Had a great weekend in New Hampshire!
Hit a bit of traffic going up... took 4.5 hrs. to get to Ted's and Mary's house. Spent Friday evening at Chateau Steubing swimming, lounging, eating (steak tips off the grill!), drinking (Dogfish 90 minute ales and more!), and watching Season One episodes of Barney Miller!
Saturday... after a morning dip (pool temp 86-degrees!), coffee, and bagels time for a trip to the supermarket and of course... (*DRUM ROLL*)... the New Hampshire State Liquor Store...
(*SIGH*)
..then back to the house (after a stop to buy a couple extra Champagne flutes; more on that later) arriving just in time to greet Carl upon his arrival shortly after noon.
More swimming... more drinking... (Pimm's Cups!)... lunch... (roast beef, "hot pastrami ala Bill," Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, turkey... fresh baked breads...)... more swimming... more drinking... the arrival of Kim and Shaky... more drinking... Olympics on TV... waiting impatiently for sunset so that Shaky could break his fast...
Oh... the Champagne! Opened up my birthday bottle of Dom '02 at around 5:00 p.m. and toasted ourselves!
Carl is now a Dom convert. (Me... I still wanna try Krug!) (HOWEVER... Dom is now the official "Bill's Mimosas" Champagne!)
ODM is now a Dom convert. (Not sure if Ted was as impressed...)
MDM liked it more than she's ever liked any Champagne or sparkling wine... but since she's not a big Champagne or sparkling wine fan in the first place...
(*SHRUG*)
Kim liked it... (Don't guess she'll be stocking her fridge with it on her pre-school teacher's salary though...)
And then there was Shaky!
By sheer iron will and self-restraint I was able to protect and preserve a bit of the Dom for Shaky so that upon breaking his fast at precisely 8:10 p.m. e.s.t. on Saturday, July 28, 2012 he could join us in finishing off the bottle!
(Am I not the greatest, most generous guy on earth...?!?!)
Once the Dom was kaput... it was off to the River Road Tavern in Bedford, NH where a happy, happy night was had by all!
Suffice it to say that our party of seven was loud enough to be mistaken for a party of seventeen... and with the number of appetizers we ordered (plus beers... cocktails... entrees... extra sides of bacon... homemade maple syrup and bourbon donuts...) the chefs no doubt thought there were more of us than there actually were!
(*SMILE*)
(Suffice it to say... we will be visiting RRT again...)
Well... after dinner and dessert, the kids (Kim and Shaky) went home and upon our return to Chateau Steubing the gals "retired" to their rooms while we manly men refilled our glasses (who doesn't enjoy a frozen mango-orange daiquiri as a post-dessert dessert?) and Ted and I jumped in the pool for a late evening swim while Carl poured us some post-post-dessert-dessert scotches.
After a swim we "retired" to the living room and caught a half hour's or so worth of Kelly's Heroes before each of us making our ways to our respective beds - and wives. (Well... not Carl... but since Ted and Mary have three dogs and what happens in Amhurst, NH stays in Amhurst, NH... I refuse to speculate...)
Next morning... a bit of a slow start... but after a plunge into the pool it was time to greet a new day!
After breakfast we packed up the cars and the four of us (ODM stayed home; she didn't wanna leave Willfy the puppy home) and headed up to Portsmouth to attend Operation Thank You!
Sponsored by The Meat House and Redhook Brewery, OTY is New England's largest yearly Veterans' Appreciation Event, featuring Redhook ales, Meat House meats, live music, and various other foods and entertainment. We really had a great time! (Thanks Ted...!!!)
Well... after spending a few hours at the festival it was time to head home. We hit the road not long after 3:00 p.m. and arrived home a bit before 8:00 p.m. (after one stop for gas and coffee).
All and all... a wonderful weekend!
As always... many thanks to ODM and Ted!
Carl... thanks for splitting Saturday's dinner check with me...
(*WINK*)
And, yes... you're all welcome for my amazing show of friendship and generosity...
(*HUGE FRIGGIN' GRIN*)
...in sharing my Dom with you guys!
