Many years ago, I spent a fun few days in Iceland on my way to Denmark for a summer vacation. It was a rocky country that had a lot of light. I remember eating dinner and it was either 9 or 10 pm and the sun was just about to set. But there was still quite a lot of daylight out there.
Why am I reminiscing about a trip I took many years ago? It is because I am now saddened to read about the financial crisis that has brought the country of Iceland to their knees. Last week, the country nationalized the three largest banks. Today they cut their interest rates by 3.5% and yet it may not be enough. It was a pleasant country and I would hate for country to go in a downward spiral. The people were nice, the food was good and the climate in the summer was great. Except for the rain. But even, then for the brief days that I was there, it only rained a little bit.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Stock market gyrations
I have been watching the stock market closely the last few weeks and all I can say after Monday's historic rise is that I have no clue what is going on. All I know is that it has been going down a lot and yesterday it jumped because of government intervention. I checked my 401K online yesterday and was very saddened by the losses. Oh well, you win some and you lose some, I just wish I did not lose so much.
It is a good thing that I am young and can delay my retirement for a while longer even if I do not want to delay it. However, I feel bad for those in retirement or near retirement who had their stock portfolios devastated by the recent market turmoil. Reading that retirement accounts had lost about 2 trillion dollars because of the decline in the stock market was shocking. And I still cannot believe how much has changed in the financial world over the last couple of months. Storied names of companies that have been around for decades or even over a century have been brought to their knees. It is a shame that the risky behavior of a few has hurt so many.
If the last decade has shown me anything in the stock market, it is that fortunes are made and lost quickly and that no matter how big the company, the company can and will fail. I remember earlier in the decade the collapse of Enron and Worldcom. I thought the collapse of Bear Stearns recently was an anomoly, but sadly, it was the start of something much worse. Over the last few months, seeing AIG, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae basically go out of business, I am not surprised the Dow Jones industrials dropped over 40% from its peak last year. Hopefully the worst is over and the market can behave rationally and inch back upwards.
I know that a lot of seniors and older folks are desperately hoping for a furious market comeback. I just think it is unrealistic for a complete turnaround in a short time frame. We may not see Dow at 14,000 for a few years. Though if you have some money, maybe it is not a bad time to invest some of that in a broad market index. As billionaire Warren Buffett once said, "be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful" or something like that. Last week people were afraid.
It is a good thing that I am young and can delay my retirement for a while longer even if I do not want to delay it. However, I feel bad for those in retirement or near retirement who had their stock portfolios devastated by the recent market turmoil. Reading that retirement accounts had lost about 2 trillion dollars because of the decline in the stock market was shocking. And I still cannot believe how much has changed in the financial world over the last couple of months. Storied names of companies that have been around for decades or even over a century have been brought to their knees. It is a shame that the risky behavior of a few has hurt so many.
If the last decade has shown me anything in the stock market, it is that fortunes are made and lost quickly and that no matter how big the company, the company can and will fail. I remember earlier in the decade the collapse of Enron and Worldcom. I thought the collapse of Bear Stearns recently was an anomoly, but sadly, it was the start of something much worse. Over the last few months, seeing AIG, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae basically go out of business, I am not surprised the Dow Jones industrials dropped over 40% from its peak last year. Hopefully the worst is over and the market can behave rationally and inch back upwards.
I know that a lot of seniors and older folks are desperately hoping for a furious market comeback. I just think it is unrealistic for a complete turnaround in a short time frame. We may not see Dow at 14,000 for a few years. Though if you have some money, maybe it is not a bad time to invest some of that in a broad market index. As billionaire Warren Buffett once said, "be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful" or something like that. Last week people were afraid.
Street fair food
Yesterday was Columbus Day, which is a psuedo-holiday in the United States. Certain things like banks and the post office are closed as are some schools. But my company was not closed and I had to go to work. I did not get a three day holiday weekend but I thought I would be able to drop by the street fair that is outside the building I work at for a delicious lunch.
My diet is not exactly what you would call a good one though recently I have been eating better. Which is not saying much since my usual fair is some fast food joint. In any event, I thought yesterday I would treat myself to some tasty street fair food. It being Columbus Day, I thought I would join in the celebration of the Italian Christopher Columbus by having a tasty Italian sausage sandwich with onions and peppers. The very thought of it had me salivating for an hour before I went to lunch.
Imagine my disappointment when I went downstairs for lunch and walked up and down the street fair looking for that food stall that would satisfy my hunger and found nothing! Oh, there were food stalls. There were popcorn stands and stands that sold roasted corn, which I guess are really snack stalls and not food. But there were food stalls. I counted about six in the four blocks I walked but none of them sold Italian sausage sandwiches. Instead five of the six stalls sold Gyros, Falafels, Pitas and Kebabs. One sold pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches with some award winning barbacue sauce.
Let me just say that I was extremely disappointed that there were no food stalls with Italian sausage sandwiches. For pete's sake, Columbus Day is meant to celebrate, at least to a small degree, Italian-Americans in the United States. I do not recall any street fair in NYC that did not have one food stall that sold Italian sausage sandwiches. I remember chowing down a greasy but delicious one last year along with a refreshing cup of lemonade. Though truth be told, the lemonade tasted like water with some sugar and a lemon wedge. In the end, after my fruitless search for an Italian sausage sandwich, I settled for a beef brisket sandwich. It was okay and the award winning sauce was good, but because I really wanted an Italian sausage sandwich for lunch, I felt disappointed.
My diet is not exactly what you would call a good one though recently I have been eating better. Which is not saying much since my usual fair is some fast food joint. In any event, I thought yesterday I would treat myself to some tasty street fair food. It being Columbus Day, I thought I would join in the celebration of the Italian Christopher Columbus by having a tasty Italian sausage sandwich with onions and peppers. The very thought of it had me salivating for an hour before I went to lunch.
Imagine my disappointment when I went downstairs for lunch and walked up and down the street fair looking for that food stall that would satisfy my hunger and found nothing! Oh, there were food stalls. There were popcorn stands and stands that sold roasted corn, which I guess are really snack stalls and not food. But there were food stalls. I counted about six in the four blocks I walked but none of them sold Italian sausage sandwiches. Instead five of the six stalls sold Gyros, Falafels, Pitas and Kebabs. One sold pulled pork and beef brisket sandwiches with some award winning barbacue sauce.
Let me just say that I was extremely disappointed that there were no food stalls with Italian sausage sandwiches. For pete's sake, Columbus Day is meant to celebrate, at least to a small degree, Italian-Americans in the United States. I do not recall any street fair in NYC that did not have one food stall that sold Italian sausage sandwiches. I remember chowing down a greasy but delicious one last year along with a refreshing cup of lemonade. Though truth be told, the lemonade tasted like water with some sugar and a lemon wedge. In the end, after my fruitless search for an Italian sausage sandwich, I settled for a beef brisket sandwich. It was okay and the award winning sauce was good, but because I really wanted an Italian sausage sandwich for lunch, I felt disappointed.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Summertime heat
It's too hot outside. I was going to venture out today to see a few more open houses but I woke up in a hot hazy daze. Maybe I should have turned on the air conditioner last night, but I thought the late night rain would cool things down. It did, but this morning, I felt like I slept in a desert or maybe an oven.
