Sunday Morning Coming Down

It's very early.  The races at Hialeah begin at 12:35pm.  I'm pondering stuff.  How should I bet a horse that has been away from the races a long time.  I've invited folks to the races, but realize there are at least a few other horses in the race that deserve consideration.  I would like a boat race, a walk over, i'd even take a bunch of late minute scratches so the horse could run with fewer chances for problems.  Short of that I'll take what ever luck the racing gods might provide.

A bartender who has run the last few Boston Marathons was the guy who was photographed shoveling the road where the finish line of the race is painted according to his boss at the Back Bay Social Club. This is not a big surprise in my books.  I kind of think only a marathoner might do such a thing. Like maybe, with all the snow he was missing his daily run, and really needed something to do that might please the running gods.  Running only requires shoes and a place to run, and usually while you are running you feel good and from experience you really feel good when the run is done. Shoveling snow in a sacred place works on a lot of levels.  Thank you Dr. Glasser.

 Marshwan Lynch Will Never Be Confused With Ernie Banks. He was there so he didn't get fined.  He spent about 4 1/2 playing and replaying the phrase I'm just here so I won't get fined.  Good for him and I guess the reporters that covered his required time at the microphone got the message. The Seattle Seahawk running back has been in league since 2007 and is making his second appearance in the Super Bowl with the Seahawks.  It's been reported that the NFL would have fined him $500,000 if he did not show up for the media in the run up to the Super Bowl. It some ways this appearance is just as weird as any number of interviews that happen these days at mega events.  Football players sign contracts with teams that play in leagues that require players to not only play football but to do other things that promote the sport they play. Lynch's response to the media's questions were childish. Could you just imagine the interview with Ernie Banks if he had made...

Two states have had good job growth since the start of the recession. North Dakota has had net job gains of 30.8% and has an unemployment rate of 2.7%. Texas has had net job gains of 12% and has an unemployment rate of of 4.9%. Both states have benefited from growth in the energy sector and growth in general. California has shown strong job growth but its unemployment rate is still well above the national average at 7.2%, but improved from a high of 12.4% in 2010. Hopefully, the drop in the price of oil won't take too big a toll on employment throughout the country. Figures are from the Joint Economic Committee of Congress report in November, 2014.

I have always wondered about foreign leaders coming to speak to joint sessions of Congress.  It happens quite regularly from Winston Churchill addressing Congress twice during WWII.  Heads of State from all over the world have spoken to Joint Sessions of Congress and it would seem to be a reasonable part of our diplomatic process. It's a dance, usually that includes a State Visit and common ground. This does not seem to be the case in Israel's Prime Minister talk to Congress which is scheduled for March.  The following is from a post on Facebook by The VOX. Here is the backstory: On Wednesday, Boehner announced that he had invited Netanyahu to come speak to a joint session of Congress in late February (later pushed to early March) on Obama's nuclear negotiations with Iran, which both Boehner and Netanyahu oppose, and which Republicans are seeking to blow up by forcing new, deal-killing sanctions on Iran. What made this such a remarkable breach is that Boehner had r...

Friday Ernie Banks passed away at age 83. If you grew up in Chicago and were a Cub fan, there is probably no more iconic figure. Known as Mr. Cub, the all star shortstop and two time most valuable player was a throwback to a different era in baseball. Ernie's career began with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1950, served in the military for two years before joining the Cubs in 1953 and playing for 19 years. He was the guy that made Wrigley Field the "Friendly Confines".  I think only my cousin Steve would have wanted to hit a home run in Wrigley Field more than Ernie would have liked to hit a home run in a World Series game played at Wrigley, that discussion can continue on another plane, 1969, the "Miracle Mets" and the collapse of the Cubs is still inexplicable to most if not all baseball fans and heart breaking.  Ernie carried this around but never seemed to lose the joy he felt at the ball park and was still looking forward to that day when the Cubs would ...

Maybe it isn't always rapid but I had a good day coming back from the track by signing up for a Golden Passport that will allow me to ride the Metrorail and the bus system in Miami for (free) because I voted to add to the local sales tax.  I didn't think this kicked in until I got to sixty five years old but was corrected by another old geyser who told me that I qualified since I had started receiving SSA.  A monthly unlimited commuter pass would have cost about $137.00. Walking to the bus or train is good exercise and there will be savings in gas, insurance and depreciation, although I think my body is depreciating enough these days.  I feel good by doing what I can to reduce traffic and lessening my carbon footprint. One of the county commissioners at a budget hearing said the cost of providing these free rides is getting expensive.  She is absolutely correct and at some point it might make sense to charge a nominal fee for this service, it's almost too good a ...

I sometimes wonder why companies don't issue stock to their employees as part of their compensation and then I realized that they do often issue stock for employees.  There are folks that get stock options,or are given shares to put in their retirement accounts or employees may own the company like Publix Super Market that is based in Florida and employees over 160,000 people. According to the National Center for Employee Ownership 710,000 people are employed in the 100 largest employee owned companies. If you were offered stock in a company in an industry with poor prospects going forward, an employee might bargain for the best rate possible and then take their chances. What if the NBA was owned by the players.  What if the NFL was owned by the players. How much would Lebron James be worth, how much would Tom Brady be worth, and how much would a coach be worth, and how much would a stadium be worth. It's obvious that great players will raise all the boats.  Tiger...

