Starbucks Memories

I developed a taste for lattes about five years ago and it's blossomed into a caramel-machciato-a-day habit. Many coffee shops have served my addiction, but Starbucks is the barista of choice. There are so many of them!

Per my usual penchant for counting things, I recently recalled about 70 different Starbucks locations which I had visited. These covered 17 states (and Austria). I feel I've forgotten several and the list should be longer.

It starts in St. Charles County, where I've been seen in all seven stores (2 in the city, 2 in St. Peters, and Weldon Spring, O'Fallon, and Wentzville). These guys see me coming and have my drink ready! The other day, I overhead a man tell a retiree that his particular Volswagon model was one of four made, and worth a fortune.

There are 10 locations in St. Louis which I've frequented. The downtown location often became my remote office.

Venice Beach is a favorite location of mine (right), and easily wins the "most oddball characters" award. Also, the "closest to the ocean" award. Working here while enjoying the free wi-fi (for AT&T broadband customers) can be very interesting.

Once, I walked out of a particulary frustrating meeting in San Antonio, looked out the window (it was on the 11th floor) and spied a Starbucks on the Riverwalk a half-mile away. Of course, I went AWOL and enjoyed the recuperative powers of an afternoon latte on the Riverwalk!

Catherine and I thoroughly enjoyed our Starbucks experiences in Dennis and Boston. She becomes very thoughtful and reflective in a coffee shop setting, and she's fond of the "cake".

A Starbucks in Chicago was handy for a quick pit stop during one of Tommy's marathons there. Both the coffee (which I consumed while riding a bike) and the bathroom were welcome benefits.

The Starbucks in Mystic, Connecticutt (right), is a great stopping point on the way to Cape Cod, and offers some nice local sites to visit.

I've been to locations in Carson City (following a trip to Yosemite), North Carolina, New Jersey, Maine, Arizona, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York (another favorite), Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Texas, and the aforementioned location in Vienna, Austria (a two-story building with more people wearing black than anywhere else).

I'll say this: there has never been a bad visit to a Starbucks.

If Kim should post a comment regarding the financial cost of this addiction, please ignore her. She has no idea what she's missing.

"The Natural" Moves On

This week, Rick Ankiel signed with the Kansas City Royals. He's 30 years old, and his previous career had been wholly with the Cardinals. His biography is truly unique ...

In his rookie season with the Cardinals (2000), he won 11 games and struck out 194 batters. In the postseason of the same year, he threw nine wild pitches in four innings. Soon after, he disappeared into secret pitching sessions, and finally, the minor leagues.

In 2001, he posted a stellar ERA of 1.33 in the minor leagues. He also hit 10 home runs as an occasional DH.

In 2004, he returned to the majors, and won a game in relief.

During spring training in 2005, he retired from baseball as a pitcher. One day later, he returned as an outfielder.

In the latter part of the 2007 season, he made the big leagues as a hitter, and blasted a three-run homer in his first at-bat. He returned full-time the next season to hit 22 home runs in the first four months before suffering an injury. He was plagued by injury during his remaining time with the Cardinals.

Ankiel was able to tantalize us with flashes of greatness, both as a pitcher and hitter - thus my moniker "The Natural". He was also chased by demons of wildness (as a pitcher) and injury (as a hitter).

In the end analysis, Rick Ankiel is simply a young man who, despite problems and unusual gifts, continues to push ahead. I wish him well.

Magazine of the Future

Recent studies revealed that only a quarter of young people use the printed news media (newspapers and magazines). They prefer digital forms of news.

"Digital forms of news" doesn't necessarily mean reading articles on a desktop computer, as you can see in the following:



Change is a constant, but I still enjoy my Sunday morning paper.

Looking Forward to Yosemite

This year, we'll be tackling an awesome hike in Yosemite National Park. I find these outdoor challenges are a necessary complement to the modern office. In one setting, I seek to survive politically; in the other, I seek to survive physically.

On this year's hike, we'll be climbing the iconic Half-Dome ...


... traversing the heights of Cloud's Rest ...


... and passing several waterfalls, such as Vernal Falls pictured below:

Looking forward to a great time in the wilderness!

Fog

Taken in our backyard Wednesday night.

This was also a chance to use my camera after having had it cleaned. Seems to have worked. I don't see any spots!

It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To

It's interesting to look at today's political parties and compare the current status of each to their own recent zenith. You'll find that one party is approaching intellectual bankruptcy and the other moral bankruptcy.

