Freeze, Late and Can I speak to your Supervisor?

Good Morning....
I did it again. I overslept.
I don't know how again but I suspect it was the midnight wake up I got from JT. He was standing in his crib screaming. I went into the boys room and sat with him for a few minutes...nothing seemed to be wrong. I suspect he was just testing to see if he could get someone to come get him. Those suspicions were confirmed when he started yelling a few minutes later. We left him this time and after a few screams...he went back to sleep. So did I unfortunately...Brooke woke me with a call and I scrambled to get ready and get into work. it wasn't my best day. Something's got to change...this is happening too often. I don't like where that leaves me.
Fortunately I work with incredible women. They put the show together and had everything ready to go so all I had to do was concentrate on getting here. Thank you Brooke and Jenny!
So I put it to you Bloggers...
What should I do for the girls to make up for the unnecessary pressure I put on them by being late?

Freeze
Our Facebook friends overwhelmingly agree with The President's proposal for a two year pay freeze on all non-military federal employees. My question is...where was this two years ago? I think Federal employees are great people. They serve the country and do jobs that some of us wouldn't want to do.


That said...pay for Federal employees has caught up to the private sector...in some cases passed it. I found an article from 2006 that said the Median Non-military, non-postal employee was making a little more than $60,000. By 2009 that number jumped to more than $80,000 according to the Commerce Department. Here's the graph that was published in the USA Today.

Pay Freeze? I think so.

Can I speak to your Supervisor?
So it's a bit of a thing in our family...if you've got a customer service line to call...Have Pat do it. Sally's no allowed to be on the phone with anyone in Customer Service anymore...it frustrates her a little too much.
To me, that's the point. These operations are set up so you become frustrated and just give up and pay for repairs that a warranty should cover. This was the case yesterday.
We've had some problems with the new house. Fortunately, we have a home warranty. I would submit that these policies are set up to make sure they deny any claim...at least at the first level. It's only after you pass the first line of defense and get to a supervisor that you get the customer service you should.
I spoke to a woman yesterday about a complicated claim we're going to make. She got a little bit chippy with me on the phone. I tried to keep my cool but finally asked for a Suervisor. The Sup got on the phone, took care of the problem and it was done in about 30 second.
How much money could companies save...how much loyalty could they build if they were good about taking care of problems right away? Nordstrom is a great example of this.

I hope you all have a great day!
PWD

Cyber Monday, Wiki-Leaks, Weekend Review

Good Cyber Monday to you all. I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving weekend. We'll get to a review of ours in a moment.

First, the news:
Cyber Monday
According to everyone on our Facebook page...they don't shop online at work. So where are all of these people whop are supposed to be shopping today logging on?
This is the kind of frenzies shopping day the Dix family would take part in. We are cyber shoppers. We are also free shippers. If someone won't ship for free, we likely won't shop there. Even better, when a company pays for the return. There's a site called Zappos. It's a shoe retailer. They will let you get as many pairs of shoes as you like. When you decide which one you want to keep...you simply ship the rest back...for free. We will be loyal to this company, simply because of it's customer service.
I guess my point is, you have power as a consumer.

Wiki-leaks
I'm all for open government. I think as much as we can, things should be out in the light of day. That's in the make-believe utopia I sometimes live in in my head. In the real world, it doesn't work that way. To quote my good friend Col. Jessup, "we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns." As part of that we need a good Foreign Service...State Department, CIA etc. I need those people to be able to say what they're thinking. If that is unflattering for a foreign official...so be it. I want it to be professional and I want them to behave in a manor befitting an official of the United States, but I leave it to their boss what that looks like.

Wikileaks is wrong to release this information.

"All you did was weaken a country today...you put lives in danger...Sweet Dreams son."

Weekend Review

So we had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday at the Dix household.

Sally's Parents, My Parents and my sister all came to town. We had a 20lb bird that actually ended up being 22lbs...fresh turkey and I thought it was very good though a little pricey.

Here's a shot of me carving the turkey. I always have trouble pulling out the joints as I carve...thus...the face.
The kids seemed to like the Thanksgiving meal...pretty traditional in our house...turkey, stuffing, mashed and sweet potatoes and Cherry and Pumpkin pie for desert.

Will seemed to like his meal.
Our tradition is to decorate the tree Friday and we held to that this year. Having kids around makes it all a little more challenging. We went out for the tree mid morning and bought the first one we saw. It was like the tree jumped out of the pile and wanted us to take it home.

I didn't get to start on the lights till the kids went down for a nap. Sally's Dad and I put more than 1700 lights on the tree in a little more than two hours. It's a lot of work, but this is one where the result is worth it. So was the reaction of the boys when they came down from their nap. They were mesmerized. They also wanted to pitch in...though I'm not sure they actually helped.

