One Love!

Is it getting better?

Do you feel the same?

Will it make it easier on you now?

You got someone to blame


The unmistakable Mary J. Blige featuring the incomparable Bono /(U2) ....

I Dare you to watch the entire Video!



Duets can be tough. Sometimes it's difficult to mix musical architecture and cultures. I believe they found a nice fit and beautiful merger of style and flavor with Mary J. and Bono. This is a favorite for all the right reasons - The complex lyrics! The Vocals! and The Music!

Come join us in Music Monday and share your songs with us. Leave ONLY the actual post link here if you’re playing today. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are strictly for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted.

Free Starbucks Coffee!

Did you know that you can get free Starbucks Coffee today?

It's a big day and you'll need your caffeine. Also, you just might need something to warm you up while you stand in line. You Betcha! This is only for Election Day.

I jumped out early this morning all prepared to wait in a long line to vote. As it turns out, it wasn't bad at all. All said and done, the process was just about one hour and 10 minutes. 65 minutes for the wait and processing and 5 minutes for the actual voting and exit.

The good news is - I hit my local Starbucks on the way out for my free cup of Java. I did it more for the experience than the free bee. It was great chatting with the excited voters in line and watching the bloggers sitting around enthusiastically typing away. But the rumor is true. Today Starbucks will be giving away one tall drip coffee to voters. Presumably, it's illegal to offer incentives to influence voting or non voting so Starbucks is not supposed to ask you if you voted or not. They're just suppose to give you your free coffee. The wait was short. A long line but the workers moved quickly. It took about 5 minutes. I guess it doesn't take long to pour 1 cup of coffee and pass it out when you don't have to take money and give change.

The next rumor..... They're giving away free donuts at Krispy Kreme. Not so sure I'll get by KK today but if you do - please leave a comment.....

Pride 'n Politix

Political Drama, political humor, political blunders, political speeches, political strategy, political news, political headlines, political updates, political analysts, political supporters, political debates, political pundits, political blogs........ Yada! Yada! Yada! we've seen a bunch of that!

Let's see some Pride 'n Politx.

Anyone remember these guys? I had to sift through my collection of CD's to find this particular one buried in the archives.

I first heard this song when I was working in San Francisco in the early 90's. The song is titled: "What You Won't Do For Love" and is a remake of the old Bobby Caldwell classic. It came out on the Eastwest Records America label. This trio added their own twist and a bit of harmony to the original to create a catchy song. Catchy enough to sell a few albums and get some play on major radio stations. I didn't fall in love with any of the other songs but the track "Hold On" also got a fair amount of play.

Just thought I'd throw a little political distraction your way!

Let's hope that after this election is over we can put our Pride and Politics aside and do what we need to do to get this country back on track!

Gut Feelings?

Do you ever have gut feelings? Hunches? What about intuition? If so, do you understand these feelings?



Perhaps like many of you, I consistently have these feelings. My tendency is to sometimes ignore them and regret it later. So a few weeks ago I decided to do something about it. I picked up a book called Gut Feelings The Intelligence of the Unconscious by Gerd Gigerenzer and powered through it.


When I initially read a review about this book I thought - Great! I'll read this book and right away learn how to optimize these feelings and thereby increase my effectiveness and accuracy in making decisions. Don't we all want to make the right choices more often?

Gut Feelings The Intelligence of the Unconscious

I thought - Wouldn't it be great if I could come up with a way to consistently capitalize on these feelings? I figured the benefits and opportunities were limitless. Think about it. If I could look at three investment opportunities and consistently pick the right one or simply increase my percentages over time that would be awesome. The applications in the capital marketplace and Vegas are obvious but what about everyday life? What about relationships? Ever meet someone and have a funny feeling about them? Did your gut feeling turn out to be correct? What if you could eliminate the wasted time of nurturing a bad relationship or avoid the complications of involving yourself with shady characters or people who only want to take advantage of you? If you look above at the photo (it's actually the cover of the book - Gut Feelings) It shows a man deliberating over a decision to go left or right. The implication is that his gut feeling is to go right and avoid the masked man with the knife who is hiding around the corner to his left. Will he be smart enough to go with his gut feelings? Can your gut feelings keep you out of dangerous situations? What would you do when faced with a similar choice? Would you feel confident trusting your gut feelings?


