A little more financial talk

Up on Montrose, a huge pipe burst causing a sink hole. If no one else is interested, I know Alexis will be as I believe she lived right around there some time ago. Quite the scene.

It was another crazy day in the markets today with the Dow starting down almost 200 and then ended being up 300. THAT's some volatility! While taking a look at various financial sources during these turbulent times, I came across the following info from the very respectable Lou Dobbs. The discussion is regarding the huge tax refund package in the process of being approved.

Courtesy of Lou Dobbs:

Bernanke endorsed the concept of a short-term economic stimulus package, but he cautioned that the money must be spent correctly: "You'd hope that [consumers] would spend it on things that are domestically produced so that the spending power doesn't go elsewhere."

Just what would you have us spend it on? The truth is that consumers spend most of their money on foreign imports, and any stimulus package probably would be stimulating foreign economies rather than our own. Imports, for example, account for 92 percent of our non-athletic footwear, 92 percent of audio video equipment, 89 percent of our luggage and 73 percent of power tools. In fact, between 1997 and 2006, only five of the 114 industries examined in a U.S. Business and Industry Council report gained market share against import competition.

Can you believe those numbers?? Good Lord, no wonder we're in such trouble economically.

Last year, my buddy SpringfieldSam contacted me after a rather precipitous drop in the Dow from around 13,500 to about 12, 700 or so over the course of a week. He was concerned about whether the market was in a free fall or if it was a buying opportunity. I told him, I don't know if it's either (if anyone says they DO know, they're a liar), but at the beginning of 2007 the market was roughly about 12,500. If it fell below 12,000, then I'd be a bit concerned. The market rebounded to above 13,000 again. Well, it went under 12,000 yesterday and then jumped to almost 12,300. Without any technical analysis at all, this feels like a good floor....at least given a certain set of economic data which seems to be changing. If we go into a recession, the floor could be something closer to 10,700 which is about 13% below the current level. If you're in the market, you have to be able to accept corrections in the 10-15% range periodically. Just don't sell!!

While you were sleeping, the government saved your ass.

First off, I just saw that the chief meteorologist at Fox32 in Chicago is named Amy Freeze. C'mon, even I can't make this shit up.

The government, more accurately the Fed, stepped in early this morning and cut the Fed funds rate by 3/4% from 4.25% to 3.5%. In addition to being unexpected, it was a huge cut. It's the first time that I remember the Fed meeting outside of the normal quarterly meeting to cut rates.....and they did it over the phone.....on MLK Day!! Very unusual to say the least.

The market opened down something like 450 points, or about 4%, but recovered quickly (supposedly due to the rate cut previously mentioned) and ended up down "only" about 128 points or 1.1%. So did the Fed save you while you were sleeping? Well, it's tough to deny that the move did limit the damage today or at least enhanced the recovery after the initial sell off. That said, do we really want the government to be this reactionary? It seems to me that the last time they were reactionary, we lost 3,000 soldiers in Iraq. No, I'm more for measured, well thought out, decisive and timely action from my government. I know we can't get that all the time, but in the financial world, you'd think it would be achievable.

So while the Fed saved you (or at least your retirement funds), it's only a short term blip. The market could deteriorate further this week and it wouldn't be unexpected at all. Just remember the long term. In times like these, think to yourself "Will the market be at this point in 5 years?" "How about 10 years?" It's really not likely. So sleep well and try not to panic. Keep on your investing regime.

That was the end of my entry and then I read the following in Newsweek online. If you read it and think about what it's saying, it should make sense even to those non-financial types out there:
Still, Bernanke's gamble isn't guaranteed to succeed. Since World War II the Fed's greatest blunder was to unleash double-digit inflation. In 1960 consumer prices rose 1.4 percent; in 1979 the increase was 13.3 percent. With hindsight it's clear that Fed policies were too loose, creating too much money chasing too few goods. But that was not so apparent at the time, when the Fed responded to public pressure to minimize recessions and keep unemployment down. It loosened money and credit, and the effects on inflation showed up a couple of years later. There was a steady upward creep; that is the risk Bernanke is now running.

