Last GOTW of 2010

I wanted to come up with a really clever GOTW for today, but I could not think of anyone.  Then, it seemed like everything kept giving me signs.  Last night I watched Iron Man 2 and I saw Kate Mara playing the girl who serves Tony the subpoena.  Then as I watched Supernatural this morning, I kept seeing her in the promos for Shooter which is apparently on TNT tonight.  Yep, it must be a sign.  She is to be the GOTW.

Plus, she is the descendant of both Tim Mara (founder of the New York Giants) and Art Rooney (founder of the Steelers).  Hot?  Yes.  Rich?  Yes.  Football fan?  Yes.  Steelers fan?  Yes.  Perfect girl?  Just about.

Philippine Lotto Results - December 31, 2010 (Friday) | MegaLotto 6/45, 4Digit, Swertres Lotto, EZ2 Lotto

Below are the results of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) MegaLotto 6/45, 4Digit, Swertres Lotto, and EZ2 Lotto December 31, 2010 (Friday) Draws:

Philippine Mega Lotto 6/45
Winning Number Combination: 40-35-27-38-26-13
Jackpot Prize: Php 4,500,000.00
Draw Date: 12/31/2010

4Digit
1-3-9-2
Draw Date: 12/31/2010

Swertres 3 Lotto
Morning 11:00 am: 9-5-2
Afternoon 4:00 pm: 4-4-4
Evening 9:00 pm: 3-2-6
Php 4,500
Draw Date: 12/31/2010

EZ2
Morning 11am: 10-29
Afternoon 4pm: 28-28
Evening 9pm: 27-15
Php 4,000
Draw Date: 12/31/2010

Check out past Philippine Lotto Results here

2010 Sucked. . . Or Did It? . . .

I'm not a big fan of the word, but I think it might be appropriate here. Over the years it's morphed into a slang term meaning things like "stinks," "lousy," "repellent," and "disgusting." When I was recovering from my bike accident I had more than one person request a description of what happened, which they then chose to respond to emphatically with "that sucks!" Most of those people were under the age of 40. Ah, the times!

So I've had the privilege and gift of living 54 years on earth. A very small portion of those years - if I'm counting I'd have to say a total of four - have had days and weeks that flavored the entire year with difficulty, leaving me to say that the year could have been better. And relatively speaking as compared to the rest of my life, the stuff that was part of this year made this one of the worst. The sense of trouble that coursed through my mind and body the moment I looked down to see my front wheel stuck in that railroad track. . . well. . . I had a feeling things were going to be different for me for at least a couple of days! That - and then some - was very quickly confirmed. So, based purely on the relative nature of this year to the other years of my life, I guess you could say -according to commonly held standards - that it sucked.

But I have to be honest. . . it's really been anything but bad. Sure, it hurt worse than any other year I've experienced. But just like the pain and beauty of childbirth that none of us men know or understand but our mother-friends do, there's great joy that follows great suffering and difficulty. On the night before He died the most excruciating death a human could die, Jesus told His disciples, "In this world you will have trouble." Then, he went on to say, "BUT, take heart! I have overcome the world." The Scriptures and too many of to count offer testimony to the fact that God brings great good out of those things we know to be bad. Sadly, many are bent on blaming God as cause rather than seeing God as the one who redeems. I love how Joseph explains that kind of perspective as he addresses his brothers who more or less threw him under the bus. . . or into the well and years of slavery: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. . . " Yes, the Lord delivers and saves.

A man named Clark came to visit me in the hospital. A few years before, Clark had fallen out of tree and broken his neck. It's been a long road back. But what impressed me about the things Clark told me was that he never really focused on the fall out of the tree, the pain he experienced, or the heartache of his long and difficult road back to health. Rather, he talked about his life "BT" and his life "AT." "Before Tree," he described his faith in ways that were somewhat mechanistic. "After Tree," his faith came to life and the Scriptures were so much more real. He's very grateful for his "AT" life. . . which means he's grateful for the "T." Before leaving my room, Clark told me that my life would now be divided into two parts, "Before Bike" (BB) and "After Bike" (AB). It's true. . . and I'm just getting started.

So, 2010 hasn't sucked, stunk, been lousy, repellent, or even disgusting. Oh, it hurt! But it's been a good year. Among other things, God's asked me to depend on Him more and more. He's provided ample opportunities to do just that. He's reminded me that my wife is awesome and deeply committed to Him and to me. He's shown me just how wonderful and caring my children are. He's given me a new daughter-in-law who is amazing. He's opened my eyes to the complexities and wonders of the human body, how He's made it, and how He's made it to heal. He's shown me that our staff here at CPYU is willing, able, gifted, and competent to carry the ball. He's reminded me that I'm not indispensable. He's given me time to learn how to do Sudoku puzzles (had to throw that in!). He's shown me what friendship looks like through a network of friends who have prayed and given beyond what I deserve. I could go on and on. Maybe it's been my best year ever.

There's a small group of people I've been praying for who like me, experienced what doctors call "multiple traumas" during 2010. Gary Parrett is a friend who was in a bus that fell 30 feet off an overpass in Seoul, Korea. He just came home after six months in a hospital. Terrie Long is my buddy Tic's wife, and just a couple of weeks ago she flipped her car while driving on California's wet roads. She's been through two spine surgeries since then and is still in the hospital. Wes Evans is a 19-year-old son of a youth pastor who skied headfirst into a tree back in November. His difficult journey through rehab is only beginning in a Denver hospital. And Mitch Blackburn is the brother-in-law of a college friend. Mitch and I have exchanged messages as he is weeks into rehab from injuries that far-exceeded my own after getting thrown from a boat into a channel marker. Besides sharing various degrees of trauma in 2010, all of us share a common faith in our maker. So far, it's been amazing for me to sit back, listen, and be ministered to as each of these stories unfolds to the Glory of God. I know that when all is said and done, these folks will have some interesting stories to tell about what God has done in their lives during 2010.

"I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." (Psalm 34:4-7).

Soli Deo Gloria!

A Winter Wedding

At what is a cold, bleak time of the year, it's lovely to have a winter wedding to go too.

So it is that Alyson and I have been looking forward to the wedding of good friends Dewi an Jo since we got the invitation a few months ago. The wedding took place on Wednesday in Manchester, in its Town Hall and the reception in the Midland Hotel.

It was a lovely occasion and was enjoyed by all. There were certainly many sore heads in the morning, that I can vouch for!

But to Dewi and Jo, best wishes for your future together. You're both great individuals and also a lovely couple.

A lovely way to end the old year and to see in the new.

School Reunion Week

The week between Christmas and New Year has always been a particularly relaxing one for me.

It's the only period of the year when it feels as if everyone is on holiday. The amount of e-mails and 'phone calls I get in this period is a fraction of what I normally receive as everyone is in the festive mood and unless there's an emergency, very rarely consider calling their local Councillor to worry them about their concerns.

As a result, over recent years in particular, I've taken the opportunity of having a quiet few days during this period to catch up with old friends.

Ysgol Dyffryn Taf - the 2004 Reunion
I left my seconday scchool in the summer of 2000. A whole decade ago? Time really does fly.

