This is the result of the small ice storm that blew through last night. The second storm is bearing down on us and promises to dump nearly a foot of snow on top of this ice. Talk about nasty driving. So far, no tree loss, although one of my neighbor’s trees is looking distressed.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Barn Fire – While it’s sad that these folks lost their pole barn, an RV, a ’73 Mustang, and some other equipment, it’s very good that it wasn’t their house and no one was hurt. The temps here today were hovering around zero, so props to the firefighters for dealing with this in such nasty conditions. Hell, in *any* conditions. Firefighters are my heroes, mostly because fires are my greatest fear. Anyone who braves a fire for a living is a better person than I.

Red Sox – Paps and Ells are signed. All the pieces are in place. I cannot wait for this season to start. I may switch to DIRECTV and get the MLB Extra Innings package this season so I don’t have to deal with MLB.TV’s lousy service.

New England Patriots – One and done again. What is it about this team that makes them forget how to dominate when it *really* counts? They used to be able to win the big game. But since the Super Bowl debacle with the Giants, they seem more concerned about not losing than they do about winning (to paraphrase Patton).

Gabby Giffords – Moved to a rehab hospital already. Simply amazing. While the element of luck can’t be overlooked here, there is no doubt a good deal of courage and determination are also evident. The entire country is hoping for a full recovery for her, I’m sure. Politics be damned.

Motorola Citrus – I picked up a new phone this week. It’s a Motorola Citrus. I wanted something that would cost me nothing (got it as an upgrade), would do email push from Exchange (had to buy a $20 app called Touchdown), and work with the BMW Bluetooth hands-free setup in my cars. This phone pretty much fits the bill. There have been few snafus, though, so the jury is still out. I may still need to move up to a Droid2 or DroidX, which I was trying to avoid. The one thing this phone has over those other two is size. It’s no bigger than my old RAZR. Easy to slip into a pocket.

Veterinarians – We’ve been battling cancer with a cat of ours for months now. She’s really gone downhill the past week and we thought she was near death, so Sarah brought her to the vet with the idea that we may put her down and end her suffering. But the vet said we could try some steroids and some hydration by injection. Lo-and-behold, the cat is doing better and actually ate something tonight, which she hasn’t done in days. She’s still not long for this world, but she’s going to be with us a bit longer thanks to the knowledge and dedication of people who choose to practice medicine for animals.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Three-Day Weekends – I know we just came off the Christmas break, but I really need this long weekend.

Flooding in Australia – Yikes! Talk about serious flooding. Over 3/4 of the state of Queensland (700,000+ sq mi) is flooded. That’s an incredible amount of water.  (As an aside, I love the guy setting his axle locks for four-wheel drive while wrestling with an umbrella. I mean, does it really matter if you get a little wet?)

Tax Hike – Illinois *finally* joined the rest of the US and upped its income tax to a level that might just sustain the government. They failed to raise the tax on cigarettes, though. They also failed to pass legislation to borrow money to pay their immediate debt needs, but that was a two-edged sword to begin with. Maybe not increasing the state’s debt will be a good thing.

Red Sox – I’m so looking forward to this coming season. Papelbon and Ellsbury both went to arbitration today. I think they’re very attractive lures if the right fish comes along. If they stay, all is good. If they get traded for more big-name talent, all is good. Classic win/win.

Arizona Shootings – So many sad stories here. This is what happens when a person with a severe mental illness can walk into a Walmart and buy a gun. I’m ok with 2nd Amendment rights, but let’s at least start doing *real* background checks before we hand out deadly weapons. And what’s with newly elected Senator from Illinois Mark Kirk calling for the death penalty for the shooter? What part of “mentally ill” is beyond his comprehension?  This was a tragedy in every sense of the word, but this Loughner guy is clearly a very sick person. Many people out there knew he needed help but did little. So now we just execute him? Think again, Senator Kirk.

Gabby Giffords – Talk about a combination of strength and luck. One in a million people could survive being shot in the head. But to survive a through-and-through head shot and be sitting up communicating with family in a week? Un-be-lievable. This woman will be back in Congress soon. Maybe her suffering will open some eyes and bring a little decency to the floor. Maybe.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Weather – It’s been a gift week with daily temps in the 70s. I taken the Z4 to work every day with the top down mornings and evenings. Very unusual for November. It’s all coming to an end this weekend, but it was great while it lasted.

