Volunteering

Am looking into volunteering.  Might look at pro bono work, or possibly work tutoring / mentoring kids.  I'm looking forward to giving something back to the community, and trying to make this world work a little better for someone else.

Best Wishes for 2011

Hope everyone had a great holiday season, and best wishes for 2011!

The Christmas Story (from The Gospel of Luke, N.A.B.)

Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled. ^2:2This was the first enrolment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ^2:3And all went to enrol themselves, every one to his own city. ^2:4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; ^2:5to enrol himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child. ^2:6And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered. ^2:7And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ^2:8And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. ^2:9And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ^2:10And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: ^2:11for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. ^2:12And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. ^2:13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
 ^2:14Glory to God in the highest,
 And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased.
^2:15And it came to pass, when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ^2:16And they came with haste, and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. ^2:17And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child. ^2:18And all that heard it wondered at the things which were spoken unto them by the shepherds. ^2:19But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart. ^2:20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, even as it was spoken unto them.

Book?

Am gathering ideas to try my hand at writing a book.  It's been an eventful year, both good and bad, that I think provides ample material to get started.  Think I will give it a real shot.

Be Watchful

Been reading the Gospel of Mark, and just finished reading Jesus' explanation of the coming of the Messiah, which ends with Jesus telling the apostles, "Be watchful!"  This is so appropriate this week, as we wait for the birth of Jesus.  It struck me that I am not watchful, not mindful of the coming of Christ.  I think that along with faith, it requires a retraining of my mind, practice, in opening my heart and mind to the presence of Jesus in this world, and I believe that prayer is what will help me to become more mindful.

Basketball

I play basketball with the over 35 crowd on Wednesday nights.  Have been working out more over the past 2 months, and have noticed that I am better conditioned to go up and down the court.  Had a good night last night, which is pretty fun.  I'm an average player, but played pretty well last night -- solid defense and hit a couple of big threes, making up for a miserable night last week.  Hope I'm still doing this at 50.

Goals

Figure now that I'm 40, I should probably get around to some things I've been putting off, or never gave too much thought to, such as my goals. strengths, dreams -- more or less redefining who I am and what I want my life to mean, to both myself, and outsiders.  I've been given an opportunity to do just that with my recent unemployment, and want to take the time to get it right.  There are many things that are important to me, and I have a chance to insure I work on them to do myself proud.  Will update as things progress.

Nice Work Vs. the Patriots

For the umpteenth time in my lifetime, I've been suckered into believing the Bears had what it takes to mount a serious Super Bowl charge.   Then came the snow, and Tom Brady, and the Bears were exposed for what they are -- a nice time, but certainly not an elite team.  Lessons to take away from yesterday's game:

1) The Defense can be had -- Tom Brady has a 113+ passer rating in those conditions?  Really?  Many of his throws were wounded ducks in that wind -- but the Bears didn't make it hard for them.

2) The Bears' "stars" were exposed -- way to step up and earn your $$ Urlacher, Cutler, Peppers and Briggs.  In the biggest game of the season for the Bears, their stars played small.

3) The Winter is not "Bear Weather".  Can we finally stop this talk about the Bears dominating in the frozen tundra?  They got pantsed in 1988 by the 49ers in this type of weather, and haven't been a special cold weather team by any means since then.

4) Mike Martz is only a "genius" (if he is one) on turf.

5) When you don't run the ball effectively, you don't control the clock, and leaving an offense like NE's on the field will get your ass kicked.

Good thing many Bears fans are also Cub fans, so they know the rallying cry -- "Wait 'til next year"

Ugh

Feeling old today -- real sore from basketball and workouts this past week.  Had a minor meltdown at basketball as I was pretty pissed about the way I played.  Nothing like a minor mid-life crisis to keep things fresh.

Carlos Pena

Okay.  Guess we'll see if he's a bargain or a bust.  Move to the NL will hopefully help.  Seasons Greetings from the Ricketts...

This is 40...

Turned 40 the other day, and it feels pretty good.  I've been exercising the past few months, so I'm feeling good, playing basketball once a week, and trying to just enjoy my wife and kids with all that has gone on over the past six months.  Not where I pictured myself at 40, but it's good.

The Sounds of Silence

How about those moves the Cubs are making this off-season?  Gone is Adam Dunn.  Gone is Adrian Gonzalez.  And they are rumored to be looking at...Carlos Pena?  Really?  He of the strikeouts and .199 BA?  What in the hell are the Rickettses doing with the money they supposedly bring to the table aside from rolling around in it?

Ron Santo

Rest in peace, Ron Santo.   Always liked the way you lived and died with the Cubs on the air, and the way you seemed to approach life, joyfully, never seeming to complain about the way diabetes affected your quality of life, serves as an example to us all.  You deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame, and you bled Cubbie blue.  Godspeed.

