Madrid Airport Concourse
Toledo - Cathedral of Toledo (my photo did not do this town and cathedral justice so I found this one to post)
Obidos
Obidos - Blue borders ward off evil spirits
I could have done an entire portfolio of the "Dogs of Spain"
Ancient castle and graveyard
Typical sweet shop
Alcoa
Woman dressed in traditional clothes at market
Roman aqueduct assembled with no mortar from about 1st century in Segovia
Kicking back in Segovia, the dog was adorable.
Roman Forum in Merida dating back to 16 b.c.
Parc Guell in Barcelona designed by Gaudi Parc Guell
Tarragona amphitheater
La Sagrada Familia by Gaudi still under construction 
La Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's cathedral in BarcelonaWe just returned from our trip to Portugal and Spain and both country's beauty, history and people continued to surprise and amaze us. We visited Lisbon, Merida, Toledo, Madrid and Barcelona where we saw ancient churches, medieval enclaves, Roman ruins, indescribable architecture, historic sites, and art work by the masters.
Most Memorable Restaurant - Four Cats
The Four Cats, known by it's more romantic name of El Quatre Gats dates back to the days of Picasso when he used to frequent it with his other avant-garde bohemian friends. It was at this restaurant that Picasso had his first exhibition. Picasso also designed the menu cover for El Quatre Gats.
El Quatre Gats
The slide show is very good as it shows the medieval alley that the restaurant was located in and the charming interiors of the restaurant.
Most Memorable Museum - Picasso Museum Barcelona
Museu Picasso
Barcelona was our favorite city by far situated between the mountains and the sea with incredible architecture, large public squares surrounded by wide boulevards, medieval cobblestone alleys lined with cafes, shops, and ancient residences.
@Dss:
ReplyDeleteGreat pics, thanks! My comments:
1. Wow! you uploaded all those bitmaps to Blogger! They must hate this blog now!
2. That first dog pic looks to me like he's eaten too many burritos.
3. For a dog lover, it's not surprising to me your favorite restaurant was The 4 Cats. I'm not going to ask what was on the menu.....
Thank you Denise for sharing pixs.
ReplyDeletePostcard perfect.
Ican
@Denise,
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with Spanish cucumbers? Now thay want bailout from Europe?
ICan
David Rosenberg on marketwatch.com
ReplyDelete"5 money moves U.S. bond bull is making now".
Treasuries, munis, corporate bonds(strong corporations with solid balance sheet), gold, and oil and gas cos.
Gold alternative to fiat.
ICan
ICan,
ReplyDeleteI saw the thing about the cukes and we had been eating them, too. But I think they found another culprit in Germany.
I am not at home and I do not have my charts so I am relying on Finviz and such to see what is happening.
ReplyDeletePretty ugly from what I can see.
Great article on our crumbling nation:
ReplyDeleteGovernments go broke, citizens suffer
Awesome photos, Denise. Makes me want to pack our bags and travel for a while. Why not if everything going to pot anyway? LOL.
ReplyDeleteA measly 54K jobs created and everyone is shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you! Really?? C'mon, folks. How can so many people not be paying attention? Do they just not see the same things we all see because they choose not to or simply don't hang out in these circles? Talk about a case of wilfull ignorance.
Think I smell a resistance line snap back. Mostly psychological 1300. Too far down too fast. 3 days bad news. Over reaction to the opening.
ReplyDeleteToo bad work was too busy the past couple of days to really watch what was going on.
@Denise Our state on the verge of a shutdown as well. Am hearing state parks could well close. For me, this stuff will be what tips citizens to action. No more of this mantra of "never raising taxes on anyone for any reason" when people have things taken away that they care about.
ReplyDeleteGuess where the nation's nasty gaze will be directed next? I have two places for you NYC (Wall Street) & DC (our politicians), and locally on our politicians as well.
