The Westchester County government is a layer of government that many argue is excessive. There are few counties that have their own government between state and local. More than one candidate for County President has run on the platform of eliminating County government altogether.
In today's local paper, there was a story that the County government has add a new employee to the payroll. That person's job - look for overspending and waste. Oh the irony!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friggin Jets
Can't even count on the Jets NOT to lose. An 11-5 season without Tom Brady at the helm. What can you do? When Brady went down in the first game, I still expected they could win the division. They had a talented D and a well-stocked offense even with a "caretaker" was leading it. It turned out, the "caretaker" was much better than I expected and the D was much worse. I could not have foreseen the Dolphins would also go 11-5 and beat us on tie breakers. Frankly, I can't believe we went 11-5 and didn't even take the wildcard.
When the Jets signed Farve I contended that they were NO better under Favre than they would have been under Pennington (or Clemens). As that turns out, they were worse. Favre has been horrible most of the season, and likely will not return. He, single-handedly, killed the Patriots today. That is the biggest irony.
I feel the same way about the Patriots not being in the playoffs as I did about the Red Sox not beating the Rays in the ALCS. Sure, I would have liked the outcome to be different, but we've had enough success that I can't be bitterly disappointed. I've had bitter disappointment regarding sports teams before, and this isn't that feeling.
When the Jets signed Farve I contended that they were NO better under Favre than they would have been under Pennington (or Clemens). As that turns out, they were worse. Favre has been horrible most of the season, and likely will not return. He, single-handedly, killed the Patriots today. That is the biggest irony.
I feel the same way about the Patriots not being in the playoffs as I did about the Red Sox not beating the Rays in the ALCS. Sure, I would have liked the outcome to be different, but we've had enough success that I can't be bitterly disappointed. I've had bitter disappointment regarding sports teams before, and this isn't that feeling.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Christmas
Christmas was a huge hit this year. Given the circumstances, we opted for less expensive but in greater quantity. In sum, we spent less, but still maximized the joy of Christmas.
Although Christmas is huge for Katie, Emily was super excited for Christmas this year. We tracked Santa on-line, we left food for the reindeer, and she begged to sleep in Katie's room on the floor so she could look out the skylight. In the final week, it was 100% Christmas 100% of the time.
As tradition holds, we read Twas the Night Before Christmas before bedtime...
... and left out cookies and milk. This year, Emily left a note which she had written weeks earlier.
By morning there were lots of presents to open.
Sleeping bags.
Real Mommy baby doll.
Although Christmas is huge for Katie, Emily was super excited for Christmas this year. We tracked Santa on-line, we left food for the reindeer, and she begged to sleep in Katie's room on the floor so she could look out the skylight. In the final week, it was 100% Christmas 100% of the time.
As tradition holds, we read Twas the Night Before Christmas before bedtime...
... and left out cookies and milk. This year, Emily left a note which she had written weeks earlier.
By morning there were lots of presents to open.
Sleeping bags.
Softball glove.
New jeans.
Real Mommy baby doll.
Santa even brought drums. I had told Katie I never thought Santa would bring a kid drums. Looks like he made a good compromise.
It was a musical Christmas as they each got a guitar - seen here being backed up by their oversized Kooky Pens.
They both utilized the digital camera given to them by Gramma and Poppy. If you look closely, you can see that Emily created her own design on it.
Later in the day, word must have spread among the reindeer community that we fed Santa's hoofers. A couple showed up looking for their own treats. If you zoom in, you can see that one of them even has antlers. We don't see many with antlers around here - so he MUST be from the North Pole.
Finally, we dodged a bit of a holiday bullet. On this morning (Dec 26), Emily awoke and tossed her not-so-proverbial cookies. Better today than yesterday.
Merry Christmas.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Very Creative!
Bloomberg News reports that Credit Suisse is going to pay its Managing Directors in illiquid assets currently held on CS' books. This is a very creative idea, and in the end could work out well for everyone.
Credit Suisse has been one of the best managed financial organizations throughout this crisis (and by definition through the last few years). They aren't completely blameless (else they wouldn't have the illiquid assets in the first place), but they haven't let it sink the firm.
