Wednesday

I'm dropping a few lines here before heading home for the evening. 

Tonight is our last Fit Club with instructor Jessi.  She starts moving her stuff to Milwaukee tomorrow, with additional trips to follow over the next week or so.  Last night was our Awards Night, with all participants receiving at least one recognition.  Fine wine on Maplecrest was shared by all.  Even a couple of passers-by out for an evening's walk.

The Big O is concluding his three-days-on-a-bus in Iowa this evening with a rally in the Village of East Davenport.  That location is just a couple of miles down the street from our office.  I'm sure that traffic will be a mess.  Too bad I have to rearrange my sock drawer before Fit Club, or I would have been a sure-attendee.  (Then again, knowing the propensities of the re-election campaign staff, my credentials would have carried a link to this blog, which would have most-certainly black-balled me from the permission list.)  (Follow-up point: is black-balled now a racist term?)

If they require ticket applications to Big O events, how is that different than voter-ID requirements?

I need to stop on the way home to claim my Powerball ticket.  I always get one when it goes to $300 million.  I could use the cash after #07282012.

ND opens the season on September 1st with a game against Navy.  In Dublin, Ireland.  I mean, I get it.  Notre Dame and the Fighting Irish.  But Ireland?  And they've done it before a few years back.  I don't have the $$$'s figured out, but there has to be money filtering back to South Bend for the trouble.  One thing to remember:  Purdue visits ND the next Saturday.  I suspect that ND will be favored.  The Irish won't cover.  You heard it here first.

I tweeted earlier today that exactly one year ago, 4 and I were making the journey from Vitoria Gasteiz in Spain  to Bagneres d' Bigorre in the French Pyrenees.  (We also stopped in Bilbao along the way to swap-out the Hertz rental that I had had the small problem with on the rear window.  Stress!!!)  Anyway, we hadn't realized that August 15th was a Holy Day (The Assumption of Mary), and we missed going through Lourdes by a fortuitous accident.  When we went through Lourdes a day later, that town was still a mess!

Props go out to 4 for getting along with another move in The Big Apple.  This time she's moving in with another couple of girls in a place over in Brooklyn.  3 reports that its a nice spot in a good neighborhood.  Maybe a little like her place in Boston, but without the extra three flights of stairs!  So 4 is Daughter of the Day again!  Good luck, Kiddo!  (Just as a refresher, Wednesday night is her Monday morning when it comes to work day comparisons.)

Maybe more later.

BCOT

Tuesday

I bought  the print edition of The Des Moines Register this AM to read the reviews of the politician's visits yesterday to the Iowa State Fair.  No real insights came across to me from the articles in the paper.  It looked like the events were all pretty well pre-programmed, and the only "news" was the efforts of some protesters to disrupt some of the speeches.  Ho-hum.

My memories of the State Fair are limited.  To my recollection, we never went to Des Moines for the fair as a family, attending the Wapello county fair for several days as the alternative.  Practically, the county fair in Eldon, Iowa was within just a half hour of driving time from the farm, so the regular chores at home could be done and lots of time could be spent at the fair without major planning to get the milking done.  The cost of the county fair was pretty cheap, I'm sure, and Daddy must have received some "passes" at the office to further mitigate our cash out-flow.

One clear memory that I have of the State Fair is driving there with my high school girl friend and losing twenty dollars or so (a huge amount to me at the time!) to a midway scam artist on some roulette game.  That may have been the event that cured me of any gambling interest in my life.  Then, a few years later, grad school time frame, @srh4 and I went to the fair to see Olivia Newton John on the grandstand stage.  She was a hot commodity then, following her Grease role with a number of country hits.

I see where the new Bourne movie did ok at the box office last weekend.  Its extremely unlikely that I will go to the theater to see it.  Heck, I don't have the attention-span to watch a movie on my couch.  There have been several actors do James Bond, Superman, Robin Hood, and Batman over the years.  Does Bourne have the legs to do a franchise without Matt Damon?

My Top Ten Adjustments to make after coming down from the #07282012 mountain top, not necessarily in order of importance:

1.  Still a month of Summer to get through.
2.  That two-hour time change has me waking up at 0600 local, not 0500.
3.  Work is back as the #1 priority.
4.  I have to look up every password for my business software's.
5.  Not going to Raley's twice a day.
6.  Delta not sending daily emails on itinerary changes.
7.  Fewer random nose bleeds from atmospheric dryness.  A big plus!
8.  Creating new excuses/rationalizations to not get on the bike.
9.  Matching receipts with my credit card bills.  Ouch!
10. No Mickey, George, etc DVD's.  Missing 1.01 and 1.02.

Our Fit Club end-of-season awards function is tonight.  Attendance may be spotty do to scheduling conflicts, but it was going to have to be tonight or never. 

Maybe more later.  Make Tuesday a good one.

BCOT

Sunday

We just had a "head-fake" rain shower.  The drive way under the BEATER is still dry.  But maybe its a start.  At least the heat has been elsewhere the last few days.

Here's a shock:  I kinda like Mitt's selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate.  We at least now have one guy among the four Presidential and VP candidates who is not afraid to tell the truth.  I wonder if the Big O's campaign will now actually submit some alternative budgetary ideas, or be content to demonize Ryan as a Mediscare.  Let's face it, the reelection plan to this point has been a simple three-legged stool:  1) It's still Bush's fault; 2) Tax the rich, and 3) Romney's a felon.  All great ideas to get the economy back on track.

(I may have noted here earlier that I shook Ryan's hand in the MLI airport this Spring when I was returning from one of my trips and he was there to connect with Newt for some joint appearance.  I didn't exactly walk across the street to meet him, but I did make it a point to say hello as he was standing there in the gate area with an aide.)

