Thursday...UPDATED

Blogger has reverted back to the limited-functionality of editing features that I ran into last month at times.  I didn't notice it when I was using the iPad from the road, but with my desktop computer, I have no mouse capability.  I'll try to spool-up the laptop tonight to see if I'm dealing with a machine-specific situation.  This is another of the 15th's of a month that I'm counting toward a total of 60...the countdown now to 44.  On the 4000 Days calendar, this is in the 2830 range, depending on leap years in the sequence.  Just saying...

This is also the Catholic Church's feast of the Assumption of Mary.  A holy day of obligation.  I hope you all made it to Mass.  My guess is that this is one of the least-technically-supported beliefs in Catholicism.  Not that that deterred the Holy Cross fathers from establishing a university in her name in South Bend.

Not to get political, but hasn't this business with the Big O mask with the clown at the Missouri rodeo got a little out of hand?  My recollection is that for years, in the list of Top Ten Halloween masks, were those of the current or previous presidents.  Tricky Dick Nixon was at the top of the charts for years.  Reagan, and Clinton and Bush were all similarly portrayed.  Heck, you could hang/burn Bush in effigy in the town square and it wouldn't even make the local news.  The President, whomever he/she is, is no King or Saint.

I'm going to publish this now, and will log back on from Maplecrest later this evening to see if I can spiff-up the presentation.  Stay tuned.

NOW LATER...

Okay, Houston, we have a problem...on my desktop.  Pretty sure that it is related to the filters and extra servers that my business email must traverse for compliance purposes; SEC, FINRA and all that stuff.  The world is safer for it.  Or at least the attorney's will have an electronic trail to travel to prove the errors of my ways.

Two years ago today, 4 and I spent our first night in the Pyrenees.  At this Old World hotel.  I'm not saying it was a dump.  But "quaint" might be generous.  Ah, the memories, eh, Kiddo?

Lastly for tonight, a thought on the long reach of technology and how it forces businesses, governments and institutions to adapt to an ever-changing environment.  2 pointed out in a discussion across the wine-table last weekend that colleges are being forced  to figure out how to acquire and retain students when the application process has been largely mechanized, homogenized and universalized.  Elementary-high school systems are trying to figure out how to engage students who just want to socially network (rather than "study").  And in my area, the IRS won't even accept paper returns in many standard situations.

Expand those, and other similarly challenging fact patterns, with questions like, "How secure is my information?"  And the landscape gets pretty scary.

Thanks for reading.  Make it a Good Friday in your neighborhood.

BCOT

BCOT 

Wednesday - Back in the 52722

The new Home Page pic was snapped on Saturday at the famous Mt. Rose lookout point above Incline Village.  Hard to find a better postcard picture, eh?

More later.

BCOT

Wednesday

Guess where this is coming from?


Based on the number of flights cancelled last night, and the number of cots strewn about the DFW terminal this morning, I had no expectation of BOTH 2 and I getting stand-by seats on the Moline flight this AM. Given the bad facts of our situation, maybe the moon and stars ARE still lined up for us as we complete this trip.

(I'm also thinking that the gate agents who worked with us last night are due credit. They did get us as positions #1 and #2 on the stand-by list for this flight. And the agent this AM only called out three names after the aircraft had been boarded with assigned-seat passengers. In my world, this experience is by far from the worst result for stranded passengers.)

The reality of air travel for me in the last couple of years or so is that there is an unfortunately high percentage of significant disruptions to my scheduled trips. Things that go beyond a delay of an hour or two. For instance:

1. Loss of most of a day on my return from the Charleston wedding a couple years back.
2. The cluster when the flight to Paris for 4 and I was cancelled. (Actually, the flight out of MLI was cancelled and we had to reconstruct an itinerary just to get to Paris. Where we sat for most of the day to catch a flight to Bilbao.)
3. My flight to PHX was cancelled just this past April. And I scrubbed the whole trip.
4. The Reno flight for 2, @srh4 and I was cancelled a couple years back and we had to go a day later.
5. The boys' golf trip MLI flight was delayed to DEN in 2011 and we had to stay the night at an airport hotel, getting to PHX in the AM.
6. The boys' golf trip MLI flight was delayed to DEN in 2012 and we spent several hours waiting for another PHX flight. That was the time we were ordering BOTTLES of wine in the airport lounge.
7.  Business trip to PHX in May 2012 with my pal Bill that had us getting late into DFW for our MLI connection.  We ended up in Chicago and had to drive home late into the night.

Gosh, that list IS a bit disturbing. And I'm sure that it is not complete. Just the ones that come immediately to mind. No wonder I have this cynical approach to my scheduled air travel. Not that I'm going to stop making trips.


I'm giving 2 the distinction as Daughter of the Day for getting past the troubles of this leg of our trip in good spirits. It was touch and go in spots, particularly at the Texas-themed bar and grill last night, but getting on this flight has made for a brighter day. Heck, this is just a trial-run for our trip to Italy/Sicily next month! NEXT MONTH!!!! You 'da girl, Kiddo!

Looks like we're in the descent to MLI. I wonder if my checked-bag made this connection as well? Maybe more later. Thanks for reading.

BCOT

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Tuesday. II

So this is being done on the flight from Sacramento to DFW. I forget: does the Bluetooth function not work here while in flight, or am I just out of juice in the keyboard? Whatever.

