Saturday

Very low-key day up here in the TC.

Anyone notice the "wolf" moon last night? There were several stories on the wires about the why's and wherefore's. Check out News on Google for the details. No question that it was bigger/brighter than average. The pic is not mine. (Duh!) Pretty cool.

1.01 has been the star of the weekend. She sleeps a lot. 1 had her at the doc this morning for a routine follow-up check, and the report was 100% positive.

The Woodbury Gold's is a big place with lots of equipment and facilities. On a Friday night, I had to hunt to find an available treadmill at 5:30. And this morning, the place was packed. Predatory trainers. I'm going to try to do a spin class at 0800 tomorrow.

There's a little controversy on the PGA tour this week. And it doesn't involve Tiger's extra-marital activities. The Rules Committee made a change last year, effective for 2010, to bar wedges with square grooves, in an effort to control some of the technology that took lesser skill to work the ball. But they also had to recognize a 20-year-old ruling allowing the square-grooved Ping wedges manufactured prior to 1990.

Phil Michelson and a few other players are using the old wedges this week and are being called out as cheaters by some of the other players. The argument is that they aren't following the spirit of the new rules. I disagree. If the old wedges are okay, then it's not cheating, for crying out loud. I'm sure that Rick Reilly or others will opine on this in a column soon. You heard it here first.

Our wine last night included an Italian sangiovese that we had to take back this morning. The store that we shopped at had a real good selection, and I purposely picked out three bottles from Italy to tout my visit there last Fall. Unfortunately, none we especially memorable, and we should have stuck with J. Lohr. They gave us credit for the returned bottle, and we did replace it with J. Lohr.

Erin is in the house for the KU - K-State game tonight in Manhattan. Looks like I'll be finding out the score on-line as the TV has been switched to Miss America. My sight-unseen-prediction of Miss Texas stands no chance. (Spoke too soon...she made the semi-final 15.)

I normally have a good sense of direction, but I have not found True North for the stores and roads around 1's house. It's almost to the point where I feel like I should take the route in direct opposite of my instincts. Maybe Google Earth could help.

Toyota has some problems. Their PR guy took a page from the political book and has blamed George Bush.

More from the road tomorrow.

BCOT

Thursday

Just a couple of lines tonight.

Departure for the TC around 0845 tomorrow. The Friday entry here will be from Minnesota.

The funerals yesterday did what they always do: they remind you that life is short. Regardless of how long one lives. Both of the decedents lived well.

The preacher at the funeral of the long-time bicyclist included the comment: "Life is a verb." I'm pretty sure that "life" in that sentence structure is a noun, but why quibble with grammar?

The other "take-home" from that service was that the Taps bugler in the military portion of the service did a lip-sync rendition. A lousy one at that. He put the bugle to his lips, and someone played a tape! He didn't even blow into the bugle. What a crock! Milli Vanilli at the cemetery.

I'm sure that there will be some photo additions here over the weekend of the other sisters, so here's shot of 2 as Daughter of the Day for earning A's in her last two MBA classes. You 'da girl!

Have a great TGIF.

BCOT

Tuesday

There was a guy on CNBC today who I just happened to catch because his last name, Elmendorf, caught my eye. Elmendorf Air Force Base (Anchorage, Alaska) was a major stopping point for aircraft flying through Dover during my tour there in the '70's. Anyway, this guy, Douglas Elmendorf, was/is a very bright guy who is the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

His message, very clearly, was that the math in DC just doesn't add up. This was/is the same mantra beat by my buddy David Walker. Unless substantial changes are made, by 2020, the only expense covered by discretionary spending would be interest expense. Check out his blog at: www.cboblog.cbo.gov Something's gotta give.

Interesting that the NFL has decided to try it's Pro Bowl on the open week before the Super Bowl. In South Florida. This is a game that has been played in prior years in Hawaii. The game itself has never meant as much to the players as the opportunity to lounge in the Islands with family and friends. With some of the top players otherwise occupied with the championship game, the allure of the All-Star game is dimmed further. Then again, it is football, held while there is at least one more game that matters. Whatever. Bring on the Lingerie Bowl!

