Tuesday

Here's a little update for New Year's Eve.  I'll add more later this afternoon.

My experience last weekend where I had to return a bottle of wine to Hy Vee because it was undrinkable is a sign that I need to expand my wine horizon in 2014.  This was a $22 (on sale) William Hill Napa Valley Cab that I have had previously with good results.  I know that any bottle can have a corking problem, but in retrospect, I gotta say that I drank a lot of very ordinary wine in 2013.

One theory is that the rollover in most vintages sold in our local stores has brought 2010 and 2011 into play...and they may just not be as good as the earlier years.  Don't know that for sure, but we had some supposedly "fine" wine at the Men's Holiday Luncheon on Friday and at Biaggi's on Friday evening...and neither experience was memorable.  Now, I didn't recognize the wine at the lunch, but my pal Jimmy isn't known for skimping at the wine bar.  And the Biaggi's selection was definitely a hit in previous visits.  If the premise holds that I'm not moving up the wine-snobbery ladder, I think the vintage argument has some legs (so to speak).

I'm thinking that I may go the Wine Club route for 2014...or at least go the Internet Wine Acquisition route.  Its not like Hy Vee cuts me any deals for my volume purchases.  If Total Wine could ship to Iowa, I'd be a regular customer.  I know that one of my goals for 2013 was to find another wine source...and that didn't happen.  I guess that carries over to 2014 goals.

Still haven't been able to get into these meaningless college football bowl games.  Iowa plays tomorrow against LSU.  The Hawks stole one from LSU a few years ago in the same game.  Iowa is getting 8 points in the betting line this time.  I don't think that will be enough.

The market is open today.  I don't expect heavy action.  Most of the manager's will have locked in their results so that they can celebrate the big gains this year.  Wall Street gained nearly 30% in 2013.  How did that happen?  Does anyone really feel like the economy was a monster these last 12 months?  Goes to show ya, the tea leaves are hard to read.  And zero interest rates along with the Fed printing press make equities the only game in town.

So I will get back here later today and complete this entry.

BCOT

Monday

Inspired by Robin Roberts, MSNBC, The NYT, my heroes in Hollywood, and all others in the Enlightened Progressive Movement, I just couldn't keep it in any longer.

We're OUT!!!!
















I am SO relieved.

BCOT

Sunday

Another turn to the Deep Freeze in River City.  But it is December.  Glad I hadn't elected to participate in any trip to Soldier Field for the Bears-Packers game this evening.

Enjoyed 2nd Coffee this morning in Iowa City with 3 and 3.1.  We met at the downtown Starbuck's shop, had a couple of over-priced pastries and traded stories of our respective Christmas visits.  They are now headed back to the Big Apple so that 3.1 can report for duty on Monday and Tuesday.  They then jet to Antigua for four days of  R+R.

I'm watching the 7PM FOX newscast as write this.  This news show is being produced by 4.  Way to go, Kiddo!

As I mentioned on Twitter yesterday, that ND win at the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium was as close to The Most Uninteresting Sporting Event in Modern History as you could imagine.  An uninspired performance against an inferior opponent...and they couldn't even cover the spread.  They won't have an easy schedule next year, and they have lost both the Offensive and Defensive Coordinators to head jobs elsewhere.  But I'm willing to take the Over on a 10-win season next year for $5 if there are any takers out there.  And the Push will pay the $5 as well.

That trip over to IC may have been the first one for a cup of coffee.  Iowa City has been a destination for many things...for many years.  Among them:

1.  My first college football game...IA-ND in the late '50's or early '60's with Daddy.  I think ND won.
2.  My first high school varsity basketball game in February 1964.  They suited me up as a freshmen for a sub-state game played in the Old Fieldhouse...and I got some court-time in at the end of the game...a loss to a big Cedar Rapids school.
3.  Numerous high school basketball games at Iowa City Regina.  We played them home-and-home each year.  Always a big game.
4.  Several visits during freshman-sophomore years at ND to visit my high school girlfriend who went to Iowa.  She lived in Burge and was a Pi Phi.  Hitch-hiked to-and-from.  She was a victim of pancreatic cancer in 2013.
5.  Numerous CPA continuing education programs at the various hotels in town.
6.  Lots of Airliner dinners with 3 and 4.
7.  Graduations for 3 and 4 and the MBA graduation of 2. (SRH and the Lt. took a pass on our own grad school commencement programs.)
8.  Moving 3 and 4...way too many times!
9.  The Forwald Relays at City High to see 4 run a couple of times.
10. I stayed overnight in a Coralville motel both ways on my first long bike ride...from Davenport to Aunt Martha's in the early '90's.  Two days over, two back.


Here's a shot of my favorite tree near West Branch taken on the way back today.  2 snapped this one on the mini-digi from the passenger seat.  It looks a little barren...as does the entire landscape in Iowa in December!

Big day at the office tomorrow.  There's always at least a couple of clients with year end issues that go down to the wire.  We work on Tuesday, but most of the action takes place before New Year's Eve.  So we'll see if things get handled before the absolute last minute.

Bundle up!  It will be a cold one tonight.

