Just When It Couldn't Get Any Worse

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.92.90
Current Song - Sweetheart (Franke and the Knockouts)

The water pump on my car is broken.

Just a horrible string of bad luck just keeps on continuing. I don't know how much it costs to have a water pump replaced, but it's a very good chunk of what money I have left.

At least I have a bicycle.

Step Up The Game

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.72.90
Current Song - Love Is Blue (Paul Mauriat)

I may ben in an emotional whirlwhind at the moment, but I really do feel alright. I have applied at a couple of gas stations in the Sauk Valley, and may add in one more later in the week. I had to take a trip to these stations in order to scope them out and get a feel for how things are like at these places.

Yeah, I'm one of those people that likes to shop around for the perfect job. However, that is only because I want to be happy while I work. If I'm not happy working, I won't do a good job. That's just how my mind works. This is the same way I have tried to find girlfriends. Except the latter hasn't worked yet. Put me in an uncomfortable situation and I'll bolt.

I still haven't given up hope in this possible newspaper opening. However, just recently some other things have happened. All I will say about this is that it is time for me to step up my game as far as sportswriting is concerned.

The dream is not over. The other dream is also not over.

Narrowing Things Down

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.42.90
Current Song - That Girl (Stevie Wonder)

Narrowed the choices down to three gas stations, that is if the newspaper thing doesn't go through. I'll give the newspaper some time to look thing over, but if I don't hear back soon I'll start moving on. If those three don't fly, I have one more option before going to Plan C in the Game Plan (the previous blog entry).

One of these stations has taken a lead, but could very well fall back into the same line as the other two.

Other than that, things are going well. I'm getting caught up on some things. Monday morning I will scope out the three stores and go on some other morning errands.

I've got a good coverage schedule lined up for this week on NISB.
I got a football piece to write for Monday, and then I'll be spending some time dealing with catch-up things before turning to high school sports for a while.

Game Plan

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.20.90
Current Song - Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

I went out on a walk at around 12:30 this morning. The purpose was to be able to think without distraction, about stretching what finances I have.

The walk quickly turned into a strategy for job inquiring. Along the walk, which was a good two of three miles long, I came up with a game plan toward getting back in the job world.

***

Objective No. 1 is to keep the dreams and goals intact. To do this, I will be focusing on two opposite ends: The here-and-now and the worst-case scenario.


Let's start with worst-case:

I cannot lose the Northern Illinois Sports Beat website, both physically and intellectually.

I am starting plans to fortify the website to prevent it from ceasing operation. At the worst-case, the website would have some changes in terms of content. Right now, I put in some money in order to keep the website as popular as it is. At the worst-case, it could be just me operating the entire website - which is nothing new, since I did it for a long time. The website would thus start fresh, and evolve into a new direction - and perhaps bring back some of the old.

Factoring in website costs, phone bills, gas money, and car insurance, if I remain unemployed I will empty the general fund no later than December, with only Christmas money keeping me from going bust after that. I'm not going to tell exactly how much money I have, but you get the picture.

I have established a couple of buoys in this downturn. One buoy will be the one that makes me go to a Temp Agency to work somewhere I really DO NOT feel like working at. The other buoy will be the time when I'll ask high school sports winter coaches if I could be of service in regards to video taping or statistics.


The here-and-now:

I am closer to getting the papers ready for inquiry into the possible newspaper void that I have discussed. The cover letter is done, the resume needs reviewed, the awards have yet to be copied, and I have one more clip to scan (the Tolstoy-ish piece that I wrote on the RF Softball team in '04). This should be finished by Tuesday night, and then I will immediately mail it.

If 10 days have passed with no response, or if there is an unfavorable response within those 10 days, I will move on toward looking elsewhere.

I noticed a favorable pinpoint on my drive from Big Bend yesterday, and that's the Casey's store in Erie looking for "positions." It seems like last time I went to Erie they were looking for people. That's a start, and I will try to see if there is anything closer before going after this.

I have been working at gas stations for five years, and that is the non-journalism position I feel most comfortable in right now. Erie is 25 miles away from home. I'll look at gas stations within a 25-mile radius (those I feel comfortable working at).

