What's that number again?

Yesterday I hit the gym for the first time in three months and what was my biggest issue? The damn lock combination. Arrgggh. After using it several times a week for several years, it slipped my mind. Fortunately, I remembered what it was, or a close proximity thereof and was able to open it. After trying it a few times to make sure I had it down, it was off to the elliptical machine. The workout went pretty well, though I was focused on my aerobic exercise and working my legs.

Some Oscars talk. What happened to the tributes to Farrah Fawcett, Bea Arthur and Ricardo Montalban?? WTH? They mention Michael Jackson and leave these stars out? That's appalling. How long would it have taken to add those three to the In Memoriam section?

Though I haven't seen The Hurt Locker, it gives me pause that the highest grossing movie OF ALL TIME didn't win best movie of the year. Not best director? Fine, even though Avatar took 4 years to make and pushed technology to the limits through Cameron's direction. But no best picture? It doesn't make any damn sense.

Finally, the Bears don't have a first or second round draft pick in the upcoming draft, so they had to do something in free agency which began at midnight last Thursday night. On our way to Ricardo's cabin in Wisconsin, I had the sports radio on to see if the Bears made any acquisitions. Due to some technical issues, a mess of players who should have been free agents were relegated to a lesser status thereby limiting the pool of available players. It turns out that the Bears made a few pretty huge moves though and their future for the next couple of years should be significantly altered, so remember this day! They signed the most in demand free agent available, Julius Peppers, a defensive end. If he can put pressure on the opposing team's quarterbacks, our defensive backs and corners will be better since they won't have to cover for so long. It's like the goalies for the Blackhawks: if your two defensemen are good enough, you can get away with lesser goalies.

In addition, we signed a bruising runningback, Chester Taylor, who not only helps our running game, but it hurts a primary divisional contender, Minnesota. Finally, we signed a big blocking tightend, Brandon Manumaleuna, who should help both the running game and our passing game as he can provide more protection than our current group of ends.

Without draft picks who can start right away, we needed some players to fill holes and contribute right away. Looks like the Bears brass has done just about as much as they could given the situation.