BCOT

Friday

Well, that quick hit up to the Twin Cities was a success, and the return trip yesterday was uneventful. Travel in the Midwest this time of year is always problematic, so getting there and back with no delays goes down as a win.

Hats off to 1 and 1.1 for hosting a modified fff again.  And special props to 1.1 for preparing the Christmas feast.

My book on tape for the trip was near the top of the Worst Books Ever list.  I should have known when they spent 10 minutes at the start talking about how this was a "classic" disaster novel that it was going to be a disaster.  And it was.  "Mayday".  Don't waste your time.  Actually, Hollywood didn't.  It was a Lifetime movie.  Literally.  You know, the movie where the plot is so thin that you've deduced the ending after the first five minutes of air time. With meaningless subplots to fill the void.  I kicked myself for listening to the first four disks in full, and then went through the final six disks in about an hour. 

I then went to a Vince Flynn book with protagonist Mitch Rabb, which is still in the Buick's media player...and will be for several days.  There's not much mystery who will win in that story either, but at least there's a hint of drama to the process. 

I'm thinking that the GPS golf watch that was my main Christmas gift will be a winner.  I haven't read the full operating manual, of course, but it doesn't appear to be too difficult to operate.  It comes programmed with like 25,000 courses, and by just hitting the "find" feature in Woodbury, I picked up the feed for several local tracks.  The same results when I tested it here this AM. 

Its not a laser gun that will give you exact yardage to a pin, but it gives you the yardage to front, middle and back pin placements for the green being played.  In my game, that's more than enough information.  Plus, by being attached to my body, my Sometimer's condition will not be as likely to lose the device.  I'd take the Under that a hand-held range finder would still be with me through a single golfing season.

The first test will be in three weeks in Scottsdale.  I've already warned my golf bud's that the game has changed.

I was sorry to see that our fellow media-aficionado has formally given up the ghost on his blog.  Maybe another time, friend.  I understand the challenge, believe me.  But I have the luxury of having fewer personal obligations on a daily basis, and this hacking away at paragraphs is one of my ways of keeping at the challenge I have created.  It really makes you understand how hard it is to be a columnist with x-number of inches to fill 3-4 times a week.

My pics from Harvest Path weren't too newsworthy, but this one of 1.1's bird feeder in his back yard wasn't bad.  This shot was taken from inside the house at maximum magnification on my "big" Canon camera.  Kinda cool.  If I had used the tripod, I'm sure I could have got an even clearer pic.

All for now.  Thanks to all for a great Christmas.  We have a wonderful family.

4, you're the one punching a time clock this weekend.  We are proud of you!

BCOT

Tuesday

Happy Birthday to 4!!!  You are Daughter of the DAY!!

Travel day for the Lt. and 2.  Twitter alerts from the road.

BCOT

Monday....UPDATED

Brrrr!  We're in the Deep Freeze this morning.  0 or lower in this area.  And maybe we don't get to double digits today.  I guess that qualifies as Winter.

Happy Tax Birthday to 4.  You are Daughter of the Day!  Make it a good one in The Big Apple.

That snow storm did produce 5-6 inches of snow on Saturday night.  It started a bit later than forecasted, but by 0700 yesterday, it had accumulated to a pretty thick, heavy blanket.  Of course, my snow blower failed to start when I first tried to get it going, but it did fire on my second effort after coffee.  I had known that the temps were headed down, and I didn't want to be stuck with packed snow on my driveway, so it was important to get it moved before I had made a bunch of trips in/out of my driveway.  I ended up with a good result.  I even helped out a couple of neighbors who didn't have mechanical help.

So that storm did impact the social circuit on Saturday night.  Although the trip to Muskie was scrubbed, a guy has to eat, so I elected to see if I couldn't get in for a Biaggi's dinner before the weekend/holiday crowd hit the restaurant.  (Saturday night's around here are just awful to make a non-reservation visit to most of the good places.)  People must watch the news as the bar area at Biaggi's was all but empty upon arrival, and there were never more than 10 people there throughout a 90 minute stay.  The wait staff had little to do but chat and work our table.

This will be a quiet day at work.  The markets are open, but with Christmas on Wednesday, and tomorrow never more than a half-day, lots of non-retail businesses will have skeleton crews.  That's OK by me.  I'll be cleaning the desk off, taking care of a few calls, and prepping for tomorrow's trip North.

More here in a while.

UPDATE....So the day went pretty much as advertised...not a lot of activity.  The equities closed up again, and the bonds maintained their slow creep to 3%.

I chose to get a seasonal Home Page pic posted to bring some Christmas cheer to my multitude of readers (multitude being a seasonal term, of course). 

I'll be heading out shortly to finalized by shopping.  Since we'll be on the road tomorrow, I've had to reschedule my normal Christmas Eve trip to the stores.  Just to warn, everyone needs to lower their expectations of my outcomes.

Those random calls have continued on my cell phone.  I went as far as to check on a blocking feature...which doesn't exist for the iPhone.  It makes me nervous.  And really, sales/political calls were the reason why I got rid of my last land-line.  Keeping below radar is an imposing task.

Look for Twitter updates over the next 24 hours.