Wine country. I had never been to the Sonoma (or Napa) areas previously. Interesting topography, weather and commerce. I think it is fair to say that I might go back for another visit some day, but maybe not too soon. The wineries that we stopped at were all well set up for the tasting crowd. And I didn't feel that things were necessarily over-priced (except for that trendy ball cap in the shop in Healdsburg for $85!!!). But you could definitely drop some cash if you were so inclined to do so.

The trip reaffirmed that my interest in wines is drinking them rather than studying or collecting them. I like the wines that I like, and am willing to selectively branch out for new wine experiences, but for the most part, I like the wine served on Maplecrest. And buying a bottle today to drink 8-10 years from now, as suggested by the guy at Rodney Strong, just doesn't hit the sweet spot of my life's glide path.

I forgot to mention that we saw the most bike riders that I can remember seeing on a single day on the Tahoe roads Saturday as we drove off to Sonoma by way of Mt. Rose highway, King's Beach and then down to Truckee. Lots of riders going up either side of the Brockway climb. And there was an organized ride on Sunday morning in the same area as the half-marathon, with dozens of riders going the opposite way on the same rode that the runners came in on to finish. California is definitely a pro-biker state.

(Here's one small follow-up point on wine. The wine currency at the Raley's near the hotel this weekend was $10.99 if you bought six or more (mix and match being ok too), $15.99 for a single bottle. Two points: first, who's making that extra $5 when you buy that single bottle? And second, why buy a single bottle? It also reinforces my position that when the stores in Iowa consistently charge that $15.99, they are consistently making good money.)

Now posting this from the tarmac at OKC where we have been diverted. There may be a Tuesday III at this rate.

BCOT
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Tuesday

I'll be trying another entry through the mobile app that I used on the outbound trip. Can I go two-for-two?







Here are the memorial pics from yesterday. The first being at the wine tasting room at the Rodney Strong winery, and the second at the end of our evening meal in Windsor, California. We actually bailed on our third winery visit yesterday, choosing instead to consume on the property the bottle that we bought at Rodney Strong. Good decision.

Our departure from Sacramento is imminent. The screaming kids have taken their rightful places in the row immediately behind us. Why wouldn't they?

More later.

BCOT
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Monday

This comes to you from a traditional LtPC favorite spot: a hotel lobby. We're staying in a nice Hampton Inn in Sonoma wine country. We have one more day to sample the local offerings before heading back to the Real World tomorrow.
For the Facebook crowd, the girls have published some pics from the trip and our various activities. I'll add a few here as well. I've also taken a lot with my minidigi, but don't have the download capability to get those shots on the computer. Stay tuned for a later airing of those shots.























I was delighted to get in three bike rides in our all-too-short visit to Lake Tahoe. Prior to last Wednesday, I hadn't had cycling on my dance-card for this trip. But things kind of came together when I was doing my final planning, and then materialized when a friend called me out at Roy's birthday dinner Wednesday night. My pal Brian basically said to get out the pocket book and not let price stand in the way of something important to me that was there for the taking. Good advice.

One of the best parts of the biking story is that by taking my cycling gear, I had to go up to the next size in my luggage options...which was the same bag that I had used for 07282012...that included in a side-pocket the receipt for last year's bike rental...that essentially gave me a big discount for this rental contract. The moon and stars really had lined up for me.

Tip-of-the-hat to Tahoe Phil and Nana Jan. Great visit on Cristina Lane in Incline Village. #FFFTahoe2014 is the new family hashtag.

1 and 2 do get Daughter of The Day designations for their work yesterday in the Water to Wine Half Marathon in Healdsburg. 1 had a PR and 2 did several minutes better than her forecast. Way to go, ladies!! (4 brought 2 in with a nice pace for the last three miles. It was the right amount for 4 as she has that hip-pointer that has limited her training.)

The wine-tasting tour kicked off yesterday with a formal event at the Jordan Winery. The Jordan Cabernet has been a personal favorite for a long time, and the tour did not disappoint. We resisted any urge to purchase, and I'd say that we actually get better pricing back home at Hy Vee. It was interesting to note that the tour guide stated that they have only the single grade of Cabernet...that they don't stair-step up/down based on the vineyard or processing differences. Their current release is the 2009 vintage. Therefore, if you're buying a Jordan 2011 vintage at some package store, look closely at the label!!!

Healdsburg is a very nice little town and worthy of a visit. (Although, prepare yourself...it is not a direct route from anywhere!) Lots of wine rooms, restaurants and shops. For you Midwesterners, think Galena, Illinois or Stillwater, Minnesota. We sat outside for a bottle at one place, and then ate dinner at another place in their outdoor area. This may be a wine-snobby area, but I never felt like we were being "up sold" by anyone. Usually, they would try to get a feel for our budget and taste, and respond accordingly. Good stuff.

All for today. Maybe some other pics as the wine tour continues!

Make it a good week in your neighborhood.

BCOT



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Thursday

This is a new effort on my part. I'm composing this while in flight from Dallas to Sacramento, in hopes that the BlogPress program will "save" my input for subsequent publishing once we hit the deck in California. I certainly haven't subscribed to the in-flight wi-fi...which also means that the Blue Tooth keyboard is non-functional for data entry. So we'll see how this turns out in a while.