The Olympics are mercifully over.  (They'll be over for NBC in a few hours.)  The current non-Dream Team had to dig a little to escape from the Spain and the Gasol brothers for the gold medal.  I watched zero of their games.  I give recognition to the guys who did show up to play, but I don't watch them much when they play their regular games in the NBA, and I'm certainly not going to watch them on tape-delay.  Who will they get to replace Coach K the next time around?

My golf game still sucks, but there is light in the distance, and I don't think that its another train on my track.  My two rounds this weekend gave me some hope, but I need to putt better.  For a bogey-golfer like me, you need to get "up and down" from around the green for a good score.  That means that you don't quite hit the green in the "regulation" number of shots, and you need a good chip/pitch with a single putt to get a par on a hole.  This skill only comes with practice.  Which means some range work this week for the Lt.

My Perfect Neighbor trapped a ground hog and a raccoon this past week.  He"s had a two-foot-tall chicken-wire fence around their garden each of the ;last several years to keep the rabbits at bay, but the bigger rodents have easily scaled that barrier.  Hence, the trap.  The raccoon was an unexpected capture, and the most raucous.  3 AM squealing on Thursday night/Friday morning.  What ever it takes to protect those tomatoes!


I admit to a visit to Kohl's this week for a couple more of the dry-fit golf shirts.  Only because I got one of the 30% coupons in my mail.  I mean, they have these nice shirts listed for $55.  (Does anyone actually pay list price?)  They discount it 50%, and then you take 30% off of that.  Hmmm.  What do they pay the poor seamstress in Sri Lanka to make it?

May get back here later.

BCOT

Friday

Friday's in August tend to be extra-low-key at the office.  Today is no exception.  At least the heat has abated.  The air is "Off" on Maplecrest.  Still dry, but not baking.

The party on Wednesday night for my pal Roy was a big success.  It was a gathering of long-time friends, many of whom were on those memorable trips to Cabo in the 12-15 years ago range.  There was even talk of reprising those junkets, but fortunately, clearer heads have prevailed since the party, and any trip this Winter will likely be to the more-economically friendly (not to mention safer) environs of Vero Beach in the Sunshine State.  We'll see.

It looks like next week will be the last week for the Maplecrest Fit Club, at least the last with our current instructor.  She heads to her new job in Milwaukee Thursday or Friday.  Bummer.  Maybe 2 can be our new leader, eh?  Awards function is Tuesday.  The only open question is, "Will Cal make it?"

The PGA event this week is at a scenic, ocean-side club on Kiawah Island, just off from downtown Charleston, South Carolina.  Lots of sand and wind.  My pal Cal has played this track several times during what has been almost annual vacations to that island.  The course really looks too hard for the average golfer, regardless of the length that you play it.  The pro's use the back tees, and I'm pretty sure that I couldn't even get a tee shot to the fairway on lots of the holes.

Lots in the sports pages today about the NBA trade of Dwight Howard from Orlando to the Lakers.  It's been an oft-repeated formula: team in smaller market with superstar needs to ship him out to maker him happy, as in Kareem from Milwaukee, and as Shaq from Orlando.  But this guy is a head-case.  He can play, but he has the maturity of an 8th grader.  He can't carry Kareem or Shaq's water bottles.  If they don't win it all within two years, he'll be calling out his coach and/or teammates.

And football season is underway.  Amazing.  Did it actually end?  What do people pay for tickets to those NFL pre-season games?  To watch undrafted free-agents junk around.  And this year, with the games ref'ed by replacements.

I'm giving props to NASA for their latest Mars rover project.  The Curiosity has landed on the Red Planet.  This pic was on their main website.  (Our first cousin Peter was the project manager on the previous Mars rover mission.  He seems to still be involved.  Here's a link to a Q&A with him from last year on this current mission.) http://www.space.com/11618-mars-rover-curiosity-theisinger-qanda.html

The Hertz folks have not responded to my email inquiry from Monday.  I sent a follow-up.  Their auto-response system says that I'm very important to them...but don't respond to their response because no one checks it.  Hmmm.  Are these guys also campaign advisors?

The BEATER clicked over 140K miles this week.  I had a friend riding with me this week and I was told that the squeaking and creaking that the car makes when coming to a stop sounded like me getting up from the chair.

Hope the Peanut Gallery has a good weekend.

BCOT

Tuesday

Here are a couple of pics from the wedding taken by my pal Bill and/or his better-half.

This one of 3 giving the triumphant fisted-bouquet pump is a great live-action shot.  Notice the contained smile on RevKev.  Priceless.

The Elders are showing their experience at these things.  Check-out who's holding a glass of wine.

And I really like this one with my pals.  Is this a posse of questionable characters or what? Not a bad backdrop for a photo, eh?

(I am now at that spot with Blogger where I really don't have any control on the location of text.  And the way it may appear as I write, is no indication of how it may appear as published.  I think that my choice is to publish this in preliminary form, and then hope to edit after the fact when I've had a chance to view the final product.  Sorry if it comes across as choppy.  Not my choices.)

(Uh, revision after publication not effective.  Flow may suffer, but I'm not going to try to edit format. You get what you get today.)

Did I mention that the RCL did come in last week?  I think that she probably just came by to check if I had left her any dinero, and then did the sheets and some light dusting.  But it was a pleasant surprise to have the bed made when I got home on Saturday night.  She should be back on schedule tomorrow.

The Maplecrest Fit Club resumes tonight.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that our instructor will be gone for good by the end of the month, having taken a new job at a high school in Milwaukee.  Bummer.  My handicap needs to dive pretty fast to take advantage of these last few classes that remain with her.

Today is the one-year anniversary of 4 and I taking off for Bilbao.  That seems hard to believe.  (I remember like it was just a few weeks ago being hopelessly lost in that place a couple of nights.)  She has had a lot of water go under her bridge since then.  And given her fluid living situation in The Big Apple, I'd say that the current remains strong in her glide path.  Let's make her Daughter of the Day!  You've come a long way, baby!

