Outback Bowl

Tennessee Vols beat Wisconsis 21-17. Fulmer is now 8-7 in bowls games as a head coach.
a SEC East Championship
a bowl victory
a 10 win season
it was a little up and down, but a nice ending nevertheless.

The Company

just finished watching the TNT mini series "the company"...It was great...excellent writing, good effects (especially of an aging Michael Keaton), and an awesome plot line. maybe it will spin off a new dramatic television series..maybe a "24" type show...but set in 1950s cold war DC...or Berlin. It's a fun, great show. too bad its over.

Family Geneaology

For those of you (my relatives most likely) interested in the genealogies of the Bright, Jacobs, Birchfield, Lindsey, Ezell, Moses, Raper, and Vittettoe families of East Tennessee stay tuned...I am on the verge of incorporating family histories of these lines into this blog site...we'll see how it turns out.

Preview of 2007 Southeastern Archaeology Conference Paper

”Torres Vedras Could Not Compare With Them”: The 1862-1863 Confederate Fortification of The Rappahannock River

From the winter of 1862 to the spring of 1863, Confederate forces at Fredericksburg, Virginia, constructed complex earthworks to defend the south bank of the Rappahannock River against an anticipated Federal attack. The Confederate defenses consisted of multiple trenches, redouts, and artillery emplacements fully utilizing the naturally defensible terrain. These defenses kept the numerically superior Army of the Potomac at bay and allowed the Confederates to achieve impressive victories at the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Salem Church. These defenses have been poorly documented, and many have been lost to urban sprawl. Recent archaeological and historical investigations by ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC have investigated over 2 miles of the defensive works near historic Banks Ford, and have given us new insight into their tactical importance.

Which way to the soup kitchen

Maybe I should change my blog signature to "Ray the Unemployed Archaeologist". As of June 22, I became unemployed again in my career. Its an experience that I dont really enjoy or want to repeat (unless its on my terms). The upper managment at my former firm used the justification of not enough current backlogged work to justify my position. That's what happens when the principals at your firm dont value this specialized service and work to develop other market bases outside of the housing/commercial sector.

I'll take my time and explore my options for other gainful employment here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. My wife has been extemely supportive and we have a great church family that has been supportive as well.

I may have to consider leaving the consulting world and enter the state or federal beauracracy. It's considerably less money but it does have far greater long term job security (I hope).

I'll keep my eyes open to another opportunity in CRM, and my heart open to what God will tell me. Maybe, God will lead me on a totally new career path. That's a scarry thought to me. I've been fortunate to spend my adult life at a career that I totally enjoy and completely love. I can't see myself doing much of anything else. Who knows, maybe I'll surprise myself. We'll see what happens.

When your grandfather dies....

How do you tell yourself that your grandfather is dead? How do you tell yourself that your grandfather experienced great physical pain for the last year of his life? How do you tell yourself that this man will no longer be there? I DONT KNOW.
I do know that now he is no longer dead, but alive with my Lord. I do know that now he knows NO pain. I do know that he will live eternally basking in the light and glory of my Heavenly Father, and one day...I will see him again and he (as well as I) will be more alive than he ever was while he was living his life on this planet...

Its Time to Dance

the NCAA mens bracket will be unveiled in about 90 minutes. the Vols will probably end up a 3-5 seed in their region. I hope that we can actually put together a win or two in the "Dance". Its been a long time since Tennessee has actually won a tournament game, If the Tennessee team that beat conference tourny champ, Florida, or UK at Rupp arena shows up we may go deep, but if the team that lost to South Carolina in the 2nd round of the SEC tourny shows up...we won't have much to look forward to.
I think that (my alma mater) the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers definitely deserve a slot in the Tourny. They have more than 20 wins (again) but lost in the semifinals of the SunBelt tourny to South Ala. WKU has a long and rich tradition in post season play. their most recent successfull foray was the 1995 tourny when they beat a good Michigan team. Coach E.A. Diddle would be proud. Unfortuneatly, since the Sun Belt is a solid second tier conference, its likely that only the conference tourny champ will get a bid for the post season.
I expect that Memphis will get a 1 seed. they will go deep but it depends on their mindset which will determine if they make it to the final 4. the Tigers have all the tools to win it all, but can they make up their minds to play the kind of basketball it will take to win it all. they have speed, size, athleticism, and accurate shooting up to the rafters--the things you need to go deep in the post season, but can Coach Cal' keep them focused and intense in order to take advantage of all that?
SOPRANOS season premier tonite on HBO.....I cant wait.