Wednesday

2 is appointed Daughter of the Day! She and I will be headed out shortly for the Augie game. I like to think that she comes with me to share that Father-Daughter bonding thing. I'm afraid that the hot dogs and popcorn may be the real motivations.

I had to restock my wine cellar yesterday, and for the first time since I can remember, I actually took a bottle back for an exchange. It was a Murphy-Goode cabernet that I have really enjoyed in the past. But I could tell when I opened the bottle that something was amiss as the cork came out way too easy. And the wine smelled bad. Drinkable, but you knew that it wasn't right. The store took it back, no questions asked.

My "wine cellar" is the shelf under my couch table. It rarely holds more than a case of wine. Maybe in my next house.

Speaking of winning the lottery without even buying a ticket, check out the windfall that came to the two-years-retired Kieth Van Horn as part of the Jason Kidd trade to Dallas. In order to make the numbers work, Dallas included Van Horn in the deal (since he had never formally filed retirement papers with the league and Dallas still held rights to him). He was/is, of course, never going to play for New Jersey, and he'll be formally cut/waived after 30 days to "free-up" salary cap space next year for the Nets. Van Horn's piece of the trade? Something like $4.3 million! He was a stick when he played, let alone at this point in his non-career. It's a wonderful country.

Craig Wilson's column today has some relevance to the fam. He wrote about the album-after-album of pictures of the first child, and the dearth of pictures of subsequent children. With additional references to the amount of time that the parents spend with that first child compared to substantially lesser amounts of time with the other children. It was one of his better pieces in the last few months. No necessarily original, but borderline humorous.

I think that arguments could be made that the baby of the family catches up with Numero Uno by the time that they have all reached 21. Pity the middle kids. Sorry 2 and 3.

I laughed out loud at SB's on Sunday when I read the piece in the NYT entitled, "I Married a Republican". I'm not sure that many Democrats would marry across the aisle in today's social order.

Gotta go. Have a great evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

Erin is in the house at the Indiana-Purdue game in Bloomington. Is there a worse TV venue in the country than at Indiana? Is Kelvin Sampson that stupid, or what?

I'll try to add to this from the home front a little later.

BCOT

Monday

President's Day. Cold. Windy. Pretty much Winter.

I pulled this image from the IC Press Citizen. I-80 in the IC area on Sunday. I went over today to help 4 get her car out of her sorority house parking lot. The lot was a mess as were all of the IC streets. Much more snow than here. And with the students not really having the option to move their cars so that plowing can be done, it's just a mess. The joys of Iowa in Winter. (I'd estimate 50 cars in the ditches between IC and the Quad Cities. Not pretty.)

Daytona was a bust for Hendrick. That will be the last time I put the 24's picture on the blog. Can you say, "SI Cover Jinx?" 1.1 would have had it all over me if the 20 could have kept the lead one more lap.

Then my pals Roy and Ron tried to educate me about NASCAR engines this morning at coffee. I'm sure I haven't heard the last of that one.

I have my Russian cleaning lady tomorrow. The problem is that my vacuum is again on the fritz. So I tried to figure it out this evening, unscrewing every visible screw to every part of the unit. It still won't come apart. And it still doesn't suck. Which sucks for me. (Still trying to figure out how to move the pictures.)

My skills at fixing stuff have always bordered on incompetence. Some guys just have the knack to reduce the problem to the basics, and make the repair. If it is mechanical, technological or electrical, my best bet is to call the handyman. Fortunately, most small equipment is of the "throwaway" variety, as opposed to repairable.

Augie's last home regular season game is Wednesday night against Illinois Wesleyan. If Augie wins, they clinch a tie for the conference title. Which means that they would get to host the four-team conference tourney. If they lose, they're still in the tourney, but they probably wouldn't host it. It's the classic case of controlling one's own destiny.

All for now. Hope everyone has a good evening.

BCOT

Daytona In-Race Report

They're turning left!

Actually, Daytona is not all that exciting for most of the race because it's a race where the track is so big and the cars just barrel along in a pack with the throttle wide open. No brakes. It's not until the last 20 or 30 laps that the drivers get a little sporty. Then they usually have a big accident.

I don't think that I mentioned here that I went to see an orthopaedic doctor friend of mine on Wednesday to have him check out my right knee. I had been having a nagging pain in that knee whenever I tried to workout since Christmas. I had self-diagnosed the problem as a meniscus problem. And that's what the doc agreed on. The treatment was a cortisone shot. If that doesn't work, I'll need to get it 'scoped in the near future.

The doctor's office is in a new building in north Bettendorf. His group of docs had built an office over by the hospital in Davenport in the early '80's. And grew out of it. I'm afraid to get my bill for this most recent office visit. Counting x-rays and the cortisone shot, I'm betting gross charges of $750. If they end up scoping it, gross charges will exceed $7500. Maybe I should just drag the knee around. That's what they did in the old days.

Pitchers and catchers began reporting last week to the major league Spring training camps in Florida and Arizona. I'm wondering if fans will look past the Mitchell report and the whole steroids mess, and show up at games. Actually, I think that the fact that teams can't keep the same players for a period of several years reduces fan loyalty more than anything. That and the price of a ticket and the price of a beer.

3 gets recognition for sending Valentines to DOD. Thanks. Cheetah Girls. Very creative.

Tomorrow is President's Day. The securities markets are closed. And I plan to take the day off. I'll make a blog entry from an undisclosed location.

BCOT

Sunday

Sunday AM at SB's.

I admit to having been a little lax on the blog the last few days. Sometimes it's just not there.

I woke this morning to the sound of my sump pump kicking on and off. With the ground frozen, I guess the rain finds creases next to the house and seeps directly to the pockets near the foundation. A little unusual for February, I think. The weatherman is forecasting a wintery mix today. Unless the temperature falls, I think we'll be stuck with rain. Which is not bad, considering the alternatives.

Just to show my versatility with technology, here's a view of Jeff Gordon's 24 car in honor of today's season-opening race, the Daytona 500. I realize that most of you could care less about NASCAR, but I find racing pretty entertaining. And with Indy champ Dario Francitti now moving over to the series, another of my fav's, his wife Ashley Judd, will get plenty of face time on reports about the races.

The NYT was delivered as scheduled. The paper covers a lot of topics. I don't agree with all their writers, but I enjoy the diverse sampling of topics and culture in the various sections. Good choice of gift, girls!

I'm going to have to get back to this later. Looks like the weather is changing, and I want to get home before it gets ugly. I'll get back on during the race.

BCOT

Saturday

Just checking in today. Sorry for the lateness.

Friday was a typical fun evening at Biaggi's with friends. It had been a busy couple of days and it felt good to let off some steam.

Not much accomplished today. Early night this evening. I'll provide some input in the AM from SB's.

BCOT

Thursday

Happy Valentine's Day to "The Girls"!!!!

This photo is a little dated, but what great smiles you all have! (Of course, there are four orthodontists in town who had an economic interest in these results!)

I was thinking this morning that there were lots of Valentine's Days in the past when I would stop in at the old Hy Vee store for flowers/candy or other stuff to take to each of you. I miss those times.

I'll add some more observations to this entry later today.

Love.

BCOT

Wednesday

This is Daughter of the Day for tax-Valentine's Day. I need to get some new photos to add to my inventory.

I'm headed into Wheaton, Illinois later this afternoon with my pal Pete to attend the Augie game. I had such a good time two weeks ago when I went to the Illinois Wesleyan game, that I decided to have another go at it. I'm taking the laptop and I'll be trying to add to this posting from the road. Augie beat these guys last month at home, and should win tonight, but road games are always iffy. In any league.

Roger Clemens has been all over the news today with his testimony before Congress. He has absolutely put up a wall of denials. All we know for sure is that somebody is lying. It ain't a pretty sight.

Did you see that Vandy - Kentucky score from last night? Vandy by 40! Unbelievable. I had watched parts of the first half, and, if you were a Kentucky fan, it was embarrassing. Vandy was doing whatever they wanted to do. And Kentucky couldn't even get up a shot. Tubby, where are 'ya? Granted. The game was in Nashville. But by 40?

All that said, this guy will win at Kentucky. If the fans give him some space.

And the Tennessee women stole a game from Rutgers the other night. Theft. Robbery. They got homed. A foul call with .2 of a second left, on pushing for a rebound? I thought at the time, a fair coach would have told her player to purposefully miss the foul shots. Better to put up with your own rabid fans than to unjustly take the win. No wonder UConn doesn't want to go there for a game.

Can't say that Craig Wilson's Valentine's column today warmed my heart. He and his partner have made their life together. Not that's there's anything wrong with that (quoting Jerry). But a man talking about his lover, "Jack", fills none of my fantasies.

More on this entry later. I think.

BCOT

Tuesday

Here is the Daughter of the Day. She was selected at random as the process doesn't allow you to preview the selected image before it is added to the blog. I will attempt to add another image tomorrow.

Last night was an odd deal. Verizon just wasn't sending out a catchable signal. And I don't know whose wireless system allowed me to get on-line from my house. Then, as I checked mail before going to bed, the Verizon signal caught on.