I remember coming home from the European trip with 4 and thinking that I could get along without watching TV.  Over there, the programming selection was so limited that reading became a much more enjoyable activity.  The feeling has been much the same this week since getting home from Tahoe.  I mean, yes, the tube was on a lot there, but I really paid very little attention to the shows/Olympics being televised.  I mean, the Olympics were predominately tape-delayed, and virtually all of the other shows were re-runs.  What's the point?

I had Margret out for a short run to Hy Vee last night.  That was the first outing for probably six weeks or so.  She's not the preferred drive in extremely hot weather as she is not equipped with air conditioning.  Do they even make cars these days without A/C as a standard feature? 

Unlikely to be back on here later.  Enjoy Tuesday night.

BCOT

Monday

I had expectations of getting on here yesterday, but golf got in the way and I just got gassed by the evening.  I wouldn't call it jet-lag, but the body definitely has some adjusting to do from two weeks on the road.  The regular bed is a bonus.

For those of you not on Twitter, here is a pic of the "Bronco Buster" sculpture, currently on display in my office.  Actual size is probably 15" tall, and weight of 25 pounds or so.  Its a beauty!  I'm uncertain if it will remain at the office.  I may engage 2 to evaluate whether it "fits" in my house.  With "Mountain Man" already on Maplecrest, there just may not be enough room there to accommodate both pieces.

The sculpture was delivered to 2 at the museum prior to our departure for Tahoe.  Not a small box.  Lots of industrial-strength bubble-wrap.  I'm guessing that the art shop has had some experience in shipping these types of items.  Mission accomplished.

Just for yucks, I'm tossing out a Top Ten list from the Tahoe trip.  We all recognize that the wedding and reception were items 1 and 1A for any such list, but here;s a few other relevant memories from my perspective, not necessarily in order of importance, of course:

1.  2's bloody nose as she lined up to walk the aisle.
2.  The Total Wine store in Reno.  A must-stop on any future visit to Incline!
3.  The last Thursday night Wally Toast at the Embassy Suites in Stateline.
4.  4 making her 20 minute connection in Dallas to get to Reno on the 23rd.
5.  Flipping burgers at Sand Harbor in front of Iowa Pork Producer, Uncle Jeff.  It took me a while to figure out the math.  And I turned over the flipper immediately!
6.  Riding Mt. Rose from Reno for the last time.  With my pal Pete.
7.  The Costco experience with 3 and Herky (now 3.1).
8.  1.02's smile.  1.01's  walks to the waterfall!
9.  Early coffee at Starbucks with Tahoe Phil (any day when he could make it!).
10. The most real glass wine glasses in any rental house ever!

I'm sure that we could do a new list everyday for a week.  Lots of great memories.

Here's what I saw in my back yard when I headed out for coffee on Sunday morning.  The little pear tree that I planted near my deck a few years back was a casualty of the storm that came through here Saturday afternoon.  It wasn't the healthiest tree, and some rot at the base showed some wear.  My PN cut it up today, and it is now in a few bundled-piles at the curb.  No real property damage.  No insurance.  The cost of life.

In other news, for all you NASCAR fans, the 24 stole a win yesterday in Pennsylvania.  There was a restart with the 24 in about 5th or 6th, the leaders got sideways, the second row let up to avoid the carnage, and Jeff dove to the apron to the lead.  Immediately after this incident, even before all the cars got through the mess, the caution flag came out, fixing the positions, the rain came in a downpour, and they called the race as final.  One could say that the seas parted, and the 24 waltzed through.  A win is a win is a win.

In golf, veteran Jim Furyk lead for 71 holes, then butchered every shot on the 18th on Sunday, and lost by one to a guy who played lights out that day.  Brutal to watch.  Furyk's four-foot bogey putt to salvage a tie and to force a play-off didn't enter the area-code of the cup.  Ugh.  Makes a humble golfer like me take heart.  A wise man said, "Remember, when you say that you just hit the worst shot of your life, it isn't (or won't be)."

Happy Tax Birthday to my pal Roy.  No firm plans for a celebration tomorrow, but we may do something on Wednesday.  Golf may be involved.

All for tonight.  Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Saturday

This will be just a short effort to report in on a long travel day.  @srh4, @susaneleanore and I are waiting in MSP for our flight to MLI.  The flights to SLC and MSP were OK, but I will only feel good about things once we're on the ground in Moline.

The coolest thing about the trip was our chance to see 1 and family in this airport as their plane from Sacramento landed about the same time as our's.  They had had a delay or we would have been passing ships.  It was fun to get another glimpse of 1.01 and 1.02.

I won the Over/Under bet on the number of cycilists that we would see coming up Mt. Rose this AM.  I set the bet at 3, and @susaneleanore took the Under.  I figured that we'd see four, and we actually saw eight.  Even if I set it at 5, which might have been the right number, the Over was the bet.  I didn't see any of these riders going at my speed.  Hmmm.  Think about that.

A small disappointment, at least for me, was that we really didn't have any enthusiasm to stop at the lookout for a family pic as we left Incline this morning.  Let's face it, we've seen the scenery a few times, and it could be argued that the three of us really don't make an fff quorum.  Another time.

The Hertz bill was on the exact number as projected when I placed the order six weeks ago or so.  I still need to call and complain about the counter service at RNO.  Not only was the set-up for Gold Card members non-existent, the clerk tried to up-sell me on at least a couple of items.  But the Chevy Traverse that we had for the trip was a good vehicle and we had no issues during the rental period.  That's always  good result.

And speaking of good results, it looks like I'm getting home with all of my glasses, chargers and
various other personal items that have a tendency to disappear on extended trips.  Then again, I'm not yet on Maplecrest.

OK.  Now boarded for MLI.  Look for more here tomorrow.

