Sunday

Very low key weekend. The cast is really bothersome.

1 and 1.1 were at the game in San Diego last night when Bonds hit his dinger. She had text-ed me earlier to let me know that Erin Andrews was at the game as well. Which told me that the game was on one of the ESPN channels, and it was. I actually saw the HR too.

2 helped me yesterday with my grocery shopping. Young people do that for the aged and the disabled.

Here's another example of network TV's lack of flexibility; the PGA tournament in Akron had the 4th round tee off early today in anticipation of bad weather later this afternoon. Rather than give the live feed to one of their cable networks, they will be showing it on tape delay during the regular scheduled time. They needed to get those infomercials on the air this morning. What BS.

I am getting tired of having to explain the cast to everyone. For my meetings in KC this week, I'm going to come up with a much more exciting story.

This is probably going to be a future Craig Wilson column. Late yesterday afternoon as I was lounging very hard on my couch watching golf on the tube, I noticed an older woman walking a little erratically passed my house. I stood to get a better view, and, as was my primary theory, I saw that she was walking a small dog. Near the end of my yard, the dog wandered to the parking, where it appeared to do it's Number 1 business. Then it came back across the sidewalk, and right under my front tree, it did a healthy dose of Number 2. The woman had been standing, watching somewhat bored. With the business done, they turned and went from which they had come.

The entire matter of pet littering is a long-standing irritant for me. I think that allowing a pet to dump on another's property, and leaving it there, is one of the most inconsiderate things that otherwise civil people commonly do. In this case, I thought about yelling at the woman, maybe even racing out with a plastic bag, cleaning the mess and handing it to her with an appropriate comment. In the end, I rationalized that doing anything to express my disgust would probably just scare the woman, who most likely lived by herself with the dog.

So I'm venting here.

On a broader scheme of things, I think that pet owners, generally, intuit that everyone shares their same love of the animal kingdom. A little dung on your yard is just some fertilizer that helps keep the planet green. A few hairs on your shirt? Some pooch jumping your leg, slobbering at your crotch? Minor inconveniences for the enjoyment of a faithful friend. Right.

My official position is that animals are great. Outside. On the farm. And that they stay there, particularly as I head by on my bike.

I saw my first editorial cartoon this AM about the Federal government being at fault for the Minnesota bridge collapse. It's just too easy of a target.

So I'm headed to the couch. Dog walkers beware.

BCOT

Friday

Nice to hear from 3 as she was burning the midnight oil.

This cast is getting a little old. But I did drive my car for the first time today. But it remains impossible for me to write anything, including my signature. Showering is work.

My pal Roy heads to Scotland tomorrow for 10 days of golf. Life's a beach.

This first week of August was the time of Summer when we would do whatever vacation that we would do when the girls were young. All the Summer's organized activities were over, business was usually slow, and there was a bit of a lull before school stuff started. I always said that in August it was hard to find many clients at their offices. They were taking their vacations too! I think that the facts remain much the same today.

I missed Anderson Cooper last night. I'm pretty sure that he was able to conclude that the TC bridge collapse was a problem traceable to Washington DC. Maybe it is. Interstate bridges are mostly paid for with Federal money. Whom ever voted against bridge appropriation bills in the last twenty years will be placed in the media's spotlight.

There is a reason why people in areas of responsibility (public officials, professionals or business owners, for example) often joke about wanting to be a greeter at Walmart.

The new Bourne movie is out today. It's received positive reviews. I'll be glad when it hits video.

Have a great Friday evening.

BCOT

Thursday

Short again today. I am reduced to hunt-n-peck with my right hand.

The outing yesterday with my pal Roy was a fun deal. I was the designated ball-mark repair caddie and the flag holder as others putted. Tough duty. Bloody Mary's helped.

Tragedy in Minneapolis. We all were on that bridge two weeks ago. How many other bridges are in the same condition? How many law suits are out there?

Here's a dose of PGA golf reality in today's world. In most TV leaderboard presentations, the standings are presented with low score first, with any ties shown alphabetically at each stroke count. EXCEPT, when he's not the outright leader (and shown first anyway), Tiger Woods is always the first golfer listed at his score level even if there are 10 guys with the same score and all of the others' last names occur in the alphabet before "w". It's known as the "Tiger position" on the scoring chart. Interestingly, on the Internet and in the print media, the alphabetic rule is followed.

Aunt Martha is in Breckenridge, Colorado for a few days. Interesting how the ski places have developed Summer programs as well. The mountains in the Summer are beautiful. Maybe a bike trip in Colorado would be worth a look. It couldn't beat Tahoe, but it is drivable.

So enough. It takes too much concentration to key the letters.

BCOT

Wednesday

No blog today. I have function today with my pal Roy.

Thumb is ok.

BCOT

Tuesday

2 pretty well got it right.

I have a good-sized cast on my right arm from my thumb to about mid-way up my forearm. Not a lot of pain, but a dull ache. I'm taking ibuprofen, forsaking the vicodin. My dexterity on the computer is not so good. Entries for the next couple of days will be short.

The procedure was completed according to plan. No complications. I go back to see the doc next week, and I expect to be fitted for a 4-5 week cast at that time. Ugh.

One of my thoughts while on my bike the last few days was the uniqueness of the adjectival phrase, "largely ceremonial", which is the two-word-term used to describe the last stage of the TdF. Basically, the race for the General Classification championship is completed at the end of Stage 19, and the peloton comes to Paris with only prizes for the sprinters at stake. This year, for instance, in the GC, the leader had only 23 seconds on the second place guy, who had only 8 seconds on the third place guy. But in Stage 20 on Sunday, these three guys (and their teams) really didn't race. Tradition said that they shouldn't. So they didn't.

But how many events, places (or other nouns for that matter) have their own unique adjective? Some things have a sub-title, like The Fall Classic, or The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. But I'm talking adjective here.

Think about it.

BCOT

Monday AM

Very little to add.

Word is the 1 and 1.1 made it successfully to LV.

More later.

Saturday PM

2 did a nice job at Bix. She averaged a little over 10 minute miles. Not bad for not having trained. I saw her going and coming from my viewing spot which is no small feat with 15,000 people streaming by. Actually, she saw me which is the way it usually happens in that kind of situation. I just placed myself in a bit of an elevated spot and stayed clear of other spectators.

The running conditions weren't bad. Warm, but not hot. Humid, but not oppressive.

4, Mom and I met at The Maidrite for breakfast after the race. We sat at the counter like the old days after church.

I did 27 right after lunch. 1 called and said that she had run 15 this AM and 1.1 had done 13. That was a bit of an incentive for me to hit the road.

RAGBRAI ended in Bellevue today. LA had bailed earlier and was in France for today's stage of the Tour (which Levi won and Alberto kept yellow). The Saturday of RAGBRAI is always a bit of a letdown: it's a shorter ride, the riders are all anxious to get home, and the host community is just saying, "Hello" and "See ya" in the same breath.

1 and 1.1 head to LV tomorrow AM. Their watching the Northwest Air cancellations to see if there's any pattern.

The SB's location in downtown Davenport may be the nicest of the SB's stores in town. I stopped in for the first time yesterday at lunch time when I went downtown to check out the food vendors for the Bix street fest. The manager is a nice gal. It sounds like they don't have much trade after 5PM, and that they do get some unwanted attention from some homeless people. I suspect that a downtown Chicago loop location for SB's can survive with just the business day traffic. I'm not so sure about that scenario in Davenport.

Biagii's last night for Sonoma red. Liberty School 2005 cabernet. Try it. The staff in the bar area has experienced quite the turnover this Spring/Summer. And not for a net improvement. At least three of the better cocktail gals have moved on, and my favorite bartender is selling cars. 2 knows the drill with the turnover in the local food and beverage industry.

One of the farms that I ride past on a regular basis has a small flock(?) of wild turkeys that wander around the barnyard near the road. Gobbling a constant gobble. The first time I went past, I couldn't figure out what the noise was! Denise may want to check M. gallopavo off her list (by my proxy).

All for today. Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.

Saturday AM

Sorry to have missed yesterday. Not that I would have added much, since it was a Friday, and I typically leave a little early on Friday's anyway.

4's wisdom teeth event went pretty much as anticipated. She's resting.

2's doing Bix this AM and I'm going to try to see her.

So I'll check in later.

BCOT

Thursday

Now they've tossed the Dane Rasmussen who was leading the Tour. It isn't pretty. Whoever wins this year will have to have an asterisk after his name.

I think I'll keep a running tally on the cost of my biking accident. So far, we have $330 for bike repairs and $20 co-pay on my first doctor's visit. I pre-registered for the surgery today and the first thing that they give you is a statement on the financial aspects of the procedure. Basically, it's, "You're going to get lots of bills from lots of people. Good luck paying them." If I get done for less than $2500 it will be a miracle. There goes January in Cabo.

My laziness in not propping-up my tomato plants is coming to fruition (or lack thereof). At least half of the crop has been lost to ground rot or rabbits. The ones that I have kept are just fair. Luckily, my neighbor has had a bumper crop. But my pride has taken a hit. I've got to do some serious Fall tillage to have the plot ready for next year.

Bix is this weekend in Davenport. 2 says she will be run/walking the race on Saturday morning. 4 will be on the DL as she's having her wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow AM. While we have heat and humidity today, the forecast for Saturday is for cooler temps.

I'm not sure if the race or the blues music fest now drives the weekend. I know that each year they get bands from all over the country to come play on the levee stage along the Mississippi. And blues affectionatos from throughout the Midwest come in as well. The street fest must make money for somebody. Personally, I don't get it. It reminds me of a county fair. Hot and dirty. And no cows.