The first call will be to a gas station where a former co-worker of mine is now at. Given the circumstances of my departure from Shell, I will be attempting to see if there is a chance at even considering that particular chain. If that particular store isn't hiring, then I'll spread outward until I reach the 25-mile mark and then contact Erie.

If the gas stations have all been exhausted, then I'll look into the box stores in the Tri-city area. Then I'll start digging up the list of places that I tried applying to back in the summer of 2008 (my last stretch of unemployment).

If the box stores are exhausted, then the gas station radius will spread to 50 miles. If the 50-mile gas station radius is exhausted, then I'll extend the box-store radius to 50 miles. Cities included in this 50-mile radius include: Clinton (IA), the Quad Cities, the Rockford area, Kewanee, Princeton, LaSalle-Peru, Rochelle, DeKalb/Sycamore, Freeport, Oregon, Byron and Mendota.

By the time if any of these areas are exhausted (I would hope not), the first worst-case buoy should be reached.


If anything newspaper sports-like comes up during this time, I'll go after it and rework the game plan.

Your input is welcome.

***

Let's get out there, and FIGHT!

Good Time To Catch Up On Things

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.91.90
Current Song - Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty)

One of the best things about not working at the moment is that I can get caught up on personal things.

One of the personal things I've been working on lately is to get in better shape. I'm not surrounded by packaged food at work anymore, so this eliminates the temptations. Also when hungry from work, I would make a trip to a drive-thru. Now that I'm on a tight budget, that overrules the fast food chains. I literally can't spend the money.

I'm also going to be a little lax on the games that I cover in the next couple of weeks, but still at the same coverage rate. Football will still be normal. Less trips - less money to spend.

Another way to cut back on spending is to not drive the car on in-town trips. The bike will be used for such, unless I bunch errands into an out-of-town trip.

All of which should help me feel better physically.

Today I plan on walking through Big Bend State Park in Prophetstown. I've been there a few times, but never really walked around it. While there, in town, I'm going to pick up a couple of newspapers. You know what for.

Tomorrow is a girls golf meet at Emerald Hill. The bicycle will be used. Let's see if this can hold up.

Partial Lead

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.71.90
Current Song - Stranglehold (Ted Nugent)

I looked in a little deeper into that newspaper opening that has been discussed. After getting some info, the said roster spot may or may not be open. When I see or hear "may or may not be open", I have to treat that as if it was open.

The cover letter is in the works, and the resume needs to be polished and updated. I'm going to choose from five works to submit as well.

Of course, if I do get this position, what will happen to NISB? During my time with SVN, I was allowed to operate the NISB Message Boards (from June to September of 2004, NISB was just a message board). It just depends on what happens.

Plenty of Catch-up Time

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.61.90
Current Song - Something About You (Level 42)

I think I now have more time to write in this Blog because of what all happened.

I've since asked about that newspaper void, and circled a couple of different routes. One temporary route is still in the works, and is about 50-50 as of right now.

With the extra time, I took to one of my "Stretching Sportsfan Dollars" topics. (Who would have thought I would have to use them). I made a trip to both the Sterling and Rock Falls libraries and looked at some books that featured ways to save money. I'm not making any, so it's probably best for me to hold on to what I got.

Then I made a trip to the Silver dealer. Once in a grand while I would find silver in the cash register and trade it with a coin from my car. Well, since I'm not going to be surfing cash registers anymore, I figured I'd sell them. One quarter, two dimes and three war nickels - all for $8. It's right about what I expected.

I was going to make a trip to the Chamber of Commerce and put in an advertisement for the rummage sale I plan on having (as a part of Garage Sale Days on 9/24-25). Like I said, some things I kinda need to part with. The rummage sale is similar to the one I had in June - various knick-knacks, sports cards, and the keyboard. The Chamber is asking for $10.00 for the ad in its flyer (which it distributes to local businesses). If I can simply save that $10.00 and print out flyers on my own and place them places, it will be an improvement over last time with no advertising at all (except for two pieces of posterboard).

