Let It Snow Post

What is the HFPA? That is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that distributes the yearly Golden Globe Awards to movies and TV. The “Association” has exactly eighty-two members many of which have questionable connections to any legitimate news agency. For example the president of the organizations, Phillip Burk, lists his associations as “Australia” and “Malaysia.” For the sham awards the “Association” received $26,000,000 from NBC. Members are often transported around the world on junkets that would make any politician envious just so that some may vote for the right movie, TV show or entertainer. In another day and age this was known as payola. The organization is also a non profit and has quite a substantial record of questionable practices that go into the exclusiveness that they protect by routine rejection of credentials of some rather legitimate foreign news sources.

President WOW has poor marks on handling the economy so he has decided to put his efforts into “overdrive.” Then why the Clark did he waste so much time, effort and political chits on a health care program that is being both skewered and now - finally - seriously being “adjusted.” It’s the economy, stupid….to quote a famous American.

Governor Deval “Second Time Around Is Better” Patrick is turning into a Republican! Now in the target of the Gov is Massport another hack infested dumping ground loaded with six figure salaries for paper pushing. The state is loaded with agencies and quasi agencies that seem to have the main purpose of providing “employment” for the connected rather than services for the taxpayers.

The Herald had an interesting editorial on the dreaded private sector providing sick pay to employees. This is a rather convoluted issue since some companies have a firm and generous policy while others have none. Sick you lose. Where my daughter works sick days are deducted from your vacation days. Now the legislation proposed is to have one hour of sick time accumulate for every thirty hours worked up to a maximum of seven days. That seems like a rather decent approach but The Herald - like Bogo - feels the primary reason is to take the focus off the excessive sick leave and numerous other benefits that are available in the public sector.

My own personal experience was that in my last year of teaching I had not taken a sick day in the system I worked in. I could accumulate these up to a maximum of 180 days. I could also contribute three days a year to a sick bank which I did. In my last year I suffered an Achilles rupture followed by surgery and then during rehabilitation another rupture an a total reconstruction. The building I worked in was not handicapped accessible so a jaunt up four floors was not in the picture. So I had my sick days and managed to take 138 of them at full pay. That is why they refer to the other side of the fence as “The dreaded private sector.”

The system I was in also had a buy back for sick days. If you worked for at least fifteen years in the system you would be entitled to $30 for each unused sick day up to a maximum of 120 days. I would have lost my days since I only worked thirteen years in the system. Now administrators were essentially contracted labor and many had contracts that called for full pay buy backs with no service requirements. Many other public service unions have these same conditions with tweaks for their members. The buy back is significantly better for say the MTA, police and fire.

I had a certain perverse pleasure in purchasing The New York Post on Monday and giving it to my wife - The Lovely Cynthia - so she could read all about what NY thinks of her Patriots. I certainly would have loved a smack down of the Jets but some things just don’t go as expected. I figure this depression will last out the week but it will never match the one when my NY Football Giants (via NJ) beat the locals in the SB. At least that one eliminated all talk of how I could react so emotionally to the Red Sox.

Allin Frawley will now run for the BOS so that is now down to two replacements for the current members up for re-election. Anyone who reads this blog - all four of you - know that I really don’t care to have Marsha and MiMi around for another term. Marsha has consistently demonstrated bad judgment in her latest tenure from her “defense” of the IT Director to that abysmal performance on attempting to limit speech before the BOS. As far as I can determine MiMi does little beyond planting flowers and mimicking Marsha. As I said - the political version of an appendix. I hope neither candidate announced for their run will run against the incumbents but more as own their own merits as that 10% or so of us who will actually vote are well aware of the actions of the BOS.

Many years ago my wife purchased a Hyundai Elantra station wagon. The car was decent and the price was quite affordable. Nothing special but a car that was serviceable for us for many years. The Elantra represented just about the top of the line except for an under $20,000 faux sports car Hyundai manufactured. How times have changed. First came the Sonata that matched up with the mid market cars of the United States and Japan and now comes the Equus that has an MSRP that starts at $58,000. I’ve read the reviews and it obviously matches up rather well with the higher priced European and Asian imports at considerably less money.

Now my car of choice would be a new Bentley Mulsanne that costs about as much as a home in Middleboro. $300,000 or more for an off the shelf model that is all hand made with such excesses as leather from cows especially raised for the use in the car - no barbed wire marks. I remember seeing a great looking Bentley many years ago at Peaceful Meadows Ice Cream in Whitman. A family dressed like they stepped out of The Great Gatsby but what caught my eye was the Bentley had a small bumper sticker that read “My other car is a Yugo.”

