Disc Golf

I haven’t quite reached the age where I buy a red sports car and pick up golf.  I have, however, reached the age where I drive a high-mileage Maxima and play disc golf.
What’s disc golf, you ask?
I’m glad you asked.
Disc as in “Frisbee”, but apparently the fine folks at Frisbee (much like the lame losers at Levi) don’t want their brand associated with the sport unless they get a royalty every time someone says “Dude, let’s go toss a Frisbee (registered-trademark-all-rights-reserved) around.”  Disc golf, at first blush, is a relatively simple and inexpensive game.  I got into it when, after flying with the band to North Carolina, we discovered the guy that hired us had cancelled the show.  With no money and two days to kill, it seemed like the perfect time to pick up a new hobby.  We dropped a couple bucks at Dick’s Sporting Goods and googled our way to a disc golf course, which in reality is just a city park.
Here’s where disc golf gets good.  Golf clubs are pricey.  Discs are cheap.  Golf courses are specialized, and expensive.  Disc golf courses are city parks, and free.  Golfers are well-dressed businessmen who schedule tee-times.  Disc golfers are unemployed musicians/hippies with nothing else to do.
The game is like this.  You all take turns throwing your little Frisbee™ toward the basket, which is, well, a wire basket with chains hanging above it to stop the Frisbee if you hit them.  He who gets his Frisbee™ in the basket in the least number of throws wins.
After half a day of that, we found ourselves back in Dick’s Sporting Goods, buying more discs – you see, each disc has a specialized purpose.  Some are designed for distance, some for putting, some for midrange, some to lean left, others right, some for rolling, and so forth.  Each disc is rated in at least four different categories, and measured in exact grams so you can choose the perfect disc for each situation.  By assessing wind conditions, distance, temperature, and relative humidity, a careful disc selection can make a big difference in your overall game.
I now own a fair assortment of discs and a neat bag to carry them in.  I also invested in some compact binoculars to assist in the game.  I’m also considering a new pair of shoes that provide extra grip and support through the lateral extension of my throw.  Polarized sunglasses, a new ball cap, and an ultra-accurate GPS to map new courses as I play them, and I think I’ll be set-up.   I’m also hoping to someday walk onto the PDGA tour.
The most satisfying part is knowing that I’m not as geeky as those goofy golfers in the red sports cars.  Suckers…

Open Seating, Part II

The rules of seating on an aircraft:

I’ve written, in the past, about how to best keep an empty seat next to you while flying airlines that maintain an “open seating” policy.  While that article will stand the test of time as the definitive essay on dumb things to do on a plane, I’ve discovered that it needs an update.

Update:

While the prospect of keeping an open seat is tempting, I’ve discovered a phenomena that I’ve simply dubbed the “Craig Principle” that has changed my entire approach to getting on an airplane.

The Craig Principle states that the longer you hold an empty seat on a plane, the larger/weirder/talkier/toddlier the person who will eventually take that seat will be.

This is not a simple matter or irony or fate; there is no “Murphy’s law” of seat saving.  The facts are these:  people who get on the plane first are those who checked in first.  People who check in promptly are likely to be prompt about other things in life, such as remedying a personal hygiene issue or nipping a Twinkie addiction in the bud.  People to whom it has not occurred to check in early are often the same people to whom it has not occurred that spitting their tobacco chew back into their clear plastic airplane cup may also cause their neighbor to put their FAA-approved barf-bag to immediate use.

What should you, early-check-in-person, do?  Well, as per my earlier essay, there are many ways to ensure you’ll have an empty seat to expand into during your long flight.  Should you choose to acknowledge the Craig Principle, you may be well served to clear the seat next to you, put a smile on your face, and extend a word of greeting to a fellow (early-check-in) traveler of your choosing.