Sunday

Here we are, the last day of November.  The 2014 vapor trail continues.

The visit from the Dornies was a big hit.  We'll make them Family of the Day.  (This is a shot from their photo session with Noelle last month.)  Nothing overly exciting accomplished during their visit.  Just good 'ol fff.  Missing 3 and 3.1.

Great also to have 4 here for the week.  And 2 for several days. 

I efforted steaks on the grille last night on Century Heights Avenue.  Not the worst results, but there was a grille malfunction with the upper shelf in the BBQ that diminished the results of my mushroom-veggie concoction.  And doing the cooking in darkness is a challenge.  But regardless, outdoor grilling in late November is a bonus...and a fitting finale for the holiday weekend.

As reported on Twitter, Margret went into hibernation today.  That gets a spot in my garage for the BEATER which then keeps the Buick off the street.  (I've been driving the Buick these cold days when the outdoor-sitting BEATER would be frosted over in the mornings.)

And speaking of the Buick, it's days are numbered.  It needs a new set of tires ($1200 or so), some front-end work (another grand), and its now seven years old.  Blue Book value is down to $5-6K, and those repairs noted, if completed, won't increase that value.  I've contacted my car dealer client to find as good of a low-mileage Buick LaCrosse as he can find as my next vehicle.  They don't make the Lucerne anymore...or any 8-cylinder Buicks.  So a 6-cylinder LaCrosse is the best available substitute.  The color won't be black or white, but all others are okay if the car checks out on mileage and options.

(My pal Roy says I can borrow the Caddy anytime I need a dose of testosterone.  He's also ordered one of those new Dodge Chargers...with 700 horsepower!...which may make it up to Harvest Path one weekend after the snow is gone in the Spring.)

2, 1.1 and I went over to the Augie men's game last night...which Augie won in a rout.  They're rated #1 in the D-III poll right now...and they are very good.  They have a 5'9" guard who continues to amaze.  He has range, quickness, and a no-fear mentality.  They've already lost one big man for the year to an ACL (his third!), and they could run into problems with a team with height, but the way they shoot, run and play D, they''ll be hard to beat..  I'll be going to a few more games.

OK.  Enough for tonight.  Hope everyone gets December off to a good start.  Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Friday

Black Friday is always a Chili's day for the fam.  Not sure if I'd call it "comfort food", but you pretty well know what you're going to get without looking at the menu.  The corn-on-the-cob was a big hit for the younger set.  1.01 and 1.02 are Grandkids of the Day!

The Hawks managed to fritter another one away today.  Glad I wasn't there and didn't catch much of the 4th quarter or the OT on the TV.  Those close losses to Iowa State, Wisconsin and the Huskers make for a season to forget.  Woulda, coulda, shoulda.  Not a lot of scoring difference between 10-2 and 7-4.  Bring on the Sun Bowl.  And basketball season.  Although the prospects there are much the same as they were for the football team.  Potential doesn't automatically get wins.

These Ferguson protests across the country remind me of the sympathetic demonstrations that occurred after the original Occupy Wall Street camp-out in NYC's Zuccotti Park.  Friendly types in the media and liberal circles encouraged the unrest as a means to expand the anti-establishment coalition.  For many of the rabble-rousers who pray on these events (i.e., Al and Jesse), stirring the, "we are oppressed" pot is situation normal, regardless of the facts.  Like the POTHUS's former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel would say, never let a serious crisis go to waste.  Whatever.

Black Friday is one of the slowest business days of the year here at the office.  Light trading in the market.  Lots of clients on the road or otherwise away from work.  Not that I was overly efficient with the phones so quiet, but it is a good time to clean off some shelves.  More of the same in the AM.

I've made the conversion to the stability ball as my desk "chair".  I actually brought the ball to the office months ago, but let it sit in a corner away from me and out of the way.  Not sure what the impetus was to make the switch, but it was definitely overdue.  I need the core lots stronger to compete with my pals Ron and Cal in 2015 golf.  (This is one of the balls from the Maplecrest Fit Club action in the Summer of 2012.)

Speaking of fitness, the passing of the Turkey Trot gets me into the traditional transition time for indoor training, both for golf and Spring cycling.  I have the bike on a trainer in the basement, and the rowing machine is there as well.  So now, its just a matter of allocating the time.

