Free to speak at last

Good God...what an ordeal. Four days to get logged on here. That's some fun for you. Finally, it seems to have been an update to the firewall that doesn't get on with Blogger.

So, of course, now that I'm on I have no time. Story of my life...and probably a lot of your's too.

Anyway, for my thousands - or several - fans, I'll be back shortly. Hope you're all doing well.

That's entertainment...

I've only got two words today...Australian Open. It's been a great tournament. I love watching tennis.

First off...the return of Martina Hingis. How do you retire from the sport due to injuries, sit out three years and then come back to make the quarters of a slam? That's just too awesome.

It's been fun to watch the joy she's brought back to the game. It's a bit like watching Agassi play. There's a enjoyment of the game that is just obvious and that makes it just that much more fun to watch.

I'm glad she's back. Hope she can get to the top of the sport again. And, is it my imagination, or is she looking pretty amazing?

And then there's the crazy Cypriot, Marcos Baghdatis. What a romp he's having. I was up all night last night because I couldn't turn off the amazing comeback he was making to reach the finals.

You just don't come back from two sets down to win in five when you're playing a highly-ranked player like David Nalbandian...unless you're Baghdatis that is. And talk about having fun and enjoying the game. He certainly fits that bill.

And you just have to love his Greek fans. I heard that he had to teach them how to behave at a tennis match when he was playing in the early rounds out on the outer courts. Most of them are soccer fans, not tennis fans. So that's how they thought you behave at a tennis match. You can just tell that some of these guys closed up their deli to watch and cheer for the young guy from Cyprus.

I'm pulling for him to win the whole thing. Long shot? Very long...but it would sure be a kick if this young guy could pull it off.

Nice day...

The snow is white enough to make me squint. Blue shadows fall across it. The sky above is a matching pale blue. Some days it's just nice to look out the window and doing so makes you happy. Today is one of those.

Just a few guestions...

Why do people with NASCAR stickers on their cars drive like crap?

Why, when everyone on the entire freeway system is driving 35 MPH because it's dumping down snow and the roads are awful, is there always one person who thinks that they can surely pull off 65 MPH no problem? Is it wrong to be happy when you see them spun out in the ditch a few miles later?

Do people from Illinois drive bad on purpose?

And a couple of thoughts...

I've decided that I don't hate the whole Tom Cruise and Katie Hlomes thing after all. I'm jealous of course, but I don't hate it and am, in fact, sort of heartened by the whole thing.

Also, I don't find him jumping over Oprah's couch that odd. If I was sleeping with Katie Holmes, I would probably jump over Oprah's couch and Oprah too. I would clear them both by at least five feet. I could do that because I'm still a couple years younger than Tom.

That's it...peace out.

Nada...

I've got nothing.

It snowed yesterday. That was nice. After a cold, cold start, this winter got all tropic on us here and the snow has been gone with cold weather since just after Christmas. Then came a couple of cold days again and finally some snow yesterday.

It came down pretty good for a while and left maybe 3-4 inches. Not much - to be sure - but enough to make the world look frosty and clean and also to mess up the traffic flow for a while.

Well, today it's mostly gone from the streets and sidewalks since it warmed up again. It's still hanging around everywhere else though.

Hmmmm...what else? Um, there's been work. That's better than no work I suppose. Or at least better than unplanned no work. But working odd hours has left me feeling like I have no time. What it's really meant is that I don't have much 'normal' time and not so much time available for being social. It's also left me tired.

There you have it...not much going on here. Hope more excitement is pumping through your life.

Judge this...

It's interesting to watch the Senate Judicial Committee hearings and then hear commentary about them from the pundits and pushers of political agendas.

Let me start by saying a watched the whole damn first day on C-Span and didn't watch the second - and, yes, it was pretty boring. I saw a pretty polite questioning of a man up for a pretty big job promotion. Mostly of the Democrats asked some questions and blah blahed a bit. Then the Republicans mostly lobbed up softball questions and blah blahed a bit - most of it for the benefit of the cameras and directed at the Democrats.

What's been mostly missing is the kind of questioning posed by Russ Feingold. He just kept asking the same thing until he got an answer. He was never disrespectful, but he kept asking. During the whole day I watched, there were maybe a few truly probing questions posed to Alito. I found that bothersome, but I couldn't help but appreciate that over all the committee was respectful of each other and Alito.

Anyway, hearing conservative talk radio later in the evening, it seemed like a whole different set of hearings than I had seen. Obviously, most of these people hadn't even watched the hearings. It was spin this and that and had no relation at all to what actually happened. The need for some to politicize the whole process is beyond me. Oh well, I guess that's just how some people like to roll.

My take on Alito is that he is a qualified candidate. He's far more pro-big business and far too supportive of an overly powerful executive branch than I would like to see, but I don't believe that where he fits on the political spectrum is really a reason to not give him the nod. I'm not comfortable with his seeming anti-abortion views, but as long as he's able to objectively look at laws that's okay with me.

There's more to see and hear, but I think it's all gone pretty well for him. He seems pretty intelligent and hasn't shown himself to be an ass.

I would like to hear actual tough questioning from both sides, but I don't think that will happen. This guy is applying for a job that will allow him affect the fabric of society far more than any President - any nominee for such a job should be hammered and scrutinized and going easy on them is really just a disservice to the American people.

Scouting made fun...

Hmmm...how does one say this politely? Answer - one doesn't. So, let me just say that Monday Bowl games blow. Personally, I'm all for bumping the pro games and playing the college games on the weekend. That's just me though.

That said, it's been a pretty good day of football so far. And it's not over yet.

Eileen will be pleased to know that my standard handicapping system is holding up pretty well. It's a pretty easy way to predict the winning team...simply choose the team with the best looking cheerleaders. Laugh if you want, but it makes scouting a lot more fun.

Look at today's games. Texas Tech shouldn't have even stayed in their game, but despite having a backup QB in for a while, they had a good chance against Alabama. Why? Hot cheerleaders...obviously. What was their stumbling block - besides a hobbled QB? Well, unfortunately for Texas Tech, the Crimson Tide is a powerhouse of hot cheerleader recruiting.

Next up? Wisconsin and Auburn. The game I was waiting for. I had two hats. I changed them every change of possession. It was plenty of hat changing and a good game. I was really pretty worried for Wisconsin and was afraid they wouldn't get a final win for outgoing coach Barry Alverez. It wasn't Auburn's powerful offense that had me worried, but the sight of a group of not-so-hotties on the Badger's sidelines. Unkind? Perhaps, but I was concerned...until they finally cut to closeups of the Badger's varsity squad - cuties one and all.

In all fairness, I can't claim my method was true on this one though. They never showed the Auburn cheerleaders all game...or at least not while I was watching.

Now, it's Notre Dame and Ohio State. Not surprisingly, it's a close game. Both cheerleading squads are good looking and feisty. Almost too close to call. But I think the Buckeyes have a bit more pep depth.

Well, back to the Irish and Buckeyes...I've got cheer...er...a football game to watch.