BCOT

Friday....UPDATED

This is coming to you from the Incline Starbucks.  At 0800 local, the line is literally out the door.  I keep saying, "If you can't make it as the operator of the Incline Starbuck's, you need to get out of commerce as a career path."

We say "good-bye" today to 1 and her family.  I'll add a photo here later.  They head over to Sacramento to spend the evening in anticipation of a Saturday morning return to Harvest Path.   1.01 and 1.02 may take weeks to figure out what "normal" is for daily living schedules at home.  Then again, 1.02 hasn't been that good with "normal" even before this vacation.

2 and I played 12 and a half holes on the Mountain Course here yesterday afternoon.  I thought that getting a few holes in would be a good re-introduction to golf before my focused efforts to reduce my handicap at Geneva beginning next week.  While it was fun to get out, our play was something less than stellar.  The course is branded as an "executive" layout, which is resort-speak for it being essentially a Par-3 track.  For a golfing purist who wants to use all the big sticks in his/her bag, this ain't the place.

Although you don't use much of your woods/metals on this course, it is far from a putt-putt challenge.  With all the change in elevation coming from it's location on a mountain-side, and the presence of "carry" (lack of an immediate fareway) off of most of the tees, lost balls were common.  My thought was that it was the equivalent of a pretty hard course hit by a shrink-ray.

The regional celebration "Hot August Nights" formally kicks off tonight down in Stateline on the South Shore.  While most of the festivities for this event are down in Reno over the next week, I think that the tourist organizers down in Stateline figured that a weekend of classic car shows would be a crowd pleaser.  Sorry that we'll miss the show this year.  I kinda like sitting in the audience at the  auction down at the civic center in Reno and watch Margret-comparables go through the sale.

And the second-tier PGA event, the Reno-Tahoe Open, is taking place this weekend at a course on the lower slopes of Mt. Rose.  Most of the big names are at the event over in Akron, Ohio, but you had to be high up in the world rankings to qualify for that tournament.  Reno-Tahoe is not unlike the John Deere Classic back home, where you have a decent field, and the community gets behind it, but it definitely is worth only a side-bar in USA Today.

All for now.  More later.


NOW LATER:.... Excellent send-off dinner with Phil and Jan.  With all the family activities and various things going on, I really didn't have much time with Phil on this trip.  Another time.

Packing and going through a house after two weeks of residence is always a laborious process.  When you consider that an overnight trip to C-town ends up with a trashed-out car, the loose-ends in this house should come as no surprise.  Having staggered departures beginning Monday (Sunday for 3!) has made things a little easier.  (Not that we wanted 4 to have to go back that early!)  Glad I'm not picking up after 1.01 and 1.02 everyday.  That's what Mom's and Dad's are tasked with, eh Kiddo?

The program for tomorrow has us departing Incline at 0830 local.  Scheduled departure from RNO is 1030, and ultimate arrival in MLI at 2030 tomorrow night.  That's a long day in our future.  I'll probably do Twitter updates, but not sure if I'll be back here until Sunday.

Thanks for reading.  Enjoy the weekend.


BCOT

Wednesday...UPDATED

Sight seeing at Tahoe.  Including this view upstream of the Truckee River as it passes through the tourist-trap-ish Truckee, California.  We coulda taken I-80 and headed East...for a few days!  And a good one of 2 with the river heading down stream.

The we did a quick trip over to Squaw Valley.  But elected not to walk up the mountain!

Now over to South Shore for a Wally beer.

Definitely more here later.

Now Later...

The trip to South Shore/Stateline was a success.  Its a little further to get there than I remember.  I've ridden my bike past Sand Harbor over to the freeway several times, but it seems to have more turns and segments than I recall.  Whatever. 

Marriott Corporation (or its partners) spent some serious dinero to take down the junky tourist shops that used to line the main drag (at least on one side of the street), and now you have the nuevo chic places selling designer-everything to the fat-walleted gringos.  They had the Heavenly Valley Ski Resort folks drop a 4-6 person gondola lift down to the middle of the outdoor mall, and you have a serious presentation for the 1-percenters.  Again, whatever.

It is worth noting that another ambitious development on the other side of the street remains a hole in the ground inside the security fencing, with unfinished pilings making testimony that economics matter.  I'm sure that there is a story behind that failed endeavor.

We did get nice seating on the patio at the Embassy Suites for recognition to my pal Wally.  The gentleman at the adjoining table graciously agreed to be our photographer.  (He and his wife chatted us up some and gave up that they ran a pizza place in Chicago!  Nice folks.)  Hard to believe that it has been close to twenty years since Wally and I enjoyed that last evening together at the same venue.  (Had to add this pic of me and 1.02 that appeared on Twitter earlier.  Handome guys, eh?)

I unconsciously started doing the math today and my mind has activated the countdown clock to our return to the Central time zone.  Basically, two more days before the Reality Clock chimes midnight.  Bummer!  The weather here has been super.  But I do miss my own bed, and there is a little bit of me that is ready for golf!  And I'm guessing that my Perfect Neighbor's garden is coming in...can you say, "fresh tomatoes?"

Another key question: did my RCL show today to prepare Maplecrest for my return?  Hmmm.  That would be a bonus.

Glad to see Patrick in the Peanut Gallery.  He belongs.  And yes, that is RevKev standing in his beach shelter/tent that sits on Sand Harbor beach in the current Home Page pic.  Does he need a publication release?

Make Thursday a good one.  Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Tuesday

I had hoped to get back here yesterday, but the Mt. Rose ride got the better of me.  While my pal Pete made the climb without ever having to go down to the third chain-ring, I was there from the get-go.  Really no surprise in either of those results.  @bcbison can ride anywhere, and up any hill.  Any future on Mt. Rose for me will be only from the lake side.