Switching gears, Kenny Chesney (not my favorite country star...but I do like a couple of his songs) made some headlines a week or two ago with some quotes in Billboard magazine about the need for country music to quit "objectifying" women.  Political correctness has hit the saloon!  Gimme a break.  This from a guy who has made millions with songs about the beach, the bars, and the girls at both.  (In the FWIW department, Shania may be on the short list of those artists whom I would walk across the street to meet.)

All for today.  Last night for 4 in the 52722.  Great visit.

BCOT

  Here are a couple of my favorite country girls!

Wednesday

That run over to Iowa City Monday night was a successful venture.  The weather was a bit sketchy for driving 80 on 80, but we made it over to 2's in just a little over the normal trip-time, and the way back was a piece of cake. 

Lots of empty seats at the game.  The students are gone for Thanksgiving.  Lousy weather.  People are busy.  I parked in the public lot down the street toward the Coralville strip, and there wasn't even an attendant there to collect a fee.  We sat midway down at one corner of the court as no one was checking proper seat-taking.  The game was "meh".  The Hawks should win more than half of their Big 10 home games, and maybe steal 3-4 road games.  They have no real go-to guy who can score at crunch time.  If you don't have one of those guys, its tough in tight games against good teams.

(Side bar for 1.1:  One of the referees at the game was Gene Stenatore who also happens to be an NFL referee.  He

definitely had a Sunday football game...and then travelled to Iowa City for that game.  He has a good reputation in football, and the coaches didn't say much about the officiating during or after the Monday game.  Guys like him who keep a full calendar must never know what town they wake up in.)

We left at the 12 minute time-out to go for Airliner pizza.  We found a parking space downtown on the street just a half-block away from the AL.  That never happens.  And the AL was basically deserted.  Literally, maybe one other table occupied.  As reported on Twitter, the pizza was a hit. 

Over wine at 2's, I made a comment about having seen on CNBC's Squawkbox morning business program that Estee Lauder had selected Kendall Jenner as the new face/personality for their glamour products.  If that isn't an illustration of pop culture passing me by, I don't know what is.  I mean, I think of Estee Lauder, and I think of an older target market.  Wiki lists Elizabeth Hurley...who is still very attractive...and Paulina Porizkova from SI swimsuit issue days...as former spokespersons.  I'm dating myself, I know. Still.   Kendall Jenner?

So anybody out there wanna be Secretary of Defense?  The job is open.  The POTHUS served Hagel up as a Thanksgiving appetizer to show how much he is shaking things up after the disappointing election results.  Right.  There's gotta be another progressive political hack inside the Beltway willing to carry some water for BHO.  Can you say, Ebola czar?  Whatever.

So we have 1 and 1.1 delivering the goods from the new Total Wine store in Woodbury today.  Perfect training for my Turkey Trot effort.  (No, I'm not running.  Coffee for Lt. PC.)

Happy Thanksgiving to all in the peanut gallery.  Happy Tax Birthday to @srh4.

BCOT

Sunday

The Thanksgiving weekend got off to a good start here on Saturday with 4 arriving for a week's visit to her old stomping grounds.  She is Daughter of the Day!  With 2 coming over for a function on Friday night, it was a mini fff.  We are all looking forward to the Harvest Path contingent getting here on Wednesday.

My weekend was dominated by my scheduled colonoscopy at oh-dark-hundred on Saturday morning.  Understand that this was not my first rodeo.  My pal Pete and I had been talking since late Summer about taking up the offer from my pal Cal to do a double header, and Saturday was the day.  Let me just say that the experience was everything that I remembered it to be from the last time.  The results: no problems, no worries.  "Nuff said on that.

Hard to believe that we were on The Strip this time a week ago.  Another vapor trail.

4 had requested Bloody Mary's as her drink of choice for watching the Hawkeye game yesterday afternoon.  Obviously, a good Bloody has always been one of my fav's.  So we loaded up with the fixin's at Hy Vee, including the fresh lime and celery.  @srh4 had a stray bottle of hot sauce in the fridge left over from a 1.1 effort.  Pepper. I'm thinking that we should add Worcestershire sauce next.  We had success.  Reinforcements were already required at today's grocery run.  Those go-cups that went to the movies last night with 2 and 4 might have been the reason for the vodka shortage today.

1 has volunteered for a Total Wine stop on the way to Bettendorf Wednesday.  I may take her up on it.

Yesterday was November 22nd.  The 51st anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.  Never saw it mentioned in the news reports or Internet pages yesterday.  For us Boomers, its a day that we don't forget.  Freshman biology class.

