How I spent Inauguration Day 2009

When I was in kindergarten my teacher, Sister Pat, led us into the music room across the hall to watch the Reagan Inauguration. A short time later she announced that the hostages in Iran were free, and made a point of saying it occurred on Reagan's watch.

I don't remember if I knew what any of it meant at the time, but I must have. I look at my girls, who are roughly the same age I was then, and they have depths of understanding that would seem unbelievable to someone who's never had kids. I imagine it was much the same for me back in 1981.

So I'm a little disappointed that neither of my girls were given the opportunity to watch Obama's inauguration (no word yet on whether Smiley's school showed the event). Not that I like the guy or buy his rhetoric - I think that's obvious - but it is history, and a shining example to the world that even after 200 years we still believe in a peaceful transition of power to the opposition.

28 years from now it would've been grand for one or both of them to blog about their memories of today.

[By the way, I received an email asking why I closed comments on the Bush post. It was meant as a . . .heartfelt message more than anything, and if I'd had a way to do it I would have made that entry 'private'. It wasn't intended to spark a debate and so I made sure it didn't. We'll all argue about him another time :)]

As for me, I listened to about five minutes of the speech while on the way to change a flat on my Escort. My wife had loaned the car to her friend Chris, aka She of Negative Car Karma, and in ten minutes time she'd managed to all but shred the right front tire. What's worse the car was parked on a wide swatch of snow and ice, and I foolishly failed to dig out a base for the jack. Result? The jack slipped and the car dropped, ruining the jack.

While I waited by the Escort she took my van to go pick up another jack. She called a few minutes later to say that she couldn't start the van. I told you, cars hate the woman. It turns out she had just locked the wheel and it was a one second fix.

At two I took Lump into the doc for her checkup. She is 33 inches tall and weighs 24 pounds. Those numbers place her in the 90th percentile for height (meaning 90% of girls her age are shorter) and in the 25th percentile in weight (meaning 75% of girls her age are heavier).

In other words, she's tall and skinny.

The doc thinks she has allergies, since her runny nose is perpetual, and gave us a prescription. Other than that, she's perfectly healthy. She didn't cry or even flinch during the *four* shots she got, but bawled and fought over the blood test.

Here's the part I don't like. When I tried to report in the results to Lisa I was told the doctor had already called and told her everything. This is the second time a doc from that office has done this; the first time a Doctor flat out said she didn't trust me to properly relay her findings because she 'knows how men are'.

WTF???

Mind you, this is one of the most respected and learned pediatrician offices in the city. But the reverse-sexism explicit in their calls just galls the hell out of me.

Speaking of doctors I fear I'm going to need one. My sinuses have been clogged for weeks now and now I'm staring to get very minor nosebleeds. It kind of snuck up on me. It took Lisa pointing out the amount of time I've had the problem to realize there was a problem at all.


By the way, Lump's nickname is staying for the time being. The only other option would be the discarded Smiley nickname of 'Maker of Trouble and Mayhem'. She is 100% hell when on the loose in the house, just destroying everything in her path. I took her out of her crib the other day and on the way to the floor as I put her down she grabbed two items off a shelf and threw them across the room. Anything and EVERYTHING she touches is meant to be eaten, thrown, dumped down the stairs, broken, or tipped over. There is not a Cheerio's box in Milwaukee that she hasn't scattered across the floor and I weep for my home when I see her on the prowl.

Tonight it was dance class for the kids and Lisa and wonder of wonders, when we got home the kids made it from the van to the house without tears, screaming, or violence.

It was like winning the lottery.

Thank you Mr. President

"The true history of my administration will be written 50 years from now, and you and I will not be around to see it.”

It was my pleasure, sir, to have campaigned for you twice, to have seen you speak in person as both Governor and President, and to have witnessed your second inauguration.

On behalf of me and my wife, and our children - all four of whom I'm proud to say were born during your administration - may God bless and keep you.

Thank you.

How those Breakfast With Santa Crafts turned out

Oh, you were dying to know weren't ya? Here's some pics from that weekend.





Even Lump wanted to help her sister. Don't worry, she was in the center of the table with someone on guard to watch her movements.





and here's an example of LuLu's bracelet craftsmanship.

RAM, Swing, and Football

I'm back online, courtesy of a buddy of mine who came over and tweaked this and that and whatchamacallit. He also installed 512 MB of RAM into my desktop, bringing it up to a whopping 1GB of memory. Whoo-hoo!

