Coach McGuirk

the Preakness? Aaah...my mind is slowly rotting away.

college, so that's why I threw that part in there. I saw how beneficial it is to have them handle the draws, particularly if the future homeowner has never done anything like that before (and who has?). You have to hold the builder accountable every step of the way, and they do that for a living.

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hitting the showers. ** Edited by Coach McGuirk at 8/1/2026, 7:10:18 AM

If you have the money to comfortably build it, you have a pleasant place to live indefinitely while it is being built, and your wife is on board, I would go for it. You are going to have some hiccups, sure, but just brace yourselves for the inevitabilities going in. You will likely have regrets if you don't do it, and endless satisfaction if it all works out, which it almost certainly will if you pick a reputable builder. Even if you have the cash, I would consider getting a bigger bank (like BOA) that has a good construction loan department to finance it. They have the experience to only allow draws in stages, and to their satisfaction, before the builder gets more money to continue the project. They will oversee everything so you don't have to. ** Edited by Coach McGuirk at 8/1/2026, 6:57:51 AM

I tried a few times but could never find it (he made a ton of ads). Today, I found it on vimeo.

You know how they say, "say X 3 times fast"? I can't say cracker barrel one time fast. Also, what exactly IS a cracker barrel? ** Edited by Coach McGuirk at 7/31/2026, 9:51:44 AM

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Glad we got him.

water. Go Hokies! Can't wait.

water, then lower the boom on them with a net in shallow water. The limit is 6 per person per day in the Keys, and it is easy to do on the first day. No commercial fishing allowed yet - the lobsters are fish in a barrel.

for "mini season". Ugh. I bet half of them are sleeping in their cars or boats. A real economic boon.

whenever I wanted to read a new thread. I used to hit "board home" in the upper left. Refresh and F5 also didn't work. I had to go to the home page and work my way back. All better today. I think my Brave browser affects some stuff. I can't see videos on some websites lately. They want me to watch 30 second ads that I refuse to watch, and Brave blocks all that stuff. They all hate Brave, haha. ** Edited by Coach McGuirk at 7/28/2026, 11:11:46 AM

Canned cat food!

Then I realized there is one in Key West. Walmart is on it, I guess. Still, the vast open space of the American west? It really is hard to believe.

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Played around the same time as Ben "winter" coates?

-in-law's brother told me a story about a time he was on a pier in the OBX with his graphite fishing rod. A storm was blowing up, and he turned to look at the kid next to him, and the kid's hair was standing straight up on his head. He figured it was time to get out of there. I still laugh.

** Edited by Coach McGuirk at 7/27/2026, 9:31:21 AM

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movie for me at that age when it came out, but the Cannonball Run was also real. And I wondered if people were still doing it. Mindbogglingly, the answer is yes. I have no idea how they get away with it, but I found this mindboggli-isimo fact of the matter: The traditional route runs from New York City’s Red Ball Garage to the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach, California, covering approximately 2,813 miles. Current record-holders for the modern unsanctioned run are Arne Toman, Douglas Tabbutt, and spotter Dunadel Daryoush, who completed the trip in 25 hours and 39 minutes in May 2020. They drove a modified 2016 Audi S6 disguised as a Ford Police Interceptor, achieving an average speed of 112 mph (180 km/h) and a top speed of 175 mph (282 km/h) while utilizing advanced evasion tactics like thermal cameras and laser jammers.

befriended and fed this beautiful little kitten, and was all set to trap her and take her in to get neutered, but she was struck and killed by a car the night before I was going to kidnap her. I found her on the highway when I was walking the dogs. A sad day, for sure. I will try my best with this one, too. If there is a concerted effort, this problem can be solved. A lot of people are on the case here in the Keys, thankfully. Miami, not so much. The shelter I will get the trap from told me people from Miami dump kittens on them regularly in the middle of the night. I don't know how they know it's Miami people - Keys people blame Miami people for a lot of our woes, justified or not.

just pretend.

500lbs of bird seed stacked on a chair for the chickens consumption. You win by a mile.

regular customer. I've sporadically been feeding this little gray cat (kitten?) with big, bushy foxtail. I look out for her(?) now. I fed her last night, and she is on her second helping this morning, haha. Lots of sweet little "mews" going on - pretty cool that she allows me to get kinda close to her already. I was never a cat person. I've been missing out.

