It didn't really feel like the Christmas season til Sunday. That's when we actually got our tree, finished our Christmas shopping (for the most part) and wrote out the Christmas cards. Life suddenly feels in control again, now that we accomplished those things. Isn't our culture odd? That we need to cut down a tree and display it in our living room in order to feel normal? And then some people go one step further and don't cut down the tree, but rather buy something that looks like a real tree but really is made out of plastic? I wonder who thought up all these traditions.
It seems like we still have some miles to go before Christmas is actually here. For one, we have to get our car back from the repair shop. Our windshield was leaking. Turns out that it wasn't sealed properly and the metal holding up the windshield was all rusted out. So now the glass place has to tow the car (sans windshield) to a body shop for repair. The good news is that it's all covered by warranty. Yippy. But we need the car to get to Buffalo. So I hope they can get to it soon.
On Friday evening, I'm going to a baby shower. I believe that everyone else invited already has babies. So I'm not sure what I'll say to them. But it'll be fun.
Saturday evening, we are getting together with a friend for dinner, followed by a drop-in at her brother's Christmas party.
In the way of Christmas preparations, the house is basically not decorated, save for the tree. But I think it'll probably stay that way this year. As I say, it hasn't even felt like Christmas up to this point. We have to wrap the gifts. And of course, we still need to decide when we're coming back to Boston after Christmas. It's all up in the air.
But I trust that things will be resolved, if not consciously, then by default. The funny thing is you make all these preparations, and then Christmas is gone in about the blink of an eye.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
We need a bailout
I was going to remove the comment suggesting that "We need a bailout." It seems like its non-responsive. That said, I thought better of it. I feel like I have heard something similar to that a alot: Why spend all that money on car companies, banks, or whatever; How about spending it on me.
Well, what does that mean? I presume people want a check. Or, do they want Uncle Sam to pay their credit card debt and mortgage? What do you want? I don't have credit card debt, and I have a very affordable mortgage. I would be OK with the government paying it off, except I know that I will need to still pay the same amount in taxes or inflation (another form of a Tax)... So why bother.
Well, what does that mean? I presume people want a check. Or, do they want Uncle Sam to pay their credit card debt and mortgage? What do you want? I don't have credit card debt, and I have a very affordable mortgage. I would be OK with the government paying it off, except I know that I will need to still pay the same amount in taxes or inflation (another form of a Tax)... So why bother.
The Airport
I arrived at the Airport today, to protect the stupid I will leave the name of the city out, to see a sign flashing above the baggage claim. "If you see unattended baggage please call 911". Under the sign was about 200 unattended bags.
I thought about calling but figured this can't be worth the hassle, so I left.
I thought about calling but figured this can't be worth the hassle, so I left.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Cookbook
One more thing - I have to put in a plug for the best Lebanese cookbook of all time (and perhaps, after Joy of Cooking, the best cookbook of all time). We used it extensively for our Thanksgiving feast yesterday.
It is Lebanese Cookbook, by Dawn, Elaine and Selwa Anthony. Very authentic recipes and beautiful food photos too.
It is Lebanese Cookbook, by Dawn, Elaine and Selwa Anthony. Very authentic recipes and beautiful food photos too.
Thanksgiving
While JK^2 talks about current events, like the bailout, I'm going to tell you about our personal current events! That means Thanksgiving.
We had a really nice holiday. In fact, probably one of the best in a long time.
Our Menu:
Shish Kabobs (cooked on our grill)
Tabouleh
M'judra
Regular salad
Hummus
Pita Bread
Apple Pie
Jim did pretty much all the cooking. The key was that he cooked a couple of dishes each night for a couple of days leading up to the dinner. That made things much less stressful.
On our table, we had my grandparents' 1938 china, and silverware that is probably older than that (from my great-grandparents, the Rechs). Here are photos of our table:
Our Guest List:
Besides us, we had my mom, our friends Mark and Lauren, who also live in Quincy, and Lauren's brother Matt, visiting from Norman, Oklahoma.
The day of Thanksgiving started at around 1:15am. My mom's flight was 7 hours late: supposed to arrive at 7:30pm; actually arrived around 2:30am. A little disappointing for Jet Blue. We went to bed at the normal time and got up at 1:15 to drive to the airport. Poor Mom. She had been awake since 4am that day, between bringing Buddy to the kennel and having to go into work.
Then we went to bed and slept late. After lunch, we went to the storage unit to get the china, and then came back and got ready for dinner. Mark, Lauren and Matt came over around 5pm and we ate. After dinner, we sat around and talked for a while. Lauren had made a really tasty fruit salad, made with oranges, plums and mint with a lime juice dressing.
