36,600

I only had one New Years resolution last year: do 100 push ups/day. In a leap year, that means 36,600 push ups, which I just finished tonight. Had to do 350 today, most of which I did outside with the Red Rocks Fitness Group. Sunny and in the low 50s today: perfect. And yes, I still channel Secretariat more than I'd like to admit.

Sweet Caroline

The Governor of NY is in the process of choosing Hillary's replacement in the Senate. Caroline Kennedy is lobbying for the job. Part of me hope she gets it- she could be the Dems own Sarah Palin. Again, nice person but unfit for the job.

From the NY Times:

"After weeks of criticism that she had not opened up to the public or the press, Ms. Kennedy has embarked on a series of interviews. But in an extensive sit-down discussion Saturday morning with The New York Times, she still seemed less like a candidate than an idea of one: forceful but vague, largely undefined and seemingly determined to remain that way.....She provided only the broadest of rationales for her candidacy for the Senate, saying her experience as a mother, author and school fund-raiser, her commitment to public service and her deep political connections had prepared her for the job....in the interview on Saturday, she said she hoped to be a consensus-builder, and declined to describe her positions on other pressing public issues — even in education, where she has some expertise."

And the frequent 'you knows' are painful. From the NY Daily News:

"'I'm really coming into this as somebody who isn't, you know, part of the system, who obviously, you know, stands for the values of, you know, the Democratic Party,' Kennedy told the Daily News Saturday during a wide-ranging interview....Her speech was often punctuated with extra 'you knows' and 'ums.'"

Painful. Here's what it sounds like:

"I'm Done Running"

My nephew and niece running after dinner, set to music.

A Rep of One

I caught up with Darren yesterday and he was telling me that he actually uses his bowflex machine. He proudly told me that he has a rule that every time he walks by it he has to do a rep. But then he asks "is it a rep if I just do one?"

A Tree Falls in the Forest

Another weekend, another powder day. Yesterday was colder than most as the temperature at the top of the mountain was around 4 degrees, not taking into account the substantial wind, which almost led to an unfortunate collision. We skied Hairbag Alley a few times in the afternoon. As the name implies, it's an alley that runs through the forest. Here's Jason racing down it:



Eventually, the alley turns into a trail on which you race through the forest before it dumps you back onto a wide open run. On the last run of the day I was flying down the trail when I had to slam on the brakes to avoid disaster. I almost crashed into a large tree that fell over the trail that we had raced over only an hour earlier. Close call. But I survived to ski another. Today, in fact.

Animalia and Us

Which one of the following did not happen today?

1) Three elk passed through the lot behind my condo.
2) An energized bunny ran around my SUV in my parking lot.
3) A lazy porcupine spent several lazy hours high in the branches of pine trees at 12,000 ft at A-Basin ski area.
4) A rat running up the street in stopped traffic met its end when my father jumped out of his car, held his ground as the rodent approached, and stomped out the streaking rat with two lightning bursts. Delighted onlookers voiced their hearty approval.
5) Two bighorn sheep walked along shoulder of I-70, as cars raced by at 70 mph only feet away.

Answer: #1 did not happen. For the record, here's a porcupine in a tree at 12,000 in dead winter:

Fur Hats Required

In an effort to meet like-minded souls, I joined a group that does photography. They were meeting tonight downtown to do night photography. I schlepped my camera and tripod there but naturally found the city unappealing to my landscape sensibilities. So I faked a few photos (no film loaded) and socialized. Since I wasn't taking boring night shots of the city, my attention turned to getting a shot of the full body ski suit that screamed 1988. Please notice the hats. The brown fake fur headpiece belongs in Winnipeg, Canada while the large black fur hat belongs in the Soviet Union. How did they end up in Denver?

The Chase

A foot of powder at Vail. Not a bad way to spend a weekend.

The Comedian vs. The Would-Be President

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Who makes a better case? The comedian or the would-be president?

The answer: the comedian. And by a mile. Agree with him or not, John Stewart is one intelligent comedian.

The Land of Cholera

For all the bad news out there, and there is a lot, at least we don't live in Zimbabwe, which the WSJ recently called "the land of cholera." The NY Times today had a heartbreaking article on the outbreak and meltdown of government and society. And estimated 16,000 have cholera- and the misery is spreading fast. The tragedy here is that everybody knew Mugabe has been driving his country to this point for years. And all we got were platitudes from regional countries. Harsher words from the west were dismissed as colonial and racist. And nothing was done.

A case like this argues for some sort of intervention, especially when he was clearly stealing elections and oppressing any opposition. You have to play hardball with thugs like this. They don't respond to sanctions and statements. Why not let a team of Delta operators get in there and capture him? Or effect a coup. It's disheartening to see the UN, African Union, and every other supposedly-relevant body just observe from the sideline, as if they're watching the Bravo! channel. "Watch What Happens".

Inflation has hit so hard that people aren't going to work as the bus ticket costs more than the wages made in a full day. Naturally this dynamic has accelerated the break down of society. The NY Times said inflation was 231,000,000% in July but has since risen to 8,000,000,000,000,000,000%.

The misery in the land of cholera trumps anything that we're dealing with here. Perspective is helpful when viewing our current financial meltdown.

Trust Me

Today's stupid human is Bernard Madoff, who was charged today with running an "ongoing $50 billion Ponzi scheme." Apparently this guy managed a lot of money for wealthy individuals and hedge funds. His investment advisory business was managed with family members and audited by a 2-person accounting firm. No verification by credible outsiders. Can somebody say 'red flags'? My question is, how in the world did this guy think he could get away with this? Accounting frauds are not sustainable in perpetuity. Was he hoping that the scheme would outlive him? The scope of this fraud is so large that the stock market fell in the final hour of the day as the news got out. Unbelievable.