California Chrome was America's horse last year in spite of losing the Belmont and a chance to be the first Triple Crown Winner since Affirmed in 1978. In spite of his owner calling the the winner of the Belmont "cheaters" because they did not run in the Kentucky Derby and The Preakness, California Chrome won the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.  After The Belmont loss and as an also ran in the Pennsylvania Derby, Chrome finished a decent 3rd after another troublesome start to Bayern. I think the owners of California Chrome spoke their mind at the wrong time.  The story of a less than regally bred horse almost winning the Triple Crown is good enough reality TV and sports event. The owners, connections, and the horse had a great run and the horse has won The Hollywood Derby on the Turf on November 29, 2014.  Losing isn't fun, feeling like you got screwed in the process can make it really painful, but life goes on. Sunday, at Hialeah Park, the $417,000 Hialeah...

I know nothing factual about the latest NFL controversy about how much or how little the footballs were inflated Sunday in New England. I do remember trying to keep the basketball warm when we would play basketball outside during the winter.  Dribbling was a lot easier.  As the game went on the ball became dead.  This was one of my first lessons in physics that I still remember to this day.  As the air in the ball go colder the pressure decreased.  You either got the bicycle pump out to add air, went inside to warm everything up or if my Mom wasn't around we would put the basketball into the drier for a little bit.  Worked like a charm but made a racket.  Driers back in the day were a luxury, clothes on the line outside during cold spells were often freeze dried and being in the landing path for O'hare that jet fuel didn't always evaporate before it hit the ground.

She's looking good, she needed the last race, can she beat the 7,9, and 10. #7 Jeshereforagoodtime looks like the class of the field having won a stakes race in Texas. #9 Jumpin Fire just broke her maiden convincingly on January 5, 2014 and has run at Ruidoso. #10 Lady Version has the outside and has run a good 84 speed figure at Zia. #3 Foo Foo Dust's last might have been a little long, she's back at 350 yards where she won in Iowa. All four have good jockeys.  I think I've got the four top horses. The trainer could have found a much easier race to run in and win but Foo Foo might have been claimed had she run for a tag of $10,000. And so it goes.  Results later.

The Golden State Warriors have the best record in the NBA at 31-5. Just finished watching a replay of last night's game with the Heat and the Warriors will give any team they play in the post season fits. They seem to be doing it without superstars, but Stephen Curry might have crossed that line without the east coast teams paying attention.  Curry, Thompson, and Barnes have all been members of the NBA All Rookie First Team in 2010, 2012, and 2013 respectively and have developed into a potent force.

There are many problems with labels, politics, race, wealth, position, education, health, transportation, religion, housing, economics, opportunity, taxes, zoning, crime, punishment, laws, foreign affairs, the internet, information, and communication, newspapers, TV, and radio. It's a little complicated.  We seem to have embraced competition, while at the same time playing games with opportunity which tilts things in many ways. This might sound a little weird but in some ways  labels, politics, race, jobs, income, wealth, position, education, health, transportation, religion, housing, economics, opportunity, taxes, zoning, crime, punishment, laws, foreign affairs, immigration polices, the internet, information, and communication, newspapers, TV, and radio all set limits on cheating, and what is considered fair, and what just goes with the territory. It's sort of like embracing the worth and dignity of all living things and then wondering what that means because what it m...

In  another small example of what is wrong with politics these days Teresa Sarnoff, 59 submitted paperwork to open a campaign account and run for the seat her husband has held since 2006 and must leave the seat because of term limits.  Marc,Teresa's husband, has already raised a lot of money that can be used to support her campaign.  There are other candidates, but name recognition in local elections with small turnouts is a big factor. There must be something in the water, once politicos get elected they don't want to quit.  A campaign war chest of about $250,000 might not be enough to buy the election but it is a good start.

Cameron Indoor Stadium on the campus of Duke University in Durham North Carolina was strangely quiet last night.  Many of the student body were almost weepy as they watched the Blue Devils go down to defeat against the University of Miami 90-74. For Miami it was a signature win, For Duke it was the end of  the longest current home winning streak of 41 games.  The Canes shot 67% from the floor in the 2nd half to club the 4th ranked Blue Devils into submission.  It was also Duke's second loss in a row.  The last time the faithful saw Duke lose at home was March 12, 2012. I got bored with the Frontline expose on Putin and was prepared to listen to the end of the basketball game on the radio.  The Hurricanes had a small lead with about thirteen minutes to go in the 2nd half. The radio guy sounded vaguely optimistic, but then reminded the listeners that UM had blown big leads against Duke before. The "Cameron Crazies" tried to rally their team but the Duki...

