Idiots can be rich too

But not for long.
I read this story about a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of millions.
The firm's owner is refusing to list his assets claiming that they are covered by the fifth amendment.
What really got my attention was this quote:

Robert William, 52, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., who says he invested his life savings of $2 million with Lewis,

Two heads are better than one

Since we are staying home tonight I made another try at mounting Gandalf's sword. I was not having much luck until the wife came over and helped. I think it came out pretty well.
Now all I have to do is the Witchking's sword but not tonight.

Bowl Picks

Mich. over USC and
Ohio State over KSU (of course).

Other games? What other games.
Oh lets see :
LSU over Oklahoma (though this might be a close one)
Iowa over Florida.
W. Va over Maryland
Purdue over Georgia (I stick with the Big ten but this one is close)
Miami vs. Florida State (who cares) ok Florida but close
Oklahoma State over Miss.
Tenn over Clemson (that was an easy one)
Georgia Tech vs. Tulsa (I have not a clue and don't care)

Happy New Years

I was just watching New Year's in Sidney. Nice fireworks.

Everyone have a happy and safe New Years.

Late Bloomers - Antoine Rivoire

I know you were all thinking I was through posting roses this year but I saved this one even though this picture is about a week and half old. I am pretty proud of this rose since it was one of the few we planted this spring that really worked out well.
The bush grew pretty fast and seems to bloom constantly.

Puttering Around

Not much chance of a job this week so I have been goofing around when not doing my studying.
I bought some things on at an after Christmas sale. Walgreens had a double floodlight setup for half price.

"Wow only $5."
The floodlights for it cost another $5 a piece.
Now I have a red and a green floodlight in the front of my house.

I also bought a Santa tree timer for 75% off at Lowes, only $1.75.
Lowes also had little electric candles for only .55, I won't say how many I bought.

The thing I actually was at Lowes for was a light set for over my bar.
I brought it back this morning because I thought it couldn't be surface mounted.
It turns out it could so I took it back home where I decided it was the wrong thing so I drove back to Lowes and exchanged it for a bar of lights which will look better and be a lot easier for me, Mr. Not Do-it-Yourself, to setup.

I stopped on the way back to eat at Denny's to make sure I didn't need anything else because two trips to town is a bit much.

No sooner did I get home but I remembered what it was I needed so I took a third trip into town and got it.

BAM

Meryl responds to the furor caused by her and Lair professing their non-support for the victims at Bam. She quotes a lot of people, including me, and unsurprisingly has not changed her position one bit.

I actually have more to say about this but I am having trouble getting it together.

Dow closes at 10,450

While I hate to be an I told you so, I will make an exception this time.
Several months ago I predicted dow 10,500 by year end, in was a lot lower at the time. Just 50 points to go but since it climbed 125 today there might be some profit taking. Then again there might not.
Whatever happens it is close enough that I am declaring victory.

In case you are interested in specific stocks my most recent purchases have been inap and siri, which are doing well since I bought them.

Tragedy in Bam

When one sees a tragedy as it what has happened in Bam the first reaction is to help in some way as Michele proposes.

There are other considerations in any decision as Laurence points out here and Meryl expands on here.

The idea is being a jew should I or any jew lift a finger to help any person living in the anti-semitic county of Iran which will accept help from any country in the world except Israel. If I was biblical I might ask "Are there at least ten people in Bam worth saving?"

Not being biblical I say, "if there is one person worth saving should I save them". Can one person make a difference in this world? The answer is yes, one person can make a difference and if sending money to Bam relief I can save that one person who might make a difference then that money is well spent.

Not sending aid will affect us as well. It is the antithesis of everything that america stands for. As americans we are all about helping those not as fortunate and as jews we share those ideals.

The discussion continues as Michele's here and here, at Andrea's and at Mike Sanders.

Update: Ilyka chimes in on this issue.

More on Poland

IT looks like I might have been a bit a head of the curve with this post on a Polish Blogger.

Today we see an article in the NY Post online about Our Forgotten Allies.

