Back in the newspaper days, it was a blast to write a headline — extremely limited space, yet the writer had to grab the reader’s attention.  Billboards in advertising … another example.

Then came Twitter.

It’s sort of like headline writing, with much less impact.  But it is fun — 140 characters at a time … limited space, yet no shortage of useless information.

And yes, there is a group of people who form their tweets in the form of a haiku.  Oh these word nerds!

Anyway, if you are among the uninitiated. Here are some of my random thoughts from PingWi-Fi that were run through the “Twitter filter.”

Typically, I use Twitter to drive traffic to this blog.  Today, I hope this blog might entice you to take a look at @pingwifi on Twitter. You can follow by clicking here:

http://twitter.com/PingWiFi

Okay … Let’s get random:

• Happy Birthday Gary Busey, 65, known for Buddy Holly Story .. or Gary Busey mugshot. Wait that was Nick Nolte! Mugs: http://bit.ly/11wl3x
• Histweet: Brilliant branding. This day, 2007, Apple iPhones.! Of course iPod had already begun great migration to Apple. #tech #apple

• Have you heard of Monavie? Hmm .. name is quite similar to Mondavi??? And their product is packaged in wine bottles … hmmm #health
• I have only finished one half of the acai berry juice and .. HA … already I don’t have cancer or nothing:) #health
• Rolling Stone has great photos of M.Jackson’s career. Sadly, archives deterioration mentally/physically. #rock music http://bit.ly/p3so0
• Happy B-day U.S. Trade Representative/ former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk,55. Ha! Last I saw him, he was on public affairs team I steered. #pr
• Who don’t love them some puffy sleeves? Yardbirds do ‘Dazed/Confused’ in ‘68 … pre-Zep! http://bit.ly/Fa8PM #rock music
• @potroast this Starbucks has Barnes/Noble hotspot next door .. the two signals compete for your computer’s affections #wi-fi #starbucks
• It’s Mick Jones Birthday. I share link Joe Strummer interview .. ‘close, but no casbah’ http://bit.ly/Ms7UL Happy B-Day Mick! #rock music
• Dear entrepreneurs: For grins, I went to this URL: www.kingofpoop.com … LOL … it is available if you want it. #satire
• Dear Starbucks: Please fix Hotspot at University in Fort Worth … messed up for months, signed PingWi-Fi, a.k.a. ‘The Wi-Fi Guy’ #wi-fi
• Tell me .. just how many little Red Bull vehicles are there doing moving-billboard advertising on the highways of America? #marketing
• I was just pulled over in a school zone - by the grammar police - and they asked to see my creative license. Seriously. #satire #wi-fi
• Gedde Watanabe of ‘ER’ is 54. Happy Birthday to the boy named ‘Dong” … 16 Candles #Hollywood
• Happy Birthday songstress Carly Simon. She is 64 and yes, ‘I bet you think this tweet is about her, don’t you, don’t you?’ #rock music
• Histweet: This day, 1997, the man who brought the male bikini into our living rooms died. Oceanagrapher Jaques Cousteau passed at 87.
• See Dallas Cowboys metal. Free Reign: Columbo, Procter & Davis: http://bit.ly/lzLPS #sports I ain’t writing bad review http://bit.ly/lzLPS
• Ha … bing showed me that yes, I have made News of the Weird at least once: http://bit.ly/3Gy3w #guerilla marketing #pr #wi-fi
• Look carefully. Orange dot in Bing logo is same as in PingWi-Fi logo .. “maybe it’s a sign” www.pingwi-fi.com, www.bing.com #bing #wi-fi
• Debbie Gibson is pregnant with my 2-headed love child’ — Mojo Nixon on WOXY #satire #rock music
• ‘You cant take me anywhere, I’ll strip down to my underwear’ — Hoodoo Gurus on WOXY … man I miss those Aussies! #rock music
• ha .. i borrowed from “Charlie” … gardening with punji spikes on other blog on Myspace: http://bit.ly/AWxX5 #satire #gardening
• Blogger notes remarkable trend. Readers increase when lazy-arse blogger finally posts. Discovered on Google Analytics:) #satire #pingwi-fi
• ha … Dirty Band also backed up Steve Martin doing ‘King Tut’ on SNL … billed as the Toot Uncommons! #rock music #snl #fort worth
• Rocker Ann Wilson of Heart is 59, but no longer a size 59. Here is her new band video — LAPBAND: http://bit.ly/qnxZP #rock music
• Commuting from work yesterday, almost run off road by van, that crossed 5 lanes. Inside? An entire, costumed mariachi band. LOL #commute
• Here’s a Father/Son thing from Dell Diamond in Round Rock … home of RR Express: http://bit.ly/2lXD61 #baseball #Texas #Wi-Fi
• Histweet: This day, 2002, Sir Paul McCartney wed Heather Mills. Critics said relationship didn’t have leg to stand on. #rock music #Beatles
• Vindicated! CBS Early Show shows birds divebombing peeps in San Francisco. I blogged it after I was pecked 1st 5 minutes in SF, 2004. See!
• Coolest motorcycle seat I have seen: http://bit.ly/wie4P #football #motorcycle
• “Momma, when will I be fat ’nuff to get me one of them tattoos?” http://bit.ly/2Jc7Sf #satire
• Histweet: This day, 1980, comedian, actor Richard Pryor took free-base to a new high, lit his own self on fire. That stuff will splode!
• Huge blogger claimed all geeks want a Prius! How much they pay him to say that about a neutered-mobile? #tcot #blogs #tech
• Truest lyric ever? ‘Come On Eileen’: ‘You’ll hum this tune forever …’ #rock music
• Good Morning America teases story: ‘Could this young child be reincarnated WWII pilot?’ Did tabloid buy network when I wasn’t looking? #news
• Tennis star — greatly criticized for being aesthetically correct — Anna Kournikova is 28. Happy Birthday!

