Thursday

Just a few lines today.  After-work cocktails scheduled with clients.

Did I mention that I finally got my flu shop yesterday?  My annual physical doc inquired as we were wrapping up, and I took him up on the offer.  In the past few years, I've gone to where ever the Visiting Nurses were set up, like the church, Hy Vee or even the drive-thru at John Keady Cadillac one year.  This Fall, it seemed like everyone had ample supply and you could even walk-in at Walgreen's and get shot up.  I wonder if the shot will actually work against this year's virus?

2's car's problem was the starter.  The thing did start when I went by to pick it up this morning in the retail center parking lot where we parked it last night, then was very difficult to get going when I stopped in at SB's on the way to the repair shop.  At that point, I shifted my diagnosis from fuel system problems to maybe the starter.  And the mechanic later confirmed the latter.  On a relative basis, it's now double ka-jing!

Lots of snow melted here today.  The forecast calls for a few more hours of warmth before the next front of Arctic air blows in.  Hello 2011!

Can't wait to get home later to watch the next Anonymous Flower Bowl game pitting Directional U versus Other Directional U.

BCOT

Wdenesday II

My plans for an addition to my earlier posting evaporated in the local ennui.  The there was the call from a slightly rattled 2 about car problems with the Focus.  Another occasion for use of the Taurus as a "back-up".  My suspicion is that we have a fuel system problem, but my skill-set doesn't extend to auto repair.  We'll have to get the car to the shop tomorrow for some professional help.  Ka-jing.

The annual physical was a non-event.  I do need to cut back on the chips, white breads, donuts and other assorted good-tasting things to lower the cholesterol count.  I think that there's a New Year's Resolution in my future. 

The afternoon spin class was something less than the day's highlight.  The instructor is an enthusiastic, capable gal, but she's a "yeller", and that serves as little inspiration to me.  Attendence was less-than-capacity, and I suspect that her style drives some of the less-committed spinners to other classes.

Tomorrow is the last trading day of the year.  Friday (New Year's Eve day) is a National holiday for the securities business (although the banks are open).  Look for low volume on the exchanges tomorrow: 3 can confirm with first hand knowledge from NYC, but most of the traders have already closed out for the year.  I'll be working Friday in order to clear some of the "piles" in my office so that Monday will have the feel of a true fresh start.

Doesn't look like the Hawkeye men b-ballers have the gas to stay with Illinois tonight.  But take heart 4, I think that the new guy can coach, and he's got a couple of recruits who can actually play in the Big Ten.  He needs even more talent to match up every night, but they'll be winning 20+ games soon, maybe even next year.  (Playing several teams like the Little Sisters of The Poor in the pre-season will help with the win-count too!)

Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Wednesday

So I'm doing a little early morning recognition to the Hawkeyes for surviving in the 4th quarter for a change and winning the game last night.  I, of course, was in bed when the game was being decided.

And I'm giving 4 the nod as Daughter of the Day for staying up and watching the whole thing, although what is considered "late" is a little different for her as compared to me.

Looks like some snow will be melting here over the next couple of days.  Not a bad thing.  They're still carrying stories on the news about stranded travelers at airports.  Bummer.  3 was lucky to get home yesterday on her scheduled flight.

More here later.  I have my annual physical this afternoon.  I've theorized that all the testing, probing and x-raying is all a little overkill:  all the doc needs to do is look at my time for the Turkey Trot.  If it remains under an hour, I'm healthy.

Enjoy the day.

BCOT

Sunday II

I needed to get up a couple of pics from the weekend.  Here's one I snapped just before 2 and I headed home. 

Photo-ops at FFF have pretty well deteriorated to watching 1.01 and deciding, "Hey, that's cute! Get the camera!"  We needed these last few Do we have to? shots after lunch to have some records that Christmas included others beside 1.01!

That said, here's one of 1 and 1.01.  After all, it is her first Christmas!  Not sure if she's going to cover my Under bet for walking by 12/31, but it will be close.  She definitely has it figured out who runs the house.

4 pointed out that her Friday birthday was her "golden birthday".  She celebrated her 24th on the 24 day of the month.  Can't say that I ever had heard of that one before.  I always thought/assumed that a golden birthday/anniversary was for 50 of something.  Are you sure that this isn't just another Hallmark Cards creation?  Hmmmm.

So a busy week ahead of me.  Mostly those select clients who always make 12/31 an exciting time of year.  Buy something to write off?.  Sell losers?  What's the break-even point?  With my pal Bill taking off on a two-week New Zealand trip on Tuesday, we'll need a check-list for me to follow in his absence.  New Zealand!!!

Good luck to the remaining travelers.  Looks like it could get exciting going East.  Especially to 3 and Herky...

BCOT

Sunday

I'm leaving the manger scene up for another day or two in recognition of the season.  I could go to a "white-out" vista from any front door in Minnesota, but I'll save that for the new year.

Merry The-Day-After-Christmas to the peanut gallery!  Pretty typical day here. 1.1 and I are watching the NFL pre-game shows while 1.01 naps, and the girls and SRH are out hunting for retail bargains.  2 and I will head back to the QCA after lunch, while the rest of the crew has another day with the Belle of the Ball.  Actually, 3 is not scheduled to leave until Tuesday oh-dark-hundred, but there's storm out East that may change her plans.  It's been another very successful FFF for our crew.

Special thanks out to my pals Pete and Bill for watching The Winniferous who's been keeping guard at my place.  Very generous, boys!  I owe.

That Christmas Eve drive was a bear.  I-80 was snow-covered most of the way over to Des Moines.  I snuggled in behind a semi-tanker who had no fear and was able to average 60mph most of the way.  Conditions were no where near as bad as last year at this time, but it was a big relief to get to I-35 North where there was little snow to handle.

