Why Obama Scares me

Some of you know that I have been stewing over this post for the last week or so. I figured it would be best if I didn't post my thoughts on Mr Obama's economic plan immediately so I have let it stew for a week. I've had a couple glasses of wine tonight and figured it needed to come out...so here goes....

I am not a fan of Barack Obama. I am also not a huge fan of John McCain, but I definitely see McCain as the lesser of two evils in the 2008 Presidential Election. Last weekend I was reading some articles on Obama and McCain's economic ideas and quite frankly, Obama's ideas scared the hell out of me. As I consider myself a well informed person on the economy, here is my opinion on three of Mr Obama's economic ideas that scared me the most:

1) Extend unemployment benefits to more people. What? We live in a consumer society where approximately 70% of our economy depends on people spending money to buy goods and services. How does it help our society by giving money to people that don't have jobs? How does giving away more money to unemployed people help us get out of an economic hole? Answer: it doesn't! Even Bill Clinton recognized this when he reduced unemployment benefits during his administration.

2) Tax the "Rich" people more. This is an even dumber idea. Lets give money to people with no jobs but lets increase the tax burden on the people who make the economy run (spend the money). I am willing to bet that the rich guy is gonna buy a lot more big-screen TVs and cars than the unemployed guy.

3) Increase the Minimum Wage from $6.50 to $9.50/hour. May sound like a good idea on the surface but does this make sense financially? Hell no. If you want to increase the minimum wage, that is fine with me...but it should be done slowly over time and there should be some type of link to inflation. Quickly increasing the minimum wage by 50% is going to cripple small businesses in this country...the same small businesses which provide so many jobs to American people. Think about it this way...what if your grocery or electric bill went up 50% overnight? And what will happen when that small business owner now has a 50% increase in his labor cost? Thats right...he is going to lay off workers because he can't afford to pay them. And how does that help the economy??

This exact same concept was rampant in the 1970s...tax the rich...give money away...high inflation...stagnant economy...I could go on and on but it was not a good time for our country. Now we sit here about to repeat the same mistakes with Mr Obama. And this doesn't even mention the crazy whack-job advisors that Obama had working for him up until a few months ago (remember that Reverend Wright dude...enough said).

My whole point here is that Barack Obama isn't anything new. He is a incredibly inexperienced guy who is a great talker...that much I will give him. But he is rehashing old ideas from the 1970s...ideas that didn't work then and most certainly won't work today.

Sure...John McCain is 257 years old and he is a grumpy old codger...I don't relate to him on many levels. But the guy has been around and has experience. I know what he stands for. He is much more middle-of-the-road than George Bush on many issues. And given the choice of one or the other, I am gonna go with guy who is an experienced driver...not the guy who just got his license two weeks ago.

Gas Prices on their way down

Many of you have probably noticed something rather odd the last week...lower gas prices. Yeah I know...who gives a shit about paying 3.95 versus 4.20 per gallon, right? Hey..it's a start, right? I wrote in my post from July 17th (Anyone Remember Iraq) that prices were heading lower, but I figured it would take until the end of the year to reach $100/barrel. So far, we have gone from $147 to $122 on oil in about 2 weeks. I would look for $100 oil (and gas in the $3.50 range) by Labor Day on it's way down to $3.00 sometime next year. I would be willing to bet that the days of $2/gallon gas are long gone, but I don't see a reason we can't stabilize long-term in the $2-$3 range.

On the home front, I hope everyone has checked out Zach's blog that Cheryl created recently...she has been doing a GREAT job on it. If you haven't yet, go look at the most recent post with Zach in the bathtub....it is hilarious. The link is on the right side under the Links section. Hopefully you will enjoy as the blog develops. And don't forget to drop some comments and show Cheryl some love for all her efforts.

I would also be a bad person if I didn't mention Mr Hickman's new blog..Good Helmet. It's a good read for all you other football-crazy people like Chris. I have also added the link to his blog under Zach's blog link. Sorry Hickman...the big Z man takes top spot on the list...I am sure you understand.

Zach's Blog!!

For all of you who can't get enough Zach, he now has his very own blog! Cheryl set it up this afternoon and she will be adding pictures and info weekly. I have added the link to The Margarita Lounge links at the right. Please show some love to Zach and post a comment when you get a minute....

Greg Norman blows it...again!

Growing up, I was always a HUGE fan of Greg Norman. But, with his disappearance after the 1996 Masters, I figured my days of rooting on the Shark were over. Until this weekend. Who would have dreamed that 53 year-old Greg Norman would have a two shot lead heading into the final round of the Open Championship?

So..there I sat all day today on my couch...thinking of all the glory Greg was going to get after beating the youngsters today. I was sure that he was going to exercise the demons of his past and bring home a victory for the ages ala Jack Nicklaus at the Masters in 1986. I was sure that he was going to hit irons off the tees and show his wisdom by being conservative and just making pars.

Boy was I wrong. It was just like the 80s all over again. There was Greg...blasting drivers into the rough all day and having to scramble for pars. Now...I realize that even if he would have played conservatively, he might not have won. Patty Harrington played the last two holes amazingly and probably would have beat Greg there anyway...but at least he would have had a chance! You don't have much of a chance to win a major when you are four shots down on the 18th tee.

Don't get me wrong...I am very proud of what Greg did this week and it was great to see him turn the ol' clock back, even if only for a short time. But it was sad to see he hasn't learned his lesson from all the bad luck (and bad decisions) from his past.

Anyone remember Iraq?

I know that nobody seems to give a shit anymore, but does anyone remember Iraq? I know that the economy is crappy and gas prices are high and everyone in the world is doom-and-gloom these days, but what ever happened to all this press coverage of Iraq?

One year ago, Harry Reid and John Murtha were falling all over each other to condemn the troop surge in Iraq...Reid even going as far to say that "the war in Iraq is lost". It seems that everytime I turned on the news last summer, there was another naysayer out there saying how it wouldn't work. Fast forward one year and things are better. Sure, Iraq doesn't look like the United States yet, but nobody out there can deny that the situation is much better than it was a year ago. Security is better. Violence is down. Political reconciliation has improved. Yet...no mention of anything in the news about it. Luckily, I was able to find a few news articles stuffed in the corner of some websites that I am sure Harry Reid would hate:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/17/iraqs-security-remarkably-better/

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/07/17/iraq.afghanistan.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch


Wouldn't you think that with all the problems in the world right now, it would be nice to show a little good news occasionally? Now you all know why I refuse to watch the nightly news...it's just plain depressing. While all of the news outlets LOVE death and negativity, I prefer to be an optimist about things.....

1) The economy will improve. For the last hundred years (or more) there have always been ups and downs in our economy. Sometimes recessions come along...it's just a fact of life. Every time a slowdown or recession comes along, people say that "it's different this time". No it isn't. It might be six months...it might be a year or two...but things will improve.

2) Gas prices will come down. Sooner rather than later in my opinion. Crude got hammered the last week and broke a very key support level today. I expect $100 oil (maybe under) by the end of the year. I realize I am sticking my neck out here, but like I said...I am an optimist!

