Coots are into video now. This is the first but just wait until we get our second wind. The very best to all our readers. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Feb 232015
Feb 232015
This post isn’t particularly cantankerous but it is my cootish responsibility to mix things up for you lay people. Unpredictability is cantankerous in itself under the right circumstances. That is a subject for a later Coot Lesson. If you don’t like it today, RT this post and leave a comment before waiting until Friday for the next lesson.
Last Friday, I wrote on Catharsis Of The Bogue (my other blog) about unplugging and spending time with your family. That post is here. Last night I took my older kids to the rodeo. It was part of our “Days of 47” celebration which is like founders day here in Salt Lake.
I’ll tell you, we went and watched horses and cows flip guys around and into the dirt and I didn’t think once about blogging or what I had to do when I got home. I didn’t realize it unti llater but it was so good to just be in the moment and to be there with my kids.
This was their first rodeo so they didn’t know what to expect and they were fascinated at what these guys were doing. I have been to several and so I explained to them until I was hoarse what was going on and they dug every minute of that 2 1/2 hours. My 7 year old son didn’t ask once when it was going to be over or when he could watch TV. The large replay screen mayhave helped with that. There was some tech at this rodeo.
It was the first rodeo I had ever been to that started with a laser show. All in all, I highly recommend taking time out from the electronic pursuits and spending some time unplugged. I will always recommend the rodeo. One confession, there was a guy selling shirts there that I talked to about a possible affiliate type collaboration on the net, but that was at intermission so it doesn’t really count.
-Justin
Feb 232015
Hello there. Today I am bringing you a post about Golf. Golf has some interesting origins in Scotland and some great benefits as you will read. Feel free to discuss in the comments….
Golf: an Exciting Sport
If you enjoy creative problem-solving, golf is a game you may want to consider. This is because the problems encountered on the golf course require the application of creative problem solving skills. Besides the mental effort entailed, many players love golf sport because it allows them to develop good eye-hand coordination, build patience and foster perseverance. All these are important qualities that can be readily transferred to any other area of your life, to boost positive outcomes, whether it concerns work, business, studies, familial responsibilities or personal hobbies. The beauty of golf is that it allows you to engage in a leisurely game, benefit from physical activity and apply mental effort, all of which occur in pleasant outdoor settings. Golf is also a highly recommended game for individuals recovering from sports injuries. This is because the game isn’t very physically exerting, which helps to assist in recovery from injury as well as prevent further injuries.
What Makes Golf a Great Sport?
For some, golf may not appear to be much of a sport or worthwhile game to engage in. The constant walking all over a field, in pursuit of a small, white golf ball, may appear dull and uninspiring. However, here are some reasons that make golf sport a great game.
- Boosts the Wellbeing – the best sports game I love, golf, is highly therapeutic and relaxing. Going out to play on the golf course brings you into direct contact with nature. You get to see, at close range, vast areas of beautiful green grass, spot birds and butterflies freely flying around and enjoy the sight of clear blue skies. This is both a pleasurable and relaxing experience. Indeed, the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery is reason enough as to why I love golf.
- Develops Discipline – as with most sports, the love of golf does not develop overnight. As you engage in practice sessions on a regular basis, you steadily develop an appreciation of the commitment and diligence that it takes to perfect your game. For the most part, developing your skills in golf requires individual effort. Unlike some games such as football, basketball or ice hockey, which clearly involve team effort, golf has a different arrangement. Enthusiasm for the game is largely a matter of personal inclination. However, once you grasp an appreciation for the game, you’ll steadily develop more commitment to excel. The game also provides plenty of opportunities to test your skills, by engaging in competitions, some of which may involve teams.
- Engaging Game – not only is golf relaxing, it is also very engaging. The game involves a great deal of walking all over the golf course and the application of sustained mental effort. This makes for an intriguing game and one that allows you to take a complete break from stressful situations at work or elsewhere. The relaxation that golf provides in an outdoor setting is enough to make one love golf sport more than any other. It is an excellent stress reliever and helps you to develop a clear perspective of things beyond the golf course.
