Today, on my way home from work, I witnessed 4 young (15-16 year old) black guys about 5-5.5 feet tall mug a guy for his phone. The man was standing there waiting for the train and they ran up to him to snatch it and he instantly fought back and they in turn jumped on him, punching him in the face. It was surreal. Right in front of me!! I immediately thought, Kitty Genovese!! I should do something!! Kick? Punch? OMG!! My heart was racing and as they ran off with his iPhone, with the victim in pursuit, I called 911. They transferred me to transit police and the victim came back and I handed him my phone to tell them what happened. I think he managed to wrangle his phone back but he had a cut lip. Another guy there said he thought of fighting them but with 4 or maybe even more of them, it was a planned, organized group. Crazy. And unfortunate. I wish I had my camera but I’m sure the metro stations have cameras everywhere.

I’m counted! For the third time.

They only have enough slots for 12 people per household. What do Octomom and the Duggars do?

For anybody who just crawled out from under a rock, this year’s Superbowl (XLIV) will be played in Miami, Florida. The teams competing are the Phoenix, AZ Colts and the New Orleans, LA Saints. That is all I know. I hope the commercials are good.

Oh and the breakage continues. This time it was the garlic press. Darned Made in PRC again! It was for a good cause though. Beef ribs. One rack, dry rubbed overnight, in the oven. One rack also dry rubbed overnight, in the slow cooker with vinegar, sugar, garlic, beer, chili peppers, and cocoa powder.

The dry rub, courtesy of texascooking.com (this will yield a ton of dry rub, save the rest in the freezer or make less):
1 Tablespoon of:

• Black pepper
• White pepper
• Sugar
• Brown sugar
• Cumin
• Garlic powder
• Oregano
• Salt

2 Tablespoons of chili powder

4 Tablespoons of paprika (sweet)

1 Teaspoon of dry mustard

2 Teaspoons of cayenne

Do you notice anything unusual about the photo above? See how the cork is perfectly intact with no hole drilled in the middle of it? I thought like vodka, I could put any alcoholic beverage in the freezer and it would not freeze. Not true! Evidently, vodka has a colder freezing temperature than wine so it won’t freeze in a regular home freezer. But I learned wine can because when I forgot the bottle in the freezer, the cork popped out. Thank goodness it didn’t crack the bottle in the freezer. That would’ve been a messy clean-up.

When I first heard the US Treasury was borrowing more money (by selling bonds to China) to save our butts, I wondered if all that cash in the system would lead to inflation.  But so far, prices haven’t gone up.  Gas is still less expensive than it was last year and retailers have discounts left and right just to tempt me to browse.  Looks like I’m not the only one watching my wallet though.  The Consumer Confidence Index – how people feel about their economic future, just declined again.  In the July 28th report it was 46.6 points, which is 2.7 points lower than June.  At this rate of consumer spending, I don’t think inflation is going to be much of a worry. 

Today, the Producer Price Index – how much the manufacturers pay to make things we buy,  decreased as well.  So if what they make costs less, what we pay, the Consumer Price Index, should decrease too.  Is this how deflation starts?

Maybe I should invest in Diageo.  Hehehe

These past four days have felt like July with highs in the 90s. Might I remind you it’s still April!? And as much Claritin as I’ve taken, you’d think I haven’t taken any. All the cars are tinged yellow, just thinking about it makes my eyes water…aaaannd I’m procrastinating. Again. So what else is new? I do research for my Netflix paper by reading about the swine flu. Which, by the way, I feel is more hype than serious. But who knows, maybe I’ve been desensitized to the gubment’s crying wolf at the drop of a hat. Code orange my butt.

I’m leaving my job. Again. My boss is in a bit of a panic about how to handle the things he refuses to learn. For all the times a prior colleague and I have been trying to teach this old dog a not-very-new-trick, he has somehow managed to absorb none of it. I need some more coffee. Should’ve taken home those leftover churros from Ceiba.

Who cares about basketball anyway? I LOST the know-nothing bracket! I was winning up until the Final Four and then *poof* my chances disappeared when Villanova lost to UNC. I am done. Done with NCAA. Done with college basketball. Next year, my pretties… I’ll get you next year!!

First day of Globalizing the Enterprise.

