Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be. It is just past 5:00 a.m. in "The City", where the current temperature outside the Weather Window is a more seasonal 39°. We're supposed to hit a forecast low of 26° before the sun rises at 8:10 a.m. and long before it sets at 5:11 p.m. We are inexorably inching towards 12/21/2015, the winter solstice, when the days will be as short as they will get. Then its all longer days after that.

Trainspotting yesterday allowed me to witness the passage of two trains. At 9:45 a.m., the passage of EMD GP 38 locomotives #2019 and #2057 passed by heading south. In tow, were a lone BC, three CHCs, three DWTCs, and six DBTCs, all moving at a fast rate of relative speed.

The return run heading north was the same tandem of locomotives in reverse order towing many more cars, all seemingly empty. Three BCs, 22 CHCs, nine DBTCs, four GTCs, and four DWTCs, one with a red band girdling its mid-section. I did a little research on the internet and discovered that this stripe signifies that the car was carrying hydrogen cyanide, and I thought that hydrochloric acid was bad.

That other team from Chicago completed a trade for third baseman Todd Frazier yesterday. They traded with the Cincinnati Reds and the L.A. Dodgers to complete the deal. Frazier has two years remaining before he becomes a free agent. That other team from Chicago had to cede several solid prospects to complete the deal. Some pundits suggest that we are seeing the dismantling of the Reds and the continued stockpiling of prospects by the Dodgers. Only time will tell.

Did I mention that the San Francisco Giants signed one-time Cub's and that other team's pitcher Jeff Samardzija to a $90,000,000 five year deal the other day? They did. Jeff throws hard, 90 mph plus, and pitches over 200 innings every year. Maybe a change of scenery is what he needs to finally achieve more than a modicum of success.

The Bulls defeated the Memphis Grizzles 98 - 85 last night, behind strong efforts by D' Rose and Jimmy Butler. D' Rose was without the face shield he has been wearing to protest his eye socket, which was injured earlier this season. He has had a very star crossed injury filled career so far in the NBA.

Abby Wambach finished her pro-soccer career, playing a game for the U.S. women's national team against China. She failed to score a goal in the 0 - 1 loss. She is the all-time leading scorer in international women's soccer and played on the U.S. team that won the World Cup last summer. She says that at 35, she is ready to retire and get on with life.

I took the morning safari with STWD yesterday while it rained and the wind blew at a good clip. By the time we returned, the sun came out and the skies looked much less threatening. That didn't last for long, and the rains returned later in the day. By then, I was in the midst of my chores that took all afternoon.

I started on that highlighting late yesterday. I am highlighting two books in a row, while Mary is indexing them in the same fashion. Apparently, one of the authors relies heavily on end notes in which a great deal of the information in the book is contained. My first task was to highlight the introductions and conclusions for both books so that Mary can do what she calls chunking.

I have an appointment later this morning for Sugar at her doctor for her annual vaccinations and tests, along with a wellness check. In addition, since this is Sugar's birth month, she is getting a complimentary pawdicure. Later in the day, we have someone coming to do a tune-up and safety check on our furnace. If all goes according to plan, the majority of the cost for that visit will be returned to us in the form of a rebate from the gas company. In any event, the furnace needed to be checked anyway.

Those two things along with the aforementioned highlighting, should fill my day. Ciao.