My pal Roy turned up here yesterday with a new golf club for me. I've been using the same 2 metal-wood driver off the tee for at least 10 years. When he and I last played, I had asked him if he had a newer-technology club in his inventory that might fit my needs. (The guy must have at least 1000 clubs, seriously.) I never heard from him again about it. My guess is that he woke up one night recently, remembered the conversation, and jumped on-line. So I now have a new driver. That I can't swing because of my thumb.

A friend of mine who knows that I like baseball recently asked me whom I would call my favorite player. Now. Before. Whenever. And I was stumped. I grew up listening to the Cardinals, and I guess their '64 and '67 teams would be on my short list of all-time favorite teams. I liked Ken Boyer, their third baseman more than maybe the other players, but I don't recall a big thing for him.

I liked Charlie Finley's Oakland A's teams of Catfish Hunter, Joe Rudi and Vida Blue. And I liked Dave Kingman when he played for the Cubs in the late '70's when he was their only decent player. Cal, Maddux, George Brett, the Bench/Morgan Cincinnati teams. In summary, Old School teams/players. But probably not just one. I never thought about it before.

Let's see. We have violence and dog-fighting in the NFL. Crooked refs in the NBA. Roids in baseball. Doping in cycling. Makes you proud that NASCAR's biggest problem is a little fudging on the down-force parameters!

Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.

Wednesday

The diagnosis on the thumb is torn ulnar ligament. Surgery Monday. Cast for 5-6 weeks. I knew that it was a problem when I couldn't turn the ignition to start the car.

More bad news at the TdF. Another rider tested positive, and another team pulled out. The leader remains a Dane who is being dogged by suspicion because of his below-radar activities before the Tour. The Disco boys tried to shake him today on the final mountain stage, and he beat them down and solidified his lead.

Lance is in Iowa for RAGBRAI this week, but he has floated the rumor that he may leave in the next couple of days and go to France for the end of the Tour. He certainly has generated a lot of pub for RAGBRAI. Lots of personal cancer stories in the DM Register each day. And the politicians are out in full force trying to grab their piece of the news. Pretty Boy Edwards rode some with LA yesterday.

Craig Wilson drug out a variation of the bottled water nonsense today. I could say that that was my material, but the topic has been lampooned by so many wags that it would be hard to claim that ownership.

In another case of, "It's a Small World", I learned this AM that one of the assistant managers at the Duck Creek SB's is the daughter of one of my Riley first cousins. She and I have been good "first name" friends for several months, and somehow she overheard my last name in a conversation with my pal Roy today.

Grandpa used to find those linkages with amazing regularity. He could go into a strange cafe in a little town anywhere in the US, start a conversation with a waitress, and find out that he knew her distant uncle. Maybe he passed that gene on to me.

So I'm off to the bike. Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.

Tuesday

My guess is that 4 has been unable to find the motivation to entertain us now that Europe and the wedding have become history. We need her spin on things.

It's been an awful day for the TdF and it was a rest day at that. The pre-race favorite, Alexander Vinokourov from Kazachstan and the Astana team, who has won a couple of stages but who has dropped far behind in the overall classification, tested positive for doping. He and his team have been sent home. It makes you sick.

I think that the new son-in-law will be called 1.1 in keeping with a technology theme. That logic enables us to easily name possibly future additions to that family as in 1.2, 1.3, etc. Then again, based on some one's comment last weekend on 1's thoughts about kids, we won't have to worry about the etc.

Most of my conversations these last couple of days, in person or on the phone, have had at least short discussions about the wedding weekend. In response to my comments about how well everything went all weekend long, one attorney said something about the stars being lined up correctly. She was right. The moon and the stars were exactly where they needed to be for all of us.

I have an appointment in the morning to see an orthopod about my thumb injury. My guess is that there will need to be some surgery to pin a ligament to get everything in the right place.

There was a death in minor league baseball recently. A 35 year old coach of the Tulsa Drillers, a AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, was struck by a foul ball while coaching first base in a game Sunday night in Arkansas. I had never heard of the guy, but in reading a few of the accounts of the incident, he was apparently a good guy with young children, and still loved the game. I haven't seen any film of the incident, but the result makes you ask, "Where was he looking?"

A first base coach is helping runners with pick-off moves, and he can be pretty close to a hitter, especially a left-handed one. You hear of pitchers getting hit with batted balls, and there have been deaths in the past. Now we know why "Heads-up" is a good practice.

There's a story of personal experience here. I remember a high school game of mine in Pella, Iowa when the coach put me at first base as our regular first baseman was not with the team that day, and he figured that an experienced player like me could handle a few innings at first. Well, at some point in the game, the other team got a runner on first, and I set up on the home side of first to hold the guy on. Like you're supposed to, I extended my gloved left hand toward the pitcher to give him a target in case he elected to try a pick-off move.

My recollection of the rest of the story is from others. I must have glanced toward home to watch the hitter. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground and asking, "What happened?" The pitcher had indeed thrown to first. A bullet, I was told. Right over my glove, and right on my forehead. Down I went. But lucky. No blood. No damage. No hospital. And no more first base.

So bad things can happen, and you can get away unscathed. Or you can become a headline. The Tulsa guy's number came up snake eyes.

Illinois just passed a state-wide ban on smoking in public places beginning in 2008. My guess is that there will be a line of law suits to over-turn the law, delay it, or make it otherwise unenforceable. Personally, I avoid smokey bars and the casinos, the two types of places that have the most smokers, so it doesn't have a down side for me. The clientele of those establishment are big-time smokers. There's lots of money involved. The lawyers will make millions.

A friend of mine who I met at SB's yesterday for some catching-up has a son who has had Ewing's sarcoma, and my friend has become very knowledgeable on cancer statistics. He says that about 40% of us will get some kind of cancer at some point. The damning thing is that 30% of that 40% can be attributed to smoking.

I'm headed home to my Russian cleaning lady cleaned house. Life is good.

Be careful out there.

Monday - Part II

The first day back has been ok, just not overly productive. It's almost a post-wedding let-down thing where there's no longer that big event out there in the near future that is all-consuming.

The Gathering of the Clan again confirmed that we have an interesting collection of boughs in the extended family tree. Phil and Margaret would be proud.

We were all impressed with St. Paul. The great paths for running, walking and biking are testimony to a municipality committed to fitness. I have always enjoyed the area. Of course, perfect weather adds to any occasion.

I'm off to catch up at home.

BCOT

Monday

I think that this has been my longest time between posts. Lots of water under the bridge since my last entry.

Many thanks to all who took their time to come to Minneapolis/St. Paul. It was a great weekend for our family.

I'll be adding more to this later. Just wanted everyone to know that the blog is back up.

BCOT

Tuesday

1's Big Day is rushing toward us. There won't be much time to add to the blog over the next few days. I need to pack and finish up around the house tonight, attend to a few business details tomorrow morning, and then head North after lunch.

4 arrived in the TC late last night after a late arrival in Newark from Rome, a missed connection on her scheduled flight to the TC, and a delayed departure on the re-scheduled flight. Sans luggage. Her experience of travel this Summer will likely make her a bit of a skeptic when it comes to future trips. But at least all the girls are safe and where they need to be.

I'm a little distracted at this point.

BCOT

Monday

Still in a bit of recovery mode from the Rule One problem yesterday.

2 and 4 both made it back to US soil, but 4's plane was late and she missed her connection with 2 out of Newark. They have her on a later plane. Hopefully, she'll get to the Twin Cities yet this evening. I'm sure details will follow on her blog over the next few days.

For 3, this is The First Day of the Rest of Her Life. (Her first day at her first real, post-college job.) Give 'em heck, girl!

It's a rest day on the TdF. The stage in the Alps yesterday was won by a noted climber who does not normally do well in the time trials which come later in the race. Most of the favorites are in arrears by three or four minutes, which can be easily recaptured in the two time trials. It's still any one's game.

Good luck to all this week. Lots of iron's in the fire.

BCOT

Sunday

Rule One applies again.

DeWitt this AM, but I put the bike on the deck right in the middle of town as I tried to carry the paper from the grocery store to the cafe. I was switching the paper between hands and lost my balance, and it wasn't pretty. I dislocated my right thumb, a few scrapes on other body parts, and buggered-up my front wheel. The thumb I self-doctored, putting it back in place. The wheel is trash. We called Pete's son for a ride home. I'm an idiot.

Perfect weather here.

The Cubs have put on a little run and they are only three games back on the loss side. The National League Central is a weak division, but StL took it to the house last year. It could happen for Chicago this year if they continue to get good pitching.

A-Rod is opting out of a $25 million a year contract, in the likelihood that he will get $30+ per year from NY or somebody next year. He's got all the leverage right now as his numbers year-to-date are career seasons for some players. Poor A-Rod. Then again, the guys running the successful hedge funds make A-Rod's dollars look like pocket change.

I've started making my lists for Minnesota. My departure is noon-ish on Wednesday. Is the bride down to counting hours to Fiday night?

They buried Lady Bird Johnson this weekend. She is a direct connection to JFK. I think we all remember the pictures of Lyndon Johnson taking the reins of power following JFK's assassination in Dallas in 1963. The Johnson Presidency will be forever remembered for Viet Nam. I hope that the memory of Iraq will not approach Viet Nam status 40 years from now.

The lead story in the local fish wrap today was the trending-upward price of milk. The producer is getting close to $20 per hundred-weight, which is nearly double that of a year ago. But as with most things economic, his costs have increased as well. The price of corn has been a big element, with ethanol use the big driver. I'm not convinced that the push to ethanol is anything but a political shell game in the long run. The environmentalists and "green" folks are big on the reusable feature of corn, but everything from the price of a steak to the price of Kellogg's cornflakes will be impacted by this new demand.

