Dude, you're getting a Dell

Ok, so that line is about four years old. And the "dude" was arrested three years ago in New York City for possession of marijuana, quickly ending his 15 minutes of fame. But regardless of these two facts, I am now the proud owner of a new Dell computer. After almost seven years with the old HP (including a few upgrades), we decided that it was time to retire the old veteran...time and technology had finally rendered him inadequate. We have moved up to the modern world of DVD burners, all in one printer/copier/scanners and lightning-fast dual core processors. In the immortal words of K-Delish, "I'm as giddy as a virgin on Easter"...at least I think that's how it went. Let's just say that I am eagerly awaiting delivery next week!

Going different directions

Well, the Hurricanes finally won another football game last night, beating a favored Boston College team at the Orange Bowl. They closed the regular season a pathetic 6-6, their worst record in a LONG time. Larry Coker was fired today, which is a good thing in my opinion. Looks like next year is going to suck also as it will be a "re-building" year.

The Dolphins also won yesterday, but at least they seem to be heading in the right direction. Sure, they are still under .500 but they are on a nice four game win streak and still have an outside chance of getting a wild card. The big game is next week with Jacksonville in town...if we can win that game I'm going to get a lot more excited.

Happy Turkey Day

Before I get too busy with my "honey-do" list, Cheryl and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. While the turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry, and pumpkin pie are important staples of this day, I would encourage you all to take a minute to be thankful for what you have. Remember that the vast majority of people in the world are not as fortunate as we are in this country.

With that being said, go ahead and stuff your face with food and drink lots of wine because you don't have to work on Friday. If you do have to work on Friday I apologize. Remember that this day only comes once a year. And while you are at it, a few good wishes to the Dolphins wouldn't hurt as they play the Lions at 12:30pm.

Movin' On Up

Just like George and Weezie, the Dolphins are slowly "movin' on up" in the standings from "terrible" to "respectable". With another win today over Minnesota, we moved to 4-6. Only one team in the NFL (Baltimore) has a longer winning streak right now. With a short week (we play Detroit on Turkey Day) and some injuries today, getting to 5-6 might be tougher than I thought, but I think we can pull it together. If we can get a W in Detroit and get a win the next week at home against Jacksonville we would move to .500 and at least get within a distant sniff of a wild card. With the way the AFC is shaping up right now, anything is still within the realm of possibility.

Fall

Today's theme seems to be Fall. The air had a nice Fall chill today....very appropriate for college football. Michigan fell to Ohio State. Rutgers falls to Cincinatti tonight. And Mr Hickman had a somewhat funny, although slightly bloody fall at his house this afternoon. While I don't mean to make light of someone else's bad luck, it was really funny when it happened. Here is the executive summary:

I wandered over to Casa de Frotuss today to watch the OSU/Michigan game with Mr Hickman and family. The game was excellent. The company was excellent. Unfortunately, Mr. Hickman had a few too many drinks during the game, so that by the 4th quarter he was hammered and slurring words. While making an attempt to get off the couch, he lost his balance and ended up falling (face first) onto the tile floor. After laughing quite loudly for a few seconds, I realized there was a small trickle of blood just above his left eyebrow. While it was by no means a life-threatening injury, it was something that required a little bit of impromptu medical attention. Ann was quick to help out and we got the situation under control in a few minutes.

Now, it is really not nice to laugh at someone who has just been hurt. But given the situation here, it really was hilarious. If things are a little fuzzy on Sunday, give me a call Gunther and I'll be happy to give you the details. And I hope you heal quickly...

Fins to the Left

Well, the Jimmy Buffett concert has come and gone and I don't really have much of a hangover! Since the show was on a Tuesday night, I guess I decided to behave myself. Cheryl, Jen and I ended up meeting Mark, Tammy, the Senator and a few of their friends in the lawn about 10 minutes before the show started and hung out with them all night. The show was everything that I expected...drunk people, great music, the smell of pot whisping through the air all night.

That got me to thinking about the incredible difference in a concert and a Dolphins game. In both instances there are thousands of people in one place to see a fun event. In both instances there are drunks. But for some reason things are tolerated much more in a concert environment.

At any concerts I've ever been to, the cops just stand there while the smell of weed floats by them. Drunks are stumbling all over the place and they serve beer until the show is over. At the Dolphins game you can get thrown out for doing anything and you can't even get a beer after halftime. That just don't seem right....

PWI and Jimmy Buffett

So, I guess there was a little more downside in PWI. The royalty trusts were hammered again today, this time for no apparent reason whatsoever. Time to double down here and buy more. Just panic selling...usually the last stages of a selloff. These things happen...just buy some more....

Speaking of getting hammered, the long-awaited Jimmy Buffett show is tomorrow night here in West Palm! Cheryl (being the wonderful wife she is) bought us tickets for my birthday. While I have been a huge Buffett fan for years, I am a JB concert virgin. I've taken part of the day off Tuesday for preparation and also took Wednesday morning off for the impending hangover. Wish us luck.

