Sunday AM

53rd Street SB's. Quiet. Big difference from the gathering yesterday morning at the Duck Creek store where my pal Roy hosted his now, designated-by-me, coffee entourage. The entourage has taken on a life of it's own.

I started to watch the pro football game last night in which the Patriots were attempting to complete an undefeated season. This was the game that the NFL Network had originally been scheduled to broadcast only on it's limited cable feed, and that had then been opened-up to the regular networks due to it's "historic" (to whom?) importance. I fell asleep before halftime.

Football may be the only major pro sport where an undefeated season is truly possible. There are just too many games in baseball, basketball, and hockey for a team to not to lose. Anything over 100 (out of 162) wins in baseball, 60 (out of 82) wins in basketball, and who knows (?) in hockey, are considered great seasons.

Individual pro sports also have few undefeated examples. Rocky Marciano in boxing. Others? Maybe some bowlers, archers (Robin Hood comes to mind), or runners? Seems like everyone loses. Tiger. Michael. Federer. That must be why culture gets so fascinated with the undefeated season, whatever the endeavor.

College, high school, and other amateur teams go undefeated fairly often in various sports. Talent allocations can be more easily skewed at these lower levels of sport, and competition is often un-even. Not all sports have true elimination tournaments (NCAA D-I football, i.e.), and not all teams or players may necessarily appear in all events. None the less, any undefeated season in any sport at any level is an accomplishment that will stay with the competitor for his/her lifetime.

Switching gears.

I feel somewhat vindicated from one of the Q & A's in this morning's Parade magazine. The question was as to why the female characters on the various CSI shows consistently wear such low-cut tops. Not that I have in anyway found the the fashion offensive, but it has often occurred to me that the revealing attire wouldn't normally be considered work-appropriate. The response in Parade made sense: wardrobe is decided by the shows' producers who follow the Hollywood mantra, "the deeper the cleavage, the higher the ratings." Another mystery solved.

Lots of local and national stories this weekend on the "Best" and "Worst" of 2007. Movies, music, sports, entertainment and the like. Here's my shot at the fam's Best of 2007:

1. 1 and 1.1's wedding weekend.
2. 3's college graduation.
3. 3's starting her career in C-town.
4. 4's Summer in Spain.
5. 2's half's in St. Louis and QC.
6. My successful Turkey Trot with 2.
7. 4's 21st B-day.
8. 1's first sub-4, and 1.1's first.
9. 2, 3,and 4's FFF in Europe.
10. Tuscan red with all.

Here are some "Best's"that are a bit more personal:

1. Augie b-ball games.
2. The re-model of my bathroom.
3. The Saturday TOMRV ride to Galena.
4. The laptop and a mobile 4000 Days.
5. Friday nights at Biaggi's.
6. Crow Valley golf tournament with Roy.
7. SB's coffee at multiple local sites.
8. QC Criterium sponsored by my company.
9. Successful, safe trips to KC, TC's, PHX, C-town, and others.
10. Contact from old ND friends Mary and Bill.

Those contacts from Mary and Bill came separately, and totally out of the blue. I think I wrote here about them at the times that they appeared. Good friends can last a lifetime.

Ok. I've just set a personal record of time in a SB's at a single sitting. They haven't asked me to leave, but they are looking at me funny.

Have a great day.

BCOT

Saturday

No good excuse for the last couple of days. Just a continuation of the irregularities of the season.

We had the biggest snow of the season yesterday. I'm guessing that the official total was in the 6-8" range. I had to use my snow blower to make my driveway passable. Looks like most of it will be staying with us for a while as the forecast has cool temperatures through most of next week.

About the only news in Iowa these days is politics. It would be hard to describe that topic as interesting. At this point, it's the equivalent of a five day weekend in Vegas: no ground has not been covered, and everybody's tired of everybody.

The college football bowl season is in full swing. Rah-rah for the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte! Wish I were there. Not! The college presidents must be looking at themselves in trick mirrors to defend a position that a playoff system wouldn't work because of academic integrity. The rationale behind everything is spelled M-O-N-E-Y. If they have a Golden Goose in the NCAA b-ball tourney, why wouldn't they work to make a clone in a f-ball playoff? Some argue that the Rose Bowl and the Rose Parade are the primary impediments to making a move to a new system.

I am so disinterested in the bowl season that I haven't even gone to Wikipedia to investigate the facts. And I go to Wikipedia to look up information on some of the most obscure topics on earth.

The latest news on my laptop is that the mystery of the out-of-service cordless-mouse has been solved. Our IT guy was through the office this week and, just as he was leaving, I remembered to ask him about my mouse problem. His first question was, "Did you try the reset button?" Since I didn't even know that the thing had a reset button, it was an easy answer. And I had actually looked for something like a switch on the underside of the thing, but hadn't detected anything. Sure enough. There's a little recessed dot, the size of a ballpoint pen point on the bottom. Hit that with a pen point, and waallah! A functioning mouse. I am an idiot.

This is the weekend of the annual office clean-out. Files that haven't moved in months go to the cabinets. Unread "Read" piles go to the recycling bin. Miscellaneous "junk" goes to the dumpster. This is just like any other New Year's Resolution program, whether it be for weight, personal enrichment, or fitness. I hope I do better than my "No Pile Left Behind" program of last year.

There was a story in the local paper this morning about the Inventory Reduction Sale going on with the big NASCAR teams. The older style of cars will not be used in 2008 as The Car of Tomorrow (COT) will be the only car run in the new season. The big teams have dozens of the older cars that have essentially become obsolete. $50K (or less) can get you a real hotrod. I told my Pal Roy that we ought to keep our eyes open for the right deal.

I was going to do a top ten list of New Year's Eve stories, but with no serious additions to the list since my 25th birthday, it's a fruitless effort. This year will be more of the same.

Included in my traditional gifts to the girls were several of the current weekly Hollywood trash magazines. In the course of my afternoon ennui on Christmas Day, I paged through two or three of them and was amazed at how few names and pictures of the "stars" that I recognized. There are now probably at least two generations of starlets and hunks to which I am totally oblivious. (The girls' near-naked pictures not with-standing.) When you watch mostly sports shows on the tube, don't go to movies, don't have an ear for anything approaching modern music, and stay close to ESPN and MarketWatch on the Internet, you don't keep much contact with the current "in" set.

So tomorrow will be a SB's morning. See you then.

Have a great weekend.

BCOT

Wednesday PM

I had great expectations of doing an entry while while-ing-away Christmas afternoon. It just didn't happen. 2 and I finally went for a long walk before dark, but that was about the extent of our productivity. But it was a good day, none the less.

When I met up with 1, 1.1 and 3 for some adult beverages on Sunday afternoon at Chili's after their workouts at Gold's, there was a small debate as to whether the laptop was having a negative impact on blog quantity. I admit that my entries over the last couple of weeks have been below standard, but I attribute that result to the season rather than the new technology. With so many irons in the fire with work and Holiday commitments, it's been hard to get any rhythm with the blog. My guess is that that condition will continue for another 10 days.

I vaguely remember 3 stealing Mom's dinner at the hospital after 4 was born. Hard to believe that the entire crew has now reached legal age. A lot of water has passed under the bridge of my own life in that time span. A rough time here and there. But very few things worthy of change.

The first couple of glitches came up on the laptop over the weekend. The wireless mouse seems to have died. Even with a fresh battery properly installed. And my IT guy had not initially installed Adobe for reading PDF files. When I tried to download it myself, I couldn't find where I had it saved. For all I know, I have a web-cam now activated on my machine streaming video of my sorry life to the Internet.

The NFL has caved and is allowing broadcast of the Patriots-Giants game this Saturday night on the broadcast networks, not just it's own NFL network. If it were a lesser game, there would have been little outcry. I still can't see where they'll give in on the longer term issue. This was just a public relations decision because of national interest in the game.

The Bull's fired Scott Skiles after about a quarter of the season. The team has been the biggest disappointment in the league this year. This is a case of where you can't fire a team, so the coach has to go. In my opinion, the GM now has license to trade some supposedly "un-touchable" players, although it could be argued that the team's poor performance is because no such moves were made previously. They still need inside scoring.

I heard an Old Wive's tale today that you don't give knife sets as gifts because it's bad luck? I really like the set I received from 3. If I have any problems this week, I'll have to check out my Old Wive's Almanac.

Anybody notice the passing of the Winter Solstice last week? The day's already seem longer. Not!

I made a miscalculation on SB's hours yesterday. The local stores were actually open from 8-3. I had somehow recorded that in my mental computer as "opening" at 3. So I had Shell gas station coffee yesterday. SB's shouldn't worry too much about losing many customers to that brand.

We had basically no time to catch our breath from "Christmas" shopping to launch head-long into "post-Christmas" shopping. I understand that December 26th is second only to the Friday after Thanksgiving as the busiest shopping day of the year. I know the Target lot was packed at 7:30 this morning as I drove by after coffee. If cars-in-the-lot is any indication, the deals at Target must have surpassed those available at Kohl's. What's next, New Year's Day final write-downs? This all smacks of old-fashioned bartering on the streets of Tijuana.

So I'm trying to feed the masses of my readers a little literary fodder here. But that's it for today.

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Wednesday

Great Christmas here. More later.

BCOT

Monday

Happy Birthday to 4! She is Daughter of the Day.

We did our usual Chunky Cheese and a movie. I Am Legend was less than one for the fam.

Quiet day at the office. A small Santa rally on Wall Street. My pal Roy stopped in and gave me a couple of books as my gift. I still owe him. Not an easy guy to shop for. After lunch, 3 met me and helped me do a little shopping. She seems to have inherited my procrastination gene.

For those early risers on the 25th, Merry Christmas to all!

I'll be adding an entry tomorrow. I may have some help.

BCOT

Sunday

Happy Tax-Birthday to 4!