3) Every bank in the country in not going to fail. Just chill out...please. Even if it does, the cash is FDIC insured so you have nothing to worry about.

So...go have a beer. Kiss your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend and go out to a nice dinner this weekend. Be an optimist....

I am a survivor!

After much fun, KD headed back to Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon. While we had a few cold beverages and some good times over his 3 day visit, we actually behaved ourselves and I avoided the major hangovers I had been dreading.

While I enjoyed having him down here for a few days, it is nice to have some peace and quiet around the house for once. I guess when you have a toddler running around all the time, you respect a quiet day or two much more. I stayed in last night, cooked some dinner and watched some TV. Today I think I will finally get to some of the long-overdue chores that have been building up on my "to-do" list for the past few months.

Cheryl and Zach are scheduled to fly back in tomorrow afternoon around 3:20pm. I am sure by then I will be looking forward to a little excitement around here....

Rain Rain (and other stuff)

Is it ever going to stop raining in South Florida? I guess you either have it one way or the other around here. We have been bitching about the lack of rain for a year (water restrictions, reduced watering, etc) and now we get it all at once. The good news is my grass is the greenest it has been in a LONG time. The bad news is that it is really depressing. If we could get one day of sun...just one day...maybe it would help. But this type of gloom reminds me of Erie in the winter. Ugh....

I see that George Carlin died yesterday out in Cali. This is a true tragedy and day of mourning, especially for me. I always loved Carlin growing up and watched him whenever I could. Yes....even in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". Obviously the movies weren't his thing...he was first and foremost a stand-up comic. Seems like all the great comics from my childhood are dead...Sam Kinnison, George Carlin, Eddie Murphy. Oh yeah..Eddie is still alive and doing movies like "Daddy Daycare" so in terms of comedy he might as well have thrown a seven already.

I also see that Barack Obama is leading in the latest Presidential polls and I need to stop to vomit. Yep, I am already sick of it and the election isn't for another 4 1/2 months. Just so everyone knows how I feel, there is no way in hell I will ever vote for Barack Hussein Obama...ever. And it has nothing to do with his middle name. I really don't like the alternative choice (the old geezer), but in terms of policies at least I know where McCain stands on most things. Obama seems to be like Bill Clinton where he tells everyone what they want to hear and is real cloudy on the details. I realize that the old geezer doesn't have much of a chance here (I don't think Jesus Christ would have much of a chance at this point) , but I'm gonna go with my gut and stay away from the guy who has whacko preachers for spiritual advisors the last 20 years. At least McCain's wife is in the beer business. A war veteran and beer ALWAYS beats two lawyers in my book.

And FINALLY...I will be receiving a rare visit from the late, great K-Delish next week! NO..he isn't dead or anything...it just seems like it. It has been a few years since Mr. Douglas made his way down to Florida to see his old buddies, but he will be here on July 2nd for a few days. I am sure there will be some cold beverage consumption involved, but I realize we are both old married farts with kids so my excitement is somewhat tempered. We'll probably get all banged up the first night and complain about hangovers for the next three days....

I'm wrong again...

Looks like I was wrong again about Tiger this week. Hey...at least I admit when I am wrong, right? I would be lying if I said that I was happy about him making that putt on 18 to force the payoff tomorrow. I would have much rather seen Rocco Mediate the journeyman/underdog pull off the biggest upset on the biggest stage to send Tiger packing, but I guess it wasn't meant to be today.

The good news is that the final round of a major was (for once) very exciting down the stretch. It seems like there has been a lack of drama recently on Sundays at the majors with no down-to-the-wire battles like today. To see Tiger gut it out on a bad knee was great. To see the longshot play the best golf of his life at age 45 to tie the best player in the world is great theater, there is no doubt about it.

Unfortunately, the bad news is that there is a Monday playoff, which I am not a fan of. The drama is gone on Monday...everyone is back at work...the crowds are gone from the golf course...and often times the air of excitement is gone when the two players tee it up on Monday morning. And in this case, I think Rocco's magic will be gone. Trust me...I hope it isn't and I would root for Rocco any day of the week. But I know that head-to-head Rocco vs. Tiger isn't probably going to be much to watch tomorrow. I hope I am again wrong tomorrow....

US Open Week

Another US Open is upon us. While all the talk (as usual) is about Tiger, I don't think the focus at the end of the week will be on him. I could be wrong about that one, but I just don't see him being at his best after almost two months off. If it was any other tournament I would say he had a chance, but not the US Open. Open courses tear apart great players who are on top of their games. Maybe he doesn't miss the cut like he did in 2006, but I just don't see Elderick winning this week.

I would keep an eye on Phil, Sergio and Vijay to be there on the weekend. I also like Stewart Cink, Luke Donald and Boo Weekley to hang around the top of the leaderboard. My "dark horses" for the week are Anthony Kim, Justin Rose and Jeff Quinney. The cool thing about this year is that coverage on the East Coast is going to be in prime time, which is a little different from the ordinary 6-7pm finish.

Hurricane Season

One of the most feared seasons of the year begins in South Florida tomorrow...Hurricane Season. While the last two summers have been fairly boring, I don't think I will ever forget the summers of 2004 and 2005 with Jeanne, Frances and Wilma. As many of you know, I am a hurricane nut and just love following them throughout the summer. Hopefully there is some excitement this year.

Hey T...there is already some convection out there in the Western Caribbean!! When you gonna come visit for a hurricane party?

Back from the Mountains

As every good vacation always does, this one has come to an end. Cheryl and I got back last night and we both decided to take an extra day off work to get used to "normal life" again. It's gonna be tough, but at least we only have three more days left this week.

We both want to thank Pattymelt for taking a week out of her life to come down and babysit Zach. From what I understand, it was a rather teary affair at the airport today.

As for the trip, we had a GREAT time. We arrived in Charlotte around noon on Thursday without any flight delays. We drove two hours to Asheville and spent a few hours at Biltmore. After a great dinner out, we got up the next morning and spent a few more hours at Biltmore before driving the Blue Ridge Parkway for a few hours. The next three nights were spent at Heaven's Gait...a house rental in the mountains about an hour off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

While pictures never seem to do a beautiful place any justice, I have tried my best to show as much of our vacation as possible. We hope that you enjoy the pictures (to follow)....

Biltmore

For those of you who have never heard of Biltmore, here it is. Biltmore was constructed in the late 1890s by George Vanderbilt in the hills around Asheville, NC. In addition to the four story house (plus the basement), there are gardens, a farm, a restaurant, a winery, and an Inn. While it is pretty expensive to visit ($47 per person), it was well worth our money.

Biltmore (rear view)

This is the view from the back porch of the Biltmore House. In the background are the Blue Ridge Mountains that are just north of Asheville.

Biltmore Gardens

Biltmore Gardens which are adjacent to the Biltmore House. Note the nice classic car driving by when Cheryl snapped this picture.

