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.

 Alma Driscoll - My 9th grade English teacher turned 100 this week. She was simply the best teacher I ever had. I can attribute my grammar and writing skills directly to her supreme skill as an educator. She was 63 when she was presiding over my English class. That was 37 years ago. Amazing. Hats off to you, Mrs. Driscoll.

Celtic Crossroads – We saw this show last night at EIU’s new arts center. Astoundingly talented performers. Very enjoyable show.

  Petty Politics – It’s a sin that the bozos in Washington get paid at all.

 Common Sense – Finally the legislature here has seen the light, so to speak, and is allowing conservative window tinting on the driver and passenger windows. Now I can get my X5 front windows done so they all match.

The blog is four years old today.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Springtime Weather – I know this is a repeat, but this past week was great. Sunshine and 60 degrees every day.

  Health Care Battle – Congress can’t get anything right. And let’s face it, there will never be consensus as long as ignorant zealots on either side refuse to bend.

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.

Well Deserved Retirement – Capt. Sully Sullenberger announces retirement. I hope it’s a long and enjoyable one.

  Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day – Today was the annual excuse for drunken stupidity on campus.

Photoshop Text – I’ve actually been having fun playing around with creating substance text.

I figured after nearly four years it was time for a new image at the top of the blog. The image you now see is the city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber (Rothenburg over the Tauber) as seen from the ramparts by the former royal gardens.

Ups and Downs of the week.

Facebook – I finally broke down and put up a page. Kind of neat seeing so many friends and acquaintances from the past.

  Budget Woes – To think we could still be a long way from the bottom. The next few years are really going to be tough.

Weather – Hardly spring yet, but it’s slowly improving.

  Partisan Politics – We’re up to our knees in ice water and the idiots can do nothing but trade blame for hitting the iceberg.

They’re getting bigger, but they’re still kittens.