It's Leap Day

Why exactly do we need a leap day? Well it's to synchronize the seasons. The vernal equinox is the time when the sun is directly above the Earth's equator, moving from the southern to the northern hemisphere. The mean time between two successive vernal equinoxes is called a tropical year–also known as a solar year–and is about 365.2422 days long. Using a calendar with 365 days every year would result in a loss of 0.2422 days, or almost six hours per year. After 100 years, this calendar would be more than 24 days ahead of the season (tropical year), which is not desirable or accurate. It is desirable to align the calendar with the seasons and to make any difference as insignificant as possible. By adding a leap year approximately every fourth year, the difference between the calendar and the seasons can be reduced significantly, and the calendar will align with the seasons much more accurately. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah....boring.

2008 Iditarod

This upcoming weekend 96 mushers will head out of Anchorage on a 1150 mile race we all know as the Iditarod. There will be TV coverage after the race has finished starting on March 18th on Versus. In the meantime you can get all your Iditarod news at http://www.iditarod.com/

Pheasant Forever Banquet Report

Well folks if you bought a raffle ticket from either myself or Makita, you didn't win a gun. Neither of us won anything all night either. Ellie won a case of 12 gauge shotgun shells and a case of clay pigeons. Dave Jr. won two guns (he was a lucky dog). Ellie did have the winning bid on a fur hat on the silent auction. It's fox. It's her! As you can see by her picture below, she looks like she has a fur halo.

Soldiers' Angels

This week I became a member of Soldiers' Angels and adopted a Soldier. His name is James and he's in the Army serving in the 62 Quartermaster Company, 68th CSSB (Combat Sustainment Support Battalion). That's about all I know about him. I looked up his Battalion and it looks like they are supplying Troops in Baghdad.

Once you join (no fee to join) they assign you a Soldier. The Soldier could be from any branch of the service. Mine just happened to be from the Army. After you receive your Soldier's info you are asked to write to them once or twice a week and send one or two care packages month. Evidently it's a big deal to hear your name at mail call. And of course they could always use the stuff you send in the care packages.

If you'd like to learn more about adopting a Soldier, check out this website: http://soldiersangels.org/

Aitkin County Pheasants Forever Banquet

http://www.aitkinpheasantsforever.org/

This Saturday night is the Aitkin County Pheasants Forever Annual Banquet. Check out the website above for more info. There are still seats available. Grab your friends and come on over to Aitkin. You can buy tickets at the door. I know there's lots of guns to win as well as other great prizes. And don't forget the silent auction. I'll be there helping my friends Dave and Ellie with a card game. Makita will be emceeing it. I promise I won't throw up on the way home this year.

Global Warming My Ass

Brainerd and other surrounding area schools have closed again today due to the cold temps. It is currently -23 degrees, with a wind chill dipping down around -35 degrees. Let me make myself clear.....I'M GETTING SICK OF THIS COLD WEATHER. There, I said it. Frick'n ground hog.

Ryan Newman Wins the 500

Ryan Newman snapped an 81-race winless streak yesterday, using a huge push from teammate Kurt Busch to give car owner Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 victory.

With one lap to go, it appeared Tony Stewart finally would get his first Daytona 500 win in his 10th try. Running out front in the high line, he held off the two Penske cars as they circled the famed speedway. But as the Penske teammates closed in on him, Stewart didn't feel safe running alone without any allies. At the last second, he dropped low on the track to line up in front of Kurt Busch. The JGR teams had talked all week about the importance of teamwork, and Stewart thought he'd need Busch to make it to the checkered flag. But the decision backfired in the blink of an eye. Stewart couldn't hook up with Kyle Busch fast enough, and the two Penske cars steamrolled past him on the top. Newman pulled away for his first win since New Hampshire in September 2005, while Stewart had to settle for third.

The Hendrick drivers didn't fair very well. Jeff's car broke and he finished 39th. Jimmie was involved in a crash and he finished 26th. Casey Mears was also involved in a crash and he finished 35th. Junior ran as hard as he could, all by himself and finished 8th.

On to California......

Daytona 500 Lineup

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/1/data/lineup.html

After yesterdays Gatorade 150's the field is set for this Sunday. Jr won the first race and Denny Hamlin won the second. If Jr wins the Daytona 500 he will be the first driver ever to win the Shootout, a Gatorade race and the 500.

Drivers of interest: Jimmy Johnson Row 1, Little E Row 2, Tony Stewart Row 3, Jeff Gordon Row 4 and Kasey Kahne Row 5.

And don't overlook the Craftsman truck race tonight and the Nationwide race tomorrow.

I think Darrell Waltrip says it best when he says:

Happy Valentines Day!

Daytona 500 Pole Set

Jimmy Johnson will be on the pole this upcoming Sunday for the Daytona 500. Michael Waltrip will be next to him on the outside of the front row.