My pal Roy's 70th birthday was yesterday. The party actually started last weekend when I was on Harvest Path. I was a convenient absentee at the wine bar in LeClaire on Saturday night when they had somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 people toast the Birthday Boy. Last night, it was just a few of us at the club who shared a low-key dinner...and some VERY fine wine. Good times.

I mentioned in my last entry the new lighting that I acquired for the early bike rides. The flashing tail light has been a particularly good addition. However, this rechargeable unit needs better packaging disclosure. Mostly that the thing needs to be charged before you put it on your bike!! It only took me two days to figure out that it had a very nominal charge out of the box. Since it was dead as a door nail just a few minutes into a ride. That 9-hour charge only applies if the thing is, in fact, charged.

A more creative sales pitch on the head-lamp (which was a separate purchase) spoke of the rechargeable-ness of that item as well. But the thing is rechargeable only IF you buy, separately of course, the nickel cadmium rechargeable batteries...AND...if you also buy, separately again, the recharging unit needed to recharge the rechargeable batteries. Marketing 101 geniuses. I'll be using my stash of AA batteries for the time being.

The Augie men's basketball team is in Brazil this week. Their blog entry from O'Hare mentioned that for at least one of the players, this was his first airplane ride. That got me thinking about my first airplane experience. I'm pretty sure that it would have been a weekend, two-leg flight to my sister Rosie's wedding in Omaha in 1968...South Bend to Chicago to Omaha...and return. After that, I still didn't fly that often. A sampling:

1. Another 1968 trip...I think...ROTC flight to Philadelphia to see ND play Navy. I remember walking in some very tough parts of Philly, because my buddy and I had basically no money. Just a ticket to the game.
2. 1969...I think... Baseball Spring trip to Florida.
3. 1970...pretty sure on this...Baseball Spring trip to Texas.
4. Summer 1970...commercial to Charleston,SC for USAF boot camp.
5. Summer 1970 USAF...old, at that time even, two-seat jet fighter with instructor at boot camp. Scared to death.
6. 1970 or 1971...several flight lessons in South Bend for ROTC. Two-seat Cessna. I was never comfortable in those lessons.
7. A short flight of an hour or two around southern Iowa in a small Cessna flown by the dad of one of my high school friends. Probably 1970 or 1971.
8. Military cargo jet Dover AFB to Rammstein, Germany and return for a two-week NATO training exercise. 1972.
9. 1973. Combination of commercial, contract and military aircraft for trip to USAF assignment in Korea. Then return in 1974.
10. Not much, if anything, then until the ski trips with @srh4 from Chicago to Colorado in the 1977-78 range.

So this later-in-life travel record is quite the departure from my early experiences. My association in the mid-1980's with Wally and Jake's Pants, really influenced my need and interests in air travel. Wally was a Vegas kind of guy, he had homes and businesses in various locations, and he liked to "live a little". So we did some travel just because it seemed like the thing to do. Of course, Jake's Pants was always going somewhere to sell something, and he would drag me along.

Another influencer on my travel was the need to complete an average of 40 hours a year of continuing education for my professional licenses. The seminar and conference providers always had it figured out that a meeting in Florida or Arizona in January would bring in the people from the North. I never went on the true "boondoggles" that some fring-ish organizations sponsored on cruises or at more exotic locations, but I did figure out that if I wanted to do a trip, I could probably find a conference to justify the travel. I still keep an eye on that angle, but pretty much limit the possibilities to Scottsdale, San Antonio, and NYC.



Moving on...

The plan today is to head up to Tahoe with a hoped-for arrival there of 2PM local. If the moon and stars line up just right, I'll do a bike ride before dinner at The Commish's place. (After some counsel last night from friend's at Geneva..."Don't be rational, live your life!"...I packed my biking gear.) That decision required a checked bag and the playing of the associated game of luggage roulette, taking the chance that the bag finds its way to Sacramento on this flight. I could get in three separate rides before heading to Sonoma mid-day on Saturday. We'll see how that works out. A ride up Mt.Rose is NOT EVEN in the realm of possibilities.

Landing soon. I'm anxious to see if this effort worked.

BCOT

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Sunday

Obviously, the trip to Harvest Path trashed any efforts to add to the blog.  For any of you who actually came back here multiple times seeking new material, I have some words of wisdom:  find more things for your life!

The new Home Page pic, of the same old tree, was snapped with the Canon mindigi today while I was doing 80 on I-80 on my trip home.  I still love that tree.

Here's 1 and 1.02 just outside the coffee shop after this morning's muffin stop.  And a separate shot of 1.01.  I'm giving them the dual designations of Grand kids of the Day.  The weekend went quickly, and there really weren't any meltdowns to speak of. 

1.01 and I did 2nd Coffee without accompaniment yesterday (while 1 did her 16-mile run on the marathon training chart and 1.1 took care of 1.02 at home), and we also visited the library afterwards.  (The library has an indoor climbing maze in the lower level...at a charge of $5.50...plus $2 for socks!...Suite!...that 1.01 had to do.  Somehow, in previous visits, we just ignored the admission table.  That could be a profit-center for Woodbury!)

I may have mentioned here before, the Woodbury Dunn's is not exactly a carbon copy of the Bettendorf store, but all of the counter fixtures and equipment obviously came from the same place.  The Americano was certainly the same coffee beans.  I'd give the shop higher marks than the Starbucks or Caribou coffee shops in the same area.