In addition, I have my TV back, via yet another buddy who stopped by a week ago and wired in some new speakers. Now not only do I have sound, I have better audio than before the kids knocked it out of service.

So, thanks go to: Tre, for the comp fix. Erv, for the repair of my beloved TV, Jeanne for the donation of the RAM, and my sister C for the speakers.

* * * * * *

New Guilty Pleasure: tuning in the the Music Choice channels of my cable system and listening to Big Band as I go about my evening. Jack Teagarden anyone?

* * * *

How about those NFC/AFC Championship Games?

At the conclusion of the Steelers game I turned to Lisa (well, actually I had to hunt her down, as she'd boycotted the room during the games) and said I was spooked. It's unnatural, I said, for both teams I wanted to win to actually pull it off.

Arizona and Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl. Wow. Kudos to them both. I'm happy for Kurt Warner, who may just seal a trip to Canton with this, and for Mike Tomlin, the coach of the Steelers, who may just outdistance the ghost of Bill Cowher after all.

FYI

My desktop crashed again this morning. While it's now up and running it refuses to recognize any means of getting online, and I'm so sick of working on it I'm willing to forget the web for now and call it a day. I've grown pretty good at troubleshooting the beast, but this is beyond me.

So . . I may be back online on my home computer by this time tomorrow, or it could be down for weeks. We'll have to see. I'm assuming the former will be the case, but if not . . .take care and stay warm :)

That '70's Coat

I'd be posting more, but my computer has suffered several 'severe' failures and now seems held together with tape and string. Even when it's running 'well' it's only . . .adequate I guess. Better than nothing, though. Given that it's older than LuLu, I think that it's high time we get a new one this year :)

* * * *

When my parents were forced to move from my childhood home this past summer I was one of the last folks charged with clearing out 75 years worth of memories from the attic.

Hanging in a closet, untouched for thirty years or so, were two winter coats that had once belonged to my sisters. I scooped them up for my girls.



In these pictures LuLu is modelling one of the two jackets, the one she's been wearing around town as of late. It seems to be of exceptional quality and looks and 'wears' brand new.

[The other coat was quite dated - two different shades of light blue with a very '70's flair - and had some matting and age-damage. It probably should have been left behind, if I hadn't been in some a sentimental mood, so it won't be making an appearance here]

You can argue that the coat is proof that things were made better 'back then'. I think it has more to do with being a sad reminder that, for a minute, my parents were decently well-off and could afford fine clothing for their kids.

From the time I was five or six (~1979) that was no longer the case, and these jackets were taken out of circulation and replaced with the standard issue K-Mart stock that was our lifeblood from then on.

I'd like to have a guarantee that history isn't repeating itself, given the recent financial blows, but all I can do is keep plugging away and not lose sight of the goals I've set for this family.

Some Misc December Pics

Here's Lump and her Godfather Matt/Emo on the day he stopped by to deliver her present. He's a frequent reader here, but hasn't bothered to ID himself as a 'follower/reader', thereby inhibiting my 'Blogger Cred'. Hop to it man!



Here's some pens that Lisa made as a gift for the family's dance teacher.



And some cookies she baked and decorated for Smiley's class.



YaYa helping me shovel out from a snowstorm



Lump on Christmas Eve



Here's two shots of Smiley and Lisa working on his December homework





YaYa outside by our cars



And finally, YaYa and her Mom on Christmas Eve

The all-encompassing sports post

TWO sports posts in a row. Aren't you lucky?

The BCS championship:

I could care less about either of the teams involved, but I was rooting for Oklahoma. Why? First, Tim Tebow, while an excellent human being, gets on my nerves. His mobility destroyed Oklahoma, true, but to me all it does is highlight the dramatic difference between college and the pros. That would never, ever, fly in the NFL, and dang nabbit, if I'm going to waste my lifespan caring about a game between two teams I care nothing about, I want to at least pretend its a close proximity to professional grade.

Second, if Oklahoma had won we'd be spared the cries of 'See, Texas shoulda been there!'. Memo to Texas fans: you barely, by the skin of your teeth and with seconds to spare, managed to knock off Ohio State. The Big Ten - and I love ya, don't get me wrong - is weak right now, and the Buckeyes weren't even the cream of their crop. You weren't gonna take out Florida, no sir, not this year.

