Brilliant mid-Winter day here today. It was 55 when I was out for lunch. This will make the Winter shorter, for sure.
That entry yesterday from home convinced me to hook-up the regular keyboard and big monitor for my laptop home use. Those attachments were part of the "upgrade" and I still have them in boxes behind my sofa. This laptop keyboard is so sensitive, and my keyboarding technique is so bad, that I have to redo almost every sentence because of the cursor getting lost in the previous sentence or paragraph.
I thought that this machine might be better than my old one since it doesn't have that annoying little blue button smack-dab in the center of the keyboard But I was definitely wrong on that one. The cursor on this one is out of control. Couldn't possibly be the operator.
4 made it home from NYC without travel issues...except that her ride wasn't at the airport in MLI on time. Sorry about that, Kiddo. We fumbled that hand-off.
I see where Starbuck's has made a bit of a national news splash for public endorsement of same-sex marriage. It won't change my coffee habits. Seattle qualifies as a Left Coast city. Why wouldn't they endorse same-sex marriage?
The Super Bowl media blitz is in full swing. Between the concerns about what Madonna might wear, and the possible winners and losers in the commercial wars, a person could almost overlook the fact that there is a game to be played on Sunday. I see where they are dusting off Ferris Bueller. Will there be frogs too? Over/Under on number of scenes with bikini-clad model across the full lot of commercials? 4. Bet the Over.
#07282012 looks very close to 180 and counting down. I haven't jumped on the ticket yet, but it looks like a flight out of MLI on Sunday morning will actually be cheaper than going to C-town. Delta. I think I'll be shipping my bike as added-carry-on as well.
Headed out to enjoy the evening.
BCOT
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday
Pretty nice weekend at this end. Tomorrow is supposed to be even better with highs in the 40's. Suite!
2 and I went over to the Augie game last night and, while I knew it wouldn't be much of a game, it was just awful. We left well before half time when the home team was already up by 40! Millikin needs to re-look at their commitment. This is too good of a conference to send up a JV team.
(Small aside. For the Augie game on Tuesday night, I had gone over by myself after a meeting after 5, and was a little late getting to the gym. I whipped out a $10 for the cute admission girl, expecting a $5 in return. She hands me $7 instead. I look at her funny and ask if they had changed prices. Her response, "No. I gave you the senior discount". Out of the mouths of babes...so to speak.)
Hard to believe that the guy who had a six-shot lead for most of the day in the PGA event managed a triple-bogey 8 on the last hole and is now in a play-off. Goes to show that no lead is ever safe on the tour. This is the same guy who Steve Stricker beat here in the John Deere tournament last year by making an All-World birdie on the last hole. Trial by golf will kill you or make you stronger. (Wow. He loses in the play-off! That'll leave a mark.)
I picked up my replacement Oakley sunglasses today. It was only $25 for the deductible. Interesting revelation was that the Pearl Vision and Lens Crafter's stores are owned by the same holding company. In the time after I dropped my broken glasses off a week or so ago at Pearl Vision, they closed that store. My call for the pick-up came from Lens Crafter's. No problems for my situation. And the bonus is that the eye doc in the Pearl Vision store has relocated to the Iowa Target store which is much more convenient for me.
One of the factoids that made it's way to my consciousness recently was the realization that 2012 is my 30th year with my own professional services practice. (My CPA career actually began in 1976 in Chicago, but it was 1982 that I got the brilliant idea that I wanted to run my own business.) Obviously, the actual anniversary date is later in the year, but I have decided to make a little to-do about the milestone over the course of the year with my clients and business associates. The exact type and content of the to-do is yet to be decided.
Lots of water has run under the bridge since that fateful decision to go out on my own in 1982. 1 would have been 1.01's age, and 2 was a babe like 1.02. 3 and 4 were still in the planning stages. In the world in 1982, we had the following:
1. Cal Ripken started his consecutive games played streak.
2. The movies E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Chariots of Fire were released.
3. Madonna has her debut single.
4. Cats opens on Broadway.
5. Michael Jackson releases Thriller.
6. EPCOT Center opened at Disney World.
7. The Commodor 64 computer was introduced.
8. Time Magazine named The Computer as Machine of the Year.
9. Cheers debuts on television.
10. The Viet Nam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in DC.
I think that I will plan to do at least one blog entry per month during the course of this year to share some of the history that went on during this 30 year journey. Some of the decisions that were made, or the directions not taken might be of some interest to the Peanut Gallery.
I'm giving 3 and 4 recognition today as Daughters of the Day. 4 is visiting in The Big Apple and I'm sure that its been a great weekend. Miss you guys!
Hope everyone has a great week.
BCOT
2 and I went over to the Augie game last night and, while I knew it wouldn't be much of a game, it was just awful. We left well before half time when the home team was already up by 40! Millikin needs to re-look at their commitment. This is too good of a conference to send up a JV team.
(Small aside. For the Augie game on Tuesday night, I had gone over by myself after a meeting after 5, and was a little late getting to the gym. I whipped out a $10 for the cute admission girl, expecting a $5 in return. She hands me $7 instead. I look at her funny and ask if they had changed prices. Her response, "No. I gave you the senior discount". Out of the mouths of babes...so to speak.)
Hard to believe that the guy who had a six-shot lead for most of the day in the PGA event managed a triple-bogey 8 on the last hole and is now in a play-off. Goes to show that no lead is ever safe on the tour. This is the same guy who Steve Stricker beat here in the John Deere tournament last year by making an All-World birdie on the last hole. Trial by golf will kill you or make you stronger. (Wow. He loses in the play-off! That'll leave a mark.)
