Tuesday, September 30, 2014

An EBAY Day

Cold and windy today just like I expected. Tomorrow looks better. We were up early for cross country practice today. An excellent workout had by all. Coco put in an afternoon practice after school also. We're hoping this big week will pay off for the big races in a couple weeks.

I saw an interesting documentary on Agatha Christie in the midst of my busy day. She's actually the third most read writer of all time. Only the Bible and Shakespeare are ahead of her. Not too shabby. She was ahead of her time. They read a short story that she wrote when she was ten years old. It sounded like a 40 year old Pulitzer Prize winner! She was that good at such an early age.

Also caught a small piece on Michelangelo. He painted the Sistine Chapel in a mere 4 years. It took 12 years to clean it real good almost 500 years later. He actually lived until he was 88 years old which was unheard of in those days!

Ebay is spinning off it's Paypal division. The stock gained 6% today as Wall Street loved the move. It certainly is popular as Coco has his own Ebay account. Recently, he found a Cadillac hubcap on the side of the road. The bid is up to 52 bucks with a few days left to go.  I just hope it doesn't go much higher. Otherwise, he might get some bright ideas and start heisting them off the wheels!

Later

Monday, September 29, 2014

Michelle Came To Town

The thermometer hit 81 today, only the 6th time all year that it's done that by the lake. The leaves are coming down in droves a bit early it seems. So, naturally I took a walk to Bradford Beach about 1pm to enjoy the weather. Just a little after 2pm a huge wind burst swung thru and the temps dropped 15 degrees in less than a minute. By the time I got home it had dropped to a whopping 57 degrees. I'm pretty sure that was the signal that the warm weather is done!

Octoberfest is this weekend down by the Old German Beer Hall on Old World Third Street. This is a German settled city and I'm sure the beer will be flowing pretty good!

Ben Carson the famed neurosurgeon who has declared his non-official candidacy for President in 2016 says that we might not even have an election in 2016 because the country could be deep in the throes of anarchy. The fearmonger needs to worry about his own brain before he touches anyone elses in the near future. There will be an election and yes, your name will not be on any ballot!

John Boehner thinks we should have an immigration bill but he doesn't want to debate it. Geez, for some silly reason I thought Congress debated the issues. No wonder they just sit on their ass all year. Despicable and the worst Speaker of the House in the history of this country.

Congrats to Bill Gates who has pledged 50 million bucks to fight the ebola virus. No window virus jokes please!

I went to pick up Krissy from work and was stuck in a bit of traffic. Michelle Obama was in town at the Wisconsin Center to campaign for Mary Burke in her run for Governor. Hopefully everyone has arranged for a photo identification for the election in Wisconsin. Don't wait until the last minute as the current Governor has closed quite a few of the DMV's. The rest are open two days a week. Service at it's finest in the Badger State!

Later


Sunday, September 28, 2014

No Punts

Another gorgeous sunny day. The weather guys certainly predicted this streak right. They've been sketchy in the midwest all year.

Breaking News. John Wilson caught a fish up north. So much easier to do I guess when you put the beer down for a few minutes! Congrats John, I received the photo as proof and it's included in today's blog.

I saw a picture of George Clooney riding a boat down a Venice canal to his wedding. I have to give him credit. He certainly is a dashing fellow.

Oh the Bears game was absolutely terrible the second half. They moved the ball great all day at least. A couple of turnovers really hurt. There wasn't a single punt in the game. Thats a first since 1992. Neither defense could stop anything. Yes, they still get to cash their game check!

Later

John Caught One



Dinner

Grilling With Jenny

Homemade BBQ Sauce
Krissy and Jen
Waiting by the Grill
Krissy and Jen

Saturday, September 27, 2014

The King Tide Is Coming

Another sunny 70 plus degree day. It's probably been the best weather week of the entire year. Each day mirror's the previous day.

A busy morning running errands. Grocery shopping is never fun but at least they had some meat sales this week. We're grilling this afternoon and Krissy's sister Jen is coming over.

A busy day around the world but quiet for the most part in Milwaukee. Chelsea Clinton had a baby and George Clooney is getting married today. Tomorrow will be fun with the Bears-Packer game. It will be a very loud sunday afternoon, I guarantee that.

