DISPATCHES FROM THE GHOST MOOSE

the last day of January....the month flew by.  Supposed to get dumped on by a blizzard tomorrow.  Will winter never end?  I guess it hasn't been too bad so far, and March will be here in no time.  Funny how the turmoil in Egypt now dominates the news.  And now they demand US intervention to calm the chaos.  We should not spend one cent of tax dollars on that mess until our problems here are all taken care of....we have plenty of crime, homelessness, unemployment, and other woes to fix right here in the good old US of A...lets all demand that the government fix those problems now.  we are the shoemakers children...everyone else but us gets new soles, while ours are worn out. the back is still not good....I should probably skip basketball tonight so I don't make it worse.  but who knows.  I really don't do enough on the court to hurt it worse than it is. have a good Monday.  and good luck with the blizzard.

Had only 4 olives last night.  oh well - everything in moderation. February will start on Tuesday.  So, we should be seeing the end of winter before too long.  Supposed to get dumped on this week, if the forecast can be believed.  Today's story comes from the Chicago Tribune.  These stories are infuriating - a pension law so detatched from the reality of the day.  But no action taken to rein in these out of control and unsustainable costs.  Read and enjoy. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-superintendent-pensions-20110129,0,6037500.story?page=2

I am sitting in front of the tv, having a martini, watching the senior skins game.....watching 4 old men play golf for a lot of money.  Is this it...is this what a 52 year old does for fun on a Saturday?  I guess 6:00 pm on a Saturday in January doesn't provide a lot of options, but it seems a bit over-slothy (if that is a word) to be sitting in front of a tv watching this crap.  At least I should wait to watch the NHL skills challenge later, or maybe a Jersey Shore rerun... and I might - after I finish this martini and get up to make another one.  I only drink them because I like the olives.  My doctor said to have at least 10 olives per day, and if I put 2 in each martini........ have a good saturday night.

I did a search for Goldman Sachs, and found a story posted on Jan 27 that said Goldman received $2.9 billion of bailout funds to repay them for losses on their own trades....ON THEIR OWN TRADES.  I lost 30% of my 401k in the meltdown which Goldman played a major role it - where is my bailout? Another story posted on 1/27 said that Goldman tripled the pay of the 5 top execs.  Instead of going to jail, these turds get their pay tripled.  How does that work?  The engineers of the largest fraud ever get rewarded with eternal cash flow while the rest of us are held down so our lifeblood can be forceably siphoned from us.  and yet we stand for this.  How can that be?  because we have been conditioned to accept the fact that the bankers always have one hand in our pockets and the other hand held out for a govt bailout?  here are links to the stories.  read them and see what you think - is it just me??? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110128/ap_on_b...

25 yrs ago the space shuttle blew up on takeoff.  do you remember where you were?  I do - I had just gotten home from the hospital, my daughter having been born at 3:30 am.  I got to the hospital at about 11 in the morning, and she was born 14 hrs later...I got home and was watching the Price is Right when the news bulletin interrupted the show.  Of course, the day before that fateful event was the Bears super bowl parade down LaSalle street in the loop.  That memory is a bit more pleasant. Friday...long week....I have no plans to work this weekend.  The year end project is wrapping up.  and now on to business as usual.  What is business as usual??? is there such a thing? I have been so busy I haven't had time for my usual rant about the sorry state of everything....I guess I have become an angry old man long before my time.  one of life's indulgences....

Very busy week at work.  Always a good thing - nothing worse than not being busy.  Just when I think my back is getting better, I get a spasm that hits and really knocks me to my knees.  It is hard to believe something can be so painful and is attributable to nothing in particular.  I didn't twist or do anything strenuous.  It's that old age once again.  Parts wearing out.... I see Tiger Woods is playing his first event of the year starting today.  It is cruel to have to watch golf on tv, when we are at least 2 months from playing here.  And those guys get paid to play...life ain't fair. I heard an item on the news about another aspect of the bailout and how Goldman Sachs profited from it.  I will have to read up a bit so I can comment here.  but, suffice to say that when we, as taxpayers, are forced to take pictures of the items we donate to Goodwill or Disabled Vets in order to substantiate our meager deduction, and several billion ...

Ouch.  For anyone who has had lower back problems, you know what I mean - the twinge...it starts as a small pain that doesn't go away, and keeps getting worse until it is unbearable.  I can hardly get out of a chair today.  Not sure what I did to bring this on, but hopefully it will not progress beyond how bad it is now.  Old age....I now get pains for no reason.  I remember being able to play basketball for hours with nothing worse than a blister on my foot.  I knew I was falling apart when I got sore from playing golf.  but, if this is the worst thing I have to complain about today, I am doing ok. I'll have to read up on the financial pages so I can work myself into a tizzy about govt spending.  stay tuned.