Saturday

Sorry for no report yesterday. Work got in the way, and then we had some un-planned FFF.

This pretty well describes Friday night. Rarely has the phrase, "I bring a six-pack to the party", meant a six-pack of Tuscan red. 2, 3 (+1), 4, Mom and I managed to do some serious damage to my contribution for the evening.

Speaking of damage, a couple of those brackets are out of the water. Then again, it's only the first round.

I'll add more here later as the second round games get underway.

BCOT

Thursday

Happy Hundo, Margaret!

You and Daddy gave us all so many gifts. And with those new fourth generation additions to the family tree, the gifts just keep on giving.

Love, from all.

And the rest of you guys, make today something special in memory of Margaret. Find a smile, a laugh. Do something for somebody else. That's how she spent her life.

Be Careful Out There!

I know that you can't read these, but it's the point that counts. The clan submissions need to be done by Thursday morning.

I missed the mark on my prediction for Craig Wilson's column. He went for the Easter candy analysis instead. That would have been my second choice.

Happy Tax Birthday to Mother. The 'ol Ten-Oh.

2 and 4 have had a bug. Neither have felt good all week. I've had the body aches, but nothing much worse. Was it the flu shot?

I did something this evening that I think I can honestly say that I have never done before: I had my evening meal at Panera Bread. A client wanted to meet and he suggested the Illinois-side store as it was on his way to a later engagement. I've had breakfast and lunch there numerous times, but never din-din. Their oatmeal-raisin cookie is worth a repeat visit.

There was a neat story in the papers today about the NY Yankees visiting Virginia Tech yesterday and playing a game against the Hokies' baseball team. The picture of A-Rod sitting in their dugout among the college players was cool.

Hope everyone has good luck on their picks.

BCOT

Tuesday

This cartoon is very close to my scenario this evening on the way home from work, but I was lucky enough to have hit fumes within walking distance of the office. I wasn't for sure that it was gas, and I thought about calling the tow truck, but I did the math and decided to give a shot to a gallon of gas. It worked. But it still managed to screw up my evening. Arguably, I saved enough for a pretty nice evening with Tuscan red.

Actually, I profited from a similar fate with the same car coming home with 2 from an Augie game over a year ago. The symptoms were identical; a normally running car just dies. Plenty of juice in the battery and the starter was strong. Overall, the fix was the same, and this one was pretty simple compared to that night from a year ago. No cops.

The problem was with my math on just how many miles that I should expect out of a gallon of gas. For some reason, I had it in my mind that the number was 260. And I was at 180. For future users of the Taurus, trust me on this: 180 is the number.

Maybe I should consider getting the gas gage fixed. Naah.

The play-in game is on. ESPN has the A Team on the broadcast. Including Erin. Mt. St. Mary's now gets Carolina.

Craig Wilson will probably have a basketball brackets theme in his column tomorrow. The tournament has become such an iconic symbol of our American culture, even gay, Life section writers feel compelled to comment.

Get those picks in.

Hey to 1 and 1.1 on the road.

BCOT

Monday

I'm sure that none of you will be out there participating in any green beer celebrations. It being a work day and all.

Hope it's a good one.

BCOT

Later...

Busy day on Wall Street. The next few days will be very interesting for the markets.

In searching for an appropriate picture for the blog today, I came across several aerial photos of a green Chicago River. With 3 working there now, and with Mom and I having a history in C-town, a photo of the river would have been a good choice. But I don't recall actually seeing the extra coloring in the river on St. Patrick's Day: it looked green to me all the time!

There have been a number of columns written recently using the Irish as an example of the integration of an immigrant people into the US population. A quick check on Wikipedia suggests that this assimilation was not without hardships, prejudice, and some violence. I wonder if today's anti-immigration crowd is similar to the anti-Irish folks of the 1800's? Then again, is it a hardship to ask someone coming to your homeland, to stay, to speak your language?

4 is working on an extended-family web site for one of her journalism classes. I remember Mother having a 2'x2' framed "family tree" display maybe 25 years ago that she may have received as a gift from Aunt Margaret. It was the "artsy-craftsy" thing that you buy at a craft shop and then you put pictures of the various "limbs" of your family on the different boughs. Pre-Internet stuff. 4's will be a lot more work, and contain a lot more information.

OK. I may be old, but it is St. Patrick's Day. And I am an ND grad. I'm off for a green beer.

BCOT

Sunday

Today's the day. There's the matter of a few conference tournaments to be settled, but we're down to the last couple of at-large bids, and the seeding. Ultimately, there really aren't that many teams who can actually win the tournament. Those last few teams who get in are just saving their coaches' jobs.

