• Reader’s Notebook, 10/30/19

    As is my norm, I am behind on sharing my books with you. So here we go… Normal People – Sally Rooney I hate when a book lets you down. I was really enjoying this book as I worked my way through it. And then the final quarter or so ruined most of that good will. Normal People is centered…

  • Belated Weekend Notes

    OK, finally some weekend notes. Youth Basketball L’s team finally got their second win of the year, a nervy 18–15 win. They were down 14–10 in the fourth quarter, which seemed like a monumental gap. We got back-to-back steals and scores to tie, then cranked up the defense, got a couple more scores, and held on for the win. It…

  • A Day in the Life

    Monday got away from me a little. I had some things on the agenda, but also figured I’d be able to sit down and crank out a weekend summary post or something. Then things got a little weird. So in the interest of posting something before Monday is over, here is a quick review of my day. I know, I…

  • Friday Playlist

    A couple new songs with a healthy dose of nostalgia this week. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4yFiaGuwqJCcyigD05RDwa?si=7u8LSPfwTL6rddm_SyAB-g “Our Little World” – County Line Road. Maybe it’s the name of the group, but I was surprised to learn this band is from England and not the US. This track has a big, mid–80s feel to it. “Walking on a String” – Matt Berninger with Phoebe…

  • Reaching for the Stars, Vol. 33

    Chart Week: September 17, 1983 Song: “Stand Back” – Stevie Nicks Chart Position: #35, 16th week on the chart. Peaked at #5 the week of August 20. First a piece of housekeeping. I noticed this morning that I mis-numbered my last entry, for some reason skipping from 31 to 34. I have updated that post to correctly show it as…

  • Sports Notes

    I had a Reaching for the Stars post lined up for today, but one huge sports story has me skipping to throw down some sports thoughts on your heads. Kansas – Missouri Basketball is Back Well this was a total surprise. I have a few birdies out there who occasionally drop hints that big news is coming. None of them…

  • Fall Sports: The Wind Down

    We are one step closer to being done with fall sports. L played her final soccer game of the season on Saturday. They won 3–1 to push their record to 4–1–1, including four-straight wins. It was kind of a bummer day, though. Early in the second half she was standing near a defender who was trying to clear a ball…

  • Friday Vid

    “Hail, Hail” – Pearl Jam A bit of an odd music week for me the past few days. I’ve hit the point in the calendar when I set asdide new music I dive into my Favorite Song list for a bit to start whittling it down to a manageable number before the final push to rank them for the year.…

  • 92

    As we get deeper into October, the opportunities to play golf in the midwest are rapidly shrinking. I have played twice in the past couple weeks, both rounds worthy of brief breakdowns. First, as the title suggests, I have now carded a lifetime best of 92. In fact, I shot 92 in each of my last two rounds. Which, given…

  • Weekend/Fall Break Notes

    It was a nice, semi-relaxing weekend at our house. No sports, thanks to fall break. C was supposed to run at the City meet, but her foot pain never fully went away so she chose not to run. Kind of a bummer end to her season. M had finished her cross country season a week before. We are proud of…