This is an article on a guy that Augustana College brought in for some Liberal love-fest to dump on the wealthy.  Among his professional credentials is a stop at the NYT.  Of course.  Now I agree, the tax system is totally screwed up.  I'm all for taking out the tax breaks for special-interest groups.  And get rid of all those obscure deductions and credits.  Lower the rates.  Tax more stuff.  But raising the minimum wage and opening the immigration pipeline will not help the long-term income disparity.  Socialists like this guy make me sick.  And where do they bring him to give him a forum?  To impressionable students who want to save the world.  No wonder our colleges turn out so many wimps.  http://www.qconline.com/news/local/tax-system-redistributing-wealth-to-the-wealthy/article_de700f99-fe8c-5d3e-8dc0-ff4a5b27e2a9.html  I, of course, have no opinion on this.

ND is on target for a 5-loss season...6 if they draw a credible opponent in a bowl game.  (I think I said here on the blog that 5 losses were possible even when they were still undefeated.)  The loss to Louisville yesterday was not really an upset.  ND's defense can't stop the Little Sisters of the Poor.  Then Coach Kelly threw his kicker under the bus in his post-game comments.  (He'd better walk those back this week.)  The game this week at USC will be one of two struggling programs.  That may not draw much of an audience.

(Side bar.  Louisville is coached by Bobby Petrino.  He's the guy who got caught in an affair while coaching at Arkansas when he had a motorcycle accident...with his substantially younger girlfriend on the backseat.  His subsequent firing led to 4's favorite coach, Bret Bielema, leaving Wisconsin for the Arkansas job.  Petrino is as prime of an example as you can get that winning is the only thing that counts in D-1 football.  The Louisville Board of Trustees had to swallow pretty hard when they let this guy come back.  At least I hope they swallowed hard.  Not that that matters.  Winning is the only thing that matters.  And Petrino can win football games.)

Hope everyone has a good start to the Turkey Day week.  Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Wednesday

 

I've selected these three pic's from the files Carrie graciously shared from the Strine photo library.  Lots of good photo's on the download.
(Not sure if the George Strait hat was a hit with all wearer's.)

That marathon had 35,000 participants.  That has to include all the races and all of the members of teams that ran portions of the route.  Still, big numbers for that kind of event.  The Kenyan's stayed home as the winner's time was a bit on the slow side.  I would never have thought of Vegas as a marathon destination.

Special props to all of the second and third generation attendees for the event.  Cousin Matt gets the award for max effort on a short clock.  Molly and Kate were not far behind.  Family is always worth the effort.  Good for all you guys.  The Elders notice.

I see where the POTUS heard we had such a good time in LV that he has decided to make a visit.  They'll be shutting down LV Boulevard again, eh?  Can you imagine trying to catch a flight near the time that he arrives?  (Is the honeymoon over when the Big Three broadcast networks decide not to air his speech live?  Or is that just the reality that the election is over and they're reading sweeps-week tea leaves?)

I went to The Big Golf Sale at the local events center down the street yesterday.  Twice.  Once with my pal Roy (in the AM), and again with my pal Ron (in the PM).  This after having stopped there on Monday night after work.  All of the pro-shops at the area clubs combine to have a single garage-sale like event to get rid of slow-moving inventory at the end of the season.  I bought a couple of gloves and a black pull-over shirt.  $30 total. 

Roy hasn't played since Scottsdale in January.  And he bought the least amount of stuff that I have ever seen him walk away with from that sale.  Ron resisted big numbers too.  As we left the building last night, I was thinking that there was a whole lotta inventory that was going to be going to a re-sellers market on E-Bay.

Speaking of my pal Roy, he's on a quick-hitter over to France for business.  Taking the chunnel from England.  Just a 4-day trip.  My body would have no clue by the time I was back from that kind of trip.

Enough for now.  Thanks for reading.

BCOT




 

Monday

So this is coming from our flight back to Moline on Walmart Airlines (aka Allegiant). I do have to admit that this was a better experience for me when compared to my only previous experience on Allegiant last year going to Arizona. Since 2 handled the reservation procedures, I more or less only had to show up and do the normal check-in and security clearance.

(I would also point out that Allegiant uses McCarran Airport in Vegas just like the other airlines. This in contrast to Arizona where they fly into Mesa. The Mesa experience is much more Walmarty for some reason. Whatever.)