Blue Ridge Parkway

One of the beautiful views from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Linn Cove Viaduct

This is Cheryl's favorite spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's called the Linn Cove Viaduct. It was completed in the early 1980s and was the last link in the Parkway. Since the Linn Cove area is a "protected" area that is environmentally sensitive, engineers had to wait until the technology was available to build this. It was opened to traffic in 1987.

Heaven's Gait

Front View of our house for the weekend. To say this place was in the middle of nowhere is an understatement. This is literally the last house on the road and about 4 miles from the entrance to the development.

Heaven's Gait (rear view)

Rear view of the house from down the hill. I almost killed myself getting back up the hill to the house after I took this one....

Side Window View

This is the view we woke up to every day from our side window. Not too shabby, huh?

Rear View

View from the back deck. Many beverages were consumed on this deck. We were also very lucky to have three beautiful sunsets to look at on our three-night stay.

Grandfather Mountain

View from the top of Grandfather Mountain. There were about 10 pictures I could have posted here, but this one was my favorite.

Blowing Rock

View from Blowing Rock. Blowing Rock is an actual rock (where this was taken from) , but it is also the name of the town that was about an hour from our house. There is a really cool downtown area where we enjoyed a couple beers after taking in this view.

Headin' to North Carolina...

Yes, I know...I am pathetic. It has been over three weeks since a post and there have been lots of things going on...some good and some bad. The good news is that vacation time is FINALLY here! Cheryl and I are heading out on Thursday morning for some much-deserved rest and relaxation in the mountains of North Carolina. We figured that Zach would be fine with Lucy for a few days, right?

Actually, Pattymelt is flying in tomorrow to watch the big man while we are gone. We are staying in Asheville on Thursday Night at a bed and breakfast and then renting a house in Ferguson, NC for three nights that is on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. Talk about fun...we have been looking forward to this trip for months and we are very excited that it is almost here. Unfortunately, we are both sick right now (me a sore throat and Cheryl has bronchitis) so hopefully we will improve in the next day or so. I am hoping to have some good pictures to share with everyone when we get back next week.

Whats been going on...

As it's been a while since I have done a "whats going on" entry, I figured I could cover a whole lot of stuff at once. Here goes:

1) The 2008 NFL Draft is over and the Dolphins did pretty well in my book. Sure, there was nothing flashy about getting a bunch of linemen and a few late round running backs, but I give them an over all grade of a "B". The only negative was the trading of Lorenzo Booker, who I thought was one of the lone high points of last years 1-15 debacle.

2) Buy stocks. Sure, the market has sucked since October, but I think we are turning a corner the last month. There are also rumors out there (and confirmed by one of my realtor clients) that people are actually buying houses again. The stimulus checks start showing up soon and with interest rates getting cut, there should be a nice bump to the economy come October/November. A new president at the end of 2008, an improving economy and (hopefully) a rising dollar and lower oil prices is just what the market ordered. If you have been sitting on the sidelines and worried, start adding it back into the market. If all this market/economy jargon confused you, here is the executive summary....Buy real estate, buy stocks (tech, banks, even homebuilders are OK here), and buy dollars. Sell anything in energy and commodities, including gold and oil. The music is gonna stop soon and you don't want to be the one without a chair. I know I have said this for a while now, but it's coming along soon....

3) Zach is getting so big. Every day he seems to learn something else and he is literally into everything in the house. He really is at such a fun age right now. Walking (and running) around, laughing and babbling incoherent words and sentences. It doesn't get any better than this.

4) Only 3 1/2 weeks left until Cheryl and I head to the mountains of North Carolina for a much needed vacation. We love Zach, but we are both looking forward to a few days away from being Mommy and Daddy. Pattymelt (now known as Nanna to Zach) will be coming for almost a week to babysit.

5) One of the best times of the year will be upon us in two days....SUNFEST! I've got my tickets and I am ready to partake in some cold beverage consumption. Cheryl and I are planning a "date night" on Saturday and Zach will be staying with Mimi and Papa in Delray for the night. Hopefully I will have some great pictures like the ones from last year....

Zach gets his ass kicked....

Poor Z got his ass kicked at daycare today...by a girl. The pictures make it look worse than it is, but I still felt bad when I heard about it tonight after getting home from work. I told him to make sure he punches her in the face tomorrow, cause fair is fair....right??

Seriously, I guess one of the girls in his class decided they wanted the toy he was playing with so she decided to go all baby-psycho on him and scratch up his face. I am sure he could care less as he is fairly chill about stuff like this. Zach is a lover...not a fighter.

You can help!

One woman in the United States is diagnosed with Breast Cancer every 3 minutes.

One woman in the United States dies of Breast Cancer every 13 minutes.

One in every 8 women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer at some point in their life.

One of my old college pals, Sharon Montgomery, signed up for a 3-day event in Cleveland to raise money and awareness for Breast Cancer. Sharon is going to walk 60-miles over 3 days and hopes to raise at least $2200 for the Komen Foundation. The money raised will go toward future research, education, screening, and treatment of Breast Cancer.

Statistics say that 1 in every 8 women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer - chances are good that someone you know will be affected. Every dollar helps - if you can spare $10.00, please follow the link below and support Sharon....you never know, you could save the life of your mom, your wife, a friend, your daughter, etc.

Good luck Sharon!

http://08.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/ClevelandEvent?px=1779741&pg=personal&fr_id=1183&et=ZctWSPn8lc2Ec7DT5ezn0g..&s_tafId=6288

Masters 2008

Zach won't be competing in the Masters for another 18 years, but it sure helps to start practicing now.

Some support for "Big Oil"

As some of you know, I am a fan of Glenn Beck. I also am not a member of the "bash the oil companies" clan that now seems to be running around. If it isn't "Big Oil" it's "Big Banks" or "Big Healthcare" or "Big Insurance" that always seems to be lurking around the corner to screw you over and take your money.

But, instead of going off on a tangent on the whole oil thing, I figured I would let Glenn Beck do the talking. He wrote a great article last week which I think hits the nail on the head. It also does a little Al Gore bashing, which is always OK in my book as I think he is a total phony. Here is the article:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/03/beck.oilexecs/index.html

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! Zach won't be getting any candy this year, but he did get this very cool Elmo couch. He also received a new Ohio State jersey from his Aunt Sally - a very important gift since football season is quickly approaching.

RIP Bear Stearns

Yep...it finally happened today. A major player on Wall Street went under. Bear Stearns, one of the most well-respected names on the Street sold out to JP Morgan for $2 per share. It was at $160 per share less than a year ago and $100 per share in December. I almost fell out of my chair this morning when I found out.

Now...no matter how you feel about the company(or whether you have ever even heard of them), there is one sad thing about the demise...7,000 people are going to lose their jobs. I think JP Morgan was planning on keeping half of the estimated 14,000 employees of Bear, but the other half is going to be shortly out of a job. I feel for these people. In addition, there are some stories I heard today about Bear employees who had their entire retirement plan tied up in Bear Stearns stock. While I feel bad for someone who is ready to retire and only has $50,000 to their name, I feel even worse if that account was worth $1 Million a few weeks ago. This brings me to today's lesson, fellow readers....DIVERSIFY!!!!