Similarly, we have too few goods in the form of scarce commodities. Corn is short. Oil and refined gas are not keeping up with demand. Copper has gone up 420% over the last three years. It's the same story for almost all building supplies and most commodities. India. China. The entire world is competing now for resources. It's part of the reason why the dollar is crap now. Hopefully Bernanke is not repeating the mistakes of the past.

Happy MLK Day!

(this first paragraph is from my post last year. It's still very applicable.)
Hopefully you'll take a minute today to reflect on the life and times and influences of the late Dr. Martin Luther King. One of his more popularized moments is his "I have a dream" speech. You can't really help but getting pumped up while even reading his speech, much less actually listening to it. Here's a link that provides both for your viewing and listening pleasure. Take a moment today to relive the part of that day in August of 1963.

Feeling even better today! The weather seems slightly warmer, though no end to the seasonable cold is predicted. Oh well, that's January in Chicago I guess. Even got a little dusting of snow this morning.

Ricardo shot me an email from the office today telling me not to bother coming in as the thermostat is broken and it's 38 degrees in the office. Ugh. Well, looks like I'm working from home today!!

Football cures all ills.

Feeling much better today thank you! Yesterday was just a weird quasi-bug of some sort that knocked me out for a few hours instead of a few days. Lots of sleep (10+ hours Saturday night) and not much food (no appetite) apparently was the cure. Today I woke up ready and raring to go, but MWrigley wasn't as easily swayed. She has a busy week at work and wanted nothing to do with getting sick, so I got to see her for about half the day, but no smooching or nuthin'. Boo for me. :-(

No worries though, we hung out and watched football (she mostly read the paper) and then we had some Greek carry out food. Not terrible actually.

Hopefully you're not depressed today. According to Time, and several other sources, Monday is the most depressing day of the year. If you feel bad, think about what Packer fans feel like.

A few weeks ago, I helped out a young woman I used to work with in making some financial decisions in an effort to pay off some debt, refinance and make some other financial decisions. She took my advice, has given me progress reports and is making great strides. Friday she sent me this card:






Inside was a very nice note and two Black Hawks tickets! Very excited about going to the game.

Long over due entry

Sorry about my absence the last few days dear readers. Thursday was a long day starting with work and a trip to O'Hare. Upon my return, I had very little time before heading to the gym to workout (since it had been 4-5 days since my last workout) and I went from the gym to a church dinner and meeting combo that went from 6-9:30. Exhausting needless to say.

Friday I slept in, did some work, went back to the gym for a second day and then right to the store to pick up food to take to MWrigley's for Friday evening. Once there, we finished a bottle of wine and two that were partially opened, further dehydrating me. This morning after waking up and fixing breakfast for us, I came down with something that just completely exhausted me. I could barely eat soup and so our long day together was called off. Crap.

Once I got home, after braving the 3 degree, -22 degree windchill, weather, I was able to keep down a little food and then took a jacuzzi bath. Another small meal and here I am, starting to feel a little better and a little more energetic. Tomorrow will most likely be spent on the couch though watching football.....which, truthfully, would probably have happen anyway.

That Messenger is FAST!

NASA's Messenger spacecraft flew within 124 miles of the planet Mercury and will do a flyby three times while it attempts to get into orbit. Now, according to Wikipedia, Mercury is anywhere from 48 million miles and 138 million miles from Earth. Messenger was launched 8/3/2004 and one source indicated that it flew 91 million miles. So using some simple math with these inputs: the days between the launch and now (1,260 days) and the distance traveled (91 million miles), you can calculate that the vehicle traveled 72,222 miles a day or 3,009 miles per hour, 50 miles a minute. That's pretty quick!

Made a big switch today. I decided to go with skim milk in my coffee instead of a mixture of skim and whole milk (which translates into 2%). I'm not sure I'll be able to go this route, but I'm giving it a shot. Little changes like this really add up over a year, so I encourage you to do something similar. Maybe replace one can of coke with a diet coke or even a glass of water or cup of hot tea. The changes are pretty dramatic over time.

