January 7, 2010

The New York Times' masthead logo, "All The News That's Fit to Print," is something that has been there forever. We are all used to it even if it is not always true.

My logo, not on my masthead actually, is: "If you are not the lead dog the view never changes".

This was there in my everyday life for a very long time now.

When I worked and the company or companies went through management or ownership changes people asked me what I thought of the new presidents or the new owners.

Well, from where I stood the view didn't change much. My workload remained the same, I didn't make any more money and life did not become suddenly very glamorous.

Last year the economy went to the dogs. All kinds of infusions were made by the government to rescue giant corporations from bankruptcy. The President and his financial people are non stop self adulation on how successful they were pulling the country out of the financial pothole.

From where I stand nothing changed.

Actually some things did change!

There is no Social Security COLA this year even though everything cost more than before. And our credit card interest rate was raised shamelessly by Citibank. They snuck it in just before the rules change in February. But the President is very proud of his legislature to protect the consumers.

When you are the lead dog the view is fascinating and cheerful but at the back things are just not the same.

It is nice when one deals with statistics only. One percent one way or the other and suddenly we are on the Yellow Brick Road to a better life.

But for the common folk nothing ever changes. Income, may that be SS or pension, stay the same or actually decreases. However, people who are up front are getting the six-seven figure bonuses for a successful performance.

Thinking back I should have gone into finance instead of engineering. In engineering if one does a bad job the building/road/bridge collapses and the person who was responsible gets punished.

In finance if some one does a bad job and the country's economy collapses he gets rewarded by a humongous bonus.

Knowing this now I could have saved all my efforts for doing good work. No wonder all these financial people are relaxed and calm. They don't get overstressed by their efforts to do good job. Why bother when they get rewarded for the bad work also.

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Today the New Jersey State Legislature voted down a proposal for same sex marriage.

I wholeheartedly agree with them. I am totally against this farce.

If God wanted same sex marriage there would have been Adam and Brian in Eden. And they would have been the only two occupants even since. Kind of old but for obvious reasons they could not multiply.

Look at what we would have missed in the world.

The Mormon males would have to marry each other, the Muslims could not have a harem full of women, and there would have been no point in creating eunuchs.

The Mayans could not sacrifice virgins because just like today there would be none.

And the golfer would live a very lonely existence.

January 6, 2010

I just want to correct some misconception that might have risen based on one of yesterday's subjects.

We are not kosher, we do not eat kosher products. The only reason we shop at this particular fruit store is because they have better prices than the other stores in the area.

We do all our shopping at 'normal', clean supermarkets.

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It is always terrible when a human being dies. Life is dear and should be treated accordingly. We only have one life and we should cherish it and make every effort to protect it. This is the only chance we all have on earth, we will not get a second chance.

Now why am I writing this psychobabble?

Because unfortunately the world is full of useless people who have no idea what to do with themselves. They have riches an ordinary person can not fathom but they live their lives without doing anything useful.

Look at this woman who just died. She was the heiress to the Johnson & Johnson fortune. She lived her life partying, boozing and drugging. Now she died and the media is all filled about her. What was her contribution to the betterment of life as we know it?

She didn't know what to do with herself. She went into a lesbian affair, she partied and adapted a little girl from Kazakhstan but she didn't know what to do with her.

People like her and Paris Hilton and countless others are as useless as garbage. Their loss is not felt by anybody except their families. These people never contributed to anything but to their own self.

And in this idiotic country and world they make the news.

I can't be bothered by their existence. If they want to die, have a nice trip!

My wife was once involved in business very peripherally with a billionaire woman. She was a very mean person. She fired people for just looking at her the wrong way or not being at the right place at the right time. Didn't believe in second chances.

When she died she left the bulk of her estate to her dog. That indicates that she thought more of her dog than people in the need.

She was another useless one.

Over forty years ago I worked for a real estate company in Manhattan. Its owner was a man of over 75 years of age. This man was a multi millionaire which was a lot of money back in the 60's. He didn't have to work yet, he put everybody to shame in the office. He was in every day and he was i the office long after we left.

OK he was a wheeler dealer and only he knew how to do those things. But he didn't have to work. He could have stayed home in his Connecticut estate and enjoyed life.

