...to benefit the Red & White Albrecht Memorial Scholarship and, when you hear the prizes, I'm sure you'll want in. They are as follows:
1st Prize Golden Oaks X Jet-Red X 91 Pt Ruebens from Gary Derr Herd (or $1,000 Cash).
(The first part of that is a certain type of cow; the second is the only thing I didn't have to have my wife explain.)
2nd prize Benelli-Super Nova 12 GA. Pump Gun @ FLXX Tech Stock
(That's a rifle of some sort. Exactly what we need around the house.)
3rd prize Red & White Canadian True Type Model Cow
(A model cow, just like it sounds. I have no idea how big or small it is or what it's made of, but it's a model of a cow and it must have some value to someone. Good luck with that.)
4th thru 10th prize 10 units each from Richard Green ("ALL RED GENETICS")
(If you're wondering what exactly the 10 units are, you're obviously not in the dairy cattle world. The answer is bull semen. That's right, bull semen. Just what you always wanted.)
It kind of reminds me of the joke about the raffle in which first prize is a weekend in Gary, Indiana. Second prize? A whole week.
You can't make this stuff up.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
It's been a week now...
...since Sarah Palin's surprise announcement that she would step down as governor of Alaska at the end of this month. As a true political junkie, I've been scouring the Internet ever since and devouring everything I could find on the subject (I have no life). About the only things that can be said for sure about Palin are that she was miserable as governor since her return to Alaska, she was tired of all the ethics charges and criticism in the media, and that she stands to make a ton of money on her upcoming book, speeches, and as the possible host of her own television or radio show. At her press conference she mentioned canvassing her kids about her decision and getting four "yeses" and a "Hell, yeah!" She didn't say, but I have to think that the question was worded something along the lines of, "I'm thinking of giving up commuting to this crummy job as governor and making us all rich instead. Would you be in favor of that?"
My own take on Palin is that she will never again hold elective office; she's just not that interested in the day-to-day workings of government. She may or may not run for president in 2012, but either way, she'll always be the darling of the Right. And while she would never close the door on a "Draft Sarah" movement, I don't see her ever getting the Republican nomination--it would just be too suicidal for the party. Instead, I see her more as a modern-day version of Eleanor Roosevelt, although a conservative one. In the near term, she'll promote her book, give lots of red meat-laden speeches to the base, and campaign for candidates who could use her help. Longer term, she'll be more of an elder stateswoman and kingmaker. I could see prospective Republican nominees making the trek up to Wasilla, bowing, and kissing her ring in the hope of securing her valuable endorsement. It's a role that would be better for her and better for the rest of us.
My own take on Palin is that she will never again hold elective office; she's just not that interested in the day-to-day workings of government. She may or may not run for president in 2012, but either way, she'll always be the darling of the Right. And while she would never close the door on a "Draft Sarah" movement, I don't see her ever getting the Republican nomination--it would just be too suicidal for the party. Instead, I see her more as a modern-day version of Eleanor Roosevelt, although a conservative one. In the near term, she'll promote her book, give lots of red meat-laden speeches to the base, and campaign for candidates who could use her help. Longer term, she'll be more of an elder stateswoman and kingmaker. I could see prospective Republican nominees making the trek up to Wasilla, bowing, and kissing her ring in the hope of securing her valuable endorsement. It's a role that would be better for her and better for the rest of us.
I'm not a big fan of Peggy Noonan's...
...as a rule, but I think she nailed it pretty well in this piece on Sarah Palin:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124716984620819351.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124716984620819351.html
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Here's a new one...
...on me. While driving down Lake Avenue in Wilmette the other day I noticed a For Sale sign outside someone's house. It had all the usual info on it: the real estate company, the listing agent, etc. And then below, where they often have another sign that says something like I'm Gorgeous Inside, I noticed the words Harper School. This last line caused me to do a double-take. Harper School? What's that doing on a For Sale sign? And then it hit me. Harper School is a primary school in west Wilmette. It must be so well-regarded as to be considered a selling point in real estate circles.
Just when I thought the people in the New Trier school district couldn't get any nuttier! As if it wasn't enough to stress out 24/7 about where their kids are going to college, they now get to stress out about the primary school that feeds into the middle school that feeds into New Trier which, as we all know, is the only high school on the planet worth attending. Imagine going through life like that.