Lonnnnngggggg Day

Sooo tired. You crazy ass people who get up before 7 every day are absolutely insane. Sure, I don't go to bed before midnight most nights and go to the gym a few days a week and play softball tournaments on the weekend most of the time in the summer, but still, I just can't get up before 7 a.m. anymore. I used to be into work by 8, pretty much everyday for a decade. That would involve getting up at 6:30 pretty religiously. Now though, even 7 is tough. Then again, I didn't play much softball while working and was usually in bed by 11.

Ok, now I'm rambling. Time for bed.

First though, I had three meals today...real meals. I feel bloated. It started with a 7:30 breakfast meeting at the White Hall Hotel and consisted of French toast with pears. The pieces of toast were huge and I maybe got through 1 1/2 of the 3. The rest had to be tossed, despite how good it was and because lunch was not far away. Lunch was at Red Light on Randolph. Great food. I had a lighter, red fish dish, sort of like snapper supposedly. Pretty tasty. The big hit was the side dish of green beans that we got for the six of us. It was absolutely outstanding. The wait staff will remind you to order them if you forget, which is a good thing because they are not to be missed. Dinner was at a Frenchy place in the Hotel Soffitel called Cafe des Architects. It was a little odd and maybe not the best place to bring three people from Iowa, but wealthier, presentation oriented foodies would probably love it. I almost assuredly will not go back, but the Red Light is already on my list to hit again!!!

Cold weather is coming folks! Be prepared.

Busy, busy week.

My business partner from Albuquerque is in town, el supremo de New Mexico, for a four day stint. That means calling on the clients and this particular trip means interviewing law firms with a newer client. It's all good, but the early mornings (think pre-7 a.m.) could potentially kill me. People have died from sleep deprivation!!

That said, my entries may be shorter for the next few days and may be non-existent tomorrow entirely. Starting with a breakfast meeting and ending with a dinner meeting, there isn't much slack time in my schedule tomorrow.

The weather is getting colder in Chicago and today's high is only in the 20's. As the week goes on, it's supposed to get colder so that by the weekend the high is only about 15. Ugh. Good snuggling weather. Good building a fire weather. Good sleeping in late to make up for a bunch of early mornings weather. Me thinks I'll be doing all of those.

Forgot to mention that last Saturday MWrigley and I recycled her Christmas tree. I'm a big fan of doing that and the city actually has a fair number of convenient locations that make it easy to get it done. That's what I like to see: government making it easy for me to be a good citizen!

A little, very little, introspection.

It may appear that I didn't have a post yesterday, but that didn't mean I wasn't working on my blog. The pictures I posted on Friday weren't showing up anymore so I had to delete the images and repost them. That involved copying them from the source email to my hard drive and then uploading them from there to my blog. Unfortunately you can only upload something like 5 pictures at a time and it's not particularly quick. So I spent the better part of an hour or so yesterday just to get that posting updated and formated. You better enjoy it!!!

Though the regular season is over for football, I joined a playoff fantasy football pool with a buddy and he and I and another guy bet $100 each. There are a bunch of rules about changing players and such(which I'll spare you), but the upshot is that yesterday I could hardly have had better stats. I had the best QB, Brady, the best RB, Grant of Green Bay, the best WR, Jennings of Green Bay, and probably the second best WR in Welker of New England. And I still have one running back, a tight end and my defense to play today! Very exciting for me. Which made me think why?

It's not the money....I could really care less. It's not that I want to thump these two guys I'm competing against, because they are pretty nice guys and I enjoy hanging with them. The nature of the rules allows for a lot of combinations of players and one isn't obviously better than the others prior to game time. You have to make tradeoffs. If you want the "best" QB, you're going to have to take someone lesser at RB or WR or K or Defense. I probably went through 5-7 combinations of players before settling on the one I used.

And there is an added twist with the league which I will tell you about. You can only change four of your eight players after this week and then only two of your players prior to the Super Bowl, so you need to make all of your decisions with the end game of having a full squad playing in the Super Bowl.

