Man's best friend

From the NYTimes Bucks blog - State Farm Insurance says it paid over $109 million in liability claims for about 3,800 dog bite claims nationwide last year. Industry wide the number of claims is estimated at 15,000/16,000 annually. The average cost per claim runs $29,000. If your dog bites someone your premium may go up - or your dog may be excluded from coverage. Behavior classes may be encouraged. Our female Scottish terrier bit everyone she ever met but since most victims were relatives we avoided being sued. One time we considered an experienced dog sitter who bragged that he had handled over 200 dogs. He attempted to pet our Scottie from back to front which was not a good idea. I offered him a band-aid and we never saw him again. There is a saying around Washington, D.C. "If you want a friend, buy a dog.!" - But it could be costly over the long run.
tjs
Next - TBA

Dead Duck

A bit of Friday humor suggested by a family member -
A woman had a pet duck who suddenly was taken ill and she rushed it to the veterinary who did all he could but the bird expired. The distressed owner was not satisfied with the verdict and requested a second opinion. The vet said he would consult with colleagues and produced a Labrador retriever to sniff the bird. The dog came to the same conclusion and walked away. The vet then brought in a Calico cat who also agreed with the earlier findings. Finally, the vet served the owner with a bill for $125. which she thought was exorbitant. The doc said his fee was only $25. - the balance was for the LAB report and the CAT scan.
PS- But he did offer a referral for a taxidermist. 

• tjs

Memorial Day

The Memorial Day holiday weekend comes early this year. Originally the holiday was known as Decoration Day when we decorated the graves of our war veterans. In the New Jersey beach resorts it opens the vacation season. Bogart said he came to Casablanca "for the waters - but he was misinformed." We will be leaving for Cape May, N.J. for the ocean breezes and do not expect to be disappointed. As we used to say on the streets of Philadelphia "We're goin' Dinah Shore!" See you in a week. Happy Holiday.
tjs

Hawaii Calls

My son and his new wife honeymooned in Maui, Hawaii and for the first six days we did not hear from them which is not unusual for honeymooners and when you consider that the Hawaiian alphabet only has thirteen letters  he really did not have an opportunity to say much. Fifty years ago I was in Honolulu standing below the Aloha Tower preparatory to sailing back to the "mainland" on Matson Line's SS LURLINE. It was BOAT DAY. The Royal Hawaiian Band in their starchy white uniforms were playing island music and a "bloody Mary" type singer was on the mike and there was not a dry eye to be seen. The practice back then was to hurl your flower lei on the water as the ship rounded Diamondhead with a vow to return. While I never did get back I am happy that my son had his opportunity to visit this island paradise. Aloha!
tjs
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Politics isn't Beanbag.

The current campaign finance law is producing more and more SuperPac money onto the scene. The latest involves a neophyte billionaire who decided he wanted to make his mark on the national stage and he allotted ten million dollars to finance a negative ad  against the President and hired an experienced political ad man to draw up a proposal. Apparently he got more than he bargained for as the GOP candidate was critical of it and distanced himself from it. The fallout continued as one of the billionaire's sons happens to be the chief executive of the Chicago Cubs baseball team who is in negotiations with the City of Chicago for upgrades to the Wrigley Field baseball stadium. The mayor of Chicago just happens to be a close friend and former colleague of our President and reportedly was furious that the "family" would stoop to such an enterprise and refused to take the team owner's calls.
One writer opined that to be on Rahm Emanuel's black list was not a comfortable place to find oneself.
As if the Cubs didn't have enough trouble winning ball games.
tjs
Next- TBA

Follow the Money

A recent article in the NY Times was about a religious order, the Passionist Fathers, who were enduring financial problems forcing them to sell off property. In an effort to recoup they invested $50,000 in a Broadway musical "A Leap of Faith" about a swindler's redemption. The show opened on April 26th and closed on May 13th after only 20 performances. Rather than a "leap" it was more like a "broad jump" and they might have had better luck with the lottery.
In an unrelated news event J.P. Morgan, the investment bank, just announced a loss of two Billion dollars on a risky transaction. Their chairman had to address the shareholders this week to explain.
Among the shareholder questioners was a priest member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.)
who apparently had invested in J.P. Morgan, a bank "too big to fail" or as one pundit put it "perhaps too big to manage". While these two events are unrelated it illustrates where these religious orders are placing their bets. Perhaps they could use a risk management department. I would like to assist the good Fathers but my portfolio has taken a bruising of late.
tjs
Next - TBA

Snooze, you lose.

Flash! The Roger Clemens perjury trial is dragging on into its fifth week and the judge just dismissed two jurors for falling asleep. He then admonished the rest of the jurors to "Stay alert. We don't want to lose anybody else." He even provided free coffee in the jury room. I don't believe they are dozing at the John Edwards trial in North Carolina which is also plodding along.  The difference? perjury versus politics and sex. On my only call to jury duty I wore a three piece suit and was summarily rejected by the defense counsel. I normally don't handle rejection well, but they were only paying $20. per day so I ate my brown bag lunch and went home. But I felt I could have stayed awake.
tjs
Next - Follow the money.