Barack Gets Crucial Endorsement!

And no, I do not mean from Ted Kennedy. This should seal it for Obama.

Budapest

I've recently returned from another business trip to Europe. I had to head back to Zurich, Switzerland for a one-day continuation of an earlier arbitration hearing, and arranged some other business on the continent so I would not have to immediately turn around after flying 8 hours to get there. A lawyer from India I am working with, and with whom I have needed to meet for some time, agreed to meet me "halfway" and so we got together in Budapest. Since I had no idea when I might ever get back to Budapest, I decided to stay an extra day after our meeting and see the sights. It's a fascinating city, with a great deal of history. Hungary has been a more central country in Europe's history than I had appreciated. The food was very good also, and a nice surprise. Above left is a picture of looking across the Danube at the "Pest" side of Budapest, and here are a few more pictures from my day of sightseeing.

The Good Guys Win!

Once in a generation (literally), something like this happens:

Tulane-68  LSU-63

Christmas 2007

I've already said this to many of you, but a belated "Merry Christmas" to those to whom I have not!

This year, Christmas was a quiet affair, with just the six of us celebrating here in Mountain Lakes. However, it nevertheless was a lively two weeks, with visits both before Christmas (from Nonni, and then Elllie, Bob and family), and after (from Grandpa Joe, Christina and Olivia). Since we elected not to send out Christmas cards this year, we hope this blog entry will be a proper substitute. Here are some highlights of the Christmas week.

Stephen Turns 7!

The other huge event in December (besides Christmas, of course) is Stephen's birthday.  This past December 21, our little puppy turned 7.  The multi-day extravaganza included a visit from Nonni, a trip to an indoor "skate park" to ride scooters, and a gymnastics birthday party with Stephen's friends.  The skate park was quite an experience.  This drab, warehouse-like building in an office park was populated by slack-jawed, low hanging pants wearing teenagers whizzing around on skateboards, jumping and doing tricks.  To the bemusement of the regulars (and of his parents), Stephen forged right into the fray, motoring around on his scooter and avoiding grievous injury.  Stephen never gave even the slightest hint that he did not belong, or that there was anything unusual about a seven year old on a scooter steering up and down a skateboard halfpipe.  .  For those of you who know Stephen, this will come as no surprise.

Here are some photos of all the festivities.

Tree Is Up!

We unofficially opened the Christmas season last weekend by obtaining and decorating our tree (yes, we actually did this all in one day!).  The specimen is one of the best, if not the best, we've ever had -- just the right height and thickness.  In fact, it is so stereotypical in its appearance that one might even think it is artificial.  But all of my sneezing while carrying it into the house, putting it into the stand and stringing the lights was proof of the tree's genuineness.  Here are a few pictures of the finished product, and of the kids decorating.

Merry Christmas, and here's hoping all your preparations are going well!

Come Again?

Here is a funny excerpt from Gregg Easterbrook's column this week on ESPN.com:

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I Am Not Making This Up: On Wednesday, the Maryland counties around Washington, D.C., area received 2 inches of snow. As a result of the snow, the city of Gaithersburg, Md., canceled part of its winter festival for the day.

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By the way, many of you may recall that Easterbrook, formerly of the New Republic, is one of my favorite writers on science and current affairs.  His weekly column on ESPN.com is ostensibly a football column, but if you take a quick look, you'll see it ranges far afield at times, often to very interesting places.