I'm off to salve my wounds and watch the Chicago race.

Good luck to the American-Italians as they make their way back.

Be careful out there.

Saturday

Just a few lines today.

Glad that the girls in Rome enjoyed their day with the Pontiff.

I went over to the John Deere Classic late in the afternoon yesterday. The event has had ab fab weather all week. My pal Pete and I crashed the Wells Fargo corporate tent for treats. Once the golfing was over, those looking for Friday evening fun had the event's outdoor beer garden to visit. The party tent had a LOUD live band and there were lots of people, many of whom I knew. But I was an early departee. Just not my scene.

The TdF had it's first day in the Alps today and the sprinter who wore yellow all week finished twenty minutes behind today's winner. The heavy hitters all were in a pack (including four from Discovery) 3:38 off the winner's time, but that guy will probably be a one-day-wonder. Tomorrow will truly separate the men from the boys.

NASCAR is in Chicago this weekend. The word is officially out that Budweiser will not follow Junior next year. One of the theories is that the brewer really needs to find another "young gun" that fits their demographics better than the "older" guy Junior has become. So all those red-necks with Bud and 8 tattoo's will have to go through double-laser correction.

The Celebrity Golf Tour is at Lake Tahoe this week. The back drops for all the TV camera shots are spectacular. I keep looking for Uncle Phil on one of the patrol boats out there spotting those unruly yachtsmen.

In local news, tonight is the Eldridge Moonlight Chase four mile run. Good weather for the runners. Not even tempted.

33 out on the McCausland route this afternoon. It was a due West cross wind that I have determined is about the best wind to deal with on my normal routes, if you have to have wind. Maybe DeWitt for breakfast tomorrow. I have been trying to figure out my training schedule for the coming week. The bike will definitely be with me in Minnesota.

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend.

Be careful out there.

Friday

3 is back in C-town. We talked to her before noon today. Details to follow, we hope.

2 and 4 remain in Rome for another day. 4 has another entry on her blog.

I did a ride this AM, maybe the best conditions of the year. No wind. Little traffic. Just the 16 miler around DCC. It was so good that I may go for a replay on Saturday AM.

I had forgotten to mention that business about the Pope stating that non-Catholics had salvation problems, as 4 stated. You wonder what these guys are thinking.

Margret is out today.

We're heading out early today. More here tomorrow.

BCOT

Thursday

The Girls in Europe made it to Pisa and Rome. 3 had a long day ahead of her with her final destination being London.

Another great day here. The forecast of "possible rain showers" never developed. Busy here in the office, and my ride this evening will be shorter and later than originally planned.

Congrats to Trisha and John in the Great Northwest. Twin girls!

Dan Patrick has announced his departure from ESPN. I think that he has figured out that he has options, and he's going to take his time to decide where he can best meet his personal and professional goals. To an extent, he comes across to me as a guy who thinks he knows more stuff than his audience, and that he matters. He's been a long-time bosom buddy of Kieth Obermann, and Obermann has taken his shstick into the mainstream news area. I'm not saying that Patrick is jealous of Obermann, but I think he sees a friend who has taken his act a little further afield in a successful manner. Why not himself?

I was tempted to call in a contribution yesterday to the Jimmy V Foundation. ESPN Radio was broadcasting information all day on an auction that was being held in conjunction with The Espy Awards which were handed out last night (the show was taped for showing this coming Sunday). I elected not to do so, mostly because I was in my car and I didn't like the idea of giving my credit card number out over a cell phone. I checked the ESPN and Jimmy V Foundation websites today, and have still not made a contribution, although I may do so in the future.

My philosophical concern is on how much of the charity's income goes to it's donative intent. It's the same question that I have for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and NASCAR's Victory Junction Camp. The whole problem is that when an organization gets to a bigger size, to keep growing, they need to spend money on their own bureaucracy, which means some dollars never make it directly to fighting cancer. My guess is that anything above 80% is pretty good.

There were another couple of examples in recent news of the predatory nature of our media. A Louisiana Senator got busted for being on the list of a Washington madam, and he immediately became the opening joke on late-night TV. A more edgy item involved a Chicago TV reporter (who is an Iowa grad and did time at a CR station) who was caught on video, in a bikini top, and with her kids, at the home of the "person of interest" husband in a high profile wife disappearance case that she was investigating for her station. The bikini top sold the story and it has been an inferno in Chicago.

My pal Bill is headed down to the Lake of the Ozarks for a long weekend. I could use a long weekend myself.

My pal Roy and I had dinner last night at Exotic Thai. He was on his own for the evening and needed company. We then dropped by Crow Valley to chat up a couple of business friends. We're working a deal to sell one of his companies and the buyers are trying to renegotiate the price. Not nice. One of the bartenderess's was a cute girl whom I overheard mentioning that she went to Creighton. I asked her about that, and it turns out she had recognized me as 2 and 3's Dad. She knew 3's friend Kristen, and I then put one and one together to conclude that I was talking to the former gal pal of one Michael K.

Hope The Travelers are all ok.

Be careful out there.

Wednesday

4 had a very entertaining post today from Florence. www.trackingkch.blogspot.com She and 2 head to Rome tomorrow, and 3 begins her journey home from Pisa. 3 stops overnight in London, and then to C-town.

It's been a Top Ten day here today. Maybe 80 with no humidity. Lunch on the church steps at Golick's.

More later.

BCOT

Tuesday

The Road Show reported in from Florence. No casualties.

Major League Baseball's All-Star game is tonight in SF. It is impossible to pick up a paper, watch a TV baseball program, listen to a sports radio show, or view a sports Internet site without being deluged by Barry Bonds stories. The "Big Debate" is whether Bonds improved his home run prowess by taking steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. The media is just absolutely fixated on that story, particularly now that Bonds will likely soon break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record.

The story basically bores me. I've never been a Bonds fan, and he is kind of the anti-example of fan friendliness, for the better of the game, and other altruistic elements. He is definitely not in that small group of people whom I would walk across the street to meet. I still like baseball, but I rarely will go out of my way to make sure that I can catch a game on the tube. I look more forward to the College WS than I do any of the regular season major league games. Of course, Erin does most of those games...:)

The Yellow Jersey made a big statement today by winning a long, mostly boring stage in Northern France. The peloton let a small break stay away for most of the day, and only a desperate push in the last few miles brought the race together in the last kilometer. With perfect timing, Cancellarra burst from the pack and unexpectedly stole the win. It was a case of him not needing the stage win to keep in yellow, but of him wanting to let the other riders know who was the boss. Cool.

The world is in order. My Russian cleaning lady is back!

I know a few of the guys who ponied up $3500 or so to play in tomorrow's Pro-Am Day at the Deere Classic. For their money, they get a few tickets to the tournament, some parking passes, and a long, painful round of golf with three other duffers and one pro whom they may never have heard of before. And some souvenir photos on the first tee. What a deal.

I need to get to the homestead. Lawn duty tonight. Maybe a short spin around DCC to stretch the legs.

BCOT.

Monday

Computers in some parts of Europe seem to be hard to find. All's been quiet on that front.

There was a big crash near the end of today's 2nd stage of the TdF. It happened near the front of the peloton and left only a couple dozen riders to contest the finish. Since it happened within three clicks of the finish, there was no time lost by anyone, but there were some injuries, including a fractured thumb to one of Discovery's sprinter/domestiques (and he is now done for the Tour). The first week of the Tour can be very sketchy as the sprinters try to grab headlines while they can before the roads turn up. The Bigger Picture guys (known as "the GC riders", as in, General Classification) mainly try to stay out of harm's way on these days.

A little bit of controversy at the NASCAR race on Saturday night in Daytona. The second place finisher, Kyle Busch, is the Hendrick driver who is getting the boot at the end of the season to clear space for Junior. He complained afterwards that the 24, 48 and 25, all current teammates, did nothing to help him get to the checkers even though he had the best car. He may have been right. But his public airing of his gripes about that race is an example of the kind of immaturity that likely lead to his release. Everybody knows that he can get a car down the road. But, like his older brother, it's often, "Ready, Fire, Aim."

This is the week of the John Deere Classic, the PGA tournament that is hosted on a course on the Illinois side here in the Quad Cities. Typically, they get only a couple of the true headliner players, but the event is well-supported in the community and Deere has given a multi-year commitment as the title-sponsor. I usually don't go over as I like to avoid the crowds, but my pal Pete will likely want to visit the music tent one evening. We'll see.

One of my local acquaintances started the concept of "Birdies for Charity" at this tournament 10-12 years ago when he was on the event's volunteer Board of Directors. Birdies for Charity is a fund-raising idea tied to the number of birdies made by all golfers over the four days of the tournament. Charitable organizations go out and solicit pledges from individuals and businesses for per-birdie contributions. People often give a nickle or dime per birdie, and they get a bill in the mail once the tournament is over and total birdies have been calculated. It may have started slow, but now dozens, if not hundreds, of local charities participate.

Birdies for Charity became so successful that other PGA events elected to copy the concept. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. My acquaintance gave out free advice to these other tournaments, and actually went down to Houston to help with the implementation of Birdies for Charity at their event. In another example of the curious twists in this screenplay that we call life, the chair for Houston's new Birdies for Charity committee was a single gal who, after a long-distance romance of a couple of years, is now married to my acquaintance.

