football, misc

Monday, Monday, ….

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Today seemed like a Monday all day long. Which is pretty much normal since it was indeed Monday last time I checked. I could be wrong, but I really don’t think so.

Today was one of those funky days where it was unseasonably warm, but the continuous breeze still made it feel cool. But at least it *was* warm (and sunny at times). While we were walking in the park, Molly was very disappointed that she didn’t spot a single squirrel to bark at or try to sneak up on. I figure they were all up in the top branches of the bare trees sunbathing. Either that or they all mysteriously disappeared overnight.

As we walked around the park, there were a number of other dogs and their people out walking as well. (Note that I have told it as it really is for dogs and their followers.) Some dogs were taking their owners for a run, some were just ambling around hoping to meet other dogs, and one was jogging her off-for-the-break college student mistress in circles. That was the best pair to watch because they would jog for a bit and then one or the other would spot something interesting and stop dead in their tracks. That of course yanked the partner on the other end of the leash around in short order. Then the jog would begin again. I suspect that both the dog and mistress are going to be sore tomorrow.

It seemed to be a day when everyone was out to get some sun before winter gets serious again. Contrast that with the other day when it was cold and dark and dreary and the the wind was blowing all day. The only other people L, Molly, and I saw during our walk that day were the kids that moms drove up to the playground and shoved out of the car. The moms then remained inside on their cell phones. It was funny since there were at least three cars with a chattering mom in each and a dozen kids out playing. The ironic thing is that as small as this town is and as many parks as we have, none of them live more than 10 blocks from a park. Why not walk to the park with the kids and kill several birds with one stone. You could even talk on the cell phone if that was your desire. Sometimes I just scratch my head over the behavior I see every day.

This period of the year is nirvana to college football fanatics like myself. One or more bowl games every day for a week a time. I don’t know that it gets any better than this. Contrast that with the ugly performances by the pro football players on Sunday and you can understand why I like the college game better. College football is one part skill and nine parts emotion. It all depends on which team gets emotionally up for the game who will win. And it also means that one emotional play can turn the whole game around.

L heads back to the mountains in the morning and I’m already missing her before she has gone. It is amazing how much you come to miss being able to just walk down the hall and share a thought after 33+ years of marriage. Somehow phones and emails just aren’t the same. I have a college buddy who is a traveling salesman. I don’t think he has spent more than a week at a time at home for years. In fact, I’m not sure he has spent more than a month without being out of the country in that time period. I don’t know how he and his spouse do it. Now that their daughter is in graduate school, I suspect they will travel together on at least some of his trips.

Well, time to get back to reality. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. (I know that doesn’t leave out much, but like I keep telling the reporter for the local paper – if you find me nude in front of the bar at 2am, I’ve probably decided that I am done being mayor.)

christmas, image, santa

How does he do it?

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In todays Frazz (a comic) the suggestion is made that Santa can afford the toys he gives every year by licensing his image. At first glance, it seems like a pretty good idea. But then, the scientist part of me wants to check it out a bit more in depth. So …

According to the International Database (IDB) , the current world population is between 6 and 7 billion people. Further looking at the age demographics for several countries and making an eyeball guess, we discover that less than a third of that population is “Santa eligible” (that is under 18 years of age). So Santa has to get gifts for approximately 2 billion kids.

Now let us be somewhat conservative and assume that Santa’s burdened cost per kid for gifts is $25. That is, the cost of the gifts and delivery totals $25. (After all there are costs associated with keeping a team of reindeer and a supersonic sled in operational shape.) So Santa has to make
          ($25/kid)  X (2 billion kids) = $50 billion
just to cover the gift and delivery costs.

There are 365 days per year (ignoring leap years), so each day Santa has to make
          ($50 billion) / 365 = $136,986,301.37 per day =~ $136,986,301 per day
from his image licensing.

Let’s be generous and assume that Santa gets his image out there 100,000 times each day on average around the world. Then he has to get
        ($136,986,301) / 100,000 = $1,369.86 =~ $1,370
 per licensed image display.

Now if we go to a site like Phototour and fill out the form for licensing as a full page cover photo in an ad for a press run of 100,000, we find out that the fee for a photo of a farm and barn is around $650. I assume that personal images like Santa would be worth more. Likewise, TV appearances would be more expensive. So coming up with an average of $1,370 per image exposure might indeed be possible. (Always assuming that Santa doesn’t become so overexposed that no one will pay for his image anymore.)

So there you have it. Santa pays for the Christmas extravaganza by licensing his image for all the advertising every year. Now we know how he does it. {*grin*}

dinner, robins, weather

Christmas is past and what a blast …

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I took yesterday off from blogging, primarily due to the standard overeating of the day. It’s hard to get motivated to blog when you’re stuffed to the gills with food. Christmas dinner was one of those meals with way too much food – roast beef, ham, potatoes, yams, green beans, jello, rolls, … and more. Then after the dishes were cleared and the fresh pot of coffee started, out came the varieties of fruit cakes. None of us are fans of fruit cake made with citron, but that just made it a challenge for Mom this year. So she had three different types of fruit cake she made with dried fruit and no citron this year. Couple that with some ice cream and you have the ultimate in heavy deserts. And of course you *have* to try all three kinds so that you can give an unbiased rating of different recipes. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Today was another example of adiabatic heating here on the plains. It was close to 50 degrees this afternoon as the cold front pressed in. About three the winds picked up and the temperature dropped as the front arrived. So tomorrow is supposed to be seasonably cool, but by Monday the winds will have reversed and combined to yield temperatures close to 60. At least if I believe the weather forecast. Nothing like living where the temperature can vary by 60-75 degrees in a few days.