My pal Pete and I were at a regional final in San Antonio at the Alamo Dome about 10 years ago when Iowa State had one of their last really good teams. Anybody remember Dedric Willoughby? They got beat by UCLA in OT. The downtown Riverwalk was (and I think still is) a good place to party.

Uncle Phil has posted the Clan's pool on ESPN.com. See his email. Beware of The Oracle.

1 advises me that she and 1.1 are headed to Arizona on Wednesday for a little Spring Break getaway. I'm envious. She's required to give us some daily reports here.

My pal Roy and I did breakfast this AM at the new Maidrite over by the Devils Glen Hy Vee. The problem that occurs in these new places for old establishments is that it's never the same. I maintain that the fried rice at the new Hy Vee tastes different than that made by the same cooks at the old store. And the tenderloins at the new 11th Street Precinct in the Village definitely have lost their edge now that they're working with a new "stove".

Lot's of observations in today's papers over the Spitzer affair. Very little insight. The most common lament is that his wife made the media appearances with him in some statement of support. I think Roy is probably right on this one: Econ 101 would suggest that she's just solidifying her claim to his wealth.

The bigger news out of NY at week's end was the action taken by the Fed to shore up (bail out?) Bear Stearns, suggesting that more government action may be likely to combat the slowing (recessionary?) economy. It's hard to say what may be the next shoe to drop. A new term that was discussed in the NYT business section this AM was/is Alt-A mortgages. Alt-A borrowers were/are those with good credit scores, but without the documentation to make them prime clients. As more nervousness sets in, investors might decide that they want even safer instruments, and the Alt-A securities are the next to face the veritable "run on the bank". Stay tuned.

I'm breaking for a while. More later today.

BCOT

Late evening addition...

Great day for sports. The picks are ready for pickin'. Tiger wins another in dramatic fashion. And NASCAR turning left.

A little FFF with 2 and 4 for pizza at Harris'.

Looks like Monday will be a very interesting day in the market. Lots of action already and the uncertainty will scare people.

Hope everyone has a good week.

BCOT

Saturday

So we have the Ides of March. Tough day for Caesar. As I recall, my entry last year on this date gave a little history. You'll have to do your own review this year.

Fun night yesterday at Biaggi's. 2 was a participant. Not quite to the level of "bad shrimp", but it may be an early evening for me tonight.

Lots of St. Patty's Day activities this weekend. The local parade was today. As was the one in C-town. 3 checked in and informed me of same. Years ago, I ran a couple of St. Patrick's Day runs here in town. Not a chance this year.

Forgot to mention that Margret made her first appearance on the streets Wednesday. She fired up like a champ. But she does need a tune.

A full report tomorrow morning from SB.

BCOT

So it's Friday afternoon. I am where I normally am. Several friends to come on down.

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Thursday

No blog today. I'll try to post early tomorrow.

BCOT

Wednesday

Craig Wilson is at it again.

I know that I live one of the most boring lives in the world. An accountant in Iowa. What I didn't know was that a hot shot columnist for a national newspaper needs to review my work for ideas to construct his weekly effort. Today, his column was devoted to his trials and tribulations as a result of his cleaning lady being gone for a month. To the Philippines to see her family.


www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/finalword/2008-03-11-final-word_N.htm

My Russian cleaning lady has been written about here several times in the last couple of years. Including episodic ruminations regarding her trips back to Russia. There needs to be an investigation.

Actually, what this really means is that 60 year old men, gay or straight, universally lead largely similar lives on a day-to-day basis. They are mostly still working. They deal with a body that aches and creaks. They can appreciate a good glass of wine, and an occasional meal at a restaurant that may be a little off the beaten track. They go to bed early. And they're glad when they check those obituaries to see no names that are too familiar.

March Madness is in full swing with the Big East Conference tournament at Madison Square Garden now under way. Lots of games tomorrow with the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 tournaments kicking off. I know that I've said it before, but those years in the mid-to-late '80's when the then Big 8 tournament was always in KC, were some of my favorite years as a basketball fan. When Iowa State had good teams, Kemper Arena became Hilton South. And the Country Club Plaza area was as hot as it gets.

Our picks in the Clan contest will have to be entered a week from tomorrow (Thursday) morning. Is there a better time for a basketball fan?

Spitzer is gone. Ferraro had to leave the Clinton campaign. It's rough out there.

It is said by many pundits that baseball mirrors life. Today, the Yankees and the Devil Rays (who are they?) decided to brawl in a Spring training game! Can anyone say, "Democratic primaries"?

