The Year In Review

Can you sum up how 2008 was for you in three words?

Motivated

A plastic mat is an essential part of indoor bike riding.
So I'm a couple days into my serious training program that will hopefully have me in tip-top shape by this time next month. I actually haven't gone "out of shape" since September, but I have gained some muscle weight and put on a few "holiday" pounds.

Keeping my workout routine fresh is helped along by my new CycleOps Fluid2 trainer. (Thanks to Bridget and Jon for helping get it assembled and set up.) I've been watching some vintage cycling videos and that's made the time pass by much faster.

The weather here the past two days has been very sunny. But unfortunately, the strong winds have made riding outdoors out of the question. Plus, I spent a lot of time cleaning my bike and it's not going to need much more than a spit-shine if I'm riding it exclusively indoors.

A special shout-out tonight to my friend, Shelley. She's proven to be a tremendous source of motivation and information. I'll have to send her a Christmas letter, now that I think of it. If anyone else out there reading this would like a "special edition" sent to them, please let me know.

Same Name

Here's a strange coincidence. A family of three girls with some familiar names. I wonder if we can speculate what the next two names will be if they have girls...

Also, be sure and check out the YDreams website.

Did you know there is a YD scuba diving forum?

There is also a YD industries (click here to see the "web catalog.") and YD's "A Little Bit of Everything Place" blog.

And here is a reason I should be dressing better than I am. The YD Australian menswear website. And be sure and download some yd fashion label wallpaper.

Throwing It All Away

This photo might exemplify part of my year.
I found this story online while surfing the AP website on my Blackberry (something that is VERY handy).

Had a bad year? '08 memories get shredded in NYC

NEW YORK (AP) — Should auld acquaintance be forgot? Or maybe shredded?

In an event that organizers hope will become a New Year's tradition, New Yorkers and tourists were invited to bring bad memories from 2008 to Times Square on Sunday and feed them to an industrial-strength shredder.

"This is the perfect way to move on from a bad year, from a bad experience," said Kathryn Bonn, of New York City, who shredded a printout of her boyfriend's e-mail breaking up with her.

The event, the second annual "Good Riddance Day," was sponsored by the Times Square Alliance, organizers of the New Year's Eve ball-dropping celebration.

Some participants wrote "the stock market" or "cancer" on a piece of paper and shredded it, while others shredded bags of bank statements and check stubs.

Kate Anello, a Yankees fan from New York City, destroyed a poster of the city's longtime rival, the Boston Red Sox.

"I hate them," she said. "It felt good."

City resident Jay Ballesteros won a $250 prize for the most creative object to be shredded: a sock representing all the socks that emerge from the laundry without their mates.

"I'm hoping to use the prize to buy some brand new socks," he said.

Am I sorry I missed out on this event? Not really. It is certainly a novel idea, though. Actually, I am thankful for a lot of things as I emerge from 2008 and enter 2009. I have had pretty good luck in years ending in "9" (at least the ones I can remember). In 1989, I graduated from college. In 1999, I was working at KMTV. Both of those are positive memories.

An Update On My Father And Father-In-Law

'Tis the season to be thankful for family and friends.

I am happy to type the news that both my father and father-in-law are in much better health today, having successfully survived some very serious medical procedures in 2008.

For my dad, it was a problem with his colon. He is doing much, much better today and has even gained back much of the weight he lost. His spirits are good (I know because he is getting under my mom's skin these days) and it was great to see him on Christmas when my five darlings were opening presents at my apartment.

My father-in-law, Mike, is also in good health, having made a remarkable recovery from heart bypass surgery. He not only is exercising regularly but he also has "Grandma Bep" also working out with him.

Today, he helped pull a large dent out of the back of my new van (photo above) with a little plunger-like device. Something so simple probably would have cost a couple hundred bucks at a body shop. My service call (which was unannounced, I might add) was complimentary. Wow. Life is good.

It Was 56 Degrees Yesterday

The normal high for this time of year in Omaha is 32 degrees. It was 56 degrees yesterday - only five degrees off the record high.