Weather came in overnight. Very quick moving front. Started out as misty rain yesterday around noon. Converted to rain in the afternoon. Freezing rain by night. And then snow. Fairly clear now, but cold and windy. Definitely a Christmas feel.

Broadcasting from SB's this AM.

FFF at the Augie game last night. Good game, but the home team came up a little short against a very good Wisconsin state system team that had some serious three point gunners. 4 did a little filming for a class. She looked very officially newsy. (2 was a no-show because of a commitment to some high school friends who had scheduled a reunion dinner. Her loss.)

More FFF today as we celebrate Christmas with 1 and 1.1. They head back to Minnesota early tomorrow.

The local fishwrap endorsed Hillary and McCain in today's edition. Why do newspapers need to do endorsements for both parties? Not that anything that that paper says is worth noting. Less than two weeks now until Iowa gets rid of all the politicians. Can't be soon enough for me.

The atmosphere in SB's is always a little lighter on a Sunday as parents often come in with kids. Today has an even more festive feel as there is evidence of out-of-town relatives joining in for the fellowship. SB's is one commercial establishment that allows friends and family from all over the country to meet in a common place where everyone can feel at home (when not at home).

That's an interesting thought. Where can you go when you're not at home where it feels like you are in a very familiar place? A couple of easy answers for me: 1) a Main Street bar in a one-horse town on a hot RAGBRAI afternoon, and; 2) Wrigleyville in C-town. Places like Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe and The Plaza in KC are possible alternative choices as well.

On a different topic, how irritating is it to have people in close proximity to you on extended, gratuitous personal cell phone calls in public places, like SB's? While loudly chewing gum? And displaying other annoying habits? But I digress.

It's getting down to the Christmas shopping time for me. Actually, 1 and 1.1's schedule has accelerated my time frame by a day.

A number of businesses have taken off Monday as an official holiday. Not Criterium. With the markets open, so are we. Till noon. But I am certain that it will be pretty quiet. After lunch I can get to my shopping.

I don't think that I mentioned it here, but I did get a clean bill of health from my regular doc on my annual physical last week. This after spending more time in medical offices in the last six months than at any time since I tore up my knee almost twenty years ago. I used to think that only old people needed a line-up card to keep track of their doctor appointments. What's that saying about "them" being "us"?

So I'm off to make a couple of stops. Hope everyone has a great day.

BCOT

Friday AM

This has been a bit of an unusual week. There are always a few business things that crop up at the end of the year, and then there are some evening social functions that disrupt the norm. My entries may remain a bit erratic over the next few days.

Hope all who will be on the road have safe travels. Keep it between the ditches.

More later. Maybe.

PCH

Wednesday AM

Oops. I didn't even get on to say, "No blog today", last night. Sorry.

It was one of those somewhat spontaneous evenings at Biaggi's with some friends, clients and Tuscan red. And I never got to the laptop at home.

2 has had some bump-ins with Hillary and Bill that she may wish to share with you.

3 had an overnight in Minneapolis for a company office party. Details to follow?

More later.

BCOT

Monday

Just checking in.

2 was front row for a Hillary event tonight at the museum. So jealous.

3 is pounding the overtime clock tonight after a long weekend on the job as well. Sympathy welcome.

In honor of 3, a list of my 10 worst days at work, ever:

1. Sued by a client, circa 1992.
2. Surprise USAF safety inspection of my outfit, Korea, circa 1974.
3. April 15th, just about any year.
4. Someday in May 2007. An oversight on an account cost me five figures.
5. January 1972. I wrecked my new car while running a red light.
6. July 1957. I struck out 3 times in the City Championship game.
7. January 1995 or so. Wally and Daddy pass on.
8. May 1979. I don't get promoted to Manager at AA & Co.
9. Spring 2002. I lose a bitter personal battle with the IRS.
10. 9-11-2001. Everyone was affected.

That took quite a while to compile that list. On the other hand, I could do a "great days" list with ease. Maybe I will. Tomorrow.

This is 4's tax-week birthday. 6 days to 21!

BCOT
6.

Sunday

Low key day for me. Domestic stuff. My pal Roy and I did lunch at Gov's.

There was golf on TV this weekend. A non-Tour, small-field of 16 event called the Target Challenge. Hosted by Tiger. He won by a bunch. And contributed his winnings to his foundation. After not having watched golf for two months or so, I found it enjoyable viewing.

I'm really looking forward to Speedweeks at Daytona.

Sounds like I am Legend starring Will Smith may be an option for the 24th. It was the big draw this weekend. Wacha thinkin', 4? (Meet Me in St. Louis was on the classics channel this weekend.)

I caught glimpses of a couple of at least C-rated movies on cable this weekend in which Shelly Long and Cheryl Ladd each portrayed mothers to hot young daughters (who were the central characters in the movies). The disturbing thing to me was that these two actresses were at least minor fantasies of mine in years past. And I'm older than both of them! Actually, Shelly Long (whom you would not describe as aging gracefully) was amusing, at best, on Cheers, and did her best work in the sexually-charged Troop Beverly Hills. On the other hand, with proper lighting, a little Botox, and the right camera angles, Cheryl could still play a slightly older Charlie's Angel.

I feel a little guilty that the Christmas lights are still in storage in my basement. But not so guilty that I've scheduled a time to get them out to my front bushes.

A friend in C-town sent me a couple of short biker books that I read last week. (The books were short. I really don't know about the height of the bikers. As a rule, bikers tend to be shorter rather than taller.) The one book was the mental diary of the author's thoughts as he competed in a one-day amateur race in Europe 20-odd years ago. Mildly entertaining, but the guy was definitely anal retentive. He remembered all the races that he had competed in over the years (and specifics about each race), by the chronological number that he gave each race.

The one recurring factoid that he kept bringing up that I found identity with was the math in his current gear ratio. I don't necessarily worry about gear ratios, but I am always doing equations when I'm going up a hill. How many gears do I have left in my rear cassette? Do I have to go to my triple crank? Can I keep this cadence without dropping a gear? Do I need to get out of the saddle? Where's the beer vendor?

It wasn't meant to be a Christmas gift, but persistent delays basically made it so. My pal Roy's brother John acquired a framed Lance Armstrong work destined for me at another charity golf event this Fall. It's a series of all of Lance's Sports Illustrated cover shots. With an autographed card in the middle of the collage. It's going to be hung on a wall in my office. (The framed photo of Lance that Roy gave me a couple of years ago that hangs in our reception area still gets "oohs and aahs".)

Aunt Martha sent her Christmas e-card over the weekend. Nice family pics make the greeting very personal. I also received Uncle Phil's picture card last week. Great picture! Of his entire family at 1's wedding. Finally, I also recently received a very traditional card with annual letter from a long-time friend who has done a great job of keeping holiday traditions, through thick and thin, kids, grand kids, and every other family event. I admire her determination.

Just to give myself a little treat in the middle of the storm, I fired up Margret today. She initially resisted, but then couldn't deny my appeal. Those dual pipes purred like a kitty.

Hope everyone has a good week.

BCOT

Saturday

Real Winter here today. The snow began this morning and has continued to fall most of the day. No blizzard or anything. Just steady. Fluffy stuff. I shoveled about 4" off the sidewalk around 5 this afternoon. And there's another coat on it now.

Didn't get to the blog at the office yesterday afternoon, and 2 had borrowed my laptop for use at a function last night at the museum. Not that I ever do much writing on Fridays anyway.

3 had a scheduled weekend in NYC (New York City!) with a college friend who's working there taken away from her by a boss's decision. A deadline for some report on one of her cases that wasn't supposed to be until a February date was unexpectedly (unnecessarily?) accelerated. The fact that the East Coast is under a Winter storm watch is cold comfort. (No pun intended.) Sorry, Kiddo.

Looks like while there will be no Cabo trip, there will be a long weekend in Scottsdale. I have an invitation to a vendor conference in Scottsdale on January 10-11. The boys are now talking about heading down the 9th and staying through the 13th. I'm going to try to work it so that the vendor pays for my airfare and a couple of hotel nights. If I don't play golf Wednesday and Thursday, so be it.

SB's has opened yet another local store, this one on Locust Street in west Davenport, at a busy intersection within a few blocks of West HS. I'll likely never get there. One of the assistant managers at Duck Creek said that the busiest QCA store is over in Moline, which is their only location on the Illinois side. The multiple Iowa stores are probably just stealing business from one another. In my case, once they stole me from Panera, my daily consumption didn't add to their overall sales, regardless of the store I stopped at each day. Unless the girls came to town.

I was very impressed with a recent online transaction with The Gap. In reference to my misplaced/lost jeans from last week, I elected to order some new Gap jeans to upgrade my look. I paid (with my Gap credit card) $34.50/pair for three pair to get over a $100 minimum order to obtain free shipping. The package arrived at my doorstep within four days.

I should have my clients as satisfied with my services. The product was exactly what I wanted. The process was efficient. The delivery very timely. The online equivalent of concierge service.

(I suspect that it is not lost on the more fashion-conscious that I acquired three pair of jeans for the cost of a C-note. And while there is no designer label involved, I think that they look just fine. I mean, it's not like I bought them at Tractor Supply.)

I'm wondering if Ultimate Fighting will be supplanting "48 Hours of Bond", or perhaps, "48 Hours of Eastwood" over the holidays on Spike TV. It's a sign of the times. Young men in the preferred age groups don't know who Sean Connnerly was/is. And I don't have a clue who the players are in the Octagon. Talk about disconnect.

I heard a teaser today on Sportscenter for "Capital One Bowl Week." The onslaught of post-season games between teams with so-so records. From December 20th to 30th. Why would anybody in the media be concerned that a week is made up of seven days? At least NASCAR calls their extended stay in Daytona, "SpeedWeeks."