We have a remote control for the lights and so we were counting to three and turning the lights on and off....that's going to be hours of Christmas fun.

We got things pretty well cleaned up Sunday and watched a GREAT Bears game. Sally's got a cold that really knocked her down...I think I am next.

I'm going to go take a Zicam and an Airborne...Wish me luck!

Hope you have a great start to the week!

PWD

A Thanksgiving First

So I'm a little unclear as to what I'm supposed to do now.

I am off for Thanksgiving for the first time since my Junior Year in College. Every year since I've been working in a TV newsroom in some way shape or form. I was told early on when I decided to make News a career, "It's not Thanksgiving...it's Thursday". The holiday usually fell in the November ratings period so it was usually a requirement that I be at work.
Lucky for me, most of those years have been early morning shifts. The days ends up being short and you still get to have dinner with your family... It's not so bad.

To the News
Korea
I am not sure if I've posted this before but I'm reading a book that now seems relevant. It's called "The Coldest Winter" by David Halberstam and it's about the Korean War. The book is LONG, but if you can hang in there through the meticulous history lesson, you learn a lot about Asia, the conditions before and during the Korean conflict and the lessons we forgot between WW2 and Korea.
I'm about 400 pages through the book and I'm just getting to the point where the Chinese enter the war. The stories Halberstam tells of the bravery born of overwhelming odds among American soldiers is amazing. He also turned, what I thought, was the best definition of leadership I've ever read. I'll look it up again when I get home and post it.
Anyway, given the North Korea seems to be provoking another conflict, the book has become even more interesting.

Dancing
So I hat to beat a dead horse here, but I keep getting more and more evidence of the true character of the Palin family. MSNBC posted this thought from Bristol on Finale night:

Palin wanted the win so that it could serve as “a big middle finger to all the people out there who hate (her) mom and hate (her).”

Classy. This is not the picture of American character and values being portrayed by the Palin family right now.
Where do kids learn things like that? I would argue that they learn it, at least in part, from their parents. It's something I am going to keep in mind over the next few years.

So I am on my way back to the house to try to get a few winks...it's going to be later nights while family is here. I am thankful I will have the chance to be with them.

Have a good holiday!
PWD

Body Scanners, Bed Bugs and Bad Fans

Good Morning!
Lots of talkers this morning so lets get right to it!
Body Scanners
I see both sides to the argument over enhanced security procedures at Airports. Here's my thing...I don't travel enough to make the radiation an issue...I would use the body scanner. Second, the manual pat-downs are uncomfortable for sure, but do we really think the TSA guys are waiting for me to come through so they can say they felt up the News Anchor's junk? I doubt it. I would guess this is a lot more uncomfortable for a lot of these people than it is for you and me.
We had a guy on Facebook comment that if we, "continue to capitulate to the government on issues of "safety" they will continue to build their power."
I'm sorry, but I have a hard time seeing how this is the Government consolidating it's power. If you're looking for a slippery slope argument here I don't buy it.
The Government is not coming to my house, they are not stopping people at random on the street. They are searching people who've paid for a ticket that, by the way, is a contract.
in that contract, you agree to go through the security measures the Airlines deem necessary.
I believe in the right of people to not fly. If you don't want to go through these searches...guess what? You have the right not to.

Bed Bugs
Another emailer said we're over-hyping the bed-bug problem in the US. This guy says he travels all the time and that he hasn't carried them back to Iowa.
Friday night was an eye opener for me on this issue. We have a regular pest service and they do a great job. they also have some of the leading experts on specific insect infestations in the country (Thank You ISU!) . This guy says the expert they hired on bedbugs(who will be going to work for the Federal Government dealing with this problem) says by the time we get this under control...80% of Iowans will have had an experience with Bedbugs.We didn't take the service they're offering on bedbugs yet, but I'm strongly considering it.

Bad Fans
I'm seeing things from a different perspective since having kids. This weekend is a prime example.
I got tickets to the Iowa State/Missouri game last minute and went up to Ames to see the game. After a very friendly tailgate with some ISU fans I know, I went into the stadium. Let me preface this next part by saying Iowa State fans are my favorites in this state. I love their loyalty through hard times and their passion for an Athletic Department that isn't exactly a household name across the country.
Having said that, I sat among some of the worst fans I've ever had to deal with at the Game Saturday. These guys were screaming at the Refs after every play...they were angry about every call and using language I wouldn't care for my kids to hear.
That's the part that gets me. I want to take my kids to games like this. If they'd been there with me, I would have asked these guys to dial it down a notch. I doubt it would have worked.
I admit to being that guy at times in the past, but I am seeing things differently now. Passion is good, loyalty to your team is admirable. Being a total Jackass in public is just no fun for anyone.

