Days are longer, but it's getting COLD!

Here we GO!

We'll kick the post off with more sledding pictures from earlier this week. I love the one where Rowan and Gus are all laid back getting pulled toward the parking lot! Too funny and cute. If you missed the video from the blog post on Tuesday, you need to go to the blog online to see videos. Make sure you do that! Heck, make sure you click and read the blog from the web site! Don't be lazy and read it from your inbox...

We can already tell that the days are getting a bit longer. I think sunrise will move into the 7 o'clock hour this weekend. Still means Brooke's doing most her morning work with the sky dark, but it is getting better. Now the temps are another story. We're going to have our coldest night of the season tonight. I think the low is around 0 with wind chills significantly lower. Nice night to stay home with a book...

Speaking of which, I've just cracked into James Swanson's "Bloody Crimes". It's a dual story about Lincoln's body returning to Illinois and the hunt for Jefferson Davis just after the assassination. I really liked Swanson's previous book on Lincoln's assassination titled "Manhunt", so I'm in for round two. [Harper Collins]

Movies! We're getting closer to Oscar time, so we must catch up with some of the contenders. The nominations will be announced next week, but Brooke and I kicked off the viewing with The King's Speech last night at Carmike. What a great movie. Good story and solid acting made it a lot of fun. I really like Geoffrey Rush, and he does a tremendous job. Colin Firth already took home the Golden Globe for his work in this one and I think he's the odds on favorite to win the Oscar for Best Actor. We'll should be checking out True Grit on our next visit, hopefully soon. [IMDb.com]

Poppa and Rowan, GO BEARS!

Big football Sunday coming up! I know I have quite a few Chicago Bear fans that read the blog. It's been a pretty amazing run for the Bears this year, considering most people feel their quarterback Jay Cutler isn't very good. Cutler is a fellow type 1 diabetic, so I've always been partial to him. However, he has an attitude sometimes that's hard to take. I think that's where people turn on him. The Bears/Packers matchup for the NFC Championship is their first playoff meeting in 60 seasons! These two teams have played each other more times than any other matchup, and this time it's for a trip to the Super Bowl. I'm rooting for the Bears, but I think the Packers will win this one 31-21. In the AFC Championship, I just can't root for the mouthy Jets and would have a hard time putting up with them for two weeks before the big game. So let's go Steelers 31-17!

Happy early Birthday to blog reader Paul Till. He turns 30-something or other on Tuesday the 25th. Happy Birthday Tillbilly!

I have quite a few links saved up, so let's hit this week's News Quiz and to get it started. [Chicago Tribune]

Starbucks is turning 40. So along with a larger 31 oz coffee, they are also changing their logo and some of the imaging. Changes can be seen sometime this spring. [Starbucks]

Some movie links to go with our run-up to the Oscars on Feb. 27th. Here's a list of 50 movies you must see before Oscar night. How many have you seen? I don't know who can do the whole list! Here's another list of the biggest flops of 2010. [Hey You Guys! & Box Office Mojo]

Which way to the car?

How long have humans been drinking wine? A dig in Armenia says it's close to 6,000 years! [Washington Post]

And a good follow-up to how long we've been drinking to how good is the advice you've gotten on the effects of drinking? Most of which is probably wrong![Washington Post]

Thinking about spring gets me thinking about golf. If you've always wanted to play the Masters at Augusta National, you can now on the new EA Sports Tiger Woods golf game for 2011. FORE! [Tees2Greens.com]

Here's a great link on how to reuse your old T-shirts. I've always though I'd get a quilt made of mine and I have some good ones. [Huffington Post]

Try to stay warm! Trust me, Spring is coming!

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Hoosier Hysteria! Friday October 16th

Basketball season starts tonight! Going to IU's Hoosier Hysteria with Uncle Dave this evening to check out the new Indiana Hoosiers. Should be a great time. Tomorrow is homecoming vs. Illinois and we'll have the whole family there for that one. Weather will be getting warmer, so we're ready to go. [AP & Indy Star]

Sunday is the annual Sheridan family trip to Brown County State Park for the leaves and cousin Harrison's birthday, which is Monday. We've been doing this for years, always around the time of Uncle Christian's birthday. That was last Wednesday by the way, Happy Birthday Christian! Should have some pictures of our busy weekend up sometime next week. Looking forward to it! This time Rowan might be running around with her cousin. Last year she slept through the day...