I picked up my replacement Oakley sunglasses today. It was only $25 for the deductible. Interesting revelation was that the Pearl Vision and Lens Crafter's stores are owned by the same holding company. In the time after I dropped my broken glasses off a week or so ago at Pearl Vision, they closed that store. My call for the pick-up came from Lens Crafter's. No problems for my situation. And the bonus is that the eye doc in the Pearl Vision store has relocated to the Iowa Target store which is much more convenient for me.
Lots of water has run under the bridge since that fateful decision to go out on my own in 1982. 1 would have been 1.01's age, and 2 was a babe like 1.02. 3 and 4 were still in the planning stages. In the world in 1982, we had the following:
1. Cal Ripken started his consecutive games played streak.
2. The movies E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Chariots of Fire were released.
3. Madonna has her debut single.
4. Cats opens on Broadway.
5. Michael Jackson releases Thriller.
6. EPCOT Center opened at Disney World.
7. The Commodor 64 computer was introduced.
8. Time Magazine named The Computer as Machine of the Year.
9. Cheers debuts on television.
10. The Viet Nam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in DC.
I think that I will plan to do at least one blog entry per month during the course of this year to share some of the history that went on during this 30 year journey. Some of the decisions that were made, or the directions not taken might be of some interest to the Peanut Gallery.
Hope everyone has a great week.
BCOT
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Thursday
So after Tuesday's rant, I'm off to the kinder, gentler soul today with some real serious questions about athletes and athletics. I had actually started this yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, but ran into a conflict with work (Egad!) and wasn't able to get the message out.
My thought actually got co-opted this morning on the Mike and Mike radio show on ESPN2 when one of their guests, Mark Schlereth, led a pretty humorous discussion on the wearing of a wedding ring in a professional football game. The holder for the New York Giants in last Sunday's game, Sam Weatherford, was wearing his. I noticed this at the time Sunday when they repeatedly replayed the winning field goal for viewers, several times in slow motion and with a spotlight on the hold.
I actually thought there would have been a rule banning this kind of thing in the NFL. I mean, we had to put band aids over the ear lobes of any of our sixth grade AAU girls if they had on earrings that couldn't be taken off. And most safety procedures in manufacturing, or other blue-collar labor jobs have prohibitions against hand jewelry. But I guess no such rule exists with the pro's.
Then again, Weatherford is a kicker, and those guys usually come from another planet. The guy's Man-Card may be placed on probation.
But it does raise the question about the appropriateness and usefulness of non-essential paraphernalia in sports. Or, perhaps more interestingly, does wearing jewelry create a legitimate case against the activity being considered a sport?
What does a wrist watch do for a golfer, a sprinter or a rower? Who knows what a NASCAR driver might have under that fire suit?
Baseball players wear a wide range of neck apparel, from gold chains to hemp loops. With baseball being a sport rife with superstitions, these neck things probably all have stories.
For basketball players, I think its the silly headband. You see a few guys wearing these things. If head sweat was really a problem, why wouldn't everyone have a band?
OK. Need to get back at it. We are continuing to have LAN issues and coordination with our phones. The IT experts want to toss blame to Quest. Why wouldn't they? It surely can't be anything that they have control over.
More here later.
BCOT
I actually thought there would have been a rule banning this kind of thing in the NFL. I mean, we had to put band aids over the ear lobes of any of our sixth grade AAU girls if they had on earrings that couldn't be taken off. And most safety procedures in manufacturing, or other blue-collar labor jobs have prohibitions against hand jewelry. But I guess no such rule exists with the pro's.
Then again, Weatherford is a kicker, and those guys usually come from another planet. The guy's Man-Card may be placed on probation.
But it does raise the question about the appropriateness and usefulness of non-essential paraphernalia in sports. Or, perhaps more interestingly, does wearing jewelry create a legitimate case against the activity being considered a sport?
What does a wrist watch do for a golfer, a sprinter or a rower? Who knows what a NASCAR driver might have under that fire suit?
For basketball players, I think its the silly headband. You see a few guys wearing these things. If head sweat was really a problem, why wouldn't everyone have a band?
OK. Need to get back at it. We are continuing to have LAN issues and coordination with our phones. The IT experts want to toss blame to Quest. Why wouldn't they? It surely can't be anything that they have control over.
More here later.
BCOT
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Tuesday
So I'm going to make some comments today on one of the hot topics on the minds of the political pundits and other interested commentators: Mitt Romney's tax disclosures. Keep in mind that I don't have much of an opinion about the candidate. If he were to run against The Big O, he would have my support. Beyond that, I've grown hugely weary of all the nonsense and look forward to November 7th of this year.
Anyway...
None of the reports today suggest that Romney has done anything "shady" on his returns. (He does have some "carried-interest" income that is statutorily eligible for the 15% capital gains rate, a concept that has many detractors, but that's a different kettle of fish.) He has made substantial contributions to the Mormon Church, and to his own private foundation. He's paid millions in Federal taxes. My guess is that the searchers will eventually find some "loose ends" that will be considered aggressive tax planning steps.
My experience is that The Man (or Woman) on The Street's eyes tend to glaze over when you start talking about marginal and progressive tax rates, double taxation, Social Security and Medicare tax rates, investment income versus earned income, and Subchapter S income versus wages. And for good reason: as a republic, we have constructed our tax system based on a variety of social, political and financial goals such that there are few straight lines of logic in the Theater of the Absurd that we call the Internal Revenue Code.