On the big blog Glenn has a blurb on several Polish posts including one by Tom Friedman of the Times.

Returns from the Mists

One of my favorite bloggers Red Sugar Muse has returned from wherever she was and whatever she was doing.
Good thing I left her link on the blogroll so I don't have to go adding it again.

Things are looking up and who could be next?

It you said Rachel of Rachel Lucas fame you might be right.
No she has not returned yet but she is making promising hints.

Polish Blog

I got an email from a Polish blogger asking for a link to his site.
It is in Polish so it may be of limited value right now.
I suggested that he check out Merde in France and do something similar with English and Polish side by side.
I think that would be really great since Poland is one of the countries that is bleeding along side with us in Iraq as well as being an integral part of the new europe.
We don't hear a lot about Poland but what we do hear makes me thinks that great things are going on there.

Deer Problem

One of the major problems I have in trying to grow anything, especially roses, is deer.
Acidman provides me with a solution that he assures me will work.

Thanks for the info and link Rob.

Time is Running Out

If you want to get into the ATS Dead pool time and space is running out.
Only 4 days or 15 rosters whichever comes first.

Don't look at me, I got mine in early.

Back to Normal

It looks like the instalanche has run its course. In case you are not aware of what a link from the big guy can do it looks a lot like this.
Thanks again Glenn.

Theodore Roosevelt

Update: Mr. Lion has also posted this quote. We seem to be on the same wavelength about a lot of things recently.

Mickey Spillane

SBC Gets it

I had to call SBC yesterday to renew my DSL for another year.
Wisely they have offered me the same deal as last year which is $20 off their listed price.

More importantly I spoke to two different people on two different calls and both of them were based in the US. When I needed to talk to someone on the Yahoo side of the SBC/Yahoo venture I was handed off to another of those well meaning people for whom english is a second language and probably don't live in the US either. I don't generally mind out sourcing that much but you can't have call centers with people who it is hard to understand.

The SBC folks on the other hand were based at two call centers one in north Texas and the other in Corpis Christi. It was a pleasure dealing with them.

Fun Reading

My initial splurge of reading has slowed down as I have had to spend more time on the technical stuff. I did manage to finish the second book in the Mike Hammer three pack I bought.

Female characters in these books seemed to have a short life expectancy once they meet Mike. Aside from Velda, his secretary, and a nympho in the first book there have been 6 other major female characters all of whom have been killed off.

Only one of them did he kill but it was either that or marry her, in which case she would have certainly killed him. Sounds a lot like real life.

Christmas Carnival

The latest edition of the Carnival of the Vanities is at Winds 0f change .NET.
Full of Christmas spirt.

Another attempt on Musharraf

I hope that Musharraf's luck holds because this attempt makes it clear that the bad guys in his country are getting desparate. Pakistan is a critical part of the war on terror and they must be feeling the heat of his efforts to pull their fangs or they wouldn't be trying so hard to take him out. As long as they continue to fail this is all to the good because every attempt will bring the Pro-Musharraf forces down on them all the harder.

LAX Wifi

Roger Simon is going to the airport in the morning and reports that LAX has Wifi.
I asked him what it costs and he reports that it is free.

kaching!

Another Free Wifi site and this one is big and important.
When places like LAX offer free Wifi the ability of companies like T-mobile to make a profit becomes difficult.
I hate to sound like a broken record but the business model of pay Wifi looks shakier every day.

That I think is a good thing because places like the airports, certain cities, bookstores , restaurants and hotels will just look at it as a cost of doing business and offer it free.

Sir Winston Churchill

Churchillian

Glenn links to my shopping post below and calls the mood Churchillian.

Thanks for the Christmas present Glenn.

I will now have to find a Churchill Quote of the Day.

Happy Holidays

I got my car back today and it actually cost less than I expected.
That was good.

I went to do some last minute shopping.
That was bad.