Now if you want a real bargain I’d suggest the Indian made Tata Nano which translates to something like “A total piece of crap that you will probably die in.” This $2,500 mistake sits in many a depot in India unsold. Seems it is a bit risky to drive with the occasional explosion and the fact a good wind can crush it. If you like power than this 30HP “car” will generate about as much as a riding lawnmower.

The great gin mill debate will now surface with the new sitting legislature. Just how will this eventually pan out? Seems “The People” want some sort of means to piss away more money on gaming besides the lucrative scratch tickets. An improving economy will have various members of the pinky ring set coming forth with cash in hand, in bags. Stuffing it in bras and all sorts of great coin to get their gin mills up and running. I look at the investment potential in say neon. Neon will be big…big….big! I know some hate the term inevitable but that is what it is. Where the potential for tax dollars exists to feed the hack machine then onward with gin mills.

Now I really don’t mind the gin mills as I know exactly what to expect. As an entertainment option they are fine with great dining and quality entertainment. I will do what I usually do and plunk down my $20 for the $1 slots and get that out of the way. Maybe “I’ll get luck” and walk away with a princely sum of say $50? Just maybe the state will siphon off some of the money and problems that are going to R.I. And Ct. Maybe Clark from Connecticut can inform us all of the hazards? I for one do not intend to attempt to legislate personal choices.

In Middleboro the specter of a Tribal gin mill still exists but only if they can find a tribe that doesn’t remind one of the Keystone Kops. Being a NIMBY I would be surprised if anything is ever even attempted after the on and off again multiple times fiasco that has taken place. I’m sure the various investors involved in backing up or propping up The Tribe are looking for more viable alternatives. I doubt even the most ardent of pro casino folks are feed up with the circus that surrounds this whole mess.

I still harken back to that casual meeting I had with some various tribal elders at the Crazy Horse Memorial out in SD several years ago. Three different tribes and all involved in gaming and all with the same view: Watch out for the investors. Take as much control as possible. Get them out ASAP. Have your own people take an active role as possible.

The Pawn Stars is a reality TV show that takes place in a pawn shop in Las Vegas. Some of the items that have a value placed on them can be quite expensive. I saw one show in which a George Washington signed lottery ticket was appraised and the appraiser said he would expect it to go for $15,000-20,000 at auction. The why sell it to the pawn guy for $8,000? Need cash that quickly? Degenerate gambler? Makes no sense to sell it to a pawn shop when consignment to an auction house will bring you more.

Many “experts” in finance are touting a massive “Bull Run” on the stock markets. Just what one needs to hear is more predictions regarding the direction and solvency of our world wide financial institutions. One bold predictor even marked 9/4/2013 as the day that would represent the S&P having doubled. I don’t know if that will be accurate since according to the Mayan business we all will have been vaporized by then.

A few weeks ago on the sidebar I listed the salary of Joe Kennedy as far in excess of 500K a year for running a non profit and this is not unusual. Where my daughter works as a teacher is a non profit specializing in Autism and the salaries and benefits are just not that substantial yet a Herald article in the summer had the director pulling in over 500K a year. This is actually not that unusual as many charitable organizations will list 100% of their money raised going “to the cause” but that also includes costs and a big portion of those costs can be some rather inflated salaries. Little research can point out just what percentage actually goes to the charity.

Local Elections And Other Garbage

Patriots will win and will cover.

MiMi Duphily has announced that she will run for a second term on the BOS. Based on her display on Monday’s my simpleton opinion is MiMi is the appendix of local politics. The appendix has no apparent value and can be removed without damaging the body.

Why is it MiMi and not Mimi?

Brian Giovanoni has announced a run for the School Committee. Brian and I were on opposite ends of the casino issue but Brian has put in some valuable time on those committee’s no one hears of. And would certainly apply himself to a job on the SC. That will be an interesting contest if the incumbents reup.

Ben Quelle has announced for BOS and that gives me one option to vote for and I am sure another will pop up. I cannot vote for either MiMi or Marsha. Marsha for her attempt to quelle (pun intended) free speech and MiMi for being MiMi.

The lowest of the low is the Westboro Baptist Church most notable for demonstrating at military funerals. The few members of the church have made it known that they planning on demonstrating at the funerals in Arizona and the response from the far right, left, Republicans, Democrats and Tea Party is to pass some type of legislation to prevent this or severely limit it. What an abomination! Typical knee jerk reaction. I can see this matter being handled similar to abortion clinics but this situation seems more restrictive.

Managed to get out around noon time on the day of the storm and the roads were in great shape. The DPW may not pick up trees but they did a very good job on my street which is a side street. Route 28 was down to the pavement. Trouble is we had some more snow during the night and that did cause a bit of an accumulation on the side streets. In The Boston Herald Ray Flynn, the former mayor of Boston, had an article on how he use to drive around with the plow drivers to make sure things were getting done. Unlike Mayor Bloomberg in NYC (and some members of the BOS) he realized it is the little things. Bloomberg got the message and had full force during the latest NY storm.

