Girls Weekend In Palm Springs
Devin and some friends and readers headed to the dessert this morning. I have the pleasure of keeping tabs on Man Child and I found out my daughter is coming down to take care of her dog Captain who is getting his coin pouch emptied. Yes he is getting fixed. We don't know why we call it getting fixed, because quite honestly everything WAS working fine, until they FIX the dog. Interesting choice of word.
Captain left here this morning wagging his tale and smiling as a labradoodle can only smile. Poor thing did not have a clue.
I took a few minutes this morning to watch The Open aka The British Open. I will be taping it tomorrow morning as it starts at 1:00 am our time. Tom Watson looked great as he made his 15th hole in one. I had the pleasure of talking to Tom two years ago at Augsta National during the Masters. Really nice guy. As his golf cart drove past me he waved and said "Hi". I said "Hi" back. That was the extent of our talk, I was kinda busy.
The rest of the day I had things to do. I actually got to use a power drill. Yeah me with a power tool. And they are worried about a little federal deficit default. I had bits and screws and this is a cordless drill so I can screw up things all over the house.
I built a dog cage. Well, build might be a stretch, I assembled the dog cage. But I had to use the drill for 8 different screws and I only dinged the wood on 5 of the screws. Devin won't read this far so I am not worried about it. Besides the life expectancy of a dog cage at our house is about 9.3 weeks. I'll be building another one before Labor Day.
Then I closed the market and tried to make a buck with the Mattel and Citi earnings reports, but more about that later. Last night I started Tom Clancy's new Book Against All Enemies and I am impressed. It looks to be a good old fashioned Clancy techno military thriller.
Now I have to share some bad news with you. Jack found out yesterday he did not make the cut for the basketball team. It was a rough day for man child. The coach had taken him aside before the day was over and explained that he had the size and it was tough decision and he offered to take Jack on as an assistant to help keep stats and go to all the games. The gracious offer did not soften the blow. He is doing much better today and had another talk with the coach and is looking forward to being the coach's assistance and Jack will participate in the City league again in the hopes of trying out again next year.
When I was golfing with Mike D. he asked when I find the time to read as much as I do. That is a question I get from quite a few people especially readers. For years I did not read anything, except the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. On my 35th (1986) Birthday, someone gave me Tom Clancy's book Red Storm Rising, Clancy's Second Book. (The first was The Hunt For Red October). It was the first novel I had read since high school. From the finish of that book I became a veracious reader.
If anyone is interested in finding more time to read, here are few tips. First get TIVO or a DVR. That way you can watch what you want when you want and you can prioritize the last episode of Mad Money after the next three chapters of Against All Enemies. Next, get a Kindle. There are very few places I do not take my Kindle. It is in my car and near me at most times. In the Kindle right now I have over 80 books archived, 38 books on my home page, the latest issues of The Economist, Financial Times, The WSJ, and Barron's. So if I have to wait ten minutes for Jack to finish practice it is hello Kindle. If I have to wait in a doctors office its Hello Kindle, if its 20 minutes before boarding a flight, its hello Kindle. More importantly I am reading what I want and not what is in the lobby or in the seat back in front of me.
If you want to read more that is the advice I would suggest. Oh yeah and stay away from unrecorded network television. TIVO and DVR;s actually screen out the S&D rays emitted by your television. S&D Ray are invisible rays that mostly come from the (S)stupid and (D)dumb commercials. They actually make you dumber and when your starting point is as low as mine, you gotta becareful.
So far I have only had to call Devin once. I had a canine pharmaceutical question and I did not want the dog to die on my watch. Hope you all have a great weekend. It is only 12 hours to Barron's Time. (Actually it downloads about 10:30 PM tonight on my Kindle. Get a Kindle, I am telling you and you will read more, if you want.
Salve Lucrum