Most people in the tax-paying population (and I use that term in recognition of the fact that we have in excess of 40% of households not paying income tax), simply want to know, "What's my refund?" when they sit down to complete their return. (Heck, used car places now advertise that they'll help prospective buyers complete their returns to facilitate the use of the refund to buy a car or truck.)
The sitting President made it clear in his campaign four years ago that "sharing the wealth" was a philosophical premise of his beliefs. He never disputed the famous exchange caught on tape with Joe the Plumber in Ohio, and his administration has continued the mantra of "shared sacrifice". He's received high profile endorsements for higher taxes on the wealthy during his tenure from the mega-rich likes of Warren Buffet and Mark Cuban. (How many times will he in his SOTU address tonight make reference to Buffet's secretary who will be, just coincidentally, sitting alongside the FLOTHUS? Over/Under bet here at 4KDAYS is 3.)
A taxpayer making millions in income, and paying millions in tax is not sharing the wealth because the actual percentage that he is paying (through legitimate means) is lower than the percentage paid by a wage earner. People of the Peanut Gallery, read closely: This is purely Political Pandering and Hyjinx!!! (And at the risk of eye-glazing, there's already a minimum tax out there that gets many of these types of returns to 28% anyway.) If you eat the rich now, who pays for the next 100 years?
I think that the concept that the POTHUS believes in, and that the media will hammer Romney on, is that these wealthy folks should just pay more tax because they can afford to do so. Period. It is an emotional rationale (where's Spock?) that resonates to many people. And there'll be a big "AMEN" out there from that 40+% not paying tax, the Occupiers, Organized Labor, and the other folks who have drunk the cool aid.
A couple of quotes always come to my mind in these discussions: 1) Loosely attributed to Margaret Thatcher; "The trouble with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." and, 2) Even more loosely attributed to Charles Barkley; "I ain't never got a job from a poor guy."
My solution, which I may have stated here previously, and which has no chance of being implemented, is to reduce tax rates, eliminate deductions, and tax everyone and everything. Churches, schools, foundations and all the not-for-profits would have to step up and pay as well. (Get rid of the tax CPA's and attorneys!) Fundamentally, you need to broaden the tax base and reduce the future funding of Social Security and Medicare. The only part of this equation that is rocket science is getting politicians to do their jobs.
In summary, be careful of the conclusions from comparative tax rates and the definition of shared sacrifice. This might be a routine SOTU speech in other years, but make no mistake about tonight, this is the White House's official launch of the re-election campaign. It's now and forward all about November 6th.
BCOT
Anyway...
None of the reports today suggest that Romney has done anything "shady" on his returns. (He does have some "carried-interest" income that is statutorily eligible for the 15% capital gains rate, a concept that has many detractors, but that's a different kettle of fish.) He has made substantial contributions to the Mormon Church, and to his own private foundation. He's paid millions in Federal taxes. My guess is that the searchers will eventually find some "loose ends" that will be considered aggressive tax planning steps.
My experience is that The Man (or Woman) on The Street's eyes tend to glaze over when you start talking about marginal and progressive tax rates, double taxation, Social Security and Medicare tax rates, investment income versus earned income, and Subchapter S income versus wages. And for good reason: as a republic, we have constructed our tax system based on a variety of social, political and financial goals such that there are few straight lines of logic in the Theater of the Absurd that we call the Internal Revenue Code.
Most people in the tax-paying population (and I use that term in recognition of the fact that we have in excess of 40% of households not paying income tax), simply want to know, "What's my refund?" when they sit down to complete their return. (Heck, used car places now advertise that they'll help prospective buyers complete their returns to facilitate the use of the refund to buy a car or truck.)
The sitting President made it clear in his campaign four years ago that "sharing the wealth" was a philosophical premise of his beliefs. He never disputed the famous exchange caught on tape with Joe the Plumber in Ohio, and his administration has continued the mantra of "shared sacrifice". He's received high profile endorsements for higher taxes on the wealthy during his tenure from the mega-rich likes of Warren Buffet and Mark Cuban. (How many times will he in his SOTU address tonight make reference to Buffet's secretary who will be, just coincidentally, sitting alongside the FLOTHUS? Over/Under bet here at 4KDAYS is 3.)
A taxpayer making millions in income, and paying millions in tax is not sharing the wealth because the actual percentage that he is paying (through legitimate means) is lower than the percentage paid by a wage earner. People of the Peanut Gallery, read closely: This is purely Political Pandering and Hyjinx!!! (And at the risk of eye-glazing, there's already a minimum tax out there that gets many of these types of returns to 28% anyway.) If you eat the rich now, who pays for the next 100 years?
I think that the concept that the POTHUS believes in, and that the media will hammer Romney on, is that these wealthy folks should just pay more tax because they can afford to do so. Period. It is an emotional rationale (where's Spock?) that resonates to many people. And there'll be a big "AMEN" out there from that 40+% not paying tax, the Occupiers, Organized Labor, and the other folks who have drunk the cool aid.
A couple of quotes always come to my mind in these discussions: 1) Loosely attributed to Margaret Thatcher; "The trouble with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." and, 2) Even more loosely attributed to Charles Barkley; "I ain't never got a job from a poor guy."