Most of these people at Bear are very smart people so they should have diversified their retirement accounts. But I know there are lots that didn't. Take my advice....don't be stupid...DO NOT HAVE ALL OF YOUR MONEY INVESTED IN ONE STOCK!!!!. I can preach this over and over to people but there is always someone who thinks they are smarter than everyone else. Ask the people at Bear Stearns...Ask the people at Enron. Don't have more than 10% of your portfolio in one stock and you will live to fight another day if the company blows up. You won't be happy when you lose 10% of your money, but it sure beats losing your entire life savings. It's just not worth it....

More Pix of Zach

At the request of Aunt Sally, here are a couple more pictures of Zach from the past week. This picture shows Zach in normal 7am spot....rummaging through the cabinets. Please note that he is getting ready to throw around some very loud kitchen utensils.



Zach wearing his new shades on the fire truck. This was taken about half a second before he threw them off . He doesn't really like the shades, but we keep putting them on hoping he will change his mind. No luck so far....

Client #9

Caption: "This is about how much of my penis is going to be left after my wife chops it off tonight".

So there I was, having a rather terrible day at work. The market is getting hammered AGAIN, oil prices are at completely irrational numbers, and it is cloudy outside. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, along comes the Eliot Spitzer story and all is good with the world again.

As anyone who works on Wall Street can tell you, this guy is a scumbag. He has always hid behind the "crusader" label and did it all for political gain. I have been trying to find my post from a year or two ago where I ripped into him about this, but just can't seem to find it. No matter...old "Client #9" showed his true colors today.

Finally...after all of the scandals involving Republicans like Larry Craig and Mark Foley, I get to see a Democrat fry a little bit! I did find it rather funny that the NBC Nightly News only spent 4 minutes on the story tonight...the same amount of time they spent on the Obama/Clinton race. I seem to remember at least half of the newscast devoted to Larry Craig when he got busted trying to get some action in the airport bathroom stall last year. I even saw old James Carville on CNN tonight defending Spitzer and saying how this wasn't a big deal. Keep diggin that hole, Jimmy...I will even hand you the shovel....

A cure for my bad mood

I am so grateful for this little man. It doesn't matter how bad my day is or how much I have on my mind.....this guy's smile washes it all away. Can't help but smile when you look at it, huh?

The Happy Man

I think Cheryl said it best above. We all have tough days, tough weeks, and even tough months. But when you come home and get a big smile from a handsome man like Zach, all the troubles seem to melt away. Since I haven't posted many pictures of him recently, here is another great one we took within the past week.

Two out of Three Days....

I know that my regular readers (all two of you) are probably wondering what the hell is wrong with me. I have now posted two out of last three days. It just seems like it's so hard to get to the Margarita Lounge, but I will continue to try and keep everyone updated on whats going on.

Speaking of whats going on...I actually got a response today from "The Senator"! It has been a very long time Mark. Actually, I assume it was the Senator and not MT as it was just signed as "Mark". Normally, I can keep them straight but the comment had a "Go Obama" note on it, so I was quite confused as to which liberal was posting it. Plus I am drinking some wine tonight, so I am easily confused....

In any case, at least it didn't say "Go Hilary" because then I would have to vomit. And I don't like to vomit wine...it is messy. In my opinion, both Hilary and Obama are equally worthless, but I don't think there is a chance in hell of Hilary winning at this point, and that REALLY makes me happy.

Daddy's New Ride

Here is a picture of my new ride. After almost 6 years in the Ford Explorer, it is finally time to move on. Cheryl and I have done our research over the past month and decided on the GMC Acadia. I even found a picture on the internet with my color...Deep Blue Metallic. Although you can't tell by the picture, it has more interior room than my Explorer and also gets better gas mileage. AND, instead of a bench for the second row, it has two Captain's Chairs! Talk about sweet, huh?

I am scheduled to go pick it up on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the buying process was the typical car buying pain-in-the-ass. We got a quote from a dealer on the internet and then they didn't want to honor the number when I showed up. Three hours later they finally agreed to it, but only after I had to act like a prick and threaten to leave the dealership two or three times. It was such a difference from Cheryl's Accord a few years ago. That time, everything ran smoothly and they guy we dealt with was really cool.

Politics and Vacation

There are no two subjects on such opposite ends of the spectrum as these. Politics is the big deal today as the Florida Primary is wrapping up. It looks like McCain will be the winner here in the Sunshine State. Not a big surprise, but kind of disappointing for me as I voted for Romney and don't really care for McCain. I always liked Rudy, but since he has basically shit the bed the last month or two, I figured I would go with someone who had a chance of getting the nomination.

As for vacation, that is coming up on Friday. John and Pattymelt are flying into West Palm tomorrow at noon and I am in charge of pickup. They are going to be spending a few days with their wonderful (and unfortunately sick) grandson Z before we all head off on a big family vacation to Sanibel Island on Friday morning. It's Pattymelt's 60th birthday on Sunday and the whole Soderberg clan is getting together for a big party. I think the final number is 14 so it should be quite a little shin-dig.

Congrats to the Engaged Couple!

Congratulations go out from the Margarita Lounge to Tracy and Jeff on their engagement yesterday. Cheryl and I were at Casa de Hickman last night enjoying a few (too many) glasses of wine when we got the call from an obviously excited T. We both wish them all the best in their life together and we look forward to a trip to Cali later this year for the wedding.

The BIG Birthday

I know it is hard to believe, but Zach is one today! Cheryl and I had my family over last night for a small celebration. Zach was a little piggy and ate almost an entire cupcake with strawberry icing by himself. It was a rather messy situation, but it was hilarious. Both Cheryl and I are very thankful to have little Zach in our lives. While his first year has been tough at times, it is all worth it in the end to have a healthy smiling baby.

Zach's New Fire Truck

Zach received his first ride-on toy this Christmas from his Mimi & Papa. I'm not sure who has more fun with it - Todd or the Z-man.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to All....

Since I have been so incredibly busy the last few months, I figured that I had better wish everyone a Merry Christmas while I had a few extra seconds of free time. It just seems like all of our extra time is gone with big Z man now tearing around the house. No..he's not walking yet, but that isn't far away now and all I do is chase him and try to keep him from hurting himself. His big 1st birthday is coming up on January 13th! I can't believe how big he is getting....

In any case, Merry Christmas to everyone. If you are Jewish, Happy Hanukkah (which I guess is already over, so let's call it a belated Happy Hanukkah). Like many other people, Cheryl and I are giving thanks this year for all that we have. With everyone's crazy lives, it is often hard to sit down, relax, and think about how good we all have it. Gifts are great, but they are really not the basis of the holiday season...love is. So....take a few extra minutes out of your day and hug your wife and kids...hug your parents...hug grandma...hug your neighbor (not you Kris out there in the acreage...I'm sure that Charlie Daniels stinks). It is indeed a special time of year and the New Year (and more responsibilities and stuff to do) is just around the corner.....