One of the long, Across solutions to the Saturday NYT puzzle was Edgar Winter.  He was (is?) a musician from the 1960-70's and the clue mentioned the song, "Frankenstein".  I gotta admit, I didn't get the solution last night when I started the puzzle, but when I was at 1st Coffee this morning, the clouds parted, and I had enough letters, so that the recesses of the Lt.'s grey matter came up with Edgar Winter.  I was very proud of myself.

For some reason, when I was back on Harvest Path chatting with the Dornies around the table before venturing out for 2nd Coffee, I remarked how Edgar Winter had been in the puzzle, and that the solution had thus reminded me of one of my All Time favorite party songs, "Gimme Some Lovin".  (Go to Youtube and find it.  The song still rocks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFaT69CyyKU)

The only problem is that "Gimme Some Lovin" was sung by The Spencer Davis Group, not Edgar Winter.  I swear, the disconnect that goes on between the ears at times is hard to grasp.

(OK...I need to give props to 1 for helping me with one letter in a six-letter French word in the top corner of the puzzle.  That UST education finally came through!)

My pal Pete and I are doing the morning ride again tomorrow.  In the dark to start, for sure.  I did buy more lighting for my bike, the flashing red light for the rear that is actually one of those that you don't want to look at because it's so bright.  The bike shop is not afraid to charge for those things.  Cycling can be cheaper than golf, but when you buy new stuff, don't look at the price tag.

Three days of work this week and then Tahoe/Sonoma.  Thursday will be here in a hurry.  I'll try to get at least one more entry posted before departure.  And pics from the road.

Thanks for reading.  Make it a good week in your neighborhood.

BCOT

Wednesday

One of my objectives with this entry is to evaluate Blogger from the laptop.  That experience yesterday morning when I was finalizing the post about the fair racing was just bazaar.  When I added that pic of the midget racer, the system wouldn't free it from the cursor...it was just going wherever I drug the mouse.

No similar problems tonight.   Welcome to technology.

Toby Keith brought in an estimated crowd of 28K last night.  (They really don't have an accurate count as entry into the fairgrounds does not necessarily mean that everyone will go to the concert.)  I wonder how long it took people to exit the place.  Josh Turner tonight.

The Pope has been visiting Rio de Janeiro to celebrate World Youth Day.  This pic of the crowd on the beach is impressive.  I'm guessing that they didn't have an exact count on attendance there either. 

When Pope John Paul visited Iowa in 1979, Mother and Daddy made the trip to Living History Farms in Des Moines for the outdoor Mass that he celebrated there.  The records that I was able to access this evening suggest that the crowd was North of 300,000, perhaps close to 350,000.  Mother had a commemorative book of the Pope's visit that she kept on the coffee table for years.

The only pictures that I found that captured the size of the Iowa crowd were like this grainy aerial shot.  I know that they shut down the roads and just Interstate-parked the hundreds of buses that brought the people in from across the Midwest.

(I may have noted here years ago that the Pope was in Chicago prior to his visit to Iowa.  We called it "Pope-fest" for the crowds that gathered wherever he went in the city.  That being a play on "fest" terminology used for all of the various events that C-town hosts each year.  From my un-openable office window 24 floors up from street-level, I could hear the roar of the crowd as he stepped from the "pope-mobile" and walked into a downtown church one evening.  It was really a little surreal.)

Moving on...

For that Augie basketball trip to Rio that kicks off next week, Coach G is taking his family...wife and three sons...two now going to Drake and one still in high school.  The high school kid is doing an Eagle Scout activity on the trip...giving out T-shirts that he has collected to needy folks in areas that they will be visiting.  Hearing about the project, @srh4, my pal Bill and I all added a bag of extra tee's from our supplies to the effort.  Here, Here for this Eagle Scout!

Now off to bed to get shut-eye.  That early ride tomorrow won't be easy.  It was dark and foggy this AM.  This time of year, you get that heavy, dewy morning air.  My glasses never cleared-up on the ride.  This evening, I tried to buy a head lamp at the bike shop on Devils Glen, but the store was closed, and the clerk, who didn't know I was a friend of the owner, had no interest in re-opening his cash register.  So it will be another morning of the first 30 minutes in the pea soup.

Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Tuesday

The blog recognizes my sister Rosemary as Sister of the Day.  Happy Birthday! ( I'd highlight the designation, but either Blogger or my desktop is limiting use of the editing functions again today...very annoying.)

And today is also the one year anniversary of my retirement from biking up the high mountain roads.  Here's a reprint of the pic of my pal Pete and I atop Mt. Rose last year.  The reason he looks so cool, calm and collected is that he had time to take a nap back at the condo, get the car, and come back to the crest to pick me up!  I will NOT be making the climb from the Reno side again!

Finally, from history, my basement calendars indicate that 2 closed on her house on this date five years ago.  You've come a long way, Baby!

The Mississippi Valley Fair starts today in Davenport.  It runs through Sunday.  Toby Kieth is the grandstand feature tonight.  Country singers Josh Turner and Jake Owen headline a couple of the other nights.   I'm guessing that they'll have 20-25,000 for each of those shows.  That's a lot of folks to put into the fair grounds.  The fair sells a "Fun Card" (for like $25 when they first go on sale in the Winter, and $45 now) that gets the holder in for all of the shows.  That seems pretty cheap compared to what you pay for an arena show, but the finances must work.  They've been doing it this way for lotsa years.