Immediately upon our 0100 arrival at the Woodbury Hampton, 4 and I were greeted with a wave from a self-described "cranky" 2 and SRH, both of whom immediately returned to bed, while 3 joined us in our room for a glass of the top-shelf J Lohr.  Of course, that led to a second glass.  And perhaps mistakenly, a second bottle.  And an 0300 bedtime.  We barely beat 1.01's get-up time. 

Props to RevKev for getting reunion pics up for the clan.  Then again, the gathering was in early July, and it is now late December, but what's a little space on the calendar?  Here's a good one of the girls.  Lots of good ones of everyone in the complete collection.  Can you say, "Family Photo Album"?  It might be a coffee table book for the ages.

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(Blogger is being very difficult this AM.  I can't get the pic moved according to my preferences.  It's going wherever it wants to go!   Hmmmm.)

Can't say that I remember being on long drives on Christmas Eve before, but it was interesting that many of the gas stations were closed after 5 o'clock.  When I pulled off the highway just North of Des Moines to meet up with 4, none of the stations at the primary Ankeny exit were open. There was a fair amount of traffic, so I was curious if there were/are agreements/contracts with the Departments of Transportation in the states for a minimum number of Interstate outlets to stay open.  I can't imagine that they leave that choice exclusively to the operators.

3 pulled a George Costanza at SB's this morning.  "I'll buy", she said on the way over from the hotel.  Once in line and placing our order, it was the old, "Whoops, Dad.  I left my wallet in the car!"  Unplanned, but a blog-worthy episode.

OK.  Now getting ready for lunch and departure.  Maybe more once I get back to the 563.

Have a great day.

BCOT

Thursday

So this has just been a week where I have been consistently out of my routines.  I'm guessing that such is the case with lots of folks this time of year, but I was caught a little off-guard.  Before I knew it, days were gone.  The wine inventory was down.  And the blog was collecting cobwebs.  My apologies to the peanut gallery.

My pal Roy's mother passed away Saturday morning.  The funeral was yesterday.  93 years old.  24-hour, 365-day in-home care for the last 15 or so years.  She's been bed-ridden for around 10 years, and totally off the mental reservation for the last 3-4 years.  I never knew her very well.  But Roy has very fond memories of her from growing up, and he was very close to her.  Maybe another reason why he and I get along so well.

3 has begun the fam's own version of the Christmas journey (a la, the biblical verse, "In those days , a decree went out from Caesar Augustus...").  At this moment she's trying to find an air-worthy plane out of LaGuardia for her scheduled afternoon direct flight to MSP.  2 and SRH are planning to depart from here early tomorrow morning, and 4 and I are to meet up in DSM tomorrow evening to ride together the rest of the way to 1.01's home.  Lots of moving parts to make FFF a reality.  Here's hoping that the weather cooperates.

So this makes 4 Daughter of the Day as it is her Tax Birthday.  Hope you have a good shift at the station, Kiddo, and don't stay out too late after work.  You have a loooong day ahead of you tomorrow!  (I edited-out the rougher side of this pic to protect the innocent!)

I actually have already completed a couple of Christmas shopping tasks.  And I was tempted to make another stop at lunch, but the traffic was so bad that I quickly lost interest.  The concept of a left turn across traffic is pretty much a lost cause this time of year.  Ingress and egress routes to some of these smaller shopping centers reflect the short-comings of our engineering schools.

Our office is closed tomorrow.  The markets are closed.  It's the national holiday for Christmas.  That makes sense.  If one of the major holidays falls on a Saturday, they normally close offices on the prior Friday.  And if the holiday is Sunday, Monday is the off day.  Interestingly, the banks are open until noon tomorrow.  They are almost never open when the markets are closed.  A bit of a brain teaser.

Maybe more here later.

BCOT

Sunday

Here's a little recognition to 2 and 3 doing some bonding in C-town this weekend with SRH.  This is a pic from SRH's camera phone at Sunday lunch.  I had it sent to my Yahoo account and then saved it to my laptop.  I was able to lighten it up a bit. Pretty girls!

Then I also pulled a "Twitpic" from one of 1's tweets today showing off 1.01's Christmas jammies.  What's the Over/Under on 1.01 fully walking?  I haven't seen her since Thanksgiving, but I'm guessing 12/31 is the date for betting purposes.  I'm taking the Under.

More later.

BCOT

Friday

Just a little morsel this AM. 

The combination of the tooth extraction and the snow combined for me to have a pretty disjointed week.  The tooth deal was probably more stress than anything.  Local anesthetic.  No complications.  Still a little odd to feel the extra space in my mouth.  No immediate decision on the long-term fix.  Implant or bridge likely.  Neither will be cheap.

And we certainly are in full-Winter-weather with snow and cold.  It really makes just getting from here to there an effort.  Traffic is slow.  Holiday traffic makes it even slower.

2 gets the nod as Daughter of the Day.  She has her Iowa MBA graduation tonight over in IC.  SRH and I will attend.  Not sure how the graduation thing works when you still have one course to complete, but I'm just an Old School kind of guy.  But it is a big day for her.  You 'da girl, Kiddo!

3 reports that she made it to C-town yesterday for her meeting.  Not sure of her plans today, but 2 and SRH are headed in tomorrow morning to do a little modified fff with 3 on Michigan Avenue, including an overnight stay downtown.

Looks like I have The Winniferous for Saturday and Sunday.  We'll see if I can keep up with her.

Look for live reports on Twitter from the IC shindig this evening.

BCOT

Monday

So the change in scenery is driven by the local weather.  I mean, we really aren't too close to Summer mountain climbing with my road bike these days.

I had lunch with my pal Roy today and we got to talking about the harshness of farm life, particularly dairy farm life, in the bitter cold of Winter.  Doing all those chores (outside!) and then doing the twice-daily milking, with the constant use of water on the udders and the machines.  It makes me cringe even now.  Blessed are the farmers.