My pal Bill and I stopped for lunch yesterday at an old line neighborhood bar on a main drag in Moline. We were a little late, but there were only two other tables (out of say, maybe 12-15) occupied. In years past, it was hard to find an open spot. I'm wondering if the anti-smoking ordinance is having an effect? Then again, times change.

All for today. Have a good evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

It was a day for the bulls. The biggest one day rise for five years or so. We'll see if it can be sustained tomorrow.

Conventional wisdom had suggested that the market may have been temporarily over-sold, and the announcement this morning of a government-backed liquidity program sent the bulls running early, aided by the shorts closing positions before the rush.

Spitzer may not survive another day. I didn't realize how many people disliked him. Now though, in the space of a day, he's become just another fallen politician. Amazing how quickly it moves from shock and amazement to lurid details, to post script. They're already talking about the successor being the first legally blind governor in the country.

How 'bout a Top Ten list of true signs of Spring?

1. No morning frost on cars parked outside.
2. DST.
3. Easter.
4. Lower heating bills.
5. Hy Vee setting up the outside Garden Shop.
6. Lines at the car wash.
7. Spring Break trips.
8. High school track meets.
9. St. Patty's Day.
10. Mother's and Daddy's birthdays and wedding anniversary.

I've read of a little bit about some controversy in various places about the Catholic Church having a problem with St. Patrick's Day celebrations, the 17th falling in the middle of Holy Week and all. I been able to get passed it.

So have a good "hump" day.

BCOT

Monday

Really a Monday today. The time change didn't go well.

Championship Week on ESPN. Of course, it started last weekend. Another example of their 10 day week like in Bowl Championship Week in December.

Eliot Spitzer had a tough day too. As the details begin to emerge on this, his rationality isn't close to reality. I mean, the guy used his own name. Hiding in plain sight is over rated.

The media cannot contain itself, even though Spitzer is a Democrat. I swear that Wolf Blitzer was drooling at the mouth as he "reported" on the story. Spitzer has few friends in the business community. As NY Attorney General, he went aggressively after some people in high place. Wall Street tends to remember those things.

4 has a busy week. Be a tiger, Kiddo. Good luck to 2 on her mid-term tomorrow night.

My quarterly water bill came today. About an 18% increase over the last quarter for the same amount of usage. I need to adjust my billing rates for a transportation surcharge. Is that how inflation gets started?

Speaking of natural resources, there's a report out that the average world temperatures for January 2008 were some of the lowest in many years. I know we sure have had Winter here. Maybe Al Gore should recalibrate those global warming numbers.

All for tonight. Have a good week.

BCOT

Sunday

Welcome to DST! This has to be an invention of government. I was doing fine with regular time. The one redeeming fact is that my bedside clock is now correct. I had refused to reset it last Fall. Yet another example of ignoring a situation long enough that it self corrects.

Cool but sunny here today.

Augie ran out of magic in OT last night, losing to Washington U of St. Louis 70-67. Two really good teams, well-coached, and capable of playing with anybody. In looking at the statistics this morning, the key may have been Augie's 1 for 13 in three-point shooting.

2 and I were both worn out by the end of the game. Funny how you can get invested in a team, and how your general feelings can go up or down depending on their wins or losses.

The religious right is alive and well in the Quad Cities area. The local arena is holding a hollywood-scale production of animated dinosaurs this weekend. The local paper carried a letter to the editor from a minister who wanted to caution attendees from listening too hard to any non-biblical evolution theories that might be promoted at the show. Please save us all.

After failing to hit the mark with the young, blond lobbyist story on McCain, the NYT is giving a shot today at his history with melanoma. At least with this one, they're launching their concerns on page 20 as opposed to page one. An editorial piece on the OpEd page today tried to present some math on their fairness between the candidates. And the lead piece on the front page today was one that basically described Obama's small presence in the US Senate.

Speaking of ineffective senators, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania wants more information from the NFL on the Patriots' "spygate" issue. I mean, did this guy have some money on the wrong side of the Super Bowl or what?

And finally, in the you've-got-to-be-kidding-me category, the IRS (or somebody in DC) is spending $42 large (as in million) to send out a mailing just to announce the economic stimulus package. I've always said that I would like the contract to be the government's mailing service. These guys don't look at the price tags on anything unless some watch-dog is on point.

Anyone have another use for the term "presumptive"? As in John McCain, the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party.



More later.

BCOT

Saturday

I was correct in that I never got to the blog yesterday. Very enjoyable evening. Victorious over at Augie. A win tonight in the second round is a ticket to the Sweet Sixteen next weekend. My pal Pete's son had an unusual double-double: 28 points and 10 steals.