Vegas will never be a favorite destination for me. Too many people. Too much noise. Everything so over the top. Not sure if Sunday was any more congested because of the marathon (or if the marathon contributed to the long lines at check-in today), but I'm betting that it's something every week/weekend. With 40 million visitors in a year's time, it's gotta always be busy.

But this was a good weekend for the family. Saying a formal good-bye to Martha was a healthy experience. It was great to see all of the family. Saturday was well done, well attended and I think would have been well liked by Martha (given that doing nothing was not an option for her!)

A special thanks to Tahoe Phil for hosting the post-service social gathering.

I'll try to complete a Martha entry for the blog later this week.

Some random thoughts from the weekend:

1. The Strip has changed quite a bit from the '80's when I met Wally there a couple times a year. Bigger hotels. So many big places off The Strip too.
2. I don't remember previously renting a car in Vegas. The car rental facility reminds me of PHX. Hertz rates were reasonable. The email receipt was in my Yahoo in-box before I got to the gate.
3. 2 and a half days, three nights in Vegas is an eternity.
4. Vegas beer is cheap, coffee not so much so. Not saying it's double, but the Starbuck's tab for three, with a couple of pastries was always $20+.
5. The publicly piped-in music never stops. Never country.
6. Didn't see a clock outside the room. The 24-hour Starbuck's didn't stock the NYT.
7. The marathon completely shut down LV Boulevard beginning at 1400 local for the rest of the day. Bet that doesn't happen often. It was a marathon in the Rock 'n Roll series of marathons, so they had bands playing at various spots along the route. Loud bands. Other than getting to run on a shut-down LV Boulevard, and finish in the neon lights, the route didn't seem that great too me.
8. The Flamingo Hotel goes back a long time. Far from luxurious, but adequate. Excellent location. The math on tearing it down and replacing it with a newer model must just not work for now. A crowd not much different than what you would see at one of the Iowa casinos.
9. Sidewalk hawkers everywhere. Tickets to shows, tickets to dinners, invites to strip clubs, yada, yada, yada.
10. Buffets. Good grief.

I'll get back here later today. Now MLI.

BCOT

Just a little later...

I'm giving the nod to 2 as Daughter of the Day for her patience in being my roommate in LV.  It was another successful trip where we accomplished our travel goals while simultaneously not driving the other party over the edge.  Thanks, Kiddo!!

That Home Page pic taken with the Canon mini-digi yesterday won't stay here long, but it is a good remembrance of the weekend with the fam.  It was obviously a lower-case fff.  We missed the NY'ers and the rest of the Dornies.  Maybe a March Madness venture to C-town?

Then there was the fact that I had two Hertz cars waiting for me at McCarran.  My name was on the Gold Card sign twice as we hit the Hertz garage for car pick-up.  I consciously looked in my email on Friday morning before leaving my office for my reservation and couldn't find one...so I made the second one (as it turned out).  The counter agent who then assisted me to remove one of the cars was amused.  Sometimer's strikes again.

Cold here upon our return.  But the BEATER fired and we all made it to our respective homes.  Hello work!

BCOT...again

Friday

This pic out of the Dornies' hotel room in SF is such a postcard, eh?

This is go-away day for Vegas.  Departure a little after lunch on Walmart Airlines (Allegiant).

I'll do a entry from the flight and then post once we hit Vegas.

The reason to jump on here now is that today is the nine-year anniversary for 4000 Days.  Think of all the water under the bridge since that first entry!  Why not celebrate in Vegas?

Hope it is a good day in your neighborhood..

BCOT

Tuesday

We'll make this a little Veteran's Day addition to the blog.  Some random thoughts from my days of active duty.

2 used an old photo of me in my USAF ROTC dress blues on Twitter today that would have been taken at Notre Dame in May 1971.  In a separate on-campus ceremony before graduation, I received my 2nd Lieutenant commission into the AF.  Not sure if I have previously shared this photo which would have been taken minutes later when I turned the camera on Mother and Daddy and my St. Mary's friend.  Mother would have been 63 then, and Daddy just 61.  They looked pretty damn good, eh?

My active duty began around July1st when I reported to my first duty station, Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.  They had me in a 12-week training school to be a Vehicle Transportation Officer.  It was all classroom training with lots of familiarization with manuals on policies and procedures.  We never so much as lifted the hood on a jeep.  It was hot and smelly in Wichita Falls.  I made one trip back to Iowa for a wedding near Iowa City...driving all night after Friday class to get there...and all day Sunday to get back after a long night Saturday.

