Not quite. From WSMV Channel 4:

[...]

But a group called Flashfest contends the house’s lighting is too bright and is disturbing the neighborhood.

So, on Tuesday night, resident Nate Baker rallied about a dozen Nashvillians in support of Love Circle neighbors who believe Rich’s house is unnecessarily bright at night.

The protesters used flashlights and shined them in front of Rich’s home.

Some protesters said the protest speaks for itself. Now, the Metro Codes Department is going to investigate complaints.

[...]

John Rich is surely a decent, God-fearing man. He just makes stupid decisions involving beer bottles, building permits, septuagenarian politicians and now — search lights. After asking Samantha to go with me, getting turned down, asking for permission, not getting it, pleading with Twitter, finally getting permission, I headed over to join the festivities. The goals: protest and not get arrested. We did the former, and successfully avoided the latter.

I am hoping to see if Rich can find the dimmer switch. Now if he could just find the button that causes his house to condense into something much smaller and a lot less hideous.

The last 48 hours have included some minor Web development on side projects, goofing around with the Roku player, a hockey game, tweaks to some posters for church, decorating the church for Christmas and capped off by yet another hockey game. Not a bad way to close out the Thanksgiving holiday. Tomorrow I might decide to do something about the trunk of Christmas decorations on our living room floor.

One thing that has been keeping Samantha and I at least marginally entertained is foursquare, a popular social app for smart phones that recently opened to Nashville. It is not so much a game as is a notification platform for you to share your whereabouts with your friends, much the way that some will use Twitter to announce when they are out in public. The “fun” component comes from a scoring system that rewards you for visiting multiple places in an evening and will declare you “mayor” of a particular location if you are its most frequent visitor. For leading what some have dared to call “boring” lives, Samantha and I have managed to pile up the points for the Nashville leader board.

There are dozens of concerns about privacy, “big brother”, etc. about having an app that does that effectively tracks your whereabouts. I am not too concerned with it as long as it only updates when I tell it to and only shares the details with my approved list. Over-sharing can be an issue, though. After all, who really cares if you are now the mayor-elect of your local Exxon station? Only the guy guy who comes along and unseats you. That would probably be this guy.

We were sitting on the bleachers at Vanderbilt Stadium on Saturday, waiting for the evening’s performances from Robert Earl Keen, Jason Mraz and the Dave Matthews Band to begin when it all came rushing in. It caught me a bit off guard, but not totally surprised. Everything must be dealt with in due time.

It was a festive atmosphere, with thousands gathered for what was arguably the biggest concert of the spring. College students, middle aged men and women and those of us in between crowded the field and throughout the stands. Women walked around in sundresses, guys in t-shirts and jeans. It did not take a lot of effort to spot “that guy” — the one who shows up the concert wearing the merchandise of the band he has come to see. I never really understood the appeal. Perhaps it is matter of pride, likened to the way a sports fan will wear a throwback jersey to prove that their dedication to the team spans more than just the here and now.

The week that was. I had escaped it just long enough to sleep once peacefully through the night, but there it was waiting in the bright sunlight in Section R, row 60. The tensions, the disappointment, the unpleasant news on a Friday afternoon. A handful of familiar faces were about to become a lot less familiar. Survive this round to fight another one. Things will turn around soon. We hope so because hope is certainly a more solid foundation than anything the pundits can tell us.

The sound ripped through the field and up to the rim of the bowl. Dave and company turn in a great show, no matter where they play. The music is organic, powerful and more than a little unpredictable. A cover of “Burning Down the House” and various fakes and teases segue into popular hits. The visuals fill your eyes with wonderment, captivated by the larger-than-life imagery and searchlights that bathe the crowd with patterns and vibrant color. Thousands sing along to almost every word. It is a very surreal experience.