As far as fuel goes, the next two weeks I only plan on leaving the Twin Cities on two occasions. Everything else, such as Sterling events, will either be on bike or by foot.

Playing tactical analysis such as this can be stressful, too.

The Terrible Ordeal I've Been Going Through

I have posted on Facebook in the past couple of days that I was going through some extremely difficult times, and needed some support of any kind. However, I didn't tell anyone exactly what happened.

Right now, I will explain what happened. This is not a complete record of such, as there are some things I would not like to reveal in the blog entry at this current time – such as the names of people.

You'll only fully understand if you read the entire thing.

***

Ever since leaving the Gazette/Telegraph seven years ago, I always wanted to find some way to get back into the newspaper world (not journalism world, but newspaper world – there's a difference). Northern Illinois Sports Beat, the website that I run, was established to help me keep my journalism skills fresh and up-to-date.

Since writing things seemed to go very well for me (c. 2002), I always wanted to work for the local newspaper and one day be its sports editor. I came close to that ultimate dream seat when I joined the local paper for a part-time position in April of 2004.

That run ended and I was back to school for my senior year of high school. At the time my academics were not all that great, and they were the prime priority. But I figured that one day I shall return to the seat and cubicle that I once occupied at Sauk Valley Newspapers.

As most of you know, journalism has had a bunch of lows since 2004. Seven years and no real opportunity came along. There had been several openings throughout the NISB coverage area, but I simply wasn't ready to give up NISB and make that transition. I've had arguments with good friends over the fact that I can't simply just up and leave the home that I live in, and my parents own, in Sterling.

However, a possible opening was brought to my attention during the Saturday of high school football's Week 1 by a newspaper friend of mine. An opening at his paper was filled by someone else from a nearby paper, thus creating this void at this “nearby” paper. So at that time I knew this situation existed, and didn't think much of it because it was so early in the season and website plans would be paramount over anything.

The following week, out of the blue, I get asked about this newspaper opening while covering another football game. How my friend knew about the potential void I will never know. I tell him, “well I don't know, I have the website and all that.”

The week after that, someone else that I know heard something along the line of “I turned down the job offer at this newspaper.” One, there was no job offer – thus making this whole thing nothing more than a rumor. This person tells someone close to me, who tells another person close to me.

The latter person, always wanting the best of me and for me to follow my true dreams, is angry that I supposedly “turned down” this opportunity. A drive to the Shell station that I work out was apparently needed in order to inform me of my “stupid decision.”

We are arguing back and forth – no raised voices or anything – about the fact that I should have jumped at this offer. I point out that there was never a job offer and such was pretty much a rumor that I had “turned them down.”

As all of this is unfolding, I become absolutely flustered, confused, distraught, and blindsided enough to focus away from my duties as Shell gas station clerk. My autistic mind is mentally cramming, Aspergian style.

Then a customer buys a six-pack of Bud Light in bottles.

The a couple of minutes later, a couple of guys with clipboards come in.

The customer who bought the Bud Light was underage, and I didn't even think of carding him because of my mental state brought forth by this arguing.

Bottom line, I just sold alcohol to a minor.

I tell my adversary in this argument to “Get out.”

The bad news hit me hard. I cried. I didn't want to work the rest of the night. I went home early.

September 12, 2011. This, folks, would be the final night that Cody Cutter worked at the Shell gas station. Three years and 42 days.

Due to the seriousness of the offense, I had to be fired. My boss didn't want to fire me, and even the owner didn't want to fire me, all because apparently I had been a good worker and a loyal employee in the three years I had been there. However, the decision was the owner's, and he was going along the line of “If I gave you an exception, I would have to give everyone else an exception.” Which is very true in this case because I knew a lot of Shell workers.

During the cop's arrival that night, he had made a comment to me that I handled the situation very calmly – and that most others when they fail get all up and arms about the problem. I didn't scream, I didn't get pissed off, and I simply accepted the fact that this would be my final night at Shell. At the same time, I didn't want to hold off telling my boss what had happened. I called her and woke her up to tell her this. I felt this was the right thing to do, to admit it immediately and up-front.