Our county fair from growing-up days on the farm was in Eldon, Iowa.  The Wapello County Fair.  It was a big deal.  I'm sure that I've mentioned it here before.  It was the equivalent of our annual vacation.  4-H projects and displays.  Living in the dorm there for 4 nights.  Walking the "midway" of rides and food booths.  The grandstand events were horse racing (trotters, not thoroughbreds), a car dare-devil show (Joie Chitwood, I think), and some auto racing on Sunday. 

That auto racing was always my favorite.  Today, they would call them midgets, I think.  Was that the start of my NASCAR interest?  Daddy would usually get grandstand tickets from the sales guys who called on the County Supervisors, so we always had good seats.  The cars were loud, and they threw up sprays of dirt/mud as they slid through the corners.  Very macho!  (The guy who drove the Bardol Special... the black #2 car, Booby Grim, actually made it to the Indy 500 in later years.)

OK.  Blogger has gone nuts on me.  I can't even get it to do some basic things, like go to a paragraph, now.  I'm hitting the "publish" icon and maybe I can get some editing done later.  This is like WORK!!

Make it a Good Tuesday.

BCOT

Sunday...UPDATED

An early salute to 3 and 3.1. Happy Anniversary!!!

I'll be working on a Top Ten list of items from the wedding and the last year while I'm chasing the little white ball this morning to be added here later.

Have a great day, you guys.

BCOT


NOW LATER...

Busy day in Eastern Iowa.  I answered the bell and made my tee time for the second day of the Geneva Club tournament.  I 'd rate my back as marginally out-of -sorts tonight, but I managed the damage by swinging easier...which is almost always the way to go with golf.  My pal Ron contributed to my economic welfare again, which is really the only score that matters.

I got home early enough to slip out for 85 minutes on the bike path, do a little yard work, and entertain 2 and The W for brats from the Maplecrest Grille.  Not a bad day.

Sounds like the anniversary-ers have had a good day too, and must now be finishing up dinner in Manhattan.  I'm still amazed at the water under the bridge since 07282012.  A Top Ten list of note:

1.  Iowa game with the crew.
2.  Iowa basketball in the NIT.  Go Hawks!.
3.  Christmas on Harvest Path.
4.  My April visit to NYC...Yankee game and dinner at Rosemary's.
5.  Condo ownership!!  Kinda.
6.  Italy!
7.  All those other weddings...and bachelorette parties.
8.  NYC visits by 3 and @srh4.
9.  Easter in Iowa...loving those donuts!
10.  Concerts galore...that I cannot name.

If 3 and 3.1 put a pen to paper, this could be a very long list!  What a great year.  You are truly blest.

Here's the "News" from Maplecrest.  I've decided to go on a "cleanse" over the next couple of weeks.  Its more a lifestyle effort than one directed at health or diet.  Then again, the primary focus is my mental health, which is, I guess, health-related after all.  I've vowed to, 1) not watch commercial TV (like there's something to watch?), 2) drink no wine during the week (a little effort required there, of course), and 3) get with the core body training program that I did last Summer.  (I even have a lead on a trainer girl who I'm going to talk with this week to help get me back on the horse.)

The TV thing is going to be easy.  When 4 and I got back from Spain/France two years ago, I had been cleansed of my TV interest by those two weeks abroad.  The wine thing is more of a challenge, but staying away from alcohol may help me sleep better.  I'm curious about how my body will adjust to a less-vino intake regimen.  And I know for a fact that my back will be better with those exercises.

Combine these things with some clarity that has formed with regard to a couple of major office-related changes, and the next 60 days will be very interesting.  I was telling 2 over supper that we have just 50 days until we depart for Italia.  That time will go in a heartbeat.  I have so much to do!

So this is a little disjointed.  I'm extremely happy for the NYC-ers.  Now the challenge is to make Year 2 even better.  Go for It!

Thanks for reading.  Have a good week in your neighborhood.

BCOT



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Saturday

I changed the Home Page pic to recognize some RAGBRAI scenery.  This is a new shot of the same overlook that may have been here previously...North and East, just this side of McCausland.  It looks like a RAGBRAI hill.  (It actually is on the Sunday route home on TOMRV..which I no longer do.  But I do a circuit to McCausland on the weekends when I'm looking for around 30 miles with some hills.  This is a good one.)

Just thought I would offer up this photo-op of me with my pals Cal and Ron on the first tee this morning.  It was cool and windy all day on the course...the jackets never came off.  Our golf games were nothing to write home about...not to discuss on the blog.  Good friends.

Congrats to 2 for getting her training run in this morning by doing the Bix 7.

And Happy Tax Birthday to 3 and 3.1.

I'll be back here tomorrow with the latest news.  And probably a rehash of some old stuff as well.

BCOT

Friday...UPDATED

Just a little something here for the Peanut Gallery as we head into the weekend.

I was actually going to do this entry last night from the Figge Art Museum while attending that function that 2 participated in, giving her six-minute slide travelogue presentation on her favorite Views of Paris.  I know, being on the computer at an event like that is poor etiquettet. But I figured that we would be in the second-floor auditorium with stadium seating and dimmed lighting, and my separate little ministrations wouldn't be all that apparent.  It didn't work out that way.  So no blog last night.

