The same day as the second grade concert, the fourth grade presented Rythmns, Rounds and Recorders. Here is a synopsis of that. Note the end. We were as shocked as anyone that Katie was one of two speaking students to present the music teacher with flowers. For those that remember, this was the same girl that wouldn't participate in her Preschool graduation because there was an audience.
or follow the link HERE.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Viva Valentine
The Second Grade class performed a Valentine concert a few weeksago. Here is a quick edited version of it:
A larger video can be found at HERE
A larger video can be found at HERE
Hot Dog for a Pet
Emily's class is learning about Poetry. Each student was to memorize and present a poem to a group of parents. She's still learning the art of public speaking, and as a result, speaks very quickly.
So, for your following along pleasure (from The Light in the Attic):
Hot Dog
I have a hot dog for a pet
the only kind my folks would let me get
he does smell sort of bad and yet
he absoluely never gets the sofa wet.
We have a butcher for a vet
the strangest vet you've ever met
guess we're the wierdest family yet
to have a hot dog for a pet.
So, for your following along pleasure (from The Light in the Attic):
Hot Dog
I have a hot dog for a pet
the only kind my folks would let me get
he does smell sort of bad and yet
he absoluely never gets the sofa wet.
We have a butcher for a vet
the strangest vet you've ever met
guess we're the wierdest family yet
to have a hot dog for a pet.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Update
Back on Dec 19, 2008, I noted that Credit Suisse was distributing "toxic assets" as part of an employee bonus pool. As you can see from the post, I argued it was a terrific idea. I said at the time, "This is a very creative idea, and in the end could work out well for everyone."
See today's news:
"ZURICH—Shares in a $5 billion pool of formerly illiquid assets distributed as bonus pay for Credit Suisse Group investment bankers returned 72% last year, people familiar with the situation said.
Roughly 2,000 investment bankers at the Zurich-based bank, who were told of the pool's performance Tuesday evening, can't withdraw their portion of the fund until 2014, but will receive some semiannual interest payments.
The pool is largely made up of commercial mortgage-backed securities and leveraged loan products that Credit Suisse sought to offload late in 2008 as part of a major scaling back of its risk-taking.
The plan to use the then "toxic assets" as bonus pay, made public last January, sparked an outcry with some Credit Suisse bankers, who argued that they hadn't contributed to the bank's 2008 net loss.
The fund's favorable performance in 2009, which compares with a 23.5% rise in the Standard & Poor's index on the year and an 18.8% gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, reflects the easing of markets for some of the securities last year. At the time the fund was set up late in 2008, markets for them was near-frozen, but have since become far more liquid."
See today's news:
"ZURICH—Shares in a $5 billion pool of formerly illiquid assets distributed as bonus pay for Credit Suisse Group investment bankers returned 72% last year, people familiar with the situation said.
Roughly 2,000 investment bankers at the Zurich-based bank, who were told of the pool's performance Tuesday evening, can't withdraw their portion of the fund until 2014, but will receive some semiannual interest payments.
The pool is largely made up of commercial mortgage-backed securities and leveraged loan products that Credit Suisse sought to offload late in 2008 as part of a major scaling back of its risk-taking.
The plan to use the then "toxic assets" as bonus pay, made public last January, sparked an outcry with some Credit Suisse bankers, who argued that they hadn't contributed to the bank's 2008 net loss.
The fund's favorable performance in 2009, which compares with a 23.5% rise in the Standard & Poor's index on the year and an 18.8% gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, reflects the easing of markets for some of the securities last year. At the time the fund was set up late in 2008, markets for them was near-frozen, but have since become far more liquid."
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Alexandre Bilodeau, I'm not
Peter doesn't have the steadiest hand in the business, but here's a quick clip of me skiing down the hill.
Sleeping in Seattle
Presidents' Day Weekend. The plan was perfect. Alison and the kids would go to New York and I would go to Colorado or Utah and ski. One catch. I couldn't find anyone to go to Colorado or Utah. So when my college friend, Peter, said he couldn't fly out of town, he invited me to Seattle...to ski. News to me.
Turns out it was excellent. Crystal Mountain is approximately two hours East of Seattle and in the same range as Mount Ranier, which could be seen from the summit (see left). As another Seattle-ite told me, Crystal is a place you will ski, and then ask yourself, "why have I never heard of this place before." That was accurate.
Peter and I with Ranier in the background
Crystal had every type of skiing you could ask for. Greens, Blues, Blacks, and Double Diamonds. There were great bowls and great verticals. In fact, my favorite run was my last.
Turns out it was excellent. Crystal Mountain is approximately two hours East of Seattle and in the same range as Mount Ranier, which could be seen from the summit (see left). As another Seattle-ite told me, Crystal is a place you will ski, and then ask yourself, "why have I never heard of this place before." That was accurate.Not only was there are terrific view of Ranier, but one could see the Olympic Mountains one way and Mount St. Helens the other. Pretty unbelievable.
Peter and I with Ranier in the background
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Look closely and Mt. St. Helens behind me (and in need of a comb)
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Although it was raining in Seattle - SHOCK - the mountain was above the snow line and it snowed for each of Saturday and Sunday. Although it made for great snow, the visibilty was tough. However, by Monday, the skies were blue and the skiing remained great.