I read that all this snow is a result of global warming. I had also read that the warmer weather in the summer is the result of global warming. Nice to frame a science debate where no matter what evidence is presented backs up a position.

Evergreen in Massachusetts is dead. Eight hundred jobs gone and a bundle of taxpayer dollars thanks to Deval “Almost One and Out” Patrick. I understand that their Chinese operation is still going and, of course, their CEO got a nice bonus despite the company going down the tubes. The governor stated something about at least having jobs for four years. Such leadership! Good for going green.

Gambling will be on the agenda in Massachusetts for 2011 and will surface in one form or another in the wonderful world of extravagant gin mills. The Tribe seems to be out of this play so far but one never knows.

My wife - The Lovely Cynthia - enjoys shoving snow and who am I to discourage such a wonderful pastime. I even purchased a few additional shovels that are actually capable of hacking away at the ice. I do participate in this joyful activity but it is frustrating since I am constantly directed to “avoid throwing snow on the birdbath” or “Not near those bushes” as snow has to be piled in certain specific areas. Her primary goal every storm is to clear an area in the back yard so that her feral welfare cats will have access to the multiple feedings they receive each day. If any Haitian hurricane victims knew just what was available at the feeding trough they would head north and stay under the picnic table in the back yard.

My daughter managed to find some news that was not on her primary news focus in life - TMZ - that had a story about the elderly dropping from heart attacks while shoveling snow. When this storm rolled around she actually had a plow come over and plow us out. She even commandeered her brother to come over and participate in some sibling shoveling activity. That has not stopped my wife who has made twice daily treks to clean off melted ice or provide pristine pathways to bird feeders.

The CL had an interesting posted comment on a prominent anti casino site that had “data” pronouncing how many potential suicides are possible with a casino in Massachusetts. The information was so blatantly false as to be laughable. Do these folks ever realize that just a modicum of research will fill that BS full of holes? Find to be anti this or that but when the attitude is the ends justifies the means it is just plain wrong. Becomes much to common place in too many issues. The old repeat a lie often enough it becomes a truth.

Commercials that advertise we’ll beat our competitors price or the item such as a car or floor will be free is just plain idiotic. Does anyone really think about the stupidity of that statement?

Another one is car dealers putting a sticker on a car that is just ADM or additional dealer markup for a car on which there has been nothing added on. Just a negotiation ploy. A few weeks ago I was at a dealership where I saw think in full court press mode with a client with limited English skills. While the salesman was off - probably illegally checking credit without permission - I explained the situation to the customer and then left. Hopefully he did not pay MSRP and the additional useless thousands.

I came across a great book via email called “Disorder In American Courts” that uses actually court room testimony. For example:

ATTORNEY:  The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS:      He's 20, much like your IQ. 

I will avoid any connections to any local attorney’s.

Patrice Tierney - wife of Representative John Tierney - has been sent to a to be determined Club Fed for thirty days thanks to her involvement with a money laundering scheme connected to her brother. Her husband had no knowledge of this according to his own statement and I can understand that. If my wife started to toss around thousands of dollars and buy a new car I’d not say a thing. That means the rep is either a liar or an idiot.

Start Of The New Year Post

Tom Brady made the GQ list for best dresses males and the Bogo missing from the issue was an oversight I am sure. I know that BB was represented in the torn and stained flannel shirt section. Special note was given for his ability to wear a shirt three sizes too small and appear - and I quote GQ “Like a Bumpkin.”

In NYC the big story has been the lack of snow and garbage removal thanks to a blizzard. This story has been going on for ten days and is reflective of how the little things get to folks. Heads have already rolled and more are expected to follow. I was in NYC for three days and trust me the locals are really pissed. NYC also picks up Christmas trees - probably buried under the trash.

NYC is the epee center for the nanny state nutrition police and it is displayed up front in calorie counts on the menu. My wife - the Lovely Cynthia - loved the idea of seeing this since she is in a perpetual state of diet. I could care less and it seems most of the population is the same.

To get to NYC we took the train so when you go Middleboro to South Station and then South Station to Penn Station it is about five and a half hours on the train but certainly beats the traffic crap shoot with the bus. The trains were comfortable, clean, on time and with a rather spiffy clientele. For us an advanced purchase one way ticket was $49 each.

As the train went zipping along I just stared out at the large number of abandoned buildings - mostly factories and warehouses - that were along the route. Amazing how much manufacturing has been lost. Maybe Suo will give some insights from the trenches since I have little knowledge about it.

I did notice many buildings converted for other use primarily into housing. Be nice if the obstructionist can be mollified so that Starr Mill can be reused.