In any event, my plans for visiting some open houses went nowhere. It's a shame too since there was an interesting studio apt in Murray Hill that is almost 800 SF in size with shiny new floors and a very open layout. Also an interesting one bedroom in Brooklyn priced decently and decorated tastefully, with a washer and dryer in the unit. But, I'm a fair weather person and it's too hot outside to be schlepping back and forth from one open house to another. I would probably be too hot and tired to enjoy any of the apartments I would have looked at today.
Better luck next week, but if not luck, then at least better weather.
In any event, my plans for visiting some open houses went nowhere. It's a shame too since there was an interesting studio apt in Murray Hill that is almost 800 SF in size with shiny new floors and a very open layout. Also an interesting one bedroom in Brooklyn priced decently and decorated tastefully, with a washer and dryer in the unit. But, I'm a fair weather person and it's too hot outside to be schlepping back and forth from one open house to another. I would probably be too hot and tired to enjoy any of the apartments I would have looked at today.
Better luck next week, but if not luck, then at least better weather.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Open house review and other thoughts
Wow, just realized it has been over 3 months since my last entry. Since that time, much has happened that I thought about blogging on, but nothing really motivated me enough to actually blog.
I do want to briefly comment on the Democratic primary which is just about over and my choice is unfortunately, not winning. Such is life in a democracy. I can complain about the unfairness of it all or blame the stupidity of voters in the earlier Democratic primaries, but that is just sour grapes. Regardless of how I feel that the current frontrunner is ill suited to the enormous task of returning America to greatness, he is still a much better choice than the Republican nominee. So come November, the Democratic nominee WILL have my support, no matter how tepid it may be.
About a month ago, I also saw this amazing article in the NYTimes about good sportsmanship. I do not believe this would ever happen in professional sports where a lot of money is on the line based on wins and losses. But it was good to see people acting like good people. It really doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game. And those women who helped carry the injured player around the bases, play the game the right way. Congrats to them!
Now to the open houses I attended today. It has been a while since I went to more than one open house at a time. In past weeks and months, I would go to one or so because there were not many apartments that would interest me other than the occasional one. Today I went to five open houses, one in Manhattan and four in Brooklyn. So without further ado, here are the five apartments I looked at today.
The first apartment I want to talk about is this one in Manhattan. It is currently priced at 499K and located in the Gramercy Park area. The building is not in the best location since it is next door to a construction site but the neighborhood is great. They are building a new condominium next door, but today being sunday, I did not hear any construction noise while I was there. The broker mentioned showing the apartment during the week and saying she did not hear the construction next door. I doubt it, but maybe the building has think walls. The apartment is a nice sized place at an advertised size of 800 SF. The maintenance is $1117 which is not unreasonable. I liked the space and location as well as the high ceilings in the front room which is described as the bedroom in the floorplan. When I say high ceilings, I mean high ceilings, it felt very loftlike, though it sloped at a slight angle as you move from the entrance of the bedroom toward the window. Still, it made that room feel very spacious even though it is sort of narrow.
The negatives of the apartment are many. First, I do not like the idea of being next to a construction site. Second, the unit is on the first floor, though there are a few steps to walk up before you enter the building, but it is practically on the first floor. The noise of the sidewalk in the current bedroom is probably too loud at night. Third, the bedroom has carpet while the rest of the apartment has wood floors. It should not be too much of a problem to remove the carpet. But that brings up the renovations that need to be done in the apartment. So fourth, the bathroom and kitchen are passable, but very plain and utilitarian. If you like the stuff you see in newer construction, then you need to renovate the kitchen and bathroom. Fifth, the current bedroom has high ceilings, but the current living room does not. They are either eight feet or nine feet high. So not very good when you compare it to the current bedroom. Lastly, they have a weird walk in closet with some tiny passage way into the current livingroom. According to the broker, you can probably tear down some of the walls to open it up somewhat, but there did seem to be another sloping area there that might cause an awkward looking space.
The apartment is good in terms of size, location and overall value. But it is not in a move in condition and at that price, I just cannot afford it and make changes that would make me happy living there. Also, I thought I overheard the broker mentioning to another visitor that the building has sold the air rights above the building to the new development next door. That does not sound too good to a new buyer like myself since the money has already been divided amongst the current owners of the co-op units.
The second apartment I will write about is a first floor unit listed here. The biggest plus of the apartment is the location. It is located in a very good area because of the close proximity to the Brooklyn Promenade. Just a short walk away and you get fabulous views of the water and Manhattan as well as a lot of benches to enjoy those views. The car noise from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway is not too loud and I did not notice it at all as I walked to the apartment. The apartment also has a lot of windows and I felt a lot of the cool breeze from the outside because there are windows in the front, side and back of the apartment. The roof deck is very nice as well and gives you a great view of Manhattan. The negatives are that it is on the first floor, which means it can be quite noisy, though I have to admit, I did not hear anything while I was inside and the windows were definately open. Natural light is not that good. Renovations are a must in the apartment because everything inside is a bit outdated. And it did not feel as spacious as the floorplan made it look. Not a bad apartment, just not quite the apartment I am looking for at that price.
The third apartment I will talk about is one located on Clinton Street. I will not say a lot about it because I did not stay very long. It was too small for my taste, though the price is good. Just not good enough considering the size of the apartment and the fact that the small kitchen needs to be completely redone. According to the broker, two people currently live in the apartment, but I felt it was too small for myself.
The fourth apartment I visited was also very brief. It is located on Remsen Street and you can find more information about it here. The living area is very nice and clean and the views from the living room were very nice and bright. But the bedroom was very small and there was an entry from the living room as well as the kitchen. The current occupants have a thin cloth divider between the bedroom and the kitchen. Maybe that turned me off, or the fact that the kitchen and bathroom are very small. In any event, the apartment did not impress me enough to stay for a long time and chat the broker up for more information about the building.
The last apartment I will write about is this one in the Robert Livingston building on Livingston street. The price is low compared to other units I have seen in this building last year. It felt small because they put a wall in what would be a large bedroom to make two small bedrooms. Once that wall is removed, the bedroom becomes very big. The unit is on the third floor and faces the back of the building so there is not a lot of natural light. But I liked the apartment because of the size of the apartment. It felt like a true one bedroom and is definately not one of the junior one bedrooms or alcove studios where they put up some walls and made a bedroom. However, I was not impressed with the condition of the apartment. There will definately need to be some renovations and repainting done in the apartment. The price is still a bit high, but probably somewhat negotiable since the apartment is definately too small for the current owners. Also, I did not notice this in my previous visits to units in the building, but the ceiling is a bit on the low side, probably eight feet. All in all, I think the pluses outweigh the minuses in this unit.
I hope to visit more apartments this summer, primarily in the Brooklyn Heights area. And I will write more entries in my blog about my visits. I will also write about other things that interest me, but no guarantees on that.
I do want to briefly comment on the Democratic primary which is just about over and my choice is unfortunately, not winning. Such is life in a democracy. I can complain about the unfairness of it all or blame the stupidity of voters in the earlier Democratic primaries, but that is just sour grapes. Regardless of how I feel that the current frontrunner is ill suited to the enormous task of returning America to greatness, he is still a much better choice than the Republican nominee. So come November, the Democratic nominee WILL have my support, no matter how tepid it may be.
