New Shoes in the Rain

On my way home after a successful trip to Richmond, Virginia this week.  Had to postpone this trek due to, what else, a respiratory infection.  Seems there's a lot of that going around in my home area, and I'm sure the volatile weather has a little to do with it.  It's predicted to be 80 degrees here in Richmond today.  Today.  February 24.  WINTER. Are you planning to watch the Oscars Sunday night?  I probably will for a while, if only to see Billy Crystal do his thing. Older folks talk about Bob Hope and Johnny Carson (who I admit was good) but no other host has the whole package like Billy always has.  And it's not like his career is that demanding these days..... I don't follow professional basketball, even though now there are numerous former Kentucky college players in the NBA.  But this story of Jeremy Lin has been somewhat interesting.  How so many "experts" missed out on him is pretty amazing. Speaking of Kentucky basketba...

Did you happen to watch the Grammy awards last night? We watched some of it, mostly because Bruce Springsteen was rumored to be kicking off the show.  He did, as he and the E Street Band (with a large string section, no less) presented a rousing version of the new song "We Take Care of Our Own" from his forthcoming "Wrecking Ball" album (I still refuse to refer to these things as CDs). Paul McCartney performed, Tony Bennett sang a duet with Carrie Underwood (someone had to REALLY be thinking hard to come up with that pairing) and there was a tribute to ailing Glen Campbell in which Glen joined in. Other than that, unfortunately, most of the performers who sang or were otherwise identified as presenters or nominees were largely unknown to me.  I know who Katy Perry is.  Adele is astoundingly talented as a vocalist. And I know that Lady Gaga was "born this way," to borrow a phrase. To wit:  I was in New Orleans last week, out with a group of work ass...

Are you one of those people who almost always likes or even needs to be the first in your circle of friends to try a new product or service?  Or are you one who waits to see if it's a passing fad? I'm kind of in the middle on this subject.  For instance, we were a little slow to move from VHS tapes to DVDs, largely because we had such a substantial number of them.  Then we were just a touch slow to move into Blu-Ray high-definition discs, but in that case I was waiting to see if that format, or the now-dead HD DVD would "win" the competition to be the primary high definition format out there (if this doesn't make sense, think about the VHS-vs.-Beta debate in the 80s). We still don't have caller ID on our home phone, and, in fact, since we HAVE a home phone, I suppose that indicates something about my rate of adaptability. So, with all of that in mind, there are a few newer products and services that we've tried recently, and here's a small sample...

Mitt Romney won the Florida Republican primary last night, but Newt Gingrich vows to fight on, adopting the new slogan "46 states to go."  So nothing has been decided. As someone who does not lean in the general direction of the GOP, I can't quite decide how I feel about this, or what I would prefer to happen.  What I do know, though, is that I am kind of amazed at how these SuperPACs are now dominating the political landscape, and making it even harder to persuade good and decent men and women to seek high office in this country. Can't fix it here and now, so I suppose the theater of the absurd is destined to continue for a while yet. Anyway..... Kentucky's basketball team certainly appears to be on its game about now, and common thinking has always been that a team that's good in February is a lot more dangerous than one that's good in November. Should be a very interesting couple of months ahead for the Big Blue Nation. Speaking of Big Blue, I...