A Dispensing Fee?

This is a bit annoying. One medication that our local pharmacy had been filling was costing us our typical $10 copay. We had had this refilled there once or twice when, we happened upon the fact that the prescription, when not run through our insurance plan would cost us about $4 at a number of other pharmacies! Now, I don't want to nitpick, but this is a problem. How can our pharmacy, a national chain, charge us double for meds by submitting it to our insurance company? Naturally, I was curious so I asked the pharmacist tonight when I was getting a more expensive prescription filled there. He explained to me that there is a $10.99 dispensing fee! I thought that's what a pharmacist does. He's a salaried employee and I don't suspect he sees a dime for all of his dispensing efforts. So no matter how little the prescription costs, we would be charged a minimum of $10. It's ridiculous, and the pharmacist thought so too. So now we have moved the prescriptions elsewhere and will consider taking some other meds to the new pharmacy as well. I won't reveal the pharmacy, but you Could Venture to Surmise which chain it is.

Education: It's the Parenting, stupid!

OK, that's a pretty harsh headline, but since the State of the Union address earlier this week, many people are calling into question "No Child Left Behind." The question is whether or not the legislation has rendered any decent results. Honestly, I don't know how effective it is, but I do know one thing that would vastly improve the academic performance of most of our children.

After teaching in the public school for a few years, I can tell you that wealth, race/ethnicity have little to do with the smarts of our kids. I taught in the inner-city and the one common trait of all the "good students" was that their parents were involved in their education. I continue to be amazed with the pressure that exists from the President all the way down to the teachers in the classroom. Whether it's "No Child Left behind" or a push for Magnet schools or performance reviews of teachers, the pressure is there to make our kids "smarter." Of course there are always some kids who will be unable to "make the grade" and there will also be other kids who have unfortunate situations where parental involvement is minimal who will defy the odds and be incredible students. But these are the exceptions. The general rule will be that the majority of students who excel will have positive involvement from parents or other loved ones. Of course this is not the only factor, but I've got to say that it is the largest and most overlooked factor when it comes to a child's education. And as long as we as a society continue to harp on how our public schools fail us and refuse to look inwardly on how we can help the children around us, the longer the problem will exist.

Florida Primary: Interesting Political Tidbit

Here is a non-scientific mini-study regarding last night's primary:

I spent just a few minutes this morning looking at the front page of three major news sources: CNN, MSNBC and Foxnews.

Of the three, MSNBC makes the least about the Democratic Florida Primary (which was stripped of any delegates and therefore should not factor very much). I did a word search on Clinton and Obama and it doesn't even exist on the front page!

CNN was also pretty neutral although mentions Clinton's "win." Obama was also mentioned on the front page, but less often than Hillary. The front page consisted of the following headlines/links with my opinion in parenthesis:

Ticker: I didn't snub Clinton, says Obama - (Negative for Obama)
Clinton trumpets win with no delegates at stake - (Neutral for Clinton)
Cafferty: Top Dems turn backs on Clinton? - (Negative for Clinton)

I think FoxNews has the most telling front page. They have a graph at the top showing the percentages of both Florida contests which shows Clinton as the clear winner. They also have the following headlines/links:

CLINTON WINS FLORIDA 'BEAUTY CONTEST' (I guess this is neutral. Tough call)
Picture of Hillary with link to a video entitled 'Great Victory'. This link appears twice with a subtitle referring to the Obama snub. (Clearly a positive for Clinton, and mentioned twice).
Sharpton scolds Bill Clinton - (Neutral for Clinton - considering the source of the scolding)
Father Jonathan: Barack Obama vs. Jesse Jackson (First glance says negative, and the reading confirms it)
Dick Morris, Eileen McGann: Bill's Temper Tantrums (Negative on Clinton)

What does all of this mean? Well goodness, I don't know, but if I want to throw my opinion around, (and a blog is a good place to do that), this is what I think:

MSNBC seems to stay relatively neutral, or perhaps because they didn't mention Clinton's win, they are Anti-Clinton. Either way they get points in my book.
CNN, which has been known to be called the Clinton News Network, is surprisingly neutral. I was impressed. I turned them off last night because they were bringing Clinton on Anderson Cooper. I couldn't handle watching that so I turned on NPR.
FoxNews pretty much reinforced my opinion that they border on tabloid and biased news than real news. It used to be the only thing I'd watch, but it just got to be too much. I also believe they reflect many in the conservative base that really want Clinton to get the nomination because that's the only way conservatives stand a chance of winning. By having so many Clinton headlines I think it helps to invoke both fear in conservatives of a Clinton presidency and therefore arouse a voter base. (Perhaps I'm just a conspiracy theorist).
Overall I'm pretty impressed with CNN and MSNBC. That being said though, if I want anything close to unbiased I still turn to BBC or NPR.