Apparently he was very trustworthy and was known for his ethics, so much so that friends (and others all over NYC) tried to place money with him. Charlatans come in every stripe, as they always have. And they are believed, as they always have been.

Obama vs Liberals

So far, I'd have to say Obama has done well for himself. His lunatic public works program aside, his appointments are good, intelligent choices. So good that apparently the left is getting upset. As Politico recently reported:

"Liberals are growing increasingly nervous – and some just flat-out angry – that President-elect Barack Obama seems to be stiffing them on Cabinet jobs and policy choices."

Did they think they were going to get Nader as Secretary of Labor and Arianna Huffington as Defense Secretary? Kucinich at Treasury? The economic team looks pretty good considering the alternatives. And the WSJ ran a great Larry Summers quote from this last summer regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

"The illusion that the companies were doing virtuous work made it impossible to build a political case for serious regulation. When there were social failures the companies always blamed their need to perform for the shareholders. When there were business failures it was always the result of their social obligations. Government budget discipline was not appropriate because it was always emphasized that they were 'private companies.' But market discipline was nearly nonexistent given the general perception -- now validated -- that their debt was government backed. Little wonder with gains privatized and losses socialized that the enterprises have gambled their way into financial catastrophe."

And there it is. Would that he would have uttered this to congressional Democrats (and some Republicans along the way) before Fannie and Freddie blew up. But he gets it, in contrast to the congressional Democrats. Hopefully some of that good sense will find its way into policy.

"I got the joke!"

After spending 30 minutes talking about Governor Blagojevich's bribery scandal, Chris Matthews doesn't get the joke.

Another Day, Another Idiot

Well that didn't take long. As a post-script to last night's posting, I present to you Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is doing his very best to prove Einstein right. The Governor was arrested this morning for trying to sell Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder, inter alia. Really? Props to Rod for boldness. Even for Chicago politics, this is strong to quite strong. Especially given the fact that his administration was already under investigation. Did he think nobody was interested in how this played out? Maybe he doesn't read the NY Times, which headlined an article "Picking Obama Successor Puts Spotlight on Governor" on 11/13/08.

Yesterday as news came out that the government had recorded his conversations, he offered the following:

"[Regardless of] whether you tape me privately or publicly, I can tell you that whatever I say is always lawful and the things I'm interested in are always lawful...And if there are any things out there like that, what you'll hear is a governor who tirelessly and endlessly figures out ways to help average, ordinary working people."

And naturally this sentiment squares with the quotes in the indictment. A selected few:

“We were approached ‘pay to play.’ That, you know, he’d raise 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator.”

“if . . . they’re not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it.”
“I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain.”

“I’ve got this thing and it’s [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there,”

“[Obama and his people are] not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them.”

"This decision, like every other one, needs to be based upon that. Legal. Personal. Political.”

It's breathtaking.

So says Albert

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." -Einstein

In the last week, stupidity has blown up three public figures- in spectacular fashion:


Boy George:
"LONDON—Boy George, the flamboyant former Culture Club front man, was convicted Friday of falsely imprisoning a male escort. Norwegian escort Audun Carlsen had alleged he was handcuffed to a wall hook at the singer's east London apartment on April 28, 2007." He deserves some style points for his latest effort.



Plaxico Burress:
Plax shot himself in the foot. Correction, leg. Plax signed a $35 million contract in September to play the game of football. Only two months later he finds the good sense to illegally carry a concealed handgun to a club, where it promptly discharges into his leg, blowing up his life. Prison awaits. Nice work Plax.



OJ:
After literally getting away with murder, OJ decides it would be a good idea to test his luck again by bringing guns to repossess stolen property. Along the way, he finds a way to accumulate charges of kidnapping, assault, conspiracy, inter alia. The cost: at least 9 years in the slammer. I'd say it's cosmic justice, but OJ really blew himself up. The fates really didn't have to conspire here. Just let the Juice be the Juice.

Working on my Turns

If it's winter, it's Vail.

Perfection

They were playing Bach at the Kennedy Center tonight, which I could not pass up. The highlight was the andante from the violin concerto in A-minor, one of the all-time best (just ignore this guy's unfortunate haircut). The second half of the concert was Tchaikovsky, so naturally I left at halftime and went to the Kabob Palace, where (naturally) I ran into Jozsef and Hollie, who were introducing her parents to Afghan take-out. A perfect concerto and a perfect kabob: all in one evening in our nation's capital.

Uncle Time

Going back to Seattle for the holidays always provides plenty of quality uncle time. This year was no exception. Alex offering a cheese cracker sandwich

Declaring that the Wyoming city is named after his father, Laramie:


To get rid of Halloween candy, my sister got the kids doing "science".

Rammstein

After a day like today in the markets, we need a good laugh. A little Rammstein does the trick (no Hasselhoff needed). What is with Germans?

A few highlights among many:
1) Lead singer does his confused 'thinking man' impression at 0:38
2) The guitarist waiting silently with arms folded at 0:58
3) The keyboardist in silver, sleeveless one-piece. Getting funky at 1:32
3) Singer purrs at 0:58 and 1:39
4) The tarzan wailing at 2:45-3:10

It only gets better with the English lyrics. The most touching part is when the big bird pushes his head gently back into his hideout.

Sehnsucht
Let me ride your tear
over the chin to Africa
again in the lap of the lioness
where I once was at home
I search for last year's snow
but there is no more snow there

Let me ride your tear
over clouds without happiness
the big bird pushes his head
gently back into his hideout
I search for last year's sand
but there is no more sand there

Longing hides
like an insect
while asleep you don't notice
that it stings you
I'll never be happy anywhere
the finger slips to Mexico
but it sinks in the ocean
longing is so cruel