Eight hours later we were standing behind an elementary school, moving mulch, gravel and leaves around to help out a parents’ group build a garden. The project was one that a friend (and former co-worker) had helped organize, a great example of how every parent should stay involved with their child’s school. Being childless ourselves, Samantha and I came to lend a hand and to hang out a bit. Light physical labor is a surefire way to keep my mind from wandering (or more accurately, dwelling) on things that happened before the weekend started. I still have a bit of a sunburn and sore arms, but I would do it again if given the chance.

I have tried to take a different approach to the day-to-day struggles in times such as these. It is built around acknowledging the reality rather than painting a rosy picture. I accept that not everything ends well. That has been the hardest, because I have always subscribed to the philosophy that things that go wrong frequently lead to a better opportunity. I am sure that it still happens in the long run, but there is far too much pain in the meantime to make a direct correlation between the setback and the prosperity. You cannot say that the person who loses a job and his or her home is suddenly in a better place than when they started; It is simply not the truth.

Guilt comes easy. We still lead a rather comfortable life as a dual-income-no-kids yuppies while others in very close social circles barely get by, or simply do not get by at all. I have become more acutely aware that even this supposed life of leisure is a very fragile proposition. Can gratitude and guilt be one in the same emotion?

I have spent a bit of time around other people’s children lately. I often step back and see the defined roles in society, where the parents worry about the future while the kids approach the world with curiosity, boundless optimism and limitless potential. I wonder exactly where that innocence is lost and if it can ever be recaptured, even in a fleeting moment. The way they play, the way they learn and the amount of trust they place with those of us that spend far too much time worrying is a thing of wonder. It is just an amazing contrast.

I do not know what will happen tomorrow or the day after that. I cannot guarantee that everything will turn out just fine in the long run. My only prayer is that we can take care of one another well enough to see us through to a brighter day.

I have been spending most of my free time lately toiling away on a new theme for my Web site. It is a rather “inspired” work (read: you have seen variations of it before elsewhere), but I have the original PSD files to prove I actually designed it. Samantha is helping me with the textures and stock art for which she had a few credits left to use. I always hit a point in a design cycle where I am convinced that it is all going to come together rapidly or where I can see a final vision for the end product. I hit that last night, so now it is just a matter of applying the finishing touches and debugging cross-browser CSS issues.

Wednesday afternoon I received a jury duty summons. It seems like everyone I have ever talked to about it has tried at least once to get out of it. Most have stories about how their attempt either did not work, required a lot of effort or how they spent hours sitting around and were never actually empaneled. I am fairly content with the prospect, as it is another one of those things that the de facto “adults” do that I have managed to miss out on so far.

We are about to make the decision to cancel our cable television subscription. This is ultimately a product of us spending a great deal more time in front of the computer instead of the television more than it is a matter of cost. That said, cable is not worth the cost. My only reason to have it are for Comedy Central and Fox Sports Tennessee (Nashville Predators games). I can live without CNN, ESPN, and yes, even the Discovery Channel. My wife will likely miss Bravo and the Independent Film Channel, but she has a Netflix subscription that costs far less.

I am mainly looking forward to cutting out another bill. We have been blessed to work for two growing or at least well-positioned companies in these particularly tough times, but that does not mean we cannot trim back on a few things. I would much rather be able to meet up with friends from out of town more regularly than catch the next episode of The Daily Show. You cannot catch up with your friends on Hulu.

The days are longer now with the time change, but my body still wants to sleep in past seven every morning, eight or nine on weekends. The weather has not helped much, with cloudy days and sleet/snow mixtures falling over most of the region. I am looking forward to the cliche of “nice long walks in the park” when the weather turns warmer again.

Until then, we are heading out to the Belcourt to see Fanboys.

The application can tag almost any music it records with the accurate song title and artist, as well as links to purchase the song on iTunes or watch a music video (if available) on YouTube. Tonight, I pulled up my list of recently tagged songs and proceeded to add them to my shopping cart on iTunes. These were songs that I had heard throughout the week played on radio that I wanted to remember and save for later. I liked them enough to purchase them. It makes for a fairly seamless transition from hearing the music that I like to making the purchase. Some are independent artists without big touring budgets, others are more mainstream.