I have been teary-eyed every moment since, and am teary-eyed as I type this. After some comforting by my parents, I'm still teary-eyed.

Meanwhile, the person that I was arguing with is in a world of hurt because of what had just happened to me. And this was because the need to address the situation had to be urgent, apparently. Please let it be known to everyone that while it cost me my job, I will always be close. I do not want anyone to hurt this person in any way. No rifts. Always close. Always. Forever.

***

As of Tuesday afternoon I am a free agent.

Now begins the search for another job. Already there are a couple of avenues that have opened up for me. One is something I had done before. Another is a one-off opportunity. Another is something I had never done before. One is close. Another is far. A quick look at the classifieds reveals things that I just cannot do. The best shot out of that listing was an opening for sales and delivery for the big ice business out of the town of Ohio.

So any help is greatly appreciated.

However, there is one better avenue that is worth persuing.

The whole point of that argument.

If I can get my mind straightened out, I'll look into that newspaper job. What that will mean for Northern Illinois Sports Beat is unclear. My best guess is that if I get this newspaper job, I will ask to retain the Message Boards. I'll have to shut down the content side of things, if I get this job, because of competition reasons.

Two years ago, I created an NISB Transition Plan that I simply made mention of in that year's State of the Site Address, but never publically revealed. The Transition Plan is the emergency operations of NISB when I am unable to run the website. So plans are in place when and if the time comes up. But the prime mission of the Transition Plan is to ensure the survival of Northern Illinois Sports Beat if and when I am gone.

Who knows what is going to happen right now.

However, I feel somewhat compelled to improve my life in this aspect. I hated, hated, hated, having to prioritize work, school and prep sports. Absolutely hated it. School is now out of the question until I get restabilized. I want to be happy and at peace with myself while making money and building my life. I feel that I'm happy and at peace when I'm out there writing about high school sports, and interacting with these people. I have mentioned on here many times that the sportswriters and media types that I cover games with are whom I consider my true circle of friends.

Cash flow is extremely critical right now. I have nothing coming in after the final paycheck, and have expenses and interests that I can try and squeeze somehow.

What's best about this is that I can kick the lottery habit, and the fast food habit. I have plenty of time right now to take some walks and at least try to get myself in some sort of shape. You see, I can find ways to turn these big negatives into positives that will help me. That is how, and why, I will fight through this whole ordeal.

I told my boss, “something good will come out of this,” and I will be on my way toward making that so.

10th Anniversary of 9/11

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.11.90

Why do we seem to place a connection between us and national tragedy?

When hearing the question of “Where were you when Jack Kennedy was shot?” asked to those older than me, I wondered why their location had anything to do with what went on in Dallas.

However, over time those that learned about it knew why it was worth asking – it was one of the first tragic national events to unfold over national television. President Kennedy had not yet died when the news broke, and people had one ear on the news and the other elsewhere.

My grandparents, fresh out of high school together, were transitioning into the next phase in their lives in November 1963. I was just getting used to high school life as a freshman in September 2001, and considered it a key transition in my life at that time.

You had to have understood what had just happened in order to realize how much these tragic events change what you see around you.

Where were you when Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot? Where were you when the Challenger exploded? Where were you when the Oklahoma City Bombing took place?

The earliest one I can truthfully answer is the question of where I was on September 11, 2001. Challenger took place two months before I was born, and I never really understood what had happened when the Murrah Building was blown up.

Like most Americans, I remember where I was when I heard the news of the attacks on 9/11/01.

Technically, Flight 11 hit the North Tower while I was getting books out of my locker on the first floor of Sterling High School. The time was 7:46, and I was never in a great hurry to get to my first-hour class. This class was considered a divided Humanities block, where first hour was the english and literature part of it, and the second hour was the world history part of it. I was never into literature, and dreaded going to the class.

The school day started at 8:00 with the morning announcements. No mention of the attacks were said. (At that time, CNN had broken in but the events that unfolded were considered nothing more than a plane hitting the World Trade Center. We didn't know that it was a planned attack until an hour later.) Throughout this literature class, no mention was made on a plane hitting the tower. This was an age before text messaging became popular on cell phones, and before Blackberrys. We were immensed in analysis on Homer's Odyssey the entire time.