Looks like Bret Fav-ra will be on the bench tonight.  I'm betting at this point that he wishes he had stayed retired.  Not only for this year, but also for the dirt that will ultimately get passed out on his stint in The Big Apple.  His legacy will be hard-pressed to match that of the recently deceased Dandy Don Meredith who left the NFL of his own accord at age 29 or 30, and then retired from a successful TV career at age 46.  I'm guessing that the Bretster just ain't that gol-durn bright.

More here later.

LATER...

My day tomorrow will be high-lighted with a tooth-pulling at 1300 hours.  It's the one that has already been through the root-canal, and miscellaneous other probings over the last year.  Not looking forward to the procedure.  Hope they have good drugs.

So the best the Big 10 could come up with for the names of their two new divisions is Leaders and Legends?  There surely will be a do-over when they get guffaw-ed out of the room.  They must have gone to the same media advisors that came up with Drake's "D+" logo. 

Not much else here.  Tossing another log on the fire.  Below zero here tonight.
BCOT

Sunday

For the record, the classic film, White Christmas, with Bing Crosby, is running on AMC as I write this entry.  I actually like parts of this one better than It's a Wonderful Life.  But the listing shows it with a two hour, forty-five minute running time!  LtPC doesn't have that kind of staying power.

(Totally off the wall:  Danny Kaye, Bing's co-star in this one, has a lot of facial expressions and appearances that remind me of Kosmo Kramer on Seinfeld.  Check it out when you see it in the next few days.)

Very successful Christmas party in Muskie last night.  Not sure of the rumor that customers in Muscatine could find no wine in town this AM.

1's report on the snow and cold in the TC hits lots of superlatives.  1.01 will have stories to tell her grandchildren about how cold and snowy it was when she was a girl!

I didn't think that the weather here this morning was that bad, but Gold's invoked the class cancellation protocol, and there was no instructor for my 10 AM spin class.  That fact escaped me (and about 8 others) until a gal went to the desk around 1005 and was told that there was no class.  Whatever.  I still did my own workout by trying to estimate time and distance from the hills on some of my regular road rides.  A couple of other gals hung out for a while too.  A little odd with no music, no spin Nazi and an empty room.  No wonder there are so many stationary bikes gathering dust in so many basements.

The good news is that my Kohl's mailer for the 14-24th had a 30% discount coupon for all purchases.  Christmas might be a little suiter for the fam as a result!

So does putting a hockey rink at midfield in The Big House and getting 113,000+ people to show up prove anything?  I mean, for most of the crowd, the teams could have just skated and pretended to be using a puck  (Dare I say "air hockey"?).  How can you see a hockey puck from the 55th row?

That reminds me of a story about the 6-on-6 girls basketball set-up in the old days.  The Des Moines Register would occasionally assign non-sports reporters to cover the girls' state tournament.  Donald Kaul, a political columnist whose stuff was syndicated to papers throughout the country, (also a notorious Left Winger extraordinare (and a founder of RAGBRAI)), related that the year they sent him there, the teams were in the middle of the second quarter of the championship game before they realized that they didn't have a ball!

Not even getting into the story about the moon landing filmed in a hanger in Area 51.

Have a good week.

BCOT

Saturday

Here's a pic of 2 and I at the Figge dinner on Thursday night.  She was the Hostess with The Most-est.  Fun night.  Lousy wine, but that was out of our control.

I have made a tentative diagnosis that the recurrent "bug" in my desktop (and maybe my laptop, now that I think of it) may be the memory chip from my good camera.  When I downloaded the pics from Thursday night to my desktop yesterday, the computer started the same sputtering that I have encountered several times in the last few months.  It makes sense.  But I wonder how the bug got on the chip?

More here later.

LATER....

I haven't been that productive today, but I can live with my lethargy.  I did get out and shovelled off my driveway in anticipation of colder temperatures tonight and the next few days.  I was really lazy last weekend when the snow came in, and by driving on the snow, it just packed down.  With the rising temps the last few days, I was able to get the last of it off today with minimum hassle.

One extreme bonus this afternoon was that I was able to get the snow blower fired-up with nominal effort.  No electronic starter, and with my right rotator cuff problem, I had some concerns.  But after not all that many pulls with my left hand, the engine caught, and I'm golden for the next storm!  Suite!

So here is 1.1 as Granddaughter of the Day.  She doesn't look that happy about it.  Hmmmm.  Wonder how long it will be before she'll want to do that hill at Duck Creek Park?  They have like a foot of snow up in the TC over the last 24 hours.  Hope 1 and 1.1 have plenty of provisions in house.  At least I can always walk to Hy Vee Foo for Chinese!

I'm headed down to Muskie tonight for the Christmas party.  Hope the weather cooperates.  My pal Roy may have a guest for the night.


BCOT

Wednesday

Just a few lines during the last session of the conference.  Waterboarding has nothing over forcing a person to sit through eight hours of droning from a video feed talking about Obamacare enforcement.  Where's Kevorkian when you need him?

I was a no-show for early spin today.  It's one thing to get up and get to the gym at oh-dark-hundred, but the cold, the multiple layers of clothes, the cold and the general inconvenience won out today.  I've decided to do penance by sneaking out from here a little early, and getting a run in with The Winniferous before heading over to the game.

This one's for you, RevKev.  Channelling my inner Seinfeld...

One of my intuitive dilemmas these days is the numerous, and conflicting usages of the noun "it" at spin class.  All of the instructors contribute to this problem.  Here's a sample of their liberal use of the term:

1. "Bring it up."
2. "Slow it down."
3. "Hit it now!"
4. "Jog it out."
5. "It's up to you."

