Thought For The Day

When one has much to put into them, a day has a hundred pockets.
- Freidrich Nietzsche -

IF - by Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold On!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - You'll be a Man, my son!
- Rudyard Kipling -

Thought For The Day

Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow.
- Norman Vincent Peale -

T.G.I.F.

On the drive to work this morning I was thinking and planning our trip to Manchester, New Hampshire tomorrow to see the Saint Anselm basketball and hockey games. We're looking forward to a great day.

I also started thinking of our trip to New York City back in December to see the Rockettes Christmas show at Radio City and how much thought and planning Julie and Kenny put into that whole thing. I'm not sure we can ever thank them enough for that. It was one of the highlights of the entire year; a wonderful experience. And to see it with Megan, Jean, Shirley, and Chris, made it even better. Seeing the assertive side of Julie was very impressive. She could have a future in event planning. However, that New York City trip will be hard to beat.

Thought For The Day

Habits are like supervisors that you don't notice.
- Hannes Messner -

Change Is A Law

If you don't get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don't want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer, because you can't hold on to it forever. Your mind is your predicament. It wants to be free of change, free of pain, free of the obligations of life and death. But change is a law, and no amount of pretending will alter that reality.
- Dan Millman -

Yes, He Actually Said That

I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.
- Robert McClosky, State Department Spokesman -

Thought For The Day

I bought a cactus. A week later it died. I got depressed because I thought, Damn, I'm less nurturing than a desert.
- Demitri Martin -

OFFICIAL College Basketball Rankings

Men's Division I
1. Memphis - Finally #1, Gonzaga on Saturday.
2. Kansas - Impressive, should beat Iowa and Nebraska this week.
3. UCLA - Doesn't get easier this week @ Oregon & @ Oregon St.
4. North Carolina - I jinxed them, upset by Maryland
5. Michigan State - How good is Drew Neitzel?
6. Wisconsin - Tough game @ Purdue Saturday
7. Indiana - Nice inside/outside game, UConn Saturday.
8. Butler - Upset by Cleveland St., should beat Loyola & UI-Chicago.
9. Georgetown - Huge Big East game Sat. @ West Va.
10. Washington State - Ranked too high? We'll see, @ Ariz, @ A St.
11. Texas - Nice win @ Okla. St., hosts Bobby Knight Sat.
12. Tennessee - Lost last night @ Kentucky, go figure.
13. Mississippi - Beat Florida but lost to Auburn.
14. Texas A&M - Struggling and dropping, 2 consecutive losses.
15. Dayton - Crunch time, @ Xavier tomorrow.
16. Marquette - I like them, but very inconsistant.
17. Vanderbilt - Big test coming up @ Florida
18. Pittsburgh - Upset by Cinci, St. Johns & Rutgers this week
19. Xavier - Upset by Temple, Dayton & @ UMass this week, ouch!
20. Villanova - Injuries, but they play with intensity.
21. Florida - They're back, @ S. Car., Vandy at home this week.
22. Baylor - Coach Scott Drew has cleaned up the mess.
23. Boston College - I keep saying this is their last week in top 25
24. Massachusetts - At St. Joe, then big home game vs. Xavier
25. Texas-Arlington - 13-4, 16 game home winning streak

Men's Division II
1. Bentley
2. Saint Anselm - Sorry Hawks, Bentley is good.
3. Grand Valley
4. Winona State
5. Stonehill

Men's Division III
1. Framingham State - Win one, lose one, @ Salem St. Saturday
2. Brandies
3. Rochester
4. Amherst
5. Williams

Women's Division I
1. Connecticut
2. Tennessee
3. Maryland
4. Baylor
5. Stanford

Thought For The Day

A college degree is not a sign that one is a finished product, but an indication a person is prepared for life.
- Rev. Edward A. Malloy -

Yes, Another Poem

Red Sox, Patriots, BC Hockey
Soccer, football, NASCAR and others
Too great to number.

Budweiser, Cape Cod Chips,
Nachos, Pepto, Oh I can't wait
For rest and slumber.

- R. Foss -

The Greatest Salesman In The World

Og Mandino, wrote the best selling book, "The Greatest Salesman In The World". He died in 1996, but his sales organization still lives and thrives. His website, www.ogmandino.com is very interesting. Here is one of his many quotes:

"Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challange when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow."
- Og Mandino -

Thought For The Day

Genius is one per cent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
- Thomas Edison -

Goalkeeper Joe

Joe Dunn were a bobby for football
He gave all his time to that sport.
He played for the West Wigan Whippets,
On days when they turned out one short.

He'd been a member of the club for three seasons
And had grumbled again and again,
'Cause he found that the only time that they'd used him,
Were when it were pouring with rain.

He felt as his talents were wasted
When each week his job seemed to be
No but minding the clothes for the others
And chucking clods at the referee.

So next time the selection committee
Came round to ask him for his sub
He told them if they didn't play him,
He'd transfer to some other club.

Committee they coaxed and cudgelled him
But found he'd have none of their shifts
So they promised to play him next weekend
In the match against Todmorden Swifts.

The day of the match dawned in splendor
A beautiful morning it were
With a fog drifting up from the brick fields
And a drizzle of rain in the air.

The Whippets made Joe their goalkeeper
A thing as weren't wanted at all
For they knew once the battle had started
They'd have no time to mess with the ball.

Joe stood by the goal post and shivered
While the fog round his legs seemed to creep
'Til feeling neglected and lonely
He leant back and went fast asleep.

He dreamt he were playing at Wembley
And to the roar of a thundering cheer
He were kicking a goal for the Whippets
When he woke with a clout in his ear.

He found 'twere the ball that had struck him
And inside the net there it lay
But as no one had seen this 'ere happen
He punted it back into play.

'Twere the first ball he'd punted in anger
His feelings he couldn't restrain
Forgetting as he were the goalkeeper
He ran out and kicked it again.

Then after the ball like a rabbit
He rushed down the field full of pride
He reckoned if nobody stopped him
Then 'appen he'd score for his side.

Half way down he bumped into his captain
Who weren't going to let him go by
But Joe, like Horatio Nelson
Put a fist into the Captain's blind eye.

On he went 'till the goal lay before him
Then stopping to get himself set
He steadied the ball, and then he kicked it
And landed it right in the net.

The fog seemed to lift at that moment
And all eyes were turned on the lad
The Whippets seemed kind of dumbfounded
While the Swifts started cheering like mad.

'Twere his own goal he'd kicked the ball through
He'd scored for his foes 'gainst his friends
For he'd slept through the referees whistle
And at half time he hadn't changed ends.

Joe was transferred from the West Wigan Whippets
To the Todmorden Swifts, where you'll see
Still minding the clothes for the others
And chucking clods at the referee.

- "Goalkeeper Joe" by Marriot Edgar -

Thought For The Day

If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.
- Henry Ford -

On To Florida

The primary season continued yesterday in Nevada and South Carolina. Clinton and Romney won in Nevada, but they were hollow victories. Even though Clinton won the majoriey of votes, Obama won more delegates, 13-12, because of that very strange caucus system. For the Republicans, Romney won because he was the only that made any effort and spent any money. In fact Ron Paul finished second.

It was a different story in South Carolina. The Republicans had a real fight between McCain and Huckabee, with McCain winning 33% to 30%. Romney finished a distant fourth. (The Democrats will hold their South Carolina primary next week.) It was the first real head-to-head fight between the two conservatives in a real Southern state. I thought Huckabee did pretty well with 30%. If it's possible to have momentum in such a wide open year, McCain might have it. He will have it if he wins in Florida against Rudy and his organization. This political season is getting more interesting every week.