It might be interesting to spend a little time evaluating the charitable aspects of the different major sporting organizations. There is a lot of money spent by the NBA, NFL and other pro sports on the "giving back" orientation of their organizations. It seems like every athlete who has signed a big contract has established his/her charitable foundation or the like. There have been stories about how some of these foundations never did any gifting, but rather served as straw men for family and friends.

Not all PGA golf tournaments are financially healthy. If they don't have a major corporate sponsor, they may not be able to keep the tournament alive. But if they do have solid finances, they can do a lot for their communities. It's an interesting dynamic. You need to be profitable to keep the tournament going. And if you are profitable, you have more money to give away.

It's kind of like parents and kids. But that's a different story.

Have a good evening (morning or day for those Over There).

Be careful out there.

Sunday

Just checking in. Quiet from the Old Country for a couple of days.

I did 38 early this morning before the heat. But it was a little longer, and further North, than I had planned, and the trip home included the last 15 or so dead into a 10-12 mph Southerly breeze. Not fun. I also had my first incident of minor road-rage for the Summer from a frustrated pick-up driver. As though I was keeping him from his destination at 6:45AM.

Here's a little news. There's a channel on the satellite called RFDTV. Guess what it's about? I got hooked on a segment the other night as they went through the science of properly filling a ground silo.

For those with the interest, VS. channel (#151 on the dish) is carrying the Tour, somewhat live in the AM, and then package on tape in the evening.

Less than two weeks for 1.

My high school 40th year class reunion is the same weekend as the wedding. Maybe I'll make the fiftieth.

Have a great week.

BCOT

Saturday

The TdF is underway.

I have no big plans for the day or the weekend. Biking later and then some domestic things. It's supposed to be in the 90's and humid. Welcome to Summer. I've had to turn on the air at my house.

In her column today, Ellen Goodman lashed out at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, an arch-conservative and the only African-American on the high court. Justice Thomas had a very controversial approval hearing when he was appointed in the early '90's. Democrats on the Senate judiciary committee that conducted the hearings leaked information to the press surrounding sexual harassment claims of a former assistant named Anita Hill. He was approved by a narrow margin, but remains a lightening rod for critics of the overall Conservative drift of the Court. It is doubtful if a Caucasian could have withstood the rancor that permeated the Thomas hearings.

Several recent decisions from the Court have been seized upon by the media as concrete evidence that the Bush appointments of Roberts and Alito have shifted the judiciary's bias to the Right. Since most of the mainstream media carry their own bias to the Left, this shift is decried as a further erosion of the rights of the Common Man (or Woman). While some of the decisions can raise blood pressure on their own merits, I think most of the fear on the Left is that there will be a reversal of Roe v. Wade.

There's also been a lot of outcry these days for the Libby commutation. Bill and Hillary even called into a talk show at WHO in Des Moines when they were in Iowa campaigning this week to add their outrage to the cacophony. This is the ultimate of the Pot calling the Kettle black.

For the first time in my immediate family's history, I feel a bit isolated from the girls. With 1 five hours away, and the other three now an ocean and several time zones away, it's a little lonely.

Here's an example of applying rules to the detriment of the what's right. Qualifying for tonight's Pepsi 400 NASCAR race at Daytona was rained out after 40 of 54 cars had completed their attempts. Rather than take another hour this morning to allow the other cars to finish the process, NASCAR applied the standard rule of setting the line-up by year-to-date driver/owner standings. This had the result of sending a handful of cars home that had actually qualified pretty high, including the guy who was on the provisional pole.

This action from the same organization that has recently made up rules on the fly to penalize teams who've been messn' with small body modifications on the new COT (Car of Tomorrow). The 24 was about 30th on time, but is starting first because of points. It ain't right. And I'm a 24 fan.

There was an accident yesterday morning on I-80 near IC with a Suburban carrying Pleasant Valley HS softball players on their way to games in DM. A tire blew out and sent the vehicle across the median and into on-coming traffic. Coach Amy was able to steer back into the grass median, but the van flipped in the process. All but one girl were properly seat-belted, but that girl was thrown from the vehicle. No major injuries. Lucky, lucky kids. (How long will it take for an attorney to look at responsibility for the kid who wasn't in her seat belt?)

All from here. Have a great weekend.

Be careful out there.

Friday

It's Friday.

No blog today.

BCOT

Thursday

Communication from Europe has improved. Sounds like a good trip so far. Now Berlin.

We had big rain early yesterday morning and the local creeks were all out of their banks. 3-5 inches throughout the area. Enough to kick my sump pump into frequent operation. But most of the holiday festivities went on with only minor problems. Lots of standing water in low places.

The TdF starts in London on Saturday. The first day of all the Grand Tours is a "Prologue", which is usually a fairly short, less than 10k, individual time trial. Saturday's is just short of 8k and ends at Buckingham Palace. The winner of that race wears the yellow jersey when the race starts the next day. The lead is usually just a couple of seconds, but the way the Tour works in the first week, that few second lead will often stand up for several stages.

The big news on the Tour this year is doping, doping, doping. I was in a conversation with someone today about why this seems to be such a big problem for cycling, and I think that much of it is the lack of centralized authority in the sport. The organizers of the three major Tours, Italy, France and Spain, are always at odds with the relatively newly organized Pro Tour people, and the cyclists themselves have their own union. Add in the provincialism that exists between countries and there are lots of moving parts looking for positions of authority.

I want to say that pro teams in the USA in say, the NBA or NASCAR, have the teams firmly under control, and they certainly have strong enforcement policies. But you have that cheatn' thing in NASCAR.

Europe also has cycling media vultures which don't really exist to the same degree in the US because pro cycling is a non-event here. Since cycling is so important in Europe (like soccer), there is a lot more interest in digging the dirt on the riders. It sells papers.

Speaking of sports media vultures, I have noticed this week that the mid-week falling of the 4th has caused numerous substitutions for the regular show hosts on ESPN and FSN radio. What is shocking to me is that these substitute hosts are so bad that they make the schleps for whom they are pinch-hitting look legitimate. Boy, is that tough to swallow.

Even Craig Wilson gets the week off? I mean, USA Today isn't published on the 4th, and he wasn't in today's paper. Maybe he hadn't had the chance to read my earlier stuff to author a piece this week.

My ride yesterday was too long. 41 miles. I had intended to do 25-30, but got caught by a detour on Utica Ridge, and my choice around the detour wasn't too bright. It was hot and windy, and not much fun.

The choice of wine for the wedding is a work in progress. I need to have another chat with the caterer. One of the whites (the pinot grigio) is ok, but the chardonnay failed the taste test. More on this tomorrow. The great part of buying wine at a restaurant is that you get to pay about three times the price that the same exact bottle costs at Hy Vee. Pretty soon, you'll have people selling bottled water.

Bill and Hillary were in Iowa campaigning for four days. Somehow, I missed them.

Have a great evening. (Or "day", depending on when you might be reading this!)

Be careful out there.

Wednesday

I received a brief email from 3 this AM. Sounds like they had a good first day on their tour of Paris.

Happy 4th to all.

BCOT

Tuesday PM

We have yet to receive news today from across the pond.

The trip to see 1 was brief, but enjoyable. We did Sunday dinner at a sports bar near my hotel, and then had the meeting on Monday AM with the reception caterer. The reception place is very nice and should fit our needs without exception.

The wedding hotel is also a nice place. It has the key component to an H clan gathering: a nice bar. Good location. Minutes from the reception site. Minutes from the airport and the Mall of America.

My drive home was a little exciting. A plastic cowling under the front bumper came loose while I was barreling down the road and scared the bejesus out of me. Luckily, I was near an exit, and then near a GM dealer where I was able to get the thing riveted back on in short order. The failure actually traces it's way back to last year's Twin Cities marathon when I was run up onto a center curb by a gal who was clueless at the time. That incident cracked some of the plastic around the front driver's side wheel well and, I think, some of this cowling. In any event, I lost an hour or so of drive time, and $75, but it could have been worse.

Another little item of excitement on the trip was my inadvertent conversion to the metric system on my instrumentation. After my fill-up in southern Minnesota, I decided that I would check my gas mileage on that tank, so I worked the digital keys on the dash to get a trip-odometer to zero, and took off down the road. As I got up to speed and readied to set the cruise control, I looked at the odometer and it said 125! Oops! Obviously, I had hit an extra click on the dial and had changed the readings from mph to kph. And I couldn't go back unless the gear shift was in "Park".

So I spent the last hour on the interstate constantly running the kph to mph conversion in my mind. Then when I stopped at the hotel, I forgot all about it and had the same disconnect when I fired up the car on Monday morning. I made the fix before heading back to Iowa, but it was a little interesting in the meantime.

My pal Pete called me around 8 last night, after I had arrived home and had a bite to eat, and we met up at Gov's for a cocktail, he by bike, and me by Margret. Several familiar faces there, including 4's friend Ashley from Northwestern. I spoke with her briefly as we left, and complimented her on her ESPN screen time last month when NW was at the college World Series.

It was great to return to my bed. The hotel accommodations were nice, but left me a little achy. Those aches were compounded by too much drive time.

So I'm headed out to put on some mileage. My delayed arrival home last night has me down on the weekly mileage.

Be careful out there.

Tuesday

2,3, and 4 have connected in gay Paree. We'll be anxious to hear the travel stories as it was a long day Sunday/Monday for them to meet up.

My trip North was a success. More on that later.

BCOT

Sunday

Just a few lines today.

I'm headed North to spend the evening with 1 and to meet with the reception people in the AM. Back tomorrow evening.

Just talked with 2 in Oklahoma. She's awaiting the first leg of her flight to Paris. Mom headed back in to C-town with 3 late this AM for 3's departure later this evening. And we talked with 4 in Madrid as she awaits her train for Paris.