Just when I thought the people in the New Trier school district couldn't get any nuttier! As if it wasn't enough to stress out 24/7 about where their kids are going to college, they now get to stress out about the primary school that feeds into the middle school that feeds into New Trier which, as we all know, is the only high school on the planet worth attending. Imagine going through life like that.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A wise man once said...
..."the more things change, the more they stay the same." Truer words were never spoken, and I thought of them last night when I made my annual pilgrimage to the "Friendly Confines" of Wrigley Field.
I tried to think of how many Cubs games I'd been in my life and decided that 30 (most of them losses) was as good a number as any, but this was the first time that I went as the guest of my son. Because he was joining me from work, I took the el to the park as I had done many times before. This was the first time I took the Skokie Swift, however, which is now known as the Yellow Line, and transferred at Howard to what is now known as the Red Line. (Were the old names really that confusing?) Along the way, I passed a number of familiar landmarks which brought back memories of my days as a young man growing up in the city in the 1980s.
One place I failed to see was the Heartland Cafe in Rogers Park. It used to be just west of the el tracks but I couldn't spot it. I went there once with some friends and I think it was the first time I ever went to a vegetarian restaurant. There were a lot of culinary firsts for me in those days. After I quit drinking in 1982, I fell in with a "good" crowd and we went out to dinner a lot (how eccentric!). Growing up in a house where ethnic food meant Kraft spaghetti from a box on Fridays (with ground beef added after Vatican II), I marveled at all the exotic restaurants in my adopted city. I remember sampling Greek, Mexican, Thai, Indian, and God knows what else for the first time back in those days. I felt a little like Marco Polo relating all of these adventures to my wide-eyed family back in Minnesota.
After Rogers Park comes Uptown and it still looks as gritty as ever. The el passes Harry S Truman College and in case you've ever wondered, the period after the "S" didn't fall off over the years; it was never supposed to be there in the first place. I read once that Truman's parents couldn't agree on a middle name for baby Harry. Since both of their choices began with an "S," however, they compromised by giving him just the letter--no middle name. It could have been worse, I guess; they could have nicknamed him "Booty."
A few stops later and the park emerges majestically to the west. As soon as you get off at Addison and make your way down to street level the energy of the place just hits you. The sidewalks are teeming with people, the bars are hopping, and music seems to be coming at you from all directions. It's positively electric! (And to think that at one time, in the early sixties, there was so little interest in the Cubs that the upper deck was closed on weekdays. Now you can't get near the place.) And that's the outside of the stadium. Once inside, you're quickly reminded why you're there in the first place. It truly is the Cathedral of Baseball and you'd be forgiven if you glanced around for those little containers of holy water or were half-tempted to genuflect when you see the field. If you live in a city that still has a cookie-cutter ballpark then you really need to visit Wrigley. And if your team has one of those retro-style parks then you should know that this is the experience that the architects were trying to replicate. Like they used to say about Coca-Cola, it's the Real Thing.
My son and I had bleacher seats and since I was to arrive first he urged me to sit in left field if at all possible (the bleachers are general admission). This, he explained, is because that's where the most homers are hit. I got there just in time to watch the last Brave at batting practice and no sooner did I sit down than a ball went soaring directly over my head and into the waiting glove of a fan standing out on Waveland Avenue. Cool! (I'd better pay attention.) After I settled into my seat I looked around and realized that not only was I the oldest guy in the vicinity but the oldest by about 20 years. And then I realized it had been about 20 years since I last sat in the bleachers. Not much has changed, except the prices, of course. My ticket said $50 on it although my son and I paid $65 to his boss somehow (handling, I guess). When I first moved to Chicago in 1981 bleacher seats were only $2.00, less than a ticket to the movies at the time--and no one wanted them! I can remember more than once waking up on a Saturday morning and, finding out it was nice outside and the Cubs were in town, wandering over to the park to take in a game in the bleachers. That was before it became cool to go to Wrigley. In those days, retired blue-collar guys who lived in the city would take the bus over and buy tickets on the day of the game. They'd have a one or two-day growth of stubble, smoke cigars, and listen to the game on their transistor radios while they watched. (Nowadays you probably can't even smoke a cigarette within a half-mile of the place.) Many of them seemed to know each other and they conversed intelligently about the game while they drank beer, ate peanuts, and kept score with the cheap programs they used to sell. I tried telling my son that Bill Veeck (who?) was a regular in the bleachers back in the seventies when it was really unfashionable to sit out there. He'd take off his shirt and get a tan, knock back a few Budweisers, and even take off his wooden leg and flick the ash from his cigarettes in there. At this last part my son looked at me sideways as if to say, "Now you're going too far, Dad."