I have a dentist appointment...
I hope you all have a great day!
PWD

Friday!

Good Morning...

Just a few thoughts to end the week before Thanksgiving.

-Sorry if we ruined breakfast with the video of bedbugs and roaches.
-I don't think I would stand in line to see any Movie. this may, of course, change depending on my children's viewing habits.
-Still haven't worked out the Radiator situation. Thanks for all of your concern. We have heat, it's just not working as well as it could.
-Jeriann IS PREGNANT. She's due in January, it is a boy..big surprise.
-Megan Reuther will be back in about a week and a half. She and he new baby girl are doing well. I think she will enjoy some adult conversation though.
-DAAAAAAA Bears...
-Thanks to a good friend I have the chance to go up to the Iowa State/MIZZOU game. Sally is being a trooper again taking the boys for the evening. At least I'm not leaving the state this time. If you see us up in Ames this weekend...please, no throwing any adult beverages at me.
-I've had a Facebook revelation. I believe it will help.
-If you didn't see, there's a button on the top right of this page now that will connect you to the giveaway for Triple Espresso. Sounds like fun.
Hope you have a good weekend.
PWD

Runaway, Holiday Music, and Just Plain Weird

Good Morning!
Hope you all are having a good start to your day...

The News:
The back story behind the disappearance of a 13 year old and her subsequent return home is even more bizarre then we thought. SO this girl stayed with a friend for at least a day. that friend says she hid the girl from her Mom. Circumstantial evidence starts to punch holes in that story, including an account of another runaway being found at the home a month earlier. I would want a neighbor to let me know my son was with them and safe. I can't imagine what must have been going through the 13 year-old's Parent's heads as the days passed.
The whole thing is just sad.

The More Things Change...
So we had all this change in Washington...and the Leadership is exactly the same. No change. Looks like it will take at least one more election before people start to get the point.

Pat Down
So I'm glad I'm not traveling for the holidays this year. Set off the medal detector at Des Moines' Airport and you're going to want to buy the TSA guy Dinner. At least I like to buy dinner for someone who's going to get that intimate with me. There are now members of Congress who are complaining about the procedures... Really?
This is the price you pay when the guy hides the bomb in his boxer/briefs.

Just plain Weird
Some guy shot his TV when Bristol Palin was on Dancing with the Stars. No joke...
And while we're on the Palin subject. Bristol's sister Willow posted slurs on her Facebook page when she got into it with a guy who didn't like the family's reality TV show. Now I get it that kids are kids and I can't imagine what mine are going to parrot when they get older...
That said, I would release a statement saying...that's not how I raised my kids and that the language is unacceptable. Unless of course it IS acceptable with her MOM.
I guess we're left to our own conclusions.

Holiday Music
So we asked the question this morning...when is it OK to play holiday music? Lite 104 is going to start playing it all the time tomorrow. So I asked and people seem to have a firm conviction on this one. We'll have the debate about "taking the Christ out of Christmas" later. If you did/didn't post on the Facebook page feel free...or sound-off here!
For me, the only answer for Holiday Music is this. It starts the Day AFTER Thanksgiving. Before that and it's like nails on a chalkboard to me. But that's just me. That doesn't mean I think YOU shouldn't be able to play Holiday music whenever you like.

Have a good one.
PWD

Evil, De-Friending, and A Turkish Bath

Anyone know how to fix a boiler?

I need some repair for a repair that was done yesterday. Our radiators weren't working properly so I called out our heating/cooling guys. We have one of those yearly service contracts and have had one with the same company for years. They're always great about getting out to help quickly and have helped us in an emergency more than once. So anyway, the guy came over yesterday and explained I had a thermostat no tied into the boiler. He fixed it but in the process seems to have unleashed the full fury of the radiators in this old house. Our bedroom was like Turkish Bath last night. I actually opened a window. It was 31 degrees when I got up!
The window didn't help at all. So good as advertised, the company is sending someone out right away this morning to take care of it.

So here I am waiting at the house we'll talk about the news while we wait.

Evil
Sometimes there's no explanation for a crime and all I'm left with is...there is evil in the world. A boy shoots and kills two defenseless women and has no reason for doing it...I'm left with, Evil.
Maybe we'll get another explanation but I can't think of one that would explain this.