Actually Hobby Lobby and Wal Mart were not as bad as I expected.
The liquor store however was busier than I have ever seen it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

Still no car

At least they say they now know what is wrong and I should have it tomarrow. I went to visit it today because I needed to get something out of it.
This is my first new car and I hope it has been great for the last 110k miles but I think I will have to start looking to replace it in the near future. Or at least once I get a new job.

I kept my mind off it by decorating the Christmas tree today. Having a wife who is a RC gives me an excuse to do something I never did as a kid.
The living room looks neat with the tree lit up on one side and the menorah lit on the mantle.

Dow Keeps on Trucking

The Dow passed the 10,300 milestone in spite of the orange alert status.
Anyone want to take bets that the dow closes above 10,500 by year end?

Return of the King was great.
I could be picky and say that some of the camera angles were making my stomach do nasty flipflops but I loved it anyway.

Movie Time

Off to see Return of the King.
Saw The Twin Towers on tape last night.
Back later, much later.

Equal Time

When the Bush sisters appeared all over the papers the reason given was that they were repeat offenders. It should be interestign to see how many of those same papers publish the latest in a series of exploits by Al Gore's son.
Albert Gore II has been arrested for marijuana possession.
As with all his previous problems this one took place in a car.

In September 2002, the younger Gore was ticketed for driving under the influence. He was pulled over and ticketed by military police just outside Fort Myer in suburban Virginia, but was not taken into custody.

In the summer of 2000, Gore was cited by the North Carolina Highway Patrol for driving 97 mph in a 55-mph zone. Under an agreement with prosecutors, a reckless driving charge was dropped in the North Carolina case, but he was fined &dol;125 for speeding and his driving privileges in the state were suspended.

Now that he has been arrested for a thrid time it should be interesting to see what kind of press he gets or as is more likely the case doesn't get.

Orange

Just when I was starting to feel bad about myself along comes the terror alert going to orange to snap me back to reality about what is really important.

Gary Stewart dies

I read about Gary Stewart dying today.

He shot himself.
Gary was only 59.

I wasn't much a fan of his music and couldn't even find any of his mp3's online when I looked.
His wife of 42 years died last month. That means they married when he was just 17. His son died in 1988 also of a suicide.
I can understand depression but I can't understand suicide.

With all my problems I just feel lucky that both my wife and daughter are in good health. you can always make more money (I hope) and buy a new car if need be but if you don't have your health you dont' have anything.

Update: From a post on CMT.com

Stop and consider this: Gary Stewart's contemporary Billy Joe Shaver lost everything in the past few years. All of his loved ones -- his mother, his wife, and his son (who was also his musical partner) -- were gone in a short span of time. His career went away. He suffered a massive heart attack. He was knocked down to his knees but he's gotten up and fought back and actually gone on to create new music. What's the difference between Gary Stewart and Billy Joe Shaver? Why did one pick up the gun and why did the other go back to pick up the microphone? I don't know.

Some people are survivors.

Car Woes

I had to bring my car in because it had an oil leak. The oil leak should not have been there because when the engine was done two months ago they should have changed the Cam seals (whatever they are), they didn't because they said the seals looked good.
They were not.
I noticed I was losing oil way too fast and so I brought it in and they found the bad seals and fixed them (there goes my holiday present money).
I picked the car up today and drove it 2 miles before it died. I called the shop and they had a wreaker pick it up.
Now they tell me the Power station is bad and will have to be replaced at a cost of $500 min, (there goes the rent money)
I am very depressed today.
I don't have my car and I don't have any money and I don't have a job.

Blogs as Coffeehouses

Glenn points us to an article describing 17th century coffhouses and comparing them to the internet.
Interesting if you like history as I do but the last paragraph I found really interesting since it supports my prediction about wifi access.

But history provides a cautionary tale for those hotspot operators that charge for access. Coffee-houses used to charge for coffee, but gave away access to reading materials. Many coffee-shops are now following the same model, which could undermine the prospects for fee-based hotspots. Information, both in the 17th century and today, wants to be free—and coffee-drinking customers, it seems, expect it to be.

Freedom Tower design final

The two architects who apparently have been feuding over the design for months have settled on the details of the new tower at the WTC site.