Spin in the early AM. A funeral and a separate visitation to attend tomorrow. I may find myself too busy to catch the SOTU testimonial tomorrow night.

BCOT

Monday

Winter came back! Snow. Blowing snow. A good night for chicken noodle soup.

The virus on my computer was pretty nasty. The IT guy spent most of the afternoon isolating it, and killing it. Not sure of the dynamics, but the warnings came on yesterday right after I downloaded that most-recent pic of 1.01 from my phone. Not saying that 1 was guilty of anything.

I've got to admit that I generally enjoy Monday nights on ESPN this time of year. Big Monday. Usually a Big East game at 6 CST and a Big 12 match-up at 8. Tonight, the Big 12 game is Mizzou-KU from Lawrence. Not exactly friendly rivals. The downside this year is that Erin may be too big of a star to do sideline reporting for these games. Holly Rowe is easier to schedule.

How bad is Indiana? Losing yesterday to Iowa by 15. At home. Didn't see that coming. But I'm still taking the under on the "5 " line for total Iowa Big Ten wins this year. They have two.

The office phone system is pretty much in place. I now have the ability to forward direct calls from my desk unit to my cell phone. If I can figure out the instructions. One by-product of the new arrangement that Uncle Phil noted today is that the old 800 number has been retired. When we set up the new lines, the consensus was that the 800 number had out-lived it's usefulness. Nationwide cell plans being the main determining factor.

Not sure that the Super Bowl will capture a lot of interest from this end. It's too early to determine if a Super Bowl party is in my future, which would be the primary reason for my interest. There was a time... Pre-costume-malfunction days.

Looks like a trip North and a little modified FFF is on the schedule for this weekend. 3 and 4 get to formally meet 1.01. I'll get to experiment with the computer and phone in a digital roaming environment again. US Cellular (my carrier) rents their coverage in the TC, and I have had trouble getting my office email.

All for this evening. Hope everyone is having a good start to the week.

BCOT

Sunday

Another gray day in River City. Rain for most of the last 24 hours. My sump pump has been working overtime. In January? Where does that come from?

Really a good spin class this AM. The New Year's Resolutioners make all but the oh-dark-hundred classes turn-away crowds. You have to call in advance to reserve a bike, and if you aren't there on time, it goes to anyone waiting. I waited until after the Friday evening class to reserve a spot for a Saturday morning class, and it was tough luck, LtPC. Lots of new faces. Which is all OK. I mean 2-3 spin classes a week is plenty.

Here's a new shot of 1.01. 1 reports that the first week has been successful and that 1.01 has already been accepted on a full academic ride to Harvard. There are lots of pics on 1's Walgreen's photo page.

I just got a warning that I have a virus on my machine so I'm going to have to shut down and run the anti-virus program. If it goes well, I'll be back on later.

BCOT

Saturday

I have been a little deficient here this week. Guilty as charged.

The lament in our area is for the lack of sunshine. The temperature has been 20's-30's with constant cloud-cover and moisture in the air. Wednesday night it iced-up everything, and I ended up staying at Roy's after the party at the club that night. There saying more snow early in the week. It's winter.

I made it in as scheduled Wednesday, but my checked bag came in on Thursday. That Detroit connection to here is just a long way between gates. I had an hour between flights, but that's obviously not enough time for the baggage carriers. They delivered it to my house Thursday morning.

The talk over coffee these days is the change of focus in DC from health care to the banks. The Big O's politic-ing over bonuses sent a shiver through the markets. My personal belief is that the members of the House and Senate who are looking at re-election this year have figured out that the climate among their electorates is a bit sketchy. And we all know that the most important thing to politicians after they get elected, is to get re-elected. (Grandpa H excepted, of course.)