Congrats to Derek Jeter for a game winning hit in his final home at-bat as a New York Yankee. I'm not a Yankee fan but a great and classy player. A first ballot Hall of Famer for sure!

The King Tides are coming to the Florida Keys on October 8-9th. These are the highest of the high tides thus the King moniker. Apparently, the sun, moon and earth line up just right which increases the gravitational pull. Key West is mostly a flat island with an 18 foot peak in the middle of town near the cemetery. In an 1800's hurricane the only Key West survivors were the ones able to make it to what is now known as Solares Hill. It's truly a beautiful part of town which is home to one of the most famous cemeteries in the entire world. 

Have a safe saturday night!

Later

Friday, September 26, 2014

CNN Battle Coverage

Another glorious day just like yesterday.  I did notice a couple trees have changed leave colors and we have some starting to fall in the neighborhood.

The first thing I did upon waking up today was change the title of yesterday's blog. For some reason I thought it was wednesday but it was actually thursday!

Happy Hour tonight with Julie and Jason. I'll tidy up a bit as we'll probably start in the backyard.

You can start to feel the tension a bit in Milwaukee. It's the Bears-Packers game this sunday. Going to be a good one at Soldiers Field!

I got to watch a live battle courtesy of CNN today. Kurdish forces were taking it to ISIS on a group of ridges on the Syrian-Turkey border. In addition to television cameras there were a large group of spectators cheering on the Kurds. Almost like a football game actually.

This isn't a first in history. In fact, during the first big battle of the American Civil War, wagonloads of Americans packed picnic baskets and sat on a large hill to watch the battle.

The spectators I saw today seemed calm and relaxed, more so than many American football fans. I'm sure there's someone somewhere in America figuring out how to put this on pay per view!

Enjoy your happy hour!

Later

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Thursday Morning Fights

Another gorgeous 70 degree sunny day. The forecast has the same thing for the next week so I'll just do some copy and paste for my first sentence for the time being!

Yes, another busy day starting off with a massive fight  before the 7am hour. Coco and I were at school stretching out a bit before cross country practice when two women started fighting in the middle of the street. Like mixed martial arts fighting. It was brutal and two women who tried to break it up made it four women fighting. A very noble and brave male teacher broke up the fight before we could make it around the fence to help. 

I thought the melee was history until a police officer called me for a witness statement. As a former private investigator I gave a very good recall of the incident right down to the navy blue dress and high heeled shoes the victim getting pummeled was wearing. Oh well, one of those days. 

Jim and Joanne came over tonight for dinner and Jim worked on some flashing repairs for our back patio. Thanks so much Jim. It's always something when you have a house that was built when a gentleman named Grant was President of this country. Depending on what title paperwork one looks at, the house was built in 1870 or 1875.

Received an email from my great high school buddy Tom to touch base on cross country. My son is running in fifth grade and his youngest is a sophomore in high school and in the middle of an up and coming season. He's 6'2 and 155 already with a sweet stride. Tom was a late bloomer in the growing department so it's scary to think how big Michael might get. Anyway, I'm grateful for the pics he sent my way. Good times when I think of Tom. We started fifth grade together and graduated high school together on some great teams. Some great times I can't mention in print. Cole and I need a road trip so whenever Michael makes it to a State Meet in Illinois, we'll be coming down Tom. Bank on that my friend!

Later

Michael Schnell
Michael and Tom

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

The Boss Turns 65

Another sun shiny day in the 70's. A busy day though. Everything under the sun popped up and I made a flurry of phone calls and texts today. All of them good for a change.

A big welcome and thank you to Romania as they become the 24th country to visit my blog. The support is much appreciated.

I heard on the television news today that scientists think they can have an Ebola vaccine by the end of the year. Hopefully that comes true as there's been way too much human suffering this year.

Ever wish you didn't see something? Unfortunately, I opened a news story link about Phil Spector today and saw his newest prison photo. It's going to take a long time to get that out of my head, yikes!

Coco ran a fantastic and smart race today. I had a good feeling he would after how sharp he looked at yesterday's practice. In fact, the top 3 runners on his team all listened and did well today. It must be the coaching!