These were some of the questions I asked myself in an attempt to understand and feel comfortable with my own intuition. So in an effort to better understand these little voices and improve my quality of life through this understanding I critically examined Gigerenzer's writing. I figured even improving the little things like avoiding traffic jams and picking the right line at the grocery store would be helpful in my life. Ultimately, I suppose, I wanted to be more like Thomas Magnum on the series Magnum P.I. Do you remember Magnum? He was always hearing his own little voice and he listened to it. His voice generally influenced him in the right direction. I wanted to perfect this technique so that I would more likely say "I'm glad I made that choice" instead of the alternative "I wish I had listened to my gut feelings."

Thomas Magnum usually listened to his "gut feelings" or his little voice. When he didn't - There was generally trouble ahead.

So here we go, I picked up the book and started reading. My first observation was that the book read more like a college text book than a "how to" book. My preference would have been for a step by step process with examples and someone to hold my hand and lead me to the promised land but that was not in the cards. It wasn't quite as bad as college Thermodynamics but there were times when I thought about skipping a few chapters. It's easy to understand why the book was written in this manner when you consider who the author is - Gerd Gigerenzer, who was a director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. That definitely adds credibility to the book but doesn't make it read anything like a Louis L'amour novel. I read on..... I was impressed at how the author drew parallels between catching a fly ball and gut feelings. He would go on to describe and define the "gaze heuristic" in which an outfielder uses a technique of gazing at a fly ball to predict where it will come down. He later introduces the "recognition heuristic" as a tool that people can use to make decisions. He cleverly used cute anecdotes to highlight his points and somehow keep me interested and waiting for the step by step process that I was looking for. He proved to me that "less information can be more" and often produces the best answer or decision. Without delivering to me the pass key I'd hoped for to consistently make accurate decisions based on my own gut feelings, he finally got his point across. In summary, this book is about gut feelings and the intelligence associated with the unconscious mind. The author's theory is that these feelings, hunches, inner voices or whatever you may use to describe them are not based on random or capricious thought. Contrarily, they are based on information that may be hidden in the subconscious mind or observations and mental processes that you may not be cognizant of. That's my take on it.

Every day we make hundreds if not thousands of decisions. Some people are indecisive and have a difficult time making decisions. Sometimes the correct answer is right there in front of them and they still deliberate and ultimately make the wrong choice. At times I've personally had to make decisions when the answers were not clear. I have a history of not going with my gut feelings and using logic or reason to talk myself out of the intuitive answer. I think now I've taken a proactive step in my life to try to finally tilt the odds in my direction. I'm not sure if I'll be successful but I know I've at least armed myself with some more information. I can now be comfortable in knowing that perhaps there is some science or logic to this nebulous decision making process. Now all I have to do is be smart enough to listen to my inner voice and hope it continues to be right more often than not.

Good luck with your Gut Feelings.....

I hope my ranting has been helpful!

If the rest of the world could vote for the U.S. President!

So let's just say you're bored. You've got nothing else to do and you somehow ended up here at this post. You're tired of all of the election hoopla on the radio, television, and Internet. But not really. Are you? You're looking for that one last tiny bit of information to stuff in you already overloaded head. You were curious about how the rest of the world feels about the two U.S. presidential candidates and you were wondering how the world would vote. Weren't you?

Wonder no more.... This link is going around the globe in an email and the numbers are increasing. Cast your vote or just follow the link and click on the results tab in the upper left corner to see how the rest of the world is lining up. The nice thing is you can see how the vote breaks down per country. As of the writing, approximately 438,300 people have voted.

Follow this link: If the world could vote.

I'll confess. I voted twice. The site automatically detects your location. But I voted once in Australia last week and once in the U.S today. I promise not to vote anymore.

I've just noticed that my blog buddy Pentad has a similar link on her site. Follow this link to compare notes: Interactive Election World Map

Allen Raymond - A Prank gone Wrong!

"After ten full years inside the GOP, ninety days amongst honest criminals wasn't any great ordeal."


This is a quote from Allen Raymond, author of "How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative." You've got to like the irony if nothing else.