So with all of that going on, I made some pretty outstanding selections. If one of my buddies did better than I did this weekend, God love them. I was very happy with the decisions I've made after a very thoughtful process and THAT'S why I'm excited about the competition.

Rivaling my funniest post ever.

This was an email that I received today. I didn't write any of the comments, but thought it was pretty hysterical.

Pictures from the Olan Mills Photography Studio:







Those glasses came free with a purchase of Brut cologne.














Thoughtful Lance. Mirthful Lance. Just waiting to come out of the closet.


















Drake won Bitchin'est Senior Mullet by a landslide.















That dude wore a tie for nothing.













The Purvis family made several stops along the Oregon Trail to document their six-month journey. This photo was taken just two weeks before the dysentery took Momma to Jesus.










Wanted a shot like this for my wedding. The Mrs. said no. Apparently the "focus" button wasn't working that day.













It's called a leisure suit, ladies and germs, and if you didn't have one in the early 70s, you were a big fat loser. Mine was teal. I wore it with a silk floral shirt and a long necklace with a football player pendant that we all got at that year's team banquet. I was THE MAN.













Once they had two or three, how did they ever find enough time alone to make more?













No Comment















Olan Mills backdrop #4: Bucolic Meadow with Split Rail Fence. Is that an animal carcass behind her?
(Joe: I really did laugh out loud at this one.)














A pose like this will get you kicked right out of the Convention.









What better way to capture the charm and innocence of a child than to plunk him down amid the coarse trappings of a life lived in pursuit of wealth -- oversized bills, an adding machine and the Wall Street Journal -- and make him sit inside a briefcase? The finishing touch is the globe, which completes the portrait of the young Antichrist in Chess King vest and Red Goose loafers, plotting his takeover of the world (insert maniacal laugh). That is, as soon as someone changes his poopy diaper.






Bobbi isn't the first waitress to fall for her manager, but she and Dale both got fired from Shoney's.













Rejected Toby Keith album cover.

















Just a typical afternoon down on the plantation. In a business suit. Y'know, for a budget meeting with the slaves.
(Joe:This was another one that killed me.)













Dawn and her recently exhumed sister, Gorgotha, pose with Scraps.

















This photo isn't discolored. The 70s really were that Orange .










And don't miss the First Presbyterian Players as they perform "Godspell" next Wednesday night in the Fellowship Hall. Childcare will be provided. Please bring a covered dish.












At the Southern Baptist Convention?















Olan Mills Backdrop #11: The Library, one of their most popular themes, as seen in this photo of the young Unabomber and his wife.













The Library might be more believable if the shelves weren't sloping downhill














Olan Mills is all about versatility. The simple addition of a column turns this generic plantation into Tara, where, apparently, someone opened a Hair Cuttery.

















Patrick broke ranks and chose drag over the bow tie

















You'd think Pearle Vision would throw in another two pairs for free.















Grapefruit smuggling isn't a crime, but posing while doing it in profile should be.
















Kenneth and his prom date














I got a 20 that says he drives a Camaro.

















Hiroshima , 1945. The last known photo of Kelli and Senor Loco .
(Joe: another backdrop gone awry. Too funny.)








Someone spent money on this.

















It's so cute when couples have matching hairdos















Talk about a third wheel...
(Joe: this reminded me of the Queen album cover. Anyone remember that one?)










Nothing says 1973 quite like denim and helmet hair

















I'd hide my face, too, little girl



















B-52's, the early years.














She's looking for the speaker that's piping in "Muskrat Love" so she can blast it with her laser eyes.

My trip to the gym

Some of you know that I belong to LPAC (Lincoln Park Athletic Club) which is maybe a mile from my house...maybe two. Just about two weeks ago, they finally opened up their new property LVAC (Lakeview Athletic Club) which is at Broadway and Belmont, a distance from my house that would be measured in blocks not miles. As such I was very excited about the opening with visions of a slimmer, trimmer, more muscular Joe resulting from this very shrewd move to open a facility closer to me. Though this club would be closer, it's price tag was significantly higher; $120 a month instead of $90! I do think that I would get some break though since I already belonged to a related gym.