Defriending
So we're having a running debate about "friending" people on Fac ebook. this is National De-Friending Day, as declared by Jimmy Kimmel. I don't know why he gets to say we all need to de-friend some of our Facebook friends but what the heck.
Two sides to this one for me. My wife agrees I should cull the herd a little on Facebook. Be the Cyber-Sheepdog as my friend Ben put it. They both believe I have too many friends on Facebook. I have usually accepted most people's requests even when i didn't know them. i assume they're viewers. That said I think i should put my friends in groups. This way if there's some personal information i might want to share...pictures of the kids...stuff like that...it will only be for people I know.
The part I don't agree about is de-friending someone cause they post all the time. If you don't like someone's posts...hide them. Then they'll never know you are ignoring their post about the tenth place they've visited today, or the link to some onion article they found funny, or the Farmville update they've posted.

I Forgot
I forgot to gloat a little about the Northwestern win Saturday. I won't...
I will however suggest to more than a few Hawk fans that they start treating trips to Evanston like a trip to Madison.
I know the history. Northwesteern has always been the Big Ten doormat but how long ago was that? I looked it up. Over the last fifteen years, Northwestern is 9-5 against the Hawkeyes. I think I remember some Hawkeyes fans calling on a record like that against Iowa St as proof they'd dominated the series over the long run. Here's the trump card...When's the last time Iowa went to the Rose Bowl?
Iowa fans will say Northwestern treats this as it's biggest game of the season...I would disagree...
Here's a post from Fanhouse.com:

Iowa fans want the right to be dismissive of Northwestern's
attempted rivalry. They want to call the occasional loss to the Wildcats a result of the opposing team spending its entire season prepping for one game. That only works if the losses are actually occasional

Of course this is not a rivalry...I'm not saying Northwestern is some force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten either...far from it.
Maybe they've taken the spot Illinois used to occupy on Iowa's schedule. That was a pretty good game year in year out...As long as Pat Fitzgerald is around, I think this will be too.

The service guy is on the way. I'll leave it at that...
One more thing...I hear we're going to start to give some stuff away on this blog. I expect I'll get the details here shortly...but make sure you come back and visit the Morning Buzz. I look forward to your comments!

PWD

Awards, Shootings and Royals

Good Morning.
Sorry about getting to the blog later than normal today. Had a three hour date with the boiler repair guy. No matter how well you inspect a new home before you move in, there will always be things you need to change a few months down the road. In our case it was a thermostat that was turning on a pump but not the boiler. The result was a radiator cycling cold water through the system. Not a good way to heat the house. So I think we're fixed.

To the news
Murders/Mayhem
So we had a busy overnight on the Police scanners. it started long before I got in. There were two armed robberies and murders at Convenience stores in Humbolt and in Algona. The question is who would do that? We got the answer about half way through our Noon news when the Police said it was a teenager from Minneapolis. More details tonight on our evening newscasts.

Mayhem
So someone broke into an apartment in Johnston, stole a car from an apartment complex next door. I guess they drove to Des Moines because two cars crashed at 23rd and Woodland about 3:45 and burst into flames. Police think all of this is connected but aren't confirming that just yet.

Award
The attitude of Army Staff Sgt Sal Giunta is befitting a Medal of Honor recipient. He doesn't believe his actions merit the attention he's getting but as Brian Williams pointed out, he WAS picked, and he is getting the attention. Now Giunta's life will change forever. He is a perfect Representative of the State of Iowa, of the Army Airborne and of his country. I'm looking forward to hearing more at the Medal ceremony this afternoon. You can see it streaming over out website.

Royals
So Prince William is engaged. I don't usually get into this kind of stuff, but as many of you know the pomp and circumstance surrounding things like the Royal Family in Britain usually interests me. William seems like he takes the responsibility of being a leader seriously. I am impressed with his service to his country.

Triple Espresso
It's back. the show starts up again at the Temple. I am a little embarrassed to say in it's previous three runs, I haven't seen this show. I will this time around. The guys who star in the show liked Des Moines so much...they decided to settle down here. Everyone who's ever seen the show reports side splitting laughter, and as the guys said today on the Noon news...who couldn't use that these days?

I hope you have a good day!
PWD

Graphic Pictures, Bad Book and Jackwagon

Good Morning.
We've starting finding topics to put on our Facebook page each morning. They're stories we think you might have an opinion on...the talkers of the morning.
We know a lot of you are watching us while you're logged on to your computer so interaction is more possible then ever. I hope you'll let us know what you're thinking.

Landlord
The words and the actions of a Des Moines Landlord don't add up. He says he is committed to making sure all of his properties are clean safe places to live. He has had considerable time to make sure that's the case. The City said last night it wasn't going to give him any more time. Now he has thousands of dollars in fines to pay and the City is going to take legal action against 14 of his properties. Now I don't own rental property so I have no idea how hard it is to maintain But if you had the money to buy the 10-14th properties...didn't you have the money to make sure properties 1-10 were clean and safe.

