Leave the cats alone

Here is an interesting story about the six-toed cats at the Hemingway House in Key West. I guess the USDA is having a fit about all the cats running around down at Ernie's old place in Key West. Supposedly, the USDA wants the place to have an Animal Welfare License because there are so many cats.

Give me a break. Doesn't the USDA have more important things to do than bother a bunch of cats chillin' in Key West? Being a veteran of many Key West trips myself, I beleive that any type of "normal" rules should not apply to anything down there. I mean...this is the place that hosts Fantasy Fest every year for god's sake. Plus, the kitty picture I posted from our wedding in 2003 is cute.....so leave 'em alone.

Headin' North next week

Cheryl and I are heading to Pennsylvania next week for a few days of fun in good ol' Erie. The good news is that it will be August...one of the two months it is OK to visit without freezing your ass off. The other good month is July. I am actually looking forward to it as I haven't been back for a while. We are going to see Cheryl's family, some friends, and attend the Fairview High School Class of 1991 class reunion. Yep...the 15 year reunion. The more I look back at the year 1991, the older I feel. It sure seems a LONG time ago, doesn't it?

Johnnie Slick at it again

John Kerry is funny. He must also think that we are all REALLY stupid. Ol' Johnnie Slick was recently quoted saying that if he were President now, the recent problems in the Middle East wouldn't have happened. That's good to know.

NEWS FLASH........this just in.........if John Kerry would have been elected as President, Hurricane Katrina would never have happened. We are also being told that world hunger would no longer exist and that the cure for cancer would have been discovered.

Maybe I could use this line of thought in my business! Mr and Mrs Potential Client, if you would have had me watching over your portfolio the last few years, you would have never, ever had a month where your account went down in value. If I was watching over your accounts, you would have doubled your money in the past two years.

I, on the other hand prefer to tell the truth and be honest with people. Shame on me!

LINK

Close but no Cigar

I really thought that Chris DeMarco had a chance most of the day today, but Tiger pulled it out at the end. Sergio gassed it as usual in the final round...I should have known better that to root for him. At least Tiger didn't blow everyone away by five or six shots down the stretch. That makes 11 major titles at age 30...well on pace to go past Jack in the next 5-10 years.

Pulling for Sergio and DeMarco

I know that everyone loves Tiger and yes...he is leading after 3 rounds. Yes, he has never lost a major when leading after 3 rounds. And yes, he already has 10 majors so there is plenty of experience there. It's just that you gotta pull for the underdog every now and then. My two horses today are Sergio Garcia and Chris DeMarco. Both are great players and both are due to win a major...DeMarco in particular.

Major condolences go out to PimpBling on the new car. I guess he was tagged by one of the famous South Florida shitty drivers on Friday afternoon. It's not bad enough that someone backs out of a parking spot right into your car, but when it's a brand spanking new Dodge Charger SRT it really sucks.

And major thanks go out to Mr. and Mrs. Hickman for their hospitality last night at Cafe Frotuss. The dessert was great and it was good to see Leslie again. I'm sure that Cheryl will be much happier today as she doesn't have to take care of a hung-over moron who drank about two bottles of wine.

And now for something completely different...

I've been so wrapped up with work, politics, and house stuff that I just realized the Open Championship starts tomorrow! You would think I was living under a rock or something. It looks like the course is burned out and hard, which I think is great (note above picture). We golfing folk are way too spoiled in the United States with all our nice soft, lush, green golf courses. I'd much rather watch the best players in the world try to stop a ball on the concrete greens at Royal Liverpool. And I predict a non-American hoisting the Claret Jug this year.

Lou Dobbs is a turd

I used to respect Lou Dobbs, but his weekly "commentary" that cnn.com rams down everyones throats on Wednesdays front page has become more and more annoying and opinionated over the past months. This weeks edition seems to take the cake by saying the United States is stupid and that we are basically to blame for everything in the Middle East. Lou used to be a middle-of-the road guy that I respected, but I think the years in front of the camera has warped him. I just don't see how today's commentary in any way could be categorized as "news". It should be filed under "piece of shit" by CNN or maybe the editorial section, but it sure as hell isn't news.

I know...I'm back on politics and I apologize to my non-political readers, but I couldn't let this one slide. If you are going to bitch and complain about how things are in the world, at least come up with a few solutions or ideas to solve these problems. Don't just complain so you can hear yourself complain. Here is the article:

www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/18/dobbs.july19/index.html

Turmoil everywhere

What a week it has been. The train bombings in India...the problems in the Middle East...the stock market getting killed. In general things haven't been too positive this week. While I am not too worried about the stock market (translation: it's time to buy, which I personally did yesterday) and India, I am particularly worried about the Middle East. This could turn into something much worse very quickly.