Funny how we in MN are headed for a shutdown in conjunctionw with them somehow finding the money in Ramsey County to build the Vikings and their rich owner and employees a sparkling new stadium. Am hearing people are simply outraged in Ramsey County. At least the ones who aren't utterly clueless anyway.
So is this the moment where the populace realizes that WE/THEY had to not only bail out the very bad actors who caused this mess, and who are doing better than ever now, but now will have to sacrifice many things they/we care about so that those same people can continue to live high on the hog? If not now, when?
ReplyDeleteIs there ANY doubt that QE3 or some related shenanigans are coming now?
ReplyDeleteOld Europe,
ReplyDeleteMust take lot of money to maintain?
ICan
If we get a bad June number (the second bad one in a row), then it's Katy bar the door time. And my guess is we just might get a bad one, as many skittish businesses hunker down for the summer and put openings on hold. I've seen it happen personally. Jobs WITH candidates to hire can stay on hold for months, and what better time to do it than the summer months when everyone is off playing anyway?
ReplyDeleteMore evidence of "liberal" or "progressives" or their front groups (Potemkin liberals) selling out to big money interests. Who's not on the take now? Is there a choice anymore?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/06/bribes-work-peterson-institute-donations-turning-nominally-liberal-foundations-to-the-right.html
Market starting to act like more QE coming? C and BAC both up. TLT now down on the day after being up quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteMorning all! Nice to see that bad news is bad news this morning.
ReplyDeleteDenise - great pics!
@MAnnwich:
ReplyDeleteI think the bond market has been telling us the economy's weak.
The interesting thing is if you overlay the daily UUP and SPY charts, there is lately a divergence where the dollar's in a downtrend, and the SPY is also in a downtrend, when for at least the previous year, it's been pretty much the opposite.
Manny - we're closing up to HALF our state parks this summer. Gotta pay for those tax cuts you know!
ReplyDeleteNBG - National Bank Of Greece is back. Motlyfool wrote an article on it the other day. Earnings are ok But if Greece defaults then this one goes down the drain.
ReplyDeleteDisc. I just a tiny amount. Will see.
ICan
@Thor: Saw that. Check this one out.
ReplyDeletehttp://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/fall-of-the-wild/?ref=opinion
Manny - Sad isn't it? And all of that because the rump of the Republican party left in CA is so far to the right, that they refused to even allow an election of the people to decide whether or not to extend sales and business tax increases.
ReplyDeleteWe The People, weren't even allowed to vote on whether or not to close all of our state parks, that decision was made for us by 11 state Republicans.
So frustrating, how are we ever going to be able to make it through these times with this sort of inability to compromise or work together from our elected officials. Are we going to have to burn the whole damn house down for us to really understand, as a nation, that the current crop of elected officials is interested in nothing other than their own narrow agendas?
ReplyDelete@Thor: I blame two MAIN things: (1) the two party system, (2) big money interests totaly influencing #1.
ReplyDeleteAddress those two in any meaningful fashion and then everything else starts to change.
This is getting downright comical, although not funny to the Greek people themselves, I'm sure:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zerohedge.com/article/troica-demands-deep-public-sector-cuts-higher-taxes-part-greek-bailout-2
So how does Greece pay back its bailout while imposing "reforms" that serve to put a drag on its revenue? I may not be a "brilliant" PHD economist, so I could be missing something here. Someone fill me in?
By the way, if anyone has read "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klien, this it right here to a "t" in Greece. And coming to a town near all of us.
ReplyDeleteI guess I better get to Yosemite before they eventually close that down too :-(
ReplyDelete@Thor: You could always go after and visit the tent cities in there.
ReplyDeleteAnother LinkedIn service. I wonder if they'll eventually try to totally replace other internal company recruiting software that's out there? If so, this could be a big potential money maker for them.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=151510
They could also really put a crimp on recruiting services, especially for the low to middle-range employee. Smart, well run companies (the key words being "smart, well run") can just do it themselves. High end will likely still pay up for executive search firms.