Today is Lincoln's birthday. Happy Birthday, Abe!

The saga with 3's phone transfer goes on. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, the actual Transfer of Service action is starting over for another 60 day verification period. I told the service center representative that I really didn't believe anything that she had to say. She, of course, assured me that "the new" AT & T was very happy to service my account. Right.

I'm wondering if 1 is in line to buy the latest Nike Air Jordan 23's at $185 a pair? CNBC has been running a storyline all day about the once and continuing Michael Jordan shoe phenomena. It's been worth millions to Nike.

This is also the launch day for the SI swimsuit edition. Actually, I think that the cover was unveiled on Letterman last night. I was mildly curious, but fell asleep. The cover girl made it on to CNBC today as they discussed the economic impact of that magazine on the Time Warner financial statement.

The various female CNBC on-air talent roll their eyes as the male reporters drool during their "reporting" of these soft-core stories (Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Hollywood Biz, the annual Adult Films Convention in Vegas, etc., etc.). The show is just catering to the predominantly male audience.

So now that I have crossed the line and put a picture on the blog, I'll need to study the process to spice up the show. Actually, my original intent was to publish Aunt Martha's 2008 reading list. That may come later.

So have a good evening out there. Stay warm.

BCOT

Monday

No blog today. I didn't get this done at the office, and my wireless connection with the laptop is down. I'm pirating a connection, and I suspect that it will be going away shortly.

More snow. And cold.

More here tomorrow.

BCOT

Sunday

Well, for the first time in a few weeks, SB's on Sunday AM didn't happen. I got started a little late, then read the paper, and by the time I fired up the computer, 3 called to advise that they were trying to get out of town. So my post is a little late hitting cyberspace.

Cold. Cold. Cold. It was still below zero when I returned from saying good-bye to 3. I am getting tired of Winter. And to think that I was actually thinking of taking the bike outside yesterday morning!

Augie came away a winner last night after a Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde performance. They looked so good in the first half, and then looked equally bad in the second. Luckily, they hit their free throws down the stretch, or they would have seen a 20+ point lead go for naught. 2 and I thought we would get home early, only to have to stay until the last few seconds to confirm our win. The hot dogs were cold. The popcorn needed salt. And our seating was not our usual place, which irritated both of us. At least they won.

I know that there are not many NASCAR fans out there, but the story of last night's first race of the year has meaning beyond the track. Junior took the checkers in his first race with the Hendrick team, with a little help from his new teammates. Almost all the mainline media outlets who report sports have had stories in recent weeks about Junior moving to the new team, his popularity in racing, and everyone's interest in him succeeding, even his competitors. I don't think that anyone could have hoped for a better result than what they got last night.

My prediction on the local sportswriter getting his digs in on Bobby Knight in his Sunday column was right on target. He even cited the incident that gave rise to his problems with Knight. Some press conference from the '80's. Funny how people, men in particular, can't remember where they parked their car, but then they can't forget being dissed 20 years ago.

Phil Mickelsen, the Number Two player in the world, took an 11 on one hole yesterday at Pebble Beach. It's been a while since I took an 11 on a single hole. This is yet another example of the danger of ever saying, "That's the worst shot of my life." There is a high probability that, however bad a shot might be, you will likely make a worse one in your lifetime.

The Tahoe trip is moving to early August. 4 suggested that we might as well make it then so that I could see some of those classic cars at Hot August Nights in Reno. I'll work with Uncle Phil to nail down the exact dates. If you are gainfully employed, you are responsible for your own plane ticket. I have the condo, the car and the other overhead (read, wine) handled. 3 indicates that she's planning on springing for a jet-ski.

Here are some Sunday thoughts to ponder:

1. Who came up with the fold-able containers for Chinese take-out?
2. What do they do with those 2008 Super Bowl Champion Patriots shirts and caps?
3. How old is Clint Eastwood? Really.
4. Where did they "film" the moon sequences for Niel Armstrong?
5. When they say it's free, is it? Really.

I can't believe that it is the middle of February. I should be 3/24th's of the way toward my 2008 goals. That's 1/8th. And I have a bunch of work to do to be there. Translated: I need to have a productive week.

Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Saturday

Sorry for the lack of a Friday post. It was a case of early Tuscan red.

3 and 4 did get in town last night. Mom picked up 3 and James at the Princeton train station around 7 or so. 4 had made it in a little earlier. Didn't get fff in as 2 had other things.

The funeral this morning was hard on everyone. I really didn't know the girl that well, but the death of a young adult tends to get to you, and this one was way to close to home.

2 and I have a date tonight at an Augie game. So this will be brief.

Tomorrow morning at SB's. See you then.

BCOT

Thursday

Mitt who?

No blog today. 2 and I are headed to an Augie game.

BCOT

Wednesday

Snow day today. Lots of cancellations and postponements. Including the Augie game. Until tomorrow night.

Mom advises me that 2 gets the Daughter of the Day award for shoveling the driveway at her house this morning. You 'da girl, 2!

I'm sure that there were winners and losers in the Super Tuesday primaries, but I have become numb to the reports.

Today is Ash Wednesday. I've again elected to forgo ashes. In my youth, this was always a big day in our Catholic schools. There would be a Mass for the entire school during the day. And we would all walk around with dirty foreheads. As I recall in C-town, ashes were an acceptable display among the suits in the Loop.

3 and I traded email today and she asked if I had elected to "give up" anything for Lent. Until she asked, the thought really hadn't occurred to me. It won't be Tuscan red, but I may give something a go for 40 days and nights. Any thoughts from the maddening crowd?

This was/is also a Holy Day in college football circles. If you missed ESPN's glorification of it, you can catch up online: National Letter of Intent Day. The good news is that ND is considered to have been one of the leading teams in signing incoming talent. The bad news is that Charlie Weis hasn't been all that astute to this point in judging talent. I'm saying that the jury is out until they win 10 games next season.

I finished my first book of the year last night. A poor review is hereby offered for Patterson's Cross. I knew I was getting close to the end, but it just wasn't really coming together. And it never did. I think he finally got to the number of pages required in his pre-sold contract and just put it out of it's/his misery. Unusual for him, I think.

A high school classmate of 3's was the unfortunate victim of an automobile accident early Monday morning on I-80 west of Des Moines. Carly was an Iowa State graduate and worked for a not-for-profit entity in the DM area. Her family went/goes to our church in LeClaire. The family home is on my regular after-work bike route in the triangle around Davenport CC. In the Summer, the playful noise from kids in their pool consistently greeted my trek up the hill to Wells Ferry Road.

Life is too short.

Back to basketball. Cousin Matt's Wildcat teammate Steve Kerr engineered a huge, and unexpected, deal today by bringing in Shaq to Phoenix. The theory is that the Suns have been flashy and entertaining during the season, but didn't have the inside muscle come the playoffs. If Shaq can stay healthy, he certainly can bring muscle to the interior. But he is 36, and his consistency just hasn't been there in recent years. When Miami won the title a couple years back, it was D-Wade who carried the team in The Finals. Then there's the matter of the Hack-a-Shaq defense in close games. It's not like his free throw shooting has gotten any better.

The Celtics, Lakers, and now Suns have all chosen to make risky deals this season in hopes of improving their championship chances. Contrast that to the C-town Bulls who have tested the waters, but have been unable to pull the trigger. They'll make the playoffs, maybe get past the first round, then spend the Summer thinking about what might have been. It's a little like poker: if you play at a $1 limit table, you'll probably never get killed with losses, but even on a "good" day, you won't leave with the casino with the beauty queen.

I need to get out of here and go shovel some snow. Have a great evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

More Winter. And more on the way.

I'm bitching about 3-4 inches of recent snow. Uncle Phil advises me that he spent five hours yesterday shoveling the two feet that they got in Incline. But he's retired. And it's good exercise for an old f**t.

Sounds like 3 and 4 will be passing ships through the QC this weekend. Hope that they each find time to spend with DOD (Dear Old Dad). A little fff?

Dicky V returns to ESPN b-ball tomorrow night for Duke-Carolina. Since Erin missed Big Monday, will she appear for ACC Wednesday? Say what you want, Dicky V is a Yea Hoo to beat the band. But he's the biggest supporter of college basketball, and I've never heard him talk badly about any player, even some of the felons. And his unabashed plugging of the V Foundation and other cancer causes gives him a full pass on all the foolishness that he brings to the telecasts.

Speaking of college basketball, you've probably seen the stories of Bobby Knight calling it quits. I've never had the problem with him the way that most of the media types have. Can't say that I've supported all of his antics, but I don't think that many of his players ever doubted his positions. Most reporters hated him because he didn't give them credit for much. That elevates his stature on my scale all by itself. (The local hack will most definitely give him another blasting in a future column. The General must have put him in his place at one point, and the boy just hasn't been able to let it go.)

I was expecting to watch NCIS at 7PM here, a favorite show of mine. Unfortunately, Katie Couric appeared for a political report on the Super Tuesday primaries, and I immediately wretched. It had nothing to do with the report (although if I had listened, it might of). The blog has been delayed for laptop clean-up.