Bruce Springsteen turned 65 today. Happy Birthday to the man they call The Boss. I've seen him in concert many a times. Nobody in the history of entertainment plays harder for their fans than this man. No one. Three and a half hour concerts are the norm. This man is truly a legendary american icon who will last the test of time. He's releasing a new box set and touring again in the near future and I'll get my tickets again for a fabulous show!

Later


Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Monday Night Football Turns 45

A beautiful fall day with sunshine and temps in the low 70's. Coco and I were up at 6am to make it to practice. He sure looked good today. For the record, he did keep awake last night into the third quarter of the game but only because he was finishing his ice cream!

Krissy will be home around 10pm tonight. Hopefully she'll have enough energy to stay up and watch The Blacklist tonight. She made an awesome beef roast last night with green beans. She's a keeper!

It was a busy day. Computer programs and getting my browser updated took up a good deal of the afternoon. I actually kept my cool though believe it or not.

What a game last night. The Bears won by 8 points but the Jets were driving at the end. Statistically the Jets had the better numbers but the final score doesn't lie. The Bears play the Packers this sunday and it will be intense. It's not easy being a Bears fan in Milwaukee and I'll just leave it at that.

Monday Night Football premiered in September of 1970 with three announcers. Famed College football announcer Keith Jackson, an irritable Howard Cosell and Dandy Don Meredith. I actually miss Cosell because he was a very intelligent analyst even though he had the personality of a mud puddle. The Jets lost to the Cleveland Browns on a late Joe Namath interception. Ironically, Cleveland area fans never got to see the game as they were subject to the NFL blackout rules in place at the time. Forty years later and Cleveland Brown fans are still having a rough go! But at least we still remember the great and legendary Jim Brown. He was a beast!

Later


Monday, September 22, 2014

The Blacklist Returns

It's a sunny 64 degree day in Milwaukee and a slow day also. Maybe because it's monday but it just seems to be crawling along without much news. Sometimes no news is better than bad news I imagine!

I dropped Coco off at school this morning. A month into the school year and it looks like he borrowed his blazer from a homeless guy. All spotted up from lunch spills and wrinkled from him jamming it into his backpack at times. It's never going to make it thru a whole school year.

It's a big monday night football game for us Bears fans tonight. With the Packers losing yesterday, a win would put the Bears up a game in the division. To top it off, this sunday is a Bears-Packer game at Soldiers Field. I still think it's the greatest rivalry in sports and it should be a good one.

Tonight's game will be tough. The Bears have lost 5 starters already in this young season and the wide receivers are each playing on one leg due to injuries. Plus, it's in New York. Coco is coming over to watch it. I should start an over/under pool to see if he falls asleep before halftime or afterwards in the third quarter!

The second season of The Blacklist starts tonight. Because of the game we will tape it and watch it later. I think it's the most brilliant series to come out in a long time. Well written but the supporting cast is mediocre at times. Luckily, James Spader is outstanding and carries some of the episodes on his back. I've been a huge fan of his ever since I've seen him in such movies as Wall Street, True Colors and Storyville. At least it will be an entertaining night!

Later


Sunday, September 21, 2014

Cedarburg Wine And Harvest Festival

An overcast day with some sporadic rain. Not enough to keep me from grilling though! We cooked a gorgeous pork roast and found some great end of the season sweet corn.

The Packers lost today. A lot of sad people walking around this afternoon. My Bears play on Monday Night Football tomorrow against the Jets

Top Gun is coming out with a long talked about sequel next year. Jerry Bruckheimer has a rough draft script and Tom Cruise has signed on. The flight jacket that Kelly McGillis wore in Top Gun is in a glass case at Kelly's restaurant in Key West. She sold the restaurant but it kept her name.The food is great along with an excellent outdoor location.

A beer tasting cruise boat ran aground in lower Manhattan. Hopefully the Captain wasn't sampling the goods or that could be some professional trouble.

The Cedarburg Wine and Harvest Festival was a huge success yesterday. I couldn't believe how big it was. We actually saw some pumpkins over 1600 pounds. The food was fantastic. Nice job Cedarburg!