ReplyDeleteIn general governments are are moving down the road to where when they actually do have to make a decision it will be between the option of bad decision and and even worse decision. They are passing up on all of the potential good decisions that they could have done if they had acted sooner.
ReplyDeleteThey'll then sell it as the bad decision was the only option, otherwise it would have been even worse.
As far as people demanding change, that won't happen until there is nothing else left. Your hungry, no job, no place to live and the difference between life and death doesn't really mean much. Sorta like what has been going on in the mid east.
I am liking the increased uncertainty and volatility. The in and out on the same day seems to be working for now. Second fade the Gap day in a week.
I agree, Todd. It is all designed to bail themselves out (the elites first) and then it's scraps or worse for everyone else. That's been the ultimate goal of extend and pretend fromt the get-go. Freeze the status quo and grab even more power and money for themselves in the process while the greater communities go to shit.
ReplyDeleteMichael Hudson weighs in:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/06/michael-hudson-replacing-economic-democracy-with-financial-oligarchy.html
Todd - Could not agree with this statement more;
ReplyDeleteAs far as people demanding change, that won't happen until there is nothing else left.
I fear that everything will have to collapse before things really change.
Thought for sure we'd see a bigger drop today. I keep thinking that all of this slowdown has occurred mostly before the ending of QE2. If we slowed down that much before the program officially ended, what happens in July and August?????
ReplyDeleteTakes time to play out, Thor. Remember '07-'08 how long it took for reality to set in with the markets? Once it did, the drop was vicious. We may not get the same thing this time, but I'm guessing a pretty big pullback is in the offing. Followed by more QE, of course. And then we repeat the process until something big happens to put a stop to all of it.
ReplyDeleteHow's this for Recession 2.0?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/573982/201106020800/10-Year-Real-Wage-Growth-Worse-Than-During-Depression.htm
10-Year Real Wage Gains Worse Than During Depression
Two years into the recovery, and 10 years after the nation fell into a post-dot-com bubble recession, this legacy of near-stagnant wages has helped ground the economy despite unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus — and even an impressive bull market.
Over the past decade, real private-sector wage growth has scraped bottom at 4%, just below the 5% increase from 1929 to 1939, government data show.
To put that in perspective, since the Great Depression, 10-year gains in real private wages had always exceeded 25% with one exception: the period ended in 1982-83, when the jobless rate spiked above 10% and wage gains briefly decelerated to 16%.
@Thor: Can't we see by now that putting most of the wealth in the hands of a few is recipe for disaster for any economy? Their spending can only do so much to spur the wider economy, as they invest and save so much of it, and also serve to create various asset bubbles, instead of having that money go back into the real economy via purchase of real goods and services. How is this not elemental by now? Or is it, and the elites simply don't care?
ReplyDeleteManny - I think most of them actually DO care. Not all wealthy people can be like this can they? Might be more like the Tea Party? It's just a small, very vocal, very influential, very CROOKED, group of wealthy sociopaths who are causing all of this madness.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Thor. Not lumping all together, but apparently not enough of them care enough because this shit isn't changing for the better.
ReplyDeleteEventually the shit hits the fan when the smart elites, who see the bigger picture and understand it's in their best interests to not totally impoverish the other 99%, do battle with the dumb elites. That's when it blows up again. Or maybe if we get another downdraft that causes so many unemployed that people finally "find the time" to get involved and speak up en masse. Until then......
I mean, right now, it's like pulling teeth to even get 99% of the people to barely discuss this stuff, much less recognize it's even happening. How sad is that? It's an immediate blank stare conversation stopper with way too many people. That's troubling to me.
ReplyDeleteManny - all very true. You know the thing that really bothers me the most, is that we have people who are basically idiots for the most part (our elected officials) making very important economic decisions, something it is clear none of these people have any real understanding of, worse, all decisions that are made, no matter how important to the future of the nation, are made for purely political reasons. I don't believe there are many people left in DC who actually really give a shit about anything other than their own re-election or future careers in banking.
