WTF?

Just a quick post. 

A month or so ago the husband asked me if I had any interest in doing the NYC Half Marathon again. I told him no effing way, go shit in your hand and make a fist.  He pleaded with me and gave me the line c'mon it is a lottery, what are the odds of you making it in again two years in a row.  Apparently the odds are really fucking good! 

Yeah, I got in, found out last night as I was giving the boys their four star dinner on the road, aka McDonalds.  I noticed I had an email so as I was waiting in the drive thru line I opened it and there it was- Congratulations, we'll see you on March 18th.

I starting cursing a blue streak out loud and the boys think something bad happened- which it has.  I explain to them the situation and they are laughing at me.  I drove like the husband- very fast and some might think a bit aggressively- and got us home in four hours and two minutes with only one pit stop.  My youngest was very impressed- he did not think I had it in me to drive like his step father...

My first question to the husband was did you get in too?  If you did not you have to do the training with me.  He did not.  Seriously- why can't I get this lucky with the good damn Mega Millions or Power Ball?

This morning was target practice in the back yard for everyone with their bb guns.  Let's just say we all need practice...

A regret and a redneck Christmas

So our Christmas cocktail party to meet the neighbors went quite well.  I make that assertion based on the fact that everyone pretty much stayed for the entire time allotted.

I and the husband have always joked that we live in the gayborhood.  We really only have ST and PJ across the road from us but we found out there really are quite a few other gay couples right up the road from us.  We invited them and when they got the invite they asked the husband if the could bring their tenant.  The husband asked me and I said "Tenant?  Yo mean their third because clearly they are a threesome and they are being polite."  To which the husband said no you are wrong.  Well they arrive and they are dressed in holiday attire and they are quite nice.  During the party as we socialize and get to know them we find out the tenant is from Eastern Europe and married to a sister of one of the couple...at which point the husband looks at me with that look of OMG you are right!  Victory never tasted so sweet.

As the party was winding down my brother's car got stuck in our rather wet yard.  He was totally stuck.  I and another guest tried pushing him out and he finally resigned himself to calling roadside assistance that comes with his car.  I am inside chatting with the remaining guests and one of our neighbors comments "You know if we had lesbians here he would have been out of the mud by now."

Christmas was great.  On Christmas Eve we went out to dinner With ST and PJ.  The meal was great and we had a good time.  We then got home and watched the season finale of "American Horror Story."  Christmas morning the husband was like a little kid!  He could not wait to open presents.  He got a composting bin thing since he has been talking about starting composting all summer.  He was excited for that.  HE also got a bb gun to handle the squirrel issue.  I got him the good old reliable Crossman 760 which can shoot bbs and pellets.  Of course he has a scope on the gun as well.  The other big hit was he got an apron- red naturally as he is Latin- embroidered with "El Jefe" on it.

We were hosting Christmas dinner- just the boys, ST and PJ.  I went to pick the boys up at 7 PM.  When they got in the truck I told them they could not open presents until after dinner.  Dinner was very simple- the husband made roast chicken, oven roasted garlic rosemary potatoes, haricot verts and oven roasted carrots and parsnips.  It was great.  I made roasted apples with cinnamon and nutmeg for dessert with homemade whipped cream.

The boys then got to open the rest of their gifts ( I had dropped off their bean bag chairs at their mom's the day before- a big hit for in front of their xBox).  They got the usual clothes and whatnot from grandma, some new xBox games, gift cards to BBY and of course they also got pocket knives and bb guns.  Seriously, how redneck is that- knives and guns for Christmas?  They were agog at the bb guns. 

Monday morning it was off to grandmother's house.  I have the boys for their Christmas break this year and they wanted to spend it with their grandparents.  It did not matter how much I pushed a beach vacation instead- they wanted to go north- the little brats.  Actually I am totally psyched at their ages they willingly want to spend time with their grandparents.  We brought along the puppy and drove up.  We arrived in time for Christmas dinner of roast beast with mom and dad, my aunt and uncle, two of my aunt and uncle's children, one cousin's spouse and children and said cousin's father in law.  The meal was great and by the end of dinner I had quite a glow.

Tuesday was a shutter day- as in don't even open the shutters.  I and the boys did not even shower, lol.  Tuesday night I had drinks with two of my best friends who are in town for Christmas.  Yesterday was dinner and movie with dad for the boys.  I was quite excited they did not choose Olive Garden for dinner.  We are stepping up as we had dinner at Ruby Tuesdays.  the server was quite cute too, lol.  We then saw Sherlock Holmes:  Game of Shadows and it was great!  Robert Downey , Jr. and Jude Law make a great team in the movie.

Today the grandparents took the boys to an indoor water park.  I am staying home with the pup as I did not bring his crate and he can't stay alone for that long anyhow.  We will got out to dinner tonight at a local Italian place right down the street.

Tomorrow we will veg out again and then we are having dinner with a girlfriend who is in town for NYE.  Leaving Saturday to go home.

As the year ends I look back and realize there really is only one regret I have- I saw Suckerpunch twice.  Other than that I think this was a pretty damn great year.

I have not even looked at my emails for work nor BBRG.  I have no clue what is going on and I like it.  I did get around to reading the only non-fiction book I planned on this year and it was pretty damn good.  I can see why it made BBRG's list of best reads for the year.  Mom borrowed it after I finished it and she is enjoying it.

"...State Farm is there..."

The weekend was pretty busy but in a good way.  We got quite a bit done ahead of Christmas.

My oldest actually went to a friend's birthday party and sleep over Friday night so I just had to pick up my youngest.  We had our usual dinner with ST and PJ and it was quite nice.  The husband made this amazing tuna dish but we told my youngest- the picky fussy pain in the ass eater- he was eating albacore since he is not a tuna fan.  He finished it of course.

Saturday morning was one of the highlights of the weekend.  I went to pick up my oldest and when I saw him I noticed he had ink on the left side of his face.  Apparently he was the first to fall asleep at the sleep over so off course his friends drew a penis on the side of his face, lol.  Classic!  HE did not even realize it nor did his mother until I pointed it out.  We called him penis face often during the weekend.  I also gave him advice for when he gets his friends back:  Use a black Sharpie and draw it on the forehead.  Or I suggested he shave off just one eyebrow- that is great and has happened to me in my rowdy youth- and much more devious as it cannot be washed away with soap and water, only shame works...

Saturday was allotted to decorate the house for Christmas.  That entailed getting more lights- both "twinklers" and regular lights.  the husband had me up a ladder wrapping the branches of one of our dogwoods with red, mulch-faceted spherical bulbs.  He was concerned that I would staple thru the wire when attaching the lights to the trunk.  I told him relax, it won't happen.  Of course the first staple- right thru the wire, lol.  Nothing electrical tape can't fix though.

The two holly bushes got the old school white lights (old school in shape only, all our lights are LED).  The small yew got the twinklers.  That took most of the day and then I made grilled cheese and tomato soup for all of us for dinner.

Sunday was allotted for the tree, wreath and any other accouterments  we might get.  The tree was fairly priced.  The husband wanted a large wreath for the front bay window.  We got a 48" wreath and he nearly choked when he found out how much it was going to cost.  We also ended up getting a swag for the front door to hang under the knocker.

I really cannot believe these asswipes from MF Global are using the Enron defense, or as some refer to it he Shaggy defense- you know- It Wasn't Me.  I may be mistaken but I thought the whole Sarbanes-Oxley law was enacted to prevent this situation?  It is real simple- the management of MF Global should all go to jail.  I gotta think there is some mid-level operations guy sitting on a beach somewhere because he successfully skimmed millions of the illegally co0mingled funds...

Is it just me or has France gotten tres aggressive in pursuing an  activist foreign policy?  they led the charge on Libya and they are clearly leading the charge on Syria as well.  I have heard rumblings that we and our NATO allies are building up forces along the Syrian-Jordanian border...perpetual war, do we still have a Republican President?

When the husband and I lived in the city we were your typical apartment renters- we barely knew our neighbors in passing.  So now that we are country gays I told the husband we should get to know our neighbors.  To that end we are having a Christmas cocktail party this Saturday.  I did invite my brother who lives 20 minutes away but other than that it is no family, no one from the city and no co-workers.

Last night we met with the caterer.  The husband wanted to do this ourselves and I said no, we need to socialize and meet our neighbors not work.  The role reversal is ironic as I am usually the cheap frugal one and he is the extravagant one.  The caterer was great and I am glad we went that route.  Will let you know how the food is in a later post.

The boys are coming even though they are with their mom this weekend.  I spoke with her and I am picking them up Saturday afternoon and dropping them back off in the evening.  They will also pull coat check duty.

On the invitations I wrote "Holiday attire not necessary but welcomed."  That of course caused a tizzy with many of the husband's friends. As for me I went and bought totally preppy red cords with little white snowmen embroidered all over.  I also got a Christmas plaid tie and matching ribbon belt.  The husband told me I had to wear a black shirt- fine.  I really wanted a red, sparkly, lame jacket and matching Santa hat but thought that would be a bit over the top....

Live free or die and other things I've learned recently

My birthday was great!  The boys got me a bunch of B-movie sci-fi/horror dvds.  I did not have the heart to tell them I had seen all of them because for me it was more important that I got a gift from them.  One of them is Sharktopus  which the husband and I had watched when it premiered on the SciFi Channel.  It's only redeeming quality is Kellan Lutz is in it.  The husband out did last year's gift (it was a chainsaw) by getting me a cover for the bed of the truck.  Totally psyched and installed it, took pics and posted them to the tome of mugs.  I got two comments that made me laugh- one from a  friend saying he didn't picture me as a pick-up truck type immediately followed by another friend saying he never pictured me as the type that would name my pick-up truck- I did, Black Betty.

