Ups and Downs of the Week

5th Anniversary – I started this blog 5 years ago today.

Japanese Disaster – The nuke problem seems better one day, disastrous the next. And for a country with such wealth and technology, they seem to be having a hard time getting food, water, and basic necessities to the people in need.

Formula One – Started today with practice for the Grand Prix of Australia. And this year it’s being broadcast in full HD. This picture does not do it justice. Take my word for it, the picture quality is awesome. Add to that HD broadcasts of Red Sox baseball via DirecTV and MLB Extra Innings, and I’m a happy sports fan.

Formula One in HD

Goodbye to Spring – For a while at least. Temps earlier this week were in the mid-70s. Now they’re in the 30s and 40s and snow, SNOW!!, is in the forecast. Bummer.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Japan Earthquake/Tsunami – The news keeps getting worse. Possibly more than 10,000 deaths, a nuclear disaster in the making, whole cities destroyed. One city had just a few concrete buildings left standing and one of them, a three story building, had cars and debris on the roof. The tsunami must have been incredible to cause that.

DirecTV – So far, so good. Much better reception and image than with Mediacom cable. Can’t wait for baseball season to start.

Libyan No-Fly Zone – The last thing the US needs is any level of involvement in yet another Middle Eastern conflict. What are they thinking?

Springtime weather – Into the 70’s by Monday. The Z4 is coming out of storage this weekend. Can’t wait.

Finally, a nice sunny day. Spring is in the air.

I’m told this is a thresher (thanks, Dana). I bet it was noisy as hell when it ran. Now it just sits and slowly rots. Reminds me of a dinosaur.

Nice sunset yesterday, too.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Japan Earthquake/Tsunami – What a horror show. The images and videos are unreal. Such devastation. And yet a surprisingly low fatality count (so far). That shows how well the Japanese were prepared and how well they build their buildings. This was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, which is saying a lot. And yet their cities are still standing. Amazing. They have a huge cleanup ahead of them and there is still a concern about the nuclear power plants, but it appears their preparation and building codes saved countless lives.

Illinois Politics – The governor abolishes the death penalty, which is a good thing, and then signs the Amazon tax bill, which is sheer stupidity and arrogance considering the overwhelming evidence that this bill will hurt the state, not help it. So we’re 50/50 on the day. One step forward, one step back.

Habs Hockey Fans – So the Montreal Canadians fans called 911 to report an assault because one of their players got checked in an NHL hockey game? What’s next, reports of speeding at the Grand Prix of Canada? Give me a break.

There’s a whole other world out there. And it’s really small.

One of our outdoor cats. Her two sisters live in the house with us, but Maggie hated being inside from Day One, so she lives out back with her mother and the others.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Sam Adams Noble Pils – Glad they brought it back. Good stuff.

NFL – While state workers and teachers are in danger of losing their livelihoods in the name of balancing state budgets, the NFL prima donnas on both sides of the table are arguing over how best to split up their billions. Something is very wrong here.

Springtime – Still one more snow storm coming, I think. But the days are getting longer and warmer and soon we’ll be into DST.

Oil Prices – Supply and demand have been pretty stable, but the price of oil climbs by the minute, mostly due to speculator fears (read: greed). “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Indeed.