Why political polls are missing the mark

Anyone who likes to follow presidential races, will come across a plethora of polls on any given day. Media use them and most of us who are interested, find them fascinating. Well it has occurred to me over the past four or so years that the reliability of the polls continue to diminish because of one reason: Telecommunications. All of these polls are conducted through phone surveys. And there are two reasons within telecommunications why they are becoming less and less reliable.

First is the continued upswing of cell phone use. Many people no longer keep a phone in their house and use their cell phones exclusively. If you haven't noticed, you don't get survey or poll calls on the mobile phone. (And thank goodness for that! You think a cell phone ringing in the middle of a meeting is bad now! Imagine what it would be like if you started receiving calls from every telemarketer on your cell phone!). Anyhow, pollsters are stuck calling land lines. This of course skews their demographics quite a bit because any age group or type of person who typically only uses a cell phone will not be asked their political preferences.

Second Caller ID. Let's be honest here. Who doesn't screen their calls these days? I have found myself not picking up when neighbors in my cul de sac call (and they can see my cars)! So what are the chances I'd pick up for people I don't know? It's hard to figure out how much that skews results, but I'm sure it does quite a bit. Of course, those polling are not going to talk about how much less effective their polls have become, but I'm sure it's more than they wish.

Of course there are other reasons polls become less accurate. Too small of a sample is of course the most common. But also consider those who are unfortunate enough to be on the phone with a pollster and frustrated that they interrupted dinner. They might choose to lie just to skew the results. Kids may answer the phone or households might be split on how to answer the questions. All of these effect the results, but I think the most obvious and least spoken about are the ways in which we have changed the way we use our phones. I'm sure there's a much better article on this somewhere else with actual statistics and everything, but in case that's not true. You read it here first!

Unity

On three different occasions yesterday I was reminded how oppressive or repulsive strength or power can unite many who normally would not be united.

First, I read Peggy Noonan's WSJ column where she responds to some quotes againsts the clintons written in the liberal journal, The Nation:

"That, again, is from one of the premier liberal journals in the United States. It is exactly what conservatives have been saying for a decade. This may mark a certain coming together of the thoughtful on both sides. The Clintons, uniters at last."

Then later in the day I spoke to a Jets fan about how much I wish the New England Patriots would lose. He wholeheartedly agreed and then went on to say, "I can't believe I am going to be rooting for the Giants!"

The kicker was last night. There was a men's event at our church and while I was there in my Ohio State shirt, I had a friend introduce me to another guy named Dan. Dan immediately told me he graduated from Michigan. What happened next will amaze even the skeptics! Through the course of the conversation we commiserated about having to live in the South while the SEC continues to dominate college football. I then told him that I was actually rooting for Michigan when they played Florida. He then admitted that he wanted Ohio State to beat LSU in the National Championship game. So the Southeastern Conference united us.*

So there you have it. Three uniters of our day: The Southeastern Conference, The New England Patriots and The Clintons. Many are united wishing they would all just go away.


*As an aside, obviously the SEC is the catalyst for Dan and I rooting for each other's team, but something else explains the following:




(I had to put that commercial in here. It's hilarious!)

What kind of parent am I?

So this week, my oldest son has "Spirit Week" at his school. Monday was Martin Luther King Day so there wasn't school, but each day after has a theme:

• Tuesday was "Geek Day." Considering I'm in I.T. you'd think we'd have something for him to wear in order to come across as a geek. Well, first we forgo, But even if we did remember, the only thing I could think of doing would be for him to somehow emulate me, but considering this is the same person who may someday pick out my nursing home, that just wouldn't be right.
• Today is Superhero day. Well, my son may know who Superman or Spider-Man is, but that's it. He has never seen either show or movie. We were stuck, but my wife thought up a quick cowboy outfit. I think we're going for the Lone Ranger, but frankly, I haven't seen a Lone Ranger show or movie myself, so I'm doubting any8 year-old would know much about them either.
• Tomorrow is pajama day. We dress our son in sweat pants and a t-shirt for bed. We really don't have acceptable pajamas.
• Friday is the pep rally and the kids should be in school colors. OK! This we can do! We have a "spirit" t-shirt and a pair of jeans laying around.

