The Anti-Thanks

We're acknowledging a life-changing milestone today.  No, not the 60th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination, or the 60th anniversary of my conception (if I do the math backwards nine months from my birthday).  It's the 15th consecutive year (14th anniversary of the beginning) of my annual list of things for which I am not currently thankful;

The non-tech, political opinions of tech executives

Airline travelers flying with non-service pets

So-called Freedom Caucus members of the U.S. Congress

Potholes

Vendors who still don't accept Apple Pay

Porch pirates

Convenience store pizza

Reality talent shows on broadcast or streaming TV

People who don't pick up after themselves

Cats

Major college super-conferences

The Charles Schwab investment advisory platform. (professional item)

Sending Us Their Worst And Brightest

With one year to go before a presidential election, the Republican candidates are ramping up their presence in Iowa for the January presidential caucuses.  Most of them have been in the state for months already, either in person or by way of their persistent, local media advertisements.

Now's a good time for my one-sentence review of the viable contenders, each trying their best to appeal to the farthest right of the far right political spectrum, which now dominates the entire GOP.  Not going to comment on the four-time indicted, democracy-hating, malignant narcissist former president who's also running (from something as much as for something).

Ron DeSantis -- An Ivy League educated, military veteran who offsets that by being a demagogue who's consistently awkward when campaigning in person.

Nikki Haley -- The only one who occasionally says some moderate-sounding things, which is probably why she's concentrating more on the New Hampshire primary.

Tim Scott -- Something oft-putting for Iowans about about a single, soft-spoken, southern black man trying to show everyone how conservative he is.

Vivek Ramaswamy -- An annoying, weird, egotistical rich guy who everybody agrees is the least likeable candidate, which isn't great for him.

Chris Christie -- Credit to him for being the only candidate to call out the ex-president and his MAGA cult, but he's really just playing the role of spoiler.

Mike Pence -- He's dropped out, and he may have temporarily saved democracy by doing his job as VP, but wanted to say how much he deserved the disdain he received from all sides.

Waking Up The Echoes

My childhood happened during the pre-cable / satellite television days, meaning there were four analog channels (including public TV) to watch.  On Sunday mornings, this meant religious programming was the only thing on, with one autumn-time exception:  Notre Dame Fighting Irish football reruns.

Not just any rerun, but a condensed, one-hour version of the game played the day before.  I'm not sure why this was on, or who sponsored it, but I remember it well.  I even remember the commentators -- Lindsey Nelson on play-by-play and Paul Horning (former Notre Dame star) as the analyst.  

Notre Dame was a football power then, even more than now.  Consequently, they usually won, and watching them play in these Sunday morning reruns basically made me a Notre Dame fan, even if I knew the outcome of the game beforehand.

The reason all of this matters is because last month, I did something I've wanted to do since childhood -- I attended a Notre Dame home football game in South Bend, Indiana.  It turns out there's a lot more to a Notre Dame football weekend than the game.

Friday afternoon, there was a variety of activities to attend, including free lectures, band and vocal performances, and other sporting events like a soccer or volleyball games.  I attended a lecture that just happened to be given by one of my favorite economists, and also went to the volleyball game, allowing me to see the Joyce Convocation Center.

(Back in the day, the JCC was where a huge pre-game pep rally was held, but apparently not anymore.  It's still home to Notre Dame basketball, and has banners displayed from some great players and teams.  I remember watching on TV as the Notre Dame men end the 88-game winning streak of UCLA in 1974, a famous game from a bygone era.)

Saturday pre-game, there were more free lectures and music performances on the beautiful Notre Dame campus, including a bagpipe band and an a club cappella ensemble.  These happenings seemed to take the place of traditional parking lot tailgating, as it appeared visitors mostly swarmed around these events or other notable campus sites like the Grotto or library.  Meanwhile, there were numerous food tents run by various campus groups for people to get food and beverages.

