Maybe the economy isn?t so bad…

Since last month?s Free Falling, made up of mostly positive bits and pieces, was popular beyond my wildest expectations (thanks to the two people who said they liked it), I decided to continue with the same format for March.

Though I know the economy is not what it used to be, I still have a hard time feeling sorry for people when they can afford to spend more than $180 each for Elton John/Billy Joel concert tickets. Some courtside seats for a basketball contest between Duke and Maryland were selling for upwards of $800 last week.

As long as fans are willing to shell out big bucks for concerts and sporting events, prices will continue to skyrocket.

I carry a cellular phone almost everywhere I go these days. I really don?t get that many calls, but I often have the phone set to vibrate only. Once in a while I get the sensation that my phone is ringing when it?s not. Apparently I have developed phantom vibrations.

My daughter?s cell phone was indispensable over the weekend. She was trying to get through the city of Richmond, Va. I?ve been there a couple of times. It is a complicated small city to navigate.

We were on the phone for more than 45 minutes, talking her across town using Google Maps at our house. It really was quite amazing. I am not a proponent of using a phone while driving, but at least we could talk while she was at stoplights.

A fellow sports fan recently commented that the best events during the Winter Olympic Games are those that do not require subjective judging in order to determine the winners. I agree. Downhill races, speed skating and hockey games are my favorites for that reason. Figure skating and ice dancing?not so much.

Curling is an interesting sport. It was on almost nonstop on CNBC (does the ?C? stand for ?curling??). It?s likely the only Olympic sport that can be played by people in their 60s.

I like baked potatoes?as a side dish. I will tell everybody who will listen that I don?t think too highly of potato bars. Even with all the trimmings, a baked potato is no kind of meal for no kind of man. Neither, for that matter, are pancakes and waffles something that should be served as a main course for lunch or supper.

And, by the way, who came up with the term ?potato bar?? It?s not like the people who serve the spuds are potato bartenders.

The Kansas House of Representatives Thursday passed a statute naming the little bluestem as the state grass of Kansas, much to the dismay of proponents of big bluestem. Apparently, this was a big deal. But, with all the budget woes of the past 18 months taking a backseat to a battle over bluestem, some of us might be wondering just what kind of grass our lawmakers have been smoking.

I listen to Radio Kansas each morning as I prepare for work, and I often hear the announcer give the weather forecast. He says, ?We?ll have highs in the 60s and lows in the 30s? as if we are ordering a la carte from a weather menu.

I also find it amusing when newscasters say, ?I?m Bill; Susie is off tonight.? It makes it sound as though Susie came to work, but her game was not up to snuff. Wouldn?t it be better to say, ?Susie has the night off??

To me, ?buy one, get one 50 percent off? is not much of a sale. I?d rather have the 25 percent off just one item. Clerks who cheerily proclaim that I ?saved $60? are not altogether accurate. I actually probably spent $100.

I also get a bit irritated by those mechanized messages when I use my credit card asking if I ?agree? with the total. What choice do I have? I don?t think the person checking my items through has the authority to dicker with me on the price. So, I have to accept the machine?s total as the store?s final offer.

I find the wording on some movie warnings rather interesting as well. The film might be rated PG-13, for violence, drugs and ?some language.? Unless it is a silent movie, don?t they all include some type of language? It?s like when people say, ?He stayed home all day because he had a temperature.? Everyone has a temperature. It could be 104 degrees or zero. The proper term for a reading above 98.6 degrees for a human would be a ?fever.?

Have you ever noticed how a hangnail can affect everything you do? I had one on my right index finger a few weeks ago and had the hardest time with the paper towel dispenser at school. The pain was excruciating. I tried to bite it out. That made it even worse.

My wife and I were watching a basketball game on Fox Sports Midwest the other night when a commercial for Purina Puppy Chow came on. A little boy was pulling his dog in a coaster wagon. He called the puppy ?Axel,? but with his lisp, it sounded a bit more like a different, less flattering word. We looked at each other with one of those ?what did he just say?? expressions. Then, we saw the dog?s name on his food dish.

Purina probably should have chosen a different name for the dog?maybe Spike.

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