Tonight's libation is a 2005 Liberty School cabernet. Smooth.

Not much else to add. Hope everyone has a good evening.

BCOT

Monday

I guess I'm glad that the Giants won the Super Bowl. Lots of humble pie being served around the tables of all the talk radio Patriot apologists. Not that Tom Brady isn't a worthy protagonist, but I like the Eli stories better.

One of the best side-bar stories of the game was golfer Phil Mickelson giving up his football tickets in the middle of his round out at the Phoenix Open (which he almost won) to a young boy and his Dad. He seems to have just picked the recipients out of the crowd since he wasn't going to be using them. I'm sure that he had given some forethought to the act, but it's still a pretty good story.

Another side-bar story on the Giants is that of a double-amputee Army vet who became part of the team's entourage during the season. A very inspirational story (that ESPN is milking a little too much).

I'm very annoyed that Blogger's spell check is still down. I've had to drag out my little spelling dictionary for these last few days' entries.

If the Super Bowl is over, it must mean that Big Monday is back for college Basketball. KU and Mizzou tonight. And those schools really don't like one another. I wonder if my friend Erin will have the game?

I guess that a sign of the times is that the President made a news conference presentation of next year's $3.1 trillion budget with delivery of a laptop computer. I can't even fathom a trillion dollars, let alone 3.1 of them. I'm wondering how much, if any, is saved by delivering the budget on a laptop? Obviously, it was all for show. My guess is that you'll now see stories from the Democrats about the need to cut out the fat in the Defense Department allocations, and the GOP will be crowing about the need to make permanent the tax cuts. As a matter of fact, these stories could be like Brittany's obituary; they're probably already written.

In business news, all the talk is of Microsoft's bid for Yahoo. Yahoo has not been able to compete with Google, and they will definitely need to partner-up with another company to remain competitive in their space. Some of the stories suggest that Yahoo may even approach Google to fend off the Microsoft bid. I really don't know the dynamics of these companies, but it is interesting that the Yahoo folks look to be running from Microsoft's money rather than trying to make a deal. That may say something about Microsoft's hard-nosed, "take-n0-prisoners" approach to stomping rivals.

February allows me to make the comment that we can look forward to more outside activities "next month". Certainly, by the end of March, there are seasonably warm enough days that allow outdoor workouts, and the sun stays with us a lot longer each day. I'm just going to try to get my 3-4 workouts in each week so that I'll be able to hit the bike path for early Spring training come "next month".

The peanut gallery has been pretty quiet recently.

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Sunday PM

How 'bout them Giants?

Weather here.

Get out there and have a great week.

BCOT

Sunday

This is getting to be a bit of a habit. Sunday morning. SB's. NYT Sunday edition. Blog. Is it a semi-religious experience?

My workout yesterday was not all that successful. Lunch at the Pebble Creek clubhouse turned into a Bloody Mary exercise, and, after the Tuscan red from Friday night, I ended up spending most of my afternoon on the couch. Who was it that said, "The road to ruin is paved with good intentions?"

The local fishwrap profiled a book today written by an 85 year old lady who grew up during the Depression in small-town Iowa. Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression. Mildred Armstrong Kalish. The article says that she visited Prairie Lights in IC in September. I wonder if 4 was there.

The latest example of poor planning on this SB's location is the supplies truck that services the store a couple of days each week. The truck is a full-sized semi that can't get into the complex without backing in from across Elmore, and then angling in and stopping traffic in all directions. I'm wondering if the planners of the development even considered the concept that service vehicles would have to enter the area.

I'm also wondering where Super Bowl Sunday falls on the list of busiest grocery store shopping days. I had stopped at Hy Vee to pick up some chips and the parking lot was packed. My guess is that it is a top ten day. Here's my list:

1. Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
2. July 3rd.
3. Saturday before Easter.
4. Super Bowl Sunday.
5. Sunday before Memorial Day.
6. December 23rd or AM of December 24th.
7. The day before a forecasted blizzard.
8. Locally at least, the Friday before Bix, or Bix Saturday.
9. December 31st.
10. The Saturday of Father's Day weekend.

I'm going to come back to this later today. For sure.

BCOT

Saturday AM

Friday got away from me. Just too many irons in the fire.

No big plans for the weekend. Work this morning. Lunch with Roy. Work out this afternoon. Add to the blog later.

Enjoyable evening last night at Biaggi's.

4 is a proud owner of an email address at her CR television station.

Tiger is adding to his wealth this week at a European Tour tournament in Dubai. And the peloton had a six-stage race conclude yesterday in Qatar. Both events dealt yesterday with sand storms. I think that the sheiks lay out a lot of green to get the big name golfers to make the trek to the desert. The bike race has been around for 8 or 10 years and is known for speed, rough roads, and wind. And, I guess, sand storms. The televised golf looked like they were playing in smog. Except that you could chew it. They may have money coming out at the seams in the Middle East, but it just doesn't seem like a real appealing destination to me.

More to come.

BCOT

Thursday

Just a few lines today. Another bout of snow. I accept partial responsibility for the weather as I washed my car yesterday. I had to. I couldn't see out the side or rear windows.

The game last night was a real treat. After falling behind for a good portion of the second half, Augie did everything right in the last three minutes and came home a winner 64-61. With seven minutes to go, I thought a 10-point loss was in the works. My pal Pete's son hit a trey with 15 seconds to go to seal the victory.

I was able to fire-up the laptop in the car on the way home to catch up on the Iowa loss, and once the story finally got posted, the box score on the Augie game. (On the way into Bloomington, I had been able to get Mapquest directions to the campus, and stats on the host team.) The mobility of this cellular laptop connection is very impressive. On battery to boot.

The athletic facility at Wesleyan was impressive. The arena sat around 1500-2000, and was part of an larger building that had an indoor track, handball courts, weight rooms and other stuff. It was opened in 1994 with funding from the family that came up with the product Beer Nuts. Wesleyan teams have a strong following of fans, students and adults, and a very active pep band. (I don't think I have ever previously been present for a National Anthem performance by a quad of tubas!)

The small-town-ness of the event was evidenced by the numerous coat racks in the spacious lobby areas. After the game, people just came out from the glassed-in arena and picked up their unattended coats off the racks. I'm not sure if I would be that trusting, but it seems to work there.

The small school-ness of this from Augie's end was shown today when I responded to an e-Blast sent out this morning from the basketball office to cheer the team's previous night's effort and success. As I never do, I then sent a brief note of congratulations. And got a personal "Thank-you" response late in the day from the head coach! Neat.

3 pulled an almost-all-nighter last night at work. 4:30 or so this AM. She called from a cab on the way back to work a little before 9 this morning. She is Daughter of the Day.

The Blogger spell-check function may be down tonight. I apologized in advance for any errors.

On the way down to the game last night, I sat in the back seat with Brett's girlfriend, and she was busy texting while I was on the laptop. She had a handset that had a miniature (but standard) keyboard arrangement for input. I hadn't really paid any attention to that feature in a handset, but it sure makes sense. It takes me minutes to go through the letters in my phone to send a text message, and she was IM-ing several conversations at once. Cool. Is that how a Blackberry works?

OK. I'm headed home to shovel. Have a good evening.

BCOT

Wednesday

This is a first. I'm riding with my friend Pete down to Bloomington, Illinois to watch Augie play at Illinois Wesleyan tonight. We'll see if the wireless thing works blasting down I-74. I decided to make the trip since I have never been on the Wesleyan campus. And not having to drive is a bonus.

The elections yesterday thinned the field. Lots of ill will with the Democrats. Not that the GOP is much better. Next Tuesday will answer a lot of questions.

My pal Roy can pick up the blog on his I-Phone. We had lunch today at Riefe's and he checked in on yesterday's entry between courses.

Here's a new one. Pete tells me that he got a communication from the Illinois Toll Road Authority recently with a fine of $168 for a situation when the I-Pass assigned to him was recorded as having passed through a toll in a car not listed for the pass. That's pretty strong auditing. Pete was able to call and get the fine waived, but it sure makes you wonder about how close Big Brother is watching your act.

It's dark and my hunt'n peck keyboarding skills are not very well suited to continue this entry.

So I'm done for a while. Maybe more later.

BCOT

Tuesday

According to Blogger, this is my 600th entry on their site. I actually started 4KDays on another blog platform, so I'm guessing that my total number of entries is in the 700 range. Which is getting me on toward 20% of the destination total. It's not a journey. It's an adventure.

Bitter cold again. The temp dropped 35-40 degrees in a couple of hours today. Way below zero wind-chill tonight. What does it mean if January goes out with a bang? Probably that the first week of February will be cold.

I'm thinking that we ought to get all of Mother's kids, grand kids, and great grand kids (and all relevant spouses) to add 3-5 memories of Mother (Grandma/Margaret) and have a "100 Memories of Margaret" keepsake composed for all to share. This raises a couple of Clinton-esque definition issues: 1) Who is a relevant spouse?, and 2) Can a great grandchild contribute a memory if he/she were not born before Margaret's death? On the first question, pity those who are irrelevant. As to the second, I defer to the Commissioner of the Horan Clan NCAA contest.

