Question asked: "John, would you describe yourself as athletic?" John replies, "I would describe myself as a less coordinated Manute Bol."

Yesterday started glorious. I have written many times about how much being laid off sucks. Yesterday was an exception. It hit 84 degrees, and had a slight breeze. After a nice jog outside, I grabbed a book and spent the rest of the afternoon reading on the deck with an ice cold Coke Zero on one side, and a radio on the other. I then received a call from one of my favorite co-workers that the Minneapolis market at the office I worked at won the 2008 market of the year and after work they were going out to eat/drink to celebrate at The Mermaid. I joined them and I had a good time. Although I was a little embarrassed when people asked if I had a job yet and I kept saying no, the worst part was all of the pity thrown at me. "Oh sweetheart, I know you will find something great." It is like the feeling after you got dumped when everybody calls you and tells you how there are lots of fish in the sea, and everybody's been dumped before, and you deserve so much more. I think what I miss most about work is the sense of belonging... of working together for a common purpose - even if that purpose is to make a Fortune 500 company worth billions a couple of more bucks. I don't know the next time I will see the group but what I really liked was being able to say goodbye to everyone properly. When I was laid off, it was more like a funeral procession past my desk with everyone paying their last respects. This time it was more jovial, less tense, and fun.

1. Did you hear about the controversy with Dane Cook? Apparently his brother/former manager had been slowly stealing millions of dollars from the comedian. What a terrible betrayal of trust from someone who shares your bloodline. I am only a so-so Cook fan but my heart goes out to him on this one.

2. I love Vikings running back Adrian Peterson but he's a little bit crazy on this one. For those that don't know, there is this "Madden Curse" in football where if you agree to be on the cover of the Madden video game, you will get injured. Petereson was asked to be on the cover but because he is superstitious, he turned down the money and prestige of being the cover boy for football. You just have to laugh at those stories.

3. Is there a bigger idiot in football than Percy Harvin? Most Vikings fans I know want us to draft the talented but mercurial wide-out from UF. Not only did he only get a 12 on the Wonderlic test (meaning he can barely read), he tested positive for marijuana at the Combine. He was expected to be a top-ten pick and now most experts think he will go around #30 now due to his stupidity. How arrogant and stupid! He was even told before hand that their would be a drug test. He cost himself about $15 million. Despite his talent, I am completely uninterested in the Vikings taking such a knucklehead.

4. It's not often that I give a shout-out to Fox News but today I will. One of the anchors on Fox News is a gentlemen named Shepherd Smith. Born in Mississippi and an open conservative, he is one of the anchors I don't mind listening to because although we disagree on many issues, he is fair to differing opinions and treats his guests with respect. I had to stand up and cheer though when he had some Republican goon on who was saying all the positives that came from torturing terrorists and Smith raised his voice and said, "But this is America! We should not (BLEEP) torture anyone." Here, here. If I were the GOP, I would move away from this issue as quickly as possible. It's okay to want to be the party that is tough on terrorism and for a stronger military. However, when you go on television listing all the positives of torture, you are going to irritate many of your most loyal voters. Of course, I am talking of the large born again, Christian conservative coalition. They might still vote for the GOP because of issues like abortion and gay marriage but if they give less money or volunteer less, that could be equally damaging.

5. Currently listening to "Airbag" by Radiohead. Album: OK Computer.