8 comments:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/health/policy/too-few-doctors-in-many-us-communities.html?_r=1&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065
In the Inland Empire, an economically depressed region in Southern California, President Obama’s health care law is expected to extend insurance coverage to more than 300,000 people by 2014. But coverage will not necessarily translate into care: Local health experts doubt there will be enough doctors to meet the area’s needs. There are not enough now.
* DUH!
* FOLKS... WAS THIS WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WERE TOLD BY OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS IN 2008... IN 2009... IN 2010...?
(*SIGH*)
The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that in 2015 the country will have 62,900 fewer doctors than needed.
* PERHAPS OBAMA AND THE DEM WILL SIMPLY "DEEM" THERE TO BE MORE DOCTORS?
(*SNICKER*)
And that number will more than double by 2025, as the expansion of insurance coverage and the aging of baby boomers drive up demand for care. Even without the health care law, the shortfall of doctors in 2025 would still exceed 100,000.
* CUTE, BUT DO THE MATH. 62,900 PLUS 62,900 EQUALS...
(*SMIRK*)
Experts describe a doctor shortage as an “invisible problem.” Patients still get care, but the process is often slow and difficult. In Riverside, it has left residents driving long distances to doctors, languishing on waiting lists, overusing emergency rooms and even forgoing care.
* FOLKS... (*SNORT*)... NONE OF THIS IS "NEWS" TO ME - OR SHOULD BE "NEWS" TO ANY OF MY REGULARS HERE AT USUALLY RIGHT! (FUNNY TO SEE THE NYT PROFESSING "SHOCK.")
* FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... THE AVERAGE SCHMUCK HAS NO IDEA WHAT'S DOWN THE PIKE FOR MOST AMERICANS!
http://news.investors.com/article/620090/201207271807/gm-risky-subprime-auto-loans-fuel-sales.htm?p=full
President Obama has touted General Motors as a successful example of his administration's policies.
(*SNORT*)
Yet GM's "recovery" is built, at least in part, on the increasing use of subprime loans.
The Obama administration in 2009 bailed out GM to the tune of $50 billion as it went into a managed bankruptcy.
* AND LOTS NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT THE TAX BILL "FORGIVENESS" - THREE YEARS' WORTH IF MEMORY SERVES!
Near the end of 2010, GM acquired a new captive lending arm, subprime specialist AmeriCredit. Renamed GM Financial, it has played a significant role in GM's growth. GM Financial is relying increasingly on subprime loans, 10-Q financial reports shows.
(*ROLLING MY EYES*)
Potential borrowers of car loans are rated on FICO scores that range from 300 to 850. Anything under 660 is generally deemed subprime. GM Financial auto loans to customers with FICO scores below 660 rose from 87% of total loans in Q4 2010 to 93% in Q1 2012.
* JEEZUS...
The worse the FICO score, the bigger the increase.
From Q4 2010 to Q1 2012, GM Financial loans to customers with the worst FICO scores (below 540) shot up 79% - to more than $2.3 billion. The second worst category, 540-599, rose 28% from about $3.4 billion to $4.3 billion.
(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)
Prime loans, those above 660, dropped 42% to $676 million.
* O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!
GM still owes about $26.4 billion in direct aid to the federal government. The Treasury owns 26.5% of the automaker, or 500 million shares. The stock price would need to be 53 per share to recoup those taxpayer costs. GM shares closed Friday at 19.67 after hitting a post-IPO low on Wednesday.
* O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!
http://news.investors.com/article/620090/201207271807/gm-risky-subprime-auto-loans-fuel-sales.htm?p=full
President Obama has touted General Motors as a successful example of his administration's policies.
(*SNORT*)
Yet GM's "recovery" is built, at least in part, on the increasing use of subprime loans.
The Obama administration in 2009 bailed out GM to the tune of $50 billion as it went into a managed bankruptcy.
* AND LOTS NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT THE TAX BILL "FORGIVENESS" - THREE YEARS' WORTH IF MEMORY SERVES!
Near the end of 2010, GM acquired a new captive lending arm, subprime specialist AmeriCredit. Renamed GM Financial, it has played a significant role in GM's growth. GM Financial is relying increasingly on subprime loans, 10-Q financial reports shows.
