Sunday, December 28, 2008
My Butterfly
I snapped a picture of this Butterfly a couple years ago and it always reminds me of good times, warm weather and 1 very special person...Hope all is well with everyone that takes the time to read this silly blog..Wish you all a the best in the coming New Year...
TOM
Thursday, December 11, 2008
I need a bailout
I'm just trying to get into the Christmas spirit like all our elected officials who just seem to think it's ok to Bailout a bunch of mis-managed companies with our tax dollars!!
Take Richard Syron, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Freddie Mac. In the picture above he is addressing the Boston College Chief Executives.
In 2005 at the podium he warned of a "bubble" on the horizon of the real estate market with regard to falling home prices. and a dampening of the US economy.
Over cocktails I am sure he counseled his fellow execs to get out there and get your pay now cause pretty soon the shit is gonna hit the fan !!
According to Executive PayWatch the SEC reported that in 2007, Richard F. Syron raked in $18,289,575 in total compensation.
Not Bad for a CEO that has led his company to a 13.8 billion dollar deficit. He was removed from his post and the US government has stepped in to "rescue the institution"
Whenever the Government steps into my life it's never been to "rescue me". I guess Mr. Syron will have to find a new job, but at least he has that 18 Million dollars he made last year.
How about Charles O. Prince, the former Chief Executive Officer over at Citigroup. He stepped down in November and released the statement,
"It is my judgment that given the size of the recent losses in our mortgage- backed securities business, the only honorable course for me to take as chief executive officer is to step down."
HHHmmm, "the only honorable course" ?? It looks more like Run AWAY!!
According to Executive Pay Watch, In 2007, Charles O. Prince raked in $15,105,376 in total compensation according to the SEC. According to the AFL-CIO's calculation method*, this CEO raked in $25,520,621 in total 2007 compensation.
Not bad for a CEO who's company just announced a 10 BILLION Dollar loss in quarterly earnings which just happens to be the biggest loss EVER in the company's history.
In 2006 Prince's base salary was a paltry 11.6 million but he was able to earn a 13.2 million dollar bonus and received 10.4 million dollars in stock options !! I sure hope he sold his stock before he left !!
As part of The Prince's compensation after stepping down, he is entitled to an office, an Executive Assistant and a car WITH driver for the next 5 years !!
I think the HONORABLE THING would be to give all that money AND the car back!!
And I thought that being a TV Weatherman was the only place you could be wrong and still get paid !!
In 2007, G. Richard Wagoner, GM's CEO, raked in $14,415,914 in total compensation according to the SEC. According to the AFL-CIO's calculation method*, this CEO raked in $19,761,874 in total 2007 compensation.
And now they are getting their bailout courtesy of the US Taxpayer !!
And DICK is telling us he's gonna only take a salary of One Dollar....Well I am sure DICK has a couple bucks from last years salary to hold him over.
I wonder how many CEO's of failing companies are named DICK??
Well Uncle Sam, I need a bucket full of CASH as I have made some mistakes in the past so I'm gonna need some of those TAX Dollars back???
My bailout won't be too bad in comparison, I only need maybe 50 THOUSAND dollars, TAX FREE, and I should be ok.
More dirt on Charley Prince: HERE
Executive Pay Watch, courtesy of the AFL-CIO, where you can compare your salary with the CEO of your company.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Dieting, It's not gonna be easy !!
Quite frankly, my mind has been somewhat of a blank lately when it comes to posting something.
So I thought I'd clue you into where my mind is lately.
I'm thinking about food. ALL THE TIME !! Only I am thinking, "In order to stay under my 2100 calorie self imposed diet what can I eat ??
Anne's pie IS on my diet, sort of. ....
I have to avoid eating the crust, the cream and well I can eat bananas.
I discovered I could have 2.5 squares of dark chocolate and that it would add 60 calories to my daily tab. I gobbled it down as I haven't tasted chocolate in 3 days.
I needed it !!
So if any of you get crazy postings from me in your email, please forgive me !! I am going through food withdrawal !!
I'm taking a break from cheese and fat. Someone told me the other day that cheese is addictive!!