I’ll never forget where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news that Michael Jackson was dead.

No wait … I better write it down.

I was using Wi-Fi at Starbucks, as I am prone to do.

More specifically, I was trading e-mails with an attorney about trademark issues, and beating some dude from Portugal in Internet backgammon. Call me “Mr. Multi-tasker.”

Just about the time I rolled double sixes, an e-mail popped up on the corner of my screen, indicating a breaking news story. I saw the headline and opened it immediately … and as fast as I could, I clicked to start my Tweetdeck program.

This was HUGE! Was there a chance I could be the first in my circle to break the Michael Jackson news on Twitter?

Ha … fat chance. I mean … I left my gammon game, closed the attorney’s diatribe and spit out a tweet as fast as I could. Then I looked at my “friends” tweets. Everyone was already talking about it. Granted many more piped in after I ran the link to the Los Angeles Times story … but I never-never had a chance at being first.

Oh well … I bet I was the first among most of my twitterati peers to see Michael Jackson. It was on the old Ed Sullivan Show … and I remember where I was. I was at the home of some family friends and it was a big deal. They had just bought their first color TV and we didn’t have one yet. I will never forget that Michael Jackson was wearing a purple, felt, cowboy hat … at least it was purple on the new tube.

These were the same friends who turned me on to Honda trailbikes, Vox keyboards, and pretty much the entire British Invasion. Somehow, even though they lived on a farm just as my family did … they always had their finger on the pulse. I digress …

And no, I am not as old as Michael Jackson. I just got an early start on music television. In fact, I had already seen The Beatles on Ed Sullivan just before my fourth birthday, several years before Michael stole the show. Michael Jackson and The Jackson Five might have changed my life, had it not already been for the Fab Four …

Here is a video of Michael Jackson fronting The Five in 1970, a video compilation of ” ABC,” “Stop The Love You Save” –my fave — and “I Want You Back.”

Jackson Five video compilation

But I think this second video link — although not as good quality sound — is the actual footage of the number I saw with the purple hat:

The Purple Hat, Michael

If you have never seen Michael Jackson at this early stage in his career, sad to say, you have not seen Michael Jackson at his best.