About a month ago, I also saw this amazing article in the NYTimes about good sportsmanship. I do not believe this would ever happen in professional sports where a lot of money is on the line based on wins and losses. But it was good to see people acting like good people. It really doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game. And those women who helped carry the injured player around the bases, play the game the right way. Congrats to them!
Now to the open houses I attended today. It has been a while since I went to more than one open house at a time. In past weeks and months, I would go to one or so because there were not many apartments that would interest me other than the occasional one. Today I went to five open houses, one in Manhattan and four in Brooklyn. So without further ado, here are the five apartments I looked at today.
The first apartment I want to talk about is this one in Manhattan. It is currently priced at 499K and located in the Gramercy Park area. The building is not in the best location since it is next door to a construction site but the neighborhood is great. They are building a new condominium next door, but today being sunday, I did not hear any construction noise while I was there. The broker mentioned showing the apartment during the week and saying she did not hear the construction next door. I doubt it, but maybe the building has think walls. The apartment is a nice sized place at an advertised size of 800 SF. The maintenance is $1117 which is not unreasonable. I liked the space and location as well as the high ceilings in the front room which is described as the bedroom in the floorplan. When I say high ceilings, I mean high ceilings, it felt very loftlike, though it sloped at a slight angle as you move from the entrance of the bedroom toward the window. Still, it made that room feel very spacious even though it is sort of narrow.
The negatives of the apartment are many. First, I do not like the idea of being next to a construction site. Second, the unit is on the first floor, though there are a few steps to walk up before you enter the building, but it is practically on the first floor. The noise of the sidewalk in the current bedroom is probably too loud at night. Third, the bedroom has carpet while the rest of the apartment has wood floors. It should not be too much of a problem to remove the carpet. But that brings up the renovations that need to be done in the apartment. So fourth, the bathroom and kitchen are passable, but very plain and utilitarian. If you like the stuff you see in newer construction, then you need to renovate the kitchen and bathroom. Fifth, the current bedroom has high ceilings, but the current living room does not. They are either eight feet or nine feet high. So not very good when you compare it to the current bedroom. Lastly, they have a weird walk in closet with some tiny passage way into the current livingroom. According to the broker, you can probably tear down some of the walls to open it up somewhat, but there did seem to be another sloping area there that might cause an awkward looking space.
The apartment is good in terms of size, location and overall value. But it is not in a move in condition and at that price, I just cannot afford it and make changes that would make me happy living there. Also, I thought I overheard the broker mentioning to another visitor that the building has sold the air rights above the building to the new development next door. That does not sound too good to a new buyer like myself since the money has already been divided amongst the current owners of the co-op units.
The second apartment I will write about is a first floor unit listed here. The biggest plus of the apartment is the location. It is located in a very good area because of the close proximity to the Brooklyn Promenade. Just a short walk away and you get fabulous views of the water and Manhattan as well as a lot of benches to enjoy those views. The car noise from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway is not too loud and I did not notice it at all as I walked to the apartment. The apartment also has a lot of windows and I felt a lot of the cool breeze from the outside because there are windows in the front, side and back of the apartment. The roof deck is very nice as well and gives you a great view of Manhattan. The negatives are that it is on the first floor, which means it can be quite noisy, though I have to admit, I did not hear anything while I was inside and the windows were definately open. Natural light is not that good. Renovations are a must in the apartment because everything inside is a bit outdated. And it did not feel as spacious as the floorplan made it look. Not a bad apartment, just not quite the apartment I am looking for at that price.
The third apartment I will talk about is one located on Clinton Street. I will not say a lot about it because I did not stay very long. It was too small for my taste, though the price is good. Just not good enough considering the size of the apartment and the fact that the small kitchen needs to be completely redone. According to the broker, two people currently live in the apartment, but I felt it was too small for myself.
The fourth apartment I visited was also very brief. It is located on Remsen Street and you can find more information about it here. The living area is very nice and clean and the views from the living room were very nice and bright. But the bedroom was very small and there was an entry from the living room as well as the kitchen. The current occupants have a thin cloth divider between the bedroom and the kitchen. Maybe that turned me off, or the fact that the kitchen and bathroom are very small. In any event, the apartment did not impress me enough to stay for a long time and chat the broker up for more information about the building.
The last apartment I will write about is this one in the Robert Livingston building on Livingston street. The price is low compared to other units I have seen in this building last year. It felt small because they put a wall in what would be a large bedroom to make two small bedrooms. Once that wall is removed, the bedroom becomes very big. The unit is on the third floor and faces the back of the building so there is not a lot of natural light. But I liked the apartment because of the size of the apartment. It felt like a true one bedroom and is definately not one of the junior one bedrooms or alcove studios where they put up some walls and made a bedroom. However, I was not impressed with the condition of the apartment. There will definately need to be some renovations and repainting done in the apartment. The price is still a bit high, but probably somewhat negotiable since the apartment is definately too small for the current owners. Also, I did not notice this in my previous visits to units in the building, but the ceiling is a bit on the low side, probably eight feet. All in all, I think the pluses outweigh the minuses in this unit.
I hope to visit more apartments this summer, primarily in the Brooklyn Heights area. And I will write more entries in my blog about my visits. I will also write about other things that interest me, but no guarantees on that.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day!
In the past, I used to send out a mass email to a bunch of people every year on Valentine's Day with the lyrics to the song "The Rose" as performed by Bette Midler. I stopped after sending out a dozen "roses" because that was a good number to end it at. Now that I have a blog, I will just post the lyrics here once a year for another dozen years.
THE ROSE
Some say love, it is a river
that drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
an endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
and you its only seed.
It's the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
that never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
who cannot seem to give,
and the soul afraid of dyin'
that never learns to live.
When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been to long,
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong,
just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun's love
in the spring becomes the rose.
Happy Valentine's Day!
THE ROSE
Some say love, it is a river
that drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
an endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
and you its only seed.
It's the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
that never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
who cannot seem to give,
and the soul afraid of dyin'
that never learns to live.
When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been to long,
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong,
just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun's love
in the spring becomes the rose.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Update on the Super Tuesday Primary Office Pool
It feels good to win. Surprisingly, I finished first in the office pool with 29 correct picks, 2 more than my closest competitor. Too bad we only had 8 entries because a lot of people did not read the polls or the tea leaves over the weekend. Still, it feels good to win regardless of the number of participants.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
My picks for the Super Tuesday primaries
Over the weekend, I looked at some polls, flipped some coins and made my picks for the winner of each of the following state primaries. The first name following the state will be the Democrat and the second name will be the Republican winner.