It is really how I have always bought music online — hearing the song played on the radio or at a venue, then going home and seeing if it is available on iTunes (or another service). If I realize that I liked a number of songs from the same album, I will go ahead and buy the entire thing to hear it in the format the artist likely intended it to be heard: as one flowing piece of work. But for the most part, singles fill my music library.

I spend more on music now than I did when I had to weigh whether to purchase the entire album. I have a few CDs (Jimmy Buffett and Frank Sinatra, for example) that I picked up on clearance, but even those were quickly loaded into to digital library. It is just a smarter way to manage your music.

The traditional distribution channels for music (record stores, big box retail, and even Internet) could learn a lot from watching the newspaper industry enter the twilight years of its existence. Both have been thriving industries in the past, and both have been slow to adapt to the new ways that consumers seek out their product. But, just like the news will be reported regardless of the medium, there will always be music. The entrepreneurial spirit will put forward new ideas and new models to make the recording industry as vibrant as ever by taking the leap of faith into the new century.

I believe that it begins by looking at the actual product. I am purchasing the sounds that come out of my speakers, not the CD that plays nor the digital file I downloaded. Both are useless unless I hear “Fire And Rain” softly rolling through the room or in my car. Likewise, I am purchasing the knowledge gained from reading the newspaper, not the dingy paper and ink product.

For now, it is off to bed before we head to PodCamp Nashville tomorrow.

The trouble is that most displays (projectors, televisions and computer monitors) that you would connect to the notebook are not HDCP compatible. This can be added to a long list of moves by computer hardware manufacturers and entertainment industry companies to handcuff the law abiding consumer. It is really difficult for me to understand why the physical or digital media that I purchase cannot be transferred or played on any device with the hardware capability to do so.

In Apple’s defense, Steve Jobs wrote an open letter in 2007 to music industry executives stating his company’s position on DRM:

So if the music companies are selling over 90 percent of their music DRM-free, what benefits do they get from selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system? There appear to be none. If anything, the technical expertise and overhead required to create, operate and update a DRM system has limited the number of participants selling DRM protected music. If such requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players. This can only be seen as a positive by the music companies.

Much of his same logic could be applied to the rest of the entertainment industry. As consumers, our only voice in this entire industry paradigm shift is how we spend our money. I believe the best thing we can do is to stay up to speed on these moves and continue to support the platforms that give us the most playback freedom.

Title taken from an industry PSA related to pirated software.

The outlook of seeing each day as a gift while battling one’s own inner demons takes a fair amount of levelheadedness and temperance of spirit. I am blessed with a patient, loving and listening spouse that I feel comfortable sharing whatever is on my mind or my heart. In short, I usually do not edit or dull my thoughts and reactions before sharing sharing them with her. That can (and has) backfired, but read again that part about being “patient, loving and listening.” But I also realize that not everyone has that benefit. It has also been my experience that people who go through each day with the best attitudes are the same that have some of the toughest struggles with events or people in their past.

I am not sure I could handle as much information as Frank Warren receives on any given day, but there are other ways to be supportive of people without having them tell about something traumatic that happened in third grade. The weather is getting colder and the days even shorter. Take care of one another as best you can.

We are going to BarCamp Nashville 2008 October 18 at the Sommet Center in downtown Nashville.

BarCamp Nashville is an open-source gathering of technology enthusiasts who come together for one weekend to share what they know and learn what they don’t. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees.

Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.

Sounds cool, right?

I really should have learned my lesson after my trip to the zoo. This time I did not get the advance warning of watching a school bus pull up in front of the Parthenon at Centennial Park; the third graders all just appeared out of nowhere. I guess it says something that I am spending my free time the same way stay-at-home moms and school field trips do.

I took quite a few pictures of whatever looked like an interesting shot. When I arrived home to upload them, Flickr informed me that I had hit my 200 picture quota for the Photostream. It is bad enough they cap your uploads per month, but why on earth bother to cap the number of photos available for browsing when storage space costs pennies compared to what it did 10 years ago? I still prefer to use a service rather than self-hosting, but I might take some time to research other options.