(*ROLLING MY EYES*)
Potential borrowers of car loans are rated on FICO scores that range from 300 to 850. Anything under 660 is generally deemed subprime. GM Financial auto loans to customers with FICO scores below 660 rose from 87% of total loans in Q4 2010 to 93% in Q1 2012.
* JEEZUS...
The worse the FICO score, the bigger the increase.
From Q4 2010 to Q1 2012, GM Financial loans to customers with the worst FICO scores (below 540) shot up 79% - to more than $2.3 billion. The second worst category, 540-599, rose 28% from about $3.4 billion to $4.3 billion.
(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)
Prime loans, those above 660, dropped 42% to $676 million.
* O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!
GM still owes about $26.4 billion in direct aid to the federal government. The Treasury owns 26.5% of the automaker, or 500 million shares. The stock price would need to be 53 per share to recoup those taxpayer costs. GM shares closed Friday at 19.67 after hitting a post-IPO low on Wednesday.
* O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!
====================
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/07/29/mob-of-teens-steals-3k-of-jeans-from-wicker-park-store/
* NEW DAY... (*SIGH*)... SAME OL' STORY.
A mob of more than 20 teenagers descended on a trendy Wicker Park shop on Saturday and made off with more than $3,000 worth of jeans.
* BLACK TEENAGERS...
CBS 2′s Derrick Blakley reports the incident was caught on store surveillance cameras, and the owner posted the video on YouTube.
* YES... (*SIGH*)... THE "INCIDENT." (*SMIRK*)
Luke Cho said he hopes the images help police find the robbers, or maybe even shame the parents of the teens enough that they’ll turn the kids in.
* YEAH... RIGHT... FAT CHANCE...!
* I WONDER HOW MANY OF THESE "YOUTHS" HAVE FATHERS LIVING IN THE HOME... OR EVEN HOW MANY KNOW WHO THEIR FATHERS ARE!
Cho said it took police 30 minutes to reach his store after the 911 call went out about 6:45 p.m. on Saturday.
* FOLKS... SOCIETY IS BREAKING DOWN.
Cho called the incident organized looting, pure and simple. Police confirmed they’re investigating the robbery, but have made no arrests as of Sunday afternoon.
* OBAMA'S AMERICA 2012... RAHM EMANUEL'S CHICAGO 2012.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/drunken_group_of_girls_stabs_year_Mxkmq3rBFRjefHQkYROvQP#ixzz222uruubN
A wolf pack of drunken young women “acting stupid” on a downtown No. 6 train in Manhattan stabbed a 63-year-old man early today — for having had the nerve to ask them to pipe down, police said.
* HMM... JUST PLAIN OL' "DRUNKEN YOUNG WOMEN?" (*SMIRK*) LUCKILY THE POST PROVIDES A PHOTO. (*SHRUG*)
The man was on his way to work at about 6:15 a.m. when he was attacked as the train entered the East 23rd Street station, a law-enforcement source told The Post.
“The eight females were acting stupid. He just told them, ‘Relax. Calm down,’” another source said.
Instead, one stabbed him in the left shoulder. He was treated at Bellevue Hospital.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
The women were arrested as they exited the 23rd Street subway station near Gramercy Park. Seven of them, ages 17 to 20, were charged with gang assault, disorderly conduct, rioting, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, and felony assault. (A 15-year-old girl was not charged.) Cops added that they recovered a knife.
* WHY WAS THE 15-YEAR-OLD NOT CHARGED? WHAT OF THE 15-YEAR-OLD'S PARENT(S)?
The suspects were identified as Shanice Brown, 20, Starmeik Driggins, 19, Kimberly Molina, 20 and Sheyla Figueroa, 18, all from Brooklyn; Michelle Rodriguez, 19, from the Bronx; and Martha Bermudez, 17, and Shafteva Burdos, 17, from Queens.
(*PURSED LIPS*)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-construction-projects-in-afghanistan-challenged-by-inspector-generals-report/2012/07/29/gJQAZuLSJX_story.html?hpid=z1
A U.S. initiative to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on construction projects in Afghanistan, originally pitched as a vital tool in the military campaign against the Taliban, is running so far behind schedule that it will not yield benefits until most U.S. combat forces have departed the country, according to a government inspection report to be released Monday.
