Tuesday, and it's a slow night in the blog-writing department. Feels like a Monday night, but that was last night. Tomorrow's Wednesday, which means today is in-between day. As in "in between dreaded Monday and sought after Wednesday."

You see, once Wednesday has come and gone--and it always flies by once it gets here--there are only two more days until the weekend.

Who invented Tuesday, anyway? Someone with a cruel sense of humor? ("Hey, let's make 'em suffer another day after Monday before getting to Wednesday!" You can almost here the gnome snicker.) Or, perhaps it's designed to give us another day and night to sleep, knowing that most people find it terribly difficult to stay awake on Mondays, even after supposedly getting a good sleep the night before.

Other than serving as voting day--a duty most people ignore anyway--and an occasional holiday, Tuesday doesn't seem to have much purpose in our lives. Occupies important space, though. Without it we'd have only six days a week, and the Beatles would have to work even harder to come up with a hit record.

It's an important day for Mexican restaurants. Many offer 1/2 price Margaritas on Tuesdays. Thursdays, too, but that's another story.

Some communities have trash collection on Tuesday. Guess they figure you're too tired to haul out the garbage can on Monday morning, so they'll give you another day. Goodie. Then the darn thing weighs even more.

So what is the purpose of Tuesday? A better question might be: What's the purpose of today's blog? Good question. As a famous blogger once commented, "To blog or not to blog. That is the question."

Why didn't I think of that?

Our beloved Green Bay Packers got beat again. This time at the hands of the despised Chicago Bears, a team that we could usually count on to beat handily. Worst yet, the loss occurred at Lambeau Field, once thought to be immune to defeat. Not any more.

This loss comes at the heals of a severe drubbing by the Baltimore Ravens last Monday night. We thought that loss, at 48-3, was humiliating. But to get beat by the Chicago while at home is literally unbearable. Sorry, I couldn’t avoid the pun.

Give Chicago credit for fielding a pretty good team, despite its flaws. And it is true that that Packers suffered a number of key injuries during the year. But they still should have—and could have—pulled off a victory. Would’ve been a nice Christmas present to the fans at the tail end of a miserable year.

So, now what? Attention has been focused on quarterback Brett Favre all year. Will he return, or won’t he? Publicly he’s claiming that he hasn’t made up his mind, and that he won’t let the team’s performance sway him one way or the other. But you have to wonder. While it would be great to have him back or one or two more years, what’s the point? To rack up more records? Absent some wholesale changes in the team, it’s unlikely they will get to the Super Bowl any time soon. Hate to admit it, but it’s true.

You can be sure Brett would rather leave after at least a winning season. That’s possible. Several key players should be healthy and raring to go by next fall. But there’s no need to force the issue, and he has nothing else to prove. He has won the hearts of Packer fans the world over, and the minds of most (if not all) sports authorities. He risks severely tarnishing his reputation by coming back: What happens if he really tanks? (He has around 20 intercepts already.)

Hang up your cleats, Brett. You’ve done your job. Enjoy the good life down south. If by chance you find your way up north again, stop by and say hello to some of your fans. We’ll miss you, but we’ll understand.

Those of us who admire strong communication skills know that writing well is only one-half of the equation. Speaking well is equally important, and a skill that an unfortunate few make an effort to develop.

Studies have shown that public speaking ranks in one our top five fears--sometimes it's Number 1. The thought of getting up in front of a sea of faces--and a plethora of staring eyes--gives many people the willies. That's too bad, as strong speaking and presenting skills give people a leg up over others in today's competitive marketplace.

The best part is that it's easy and relatively painless to gain valuable experience. Many colleges offer courses that can be taken on a part-time basis. You need not sign up for a full communications program to develop basic skills in public speaking. (Though advanced training is helpful as well.)

Many people take advantage of Toastmasters, an organization devoted to developing speaking skills in a friendly and non-threatening environment. Speaking from experience--pun intended!--I can say that the program works. And is very affordable.

