Saturday, October 20, 2007

Saturday

This looks like a great Fall day. I need to get outside once I'm done with a couple of things here at the office. My pal Roy and I may hit some balls.

The annual intra-city football clash between PV and Bettendorf was last night. It wasn't much of a clash. Bettendorf wins 49-0. Ouch! Amazing how the culture, at least for football, can be so different in schools two miles apart who are drawing from essentially the same gene pool. In most years, this is the kind of lop-sided result in this game. The net outcomes in all other sports between the schools are not nearly that disparate. Does one coaching staff make that big of a difference?

The annual Pumpkin Run is tomorrow on Credit Island in Davenport. I think that they have added a 10K for the more serious runners. Since 4 is in town for the weekend, maybe she and I can stop down and re-create that famous photo of our participation in the event years ago.

The next medico that I see is the colonoscopy guy. My first one was 6+ years ago, and I started getting reminder cards from the doc last Winter to schedule a re-check. Of course, I ignored those cards. As a third reminder, they sent me a certified letter advising me of their recommendation to schedule the procedure. I ignored that letter as well, although I was curious if their rationale for sending it by certified mail was legal liability motivated. A surgeon friend thought it was more profit-motivated than anything.

Since I have met all my insurance deductibles from the bike accident surgery, my own economics now push me down the road to do the colonoscopy before the end of the year to minimize my out-of-pocket costs. So I called the doctor's office yesterday to initiate the process. In my repartee with the appointment clerk, she fessed-up that the certified letter was a legal-liability protection action on advice from counsel. The lawyers must be working overtime to come up with not only the possible cases that they could file, but the corresponding defenses as well.

When you think about it, it's almost Seinfeld-esque in the sense that we're almost doing a game-theory thing. If you were a good doctor, you would have had a procedure to get the recently departed Mr. Doe back to your office for a re-check of his colon to catch the colon cancer that developed some time after that colonoscopy that you did seven years ago (that showed no signs of disease). So even though Mr. Doe ignored those suggestion cards that you sent him three years ago to come back for a routine follow-up, you didn't do enough, so his death is your fault, and we think that you now owe Mrs. Doe $2 million for malpractice. (Keeping in mind, of course, that the litigator keeps at least one-third of the award.)

As convoluted as that logic may seem, if plaintiff attorneys don't think like this, why would defense attorneys come up with the certified letter concept?

So do we have a guest author tomorrow? Perhaps some wisdom from C-town?

Have a great day.

BCOT

Friday, October 19, 2007

Friday

Friday might work as a Free day. That is, a day where the topic is open for the choosing.

I did have the additional thought overnight that another usage for the word "travel" is as an adjective (?) to describe fan support on the road for an athletic team. For instance, among college football bowl sponsors, it is generally acknowledge that Iowa "travels" well.

I made another concession to convention this week by acquiring a Kohl's credit card. My shopping habits are fairly predictable, and Kohl's tends to be the first place I stop for golf shirts, sweaters and shoes. It bugs the heck out of me to have another electronic trail out there documenting my activities, but the siren of recurring discounts finally won me over. With a Gap card and now a Kohl's card, in addition to my other Amex and VISA cards, I am now among the crowd in credit card excess.

The MasterCard and VISA card issuers are the big villains in our nation of credit enablers, but these individual store chains that push customers into their own cards should share the ignominy. Their pushing their own cards is not really an effort to benefit the holders, but rather a more insidious choice to further ensnare the user and to gather more specific data on their customer base.

Another major participant in the credit card boom is the generic affinity card concept. Sports teams, colleges, business associations, and fraternal organizations, among others, often have their "own" MasterCard or VISA card. I'm guilty. I have an ND card issued by a VISA bank. And an AICPA MasterCard. The affinity organization does nothing except collect a little fee from each transaction or balance. Again, the cards are not offered because the prospective user needs that specific card. It's a way for the issuer to get another fish on the line, and it's free money to the affinity organization.

I think my first credit card was a Gulf Oil Company card that I acquired my first year out of ND. Gulf Oil stations were commonplace along the Indiana Toll Road and all the way out East, where I was stationed in the USAF, and I think that they had a deal with Holiday Inn. I remember a couple of trips back to South Bend that first year in Dover, and I could use the one card for both gas and hotel. The high life. (Wikipedia states that Gulf Oil was merged into what is now Chevron in 1984.)

Free advice to all readers: ALWAYS pay off your credit card balance each month. On time. The interest and fees that you can otherwise pay makes SB's coffee appear cheap in comparison. The credit card companies are unconscionable when it comes to these charges. That $29 (0r maybe even higher) late fee is just pure profit to them. Don't get caught. And don't be seduced by the "0" interest transfer fee. There's no free lunch.

OK. My pal Roy and I are headed out for dinner. Maybe some Tuscan red.

Have a great weekend.

BCOT

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Thursday

Let's make Thursday a day for Travel.