Graphic Pictures
The FDA is recommending new warnings for cigarette packaging. The pictures would be graphic reminders of the potential consequences of smoking. Are they too much? We have a string of comments going on our Facebook page already
AP Poll 2012
So Sarah Palin is the mist polarizing potential candidate for the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination. In other News...the sky is blue and the sun will rise.
The results of the new AP/GFK poll are unsurprising. I don't think Palin will end up as the nominee in 2012. She's got to come to Iowa and get into some living rooms if she's going to win here and he latest trip to Des Moines didn't indicate that would be her style. She could change, but I suspect we either haven't seen the 2012 nominee yet. If we have, I think the President wins another term in office in a walk. If a candidate doesn't emerge with a clear and inspiring vision for the country that contrasts with the President's, I think the GOP will have a hard time in 2012. I have no doubt all of the potential candidates want to be President but you get the feeling that son;y because they want a promotion, or because they want to win. neither of those reasons seem to be good enough for voters these days. A clearly articulated vision of the future (see Obama:Hope and Change, or Tea Party:Limited spending/Smaller Govt) has worked in recent elections and I suspect that's what will win in two years.

Of course it's possible none of this will matter because world events may shape a new political climate in two years. That's why polls like this aren't exactly worth the paper they're printed on.

Bad Book
So it looks like Amazon.com pulled the self published book from a guy that laid out etiquette for Pedophiles. You read that right. I don't even know where to start...words don't cover the distaste I have for writing those kinds of ideas down anywhere.
Amazon initially said it would continue to sell the book as a Kindle download. The company said it would be censorship to restrict the sale of the book just because someone didn't agree with the ideas. I see the broad point being made and I'm all for free speech. brad, however made a good point. Amazon doesn't have to sell the book. that's exercising the right of free speech too. this guy wasn't restricted in any way. He could start up a website and sell his self published book if he wanted to. Businesses have a choice to make and the marketplace can sort out demand after they make the choice.
As I said it looks like they pulled the book. Agree/disagree?

Veterans
I think this year it should be in particular focus what our Veterans do for us. thousands of families right here in Iowa are sacrificing a great deal this next year. Beyond that so many of our aging Veterans won't be around forever. If you know them...if you talk to them, they have amazing stories about their service. I hope you will say thank you and ask them to share.

Jackwagon
So I was out at the Mall last night picking up some things from Costco. This, of course, is not the easiest task to accomplish because of my toddler co-pilots. They're fun to have along most of the time but they slow ya down, and if they don't get their dinner on time..they'll be filing very LOUD complaints with the management.
So we got out to Costco but it just took a few minutes longer than I thought it would...always does.
I needed to get one more thing at Williams Sonoma...and we'd actually pre-ordered it. However, the idea of getting the boys out of the car, into a stroller then into the store for a two minute errand and then getting them back out to the car where getting them back in their car seats would make Wrestlemania look like a square dance; didn't appeal to me.
So, I called the store and asked if someone would run the thing out to the curb for me.
I know I know...it's the selfish. Why am I so special? I'm not the only parent dealing with a couple kids while running my errands. But, for my own sanity I thought I would ask.
The woman said she'd do it...and it all worked out. I still felt like a pretty big Jackwagon when I drove away.

I'll try to do something nice and unexpected for someone else today to pay that kindness forward. Hope you all have a good day.
PWD

Facebook Firing and a Holiday Promo

Good Morning...It is still morning.
No morning break for me and a little late to the blog because we had to shoot our version of the Holiday promo that will air over the next few weeks.
Sometimes I see what our Promotions guy Kevin is doing...I get where he's going with the spot. This time, I don't see it. Kevin will make something fun, maybe even funny out of it, and I am sure he has an idea in his head of what it will look like...I look forward to his putting the pieces together.

Facebook Firing
So this lady in Connecticut got fired cause she said some nasty things about her boss on Facebook. I was surprised at the number of posts we got on our own Facebook page when I put the question out there, Did she deserve to be fired? Most people say no. She was on her own time and has the right to say anything she likes. I just looked up what the woman said...seems to me the company will have some ground to stand on. Twice in a week, a customer called to complain about her attitude. She then called her boss psychotic and used expletives on her Facebook page.
I agree with a lot of the people who posted on our site. You MUST assume anyone and everyone will see a post you've put up on the Internet. I don't care where you put it. Someday it WILL get traced back to you.
I also agree the woman has a right to complain, she has a right to make her case using the facts and reasonable, generally acceptable language. No one has the right to slander someone else. I am for free speech, and the message doesn't always have to be something we want to hear, but there also has to be a reasonable standard of responsibility from the person who's speaking. Freedom of speech is a right, but it comes with responsibilities.