I can't say I am an expert on the Middle East, but I can say that I have read enough about the history of the region to consider myself knowledgable. The Gaza situation with the kidnapped soldier was bad, but Israel going into Lebanon is a completely different thing. Going into Lebanon just ratchets things up another level. While everyone hopes for peace in the area, it just isn't going to happen anytime soon. I lean toward the Israeli side as I feel they at least make an effort to be peaceful most of the time. They aren't bombing buses full of civilians, firing rockets every day into Palestinian cities and encouraging the death of Palestinians. But there are always two sides to every story and Hamas and Hizbollah have their side too, including continued Jewish settlement of Palestinian lands in the West Bank...something Isreal years ago promised not to do.

As with everything, do your own research. Don't be a zombie and take the standard national news story as gospel. You have to remember that every story you see from a US newspaper is going to be pro-Israeli. Just some perspective....

Spending Money

I somehow feel that I am single handedly driving the South Florida economy. Over the last month I have paid off the loan on my truck ($1100), bought a new washer and dryer for the house ($750), had my oak trees trimmed ($400), bought some new shelves for the "ballroom" ($300), and paid my first 2006 Florida summer electricity bill ($160). Actually I was happy the FPL bill was only $160...normally they are closer to $200. I've definitely removed some things from my "to do" list, but this is downright silly. Rumor has it that there might be some more big expenses on the horizon. Time to start working harder I guess. In addition to the weather recently (will it ever stop raining?), I get the distinct pleasure of fulfilling my civic responsibilities at jury duty next week. Whoo-hoo...when it rains it pours, huh?

More on oil prices

I really am working with the wrong clients. Instead of dealing with these old, crabby South Floridians who complain about a monthly statement being down $100, I need to be dealing with these rich Saudi Arabian guys in the Middle East. You've got to beleive that someone out there is somehow involved in manipulation of oil prices, and who better than me to place their big trades?

It seems like the rhetoric in the Middle East works in a certain pattern. Someone in Iran calls the Saudis and they buy oil contracts in their offshore accounts. Iran then stomps their feet and makes a big deal about nuclear research and Israel and cutting off oil supplies.....oil prices rise and the Saudis make money by selling. Iran then calls the Saudis and tells them to short oil. All of a sudden, Iran says that they have talked to European negotiators and the talkes were "productive"...oil prices fall and the Saudis make money.

Not possible you say? I say "bullshit" to that. Here in the US this is difficult to do as there are lots of checks and balances, regulations on insider transactions, etc. But in less developed and less-regulated areas of the world this could and probably does happen regularly. I just want to whore myself out and do the trades. Money is money right? It might as well be me making the cash.

Happy 4th to everyone

I hope that everyone has a great 4th of July. As for me, the only thing of substance I plan on doing today is a little painting. As expected, Lucy and Onyx woke me up this morning right at 7am. Who needs an alarm clock when you live at the Margarita Lounge...the animals wake you up to feed them breakfast. Since then (of course) they have both been silent while I can't go back to bed by this point. Lots of interesting stories out there today, but nothing I have the energy to go into. Today's two most important things are the Germany/Italy World Cup game at 2:30 and the possible shuttle launch also around 2:30. Everyone have a good day.

Purporting?

What is it with this term? Everytime an audio tape shows up from Osama, the media uses this word religiously. How many times have you read this line in a news story in the past few years:

"A tape purported to be from Osama bin Laden surfaced today saying bla bla bla."

When did this word become the hip thing for journalists? And while we are on the subject, what is it with the audio tapes? You would think that a guy who is purported (ha ha) to be the great leader of terror in the world could do a little better than a little crappy audio tape. Get with the program Osama...anyone who is anyone has their own website. They even let me have one, which is funny. You can record your little diddies on a camera phone these days and give it to one of your boys to run on Al Jazeera. I can see it now...a dude with a long gray beard sitting in a dark cave in the middle of nowhere with a battery powered tape recorder. Not exactly the type of guy I would be following.

Funny Friday Story

Pimpbling emailed this to me at work. If you want a good laugh, click HERE to check out a Dodge ad that never ran. I guess it was too suggestive or inappropriate, but I don't see anything wrong with it. Actually, if this ad would have been run during the Super Bowl, it would have been #1 on everyone's list of best ad.

