Ralph Stanley

Outstanding performance by Ralph Stanley. His voice and the song material are so haunting that the audience is struck absolutely silent. 
When he passes, I wonder if the old style Appalachian Blue Grass sound will survive.


Music styles such as this were in danger of simply vanishing as the only way for you to be heard was to be singed by a major company.  With the advent of the Internet, and with home recordings becoming just as good as studio recordings, styles and songs are more apt to be heard by the masses.  This is a very good thing!!

Winning the Olympics

For the last several Olympics I have looked at each one like a high school track meet to determine the overall team winner.  Three points for Gold, two for silver, and one for Bronze.
It is a silly practice, but I like to do it.

Here are the medal standings for London 2012:

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
USA	46	29	29	225
China	38	27	23	191
Great Britain	29	17	19	140

Compare with Beijing 2008:

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
China	51	21	28	223
USA	36	38	36	220
Russia	23	21	29	140

Compare with Athens:

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
USA	35	40	26	211
Russia	28	26	38	174
China	32	17	14	144

So, the USA "won" the 2012 Olympics.  A good comeback after loosing the Beijing Olympics by three points.

Finding a New City: And The Winner Is...

BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA!!!

My wife will be starting as a new fellow at the University of Alabama Medical Center in July of 2013.

Not exactly my choice of a city, but we take what we can get.  The program is about as prestigious as you can get for her specialty.  They are a University based program with lots of work, so she will receive excellent training.

So...  I guess I need to actually go there to see the city some time.  I didn't go with my wife when she went for her interview.  I joked that I had been to Alabama before, and I knew what it was like.  What I didn't tell her was that the last time I was in Alabama, was...  1986...  For Space Camp...  In Huntsville.  Wow.
I didn't know that the program was so kick ass, and I had no idea that she would actually like it as much as she did.  Joke is on me, I guess.

Anyway, the weather is a bit nicer in Birmingham, the summers aren't as hot, and the winters aren't as cold.  I can play golf all year round I think.

I am a little concerned with where my training is going to go.  I give OKC a little credit in the BJJ department, we have quite a few places to train and several black belts running classes.  Lots of good stuff here.  Alabama seems to still be a little bit behind in that respect.
I guess I can always do Karate!

Finding a New City: Today Is The Day

Well...  The day has finally arrived...  Match day for aspiring fellows of Urogynecology.  The day I learn where I will be living a year from now, and what direction the next chapter of my life will take.

The strangest feeling overtook me last night as I was drifting off to sleep...  For the last three years or so, I have wanted to get out of Dumbfuckville...  Now I feel myself anxious at the prospect that it will actually happen.  While living in Oklahoma City has not been great...  It hasn't been bad either.  I found a great gym, and my BJJ game has improved greatly.  I have moved on professionally to a point where I feel comfortable working on the administrative/hardware/server side of things as well as sitting down and writing code/designing software/developing custom solutions.
Overall my experience in Oklahoma City has been positive.  Moving from Omaha to some place new has forced me out of my comfort zone, and made me grow in nearly every way.  I have met some new people, learned about myself, and overcome very unexpected home sickness.

I don't think that leaving OKC will be difficult, though I wish I could take my gym and Oklahoma's gun laws with me.