The train stopped in New London and I have not been there for many years. A few years ago Limo had proposed a trip to the gin mills and a tour of the area including New London. I jumped on that offer but I don’t think any other anti like moi or pro did. Now I’ll have to go down in the summer and look around as the waterfront area seemed quaint and dynamic.

Now the classic Huck Finn is being sanitized to remove potentially offensive language. I’m sure I’m next on the list for that treatment.

Barney Frank accepts all the science of global warming. Now BF is enraged because a federal agency has refused to expanding fishing - hurting New Bedford - since there is no science to support it. BF refuses to accept their science but gleefully accepts the science of Al Gore. Go figure.

The Massachusetts Parole Board is an upfront example of exactly what is wrong with this state. This collection of connected hacks averages out to about a 100K a year for scrutinizing the prison records of offenders. It appears that once one “finds God” or completes an extension course they have been rehabilitated and can return to society. The public outcry will soon dissipate and it will be back to business as usual. Find it interesting that in New Hampshire they get a $100 a day for being a board member and meet only a few days a month.

The Legislature and governor have managed to make the ultimate fiscal sacrifice and get their pay about one half of one percent.

Middleboro is now raising fees since according to the TM they have not been raised in twenty-two years. If that is true - and after 50 Xmas trees I wonder - then they are making up for lost time as the raises are substantial.

One poster on the 4,677th best blog in Middleboro claimed that since she has an artificial tree she is subsidizing the removal of mine. What a silly argument. No doubt this same “visionary” also supports not paying real estate taxes if you have no children in school or have ever had children. Government is not a menu picking one item from column A and one from columns B and C.

It has to be a slow news day when the annual plunge of the L Street Brownies takes place and it ends up as a prominent news story. Why is that even news worthy? Right up there with the annual St. Patrick’s dinner when the criminals ….I mean the politicians - make inane “jokes” about each other. At least the yearly Brownie adventure now has some charitable connections. I also understand there are a few of these polar bear types are even in picturesque Newport. If folks need inane and idiotic foolishness just read the blogs of BB or the Confirmed Liar. Naturally my blog is exempt from being classified as inane or foolish.

And as far as career criminals it was nice to see the warm welcome in The House for the return of two convicted felons and former speakers - Sal DiMasi and Tom Finneran. This happened about the same time Diane Wilkerson (D-Maidenform) picked up a three and a half year vacation as a guest of the Commonwealth. Maybe the parole board can let her out?

Rodney Dangerfield was one of my favorite comedians and he had a great line regarding the neighborhood he grew up in: “I was fifteen years old before I realized the cops also got paid by the city.”

There is one thing I have discovered even more obnoxious than Bogo and that is that idiotic Kars For Kids commercial.

The next commercial I can do without is the yearly idiocy of Toyotathon that has convinced me to buy any other car but.

On the other end I love the “I pick things up and put them down” commercial by Planet Fitness.

Professional computer folks are IMHO compliant in an incredible display of intrusion on our own privacy in that they are either employed by or contract out their services to companies that track your online movements via cookies or just target you with specific pop ups. I would love to see some type of frivolous legal action (hello, AB!) take place to put a head lock on what they do and the companies they work for. Maybe a $1,000 fine for every unwarranted popup?

Can you bet on the Apocalypse? Sure can. Where disaster awaits so does profit in the wonderful world of cat or catastrophe bonds depending upon the circumstances. Virtually all bonds have a limited yield (2% to 14%) if no earthquake, hurricane or 100 megaton blast takes place during a specific time but if it does your investment can be vaporized. The investment is really part of the insurance market and say the disaster you are linked with such as Bogo writing a coherent blog results in getting paid. No disaster you score! I’m going with the Mayan calendar on this one.

In other financial news the IPO of Facebook may take place in 2011. This is expected to be valued at more than 50B. Investors are all thinking another Google.

The Republicans are in office two days and unemployment drops from 9.8% to 9.4%. Boy those Tea Party folks are sharp.

Shelf Plus Pricing. I had never heard of this until Mouse Print published a post on its use by Avanza Supermarkets. What it does is add a specific percentage to your order for each or certain items. The advertisement will read something like $3.29 a pound and then in mouse print “An additional 10% will be added on at the register.” This was not exactly a new concept and has been used by other businesses.

Locally I enjoy Hannaford’s. I scan that meat section constantly for discounted items which seem in abundance compared to other markets. Right after New Year’s I got a nice prime rib discounted almost $3 a pound. Their specialty market has some great cuts but most are also available in the meat department. The fish department is rather small and can be pricy compared to Market Basket but they usually have a few specials each week that make it more reasonable. Bakery is also a regular stop. Hannaford’s has it all over Stop & Shop and Shaw’s. For seafood Larry Carver is also worth a visit but can be a wee bit expensive for certain cuts but the quality and freshness can’t be beat.