On going to Aberystwyth University, I quickly lost contact with most of my friends from school. So in 2004, having graduated and become a County Councillor in Cardigan, I decided it was time to try and catch up with some old faces. It worked out well as word spread and we had a night out in Tenby between Xmas in New Year with about 9 or 10 of us present. Nothing too formal, just a few pints and a catch up with old friends.

The 2009 Reunion
But, despite our saying that we wouldn't lose contact again, it has so happened. But last year at this same time, I made an effort to catch up with some more old faces. This time I caught up with my old childhood neighbour Justin Williams. We were always playing in each other's houses but I hadn't see him since my fathe died in 2003 as he had moved out to live in Canada. He's now engaged and doing well but on coming hme to visit his mum Trisha, it gave me a chance to catch up with him, his mother, her partner Nigel and her sister- Justin's auntie. It was great to see them all again and to see that they were still the nice family that they've always been.

I also caught up with the Evans family from Whitland who my family have know since my childhood. Llewellyn was in my class in primary school and though we'd caught up in the 2004 get together, I don't think I'd seen him since. In the meantime, younger brother Ryan happened to be a good friend of Alyson, who I got together with on Boxing Day last year. So with all of these newly re-made connections, a few of us caught up for a meal a the Black Lion in St Clears. It was a Whitland YFC Xmas dinner to be precise but a chance for me to catch up with Llew, Ryan and sister Sioned and their mother Vera who hadn't changed a  bit!

I've told my mum that in bot cases - with Trisha and with Vera, she should find the time to cach up with them also. I hope she does.

Ysgol Dyffryn Taf - the 2010 Reunion
So that brings us to this week. With this growing want to catch up with old friends, I was pleased to get a Facebook message (is there any other way nowadays?!) from another old school friend Alex Forder. Now, we've actaully met more recently than the 2004 get together when we caught up for a drink in Cardiff but now that he lives in Bilbao, Spain, the chances of a catch-up are rare. So he asked whether I wanted to have a curry one night during his Xmas break back home.

Well, why not indeed? So we then decided that we may as well try and see if we could get a group of us together from Dyffryn Taf. Admittedly, the idea was only discussed some 3 weeks ago so we had little time to plan, but it was worth a try.

Despite the short notice and the awful heavy rain last night, we still got 4 of us together for a (bloody fine) Indian and catch-up in Tenby. As I mentioned, I've seen Alex a few times in recent years - most recently in August 2008. As ever he was on good form and holds the rare distinction of being able to out-talk me! Dafydd Williams from Llanboidy also came down and apart from a fleeting 'hello' on a bus one time in the semi-distant past, I haven't seen him since we left school over 10 years ago. We'd been in the same class for 7 years in Dyffryn Taf so it was good to catch-up. Finally, completing the four-some, we had Gavin Harris who, like Alex, had come to Dyffryn Taf mid-way through the 7 years that I and Dafydd were there. Both Gavin and Alex were in our 6th form class so we knew each other well but the only time I'd met him since 2000 was in that 2004 get together. He joined the Marines as he always said he would, back in 2001, so is about to celebrate 10 years in the forces. He's just come back from a 3rd spell in Afghanistan having also been in Iraq and Sierra Leone. Much respect to the man and it was great to see him again.

The best thing about it is that it was as if none of us had changed. Alex, Gavin and Dafydd all spoke the same and looked the same as they did all those years ago, albeit maybe with a few years of age added on top! But it was good to catch up with good friends of old.

We drift apart so easily as people. A forgotten communication here, a reluctance to say hello there and suddenly, years go by without us keeping in touch with those who at one timein our lives, were those good friends. I hope I've managed to make some of those re-connections over the past few years and I hope to continue to do so in the future.

NFL Picks Weeks Seventeen: In Which I Look Back on 2010

I'm not entirely sure how I did it, but after taking a few deep breaths and looking back, well, I'm not sure how I managed to come up with a nickname for each week of football picks that started with the phrase "In Which". Damn I'm good. It should be noted of course that this is one of the few that makes sense, and given that we're approximately 23 hours away from the dawn of 2011, well, it seems appropriate that I spent one last day checking out a brand new team I had never seen before. Granted, that this one team was the New York Islanders who don't play nearly as far from my home as most other new teams I've seen makes it less impressive, but if you understood the trials and tribulations that Debs Francisco and I undertook in our public transportation adventure to Uniondale, N.Y. and back, you'd understand why it was far more difficult than going to, say, Indianapolis.

Getting out to an Islanders game is, in fact, not even the least bit easy. Each leg of the trip from door to door took roughly two hours and 40 minutes and required going in the wrong direction at least once. Once there, however, Debs and I were not disappointed. Not only did we have fantastic seats, but, well, it was an awful lot of fun for a game I had no real vested interest in. While the Islanders won in a fourth-round shootout, with both goalies Marc-Andre Fleury and Rick DiPietro standing on their heads the entire time, the real news of the night was that Sidney Crosby's 25-game scoring streak came to an end at long last. It's always fun to see a little bit of history.

I will say, however, the Islanders' postgame celebration was a bit much.

I've been told Nassau Coliseum is one of the more antiquated and awful arenas in all of sports, and I won't lie and tell you it isn't, but the atmosphere was tremendous last night, the setting intimate and fun, and the experience generally pretty enjoyable, even if the concourses felt like you were in a bowling alley from the 1970s. In many ways it felt like a Fenway Park for hockey, but without the charm. Many amusing things happened along the way and at some point I will have a full report ready for everyone, but for the time being, my trip to Nassau Coliseum, and my venture of the 37th different team I've seen in the flesh, is a nice capper to my year.

And what a year it was.

To really give you all the full treatment on 2010, it seems appropriate to do one of those ridiculous lists where I put in perspective just how many different teams I've seen, stadiums I've been to, cities I've visited and, what the hell, plane rides I've been on. Why the hell not? Here it goes.

2010 In Review

-- I saw 7 new professional sports teams (Philadelphia Flyers, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Twins, New York Islanders)
-- I saw 9 new stadiums both college and professional (Wachovia Center, Turner Field, Camden Yards, Dodger Stadium, New Meadowlands Stadium, Lucas Oil Stadium, Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, Nassau Coliseum)
-- I saw sporting events in 16 total venues (Giants Stadium, Wachovia Center, Prudential Center, Citi Field, Turner Field, Camden Yards, AT&T Park, Dodger Stadium, New Meadowlands Stadium, TD Garden, Lucas Oil Stadium, Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, Madison Square Garden, Wrigley Field, Nassau Coliseum)
-- I visited 20 different cities (Philadelphia, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Tzfat, Eilat, Atlanta, Baltimore, Washington D.C., San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, Boston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Buffalo, Chicago)
-- I spent time in 2 countries (United States, Israel)
-- I flew on a plane 20 different times.
-- I stayed in 13 different hotels, some of them amazing, some of them horrendously awful.
-- I passed through 14 different airports.

