Monday

This is my location for most of the next three days. If the weather cooperates. We've had enough rain here for a month. I've played in this event in years past where storms came in and stopped play. It's never as much fun when we're dodging rain drops.

I've recovered from TOMRV. Enough to go out tonight and do a DCC route this evening. I'm actually thinking that my conditioning is coming around. If I keep up the schedule, I may not suffer quite as much on Mt. Rose in August.

My employee who's an avid biker said that the Sunday portion of TOMRV was awful. Driving rain. Headwinds. She made it past the halfway point, and got a ride the rest of the way. Makes my plan for the ride look more and more brilliant.

My pal Bill and I are taking a big leap into a new computer system at the office. We've basically been on the same platform, updated on an as-needed (or as-required) basis, since the mid-80's. In an effort to gain a modicum of control, we're essentially throwing out the bathwater, and starting over. Our new IT vendor will be able to monitor a lot of the systems from afar. And by making all of our workstations identical, we hope to avoid the aggravations that come when the tech has to first determine what programs belong on which machine. We'll see.

In other news at the office, the young staff person whom I hired a year ago on the investments side has moved on to greener pastures. Further proof of my lack of managerial skills. More specifically, I suppose that there was a difference of opinion on expectations. Developing profitable clients in the securities business is a bit complicated. And you know how easy-going I can be.

Lots of the same names seem to be headed to Omaha for the College World Series. My bet is that Erin will get more airtime next week than anyone.

Interesting tidbit on the wires today about the most-heavily recruited women's basketball player leaving the UConn campus after less than a week on site. If they can't resolve this bump in the road, how can you understand such a colossal "miss" in judging the fit for new players? Geno is a hardcase coach, but didn't the girl and the family know that going into the program?

Speaking of tough days, anyone see the video of the big two-story house in Wisconsin getting swept off its foundation and sent on down the river? Don't fool with Mother Nature.

So good luck to everyone on a great day.

BCOT

Sunday

So this is a simple rendition of the ride from yesterday. My pal Pete and I did the portion from Bettendorf to Galena, a trek of just over 85 miles. The full ride goes onto Dubuque, overnights there, and then comes back to Bettendorf today. I figured out several years ago that 85 miles was plenty for the weekend.

We left Bettendorf around 6:15AM, and arrived in Galena a little after 2PM. The good things included a nice tailwind for most of the ride, well-stocked sag stations staffed by the ride organizers, and no rain. The other side of the ledger included heat, humidity, and hills. When the route you are directed on points with an arrow to "Ski Resort", you can pretty well figure that the flat part of the ride is over.

This is an annual ride that usually attracts around 1400-1500 riders from several states. Unlike RAGBRAI, you don't see a lot of casual riders looking for a party. It's just too hard. While there are plenty of higher level Greeks with skills, most of the riders are Boomers who understand the challenge and just want another chance to confirm that they still have it.

That same southery tailwind from yesterday that helped push us along is hanging in there today, but with the riders heading home it will be a headwind. The last time that I did both days, I remember that headwind, and the rain, and the misery. That was the year that I figured out that the "old f**ts" who had done the Saturday-only Bettendorf-Galena route were actually the sages of the peleton. And I became one of them.

2 does get another nod for Daughter of the Day for her effort to meet us in Galena and bring us home. With little specific directions from me, she found her destination and we connected as planned at the designated saloon. Good job, Kiddo. Thanks. See you next year. Same place.

2 and I met for dinner at Biaggi's after we got back home. A quiet meal at the bar as we had not called in for reservations. A note of interest at the restaurant was a wedding gathering in the primary party room behind the general dining area. I learned that some brides actually switch wedding dresses mid-event. 2 said that this was a new development traced to TV Bride-zilla shows. I am amazed at how far out of the loop I am with these kind of things.

Tough day for Big Brown at the Belmont Stakes yesterday. There is a lesson to be learned here that has direct application to the investment market place: if something is promoted as a can't miss opportunity, either run (as in, "don't walk") the other way, or sell it short.

Speaking of the stock market, Friday was one of those days where the only direction was down. Except in the oil pits, where the only direction was up. There is no question that $5 gas will be here soon. How far up does it have to go before habits are fundamentally changed? Saving money on gas has become acceptable further up the social ladder. Even the rich notice the price at some point. Supply and demand have a way of kicking in. Will China and India notice?

No big plans for today. A little recovery. Maybe a trip to the driving range. My pal Roy and I have that golf tournament this week and I don't want to embarrass myself.

More later. Have a great day.

BCOT

Thursday

Does this person look like an investment banker, or what? Her story, or more, to follow.

Sorry to have been off line the last few days, but my evenings have just been a bit busy. Between riding, planting my petunias, and hitting balls for next week's golf event, I just haven't had the end-of-evening motivation to jump onto the computer.

And with the primary season now over (?), the material is just about endless.

Hope all is well with the masses.

BCOT

Monday

Note my corrections to last night's entry. I got my 2's and 3's mixed up.

Sorry for the confusion.

Here's a bone to 1. A little whiney today, aren't we?

BCOT

Sunday

Here's a little culture for the peanut gallery. 2 was a primary organizer/planner for the museum's annual fund-raiser last night. It was an Asian Indian art-themed event with displays and artifacts from India. Keeping with the theme, 2 donned an Indian sari to welcome the many Indian guests. You rock, Kiddo!

I'm told that this photo is a bit inaccurate as the sash was supposed to come from the left shoulder. I'll let 2 explain in comment.

Given her willingness to step fully into a roll, 2 is definitely Daughter of the Day.

Today was a Top Ten day on the weather charts. I did a 47+ mile ride to DeWitt, and for basically the first time this Spring, there was no substantial negative influence from wind. Contrast this with yesterday when I did 25 on the hills around DCC, and every time I turned North or West, I was like, "Why am I doing this?"

The belligerent red-winged blackbird has moved to a new nesting area. I got "pecked" coming and going to DeWitt today. Actually, there's one stretch of road that has a string of interested parents.

