Wednesday

Here is a gratuitous pic of 1.01 snacking on the driveway on Harvest Path Wednesday.  She's becoming a little girl, eh?

I guess this is officially tax-NCAA Tourney day!  I still have to do my clan picks tonight.

Unusually warm here today, close to 80.  I did my second outdoor ride of the week this evening, another 70 minutes on the bike path.  Lots of folks out with their dogs.

I had an RCL here today, but I'm not sure which one on the hit-parade appeared.  I'm thinking that it's still the second or third team.  Just glad to have the place cleaned. And glad that I remembered to leave money.  It was just a guess.

Thursday is the Ides of March.  In crossword-speak: Four-letter word for; Fateful March day.

I had an unexpected visit at my office yesterday from my old friend Michael from C-town days in the '70's who re-located here about 10 years ago.  I see him around town now and again, and had had him play golf with our group down in Muskie a couple of days last year.  In a bit of an effort to thank me for the golf rounds, he had had his artist daughter frame some golf prints that he had received somehow way-back-when.  They were delivered a month or so ago.  He called to check if I had hung them a couple weeks back, and decided that he needed to take action when he found out that they were still leaning on my bookcase.

So he shows up with daughter in tow just as I got back from second coffee.  Long story short, we moved several things around in my office to free-up the space on my main open wall, where she placed the three, roughly 20-inch square frames.  Pretty nice, actually.  I'll  add a pic here in the AM.  Michael and I basically did some of the "helper" chores and b-esed, and let her do all the measurements, hanging and leveling (with a very nice level!).  She had brought along all the equipment necessary to do the job.  Another statement for hiring special jobs out to the professionals.

The preliminary conclusion while we were moving the bookcases and other stuff in my office around to free up wall space was that there would be a flat-screen TV in my future to best accommodate the new arrangement.  But after Michael left and I started to recover from the disruption, I was able to fit my current TV back on top of the bookcase that it had been on, and as far as I'm concerned, we're "good to go" for the foreseeable future.  Heck, I have the thing on "mute" most of the time anyway!

There was some news out this week on the bicycle Tour of California which will be contested in the middle of May this year.   I think that the news was about which teams were on the Start List, which had a couple of unexpected omissions.  Anyway, I took the time to check out the route, and to suggest that it is a "tour" is a bit of a joke.  Granted, California is a big place, and the race is contested for just 8 days (compared to the 20 days of the real Tour).  But basically you have a smattering of days in the Bay Area, two days kind of on the road, and then finish with three days in the LA area.  Money talks.

My guess is that as long as this race stays funded and on this particular place on the calendar, they won't be planning visits to Lake Tahoe again to test the weather that forced cancellation and re-routing of the first two stages last year.  The May date is dictated somewhat by the pro tour schedule.  Cycling in the USA is hardly a major spectator sport, and keeping this race going is the number one objective.  Follow the money.

Concluding point:  does the current Peyton Manning situation, along with the NBA trade deadline drama with Orlando's Dwight Howard, suggest that pro sports are more about the money than winning?  To the players?  To the ownership groups?  You always hear the phrase "It's a business decision".  Interesting that a particular team's fans usually care only about winning, whereas the players and management wax on about the "business decisions". 

Okay.  Headed to bed.  The key question tomorrow: Do I make my annual trek over to Hooter's for the early games and lunch?  For the wings!

BCOT