Happy Father's Day to all the Dads and those who don't know they're Dads, and to all the Moms who have to act like Dads.

I took my Dad to the Colonial Restaurant for breakfast this morning. This would be what we call an "Old Fogey Joint". But they have pretty good food there and we ordered some omelettes. Of course, if you order a breakfast with eggs, you also get "real home fries" and toast. We got our meals, and on cue, my Dad started bitching about the amount of potatoes they serve you at a restaurant. Which is true, but always a nice touch to hear it from him. But they were good, heck they were "real" and they must have been spectacular, because I think he cleaned his plate more than me.

Meal of Links

Playhouse Square hasn't formally announced the "Cinema at the Square" series yet. The schedule is up at the website, however. "Spinal Tap" and "Airplane!" look like must-sees. And "Clifford The Big Red Dog" for live-action fans comes later.

Leo gets hit with a bottle, but Billy Corgan comes out from under a rock and records a new album.

Strong hurricanes are starting to be linked to global warming. Be careful out there.

Exercise Yard

"Father, why are all of those cars heading to the pits before the race?"



The running joke is that there are only 14 NBA fans left. Sometimes, I feel the same way about Formula One fans in the States. After today's race, in which the FIA (the sport's governing body) shoved it up the ass of fans at today's US Grand Prix, I'm not sure if the number 14 is now too high.

First of all, I am not sure if this happens at any other circuit besides Indianapolis, because there might have been a riot. You can't get 145,000 paying customers (easily in the top three in attendance each year in F1) to show up and then have 14 of 20 cars not participate. Yep, the race was run with only 6 cars! I am amazed most of the fans stayed for what was basically a test session for those teams. Easily, the strangest sporting event I've seen in years. The equivalent would be going to the Indians-Red Sox game tomorrow (which I am) and watching both teams get introduced, then having the Indians play an intrasquad game that counted. How F1 continually fails to grasp its audience in America is astounding.

Now for the science. There are two tire manufacturers in Formula One, Michelin and Bridgestone. Michelin apparently came to Indy with a tire that, for some reason, was having trouble with the small banking in turn 13. It's the only banking in all of F1, but it's like six degrees or something, and they have been racing there for six years. Michelin said their tires were having a belt issue and driver safety is paramount, so unless there was a chicane constructed in that turn to slow the cars down, the Michelin teams would not race. The FIA told them to pound salt. So, here's what we know. Michelin said we want a chicane, Indy was willing to configure it (on race day, mind you), but the FIA told the Michelin teams it was a tire problem, blame your tire manufacturer for not having a backup. So, those teams pulled out, leaving the six Bridgestone cars in the race.

How they could not find a suitable compromise is beyond me. Many of the foreign TV networks pulled their coverage during the race. And everyone loses.

Visitor

None, it's Father's Day.