Happy New Year and some laughs from 2013!

Happy New Year to all here - I sincerely hope you all stay healthy, happy, and safe!

To end the year - I thought I would post just a few laughs here (we all need them).

I look forward to conversing with you all in 2014!!!! - COB

 

Merry Christmas to All - and Happy New Year as well

Good evening everyone - 

I just wanted to wish all of you here a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I hope you are all as blessed as I feel I am - although this year has had its difficulties, I was always brought up to understand that there are many who would love to take our place any day of the week on our worst day.

I am also a Christian - and the faith I was taught by my Grandparents stays with me to this day.

May God bless you all and hold you in his heart - and may all of you also feel some kindness in your heart toward your fellow man this time of year - and always.

Merry Christmas my friends - we'll be all talking again soon.

 - COB  

So, here comes the snow

So the latest weather is cold and snowy (thanks global warming!)

I've posted the "special map" below with snow fall estimates.

What do you all think?  Do we get this?  Or will this be less than expected?

Also - for those of you in the surrounding areas - what are your gripes about plowing, sanding, or lack of it? 

I know it's a light topic - but, what the heck, it's Christmas.   I hope everyone is doing well!

 - COB

Mayor's Bond Rating

Have to love when politicians think that all their constituents are dumb and uneducated, and run to the press with "good news". Yes, increasing one's bond rating is good, but these days it's all relative.

From The Eagle Tribune:

"The mayor said the upgrade was the result of a detailed financial presentation and tour that city officials gave to representatives of the Standard & Poor's bond rating agency last month. He said the agency called him Tuesday morning and told him it was increasing the city's rating from A-plus to AA — a rare two-level increase."

I wonder if Haverhill's unfunded liabilities and Ponzi structure of pensions was part of that presentation? Not to mention the rating agencies themselves will rate anything you tell them or pay for. Fitch, S & P and Moody's are all paid by issuers whereas an agency like Egan-Jones is paid by investors for ratings. See where the might be a problem? Like I mentioned on The E-T page, they're all being sued, although the courts have stated what they offer is opinion only. In this case, the incriminating emails show that those "opinions" were full of fraud. Some have even gone further stating the "Big 3" are really just a loose extension of whatever the government tells them to say, because these days, the truth must be silenced.

Off-Topic

A break from the political and financial norms I saw the following on a site of which I'm a part of that made me chuckle:

As an avid outdoors-man, which I'm happy that my 11 year-old is following, we both got a chuckle out of this because it's so true. If anyone is interested, this is a local/state specific blog/website for anything fishing. Yes, it's one of those things you either love or hate, but I believe hunting and fishing are great skills to learn, not just for the end result, but for the patience and timing involved. I respect our environment and I only kill what I plan on eating, all the rest is released (fishing) as carefully as possible (I'll cut my hooks before I rip them out).

Anyways, I hope this gave a few of you a chuckle as it did my son and I.