Last Sunday during qualifying, Johnson was the only driver to top 187 mph, as he powered his No. 48 Chevrolet around 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway in 48.109 seconds (187.075 mph). Waltrip, the 48th of 53 drivers to attempt qualifying, ran more than a half-second faster than Johnson on his first of two laps but couldn't squeeze enough speed out of the second lap to knock the defending Cup champion off the pole. Waltrip covered the distance in 48.197 seconds (186.734 mph) in his No. 55 Toyota.

So now on to the rest of qualifying. The Gatorade Duel, is NASCAR Sprint Cup preliminary event to the Daytona 500. It consists of two 150-mile races, and serves as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500. The finishing order in the two 150-mile races, held tomorrow, determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 held on Sunday. Drivers participate in one of the two races. Half the field entered for the Daytona 500 races in the first race, and the other half the second. The finishing order of the first race fills the odd positions of the starting grid (inside of each row), and the finishing order for the second race fills the even positions of the starting grid (outside of each row).

Beagle Is Top Hound at Westminster Dog Show

On Monday, at Madison Square Garden, a nearly 3-year-old, 15-inch-tall beagle named Uno took one small step toward the coveted title for his breed by winning the hound group, the first beagle to do so since 1939.
Now the only Beagle I know, Sadie, doesn't possess any of the qualities of Uno.

Welcome to the Family!

Welcome to the family Jr. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
The "new" was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who on Saturday night won the 30th Budweiser Shootout in his first race in a Hendrick Motorsports car -- with new sponsors AMP Energy Drink and National Guard and new car No. 88.

Who will have the Pole for the Daytona 500?

Sunday Feb 10 starts the Cup qualifying for the Daytona 500. Qualifying is very unique for the 500. Some teams must race their way into the Daytona 500 field. However the top 35 teams of the previous year in owner points are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500. The first row is set by one round of qualifying, that will be held this Sunday. The remainder of the field is set by a pair of qualifying races, the Gatorade Duels that will be held on Thursday.

The Pole Qualifying that will be held this Sunday shakes down like this: Each car, one at a time, makes a two-lap qualifying attempt, with the best single lap of the two counting as his qualifying speed. The fastest qualifier wins the pole position, and the second fastest is considered the "outside pole." Both front row starters are locked in to those positions on the Daytona 500 starting grid. The pole position winner is awarded the pole position for the first race, and the outside pole winner is awarded the pole position for the second race.

Side note: Kurt Ass Busch and Tony Crybaby Stewart are in trouble already. They went after each other Friday night during practice for the Bud Shootout. I thought I was watching a hockey match. The only difference was in hockey they go at it with full body contact and in stock car racing they go at it with a 2000 pound car contact.

Let Speedweek Begin

After taking a 3 month break, Nascar kicks off the season tomorrow during Daytona Speedweek with the Budweiser Shootout at 7pm CST. It's a non-points All-Star race featuring the previous season’s pole winners and past Budweiser Shootout champions. They'll do a 70-lap dash for cash. This year there's a record field of 23 drivers battling for the top prize of over $200,000. Kurt Ass Busch has the pole and Mark Martin, whom I've always like and is now driving the #8 car for Ginn/DEI, is starting in the #2 position. Other drivers of interest are: Jr starting 7th, Kahne 8th, Stewart 10th, Johnson 18th and Gordon is starting 22nd.

Stay tuned for a lot more Nascar info. There's lots of racing coming up. All I have to say is "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines"!

WCHA Hockey

The Minnesota Golden Gophers and the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Fighting ... very appropriate after last Saturday's game. Leading up to the end of the tied overtime game between them, the Sioux players were out of control. There was more fighting on the ice than in any NHL game I've ever seen. I couldn't believe what I was watching.

And the coaches where just as nuts as the players. North Dakota coach, Dave Hakstol, who flipped off referee Don Adam during the second period, was slapped with a two-game suspension by the university. And the Western Collegiate Hockey Association issued a public reprimand of University of North Dakota men's head hockey coach Dave Hakstol for violating the league's Code of Conduct and Sportsmanship policies.

I'm not sure what players will be suspended, if any, for their conduct on the ice this past Saturday. It was as if all hell had broke loose. Even during the hand shake at the end of the game they were brawling.

North Dakota is currently in second place in WCHA Men's Hockey. Keep watching for more news on this subject as the season draws to an end. The Final Five will be held in St Paul on March 20th - 22nd. The NCAA Regionals will be held on March 28 - 30th. And the NCAA Frozen Four will be held in Denver on April 10 - 12th.

ahhh...yes when I smoke again

When I'm 80 and in a nursing home and smoking again, this could happen:

My friend Robin and I are outside our nursing home, having a drink and a smoke, when it starts to rain. I pull out a condom, cut off the end, put it over my cigarette, and continue smoking. Robin asks: "What in the hell is that"? I reply: "A condom. This way my cigarette doesn't get wet". Robin then asks: "Where did you get it"? I answer: "You can get them at any drugstore". The next day, Robin hobbles herself into the local drugstore and announces to the pharmacist that she wants a box of condoms. The pharmacist, obviously embarrassed, looks at her kind of strangely(she is after all, over 80 years of age), but very delicately asks what brand of condom she prefers. "Doesn't matter Sonny, as long as it fits on a Camel."