Baby Lindstrom 1994-2012

A long week and a particularly bad one for Aunt Emilie.  She lost her beloved kitty on Friday after a long week of nursing a very sick cat.  It was rough going for auntie for a couple of days; but she has rallied and is doing well. She spent the night at my digs on Friday; but neither of my guest beds were satisfactory - one too hard and one too soft.  She opted for the too soft one and apparently rolled-off the bed at some point during the night.  No harm done however.

I hosted my sister and a couple of her old high school friends for supper on Saturday.  I think everyone enjoyed themselves.  I know I did.

The weather remains warm and windy.  In fact I don't recall a December/January that has seen so many big southeasters.  And it is mighty breezy at my house which is on a point and very exposed.  I reckon we've been getting all the big storms which typically roll into the Pacific Northwest this time of year.  They have little snow in the Cascades.  Our little ski area, Eaglecrest, has more snow than any other ski resort in North America.  All the rain we've got at sea level has been snow above 1200 feet or so.  I'm ready for some sun - even if it comes with cold temperatures and Taku winds.

In other news, Eric has been scanning a bunch of old family and friends pics and sharing them via email with his pals.  Some amusing stuff. 

Yours truly behind the wheel of his beloved '65 Pontiac  Photo courtesy of Eric Swanson

Eric demonstrates how to sleep on the job  Photo courtesy of Eric Swanson

Born to be wild  Photo courtesy of Eric Swanson 

On the political front, the New Hampshire primary is tomorrow and all the polls point to a clear victory for Mr. Romney.  Attacks on the front runner by the rest of the pack have apparently fallen flat although it is amusing to me to listen to his fellow Republicans attacking him for his role as a private equity mogul.

Private equity is the most opaque, murky and unregulated field of American finance. It's practitioners like to portray it as an heroic endeavor that creates value from feeble or failing firms.  While this may be true in some instances, the process by which it typically occurs is similar to the way jackals or hyenas create value from feeble or failing wildebeest.  And of course much of the added value accrues to the holders of private equity (folks like Mitt), while others - like many of the employees of the firms involved (folks like you and me) - are given the bum's rush.

Since all of the Republicans profess support for red-meat unfettered capitalism it strikes me as less than honest for the likes of Mr. Gingrich to question the ethics of Mr. Romney's former occupation.  More on this later...