Later

Look At Those Pumpkins
With Joanne
1600 Pounds
Jen and Dommy
Downtown Cedarburg

Saturday, September 20, 2014

The Milwaukee Comedy Cafe

It's a beautiful morning but a chance of thunderstorms later. We are heading out to Cedarburg soon for Jen's birthday then dinner at her mom's.

The Milwaukee Comedy Cafe was quite good last night with double headliners in Jacob Williams and Bryan Cork. Bryan is actually from the Elgin, Illinois area which isn't too far from where I grew up. A great show last night and I highly recommend seeing him if he's in your area!

We stopped at Angelo's Piano Bar last night after the show. Local standout Bob Baker had a stroke three months ago but certainly made a nice comeback last night. It took a while for him to be able to speak again let alone sing.

We hit the farmer's market in Cathedral Square this morning. That won't be happening for very much longer so we loaded up pretty good on vegetables and peaches.

Gotta run. Some photos from last night below. Stay safe tonight everybody!

Later


With Christy and Her Sister Kelly



Comedian Bryan Cork In The Back
Comedian Jacob Williams In The Back
Bob Baker At Angelo's Piano Bar


Friday, September 19, 2014

Charlie Hunnam As Bond Perhaps

A gorgeous sunny fall day and we broke 70 degrees. We'll be going to the Comedy Cafe later tonight for a birthday party. It should be great fun.

Happy Birthday to Jen who is Krissy's sister. We'll be going out to Cedarburg tomorrow to celebrate with her.

I received an email from Blake Shelton the other day. I was feeling kind of special until I saw that he was plugging Pizza Hut. It looked like a regular normal email.

The Scottish vote is in and they will remain part of the United Kingdom. For such a monumental vote only 84% of eligible voters turned out for the vote. I'm not sure what it would take to get 100% of voters off their asses. I couldn't live under my dad's roof if I didn't vote the first time I was eligible as a kid in college. He made my mom come pick me up from campus and drive me to my hometown to vote. I have never missed one.

We finally caught up on the first two episodes of Sons of Anarchy last night. It's the 7th and final season and all the hoopla didn't go to waste. Exciting scene after exciting scene. We even watched the interviews afterwards with lead actor Charlie Hunnam.

Hunnam is a very interesting guy in real life. His father was a real gangster in England where he grew up. Hunnam is also a hard working screenwriter in addition to acting. His British accent is covered up fairly well with his portrayal of Jax Teller. I'm making an early bet that this guy will get strong consideration for the next James Bond if Daniel Craig retires from the role in the next 10-12 years. He's a natural fit and you heard it here first!

Later


Thursday, September 18, 2014

Teddy Roosevelt In Milwaukee

It's been a cold and windy day. Never the less, Coco had a nice practice at 6:30am. He pops right out of bed for practice. What a difference a year makes! I had to drag him out of bed for everything when he was in 4th grade.

Hurricane season is a little over half over. So far so good for our friends in Key West!

John Mellencamp tickets went on sale today for his Milwaukee show. I've seen him around ten times and he puts on a great performance every time. The only problem is the concert is for next year on June 5th. That's almost ten months away. I don't even know what I'm doing October 5th a few weeks away. That's just plain ridiculous.

We've been watching the new Roosevelt documentary by Ken Burns. It's been excellent so far. It jumps around a bit but he's trying to cover the lives of 3 people in this documentary and it's not an easy endeavour. 

Teddy Roosevelt was actually shot outside a Milwaukee hotel on October 14, 1912. He was running for a third presidential term but he survived the shooting. On that date in 2012 they did a recreation of the event where the Gilpatrick Hotel once stood. Krissy and I attended and the photos are below.

Later
Recreation 10/14/2012
Recreation 10/14/2012
Recreation 10/14/2012
Recreation 10/14/2012
Coco Before the Race 9/17/2014



Wednesday, September 17, 2014

How Will The Scots Vote

A beautiful sunny 60 something degree day with little to no wind. A hugely competitive 34 team jr. high cross country meet. I've been impressed all season at how good some of these kids are.

Coco had bad cramps before the race but managed to make a pretty good showing.The lung and breathing issues were gone so now we just need to get on a nice streak for the next month.