-- I attended 2 weddings.
-- I delivered 1 Best Man Speech.
-- I had 1 sibling get married.
-- I ate at 2 different In-N-Out Burgers.
-- I had 4 slices of Giordano's stuffed pizza.
-- I saw 1 football game in a baseball stadium.
-- I won 0 fantasy leagues.
-- I wrote 141 entries in this space.
-- I got 1 new job.
-- I traveled 2 times for work.
-- I started 1 tedious, boring and insignificant blog.

Busy, huh? Yes, I thought so, too. Don't worry though. It's almost over. 2011 is almost here and with that there will be a new 12 months filled with frantically planned trips to sports venues, more weddings, more plane flights, more general exhaustion and probably about four new page views at this blog by someone other than me. Can't wait.

To close 2010 out, here, for the final time this regular season, are your sure to be wrong football picks.

Last week: 9-7-0
Season: 119-112-10

NY Giants (-4) over WASHINGTON
ATLANTA (-15) over Carolina
Pittsburgh (-6) over CLEVELAND
Minnesota (+3) over DETROIT
Oakland (+4) over KANSAS CITY
Miami (+5) over NEW ENGLAND
NEW ORLEANS (-8) over Tampa Bay
NY JETS (even) over Buffalo
BALTIMORE (-10) over Cincinnati
San Diego (-4) over DENVER
Chicago (+10) over GREEN BAY
INDIANAPOLIS (-10) over Tennessee
Dallas (even) over PHILADELPHIA
SAN FRANCISCO (-7) over Arizona
Jacksonville (-3) over HOUSTON
St. Louis (-3) over SEATTLE***

***If it were possible for both teams to lose this game, I would pick that result.

That's it for me. Happy New Year, everyone. Bring on 2011.

I Resolve. . . .

I've probably blabbered on and on about this before. . . but I don't really understand all the hype over celebrating the New Year. I think my worldview forces me to question why we get so excited about saying "goodbye" to the old, while looking with great anticipation towards the new. The reason for this is that we were just doing this a year ago, weren't we? And weren't we looking with great anticipation and expectation towards the 365 days that we're now happily bidding "adieu"?

I suppose it's that innate sense common to all humanity that something is deeply wrong with the world and the expectation that in days ahead, it will be fixed. It's that longing for ultimate redemption. And when that ultimate redemption isn't experienced through the endless parade of "redeemers" we embrace for naught. . . well. . . we wind up looking forward to next year.

For me, the shift to a new calendar (Lighthouses this year!)is more about wondering. I tend to ask questions regarding what surprises the Lord might have in store for me in the coming year. It's the knowledge that His sovereign plan will most likely include a mix of what we humanly call "good" and "bad," which in the scheme of God's grand design is all ultimately used for good. . . yes, even the hurt, pain, brokenness, and suffering. Last year I wondered about these things. The answers to my twelve-month-ago wondering lie in a variety of things, including the ongoing reminders of a sore shoulder and some still-messed-up ribs. The answers are also found in some amazing lessons learned and what I hope is a deeper and more mature faith that has me yielding more and more to Christ and His Kingdom. . . I hope. It's all good because in hindsight I see that I'd be losing alot of good stuff if I were to trade in the bad stuff.

This year I've been prompted to try something new as the New Year approaches. In my experience, most resolutions made by myself and others tend to be negative. In other words, they start with things like "This year I will stop. . . " or "This year I won't. . . " That's not necessarily a bad thing. But this year I've decided to be more positive and consider what pursuits and endeavors I might embark upon for the 365 days that follow the stroke of midnight tomorrow night. I've decided to work for the next twelve months on filling two voids.

First, there's a personal issue. God seems to have been pounding away at me for the last couple of years on the incomplete nature of my faith, particularly in relation to my understanding and practice of His heart for justice and the poor. Our trip to Africa with Compassion International was a great catalyst. It's changed the way I see the world - both near and far - and the way that I see the Scriptures. I realize it's all for naught unless it changes the way I live. So, I've decided to start the practice of starting each year with a new statement. . . "This year I will. . . " The sentence will be completed with a topic or theme that I will study, read about, pursue. So, this year - 2011 - I will embark on a focused quest to understand more about the heart of God when it comes to justice and the poor. Can you recommend any good books I should read?

Second, there's a professional void that needs to be filled. We've been making scattershot attempts at filling the void here at CPYU, but it's about to get more focused. I want to be more organized, succinct, and helpful at sharing what we know about kids and digital media with parents, youth workers, pastors, educators, and kids themselves. I'm afraid we as followers of Christ have jumped on the train without taking the time to consider the safest and most God-glorifying ways to go for the ride through this brave new world. I'll let you know more as this develops.

What about you? I'd love to hear what God is provoking you to do this coming year.

Philippine Lotto Results - December 30, 2010 (Thursday) | SuperLotto 6/49, Lotto 6/42, 6Digit Lotto, Swertres Lotto, EZ2 Lotto

Check out below the results of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) SuperLotto 6/49, Lotto 6/42, 6Digit Lotto, Swertres Lotto, and EZ2 Lotto Draws for December 30, 2010 (Thursday):

Philippine SuperLotto 6/49
Winning number combination: 20-17-05-13-43-04
Jackpot: P48,122,427.60
Draw Date: 12/30/2010

Lotto 6/42
14-36-24-02-17-20
Php 42,627,556.80
Draw Date: 12/30/2010

6Digit
5-7-2-7-4-5
Draw Date: 12/30/2010

Swertres Lotto
11:00 am: 0-1-5
4:00 pm: 6-6-2
9:00 pm: 7-6-7
Php: 4,500.oo
Draw Date: 12/30/2010

EZ2 Lotto
11am: 12-28
4pm: 18-01
9pm: 08-20
Php 4,000.00
Draw Date: 12/30/2010

Check the previous Philippine Lotto Results here

andrew bird

I was first exposed to TED Talks while working at Living Room and completely fell in love with this unique form of education. I can't stop learning. I love it so.

So today at work, as we go between the highs and lows of patronage, I've been meandering about the web and expanding my horizons while sipping green tea out of a paper cup. In my journey I came upon a TED Talk with Andrew Bird, one of my favorite musicians. He's immensely talented and this just proves the point... Enjoy!

On The Docket: An Impromptu Trip To Nassau Coliseum For Team No. 37

Ah, yes, Nassau Coliseum. The old barn. If by "old" you mean "completely decrepit and falling apart" and by "barn" you mean "only fit for livestock". Or so I've been told. I've actually had one or two people tell me the arena is a decent place to watch hockey, but I'm going to reserve judgment either way until later tonight when I make my first ever trip to see the New York Islanders and knock yet another team off that vaunted list of 122.

What's that? Shocked that I've never seen a sports team play at home when its home is in the same metropolitan area I've spent 21 years of my life in?

Well, so am I. In fact, I find it downright mindboggling that I've never actually made a trek to Uniondale to see the Isles ply their trade or check out their home building. A rational look back on it reveals the reasons are many: a) I'm a Devils fan, b) the Devils and Rangers are both closer to where I grew up and live currently, c) it is almost impossible to get to Nassau Coliseum on mass transit.

