Gene Morphis ' View

Thursday night I went to downtown Conshohocken PA to the Great American Pub.  Now, I know that Whitemarsh Township, which includes at least some of Conshohoken, is rabidly anti-business.  And I certainly suspected that Conshohocken shared that elitest view; desiring to become an upscale residential area.  However, it didn't occure to me that it is anti-consumer business as well. While having dinner, I got a parking ticket.  Not for a parking meter issue, or for parking in a no-parking area, but for not backing-in.  Now there may be a sign announcing that, but it was dark and I didn't see it. So, I'll pay the fine to you money grubbing weasels with your too-clever parking polices.  But there are a lot of places to go in the greater Philadelphia area, and you won't see me in your restuarants any time soon.

Listening to news and talk radio on a long drive, I heard a couple of very interesting things.  First, apparently the last bill passed by Congress before the recess ordered television stations to not broadcast commercials at louder volume than the underlying program.  Now, I find that television behavior annoying, and my late father used to get infuriated over it.  But, I can't imagine where the constitutional authority for this stems from. And, again some regulator decided that street signs must include upper and lower case letters, not just capitals. New York city has over 200,000 street signs, and the cost to change is $27,000,000.  Everything about this seems squirrelly, from why all caps isn't just fine, and how the Feds have the power to regulate those details..

Lit up a nice cigar. There is a lot to think about. President Obama sounded off about Ahmandinejad's speech to the U.N.  "Hateful".  "Offensive".  Wow - who knew?  I thought Mahmoud was just a furry little demon.  Anti-Semite speech?  Shocking that he would do that isn't it? Republicans release The Pledge to America.  No mention of foregoing earmarks.  In fact one leading Republican apparently called it a right of democracy.  The Republican Party was formed from disparate pieces of Abolitionists, Whigs and other generally disaffected groups.  We might be witnessing the dissolution of the Republican Party and the formation of a Conservative Party... I tried to set up a profile in Spoke - because when I Google others, Spoke always comes up on their list, generally with stale info.  Definitely the case for me - the info there on me is out of date.  Set up a new account there and when it sent  me a confirmation, it rejec...

Just smoked a Gurka Beast. And in a way it is indeed a beast - I'm not sure what the ring gauge is, but if it were any fatter I'd would have had to cut it in half lengthwise and smoked it that way. But, it turned out to be a great smooth smoke. The dark oily wrapper turned out to be a little sweet. It was perfectly rolled and burned evenly throughout. Draw was smooth. Nice smoke.

I was in Houston recently, and went to 10 Downing St, which is a first-class cigar bar. The place was hopping! Not too many of those left in the U.S. as the PC police eliminate what they don't approve of (and my last remaining vice - a good cigar). As they say "God Bless Texas". Excellent drinks and a fine selection of premium cigars - I didn't see a mongrel brand in the humidor. I enjoyed one of the most famous Arturo Fuente 's: the Hemingway Best Seller, a little robusto, with great mild flavor. Cigar prices are high, but there is clearly a lot of overhead to cover in a place littered with leather club chairs. One proviso, even with industrial air purifiers everywhere, the volume of smokers in there was overwhelming them. There is outdoor seating, which will work some of the year, but certainly not all summer in Houston. Still, definitely on my keeper and recommended list. Related articles by Zemanta London Gardens Where Smoking Is Encouraged (newsweek.com)

Pam & I saw Million Dollar Quartet at the Nederlander Theatre last night. It is based on a real event at the legendary Sun Studios in 1956, when Elvis Presley, Carl Pekins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis were all in the studio at the same time. If you are of a certain age, and remember the early days of Rock n' Roll, you will likely love this show. Since I grew up in Memphis listening to Dewey Phillips' Red Hot and Blue radio show, (Dewey was the first person to play Elvis on the radio), I know the Sam Phillips/Sun story, and I'm familiar with all the music and I had a blast. The cast is incredibly talented, with Levi Kreis' version of Jerry Lee Lewis stealing the show. Christopher Ryan Grant played Johnny Cash, and did an amazing job. He sounds just like the late Mr. Cash, but perhaps a little better. Terrific rendition of Folsom Prison Blues. I was surprised at how accurately the Southern accents, and Southern dialect, were delivered. Looking through the Play...

