How do you live to be ninety and lose your leg to an alligator?

I suppose the odds increase the longer you stick around, but geeze.

Dang, even the Japanese Mafia’s encountering tough times

If you can’t make a go of it in crime, the economy must really suck

Can’t say I’ll miss it, but things would be different

Postal Service to shut down?  I can’t see it happening, but it is an obsolete business model.

Unicorn horns

Like Spain, like the United States, Britain discovers that there are no “green” jobs out there. Again, it doesn’t matter, because their intentions were so noble.

Cat fight update

They gave in. Heh.

Does this mean anything? Damned if I know.

Angela Merkle’s party gets wiped out in German regional  election. She’s been kind of, sort of supporting the Greek bail-out. It would appear that German voters aren’t happy with that approach, which probably isn’t good news for the Euro, but what the hell do I know?

Hee hee hee

Democrat treasurer steals millions. Could just as easily have been a Republican, of course, but the idea of Diane Feinstein and her friends having to go back to their donors to replenish their funds is, well, entertaining.

retailing 101

So, if you go to Fairways, they have something like fifty olive oils for sale, many of which are open, with bread nearby so you can dip in and decide for yourself what you like. Great idea, but they also supply  a worker in an apron whose job is, I suppose, to maintain the samples, but who carries the air of an expert. Ask him for advice, however, and he disclaims any preference or even knowledge of his product. My suggestion is, either stick an “I’m a dummy” button on the guy’s apron or keep him out of sight or stock the olive oil bar with an expert. Don’t pretend to have an expert – it just annoys customers like me. Here’s what I ended up buying, by the way and it’s very good. (Thank you, EOS Sr for fixing the picture)

I don’t believe a single word of it

Tribute to early recyclers. I adored my father, born in 1905, and he was one of the very first recyclers in town, but I have never seen a valid economic defense for residential recycling. It’s simply not justified – sorry, Dad.

My God, he actually said it

Obama: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help”. 

Oddest non-story of the year

Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association part ways. I never found the man funny – in fact, one of the main reasons I dislike the French is that they do – and I certainly never watched even a minute of his Labor Day telethon for the MDA, but he raised millions and millions of dollars for the organization, so their dumping him so unceremoniously this year is curious. I love stories, and there’s certainly one behind all this.

We need a national storm director

Texas needs rain, gets wind instead. Louisiana gets the rain, which it doesn’t need. Perhaps Obama will address this problem on Thursday.

Sent by my son John

Yale has an interesting article on a climate warming skeptic. But the science is settled! Bewaaah!

I have no idea what a “high society patent lawyer” is, but at least he’s from Greenwich

Dwight (without the hat) takes client for a ride

Anyone ever hear of Dwight Renfrew? Or ever heard of a patent lawyer (!)  being a member of “high society”? Must live on Round Hill.

UPDATE: As I hope my comments make clear, I’m really just joshing the New York Post. Their reporters see the word “Greenwich” and automatically add clichés like “high society”. Idiots.

Cheerful Labor Day reading

The economy sucks and won’t be getting better soon. Personally, I’m convinced that we could jump start the economy by rescinding the past ten years of DEP regs, Obamacare and slashing corporate tax rates, but that’s just me. What’s frustrating is that not only won’t that happen, but we’re ruled by folks who think the answer is more regulations, as though they have some magic answer in their pockets that they just haven’t tried yet. Whooboy.

Katia’s still out there

Computer models keep changing. Maybe she won’t go out to sea after all. We’ll know next weekend.

Should have taken a picture

Field Road (off Meadow, in Riverside) still has a pile of power lines down, blocking the street. Not sure why, with CL&P teams all over Meadow fixing things a few days ago, they couldn’t fix this one. Someone didn’t pay their taxes?

I wonder if this makes business sense

Alex Kali-Nagy bought an 0.6 lot on Marks Road and is cramming in two houses which I gather he expects to sell for around $3.4 million each. He probably will, knowing the Riverside market, but I wonder whether he wouldn’t have made more money building just one house and using the money saved on building the second house by adding ultra-finishes to the one. It would have sold for, I’d guess, around $5 million, and I think he’d have come out ahead. But he’s the builder/businessman, not I.

Are we really in for another storm?

Mike Finkbeiner keeps posting warnings to that effect – something like Lee and Katia combining to run up Ole’s Creek but to be honest, I don’t understand the data he links to. But I’ll keep my kayak handy.

History of A&P

I mentioned this story earlier this week, but here’s an interesting book review. Sounds pretty good, and neutral – just a history of the battle between consolidation and small shop keepers, a battle that continues today, albeit with different competitors.

UPDATE: EOS has read the book itself and says it sucks. Too bad – there’s a good story here.