Also, I learned that you can go in to the art gallery, but cannot take pictures of any of the exhibits. You can go upstairs and take pictures of Athena and those exhibits, but not the paintings and historic photographs. They are currently running an exhibit chronicling the Katrina disaster in 2005. Powerful stuff.

For the un-indoctrinated, FFL is an online simulation of what would happen if you took players from all 32 NFL teams and each participant “drafted” his or her favorite players. Each week, the players on your roster are scored based on their performance in a real game (number of yards rushed, interceptions returned, field goals kicked, etc.). The scoring is a complicated formula and varies widely by FFL provider. Your roster’s points are totaled to come up with a team score, which is then matched in a round-robin style of scheduling against other league members.

The most time consuming aspect of fantasy football is managing your rosters. You can only have a certain number of players “active” so that their performance score is counted in the team total. A participant must watch the schedule (if an NFL is on a bye-week, no performance points are recorded) and figure out which players among your choices are bringing in the most hypothetical points.

Most fantasy football leagues of any decent size have three kinds of participants. The die-hards buy a stat book from last season and agonize of who they start or sit. The casual players login ever couple of weeks to see how they ar doing. The no-shows do not bother to ever update their roster. As it is all a game of chance, no particular kind of participant performs better than another on a given week.

I really just want the hockey season to start.

In spite of all of that, I do have a few favorite movies. Most of them were foisted upon me by friends in disbelief that I had not seen them. The friend I stayed with in Atlanta, Ga. felt it was his duty as an American to make sure I sat through Office Space, Clerks, Chasing Amy and Dogma. Once every few weeks my wife has a similar revelation upon realizing that I somehow managed to skip out on a Hollywood classic. I usually end up liking what I watch, particularly Office Space.

As for books, I am trying harder. I have managed to get through one and a half in the last month, both on topics relevant to work. I suppose this is as good of a time as any to initiate change.

I took a bit of video from last night’s fireworks display over Riverfront Park. The Tennessean estimated that more than 100,000 people came to the event this year, and I am curious how they even began to come up with a final attendance. The crowds stretched all the way up to Third Avenue on the west bank and deep into the parking lot at LP Field on the east. Metro Police shuffled people off the east side of the Gateway Bridge about an hour before the display, presumably out of safety concerns.

We had given thought to riding the Music City Star commuter train from Lebenon to downtown (mostly for the experience, as is a bit out of our way living on the north side). Looks like in hindsight it was a good decision not to go that route. Samantha and I started crafting letters to the mayor and councilmen after it took us nearly an hour to leave, and we witnessed one car accident by impatient drivers.

Samantha and I are enjoying a “staycation”, the idea of staying around your home city on time off from work rather than traveling. Today’s two events (so far) were the Music City Hot Chicken Festival in East Park and the Music City July 4th event downtown. I took a few pictures from the events on my Flickr page. My co-workers keep telling me that I do not get out and do enough, so I now have proof that we do indeed get out of our apartment on weekends.

Now we are in for a little down-time before heading back out for fireworks at Riverfront Park.

It was a great opportunity to remind me why I had enjoyed following politics in college. I dearly miss the camaraderie of like-minded individuals who have “war” stories of elections past and updates on the latest happenings at the State House and in Washington. It also served as a reminder that a beer or four serves as a great way to introduce yourself to new and interesting people. I am adding that to my list of hometown hospitality locations for anyone who might venture into the Music City to visit us.

Naturally, I have my wife to thank for this wonderful discovery.

Okay Peter Moore, the puck is at your end of the ice now. Are you going to let 2K run away with a year of hockey for the Nintendo Wii and leave EA Sports on the bench?

From GameSpot:

NHL 2K9 sticking it to Wii

2K Sports announces first licensed hockey game for Nintendo’s system, promises Wii Remote stick control and full feature set.

