Wednesday

I stole this picture from the local paper. It was taken within the last 24 hours. Usually, there is a bike path behind the rightfield wall and just behind the trees in the upper left of the image.

4 has sent to your regular email address a link to her website on the clan. It's still in progress, but it has a good start.

15+ miles today on the bike path. Maybe another similar trek tomorrow since Friday is a play day.

I finally saw my Russian cleaning lady for the first time this year on Tuesday. She was here when I got home from work around 4:45. She said that she had switched to an afternoon schedule after Christmas. I just never got home early enough to see her.

In a bit of, "How do you fix that?", she left her cell phone here on a table. My only contact point with her is her cell phone. So I had no idea how to reach out to her. So I just left it on my counter and figured that she would eventually come to get it. She finally called this evening, after having retraced her steps and concluding that it had to be here. I told her that I tried to call her...Nah...just joshing!

Any plans for May Day? The Catholic Church and the USSR always had big celebrations on May Day. I'm waiting for Cinco de Mayo.

BTW, the distress signal, "Mayday", is derived from the French term, "m'aider", meaning, "Come help me!" You can look it up.

Have a great evening/day.

BCOT

Tuesday

Here's a little recognition to the boys in blue. No reason. They deserve it everyday.

15 on the bike path this evening. Other than a couple of intelligence-challenged, middle-age biking wannabe's who thought that pace-lining on the pike path at 5:15 was good form, it was an uneventful ride.

I did conclude that my routine on passing through the Devil's Glen-Middle Road intersection on the way home will change to a less-risky process. The pot holes are just too dangerous on the side of the street. I need to wait for the cars to all get passed, and then go through the intersection in the middle of the right lane. It's foolish to take chances just a couple of blocks from home.

Aunt Martha shared a NYT column trashing ND's decision to elect against a football series with Rutgers because ND wanted Rutgers' "home" games to be played in the Meadowlands. Mostly, the writer was revolted by the fact that ND, an admittedly uninspiring football program these days, had the temerity to demand such an uneven exchange. If I were a ND hater, it would have be an easy column to write. Who said life was fair?

4 finally elected to make an entry today. Zounds! (BTW, just stick with the fried rice.)

And 2 reports that she received the grade on her final exam in her first MBA class that she needed to move on to the next course. Way to go, kiddo!

Frost on the windshields this AM. Maybe again tonight. Gimme a break, Al.

So hope everyone has a great evening.

BCOT

Monday

Again, this isn't me. Nor my pal Roy. But it could have been us at the PV golf outing today. Snow showers. Wind. Nothing good. Except that we only did nine holes. And Roy didn't play, being satisfied to just drive the cart. A truly forgettable experience.

Another little 17 miler yesterday out around DCC. There are some pot holes on Valley Drive that can swallow a cyclist.

My pal Pete did a ride in downtown Davenport yesterday and found several places that we had ridden on Saturday that had been claimed over night by the Mississippi. On the news this evening, they are saying that the downtown minor league park has also been surrounded by the waters. A photo must be available on the Internet.

My pal Jake's Pants had a hip replaced today. Another example of "the boys" getting old. And a cyclist friend/client riding in a competitive race over in IC this past weekend "lost it" going downhill at high speed. Ambulance. Over night in the hospital. Two broken vertebrae. Neck brace for six weeks. Cycling is a wonderful exercise if you keep yourself upright on the bike.

Hope everybody has a good week. Is a little warmer weather too much to ask?

BCOT

Sunday

I'm not saying that this is actually 1. But it could have been her in the recent return of Winter in the TC.

So I was expecting cool temps and rain today. It is cooler, but no sign of rain at this point. They do forecast below freezing for tomorrow night. Again, global warming?

The city of Davenport is seriously preparing for high water from the Mississippi this week. Not truly major flooding of FEMA proportions. Just enough to remind everyone that the river owns the town. They have closed several streets and are using heavy equipment to construct temporary earthen berms in key spots near the main downtown areas. I guess that they have figured out that it is cheaper to spend the money in prevention rather than in clean-up.

The city of Davenport is the largest city on the upper Mississippi with no dike system to protect the downtown area from the annual Spring run-off. City leaders have always decided that the "view" of the river is more important than the damages from flooding. My guess is that at some future date, enough will be enough, and a protection system of some sort will be constructed.