Speaking experience need not come from a structured environment, either. Look around. Speaking opportunities are more prevalent than you think. Some include:

Readings for your church services
Anniversaries
Wedding receptions
Reunions
Parties

Each of these offers the opportunity to stand up before an audience and speak, sometimes spontaneously, which itself is a powerful skill.

Take the plunge. Sign up now for a program or class in public speaking. You will be amazed at how quickly you overcome your fears. And you will soon enjoy the satisfaction of standing before groups and presenting in a confident and knowledgeable manner.

It's that time of year again. Time for the rat race around the malls and stores, frenzied cleaning around the house, and late night baking and cooking for the Big Event on the 25th. Then suddenly it's over. The gifts are unwrapped--savagely so by the younger celebrants--the food eaten, and then the guests depart. Another Christmas has passed.

It's very much like Thanksgiving, when we put countless hours into preparing for an event that sadly lasts but a few hours. All the expectation, the excitement, the thrill gone in what afterward feels like a flash. Then the aftershock sets in, and we realize that it'll be another year before we can experience that again. We are drained; physically, of course, but also emotionally.

Those who put the maximum effort into preparation often feel as if they experienced the least. Which is true, because they had the least amount of time to savor the build up to the big day.

On the one hand it would be nice to spread the holiday over several days. That's not practical for many reasons. So perhaps there are ways to savor the season now so that holiDAY (in this case, Christmas), is more enjoyable.

Take time each day to appreciate and savor the moment. Slow down, take a deep breath, and look around. Ask yourself: What is there to appreciate, and why? How can I better utilize the days and hours leading up to the holiday?

A week from now another Christmas will have come and gone. Some folks will head back to work. Others will have the day off, and will use the time to sleep in a little later. Still others will hit the stores to return well-intentioned gifts that just don't quite fit in (all the while scoping the after-Christmas sales for something that does).

All us will wonder: Did we enjoy the holiday? Was it truly fun and rewarding? A few moments of reflection now may make all the difference later.

Another brouhaha is brewing in the Dairyland state. This one involves a silly cap on the number of liquor licenses a community may issue. Surprisingly, the Tavern League is on the side of the bad guys.

Way back before many of you were born (OK, in 1939), the state passed a law stating that communities may issue only one Class B license for every 500 citizens. (Class B licenses are issued to bars, restaurants, and clubs.) May have seemed like a good item at the time--or at least there wasn't sufficient opposition to override the idea--but today is another matter.

Communities are experiencing a dampening in the hospitality business because new proprietors can't get a license. You'd think it would be a slam-drink (er, dunk) to get the law changed. Ah, but you don't know politics. As expected, the anti-alcohol MADD has come out in favor of keeping law as is. But the Wisconsin Tavern League? What gives? Let a mouthpiece offer his take (as quoted in the Dec. 12 edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel):

"Our members have lifelong investments in their businesses,” he whined, “and they want us to protect them." Ah, yes, the old "now that I have arrived you can raise the drawbridge" argument. Same position cabbies take in their attempt to keep cities from adding licenses.

A free market is naturally competitive. Those who compete will survive. Those who don't won't. That's true for every business and every businessperson in the country. But that's not good enough for the Tavern League. Instead, it'll use its muscle to stymie efforts to change the law. So much for believing in capitalism. As one politician has stated, the League "...said they would fight even a minor change in the law...."

If the Tavern League were to get its head out of the sand (or someplace else), it would see the fallacy in this position. Setting aside the benefits in increased employment, tax revenue, and sales to vendors (many of whom are from the area), these new proprietors represent potential new members of the League. Assuming, of course, it hasn't ticked off too many budding businesspeople as they wait to open their restaurants or bars while the state grapples with this issue.

We can assume that some bars would suffer when competitors arrive in the area. That's true for all sectors of the economy. Compete or fold. That's the cold hard fact of life in a free economy. Every business owner would love to have government step in and limit competition. But that's not the American way.

The Wisconsin legislature should eliminate this archaic law, and open up the landscape for new business opportunities. More business means more employment and all the related benefits. And more opportunities for us simple folks to imbibe. I'll drink to that.