That's What It Is!!

al*tru*ism

[al-troo-iz-uhm] 

noun

1. the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others (opposed to egoism ). 

I was at a wedding last night, and looking around at all the lovely styles on all the lovely bedecked and bedazzled participants and celebrants I had a grand realization.

 All these young  guys, slim as they are, are doing a service, a kindness if you will, to those both older and  more rotund then they. 

They have made wearing ill-fitting clothing not just OK, but the supposed height of fashion. So feel calm and collected going out even if you have gained a little weight since you last donned that dressy suit, or if your teenaged son is wearing a jacket that has suddenly become to short and too tight. Help is already here!

To those who bemoan the fate of Our People while looking at the fashion choices of the young and "in-the-know," FEAR NOT!!

They're just helping everybody out.

My Phone is My Shoes

I don't walk in my phone, and I tend not to put my feet on it, but that is one of only a few unsanitary places phones do not go.

From the seats and window sills of public transporation the counters, stools and dressing room floors of retail clothing, hardware, or grocery stores, to the benches,slides, and equipment at parks and gyms, is there really anywhere we don't put our phones down?

Most people bring their phones into the bathroom with them, espescially if they are not at home. And unless they are male, and possibly living in 2002, they aren't using a belt clip.

So why are we comfortable, after everywhere our phones have been, putting it on our tables, kitchen counters, and baby changing tables?

And ladies, if you think about it? The same holds true for your purse!

What I Learned from Bridgegate

1. Despite being over 40 years removed from the scandal that rocked the Nixon administration, we still cannot come up with a new suffix to identify scandals, even though the original one was actually named after a specific place-which makes adding "gate"  to the end of words associated with new scandals both ridiculous, and frankly, lazy.

2.When you like/dislike the person apologizing you hear the apology and/or explanation exactly how you want to. So if you are not a fan you will find fault with each part of the apology, and if you are a fan you will find most of the apology/explanation praiseworthy.

3. Politicians and those who work for them will do things that are good for themselves and their egos, their constituents not really taken into consideration. In fact they are often collateral damage in a quest for power, that sometime will benefit some people, but often very few. This is true for both revenge type incidents, and backroom deals with quid pro quos.

4. Despite the above, our system of government is probably still the best, as long as people are not apathetic or too partisan. People need to think for themselves, and not worry if they cannot be labeled politically because they do not wholeheartedly embrace all platforms and ideologies of one party.

5. The Palisades Parkway remains the best way to get to the George Washington Bridge.

Only Around Here....

....Is the skirt steak more than 4 inches below the knees....

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Our six year-old has a habit of singing a song she learned (I think from a cousin of hers, the song made popular by a movie, and more widespread by the game "cups" that goes with it):

"when I'm gone, when I'm gone, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone..."

Mr. Bloomberg, despite my protestations that you were a nanny, and constantly seem to tell people both what to do, and to stop complaining when things didn't go the way they should have,  and midtown Manhattan was somewhat remade for the tourists as opposed to those who live and work in the city...

 We miss you already. I cannot imagine what the people in New York City were thinking. I did not like Mike Bloomberg's subversion of democracy, but he didn't pit one part of the city against the other, give voice to the most radical and hateful elements of different communities, and set up a situation wherein a tenuous peace that exists between different racial/economic areas of the city will be turned into a powder keg with the fuse extending up the steps of City Hall awaiting the touch of the match DeBlasio is holding. (If you close your eyes you can see the political cartoon I just drew)

There used to be "white flight." I hereby coin the term : "Rich Ditch," because the wealthy may just go running in droves out of the city. Which may not mean much, but when they take their companies with them, and NYC goes back to the cesspool it once was, even I will be calling for the return of the whiny, but incredibly charitable, giving, and dare I say caring (albeit a little forcefully)former Mayor.

I think it is easy at the end of an era to look back at the good parts, but in the case of the new mayor of New York and his ideology, I feel nothing but worry. The inmates will be running the asylum.

Beats Chief Bottle Washer!!!

My dear husband, and blog partner has conferred upon me a title. I am thrilled beyond words, as most of my titles are not usable in polite company.

However, as Chief Prize Officer of IcebergCarwash, I now feel great pressure to perform my duties in an extraordinary manner.

I guess that will work out well for the Wolfman!

Welcome to the Soothsayer's Ball

Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for...

The Sixth Annual IcebergCarwash Stock Market Contest.

The rules are simple.

Using the comments section of this blog post, give us your prediction for the closing price of the S&P 500 Index on December 31, 2014. The contestant who comes closest will win the contest, and possibly win a prize.

In the past, we've set the deadline for receipt of entries at 9:30AM on the first trading day of the year. This year, however, we're going to accept your predictions until 9:30AM on Friday, January 3, 2014.

This will allow our contestants to wait until the first trading day of the year has passed, and, using historical data, attempt to predict the direction of the market for the entire year.

As indicated in the previous post, the stock market generated strong gains in 2013, with the S&P 500 up 29.6% for the year, on top of a double-digit gain in 2012.

What should we expect for 2014? Should we just assume that the market is due to take a step back? Or, will the gains continue in the next year, as the U.S. economy continues its recovery?


I will kick off the process by offering up my prediction. I predict that the S&P 500 will close 2014 at 1950.00, up approximately 5% from this year's closing level of 1848.36.  Despite the recent rise in equity prices, the U.S. stock market appears reasonably valued, so I wouldn't expect a large pullback. For example, while the trailing (or forward) P/E ratio of the S&P 500 is above its historical mean, it is still favorably valued when looking at the earnings yield of the S&P 500 (the inverse of the P/E ratio) and comparing it to the current yield on the 10-year Treasury note. However, a further increase in bond yields -- which has already been happening, and would be expected to continue if U.S. GDP grows at a nominal rate of 3.0% or more in 2014 - could result in something of a rotation back into fixed income, and out of stocks, which could depress equity prices a bit.

Then again, what do I know? I haven't won this contest in the five years we've been running it. 

Good luck to all of our contestants.