On a Roll

After a pathetic 1-6 start, the Dolphins are on a roll the last two weeks! How you can lose to Houston and Green Bay yet beat Chicago and KC is a mystery to me. Actually, they almost gave this game away too with some rather suspect play calling in the fourth quarter. Luckily, the defense stepped up (us usual) and bailed out the rather ineffective offense.

But a win is a win and we'll take it. If they keep playing like this, they might be able to salvage a 8-8 season. On a high note, Pimpbling and I got cut off on the way out of the parking lot by Wes Welker. If it wasn't him, it was definitely his twin brother. We would also like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Hickman for joining us in tailgating and for letting us use their (much better) seats in the second half. Looks like I'm gonna have to save a few hundred dollars more to upgrade next year.

Caffe Luna Rosa

For any of you locals who haven't had dinner at Caffe Luna Rosa, you are missing out on one of the best restaurants in the area. I took Cheryl there last night to celebrate our anniversary and it was excellent. The location is obviously perfect...directly across A1A from the ocean. But in addition to a great location, the food and atmosphere is perfect for a nice quiet night out. And their wine list is quite impressive with lots of Italian reds.

3 Years

Three years ago today, Cheryl and I each said "I do" and started on our wonderful journey of marriage. Like most marriages, there are ups and downs over the first few years, but we have gotten through all of them together. I want to thank any of you who were there with us in Key West three years ago on the roof of La Concha...it was a day we will both never forget. I feel like the luckiest man on earth today and I want to thank my beautiful wife for the best three years of my life. With the little man less than three months away, we are looking forward to many more happy years to come.

Election 2006

So we got our asses kicked yesterday. So far the Republicans haven't resorted to the same "sore loser" tactics that the Democrats used in the past few elections...lawsuits, complaints about voter fraud and voter intimidation, etc. Either that or the media isn't making a big deal about it because they got who they wanted into office. It really doesn't matter. We just lost and thats the facts....pretty simple actually. Yes...today it sucks...but hey, shit happens. You take responsibility for things and you move on. As for the next two years, I am unsure where things go from here, but I see two options.

1) Revenge. Since the Dems have had their asses kicked around since 1994, they decide it is retribution time. Cue the Halliburton investigations...cue the investigations into the Iraq war plan...cue investigations into Dennis Hastert and Tom Delay...etc, etc, etc. This route takes the country nowhere and gets nothing done but wasting taxpayer money. It also goes against the "time for a change" motto that the Dems got elected on. I hope this isn't the outcome or there will be two more years of nothing getting done and the Dems are going to lose theirs jobs again in 2008.

2) Compromise. While this can be frustrating, it seems the only realistic hope. The two parties don't like each other, this is a given. But like the election, we need to get past it. I know that the senator and mt really want to rub it in, but gloating will only work for about a week or two. I don't know one Republican or Democrat who agrees 100% with every single belief their party holds. Most people lean one way or another. If we can actually get along like adults and solve some problems, the Democrats have a much better chance of retaining what they just got. I wouldn't be too happy about that, but thats life too. Good luck.

Unbelievable

I went to Duffys this afternoon fully expecting the Dolphins to get their asses handed to them by the Bears. But somehow, the team that hasn't been around all year decided to show up today. I am completely dumbfounded how a team can beat the Chicago Bears (the best team in the NFL) but lose to the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers. I guess it's just one of those seasons....

I would be a little more excited if the victory meant something, but it looks like this win is about two weeks too late. Even if the Dolphins ran the table and won all their remaining games (which isn't going to happen with New England, Jacksonville, Indianapoilis and Minnesota on the schedule) there would still be no guarantee that they could even get to the playoffs with the talent in the AFC this year.

Buy Low

So the Canadian Royalty Trusts have been HAMMERED the past two days due to a stupid policy the Canadian government is trying to push through on increasing taxation. Without going into the details, the sell-off has been ridiculously overdone and there is some great bottom-fishing potential here. It looks like the big selling leveled off this afternoon and some buyers even started coming in around 2pm. What does this mean to Joe Q. Investor? Nothing because Joe would never buy a stock when it was down...he would much rather wait, miss the opportunity, and buy it $3-$4 higher than it is now and miss the easy money. Good thing that all you Margarita Lounge readers are not morons and you are out there buying PWI here around 22. Look out for the beeping flatbed because I'm backing up the truck.

If you have no idea what the hell I am talking about, thats OK. I'm just trying to sound smart and throw around a lot of technical jargon. Interpretation: Take a little money out of that savings account that is paying you didly, go to Ameritrade or Etrade and buy a little PWI. Even if it doesn't skyrocket up a few dollars (which it should), it pays a 12% dividend and that aint too shabby while you await the rebound.