(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)
The report, by the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, also concludes that the Afghan government will not have the money or skill to maintain many of the projects, creating an “expectations gap” among the population that could harm overall stabilization efforts.
* NOT TO MENTIONS THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PISSED AWAY!
“Implementing projects that the Afghan government is unable to sustain may be counterproductive” to the U.S. counterinsurgency mission, the inspector general wrote. “If goals are set and not achieved, both the U.S. and Afghan governments can lose the populace’s support.”
* YA FUCKIN' THINK...?!?!
Until now, most critiques have asserted only that the massive U.S. foreign assistance program has led to waste and fueled corruption. The new report goes further by suggesting that some projects may ultimately prove detrimental.
* YA KNOW, FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... (*JUST THROWING MY HANDS UP*)
The top Pentagon official responsible for Afghanistan called the report premature and insisted that the announcement of the projects, even though they have not been completed, has generated goodwill and excitement among the Afghan people.
* I SAY WE SEND THIS A--HOLE "TOP PENTAGON OFFICIAL" TO SERVE ON THE FRONT LINES FOR A MONTH. IF HE SURVIVES... THEN PERHAPS WE CAN REEVALUATE HIS (OR HER?) NEXT CAREER MOVE!
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), a frequent critic of Afghan reconstruction efforts, said the report raises fundamental questions about the strategic rationale of U.S. development programs in the war-torn nation. “There’s no data that shows these major projects have changed the security environment in the country,” she said. “We cannot just throw money at a country like this and expect it to have a good ending.”
* BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU AND YOU’RE A--HOLE POLITICAL ALLIES (INCLUDING OBAMA, REID, AND PELOSI!) DID...!!!
Although the United States has spent almost $90 billion on Afghan reconstruction and development over the past decade...
* STOP! STOP TELLING ME!
(*HEADING TO THE TOILET TO PUKE*)
* FOLKS... IF YOU HAVEN'T PUKED YET... FOLLOW THE LINK AND READ THE FULL PIECE IN ITS ENTIRETY!
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/shrugs_as_economy_sags_I7TriIHWfhTA6AKpXL1JVP
The [economic] slowdown [growth at 1.5%] announced Friday — on top of another slowdown in the first quarter — is further proof that the president’s class-warfare economic rhetoric and policies are pushing the country perilously close to a double-dip recession.
The numbers are pretty stark: Growth of 2% for the first quarter was already scary, down... (A few years out of a stiff recession like the one we had, the economy’s normally roaring, not sagging back down.)
So the drop to a 1.5% growth rate for the second quarter is really quite staggering. At this rate, we could be in double-dip territory even by Election Day, as consumers continue to slash their spending and businesses their investments.
* AND AS THE DEBT CONTINUES TO GROW BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS WITH NO END IN SIGHT...!
Yet the president either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that the country is headed right back into recession territory.
* LISTEN... LET'S BE SERIOUS... WE'VE NEVER GOTTEN OUT OF THE RECESSION. WE'VE BEEN IN RECESSION SINCE 2008. TECHNICALLY NOT... BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT IN REALITY... YES.
(*SHRUG*)
Obama promised us hope, change and a robust recovery if we just followed his economic wisdom of massive stimulus spending and “green energy” investments.
* SO MUCH FOR HOPE, CHANGE, AND RECOVERY, HUH?!
[D]ismal is the only way to describe what the numbers are telling us. Even Obama’s most ardent supporters on Wall Street are finding it tough to rationalize his obvious failure on the economy. And they know that the Federal Reserve’s policy of printing money hasn’t worked well enough, either — so more of it from Fed chief Ben Bernanke won’t reverse the trend. Toss in stuff the president and the Fed can’t control, like the Euro crisis, and the outlook’s increasingly bleak.
The current unemployment rate of 8.2% is nothing to brag about, even if the president tries to make it seem like Nirvana. And that figure ignores the burgeoning numbers of people who’ve permanently dropped out of the workforce. Count those “long-termers,” and unemployment’s at a whopping 15%.
* U-6 UNEMPLOYMENT WAS PEGGED AT 14.9% IN JUNE.
