I should mention that the lack of posting for the last few days was due to a weekend trip to Newport that the missus planned as a surprise (not the trip as much as the location). We had a very nice time, and enjoyed some great weather on Saturday to take in the best known Newport "cottage," The Breakers.

For those of you who don't know, The Breakers is a 70 room mansion built by the Vanderbilt family for their use during the summer. Yes, a 70 room mansion that got used 8 weeks out of the year. And not even every year, as family crises and other issues kept the Vanderbilts away some years.

If nothing else, I now know where Donald Trump gets his decorating ideas. Though I will say that the Gilded Age was much more successful at coming up with something that was incredibly expensive without looking cheap.

We also took our usual trolley tour, which was fun. I'd have to think that during the summer it's one of the few ways to get around without driving yourself crazy with traffic and parking. Actually, you could probably walk most of the city, including the mansions, though it could be a long walk depending on how much you want to see.

We also got lucky in that it was Newport's winter festival, so some things were open that might not have been otherwise during the off season. In any case, it was a fun trip. Going in the summer probably brings out the best in the city, but it's also tricky with all the boaters and other events.

Otherwise, quiet weekend. I actually wound up watching a lot more of the Daytona 500 than originally planned (that being almost none outside of the finish), as a friend of my boss's dad had a car in the race, the number 23 Whelan car driven by Dave Blainey (who usually drives the 77 car). The team usually only does Busch races (and even then only part time, and as the 31 car), I'm not sure how they wound up at Daytona but it was a nice result for them. They were flirting with the top 5 for a while, which was even better, but they apparently got hung up in the pits and never recovered (this according to my boss, who actually follows racing).