Alabama primary - Obama/Huckabee
Alaska caucuses - Obama/Huckabee
Arizona primaries - Clinton/McCain
Arkansas primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
California primaries - Clinton/McCain
Colorado caucuses - Obama/Romney
Connecticut primaries - Clinton/McCain
Delaware primaries - Clinton/McCain
Georgia primaries - Obama/Romney
Idaho caucuses - Democrat only - Obama
Illinois primaries - Obama/Romney
Kansas caucuses - Deomcrat only - Obama
Massachusetts primaries - Clinton/Romney
Minnesota primaries - Clinton/McCain
Missouri primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
Montana caucuses - Republican only - McCain
New Jersey primaries - Clinton/McCain
New Mexico primaries - Democrat only - Clinton
New York primaries - Clinton/McCain
North Dakota caucuses - Obama/McCain
Oklahoma primaries - Clinton/McCain
Tennessee primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
Utah primaries - Clinton/Romney
West Virginia convention - Repubican only - Romney
Let's see who the winners will be and maybe after tonight, we'll find out who the candidates will be for the general election.
Alabama primary - Obama/Huckabee
Alaska caucuses - Obama/Huckabee
Arizona primaries - Clinton/McCain
Arkansas primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
California primaries - Clinton/McCain
Colorado caucuses - Obama/Romney
Connecticut primaries - Clinton/McCain
Delaware primaries - Clinton/McCain
Georgia primaries - Obama/Romney
Idaho caucuses - Democrat only - Obama
Illinois primaries - Obama/Romney
Kansas caucuses - Deomcrat only - Obama
Massachusetts primaries - Clinton/Romney
Minnesota primaries - Clinton/McCain
Missouri primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
Montana caucuses - Republican only - McCain
New Jersey primaries - Clinton/McCain
New Mexico primaries - Democrat only - Clinton
New York primaries - Clinton/McCain
North Dakota caucuses - Obama/McCain
Oklahoma primaries - Clinton/McCain
Tennessee primaries - Clinton/Huckabee
Utah primaries - Clinton/Romney
West Virginia convention - Repubican only - Romney
Let's see who the winners will be and maybe after tonight, we'll find out who the candidates will be for the general election.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Super Bowl Office pool
As a co-worker pointed out yesterday, our office is a bunch of nerds. Who has office pools for presidential politics!? We had one for the Iowa caucuses. Another for the New Hampshire primary. And now the big one for the super duper tuesday primaries. But we are not all nerds.
Our office also has an office pool for the Super Bowl. An office pool for jocks as my co-worker would say. The random numbers were drawn today after I bought two boxes out of the one hundred box grid. The boxes I currently have are 8-7 Pats-Giants and 1-5 Pats-Giants. So I will win money if at the end of the first quarter, half, third quarter or final score ends with some score like 18-7 Patriots or 17-8 Giants. In any event, the game should be a good one to watch if for no other reason than the fact that the Patriots are one game from a perfect season.
Our office also has an office pool for the Super Bowl. An office pool for jocks as my co-worker would say. The random numbers were drawn today after I bought two boxes out of the one hundred box grid. The boxes I currently have are 8-7 Pats-Giants and 1-5 Pats-Giants. So I will win money if at the end of the first quarter, half, third quarter or final score ends with some score like 18-7 Patriots or 17-8 Giants. In any event, the game should be a good one to watch if for no other reason than the fact that the Patriots are one game from a perfect season.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Super Duper Tuesday Primaries
On Tuesday, over 20 states will have their primaries for the Presidential election. One of my co-workers has organized an office pool to select the winner from each state that has their primary this coming tuesday. It has gotten a lot more easier with John Edwards and Rudy Guiliani dropping out of their respective primaries. Still, that leaves a lot of states and a lot of prognosticating to do. Who do you think will win each of the following on the Democratic and Republican side?
The candidates on the Democratic side are Mike Gravel (if you choose to win any state, please submit an entry to my office pool and just give me the five dollar entry fee now), Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The candidates on the Republican side are Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.
Alabama primary
Alaska caucuses
Arizona primaries
Arkansas primaries
California primaries
Colorado caucuses
Connecticut primaries
Delaware primaries
Georgia primaries
Idaho caucuses - Democrat only
Illinois primaries
Kansas caucuses - Deomcrat only
Massachusetts primaries
Minnesota primaries
Missouri primaries
Montana caucuses - Republican only
New Jersey primaries
New Mexico primaries - Democrat only
New York primaries
North Dakota caucuses
Oklahoma primaries
Tennessee primaries
Utah primaries
West Virginia convention - Repubican only
Please offer some comments on who you think will win in which states and why.
The candidates on the Democratic side are Mike Gravel (if you choose to win any state, please submit an entry to my office pool and just give me the five dollar entry fee now), Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The candidates on the Republican side are Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.
Alabama primary
Alaska caucuses
Arizona primaries
Arkansas primaries
California primaries
Colorado caucuses
Connecticut primaries
Delaware primaries
Georgia primaries
Idaho caucuses - Democrat only
Illinois primaries
Kansas caucuses - Deomcrat only
Massachusetts primaries
Minnesota primaries
Missouri primaries
Montana caucuses - Republican only
New Jersey primaries
New Mexico primaries - Democrat only
New York primaries
North Dakota caucuses
Oklahoma primaries
Tennessee primaries
Utah primaries
West Virginia convention - Repubican only
Please offer some comments on who you think will win in which states and why.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Seinfeld
Yesterday, I was chatting with someone about how Seinfeld is one of those rare shows which retains its funny wit and humor regardless of when you see it. Whether it was 10 years ago or just last week in a television re-run, you will always remember a few select phrases from some of those episodes. Do you remember what it meant to be "sponge-worthy" or that someone is "breathtaking" or "no soup for you" or a host of others? Go read an article here in the NYTimes today and see if you can remember the episode about the "double dip" act that George engaged in and see how it lead to a rather funny scientific study.
So this weekend if you're attending a Super Bowl party...skip the dip.
So this weekend if you're attending a Super Bowl party...skip the dip.
Simply Amazin'
Yesterday, the NY Mets traded four prospects to the Minnesota Twins for Johan Santana. Santana is currently the best left handed pitcher in baseball, probably the best pitcher in baseball. The reason for the trade is because the Twins could not sign Santana to a contract extension and instead of losing their rights to him after next season and getting only two compensatory draft picks, the Twins decided it was better to trade him for prospects.
At the beginning of the off-season, the Santana sweepstakes was thought to be the most dramatic event during the December winter meetings. Rumors were flying left and right but was eventually whittled down from as much as eight teams to two or three. The front runners last year were thought to be either the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees. Though Mets GM Omar Minaya always stated the Mets were involved. Most reporters gave the Mets little chance of landing Santana because the highly touted Mets prospects were not too well thought of outside the Mets organization.
In the end, Minaya proved all the early prognosticators wrong and landed the biggest prize of this off-season. The four prospects are: Philip Humber (P), Deolis Guerra (P), Kevin Mulvey (P) and Carlos Gomez (OF). While I think all four prospects can become good major league players, none of them will be as good as Santana. In case you did not know this, Santana will turn 29 this upcoming season. He has already won two Cy Young awards in his career. The future is bright for the Mets and the future is now.
Lets go Mets!
(On a side note, I hope this trade will be better than the trade almost two decades ago when the Mets traded prospects to the Twins for former Cy Young winner Frank Viola.)