So when 8:03 came and Flight 175 hit the South Tower, we were handing in Monday's homework or something like that. Furthermore, when Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, there was still more Odyssey talk.

First hour ended at 8:50, and there was an unusually loud pre-passing period hallway in the minutes before class. Our teacher at the time didn't like the fact that we would prepare to leave the classroom at 8:48 and hear zippers zip up and down and books being put away.

We were just leaving the classroom when the group of students coming in talked about how a plane had hit the World Trade Center. How they knew about it, I didn't know at the time.

The way this Humanities block works out is that one group starts with the world history class (at the other end of the school) and another starts with the literature part (my part). We switch rooms and teachers with the passing period, so almost everyone that was in the World History part of class was at the doorway when I left the literature class.

When we moved to our World History part of the block, Mr. Walton already had the radio on ABC News. This class wasn't all that time-consuming, meaning there was some free time during pockets of class. When that happened, Mr. Walton was on his computer or calling other teachers. That's how he knew of all of this before my literature teacher did.

During the first part of the history class, we were informed as to just how serious this really was. That it just isn't coinsidence that two planes hit both WTC buildings, and another hits the Pentagon.

There I was, three seats from the first row in Room 225. Appx. 8:55 a.m. Because of my mental condition (Asperger's Syndrome), I could not feel the impact of 9/11 that everyone else around me feels. I still cannot feel that impact of 9/11. Apparently it's an impact. People ask me why I can't feel it and simply come to the immediate conclusion that I don't have a soul; the “I felt it, therefore” theory.

ABC News was the first to report that the South Tower had collapsed (at 8:59) and we were listening ot it, and that was just before I had clawed back into reality after trying to figure out what had just happened.

The only phrase I can truly recall from Peter Jennings was the following, “The Southern Tower, 10:00 Eastern Time this morning, just collapsing on itself.”

Mr. Walton had the radio play all class, and thus the normal curriculum was put on hold. The same thing for Mr. Brown's health class the next period. During that class, an announcement was made that our Auditorium would be open for showing of news coverage until a certain time.

I didn't have any stunned looks on my face. My first reaction to hearing that the attacks were of a terrorist nature was a simple "whoa." I didn't cry, wave a flag, or anything like that. My thought process was: now the US is going to find the guys responsible, and have something similar to the Nuremberg Trials. A war may happen, too.

When I made my way to the auditorium, I noticed others were also going down. I wasn't doing well in health class, or next period's Spanish class also. The news reports kind of made it sound like the prelude to the Spanish-American War. Okay, we're going to have another Spanish-American War, but with the country that did this.

To those who have read all of this so far, it may seem as if I have no soul. I'm simply recalling my thoughts of the day. The reason I didn't get sad or anything was because it didn't effect Cody Cutter personally. So after sitting through all of the reactions, I began to wonder for a minute why my reactions were not the same as those persons on television. Why is everyone else reacting like this, and I'm not?

I think my reactions were missing because I didn't want to feel weak at the moment. I wanted to keep my head up and move on to justice. Sure, I acknowledged the horrors and the losses, but I didn't want that to change my life. I didn't want any outside force to change my life.

When we saw the video glimpse of a man with a turban and long beard (at the news reports in the Auditorium), "Is that the guy that did it?" was heard. No, I'm not going to let that guy throw me off-balance.

While everyone else was thrown off-balance with the news, I clung on to my axis and didn't move. You can pain me, but I'm not going to sit there and cry about it. I prefer fighting back. The Asperger's in me calls it a simple process of “do” and “do this” and life continues on. Business as usual. At times I even had this “why is everyone trying to cram this thing down by throat” feeling.

I wanted to remain strong, and still be able to think "oh my goodness" a little bit. With the news of Osama Bin Laden's death, and seeing the throngs of crowds everywhere, I began to think back at my inital reaction to 9/11. I didn't feel a thing then, and I didn't feel a thing that Sunday night.