I did sign up for Hertz's #1 (or Priority?) Club for ease in future rentals. It's a $60 annual fee. It's a little like paying the freight for the RCL: you don't necessarily need the service, but you value the result. Kind of like tipping well. If you're likely to go back to the restaurant or bar, you might want the staff to remember you in a good way. Which is usually translated to cash remuneration.

The Radio Shack boys (Lance included) haven't had much to cheer about at the Tour Down Under. The race is really getting only nominal coverage on the cycling websites. Since the racing is done while we are sleeping, there's a disconnect to closely following it. Kind of like watching Asian Olympics on tape-delay. They do have nice uni's.

All for now. More from SB's in the AM.

BCOT

Tuesday

Another day with Mickey. This representation, just outside the conference facility at the Contemporary Resort. Really a beautiful day down here. After lunch, almost too hot to sit in the direct sun.

To get to an 0700 local "early-riser"s" session, I was driving in the dark and the fog. With no reference points, I was entirely dependent on the road signs, and they seemed to take me on a very circuitous route to the hotel. I remain amazed/impressed with the sheer size of Walt Disney World. And the turn-offs, clover-leafs and ramps seem very sweeping and wide. Whatever. Walt had it figured out. Bring your credit card (with no limits).

(Watching Super Tuesday basketball on ESPN tonight, Purdue at Illinois, as I write this. Erin is in the house in Champagne. Suite.)

The key-note presentation at the program this morning by David Walker was worth the price of admission. I took the opportunity to chat him up for a few minutes before he took the stage to thank him for making the trip to our meeting. He's a high energy, but very humble guy. One in that small group of folks whom I would walk across the street to greet. He said that he had been on Jon Stewart's show last night, as was scheduled for Glen Beck's show later today. (What a contrast! Like I said, he's politically agnostic.) He's got a new book out. More on that in a future entry.

This conference went "green" by not printing a two pound book with all of the presentations for all attendees. Most sessions were "break-outs" where you chose one of three options. They did have a "print station" with 5-6 high-speed printers where you could go and print the outlines for the sessions that mattered to you. I'm sure that the total printed pages was less than that for full books for everyone, but I think that they need to go to the next step which would be down-loadable outlines only. (One other conference last year had the book on disk.)

The Massachusetts senatorial election today will give the political wags something to spin for a few days. I have said for quite some time that the citizens will eventually get it right. The populous doesn't take kindly to being used or mislead. Not sure that that is what happened in the Bay State, but all of the candidates in this year's elections should take pause and make sure that they understand their electorate (except maybe Chicago).

Space Mountain and the Castle from the Magic Kingdom are both visible from the conference center. So are the three million kids visiting the complex.

Now need to hit the hay and pack as I have an oh-dark-hundred wake-up call so that I can get to another 0700 "early-riser" presentation in the AM. I'll leave at the mid-morning break for my noon flight back to the Midwest. Hope the forecasted ice-storm doesn't materialize.

More from the road tomorrow.

BCOT

Monday

I'm in the middle of a two-hour session on fixed-income securities. No wonder 3 didn't want to work Municipals for Goldman.

I'm pretty sure that I've never been in Disney's Contemporary Resort before today. This is the hotel where the monorail actually goes through the main building. If you click the second pic, you can see the train arriving to the hotel.

The convention facility is off to the side of the hotel. I'm sure that the business model was to have a large convention hall to attract organizations whose members would see the destination as an opportunity to mix business with family. The time we brought the girls down here, I had a conference at one of the other Disney hotels. SRH took the girls to the theme parks while I was in session.

The one observation that I can make generally, is that the structures here are showing some age. The hotel row coming down to Disney City from the Lake Buena Vista exit on I-4 has changed little in the 20-odd years that it has been that I first came here. The properties were always a bit understated, and now with the paint fading and the stone walkways cracked or smoothed from use, I'd say that there's a need in the long term plan for some upgrades. My guess is that the kids don't mind any of this.

(I initially thought that my hotel up in Lake Buena Vista, a Holiday Inn, was a bit run down. In relation to what I have seen today, maybe it's just showing the same age as everything else around here.)