Here is the companion review to On The Brink by Hank Paulson. Andrew Ross Sorkin has a huge bestseller in Too Big To Fail. While Hank Paulson's On The Brink gives the Washington Insider view, Sorkin provides the details from inside the banks, and investment banks, as well as some tidbits from inside the various agencies trying to prevent a second Great Depression. I know there are skeptics about the need for TARP, TALF, etc. If you are a doubter, read this book and see just how close we came to a financial market collapse. If you already understand how close we came, you'll still find this a great read. The origins of the near-collapse center on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government -sponsored entities that underwrite and purchase mortgages. Sorkin largely glosses over that as old news from the perspective of this book, choosing instead to give the reader a front-row seat on efforts to save Lehman, rescue Wachovia, stave off the collapse of AIG with its financial tendr...

Yesterday, I flew Continental from IAH to PHL. In a middle seat. On a 100% full flight. The kid behind me must have either kicked my seat back, or open and closed her tray table, oh, seven or eight thousand times. Continental served lunch, which is exceptionally rare, so I probably shouln't whine about it. But it was a turkey dog in a blanket. But the weirdest part was my trip to the lav. I was delayed while two flight attendants scrubbed-up like surgeons. What had they seen or touched? I'm still wondering... Related articles by Zemanta Continental Tries Out Self-Boarding (intransit.blogs.nytimes.com) Continental posts 2Q profit on big jump in revenue (sfgate.com)

Just completed Henry "Hank" Paulson's On The Brink, his account of the financial crisis, the origins of the recession, and his actions as Treasury Secretary. There are two popular books on this topic,: this one and Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big To Fail. In this review I'll concentrate on Paulson's. When I write the review on Sorkin's, I'll make some comparisons. While I followed the financial crisis closely and had strong opinions of what the appropriate government responses were, this book clearly illuminated much more. In both the popular media and the blogosphere, one can find many criticisms of the various programs undertaken by the government to attempt to stem the tide of financial failure that was sweeping through the market. I would speculate that the majority of that criticism comes from conservatives, which is unfortunate. The information seems overwhelming to me that the country barely escaped a second depression. Find any account of the ban...

Doug Kass of Seabreeze Investment Management said on Kudlow (CNBC) a few nights ago that his pick for a surprise was a rebound in housing starting this fall. Generally, I've found that Kass is a pretty good trend reader. But Gene Epstein , also very good, has a long piece in the latest Barron's which basically says that demography is against a housing rebound for the next five years.... While this kind of conflict makes it tough for regular investors to take a position, the worst is that they could both be wrong... Related articles by Zemanta Doug Kass: Market Has Made Low For Year, This is The Bottom (wallstreetpit.com)

Thanks to Amesome, Inc for the new template! Gorgeous! So, truth in advertising, I didn't design this cool wireframe, some pros did it...

This sad episode was reprised on all the Sunday current event talk shows. I thought we had moved passed all this kind of nonsense. But it is still possible to call someone racist and trigger both predictable and surprising responses. Just one thing I would recommend to the news organizations: when you are looking for someone to comment, don't dust off Jesse Jackson. If you are looking for a minister, let me give you another choice: T.D. Jakes. Related articles by Zemanta Heartwarming Racist Sherrie Sherrod: Andrew Breitbart Would Like To Put All Blacks Back Into Slavery (minx.cc)

My little falling-out with JP Morgan Chase continues. In the last segment, I had put my Chase credit card away, because, I was put on credit hold/fraud alert because of a $7 charge I made. Details: the card is a United Airlines affinity card - e.g. the user gets United Airline mile credit, and the charge was for one of those little box lunches on a United Airlines flight . Seemed like a little much to me. Since I'm a JPM shareholder, and I think Jamie Dimon, JPM CEO, has done a great job, I dropped a note saying that it would seem to me that their fraud procedures ought to undergo a review; it doesn't seem too logical to me to put an alert on a frequent flyer using his frequent flyer credit card on a flight. Anyway, I just received a customer service scorecard, asking if my problem had been satisfactorily resolved, signed by Chip somebody or other. Well, no Chip: no one did anything; I never heard from anyone until I got your survery...

