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!