The pressure to conform is great! I figure if we get him to school and be sure his homework is done, we're on the right track. But NOOOO! You have to have Spirit Week! So, if you thought us not doing Santa Claus is bad, as well as my desire to tone down Christmas, I can only imagine what you might think of me now. But really, I love kids. They're wonderful. I just don't want them to have any fun. ;-)

Weekend Purchases

So this past weekend we went out and found a few bargains. My wife found on Craig's List, a four in one cordless tool set which she bought for some of her household projects. On Sunday, she needed one more power tool, so we went out and got another bargain at the Black and Decker outlet. While we were there, I also found some nice fleece gloves that match my coat.

So to recap the weekend: My wife bought five power tools and I bought a nice pair of gloves and made us a nice dinner on Saturday evening. I don't know whether to consider myself one of the luckiest husbands in the world or question my own masculinity. :-)

Attention: cooks and critics!

When the weather is cold and I have the time, I love to find a recipe online and cook. If you find a recipe online and want to do it, that's great. If it's online and has some really good reviews, then you're off to a good start. I have frequently tried a recipe, and liked it. I go back to the reviews which I normally read before I even started it, and usually add my own comment and rating to the recipe. Most of the reviews you read are good. Why would you try the recipe if it didn't have majority of good marks? However some comments are quite interesting:

Example 1:(2 stars) "I tried this recipe and was quite disappointed and it should probably be removed from this website. It came out dry and I'm not quite sure I even liked the flavor. I substituted powdered sugar for the baking powder and since I was out of cocoa, I used allspice. The cake came out dense, dry and I couldn't even taste the chocolate! I do not recommend this recipe!!!"

What do we learn?
Do not rate any recipe where you have adjusted the recipe significantly. This example is an exaggeration, but there are plenty of actual reviews that look like this. Long lists of recipe adjustments and then a bad rating. These people do not get that if you want to rate someone else's recipe, then you need to follow it. My wife and I have completely different takes on how to cook. I baseline every recipe I do. The first time with a recipe, you follow it to a tee!!! Well, at least I do. My wife doesn't but it's good anyhow, and she doesn't write reviews of recipes online.

Example 2:(1 Star) "This recipe was horrible. I have been making meatloaf for years now and when I tried this it was a waste of time. The loaf fell apart and the texture was extremely mushy. I would not recommend this recipe to anyone. My recipe is ten times better than this one."

What do we learn?
You see this comment more often than you'd expect. If you have an excellent recipe, then why are you trying another one? You should be posting yours. I suppose there are some other folks who think of their kitchen as a "test kitchen," but I suspect this isn't the case for most folks. This also brings me to one of the more amusing things about cooking: have you ever noticed how many people think they're good cooks? I think this number is probably inflated (mostly by ego). If you don't believe me, look at example 3.

Example 3:(2 stars)"This casserole was not very good. I followed the recipe exactly how it's written and my spouse, three kids and I did not like it. It was quite disappointing."

What do we learn?
This one is pretty simple. If you see 150 reviews averaging four and a half stars, and no one in your family likes it, well do the math. Since the ratings are high, the problem is not likely the recipe. To use the humorous IT analysis, the problem lies somewhere between the recipe and the diner's taste buds.

I guess by now you're wondering why I'm blogging this, and I'm not sure I have a good answer. Mostly to share the amusement I get from reading the reviews. Whenever I do this, I find it quite funny, and like with any review/opinion, you learn more about those who opine than the topic they are discussing. Similar to what you're probably doing to me about now. (You can write your own comments below and I will be sure to draw conclusions about you too). :-)

Pair o' Dime Props: Snow Days!!

