Jena Sims Bachelorette Party Continues, Baker Mayfield's Ridiculous Statue & A Fentanyl Bicycle Bust
It's a quiet Saturday morning, it's going to be 85 degrees & the last place I want to be stuck is in front of a computer screen so let's get to it
• Dana B. writes in about the gas station in Chattanooga where the owner lost about $2,000 over a pricing error that had people purchasing fuel at 45-cents a gallon :
I feel like this guy would be a Screencaps/TNML kinda guy. Kudos to him for stepping up. What a sad betrayal by the folks in that small town. Just DO THE RIGHT THING.
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I feel like this is one of those karma situations where if you don't tell the person working the desk then the karma points you missed out on will come back to haunt you. I'm a big karma points guy even if it's hokey.
However, I could see people thinking they had come across some church fuel giveaway like what we're seeing these days. 45-cent fuel at least calls for a visit inside the store to grab a Shell dog and have a chat with the attendant.
• Berend S. writes:
Wanted to just share a couple things with yall. Got my sticker in the mail and it looks fantastic on the John Deere! My wife will be taking over the mowing duties from here on out as I leave tomorrow for four months of training for the TN Guard. She is all in on the TNML concept though so we're good!
Also, a while back I asked for some ideas for basement bars and got some great feedback from the community. I finished mine up a couple months ago but finally taking the time to share some pictures.
Thanks to everyone who shared for the inspiration!
Thanks again for this outlet to share and to communicate with others throughout this great country!
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What a nice email to post on a Saturday morning. Here we have two things that are close to my heart: mowing and hanging out in the basement relaxing. My first reaction is that those barrels are incredible Bourbon Bros® are going to be asking questions, Berend. I recommend coming up with some wild story about how these barrels used to hold some special batch of Blanton's and how the Bourbon Bros® are looking at history with these barrels.
That's my play here.
Also, on a serious note, all the best as you go through your Guard training. That's some serious time to be away from the mowing game.
• Speaking of projects, Mike T. in Idaho sent me a full report on his fire pit build that has been a labor of love for Mike & Cindy T.
This is for our brother Daryl in Indy. Eight years ago, we bought the house we are living in now. Loved the house and the neighborhood, but the yard needed a little love, no problem done that many times before!
First did a little yard design work and had a professional come and build Cindy Ts dream fire pit. Next Cindy and I removed the sod and soil down 5’ added road grade and sand with a brick edge to hold everything in place. We used the soil to build mounds for landscaping.
Next, we carried 1 pallet of flagstone to the backyard and set each stone in its spot and leveled it and filled with sand.
We have really enjoyed our fire pit, lots of friends and family fun.
But, the last few years we decided we wanted a change. The sand was a little gritty and tracked in the house, so time for a change.Remove 1/3 of the Flagstone, and rearrange each stone.Also remove the brick boarder.
Dig out 5 yards of road grade gravel and sand by hand, haul it and the stone to one of the daughters houses so we can build her a patio.
Fill everything in with topsoil and plant with grass seed, damn we get to build another patio at our daughters now!
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It's interesting that Mike T. sent in this report. Here I am about two weeks from buying a bunch of flagstone for a path project and he's killing me with these monsters. I started buying flagstone about 8-10 years ago for our garden and made the mistake of not subscribing to bigger is better for stepping stones. This time I won't make the same mistake. It's time for 3 1/2 footers to be dropped off in my driveway.
• Dave in Rhode Island writes:
Thanks for the TNML stickers - I'd been trying to think of a unique placement spot - sure, I could do the old beer fridge, mower, or garage wall, but I wanted to find someplace a little more special.
Took advantage of the (finally) beautiful weather here today in southern RI and started the annual boat prep - mostly painting the bottom, cleaning, etc. I then had a revelation - why not slap a TNML sticker on the boat windshield to remind me exactly why we mow on Thursdays - more time for the boat/fish/beach on the weekends! Nothing too fancy, but it's been a huge part of our family lifestyle for about twenty years now.
So here it is - still on the trailer in the driveway, but soon it'll be the "talk of the dock", can't wait!
• And finally this morning, let's hear from Brent P. in Carmel, IN who writes in on the umpire shortage & youth baseball practice mistakes:
It has been a few weeks since I chimed in on anything. Thanks for the TNML stickers, I immediately put one on my wife’s John Deere. Yeah, I said my wife. She is the actual TNML member.
The umpire shortage is real. According to the IHSAA in 2015-2016 there were about 1,800 umpires. This year they are saying we only have 1,400. That is a 22% decrease. Not just in high school but in college also. Every day I get emails from assigners asking for help.
Yesterday I umpired a game featuring the #2 ranked team in our state. It was a barn burner. The bleachers were packed. The crowd was loud. Scouts were there to see a top prospect on the mound. I got called some names by parents per usual. The game was tied 1 to 1 in the bottom of the 7th with two outs. The home team won on an error by the 3rd baseman. What a game! I had a front row seat behind the plate and they actually paid me to sit there. If you love baseball consider joining the umpire community it is a great way to watch a game.
Umpires are not the reason for my email. I arrived for last nights game about an 45 minutes early. The varsity diamond sits next to a little league park. While getting geared up and ready for the game I observed a team practicing. They looked to be about 10 years old. It was the worst practice and I see it all the time. Players were put into positions on the field while a coach pitched to a kid. I swear I watched for 20 minutes and the center fielder didn’t touch the ball once. That kid will be playing soccer or lacrosse soon. If you are going to volunteer put some effort into it. Get the practice plans from myself and a few others screencaps readers that have offered their knowledge.
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I was at my son's practice last night and caught a half-inning of what looked like a 12-year-old travel ball game and the first thing I noticed was the one umpire working the game trying to make a call from behind home plate on a tag play at third base. Tough spot for the one ump. It's no wonder we have travel ball dads throwing umps to the ground.
And Brent is serious about practice plans. This guy is a huge resource for Screencaps readers. Use his expertise.
Speaking of youth sports, I have to get out the door this morning. My wife came down as I was typing this and she rattled off today's schedule for the fourth or fifth time this week and I'm still not sure if I remember it.
Let's get the day rolling. Get out there and enjoy life. I'll be at a park.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com