2 came over for a steak on the grill this evening. Unfortunately, I learned too late that she doesn't care for broccoli, and I left the meat on the fire a little too long to boot. (BTW, broccoli steamed in tin foil on the grill with a little butter is excellent.) But it is always good to have an impromptu FFF, and the Tuscan red was a bonus.

No big plans for the week. Tapering rides Tuesday through Thursday for the Saturday 85 mile ride to Galena. I also need to practice some golf. I'm playing in a tournament with my pal Roy a week from Tuesday, and I don't want to embarrass myself.

Hope everyone has a good week.

BCOT

Saturday

Pics from the Rochester Marathon















































Great day in the QC today. Sunny and in the low 80's. I did a little 25 miler around the DCC course. OK except any leg into the West wind was a bear. If the moon and stars are lined up tomorrow, it will be McCausland or DeWitt.

What happened to May?

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Thursday

This is a bit overdue. It's the poster from the Monday bike races that my company sponsors. The day was a reasonable success from attendance and participation perspectives. There had been some concern that the number of competitors would be down this year given the experience at other races, and the price of gasoline. But I'd say that in the end, it was all pretty comparable to last year.

Guys, and gals, who follow a circuit and do these races throughout the Summer are basically nuts. Understand that there are age and ability-rated races for all comers on the schedule. So a 40 year old with some skills gets to race against his peers with a winner's take of maybe $100. (The feature men's pro race pays maybe $5000 to the winner.) There are lots of accidents, and little consolation. I find it personally a little surprising that older guys keep such a competitive edge. Mine is back there on the Slausen Cutoff.

4 is headed in to C-town to visit 3 for the weekend. I'm wondering if this will be the GPS event that will lead to a certain purchase decision.

The big movie release for the weekend is Sex in the City. My bet is that this decidedly chick flick offering will not match the Indiana Jones numbers from last weekend. Plus, it's rated R, which may bring in some young adult males looking for a little skin, but will also keep families at home. I never watched the show that much whenever I had HBO. Too much city-woman's angst for me. With just the normal length weekend to capture the $$$'s, I'm saying $50 million.

My friend who wrote the book about the ultimate fighter had a big spike in eBay book orders after a USA Today story this week on an upcoming competition for the fighter who was the book's subject. That's a culture I just don't get. Back to that competitive passion thing, and my detour to the Slauson Cutoff.

Anyone see the reports where a Belgium company, InBev, is looking at acquiring Anheuser Busch, the maker of Budweiser? If Bud is for sale, is Coke next?

Thanks for the input from 1. It's always good to feel not Far from the Maddening Crowd.

BCOT

Wednesday

I pulled this off of a story about the Mars lander. Pretty cool. Amazing photography. Amazing technology.

21+ out around DCC tonight. I consciously weighed my options as I pulled out of the neighborhood: 1) fight the cars on the roads or, 2) fight the Greeks and others on the bike path. After last night being so cold and unfriendly, I knew that the bike path would be packed. So I opted for the roads.

Impatient drivers between 5 an 6. Them boys in the pick-em-ups don't like to share the road. You have the speed freaks doing 70 mph in a 45 zone, and one of every three drivers on a cell phone. And the bad guy is the geeky cyclist. Gotta love it on the open road!

1 says that she has pretty well recovered from her marathon. She's having thoughts of qualifying for Boston. Which will require her to shave just about seven minutes off her best time. An average of just under 8:30 miles. That hurts just thinking about it.

I think I came up with a title for my biography: What Happened? I came up with this title on the bike tonight. A quick Google-search suggests that this may not be a viable title though as there have been other genius's who have used variants for other books. My idea came as I considered my state in life as compared to other 60 year olds who are retired and completing their training rides in the late morning when traffic is nominal. At just which fork in the road did I get caught in the Slausen Cutoff?

So hope everyone has a good evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

My regular 15 mile round trip route on the bike path has three Frisbee golf courses within view. And the courses get a lot of play. All of them are along the creek, and players are always in there trying to fetch their discs from errant throws.

I remember stashing a Frisbee in my car when I was in the USAF in Dover in the early '70's. When I would travel to D.C. for weekends to visit friends and girlfriends, I had to deal with traffic back-ups on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. They actually would make the bridge one-way toward the beaches on Friday, and one-way toward the city on Sunday. Since I was always going against traffic, I always had to deal with down time. Hence, the Frisbee, to offer to other similarly stranded motorists. It wasn't that much fun.

I know that it is unofficially Summer now that Memorial Day is passed, but I actually turned the heat back on in my house tonight. They're talking lows in the 40's. After a warm 80 degree day yesterday, I'm thinking that Mother Nature is a bit bi-polar. Pun intended. The ESPN baseball game tonight was at Wrigley, and the fans looked like it was March in South Bend. Global warming, eh?

The NASA/JPL nerds landed another space-craft on Mars. This one with a more conventional reverse-thruster landing. No sight of our cousin in any of the NASA photos. Even ones taken on this planet. Seriously. (I think that the rovers that they landed there 3-4 years ago are still wandering about. Taking a licking and keeping on ticking.)

I won my bet with my friend on the Indiana Jones movie weekend gate. They're talking about $150+ million for the holiday weekend. I think that the masses are so bored that they'll follow the old-time successes off the cliff. Rocky? Pirates? Rambo? I guess that the new question will be about the next Indy flick.

Has there been a female movie star that could reprise the same star character for multiple movies since Shirley Temple?

I did my DeWitt 47 mile ride on Saturday before we took off for Rochester. That was the first time for that ride since my thumb accident before the wedding. No excitement. I needed the mileage as TOMRV is just a week from Saturday. My pal Pete is riding TOMRV with me, which is good because, if there's a head wind, I'm hanging in his draft all the way to Galena.

Hope everyone has a good week.


BCOT

Monday

Happy Memorial Day to all.

QC Criterium today in Rock Island. Check it out at www.quadcitiescriterium.com

BCOT

Sunday

This is not the perfect picture, but 1 is Daughter of the Day!