I have made special arrangements with my Russian cleaning lady to come by for an early visit next Friday since her normal day falls on the 25th. FFF here one of those weekend days.

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Thursday

2 and I had a nice night over at Augie. The home team won in their first game without their senior-captain, leading scorer who blew out his Achilles last weekend. He's toast for the year. A freshman off-guard stepped up for 18. A very good sign for the future.

The big news in sports today is the doping report on Major League Baseball. This has all the combined trappings of a Hollywood scandal and a mudslinging political campaign. Popular figures are accused of headline-grabbing activities. Holier-than-thou reporters are out there "representing" the public's need-to-know. I am probably more troubled by the righteous angst being expressed by the investigative media than I am by the alleged drug use. Kieth Olberman's moralizing on NBC's Nightly News was enough to make me wretch.

Sports have become largely entertainment businesses. Movie stars, musicians, artists and other people in various spheres of entertainment don't have the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) dropping by unannounced to take a syringe of bodily fluids. Why is it that athletes are held to this uncompromising standard? I suppose that it can be traced to an Olympic connection where "sports" are, in the IOC's mind, not tainted by the unpleasantness's of life on the street.

Science has made the whole matter of diet and health an evolving landscape. Gatorade is OK. Red Bull too, I think. But don't take too much Benadryl or Claritin so that you can breathe. My guess is that there are science-geeks out there now who are working on the next generation of supplements that will enhance athletic performance. Supplements that will line up the atomic structure to conform to the rules. If it looks like a duck. And walks like a duck. And quacks like a duck. Is it a duck?

All for tonight. Good luck with your Friday.

BCOT

Wednesday

No blog today. 2 and I are headed over to Augie for a game.

I considered Wilson's column today an admission that the older you get, the less you know, and the more comfortable you are in your skin to publicly admit this ignorance. The concept is obvious to most truthful old farts. The gratuitous reference to Oprah wasn't needed.

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Tuesday

Sorry for that slight omission yesterday. The best laid plans...

Interesting weather day here today. Ice. Rain. Now it's freezing whatever is on the ground. Yuck!

Glad to hear that we all have lost causes. Then again, where's 3's?

I have another example of my anti-geek-ism-ness. The wireless mouse, to my new-found wisdom, is powered by one AA battery. I actually originally thought that there was some wireless power source that came from the laptop to the mouse. Whatever. Anyway, a few days ago, the screen had given me an alert that the mouse was low on power. I disregarded the warning, thinking that re-charging the laptop would transfer to the mouse. I'm not making this up.

A couple of days back, when I picked up the mouse to stow it in my carrying case, I accidentally tripped the neatly-concealed release button...to the battery drawer/housing. Which made the "power low" warning make sense. If that were the end of the story.

So I happened to have a spare AA battery (which I thought was a new one) in my "junk" drawer. I swap out the new for the old, and, "Waallaah!" Nothing. So my natural conclusion was that my supposedly "new" battery was not so new, and a trip to Walgreen's was in order. Which didn't happen for another day or two. So I was working with the irksome touch-pad to move the mouse. Bah-humbug. (In the spirit of the season.)

I eventually do acquire said AA batteries, and subsequently do a new swap. Still no movement to the mouse. I'm mystified. I do a de-bugging exercise to see if I had unknowingly turned off some switch on the mouse protocol. I go to about the third or fourth level of the de-bugging program and I still can't find the disconnect. Do I call the geek-squad? Of course not. I resign myself to the touch-pad.

Another day later, I have an idea. I open the mouse's battery drawer and flip the battery. Problem solved. Again, I'm not making this up.

I could relate a similar story about the time a few years back when I bought a lightweight Fall coat before I realized that my Columbia full Winter coat (that I had purchased earlier that Fall) had a zip-out liner. Meant to work as a Fall jacket. But that may push the "losing the audience" envelope.

I have two graduate degrees and several professional certifications. But I wasn't in attendance at all of the classes. I'm sure some of these things were covered on those days.

3, your BFF Warren was all over the MSNBC today with Hillary. Having just hosted an intimate $1 mil fund-raiser for her. But he also supports Obama. And the estate tax. An unusual set of contradictions. Then again, when you have that much money, you can afford to be whatever you want to be.

So more ramblings tomorrow. Have a great evening.

BCOT

Sunday

Morning coffee at SB's. A little more Winter in our lives.

There is the possibility that I may put up my four strands of Christmas lights today.

My house situation is something less than 100% perfect, but I have one exceptional next-door neighbor. For each of the two modest snow-falls this past week, my front walk was shoveled by a Good Samaritan, and the day after the second one, I came home to find my driveway cleared all the way back to my garage! Now it's not like there was a ton of snow, but Jim took the time and made a compelling statement of neighborliness

1 and 1.1 are in C-town for the weekend. An idealist might suggest sisterly affection. The realist would know that KG and the Celts were in town.

2 and I did Biaggi's on Friday night to catch up on things. 2 had had a busy and successful week at the museum. A membership event on Thursday night turned out great in spite of the snow. Way to go 2!

I was too busy yesterday to make it to The Oprah celebration. Maybe next time.

Several interesting commentaries in the op-ed columns this week about the Romney religion speech. And most conclusions from both ends of the political spectrum suggesting that Huckabee has left-handedly played the religion card to cater to religious conservatives in Iowa. Would the media put up with that tactic if the affected opponent was Joe Lieberman?

Speaking of religion, the Diocese of Davenport has reached an accord in it's bankruptcy case to pay out $37 large to the victims of clerical abuse. But the plaintiffs' attorneys have assured the public that it's not about the money. While on their way to the bank.

The revamped Veteran's Committee in Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame has nominated former commissioner Bowie Kuhn for induction next year. That nomination has been universally panned in the sports pages. Marvin Miller, the ground-breaking leader of the players' union, who won most of the significant battles against Kuhn in the course of their contemporaneous tenures, was virtually ignored in the voting. And who said men have short memories?

I seem to have lost a pair of jeans. Which has given me much consternation over the last few days. I don't have that much stuff. How can I lose a pair of jeans? (And why can one piece of clothing be called a pair? But that's a different story.) It is possible that I simply misplaced the jeans. Which raises the question, "When does an item go from misplaced to lost?" Is it a matter of time or simply a change in mental conviction?

Here's a list of some common things that people lose:

1. Keys.
2. Wallets/purses/passports (3?).
3. Trains of thought.
4. Focus/concentration.
5. Games.
6. Places (Reading).
7. Contact (proximity).
8. Contacts (eye wear).
9. Direction (life).
10. Virginity (Just checking to see if anyone is reading...:)).

Then there's the whole business of being lost on a trip. Or in one's thoughts. Or being a lost soul. Or lost at sea. Or at a loss for words. Or being lost in translation. Or having lost one's sanity. Or track of time. Interest. A bet. The cell signal. One's audience (as in this entry). This could be a long list.

This is an amazingly universal term that we each experience in some fashion every day. If we extended the analysis to the infinitive (or verb?) form, to lose, or the gerund form, losing, this little analysis could go on all day. But I guess I have made my point.

Back to my jeans. It's possible that the Russian cleaning lady made a command decision and placed a clean pair in an unexpected location. Or I may have left them (again, how can jeans be called them?) at a hotel on one of my trips this Fall. Or in the Buick which I haven't driven for three weeks. Whatever. What was most certainly initially considered as misplaced, is rapidly becoming lost.

Remember this entry when Craig Wilson goes off on a "lost" tangent. I'll also take credit if he hits the concept from the opposite direction, as in "found". Think of the possibilities of "lost" and "found". It could be a book.

Hope everyone has a good week. Thanks to 1.1 for details from Memphis. It's always good to hear from the crowd. I use that term loosely.

BCOT

Thursday

Another snow storm here. Not a lot. Just enough to make the streets slick.

I had high hopes of getting on the site this AM, but fates did not allow.

Maybe tomorrow.

BCOT

Wednesday

There may not be a blog today. I'm headed over to Augie for a game. I may cut out at half and if there's time when I get home, I'll jump on. Otherwise, it will be an AM entry tomorrow.

BCOT

Tuesday

Travel Tuesday.

I made the initial inquiry of Uncle Phil to check out the availability of the retro condo at Tahoe for some time in the latter half of July 2008. That condo, or something similar to it in Incline, should do the trick. Scheduling conflicts need to be voiced now.

Now that the BCS games have been set, I'm wondering if all the .500 and 7-5 teams are excited about their destinations. The upper tier teams who maybe didn't get their appropriate recognition, like Missouri and Georgia, at least get to go to decent bowling destinations. On the other hand, how high do you suppose that the enthusiasm is running for trips to Boise, Detroit, Shreveport and Birmingham?

My most memorable travel experiences, not necessarily in order of enjoyment:

1. 1973 USAF to Korea.
2. Tahoe. Any year.
3. Cabo. Any year, although 1999 was a real hoot.
4. First airplane ride, circa 1968. ND to Omaha. Via C-town.
5. Family vacation to the 4 Heads (Rushmore, to the world), circa 1989.
6. The trip from my HS g/f's house to the farm to make curfew.
7. Washington DC, circa 1962 with Mother, Rosie and Marg.
8. C-town commuting 1976-1980.
9. Fishing in Canada, circa 1990.
10. RAGBRAI. Good and bad days abound.

It is interesting that travel tends to be a memory maker almost all the time. Perhaps it's the break from the routine that gives us the extra thrill. New experiences in unfamiliar places tend to take up a semi-permanent residence in the back of our minds. And if the experience is particularly good (like Tahoe) or bad (like my Canadian trip), the recollection is even more defined. I still can almost taste the shore lunches from that fishing trip (which was about the only good thing on that adventure).