I'm serious about the concept.

My top five memories of Margaret (subject to future revision):

1. Feeding the dry cows and heifers in the bitter cold of Winter. Circa 1960.
2. The years of her weekly letters. Circa 1967-1995.
3. Tomatoes in the garden. Circa 1955.
4. Crosswords. Forever.
5. How ya' feel'n, Mother? With my fingers. (by pantomime) Circa 2002.

I just threw those out there. I've got to give it some thought.

I really want this project to be embraced by all. Pass it on.

Here's a new bit of experience that goes to show you that there's always another loose-end to even the supposedly open-and-shut, lay-up event. My conversion to Direct TV from Dish Network yielded one more surprise. Several years ago, I elected credit-card payment on my monthly Dish account to obtain a lower monthly charge. This was essentially independent from the Dish contract. Ergo, when I cancelled the Dish contract, the credit card payment was not part of the cancellation process. My recent credit card statement had the full monthly charge for the satellite, even though my subscription had ended by mid-month.

I made the call to Customer Service and the automated system indicated that I had a credit balance in my account. And when I finally got to talk to a warm body, she credited my card for that amount. But it took that additional effort on my part, or Dish Network would have kept an additional $35 of my hard-earned cash just because I didn't ask for it back.

I am troubled by the striking writers who now have worked an exemption deal for the Grammy Awards show. I don't doubt that they have an issue on compensation for their work relative to the new media outlets. I think that they just want to choose who they hold to their standards.

Brian Williams took exception with a comment suggesting that he probably illegally down-loaded most of the songs on his IPod. His blog, www.dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com, is often worth the read.

Have a great evening. Stay warm

BCOT

Monday

The latest weather here is warm. 40-odd degrees here today, and maybe early tomorrow before the next blast of Winter checks in. The difference on my car outside-temp gauge from Thursday morning to Saturday morning was over 35 degrees. That's Iowa weather for you.

I know that his last name is Kennedy, but does Teddy's endorsement really matter?

I'm thinking now that we need to have an extended-family, extended celebration of Mother's 100th birthday this year. Any ideas?

Mom has moved up the technology curve with the acquisition of a cell phone number. She inherited the equipment from 3, and is now sharing minutes with 4. With 3 on her own plan, finally, it made economic sense for Mom to basically step into 3's spot on the two-line platform that had been the program for 3 and 4 the last few years. My goal of exiting the economic supplementing of dependents' cell phone liabilities is complete. I hope.

Does the Super Bowl have any comparison for excess? TV, radio, print, Internet. All portals have dispatched their PTPs (Prime Time Players) down to Arizona for on-sight coverage. Lots of on-sight coverage. ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning are doing their morning radio show from somewhere in Phoenix/Scottsdale all week. Why? Do I care what Snoop Dog has to say about the Super Bowl? I guess it sells airtime.

Speaking of selling airtime, the paper today said that a spot on the Super Bowl was going for a cool $2.7 million. That's serious dough. At least we'll have some Victoria's Secret models displaying their wares to keep it interesting.

The game actually takes a back seat to the side shows. People watching. People doing stupid things. Talk show hosts creating opportunities for uneducated jocks to embarrass themselves on air.

Hope everyone has a nice evening.

BCOT

Sunday

SB's on a sunny Sunday.

2 and I had a good evening at the Augie game. The good guys won. Popcorn. Dogs. Life is good.

The Sunday NYT was again delivered by 9PM Saturday night. While it's articles and stories are interesting, and generally well-written, this is a paper that a little bit of goes a long ways. I would have trouble taking it as a steady diet. I suppose that it is natural for birds of a feather to flock together. The constant beat of their chorus is simply not my choice of music.

Another anniversary to consider this year is that it would be Mother's 100th birthday.

The AD at Augie is leaving at the end of the month to take a similar position at a school in Cairo, Egypt. He's 55, and he and his wife are apparently avid travelers, and all of the equations seemed to add up for them at this stage in their lives. I'm a little envious, but not a lot. On the plus side is the simple reality that such a dramatic change is possible for him/them. Physically and fiscally. In that perspective, owning your own business makes the exit strategy a little more complex. Mostly fiscally.

On the down side, I have negative interest in visiting, let alone living in, the Middle East. Islamic jihadists seem to calculate targets based on maximum body-count, regardless of the innocence of those whom we would call collateral damage. And I gotta believe that it gets pretty hot in Cairo. I mean, it's not like you see a lot of green landscapes in their travel brochures. Pyramids. Camels. Sand dunes. I'll take Iowa any day.

The above said, we are all replaceable. And if I were to have that truck run me down on one of my rides, the world, even my little one, would go on the next day without much interruption. So the excuse that you can't pick up and leave is a fallacy. Getting the math to work though is a challenge. And in a professional's situation, that spectre of a future law suit for some long-ago service contract gone awry years after the fact is a sad reality. Then again, that's why a retiring professional purchases a "tail" errors and omissions insurance policy.

I also ran into a client at the game last night who has done the re-locating AD one better: he's a 50-year-old retiree. And he's been retired for several years. Made a few mil on the sale of a business. Now his "job" is watching his kids play ball. Including the transporting of a youth baseball team to Summer tournaments in his 40+ foot motor home. Again, though, I have no real envy for his particular life, just of his ability to make those current choices of lifestyle.

One might take all of the above as a bit of a gloomy outlook today, and that is not the case. I'll stop at the Quick Shop on the way home, buy a winning Lotto ticket, and then you'' ll have to read about the complex problems of what a rich guy has in managing all of his money. Can anyone spell my pal R-O-Y?

So I'm off to have a successful day. You have one yourself.

BCOT

Saturday

Congrats to 1 for the completion of her half earlier today. She and her friend were not running for time, but they still broke 1:50. Not a bad start for the year.

1 did say that she is scheduled to do a full in Rochester this Spring. I've never heard of a $20 marathon! 1.1 goes to Fargo the next week. Fargo?

2 is doing a half in Cincinnati this Spring as well. Her high school friend(s) is/are joining her.

I am officially not doing anything this year running-wise but the Turkey Trot. And I may need someone to draft off of to get to the finish of that race.

I did reach out to Uncle Phil this week to look into condo availability in the latter part of July. One new wrinkle is that the RAGBRAI route was announced this week, and the ride ends near here in LeClaire. With Friday night in Tipton, and Thursday night just outside Iowa City, there may be a reason to wait until after July 26th to start the Tahoe vacation. My pal Pete has already committed to riding on Thursday and Friday. We'll see.

4 called me this afternoon looking for directions in the Amana Colonies. The TV station had sent her out from CR to get some footage on a Winter festival being held there this weekend. Local TV is so into hard news. Anyway, I gave her a little direction, and never heard back, so I assume she found her destination. Tune in at 6.

My connections to the Amanas began in high school when we played baseball in Norway and other little towns in the area. We would always stop at one of the family-style restaurants for after-game meals. Bill Zuber's in Homestead was the place I remember best. The owner was a former major leaguer, and there was lots of baseball memorabilia in the building. I'm pretty sure that he is long gone, and the restaurant closed a few years back.

In recent years, I've biked through that area a time or two, and I've played the upscale golf course a few times that they built there 20 years or so ago. The area has also hosted the Farm Progress Show a time or two, but I've not attended those events. We did take the girls to Winter get-aways at the Holiday Inn holidome located at the I-80 Amana exit. Amazing how young kids can be impressed by an indoor pool and a spa.

Didn't they do a movie last year about the final season of Norway baseball? I wonder if I was in it. They beat us often enough.

2 and I are headed over to Augie tonight for a game. A wild Saturday night in River City.

The weather is better today. It's over 30 degrees! I did an outdoor walk and I thought it was still a bit Winter-ish.

Aunt Martha and I read a lot of the same stuff. I had seen the comic strip this morning and thought it was a pretty timely theme.

Tiger Woods is playing in his first tournament of 2008 this week, and he has an 8 shot lead going into Sunday. I find it amazing that he is so much better than the rest of the field. It's kind of like high school when you have that one outstanding athlete who dominates whatever game he plays, in what ever sport that is in season. Usually in pro sports, the difference in talent among players is fairly nominal. Tiger is simply playing a different game than the other golfers.

LV has been in the news with a nasty looking fire at the Monte Carlo hotel. That would ruin a weekend.

So hope everyone has a good evening. See you on line from SB's tomorrow.

BCOT

Friday

So this is a small effort for a rare Friday entry.

I've discovered that one of the things that I miss about my warm weather outdoor bike rides is the thinking time afforded to me as I crank along the roads. There is no indoor substitute for the mental gymnastics that abound when you're in the middle of a 30-mile ride. Running offers some of the same opportunities, but when I'm running, I'm usually just calculating how much farther I have to go, and how long it will take to cover that distance.

Doing training on my bike indoors is a brutal exercise. After 10 minutes, I'm trying to justify stepping off the bike and going to the weight machine. Even when I'm ok while on the trainer, I'm watching a game or other mindless TV show, so there's no creative thinking taking place.