Following that class, I drove to Dover, Delaware for my first permanent assignment.  For the first year there, I ran a shift on the flightline, loading and unloading cargo jets.   That first year was tough duty as it was six days on, two days off, and rotate shifts each week...days, then swings, then graves.  Your body never got used to the time.  Viet Nam was winding down, but there were still casualties...all of which came through Dover.

I made at least two driving trips back to ND that first year for games.   And I drove home at Thanksgiving to pick up that Datsun 240-Z which was my first new car.  $3,900.  I wrecked it before leaving Iowa.  Never told Phil and Margaret about that one.  I lived in the base BOQ (Bachelor Officer's Quarters) for the first few weeks, then to an apartment with another Lieutenant on a different shift.  Almost never saw him.  My junior and senior year college roommate was working for the FDIC in Washington, DC, and I made several trips in to see him as well.

My second year at Dover was in the role of Motor Pool Officer.  It was great duty.  8-5 Monday-Friday.  There was a civilian working as my "assistant", but he had been doing it for years, and my position was largely unnecessary.  I spent lots of time in DC, took a few other trips, switched roommates with another guy who also had regular hours, and life was pretty suite.  I also had my first trip to Europe...two weeks of temporary duty at a base in Germany.  Not much travel, but I did get in for a few beers.  There was another accident with the 240-Z, this one on base when a guy just pulled out and slammed me on the passenger side.  It took 2-3 months to fix the damage. 

Orders for Korea came at the end of my second year in Delaware.  I really don't remember much about the time frame, but I think I drove to Iowa in July/August, and then flew to SF for a few days of R&R before the USAF charter to Korea from Travis AFB outside of SF. I spent time that week with Uncle Phil and Aunt Margaret, but I think I stayed with another college buddy from ND who was working for Phil at B of A.  We did some partying, including with one of Aunt Margaret's divorcee friends (which didn't sit so well with my sister), and I think I had to get some emergency dental repairs for a front tooth that popped off a retainer...bad timing as I recall.

The flight to Korea was a 24-hour exercise.  I read Winds of War. The final leg of the journey was a bus trip from Seoul to Kunsan AFB, a remote outpost on the Yellow Sea.  I was the Base Vehicle Maintenance Officer.  I couldn't change a spark plug.  But if it didn't fly, I had a shop that had to fix it.  I had 30-40 Korean Nationals working for me in addition to at least that same number of enlisted guys.  It wasn't the worst duty, but it was remote Korea.

A Top Ten list of the Korea assignment:

1.  Bought my first decent stereo equipment.  It all came back to the USA with me.  The speakers at srh4's are part of the original package.
2.  Bought my first bike, a Bridgestone, I think.  Never rode it there.
3.  Lived in the BOQ with 35-40 other young officers.  Had daily maid service.  Suite.
4.  Owned a motorcycle for about a week.  Went down once and immediately sold it.
5.  Wrote a daily newsletter for my troops.  Called it the Pink Sheet.  I was blogging even then.
6.  Drank a lot of beer.  Played a lot of cards.  Blackjack (kinda like).
7.  It was an F-4 fighter base that had two planes on alert 24-7, loaded with nukes.  The runways, which were serviced by my maintenance plows and heavy equipment, were not allowed to go down.
8.  Couldn't wait to get back to the US of A.
9.  Had orders to Bolling AFB outside DC for my next assignment.  It was where I had chosen to go, but I asked for, and received, my "early out" papers before leaving.  I was discharged at Travis when I returned to the States.
10.  I'm leaving out a few things.

Pretty sure that there is no new news here.  But I enjoyed the exercise of remembering some of these things.

Hope it is a good day in your neighborhood.  Thanks for the good wishes.

BCOT

Saturday

Looks like a pretty good Fall Saturday in the QCA.  In the Scott Street days of the 1980's, this would have been the time for caulking the brick and casing points on the window openings, and maybe for swapping out the screens and storms.  So glad that that part of my life is history.

I actually toyed with the idea of a quick trip to either the Twin Cities or Phoenix this weekend to see one of the football games...Iowa-Minnesota or ND-Arizona State.  But really, that wasn't going to happen.  Both teams could lose, and who wants to spend gratuitous time on the road for those possible outcomes?  (Good choice...Minny up by 4 touchdowns at half...and the game not that close.) ASU in particular, has a lot invested in this game.  They are favored by 2.5 and ND will be lucky to find a way to win in the Valley of the Sun.