Our extended family has been extremely fortunate to experience a wide range of travel. Here and abroad. The cousins generation has seen the world. Quite a contrast to myself and my siblings who saw little beyond the Midwest before college. Then again, Southwest Airlines didn't exist in 1950's and '60's. It might be worth the debate to consider where wealth comes into play with the ability or requirement to travel. Join the Army. See the world. Europe on $5 a day?

Travel tends to be a avocation of many, and a goal of many retirees. Personally, I don't mind staying closer to home. Security is a huge hassle. My back doesn't like hotel beds. There's the funkiness of the body clock and time zone changes. Then again, I do like the concierge floors at the nicer places (if Criterium can afford the freight). And I would be remiss if I didn't add that whenever my pal Roy needs a companion for a weekend in PHX, I can be had.

I can take the Winter in the Midwest. KC. The TC's. C-town. I can get into plenty of trouble there and not be that far from home.

Not all that eloquent here. Don't be afraid to share.

BCOT

Monday

Here's a couple of general discussion topics that Craig Wilson could absolutely use for a weekly column and be done with each inside of an hour: 1) memory issues, and 2) long term mental and physical heath effects of working third (midnight) shift.

Memory is a crazy thing. And selective. It continues to amaze me that I can remember my high school girl friend's birthday, but I have to look up my Mother's. I remember my telephone number on the farm...2-2548..., but I have to go through a process to recall my own current cell number. For years, I had my ND laundry number at the drop of a hat, and there was a combination for a padlock that followed me through the USAF, grad school, and C-town that I couldn't forget.

Jerry Lucas, one of the old NY Nicks who played at Ohio State, is a renowned memory expert. He has pulled schticks like regurgitating the name of every person in an audience after meeting each person as they come in the door. Check him out on Wikipedia. He's an interesting guy.

My pal Jake's Pants can give you a phone number of some guy he met six years ago at a bar in Malibu. Then again, he may forget his passport the next time he leaves for Mexico.

Mother remembered many things from her younger days much better than any recent things in those last couple of years of her life. Of course, she also remembered driving to South America with Daddy.

Smells have a memory trigger too. Although my sense of smell has diminished over the years, popcorn is one that still registers and brings back to mind lots of times and places. The "new car" smell is a good one too, for obvious reasons. Incense at church. Burning leaves.

Sounds too can be memory makers. Favorite songs. The crunching of snow beneath your feet on a cold Winter night. Hearing an old phrase or term in a conversation.

So we establish that all of these things allow us to recall various moments or times in our past. Does that mean that we need to crack a small vial of distinctive smelling salts to permanently etch in the date of an anniversary or birthday? Or maybe have a recording of fingernails scratching across the blackboard that you can leave with your message on the phone for a friend to return your call.

I'll tackle the graveyard shift matter tomorrow.

Have a great week.

BCOT

Sunday

Hangin' out at SB's. Just like the college kids.

The ice has shrunk from the streets and any high traffic area. Now they are saying that cooler weather is on the way, so we may see the stuff on the edges stay around for the week. Welcome to Winter.

Looks like the annual trip to Cabo will be a no-go this year. My pal Roy needs to stay in a US area code. Maybe a long weekend to Scottsdale, if the spirit moves us.

3 sent me a text, and later a call, last night from the Bulls' game at the United Center in C-town. She and some friends had come into some comp tickets from another friend who works for the team. Turns out the seats were in a box actually above the SRO area. At least you have TV monitors in those areas. I know that when I go to Arrowhead in KC with my pal Jake's Pants that I usually sit inside the box and watch the game on the tube. Sounds like 3 had to buy her own $5 beers as well.

The local fishwrap this morning had a story in the business section about a QC company that gives employees a 30 day sabbatical (paid, I think) after 10 years of service. It's a fairly progressive concept, and I'm sure allows some longer-term employees to do some things that they otherwise just wouldn't be able to do. And I'm sure that there are some "recharging of the batteries" benefits to the individuals that may indirectly benefit the company. (As I recall, some colleges and universities have similar programs that extend to at least a semester in length.)

While such a program may make the HR hit parade, there has been no complementary impact on the Investor Relations side of things. The stock has been in the tank for years.

The Frederic Remington program that 2 and I attended on Thursday night at the museum was a bit of a let down. The speaker was a doctoral candidate at Iowa, and her presentation was mostly just read from her notes. I could have learned as much from a little time on Wikipedia. The speaker was actually more of a fan of the other Old West artist featured in the exhibit, Charles Russell. And the paintings/canvasses/sculptures in the exhibit hall were just so-so to me. Live and learn.

The DaVinci exhibit, on the other hand, is worth a visit.

Rick Reilly has announced his departure from SI and will be moving to ESPN in June 2008. He is a very popular sportswriter, but I have never been a huge fan, mostly because, I suppose, that I don't like sportswriters. He does have a good sense of humor, and he's done some good charitable things. He's adept at pulling the "heart strings" of readers on little human interest stories that come to his attention.

Reilly is in a fairly select group of sportswriters that would include Dan Patrick and John Feinstein, among others, whose works tend to become the story rather than the story itself. I attribute this phenomenon to the post-Watergate condition in the mainstream media where the writers have pietiously (sketchy word usage) become the Protectors of Truth, Justice and The American Way. In a bit of stilted logic, it could be argued that we have Richard Nixon to blame for all of this. And to think that upon his departure,Tricky Dick had the audacity to say that we, "wouldn't have him to kick around any more".

If it were not for RMN's arrogance, Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein may have had nothing more to report on other than routine Pentagon malfeasance. This after a decade of Viet Nam. The public was ready for real dirt, and Bob and Carl delivered. And those glory days of investigative journalism spawned a generation of wannabees. With steroids, HGH, and other doping story lines, not to mention rap sheets (music or criminal, you pick), unwed mothers, Bobby Knight, and the likes of Pacman Jones, Latrell Sprewell, Reilly and his friends will be able to opine from On High for years to come.

I guess I have become as judgemental on sportswriters as they have on sports. I can live with that.

Speaking of sportswriters, the local guy writes (I use that term very loosely) a catchall Sunday column that is nothing more than a collection of primarily negative items about mostly college or pro coaches/players in various sports. Zero creativity. If it was a football game, he would be flagged for piling-on after every paragraph. Do these guys think such efforts qualify as journalism?

Sorry about that tirade. It was too easy.

I'm off to find Nirvana. Have a great day.

BCOT

Saturday

I had planned to get a good entry in today, but I just couldn't sit myself down to do it. Sorry.

Congrats to 1.1 for his success today in completing the Memphis marathon. He had been unable to get the bad taste of the Chicago out of his system, and he found the cure in in Elvis' hometown. You da man today, 1.1.

Winter here. Ice. But there's a warm front on the way, so it all should be gone by tomorrow night.

I'm taking the laptop to SB's in the AM for an early entry.

BCOT

Friday

No blog today.

Thursday

Our trip to Augie last night was unsuccessful. Wisconsin-LaCrosse won in a nail-biter, with a winning three-point shot by my pal Pete's son with one second to go being disallowed by a whistled push-off foul. Ouch! Then again, Augie played poorly and probably didn't deserve to win. Their #4 in D-III national ranking will be gone, but so will the pressure. Now they can concentrate on getting better.

Tonight, 2 and I are moving up the cultural spectrum and are attending a lecture at the museum on the Frederick Remington exhibit. I've always been a fan of his Western sculpture work.

2 had a fender-bender this AM on her way to work. No injuries, and relatively little damage to her wheels. She can provide details at her leisure. Suffice it to say, it was a learning experience.

And 4 seems to have good news on a Spring internship at a TV station in CR. She too can give details when she has the time. She deserves another, "Way to go, Kiddo!"

The geek-squad in KC at my securities information desk sent me by overnight delivery a new electronic token (the size of a computer memory stick) that is a random number generator for my secure entrance to the system. Every time I log in I have to go through several pass-code queries to establish my bona fides. I had wondered what happened when whatever the power source in my initially-issued token expired. The cover memo with the new token indicated that the old token was scheduled to expire on 11/30/07. Tomorrow. I was oblivious to that fact. Techies rule.

I am only remotely interested in the NFL game tonight between Green Bay and Dallas. What does engender some curiosity is the fact that the game is not being broadcast by a network or major cable system, but by The NFL Network, a start-up system owned by the league. And The NFL Network has not reached contractural agreements with most of the major cable systems. So the game will not be available in many markets. Why? One word. Money.

This is the same type of problem presented around here with The Big Ten Network which has not reached agreements with many of the cable systems. So a lot of Iowa games are not shown here. Unless you have Dish (which I do).

Ultimately, the consumer will pay. Cable rates will go up so that cable companies can have access to these NFL Network or Big Ten Network games. And the NFL and Big Ten officials will hold themselves out on high ground saying that it wasn't them raising fees. Rather, it was the cable systems who took advantage to raise their already-too-high monthly fees. The reality is that the Big Ten and the NFL are doing these things because they can. And the consumer will pay.

They'll pay the higher access fees because they can't afford to actually go to the games.

Got to go.

Have a great evening.

Yea to 4!

BCOT

Wednesday

Short today. 2 and I are headed over to Augie for a b-ball game.

4 reports that she has been elected to a position on the Panhelenic Council at Iowa. This gives her responsibilities to help govern various activities for all of the Greek houses on campus. Way to go Kiddo!

ESPN is hosting Jimmy V Week this week on all of it's media outlets. He's the flamboyant NC State b-ball coach who died of cancer in the early 90's. In his honor, The Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research carries on. It's a worthy charity.

The bleeding heart media are already crying about minority hiring for the open D-1 football coaching jobs. Texas A&M wasted little time in hiring lily-white Mike Sherman, and the sportscasters of color are chirping from the peanut gallery. At least it gives them a break from the piling on of ND.

Is the Big Ten - ACC Challenge a bit of a misnomer? When will Hilton Magic return? And where are the fans at Carver Hawkeye?