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Crystal had every type of skiing you could ask for. Greens, Blues, Blacks, and Double Diamonds. There were great bowls and great verticals. In fact, my favorite run was my last. .
The Powder Bowl called all weekend. A straight down verticle run, the Powder bowl hovers over the South side of the resort.
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It looks steep, and isn't easy to get to. And when you get there, it looks even steeper.
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The first step is a doosey. I skied a number of challenging trails. I even took a small leap off a rock into a bowl. But standing on the edge, it was my only "oh s***" moment.
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Soon...
Good pictures from my ski trip to Seattle, yes Seattle. They'll be up soon. In the meantime, here's a good post re: the Deficit Commission from Harvard Economics Professor Greg Mankiw:
"Here is a question I have been pondering. If you were a member of the fiscal commission, what would you try to achieve?
The answer for liberals is easy: They want to raise taxes to fund the existing, and even an expanded, social safety net, while politically insulating the Democrats as much as possible from the charge of being the "tax and spend" party. President Obama can then campaign in 2012 that he did not break his no-taxes-on-the-middle-class pledge, but rather a bipartisan group broke it. That is, the President wants to take credit for fixing the fiscal situation but duck responsibility for having imposed higher taxes...
A reasonable position is, perhaps, that the commission should not succeed. After all, it is the president's responsibility to put out a budget. The one he just released is, as I argued in my recent Times column, not a sustainable one at all. He just passed the buck to the fiscal commission. Perhaps conservatives should not allow him to do that but, instead, should try to force him to put out a sustainable budget on his own. After all, isn't that Peter Orszag's job?"
"Here is a question I have been pondering. If you were a member of the fiscal commission, what would you try to achieve?
The answer for liberals is easy: They want to raise taxes to fund the existing, and even an expanded, social safety net, while politically insulating the Democrats as much as possible from the charge of being the "tax and spend" party. President Obama can then campaign in 2012 that he did not break his no-taxes-on-the-middle-class pledge, but rather a bipartisan group broke it. That is, the President wants to take credit for fixing the fiscal situation but duck responsibility for having imposed higher taxes...
A reasonable position is, perhaps, that the commission should not succeed. After all, it is the president's responsibility to put out a budget. The one he just released is, as I argued in my recent Times column, not a sustainable one at all. He just passed the buck to the fiscal commission. Perhaps conservatives should not allow him to do that but, instead, should try to force him to put out a sustainable budget on his own. After all, isn't that Peter Orszag's job?"
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Groundhog
Groundhog saw his shadow the other day - 6 more weeks of winter. Although the kids are starting their "Spring fundraiser," I had no doubts that winter here will be longer than 6 more weeks - shadow or no.
However, baseball season is getting close. We took the kids to Twins Fest 2010 at the Metrodome. Cool event where you got to meet Twins players and play games. Well the lines to get autographs from players was WAY too long, but the games were fun and there was plenty of memorobilia. Funny enough, the line to get autographs from 5 unknown minor leaguers was probably 1 1/2 hours long. Yet, the line to meet 3 non-Twin Hall of Famers and 2 former MVP/CY Youngs was non-exisistent. Fergie Jenkins, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, George Foster and [name unknown] were sitting at a table with no wait. We met Fergie Jenkins. Although his stint with the Red Sox was short ('76-'78), that was my first years really following them, and I remember him fondly. The kids were excited to meet a Red Sox, even though they had no idea who he was.
Otherwise, our time has been spent planning trips. In a couple weeks, the ladies head off to New York and Simultaneously, I head the opposite direction to go skiing. In a surprise turn of events, I'll be going west of Seattle to ski near Mount Rainer.
After that, we head to Hawaii in March. After trading in our timeshare, we are going to spend nine days in Oahu. We've cornered Hennepin County Library's books and DVDs on Hawaiian travel as we look for things to do.
In April, we are considering one more trip back east, and I may have a golf trip at the end of the month. By then, maybe it really will be Spring!
However, baseball season is getting close. We took the kids to Twins Fest 2010 at the Metrodome. Cool event where you got to meet Twins players and play games. Well the lines to get autographs from players was WAY too long, but the games were fun and there was plenty of memorobilia. Funny enough, the line to get autographs from 5 unknown minor leaguers was probably 1 1/2 hours long. Yet, the line to meet 3 non-Twin Hall of Famers and 2 former MVP/CY Youngs was non-exisistent. Fergie Jenkins, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue, George Foster and [name unknown] were sitting at a table with no wait. We met Fergie Jenkins. Although his stint with the Red Sox was short ('76-'78), that was my first years really following them, and I remember him fondly. The kids were excited to meet a Red Sox, even though they had no idea who he was.
Otherwise, our time has been spent planning trips. In a couple weeks, the ladies head off to New York and Simultaneously, I head the opposite direction to go skiing. In a surprise turn of events, I'll be going west of Seattle to ski near Mount Rainer.
After that, we head to Hawaii in March. After trading in our timeshare, we are going to spend nine days in Oahu. We've cornered Hennepin County Library's books and DVDs on Hawaiian travel as we look for things to do.
In April, we are considering one more trip back east, and I may have a golf trip at the end of the month. By then, maybe it really will be Spring!
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