Think about that for a second. What could it be like to peak at 9 or 10 years of age? Instant success, jetsetting with Diana Ross and all the top performers of the day … then along comes this thing called puberty … and the highest notes were gone. He was never the same.

I am not making excuses for the things Michael Jackson did in his life, or purportedly did … or whatever. But, I have always felt sorrow for the guy. Ironic … a starving blogger feeling sorry for a guy who had the world at his fingertips — “The King of Pop.”

Can you imagine being the top entertainer in the world, 4-feet tall, selling millions of records … then you start to mature and you are in constant fear of losing everything — especially the adoration of millions of people?

Thanks to MTV, a short film, and brilliant choreography, millions bought “Thriller.” Others know Michael Jackson for “Beat It” or “Billy Jean” … I am sorry to break it to you. Those don’t come close to the magic, the energy, the joy, the melody of those first Michael Jackson/Jackson Five hits … not even close. And he was a boy!

I think Michael Jackson knew it and was tormented by it. At the ripe age of 17+, he was a shell of the performer he once was. I would bet my fuzzy dice that somehow Michael’s issues later in life directly are attributable to him lacking a real childhood first, and then later losing his childhood musical magic. Is it any wonder he had the Neverneverland mansion and the fascination with not growing old, etc., etc.?

So it was a weird day. Farah Fawcett — a pretty head of hair and a million-copy poster girl, who became a respected actress in her own right — left us earlier in the day.

Then around 5 p.m. Central, Michael Jackson — love him or hate him — owned Twitter because he was dead.

Later there was a rumor flying around that Jeff Goldblum also checked out … but I think it was just that, rumor.

BUT … none of that was the strangest thing of the day. This is. Around noon, I was in a meeting, discussing PingWi-Fi.com. I don’t remember how the topic came up, but I told my colleague that I had a confession.
“What!?,” she pried.

I swear on everything holy … this really happened!

I said, “I have a confession. Several months ago, I saw a video on YouTube and this dancer guy was showing people how to Moon Walk (like Michael Jackson). I watched it a few times, and practiced it once or twice … and I can sort of … kind of … really badly do a slow motion moonwalk.

I demonstrated. (She is the only person on the planet who has ever seen me do this. For whatever reason, this of all days, I decide to unleash the choreography force that is “Ping.” LOL! Never before … and probably never again).

She said something like “Are you sure that’s the Moon Walk? That’s the worst thing I have ever seen.”

“Come on, don’t mince words, tell me what you really think.” I don’t care. It doesn’t matter …

Oh the irony … or coincidence … it really happened — about five hours before the news broke of Michael Jackson’s death, I was celebrating his legacy in dance.

Know what I sayin?

As the crowd rose to leave the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concert at Billy Bob’s mega-tonk in Fort Worth, this lady says: “That was the best concert ever … except for The Eagles.”

Lady … The Eagles are “new kids in town” compared to The NitGrit … I mean, these guys date back to the time of The British Invasion, yet they have stayed true to their bluegrass, jug-band roots all these years. They good at it too.

Jeff Hanna, vocalist

I think writing about the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is a perfect gig for PingWi-Fi … I mean what is more wireless than acoustic music, right?

Ha … speaking of Brits, the Grits took a time out during the show to defend the cross they bare for their flavor of Americana music.

Banjo man-mandolin-steel guitar dude John McEuen said his brother questioned him when he first picked up the banjo: “If the banjo was any good, The Beatles would play one.” (Actually, that is an interesting thought, given the Fab Four’s beginning as a skiffle band …)

To support the point, front man Jeff Hanna piped in that “if the Beatles were any good, they would have played a banjo,” totally tongue in cheek … or was it?

But their best joke: “One thing is for sure, if The Beatles had been a bluegrass band, Paul McCartney’s divorce would have cost him a heckuva lot less money.”

Well … NGDB ain’t The Beatles, but they are an institution in their own right. Look up their Circle Be Unbroken recordings and look at the who’s who of American music playing on the projects. Look at their list of Grammys … recognized by The Library of Congress … Country Music Association album of the year … etc.

They were the first American band to represent behind in the Iron Curtain, before the fall of communism, back in the old U.S.S.R. — now that’s some historical significance!