Contrast that with gliding along a county road, even when heckled by red-winged blackbirds, and the conclusion that my quality of life suffers in the Winter is easy to make. As I sit here at the blog, I'm actually looking forward to getting out in March and doing some hills. That is sick.

Doing the blog is somewhat similar to being out on a ride. With little chance of being side-swiped or otherwise harassed by cars or birds. But with the blog, while the mind is being exercised, the body is on it's ass.

Shifting gears...

Aunt Martha asked at some point a few entries back about just when someone might be considered as becoming old. I've got a new definitive sign of such. For many years, my standard Winter attire in the office has been a sweater over a somewhat matched Polo shirt, so that the shirt's collar would compliment the sweater. This year, that ensemble is still there, but I have added a t-shirt (occasionally, even long-sleeved t-shirts!) under the Polo for more warmth. That reminds me of something Daddy might have done. And he was old.

Uncle Phil advises me that we have relatives on Mother's side of the family out in West Virginia that have traced genealogy to literally thousands of known individuals. If this were Arkansas, we'd need to be careful, or we could find ourselves dating our own relatives.

And finally, we got the call yesterday for the first 2007 Form 1040 preparation. It warms my heart. Not!

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Thursday PM

Not much to add. The cold stayed with us all day. It was around 0 when I was coming home about 6:30. They say it will be warmer tomorrow.

I'll try to add an entry tomorrow before Happy Hour.

BCOT

Thursday AM

Sorry to have missed yesterday. 2 and I went to an Augie game, and I just didn't have my act together.

In an effort to clean files off of my computer, I deleted a key operating program, and I spent a good portion of the afternoon trying to get it re-installed. What an idiot!

-13 this AM. Global warming?

More later.

Tuesday

A true roller coaster day on Wall Street. It will not be a one day ride.

My Russian cleaning lady was supposed to come today. We had snow and cold, and she may have bailed. But in preparation for her, I did my usual thing of picking up before her arrival. One of the items on my coffee table was the "clicker" for my old Dish system that I replaced with the Direct system earlier this month. It occurred to me that every household must have it's own collection of defunct/outdated/useless electronic gadgets whose time has come and gone. Among such items in my care are:

1. Clicker for a prior TV.
2. Re-chargers for several old cell phones.
3. Clicker for an old stereo set.
4. Two historical radios.
5. Several disposable, basic 4-function calculators.
6. Do Christmas lights count?
7. Two little forced-air electric space heaters.
8. A couple of re-chargers for long-gone calculators.
9. An ice-maker for a once-owned refrigerator.
10. Several things in Mother's stuff.

Notice that this list really doesn't consider any computer hardware. Of which classification I would consider the now-useless Dish receivers sitting in my garage. (We have so much computer trash in our office that we would need a dumpster were we to clear it all out in one trip.)

We continue to struggle with an effort to reduce paper in the office. There have been a number of occasions in recent weeks where we had properly elected with different institutions against their paper statements, only to have staff then print the electronically received information. This is a cultural problem. The older your organization, the harder it is to embrace new systems and procedures. And accountants like the "feel" of paper in hand to "build the file".

I was trained to do tax research in the mid-70's using the paper resources in our Chicago office's tax library. Following a series of references/citations, I would often have several reference books opened to pertinent pages and stacked in front of me on my desk. Now, you can actually conduct much more thorough research using similar methods, but by stacking "windows" on the computer screen. It took me a long time to get past the need to have all those books in front of me to feel like I was following a proper protocol.

Some of our older clients will never have an ability to operate on an electronic basis with their tax and financial planning data. They may be able to pay their utility bill through an automatic draw at the bank, but most are not comfortable or capable of sending tax information through a computer. Some are. Most aren't.

The generation of my kids will not have this same problem. They never knew the old ways. But by the time they are my age, the then new systems may force them into things that we can barely imagine today. After all, when Captain Kirk ordered, "Beam me up, Scotty", we thought the concept to be outrageous fantasy. (Kirk's follow-up line about the absence of intelligent life probably doesn't apply except, this week, with the Fed, the politicians, and, at all times, talk radio sports announcers.)

Off to the homestead. Stay warm.

BCOT

Monday

Pretty calm day at the office today. Even though the MLK holiday has never been fully embraced by much of main-stream America, the closure of the banks and securities markets, the governmental offices, schools and the like tends to keep the roar of the crowd at a lower volume on this day.

4 started her Spring internship with the CR television station today. The early returns are positive, but her plate is full. We'll be anxious to hear details.

2 has her first grad school class tomorrow night in IC. She spent two days of her three-day weekend at a desk here in the office trying to get her debits and credits on the right side of the ledger.

No mail delivery today reminds me of the oldest evil trick in the book played on me as the littlest kid in the family by my siblings. Before the "new" Highway 63 was built in the mid-'60's, our mail was delivered to a box on the "old" highway, which was about a 1/4 mile to the West on the gravel/county road. If someone wasn't conveniently in a car coming home after the mail was "delivered", someone needed to walk up and retrieve the delivery. That someone was often me.

This was no problem, as I was always willing to take care of these kind of requests. Even on July 4th, Memorial Day, Labor Day and the like, if I were so asked. After all, my brother and sisters would never think that it was cute to send me up for the mail when they knew that there was no delivery. Right. (As a kid, I may have been a little slow on the uptake.)

I stopped in at the Duck Creek SB's for a mid-morning break, and the store was staffed entirely by male baristas. (Can a guy be a barista?) I don't think that that has ever happened in my history with that location. And I've bought a lot of coffee there.

The weather for the Packers-Giants game was everything it was billed-up to be. Brett Favre looked like there was no heat left in his body at the end of the game. At ND, we played some baseball games in persistent snow flurries, where striking out was not a bad thing (compared to hitting the ball and thus losing feeling in your fingers), but operating out there in below zero weather for three hours was crazy. Tough loss for GB. Great win for NY. (I actually think that NY has a better shot at NE than GB would have had.)

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Sunday AM

Another day in the freezer. -5 reading in the car on my way here to SB's. It is January in Iowa.

For the curious factoid of the day, consider that exactly one year from today, a new President will be inaugurated. With the primaries already seeming to have been here too long, there's still another 10 months of rhetoric and posturing to digest. And then two more months of "transitioning". I guess the adage that "no one said that democracy is easy" remains valid.

The Sunday NYT again made it's way to my driveway. Thank you 1 and 3.

I think that 3 said that today was James' birthday. Make it a good one.

The 2008 cycling Pro Tour starts today with the initial stage of the Tour Down Under in Australia. This is a sport that needs a year or two of drug-free headlines. I'm struggling to work up some enthusiasm for the new season.

I'll probably watch the football games today. While doing my Mt. Rose workout in the basement. If you have any sports' interest at all, and have paid any attention to reports on today's game in Green Bay, you know that I have already collected on my over-under bet for Ice Bowl references. It was a layup.

Don't look for much significant overall economic benefits from the stimulus package being touted by the White House and the Congress. It's a band-aid at best. And the next Fed Funds rate cut of 50 basis points has already been baked into the markets. If you think that that cut will be only 25 basis points, sell now. On the bright side, election years generally tend to be decent years for the markets.

Here's a small recommendation/endorsement for a red wine that has moved up on my list of favorites. Kenwood Jack London Cabernet 2003 or 2005. It's a bottle that we've had at Biaggi's different times when Roy was buying. But it is available in stores for around $30. I put it a little higher up the food chain than the J. Lohr, and the next time we do FFF, I'll make sure that we have a couple of bottles.

Tomorrow is a holiday for the markets, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I've elected to not make it an official holiday for Criterium as it just comes too close to New Year's Day. I think that race remains a major dividing issue in our country. I'm wondering though if it is race, cultural differences, educational perspective, family construction, or other concepts that create and sustain the division. Arguments could be made for each.

Shifting gears...

Cold days like this remind me of how we had to deal with Winter on the farm. For both the first floor of the old farm house, and the windows in the barn's milk house, we would tack sheets of plastic on the outside of the windows to try to cut down the amount of wind coming through the cracks. (New homes today put on Tyvek brand sheeting over the plywood and before any siding to make the home more air-tight.) And there was always an electric space heater (or two or three) facing water pipes to hopefully keep them from freezing. This was especially critical in the milk house.

The barn always received first access to creature comforts. Frozen water meant a problem in keeping the milking machines clean. Without clean milking machines, the milk inspector could reject our milk at the dairy. No milk sold means no money received. No money received means bills not paid. Bills not paid means no farm. It was the most basic of lessons in Econ 101 in a very real and personal sense.

This was always the time of the year when our hands also suffered the most. Not only from the cold, but from the constant use of water in the cold and dry air. Daddy's hands always had cracks and open sores in the creases. As did the cows' udders. Lots of Vaseline.

The worst situation (beyond frozen water lines) would be a calf born in mid-Winter. If we were lucky and were able to keep the cow in the barn before the birth, we at least had a chance of saving the calf. If we judged the due time wrong, and left the cow out with the herd, and the calf was born in the elements, survival was 50-50 at best. Nature bringing newborns to the world in the Spring is another example of a plan that has an author.

So hope everyone has a good day. Staying inside is a good option.