Tuesday I was finally able to head over to see how the new facility laid out. Below I've laid out my thoughts:

-Huge open area at the entrance with many pleather chairs and sofas. Looks like a great start!
-Men's locker room is downstairs. Nice. Put the guys in the basement. Whatever.
-Lockers already have combination locks installed and you reset the four digit combo. Unfortunately, this makes it tough to find YOUR locker when your done. They all look exactly alike. My blue Master Lock stood out for me a little.
-Dry heat sauna is wayyyy too small for a newly constructed facility. Shoot. I can't even lay down to get the heat evenly distributed on my aging back prior to working out. Big issue here.
-Steam room is too small as well. Ugh.
-Up two flights to get to cardio room. Hmmm, pretty big, lots of equipment.
-When I run on one of the treadmills, the video screen is moving around like a building in a San Francisco earth quake. I have to look away from the screen periodically otherwise I start to get motion sickness. Ugh.
-Up another flight to the weight room. No televisions anywhere.
-No clocks anywhere.
-All of the hand weights, and there are ample, are at about knee level. Why wouldn't they make the racks waist level at least? The last thing you want is to have people bending over to pick up heavy weights because most of them don't do it properly. Poor design.
-Not all of my favorite machines are there. Crap.
-Three flights back down to the locker room. This trip will get old in a hurry.
-Where's my locker?
-What four digit number did I use?
-There's literally 5 people in the entire facility and two of them have lockers right next to me. Isn't that the way??
-The showers are awesome! Individual stalls with floor to ceiling opaque glass and a shower head mounted both on the wall and directly over head. You can choose either shower head or both! Sweet.

So, unless I want to go there specifically for a shower, I'm probably going to have to take a pass on the facility. It really was disappointing.

Best Cards of 2007

Christmas card winners from 2007. Here are the best cards that I received this year. Thanks for all the cards!!!





Unfortunately you can't see the smaller lighthouse scene below the main picture. Very nice. Thanks to Synergy Law for this entry.


















A simple, but very nice card with nice colors from The Petro Family in Louisiana. Go LSU!

















This nice card is from el supremo de New Mexico and is a three dimensional card. Very cool card.

















This card is from Katie and Dan and is also three dimensional. Another really nice card, though I got it late because it went to the wrong zip code. 60657 Katie!!





















This card is from Joisey Ken. Nicely done!


















A simple, nice card from DogBrian. Thanks!


















This is one of my top two favorite cards. It's from Sellers Capital, my hedge fund manager. It's really sparkly and takes the light very well.















This card you might have to click on to see why I like it. Thanks T-Rex Tim!

Of Sports and Television

June Jones is the football coach of the 12-1 Hawaii Warriors (previously the Rainbow Warriors) who were undefeated until they lost their bowl game. A dream job right? He was making $800,000 a year to coach football in Hawaii. Southern Methodist University, SMU, located in Dallas Texas, lured JJ away from paradise by offering $2 million a year for five years. Hawaii countered with $1.6 million. JJ went 75-41 since going to Hawaii in 1999. Since 1989, SMU is 58-153-3 including a 1-11 record this year. Me thinks JJ has gone loopy. Leaving Hawaii for Dallas for a mere $400k a year? Well, it IS 25% more money and I don't think there are state taxes in Texas....not sure about Hawaii. Still, it's freakin' Hawaii!!!

Have you seen these commercials for "Moment of Truth" on Fox? It's a show where they hook you up to a lie detector and ask you questions like: are you disgusted by fat people? (asked by a fat person) Do you really care about the starving kids in Africa? Would you donate a kidney to your father? (asked by the father). It looks AWESOME. I would totally go on the show because I really don't give a crap what people think about me....at least for $1 million. Unfortunately MWrigley has sensed my enthusiasm for the show and has forbade me from going on it. Booooo. :-(

Two other shows to discuss briefly are both hosted by Drew Carey: The Power of 10 and The Price is Right. First, I have to say that I've loved DC since seeing him doing stand-up probably more than a decade ago. That said, he sucks as a game show host. I'm sorry all you other DC fans. Maybe nobody could do a good job hosting TPIR after Bob Barker, but I was shocked when DC accepted it (while on a night time talk show by the way-either Letterman or Kimmel). He just doesn't seem to have the presence on stage for that kind of thing. Maybe he'll grow into it.