But no, he chose to work and I respected him for this.

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The Census Bureau came out with a form that among others has a question that refers to the person's race. The question is if black is the person Black, African American or Negro.

I can understand the African American but what is the difference between Black and Negro? I always thought they were one and the same.

I can see a black person from Africa is not an African American but if he is black then I'm sure he is also negro.

Why are blacks so upset at the use of the word negro?

In Spanish and in Portugal negro means black. That is where the word was originated from. I really don't see anything wrong with it, their skin is black. Only people with an inferiority complex would complain about something like this.

Maybe I don't want to be called white. I think I want to be called European American from here on.

January 5, 2010

Today I brought my car to the dealer for a 15,000 mile service. Biiiiig mistake!

First of all there is nothing wrong with the car. It is as smooth as butter, runs like a Swiss watch. There was absolutely nothing to complain about. Actually, not counting an earlier oil change this was the car's first service. And, probably the last at the dealer.

I waited for the car not feeling like going home then coming back later. Giving them credit the car was done in about two hours.

They did things that are absolutely not visible. So in essence I don't know if those things were done or not. The service area is like an operating room. Ordinary people are not allowed in while the car doctor is working.

I don't know if they greased the doors or checked the brakes or rotated the tires or changed all the filters they claim they changed. When it was done it felt the same as before except the seat was totally rearranged.

Giving them credit where credit is due, they washed the car. It looked as clean as it looked when we brought it out of the showroom. Actually, they only washed the outside, the inside is as dusty as before.

The bottom line is that the entire "checkup" cost $405. And there was nothing wrong with the car!

This was the last time I went to the dealer for service. Unless I can get it for free they will not see me again. Local service stations can provide the same for less money. Besides the car is leased. At the end of 2011 it goes back to the dealer unless we decide to keep it. Or the economy decides it for us.

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Why kosher has to be dirty? This is a rhetorical question.

Since I am Jewish I am allowed to raise this issue. Why is it that I go into a kosher food store and I am ready to upchuck my cookies?

Not only the food is disgusting but the environment is dirty. The floors are dirty, the shelves are dirty, the fruits and vegetables displayed are unappetizing, the food within glass enclosures look terrible.

But then the staff don't look any different either. Why orthodox people have to look unclean. I don't think the religious teachings prescribe that one has to look unclean.

The reason I am raising this subject is that we live close to an area that is pretty orthodox. Naturally all the food stores are kosher, they are all closed on Saturday but then Sunday business as usual. We found a fruit/vegetable store that has better prices than the other stores in the area.

The place is very casual to say the least. By casual I mean they are not bothered by the dirt. There is butcher there who sells obviously kosher meat. He looks like he just stepped out of Fiddler On the Roof. I wouldn't buy any meat from him if he were the last butcher on earth.

But why orthodox people have to look this way? I had some religious training when I was very young but it never said not to wash. With the lack of hot water in our house I probably would have welcomed such instruction.

Years ago we went to a pizza place in that neighborhood. With kids running wild, parents really not caring the place looked like a war zone. Even though these are my people I have vary little in common with them.

I am clean, I like cleanliness. I like my food to be clean and come from a clean environment.

Also kosher tastes different.

Years ago we went to the son of a friend's wedding. The bride came from a religious family. The food was catered by a kosher caterer. We had chicken that tasted kind of disgusting. When we inquired we were told the reason being that it was kosher chicken.

Apparently they were freshly killed and bled out a certain way. Bottom line, they tasted awful.

I am sure this is because we are not used to it. Back in Hungary my Mother used to buy live chicken which was killed by somebody in our building then she cooked it. At that time I never complained. Probably because I didn't know any better.

Now, I am used to Perdue and Tyson.

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Until now I had sleepless nights about airline security. But now I can rest easy because two major security risks were neutralized. Last week Ivana Trump, who is guilty of bad accent and this week Joan Rivers who is guilty of bad plastic surgeries were prevented from flying.

Vigilant airline people get an "Atta Boy" for these feats!

January 4, 2010

After yesterday's staying close to home we decided to be away from home as much as possible. It was a beautiful day, very cold but not windy which made it bearable. So we had a nice day. It was good to get out of the house finally.