Understand that doing spin in a dark room when you really shouldn't even be out of bed, leads the mind to wander a bit aimlessly in the Wasteland.  And the gratuitous use of "it" is beginning to bother me.  I mean, when she says to "Bring it up", I'm saying that "it" is my butt, off the saddle.  But when I hear, "Jog it out", I'm confused; what is "it"? And why am I jogging it out?  I need to talk to Hillary's husband.

The Iowa win last night against UNI in Iowa City was punctuated by swaths of empty seats around the court.  It will be a long climb back for the Hawks.  They really don't have many Big Ten quality players.  I think that this guy can coach, but they need talent.

And for a final note, the football Hawk's leading receiver has a small legal problem that made the national wires this AM.  Not exactly the kind of recognition the team was looking for.  But maybe fitting for their year!

Had enough education.  Off to commune with The W.

BCOT

Tuesday

I'm being "educated" tomorrow.  A Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program on tax issues for 2010 tax return preparers.  Exciting stuff.  All day.  Satellite feed to a room at the local convention center in Moline.

CPA's are required by the states to comply with each applicable state's CPE requirements.  Iowa and Illinois have slightly different requirements, and since we are registered in each of these two states, we have to make sure that we follow both sets of rules.  Generally, you need to secure 40 hours of CPE each year to stay in good graces. 

The Iowa folks audited me this Fall, and I was a little nervous.  My CPE covers lots of territory because of my tax, financial planning and securities work areas.  And I go to a variety of conferences and seminars that most generalist CPA's wouldn't attend.  Plus, I try to do some "double-headers" to comply with the requirements of two or more governing boards that may not formally recognize one another on a CPE basis.  After way too much hand-wringing, memo-writing and data accumulation, the Iowa Board sent me a "No Further Action" form letter within the same week that I sent the stuff to them.  Much ado...

Everyday is some "Day in History".  Some more than others.  This would be one of those "more than others" in recognition of the December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor.  Since the event itself occurred less than 25 years prior to my initial high school class on American history, it took on a much more tangible meaning for me as teachers and parents could relate very specific, first-hand stories about the day. 

Given our post-Woodward/Bernstein culture, there's lots of conspiracy theories out there on who knew what, when.  And whether absorbing such an attack was Washington's sinister plan to coalesce a favorable public opinion into entering the war.  WikiLeaks of the '40's.  The Grassy Knoll.

There was a story on the wires this week about the Pearl Harbor Survivor's Club considering disbanding.  We're one year short of the 70th (!!!) anniversary of the attack.  Do the math.  Sure. There were kids in the area who survived that day, but the sailors would now be at least in their high eighties.  Clubs with that kind of seniority need a new business model.  Maybe, "Relatives of Survivors".

There may not be much entered here in the next couple of days.  Augie has a home game with cross-town rival St. Ambrose tomorrow night, and the Figge's Christmas dinner is Thursday evening.  Writers in the 212 may need to pick up the slack.

For the record, it looks like Gap and Vicki's Secret are two more of the "Holiday Season" culprits.

Have a good evening.  And make it a "Glad" Wednesday.

BCOT

Sunday

I'm starting a "Christmas Recognition Distinction" effort to publish the positions of our various retailers with regard to their political correctness (or not).  KFC's ad for saving time by bringing in their $19.99 dinner special is for the "Holiday Season".  Target's ads that I saw this weekend used "Christmas".  More to come in the days ahead as I take particular notice.  Don't be afraid to add your own in the Comments section.

I had another newspaper etiquette situation this morning at Starbuck's.  I had brought in the two local papers, as I often do, and had them sitting beside me on the couch, fully read as I was just hanging by myself to finish my Cup o' Fire before heading to spin.  A guy walks past toward the back, glancing at the stack, then comes back, stops, looks at the papers again and asks if they are mine.

I responded that, "Yes, they are mine, but I'm done with them and you're welcome to them."  And gratuitously add, "There's not much in them worth reading." To which he responds, something to the effect of, "Yeah, that's why I don't like to buy them."  And he proceeds to pick through the stack, takes a few pieces, says, "Thanks", and goes over to the counter, picks up his coffee, and walks out of the store.

I was taken back a bit at the immediate leaving of the store with the papers.  I had not said anything like, "I'd like them back", but my senses were offended a little that he took the goods and ran.  My idea is that "left" papers at the coffee shop are usually off limits for unfettered taking until after lunch.  Maybe take the puzzle, or an obit, but complete sections?  This guy's act was almost presumptuous to me.  I think. 

Then there's the added factoid that he was clutching the Sunday NY Times to his chest.  So my subsequent analysis was that I had a cheap Left Winger scrounging for my local fish wrap, but willing to spend $5 bucks to lap up the dribble from Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd.  That's not a good fact pattern for hopenchange.

I'm making a checklist to vet the next guy who wants my paper.

OK.  Here's where we're at with NBC:  both Saturday and Sunday afternoons were extended commercials for that pillar of society, Tiger Woods.  The Tiger adulation by NBC Golf's broadcast crew was wretch-inducing.  Give me a break.  The guy is a self-indulgent creep.  And the more tidbits that come out about his various mistresses, the more obvious that he wasn't even good at picking the candy. Hello, Forest Woods.
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Then tonight we had the pleasure to watch Football Night in America, a game that they had shilled ad nauseum all week.  The game featured one team (Pittsburgh) whose quarterback has been investigated formally, twice in different time zones, for sex crimes (and was suspended for the first four games this season by a Commissioner trying to save face for the league), and a second team (Baltimore) whose celebrated middle linebacker was charged with murder a few years ago.  Yeah, these guys got the high-paid lawyers and got out of the crimes, but so did OJ.

Tell me NBC is only trying to do the right thing for reformed sinners.  Right.  I elected to go with a rerun of Ice Road Truckers.