I need to get over to the Lowe's/Home Depot stores today to pick up some yard/garden supplies. I actually read the sales fliers this week. I noticed that the various department stores' ads often used the phrase, "lowest prices of the season". I'm wondering if there are any rules in defining the word "season" as used in these promotions. While the general public may naturally assume that "season" would mean, in this case, Spring, the marketing folks most likely have a more liberal interpretation of the term. Like maybe, this week. For next week, they'll probably say something like, "Take and additional 10% off our lowest prices" for May-day. When they do that, do they mean that the season is over?

On a related point, my prediction for Hy Vee raising the price of their Gatorade-substitute by a quarter was wrong. Within a couple of days of my posting, they raised it 22 cents, from 77 cents to 99 cents. But in a demonstration of weekend Marketing 101, they had a prominent display last night of the same drink at the head of an aisle near the cashiers with it priced at 79 cents, with a notation below the sale price that the item was "regularly 99 cents".

Which brings up the question of the definition of regularly, but that's a challenge for wordsmiths for another day.

I find it interesting that the NCAA basketball Player of the Year, Tyler Hansborough of North Carolina, announced this week that he was staying at UNC for his senior year. Since the tournament final three weeks ago, there's been a growing list of undergraduates from many schools of players fore-going college eligibility by declaring for the NBA draft. Some of these players you may have heard of, some not. All have "the dream" of playing in the NBA. The reality, of course, is money. (And Hansborough has essentially been told, "You're a great college player, but you'll just be another white stiff in the NBA".)

Given the fact that most of these players will, at best, spend years of anonymity on the benches of teams like Golden State, Toronto, and Portland, (or playing with teams in Europe or elsewhere internationally), it makes one wonder about "the dream". But with these no-name players able to earn several hundred thousand dollars per year (and maybe, several million dollars per year), going early is the only economic decision that makes any sense. Just because old f**ts like me have no interest in their profession, the money is there, and it's foolish for them not to take it.

Finally, I've been flustered again with technology. This time with my bike computer. I had to replace the battery, and in doing so, you have to go in and reset the wheel size to match your bike or the readings would make no sense. I, of course, had no idea where my user's instruction kit was, so I had to go to the Internet for the information. Which was really no problem. It was a simple reset. Really. True, it still doesn't work. But it looks good on the bike. Plan B to follow.

OK. Out there doing errands. Y'all have a great day.

BCOT

Saturday

It was a little windy here today!

My pal Pete and I had scheduled an afternoon ride, but neither of us had much interest in fighting the wind. So the answer was a "tailwind " ride. We drove West for 20 miles or so, parked the van, unloaded the bikes, and rode back to town. It was a great 25-mile ride. The only downer was the second trip out to get the van.

Another enjoyable evening at Biaggi's last night with 2 and her visiting friends. We've had to temporarily switch preferred wines as we have drunk them out of our favorites! And the only thing you read about in the news is a rice shortage!

My plan is for a return to normalcy tomorrow morning with my Sunday entry from SB's. 1 advises me that the NYT subscription is over, so I won't be tempted to use that hour to read rather than write. See you then.

BCOT

Friday

This is the happy ending to a previously mentioned story about my travails in replacing the watch band to my Timex Ironman.

When the watchband had broken earlier this year, I had been completely frustrated in finding a replacement at any of the local stores. I then went on-line and found a company that specialized in replacement bands, but I couldn't identify the size or style for my specific watch.

I "bookmarked" the Internet site and vowed to take a fresh look at a later date. My broken watch sat on my desk under tax files and miscellaneous stuff. I went several weeks without wearing a watch. And kind of got used to it. I mean, I could always open my phone to get the time if I really needed to.

On April 16th, when in the office to "clean off my desk", I received some do-dad in the mail that had come in a convenient-sized, small-ish cardboard expandable envelope. With a properly-sized mailing package, I decided to give up the ghost and ship the watch to the address on the Internet rather than try to guess the right band from pictures on the site. (Internet dating isn't the only place that you can get into trouble by relying on pictures.) I enclosed a hand-written note requesting the replacement and included a check for $20 which was $6-8 more than the most expensive band on the site.

I figured it was 50-50 if I ever saw my watch again. I even refused to insure it when asked to do so by the clerk at the post office. And I certainly didn't pay for express delivery or return receipt. I called the effort "a shot in the dark".

Well, flip on the switch. Light is shining in my world today!

In the morning mail here at the office today there was a small package addressed to me from a NY firm. Inside was my watch. With a new band. And a second band to boot! I figured that they had merely done what I had asked them to do, and that they threw in the extra band as a means of making"change" for my $20. I was (and remain) ecstatic.

The final piece of the story came in the noon mail. There was a hand-addressed envelope from the watchband company containing a copy of my original note, with my check attached. Hand-written on the page was a request for me to re-issue my check for $14.45 as they didn't issue refunds! My replacement band came in a two-band pack!

