Tuesday

2 and I formally started our joint Turkey Trot training last night. And I survived. It will take some work, but I'm thinking that the one hour for completion as a goal time is still possible. Assuming that I remain injury-free.

Here's another fairly vacuous topic from my inventory of same: my new electric tooth brush. Now in theory, an electric tooth brush has got to be fairly high on that list of needless items in our culture. (Then again, what does an iPod contribute to the good of society? Steve Jobs may have an opinion on that question, but we'll leave that to another day.) I'm thinking that I had one many years ago, but this latest acquisition came only last week.

One of the by-products of my SB's habit is a tendency toward less-white teeth. This in spite of my commitment to otherwise pretty strong dental hygiene. Some where along the line, in a conversation in a forgotten location, someone suggested that a good electric tooth brush would help nominalize the coffee stains. When I had scoped out the devices earlier this year, I was put off by the price and had decided to wait. Well, as described here previously, I was in Kohl's last week with that 30% off coupon, and they had some electric tooth brushes already on sale, so I crossed the Rubicon.

The early results are very positive. I really like the way that the high-speed vibrating brush cleans right at the gum-line. In my semi-annual teeth cleaning at the dentist, that plaque build-up at the gum-line is always a topic of improvement areas. I can tell already that the new brush addresses that concern. I am curious if continuous use of the brush will not only keep my teeth cleaner, but will actually help whiten them as well.

(I have always felt that poor dental hygiene was a key element in Mother's decline. In her last year in the care facility in Ottumwa, she was not able to do proper brushing on her own, and her teeth quickly deteriorated. Once she got here and I had to fit her with a full set of dentures, she never got back to a solid-food diet, and that liquid stuff just didn't cut it. You can't say that the teeth thing was the only cause for her decline, but it was certainly in the top five.)

On the economics/financial side of this equation, I was a little surprised to find the brand-name Braun on the package under the primary name of Oral B. In my world, Braun is best known for electric shavers, and does most of it's advertising at Christmas and Father's Day. Turns out that both brands are owned by consumer powerhouse Proctor & Gamble. In a day where the right business combinations are important for survival, this one makes sense to me.

Still frosty-cool here.

Have a great day.

BCOT

Saturday II

Unless you are color-blind, you will note that I have added a little "pink" to the blog in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I thought it was pretty neat the way that the NFL teams added pink to ball caps, shoes, gloves and other ancillary gear for this month. So I am following the crowd for a very good cause. You should too.

BCOT

Saturday

Hard frost here last night. And snow flurries out my window now (1100 CST). Hello Fall! Not sure that a night game in IC tonight will be all that comfortable.

Then again, the NL Divisional playoff game in Denver scheduled for today has been postponed because of cold and snow. They showed a pic of snow-covered Coors Field on the news. Not sure if the tarp was thought of as insurance for snow.

Another omen of the near future: I had to turn on my furnace for the first time this AM. (This after a new record-low utility bill of $33 for September!)

I covered my indoor plants that are still outside with blankets before I went to bed. And I think that I'll move those plants to the garage for the next couple of days. It should get a little warmer by mid-week. Sometime soon I'll have to decide if they all will be saved or if maybe my collection will go through a needed "freshening". I've reached the point where just because a plant can stay alive under my care is not necessarily justification for it staying around.

Finally went through my September VISA bill to match up my Italy expenditures with my clutch of credit card receipts. Not an easy exercise given the many transactions, but fortunately, no surprises. The conversion rates on direct purchases was certainly better than those on currency exchanges at the banks, but there was also the occasional "service fees" over and above the conversion amount. Everybody needs a little sugar.

4 is in town for the wedding of a high school classmate. She did the drive-all-night thing in the early hours of Friday after getting off from work after Thursday's newscasts. When I was that age, I did similar driving escapades, one in particular from Texas to Iowa, and back, on a regular weekend. Ouch! Now, over to Des Moines is a long day.

A bit of a revolt going on at our SB's. They brought in a new manager a few weeks back, and all of our favorite baristas are now either gone or have given notice. I'm really not sure why the staff has reacted so negatively to the new gal, but it was such from the first day. She's an outsider, and the staff may have thought one of their own should have been given the position. Whatever the case, the atmosphere in the store has taken a step to a direction of something less positive.

SB's corporate has been on a major effort over the last couple of years to find better traction in the market place. The latest is their instant coffee. Can't say that any of these ideas have made much difference in my opinion. If anything, the different strategies may create distractions that inhibit the employee group from keeping their eye on the ball.

More later.

BCOT

Wednesday

I had an appointment with my family doc today to check out my shoulder. I had self-diagnosed myself with a torn rotator cuff since I had been unable to raise my left arm above my shoulder for the last month or so. There wasn't an injury, but when I made a quick move, or needed to reach high and left, I had a problem. I was already trying to figure out when I could find 6-8 weeks for surgery and rehab.

The great news is that I would flunk out of medical school. My doc confirmed my problem as some kind of a "locking-up" of some longer muscles on the outside of my shoulder blade. A cortisone shot and some stretching exercises and I'm already 300% better. (He did say that if the condition were allowed to persist, the shoulder would have essentially frozen in the limited position, and surgery would have been required to correct it at that time.) Makes you wonder what the gladiators and frontiersmen did with nagging injuries. Gives a whole new perspective to "playing hurt".

I did three of the "outside the box" NYT puzzles last night, one after the other, completely, as I laid down to sleep. Strange. I'm usually lucky to do one, 85% or so, in the same time frame. It's not like I ate some special brain food before bed, or had a particularly successful evening. The synapses were just popping off in the proper sequence, I guess.

I stopped off to visit 2 and Winnie on my way home from the office this evening. They are both on a learning curve. Cute dog.

Congrats to the Twins for last night's huge victory. A really good game. Now they need to steal Friday's game in the Big Apple.

So I'm headed to bed to test the synapses.

BCOT

Tuesday

Here's a little equal recognition in the fam. 4 is Daughter of the Day in delayed recognition of her re-entry into the blogging business with The Horanies. We all like reading your work!

1.1 was in the house last night at the Metrodome for the Vikings-Packers game. I managed to stay up through most of the first half. Looks like the Vikes made a good move in getting Brett to sign as their QB.

More later.

BCOT

Monday

Here's a little recognition to 1 and 3 as Daughters of the Day for doing the family thing this past weekend. Glad that 3's schedule worked out to catch the crew before she returned to Beantown. And 1 figured out that chasing a marathoner has it's own stress factors. Way to go you two!

Bad news for the Midwesterners. I walked out of my house at 0630 this morning to fire up the Taurus, and as I efforted to wipe the dew off the windows, I discovered, not dew, but ice!!! Not sure that the ground had frost, but there was no mistake about the glaze on the car. So I took the Buick. Even before noticing the ice, I had put on the dryfit runner's gloves as I knew it was a bit cool outside. I guess you could say that we are in a full Fall weather system at this point.

A couple of economic observations. Three points actually.

First, the September auto sales numbers were back in the dumper. Did Cash for Clunkers actually work, or did the government hand-outs just accelerate normal purchases by a quarter or so? And I saw some pretty damning figures on the "benefits" of getting those clunkers off the road. Something like saving $300-400 million in gas money by exchanging to more efficient cars. For $3 billion in a government supplement program. I'm real anxious to have those Einsteins re-tool healthcare for similar savings.

