A Sad Day....

Why was yesterday such a sad day? I know what you guys are thinking...the stock market was down 500 points yesterday and we are in the middle of the largest financial crisis since the great depression...Fannie and Freddie go under, followed by Lehman Brothers and now maybe even insurance giant AIG. Surprisingly, that is NOT why yesterday was such a sad day.

Yesterday marked the passing of Richard Wright, one of the original founding members of Pink Floyd. Since my college days I have been a huge fan of Floyd and while I was probably a little late to the show, I feel that they were one of the most influential and important bands in the history of rock music. To this day I still kick myself for not going to the Pink Floyd Division Bell tour in Cleveland in the early 90s. RIP Richard.....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/15/obit.wright.ap/index.html

Political Stuff

Yep...it's that time again. It happens every four years. I get really irritated for a few months every time I turn on the TV. Must be a presidential election year! As you all know, I am a McCain/Palin supporter and a Republican. I am not a huge fan of McCain, but I have to be honest and say I am really impressed with Sarah Palin as the VP choice. Obviously, not everyone out there feels the same as I do but thats ok...someone has to be right and someone has to be wrong...

Below I have posted a rant from last week that was posted on youtube by Diddy. Yes...THAT Diddy....Puff Daddy..or P. Diddy..or whatever the hell his name is these days. I know there was some type of half-assed apology this week, but today was the first time I saw it and it makes me want to vomit. I could go on about how inappropriate and hateful and pathetic this is, but I think it is best left to Diddy himself to stick his foot in his own mouth. Mr. Obama needs to tell Diddy to chill out because this type of ridiculous shit just shows how ignorant he is. Make sure you watch the whole thing as the last 20-30 seconds is the most bizarre/stupid part....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UQ_ZO636HI

Must have just been a typo....

Did anyone see the story about the mayor of Detroit today? I guess this guy is being forced to resign over some rather "questionable" things he did. I have attached the article here from CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/09/04/detroit.mayor/index.html

Does anyone notice something odd about this article? No? It would be easy to not notice this while reading the article, but there is no mention of his party affiliation...especially during our present "politics all the time" news schedules. One guess what party he belongs to? Yep, thats right...he's a Democrat.

It's funny how public officials like Larry Craig and Mark Foley are immediately revealed as Republicans when they do something wrong, but somehow this guy avoids being labeled a Democrat when he is a scumbag. I actually had to go to Wikipedia to find out which party he belonged to. I also read two other articles from different sources...they also strangely avoided mentioning he was a Democrat. Where was the only place I saw an article showing he was a Democrat? Yep...Fox News. At least Rupert's boys are being honest....

Hanna, Ike and the Wagon

The good news is that Gustav missed us here in South Florida...just a little rain and some small breezes. Unfortunately, I see that Hurricane Hanna and the newly formed Tropical Storm Ike are both heading this way in the next week...Hanna around Thursday and Ike toward the weekend. Just to be safe, I ran out to Home Depot to pick up a few needed Hurricane preparedness items.

As for Cheryl and I, we had a great time last night in Jupiter...dinner was excellent as expected and the drinks went down pretty smooth too. That being said, Cheryl and I have decided to jump on the wagon for a couple of weeks to dry out. We seem to have been enjoying a few too many beers and bottles of wine recently and have been feeling crappy/lazy the last few weeks. I am sure everyone knows that "stuck in a rut" feeling and we both have decided to chill on the beverages for a while. Lets hope that Hanna and Ike stay away from the Margarita Lounge the next week or we might be falling off that wagon...there isn't a whole lot to do on those stormy nights without power when you know you don't have to work the next day....wish us luck!

Labor Day Weekend (whats happenin lately)

Pattymelt is in town for the Labor Day weekend visiting her favorite grandson Zach. She came in yesterday and seems to be enjoying her time with the big man. With Patty around, Cheryl and I are taking off this afternoon for a little alone time. We are heading up to the Jupiter Beach Resort (about 40 minutes north of here) for the night and plan on having dinner tonight at Jettys.

I see Gustav is gonna kick the hell out of the Gulf Coast sometime tomorrow. It looks like this one could be worse than Katrina in terms of winds. (remember Katrina weakened right before landfall) Hopefully it will hit a less populated area west of New Orleans.

As for us, we are watching Tropical Storm Hanna a little closer these days as we are in the "cone" as of now. While the hurricane center says it will miss us, I am always a little skeptical of these last minute turns....if they miss the timing by 6-8 hours we are gonna get hit. The good news is that it is at least 4 days out and a lot can happen in the interim period.

I see that McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, which I think is great. Sure, she doesn't have much experience, but neither does Obama...so I see that as a wash. At least she has some executive experience being a governor, which is something that Obama can't say. Her choice as VP should definitely help McCain appeal to the Republican base as she is pretty conservative. And her personal story is pretty cool...

Looks like the Dolphins are now down to the 53 man roster as they did final cuts yesterday. Reagan Mauia and Justin Peele were the big cuts, neither which would be considered a big surprise in my book. I like the fact that they kept 6 receivers, most of which are young guys. I also like the fact that they just gave Ricky Williams a one-year extension as I think he is gonna have a big year in 2008...as long as he stays away from Zulu Puff.

Well..thats it for now Margarita Drinkers. Wishing everyone a safe and happy Labor Day weekend....stay outta trouble and don't let your meat loaf.....

Goodbye Travis Daniels

It looks like Parcels and the Dolphins are pretty much cleaning house this year. First it was Zach Thomas...then Jason Taylor...then Jay Feely. Today it was Travis "I get burned constantly" Daniels. As you can tell, I am actually excited about him leaving as I never liked the guy as a player. He was a fourth rounder and we got a draft choice for him, so thats a gain in my book.

The bad news is that he went to Cleveland....sorry Hickman. Your GM must be blind and stupid because Travis Daniels is NOT the solution for you guys problems in the secondary. Trust me...you'll see in the first game he plays.

Speaking of football, I have decided to get involved in Cheryl's Fantasy Football group this year so everyone wish me luck...the draft is on Monday Night and I'm getting excited!

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.