Once I decided to do this whole "see every team in the MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL" thing I knew the day of reckoning that forced a trip out to Long Island would come, but for some reason I just continued to push it further and further back -- though there have been a few near misses and close calls. If it's right there, the urgency to get moving seems to not be particularly pressing. But at long last I've decided to finally get off my rear with the help of an equally eager coworker, which will see us take the LIRR from Penn Station to Hempstead, NY, then a bus from the Hempstead Transit Station to the Coliseum -- this is after I've already taken a subway from my apartment to Penn Station. All in all, it's a tidy 90 minute trip on mass transit to get to a suburban hockey arena with little around.

But oh boy, am I excited.

The Islanders, perhaps you've noticed, are not particularly good, and haven't been for a while. Given that it seems kind of odd to me that they used to be great.

Like really great.

Seriously. There's an argument to be made that they had the greatest dynasty of any professional sports team in the last 30 years. From 1980-1983, the Islanders won the Stanley Cup four straight times, a fact that, seemingly, no Islanders fan I've come across professional will forget to mention to you. Yes, other teams have won four straight Cups or four straight championships before, but none have done it in the same age of expanded playoffs that the Islanders did. New York had four rounds of postseason jockeying to get through in order to win it all, and they did it four straight times. And very nearly a fifth.

Add it all together and the Islanders won 19 consecutive playoff series in the early 1980s, a stunningly impressive achievement that is arguably not to be seen again.

Of course, those Islanders are a far cry from the current ones, who are deeply steeped in rebuilding mode currently, and as a fan of the Devils who can't avoid reading about their current season, I'm starting to find out what that's like. But it should still be an interesting game for any number of reasons, namely that a) it's a new place, and b) they're playing the Penguins and Sidney Crosby, who just might be the hottest player in the world right now.

How hot?

Well, Crosby scored two goals and tallied an assist last night against Atlanta, which gives him a scoring streak of 25 games, a stretch during which he's scored 50 points. It's a streak so long, the last person to have one longer did so for a team that no longer exists. That, since you're wondering, would be Mats Sundin, who had a 30-game streak in 1992 for the Quebec Nordiques. To make the night even more interesting, the game is going to be captured by HBO for its current Penguins/Capitals 24/7 series, which, if you have no been watching, has been spectacular television -- and I'm not just towing the line of a hockey fan on that one. It has been gripping, informative and visually arresting to see. Oh yeah, and it's on again tonight.



Now, I will admit, the show is far better on HBO where the cursing isn't censored because, well, hockey players, and their coaches, swear a lot, regardless of who's listening. Fortunately for Washington's Bruce Boudreau, the Commish has let it slide.

So put it all together and you've got an interesting TV show, a phenomenal player, and apparently a reason for me to make the arduous trek to Nassau Coliseum for the first time ever tonight. And since nothing seems to be going right for the Giants right now in any way whatsoever, I could use the distraction. If anything the extensive mass transit to Uniondale will be long enough that I probably won't remember the Giants exist by the time I get there. Until Sunday, of course, when I foolishly hope against hope that the magic will happen.

I'm a fan. I don't know any better.

Good, Good News! . . . .

Last summer, I spent some time blogging updates and prayer requests for a friend who had been in a horrific accident. Dr. Gary Parrett, a professor at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, was in a bus that fell off an overpass while he was teaching in South Korea. Half of the people on the bus died. Gary was in very bad shape in a Seoul Hospital. Gary's family faithfully posted updates on Gary's condition on the Caring Bridge site over the next few weeks. Eventually, Gary was flown back to the U.S. via air ambulance to the Spaulding Rehab Hospital in Boston, where he's been for the last several months.

It's been a long and difficult road for Gary. Still, in the midst of the pain and heartache, every communication has been a testimony to God's grace and glory. His wife Holly and daughter Alisa have ministered to me and many others through their regular postings and updates. The story is rather miraculous. That's why I want to pass on the latest post on Gary's miracle. Here it is. . . and I'm looking forward to visiting with Gary at his home sometime during January. I've also posted a picture of Gary and his family. . . . he looks awesome! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for Gary.

For a long time, we had been hoping that Gary would be out of the hospital in time for Christmas, but recently it looked like we would only be able to have him at home for a couple days around the holiday before having to return to Spaulding. In a quick turn of events, though, we were able to get the ball rolling on his discharge and it turns out that he will be coming home for good, Lord willing, on the morning of Christmas eve! It's been a bit of a whirlwind with the quick decision, upcoming holidays, and wintry weather, but the hospital staff has been working in order to make sure that this Friday's discharge can happen. Gary's attending physician, Dr. Chae (who has been a continual blessing to all of us), has even volunteered to drive him home from the hospital.

We are very excited to go home and be together, but we are also scared about all the unknowns and whether or not we will be able to transition well. Tonight, all three of us are staying at the functional living apartment in the hospital to see how we will do without help from the nursing or medical staff. There will be a lot of changes to deal with, including home care and therapy. The home therapy that we are trying to set up for Gary will not be available until mid-January, so until then, Gary will be commuting back to Spaulding three times a week to receive outpatient therapy. Gary will have somebody to drive him back and forth from Boston, paid for by insurance.

Please pray with us as we transition to the house. This is the beginning of a new phase in Gary's recovery process, and it is by no means the end of the journey. Even so, this is a moment that we have dreamed and prayed about, but we had often despaired, doubting that it could actually happen so soon. We are so thankful for God's provision and, although we are apprehensive about the changes that are in store, we are so thankful for this Christmas blessing of being able to bring Gary home.

Much love from the Parrett family in this Christmas season! We pray that God will pour out his richest blessings upon you and yours through the rest of this year and the coming new one!

Philippine Lotto Results - December 29, 2010 (Wednesday) | Grand Lotto 6/55, MegaLotto 6/45, 4Digit, Swertres Lotto, EZ2 Lotto

Below are the results of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Grand Lotto 6/55, MegaLotto 6/45, 4Digit, Swertres Lotto, and EZ2 Lotto Draws for December 29, 2010 (Wednesday):

Philippine Grand Lotto 6/55
Winning Number Combination: 42-24-55-38-47-13
Jackpot: P36,272,962.80
Draw Date: 12/29/2010
Winner(s): ?

