In the year 2013 A.D......
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2012 was a good year for you and yours, as it was for me and my family, and I also hope that 2013 brings even more positives!
Quick health update: my sinus infection apparently made a little bit of a comeback in the past ten days. Nothing I couldn't handle, and I was able to function normally, eat, etc., but what a nuisance. I'm really tired of blowing my nose, although with this much practice, I must say that I have achieved a high level of proficiency.
I suppose the United States Senate feels pretty proficient this morning, having passed a tax relief bill in the wee hours this morning. NOTE: I'd like to know who either wasn't present for this vote or abstained! But our country went over the "fiscal cliff" anyway, which I suppose we all knew would happen anyway. After all, President Obama jokingly said that this Congress, if given one extra second to do anything, would wait until that second was exhausted to finally do something. My heavens, if I ran our household in this same way, I'd be homeless right now.
Now it's up to the House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner and his gang who can't shoot straight. Suppose we'll see what happens. I think the entire Congress should have paid more attention when they attended a recent screening of Steven Spielberg's masterful film "Lincoln," wherein the title character, played amazingly by the Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis, manages to overcome overwhelming opposition to do what's right for the country.
Kentucky's very young basketball Wildcats gave Louisville a good, close game last Saturday but ultimately lost. Turns out that an all-world prospect whom Kentucky signed very early in the recruiting process is so far off his game that coach John Calipari is having this kid (Alex Poythress, if you're interested) go through extra individual coaching sessions in hopes of improving his performance. If you're a Kentucky fan you have to hope that this young man responds appropriately to the effort to help him achieve his potential.
Don't look now, but thanks to Black Monday yesterday, seven NFL head coaches and a number of front office people (and countless assistant coaches, as well) were given pink slips by their respective organizations. Years ago, the rogue owner of the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, Al Davis, coined a phrase that kind of fits today: "Just win, baby!" Davis meant it to signify that he didn't care about a player's past history, brushes with the law or other problems, he just wanted players to come into his organization and play hard and WIN. Now, though, that mantra is applicable to coaches and general managers, as it's expected that a new coach and/or front office operative can change a years-long culture of losing and indifference and turn losers into winner. The NFL owners should ask people in business about that. Takes time, effort, care and above all, PATIENCE to develop consistency and breed success.
I'll be writing more about this at a later date, but thanks to some encouragement from my wife (didn't take much), I've ordered a unique item from my friend Colonel Littleton of Lynnville, Tennessee. Should arrive while I'm on my first business trip of 2013 later in the week. I gifted my son with one of the Colonel's key rings (monogrammed, of course) and went ahead and bought one for myself, too. Very nice.
Speaking of that, I've been off work for most of the latter half of December, and even though I've responded to a work-related e-mail here or there, it's been great. So back to the regular flow of things tomorrow. Short week, then another short week in a couple more weeks to observe Martin Luther King Day. I suppose we'll get back to normal sooner or later.
Quick health update: my sinus infection apparently made a little bit of a comeback in the past ten days. Nothing I couldn't handle, and I was able to function normally, eat, etc., but what a nuisance. I'm really tired of blowing my nose, although with this much practice, I must say that I have achieved a high level of proficiency.
I suppose the United States Senate feels pretty proficient this morning, having passed a tax relief bill in the wee hours this morning. NOTE: I'd like to know who either wasn't present for this vote or abstained! But our country went over the "fiscal cliff" anyway, which I suppose we all knew would happen anyway. After all, President Obama jokingly said that this Congress, if given one extra second to do anything, would wait until that second was exhausted to finally do something. My heavens, if I ran our household in this same way, I'd be homeless right now.
Now it's up to the House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner and his gang who can't shoot straight. Suppose we'll see what happens. I think the entire Congress should have paid more attention when they attended a recent screening of Steven Spielberg's masterful film "Lincoln," wherein the title character, played amazingly by the Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis, manages to overcome overwhelming opposition to do what's right for the country.
Kentucky's very young basketball Wildcats gave Louisville a good, close game last Saturday but ultimately lost. Turns out that an all-world prospect whom Kentucky signed very early in the recruiting process is so far off his game that coach John Calipari is having this kid (Alex Poythress, if you're interested) go through extra individual coaching sessions in hopes of improving his performance. If you're a Kentucky fan you have to hope that this young man responds appropriately to the effort to help him achieve his potential.
Don't look now, but thanks to Black Monday yesterday, seven NFL head coaches and a number of front office people (and countless assistant coaches, as well) were given pink slips by their respective organizations. Years ago, the rogue owner of the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, Al Davis, coined a phrase that kind of fits today: "Just win, baby!" Davis meant it to signify that he didn't care about a player's past history, brushes with the law or other problems, he just wanted players to come into his organization and play hard and WIN. Now, though, that mantra is applicable to coaches and general managers, as it's expected that a new coach and/or front office operative can change a years-long culture of losing and indifference and turn losers into winner. The NFL owners should ask people in business about that. Takes time, effort, care and above all, PATIENCE to develop consistency and breed success.
I'll be writing more about this at a later date, but thanks to some encouragement from my wife (didn't take much), I've ordered a unique item from my friend Colonel Littleton of Lynnville, Tennessee. Should arrive while I'm on my first business trip of 2013 later in the week. I gifted my son with one of the Colonel's key rings (monogrammed, of course) and went ahead and bought one for myself, too. Very nice.
Speaking of that, I've been off work for most of the latter half of December, and even though I've responded to a work-related e-mail here or there, it's been great. So back to the regular flow of things tomorrow. Short week, then another short week in a couple more weeks to observe Martin Luther King Day. I suppose we'll get back to normal sooner or later.
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