Ups and Downs of the week.

 Weather - The nice Spring weather continues. A little rain here and there, but mostly really stellar weather.

  Red Sox – Doesn’t seem like anything has changed from last season. The “aces” are still shaky, the bullpen is still losing games, the shortstop still can’t throw to 1st base in the air, and the offense is still the “noffense.” Still early days, but I was hoping for more from the “Run Prevention Brigade.”

  MLB.TV – They screwed up the first Sox game they tried to show this year, and there are still a few glitches, but the picture quality is better than ever.

 Windows 7- The more I use it, the more I like it.

  Sarah Vowell – Caught her talk tonight at EIU. History delivered with a spectacularly dry wit.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Spring is Here – The weather this week was awesome. Perfect for top-down driving. Not so nice in New England, though.

Baseball Begins – Opening Day for the Red Sox is Sunday against the Yankmees. It’s a national broadcast game, too. Perfect for a Sunday evening.

  Saturday Classes – Ten long hours tomorrow. Ugh.

Formula One – One boring race and one decent race. We’ll see what this weekend brings. Maybe Vettel will finally find reliability.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Springtime Weather – Wednesday was awesome. Great day for a top-down commute on backroads.

  Recession – Seems like a depression in everything but the name. This state, along with many others, is deeply in debt and there’s no end in sight. In fact, it looks like it’s going to get a lot worse. Our elected officials at all levels have certainly failed us.

Motorola RAZR – I finally gave up on my new LG EnV3. It just wouldn’t work right with the Bluetooth system in my car. I switched back to my trusty RAZR and all is well again.

  The Return of F1 and Michael Schumacher – This is going to be a great season. And it started today.

Top Notch Graphic Design – This is the logo for the upcoming Book Blogger Convention to be held in NYC this May, alongside Book Expo. It flawlessly and precisely depicts the scope and location of the convention. A hearty “Well done!” to whoever came up with this design. It’s perfect.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Olympics – Glad to see American athletes doing so well. But NBC’s coverage is pretty lousy. No surprise there.

Red Sox – Spring training begins.

Bureaucracy – The tune is the same. The lyrics have changed. Now “It’ll save money” will get almost any idea accepted with little or no thought and no real proof of savings. Just like speaking out against our loss of freedoms was “unpatriotic,” speaking out against ill-conceived “money saving” plans is now considered “irresponsible.”

Weather – Yet another storm coming this weekend.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Olympics – While I’m glad the Olympics are on, the games are not off to a rousing start. One tragic death (fix that wall) and a balky Opening Ceremony. Let’s hope it only gets better from here.

Red Sox Truck Day – Baseball is coming.

School – Got class tomorrow. I hate Saturday classes.

Windows 7 -I’ve installed it on several different makes of laptops now and it’s been flawless. I’m impressed.

Weather – So sick of winter.

Photoshop – The more I use it, the more I like it.

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.

In-car iPod – Got the aux input installed in the X5. Love having 200+ songs at my disposal in the car. Next up, the Z4.

Illinois politics – For years both sides have been making a mess out of this state’s economy. Now everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else. Pitiful.

Photomatix Pro 3  – Very cool HDR software. Stay tuned for pics.

The NFL – Do they really think they own the phrase “Who dat?”

Internet forums -More than once I’ve been saved by info found on these various forums. The wiring diagram for the aux input in my X5 was wrong, so it didn’t work. But someone on the X5 forum had endured the same problem and had figured it out and posted the solution. Saved me a trip to the dealer.

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.

Another year older -Ah well, better than the alternative.

 Weather – Brrrrrrr. I’m really beginning to hate the cold.

 Red Sox – Building a nice team for next year after all.

Illinois politicians – They’d gladly see the state go bankrupt if it would benefit their own careers. Losers, all of them.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Red Sox -Picked up some nice talent this week. Hope Mr. Lackey proves to be worth the high price they paid.

 Weather – Looks like crappy traveling weather before the holidays.

 Rescued cats – Between my wife and two of her co-workers, five cats found homes this week. 

 Tiger Woods coverage – Enough already. Let them work this out in peace. I fail to understand why people find joy in the misery of celebs.

 Photoshop - Fun to play with.