I like the idea of cheaper gasoline.  I'm not sure how much money will be made by the companies that will use the Keystone Pipeline and I am concerned about environmental damage a spill might cause. In addition I hope that cheaper oil will not screw up the change to more renewable sources of energy like solar and wind power. Maybe the lower price of oil will have some unintended consequences because exploration might slow down but as a strategic matter we may be better off and I'm not sure how to make those calculations. On the other front traffic is still lousy and new and better roads still need to be built in areas where the country is growing in population.  On the other hand I'm seeing more hybrid cars, the odd plug in car and a lot of smaller cars.  The idea of conservation and lessening our carbon footprint is good environmentally.  I'm not a fan of higher gas taxes but maybe that would help raise money for roads and better public transportation. I now c...

Friday was ugly.  Saturday was ugly but Sunday was a good day.  And I guess the term is intermittent reinforcement.  I would like to thank Shanley Jackson for riding like his hair was on fire today. Amen and alleluia.

The Missouri Valley Conference Co-Champions will face each other Saturday, January 10, 2015 in Frisco, Texas at Toyota Stadium. This game has flown under the radar in Miami and probably the rest of the country.  The FCS Championship is the result of a 24 team playoff.  I might have read about the game in Saturday's sports page or come across the game while channel surfing if I was sitting at home and the weather was bad.  The first I heard of the game was when to members of congress mentioned the game while discussing trade policy with Cuba on C-Span. Both teams lost to Northern Iowa this year, although ISU came back to beat Northern Iowa during the playoffs. I'm spoiled when it comes to college football in Miami, but on Saturday, I'll be routing for the Redbirds.

The Miami Herald reports that Venezuela received $20,000,000,000 from China in loans and financing for a variety of projects. The country has been rocked by the decline in the price of oil which accounts for almost 90% of its exports. In a related issue french fried yoca will replace french fried potatoes at McDonald's in Venezuela.  They don't need to import yuca. Even though China's economy may be slowing a bit, they are still able to use their size and growing middle class to buy friends in the international community. Oil, may be a less  strategic commodity today but for some things it can't be replaced.

In Fredrick County, Maryland a councilman did not like the local newspaper using his name in a story he did not like and is threatening the reporter and and the newspaper with a lawsuit if they use his name without his permission.  The councilman is an elected official and the newspaper is just doing its job. Reporting the news and freedom of the press is one of the reasons newspapers exist. Kirby Delauter, the councilman in question chose not to respond to a reporter's call for a comment. It would be nice if elected officials understood some of the basic freedoms that exist in this country before they went off criticizing the media. This would only be a mildly entertaining story about an elected official who fancies himself as one thing while trying to bully others who disagree, except this morning I woke up to learn of a terrorist attack in Paris that killed 12 people that worked at a satirical newspaper. Update. President Obama has taken some flack for not going to P...

And a lot of folks think he's the dork rather than the kids in high school or college marching bands that he called dorks.  Snarky is snarky and this may be one of the biggest PR screw ups ever.  There are marching bands of all stripes, colors, and varieties.  Military marching bands, high school marching bands, and college bands.  Police marching bands exist in large town and even small towns may have a marching band.  Social organizations like the Shriners have bands that performs in parades. Some times you say what you think online.  What you were thinking isn't always as clear as it might be and you can always be misunderstood.  And some joking comments aren't as funny as the comedian might think they are. I like the bands at foot ball games.  From the national anthem to the half time show and the Alma Mater.  I like marching bands in parades, I like the call to the post at the races, and a military band playing a concert in a park or...

Zoominthewind has been has been nominated for a Maiden Stakes Race at Hialeah Park.  The three year old has never won a race and you might think wtf is Thunderstruck Stable thinking.  There are all sorts of maiden races for horses that have never won a race.  Zoominginthewind is a filly and has raced well.  This isn't much different than playing craps and after all is said and one it will probably cost about $1,000 to enter her into the race that might be worth about $15,000 to the winner of the race. These decisions are made after beer, during the races and with the understanding that money talks a lot louder than some of the other stuff you hear at the track. The race is on February 28, 2015 and the fee to nominate the horse was $250.00 and probably an additional $500.00 to pass the entry box. Now we need to find a race we can win before the stakes race because they may choose the horses for the race based on how much money they have won and winners of a race...

A few days before Thanksgiving I bought the stuff to make home brewed wine.  On January 1, 2015 it seemed like time to see if I had made wine or pissed away about $25.00.  The verdict is in and 3 cans of Welch's grape juice, one cup of sugar, water and yeast will get you something very similar to Boone's,, Farm wine  Not sophisticated, a little on the sweet side, but very drinkable, because I made it.  There may be other wines that are cheaper, a little drier, and have a little better quality control and a label but it did the job while watching FSU get manhandled and it didn't taste too bad on January 2, 2015.

The college football situation got much clearer last night.  The four team playoffs began in the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl yesterday.  The Oregon Ducks with the lime green uniforms will be the favorites after clobbering the Florida State Seminoles 59-20.  The second half was extremely lopsided, with the Noles collapsing to the tune of 41-7. Alabama and The Ohio State University game got a picture of a tackle and instructions to go MiamiHerald.com for complete coverage because: a) The paper didn't send anyone to cover the game in New Orleans, b) Everybody interested in the game was already watching it on TV, c) Miami was out partying on Wednesday Night and would be out of commission until Saturday Morning. So much for a great Metropolitan Newspaper.