Tuesday AM

I decided to give Kinnick a little airtime on the blog. 

Yesterday's filing date for 2011 entity returns was chaotic, as expected.  (The remains of the day are on my office floor this AM.)  When there is no further delay possible, decisions get made and the returns get filed.  Usually, the choices were there since the end of the year, and neither the prepare nor the taxpayer wanted to face the facts.  So a deadline date isn't such a bad thing.  The can can't get kicked further done the road.  (There will be more cans to kick this year anyway!)

Dawn caught my eye as I left the coffee shop just after 0600.  This one was taken with the iPhone and is a bit grainy in original form.  I condensed it for the blog and this version gets closer to what I thought I was seeing.  Three months ago, it would have been bright daylight at that hour and @bcbison and I would have been halfway done with our early ride.  I miss that early sun.

Three years ago this week, 2 and I were traipsing our way around Italy.  I think that today was one of our two days at Lake Garda, a Tahoe-like area a few miles West of Verona.  We enjoyed lunch at

a cafe on a piazza area right by the lake.  Good times.

Anyone paid any attention to the lyrics of Eric Church's song, Springsteen?  I'm not a big fan of his music as it isn't really country in my view.  But a couple of the lines resonate: 1) funny how a melody sounds like a memory, and 2) like a soundtrack to a July Saturday night.  The concept of music and memories has been used by lots of artists.  Trisha Yearwood did one years ago that I really liked called The Song Remembers When.  I know that there are a handful of songs that take me to various places and times in my past.  And most of those music/time/place associations are good.  Why is that?

I'm thinking that today may be Aunt Margaret birthday, eh?

I didn't pay much attention to the football game last night, but it was on as I was doing some things around the house before I hit the hay.  Manning looked pretty human.  But the stories this AM highlight the problems that are beginning to surface with the replacement refs.  The speed and complexity of the pro game has to be a huge learning curve for these guys.  I don't envy their spots.  The money and prestige that the teams aspire to (getting to the Super Bowl), is a serious business.  There's referee-ruling mistakes in the history of even the regular officials. But if a game gets decided on a blown call in the current facts, there will be no end to the finger-pointing.

OK.  Time to get to business.  I might get back on here later today.

BCOT