I learned today that the cordless mouse doesn't do well on a glass table-top. I wonder what the physics on that situation is?

So I obviously have no theme here. I'll pour a little more wine and get ready for 2.

Congrats again to 4.

BCOT

Tuesday

1 reports that her 9th grade girls b-ball team lost their first outing today. Wins may be hard to come by this year. Most of the girls with skills have been moved up to the soph or JV teams. Hang in there, Kiddo.

A side-bar to the telephone story from the weekend was the store manager's effort to provide some extra customer service to me as 3 made her phone and plan selections. I was in attendance because I was needed to sign-off on the swap of the phone number from US Cellular to AT&T, not because I like dealing with "the phone company". And I had just finished my run with 2 within the hour of 3's request to tackle what we both anticipated (correctly) to be a pain in the posterior. The run in which I re-strained my gastocnemius calf muscle.

Anyway, I was hobbling around the store a bit just looking for a place to sit and do my crossword (NYT Friday) while 2 did her business. Recognizing my search, and potential disability, the manager asked if she could get me a chair from the back. And was quick to consent to my suggestion of me taking a spot on the floor partially behind the counter. Then she repeated her offer for the chair. And then offered me a glass of water to boot! I must have presented a very elderly sight.

In a surprising move, my carrier, US Cellular, actually ended service for 3's phone on the day of the switch. Like they were supposed to do. I'll be curious about the final bill. You pay for the month in advance on the regular bill. I wonder if I have a refund in my future?

My pal Roy is back in the saddle. But he needs to have the medics cut back on some of the drugs. I think that they have prescribed drugs for him to counter the effects of some of the other drugs that he's supposed to take.

Tuesday was a better day for me than Monday, but I'm hoping for a consistent upward trend for the week. In the service business, a substantial chunk of your time is devoted to problem-solving. When new problems occur at a faster rate than your solution generation capacity, you end up with an excess inventory of problems. (There's a linear relationship between problem inventory and desk-pile altitude. But that's another story.) There must be an algebraic equation that can help here.

I need to get out of here. Y'all have a good evening.

BCOT

Monday

I had a totally crappy day. Fortunately, I had plenty of Tuscan red available in the wine cellar, so the evening has been just fine.

The stock market sucks. Which makes for antsy clients. Not many good answers.

It does make my day to learn that Oprah Winfrey will be in Iowa next week to stump for Barak Obama. I'm applying for tickets tomorrow. I'm hoping that her appearances won't conflict with Bill's schedule for Hillary.

I attended an executive meeting for the 2008 Criterium bike race today. Since I am the presenting sponsor, I have a say-so on most of the planning stuff. They need several secondary sponsors to make the budget work. At this point, I don't think that you can say that we have a well-oiled machine in place.

I'm optimistic that Tuesday will be a better day. Hope your's is too.

BCOT

Sunday

I've obviously been very erratic with the blog over this extended weekend. The days are just so unusual with the Thursday holiday. This wouldn't be a problem if I were retired. I always say that the retirees often don't know which day it might be since most days it doesn't matter if it is a weekend or not. I know I could easily get used to a half day schedule. Too bad I have bills to pay.

This entry is being posted from the 53rd Street SB's as I await a call from 3 to do a Ross's breakfast with her, 2 and 4. And 3's friend James. They head back to C-town later today. And 4 returns to IC.

3 and I did the switcheroo on her cell phone yesterday and the process was actually more than the dread that we had anticipated. Since the current phone was in my name, and 3 wanted to change providers but keep the number, I was needed to sign-off on the exchange. The local AT&T retail store was something less than full-disclosure when we signed the new paperwork, and I have a suspicion that there will possibly be some double-billing before the thing is complete. Whenever a service contract situation is off the beaten path, whether it be phone, Internet, or refrigerators, the attending salesperson has a greater-than-50% chance of screwing the deal up. We'll see where this one concludes.

2 and I did a little run yesterday, but my calf muscle again cramped. If that had happened earlier in the week, I would not have been able to do the TT. So now I am forced to get my indoor bike and weight training schedule sorted out. This is a good thing. I have to make some decisions on 2008 biking goals. Which will likely include a trip up Mt. Rose.

Today's Sunday paper reminds me of an observation that I have wanted to note here in recent weeks.

A couple of popular comic strips have been running stories outside of the normal current-day presentation. For Better or Worse is back in time with the characters whom we have come to know as young adults being portrayed as toddlers. Funky Winkerbean is in the future with the main characters whom we have followed through their teens and up through their 30-somethings, now parents of their own teens, or retired.

I read somewhere that the illustrator of For Better or Worse, Lynn Johnston, has a medical problem that limits her drawing skills. And they're re-running earlier stories at times. I'm not sure of the rationale for Funky's leap forward. There was a cancer death of one of the main characters, and this just may be a transition period for the author.

Continuing a little more on the concept of juxtaposition of plot-line presentations, I watched most of the 13 episode FX series, Damages, this Fall, and I never did get the exact sequence of the events in that show. The premier started out with one of the main characters shown in jail, bloodied and ghost-like. Then they went back and forth in almost all the shows, always coming back to the scene of the one character in the jail cell. Glen Close and Ted Danson were central characters. The series was recently re-upped, in spite of marginal ratings, so the confusion will likely continue next year.

And several years ago, I kind of liked the quirky (and canceled) TV series Boomtown with Neal McDonough. That show had a less-ambitious format where they showed most of each week's climatic scene at the start of the show, and then spent the hour following just one of the character's actions/activities which brought him/her to the final scene.

I guess the flash-back has been, and continues to be, used many times in movies and TV shows. But the standard network flash-back tends to be a single linear scene meant to explain an element in a murder mystery. The various CSI shows do this a lot. And the "Kill Green" segments of ER beat the concept to death.

The danger with any of these indirect time line presentations is that the viewer can become frustrated with the need to concentrate and watch the entire episode(s). I know I have limited patience. It's one thing to show a re-play in a sports event. It's a whole other matter to base the entire show on a series of mixed-up scenes and think that the audience cares enough to take notes.

So I have no conclusions to this topic.

David Broder had a very insightful column today. It's worth the read.

Finally, I have to comment that as I have put this entry together this AM, I've had what has to be a Match.com initial meeting going on at the next table. This guy will be single for the rest of his life.

So, hope the holiday weekend ends well for the masses. Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Friday

The day after Thanksgiving. I guess the girls all went shopping in the early AM. I'll let them provide details at their leisure.

My pal Roy is much better. We had a group lunch out at the Pebble Creek Golf dining room. He may be a day or two away from driving, but otherwise, he's ok.

Very low key day at the office. The phones were very quiet. Which, for today, is good.

FFF at my place tonight. I'm not sure if we need to eat anything after yesterday.

BCOT

Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

FFF in Bettendorf has been a success.

The TT was a success as well. 1 finished seventh out of seventy-some in her age group. I broke an hour which was my goal. And 1.1 and 2 finished at their respective paces. 2 ran with me and 1.1 was doing a short training run in anticipation of another try at a marathon next week in Memphis. It was a bit cool and there was a northerly breeze. SB's for a post-race cup-o-joe.

My pal Roy has had a tough couple of days. He had a dizzy "episode" while playing golf in South Carolina on Tuesday and ended up coming back to some hospital time. He was discharged earlier today, but he's going to have to take it easy for a few days. No truth to the rumor that the new Mrs. Carver was doctoring his drinks while on the honeymoon.

The crew might head out for "combat shopping" in the AM. I see where Kohl's is open at 4 AM tomorrow. I'll definitely be avoiding the retail areas all day.

OK. With everyone here, I'll rely on face-to-face dialog for the rest of today's exchange. More here tomorrow.

BCOT

Tuesday

No blog today.

2 and I went to the first home Augie b-ball game this evening. After doing our last training run for the TT. Augie wins going away, but it was not easy. They could be good this year.

Everybody be careful on the road tomorrow. We have had a pretty god rain tonight. Cooler weather is on the way.

BCOT

Monday

A little late today. I didn't get this done before I left the office, and then 2 and I met to do a short run. I'll have to figure out my timing for 4000 Days now that I have the flexibility to work on it a home.

I'll give some thought to 3's comment about baseball stories. Not that I have enough to write a book about, but I played a lot of games in a lot of places by the time I was 22. A little known fact: I never played another game after my last game senior year at ND. Cold turkey.

The conversion of my business to a securities-based model means that we need to be open on all of the days that the stock exchanges are open. Which includes the AM on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Historically, the accounting firm has always taken that Friday as a full holiday. I have always worked that day, but have not required or requested that staff observe the exchanges' schedule. Beginning in 2008, I'm making the change. The upside is that we get off President's Day. Is MLK Day next?

Which brings up the whole subject of holidays. For different businesses or professions. In different parts of the country. Pro basketball and Major League Baseball each have the All-Star break in mid-season. NASCAR has the off-season of December and January. School teachers get the Summer off. CPA's get April 16th off. Veteran's Day. Columbus Day. Patriot's Day (in Massachusetts. Boston Marathon day). Election Day (in several states). Check out "____ State Holidays" in Wikipedia. Especially Texas.

My pal Bill and his spouse were separately pictured recently in successive weeks' editions of the Bettendorf News. He in a crowd shot at the school assembly to honor the two-time state cross country team. She in a color ad for the Life Fitness Center. Bulletin board material at the office for sure. I've always been a believer in a below radar profile.

Starbucks' stock has been taking a hit in the market. They have had good profits, but their business model is leaking oil. They just don't make enough money to justify a higher price for the stock. I think they end up spending a lot of money to be able to make the money that they do make. And I don't think that they sell enough of the music or expensive coffee grinders to inflate their profits. Maybe too much in bricks and mortar as well. I think that they can continue to make money, just not print it.