The late Saturday afternoon game itself wasn't much different than any other major college football experience.  The student section was probably bigger and more active than most, and the fight sang is famous, but otherwise the game was the most ordinary thing of the entire weekend.  I still enjoyed the thought of how many meaningful games held at Notre Dame Stadium that I'd seen on TV in my life, and all of the legends that had been there before me.  And yes, Notre Dame won.

I realize not everyone is a Notre Dame football fan, and I've largely grown out of it myself in adulthood.  But I'll always appreciate the entertainment I got from their Sunday morning football reruns.

Best Song Lyrics (Part XXV)

Over the summer, I spend many evenings on my deck listening to mellow rock.  This is usually done by tuning into the Yacht Rock channel on satellite radio, or something similar on another station or streaming service.

In doing this, you hear a lot of the same artists, like Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers.  But one group I noticed move of this summer was 1970s and 80s icon Chicago.

Chicago has/had such a unique sound, thanks to with the brass horns the band often put out front.  They also had some tunes with unique lyrics, like Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is, and the strangely titled, marching band favorite 25 or 6 to 4.  (It's the time of day, either 3:35 or 3:34.)

For me, however, none of their many hits had lyrics as good as the classic song Saturday In The Park.  It really made you feel like you were spending the day at the park.  [I've edited the following to avoid repetition.]

Saturday in the park

I think it was the Fourth of July

People dancing,

People laughing

A man selling ice cream

Singing Italian songs

Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari

Can you dig it? (yes, I can)

And I've been waiting such a long time

For Saturday

People talking

Really smiling

A man playing guitar

And singing for us all

Will you help him change the world

Can you dig it? (yes, I can)

And I've been waiting such a long time

For today

Slow motion riders fly the colours of the day

A bronze man still can tell stories his own way

Listen children all is not lost

All is not lost, oh no, no

Funny days in the park

Every day's the Fourth of July

Funny days in the park

Every day's the Fourth of July

A Home Where The Bison Roam

About a year ago, after a trip to the mountain west region of America, I mentioned I'd been to all but two U.S. states -- North Dakota and Alaska.  The North Dakota deal is a little crazy really, since I grew up only about a half-day drive from its southern border.  But I never got closer than northern South Dakota.  (Is everyone keeping up directionally here??)

So now an update...I've only Alaska left to visit, after taking a side trip earlier this summer from Minneapolis to Fargo, North Dakota.  What did I miss from a life having never seen North Dakota?

It turns out, not a lot.  Typical upper midwestern landscape of farmland and prairie grass.  Also: Flat.

I did find the city of Fargo to be quite pleasant.  I was there on a Sunday, and the downtown area was modern and vibrant.  It even looked like one establishment was setting up for an early-evening outdoor concert.

Fargo is also the home of North Dakota State University, which I'm sure is a great economic engine for the city.  Lots of school colors (green and gold) and school mascots (bison) to be seen.  And don't forget the Fargo Dome, which predictably had lots of hotels and restaurants around it.

Remember now, this was summertime.  I can only imagine, and hope never to see, what the city looks like when it's a snow-covered, below zero temperature climate.  I guessing no one would describe the downtown area as 'vibrant' then.

Be that as it may, I'm glad I visited, and glad to have only one more state to go.  Alaska seems like a great place for a retirement cruise sometime in the not-too-distant future.....

RAGBRAI - 2023 Edition

I last rode my bike on RAGBRAI in 2017, after coming out of a self-imposed retirement for the second time.  I didn't ride in 2018, and drove a support vehicle one day in 2019.  There was no ride in 2020, and I've had no desire to ride, nor fear of missing out, the past two years.

2023, however, marked the 50th RAGBRAI.  In conjunction with that, the route tried to follow the original route, staring in Sioux City and ending in Dubuque, with larger overnight towns in between.  So yeah, I had to come out of RAGBRAI retirement for the third (and final?) time to ride another day.

Compared to most segments, the one I rode this year from Ames to Des Moines was easy.  It was flat, with little climb, and under 60 miles total.  I can only think of one prior day of RAGBRAI I ever rode that was less strenuous.