I work on a college campus, which for many appears to be a utopia. It's not. But it's still really great. It's nice walking across campus for meetings, and having doors and windows near my desk. I'm a state employee too (read: pretty good job security), so that's a plus. And I definitely can't complain about the 7 figure salary.*

In Charlotte, North Carolina we get a plethora of blue sky days, and wonderful springs and falls. But also when it snows 2 inches, I don't have to go to work! The university was closed today. Now for us "Yankees" it's hard to understand this, but we'll take it! It's like being a kid again. We got up and ran outside. My wife built a snowman with the boys (although they got cold and ran in and she had to put on the finishing touches herself), and I made pancakes and hot chocolate. The boys loved the snow and we all enjoyed the time together. Sadly, my oldest son's school was smart enough to realize that two inches would not bring the sky crashing down on all of us and he only got a two hour delay. A good call for them, but the self-imposed guilt we had because we got to stay home wasn't welcome. Oh well, I'm sure he'll be smarter because of it. Honestly though, anyone who grew up in the deep south and didn't have the anticipation and joy of school being canceled in the middle of a hard winter do not know what they are missing. Thankfully we're not in the deep south, so we get to live vicariously through our kids.

*Yeah, you read that right. Seven figures, baby! And that includes a decimal point too! Eat your heart out! :-)

Politicians beware! H-2-Ohhhhhhhh!!!

First let me start with obvious pitfalls. Hotels called Watergate, Land developments called Whitewater, Defense contractors called Blackwater, and Candidates called Goldwater.

Add to this the Bay of Pigs, Guantanamo Bay, and Chappaquiddick.

Goodness, thanks to Florida, which is almost completely surrounded by water, we almost had a "constitutional crisis" in 2000.

There's probably more, but I think the writing is on the wall: Politicians should stay away from water!

Writer's Strike: The "Plight" Continues

Some of you may know that the Golden Globes were suppose to be last night. Sadly, since millionaires are withholding money from other rich people, (as a sports fan this is nothing new to me), and other rich people, actors, in a statement of solidarity with the writers, chose not to attend an awards ceremony, they were canceled. I know I've written about this before, but again I can't emphasize enough how this is shaking our society! With the absence of good television, (some would say that's been the case for years, and others would say "good television" is an oxymoron), I spent my time in a quiet house reading, blogging, and (GASP!) having quality time conversing with my wife. You know, if this continues, my mental, relational, and physical health may all "suffer."

A One Point Sermon

I've mentioned before that my capacity during a sermon is often much less than what is offered. A 3, 4, 5, or 'n' point sermon (where 'n'>1) is usually more than I can retain. I can tell you about the other points today, but I can tell you today which point I might still have a week from now.

Such was the case this morning, as we continued going through Isaiah in my church. The first 12 verses of chapter 58 was very interesting. Essentially, God tells Isaiah that the people are praying and fasting for the wrong reasons. Essentially in some way of hoping that God will do for them what they want him to do. One of the points that was made is that we often will go through our acts of worship, prayer, ritual, giving, etc. in hopes of a favorable return from God. God is saying this is wrong, and then goes on to outline what it is these people SHOULD be doing. Verses 6-9 in The Message paraphrase reads like this:

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed, cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

I'm sure I wouldn't be able to convey how this hit me, or how it was even delivered here, but I have to say I as a Christian need to take a hold of this. It is my experience that many Christians, myself included seem to forget about our obligations to the less fortunate, regardless of what their circumstances are. This is what God is calling us to. Not a public display of piety, but a human effort to help those who need help. An unconditional pursuit of expressions of love, charity and the like. It's quite the challenge, and I've got a long way to go. And this post is just me preaching to me and sharing it with whoever is intrigued enough to read it.

Apologies

Today, due to circumstances, I have become fascinated with apologies. The complexities of conflict and resolution can be very revealing about both parties. I for one believe I'm pretty good at being willing to apologize. If anything, I err on the side of throwing them out too often and potentially not standing up for my actions.

Other person: "Rus, the other day, when you turned around, I noticed that your left shoulder dipped in a real quirky way. It really annoyed me."

Me: "I'm sorry, I did not intend for that to annoy you. Will you forgive me?"

Yeah, that's me. And I'm not even sure I'm exaggerating in this example. Many would say I'm a pushover. And if they tell me I am, I'm likely to apologize about it. Just ask my siblings. They told me when I was young that I used to apologize for apologizing too much. My first homecoming date told me to stop apologizing during dinner. I eventually got my "sorrys" under control, and then she told me I was allowed to apologize when I dropped my sour cream-covered knife on her dress. There was just no winning in this case.