Unfortunately, such an unseasonably warm day was not one that was conducive to bike riding. Too much melting. Way too much. Sloppy streets were the name of the game. And I have mud on my shoes to prove it.

Saying Goodbye To Christmas

Buddy the Squirrel enjoys our gingerbread house on my deck.
I had every intention of sending the gingerbread house the girls decorated home with them on Christmas Day. But they already had a ton of stuff to take with them and, when I figured out they wouldn't be back for a week, it was time to put it outside for the squirrels.

We had a terrific time decorating it and thank Aunt Annabelle and her family for sharing it with us.

This Made My Day

From James Raia's column today in the Cycling Examiner:

David Clinger is/was one of cycling’s unique individuals. Handsome, talented and spirited, his career took an odd turn a few years back when his covered his face with a Maori Warrior-style tattoo. Combine his unique appearance with a temper and there weren’t a lot of opportunities for the former Lance Armstrong teammate — except for the perfect place, Rock Racing. Clinger rode as a strong team rider in the circuit race at the Sea Otter Classic and finished third in the criterium. He had other strong early season results, including a small road race win. But soon enough, Clinger was jettisoned from Rock Racing. Sean Weide may be cycling’s best PR guy. With colleagues, Rock Racing distributed press info nearly every time team owner Michael Ball sneezed in 2008. But when Clinger left the squad, nothing was said. None of the much-followed cycling sites reported on the “mystery,” either. Clinger, soon to be age 31, is a character, for sure. And I wonder if he’ll surface on the cycling scene, again.

That Black Cloud...

The garbage truck did a real number on my car.
Is it 2009 yet? The string of bad luck that seems to be following me hit me with a body blow yesterday. First, it was the van not starting (it was seven degrees below zero) and then I got word that my car had been hit - two hours before I was to turn it over to its new owner.

Apparently, the damage was done by a garbage/recycling truck - which drove off (of course). The police came out and took a report. And so begins the task of getting it to the repair shop, etc.

In The Deep Freeze

I can't remember the last time it was this cold.
And, if you are going to be doing any shopping over the next three days, here's a few tips on winter walking.

Baking And Decorating

Check out the girls' decorating work.
We did a fair share of baking and decorating today, much of it thanks to my friend, Andrea. She came over - baking utensils in hand - and helped the girls make and decorate cupcakes.

The girls also tackled decorating a gingerbread house, courtesy of their Kouba cousins. As you can see from the picture below, they really went to town on it. Of course, every one has their own designs on what the finished product should look like, and this was no exception. So while some people thought it looked terrific as is, others kept piling on the candy and frosting.

Lauren did a terrific job on the wreath above the door.

Who Said It Was Going To Snow?

The snow that fell this morning was a surprise to me -
and the meteorologists who were forecasting Friday night.
We knew it was going to be cold. But no one said it was going to snow today. And it wasn't just a few flakes, either. It snowed for a couple hours. In fact, as I type this I realize that I never got over to the old neighborhood to snow blow. Oops.

It's been a busy day. Pancakes for breakfast, hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for lunch. Emily had a basketball game, the girls went shopping with Jon and Bridget and I struggled to get some work done in between.

My van battery died yesterday. I suspect one of the little darlings left a light on. Of course, I hadn't driven it for at least three days so if it did have a light on, the battery had long since died. Fortunately, my father-in-law came to the rescue and brought a battery charger over.

Lots still left to do this weekend. One more day to do it.

Early-Morning Snow Blowing

The streets outside my apartment were quiet at 5:30 this morning.
So I was up a little after 5 a.m. in anticipation of snow blowing up to four inches of snow. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), there was only about an inch-and-a-half of snow. The other two inches below it was ice from last night's sleet storm (see previous entry).

Snow blowers don't work well on ice. Only on Aunt Jean's driveway did I manage to get all the way down to the pavement. So I'll probably be snow blowing some icy-slush mix from the other sidewalks and driveways later today.

Also worth mentioning: the sound of scraping ice from windows and windshields on cars in my parking lot. What a chore that has been for people this morning. I am thankful that I have a garage. Very thankful.