The building when completed in 2008 will be the tallest in the world.
I like the part about being the tallest in the world though I would have prefered at least two towers.
There will be a restaurant to replace Windows on the World, where I once took my mom for mother's day, among other visits and they will have turbines to generate up to 20% of the power from wind.
I don't know if the wind thing will work.
When the Citicorp building was put up in the late 70's the slanted roof was supposed to have an energy function but that never worked out.
It looks like it will be nicer than the original towers which were basically square and I am sure things could have turned out a lot worse.

Humiliation

I have been hearing a lot about the humiliation that the Arabs have suffered with the capture of Saddam. The latest being this article but it is not been the first.

Thomas Freidman wrote an Op-Ed about it last month. You can't read the whole thing at that link because it moved into the Times' paid section but Roger, Charles and David all posted about it.
Now the Guardian brings up the H-word again, this time in relation to Saddam.

From where I sit there is plenty for the Arabs to be humiliated about. They should be humiliated that they didn't back us in kicking Saddam out of power.
They should be humiliated that they have not forced Arafat to reach a peace with Israel but mostly they should be humiliated that their own countries remain such basket cases after decades of pumping millions of barrels of black gold out of the ground beneath their feet.
They should be humiliated that their education system is a joke and that they can't compete in the modern world. They should be humiliated that they can't even keep the technology they buy running but are forced to import tens of thousands to do the work for them.

Yes there is a lot of humiliation to go around in the Arab world and most of it is self inflicted.

Yes I am a Trekkie

You are an Excelsior-class cruiser, a true classic.
You are the mainstay. Your personality is
addictive, it has lasted a long time. People
count on you to get the job done, and you never
disappoint.


Which Class of Federation Starship are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


Link via Vicki

Late Bloomers- Climbing Pinkie

I am starting to run out of things that are still blooming. I took this last week and it does not look at good today.
It is a vigorous climber that is fragrant and a repeat bloomer.

Trip to France

Roger Simon has returned from his trip to France and brings more confirmation that the once great country is continuing in its death spiral.

I had difficulty deciding what category to put this under but I decided that it belongs as another facet of the War on Terror.
It was either that of a separate "France is doomed" category.

Read Roger's peice as well as the 100+ comments.
It is mostly depressing but we need to face the facts while there is still time.

Dow Closes above 1200

Can you say 10,248?
If you have not bought stocks you probably should before the train leaves the station.
The stock market usually predicts the economy by 6 months. If that is so 2004 promises to be torrid.
Eat your heart out Dems.

Blackbird

If you don't recognize the plane below it is Lockheed's SR-71 Blackbird, my all time favorite plane.
It is also the fastest plane ever built.
While the records below listed the speed as about 1800 mph its top speed was thought to be around 2,500 but that is classified as is a lot of other stuff about the Blackbird.
What we do know that it was built as a long range reconnaissance plane, had a crew of two who wore the same suits the astronauts do since it cruises at between 80,000 and 100,000 feet.
Over 90 percent of the Blackbird's skin is made of Titanium.
There were only 32 ever built of which 3 may still be flying for NASA and one that supposedly is in the possession of the Uncanny X-Men.

This day in History

Legend is that the great inventor Daedalus was imprisoned by King Minos of Crete in a high tower to punish him after the failure of his labyrinth to prevent Theseus from defeating the Minotaur escaping with the Kings' daugther.

Daedalus created a pair of wings to escape his imprisonment and built a smaller set for his son Icarus. Icarus flew to high and the sun melted the wax that his wings were held in place with causing him to crash and die.

One hundred years ago today two brothers from Dayton Ohio attempted to fly and the world has not been the same since.

Daedalus would have been struck dumb looking at this:






Then again Orville and Wilbur probably couldn't conceive that something like this would come from their humble beginings:

Steyn on Dude Dean

Typically good Mark Steyn peice on Dr. Dean as biker path Dude.