Good to see 3 back in the area. She got in late last night and is over in IC to visit friends tonight. Back to C-town tomorrow.

The wine list over at the Chop House in Moline had about four bottles of red wine priced below $50. And none that I recognized. We got a California cab that was ok, but nothing special. The entrees were all $30+, and the sides were a la carte. Even so, I tried to pull the old, "I've got to go to the restroom" routine to get the bill from the waitress before she presented it to Roy. But I was out-foxed by Roy who had made previous arrangements with the waitress. And the manager was no help. Roy was very proud of himself.

The new martini place, Graze, that opened up a couple of weeks ago, has had mixed reviews. I think that it had a negative impact on the business at Biaggi's on that first Friday night that it was open. I'm sure that it will do ok in the short run, but martinis and appetizers may not be the long term answer. 3 said that the Graze in IC and Burlington were good places to go to.

It's interesting to see what works and what doesn't when it comes to restaurants in a community. There have been lots of failed attempts here in the last few years. I'm not sure that it's the menu, the location, or the ambiance that makes something work. Price comes into play. Trends also. Maybe more than anything, the preferences of the population around the place will determine if it will be successful. Then you get into the shifts in commercial and residential development. Smarter people than me can figure it out.

Enjoyed 1's comment on Thursday's entry. She didn't describe it there, but she had excitement at school last week with a bomb threat. No actual problem, but her school is not the easiest place to work. She can give us more details later.

Closing for now. 2 and I are headed to Augie.

BCOT

Thursday

I really don't have much to say today. These two have dominated the front pages most of the week. No reason it should be any different on 4K Days.

It might be kind of interesting to see how the Dems resolve their nomination dilemma with the Florida and Michigan delegations. Remember, these were two states that tried to upstage the Iowa caucuses as the first state to hold a 2008 presidential primary/caucus. When these states decided to go forward with their own ideas, the National Democratic Committee pulled their credentials. Now with the race so tight, and Hillary behind, there's some sentiment out there for "do-overs". Can anyone say, "Hanging chad?"

I see where the Facebook guy is now on the list of American billionaires. Not bad for a twenty-three year old. I wonder what he might do with himself when he grows up?

The Augie tournament game is tomorrow night. My pal Roy and I are doing din-din first at the fancy steak place in Moline. Biaggi's will have to survive a Friday night without my act. 2 has an early-evening commitment at the museum, but will be joining us for the game.

Coach John Wooden has been in the news this week with a fall in his home that resulted in a couple of broken bones. He's 90-some years old. Early in the college season, UCLA had to request fans give Mr. Wooden a break from the constant parade of autograph-seekers who would approach him when he would attend games in Pauley Pavillion. He remains one of the few on the list of people whom I would walk across the street to greet.

Tears are flowing in Green Bay tonight as Brett Favre has announced his retirement from football. I was never a huge fan, but he seems to have stayed true to himself throughout the years. I suppose he'll sign on with a TV contract in a year or two. (Or a day or two if he were to pull a Bobby Knight.) Then again, Joe Montana, whom everybody liked, couldn't make it on the tube.

The market sucks. I met with a long-time client this morning, a smart, well-read and successful businessman. He was asking about some of the terms and acronyms that have become standard verbiage in daily business articles. Subprime. SIVs. CDOs. Mortgage backed securities. His questions illustrate how convoluted/complicated the markets have become, even for the educated. The big issue remains the uncertainty in valuing anything tied to credit-related securities.

I know that young people use the "layered look" in fashion. You'll regularly see girls wearing a shorter shirt over something a little longer, with maybe a sweater, vest or other outer garment on top. Then a jacket. The cold of this Winter has made me an advocate of multiple layers. I now wear tee shirts under everything. Even tee shirts. On the really bad days, I might even wear a long-sleeved tee shirt and a short-sleeved tee shirt under a sweater. It reminds me of Daddy.

There probably won't be much here tomorrow. Hope everyone gets a good start on the weekend.

BCOT

Wednesday

I'm giving 2 some props tonight for her work at the museum. She has steadily risen through the ranks, and the new Director has made a good choice to now let her do more meaningful work for the organization. I have said all along, the museum needs motivated young people like 2 to breathe new life into an operation that can otherwise fall into bad habits with little energy. You rock, girl!

I have no clue on who the guest commentator was on yesterday's non-entry. Probably someone looking to sign up bloggers on a money-grab.

I cannot recall potholes being the problem that they are on our local streets this year. I got caught this morning in the right-hand lane on Kimberly Road over by Red Lobster, and I literally had to stop to avoid bottoming-out my car. The street maintenance budgets for our communities have all got to be well under water this year. Pun intended.