A friend of mine - which being a friend of mine shows a certain lack of selective standards - used the term polymath - a phrase I have not heard in decades. The first time I ever heard it was in graduate school at B.C. and it was spoken by a professor named Andrew Buni. He used the term to describe the budding historians that populated his class and asked that we all be polymathic or renaissance men and women. I hope the others in that class did better than I did at achieving that goal.

Finishing Off The Year

I read a recent comment about Senator Scott Brown that he is “Not a puppet.” This became readily visible in his vote in favor of repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” and START. Can you imagine Kerry or Kennedy going against the grain in one week on two significant issues? Many of the anti Tea Party and just “hate Republican” crowd no doubt will remain silent on how dead wrong they were on Brown. No doubt they will support whatever lock step ultra liberal they can drag out in 2012 to run against Brown so they can get back to the position of mindless orthodoxy. Brown has done a remarkable job of voting for the legislation and not for the symbol of “R” or “D.”

The new year means a new diet for many folks. January usually sees an upsurge in “Y” attendance as all those resolutions are made to get the fat off. I see shows on TV constantly plugging one product or book after another to make everyone slim and attractive like Bogo. The real truth is rather simple. If you wish to lose weight just eat less and exercise more. The weight comes off. Now as far as the eat less that does not mean one coffee roll rather than two but simply eating a more balanced regimen. A key component in any weight loss is exercise and exercise can be just plain old walking especially trails once the hunt for Bambi ends and CPA spends a few hundred large to have a trail system locally. But, seriously, there are some great trail systems locally so just use them.

My son just returned from a stay in Kuwait. His missions were simple - drive into various places in Iraq and extract equipment. The missions usually lasted between twelve and twenty days and the trucks he drove - HET’s (Heavy Equipment Transports) offered wonderful target opportunities. The trucks had amour and all sorts of counter measures but still they’d get hit or close to it. Needless to say several members of the transportation group came home early due to extreme stress and many of those were on their third deployment. On 12/24 the entire group arrived back in Massachusetts and they know their next stop will be in Afghanistan in two years.

One of the more compelling stories my son told was the first time he saw a group of children and tossed candy out the window. They ran thinking it was explosives. Then they returned to collect the goodies. As the missions continued kids began to get some upgrades as we sent over packages of Hot Wheels to distribute.

The Care packages sent to troops are so important. You can donate just the postage for a package which is about $12 and I do believe Oak Point has a Vet’s group that does just that or look up Cape Cod Cares. Just include letters and local papers even if they have no relevance to who may get them. It is not unusual to get a note from a kid in Iowa who is in Iraq or Afghanistan who has a Gazette or Herald or Globe or Enterprise and relays how important it was just to read a simple newspaper and look at articles that we routinely bypass and even advertisements.

Give President Obama a break. He’s trying to enjoy a family vacation and all you get is the shutter bug paparazzi attempting to get a photo op. This applies to celebrities from the “A” list to the “D” list. Why is it important to look at a photo of Jack Nickelson coming out of a restaurant or some reality “star” getting into a car? Who is really fascinated by this stuff? Is this something for 20 somethings? I just don’t get it. Many a time I have seen celebrities in a public place and the last thing I would be is intrusive and try to get a picture taken or an autograph. I remember on a Red $ox road trip we had dinner at a hotel the team was staying at and one of the players was - Lou Merloni - was signing autographs in the lobby so I went over just to observe the madness and he asked if I wanted his autograph. Instead I gave him MY autograph and said if he wanted a picture with me he better have a camera. Fortunately he had one and I’m sure Lou has in hanging in his den.

The famous also get special treatment such as go to the head of the line or a comp. Recently Shaq was at Nashoba Ski area and refused a comp for himself and his children and SO.

That brings up another wonderful Bogo story. In the early 1970s we flew into Hyannis Airport and went to the upscale restaurant on the premises - the Neptune Lounge and they required a suit jacket and tie, Being the GQ person I am I had neither but they supplied me with an awful facsimile. After ordering in came a large party and none of the gentlemen had a suit jacket or tie. I asked why and the response was “That’s Ted Kennedy!” So I repeated and got the same response. I left. I imagine the check is still being held for me. By the way the Senator was highly intoxicated, loud and just plain obnoxious and I know all about obnoxious.

Football time. I am a fan of the NY Football Giants (via NJ) and they have put on the most pathetic display imaginable the last five quarters. Then you have the local entry that has managed to perform beyond expectations. IMO the real star surprise for the Patriots is Green-Ellis. Kid is like Jim Nance for you old time Pats fans.

Huge Hefner is getting married again. The 84 year old Hef is engaged to a 23 year old who professes her love to Hugh.