The concept that I would have "thinkin'" time while on the road yesterday was a total pipe-dream.  There were a precious few times where there were lulls in the traffic, but for most of the ride, the roar of vehicles coming from behind was a constant reminder to maintain my line. My appraisal of the relationship between cyclists and vehicular traffic on Mt. Rose is that drivers acknowledge a rider's right to be there, but there's not a lot of slowing down.  And the biker needs to keep it steady.  Its not a place for the faint of heart.

It was sad to see 4 head back to The Big Apple yesterday.  (And I was about 300 yards too slow to be at a place on the ride where 2 could have pulled off for a final hug on their drive down to RNO.  My bad.)  With all the wedding-related festivities while she was here, we really didn't get a lot of pure FFF before she had to go home.  She's back to the salt mines tomorrow, and fully engaged with the apartment-hunting task as well.  Good luck, Kiddo!

Although I am not watching the Olympics, the TV here seems to be tuned to NBC most of the time so there's lots of access to the events being broadcast.  Is it real or is it Memorex?  Whatever.  Anyway, 1.1 suggested that there be a limit on the number of political ads allowed per hour.  Not a bad idea.  Why not impose a full embargo on all political ads for, say, the month of August?  Give the public a break.  If that proposal were floated to the voters, I'd take the Over that at least 70% of the electorate would fully agree to a holiday from the mud-slinging.

The road construction in the Tahoe area is impressive this year.  I'm theorizing that good ol' Harry Reid has found a way to bring stimulus money to his state to brace-up a lack-luster economy.  When Pete and I were coming down from the summit yesterday (he had had time to ride down to Incline and get the car before I got to the top), we saw a 6-man crew standing by, all in supervisory mode, as a bob-cat dozer was moving a small pile of gravel.  One of the standing guys had a long-handled shovel in one hand.  I figured that that was visual evidence of a project that was definitely shovel-ready.

We did have the NASCAR race on here Sunday when the 48 just ran away from the field.  When they brought NASCAR to Indianapolis 15 or so years ago, it was a big deal.  Now, they can't sell that many tickets.  Personally, I think that these big tracks don't offer that much excitement to stock car fans.  I mean, its two and a half miles around, and the cars get pretty strung out.  Without a little bump-n-running goin' on, the racing is as boring as the tape-delayed Olympics.

And they (the Olympics) have open-seating problems too.  I thought that the Olympics were sold out?  Again, if I were interested, I might research the problem, but that's not happening.

@srh4 and I are enjoying a few hours of Five Minutes Peace today(with 1.02) while the others are at Sand Harbor for the day.  Its good therapy after the stresses of  #07282012 and yesterday's Mt. Rose adventure.

Maybe an update later.

BCOT

Sunday

Well, that was quite a day for the fam.  I'll add some more during the next few days, but this is just notice that the blog is back "up".

I'm thinking that the wedding-reception MAY make the Top Ten list of best family parties...ever.  Good-bye Herky.  Hello 3.1!

Tahoe continues to amaze visitors with it's beauty.  For flat-lander's, the mountains make such a statement for the power of Mother Nature.  The lake is simply awesome.  Every pic can be a postcard. 

My pal Pete and I are planning to ride the Mt. Rose ascent from Reno in the AM.  I have my reservations about holding him back, but, it should be just a matter of time.  I know that I'm strong enough to get to the top.  I did the short side to the summit on Thursday on Revkev's bike which did not have a "granny" gear for the aged.  The bikes that we will rent tomorrow will definitely have the lower gearing.

I'm not that curious about the Olympic Games now being broadcast on the tube.  The fact that the events are mostly replays from earlier-in-the-day competitions across the pond leave me unimpressed.  If you can get the results on the Internet, why spend the time watching some human fish make waves in the pool?  And with NBC's multi-politically-correct-culturalism permeating every nanosecond of airtime, don't look for much Olympic coverage here.

That ride up Mt. Rose will give me plenty of thinkin' time tomorrow.  Look for more here after  we're done.

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the weekend!

BCOT

Thursday

Yeah, so I didn't get back to the post yesterday.  Sorry about that.  I thought that since we didn't have Fit Club last night that I would have the time to jump back on to the computer after dinner.  But 2 and I did a stop at the mall after work to check out wedding ties, and then I went over to the Palmer Hills golf range by my house to hit balls for the better part of an hour before dark.  (Gotta keep workin' on that handicap!)  Add in a bit of a queezie stomach, and my late evening motivation was in the tank.

The Tour today is spending the last day in the mountains in Southern France.  The last hill is shrouded in fog.  It doesn't look like the Yellow Jersey has any challengers.  Unless he falls off his bike, he'll waltz into Paris this weekend without ever having had to go much into his reserves.  The rest of the peloton needs better drugs.  (Sorry, Lance.)

The British Open is also in play this AM on the four letter network.  John Deere champ Zach Johnson has a nice first round in the books.

The early ride today was one of those when calling in sick might have been the better choice.  That stomach bug yesterday left me a bit of an energy deficit this AM and I was hard-pressed on the hills.  @bcbison is getting stronger and I'm regressing. 

RAGBRAI starts Sunday in Western Iowa.  With this heat, it's gonna be a tough one this year.  If you are camping, those 75 degree nights are about as uncomfortable as it gets.  Plus that slow leak in the air-mattress?  I'm at the point where I'll enjoy that action much more so when it comes out on video.

This also Happy Tax Anniversary day to 1 and 1.1.  Hard to believe that we have been through five years since that great week up in the TC.  I'm thinking that the proximity of their anniversary and 3 and Herky's Big Day next week will give me a remote chance of remembering both of these special days in the future.

I'm not sure how solid of an indicator this might be, but Northpark Mall was all but deserted when 2 and I were there last night.  This economy is rocky.  If its 100 degrees outside, I'd think that the mall would be a popular location.  Glad I'm not a retailer these days.

OK.  No guarantees, we do have Fit Club tonight, but maybe more later.

