already overlooked because of the flashy school that shares your state, but when you have this thing out front you aren’t doing yourself any favors. Everyone knows the coolest thing about beavers is their tails. Instead you’ve given us this weird-shaped head with rat teeth and remind us all that beavers are members of the rodent family. 

• Stanford– “Oh I get it. Because you’re mascot is a tree right. What? Then what’s the deal with the tree? Oh ok…no-no makes perfect sense (eye roll).”

• Texas Southern-I’m not sure if it’s ethical or even legal to merge the DNA of a naked mole-rat with the letter T.

• Texas Tech– You’ve got a lot work with here. Red and black colors. Two forms of alliteration with Texas Tech Red Raiders. Even the letter “T” is cool. It’s so awesome we named shirts after it. The best you can do is to lay them on top of each other? You did give them a beveled edge so I guess that counts for something.

And there you have it. The worst logos of college football. Not let’s go back to killing time with off-field stories about Johnny Football and hoping no one on our teams get injured in practice.

 

Reason for Revamping

I usually post on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but I didn’t want to wait on this one.

Today I’m presenting a new logo for my blog. While the web address is gtylermills.com, the title of my blog has been “Thinking Out Loud.” I’m continuing this but I decided a new logo was needed to better explain what this blog is really about – me and my thoughts.

Everything I’ve read about blogging beginnings by saying the same thing; Find your niche. Whether it’s cooking, traveling, photography, book reviews, humor, running, sports, or whatever it may be, you make that decision first then build from there. The thing with me was that I never really made that decision and I didn’t want to.

I started this blog because I wanted a place where people could follow me as I had just begun my writing career. It’s what most refer to as a “landing page.” I decided my name was the easiest way to find out where to “land,” hence the web address. I used a picture of books I got from Flickr as my header and I got started. But as time went on I realized that I didn’t want to just talk about reading or writing. There are other things I wanted to write about as well. That’s when I came up with the tagline, “Thinking Out Loud.” I wasn’t sure what all I was going to put on this blog, but I knew where it would begin. It would start as a small thought, evolve into a sentence, and grow from there. It would start with me.

When people ask me what my blog is about, it’s about me. And how do you define yourself as a category? I know only a few things about myself that I can label. I know I’m a Christian. I know I’m a husband and a father. I know I could do better at all three. Because I don’t think the old header reflects that, I decided a change was needed. I didn’t want to use pictures from someone else. Most every picture or graphic on this blog is one I’ve created myself. They may not be world class but they are my own and I wanted this to be no different.

So here’s the new logo. While I don’t have a sweet mustache (if I had black facial hair my beard would be a handlebar in no time) or a monocle, I am guy. I’m a guy who writes. I know that the ideas I have start first with me then grow outward. I know those thoughts will  eventually end up here. Because this is where I come to think out loud.

How to Make Your Lady Happy: DIY Decor

In a previous post I gave a brief tutorial on How to Make Your Lady Happy. Today’s post shows another way to make that happen.

I love my wife and I’d like to give her the world. Unfortunately, that can be a little pricey and to put it mildly, I’m a bit of a cheapskate. As I’ve mentioned before, when she finds something she likes my first response is, “Oh I can make that.” And with an eye-roll she says she’ll believe it when she sees it. Well this is one of those times I made good on my word so of course I thought I’d share.

Thanks to Pinterest there are a ton of decorating ideas flooding into the minds of women everywhere and my home is no exception. My wife had looked at several headboards for our master bedroom and had settled on something made with a vintage look, similar to this one from Pottery Barn. So here’s how I made my own:

I found these old shutters leaned up against the wall in my parent’s basement. Apparently they had come with a shelving unit my dad picked up and used for storage. They had no use for them so I took the pieces back to my garage & cleaned them up.

I removed the hardware and laid them out side by side. Then I mounted them to together on some 1″x4″.

Then I let my lovely wife put her final touches on it. She got a little chalk paint and went to town.

I called my dad over for an extra set of hands. We got it lined up, leveled, and put it on the wall.

And there you have it. With a little imagination and some elbow grease we made a headboard for the price of a quart of paint. There are literally thousands of instructions for projects similar to this. I think the main thing is looking for materials to up-cycle. It could be donations from your local thrift store, scrap wood in your garage, odds and ends taking up space in the house of a relative, and of course there’s endless possibilities when it comes to pallets. Don’t shy away from something you think you can do. Give it a shot. A worst-case scenario it doesn’t work out and you’ll walk away with experience for next time. As for me the wife’s happy. On to the next project.

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