Take the Republicans ... Their recent height of glory was the presidency of Ronald Reagan. Reagan stepped into a bad world situation, a terrible economy, and a national mood of pessimism. And although Saturday Night Life poked fun at his age and style, President Reagan was principled, decisive, highly intelligent, and witty enough to share his thoughts in a manner which engendered confidence. No Republican holds a candle to him today. If they have the same clarity of thought which Reagan possessed, they certainly seem incapable of communicating it. They've been unable to mount a coordinated defense to the increasing degrees of socialism in our government even in the face of past failures in societies experimenting in this area. Thus, they receive my sentence of "intellectual bankruptcy".

Now for the Democrats ... Their recent historical high was certainly JFK's ascendancy. Young and energetic, he reclaimed the White House from the Republicans in a burst of optimism. Every Democratic hopeful attempts to channel the "spirit of John Kennedy", drawing liberally upon his legacy. These attempts are ironic as JFK believed in the US as a military world power, he was anti-abortion, and he was for lower taxes. He was everything the modern Democrat is not. Modern Democrats not only hold positions anti-thetical to those of JFK, but they pursue them through deceit and misdirection. Their aim is low, and their means beneath that as they attempt to buy their way to power. Therefore, they receive my sentence of "moral bankruptcy".

America would be better served if each party observed what they can be at their best and strive to attain those heights again.

Eagles and Wild Moose

Last Wednesday, Steve, Carl and I went over to Alton to check out the eagles. There weren't alot of them to see this year due to the extreme cold we've had causing huge ice chunks on the river.

The tugboats and barges were stuck in the middle of it not going anywhere.

We did manage to find a few of the big birds though.

And on the homefront, a few wild moose were seen in the area.

Not Alone

Last year, I posted a blog entitled "Alone" in which I professed to enjoy my moments of solitude. No change there. Time spent in solitude is useful to gather one's thoughts and let your mind recharge - especially for slow processors such as myself. It seems some problems just take a while to gestate.

But I'm not a hermit.

It struck me the other day that even when I'm alone, I'm often thinking of relationships ...

- What God wants me to do (or do differently).

- When we'll be visiting family again.

- How I can get a team at work to be more motivated.

- When I'll be hiking or camping with friends again.

- How I can get home to Kim quicker!

... so even when we're by ourselves, we're never truly alone!

Daddy's Got New Shoes

Thanks to the coordinating powers of the Amazon wish list, I received two gifts for Christmas which were highly synergistic ...

First, Kim (with a little help from Greg on where to find super-sized models) gave me these cool-looking biking shoes:

A few days later, Mom gave me new pedals for my bike which allow the shoes to snap on:

This should improve my biking experience greatly, providing I survive the requisite falls which could occur while I'm getting used to snapping out of these things (at stops). Your feet are always correctly positioned, and power is gained from pulling up in addition to pushing down. These things truly make you one with your biking machine!

Now, if only the snow and ice would leave ...

Sunday drive

On Sunday, Steve and I drove down to Portage de Sioux to look for eagles. We saw none. Instead we saw the Mississippi River covered in ice.

You can see a tug boat on the water trying to make it's way through the ice chunks.

On the way home we saw a beautiful sunset.

Time to Sing Along!

Happy Birthday to you!

Yes, it's her birthday ...

Happy Birthday to you!

... so why does she look younger?

Happy Birthday, dear Kimmy!

So, if it's really her special day ...

Happy Birthday to you!

... why do I feel like the gift is mine?

We love you, Kim!

More Christmas photos

An intense game of Blokus occured during the holidays.

Mike had some extra help!

Carl and Elaine


Carl showing off his new hat he received.


Ann playing with Catherine and Mary.

The QB Show

All year, I've spoke favorably of two quarterbacks - Kurt Warner and Aaron Rodgers - and they put on the show of the season yesterday. In a 51-45 shootout, they combined for 9 touchdowns and 800 passing yards. Warner completed 29 passes in 33 attempts, and posted a perfect quarterback ranking.

Compared to the other six quarterbacks starting in playoff games this weekend:

- Rodgers and Warner threw more touchdown passes the the other six combined.

- Each of them had more passing yardage than Brady, Palmer and Flacco combined.

- Rodgers and Warner completed 57 of 75 passes (76%) with one interception between the two of them. The other six quarterbacks combined for 99 of 175 passes (56%), and four of them had at least one interception.

- Warner had more touchdown passes than incompletions!

Too bad only one of these fine quarterbacks could advance.

Now That's a Football Player

Holidaze

I just had time to sit down and really look at the book of pictures and quotes by Catherine that I received for Christmas. It is a very nice remembrance book. It not only took a lot of work for Amber to use the program to make it, but also to match up pictures with quotes. Thank you!

I am looking at a cracker that Mary took a bite out of and refused to eat the rest of. She wanted pizza. We told her no. She had been sick all day and we didn't trust her stomach to behave on the plane ride. Next to the cracker is an apple. Guess who took a bite and decided she didn't likeit? I miss those kids.