BCOT

Wednesday

I'm making 4 the Daughter of the Day today in recognition that she made it over two of the climbs that are on today's Stage 16 of the TdF.  The Tourmalet and the Col de Aspin.  Interestingly, last year's winner, Cadel Evans, who is sitting several minutes behind this year's leader, cracked on the ascent up the Aspin, which is not really that brutal of a climb.  Of course, I had to stop and rest numerous times on the same stretch!

Most of these Pyreneean peaks are at lower elevations than the Alpine summits.  We had to deal with cows, goats, and alpacas wandering across the roads.  And their droppings!  But its kind of neat to recognize the backgrounds in the TV camera shots.  The ski town near the top of the Tourmalet, La Mongie, remains a vivid memory for me.

I meant to comment on the TdF stage last weekend when there was an incident of sabotage(?) when some yet-to-be-identified idiot scattered tacks on the road and about 30 riders (including the aforementioned defending winner Evans) were flatted on a descent.  One guy crashed and separated his shoulder, requiring him to withdraw from the race.  I'm guessing that criminal charges would be in order if they could find the perpetrator.

Frank Schleck, a Radioshack rider, has been pulled from the TdF for testing positive for an unapproved diuretic.  This is not that big of a deal, but several media sources have lead with a headline of, "Former Armstrong Team Rider Tests Positive", even though Lance has been off the team for two years.  The bias/sensationalism in the media knows no bounds.

I've also noticed for the first time a steady diet of pro-Obama/anti-Romney pop-ups on the CBS and ESPN websites.  I am so over the political ads.  (I was fortunate to have missed the "Kiss Cam" ruckus at the last USA Olympic basketball exhibition game.)

I'll add more to this later.  No cycling or Fit Club today.  I wanted to get this up to recognize 4.

Have a great day.

BCOT

Sunday

So Iowa native Zack Johnson of Cedar Rapids came from a few shots off the pace today and won the John Deere Classic.  He has been a favorite of the local crowds over the years, and if Stricker couldn't pull out a fourth straight win, then I'm sure Zack's trip to the winner's circle is a popular result. 

20 Under (my prediction early last week) was the score that put Zack and another guy into a sudden death play-off.  Both managed to double-bogey (ouch!) the first extra hole, forcing a second one.  Johnson proceeded to hit an All-World shot out of a fairway bunker almost 200 yards from the hole to less than a foot from the pin.  The other guy missed from 20+ feet, so Zack won the trophy...and the cash!  Good story.

A noteworthy factoid from the golf tournament:  the John Deere Classic has the distinction of being the top tournament on the PGA schedule for generating the most charitable contributions to the host community.  A professional acquaintance of mine started the concept 10-15 years ago of "Birdies for Charity" that has become a template for other tournaments to raise funds for local not-for-profit organizations.

In other golf news, my effort to get to a 12 handicap yet this Summer is making progress.  I'm officially down to a 17.  My rounds yesterday and today (83 and 84) may be good enough to take the handy down one more notch.  (My net betting results with my pals may actually have been positive for the weekend as well.  Bonus!)  If I get in another good score before Tahoe, it will definitely be a 16.  And I'll only get the chance to play once this week.

The downside of two rounds of golf over the weekend is a stiff back.  Fit Club has definitely helped my flexibility, but I don't think that I'll ever do consecutive days real well.  Another negative...no bike ride up to the Sunrise Cafe this morning.  That really cuts into my target mileage for the week.  Bummer.

2 had her last big party before Tahoe at The Figge on Friday night.  The museum is hosting an exhibition on NASA art for the next couple of months and they had a kick-off party for members on Friday.  In deference to her wishes, I won't publish he pic in Star Trek uniform.  Beam her up, Scotty!

My goal this week is to knock out a few Tahoe planning items each day.  The reality is that once I get my wedding suit and my bike stuff packed, almost everything else is buy-able at Target.  But I do need to have the office reasonably under control so that I can head-off any major issues that aren't solvable over the phone or by email.  The IRS comes to mind.  While clients are almost all on the Internet, the IRS doesn't accept correspondence by email.  Those open cases on my docket need a two-week-hiatus-notice sent to the affected agents.  If you tell them in advance that you won't be on the grid for a couple of weeks, it's almost never a problem.
 

To get the Tahoe march underway, let's make 3 Daughter of the Day.  I think that @srh4 has a few more of these picked out for the reception.  This is one of my fav's.  Good luck with your last week of prep in The Big Apple, Kiddo!

My previously announced 60 month plan is officially my 57-month plan as of today.

Good luck to all for a successful week.  Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Friday

Friggatriskaidekaphobia!

So here is my obligatory Friday the thirteenth visual.  I tend not to be that superstitious, but then again, I don't ignore these things either.  I wonder what they call fear of stepping on the foul-lines when going to and from your position between innings in baseball? 

My basement memory-wall where I have hung my prior year calendars reveals that the days this year fall exactly on the same numbered days as 2007...when we had a Friday the 13th of July also.

(For history buffs, it is worth noting that we are celebrating this week the two-year anniversary of the last Tahoe family reunion.  Actually, the reunion picnic was on Saturday the 10th.  We spent that following week developing our "hanging out" skills.)

I was pretty impressed with the turn-around time on my new glasses at Vision-4-Less.  There was no eye-exam involved as my prescription  from last year was capturing my needs.  So all I had to do was get a sales clerk to wait on me, pick out the new frames and write a check.  That all happened inside of 20 minutes.  My prescription must not be all that unusual, because the clerk went to the stock room and pulled the lenses as part of her work.

Their protocol included an elective text-message notification to me upon their completion.  I was just concerned about getting the new glasses within a few days.  The text came within 90 minutes!  Fit Club precluded a pick-up last night, and my first attempt this AM was a bust due to a line, but I stopped on my way to lunch and was outta there in five minutes.