Whoa, Nellie! Checking the time (on my wrist!), I see it's Biaggi's time! I'm outta here.

But I am stopping on the way and buying a lottery ticket. I'm feeling pretty lucky today!

BCOT

Thursday

Does anyone still read the "funny papers"?

I learned about the simple pleasures of what might be called "common humor" from Daddy. He loved the comics, especially Dagwood. He always called the "Blondie" comic strip, "Dagwood". I continue to read Dagwood most everyday, and I always think that he and Daddy were "birds of a feather". Poor Dagwood. Whether it be his problems at the office with Mr. Dithers, his hot-and-cold relationship with the neighbor, Herb Woodley, or looking through the window to the neighborhood youth in Elmo, Dagwood epitomized the veritable Everyman (and still does for me).

I really don't remember much of an event from weekday comics, but the Sunday comics were a big deal. Daddy would read them to my sister Rosemary and me after Church while we sat on the living room couch, under the religious picture of The Guardian Angel that hung on the wall behind the couch. I think he enjoyed the comic strips as much as we did.

Today's comics are not all that interesting to me. Besides "Dagwood", I usually read Beetle Bailey, Funky Winkerbean, and For Better or Worse. The local fishwrap dropped Hagar the Horrible, The Wizard of Id, and B.C. several years ago. The modern replacements have not captured my eye.

Like most Boomers, I also read a lot of Peanuts. Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the crew definitely established a unique place in our culture. (I don't read the re-running of the strips in today's papers.) Calvin and Hobbes came along later and was pretty good as well. But the author elected not to continue the strip in the mid '90's. Doonesbury's Trudeau was/is so intent on making political statements that the strip was never a fav, and I haven't paid it any mind for years.

I suppose that the combination of illustrator and humorist is not all that common. While both skills may be in "the arts", and therefore work the same side of the brain, drawing requires mechanics, while humor is a more mental function. And with newspapers struggling to stay above water today, the delivery system for new "panel artists" has to be the Internet.

Thanks to 1 for her recent comment. It's always good to hear from the peanut gallery.

BCOT

Wednesday

Just a little recognition to the professional peloton on the roads of Georgia this week. I like the creative design of the cyclist in the logo. Maybe 2 can come up with an idea for the Tahoe trip. There will be tee-shirts.

I'm still trying to figure out how the system handles multiple pictures in the blog. Is there a tutorial?

The local peloton (I use the term loosely), was out on the roads around DCC today. I elected to do the county roads tonight, battling the cars rather than the various denizens of the bike path. Not bad results for the first time on the hills. No belligerent red-winged blackbirds, overly irate drivers, or flat tires. Life is good.

My pal Bill and I took our assistants out to lunch on the deck at Gov's. Another first of the season. Then a single scoop across the street at Whitey's. A one-scoop-cone for a buck eighty-five. These folks have a SB's approach to commodity economics. Is is possible to get a position on the futures exchange for the price of Whitey's?

My neighbor did his grass again tonight. And it looks like he roto-tilled his garden plot. He sets a high standard.

A story about a guy in USA Today described his blog on photography as allowing him to quit his job and actually make more money just sharing his knowledge on his blog. Good for him. I'm still working at trying to figure out what I know enough of, that would be of interest to more than 10 readers.

Hope everyone has a great evening.

BCOT

Tuesday

How 'bout dem Cubbies? Best start in like 30 years. I expect 3 to get out there and participate. FFF at Wrigley before Memorial Day. Set it up.

Can't say that I know many of the players. On the Cubs or any team. St.Louis has turned over a lot of players as well. And to think that I still can name most of the starting line-up from their 1964 World Series team.

Another 15-miler tonight. Bike path. Not as bad as Sunday, but still lots of irregulars creating uncertainty for the rest of us.

So if Hillary is the PA winner, where does that leave the Democratic party? That's going to keep me up all night.

Also can't keep control of my emotions on the up-coming NFL draft. Or this week's LPGA event. American Idol. Dancing With The Stars. Cynicism rules.

Enjoy this burst of Spring. I am.

BCOT

Monday

So I mowed my yard for the first time of the Spring tonight after work. This isn't it. Actually, mine looks pretty good, but it can always use work. The current biggest annoyances for me are last year's leaves from my neighbors' large, mature pin oak tree. It's one thing to rake your own leaves. It's another to rake (and rake again) someone else's.