The second rhetorical point on economics is in regard to my Kohl's shopping habits. I basically only shop now when I receive a 30% discount coupon in the mail for my Kohl's charge card. I'm wondering about the variables in the equation that the Kohl's financial people are following when they try to get everyone who comes through their store to use a Kohl's credit card. If they regularly send out discount coupons to these card holders, and the card holders only shop when the coupons are issued, getting the people into the store sooner, and buying at lower prices must yield a better result than selling less stuff (or selling the same amount of stuff over a longer period of time) at higher prices. I actually think about these things.

And the last lesson in economics today is that my confusion in Italy over dollars and Euros, and gallons and litres, led me to what has to be my pal Roy's routine reality; I gave up trying to figure out the cost of day-to-day needs. If I needed gas, I pulled into the first conveniently located station and filled my tank, without regard to whether it was the best deal or not. And if I wanted a snack, I picked out what I wanted and handed over my VISA. A little like Vegas. Once you're there, whatever it is, is whatever it is.

Back to work. Maybe a little more later.

BCOT

Sunday

I had actually started this at SB's this AM, but a friend came and sat down, and I never got back to it.

Here's to 1.1. He's Son-in-Law of The Day for his sub-4 hour time in the Twin Cities Marathon today. (This is a pic from Houston in January.) You 'da man! Congratulations.

Pretty exciting up in the TC today for baseball fans as well with the Twins managing to tie for the divisional title which will be decided by a one-game playoff on Tuesday. I'm not much of an American League fan, but it's hard to not root for Joe Mauer. Interesting that you play a 162 game regular season, and then play one game to decide it all. Life is not always fair.

I've got to admit that I watched the Olympic selection coverage on Friday and was indifferently gratified that Chicago was passed over for Rio. Having lived in the Chicago metropolitan area for four years, and having maintained close proximity to C-town for the last 30 years, my opinion of Cook County politics and Cook County politicians had me convinced that Chicago would set Olympic records for corruption in the years of construction and other preparations for the Games. The corruption phase would only have been exceeded by the subsequent years of litigation that would have surely followed.

Then you have the outrageousness of various Hollywood sympathizers coming to the defense of film director Roman Polansky who is possibly being extradited to the US on a decades-old rape charge. Very interesting the obtuse logic used by these "progressive" thinkers to white-wash a heinous crime committed on an 13 year old girl.

Finally feeling like my body is back to normal. The first 80% came back in just a couple of days. But that last 20% was very difficult.

More added here this week.

BCOT

Friday

Just a quick entry today as Biaggi's is calling.

I still haven't had a chance to debrief with 2, so there may be another entry to re-hash Italy at some later date, but for now, here's a wrap on the trip by a Top Ten list on the best parts of the adventure:

1. Few hassles. None with baggage, airlines, car, or hotels. Suite!
2. The majesty of the Alps. Breathtaking at times. Literally.
3. The ambiance of evening on the Piazza Bra in Verona.
4. Lunch on the shore of Lake Garda.
5. Almost perfect weather for the full trip. Perfect the day up the Galibier.
6. Hotel breakfasts (as part of the room charge).
7. Dinner in the neighborhood restaurant in Turin. No English speaking!
8. The good wine. (Not the cheap stuff!)
9. Driving in the countryside looking for vineyards.
10.Getting safely home. Still speaking to 2. Sleeping in my own bed.

In retrospect, hardly any of the fears that I expressed here on 9/8/09 materialized. Finding a bike was a bit of a challenge, but otherwise, it was pretty smooth sailing. I feel lucky.

Have a great weekend. Good luck to 1.1 in the TC Marathon on Sunday. Hey to 3 who is hanging out an extra evening in the TC to visit.

Ciao!

BCOT

Thursday

Rainy day here today. And cool. October. Maybe my favorite month.

A couple of Top Ten lists to wrap up coverage of the trip to Italy.

First, how about the Top Ten Surprising Things that I encountered. Not necessarily in order of importance:

1. Not a lot of billboard advertising on the highways.
2. No Starbuck's! Until Copenhagen 's airport.
3. When you order water at a restaurant, order naturale, or you'll get seltzer!
4. Cheap wine in Italy tastes like cheap wine in the USA.
5. The tourist shops sold the same junk as you can get at S.Dak's Wall Drug.
6. Don't expect to find anything open between noon and three.
7. VISA works everywhere.
8. Cabbie's in Turin use Garmin's too.
9. Road construction hassles are not limited to the USA.
10.Different towns (Verona and Turin) have different personalities.

And for a little bit of good humor, how about the Top Ten rip-offs for the trip?

1. That 33 Euro ($50!) toll for the tunnel coming out of the Alps.
2. The Turin hotel's 6 Euro ($9) per hour Internet fee.
3. The Milan hotel's 11 Euro ($16) per 24 hour minimum Internet fee.
4. The 8 Euro ($12) fee each to get in to just walk around the arena in Verona.
5. The 5 Euro ($7.50) the auto pay machine kept at my first gas stop. (Think of our confusing machines here, with all the instructions in Italian.)
6. The 18 Euro ($27) per day insurance coverage for the car. Then again, if I didn't take it, we all know that there would have been a problem.
7. We think that 2's rain coat was in fact ripped-off in Verona.
8. The 35 Euro ($52) that the Turin bike shop charged for a used set of Shimano peddles for my bike. They treated me OK on the bike, but they got greedy on the peddles.
9. The buck-eighty for remote parking at ORD. If C-town gets the Olympics, watch out!
10.The two litre water bottle that 2 bought in between planes in Frankfurt, right before we had to go through security. Again.

That's it for today. I might have some other ideas for a final entry on the trip after a debrief with 2.

BCOT

Tuesday/Wednesday

Day Two back in the real world has been better. Looking forward to a return to True Normalcy tomorrow.

Continuing from my previous posting...

My second trip up to the First Class restrooms on the flight home was truly surreal. Fortunately, little Bobby Costas was laid full out asleep in one of those stretch seat/beds in the front row. This time, I found myself standing in line behind a very nice package with blond locks. Doing the right thing, I said nothing. I was carrying along the Thinking Outside the Box NYT crossword book that 3 had sent me for the trip, and was working a puzzle where I had determined that the word "tent" was in several single boxes for the solution. My concentration was interrupted when the blond package spoke:

BP: I have a book of Tuesday puzzles that I like to do because I can usually get them all the way done. That book looks a little hard.

LtPC: Yeah, well, I usually get 80% or so of these, but there's always a few clues on the fine arts or foreign history or geography that are beyond my talents. But I like the mental gymnastics.

BP: My dad and his mother are really good at puzzles, although Grandma cheats. I only do them when I don't have access to the Internet or I'm just too tired to keep the plot of a book straight in my mind.

LtPC: You travel a lot?

BP: Yeah. I'm in TV and they pulled me off an assignment in South Bend to do this gig with Costas in Copenhagen on the Chicago bid for the 2016 Olympics.

LtPC: South Bend?

BP: Yeah. They wanted another profile on Weis and Jimmy Claussen. Like it hasn't been done before. Whatever.

LtPC: OK. This is a little weird. I have some history in South Bend. And you look a little familiar. Just who are you? And why are you even talking to me?

BP: Ah, com'on. I get hit on by you old guys all the time. Can you say, "College World Series?"

LtPC: Oooh! I'm a big fan of yours. It's either the lighting, or the fact that I haven't slept for a day and a half. Sorry.

BP (EA): That's OK. I like the anonymity. I'm going to work on this look to see if I can similarly slip by other "fans". So what are you doing up in First Class?

LtPC: Like I told Costas, the lines in Economy are a little long, and Inga gave me a hall pass. My daughter and I are headed home after 10 days in Italy.

EA: You like it over there?

LtPC: It was fun. We stayed four days in Verona, and then five in Turin. We spent a couple days in the French Alps from our base in Turin.