That said, The Power of 10 is a pretty good show. You have to guess the answer in percentage terms, to a question where the nation is polled (think of TPIR's price range game). You get larger percentage ranges to guess in early on (20%-30% I think) but you have to be within 10% when I saw a participant trying to get from $100,000 to $1 million. DC's still bad as a host, but the show is good.

Cleaning house and owning up

Even though the weather was so nice on Sunday evening, I opted to clean out my closets and drawers....a little spring clinging in the winter if you may. Of course, I was watching the football games, so I had reason to stay in. I'd have to say, I was pretty productive. Here are some pics:









Here it all is: 9 bags of clothes and other stuff including a bag of curtains and two pairs of shoes.













In addition to those clothes, I had 5-6 coats that decided to get rid of. This one on top is a classic and I'm sure it will fetch a pretty penny. Click on the picture and blow it up to see why it's valuable. (Hint: I may be the last member.)





Here are the funds that I recommended last year and how they did in 2007. The last entry is the S&P 500, which returned 5.5% in '07, slightly better than a money market account.

Weitz Hickory WEHIX (-13.1%)
Dodge and Cox International Stock Fund DODFX +11.7%
Dodge and Cox Income DODIX +4.7%
Mairs and Power Balanced MAPOX +4.3%
Mairs and Power Growth MPGFX +4.9%
Stratton Small-Cap Value STSCX (-2.02%)
Oakmark Select I OAKLX (-14.04%)
Oakmark I OAKMX (-3.6%)
Oakmark Equity & Income I OAKBX +12%
S&P 500 5.49%

As you can see I had some double digit gainers and double digit losers. In 2008, I'd still recommend almost all of them. The only iffy fund is the Oakmark Select fund. They had a large exposure to Washington Mutual and some other bank stocks associated with the sub prime mortgage fiasco. It's a good time to buy the fund, but not everyone is up for that kind of concentrated risk.

Great weather in Chicago!!

It was an outstanding weather day in Chicago Sunday and even Saturday was great for January. All of the snow is gone now and that's great in my book. Two more days closer to Spring!!

One of the things I wanted to do this weekend was to go to Hot Doug's Hotdogs with MWrigley (as recommended by el supremo during a visit with stef). They are only open Monday-Saturday from 10:30ish until 4ish, so we chose Saturday to go for lunch. Unfortunately, EVERYONE else decided to do the same thing. The place isn't big to begin with and on top of it there were about 40 people lined up down the block just to get in. Now, it was nice out, but I'm not waiting in line to get a freakin' hotdog. MWrigley wasn't feeling well anyway, so we bailed and went to option B for lunch.

Tough weekend for all my Steelers brethren. They were the only team in the playoffs that I wanted to cheer for so I'm not sure what I'll do now. Maybe I'll cheer for the Patriots or.......good Lord....the Packers. The Steelers lost after their QB, Roethlisberger, ran the ball on 3rd and 6 with 2:36 left instead of throwing or giving the ball to a real running back. I blame the offensive coordinator for being too conservative with the game on the line. The other key play was a "phantom" holding call on an offensive lineman, though the announcers and yours truly couldn't find the actual infraction even after watching the tape twice. On the play, the Steelers converted a 2 point conversion which was nullified. On the next play, they threw incomplete. They lost 31-29.

Huck-a-what??