BCOT

Saturday AM

The cold did come. -6 on my car thermometer when I went to SB's this morning. Sunny, but a good day to stay inside.

The campaigns are taking stock today in Nevada and South Carolina. I thought I saw a story somewhere that the casino workers' union had endorsed Obama, and that a judge had ruled that some of the caucuses could be held in the casinos for the convenience of the voters. Any on-sight reports to add to this story?

I rarely eat at McDonald's these days, but when I renewed my drivers license yesterday, the convenience of a Mac's across the parking lot won out. The first thing I noticed in the place was the number of young kids. Either yesterday was a school holiday, a nearby childcare business was on an outing, or a couple of prolific mom's were taking their charges out for a treat. I suppose that when our girls were young, people may have had those same thoughts when we rolled in for a family lunch.

Anyone have an explanation as to why the trash bins at Mac's have been changed away from the enclosed container with a floppy door to a flat receptacle with a circular opening on top? Great minds need to know.

And finally, on the soda dispenser machine, the regular Coke nozzle was not on the far left or far right as it is usually arranged. The fact that I noticed the difference suggests to me that Coke may have a stipulation in their retail agreements that their flagship brand will occupy one or both of those preferred positions on the soda stations.

Coke and Pepsi are in a never-ending battle for provider status at restaurants, stadiums, and other soda-available venues. (Each brand sponsors a race on the NASCAR circuit, and each has a "team" of drivers promoting their separate brand.) I've always been a Coke guy. One of my pet peeves of all pet peeves is the waitress who, when I order a regular Coke, responds wither either, "Pepsi ok?", or delivers a Pepsi without even mentioning the substitution. Since most fast-food and other mid-scale restaurants stock only one of the brands, and since Pepsi has done a pretty good job establishing itself locally, I'm often faced with a choice of non-preferences.

Of course, I could be a little more health conscious, and take soda off the list of options. But this is one of those items where, looking at the overall scheme of things, I've concluded that if Coke hasn't killed me by now, another twenty years of excessive sugar water will not be the cause of my demise. Keeping upright on the bike will yield better long-term results.

I saw a picture in one of the papers this week showing people working at clearing the snow from the inside of Lambeau Field in Green Bay. I did a quick Google search and this is apparently a bit of Packer tradition. When needed, the Packers will issue a news release, and the first 300 people in line at the designated time are hired to complete the process. And they will usually have more volunteers than needed, and those extra people can stay in line in case any of the first group need to leave early. And these are not necessarily ticket-holders. Just nutso Packer fans.

2 is dipping her toe into the area of advanced education with her first pre-MBA course starting this coming week. She's here in the office today to get through some introductory/review work on a financial accounting course that starts Tuesday. When Art History meets Accounting, there's some reprogramming of thought processes that must occur. Good luck, kiddo. At least you have easy access to a qualified tutor at home. (Note to reader: 2 lives with her Mother.)

4 spent a couple of days this week "bonding" with other officers on the U of I Pan-Hellenic Council. With an internship in CR with the TV station, classes, and Pan-Hel, she will be a busy little girl this semester. (If Pan was the Greek god of shepherds, and Helen was not a god, but Helen of Troy, where does the term panhellenic come from? And why are there two "l"s in the word?"

So see you tomorrow from SB's in the AM.

Have a great day.

BCOT

Friday AM

Guilty as charged. 2 had given me the same business at some point during our Augie b-ball outing on Wednesday evening. I had the best of intentions to return to a normal day's entry yesterday, but my pal Roy intervened and cocktails after work turned into dinner and 4000 Days never went to press.

The upside of this situation is that a lack of entries usually means that I have other commitments, which might mean that I actually may have a life.

Back to that insurance test. It was administered in the local offices of a company that is a commercial vendor for various licensing entities, whether they be states, municipalities or self-regulating associations. Testing companies can more efficiently handle the administration of these tests as they are all now basically computer-driven exercises that require the same type of closely regulated testing lab. As the test-taker, I'm always a little nervous when I say that I have completed the test and hit the "send" button. The results are immediately available.

The proctors in these computer labs are always individuals with Napoleonic authority complexes. You need to verify your identity, and they shoot a picture of you that is posted to your results certificate. You have to fully empty your pockets, take off your watch, and this time, even my fleece vest. (He said it qualified as a jacket.) None of your own paper or pencils. They issue this stuff, and confiscate same at the conclusion of the exam. The whole session is filmed.

The regulation of these testing labs can be comical, but then again, there was the story this week in the local papers about a guy who tried to use the infamous "Whizzinator" device to get through a drug test. I suppose that a guy who is a terrible test taker, but a great salesman, might consider hiring a "ringer" to take a securities exam. It's scary thought. These tests are generally very straight-forward, (there are few, if any, "trick" questions), and it's hard for me to imagine a person with proper training and preparation not being able to successfully complete the exercise.

Another by-product of the test was recognition that I am in my "grace period" for my passport. I would have been a hurting puppy if I had taken a trip and needed to rent a car this week. Rental companies are not in the habit of renting cars to drivers with expired licenses, grace period or not. I need to venture over to the licensing bureau this afternoon to get myself updated.

The issue of a valid driver's license has happened to me in the past. Since I have often traveled in early January after my birth date, there has been more than once that I've had to hurriedly re-new the license right before a departure date.

We're in the deep freeze for the weekend. 1 will have even lower temps in the TC. I don't think that the Packers game is one that I would jump at the opportunity to attend. What's the over-under on how many references there will be to the Packers-Cowboys "Ice Bowl" during the telecast? Including the pre-game and post-game shows, I'm setting that line at 20, and I'm taking the over.

Roy is headed to Orlando for the weekend. The PGA show is in town and he needs a few more golf clubs.

After last night's indulgences, I may take a pass on the normal Friday night social hour. Maybe another addition to the blog.

So have a great day.

BCOT

Wednesday

Just a few lines today. 2 and I are headed over to Augie for a game.

Yesterday was funny. I had to study yesterday afternoon and evening for an insurance certification test that I took this morning. I passed and my procrastination logic was verified, but it wasn't particularly easy. Thanks to 4 for entering a comment to explain my absence.

I have had a life insurance licence for almost 10 years. I needed it to get paid on some early cases, and have renewed it since then as required by the state. The renewal procedure requires that you attend 30 hours of continuing education credits every three years, which I, of course, blow off. I mean, I have never sold a life insurance policy! So one of the options is to retake the test every third year. Which is what I do. But I have to do the review to get through the test. Which is a big pain in the behind.

More later.

BCOT

Monday

Anyone have an explanation as to how half of January can already be gone?

Further evidence of the incisiveness of 4000 Days was on Yahoo's main page today where there was a feature article on the environmental negatives of bottled water. Do you suppose that these plagiarists have my blog on their search engines to make sure that they adequately cover the key topics of the day? (We never did hear from 3 on the C-town bottle-tax question.)

Page 073 of this week's Businessweek has an article on the new economics of self-publishing. The author did a book on a Summer trip, with photos and a hard-bound cover for $29.95. A new start-up company called Blurb has the software, and you can up-load things like blogs. Not that I am all that interested at this point in publishing 4000 Days, but it does give me an idea for future gifts. I'll be checking out the site.

The 14 year anniversary of Daddy's death was last Saturday. The anniversary of the funeral is tomorrow. I'm not sure if I feel like that was a long time ago, but there sure has been a lot of water go under the bridge since then. Subtract 14 from your current age, and consider what things were going on in your life those days. Personally. Professionally. Complementarily, where will you be in 14 years from now? That is the scary side of the equation to me.

I've been dealing with a flying gnat infestation in my house ever since I moved the plants in that had spent the Summer outside. (Are some gnats Earth-bound?) The aerosol spray from Lowe's has been ineffective on two applications, although I have one more can to give it another shot. Nothing like keeping Summer alive in your home by maintaining a gnat-friendly environment.

At what point does a little get together become known simply as "coffee"? As in, "Are you going to coffee tomorrow morning?" Or, "Where is coffee on Monday?" And does the definition or the characteristics change if there are more than two people? In the alternative, can it apply to the activity of a single person? Irrespective of their marital status. (While not necessarily much of a point, Seinfeld could do several episodes on this question.)

It's been a slow news day. What can I say? Sorry.

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Sunday AM

SB's.

2 and I went to the Augie b-ball game last night. It was one of those games where you never felt comfortable, even with a big lead. And the other team did come back in the waning moments. Augie missed a bunch of free throws down the stretch. And if a desperation 3/4 court shot at the buzzer had been a little truer, we would have gone home losers. It was the kind of ending where even the Fat Lady was too exhausted to sing.

The Sunday NYT did appear on my driveway. It was there last night when we got home from the game. It is not a paper that you casually peruse in a few minutes.

The local papers report that the Krispy Kreme donut place on 53rd will be closing in the next month or two. Their donuts were always way too sweet for my tastes. The company had soaring growth a few years back, but has seen nothing but declines in more recent times. I'd like to think that their problems have had something to do with a movement toward healthier eating styles, but I suspect that the truth is more related to better marketing at Dunkin Donuts, and ineffective management. They say that a Chick-fil-A outlet will likely move into the property.