The Figge must have some NSA technology on site as my Internet service on my iPad was extremely slow and limited.  I tried my own Verizon service as well as the Guest WiFi offered by the museum.  Trying to upload a pic to Twitter from an iPhone was blocked.  And just trying to email a pic to Gmail or Yahoo was like dial-up access.  Interesting.  I felt like I was in China or one of the places where the government limits your surfing activities.

This has been RAGBRAI week in Iowa.  They over-night tonight in Fairfield, and finish tomorrow in Ft. Madison.  I volunteered to be a driver for my pals Ron and Pete for Thursday and Friday, but the schedules just didn't work.  I guess Lance was on the ride for a couple of days earlier this week.  He had a comment in the paper that he felt well-treated by the crowds and that it was good to return to Iowa.  Again, not a big fan of Lance.  But I think that its okay that he rides with the commoners who comprise RAGBRAI.  I think that his charitable work is praise-worthy.

If its RAGBRAI week, then it must also be Bix weekend here in Davenport.  In addition to the seven-mile run on Saturday morning, they do a kid run tonight (I think), and they had a variety of divisions last night for the Race up Brady Street Hill.  Girls. Boys. Open.  Senior.  Relays.  It all looked way too hard from my couch.  (I mostly walk up Main Street Hill in the Turkey Trot.)  The food vendors and craft people were setting up last night when we were at the museum.  I'll be avoiding the crowds this weekend.  (For many years, my pal Pete would do several days of RAGBRAI, and then get back Friday night so that he could do the Bix run on Saturday. Why?)

Margret is in the shop today for an oil change and other routine maintenance.  There's a piece of chrome that I've asked them to stick back on the passenger-side running board.  (A small indiscretion by moi last year while pulling away from a banking drive-up station.)  I think its been almost two years since her last visit...and less than 1000 miles.  Over/Under on the bill?  $125.  Taking the Over.  (See UPDATE below.)

Finally, anniversary alert for 3 and 3.1.  One year on Sunday.  Where did the time go?

All for now.  Hope it is a good weekend in your neighborhood.

BCOT

UPDATE...So I only missed the Over on the Margret maintenance fee by about $100!!!  They charged only for the oil change, nothing for the lube, fluids top-off...nor for the body shop guy to come over and reattach the chrome molding below the passenger door.  $32.73.  Stopping to buy a lottery ticket on the way home.  I think that they got a kick out of seeing a well-maintained classic car and wanted to do their part to keep 'er on the road.  Suite deal!

I forgot to note earlier that I did get out on an early ride this AM, not only in the dark, but also in the rain.  (Not having the sun up until nearly 0600 is a true bummer.)  It wouldn't have happened if it was also cold, but such was not the case.  Actually doing a ride like that says volumes about how far I have come from the pneumonia bottoms.  And I plan to get out in the morning before heading down for golf in Muskie.  Loving my healthier self!

Wednesday

I had this plan to get a post up yesterday, and some Freakshow Cabernet got in the way.  This bottle has become my current "go to" selection for everyday driveway use.  Mostly because the Hy Vee wine department has a nice special on it...and its a decent wine.  It runs a little higher than the J Lohr, but with the special price and case discount, I think I've been paying around $15.  The unique label is a bit of a conversation piece as well.

This Ryan Braun thing in MLB sounds like a player without much going on in the cranium.  It makes you wonder if these guys have any conception that being caught is even a possibility.  I'm assuming that the guy has some natural talent.  The economics of a failed drug test have to be in the high eight-figure range for him.  I don't get the logic.

Speaking of idiots, Anthony Weiner.  What more can I say?  If he stays in the race, and is elected, the residents of NYC will have proof positive that they have lost all contact with reality.

The CIC is flying to Moline International Airport today, then ground-transporting to Galesburg, an Illinois county-seat town just South of the Quad Cities.  Following up on his transformational, inspirational speech on race relations last week (as judged by the non-partisan network journalists), the seas are due to part following this presentation of his new vision on an economic plan for improving the lot of the 99%.  I guess.  What office is he running for now?

(I think "Playing in an American Legion baseball game in Galesburg" is my correct answer to the question, "Where were you when they landed a man on the moon?")

I saw a story on line this week where Maria Bartiromo, a fairly high-profile CNBC business anchor, is perhaps looking to make a change later this year at the end of her current contract.  I'm not a huge fan of hers, but she's OK, not overly annoying.  But she has reached the status where she can become part of the news herself, not just a reporter of the news.

Hosts and anchors tend to get into this cross-over area after having had ratings success.  You see it in all media segments.  Dan Patrick was an ESPN Sportscenter anchor.  Now he's The Dan Patrick Show, columnist and self-determined high-priest of sports news...and extremely annoying.  (Jim Cramer is the ultimate annoying business anchor.  I mute him or turn the channel before he speaks.)

The story on Maria Bartiromo suggested that CNBC overall ratings were declining and that she wanted off a sinking ship.  Network business news has to be an illusive thing to maintain success in, given from the start that it is cable, not a broadcast production.  Then you have an even narrower audience from the get-go.  I mean, its not The Kardashian's, so you don't pick up the casual viewer.  I wonder if Maria will find her way to FOX?

Beautiful day here.  Make it a Good Wednesday in your world.

BCOT

Sunday

I've never been a big fan of Michelson's, but give the guy his props: with the field wilting around him (Tiger and the flora included), Phil reached up for the brass ring, grabbed a firm hold, and put his name on the Claret Jug with a brilliant final round 66 at Muirfield.  He was the only guy to finish under par for the tournament...on a course that had the best golfers in the world muttering unmentionables after almost every shot.  Here, Here to Phil.