Double dip recessions are rare things. Even a slowdown immediately after a recession is unusual. But job creation coming out of this one is painfully slow. While there are lots of reasons, here is a key one. Historically, housing got creamed in a recession. Interest rates rose going in, choking off housing activity. Then interest rates were cut, housing gradually recovered and helped employment. A lot. Think of how many skilled trades are involved in building a house. Plumbers. Electricians. Carpenters. Cabinet installers. Roofers. Landscapers. Wallboard hangers. Carpet layers. Tile layers. Bricklayers. Concrete finishers. Then there are the manufacturers and suppliers of pipe, kitchen and bath faucets, lighting fixtures, roofing shingles, lumber, toilets, sinks carpet, concrete, bricks,conduit, circuit boxes, windows, doors, insulation, air conditioners, water heaters and so on. Well, in this recession there is no housing rebound, so the millions of local trade workers and manufacturi...

Thanks to Don Mills, I'm trying some new smokes, and so far they are all fabulous. Just finished a Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary in the Champagne wrapper. While I enjoy an occasional powerhouse like the Fuente Opus, generally my tastes run to the milder end of the spectrum. This new Perdomo Champagne absolutely fills the bill. When I finished smoking it, I immediately went online to check the box price. If you are in Memphis/Germantown, check out the Tobacco Superstore and tell Don I sent you for a little extra special deal.

Had a Rocky Patel Sun Grown blend cigar. It was a gift, so I'm not exactly sure what size it was; somewhat smaller than one normally expects from a Churchill. Absolutely delicious. It has become one of my all-time favorites. I smoked it and sipped a glass of Sterling Merlot for a very relaxing evening. Burned completely perfectly from light to finish. Drew smoothly. Good taste throughout. All complete winner and 100% recommendation.

Look, President Bush didn't deserve the opprobrium he received over the response to Hurricane Katrina, and President Obama doesn't deserve the bad rap he's gotten over the Gulf oil well blowout. He's not a chemical engineer or a trained submersible operator. He can't fix the problem. Cut him some slack.

We attended the funeral service of Gene Grace yesterday. Gene was a gentle man, who moved easily among individuals from all walks of life. He was a skilled craftsman, making and restoring furniture or anything made of wood. He leaves a wife and a large family behind. He was a Mason, and honored that tradition with a Masonic graveside service. If I have ever witnessed one before, I don't recall it. The speaker recited the Masonic words, which reminded me of Shakespeare. First, because the language and wording is elegant,purposeful and poignant. Second, because it was a singularly long soliloquy. If the presenter missed even one word, it was undetectable, and I sincerely doubt that he did miss a word - he was flawless with not so much as a single "ah". I'm sure Mr. Grace was proud. RIP Gene Grace

Twenty-one years ago, two professors Pons & Fleishmann, announced that they had created some kind of nuclear reaction, but at low tempature. It caused a world-wide reaction. This is the promise of endless cheap power. The stuff that powers sci-fi spaceships and even planets. Unfortunately, other labs had difficulty reproducing the results, there were all kinds of accusations, and the professors went on to different things (I've lost track). I guess these scientists can be much more vicious than I would have known; look at the climategate email string of scientists who were ready to off guys with an opposing viewpoint). Anyway, it turns out that some labs and scientists around the world have continued to work on this, and it looks like something real was happening. Perhaps something at the quantum level, where the normal world vanishes and even Einstein was puzzled. On my permalinks is to lens-cagr where developments are reported. I periodically check in to see what is ne...

I've been wondering whether we should start a movement to vote out all the incumbents and start fresh. New Congressmen and Congresswomen with no ties to lobbyests and new viewpoints. I could get excited about Representatives who are MD's, CPA's, engineers, math professors, economists, programmers...basically anyone who understands math or science. Clearly the current crowd is math challenged and incapable of getting tax reciepts and spending within the nearest trillion or so. I don't know, maybe engineers and programmers are too logical to subject themselves to the election process. But I'm going to continue to wonder about it.