Softball 3.0 – Another Trip to the ER??

Less than a year ago I had an embarrassing (but more heroic every time I tell the story 🤔) crash during a sprint triathlon. It led to a trip to the local ER. Fast forward 11 months and I’m back, baby! Not in the same city as the bike crash and thankfully, not in an ER either. It’s a Friday so walk-in clinics are open for business and this “injury” is more like “just Ben getting old.” It was a visit to a local orthopedic clinic with extreme pain in my right knee after accomplishing extraordinary athletic endeavors… and yes, that is sarcasm which can translate to playing adult league slow-pitch softball. But the pain was elite! Like, I can barely even press the gas or brake pedals in my truck.

Going to the doctor to find out, once again, that I’m old is not very entertaining. I didn’t tear anything, break anything, twist anything. I just don’t have much cartilage left in my knees. Plus inflammation. But there was a highlight in the waiting room. Around 60 people hanging around, chatting, checking their phones, listening for their name to be called. A flamboyant man walked through, and stopped in front of the elevator doors. He turned around to us, the waiting patients, and asked if we could all see him… in a very judgemental tone. He then said good, we could type it into our phones. As the elevator doors closed he went on about something and the rest of us were left there wondering what just happened. In our current culture, this might sound like something dangerous was amiss. But this guy, how do I say it… he was a flaming homosexual.

I would’ve brought a book if I knew I’d be waiting for over an hour but I ended up starting a free trial of Kindle I’ll have to cancel later. There goes my attempt at less screen time!

To summarize: Old. Arthritis. Kindle. Gay.

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-Out of the Wilderness

Softball 2.0

Last month I wrote about putting together a new “softball” playlist. I think it came together quite well, if I’m being honest. The actual softball playing, ehhhhh notsomuch. I batted 3 times and got out twice. The third attempt, well I didn’t swing at all and got walked. I figured if I can’t get myself on base with a good hit, I’ll see if the pitcher gets me there, which he did. On defense, I played 3rd base and had an average performance. A couple of bad throws but I had a couple of stops and a caught fly ball. Why am I telling you this?

I relay this info to you because tonight will be the second game I’ve played since the covid era. I feel less anxious, more calm, and I’m ready to do what I know I can do… which is get on base by myself (take that, pitcher!).

Gear tonight will be all the stuff that was new last week (these batting gloves, these Under Armour cleats, team jersey, hat from Goodwill) plus adding these baseball pants (I slid into home plate last week and that old, familiar strawberry injury happened again). Tonight’s going to be a good, good night. I’ve got a feeling.

-Out of the Wilderness

Is Alabama Finally Mediocre Again?

Is it a hot take if most people believe the opinion? Probably not. But! Here’s my hot take of the day: If the Alabama football team is 3-3 or worse, their head coach will get fired mid-season. I think most football fans are aware that they aren’t the team they used to be and it’s glorious to watch the dynasty crumble like a dry cookie, isn’t it? Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is going to hear a LOT of de-booing if there are any, and I mean any, mistakes this weekend. Last year they were 9-4 and this year, one of only 2 SEC teams with a losing record already. When is the last time you saw Alabama at the bottom of the SEC? The answer is today. Today you have seen Alabama at the bottom of the SEC. Yes, even behind Vanderbilt.

If you are still on the fence about Alabama’s decline, just take a look at their QB during the game against Florida State.

Not quite the image anyone wants as a representation of their team and yet, here they are… Alabama fans probably asking for anyone with the last name of Saban to step up and apply for the head coach position. Nick, his wife, their daughter, do they have a dog that’s available?? I bet they’d even take the family’s pet turtle at this point!

Let’s all unite in our collective happiness as this once dominant program continues its descent into mediocrity.

-Out of the Wilderness

Turning A Smartphone Into a Dumb Phone

Are any of you out there getting tired of cell phone addiction? It’s plagued me for a while and I’ve noticed how it affects my relationships with family and friends and to be quite honest, I hate what phones can do (and have done) to real, in-person relationships. I catch myself in the middle of a conversation wanting to look down at my phone or Google something or just scroll social media. I don’t even know if despise is a strong enough word for how that makes me feel. I would love to go back to my first Motorola StarTac. And yet, I love my new Samsung S25 Ultra, too.

I wonder if a lot of us find ourselves in that same conflict of loving the thing we hate? Or needing the thing we don’t actually need. In my case, lack of will-power is part of it, for sure. Well, the good news is that there are solutions and even though I love the S25 Ultra for a handful of reasons, I don’t want to be ruled by it. One way people are disconnecting from phone addiction is by using “dumb phones.” These are modern phones that are designed to behave like the old StarTacs and Nokias from the early 2000s. Basic texting and calls, along with a handful of useful apps like maps and internet but without the more addicting ones (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, games, etc).

If that interests you, look up the Nokia 2780 Flip and the Light Phone III. I briefly looked at those but I can’t quite take the leap yet. There are a few reasons I want to hang on to a modern smartphone… for now. So what’s an option for someone who wants to have a dumb phone but needs the conveniences of a smartphone? There IS still hope for us in those cases. 🤪 To regurgitate an old slogan, there’s an app for that.

Apps like Zen Detox and Minimalist Phone can turn your smartphone into something like a dumb phone. The apps strip down the phone into boring, colorless screens that aren’t appealing… which is the point. I tried Zen Detox and loved the layout. A simple background with app text instead of icons.

After using it for a few days and looking up more about how to untether myself from my phone, I think colors play a big part of what draws me in. Bright app icons, colorful texting bubbles, dazzling headlines, all designed to keep me looking at my screen.

Zen Detox wasn’t quite a fit so I did more research. I found a video about one cool feature on the S25 Ultra. Most phones probably have something similar, the S25 calls it color correction. In settings / accessibility / vision enhancements / color correction, a simple touch of the screen will turn color correction ON; then go down to “grayscale” to turn the all phone media and screens to black and white.

I’ve had my phone like this for about a week, still opting back to a color screen when needed (camera viewing, texting pictures to family and friends, etc) and even though I still feel the familiar desire to check my phone, having it in grayscale has definitely reduced the desire from “incessant” to “I can bear a few minutes without my phone.”

I’ve also noticed that when I’m using social media apps (Facebook is the one I’m on the most), a colorless screen has changed everything. I barely scroll at all because the bright colors aren’t drawing me in. I highly recommend trying this option if you don’t go the route of a dedicated dumb phone app.

Are you considering a conscious effort to detach from your phone? What has or hasn’t worked for you? Comment below!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Tecovas Commercial About the Real West

Tecovas isn’t just selling boots. They’re selling a lifestyle. Well, to be more accurate: They’re selling the idea of a lifestyle. Kind of like the way Subaru projects themselves as the vehicle for outdoorsy, environmentally-conscious people. Or Gillette sells razors that aren’t your dad’s razors, when they’ve been around since your great-great-great granddad was knee-high to a grasshopper.

But back to Tecovas. A recent ad features a narrator (Terry Allen) describing the West as a representation of real, authentic Tecovas cowboy boots. Take a look then scroll down for more.

The play on words is a nice bow to tie up the entire paragraph: We might not need more people in the West, but would it hurt to have a little more West in the people?

Credits for the spot are below. What do you think about the commercial? Do you have a pair of Tecovas? I tried boots awhile back but my feet are so big, the boots looked like skiis.

-Out of the Wilderness