Bailey also is lost without the girls. She had been getting double treats each time she came in from the outside. (Doing her duty!) BOTH girls had to give her a treat EACH time she came in.

I just finished shampooing the carpet. As I said above, Mary was sick yesterday. And Bailey thought she would mark her territory in several spots letting Lyla know whose house this was.

We visited FedEx several times this week. We sent 3 boxes out east and 4 boxes to the west coast. I would say the kids were wonderfully blessed this Christmas!

I didn't take any pictures of our Chuck E Cheese adventure on Saturday but everyone had a good time. Uncle Chris spent time in the tunnels with Catherine, while Uncle Tommy found a skeeball machine that gave out extra tickets. Aunt Jena was a pro on the Deal or No Deal game.

We had a good meal last Wednesday at Kitaro. Lots of Sushi.

We also hit up Victoria's Secret for their big sale. As Catherine and I wandered around the store, she informed me and several nearby customers that this store had lots of underpants!

Looters

I recently plowed my way through Atlas Shrugged, starting in late November and ending the 1200-page missive a few days ago. While recognizing the quality of the book, it would have been even more effective at half the size. One speech within the book lasted 60 pages alone. Ayn Rand tends to the verbose.

However, the central concept was brilliant. It explored what could happen if people were forced to create a society in which everything was fairly (and artificially) redistributed by central planners. It removed the morality of achievement and ownership, and replaced it with the capriciousness of men in power who lacked any moral compass at all. Although their mantra was "fairness", they pursued this in a corrupt fashion as they lacked a moral compass. Once the rules started changing, the situation devolved into chaos. The planners, educators, and scientific community - whom Ms. Rand labeled as "looters" - sucked the producers dry until the golden goose eventually died. They were smart enough to loot wealth, but not smart enough to generate it!

This book, written in 1957, casts a negative light on current events, and exposes the "looters" who threaten us today. The health care bill nationalizes 1/6 of the economy even though only 32% of Americans express support for it. Passage was obtained by buying votes (another form of looting since it came from our taxes). Cap and trade is another form of looting, i.e. forcing the producers to pay for some ill-defined concept of global fairness (aided by scientists on the "payroll"). The stimulus bill and TARP funds are another example of "central planners" counting on you to pay the freight.

In short, Atlas Shrugged is a bit scary. It bravely calls for individual excellence and individual rewards in a society in which leaders naturally stray toward their own (artificial and self-serving) vision of utopia.

The Music Gene

The music gene existed in the two generations prior to me (perhaps more, I don't know), skipped over Greg and I, and is present in the next two generations.

I offer the following as proof:

The video is a bit dark; here is a better photo:

A Fair Deal

My system for ensuring a fair deal on a purchase is simple. I look at the product first without the price, and formulate a valuation in my mind. "I would pay $60 for this lamp, how much is it? ... $90? ... Too bad." Of course, this is all silent (or maybe to Kim only), for if the lamp is only $40, we'd happily purchase at that price!

Now pretend like you keep all of the salary you earn. Have you ever thought about how you'd be willing to pay for common services such as roads, defense, schools, and safety-net social programs? Personally, I'd be willing to work one day a week for these common services, no more. I think working one-day-a-week for larger societal efforts is a generous contribution.

So how much am I paying? If you add all forced taxation (there's no nicer way to say it) - federal income, state income, property taxes, real estate taxes, sales taxes, etc - I work 2.5 days a week for government spending and 2.5 days a week for me. In my valuation system, that's way too much!

It's too easy for bureaucrats to spend the dollars of others. Think about the way health care is being designed. If Congress designed auto insurance the same way (let's hope they don't), then we'd need to contribute to a pool for oil changes and tire rotations!

In short, our representatives desire too much central planning powers, and we pay for it. The loss of those private dollars is not without consequence as it drains the economy. No wonder jobs are leaving the US at an alarming rate. Less government "help", not more, is what's needed.

When Losing is Winning

Let's sort this out ...

If the Rams win their final game of the season (as I'm sure the players want to do), they could lose the right the #1 draft choice. Since there is a clear top player this year - Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska, a dominant defensive lineman (right) - this would be a big loss.

By holding the first draft pick, the Rams have two excellent strategies available: either select Suh outright, or recognizing how other teams covet him, trade down for multiple players. Either option would help immensely.

If the Rams win their last game (and assuming Detroit loses again), the Rams would lose the first draft choice. The second draft pick would demand far less trade interest as there is no clear-cut #2.

So if the Rams win, the payback is pride. If they lose, the payback is greater potential improvement next year. So, to win the top pick, they must lose on the field.

With this team, that's likely anyway.