"Iowa State Doesn't Lose Turnover Bowl"

And that, My Friends, is your final Crab Sports Update of the year. But, with one fianl question:

What are these guys doing?

If you actually want to read about the game, the story is at the Des Moines Register*.

*photo via the Register

Driver's License Renewal

Last night, while sitting in my favorite bar, a few of us were having a discussion about driving with a revoked driver's license and the fact that many people just pay the fine, but continue to drive. For some reason, this led us all to pull out our licenses. This is when I realized my license had expired in September. Everyone laughed heartily, except me.

Well, after thirty days you have to take the written and driving test to get your license renewed*. PJ looked up the Iowa DOT website so I could find where to go to take the tests and such.

So, I ended up taking practice written exams, so I wouldn't have to call PJ to come pick me up after I failed. It's really rather interesting.

Test

* I called to make an appointment to do all of this this morning and learned the law has been changed to one year.

I then called a friend who was having a good laugh at my expense.. As I was leaving last night another gentleman came in and explained that the law had been changed.

He decided not to call me so I could sweat a bit.

Keeping Warm

2009 in Review

A few of my favorite photographs. Most are from 2009, some are not. They are in no particular order, kind of a reflection of how my fifty eight years on this small dot in the universe have been.

Barbed wire in South Dakota

The restroom window where my vehicle gets serviced*.

Snow geese in South Dakota on their way south.

A wonderful old barn in NW Iowa.

The members of the class of 2005 were wimps.

Big sky in South Dakota.

The moon over Iowa.

My favorite bar, bar none. Don't ask for anything fancy.

What stories are hidden in those walls.

The Little Sioux Valley in Iowa.

Waiting for the combine.

Summer in Iowa. I can't wait!

*no, it doesn't get serviced in the restroom!

Christmas Cookie Update

Sorry H



And under our Christmas tree I found this yesterday. Skittles looks excited about Christmas, doesn't she?

Waiting for Gwen

I was going to post about the weather we have been having all week here in Iowa. However, my favorite* sociologist flew home for Christmas and the weather there is much worse than here. As I write this, the temperature is 34 degrees and calm, where Gwen is it's 23 degrees with a 19 mph wind from the northwest!

Gwen's pictures and tales of the blizzard of 2009 will be much more interesting and entertaining than anything I could come up with. So I am going to wait patiently for Gwen.

* Lisa and Jeremy, I hope this doesn't upset either of you.

So while we wait, let's learn about the "smell of fear":

Christmas Cookies

PJ made these cookies for me. What a great present.

It's Time for a Christmas Song!

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Piracy Does Have it's Rewards

Walmart: Making Money Any Way We Can

Our good friends at Walmart have decided to lower shipping costs to troops overseas. Aren't they special!

“Effective immediately, we have modified our APO shipping charges,” Walmart spokesman Ravi Jariwala said in the e-mail. “They are now the same as shipping to homes and businesses in the continental U.S. This change is currently reflected on our site as our customers select and purchase their merchandise.”

Apparently they decided that the publicity from an earlier story was making them look, well, opportunistic:

According to Small, when companies ship to APO addresses in Europe, the order is shipped to New York, after which the Department of Defense picks up the tab to get the package to an APO address.

On Walmart.com, the company says shipping costs will be higher to APO addresses due to higher transportation costs.

“There is no higher transportation costs,” said Small. “Companies are abusing the system and making a killing.”

Thanks to Stars and Stripes