Ups and Downs of the week.

 MLB.com – Despite technical difficulties on Opening Day (inexcusable), the picture quality this year is awesome, although the delay of nearly a minute makes it difficult to read posts on Sawxheads.com without reading spoilers. And the Nexdef app really ramps up the CPU usage. 

  Red Sox – Not a promising start to the season.

  Weather – Supposed to be cracking into the 60’s this coming week.

  Weather- It was in the 40’s today. It’s April, for Pete’s sake!!!!

 Dad – The man is a born fighter. So hard to gain that last bit of confidence and strength, though. Still, he’s toughing it out and will prevail, I’m sure. 

 Ramsau – I know I post about this a lot, but this has to be one of the most awe-inspiring webcams on the internet.

Seems to happen every year in April. Just one more blast of snow. Luckily this one only messed up the squirrels’ commute.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Rod Blagojevich: Superstar – We went to see this tonight. Pretty funny, although not as hilarious as we’d heard. The improv skits which made up the second half of the show were better.

  Winter is back II - Again, more snow and nastiness in the forecast.

 MLB’s Opening Week – Maybe spring really is here. Sox start on Monday just where they left off, against Tampa Bay.

  Yet Another Nutcase With a Gun – This time in sleepy Binghamton, NY. Seems 2009 is going to be remembered for these shootings.

 Dad – Continuing to improve. Just a few more hurdles to clear and he’ll be home at last.

  McLaren – They still can’t spell integrity. Caught lying about what they said on the radio to their driver, despite the fact they knew the whole conversation was recorded.  Dumb and shameful.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Formula One is back – Opening race from Melbourne, Australia. This season brings so many changes to the cars that the whole field may be shuffled. We’ll know after the race on Sunday who the front runners this year will be. UPDATE: Great race. Kudos to Brawn GP.

  Winter is back – We’re forecast to get 2-4 inches of snow Saturday night. Ugh. UPDATE: We only saw flurries. Sometimes it’s good when the weather seers are wrong. 🙂

  Spring Break – Nice having everyone gone for a week.

  1st Level Tech Support – How can you explain a DNS problem to a support tech who doesn’t know what DNS is? Only GoDaddy does it right.

 Dad – Still making impressive progress. He’s in a  nursing facility now, but it’s much more comfortable than the rehab hospital and they’re being more aggressive with his rehab, which is also good.

  Prehistoric Road Maintenance II – Didn’t take long for a rock to find my fender.

I’m hoping this is a sign that the week ahead will be better than the week behind.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Springtime is here – Into the 70s today. Loved every minute of it. I left work early just to get out and enjoy it.

  “Unofficial” St. Patrick’s Day – Annual excuse for student drunkenness and stupidity. Thank the greedy bar owners who started and continue to promote this nonsense.

 Team Brawn? – Looks like former Team Honda will be back in Formula One this year, albeit with Mercedes engines. Not sure what the team will be called yet, but former Ferrari guru Ross Brawn bought the team outright. Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button will return as the team’s drivers.

 Dad – Walking several laps of the hallways now and climbing stairs. Still looking good for him to be going home soon.

  Boston Bruins – 3-5-2 in their last 10 including three consecutive losses. They’re still in first place in the Eastern Conference, barely.

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.)

 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.

   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?

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.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Blago is gone!! – About time! On his way out the door he couldn’t help but make more of a fool of himself. Listen to him whining to the legislature.

  Business a usual in D.C. – These idiots just don’t get it!!!! Enough with the idiotic pork-barrel stuff. The stimulus package is so full of bullshit, it’s drawing flies. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) cannot possibly stimulate the economy. Support for STD treatment cannot either. Both these could be considered worthy causes in a time of prosperity, but now is not that time. Obama already trimmed out the ludicrous mall resodding project and the equally inane contraceptive funding, but there is still way too much pork and not enough direct action. We need money to support infrastructure projects which will put people to work. If a proposal will not add a substantial number of jobs, it should be scrapped. Congress is whining about Wall Street not listening to the people when they’re just as deaf. STOP THE PORK!!!! (Clear enough?)

  Celtics – Back to their winning ways.

  Winter – 9″ of snow this week. I’m so in need of a warm day or two. Now that I have a ragtop waiting for me, the winter days are dragging by endlessly.

  Dad continues to improve. – Today they had him standing up straight (with a little help) and next week he’ll start learning to walk again using parallel bars. The docs are amazed at his progress, but we’re not. He’s a determined man. Always has been.