And that's our pugnacious little Democrat. On Osama bin Laden, he's Mister Insouciant. But he gets mad about bike paths. Destroy the World Trade Center and he's languid and laconic and blasé. Obstruct plans to convert the ravaged site into a memorial bike path and he'll hunt you down wherever you are.

Sad Farewell

Connie du Toit has decided to quit blogging.

I think she was one of the more thoughtful writers and I hope that she just needs to recharge her batteries and will be back at some point.

If not I wish her all happiness and good luck.

Interesting speech

It looks like Glenn and I think a lot alike (only a zillion hits a day difference), I meant to link to this speech by Michael Crichton some days ago and forgot about it until he posted the link today saying the same thing happened to him.

The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda.

So I can tell you some facts. I know you haven't read any of what I am about to tell you in the newspaper, because newspapers literally don't report them. I can tell you that DDT is not a carcinogen and did not cause birds to die and should never have been banned. I can tell you that the people who banned it knew that it wasn't carcinogenic and banned it anyway. I can tell you that the DDT ban has caused the deaths of tens of millions of poor people, mostly children, whose deaths are directly attributable to a callous, technologically advanced western society that promoted the new cause of environmentalism by pushing a fantasy about a pesticide, and thus irrevocably harmed the third world.

I can tell you that second hand smoke is not a health hazard to anyone and never was, and the EPA has always known it. I can tell you that the evidence for global warming is far weaker than its proponents would ever admit

More on Saddam

From this story this quote:

In the Yemeni capital San'a, Mohammed Abdel Qader Mohammadi, 50, a teacher, said he was surprised that the arrest took place as it did, with Saddam caught lying down in a tiny, underground hiding place then videotaped by the Americans, wild-haired and puffy-eyed, as a doctor checks inside his mouth.

"I expected him to resist or commit suicide before falling into American hands," Mohammadi said. "He disappointed a lot of us, he's a coward."

I don't think that the arabs understand that a lot of these leaders who are asking them to blow themselves up are in fact themselves cowards.
When faced with a choise Saddam choose capture rather then blowing his brains out or fighting to the death as his sons did.
I hope this will enlighten a few of them about the true nature of those they follow.

The truth leaks out

Richard Holbrook on NBC, talking about the trial of Saddam.

"It shouldn't be in the Hague because that doesn't work"

Welcome aboard Richard. I wonder if he cleared that with Dean, Kerry and others who have been saying that Saddam when captured should be tried by an international tribunal.

Bingo

First Report from Debka.

Update: John Kerry on Fox News Sunday: This is our chance to open up our bidding process where we shut out France ...."
Then he goes on to say that he is not talking politics. This guy is a LOSER no doubt about it. He digs himself a deeper hole saying that we should have continued the Clinton policy with North Korea and we should not have run away from Kyoto (which he voted against).
John Kerry is 57 varieties on maroon.

This the Season

Taking a break from putting Christmas lights and stuff up. I have not started on the tree yet.
Here is a nice Christmas card someone sent me, it is (I hate to use the word but it fits) cute, but in a good way.

Clemens Un-Retire

This post is not really about the Yankees but it is related to them in a major way.
The morning jocks at our local classic rock station interviewed Roger today and he jockingly said that he would consider coming out of retirement to pitch with his buddy Andy Pettitte, who just signed with the Astros this week, but he might have to return the H2 that the Yankees gave him when he retired. In short order a local dealer delivered a new Hummer to Roger should he consider pitching for the Astros.

With these two ex-Yanks in the rotation the Astros would become an instant contender. They already had a shot, barely getting beat at the end of the season by the Cbs but now.....

I better get some tickets before they become a hot item.

ATS 2004 Dead Pool

Time is running out to get your roster in for the 2004 Dead Pool over at Amish Tech Support.

I got mine in for all the good it will do me. Everyone on my 2003 list looks to finish the year in great health with the exception of Bob Hope who I don't even get any points for because I didn't read the rules closely enough.

I decided to take Ted Kennedy off my picks for 2004 just in case my picking him was all that was keeping him alive.