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot

While the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA, and even the WWE have all seen their professional athletes and entertainers appear on Nintendo’s Wii, there is at least one three-letter acronym in the world of sports that has yet to be converted for use with the motion-sensing Wii Remote. 2K Sports today announced that it will bring “the first and only” NHL- and NHLPA-licensed game to the Wii with NHL 2K9.

Already announced for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 2, NHL 2K9 will retain the full feature set of those versions, while adding motion-sensitive controls. 2K Sports has said that players will be able to use the Wii Remote as a virtual hockey stick to mimic a variety of actions, including face-offs and slap shots.

To mark the occasion of the NHL arriving on Nintendo’s latest system, Mario will make an appearance on the red carpet at tonight’s awards for the 2008 NHL season. The mustachioed plumber is no stranger to hockey fans, as his “Super Mario” moniker has long been the nickname of Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux.

All four versions of the game are being developed by Visual Concepts, and will see release in the fall.

It is about time. Wonder if we will get a picture of Mario standing next to Mario? I am looking your direction, ESPN.

I joked today that I wish I could sell off my vacation days in order to pay for a nicer break on down the road. I was only half-joking. My wife and I have yet to take a honeymoon after 1.5 years of marriage, but cost-effective travel plans keep getting less and less cost-effective. It will probably be after my vacation days renew in October before we could seriously plan something without derailing our other financial goals. We are carpooling this week while Samantha’s car is in for brake repairs, but as we work in different directions from home, that will not save much in gas. The new car purchase has been delayed to see if fuel economy can be further improved upon. My consumer confidence is down, too.

Speaking of those other mysterious goals, we occasionally spend a weekend afternoon every now and then driving through Nashville neighborhoods. It leaves us with a bit of hope (home prices are still falling, though not as quickly as the national average) and a bit of anxiety. We have ten months left on our recently renewed apartment lease, so falling in love with trendy neighborhoods in East Nashville leaves us feeling a bit shortchanged. These are exciting yet uncertain times.

In contrast to all of that, I am optimistic that the challenges ahead can be overcome. We know that we are fortunate to be where we are at this stage. I married an A-list financial planner that has managed to keep me from even wanting flat panel televisions or a new computer. I can still talk her into a few things, like the Lego Indiana Jones game for the Wii. I am still laughing after watching the trailer.

First, we are heading to the Nashville International Auto Show at the Nashville Convention Center. I am not a car or truck person nor do I know much about overhead valves, horsepower or carburetors unless it involves a certain small engine for which my employer is regional master distributor. However, we are looking into to replacing my aging vehicle with a fuel efficient car for Samantha. A coworker recommended we go because it is not selling show, with just manufacturer representatives on hand to answer questions. It should also give us an opportunity to take a few pictures. It runs through Sunday and tickets are $8 for adults.

We will then head down the street to a hockey game. As the Predators vs. Blackhawks game that starts at 2 p.m. is sold out, it will not be for that one. Instead, about an hour after that one ends the Tennessee High School Championship (The Predators Cup) game begins. The defending champions Pope John Paul II High School will take on the Knoxville Metro Pirates. Just like last year, we know exactly zero people from either of the teams participating. The event is free.

I think I could use more weekends like these.

In the movie, Joe Bauers (played by Luke Wilson) arrives in 2505 to an America filled with (and run by) people with the mindset of young teenagers and the cognitive abilities of toddlers. As the “smartest man in the nation”, he must solve the pressing issues of crop failure, a dust storm and a crumbling economy.

Comedies are typically not supposed to make you think, but this one had me a bit puzzled. I still had questions for this hypothetical world.

Was it really 2505? Five centuries is quite a stretch to believe that little had changed in terms of brand names (even though 26th century menu of a Starbucks was quite a departure from a Venti Frappuccino). My theory is that some idiot screwed up on a calendar several years back, and that it was actually no more than 2105.

Where was the rest of the world? Joe is faced with the enormity of fixing the problems of the United States, although only Washington D.C. and the southeast is mentioned. My bet is that a runaway immigration bill outlawed any foreign influence, and the while America crumbled the rest of the world went about its business.