I guess you could say that the fam has a lot of moving parts today.

I worked the Kid's Triathlon in Bettendorf last night. A fun event. They must have had around 150 kids ages 7-14. Lots of volunteers. I have some ideas on how to improve the flow in and out of the transition area next year.

Adult beverages on the deck at Gov's afterwards. Saw several acquaintances.

Great day here. I got out for a short ride before seeing 3 off. But my mileage is down a little from where I think I need to be, so I'll probably do a ride when I get home tomorrow. I really don't have a goal in mind right now. But if I don't push the conditioning a little, I won't be able to do a longer ride if I find one that looks interesting.

Enjoy the day.

Be careful out there.

Saturday

Busy day here. Domestic chores. Bike. Volunteering at the Kid's Tri in Bettendorf this evening.

I'll check back in later.

BCOT

Friday

No blog today.

Talked to 4. She's done with school. And very anxious to meet up with her sisters.

2 and 4 are in the middle of wedding weekends with friends.

And 1 is trying to finalize her head count. Life is good.

Be careful out there.

Thursday

2 got off to Norman this AM. No problems.

I really like the alarm feature of my cell phone. On the rare occasion like this morning when I need an alarm, it's just easier to put it in the phone than to work my bed-side clock/radio.

Clemens couldn't record a strikeout last night in a shutout loss to the Orioles. Is he done? Glavin got #297 and Maddux #340 yesterday. How good are they?

Good luck to 4 as she wraps up her stay in Seville. Toughen up that internal constitution, Girl, to handle that trip to Paris!

I'm leaving a little early today to do another 20 miler. Coming home from a ride at 5:30 is a lot better than heading out at 4:45. People are just a little nuttier, and less patient, trying to get to their destination before 5PM.

Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.

Wednesday

Lunch with 3 today at Kelly's on 53rd Street. Their lunch platter of chicken strips feed two.

Good-bye din-din tonight for 2 at Granite City. She has a six bells flight tomorrow AM to Oklahoma for a weekend wedding of a college friend. And then she's off to Paris on Sunday. I'm her cab driver tomorrow at 0430.

Some rain here this afternoon to break the heat. Sounds like they could use the precipitation in Tahoe.

Discovery announced their TdF team today. A couple of surprises as two veterans were left off the squad in lieu of a couple of younger riders. Given the turmoil in the professional peloton right now, the sheen is off the prize.

Craig Wilson's lament today was the disinterest that he has for waiting in line. For anything. The subject was prompted by stories of people camping out at Best Buy or Radio Shack to buy the new iPhone. If my Google search function for 4000 Days was operational, I bet we could find previous comments from this author about my own disdain for lines. Everybody is stealing my material.

USA Today has been running stories all week about families taking care of aging parents and the issues that thusly develop. And the decisions that have to be made. Been there. Done that. No worries here. My pal Bill has a Power of Attorney to run me over with a truck.

There was a very odd, and sad, story in the local paper today about a veteran teacher at a local high school who caught the gambling bug. Somehow the school got tipped off and she was dismissed. Turns out she had dipped into a small extra curricular activities account which she controlled to the tune of $1500+ over a period of years. Most of the embezzlement came in the form of withdrawals from an ATM on the local riverboat.

Here's another example of how greedy the credit card companies are by their own fine print. I made an error in my on-line banking procedure and a scheduled payment was not made to Chase in early May. Ring up the $29 late fee, plus interest on my next statement. (I think that I paid the overdue balance even before I got that next statement.) I paid the additional amount to cover the whole "new" balance as soon as I got that next statement rather than wait until the statement due date in early June.

I received my newest Chase statement this week, and even though the prior balance was paid in full by the early June due date, actually, by May 20th or so, they dinged me for another $5.13 of interest. I intuited that they were charging through the date of that second payment, because they always offset payments against the newest purchases, so that they can continue to charge interest on the "overdue" balance. But I wanted to have the calculation explained, so I called.

Naturally, you have to do the automated decision-tree procedure before you can get to a live body. My "live body" had no clue, saying at one point that once you had a late payment, they charged interest on even purchases for the next two months. I said, "Fine. Cancel my card." She said, "Let me get you a supervisor."

The supervisor tried to be nice, and to educate me, but I put her on the defensive by describing what the service rep had said. So we agreed that she would credit the additional interest on the latest statement and I would keep the card.

Make payments on time or you will be paying interest forever. Not to mention those credit score things. Throw away all those credit card applications that keep coming in the mail.

Gotta go.

Be careful out there.

Tuesday

Another hot one here. I need to get out and do a 20 miler.

4 had another enjoyable entry. In the Air Force, when I was coming to the end of my tour in Korea, I literally counted hours in the last week until my departure flight. I sense that 4 has that same anxious feeling to move on to more interesting and appealing stuff.

I got the phone bill for my cell today, which has the charges for 3 and 4 as well. My costs, including a few calls to Spain, were within $10 of normal. The fee on 3 and 4 was actually less than normal since 4's phone is on a counter at Mom's. 3's on my nickel for another month and then she gets the privilege of supporting a phone provider of her choice (or her company's choice).

Uncle Phil says that all the fires in the news are on the South side of Lake Tahoe. Nothing close to his place at this time. But it is very dry out there. It's always a danger.

On Two Wheels, the bike shop on Kimberly Road just West of the office where I bought my first couple of bikes many years ago, has converted to The Trek Bike Shop. I knew that they were doing a remodel, and somebody at the Criterium last month said that they were changing to a Trek store. But I didn't realize that they were essentially becoming exclusively a Trek dealer. Walking in, you get the feel of a Nike store. Lots of open space. Nice stuff. On the expensive side of things. Very little clutter. Hardly any non-Trek merchandise. Modern marketing.

The owner of that shop was a compatriot of Greg Lemond's on the U.S. National team 25 years ago. The same guy is the racer highlighted in my Criterium Financial marketing materials. That picture was taken a couple of years ago in the same Criterium that I now sponsor. It's a small world.

The Taurus is experiencing another new driver this week. With 3's car parked in Minnesota, she's "renting" the T for a few days. It's a handy extra car to have around for in-town transportation. (I wanted to give my pal Pete the needle last weekend when I counted five cars at his house, but at least he had four drivers. I've got three cars myself. So the math silenced my comments before they were made.)

Stay cool. Enjoy the evening.

Be careful out there.

Monday

4 gets the award for Most Newsy comment on the blog.

Knowing absolutely nothing about those in play, I had told my pal Roy that my money was on the woman candidate once the finalists were announced.

1A sent me an article last week from a fitness mag about some specialty travel outfits that led tours of the Tour de France for average riders. I've looked previously at those deals, and they tend to be very expensive. My preference is to go on a combination riding/wining trip in Northern Italy, checking out the Dolomites and Tuscany. 2 and I have talked about such a trip. A small group could make it fun. But a bigger organized tour group would be too much for me to handle, I think. We'll see. I need to save my shekels.

The Indy cars had a so-so day in Newton. Open-wheeled cars on that configuration of a track makes for an iffy proposition. I think they had trouble finding room to pass, with a majority of the cars crashing. By the end of the race, only 10 cars were still running. (Part of the problem may have been the tire composition and wing set-ups mandated by the IRL mucky-mucks.) The paper also said that the parking process for the fans was not so good. Still, for the first time for a big race, in Newton, Iowa!, it had to be considered an overall success. They'll run a better operation next time.

The backyard neighbor of my next door neighbor put in a wooden privacy fence last month, and it's already showing signs of disrepair. Bowing out in spots. Loose boards. My next door neighbor and I were chatting last night, and he said that the guy hired it done, but used the guy who had the cheapest bid. Sometimes you do get what you pay for.

Anthony Edwards' backseat character (Goose) in Top Gun, cautioned pilot Tom Cruise (Maverick) as he started an unusual move in one of their simulated air-combat missions, to remember that the manufacturer of their high-tech fighter plane was the low-bidder.

If government bureaucrats and politicians always want the cheapest price, why aren't they all driving Yugo's?

4's comment was much better than anything I can do today. So I'm off to take a spin in Margret.

Be careful out there.

Sunday

Midday Sunday. Got the DeWitt ride in this AM. My pal Pete brought along a couple more guys so there were four of us. I was by far the slowest. But it was a very good ride. Little wind. Not too hot. Good company.

Domestic chores this afternoon. Maybe the park bench job.

The 24 and the 48 both failed pre-race inspection Friday for the California road race. They had tweaked the front wheel-wells in a manner that NASCAR didn't like. Both cars were later modified to comply, but they have to start from the rear of the field. A top-ten finish from there would be a good result. It ain't cheat'n if you don't get caught.

I think this is Aunt Martha's birthday and anniversary week. So Happy Days to her!

A distant cousin (who obviously has too much time on her hands) called Uncle Phil last week with the news that she had found Margret's (not misspelled...just code-speak) name on The Great Iowa Treasure Hunt, a website sponsored by the state, I think, that catalogs payments due to un-located persons. Why she might have been punching in Margret's name is a mystery. As are the refunds shown on the site. I have a task ahead to file the claims. Retired folks just don't have enough to do.

4 encountered an airport delay yesterday for her weekend visit to Barcelona, and the trip was scrubbed. She has certainly run into some travel issues this Summer.

My substitute Russian cleaning lady called and is back on schedule for this week. Life is good.

