Liked the front page today, how long did it take to find all those hearts that fit us all so well???

Yeah, I had to buy thousands of the things, and then spend all weekend sorting through them. Two hundred and forty "Zeke" and only one "Zachary"?? Come ON, candy heart makers! --Gary

Good day! Party all afternoon and lots of candy, flowers and gifts -- I do love my job :)

* Actual results may vary. Not a guaranteed win.

Hello everyone......We just wanted to send off a quick e-mail to let you know we are now open at our new location.....1501 South Street.
We will be open Monday through Saturday 11-6 and Sundays 12-5......Hope to see you there!
Emily, Gregg, Karla, Eve, and Hazel

She is fiercely patriotic, and is much more bitter about the Russians (who occupied the country for fifty years, until the collapse of Communism in the '90s) than about the Nazis. In the office, we can always get a good-natured rise out of her by simply mentioning Russia. She is very active in several Latvians-in-America groups, and she travels back to Latvia almost every year.

Politically, she's very conservative. No doubt because of her life experiences, she believes in a strong military, and that coincides more with the Republican point of view. Her news source is Fox and Fox only. She and I clash (again, in a good-natured way) whenever politics comes up. Up until a few days ago, she was very anti-Obama. But interestingly, Egypt seems to be changing that. She has seen the Egyptians chanting "Obama, Obama!" and "We love America!" and she has seen the signs they carry saying "Yes We Can Too." I can tell that's having an effect on her. And I'm sure when she sees the idiots on Fox attack Obama for his support of democracy in Egypt (which they are, if you can believe it), that may make her question Fox too. Like I said, this is a historic event which is going to ripple out in a thousand unknown ways -- like changing the mind-set of my Latvian friend.

The CIA missed the boat in Cuba (the Bay of Pigs in the early 60s), for decades were totally wrong about the Soviet Union (while stoking up the U.S. on a phony arms race), actually funded the Taliban in the 1990s, didn't see 9/11 coming, got it completely wrong (or lied) about WMDs in Iraq, and didn't have a clue about what was happening in Egypt. So how much are we spending on the CIA, anyway? Oh, that's right -- no one knows, as their budget is a complete secret. Yeesh.

On an unrelated note, the Egypt news is really hitting one person here in my office. She was born in Latvia, was a kid during WW2 (she is the only person I ever met who actually had a Nazi point a gun at her), and was there when the Russians took over the country. She has been listening to the news today in tears, because it reminds her of when Latvia gained its independence from Russian oppression, in 1991.

Need a clue?

On this date fifty years ago, the Beatles made their debut at the Cavern Club in London. They performed at lunchtime. And this was before Ringo Starr joined the group; that's Pete Best on drums. A few months later Brian Epstein, a record store manager, saw the Beatles performing at the Cavern Club, asked to become their manager, and soon got them an audition for a recording contract. The producer at the audition, George Martin, told Epstein they needed a better drummer. So Epstein asked Pete Best to leave, and managed to convince Ringo Starr (who was already locally famous as the drummer with "Rory Storme and the Hurricanes") to join the group. Pete Best's fans were upset at this and for a while scuffles would break out when the Beatles performed -- George Harrison got a black eye once. Pete Best went on to get a civil service job in the government; the Beatles also did well, I understand. And it all started fifty years ago today.

Did you watch the Superbowl last night? Great game! If you didn't watch, that means you missed all the Superbowl commercials too. But wait, not so! Just go here to see them all. The one getting the most buzz seems to be the "Darth Vader kid" in the Volkswagen ad. Which was pretty funny. The Coca-Cola "Dragon" ad was spectacular, but kinda pointless. The Snickers ad in the logging camp was funny, but I give it a B-minus for lack of originality -- same ad was done last year, just with different people. And apparently I am the only perspon in America who is waaaay sick of those talking baby stockbroker ads, because they are still around....

There were ads for some awesome-looking movies coming this summer, though: "Cowboys & Aliens," "Super-8," "Rango," "Limitless," and the new "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Cold day here today, but a good bit of melting happened over the weekend. So even though there is still plenty of snow around, the streets are practically dry.

Speaking of winner, or rather winter (ahem), the temp is supposed to get up above freezing today, for the first time in several days -- before this storm cycle began. With a clear blue sky up there today, it will be nice to have Lincoln's only dependable snow removal service at work -- the sun!

In the colder months on campus, it's a common observation that a lot of guys under-dress for the weather. They're shooting for "macho," but what they're usually hitting is "Wha...?" I saw an extreme example of it on ths 3-degree morning: A guy walking down the sidewalk in front of my building in basketball shorts and a t-shirt. And it wasn't like he was just ducking out to get the paper or something -- he was on a long block between Point A and Point B. Crazy!

Lincoln schools closed again today, but the University is open for business as usual. Nertz!

And then I read Karen's comment & saw she had a random shoveler, so they still do exist!!! Way to go with other forms of payment, a very healthy payday for a job no one wants to do. What a good kid!

Amanda -- Brent was really irritated, I think there must be some way to override the locking system, just something we hadn't thought about yet. So he will have to get out the owners manual and make sure it doesn't happen again. Gary -- glad you took the day off, and that your car is fixed again. Brent and I watched True Grit this weekend -- really liked it -- very much like the original. Girls and I watched Social Network on Sunday -- didn't care for that one -- had hoped to get the whole day off and watch Kings Speech -- but it will have to wait....

Gary, what a great repair shop, I can't believe they didn't charge you a small fee. That's an amazing place & you should spread the word about that.

Donna, body shop? Gma mentioned an accident, your neighbors friend hit it or something? How bad?

Karen, I can just picture Brent showing up flustered! That's a CRUMMY day. I can't believe the doors lock like that! Mine will NOT if the keys in the ignition, unless you do it from the inside with the doors shut. It does automatically lock when you're driving, but there's a setting to have it lock upon engine start, or once engine reaches 5 mph. That 5 mph saves me a lot of hassle like Brent just experienced I'm guessing.

Lincoln schools are closed today, but the University is open. Even so, I've decided not to go in. Kind of like you said -- it's just not worth it when you're risking icy streets, icy sidewalks, and frostbite (windchills of -35 today!). High winds and blowing snow should only be experienced through the window, from a warm room. Also hot chocolate is a plus. So I'm making a home-made snow-day for myself. --Gary