At the beginning of the off-season, the Santana sweepstakes was thought to be the most dramatic event during the December winter meetings. Rumors were flying left and right but was eventually whittled down from as much as eight teams to two or three. The front runners last year were thought to be either the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees. Though Mets GM Omar Minaya always stated the Mets were involved. Most reporters gave the Mets little chance of landing Santana because the highly touted Mets prospects were not too well thought of outside the Mets organization.
In the end, Minaya proved all the early prognosticators wrong and landed the biggest prize of this off-season. The four prospects are: Philip Humber (P), Deolis Guerra (P), Kevin Mulvey (P) and Carlos Gomez (OF). While I think all four prospects can become good major league players, none of them will be as good as Santana. In case you did not know this, Santana will turn 29 this upcoming season. He has already won two Cy Young awards in his career. The future is bright for the Mets and the future is now.
Lets go Mets!
(On a side note, I hope this trade will be better than the trade almost two decades ago when the Mets traded prospects to the Twins for former Cy Young winner Frank Viola.)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Thoughts on SC primary
The South Carolina primary has come and gone. And the results are in! Barack Obama won the state with more than twice as many votes as his nearest competitor, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Former Senator John Edwards placed third in what might reasonably have been his last best chance at making this historic primary election from a two horse race into a three horse race. But his third place finish effectively means that he has no shot at being the eventual Democratic nominee for this years Presidential election come November.
Why did Barack Obama win in South Carolina and by such a large margin? First, I think the color of his skin was an important factor. Obama won a supermajority of the black votes in South Carolina. According the the exit poll results in the NYTimes, Obama won 78% of the black vote. The black vote in South Carolina accounted for 55% of the total votes cast. Still, the solidarity of the black vote for Obama alone would not give Obama such a large margin of victory.
The second reason why Obama won with such a large margin is because of his message of hope, change and unity. Over the last decade and a half, politics seems to have gotten a lot more partisan. The two major political parties are fighting an ideological war and the ones who suffer are the American people. The people feel like children in a particularly nasty divorce where both sides demonize the other. It has gotten to the point where Democrats are labeled as soft on the war on terror because they are unwilling to abuse and torture prisoners. While Republicans are described as war mongers who believe the ends justify the means regardless of what civil rights are violated or who gets tortured for information. That is why the message of hope, change and unity resonates with people today. The voters of South Carolina are sending a message that they want a candidate who will unite America. A candidate who inspires us to be better than what we have become. A candidate who can bring about changes in the politics. No candidate, Democrats or Republicans, embodies those ideals more than Obama.
The third reason is that people in South Carolina think that Obama was unfairly attacked by Hillary Clinton and her surrogates, especially her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Whether or not the Clinton campaign unfairly attacked Obama is a matter of perception. Currently, the vast majority of people believe that yes, the Clinton campaign did attack Obama unfairly. People believe the Clintons introduced the race card into this campaign. That the Clintons have twisted the words of Obama to suggest that he supported Reagan's policies which devastated the poor and minority groups. Or that Obama thought the Republican party were the party of ideas in the last decade and a half. Whatever it was that the Clintons tried to do, the people of South Carolina thought it was an unfair attack against Obama and they made their feelings known in the voting booth.
Congratulations on a fine victory by Obama. The question is will his newly gained momentum carry on over the next 10 days into super Tuesday when over 20 states will have their primary elections? Or will Clinton stage another comeback like she did in New Hampshire. Either way, the primary season for the Democratic nominee has been the most intense one in recent memory. The question that needs to be answered is, who will win the Democratic nomination to be candidate for the Democratic party? Stay tuned because super Tuesday will be a wild one.
A final note about the primaries so far. I disagree with a lot of Obama supporters on whether or not the Clintons have been attacking his campaign unfairly. If anything, Obama and his supporters ought to be thankful they are facing the Clintons. He is being tested like never before and IF he can come out on top afterwards, it will only make him a stronger candidate. This is politics at the highest levels in the United States. Karl Rove, probably the most hated person by Democrats, has shown that winning is what matters regardless of what underhanded tactics are used. Because the winners decide policy and direction while the losers go back to the Senate like John Kerry. And if Obama can get derailed by members of his own party during the primary season, he can certainly be railroaded by the attack machine of the Republican party. Say what you will about Hillary Clinton, but she takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
To close out this entry, I want to use a memorable quote from a movie and hope that the eventual Democratic nominee does what is necessary to put a Democrat back in the White House. "He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He puts one of yours in the hospital, you put one of his in the morgue."
Why did Barack Obama win in South Carolina and by such a large margin? First, I think the color of his skin was an important factor. Obama won a supermajority of the black votes in South Carolina. According the the exit poll results in the NYTimes, Obama won 78% of the black vote. The black vote in South Carolina accounted for 55% of the total votes cast. Still, the solidarity of the black vote for Obama alone would not give Obama such a large margin of victory.
The second reason why Obama won with such a large margin is because of his message of hope, change and unity. Over the last decade and a half, politics seems to have gotten a lot more partisan. The two major political parties are fighting an ideological war and the ones who suffer are the American people. The people feel like children in a particularly nasty divorce where both sides demonize the other. It has gotten to the point where Democrats are labeled as soft on the war on terror because they are unwilling to abuse and torture prisoners. While Republicans are described as war mongers who believe the ends justify the means regardless of what civil rights are violated or who gets tortured for information. That is why the message of hope, change and unity resonates with people today. The voters of South Carolina are sending a message that they want a candidate who will unite America. A candidate who inspires us to be better than what we have become. A candidate who can bring about changes in the politics. No candidate, Democrats or Republicans, embodies those ideals more than Obama.
The third reason is that people in South Carolina think that Obama was unfairly attacked by Hillary Clinton and her surrogates, especially her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Whether or not the Clinton campaign unfairly attacked Obama is a matter of perception. Currently, the vast majority of people believe that yes, the Clinton campaign did attack Obama unfairly. People believe the Clintons introduced the race card into this campaign. That the Clintons have twisted the words of Obama to suggest that he supported Reagan's policies which devastated the poor and minority groups. Or that Obama thought the Republican party were the party of ideas in the last decade and a half. Whatever it was that the Clintons tried to do, the people of South Carolina thought it was an unfair attack against Obama and they made their feelings known in the voting booth.
Congratulations on a fine victory by Obama. The question is will his newly gained momentum carry on over the next 10 days into super Tuesday when over 20 states will have their primary elections? Or will Clinton stage another comeback like she did in New Hampshire. Either way, the primary season for the Democratic nominee has been the most intense one in recent memory. The question that needs to be answered is, who will win the Democratic nomination to be candidate for the Democratic party? Stay tuned because super Tuesday will be a wild one.
A final note about the primaries so far. I disagree with a lot of Obama supporters on whether or not the Clintons have been attacking his campaign unfairly. If anything, Obama and his supporters ought to be thankful they are facing the Clintons. He is being tested like never before and IF he can come out on top afterwards, it will only make him a stronger candidate. This is politics at the highest levels in the United States. Karl Rove, probably the most hated person by Democrats, has shown that winning is what matters regardless of what underhanded tactics are used. Because the winners decide policy and direction while the losers go back to the Senate like John Kerry. And if Obama can get derailed by members of his own party during the primary season, he can certainly be railroaded by the attack machine of the Republican party. Say what you will about Hillary Clinton, but she takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
To close out this entry, I want to use a memorable quote from a movie and hope that the eventual Democratic nominee does what is necessary to put a Democrat back in the White House. "He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He puts one of yours in the hospital, you put one of his in the morgue."