The Marquette polls were released today. Shows the Wisconsin Governor race in a dead heat. This one will go to the wire if people run out and get the proper identification to vote. Many restrictions and student identifications aren't any good unless you provide proof that you are enrolled. That creates even more questions as to what that proof that would be exactly as schools issue you an identification once you're enrolled. Government just making it harder for the good people to vote. Many absentee votes will come in without identification and they won't be counted. No one cares about the elderly it seems.

The stock market hit an all time high today on the DOW as it crossed the 17,200 mark.

Scotland votes tomorrow on independence from Great Britain. I do not know of any Scottish people to get an opinion or perspective on this issue. Hopefully I'll get a Scottish reader to send me an email. In the mean time, I'll follow the story tomorrow and hope the majority get what they want.

Later



Tuesday, September 16, 2014

The Kyle Fuller Era Starts

A sunny dry day but it sure feels like late October in the early morning. Coco is still battling some lung problems so didn't make cross country practice this morning. I strained my hamstring again so he didn't have to watch me hobble around.

He has a race tomorrow. Not sure how that will go but he ran a little bit tonight and he looked okay.

Nobody in the Middle East has stepped up to the plate very much to help us fight ISIS. Why should they? We've always done most or all of the fighting for them. They are used to it and they don't like dying. If someone constantly takes your place for the dirty work they just accept it.

Political campaign calls keep coming to my cell phone and to our landline a dozen times a day now. I just ignore them and we don't even use our landline nor have an answering machine for it. It came as part of a package and we just use it for emergency out calls. So far we've had none and I don't have any idea what the landline number even is.

Chicago Bear cornerback Charles Tillman is officially done for the season and possibly his career. Rookie first round pick Kyle Fuller stepped into his position and came away with two impressive interceptions in the fourth quarter. He looks like the real deal. It wouldn't be the first time a star was born in the NFL from somebody elses injury. He was certainly a humble and impressive young man in his post game interview. Now, just keep it real for your whole career. The fans are tired of the Richard Sherman's of the league that's for sure!

Later

Monday, September 15, 2014

Devil's Lake Next Year

Another overcast rainy day. I noticed a lot of the rivers were already high in the area last weekend. People are already bundled up like it's Halloween time.

Finally found my pics of Krissy from two weeks ago when we walked down to Water Street. Posted them below.

What a game last night. The Bears charged back from way down in the fourth quarter to win 28-20. The only negative is that Charles Tillman ruptured his tricep again last night. The second season in a row and it's probably a career ender. Most cornerbacks are fortunate to play 12 seasons in the NFL.

Holly is busy setting up next year's camping trip already. Looks like it might be Devil's Lake again last week of July. It's really a great place. It rained the first day a lot last time we went so hopefully with better weather we get to see more of it.

Going out for a run now!

Later
On the Church Steps
Still Resting


Sunday, September 14, 2014

Greg Norman As Lefty

It's a gorgeous 60 plus degree day with nothing but sunshine. I went for a walk thru the neighborhood about an hour before the Packers kick off and it was eerily quiet. Maybe people are hanging out somewhere else for the game today or going to the Brewers game since they are still in the baseball playoff hunt.

I was wearing a flannel shirt with jeans and flip flops. I'm not ready to pack them away yet but no 70's in the near forecast neither.

There was actually a pickup truck on my block with an Arctic Cat snowmobile in the back bed. I know it's been a cold September but not that extreme.

Jared from the Subway commercials has a net worth of 15 million bucks I read today. Not bad for a former fat guy who was just looking for a diet!

A speedy get well to Greg Norman. It looks like his golf days are probably over after almost cutting his left hand off with a chainsaw. I've known a few people who've cut themselves up pretty bad using those things.

Krissy should be home soon. She'll be rooting for her team and I'll do some grilling getting ready for the Bears late game. Enjoy the rest of the day!

Later

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Trail of Tears

It's slightly warmer today but not by much. Thursday and Friday set records for the coldest highs in Milwaukee and Madison. It's supposed to warm up next week. Krissy went out with the girls and I'm staying home to write.

The Bears and 49er's play tomorrow in San Francisco. The Bears are all banged up and some key players are questionable. I still think the Bears score more points than last week but need to be on the receiving end of some turnovers.

I was going to post some more pictures today but my email isn't working. It's always something.