BCOT 

Saturday

2nd Coffee in the 52722. Awaiting snow. They say 6-8 inches. Hmmm. The local meteorologists tend to error on the high side. But The Weather Channel shows a pretty solid track headed our way from the South. Time will tell.

I had planned to go to Muskie tonight for the club's Christmas party, but I have elected to rain-check that event. I can open a bottle of Freakshow on Maplecrest and save the drive...and the $$$'s of the club's unforgiving wine list.

I'm guessing that today will be a big day for the retailers. Traffic on Kimberly and Elmore was heavy when I came back from the office just a while ago. I'm thinking that I'll go no further than Hy Vee today.

I've been getting a string of odd calls on my cell phone over the last couple of days. Numbers from Texas, Georgia, NY, CA and elsewhere. Very curious. Like a robo-call program found my number and put it in the cue. I haven't been shopping at Target, but somebody obviously picked-up my number from somewhere. Maybe the hotel or airline info from that trip to AZ last week? Very annoying.

The college bowl games start today. Including the much-anticipated match-up of Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Tulane. Excuse my excitement.

The first couple of skin cracks at my finger tips showed up this week. That's a sure sign of Winter. I know that I've written previously here on the blog about that condition. Dryness and hand-washing are the contributing combination. Just like washing the cows' udders back on the farm. And putting on the lotion helps, but then makes the screens of the iPad and iPhone messy too.

This is an important day. The Winter Solstice. So after today, we begin the long climb to longer days. Really a good Glad Game factoid for anyone with a half-full glass today. I don't get the math of the angle of the dangle, but I really like the turning of the slope to the lengthier day. Heck, @bcbison and I will be out for the early morning ride in no time!



Speaking of the half-full glass, here is a wine-drinker's spin on the old half-full, half-empty discussion point. A friend emailed this to me this week, and I had read the message initially on my phone, and the graphic was not displayed. I like the thought.



@srh4 made it to NYC yesterday. Another fairly no-hassle trip. Good luck on that visit.

More here later.

BCOT

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Friday

Happy Birthday to 1.02!!!


You are Grandson of the Day!!!

BCOT

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday

Living up to predictions, December has just blasted through the calendar.  There has to be some equation that can prove that the faster the time flies, the less gets done.

If you missed the business news yesterday, the Federal Reserve Board announced that they would begin the reduction in their current easy-money program as a result of better news in the general economic climate.  The markets had been anticipating this announcement, and reacted with optimism with the major averages hitting news highs by the end of yesterday's trading.  There had been a lot of angst over the last six months or so as the debate raged on whether "good news" in the economy was "bad news" for traders since the Fed would then be inclined to turn off the printing presses.

This news still doesn't help fixed-income investors much, at least in the short run.  Interest rates remain low, although the 10-year US Treasury rate is creeping closer to 3%.  This increase in that key rate had led to low total returns, even negative returns, for the folks sitting in bond funds.  And these are people who generally are looking at needing income from their investments, not growth.  So there remains a rocky road for them as the cycle inches up the rate ladder.  As an advisor, there's no easy solution to the classic conservative investor who wants a 5% return with no risk.

Speaking of the economy, I actually did a pass-through of Kohl's last night after work to do some recon for my Christmas shopping needs...several days in front of my normal schedule.  Kohl's had followed-up my regular mailing ad, where I had received a 30% off coupon, with a separate post-card restating my 30% off benefit.  My first reaction was that they must have checked on my activity and seen that I had not used the original coupon...so they sent the reminder.  But @srh4 said she had received a similar card for her measly 15% coupon, so it must have been a mass-mailing to all card holders.

Given the revelations of the last year on how merchants track customer data, I'm a bit cynical on the randomness of any of the retail solicitations.  Amazon still sends me camera ads even though its been a year since I last looked at specific equipment.  And the same for new books available by authors that I had bought earlier.


You are never below radar.

Happy Tax-Birthday to 1.02!!  You are Grandson of the Day.   This isn't the best pic, but it captures a lot of the boy in him.  Looking forward to Christmas with him next week.

Lots to do today.  I may add more later.

BCOT

Sunday

This is going to be an effort from the air on my flight from PHX to ORD and my return to Winter. Interestingly, and I may have had this figured out on a previous flight, the keyboard to the iPad doesn't seem to work in the air...I'm thinking that the wireless connection is blocked while airborne. The biggest challenge is the absence of the arrow keys. We'll see how it goes.

Golf on Saturday was at a desert course that we played a few years ago. Quite a ways North out of Scottsdale in a designed residential community. It was slow going again, but I was paired-up with a decent guy and it was a pretty good experience. My back definitely got tired on the back nine and I picked-up on a couple of holes. Coors Light helped. I really need to get some consistent core work done before the boys golf trip a month from today.

(In addition to the green's fees being below average, prices for on-course beer and snacks were in the reasonable category at both courses that I played this weekend...I think $5 for maybe 14 ounce cans (they were definitely larger than 12 ounces). $6 for a hot-dog platter. At Grayhawk next month, the beers will be at least $8 and the dogs $10. It's all about course location and reputation. It's not that these places were inferior, they're just not the "destination" tracks that allow for premium-pricing. Given the time and opportunity next year, I'd consider playing both of these spots again.)