EA: I hear the driving in Italy is a little exciting.

LtPC: Really, once you get used to the speed, the chaos at round-abouts, the lack of numbered road signs, and the incredibly narrow city streets, it's no different than the USA.

EA: Sounds like you adapted OK.

LtPC: Well, it was either that or get out of the way. The two most memorable points were, 1) getting lost on a one-lane road above Verona while we were searching for a vineyard, and having to back up twice to let on-coming traffic get through (never found the vineyard), and 2) paying 33 Euro ($50) toll for a 12-15 mile tunnel coming back from a scouting trip in the Alps one day. Ouch! Oh, and our parking garage at the hotel in Verona was like a sardine in a tin can. The side mirrors had to be folded in to make it through the doors!

EA: I heard the road signs are a little hard to follow.

LtPC: The Autostade and the main roads were OK. But once you were off the beaten track, most of the country roads weren't named or numbered. So you just looked for town names at the round-abouts and tried to follow the arrows. Then when you got to a town or another round-about, you did the same thing again. In the bigger cities, the streets were named, but most of the signs were just on small-ish plaques on the corners of the buildings at the street corners. For a guy with lousy eyes, it was a lost cause. If it weren't for my daughter, I'd probably still be out there on some round-about in Milan.

EA: So did you see a lot of those famous Italian sports cars?

LtPC: Actually, no. Sure there were a few (a bunch of Beemers and Audi's on the Autostade for sure), but most of the cars were dinky little Mini-Cooper sized models. For the narrow roads and limited parking areas, big cars just don't make much sense over there.

EA: So did you catch any races or soccer matches while you were there?

LtPC: Not really. They were having some kind of a bike race in our favorite plaza in Verona the morning that we left for Turin, but it hadn't started. I couldn't read the brochure anyway. And I fall asleep watching soccer on TV, let alone at a match.

EA: What's your history in South Bend? I know a lot of guys from there. Mike Golic from the Mike and Mike in The Morning show, for one. His boys are on the football team now. And I worked with Joe Theismann a few years ago before the company sent him on his way. Theismann was four or five years ahead of my dad at that prep school in Pennsylvania, way back when.

LtPC: Yeah, well, Joe and I graduated in the same class. Before way back when. Thanks for reminding me of my place in time.

EA: You Domer's are all the same. Get over it. And here comes Costas. I think your Economy section is calling. Inga or not.

******************

End of conversation.

******************

BCOT

Monday

First day back in the real world. Still a little off.

I understand that 2 has shared some of our pics. There are some good ones. We used both the regular camera and the mini. The mini is really handy.

Unbeknownst to 2, I had a pretty interesting conversation on the plane home with a couple of well-known mesia personalities. I had snuck forward to First Class for a shorter line to a rest room and literally ran into Bob Costas! He had been in Copenhagen for some Olympics thing and had to get back to Chicago for a pow-wow with Daley on the bid for the 2016 Games. Our flight was the first that he could catch.

BC: Hey, bud! Aren't you in the wrong line? Economy has it's own heads.

LtPC: Well, there was a line and you guys have more openings. Say, you're Bob Costas!

BC: You're a scholar. But you're still in the wrong line.

LtPC: Whatever. The head stewardess gave me a hall pass.

BC: Inga?

LtPC: Yeah. We connected.

BC: Well, if you got past Inga, you have some skills. What's your story?

LtPC: Headed home after 10 days of sampling Italian wines and the French Alps. Man, am I looking forward to US traffic and my own bed!

BC: The Alps?

LtPC: Yeah. I had this silly idea that I wanted to ride up the Galibier, like the boys on the Tour de France. It wasn't pretty.

BC: How'd it go?

LtPC: Slow. But I made it. Not real interested in finding another hill like that.

BC: As I recall, Lance said that the Galibier is where his Postal and Discovery teams buried their would-be challengers. Couldn't you find some flat roads and just tell your friends that you did the Alps?

LtPC: I did take the shorter Southern route up, if that means anything. I had scouted the Northern approach and had concluded that the preliminary mountain (le Col de Telegraph) would have taken me all day to summit before I even began the final climb. I may be dense, but I can do the math.

BC: Lots of riders up there?

LtPC: Not a lot. I saw may 25-30 either passing me going up or flying the other way on their descents. A few tourists. More motorcyclists than anything. The last 8 clicks (kilometers for those used to American-speak) were up a trail that wasn't much past a goat path.

BC: Isn't that hill close to Briancon, France? As I recall, that town is a Vail-like ski place. I did a show there a few years back when the Winter Games were in Turin.

LtPC: Yeah. The area actually caught my eye a couple years back when the Tour de France and the Giro de Italia both had overnights there. I was surprised at the very modern commercial development, and it was easy to see how they could host the travelling circus that is the Tour. They also have a relatively small, mountain fortress area that dates back hundreds of years, and that section of town is a big tourist attraction.

BC: Well, LtPC, I'd like to hear more about your trip (not really), but it's my turn for use of the facilities. Why don't you go back to Economy where you belong?

LtPC: You're a prince, Bob.

************************

End of discussion.

************************

Check back later for more.

BCOT

Sunday

I thought it appropriate to update the Home Page picture for 4000 Days to recognize our recent journey. This photo was taken by another tourist during our brief time atop the Galibier on the afternoon of September 24, 2009. I crossed the summit at approximately 1000 CST (in the USA).

The picture with this entry is of a sidewalk cafe in Verona. Very cool.

I'm still decompressing from the trip. The jet lag coming from Europe seems less than what we encountered on our arrival in Italy. There's something about the circadian rhythms and getting home as evening ends rather than mid-day as was the situation on our outbound trip.

This entry will be added to throughout the day today. I have some thoughts on how to relate some of the aspects of the trip that make it more than just a boring journal.

In the meantime...

BCOT

Thursday

The Galibier took no prisoners. Beat me like a drum. But I crawled up it's face just for spite!

Susan was totally a champ today. A dynamite one person support team.

I don't have much time now. Thanks to all of you who had me in their good wishes.

Dinner in a few to celebrate. Transition day tomorrow to Milan. We'll be back at ORD in about 50 hours. What a trip!

Ciao. Big Time!

BCOT

Wednesday

We made it to Briancon, France today and enjoyed a long day in the Alps. They are really big. I don't think that the elevation is much, if any, more than Mt. Rose, but the roads are considerably more narrow and scary. I don't think that they have roads there except to service the cycling community.

Briancon is an Aspen or Vail type of ski resort area. Lots of condos and apres ski looking places. There's a historical mountain fortress area that they have used for the nerdy tourists as well.

I've decided to take the shorter route up the Galibier as the side that I had first considered has a Mt. Rose style hill before you even begin the main climb. I'll leave that side to my more anal cycling friends. I figure that it's about 1.5 hours in the foothills, and 2-3 to complete the 10-12 miles to the top. We'll see.

2 was a trooper today. Lots of very narrow and twisting, unfamiliar roads. At least tomorrow we will have seen them before.

Then I got lost coming back into town tonight within one missed turn of our hotel. It took another 30 minutes to struggle back in.

So we rewarded ourselves with a delivery pizza for dinner! How authentically Italian can you get?

An we are drinking French wine. Very international of us!

By the time everyone gets to work (or play...Tahoe Phil) tomorrow, I should have been to the mountain top. Say a prayer for me and my driver.

Thanks for reading. And the feedback.

Ciao!

BCOT

Tuesday

Well, we are still alive and kicking in Turin. Finally starting to figure out the lay of the land. Does sense of direction require a European "reset" button when you're across the pond?