I believe that !!
Well. I am going to munch on some baby carrots and put some laundry in !!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving To All
See more pictures at The Boston Herald
I saw an article in the paper today with pictures of Tom Brady and his supermodel gal pal in Boston yesterday serving up Turkey Dinner for Goodwill...It's great to see him in Boston and hope that he recovers from his season ending knee injury to play next year...
Here in Boston we should all be thankful for the New England Patriot's backup Quarterback Matt Cassell, who has made this season exciting and the New England Patriots a contender in the AFC East.
Oh and let's not forget the spectacular coaching of Bill Bellichek who has had to juggle his roster around the loss of not only Tom Brady, but the season ending injuries to starters Rodney Harrison and Lawrence Maroney. With a total of 14 players on the Injured Reserve I don't think anyone in the NFL has coached with this kind of adversity and done as well as the Patriots have this year, 7-4 and in 2nd place in the AFC East.
I guess we New Englanders should be thankful for all our Sports teams, I mean it's gotten to be like we are the new Title Town USA !!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A Recent email, with valuable insight
To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine... and those who don't.
As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom,
in beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria.
In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated
that if we drink 1 litre of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember:
Water = Poop,
Wine = Health.
Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid,
than to drink water and be full of shit.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service
Monday, November 24, 2008
No Chain Letters EVER !!
I do care but please don't EVER send me another email that requires me to send it on to 6, 8 10 any number of friends in order to bring
Magic into my life,
Money, God or Luck
If that isn't plain enough just Cross Me Off the mailing list for ANY KIND OF CHAIN MAIL EVER !!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
SURPRISE
Sean, my oldest son, lives 3000 miles away, in San Diego . So when he walked into work with his co conspirator, my nephew Dave, it took me by surprise !!
Which was the idea...
I talked to Sean last Thursday night and he told me he was going skiing !!
Dave gave me a ride into work Saturday morning and said he was going to New Hampshire with his girlfriend !!
Dave was really headed to Providence, Rhode Island to pick up Sean....
It's been a good surprise !! Sean topped it off by inviting his sister, she lives in Maine with my 3 grandchildren and my youngest, his brother Patrick , down last night for a Pre Thanksgiving warm up dinner...
And he made an Apple Pie to boot... The dinner, with pictures will be posted very soon....I just wanted to get a picture of Sean and his Pie...Note the Latticed Crust...up first !!
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Dad's 80th Birthday
We went to Pennsylvania and brought his little sister Alice up for the celebration...She's only 36 and has Natural White Hair.
Actually I think she was a little upset she didn't get any of Dad's ice cream!!
Happy Birthday DAD !!
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies....
There have been studies that indicate that chocolate has quite a few health benefits. It's funny but these type of "studies" always amaze me.
Have any of these researchers ever eaten chocolate?? It's one of those "No Shit Sherlock" kinda studies. Of course chocolate is healthy!!
Chocolate is made from the cocoa bean, found in pods growing from the trunk and lower branches of the Cacao Tree, Latin name 'Theobroma Cacao' meaning "food of the gods".
Food of the Gods.....Really, why would "The Gods" eat anything unhealthy?? It would be such a bad example.
If you pick cacao beans from a tree than you should consider them as being in the "Fruit and Vegetable" category of our basic food groups.
I bet mom always told you to eat ALL your fruits and vegetables??
So next time you see something chocolate, eat it, eat it for mom.
I bet it was fun being in that chocolate study!!
If anyone hears about someone doing a study on Red Wine can you let me know...I want further our scientific knowledge base and volunteer to be a case study on the effects of Red Wine...
It will probably be a little scary at first being a human guinea pig, but I am sure after a couple glasses I'll be fine.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Marrying A Boston Girl.....
The first man had married a woman from Louisiana and bragged he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes and house cleaning. He said it took a couple days but on the third day he came home to a clean house and the dishes were all done
The second man had married a woman from Florida. He bragged that he had given his wife orders to do all the cleaning, dishes and have a meal ready for him when he came home from work. On the first day he did not see any results, the next day things seemed to be better organized and by the third day his house was clean and he came home to the smell of a huge home cooked meal.
