Saturday AM

The cold did come. -6 on my car thermometer when I went to SB's this morning. Sunny, but a good day to stay inside.

The campaigns are taking stock today in Nevada and South Carolina. I thought I saw a story somewhere that the casino workers' union had endorsed Obama, and that a judge had ruled that some of the caucuses could be held in the casinos for the convenience of the voters. Any on-sight reports to add to this story?

I rarely eat at McDonald's these days, but when I renewed my drivers license yesterday, the convenience of a Mac's across the parking lot won out. The first thing I noticed in the place was the number of young kids. Either yesterday was a school holiday, a nearby childcare business was on an outing, or a couple of prolific mom's were taking their charges out for a treat. I suppose that when our girls were young, people may have had those same thoughts when we rolled in for a family lunch.

Anyone have an explanation as to why the trash bins at Mac's have been changed away from the enclosed container with a floppy door to a flat receptacle with a circular opening on top? Great minds need to know.

And finally, on the soda dispenser machine, the regular Coke nozzle was not on the far left or far right as it is usually arranged. The fact that I noticed the difference suggests to me that Coke may have a stipulation in their retail agreements that their flagship brand will occupy one or both of those preferred positions on the soda stations.

Coke and Pepsi are in a never-ending battle for provider status at restaurants, stadiums, and other soda-available venues. (Each brand sponsors a race on the NASCAR circuit, and each has a "team" of drivers promoting their separate brand.) I've always been a Coke guy. One of my pet peeves of all pet peeves is the waitress who, when I order a regular Coke, responds wither either, "Pepsi ok?", or delivers a Pepsi without even mentioning the substitution. Since most fast-food and other mid-scale restaurants stock only one of the brands, and since Pepsi has done a pretty good job establishing itself locally, I'm often faced with a choice of non-preferences.

Of course, I could be a little more health conscious, and take soda off the list of options. But this is one of those items where, looking at the overall scheme of things, I've concluded that if Coke hasn't killed me by now, another twenty years of excessive sugar water will not be the cause of my demise. Keeping upright on the bike will yield better long-term results.

I saw a picture in one of the papers this week showing people working at clearing the snow from the inside of Lambeau Field in Green Bay. I did a quick Google search and this is apparently a bit of Packer tradition. When needed, the Packers will issue a news release, and the first 300 people in line at the designated time are hired to complete the process. And they will usually have more volunteers than needed, and those extra people can stay in line in case any of the first group need to leave early. And these are not necessarily ticket-holders. Just nutso Packer fans.

2 is dipping her toe into the area of advanced education with her first pre-MBA course starting this coming week. She's here in the office today to get through some introductory/review work on a financial accounting course that starts Tuesday. When Art History meets Accounting, there's some reprogramming of thought processes that must occur. Good luck, kiddo. At least you have easy access to a qualified tutor at home. (Note to reader: 2 lives with her Mother.)

4 spent a couple of days this week "bonding" with other officers on the U of I Pan-Hellenic Council. With an internship in CR with the TV station, classes, and Pan-Hel, she will be a busy little girl this semester. (If Pan was the Greek god of shepherds, and Helen was not a god, but Helen of Troy, where does the term panhellenic come from? And why are there two "l"s in the word?"

So see you tomorrow from SB's in the AM.

Have a great day.

BCOT