Saturday

The TdF is underway.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All from here. Have a great weekend.

Be careful out there.

Friday

It's Friday.

No blog today.

BCOT

Thursday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be careful out there.

Wednesday

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

Happy 4th to all.

BCOT

Tuesday PM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be careful out there.

Tuesday

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

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

BCOT

Sunday

Just a few lines today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy the day.

Be careful out there.

Saturday

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

I'll check back in later.

BCOT

Friday

No blog today.

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

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

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

Be careful out there.

Thursday

2 got off to Norman this AM. No problems.

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

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

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

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

Have a great evening.

Be careful out there.

Wednesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gotta go.

Be careful out there.

Tuesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stay cool. Enjoy the evening.

Be careful out there.

Monday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be careful out there.

Sunday

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

Domestic chores this afternoon. Maybe the park bench job.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enough already. Have a great day.

Be careful out there.

Friday

Hello Summer!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be careful out there.

Thursday

Thanks to 1. Always nice to be recognized.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be careful out there.

Wednesday

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

Be careful out there.

Tuesday

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

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

Jerry and the gang could go on for hours.

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

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

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

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

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

Be careful out there.

Monday

Another Monday in Ordinary Time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be careful out there.

Sunday

Just a quick report today.

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

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

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

FFF with 2 and 3 this evening.

Stay cool.

Be careful out there.