It was a nice day, because it was so low-key and we got to spend it with family, friends, and cats in our own house.
Today the weather has been funny. Right now, it's hailing! It was raining before. We are going to go candlepin bowling.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
We had a really nice holiday. In fact, probably one of the best in a long time.
Our Menu:
Shish Kabobs (cooked on our grill)
Tabouleh
M'judra
Regular salad
Hummus
Pita Bread
Apple Pie
Jim did pretty much all the cooking. The key was that he cooked a couple of dishes each night for a couple of days leading up to the dinner. That made things much less stressful.
On our table, we had my grandparents' 1938 china, and silverware that is probably older than that (from my great-grandparents, the Rechs). Here are photos of our table:
Our Guest List:
Besides us, we had my mom, our friends Mark and Lauren, who also live in Quincy, and Lauren's brother Matt, visiting from Norman, Oklahoma.
The day of Thanksgiving started at around 1:15am. My mom's flight was 7 hours late: supposed to arrive at 7:30pm; actually arrived around 2:30am. A little disappointing for Jet Blue. We went to bed at the normal time and got up at 1:15 to drive to the airport. Poor Mom. She had been awake since 4am that day, between bringing Buddy to the kennel and having to go into work.
Then we went to bed and slept late. After lunch, we went to the storage unit to get the china, and then came back and got ready for dinner. Mark, Lauren and Matt came over around 5pm and we ate. After dinner, we sat around and talked for a while. Lauren had made a really tasty fruit salad, made with oranges, plums and mint with a lime juice dressing.
It was a nice day, because it was so low-key and we got to spend it with family, friends, and cats in our own house.
Today the weather has been funny. Right now, it's hailing! It was raining before. We are going to go candlepin bowling.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Bail out Citigroup; What about GM?
OK, this article is not about Citigroup and the bailout announced today. I don't have an opinion on that. Well, I do, but not a strong one: I think the government should bail them out in return for full control, then split it up and sell off the parts. That's what the government should have done with AIG and that's what the government should probably do with Fredi and Fanny.
Currently, from what I read the bail out isn't a good idea. The government puts a huge amount of cash into an organization which is horribly managed and in returns gets grants to buy shares at 10 dollars, where the current share price is 3 dollars.
The real point I would like to make is for the people who ask "If the government bails out AIG, and Citigroup, and Whoever, why don't they bail out GM?".
The answer is, I think, fairly strait forward. If the government took any of the companies it is bailing out, it could divide and sell them. Most of the segments would make money. If the government took Ford, GM, or Chrysler and divided them (with the exception of GMAC) nothing would be worth a penny.
Lets get this strait: Chrysler was GIVEN to Cerberus Capitol by Daimler. Actually, Daimler paid Cerberus Capitol to TAKE Chrysler off their hands. So, next time a company pays money to give another company a segment of there business you know things aren't going well.
Ford just sold its last remaining valuable asset (30% of Mazda). GM, GM doesn't have anything except Hummer. They have been trying to give that away, no takers; no wonder.
Infact, the only way GM has been making money over the last few years is as a bank (essentially) via GMAC.
On the other hand, AIG, Citi, and even Lehman Bros were fairly profitable companies in areas where there was demand. Their problem(s) stem from a collapse of confidence, and bad loans. Some of their problems are bad loans, some is bad confidence. Take away the confidence and the bad loans might hurt these companies by about 20% of their market value. (plus other macroeconomic factors which are at play now). Government acquisition would just remove the confidence problem, breaking them up and selling them (maybe in a year or two) would probably be very profitable for the government.
Currently, from what I read the bail out isn't a good idea. The government puts a huge amount of cash into an organization which is horribly managed and in returns gets grants to buy shares at 10 dollars, where the current share price is 3 dollars.
The real point I would like to make is for the people who ask "If the government bails out AIG, and Citigroup, and Whoever, why don't they bail out GM?".
The answer is, I think, fairly strait forward. If the government took any of the companies it is bailing out, it could divide and sell them. Most of the segments would make money. If the government took Ford, GM, or Chrysler and divided them (with the exception of GMAC) nothing would be worth a penny.
Lets get this strait: Chrysler was GIVEN to Cerberus Capitol by Daimler. Actually, Daimler paid Cerberus Capitol to TAKE Chrysler off their hands. So, next time a company pays money to give another company a segment of there business you know things aren't going well.
