Ace Wisdom

Happy Birthday Grasshopper No.3.  I assure you it wasn’t this cold on the day you were born.

Last night was Jay Leno’s final “Tonight show”.  Jay is a throwback to old time values when integrity meant something.  I understand the desire to bring in some one new but NBC just eliminated their No.1 late night profit generator.  Part of me would like to see NBC fall flat on their face with the Leno decision.  It is one thing to retire while “on top”.  It is quite another to be fired when you are on top.  Maybe there is an age discrimination suit lurking here.

I think I have all my tax information for 2013.  Now all I have to do is power up my Turbo-Tax, push a few computer keys and out will pop my tax return.  I do know that we had quite a few medical expenses last year.  God I hate the tax preparation process!

I got an preview of the UW-Badger football schedule for 2014.    The Big 10 conference  used to stand for tradition and “smash-mouth” football.  The first home league game is Oct.11 against Illinois followed Oct.25 against Maryland (newly added to the Big 10),   There is not a single game against Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State or Penn State.  Gone are all the statistics.  Gone is the rivalry.  We now have more games against less talented teams designed for more TV exposure.  You can tell that I’m excited about the UW-Badger football schedule.  Oh yeah, ticket prices increased for 2013.

I am taking my favorite girlfriend to lunch today and I am paying for it with my Christmas gift card.  Does life get any better?

Love,

Dad

On Friday, Grasshopper No.3 will celebrate being “one half a centry old”.  When I was “working”, the office employees would stuff the office or cubicle of a person turning 50 with black balloons.  I’m not sure what the black signified other than it was a dark, dark, dark day.  Grasshopper No.3 might get the cab of his little red truck stuffed with black balloons.  Happy Birthday No.3.  May your day be joyous.

On Sunday I flew some friends on my private jet out to the Super Bowl for the day.  Two friends needed to be picked up in Rockport, TX.  Unfortunately they weren’t ready at the airport so we flew on without them.  Also the weather in Rockport was lousy.  We hoisted a beer or two the Rockport couple.

We had tickets on the 50 yard line.  The game started.  The center for Denver hiked the ball over the head of Peyton Manning resulting in a safety.  Game over. Denver had no chance.  We left early and joined a party at a hotel hosted by Paul Allen (of Microsoft fame) and owner of the Seattle Seahawks.  Allen was spending some of his $50 billion dollars (that is with a “b”).

I got home only to find out my executives at the Green Bay Packers had raised prices on stadium seats by $3 again.  It is the fifth consecutive year of a $3 per seat increase.  If this keeps up I might have to sell my private jet.

While I am feeling sorry for people with financial woes, lest not we forget the Queen of England.  She gets $51 million per years from the Parliment and she has had to dip into her reserves.  $51 million isn’t enough.  She employees 434 employees with lots of footmen, butlers and personal assistants.  I see an austerity program coming here.

Olympics begin Feb. 7.  It will represent 2 weeks of TV program diversions.

Days are getting longer.

Love,

Dad

This is the start of the chinese New Year.  It is the year of the horse.

It got me to wondering under what sign you Grasshoppers were born according to the chinese calendar.  Two of you are rats, one is an ox, a rabbit and a snake.  Grasshoppers No.1 and No.4 are the rats.  No.2 is an ox, No.3 is a rabbit and of course, No.5 is a snake.  You are going to have to “Google” the chinese description of each of the animals on your own.

Your Mom and I are both dragons which makes sense since we were both born in the same year.  According to the chinese, our marriage compatibility has an 80% chance of success.  A dragon is a strong personality, stubborn, perseveres and is competitive.  Does that describe me.  A dragon needs to be given his (or her) space.

So we are a family of dragons, and rats, and oxen, and rabbits and snakes.  Oh, my!

Sunday morning I’m having my private jet fly me to New York for the Super Bowl.  I purchased tickets on the 50 yard line for $10,000 each.  There will be four of us.  I understand a 20 ounce Bud Lite will sell for $14 a bottle.  God knows what a hot dog costs?  Nothing is too good for my friends.  We will fly back home after the game.  It is sad that the Super Bowl is becoming the folly for the very rich.

I purchased a gizmo with a red tank and lots of gauges.  It is called a compressed air system.  I should have bought one years ago to inflate tires, basketballs, footballs and other things.  My snowblower had flat tires and it caused me to make the purchase.  The gizmo looks intimidating but it  is really very simple.  It might explode but it is simple.  Now I can inflate things, operate air tools (which I do all the time) and spray paint my house.  I feel like Tim the Toolman.  Oh, oh, oh.

Denver wins!

Love,

Dad

Life requires attitude.  You can see the world as negative or positive.  The glass is half empty or half full.  I choose the “half-full”.

I will win the $1 billion prize offered by Quicken Loans for picking all NCAA tournament basketball games correctly.  Yep, easy street.

Outdoor temperatures can only go up.

There are TV viewing alternatives to the State of the Union speech tonight.

It looks like there is a concerted effort to supply people propane gas to heat their homes (250,000 homes in Wisconsin).  The outrageous prices are yet to be determined (oops, a negative thought crept in).

Global warming seems to have abated.