1. Which of these countries is the US’ biggest trading partner?

a) Canada  b) China  c) Japan  d) Mexico  e) United Kingdom

2. Which of these countries had the largest trade surplus in 2006?

a) Canada  b) China  c) Germany  d) Japan  e) United Kingdom

3.  In how many languages can one view the NBA website?  Take the written driving license test in OH?  Take the written driving license test in CA?

a) 3   b) 9   c) 17   d) 32

4.  Name the country of ownership for each of the following brands/companies.

• 7-Eleven
• Mack Trucks
• Miller Brewing
• Nissan
• RCA
• Sony BMG Music Entertainment
• Volvo

5.  The U.S. is McDonald’s most profitable market.  Which of the following countries came in second in terms of operating profits for McDonald’s in 2007?

a) Brazil   b) Canada   c) China   d) France   d) United Kingdom

6.  A 2007 analysis ranked major world cities in terms of the cost of doing business there.  The 10 most expensive cities were: Copenhagen, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Moscow, New York, Osaka, Oslo, Seoul, Tokyo, and Zurich.  Can you guess the top two most expensive cities from this list?  And the bottom two?

7.  Which of the following U.S. companies does not have overseas operations?

• AIG
• Black & Decker
• Boeing
• Coca-Cola
• Hooters
• Krispy Kreme

Answer in the comments and I’ll tell you who’s right.

Brrr… It snowed yesterday and should again today. Beautiful stuff but only a couple of inches of accumulation. What a cold day it’s going to be for many people downtown. At least the portable latrines won’t be smelly if everyone’s stuff is all frozen.

I’ve been watching some of the news videos online and the energy is palpable even not being downtown. On my way into work, I noticed a lot of cars exiting to the two metro stations with parking lots. Plus, I read a report saying most of the metro parking lots are already full if not 3/4 full as of 5:45 AM!! I think if I didn’t have to work, I’d try to go just because this is such an historically important & exciting event. 1-2 Million people! Already he’s pulling people together. I can’t wait to hear his speech.

It was 45 degrees in my house last time I looked. The heater came on this morning or it would’ve been colder. Maybe we’ll get cymbidium flowers this year again.

10:58 AM – I’ve been watching this since 7:30 or 8 AM. This morning, they (Obama & Michelle) went from the Blair house to St. John’s for church services. Then they went to the White House for coffee with Bush & Laura. They just arrived at the U.S. Capitol. Haven’t seen any sign of Sasha or Malia.

11:03 AM – Chief Justice Roberts looks so young. He’ll be swearing in the new president. There’s a lot of chanting “Obama!” and I just saw the Jamaican flag among a sea of American flags. How international.

11:23 AM – All the former presidents are filing in starting with Jimmy Carter, then Bush and Clinton. 14 degrees out there right now, looks windy too. Now they’re showing the moving vans at the White House. And there’s Malia and Sasha with their grandma. Two regular looking kids. They look excited. Oh I think I saw Elaine Chao.

11:30 AM – Malia is a regular shutterbug! She’s got her camera with her everywhere; at the Inauguration Concert on Sunday and even here. Smart girl, she’s got one of the best seats in the house.

11:35 AM – Finally, here come the president & vp. Cheney is in a wheelchair. Something about hurting his back while moving to his new permanent home in McLean, VA. Everytime they pan the crowd, it just looks unbelievably large. A huge sea of people from the Capital all the way past the Washington Monument mostly watching from Jumbotrons placed around the city.

11:41 AM – Here he comes down the hallway!! The new guy! He looks somber.

11:43 AM – They just announced him! What a cheer! Yay! Go Obama!

11:45 AM – Things are moving along nicely. Senator Dianne Feinstein is giving her speech. Excellent speech, it was about 3 minutes! And now the prayer. Malia looks a lot like Obama with the long lanky face. Both very cute girls. They’re wearing matching coats. Blue (purple?) for Malia & pink for Sasha.

11:57 AM – Joe Biden is swearing in now. OMG!! What happened?! It’s not playing… well no matter I got 2 webcasts going.

12:01 PM – It’s just Itzhak Perlman & Yo-Yo Ma doing their thing. Very lovely. Barack is now president! He hasn’t taken the oath yet but it’s past 12 Noon!

12:05 PM – So eager to start, he’s tripping over the words. He’s sworn in! Wonderful! They’re doing this canon thing.

12:08 PM – Here’s his speech written by the 27 yr old John Favreau. Malia is filming her dad. How cute!

12:27 PM – A good speech. Inspiring. Be a doer. Meet the challenges!

The presidential inauguration is less than two weeks away.  They’ve started setting up the bleachers and red, white, and blue banners.  I didn’t notice any portable bathrooms in this area (Federal Triangle/Pennsylvania Ave.) but I’m sure there will be plenty up and down the National Mall.  The festiveness of the decorations make me want to come check it out on the 20th.