Sunday

Here's a nod to the arrival of Spring Training for baseball. It looks to me like Casey may have been the original 'roids poster-boy. But I'm sure that he came by his physique naturally. Or at least with a "clean" artist.

For the record, this was one of Daddy's favorite poems. This, and the two from Robert Service, The Shooting of Dan McGrew, and separately, The Cremation of Sam McGee.

Sunday at SB's. One of the nicest days that we have had in a while. Hope that some of the snow goes away today.

I didn't get into Naperville last night. Which was fine as I got caught up on some sleep. Augie won in a tough game which gave them the outright conference championship. Now they play the second game Friday night, at home, in the four team conference tourney. They'll have to play their best games to win.

The NYT came today with a separate 285 page(!) Spring Fashion magazine insert, in addition to the regular Sunday magazine. I'm sure that the ads paid for the publication of the extra insert, but the Times seems pretty dedicated to making an ego statement of it's print superiority. I mean, how many trees were sacrificed for such a gratuitous effort? I seriously doubt that there are many females in the QCA who will be in line for those designs. Whatever.

Next week will be March. Finally.

I had intended to upload a picture of Mother on the 21st to celebrate the anniversary of her death. I had a couple of photos scanned into my computer, but Blogger didn't like their format, and I have yet to complete a reconfiguration that Blogger will accept. Maybe later this week. I'll definitely get one up for her birthday. Mother passed away either 6 or 7 years ago. I can't remember today. She would have been 100 next month.

Mom (Sue) reminds me that her folks would have been 100 and 98 this year, the same as Mother and Daddy. I had forgotten about the symmetry of their ages.

The plastic band for my Ironman wrist watch cracked last week and I've yet to find a replacement band. I've now checked three different stores. This is a recurring problem for this style of watch. You would think that they would get it figured out and make a better band. But since the replacement band goes for about 33% of the original cost of the watch, Timex may not have any incentive to improve the current design.

My latest favorite country songs are Brad Paisley's Letter to Me, and Taylor Swift's Our Song. Paisley consistently finds music with good lyrics that fits his style. This latest one has several good lines. Taylor Swift has a unique inflection that sets her apart, at least for me, from the other young blonds now in the business. She doesn't have the voice, like Trisha or Jennifer Nettles, but what she has works. I also heard to other day for the first time in quite a while, I Loved Her First. It still works for me.

Just a couple of other notes from sports. The professional peloton is in California this week and Levi Leipheimer is looking good to repeat last year's win. Unfortunately, his new team (which includes TdF winner Alberto Contador) has been blackballed from the major European races this year in payback for failed drug tests by former team members. That makes it a little hard for me to muster much enthusiasm for the cycling season. It does however, mean that there will be fewer blog discussions of same, which may be considered a benefit to my readers.

The Tiger watch has been entertaining this weekend. He continues to amaze. The match he had on Friday with Baddelly was nothing short of remarkable. He had 12 birdies in 20 holes to snake out the win. 12 birdies is a career for me.

So enough for today. Enjoy the sun.

BCOT