I successfully blew passed the first toll booth coming on the Florida Turnpike yesterday coming out of the airport. Not consciously, but I mis-interpreted the over-head signs for the up-coming exit, toll booth and open-road electronic lanes. I ended up in the e-toll lanes as I was trying to avoid the exit. I suppose that I'll get a "greeting" from Hertz in a month or two. Any estimates on the cost of a missed $0.75 toll?

And the grocery store at the entry to the Disney Hotels road was/is real evidence of opportunity pricing. My guess is that they basically take normal retail and add between 50-100% for anything costing less than $5. The cheapest fruit was oranges at $2.99 per pound. Ouch!

I saw a few T-shirt stores and I will be stopping to find a deal on four Extra-Larges for $10. With patches as necessary.

More later.

BCOT

Sunday

This entry comes from the Sunshine State. At least the weather is more Florida-like than the 40's when my pal Bill was here last week.

Travel was fairly uneventful. I elected to not check a bag, and that usually makes things a little less variable. (I was called out by security for too big of a tooth paste tube in my dop bag.) Hertz's counter is off site so in addition to the monorail ride from the arrival gate to the terminal, there was the shuttle ride from the terminal to Hertz. I'm not over-confident of finding Hertz on the return trip.

And I am considering paying the fee to join the Hertz Priority Club. Showing up and taking any car without going to the counter is appealing to me. (I've gone to Hertz exclusively now on the advice of my insurance agent who says that State Farm and Hertz honor each other's contracts.)

Auntie 2 is all smiles with 1.01 on Saturday morning. 1.01 is a good baby. With more clothes than all of the aunties! It will be fun to watch her grow.

4 was the big winner at her company's holiday party held last night in Lincoln. Her name was drawn for the 42" big screen TV! Suite. I'm sure will get details later.

I get back home Wednesday afternoon. My RCL is due in Wednesday afternoon as well. According to my math, I've been gone more days than I've been home since her last visit. Does that mean that she'll have to work harder to find the dirt?

I did some math on my 2009 schedule, and I computed that I was away from home 35+ days, probably twice my usual total. Then again, those 10 days in Italia don't occur every year! But since I consider last year one of my best years in years, maybe I need to spend a little more time away from the norm.

Uncle Phil noted that 1.01 just missed being born on the anniversary of GP H's passing, 1/12/94. He's been gone like 16 years. A lot of water under the bridge since then.

All for tonight. Hope everyone has a good week.

BCOT

Friday

1.01 as of Friday AM. (More to come from 1 when they get home later today.)

Age: 48 hours!

Thursday

She probably should have been given the distinction yesterday, but LtPC was a little slow on the draw. Here's to 1.01 as Grand Daughter of the Day! You 'da girl, Girl!

Wednesday

Clan expansion!

Peyton Lynne. 7.3 lbs. 21 inches.

1.01 on 4KDays.

Monday

I'm not even going to bore the peanut gallery with the details of the return home odyssey. Suffice it to say, air travel remains one of my least favorite activities. The good part is that I did get home on time and with luggage.

3 and 4 earn Daughters of the Day honors with their belated birthday posting on their blog. It was a big hit with the honoree. Thanks to the authors!

The trip to Italy just keeps on giving. I got an unanticipated greeting from Hertz today with a $45 speeding ticket from Turin included. I know exactly where the trap was set. It was clearly posted. And I thought that I was always complying. There's no details on the billing notice other than the date and the location. I'm wondering if it might not just be a money grab assessed against any (and maybe every) car rental.

Big news from Big Mac in StL. I'm guessing that this announcement was planned at the time that he was named the Cardinals' hitting coach a few weeks ago. The next step will be a full press conference at the start of Spring Training, with open questioning for as long as it takes. With Pujols, Holliday and others on his six. Then it will be left to the media hacks to forgive and forget, or try to hang him out as something toxic. What does it prove to put him in a pillory in the town square for ever and a day?