The one element of the process that was just a little difficult to swallow was the additional $25/pair that they charge for the non-scratch surface treatment.  My experience over the years has been that my usage will definitely scratch the lenses, so I always get this coverage.  But I gotta believe that the marginal cost for the in-store lab to apply this treatment is near-zero.  The add-on has to be a big profit number for the store.  Kinda like extended-warranties at Best Buy.

The Penn State report was pretty specifically damning.  Will the school (or the NCAA?) do anything? USA Today columnist Christine Brennan has a piece today calling for a one-year shut-down of football at the school.  Usually, I think she's a predictable lib-talker with little to say, but she has a point on this one.  What's worse:  the act or the cover-up?  One thing is certain:  the lawyers will be making money for a decade off of the cases that are sure to come. 

Hope the Peanut Gallery has a good weekend.

BCOT

Thursday

Is there a media organization more self-aggrandizing than ESPN?  I mean, what's the value of an ESPY award other than more face-time on the network?  Except for the visuals of some attractive athletes strutting their stuff on a red-carpet (Jenny Finch?), this is an event that has the same amount of meaning as a Joe Biden appearance.

Here's a couple of pic's from last weekend that 1 posted to Walgreen's Photo.  I left my camera in Woodbury and these are from that memory card.  The kids are growing fast!

The John Deere Classic is off and running.  The leader of the morning group finished at 7-under.  Which suggests that the 20-under estimate from my earlier post may not be enough.  The weekend scores tend to be less outrageous as the PGA puts pins in less-friendly positions on the greens.  Even so, the boys had better go low if they expect to be in the hunt.

More later.

BCOT

Tuesday

Really not much to offer today. 

I did pick up my suits from the Jos. A. Banks store at Northpark Mall yesterday.  I didn't even try them on at the store since I knew that if further tailoring was required, I would not be trusting it to them to get it done by our departure date for Tahoe.  Once I got home last night, I tried on each of the pants and, surprisingly, they all fit.  (I had declined the minor tweaking that the tailor had mentioned for the jackets, so their only task had been to make sure that the jackets that I had purchased actually made it to me with the pants.  They covered that bet, thankfully.)

The tailoring was not done at the store.  I had called in last week on the day that I had been promised, and the response had been that they had not received their UPS delivery yet that day.  (They did call me on Friday to let me know that the suits had been delivered.)  So I'm not sure what the seamstress's job is in the store.  Emergency work?  I know that she's not there full time.  Do the sales people not know how to mark-up a suit? 

My confidence level for that store (and their whole chain-wide business model) is not high.  Each cuff, let-out and crease has a separate additional cost.  Rather than a zippered suit-bag, I walked out with the suits covered by the thin plastic sheeting like you get from the dry-cleaners over your shirts.  And the ordering and cashiering were all structured in a way that whoever was ringing things up always needed to ask for help from others.  I felt like I needed to take a shower after the experience.  And I keep seeing their ads on the morning news for "600% Off" of everything (maybe an exaggeration!), and wonder if my 3-for-1 was just not that good of a deal.

Whatever.  Bottom line is that I have my suit for #07282012.  Plus two others for use at dress-up affairs that I have previously had little flexibility to meet the minimum dress code.  (And for the record, I'm taking the Under on the possibility of any future suit purchases in my lifetime.)

My pal Bill and his family spent last week down at Lake of the Ozarks.  He said that one of his temperature gauges registered 110 on Friday.  Wow!  That's Phoenix-eque.

Thanks for reading.  Maybe an update after Fit Club.

BCOT

Monday

The world has been moving pretty fast for me again.  That holiday in the middle of the week last week made the schedule discombobulated for lots of folks.  Then I left at noon on Friday for Harvest Path.  I'm still trying to get back to neutral.

Here's a nice pic of the Dornies right before I took off for Iowa yesterday morning.  1.01 was little annoyed after our muffin at the coffee shop.  1.02 wants his share of everything.  1.1's days of refereeing are actually just getting started.

I hope that I'm not getting ahead of the curve, but there seems to be some relief from the heat in our current and forecasted weather.  Most of the charts have our highs in the mid 80's most of the next week, with nighttime lows in the mid-to-upper 60's.  My pal Ron said that the temp for golf on Saturday in Muskie was 104!  Anyway, the Sand Harbor shot for the Home Page is timely.  Less than two weeks to Tahoe!

The PGA event is here in the Quad Cities this weekend.  The John Deere Classic.  The course is a relatively new TPC venue called Deere Run carved out of the hills of a Deere family farm on the Illinois side running along the Rock River.  I've played it a few times.  Hard for the Average Joe, but the pro's eat it for lunch.  Look for the winner to be 18-20 under par.  Steve Stricker will be trying to win it for the fourth time in a row.  That's almost Tiger-esque.  I've turned down tickets from several sources.  I don't like to fight the crowds to drink $7 beers.

(Speaking of deer running, @bcbison hit the brakes hard one morning last week while we were cooking down a hill on the early morning ride when a deer jumped out from the brush to cross the road in front of us.  I was lucky to have been just far enough off his wheel to see him slow and react accordingly.  The deer was startled too, and high-tailed it back to the woods.  We see deer about 1/3 of the time on the early ride and/or the DeWitt ride.  They probably need to thin the local herd.)

In the world of sports-drug news, 1) a NASCAR driver for Penske Racing (AJ Allmendinger) was suspended shortly before Saturday night's race after a positive drug test earlier in the week. Hmmm.  NASCAR doesn't mess around with this stuff.  So Dinger could be done for the year, if not longer if he elects to have the "B" sample tested and it too is positive.  2) Lance's lawyer's tried a BS move this AM that a Texas judge immediately tossed out this afternoon as BS.  He be in trouble, folks.  And 3) US soccer goaly (and DWTS veteran) Hope Solo tested positive for a banned substance...and got a minor slap on the wrists.