Special recognition needs to go out to the Augustana men's basketball team.  They won that "exhibition" game the other night against D-I Bradley.  Really a big accomplishment.  That said, I had the feeling that they could be competitive given their experience last year against the Hawkeyes.  My pal Pete was giving me live reports from the game.  Good for those guys!

My pals Pete and Cal and I had post-work wine at Biaggi's last night to process the accomplishments (or lack thereof) of our respective weeks.  Cal was the instigator, setting the plan as he went into his hot yoga session in a gym(?) near Biaggi's.  He's kinda hooked on hot yoga.  Whatever.

The highlight of the evening occurred as we left.  Walking out, I caught a glimpse of a guy at the first high-top table in the bar area who somehow registered in my long-term memory.  I went up and spoke to him and confirmed the connection, calling out to Pete to come over to the table.  The guy (John) was the host of an impromptu RAGBRAI party on the patio of a hotel in Decorah, Iowa some 10-15  years ago or so.  I don't think I have seen or spoken to him since.

The story has lots of sub-plots, but I know that it was a Thursday night at the end of a tough day.  And the day before the Friday that Pete and I frequently recall as the Worst Day of Cycling, Ever! John concurred on that fact.  Pete and I were scheduled to tent outside the Decorah hotel where the guy who had a Suburban that carried our over-night stuff was registered.  But we didn't know where the hotel was (pre-Smart phones), and so we just guessed a direction...that was wrong.  We end up at John's hotel, where there's plenty of beer and we stay for a couple of hours to partake.  (I had known John through some other people with Village of East Davenport drinking credentials.)

The evening didn't end when we eventually made our way to the other hotel, as RAGBRAI nights tend to not end early.  Then the next morning, we were sweating profusely immediately.  We never passed a water stop all day, and never had to use a corn field or Porta-Potty. Hills, heat, head-winds.  Ugly day.

So not much else to relate.  Enjoy your Saturday.

BCOT

Wednesday

You Guys!  So glad the election is over!  I think the only people who might be sad are the media companies who will now have to go out and actually sell advertising spots for the first time in 60 days.  (I pity the people in Louisiana who will have to put up with the barrage of negative ads for another month for the run-off election.  Ugh!)

The Augustana Vikings tip off their men's basketball season tomorrow (Thursday) night with a visit to Bradley in Peoria.  It says something for the esteem carried by the Augie coach and the program that they get this games.  Last year, at Carver Hawkeye.  The year before at Gonzaga.  Those D-1 programs are granted one of these "no count" games each year, and for a D-III school like Augie, its a big deal.  The D-1 places know that Augie will come to play, unafraid, and the game will be a good stepping stone into their season.  Win-win.  (My Pal Pete is going, but I'm taking a pass this year.)

We have been suffering from Internet and LAN issues for much of the last few weeks.  We also had a telephone system problem that was determined to be unrelated to the other technology kerfuffle's.  Our IT vendor has spent most of the last year "explaining" why these things happen without really doing much in the way of corrective (or preventative) action.  I've declined to attend any more meetings with them, letting my pal Bill handle that action.  Their shtick sounds to me like Southern Democrats scrambling away from the WH policies on coal or the ACA.  Not many answers.  Lots of excuses.

I see in the Yahoo news today that CBS has let out the leak that actress Jeri Ryan will be a guest on NCIS after the first of the year as another one of Gibbs' ex-wives.  Whatever.  I've had a bit of a crush on Jeri Ryan from her early days on one of the Star Trek TV series' where she played a space creature/character called "7 of 9".  BLBH, I never watch much of any of the shows, but I did click on her image a few times.

This is really an example of the intersection in time of random facts, this being the day that elections dominate the news.  She was first married in the '90's to a Chicago investment banker named Jack Ryan.  (No relation to The Hunt for Red October's Jack Ryan.)  They had a child in 1994, then divorced in 1999.  In 2004, Jack Ryan was the winner of the Republican primary for the open US Senate seat in Illinois.  The opposing candidate was Democratic State Senator Barack Obama. 