In a related topic, McDonald's is marketing lattes and the like to franchisees as a further step into the higher-end coffee business. But the franchisees are not embracing the move whole-heartedly. It's an expensive expansion and will not have a short payback period. My observation is that Mac's will never be able to get staff trained to make these more exotic drinks. Their people have problem enough servicing their current menu. I will say that I can drink their coffee.

OK. Way too late. I'll do better tomorrow.

BCOT

Sunday

Not a lot new on this end. Not an overly productive weekend for me.

AM's comment yesterday about the mouse was on point. I got one of those gadgets with my laptop and it works pretty slick. Even on the couch next to me while the laptop is on my lap. Kudos to the geeks.

4 gets in tonight for the holiday week. She had stayed in IC for yesterday's non-game at Kinnick, and for the b-ball game this afternoon at Carver Hawkeye. Chili tonight at Mom's. Beans? Or no beans?

The Irish survived Duke. That doesn't say a lot about Duke football. (In an extremely minor recess of trivia, I recalled today that Duke was ND's opponent at the first game I ever attended at ND Stadium. In the Fall of my junior year of HS when I visited campus with an ND graduate from Ottumwa. A big rout of Duke that day as well.)

I did my runs this weekend, two both days, without further calf problems. Slow. But I was primarily concerned about injury. I'm wondering if I have a shoe problem.

An interesting comment made by different announcers over the weekend was that a particular player, often the quarterback, had "the game slow down for him." This was meant in a complimentary manner to describe the skill of the player in handling the challenges of the game. ( In football, a good offensive line is usually the biggest contributor of a quarterback being able to work the game at his pace.) Nonetheless, I do think that different players have varying amounts of ability to handle the pressures presented in a game. Some of it is just natural ability. Some of it is experience.

This personal attribute is evident in most sports, and in most businesses. In whatever the field of endeavor, stars tend to find their way to the top. Innate skill. Harder work ethic. Generally, not much reliance on luck.

Ultimately, I think that skill wins out. As a college junior, I learned how to hit a good lefty's duece, but the guy who also had a good heater made me a "guess hitter." I was lucky to break the Mendoza line against a righty with the same pitches. The guys who make it to "The Show" see those pitches in slow motion.

Finally, the media has stories this weekend that suggest that Warren Buffet was/is responsible for keeping A-Rod a Yankee. I think that A-Rod found out that there weren't many GM's in line to bid on his services after his agent, Scott Boras, had him opt out of the last three years on his then current contract. The fact that A-Rod could give Buffet a call for advice is a bit of an indication of the economic circles A-Rod calls home. And some execs at Goldman Sachs were part of the game as well. Very interesting!

Short week ahead. Looking forward to time with the fam.

BCOT

Saturday

Ok. Saturday AM at the new 53rd Street SB's. First blog on the new wireless laptop.

2 was by earlier on her way to the museum to help with an event they are hosting this morning to view the Festival of Trees parade from their building's prime location. I suppose that the parade is the kind of event we would have taken the girls to when they were little. Cheap. Close. Free candy.

The keyboard for the laptop will take some getting used to. I have big hands, and, as you all are aware, a laptop keyboard is pretty compact. Plus, my modified hunt-and-peck technique typing skills add to the challenge.

I was out with my friend Pete and some other friends last night and we spent the most time at a bar located in the old McDonald's on Brady Street by Duck Creek. A bit surreal considering how much time we spent there when the girls were young. Lots of stops there while biking. The new place is okay, but I'm not sure who might be their target market. Maybe if Rookies up the street gets too crowded and the college kids need an over-flow option. The drinks were pretty cheap. A lot less expensive than an evening of Tuscan red at Biaggi's. Or sushi at Ron's of Hawaii in The Loop.

My pal Pete has diagnosed my calf problem as a strained gastrocnemius muscle. Wikipedia has a good description that exactly fits my situation. I'll be going out again later this AM to test it. More shuffling, I suspect.

The political climate is heating up with the Iowa caucuses now just about six weeks away. A couple of stories and op-ed pieces have focused on "planted" questions in town-hall-type settings where candidates respond to inquiries from the audience. I guess that this is common in most of the campaigns run by both Democrats and Republicans. A shill in the crowd leads a speaker into the "stump" response to one of the issues. Like the interview where, whatever the question, the candidate/politician answers with a reply right off his speech writer's notes.

I pretty much ignore all of the campaign stories, print ads, and commercials in the various media. Most of it is promises of one sort or another to end the war, lower taxes on the non-rich (I think I qualify), raise taxes on the rich (I fear that I may qualify under some definitions here too), universal health care, pro life, pro choice, or an answer on one side of the fence or the other on the matter of immigration. My suspicion is that, ultimately, the great divide in our country will carry over to next November and whomever wins will do so with a very narrow margin.

Well, I'm off to do my run/shuffle and some yard work. No Martian eggs, but there will be several paper yard-waste bags by the time I'm done.

The big question is, "Can ND get by Duke?"

BCOT

Friday

No blog today.

Then again, I do have a wireless laptop that could be fired up later.

BCOT

Thursday

Thanks to 3 for a Wednesday entry on my behalf.

The medical procedure went pretty much as forecast. Not a lot of fun.

The new laptop is in my possession. The hookup with Verizon should be confirmed tomorrow. I'll be in business by the weekend.

My pal Roy has returned from an extended trip to South America. Sounds like they saw lots of stuff. I'll be anxious to get "the rest of the story" over dinner sometime soon.

The Anniversary Edition of 4000 Days has really not been outlined. I know that two years equals 730 days and that 730 is around 18% of 4000. And 18% of 5 miles is not even a single mile. So in terms of the Turkey Trot, I haven't even hit the Main Street hill on my journey to 4000. Does that make any sense?

The Top Ten occurences since the start of the blog. No necessarily in the order of importance:

1. 1 and 1.1's wedding in St. Paul July 2007.
2. 3's graduation from Iowa in May 2007.
3. Cabo January 2006. The 2007 trip sucked.
4. KC wedding June 2006.
5. Tahoe wedding July 2006.
6. 4's birthday 2005. And every other time the fam was all there.
7. Wrigleyville with 2,3, and 4 September 2007. Not going to the game.
8. Tailgating in IC. Particularly with the VIP parking pass 2006.
9. Training with 2 for the TT. Today. Are you kidding?
10. Coffee chatting at SB's. From coast to coast.

This list could be a lot longer. Interesting how most of the events are travel experiences of some sort or another. But all require the inclusion of family or close friends.

I have also enjoyed the time at the computer adding to the 0dyssey that has become 4000 Days. My challenge has become to capture a topic and find something to say that will be of interest to my readers. No one wants to read about another's daily life unless there is an element of escapism that can fire a little imagination in the reader.

The media, sports columnists in particular, get to the reader by controversial statements meant to inflame one segment and to spark advocates to defend the premise. That's how they keep their readers/listeners. That's the equivalent of taking a sledge hammer to a classic Mercedes at the carport of an exclusive country club. Little creativity to get a sharp reaction.

My goal in the next year, the next 9% of my trek for the mathematicians in the crowd, is to continue to find a few interesting things in this collective thing called life. I've been satisfied with the use of USA Today-like sections to group topics and ideas. Unfortunately, these last couple of weeks have been difficult to find a groove because of travel or medical matters. But that's the organizational direction that I will follow as I continue to work these keys.

Sorry for not being more eloquent. Gotta go for training with 2. By this time next week, we'll be into turkey leftovers and reading our times in the TT on my laptop.

BCOT

Tuesday

Happy Tax Anniversary to 4000 Days!

My training for the TT took a hit last night. I was on my way back on my normal 0ut-back route when I got a cramp in my left calf. I struggled home, but it remains a concern. I had a similar problem when I was in training for a TT a few years ago. When my conditioning gets to the point where I can actually have a running motion rather than my old-man's-shuffle, those calf and thigh muscles go into hemorrhagic shock. I'm taking a day off to lose some of that acquired conditioning and revert to the shuffle.

So I'm headed out and will have some comments tomorrow on the two year thing.

BCOT

Monday

Let's make this a Travel day.

Some of my pet peeves with regard to land, air and sea transportation.

At the top of my list currently is the driver approaching a stop sign with the intention of turning right, and not making any significant effort to actually stop. I know that some town recently added a smaller rectangular sign beneath the stop sign that said something like, "Yes, this means that you are supposed to stop." I'm very conscious of this problem when running along Devils Glen with all the side streets that enter on to that arterial road. Cars will ultimately honor your right-of-way as the pedestrian, but I don't trust them until I see them stop.

There are two other specific intersections in town where that right-turning car is a problem: Jersey Ridge headed North at Kimberly, and Elmore headed South at Kimberly. In both cases, the right-turning driver is looking only at the traffic flow coming from his/her left, which is natural. But both intersections have other traffic to be wary of; the u-turning car at the Jersey Ridge intersection, and the left-turning car from across the intersection at Elmore. People in a rush, or on the phone, are too distracted to look for that other traffic.

On the train from the 'burbs down to The Loop last Thursday night, I had the delight of sitting next to a gal who should have been under house confinement for a cold/flu condition. In my current let's-not-shake-hands mentality, the germs in commuter trains make me cringe.

Torpedo shaped commuter airplanes were designed by engineers who never grew beyond 5'8". On my trip to Phoenix last month, the planes to and from Denver were both the "one seat on one side and two seats on the other side" of the aisle. I got the "one" seat both times, but I felt like I was holding my knees all the way.

Pricing of airline tickets, car rentals, and hotel rentals are always a treat. I think that we have all become conditioned to the vagaries of airline pricing. We have low expectations on the consistency of fares, and we assume that a "good" fare will only be there briefly, so we had better act rather than wait. Is there another industry where people just expect to be manipulated as a matter of course?

