Ben: Let’s play something.
Daddy (on a ladder putting up Christmas lights): Ben, I’m kind of busy right now.
Ben: Why are you doing that?
Daddy: The sooner you realize that when you do what your mother or your wife or your girlfriend wants, life becomes a whole lot easier.
Ben: Why are girls always in charge? That’s not fair.
Daddy: (Laughing and almost falling off the ladder)
2009 AL Champs
In 2002, I got caught up in the craziest of sports, curling. If you don’t know what it is, just check out this video. NBC showed parts of Olympic matches and I couldn’t get enough. I started watching it every chance I got and learned a little bit about the game. Then once again, the Winter Olympics rolled around in 2006, and curling was once again a staple of my Olympic viewing diet.
Well, this past Friday night I had the opportunity to attend a Learn To Curl session sponsored by the Triangle Curling Club. A few friends from RegEd and from my hockey team attended with me. We had a blast and got a good taste of the game. Our instructor even allowed me to “skip” or be the main strategy player. It’s such an interesting game and really is like “chess on ice”. I definitely plan to attend another session and get a little better at the game.
Today is the day of my 2nd Krispy Kreme Challenge. If you’re a “challenger” the goal is to run from the clock tower at NC State to the Krispy Kreme on Peace Street, eat a dozen original glazed (2,400 calories) and run back in under 1 hour. If you’re a “casual” runner like me, you have the same goal but you get to pick how many donuts you eat. I’m guessing that I’ll eat about six. Last year I ate four. The big thing for me is to finish in under 1 hour. Last year I made it in about 1:05 and I was a little disappointed. I’m in better shape this time around. I’ll post my time later.
Here’s the route. It’s actually 2.25 miles each way, not the two that is often quoted.
UPDATE: I had 6 glazed donuts and finished in 56 minutes 10 seconds. I probably could have eaten at least 2 more and been OK.
Vonage hasn’t always been my favorite service but they do neat things sometimes. Every Christmas they provide a special number to call Santa and the kids always love it. Well, this year, you can call the big guy and leave a message. Vonage then emails you an audio file of the message. It’s really cute. Ben Calls Santa, fantasy bowling, that Ben played at a friend’s house.
Recently I wrote about the need for an exit strategy from all of the government bailouts. In today’s Wall St. Journal there is an op-ed piece by Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In it he opines about free markets but saves the best for the last two paragraphs:
For all of these reasons, it is incumbent upon federal policy makers to ensure that the extraordinary actions of the past months are understood to be temporary, and constructed so that they are self-liquidating. Since government programs do not on their own go away, there has to be a deliberate design to eliminate them, and a relentless adherence to execution of that plan. Anything short of this will almost certainly guarantee eternal life for these vast new federal roles.
Focusing on exit strategies now is of vital importance to ensure that we do not stumble along a dangerous path of confusion that may end in far greater financial exposure for the American people, and a far worse situation for America’s taxpayers and investors. If we answer the tough questions now, and make sturdy plans for the future, we can position our mortgage market, our financial services industry, and the broader economy for renewed growth and prosperity.
As Ronald Reagan said, “There is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program.”
It’s so clear that they really value me as a customer. They miss me and want to spend some time with me, Mr. Soandso. Click to see this full size.
Last night, while sitting around the dinner table, we discussed what Ben did at school. This conversation went out for a few minutes as we talked about his centers. Ben was chatty and gave us a lot of information about the minutae of each activity. All of a sudden, Jack bellows in his gravelly voice, “I did nothing today”. He’s a go getter, that one.