Friday, January 25, 2008
Rogue trader
So yesterday in the news, there was a story about a rogue trader in France that lost over 7 BILLION dollars in the stock market. The odd part was that he was only a mid-level trader who just happened to know how to bypass the checks the bank had in place to catch fraud. But you would think banks would have better security in place after what happened to Barings bank back in 1995. And how in the world is it even possible to lose 7 BILLION dollars by a mid-level trader? Heads need to roll in that bank. And I do not mean just that trader and his superiors but most of the internal security folks who are supposed to catch these rogues before they cause such losses. As well as the head honchos at the company.
I am still in disbelief that a person could lose 7 BILLION dollars for a bank before anyone noticed. It just should not be possible. Now I wonder if the bank can survive such a debacle. Barings bank, the formerly venerable institution that was in business for over 2 centuries in the UK shuttered its doors and that fraud by Nick Leeson back in 1995 only lost a little over a billion. Of course, maybe that has to do with inflation, but still I just cannot get over the fact that the guy lost 7 BILLION dollars. And you know that if there is one rogue trader, there just might be another. If not at this particular bank, maybe another bank...
I am still in disbelief that a person could lose 7 BILLION dollars for a bank before anyone noticed. It just should not be possible. Now I wonder if the bank can survive such a debacle. Barings bank, the formerly venerable institution that was in business for over 2 centuries in the UK shuttered its doors and that fraud by Nick Leeson back in 1995 only lost a little over a billion. Of course, maybe that has to do with inflation, but still I just cannot get over the fact that the guy lost 7 BILLION dollars. And you know that if there is one rogue trader, there just might be another. If not at this particular bank, maybe another bank...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
House Hunters International
This past holiday weekend, I was going to do something productive like cleaning up my room, or sorting through the letters I let pile up on my desk or clear out the basement cluttered with books accumulated from my many years of schooling. Instead I did not do anything productive on saturday because I still had sunday and monday to accomplish anything useful. When sunday rolled around, I decided to watch the two playoff games, both of which I might add were exciting though I wanted Farve and the Packers to beat the Giants. Besides I still had monday to make my weekend productive. Alas, it was not to be because HGTV decided to have a marathon of their house hunters international and the early retiree that I hope to be, I was hooked to their programming of beautiful homes in exotic places with easy access to the beach.
So on Monday, I sat and watched about six hours of great stuff. If you have read any of my previous entries, you already know that I am looking at the real estate market in NYC. But house hunters international does not show property in the US, rather it shows property you can get abroad. And because I live in NYC, the property on the shows actually looked affordable, even cheap when compared to what you would need to pay for a comparable house or apartment in NYC. And really, who would choose to live in a small one bedroom apartment in Manhattan rather than in a three bedroom beachfront property on a tropical island? I sure there are folks, but for this early retiree wannabe, the choice is clear.
Did you know that for just a little over 200K, you can get a nice two bedroom apartment near the beach in Cabo San Lucas? The lucky couple in that episode bought an apartment that was within five minutes of their respective offices. A new apartment I might add with a new kitchen and bathroom. For the same price in NYC, you get a 12x12 sized apartment in Brooklyn Heights and the bathroom needed work and the kitchen or kitchenette I should say also needed work. Trust me, I looked at such a place over the summer and was appalled at the high asking price for the tiny dorm like apartment.
If you have more than 200K, try for something bigger. There were some great houses in Turks & Caicos, the Dominican Republic, Roatan island off the coast of Honduras and of course, Cabo San Lucas. Take a look at the house hunters international website and click on the realtors links. You will see some truly breathtaking houses and wonder why you put up with living in your small apartments in NYC. In case you were interested but lazy, click here to see one of the houses they featured on one of the episodes about Roatan.
Maybe my weekend was not a complete waste. I discovered something very important from watching all those shows on monday. Other than the fact that I can rationalize away doing something productive on weekend rather easily. It is that most of the people on the show worked for themselves or had a job where they could work from anywhere in the world. So I have to figure out a way to make money without having to work in NYC. If you have any suggestions, drop me a line.
So on Monday, I sat and watched about six hours of great stuff. If you have read any of my previous entries, you already know that I am looking at the real estate market in NYC. But house hunters international does not show property in the US, rather it shows property you can get abroad. And because I live in NYC, the property on the shows actually looked affordable, even cheap when compared to what you would need to pay for a comparable house or apartment in NYC. And really, who would choose to live in a small one bedroom apartment in Manhattan rather than in a three bedroom beachfront property on a tropical island? I sure there are folks, but for this early retiree wannabe, the choice is clear.
Did you know that for just a little over 200K, you can get a nice two bedroom apartment near the beach in Cabo San Lucas? The lucky couple in that episode bought an apartment that was within five minutes of their respective offices. A new apartment I might add with a new kitchen and bathroom. For the same price in NYC, you get a 12x12 sized apartment in Brooklyn Heights and the bathroom needed work and the kitchen or kitchenette I should say also needed work. Trust me, I looked at such a place over the summer and was appalled at the high asking price for the tiny dorm like apartment.
If you have more than 200K, try for something bigger. There were some great houses in Turks & Caicos, the Dominican Republic, Roatan island off the coast of Honduras and of course, Cabo San Lucas. Take a look at the house hunters international website and click on the realtors links. You will see some truly breathtaking houses and wonder why you put up with living in your small apartments in NYC. In case you were interested but lazy, click here to see one of the houses they featured on one of the episodes about Roatan.
Maybe my weekend was not a complete waste. I discovered something very important from watching all those shows on monday. Other than the fact that I can rationalize away doing something productive on weekend rather easily. It is that most of the people on the show worked for themselves or had a job where they could work from anywhere in the world. So I have to figure out a way to make money without having to work in NYC. If you have any suggestions, drop me a line.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Bye bye Bobby
Last week, Robert James Fischer passed away in Iceland. Bobby Fischer, as he is generally known, was one of the greatest chess players the world has ever known. His life took a sad turn after he won the world chess championship in 1972. In his latter years, he become a paranoid lunatic as well as a raving anti-Semite. Considering the fact that his mother was Jewish, that would mean Bobby Fischer was Jewish too so his anti-Semitism makes little sense. But then again, Bobby made little sense the last decade of two of his life.
You can read about Bobby in many places including his Wiki page, his obituary in the NYTimes as well as his tribute on the US Chess website. All of those websites do not do justice to the man, the legend, the myth. Though if you have the time, you should look at the US Chess website because you too can go over some of his best games. I was not alive when he accomplished all the greatness he did over the chess board. Yet, I remember discovering him in my youth when I first learned to play chess.
