A Hand-Wringing, Agonizing Reappraisal

One of my pleasant memories of growing up is my father’s conversations with my mother about his work as a middle-management financial analyst at IBM.  These conversations weren’t private, they mostly took place around the dinner table so there were some valuable insights into the adult world of work to be had by my brothers and me if we were paying attention. During these conversations,  I specifically remember my father using the phrase “agonizing reappraisal” on more than one occasion. When my father used this phrase it was usually in a bemused or mocking observation about a meeting that had been called by one of his managers.  At least once I remember my father adding, “A Hand-Wringing” to the phrase. When I worked for Time Warner Cable, I specifically remember sitting in a meeting in a large conference room circa 1999 and having a private, bemused “Aha moment” about the “ Hand-Wringing, Agonizing Reappraisal.”  It was a great moment.

In my Friday column, I’ll discuss Charlie Strong’s  “Agonizing Reappraisal.”  See how I didn’t add the preface “Hand-Wringing” there?

I’m having an “Agonizing Reappraisal” about running a contest and then not posting results in a timely manner. Going forward, I will post Over/Under results no later than Sunday morning. Count on it. Also, look for an exciting new feature being added to the contest this week.

Iowa State Over/Under Results

Mark Adams scored a nine and returns to winner’s circle for the first time this year.  A year or two ago Mark went on a hot streak winning or placing in three out of four straight weeks. Greg Swan and Andy Garrod tied for second with eight correct answers. Mark, Greg, and Andy far outpaced the 5.8 average overall grade.

John Scott gets an Honorable Mention for being the only contestant to pick Devin Duvernay as Texas leading receiver for the game.

HooK ‘Em,

W.E.