FINALLY....A WIN!!!

I know it wasn't the Super Bowl, but it sure felt like it this afternoon at the Margarita Lounge. The Miami Dolphins finally won a football game today! It wasn't the prettiest win and they didn't beat a great team, but I will take it. Just the thought of going 0-16 and forever being known as the worst team in NFL history was really making me sick this week. I had nightmares about it on Wednesday Night (no kidding). I got so excited this afternoon after the winning touchdown that I scared the crap out of Zach. The poor guy started crying because I was so fired up. Sorry buddy...

While there is no hope of playoffs, at least one win looks like it will keep Cam Cameron in his job...at least for another year. If they are still this bad next year he will be gone. But even if the team ends up going 1-15 this year, I am comforted to know that there were lots of good teams that went 1-15. The Cowboys in the late 80s were 1-15 in Jimmy Johnson's first year and went on to win three Super Bowls. The Carolina Panthers were 1-15 and went to the Super Bowl a few years later. I just feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders....

On a related note, congrats to Mr. Hickman and his Browns. They are now tied with the Steelers and look like a lock to make the playoffs. I will definitely be rooting for Cleveland this postseason.

Glenn Beck

As some of you know, I am a fan of Glenn Beck. I wouldn't consider myself a raving crazy fan, but I think he brings up some good points on his TV show and he is entertaining. I think the main draw for me is the sarcasm he uses on a nightly basis...sarcasm is so under-appreciated these days. He must be doing something right because he just signed a new $50 Million contact for his radio show and there are three billboards with his face on them within 15 minutes of my house. And I live in a "blue" county surrounded by liberals! Gotta love it. Here are two pictures from Glenn's book signing in Jupiter on Friday. Kris and I drove up and stood in line for an hour, but it was a fun outing in general.

Back from the Dead

I apologize. I just realized that it has been over two weeks since I posted anything at all at the Margarita Lounge. I guess I have been too busy playing with Zach, watching the stock market get killed all day, and watching the Dolphins find new ways to lose games. Yes, it is quite a sad time to be a Dolphins fan in South Florida. 0-11 and only five games left to get a "W". While I'm not nervous yet, I will be if we lose to the Jets this coming weekend as they represent the best victim. Wish us luck.

Cheryl and I took a few pictures of Zach the other day for Christmas on the beach down in Delray. Here is one that made the final cut.....

The Happy Couple

For any of you that didn't know, Cheryl Zach and I went to Pittsburgh this past weekend for the wedding of the great K-Delish. Sorry ladies, he is now off the market. We had a great time. Here is a picture of Mr and Mrs Douglas at the reception.

Anyone want a shot?

Craig and I getting ready to dish out the shots at the reception.

Pre-Wedding

Kris and I in front of the hotel before the wedding. Does it look cold? Hell yes it was cold! It was between 35 and 40 degrees all weekend. Pretty cold for a Floridian...

Havin' a beer with the Boys

Zach hangin' out with Kris and I on Friday afternoon at Buffalo Wild Wings in Pittsburgh.

Cheryl gets her ass kicked...

My wife got her ass kicked yesterday by a guy named Dan. No, I didn't run out and kick his ass. Why? Because Dan is a personal trainer at LA Fitness. We finally broke down and joined last week. With a membership you get a free session with one of their resident meathead personal trainers. Dan decided that Cheryl should do about 10 sets of arm exercises yesterday morning. Not a good idea. She can't raise her hands past her ears today and I hate to tell her that it might be worse tomorrow. Hopefully she will be able to pick Zach up by the weekend.

On another note, we have some convection out there in the Atlantic! Excited T? It is pretty late in the season, but the forecasts right now say Noel will barely miss us here in South Florida. I am less optimistic as the dreaded "cone" has been moving closer to us all day. Just to be safe, I ran out to Publix and got some extra water, ice, formula and baby food for the little man.

RIP 2007 Cleveland Indians

I would like to give a fond farewell to my favorite baseball team. They got their asses handed to them last night by the Boston Red Sox 11-2. That wouldn't normally bother me, but after having a 3 games to 1 lead in the Championship Series it is pretty sad. Yeah, I know they are a young team. But to have your #1 and #2 starters pitch as bad as Sabathia and Carmona did is incredibly disappointing. It doesn't help that the team gave up 30 runs in the final three games either. Just to show that I am not a fair weather fan, I will continue to wear my Indians hat on the weekends while crying all day. Sniff-sniff....

Pictures from Hawaii

Below you will find some of our pictures from Hawaii. We took 230 pictures, so they all couldn't make the final cut. If you want an enlarged view of the picture, just click on it and a bigger version will pull up. Enjoy....

World Traveller

Zach the world traveller hanging out at LAX on our layover on Wednesday.

Big Z in the pool

A picture of the big guy swimming with daddy in the Salt Water Lagoon on Thursday afternoon.

Our Room

This is the view from our room on Friday evening. Not too shabby, huh?

Zipline Tour

Yep, thats me on the Kauai Backcounty Zipline Course on Friday Morning. Since Cheryl is afraid of heights, I decided to go on the tour with her Aunt Barbara. The zipline course is made up of seven lines, most which run between 700-900 feet. That's between 2 and 3 football fields in length and it is over the tree tops and a river. We both had a blast.

Poipu Bay

Cheryl took this picture on Saturday Morning while I was playing golf at Poipu Bay Golf Course. This is the same golf course that the Grand Slam of Golf was played on from 1994 through 2006. The course is really beautiful (and tough) and it seemed like every hole played into the trade winds. We won't discuss my score for the day....

The Bride and Groom

A picture of Dawn and Bob at dinner after the "I do's" on Saturday Night.

Napali Coast Sail

Cheryl and I went on a 4 hour sail on Sunday afternoon to the remote Napali Coast of Kauai. Just like the Grand Canyon, the pictures do the beauty no justice. There are no roads to access the Napali Coast, so the only way to see it it by helicopter or catamaran. It was one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen in my lifetime and a place you should see if you ever visit Kauai.

Napali Coast Sail

A picture of the Napali Coast on our return to port.

Back from the Big Trip

The entire family has made it back from Kauai successfully. We all had a great time but we are happy to be back home and sleeping in our own beds again. Even Lucy seems happy to be out of the kennel and has spent most of her time lounging around the house sleeping. The trip was great...the wedding was great. Even Zach did much better than we thought spending 11 hours in a plane each way. The jetlag kinda sucks...it's 2pm right now and it feels like 8am on my body clock but I am hoping that will adjust in the next couple of days. We took tons of pictures over the last week and I should have them up in the next day or two. I hope everyone had a good week.

Hawaii here we come....

The final preparations are being made now for our big trip to Hawaii tomorrow morning! Our flight leaves Ft. Lauderdale at 11am and we are scheduled to return on Tuesday the 16th in the afternoon. All three of us are looking forward to our first trip to Kauai. I promise to have some great pictures when we get back. Aloha!