Thanksgiving was great!  Mom and dad arrived the day before and we celebrated dad's birthday.  Thanksgiving day itself went as smooth as silk.  The husband made an amazing meal and we had a total of nine people for dinner.  The highlight for me though was the husband admitting the center piece was really good.  The story behind that was he sent me a text Wednesday afternoon to pick up decorative squash for the table.  Have you ever tried to find decorative squash the night before Thanksgiving?  Yeah well let me tell ya- impossible!  So I improvised, picked up two small acorn squash and a bag of pine cones.  The husband was not happy.  I placed the squash and pine cones quite artfully wit candles and thought it looked quite good.  Everyone agreed with me.

Mom and dad were staying until Sunday so Saturday I went and picked up the boys and brought them over for lunch with their grandparents.  The boys o course started telling their grandparents gift ideas once mom prompted them.  They were not shy either let me say.

The company Christmas Holiday party was last week.  I decided to get a hotel room one block from the office- given my history it was the prudent thing to do.  It was a lot of fun and I was done by 9 and back in my king-sized hotel bed 20 minutes and two pizza slices later.  I think I even flirted shamelessly with my secret bf at the office.  Everyone else stayed out much longer.  I hit it early and hard and was happy with that strategery- besides I was leaving early Friday. 

The husband and I went up to the Granite State to visit MP.  She and her bf SJ have been renting a house up there.  SJ however had to go home to deal with a family health issue so it was just the three of us and the kids.

It was very relaxing even though MP put me to work moving firewood from the woodshed to the house.  The husband took the kids on a hike thru some trails while I did that and they had a blast even though they all came back wet and extremely muddy.

On the drive back Sunday we stopped off to visit the sister-in-law at her college.  It is a beautiful campus and it was great to see her- I cannot believe she is already a junior.

My views on Europe have not changed.  It is real simple- the math just does not work.  Everyone is talking bout how they are going to double the EFSF and leverage it.  Well you know what- if you double zero and then leverage it it is still zero.  Just saying.

I got into a fight discussion with a co-worker.  He is the eternal optimist and tells me I am always too negative.  I counter I am realistic- you can do the math, it will not work.  He finally agreed and said why don't we just do debt forgiveness?  I am all or that but the thing is it will cause a lot banks to fail and banksters to lose their jobs.  That is why the banks have bought and paid for all the politicians in the West. 

This weekend we are putting the lights up outside and the tree up inside.  We also have the boys to help so that will be fun.

This week so far has been eventful for my train rides home.  Monday night there was a fire on the train and last night I found it those signs saying it is a crime to interfere with the train crew operating the train is true.  Apparently a passenger got into an argument or became abusive and harassed one o the conductors.  So the next stop we sat there for 45 minutes waiting for law enforcement to arrive and arrest and remove the passenger.  Due to that I missed my classes at the dojo- sweep the leg!  I am not taking the train home tonight- we are having dinner with TK and other friends in the city at some new hot spot- Whitehall I think.  The husband is driving into JC and we will take the PATH back there and drive home.

Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle yeah

The weekend was fun and relaxing.  We only had my youngest son as his older brother was away at DIS with his friend and said friend's family.  The funny thing was my youngest asked if ST and PJ would still be joining us for dinner Friday night.  I told him of course, they dine with us every Friday night and just because his older brother was not there did not mean they weren't coming.  I am sensing therapy for him at some point with sibling issues...

Saturday our friend JB came down from the city to spend the day and lunch with us.  It was great and he brought these awesome desserts from some place called Lulu.  The husband took him over to ST and PJ's gallery to show him all the pretty cool art they have.  That night we bought Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part II on on demand and watched it.  It was pretty good even though the husband fell asleep during it.

Sunday was switched out all the coats int he closet for the winter coats that were stored down in the basement.  Then we went and saw Immortals.  The movie sucked in a big way.  The only positives in it were Henry Cavill and Stephen Dorff being shirtless most of the time.

Speaking of shirtless hot guys, last weekend the husband and I watched Crazy Stupid Love and I blurted out during the Dirty Dancing re-enactment scene I would totally cheat on you with him to the husband- referring of course to Ryan Gossling of course.  So much for internal dialogue but the husband agreed he is allowed.

The Peace of Westphalia (which I believe I erroneously referred to as the Treaty of Westphalia in a prior post but because I don't tag I am not bothering looking)  has been the dominant paradigm for close to 650 years.  I find it hard to believe it will fall to the wayside in twelve years (how long the euro has been around) solely because of a common currency.  Yet that is what many commentators seem to believe and continuously spout every chance they get.  Which leads me to believe the euro will disappear- paradigm shifts don't happen in that quickly outside of technology.

Is anyone else getting tired of the term technocrat?  I read a great comment from an economist who said you know we are in trouble when they put the economists in charge.  But as someone else pointed out the alternative would be an extremist and Europe has quite a history of getting in and causing a lot of trouble when an extremist comes to power...

So apparently Germany says it is willing to give up some of its national sovereignty to help the euro- how kind considering they are the ones who will end up in charge.

In case you were unsure if the economy is in a recession I'd venture it is.  I know- the yield curve is not inverted so how can we possibly be in a recession?  Really?  You are trying to say that the yield curve indicator is still a valid indicator?  You do know the Fed is openly and admittedly manipulating the yield curve right?  That is what Operation Twist is, so if the yield curve is not reflecting the actuality because it is subject to open manipulation then it can't really be an indicator of anything.

I need to let go of my anger toward M. Buffet so let me get this out and that will be end of it.  Here is a guy who has actively and legally done all he can to minimize the taxes he pays his entire business career.  Now how ever he has found religion and decided minimizing taxes is bad and it should be ended.  He feels so bad for his secretary who pays more than him.  Hello- then maybe you should be paying your secretary a larger salary?  Or here is a novel idea- stop taking steps to minimize your tax bill and pay what the government intended you to pay.  I find it very disingenuous  for him to spend his life making a boat load of money, minimizing his taxes the entire tie and then say ok, I;'m done, no one else should be able to do this too.  He made it into the castle and now wants to raise the drawbridge so on one else can get in.

I think I need to get the LMFAO album.  They have a great, catchy  tune that I need to get on my iPod for my cardio work outs- you know the song already- "I'm sexy and I know it" is the chorus but my favorite line is "I got passion in my pants and I aint afraid to show it."  I work out is the secondary chorus.

Speaking of working out, I almost beat the crap out of someone at the gym the other day.  I saw this person smirk and laugh when a rather large person stepped on to the treadmill.  I am a huge fan of anyone who realizes they are not in shape and makes a choice to change that- especially if that ens they are in the gym at 6 AM.  That person deserves a pat on the back and support, not some asshole laughing at them.

The whole Penn State scandal/tragedy is appalling.  Seriously all  the people involved should be prosecuted.  The accuse- who openly admits showering with ten year old boys- should be executed.  The students who rioted because the coach got fired?  Get a clue you dumb fucks, seriously- you are supporting someone who knew for thirteen yeas there was a monster amongst them.   I also would love to see the NCAA show some balls and sanction the football program.  I doubt that will happen though; the NCAA only goes after programs that cut them out of the money making by selling game memorabilia and not giving Caesar his due. For those who say the players should not suffer, only the guilty should well those players are representatives of the university and the university probably was most likely aware of what was going on so I'd call them guilty of abetting a child rapist and thus they should be punished.  Full Disclosure:  I am sorta being petty and loving the fact that Penn State is getting dumped on and especially the football program as the entire family of the ex went there and they are huge lovers/supporters of the school.  The ex did not go there, she went to a school in New England.

Fair share

The past weekend was very relaxing.  The weather was amazing and we actually had no guests- per se.  The husband's book club was supposed to be down here for lunch and their discussion.  Of course there was drama so the book club was cancelled and instead we had our friend LJ and AKR came for lunch.  LJ is a member of the book club and hey spend a lot of time down here as AKR's career is down here.  They are some of the best guests as they are sooo laid back and easy as guests go.  We enjoyed an excellent lunch the husband made and then our guests had to get going as they had an appointment. 

The rest of the day was nap time and general relaxing.  We then had a dinner date in the village down the road.

Sunday was manual labor day.  The husband had me back up on the roof installing gutter guards to keep the leaves out.  I really hope they work.   Then it was time for me to do my lumber jack routine and split more wood.  The husband did the Mexican work- fitting no?- and shuttled all the wood to where I was chopping.  He tentatively asked if he could try.  I quickly told him no, you can't even use a hammer properly- there i s no way in hell I am letting you touch the axe.  He asked if I would teach him how to use it and I told him maybe grasshopper, maybe...

So the Italian government- kinda an oxymoron no?- has fallen and apparently that is good for our economy?  Seriously, what is going on in the tape is all the long only PMs who are under performing are now buying because they are so short term they are afraid to explain to their investors why they did not even though they have quite possibly ten thousand great arguments for not doing it.  Then of course today reality sets in- reality hits ya hard bro!- and everyone realized Italy is totally fucked and I do mean totally.  The funny thing is once the spread blew out yesterday you knew the cannoli was done.  What everyone should really be focused on now is the French spread and it aint looking too good.  The thing that amused me today was the RTRSY story saying France and Germany are f"going through an intellectual exercise" of what it would take to make a smaller Euro zone, aka kicking out the southern countries.  The amusing part is once Germany realizes that France is totally fucked too then it will end up being a new Hanseatic League of some sorts with Germany and the Nordic countries, possibly the UK as well.

Speaking of the UK I really think they owe Soros a huge thank you for breaking the BOE in 1992 and forcing them out of the ERM. 

I see Jefferson County down in Alabama is officially going to file for bankruptcy.  I think that is Chapter 9 int he code, not sure.  Regardless it is a huge issue and is also the largest of its kind...to date.