ReplyDeleteMore good stuff on the taxes that corporations don't pay:
ReplyDeleteStudy finds many corporations pay tax rate of effectively zero
"Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) released an examination on Wednesday that said that a dozen major companies had, between them, an average effective tax rate of roughly -1.5 percent between 2008 and 2010 — well below the top marginal corporate rate of 35 percent."
So this reveals all of those Republicans in congress who continue to bleat about how American corporations are so overburdened by taxes as liars.
Until we get serious about corporations paying their fair share, closing loopholes for them and their executives, taxing the shit out of the top 10% in this country, we will not get out of this hole. And if they want to relocate their headquarters to those friendly free market nations of Columbia, Nigeria, or Pakistan to avoid paying taxes - let them.
As I said before - the marginal rates are merely Republican talking points, the real story is in the effective rates that they really pay.
ReplyDeleteExactly Thor. We've become a cynical, mean, even brutal, country, at least at the top, anyway.
ReplyDeleteDenise - and it's so wonderful that that news is now out in the MSM - it's a constant thorn in the sides of the R's when they go home and talk to their constituents. I've watched a LOT of town hall meetings the last two months and when a politicians comes up with "corporations in this country pay too much tax" they are almost immediately answered with "you mean like GE?!!"
ReplyDeleteAnd also so wonderful the message that we do not have a spending problem in this country, but a revenue problem.
I am hoping against hope that this is the beginning of the end for this kind of madness. What the hell are they going to need to see to get the message? Protests in city centers like they're having in Europe now? Do people need to shut NYC and DC down with protests for them to really get it? God help them if it comes to that. Hope to hell these people all live in gated communities with sympathetic neighbors.
Manny,
ReplyDeleteWhat you have to realize is that the "middle class" is a recent 20th century invention, really only spanning post WWII until about 2000. It took a while for the Reagan conservatism/free market/deregulation to take hold and destroy our economy and middle class, but we are reverting back to the economic model that has been prevalent for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Many serfs, slaves, and beggars. Few wealthy that control them. Using religion and the church to keep the people compliant. There isn't anything new under the sun.
@Denise: There was another recent study (I'll see if I can dig it up) that revealed our entire federal tax burden is basically its lowest point in more than 60 years, I believe. It's amazing how outright lies can take hold as fact by an unthinking public wanting to believe anything that sounds simple confirms their biases (even if it those biases serve to hurt them personall), yet is blatantly false.
ReplyDeleteGreat point, Denise. I guess in many respects we're LUCKY in the grand scheme of things to have been born during these times to enjoy those fruits for a decent period. It's all coming to a rude close though, I think.
ReplyDeleteAnd capitalism in the form we have is the economic system that encourages this pyramid of economic inequality. One is considered a good business man if you maximize profits and minimize expenses. Good capitalist. So many laws under capitalism are geared toward allowing business to maximize profits.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason any social programs were allowed to be enacted is because they feared that the people's misery would be so great that they overthrow the government. It is no secret that communism flourished during the 30's and the fear of it is what led to enacting many social programs of that era.
@Denise: Which means you can make the argument that FDR actually saved our modern day capitalism by enacting reforms and safety nets that allowed the middle class to share in the fruits of their labor with the owners. Now they want to roll these reforms back and take us entirely back to the Gilded Age (if we're not there already). I gotta believe that once people wake up and realize what's happened, the shit will hit the fan in a really ugly manner. Once the Sheeple are done battling with each other, they will look for, and find, the real culprits for their/our predicament, and it's not each other.
ReplyDeleteUnfettered capitalism is one of the cruelest economic systems ever devised, destroying everything in it's path, just like communism where people pretend to work and the government pretends to pay them.
ReplyDeleteIt is why business fights against every and anything that will create less profits for them, regulations against pollution, worker safety laws, worker benefits, minimum wage, etc. If it were up to some of the conservatives we would still have child labor, 12 hour work days, 6 days a week, no health insurance, paid vacations or workman's comp.
