You are either onto something or on something.

I have spent the last few days in Duluth, MN for business. I really think Duluth is one of the most underrated cities in the Midwest. Let me preface that by saying only during the months of April – October. Duluth is Minnesota’s third biggest city behind Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It is a hilly city right on the shores of Lake Superior. Because it is up North, plus it is always windy because of the lake, Duluth is perpetually cold. I have spent many days in January in Duluth and it is almost unbearable. However, it is a fantastic city to visit in the summer. It has great restaurants, lots of history, a bustling nightlife, unique shops, and of course it is a very visually attractive city with all of its lake front property. The best bang for your buck is the Holiday Inn. You get to wake up looking at Lake Superior, it is right in downtown, and it is only $79 a night.

1. I think I will stop cheering for baseball teams. First, my Twins were knocked out and I publicly said then that I wanted to cheer for the Chicago Cubs. Naturally, they get swept out of the first round. Look out Tampa Bay, you are the next team I am cheering for. One thing that has bothered me about the Cubs is all of this curse nonsense. Do you really think Carlos Zambrano is on the mound, or Derrick Lee is batting, and they are thinking, “I wonder if the Billy Goat curse is real… Oh shit! Damnit!” I don’t think so. Speaking of worthless distraction. I hate when some sports teams do not put their names on the back of jerseys. Last week, I was watching the Iowa State game but I couldn’t tell who made the catch, or who had the big block, because their names are removed. I understand this is for team loyalty and you are supposed to play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back. Give me a break. Sports are for entertainment and they shouldn’t be taken so seriously by these ridiculous coaches. I highly doubt a wide receiver is running down the play and he is so distracted by his name being on the back of his jersey that he drops the ball. It really bothers me. By the way, if it turns out to be a LA vs. Boston World Series, I will not watch one game. I am not a Boston fan and I cheer against them. I don’t like LA either.

2. It could have been the Blackstone Pinot Noir I was sipping, or it could have been the boring product. Needless to say I fell asleep during the Obama/McCain debate. I am starting to once again become optimistic about the election again. We are exactly four weeks away from the election. Elyse will be in Nevada during the election so this past weekend; she filled out her absentee ballot. (One vote for Obama by the way.) One thing I did not like at all came at the bottom. There was a question regarding giving me funding for the Plymouth school system to upgrade their failing auditoriums. Naturally, I support almost all public education funding requests and so does Elyse and she voted yes. However, while reading the small fine print, I saw that not voting in the referendum will count as a no vote. No wonder no referendums get passed. Think of how many people just vote for the president, or just the senator, and ignore all of the voting for judges, sheriffs, et cetera? This is absolutely terrible and saddens me. Chock that wording up to a victory for the fiscal conservatives.

3. I am not proud of this but I watched a lot of TV this weekend. Friday night, I finished up the third season of Weeds. I really like that show. Saturday I watched a lot of football. Who would have ever thought that the Golden Gophers would be 5 – 1 after starting 1 – 11 last year? Their only loss is at Ohio State. Sunday, I watched two movies. I rented the 1988 classic, Rainman, with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. I give it a B. I liked it but it is not in my top 10 list. I also rented the George Clooney, John Kraskinski, movie Leatherheads. It was not good. I give it a C-. Not worth the cost of headphones on an airplane.

4. It is hard for me not to feel terribly sad about the economy. Selfishly, I am angry. My 401K is now pathetic and my personal stocks are almost worth nothing. However, I am 23. I feel terribly for the people who are retired or close to retired and have seen their savings vanish. The cover of USA Today this morning said that, America has lost over $2 trillion dollars out of their retirement accounts in 2008. Try to wrap your head around that number. In addition, 150,000 Americans have lost their jobs just this past quarter. This is a very sad time for America. We are in multiple wars, the economy is the worst it has been since the Great Depression, our health care system is failing, the national debt is getting out of control, gas prices are up about $1.00 more a gallon than even a year ago, et cetera et cetera et cetera.