My solution, which I may have stated here previously, and which has no chance of being implemented, is to reduce tax rates, eliminate deductions, and tax everyone and everything. Churches, schools, foundations and all the not-for-profits would have to step up and pay as well. (Get rid of the tax CPA's and attorneys!) Fundamentally, you need to broaden the tax base and reduce the future funding of Social Security and Medicare. The only part of this equation that is rocket science is getting politicians to do their jobs.
In summary, be careful of the conclusions from comparative tax rates and the definition of shared sacrifice. This might be a routine SOTU speech in other years, but make no mistake about tonight, this is the White House's official launch of the re-election campaign. It's now and forward all about November 6th.
BCOT
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday
I'm going to transcribe below in full a short essay that I wrote to myself on January 13, 2005 that I found in one of my infamous "piles" while I was rearranging my office over the weekend. It struck me a little uncomfortably that I had let the anniversary of his death pass last week without mention. Perhaps it was the travel, the IT problems, or just plain self absorption. I regret the oversight.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is the day after the eleven-year anniversary of Daddy's death. I'm not sure if that seems like a long time or not since his funeral.
I had my 56th birthday last week. In the little age game that I play, Daddy was 56 in 1966. In 1966, I completed my junior year of high school and began my senior year. That made me 17 years old. Also then in 1966, Rosie would have been 20 and a sophomore at Creighton. Those ages make things pretty comparable to my current age differences with Mary and Kristen.
At 17, I spent most of my time playing baseball, basketball and working on the farm. I dated Jane Doe (obviously an alias for the blog!) almost exclusively and we were "in love". I drove an old Chrysler, I think, and made my first ever visit to Notre Dame. (I rode the train with an Ottumwa lawyer who had graduated from ND and we stayed at the home of one of his classmates who lived in South Bend.) In basketball, we got beat before a SRO packed-house at the Evan's gym by Ottumwa High School in OT in the district tournament. I played baseball with most of the guys on the OHS team, and it was a bitter loss.
Its funny how life goes on. I remember some of those things from 1966 in pretty vivid detail. I wonder if my girls will remember their 17th year in the same way and if they will remember me in a positive light.
At 56, Daddy had been milking cows for over 40 years. But the real joy in his life, I think, was politics. By 1966, he had been an elected county supervisor for at least 8-10 years and he had a very busy world in that regard. He loved talking with people. And he went to many, many funeral home visitations. If there was the remote chance that he knew the family, he would attend the evening service. And he had quite a few evening meetings for the county supervisor's job as well.
Mother worked the 3-11 shift at Ottumwa Hospital at that time, so I rarely saw her of an evening. I don't think that I stayed up as late as her arrival home after work. She worked as a nurse-aide and earned minimum wage. I think that we needed the money, and Daddy always said that she was as happy with that job as at anytime in her life.
She usually fixed me a dinner that I would heat up in the oven...no micro wave!! She frequently cooked extra chicken on Sunday and made home-made TV dinners for me to have later in the week. Chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn!
I never had a job off of the farm, but I always had chores to do with the cows. In summers, there was always lots of work with haying, fixing fences, and lots of other farm stuff. I don't recall receiving a fixed allowance, but I always had enough money for treats with Jane Doe. My summer free time was usually spent playing baseball. Our American Legion team travelled to Cedar Rapids, Galesburg, Moline, and usually a long trip to Nebraska. These were the trips where I learned to play cards...euchre, I think!
So anyway, 56. Its not a bad time. It wasn't bad at 17 either.
=====================================================================
These little essays are littered in no small numbers along my winding path to here. There are almost never any conclusions.
More later.
BCOT
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is the day after the eleven-year anniversary of Daddy's death. I'm not sure if that seems like a long time or not since his funeral.
At 17, I spent most of my time playing baseball, basketball and working on the farm. I dated Jane Doe (obviously an alias for the blog!) almost exclusively and we were "in love". I drove an old Chrysler, I think, and made my first ever visit to Notre Dame. (I rode the train with an Ottumwa lawyer who had graduated from ND and we stayed at the home of one of his classmates who lived in South Bend.) In basketball, we got beat before a SRO packed-house at the Evan's gym by Ottumwa High School in OT in the district tournament. I played baseball with most of the guys on the OHS team, and it was a bitter loss.
Its funny how life goes on. I remember some of those things from 1966 in pretty vivid detail. I wonder if my girls will remember their 17th year in the same way and if they will remember me in a positive light.
At 56, Daddy had been milking cows for over 40 years. But the real joy in his life, I think, was politics. By 1966, he had been an elected county supervisor for at least 8-10 years and he had a very busy world in that regard. He loved talking with people. And he went to many, many funeral home visitations. If there was the remote chance that he knew the family, he would attend the evening service. And he had quite a few evening meetings for the county supervisor's job as well.
Mother worked the 3-11 shift at Ottumwa Hospital at that time, so I rarely saw her of an evening. I don't think that I stayed up as late as her arrival home after work. She worked as a nurse-aide and earned minimum wage. I think that we needed the money, and Daddy always said that she was as happy with that job as at anytime in her life.
She usually fixed me a dinner that I would heat up in the oven...no micro wave!! She frequently cooked extra chicken on Sunday and made home-made TV dinners for me to have later in the week. Chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn!
I never had a job off of the farm, but I always had chores to do with the cows. In summers, there was always lots of work with haying, fixing fences, and lots of other farm stuff. I don't recall receiving a fixed allowance, but I always had enough money for treats with Jane Doe. My summer free time was usually spent playing baseball. Our American Legion team travelled to Cedar Rapids, Galesburg, Moline, and usually a long trip to Nebraska. These were the trips where I learned to play cards...euchre, I think!