So I just can't seem to get away from the politics...... I walked into my favorite cafe yesterday in Sydney, Australia and the owner, who knows me personally now, greets me kindly and ask about things in the United States. He of course knows my order as well and we say it simultaneously. We chat a minute about the weather and the strengthening US dollar versus the Aussie dollar and then he jumps right into politics - "Who's gonna win the Presidential election Mate? He asks. I initially respond with a confident - "Looks like it's gonna be Obama." He smiles and before long we're talking about Allen Raymond and dirty GOP tricks.

Perhaps now I'm not so sure.

Raymond, served a three-month sentence for jamming Democratic phone lines in New Hampshire during the 2002 US Senate race. He served as chief of staff to a co chairman of the Republican National Committee, supervised Republican contests in mid-Atlantic states for the RNC, and was a top official in publisher Steve Forbes's presidential campaign. He went on to earn $350,000 a year running a Republican policy group as well as a GOP phone-bank business.

I happened to catch part of "Real time with Bill Maher" on HBO tonight and guess who was on? You guessed it - Allen Raymond. I suspect mostly he was out promoting his book but he also shed some light on the dirty GOP voter suppression tactics of the past and maybe of the future.

An enlightening show to say the least.

This Presidential race is like no other in my lifetime. I'm astounded at the amount of information that is available in all areas. A media field day. I'm captivated by the number of Republicans who are jumping ship, divorcing George W. Bush, and professing their support for Obama. Collin Powell, Scott McClellan author of "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," and Allen Raymond are just a few former Republicans who now have quite compelling stories to tell about their political journeys.

It's perhaps too late for McCain/Palin to change their game plan but you can best believe that if their bid for the presidency is unsuccessful, the GOP will be re-writing the playbook for next time.

Here's a clip of Allen Raymond:

Look up in the Sky!

When you're driving around Los Angeles you're likely to see just about anything. And I do mean anything......

Today as I was driving around just north of the intersection of Fairfax and Beverly and I had to stop and look. I almost couldn't believe my eyes! So I pulled out my camera and snapped a shot of the image before it disappeared.

I thought - someone had clearly caught Barack Obama in his off hours masquerading in costume.

At least that's what I thought at first. And then I heard this clip of Senator Obama speaking at the 63rd Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on October 16, 2008.

So it's official. Barack Obama is Superman's younger brother.

You can hear the rest of Obama's entertaining speech by following this link: Obama at Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.

The Final Presidential Debate!

Tired of all of the lies, mud slinging and spin?


Take a look at this for a quick smile:

Is the eloquent and articulate Batman guilty by association? Or is the deceiving and nefarious Penguin up to his old tricks?

Brother Can you Spare a Dime?

All of this turmoil and volatility in the stock market combined with a conversation today with a man who was a teen during the depression has inspired me to relearn some of my United States History and pen this post. Specifically, I took a quick look at the Great Depression and the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

October 29, 1929 known as "Black Tuesday" is the day that the stock market officially crashed. History books also describe "Black Thursday" and "Black Monday" leading up to "Black Tuesday." In the dark days leading up to Black Tuesday, the market was severely unstable. Periods of selling and high volumes of trading were interspersed with brief periods of rising prices and recovery. Any of this sound familiar? And interestingly, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) which crashed in 1929 actually recovered in 1930 only to reverse and reach it's lowest point on July 8, 1932. It had not been that low since the 1800's. (So you think we've been on a roller coaster ride huh?) I wonder how the investors felt back then. Well, most of you know the rest of the story.... This crash in the market in 1929 officially set off the Great Depression. Unemployment skyrocketed--a quarter of the workforce was without jobs by 1933 and many people became homeless. Many people, fearing that the banks would run out of money and they would lose their savings rushed the banks to withdraw their money. (See this NPR story about the sale of home safes climbing) Check writing ground to a halt and most transactions were made in cash.

10 year Chart of the DJIA from AOL

(Today the Dow closed at 8577.91 down about 39% from 2007)

President Herbert Hoover was unable to improve the situation so in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president and he promised a "New Deal" for the American people. The end to the Great Depression came about in 1941 with America's entry into World War II but the Dow did not return to pre-1929 levels until late 1954.

So fascinated with that refresher of U.S. history, I was motivated to search for more current news on this topic. I was delighted to run across an article in the Wall Street Journal titled: What History Tells Us About the Market.