The start of the new decade is upon us as that takes place on 1/1/2011. The same applies to the millennia which began on 1/1/2001 and not on 1/1/2000.

I am still mystified by the recent statement that about 50 Xmas trees met their fate at the chipper last Xmas season so therefore why bother. I imagine this is some rather telling math deficiencies on the part of the DPW. On our street along there were about ten and we have only 35 houses on the street.

More on the DPW is that the recycle pickup will not take place for those of us scheduled for Tuesday. We’ll have to wait two more weeks in a shinning example of more quality service for the $208 trash tax. My wife - The Lovely Cynthia - called up the DPW so that is how I know. She called again to whine - I mean, to complain - and was told the DPW supervisor would get back to her. Still waiting. Probably happened sometime this century.

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts rendered a decision that has resulted in a mandate for all of us to clear our sidewalks and even our steps or face the consequences of legal action either via local fines or from slips and falls. The recent snow storm provided a windfall or snowfall for The Boston Herald that took photos and attempted to interview justices that didn’t follow their own ruling. Naturally they could not be reached for comment. With government officials they are them and there are us and both have different sets of rules.

Xmas trees and other junk

It’s the little things that get to folks and that is especially true in government. In Middleboro the latest directive is regarding Christmas trees. Apparently the semi- new and IMO clueless Highway Superintendent decided to forgo the annual pick up and decapitation of the spent Xmas tress. Our trash tax is $208 and covers very little except routine pick up. No large items. No leaves. No paints. No special collection days. If you want to decide those your choices are two fold. First is to select an appropriate spot on one of our 160 miles of roadways and just toss it. The second is to get a dump pass (AKA - Landfill) for $25 and bring assorted items there but if they happen to fall into a select category there is an addition fee and that fee can be expensive. Yes…the dump will take yard waste gratis but you must haul it in yourself. So now back to the trees.

Your option is to cart the tree to the dump and toss it. No charge except for your time and gas. Now if you happen to be unable or unwilling (ODD?) to do this too bad. No wood chipper to relieve you of this duty. If you do not wish to go to the dump I’m sure you can cruise down Wareham Street and make a personal delivery to the highway department.

The whole trash tax is a joke. For $208 down from $216 you expect some moderate degree of service. If I lived in several other communities this would not be a problem. Advanced notification and large items are taken away. Old sofa? No problem even if gramps is still sitting on it. Ditto appliances, wallboard, wood and just about anything else. You may pay more such as Brockton with a $280 fee or less with Attleboro and their under $200 fee but you do get some actually return on this backdoor tax.

This is a little thing but it is the type of thing that gets locals blood to boil almost as much as an imperial decree not to plow certain streets. What it does show me is an amazing lack of basic understanding of human nature and the fact that when you cut a simple service almost on the eve of Christmas that Middleboro may have hired a few Grinches to take over key position. Timing is everything.

Oil is up to $90 a barrel and the U.S. is continuing to be held hostage to oil producing nations. The truth is we use oil now. We need oil now. We are limited in what we can do for domestic production. The reality is drilling should be allowed without our domestic domain to create some degree of independence. The U.S. should also insure that domestic production remain domestic and not tossed into the international markets. As far as alternative energies that technology is advancing rapidly but until further breakthroughs occur oil will have to do.

The Chinese are now following the U.S. pattern of the 50s with personal transportation - the car. Despite incredible transportation infrastructure development the Chinese seem to want the auto. And they like big ones if they can afford it. Then they have those monster traffic jams that don’t last hours but days. Some truckers carry camping equipment to wait out the jams. Looks like that transportation infrastructure left out four, six and eight lane highways.

Scott Brown is going against party drift in the START Treaty proposals. Brown is also changing his opinion on don’t tell. Brown has done exactly what he said he would and not necessarily follow the party herd. What a far cry from whom he replaced and our Senior senator …and toss in our Congressional delegation.

As far as our delegation let the feeding frenzy begin as one seat will have to be deleted thanks to population shift. Would it be possible to give up all the seats? Our delegation is like a crew of Mynah birds just repeating and following lock step whatever decree comes forth from the leadership. I’d suggest they gerrymander out Barney Frank unless the party needs another fiscal albatross around their necks.

I have a condo in Texas and an interesting thing happened - my real estate taxes went down. Not by much but they did go down since the value of the property went down. How novel!

I don’t know what would be a bigger disaster - another four years of Obama or Palin winning. A perfect lose-lose situation.

ASVAB is the test for joining the Army or Marines and the failure rate is climbing up to almost 25%. The Air Force and Navy require even higher scores than the 31 percentile the Army/Marines require. The average scores for blacks is 38 and for Hispanics it is 44 and whites’ check in at 55.