I stepped in a partially hidden sprinkler-head hole yesterday on the 14th or 15th hole and twisted my right ankle enough that it put me to the ground for a minute. It still hurts. Could have been worse, but still, it reminded me of my checkered history with ankle injuries. Do they still tape athletes' ankles before games? In high school basketball, I ended up getting taped every day, even for light practices. Later on, I tried doing it myself for pick-up b-ball at ND and in the USAF. And I still ended up with time in casts.

Daddy had bad ankles too. As does 1. Given that three-generation track record, I'd say that 1.01 and 1.02 had better get to know the training staff from the get-go. Just sayin'.

The Hertz experience this time was worthy of my paid-for executive treatment. My name was on the board Thursday night for Gold Card members at pick-up (as it should have been). The car itself was a bit pedestrian (a Chevy Impala), but it had some ummph, and was a good ride. Departure from the garage was a snap. Same with check-in this AM. And my receipt had hit my email before I arrived at my gate.

I'm guessing that car-tracking devices are getting better, but there were THREE visible electronic boxes on the front dashboard or window of this car. Pretty sure that I was never below radar on this trip. Do you suppose that they now have video in the car?

And here's another electronic progression that I guess I've noticed before: the flight attendants take only credit cards for the alcoholic drinks. They have those small "swiping" smart-phone units and the deed is done. #inventorycontrol. #cashcontrol. Just like bars and restaurants, management needs to limit possible losses attributable to lax employees. (I'm sure that there remains plenty of opportunity for theft of goods between the time it hits the airport and actually gets to a plane. Reality 101.)

Moving on...I see where Major League Baseball has proposed a rule change to prohibit certain collisions at home plate. Hmmm. Not sure where I fall on this one. I can certainly see some rules of this order in amateur ball, but in the pro's? Yes, there have been some unfortunately injuries to catchers...think Ray Fosse and Buster Posey...but geez, it's baseball, for cryin' out loud!! If the catcher has the plate blocked, what's the runner to do, stand up and give up the out?

And this is a little old come the news cycle, but I was not unhappy to see the three managers, Torre, Cox and LaRussa all get named to baseball's HOF. All were imperfect, but who in the Hall isn't? If Glavine and Maddox are also elected for this year's class (as they rightfully should be), the induction ceremony in Cooperstown will be worth the watch.

OK. Enough rattling on. I'll try to add a pic or two from C-town. Thanks for reading.

BCOT

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Saturday

Enjoying the sunshine and an Americano at a Scottsdale Starbuck's this AM. There's only a one-hour time difference between here and Iowa, but the sun is a little slower to rise, because of the curvature of the Earth, I guess, and my body clock shifts to a later morning as a result.

Yesterday was a bright, sunny day. It had to be 65+ on the course. But the sun goes down early, and the temp gets to the 40's pretty quick. Small inconveniences compared to snow and cold.

I brought my mini-digi to record my trip, but discovered that I had taken out the memory card when I went to take a really interesting shot of the checker-board, snow-covered fields upon take-off from MLI. I actually have the card in a jacket pocket...on Maplecrest. #Sometimer's. #Walmart trip.

The business side of this trip as been very successful. In addition to the meeting at the corporate offices with my American Indian client, I was able to stop in on their company Christmas party last night. And I have another client meeting this morning, followed by a visit to the job site of one of my other client's real estate project. I like it when things go according to the plan. Golf at Legend's Trail this afternoon.

Props to the 'Clones for the big win last night. I didn't see any of it, but it sounds like they blew the roof off of Hilton when Iowa missed some late shots. That's a game that almost merits a home-and-home each year.

SI has gone the Bob Costas route and is increasingly emphasizing political correctness. They continue to run multi-page articles on sad cases of gun violence in support of their gun-control position. Then in an article in this week's edition, they referred to the "Washington DC NFL team" rather than go "racist" and call them the Redskins...like they've been called for decades. I may have to cancel my subscription, not in protest of the swimsuit issue, but because of their growing penchant for PC.

If "Redskins" is an insult to Native Americans, isn't the swimsuit edition an insult to feminism? Progressives can get caught in so many inconvenient back-side inconsistencies when the arc of their belief-pendulum swings the full track.

Headed out. Will try to add some pics later.




BCOT

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thursday

Dropping down just a few lines this evening from my spot in the waiting area around Gate H-16 here at ORD. The sign says that it will be an on-time departure, but that's a lot to ask.

My biggest problem is that finding a place that doesn't have a draft of cold air...or the mindlessness of CNN News blaring away...is not an easy get. And I left my Winter coat in the BEATER at MLI.

The best tongue-in-cheek observation I saw about the fake signer at the Mandela funeral was that it could be portrayed as a modern-day Seinfeld episode. George pretends to be a for-hire signer to meet a deaf girl, and gets trapped into being chosen for the job at the funeral. It could definitely fit the Seinfeld profile.

