Are we on the cutting edge? Or just plain lazy?

I'll be the first to admit, I overpay for convenience all the time. We keep bottled water and those little powdered drink mix packets around the house at all times, for God's sakes. What happened to pitchers of Kool-Aid?

But that got me thinking about all these products of convenience. Are they really worth it? Was the old way really that bad? For example:

• I never met a cleaning wipe I didn't like. We have Pledge wipes, two kinds of Clorox wipes (orange for the kitchen, lemon for the bathroom), Scrubbing Bubbles wipes for the toilet, and Windex wipes for glass and mirrors.

I know these things are overpriced and completely unnecessary, but boy do they make things easier. In a beautiful twist of irony, I have no problem dropping the extra dough for the pre-treated wipes, and yet I find myself being frugal with them and trying to use as few as possible while cleaning. I'm kind of a dumbass like that.

• Don't know why all these products of convenience pertain to cleaning, but we also abandoned the traditional mop and bucket for the Swiffer Wet Jet. This thing is a godsend. If you don't have one, get one now. In addition to being more convenient, it also is much less gross, in the sense that God knows how many bacteria live in a nasty, wet mop.

• We have not yet, however, sprang for the Mr. Clean magic wand thingy that cleans the bathroom counters and extends to clean the floors and the shower. Don't get me wrong, I really want it, but Megan won't let me get it. So I'm stuck with a bottle of Scrubbing Bubbles, a scrubby sponge, a stiff brush and all the cleaning wipes a man could want.

• Does anybody buy 2-liter bottles of soda anymore? When I was a kid, I didn't even know they made Coke and Pepsi in cans — I thought the major brands only came in 2-liters, and only Shasta and Vess came in cans.

Now, we keep at least one 12-pack of canned soda in the fridge all the time, and beyond that, we'll only buy brands that make the convenient fridge packs. We can't be bothered to reach way in the back for the last few cans because they didn't have the fancy box that allows the can to roll down to the front. And who knows how many half-drank sodas we dump down the sink.

• After years of fighting my dentist(s) tooth and nail (no pun intended), I've finally started flossing periodically (certainly not every day, are you kidding?). And, guess what, I'm not using traditional floss. No, that never worked for me. I have this little Oral-B Hummingbird contraption that vibrates as I floss. It allows me to floss my teeth without sticking my entire hand in my mouth (a big plus, in my mind), it does most of the work for me, and hey, it gets me to floss.

Small price to pay for $4.98 or whatever that thing set me back at Wal-Mart.

So maybe these conveniences aren't so bad after all, eh, Doc?

Around the blogosphere

Let's take a quick trip around the blogs I try to visit on a near daily basis.

• Welcome my favorite Mancunian to the blog world. Give the guy a break if he has a bit of a glass-half-empty look at things from time to time — he has to go to class with a bunch of freshmen every day. Blah.

• Props to my boy Tom for landing a sweet job with bennies, even if he does have to go back to the Midwest. Too bad you couldn't make it up to HHI before you go.

Mizzou Southeast mourns your departure, my man.

• Read this blog. Even if you don't know Erin, it's an interesting read. She will be an awesome author one day.

• Think you know a lot about foreign politics? Go to school on Africa here.

• And that hurricane you keep hearing about in Louisiana — read a Floridian's perspective on a storm that finally missed her new homeland.

Enjoy.

JJ's quotes of the week

• "Those people spent 112 dollars at Taco Bell. Now how in the hell do you spend 112 dollars at Taco Bell. It's hard to spend five dollars at Taco Bell. Those people must really love Taco Bell." — Taco Bell employee on the large middle eastern family that must have ordered at least three dozen Crunchwraps Supreme (Crunchwrap Supremes?)

• "You don't know me that well, yet, but some of my buddies said to me, 'I'll bet there were a bunch of puckered up assholes on that field when you started going out there.' Now don't put that in the paper." — Bluffton High defensive coordinator on his fiery speech after the Bobcats' defensive relinquished its shutout in a 15-6 win against Jasper County, the school's first-ever football victory

• "Cutting the grass is a whole lot more fun on Saturday when you win." — Bluffton High head coach on Friday's historic win

• "I bet you pull in some fine-lookin' biscuit with that." — Bluffton High defensive coordinator on senior linebacker's "bushman mating call"

As you can see, Bluffton High's defensive coordinator is a funny dude. More to come.