So anyway, 56. Its not a bad time. It wasn't bad at 17 either.
=====================================================================
These little essays are littered in no small numbers along my winding path to here. There are almost never any conclusions.
More later.
BCOT
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Saturday
The snow that came in yesterday gave us a sample of Winter. Cool again today, but they say highs in the 30's tomorrow. I'm thinking that Winter not really arriving until the middle of January will make the cold season almost tolerable this year.
My precaution to start my snow blower after Christmas proved fruitless. While I had it running after just a few pulls then, when I got home from work last night anticipating a fairly quick blowing of my drive way, I was rewarded with not-so-much as a sputter out of the blower. So it was back to the basics and the shovel. So far today, I haven't had the shoulder pain that I had expected from the repeated tossing motion. The sick blower heads to the repair shop on Monday.
I did some major re-arranging in my office today. This happens every 10 years or so. There's really only a couple of positions to set my desk, and it was time to revert back to that other option. I spent a couple more hours going through old binders taking up space, and 80% were not kept. We now have several boxes of empty three-ring binders if there's a need out in the peanut gallery. And I still have more to go through tomorrow to complete the project. Come Monday, I'll be working from a clean slate.
The winds out West have been causing havoc. Tahoe Phil alerted me to the wind-driven Reno brush fire, and the PGA tournament today in Southern California has been halted due to high winds. They just showed film of score boards and other structures set up for the tournament now in the water. You don't hear of winds causing delays in many sporting events. (I guess that the Clinton Foundation, one of the tournament's new sponsors, does some good work, but I've always had trouble getting that photo of Bill as a long-haired hippy out of my mind. And that was few decades before Monica. That woman.)
Just to throw it out there, March Madness in the TC will need to be March 16-18, or March 23-25. I prefer the second week, but I defer to others who have more limited schedules.
I'm headed over to the Augie game tonight. The team has under-performed so far this year.
More later.
BCOT
My precaution to start my snow blower after Christmas proved fruitless. While I had it running after just a few pulls then, when I got home from work last night anticipating a fairly quick blowing of my drive way, I was rewarded with not-so-much as a sputter out of the blower. So it was back to the basics and the shovel. So far today, I haven't had the shoulder pain that I had expected from the repeated tossing motion. The sick blower heads to the repair shop on Monday.
I did some major re-arranging in my office today. This happens every 10 years or so. There's really only a couple of positions to set my desk, and it was time to revert back to that other option. I spent a couple more hours going through old binders taking up space, and 80% were not kept. We now have several boxes of empty three-ring binders if there's a need out in the peanut gallery. And I still have more to go through tomorrow to complete the project. Come Monday, I'll be working from a clean slate.
The winds out West have been causing havoc. Tahoe Phil alerted me to the wind-driven Reno brush fire, and the PGA tournament today in Southern California has been halted due to high winds. They just showed film of score boards and other structures set up for the tournament now in the water. You don't hear of winds causing delays in many sporting events. (I guess that the Clinton Foundation, one of the tournament's new sponsors, does some good work, but I've always had trouble getting that photo of Bill as a long-haired hippy out of my mind. And that was few decades before Monica. That woman.)
Just to throw it out there, March Madness in the TC will need to be March 16-18, or March 23-25. I prefer the second week, but I defer to others who have more limited schedules.
I'm headed over to the Augie game tonight. The team has under-performed so far this year.
More later.
BCOT
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Thursday
I'm really not sure how the week has gone by this far with such little attention here, but I plead a medical defense based first on the sore shoulder and then on the dental procedure yesterday. I need to get ready for a visit from an IRS agent this morning, but I refuse to let the Service take me totally off my game. So a few lines here before breaking open those audit files.
Two years ago this week I was down in Orlando for a conference. I remember having to find some shade when I took a walk outside at lunch time because of the heat. Last year, I was still dog-sitting The W while 2 was traipsing about Asia. And we had full-Winter going on last year on those Winnie-walks!
RevKev's post about his private pilot licensing brought back memories of my very limited experience with flying lessons while I was in ROTC at ND. I think everyone in Air Force ROTC was supposed to take flying lessons (that the USAF paid for) in order to do an initial screening for pilot-track guys. I wasn't that interested, but I wasn't smart enough to say "No thanks" either. So I went up a few times with an instructor, confirmed my scaredness, and became a ground-pounder. They didn't try to convince me otherwise.
I was a little surprised to learn that my locally-owned camera store owner essentially said that the failure of my December-purchased Fuji Film water-proof digi-camera was essentially my problem with the manufacturer. I had taken the camera into the store shortly after New Year's when it was apparent that water had leaked into the unit while it was either in my gym bag or my car, and the clerk had basically given me the "send it in for warranty" story. The owner was on vacation until this week. I took it back in, and the owner was similarly matter-of-factly unresponsive. Interesting.
This lack of standing behind a product sold by the store doesn't resonate well for the concept of supporting local small businesses. My experience with the "big box' stores is that a quick return of a failed product shortly after purchase is almost a no-questions-asked event. Maybe the financial dynamics are just easier for the big box to navigate. Whatever. I won't be back to the local guy. And he was very unconcerned by that fact.
The laptop is finally back in operation. Our IT provider made the case that it truly was a Dell problem. I let my pal Bill handle the peace-making with our vendor. The bottom-line is that I am back to normal communications capability. In the long run, I may be looking at an Apple notebook to address my needs for access while on the road.