I did get on a bike today, although by an extemely circuitous route that I will not bore you with now. It's an older bike and a little heavier than what I wanted, but as the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers. My first ride was an urban one though the major parts of downtown Turin. They have a bike path along the Po River, similar to our's along the Mississippi. But it has fallen in a bit of disrepair and it is not a smooth ride. I also managed to "groove" my front tire in trolley car tracks. Twice! No serious injury except pride. Silly Americans!

We're headed to the mountains tomorrow to scout the route of the big ride on Thursday. Briancon, France, here we come.

2 gets credit for getting these pics up. I'm clueless.

BTW, 2 and I are still on speaking terms. Most of the time.

Ciao!

BCOT

Monday

Monday morning in Turin. Rainy day here.

Very nice breakfast at the hotel. Not the best coffee, but a wide selection of breads, fruits, cereal, and even some hot dishes of eggs and bacon. Supposedly, it's included in the room charge. We'll see at check out time.

We took a bus from the street by the hotel to the main downtown area, but we still don't have our sense of direction. The first destimation, the visitor's center, was seriously closed once we found it. We then headed back to the main area and stumbled across what is now the visitor's center (just a corner office in a business building). They were helpful.

I call some of what I see here "Olympics Hangover". I'm sure that they built up a lot of stuff for the Games and, like most Olympic host cities, have struggled to make use of the resources mustered for those two weeks. Looks like a fair amount of "fringe" type characters wandering the streets. Many solicitations from random people this AM.

Turin has old buildings, but it has less of the Roman city influence. The streets seem more right-angled, although there are plenty of odd-angled ones here in city-center. The guidebooks refer to this as an industrial region. You can see the Alps in the distance (when it's not raining).

We'll try to find a bike today as I plan to ride the next three days.

The hotel caters to the business set. They had multiple copies of several newspapers for reading at breakfast, including The Daily Telegraph (the international version of The Grey Lady). It was good to read paper, even if it was the NYT.

All for mow. For those of you reading this as you get to work Monday, consider that I got up about the time you may have gone to bed!

Have a great week.

BCOT

Sunday

Just a few lines before hitting the sack here in Turin. The hotel has an Internet room where they charge 4 euros a half hour. Very rich for a poor boy from the Midwest.

Really a nice evening last night in Verona, and again this AM before leaving. Ate at a place off the beaten path that asked if we had reservations (right!), had a very good bottle of wine, and then got into see the arena in the piazza that we liked before we left today. Very cool.

Not a bad trip from Verona, a distance of about 150 miles or so. Freeway all the way. (Actually, tollroad all the way!) If you weren't doing 140kph, you were just getting run over. I swear, one guy passed me doing 125 miles per hour! It was nothing but a wooosh!

A mess trying to find the hotel again. But it is a nice place. Unfortunately, we are at least a mile and a half from city center, and not the best neighborhoods to walk through. But on Sunday's, everything is closed so we'll know more tomorrow about the lay of the land.

There were several major gatherings wrapping up late this afternoon on the main piazzas, with lots of people still hanging around. No clue on the occassion. But because most of the cafe's were closed, we didn't get much for dinner. Had to open another bottle of wine. Darn.

Tired tonight. Scoping out the city tomorrow.

Ciao!

BCOT

Saturday

Back in the city after a busy morning. Rode on the East side of Lake Garda again today. Didn't try to do any big hills, but had a good 2.5 hour workout. Great weather.

Following lunch at a lakeside cafe, we tried hard to chaeck out the vineyards, but were only successful at one tasting. We saw a lot of vineyards, and some one lane roads that weren't pretty, but the second shop was closed and the third we never found. 2 is back in the room to come down from the excitement of the tour!

I would guess that during my ride that I saw 200-300 riders, maybe more. Several clubs out in force with 15+ riders or more. One group of five American couples from Denver on a guided tour. Cycling is definetly a way of life here.

Saturday here is like Saturday in the States, traffic in the downtown area very light, many shops off the beaten path closed, and the touristy spots very busy.

Lake Garda has many similarities to Tahoe, including the over-commercialization of different areas. Pretty clear water that I could see. A couple of topless sunbathers close enough to the road that a less-focussed rider could have been distracted. (Glad I wasn't tail-gating bcbison!) But no sand on the small beaches that I saw. Just gravel of some sort.

I'm a little lost without my daily papers and cell phone. And I miss the familiarity of my regular SB's. If I had an international/Internet set-up, I would Twitter some updates. I don't think we'll get a phone at this point.

Hope the weekend in IC is good for 3 and 4. Sorry I don't get to see you this trip. Go Hawks!

We wrap up our stay in Verona tonight, leaving in the late morning for Turin. I'm guessing that it will be a four hour drive. I may check in here before departure.

Thanks for reading. It's all good in Italia!

BCOT

Friday

To 3, I realize that 2 and I are in the Old World. I was giving you instructions for your location!

Did get on a bike today ver in a small town west of Verona, near Lake Garda. Decent bike, but with only a double front set up. If I don"t have a triple in the Alps, there is no way I"m getting up the Galibier. We"re going back to the same place tomorrow and I"ll take a couple of different roads. Lots of vineyards in the area.

Driving is exciting, particularly for my navigator. She needs to eat well before we take off again....:)

We picked up anther couple of bottles of vino...a Barbarra like we drink at Biaggi"s...and a Sangovese. We"ll see which is better later.

Post cards were posted today.

Still doing pretty good on an overall basis. Get lost regularly, but I have Sometimers anyway!

Thanks for reading. Life is good for LtPC and 2 in Italia.

BCOT

Thursday (I think)

ok. This will be my best shot on a Euro keyboard. Fortunately, 2 is at the next station and is providing guidance.

I won"t try to give trip details as life can be as boring in Italia as it can in the US of A. But for general info purposes, the trip over, while exhausting, was pretty much on schedule. It took a while to find the hotel as the streets are confusing at best. But we"re there, and the touristing business has begun. Already been through three bottles of wine, plus a couple of other glasses. Success!

No plans the add a lot here over the next few days, but I"ll try to give small updates.

Thanks for visiting. Ciao!

BCOT..in the New World.

Sunday

Today was the last trip to DeWitt for me for the year. (bcbison may find his way there without me a time or two on one of the remaining weekends.) Once back from Italia, I'll be training for the Turkey Trot and letting my bike rest until March. This pic was taken this AM after our breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe, right before we headed home. A great morning.

Departure now less than 48 hours away. Packing gets serious tomorrow.

Hope y'all have a great week.

BCOT

Friday

---------------------------- SEMPER FI-------------------------------

BCOT

Wednesday

Enjoyed an evening ride with my pal Pete, and then a couple of beers on the deck at Gov's. Needed the exercise after a couple of days off the bike.

I've kind of figured that the countdown is now down to hours as opposed to days. Really, just three business days to departure. More than a little scary.

Not much going on here. Hard to concentrate on the blog.

BCOT

Tuesday

Pita.

I guess that this is the official End of Summer day. It's hard to further delay a project or resolution that a person said could wait until the end of Summer. No more wearing white to the social events.

So when most of you read this, it will be 09-09-09. And there's the possibility that shortly after nine in the morning, it could be 0909:09 on 09-09-09. Haven't got the interest to investigate the significance, or rarity of the string of identical numbers. How many superstitious folks will be buying funky lottery tickets tomorrow?

My RCL was a no-show today. I thought she was back in-country. I'll be gone on her next visit.