I finally washed Margret yesterday for the first time this year.  She still spiffs up pretty nice.  The next step is to get her into the dealership this week for routine maintenance.  There's a guy at the place in Bettendorf who's been around forever who I've been using for this work the last couple of years.  (The older guys down at the car repair place in West Davenport both retired...and the son doesn't do his best work on cars twice as old as himself.)

The original Margret was not all that reliable.  Daddy bought her for me going into my senior year at ND.  I had signed up for the USAF, received ROTC scholarship money for junior and senior year, worked the farm in the summers, and I think the folks thought I had earned the car.  That and I probably was relentlessly arguing for my own wheels.  I had no say on the car that Daddy ultimately bought for me.  

At the time, 1970, she would have been less than half as old as the Beater is today.  Things went reasonably well in the Fall, but I think that her alternator/generator failed on a weekend trip back to Iowa, and my buddies and I spent a night someplace South of Chicago while it was repaired.  That fix didn't work long.  I had no money, so the car sat for 2-3 months until I could buy new parts.

We must have done some work on the car after senior year because I did several long drives after I entered active duty.  I drove to Witchita Falls, Texas for my initial base of duty (three months of training), and I had at least one round trip back to Iowa that summer for a wedding in Iowa City.  Then I eventually got to Dover, Delaware in the Fall...and I know that I was back to ND for at least two games that year.  (There may have been a St. Mary's girl involved with that scheduling.)  I have no recollection of any car trouble on any of those trips. 

(I really haven't had huge problems with the new Margret, but that said, I won't take her any further than the other side of the river for half-price bottles at the Chop House in Moline on Friday nights.)

The original Margret was traded-in on that hot little two-seat Datsun 240Z in the late Fall of 1971.  Surprisingly...maybe...I never thought about it until now...but...on an historical basis...I always had a great deal of affection and positive memories from the Datsun...but not so much from the original Margret.  Now, I can say without reservation that the new Margret is the most enjoyable car I have ever owned.  And the Datsun is just another line-item in my history book.  Kind of funny how the road twists and turns through the years.

Not much else to add for Sunday.  Make it a good week in your neighborhood.

BCOT

Saturday

So we're giving Daughter and Son-in-Law of the Day to 1 and 1.1. Happy 6th anniversary!! Many good things have happened since that great day in St. Paul. Congratulations!!

And congrats to 1 for getting through her literature class. Always nice
to get a good report card, eh Kiddo?

The ride up to DeWitt today was imperfect, but not by far. The outward bound leg had just a tad of northerly breeze, but not awful. (There was no @bcbison pulling me...he was doing a 100-miler today.) Great breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe. Then there was a discernible tail wind on the return trip. 48+ miles was enough. It gave me 100+ for a week for the first time this Summer.

The British Open golf tournament is played on "links" courses that are not very similar to the tracks that we play here in the US. The courses do not have sophisticated watering systems, and it looks like they're playing in mowed grazing fields. Fields that are bone-hard. Balls will roll forever. One guy had a drive of over 400 yards yesterday! And they have these deep, sod-walled bunkers that you might have to chip out away from the hole. They say that this is "real" golf. Hmmm. I'm OK with the Americanized version.

And the TdF wraps up tomorrow with the guy who has been in the lead for the last two weeks taking the yellow jersey. These last three days in the Alps have been as hard as any I can remember. I'm sure that they have had equally tough stretches, but it's been relentless hill-climbing. I'm betting that the peloton is ready for Paris.

Froma Harrop, a liberal-speak independent national columnist who is published regularly in the local fish-wrap, had a piece this week taking a swipe at the weekend cyclists in Central Park, and some sharp criticism of the bike-share program recently started in the Big Apple. Seems she feels like the denizens of the city ought to act more refined and respectful of the great thinkers strolling along the streets of NYC. Cry me a freakin' river, Miss Priss!

Anybody who thinks The Big O's broadly published and extolled remarks on the outcome of the Zimmerman trial were anything but pandering to his political base has sipped way too much Kool-Aid. As his former Chief of Staff publicly stated, "Let no tragedy go to waste."

My pal Roy left this AM for a week in Hawaii. One of his car dealerships won an award from Toyota, and they present the recognition to him and other similarly honored dealers at a boondoggle in Hawaii. The auto industry is famous for giving out trips to dealers, salesmen, and service personnel for performance. Those trips are usually looked upon as big items, particularly to the lower-ranked employees who might qualify, since that's a trip they might not otherwise make. And the trips probably aren't that expensive for the factory to fund given the discounts they likely negotiate with the travel industry. Yeah, I know...Roy needs a trip to Hawaii.

On that topic of funding...and the auto industry...how long will it take for the White House to find a way to ease the pain in Detroit?

All for now. Again...Congrats to 1 and 1.1. Make it a great day.

BCOT
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Thursday

This is an "epic" day on the TdF.  Truly.  I guess as part of the 100 year anniversary they needed to do something special, so they have the peloton going up probably the most noted climb in France, le Alpe d' Huez...TWICE!  And the descent after the first trip up is on a narrow road that looks like the equivalent of a bike path.  I'm betting that the riders are all rolling their eyes at the choices by the race organizers for this route.  And they still have two more days in the Alps.  The overall winner will certainly earn the Yellow Jersey this year.