I remember taking out the book, My 60 Memorable Games, from the local library and going over the games trying to learn as much as I could from his games. There were many books about Bobby and many of his games can be found in various collections. As a youth chess player, I like many others tried to emulate his style. There were attempts to play the chess openings he played with though with less than stellar results. My tries at using the Kings Indian as black resulted in one too many drubbings before I switched to something else. I also tried the "poisoned pawn" variation of the Sicilian Defense, as well as the black and white side of the Ruy Lopez. In fact, I tried just about every opening Bobby played and every opening associated with Bobby. Of course, I discovered that as much as I tried to emulate his style and hopefully his success, I had to find my own way at succeeding in the game. To this day, I still cannot shake off a bad habit I picked up from Bobby's games of grabbing as much material on the board as possible.
But after Bobby won the chess championship in 1972, something happened. He changed from an eccentric personality to a crazy nutjob to put it mildly. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he cared only about winning at chess. Or that he thought the Soviet Union's chess players were all against him. Or that he became paranoid or whatever. I like to think he became unbalanced when he became the best and realized that there was nothing left to conquer in the world of chess. Whatever happened, I will always remember him and his legacy as a great chess player. Probably the best the world has ever seen.
You can read about Bobby in many places including his Wiki page, his obituary in the NYTimes as well as his tribute on the US Chess website. All of those websites do not do justice to the man, the legend, the myth. Though if you have the time, you should look at the US Chess website because you too can go over some of his best games. I was not alive when he accomplished all the greatness he did over the chess board. Yet, I remember discovering him in my youth when I first learned to play chess.
I remember taking out the book, My 60 Memorable Games, from the local library and going over the games trying to learn as much as I could from his games. There were many books about Bobby and many of his games can be found in various collections. As a youth chess player, I like many others tried to emulate his style. There were attempts to play the chess openings he played with though with less than stellar results. My tries at using the Kings Indian as black resulted in one too many drubbings before I switched to something else. I also tried the "poisoned pawn" variation of the Sicilian Defense, as well as the black and white side of the Ruy Lopez. In fact, I tried just about every opening Bobby played and every opening associated with Bobby. Of course, I discovered that as much as I tried to emulate his style and hopefully his success, I had to find my own way at succeeding in the game. To this day, I still cannot shake off a bad habit I picked up from Bobby's games of grabbing as much material on the board as possible.
But after Bobby won the chess championship in 1972, something happened. He changed from an eccentric personality to a crazy nutjob to put it mildly. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he cared only about winning at chess. Or that he thought the Soviet Union's chess players were all against him. Or that he became paranoid or whatever. I like to think he became unbalanced when he became the best and realized that there was nothing left to conquer in the world of chess. Whatever happened, I will always remember him and his legacy as a great chess player. Probably the best the world has ever seen.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
New Hampshire primary
A few days ago, Hillary Rodham Clinton surprisingly won the New Hampshire primary finishing ahead of Barack Obama and John Edwards. It was surprising because all the polls leading up to the vote showed Obama with a large lead ranging from 9% to 14% depending on the various polls. My last entry mentioned the office pool for the Iowa Caucus. I finished near the bottom because of my prediction that Clinton would take first, Obama second and Edwards third. This time around, I did not participate because I know I would have chosen Clinton first, Obama second and Edwards third. And the polling showed I would be tossing my money away if I did that. Everyone in the office picked the same slate for the Democrats so had I played, I would have won. Oh well, that is what I get for following opinion polls instead of my own intuition.
The primary race is now a two horse race on the Democratic side. Although John Edwards is still in the race, I do not believe he has much of a chance to overtake either of the front runners. I still think Hillary Clinton will become the nominee of the Democratic party, but it will be long and difficult race. Which I think is good because she (or should I be wrong, Obama) would be battle tested for the general election later this year against whichever candidate wins the nomination in the muddled Republican primaries.
All I can say is that this primary is a lot more exciting than I thought it would be a few months ago. But my money will be on Hillary.
The primary race is now a two horse race on the Democratic side. Although John Edwards is still in the race, I do not believe he has much of a chance to overtake either of the front runners. I still think Hillary Clinton will become the nominee of the Democratic party, but it will be long and difficult race. Which I think is good because she (or should I be wrong, Obama) would be battle tested for the general election later this year against whichever candidate wins the nomination in the muddled Republican primaries.
All I can say is that this primary is a lot more exciting than I thought it would be a few months ago. But my money will be on Hillary.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Presidential politics - Iowa caucuses
Today is the day of the Iowa caucuses, the first real step on the road to the White House. Normally I would not pay a lot of attention to it because it is so early in the election cycle. The winner gets a lot of bragging rights and some momentum, but it is too early to annoint the winners of the Iowa caucuses as the presumptive favorite to be the Democratic or Republican nominee for President. This year was a little different. My interest was peaked because someone at work decided to have an office pool of who would finish in the top five for each political party.
The choices from the Democratic Party were: Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Richardson, Biden, Kucinich, Dodd and Gravel. On the Republican side were: Romney, Huckabee, McCain, Thompson, Paul, Guiliani and Hunter. The order I chose is the order I put them in the previous sentences with Clinton winning the Democratic side and Romney for the Republican side.
I thought Clinton would eke out a narrow victory because she has better name recognition. She is known as a tough politician who has a good grasp of details and has a lot of experience. Another advantage is her husband, Bill Clinton, who is probably one of the most astute politicians today. That coupled with the fact that she has a large war chest and a strong organization as well as support from elderly women should give her a good chance at winning in Iowa. Obama's weakness in my view was his reliance on younger voters who are notoriously absent when it comes time to vote. The younger generation tend to say the right things but when it comes to actually showing up to caucus in Iowa, they are usually not dependable. Edwards' weakness is that he is neither Clinton nor Obama. Normally not a bad thing, but in this election cycle, he's the overlooked candidate.
On the Republican side, I thought Romney would win because of his huge war chest. He heavily outspent his rivals and has been campaigning hard for months to win in the early states, especially Iowa so he can become a legitimate candidate despite his religion. There did not appear to be a formidable opponent even in November. The only real opposition started when Huckabee gained a lot of momentum in December. Huckabee became a strong opponent because of his religious credentials and attracted a strong following amongst born again Christians and evangelicals. Personally, I thought Huckabee's surge recently was a sign that he might have peaked too soon. People did not know what he stood for and since he gained more attention people would scrutinize his candidacy more and find flaws.
So it was big surprise, for me at least, that at the end of the day my political astuteness turned out to be completely wrong. The winners happened to be Obama and Huckabee. Congrats to the two of them and lets see if they can stay in front in New Hampshire.
Lastly, it seems like Clinton may have finished third in the Democratic caucus which would be a disappointing result. Though it must be said that it is a close third with John Edwards edging her out for second. Regardless, the end result is that she finished a disappointing third. Not good considering she is my choice to become President of the United States. But, this is just the beginning of the race so there is still a long way to go.
The choices from the Democratic Party were: Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Richardson, Biden, Kucinich, Dodd and Gravel. On the Republican side were: Romney, Huckabee, McCain, Thompson, Paul, Guiliani and Hunter. The order I chose is the order I put them in the previous sentences with Clinton winning the Democratic side and Romney for the Republican side.
