Indy Comes Up a Little Short...Duh!

When the Capital Improvements Board (a semi-autonomous entity that spends a lot of money without government oversight) built Conseco Fieldhouse, Lucas Oil Stadium, and the Indiana Convention Center it's hard to imagine that they could not know that the cost of building larger structures would carry higher costs. Well, the bills are coming in and they have underestimated the maintenance costs by $43 million. That's not what the total cost is. That's just the shortfall in the annual budget.

Now, the Pacers want the same deal as the Colts. They want to stop paying anything to use Conseco and keep all of the revenue. That would be an additional $15 million on top of the current $43,000,000.

I still say we should break the contract with the Colts, let the contract with the Pacers expire, drain the pipes, turn off the heat, and fill them up with corn.

Bonus Paychecks

It seems like all I've been reading about in the WSJ is how much my investments have been going down while all of the folks touching my money are making incomes that make mine feel "Smurf-like". This is spite of the fact that the market is down nearly 50% over the past year and a half. The "average" Merrill Lynch employee made $247K in 2008 while the company lost $41,000,000,000. That's a bunch of zeros to the left of the decimal point. Anyway, John Thain, the Merrill CEO, decided to slip in $4 billion of bonuses before the end of the year just before the new owners, Bank of America, could take control of the firm. Meanwhile, the average Bank of America employee squeaked by on $80K. Needless to say, the folks in Charlotte could care less for the greedy SOB's in New York City.

All of this is being made possible by you, the taxpayer. Our government has pumped over a trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000-more zeros) into the financial system and a bunch of it is going the goombas that screwed it up. They should be taking cuts in their base pay just like the UAW members will soon experience once Congress is done picking their bones.

Here's the skinny from my small business perspective. If you are paid an annual income by your company and you produce more revenue the following year, your income should increase. If you produce less revenue, you should earn less. And, in no uncertain terms should you expect ANY bonus if you still have your job.

The time has come for everyone to get a reality check and getting a few less bucks for poor performance is a good start. Even in New York City.

Two Things That Take Some Time

One would be the time it takes to have a child. The other would be the treatment for "The Big C".

As you most are all aware of by now is that my wife has cancer. She will start a regime of chemotherapy and radiation in the next couple of weeks. Thirty-two years ago we were beginning a family. Both should take less than a year, but her treatments will seem longer.

There are a lot of parallels to experiencing both. You start off with a cell or two, do some magic with the DNA, add a blood supply, and your lives change.

We won't have showers this time, but angels (both on earth and in heaven) will provide us with whatever we need. Our friends and family will pray for us just like they did when our three sons were on the way. Most likely, we will hug each other and cry from time to time when we wish it is next summer.

And, we will hold and comfort each other just like we always have.

Undoing Christmas

I'm a bit of a grouch. I admit it. If it was against the law, I'd be serving time. But, it's not. Therefore, I blog when I'm in "the mood". Like yesterday, it was the dreaded day to undecorate the house.

Last month, I was spared most of the decorating ordeal when the Mrs. commissioned new decor for the tree and fireplace including installation and setup. And, I must admit, the tree and fireplace were stunning! I did help drag out all of the boxes and other decorations which she displayed around the house including her Dickens Village in the dining room. We were now poised for shopping, cleaning, setup for "TheMeekTwins" and numerous runs to the airport which is now 5 miles farther away, but I'll save that for another blog.

That gets us up to December 21st, so let me fast forward to January 4th. If you need the details between those dates check out "TheMeekTwins" and "JuliesPinkLink" blogs.

We're tired! But, whatever goes up must come down. Fortunately, we had the help of Cathy and her hubby, George (pictured) who originally beautifully created and set up our decorations. After they expertly helped pack the delicate stuff and the Anaconda (the garland aptly named by Cathy due to its length and girth) was entombed under the guest bed, we had used enough of their day, so thanked them for this blessing and sent them on their way. But we still had our own miniature version of Gaza City left to clean up. By now, my back, neck, shoulder, and hip were screaming at me. I dared not to ask how my lady felt since she was just six days post-op.

Never to be deterred from finishing, she pressed on and I tried to stay in her draft. I'm not kidding. She is a beast when a task is to be finished and she had set a deadline of today. If I had stopped, I would likely have ended up in a plastic storage container in the closet not to be found until the next Yuletide season. But, we persevered until we were finished.

And I heard her exclaim with the boxes out of sight, "Let's get your buns upstairs and turn out the lights!"

Recovering

The haze in my brain is clearing-slowly. It seems the last I remember was Julie saying, "We need to set up the tree". Everything after that is just a blur.

I was dealing with the everyday issues at work when Julie called me saying that she was going to have some additional tests after her annual mammogram. Shortly afterward, every conversation contained the "C" word. Time Out! I want instant replay!

After further review, the play stands as called. Play ball!

No need to feed you all of the details. That's on Julie's blog: www.juliespinklink.blogspot.com

As for my recovery from the past month I just need a diversion. How about the Pacers and IU basketball (Ha!). No, I am going to fall back to the old standby. Snuggle up with the little lady in front of the fireplace sharing a bottle of Two Buck Chuck while watching a flick. Sweet!