My Oldsheimer's kicked in yesterday and I didn't get to the polls to vote for the tax proposal to support school funding for capital improvements in the county. And early in the day, I had actually logged on to the Scott County website to find my voting place. Late in the day, I got involved with a couple of return situations, and then I met a client for a cocktail, and I forgot all about the voting business. Fortunately, the proposal passed. If I don't have a stickie note on the tip of my nose, I'm inclined to forget it, whatever "it" is.

Barack was saying on the news today that part of the reason for Hillary's success in yesterday's primaries was something akin to a "sympathy vote". There have been some accounts in the press, most likely originating from the Clinton campaign, that the media has been perceptibly easier on Obama than on Clinton, even to the point of being the focus of an over-the-top skit on SNL (which I, of course, did not see since it's past my bedtime). Does Barack think that there are actually fair-play rules in politics?

More later.

BCOT

Tuesday

No blog today.

Monday

No real reason to include the Golden Dome in the blog tonight, but I've come to like a little color in my entries, and I thought it would be OK to give some air time to ND. In the foreground is the steeple to the basillica (the main church on campus).

Glad to read about 4's project to add to her Internet presence. I told her to seek the aid of AM and Uncle Phil. Those retirees can be very useful.

Note to AM: I saw the article in yesterday's NYT about the sports analogies, but it appeared to me to be an Obama political report so I passed.

Augie does get to host it's first DIII tournament game on Friday. And their second one Saturday, if they win their first. (Wheaton College of the CCIW received a surprise at-large bid. They have a gunner who can score from the parking lot.)

I was pleased to get out and do my "standard" bike ride yesterday afternoon. That's the ride of 16+ around Davenport Country Club. The county roads were much better than the city streets that I rode on Saturday. That's the mid-week route that takes me about a buck twenty to complete in the Summer. It was a little longer yesterday as I was mostly just happy to be out, rather than looking for a time target. Lots of water running to toward the river. Very dirty water.

With temps in the high 60's, yesterday was a huge snow melt day. We're back to the 30's for the rest of the week. So the snow piles on the edges of the streets and parking lots will be there for another week or so.

I made the oversight of forgetting to turn my heat back on last night after turning it off during the day when I had opened the windows. I woke up at one point after midnight to go to the bathroom, and nudged the temperature lever up some, which didn't do any good since the unit was off. I'm keeping it to at least 62 for the rest of the week.

2 received a bit of a promotion down at the museum today. Details to follow later in the week.

Hope everyone has a good week.

BCOT

Sunday

Hey to all from my Sunday morning home-away-from-home. The people here now ask where I've been whenever I don't show up.

Augie had a successful evening. Regular season and conference tournament champs. Suite. And they had to do it without their starting center who had injured his wrist on Friday night. Now they await word on their D III tournament paring. With their record, they should host as many games as they can win. Good stuff.

Note to 2: The Prez of Augie asked where you were last night. Your presence was missed by others as well.

Even Walmart does the old bait 'n switch. I pulled up for gas this morning and went through the credit card protocol only to learn in the final step that the cheaper, lower two grades were not available on that pump, and rather than wait in line at another pump, I paid 30 cents more per gallon than the price posted on the big sign visible from the street.

This is certainly the nicest day so far in 2008. 50 plus, although a little windy. I'll have to make a choice on riding today. Probably will battle the potholes. I may even try to fire up Margret. And maybe even open some windows at home?

One of the positive by-products of the cold weather has been that the "Check Tire Pressure" warning signal on the Buick self-corrected itself. Interesting. The signal initially came on in August down in KC when it was 100+ for the three days that I was there. Another example of how, if you delay long enough, a problem just might go away. A victory for procrastinators everywhere.

The NYT is opining from on high this week about the lax standards that Harvard has allowed to creep into their culture as a result of the Tommy Amacher basketball hiring. Let me first say that Amacher can't coach a lick. He might be able to recruit, but not necessarily the best citizens. Getting his players to play at a high level is a whole 'nother story. Just ask the people in Michigan. But I do feel better knowing that the Times is riding herd on such a diverse collection of topics critical to the American way of life.

I forgot to mention that my bike ride yesterday was preceded by a required tube change in my rear tire. For some reason, the old tube wouldn't take/keep air when I went to pump it up in preparation for my ride. The valve stem was faulty, which probably means that I bent it when I attached the pump hose. Anyway, it took me 15-20 minutes to replace the tube, which is slow, but I remember 25+ years ago when such an effort was either inconceivable, or a two hour, knuckle-scraping, cussing, bitterly frustrating experience. Of course, that was before quick-release hubs, proper tools, and dozens of flat tires on the road. Necessity truly is the Mother of Invention.