Fantasy Football:

I depended too much of the over-rated Browns and finished 9-4. Next question.

Brett Favre:

The Wisconsin man-love for Brett has abated somewhat on the heels of his disastrous collapse in the last quarter of the season. By 'somewhat' I mean you can now safely mention his name in conversation without genuflecting first.

Unlike their brethren in the Dairy State the NY press was less than kind after the season, opening a whole can of whoop ass on the man once the Jets failed to make the playoffs. They were so harsh that, God forbid, I began to actually feel sorry for the goof.

I don't know why they're mad. He did what he does better than anyone in history - throw interceptions.

Enjoy the 'will he/won't he retire' argument New York.

The Packers

Well, I said last year they were playing above their talent level, and sadly it looks like I was right.

6-10, poorly coached at times and porous on defence. The only bright spots were Woodson and Aaron Rodgers (4000 plus yards, 28 TD, 13 INT).

The Bucks

Still sub-500 but playing strong and visibly well-coached. Whether they're playoff bound remains to be seen.

The NFL Playoffs

Proof not only of a god, but of multiple deities: the Baltimore-Titans game where the ball apparently danced to the tune of Loki's whims. Tennessee was just not destined to win.

So who do I think will go on to the SuperBowl? I'd like to see a Pittsburgh - Arizona game with a Cardinals victory.

Since that's what I'd like, I'm sure it won't happen. If Philly gets in I'll root for whoever represents the AFC; if Arizona is in, I'm with them all the way.

* * *

What are your thoughts?

My Hall of Fame Ballot

The Baseball Hall of Fame will be announcing its 2009 class soon, and the net is awash in columns by Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) members explaining who they voted for and why. As I'm just little ol' me I don't have a vote, but since when did that ever stop me from offering up my opinion?

[As a prelude, let me say that if you have to classify me I'd fall under the 'small Hall' umbrella. That means I'm a little stingier on the entrance requirements than some, and I've got no problem whatsoever with seeing a year when only a single player - or even no one - makes the cut.]

If I had the only vote Rickey Henderson would go into the Hall by his lonesome. His numbers speak for themselves. He's one of those rare players whose performance was every bit as good as his reputation advertised. If he doesn't get in then the Hall should board up its doors and call it a day.

But there's no way he waltzes in solo; there's just too many other good names on the ballot. So let's see where I stand on them. A player in 'bold' doesn't mean I'd vote for them, only that I can empathize with the voters and wouldn't balk over their induction.

* * * * *

Harold Baines - No. A solid, professional hitter and I respect him, but he isn't destined for Cooperstown

Jay Bell - not even if his first name was Liberty

Bert Blyleven - 287 wins and 3700 strikeouts. I say 'yes', but I can see why the 250 odd losses made voters pause.

David Cone - some great years, but he rose to greatness too late and fell down to earth too early. A heck of a pitcher and I enjoyed watching him.

Andre Dawson - it is the Hall of 'Fame', not of 'Numbers', and Hawk certainly qualifies on that point. He's one of only a handful of non-Brewers players I would have recognized before I fell in love with the sport. For some statistical reasons I would lean slightly towards 'no', but I'll probably smile if I hear he gets in.

Ron Gant - of course not. But for the record, he did finish with more than 300 home runs and 200 stolen bases.

Mark Grace - a Cub, so hell no. Seriously tho', I don't care if it sounds 'old school: a punch and judy hitting first basemen doesn't earn Hall honors for me. Plus his color commentary for the Diamondbacks is just obnoxious.

Tommy John - my most controversial pick. 288 wins against 231 losses, a 3.34 career ERA, 2200 odd strikeouts, and three twenty win seasons. Most impressively Tommy John was the 'pioneer' for the ligament surgery that now bears his name. Considered 'miraculous' at the time that he was able to pitch again at all, he went on to win 164 games post-surgery. That surgical procedure alone should get him inducted, as it has patched together countless careers over the last 30 years and will continue to do so for decades to come. Hey, if Candy Cummings can get in for 'inventing' the curveball, John can get in for going under the knife.

Don Mattingly - Donnie Baseball just didn't get it done for enough years to make the cut. Sorry Don.