Fun with Wine

I found a new wine at the store today. A Merlot called Covey Run which costs less than $10 per bottle. It is a Washington wine and according to the manager it used the original Merlot root stock and not a grafted root like most California Merlots.

While I was at the store I passed a rack of familar French wines. It is a good thing that I have sworn off French wine because at $236 a bottle for Lafitte-Rothschild I couldn't have afforded it anyway. Someday I want to buy a bottle just to see what a two hundred dollar bottle of wine tastes like but unless I hit all the Lotto numbers it won't be anytime soon.

In case you are wondering it was a 1997 vintage.

Moving Blogger

Susanna is leaving the Metro NY area for warmer climes.
The Metro area will be that much poorer for her not being there.

I am sure they didn't notice when I left but that was in the BB (before Blogs) era.

Late Bloomers - Felicia

This is without a doubt the most fragrant rose in the garden. Just taking this picture today I could smell it.
It is a Hybrid Musk and has that musky old rose scent.

Dow 10,000

The Dow finished today at 10,008.16.
Not good news for the Dems or anyone else trying to say that the economy is bad.

Of course there is always the job thing which I for one would like to have one of but there are a lot of people working and that means good news in 2004.

Urban BS

It seems that several people will not let us forget that Dr. Dean suggested that the President knew in advance about 9/11. Good for them.

A man who is a serious candidate for president should not be saying things like this unless he has proof.

Hugh Hewett takes him to task here.

Comment Spam

It seeems that the comments got hit with a spam to a site for penis pills today.
I will delete these and any like them as fast as I can.

Full Moon

This is a couple of days old and one of those times I wish I had the big zoom lens that sits on my old Pentax but it is a nice shot anyway.

Listening To: Lotta Love - Nicolette Larsen

Rock and Roll Memories

I have a lot of mp3's on my hard disk, over 3000, that I usually let winamp just cycle through. It just came onto the intro track from the Ed Sullivan show for the Beatles first appearance on american TV. The first song was All My Loving followed by Till There Was You and the last song of the set was She Loves You.

I remember that show, I was watching, everyone I knew was watching. Even my parents watched. I remember my mom saying something complimentary when they play Till There Was You. She was surprised. The Beatles were like that, they reached across all ages. Part of it was marketing but part was just them.
The excitement they ignited was amazing. I have not seen anything like it since and I doubt I ever will.

Late Bloomers - Lace Cascade

Kat commented below that the latest chill had gotten to almost all of her blooms so I checked outside and was surprised that I still had 5 roses with blooms on them. This one we have had for a while. It is a climber and fragrant.

X-Rated Dean

Dr. Dean participated in an event filled with X-rated language directed at the president and Dr. Rice.

Aides said that Dean didn't authorize the X-rated attacks and that the Democratic front-runner found them so "offensive," he almost refused to come out and speak at the fund-raiser, one of eight New York events that raised close to $2 million yesterday.

Link via: Blogs for Bush

Not Funny

Meryl has a good post just up further defining what she does not like about Allah.

She has some very good points. I have to agree with her that I don't find him that funny either. I guess having the word Jew thrown around in the way he does it just grates on me.

Ask yourself if he was writting about Blacks instead of Jews and was freely using the N-word would you be offended? I know lots of black and whites who would be. I just has a discussion with myself about using it in print instead of saying the N-word which in this context should not be thought offensive. I decided not to, one because I have never used it in speech and I see no reason to start now and two because I know there those who will be offended just seeing it in print.

It is the same with seeing the word Jew tossed around like a beachball. There are so many people who have died just because they were born Jewish, good people, kind people that I find it offensive and very unfunny the way that Allah uses it.

Go read Meryl she says it better than I do as usual.

Winston Churchill

Variegated Hydrangea

Nothing really blooming right now so I had to check the archives.
I don't really have one good picture of this one however.
This is what is looks like in bloom but one of the things about it is that you know when it wants water and this picture looks like one of those days.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

The Hate That Shames Us

The second in a series by Julie Burchill upon her departure from the Guardian.
Required reading.
Nuff said!

Link from: Roger