The tire change evidenced a need to get more post-surgery strength in my thumbs. The ol' rubber ball needs to be worked a lot. Still. Even my cruising hold on the handle bars suggested that I am quite a ways away from where I need to be to feel back to 100%.

Does anybody besides me wonder what the heck is going on with Congress that they need to spend so much time and money on steroids/HGH investigations? If they're going to have the WWF testify alongside the NFL, where's Stallone? Maybe they need to get into some stuff on Britney or Angelina or 75% of the rest of Hollywood. Whatever.

Enough for today. Get out there and enjoy it. I am.

BCOT

Saturday

I did get out for my first outside ride of the year today. It was partly sunny and was up to 40 degrees at one point. Still, I only did about 11 miles in 45 minutes or so. Started on the bike path, but ended up on the streets as there was just too much ice on the path. The streets meant watching for potholes. It was a bit stressful, but I'm glad to get started. It's a long road to reach the strength necessary to get up Mt. Rose.

Augie pulled it out last night in OT, so I have the finals tonight. Against arch rival Illinois Wesleyan. It's one of those situations that you have to beat a good team for the third time in a season. It's never easy.

I'll give a full report on life tomorrow AM from SB's.

BCOT

Friday

2 and I are off to see the Augie tournament tonight. The first game between the numbers two and three seeds has Illinois Wesleyan against Wheaton. Augie is in the second game with Elmhurst College. The winners meet tomorrow night. The acronym, CCIW, stands for the Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

Very nice day here today. After I had to shovel snow this morning. Warmer this weekend. Maybe 50 by Sunday. I may even try to ride tomorrow.

3's been working obscene hours. Well into the AM most "nights" this week. A little giddy this AM. With "jokes" that Grandpa H would be proud of. Like, "Did you hear about the corduroy pants?" They made "headlines".

4 made another colorful entry yesterday. She has a gift that she needs to share with us more often.

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Thursday

Looks like we may have another snow storm tonight. It really is getting a little old.

Tomorrow is February 29th, which only comes along every four years. Wikipedia has a lengthy discussion on Leap Year for anyone so inclined to be educated.

The top ten places that I would rather be tonight:

1. Cabo.
2. The Plaza in KC
3. The Riverwalk in San Antonio.
4. Phoenix for Spring Training.
5. The sportsbook at Caesar's in Vegas.
6. Biaggi's with 2.
7. You name it in TC with 1 and 1.1.
8. Wrigleyville with 3.
9. Prairie Lights with 4.
10. Just about anyplace without snow.

Hope everyone has a good Leap Day!

BCOT

Wednesday

OK. This is a little over the top. But 4 has added to her own blog for the first time in forever! So whatever she has to say is obviously of more interest than anything upon which I can opine.

In my venture to IC last night, I didn't get to see her (4). I may need to return next week for the "head" shots. And the half-price pizza at the Airliner.

My pal Roy finally made it back from Florida. We did lunch at Crow today to celebrate his return. They always have great soup. Tomato bisque today. We always joke that I am not a member of the club, just an investor (since they still owe me my capital account).

It appears that he is this close to being the new owner of the golf club in Kewanee, Illinois. I had thought that I would be joining Roy's club down in Muscatine this Summer, but I may be golfing the ball over in Kewanee instead. We need to check out the night life options for seniors in Kewanee.

My pal Pete's son was a unanimous selection to the First Team All-Conference unit for Augie's conference. And our coach was selected as the conference's Coach of the Year. With another team member on both the second and third teams, Augie received it's appropriate share of recognition. Good for them.

I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge 4's comment on Bourne's receipt of Oscar recognition. And truth be told, the Best Actress recipient, Marion Cotillard, starred in a movie that I kind of liked with Russell Crowe entitled, A Good Year, that I've seen on Showtime a couple of times. She was memorable enough to me, in a pretty, understated way, that I connected the dots when I read that she won the Oscar.

Hope everyone has a great evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

This is a shot of the Pappajohn Building that houses Iowa's Tippie School of Business. I'm sitting in a lounge in this building as I write this entry. Being the good DOD, I drove 2 over here this afternoon for her evening class, given a sketchy stretch of weather last night and this AM. I-80 really wasn't that bad, although there were a couple of semis that obviously had had major problems and were way off the road near West Branch. IC streets seem to be in much better shape than they were last week when I was here to help 4.

The U of Iowa wireless network is security enabled. Bummer. My Verizon connection is so s-l-o-w here. I called 3 to see if there was a quick, secret code for easy entry in to the U's wi-fi system, but she advises me that there's not a simple access protocol. I think that all the wireless activity in the building just overwhelms Verizon. It's usually very adequate, speed-wise. Not tonight.