Since today was the first workday the roads were quiet, the stores were empty and for people like us it was really pleasant.

Now, airline security.

Yesterday at Newark International Airport some yahoo went in through the exit where no one was supposed to enter. As a result they shut down the Airport, re-checked all the already scanned passengers. Delays were five or six hours because of this and the person was never caught.

This is ridiculous. Security at the airports is a joke. The checkers are not performing their jobs because they really don't care to.

The way they look at it it is a job. These people hate everyone who passes through to the planes. Their thinking is that why am I stuck here while you people are going on your trips. So, I will make your being here as difficult as I can!

But this attitude does not improve security. Some of them can't speak correct English, and a while back it was discovered a large number of them were illegals.

Speaking of the English language. The large majority of the employees at the major New York airports are Hispanic. I saw with my own eyes persons guarding exit or entrance doors who could not speak English and were more occupied with socializing with their friends than watching their posts.

These people are supposed to catch or notice possible terrorists? The only thing they do frequently is looking at their watches to see how much more time until the next break or the end of their shifts.

In my opinion the only solution to good security is to place the military or federal or local law enforcement personnel in charge. Civilians will never going to do a good job.

On the same thought I think racial profiling is a great idea. It is too bad it will never be realized in this country. There will always be people against it saying it is unfair and it places certain groups in a bad light.

Certain groups are in the bad light already.

I have never heard of an orthodox Jewish woman traveling with three children smuggling a bomb aboard a plane. Or a Hasidim man doing the same. Or a white Anglo Saxon mother traveling with two children and a husband trying to blow up a plane.

No matter what the civil libertarians say there is a certain element who will do this. And those security people at the airports must be able to flag them.

A couple of years ago we went to Hungary. At the time the Hungarian airline provided non-stop service to Budapest. So we are sitting at JFK Airport waiting to board our plane when this tall slim woman walks through the waiting area. My wife and I were caught off guard seeing her. She was covered from head to toe in black. There were slits where her eyes were and the sleeves on her dress were so long we couldn't tell her skin color.

It was unusual because Hungary is really not home to people like her. Just before entering the plane we had to show our passports. This woman was front of us and was showing her passport to the person at the gate.

Well, a photograph isn't worth anything when one is totally covered up. She went behind the door to show her face to the woman security person. We saw her on the plane. She sat through the whole trip like a statue not bothering anybody. Still, it was a scary sight.

The French have the right idea. Forbid the use of these Halloween costumes in their country.

I am not against religious symbolism. But everything should be practiced at the right time and at the right place. It is OK at their home country but if these people want to live somewhere else they should respect the customs of the host country.

Back to racial profiling. The Israelis have no qualms about it. They practice it and their planes are safer than anybodies in the world. Maybe we should start learning from them after all.

No wonder the golfer has his own private plane. Doesn't want to sit next to a woman wrapped in black from head to toe with a slit for the eyes only.

January 3, 2010

It is cold and blustery outside. The temperature is about 17 degrees but with the wind it feels like -10. Now that's really cold.

We decided to stay close to home today. So close that we are not planning to step outside the apartment all day. Here, inside is nice and cozy and absolutely not warm.

This stupid building is so cheap with the heat it is amazing. They have two boilers. Last year one was converted to gas only while the other can operate on oil or gas. That doesn't mean we have unlimited heat it only means that heat is not supplied more than before. At least we do have hot water in abundant supply.

In this building gas is free. I mean the cooking gas! Which means we do not have to pay for it. When it gets too cold we turn on the ranges in the kitchen for some heat compensation.

It gets a little boring to be home all day. TV has nothing but football (American) and I am not a football fan. Everything else is reruns. We wrote e-mails, talked to people in Hungary, we talked to friends on the telephone, we are already slept out so what remains is eating.

But that's a big no-no. One can sit home and eat himself to oblivion. I worked so hard on my diet I will not give it up now. Actually I'm happy the Holidays are over because the excuses for excessive eating will not work any longer.

Also when one is retired and at home all the time everything is put away correctly, filed properly and placed in its place. Which means I can't say 'oh, good now I have time to reorganize my things'. My things are as organized as can be. Or at least as I like them.