Microsoft Office 2010 – Seems like change for the sake of change. So frustrating to work with.

Decent Contractors – Last week I ranted about unreliable contractors. Well we finally got our downstairs furnace working. Same contractor who rebuilt the upstairs system. Should have gone back to them in the first place.

Patriots – Got their butts kicked by the Browns. The Steelers game will be a real test of their caliber.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Weather – I’ve been waiting a year for these glorious days. I could take this weather year ’round.

Politics – Has it always been this bad? I don’t recall it being in my face all the time in the past. Getting seriously sick of it.

Patriots – So far, so good.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Red Sox – Ok, the season is just about over. Barring a complete collapse by the Yankmees and the Rays, the Sox won’t be playing October baseball. But they’ve done well considering the appalling number of injuries to their starting players. The folks brought in to fill the gaps have done well for the most part. And in any other division, the Sox would be in the hunt. Hats off to them.

Photoshop CS5 – This is really getting to be fun. Here we have a couple of pics that have nice skies. The first is Amelia Island, FL at sunrise. The second is Cadillac Lake, MI. Then we have a dull gray day in Roth, Germany. By merging the skies with the dull pic of Roth, we can have a nice sunset in Roth or a sunny day. Good fun. And goodbye to bad pictures.

Weather – Very cool days and nights this weekend. And no humidity. Again, I love this time of year.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Red Sox – They beat the Rays tonight and the Yankmees lost, so they gained a game on both teams. Good stuff. But it looks like Pedroia is gone for the season, which is very bad news indeed.

Dumb luck – I badly gashed my right index finger today. Now it’s all bandaged up and it makes typing difficult. Right when I need to be finishing up my paper for school. Argh.

Weather – Finally, some tolerable daytime temps and cool nights. I love this time of year.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Red Sox – They’ve been coming on lately and the return of Mike Lowell, one of the classiest players to ever grace the field, could not have come at a better time. In his first at bat after returning from rehab, he hit the first pitch into the Monster seats at Fenway. He’s made some great plays at 1st base, too. With Youkilis out for the season now, the Red Sox front office has no choice but to play Lowell at 1st for most games. The Sox will be better for it. Tonight they beat the Yankees in their own park. A very good Friday night.

Photoshop CS5 – “Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah.” Ok, this isn’t perfect, but it took less than 3 minutes. Think what you could do if you really devoted some time to it.

Weather – Man, it’s been a brutal summer. We had a decent day today and tomorrow is supposed to be ok, but starting Sunday and all the way through next week we’re expecting temps in the mid- to upper-90s with killer humidity. Bring on autumn, already.

Ups and Downs of the week.

New York City – Heading home tomorrow, but it’s been a great week. Fantastic restaurants here.

  Offshore drilling – No more permits until the oil companies can prove they can stop disasters like this.

Red Sox – They sweep the Rays, best team in the majors (in their own park, no less), and then falter against a paltry team like Kansas City at Fenway. I just don’t understand.

Summertime – It’s here in full bloom.

  Plantar Fasciitis – Severely curbed my walking in NYC. Ouch.

Celtics – Finally got past the Magic. Celtics-Lakers in the finals. A classic matchup.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Formula One – Monaco this weekend. Best race on the circuit. My dream is to see a Monaco GP in person. Unless I hit the lottery, it’ll never happen, though.

  Drill baby, drill! – Maybe not so much.

  Bruins – I never expected them to get this far, but it’s sad that they blew a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 lead in Game 7. Gonna be a long off-season for those guys.

Red Sox – Looking steadier. Offense is coming around and the starting pitching is slowly finding the groove.

Celtics – Made the Cavs look like amateurs. On to the Magic.

  Highway Construction – It’s that time of year again. Seems they never finish it.

Weather – Aside from the occasional shower, the weather has been awesome. I love temps in the 60s and 70s.

Spies of the Balkans – Alan Furst’s new book is out. Can’t wait to read it. He is always excellent.

400th Post – Small milestone here on Randomography.

New Garage Door – No more worries about it falling in on the cars.