Happy Birthday, Kiddo.

3:46:58 this morning in Rochester. Big time PR.

Details to follow tomorrow.

FFF at TGI Friday's last night, and at Panera Bread for lunch after the race today. All good. Except that we all were real tired of the car.

And that we all missed 3.

See you on line tomorrow.

BCOT

Wednesday

I have a small wager with a friend that this movie will open with 100 million in revenue this weekend. The reviews have not been so great, but the franchise has been a gold mine. Harrison Ford has been a lot of movies, many very forgettable, but the Indiana Jones movies have been at least mildly entertaining. My guess is that the crowds will come for this one too.

At least Clint Eastwood has denied reports that he'll take another swing as Harry Callahan.

My gripe today is with the rampant cell phone use by drivers, dog walkers and diners at the local Hy Vee. Weren't we able to function in the car, on the bike path, and at lunch without a telephone for all of our history before, say, 1985? I vote for a return to "the good old days".

How 'bout 'dem gas prices? Those big SUV's are being discounted in a hurry by the auto dealers. And they don't want trade-in's of SUV's either. Biking is going to look better all the time.

A couple of the network shows that I watch at least somewhat regularly have elected in season finales to kill off, dismiss, or otherwise lose one or more regular cast members. NCIS last night, and Criminal Minds tonight both left the viewer with the suggestion that multiple stars were questionable Fall returnees. Most of it is just business, but sometimes actors/actresses want a change, or more money. It may be the entertainment/fantasy industry, but those are just real life issues.

15+ on the bike path tonight. Lots of Greeks out there.

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

The connection here is that I was out on the bike path for my routine 15 miler tonight and I couldn't help but start fingering the on-coming riders (and a couple who passed me) by their appropriate Greek letter.

Obviously, the Alpha bikers are those young-guns decked out in their brightly colored, Lycra-tight-fitting team "kits", riding their racing machines. And looking very important. To themselves.

The Beta boys are modestly less-intense, maybe a little older, still well-appointed in dress and equipment, almost always alone. Trying to hold on.

Moving a little further down the scale, you have the Theta's and Kappa's, college boys on hybrids or mountain bikes. No helmet. Cruising along at a good clip. Not as many of these guys.

Sigma's really don't merit a rating. They have old, beat-up, up-right bikes with beefy tires. They wear baseball caps. The "missus" may be right behind them in similar attire. Not pretty.

I'm an Omega. Because there isn't a lower letter.

Somewhere in the middle of this system you get the Mom's and Dad's out there with their kids. Their only problem is crowd control when the little ones are trying to ride their own bikes. One of my recommendations to future parents who want to take their kids out for a ride is to get a child trailer to pull rather than a seat on the back of the bike. Having been in as many accidents as I have been in, I have the personal experience to say that the safety of the trailer is light years ahead of the chances we took with our kids with the bike seat. We were very lucky. Except for 3 in the well-documented Mercy Park crash.

Another area of biking observation is tattoos. Or more accurately, the lack of tattoos among bikers. Unlike the traditional "manly" sports, the girly men of cycling are not big into body art. Now motorized bikers do do tattoos. I think they may have set the standards for the bballers and football players that have memorialized in their epidermis every significant event or person in their lives.

These images are a little out of preferred balance, but it's late and I"m out of patience.

4 started a Summer internship at Channel 6 today. We'll be anxious for the "inside scoop" on our local media celebrities.

Looks like some FFF in Rochester this weekend for 1's marathon. Hope the weather cooperates.

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Sunday

Happy Birthday to 2! She is Daughter of the Day! (That little wisp of hair in the wind just adds to the character of the picture!)

Bright and sunny here, but not all that warm. And I think that they have wind in the afternoon's forecast. That may relegate me to the bike path after the battle I had with the wind in the country on yesterday's ride.

I see where Robert Mondavi passed away last week. His obituary notices have credited him as a key architect in the development of the Napa Valley wine industry. I was never a big fan of his wines, but since my interest in wine has evolved mostly in the last 10 years, my likes and dislikes as it might relate to his products isn't all that relevant. I did associate his wines with altar wine for most of my first 50 years.

It is interesting from a historical perspective to look at a person, or a small group of people, and realize that he, she, or they, was/were Ground Zero in a phenomenon that registers on a society's equivalent of the Richter Scale. The phenomenon doesn't need to be socially responsible, just measurable. I'd say that today's California wine industry qualifies.

Bill Gates and Steven Jobs will obviously be remembered as having been in the leading edge of computing systems. Will we have Al Gore to thank for the Internet? How 'bout the guy who came up with Legos? The receipe for Coca Cola? $3 coffee?

I joke a little about the variance in staff performance that is often evident at this SB's. I don't think that they truly have an A-Team. As a general rule, the Sunday AM crew struggles when the drive-through gets backed-up and the inside line is steady. I'm not sure what the average tenure is for a barista, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was something less than a year. Few of the employees see this as a long-term deal, and many are either students or otherwise displaced from their primary career. The job is not stress-free, and the pay isn't that great. Working for the general public can't be fun. But the customers keep coming back.

Here's my list of worst jobs that I can think of, not necessarily in order of disgust:

1. Rush-hour toll booth collector on C-town expressways.
2. Animal shelter cage cleaner.
3. McDonald's fries cooker. (Does a person actually "cook" fries?)
4. Circus parade "sweeper".
5. H&R Blocker tax preparer at a Walmart walk-in desk.
6. Airport departure terminal "No-Parking-Zone" enforcer.
7. Holiday Inn Night Desk Manager most Friday or Saturday nights.
8. High School Assistant Principal for Discipline.
9. Highway repair sign holder for "go" and "stop" when it's one lane only.
10. Road kill retriever.

Ok. Hope everyone has a great day. BBQ with 2 later.