OK. I need to get ready for the IR of S. Maybe more here later.
BCOT
Two years ago this week I was down in Orlando for a conference. I remember having to find some shade when I took a walk outside at lunch time because of the heat. Last year, I was still dog-sitting The W while 2 was traipsing about Asia. And we had full-Winter going on last year on those Winnie-walks!
RevKev's post about his private pilot licensing brought back memories of my very limited experience with flying lessons while I was in ROTC at ND. I think everyone in Air Force ROTC was supposed to take flying lessons (that the USAF paid for) in order to do an initial screening for pilot-track guys. I wasn't that interested, but I wasn't smart enough to say "No thanks" either. So I went up a few times with an instructor, confirmed my scaredness, and became a ground-pounder. They didn't try to convince me otherwise.
I was a little surprised to learn that my locally-owned camera store owner essentially said that the failure of my December-purchased Fuji Film water-proof digi-camera was essentially my problem with the manufacturer. I had taken the camera into the store shortly after New Year's when it was apparent that water had leaked into the unit while it was either in my gym bag or my car, and the clerk had basically given me the "send it in for warranty" story. The owner was on vacation until this week. I took it back in, and the owner was similarly matter-of-factly unresponsive. Interesting.
This lack of standing behind a product sold by the store doesn't resonate well for the concept of supporting local small businesses. My experience with the "big box' stores is that a quick return of a failed product shortly after purchase is almost a no-questions-asked event. Maybe the financial dynamics are just easier for the big box to navigate. Whatever. I won't be back to the local guy. And he was very unconcerned by that fact.
The laptop is finally back in operation. Our IT provider made the case that it truly was a Dell problem. I let my pal Bill handle the peace-making with our vendor. The bottom-line is that I am back to normal communications capability. In the long run, I may be looking at an Apple notebook to address my needs for access while on the road.
OK. I need to get ready for the IR of S. Maybe more here later.
BCOT
Monday, January 16, 2012
Monday...UPDATED
I was not able to get to the blog due to continued non-performance by our IT experts. I went to Scottsdale without my regular laptop with the Verizon card, and the back-up laptop that I lugged all the way down and back was never able to pick up a Wi-Fi signal at any of the places that had the service. I was not a happy camper.
Lots going on here at the office today. I'll try to add to this entry before going home...because I still don't have my laptop!
UPDATE....
Just a few lines to check back in before heading out for a 1730 meeting. Jet lag kicked in the middle of this afternoon and I'm going to need to suck it up to get through this session. You play, you pay.
I also need to stop at Pearl Vision while I'm over on the Illinois side to drop off my Oakley prescription sun glasses that have a broken lens. I pulled the glasses out of the protective case (for the first time in a month or more) at Grayhawk on Thursday morning only to find them broken. Ouch. They are insured, but the deductible will still cost me out-of-pocket cash. I love this country!
For the record, my Perfect Neighbor did shovel/snow-blow my sidewalk/drive-way while I was gone. Suite! Was there a doubt?
Its pretty hard to see in this photo, but MetLife did send the blimp down to capture course-level video of our foursome. News about our group is not a small thing in the desert. (Actually, I'm guessing that the blimp was there for the Phoenix Marathon that was run on Sunday.)
Now gone. See you here tomorrow.
BCOT
Monday, January 09, 2012
Monday...EVENING UPDATE
We really didn't do a lot of stuff. Visits to the library and the coffee shop were the highlights!
They say that my laptop is to be ready today. It was a little odd being on the road without it. Not to mention the crimp that not having it put into the blog business.
This week holds a couple of busy days, and then departure for Scottsdale on Wednesday afternoon. Golf on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Return Sunday. It will be a quick week for sure.
I'll try to get back on here over my lunch hour. Hope everyone has a good week.
UPDATE...So the new Home Page pic was one that I snapped on #6301082012 on Interstate 380 heading South toward Cedar Rapids with my iPhone camera. I had noticed the shadow of my own car along the same route when we came home from the TC on Christmas Day, but I didn't have the right combination of idea, camera and implementation (and light traffic!). Kind of an interesting view, eh?
The scene reminds me of that James Bond flick when Sean Connery was riding along in reconnaissance in a one-man mini-helicopter when he looks toward the ground and sees his craft's shadow followed by some big ones flown by the bad guys.
Today was re-proof of why I don't schedule meetings for Monday mornings. This was a meeting time not of my choosing, but it was the only time the other parties could do it either today or Tuesday. That meant that several other things had to be juggled, and other projects that should have been taken care of this AM are still open. Yuck! 3, I feel your pain!
Maybe more later...if the laptop shows up.
EVENING UPDATE...Just a few lines before taking off for the barn. Our expert IT outsource guys have delivered as expected on the laptop...so I have no computer at home tonight.
I have near zero interest in the BCS game tonight. Let me re-phrase that. I have NO interest in the BCS game tonight. Re-runs of NCIS, if anything.
In the same vein, I have near zero interest in tomorrow's NH primary. And the same re-phrasing applies.
My original intent was to make tonight an alcohol-free evening on Maplecrest. Midway through that morning meeting, it was clearly evident that the Under bet would be paying on that vino-no vino wager.
Wheels-up at 1325 hrs on Wednesday. Busy times before then. Any entry tomorrow will be brief.
BCOT
Friday, January 06, 2012
Friday
No laptop for the weekend. We'll see if I can make an entry from Woodbury.
