I'm leaving tomorrow and driving with my mom and 9-year-old daughter from Austin to Orlando. More family members are flying in on Saturday, and we're spending Spring Break at WDW.

All jokes aside, no I'm not looking forward to driving across country, but my mom wants a car, so I'm appeasing her.

I'm looking for recs for good food along the way (along I-10). I haven't had crawfish this season, so any good Cajun places would be nice. We're from Houston, and my mom (born of Louisianan parents) is obsessed with shrimp. We'll take crab, crawfish, clams, anything, étouffée, gumbo, let's go!

Other types of food are okay, too. Southern food...yum.

My daughter will be flying back, so my mom and I can stop in bars/casinos on the back end.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Please remember that we'll be in the car and not near restrooms though, when recommending food.

TIA, OB.🤘


Here's a pic of (one of my favorite) former Horn OL, Kasey Studdard, a few years ago serving up a crawfish boil with his company, Studbugs (not sure if he still has it or not).

Lol
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More Data for Critical Thinkers

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban knew a while ago that his time with the program was coming to an end. The 72-year-old Crimson Tide legend confirmed in a recent interview with ESPN that he began contemplating retirement shortly after the 2022 season and told athletic director Greg Byrne that he felt his coaching career was nearing an end.

To everyone else, Saban's decision to step away on Jan. 10 -- just nine days after Alabama's loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl -- came as a surprise. Though it wasn't the Rose Bowl loss, or anything that followed, that served as a catalyst for Saban's retirement, he recalled sobering moments involving his team after their College Football Playoff run fell short.

"I want to be clear that wasn't the reason, but some of those events certainly contributed," Saban told ESPN. "I was really disappointed in the way that the players acted after the game. You gotta win with class. You gotta lose with class. We had our opportunities to win the game and we didn't do it, and then showing your ass and being frustrated and throwing helmets and doing that stuff ... that's not who we are and what we've promoted in our program."

Alabama made its way back to Tuscaloosa, where Saban met with several members of the team to reflect on the season and take a look at steps forward. Saban recalled that a majority of his players were worried about an increased role on the team or financial gain through NIL initiatives, with talk of the transfer portal looming as a sort of leverage:

Now I just call him Dav,

I think there's even a few Lib Mayor's that have strongly disagreed with these pathetic excuses.

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Arrived 15 minutes early (as instructed) for a 10a appt with ENT doctor. Still waiting with no word. How long would y’all wait before complaining? I mean how could the doc get so backed up that early in the day?

Watching the complete meltdown of pundits from CNN, MSNBC and various Democrat congressional leaders over the SCOTUS ruling is great theater. Haven't had this much fun in ages. They are literally beside themselves in coming up with reasons why this was really a 5-4 decision and evidence of illegitimacy of the court. These people are certifiably crazy. I thought Rachel Maddow's head was going to explode on national TV.

The Alamo fell on this date in 1836. A big day in the history of our great state.

Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.
~~~~~~~~~~~ Oliver Goldsmith

When Finland declared its independence from Russia in 1917, it was said that the "social glue" that defined the Finnish nation was something they call Sisu (Sisu is also a movie and a rock band, but let's not get distracted here). It's a word that cannot be easily translated, and has no direct English equivalent. I recently had a conversation with a young man (24) who has dual citizenship in the US and Finland. He did his best to explain it to me, and I did a little reading too. Near as I can figure, it has three components:

• Perseverance on 'roids; beating the odds, achieving the "impossible"
• A mindset for action; DO something!
• Latent power, an innate quality that lies deep within us, and shows itself when the stuff really hits the fan

The Book of James tells us to "Count it all joy when we meet trials" because the testing of our faith makes us resolute and steadfast. When those qualities take over, we become "perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Sisu, meet our friend James. You two seem to have a lot in common.

Blessings my friends.
NT
James 1:2-4
In loving memory of Allen Jones, who knew a little something about perseverance.

My account is suspended and I have no idea why. I submitted an appeal and the response was that my account was a repeat offender of rules violations. I’m about the most harmless X user. Hardly ever post and just follow a few other accounts related mostly to sports. I’m baffled. I’m curious if my account was hacked or something.

I know he's gotten his flowers but he deserves them all for stuff like this:

Exhibit A-You could be this guy . . .

Scorpion Stings ‘Traumatized’ Las Vegas Hotel Guest in the Testicles

A California man has lawyered up and is considering a lawsuit after being stung in the testicles by a scorpion that crawled into bed with him at a luxury Las Vegas Strip resort.

At around 8 a.m. on Dec. 26, Michael Farchi, 61, woke up in his suite at The Venetian to a searing pain in his groin area, according to attorney Brian Virag. Roused suddenly from his sleep, Farchi rushed into the bathroom to figure out what was happening, only to spot an orange scorpion clinging to the front of his Reebok boxer-briefs.

“I have been bitten by scorpion at my groin/testicles,” Farchi wrote in an incident report Virag shared on Tuesday with The Daily Beast.

In it, Farchi said he was in bed when he was stung, and that his symptoms included “a lot of pain.” He told KLAS that the sensation was “like somebody stabbing me in my private area. It felt like a sharp glass or a knife.” Farchi, a contractor from Agoura Hills, said he was “shocked” by what happened, and that he “couldn’t believe it.”


Farchi had the presence of mind to snap several photos of the scorpion hanging from his underwear, copies of which Virag also provided.


Michael Farchi’s Las Vegas vacation was cut short by a scorpion sting.

​

He was treated at a local hospital for the sting, which, in severe cases, can cause uncontrollable muscle movements, sweating, drooling, numbness, slurred speech, or death. Farchi is reportedly still experiencing symptoms related to the incident, more than two months later.

The Venetian comped Farchi’s room for the night, but, Virag said, hotel staffers “were very dismissive and unapologetic.” He checked out the next day.

“Obviously, people have an expectation that when they check into a hotel, especially a 5-star hotel, that they’re going to be safe,” Virag told The Daily Beast. “And clearly, he was not.”

Farchi said he had no idea how the scorpion got under his sheets.

​

Virag, who said he is known as “the preeminent bedbug lawyer in the land,” normally focuses exclusively on representing clients who have been exposed to bedbugs. However, “this is obviously in the same wheelhouse,” he said.

“So we have to step up and investigate and get some justice for Mr. Farchi,” Virag said. “When you go through something like this, it’s very traumatizing. And it’s not something that you’ll ever forget.”

Virag will be meeting Tuesday morning to discuss next steps with Farchi, who is still trying to wrap his head around what happened to him.

“This is a crazy situation,” Virag said. “No one would ever expect something like this. It was a totally unexpected situation, and obviously we are contemplating legal action to make sure this wrong is righted.”

The Venetian did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment, but told KLAS that it “has protocols for all incidents and we can confirm they were followed in this incident.”

I am an ENT doc practicing in Plano right on the Frisco border. I was in my private office at the clinic masturbating to pics of my hot nurse practitioner Nadia that she texted me (she’s Vietnamese by way of Estonia). I was also reading orangebloods while taking a break from whacking it. I looked at pics of the soon to be Vegas A’s new stadium and read about Coach Terry before I read a thread about waiting at doctor’s offices. I accidentally kept a guy waiting over an hour. Am I a bad dude for wasting my patients’ time?

@Oooh Aaah i sincerely apologize. The next office visit will be gratis and won’t involve waiting!

Up 25% without a claim or accident in over 10 years.

So much for the world's 2nd largest economy - Trump is going to crush them when their down. Fcuk Chyna.


(Bloomberg) -- China’s big stock-market declines aren’t enough to warrant putting money in the country, according to the chief investment officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s wealth-management business.

“All our clients are asking us that question — given how cheap China appears, people inevitably say, well, has it discounted the worst news?” Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Our view is that one should not invest in China.”

She cited a host of reasons for her take, including expectations for a steady slowdown in the economy over the next decade. China will struggle with a weakening in the three pillars of growth up to now — the property market, infrastructure and exports, she said. A lack of clarity on China’s policymaking, along with patchy economic data, add to concerns about investing there, Mossavar-Rahmani said.

China’s Communist leadership has over the past year emphasized the importance of information security and put curbs on what data can be removed from the nation. The statistics bureau also suspended for a time some unemployment figures. On Monday, Beijing announced that the country’s premier — second only to President Xi Jinping — will discontinue a decades-long tradition of annual press briefings at a key gathering.

“It is not clear what the overall general direction of policy will be long term,” Mossavar-Rahmani said. “Policy uncertainties generally put a little bit of a cap on the equity market.”

The benchmark CSI 300 Index last month sank to a five-year low amid worries over the state of domestic demand at a time of escalating geopolitical tensions. It has since rebounded after regulators took steps to curb selling and boost institutional purchases.

There may be some short-term stimulus measures coming, but China’s real estate sector hasn’t found the bottom yet, according to Mossavar-Rahmani. “Data is unclear — we really don’t have a good grasp of what growth was last year or what growth will be this year,” she also said, echoing concerns among a number of economists who doubt China’s official economic expansion figures.

While China formally published a growth rate above 5% for 2023, “most people think that is not the real growth number — it was actually a lot weaker,” she said.