An interesting phenomena of the financing of any local hospitality industry is the variety of "charges" that get added to tickets and rental agreements. In many cases, municipalities see this as an opportunity to tax non-locals to help pay for infrastructure that will ultimately help the home community. Paying for streets, sewers, and utilities in a new commercial area costs millions of dollars. If the buildings placed on the property are hotels, casinos, and outlet malls, it's easier to sell the development to the local residents if the concept is financed by the transient population.

In theory, once the development is up and running, the local community can collect real estate taxes for their return on their efforts to bring the development to being. It doesn't always work out that way. And sometimes the communities grant tax concessions to the developers which further delays local receipt of direct monetary benefits. That's when the mayors and councilpersons start blustering about the ancillary benefits of more commercial activity being generally good for everyone. Particularly the developers. Who almost always live out of town.

I don't have too many peeves about water transportation. I like Uncle Phil's (Aunt Jan's?) boat at Tahoe. And the Log Ride at Adventureland is a great memory. Does anyone remember, "It's A Small World", at Disney World?

Finally, my trip to SB's this AM was marred by a full dumping of my Americano as I reached for another section of the paper. Aaauuuuurrrggghhh! I hate it when I do those things! What a klutz. It was not a good start for a Monday.

So I'm off to do my run. 10 days to the TT.

BCOT

Sunday

The full court press is on by all of the retailers to snatch their share of holiday sales. The latest example is at The Home Depot where I stopped today for a can of bug spray to de-bug my plants. Those types of products were no where to be seen, replaced by a fine selection of artificial Christmas trees and inflatable seasonal yard displays. I left for Lowes where their holiday stuff had been set up mostly in an area that has garden supplies during the Summer months.

The Sunday paper this time of year is another sign of the times. You need to sort through all of the ad inserts to find the news sections. And that's only a minor exaggeration.

My Yahoo email account has been deluged by assorted retail offers, not only from Kohl's and Gap where I have cards, but also dozens of online sites that must have bought my email address from one of the bricks-and-mortar places. I may set up a Gmail account when I get my new laptop to try to avoid the spam.

Another traditional item for sale seen in many of the grocery/home improvement/Walmart stores in the Norfolk Island pine tree. This is a very pretty tree that is sold in many sizes, and fetches a good price. I really like the tree, but I have never been able to keep one alive. While I have a lot of plants in my house, most of them are ones I have learned can survive a certain level of benign neglect.

The ceremony at The Arsenal today was very understated. Maybe the smallest crowd that I have ever seen there for Veteran's Day. No helicopter flower drop. No band. One Congressman. Since the day is actually being observed tomorrow (closed Post Office and other Federal facilities), it's possible that people were not geared to taking time off for a weekend day.

I see where Hollywood and Broadway stars have all embraced the strike by the Writer's Guild. Does this mean that the studios (or whomever are the big decision makers in this dispute) are part of the Big Business Establishment that usually gets a bad label on the talk shows? When the media talks about the Democratic/Clinton Hollywood connections, are they talking about the writers and the actors, or the studios?

How evident is it with the SF accident that ships at sea will forever hit things? And where do they put the oil that they "clean up"?

Hope everyone is getting prepared to have a great week.

BCOT

Saturday

Checking in on a Saturday evening.

Glad to see 3 give a little report on our evening. The idea of FFF in Chicago is all well and good, but we'll need the Lottery to come home before we take the whole fam to a trendy place on the Magnificent Mile.

3's office is located on the 24th floor of a very nice building close to the Sear's Tower. The two-or-three story street-level atrium is ringed with bamboo trees that must be 30-40 feet tall. I looked for koala's, but didn't see any. Security required check-in and authentication. Airport-style metal detector's and x-ray screening of brief cases or the like. 3 did say that you could get a gun through if it was wrapped in a taco shell.

2 and I did a nice run this AM. I checked my 2006 calendar and we were usually running that route last year less than a minute faster than today's pace. Which is a good sign for the TT. Then this afternoon I did our regular route, just a hair slower than on the days when I/we run only the one time. Another good sign. But T-Day is rushing to us, so I'll probably have only 6-7 more days of training.

4 was a star in some "crowd" shots on last night's Big Ten Network broadcast of the Iowa basketball game. 2 said that she and her new friend were at Buffalo WW's for dinner when she looked up to the screen and there was 4! In the front row.

One of my accomplishments while in C-town was the 98% completion of Thursday's Sun Times' diagram-less crossword. That's the kind where they don't give you any of the blacked-out boxes, and you have to figure out the length of solution words in order to blacken the appropriate boxes. It adds a little complexity to the puzzle. Obviously, if you can't get the solution to 1 Across, you might want to just go to the Comics section.

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. I'll be going to Arsenal Island for the ceremony after lunch. I wonder if they made arrangements for a band? Salute a vet tomorrow.

I stopped in at the new SB's at 53rd and Elmore this AM. I'll go back. I know several of the staff who transferred to that location, and they treat me pretty well.

BTW... Wednesday is the two year anniversary of 4000 Days.

All for today.

BCOT

Friday AM

C-town. Day 2.

3 was supposed to add some commentary about our dinner last night. Good time.

Back to The Quackers after lunch. Looking forward to the traffic.

More later.

BCOT

Wednesday

I have a story of a business friend who has managed to complicate his life because of a cycling accident last weekend that makes, by comparison, my lament from my own accident a mere whimper in the breeze.

My lawyer friend Steve, a year or two older than me, was out Sunday afternoon on his Harley Hog tooling along on one of the country roads that I use for bicycling, when a kid bombs out of a side road without any consideration to passing traffic. Steve's choices are limited, and he elects to lay his bike down rather than hit the vehicle. I don't know all the details at this point, but the bottom line is that he broke most of the major bones in his right ankle, and had surgery Sunday night to insert a metal plate and nine screws. He'll be in a non-weight bearing cast for 6-8 weeks.

We Boomers have some issues. I don't think that it's a Middle-Age-Crazy thing. We did that 15-20 years ago when we tried to fool ourselves into thinking that we were still 25. It may have taken a weekend 10K with one of the kids, or one too many late nights with younger business associates who actually could hit it hard at night and get to the office in the morning. Whichever. We did eventually, albeit reluctantly, conclude that we were past whatever prime we once enjoyed.

But as Toby Kieth might say, the Boomer mantra might be, "I'm not as good as I once was, but I am as good once as I ever was". Disregarding the double entendre, we Boomers still have the idea that, while we can't do it all anymore, we still can do some things. In many cases, financial means allow successful Boomers to enjoy the luxury of a toy car (me?), preferred parking at the game (my Pal Roy?), or gratuitous boys' trips for golf, fishing or wine-snobbing.

Motorcycling is one of these Boomer things that I have just never quite "got". Neither the bug to do it myself, nor the understanding as to why others choose to participate in such a dangerous activity. And I know of many local Boomers who have spent lots of money on very nice Harley's or comparable equipment. "Donor cycles." Steve moves to Example One on my list of why I think these guys are nuts.

The Harley Davidson manufacturing company has enjoyed some financial success as a result of this Boomer resurgence. The stock price is now off it's highs of a year ago and I really don't follow it. Travolta starred in a movie last year, Wild Hogs, that took a comical look at four over-the-hiller's who tried to re-live some of their youth on a motorcycle trip. I didn't see it. Probably because the concept of "Old Guys on Bikes" just didn't resonate for me.

I may have mentioned here before that I owned a motorcycle when I was an Air Force lieutenant in Korea. The bike was one of those things that was sold from one airman to another as they rotated to and from that base. Since I had to get back and forth between several locations for my job, my logic was that the motorcycle was a great solution. I had it for about a week before I mistakenly "popped" the clutch as I was leaving one of the repair shops that I was in charge of, and proceeded to lay it down in the middle of the street. I was luckily uninjured, and I sold the bike the next day. And I haven't been on one since.

Anyway, my friend Steve is now going to have to have his new bride (second marriage for both, last Summer) truck him around for the next two months. Daily living for me with the thumb issue was inconvenient. Steve's life will be work. Sell the bike.

I'm off to C-town for two days. Din-din with 3 tomorrow night. Does that qualify as FFF?

BCOT.

Tuesday

Really enjoyed the evening over in DeKalb. No, really. My pal Pete and I picked up a couple of common clients at the Dixon exit, and eventually found our way to the NIU field house. The facility was an almost new, very modern arena that would seat around 9,500 for basketball. There may have been 1,500 or so at the game. Aguie played poorly for the first 15 minutes (down by 26 at one point) and then actually outscored NIU over the rest of the game, losing by 15 or so.

The biggest downside for me was the return time of 11:45 PM which is way past my bedtime.

Any of our English scholars out there want to take a stab at the proper use distinction between past and passed? I know that a dead guy passed away. And that a crude oaf with indigestion issues passed gas. And that that last sentence was expressed in past tense. But what's the rule?

Election Day. Which I will use to reminisce on a little Family History.

Daddy loved his job as a Supervisor. I think he loved meeting and greeting people. I'm not so sure that he loved politics. Certainly, the late elections took a toll on him and Mother as the media became more obsessed with possible "dirt" that they could throw at the candidates. I have theorized that the local paper, The Ottumwa Courier, had employees in the mid-70's who had learned their trade in the Watergate era, which meant that they took it as their professional responsibility to vet anyone in the public domain.

AM may be able to fill in some of the details from the first elections in the mid 50's. I know that my Grandpa H was a Wapello County Supervisor at some time. I suppose that that is where Daddy got the bug. In any event, I believe that Daddy ran, and lost, in his first attempt at public office. Then, again I think, in the period before the next election, he was appointed to fill an unexpired term of a Supervisor who either died or resigned. He then ran for election at the end of that term, was elected, and remained on the Board over the course of another 5-6 elections.

