We're number 13!

As funny as it might sound ... being Number 13 isn't such a bad thing. The Reason Foundation has released its 17th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems ... and puts us in the 13th spot in the rankings.

What is the Reason Foundation Report? According the foundation's website: "This report measures the performance of all state-owned roads and highways from 1984-2006 ... calculating the effectiveness and performance of each state in 12 different categories, including traffic fatalities, congestion, pavement condition, highway maintenance costs, and administrative costs." The lower the number ... the better you are. Now you know.

Anyway, we moved from number 17 to number 13 between 2005 and 2006 ... and we're up (or perhaps it's down) a whopping 15 spots from 28th in 2004. Either Pete Rahn and MoDOT are doing a lot of things right ... or a whole bunch of other states have allowed their transportation infrastructure to go down the drain. The enthusiasm with which Pete Rahn has tackled the tasks at hand would lead most of us to accept it is a case of the former - not the latter.

Frankly, I love seeing all the work being done along parts of US 50 ... where MoDOT crews are turning a two-lane cow path into a four-lane highway.

Okay ... so much for the roads ... it's time to get back to watching the Olympics. After all ... women's beach volleyball is on the schedule. It's difficult to say what makes this sport such fun to watch ... it must be the fact the best player in the world is a woman named Walsh - Kerri Walsh. Yup ... that must be it.

You know ... watching the Olympics, this year, seems to be more fun and more entertaining than previous "foreign" Olympics have been - and it's probably because of the tremendous amount of live action on NBC and its affiliated networks (MSNBC, CNBC, and USA). Watching Olympic events live is par for the course in most countries as foreign networks have this radical concept that sporting events should be carried live instead of on tape delay 12 or 16 hours later. Maybe ... just maybe, mind you ... NBC has learned there is an audience for world class events - even if the events aren't broadcast between 8:00 and 11:00 Eastern or Pacific time.

Enough of the ranting ... Off to "the beach!"

- Steve Walsh