Your Mom and I were fortunate not to have booked a Caribbean cruise.  We have avoided the rash of seaboard virus outbreaks.  Royal Caribbean cruise lines seems to be mentioned alot.

I got in my exercise program this morning (I have not missed).

Our paper delivery has been excellent.  It seems to be in the mailbox by 5:00 AM every morning.

Coffee is good!

I considered doing the “half empty” schtick but there is way too much material.

Stay healthy and warm.

Love,

Dad

 

The Company “Quicken Loans” is making an offer to pay $1 billion to anyone that can correctly pick the winning teams throughout the next NCAA basketball tournament.  That is billion with a “b”.  The first round  has 32 games (64 teams), the second round 16 games and so on until two teams play for the championship.  If you correctly pick every game, you will never have to work again.  So there you are bracketologists.  Pick right.  Get rich.  Fortune awaits.  Oh, by the way, the odds are 9 million trillion to 1 against picking all winners correctly.  “Quicken Loans” could never afford to pay the billion dollars so they bought an insurance policy to cover the bet, just in case.  Guess who provided the insurance.  Yep, Warren Buffett’s (one of the richest men in the world) insurance company.  The winner?  Warren Buffett.  He got the insurance premium.  There  is a reason he is very rich.

Propane gas is in short supply.  If you live in the country (versus the city) or remote locations, you probably heat your home and businesses with propane.  With the cold weather, propane usage is up significantly.  So what do you do when there is short supply?  You turn the heat in the house down to very low temperatures and hope that you will get a fresh supply soon.  Electric heaters can provide some very expensive relief.  Propane usually sells for $1.59 per pound of liquid.  It is not available at $1.59.  There are rumors you can buy all you want for $5.00 per pound.  What is strange about the propane shortage is that we are in the midst of a natural gas “glut” with fracking success in North Dakota, New York State and Texas but propane is short.  Really?

I went to my friendly dentist yesterday.  3 hours later, I had a restored tooth with a new crown on it.  Now I have to figure out how to pay for it.  I’ll have to get one of those cheaper Obamacare insurance policies with $5,000 deductible.  Can I get Obamacare insurance with dental coverage.  With $5,000 deductible, do I want it?

The Super Bowl approaches.  There is the possibility that the game could get played in very cold temperatures and snow.  Who really cares?

Love,

Dad

I have been told over the years that our family name is Scottish and we immigrated from Scotland.  My uncle Bob actually vacationed in Scotland with the intent of finding clues to our family heritage.  He found nothing.

When I did my recent research on Ancestry.com, I traced our family (following the family name) back to England in the late 1580’s.  I know that England and Scotland have an intertwined history so maybe going back further in time would find the Scottish connection.  Alas, more information  would have to come from English records which might be hard to find.

My conclusion is that my side of the family is mostly English.

What brings the heritage subject to the fore you ask?  Grasshopper No.3’s wife has begun to trace her heritage on Ancestry.com.  When Shelby Jr. does her research and looks for the female lineage it will get really hard because women almost always changed their name with each marriage.  It is interesting.

Grasshopper No.2 sent of a picture of Grandson Mitchell shooting a “jump shot” at one of his basketball games.  The picture shows two people in the stands watching the shot.  Yep, it was your Mom and me.  We were there and we can prove it!

Grasshopper No.5 can watch the Metrodome in Minneapolis get torn down.  It has lots of history including an inflatable roof that collapsed several years ago from the weight of a heavy snow.  I remember Grasshopper No.2 talking about the loud sound of everything including the UW-Band when they played in the “Dome” during the 80’s.  Deafening.  Simply deafening.

Super Bowl facts.  If Seattle wins, the quarterback is a UW-Madison alumni from several years ago, Russell Wilson.  If Denver wins, the running back is Monte Ball from two years ago, also a UW alumni.  So whoever wins there will be a strong Wisconsin connection.

Warm Hugs!

Love,

Dad

Yesterday, the 16th, marked the 5 month anniversary of my open heart surgery.  I guess you would could call it the anniversary of my rebirth (no I am not a religious zealot).  For me you call it a restart.

Things have been good since Christmas.  I have a gift card to my favorite restaurant so I eat “free”.  The restaurant also tracks the dollars I spend and I keep acummulating bonus points towards a free meal.  Also this month, after attending the restaurant 4 times, I get $10 off a meal.  If this keeps up, they will pay me to eat there.

Grasshopper No.3 has been plowing a lot.  I mean a lot.  I know he has been watching  re-runs of “Breaking Bad”.  Near the end of the series, the high school professor is making so much money, he can’t manage all the cash.  He ends up putting it in temporary storage sheds piled high on pallets.  Grasshopper No.3 asked if he could pile cash at my house (implying that he was earning lots of overtime money plowing just like in Breaking Bad).  I told him to “just bring it”.  I could handle any all the cash he sends my way.  We should all have the problem of what to do with all the cash.

Usually this time of year, I begin making out parts of my Federal and State Income Tax forms.  I understand that the Federal government will not even accept filings before Feb.1.  That means my refund will be later.  That means I will have to put off buying my new car until later Spring.

If you are an NFL football affectionado, this is your weekend.  4 top pro football teams compete for the right to go to the Super Bowl.  The winners will be New England and Seattle.

Love,

Dad