BCOT

Saturday

This is a view of McCausland, Iowa from about 5,000 feet. McCausland was the regular destination for The Monday Night Ride when I first started riding. There's a bar at the lower right corner of the main intersection (the yellow dot) that was our turn-around point. About 16 miles one-way from Gov's in Bettendorf.

So anyway, I did my first trip of 2008 to McCausland today. It wasn't much fun. A West-North-West wind that never let up. I'm not so sure that the wind wasn't almost as strong as it was a couple of weeks back when my pal Pete and I wimped-out and did a tailwind ride.

1.1 finished Fargo in under five hours today. Congrats to the man. Doing more than one marathon in less than a year is Psychology 101 material, but then again, who am I to judge? I have my own issues.

2 and I were joined at Biaggi's last night by my pals Roy and Pete, plus a couple of others. Plenty of Tuscan red. It was a bit of a pre-birthday party for 2.

BTW, Happy Tax Birthday to 2.

Somehow I missed the fact that today is Armed Forces Day. They had several local events here and I would have attended if I had seen any notices.

I did buy my tomato plants at the Farmer's Market this AM. The plan is to plant them tomorrow. I swear, throw up some tents, display some goods, and the folks with nothing better to do will show up. Like me. With Margret for a little show.

Regular Sunday blog from SB's in the AM.

BCOT

Thursday

This image is for effect only. 1.1 is scheduled to take the start Saturday morning for the Fargo Marathon. Good luck, Matt! Don't get hung up on time. Finishing is a good result.

The Iowa State sports caravan had a stop in Bettendorf tonight. They had the head men's and women's basketball coaches, several players, and other athletic department yea-hoo's in attendance. And a partial pep band. I stopped by the festivities at the start of my bike ride. Pretty good turn-out for a Hawkeye town. Lot's of red and gold. I felt a little out of place in my blue bike shirt.

Congrats to 4 for her completion of year 3 at Iowa. She comes home Saturday after filming graduations for UITV. She might not be bored with us until at least Monday.

Anybody notice that it's the middle of May? For me, there's always been a natural decompression period after April 15th, as my mind and body adjusted to a less-pressured, and less stressful environment. Then it's like, May 15th, and my mind screams, "What happened to the last month?" And I then need to figure out again which tasks are way past due.

I may have said this here before: I've lived for years with a certain low volume, but constant fear of getting (or a client getting) a letter or call from the IRS or an attorney representing an unhappy client. When you work in my areas of expertise, the lines always have shades of gray. You make decisions everyday that another professional might take a slightly different course to resolve. Outcomes can be cloudy, and...then I wake up at 3 AM and stare at the ceiling.

Don't know where that came from.

Make sure you all drive safely tomorrow and this weekend.

BCOT

Wednesday

This is the clubhouse at Davenport Country Club. The road that I ride runs along the front side of the building. The location is on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.

My plan to play golf never got off dead center. I finally left early enough to get in a normal 16 miler.

I fixed myself a truly great salad for dinner tonight. The only shortfall was that the tomato was cardboard awful. How can something that looks so good on the grocery shelf be such a disappointment? I can't wait for local tomatoes to become available.

I'm thinking that it is time for a guest writer.

BCOT

Tuesday

Professional cycling's Giro d' Italia is in progress. This is the first of the "Grand Tours" each year (France and Spain following in July and late August/September). The Giro started last weekend in Palermo on the island of Sicily. I had heard of Palermo before, but I had never placed the location on Sicily.

The trip that 2 and I plan for September 2009 places us in the upper right section of the country for a few days, in the Dolomites, and then another few days in the left side of the Northern part of the country that abuts France. Briancon France is located just a few miles across the border and is a frequent overnight for both the Giro and the Tour.

There were more bikers out on the local roads last night than I had seen on a non-organized-ride day for years. With this level of biking interest, they need to consider marking "Bike" lanes on these roads. With the price of gas going up, there will be more people seriously looking at using a bike to commute to work. Rednecks beware! Or should it be, "Beware of Rednecks"?

Did anyone realize that Hillary won West Virginia today? Anyone care?

Annika Sorenstam announced her retirement as of the end of the year today. She's 37. She's won a zillion dollars, has a variety of businesses to which she lends her name, and has her economic future pretty well in control. She doesn't have four daughters (or sons), and I wouldn't trade places for anything. Not that I would turn down a winning Powerball ticket.

I may look for a golf course tomorrow. A good client/friend of mine calls it, "National Wednesday"!

Have a good one.

BCOT

Monday

The title of tonight's entry could easily be, 4000 Days' Biggest Loser. Obviously, there's a story to be told.

First we have The Grim Reaper, otherwise known today as Piper Jaffray & Company. 3 got the message last night that the decision to close the C-town office appeared imminent. The ax fell today. From afar, the office closure was an all-too-personal by-product of the U.S. economic slowdown. As a fairly low-level analyst, 3 was a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So just to review, this smiling-face beauty is not the biggest loser here. PJ & Co effectively threw the baby out with the bathwater. 3 accepted her job 6-8 months before the mortgage crisis hit the surface of public knowledge. Everybody but the short sellers got caught in the mess.

3 will land on her feet. She's got the talent and the moxie. Every bump in the road means that an opportunity is ahead. Stay tuned.


The goof ball in blue is a candidate for for biggest loser. He lost the Monday Night Ride draft on the first hill North of 53rd Street. Now, I did have my chain lock when I shifted down on the front chain ring, but it wouldn't have mattered much. I was huffing and puffing just to keep up on the downhill past 53rd.

The group has changed a lot over the years. I know the three or four oldtimers, but the newbee's are all anally-inclined, speed and mileage guys. I have little in common with their goals and objectives. Or cycling talent.

It got late all of a sudden. My computer skills were severely tested to get these pictures displayed, and in the right order. I had put the two photos on my desktop, but had left the disk at the office. So I had to dial in and jump on my desktop to get the pics, which I couldn't find at first, and then I disconnected and edited from the laptop. It was work!

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Sunday

Here's a little recognition to all the Mom's out there. Have a great day. I can state universally, "You deserve it!"