I see where they are canceling Leno and moving him back to his old slot for 30 minutes each night. Can't really opine on this one as I've never watched his primetime show. I'm taking the "over" though on the bet that somewhere, someone is somehow blaming this one on George Bush too.

Hard to believe, but the peloton fires up for real for 2010 next week in the Tour Down Under in Australia. Lance is on the Team Radio Shack squad that is scheduled to take the line. He'll just ride a supporting role there as they'll be looking for some stage wins for their sprinters.

I won't even mention the countdown to Daytona. (Although I may investigate the "gadgets" inventory to hang one on here some where.) I guess I mentioned it. Sorry.

Go0d luck to 1 and 1.1. Keep the Focus between the ditches, 2.

BCOT

Saturday

Beautiful day on the Raptor Course at Grayhawk. They use this course for a PGA event in the Fall, and you'd best come with your "A" game. I played like a hack, but with 70+ degrees and sunny, what's to complain about?

This is a post-round photo of our foursome, minus the earlier-leaver, Calvinator. Notice the hot rental vehicle. Hertz did me no favors on looks, but it was/is brand new and drives pretty nice. Just a little small for four bigger guys. Not exactly Escalade-quality.

The Home Page pic is a shot off one of the tee boxes. I spent a lot of time out there today.

Italian dinner at a nice spot across the parking lot in a little while. We ate there last year. Some nice Tuscan reds on their list. Early to bed for a travel day back to the Arctic tomorrow.

BCOT

Friday

Dinner at Don & Charlie's in Scottsdale. Great meal, and tons of sports memorabilia.

BCOT

Thursday

The 19th hole at Grayhawk. My pal Roy next to me, Bobby D, and then my pal Cal.

After an o345 wake-up in Denver, we made it into PHX and our clubs caught up with us by mid-morning. We made it for a 1221 tee time. Very cool.

A gratuitous pic of our accommodating server Sam who put up with us old folks. A little out of focus, but Roy was on the other side of the camera.

Troon North golf on Friday.

More from the road later.

BCOT

Wednesday II

Just a few lines this evening from the Moline Airport. We are in a delay for our flight to Denver. They think that we'll get out, but we may miss our connection to PHX. They've already booked us on an early flight out of Denver tomorrow morning. What could go wrong?

We're still without email at work. The equipment people didn't properly coordinate with the phone line people and when some lines were swapped over from the old provider to the new provider, there was the small matter of our DSL line being left in the scrap heap. The effort today to re-establish the connection was large, but unsuccessful. Of course, it was all nobody's fault.

I ended up staying at the Orange Bowl party last night to the happy ending. That made early spin class a bit of a challenge, but I made it, and the personal training session that followed. It was truly a case of "bad shrimp", but there was a bit of "the morning after" slows.

I had a few texts from my pal Pete last night from the game. He said that it was almost like an Iowa home game. He flew back to C-town this afternoon and is now driving to Bettendorf. I hope he beats the snow.

In other good news, I got a call in the middle of the game last night from my RCL who was/is back in town. She wanted to know if I wanted here to clean today or wait two more weeks (since she knew that the substitute had been through just last week). I opted for current service. And I actually saw her this afternoon when I stopped to garage the Taurus and pick up my bags. She thought Mountainman was cool, but maybe a little too big for my place. I, of course, disagreed.

It looks like we might be boarding. I'll add more later.

BCOT

Wednesday

Great game for the Hawkeyes. Congrats to 3 and 4 for the success of their alma mater!!

BCOT

Monday

Still in the Deep Freeze here. It got above zero today, but not much. Really glad to get the Taurus in the garage.

TCU - Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on the tube as I make this entry. Does anyone care? (That same question probably applies to the Orange Bowl tomorrow night. Sorry, Hawkeye fans.)

BTW, it may be useful information to know that the Air Force Academy and Navy both won their bowl games with the triple-option running offense that they both learned from the Georgia Tech coach when he was at Navy. Iowa had better score 30 points or more if they expect to win.