Super Sonic

I've officially been to the coolest Sonic Drive-In on the planet, and it's in Bluffton, S.C.

Not only does this particular Sonic look like a cabana hut, but it also has a credit card swiper with a PIN pad right there at the car, a la pay at the pump.

After you place your order, the total comes up on the li'l screen, at which time you choose from: cash, debit, credit or "Sonic card" (gotta get one of those). I select debit, swipe my card, punch in my PIN, and wait for my food to arrive.

But it gets better. When the carhop sets out with your order, a little message pops up to tell you, "Your order is being delivered." This feature takes away the unnecessary suspense of watching the carhops' little ponytails bop over to the door, getting you excited about the prospect of gooey Ched'r Bites, only to see the chick go out the other side.

Oh yeah, and all the carhops wear roller skates. Best Sonic ever, indisputable.

On a lighter note ...

Some random happy thoughts to balance out the sad one:

• Ben Folds is coming to Savannah on Oct. 8. Unfortunately, it's not part of the Odd Men Out tour with Ben Lee and Rufus Wainwright, but The Fray will open. Not too shabby.
• No matter who wins "Rock Star: INXS," I'll probably buy several of their albums: Marty, Ty, Mig and Jordis rock (in that order).
• "Stranded with Cash Peters" and "Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations" represent the best two hours on television (Mondays starting at 9 Eastern/8 Central on the Travel Channel).
• I'll be covering the HHI Celebrity Golf Tournament next weekend. Among the entrants: Richard Roundtree. I'm gonna ask him what kind of shafts his clubs have. Ha.

RIP Jack Harris

My predecessor at the Parsons Sun, Jack Harris, passed away Saturday. Take the time to read his obituary
and the publisher's column about him, and you'll mourn the loss for our business and certainly for the Parsons community.

Jack wasn't the world's greatest writer, and sure, he was a bit of a homer, but his dedication and love for the craft were unmatched, and something we all should strive to achieve. And he still had time to be one of the world's nicest guys. Rest in peace, Jack.

Fantastic

One-hour wait aside, the fantasy draft went spectacularly. Here's a recap:

QB — Trent Green, Byron Leftwich, Ben Roethlisberger.
RB — Priest Holmes, Rudi Johnson, Tatum Bell, Reuben Droughns.
WR — Hines Ward, Nate Burleson, Jimmy Smith, Ashley Lelie, Mike Williams.
TE — Bubba Franks.
K — Lawrence "Clemen" Tynes.
D/ST — Pittsburgh Steelers.

Check out those QBs — and the RBs aren't too shabby either.

My only regret is passing up Cedric Benson in the ninth round because I was afraid all the decent kickers would get snagged before my pick came back up. Turns out I could have had Benson and gotten Tynes on the comeback. Oh well, I grabbed Droughns next, and I wound up with Mike Williams — remember when this guy was going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft — with my 15th and final pick.

Take that.

Livin' on borrowed time

Just arrived at my fantasy football draft — an hour early. Turns out my Yahoo! profile was still set on Central time. First the news is on at 11, then prime-time doesn't start until 8, and now this.

Thanks a million, EDT. I'll never see the end of another Monday night football game.

Beer for breakfast

So I'm in Atlanta Bread Company — a lot like Panera but with a broader menu and, get this, beer — getting our dinner, when I hear this dude from New Jersey come up to the counter.

So this Yank — that's what they call them down here — asks for a "bearclaw," but to the poor Southern woman behind the counter, he might as well be speaking Arabic. She looks around, confused, for a bit, until he repeats himself.

"A bearclaw," he says in his thick N.J. accent. "Bearclaw." He keeps saying it slower like it'll somehow help this poor woman, but to no avail.

The woman's practically spinning in circles now, trying to figure out what he's talking about. She walks over to the beer (as in beer-claw, which is sort of what it sounded like he might be saying), but she can't decide which kind to give him.

He bails her out by saying, "No, a bearclaw," while walking over to the bakery counter and pointing at what we Yanks call a bearclaw — apparently, that's not what it's called in the South.