Miserable day here so far. Rain and wind. Maybe a let-up later in the afternoon? This is the kind of day where a ride-no ride decision is a no-brainer. The couch wins.

The state highway patrols and local police/sheriffs have joined forces for a "speed-trap" weekend. It started Friday afternoon, and I heard that there was a trap set on the main Interstate connecting the states here across the Mississippi. On my ride yesterday North of town, I came across an officer sitting in a chair on an overpass over I-80 with a "radar gun", and a radio headset connecting him to several officers on the road below. I told him that he was not playing fair. He hardly even smirked. I think that he was liking his work a little too much for my tastes.

I also got "red-necked" on my ride yesterday. At the infamous red-winged-blackbird corner, there was no cross traffic, so after multiple looks both ways and slowing to about 5 mph, I went across the intersection. Going into about a 15-20mph headwind. Some yea-hoo in an extended cab, full-sized pick'em-up then comes from behind, slows to my speed, lowers his passenger-side window, and advises me, "you need to be stopping at that sign just like everybody else." I always appreciate this kind of advice from concerned citizens.

It is Bike To Work Week here this week. I, of course, will not be using the two-wheel approach for my commute, but it is an interesting, and timely, topic for conversation. Do the math. Say gas is $4 a gallon, your car gets 20 miles per gallon in town, and your commute is 16 miles round trip. That's 80 miles per week, at a gas cost of $16. Times 50 weeks equals $800 per year. Just to get to work. Save half that (and the cost of your SB's), and you could be a millionaire one day.

My neighbor fired-up his roto-tiller yesterday and prepped my garden for my tomato plants. Does a 3' x 4' space qualify as a garden? What is the difference between a plot and a garden? Is the term "garden-plot" redundant? How many usages of the word "garden" can be as an adjective, as in garden variety? Difficult questions, all.

This was the day for a fairly popular local running event, the QC Distance Classic, a half-marathon on the Illinois side. An acquaintance who runs quite a bit was just through here and he and his girlfriend (who regularly wins her age group in these local races) had taken a weather-related pass on the event. I would have made the same choice. As a matter of fact, if the wind alone is like it was yesterday come TOMRV, I'll be a no-show. I mean, it's not like I get paid to ride into head-winds. I hope the Rochester and Fargo marathon runners have good weather luck for their days.

Later...

The weather improved this afternoon, but I couldn't muster the energy to head out into the wind. Tomorrow may be my first venture out with The Monday Night Ride for several years. The post-ride get-together at Gov's is really the appeal. Not that I have become a wine snob, but do you suppose that Gov's actually serves wine that doesn't come in a box?

I watched a lot of golf this afternoon. The guy whom I wanted to win lost out to Sergio in a play-off. That course should have had a warning sign posted at the first tee today. Phil carded a very pedestrian 78, and the guy who started the day second, and who has won like nine times on tour, shot a not-so-funny 81 in the wind.

2 did a fine job with spaghetti tonight at Mom's house.

Good luck to 4 on her last week at Iowa as a junior.

And "hey" to everyone else on having warm sunshine to your face, and a slow breeze to your back.

BCOT

Friday

Before.

During.

After.


BCOT

Thursday

Why I do what I do.

BCOT

Wednesday

OK. Based on yesterday's comments, I think that the facts substantiate that I don't qualify as your ideal, modern-day uber Dad. My title may be more aptly stated as, Ogre Dad. Sorry, guys. I gave it my best shot.

I finally took the risk and put the house plants outside that normally spend Summer in the real world. At least one ficus tree may not make it back in come Fall without some serious trimming. What do you do with highly successful house plants?

Another 15 on the bike path. Rain got me on the last couple of miles. But it keeps the pretenders off the path. I have concluded that I cannot afford to slack-off training next Winter. It's just too hard to regain the form.

That spill 3 took by Mercy Park was a great crash, when it comes to crashes. Speeding down hill, completely out of control, 3 screaming her head off, and Ogre Dad watching in the background, knowing that there was going to be a bad result, very soon.

All for today. It's always good to hear from the readers.

BCOT

Tuesday

Just a few lines today.

Here's a list of my accidents over the years:

1. DeWitt, last Summer. Broken thumb.
2. Dubuque, RAGBRAI, maybe 1995. Wounded pride. Alcohol may have been involved.
3. Bettendorf, Middle Road, East of Whitey's. Maybe 1990, right before TOMRV. Deep high thigh bruise. No TOMRV.
4. Bettendorf, Devils Glen near Tanglefoot. Maybe 2000. Deep hip, non-displaced fracture. Excessive orthopaedic fees.
5. Bettendorf, Hy Vee parking lot, maybe 1994. Grooved my front tire in an expansion joint in the concrete. Scratches and abrasions.
6. RAGBRAI, maybe 1993, some small town in Eastern Iowa. Scratches and abrasions. Alcohol was involved.
7. Bettendorf bike path. Various incidents over the years. Laying down my bike when others do stupid things. Scrapes.
8. Davenport, Scott Street alley 1993. Trying to learn to ride my new rode bike with click-in pedals. A very humbling experience.

I'm sure that there are a few others, but nothing overly serious. I could get my list to 10 by breaking up those bike path tumbles, but who's counting?

So hope this was worth a chuckle to the peanut gallery.

BCOT

Monday

I think that this is an appropriate image for today. Unfortunately, the visual suggest a party, which just didn't happen for me today. Since I don't like Mexican food, and don't hang much at cantina's, I've never done much on this day. (OK, there have been a couple of Jose Cuervo nights, but those aren't exactly pleasant memories.)

I got caught watching a CBS show called "Dexter" last night. It was a two-part episode of a serial that was originally produced and appeared on the premium cable channel Showtime. Cable programming tends to be a little edgier than that shown on regular broadcast TV, and this one is no exception. And I think that they even cleaned this one up for CBS.