The Third man married a girl from Boston. He explained that he had told his new wife that he expected her to keep the house clean, the dishes cleaned, the laundry washed and folded and the lawn mowed. He said the first day he didn't see anything. On the second day there was no improvement, but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, enough to fix himself a bite to eat, load the dishwasher and call the landscaper.
Gotta love those Boston Girls !!
Got this in an email this morning (-:
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sun Sets on Marblehead
But hey I was there last night and the sun sets are nice..
1. Sunset as seen through the tree!
2. Sunset with seagull, top left
3. Sundown and Clouds
Happy Halloween !!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Celtics are Back !!
Two Tom's Hideaway Team Members were lucky enough to get into the TD BankNorth Garden last night and see the NBA Champion Boston Celtics kick off their season 2008-09 Season, get their rings and ......
Such Hard working Girls !!
They didn't call a foul on #55 Wright as he was pulling the Jersey of his own teammate , Anderson Verajo, under the hoop.
The Celtics went on to win their opening game and let's hope they can have another great season this year !!
GO CELTS !!
Monday, October 27, 2008
No Ideas
The New England Patriots won yesterday...(-:
I got a 10 in Trivia today !!
Tampa Bay is losing to the Phillies...(-:
The Sun is shining, for now, and the Apocalypse isn't scheduled until 2012 so I have plenty of time to come up with something.
Have a great week !!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Fall at the Mall
My experiment in night photography has been touch and go. I snapped these from the parking lot at the North Shore Mall the other night. My Fuji Camera did not really come with any guides on the best way to use some of the features on my camera.
The top one is sorta fuzzy, but I liked the lightiong, the tree just looked like an orphan out there on the perimeter road, leaves falling off and all alone.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Red Sox vs Devil Rays.........continued GAME 7 !!
RED SOX WON!!
Hopefully TBS will have the complete broadcast as we had to listen to the first inning and a half due to technical difficulties.
Also I was worried when the announcers again started to concede the win to the SOX before the game was even over as they did during Game 5 at Fenway where the SOX made their historic come back ... I thought OH NO !! Now they are jinxing the SOX !!
But NO, we had theRed Sox MOJO all over the family room, old tickets, Red Sox Hats, Team Photos....Clearly the MOJO Magic is with the SOX
John Lester will pitch for the Red Sox in front of all the Tampa Bay Devil Ray fans that are now looking just a little sad and very worried.
T.B.S. stands for Total Boston Success
Saturday, October 18, 2008
7:30 Red Sox vs Rays
He can't close his eyes!!
The Red Sox were all done, at least I thought so, as did many others that I spoke with, watching the game Thursday night in Fenway , the Red Sox down by 7 runs in the 7th inning, TBS running the credits , the announcers wondering how the Devil Rays will do against the Phillies , people filing out of Fenway.......
I went to bed !!
When I woke up the miracle had happened. The Red Sox pulled of the biggest comeback in ALCS history since 1929 !!
It's game time tonight at 7:30, I want to watch but being superstitious and all I am wondering if I should just go to bed early, for luck !!
GO SOX
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Trivia Update
Player | Weekly Pts |
1 lemonyellow | 134 |
2. Johnny | 121 |
3. Operator9 | 85 |
4. Tom | 84 |
5. dawtch | 72 |
A couple weeks ago I had posted a Poll asking people : If they had to choose, would they be an Alligator or a Tiger.
The Tiger was the clear choice of the majority. I am a fan of the Tiger myself and so yesterday I was a little disappointed when the Florida Gators whipped the LSU Tigers in College Football..It's ok though...I'd still choose to be a Tiger over an Alligator any day.
Alligators are part of the crocodile family, the crocodile has a wider snout and neither a re a match for the Tiger.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Baseball, The HBO Series ROME, and Look Alikes
Speaking of Bays, I have a picture of him still in his Pirates Uniform before being traded to the Red Sox and he really
looks a lot like the actor who plays in the HBO Series Rome:
Kevin McKidd: He plays the part of Lucious Vorenus, in the show but it sure looks like he could easily sub for Jason Bay in left field for the Red Sox ....