That over-haul of the bike just went out the door. The bike shop called and said that the frame is busted...can't be repaired. I wasn't expecting that one. He did say that it may have some warranty coverage from Trek. Taking a bit of the Under on that possibility. I mean, the bike is over 10 years old! Then again, titanium is not supposed to break, right? Hmmm.

This is my first time doing a real travel deal since Europe with 2. I really kinda need her to guide me through the airports, car rentals and hotels.

Will check in come morning from Scottsdale.

BCOT





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Tuesday

Brrrrr.  We've definitely had Winter settle in the last couple of days.  The snow started just after 1st Coffee on Sunday, and eventually amounted to between 2 and 3 inches.  When the temps then went down, the snow stayed, roads got slick, and it was standard Winter conditions.  No confusion now about things "not feeling like Christmas".

For the record, my sidewalk and driveway were handled by my neighbors while I was at the office on Sunday afternoon.  I think that my across-the-street neighbor Rick tested his new snow blower attachment for his John Deere lawn tractor.  It works.  I think that PN Jim was reduced to supervisory duties.

I saw a story online yesterday that the Super Bowl in New Jersey will not allow tailgating or even the drop-off of fans by private limo.  How can it be a real football game if you can't tailgate?  Of course, people who can actually afford to go to the Super Bowl may not be your standard tailgater's, but it seems a little odd to see the way they want to sanitize the experience.  Surely it is not to protect the concessions profits inside the stadium, right?  I mean how many $10 hot dogs do they need to sell?  The public transportation pass is like $50... which may be one of the least expensive items associated with the game.  Whatever.

Actually, my guess is that part of this change, maybe most of it, is for security reasons.  Another by-product of the Boston Marathon. Then again, if the East Coast gets the weather Super Bowl week that they had in C-town last night, limited tailgating will not be much of an issue.

I'll be curious to see if Hawkeye Nation migrates to Tampa for the Outback Bowl on January 1st.  Since Iowa didn't qualify for a bowl game last year, there may be some pent-up demand in the fan-base for a January game in a warm weather destination.  This game is an upgrade from the mid-season forecast, entirely the result of those last two wins against Michigan and Nebraska.  A loss in either of those games could have sent the Hawks to Dallas.

The Irish in NYC in December?  Hmmm.  The couch seems like a good option.

2 went back to work yesterday.  Dragging that leg around all day will be a challenge, but it has to beat sitting at home.  Adjusting to limitations goes on for everyone everyday.  Good luck, Kiddo!

Iowa native Zack Johnson pulled off an improbable win Sunday against Tiger Woods in a Silly Season tournament in California.  Trailing by four shots with eight holes to play, Zack lit up the course on the back 9, most notably with holing out an 80-yard wedge shot on the 18th hole to force a play-off.  Even for Zach, take a bucket of balls, and the likelihood of making a shot like that gets in the low single digits.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDvfmXAyYKE&feature=player_embedded.  Very heady stuff for the Drake graduate.  Good for him.

I took my bike to the shop over the weekend to have a Winter tune-up.  That tune-up has turned into an "over-haul" and I fear for the fee estimate.  The shop owner had told me a week or two ago that they were going to do a promotion to encourage customers to bring in their bikes to get a full re-hab this off-season.  Mine was certainly a candidate, especially after the banging around it received from the airlines in September.  And my 10-year-new-bike schedule suggested (justified?) that I was due to spend some dinero for some upgrades.

There's been lots of improvements in the mechanics of bikes since mine was produced.  One of the interesting changes he suggested was to go from a triple crank front chain ring (granny-gear system) to a traditional double chain ring with additional gears in the rear cassette.  It creates the same gear ratios as I now have with the three rings in front, but saves having to make a shift to a third front gear.  And there will definitely be new shifters on the handlebars, a higher stem to the handlebar base to allow me to sit a little more erect, and new cables throughout.  Almost like a new bike.

(He did say that my bike frame was still near the head of the class.  Good to hear as the frame is usually the most expensive part of the bike.)

Maybe more here later.  Make it a good day in your neighborhood.

BCOT

Saturday

I decided to change the Home Page pic yesterday to bring back a little bit of the Italy/Sicily trip.  This view is from the middle of the Straits of Messina, looking back toward mainland Italy.  This was a big fav moment of mine from the trip.


Today is the anniversary of the WW II attack at Pearl Harbor.  A day that will live in infamy.

The Turkey Trot stitches are out.  I tried to get a retired doc who works at the coffee shop to pull them yesterday morning at my 1st Coffee, but she had no interest.  I was still undecided on my extraction strategy at noon when I walked across the parking lot to get some signatures from the dentists on a business matter, when I had the thought that one of them could do that while we had our meeting!  Well, we had our meeting first, but Dentist Greg and an assistant put me in a chair and snipped away!  Success in a few minutes...and no need to bother my pal Cal or go to a Doc in the Box.

The four D-I men's basketball programs in Iowa are playing a double-header tonight in Des Moines at Wells Fargo arena (the same place where my pal George Strait has appeared).  This is an effort by Iowa and Iowa State to reduce the games against Drake and UNI to one-or-the-other each year, and get those games at a neutral(?), bigger arena.  (Iowa and Iowa State have a separate game each year.)  Hy Vee throws a little money at it as the feature sponsor, and I'm sure that the Iowa Events Center tries to market it as a big deal for DM.  I'll be curious on the live gate.  It didn't sell out last year...the first year for it...but both Iowa and Iowa State have improved a lot.  Personally, sitting through two games would be a chore.