All of this to say that I think an apology for a legitimate wrong, when delivered correctly, will say more about the recipient than the giver. Such was the case today. The person I needed to acknowledge my mistake to had essentially two options: High Road or Low Road. Now in this case, he head-faked the high one and then went low. It's fascinating really. Exhausting, annoying, humiliating and enraging too. But when someone acknowledges a fault. The relationship is strengthened by a gracious acceptance of the apology. Or the relationship begins (or continues) it's trip south by some sort of patronizing, arrogant, superior response to ensure that the giver is raked over the coals.

Oh well. I apologized and meant it. His reactions I can't control. My perceptions of him, I can.

Swift Kids for Truth

One of my coworkers just sent me to a website called 23/6. I haven't looked at the site too closely, but he showed me this video which was absolutely hilarious! So when you have a minute, check out the video below. Perhaps one of the main reasons I will not vote for the junior senator "from" New York!

Iowa and New Hampshire

I'm not big into long extensive analytical posts on many subjects, politics included, so this one is short and sweet.

We say that the Iowa Caucus, the first in the nation, will give us a good understanding of who the front runners and likely nominees are for both parties.

But then we say that since New Hampshire is the first primary, we will get a clearer understanding after it. New Hampshire, being proud of it's strong-willed heritage, does not wish to follow Iowa's suit and proceeds to give their nomination to the two candidates who placed third in the Iowa Caucus.

So what do we learn? That neither of these two smaller states have as much weight as we tend to want to give them and as a country we would all be best served if we all voted on the same day for the primaries. Instead, some people will continue to be poorly influenced based on one or the other of these states instead of choosing a candidate based on their merits. (In other words, it's peer and media pressure).

I'm a GREAT person!

Well, actually a great uncle for the second time, but I like the title above for shock value. :-)

My nephew, Adam, has become a father! I don't know all the specifics, but I do know the baby's grandma has checked out this site, so maybe she can fill in the specs.

I'm not too sure I like this "great uncle" thing. I'm 40 and that's too young. The first time it happened, I think I was about 35! I actually have a "great nephew" that is older than my own son. Such is the life of being the youngest of five siblings I guess.

Anyhow, Congratulations to Adam and his family! And to Grandma Karen too!

Wardrobe Choices for Sports Fans

Today, I'm wearing gray pants and a scarlet (read: red) shirt. Tonight the Buckeyes play for the National Championship. I live in North Carolina. Why do I do this? Are there any ball players or coaches wandering around the campus? Do I think I will inspire them?

In the fall I wear OSU T-shirts and sweatshirts on Saturday, and the same for the Bengals on Sunday. Again, I live in North Carolina. I don't go to games or even sports bars, and yet I wear them. Nobody really sees them during the games except my family, who's wearing the same. Are we inspired by each other? If so, does our collective and mutual inspiration somehow translate into a better team? Nevertheless, tonight I will come home from work, change out of my scarlet and gray work clothes and into my Ohio State T-shirt. I might even wear a hat. (I won't paint my face, though...that's just ridiculous). Tomorrow, if they win, I will opt for another red shirt and a gray sweater vest. Sort of a tacit "I told you so" for anyone noticing my wardrobe two days in a row. If they lose, I will wear my typical clothes and hope no one noticed my clothes from the day before. I will probably leave my OSU flag on my house flying regardless...unless it's a blowout like last year. :-)

Why do we do this? I know it's not just me. I really need to know! It's a sociological emergency!!! (Now where have you seen that last sentence typed anywhere before?)

UPDATE: Oh the humanity! Another year of hearing those around me saying the SEC is dominant. It's ok if it's true...I can deal with that. It's just the arrogance!

Perhaps if I had worn the facepaint it would have made a difference.

Typical Mom

Matthew 20:20-21

(v.20)Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

(v. 21)"What is it you want?" he asked.
She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."

....

The passage goes on, and Jesus didn't grant the desire, but when I read it this morning I just had to laugh. Having been a teacher and currently working in a university setting where I hear plenty of stories about how parents intervene, sometimes inappropriately, I realized this isn't a new phenomena. It definitely shows the nature of a mom, and her incredible love for her children.