The Beach Bum

Cheryl took the big Z Man to the beach the other day. He has been sick recently and she thought that it might help to get him some fresh air. Looks like someone was relaxed during this particular moment. Zach will have plenty of time to be a beach bum in the next week on our Hawaii trip. Our plane to Kauai leaves on Wednesday morning and we are all getting really excited!

Go Tribe!

All I can say is Holy Shit! My boys the Cleveland Indians lead the mighty Yankees 2 games to zip in the Divisional Series! I hate to jinx them, but I can't tell you the last time I have been this excited about baseball. Actually, yes I can...

The year was 1997. It was the 1997 World Series. Game 7. The game where Jose Mesa blew a lead in the ninth inning against the Marlins to erase a great outing by Jaret Wright. I remember the exact place I was at when it happened....BW3 in Wickliffe Ohio (East Side of Cleveland). I remember grown men and women crying like babies at the bar after it happened. I really can't think of a time where I was more bummed out by a baseball game.

In 2003 the Marlins beat the Yankees when I was living here in South Florida and it was a great moment. I remember celebrating at the Blue Anchor with Cheryl and Mr. Douglas. But nothing quite breaks your heart like a loss in the 9th inning of a game 7 in the World Series. I am hoping this year has a much different finish...I am looking for a little redemption 10 years later.

Back from the Bachelor Party

Philadelphia sucks! I apologize in advance to any of you who are fans of the City of Brotherly Love, but my travel experience on Thursday through Philly was my worst EVER. In order to not bore you with the details, lets just say that my flight from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh (that was supposed to depart at 4:30pm) didn't actually take off until midnight. I touched down in Pittsburgh at 1:00am and was greeted by Mr Douglas who had been at the bar since 5pm. Yep...he was hammered. After the long drive to his house and some bullshitting, I crawled into bed about 4am.

Due to the fact that Kris probably drank 10 Bombay Sapphires and had 10 shots on Thursday Night, he felt like ass all day on Friday. Even the bachelor party on Friday Night was a little more low-key than I expected. We all got wasted, Doc got in a fight, and all the while Kris was rather well-behaved. Talk about weird...

The rest of the weekend was spent in "recovery mode", watching football, cooking out, and drinking a few more cold beers. Thankfully, there were no problems on the return trip...I actually arrived 20 minutes early. The good news is that I took my camera. The bad news is that I never took it out of the case. Duh....

Headin' to Pittsburgh

After many months of waiting, the big weekend is finally here! I am heading to Pittsburgh tomorrow for Douglas's bachelor party. I am sure the weekend will be filled with interesting stories and large amounts of booze. While I am nowhere near the drinker I used to be, I am sure I will make an attempt to prove otherwise at some time this weekend. I am hoping to have stories and photos early next week.

Excitement and Vomit

EXCITEMENT: I am proud to announce that my Indians clinched the AL Central title today! After a multi-year drought, they are finally back in the big show. I am pretty excited about their team this year even though I haven't watched that many of their games. Living in an NL East Market it's very rare to have an AL Central team on TV. I am hoping this year is the beginning of another run like the 90s. I lived in Cleveland from 1996 through 1999 and it was a lot of fun having a team that was in the playoffs every year.

VOMIT: The Dolphins blew another game today, losing to the Jets 31-28. I thought it was going to be a close game and it was. Unfortunately we ended up on the short end of the stick AGAIN for the third straight week. While the defense has been our strength the past 5 years, the D has really looked shitty the last three weeks and it looks like age is starting to creep up on Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor. While I am more encouraged by the offense and happy that two of the three losses were only by 3 points, things are NOT WELL round these parts. I am quickly falling into the "there's always next year" camp unless we can get a few W's on the board soon.

Saban Loses!

In what can only be described as "wonderful", Nick Saban was handed his first loss at Alabama last night. To make things even better, it was a great game and a great finish. Not that I'm a huge fan of the Jawjah Bulldogs or anything, but Saban is a jackass and anytime he loses I will applaud. You don't think I'm still bitter from last year, do you?

With Mr Saban's loss and the fine performance by my Hurricanes on Thursday night against Texas A&M, I am 2-0 this weekend. Hopefully the Dolphins can get into the win column today with a trip to New Yawk to play the hated J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets. I see that Zach Thomas will be out due to a concussion, so I may be pushing my luck here, but I'm gonna call a three point victory in hostile territory.

Must be Friday...

As many of you know, I live in Boynton Beach Florida. Us locals often call this area "god's waiting room" because of the huge amount of old people that live here. The scary thing is that many of these people have drivers licenses and can renew them every five years through the mail! This picture is evidence of what happens when they drive.

The lady who owns this CRV parked it here and went into the dentist's office. An old lady came along and decided that she would park next to her. However, instead of parking head-first like most normal people do, she decided to back the car into the spot. Unfortunately, she missed the spot by about 6 feet and hit the CRV. But, instead of stopping when she hit the CRV, I guess she decided to keep going. She ended up pushing the CRV over the concrete parking barrier and then over a curb and into the grass. Unbeleivable....

It all sucks...

What a shitty weekend for me in the sports department. The Hurricanes suck...they got their asses handed to them on Saturday by Oklahoma. The Dolphins played like pigs on Sunday and lost to the Redskins so the Dolphins suck. And just to top it all off, Tiger Woods won the PGA tourney on Sunday, which also sucks. Bah-humbug I say, even if I am a few months early.....

Hanging my head in shame...

I just had to open my mouth, didn't I? It's one thing to predict a big college football upset and be wrong. I wouldn't even feel THAT bad if it was a close game. But a 38 point ass-kicking makes me hang my head in shame. The Hurricanes aren't even in the same league as Oklahoma, and that was very obvious today. Maybe another year or two, but not now.

New Ohio State Fan

Compliments of Aunt Sally, Zach is ready for the big Ohio State game today. His daddy is a little upset that he won't be cheering for the Hurricanes, but Zach thinks he will have more fun backing the Buckeyes this season. As you can see, the little man is feeling better than he was last week. He's ready for some apple juice, cheerios and football :)

Kickoff Weekend!

One of the biggest weekends of the year is finally here...kickoff to the NFL season. While nobody expects my Dolphins to make much of a showing this year (most people pick them to finish last in the AFC East), I am more optimistic. Some people might call me insane, but I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt and Cam Cameron has that benefit for now.

In addition to the Dolphins, the Canes have a big game on Saturday against Oklahoma. Similar to the Dolphins, the Canes aren't being given much of a shot against the mighty Sooners. But in the words of Lee Corso..."Not so fast my friend". I may be crazy, but I am going to call the upset right now. I might be crazy, but I have a good feeling...

Oh yeah...all you people in North Carolina and on the East Coast need to watch the weather forecast...you might have a tropical storm in the next day or two headin' your way.