Hope nobody wanted any SB's this evening. Three hours of "national" training?

The McDonald's at Duck Creek (and I presume at other commonly-owned local stores) has stopped stocking cream and sugar (and the various sugar substitutes) in the dining area. You have to request what you want/need at the counter. I had noticed this a couple of weeks ago when I had done a run-through for a breakfast sandwich, and thought it odd, but maybe just another indication of so-so service that I had experienced at that location. When it happened a second time this week, I asked the server what the deal was, and she said that it was a management-directed change. Apparently, too many customers were stuffing their pockets with too many packets of the items for use at home or elsewhere.

Ten things that people take home because the stuff is "free":

1. Mints at a restaurant.
2. Pens from the hotel.
3. Tees from resort golf courses.
4. Bottled soft drinks served at conferences.
5. Writing pads from conferences.
6. Soap/shampoo from the maids' cart at hotels.
7. Packaged condiments for take-out food.
8. Road maps at Interstate rest-stops.
9. Coffee packets from hotel rooms.
10. Matchbooks from restaurants and bars.

The food/beverage/hospitality industries all must struggle with some kind of policy with regard to this stuff. I'm sure that the more up-scale the place is, the easier it is to just add a buck or two to the bill to pay for these items. It already happens at the car repair shop where virtually all garages had a fee for "shop supplies". We also do it at our office by passing on a "computer fee" for tax return services. Lots of examples. More on this at another time.

A little excitement at Pappajohn. A fire alarm emptied the building and interrupted my entry. I took leave and went to the Airliner for dinner. Half price pizza Tuesday. Deep dish Hawaiian. I sat in the window but held up no rating cards for the winter-clad coeds who passed. I was by far the oldest guy in the place.

I shared the second half of the pizza with 2 who is paying back by finishing this entry as we barrel down I-80 toward home. It's past my bedtime. This does go as a "first" for 4000 Days, a dictated entry.

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Monday

I would hope most of my readers would be able to identify the location shown in the photo. One of our favorite spots over the years at Tahoe. (No, this is not one that I took when I climbed up the mountain that one year. I didn't get half this high. And what I did do was work.) Now you guys need to put your thoughts together on what schedules might work best for Tour de Tahoe '08. T-shirts for sure!

They're talking about another pretty serious Winter storm here over night. 6+ inches are in the forecast. Like we need it.

The gal who wrote the last page column in last week's Sports Illustrated elected to use Lance Armstrong as the comparable reference point for her negative take on Roger Clemons. I thought it a bit unnecessary, but my guess is that the writer, one Selena Roberts, harbors an anti-Lance position from some distant history. I see in Wikipedia that she has the NYT on her resume, and has been willing to string up any figure(s) that might cross her spin on a given deal. Including the Duke lacrosse players and ND for the Willingham firing. I can guess her position on the investigative story that the Times wrote last week on McCain. Who needs the courts when these public figures can be convicted by omnipotent reporters?

I was a no-show for the Oscars last night. Not that I've ever been much of a fan. But when the films being awarded are ones that most people don't go to see, it makes a person wonder about the relevance of the event beyond the immediate participants. And these folks stick up their noses at the entertainment followed by the masses. I'll catch my next theater flick on December 24th.

I'm off to watch Big Monday. What are we, 20 days from Selection Sunday?

BCOT

Sunday

Here's a nod to the arrival of Spring Training for baseball. It looks to me like Casey may have been the original 'roids poster-boy. But I'm sure that he came by his physique naturally. Or at least with a "clean" artist.

For the record, this was one of Daddy's favorite poems. This, and the two from Robert Service, The Shooting of Dan McGrew, and separately, The Cremation of Sam McGee.

Sunday at SB's. One of the nicest days that we have had in a while. Hope that some of the snow goes away today.

I didn't get into Naperville last night. Which was fine as I got caught up on some sleep. Augie won in a tough game which gave them the outright conference championship. Now they play the second game Friday night, at home, in the four team conference tourney. They'll have to play their best games to win.

The NYT came today with a separate 285 page(!) Spring Fashion magazine insert, in addition to the regular Sunday magazine. I'm sure that the ads paid for the publication of the extra insert, but the Times seems pretty dedicated to making an ego statement of it's print superiority. I mean, how many trees were sacrificed for such a gratuitous effort? I seriously doubt that there are many females in the QCA who will be in line for those designs. Whatever.

Next week will be March. Finally.