I thought Clinton would eke out a narrow victory because she has better name recognition. She is known as a tough politician who has a good grasp of details and has a lot of experience. Another advantage is her husband, Bill Clinton, who is probably one of the most astute politicians today. That coupled with the fact that she has a large war chest and a strong organization as well as support from elderly women should give her a good chance at winning in Iowa. Obama's weakness in my view was his reliance on younger voters who are notoriously absent when it comes time to vote. The younger generation tend to say the right things but when it comes to actually showing up to caucus in Iowa, they are usually not dependable. Edwards' weakness is that he is neither Clinton nor Obama. Normally not a bad thing, but in this election cycle, he's the overlooked candidate.
On the Republican side, I thought Romney would win because of his huge war chest. He heavily outspent his rivals and has been campaigning hard for months to win in the early states, especially Iowa so he can become a legitimate candidate despite his religion. There did not appear to be a formidable opponent even in November. The only real opposition started when Huckabee gained a lot of momentum in December. Huckabee became a strong opponent because of his religious credentials and attracted a strong following amongst born again Christians and evangelicals. Personally, I thought Huckabee's surge recently was a sign that he might have peaked too soon. People did not know what he stood for and since he gained more attention people would scrutinize his candidacy more and find flaws.
So it was big surprise, for me at least, that at the end of the day my political astuteness turned out to be completely wrong. The winners happened to be Obama and Huckabee. Congrats to the two of them and lets see if they can stay in front in New Hampshire.
Lastly, it seems like Clinton may have finished third in the Democratic caucus which would be a disappointing result. Though it must be said that it is a close third with John Edwards edging her out for second. Regardless, the end result is that she finished a disappointing third. Not good considering she is my choice to become President of the United States. But, this is just the beginning of the race so there is still a long way to go.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Resolutions for 2008
First off, Happy New Year!
Now, the good stuff, my resolutions for 2008. Bear in mind, these are my resolutions, and they come in no particular order because let's face it, how many of them will I actually accomplish in the new year?
1) Solve the Rubik's cube. When I first tried my hand at the Rubik's cube more than two decades ago, it was a challenging and humbling experience. I never did figure out how to solve the famous cube. So I will be trying to solve the cube with the help of information that can be found online. There are many sites dedicated to helping those who cannot solve the puzzle. And I will utilize them to solve it. No more will I peel off the colored stickers and rearrange them to "solve" the cube.
2) Achieve and maintain a master level rating in chess. I first played a rated chess game almost two decades now. And each year I have improved my play. However, in recent years, due to a number of things, my skills have leveled off. In 2006, I played in a tournament and thought I had finally achieved the elusive goal of attaining a masters rating only to fall a few points short. Then my rating fell further towards the end of that year and have not played in a rated over the board tournament since. This year, I will try harder and try to get a master level rating and hopefully make some money along the way.
3) Buy real estate! It is probably obvious if you have read over some of my earlier blog entries that I am looking at the real estate market in New York city. I am outraged at the inflated prices but will need to buy in any event. The house I currently live in will be sold sometime later this year which means I need to buy an apartment around the same time.
4) Get a new job. It is not that I am dissatisfied with my current job, it is just that my current job does not lead to anything. The job is more of a holding pattern job and as I get older, I have to seriously think about starting my career. So, it will be time to update the old resume and pound the pavement and whatnot.
5) Travel more. I like traveling and think 2008 will be the year I travel more frequently than 2007. Although some of that will be my chess related traveling, like a weekend here in Connecticut or a week in Philadelphia over the summer and probably Las Vegas at the end of 2008. Though how much I travel for chess will depend on resolutions 2 and 4. I will also try to go somewhere in Central or South America or maybe another trip to Europe. With my classics minor from college, I have visited Rome but have not yet gone to Greece and visit the old classical ruins of yesteryear.
6) Eat, drink and be merry. Err, make that eat healthier, drink less and have more fun. Though drinking more will probably make it even more fun! Still, as I get older, I need to watch what I eat more closely. So, no more McDonald's and Burger King in the same week. And eat more fruits and vegetables. As for the drinking, I never built up much of a tolerance for alcohol so that will not be a hard thing to do less of in the new year.
I can probably make more resolutions. Like save more for retirement or write more stories or read more books. Maybe try harder to win the Lottery. But seeing as how I probably will not follow through on most of the ones above, what is the point? Although now that I have written my resolutions out and can refer to it from time to time, maybe I will actually accomplish a few of them.
In 2009, I will look back on this entry and tally up how many of my resolutions I followed through on. And if you have not made your resolutions for the new year, maybe you should. It is sort of fun. And now, I will go and tackle that Rubik's cube.
Now, the good stuff, my resolutions for 2008. Bear in mind, these are my resolutions, and they come in no particular order because let's face it, how many of them will I actually accomplish in the new year?
1) Solve the Rubik's cube. When I first tried my hand at the Rubik's cube more than two decades ago, it was a challenging and humbling experience. I never did figure out how to solve the famous cube. So I will be trying to solve the cube with the help of information that can be found online. There are many sites dedicated to helping those who cannot solve the puzzle. And I will utilize them to solve it. No more will I peel off the colored stickers and rearrange them to "solve" the cube.
2) Achieve and maintain a master level rating in chess. I first played a rated chess game almost two decades now. And each year I have improved my play. However, in recent years, due to a number of things, my skills have leveled off. In 2006, I played in a tournament and thought I had finally achieved the elusive goal of attaining a masters rating only to fall a few points short. Then my rating fell further towards the end of that year and have not played in a rated over the board tournament since. This year, I will try harder and try to get a master level rating and hopefully make some money along the way.
3) Buy real estate! It is probably obvious if you have read over some of my earlier blog entries that I am looking at the real estate market in New York city. I am outraged at the inflated prices but will need to buy in any event. The house I currently live in will be sold sometime later this year which means I need to buy an apartment around the same time.
4) Get a new job. It is not that I am dissatisfied with my current job, it is just that my current job does not lead to anything. The job is more of a holding pattern job and as I get older, I have to seriously think about starting my career. So, it will be time to update the old resume and pound the pavement and whatnot.
5) Travel more. I like traveling and think 2008 will be the year I travel more frequently than 2007. Although some of that will be my chess related traveling, like a weekend here in Connecticut or a week in Philadelphia over the summer and probably Las Vegas at the end of 2008. Though how much I travel for chess will depend on resolutions 2 and 4. I will also try to go somewhere in Central or South America or maybe another trip to Europe. With my classics minor from college, I have visited Rome but have not yet gone to Greece and visit the old classical ruins of yesteryear.
6) Eat, drink and be merry. Err, make that eat healthier, drink less and have more fun. Though drinking more will probably make it even more fun! Still, as I get older, I need to watch what I eat more closely. So, no more McDonald's and Burger King in the same week. And eat more fruits and vegetables. As for the drinking, I never built up much of a tolerance for alcohol so that will not be a hard thing to do less of in the new year.
I can probably make more resolutions. Like save more for retirement or write more stories or read more books. Maybe try harder to win the Lottery. But seeing as how I probably will not follow through on most of the ones above, what is the point? Although now that I have written my resolutions out and can refer to it from time to time, maybe I will actually accomplish a few of them.
In 2009, I will look back on this entry and tally up how many of my resolutions I followed through on. And if you have not made your resolutions for the new year, maybe you should. It is sort of fun. And now, I will go and tackle that Rubik's cube.
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