The year end awards program for NASCAR was held last night in Vegas.  JJ has won the top prize for 6 out of the last 8 years.  I'd say that that was a dominating performance...regardless of the sport.  Junior was again voted the Most Popular Driver.  I think that Jimmy's crew chief, Chad Knauss, is the secret to the 48's success.  In a sport where King Richard once said, "If ya' ain't cheatin', ya' ain't trying hard enough," Chad rides the closest to the edge of anyone in the garage.  With all the Hendrick drivers running essentially the same equipment, why is Jimmy always at the front?

Further illustrating ESPN's penchant for going over-the-top, their annual Jimmy V Week effort to promote support for cancer research, has been stretched to two weeks.  Why wouldn't they?

My pal Bill hosted a small, catered function for clients here at the office last evening from 3 - 7.  Kind of a combination recognition event for a long-time employee...and maybe a little holiday party as well.  In preparation for the guests, one of the "clean up" items was the retiring of the Lance Armstrong print from the lobby.  We had received enough comments over the last year about his doping admissions that a change was appropriate.  Anyone need some wall covering?  I mean, its a good, signed print in an excellent frame.  I think Roy even gave me some authenticity paperwork with the gift.

All for today.  Really nice here, but chilly.  Hope it is a good day in your neighborhood.

BCOT

Thursday

Hard to believe that we're already a week past Thanksgiving.  I need to find a Readi-Med to pull these stitches out.

This used to be the time of year when I would meet my pal Wally in Vegas for a weekend to argue about the college football bowl games.  In the mid '80's, there were only 10 or so bowls and the line-ups were pretty much determined by conference champions.  Wally and I would sit in the Sports Book at Caesar's or the Tropicana and just have day-long, friendly arguments on different games.  We'd each pick a game and a team on an alternating basis.  $5 per game was the standard bet.  I don't remember either one of us making a lot of money off the other.

In those days, Wally and I would almost always talk by phone on Saturday mornings to pick one college and one pro game for the weekend.  Again, we'd alternate choices, $5 per game, and the bets would roll over week to week. 

I vaguely remember betting sheets back in my college days that would circulate around each week.  I'm thinking that there were definitely local "bookies" who ran those sheets and most towns had an underground betting system.  I know that there were some arrests in Iowa in the late '80's when the FBI did a "sting" on some guys in the IC area who were a little too active for the Feds to ignore.  Fortunately, I never participated in the organized (illegal) schemes.  My $5 bets with Wally were all that I could afford!

Thanksgiving weekend was also a time years ago when I ventured out to LA in alternating years (3-4 times, I think) to attend the ND-USC football game that would be played that Friday or Saturday when it was USC's turn for the home game.  I never got out there when I was a student.  I know I met Wally there a couple of times, and I remember that one of the games was played in steady rain that created a flow of water down the Coliseum rows of seats.  (I remember being impressed with the sophistication of some of the tailgate parties in the parking lots...and the rundown areas around the stadium.)

For the record, Margret has been placed in Winter storage over on Century Heights.  I just checked my records, and confirmed that I bought the car in June 2002.  That was a while back.

Not much else from here.  A cold front came in over night and we had a dusting of snow.  Looks like we may have seen the last of the 50 degree days for now.  Make it a Good Thursday.

BCOT

Tuesday

I guess today marks the official end of our Thanksgiving FFF.  4 heads back to NYC in a while, meaning that we all are back to Ordinary Time.

Except 2.  She's over  there on Highland Avenue beginning her recuperation from yesterday's knee surgery.  Really an amazing progression with ACL surgery.  Mine was done in April 1989 and included a three-day stay in the hospital.  2 had surgery at 1500 yesterday afternoon, and was discharged around 1930!!  Don't let the door hit you as you leave!

No new news on my Turkey Trot mishap.  I actually think that the lingering soreness that I have is related to the running rather than the face plant.

One report has ND playing in NYC at the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.  My guess is that that would be a pretty good "get" for that bowl committee, and could result in a high gate number for game day.  The Hawks look like a Capital One Bowl participant.

Busy times here at the office.  These next three weeks will go by soooo fast.

I have a full schedule today.  More here this evening.

BCOT

Sunday

Weekend pics.

 

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Will  add an entry in the AM.

 

 

BCOT

 

 

 

 

Friday

Well. that Turkey Trot was one for the books.  It was really a nice morning.  Cool, but sunny and not much wind.  It took me a little longer than the last couple of years (ever!) to get up the Main Street hill, but I had a good second mile, a decent third mile, and a reasonable fourth mile.  (My pal Ron snapped this one of me during the second mile.)

But as I made my way through mile five, things didn't look real promising for a clocking of under an hour.  I attribute that to a late start of training this year because of the Europe trip, and a lack of a training partner.  But that head-over-heels tumble near the finish with 1.01 gave my official time as "DNF".