Today we are still living in a holiday vacuum. Banks are closed, the Stock Market is closed, there is no mail which means no bills. But tomorrow life as we know it begins again. Mail will deliver the bills, and the Market will control the economy.

We will start worrying again about our future. First, if will there be one, and second, what kind of future will it be?

We really don't have to look very far. The seers say that the World will come to an end on December 21, 2012. Actually the ancient Mayans said that. And the Mayans were no dummies. Actually I think they were. They sacrificed virgins. Sacrificed them for what? Did they have so many that they could afford sacrificing them?

After too many sacrifices they must have had a shortage of virgins. That shows no foresight. If they couldn't foresee virgin shortage how could they foresee the end of the world several thousands of years hence.

Actually if the Mayans were really smart they would have farmed their virgins and developed an enormous supply by now. There is a real shortage of these now in Paradise. The old ones are getting really tired and worn out by the constant arrivals of the so called martyrs.

January 2, 2010

When I wrote the date above I had to stop myself from writing 2009. I guess it will take a few ruined checks to get used to it.

So here is the lowdown.

On New Year's Eve we stayed up late. We watched a very lame show on ABC TV with a fat assed J Lo and the ball dropping on Times Square. Had some champagne, kissy-kissy at midnight then very relieved that now we can sleep.

Actually, I had Asti Spumanti because I don't like champagne. No class! And, we did stay up until about 2 am. And, since we are still bouting with our colds there was no kissy-kissy but a lot of hugging.

Yesterday, New Year's Day we slept late. I think we woke up a 8:30 or about.That's late for us. We hung around the house, made and received some phone calls then went to a very swanky place for New Year's Day Brunch.

The food, the service, the ambiance was exquisite. It was a buffet brunch but since we had the three o'clock seating that did it for dinner, too.

There was lox, seafood salad, Caribbean lobster (that I love), stuffed mushrooms, sushi, omelets, hot food and a desert bar with a chocolate fountain where one could make his own chocolate covered strawberry or anything else. And let's not forget the drinks. Bloody Mary was coming non-stop.

It was great. We met a nice couple at the next table and since we talked a lot we didn't eat that much which was really good.

All in all it was a very nice day.

I am superstitious. I believe in certain customs.

So, when midnight comes at the end of the year we each have a dollar bill in our hands because the belief is that then you will have prosperous year. I also jump, because you supposed to jump in the New Year. My wife says that one is not supposed to eat any animal that scrapes because that means you scrape away your luck. That's why we don't have any bird for New Year's Eve dinner.

I'm sure there are hundreds of folksy beliefs but these few are enough.

I was watching TV this morning. The shows are so annoying that we had to turn off the set. They come forward with this forced jolliness about the New Year. Driving me crazy with the constant harping about New Year's resolutions. Who cares!

And the astrologers/mentalists forecasts? They are so generalized anybody can say these things. But I guess these people have the connections so they get on TV. Professionals can not forecast the economy or the weather for one day to the next and I am expected to believe that these phonies can see ahead for the entire year! Please!

But I guess this is the traditional subject for the first few days of any new year. It would be interesting to go back some years and see how these seers forecasts realized in the coming times.

Today is January 2. Only 363 more days until the next year's end. Maybe we should start planning already. Remember, time flies before we know it will be here again.

We did some supermarket shopping and found traffic, stores open and a lot more people than yesterday. It seems the Holidays are only a memory now. In the supermarket's greeting card section now Valentine's Day rules. I'm so happy that there is always some big event to look forward to and spend money on.

Anybody who missed buying that huge diamond for Christmas, don't despair Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

January 1, 2010

Vow, the first day of the new year and the first day of a new decade. And, the first day of the rest of our lives!

Some people and all the automobiles just got a year older!

Today I am not writing because I am tired. Yesterday's "wild partying" exhausted me.

Actually we didn't do much today except went out for New Year's Day Brunch. But I'll write about it tomorrow.

The only thing is that it was a pleasure to be on the roads today. Traffic was almost non existent. I guess people were either recuperating or just had no places to go since most of the stores were closed.

But tomorrow business as usual. Stores will be open, mail will be delivered and the Holidays will be just a memory.