I snapped this photo as I was getting ready to walk home around 7:45:
You can barely see the outline of the ice-covered sidewalk.

Sleet Storm

The courtyard looked pretty cool as the sleet fell.
I was a little concerned that my evening workout was going to run into the Nebraska volleyball game. But what I didn't know, after leaving my apartment, was that Stanford was going to come back from an 0-2 deficit and beat Texas in five games.

So fortunately, I didn't miss any of the Huskers' battle against Penn State. I even had time to work out and run around the block (in shorts, no less) and stop over at the grocery store for a few things. It was surprisingly warm, considering the sleet that was falling.

So how about that Nebraska volleyball team? The Huskers played an incredible match, stunning Penn State with wins in the third and fourth games - when the Nittany Lions had not lost a game the entire season.

In the fifth game, Nebraska was ahead 10-8, only to watch Penn State rattle off seven of the next eight points. The loss wasn't so crushing, actually, and Coach John Cook put it best when he said a week from now no one will remember who won or lost.

Camera phones don't take the greatest pictures at night.

Only Two Lunches Today

Note the Little Debbie Christmas snack cakes. Yum.

Trip to the Omaha Press Club

The remodeled main bar at the Omaha Press Club
still features a TV - only now it's a flatscreen.
I've been to the Omaha Press Club dozens of times: for meetings, lunch and even Bridget and Jon's wedding reception. Heck, I was a member for years (both from a corporate and journalist standpoint).

But yesterday was the first time I had been to the club since it underwent extensive remodeling. It sits on the top floor of the old First National Bank building, 22 stories above Downtown Omaha.

For those of you who have not been there, it offers beautiful views of the riverfront and points farther into Council Bluffs and beyond. Here's a few photos from my guest lunch with the OPC communications committee.

Looking east toward Council Bluffs. The large building
in the foreground is the Omaha World-Herald's Freedom Center
printing building. Behind it is the Qwest Center.

The main fireplace looks the same. But you can no longer smoke by it.

Bridget looks over a magazine in one of the side rooms.
Note the "Faces on the Barroom Floors" on the walls.

The view of the Woodman Tower is to the south.

Looking north, you can see the Civic Auditorium.

More Google Hits

My favorite story is the one in Dutch (second from the bottom).

Thank Heavens For Google Translator

Afternoon Snowblowing

I bundled up. It was seven degrees.
Children are rejoicing!

No, school has not been called off for Wednesday.

Instead, they will be walking on snow-blown sidewalks on their way home from school this afternoon. That's thanks to my handiwork over my lunch hour. Unfortunately, the snow continues to fall. But that's two less inches they'll have to plod through.

A picture of my handiwork:

Omaha's First Significant Snowfall

This is what it looked like as snow fell this morning.
The expected snow began falling overnight and it promises to be Omaha's first significant snowfall of the winter season. At this point, it appears at least three inches will pile up, with some forecasters saying up to six by the time it is finished.

Behind The Scenes At KCCX

In the most recent game of "Where's Sean?"
there I am, watching Jonathan Page go by.
I felt compelled to share one more story from my trip to watch the final day of racing at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships.

Bridget, Jon and I had just sat down to lunch when I realized something warm to drink might be more appropriate than the free (and very cold) energy drinks. So Bridget offered to stand in line while Jon and I wolfed down our Famous Dave's BBQ sandwiches.

Looking around, I noticed two young girls looking absolutely bored out out of their minds at the table next to ours. I immediately thought they were girlfriends of some racers who had no interest whatsoever in being at a cyclocross race - much less one where the wind chill was in the single digits.

Eventually, Bridget returned with hot chocolate in hand and a story of a conversation with a mom of one of the competitors. Apparently she was from Florida and her son would be competing in the elite race. This woman went on to tell Bridget that her son was going to win. Sure, right, whatever. Don't all moms say that? Unfortunately, Bridget couldn't recall the name of the woman, but did remember that it was kind of funny sounding with multiple syllables.