With a double-dip, you can expect those numbers to skyrocket — and with them, all the social ills seen when people have lost hope of finding work. How’s that for hope and change?
(*PURSED LIPS*)
And it won’t end there. Banks are said to be in better shape than they were four years ago, but sophisticated investors aren’t so sure. That’s why many big-bank stocks are trading just at or below “book value” — that is, what the banks disclose as the net value of their assets.
In other words, investors think banks are overestimating their strength to withstand an economic jolt — a double dip, a European meltdown, whatever. So while no one is (yet) predicting another financial crisis, the less-bad scenario isn’t so good: A rise in unemployment and in consumers’ loan defaults would certainly reduce bank profits, meaning even less lending to fuel growth.
(*RAISING MY HAND*) EH... UM... I'M PREDICTING ANOTHER (WORSE!) FINANCIAL CRISIS IF OBAMA IS RE-ELECTED!
Recognizing this vicious cycle isn’t exactly rocket science — though it seems to be lost on the president and his economic team, such as it is. Tim ["the tax cheat"] Geithner, the Treasury secretary for the past four years, seems oblivious — or at least powerless to get Obama to back policies that might get businesses to hire again.
(Maybe that’s because the real administration power on these issues is senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, who shares the president’s most absurd economic theories, like the virtues of raising taxes on job-creating small businesses even in a time of economic distress.)
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/central_re_election_agency_agZPMBtJNqbCRChRMLoPiP
The CIA last week “discovered” a long-sought stash of documents detailing its dangerous — not to say embarrassing — leaks to Hollywood about the takedown of Osama bin Laden.
Despite a court order to come clean, the spooks had “inadvertently overlooked” a 5-inch stack of records showing how closely they’ve worked with the folks behind “Zero Dark Thirty” — a film about the dramatic SEAL Team 6 operation that dispatched the arch-terrorist last year.
It’s no state secret that the White House wanted to see the movie made. It was originally set for release this October — its nakedly political timing meant to burnish President Obama’s national-security record on the eve of the 2012 elections.
But the good-government group Judicial Watch won a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for access to internal e-mails on the subject — meaning the CIA had to divulge everything.
Documents released in May were powerfully revealing: They showed how screenwriter Mark Boal had access to top White House officials and how he and director Kathryn Bigelow were given tours at “The Vault” — the secret CIA site with a mock-up of bin Laden’s Pakistani compound, where most of the tactical planning took place.
That was bad enough.
But it seems the black-bag brigade “overlooked” even more documents.
Oops.
According to a court filing last week, the CIA wants to push back court dates regarding the release of more papers.
Now, it’s a simple rule of spycraft that there’s no such thing as a coincidence.
So how does the CIA explain this episode?
The Agency declined to comment.
But Judicial Watch has a few guesses. “These documents were supposed to be turned over to us two months ago under a federal court order,” said Tom Fitton, the group’s president. “This new ‘discovery’ and resulting delay stinks to high heaven.”
The administration has long been happy to leak details to the press when it helps inflate Obama’s record.
And even happier to give special access to Hollywood to inflate it even more.
Now Team Obama seems to have engineered the revelation of operational secrets of U.S. special forces, which puts operators in danger and makes it all the more difficult to work in the field.
But the minute a good-government group comes calling, the CIA dummies up.
Nice to know it can keep a secret when it wants to.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/312525/penniless-paradise-kevin-d-williamson
* THREE PAGE ARTICLE WELL WORTH READING. NOTHING NEW PER SE... BUT REINFORCES WHAT I KEEP ON SAYING. MY REGULARS WON'T BE SURPRISED, BUT... I DOUBT CARL'S DAUGHTER - MY GOD-DAUGHTER - HAS ANY CLUE AND COME SEPTEMBER 2013 SHE'LL BE A FRESHMAN AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY. (IN OTHER WORDS, VICTORIA IS ONE OF THOSE "SMART KIDS" WE ALL ASSUME OUR KIDS ARE.)
* LISTEN... READ THIS ARTICLE AND PASS IT ON. I'M SURE ALL OF YOU HAVE STUPID FRIENDS AND RELATIVES! (*GRIN*) I KNOW I DO!
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