My Top Ten fears for my impending trip to The Continent:

1. Getting separated from 2.
2. Discomfort on the long airplane rides.
3. Losing money/ID's/passport.
4. Not being able to find a good bike to rent.
5. Lost luggage.
6. Client problems back at the office.
7. Rental car problems.
8. Mediocre hotel accommodations.
9. Failing in my attempt to get up the Galibier.
10.Client problems back at the office. (This is a big concern.)

Billy Mays is still on the tube selling stuff. How long before we read of the law suits from his estate for the residuals? (Why would anyone buy anything from a dead guy anyway?)

Sorry I'm not more eloquent tonight. Check in tomorrow.

BCOT

Monday

Here's 2 with her future new best friend. This was taken yesterday and she called the seller to put in a reservation this evening. Possession for the 27th or thereabouts (upon our return from Italia).

Let the naming begin. All of my suggestions were rejected as too stripper-like.

The Tour of Missouri started in StL today with a circuit race (10 times around a 7.5 mile track). The same guy who won several stages in the TdF this Summer won today. They gradually move across the state this week and finishes next Sunday with another circuit race in Kansas City. It could be interesting to go watch someday. Just not this year.

Then again, if the sponsor situation doesn't improve, the future of the race comes into question. The state had to step up this year, and my guess is that the legislators may not be able to meet the call again next year. The Georgia race ran into the same problems after some fairly successful years, and is now no more. There's just not a way to adequately produce income from an "Open to the Public" event. And the banks, insurance companies, investment firms, and auto companies are just not standing in line to write checks.

Golf with my pals today was a hoot. Great weather. Little traffic. I broke a hundred! Next time, ninety.

Off to bed to get ready for a busy week. Lots to do before departure.

Have a great week.

BCOT

Sunday

Some recent pics. Friday night at Biaggi's. And Saturday in IC.

I'm not sure if I would call Iowa lucky as much as the other team simply failed to close the deal. Northern Iowa could of/should of won, but needed one more play.

IC on game day is fairly out of control. I'll only go over again this year if I get the parking pass and can tailgate outside the stadium. The games don't interest me all that much. Click the image of the game to get the full effect of the stadium.

Rough ride coming home from DeWitt this AM. No legs. I'm taking a couple of days off.

BBQ tonight over at a friend's place. Golf tomorrow in Muskie.

Enjoy the holiday.

BCOT

Friday

Ugly incident at the conclusion of the Oregon-Boise game last night. (Not that I saw it then, but rather on ESPN News early today.) Thuggery. Don't people get arrested for those kinds of things?
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My Perfect Neighbor and I are talking about erecting a flag pole in our adjoining yards, right by my driveway. I've had the thought for some time, and when I offered the suggestion to him earlier this week, he ran with it. And his spouse, my garden out-sourcee, is fired to do the landscaping. I need to approve the design, but after that, I'm in check-writing mode. It will be lighted as well, maybe even with a solar cell. How's that for green-consciousness?

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I'm taking suggestions from the peanut gallery on, "Don't forgets", for our Italy trip. My latest epiphany in that space was a list of usernames/passwords for Internet sites of importance (credit cards, etc.). Special bike gear, drugs and camera paraphernalia are also on my list. (Notice that "paraphernalia" in this usage is in reference to my cameras, not the drugs.)

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2 and I are headed over to IC tomorrow with @bcbison to take in the Iowa-UNI game. Meeting our friend/client Dr. D. from DM, so we'll actually be going into the stadium for the game. Don't have my pal Roy's parking pass, so we'll end up trekking from afar. No serious tailgating, but we'll take along some provisions to address our needs for the post-game hanging-out.

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A little vino tonight to plan the weekend. Enjoy! ...but,

.

BCOT

Thursday

Another in a string of really nice days here. My sump pump is rusting.

2 and I met up last night with the local couple whom we met in June at the bar in Galena on TOMRV. These are the people with whom I was trading Jagermeister shots! I wanted to ask him some specific questions about the route to follow for the ride that I will be taking in the French Alps. (He had been on a guided ride up that pass a few years ago.) We had dinner at a place called It's On The River in Port Byron. Another fun evening.

I also elected to purchase some Euro dollars today at Wells Fargo to give 2 and I some pocket money when we hit The Continent. Wells has no problem in charging a fee for the exchange. I'll be curious when all is said and done where we have the best luck on the exchange rate.

Opening night in college football. Erin Andrews is in the house at the NC State-South Carolina game. ESPN forked over the big dollar and has a musical intro montage with Kenny Chesney (a la the Monday Night Football intro sung by Hank Williams Jr.). They say the Clones are playing tonight as well.

Lots of activities these next three days for the holiday weekend. I'll try to add entries here as time permits.

BCOT

Tuesday

The new Home Page photo was taken at lunch today with my NSSP from a picnic table on the levee near downtown Bettendorf. It really is amazing the quality of pictures that can come from a feature that is really just a "throw-in" for cell phones. Chicago style "dogs" from the Riverfront Deli. Suite!

It's definitely a Top Ten day here in River City. Cool on the early bike ride, but perfect by late morning. In another lifetime, a return to the office wouldn't have even come under consideration for the afternoon.

After several years of delay, I went through the process this AM to receive a "military" exemption/credit for the real estate taxes on my house. This is just a little "bone" that the state of Iowa has thrown the way of honorably discharged veterans. You need to provide a Form DD 214 to the local assessor to receive the credit. The DD 214 being the paperwork documenting a soldier's separation from service. I have long since lost my DD 214, signed in September 1974, so I had to write the Office of Records to obtain a true copy. Which I did last week, on-line, and then timely received the form by snail mail yesterday. (A surprising result on it's own. My bet is that that process is 100% automated.)

It took three re-routing's within the local courthouse to get to the right office, and the girl there had me go to a fourth office to properly "record" the document that she needed to then authorize the tax credit. It took something along the line of two hours from the time I left work, to the time I got back to my desk, which doesn't include the 30 minutes that it took to go on-line for the DD 214.

The credit, that I will begin receiving on the bill due in September 2011 should be around $65 per year. Whoopee. I'm not saying that government bureaucracy doesn't work, but the analysis of marginal benefits/opportunity costs on this one isn't pretty.

More later.

BCOT

Sunday II

I learned today that Kohl's changes "deals" from Saturday to Sunday. I had had my eyes on a luggage set to take care of my Italian needs, but didn't pull the trigger on Saturday specifically because I wanted to check if SRH had an additional discount coupon. (SRH always has discount coupons.) I figured that the same sale would continue to apply on Sunday. Wrong. You could say that I am a victim of inexperienced shopping. Then again, I'm sure that more product will be "on-sale" next week.

Don't mean to bore the peanut gallery with cycling trivia, but this guy deserves recognition. Hats off to George Hincapie, a teammate of Lance's on all seven of his wins in France. Big George won the US Pro Road Race today which entitles him to wear the Stars & Stripes jersey at all pro events over the next year. He's a pro's pro. (Another member of the European peloton, Dave Zabriski, won the individual time trial (for the fourth straight year!) yesterday, giving him similar privileges. These guys can ride with the best anywhere.)

I did salmon on the grill tonight. Along with a veggie potpourri in virgin olive oil/balsamic vinaigrette sauce. A bit above my normal menu of sandwiches and chips. California Suite! (This after NY Strips with 2 last night. The high life on Maplecrest Road!)

Another busy week ahead. The IRS has changed the drop-dead, extended due date for 2008 partnership returns to September 15 (from October15), so we have a number of clients who are used to the later date now on a shorter fuse. And my pal Bill is headed to New York City this Friday for a week or so to see US Open Tennis. So we have no choice but to pump a bunch of files out the door in the next five days.

