Weekend Hangover

Monday thoughts on the weekend that was.

BlackBerry Curve (August 2008 - November 2009) - My smart phone became a dead phone while I stood in Kinnick Stadium during the first half of Iowa's crushing loss to Northwestern.

So what, you say. But my phone's abrupt transformation into a paperweight made it impossible for me to send an in-game text to my buddy in Chicago predicting the Hawkeye's downfall. I sent such premature, pessimistic assessments for three straight weeks, only to be happily proven dead wrong.

It had become a double reverse superstitious ritual. For Iowa to succeed, I had to predict failure. I didn't, and look what happened.

Stupid, stupid phone.

Yeah, yeah, well, if you're a fan, you understand.

Christmas Lighting – Seems like every year we get one of those great November weekends perfect for putting up Christmas lights. Inevitably, I miss that golden window and end up hanging lights when it's 10 degrees and raining shards of ice and there's an eclipse or something.

Anyway, it's usually less than perfect.

This year is different. By the end of the day Sunday, our house was fully decorated for the holiday season. Sanity dictates that we will not turn on the lights until Thanksgiving weekend. But they're ready.

Still, the lighting process was not without mishap.

I purchased a long pole device that's supposed to help you effortlessly affix both lights and clips to gutters and under shingles without leaving solid ground. I don't own a good ladder, and am averse to heights anyway, so I bought into these absurd claims.

Let's just say after two solid hours, I had managed to hang exactly two strings of LED twinkle lights with this magical/maddening device. And its flimsy construction and general lack of functionality made me say some things that really aren't very Christmassy.

But at least I have one more useless tool to shove into my shed. A bargain at $14.88.

Have a fine week.