So the whole OWS movement has gotten me thinking just what is my fair share to pay in taxes.  I have no problem paying taxes to support the nation and the social safety net that was built up since the Depression as I and most of my family has taken advantage of the benefits of the social safety net.  But as it is now I am currently paying ~50% of all my income in taxes already.  I am ok with that, I still live a nice life and have no complaints. 

I am fairly certain that if I had to start paying 60, 65 or 70 percent of my income in taxes I would not be so sanguine.  I would definitely want a larger say in what constitutes the social safety net as well.  I read somewhere that the top 5% of the income earners pay 40% of the taxes already.  So, how much more until it is fair?  And the whole line of shit Warren Buffet is spouting- you know what, if he wanted to he could stop using the current code to his benefit to minimize his personal tax bill and just pay what the code intends him to pay but of course he says he'll only do that if everyone else does; so much for leading by example....I also bet that he could influence the companies he has large stakes in to also stop sing the code to minimize their tax bills.  When GE effectively pays no taxes and possibly gets money back there is something wrong with the code.  The irony is their CEO is supposedly the jobs czar...

I am glad to see some of the Republicans are starting to do the math and realize just cutting the size of the government and the services offered will not solve our problems and we need to increase revenues as well.  I am a huge fan of a flat tax and getting rid of all exemptions.  The foolish 9-9-9 plan is no the right number , I am guessing if we go flat tax it is closer to say 15% to actually make a difference.  If we get a flat tax I have no problem with a VAT either.

Orange Nikes has been at he gym making my days start right.

My oldest is off to Disney.  Apparently his best friend who lives next door was going with his family and his older brother could not go do to some school commitment.  So the ex got asked if our oldest could go.  She said sure.  They left yesterday afternoon.  I told him I expect him to call or text me and his mother when he arrived- which he did.  I also told him I expect him to take my nightly calls and so far so good.

And see those pocket aces

I forgot how much fun local radio can actually be.  I drive the husband's car as the station car and it does not have Sirius in it so I listen to the local stations.  It is mostly top 40.  There is some good stuff out there but the station always plays the same songs every day.  I have to admit though that Dev's "Dancing in the Dark" s a great song.

Libya is not a victory for President Obama in way whatsoever.  It is a European victory plain and simple.  Actually it is really a Franco-British victory with the French leading the way.  I imagine tour President is smart enough to realize this and that is why it gets little air time from him and the White House.

So RTRSY is running a story about Athens changing the laws so that any bond holder who does not tender their bonds voluntarily for the 50% haircut will be forced to take the haircut.  Hmmm, to me that sounds like a non-voluntary haircut which is a default even by ISDA's lax interpretation of things.  IF those CDS are triggered we will have what is technically called a "shit storm" in the markets.

Speaking of Greece I gotta think that at some point a thing called national pride kicks in.   Don't laugh, just because they are in hock does not mean they don't have any pride.  With their Prime Minister getting "summoned" by France and Germany and being told they have no other way out they could very well decide to flip the bird and say yes we do have another way out; it is called the drachma....

Hit the gym this morning and orange Nikes was there again.  Started the day right.

So we live right between an Ivy League school and a state school.  I told the husband we need to get some local college regalia.  I was thinking the state school and of course he went and got the Ivy- clearly opposites do attract.

Periwinkle peppermint

The weekend was actually quite relaxing.  We had the boys again and we celebrated my youngest son's birthday.  His birthday is actually today but we celebrated Friday night as ST and PJ wanted to be part of it.  The husband made fish and I made a birthday cake with sprinkles.  My youngest requested I make my (in)famous butter cream frosting for the cake and I asked what color he wanted.  He said periwinkle.  He also added he wanted it peppermint flavored.  So that is what he got.

Saturday I hit the dojo- Cobra kai, never die!- and then the snow started.  Normally four inches doesn't impress me- I swear I am not a size queen besides it's not the size of the nail but the force of the hammer that counts- but four inches of snow in Jersey in October...now that impressed me.

We had planned on hitting Creepy Hollow's haunted farm but the snow put the kibosh on that.  I did call to make sure they were not keeping hours and the person who answered was incredulous that I was asking.  So we basically had a shutter day after we dragged the boys shopping- Banana Republic was having a 40% off sale and my youngest got to pick his birthday gift at BKS and GME.

I made pizzas for dinner and garlic bread and then we watched "Zombie Apocalypse" on SciFi.  The acting was really bad and within the first five minutes we all agreed the character Ramona deserved to die.

Sunday was nice and quiet.  The husband and I took the kids for a walk  along the canal in the snow and they had a blast.  Then we just relaxed.

So my mom asked me why those kids are protesting Wall street and why don't they go get jobs...sigh.  First, if U6 was still not hovering near a high of ~18% I am sure they would love jobs.  Second they are not protesting Wall Street per se, they are protesting the economic system we currently have in this country which is not capitalism.  It is crony capitalism or a plutocratic corporatist system where by the middle men who caused this whole mess are getting bailed out by their friends and former colleagues in government and the person who really needs the bail out- the fabled American middle class- is getting left high and dry.

Greece is the word, the word.  So the government there is going to actually allow democracy to take place and let the citizens vote on the new austerity/bail out package.  Funny how when they decided to allow that the markets tank.  Remember- you have been told that Greece will default by mid-December at the latest...

Funny thing about financial companies- they are really just confidence games and once the lose that confidence they are goners.  It always makes me laugh when people in this business talk about book value in regards to financial companies.  MF clearly demonstrates the issue.  It also makes quite the case for the Volcker Rule. It also brings up the novel idea of counter party risk as well and that is what could turn this into a larger issue...

New future ex-husband in the gym in the mornings.  He wears these orange Nikes and is def a hot, short, compact black Irish boy.  He is definitely straight so I can only lust after him from afar.  He is a Jersey boy too as he wore a sweatshirt for the lacrosse team at a Jersey college.

Kim who?  Seriously- who gives a shit about some whore who only got married to make ~$17 million then two months later divorced the guy.  Clearly she got divorced because gays are ruining the sanctity of marriage...

Yesterday I did dress up at the office.  I had a sweet plaid leisure suit, polyester shirt, huge gold medallion and kick ass platform shoes that had clear heels with goldfish (plastic not real) in them.  I also had the 'fro wig.  It was quite a hit.  The ladies I get my coffee from did not even recognize me and several women in the office asked where I found the shoes (please- these days you find everything on the internet) and if they could borrow them...

The verdict is misadventure

Hit the dojo- Cobra Kai never die!- last night and again in the second class it was just two of us.  I am getting to know the new joshu better and he is a pretty good guy.  I think one of the things I like most about him is he has admitted the school tries to get you to drink the Kool Aid, aka it is somewhat cult like.  He is young enough to be my son- really, if I was like my father and had kids when I was right out of college at 22.

Did anyone else see that YHOO story about one Drew Manning?  He is a personal trainer who is "super-sizing" himself so he will know what it is like to be a typical American.  It is really too bad because he is pretty damn hot when he is in shape and if I were his wife I'd kick his fat ass out of the bedroom.  Just saying...

The whole Euro zone mess/Greek drama is coming to a head.  I just saw that an agreement has been reached with the banks that private investors will take a 50% haircut on their Greek debt holdings.  The way that is worded means that the public investors- the ECB, public pension funds etc.- will not be taking a haircut.  WTF?  Does that make any sense to anyone?  I can predict the argument will be the public investors are holding them to maturity blah blah blah but it is complete bullshit.  I have not seen if this is a "voluntary" haircut but that is moot.  I also am of the mind set that a 50% haircut will not appease the market gods as the debt instruments in question are already trading at 35-40 cents on the dollar, that is a 60-65% haircut.  I read one well known bear saying the debt holders should accept a 90% hair cut.  Regardless this is going to force all the Euro banks to scramble and find non-public capital to shore themselves up (assuming it is determined to be a credit event)- good luck.

Believe it or not sometimes I can be one twisted, bad person, lol.  The head of IT- who also happens to be a  neighbor as he lives about 2 miles away- is a germaphobe.  I figured this out after being in the mens room a few time at teh same time he was.  He is one o those types who washes his hands and uses hand sanitizer and then uses a paper towel to open the door as he is exiting.  So of course once I got this I started making sure that if we were in there together and finishing at the same time, I'd wash my hands and hold the door for him and then proceed to touch his shoulder, or arm or back or any part of him, lol.  It freaks him out as in he will visibly cringe.  At this point in time he now makes sure if I walk up to the sinks while he is ther ehe rushes like a bat out of Hell to get out of there before I am done.

"American Horror Story" on F/X is one excellently spooky, creepy, fucked up, whacked out show.  I am impressed with several things:  The guys from "Glee" are responsible for it, Jessica Lange is in it and great, Dylan McDermott is in it and shirtless a lot, and Dylan McDermott's ass is really hot...

Since we are in the horror vein- Paranormal Activity 3.  We took the boys to see it this past weekend and it was really good.  There are at least three scenes that I found pretty scary and freaked me out a bit.  If you have seen the first two it is definitely worth it and if you have not it is still a great scary flick to see.  And I was totally psyched it was not in 3D.

I remember Steve Jobs.  When I got my first iPod I was in heaven- until I got the first bill from the iTunes store.  It was pretty outrageous- not like a $200,000 cell phone bill outrageous but close.  Anyhow, I reached out to Mr. Jobs to discuss it and went to his house.  At that time he lived in this really cool glass cube underwater- right next tot he Legion of Doom (a pretty sweet neighborhood).  We came to an agreement tht allowed me to work my bill off...

Why can't the U.S. justice system have a verdict of misadventure?  I read about Amy Winehouse and the coroner rendered a verdict of misadventure in her death- isn't that so British?  Ya know I really could have used an outcome like that during my freshman year of college...