One of the guys who joined us for the ride this morning had a bike with a "custom" frame that was made specifically for him. The bike company is in Waterford, Wisconsin, a town just southwest of Milwaukee. He said that it took them two hours to measure him for the bike. Apparently, he had been having some shoulder problems, and the measuring process determined that the length of his arms required an adjustment to how high the handlebars/headset should be set on the front fork. Interesting. Even good bike shops don't always get the "fit" right for riders.

In another example of a small world, Waterford is the location where I bought Margret.

The business of "fitting" an athlete to his/her equipment applies to virtually all sports. "The shoes" is a big one, regardless of the sport. (If you have bad shoes, poor results and injury usually follow.) Bats and gloves in baseball. Clubs in golf. (I was amazed at the difference properly sized clubs made in my golf game.) Ski's. The list goes on.

Oregon State needs one more win to be champs at the CWS. I was glad to see North Carolina go to the black (or navy?) shirts yesterday with just hi-lites of "Carolina blue". I don't mind "Carolina blue" on their basketball uniforms, but it looks like the stuff of a softball beer league on a baseball uniform.

The cashier policy at the new Hy Vee is to "card" anyone who buys alcohol. You are required to show your ID so the cashier can input your birth month into the computer. I think that it's a great idea. It takes the element of choice/judgement out of the equation for the kids running the registers.

Relatedly, I don't even try to cash a check or make a deposit at our local Wells Fargo locations with out handing over my debit card and driver's license. It's not exactly their procedures, but the nitwits behind the glass can't remember my face or name from one day to the next. Every time they call me "Paul", it reinforces my opinion that they have no clue who I am.

Enough already. Have a great day.

Be careful out there.

Friday

Hello Summer!

Lots of stories in the papers this week about the Summer Solstice, including midnight baseball in Alaska. These are wonderful days with all the daylight. Now it's the slow march to the shorter days.

Hope the get-together in Minnesota goes well. Drive safe.

The Indy cars are over in Newton, Iowa for the first major race at the new track this weekend. The track is a 3/4 mile oval with a road-course also cut into the venue. The Indy cars will run the oval. Danica Patrick and all the names of the recent Indy 500 are there for the event. This is open-wheel racing compared to the stock cars of NASCAR. (The track is not too far away from the I-80 motel that we would stay at when we made the trips to Adventureland.) The owners dream for a major NASCAR race, but they'll be lucky to get the Busch cars for a weekend.

I see where Tim Floyd has offered a basketball scholarship to USC to an Illinois kid who just got done with 8th grade. I guess this is the second year that he has made such an offer. I always liked Floyd, but this sounds fishy at best.

We had a tree service come in and do some thinning out of damaged trees on the West side of our office park. The combination of age, disease, and storms had brought on the need. The owner of the business said that they had stopped providing service on the Illinois side for fear of bringing the ash bore into Iowa. That's an insect that has been destroying ash trees in states East of here. And will likely be in Iowa in a year or so. Mom has three ash trees in her back yard. The cynic in me puts the over/under on her getting the ash bores at four years.

A couple of yahoos on ESPN radio, Mike & Mike In The Morning, had the one Mike payoff his NCAA basketball bet to the other Mike yesterday by milking a cow on the show. You can imagine the hype and the double entendres for the event. From a dairyman's perspective, my reaction is, "So what?" Just another example of why sports talk radio guys are only a centimeter or so above slugs in the genus system. (The fact that one of the Mike's is an ND grad gets them no points. He probably took the same Underwater Basket Weaving classes that they serve up for the student/athletes in IC).

Genus was not misspelled above. Actually, in the sentence as presented, it could be genus or genius, and the gist would be the same. Think about it.

Speaking of sports, it appears the a D-1 baseball player can change schools and not have to sit out a year for the transfer. There was a least one player in this year's College World Series who was there last year on a different team. I know that they have issues with the modest number of scholarships that each school can have (11.5, I think), but unlimited transfers is a bit risky. Where the NCAA is involved, rules do not have to make sense.

Off for the evening. Maybe a little ride and then some Tuscan red.

Be careful out there.

Thursday

Thanks to 1. Always nice to be recognized.

My ride last night was a good one of 21+. Did twice around DCC. The one distraction was that they were putting in a couple of new streets in a new extension of the Stoney Creek housing development off of Forest Grove Road. And the concrete trucks were out in full force. My buddy with the paving company said that they did over 80 truckloads yesterday afternoon.

To an extent, the sprawl of the housing in northeast Bettendorf affects us bikers similarly as it does the wild life. The once lightly-travelled county roads are now as busy as arterial streets in town. You can no longer head out at 5:00 PM and expect an open road.

My American cleaning girl did a so-so job. She was far-less particular than my regular Russian gal, and not as good as the substitute Russian. She vacuumed and dusted, but I know that she spent less than three hours at what I told her was a four hour job. But she had only nominal instructions (from me), and the end result was ok. It just didn't exceed expectations.

We talked to 4 today here at the office. She happened to call at a time when 3 was also here. I share everyone's joy in reading her blog. She's looking forward to Barcelona. But she's really looking forward to seeing her sisters next week.

Clemons couldn't get out of the fifth inning in Colorado today. They'll need to score 7-8 runs a game for him to have a winning record.

All for today. I need to get a card for 4 to the USPS before the last pick-up. Her next letter from me will be delivered by 2!

Be careful out there.

Wednesday

No blog today. I'm headed out for a ride.

Be careful out there.

Tuesday

Just two thoughts for the day. But both could become Seinfeld episodes.

The first. Circadian rhythms. USA Today had an article in the Life section today about this topic. There was a symposium in New York last week, attended by "several hundred" researchers to discuss, "Clocks and Rhythms." Checkout Wikipedia. The body clock. Sun light. Temperature. How about gravity? Barometric pressure. Proximity to a final exam. Nearness of a wedding date.

Jerry and the gang could go on for hours.

The second. Surviving the day. I wasn't going to put this on the blog, but it is just too relevant to ignore. Mother Duck and 10-12 hatchlings. Waddling along the outside tables this AM at the Duck Creek SB's. Mother Duck electing to cross the four lanes of Middle Road. At 7:30. Almost making it. Girl on the phone. Late for work. Didn't even slow down. Five small survivors. Wandering the parking lot at the Holiday Inn.

Stupid me for not acting on my instinct to get out there and stop traffic.

On the other hand. Look on the roads and streets everyday. The only difference here is that we were eye witnesses. I wonder at what point in the development of the automobile that roadkill became a new form of unnatural selection?

We do need to live each day. And it helps to be a little lucky. So those of you who are reading this, regardless of what you might think, you have been a little lucky today.

I'm off to rinse Margret off. She's had a day of exercise.

Be careful out there.

Monday

Another Monday in Ordinary Time.

FFF was good last night. Brats (with sauerkraut), turkey brats, salad and mixed fresh fruit. And a little Whitey's strawberry ice cream for dessert. Wine and a date for a Cub's game were my gifts. Both were good choices.

It was really good to talk to all the girls on Father's Day. They all live such busy lives. Taking the time to check in with Dear Old Dad is meaningful to me.

The big news in the fam is that 3 is now going to be joining 2 and 4 for the two weeks of European travel in advance of 1's wedding week. 3's a bit at loose ends as she awaits starting her Chicago job next month. This trip will pretty well round-out the last days of her pre-Real World life. I just hope that the three of them can survive two weeks of travel together without pushing one another into a moat at one of the castles that they might visit.

The College World Series is in full swing in Omaha. Seems like the same protagonists are there again this year. My fav Erin Andrews is doing color from the dugouts and the grand stands. She perfectly fits the sideline reporter niche on ESPN, but I bet she's too perky to get a promotion to a studio position. They need to be male or relatively dull females for those jobs.

My old (now deceased) friend Wally and I talked several times about getting out to Omaha for a couple of days for the CWS, but we never got it done. You need to be a fan of one of the teams playing, or a die-hard baseball fan to make that trip. But I will do it one of these years.

My SB's author-friend Tim is the Race Director for a kid's triathlon that they are having in Middle Park in Bettendorf on the 30th of this month. I volunteered last year (as did 4), and I have elevated status this year to supervisor of the parking lot/transition area. There was a bigger-than-expected turn-out last year, and with some additional publicity, I anticipate an even larger field on the 30th. I'm looking for a few more volunteers to herd the cats.

Is there anything so stupid as the NCAA enforcing a "no blog" rule during these baseball games? Oops. I forgot. We are talking about the NCAA. They invented stupid rules.

The scoring at the US Open Golf Tournament last weekend was so difficult that most of the players finished double digits over par. If you had to play that course everyday, you wouldn't have a problem with golf addiction. A good golfer at your local country club wouldn't break 100 at Oakmont.

I do find it interesting that the Pennsylvania Turnpike literally goes right through the course. Having made the drive between Dover, Delaware and the Midwest several times via that road, I know now that I can say that I have been at Oakmont. I just didn't know it at the time. And I wasn't there very long.

I'm off for a quiet evening. Maybe taking Margret to the DQ.

Be careful out there.

Sunday

Just a quick report today.

The DeWitt ride with Pete this AM was tough. Glad he was there to pull me in. It was close to 90 by the time we got back. With a little head wind.

News from LV and AM. Congrats to niece/cousin Sue W. for completing Grandmother's Marathon yesterday. LV hit 108 yesterday. Hope the A/C is working. And it looks like John will not be able to make the wedding.

I don't think that I mentioned that Basso got a two year suspension this week for his doping problems. With credit to time already served, he'll be able to race in 2009. His defense was a Clintonesque, "I smoked it, but I didn't inhale." The commissars didn't buy it. Given his flat-out lying to everybody and the climate today, he may not find a place on a top-line team. He gets what he deserves.

FFF with 2 and 3 this evening.