The partners will receive interest in a pool of assets that will remain on CS' books. It will help retention (not that anyone is going anywhere these days), and potentially be a winfall. It could also be worth little, but in that case, CS has paid it out instead of cash.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abJOQQI18SAE&refer=home
Credit Suisse has been one of the best managed financial organizations throughout this crisis (and by definition through the last few years). They aren't completely blameless (else they wouldn't have the illiquid assets in the first place), but they haven't let it sink the firm.
The partners will receive interest in a pool of assets that will remain on CS' books. It will help retention (not that anyone is going anywhere these days), and potentially be a winfall. It could also be worth little, but in that case, CS has paid it out instead of cash.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abJOQQI18SAE&refer=home
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tex are Can ah
It sounds like the Red Sox are closing in on First Basemen Mark Texiera. The Sox brass has flown to Texas to potentially ink a deal. I hope we get this guy as much as anyone. We need a strong, reliable bat in the lineup, and no one scared me more on the Angels at the end of last year than facing him.
The guy can hit and play the field. Here's his stat line on his 54 games with the Angels:
Average: .358
On-Base: .449
Slugging: .632
HR: 13
Although those are the best numbers of his entire career, his other seasons aren't too shabby.
But here's a couple things that scare me a little, and would give me cold feet in signing him to a 8-year $184 million contract.
1. He's only made the All-Star team once, and it was back in 2005.
2. Baseball Reference.com (good stat site: www.baseball-reference.com) measures something called similarity scores. It allows you to compare players from different eras. Here are Texiera's comps:
Miguel Cabrera (2003-2008), Glenn Davis (1984-1993), Zeke Bonura (1934-1940), Bob Horner (1977-1988), Ripper Collins (1931-1941), Don Hurst (1928-1934), Kevin Mitchell (1983-1988), Aubrey Huff (2000-2008).
Dropping off names I clearly wouldn't know, lets stick with Cabrera, Mitchell, and Huff
Not exactly a murders' row even though Cabrera's a pretty solid player, and can play multiple positions. Huff just signed a FA deal last Winter for $8 million. Far from $23 million. Texiera is better than Huff, but is he $15 million better?
Baseball Reference also does similarity scores based on age. Here are Texiera's comps for players through 28 years old:
Carlos Delgado, Kent Hrbeck, Fred McGriff, Jim Thome, Will Clark, Jeff Bagwell, Willie McCovey Richie Sexton, Shawn Green, Paul Konerko
Ok. This list is better - but who's kidding who. I was hoping it would say Babe Ruth. We'll be saddled with this guy for a long time. I just hope he's worth it. I know its blasphamy around Boston, but I would have rather spent $27 million per year on A-rod last year. Think about it. I said it at the time, but in retrospect it looks even better. Last offseason, sign A-rod after his opt-out, move him back to short, trade Manny, keep CoCo and Ellsbury, develop Lowry as your future 3B. In that scenario, you'd have had kept the same power in your lineup and improved your defense. Manny would have been gone earlier, and we would have picked up something in his trade. Maybe you still got Bay, and CoCo remained the fourth outfielder.
The guy can hit and play the field. Here's his stat line on his 54 games with the Angels:
Average: .358
On-Base: .449
Slugging: .632
HR: 13
Although those are the best numbers of his entire career, his other seasons aren't too shabby.
But here's a couple things that scare me a little, and would give me cold feet in signing him to a 8-year $184 million contract.
1. He's only made the All-Star team once, and it was back in 2005.
2. Baseball Reference.com (good stat site: www.baseball-reference.com) measures something called similarity scores. It allows you to compare players from different eras. Here are Texiera's comps:
Miguel Cabrera (2003-2008), Glenn Davis (1984-1993), Zeke Bonura (1934-1940), Bob Horner (1977-1988), Ripper Collins (1931-1941), Don Hurst (1928-1934), Kevin Mitchell (1983-1988), Aubrey Huff (2000-2008).
Dropping off names I clearly wouldn't know, lets stick with Cabrera, Mitchell, and Huff
Not exactly a murders' row even though Cabrera's a pretty solid player, and can play multiple positions. Huff just signed a FA deal last Winter for $8 million. Far from $23 million. Texiera is better than Huff, but is he $15 million better?