He was a moderate Democrat in what was at the time one of the few Democratic counties in the state. Wapello County was a "union" county with a big John Deere plant on the Southside of town, and a major John Morrell meat packing plant on the Northeast side. The unions were pretty strong and Daddy was able to get their vote. As a farmer, he also must have faired well at the polls in the rural areas of the county.

He was a Catholic, and at the time, there was a recognized anti-Catholic element in elections. Obviously, the election of John Kennedy as President diffused a lot of that prejudice. But I remember Mother and Daddy always talking cautiously of their concern about a possible religious backlash. To my knowledge, their fears on this matter never became reality.

"Running" for office meant a lot of meetings at night and "politicking" during the day. He always had "chatskey" (my term) items for give-aways. Combs, match-books, pens. I would guess that every telephone pole in Wapello County had one of his 18" x 24" picture-posters tacked to it at one time or another in the course of his time in office. On Election Day, I was always positioned just outside one of the voting sites, handing out his small picture-cards to each person headed in to vote. (That would most-assuredly be against the law today.)

Mother was in charge of "absentee" ballots. I think she worked the nursing homes, hospitals, and shut-ins for pre-Election Day votes. She had a Notary seal, and I'm certain that it was for the purpose of absentee ballots. In Daddy's last campaign in the late 70's, The Courier ran a story on the Monday before the election that there may have been some "irregularities" on Daddy's absentee ballot program. Mother and Daddy were devastated. Obviously, he won the election the next day. And the paper later printed some sort of retraction/clarification.

I had a heavy-equipment salesman from Cedar Rapids (whom I interviewed for an MBA project at Iowa in the mid-70's) tell me that Daddy was the best he had seen in a Board of Supervisor's office. He said that Daddy had a way about himself at controlling a meeting and getting people to feel like he was listening to them.

In the pre-Watergate era, Daddy would receive various Christmas gifts from salesmen that called on the county for contracts of goods and/or services. A ham here. A fifth of whiskey there. Never a lot. But it was the practice of business back then. After the press got turned on to Watergate-like shenanigans, Daddy rarely kept any of these gifts. (Since Daddy didn't drink, or drink much, that whiskey usually found it's way down the throat of a sick calf in need of something to warm it's innards! True story!)

One by-product of his position as an elected official was that he was eligible to travel, with expense account, to the annual national convention of county officers. I can't remember when the first trip was, but he and Mother made numerous trips over the years to this annual gathering. Always by car. New Orleans. Las Vegas. Miami. I don't know if their grown kids living in California factored into these trips or not, but by the mid-60's it became routine for them to jump in the car for a 10 day or two week journey. Which meant I was home on the farm milking cows and bailing hay.

I gotta go run with 2. Maybe I'll get back to this topic another time. For those readers expecting creative commentary on more interesting and timely issues, come back another day.

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Monday

Technology for a Monday.

I'm looking at getting a laptop and a wireless card through my phone provider which will then make me web-accessible at home and beyond. My buddy who wrote the book while sitting at SB's gave me the idea. I thought he was subscribing to the SB's "hot spot" wireless service, but he told me today that he had gone to the phone-based technology. It's not as fast as DSL or cable, but it gives you access where ever you have a phone signal.

The financial side works for me as I have put 3 on notice that her phone service through good old Dad is history. Her loss is my gain. Sorry, kiddo. It's a cruel world out there.

My suspicion is that this particular type of wireless service, which is not widespread, will be rendered obsolete in the next year or two as the technology evolves. Wireless services may become less valuable as ad revenue and other income streams affect the business models of the various players. The existing paradigm of obtaining monthly subscribers will perhaps give way to other concepts that will live off the traffic on the Internet.

Anyway, my rationale for looking at something now is to be able to access 4000 Days with less dependency on my office-based computer. And a little flexibility with some of my business pages at home becomes an added, and tax-deductible, bonus.

Those of you concerned about the writers' strike and it's effects on 4000 Days can rest easy. Even if those LA liberals set up a picket line here in the QCA, I'm crossing. New material will always be here. No re-runs.

My pal Roy's iPhone did not work in Chile. Steve Jobs had better get back to the drawing board.

On the other hand, the I-Pass is the only way to travel Illinois' toll road systems. Breeze through those toll plazas at warp speed and save 50% off the cash price. The only losers are the toll booth operators. Another job ended by the geeks.

So I gotta go. My pal Pete and I are headed over to DeKalb tonight for Augie's season opener at Northern Illinois. This is one of those D-1 - D-III match-ups that doesn't count on the D-1 school's record. It's a lay-up. Just ask Michigan State. Grand Valley State?

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Sunday

Time change. I think I like the "Fall back" move better than the Spring move forward. My body rhythms seem to more easily adapt.

The weather is about to change too. High in the 40's tomorrow. Low in the 20's. I have to move several plants that I want to save indoors now to maintain them across the Winter. The bigger ones will lose leaves, and a few just won't make it. Those that I brought here to my office will need to be misted somewhat regularly because the office is very dry.

Current events.

Tuesday is Election Day across the country. By happenstance, I have already voted. When I stopped by the local library yesterday afternoon to check my email, there was a table of precinct workers set up in the lobby. I thought it a bit curious, and on my way out, I asked what their deal was. And the response was simply that they were set up to accept early voting. So I completed a few forms, filled out my ballot, and wallah, my vote for Tuesday has already been cast.

For the record, I practiced a philosophy from my past: I voted against the incumbents.

The Naval Academy beat ND yesterday for the first time in over 40 years. Three overtimes. ND's fifth loss at home this year. Unprecedented. It's been a year of nightmares. It's shocking to me at how bad the Irish are this year. How does that happen?

My pal Roy reached out to me today from South America. He may be on vacation, but he's always afraid that he may be missing out on some info from home.

The local fishwrap has selected Froma Harrop as a national columnist to replace the deceased Molly Ivins. I think. I don't think that she is as over-the-top liberal as Ms. Ivins, but her tendencies are in support of most liberal causes. I've only recently begun reading some of her work. Since I rarely agree with her points, I suspect that our politics will clash. Stay tuned.

Here's a bit of history that is of note. You may have seen a story in the news this past week on the death of the pilot whose plane dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan that helped bring an end to World War II. The name of the plane, the Enola Gay, is a frequent answer in crossword puzzles. What I didn't know is that the pilot, Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr., called Des Moines home in his early childhood, and actually lived in Davenport for a couple of years. And the real interesting point, his mother, a native of Glidden, Iowa, was named Enola Gay Haggard. You can look it up.

All for today. Enjoy the last of the warm weather.

BCOT

Saturday

Sorry for not getting online yesterday, but it was a whole day on the road. C-town for a conference. Left at 0h-dark-hundred, and didn't get back until after 9 PM.

I guess it would be appropriate if I made today's entry on Travel.

Chicago remains one of my favorite destinations. There's a ton of things I like about the city. The fact that The Loop is only 200 miles from my house is a big plus, as this makes access by car a no-brainer. As I have mentioned on these pages previously, it's satisfying to know that you can go to a big city without detailed knowledge of a destination point, and know that you can "feel" your way to the location without major trauma. This was certainly the case yesterday as my conference was held at a Northwest suburban conference center that I had never before visited. I spent less than five minutes "feeling" my way to the conference facility once I exited the freeway.

That said, traffic remains a big disincentive to make that trip very often. I spent at least as much time in the car yesterday as I did at the conference and at dinner with an attorney friend in Downers Grove. Traffic on any Friday is bad, particularly in the afternoon. Construction on the freeway entering the suburbs from the West ( I-88) is undergoing major reconstruction. And "rush hour" has extended itself to the point where non-rush hour is hard to specify.

My attorney friend said that while he normally takes the train, he had driven to his downtown office yesterday, leaving the Oakbrook area around 5:30 AM. He said that the Ike was busy at that hour, but traffic was moving along briskly. Been there. Done that. 27 years ago. Couldn't do it again.

The conference was close enough to our first house in Arlington Heights that I decided to check out the old place. It took a few missed turns to get there, but it was nice to see how the owners since us have improved the home. We were young, poor and were not planning to stay there all that long. So we didn't undertake the major work needed to refurbish a decrepit garage at the rear of the house. Someone along the way tore out the old mess and put in a new two-car garage with a second story addition to the back of the home. Really nice. By the number of pumpkins on the front steps, it must now be home to a family with several kids.

The trip South from Arlington to meet my attorney friend took over an hour. Ugh! I thought I could miss some congestion by not taking the toll road, but I was sorely wrong, and I had a few missed turns to boot. Just a lousy experience.

One of my friends at coffee this morning suggested that a GPS driving device might be at least a partial answer to the missed-turns part of my trip. He's the second or third guy who has recently touted these things to me. My pal Roy has one as standard equipment in at least one of his cars. I was with a guy a few weeks ago on a trip to southern Iowa and his GPS spoke to him in the voice of Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers films. This stuff makes Mapquest outdated. And I think that competition in the market place is driving the cost down to make the technology more affordable to the masses.

A different angle to dealing with urban traffic that my attorney friend is pursuing is working in the field with more electronic support from the office. He has had mobile accessibility through cell phone, pager and the like for several years. He is now looking at additional technology for his home office that will reduce the need for his presence in his downtown office. While this 0ff-site arrangement has been popular with IT folks and data processors of different ilks for a long time, applying it to a professional service is testimony as to how far we have progressed in today's business environment.

The attorney's social perspective as his family has aged has also evolved and he now speaks of possibly moving closer to the city at some point in the future to take advantage of cultural and entertainment opportunities. This direction rather than a move further West to avoid traffic. If you want to take advantage of the City, you need to choose your lifestyle. A backyard and a lengthy commute. Or a lot more concrete and a few more cab fares.

I might work on this discussion in a future entry. There are lots of angles to debate.

Great day here. I'm out to enjoy it.

BCOT