2 and I made it a point to avoid the streets immediately around the iWireless Center (formerly, The Mark) in Moline on our way to and from the the game last night. I had noticed extra traffic on the bridge heading to Illinois and had suspected that there might be a hockey game. But the added activity wasn't for hockey; the arena was hosting the Dancing With The Stars show for the evening. The review in this morning's paper said that there were over 5,000 people at the show. I don't get it. I mean who wants to watch Wayne Newton shuffle around for a few minutes and then mumble a few verses of Danke Schoen? Then again, I'm not a fan of reality shows.

In a somewhat related note (at least it is in the entertainment industry), Jay Leno is taking heat for doing his own writing for his late night show from the writers' union that is on strike. It's a little complicated because Leno is a member of the union. But Letterman, who owns his show, reached an agreement to allow his writers back on the set, and Leno simply requested a deal to exempt his own writing. The long and the short of it is that Leno has been beating Letterman in the ratings, which raise the question of the need for the writers, and the union that represents them. Ruben Navarrette Jr. has an editorial out today that covers this issue.

The parking design at this SB's is way under-engineered. It's an expensive lot, and the developers elected to put too much retail into too small of a space. The SB's drive-through stays busy and creates a low murmur of chaos most of the time. It gets real bad at noon when the Noodles restaurant crowd checks in. And there are unoccupied bays in each of the two buildings. Why would someone choose to rent here now knowing that customers would not have convenient parking? Given the finite amount of space on the site, I doubt if there is a good long-term answer.

These guys may have gone to the same school as the guys who came up with the design of the new Hy Vee parking lot at the Devils Glen store. Or the ingress-egress at the commercial lots on the corners of Jersey Ridge and 53rd. I suppose that ultimately, it all comes down to money. How do you get the maximum rental space on your development? And as far as traffic and traffic flow is concerned, well, that's the city's problem. I've always said that a contractor/developer's biggest concern once a contract has been signed with a buyer is not about taking care of that customer, but rather about getting the next contract signed.

One of the minor benefits of the new satellite arrangement is that I do get all the broadcast network channels on my basement TV (I couldn't pull in ABC or FOX previously). Which, on a day like today, means I can watch the FOX televised football game while pounding the peddles on my trainer. Which makes weekend training a little easier. And they left the HBO programming on my account, but I suspect they will see that error, or will ask me to pay for it, when the first billing cycle comes around. Regardless of how many channels come in, there is usually "nothing" on that a person wants to watch. No wonder that we spend so much time online.

My top five goals for 2008, not necessarily in order of importance:

1. Mt. Rose.
2. Read 15 books.
3. Waste less time. Grow the business. Be more like Pete.
4. Do more photography. Maybe take a class.
5. Turkey Trot. TOMRV. Maybe a day of RAGBRAI

Speaking of RAGBRAI, Crawford county, out in western Iowa, has passed a rule banning RAGBRAI from the county. This being the after-effect of a lawsuit where the county paid 3-4 hundred thousand dollars to the family of a deceased rider who fell while on the ride when it last passed through the county a couple of years ago. Now the state legislature is trying to pass a bill that would protect local governments from liabilities in such situations. Personally, I think that if you are out on the road by your own choice, you have only yourself to blame for your own messes.

Hope everyone has a good day.

BCOT

Saturday

Sunny, but cool. This could be an outside day. I may even break Margret out for a spin around the block.

This is the kind of mid-Winter day when the car washes make a killing. Everybody is tired of driving a dirty car, they're out running a few errands, and it's a natural choice to try to rinse some of the salt off the vehicle. They'll be lined up to the street for the automatic bays where the machines do a couple of pass-arounds. Even the pricier, get-out-of-the-car Miracle Wash-type places will do well today. I may even do a little clean-up on the Buick myself.

The biggest interior problem with cars over the last couple of weeks with all the snow, is the musty old-sock smell inside the car from constantly damp floor mats. I've rotated a couple of carpet samples into the Buick to limit the odor. It can be very cheesy.

And for the diehards, today will be a good one to take down the Christmas decorations. I, of course, don't have to worry about that.

Not much else for now. I may try to add more wisdom later this afternoon.

BCOT

Friday

Not much to report today. Maybe a little vino after work.

A couple of Sports items.

The gal anchor on The Golf Channel got suspended for two weeks for making a non-politically-correct comment on the air about how some guys should jump Tiger in the alley before the tournament and "lynch" him. By the time the media had blown the story into a tempest in a teapot, our good friend, the Rev. Al Sharpton, had jumped in, the TGC caved, and the anchor went to the sidelines. Just goes to show you how sensitive the media is to the race card.

Then you have Dallas quarterback Tony Romo hung out in the breeze by a lot of Cowboys fans because he's dating Jessica Simpson, and not concentrating as hard as he should on the next game. I thought one of the reasons that you played sports was to get the girls. I hope he wins this weekend to quiet the critics.

Sports Illustrated last week had a story about the little-known Chaminade basketball team from Hawaii beating Virginia in a huge upset back in the 1970's when Virginia had Ralph Sampson. Interesting reading. That game pre-dated the wall-to-wall TV coverage that now exists in sports, and the only film of the game is from a hand-held camera in the stands. Relatively, that game makes the Appalachian State upset of Michigan last Fall less dramatic. I mean Chaminade was the equivalent of a junior college.

Ralph Sampson never made much of himself athletically, and he had lots of problems financially and socially. 8 kids by 6 women, I think the story said. Jail time. (But a couple of the Chaminade players had dark lives as well. You don't need to be famous to screw up.)

Off to sample a little Tuscan red.

Have a great evening. I'll be broadcasting tomorrow AM from SB's.

BCOT

Thursday

More weather here. Rain for now, but maybe snow later on this evening. It is January.

I'm not saying that there was a little "bad-shrimp" effects going on yesterday, but I had no trouble going to sleep last night. 2 agreed with me that that last glass of wine on Tuesday night was a little unnecessary. But it was really a fun little party. Thanks, Roy.

2's CD gift of "An Introduction to Italian" was well-conceived. Now I'll just have to make sure that I put it to use in the next 18 months. 1 and 3 went together on a subscription to the Sunday NYT, which was another thoughtful gift. (I actually received my first copy a week ago and thought that it had been delivered by mistake. It didn't come this past Sunday, so we have some investigation to do.) I'm wearing today the spiffy, fitted dress shirt that came from 4.

The boys left for the Arizona golf trip this morning. My schedule had tentatively included a conference which would have kept me off the golf course for two days, so my spot was otherwise filled, and I then elected to attend the conference at an alternative date in February. My pal Bill is out of the office through Monday, so staying in town is not a bad thing, business-wise.

My satellite conversion happened, but the ultimate cost was more than I was initially quoted (surprise!), and the young-ish installer, while gentlemanly enough, left old hardware and boxes at every turn. An unexpected result was that the new system requires not one, but rather, two dishes to pull in all of the channels, and the two face in different directions. (The local stations for the broadcast network channels must utilize a different satellite.) And the channel numbers for this system are entirely different from the old set-up, so I have to re-learn the stations. (The bad point there is that the print on the line-up card is so small that I need a magnifying glass. It's heck getting old.)

They also sold me on a DVR system for my house. I have no clue what a DVR is or what it does. How's that for educated purchasing?

My business friend who had the motorcycle accident before Thanksgiving stopped in a SB's this AM. He's mobile and back at work. But the long term function of his ankle is an open question. His surgery was so much more dramatic than mine on my thumb, and I don't expect my thumb to be fully healed (or healed as far as it will heal) for another six months. I doubt if a Turkey Trot will ever be in his future. The motorcycle is for sale.

One of my personal credit cards came with a $39 late fee and a finance charge in today's mail. I wondered if that would happen as I made an electronic payment on the statement due date, but it took two business days to hit Chase's books. I normally input those monthly bills for payment will they are received, but that one sat under some papers on my desk. Anyway, the thing that hacked me off is that not only do they clip you for the usurious late fee, but they then calculate a finance charge, not on the prior statement balance due, but on the daily average outstanding balance as of this statement. That's the equivalent of paying interest on current purchases. No wonder people get caught behind and can't get out.

In my case today, I called, got a sympathetic agent, and he wiped both the late fee and the finance charge off the statement. It was/is the Christmas season. But I will be making a change in my payment procedures to avoid any recurrence of the problem. A word of advice: none of my readers are so wealthy that they can afford to pay late fees or interest on credit card debt. Pay bill in full. In plenty of time before the due date.

My handyman came by sometime today and installed a new garbage disposal unit. 20 years ago, I would have tried to do it myself. Likely, with mixed results and skinned knuckles. At this point in my life, I have recognized my limitations. Now, I can actually use my sink.

I see where John Kerry has endorsed Obama. Given Kerry's spotty resume, was Barak unable to avoid the meeting?

Hope all is well Have a great evening.

BCOT

Wdnesday AM

The little gathering at Biaggi's last night was a big success. In addition to 2 and 4, my pal Roy made sure that a few other friends stopped over, and he generously picked up the tab. Good food and wine. Great service. Family. Friends. A home run.

