Impeachment hearings

Never in my life have I ever been so proud to be an American as I was last night watching the Impeachment hearings. Hearing the Republicans vote unanimously to not allow any documents or witnesses in the trial. I've never seen a trial like that! The founding fathers would be so proud. Watching the bored Senators squirm in their seats. Look, Bernie Sanders is stretching his legs. So proud to be a Senator. 

The speeches were also very moving and informative. So many surprises! A wonderful moment in America's history. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Here is the official website of Harry and Meghan. Quite refined, actually. The message is a little ambiguous though. Yes they want to change their relationship with their royal patronage but don't really explain how they hope to do it. They claim they want to live in Canada but insiders say Los Angeles is their goal. They claim they want to be financially independent. That should be interesting. Celebrities without any major talents can sometimes be disappointments when they dive into real world pursuits. I remember Chelsea Clinton's illustrious career as a commentator on NBC or Ron Reagan's tv show.

They would be ideal for a reality show but that would be too tawdry. Perhaps Harry could open a flying school. Word is that Meghan is going to do voice overs for Disney. That might work. Meghan could play an elf in a Hallmark Christmas special. Harry could be a color commentator in the upcoming Olympics.  So many people wish they had the problems of the Duke and Duchess.

Please don't jump off the bridge

Had a pleasant walk across  the Ben Franklin Bridge from Camden to Philadelphia. I couldn't help but notice that as soon as we left New Jersey for Pennsylvania we started seeing suicide prevention signs. I guess they were afraid we were going to all jump off the bridge into the Delaware River.

Coming back we saw more signs. After crossing into New Jersey again the signs stopped. I guess they don't care if you commit suicide in New Jersey.

Why are we so obsessed with Jane Austen

Becoming bored with the Golden Globe awards, I switched channels and happened upon a BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth as Mr. Darby. The last time I was at the movies I saw a coming attraction for a new production of Emma. I notice Channel 13 has on the cover of its January program guide "Sanditon", a new production of Jane Austen's last novel. Why, I asked, this obsession with Jane Austen? She seems to be America's hottest novelist and yet she died almost two hundred years ago.

At the heart of her work is the task of finding a suitable partner, made more difficult if there is no male heir for the estate. A partner should have the social skills to dance the quadrille and the minuet, play whist, duel, and have enough property to provide an adequate income. A woman must have dancing skills, play the piano, know how to dine in a formal setting, speak intelligently, and ideally be comely, refined and ideally also have an income.

When you looked at a potential partner, you saw them, as well as their estate. Just like when people look at a retired civil servant, they see his  handsome appearance as well as his  pension.

As America moves away from being a meritocracy and moves towards a country where the success of your parents and grandparents will have more import than your SAT scores, we are learning from Jane Austen how to live in the new/old world. Rather than be taught math, women of the the future will base their success on their abilities at the piano, the quilt, and the selection of appropriate attire for a picnic by the lake of their summer property.

Predictions 2020 on Dec 31, 2019

This is my tenth anniversary predictions blog. It was a good year for a lot of things but not for my prognostications. In general, I was too pessimistic. I said the Eagles would not be in the hunt, and as of now they are very much in the hunt, even in the playoffs. Interest rates are lower today than a year ago, contrary to my prediction. I predicted Mike Pence would be our president at the end of this year, also wrong. Trade sanctions with China appear to be diminishing, which I did predict. Last year I predicted Microsoft would be selling at 120, much below the end of year high of 158.

 Entity:              Dec 31, 2018:      Dec 31, 2019:

                                                     as I predicted.
Dow Jones               23327               26000
S and P                      2507                2900
NAS                          6635                7000
Oil                              45.81              70
Unemployed              4.1%               4.5%
Microsoft                  101.57             120

 Entity:                Today:              Dec 31, 2020:

Dow Jones               28538             30000
S and P                        3231                3500
NAS                            8973                9100
Oil                              61.21                70
Unemployed             3.5%             4.5%
Microsoft                  157.7                 170

For the end of 2020 I see Joseph Biden as the president elect. The Eagles will have a wild car slot. The new decade will be up and down on stocks. It will end with a slight gain. Brexit will finally happen and add tariffs to British trade transactions and lead to a slight contraction in their economy.  Global warming will get worse but the USA will begin a slow return to normalcy. Happy New Years.

Why does Santa ride on a fire truck?

One tradition that we have in America that they don't have anywhere else in the world is that of a fire truck roaring through the neighborhood with Santa. It is a tradition unique to our country. If you were to ask me what I like best about the Christmas season, it is the fire trucks screaming through the condos and the waving of Santa. Why this became a tradition I do not know.  It is one of the mysteries of life along with why Andrew Yang is in the presidential debates. 

I now have an Echo

Occasionally, I list the things that a successful baby boomer should have in his possession. The last time I wrote on this topic I announced that I was catching up with my peers, I even had a Roomba, albeit an old one,  but still lacked the latest thing, an Echo.

Like a lot of my peers I viewed Alexa as creepy and something that I certainly did not need. Recently though, I have been doing chores in the kitchen and wished I could listen to pod casts while cooking or washing clothes,  as well as  have access to more radio stations than my vintage clock radio provided.

Last week I got a birthday present from a distant relative, and what should it contain but, an Echo!👲 I am now up to date (I still don't have an ex wife and a daughter with a summer place but you can't have everything). I now have a friend I can talk to who lives in my kitchen.

To be honest, at sixty dollars, it is a bargain. I understand it is a loss leader to sell more products, but even if you just use the free stuff it is useful. I can now say, "Alexa, play the Slate political gabfest" and it will. I can ask to play a radio station and it does. I can set a time alarm, find the weather, get a new Spanish word for the day, hear the Dow average, and get a recipe for Mince pie. It doesn't have a large music library unless you pay extra, but if you have ordered music from Amazon over the years it will play songs from those purchases.

I have to admit it feels creepy talking to the thing, a man alone in the kitchen talking to his new friend. I guess I can say it added a new skill to my resume. Supervising an artificial  friend.

Editor's note: No I don't have Spotify  but that is permissible for a baby boomer, if not for someone under 50.