February 2009


Ups and Downs of the week.

 Baseball is back – Ok, just spring training games, but the pennant race will soon be underway.

  Google’s Latitude – Sign up to have Google track your every move? Um, no thanks.

 USF1 – The U.S. will finally have a Formula One team again. It won’t hit the track until 2010, but at least we’ll be back in the game.

  Mileage tax – Yet another idiotic idea. If folks who drive more already pay more in gas taxes, why start a new, expensive system that will also be prone to abuse and misuse? The stupidity of some of our elected officials cannot be overstated.

 Dad – He’s on solid food now and has no feeding tube or IV stint. He’s walking more and spending most of his day out of bed. I’m thinking he’ll be home by the end of March. It’s been a long, long road.

  Patriots – They traded Mike Vrabel today. Probably *the* clutch situation player on the Pats and now he’s gone. Someone please explain.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Clarksville, TN – Nice place. I’m visiting my nephew who is stationed at Ft. Campbell. I was stationed there 30 years ago and today I stood in the same office where I worked back then. My nephew is the First Sergeant of the unit occupying those same buildings.

  Ice storm – The ice storm that hit southern Illinois and Kentucky last month wreaked havoc on the trees here. Check out the damage just along I-24. (Excuse the somewhat poor shots. I shot these while driving without really aiming.)

Tree damage. Tree damage. Tree damage. Tree damage. Tree damage. Tree damage.

 Bugout Gear – Nice equipment. I bought a black backpack today that can be expanded for a weeks’ worth of clothes and all my electronics or collapsed for just carrying overnight stuff. Very versatile stuff.

  Stomach woes – Still suffering from frequent sour stomach. Blech.

 Dad – Walking a bit. Now he just needs to be able to stand up by himself and he can come home.

Ups and Downs of the week.

  Buffalo plane crash – What a tragedy.

Meh   Stimulus package – Here we go. Some of the Republican-backed changes look sensible, but who knows. It could all backfire.

 Warmer weather – I was in Chicago Tuesday and it was 63 degrees. Nasty ride on the way home, though. Major rain and wind bad enough to overturn trucks.

  Winter is still here. – Possibly and inch or two of snow this weekend.

 Dad – Eating full meals now. Stronger every day.

  Outrageous pricing – Hotels and airlines have been overcharging businesses for so long that it’s become natural. Is a first class seat on an airliner really worth 8 or 10 times a coach fare? Is it really necessary for hotels to charge $10 for a glass of wine from a bottle you could buy for half that? Are bagels in hotels really worth $6? Coffee and a bagel for $10 at a hotel or $4 at the Starbucks across the street. I foresee businesses cutting down on travel expenses and eliminating or curtailing expense accounts. What will the hotels and airlines do then?

Ups and Downs of the week.

   Good news/Bad news – The good news is, Chris Bangle is leaving BMW. Bangle is the designer responsible for the worst change in design direction (IMHO) ever made by a car company. The 5, 6, & 7 series BMWs all went from sleek, unique, instantly recognizable thoroughbreds to overweight, plain-Jane, run-of-the-mill tubs. The bad news (well, maybe) is that his protégé, Adrian van Hooydonk is taking over. Let’s hope he doesn’t follow in Bangle’s footsteps and that his designs look better than his haircut.

Adrian van Hooydonk and Chris Bangle

Meh  Stimulus package – I guess you can’t make everyone happy, but this plan seems to have settled on making everyone unhappy. I hope they know what they’re doing.

  Warmer weather – Finally. The snow will be gone after this weekend and next week’s forecasts are predicting (dare I say it?) near 60 degree temps.

  Economy – The bads news continues to pour in.

  Dad continues to improve. – He took a few steps this week and is eating more kinds of food. His voice is much stronger now, too.

Caught this guy snoozing down in the woods behind my house this morning. Strange to see a fox sleeping in such an open area.

Sleeping Fox

Today was one of those days that make winter miserable. It was only in the low teens with a fierce wind out of the northwest and bitter cold blowing snow. Even the sunset looks cold.

Blowing Snow

Icy Sunset

Icy Sunset