Shot in the Dark (or at least the pre-dark dusk)
So the US Military expects us to believe the streak of smoke we (and when I say we I mean people who live in California) saw in the sky over Southern California was a contrail of an airplane? I'm no expert, but I think that's impossible.
From Wikipedia

The main byproducts of hydrocarbon fuel combustion are carbon dioxide and water vapor. At high altitudes this water vapour emerges into a cold environment, and the local increase in water vapor can push the water content of the air past saturation point. The vapour then condenses into tiny water droplets and/or deposits into ice. These millions of tiny water droplets and/or ice crystals form the vapour trail or contrails. The vapor's need to condense accounts for the contrail forming some way behind the aircraft's engines. At high altitudes, supercooled water vapor requires a trigger to encourage deposition or condensation. The exhaust particles in the aircraft's exhaust act as this trigger, causing the trapped vapor to rapidly turn to ice crystals. Exhaust vapour trails or contrails can only occur above 8000 meters (26,000 feet), and only if the temperature there is below -40°C (-40°F).

Someone who's a pilot can check me on that but I think it makes sense. And so, the argument that the trail you saw was a contrail of a plane should me NO sense. it came up from the ground and A LOT lower than 20,000 feet.

So we've all learned something today...

Have a good one
PWD

Thoughts on Stress and Loss

Good Morning. One subject seemed to flow out of another this morning so i will just get right to it. All of them seem to play into the fears and insecurities new parents have.

Lost
A 13 year old girl is missing from the South Side and it seems no one knows where she went.
Now I know why some parents don't want to let thier kids out of the house.

Loss
I usually check The Chicago Tribune's website in the morning and this morning was no exception. I wished I hadn't. Ii thought all morning about the first article I pulled up. it was about the growing number of Men who find themselves widowers and fathers of young children. I had the boys to myself just for a few hours last night and I can't even think about it...living without my wife...getting though the day to day. Of course either of us would do it. I just don't like to think about it.

Stress
A new study says Americans are stressed. Stressed about money, about family about jobs and job security. What's more the study says we are too busy to do anything about it. What do you think? Are we to blame for our own stress? Should we be? How much do our own choices play into our stress level?

Not much more to say. Hope you all have a good day.
PWD

Threats, The Call, and The Weekend

It was a shock to step outside this morning but not because of the cold. What a nice day so far...

Threats
The kids in Ankeny will be happy. They get the day off, but I am asking myself why? If Police don't believe it's a credible threat, if the school has been swept...why not get the kids to school today? This isn't a credible threat but kids aren't allowed to wear backpacks? This isn't a credible threat but they're going to search purses? We're not being told something here. An overabundance of caution is one thing, but this seems over the top. I suspect either, the threat is more than the Police or School are letting on, or that they believe so many parents will keep their kids home from school today...it's not worth holding classes. I get to say this now because I'm a parent...I would send my kids to school. At what point do you trust the Police? If they say it's not a threat...it's not right? Someone explain to me what's going on

The Call..
I think Paul Rhodes made the right call. God for the win and home...go for the tie on the road. Show your players you believe they can win it.
-just an observation from the game. Both coaches were screaming on the sidelines...I felt very differently about the two men and I watch them...so was trying to come up with a way to explain my mental separation of the two.
Here's what I came up with: Paul Rhodes is the guy you want to have a beer with...just talking to him could fire you up and make you a better person.
Bo Pellinni is the guy you want to punch on the way out of the bar so he'll shut up.

-More Football: I'm pushing my way toward the radio room of the S.S. Mizzou Football We lost a game we should have won and looked bad blowing a seventeen point lead. I am fearful of the Tiger's visit to Ames. I think this could be a story of two programs headed opposite directions.

-Sorry Hawkeye fans; this is the week I root for Northwestern. As a long suffering neighbor of the Wildcats and the Husband of an NU Alum, I will wear my purple proudly. I think Iowa has the Wildcats outclassed this year, but you never know. As we pointed out this morning, NO has been a thorn in Iowa's side since 2002.

