Random Thoughts for the Week of July 16, 2012

Two weeks without a blog!  I know, I apologize.  We just got back from a whirlwind visit to Omaha.  The next 6 weeks look to be nothing but insanity for me and the family.  Should be a fun ride.  But, I’m back now and ready to entertain you with all the myriad of thoughts running through my massive cranium (apparently a genetic trait).

• RIP, Dick Dasenbrock.  You were always one of my favorite members of PCM.  You were the first to welcome me back from college with a warm handshake and a “Greetings, Mr. Wendel.”  You were the first person to call me Mr. Wendel with respect, and I’ll always appreciate you for that.  With every visit and handshake we shared, I respected and liked you more and more.  I know you treated everyone around you with the same courtesy that is difficult to find these days.  I will miss seeing you in the halls of the church but know you will always be watching over Barb and your wonderful family.  God bless you, sir.
• If you ask me, “American Idol” is done and over with.  I think it’s a good thing if TV executives realize when a good thing has run its course and end it gracefully.  ABC could have milked “Lost” for years, but it would have driven the fan base nuts and away from the network.  I think FOX needs to follow their example and focus efforts on X Factor or a new show.  An Idol winner hasn’t had a major career for years and there’s a reason for that.  We stop caring about the contestants once the winner is announced (including the winner).  We’ve moved on to the next thing.  Time for them to do the same.
• So, let’s take a look at how many NFL players have been arrested in the off-season … hmm … I’m thinking that Alex will have to look elsewhere for role models if this keeps up.  I can think of close to an even dozen starters who have been arrested since the Super Bowl.  Grow up, idiots.  You’re professional football players.  Be professional.
• NBA trades … zzzz.
• Other sports could learn a lot from Wimbledon.  Look at the system designed for to determine if a ball was in/out for a player challenge.  The system shows, within seconds, whether the ball was in/out.  How fucking hard would that be to put on a football field?  Was it a first down?  I don’t know, let’s just consult the loose chain dangling between two flags held by individuals who may/may not have started at exactly the right place … yeah … time for the NFL stadiums to check out that technology.  I’m not saying get rid of the chains just yet, but let’s give it a trial run for a season and see if the tech can get the job done.
• I think some of the most professional people in the world are the line judges at Wimbledon.  Those folks take their jobs seriously, and why not?  One poor judgment can change a game/tournament!  Watching those judges as they shift from spot to spot, focusing their gaze and setting their stance, moving effortlessly to avoid a 125-mph shot heading right for them.  They have a grace and dignity that is lacking in modern sports.  It’s almost as fun to watch them as the tennis!  I sure can’t see Ed Hocoli doing that.
• Mindi and I have started watching “Mad Men” on Netflix.  I’m not sold on it yet, but I will give them kudos for transporting us back to the 1960’s effortlessly in each episode.  The costumes, sets and attitudes are flawlessly recreated, right down to the 3-scotch lunches and an endless supply of cigarettes.  Now, I think they’re trying to do something artsy with the storylines, but I haven’t put my finger on it yet.  All I see is a bunch of characters treading water in their personal and professional lives.  Just waiting for someone to start drowning.  I’ll keep at it for a bit longer.
• Mudslinging has taken a new form in this election.  It’s a  wonderfully subtle method both sides are using.  They take a single fact from the opponent’s career or recent public statements and build countless speeches, commercials, press releases and so much more to hammer home the mistake the individual made.  It’s not exactly a body blow, but it’s good, small jabs that might take a guy out of the match.  There's still one thing I haven’t heard from either candidate: how to get Congress to start doing its job.
• I’m pretty neutral about Obamacare, although I’m more against it than pro.  I think we should remove the preexisting condition clause for insurance companies.  Not only because I’m affected by it, but because there so many more serious cases and they should get the help they need.  I am against the deliberate taxing of citizens who choose (for whatever reason) to not get health insurance.  Huh?  I haven’t heard a single Democrat, including the President, offer an explanation of how this is not a new tax.  The thing that bugs me the most is the price tag for this initiative.  It puts this country so much farther into debt it makes my head spin.  And what does it change about how we allow health care to run in this country?  Very little, in my opinion.  I think it has far more negative impact than positive on small doctor practices, insurance companies and on the single, healthy folks whose premiums front those people with bad, bad luck health-wise.  I still think Congress should have instead set limits to malpractice claims to help stabilize and reduce malpractice insurance which would lower the doctors’ costs which would reduce the cost for health care overall.  Then you find a way to make medical school bills more affordable (can anyone say tax credits?) and encourage our doctors to become doctors for reasons other than big paychecks.  Yes, it’d take years to fix, but I think it’d have a much better long-term effect than Obamacare.  Time will tell.  In the meantime I’ll vote for Romney just so he can repeal it.  Then I’ll just watch him screw up other things.
• You know what made me smile reading the news recently?  The number of articles asking again and again why we should care that Kourtney Kardashian had a kid.  Yes, congrats to her and the family.  Same congrats I given to the hundreds of families (including mine … and got no national press coverage for some reason) who had a child in the past month!  Why should we care about these people and their lives?  I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but it’s comforting to find my opinions shared (if not properly cited, LOL) by other writers with larger numbers of subscribers.
• I’ve worked hard all my life for various reasons: to earn a bigger salary, to solve greater challenges, to learn new skills, to obtain recognition for extra and valuable effort.  The list goes on.  This past week the fruits of my labors for the past 20 years allowed me to buy a house for my family with my own salary.  I’ve never felt prouder of myself and what I can do.  I’m not one to toot my own horn, so if you’ll allow me this moment to take pride in my accomplishments I’d appreciate it.  {Insert digital chuck to the shoulder here.}  Nice job, Brad.

ALEXANDER UPDATE

• I read a lot of parenting books.  Not so much for training but just to give me a guide of where we should be and what’s coming up.  You know, reduce the surprises and take stock in my parental abilities.  So imagine my surprise when I learn last week that babies have growth spurts.  Never read that one in a book!  Never saw how much his eating, sleeping and crying would change overnight!  I wonder if they left it out on purpose, just to keep idiots like me on our toes.  Douche bags.  Anyway, Alex is going through a hefty one right now.  It sure made the drive home a challenge last Sunday.  Even still my little boy, who barely fit in his onesies, is now a huge tootsie roll of a kid and still growing.
• I finally understand what people have been saying about enjoying these times.  Looking at my son grow and grow, I find I miss the days when he was so tiny he barely fit into the crook of my arm.  He was so damn cute then!  Sure, he’s cute now but it’s a different cute, and that cute will never come again.  Huh.