Jack and Jeri Ryan had agreed to seal the court files on their divorce.  After his primary win, pressure mounted from various sources (media? opposition?) to release those files, which was done except for the custody documents.  Some is never enough.  Long story short...all of the divorce papers, as well as the child custody documents, were released after the LA Times managed to get involved and got a California judge to so rule.  There were some salacious elements in there about Jack Ryan's sexual predilections which, of course, became headlines immediately.  He shortly withdrew from the general election, leaving the Republicans without a candidate.  They subsequently came up with a weak candidate who presented little challenge to the Democrat in November.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Chicago politics at its finest.

The Country Music Association awards show is tonight.  Yeah, I won't be watching.  They properly gave the EOY award to George Strait last year, but it is unlikely that he repeats.  I'm okay with that.  The younger acts need to be recognized.  I guess.  Although didn't they give TS a big award last year...right before she turned tail (drink for sexist comment, Tom Harken) and headed fully over to pop as her music interests expanded?  And is Florida Georgia Line actually country?  Keith Urban?  Rascal Flatts?  Dan + Shay? 

As I recall, country music has an awards show each month beginning with this show.  I didn't watch any of them last year.  Its a little like reality TV...content is just too hard to produce.  Let's just put some singers in front of the camera and sell some ads.  Whatever.

Let's make 3 Daughter of the Day.  On my basement calendars, I am reminded that she and I were in Incline Village at this time in 2011 as we toured various locations for her 07282012 wedding.  It was a cold day that we met with the club house staff.  You are still a beautiful bride, Kiddo!

All for today.  Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Sunday

This first day of the time switch is always a bit of a challenge.  On the one hand, I like the ease that I have in getting up earlier without having to set an alarm.  On the other hand (sounds like a country song!), eating at the right times and getting the evening organized so that bedtime hits the right number take a few days to handle.  The march from now to the Winter solstice is, if you like daylight, one of the downsides of the "holiday" season.  Maybe that's why they decided to have Winter holidays.

(Just witnessed a real brawl at the end of the NASCAR race!  The 24 was in the middle of it.  One of the idiot young drivers banged into him at the end of the race and ruined what looked to be a good day (even if he couldn't win it).)

Big day in the Big Apple.  Not sure if I have the determination to fight that crowd if 1 were to go there.  A friend from Chicago did just that to watch his daughter today.  My biggest concern would be my lack of local knowledge...and the mass of runners.  I'll worry about that when the day comes.  I'm focusing on January in Phoenix for now. The lay of that land doesn't scare me.

The local bike club had their annual dinner last night which I elected to attend at kind of the last minute.  In the more recent past, they have brought in some notable cycling personalities for these dinners, advertised the event with emails and fliers, and attracted 250 people or so.  I had received zero information about last night's dinner, and the program was a young sales gal from Trek Cycling Tours.  There might have been 100 people in the room.  Curious.

Like everyone else, I've had it up to my eyeballs with the politics.  Interesting that everyone says the same thing.  The candidates, the lobbying organizations, the media, and the public.  What seems most amazing to me is that all sides seems to think that if their respective positions are not agreed to, the opponents not agreeing with them are extreme thinkers not good for that state.  Really?

I know that I have said it in the space previously, but the Thursday afternoon CPE (continuing professional education) seminar hosted locally by the Iowa CPA Society reinforced the position that, if I were a 30-year-old just beginning my career, I'd be making a career change.  The future of enforcement for the Affordable(!) Care Act falling to the tax preparers is a prospect that I wouldn't be able to reconcile.  Its going to get messy.  And expensive.  Maybe I would have made the complete switch over to the securities business...which might have been a good choice.  Whatever.  I feel a little sorry for new CPA's who will spend years figuring out and then complying with the labyrinths of the health care laws/regulations.

Crust last Wednesday was a Jordan night.  Not only is the 2010 vintage a very nice bottle (and affordable at half-price night!), but it gives me good vibrations from our 2013 visit to Sonoma...and the Jordan Winery. (I'm thinking 1 deserves a little recognition here since I think we drank at Jordan on her dime.)

2 has come up with the idea that the second half of the proposed Europe trip next September be in Bordeaux, France.  It could work.  4-5 days in Barcelona.  A train ride to Bordeaux.  Then 4-5 days in wine country.  It has an appeal, eh?  At least a small fff possible, yes?  There's not much TdF cycling in the Bordeaux region...no big hills...but they visit there every couple of years for the sprinters.

All right.  All for today.  Hope the Peanut Gallery has a good week.  Thanks for reading.

BCOT