A Quiet New Year

Bonnie and I are hanging out tonight at home. We managed to pick up a cold bug sometime in the last few days. So we're both less than 100%.

Yesterday we returned from The Villages where Bonnie's parents have been getting their new little retirement house in order. It's quite a place.

I've got just a few hours to come up with some resolutions... Hmmm...

All We Are Saying - New York Times

Here's a few new words from 2007. Apparently there are now blog sub types. "Tumblelog” describes one of my favorite sites - Daring Fireball.

Airport Observations

So we're sitting at the Jacksonville airport. It seems Southwest has
greatly complicated their boarding process. Previously they just had
three lines, but now they've subdivided those lines by what appears to
be seat rows. All we heard the last 20 minutes was the poor gate
attendant trying to explain the new process. And it doesn't help that
half these people haven't flown in years.

Speaking of inexperienced travelers, we also overheard a woman asking
for help with her ticket. She was trying to understand the connection
process. She'd never flown before. The lady who helped her realized
that her connecting flight isn't until tomorrow. Doh!

Where are the Crowds?

With Christmas only a few days away, I've yet to see many jam packed stores. Even at the St. John's Town Center, Jacksonville's newest and most high end shopping mecca, the crowds appear light. Of course it is possible that some of the new stores are just too high end for this town's red neck roots. But even the essentials like Apple and Target have been rather quiet.

If the Jacksonville retail activity is even remotely indicative of the national trends, the holiday earnings will be quite gloomy. Maybe now is a good time to start hoarding the cash.

Then again, maybe it's the balmy weather. With sunny skies and temperatures in the 60's, it just doesn't feel like Christmas.

Gotta Love the Locals

This afternoon Jacksonville residents witnessed a deadly chemical plant explosion. Not to make light of the tragedy, but I couldn't help but laugh after reading a quote from this local news article.

Derek Pratt, 24, was flying a remote control airplane at a field about a mile away when he heard a series of explosions and a smoke plume extending hundreds of feet in the air.

"Those shock waves came straight through these hills," he said. "It was just like Hiroshima."

How does he know? Was he there?

Mom's Visit

Tomorrow Mom heads back to a frigid Cleveland after a quick weekend visit with us. We did a bit of shopping, relaxed at the beach, and then drove down to St. Augustine for lunch. The weather was near perfect! Hopefully she got enough sun to last until spring break.

A New York Times Year in Review

You may enjoy reading Ben Stein's reflections on the past year. It's quite comforting to know that a mind as brilliant as his favors an indexing investment strategy.

And my personal favorite - the Annual Year in Ideas magazine feature.