We just had a nice shower here at the office.  And my car (the Buick) windows were open.  Suite.  (More rain like this will push the winning score at the golf tourney South of -20.) 

This could be our first rain-out of Fit Club!

MLB's Home Run Derby is tonight as part of the All Star game in KC.  Can't say that I have much interest.  Same goes for the game tomorrow night.  I mean, I just don't follow the game enough to identify the players.  The game is meaningless.  And the commissioner's decision a few years ago to give the home field advantage to the winner of this game is as bad as the DH.  Not that I'm an Old School guy or anything.

I'm struggling a bit without an administrative assistant here at work.  Doing a UPS envelope is an exercise for me.  Funny that someone who has been around the block as many times as I have has to go back to grade school to literally get things out the door.  Good thing that Summer is a naturally slow time of year.  It ain't gonna be easy.

Rain is done.  May catch up here a little late on.  Thanks for reading.

BCOT

Wednesday

Happy 4th of July to my many followers!  I pulled out my old flag to hang on my house as well as raising Old Glory on the new flag pole.  We are very patriotic on Maplecrest!

I think that I am passing on the regular holiday cookout, and going instead with the salad from the refrigerator.  They keep saying everyday that tomorrow will be hotter.  And they have 100 in the forecast for Thursday and Friday.  As you can see from the gauge right out my kitchen window, triple digits is not much of a leap.

I elected to golf this AM, largely because I was due for a rest day from cycling.  Geneva has an informal "regular" game on Saturday's at 0800, and they usually do that game on Summer holidays too, like today.  Since my normal playing partners were otherwise occupied today, I figured that the "regular" game was my best bet.  You just show up, put your ball in a hat, the balls are thrown, and teams are set.  I hadn't played much with the guys on my team, but they were all good guys.

Each player puts $11 in a pot.  I really don't know how all parts of the bet are played, but the teams compete for low net and low gross on both the front and back nines.  (Net being your score with handicap deducted, gross being without handicap.)  Then there's also a "skins" game in which a player can earn a payoff if he has the lowest score on a hole among all the players.  This is done on both a net and gross basis too.

We won a couple of bucks as a team on the back side, and my net eagle on the 18th hole (three for a two) won a few dollars in the net skins game.  But my natural birdie on 18 (three for three) turned out to be the only birdie of the day on that hole, and there was only one other hole where only one guy birdied.  So the two of us split the gross skins pot of $90, meaning I won $45!  Totally unexpected, but well-earned.  The 18th is a tough 400-yard hole, and I followed a decent drive with an outstanding 3-iron that left the ball maybe four feet below the cup.  It wasn't a "gimme" putt either.

Sorry for being a bit wordy about golf there, but it was a pretty fun day, even shooting 89!

I'm going to recognize 2 as Daughter of the Day for hanging in there at the Figge for the Red, White and Boom event last night.  She always does a great job steering these kind of programs for the museum, and doesn't always get the recognition that she deserves.  Not that I am biased or anything.  You 'da girl, Kiddo!

Lots of crashes in The Tour this week.  At least three pretty good riders are hanging in there with casts on their wrists.  (LBH...anybody riding in the Tour is a pretty good rider!)  Rule #1 is definitely in play. 

I don't think that I noted here last week's news that my pal Erin Andrews is leaving ESPN for a new gig at FOX Sports.  I don't think that this was much of a surprise to anyone.  She may have gotten (a word?) a little too big for her britches for ESPN, especially since her DWTS appearance where she received all that non-sports publicity.  Money mattered too, I'm sure.

Her biggest problem may have been that she just got too old for the college boys.  I mean, her hay-day was the CWS a few years back when all those guys probably thought that they actually had a shot!  Whatever.

I didn't even know that FOX did college football.  I may have to watch this Fall.  Do they do the Directional U league?

Enjoy the remaider of the holiday.  Thank a soldier.  They deserve it.

BCOT

Tuesday

Still in the heat wave here in River City.  They're projecting the high 90's today.

Here's a preliminary recognition to Old Glory on her Tax Birthday!

We have enjoyed the visit of 4 from NYC.  She heads back this afternoon.  I'm making her Daughter of the Day for taking the detour to the QCA after the bachelorette weekend in the Windy City.  Great to see you, Kiddo!

The Tour de France is underway.  Today was actually the fourth day of racing.  They started this year in Belgium and finally hit Northwest France today.  Lance remains a sideshow to the Tour, even though he hasn't raced there for 2-3 years.  The US Anti-doping folks have brought charges against him, and others, in hopes of proving something.  I lean toward, "Let's move on, people. This might have been news 10 years ago, but now it just sounds like a spite hunt."  And I'm not that much of a Lance fan.

My weekend with The W went OK.  She remains a very needy girl, and she's got her own Summer allergies, but she has a lot of good points too.  The local critter population kept her attention any time that we were outside.  On Saturday night, she was stalking this bunny in my back yard.  This pic was taken with my iPhone and I couldn't get the rabbit in to clear focus, but The W definitely had her pegged.  What you can't see is that W is at the end of her yard leash!

I didn't remember that The Market closes at 1300 EST today.  Should be a slow afternoon here at the office.

Tiger's win on Sunday was a boon to the TV advertisers, and seems to verify that he is "back".  I mean, he's now won three times this year, which translates to a career for half the field in most tournaments.  But he still has his detractors, who basically say he's not back until he wins a major or two.  Again, I'm not that big of a Tiger fan, but that's a pretty high standard.

No big 4th of July plans.  Morning golf, I think.  Rest day from cycling.  My pal Pete and I have ridden each of the last three days, including that DeWitt breakfast run on Sunday, so I'm taking the day off.  2 has Red, White and Boom down on the riverfront tonight.  I try to stay away from the noise.

More later.

BCOT