Only later did I mention Ryan Trebon - who crashed out of last year's race - which triggered Bridget's memory. That was whose mom she met in line. And when I pulled up a photo of the happy Trebon family posing after Ryan's victory - there were the two "bored-out-of-their-gourd" girls. Ha. No boyfriends for these ladies. Just one proud brother.

Thanks, Larry Rosa, for letting me share your fine photography.

Need I Say Any More?

Cyclocross Nationals: What A Day

We were all smiles on the drive down to Kansas City -
before the cold front swept in and made it a bone-chilling day.
Kansas City, Mo. - It's not very often that a world-class cycling event goes off in your backyard. So I just had to go down to Kansas City and watch the elite men's and women's National Cyclocross Championships Sunday in Tiffany Springs, Mo.

Along for the ride was my brother-in-law, Jon, and my twin (six years apart) sister, Bridget. I was pleasantly surprised they opted to take me up on the invitation to go, considering we had to leave around 7 a.m.

When we left Omaha, the temperature was in the 40s. On the way down to Kansas City, we stopped at a rest stop south of St. Joseph and the temperature was 52 - but we knew a cold front was not far behind. It was 58 degrees when we arrived at the venue but we pulled on our winter coats and hats, to the disbelief of a few people who had no idea what was coming. Sure enough, fewer than five minutes later the wind came up and the temperature plummeted - probably about 25 degrees in 10 minutes. You had to feel sorry for the collegiate women, who were moments from starting their race (many of them wearing short sleeves and shorts).

I'll let the pictures tell much of the rest of the story. It was great to catch up with so many familiar faces - and I certainly appreciated the "shout outs" from race announcers John Lefler Jr. and Dave Towle. I felt pretty important, as you might imagine. After all, who am I? I haven't raced a bike in years.

The starting grid is a crazy area minutes before the start.

The start of a cyclocross race is always an all-out sprint.

Steve Tilford and his girlfriend (and soigneur) Trudi.

Posing with Team Type 1's Chris Jones before the start.

Diane Fortini was the chief referee.

I still can't figure out who was riding this Rock Racing bike.

Pabst Blue Ribbon as a sponsor? And "Mafia Racing?" Weird.

Bridget and Jon pose by the Team Clif Bar (school) bus.

It was great to catch up with my Utah friend Rachel Cieslewicz.

Sydney Brown was back at it after finishing third on Friday.

Jesse Anthony of Team Type 1 finished fourth. Wow.

Jon and Bridget pose near the Chamois Butt'r barriers.

My good friend Gina Poertner, who is a fixture at races in Kansas.

This sign was very, very strange. Not funny. Just strange.

By the way, my intent to get in a finish line picture succeeded. Look for me in my Team Type 1 gear and black hat here.

Random thought: Did you catch the Nebraska volleyball team's victory that advanced it on to the volleyball Final Four, which will be held at Qwest Center Omaha? I didn't, but saw the highlights. Pretty amazing stuff, coming back from a 9-3 deficit (when you only play to 15) in the final game.

And one final thought: the New York Giants seem to be in a bit of trouble after losing to the Dallas Cowboys tonight. I know a lot of people who are rooting for the Giants and they seemed confident earlier this year that the team would be back in the Super Bowl. Now it's not such a given.

Spend A Little To Give A Little

All five girls had cold lunches for school today.
Sometimes you have to splurge. Sure, the economy is tough. Gas prices have dropped, but they are still "high" in my estimation. But spending a little extra cash can sometimes go a long ways.

Case in point: my Christmas letter. If you want to receive a hard copy of it (I still haven't decided whether to print it in color) send me your mailing address. Yes, I purchased stamps. And I'll be purchasing envelopes, too. Sure it's old fashioned, but I think it means a lot when you take the time to write a personal message, stick it in an envelope, seal it up put a stamp on it and mail it off. Plus, it's fun getting mail. I have already received a half-dozen cards. So thank you!

Carmelo Anthony tied an NBA record last night with 33 points in a single quarter. What might be more amazing is that he finished with only 45 points. That's only 12 points in the other 45 minutes. Hmmm. By the way, Emily's basketball season begins this Saturday and no, I am not coaching.