Speaking of football saturation, SportsCenter, and every other sports highlights show, can't play the Wes Welker knee-injury play often enough. Welker is the New England Patriots slot receiver who made a cut while catching a pass yesterday and tore the ACL and MCL in the same leg. Not pretty. I've not been able to watch replays of knee injuries for years. And the video producers seem to think that 14 angles on what can be a career-ender is must-see-TV.

Switching gears...

I've been impressed within the last week with at least three commercial enterprises who have reached out through technology and wished me happy birthday. Starbucks in snail mail was a lay-up as their new Preferred Customer program includes a free birthday beverage. A Gap email greeting with a 25% discount code for an online or in-store purchase in January was a bit of a surprise. But the most unusual was an electronic "Happy Birthday" greeting on the Wells Fargo ATM screen when I had to stop by for some cash over the weekend.

Lots of sales-oriented businesses have had computerized client relationship systems for years. How many birthday cards have you received from your insurance agent(car/homeowner/life) or investment professional? Even the salesman that sold you your car probably has you on a follow-up program. (Remember those little oil-change post cards?) I just find it interesting that designers have made in-roads in the wireless age to new ways to reach customers.

The new phone system at the office is still a work-in-process. I did learn today that I need to hang my wireless ear piece on it's cradle when not in use to keep it charged. Similar to the wireless mouse on my laptop (except that the mouse's power source is not rechargeably-connectable to the computer). Neither of those two words are words.

It's a little scary, but I have to start packing for Scottsdale tonight. One day is plenty for normal clothes, etc., but the golf equipment complicates the one-day, one-hour schedule. One positive for this year's trip...I know where my clubs are. Shoes, balls, and ancillary equipment will require a further search.

What's the deal with the apple falling from the vine on the Google home page today?

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Saturday

The Deep Freeze has set in for a few days. Bitter cold this AM, and it never really warmed up much during the day. It looks like it may not get much better in these days before Scottsdale.
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Spin class this morning was an hour and a half. A very solid challenge. And then I had another hour with my personal trainer. The gym was pretty busy with New Year's resolution folks.
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A major accomplishment today was moving Margret from my garage over to SRH's extra spot so that I could get the Taurus under cover. I hadn't fired Margret up for several weeks, so I figured it was 50-50 to get her going. But after a little initial resistance, she caught on and it was an uneventful trip to her Winter home. See you in March, baby!
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I did a little Winnie sitting this afternoon. What does that say about the excitement in my life? She's pretty used to the routine at my place and did her business outside like a big girl. She seems to like the outdoors. I'm wondering how her breed is generally regarded for cold weather.
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I have the Iowa-Minnesota bball game on as I write this entry. Not only are the Hawks down big early, there's nobody in the stands. I said that the over-under for their conference win total was five, but that makes the under a heavy bet.
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My pal Pete left today for the Orange Bowl. My pal Roy left this AM (flying private) for a few days at his condo in Vero Beach before our Scottsdale trip. Makes a guy feel a little cold and lonely. It will be interesting to see how many Iowa fans turn up in Miami. The report I saw had 45K in Tempe for the 'Clones' Insight.com Bowl at 74K capacity Sun Devil Stadium. Which seems like an over-flow crowd compared to some of the near-empty houses at several of those earlier no-name bowl games.
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The one thing that has been notable in these bowl games is that coaches seem more inclined to take chances to get the W rather than playing it safe for a tie or to continue an overtime. The Idaho guy went for a two point conversion and the win (and was successful) with just a couple of seconds to go in the game rather than kicking the PAT and going to OT. The Northwestern guy tried a trick play and lost rather than test his second string kicker in OT. And lots of plays deep in the playbook come up for air throughout the games. It makes things more interesting.
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All for tonight. I'm scheduled for SB's in the AM. I'm sure that I'll be enlightened.
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BCOT

Friday

Happy New Year!!

The 2010 edition of 4KDays will start tomorrow.

BCOT