HBO and Showtime have had things like Sex in the City, The Sopranos, and Entourage that have all extended the limits of propriety. Showtime has had The L Word. Sex ,violence and anything else that can add shock value. And viewers.

Dexter is a closet killer/benevolent vigilante who works for the Miami PD. The show has a fair amount of narration by Dexter himself as to why he does some of the gruesome things that he does. There was no appeal to me in the story line nor in the characters in this one. I'm not likely to watch again.

Entertainment and fantasy drive most TV watching. Results matter. Whatever.

2 is safely back home. She needs to share her story on her half-marathon.

I know that I am naive , but did you know that you can go on-line to the county courthouse and checkout the real estate facts on any residence in town? Owner. Assessed value. Taxes paid the last three years. No identification of the inquirer required. Like I've been telling my pal Roy for years, you're not below radar. Nobody is.

Hope everyone has a great day.

BCOT

Sunday

This is just a teaser photo of the Cincy marathon that 2 completed today. (Actually, she did the half.) I hope to have better stuff later this week.

Great day here. Got quite a bit done. 23 on the road. Anything going West was like riding in a wind tunnel. Against the wind. New mailbox. Steaks on the grill. Asparagus too.

Big controversy in NASCAR. Kyle Busch, the very talented young driver whom Hendrick Motor Sports sent packing last Fall so that they could put Junior in one of their cars, spun Junior out when Junior was leading the race with just two laps to go. Junior Nation was not happy. That's a story that won't go away soon.

It was easy to work outside today. Not only was the weather beautiful, but there was zippo on the tube for sports nuts. No Tiger. NBA Nobodies. (Just not that much of a fan, KG or not.)

Here's another little recommendation on red wine: Murphy Goode Cabernet. It's a California wine from Sonoma County. $15-18 at Hy Vee.

No big plans for the week. Maybe prep the garden. The tomatoes can go in after Mother's Day.

Have a great week.

BCOT

Saturday

It was Derby Day in Kentucky. I really don't follow horse racing, but I have a number of client's who own horses and who will frequently go to the track.

This is a picture of the winner, Big Brown. The second place finisher, a filly named Eight Bells, broke both front ankles at the end of the race and was "put down". Now the critics will be lined up to offer their opinions that fillies should not be allowed to race against the boys.

My pal Pete and I attended a funeral this morning of a long-time mutual client. He was an 85-year-old attorney who had fought cancer over the last couple of years, but who had remained fairly active up through the first part of this year. Never married. No kids. An old-time, smokey back-room politician. An interesting personality.

I had attended the visitation of a retired gentleman of like age a couple of weeks ago. He had six kids, lots of grand kids and was well-known and well-liked on the Iowa side where he lived and had run a successful business.

I remember Margaret and Philip going to a lot of "Rosary's" and funerals in my high school and college years. (For Roman Catholic visitations back then, it was normal for the evening gathering to be lead by the priest in saying the rosary.) He would have been about my current age at that time. It has occurred to me that when a person has lived in one town for 25-30 years, and gets to be 60 years old, you have come to know a lot of people, and they start dying on you.

It was real windy here again today. And a bit cool. Pete and I put those two factoids together and decided after the funeral that biking was not in the cards for the day. Then later in the day, I talked to 1 who was reporting on her final "long" run which she had completed in similar conditions in preparation for her May 25th marathon. So I sucked it up late in the day and got in 17+ on the bike path.

2 runs her half marathon early tomorrow in Cincy. At the pre-race expo, she signed up for a service to have her splits coming to my cell phone as text messages. Cool.

4 reports that she didn't get lost today on an assignment to the Amana Colonies.

Aunt Martha's report on Whitey's Ice Cream in USA Today was from the Travel Section. I had missed the story since I don't always read that section.

My plan tomorrow is SB's, Lowe's, mailbox repair, yard, bike ride, and maybe, steak on the grill.

Have a good evening.

BCOT

Thursday

I'm including this map as a little geography lesson for 4. She had a small detour on her return from Mt. Pleasant to CR for her work today. Somehow, she managed the "long-cut" home via Ottumwa.

2 is headed off in the AM for Cincy. Good luck on the road, Kiddo.

The Rocket seems to have had more girlfriends in his time than Steve Garvey. The list is growing daily. Below radar he wasn't.

My big project for the weekend is the replacement of my mailbox. My current mailbox has one of two legs rusted all the way through, and the door of the box closes only with effort. I'm not adding curb-appeal to my place right now. Not that my mail is all that exciting. But the mailman/woman may refuse delivery of anything, and everything, if I don't make a correction.

More IT issues at the office the last couple of days. My email has to also pass through my brokerage company's server in KC and they've added new security measures recently. Which meant, we learned after the issue evolved, that we had to re-program the security paths in our machines. Machine by machine. How do they come up with this stuff?

All for tonight.

BCOT

Wednesday

I stole this picture from the local paper. It was taken within the last 24 hours. Usually, there is a bike path behind the rightfield wall and just behind the trees in the upper left of the image.

4 has sent to your regular email address a link to her website on the clan. It's still in progress, but it has a good start.

15+ miles today on the bike path. Maybe another similar trek tomorrow since Friday is a play day.

I finally saw my Russian cleaning lady for the first time this year on Tuesday. She was here when I got home from work around 4:45. She said that she had switched to an afternoon schedule after Christmas. I just never got home early enough to see her.

In a bit of, "How do you fix that?", she left her cell phone here on a table. My only contact point with her is her cell phone. So I had no idea how to reach out to her. So I just left it on my counter and figured that she would eventually come to get it. She finally called this evening, after having retraced her steps and concluding that it had to be here. I told her that I tried to call her...Nah...just joshing!

Any plans for May Day? The Catholic Church and the USSR always had big celebrations on May Day. I'm waiting for Cinco de Mayo.

BTW, the distress signal, "Mayday", is derived from the French term, "m'aider", meaning, "Come help me!" You can look it up.

Have a great evening/day.

BCOT

Tuesday

Here's a little recognition to the boys in blue. No reason. They deserve it everyday.