They immortalized the Bojangles, soft-shoe character in song, even though Ronald Clyde Crosby (JJW) penned the tune.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Jeff_Walker

And they were contemporaries with another famous American bluegrass band — The Grateful Dead. In fact, they played a tune they learned from Jerry Garcia during the Fort Worth set.

The Dirt also played “Going Up The Country,” popularized by Canned Heat in the ’60s (Woodstock) for the Cowtown crowd. Check out the Canned at:

Canned Heat

And if you’ve been around a bit you know there is an entire movement surrounding Beatles music done through the moonshined, bloodshot eyes of hillbillies — known as Beatlegrass.

So, yes, NGDB covered a Beatles song … where are my notes? Was it “Get Back”? OH well …

John McEuen, strings

If anyone had told me the Dirt Band would cover Bruce during the show, I would have guessed Hornsby … but no … they did a nice rocking version of Springsteen’s “Cadillac Ranch” (speaking of my favorite monument to road trips …).

For any Jimmy Buffet fans in the crowd, they played their hit that sounds as if it could have been inspired by the leader of the Parrot Heads, the islandy “American Dream.” (Actually Rodney Crowell penned the song.)

“I think Jamaican in the moonlight
Sandy beaches drinking rum every night
We got no money, mama, but we can go
We’ll split the difference, go to Coconut Grove …”

Everything was so well done … so tight … with vocals true to the caliber of the band’s recordings through the decades … so it was a pity when faulty sound equipment stole the show.

Do you know the song “The Broken Road” made into a hit by Rascal Flats? Guess whose song that is … NGDB! They played it the other night, featuring keyboardist Bobby Carpenter on vocals — the first guy to ever record the tune. Well … I still haven’t heard his version, because his microphone failed for the entire song … pity.

If you think this blog entry is long now, just be glad I don’t gush for a while about how good “Mr. Bojangles” was live. The sentimental side of me wanted to shed tears for the poignant tale of “how a dog and he traveled throughout the South” … but then the more cynical side of me wanted to get on stage and howl the part of “Teddy” the dog featured in the old recording … LOL

Thank goodness the band didn’t make us wait until the encore for Mr. Bojangles. They gave us what we wanted about two-thirds through the set.

They played a nice cover of Little Feat’s classic “The Weight” … “take a load of Annie” (confession, I always thought it was “Fanny” …)

Little Feat

Jimmie Fadden, harmonica, drums

Perhaps the most impressive thing of the show? How many drummers have you seen who play harmonica solos while they keep time on the skins? Drummer Jimmie Fadden still got it going on — singing, drumming, playing the harpoon.  Not to be outdone, McEuen demonstrated a difficult chord on the guitar, played with one finger … and his nose.

So … what would be the encore song?

What else — the gospel classic and Dirt mainstay “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.”

Did I call it before the encore? … Well yes … but, I mean … they have three LPs named after the song … go figure.

Know what I saying?

Even though numerous eye witnesses said they spotted funnel clouds, there was a wait of several days. Finally … yes! … the weather service said it was official. At least five tornadoes reared their heads in North Texas the other day. Luckily, most of the damage was only flooding, as opposed to wholesale destruction.

So, I want to know just how they confirmed the tornadoes. Do the weather experts Tivo the video from weather satellites, then go back and review the call?  And, BTW, “eye witness” is a funny term.  Are their ear witnesses to really loud mishaps?  I wonder if anyone has ever testified as a nose witness, in events that caused a stink??? …

I digress …

Suffice to say the tornadoes were real, and there is nothing like a bad storm to bring out the A word — aftermath.

Aftermath … it’s what I do. Ha … the Dallas storms gave me occasion to put on my dirty hat and do some more “dirty jobs” action to fund this blog.

Any time I start a dirty gig, there is a small transition time, in which I am still thinking Wi-Fi connectivity instead of power tools. It passes quickly — as I learn about air movers, “de-hues,” etc.