It was 10 degrees yesterday morning. Today it was an almost-balmy 32. I didn't even wear a jacket it felt so nice. It's only supposed to get up to 40, though, so I can't celebrate too much.

Has anyone else done that "Elf Yourself" thing online? I did it a few years ago. What a great ploy by Office Max to pick up sponsorship of this viral (and fun) feature.

I'm not sure why, but I was working on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus for the summer in my dream last night. What was I doing? I can't recall. But I do remember watching the end of a football practice (in the summer?) and how the University of Southern Cal (USC) was also practicing at Memorial Stadium. (Huh?) What I do recall from the dream was that I took a job with the intention of taking another (so working two jobs simultaneously). But after working at one job one day - as a package delivery person, perhaps - and at the other job the next, I realized I could not do both. So I decided to do neither - and started writing my "Media Notes" column for the City Weekly newspaper. That much, I do remember. Strange. Weird. Tiring.

I'm going to be spending some time today (hopefully) on mapping out my Christmas break plans with my five little darlings, as well as my schedule for the first three months of 2009. If you have any suggestions on what the YD girls should be doing with their dad over Christmas break, leave a comment. (They told me they would like to go "someplace that's warm.") I have some ideas...

Finally, I admire people who can spell out the facts and not beat around the bush. Being a public relations professional often means presenting the facts and information in a manner that casts them in the best light. I have the pleasure of working with a few people who are terrific at telling it like it is. They are sensitive to the hard feelings that this information might generate, but they don't hold back. Kudos to them for staying calm when presenting information that could easily send someone else into orbit because of the magnitude of the situation.

Tip for the day:
Don't use text messaging for important messages. Why not? 1) There is no confirmation that they arrived; 2) You don't know exactly when the message will be delivered; 3) How are you going to prove you "have it in writing" when the message gets erased?

Quite A Tongue Twister

It was startling to hear some normally proficient local TV newscasters struggle to pronounce the last name of Illinois's embattled governor, Rod Blagojevich.

One-by-one they succumbed to the tongue twister. It was almost painful to hear. One anchor (who will remain nameless) gave it three tries before she gave up.

Here's the pronunciation: bluh-GOY-uh-vich. It took me seven seconds to find it online. Nearly every TV station has the luxury of subscribing to a news service that provides pronunciation guides on any "toughies" that might show up in major news stories.

If I had to read it in front of several thousand people, I would: 1) look up the pronunciation; 2) turn on a cable news channel and listen to others say it a few times; 3) practice, practice, practice.

Wrong Again

That 1-2 inches of snow forecast at 10 p.m. last night
has failed to materialize this morning.
Remember the scene in "Back to the Future II" when Doc and Marty arrive in the future? It's pouring rain as the two get out of the DeLorean. Just as Marty wonders why they're about to get soaked when they could stay in the car instead, Doc says "wait 10 seconds" and it stops raining. Apparently, by the year 2015 weather forecasting will be precise - to the very second.

But before that time comes, meteorologists will hopefully learn to be a little more cautious in "crying wolf" about major snow events.

Omaha's "most-trusted" meteorologist cried wolf a couple days ago, then backpedaled harder than James Tiberious Kirk's near-fatal fling over a cliff in the new "Star Trek" trailer. Another prominent meteorologist led off his forecast Sunday night with talk of snow totals in the "four to six-inch range" but used the rest of his time that night to talk about the possibility of "lesser amounts" which basically covered the 1-2, 2-4, and 4-6 inch range.

By mid-afternoon Monday, the National Weather Service forecast office kept the winter storm advisory in effect for northeastern Nebraska, but announced that the approaching storm would be "less severe" than expected earlier. Too late. The local news had already assigned their reporters to report on the rush of sales of snow shovels, salt and higher-than-normal traffic at grocery stores.

My point? Proceed with caution. It's better to say that these "computer models" used for forecasting can vary wildly, particularly more than 48 hours out from a possible weather event. And to some TV meteorologists' credit, that is what they said. But the majority did not. So as I look out over my deck, which is just as dry as it was when I went to bed last night, I can't help but wonder when I can start trusting the "most trusted" meteorologist in Omaha again.