I am still here

Ok, have a bunch of post it notes and lost a bunch too so will go kind of free form today

Breaking the law, posting from work

Totally psyched to see Paranormal Activity 3 this Saturday night

Had a wedding this past weekend, the oldest daughter of very good friend of the husband,  It was a blast.

The fireplace is done, no new projects or a while now.

Want to also see the remake of The Thing but that is not as high a priority as PA3

Karate- sweep the leg!- tonight.  Last week only did first class, took a good shot to the head in last 30 seconds of sparring and that took the wind out of my sails for the second class.  Went Saturday morning and I was one of only two for the classes

Does anyone really give a shit if there is no NBA season this year?





 

You got some dirt on your lip...

The weekend was good.  Saturday morning I got up and hit the dojo- sweep the leg!- for two hours.  It was good although joshu kind reprimanded me for not wearing head gear during the ground fighting.  I told him at my age I was not worried about cauliflower ear and I had wrestled for six years and the only time I wore headgear was at matches.  He replied it was his school and he makes everyone else wear them.  Point to joshu.

I got home and got he boys as we had to go back to their mom's house.  Friday night when I picked them up my oldest son's bag was rather heavy.  He had decided to bring his XBox with him for the weekend but he forgot to bring the controllers.  So, we went to his mom's house and got the controllers and then went to BBY to pick up a new copy of Mass Effect 2.  While we were driving there we ended up getting into a political discourse over the differences between liberals and conservatives.  I waxed poetically about how I believe in the legalization of drugs- not conservative, that we need a better system of checking backgrounds for gun buyers- not conservative, clearly same sex marriage- so not conservative, drug testing for welfare recipients- not liberal, pro-choice- not conservative, etc.  The boys were not shocked by any of my stances and said they made sense and my youngest said I should run for Congress- not!

Saturday night I made pizza- both the regular kind and the gluten-free kind.  As we were eating dinner I noticed and said out loud it looks like you'll have to start shaving soon to my oldest.  The husband blurts out no, don't shave, grow the 'stache- it advertises to the girls you have pubes.  Seriously though- WTF is up with that?  My oldest starting to shave?  Next thing I know he'll be driving and wanting to go to college...

This week has already been quite the roller coaster ride.  I will reiterate Greece will default.  It will not be controlled.  It will not be fun.  To that point today the EU finance ministers asked the bank regulators to run yet another "stress test."  Even though they claim their banks are sound,  they want to see what would happen if Greece defaulted- just in case apparently.  If the test does not go with a scenario of 60-70% losses, it is useless.

Sunday the husband and I hit the fireplace project again.  He too off the mantle and we then framed out from the top of the brick to the ceiling.  We used the usual glue and nails and we did not have any major disagreements on how to build the framing.  Yesterday the husband hung the dry wall and it came out well and he got to use a masonry bit drilling into the brick.

Last night was the dojo- Cobra Kai never die!- again for two hours.  I am recovering a bit quicker from the pain but I did get my ass kicked by someone who is two full belts below me, lol.  He had about three inches in height, six inches in reach and at least 20 years on me- not that I am making excuses.

This coming weekend is a long weekend for us.  We had plans to go out to Colorado and go to a dude ranch to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday.  Unfortunately said friend's mother is gravely ill and he cancelled the festivities.  I told the husband I am keeping the days off and making a long weekend.  He was all excited saying he has work for me to do.  I told him to go shit in his hand and make a fist.  I have not had a vacation at all this weekend and I am taking a four day weekend to relax.  I will however chop more wood as it  is relaxing in a Zen-like way.

Rotary Hammer

The weekend was quite fun.  I honestly was expecting a full on honeydew list but it did not come to pass.

Friday night we went to celebrate Farmer Vinny's birthday.  We had a great dinner out and then came back to the cottage for birthday cake I had baked.  Farmer Vinny also got birthday spankings.  I had suggested we use my fraternity paddle but the husband thought that would be a bit much.  Oddly St had a leather paddle- clearly from his days a dominant leather top (?).  So we used that instead.  PJ started it off and with him being 90 it was a bit annoying.  I told him to stand aside and I'd show everyone how it was done.  The husband clearly did not want to be outdone so he got a bit aggressive, lol. 

The husband was quite hurting the next morning whereas I got up early, cleaned, dropped off the dry cleaning and then hit the dojo- sweep the leg!  I did my two hours of classes and I am still frackin' sore.

Saturday we went to Farmer's Vinny's birthday party hosted by friends.  They were all pretty nice kids- yes they are kids as they are all still sorting a low two handle age-wise.  Six of them rent this massive house right next to a nature preserve about 5 miles from us.  We had a good time and I would have been up for staying longer but the husband was driving so I really had no choice.  The funniest part was at one point Farmer Vinny's friend asked me what my tattoo is; I gave my standard reply "Ink injected subcutaneously with a very sharp needle.  The husband tsk tsked me the friend asked what it meant.  Standard answer number two "There are only two ways to find out and I am gonna guess you are keen on either way."  "You'd be surprised what I am keen on."  Whoa!

Sunday was the closest I came do a honeydew list item.  The husband has decided we are replacing the old slate hearth with a new one and a matching surround and then boxing in the brick up to the ceiling with drywall.  So he got out the rubber mallet and pry bars.  I told him no way we are using those.  Come with me to HD and we'll rent the right tool to take it out.

We rented an 11 pound rotary hammer.  The old slate tiles came up in about a half hour.  I was then informed that we had to make sure the depth was 1 1/8"  I told the husband go to town, I'll do the laundry instead.

So today was the second time I have seen a passing reference to the possible military coup in Greece.  I really have no idea how the other EU members would react to such a thing and what it would do to the EMU as a whole.

Since we are on the topic of the EU and their "monetary union" I have to say I find it somewhat perplexing how the market reacts to all these rumors and rumors of rumors regarding the action that may or may not take place.  It all comes down to who has the cash and that would be Germany.  They have said and continue to say they are not going to leverage the EFSF.  If the guy with the checkbook says no- or in this case nein- then it ain't happening folks.

Tomorrow night I have back to school night for my youngest.  At least this time I know my way around the school and know what to expect.

Every day I'm shuffling

Sorry for anyone who gets easily bored when I go off on economic crap but most of this post is gonna be about it.

So, Lloyds of London pulled out its money from European banks...that cannot be good for the global economic picture.  Why you ask?  Well Lloyds has been in the business of pricing risk for over 300 years now; that in itself is quite amazing, I am not sure how many others can lay claim to such a feat.

The action in the market today is classic Ockam's Razor- the simplest explanation is the best:  The Fed said there is "significant downside risks to the economy."  It does not matter what the Fed is doing to the curve, the economy is not good.  Sorry.

Moodys downgraded a few banks today.  Not a big deal and should not come as a surprise but it could totally screw over the repo market as when a bank loses its Prime-1 rating- like Shitgroup did and BAC will probably- it can lead to freezing of the repo market- again, not good for the economy.

Tonight I had the back to school night for my oldest.  The ex skipped it so I did it solo.  It was interesting meeting his teachers and I had a good time.

I wore a suit to the office today because we had a prospective client in.  One of my co-workers told me I actually look distinguished with a beard and in a suit- go figure...

So,t he woman who sits next to me is on the diversity council at the office.  She does the passive/aggressive thing of trying to get me on it- yeah right, aint happening.  Today she told me there is going to be the first ever LGBT event and would really appreciate it if I went.  I am kind of torn on the whole issue.  First off, the I am of the mindset that setting up groups for people who are "different" only accentuates the difference.  It should not matter if I or some other guy likes dick or there is a chick who likes to bump rug or there is someone who used to be one gender and has changed.  What matters in the work place is you are good at your job regardless of any of those things.  The other side of the argument is by proving to those people you are just like them by interacting with them changes their mind.  It is a moot point as I have back to school night for my youngest the night of the event. 

Y1 or X2

The weekend was good, I got a lot done around the house.  The husband had chain sawed all of the trees that fell down at the back of the yard and since he is not exactly adept with a hammer we determined I'd be the one to chop/split the wood for firewood.

So off I went to HD to get an axe.  BTW, if you need an axe they are not in the tools section at HD- they are in the garden section.  I debated between getting a maul or an axe and went with the axe as it just seemed cooler and more manly.

I got home and the boys told me it looked like an axe murderer axe- really?  Well it is an axe...plus with the beard they told me I looked a bit scary while holding it, lol.  I split quite a bit of wood (which is not as easy as one would think) and stacked it up on the screened in porch mainly because the younger dog had created an escape hatch thru the screen and I decided to block it off.  He was not amused.

Saturday night the boys and I went and saw Drive.  It is an excellent flick!  Ryan Gossling is very good in it but I found Albert Brooks even better.  It is really an '80s flick to be honest, reminded me a lot of To Live and Die in LA.  The soundtrack too is totally '80s.  Hell even the opening graphics- pink, cursive- are totally '80s.  It is worth seeing.

So we were talking with our gf MM last weekend and she mentioned how her ex-bf from high school posted on facebook that his father had died.  She thought it was really odd.  We got into a discussion about how much is too much on facebook and Mr. Barrett had mentioned how an acquaintance of his had committed suicide and another acquaintance had gotten access to the suicide's facebook account and posted it so everyone would know.  A bit disturbing.  That Sunday I logged on to see a good friend o the husband's had passed away and his partner announced it on facebook.  I am a bit unsure if it is a good thing or not.  It has an immediacy that no other way does but it is also a bit morbid.  Just something to think about.

Italy got downgraded- is France next?  It has to be, there is no way in heck France is a triple A when we are only double A.  An interesting corollary to that is the rumor/story/piece of hearsay going around the desks yesterday.