Ford just sold its last remaining valuable asset (30% of Mazda). GM, GM doesn't have anything except Hummer. They have been trying to give that away, no takers; no wonder.
Infact, the only way GM has been making money over the last few years is as a bank (essentially) via GMAC.
On the other hand, AIG, Citi, and even Lehman Bros were fairly profitable companies in areas where there was demand. Their problem(s) stem from a collapse of confidence, and bad loans. Some of their problems are bad loans, some is bad confidence. Take away the confidence and the bad loans might hurt these companies by about 20% of their market value. (plus other macroeconomic factors which are at play now). Government acquisition would just remove the confidence problem, breaking them up and selling them (maybe in a year or two) would probably be very profitable for the government.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Automaker Bailout
It is a ridiculous idea to bail out "Detroit." Bailing out GM, Ford, or Chrysler is a horrendous idea. The fact that the government is bailing out someone doesn't mean that they should bail out everyone.
In the case of the three companies above, each one of them is insolvent, not because of the financial crisis, a crisis which is quickly passing (Banks are lending again), but because their business is rotten to the core. There are several fundamental reasons to not bail them out:
1) The government will never recover its money
2) The money will be squandered
3) It will not help employees
4) It will not help the rust belt economy
5) There are better ways to do all of the above
6) The automobile industry in the US will not collapse, nor will the parts market
First, we all understand that GM and Ford leadership are beyond hope. It appears Chrysler not so much (They got paid to "buy" Chrysler back from Dimeler). Giving money to any of these companies will put a good deal of the money into more products that Americans don't want to buy. It will also put money into share holders (who are just speculators at this point) and executives who will quickly leave to go somewhere else. These companies will go broke eventually, and when they do no one will want the parts.
Secondly, though there will be a large sort term shock to the economy, the demand for cars (while down) will not go away and will fully recover. Other automoile manufactures will pick up demand and they will produce the cars in the US. Toyta, Honda, Mazda all do, they do it because its cheaper and better to produce it here than ship them here. Theywill pick up the demand by producing more cars here, and buying more parts. No way around that. We won't go back to riding horses. American's laid off will get jobs back, though probably not in Michigan where the unions have ruined the state.
Finally, and most importantly, if the government wants to spend its money, it can put the money in a short term unemployement fund. As the "big" three go out of buisness the money can be given to the laidoff directly, and bypass the shareholders and executives (who clearly don't deserve it). This will be a short term solution, but so is giving the exectives and share holders the money to squander.
Plus letting the companies go under will finally clear the way for more efficient buisnesses to form and hire people. Its better to work for a proffitable company than a zombe. Trust me, it is.
Let the market work and take these ridiculus companies away. We will survive, and have nice cars to show for it.
In the case of the three companies above, each one of them is insolvent, not because of the financial crisis, a crisis which is quickly passing (Banks are lending again), but because their business is rotten to the core. There are several fundamental reasons to not bail them out:
1) The government will never recover its money
2) The money will be squandered
3) It will not help employees
4) It will not help the rust belt economy
5) There are better ways to do all of the above
6) The automobile industry in the US will not collapse, nor will the parts market
First, we all understand that GM and Ford leadership are beyond hope. It appears Chrysler not so much (They got paid to "buy" Chrysler back from Dimeler). Giving money to any of these companies will put a good deal of the money into more products that Americans don't want to buy. It will also put money into share holders (who are just speculators at this point) and executives who will quickly leave to go somewhere else. These companies will go broke eventually, and when they do no one will want the parts.
Secondly, though there will be a large sort term shock to the economy, the demand for cars (while down) will not go away and will fully recover. Other automoile manufactures will pick up demand and they will produce the cars in the US. Toyta, Honda, Mazda all do, they do it because its cheaper and better to produce it here than ship them here. Theywill pick up the demand by producing more cars here, and buying more parts. No way around that. We won't go back to riding horses. American's laid off will get jobs back, though probably not in Michigan where the unions have ruined the state.
Finally, and most importantly, if the government wants to spend its money, it can put the money in a short term unemployement fund. As the "big" three go out of buisness the money can be given to the laidoff directly, and bypass the shareholders and executives (who clearly don't deserve it). This will be a short term solution, but so is giving the exectives and share holders the money to squander.
Plus letting the companies go under will finally clear the way for more efficient buisnesses to form and hire people. Its better to work for a proffitable company than a zombe. Trust me, it is.
Let the market work and take these ridiculus companies away. We will survive, and have nice cars to show for it.
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