Looks like a quiet one this year, with many friends out of town and me planning on being away next week.
- One of the things that has annoyed me to no end about the endless rounds of attempts to bail out mortgage lenders is that for the most part they got themselves into this trouble and deserve to go down for it. The LA Times details how those banks did nothing to even attempt to identify even the most obvious fraud rings. While certainly those who perpetrated the fraud deserve jail, the banks that should have been smart enough to detect it certainly don't deserve a bailout from public funds, or for that matter the assistance of any branch of government. As Taleb's fictional character "Fat Tony"
notes, the banks are usually the perfect marks.
- On the menu for New Year's Eve is some home baked chicken, a nice Rosenblum Zin, and a bottle of 1989 Veuve Cliquot Reserve that has been in storage for some time. After that, perhaps a couple of hours at my local bar, which will be open to us natives after dinner, at about 10:30. In the meantime, the Law and Order marathon is keeping me busy.
- The snow in Utah continues to fall, and it looks like I'm out of here next weekend for at least a few days. Sadly, the snow didn't start falling early enough to allow much of a trip prior to the holiday rates and big crowds, but I'll make up for it now.
With this latest storm I've also decided to invoke "powder rules" for the rest of January. Anybody is welcome to join me, but I'll be living by the primary rule, which is "No Friends on Powder Days." Deal.
- The travel business does not seem to be doing as well going forward as it has been. Even with fuel prices at record highs, I've been able to book travel to and from Utah for less than it cost me a year ago. Southwest (NYSE:LUV) seems to be dropping prices sharply to get people on the planes.
- Part of the problem may be related to the writer's strike, which as my friend in the retail business noted last week, is hitting a lot of businesses at this end of the country. The week I'm planning to go up later in January is the week of the Sundance Film Festival. Usually flights to and from Salt Lake are pretty tightly booked and rarely cheap. This year I'm flying for $59 each way. I suspect a lot of people are not traveling as much as they might have a year ago.
Happy New Year all! See you on the other side!
-btc
