Wednesday

Another cold day in the Midwest. And the forecast is for more of the same this weekend.

For the cycling enthusiasts out there, the Tour of Qatar is underway in the Mideast desert. Quickstep's Tom Boonen has won three stages in a row, twice besting Ale Jet (Petacchi of Milram) in field-sprint finishes. Check it out on www.cyclingnews.com.

It's a bit funny seeing the few daily post-race photos from Qatar as compared to similar shots from European races. In Qatar, there's maybe a single male in a traditional headdress (keffiyeh or kuffyah or other spelling depending on your Arabic translation), while in Europe you have at least two podium girls, usually with many assets, all over the winners. Not to mention the photo-journalists' shots of other attractions in the crowds. Here in Qatar, you have sand.

They pronounce it, "Cutter", which seems a little crude. The pronunciation reminds me of the cycling cult film, Breaking Away, which was shot mostly in Bloomington, Indiana. The town boys were known as "cutters", a reference to the town's older generation of laborers who worked the stone quarries and "cut" the granite which was used to build the university's buildings.

I was not much of a biking person at the time. But I did think that the college girl in the movie, Robin Douglass was worthy of a second viewing.

Speaking of sand, Tiger is in Dubai this week, another of the Arab Emirates down the Persian Gulf from Qatar. I think Tiger gets like $3 large to show up, and then gets whatever he might win as well. I've seen some pictures of the Dubai golf course from the air, which is like seeing an oasis in the middle of the desert. Duh!

2 and I did lunch at Mac's in downtown Davenport today. Mac's has a rich history in Davenport politics, and St. Patrick's Day. The place has had some ownership changes in recent years, and there was not much of a crowd today. Not bad sandwiches though.

The new Kelly's on 53rd actually has a big digital clock behind the bar that counts down the time for the entire year until St. Pat's Day. Our waitress the last time I was there gave some huge number as the number of customers they get in the place that one day.

Former Governor Vilsack has taken Jim Leach's lead and has signed on as a visiting professor at Drake in DM.

My Russian cleaning lady was through the place yesterday. I had to remind her that there was dust in my laundry room. I think she was a little embarrassed that I had to point that out. She certainly did a great job catching up. Then again, I live by myself. No pets. I'm gone most of the day. I'm rarely in the house, at least not asleep, for more than four hours a day during the week. And I'm a bit anal about the state of the place anyway. It's pretty easy money.

I'm outta here. ACC Wednesday.

Be careful out there.