Mark McGwire - I said 'yes' last year mainly because I loved the guy as a player. I say 'yes' this year for a different reason: I'm sick to death of all the lying, hypocritical reporters who say they'd never have voted for him anyway because he was 'one dimensional'. A) no, he wasn't. B) You're full of shit. You'd not only have elected him minus the steroid flap, you'd have carved the plaque yourselves.

Jack Morris - he's getting a lot of love, but I say no. I just don't see the numbers and his reputation always seemed overblown to me.

Dale Murphy - a low average but a seven time All-Star, two-time MVP, and five time Gold Glover who finished with 398 home runs. A hell of a peak, and I wouldn't cry if he was elected.

Jesse Orosco - I loved Jesse and his longevity was legendary. But no.

Dave Parker - no

Dan Plesac - a former Brewer. No.

Tim Raines - I said 'yes' last year, and so I'll renew my claim. But this is just a 'numbers' pick and so I lack any strong emotion either way.

Jim Rice - a sickening amount of love out there for Rice, but he just doesn't add up to a Hall player, not by many sabermetric standards at least. And this 'most feared hitter' crap is just that. I don't remember the name 'Jim Rice' inspiring dread when the Brewers faced him, and I think it's a post-career selling point that's gotten way too much press. NO.

Lee Smith - I read an article where Smith moaned and groaned about the lack of Hall-love he's been getting. Get used to it. Closers are an overrated commodity that will be re-evaluated and diminished in future years, and his record of all-time saves is impressive only in context.

Alan Trammell - shoulda been in already. More valuable than his weak hitting contemporary Ozzie Smith, who's already in the Hall (and keep in mind Trammell was no slouch in the field)

Greg Vaughn - my favorite Brewer for many a year. Not even close.

Mo Vaughn - closer than Greg, but still a no

Matt Williams a fine career marred by steroid allegations, but not Hall either way.

* * * *

So if I had a membership card who would be on my ballot? Henderson, John, and Blyleven. Oh, and maybe a vote for McGwire, just to keep his name in ciculation until the first year of Bonds' eligibility brings the steroid issue to a head. (On an expanded ballot, add Trammell and Raines to the mix.)

Real-world results are announced January 12th - I'll let you know if I agree with them or not :)

Christmas Morn 2008

On Christmas Eve orders went out: there was to be no venturing downstairs the next morning until both Mom and Dad were up and everyone was, at the very least, dressed with their hair combed. That last bit didn't happen, but they stuck to the first two conditions with aplomb.



The stuff in the red paper is from 'Santa', the rest are from us.

I say again: thank you Lisa, for buying most of these presents on super-clearance during the summer, otherwise this would have been a much skimpier Christmas!











I'm going to interrupt here for a second and present a proud moment in this household: Upon opening a motorized game called Lucky Duck, Smiley lit up and said 'Lucky 'Ucky', which was a heck of a feat for the little guy!



Now back to our festivities:



LuLu got a stacking game:



Smiley got a barrel of dinosaurs:















An outfit for Lump (who also got an elaborate Pooh bath toy set)











Lump also got a great cuddly learning Bear







LuLu dang near screamed when she opened Hannah Montana's 'Oliver' doll



Smiley got a tadpole habitat; YaYa got a sea monkey set but Smiley later spilled them all over the living room. That's ok. Lump ATE the soil from LuLu's 'garden in a week' toy.



Here's what some of what I got Lisa: a body pillow and pillow cover, a set of those 'never spoil' Debbie Myer kitchen bags (she's been asking for them), and a copy of the new book by the Mom from 'Jon and Kate Plus Eight'.

I was happy to get socks, slippers, undies, and a shirt, all of which I needed.





Smiley gave Lisa a macaroni ornament too



Then my surprise. As Lisa says, I'm all 'bah humbug - don't you spend MY money', right up until the week before Christmas, when financially I feel all George Bailey-ish. Well, in the wee hours of Christmas Eve I couldn't pass up buying YaYa what I thought would be a perfect gift, 'Titanic: Ship of Dreams', a Titanic pop-up book with some marvelous graphics.











I also picked up a Hannah Montana poster book for Lu.







a Wall-E book for Smiley (he can say Wall-E pefectly!)



and a touch and feel book for Lump.



Wouldn't ya know it, YaYa claimed the Titanic book was her favorite gift of the day.

* * * *

That was just Christmas day up until 8:30 am or so. There's much more to come - but not so many pics. I promise :)