It seems there may be a grass roots/people power movement going on over in Europe.  Euro notes have serial numbers on them.  The ones that start with Y1 are issued by Greece.  The ones that start with X2 are issued by Germany.  The tidbit was that some people are starting to refuse the Y1 euro notes.  If this is true it is a de facto way to force Greece out of the EMU.  Think about it- there is no real difference between the two notes.  It would be like someone here saying they will only accept Federal Reserve notes (aka dollars) issued by the New York and rejecting the ones issued by the Philadelphia Fed (which I get intellectually as nothing good every came out of Philly).

Speaking of Greece it is funny but true that rumors are only that until the government comes out and officially denies them.  Case in point- the rumor is Greece will hold a referendum on whether or not to exit the EMU.  I'd guess it would pass.  The Greek government came out this morning and officially denied it which means it will happen.  Also, yesterday someone made a comment about the Greek military which piqued my interest as they have a history of taking over like the did in the early '70s.

Hit the gym yesterday morning and there was some very nice eye candy- we'll call him Everlast.  Hopefully will see him there more often but he was not there this morning.

Tonight I go back to the dojo- sweep the leg!  I will be returning to the one I started at but the management is completely new and different.  We'll see how it goes but right now the only days they have the classes I need are Tuesday nights, Friday nights (LOL that is sooo not happening) and Saturday mornings; so it looks like Tuesdays and Saturdays I will be all Cobra Kai never die!

I am totally breakin' the law, breakin' the law (I cannot wait for Beavis & Butthead to be back on the air) by writing this at work.  I'll spell check it and save it and then post when I get home tonight.

Speed round again

Shitigroup is the only bank that went the bad bank round

Other banks are going to have to bad banks, aka ring fencing

Makes me think Shitigroup is ahead of the crowd/curve

Learn to love the ICB in the UK because it is Glass-Stegall redux and we will have it here- again

I think Glass-Stegall was right- retail and wholesale should be separate

Greek default not 100% sure thing; according to CDS market it is only 99.1% sure thing- it's all about the tails...

The husband is at the beach for the weekend for his book club- makes me reconsider joining, not really, they are to literary for me 

My reading for pleasure has to have swords, dragons, wizards, FTL drives, lasers, sentient androids, demigods, etc.

Greece is probably going to default over the weekend or in next week- why else would Fed flood Europe with dollars other than to make sure money/credit markets don't freeze

My oldest had his first high school dance tonight

I regaled impressed horrified him with the story of how I got to second base at the 8th grade Valentines Day dance

Debating whether to see Warrior (hot, often shirtless MMA fighters) or Drive tomorrow with the boys and ST

Finally some eye candy on the train- blond bearded guy (def on my team -the quilted, short jacket and sweater vest on his arm gave it away...) on the train home and hot DILF on the morning train

DILF did not give me vibe but he had multicolored messenger bag- PF says only gays have messenger bags...

Golden rod and zombie blades

The weekend was quite a blast down in DC!  The drive down was not that great.  We made the mistake of taking 95through Philly and there was an accident and major construction.  At one point I had to stop and take a leak; the husband was trying to tell me we can make it past these cones.  I told him no way in hell.  I pulled over on the over pass, got out and took a leak.  A car passing by slowed down and these girls in it started yelling "We can see your penis!"  I yelled back "And you like it and want it don't you!"  The husband was bright red at that point and yelled at me to get back in the car.

The husband than took over the driving and clearly Google maps does not have an option for how long a drive will take when there is a reckless, Latino driver behind the wheel.  Let's just say the time predicted by Google maps should have that option.

We went out to dinner at a great restaurant with Mr. Clifford and PS.  The food was amazing and the drinks were good.  We then met up with Mr. Barrett and went out dancing.  The club had free well vodka drinks until midnight- that really got the party started.

Saturday morning was quite interesting as we all got up and showered, had greasy breakfast and then we were off to the Renaissance festival.  The husband was quite surprised and a bit taken aback.  It was all good though.

If you've never been to a Renaissance festival I recommend it as one of those events to try at least once in your life.  There are quite a few unique individuals who really take it quite seriously.  PS made the comment that he wondered if anyone every got married at one of these and said he and Mr. Clifford were going to at some point.  The ironic thing is we sat down to take a break from all our walking around when one of the people totally into the festival, i.e. he was dressed in full regalia, came over to us and told us if we were hungry we could go over to his wedding reception and grab some food.

We graciously thanked him and declined.  I then went over to the bladed weapons vendor just to see what it was all about.  I told him I knew all about swords from my days of AD&D and asked what kind he had had.  He had bastard swords, a few short sword and lots of katanas.  I asked what would be best for the coming zombie apocalypse and he proceeded to show me a blade the company specifically made and was called the zombie sword.  Of course the Wall Streeter in me then asked which were his largest markets (Colorado and Maryland), average age of his customers, income levels etc.

Apparently as I have aged (gracefully by the way) I have ended up with allergies of some sort.  My eyes water hugely, my nose runs and I have sneezing fits.  The husband thought it may be ragweed but I don't think it is ragweed season.  I do know that golden rod is blooming right now though.

The word of the day is risible

One of the best things about having friends smarter than yourself is they often use words you don't know the meaning of, case in point is risible.  JW- who is a polymath (look it up) used that word yesterday in one of our electronic discussions.  I had to look it up.  It means ludicrous.  So I have some things that I find risible:

People- mostly people in my line of work, sadly- who claim that if stocks go down violently and precipitously that the world will end.  Please- no it will not end, it will not be financial armageddon.  It will mean peoples lives change- possibly in less than pleasant ways, the elites will be threatened and have to actually do something or justify why they are the elites. 

Along the lines of the previous paragraph, I read some asinine analyst at a boutique firm who covers the banking industry claim the industry is being hurt by our government trying to enforce regulations and make them pay for their bad- dare I say criminal- behavior.  That is quite risible.

So yesterday started my new commute.  Of course I screwed it up.  I got up  and caught the early train so I could hit the gym next to the office before work.  I was maybe one of 6 people in the car.  The conductor came up and asked for my ticket.  I scramble and am going thru all my pockets, gym bag looking for my wallet.  Yep, no wallet.  I forgot to pack it the night before.  I explained it to the man and he asked where I was going.  I told him Penn Station NY.  He gave me the free pass.

It has only been two days and I have yet to see an notable eye candy- patience grasshopper, patience...

My autumnal facial hair project began this past weekend.  Friday I had given the husband, some friends and family members who were reachable and  not on vacation a chance to vote:  A) '70s pornstache  Two) Goatee  d) full beard.  The husband voted for goatee.  Most others voted for full beard.  The husband does have super voting rights as in I live and sleep with him.  He outranked everyone else.  then I counted all the hanging chads and realized I also have super voting rights so full beard won.

"Strike Back" on Cinemax is definitely a series we have gotten into.  The two leads are hot.  Sullivan Stapleton is totally woofy and has quite the ass.  Philip Winchester is also quite hot with an amazing torso.  You may recall Phil- all his friends call him Phil- from the SciFi miniseries "Alice" as the Jack of Hearts or as Altlivia's ex fiance on "Fringe."

Today was the first day of school for the boys.  My youngest started middle school and he sounded excited when I spoke with him tonight.  My oldest is now officially a freshman in high school- talk about risible!  He can't be that old- to me he is still that tot who loved dressing up in his Buzz Lightyear costume, could not stuff enough pencils and pens into his jeans pockets, made me play Yu Gi Oh with him every Saturday morning when he didn't know how to read ( I still don't know how to play that) and loved going into his great grandfather's basement to learn about electricity and magnetism.  Before you know it you'll tell me he drives and can vote- talk about risible.

This weekend the husband and I will be heading down to the nation's capitol to visit Mr. Clifford and PS.  We will also be seeing Mr. Barrett.  It will be interesting to be in the capitol for the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  Speaking of 9/11, google ESPN and red bandanna and watch the clip- it is pretty touching.

Green acres is the place to be...

Ok, so it's been a while but the move was really taking all my time.  It's done; we are now officially country gays as Mr. Clifford would say. 

Thankfully my sister in law and her gf came to the apartment Wednesday night and took the kids and some other stuff down and spent the night at the cottage.  Thursday morning the movers showed  up with more men than they had said they'd bring so the move went really quick and it cost less than they had estimated.  The husband and I of course had boxes in the back of the pick up that got rained on profusely.  Everything went down into the basement so no we have only two apartments worth of stuff in the basement.

Friday I went to work for the J-Hole event which was really a non event as there was nothing the Bernak could say and he basically thew his gun at the monster that the economy has become.  He also rightfully blamed the political establishment for doing nothing.

Saturday morning we were up early and down in the basement elevating everything.  Most stuff went up at least 6" and the husband asked if that was high enough.  I replied if the water gets higher than that we are screwed and have bigger issues.  Irene started that afternoon.  We all went across the road to PJ and ST's for dinner.  When we finished and came back it was really starting to come down.   Sunday morning I got up to no electricity and a small lake in the back yard.  The river behind the canal at the back of the property had seriously crested causing the canal to as well and the wooded area of the property was more like a swamp.  The water climbed steadily all day only to stop at the clothes line- call it about 30' from the house.  Phew.

The other issue Sunday was we were literally trapped in the neighborhood.  The road about a half mile in both directions was flooded out.  The two roads leading out of the neighborhood were blocked with several fallen trees.  The boys were starting to go stir crazy.  Their mom still had power (but her basement flooded- haha) so I made the decision to get them there asap.  It took me a mere hour and change to make the 11 mile drive.  Getting home was quite another story as the route I had taken was now flooded out in several areas.  I tried many different routes and a little over five hours later I walked back into the cottage.  I put a bit over two hundred miles on the truck that day- WTF?  Still no power too which also meant no water- we are on a well.  At least we had candles, booze, a propane cook top and bottled water.  Monday was a no go for work.  ST came over to tell us one of the barns still had electricity and hot and cold water.  He also informed us we'd not be getting power back until Friday.  So the husband and I had a movie date.  We saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  Very good flick.

