Ups and Downs of the week.

Michael Schumacher- Back in Formula One. It’s going to be a good year to watch.

Homework – I swear, no more classes for me after I’m done with this program. Ever.

Video-calls – Got it set up on my laptop. I’ve had a few very clear face-to-face conversations with my friend Dana back in MA.

Weather forecasting – Still a best guess scenario. Hard to even call it a science.

All Wheel Drive (AWD) – Sure was nice having it today.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Top Gear – Love this show.

 Patriots – I didn’t think they’d get far in the post-season, but I didn’t think they’d get embarrassed. Geez.

 Warmer Weather – Finally a January thaw. Might get the Z4 out this weekend.

  School – One more semester. Can’t wait till this is over.

 Little Guys – They’re so much fun to watch when they’re kittens.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 My Wife, The Organizer – We’re at the third Historical Novel Society conference in Schaumburg, IL. Sarah is the key organizer and driving force behind these conferences and this one is going off quite well.

 Dad – Stronger every day. Should be home soon..

 Red Sox - Swept the Yankmees and won a marathon game tonight.

 School is done for the summer – I took an online course which is now over. Now I get to enjoy my nights and weekends for a while.

 All in all, a good week.

Ups and Downs of the week.

  Done with my courses – Thank God. And none in the spring, either.

   Our lying governor – He really is a sociopath. How he can stand there in front of the whole country and deny doing anything wrong is beyond me.

  Weather – It’s already been a crappy winter and it’s not even Christmas yet. We’re heading out to New England on Sunday or Monday *if* the weather permits. At least we’re driving, so no hanging out in airports for hours like last year.

 Boston Celtics – 16 wins in a row. Going for #17 tonight. UPDATE: 17 it is.

 Bruins – Still kicking butt. Serious goal production from the offense.

Ups and Downs of the week.

   Gas prices this week – Yesterday morning regular was $1.48. It had been going down, so I decided to wait to fill up on the way home. That afternoon, when I was just about out of gas, the price had jumped to $1.65, so it cost me $3.40 more to fill up than it would have that morning. Today it’s back down to $1.59, so I could have saved $1.20 if I had been able to wait. Now I know this is all bus fare as far as money goes, and I’m very glad I’m paying only $30 or so to fill up, but the constant up and down drives me nuts. It’s like they just decide that Thursday will be ripoff day and jack up the price for a day.

   Our esteemed governor – He and his trash-mouth wife are a pair of self-serving, cold-hearted crooks. And he even has the gall to deny doing anything wrong despite tapes recording his despicable behavior.  Unbelievable.

  End of the semester – I need this break.

  Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS) vest – Thin, light, and very warm. Best buy I’ve made in a long time. Had to buy one for Sarah because she kept stealing mine.

 Boston Celtics – 14 wins in a row. Incredible. This team could even surpass last year’s dominators.

 Bruins – Also looking good this year. Finally.

Ups and Downs of the week.

  Progress – Dad is finally out of the cardiac hospital and into a rehab hospital. Now the rebuilding begins. He’s lost a lot of muscle and will need to learn to walk again, but it’s a step towards home. He’s happy and so are we. I’m hoping he’ll be home by Christmas.

   Saturday morning tests – What an awful time to plan a final; the Saturday starting a big vacation week.

  Time off - Even though it’ll be a working “vacation,” it’s time I need badly.

    Big Three Auto Company Bailout – On the one hand it’s important to try to keep people working, but on the other they still have to sell cars, which they haven’t really been able to do effectively.

   The Economy- Getting worse by the day.

Ups and Downs of the week.

  Fireplaces- Nothing like a toasty fire on a cold, rainy night.

   Homework- It’s bad enough when it’s useful. When it’s pointless it really gets annoying.

  Polycom Videoconferencing systems – Very cool to connect in real time to another meeting halfway around the world.

    Patriots – Not a stellar season so far, but much better than predicted. Cassel will never go back to being a number two QB. He was record-setting incredible last night and the rest of the team let him down. He played well against Indy, too, and they let him down there as well. I wonder who he’ll be starting for next season?

  Space shuttle launch – I never tire of watching them. I love the shot where the external tank separates.

Ups and Downs of the week.

   Friday night classes- The last one I got a phone call that my Dad was near death. Tonight during class I find out my brother-in-law was in the ER after having surgery this past week. I’m glad there are no more Friday night classes.

  Formula One – Awesome ending to the season. The championship went down to the last corner of the last race. Incredible.

    Patriots – Well, they didn’t get downright embarrassed, but a dropped pass by Gaffney that would have been a sure TD and some questionable calls by Bellichick late in the game cost them the win.

   Michael Crichton died - Another great storyteller gone.

  Sweet Tooth Specialties in Charleston, IL- Cheese bread and pineapple bread. Both delicious. Have to go get more tomorrow.

Ups and Downs of the week.

  TGIF – End of a long, tough week.

   School work- I’m sick to death of it. 90% of it seems like a waste of time. Think I’ll take a semester off.

  Formula One – The championship is going down to the last race again this year. 

    Patriots – I’d love to see them beat Indy this weekend, but they could get downright embarrassed.

   Studs Terkel died today - Another great writer gone. 

  Philadelphia Phillies – Kudos to them. They beat all the odds and predictions. Well done, guys.

  The Boston Globe website – I notified them on Tuesday that one of the pop-up (or pop-under) advertisements on their site was attempting to infect my laptop with a trojan. It has happened to my wife as well. Luckily I have McAfee anti-virus and I keep it up to date. McAfee stopped the download and deleted the offending file. I notifed The Boston Globe webmaster and got a reply that they were aware of the issue and were working to correct it. Days later, they still have not removed the offending ad. This is pure incompetence, which has become a fact of life at their website. Earlier this summer they farmed out their online forums to some useless third-party company who completely destroyed what had been a long-standing and active sports forum. Most of the veterans left in disgust. Now visitors risk infection from advertisements. Time for The Boston Globe to find someone competent to run their website.

Ups and downs of the week.

 Red Sox – Swept TB and took over first place again (for the time being).

 Red Sox - They can sweep the best team in the AL East and get clobbered by the worst team in baseball (again). Seattle comes to Fenway, where the Sox almost never lose, having lost four in a row and with only one win in their last 14 road games. Yet they make the Sox look bad. Colon didn’t help with his first inning carelessness. I’ll never understand how a guy who can put a fastball within inches of where he wants it can’t throw a ball within yards of a base.

 Manny Ramirez – Gets #500. And another thumbs up to the fan who caught the ball and gave it back to Manny so it could be auctioned for charity. Classy move, Mr. Damon Woo. You’re ok.  

  Pitchers intentionally hitting batters. – This needs to stop. Should be an automatic 5 *start* suspension.

 Celtics – One game down. Three more wins to go. Beat LA!!

  Speculators – Greedy bastards. The idiots in Congress need to come up with some decent regulations. That’ll never happen, though.

 Summer class is done. – Tough course. Glad it’s over. Now I get to spend my free time doing stuff I want to do.