Everybody involved had a good laugh, and the dude was still going on about it to his wife when they and I walked out at the same time.

So I say, "Do you always drink at breakfast when you're in the South, inadvertently, of course." This draws a big laugh, and the dude's wife says, "I take it you're not from the South, either." To which I reply, "Nope, I'm from the Midwest. A lot closer to New Jersey than here, apparently."

Oh Savannah

Only if you've been there can you appreciate the beauty of this statement:

We went over to Savannah yesterday afternoon.

What a great city. We drove over just after noon and had lunch in the City Market at a place called Cafe GelatOhhhh! "The Michelangelo" was one of the best paninis I've had, and the accompanying salad of baby spinach, feta and balsamic vinegarette was a nice touch.

We checked out the historic building where Megan will work — which was built in 1840 — and drove around the historic district a bit. 'Twas a bit steamy, though, so we didn't stay too long.

Speaking of Megan's new job, SCAD was named one of the country's hottest colleges by Newsweek last week. Check it out.

After lunch, we found out why studying art there is such a hot venture — we walked through the Arts Center above the City Market, a collection of dozens of art studios and galleries. Very cool.

The beat goes on

Ahh, the joys of being on a competitive beat. It's fun, but man can it be frustrating. Especially when this is what you're up against.

Let me give you the lay of the land here. There's a weird sort of relationship between HHI and Bluffton that is unlike anything I've ever seen. Many years ago (early 1970s) the only public HS in the area was on the mainland. They shut it down and moved it to the island, leaving no public HS in Bluffton. Ever since, Blufftonians have clamored for a HS on the mainland, and last year, they finally got one. Bluffton High opened a year ago, setting off a ridiculously overplayed rivalry between Bluffton High and Hilton Head High - there was a three-year moratorium on contact sports between the two for God's sakes.

Well, the Savannah paper got tired of watching its market erode while the "greater Bluffton" area boomed, so it decided to try to take advantage, launching this, a joke of a free-circulation daily tabloid that claims to be the "wave of the future" in our business. Let's hope not, for all our sakes.

Without further adieu, this is the competition.

This assclown drives me nuts. He spouts we, our and us in the press box throughout the game, asks the most inane questions possible in post-game interviews, then blows sunshine up an entire town's ass for three days after.

Not only is he making our entire profession look bad, while also training the people around here to accept and expect this homer b.s., but he's also somehow getting people to buy into it.

By playing up the whole rivalry - which he gives upper-case treatment (The Rivalry), by the way - this rag thinks it can steal our market. I don't think there's a chance in hell of that happening, but at the same time, I would just as soon see these fools kicked back across the Savannah River where they belong sooner than later, and I don't see that happening either. There are too many people wearing blinders who actually want to read a piece of crap like this on a daily basis.

I can't quite explain it, but it actually makes me angry when he sucks. I guess I just feel like he's lowering the bar for the rest of us, and that pisses me off. It should be interesting - if frustrating - to see how low the bar can go.

Life is good

If you've never lived near the ocean, go rent a U-Haul and pack your stuff. It's time to go.

If you've never spent your day off on the beach, reading a book, watching the people and their salty dogs, and hopping in the water when you start to get hot, give your two-week notice, it's time for a new gig.

Don't get me wrong - I'm a midwestern boy, and I love that part of the country - but I don't know if I can ever leave the east coast. When you come to visit, and see Savannah and Charleston, you'll be hooked too.

Everything here is gorgeous - imagine Branson or the Lake of the Ozarks multiplied to the Nth power - even our Sonic looks like a freakin' cabana hut.

Granted, there are negatives, like cost of living and the fact that every ordinary town I visit from now on will seem so ... ugly and mundane.

Sure, I might go through three different shirts on a particularly sultry day, and I start "glistening" (we don't sweat in the deep south: men glisten and women glow) on contact with the steamy air most days. But when I'm playing golf and sitting on the beach in December and January, I'll try not to laugh when I imagine you digging your car out of six inches of snow.

And then there's my newspaper - a 20,000-circulation paper with the resources of a 100K, and a state-of-the-art, first-of-its-kind press facility on the way that will make the Trib's press look like a freakin' HP Inkjet printer.

The building is fabulous and the staff is even better. Good people come here - and they never leave. I'm beginning to find out why.