I think it was his wife who actually pushed for many of these reforms as she traveled the country on his behalf and she saw the poverty first hand.
ReplyDeleteAnd now as "investors" or "traders", the entire game is basically to sit and arbitrage what our central planners at the Fed decides they are going to do. It's absolutely insane and unproductive, if you ask me. This entire 20-30 year time period, especially the last 10-11, will be looked upon in aghast (and amazement, wonder, fascination) down the road.
ReplyDeleteDenise - Yes! That and this woman. I've read this book, if anyone has any interest at all what life was like for the average person during the Depression I highly recommend this book. It's fairly short and very readable.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/One-Third-Nation-Reports-Depression/dp/0252010965/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307128837&sr=8-1
One Third of a Nation
"Some of the best reports ever written on the state of America's underprivileged." -- Sylvia Jukes Morris, Washington Post Book World "Hickok touches on every facet of the relationship between private misfortune and public relief efforts... The letters are written in a lively conversational style, full of anecdotes, wry asides, wicked characterizations of local politicians, and moving vignettes of enterprising and dedicated relief workers." -- Ann Banks, New York Times "Unlike the convoluted government documents one is accustomed to, Hickok's reports are really letters: persuasive, immediate, fiery, and memorable. The fear and hopelessness of the times are still palpable. The people are still vivid. What Hickok gave to her letters was passion." -- Rhoda Lehrman, New Republic "Hickok's lively writings, despite her biases, can serve as an informative and invaluable history of the early New Deal... Especially timely given current debates about the purpose and function of federally directed public welfare programs and services." -- John M. Herrick, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare "[Hickok's] letters paint a graphic picture of life in America during that period of the early New Deal when relief efforts were sputtering. She describes a desperate, bewildered America. Hickok's words provide an excellent understanding of how Americans felt about themselves and their country during this languid socioeconomic period... Her observations still provide uncommon perspicacity." -- Dennis Shockley, The Chronicles of Oklahoma ADVANCE PRAISE "Lorena Hickok was a singularly gifted witness to the calamity of the Great Depression. From one end of the country to the other, she stared long and hard into the human face of America's greatest economic failure and social catastrophe. A seasoned reporter, she recorded her impressions in spare, muscular prose that still packs a punch. Eleanor Roosevelt told Hickok that her writing would come to be regarded in future years as 'the best history of the Depression.' Readers of this memorable volume will surely agree." -- David M. Kennedy, author of Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War
Central planning banking combined with some perverse form of crony "free" market capitalism is not a pretty sight to behold. Well, for most of us it isn't.
ReplyDeleteIn the best economic system the rules that protect the environment, workers, consumers, and suppliers should balance the right of business to make a profit. It works really well most of the time.
ReplyDeleteNow we have a corrupt financial system who paid the lobbyists to rewrite the laws so that they could rape, pillage and plunder our and the world's pocketbooks. And a corrupt political system that has done little to stop it, or prosecute it.
Things are not going to change much because there is no profit in changing and much profit for keeping the status quo, i.e., lots of desperate unemployed people who will work for less for example, coupled with the out and out lies from the conservatives and business that tax cuts create jobs, create commerce and the austerity programs will set us free.
War is good and necessary, the lower and middle classes can die and fight and the middle class can pay for them.
I am not sure that we can reverse more than a quarter century of brainwashing that has gone on in this country.
1984 is all around us.
Other people have said this, so I'm sure it's of no surprise, but things now are nowhere near as bad as they were during The Depression. No safety net at all. People actually starved to death in this country during The Depression. My grandfather used to often tell the story of how he was forced to join the army in 1934 because it was either that, or starve.
ReplyDeleteTLT showing resilience. I think it's got more room to run. Maybe a lot more if I'm patient.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably true, Denise. It's going to likely take a passing of one or more generations (starting with the Boomers who run things, no offense!) and then one or more new generations that grow up in dire conditions to change things back. Could take decades to reverse the damage, as you say. Took decades to get here after all, right?