One day I was tooling around Dallas in a 24-foot diesel truck …

The ‘dirt’ on this job has been more like mud along with the potential for mold. There are several crews extracting flood water from apartments, office buildings, warehouses and even an esteemed business school. Funny, they all smell the same when soaked in sludge — the buildings, not the crews.

At the college, I took the opportunity to call a friend of mine who heads PR for the school to let him know I was “swimming” on campus, albeit, not in the Olympic-size aquatic facility. He got a kick out of that.

I won’t lie … I thought it was interesting to be ripping carpet out of a lecture room where I participated in a PR discussion, just a few months earlier. But we do what we do …

Could it be that I am de-evolving back to my blue-collar days — relearning skills which paid my way through college, and helped me earn my college degree … training me to become a writer? Or is this hard, physical work actually something that really matters more than spinning and fabricating good news about PR clients? Hmmmm?

Our crew made quick work of the classroom, and rushed off to a two-story office building.

I didn’t really look for Wi-Fi, but there were constant reminders on the job site. As I moved contents in flooded offices it seemed there was a Wi-Fi router around every corner. It seems LinkSys is everywhere.
I should have checked to see if the soaked equipment was still giving soggy signal …

Elsewhere in one flooded office building, surprisingly, it was business as usual. Just a few door down from where demolition crews were knocking out walls, removing caved-in ceiling, and draining water … HA … there was a sales training/motivational seminar going on … on a Saturday morning. I could hear ‘Eye Of The Tiger’ blaring from a boombox behind the door. LOL … sales associates were yelling and clapping.

… Must have been quite a motivational speaker to get people fired up, as the building was crumbling around them, just down the hall.

The only tall tale I have from the apartment complex is that we transported one person’s belonging from a damaged apartment on the first floor, to a pristine place on the third floor … in the 100-degree heat.  But of course, there was a story waiting up there too.  When the job was finished, the two women started offering gratituity “we couldn’t refuse.”  Ha … but we declined … seriously.

A few days later there was another one of those “small world” occurrences. I was asked to drive a truck to a flooded building in Dallas. It just happened to be a well-known night club and medium-size venue concert hall. We unloaded the equipment and walked around the place, reading all of the cool concert posters on the walls, backstage.

There was a small white couch tucked in one corner. It was the very couch where I sat a few months back, side-by-side with Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, for a one-on-one interview. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. It is featured on this blog and on YouTube.

How coincidental is that?

Know what I sayin?

Man … there is just something cool about Minor League Baseball parks. Intimate. Clean … no … immaculate! This evening, I am in the press box at Dell Diamond, in Round Rock,Texas — home of the Round Rock Express.

Typically, my “home” Minor League field is the home of the Fort Worth Cats — LaGrave. One of my other favorites is home to the Sacramento River Cats … I stopped in there on my 18,000-mile road trip, because they left the lights on … and it drew me in like moth to combustibles.

But tonight the match up is high school baseball — some of the best in the nation. Arlington Heights High School of Fort Worth is playing Corpus Christi Moody (the number one ranked high school team in the country).

Diamond Pings

And there is more than meets the eye at this ballpark. YES! It has Wayport Wi-Fi for fans in the stands, and there is a free network for the press box … so all my needs are satisfied on a beautiful night in the Texas Hill Country.

It is interesting that the minor league team here is the RR Express. Of course investor Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers was known as the Ryan Express back in the day. Also, his two sons are executives here — another RR combo: Reid and Reese Ryan. (The star short stop for Arlington Heights is also a Ryan — Chris Ryan — but no relation I think …)

I would be remiss in the namedropping category if I didn’t mention I met two of the three Ryan men when I put out the book NOLAN RYAN: The Authorized Pictorial History several years back. At that time, of course I met Nolan — just about the time he threw his 7th and final no-hitter in the majors. I also met his youngest, Reese at their home in Alvin — as Nolan threw soft toss batting practice to his son. That was a special moment. Although I was in the dugout when Nolan faced his son Reid in a pitchers duo at The University of Texas (in an exhibition game between between Texas and The Texas Rangers) … I never met Reid.