Sick Little Man

It just breaks my heart to see the little man sick. He has had the sniffles a few times over the past months, but nothing quite as nasty as this episode. He has been under the weather since Monday morning and still doesn't seem to be getting better. I took him to the doctor again this morning and we are hoping he gets better by the weekend. The good news is that Pattymelt will be arriving at the Margarita Lounge tomorrow afternoon to help out with some babysitting. Cheryl and I are going to Naples on Saturday for a night just for a little well-deserved "alone time". I am sure by then he will be feeling better. Everyone out there wish Zach a speedy recovery....

Gettin' Lazy

My sincere apologies to all of you, my loyal readers. I have been a lazy ass the last week and I am sorry. Yes, there have been a few things going on since I decided to lock Zach in my Explorer10 days ago on a rather hot and sticky South Florida afternoon. At least he had the A/C on....

It looks like Hurricane Dean kicked the hell out of Mexico today. The good news is that the area it made landfall at was a rather rural area and there shouldn't have been a significant loss of life. Thats good, because 165 MPH winds are nothing to joke about...I saw firsthand what a Category Five storm (Andrew) did to Dade county in 1992 and it was not pretty.

The market is crazy as usual. This whole subprime thing is completely out of hand. Sure, defaults are a lot higher than last year, but this all needs a little perspective. Subprime makes up about 12% of the mortgage market. Of this 12%, only about 15% of mortgages are in default or even delinquent on payments. By my calculations, this works out to roughly 1.8% of the entire mortgage market. Nothing to sneeze about, but certainly not worth all the press coverage it has gotten and the doom and gloom this is the end of the world crap I have been reading about. It's a shame I was too chicken shit to buy more of the Countrywide Preferred B's at 10 with a 17% yield last week(they closed today at 17.65) or double up on EOI at 16.25 with a 10% yield(closed today at 19.09). In my opinion, Thursday last week was the bottom. If the Dow floats between 13000 and 13500 for the rest of the year that is fine with me. And it's time to short oil again here at 70...I'm lookin at the lower 60s by the end of the year.

The sick bug has been making the rounds of the Pollock household...part of the reason for my slackness in posts recently. Zach brought something home from daycare and was sick this past weekend. This was of course passed along to Cheryl, who is now in bed and has been sick since last night. That leaves me as next...figured I'd better get this post in before I start vomiting all over the place....

Frotuss to the Rescue!

I want to extend a heartfelt "thank you" to Mr. Hickman for helping me out this afternoon in my hour of need. Cheryl and I were loading groceries into my truck at the local Publix when we locked Zach inside. Luckily, the ol' Explorer was running and the air conditioning was on at the time. Five minutes later, Chris pulled up in the Red Rover and he jetted me off to my house for the extra set of keys. I feel terrible for dragging him off the raft he was floating on in his pool, but he came through like a true friend. Cheryl and I (and of course Zach) thank you for your quick help...we owe you a nice bottle of vino!

756...Finally

I am so glad that old man Bonds finally hit homer #756 last night. Maybe...just MAYBE, Sportscenter will show something besides the "Chase for 756" for 20 minutes of every hour. While it is a great accomplishment that deserves respect and coverage, I am sad to see that Sportscenter has resorted to the same tactics of the regular news media. It is a tactic I like to call "complete overkill" where one subject (whatever it is that week) is absolutely beat to death and analyzed for hours and hours on end. Did Barry Bonds cheat? I could really care less...just show me the scores and highlights guys....

So, now that juice boy is out of the way (as well as A-Rod and Tom Glavine) we can focus on the good stuff. Baseball is getting ready to enter the stretch run and my Indians are leading the AL Central. The PGA Championship starts tomorrow. And there is this small thing known as FOOTBALL SEASON right around the corner. While I am not very enthusiastic about my Canes or Dolphins, everyone is undefeated and optimistic on opening day!

One Day Later....

Oh, the difference a day makes. After quite a struggle with yesterday's hangover, I was fortunate enough to have my wonderful and beautiful wife cook me a great dinner last night. Believe it or not, I actually had a half-glass of wine with dinner. Follow that dinner up with a pretty good night of sleep and presto! I am a new man today.

The unfortunate consequence of feeling better is that my "honey-do" list now looms large in front of me. Wash the car...cut the grass...ugh. Looks like it's going to be a long day today as well.....

Friday Night Trainwreck

It's been a long time since I got torn up as bad as I did last night. (yes, Mr Hickman...the toe was firmly outside of the shoe!) It's about 1:30pm now and I am just beginning to feel alive. Some Advil and Pepto has helped, but I still feel like I was run over by a freight train. How did this happen you ask? Well...I went to the Goo Goo Dolls concert last night with Joel Brookman at Sound Advice in West Palm Beach. I decided that drinking lots of beer on an empty stomach was a good idea and the rest was history. The concert was great...Joel has 12th row seats in the pavilion that are right in front of the stage. I guess I felt that I had to party like a rock star last night. At least there is some good news...I didn't drive. I guess I am getting slightly smarter in my old age....though not smart enough to avoid hangovers I guess. Duh...

Convection??

In what can only be described so far as "boring", hurricane season may be about to pickup. Looking at the NHC site this morning I see that there is a disturbance east of the windward islands that has potential to develop in the coming days. Not that I want to get hit with a hurricane or anything, but at least there will be something to watch....

A Very Funny Sign

Humor is lost in politics. With everyone trying to be serious all the time, there are very few funny moments that make me laugh. This picture, being held by Mitt Romney recently, is hilarious. As many of you know, I am not a big fan of Hilary (or even Mitt for that matter), but it's gotta make you at least chuckle a little bit....

Paddy beats Sergio

While I am slightly disappointed that Sergio couldn't pull out the victory today, I was happy to see Paddy Harrington win. He is a great player that has always had the tools to win a major. He almost gave it away on his 72nd hole, but with Sergio also bogeying his last hole, he opened the door...and that's all you really need for someone to walk on in. It's beginning to look like Sergio is the next Phil Mickelson from two years ago...best player out there to not win a major.

In general, I thought this years Open was extremely entertaining if you are a golf fan. The last day was full of great story lines...charges...faltering down the stretch...the young guns and the stodgy veterans. And better yet, no Elderick Woods. See...life does go on without the great Tiger.

Can Sergio Do It?

With 18 holes left at Carnoustie, it looks like Sergio Garcia is in the drivers seat...a three shot lead over Steve Stricker and a six shot lead over everyone else. While it would be nice to see another American win the title, I'm pulling for Sergio to win. I only hope it's not a 5 or 6 shot blowout because that just aint any fun to watch. He is way too talented of a golfer to stay in the "major-less" category any longer....kinda like Mickelson at the Masters a few years ago.

Half a Birthday

OK...six months is not an official birthday, but who's counting, right? Since I haven't posted a picture of Z in a while, I figured it was time. He was 6 months old on Friday. Even though there have been sleepless nights over the past six months, he is worth it. He just seems to be getting bigger every day.....

Happy Depressing 4th of July

I was checking a few news sites at work today (just trying to see what was going on in the world) and boy was it depressing. I thought to myself...4th of July is a joyous occasion...there's got to be some good puff stories about good things like fireworks, apple pie, baseball, picnics...what's better than that, right? Wrong.