This is just to show that I stopped here today. It is the feast of the Epiphany in the Catholic Church. The Wikipedia folks had the religious connotation down several paragraphs in their explanation, choosing the contemporary usage of "sudden realization" of something as the more pertinent discussion. Hmmm.
The PGA season starts today in Hawaii with an event for players who won tournaments last year. The first full-field event is next week, also in Hawaii. While professional cycling has not really had an "off" season, the major riders haven't been involved much for the last three months or so. And they start up with the Tour Down Under in Australia later this month. And for you NASCAR aficionado's, Daytona is still a month away.
OK. Gotta head out for Minnesota. Have a great weekend.
BCOT
The PGA season starts today in Hawaii with an event for players who won tournaments last year. The first full-field event is next week, also in Hawaii. While professional cycling has not really had an "off" season, the major riders haven't been involved much for the last three months or so. And they start up with the Tour Down Under in Australia later this month. And for you NASCAR aficionado's, Daytona is still a month away.
OK. Gotta head out for Minnesota. Have a great weekend.
BCOT
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Thursday
I'm trying to sneak in a few lines here at the office before I head out to lunch and a 1300hrs appointment. Shockingly nice day here today...50's and sunny!
The report on the laptop is "water damage". Dell has to replace the operating innards. Not sure where the water came from, but the condensation on the screen had lead me to that conclusion as well. Our IT vendor says that it is covered under their installation insurance so at least I'm not out-of-pocket any dinero. Inconvenience remains. I hope that they can get it back to me for the weekend.
Word from 3 is that the Friday venue for the pre-wedding-day party has been secured. Details to follow.
I'm thrilled that the Iowa Caucuses are over. Shakespeare had it right: Much Ado About Nothing. I suppose that the process has to start somewhere. Not sure if Iowa is any better or worse as that starting point. At least a couple of the candidates are now toast.
One of our other software providers has thrown out a fee of $100 per box to scan the files in the storage boxes in our basement. Those boxes are what we call "banker boxes". Legal paper size, measuring approximated 20 inches wide by 30 inches long and 14 inches high. We have between 300 and 400 downstairs in storage. Do the math. What a bargain.
I'm sure that we could get this done with interns at a lower cost, but would we ruin our scanner by working it non-stop for two months? On the other hand, the storage of paper is a mess. And can we just convert by attrition as we use less paper in the future and destroy the older stuff downstairs as we get to the end of the normal 10 year life cycle of files?
I'm thinking that it will be nice enough tonight to do a BBQ on Maplecrest. Now that's an idea that doesn't hit the headlines in January very often!
Thanks for checking in.
BCOT
The report on the laptop is "water damage". Dell has to replace the operating innards. Not sure where the water came from, but the condensation on the screen had lead me to that conclusion as well. Our IT vendor says that it is covered under their installation insurance so at least I'm not out-of-pocket any dinero. Inconvenience remains. I hope that they can get it back to me for the weekend.
Word from 3 is that the Friday venue for the pre-wedding-day party has been secured. Details to follow.
I'm thrilled that the Iowa Caucuses are over. Shakespeare had it right: Much Ado About Nothing. I suppose that the process has to start somewhere. Not sure if Iowa is any better or worse as that starting point. At least a couple of the candidates are now toast.
I'm sure that we could get this done with interns at a lower cost, but would we ruin our scanner by working it non-stop for two months? On the other hand, the storage of paper is a mess. And can we just convert by attrition as we use less paper in the future and destroy the older stuff downstairs as we get to the end of the normal 10 year life cycle of files?
Thanks for checking in.
BCOT
Monday, January 02, 2012
Monday
Welcome to another edition of Big Ten Football New Year's Bowling Beatdown. Or choose your own title.
I am officially holiday-partied-out. I need to rest.
The laptop is toast. I'm thinking that water somehow got dumped onto the keyboard. When I opened it up today, there was significant condensation on the outside of the screen. Never a good sign.
The island nation of Samoa elected to convert their time to the West side of the international dateline effective last week. So they "lost" Friday. Hmmm. The math on this reminds me of a genealogy discussion with Tahoe Phil. Apparently, they decided that going back to the West side (from which they had jumped a hundred years ago) made economic sense with their Australian and New Zealand trading partners.
(There's a separate island group called American Samoa to the East of the Samoan Islands. I guess today the two Samoa's are at least a day apart, if not world's apart.)
The TV was on during most of the evening at the New Year's party that I attended, and I couldn't help but wonder about the not-so-ageless wonder, Dick Clark. I just confirmed that the guy is over 80 years old. The make-up artist in charge of him for the show should have received combat-pay. It's one thing for an 80 year-old to want to stay in the game...think Joe Pa...but really, trying to mask that many years for the klieg lights is A Bridge Too Far. Not to mention that most of the people who might actually remember him from his glory days are either below sod, or asleep. Let Ryan call the ball, please.
Bob Barker is another guy who hasn't been able to quit. Scary. Chuck Grassely? At least Hef isn't on the tube.
Interesting that in competitive sports, you really don't have an option: when you can't perform at the highest levels, you retire voluntarily, or are unceremoniously cut from the team.
I have determined that the local Country radio station plays three distinctly different "countdown" shows each weekend that review the current hits in country music. Kix Brooks (formerly of Brooks & Dunn) does one now that he's no longer singing, and there are two other long-standing programs. I suppose that each station can choose...and pay...what they want to do for weekend programming. It just so happens that the local station uses all three offerings. And that Kix Brooks show is played multiple times for good measure.