In the Big Leagues, Thursday is often considered a travel day for teams. It is a frequent "off" day, with no game scheduled, and the team either on the road, or going on the road, will use that day as a leisurely day to get to the next city where they will be playing on the weekend. Later in the season when "make up" games are required, those games often take place on these unscheduled travel days. In that situation, the game will often be a "day" game, and the team that's on the road will leave right after the game to get to the next city. The Friday game will then usually be a night game to give the traveling team a chance to sleep in after a late-night arrival.

In basketball, "a little traveling music", is a phrase announcers use to described a traveling violation committed by the player in possession of the ball.

In business, Travel and Entertainment, is a historically abused expense deduction.

Also in business, travel is a characteristic of a job that may be considered a bit of a disadvantage in comparison to a job that has no travel involved. I know that in today's world, what with the issues of security, airplane delays, and the like, travel is not a perk. If you like to get home to the fam and your own bed each night, overnight travel is a negative for the job seeker.

As a sidebar, I would distinguish "travel" from it's subset, "commuting". Unless you work out of your home, everyone has a commute to work. It may be a five minute jaunt in a small town, or it might be that ugly hour and a half death march in the major city. Been there. Done that.

On the positive side of the ledger, travel is listed by many people, particularly retirees, as a favorite pastime.

Travel in our immediate family is most often associated with Lake Tahoe. (For those who might want to parse meanings, Lake Tahoe and Travel could be reversed in that sentence.) Next would be Chicago. Then KC. After that, we each might have our own destination of choice.

Today's young adults have been exposed to more travel than I would ever have dreamed of as a boy. Fifty years ago, there was not the facility of travel that exists today. Our family had no money. The Wapello County Fair in Eldon was a big deal! It was only when we each went to college that the world started to open.

I have had the most fun (when not with the fam) when I have been on the road with my pals Pete and Big Jake. Whether it be at a game in Ames, a small-town bar on RAGBRAI, or on the Plaza in KC, we have had some great times. DM. Phoenix. Lots of stories that get repeated forever, and the exploits become even more outrageous with each rendering. There were those Vegas days with Wally. And in recent years, the Cabo golf trips with my pal Roy have been memorable as well.

There is a saying on the Cabo trip that, "it's not about the golf". Rather, the trip is about the friendships and enjoyment that is shared by the participants. I agree. Tahoe would just be another lake (a beautiful one to be sure, but just a lake) for me without Uncle Phil and the fam. And the same goes for all the other places that I have been. Without the friends, what is there to remember?

So my first effort at Travel ends up talking about relationships. What does that mean?

Have a great evening/day.

BCOT

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Wednesday

If it's Wednesday, it must be Sports Day.

The stat of the day is that the Little League World Series title game this past Summer outdrew (in TV ratings) Game Four of the National League Championship Series Sunday evening. Colorado and Arizona are not exactly megalopolises for any TV event, but does anybody remember who was in the LL World Series? Let's see. Every Little League player wants to grow up to be a Major Leaguer. And play before a smaller audience? How does that compute?

I had commented to an acquaintance earlier this week about how Rockies manager Clint Hurdle was a Sports Illustrated cover boy in the late 70's or early 80's as a "can't miss" phenom. Of course, he never made it very big. USA Today's hack columnist Jon Saraceno had a full column today on Hurdle's odyssey to championship manager. More people out there stealing my material.

The human interest side of Hurdle's story included a disabled child in his third (current) marriage. While the facts of this young child are worthy of a sympathetic ear, does our protagonist's Three-Time Loser designation reinforce the pathetically low morality bar of our athletes and entertainers? (Actually, is he really just a Two-Time Loser with a third act in process?) I do think that our society has become numb to the antics of many of these public figures. What's another kid by another woman in another town?

Uncle Phil and I have talked about how golfers display the most honor in competition. And I agree. (I actually like the Wild West, self-policing justice system that rules in NASCAR, but that's a different kettle of fish.) But the golf crowd has it's equitable share, if not more so, of lousy husbands and fathers. Maybe it's the travel. Certainly the money comes into play. And the idle time. And the Goldiggers looking for a little sugar.

Speaking of losers, anyone care to give Kelvin Sampson a primer on the rules for telephone contact with recruits? Talk about a low bar. How can Indiana not fire him?

My training for the TT is going along at a snail's pace. I've been doing the 2.2 miles along Devils Glen and it is just work.! If I break an hour on Thanksgiving, it will be a minor miracle.

One of the things that I do like about training is that it gives me "thinking time". Whether it is running or biking, the process allows the brain to work without distraction (except for the pain). I've never had the IPod or headphones. On the bike, while on the roads or streets, it's a safety thing. I know a lot of people are addicted to their music while moving along, but the "thinking time" is just as gratifying to me.

A final thought for the day: the hardest part of training is getting started.

Thanks for reading. Have a great evening/day.

BCOT

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Tuesday

I had hoped to get a better handle on my re-entry into the blog, but the day after a due date tends to be hectic for all the things that were put off in the crush before the due date. Today was no exception. And the two bottles of Tuscan red last night sapped a little energy as well.