Redskins Nation is up in arms about the state of the team. Lots of anti-Snyder campaigns picking up the last week. Dan Snyder is the meddlesome owner of the Redskins. This Sunday's game has been dubbed Black Sunday by some fans. Should be interesting to see what, if anything, transpires.

We need to get out to a movie! There's one that's garnering some attention this weekend: Where the Wild Things Are. It's taken a few years to get this movie from shoot to theater, but I think it'll be a bit of a mind bender. So far the reviews I've read today are mixed. I wasn't the biggest fan of the book, kind of freaked me out, so maybe Uncle Dave can take a turn on the movie review page after he sees it. He LOVES the book, don't you Douglas? One that Brooke and I saw a trailer for a few weeks back is Whip It. It's getting decent reviews and I think that may be the one we see next. That is if I can get Brooke to skip Saw VI. ; ) [IMDb.com & AP & Wikipedia & Rotten Tomatoes]

This week's News Quiz and Pop Culture Quiz. I did pretty well on these this week...[Chicago Tribune]

Here's 25 more reasons to get an iPhone, less things to carry. [Mac Life]

Getting closer to Halloween. We bought Rowan's costume this week. Now, where can you get scared out of your wits in the Midwest? [Chicago Tribune]

Time to start thinking Olympics 2020? Some cities are ready to put their hat in the rings. [Japan Times]

New money making operation for the state of California surrounding Oaksterdam University. [Newsweek]

Rowan at last year's Brown County picnic.

Have a great weekend...enjoy the sunny fall days!

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Friday September 25

The Sheridan Invitational is done for another year. We had some amazing weather for the golf and the party. If you haven't seen the photos, they're on my Picasa site. Can't believe I've been doing this for 11 years...amazing. That's Rowan up there with Paul on Sunday afternoon...we watched some football together. Not a bad pairing, as I got first for the week and Paul took second. We'll need to do that again soon! [SpydeysWebb.com & Picasa]

We may actually get out to see a movie next week! It is time for a new review on the main page. Have to check the listings to see what's out there to watch...Cool report from the set of Iron Man 2. Gotta wait until May for this one though...[GeekTyrant.com]

The Redskins are in Detroit this weekend. I'd l ike to head up and see them kick some Lion tail, but I'm not sure what team will show up, not to mention the 7 hour round trip to Ford Field and back. Even though Detroit could use some of my cash money, I think I'll enjoy the NFL Ticket and the Red Zone Channel in my basement. Sounds like a plan! Prior to that, the Hoosiers invade The Big House in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon. I'm just hoping it's not a blowout! [Time]

Collected lots of articles for the post this week, so let's get to it.

This week's News Quiz and Pop Culture Quiz. I did pretty well on both this week...good luck to you. Try this H1N1 Swine Flu quiz, it might be just a bit tougher than you think. [Chicago Tribune & Time]

Sydney, Australia got hit with a massive dust storm this week that you could see from space. Photos from the ground make the city look more like Mars than Earth! [Wired]

Brooke and I love ourselves some Pittsburgh, PA. I think the foreign dignitaries at this week's G-20 Summit will as well. [Washington Post]

Who's more green: a New Yorker or a Green Mountain Vermonter? The answer may surprise you (but it makes sense). [Time]

A new Segway from Honda, it's a little different to say the least. [Japan Times]

Meet the new head of the Army's Drill Sergeant School: Sergeant Major Teresa L. King. [NY Times]

Some guy found a lot of gold and silver buried in England. They're calling it the Staffordshire Hoard (another link here). If you've ever been to the British Museum in London, you could compare this find with the one on display from Sutton Hoo. Brooke and I perused this on our trip there in '07. [Guardian & Wikipedia]

Website of the Week: now this is how you get your car decked out for the tailgate: SkinIt Tailgate Packs!

My Sheridan foursome: Depune, Shlater, Paul and I.

Have a good weekend...autumn is here, feels like we need to bundle up already!

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