But when it comes to Turkey Trots to Remember, this one will always be near the top of the list.  Next year, will be another effort to meet that one-hour goal.

I spoke this AM with my pal Tim who is an owner of the timing company (The End Result) that had the contract for the race for the first time this year.  I was surprised to see them use a returnable chip for the runners, thinking that it was old technology.  He said that they still use the chips in lots of races as the disposable chips cost the races $1 per runner, and to lots of races, that's real money.

The hassle factor for his company must be the same for disposable/returnable.  I'd think that maintaining the returnables would be more of a nuisance, but he was very blasé on that argument. I guess that if your acquisition cost for the chips has already been amortized, re-using them again is a low (no?)-cost service model.

The birthday party for 1.1 and @srh4 was a success on Wednesday night. 2 made sure that we had party hats.  There was a story on who made the cake...or who had to re-make the cake...but I forget those details.

Party tonight at 2's.  Pics to follow.

BCOT

Turkey Day

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Sunday

We've had a blast of Arctic weather this weekend.  Single digits this AM.  I'm not really sure whether that constitutes "unseasonable cold" or not...but it IS cold.

It was a successful visit from my pal Jake Thursday and Friday.  We spent a lot of time with our pal Pete...quite a bit of wine and lots of replays of old stories.  I'm not sure if this pic needs any futher explanation.

I had never been to the casino/hotel that they built a couple years back on the Illinois side.  But we were looking to change things up a bit and we figured that there had to be a couple of bars in the casino.  There were, but nothing very impressive...and a limited wine list.  I wasn't expecting the casino's controlled, secure entry arrangement where each patron was required to show a picture ID.  There wasn't a sports book.  Over all, it wasn't Vegas.  We elected to just go to the bar which was walled-off from the casino.

These gals were entirely window-dressing.  There was no show/revue or anything.  They were just walking around greeting customers and posing for pics.  The bar was on their circuit.

Moving on...

Props to all of our teams for victories yesterday.  We haven't had many Saturday's when all three had success.  The Hawks' victory was especially good since they gave up a pick-six on their first offensive play of the game, and were down by two TD's at the half.  Really, they lost the turn-over battle, failed on two first-half field goal attempts, and were playing against the wind in that fourth quarter.  So they shouldn't have won.  ND had to play well to beat BYU...it sure looked cold there.  And I know it was cold in Ames.  In all cases, I was glad I was inside watching the tube rather than out in the elements.

I have photographer friend Mark lined-up for family pics this week.  Somebody needs to make a choice on the best time and place for the session.  Wednesday night?  Thursday?

Not much else from here.  I entered this from the laptop on Maplecrest and Blogger locked-up again as I was getting set to publish.  I really think that I will make the move to the other platform...for which I have already paid the first year fee.  Really tired of these techie issues.

(And I have a tech issue at the office that has been driving me nuts.  The new data software that I bought last week is just fine.  But it "Saves" on an Adobe protocol.  Our LAN is programmed to use another pdf package for the SAVE function, and that is overriding the new program.  So I'm now printing from the new software, and then scanning those printed copies to create an electronic file that I can transmit through the computer.  Can you say, "Dumbing down?")

Looking forward to FFF.  Travel safe.

BCOT

Thursday

Day II of Chinese Water Torture. (Sorry. I know that that has to be a racist reference.)

That experience at the wine shop last night was totally unexpected. I had gone in to pick up a mixed-case for 2 as a contribution to her Festival of Trees party this coming weekend. (She's the chair of one of the opening parties and they're having a raffle on a selection of wines and liquor.) So I just went to my normal area in the store for mid-range Cabernet's and started pulling bottles. And that was when I noticed that the posted price for our fam's wine currency was just $9.99!!

I pulled three of the J Lohr's for the case, and that price allowed me add three bottles of $25 wines and keep my average price below $20 for the case.




(My pal Pete split the case with me.) I'm not a big fan of FOT, but props to 2 for giving up her time to support the program.

It was then a matter of math to conclude that adding a case of JL to the Maplecrest inventory was a no-brainer. With Freakshow also down to $16.99, and with 1's request for that at Thanksgiving, I leapt off the curb and went all in for the third case. It reminded me of my experience at the Total Wine store in Reno when we stocked-up for 07282012. Very cool.


After the wine shopping, 2 and I met up at the restaurant Crust (on 53rd Street across from The Red Crow). They have a 1/2 price deal on bottled-wine on Wednesday nights. The place was packed, but we scored a couple of chairs at the end of the bar. They were out of the Jack London Cab, so I went for the Jordan. Of course, I misread the price on the wine list...it sure looked like $57 to me...$28.50 being a good deal. The 5 was actually an 8. Whatever.



I love my experiences at Geneva on Wednesday nights. But try out this math: It takes me around 40 minutes to get there (and the same coming back, of course.) The Jack London price in Muskie is $65 (after my outrage when they tried it at $85 this Spring). OR...I can go to Crust...taking approximately 4 minutes (again, both ways!)...and pay $23 for the same bottle of Jack London!! The Geneva Club Manager still thinks he's selling the JL too cheap. (My pal Roy says that the answer is to just use his wine stock and pay the corking fee rather than to pay the club rates. It's a possibility.)