I saw an interesting documentary today on President Andrew Jackson. To this day, some native americans refuse to use the twenty dollar bill with his likeness on it. Jackson was the key mover with the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which sent thousands of Indians out west of the Mississippi River.

It was known as the Trail of Tears. Thousands died, some while shackled as they made the trek west. It was a sad time in our country's history. When we aren't in some perpetual war we do stuff like this. All the Indian Casino's in the world won't make up for such a tragedy.

I'm going to fix some dinner and take a hot shower. Be safe this saturday night please!

Later

Friday, September 12, 2014

The Alaskan Hillbillies

Another 46 degree day with some rain. Krissy put away most of her summer clothes day. I guess September is the new November in the midwest.

We are going to get solar storms on saturday. Maybe that will warm us up. Most likely, it will just cause some communication interruptions.

We're heading out to do some grocery shopping in a few minutes then maybe a late happy hour.

Nothing but bad behavior in the news again today. George Zimmerman is being investigated for road rage. He's been waving his big gun around since he was found not guilty at his trial. His wife eventually got tired of his little gun and left him.Why can't this guy run into Justin Bieber? I'm tired of hearing about this clown. Pretty soon he's going to pick a fight with the wrong person who will oblige him with an ass kicking like he's never seen before.

I thought I was reading a script of the Jerry Springer Show this morning but it was actually a story of the Palin Clan getting their asses handed to them. Apparently, they stopped at a party in Alaska in a stretch Hummer. Even the Duck Dynasty guys got more taste than that. Palin's two oldest kids including their daughter started the fight according to some witnesses. Her husband got punched in the nose and Governor Palin started screaming who she was. Seems like they fight like Zimmerman also. Just shows you that you can't take the billy out of the hill!

Later

Thursday, September 11, 2014

The Original Jaws Passes Away

Nobody was ready for today. Coco and I went to cross country practice early this morning and it was 46 degrees and windy. He never really complained and made it thru his workout like a trooper. Hopefully this November type weather passes thru the area fairly fast. I'm not ready to put away my shorts and flip flops just yet. Heck, I can't even remember where I put that bin now that I think about it.

A sad day for Key West as famed palm reader Mahadeo Bhan Jerrybankhen was shot and killed while visiting family in Trinidad. For years he had a booth on Duval Street near Caroline's Cafe which is one of the most underrated restaurants on the island. He was a large intimidating looking man with long white hair and matching beard with dark features. I couldn't help but stare at him sometimes wondering what his story was. Now I regret not at least chatting with him for a few minutes.

I saw a television clip today on how Chuck Wepner and his fight with Muhammad Ali was the inspiration for the movie Rocky. Stallone has denied that though although it's been reported as factual by several outlets. The basic premise is quite similar.

Richard Kiel passed away yesterday. He played the character 'Jaws' in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. Kiel was a massive man at 7'2 with a Shaquille O'Neal build. Interesting that he had a fear of heights and they had to use a body double for the cable car stunt in Moonraker. Where the heck did they find that body double???

Later

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Roosevelt's On PBS

We woke up to a rain storm this morning but it cleared up nicely. Once I arrived at the race in New Berlin it was still nice. Then the clouds rolled it and dropped 25 degrees with a slight rain. 

Coco handled the weather well for his race but got out a bit slow and pinned on a narrow trail. He moved up throughout the race to finish 55th. It's a learning process and he's having a lot of fun. The competition is much better than I anticipated.

Apple has new phones and the much talked about watch coming out. I'll have to check into the watch as it sounds interesting. It took a long time to finally make it's debut.

Congrats to Bill Gates for pledging 50 million bucks to fight Ebola instead of planting his last name on anything that moves. A true humanitarian.

PBS has a new documentary coming out on the Roosevelt's. It's a 7 night 14 hour flick that starts on the 14th. It's the latest from Ken Burns and I'm sure it will be good like his others. Gotta run now for a late dinner.

Later

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

The Beatles In Key West

It was a beautiful day today. I ran some errands this morning after a good cross country practice with Coco. My dad called, he's getting out of the hospital tomorrow it looks like. Not bad for a major surgery. In the old days he'd be there for at least a week!