MegaLotto 6/45
30-09-22-07-05-39
Php 4,500,000.00
Draw Date: 12/29/2010

4Digit
1-5-1-4
Draw Date: 12/29/2010

Swetres Lotto
11:00 am: 6-7-6
4:00 pm: 6-6-2
9:00 pm: 2-3-9
Php: 4,500

Draw Date: 12/29/2010

EZ2 Lotto
11am: 12-03
4pm: 11-03
9pm: 10-21
Php 4,000.00
Draw Date: 12/29/2010

Check past Philippine Lotto Results HERE

Philippine Lotto Results - December 28, 2010 SuperLotto 6/49, Lotto 6/42, 6Digit, Swertres Lotto, EZ Lotto

Check out the results of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) SuperLotto 6/49, Lotto 6/42, 6Digit, Swertres Lotto, and EZ Lotto Draws for December 28, 2010 (Tuesday) below:

SuperLotto 6/49
Winning Number Combination: 30-19-42-39-08-45
Jackpot Prize: Php 42,196,644.00
Draw Date: 12/28/2010

Lotto 6/42
29-20-41-26-10-05
Php 38,128,500.00
Draw Date: 12/28/2010

6 Six Digit Luzon
4-7-6-5-8-4
Date: 12/28/2010

Swertres 3 Lotto
Morning 11:00 am: 9-5-8
Afternoon 4:00 pm: 8-7-2
Evening 9:00 pm: 7-5-6
Php 4,500
Draw Date: 12/28/2010

EZ2 Lotto
Morning 11am: 09-14
Afternoon 4pm: 02-25
Evening 9pm: 20-02
Php 4,000
Draw Date: 12/28/2010

View past Philippine Lotto Results HERE

Philippine Lotto Results - December 27, 2010 (Monday) | Grand Lotto 6/55, MegaLotto 6/45, 4Digit, Swertres Lotto, EZ2 Lotto

Check out below the results of the Philippine Charity Sweeptakes Office (PCSO) Grand Lotto 6/55, MegaLotto 6/45, 4Digit, Swertres Lotto, and EZ2 Lotto Draws on December 27, 2010 (Monday):

Grand 6/55 Draw
Winning Number Combination: 52-09-20-01-14-28
Jackpot Prize: Php 30,904,837.20
Draw Date: 12/27/2010

Mega 6/45 National Draw
19-10-07-13-43-06
Php 30,849,386.40
Draw Date: 12/27/2010

Four 4Digit Luzon & Vismin
9-3-0-7
numbers must be in exact order
Date: 12/27/2010

Swertres 3 Luzon Vis-Min
Morning 11:00 am: 7-0-5

Afternoon 4:00 pm: 0-3-6
Evening 9:00 pm: 6-2-9
Php 4,500
Draw Date: 12/27/2010

Two Digit EZ2 Luzon
Morning 11am: 31-21
Afternoon 4pm: 30-26
Evening 9pm: 02-14
Php 4,000.00
Draw Date: 12/27/2010

View past Philippine Lotto Results HERE

Philippine Lotto Results - December 26, 2010 (Sunday) | Super Lotto 6/49, Swertes Lotto, EZ2 Lotto

Below are the results of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Super Lotto 6/49, Swertes Lotto, and EZ2 Lotto December 26, 2010 (Sunday) Draws:

Super 6/49 Nationwide
Winning Number Combination: 45-40-14-43-22-18
Jackpot Prize: Php 37,003,392.00
(0)winner
Draw Date: 12/26/2010

Swertres 3 Lotto
Morning 11:00 am: 0-5-1
Afternoon 4:00 pm: 9-7-5
Evening 9:00 pm: 2-0-2
Php 4,500
Draw Date: 12/26/2010

EZ2 Lotto
Morning 11am: 21-11
Afternoon 4pm: 26-12
Evening 9pm: 04-18
Php 4,000.00
Draw Date: 12/26/2010

Check past Philippine Lotto Results HERE

Philippine Lotto Results - December 24, 2010 (Friday) | MegaLotto 6/45, 4Digit, Swertres Lotto, EZ2 Lotto

Here are the results of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) MegaLotto 6/45, 4Digit, Swertres Lotto, and EZ2 Lotto December 24, 2010 (Friday) Draws:

Mega 6/45 National Draw
15-14-41-40-21-06
Jackpot Prize: Php 26,478,059.40
(0)winner
Draw Date: 12/24/2010

Four 4Digit Luzon & Vismin
9pm: 9-2-1-8
Draw Date: 12/24/2010

Swertres 3 Lotto
Morning 11:00 am: 7-7-9
Afternoon 4:00 pm: 9-6-2
Evening 9:00 pm: 4-1-4
Php 4,500
Draw Date: 12/24/2010

EZ2
Morning 11am: 01-30
Afternoon 4pm: 09-13
Evening 9pm: 12-31
Php 4,000
Draw Date: 12/24/2010

Check out past Philippine Lotto Results here

i wish i had a pet

How cute is this red fox in the snow? Their hunting method is not only effective, but adorable. Oh, how I wish I could have pet fox! Sigh. What a perfect combination of a cat and a dog!

2010 In Review

Instead of recapping the entire year, which is never any kind of fun, I will just go over some of the highlights of 2010.  It was a pretty damn good year.

-I finally bought a laptop, which has pretty much been the best investment ever.  Sitting on the couch while writing these posts is much better than sitting at a desk.  Speaking of posts, 2010 was my busiest year with over 300 posts.  That is kind of exciting (or lame depending on your POV).

-I went to a bunch of sporting events this year.  A few in Pittsburgh, a couple in Altoona, and one over at State College.  I also got to enjoy tailgating for the Blue/White game and the Temple game.  I even made a trip to Washington D.C. to see the Nationals and Pirates play.  Speaking of awesome sporting events, I experienced two firsts:  my first Pens game and my first regular season Steelers game.  I also got to see Stephen Strasburg make his minor league debut against the Curve.

-This was also a very sad year since two of my favorite TV shows ended:  Lost and 24.  I actually did a couple of special things to commemorate such great shows (even though 24 constantly pissed me off with some of its stupid story lines).  My Best of 24 was pretty cool (at least I thought so), yet none of you jerks commented on it.  Also, I was so impressed with my Lost GOTW and the amount of work I put into it, and again, no one really noticed.  I think it caused me to die a little inside that no one said how awesome it was...

I will post it again for your enjoyment, only in a slightly smaller version.  Do not strain your eyes too much trying to enjoy all the hotties.

-There were plenty of great TV shows in 2010.  In fact, this year was a much better television than movie year.  Mad Men, Always Sunny, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Treme, True Blood, Sons of Anarchy, Archer, The Walking Dead, and The League.  Also there were plenty of enjoyable shows like Warehouse 13, Eureka, White Collar, Human Target, and Supernatural.  I am sure I am forgetting some.

-Speaking of movies, what all did I see this year?  Iron Man 2, Inception, Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Social Network, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Sherlock Holmes, The Chronicles of Narnia:  Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Daybreakers. I really feel like I went to the movies more than this, but I guess I did not.  I think there were a few movies I saw that were just crappy and I did not care about.

-I will not list all the books I read over 2010.  It was not nearly as many as years past, I think my total was only thirteen.  Granted, five of those books were around 1000 pages each, so it was probably about the same amount of reading as previous years.

-The biggest thing to happen in 2010 though was the changes in my life.  I met Lindsey and we moved in together up here in New Germany.  She makes me incredibly happy and I feel like a better person because of her.  If she is reading up to this point, I hope she knows how much I love her.  Sorry to the rest of you for having to read a little personal stuff.

-Now on to the best of list...

Best Movie:  This is a tough one, it comes down to Kick-Ass and Inception.  Many people will say The Social Network was the best movie, and I definitely thought it was good, but I look at it from the stand point of which movie will I watch more than once?  Which of those movies will I stop when I see they are on HBO and watch them from wherever they are in the film.  I would have to say that award goes to Kick-Ass.