I've run into a lot of acquaintances at this conference over the last couple of days. When you've been working in the same community for 33+ years, you've met a lot of people. Interestingly, this group (150 or so) is not very young, collectively. Not sure what that means. Then again, I reiterate my position: if I was a younger man, I would definitely be looking at a career change; I have no interest in being a professional enforcer for the Affordable Health Care Act.

My pal Jake's Pants is coming into town this evening for a couple of nights. Ostensibly to get his returns handled. Hmmm. I'm sure we'll talk a little bit about taxes. In between other topics.

Wrapping up here at the Seminar From Hell. Thanks for reading.

BCOT

(For the record, this entry was a combination of Blogspot on the iPad and the iPhone...AND some final editing on Blogger on the iPad.  So the paragraph breaks and picture positioning are erratic.  I can't control these things on mobile entry.  Sorry.)


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Wednesday

This is coming to you from my continuing education session over at the iWireless Center in Moline with about 150 of my other close friends. We've already had 2 hours of the Affordable Health Care Act. And now there's an IRS agent at the mic lamenting her experience at the unemployment office last month. She didn't offer up whether she double-dipped or paid anything back.

I'm still trying to resolve a software problem with a new program that I acquired last week to populate multiple forms for my securities clients. The idea is that you input client data only once, and the software can then transfer the data to the proper lines of most any of the various forms that might be required for that client. Unfortunately, there seems to be a disconnect between the "Save" function in the software, and the Adobe Acrobat software that is used to read the completed/partially completed forms. I can't express how frustrating it is to have a procedure designed for efficiency fail to launch as advertised. Stay tuned.

I think I saw a spot on the news within the last day or two that Walmart has declared this coming Friday as their "Black Friday" to officially start their Christmas shopping season. Interesting. Since Thanksgiving is so late, and the traditional Black Friday that follows thus yields a shortened shopping season, Walmart's marketer's have come up with a fairly creative solution. Now, the question is whether the public will embrace the concept. If Walmart is doing this, look for the other Big Boxes to follow. With the Holiday Season accounting for a huge percentage of most retailer's annual sales, and with competition so diverse, there are no rules as to what might be tried to get customers through the door. This has little impact on my Christmas Eve shopping schedule.


Davenport has a Thanksgiving parade scheduled for this Saturday. They have patterned this event after the Macy's parade with large balloon creatures as the featured "floats" in the parade. The weather forecast calls for temps in the low '20's with gusty winds. Hmmmm. Cold. Windy. Balloons. Not the best combination. I'm taking the Over that there will either be a limit on the balloon displays, or there will be an incident of some sort as the handlers deal with the weather. Again, not an item on my schedule.

Time for lunch. I may come back later.

BCOT
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Tuesday

Welcome to Tuesday.  Bright and sunny here...but cool.

I see where the business news top story this AM is actually about one of the newscasters, Maria Bartiromo, rather than the news.  That pretty much illustrates one of the biggest problems with today's media...the personalities reporting the news get elevated to positions above the actual news itself.  This gal has been with CNBC (or the NBC network) for 20 years, and appears to be cashing in with a move to FOX News.

On the other hand, NBC could be seeing this as their Albert Pujols moment, and letting Maria go to another network for a big number may actually be a net-win for them.  I think Maria's time of capturing viewers because of her looks/personality has passed, and I wouldn't be surprised if she has trouble upping the viewership of whatever time slot FOX gives her.  I think that the business news audience wants data, and a pretty face goes only so far.  We'll see.

Lots of stories out there today about President Lincoln and the Gettysburg address.  This pic is obviously a contemporary rendition of the scene at the time.  I know that I memorized the speech in my grade school days.  Can you imagine a President today doing a major speech in 3-4 minutes?  That would be remembered for 150 years?

I was surprised to learn that Mr. College Basketball, Dick Vitale, had never been to a game at Hilton Coliseum in Ames before the Michigan game on Sunday afternoon.  (Not that I am much of a Dickie V fan.)  He always has had great things to say about the 'Clones and had surely been told of the electricity that that building can generate.  Why wouldn't he have made the trip before?  Then again, Hoiberg's resurrection of the program may have been what it took to get DV's notice.  Whatever.  Great win for ISU.

The coach of Augie's basketball team was telling me the other day about the scheduling problems he runs into for his non-conference games.  Teams generally don't like to come to Rock Island to get beat-up upon, and so Augie ends up with fewer home games this time of year than they would prefer.  When you add in the travel costs as a limiting factor, stronger programs at smaller schools just have fewer choices.  Its not like D-I football where less-accomplished teams visit the bigger schools for a guaranteed payday.  (And I think I mentioned here last year that the D-III teams can't play comparable schools in the NAIA and get credit for their at-large resume for the tournament.  More NCAA bureaucracy.)

I'm giving 1.02 the designation of Grandson of the Day.  Looks like there was a meeting between him and an immovable object over the weekend!  Not to worry.  All superficial damage.  It may not be the last such incident for this little guy.    You 'da man, Kiddo!

Make it a good Tuesday in your neighborhood.

BCOT