Mike Huckabee?? Really? According to OntheIssues.org, he has the following stances/comments:

-Hate abortion, but to allow it is like hating slavery but allowing it. (May 2007)
-Certainly good day for America when Roe v. Wade is repealed. (May 2007)
-Respect gay couples but no gay adoptions. (Jan 2007)
-Death penalty is necessary part of criminal justice system. (Sep 2007)
-Drug education fails; drug punishment works. (Jun 2007)
-Impeach judges for barring legislature prayers to Jesus. (Sep 2007)
-Wal-Mart is case study in genius of American marketplace. (Jan 2007)
-To reduce spending, get rid of IRS & revamp DHS. (Nov 2007)
-Energy independence: let Saudis keep their oil & their sand. (Nov 2007)
-Kyoto was a mistake, but "Earth in the Balance" is not. (Jan 2007)
-Follow Boy Scout rule: leave earth better than we found it. (May 2007)
-Change tone of Bush's arrogant bunker mentality. (Jan 2008)
-Demand accountability from Pakistan for our $10B. (Nov 2007)
-It's not OK in Pakistan; bin Laden is hiding there. (Oct 2007)

I guess that flies with the evangelical right of Iowans. A little scary to me though. Bush has similar stances, which makes the Iowa results even more scary!! In the spirit of taking responsibility for my beliefs, I highlighted those stances that I actually agree with. The Wal-Mart one could be taken out of context. I'm not saying Wal-Mart is GOOD for our economy or our marketplace, only that it was a very smart plan that was well executed.

In my previous posting I forgot one resolution:

-I resolve to stop making contributions to my church for the rest of the year if at any point a new case of pedophilia comes to light. I'm just tired of this shit and have been for some time. It's time to start castrating priests if they don't have any self control.

Sorry about the less light hearted entry today. Just some things getting under my skin.

Resolutions....how I hate them.

First, it's mo-fo cold here in Chicago. -3 this morning.....damn. This weekend though it's supposed to be 55 for a high!! Sweet.

For the new year, I'm resolving to get a better cell phone and plan. Currently and for the last several years, I've been on a pay as you go plan with Virgin Mobile. It's been fine since I was only using it for emergencies or quasi-emergencies. On average it was costing me about $15 a month originally, but then went to about $30 a month and was there for about a year or so. Now though, with the advent of coordinating with MWrigley and because of work, it's gone to somewhere between $65 and $95 a month. So it's time to get a new plan and a new phone. I'd love to hear about your phone and plan. Do you like either? Hate either? Both are good pieces of information to have. Right now I'm looking at a Blackberry, either the Curve or the 8800 series. Thoughts?

Regarding resolutions, I normally don't make them or believe in them. You should make improvements to your life throughout the year or whenever possible. However, it'll make useful blog material in a year! That said, here are some other resolutions:

I resolve to keep my weight under 200 lbs., preferably in the low 190's.

I resolve to get new carpeting in the basement and solve, to the best of my abilities, the flooding issue. This will be quite a challenge!!

I resolve to have my guest bathroom completed by the 4th of July. It's only been....oh....13 years.

I resolve to take at least one vacation to a warm place and one vacation when it's warm up here.

That's about it....I don't want to make too many resolutions and then not do them!

Anti-Dick Tracy Entry

We had some snow on New Year's Eve and here are some pics from out my window.







I just love how all the branches are covered.























Yesterday was filled with football, as it should be, and I was over at MWrigley's so I didn't have a chance to post. Briefly, the games did not have my desired outcomes for the most part. Wisconsin was the early game against Tennessee and they lost in a close one. I tend to cheer for the Big 10 unless it's Ohio State, so I wanted Wisconsin to win. Then Michigan was up and beat Florida by three, but the game wasn't really that close. The Michigan running back fumbled twice at the goal line and lost both fumbles. Illinois was up next in the Rose Bowl. They got smoked by possibly the best team in the country, USC. Finally, the last game of the day pitted the 12-0 Warriors of Hawaii against Georgia. Except for having UGA VI as their mascot, a great looking bulldog, I have no reason to cheer for Georgia. Unfortunately, they smoked Hawaii, so I was 1-3 on cheering for teams. Boooo.

