More of this and That

Of the 70+ blog entries that I have penned, none have received the hype as my writing on fleece (you can never have too much fleece). As we kick off the new year here in a few days, I wanted to reflect on fleece and expand the "You Can Never Have Too Much" list.

Atlases - I received the world's heaviest and perhaps largest atlas for Christmas with images of cities and global terrain from space - very cool stuff and the photos are crystal clear. Topographically speaking, the world hasn't changed much in thousands of years, but man's ability to showcase the various facets of the earth certainly has. Go out and treat yourself a new atlas.
Maps - I will just say this: I have dozens of pictures (I have three very cute kids), paintings, carvings and other types of artwork in my house. NOTHING gets more interest than the $80 Costco replica map of the USA from the early 1900's. Everyone who enters my house checks it out and wants to talk about it. Did you know that around 1900, Oklahoma was know as “Indian Territory?” Not very P.C., but true nonetheless.

Flashlights - see previous posting.

Storage containers - you can never be TOO organized, and it always seems that every time you go to Target, some company has done some little thing to improve the lid on the plastic bins. Also, it seems like the colors keep getting more interesting (red and green for Christmas storage, orange and black for Halloween, etc).

Fleece - I received some more fleece for Christmas - another jacket. This brings my total of fleece items up to 14 and number of jackets to 9. I didn't even consider returning it - even though I have one that is the same color (gray), a full zip, and looks pretty much identical. The new fleece is just a bit softer, and what if I were to lose one of these treasures? I have a replacement.

More later...

My Favorite Story of 2006

I was concerned that 2006 would come and go with a "KroBlog Favorite Story of 2006." I had considered various stories:

1. Google's acquisition of YouTube.
2. LaDanian Tomlinson's record breaking year in the NFL.
3. That weird dude who claimed to be Jon Benet's killer.
4. North Korea's underground nuclear testing.
5. The continued coverage of Barry Bond's steroid use.
6. Any story involving the war in Iraq.
7. Any story involving Terrell Owens.

But then I came across this: an Indian runner fails a gender test. Fascinating. This "woman" wins a silver medal in some international competition, someone requests some tests, and she fails these gender tests. Sure, that's interesting, but what's really interesting is to watch the video of some people defending "her," claiming that the tests are not only unfair themselves, but that it's unfair that the officials didn't give enough notice that these gender tests are going to take place. WHAT?!?!?

Holiday Music

A little tip for those of you, here in the Bay Area, who just can't get enough Christmas music this time of year. I know, I can't. Both 94.5 (KBAY) and 96.5 (KOIT, lite rock, less talk)are playing holiday music all day and all night. Who says you need satellite radio?

Gau-chos! Gau-chos!

The thing about being a Gaucho is you know what it's like to win it all. We're used to it. First in 1979 when the Men's Water Polo Team brought the NCAA title to Isla Vista, and now this...the Men's Soccer team beat UCLA to take home the school's second national title. Here's how we celebrate Gaucho style.

Cause I Said So

When I became a Dad, and later when I started having to explain every little thing to my kids, older, wiser people than I would say to me: "You know, I bet you never thought you'd be saying "Cause I said so" to your kids."

Well, you know, I never really thought about it before I started saying it. I like explaining things. I like talking to my kids. I believe that every time I speak with them it's opportunity for education for all parties involved.

But sometimes, "Cause I said so," IS the explanation. Many times, it's the ultimate explanation. Before I had kids around to say, "Cause I said so," to, people would ask me the explanation for stuff and I would say, "I don't know" or "I am not sure." Now those are lame explanations.

I am going to start saying "Cause I said so" to everyone, not just my kids. I am going to say it at work when someone asks:

"Tim, why did we lose that deal?" "Cause I said so."
"Tim, how is it that we could double the sales force and have revenues decline by more than 50%?" "Cause I said so."
"Tim, why are there 9 zeros in the number 1 billion?" "Cause I said so."

Try it, you'll like it.