the new superpower A lazy weekend after the exertions of the last one. It was a weekend for sitting in front of the box - the glorious victory at Dublin's K Club, The Bears coming back to beat the Vikings (they're 3 and O now as they say in these parts), and with the new series of Desperate Housewives starting tonight, only the Addicks abject failure has been a disappointment in TV land!

Of course there is nothing like a bit of trans-Atlantic competition to get the juices flowing in the office and tomorrow will be a good day. Frankly it was a bit embarrassing wasn't it? I almost felt sorry for the superpower that is George W Bush and JJ Henry. Whatever happened to Abe Lincoln and Arnie Palmer? As my fellow happy ex-pat suggests, maybe we can give them Vijay Singh or Ernie Els to make more of a game of it? Or perhaps they could replace that crazy foursomes and fourballs with a longest drive contest? I hope Darren Clark, Woozie and the boys enjoy a few pints of the black stuff tonight.

Last night I saw All the King's Men at the cinema. Based on Robert Penn Warren's 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning book by the same name, Sean Penn plays the leading role of Willie Stark, a Southern politician whose rise to power is followed by a web of corruption and betrayal and it was quite good after a slow start.

We played our first football game of the 'fall season' this morning and went down 2-1. I popped into work for a couple of hours this afternoon and have a busy first part of the week with clients but they bugger off in time for my brother to arrive in town on Wednesday. Cue drinks, deep and meaningful's and reminisces of away games long, long ago.  ¶ 20:56