Baseball Reference also does similarity scores based on age. Here are Texiera's comps for players through 28 years old:
Carlos Delgado, Kent Hrbeck, Fred McGriff, Jim Thome, Will Clark, Jeff Bagwell, Willie McCovey Richie Sexton, Shawn Green, Paul Konerko
Ok. This list is better - but who's kidding who. I was hoping it would say Babe Ruth. We'll be saddled with this guy for a long time. I just hope he's worth it. I know its blasphamy around Boston, but I would have rather spent $27 million per year on A-rod last year. Think about it. I said it at the time, but in retrospect it looks even better. Last offseason, sign A-rod after his opt-out, move him back to short, trade Manny, keep CoCo and Ellsbury, develop Lowry as your future 3B. In that scenario, you'd have had kept the same power in your lineup and improved your defense. Manny would have been gone earlier, and we would have picked up something in his trade. Maybe you still got Bay, and CoCo remained the fourth outfielder.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Thanks-mas
We had a really nice weekend. Saturday was Moore Day, as dubbed by the kids. My parents, sister and her husband, and one of my brothers and his family came and spent the day at our house. It was a sort of Thanks-mas, an equal point between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Saturday afternoon was loaded with Rock Band and Guitar Hero concerts on the XBox. Alison prepared a great meal, and the day was enjoyed by all.
We exchanged Christmas presents. A little bird helped my parents get the kids Disney's Sing It, for the XBox, and quickly, Sunday morning turned from Classic Rock air guitars to Hannah Montana Karaoke. By later that morning, everyone had hit the road, which was good, because we had our golf club's Christmas party.
As I watched the Bills fumble away their win against the Jets, the Kids saw a puppet show followe by a magic show. Eventually we got to see Santa. I must say, fortunately for us, Santa looked a little better than the time I saw him at Walmart last week.
We had a little issue last year, where some faulty glue convinced the girls that the club's Santa was only a stand-in, and in fact he was being played by "Magic Dave." I assured them, it was NOT Magic Dave, but I could have talked til I was blue in the face. This year, Katie thought the beard was a hoax, but Emily was certain it had been real. It doesn't really matter, I guess, since neither told him what they wished for.
Emily has crafted Santa a note for which she plans to leave for him on Christmas Eve. I'll share it with you now as is:
"Dear, Santa
did you relly give presints when you
wher a teen ager? how did the
rainder fly?
Love, Emily"
Hopefully he'll answer...
We exchanged Christmas presents. A little bird helped my parents get the kids Disney's Sing It, for the XBox, and quickly, Sunday morning turned from Classic Rock air guitars to Hannah Montana Karaoke. By later that morning, everyone had hit the road, which was good, because we had our golf club's Christmas party.
As I watched the Bills fumble away their win against the Jets, the Kids saw a puppet show followe by a magic show. Eventually we got to see Santa. I must say, fortunately for us, Santa looked a little better than the time I saw him at Walmart last week.We had a little issue last year, where some faulty glue convinced the girls that the club's Santa was only a stand-in, and in fact he was being played by "Magic Dave." I assured them, it was NOT Magic Dave, but I could have talked til I was blue in the face. This year, Katie thought the beard was a hoax, but Emily was certain it had been real. It doesn't really matter, I guess, since neither told him what they wished for.
Emily has crafted Santa a note for which she plans to leave for him on Christmas Eve. I'll share it with you now as is:
"Dear, Santa
did you relly give presints when you
wher a teen ager? how did the
rainder fly?
Love, Emily"
Hopefully he'll answer...
Thursday, December 4, 2008
"For myself, I would be happy to see conservatism exit from the political scene--provided it takes liberalism with it. I would like to see us enter a post-ideological era in which policies are based on pragmatic considerations rather than on conformity to a set of preconceptions rooted in a rapidly vanishing past. " - Richard Posner (Judge, United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Senior Lecturer, University of Chicago Law School, Economist)
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/
Agreed.
http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/
Agreed.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Macy's Parade
Thanks to good weather, we took on the crowd to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with my college friend Peter and his daughter. None of us had seen it live before. Leaving the house at about 7am got us to the West side of Central Park West by 8am. Not anywhere near the time to be curbside for the 9am parade start. Rather, we were roughly 15 people deep into the crowd.