Best TV Show:  All those great shows listed above, yet it comes down to two:  Mad Men and Sons of Anarchy.  I could not wait every week to watch these two shows.  And I usually watched the episodes again during their reshowing.  SOA was great, but did not compare to last season and at times I felt like the Tara storyline was dragging on.  MM does not have the action, but it just holds you in it's thrall each week.  It is hard to explain to people why it is such a good show.  Anyways, that was the best show in my opinion.

Best Book:  Only three of the books I read this year actually came out in 2010.  I think the best one of that small group was Are We Winning?  It was a great book and I pretty much recommend it to any baseball fan.

Best Comic Book:  I will not lie, I have not read many comics this year.  In fact, I stopped getting individual issues and decided just to get trades.  Of everything I read, I would say that The Walking Dead is still the best on-going series I read.  Maybe 2011 will be a better year.

Anyways, that is my thoughts on 2010.  Who knows what 2011 will hold for me...

doppelgänger

Per tradition, I spent Christmas Eve up at Dad's house. In lieu of a big, fancy holiday meal, we opted for the meal I mentioned in my last post (oh, still dreaming about it). While we were cooking, Maw Maw was busy rifling through boxes of old Farmer family photos and came across one in particular that shot out at me like a bullet.

The first photo above is of my Great-Grandpa Farmer, a man I never knew, taken in 1920. It struck me for obvious reasons... Because I had taken a photo - almost the exact same photo - of Jared a little over a month ago while we were in Indiana for his dad's wedding!

It's just amazing... Same pose, same hats, the suits... Simply stunning.

On that note, I'm sitting at the airport in Sacramento and I can't wait to get home and see him!

It's the End of the World...

It was bad enough when everyone thought that the world was going to end in 2012, but leave it to a Christian group to up the ante on the Mayans.  These idiots think the Rapture will occur on 21 May 2011 and then world will end on the 21st of October.

Apparently this Harold Camping fellow tried this before back in 1994 (in case you were wondering, he was wrong back then).  He came up with his own dating system or something.  I would do more research into it, but I cannot get past all the Biblical quotes which are taken out of context. 

These people have spent money to put up signs to warn people about the coming Rapture.  Luckily there are some brilliant atheists out there who have challenged all this.  It makes me laugh that Christian groups spend so much money trying to get their message out there (it's already out there, no need to keep pushing it on us), and these people would have a fit if an atheist organization put up a billboard somewhere.

Is there anything better than sitting on a park bench telling you that you will die soon?  I like how it says save the date, like you should pencil it into your date book.  May 20th:   Haircut.  May 21st:  Rapture.

"little full, lotta sap"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's Christmas morning and I'm sitting up here at Dad's house in Napa watching A Christmas Story... Again. This makes, what, six times this year? Oh, I love it! We had a little Christmas Eve dinner last night of grilled pork tenderloin (Dad) and mushroom & butternut squash risotto (me) with some Bella Vida 2007 Two Rows Pinot Noir from Oregon. That, of course, was followed by the twice annual viewing of Christmas Vacation and falling asleep on the couch!

Just wanted to wish all readers a very Happy Holiday and I hope the day is filled with all the magic it held way back when! And don't forget why we celebrate today... It's all for Him!

(photo of Brigette and me, Christmas 2007)

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope everyone has a great Christmas!  I will be out doing family things.  Lindsey and I exchanged gifts last night.  Do you want to know what she got me?  She got me new gloves (if you ever saw my gloves, you would understand), Scrabble, and she got me Community season one.  Also she bought me a nice new thermal since I wear them everyday during the fall, winter, spring under my t-shirts.  Her big gift to me was a gift card to Best Buy towards buying my PS3.

I suppose you want to know what I got her.  I bought her a Crosby jersey, a Keurig, canisters, and a cutting board.  The cutting board was more of a gift to me, since when we make dinner, I always cut veggies and I hate our current cutting board, since it is tiny and very thin.

You might be wondering what is up with the fat, ugly chick.  Well I figure since none of you read this during Christmas, who would ever notice...

Or maybe she was my real Christmas present from Lindsey...I think I just threw up a little.  HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!!!

This Is Why He Came. . .

This morning I saw a short feature on the year in pictures that was posted by the folks at The Today Show. A handful of the photos were what you might call inspiring and heartwarming. But the overwhelming majority captured images of hurt, brokenness, suffering, and pain. When you look at these photos there's no denying that our world is horribly messed up and desperately in need of repair. We look at the images, shake our heads, and know that things are not the way they are supposed to be. I grabbed a few of them and posted them here. . . .










But we don't have to be locked in hopelessness and despair. Jesus Christ came into the world to undo what we have done and cannot undo by ourselves. He came to redeem all things and make all things new. That includes the crowning point of His creation. . . broken humanity.

As you ponder these images from 2010, think about these words from the Scriptures. First, the words Jesus spoke at the outset of his earthly ministry:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18&19).

And then, the words of great hope that we find in John 1:12:

"To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God"

This is why he came.

GOTW

'Tis the season for sexy elves to bring me presents!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Chrsitmas to all my blog readers. I hope you have a peaceful, restful and cheerful time over the days ahead.

Don't drink too much or eat to many mince pies! Well, it is Christmas so...go on then!

Mark & Alyson

The Wal-Mart Adventure Continues

Remember how I said I had to order a tire from Wal-Mart?  Well I went there this morning to have it put on.  I got there around 8:45 and the girl who I ordered it from bumped me to the front of the line.  So I walk around for a bit, then come back around 9:45 (she said it would take about an hour).  I sit at the bench for another hour when she finally says that my car is ready.

I get up to pay and she says that it will be $304.  I almost shit a brick.  How the hell is a $64 tire now costing me over three hundred???  She informs that is the price for four new tires.  I explain that I did not need four new tires, just the one.  She seems horrified once she realizes she screwed up.  She tells the one guy and he gets pissed off and goes out to get my car.  He does about 50 mph around the building (believe it or not, my lawnmower of a car can actually go over 45).  

I sit there for another ten minutes, when another guy comes in and yells at me:  "HEY, WHICH TIRE NEEDED REPLACED!?"  I explain that it is the front, driver side.  This is now the fourth time I have told someone this.  I sit there for another half hour and they finally have my car done.  The girl comes up to me with my keys and she apologizes and gives me a $50 Wal-Mart gift card, which was very nice of her.

As I sat there though, I noticed how inefficient their system was.  They need to have someone at the counter at all times, someone who checks you in and takes your keys.  This person then relays the information to the technicians inside.  The way they do it now, you stand at a fence and wait for one of the techs to notice you and stop what they are doing to come get your information.  Why would you constantly interrupt their work like that?

At one point, one of the techs comes in and says that it will probably be a four hour wait for tires!  He then informs the girl (she is the manager) that he is taking his break.  WTF?  I cannot imagine when I was a cook if there were checks pouring out of the printer walking out and announcing that even though folks might not get their food for awhile, I was heading on break.  I get that they are entitled to a break, but the manager needs to step in and make an executive decision. 