But tonight, he and his brother are my host. And there is a special father/son moment for me. My youngest son graduated from high school Sunday, but tonight he is playing in the Texas State Baseball Tournament.
Does it get any better than that!?! Well … yes it do.  My boy Zander just entered the game as a ping … er I mean pinch runner!  Run, Zanduh, Run!

Baseball, my boy, several Ryan boys and Wi-Fi allowing me to Tweet and blog the Texas State Baseball Championship tournament from Dell Diamond — perfect game, 7 pings!

Know what I sayin?

If Rat Packer Dean Martin can sing about it, then I can blog about it.

“Abilene, Abilene.”

On the first day of my first Wi-Fi blog, I watched my son throw a no-hitter for his high school baseball team. A great day of baseball proved to be the perfect beginning for a wonderful trip.

This week, baseball is back on my radar. My younger son’s team played in the Regional Finals of the Texas high school playoffs. (He too has pitched a no-hitter, although he plays outfield these days.)

So, it was baseball that took me to Abilene, but Wi-Fi that kept me in contact with the rest of the world. First up, I Googled Abilene and found there is a state park that is new to me, although it dates back 80 years. Perfect. Like my trip to Santa Fe, I opted for alternative lodging … my Coleman tent. More on that later …

What Abilene lacks in size, it makes up for in supermarket cool. Why doesn’t my (larger) hometown have a cool United or Market Street grocery near me? Great stores .. And yes, there is a free Wi-Fi hotspot inside the Abilene United, compliments of Peet’s Coffee???

Great produce and a café with Wi-Fi, what’s not to love? — 6 pings.

Although my “landlord” for the week was Abilene State Park, my tent is pitched just a few miles West of the hamlet of Buffalo Gap … population 400+. (I hear there is a renown, Texas interior designer based here in BG. Wonder if they could makeover my tent …)

The park is a bit off the beaten path, and isn’t extraordinary as far as scenic drives go … but it has an awesome swimming pool and some cool buildings forged from the local sandstone by the CCC in 1930s.

Abilene

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps

Let’s just say the crowd at a state park pool is diverse, in every sense of the word.  All education levels, all income levels, some appreciation of modern fashion … and yes a few mullets … Ha … even a young boy with a fresh Mohawk do.  “Better put some SPF 30 on those sidewalls boy!”  By the way, he blew his tough guy, Mohawk style points when he backed out, and climbed the ladder down from the high dive.

Also, in between the shouts of “Marco?” and the the retorts of “Polo!” I am pretty sure I overheard this: “Momma, when will I be fat enough to get a tattoo?”

Although I have yet to find Wi-Fi in the BuffG. I did find deer — there were more deer than you could shake a stick at last night, near the campsite and one doe eating bark from a tree this morning for breakfast roughage. More “Wild Kingdom” updates — the morning roadkill near the park included a porcupine, quills all erect. When was the last time you saw roadkill appetizers complete with toothpicks?

Speaking of sticks … I fired up the T-Mobile webConnect laptop stick … nada … no broadband signal found in the park. Now that is remote. Best feature of the park? The eerie red lights blinking at night throughout the hills, marking the huge windmill turbines that dot this part of the world.
Alas, no broadband and no Wi-Fi signal. No score.

Next up, I hit old faithful. Yes, Abilene has two Starbucks and I have made one my unofficial headquarters because it is on the same road as my camp — Buffalo Gap Road. The Bux has AT&T Wi-Fi and a great cross section of cowboys and college kids. Yesterday, I eavesdropped on a professional photographer as he shared photos on his computer with his subject — apparently a fan of Gold’s Gym and fitness contestant. Good stuff.

The Bux crew is great during the slow part of the day, but when rush hour hits, they are a bit slave-to-the-drive-through-window-ish, and frankly, I crave attention from my baristas — 5 pings.

Monks Table Art

More local fare — I swung by the Abilene T&P Train Depot, which houses a visitor’s office for the local convention and visitors bureau. They recommended a coffee shop called Monks. Nice lead. Monks is a bit funkier than anything I expected to find in Abilene.