By the way, another current History Channel (inadvertent oxymoron!) success story is American Pickers, the on-going story of a couple of glorified junk yard scavengers who document their travels and negotiations to find treasure in other people's trash, so to speak.  I met the one guy at a river tavern on the Illinois side this Summer.  Very common.  They're based in LeClaire, Iowa, a town just off I-80 when you cross into Iowa from Illinois.  This show is evidence that people will watch almost anything.  Kind of like auctions; put stuff in a box, and some fool will buy it.  P.T. Barnum lives.

So good luck to all with the new week.  Coldest days of the season coming here.  Button up!

BCOT

Friday

Special recognition to the peanut gallery members for participating in the Turkey Trot for The Cure:

Revkev, Carrie, David, Trish, Denise, 1, 1.1, 2, 3, 4 (my treat!). Did I miss anyone?  Thanks to all.

3 has another entry up; see http://www.thehoranies.com/

I have Margret out today for a little exercise before her banishment to SRH's garage for the season.  We have snow in the forecast for this afternoon/evening.  Margret is a fair-weather gal.

Just saw my pal Terry O at second coffee.  All you folks with Sometimers or a derivative take heart: he was just back through SB's to pick up the laptop computer that he had left there earlier this morning!  (He also reported that he's headed to Osaka on Tuesday for a couple of days of meetings.  Flying business class for a fare of just over $8,400!  That's a full week's vacation of FFF in Tahoe, all travel, condo, food and incidentals included.  For eight!)

I'm not much of a die-hard Cub fan, but it is worthy to note that former third baseman and recent radio/TV colorman Ron Santo passed away yesterday at age 70 from complications of diabetes.  He had good numbers from his playing days, All-Star appearances and Gold Glove awards, but he was a bit of a hot-dog who did not ingratiate himself to all the sports writers, and he's been excluded by those voters from the Hall of Fame.  His infamous heel-kicking jumps after wins in the 1969 pennant race were not well-received by the opposition. 

One of the cardinal rules in baseball, more so than any other of the major sports, is that you don't show-up the other team.  Even in sports, you can say that politics matters.

A glaring example to the contrary: Wisconsin football.  What a great rep to have, Bret.

Lebron 1, Cleveland 0.  Of course, the Cav's have no players, but the Heat did it with exclamation points!

All for now.  Good luck with the weekend.  Is shopping a full-contact sport these days?

BCOT

Thursday

I really have nothing to add here today.  I was supposed to attend a continuing education program down in Springfield, but that meeting was cancelled due to lack of interest.  Not mine.  Anyway, it basically made a free day for me, and I was not unproductive.  Bonus!  Then I did a run with The Winniferous tonight to get her out and about.  Double bonus.  And 2 and @bcbison came over for some J Lohr. Suite!

What's the proper lifetime for a living room couch?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Bueller?  I'm past 14 years on mine, and I'm considering an upgrade.  I love my couch.  But it may be showing a little age.  The real question is whether I can get this one down the basement steps for a man-cave upgrade.  Hmmm.

TGIF tomorrow.  Spin at some point.  Wine after 5.  Why wouldn't we?

BCOT

Wednesday

Hello December!  Not sure if we got above 30 here today.  And the forecast over the next week has lows down as far as 10.  Not sure if The Winniferous will be taking many three-mile runs at this point.

This is solicitation week for The Jimmy V Foundation.  They do this every year and rally the college basketball establishment in particular with various efforts.  I think that the celebrity coaches and former players et. al. do this work for expenses only, and maybe less.  There are worse programs, for sure.

The Wednesday column in USA Today today by Craig Wilson was on memorable Christmas presents.  His theme was a combination of, 1) over the years, most presents are forgotten pretty quickly, and 2) the best present is a puppy.  I tend to agree with him on the first point, but I'm thinking that #2 is a bit of a stretch.  (2 probably disagrees with me on that one!)  The Remington that I received last year was certainly a memory maker, but those gifts from the '60's through the '80's and '90's are mostly lost in a fog.

Speaking of Christmas, how far out of whack is the PC crowd in this country that you can't have a Christmas Concert, and can trash the Pope, but you have to be careful not to insult Muhammad?  How long will it be before they'll want to edit the Pledge of Allegiance to delete the reference to "under God"?  I'm a bitter-clinger.

Thanks for reading.  Make Thursday a good one.

BCOT

Tuesday

I have no clue what RevKev and 3 were talking about in yesterday's comments.  Not much of a Jim Carrey fan here.  Bueller?  Bueller?

What's the thought out there on Derek Jeter?  Anybody care?  What do you do with an aging shortstop coming off one of his worst season's at the plate, and whose range in the field has diminished (even though he did win another Gold Glove this year)?  The Yankees are offering $45 million over three years, a substantial drop from the $22 large that he earned this past season (the last year of a long-term deal signed several years ago). 

Even the free-spending Yankees are looking at their financial statement and saying, "Do we need to give the guy an additional $20 milbergers in this economy just because he's a nice guy?"  Believe me, it's not about the money at this point for Jeter.  It's respect.  He looks over to his right and sees A-Rod getting the big money, and he knows that he's the real Yankee and that A-Rod is just a hired man.  It'll be interesting.  Jeter is less than 80 hits from 3,000, a number that surprisingly no previous Yankee has reached.  Not The Babe.  Not Gehrig.  Not Mantle. 

I say that they structure a four-year deal with incentives that will make it work for both sides.  Maybe a kicker for post-playing days employment.  Maybe a separate endorsement deal tied with the team to make the numbers work.  I mean seriously, who wants to see Jeter in a Diamondback's uni?

Then there's further testimony that there is re-birth in the college football coaching ranks. Former "Clone head man Dan McCarney was named today as the new head coach at North Texas in Denton.  Where the flock is Denton, Texas?  Hmmmm.  Just North of Dallas.  Of course it is. The Mean Green?