What I found was the same old depressing stories I find every other day. Islamic militants talking about the demise of the West. Fireworks blowing up people. Kids drowning in a car. And the best of all...Al Gore III getting arrested on drug charges and DUI (again). I was about to crawl into a hole and start crying like Zach does after a nice spitup when I found my inspiration...Joey Chestnut.

For those of you who do not know him, he is now a legend. Yesterday at the Annual Coney Island hot dog eating tourney, Joey Chestnut defeated the great Japanese eater Kobayashi by downing 66 hot dogs (and buns) to become the new World Record holder. Kobayashi could only manage 63. Anyone who can eat 66 HOT DOGS is a winner in my book. Congrats to Joey for bringin' the title back to the USA on the 4th of July...you couldn't have scripted it any better.

Good-Bye Miss Cassie

Cassidy (on the right) lived with me for several years in North Carolina and has been living with my parents for the last 5 years. They had to put her down this past week - she was 14 years old! She was a beautiful black lab and an awesome companion. Good-bye Miss Cassie :(

The Sailfisherman!

Went fishin' yesterday with a few buddies for the first time in about three years. Looks like I did OK, huh? It's one thing to gloat about a big fish you caught, but it is different when you actually have proof. According to the measurement, it was 80 inches from tip to tail. Thanks to Pimpbling for being there to take the picture and provide moral support while I was reelin' it in.

What Media Bias?

For years now, I have made it pretty clear that I think there is a liberal bias in the main-stream media. Whether you agree or disagree with this is really not important as I am (of course) correct! I would ask you to look at the following article published recently by NBC that shows a listing of political contributions by members of the media. After looking at the numbers, I realize that it proves my point pretty dramatically. According to my calculations, there were a total of 143 people listed who made political contributions from 2004 through early 2007. Of that 143, two made contributions to both parties, so I throw them out. Of the remaining 141 people, here was the breakdown:

Republican: 16
Democrat: 125

Hmmm. Now I know someone out there (probably MT or the Senator) is going to say this proves nothing, but the numbers don't lie...90% versus 10% is pretty clear. Here is the article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19113455

Shut up Phil

After shooting a million today at Oakmont and missing the cut, Phil Mickelson had the balls to blame the course for his recent wrist injury. I watched the replay of the interview and it was truly pathetic...I used to actually respect Phil. Maybe if Phil lifted some weights occasionally and didn't look like a slob with man boobs he might not get hurt. The other 154 players didn't seem to have any problems...

Buy Low, Sell High

Everyone that invests in the stock market knows that you are supposed to buy low and sell high. Yet the emotional nature of people always throws a monkey wrench in the gears of reason. This week was no exception as I tried to explain to a rather nice but unsophisticated client that he should sell one closed end fund to buy another. Below is the scenario. (note: if this kind of stock market talk bores you to death, just go buy some BTZ and quit reading)

Retired doctor. Income Investor who wants to get a better yield than your average 5% CD and is willing to take a little more risk to get it. I buy him some BCF late last year around 14.30 and he has been getting a 7.5% yield on his money. Now its trading at 16.30 and the yield is down to 6.7%. I suggest he sell the BCF, take a nice 11-12% profit (after commish on both ends) and buy some BTZ at 21.50 yielding about 8.5% and trading 6% below its NAV. It's been down the last two weeks due to the spike in interest rates, but it will go back up when rates straighten out.

So, does Joe Doctor listen to his smart financial advisor? Nope. Instead of taking advantage of an opportunity and making his situation better with more income AND more appreciation potential, he is going to wait. When BCF comes back down, he will complain that he didn't sell it at a good profit. In the meantime, he will continue getting his 6.7% and lose some principal while smart institutions and sophisticated investors make 8.5% on an appreciating asset. These are the same kind of people who I pleaded with to buy Merck in late 2004 at 27 with a 5% dividend yield. How would that have done? Well...more than a double with dividends reinvested and almost a double taking the dividends in cash.

And we wonder why Joe Q Public never seems to win in the stock market. Hmmmm.......

It's Open Week!

Once a year the wonderful tournament known as the US Open rolls around. This is the one tournament every year where professional golfers end up looking like a hack from the local muni course. And I love it. What else could be more exciting than watching Tiger, Phil, or Vijay make an 8 on a par 4? Ah yes...the long rough...the tight fairways...the fast greens...has it been a year already?

This years Open holds a special meaning for me as it's being held at Oakmont, about two hours from where I grew up. I was fortunate enough to attend the 1994 US Open the last time it was at Oakmont (the year Ernie Els won his first major) and I was incredibly impressed by the golf course. Oakmont is known for having the fastest greens in the country...no joke. These things are just ridiculous and I'm looking forward to the carnage. They have also removed over 5000 tress from the property, turning the course from a tree-lined to its original links design. While the Oakmont crowd isn't going to get any awards on Arbor Day, it is a very cool and ballsy change.

Word has it that Mr. Kris Douglas has procured some tickets for Friday's round. Enjoy the experience chief. I'll fly up for the next one at Oakmont...I promise.

The Big Merger

Unless you have been living in a hole the last two weeks, you should know that Wachovia Securities and A.G. Edwards will be merging later this year. I guess I have lots of mixed emotions about it. First of all, it is really sad to see a company with such a rich tradition and excellent reputation disappear. A.G. Edwards has been around for 120 years and until recently was always run by a member of the Edwards family. The first non-family member to run the company was Bob Bagby, who took over in 2001. While Bob was very adamant to the employees about our desire to stay an independent company, it seems that behind the scenes he was pulling a Nick Saban on all of us, preparing the company to be bought. While I and a majority of the AG Edwards advisors hope he rots in hell for destroying our nice company, I guess there are some positives to being the second largest brokerage firm in the US.

So, I have decided to stop bitching and whining about it, as I have most of the last 10 days. I had a very good lunch conversation yesterday with Mr. Hickman that gave me some different perspective on the subject. I also had another good conversation with Joel Brookman around 4pm yesterday that have led me to be more positive. I mean...what can I really do at this point? I could complain about how unfair it is...how "big business" is ruining the small companies...bla bla bla. But what would this really accomplish? The deal is done and the changes are going to take place regardless of my view on the subject. I might as well be positive and look on the bright side. I can't control what happens day-to-day in the stock market so why is this any different? Life goes on and I guess I need to be positive about the bright future ahead.

I would however like to take a five minute break from that bright future one day to hold Bob Bagby's head underwater. Five minutes is all it would take and I think I would feel much better...

Zach's Baptism

The little man got baptized yesterday. I just HAD to post this picture of Z in his little white tux. And yes...that is a little bit of hair that is starting to show up on his head!

Phillip Wellman

If you are a big fan of baseball, you need to check out this clip. It's not a walk-off homer or a guy getting beaned by an overly aggressive pitcher. It is a clip of one of the funniest things ever in baseball...the manager blow-up. This must have happened recently, but this guy (named Phillip Wellman) takes things to a whole new level. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUcFWPgB8oY