Monday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All for tonight. Have a good week.

BCOT

Sunday

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

Cool but sunny here today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



More later.

BCOT

Saturday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BCOT

Thursday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BCOT

Wednesday

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

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

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

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

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

More later.

BCOT

Tuesday

No blog today.

Monday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope everyone has a good week.

BCOT

Sunday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BCOT

Saturday

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

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

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

BCOT

Friday

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

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

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

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

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Thursday

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

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

The top ten places that I would rather be tonight:

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

Hope everyone has a good Leap Day!

BCOT

Wednesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope everyone has a great evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Monday

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

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

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

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

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

BCOT

Sunday

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

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

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

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

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

Next week will be March. Finally.

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

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

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

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

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

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

So enough for today. Enjoy the sun.

BCOT

Saturday

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

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

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

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

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

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

BCOT

Friday

This guy captures my mood.

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

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

Hey to 4 in C-town!

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

BCOT

Thursday

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

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

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

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

OK. I'm off to the museum.

BCOT

Wednesday

2 is appointed Daughter of the Day! She and I will be headed out shortly for the Augie game. I like to think that she comes with me to share that Father-Daughter bonding thing. I'm afraid that the hot dogs and popcorn may be the real motivations.

I had to restock my wine cellar yesterday, and for the first time since I can remember, I actually took a bottle back for an exchange. It was a Murphy-Goode cabernet that I have really enjoyed in the past. But I could tell when I opened the bottle that something was amiss as the cork came out way too easy. And the wine smelled bad. Drinkable, but you knew that it wasn't right. The store took it back, no questions asked.

My "wine cellar" is the shelf under my couch table. It rarely holds more than a case of wine. Maybe in my next house.

Speaking of winning the lottery without even buying a ticket, check out the windfall that came to the two-years-retired Kieth Van Horn as part of the Jason Kidd trade to Dallas. In order to make the numbers work, Dallas included Van Horn in the deal (since he had never formally filed retirement papers with the league and Dallas still held rights to him). He was/is, of course, never going to play for New Jersey, and he'll be formally cut/waived after 30 days to "free-up" salary cap space next year for the Nets. Van Horn's piece of the trade? Something like $4.3 million! He was a stick when he played, let alone at this point in his non-career. It's a wonderful country.

Craig Wilson's column today has some relevance to the fam. He wrote about the album-after-album of pictures of the first child, and the dearth of pictures of subsequent children. With additional references to the amount of time that the parents spend with that first child compared to substantially lesser amounts of time with the other children. It was one of his better pieces in the last few months. No necessarily original, but borderline humorous.

I think that arguments could be made that the baby of the family catches up with Numero Uno by the time that they have all reached 21. Pity the middle kids. Sorry 2 and 3.

I laughed out loud at SB's on Sunday when I read the piece in the NYT entitled, "I Married a Republican". I'm not sure that many Democrats would marry across the aisle in today's social order.

Gotta go. Have a great evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

Erin is in the house at the Indiana-Purdue game in Bloomington. Is there a worse TV venue in the country than at Indiana? Is Kelvin Sampson that stupid, or what?

I'll try to add to this from the home front a little later.

BCOT