ReplyDeleteI think it's time to short BAC and/or C. What do you think?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/06/fortune-confirms-pervasive-defects-in-bank-of-america-mortgage-documents.html
Thor,
ReplyDeleteThat is absolutely true. I remember seeing a documentary on PBS about how many recruits were turned away after Pearl Harbor because of terrible maladies from malnutrition, disease and neglect. These were kids who grew up during the depression.
We are not there yet and probably will not get there which is probably why some politicians are so blase about the collapse of the middle class.
C looks like the better short, but I would wait until either got back to their daily 20 ema.
ReplyDeleteThat news from BAC is not totally new and it is up today.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was thinking of doing C, but wanted to wait for a bit of a pop up first. I hope I get one. This one is looking ripe.
ReplyDeleteLet's see if any dip buyers come in this last half hour.
ReplyDeleteShocker - not!
ReplyDeleteSino-forest, a China forest company listed at the Toronto stock exchange, and touted by most Canadian bank equity desks(RBC etc. - and in the Globe and Mail) has been exposed by Muddy Waters as a Fraud. I have to read up on the background to be sure what's going on.
From ZH,"John Paulson loses Half a Billion in under 24 hours".
Although the idea behind China's need for lumber is underestimated, but what western people underestimate is the SYSTEMIC FRAUD IN EMS.
Japan has been giving millions to India(for free) to re-forest some regions, but that money -90% has ended up in politicians' pockets. There is a huge scandle in my state. Politicians are quite. One Yoga guru is threatening hunger strike, unless something is done about corruption.
ICan
Getting ugly again in Greece. Now THESE people are paying attention.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zerohedge.com/article/mutiny-acropolis-greek-protesters-seize-finance-ministry
TRE.to
ReplyDeleteThe volume on it. WOW.
ICan
ICan - Sad isn't it? :-( How far the corruption and rot has gotten worldwide?
ReplyDeleteDiving into the close . . . .
ReplyDeleteWorried I might not get my chance with C.
ReplyDeleteWill we break 1300 on S&P and close there? Weekend bailout news coming? LOL. Truly amazing stuff.
ReplyDelete@ICan
ReplyDeleteOuch. Paulson got set on fire by that one.
@Emmy,
ReplyDeleteLost all gains since Oct. 2006(?). Thank God I didn't buy that one. Actually, I don't have any exposure to China(indirectly through my oil pipeline shares).
Ican
Speaking of burning, look at those futures burn to the close.
ReplyDelete@ICan
ReplyDeleteIf they're financed by the Chinese state banks or policy banks, I think they're fine.
Emmie - you have more faith in Chinese banks than I do ;-)
ReplyDeleteICan,
ReplyDeletere Paulson, couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy. The tide rolls in, the tide rolls out...
I bet that Paulson has more than that in pocket change in his couch.
ReplyDeleteManny,
ReplyDeleteEven if you have to short at a lower number it is best to wait for a sharp relief rally. Unless you want to make it a really long term position where you don't mind taking some heat.
Life is good, steaks on the grill, a warm breeze on the deck, bluebirds nesting in the bluebird house, hummingbirds visiting the feeders, topped off by a nice glass of wine. Plus we saw a coyote dancing across the field, looking guilty.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone care to read -
ReplyDeleteMore on Sinoforest.
The directors included HongKong magnate Simon Murray and Southam CEO William ardell.
Audited by Earnst and Young.
7 Baystreet firms had a buy rating.
Backed by(?) by John Paulson, TDSecurities, and RBC.
The directors are in full damage control mode.
Hired an independent auditor.
Lost 64%of its value in one day.
Lost 79% from peak valuation of Mar. 2011
Source: theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/sino-forest-scrambles-to-defend-its-reputation/article2046252
One of the two is in trouble: the directors or Muddywaters. Never mind the investors.