Other Random Thoughts
- A guy that, until recently, had been trapped underground ran the NYC Marathon this weekend...yep, I'm lazy. For the record Jerrod ran the race too...so did one of Dan Patrick's radio producers.
-Watched parts of the HBO movie Recount when it has been on the past week or so. I didn't realize it was the ten year anniversary of the disputed 2000 election this week.
There was this shot at thew end of the move where they put the boxes of ballots up on a Raiders of the Lost Ark looking shelf. The clear message of the shot is that the votes will never be counted and the evil Republicans stole the election. How soon we forget.
Two separate recount commissions paid for by the largest (and most liberal) news organizations in the country concluded that under the standards Al Gore was asking for during the controversy, Bush still wins Florida and therefore the Presidency. Only under the most liberal standard (a standard that no one was asking for or recognizes as a fair way to count) did Gore eek out a 47 to 174 vote lead.
An article I saw rightly points out that the real culprit in the 2000 Election was the State of Florida and the way it conducted elections. tens of thousands of votes in Republican and Democrat heavy areas weren't counted at all because people forgot to vote for President or were in some way confused.
Elections aren't' perfect, but can we please stop talking about anyone stealing the vote?

The Weekend
I got the boys for most of the day Saturday cause Sal had to work. No complaint there at all. Lord knows she's taken the boys so I can go to football games and golf trips and the like, so I was happy to do it. We went out to the Mall where we had some errands to accomplish. I'm glad to say we did without a lot of screaming.
I decided to keep them out at the Mall for lunch. As you know, I only mention names of companies when they go above and beyond with customer service.
I thought Chick-fillet did just that. They have someone on the customer side of the counter to help you to your table. Since I haven't grown a third arm...I needed the help. She also brought sanitizing wipes to the table, and some kids straws; all unsolicited. It made lunch easier.

Sally and I got a date night Saturday and again had some great customers service at Flemming's. We had a lot of logistics to work out for the holidays and the bar at Flemming's served as a great place to do it.

So there ya go. Plenty to talk about.
Have a good start to your week and feel free to comment on just about anything.

NIMBY, Saving Time and Trader Joe's

Good Morning!
Like many of you, I suspect, I had a debate with myself this morning before I walked out the door. Do I take out the winter coat? Once you go to the Winter jacket you really don't go back. It's a mental transition, a surrender to the cold that relegates short-sleeve shirts and shorts to the back of the closet. It's possible I'm the only one thinking about it this much, but it took me a minute to pull the winter coat out of the closet. I wonder what I left in the pockets the last time I had the thing on?

To the News:
NIMBY
It's one of my favorite acronyms. Not it My Backyard. That's what some Urbandale Homeowners have to say about an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility proposed for the Meredith Business park. Like most of these kinds of issues, if it were coming into my neighborhood I think I'd be concerned. It's not as if all of our property values are going through the roof these days. You really don't want anything that is going to further weigh down the value. That said, this thing needs too go somewhere. This is the problem with Immigration enforcement in Iowa. We don't have a Federal facility. So transportation and housing of inmates in Federal Custody costs A LOT. Ask Polk County. that's how we're funding that huge jail up on the North side. the Feds are paying us to house inmates.
The meeting about the new facility is Monday at the Urbandale City Administration building.


Transition
So no break after the election...all of the networks are on to 2012 and here locally we're already on to the 2011 Legislative session. The Governor-Elect wants to put a hold on all of the I-jobs projects. I don't know enough about all of the project to say whether they should go forward, but I do like the fact that Culver's executive order on Project Labor agreements will be canceled out. The Marketplace should dictate who gets a contract. If Unions provide better quality and a safer workplace, they should be able to sell that when Union Shops bid for work.

Saving Time
It sounds weird I know but you can go ahead and correct your co-workers if they come in to the office today and talk about Daylight SavingS Time. It's Daylight SAVING time. We are saving Daylight...right? We're not SAVINGS Daylight.

Joe and Chuck
So Trader Joe's opens this morning. We've had grocery Stores like this one before. We just haven't had the Brand Name behind it. For some reason that makes all the difference in the world. We had Cheesecake Factory before it moved into the Mall. We called in MONDO's back then. It was basically the same restaurant...something about that cheesecake must be the reason people still wait two hours for a table there, and Mondo's closed down. Just my opinion, but I think this may be Iowa's inferiority complex creeping in. If it comes from a big city...we embrace it...If someone local just starts a gourmet grocery store...we call it overpriced.

Hope all of you have a good weekend...
Please feel free to comment about this or any other subject. We're listening!
PWD

Post Election Thoughts

I've come to take the blog back!
Just kidding...We're pretty much done talking politics 24/7...for a little while. So what do people think the over/under is for the first time we see a Republican set up shop here in Iowa running for 2012?


-So what do you think of your new/old Governor and the balance of power at the Statehouse? Sounds like a few people are going to have to learn how to play well with others or NOTHING is going to get done.


