Best Darn Sports Weekend Ever

Oh yes, it's that time of year. Ya'll can have your NFL playoffs, I'll take the United States Figure Skating Championships. This year, coming to us live from Spokane, Washington. The winners are supercalifragilisticexpialidocious this year, because they'll be representing the United States at the 2010 Olympics next month in Vancouver. Woohoo! The marque events of the USFSA Championships will be broadcast on NBC this Saturday night -- there's also some events on other channels -- you'll have to go over your newspaper's television viewing guide with a microscope to find it. Some years I've found the ice dancing and pairs on ESPN, and some years I've found them on Oxygen and Lifetime. They don't make it easy, but it's worth a look. And here's some help from the USFSA's website. I won't be in touch during the Olympics -- because there is nothing better in my mind than the Winter Olys. The curling. The luge. The biathalon. The ski jumping. Every night is an ice and snow spectacle. Ah, Heaven!

Maybe She's Crazy

Perhaps you've met Dillie the deer before. She's a domesticated doe living in a home in Ohio. Her favorite treat is a dish of ice cream with a little coffee. It looks a lot like a Vente vanilla latte from Starbucks to me. Even if you've met Dillie and her people before, I think it's nice to know that when times are tough, there are people out there who are crazy...in a good way.

'Unimaginable' Tragedy

In a tiny island nation of 3 million people, 100,000 people may be dead after Tuesday's earthquake. I've got a mile-long list of worries that just doesn't seem like anything more than a pile of beans in comparison. My prayers go out for the people of Haiti -- especially the children and the pets -- they always seem to suffer the most. Be aware that there are a lot of scammers on the 'net right now willing to take your money and claiming that it will go to help Haitians. If you want to help, check out the links on the White House and Red Cross websites.

Do You Know The Way To San Jose?

I see a lot of things on my morning commute. That's what happens when you live in the outer 'burbs and commute into the inner 'burbs for work. Yesterday, I took the train to work. We were held up at the Burbank station on the way in because of a medical emergency -- and on the way home we were held up in San Fernando for a half an hour. I usually take the train on Mondays -- there are more cars on the road on Mondays. In Los Angeles they have this phenomenon that they call "Friday Light." Traffic is lighter on Fridays. I don't know why -- and I've never heard anyone give any sort of explanation why this happens -- we all just know that it does. Fridays, you can leave late, put the car on cruise control and just kind of coast into the office. The rest of the week it's like a war out there. Commuting to work most days involves planning and strategy and constantly being on your guard for unwarranted attacks by stupidhead drivers. I would like to add that the age of cell phones, texting and twittering is doing nothing for the ease of my commute. You should hear the names I call people, and I frequently show people my middle finger. But today, I saw something new when I pulled up to a stop light. The middle-aged woman in the car next to me was using the lighted mirror in her sun visor to locate and remove an errant hair in her chin with a pair of tweezers. My first thought was that she was a witch -- but then I realized if she was she wouldn't be fighting traffic in a Camry -- she'd be riding her broom to work. And my second thought as I stroked my own stubbly chin in contemplation was -- there but for the grace of God go I. Enuf said.