Also, it would probably be a good idea to throw the sign out that says "Never a wait for an oil change..."  The guy that came in right after me, for an oil change, was still there when I left.  They told him 30 minutes.  He did not look too pleased. 

At least there were some funny people to laugh at.  One family came in to buy tires for their daughter who was coming home from college.  The one girl was pissed that they did not have some kind of appointment card.  She bitches up and down about it, while answering texts every two seconds.  Umm, just punch it into your phone.  Set up a reminder.  Not difficult.  Also, her brother, who was probably in his 20s, got into an argument with his mom that he was NOT GOING TO THE DENTIST.  He would just skip the appointment!  He could not believe she would make him go to the dentist.  He practically threw a temper tantrum.

About ten people would come up and look out the window to see if their car was ready and respond the same way "you got to be fuckin' kiddin' me."  You would think this would be an indicator to the manager that their operation is flawed.  The phone rings constantly, I got to the point that I wanted to just answer it and be like "Thanks for calling the Wal-Mart Tire/Lube Center, you would be better off going someplace else."

The employees are also so pleasant!  Aside from the manager (she actually was nice), everyone else seemed pissed off if they had to do any work that did not involve stocking windshield wiper fluid.  A lady asks this one girl if she can make her a key and the girl rolls her eyes and comes over to the counter.  She slams everything around and then just hands the key to the lady and storms off.  I guess when you go for low prices, you must expect low service standards.  At another point, over the walkie-talkies, someone was asking about something in a department.  The employees then got into an argument over the walkies.  It escalated to the point that the main boss (I am guessing a general manager) comes over the walkies and says "stop arguing and focus on the customer."  They ignore him and he has to then say again "Enough!  I don't care whose problem it is, just help the customer."

I am sure working at Wal-Mart during this time of year is very stressful, but c'mon Wal-Mart, go out and spend a little more money and maybe pay some people with half a personality.

December 2010 Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam Results

Out of all the 85, 000+ nursing graduates who took the Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam (NLE) last December 19-20, 2010 in various testing centers across the nation, how many of them will become Registered Nurses? We will all find out when the results or the list of exam passers will already be released by the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC) in a month or two.

In line with this, Noypistuff will be active once again in delivering information and updates on the December 2010 Philippine Nursing Board Exam Results. Its sister blog, http://philippine-nle.blogspot.com will also undergo a makeover to make way for the results of the said exam.

The following will also also be posted in Noypistuff:

Top Performing Schools - December 2010 Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam
Top 10 Examinees - December 2010 Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam

So please standby and don't forget to bookmark this page now.

Best of luck future nurses!

NFL Picks Week Sixteen: In Which I Forget Week Fifteen

Let me tell you all, I have had a doozy of a week so far and once you're done reading through that riveting Senators-Predators preview you're reading I'm going to tell you all about it. Ok, good. Yes, I know things could be worse, and in general life is fine, but some of you might have noticed that I didn't write for a whole week, and that is because when some awful, horrifying, unexpected, gut-wrenching things happen you are left speechless.

I am without speech. Still.

Sunday's colossal debacle against the Eagles, which saw the Giants go from likely No. 2 seed to playoff life support in a matter of seven and a half minutes is not something that I have yet been able to comprehend or grasp. In fact, I'm still not able to speak about it out loud with thoughts of anger and depression over what could have been. Granted, the Giants aren't exactly done. If they defeat the Packers this Sunday they'll have clinched a berth and will still have an outside chance of winning the No. 5 seed lottery to face whatever dung pile "wins" the NFC West, but should Big Blue not come through in Green Bay they'll need help on the final day of the season.

And ain't all that just a bit angst-inducing?

Well, yeah. It is. I do like New York's chances since Aaron Rodgers, while he is expected to be under center for the Pack, is still coming off a concussion that one would have to think leaves him a little woozy, no? I guess we'll find out on Sunday.

After the Giants game I was unable to think or comprehend anything. After all, only two other games, the blown 24-point lead against San Francisco in the 2002 playoffs, and Super Bowl XXXV come close to the gut punch this game delivered. But as I always tell myself, I can handle the depression with the greatest upset in football history in my back pocket.

Of course, that was just the start of a week that has quickly entered a downward spiral.

To make the pain worse, my fantasy football team decided to score all of one touchdown in the semifinals which robbed me of a potentially hefty payday. That one, I'm sure, matters to a lot of you.

But I had an ace up my sleeve. After two full years without seeing a Northwestern basketball game in person, the Wildcats were coming to Madison Square Garden this week, giving me the chance to see a squad that was one of eight remaining undefeateds in the country and just might be the one that finally breaks NU's hex of missing the NCAA Tournament. Of course, it was difficult to feel as though Northwestern's place in March was assured given it had played a non-conference schedule that a group of fifth-graders could probably finish at least .500 against. Still, like clockwork, the Cats took out St. Francis on Monday night with me and some 2,000 other of my closest friends watching.

All was well and good. Until Tuesday.

Before I go into the game itself, allow me to warn any of you from ever leaving a ticket at Will Call in Madison Square Garden. I had two unused tickets Tuesday, and after leaving one for my friend Kristen at Will Call, a homeless man asked if he could have any ticket to the game I could spare and feeling as if there were worse crimes in the world than letting a homeless man see a basketball game, I obliged him. This wound up biting me in the ass at halftime when Kristen showed up and called me with the revelation that MSG had lost my ticket. To make matters worse, the supervisor in charge of will call insisted that without a ticket there was nothing he could do. I'm fairly certain that really he just didn't want to help.

He's a big man after all.

After harassing the supervisor long enough, one of the will call employees, realizing that dozens of tickets which would not be used were still sitting on the table, simply handed Kristen one, prompting the supervisor to smugly chirp, "See? Everything works out."

I hope he's never known the touch of a woman without paying for it.

In any event, with Kristen in the building and Northwestern holding a halftime lead against St. John's, everything seemed nice and fine until the Wildcats suddenly forgot how to shoot and Luka Mirkovic forgot out to play defense in the paint. One unexpected loss to a team expected to be a nonfactor later and suddenly Northwestern's perfect record had a blemish that just may keep them from dancing in three months.

So all that was pretty bad. Then last night I got the flu. So everything's going great. Amazingly, the most normal thing that seems to be happening is that the Devils fired coach John MacLean this morning and brought in Jacques Lemaire for a third tour behind the bench. Then again, GM Lou Lamoriello goes through about seven coaches a season anyway.

Alright, time for some picks.

Last week: 6-10-0
Season: 110-105-10

PITTSBURGH (-15) over Carolina
Dallas (-7) over ARIZONA
NY Giants (+3) over GREEN BAY
New England (-9) over BUFFALO
NY Jets (+1) over CHICAGO
Baltimore (-4) over CLEVELAND
KANSAS CITY (-5) over Tennessee
ST. LOUIS (-2) over San Francisco
Detroit (+4) over MIAMI
JACKSONVILLE (-7) over Washington
San Diego (-8) over CINCINNATI
Houston (-3) over DENVER
Indianapolis (-3) over OAKLAND
TAMPA BAY (-6) over Seattle
Minnesota (+14) over PHILADELPHIA
ATLANTA (-3) over New Orleans

There you have it folks. Hopefully next week is better. Oh, and Merry Christmas.