Stay cool.

Be careful out there.

Saturday

Another hot one here.

My pal Pete and I went out to Davenport's West Lake this AM to watch the triathlon. Lots of spectators. 600 yards in the water. 15 miles on the bike. Three mile run. Rather than a mass entry into the lake, they started individually at three second intervals. It took almost an hour to get all the competitors into the event. My new employee Jessica was doing the race. We saw her in the transition area between the swim and bike elements.

There is a major triathlon in Des Moines tomorrow with like a million dollar purse. Hy Vee is the sponsor. A story in the paper this morning talked about the Tendall girl from the Century Heights neighborhood who was a gymnast/diver at PV. She is nationally competitive as a pro triathlete.

Another friend of mine (my age or so) who was in the golf event this week is a runner who recently did a 50K run! I mean, fitness is great. But isn't there a limit?

No big plans for today. A little ride at some point. Still in recovery from golf.

We talked to 4 yesterday afternoon. She wasn't in bad spirits and was looking forward to her weekend. Still a little sore from the purse incident.

Pete and I are doing DeWitt in the morning. They are doing some much-needed repair work to the Duck Creek bike path in central Davenport. Widening and re-surfacing, I think. Parts of it between Duck Creek Park and Eastern Avenue have been very rough for several years. That's the part that gets flooded whenever there's a lot of rain.

In a shockingly good development, my back yard neighbor had the dead and dying trees cut down yesterday! There's still some clean-up for them to do, but at least I don't have to worry about trees falling on my house in the next storm.

I paid $2.79 for gas today.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Be careful out there.

Friday

Back at work after the better part of three days on the golf course. Roy and I didn't totally embarrass ourselves, but we had a few holes that were real stinkers. In the end, it was a good time and I hope I can do it with him again next year.

Hot here. 97 yesterday. They say it will be in the 90's for the next few days.

Five weeks to 1's Big Day.

My substitute Russian cleaning lady has taken a vacation, so I have a substitute-substitute coming in on Monday. I'm going American.

Fridays at the office in the Summer tend to be pretty low-key. My goal today is to get through the stuff I have ignored over the last three days, and have a clear slate for next week.

I'll try to add more later.

Be careful out there.

Thursday

Roy and I had a so-so day on the course. He played real well on the first nine, and we both played poorly on the third nine. I shouldn't play more than 15 holes a day. Two more nines today.

But a good time regardless of the golf.

I worry about 4. She had an incident last night the details of which she can relate to us when she gets back to a computer. She's ok, but a little unsettled. Another of Life's lessons. Those endorphins have her going through one of those down cycles.

Hang in there, Kiddo. We all have your six. (That's guy talk for being your wingman...:)

Junior did go the Hendrick. It should be interesting.

This will be a full day for me today. Awards dinner this evening after golf. I won't be getting any prizes.

Be careful out there.

Tuesday

Today was the "practice round" for our golf outing. Roy and I played 15 holes before he had to leave for a meeting. Which was fine since I had already played more than my back preferred. I need to score a lot better tomorrow to avoid embarrassment.

Another enjoyable entry from 4.

The news on the wires from the Left Turning Nation is that Junior will announce tomorrow that he will be joining Hendrick Motor Sports next year. Which is huge news, and a bit of a surprise. It will put him on the same team as Jeff Gordon who is the one other driver whom Junior's rabid fans love to hate. In some respects, it's like the Yankees or the Lakers. The rich get richer. And Jimmy Johnson, last year's champ, is also on the team. But the Lakers and the Yankees have shown that having the most talent doesn't guarantee a championship.

I ended up on the deck at Gov's last night with some friends. One of those perfect evenings for the deck. Little wind. Warm but not hot. No precipitation. Good fellowship.

Margret is showing some age. Her right front tire is worn down to the steel belts on the outside of the tire. This uneven wear is the result of an out-of-balance wheel. I had to get the wheel worked on shortly after I bought the car when loose lug-nuts had bored the holes too big. The stud holes were welded and then fitted, but I could tell that the tire was wearing irregularly.

I'm going to look at replacing all the rims with original equipment (which is slightly less-flashy than the chrome wheels now on the car). It will be a little more expensive, but the current wheels and tires are actually bigger than what should be on the car, and I have a tire-rub on the right front when I turn hard to the left because of lack of wheel-well clearance.

A collector/classic car is a little like boats, airplanes and/or horses: it's usually financially best if you have a friend as the owner.

Lots of stories out there on the passport application processing problems. Who's to blame? Individuals for waiting too long to apply? Or the government for not staffing properly? A little of both is my guess. The Feds are now saying that they will refund fees paid to "expedite" an application. Then again, how much safer are we to have passport ID's rather than birth certificates for passage through our Canadian and Mexican borders? Does anyone seriously believe that a committed terrorist is going to be stopped by the lack of a passport? Preparers of fake documents are probably having a great year.

The lead story in USA Today today was Alzheimer's in "younger" adults. Roy and I think we could both be test cases.

So I'm off to rest and prepare for the big tournament. Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.

Monday PM

Just a few lines before heading out for the evening.

I'm still adjusting to the organization of the new Hy Vee grocery store. I'm pretty sure that they have patterned their location of products the same way in all their new stores, but I am slow on the uptake. The learning experience has taken me past lots of products that I'm not sure that I knew existed. The old store is down, and my guess is that the new parking lot will be done by mid-July.

The Sopranos finale was the topic of discussion on the morning news shows. Never have watched it. So I took a pass on the finale. Interesting that a cable show can now draw so much attention from mainstream TV watchers. Then again, Sportscenter is a cable show too. Although ESPN is included on most basic cable services while HBO is on a premium package.

On our first TV on the farm ( black and white, of course), we got reception for KTVO Channel 3 Ottumwa/Kirksville, which I think was a CBS affiliate, and WHO Channel 13 Des Moines which was an NBC station. After that, we occasionally, but not often, picked up WOI in Ames which was an ABC station. There was an antenna on the East side of the house that extended a few feet above the roof peak that had an electric control on the top of the TV that you played with to adjust for the signals.

(I still use the old technology "rabbitt ears" in my current house to pick up the local stations since I refuse to pay the additional fee to include those stations on my dish contract. Originally, the local stations were not offered through the dish in this area. When the technology became available a few years ago to offer those channels to dish customers, I elected to forego the convenience. So now to get network TV, I need to switch wires on the back of the set. And even then, the ABC channel is a bit sketchy.)

In a full turn to another direction, in baseball, "rabbitt ears" is what we labeled an opposing player who acknowledged some razzing from our bench. It was usually a pitcher, and once he started listening to us, we piled it on. I doubt if our antics lead to many Irish victories, but we had a good time. (In today's age with things like ESPNU coverage of college games, we couldn't get away with that kind of conduct.)

Lots of comments about 1's picture in the paper yesterday. Even from her PV varsity basketball coach whom I ran into at the store last night.

4 and I have exchanged a few text messages from Espana. It works. I haven't got the bill yet.

The professional peloton is in east-to-southeast France this week for the Dauphine-Libere race which is one of the last warm-ups for le Tour. Discovery has an "A" team there so I would expect them to do well. Levi could win. But there are a lot of other strong riders using this event as a measure of their form in anticipation of the bigger race next month. I think Dauphine-Libere is the newspaper in that area that sponsors the race. Per Wikipedia, Grenoble is the capital of this area known as le Dauphine, a title likely derived from a ruling family in the Middle Ages that used a dolphin in it's coat of arms.

There has to be a crossword clue in that mix of sport, geography and history.

I'm off to hit some range balls to get ready for the golf event this week with my pal Roy. Two range sessions is plenty of practice, right?

Great to read 4's journal. She has a gift.

Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.

Monday AM

Back at work. Good weekend. Busy week ahead.

The ride on Saturday went pretty much as scheduled. I left my place around 6:20AM and arrived 84 miles later in Galena around 2:00PM. I stopped a total of five times for meals and snacks. The weather was near perfect with sunshine and a helpful, small southwesterly breeze. The full ride on Saturday to Dubuque is right at 110 miles, but my abbreviated route is a good day for me. My backside was looking for the barn after the 60 mile mark. That Sunday return trip has little appeal.

2 met me at the appointed tavern right on time. I was sipping an adult beverage on my couch by 4:30.

It's a ride of around 1500-1600 cyclists, most of whom pass me on the road.

Sunday was a bit of a recovery day, although I did get my yard done and went to the driving range to hit some balls in anticipation of three days of golf later this week with my pal Roy.

1's engagement picture/announcement was in the paper on Sunday. Look'n good!

Sounds like 4 has been doing some travelling and stuff in Espana. She advised me today that my 6/1/07 letter was finally received.

More later.

Be careful out there.

Friday

Beautiful day here today. Storms last night took out the dish for a while. All my digitals clocks had to be set a couple of times.

The Tour of the Mississippi River Valley (TOMROV) is this weekend. The schedule is to ride from Bettendorf to Dubuque on Saturday (about 110 miles), and then back via a slightly different route on Sunday (about 95 miles). I'll be riding to Galena tomorrow and having 2 pick me up for the ride back home. I've figured out that I don't need the dorm room mattress, or the Sunday ride to make it a successful trip.

1 is down to six weeks. I think that this is her last day of school for the year.

3 is back in C-town.

I may not make an entry tomorrow. If we get back in good time, maybe. Otherwise, I'll file a report Sunday.

Have a great weekend.

Be careful out there.

Thursday

More literary theft. The QC Times ran a big article today, with a picture, about a territorial red-winged blackbird.

Nice entry by 4 today. She subsequently talked to Mom about the bull fight, and said that she wouldn't be going back to another one anytime soon.