In economic news, Hy Vee is now stocking a store-brand competitor to Gatorade at about a 45% discount to the name brand. It's not bad, and the price is right, a 32 ounce bottle for $0.77. My guess is that if they can gain some share, they'll raise the price by a quarter. (I'm wondering if they had any covenants with Gatorade on shelf space that came into play?)

In other economic news, my pal Bill's son totaled his car Saturday morning on Devil's Glen, right after pulling out of Hy Vee. Another car had pulled out of Burger King across the street, at the same time, heading in the opposite direction, and Boom-Boom. The traffic flow in that area is primed for accidents. Lot's of non-traffic-lighted entry/exit points. The old, looking left-right-left, doesn't cut it if that other vehicle enters the road the instant after your first look to the left.

My pal Roy is evaluating internal accounting controls at his new golf club. His concern is that cash may not always make it into the register. Any business that deals in cash, like restaurants, bars and clubs, needs to be very careful with cash management. And with Roy being mostly an absentee owner, he needs to employ very reliable staff. We'll see.

Good luck to 2 on her final tomorrow in IC.

I see where Lance broke three hours today at Boston. I'm sure that he does a lot of that on pure talent. I doubt that he follows the recommended training regimen . (I also see where he resigned from some Director position recently that had paid him $70K, and he had never been to a single meeting. Nice work if you can get it.)

My pal Terry (Sarah's dad), the guy who had the cycling accident last Fall, had another spill recently and had to go in for X-rays. Nothing broken, but his hand is still swollen. Us old guys need to stay off the deck, or bad things happen.

I opted to avoid the Monday Night Ride tonight. Maybe later in May after I've built up some legs. I could just do Monday beers at Gov's in the meantime.

So have a good evening.

BCOT

Sunday

This is not a picture from my yard, but it could be. With temps rising to 70+ today and the rest of the week, things should finally get green.

I can now see the trees beginning to leaf-out. And the daffodil green-sprouts are several inches out of the ground. I'll probably have to mow my yard this week. I think that the first mowing means that Spring has officially arrived.

My goal had been to regress to the old routine and do the blog from SB's this AM, but after reading the paper and checking the news on-line, I needed a change of scenery, so I came back home. Even a little Sunday morning nap!.

I did my second 15-miler yesterday. Included in the excitement was a flat tire less than a mile into the ride. The rear one, of course. Pot-hole related. As I noted in an earlier entry last month, I have the basic skill to replace a tube in the field, but I never make it easy. You need strong thumbs, and my surgically-repaired right thumb is a liability for such a task.

After the repair, I did a side trip to the bike shop to pick up a couple of extra tubes. Murphy's Law would have brought on a second flat if I had dared the Fates and continued the ride without an extra tube in the bag. With luck, I'll go the rest of the Summer without another mishap. Not!

3 did a little getaway this weekend to the Big Apple. And 1 got in an 18 mile training run yesterday in anticipation of next month's marathon in Rochester.

Danica Patrick won her first Indy car race yesterday in Japan. I'm thinking that the same folks who orchestrated the NASA moon walks may have had a hand in this news. I mean, do they really have Indy racing in Japan?

I'll add more here later.

...Later...

Congrats to 2 for her effort this afternoon. Her half is in two weeks in Cincinnati.

My ride will be my last Sunday-afternoon-ride on the bike path until I forget to stay away from the path on Sundays again. I know I've made that same decision before. The Alzheimer's makes me forget. Way too many dogs, kids, and assorted other users with no clue on path etiquette. It's just too dangerous with the ignorant and the idiots.

Took Margret out for a spin. Always a treat.

Hope everyone has a good week.


BCOT

Friday

I was on the road in my Buick Lucerne today. Meeting over in the Western suburbs of C-town. Six hours of road time for 60 minutes in front of a prospective client. My rear is sore. I-80 across Illinois is not an easy trip, what with the trucks and all. Lots of troopers out today as well.

2 and I have a wine tasting event this evening at Geneva CC in Muscatine. That's my pal Roy's home club and I have joined there for the Summer. (It's not the club that he recently purchased which is in Kewanee, Illinois. I'm sure I'll play there a time or two as well.)

George Will had a very technical, and interesting, piece in the op-ed page today. I actually read it twice to try to follow the logic, and I am still not 100% sure that I have connected the dots. I'm sure it will be panned by any Obama supporter, but Will makes an effort to put some historical context to Barack's candidacy, and he introduces some patterns that make you think.

Aunt Martha corrected me on Philip's birthday. His obituary had the wrong date. Maybe we should get the Ottumwa Courier to make a 12-year-late correction. The real deal is tomorrow, the 19th.

