Drinking age in America

 

Last week I was sitting in a bar and a young lady waltzed in wearing a sash saying "No more fake id's". Apparently it was her 21st birthday and she was celebrating her independence with her inebriated friends. This must be a great day, a day, sadly, I never got to experience.

I had to share this special day with everyone in the country (except New York) who came of drinking age on the same day, The day was January 1, 1973. On this day 18 year olds got to vote and drink.

The first week of January I had no idea this had transpired. Perhaps my parents knew but decided no good would come with their adored child traipsing into bars. He would find out soon enough when he got back to school.

As soon as I got back to my dorm room there was a knock on my door. "Let's hit the bars!" one of my classmates was shouting, The whole world of bars in New Brunswick had opened up to 3/4 of the Rutgers undergraduates on the same day. 

Within three weeks I had sampled the experiences of several local watering holes, The Corner Tavern, or CT's, was the main place we went to. Further afield my friend took me to a Hungarian bar where men in white shirts spoke Hungarian and imbibed. Some of the more adventurous ladies in the crowd started hanging out in Manny's Den, the gay bar.

Withing a few weeks I had a girlfriend and was having sex on the campus of Douglass College, A whole universe, hitherto only available for adults, had now opened for me. Sadly, my grades suffered by my attention to extracurricular activities and for the first time in my life I failed a course at Rutgers. 

Editor's Note: To be technically true, New York had always had the drinking age set at 18 and as a youth I had experienced the pleasures of MacSorley's and other New York institutions. 

 

End of year predictions 2024 going into 2025

 

A year ago, I prognosticated a moderate increase in the market. I was far too pessimistic compared to what actually happened.  

Here were my predictions for the end of year 2024:

Dow Jones           40000

S and P                4850

NASDAQ           17800

Unemployed         5%

Microsoft             400

Texas Crude Oil    90

CPI                       3%

Recommendation: Small cap mutual funds Midling results.

Here are the end of year numbers, 2024:

Dow Jones           42544

S and P                5882

NASDAQ           19311

Unemployed         4.2%

Microsoft             421.5

Texas Crude Oil    71.8

CPI                       2.7%

My predictions for the end of year, 2025:

Dow Jones           45169

S and P                6275

NASDAQ           22530

Unemployed        5.2%

Microsoft             440

Texas Crude Oil    90

CPI                       3%

In 2024 I predicted Biden would be re-elected, didn't happen, Russia would sign a treaty giving them Crimea and some land in eastern Ukraine, but NATO type troops would sit at the hard border guaranteeing most of that country relative security, didn't happen. Again, I under-rated the market. 

This year with Trump president and all the weird people around him it's hard to predict the market. My guess is that the tariffs, the expulsion of aliens and other such things will be attempted but done in a half assed way that does not change the status quo too much unless you are dependent on Medicaid. The Eagles will not be in the Superbowl in January. 

A senior citizen's New Year's resolutions

 

So far, here are my resolutions for next year:

I will wash dishes before I go to bed, not have dirty dishes waiting for me in the morning,

I will not drink beer within 3 days of a blood test.

I will dust my Knick knacks once a year.

I will vacuum once a month.

I will always have shopping bags in my trunk.

I will carry coins with me when I go to the liquor store. 

I will seek out bargains in my weekly value pak mailings. 

PBS Passport

 

Occasionally I talk about my favorite streaming services. Recently I have been watching a lot of Channel 13 Passport (other cities have their own channels in the title). In order to get access to Passport you have to have a membership in a public television station. The price may vary by city but Channel 13 New York charges $60 a year.

That amounts to five dollars a month, a lot cheaper than Hulu, Netflix or Paramount or something. And you actually get a lot of stuff.     

I am currently enjoying the Good Apprentice, an Italian import. A combination romantic comedy, doctor show, police procedural featuring a good looking cast. The scenes around the streets of Rome are also nice. There are a lot of European police procedurals with women detectives solving crimes. Some of my favorites are  Annika,  Frankie Drake, Lord and Master, the Nordic Murders and Luna and Sophie. Yes, there are sub-titles. In addition there is the gauntlet of shows that have been on PBS in recent years. 

One catch to the service is that, at least in my experience, you can't find it in your Smart TV listings or apps. What I do is send the show to my desktop or iPad. I then "cast media to device" and flip the show to the tv. It doesn't need a dedicated channel. It seems to find the show immediately, even when the tv is off. Google Chromecast is also involved.  

Editor's note: Many models of Smart TV's do have the app right on the tv. Unfortunately, my Vizio does not. I do have a Chrome key plugged into my HDMI port to do the casting process. 

I saw a drone from my backyard

 

Here in New Jersey we are all drone crazy. Apparently launched by Iran, they are circling the state, especially military installations. I saw a group of drones myself last night. 

Fathers, Sons, and Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving often brings families together. 

Why we suffer for the misdeeds of others

 

I just got a letter from my homeowner's association. Apparently, they were fined by the state because too many households were unavailable for the safety inspection. Pro-rated to everybody, we each will have to pay $27 and change. It reminds me of the bills I used to get from Rutgers every summer for the damage done to my dorm by my classmates.

I did everything right. I was always available for inspections. I   changed my smoke detector to bring it up to code. I even opened my neighbor's door so his unit could be inspected. I was the model homeowner. 

Getting punished for what other people do is not a new occurrence. I remember in 4th grade the whole class had to copy three pages of a dictionary because one kid smart assed to the teacher.  I remember having to do jumping jacks all period at gym class because one kid did something, I don't remember what. Sometimes other people do something stupid and the rest of us have to suffer. 

Editor's note: This isn't the first time I've bitched about inspections. Once the US Dept of HUD inspected and failed my office in the library for being sloppy. It almost held up the grant for the handicapped elevator.