The one big negative was the heat.  It was a sunny, humid, near 100 degree day, with little wind.  Water and shade were at a premium.  I can only thing of one prior day of RAGBRAI I ever rode that might have been as uncomfortably warm.

But forget all that.....here are this year's observations:

* There were an estimated 60,000 riders on this day, probably a one-day record.  Consequently, the roads and stops along the way were jam packed.  The number of cyclists also meant it was more dangerous than usual, as you were constantly surrounded by riders on the road.  And some of them hadn't spent much time handling a bike on their own, much less a bike in a crowd.

* An unfortunate RAGBRAI tradition continued, as the first town from the start simply wasn't big enough to handle everyone wanting to stop there for early morning food/beverage nourishment/elimination.  (The elimination part is true for all towns; there are never enough portable toilets.)  To make matters worse this year, due to the number of cyclists, most had to walk (rather than ride) for the final 1/2 mile into the town.

* Pie report: Had some good church-lady berry pie.  Didn't find pineapple pie, but did find a delicious peach-pineapple slice at a corporate stand.

* Demographics report: The ride continues to age.  My estimated ratio would be 10 age 50+ people for every younger one.  Virtually no one under 30, and this on a day the ride went from a college town to a nightclub area of a large city, when you'd think a younger person my be more interested.

* I was pleasantly surprised to see almost no E-bikes on the day.  I counted two.  Let me be clear, unless you are a special needs individual, nobody on RAGBRAI should be allowed to use an E-bike, it's already dangerous without them.  If you feel you need one, the ride isn't for you, go ride it somewhere else, except on a trail because motorized vehicles aren't allowed!

* A quintessential RAGBRAI moment happened during a rest stop, when among the 60,000 riders, I asked a random person next to me where they were from.  Turns out we unknowingly grew up about three miles from each other in NW Iowa.  Amazing.

* Did not see any memorable new team names, but I did see a group with jerseys that said  'BILLSTEAM - Ratifying It Since 2017 - Where's Logan?'.  That had to be something, but I don't know what.

The View Isn't Improving

I spend a fair amount of time on my back deck in the summer, and over the years I’ve used this time to make observations on my neighborhood/neighbors.  Lots has happened since my last update, but the more it’s changed, the more it’s also stayed the same…..

Starting with my neighbors to the northeast, they still have their adult (early 20s), high-school dropout daughter living with them.  Over the past few years, she’s cycled through a couple of boyfriends, and apparently a couple of very part-time jobs.  Earlier this year, I thought she may have moved out, but it turned out she was in some type of rehabilitation facility for a few weeks.

So much for the rehab, because police and ambulance vehicles rolled up to the house one recent Sunday morning, as she laid on the front lawn in some stage of unconsciousness.  My neighbor will gladly tell me what happened the next time I’m outdoors, but I’m sure it will be only a minor variation from all the past substance abuse-related emergency vehicle visits.  He’s embarrassed by his daughter’s behavior, but never enough to make her accountable, so nothing changes.

Meanwhile, my widowed neighbor to the east said goodbye to her delinquent granddaughter long ago, but now has her grandson living with her again, after his stint of more than a year in prison.  I was led to believe his incarceration was due to multiple impaired driving convictions, however, there’s more to it than that.  I know this because a couple months ago, in a strange Google deep-dive, I discovered he is currently on the state of Iowa sex offender registry!  It’s not great to have your neighbor’s house as a dot on the sex offender registry map, but that’s where we are.

Upping the ante, he now has a less-than-fully employed girlfriend and her five-year-old son living with him in the house as well.  It doesn't seem like a great situation, living with grandma, but the worst of it is that yard has become trailer-trash central.  The widow is rarely seen outside these days; she doesn’t really know or care about the property condition, and neither does her son who lives nearby.  Meanwhile, the grandson and girlfriend just leave everything outside (bikes, coolers, chairs, toys) where they last left it.  Alas, the grandma doesn’t make them accountable, so nothing changes.

Unfortunately for me, the lack of accountability by my neighbors does change one thing – it keeps my property value below where it should be.