Check in here for more educational pronouncements soon. Where in the world is 3?

BCOT

Sunday

A few lines from SB's on a cool, but sunny Sunday.

My pal Pete and I did another DeWitt ride this AM. Not easy as a slight headwind at the start turned into a full one by midway, so we had to work. But the tailwind on the way back was fun. Still, he dropped me on the big hill coming off the McCausland flats. I'm a wimp. The Wapsi is out of it's banks, and they actually had Old 61 closed to traffic overnight. Just a trickle of water coming over the road now. Still, hard to believe we have water issues in August.

2 and I did a little Italy planning over BBQ'd steaks and Italian red last night.

ESPN broadcast the opening football game from Parkersburg, Iowa on Friday night. That's the town where the long-revered coach was killed by a looney-tune earlier this year. It's noteworthy here because the teams wore "FFF" decals on their helmets. In their case, it stands for Faith, Family, and Football, a mantra of the former coach's.

The substitute RCL was through the homestead yesterday. She doesn't do quite as good of a job as The Real Deal, but her work was satisfactory, and much appreciated. It's not like I had a pit going, but I've become accustomed to the regular cleaning. Life is more in balance now.

I'll add more here later. Gotta go take care of the yard.

BCOT

Thursday

The monsoons have returned to the Quackers...

1 and 1.1 announced a positive doctor's appointment with an audio text message of the sonogram. Cool.

2 has had a big to-do at her house. Not good. She can provide details.

I've been thinking that the blog's topics have been somewhat limited when I eliminate NASCAR, politics, and my sex life (just checking whether anyone is reading!) Actually, it's a little like those AP English courses where the girls couldn't use variants of "to be" (is, are, was, were, etc.). So if you are going to put in an entry about something other than your daily grind, or personal interests that are truly personal, you have to be creative. Bring on writer's block!
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It's no wonder that newspaper, magazine, and electronic columnists who have 2-3 weekly deadlines often fall into predictable, and often repetitive, narratives. Political writers are the worst because they just take the topic de jour and spin it according to their particular bias. Entertainment reporters just look for dirt, drugs and divorce. They all probably just have pre-defined formats and just drop in the issue, the names, dates and end-of-column snarl.

All but Craig Wilson who simply picks the most boring thing that happened to him or his boy-toy that week and fills in his own blanks.

Then you have the absolutely inept (usually sports writers) who write numbered lists of their thoughts on the most popular issues of the week. No creativity required.

Looking forward to the weekend. Local football starts. What happened to Summer?

BCOT

Tuesday

The good news is that I don't need Plan C for my vacationing RCL. Plan B called and is scheduled to come over this Saturday. A little good news on my phone messages that I had failed to notice/listen to yesterday.

Departure for my morning ride with @bcbison was pushed up to 0605 today due to delayed sunlight. I figure that I'll have 7-8 more weekday rides before Italy. We could be pushing 0630 0n 9-14. And it has definitely been cooler around sun-up. For the Monday ride, I wore the full-fingered Gotex runner's gloves under my half-fingered biker gloves (after being just plain cold on the Sunday morning ride).

I've had to research a couple of chapters in my NSSP owner's manual. The pre-selected settings had the software finishing my words and inserting corrections in funny places. I hope that I've shut those features down for now. The icon on the screen that you had to hit just to get to the menu of these options was a small triangle that I hadn't even noticed before. I figure that I need to sign up for a course at the JC to even have a chance with the more esoteric features of the phone.

Little League World Series this week in Williamsport. Where's Erin? (Actually, she's been ultra-low profile since that peeper video surfaced last month. Hope she's back on the grid-iron next month. Goes to show what pathetic garbage walks our streets.)

Top Ten electronic gadgets in my house:

1. NSSP
2. Mini Digi
3. Regular Digi
4. Direct TV receiver
5. Cycling computer
6. Laptop
7. Ironman watch
8. CD/Receiver/Amplifier
9. Automatic Dehumidifier
10.Auto Key/Remote Starter/Buick

So hope everyone has a good mid-week day. If the rain stays away, bcbison and I are doing an afternoon spin followed by beers on the deck at Gov's. TGIW!

BCOT

Sunday

This week's DeWitt breakfast with @bcbison. Cool and foggy on the way up. Really difficult watching him eat those hash browns at breakfast. Little wind either way, so care-free riding.

The shirt is the same one on the Mt. Rose photo from yesterday. My cycling wardrobe is a bit limited.

Yard work this afternoon. I actually called a landscape guy whom I know from coffee, and I haven't received a return call. Is that a sign that I need to do the stuff myself?

Interesting to note the discussion in RevKev's blog about our family's numerology. And the comment about the addition to the household with 1 and 1.1. The final determination on that designation has not been made.

More later.

BCOT

Saturday

Levi Leipheimer did Mt Rose today. 65 minutes. Not sure if he's in my league.

DeWitt with my pal Pete in the AM.

BCOT

Friday

Can't believe that we have more rain today! If @bcbison is out there this afternoon in this stuff, more power to him. I'm headed to some fine Italian red at my normal Friday hangout.

2 is making a bit of a spontaneous visit to 4 in Lincoln for the weekend. Sister bonding. The Buick is making the trip as an LtPC contribution. Margret will get some asphalt-time if this freakin' rain ever stops.

And 3 is in C-town for the weekend. I learned of it this AM on Twitter. Life in the fast lane.

My RCL is actually in Russia this month. The designated substitute, also Russian, is AWOL. I don't like my place's lack of attention. Still working on Plan C.

2 and I did a little Italy planning last night. She's gone into Google maps and plotted some likely destination points from our hotel in Verona, and will be doing the same with Turin. Pretty amazing what details you can bring up on local restaurants, museums and other points of interest. She says that I can use the same program to map my bike trips. But I usually just get a feel for how long I want to ride (based partially on how high the hills might be). We'll see.

If there is any doubt about the lack of identity in today's women's golf circuit, it is evident from the TV coverage (or lack there of) for this weekend's Solheim Cup being contested outside C-town. This is the women's equivalent of the Rider Cup which has become blockbuster entertainment over the last 20 years. It's the USA versus Europe. Rah-rah. The problem is that all the good players on the LPGA tour are either from Asia or Mexico. The Solheim Cup might better be compared to a minor league All-Star game.

Lance is in Ireland this weekend for a three day stage race. He's not expected to compete for the over-all title; I don't think that the hills in Ireland are high enough to separate out the true climbers. I think he's there for Livestrong publicity stuff. He draws a crowd.

No big plans here for the weekend. Biking. Yard work. Boring.

BCOT

Wednesday

I've used this pic before for 2, but she gets another recognition as Daughter of the Day for a small promotion at work and some well-deserved recognition of her efforts to promote the museum. You go girl!!

I'm off to Muskie for a little golf R & R.

BCOT

Monday

More rain. At least I got my yard mowed last night in between storms. The neighbor's gauge said four inches in the last 48 hours. I suspect that the weed spray that I applied to the grass after the mowing got washed away before it did it's deal. Another application is in my future.

My sleep last night was disturbed around midnight when the rain gutter right outside my window backed-up and the water was spilling over and down to the cement, creating quite a ruckus. The rain wasn't going away, so I had to go out and drag a ladder from the garage and pull the leaf muck from the down spout. Didn't take that much time, but it was a down pour. And it was midnight. Welcome to life.

4 has had a little excitement in the automobile maintenance area in the last 24 hours. She's had some Twitter explanations, but she should share more here as well. LtPC isn't much use at 2200 hours, several area codes away.