But as the recent news events went on, it made me wonder about who I was and why I am who I am. Even as this 10th Anniversary goes on, I get that feeling still.

Since I didn't have an inital reaction to 9/11, my mindset since that Tuesday morning remains a pre-9/11 mindset. My current mindset is still pre-9/11. I was wondering why all these people were acting the way they were. I began to become more curious about why people think and act the way they do. At first I thought this was a growing-up process, but the more I think about it perhaps 9/11 made me think more psychologically about people. Are they trying to push me around?

Because I had no initial reaction to 9/11, people looked at me real differently (moreso than usual). Here I am, looking from the outside into the post-9/11 mindset that is around all of you. People are valuing things more than they did before. I just haven't found a way to do that yet.

A crime? With this mental condition of mine, am I guilty?

Office Time

Cutter's Log – Stardate 1102.01.90
Current Song – Don't Sleep in the Subway (Petula Clark)


I have decided to cancel an assignment of mine to cover a Volleyball Tournament today so that I can do a website evaulation.

Action on the message boards has triggered a look at the way we do things. I am taking the entire day to look at statistics, improvements, weaknesses, and such in order to make the website a successful one. In addition, I have a couple of columns in the backburner that I would like to get written, plus the Week 3 Observations piece.

Normally, Saturday is my day off of the Shell station so that I can cover something. But this retooling is more urgent to the well-being of NISB than covering an additional sporting event.

It is 10:00 a.m., and in the next few hours I will be leaving this typing space on my screen to come up with improvements, and all that.



10:12 a.m. - I am also uploading video of the Newman/Morrison Football game I covered last night as I do all of this. My brother Danny just woke up and is probably going to want the computer. He'll have to wait.

10:16 a.m. - During the game I received three additional comments from people regarding the cleanup effort I have put forth on the NISB Message Board. This increases the total to somewhere over 15. If that many people had a problem with it, then the banter was really that annoying. Who knows who else I'll meet that will tell me the same thing.

10:23 a.m. - A closer look into what caused the mess on the Message Board has been isolated to a couple of particular small areas: Winnebago, Boylan, Hononegah, Harlem, Guilford, Auburn, Rockford Lutheran, Rockford Christian, Rockford Christian Life, and South Beloit. Another video has been uploaded. With the banter being as high as it was, the likelyhood of traffic picking up from those areas is great. In order to maintain the well-being of the Message Board, however, we can't afford to bring in these people.

10:47 a.m. - Another video uploaded. What I mean by “not affording to bring in people” means not talking up the website in these areas. I had thought of suspending content coverage of these schools until the fall playoffs, or until the situation is cleaned up and reinstating them on a case-by-case basis. Normally when I post a story to the website, I'll post a link to the story on the Message Boards either on an existing topic or a seperate topic. We can still cover these things, but just for those who frequent the non-boards part of the website.

10:55 a.m. - I look at it as trying to spread the word of NISB around to other parts of the coverage area. I have determined that the tone of the topics of greater question have shyed people from elsewhere away from the boards. Since these topics have been sort of deflated, I figured it is time to try to corral these bases back up again. I had been centering website coverage around popular bases of the message board, but will take a break from that motive.

11:03 a.m. - So what other bases have seen an increase of traffic? While not naming them on here, in the meantime I'll think of them.

4:18 p.m. - So instead of thinking about my bases, I took a long nap. I just woke up now. It's hot outside and it's hot in my room. But I did think about these improvement points. I'll try to cover more things in these areas, and let some areas take care of itself.

4:20 p.m. - Now comes trying to fix the structure of the Message Board.

5:25 p.m. - Not too long ago I put up the “Info Center” on the Message Board. This thing at the bottom of the page includes a lit of people who are online at the current time and those who have logged on in the past 24 hours. During a past quelling of a banter, I informed people that it's best to do your bashing of people via private message. Hopefully this will show people if the person they want to talk with is online or not. It also tells me if there are new members on the Board.