The rain held off and it turned out to be a beautiful night to watch baseball. I laughed at myself a little for worrying at one time about lights in Wrigley Field; night baseball is a great idea! We each had a couple of hot dogs for dinner and I was struck by another modern-day phenomenon--tipping vendors. When did that practice come into being? Probably around the same time that tip jars were installed at Starbuck's, I suppose. Trends always sneak up on me. Reminds me a little of the first time I went into a record store and saw that there were no records anymore, just CDs. Now not only are there no records anymore, there aren't even any record stores.
As I said before, the more things change ("I smell a blog posting, Dad"), the more they stay the same (Cubs lost). In a pitcher's dual (at Wrigley?!?), the North Siders took it on the chin, 2-1. I can only imagine Carlos Zambrano's frustration with his teammates. "Come on guys, can't you score more than one run against the Braves?" Although knowing Zambrano, I suspect his language was a little more colorful than that. Oh well, my son and I had a good time.
I tried to think of how many Cubs games I'd been in my life and decided that 30 (most of them losses) was as good a number as any, but this was the first time that I went as the guest of my son. Because he was joining me from work, I took the el to the park as I had done many times before. This was the first time I took the Skokie Swift, however, which is now known as the Yellow Line, and transferred at Howard to what is now known as the Red Line. (Were the old names really that confusing?) Along the way, I passed a number of familiar landmarks which brought back memories of my days as a young man growing up in the city in the 1980s.
One place I failed to see was the Heartland Cafe in Rogers Park. It used to be just west of the el tracks but I couldn't spot it. I went there once with some friends and I think it was the first time I ever went to a vegetarian restaurant. There were a lot of culinary firsts for me in those days. After I quit drinking in 1982, I fell in with a "good" crowd and we went out to dinner a lot (how eccentric!). Growing up in a house where ethnic food meant Kraft spaghetti from a box on Fridays (with ground beef added after Vatican II), I marveled at all the exotic restaurants in my adopted city. I remember sampling Greek, Mexican, Thai, Indian, and God knows what else for the first time back in those days. I felt a little like Marco Polo relating all of these adventures to my wide-eyed family back in Minnesota.
After Rogers Park comes Uptown and it still looks as gritty as ever. The el passes Harry S Truman College and in case you've ever wondered, the period after the "S" didn't fall off over the years; it was never supposed to be there in the first place. I read once that Truman's parents couldn't agree on a middle name for baby Harry. Since both of their choices began with an "S," however, they compromised by giving him just the letter--no middle name. It could have been worse, I guess; they could have nicknamed him "Booty."
A few stops later and the park emerges majestically to the west. As soon as you get off at Addison and make your way down to street level the energy of the place just hits you. The sidewalks are teeming with people, the bars are hopping, and music seems to be coming at you from all directions. It's positively electric! (And to think that at one time, in the early sixties, there was so little interest in the Cubs that the upper deck was closed on weekdays. Now you can't get near the place.) And that's the outside of the stadium. Once inside, you're quickly reminded why you're there in the first place. It truly is the Cathedral of Baseball and you'd be forgiven if you glanced around for those little containers of holy water or were half-tempted to genuflect when you see the field. If you live in a city that still has a cookie-cutter ballpark then you really need to visit Wrigley. And if your team has one of those retro-style parks then you should know that this is the experience that the architects were trying to replicate. Like they used to say about Coca-Cola, it's the Real Thing.