2 is on a business trip to C-town for the next couple of days...so The Winniferous is taking up residence on Maplecrest.  With it being so hot out, we'll be spending most of our time inside.

I've gotta send out props to Vision For Less again.  One of my glass frames broke again over the weekend...the ear piece coming off frame containing the lenses.  This has happened, I think twice, in the last few months.  And they replaced the frame again, at no cost, even though I was a few days out of warranty.  I think that there's a technical flaw in the design of these frames, but I'll wear this set till they break again, and then find something a little more sturdy.

Just to throw it out there, we're just a couple of days away from the anniversary of 1 and 1.1's wedding up in the Twin Cities.  Among my memories, the fact that I had a serious bike accident the weekend before the wedding that left my right thumb with a detached ligament (which was repaired in subsequent surgery). 

I'll add more here this evening from the couch.  Stay cool in the meantime!

BCOT

Wednesday

So I missed the All Star game telecast last night.  The media stories today seemed to give it favorable reviews.  Mariano Rivera, the Yankee reliever who was given the game's MVP award, has been a class act for a long time.  He gets the MVP award for throwing 16 pitches in a three-up, three-down appearance in the eight inning.  Basically, a lifetime achievement award.  He will be in the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.  No quarrel from LtPC on that one.

Hard to believe with so much rain here this Spring and early Summer, but we're kinda dry right now.  The parking portion of my front yard (the grass between the sidewalk and the street) is showing some brown-ness, and I see splotches of browning grass off the fairways at the Duck Creek and Palmer Hills golf courses that I pass daily on my way to the office.  The field crops are not showing stress at this point, but they'll need rain within the next week or two.  Feast and famine.

The red-winged blackbirds are in attack-mode again on our country cycling roads.  It must be nesting season.  I've been dive-bombed each of the last two days by the same bird on Forest Grove road at 0530. This is a new spot for the attacks from prior years.  It seems like a single biker is the prime target.  For whatever reason, they don't go after us when @bcbison and I are together.  Don't fool with Mother Nature.

(It looks like I have a fully functional Blogger program today.  No clue on the correction that seems to have occurred.)

My favorite "hot days of Summer" drink is a rum/lemonade icy. 

Today is definitely a day for an icy.  (I seem to recall telling the story here on the blog from our Chicago days when the rum/lemonade icy was the drink of choice when we packed for Wrigley.  Can you believe that in the late '70's they allowed you to take your own coolers into the stadium?  With a couple of cans of beer also in the cooler?  Heck, today, you can't even carry an open beer on the street around the ballpark.)

All for now.  Stay cool and hydrated!

BCOT

Monday

Still haven't got the entry issues with Blogger resolved.  I'm going to have a discussion with our IT contractor to see if they might be able to help with the situation.  There's no notices on the web to suggest that it is a Blogger-wide problem.  This is really annoying.

(I was  watching the end of the John Deere Classis as I started this entry late yesterday afternoon.  Zack Johnson bogeyed the last hole to let in two other guys for a play-off.  Turns out that they played five extra holes before the young kid came out on top.  Winning a PGA Tour event is just really hard to do...especially if your name isn't Tiger or Phil). 

Home run BBQ on Maplecrest Saturday night.  Steaks.  Veggies.  Wine.  Outstanding weather.

The TdF went up Mt. Ventoux Sunday, and the overall race leader took the stage win as well.  Pretty evident that he is the class of the field this year.  (For the record, I have absolutely no interest in trying to go up Ventoux.  I'm over that "gotta climb that hill" phase.) 

Geneva Country Club became a Muscatine destination Saturday...but not so much so for Club members.  They hosted an outing for a local wildlife conservation group on the course in the AM, closing the course to members until 1:30.  On a Saturday.  In July.  Then they had a wedding reception/dinner that took up both levels of the clubhouse beginning at 5:00.  So you could play golf in the afternoon, but couldn't even get a soda on the property.

Clubs do these things to make money.  I get that.  Doesn't mean that I have to like it.  (Turns out that my old club in Davenport was closed to members on Saturday morning as well in order to host an outing for Deere executives in town for the tournament.  I'm betting that that wasn't a cheap rental for Deere.)

Does July 15th mark the Middle of Summer?  I can tell that we're definitely losing early sun in the mornings, but just looking at the calendar, if you count June 1st and September 1st as the general demarcation points for Summer, we're now heading down hill.  With many of the schools now starting their academic years in August, students and teachers are already on countdowns to the first day of school.  Ouch!

MLB takes its mid-Summer break with the All-Star game tomorrow night at Citi Field in New York.  I think that there was a time when being chosen to the All Star squad was a real accomplishment.  With fan voting, you end up with more of a beauty contest, I think.  Plus, I really don't follow the game that much anymore, so there are dozens of players who will be in the game that I don't recognize. 

MLB, like all pro sports leagues, has struggled in making their All Star game relevant.  They had that tie a few years ago when the game went into extra innings and they ran out of players.  Ran out of players!!??  Whatever.  Now they give the home field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the All Star game.  That's no small item, but I'm betting that in July, the players at Citi Field will be saying, "Home field in October?  Meh.  What's on the post game buffet?"

All right.  Now headed to the piles on my desk.  Hope it's a good week in your neighborhood.

BCOT