I'm picking the the Red Sox and the Dodger's as the teams that will make it to the World Series and the only thing I won't like about it is that we fans will have to endure Tim McCarver as the Color Guy in the Telecast Booth. The fact that FOX Sports insists on McCarver and his sidekick Joe Buck as the announcers for the World series is truly DESPICABLE !!
Here are some of Tim's insights to the Game,
1. Tim: "Something to keep in mind -- it's raining lightly. The infield could be very wet on ground balls.".... errr, you think so Tim???
2. Tim: "Pitching is such a vital part of the game, as far as winning is concerned" ....Oh, and I bet you expect us to believe batting is important too!!
3. 2004 ALCS, Game 5? Red Sox vs. Yankees . David Ortiz hit a home run into right field. Tim: "Mt. Everest erupts again!".....too bad Mt. Everest isn't a volcano!
4. McCarver busted out this bit of brilliance during the Red Sox/Orioles game one Saturday: "The reason we call that pitch up and in is because the arms are attached to the shoulder."..... Ummm what?
Tim has no place in a Television Booth where he can spout is inane, nonsensical "insights" to the millions of viewers who watch the game.
I found these comments and more at Tim McCarver Please Shut Up!!
If you have a minute, Contact Fox Sports with a note and ask them to replace Tim McCarver as the Voice of the World Series before it's too late....
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Mom's Birthday and a Trivia Update
She turned 79 Yesterday and we had a nice family dinner.
We had to tone it down a little because last weekend when we celebrated my Nephew's 21st birthday , there was mom...
Maybe we will get the beer pong table out for Dad's 80th !!
TRIVIA UPDATE
BIG Congrats to KATHLOCK !!
Two of our newest players Lemonyellow (6wins) and Badlydrawnbhoy (3 Wins) made it into the top 10 with a great second half and have been immortalized in the Hall Of Fame !! Great Job..
Looking over the Hall Of Fame records I see that we have been doing the Trivia Contest now 6 full months !!
Thanks for playing everyone !!
Good luck this Month
Sunday, September 28, 2008
A day to remember..Mary Margaret Ahern
Funny, fiery, a beautiful girl, but over that last year of her life we only caught glimpses of the Mary we knew and loved.
Today, as we have for the past three years , friends and family gathered together and celebrated Mary's life, shared some of the stories , cried a little, laughed a little, it was a good day to remember , as Mary's Mom calls her, "Our Precious Butterfly"
Friday, September 26, 2008
Rainy Daisies
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
A Birthday, Trivia Update & Weekly Winners
PIXIEPANTS
You don't look a day over 3 !!
OOOPS !!
My statistician lost last weeks stat sheet which means....I had to go back 2 weeks and so the Winner this week will be based on total points for the last 14 days...
Furthermore I have a very busy day planned so with very little Pomp and Circumstance !! Here are the leaders over the last 2 WEEKS !!
PLAYER | Weekly PTS | Overall Standing |
1. kathlock | 203 | 2 |
2. Shaun | 196 | 3 |
3. sneaky | 188 | 1 |
4. TheJackster | 178 | 5 |
5. Badlydrawnbhoy | 174 | 9 |
CONGRATS Kath, seems like last week !!
I also added a little poll up top , seems crazy but currently I see that we have a lot of "Tiger Wannabees" out there. More on that later when this Poll has ended.
Have a great week !!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Bridge to Nowhere
Click for larger size
The bridge you see was once known as the Carlton Bridge and it spanned the Kennebec River in Maine connecting the Ship Building City of Bath and the town Woolwich but it's been replaced by a new bridge, to the left of the tracks, which is named the Sagadahoc Bridge, named after the county in Maine.
Bath , home to the General Dynamics Company "Bath Iron Works", just to the right of the "bridge to nowhere you can see the cranes which are a part of the shipyard, which has built and or designed hundreds of military vessels including today's most advanced class of Destroyer.