My son and I had bleacher seats and since I was to arrive first he urged me to sit in left field if at all possible (the bleachers are general admission). This, he explained, is because that's where the most homers are hit. I got there just in time to watch the last Brave at batting practice and no sooner did I sit down than a ball went soaring directly over my head and into the waiting glove of a fan standing out on Waveland Avenue. Cool! (I'd better pay attention.) After I settled into my seat I looked around and realized that not only was I the oldest guy in the vicinity but the oldest by about 20 years. And then I realized it had been about 20 years since I last sat in the bleachers. Not much has changed, except the prices, of course. My ticket said $50 on it although my son and I paid $65 to his boss somehow (handling, I guess). When I first moved to Chicago in 1981 bleacher seats were only $2.00, less than a ticket to the movies at the time--and no one wanted them! I can remember more than once waking up on a Saturday morning and, finding out it was nice outside and the Cubs were in town, wandering over to the park to take in a game in the bleachers. That was before it became cool to go to Wrigley. In those days, retired blue-collar guys who lived in the city would take the bus over and buy tickets on the day of the game. They'd have a one or two-day growth of stubble, smoke cigars, and listen to the game on their transistor radios while they watched. (Nowadays you probably can't even smoke a cigarette within a half-mile of the place.) Many of them seemed to know each other and they conversed intelligently about the game while they drank beer, ate peanuts, and kept score with the cheap programs they used to sell. I tried telling my son that Bill Veeck (who?) was a regular in the bleachers back in the seventies when it was really unfashionable to sit out there. He'd take off his shirt and get a tan, knock back a few Budweisers, and even take off his wooden leg and flick the ash from his cigarettes in there. At this last part my son looked at me sideways as if to say, "Now you're going too far, Dad."
The rain held off and it turned out to be a beautiful night to watch baseball. I laughed at myself a little for worrying at one time about lights in Wrigley Field; night baseball is a great idea! We each had a couple of hot dogs for dinner and I was struck by another modern-day phenomenon--tipping vendors. When did that practice come into being? Probably around the same time that tip jars were installed at Starbuck's, I suppose. Trends always sneak up on me. Reminds me a little of the first time I went into a record store and saw that there were no records anymore, just CDs. Now not only are there no records anymore, there aren't even any record stores.
As I said before, the more things change ("I smell a blog posting, Dad"), the more they stay the same (Cubs lost). In a pitcher's dual (at Wrigley?!?), the North Siders took it on the chin, 2-1. I can only imagine Carlos Zambrano's frustration with his teammates. "Come on guys, can't you score more than one run against the Braves?" Although knowing Zambrano, I suspect his language was a little more colorful than that. Oh well, my son and I had a good time.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Some Minnesotans are concerned...
...about how Al Franken will represent them in the U. S. Senate. If so, the following video on David Frum's Web site "The New Majority" won't give them much comfort.
www.newmajority.com/WatchNow_View.aspx?ID=460f25ff-bd25-4aac-ada9-855c29aa227f
My first response to this would be to score one for the Republicans. But my second response would be to point out that Franken is a Harvard graduate. This alone doesn't qualify him for the Senate, of course, but it sure gives him a lot more credibility than all those Republicans who don't even accept evolution. And for all those Minnesotans who are worried that Franken might embarrass them in Washington, I would just ask, how could he possibly out-do Michele Bachmann?
www.newmajority.com/WatchNow_View.aspx?ID=460f25ff-bd25-4aac-ada9-855c29aa227f
My first response to this would be to score one for the Republicans. But my second response would be to point out that Franken is a Harvard graduate. This alone doesn't qualify him for the Senate, of course, but it sure gives him a lot more credibility than all those Republicans who don't even accept evolution. And for all those Minnesotans who are worried that Franken might embarrass them in Washington, I would just ask, how could he possibly out-do Michele Bachmann?
Sarah Palin seems determined...
...to make Bill Kristol look bad. Not since Frankenstein's monster has something turned out so badly for its creator. And what was Kristol's response to Palin's latest stunt?
"My contrarian take is, almost everyone I talk to thinks it's crazy, but I wonder maybe it's crazy like a fox," said Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, who has been defending Palin this past week.
Kristol's view is that spending another 18 months in office in Alaska will not convince skeptics that Palin is ready to be president. Instead, he said, she can use this time to travel the country and the world, to immerse herself in policy issues and to campaign for Republican candidates, without facing questions every time she leaves the state about whether she is shirking her responsibilities.
"It's a heck of a gamble, but it might pay off," Kristol said.
One of the first things you learn when trading the markets is to cut your losses. When you find yourself in a bad trade--as you surely will--the wisest thing to do is take a prudent loss. Conversely, one of the worst things you can do is stick with a losing trade, or even worse, add to it. The best course is to admit you're wrong, get out, and take a fresh look at the market. Someone needs to tell Bill Kristol that.
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