On another channel was an outdoor NHL game. Buffalo played Pittsburgh in front of 71,000 cold fans. Unfortunately I didn't watch the game, but I heard it was pretty cool to see. Plus it snowed during the game!!

Big epiphany for me on New Year's Day by the way: I've decided to actually watch the Rose Bowl Parade from now on. All of the visible parts of the float have to be made with organic material. It's really freaking amazing what they do. I've hated parades ever since having to march in a Memorial Day parade as a kid when it was raining and 40 degrees out and have avoided them like the plague ever since. The Rose Bowl Parade could help me turn the corner though.

A no smoking law went into place yesterday in all bars, restaurants and public work places. I'm VERY HAPPY!!! Couldn't be happier in fact. No more having to wash everything I wore out to dinner or to a bar just to get rid of the smokey smell. Ugh.

I thought I mentioned this before, but I haven't been able to find my entry about it, but for those of you who read the comics you probably already know that the Dick Tracy situation is completely out of control at this point. He went into a "haunted house" a few days before Halloween and as of yesterday it's still just the day AFTER Halloween. It's two months later and all they wrote about was one freaking night when nothing really happened. I might start a grass roots movement to have it removed from the Tribune. Who is with me??

Happy New Year ('s Eve)!!

Happy New Years to all my readers!!

Sunday turned out to be a great day to tailgate and take in a football game. The temperature got up near 40, topping out at 37 or so I believe. I had Mr. Heater on, but mostly just because I had gone through the trouble of bringing it.

We had 10 people at the tailgate at one point, so I was basically a short order cook. Lots of eggs going for breakfast sandwiches and a lot of coordinating with the Canadian bacon, muffins, cheese and eggs. It's all good though. I enjoy entertaining even if it's in a parking lot in near freezing weather.

The breakfast portion was followed up with chili and hot dogs (or chili dogs for most people). It's pretty basic, but I didn't think people would have their gloves off, so I didn't make appetizers. Oh well, everyone had a good time.

After cleaning up and finishing the last bit of food, MWrigley and I missed the opening kickoff and first few plays. The game was fun to watch and we had a good time, but Gar and the Boyz who sit in front of us weren't there and the usual suspects who sit to our right weren't there either.

We stayed until the end of the game, but then left instead of tailgating afterwards. Turns out that a few of the guys gave MWrigley a hard time for having us leave the Denver game which ended in a 14 point turnaround for the Bears to force overtime and then the Bears won in OT. On the way home from that game, MWrigley said she was secretly cheering for the Broncos because she didn't want to be the reason I missed the end of a great game. So THIS time she stated several times that we weren't leaving another game early. Lesson learned!

Six of the guys at my tailgate were doing the Bears game and then going to see the Black Hawks at night. They thought I was going to stick around and tailgate after the game too, which I have done in the past about 80% of the time, but I had other plans this time. MWrigley's mother and step-dad had been in town for a week and finally left Sunday morning. That meant she and I haven't had much alone time for the last 10 days or so since she was sick briefly prior to their arrival. As a further result, we decided to go out for a quick dinner (sushi) and then stay in for NYE, light a fire, watch a movie and have champaign. A very nice, quiet evening.

Coming soon: how my recommended funds last year performed and what funds stay on or fall off the list for 2008.

Confidential for Steve: Congrats on the new job!

Happy Birthday to Joisey Ken! He's a great guy and an even better friend.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum.....

How long do you leave your Christmas tree up? The city of Chicago recycles on the 12th of January, but that seems like a long time to have a tree up. Don't most people take them down around the first of the year? Hmm, seems like the 5th would have been a better recycling day.

I don't think I wrote about it, but if you had waited until the Saturday before Christmas (maybe even the Friday or Thursday, I'm not positive) you could have bought a Christmas tree at Menards for $5!! Any live tree they had left. Fir, Balsam, Spruce....$5. That's a thought next year for you Chicagoans trying to save money.

I just love this story. What kind of message are we sending our youth if this prize is allowed to stand??

Sunday is another Bears home game, the last one of the season and I'll be out there tailgating at 9:30. The weather should be much better than last week....how could it be worse??