It made it a nice day for L and I to take a walk in the park with Molly the wonder dog. The squirrels were out in force, driving Molly to distraction with their disappearing act in the trees every time she got close. One thing that has both L and I scratching our heads is the large numbers of robins still around. Normally by this time of year we are down to crows, sparrows, doves, and a few stragglers. This year there are still literally hundreds of robins in the trees and around the area. The question this brings up can be phrased as an or: Are we insane and this is normal and we just haven’t noticed before, or is this something different that might have an interesting explanation?

Finally, it is time to consider the seasonal wonder of the research reported in a University of California San Diego press release. The title is evocative, but doesn’t really convey the true oddity. In Eyes on the prize Brain-imaging research finds visual areas respond more to valuable objects , researchers from the Perception and Cognition Lab at UCSD reported on a study published in the Dec. 26 issue of Neuron. The main gist of the study is that if something has been associated with monetary value in the past, the visual system emphasized the object in the present. I.e. valuable things arouse more interest in the visual cortex and other areas of the brain. I think this explains a lot. Some of the speculation is that this brain processing oddity my be able to explain certain aspects of addiction. For example, the sight of drugs of food might be triggers to increased emphasis to the brain based on past rewards.

With that odd bit of research duly reported, I can now head off to the bed.

… and to all a Good Night!
christmas, park

Merry Christmas

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Walking home from the radio show this morning was a winter wonderland. Even at 9am it was still below zero and the hoar frost covered all the trees and bushes. Since the journey to the station and back is only a couple of miles, I usually walk to the park and do a few miles there before returning to the house. That way I get my daily mileage in and get some private time since I don’t (or won’t) answer my phone while walking in the morning. The only bad thing was the breeze that dropped the wind chill down to -35 or lower. Made it painful to take off my gloves to use my cell phone to snap pictures of the wonderland I was walking through. But I did it for you, my loyal readers. So without further ado, here is some what I saw as I wondered the park this morning.




Merry Christmas to All
And to All a Good Night
christmas, council, meeting, radio show

Christmas is almost here …

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… and I just got home from the last city council meeting of this year. We had to meet tonight to have the second readings and public hearings on a couple of items that needed to be signed and in force before the end of the year. Mostly contract related. We also allocated some remaining funds for projects that can be done with money from this year next year. One of them is an eagle scout project in one park, another is an expansion of the seating at the veterans memorial in another park, and the last is the minimal buildout of a curb cut on a state highway whose permit will expire if not built shortly. Pretty much standard end of the year stuff.

You know you live in a small town when … someone asks your mother if you are OK since you didn’t blog last night. Just to alleviate any concerns, I am fine. I was busy working on some computer stuff last night and it was too late to post by the time I finished up. But thanks for the concern. Mom called this afternoon to finalize plans for Christmas Eve and she mentioned that she had been asked about the absence of a blog post and was I OK? That is encouraging to me for several reasons, not the least of which is that there are actually people reading what I write. I always have the underlying fear that my blog bears a closer resemblance to post-nasal drip of the brain than a readable flood of interesting words. It is also nice to hear that people care!

I am waiting for my wife to get home from the mountains as I write this. It will be so nice to have her home for a few days. This time of the year can feel very lonely when you are batching it. But at least I got most of the cleaning done and tomorrow we can finish decorating the tree for the group gathering tomorrow night. Christmas will be pretty low key here at the homestead this year. The son is up in the mountains working over college break, so it will just be L, Molly, and me along with our moms and maybe a few other guests that would otherwise be alone over the holiday.

Tomorrow doesn’t look to be too busy. I’ll get up and walk down to the radio station for the radio show early in the morning. Speaking of which, I sometimes think that people care more about the radio show that about the city council actions it features. I can’t believe the number of people I run into that tell me that they heard the show and really look forward to it each week. That is amazing on several counts: 1) they actually listened to the show rather than turning that dial, 2) so many of them don’t live in this town,  3) the topics that they heard on the show prompts them to ask questions, and 4) they will at least listen to the radio show even if they don’t attend the council meetings. I was talking to the president of the local community college the other day and he was very complementary on my use of the radio show to keep the community informed. I found it kind of amusing. I do it because I like to hear myself talk! {*grin*}

After the radio show, I’ll walk back home and get some last minute wrapping done.  Then I need to start our traditional Christmas Eve oyster stew cooking so it can simmer and be ready to eat early. There is the church service for people to attend and then the gathering of people here to snack and talk and await Santa. Any more, the number of Santa unaware kids has shrunk to a few, so I doubt Santa will show up here at the house. He’ll catch them overnight at their own houses. On Christmas day we are migrating over to mom’s house for Christmas dinner. My MIL and mom worked it out amidst themselves so Thanksgiving was at MIL’s house and Christmas Day will be a mom’s house. (It pays to live in the same town as your mom and MIL – there is some else to cook!)

Well, Molly seems to think she hears a car so L must be here. Later.

Things Done Right