More like Pandora's box. It's late in the 4th quarter, and we are down by 30.

I saw an article about it from 2015, and this one from 2025, which is even sicker

that in the middle of the night, some drunken tourist decides to take a few eggs home with him as a gift for the kids? I don't know what the fine would be, but we get knuckleheads getting caught here doing illegal stuff all the time, and the fines are chump change. It isn't deterring people, I know that. I read about repeat offenders pretty regularly. We had a guy that was catching pelicans and slitting that bag thing on their throats so any fish they caught would slip through, and they would starve to death. Serious psycho. I never heard about him getting caught, unfortunately.

A real life Biff, from Back to the Future. I'm here to be entertained, and that, most definitely, is not it.

perfume with that scent - drive old boys like me crazy. It drove you nuts driving down there as a kid, but I bet you are glad you did now =). I can't get enough when I talk to people that lived in the Keys "back in the day". If I only knew...

it almost seems they did it on purpose for shock value, not seriously. That beam...

(which grow to 8, count 'em, 8 feet long???) is nesting in VB for the first time in history. Nice! And what interested me most was the location choice. Mama picked a protected spot in Dam Neck where no one can bother her nest. Pretty amazing smarts, there. Hmmm.

which one of those is my favorite. Just unreal.

sister. I could have gone, I suppose, but at 16 I wasn't into anything like that - music or otherwise. I did end up with a "Stompin' 76" bumper sticker on a Nova I bought that was originally owned by my sister's boyfriend (later husband). And I did hear the Woodstock-esque stories.

But I think woulda, coulda, shoulda, may have been George Gervin with the "afterthought" dunk. He never perfected it, and gave it up for health reasons. And I myself, spent countless hours trying to perfect it on the towering 8' rims at my elementary school we fondly, but erroneously, called McKinley Tech in Arlington, Va. So I can personally tellya, (kinda) it's a toughie, but pure art if you can do it. Here is George's afterthought story: George Gervin’s afterthought dunk was a signature move he attempted during the 1976 ABA Slam Dunk Contest, where he glided past the rim in one direction while reaching back to tomahawk the ball in the opposite direction. Although he missed this specific attempt in the contest—where Julius Erving won with a famous free-throw line dunk—the move showcased Gervin’s unique creativity and athleticism. Gervin later noted that the move was "tough," and he eventually relied more on his iconic finger roll and teardrop shot to extend his career and avoid the physical toll of constant dunking.

periods here in the Keys, and many times buyers from Miami send in contracts just to tie up the property for 2 weeks with no effort to actually hire an inspector. The contracts are such, that a buyer may withdraw for any reason whatsoever before the inspection period ends (and that period length is whatever is agreed to in the contract, but often 2 weeks). The whole ploy is to tie up the house until the buyer or buyers actually come down and see it. Agents are wise to this here, of course, but there is little they can do if a seller wants to sign such contracts. As for the rest...You certainly seem dedicated to your craft and I wish you much success. You are, as I believe I said when you first pursued your license, an inspiration. I wish I shared your dedication to keep contributing. ** Edited by Coach McGuirk at 7/22/2026, 4:44:00 PM ** Edited by Coach McGuirk at 7/22/2026, 4:45:10 PM

you have actually been paid. Typical dance around that question. And we have heard ad nauseam about your vaunted career in photography. Yeah, I worked at Publix. I called it "my little job". We have an extreme difference in personality. Yes, I am currently licensed as a residential real estate agent in Florida. It's not a big deal. Anyone can pass the test easily. As such, I don't brag about it. And in Florida, as with many states, a homeowner can do their own electric and plumbing provided it is permitted and inspected by the local government. Are you implying that you have all of the licenses you are trying to attack me for not having? No? Then what is the point with that? It doesn't improve your position trying to attack mine. You know less than I, when it comes to homes, I'm sure of it, and that's the bottom line. I just don't have to run around puffing my chest up. But when someone tries to denigrate me, I set the record straight. My ego is not as fragile as yours has been shown to be. All I have ever done here is offer advice when I think I have some, when someone poses a question about fixing something. I don't go on a tirade as the ultimate authority, lol. You are a comical character.