India's Satyam happened at the time of Bernie Maddoff scandle. It was basically hushed or rushed. I didn't see much covered in the western press.
ICan
Thanks for the tip, Denise. Not sure I want to consider holding anything "long term" anymore.
ReplyDeleteSo my entry price is increasingly important. Although I will say that I think C and BAC are going down at some point again hard, but I'm just worried about having enough liquidity to ride it out. Isn't that always the case? I'm not John Paulson after all and can't make as many (or any) mistake like he can.
ReplyDeleteGot 30 miles under my belt just now. Life is indeed good. VERY humid outside though. Not used to that yet. Had some difficulty breathing and cooling off. Will take some time getting used to it but I'm not complaining! After 6 months of winter, I'm loving the soft, humid air. Summer is indeed upon us.
ReplyDeleteDenise - You've inspired me to get into birds? I figure with four dogs, two cats, and two ferrets, it was only natural ;-)
ReplyDeleteWe got these sock things you hang for finches, they seem to come mostly in the morning, there are always tons of sparrows, and a couple of morning doves munching around. There are these strange little black birds I haven't a name for yet, plus a brown yappy bird that chases crows and cats all over the place. My favorite though, and a constant annoyance to my other half because they eat the geckos and lizards, are the road runners. I'll have to get a picture of one, smart smart smart, you can see the intelligence in their eyes, and they fly as well as they run.
Agree life is good! It's hard to lose track of that sometimes with all the craziness going on. I don't think this is that much of a guess, but It sounds like all of us are doing rather well throughout these times. Good to remember that, and to be thankful for what we have.
ReplyDeleteManny - We're starting a new program at work, it's called Body Beast. I'm going to be in the internal test group for it. Six weeks of intense one our workouts six days a week. Nice plus for us though, is that all the food and the supplements are included. We have a 4000 calories a day diet! I made a person goal on my birthday last November to be in the best shape of my life by the time I turn 40. I'm most of the way there now, really been kicking it up at the gym this year, but this should take me over the top! ;-)
Thor,
ReplyDeleteWe love to watch the birds and nature. It is almost free (bird feeders, food and other paraphernalia costs money) but it is so entertaining and rewarding.
Wow Thor! That things must be a real "BEAST". Chortle, chortle. Seriously though, that must be an insane workout if you can eat 4,000 calories a day. I like that part!
ReplyDeleteLet me know when it's on the market. Maybe I'll buy it and try it out? Had been thinking about doing the P90x but my small house isn't real conducive to home workouts, although I do some basic exercises at home from time to time (although not as much lately because I'm doing so much at the gym and on my bike, so it would be overkill).
I agree that we all get caught up in the drama of the markets, business and the down beat economy, but life is very good right now for my family. Wasn't always that way.
ReplyDeleteHave to keep remembering what is right in the world and what is wrong, what you can change and what you can't.
Enjoy the weekend everyone!
Manny,
ReplyDeleteI already have the "Beast". It is green with flowers, shrubs and trees, otherwise known as my yard.
@Denise: Ha! That's funny, my yard looks like that right now too, although we're going to do something about that on Sunday, I think. Time to spruce things up a bit and finally plant some flowers and tomato plants. A little late this year, for obvious reasons. I really didn't trust the weather up until now.
ReplyDeleteI know we all have mixed feelings about ZH but I thought this chart over there from David Rosenberg is pretty amazing and really quite telling. This is really one of the main issues right now when it comes to having a real, lasting recovery (assuming that's what is desired). How can it be ignored any longer?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zerohedge.com/article/attention-marxists-labors-share-national-income-drops-lowest-history
But, of course, it's all the Unions' fault, according to the delusional Lou Mish types. Yeah, right. Whatever.
ReplyDeleteHah, well I'm kinda big and hairy, and I have a beard, and at work I'm known for having a temper, and a mouth on me . . . so yeah, they all call me Beast! now.
ReplyDeleteSo that new workout program is named after you, Thor? LOL.
ReplyDelete