I'm guessing that a local radio station can be run on weekends with no more than one or two people in the building most of them time between Saturday afternoon and early Monday morning. Role the tape. Or may, run the download. A guy could conceivably do it all from his home computer. Kind of like landing on the moon.
By my count, it's 200 days to #7282012. And it's no longer "next year." We have now moved to "this Summer". It even sounds closer.
(Small UPDATE...3 notes, correctly, in a Comment below that her date is actually 208 days away. My mind was working on the house rental date which is 07/22/2012. Which is technically 202 days...but, I'm just not that good at math!)
Thanks for reading.
BCOT
I am officially holiday-partied-out. I need to rest.
The laptop is toast. I'm thinking that water somehow got dumped onto the keyboard. When I opened it up today, there was significant condensation on the outside of the screen. Never a good sign.
(There's a separate island group called American Samoa to the East of the Samoan Islands. I guess today the two Samoa's are at least a day apart, if not world's apart.)
Interesting that in competitive sports, you really don't have an option: when you can't perform at the highest levels, you retire voluntarily, or are unceremoniously cut from the team.
I have determined that the local Country radio station plays three distinctly different "countdown" shows each weekend that review the current hits in country music. Kix Brooks (formerly of Brooks & Dunn) does one now that he's no longer singing, and there are two other long-standing programs. I suppose that each station can choose...and pay...what they want to do for weekend programming. It just so happens that the local station uses all three offerings. And that Kix Brooks show is played multiple times for good measure.
I'm guessing that a local radio station can be run on weekends with no more than one or two people in the building most of them time between Saturday afternoon and early Monday morning. Role the tape. Or may, run the download. A guy could conceivably do it all from his home computer. Kind of like landing on the moon.
By my count, it's 200 days to #7282012. And it's no longer "next year." We have now moved to "this Summer". It even sounds closer.
(Small UPDATE...3 notes, correctly, in a Comment below that her date is actually 208 days away. My mind was working on the house rental date which is 07/22/2012. Which is technically 202 days...but, I'm just not that good at math!)
Thanks for reading.
BCOT
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Sunday
Mother Nature is trying to blow Iowa off the map today. Strong sustained winds, and gusts that must be up to 45 or 50 mph. We were over 50 degrees here yesterday, but won't be out of the 30's today, and the 20's tomorrow. We've dodged Winter so far, so cooler temps have to be coming.
I had an unusually late New Year's Eve, but very tame. There may have been too much vino consumed earlier in the week. I'm now trying to convince myself that today is Sunday.
Here's a Top Ten list of my 2011 highlights:
1. The arrival of 1.02 on 12/20.
2. Europe in August with 4. The Tourmalet ascent.
3. A home run at the Turkey Trot.
4. The Big Apple with 3 and Herky in October.
5. Charleston with @bcbison in June.
6. Other trips to Scottsdale, San Antonio, and Tahoe.
7. Augie's nice run in the DIII basketball tourney.
8. Wine nights on Maplecrest and at Biaggi's.
9. Early morning Summer bike rides with @bcbison. And DeWitt too.
10.Exercise and training with The Winniferous.
I consider 2011 to have been a very successful year on a personal and family basis, but only so-so at the office. My big push in 2012 will be to rejuvenate things at work, while continuing the string of enjoyable years at home.
It's a bit interesting to recognize that the excitement in the family with the arrival last month of 1.02 has been a deterrent to blogging. Part of that is just due to the natural distraction that such a family-altering event creates. Plus, who wants to read what's wandering through my Sometimer's mind, when there's actually interesting things going on in Woodbury?
This entry is being made from my desktop. I had planned to post it from home, but the laptop was dead when I opened it up. I'm hoping that it's just a case of me having left the machine "on" when I last put it away, and that it drained the battery. I've left it plugged in this afternoon. If that doesn't do the trick, the on-going saga of our "upgrade" takes on another black eye. Hmmm.
And there's another sorry tale for my latest mini-digi camera that I purchased right before Christmas. Seems as though my water-resistant camera somehow got wet, and it's basically shot. The boss wasn't in the store on Saturday when I went in to take it back, and the tool-of-a-clerk's idea of service was to send it back to China on a warranty return. If there's not a better response from the boss on his return, my commitment to the locally-owned store will be toast.
I'd say that the Hawks, 'Clones and Irish all ended their season's appropriately. Talk about mediocre. I watched only short pieces of these games. And none of any of the other games.
And what's with no college bowl games on January1st? Have they always yielded to the pros when January 1st is on a Sunday?
Here's another example of change in the consumer market place. Santa gave me a new, cotton dress shirt for Christmas. When I pulled it out of the package and unfolded it, I was mildly surprised to find no straight pins in the set-up from the manufacturer. Years ago, they would have as many as five or six pins per shirt (at the collar, cuffs and on a couple of the front buttons). Now they use specially shaped, clear plastic inserts and light cardboard. I suppose it saves a few bucks, and it certainly doesn't hurt the presentation of the shirt. Progress, I guess. (Land's End does still provide a small package of extra buttons with the shirt.)
Finally, while the office is closed tomorrow, I'll be in to re-format my own office to get rid of some of the piles. Spring-cleaning in January. I really want to get the year off on the right foot.
If the laptop has any juice this evening, I'll jump back on and add a couple of pics to this post. Otherwise, look for more wisdom here tomorrow.
BCOT
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