Actor Leslie Nielson died this week.  For the older folks in the peanut gallery, he will be remembered as the captain in the original Poseidon Adventure, and as the passenger-doctor in the first spoofy Airplane! flick. He then had several hacks at stupid humor in the various Police Squad movies.  I was never much of a fan, but his work goes to show that you can make a career if you keep at stuff and show up for work.  (That conversation in Airplane! with Kareem and the winey kid was classic. "Tell your dad to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!")
.

All for now.  Maybe a little more later.

BCOT

Monday

2 has posted some pics from the weekend to her Facebook page.  I'll do some work here this evening.

LATER....

For the record, 3 has a new post up today.

I pulled the Home Page pic off the Internet (Google Images) to add some general curiosity.  I really don't know much about La Tourmalet other than it is in the Pyrenees, and is a frequent climb in the TdF.  Like The Galibier summit on the trip 2 and I took last year, La Tourmalet will be the goal for the cycling side of the trip 4 and I have scheduled for next August.  Details to follow as 4 and I figure out a plan.

The Thanksgiving weekend was a big success.  Few hitches in the giddy-up.  As 3 aptly states in her entry, 1.01 was the star of the show.  Here's one more pic of the sisters from Saturday night.

Anyone do the math on what the missed field goal(s) cost Boise State in the way of BCS bowl game payouts?  In millions?  I mean, there were undoubtedly other plays that mattered, but what will the masses (like me) who didn't watch the game remember?  NCAA football, like no other amateur (?) sport, has huge dollars going to (or from) the participating schools, often the result of the skills of one or two star players.  Or one sketchy kicker.

My Turkey Trot charity event was a big success. Ten matchers in the peanut gallery, and ten matchers from the coffee clatch.  My check was split with most going to the Cancer Society because of an additional matching program that I was asked to join, meaning that my $450 became $900.  And there may have been a separate $75 that my pals Roy, Ron and Nonnie gave on one check, that might have got the additional match as well.  So all told, we raised over $1500.  Suite!  The natural target for next year is $2K.

When I talked to Uncle Phil last week before Thanksgiving, he was describing the snow storm hitting Tahoe.  I checked the ski report today and they had webcams showing the open runs.  Can't say that I miss Mt. Rose this time of year.  (Hope they get lots of snow to replenish the Lake for next year!)

How do the WikiLeaks people get the classified documents?  And why is it better for our country to compromise our Dark Ops?  Do these folks think that the Taliban would just sit around the fire singing Cumbaya if the imperialist Yankees would make love, not war?

All for tonight.  Have a great week.

BCOT

BCOT

Sunday

Thursday

The sisters.

The "trotters".

The whole crew at our post-race party at Starbuck's.  Also in the pic's, 3's friend Ryan, and my pal Ron.

59:26!!!  I over-trained.

Great Thanksgiving here.  Best regards to all.

BCOT

Monday

Most Baby Boomers with a pulse will remember this day from their youth.  Dealey Plaza.  Dallas, Texas.

In my case, high school biology class.  Sophomore year.

Over the years, my pal Pete has brought into left-handed humor, references to the Zapruder film, the Grassy Knoll, and a "second shooter".  Most recently, Pete offered that the ulnar ligament-tearing bike accident that I had in DeWitt three years ago while trying to carry the Sunday paper under my left arm from the grocery store to The Sunrise Cafe was the result of a second shooter.

Just trying to find a suitable picture for this entry found endless hits on conspiracy theories for the Kennedy assasination.  And I wasn't even looking for the controversy that surrounded the event.  Given the doubt raised in that Seinfeld episode on the Kieth Henandez spitting incident, the single shooter theory is hard to believe.  Just what /who was on that grassy knoll?

2 and I are headed over to Augie tonight for their home b-ball opener against Washington U of St. Louis.  I'm going for the game.  My guess is that 2 is going for the hot dogs and popcorn.  Neither is a bad choice.

The Winniferous and I will do my last training run for the Trot in a little while.  The weather has been Al Gore-like here today.  60+.  But the tide is turning and temps at go-time on Thursday will be in the low 20's.

Hard to believe, I know, but I somehow missed watching the music awards show last night.  My spin instructors talk about their play lists, and I don't recognize the names of anyone they mention.  Few of the songs played have understandable lyrics.  Most are just loud and screeching or woofing.  I truly am old.

On that note, those of you who seem to universally hate Monday, give a loud cheer!  It's over!  The gathering of the clan is just a few hours away.  I dare you all to play The Glad Game in the meantime.

BCOT

Sunday

I guess that it's fair to say that Thanksgiving Week is officially underway.  We could tell that the pace was a little more intense Thursday and Friday as the traffic volume on the arterial streets stepped up to "holiday" levels.  Lots of anxious drivers out there.  And way too many of them on the phone.

I knew that I had been a little neglectful of the blog, but I hadn't realized that it had been this long.  It seems like the Twitter communications and 3's recent entries to The Horanies have kept the information flow going which made my absence here less obvious.  I'll do better this week.

Actually, there was some wine involved in the quiet here as well.  Cal's party on Wednesday night was the start.  Then there was a bit of an impromptu gathering after my run with The Winniferous on Thursday (which made a measurable dent in the cache I had prepared for FFF).  Spin Friday afternoon followed by Happy Hour with 2.  And a desperate call last night from friends for a fourth to fill out the table at a Red Crow dinner.  Social obligations are heck!

I'm giving 2 the nod as Daughter of the Day.  This is her dress for the Festival of the Trees party on Friday night.  Pretty nice, eh?

My appearance in The Horanies as Dad of the Day did not go un-noticed.  I've suggested to 3 that future pics on 4000 Days may have slightly wider range on the permissability meter.