How could they be that dumb? We are lead to believe that the answer lies in “only stupid people are breeding.” But I have to wonder if something leaked into the water supply that limited brain development. The other futuristic characters introduced in the movie were not qualified to run even the struggling society presented. But even then, there had to be a group of relatively intelligent to provide for technology on display. If the capacity to learn were genetic, it was a doomed race.

What was the political system like? I seem to remember the incumbent president won it in a tag team match (not everything in the future was a bad idea). When Joe leaves office (if there were such thing as term limits), his smarter than average heirs would be the next logical choice to lead the nation, or at the very least have an active role in the administration.

Was there an Internet or other repository of knowledge? Based on the way the residents viewed knowledge, I would guess not. But somewhere there had to be written or stored history. My guess is that most of it resided in the world outside of America.

What would be the priorities for fixing society? If Joe were to follow Maslow’s hierarchy, fulfilling the basic need for food and shelter would be paramount. Re-growing the crops was a first step, as at the very least people were surviving in this dysfunctional world. He would then need to rid the country of the controlling corporate interests which had run roughshod through ever level of government. If the rest of the world progressed as usual, bringing in foreign help would speed along some of these initiatives. Somehow re-establishing an educational system would be about as far as he could go in one lifetime.

If you did not see this movie in theaters, it is likely not by accident. Fox Studios pushed this one out to a few meager markets and hoped it would just stay dead (grossing less than a half-million dollars). Still, like writer/director Michael Judge’s other great feature film Office Space, it does not disappoint. Go rent it.

I saw a preview for ABC’s Eli Stone and thought “axed in five weeks”. When a pilot episode relies on George Michael to sing “Faith”, you know it is just begging to be put out of its misery. Even the whimsical premise makes you wonder if it could be a Lost spin-off. CBS is importing its new show Flashpoint from Canada to avoid dealing with the writers.

With the nightly news talking about economic woes and nothing worth watching on television, one has to wonder where America is finding a good pick-me-up. I am sure one of the dozen prescription drug ads that run every five minutes can cure what ails you.

The second line was the one we stood in for breakfast this morning at the Pancake Pantry in Hillsboro Village. We arrived just in time to beat the morning rush (a line that often stretches out the door, around the corner and just about across the street), and had the pleasure of being herded around like cattle. But it was worth it.

I think it’s a song about a soldier, about a marine. People can take it anyway they want. I don’t get up on a soapbox and do political messages. I believe in talking about the human being, and the conditions humans find themselves in.

There is a live version up on YouTube.

So, if they want that to continue, they’ll need pencils.

I bought a Nickelback music video.

Aside from my general belief that all of their music is essentially the same with different lyrics laid on top of them, Rock Star is a bit different. The song is a stinging indictment of our self-centered culture, much to the same tune of Beverly Hills from Weezer. The video features many pop icons from music, movies, television and sports. I was on the fence until Wayne Gretzky makes his cameo appearance, and I figured I somehow had some sort of blessing.

To offset the “cool” karma that I may have lost, I picked up John Lennon’s Imagine album. Said of the included music video by one reviewer on iTunes:

When I first saw this video back in the 80′s I liked it, but didn’t fully “get it”. Watching it now, I’m struck by its simple, uncomplicated beauty. From its dark, silent, mist-shrouded start, right through the light flooded ending. It’s about casting off the self-imposed darkness that blinds us. Daring to imagine what humanity “could” be.

Much like a drunk sitting at the bar, my general reaction to that is “man, that is deep“. But aside from the wistful talk of a world that could be, I have to wonder exactly where all the dreamers have gone. Have they vanished with the rise of self righteousness and greed (typically embodied by the same people) or have they simply lost a voice?

Politics at every level has become a circus, carefully choreographed with news conferences that ultimately leave most of the public disenchanted with the entire process. And for the ringleaders of the grand charade, that is good news. We have a mayor’s race right now that has me changing the station at the onset of yet another attack ad. Try track six out for size; It just made my “Democracy Now!” playlist.

