Four days before our wedding trip to Rome and we get this news; what's up with that?


The Dollar sinks to new low

Hope the Rotary Club doesn't get this photo...

It's a good thing Bruce isn't a politician. I think a similar photo allegedly ended the career of Dan Quayle. Should I embarrassed? I'm glad to see that my dad can have a good time on the streets of Buenos Aires.

The endless possibilities of Europe

Planning a 10 day trip to Rome and Italy is no easy task. The task begins easily with the standards- Coliseum, Sistine, Spanish Steps, Uffizi, Academia, and Roman Forum. But things get very difficult very quickly as you begin to sift through 2,500 years of varied and very interesting sites of historical interest. Here in Phoenix we make a big deal out of a building that is 100 years old. There a building designed by Michelangelo and housing paintings from Botticelli is just one of the many sites vying for your interest.

Case in point. Just when I thought we had the Florence leg of our trip under control a friend mentioned the Medici Chapel, particularly the basement. It was in that basement that Michelangelo hid from the Medici’s for 6 weeks. During that stay he spent his time sketching on the basement walls. These drawings were discovered in the 1970’s and can now be arranged to be seen. Just one more thing that is off the beaten path but that is very worthwhile.


Read here for more on our buddy Michelangelo

The Magical Magnetic Memories of Music

Music has an uncanny ability to define the emotion of a moment. I imagine that everyone has a certain list of songs that, when heard, can replay a specific memory down to the last detail. Some songs are very difficult to hear because of their ability to bring back the feelings of a moment that is long since passed and not to be recaptured. Other songs bring back a flood of happy thoughts. While still others do absolutely nothing and are not tethered to any part of memory. Here are a few:

1. Beatles, Lovely Rita- It is high school and we are feverishly trying to make the most of our car free moments. Our musical tastes are also expanding exponentially. The Beatles would provide the sound track to many memories during this era. On one such Saturday afternoon I am in Salt Lake with the Botts, Pete, and Norm. We are out and about in the Bott's old beat up 1984 Civic. I can still remember the distinct smell of syrup in that car; remnants from all of those late drives to school when breakfast was on the run. We are just returning from "Babe Hollow", a stones throw from the Patagonia outlet. Our latest attempt at meeting girls has failed. Undaunted we proceed up 13th East to the Spaghetti Factory, our Salt Lake meal of choice. With pungent melodies of "Lovely Rita" blaring through those little speakers we proceed to drive up and the steep streets of east Salt Lake looking for adventure.


2. The Samples, Everytime- I was out on my mission, probably 3 or 4 months. I was still homesick and getting acclimated to my new life. We were visiting a family. During the visit one of the kids was watching MTV in the other room, just loud enough that we could hear. Then out of nowwhere come the familar strains of the Everytime. It has a somber tone and I immediately become sad and somewhat homesick. The Samples represented all of the memories and friends of my recent past.


3. First Time, U2- The summer of 1993 and I was in the throes of my first certified crush, Nikki Francis. U2 had just released Zooropa and I couldn't get enough. Every night before I would go to bed I would turn off the lights and listen to that song 4-5 times all the while thinking of my hopeless crush.


4. Stand, REM- I was in the 9th grade and eager to explore music. We were taking a family trip to California and I had just received my latest batch of music from BMG. I was very much looking forward to REM, Green. I had loved Out of Time so much that I was eager to get to the rest of the catalog. I remember being on the "bumpy road" between Barstow and Simi Valley and listening to that entire album, particularly Stand.


5. Walking after you, Foo Fighters- I am living in Mexico, very much isolated from my normal world. I have recently purchased the Foo Fighters album based on the fact that I liked one of their songs on the X-Files soundtrack. Every Sunday afternoon after church I would take a Sunday stroll through the streets and activity of Los Mochis. I would always have a pen and paper in hand and I would always have my walkman in tow. I really discovered that song on my Sunday walks.

I could literally go on and on. I have so many songs that are indelibly tied to a moment or period in time of my life. What are some of yours?

Every Rockville trip was always full of Billy Joel and REM.

Managing the Market

So I follow a daily routine that I’m sure many Americans take part in. During a brief moment at work I will peruse a couple of sports sites and then check and see how the stock market is performing. The market will naturally be up or down and there will always be a headline that seeks to simplify the entire movement of the market into one event.
Now I’m all about executive summaries and cutting to the chase but I have a hard time believing that all of the hundreds and thousands of independent decisions made regarding individually unique companies and industries can roll up into a nice one sentence headline day in and day out.
Now I’m willing to concede that big macro decisions like rate cuts or jobs reports might create ripples throughout the entire market. I’m also the first to tell you that I am not anything of an expert and that I probably don’t fully understand the weight that huge financial institutions carry when they make decisions that are a hundred times more impactful than the decision of Joe Smith living on 123 Anywhere Street to buy a few extra shares of GE.
But c’mon. Every day the performance of the market is tied together with a neat and brief summary like the one mentioned above. “Market rebounds after strong employment report”, “Overseas trading down, market plunges”, “Chairman Bernanke’s daughter has Bat Mitzvah, Market celebrates by gaining 300 points.”

Saturday afternoon

I'm currently at the library doing some consulting work. But the task is becoming too difficult as I'm listening to the Funeral of the Prophet over the internet.

(Kind of how I feel right now)