Serious Friday Story

Remember that story back in May published by the USA Today claiming that Verizon, Bellsouth and AT&T were giving the NSA tons of phone records in some "secret cover up" type of thing? Well, it looks like the story is essentially bullshit. It's funny how big that story was, and how much media coverage it got. It was all you could read about for a week. What about today's retraction/ correction by the USA Today? Nowhere to be found in the news. Makes you wonder, huh? Here is the LINK to the story in case you want to read it.

Hangover free

After feeling like garbage all day yesterday, I'm back to normal today. I've actually felt good all day. I can't figure out if I actually feel good or if I just feel so much better than yesterday that I interpret it as good. Either way I'll take it. Luckily, little escapades like Saturday Night (which years ago used to be a normal thing) now tend to happen every few years. No wine for me this week.

Saturday Night Trainwreck

I had the distinct pleasure of hanging out with Gunther and Xan last night. We chatted and drank a bottle of wine. We watched Live 8 and drank a bottle of wine. We listened to some music and drank a bottle of wine. After three bottles of wine I decided to pilot my Explorer home. Yeah, I know...really stupid. Luckily, I made it back safely. Unfortunately, today has been one of the worst days of my life. I wasn't even able to get out of bed until 3pm and even now, at 9:30 I feel shitty.....just less shitty than I felt at 9am.

Snow Patrol

I guess deep down in my heart I have a special spot for British/Irish bands. As some of you know, I absolutely love Pink Floyd. I would also consider myself a fan of Oasis, early U2 and early Radiohead. That brings me to Snow Patrol. The first song I heard from them was "Run" off their last album "Final Straw" last summer. It was an amazing song...one that just grabs you and holds your attention immediately. It's really hard to explain without hearing the song, but I was hooked.

I just bought their newest release this week called "Eyes Open" and it is also amazing. They seem to walk the line somewhere in the area between Coldplay, Blur and Radiohead. If you go to their website you can hear one minute samples of all the songs on the new CD. It will take you about three minutes to realize they write great songs. Here's the site: www.snowpatrol.com

Three Great Days

If you are a sports fan like me, the last three days has been amazing. With all the drama at the US Open on Sunday, the Stanley Cup clincher on Monday, and the Heat victory last night, I think I have been on sports-overload recently. Actually, I guess you could throw in the US Soccer team's World Cup game on Saturday if you want to make it four days. And the Dolphins first pre-season game is less than two months away. Life is good right about now.

What a long strange week it's been

Do you ever have one of those weeks where everything seems a little off? Not necessarily a shitty week, but you just don't feel right? Yep..that was how this week went. I couldn't seem to find any solid sleep all week even though I usually am out five minutes after my head hits the pillow. I got next to nothing accomplished at work. Tiger missed the cut at the US Open (which I can't say I am unhappy about) and the Heat pulled out of their funk to even the Finals at 2 apiece. Just an odd week in general.

Pattymelt arrived on Thursday Night at the Margarita Lounge. She went shopping with Cheryl all day yesterday and we are heading to my parents house tomorrow for Fathers Day. Depending on my mood, I might head to Casa de Hickman today to see Mr. Frotuss and swim in his pool. The US plays Italy today in the World Cup. Sure, I would love to see them win and I know they are fired up after being called out by the coach, but it's the World Cup. We are Americans, which means we suck at soccer and thats just the way it is. We like football, baseball, and basketball. I gave them about a 30% chance of winning.

And then we come back to Tiger. I am so happy that he missed the cut. As a lifelong fan of golf (and yes...there was golf prior to Tiger Woods), I am glad that NBC won't be clogging up the play of the leaders with coverage of Tiger. Has anyone else noticed this odd coverage phenomenon? Even if Tiger Woods is 15 shots off the lead with 2 holes to play, he is all they will cover. It's like the actual leaders of the tournament don't even exist. Sure, if Tiger is within a few shots of the lead...give him the coverage, but if he isn't even in the hunt, forget it. Actually, now that I think about it, this opens the door for NBC to do something different. Instead of covering Tiger all day today, maybe they can have a big two hour-long show on the details of how Tiger missed the cut. That would be great.

70 Years

I usually try not to insert "work stuff" into the Margarita Lounge, but I felt this was a good place to make an exception. I had an appointment with a couple today who are clients of mine. Mr. is 95 and Mrs. is 92 and they are going to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary next week. I thought 50 was a long time, but 70...damn. Good luck to the happy couple.

On an unrelated note, I still feel shitty. I don't know what it is, but I've been in this funk all week. I haven't been able to sleep at night, which is really strange for me. Must have been all the partying with the Senator last weekend that caught up to me. Usually I would be excited as hell as the US Open starts tomorrow, but the energy just hasn't been there. My apologies to everyone for being a lame ass this week but things will improve.