Another classic Seinfeld on as I write this entry. The one where Kramer is driving the Hansom cab with the gassy horse, and Jerry steals the the loaf of bread from the old lady who got the last one at the bakery. Hilarious.

Really busy at work. Riding in the AM.

BCOT

Sunday II

To Uncle Phil, the out-sourcing of my garden next year is still in negotiation. My neighbor Judy is over-the-top with her yard and garden. She patrols her lot with an unmatched enthusiasm. Her tomato plants grow to about six feet tall. She does Fall and then early Spring work on the soil. Fertilizes. De-bugs. Prunes. All the things that I don't do.

Their yard abuts to the East side of my garage, and I've already ceded the six foot strip of ground on that side of the garage for her flower garden use. And she does a great job. As reported here earlier this Summer, she's also taking over the space on the backside of my garage for a berry patch. And we were joking the other night about her moving over to the strip on my side of the garage to manage my plants and bushes there.

I'm thinking that I write a check for some tomato plants, a packet of cucumber seeds, and maybe a few bucks for chemicals. And I'm good.

Anybody have the Korean in the PGA?

Have a great week.

BCOT

Sunday

SB' s on a rainy Sunday.

My pal Pete (aka @bcbison on Twitter) and I did the Dewitt breakfast ride this morning. It looked like a full rain ride when we took off at 0630, but the sprinkles stopped and we had no moisture until about eight miles out on the way back. And there was nothing dry by the time I got home. Here's a pic I had a stray pedestrian shoot on the mini after our breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe.

I need to bore you with a couple of comments about the ride. We had a tail wind on the way to Dewitt. And I was almost always painted just 6-8 inches from @bc's rear wheel. At one point on the flats, after a momentum-building down hill push, we were gliding along almost effortlessly (and I had to carefully throttle back to avoid jumping his wheel), I looked down at my computer, and we were doing 29+mph! On the flats! Wow. For a 16mph guy, that's flying.

The flip side of course is that we had the head wind coming home. A whole lot less excitement. Add in the rain and you have some forgettable miles. Probably wouldn't have gone out if we had waited for a later start.

Another thought that came to me on the ride was the meaning of the expression, "Got one". That's what @bc automatically says on our rides as a warning to me when he sees a car in his rear view mirror. (I have a mirror too, but I think that he realizes that I am mostly concentrating on my spacing with his rear wheel.) I'm sure that members of the peanut gallery all have their own history with the term, but mine goes back to my varied history of pick-up basketball games.

"Got one" was what I said when I called a foul on a shot or other move to the basket. Different courts had different terminology, but "Got one" was always mine where ever I played. The whole concept of calling fouls in street ball was not something for the weak of heart. The more-competitive the game, the more fouls are called. Same for the closer the game. And when it was "game-point", every missed shot was a foul.

Better players (on offense or defense) matched against one another never had much of a problem with fouls because they knew when one was committed. It was the more marginal players and the lying players who made games miserable at times. Again, particularly at "game point". Since I went to the basket a lot (as opposed to jump shooters), I needed to establish my stature on the court by calling fouls when they needed to be called. I really didn't like the guys who abused the system, even if they were on my team, in a "lose the court" situation.

I'm headed back to the barn. I'll add more here later.

BCOT

Saturday

Looks like a pretty nice Summer day here. I need to do a bike ride, mow my yard, and get some other yard work done. We'll see.

A good night at Biaggi's last night with friends, and 2. Liberty School Cabernet.

Even with the operational issues with my NSSP, I have found myself able to be more responsive and, dare I say, efficient(?) since we converted to the new system. It's a little aggravating to have to unlock the phone every time that I use it, but that irritation is preferable to all the butt calls that I was making initially. And my ability to access the office email 24-7 from the phone has already proved to be beneficial. We have a guy giving us a bid next week on the phone system in the office to further upgrade the systematic flow of voice and electronic information. Hello 21st Century!

Lance is riding a 100 mile mountain bike race in Leadville, Colorado today. A little unusual that a world-class road racer would jump on an off-the-asphalt event. But he did it last year as he returned to racing, and since he finished second, my guess is that his ego has him back there to correct the placing.

I see that the crew now has SRH on mobile Twitter. What does it all mean?

I need to get out and get my stuff done. I'll add more here later.

BCOT

Thursday

Sorry to have missed Wednesday. Some Italian red got in the way.

My pal Pete and I did the early morning ride today. My conditioning is definitely coming back. Pete dropped me only on the two bigger climbs. (He didn't power up at least one of the shorter hills, just to help me out, I think.) It really creates more opportunities for the rest of the day when the workout is done before the morning shower. This from a guy who has said for years that he wasn't a morning workout kind of guy. If you aren't willing to change your protocols, you shouldn't expect more-positive results.

Uncle Phil reports that they had the boat in Emerald Bay all day yesterday. Suite!

The last "major" of the PGA golf schedule is this weekend in Chaska, Minnesota (in the TC area). I vaguely remember a very negative comment from a touring pro following a previous championship held at the course, something to the effect that the only thing missing from the farm was a herd of cows. I checked Wikipedia and my memory was correct. Again. Back in 1970 when the course hosted the U.S. Open. I think that they have made many improvements to the place since then.

Numerous pro football pre-season games tonight. In just a couple of weeks, football will be on the tube every night of the week until Thanksgiving. Can't say that I am all that excited. Fantasy leagues are now in formation stages. This week's SI was almost entirely devoted to fantasy-team building. No interest in that at all. 1.1, you're on your own!

Looking forward to the weekend. A couple of key projects to get done by 5 tomorrow.

BCOT

Tuesday

AM is right about the bikers who ignore traffic signals and signs. I think those guys do more harm than anyone when it comes to biker/driver relationships. Sometimes it's even the experienced road cyclist who makes the choice to blast through a red light when he sees no cross traffic to worry about. And these are the same guys who complain about cars buzzing them on a country road. No excuses.

Busy day today. A couple of new deals, and lots of phone calls. The hours jumped by.

My pal Pete and I hit the road early today for the 16 mile DCC route. Incredible how the day is shrinking. We were starting at 0520 seven weeks ago, and now anything before 0600 is not advised. At least my conditioning is coming back a little. I wasn't entirely dusted on the medium inclines this morning. In another week, I'll be back to OK.

A new development in business that I am experiencing is the use of the executive's mobile phone for daily business purposes. (Which shouldn't even be worth all that much commentary since every exec whom I know has been writing off cell phone expenses for tax purposes forever.) I routinely give my cell number to clients, and it gets used some by a few customers, a little by most, but quite a bit by a small handful. Not really a problem, although there is some regularity of me being on the cell phone when a call comes in on the land-line (or vice-versa), and maybe a client is down in the waiting room.

I have learned that the cell phone is also now the access portal for advisers, associates and other anointed ones for the busy physician. Almost no one of importance goes through what might otherwise be considered the old normal channel of the office receptionist. Pity the poor pharmaceutical sales guy with no "in". A permanent outcast.

What's the deal with Brooks & Dunn? Enough money, I suppose. The one article I saw said Ronnie Dunn was going solo. Makes sense. Kix Brooks never added much to the act. I think that it's fair to say that "Neon Moon" has been background to some serious parties. I remember a couple. And there was a lot of Boot Scootin' Boogie-in' done at the street dances on RAGBRAI.

I've never been a big Rick Patino fan. I always thought that he could coach, but he always left me with the impression that he thought he was ahead of the curve, above the fray, better than the fans, other coaches and his bosses. It was false humility to me. All that said, he's now in an ugly spot of bother. He's made the choices, but...