15 on the bike path this evening. Other than a couple of intelligence-challenged, middle-age biking wannabe's who thought that pace-lining on the pike path at 5:15 was good form, it was an uneventful ride.

I did conclude that my routine on passing through the Devil's Glen-Middle Road intersection on the way home will change to a less-risky process. The pot holes are just too dangerous on the side of the street. I need to wait for the cars to all get passed, and then go through the intersection in the middle of the right lane. It's foolish to take chances just a couple of blocks from home.

Aunt Martha shared a NYT column trashing ND's decision to elect against a football series with Rutgers because ND wanted Rutgers' "home" games to be played in the Meadowlands. Mostly, the writer was revolted by the fact that ND, an admittedly uninspiring football program these days, had the temerity to demand such an uneven exchange. If I were a ND hater, it would have be an easy column to write. Who said life was fair?

4 finally elected to make an entry today. Zounds! (BTW, just stick with the fried rice.)

And 2 reports that she received the grade on her final exam in her first MBA class that she needed to move on to the next course. Way to go, kiddo!

Frost on the windshields this AM. Maybe again tonight. Gimme a break, Al.

So hope everyone has a great evening.

BCOT

Monday

Again, this isn't me. Nor my pal Roy. But it could have been us at the PV golf outing today. Snow showers. Wind. Nothing good. Except that we only did nine holes. And Roy didn't play, being satisfied to just drive the cart. A truly forgettable experience.

Another little 17 miler yesterday out around DCC. There are some pot holes on Valley Drive that can swallow a cyclist.

My pal Pete did a ride in downtown Davenport yesterday and found several places that we had ridden on Saturday that had been claimed over night by the Mississippi. On the news this evening, they are saying that the downtown minor league park has also been surrounded by the waters. A photo must be available on the Internet.

My pal Jake's Pants had a hip replaced today. Another example of "the boys" getting old. And a cyclist friend/client riding in a competitive race over in IC this past weekend "lost it" going downhill at high speed. Ambulance. Over night in the hospital. Two broken vertebrae. Neck brace for six weeks. Cycling is a wonderful exercise if you keep yourself upright on the bike.

Hope everybody has a good week. Is a little warmer weather too much to ask?

BCOT

Sunday

I'm not saying that this is actually 1. But it could have been her in the recent return of Winter in the TC.

So I was expecting cool temps and rain today. It is cooler, but no sign of rain at this point. They do forecast below freezing for tomorrow night. Again, global warming?

The city of Davenport is seriously preparing for high water from the Mississippi this week. Not truly major flooding of FEMA proportions. Just enough to remind everyone that the river owns the town. They have closed several streets and are using heavy equipment to construct temporary earthen berms in key spots near the main downtown areas. I guess that they have figured out that it is cheaper to spend the money in prevention rather than in clean-up.

The city of Davenport is the largest city on the upper Mississippi with no dike system to protect the downtown area from the annual Spring run-off. City leaders have always decided that the "view" of the river is more important than the damages from flooding. My guess is that at some future date, enough will be enough, and a protection system of some sort will be constructed.

I need to get over to the Lowe's/Home Depot stores today to pick up some yard/garden supplies. I actually read the sales fliers this week. I noticed that the various department stores' ads often used the phrase, "lowest prices of the season". I'm wondering if there are any rules in defining the word "season" as used in these promotions. While the general public may naturally assume that "season" would mean, in this case, Spring, the marketing folks most likely have a more liberal interpretation of the term. Like maybe, this week. For next week, they'll probably say something like, "Take and additional 10% off our lowest prices" for May-day. When they do that, do they mean that the season is over?

On a related point, my prediction for Hy Vee raising the price of their Gatorade-substitute by a quarter was wrong. Within a couple of days of my posting, they raised it 22 cents, from 77 cents to 99 cents. But in a demonstration of weekend Marketing 101, they had a prominent display last night of the same drink at the head of an aisle near the cashiers with it priced at 79 cents, with a notation below the sale price that the item was "regularly 99 cents".

Which brings up the question of the definition of regularly, but that's a challenge for wordsmiths for another day.

I find it interesting that the NCAA basketball Player of the Year, Tyler Hansborough of North Carolina, announced this week that he was staying at UNC for his senior year. Since the tournament final three weeks ago, there's been a growing list of undergraduates from many schools of players fore-going college eligibility by declaring for the NBA draft. Some of these players you may have heard of, some not. All have "the dream" of playing in the NBA. The reality, of course, is money. (And Hansborough has essentially been told, "You're a great college player, but you'll just be another white stiff in the NBA".)

Given the fact that most of these players will, at best, spend years of anonymity on the benches of teams like Golden State, Toronto, and Portland, (or playing with teams in Europe or elsewhere internationally), it makes one wonder about "the dream". But with these no-name players able to earn several hundred thousand dollars per year (and maybe, several million dollars per year), going early is the only economic decision that makes any sense. Just because old f**ts like me have no interest in their profession, the money is there, and it's foolish for them not to take it.

Finally, I've been flustered again with technology. This time with my bike computer. I had to replace the battery, and in doing so, you have to go in and reset the wheel size to match your bike or the readings would make no sense. I, of course, had no idea where my user's instruction kit was, so I had to go to the Internet for the information. Which was really no problem. It was a simple reset. Really. True, it still doesn't work. But it looks good on the bike. Plan B to follow.

OK. Out there doing errands. Y'all have a great day.

BCOT

Saturday

It was a little windy here today!

My pal Pete and I had scheduled an afternoon ride, but neither of us had much interest in fighting the wind. So the answer was a "tailwind " ride. We drove West for 20 miles or so, parked the van, unloaded the bikes, and rode back to town. It was a great 25-mile ride. The only downer was the second trip out to get the van.

Another enjoyable evening at Biaggi's last night with 2 and her visiting friends. We've had to temporarily switch preferred wines as we have drunk them out of our favorites! And the only thing you read about in the news is a rice shortage!