My pal Bill heads up to northern Ontario, Canada early tomorrow to spend a week fishing with five long-time friends at a remote lake. I'd be bored silly by day two.

My tux for 7/20 is on order.

Just not all that motivated today. I'll try to add more early tomorrow.

Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.

Wednesday

I think our family may be partially responsible for the growth in SB's stock.

3 and I did tenderloins ar The 11th Street Precinct in the Village today. We had tentatively planned to do brats at Golick's, but it started to rain right at noon, so we went to Plan B. It was a good Plan B.

Craig Wilson was lamenting that "old" feeling in his column today about the bright-eyed summer interns at the paper. It was another case of idea theft.

I was lucky last night on my ride. I compounded my test of good fortune by not only riding at the busiest of times, but I also elected to spend a couple of miles on the busiest road. On at least one occasion on Middle Road, while trying to ride the white line at the edge of the road, I slipped off the road and onto the gravelled shoulder, with a car speeding past on my left, just inches away. When I immediately guided back to the pavement, the lay of the land was smooth. If there had been a ridge, I could have gone down, and there might have been a bad result.

2 and I are headed to Men's Warehouse after work to get me fitted for my tux for the 7/20 event. The last time I was in a tux, I was a groom.

I see where JR and crew are sampling life in Italia. The Discovery support staff had equally fine things to say about Italian transportation systems a couple of weeks ago when they had to shuttle to the mainland after the first three stages of the Giro on Sardinia.

Hope everyone has a good evening.

Be careful out there.

Tuesday

One of the big stories in the sports pages these days is Billy Donovan's flip-flop on leaving the two-time defending NCAA bball champion Florida for the bigger NBA money in Orlando. The original move to the Magic was announced with considerable fanfare late last week, but by the weekend, he was already having second thoughts. The last couple of days have been spent by the various parties in efforts to save whatever face might be savable, and to make sure that Donovan is certain that he wants to go back to Florida.

This is another very public example of the essence of being human. In spite of all the fame and fortune that had accrued to Donovan in his career, which has been nothing short of a rocket ship to the top, his heart betrayed him when his mind had rationalized that yet another move up the food-chain was the natural order. As his new reality began to set in, it occurred to him that what he would be walking away from was more important than the money and professional progression offered by the NBA.

There are the personalities in the sports media who will portray this episode as a shadow on Donovan's otherwise lustrous resume. He'll be ridiculed by the writers on the NBA beat as a "college" coach, as though a college coach is something less of a man than the guys running the pro teams. After all, the NBA is where the best ball is played, by the best players. And you don't have to jump through the silly hoops (no pun intended) of recruiting or getting players to class.

Personally, I'm glad he's staying in the college game. I have no problem with the flip flop. He's not the first groom (or bride, or coach) to get to the altar and see that a mistake is being made. Can you say Dana Altman? The Magic 's owners will be honked-off for being jilted, but they'll have a Plan B. How many college coaches have made it big in the NBA anyway? And Florida will have a long-term winner who will keep the blue-chippers coming to Gainsville.

My neighbor lady, who is a bit of a yard/garden OC (obsessive/compulsive), recently asked me to let her have my clippings from my yard the next time I cut my grass. She uses grass for mulch in her garden, and their mower's catcher had broken so they weren't able to produce their own mulch. Now, I only catch my grass when it gets out of control, which it hasn't been due to less rainfall. But, trying to be the good neighbor, I caught my grass each of the last two times that I mowed, producing a couple of large yard-waste bags each time.

And now the punch line to this hum-drum story. Last night, the husband stops me as I'm leaving on an errand to let me know that he had returned the now empty bags, and that he had an implement that you could put on the back of the mower to precluded the need to catch the grass! When I told him that I was only catching the grass to help out his wife, he just chuckled and went back to work in his garden. I'm not making this up.

Had a nice chat with 4 today. She says that she will be adding to her blog soon. She sounded good.

I'm off to the bike. Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.

Monday

Hard to believe that it has been a full week since the QC Criterium. We have the race volunteers' party tonight at a pub over in Rock Island.

I was surprised to learn that the Hawkeyes had been in the top 25 nationally in basketball attendance until last year when they dropped to 29th. My guess is that if they win with the new guy, they will get back up there. People don't have a lot else to do in Iowa in the Winter.

I got hooked on the movie "Accepted" last night when I was cruising through the movie channels on my dish. That's the story about a kid whose applications get turned down by all of the colleges to which he applies. So he and a couple of his friends invent a school, set up a website, and end up with a student body. The protagonist was previously on the TV show "Ed". Mindless humor.

All for today. I need to get out of here.

Be careful out there.

Sunday

Just a few lines today.

I did get up to De Witt this AM. I was a little later out of the blocks than I had planned. But a 6:15 departure worked ok. 47+. Breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe. Several other riders were out on the road as well. Lots of red-winged blackbirds, but none in attack-mode. (I did have one dive-bomb me yesterday, just like my friend from last year.) One unruly dog.

The variety of road-kill along my route today was impressive. The wet weather brings out the snakes, toads and the like which have no chance with a 2000 pound vehicle pounding along at 50+ MPH. Add in your normal assortment of raccoons, skunks, birds and squirrels and you have quite the menu. Could this be American Midwest sushi? On a bike, you get a real close-up view of a lot of anatomy. That you would rather not see.

Sorry for that brief insight into cycling's little talked-of panorama.

Looks like 4 was not able to find a computer over the weekend.

Ellen Goodman's column today was about the environmental benefits of gardening and raising your own food. It's worth the read. Very tongue in cheek. One comment, actually a quote from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, about the energy costs to transport an item of fresh fruit from California to Philadelphia, and the resultant need of the consumer to spend an hour on the treadmill in Maryland was especially good.

Speaking of environmental protections, how much good does it do to recycle the sleeves on your SB's coffee? There's a local SB's competitor who is giving customers a free cup after 10 usages (I think) of the same sleeve. I think they've been reading my former GF Sheryl's global warming blog.

Actually, if we wanted to get Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer involved in the discussion, we could debate the relative environmental impact of the use of a sleeve versus the use of a double-cup. Add a sleeve to a double-cup and we're talking serious stuff.

Another of life's challenges has occurred to me with the change of my Russian cleaning ladies. The new gal is not quite as good at keeping my stuff in the right places, that is, the places where I keep my stuff and expect to find it. Not a lot of exceptions, but each time she comes, there are always a couple of items slightly askew.

I'm off to my domestic duties.

Have a great day.

Be careful out there.

Saturday

I stopped in to check mail this evening. It rained hard here early this AM, but it's been pretty nice the rest of the day. I got in a +31 mile ride which went well except for the last couple of miles when I was dead into the wind. I may try breakfast in DeWitt tomorrow to test my mileage.

Enjoyed the comment from 1's betrothed. I'm thinking about a numeric designation for him. Maybe 1A.

An after-thought to the whole A-Rod incident occurred to me when I read that the victim third baseman was playing in his first or second major league game. A-Rod could have been pulling a stunt on a rookie that a veteran would never have fallen for. The Yankee manager, Joe Torre, came out yesterday and said that it was not a good play. Probably to send the message to the other Yankee players that A-Rod wasn't representing the organization in that action.

My SB's friend who wrote the book had a book-signing event at Border's today for a couple of hours. I had started my ride and was on Forest Grove when I remembered, so I did a turn-around and made a brief appearance at the store. I had never met the ultimate fighter who was the subject of the book, and I was surprised at how small he was physically. Not 5'10" and not 170. I think that some saying about dynamite in small packages may apply.

And my mailbox yielded Spanish fruit today. A card from 4 with a very nice greeting. Snail mail crossing the pond seems to work. For those interested, her address is:

K_____ H_____
Summer Language and Culture
CIEE Study Center in Seville
Calle Muniz y Pabon, 9
41004 - Sevilla, SPAIN

The "n" in Muniz and the "o" in Pabon each have a little half-caret over them.

She was on the Rock of Gibralter today. I'll be anxious to hear her tale.

The Giro in Italy wraps up tomorrow. An Italian is winning. One of Discovery's rent-a-stud's from the last couple of years, Paolo Savoldelli, who is with a different team this year, won today's individual time trial. Good for him. He rode well for Discovery for those two years, including an overall win in the Giro. I liked his style. Still do.

A free lance writer gal in Bettendorf does a human interest column each week in the Bettendorf News, and I think that she's taking my material. She had a something-less-than-original piece last week about getting solicitations from AARP for membership as she is approaching the age. And her husband is already a member. But she isn't quite that old. Actually, I didn't read the whole thing, so I may have missed her point. Like pooh-poohing that 10% discount at Motel 6. A few weeks ago she had a column on birds' nests around their house and yard. Like 4000 Days didn't devote numerous entries to my 'fraidy-cat robin hatchling last year.

The sincerest form of flattery.

Speaking of flattery, for those Iowa State fans in the crowd, their mascot Cy has won a competition on the SPiN ON SPORTS page of CBS Sportsline as the Most Dominant College Mascot On Earth. Check it out at: cbs.sportsline.com

All for today. Hope everyone has a fine Sunday.

Be careful out there.

Friday

Weather here today. Tornado's touched down in Muscatine. A little excitement.

No big plans for the weekend. I'll be putting some miles on the bike.

For those interested in a few pics from the bike races last weekend, click on the View Photos button in the QC Criterium box on the home page of www.CriteriumFinancial.com

I have a tomato-eating rabbit in my yard.

Seven weeks from tonight is 1's big day.

Off for the evening. Have a good one.

Be careful out there.