On the bright side, the neighbor's garden is coming in and I have fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, banana peppers and green beans. Life is good. (Did I previously report that I've contracted out my 2010 garden to the neighbor?)

Have a great Wednesday.

BCOT

Monday

Enjoyed the weekend visits from 1, 1.1 and 4. Sometimes the best plan is no plan.

Really have no explanation for my absence from here over the last week. The evenings were all full and work was busy with my assistant out for the week. A bit of a mid-Summer's hiatus.

The Seinfeld episode entitled "The Soup Nazi" is on as I write this. A true American treasure.

4 and I did about 15 on the Bettendorf bike path Sunday to break in the new bike. With the heat and humidity, a little work was involved. The city created within the last year several additional miles of bike-compatible sidewalks in the newer section of town near where SRH lives, which allows a rider to access the primary paths along Duck Creek. The idea of wider paths has merit, but it's no panacea.

My biggest complaint, and it's really not a complaint, but a bit of a negative observation, is the constant of little "Stop" signs at every street corner. For a "biker", little stop signs are a pain. We want mileage in big chunks, not in city blocks. You're always stopping and starting, and taking extra time to get there (where ever that is).

4 reports that IC has an ordinance that prohibits bikers from riding on the the sidewalk. Which makes sense to me since normal sidewalks really don't have enough room for a walker and a biker passing in opposite directions. Plus, in a college town, there's always a lot of walkers.

July was a historically cool month in this area. My utility bill was at an all-time low; $37. (Then again, I was on the road half the time, so there wasn't a lot going on with the old HVAC system.) I remember a corporate publicist for the local utility company many years ago proudly proclaiming at a Rotary meeting that the company liked it, "Really hot or Really cold!"

In follow-up to an earlier comment here, the report from the local fair was 25K for the Big and Rich concert last week. Keep in mind that they set the stage up in the infield in front of the main grandstand with people then allowed to stand on the dirt track between the seats and the stage. And that we had 2-3 inches of rain that day. Can you say, m-u-d?

Busy week. Lots to do between now and Italia.

BCOT

Sunday

Tuesday

No blog today.

My pal Pete and I did a standard 16 miler this evening, but then decided to check out the social life with a couple of beers on the deck at Gov's. A successful venture.

More tomorrow.

BCOT

Monday

The heat is back, although not the 100 degree stuff from StL. Did the 16 mile route tonight and it was all I wanted.

This is "fair" season in Iowa. The local county fair in Davenport starts tomorrow and runs through the weekend. The state fair in Des Moines runs for about two weeks beginning on the 13th. In addition to the traditional farm-related exhibits from cattle to cucumbers, the fairs today feature big-name stage attractions who can draw tens of thousands of people for each show.

The local fair is known to draw between 25 and 30K for headliners. The ingress-egress is a mess. Don't go if you think getting home will be easy. And I'm sure that the neighbors love the noise, litter and other acts of public indecency that routinely occur in their yards on those nights.

Mom and I saw Olivia Newton-John at the state fair in the mid-70's when she was one of the hottest singers around. I'm thinking that they had the traditional buttered cow carved out that year. Can you believe that they figured that maybe the Iowa State Fair was not the place for a buttered tribute to the King of Pop?

Anyone hear the loud f**t on the players' mic when Tiger was waiting to make his approach shot on the 18th hole yesterday? I happened to be watching, but not watching, the tournament at the time, as I was also doing a crossword, and the passage of gas was no polite little toot. We're talking frat house quality and quantity. Tiger was very amused. They say it wasn't him. Hmmmm. I guess it was the hit of YouTube today until the PGA took it down.

Another early day for me tomorrow.

BCOT

Sunday

I'm not sure if my life is back to normal, but at least I'm not headed out of town tomorrow. August is going to be a "stay at home" month.

The trip back from KC on Friday was uneventful. I-80 continues to amaze with the truck traffic. The rednecks had already set up camp at the track outside Newton for the NASCAR race (held on Saturday). They had 55K+ in attendance Saturday, which is a strong showing for the first big league (AAA variety) race at that track. They'll be back next year. Sponsors like those numbers.

Aunt Rosie deserves a little recognition here as I totally whiffed on wishing her "happy birthday" while staying there. Thursday was the day, and we shared late drinks on the deck for a couple of hours and neither she nor Uncle Tom offered any clue. It wasn't until on my way home Friday that I put the days and the calendar date together. Remembering birthdays, anniversaries, and other dates of importance is not one of my strong suits. Remember that, ladies.

This is the calendar week that we most often scheduled for vacations when the girls were all fairly young. Business was always a bit slow in early August, the girls' Summer programs were done, and school didn't start for another couple of weeks. Good times.

And we always saw a lot of motorcycles headed West for the Sturgis rally. And the procession was in full swing on my way back Friday. I wonder what the fatality count will be this year? Is Vegas carrying an over/under line?

Back on the bike today, which again reminded me of how quickly my conditioning goes away when I'm off for several days in a row. This week will be used to rebuild my base so that I can have a full 30 days to hit it hard before the Italy trip. I may even do some spin classes at Gold's to fill in weekdays when the road workout is inconvenient. Time is short.

The one brain flash that I had on the bike today was the possible purchase of a vanity license plate for the Buick: 4KDAYS. A thought only at this point. I used to think that a vanity plate just gave somebody the chance to remember your location when you really didn't need or want anyone knowing where you were. Since I take Margret quite a few places, and get noticed all the time, it's not like the vanity plate is all that meaningful. Plus, there's all those cameras...

All for tonight. Have a great week.

BCOT

Thursday

Day Two of the conference is now done. I'm taking a pass on the annual "yea-hoo"dinner to share wine later with Rosie and Tom. Doing a little shopping at a wine store on the way home.

I've been meaning to opine on this next topic for quite some time, but I keep forgetting about it when sitting in front of the computer. My time on the road over the last few weeks has given me exposure to good research.

Drying towels in public rest rooms. Actually, of course, some public rest rooms have air dryers, so maybe the topic should be drying devices in public restrooms. Then too, not all of these facilities are open to the general public (most are), so a modification of the adjective "public" might be justified, but why quibble on the obscure?

Anyway...

The truck stop at the Route 21 interchange on I-80 has the old fashion, rollered cloth towel machines mounted on the walls. Boy, with that high of traffic, you have to wonder how many times a day the janitor has to switch out those machines. Who does the laundry? How many of those things are still in service? I'm thinking that there must have been a profitable business at one point for a laundry that did those towels, restaurant table covers and napkins, and the like. Now?

The airports mostly have paper towels of some sort. Many now have automated machines that feed a 10-12 inch sheet by use of an electric eye. Some are mechanical that you need to pull a lever similar to a slot machine.

Finer restaurants and conference centers will often have somewhat softer, more-padded paper towels simply stacked to the side of the sink.

The country club rest rooms will usually have separate cloth hand towels. Often monogrammed.

Then, of course, you get to the Big City and the hotsy-totsy places have attendants in the rest rooms and they hand you the towels, (giving true meaning to the term "hand"), which you then feel obligated to tip for in the very visible tip jar. (Didn't they have attendants in the Wrigleyville bars? But they might have just been stationed there to cut down on the drugs and sex in the facilities. I digress.)

Most truck stops have gone to the towel dispensers not unlike the ones used at the gas pumps for washing windshields. The pull/rip from the bottom style. Functional and easy to maintain.

All of these places run out of towels at some point, and it's time to dart into a stall and unroll a little TP.

For the record, my current habits are to dry my hands, then take an extra sheet of the paper to use to cover my fingers/hand to open the door. Howard Hughes lives.

Hope this has been illuminating to all.

BCOT