Tuesday I got to work after showering at the gym and driving in as there was very limited train service.  We still had the garage spot in JC so I drove there, parked, went to the gym and showered up and took the bus into work.  Around noon the husband unexpectedly IMed me- we had power back- woo hoo!

Yesterday I drove in again as I had to drop off a blind we had mistakenly packed.  So I drove tot he garage again and hopped on the bus.  It was quite fun to take my last bus ride into the PA with JP.  He is doing well and actually has a pretty good gig going right now working as a personal assistant for a rather well known actor in films and theater.  On the way home I turned in the parking pass for the garage and informed them we'd no longer be parking there.

Ok, the economy is still totally fracked.  I read the Rogoff piece and he basically said we are in a depression but no one has the sac to say so.  Our neighbor to the north blew chunks yesterday on their most recent GDP report which does not bode well for us as we are their largest trading partner by far.  The smart kid who works with me sent an email today titled the croissant is burning...France is going to most likely lose its triple A rating which will most likely lead Germany to saying no mas- we're out. 

This weekend we have our gf MM visiting.  Totally psyched to see her as we have not seen her in over two years.  She went gallivanting off to The Continent to get her MBA and has returned to seek her fortunes in the bright lights of the big city.  She will be catching the train down with me after work.

This weekend we are going to see either the cheesy shark 3D movie or the latest iteration of Conan.  I am also looking forward to seeing the new series on SciFi "Paranormal Witness."

This morning was my first time commuting on the train in quite some times.  Have yet to see any eye candy worth writing about.

I'm rubber, you're glue

The Warrior Dash was this past weekend.  It was a lot of fun.  I am not sure if I am getting older but I was much sorer the day after this year.  I finished third out of our group and was thinking that the course was much harder this year.  they had two more water hazards- the first one with logs in it and it was deeper than last years.  There were also two cargo net hazards, the first one was twice as high as last year and it was an up and down- the chick who went up with me had a panic attack at the top and had to be slowly talked down, lol.  The second one was a cargo net bridge.  A lot of people were trying to walk across it to little avail, I saw the guy ahead of me roll across it and copied him.  The bastards also had us running up hill a lot more than last year.  Of course everyone had a blast and we all signed up for it nest year.  The boss also signed up and I am a bit concerned as I am sure he has an inkling of what a delinquent/accused criminal I am/was in college and doing this race with my fraternity brothers will only be confirmation.

This week has been all about packing of course.  One week from today we will be living in the countryside full time.  There are some things I will miss about the city- The Taco Truck, the eye candy on the bus and in the gym to name a few.  I will however be psyched for a commute I can get reading  done on, not smelling dinner choices made by everyone in the building, being closer to the boys to name a few.

Rick Perry...seriously, haven't we had our fill of less than smart governors from Texas being President?

So Warren Buffet thinks he does not pay enough taxes?  funny, the guy has spent his entire business career doing everything he legally can to minimize the amount of money the government takes from him and now he says it was a mistake?  The cynic in me says he is taking the route of if I volunteer to pay more I won't lose as much if the government decides to take it.  He is trying to beat the crowd with the pitchforks and torches.

So it looks like the Wiccans and their threefold rule may be right.  You see three years ago we exported a financial crisis to Europe vis a vis the whole sub prime mess.  Well now they are repaying the favor by having their own financial crisis and it will hit us right back. I am gonna guess that the Eu will breakup by Germany exiting on their own and you may end up seeing something akin to the Hanseatic League show up again. 

We are heading for a new going to see we never really left the recession. I imagine there will be some bank that 'fesses up to having a little problem over the weekend.  I am off tomorrow so I won't be around for the fireworks when the unemployment rate comes out.  I have actually not worked a single Friday this month- kinda nice.

Speed round

I am thinking speed round (the idea which I stole plagiarized got from a newsletter I read):

Tim DeChristopher- google him, we are about three steps from full blown fascism here

Phil Streible- quite the cute gold bug

Cowboys and Aliens was good and holy shit Daniel Craig in chaps makes me want to get a pair

The mother in law's birthday was last week, we took her out for Indian

I had drinks with my bond friend and we almost bet on us losing our triple A...almost (I'd have won)

Above bond friend said if we start QE3 the dollar will lose a quick 40% and the market will lose only slightly less, about 35%

My oldest asked me "Who were you married to before the husband.  Wow- big step for him to acknowledge we are actually married.  And scary as he asked- duh, hello- your mother...you remember/know her right?

ISM approaching the danger zone of 50- ruh roh Raggy.  Can you say new recession/double dip/entering depression?

Latin food at JW and JD's to celebrate JD's birthday- lotta fun, probably a bit too much wine, lol.

Was off this past Friday for my 25th high school reunion this past weekend.  Husband forced to go.  He won't admit it but he had fun.

"You went to high school with a lot of sketchy people."

"She had three tattoos on her neck..."

Lots of cops and nurses in my graduating class.  Surprisingly more female cops and male nurses.

Is it just me or is the first thing the defense lawyer does is try to discredit/malign/defame the accuser?  I bet all the people who are taking shots at S&P are also the types who think "the chick was asking for it..."

Off again this coming Friday for the Warrior Dash with my fraternity brothers.

Just guessing here

I'm gonna take a wild shot in the dark and say I bet Amy Winehouse died of a drug overdose of some sorts.  Call me crazy but I gotta feelin' about this...

Speaking of Amy Winehouse, the cover of her album Frank has two Scotties on it.  The husband and I know the owner of the Scotties.  I don't completely recall how it happened but apparently our friend and his husband were out walking their Scotties at night in London when she walked by and asked if she could have her pic taken walking the dogs.  They consented and the next thing they know their dogs are gracing her album.

The weekend was nice.  We had PJ, ST and the hot farmer over for dinner.  The boys were there too and they met the hot farmer.  They thought he was cool and they introduced him to the grotesqueness of urban dictionary, lol.  At one point I heard ST ask the hot farmer "Do straight guys really do that and like it?"  The husband marinated this awesome pork tenderloin and then had me grill it.  I almost over grilled it but because he had brined it I was good.  Even my youngest ate it!

Saturday ST took the boys to see the Harry Potter flick.  The husband and I got the house ready and prepped lunch for out guests, JK and DS, for the weekend.  They got there and the four of us lunched on burgers and turkey burgers with this amazing aioli. 

The boys got back and met our house guests and their 2 1/2 year old Rottweiler.  Our younger dog was totally psyched as he ha d a playmate for the weekend.  The two of them were quite boisterous and rough housed all weekend.

The husband, boys, JK and DS then went across the lane to PJ's pool.  I slaved away in the kitchen making dessert for dinner- Granny Smith apple pie with crumb topping.  Dinner was grilled tuna steaks with this amazing marinade and salsa. The boys of course were on their best behavior and made an excellent impression upon JK and DS. 

JK and DS spent the night as well.  I made the call that they could have our bed and we'd take the air mattress; they were first time guests, next time they get the air mattress, lol.

Sunday after our guests left we went and saw Captain America.  IT was actually pretty good and Chris Evans was shirtless or in a tight white tee for quite a few scenes.  Hugo Weaving was a great Red Skull- better than his role as Agent Smith.

So we as a nation will most likely be losing our triple A status.  Ya know what?  Good.  We need to take our medicine just like everyone else.  We used to do it well and not complain about it but over the past forty or so years we seem to have lost that quality; maybe this will stiffen our spines.  It will hurt, no one except the uber-rich will be spared.

I have started packing up the apartment.  The boys bedroom, the coat closet and the utility closet are pretty much all done.

It's not a pemanent condition...

Tuesday morning was the first time I've swum since the race.  It was actually not that bad getting back into the pool.  I swam a bit over 1400 yards and felt good.

Yesterday  the IMF came out and stated that Europe faces the risk of serious contagion if the whole Greece situation was not addressed.  Duh!  Thanks for the news flash Walter...

Something that is getting a lot of chatter/ink/spin currently is the whole idea of a eurobond.  Ok, in order for a eurobond to actually come into existence there needs to be some kind of European Ministry of Finance.  If there is one of those that implies there would have to be some kind of federal European government.  You cannot have a European federal government without the member states giving up sovereignty.  I am gonna bet that 3,000 years of history including the Treaty of Westphalia- will stand in the way of that.  I really don't see the European nations giving up their sovereignty especially since it would- highly likely- that Germany would end up in charge.  The two world wars I think have pretty much turned everyone off from that idea.  One of the firms I do business with yesterday was positing that you can have full fiscal union without political union.  No frackin' way can you.have fiscal union without political union- money and politics go hand in hand- always have and always will.

My bond friend pointed out to me there is no way they could get a eurobond done so quickly; as he said the plumbing is just not in place.  He estimated that it would take twenty years for it to actually be in place.  We then got into a discussion that a eurobond would be great and actually take care of a lot the issues.  He thinks that is the ultimate goal of some Eurocrats but I still bet on 3,000 years of history weighing on that happening.

So, today it seems like Greece will be entering a transitory default.  WTF?  All defaults are transitory.  No one stays in default permanently.  Default is default no matter what.  Just like being pregnant is being pregnant no matter what.   Hell, pregnancy is transitory too but it still means you've fucked- just like all the bond holders in Greece.

I am psyched to see Cowboys vs. Aliens.  I am also looking forward to Captain America.  

Jersey girls always protect the drink

The weekend was quite fun and actually relaxing.  Mr. Barrett and JP came to the cottage for a visiting the country- that sounds like a show tune title...