I had intended to upload a picture of Mother on the 21st to celebrate the anniversary of her death. I had a couple of photos scanned into my computer, but Blogger didn't like their format, and I have yet to complete a reconfiguration that Blogger will accept. Maybe later this week. I'll definitely get one up for her birthday. Mother passed away either 6 or 7 years ago. I can't remember today. She would have been 100 next month.

Mom (Sue) reminds me that her folks would have been 100 and 98 this year, the same as Mother and Daddy. I had forgotten about the symmetry of their ages.

The plastic band for my Ironman wrist watch cracked last week and I've yet to find a replacement band. I've now checked three different stores. This is a recurring problem for this style of watch. You would think that they would get it figured out and make a better band. But since the replacement band goes for about 33% of the original cost of the watch, Timex may not have any incentive to improve the current design.

My latest favorite country songs are Brad Paisley's Letter to Me, and Taylor Swift's Our Song. Paisley consistently finds music with good lyrics that fits his style. This latest one has several good lines. Taylor Swift has a unique inflection that sets her apart, at least for me, from the other young blonds now in the business. She doesn't have the voice, like Trisha or Jennifer Nettles, but what she has works. I also heard to other day for the first time in quite a while, I Loved Her First. It still works for me.

Just a couple of other notes from sports. The professional peloton is in California this week and Levi Leipheimer is looking good to repeat last year's win. Unfortunately, his new team (which includes TdF winner Alberto Contador) has been blackballed from the major European races this year in payback for failed drug tests by former team members. That makes it a little hard for me to muster much enthusiasm for the cycling season. It does however, mean that there will be fewer blog discussions of same, which may be considered a benefit to my readers.

The Tiger watch has been entertaining this weekend. He continues to amaze. The match he had on Friday with Baddelly was nothing short of remarkable. He had 12 birdies in 20 holes to snake out the win. 12 birdies is a career for me.

So enough for today. Enjoy the sun.

BCOT

Saturday

This is not a picture out my office window, but it could be. The slightly belligerent cardinal that lives some where around our building has been knocking on several windows throughout the Winter. He might actually have a concussion at this point. At the very least, he's not all that bright. And definitely a slow learner.

3 reports that she participated in her first spin class at her new health club yesterday. The instructor was your typical spin-class-feminazi. I think that there must be a school that all the instructors go to because I've never heard anybody describe a spin class leader as anything less than a highly vocal task-master.

I purchased a simple rubber ball about the size of a Christmas tree decorative bulb this week to exercise my right hand. There had been little improvement in the strength of my thumb since the first of the year and I decided that it needed to get stronger before I hit the roads. I keep the ball in the office and take it in my car, squeezing it through a variety of angles with the thumb and fingers. They had prescribed a putty ball for this purpose back last Fall that I elected not to pursue. Maybe they were right.

Indiana has a mess on their hands. It's the unfortunate result of hiring a basketball coach with low standards. In addition to his affinity for illegal recruiting phone calls (and the possibility of lying to the school and the NCAA about it), his willingness to allow an Illinois-committed recruit to renege and attend Indiana scores an epicly low-character quotient on my scale. He recruits a type of player that makes it hard to root for whatever team it is that he coaches.

There's the possibility that I could end up in Naperville tonight for the Augie game. My pal Pete needs to give me a call to make it happen. Otherwise, it will be a quiet evening on the home front. I have lots that I could so.

Hope everyone has a good day. See you tomorrow from SB's.

BCOT

Friday

This guy captures my mood.

Fun evening at the Figge last night. They had a local taxidermist add some explanations to his craft in relation to the Audubon exhibition. More interesting than appealing. But I find my evenings at the museum almost always worth my time.

Looks like a warm-up over the weekend. Let's get rid of some snow!

Hey to 4 in C-town!

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

BCOT

Thursday

Great evening last night for Augie. The visiting Illinois Wesleyan boys weren't prepared for the defensive intensity that Augie brought to the game. Lots of heroes. The win means that they get to host the conference tourney next Friday. If they win their last regular season game in Chicago on Saturday, they win the conference outright. They can do no worse than a tie.

The NYT put itself right on the front page of the news in every media form today with the McClain story. The vetting that goes on in national politics is awful.

I'm headed down to the Figge for a little culture tonight. Some kind of presentation on the Audubon bird exhibition. 2 is in charge.

4 is traveling to C-town this weekend for a Greek Council convention of a sort. She's staying at a hotel out by O'Hare that we may have stayed at years ago as a fam. Sounds like it will be mostly work and no play for her. Which doesn't quite jell with the historical reputation of college Greek life. Then again, maybe I've been given the parents' story.

OK. I'm off to the museum.

BCOT

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