- Financial Gain – for some, golf love is motivated by business reasons or a desire to understand more about the business aspects of the sport. Many business people who engage in golf find that the golf course is an excellent place to develop new business partnerships and strike deals. Likewise, for many new golfers, business reasons are the main motivation for the love of golf sport. Check out the resources here for more regarding the business aspects of sports.
- Physical Activity – golf players engage in a lot of walking. Quite often, players will walk for more than 18 holes, which can be equated to a distance of more than 3 miles. Walking is a great form of physical activity and helps to promote good health. Besides walking, golfers also have to regularly swing and carry their golf clubs. This helps to burn up calories and keep you fit. Those who regularly engage in the game a couple of times each week can be sure of getting a fair amount of exercise.
Sources:
Benefits of Playing Golf. (2012) Golf Link.
What are the Benefits of Playing Golf? (2012) Golfing Tips for Every Shot.
Why Play Golf? (2010) 3 Good Shots.
Why Play Golf? (2012) ABC of Golf.
Feb 032014
We don’t hold with stereotypes here at COC. The image you probably form when you hear Cantankerous Old Coots is ugly old men but you need to know that cantankerosity is more than skin deep and that coots can be any sex. In other words you can’t tell a coot by his cover and just to be clear, we use the standard English meaning for pronouns that the masculine pronoun is also the general pronoun. So if you are paying any attention, you will understand that Cantankerous Old Coots can be women. They can take all forms, from dotty old ladies like Miss Marple to something more seductive. You can be pretty and still be a Cantankerous Old Coot.
At COC we want to do more than entertain. In fact ,our aim is to help each of our readers exercise the full flow of cantankerous potential they possess. It is our eleemosynary intent to nurture even the smallest nubbin of honesty and help it grow into real truth-telling cantankerosity because that is what we do here at COC- tell the truth when no one else will.
Some of the fairer sex may feel that they must exclude themselves from the joy of cantankerosity because they think that it is just not feminine. They may feel that indulging in cantankerosity will make them undesirable or unattractive. To that, we at COC have only one response. Au Contraire! Just because you feel pretty, you are not excluded from developing the ‘I don’t give a damn about what anybody thinks attitude’ that is the essence of a coot. Take the video clip below as an example.
Oct 252013
- Image by Yasuhiko Ito via Flickr
Justin is one of a kind
Justin, my hotheaded young compatriot here at Coots has a lot on his plate. Being a stay at home dad is no picnic but it does add to the pressure for a fiction writer, blogger and musician. Society and Justin’s wife demand that he reign in his natural cantankerous nature to provide the warm nurture that his children need. Its a lot of pressure for a Coot. But don’t worry, Justin has a way to let off steam and release his creative juices as well. He is a modest lad (we have to work on that here at Coots before he introduces too much of his softer side into the blog). You won’t find him tooting his horn even though he is a musical virtuoso. When life gets too hectic, he retreats to his mancave and takes up his kettlebells.
A Genuine Renaissance Man
Granted they are an odd instrument but perfectly suited to a man who can skin a cat, change a diaper and then debug WordPress code on his break. Yes, Coot in training Justin is one of a kind. You wouldn’t know this from his folksy blog posts but the real Justin is beginning to surface here at Coots. Scratch that amiable exterior and you will find a growing cantankerosity.
Let that talent out from under the bushel.
Being such a modest, low-key kind of guy, normally he is secretive about his kettlebell playing, He doesn’t want to embarrass those with lesser talents. But recently I was able to capture snippets of the otherworldly beauty of his playing on the sly. It seems only right to share his talent here at Coots even though it does reveal a softer side that is out of character. So at the risk of exposing my own softer side, I feel compelled to reveal Justin – the master virtuoso of the kettlebells.
The sounds of Justin
Usually when he starts, he needs to let off some steam something this.
Then he will work into the more mellow music
and quickly transition to something even moremellow
Occasionally he will be reminded of something stressful and work it out likethis
but eventually he gets his groove mellow.
Show him how much you appreciate his talents.
Right now, I think he is in some kind of funk over a WordPress problem so I am sure that you would find him back at the mancave with his kettlebells right now. Leave him a message of encouragement at Coots or back at his home turf.