Bad News Marvin Barnes passed away yesterday. He was truly professional basketball's first bad boy. The Pistons of the 80's had nothing on this guy. When he wasn't in trouble he was a heck of a player. Hopefully, he found some peace in his life.

Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has been hosting town hall meetings letting people know that boots on the ground could be necessary to beat the terrorists known as ISIS. It's always the guys that have never been shot at that want others to go get shot at. This man is a total disgrace to this state. ISIS is roughly 10,000 strong and drive around the desert in souped up SUV'S shooting used machine guys that were originally ours at one time.

If our intelligence and military is truly that great, then drones and airstrikes should beat these guys. If Johnson wants more Americans in harm's way, then let that gutless wonder sign up his kids. You sir, are also a fool! 

Sons of Anarchy premieres tonight. I know one thing for sure. It won't disappoint it's fans.

It was 50 years ago this week that the Beatles made an unplanned visit to Key West. They were enroute to Jacksonville when a major storm diverted them to Key West at 3am. They checked into the old Key Wester which is now the Hyatt resort. They even played at the bar for hours and rumor has it that one of them saw the Porcelain God. My bet would be on Ringo!

Later




A Grateful Monday

A long, long day but that's okay. My dad's surgery went great and the prognosis is also. Thank you all for so many well wishes. It was very much appreciated.

We drove back thru Mundelein, Illinois where I used to live. Stopped at Emil's and had a great pizza like back in the day.

A special thanks to Krissy for going with me to make a tough day a bit easier. Going to bed now. Cross Country practice at 6:30am tomorrow and the Mustangs have another meet wednesday night!

Later

Pizza at an old favorite, Emils 
Possible 2nd career?


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Skydiving Memories

Coco and I woke up early and headed to Illinois to watch the Bears game with my dad. It was a very nice day even with the Bears losing the game due to turnovers. Some key injuries didn't help matters neither.

We saw some skydivers in East Troy doing a last jump as the sun was setting. It's the same place where I did two static line jumps exactly 20 years ago.

My first jump was almost my last. The radio on my chest didn't work so I didn't hear the turn instructions. That was the least of my worries as my chute didn't open up fully due to a line twist. So I kicked my legs and pulled the lines like they taught us in class and I overcompensated and it twisted too much the other way. I was running out of time before I had to pull the reserve chute so I did the routine once again and the chute opened fully. I came down without instructions and made a picture perfect landing according to the instructor.

The next week we decided to do it again. The chute opened without any malfunctions and the radio worked and I received my instructions. I was a pro I told myself right before I landed. Except this time the wind caught my chute and dragged me on my ass for about 20 yards!

Anyway, I'm heading to bed soon. My dad is having a cancer surgery tomorrow so I'll be heading

Saturday, September 6, 2014

A Yardbird Afternoon

It turned out to be a gorgeous day. Had a nice run with Coco to start it off. He started Tae Kwon Do today so I dropped him off at noon for that. No phone calls yet so I'm assuming no broken bones.

Going to drive down to Illinois tomorrow with Coco. Going to watch the Bears opener with my dad. Hopefully the season will start off right!

Kmart is officially off my shopping list. They came out with a wiseass christmas commercial already this week. I hope they go under and out of business as that's how much that bothers me. Let people enjoy the seasons.

Krissy went to the farmers market today then we spent the afternoon grilling out. A bunch of yardbird bbq style along with a pork center loin grilled to perfection along with some onions and green beans.

I hope everybody is enjoying their weekend. We're heading down to Duke's on Water. Gotta love one buck tappers until 9pm!

Later

Friday, September 5, 2014

Casino Royale Sunglasses

It's hot and humid like a proper August summer day. Except it's September but everything seems to be a bit late this year. I'm picking up Coco after school and we're going for a run. Should be interesting.

The Seahawks looked like they are ready to win another Super Bowl by the way they played last night. A well balanced team with no major weaknesses except for a slight hiccup on the punt return unit. Russell Wilson is almost flawless and makes big plays at big times.

The jobs report had mixed results. Still a decent number but nothing like the first 7 months. Most of these get revised once more accurate information is received so I'm not concluding anything for now one way or another.

There's 6 documented people alive today that were born in the 19th century. All of them women for some reason. Others are believed to be of the same era but have no documentation to support it. What an accomplishment with all these wars.