The Red $ox have managed to rebuild their bullpen just before Christmas with the acquisition of Jenks and the under valued Dan Wheeler. If Bard maintains his performance level and Papelbon can regroup this may be one the best bullpens in baseball.

The Wikileaks founder became victim of a leak as his Swedish police reports were leaked.

President WOW (Walk On Water) ahs managed to cave in on the expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Many in his own disjointed party have willingly tossed him under the bus. Nancy Pelosi (D-Botox) and Harry Reid (D- Slot Land) even refused to show up at the ceremonial signing of the measure. Is this the beginning of an Obama drift towards the center? Is this a willingness to work with Republicans?

Welcome back to the 1166th.

SYSCO/Traffic/Hunting/Facebook

SYSCO ends up in Plympton and it appears the deal maker was the quick permitting available. In Middleboro there was considerable behind the scenes activity to get the deal done but, alas, it was a great effort but no prize. My assumption is that SYSCO will use Spring Street on Rt. 44 as their access point for Rt 3 and I-495 . Middleboro rotary may get some heavy duty truck action in the mornings. Maybe the land that was designated for a potential Middleboro site could be used for a casino?

What is it with Rt. 24? This is now the Highway To Hell to quote one of my favorite bands. I use to work in Boston, Quincy and Braintree and have taken that road thousands of times and cannot recall - even at my advanced age - the number of accidents that seem to snarl traffic. Back when I had a daily commute Rt. 24 was generally clear sailing until you got to Rt. 128 or whatever it is known as. There is nothing particularly unusual about the configuration of the road like there is with say - I-95 in the Pawtucket area - yet it has become almost a daily occurrence to have wreck somewhere. My daughter now travels Rt. 24 every morning and has become an avid listener of traffic reports - something she had never done in the past.

I’m all for an extension of the tax cuts and really am getting a bit tired of the “soak the rich” mantra. There are certainly people of wealth who didn’t exactly extend themselves to any great sense to get the dough - maybe a thanks, Dad? But I know folks who exceed that magical 250K figure that moonbats seem to toss around and they are folks that are driven by long work days, incredible responsibility for decision making and really not living a flamboyant and excessive life style. The super rich - top 1% - have 23% of the income yet pay 40% of the income taxes according to The Herald. Class warfare sells.

The national debt keeps piling on and IMO the one key to the whole mess is a surging economy. If unemployment manages to get cut in half you will see revenues start to erode those many trillions especially when accompanied with some degree of fiscal restraint.

In baseball a good trade is one that helps both teams and the same applies to politics and the recent negotiations/compromise between Obama and the Republicans clearly showed that.

On baseball the famed Baggie Dome in Minnesota had a snow induced collapse. This was IMO the worse baseball park ever created. Thankfully the Twins have a new field and the Vikings may soon also have one.

As Christmas approaches the phone calls amp up on the begging line to which I usually respond: “I do not accept solicitations over the phone.” I really dislike the call centers that some quite legitimate charities use since it does siphon off a considerable amount of potential income.

I do believe LaBelle Chevrolet of Bridgewater is now another victim of the economy. Last time I drove by a few cars were in the lot and the sign was down and there was a sign that signaled a possible used car - pardon me - Pre-Owned car lot.

A high school track star was shot in the leg over the weekend in Mattapoisett as he and his fellow runners made the tragic mistake of running in a restricted area to hunters during hunting season. Earlier in the week a dog was plugged in another town as it is quite easy to confuse a pooch with a freaking deer. As a trail runner restricted means absolutely zero to way too many hunters in the quest for Bambi. I have been to areas over the years that are restricted and well posted only to find the beer swilling and rifle toting crowd out for the kill - deer, cow, horse, dog or human - just plug something. I have talked to many hunters who say it is amazing the changes that have taken place over the last forty years as many keep the woods clean of their rubbish but seem more inclined to sample some recreational drugs and more traditional alcoholic beverages prior to and during the hunt. Things are rough when even some hunters shy away from it.

I have a Facebook page that I hardly use but I did receive a message from Facebook about the possibility of my account being compromised so on I go. I change my password but could not sign on. When I go through the hoops they set out I need a code they have emailed me. Naturally I never received a code and therefore cannot get on and just delete this worthless piece of garbage. OK…just contact them but the trouble is you can’t. No way! Phone is useless. So I sent out about fifty duplicate emails to various parts of the company hoping someone will respond. After three days nothing. Useless

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has become an annual pilgrimage for my wife - The Lovely Cynthia - and myself - The Obnoxious Bogo. This time we decided to venture to the west end of the island to Rincon about a torturous three hour drive from San Juan.