Here's a clip from the story with a link to the full article:

July 9, 1932 was a day Wall Street would never wish to relive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 41.63, down 91% from its level exactly three years earlier. Total trading volume that day was a meager 235,000 shares. "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," was one of the top songs of the year. Investors everywhere winced with the pain of recognition at the patter of comedian Eddie Cantor, who sneered that his broker had told him "to buy this stock for my old age. It worked wonderfully. Within a week I was an old man!"

If you have the time and are even remotely interested in the U.S. economy and stock market, it's worth a look.

To add a bit of atmosphere, I'm spinning two versions of the song - "Brother Can You Spare a Dime." The first is by the legendary Bing Crosby and the second is an emotional rendition by George Michael.







I know that was a brief re-cap of many years of history. I personally don't think we're headed for a depression but who knows? The Wall Street Journal article mentions "the psychology of fear" and talks about the lack of liquidity in the banks during the Great Depression. These are phrases we've all become familiar with in the past few months. I'm conducting a poll to see how visitors feel about the likelihood of our economy entering a depression. The poll is at the top right of the page. Feel free to vote if you're inclined.

Thanks for reading.

The Big Apple!

A.K.A - New York, New York!

"The city that's so nice they had to name it twice!"

Some other popular monikers for New York City are - "Gotham City" and "The City that never Sleeps." The nickname "City that never Sleeps" seems to come from the 24 hour non-stop operation of New York's subway train system and around the clock bustle. I incorrectly believed that the nickname "Gotham City" came from the DC comic strip and fictional home of Batman. I've since learned otherwise. It turns out that "Gotham City" was first used by American writer Washington Irving in a collection of satirical periodicals referred to as Salmagundi. Salmagundi was written in collaboration with Irving's oldest brother, William, and James Kirke Paulding between January 24, 1807 and January 15, 1808. In the periodical, the authors lampooned New York culture and politics in a manner much like today's Mad Magazine.

Washington Irving.

The name "Big Apple" seems to have a less clear origin. However, recently (in 2004) the New York Historical Society and others agreed that the name was first popularized by John J. Fitz Gerald, who first used it in his horse racing column in the New York Morning Telegraph in 1921, then further explaining its origins in his February 18, 1924 column. Fitz Gerald credited African-American stable-hands working at horse racing tracks in New Orleans:

"The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York.
Two dusky stable hands were leading a pair of thoroughbred around the "cooling rings" of adjoining stables at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and engaging in desultory conversation.
"Where y'all goin' from here?" queried one.
"From here we're headin' for The Big Apple," proudly replied the other.
"Well, you'd better fatten up them skinners or all you'll get from the apple will be the core," was the quick rejoinder."

Follow this link: Around the Big Apple for more info.

Regardless of which name you choose, New York City is unlike any other city in the world. With it's five boroughs, the "Big Apple" represents a true melting pot and global cultural center. From Wall Street to Harlem, and Little Italy to China Town - The diversity is obvious and wonderful. I was lucky enough to spend 4 perfect days in New York last week. The weather was gorgeous. Not nearly enough time to do all of the things I wanted (I didn't make it out to the Intrepid) but a great trip all in all.

Here are just a few shots from around the town - More will follow in another post.

Photo of Ground Zero
(Now under construction)

I had a little talk with the Bull while I was there. Now I'm not claiming to have anything to do with today's 936 plus point gain in the DOW, but while other visitors were kicking him in his anatomy, I opted to rub his horns for good luck!

Duke Ellington and John Coltrane - In a Sentimental Mood

Something very familiar to me......

I've been hooked on a song for the past few weeks. I have just recently rediscovered this song. It was a song my parents listened to when I was young. The song, In a Sentimental Mood, is a jazz composition by Duke Ellington. Duke Ellington wrote it in 1935 and recorded it with his orchestra the same year.

Duke Ellington at the Hurricane Club in New York, May 1943.

Even though Ellington composed this song before my parents were born, his most popular version of it was a joint venture with jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. This version was recorded on September 26, 1962 and released on an album titled - Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. This was the version my parents quickly became fans of. I've later learned that my grandparents grooved to the original composition (from 1935) which featured solos by Otto Hardwicke, Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown, and Rex Stewart.

So this really is timeless music.