We stood on 70th Street next to some police sawhorse barriers. When the parade began, the girls took turns standing on the sawhorse (three girls and two spots). I spent a large part of the remaining time with one of them on my shoulders. Yes, they are sore.
We saw all the balloons, most of the floats and only a few of the people on the street. We saw Miley Cyrus, Nickelodeon's Miranda Cosgrove and Santa Claus in person. We missed seeing David Archuletta, and the girls were disappointed - me, not so much. I have a friend on 70th St., so we were able to duck the outgoing crowds for about a half an hour. By the time we emerged, the street was basically empty, the subways was mild, and Metro North was empty. Worked well. This three minute video is a good summary of it.
We stood on 70th Street next to some police sawhorse barriers. When the parade began, the girls took turns standing on the sawhorse (three girls and two spots). I spent a large part of the remaining time with one of them on my shoulders. Yes, they are sore.
We saw all the balloons, most of the floats and only a few of the people on the street. We saw Miley Cyrus, Nickelodeon's Miranda Cosgrove and Santa Claus in person. We missed seeing David Archuletta, and the girls were disappointed - me, not so much. I have a friend on 70th St., so we were able to duck the outgoing crowds for about a half an hour. By the time we emerged, the street was basically empty, the subways was mild, and Metro North was empty. Worked well. This three minute video is a good summary of it.
Lots of fun were had by all. Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Citi Card Update
After speaking to a customer service rep on Thursday who acknowledged that my credit limit downgrade was ridiculous, she put me in for credit "reinstatement." I haven't spoken with anyone from there today, but noticed on their website that my credit limit was increased. It's not back to normal, but is 20% of my original amount rather than a ludicrous 5%. I'll probably still switch banks, but at least the rush to replace the card isn't as great.
Maybe the reprive was related to their $306 billion Treasury bailout funds received over the weekend, or maybe they just realized they were being STUPID.
Maybe the reprive was related to their $306 billion Treasury bailout funds received over the weekend, or maybe they just realized they were being STUPID.
Cassel's time
Matt Cassel is developing for sure. In the first half of the season, he seemingly only had the ability to make one read. If that option was covered he was doomed. The next option often resulted in stepping up into the on-coming rush. I was highly critical of him both privately and on Football Outsiders.
However, his improving pocket pressence and new-found mobility have allowed him to make multiple reads. Note the change in sacks. In his first 5 full games, he was sacked 23 times. In the latest 5 games, 9 sacks. The offensive line has not materially changed over that time period. During those same sets of games, he rushed for 46 yards (with 29 coming against Denver), versus 140 yards. The additional time he's given himself behind the line of scrimmage has led to a more wide open game plan, and a ability to throw the ball downfield. Was anyone else surprised how often the Patriots came out in empty-backfield formations yesterday?
He has now thrown for 400+ yards in two games in a row. Considering Brady didn't do that even with last year's absurd numbers is impressive. However, before we get too crazy, Miami and New York have very mediocre pass defenses. According to our Football Outsiders rankings, incoming Pittsburgh has the third best pass defense in the league (as well as the second best run defense). I'll be there to watch it in person.
However, his improving pocket pressence and new-found mobility have allowed him to make multiple reads. Note the change in sacks. In his first 5 full games, he was sacked 23 times. In the latest 5 games, 9 sacks. The offensive line has not materially changed over that time period. During those same sets of games, he rushed for 46 yards (with 29 coming against Denver), versus 140 yards. The additional time he's given himself behind the line of scrimmage has led to a more wide open game plan, and a ability to throw the ball downfield. Was anyone else surprised how often the Patriots came out in empty-backfield formations yesterday?
He has now thrown for 400+ yards in two games in a row. Considering Brady didn't do that even with last year's absurd numbers is impressive. However, before we get too crazy, Miami and New York have very mediocre pass defenses. According to our Football Outsiders rankings, incoming Pittsburgh has the third best pass defense in the league (as well as the second best run defense). I'll be there to watch it in person.
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