Earthquake in the Midwest!! California ain't got nuttin on us!

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Thursday PM

That's not me and a friend. (Hey, those guys look old !) Just a photo to celebrate me being "on the road again" for my first post-April 15th ride. I did a little 15-miler on the bike path at a casual pace. That will be my schtik for the next couple of weeks until I get my legs.

I haven't been on the bike that much since the accident in July. I need to log saddle time to just get comfortable again. While the saying goes that riding is a quickly-remembered activity, there's an element of "road sense" that comes only with time out there.

The bike path is better shape than the city streets. The pot hole problem will be a budget-buster for Bettendorf this year. They've got a team out painting markings on problem spots in the streets, even mine. They have to be running out of paint. They might be better off marking the places that don't need repair.

The April 15th party was a pretty small affair. It turned out to be the nicest day of the year, and several people elected outdoor activities as opposed to rubbing (and exercising!) elbows with some stressed-out CPA's. But Biaggi's did a fine job, and it was a very enjoyable evening.

Without realizing it at the time, I have since figured out that Biaggi's has certainly acquired the distinction of being the April 15th destination of choice now for at least three or four years running. In my twisted logic, that fact of repetition is high praise for the establishment.

Anyone hear the new population group, the "scuppies"? Socially conscious urban professional somethings. I think that while their hearts are in the right place, they could be a true danger to society. Global warming. All natural trail mix. No MSG. I bet Al Gore is their patron saint.

OK. This was just a sample. Like Michael said when he un-retired, "I'm back!"

BCOT

Thursday 4/17/08

I'll be back from hiatus later today.

Sunday 04/13/2008

Happy anniversary to Philip and Margaret. And a belated "Happy Birthday" to Philip (4/10).

Two more days to go.

BCOT

Saturday 4/12/08

Who are these guys?

Tuesday

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

BCOT

Sunday

Here's a little love today for Charlton Heston who passed away yesterday. I haven't read much of the stories on his life/death, but I think that he was in a later stage of Alzheimer's.

He was a real mega star at one point. His specialty was the "epic" movie with biblical or mythological derivation. The Ten Commandments. Ben-Hur. El Cid. But he had roles in several dozen films. One cult movie that still gets played occasionally on late night TV is Planet of the Apes.

My world is pretty uneventful these days. Very committed at the office. The next three days need to be big production days.

I will take time to watch the NCAA game tomorrow night. As I see it, the Reigning Champ wins the clan's pool if Memphis wins. Which means 3 should get partial credit, I think. Perhaps a shadow on the trophy?

I tried to load a video from youtube here today, but couldn't quite figure out the mechanics. If you do a Google search on "Michael McDowell crash", you should get the link to the video. Very impressive crash Friday in NASCAR qualifying that he walked away from.

4 reports that she has an internship with KWQC for the Summer. I'll let her provide the details.

Still looking for that guest blogger.

Have a god week.

BCOT

Thursday

3 Seems to have made a visit to Wrigley today. Details for the readers?

When I worked in Chicago in the late 70's, I worked on a client that had the Old Style beer distribution rights to Wrigley Field. The company was owned by a couple of older (but not elderly),very different brothers, one a quiet bookworm, the other a gregarious people person. They were good about frequently getting us tickets to games, and a case or two of Old Style in the car trunk. Nobody cared that the Cubs stunk.

The politicians were lined up to take their swings at the Fed Chairman and his lieutenants at a Senate Banking Committee hearing this morning. It went on for several hours. The Bear Stearns "bailout" was the primary topic. And the basic accusation was that, "You're the pro's. You should have known sooner". I love Monday morning quarterbacking. Of course, in Washington, there's always someone at fault.

My plate is full. I think that it is time for a guest blogger.

Have a great evening.

BCOT

Wednesday

No blog today.

Tuesday

Nothing really significant about this image other than the date on the calendar. I'm not sure if April Fools jokes have humor for anyone except grade school boys and morning talk radio hosts.

Another big up day for the boys on Wall Street. I was so busy that I never caught drift of any significant event that prompted the rise. It could have been a rumor. Or a side bet by a hedge fund.

Anyone beside me notice the "C" in the UCLA basketball uniforms being white instead of gold like the other letters? A paragraph in today's paper stated that the special color for the "C" was to commemorate the university's 100th team sport national championship. Cool.

The report from 4 is that her latest KCRG assignments have been to cover a "Drive your Tractor to School" day at a CR area high school and, today, a jump-rope jumping contest at an elementary school. Local news is heavy news.

Really don't have much to add.

Have a great evening.

BCOT