We Lib Dems may dislike the Tories but Labour can *add expletive* right off

It's a bold, sweeping heading for a blog post if ever I've written one but after another tumultuous week for Lib Dem Ministers, some 'end of year' Coalition considerations must be made.

Torygraph 'Sting'
Over the past few days, Lib Dem Ministers have all found themselves at the end of what has basically been an entrapment process by the Daily Torgraph. The ethics and the legality of what this newspaper has done lies on extremly thin ice (sorry, seasonal pun intended) and could be challenged in the courts. But be that as it may, the repercussions of the so called 'revelations' must be dealt with.

Lib Dems don't like Tories - Shock Horror!
What we have heard have been rather frank, apparently 'off-record' murmurings of discontent from Lib Dem Ministers about their Tory coalition partners.

Well don't be surprised! In what has been an incredible year in British politics, we now find ourselves being governed by a full-blown coalition for the first time in 65 years. These things don't happen every day of the week and the implementation of such an arrangement between erstwhile political foes is bound to throw up many discontents.

What we've heard this week in the main has been a personal uneasiness between Lib Dem Ministers and Conservative colleagues who were until last May, sworn political enemies. Crossing the rubicon and working together as has been done in the public interest won't dispel these tensions overnight. Tensions will remain and so they should. For this is a coalition made up of two sovereign parties, both of whom have their own distinct agendas and ideas on how to best run the country. But neither won the election in May and so had to accept that working together in the spirit of compromise was the grown-up way forward.

Tories don't like Lib Dems? You can bet on it!

What we have heard this week of course are the Lib Dem 'discontents' on being a part of this practical process. But what the Daily Torygraph have decided against doing is shining a mirror against the Tory Ministers in the Government to see how they view this political arrangement. Because the truth of the matter is they won't be happy with it either and why should they?! Before the election they accused the Lib Dems of being a 3rd party irrelevance but now, they've had to share power with us and tht sits very uneasily with the right-wing of the Tory Party in particular.

It's the knowing that these grumblings are occurring underneath the Tory surface which makes us Lib Dems know that we're doing something right. Indeed, knowing that our Ministers have these deeply held reservations about their Tory colleagues gives us at the grass-roots level a confidence that they are doing all that they can to push Lib Dem influence to the max in their respective departments.

Vince Cable however, went to far. As much as I and most Lib Dem members would've been pleased to hear him speak of a 'war' against Rupert Murdoch, his comments were ill-judged because of the quasi-judicial role in which he found himself. In 'Council code of conduct' speak, he pre-determined himself and it was right that the decision on Murdoch's take over of BSkyB was taken away from him. It's a shame but the right thing to do all the same even though I share Vince's sentiments.

Rank Labour Hypocrisy
But despite this Lib Dem discontent, it is a boring matter of fact that we are doing what is best for the country in working together with the Conservatives to put the country back on the right track.

Ed Miliband's comments yesterday on launching a scheme inviting young people to join Labour for a penny, in a recruitment drive designed to attract disillusioned former Lib Dem supporters, was pathetic. He also extended an olive branch to Lib Dem ministers unhappy with the government's direction, saying he would "welcome" them on the Labour benches.

Is he stupid or something? As much as we don't find working with the Conservatives a bed of roses, at least they had the balls to come together with the Lib Dems to work in the national interest. The Tories could've stuck it out and led a minority-government, called a snap election for this autumn and could well have won a majority themselves as did Wilson for Labour in '74. But they, like the Lib Dems decided to put party rancour aside to put the country back on a more stable footing.

Labour refused to play ball. They refused to be constructive when the time for talking arrived. They refused to be pro-active in offering a non-Tory government alternative. They refused to admit that they had to accept much of the blame for the financial mess that they left the country in. They refused to take responsibility for their actions and were willing, indeed keen, to go back into opposition for their own party political benefit.

Such a reprehensible attitude towards the greater good has severely damaged their reputation with the Lib Dem grass-roots and now, Ed Miliband wants US, Lib Dems to join back with Labour? Is he completely insane? Me, a Lib Dem, to join a party that reneged on the top priority facing all politicians - the well-being of our country? A party that has such a 'clean-slate' of policies that what it adds up too is having no policies at all? A party that destroyed our civil liberties when in government? A progressive party?! Ha! No chance!

Making a Liberal Difference to the Government of the United Kingdom
The Lib Dem MP for Torbay, Adrian Sanders has put down in writing his own observations on the siutation in his blog here. He gives his own insiders view of the problems that we face as a maturing, grown-up party of government.

What particularly strikes true to me though is his comments about better promoting the message of what Lib Dems in government are delivering. He states:

"When constituents and others complain to me about putting the Tories in power I ask them to imagine a Conservative Government retaining a 50p top rate of tax, introducing an increase in capital gains tax, implementing a bank levy to fund child tax credits for poorer families, taking the lowest paid out of income tax altogether, extending the national minimum wage to include apprentices and reducing the age at which the full NMW is paid, increasing the number of social housing allocations above those of the previous Labour Government, establishing a pupil premium to increase the funding for pupils in poorer areas, investing £900 million to reduce tax evasion and amend legal loopholes that allow for tax avoidance, proposing a £140 minimum state pension, setting up a Green Investment Bank, moving towards a House of Lords elected by PR, agreeing to a fixed term Parliament and much, much more.

"And before they can say tuition fees I ask them would a Tory Government have agreed to a fee cap?

"Would they have introduced measures where all students will repay less per month under this Government’s policy than they currently pay? Where the lowest earning 25% of graduates will repay less than they do now? Where the top earning 30% of graduates will pay back more than they borrow and are likely to pay more than double the bottom 20% of earners? Where over half a million students will be eligible for more non-repayable grants for living costs than they get now? Where almost one million students will be eligible for more overall maintenance support than they get now? Where part-time students will no longer have to pay upfront fees benefiting up to 200,000 per year? Where there will be an extra £150m for a new National Scholarship Programme for students from poorer backgrounds and tough new sanctions on universities who fail to improve their access to students from such backgrounds?

"There is so much positive policy and influence to promote, but we can’t get it across to the electorate unless we can show how we made the difference. Getting this information out and understood is part of a giant task that now confronts us to rebuild trust with voters who feel we have let them down, or worse betrayed them".

His final point is key - getting that message out. Because there's no doubt that this Government has a real liberal streak running through it that would not have existed under a purely Conservative alternative or indeed, a continuation of the Labour farce that preceded it.

We need to tell the world and it's dog what we're doing and how we're influencing government policy with those of our own. We may not like the Tories, but the country is in damned better shape for having us in the middle of government with them that if the they or Labour were left in charge on their own.

So here is one Liberal Democrat member who laughs in the sorry face of Ed Miliband. As I mentioned in my blog post here when he was elected leader, Labour made a big mistake in choosing Ed over David. I agree with my sentiments then, even more today.