Sentimentality is a very unique and complex emotion. In my opinion, it walks a delicate line between sadness and joy. It's quite easy for me to get lost in another place when I hear this song. There's something strangely familiar and addictive about this tune and find myself hitting the replay button over and over. Maybe it's the (CESH) chromatic embellishment of static harmony that has me hooked. I don't know for sure but consistently, this tune leaves me in a relaxed and happy place.

So where does it leave you?

Intrepid Returns to New York.....

Thursday, October 2,2008...

Headline news!

The front page of the New York Times...The Return of the Intrepid to Manhattan.

Wait a second. I just finalized my plans to go to New York. How did the press find out so quickly. Who leaked my travel plans?

"Excuse me Sir" (Whispers in the background...)

Sorry, I guess the story on the front page of the NY Times is not about me. It's about the return of my namesake - The USS Intrepid. I humbly apologize for my arrogance.

USS Intrepid - Wikipedia

It so happens that the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier returned today to it's spot in Manhattan where it has served for 24 years as a military and space museum. The Intrepid Sea Air & Space Museum had occupied the Manhattan space until late 2006, when it was moved for extensive repairs and improvements costing nearly $120 million.

The USS Intrepid was launched on April 26, 1943 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia, it was the fifth Essex-class aircraft carrier to be launched. The Intrepid has one of the most distinguished service records of any Navy ship, seeing active service in the Pacific Theater including the Marshall Islands, Truk, Leyte Gulf, and Okinawa. Later she recovered spacecraft of the Mercury and Gemini programs and served in the Vietnam War.



I learned today while researching this post that while the Intrepid was able to survive five Japanese kamikaze suicide planes, it narrowly escaped demolition. Ultimately, it was rescued by New York real estate developer and philanthropist Zachary Fisher. Zachary Fisher, who died in 1999, gave more than $25 million to the establishment of the Intrepid Museum. He also set up a foundation that sent $10,000 checks to families of the 241 people who died when a Marine barracks was bombed in Beirut in 1983.


President Clinton, later recognized Mr. Fisher by awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 saying "he never knew any other civilian who cared as much about the military."



I am personally grateful to Mr. Zachary Fisher and the Men and Women who have proudly served on the USS Intrepid.

I will be traveling to New York next week and I hope to stop by for a visit. Unfortunately, I hear the carrier won't be open until early November. Maybe I can get some photos from afar.

Follow this link for a slide show of the USS Intrepid's return:

http://www.wnbc.com/slideshow/news//17608885/detail.html

Courageous Acts!

What's the difference between a finish carpenter and a shark?

1. Lipstick
2. A tool belt
3. Gills
4. A finish carpenter is meaner

Well, you're free to answer that question anyway you like but folks in the Florida keys are claiming # 4. is the correct answer. Here's the story:

Greg LeNoir, a finish carpenter, had taken his 14 pound rat terrier Jake for a swim at Worldwide Sportsman's Bayside Marina pier in Islamorada, Florida. That's where the near tragedy occurred. LeNoir watched as a 5 foot shark grabbed his dog Jake and pulled him under the water. LeNoir shrieked and without hesitating leaped into action.

''I clenched my fists and dove straight in with all my strength, like a battering ram,'' LeNoir, 53, told the Miami Herald. "I hit the back of the shark's neck. It was like hitting concrete.''

The shark, no doubt feeling out-matched, released Jake and swam off.

photo is courtesy of Cammy Clark / Miami Herald / Associated Press and foxnews.com

The 28 month old Jake who was rescued once from an animal shelter is doing fine and in my words, has just been issued his second get out of jail free card!

LeNoir's wife of 17 years, Tessalee, said she wasn't shocked by her husband's heroics. ''People know him as Dr. Doolittle,'' she said. ``He's the one who climbs up a tree to save a possum.''

Well Doctor- this was more than just a regular house call.

For your bravery, courage, and clarity of thought and action -

I Salute You!