Rincon is a tourist area that is primarily a stop for the island residents rather than a huge influx of those from the continental states. Most of the upscale resorts in PR tend to be in the San Juan and Ponce areas or in their general vicinity with an occasional lonesome one spread elsewhere on the island. I could care less since we stay in guest houses or boutique hotels. Cost and most importantly our personal preference are the contributing factors as we find the large resorts quite self insular and lack the ability to get a neighborhood feel. Bogo goes “native?” Neither of us need a spa or a golf course or a 400 square foot room and twenty-four hour concierge service. We prefer neighborhood stores, restaurants and stopping by local road side stands. We prefer public beaches and actually enjoy being in a neighborhood where chickens may roam the streets despite being the island equivalent of middle class to upper middle class. And where we stayed that is what they did. Kids playing in the streets, dogs running loose, folks sitting on their porches, parking cars on sidewalks and just strolling around. This was a neighborhood and not a four star enclave.

Rincon is quite a beach area that is noted as being a surfing hot spot. The beaches are many and the sunsets are a killer and toss in consistently mild weather and it is a keeper. We stayed at a guest house and were for our five days the only ones. Someone must have warned them I’d be in town. They have eight rooms and all remained empty as this was the end of “low season” which means cheap rooms. Generally “high season” and its accompanying expense starts in mid December so if you go to PR plan accordingly. Now when I say we were on the water I mean on the water. Walk out our room and cross a tiled communal patio and go thirty feet and it is the ocean. You get the picture.

Right down the beach - about a five minute walk - was a resort. This was not a lavish place but one that had those amenities you may occasionally desire such as a more upscale restaurant, music and a bar. We wandered down twice and the place was relatively quiet on both a Friday and Saturday night. The “low season” thing.

I once had a PR student who said to two Asian students: “We Ricans are just like you - we drive like s**t and love to gamble.” How right he is about both. The main highway from San Juan to Arecibo area is Route 26. Two lanes, tolls, great scenery and drivers who seem to stay in the passing lane and go 45MPH with no desire to pull into the right hand lane. You find yourself going right and left to swerve around these folks. I asked a local about this quaint customs and he gave a Spanish term that roughly translated was something like A-holes. The other thing is turn signals. Why even have them? It became a game to see the ratio of who used them. It was about one out of thirty would actually put on a blinker when turning. Massachusetts drivers actually appear polite. After Route 26 comes Route 22 and it is endless traffic lights for forty miles.

Everywhere you go is the lottery. The national lottery tickets are sold on tables set up in front of high traffic areas or on roadsides right out of trucks with lottery signs. Scratch tickets are popular but they seem to prefer the daily numbers and the national lottery. Casinos are in some areas - primarily San Juan - but are small in scope and frequented almost exclusively by tourists.

The language barrier exists. My skills with Spanish are now limited to about fifty words. I can order food, ask for directions, find a bathroom and that is about it. What will often happen is my fifty words and a locals fifty English words will be enough to get things done. Sometimes the results could be unusual as you may end up with a food item that you are totally clueless about. What is also interesting is how many noted American companies do not have their signage, menus and other information in English. It seems in the states they bend over to accommodate but not on the island.

Speaking of food I have never been one to sing, shout or mime the praises of PR cuisine. I’ve just never considered it that special. In San Juan and Ponce you have a variety of restaurants that practice infusion culinary arts that will blend PR cuisine with Cuban, French, Italian and so on but in Rincon it is primarily the basics and a whole list of your standard known fast food chains. I love Churches Chicken and they was one about half mile away and the local bakeries had some exceptional pasties. I did find a local place that did Bar-B-Que and it was great. Pulled pork, beef and roasted chicken and plantains done a variety of ways. The cook (don’t call me chef) went to the prestigious Culinary Arts Institute of America but gave up being a chef for the beach life in PR.

In PR a grande is equal to our small. A standard coffee size is six ounces and a large eight ounces. The Coffee is exceptional in taste and we actually have PR coffee shipped out about twice a year. No more expensive than getting a bag of DD. The local beers - Madelia and Silver Key come in ten ounce cans so size does make a difference.

One of the things that always gets my bride irritated is that PR is far from “going green.” They do not recycle, the streets tend to be sloppy, and we have never seen a solar panel array or a windmill despite their astronomical electrical costs on the island. They must have alternative energy somewhere but I haven’t seen it yet.

If you rent a car in PR it is relatively inexpensive but the highways system is almost on existent. San Juan and Ponce areas have some four lane roadways and there is one connecting San Juan to Ponce but if you go east or west out of San Juan after about fifty miles you are no longer on a highway system but smaller roads. The signage can also be a mystery as in some places it is confusing or does not exist - just like Massachusetts.

For those who are budget minded PR offers a nice option to other non American islands in the Caribbean. No worry about any passports or entrance or exit fees. The weather is excellent and there are many bargains as far as places to stay. The island also options some touring options from a rain forest to the giant array at Arecibo.