Friday night was quite entertaining.  ST and PJ joined us for dinner as usual and they brought along the hot farmer who is our neighbor.  He is also maybe only 24 at the oldest.  He is straight but comfortable with the gays.  We suggested that if he wanted to make more money than a farmer normally does he should start a website selling the jock straps and/or underwear he wears during the workday.  He can start a website and auction it off.  He said he has those Jersey Fresh stickers as well that go on the produce and he could stick them on his product.  He would make a boat load of money as there is a serious crowd for that out there.  Dinner was these awesome sticky-sweet ribs.  I made a chocolate cake with caramel chocolate frosting. 

Saturday was a nice lazy day.  The husband had told me I was responsible for dinner and Mr. Barrett had requested lamb kabobs. I made the crumble top peach pie and a mint pesto for the lamb kabobs and then we headed over to PJ's pool for a swim.  The hot farmer happened to join us there and we got to see him in board shorts and holy shit he is even hotter without a short on.  JP actually got some discreet pictures of him and I am waiting for them to get emailed, lol.

After the swim I made the kabob and a bean salad.  Everything came out well and dinner was a hit.  Afterwards JP told us we should take a look at Saturn's rings with the sky telescope we have on the porch.  So we took it out into the backyard and I discovered my GOOG Sky Maps was not working correctly.  We were not able to see the rings but we did get some awesome views of the full moon.

We then crossed state lines and went to The Raven.  It was a lot of fun actually.  I got to see the Ke$ha video with James VanDerBeek where they shoot unicorns and they bleed rainbows.  It was pretty great.  The husband being the frackin' chatty Cathy he is of course chatted up some classic Jersey girls who were there.  Apparently one of them had a cousin who is gay and it was his 21st birthday so they were celebrating.  It was ok until one of them went flying forehead first into the garbage can.  And of course- being the Jersey girl she is- she did not spill a single drop of her drink.  The husband was quite impressed.  I told him please- no self-respecting Jersey girl ever spills her drink in a club.

On the way home the husband- who was driving- killed a possum (we think) that was next to its mate and mourning it getting hit by a car.  At least both of them are now hanging by their tails in the big tree in the sky that is quite possibly possum heaven.  Oh and then he hit some more road kill further down the road...

Sunday was a long day as we did not get home until 3 AM and quite honestly we are getting too old for nights like that.

A friend on facebook yesterday posted a comment about how he got his picture taken with one Landon Conrad and if you did not know who he was to look it up on the internet.  So this morning I binged pictures of him only to get confronted with nude pics of a hot porn star, lol.  Not a good thing to do at work.

Seriously- I could care less about Casey Anthony.  The whole media circus is really annoying.  Who gives a shit if she got off- get a life people.

Untitled post

Last week ended quite busy. Thursday night the husband and I had drinks with an old friend- one of the hosts of the Super Bowl party we met at- and caught up and then we headed over to PF's birthday party.  It was a rather late night.

Friday was quite an interesting train ride down to the cottage after work.  It seems some rather rude person decide that it would be much more efficient to throw him or herself in front of a train on NJ Transit, thereby ruining his or her chances for entering Heaven (suicide is a mortal sin I was taught) but also many peoples Friday commutes home.  What is normally a 49 minute train ride home became a two hour ride home.  So I had the husband make dessert and I took a cab from the train station to the cottage.  Then I rushed to pick up the boys.  Dinner with ST and PJ was excellent, the husband made St. Peter's fish and even more momentous my youngest son actually ate it!  This is a kid who will not eat anything that is out of the four food groups- peanut butter, waffles, pizza or bagels.  I was quite surprised.

Saturday was quite busy as well.  The husband and I had to get dinner ready for our guests so the boys went to see a movie with ST.  He took them to see Horrible Bosses which was quite ironic as the boss and his wife were joining us for dinner.  dinner was excellent.  We made grilled leg of lamb in a red wine, shallot and grainy mustard marinade,  roasted summer veggie salad (zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes and basil) and roasted red potatoes (with rosemary and garlic).  Dessert I went out of my comfort zone and made a peach pie.  It was quite a hit except I did not have any Cool Whip or vanilla ice cream.

The dinner conversation was quite lively.  My youngest was quite the font of useless information as he found an app on his phone that is all about trivia.  All night he was spouting facts and it got to the point were the boss's wife went to the bathroom, texted her 12 year old son to get the same app and then came back to the table and a trivia throw down ensued.  It got to the point where I blurted out "Did you know the human brain weighs 8 lbs?"  That ended the trivia throw down. 

The only thing that was off was the oldest son asked to be excused from the table and promptly went to bed without telling anyone.  I castigated him Sunday morning that going to bed when the guests are still here is ok but he needs to say good night to everyone before he lays his head down to sleep.  The highlight of the dinner though was the boss asking to see the lawn tractor and admitting he is envious of it.

Sunday afternoon we took the boys to see Transformers 3.  It was a bit longer than it should have been but it was excellent and my favorite line was Sentinel Prime referencing the Kobayashi Maru.  If you know who the actor is it is freakin' brilliant! 

Mike Vrabel is totally woofy.  HJ is pic was on YHOO this morning and a story about him retiring early from the NFL.  Mr. Barrett was ind to send me some more pics of him.

My oldest was all psyched about his upcoming pay check.  He told me how much he made for the first week of work and I asked him if it was net or gross.  He looked at me quizzically and I explained to him the concept of payroll taxes.  No political discussion ensued thankfully as I want him to find his own way to a political identity and try not too sway him too much. 

I am not a baseball fan in any way, shape or form.  But I have to admit Jeter getting his 3,000th hit was pretty cool.  I believe only 27 others have done it and he is the first Yankee.  What I found more interesting was the kid who caught the ball willingly and without any expectation returned it to him.  His humility and lack of what's in it for me attitude sets quite an example fro many in this country.  It was almost selfless which is really nice to see in this day and age.  Let's hope it is contagious...

I had quite an excellent discussion with JW today and it left me with more questions than answers.  Basically I need to determine what exactly is a right as in something inalienable and universal for all humanity regardless of gender, skin color, religious belief  or geographical location. 

Looking forward to seeing the final installment of Harry Potter.

I am the wingman...

The weekend was real busy and fun but so not relaxing.  The husband drove out early Friday morning to his parents house with the kids.  He called me later in the morning after he spoke with my mother in law to inform me that the weekend we were expecting to relax was a pipe dream.  My mother in laws in laws were coming for a visit.  The were arriving from France.  They did not speak a lick of English.  Ok, cool, no big deal, I don't speak French really so I could just sit there and look pretty.  But wait- there's more...apparently the mother in law was also hosting an engagement party on the 4th of July for the husband's niece.  so basically we got shanghaied into working the kitchen all weekend for the entertainment.  Don't get me wrong- I enjoy manning the grill and helping out my mother in law but it was not what I was expecting.  I was completely exhausted by Monday around 4 PM.  We drove back to the apartment in JC and were totally psyched to realize that the NYC fireworks were on the Hudson that night.  It was a bit bittersweet as the lease is up at the end of August and we are moving to the cottage full time so it was the last time we got to take advantage of the balcony.

In case you forgot- Greece is going to default and it will end badly.

Today I felt just a bit older than usual as my oldest son started his first summer job.  he is working for his mother's boyfriend.  I found out last night when I called to speak with the boys and my youngest told me his older brother was in bed already as he had to get up at 5:45 AM for his job.  I burst out laughing and my youngest said  yeah, that was the reaction he has too.   I did exchange texts with my oldest today- he had a chicken salad sandwich at the local deli for lunch and he was done with work around 3 PM.

So, I had a business dinner tonight but it was with someone who is also a friend.  It is funny as we discussed how life was treating each other and when it was his turn he commented that I am like the vault/confessor.   He stated he can tell me anything and he knows it is like telling a secret to a tree- it goes nowhere.  I felt kind of proud I have to admit.  He then spilled his guts on almost everything and we got into quite a philosophical debate on the differences between abortion and use of the morning after pill.  At that point- thank god- his phone vibrated and he read his text.  he then asked me if I would be his wingman for an unplanned blind date.  I said when?  He said in about thirty minutes.  With the husband down at the  cottage I said sure.  I mean what's the harm in a gay guy like me playing wingman to a straight guy who is good looking, young and single in NYC...

Ok, I think the chick liked me better until I started talking about the husband, lol.  Then she was all over my friend.

This week is going to be quite a busy one.  I had he biz dinner tonight.  he husband has drinks tomorrow night.  We have drinks followed by a good friend's birthday party Thursday night, Friday night I am down to the cottage for dinner with ST and PJ and the boys are with us this weekend, Saturday afternoon ST, the husband, I and the boys are probably going to see Bad Teacher and Saturday evening the boss and his wife are coming down to the cottage for dinner.  No rest for the weary...

Clearly I am the alpha male of the pack

Dogs have a pack mentality; that is they like all canine seek to establish a hierarchy.  This was evident this past Sunday night at the cottage with the new puppy.
After dinner something in him clicked.  He went over to his older sister and.tried to mount her.  We felt bad as she was clearly annoyed and Scotties have massive canine teeth.  So to prevent her from biting and seriously injuring her brother I picked her up and put her on the bed.  I come back out to the kitchen to find the.pup humping the husband's leg.  He had a "are you fucking kidding me" look on his face and he told the pup if they were going to have sex he expected to at least be bought a drink.  The pup did not even bother trying with me because...I am clearly the alpha of the pack.

I have to admit though that the little bugger took quick piss in the truck yesterday so he is clearly trying to establish something...

So I know have an Android phone.  I am also now.playing word with friends with my sons and JP.  I also decided to give it a whirl with mo old blogging. If it goes well it may mean more entries bit of a shorter nature.  We'll see.
 
Right now I am on the train to the beach writing this without my notes I left on the desk- I was in a rush to catch the train.