Intrepid remembers! God Speed!

for more on this story see:

-http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,430441,00.html

-http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/story/707023.html

-http://www.latimes.com/features/custom/oddnews/la-on-shark1-2008oct01,0,7743756.story

Ctrl + Z

Many of you reading this post are much smarter than I am. Without a doubt, you are certainly more computer savvy than I am. For example: How many of you knew that pressing the control (Ctrl) key and the "Z" key at the same time was the "Undo" edit button? While I've become quite proficient with the "Ctrl + C" for copying text and "Ctrl + V" for pasting information, and even the "Ctrl + X" for the cutting function, I've just recently learned the benefit of the "Undo" feature. Several times in the last month I've accidentally deleted entire paragraphs, posts, documents, comments, edits, emails etc., and many times I've been able to restore my work by simply hitting the "Ctrl + Z." If you could have only seen my happy face as I realized that I wasn't going to have to reproduce my entire work. Lucky Me! What a time saver.

The "Undo" feature has never saved me from really big and stupid mistakes like -When my entire computer locks up or shuts down before I've saved my documents but clearly, this function has saved me some time and restored me to my natural state of zen. But I digress, I didn't really mean this as a lesson in "keyboard-ology" but I use this analogy to ask you all if there have been times in your life that you wish you could have just hit the "Undo" button and gone back to where you were before?

Just last month while in Kauai, I snorkeled out to this small island reef area about 100 yards off shore. When I got there, I was pretty proud of myself and was standing around enjoying the view and that's when I noticed my error. I realized that I had the keys to the rental car in my wet swimming trunks. Oh no I thought! Salt water does crazy things to electronics. I knew that. It probably would have been okay to put them back in my pocket and swim back to shore but I couldn't help but think - How am I going to get these keys back without doing more damage?

Inside the Remote control key

I thought of everything. I tried to stuff the keys inside my mask and swim back but they wouldn't fit. I considered throwing the keys as far as I could toward land but I doubted my ability to reach the sandy shore. I looked around for plastic, or anything I could use to help me. No luck. Ultimately, I decided to swim back holding the keys above the water. Boy was I tired. And I'm sure I looked pretty silly too. I made it back, the keys dried out and the remote function still worked. And I happily didn't have to pay the rental car company money for a new FOB. So my point is this.... Wouldn't it have been great to hit the "Cntrl + Z" keys and go back to just before my stupid mistake? I think so.


On a different note, today I watched the Stock Market (The Dow dropped 777 points) run through some more crazy gyrations and I watched members of Congress (The House) look amateurish and juvenile, I looked all over for the "Undo" button. I just couldn't find one. I wanted to reset the day and start it over but to no avail. I wanted to send all the members of the House back to their room and make them vote again! As much as I realize that this is a complicated and difficult process, I just didn't feel any better when I listened to the respective reasons why they couldn't reach an agreement. I reluctantly watched the "Blame Game" which followed. The Republicans blamed the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi for making a partisan speech and the Democrats blamed the Republicans for not supporting a plan endorsed by George Bush. Give me a break....... Undo. Undo. Undo. Undo.... Where is that button?





I couldn't find the button but if you're interested here's what transpired:




From CNN.com

After the vote, Boehner said, "Americans are angry, and so are my colleagues. They don't want to have to vote for a bill like this, and I understand that." Watch Boehner blame Pelosi »

The Republican House leadership blamed Pelosi, saying she gave a partisan speech before the vote that alienated House Republicans. Watch Pelosi say the Democrats delivered »

Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who was a key negotiator of the bill, said Republican leaders were blaming Pelosi because they were embarrassed that they failed to get a majority of the Republicans to vote for the bill.

Watch Frank say the GOP 'punished' the country »

Can they at least make me feel better and tell me it wasn't a good "bail-out plan" and that's why it wasn't approved? Undo... Undooooo Please!

Fortunately, I'm unusually optimistic. I'm confident that some sort of plan will emerge this week. The market will recover slightly and hopefully we can find a way to reach a compromise on the issues surrounding this crisis. We're not going to be out of the woods for a while but we need to start looking for the trail before it gets too dark to see. I'm hoping for a better plan and more universal support. Personally, I'm growing weary of the gaming that's going on at our expense. Isn't it about time to start doing things because they are right and not because they are political? Since we can't undo this mess it's time for the members of Congress to do their share of the swimming with the keys out of the water and come up with and approve a viable plan. I hope they are up for it.

I'm also growing weary of this political struggle. Feel free to send me some personal stories about times you wish you had an "Undo" button. That would be nice.



Make me laugh.

Thanks