The Works is one of Maine's largest employers.
I was trying out the Panoramic Feature on my Fuji Camera..Still working on technique !!
Have a great day
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Trivia Update, Weekly Winners
The winner this week is:
The Australian Phenom !!
and prolific Blogger
KATHLOCK from Blurb from the Burbs
From Trivia Players |
Last weeks winner Sneaky was a point shy of a tie and sits in 2nd place.
From Trivia Players |
The 3rd place finisher, with 110 points who , like a shooting star, moved from 10 place overall last week to 3rd place overall this week is:
From Trivia Players |
Here is a breakdown of the top 5 Top Weekly Scorers for last week:
Player | Total Points | Overall Rank |
1. kathlock | 126 | 2 |
2. Sneaky | 125 | 1 |
3. TheJackster | 110 | 3 |
4. Shaun | 96 | 14 |
5. Badlydrawnbhoy | 93 | 28 |
Finally I would like to welcome 2 new players
POM and TomMorrow !
Good Luck this week to everyone !!!
Don't forget to root for "The Brady-less" New England Patriots who play the Jets and Brett Favre who I am sure everyone remembers from the movie "There's Something About Mary"
Thursday, September 11, 2008
A Birthday and Some other Odds & Ends
HAPPY Birthday BUNNY !!
YOU KNOW IT !!
In Sporting News:
The IQ attended last nights baseball game in San Diego where he was able to see Manny Ramirez hit 2 Home Runs and knock in 4 RBI's to POWER the LA Dodgers over the San Diego Padres to extend there lead to 3 1/2 games and remain in 1st place in their division
Too bad the Sox didn't have any power last night as they lost their game in 14 innings, The heart of the order, Youkilis, Ortiz and the affable Jason Bay combined for an anemic 0 for 14 against the 1st place Tampa Bay Devil Rays !!
And I stayed up to watch!!
Can't Wait For Sunday's Patriots Game
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Trivia Players Picture Series, The IQ
I received a Trivia Player's picture today, and he looks like a force to be reckoned with..well I don't know about that. He's certainly having some fun out there off the coast of Southern California out on Catalina Island.
The IQ also sent me this picture which gave me a good idea...
The Trivia Picture Series will be happy to post any scenic shots you may want to share from wherever you are from or maybe a vacation spot you visited recently.
You don't even have to be in the picture, but hey...wouldn't you have more fun just Striking a Pose !!
As I have said before, my EMAIL is on the sidebar
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Sneaky, Un-Covered !!
He hails from Swampscott, MA and is a 40 something Bartender/Writer that enjoys playing trivia at Tom's Trivia Challenge. He's been known to serve me a pretty good Grey Goose Martini and was the most recent Weekly Winner (see last post) After reading about his Weekly Win he sent me the picture above...
Thanks Sneaky, now that we can see ya, we all know what we are up against !!
If you haven't sent me a picture yet, my email is on the sidebar
Trivia Update, Weekly Winners
It's been a week filled with new players, Here is a big Tom's Hideaway welcome to:
Phantom, SheShe, Minnie, Badlydrawnbhoy, Tiff , LemonYellow and Witchbabe13
Here are the leaders for the 1st week of September, 2008 !!
Player | Total Points | Overall Rank |
1. sneaky | 117 | 1 |
2. kathlock | 97 | 2 |
3. Tom | 95 | 3 |
4. PG | 95 | 4 |
5. Sally | 82 | 5 |
For the first time Sneaky has topped the Top Point Getters list here at Tom's Trivia Challenge
BIG CONGRATS to the elusive SNEAKY !!
Of course it would be nice to put a face to the Competition and we still have a lot of players, Like Sneaky, who haven't sent in their picture for the Trivia Picture Series and I think maybe some of you may not have a picture readily available so I'll change the rules a bit.
You can send me ANY picture that you would like to represent you here in the Tom's Trivia Challenge...as long as you have permission to use the picture !!
It's not going to put you on some crazy mailing list and I will not use your email for any nefarious purposes!!
If you have a blog/web page let me know so that I can tell everyone where we can find you !!