Megan At Monks

Monks has tiger skin carpet, custom painted, artsy table tops and a sense of humor. Their t-shirts — perhaps a cynical play on the Keep Austin Weird or Keep Boulder Weird t-shirts. Monks shirts say: “Keep Abilene Boring.” I laughed and bartered for one, unsuccessfully I might add. Probably not a popular campaign in the eyes of the local chamber.

Monks got Wi-Fi? It do … Xanadoo is the provider. See: http://www.xanadoo.com/about.html

Steve At Monks

The provider is a nice little surprise … here in Texas frontier land — “The Big Country” as the locals say. Xanadoo Company is one of the first and only 4G wireless internet operators in the U.S. to bring WiMAX to America’s Heartland. Launched in 2006, Xanadoo provides innovative, mobile broadband solutions to multiple cities in Texas, Oklahoma and Illinois. In early 2009, Xanadoo launched its first 4G markets in Springfield and Decatur, IL, with plans to expand 4G into current and future markets.

You Been Monked

Monks is a cool place — one which is not afraid to poke fun at itself and its surroundings … a bit slow in the day for a downtown shop though — 5 pings.

So … the team won and we tamed the Wi-Fi frontier, all in one trip. I twisted my bed roll and saddled my little metro-ish SUV, and made it back to Fort Worth in record time.

Next up, Inks Lake near Austin, and the Texas 4A High School Baseball state tournament in Round Rock. FYI … yes, I am told Inks Lake is Wi-Fi friendly! Got my baseball radar gun and my PingWi-Fi meter ready.

Know what I sayin?

Roadtrips just got a lot better.  Gone are the days when you may have used a bungee chord to tie down a small TV and a DVD player on a beer cooler in the back of the family truckster, for the kids to occupy they minds.

CruiseCast released this news:

AT&T Services Inc. and RaySat Broadcasting Corporation are today announcing the official launch of AT&T CruiseCast -the newest in-vehicle entertainment service, with 22 satellite TV and 20 satellite radio channels.

With a variety of kids and family, music, comedy, news and sports programming, the AT&T CruiseCast service will enable families, commuters and mobile professionals to enjoy their favorite programs via the rear-seat entertainment systems of their vehicles, and will also be available for RV enthusiasts and semi truck drivers.

You may recall an interview with Winston Guillory of CruiseCast here on PingWi-Fi, from the exhibit hall at CES in Las Vegas.  In this office, the interview will forever be known as the “Crop dusting” interview … for extremely irreverant reasons.

http://pingwi-fi.com/2009/01/cruisecast-interview-video-from-ces-documents-crop-dusting/

Note: What is a “semi truck driver?”  Either yo is, or yo aint … LOL!

Know what I sayin?

Well … I am almost sad to say I have finished another ‘dirty jobs’ assignment, and have moved on to what can only be described as a sweet gig.

Today I am circling the course — including all of the highly populated watering holes — at Fort Worth’s Colonial Country Club, for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial golf tournament.

My assignment is to describe the fun, via twitter.  This job is considerably better than a sharp stick in the eye.  If interested, following the action at Colonial by following me on Twitter — @CaddieChat.

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The Dirty Jobs gig continues … and today is all about me and my creature comforts — or lack thereof!

Okay … so like I bought what I thought were the most awesome work boots to get me through this season of manual labor and supplemental cash flow. But little did I know …

My almost new, steel-toe Dickies work boots actually are not boots at all. They must be in fact, the place where “bad little piggies” go to burn in eternal damnation. Toe-ment, I call it!

Read More »

Both of my readers may have noticed that the blog posts are few/far between lately. My bad! I am supplementing the blog with more “Dirty Jobs” type work.

Man, sometimes I think it may have been easier if I had chosen “Shark Week” rather than Dirty Jobs in order to emulate a TV phenom. This week, I am involved in the demolition of a sports facility … which led to me trying my hand at steel working.

Try my hand … ha … bout took the thing off two days ago. Nobody’s fault, but I got my thumb caught between a hard place … and well … another hard place. It was like an iron-fortified Ping finger sandwich.
OUCH! (Although I had other choice words at the time.)

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