So rather than note the scores that didn't satisfy yesterday, how 'bout the Irish?  Okay, so Army isn't exactly Alabama, but ND has trouble with the Little Sisters of the Poor!!  I'm taking the win.  I'm guessing that it was a pretty festive evening at Yankee Stadium.  And they even broke out the green jersey's for the game.

And speaking of playing football in a baseball park did you catch the fact that the Northwestern - Illinois game at Wrigley Field had the offenses run only one way because they feared for safety on the end that was against the brick, outfield wall?  And they came up with that on Friday after the game had been on the books for how long?  Literally, who's on first?

One of the factoids that came out of the ND-Army stories was that it had been sooo looonnng since the teams had last met in Yankee Stadium.  41 years.  1969.  Funny, 41 years does sound like a long time.  Except that, I was at ND in 1969!!!  (Not that I was at that game, but the pics that they week showing yesterday were of the team members like Joe Theismann who were my classmates.)

What else was going on in 1969?  Here's a partial list:

1.  Viet Nam.
2.  Woodstock!
3.  Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.
4.  Joe Namath "guaranteed" victory in Super Bowl III.  And won.
5.  Brad Pitt was 6, Julia Roberts 2, George Clooney 8, and Matt Damon was a gleam in his dad's eye.
6.  Richard Nixon became President!
7.  Chappaquiddick.
8.  Dow Jones average 800.
9.  Abbey Road album by The Beatles.
10. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.

You get the idea.  There's a delicate balance of when 41 years is a long time and when 41 years is just a matter of time on Wiki.  Whatever.

Less than a hundred hours to The Trot.  My last training run will be tomorrow night with The W.  A couple of spin classes, and then it will be time to see whether in hour will be enough time to cover the five miles.

Oh.  You may have seen this on 2's Facebook.  I decided to do a small, private fund raiser for The Trot.  If you're so moved, great.  I don't need to see the check or electronic transfer.  Just let 2 or me know.  Next year, I may try to get a little more organized.  Or not.  But I'll definitely be running, and a cancer effort will be part of the deal.

Have a great week.  Just hours now for FFF.  I'm excited!

BCOT

Wednesday

I decided to go generic with the home page.  This is a shot looking Southwest down the Mississippi from the Bettendorf levee.

I'm really distraught today with Bristol Palin ousting the much more talented Brandy (?) from DWTS last night.  This Tea Party stuff has gone too far! Pop Culture is pure and should not be disgraced by someone without the proper lineage.  I'm playing the race card.

Congrats to 3 for her recent attention to her blog.  Loved the shot of her "Bag Lady" cart.  (Separately, my pal Bill recently purchased a very similar carrier to tote files from lawyer's office to lawyer's office while in C-town doing depositions on a valuation litigation matter for one of our bigger clients.  He's a big believer in the thing!)

Thanks to RevKev for his explanation on the California illegal immigrant tuition issue.  Not sure where I fall on the question.  Like Illinois (and a few other states too, I'm sure), California is spending money it doesn't have, nor seemingly, a plan to find that money.  I spoke with a SoCal real estate developer this week who seemed to be pleading the case for a Federal bailout of California's budget problems based on the rationale that California was an entity "too big to fail".  Hmmm.

My pal Cal's holiday season office party is being held at his Muskie office after work this evening.  Last year, he hosted the group at the club.  My guess is that the $$$ got a little off budget with that open bar.

The Salvation Army kettles are in full bloom.  I'm thinking that I opined here last year that they need to change their model.  That fact has not changed.

Speaking of technology, on NCIS last night, they had as a minor element of the show, a modern-day pick-pocket using a hi-tech wireless device that could steal and transfer credit card numbers simply by getting proximate to her "mark" while walking down the crowded sidewalk. Scary stuff.  3 needs to mask her wallet on those subway rides!

All for today.

BCOT

Tuesday

Plan.  Action. Completion.

Not a bad end to a long day.

BCOT

Monday

This was a day of Two-a-Days for the LtPC.  Spin early, and then 3.4 with The Winniferous tonight.  Since I was lazy yesterday after my return from DM and sat on the couch, I was short a workout on my calendar.  Mission accomplished today.

Here's an action photo of me in my new night running shell.  Notice the pin light on my left chest.  It blinks!  Kind of like those kids athletic shoes with lights in the heels.  Suite!

And the rear view.

Congrats to 3 for getting through her last major class in her MBA program.  It took a lot of time and was not stress-free.

In related news:  3 put up a new entry on The Horanies today.

I have some curiosity about RevKev's opinion on the California Supreme Court's ruling that illegal immigrant students are entitiled to in-state tuition for California universities.  I haven't read much about the case, but it has obvious points for division among those who might be directly involved or have political aspirations.

All for tonight.  Have a great week.

BCOT

Sunday

This entry is coming to you from the beautiful-beside-the-Interstate Hampton Inn in West Des Moines.  I'm working on my lobby-sitting skills while 4 is off with her friend taking inventory from a night out on the town.  Low-key activities before breaking camp for home.

The factoid of note today is that November 14th is the 5th anniversary date for 4000 Days. It's the blog that keeps on ticking!

Our Saturday activities included watching the Iowa loss at Champp's Sports Bar up at the mall, and then having dinner at the local Biaggi's which is just a few minutes from the hotel.  Bummer of a game, but not a bad place for TV viewing, and the evening meal was excellent. 4's college friend Kelsey joined us for both places.

I think that this area of West DM is a textbook example of urban sprawl.  There are numerous "big box" shopping areas with lots of open space for parking, out-lot stores and restaurants.  Many new housing tracts, wide streets and access roads.  Not sure if it's a bad thing.  Demanded?  Don't know.  Best design?  I'm guessing not, but why conserve when there's so much open space to access?

