* Three cheers for QB Kurt Warner for leading the Arizona Cardinals to a 38-28 victory over the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on November 20. #13 completed 27 of 39 passes for 285 yards and 3 touchdowns as he returned to the town he put on the football map with 2 Super Bowl appearances, a World Championship, and 2 MVP awards. In spite of being treated shamefully by the Rams organization, Kurt remained the class act he is and only said good things about his former team. Best wishes to the Warner family. We still love you in St. Louis.
*What a pain it has to be to work in retail these days. Not only do you have to put up with low pay, long hours, and crabby customers, you also have to get up at the crack of dawn the day after Thanksgiving to be on station at 5 a.m. when the stores reopen after the holiday! To add insult to injury, some places (e.g. K-mart) were open on Turkey Day. I'm guessing the big shots at Sears Holdings (the parent company) weren't at their desks catching up on paperwork.
*Watched an AKC dog show on TV yesterday to pass the time between helpings of turkey. I saw breeds of dog I never heard of before (a
bearded collie?), and some pretty silly-looking examples of the canine species. The Best-of-Show winner was a Bull Terrier that was about the ugliest mutt I ever saw. Instead of picking a cool dog like a lab or retriever, the final group came down to a pit bull. Maybe the American Kennel Club is trying to polish the Bull's image, but come on! If you're into this sort of thing, you can catch the results at
www.dogshowusa.com*I'm trying to get into a new hobby: woodworking. I've bought a table saw and compound power miter saw so far, and from what I've been reading, I only need to spend about $10,000,000 more to be ready to go. I started pricing wood as well, and unless you're able to mill the trees in your yard or driftwood you find along the river, the materials will cost and arm and a leg as well. No wonder homeless people have to settle for cardboard!
*Old Busch Stadium is only about 1/3 still standing as demolition continues to make way for the new St. Louis ballpark. Last night's local news showed lots of people stopping by in sub-freezing temperatures to get one last picture of the old shrine. At least they've got their priorities straight and know what's really important.
*My wife and I went shopping on Wednesday evening (Thanksgiving Eve), and on the drive home had a close encounter with both a deer and a possum. Luckily, I was driving the Mighty Merc at about 30 mph and didn't hit either animal, but it was quite a surprise. I've seen plenty of possums in North St. Louis County over the years, and several deer, but this was almost inside a subdivision called Ville Maria. The development that's going on all around the area is apparently really infringing on wildlife, and I hope the critters don't all end up as hood ornaments.
*All I want for Christmas is a 2 HP, 1/2 and 1/4 inch collet router, a router table, a matching plunge router, a supply of straight and blemish free hardwood, and a Norm Abrams-clone to show me how to properly use them (don't forget safety glasses and hearing protection!). Oh yeah, and to still have 10 fingers when I'm finished working with all those spinnig bits and saw blades!