I can share that I have decided to construct the blog under a category theory with the focus of each daily entry determined by a general assignment. More or less like the sections of a newspaper or website. My categories will be:

1. Sports
2. Travel
3. Family History
4. Craig Wilson-like topics.
5. Current Events
6. The Work Place
7. Other

This is a preliminary list, and there may be additions as I get more comfortable with the format. I've left off Politics and Religion from the standard list, but I suspect that there will be entries on each as time goes by, particularly with the 2008 elections. I would like there to be a Weekly Guest's entry as well. My goal is to use these categories as a means to gather and store entry ideas on an on-going basis so that I don't find myself sitting at the computer with nothing to say.

The goal of the blog remains threefold:

1. To maintain an interactive touchstone for our family,
2. To give some insight to The Girls about who I am today, and
3. To provide an outlet for the writer inside me.

The blog's Daughter of the Day is 3. Happy Birthday. Hope you can make it to IC on the 27th. Power tailgating for sure.

So tomorrow is the real deal. Stay tuned.

BCOT

Monday, October 15, 2007

Monday

Another due date has taken it's place in the rear view mirror. What a pain to go through, but a big relief to be done.

Good to hear from AM. Her book recommendation sounds interesting. Miss Dee gave me a similar one last Spring that actually recounts some things from Ottumwa. A Prairie Lights special that she discovered while just wandering through the store.

Happy Tax Birthday to 3!

Tomorrow kicks off the born-again 4000 Days. (With all the hype I've been giving it, I'd better bring my "A" game.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Sunday

Fun evening in IC. We booked before the senior speeches.

The laggards to get done tomorrow. The first day of the rest of my life is Tuesday.

BTW...I've registered online for the Turkey Trot. I've sent the link to your email accounts.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Saturday

Dreary day. Lots of domestic stuff.

Over to IC this evening.

Enjoying the quiet.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Friday

That which needed to get out yesterday did so.

3 has been on the road and used me for a back-up, pre-dawn wake-up call this AM. I'd be up. She knew it. Does that make me more reliable than Abdul or Petrachina at the front desk?

More returns today.

Looking forward to the weekend.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Thursday

This is really the last day to get my out-of-town clients returns sent to them. It had better be a busy afternoon.

Enjoying the cool weather. Uncle Phil commented that they had some snow at Tahoe this week. And the paper today had a photo of open ski slopes at Arapaho Basin in Colorado. My bones are still able to adapt better to the cold than the heat.

For the record, less than a week now to the return of the real 4000 Days.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Wednesday

Another day in paradise.

While yesterday's comments were welcome, they remind me, when taken as a whole, of the "Woe is me" contest for the last brownie in that family dinner scene in the film, Notting Hill.

We are a sorry lot.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Tuesday

The heat wave has pretty well passed us by. Very comfortable sleeping last night.

A week until 3's b-day.

44 days to the Turkey Trot.

75 days to FFF at Chunky Cheese's.

About 3250 days to the end of 4000.

But who's counting?

Monday, October 08, 2007

Monday

Many stories today about the TC and Chicago marathons. Cousin Skip was in C-town's. He has comments in an email today.

Hope everyone has a good week.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Sunday

Long day in the Twin Cities for 1.1 in his marathon. Worse heat and humidity there today than 1 had for her race here last month. 1 can give us the details later.

I know that everyone is busy. But sharing is good.

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Saturday

Hot day again.

4 came home for the weekend. I'll let her tell her story at a future date.

My pal Roy has a wingding tonight. Details at some time in a week or two.

Good luck to 1.1 tomorrow.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Friday

End of a long week here. Although I do have a full schedule tomorrow as well.

2 is on her way to the TC to serve on 1.1's support team for the marathon on Sunday. She was my navigator when we trailed 1 last year. Pasta for them tonight.

Still lots to do for my tax clients. Still looking for Powerball.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Thursday

Back home. Long day yesterday, but as scheduled. 2 earns credits for a midnight run to the airport for my ride home.

Close to 90 here today. Less comfortable than Phoenix.

I'm still not going to be able to add much here until after the 15th.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Wednesday

Travel day for me. Final conference sessions this AM. Client meeting at lunch. And then the long trek against the clock to the QC. At least tonight I get to sleep in my own bed.

Thanks to 2 for her entry.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Tuesday

Not much new here in the desert.

I did encounter another example of "it's a small world". While speaking with a salesman at a random vendor booth, another guy comes up with and I notice his unusual surname on his badge. I comment on it, that I knew a family back in the Midwest with that name. Turns out he is the son of a high school classmate from Ottumwa.

Hope 4 can find the time to give us a little glimpse of her world.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Monday

Kudos to 1 for her entry.

I'm on the blog a little early today. They have several machines here at the conference, but there's like a thousand attendees, so availability later in the day will be iffy. Plus, when I travel to things like this, I tend to stay on Central time, which makes me two hours early in Phoenix.

2 and 4 need to add entries this week. Don't be shy.