So what's the sentiment among the peanut gallery with the use of full-body-scans by the TSA at airports?  I had my first experience with one at the Corpus Christi airport on my return from Texas last month.  I wasn't sure what was going on until they had me get rid of "everything" in my pockets, and then enter the booth-like thing, face the one side and extend my hands over my head.  Like I was being X-rayed.  Which I was.  Osama has won the battle of, "Let's make the infidels spend billions on airport security!"

They're promoting pretty heavily the new Denzel Washington movie, Unstoppable.  I'm not a huge Denzel fan, but the guy has made some movies.  For quite a while.  We caught the end of The Pelican Brief last night before din-din, which is now almost 20 years old.  But isn't Unstoppable just a rehash of Speed and maybe Under Siege II, flicks starring acting greats Keanu Reeves and Steven Seagal respectively?  And Hollywood wants to criticize Washington DC for lack of creativity?

4 is back so we need to get our acts together and hit the road. 

More later.

BCOT

Friday

Just a couple of lines today.

I'm sneaking away to do the 4:30 spin class at Gold's.  Then there's a dinner tonight at St. Ambrose hosted by the QC Bicycle Club with the guest speaker being a guy who has won the Leadville 100 Trail ride several times.  Almost cultural.  For a biker.

Then tomorrow it looks like 4 and I are doing a limited fff (lower case) in DM for the Iowa-Northwestern game.  Spur of the moment thing.  A re-visit to the Hampton Inn in West DM from March madness fame.

So get out there and enjoy the weekend.  I'll be checking in from the road!

BCOT

Thursday

So this is May of 1971 on the ND campus immediately after my commissioning ceremony.  The more interesting pic is the one of Mother and Daddy which I must have taken right after the one of me alone was snapped. 

Daddy would have been just over age 61 as of my graduation/commissioning, and Mother would have been 63.  I thought that they were really old at the time.

(The girl in the middle was a good friend from St. Mary's whom I visited in New Orleans that Summer, and I don't think ever saw again.)

More later after the noon ceremony at The Arsenal.

BCOT

UPDATE:  The presentation over at the Rock Island Arsensal National Cemetery was appropriately understated.  Attended by a small crowd of perhaps 150 or so.  Almost a little Mass-like in that the agenda took things through a very standard sequence of welcome, invocation, song, speeches, taps and adjournment. 25 minutes tops.  No helicopter flower drops, but the closing speaker did note that the Thunderbirds did a fly-over in silent mode during Taps. 

My friend and fellow veteran Bill C was at the program (as he is most years).  He's one of my few local contemporaries in the professions who completed active military service.  In his case, he was in the Army Reserves and did the Weekend Warrier thing for 30 years.  He was also deployed for a year to the Middle East for the first Gulf War in the early '90's.  Good guy, even for a lawyer.

Maybe a little more here later after my run.

BCOT

Monday

FLASH:  New Post on The Horanies!!!

Indian Summer here.  (Is that a non-Politically Correct statement?)  Mid 60's.  Sunny.  Light breeze.  Too bad there's that little thing call "work" to mess things up.

My adaptation to the end of Daylight Savings Time is much less inconvenient than the start of it in the Spring.  As an early-riser anyway, getting just a little earlier start is not a bad thing.  I have changed my clocks this time.  Even my bedside one that often goes through these things an hour off some years.  The Ironman is the only one that ever gives me a problem.  I mean, who wants to read directions anyway?

Congrats to the 'Clones for losing admirably.  Lucky you, to the Hawks for, well, being lucky.

3 had some Twitter entries yesterday suggesting that she and Herky were watching the NYC Marathon in Central Park.  That marathon is another one of the "mega-Marathons with 40K+ runners.  Like Chicago.   There has to be some profit in that kind of participation rate.  Sure, they get a primary sponsor, and numerous subsidiary sponsors, but with entry fees in the $100-200 range, we're talking about some serious cash.  I wonder who gets paid?

In follow-up to my comments earlier about night running, I did spring for a new, light-weight running shell/jacket for the time-change, after-dark workouts.  Bright orange with reflective striping.  And a small pulsating light that you can clip on to the collar (or wherever).  The light recharges by way a universal connector to any USB port on a computer.  Suite.  First usage will be tonight with The Winniferous on the Monday Night Run.

Anyone care to opine on the difference between DayGlo Orange and Competition Orange?  I was filling up at a pump recently and a gal in the next lane had a sharp, what I would call "Canary Yellow" Monte Carlo.  When I asked if if was Dayglo Yellow, she responded, "No.  It's competition yellow."  Hmmmm. 

Maybe more later after my run.

Decided that we needed to start the week out with some recognition to our nation's warriers.  Here's to some USAF boys (maybe girls?) ridin' high.

BCOT

Friday

Just a few lines today.  It's Gotta Be 5 O'clock Somewhere.  Never was a big Buffet fan, but he hasn't done too badly being a beach bum for five decades.  Good work if you can get it.

So it was culture night last night at The Figge.  I'll give 2 the nod as Daughter of the Day since she served as our personal hostess for the event which had a SRO crowd in their theater.  The pic is from either the pre or post event cash bar at the museum.

The speaker is on a book tour in Iowa promoting his work.  I thought he gave a very good talk with lots of interesting facts and theories.  I didn't buy into all that he said, but I certainly learned more about the guy who gave us American Gothic (painted in Eldon, Iowa).

The horse is a work acquired last year after a very large showing by a gal who has made a career out of creating unique horses from driftwood-looking stuff.  One of my favorite pieces in the building.  It stands in the main lobby.
.

Then you have the real art consigliere's of the local Bohemian community.  What can I say?  Our eclectic tastes set the tone for the "in" crowd at The Figge.  They definitely want us back.  (Not sure why, but I don't think that it is my bank account that makes us the prize catch for local not-for-profits.)

Have a great weekend.

BCOT