“We don’t recommend clients move into China at this point,” she concluded.

This piece is from 1981, the year I finally made it back to UT to finish my degree.
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When I posted the earlier thread on the Real Estate/Housing Market it Went 5 Pages.

Since many on this site may be buying or selling a home at any given time, own investment properties, or commercial real estate I'm going to post a weekly update to stay current.

The data is well researched from my employer New American Funding's Research/Analytics Department.

Thus, it is fact based and only analyzing the data/trends without regard to government policy.

As I stated last time let's keep the thread informational for those that might be in the market and leave policy discussions in "The Corral".

I'll be posting the highlights here - for you data and chart geeks at the end is a link to the full report.

The Report Highlights -

The latest data indicate a housing market that is slightly improving but continues to be hampered by soft home sales figures spurred by still historically low levels of inventory that remain a constant source of pressure to the upside on home prices.

Both new and existing home sales improved from December’s sales pace, but only new home sales improved relative to one year ago. Despite January’s existing home sales pace improving to a five-month high to start the year, it’s still treading water near 30-year lows.

Housing inventory showed signs of improvement across the board with total housing inventory improving for the second consecutive start of the year at 1,466,000 total units. Despite this recent improvement, total housing inventory remains -63% below the 2008 peak for the month of January and -25% below the average for the month of January between 2015 and 2019.

The two markets continue to trend in opposite directions when it comes to demand dynamics. The new home market remains favorable for buyers compared to the resale market which is solidly in favor of sellers having the upper hand.

The difference in demand dynamics from a months’ supply standpoint has brought the price premium for new homes down to its lowest 12-month moving average level since December 2006 at just 9.5% as builders look to strike the right balance of price incentives offered to lure buyers in that remain held back from affordability issues. However, these price incentives have been declining with just 25% of home builders cutting prices in February, down from 31% in January, and 36% in December according to the latest National Association of Homebuilders report.

Meanwhile, the median home price for existing home sales reached an all-time high for the month of January at $379,000, an increase of 5.1% from one year ago and first time in 14 months that price growth has outpaced wage growth which will only muddy the affordability picture even further if things stay the course.

While we’re forced to wait and see how these data points evolve as we wade further into this year’s housing market waters. There are some indicators that provide better context around the current unprecedented environment we find ourselves in.

For starters, the anemic resale market is even more worrisome when you realize that the turnover rate (sales as a percentage of owner-occupied housing stock) has fallen to a historic low of 4.5%. This means that just 4.5% of the 86,220,000 owner-occupied homes in 4Q2023 would change hands at the sales pace we ended 2023 at, well below the average pace of 7.09%. This decrease in sales turnover is a direct reflection of the historic lows we continue to bounce along in inventory levels.

Restating housing inventory levels into better context can also be achieved by expressing it as a percentage of household estimates (owners and renters). The latest reading in this metric is 1.10%, significantly below the period when there was too much housing inventory on the market at its peak of 4.15% due to overbuilding and distressed sales, but also materially lower than the long run average of 2.28%.

Regardless of which metric you follow, both tell us that there is a structural imbalance in the housing market and that demand should continue to outstrip supply.

This structural imbalance in the housing market is expected to remain for the foreseeable future and it means one thing in relation to home prices; expect them to continue to rise on an annual basis. We won’t see existing home prices depreciating until we reach 6+ months’ supply at a minimum.

Although we see suppressed sales on the resale side of the market across all four major regions, southern and western markets appear to be the main regions being met with more supply growth from the new home market to meet the demand.

Without a clear path going forward to resolve the housing market's woes with regards to softening sales transactions many REALTORS did not renew their membership with the National Association of Realtors -NAR. Just 13 states saw an increase in membership headcount year-over-year as of December 2023.

Full Report Hyperlink -

Click Here for Full Report

Have an Amazing Week & Hook 'Em!

MH

I found this on Antonelli Baseball's Youtube channel. I'll be the firs to admit I much prefer MLB to college. Yet even I know this is a big rivalry in the Palmetto State. I personally have no problem with pitchers celebrating, nor do I have any issues with hitters doing the same when they come up clutch. I know there are "unwritten rules" and all. I also am not offended easily. I'll also post a gif if my guy Adolis Garcia pimping a home run. Anyhow, the Clemson hitter didn't celebrate excessively after the HR, unless it happened off camera. Enjoy the Youtube clip.

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SIAP
This is a very insightful interview into Elliott's organizational coaching strategy for his program. What an impressive guy.
-While at USC he coached Pete Carroll's daughter at volleyball. Carroll asked Jerritt if he could watch his volleyball practices and in turn Elliott attended football practices, said he learned a ton on structure. He has an offensive and defensive coordinator for his volleyball program based off football.
-while at USC as interim HC for two years he always liked and admired Texas from afar. So much so, he put Texas on his USC schedule to travel to Austin to get exposure for himself with Texas, hired Texas the next season.
-involves player's parents heavily in coaching his players, making sure everyone is on the same page with everything.
-talked about his close relationships with women's volleyball coach at Texas, and Sark. Complimented Sark's helpfulness and open door, as well as Mack. Somewhat telling, Strong and Herman not mentioned there. Went on to say Sark has a very calm approach to his process and day to day business, "We haven't seen that here since Mack". 😳
-He grew frustrated that player's hair was coming unravelled from their hair ties, having to pause practices all the time so players could reset their hair in the ties. He worked with Nike on his idea for a stronger tie product, developed it and it is very successful, his wife runs the business. Tiyproducts. Com
-talks about *mini moody", new structure for volleyball. He wants to make volleyball profitable, larger than Gregory and selling liquor.
-I will start the rumor here first: "Mini Moody" will be built at the current site of the bubble/outdoor practice facility. 🤔 😁

I see many similarities between Elliott and Sark, public speaking mastered and organizationally strategically focused.


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