North Korea is Buggin'

Foreign Affairs is reporting on the increased tension between the Koreas.  

http://www.cfr.org/publication/23492/north_koreas_escalating_aggression.html?cid=rss-analysisbriefbackgroundersexp-north_korea_s_escalating_aggre-112310

Plenty of opportunity for trouble here.  The big question is China's motives.  China utilizes North Korea as a pawn in its relations with the U.S., trumpeting issues of sovereignty and non-interference in the affairs of another country as reasons for not pressuring North Korea to toe the line, when in fact North Korea is a useful balance to American might in Asia.    

How 'Bout Them Bears?

BIG win for the Monsters yesterday.  Not only did they beat a legitimate contender, they took over the division lead.  The defense did a great job containing Vick, and really put a pounding on him, without a lot of blitzing.  If they can continue to get pressure like that, their secondary is good enough.  The offense, at least through three quarters, finally looked like the Martz offense Bears fans were expecting -- Forte in particular did a nice imitation of Marshall Faulk yesterday, and Cutler had a tremendous game.  Signature win that stamps the Bears as a contender in the NFC.  Now let's hope they don't let down against Detroit next week...

Never Let Me Go

Just finished reading this great book by Kazuo Ishiguro.  It's a story set in an alternate reality UK that deals with loss -- the loss of innocence and the loss of those we love.  Ishiguro is consistently original, writes great dialogue and creates involving characters, flaws and all.  A worthwhile book from one from an overlooked (but extremely talented) writer.   

20 Mayoral Candidates?

There are 20 declared candidates for mayor of Chicago, now that Richie Daley is stepping down.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/elections/ct-met-chicago-mayor-race-1123-20101122,0,7082375.story While it's still early and likely that many of these candidates won't be on the ballot on Election Day, the field is full of potentially viable candidates that have some serious flaws, such as:

Rahm Emanuel -- Obama's right hand man, and all that entails, with possible residency problems;
Carol Moseley Braun -- are you kidding me?  She's betting the electorate will forget her ethical foibles from her Senate days
Roland Burris -- again, is this a joke?  Blago won't be able to appoint you to the chair of Hizzoner
Gery Chico -- never had a problem with Daley while serving his administration, but is now the candidate of reform
Danny Davis -- not a bad choice, but seems to have a lack of support
Miguel del Valle  -- City Clerk, but name recognition?
James Meeks -- heart is in the right place, but inexperienced and untested
Rob Halpin -- inexperienced, untested and seems like a complete tool.

Good luck with this slate, Chicago...

Steps!

Along with jogging, I've been doing steps a couple of times a week.  It looks insane (I go up and down one step), but it is a killer cardio workout.  It's also fairly addictive -- I started at 300 and am up to 1,000 at a time, which takes about 30 minutes.  I also "run" about 30 stairs out of every 100.  Feels pretty darn good...

Early A.M. Jogging

Been running in the wee hours of the morning for about 2 months.  As tough as it sometimes is to get out of bed, it's pretty awesome once I'm up.  Not going real far, only about 2.25 miles, but I add a little extra distance each day, and  break it up with some sprints.  Feels great to do this in the a.m., and makes me feel like I accomplished something early on in the day.  Am also noticing a change in my conditioning for basketball.  Liking this a lot, even in the early morning chill.

Freedom

Just finished Jonathan Franzen's new book.  It's a pretty good read.  While some of the prose seems stilted, particularly the autobiography of one of the lead characters, the book weaves back and forth through modern like and much of what afflicts us in post 9/11 America.  While not as brilliant as "The Corrections", it's a great follow up.  The characters are presented warts and all, but they are essentially good at their core, and Franzen's satire is strong.  It's the type of book I'll pick up again in a few years.  

The More Things Change...

So I'm not quite sure what to make of the Ricketts' ownership of the Cubs. They seem to be pretty damn good at squeezing every dollar they can out of Wrigley Field, but it seemed McCaskeyian to propose a bond plan to renovate Wrigley without first running it by the governor. Add to that allowing Hendry to effectively tell Ryno to take a walk (I'm not a Quade-hater, and hope he does well) after all but giving him a road map to the manager position, and I'm starting to lean toward the let's not give them the benefit of the doubt camp. Maybe they'll allow Hendry to wow us in free agency, or maybe there are a few more young players who can come up and play, like Castro, Cashner and Colvin. Maybe, maybe not. I'm starting to think we're looking at the second coming of the Tribune Co. -- making $$ hand over fist, while flipping the bird to the fans...

Three Years?!

Been a wee bit of time since my last post. Unfortunately, we're now into a second century of futility. The aim of the blog remains the same -- to amuse myself, and possibly others. Reunited. And it feels so good!