Best thing I can say about my NCAA men's bracket is my final four picks are still playing.

The problem is, I made a couple of early bracket blunders and they have far reaching consequences. It is kind of like mis-laying the very first brick, every brick laid after it is mis-layed as well. My first big mistake was Duke. I didn't have much faith in Butler or Xavier. I suppose yesterday's surprise was Wisconsin. I did pick Texas to make the Sweet Sixteen, but I didn't have a lot of confidence, so USC wasn't a big surprise. So I will lick my wounds.

In days gone by I could right my mistakes with a dab of "whiteout".

I caught a 60 Minutes segment last evening with Simon Cowell. I'm sorry, I don't like the man. I think he is arrogant and tactless. They asked him, "Can you sing?" "No", he replied. "Can you play an instrument" they asked. "Very poorly", he answered. In a round about way they asked him what business he had judging aspiring artists. His reply was he had a knack for selecting acts and artists that succeed. Excuse me, but I still don't like the man. The interview revealed that Simon is paid $38 million dollars a year on this side of the big pond. This income is from "Idol". He takes in approximately $30 million more from a similar show in England. He also has six show he is developing for the future. I don't know about you, but I think it pays pretty well to be a jerk!

Wonder what he would make if he was a nice guy?

Much to Krl's dismay, I offered to let Miss Ollie spend a few days with us. Krl agreed that Merrit must be miserable. We called to tell her and I laid out some guidelines. We may be gluttons for punishment. I'm not real tolerant of "stupid" decisions. It has taken me this far in life to hopefully have enough discipline to think things through and make an informed decision. Yesterday when we talked with Miss Ollie she told us she had taken her temporary splint off her leg. She said her stitches were itching and she was using a pencil to scratch them when the eraser came off the pencil. To retrieve the eraser she removed the wrapping on her splint and then she couldn't get it back on. She called her doctor and told him what she had done and he told her to come in to his office Monday. I don't blame him for not having her come in yesterday. They won't put her hard cast on until they get the stitches out. I think they should maybe put one of those large protective collars on her where she can't see or do harm to any other part of her body.

We jotted down a broad menu selection yesterday. I think we will give it a try. We have "A" meals, "B" meals, and "C" meals. Once we mark it off it isn't available again for the week. An "A" meal is a major production, a "B" would be spaghetti or homemade enchiladas or such while the "C's" might be burgers, hot dogs, sloppy joes, or grill cheeses. We're going to have to see how this works. I started a stew yesterday, and Krl finished it.

I guess a stew would be an "S". (Actually I would say stew is a "B").

What in the thunder am I doing up at this hour? I went a week without having any of my sleep episodes so I guess they were saving up for tonight. I still don't think my heart rate has settled down! And this all started prior to midnight!

It has been funny watching the houndgirls adjust to Krl's and my modified roles. She has always told me they communicate with her in their own way. I guess they are developing a language to tell me what is going on. Yesterday I turned to get out of my chair and three of four hounds were in the home office with me. Phooey is the toughest hound in the neighborhood. All eleven pounds of her. She will yip, yap, and bark with the best of them. Thing is she has the most irritating bark on the planet. I wish I could rent one of those collars that teaches them not to bark. If she gets a good fuss going, the other hounds will join in. Phooey could learn a lot from tree bark, it should be seen and not heard. I guess my sleep disorder is contagious because now when I get up, all the hounds get up too.

It sure is hard to travel with an entourage.

I have been researching some equipment. Sometimes it is a small world. One old acquaintance has what I am looking for in stock, new and used, while another old acquaintance is who I would prefer to deal with but he doesn't have the inventory. The latter would be most convenient for service, provided he can acquire the equipment in an acceptable time frame. Of course all this is contingent on customer approval.

I really need to do a road trip. I need to talk eyeball to eyeball with vendors and the customer.

I have run into a couple of interesting things. I found two 2005 year models of the same machine. One is listed as new, the other has eighteen hours and is listed as used. I guess my biggest question concerns warranty.

NASCAR is happening right now. AT & T filed suit Friday because NASCAR won't approve them changing the signage on the #31 Cingular Chevrolet driven by Jeff Burton. Cingular is the "new AT & T". The series sponsor is Nextel and their agreement limits who can and can't sponsor cars in the series. Cingular was present before Nextel became the series sponsor as was Alltel and they were grandfathered "in". The fray was broadened this past weekend when the #7 showed up with Motorola signage. The signage had to be removed because Motorola is a cellular telephone manufacturer Nextel considers to be competition. By Sunday the Motoraola issue was settled as another Motorola product was on the car. We NASCAR fans may be simple but we all knew what the big "M" on the hood stood for. Funniest thing is when they come to Texas in a couple of weeks Sansung is the race sponsor, but that's O.K., at least according to NASCAR.

Me, next phone I buy will be another Motorola.

I saw an article saying that White House counsel was negotiating terms for high ranking cabinet member Karl Rove and former White House counsel Harriet Miers and others to testify before Congress. If suitable terms for the administration cannot be negotiated, the administration may assert executive privilege in preventing testimony.

I think if the latter occurs, we need to assert American citizen privilege and make them testify or prosecute the whole bunch. "W" included.

Have a day!

FATHER, keep us humble. Keep us focused. Keep us centered.