-For the vote on the Justices? I think there were a lot of people voting No on the Justices for a lot of different reasons. A bunch of people I talked with last night seemed to say they just wanted to "send a message". What message? "Throw the bums out".
Look, that's a valid reason. Each person has to decide for themselves, but this is a much more complicated question than a lot of people made it out to be. The ramifications may be far reaching.
What disturbs me more than that? In the discussion of this issue, both sides really fell short. On the Yes side, the proponents of keeping the Justices seemed to talk down their noses at voters, as if they were insulted their authority was being questioned. That may not have been the intent, but they never made their case in a way Iowans could understand.
On the vote no side, I am disappointed in the people who were less than truthful to voters. Opinions on the Justices ruling are one thing, and there's honest debate to be had. There were some people who conveniently left out A LOT of the facts to support their argument. Voters trust that these people will be honest. When they're not, voters are left to make a decision based on an incomplete picture.
That's politics.

-I was at Brad Zaun's Headquarters covering the 3rd Congressional race for us last night. It was a unique post-election party. The candidate spent much of the night among his supporters, thanking them and having a good time. He was upbeat in defeat and so were the people who worked for him. None of the long faces or anger you sometimes see after a campaign puts it's heart and soul into a win. We forget sometimes the thousands of people who volunteer for these campaigns. they don't get paid a lot, they are passionate about their side's case for election and when they lose, they're left without a lot to show for all the hard work.

-I saw a woman lash out at verbally at Brad Zaun as he headed in to his polling place to vote. She should be ashamed.
Each candidate, no matter how good or bad you think they are, deserves our respect for running.
We saw a lot of classy concessions and a lot of classy victory speeches last night. In each of them the candidate thanked his or her opponent. At the end of a race, even if it's been a bitter fight, adults should be able to set aside their differences for a moment and acknowledge that the process only continues if we have healthy debate in this country.

You may have more to say and I would love to hear it all. Weigh in! I had a couple people come up and tell me they read the blog every day but don't participate. These posts only get better when there's lively discussion from you all!
I look forward to your thoughts.

I am headed home to try to add to the two hours sleep I got last night. People asked me if that was hard to come back this morning after a late night covering the elections last night. My answer is that I love election day. If you do what we do and don't like working on days like today, you might want to look for another career.
I'm going to look for a pillow.
PWD

Mostly the Weekend

Good Morning.
I will make it a short blog. I'm on the Injured Reserve a little for the typing.
Saturday morning I was getting the boys some breakfast (peaches). I was holding one of those big cans of peaches with the lid open but still attached and open. The can slipped out of my hand and down. The edge of the open lid sliced mt hand open below my pinkie.
Did ya know how much hands bleed? I probably should have had stitches but if I'd gone to the Er I would have been late for the start of the Missouri/Nebraska game. In retrospect that might have been the better decision. Anyway, I bandaged the thing up and bled all the way to Lincoln. The nice people at Memorial Stadium patched me up and I made it but boy my hand is sore today! That's gonna leave a mark!

Confession
I'm the one who stole the jersey from the Sports Department. it's been hanging there for years and for some reason i thought it was a throwback Missouri Jersey. i thought Missouri sent it to Heisman voters the year Chase Daniel was in the running. Much to my embarrassment, It was a Hawkeye throwback jersey. I'll return it today.

The Game
It wasn't the outcome I'd hoped for...that's for sure. I have to say thought, beyond the game being more competitive, I really did like the trip to Lincoln. For the most part, the Nebraska fans were really nice. Some of them were anyway. I can say this though...I've never been in a stadium where more people were rooting for, cheering for and into the same exact thing. Usually there are a few fair weather fans...some people who got tickets at work...something like that. None of that in Lincoln. It was an impressive College Football atmosphere.
Good Luck to Iowa State. Win out and you're going back for a rematch with Oklahoma.

More Politics
One more day. We'll see if I can live through the commercials. Someone emailed us and told us we were biased and keeping the truth from Iowa voters because we weren't telling people about the law the Iowa's Supreme Court made when it ruled on the same sex marriage case. OK I'll bite. Which law? Site the Iowa code for me. Where in the Iowa code does it say that same sex couple can get married here?
There is a code that says two people 18 years old can be joined in Civil Union if the agree to it and get a license. Now there is no gener restriction to who can get a license. That's Iowa Code 595. But, where's the same sex law everyone is saying the Supremes in this state wrote? How did they word it? When did it go into effect?
Words are important in this debate. Every Iowan has the right to vote for to retain or excuse the Justices based on his or her own criteria. I would just want to make sure the criteria I'm using are based in fact or in my opinion of the facts.

WHOMEVER/WHATEVER YOU VOTE FOR...PLEASE VOTE!

PWD