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Have you been to Hawaii? I have, twice. The first time was eight and a half years ago, right after The Fiance became The Wife. We toured Maui and Kauai with a short stop in Honolulu to see Pearl and the USS Arizona Memorial. The islands were gorgeous and we had a riot.

We also did not have children.

This time, it was Turkey on the Big Island with Murton's Kids, The Wife and The Inlaws. To say the trip was different this time is an understatement.

Some advice should you travel to Hawaii.

1) If you want to do things other than lie on the beach at your chosen resort, skip the Big Island. There is very little to do or see beyond the Kilauea Caldera (an active, erupting volcano) and Keck Observatory. And those places are LONG BORING drives from any non-Hilo based hotel you choose. Lying on the beach is your thing? This place is for you.

2) Don't take kids unless they are all older than five years old and DON'T HAVE TO TAKE NAPS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!

I cannot stress point #2 enough.

I heard that, while on holiday, Jim Hendry decided to throw more money at ex-White Sox bullpen pitchers. Well, at least Hendry had enough sense this time to pick a pitcher in Bobby Howry that's had performances the last two consecutive years better than his career average than the career year Scott Eyre enjoyed last year.

So long as this signing doesn't chew up dollars needed to get two more top-of-the-order players (say, two of Rafael Furcal, Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo), a right fielder and another starter, it's an OK move.

Just so we're clear, no leadoff hitter and 2006 is a waste of time. That means Furcal or emptying the farm system in a trade for someone else. Given that two of the team's ten best are already in the majors, and one (he has a brother on the major league team for a few more weeks) put up big numbers while overqualified for his league, there's not much to trade.

Gonna be a long winter. And probably a long summer. Damn good thing I got my vacation out of the way early...