My plan is for a return to normalcy tomorrow morning with my Sunday entry from SB's. 1 advises me that the NYT subscription is over, so I won't be tempted to use that hour to read rather than write. See you then.

BCOT

Friday

This is the happy ending to a previously mentioned story about my travails in replacing the watch band to my Timex Ironman.

When the watchband had broken earlier this year, I had been completely frustrated in finding a replacement at any of the local stores. I then went on-line and found a company that specialized in replacement bands, but I couldn't identify the size or style for my specific watch.

I "bookmarked" the Internet site and vowed to take a fresh look at a later date. My broken watch sat on my desk under tax files and miscellaneous stuff. I went several weeks without wearing a watch. And kind of got used to it. I mean, I could always open my phone to get the time if I really needed to.

On April 16th, when in the office to "clean off my desk", I received some do-dad in the mail that had come in a convenient-sized, small-ish cardboard expandable envelope. With a properly-sized mailing package, I decided to give up the ghost and ship the watch to the address on the Internet rather than try to guess the right band from pictures on the site. (Internet dating isn't the only place that you can get into trouble by relying on pictures.) I enclosed a hand-written note requesting the replacement and included a check for $20 which was $6-8 more than the most expensive band on the site.

I figured it was 50-50 if I ever saw my watch again. I even refused to insure it when asked to do so by the clerk at the post office. And I certainly didn't pay for express delivery or return receipt. I called the effort "a shot in the dark".

Well, flip on the switch. Light is shining in my world today!

In the morning mail here at the office today there was a small package addressed to me from a NY firm. Inside was my watch. With a new band. And a second band to boot! I figured that they had merely done what I had asked them to do, and that they threw in the extra band as a means of making"change" for my $20. I was (and remain) ecstatic.

The final piece of the story came in the noon mail. There was a hand-addressed envelope from the watchband company containing a copy of my original note, with my check attached. Hand-written on the page was a request for me to re-issue my check for $14.45 as they didn't issue refunds! My replacement band came in a two-band pack!

Whoa, Nellie! Checking the time (on my wrist!), I see it's Biaggi's time! I'm outta here.

But I am stopping on the way and buying a lottery ticket. I'm feeling pretty lucky today!

BCOT

Thursday

Does anyone still read the "funny papers"?

I learned about the simple pleasures of what might be called "common humor" from Daddy. He loved the comics, especially Dagwood. He always called the "Blondie" comic strip, "Dagwood". I continue to read Dagwood most everyday, and I always think that he and Daddy were "birds of a feather". Poor Dagwood. Whether it be his problems at the office with Mr. Dithers, his hot-and-cold relationship with the neighbor, Herb Woodley, or looking through the window to the neighborhood youth in Elmo, Dagwood epitomized the veritable Everyman (and still does for me).

I really don't remember much of an event from weekday comics, but the Sunday comics were a big deal. Daddy would read them to my sister Rosemary and me after Church while we sat on the living room couch, under the religious picture of The Guardian Angel that hung on the wall behind the couch. I think he enjoyed the comic strips as much as we did.

Today's comics are not all that interesting to me. Besides "Dagwood", I usually read Beetle Bailey, Funky Winkerbean, and For Better or Worse. The local fishwrap dropped Hagar the Horrible, The Wizard of Id, and B.C. several years ago. The modern replacements have not captured my eye.

Like most Boomers, I also read a lot of Peanuts. Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the crew definitely established a unique place in our culture. (I don't read the re-running of the strips in today's papers.) Calvin and Hobbes came along later and was pretty good as well. But the author elected not to continue the strip in the mid '90's. Doonesbury's Trudeau was/is so intent on making political statements that the strip was never a fav, and I haven't paid it any mind for years.

I suppose that the combination of illustrator and humorist is not all that common. While both skills may be in "the arts", and therefore work the same side of the brain, drawing requires mechanics, while humor is a more mental function. And with newspapers struggling to stay above water today, the delivery system for new "panel artists" has to be the Internet.

Thanks to 1 for her recent comment. It's always good to hear from the peanut gallery.

BCOT

Wednesday

Just a little recognition to the professional peloton on the roads of Georgia this week. I like the creative design of the cyclist in the logo. Maybe 2 can come up with an idea for the Tahoe trip. There will be tee-shirts.

I'm still trying to figure out how the system handles multiple pictures in the blog. Is there a tutorial?

The local peloton (I use the term loosely), was out on the roads around DCC today. I elected to do the county roads tonight, battling the cars rather than the various denizens of the bike path. Not bad results for the first time on the hills. No belligerent red-winged blackbirds, overly irate drivers, or flat tires. Life is good.

My pal Bill and I took our assistants out to lunch on the deck at Gov's. Another first of the season. Then a single scoop across the street at Whitey's. A one-scoop-cone for a buck eighty-five. These folks have a SB's approach to commodity economics. Is is possible to get a position on the futures exchange for the price of Whitey's?

My neighbor did his grass again tonight. And it looks like he roto-tilled his garden plot. He sets a high standard.

A story about a guy in USA Today described his blog on photography as allowing him to quit his job and actually make more money just sharing his knowledge on his blog. Good for him. I'm still working at trying to figure out what I know enough of, that would be of interest to more than 10 readers.

Hope everyone has a great evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

How 'bout dem Cubbies? Best start in like 30 years. I expect 3 to get out there and participate. FFF at Wrigley before Memorial Day. Set it up.

Can't say that I know many of the players. On the Cubs or any team. St.Louis has turned over a lot of players as well. And to think that I still can name most of the starting line-up from their 1964 World Series team.

Another 15-miler tonight. Bike path. Not as bad as Sunday, but still lots of irregulars creating uncertainty for the rest of us.

So if Hillary is the PA winner, where does that leave the Democratic party? That's going to keep me up all night.

Also can't keep control of my emotions on the up-coming NFL draft. Or this week's LPGA event. American Idol. Dancing With The Stars. Cynicism rules.

Enjoy this burst of Spring. I am.

BCOT