My sunglasses that I wore Labor Day were somehow brought into a discussion and I forgot the exact story about them. I found the paperwork today. I bought them from an optical store in London, England. They are the same model that Daniel Craig wore in the movie Casino Royale. They weren't cheap and I bought them in 2008. Judging by the ebay sales they appreciated a bit. I'll never sell mine though. I'm a 007 junkie at heart!

Later
The Bond Aviators
007 Casino Royale

Thursday, September 4, 2014

The NFL Opens Tonight

We woke up to severe thunderstorms this morning. Bad lightning cancelled cross country practice. It passed thru fairly early though and ended up a sunny day.

Joan Rivers passed away today. I remember when she used to fill in for Johnny Carson on the Tonight show. She was a comedy legend!

Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell was found guilty in his corruption trial today. He basically blamed the whole fiasco on his wife for being a whack job. Does anybody have a good Governor anymore?

Tesla chose Nevada as the place to build their new giga factory. It will employee 6500 people and be a game changer that's for sure. Naturally, some people are upset with this. Mostly people who are heavy into oil stocks!

The Green Bay Packers will open the NFL season tonight against the Seahawks. Krissy is a Packer fan and I'm a Bears fan. I promised her we could watch the game together and I would keep my comments to myself. Always nice to be tested hard on a thursday night!

Later

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

The First Race

What a tiring day. It made it into the 80's and sunny. The only day I wanted it on the cool side as Coco had his first cross country meet today.

Boy, it was a big one with 31 teams and consisted of grades 5-8th. Coco placed 95th out of 261 and was the 12th fifth grader overall. Not a bad start with a time of 11:20. I thought breaking 12:00 would be a good start for the 1.5 mile course.

He's vowed to keep working hard and getting better. That's all anyone can do.

Krissy's other eye is acting up. Such a rough day and will have to go back to the eye doctor again.

Overall, a proud day. I was a very good distance runner back in my day. But, I want him to do it for the same reasons I did. And if that doesn't happen, so be it. We each travel a different and unique path in this world and that's the way it should be!

Later
Getting Ready
At the Line

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Diana Nyad Honorary Conch

Well, we get an almost perfect day right after the holiday is over. It's been one of those years!

Woke up early and went to cross country practice. It was a pretty tough practice and Coco is passed out on the couch as I write with a pencil in his hand. He was doing homework. I'll let him sleep for a while longer. He has his first race tomorrow and it should be a good one.

I changed my phone plan this morning. I've had the same number for over 12 years and the same plan for over 7 years. The customer service saw my usage and recommended a way for me to save 20 bucks. Thanks amigo!

It looks like the menace we call Bieber was arrested yet once again. At least this time it was in his home country.

Congrats to Diana Nyad. She has a plaque now on Smathers Beach commemorating her great swim accomplishment last year from Cuba to Key West over shark infested waters. It's one of the greatest sporting accomplishments ever without question. It took five tries and too many jellyfish bites. Then to top it off, she get's proclaimed an Honorary Conch of Key West. It's a huge deal as they toss that honor around like a manhole cover! Congrats for both Diana.

Later

Monday, September 1, 2014

Labor Day At The Wilson Estate

The weather is absolutely crazy in Milwaukee. Yesterday was supposed to be the nicest day and today was supposed to be the second coming of Noah's Ark. Yesterday turned out so so but dry. Today it sprinkled a couple times but was otherwise a fine sunny day.

So, we never made it to Pike Lake with the forecast so we stayed in town. Had a fabulous time at John and Angela's and meeting a lot of John's family that we never met before. John's dad, Buzz Wilson played in the Rose Bowl for the Wisconsin Badgers back in the early 50's. The guy looks like he can still play, quite amazing!

I'm winding down watching the Road To Bali with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Kristin is laying in bed looking like a damsel who can't keep her eyes open. I'll just upload some pictures and go write a chapter in my book. Thanks again John for the Flash t-shirt. It's going in the top drawer legendary collection!

Later
Check Out the New Shirt
Talking to John and Buzz
On the Deck
Ryan
Tom, Colleen, John, Angela
Grub Time
Blue Skies
Jim On the Deck
Carrying the Meat