5:29 p.m. - I have just made a change in the registration process. Prior to today, new members could simply register and log on when they are done. Now, with me or ging have to manually approve new accounts, and the new member has to force-activate his or her account via e-mail. This accomplishes two things: 1) to crack down on spammers and 2) prevents the user from entering a fake e-mail address. If you are stupid enough to not be truthful in your profile information, then you probably shouldn't be posting on the board anyway.

5:36 p.m. - The NISB Message Board rules have been printed out and put on my desk for retooling. Obviously the latest board action is causing me to make some changes to these rules. I have in my mind a new intro to the board rules, as the current intro is outdated. Most of the revisions are of outdated items, more powers caused by recent admin decisions, and ways to protest message board users and the high school sports scene from any devestating backlash they may receive. However, I won't work on that right now. I would like to find more ways to improve the website.

5:47 p.m. - Now the the more popular topics on the message board. I have received a lot of comments lately about our scoreboard updates on the football forum. They like knowing not only the final scores of the games, but how these scores came to be.

5:50 p.m. - As I've stated in the “changes to the forum” topic, the problem is that the opinions of these particular fans are the problem and need to be toned down. They simply can't think of these things because the fallout is most likely detrimental to the kids. Oh, and the Newman/Morrison videos are almost ready.

5:52 p.m. - Anyway, back to the scoreboard talk. With the new registration restrictions, it will be harder to have new posters post updates to the scoreboard. This is because I am at a game and have yet to approve the account. So on Fridays from 3:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, I'll try to disable the account-approval function so that people can start posting quickly. These new members will still need to force-activate their account via email before they can post. It's just a matter of trying to remember to do this before I leave for a game.

5:55 p.m. - I have been having internet issues on my cell phone, which is why I couldn't post updates on the Newman/Morrison game on the website. I had a problem earlier in the season of not being able to update scores from the game I'm covering in a timely manner, but I fixed that issue. That way, I can still try to post updates and talk back and forth with any of the website contributors that are also covering games.

6:02 p.m. - One more video to go before releasing all of them on the website. Two videos are from the sophomore game. Yes, SOPHOMORE video. In your face!

6:03 p.m. - An idea from a while back was to update the NISB homepage before leaving to a football game. The “top bar” (the most recent story link) would be a link to the Week's scoreboard on the message boards, as well as a topic of updates from the NISB Game of the Week. This will help bring more people to the Weekly scoreboard. However, I have worried about coverage balance in the past and feel this may put football over the edge and leave a wider gap between football and volleyball. One poster had put up a weekly volleyball scoreboard, which I thought was a great idea ... but that kind of faded a little. Of all of this, I think I would have to be doing more workshop work before a game than preparing for the game itself.

6:08 p.m. - You heard it here first: NISB Game of the Week for Week 4 will be Peotone at Sandwich. I figured it was time to give Bill the NISB football spotlight.

6:10 p.m. - Perhaps 10 videos is too much. It's 6:10 on Saturday evening and they aren't even up yet. But what does this mean for SOPHOMORE VIDEO? It'll still exist. It's too bad I don't have software to stitch these videos together. Something to look into.

6:12 p.m. - Nah ... 10 videos is just fine.

6:14 p.m. - When I get the car up and running once more, I'm thinking of a flyer tour of the said areas of traffic increase. Which, by the way, I need a new poll question and a new news item for the FYI Blog. Hopefully I get done with this.

6:20 p.m. - Videos are up. Success!

6:29 p.m. - I think I may have caused confusion when naming those schools. Talk about these schools is still okay for the message board, but I will just simply stay away from them until the time is right and people can behave.

6:42 p.m. - Okay, I think I'll tend to the revision of the Message Board rules.

9:44 p.m. - Finished revising the Message Board Rules. It actually took a couple of hours, and I spent an hour watching rememberance items. Along the way I considered the flyer tour I want to go throughout the area of recent pickup. This version of the Message Board rules is somewhat longer and goes in depth regarding specific banned discussions. Over the next few days I'll start to release this version to the board so that people will understand them.

5:28 a.m. - Okay, so I was going to post this whole thing in my blog after finishing the last paragraph, but never got around to doing it. Here we go now.

Have a good day.