I believe that the longing for simpler times is not nostalgia, but clearly seeing a way forward. It is not about returning to something old, but living by a shared value system that knows no creed or deity. Samantha framed a copy of the religions of the world’s view on the so-called “Golden Rule” that we picked up attending a GNUUC service one snowy morning earlier this year. The semantics were varied, but the core message was the same. Scholars would likely dismiss this as an over simplification of these faiths, but I count the belief that the way we treat each other ultimately defines our humanity.

Last Friday (Aug. 3) we went to the John Mayer and Ben Folds concert (with special guest James Morrison) at the Sommet Center. It was the first time I had ever attended a concert at the arena, so I opted for the club seats to stay away from the screaming teenagers. No such luck. Between them and the 40-somethings that insisted on going for beer runs in the middle of sets, I have concluded that it is all just part of the experience.

All three acts were good, but I have a newfound respect for Folds and Mayer’s talent with their instruments. Studio albums do not do them justice compared to watching them live. Mayer was crowned one of three modern-day “Guitar Gods” by Rolling Stone magazine, and his soaring riffs ended any doubt I had about that title. I was not sure the piano was going to make it through several of Folds’s songs. He even played parts of a piece with his foot.

We already knew Folds lives and hangs around Nashville. This was even further supported when a sales clerk at the Mac Authority Saturday noticed Samantha’s tour shirt and remarked “You know, Ben Folds comes in here all the time.” Go figure.

Other than the concert, summer has been moving along at its usual pace. The trek has been a bit warmer than usual, with several days in the last week have temperatures over the century mark. We are going to Bar Camp Nashville next weekend to see what it is all about. The topics look interesting, and even if they are not, at least there is a bar.

Now to just remember that the school zones are back in effect and to stay on the school crossing guard’s good side to make it to work on time.

“Flying Day” in Nashville

We had been looking forward to the Red Bull Flugtag for months, the marketing-laden event sponsored by the energy drink maker where contestants spend countless hours making crafts intended to fly under their own human power off the end of a platform. To keep it interesting, points are also rewarded for showmanship and crowd appeal. Most simply drop.

Nashville’s Riverfront Park played host to the event, with more than 80,000 spectators crammed on both sides of the Cumberland and along the two bridges spanning over the area according to event organizers. We started watching on the LP Field side and then tried (with very little success) to find a better vantage point on the downtown side. We quickly realized that unless you staked out a spot early, your best hope was to just stand in the middle of the crowd and hope to see at least some of the contestants. We took a few pictures, but here some more.

The winning team hailed from Kentucky, but a rousing rendition of “Rocky Top” was their song of choice. I am sure the diehard UK fans likely disavowed the team for that reason alone. Residency or choice of music aside, the team did manage to set the North American flight record at 155 feet, almost doubling up on the previous record of 85 feet. Another 40 feet would have been needed to tie the world record mark.

The only thing more puzzling than the contraptions themselves was this paragraph in the recap from our local newspaper:

A reporter for The Tennessean was not allowed to interview event participants because the newspaper refused to sign an agreement with event organizers that prohibited reporting on injuries or serious mishaps.

Kudos for refusing to sign such a ridiculous document, and I would have liked to see that one fought in court as being an unreasonable request for the newspaper to oblige for a free event held on public property. In any case, I am still trying to figure out what marketing genius thought that is was a good idea to squelch a dolt jumping the wrong way off the platform. I am sure it is common practice for some events (professional sports in particular), but surely that paragraph printed in any report about the event does not help their case that the event is safe for the participants.

We enjoyed the day, downing 7 bottles of water between us in the over 90 degree heat. We left a early before some of the crafts went off because Samantha was not feeling particularly well. I have not calculated it yet, but I wonder how far we walked today starting at the Shelby Street bridge, walking across Riverfront Park, across the Woodland Street Bridge and back over to the the parking lot under the Shelby Street bridge. We are fairly sure that it meets our exercise quota for the weekend.

Now to find some aloe for our sunburns.