(Note to mom: I know you read this, but I have to say that I don't think you meddled...although you did tell me a story once about when we first moved to Fairfield and I was playing baseball. :-) I don't think that's quite the same as this. :-) )

Serious Social Issues for America

I don't know if people realize the impending ramifications the writer's strike will have on the American Public. From what I understand, it's getting to the point now where we may actually have no new shows for the second half of this television season. This is a major crisis! If the writers and producers cannot resolve this soon, their will be a major fall-off in television watching. What's worse? You've heard the adage, "An idle mind is the Devil's workshop." (This should probably be updated, to "An idle and television-deprived mind is the Devil's workshop.") With the additional free time of all of us television watchers, we may resort to socially unacceptable behavior. The cause and effect(s) of such behaviors are as follows:

• Having non-trivial conversations with our family. (We may actually have to have a decent answer for "How was your day!!")
• Back pain due to rearranging furniture so you can look at each other while talking instead of a blank TV screen.
• We may actually have to listen to the ones we love!
  
• Going to the gym
• Increasing the health/wellness of the general public will cause strain on the health care and pharmaceutical industries.
  
• People may increase their life expectancy which will cause additional strain on government programs and social security.
  
• Take walks
• Unnecessary wear on our sneakers and the shock of actually breathing fresh air from taking a walk.
• (See health/wellness statement above)
  
• Reading Books
• Unnecessary knowledge (both fiction and non-fiction) that will occupy otherwise vacant spaces in our brains.
• Additional financial strain due to the need to buy library cards and books.
  
• Doing Homework
• More Unnecessary knowledge that will occupy otherwise vacant spaces in our brains.
• Higher achievement scores on standardized tests may cause admissions standards to increase significantly in universities around the nation
• This will in turn cause the population to become higher skilled workers which will encourage more outsourcing of lower-skilled jobs.
  
• Meeting friends for coffee
• Friends? What are friends? You mean I have to go out and make friends? More effort!
  
• Volunteering to do community service
• More volunteers lead to less paying jobs which will negatively impact our economy.
• Again, this is likely to cause people to inadvertently exercise. and I've already stated where that leads.

This list only scratches the surface so you can see, this is an issue! And the writers and producers need to resolve this soon!

The only saving grace is that we can STILL surf the web and read drivel like this! :-)

I'm Free to Decide!

I had gotten so tired of the whole presidential debate/campaigning that began so early this year. But now with the Iowa Caucuses upon us and more primaries to follow, I feel refreshed and willing to observe/participate in the nomination process. About a year or so ago, I officially changed my affiliation from Republican to Independent, and it's quite liberating. This is the first time I have gone into a big election year feeling very much on the fence. I have shed my assumptions about each party and will vote largely on the following:

1. Moral/Social issues facing our country/the world
2. Integrity of the candidate
3. Political (or non-political) history of the candidate

Additionally, there are two other factors that might weigh in on my final choice.

1. There is a high likelihood that I will note vote for any politician from New York.
   
2. If two (or more) candidates are in the running for my vote, the "Fair Tax" proponent will win.

Regardless, I have removed myself from the process quite a bit over the past year or so, and it has become more like entertainment than some sort of "threat" to society. It should be fun.

Question of the Day: Capitalism

If someone says, "She's a greedy capitalist," are they being redundant in their word use or are they just jealous?

Pair o' Dime Props: Michigan Football (That's hard to type!)

Living in the south, all I seem to hear is SEC, SEC, SEC. And after Florida twice beat OSU (handily) in National Championship games in the past year, it sure was good to see the a Big Ten team squelch the arrogance of Florida. Now if OSU can do the same to LSU next week, then we will be off to a good start to 2008! Congrats to the boys from the team up north. Even though Lloyd Carr can be quite crotchety, even he seemed to be in better spirits during his halftime interview. A good send off for him as well.

Cashing in on Phrases

It has occurred to me over the past few days that if I had a penny for every time the following "other" holiday phrases were thought or uttered, I'd be a very rich man:

• What were we thinking going shopping the day after Christmas?
• What were we thinking coming to the mall on the Saturday after Christmas?
• This traffic is driving me crazy!
• All of these people are driving me crazy!
• What bowl game is on today?
• It's Christmas! We should go ahead and spend a little extra on that gift. We can pay off the bills with the tax refund. (Second sentence is optional. Some people don't think that far ahead).
• Well, if I'm not starting my diet until New Year's Day, then I may as well enjoy all of this holiday fare until then. We don't' want it sitting around here come Tuesday!
• I ate too much.
• I have heartburn.
• I drank too much.
• I have a headache.

I'm sure there are plenty more, but it's early, and I stayed up too late...hmmm, I just thought of another one!
Happy 2008!!!