Turbo Tax Timmy is now saying his days at the U.S. Treasury are numbered.  I was a year early in my prediction he would be gonzo from there.  My bond friend's greatest fear is Mr.  Krugman takes his place; mine is a return.of Larry Summers.

This holiday weekend the boys are with their mom so the husband and I and the kids are off to the in-laws.  We have not seen them in.quite some time.  Sunday we are going to cross the bay and be day trippers at the beach, have lunch with friends there and show the pup the gay fantasia that it is.

Just testing out  mobile blogging with my new Android phone.

He's gone...

"He's gone.  Brick is gone."  I got that phone call a week ago from this past Thursday around 8:45.  Brick was our older Scottie.  He was  a major reason I am with the husband.  Some of you may know that the first night the husband and I met we had relations- oh stop clutching your pearls you prudes, like none of you have done it.  I noticed he had  a leash and dog food.  I asked him what kind of dog he had and he told me a Scottie.  I told him right then and there I may date him just for his Scottie.  A bit over five and a half years later I've been more than dating him just for his Scottie.  Brick was a huge part of the husband's life and he had him for close to eight years- he adopted him from his former neighbors when they had the second kid and the dog went by the wayside. 

I last saw Brick Wednesday morning.  I got out of bed and ready for work and he and the younger dog both knew that once I was up out of bed they got to go up in bed and crowd the husband into a corner while they sprawled for at least a hour.   This had been the routine for almost two years now.  The husband accused me of spoiling them but looking back I am glad I did spoil Brick and would not change a thing.

Thursday morning was the usual, the kids had spent the night in the bed with the husband as I was up in JC.  They woke him up to let  him know they needed to go out and do their business.  They did, came in and knew it was breakfast time.  The husband was getting their breakfast ready when he heard a thud and yelping.  He ran into the foyer to find Brick on his side still yelping.  He said it sounded like a human crying.  He picked him up and ran to the car.  I happened to just call at that time to see if they were up.  "Something's wrong with Brick I gotta go!"  He called me back after rushing him to the vet to tell me he had gone.  I did not get to say good bye to my grumpy old guy and I am upset about that.  The vet said he was not sure what happened, most likely catastrophic organ failure but he was not in pain.  The husband got to hold him as he left and I know a part of the husband died with Brick.

The rest of the weekend was not easy either.  We had our race and the boys.  The race went well except my swim sucked.  The bike I finally broke a hour on and the run I did very well on.  After the race we, the boys and ST went to lunch and saw Green Lantern.  The movie was ok, good comic book entertainment and we got to see smokin' hot Ryan Reynolds in tighty whities- woof!

It was also our anniversary so we had dinner made at home with the boys.  We then made S'mores over the grill.  Traditionally the 4th anniversary is linen but I went off-grid and got the husband a hand blown glass globe lamp.  The husband stuck with traditional and got me a nice linen shirt form J. Crew.

Sunday was Fathers Day and I surprisingly got gifts with thought put into them from the boys.  I got two books.  My oldest gave me World War Z and my youngest gave me Abraham Lincoln:  Vampire Hunter.  I already own both and have read them but I was so happy for the gifts I did not say a word and neither did the husband.

The week at work was only three days.   I had two end of school events on Thursday for the boys so I took it off months ago.  we were also supposed to have our friend MM visit for the weekend and she was going to come Friday morning.  We have not seen here in almost a year so I figured I'd take Friday off as well and make it a four day weekend.  She canceled the week before Brick died so I decided to keep it a four day weekend without guests or the boys and we could get more work done on the yard.  After Brick died that changed.  We decided to get a new dog immediately and the husband said he didn't think he could do another male Scottie so soon.  We decided on an Irish Terrier, found a breeder in Massachusetts about 40 minutes from my smart brother the doctor and his children.  We drove up Friday- left the cottage a bit after 10 AM and hit serious traffic on the GWB, in New Haven and New London.  It took us a bit over six hours- it was a long ass day.  We had tapas for dinner with the family, watched some t.v. and hit the hay.  We got up the next morning, off to DD for coffee and donuts.  Spent some more time with the family then drove up to pick the pup out and take him home.  We brought our dog with us so she could meet them and see if she had issues with the pup.  She did not.  The breeder had the look of Bible thumper or cat lady so we were surprised she was a dog lover.  We spent about forty five minutes with the three pups available and made the pick.  We then headed back to the family so the kids could meet the new pup.  His name is a reference only a sci-fi geek/nerd would get.

Then the drive home last night only took us a bit over four hours- amazing what no traffic problems can do for a drive.  This morning I went and picked up the boys, we stopped to get some breakfast, then back to the cottage so they could meet the new dog.  They were excited and so was the pup.  Then I took them back to their mom's house as they had to get to Maryland for a week long family reunion.

It's amazing what you can find in grass piles you raked up a week later.  I first found a birds egg.  It was a burnt orange color and rather large.  I am not aware of any ground nesting birds in the area so when Mr. Barrett makes it up here in two weeks I'll have to quiz him.

The next thing I found was a snake.  It couldn't have been more than eight inches long.  I actually caught it.  The thing tried to bite me and I grabbed it behind its head, squeezing a bit too much as part of its guts came out.  I then ran tot he kitchen window to show the husband as he has a fear of snakes and I felt like Riki-fucking-Tiki-fucking-Tavi!  BTW, I think that was one of my favorite Chuck Jones cartoons of all time and loved it!  I watched it any time I could.  Don't get me wrong- it was no Nag or Nagaina I killed, it was a common garter snake.   

Pssst...Greece defaulted yeterday

Last night was a momentous evening as I attended my last mandatory school concert.  My youngest is going into middle school in the autumn and music is an elective- one he did not choose.  I admit though that concert was not half bad.  Two highlights:  1)  The kids did a piece by Carl Orff- you know him, everyone does.  Carl Orff wrote that song from The Omen aka Carmina Burina.  The piece the kids did though was "Street Song."  It was so good I am going to find some Orff on iTunes and put it on my iPod.  The funny part was the music teacher stated that Carl Orff is incredibly complicated music- so complicated she would only do his pieces in college with professors- yet the guy also was a huge believer apparently in making music accessible to children and most of his pieces can be performed by them by getting broken up into small parts and using very simple instruments.  She proved that point.  b)  There was a blues composition created by one of the 4th grade students.  Again the music teacher admitted that blues are one of the harder types of music to compose and she did not study them until her junior year in college- so pretty amazing a 4th grader could do it.  Not to sound crass, boorish or mean spirited but the most amazing part is the 4th grader is a mini Stephen Hawking- the whole wheel chair and voice synthesizer.  He was tested for the gifted music program and scored in the 98th percentile.   He got a standing ovation from the audience after his piece was sung.

I looked around the concert at one point and saw parents and siblings all using cell phones to play games, take picture or videos and I thought to myself how the hell did my parents make it through all the damn concerts they had to go to?  I was in the band until 6th grade- after which time it was not cool- and played the trombone.  I was not happy with that because I wanted to play the trumpet.  I was never better than second trombone mostly because I did not practice.  Looking back I now realize the trombone is way frackin' cooler than the trumpet and I should have practiced more.

After the concert I went over to PJ and ST's house and had dinner with them and the husband.  I am not a fan of reality tv.  I really avoid it at all costs.  I think hope we are close to the end of this cultural morass.  However last night I got stuck watching it during dinner.  'The Voice" was on and I was a guest so I could not suggest we change the channel to anything- hell even the Golf Channel would have been better- other program.  Two things I took away form the show:  Adam Levine is frackin' hot and he is on the list now I think and Cee Lo Green has really small hands and all I could think of was that ad for either McDonald's or Burger King making fun of the guy with small hands because he could hold the big burger.

We then retired to the cottage to go to bed.  We were getting ready for bed when the husband asked if I'd be able to sleep ok.  You see we had taken the closet doors down to paint them.  I had to explain to him that yes, monsters can enter closets from the Glooming but only if there are doors and they are partially open whereas closets without doors are technically alcoves and monsters cannot enter alcoves from the Glooming ever.

Today was my last training day before the big race Saturday.  It was as short run so yes I hit "Firework" for constant loop and ran my three miles in just under 27 minutes.  The race Saturday morning will be interesting to say the least.  We have the boys this weekend so we will be out of the house before they are awake.  The husband had the excellent idea of having ST come over and taking them to SBUX for breakfast and sort of baby sitting them until we get home.  Then we will treat ST to lunch and Green Lantern in return Saturday afternoon.  Speaking of movies, we saw Super 8 this past weekend and it was not bad at all.  It was classic Spielberg and the cinematography was brilliant.  It is definitely worth seeing in the theaters.

So in case you missed it yesterday Greece extended the maturities of its debt.  That is a default in all but name.  I double checked with my bond friend and he confirmed yes, the end result 12 months down the road is exactly the same as if they did a default in name.  His other ominous comment is that Europe is very quickly running out of road to kick this can.  A corollary to that is late today, there were some vague rumors floating around that the good ol' Bundesbank has fired up the printing presses and is secretly printing Deutschmark marks again.  A newsletter I read daily and I have the utmost respect for the writer said this morning that Greece doesn't matter.  I replied that I respectfully disagreed as Greece matter because it is the very short fuse that will cause Spain to blow up and once Spain blows up there will be a breech into the core- France.

But we have no direct exposure to Europe right?  Wrong.  We may not hold as much Euro debt as the Europeans do but we are all counter parties and counter party risk is the one that is more dangerous as the only way to hedge it is cut off certain parties.  That leads to a vicious circle of really bad things.

Princeton was at the gym today.  It started the day right but what made it even more sunny this morning was whistling at the hot guy riding his bike at Hoboken Terminal and dismounting at the bike rack just as I walked by.