Thanks to all for remembering me and helping me celebrate.

More later.

BCOT

Monday

This did feel like a Monday. But literally balmy outside.

I made a call to the local satellite provider to inquire about possible upgrades to my systems. I had been in a conversation over the holidays in which I thought I overheard someone say that older satellite packages, like mine, could be upgraded, and for lower monthly charges. I finally remembered today and they are going to move me from Dish to Direct and swap-out my equipment. I'll also get all the local channels which were not part of the deal way back when.

The guy started talking about HD, gizzmo-this, and gizzmo-that, and my mind went into a circuit-overload situation. So I bought what he was selling. Kind of like in the "stereo" stores back in the 60's and 70's when the sales guys were talking about woofers and tweeters and bass resonance factors.

I'll still get the Big 10 Network and the NFL Network. Critical items both.

Today is Roger Clemons' day in front of the cameras. He's been pretty well tried and convicted in the press. For that reason alone, I'd be delighted if he could prove his innocence.

I think we need to hear from 3 on the 5 cent bottled-water tax that C-town has imposed, and which is now being challenged in court. This is the equivalent of a "sin" tax similar to state taxes on cigarettes and liquor. There's enough data out there to suggest that bottled-water is not necessary for most municipalities, and that the land-fill impact of the bottles is significant. Legislating public conduct by imposition of taxes is not a new concept.

I haven't checked out the statute, but I bet the definition of water is not that clear (no pun intended). Where does the balance shift on what constitutes water? I know that some clear water is marketed with various fruit tastes added, such as orange or berry. If color were added to these variants, would they be exempt from the tax? We need Bill to help with the definition of what water is.

I hate to pick on Al Gore (not really), but I'm wondering where he might fall on this issue. The Green Al would probably anguish about the waste-disposal issues. But with it being an election year, Blue State Al would want to broker a compromise for the various unions bringing the suit against the tax.

The coffee wars heated up after the bell. McDonald's announced a further move to upgrade it's coffee program at all of it's US stores, with new equipment, new foo-foo drinks, and even a "barista" position at the counter. Given my experience with the local stores, the term "barista" is not one that I would ever associate with McDonald's staff.

And Starbuck's is bringing back it's founder as CEO. The press release stated that they would be slowing the pace of new store openings, look at closing under-performing stores, and re-directing capital to International expansion. The stock received a big bump in after-hours trading, mostly, I think, because of the return of CEO Schultz. Closing stores is a decision that they have been reluctant to make in the past. (The downtown Davenport store has to be on that list.) Corporately, changes need to be made. Check out the stock price. Ticker symbol SBUX.

I'm off to celebrate my tax birthday. Thanks for the calls and greetings earlier today. Talk to you tomorrow.

BCOT

Sunday

Another day. Another change in weather. It's like, 60, outside today! It almost feels like an early March day when the last of the snow melts away.

Great article in Parade today about memory loss. It described the three areas of memory: 1) procedural, as in, how to walk, how to eat; 2) semantic, as in what is a key, what is a movie, what are eye glasses, and; 3) episodic, as in, I lost my keys, and who was in that movie? It is this third type of memory that seems to erode as we age. Not that defining it makes it get any better.

I also learned a new word from the paper this morning. Our Arts section each Sunday carries a small column that differentiates similar words by definition and usage. Today, the parsing was done for the words, literal and littoral. I didn't know that the word littoral existed. It refers to the shore area of an ocean, or perhaps, some shore areas of lakes or the like. I'm not sure if the word will find it's way into my daily vocabulary.

Sounds like the trip to C-town was at least moderately successful. 3 has her hands full at work. Hang in there, Kiddo.

I guess within the context of our family history, I've become a wine-snob. I went to meet a friend at Biaggi's last night for a glass of wine at 7PM. Bad timing. The bar was not only packed, the people sitting at the bar were hunkered in as they must have figured that they wouldn't be able to get served in the dining room, so that had ordered dinner at the bar. There was not going to be any rotation of those chairs for most of the evening. So we decided to go down to Centro. Another bad move. I had forgotten that Centro had closed last month.

The third choice was The Boat House on the river, toward the Village of East Davenport. We end up sitting at the bar, and they did have several bottles of wine clearly visible on the back counter. I asked for a wine list, and surprise of surprises, they actually did have a two-page wine list. The bad news, and I considered it as I made my selection, was that the most expensive glass on the list, was the cheapest per glass price at Biaggi's.

Now, a cynic might suggest that Biaggi's could be a little pricey. And in some quarters, Biaggi's is not cheap. But from my experience, I would put Biaggi's in the nice-but-not-overly-expensive category. But that's another discussion for another time.

I recognized none of the wines offered by The Boat House. I asked the bar-keep which of their red's was the driest, and he and the other guy with him opened the wine list and read the same descriptions that I had just read (that obviously weren't that descriptive). So I ordered their most expensive glass. It was served in a dinky little glass that your grandmother might have used to serve some chilled Mogan David that had sat in the refrigerator between Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We were not tempted for a second glass.

The problem with any restaurant/bar having a good selection of wines is that open bottles really don't "keep" that well, so there's the potential for a lot of waste if the place doesn't have a good, steady trade. In our geographic region, the population density just doesn't support a large number of places with wine as a selling point. I don't think the Mega Buffet or the I-80 Truck Stop have wine lists.

OK. That pretty well beats the wine-snob discussion to death. Sorry.

Does anybody care that the BCS Championship game is tomorrow night?

I'm back on the bike (indoors) and have labeled my training as my Mt. Rose Prep (aration). It's good to have a goal. I'm guessing that we are 200 days from that little exercise. If the weekend's storm is any indication, we just might see snow up at higher elevations in the shadowed areas come July.

Have a great day.

BCOT

Saturday

Starting the weekend here at SB's. Warmer here with snow melting.

A modified FFF today in Illinois. Mom, 2,3, and 4 are gathering at the C-town malls. I took a pass. It's a trip to pick up the car that 3 took back to C-town on Christmas.

Mom and 4 did attend the caucus on Thursday night. 4 couldn't cast a ballot as she is registered in IC. Interesting to note that the post-mortems suggest that Huckabee won because of the turn-out of the Evangelicals. Personally, I hope the results in the future primaries are less connected to the religious beliefs of the candidates.

The state of Illinois enacted a law last year that became effective January 1 that outlaws smoking in all bars and restaurants. We receive a lot of the media's coverage of the debate on the topic because of this being a border area. The bar owners are largely against the law as they see it as driving customers away, in this case, to Iowa establishments. Time will tell. A similar law in France effective 1/1 has received broad international coverage.

Smoking is one of those things that can engender emotions on each side of the issue. The anti's see second-hand smoke as an infringement of their rights to clean air. The smokers regard the ban as an unjust impairment of freedoms on which our country is based. Things like health care costs, general economics of the tobacco industry, and the long history of smoking as an accepted activity cloud the controversy.

The bar at Biaggi's is the designated smoking area for the restaurant. Since I normally sit in this bar area (as my usual activity is wining, not dining), I do notice the second hand smoke. In addition to the few designated dining tables near the bar where smokers can request to be seated, guests from the back dining rooms will venture out to the bar for a smoke between courses, or when the need otherwise arises. For a non-smoker trying to enjoy a dry Tuscan red, the drifting odor of cigarette smoke is a definite negative in the ambiance of the moment.

Newer places like Biaggi's have ventilation systems that mitigate some of the second-hand smoke issues. Rarely do my clothes retain the smell of the smoke, even when I've spent a longer evening at the bar. This is in contrast to an older line place like a neighborhood bar where the smoke is more dense and the ventilation is less sophisticated. The problem with any ventilation solution is that it sucks out the heated air in the Winter, and the cooler air in the Summer. Both sucking results obviously add to the heating and cooling costs of the establishments.

(As I write this, I'm trying to decide if the health problems of second hand smoke are next in line for an Al Gore solution. The Internet. Global warming. Smoking health issues. It's a natural tri-fecta.)

Most municipalities have "noise" ordinances. There's a significant on-going debate on odors from hog/cattle confinement operations in Iowa and elsewhere. Many places have banned the burning of old tires or treated railroad ties. There are significant Federal laws on toxic emissions from cars, power plants, and other industrial operations. Smokers should read the tea leaves and recognize that the limitations on public smoking will continue against their favor.

From my perspective, I'm not a full-scale smoking hater. I would be devastated if one of the girls elected to start the habit. But for people in whom I do not have a personal connection, I am not overly revolted. However, that said, I am bothered by the societal impact of smoking on our health care system. (These are exactly the same feelings that I have about motor cycle riding. I don't want my girls on one, but I don't have a quarrel with other riders. IF they wear a helmet. There's still that societal cost of the bad results of motorcycle accidents.)

So here's my short list of bad effects of being around a smoker:

1. Bad hair smell.
2. Don't even think about a kiss.
3. Yellow teeth.
4. Bad breath.
5. That ugly slot between the first two fingers.

This list is too easy.

I'm headed out for lunch with my pal Roy.

Have a great day.

BCOT