We'll See if This Holds Up

Cutter's Log - Supplemental

In my recent headache of things, I wondered if there was any other way I could possibly make a little more money.

A few years ago we had a garage-full of empty pop cans that were meant to be recycled one day. That day came years later when I wanted to take them to the recycling center in Galt for some cash. All those cans and only $8. I was disappointed, but in the end I got at least some cash and a cleaner garage.

Plus, I think jumping up and down crushing them helps burn calories.

I think there are 32 standard pop cans to one pound, and maybe 24 16-oz cans to one pound (if my math is correct). I've seen ads for alumnimum at an average of 40 cents/pound. This rate will vary depending on the recycling center, and where I end up traveling to on the way to a game.

Getting Better Little By Little

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.90.90
Current Song - Boogie Oogie Oogie (A Taste of Honey)

I felt horrible after last night. However, little by little I am getting better. Nothing is fixed to a T, but I'm finding myself somewhat happier and at peace at this moment than how I was yesterday.

The biggest worry was with my car. After going through underneath the hood with dad, apparently I do not have any coolant in my car. That explains the engine temprature gauge at a firing-hot 260 degrees. He recommended that I get my oil changed (it's actually close to needing one) and have the guys there take a look at it and go from there. At least I have a direction to go on. Here's hoping it's not serious.

Whether the coolant problem is serious or not will determine whether I get my brake pads and rotors replaced. The brakes still have some life left in them, and I can save some sanity by not digging a deep money hole by getting this problem rectified in a time of its own.

As for work, tonight was one of the most boring nights I've had in a long, long time. My main customer duo took the night off. The only customer traffic came in small spurts, leaving many pockets of lingering silence. But there's good news - a couple of pluses came from my time at work tonight.

Because of my car issue, I decided to ride my bike to work. This was something I always planned on doing, but the seat on my bike is so high up that I couldn't get on it with my workpants not stretching so well. I didn't want to rip my pants. However, I found a way to get something to stand on so that I can get on my bike and go. The more I ride the bike, the more exercise I get - and I need it - and the less stress it puts on the car.

This morning I picked up an afternoon shift to make for a four-day work week, which is where I'd rather be. Then an extended schedule for the future was determined and I have a couple of good things coming out of it: 1) there is a four-day stretch where I do not work (a mini-vacation), and 2) Friday of Week 5 will be spent at a football game! Four-day work weeks are great for the checking ledger.

Now I get to start on some of books that I bought during my Borders money-saving trip:

1) The Book of Questions
2) A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Converstion
3) I Love You. Now What?

Stress Level Up

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.80.90
Current Song - In a Big Country (Big Country)

Where do I begin?

My car's engine is overheating as of late. As of this writing it is dark outside, but when there is some light out I will have a look under the hood. Take the car away from me, and you have basically sucked the life out of high school sports coverage plans. The days of riding my bike to Morrison just aren't back right now. That's where I plan on going on Friday afternoon, for a football game against Newman.

Saturday's plans to cover the Byron Power Classic are also in jeopardy, unless I find another vehicle. And this is very unlikely, I'd have to tap into some important agendas to accomplish that.

But at this point, I don't mind being stalled. This I would hope gives me some time to fix everything that is going on.

Then with even slightly thinking about missing such big events has me thinking of other journalists trying to destroy NISB, the very thing I love to do and is keeping my spirits alive.

Then I think of this decision I made to switch my Fridays and Saturdays as off-days for work. I'm missing more football games this way in an attempt to jump start Saturday stuff. Things at work, well, have just become nothing more than a big dead end lately.

Back to my car, it's been having brake issues as of late. I think I need new pads and the rotors either turned or replaced. Now an oil change has crept up.

All of this costs money, which I happen to be very reluctant to spend in the first place. I already have a website to take care of, and now all of this? I had planned on buying a dresser for my clothes (because I do not have one); and that is now on the backburner - and for how long, I don't know. Heck, I've already had to push back continuing college studies because of money issues.

Not to mention this on top of all of the other standard difficulties of conversation, love and friendships.

The head just keeps spinning.