I think the fact that Madoff's bail was revoked and that he will be spending the rest of his life in jail is great. The unfortunate thing is that many more are getting away with robbing the American people and driving this country into this current recession.

I was getting new front tires about a month ago when I ended up speaking with the gentleman in the waiting area of Mavis. A few of his good friends had lost all of their savings with Madoff. We started talking about it because it happened to be on the little tv sitting on the table in the corner. The gentleman explained how the friends of his got involved. It happened at an exclusive private country club in Florida. Apparently Madoff had "two guys" who would carefully screen propsective investors who would only be accepted if they were in a certain income bracket. He also explained that there was a "referral" system through other members to Madoffs guys. After all of these "formalities" the prospective investors would begin investing with Madoffs firm.

While listening to this, I was watching the cars being serviced in the garage area through the large glass window. My silver jetta, another guys blue gti, and then this gentleman's jaguar. My mind was spinning trying to imagine the lifestyle one must have had before being swindled by Bernie Madoff. Meanwhile the guy with the jaguar looks at us and says "wow am I happy I didn't get referred by anyone, and I wasn't considered special enough to invest with that firm." He then began to ramble on about how he was leaving for florida in the morning.

It was all kind of bizzare in a way. Everyone has been touched in one way or another by this recession. Some more than others. Nothing profound here, just wanted to share that story

I am going to London in May. I don't know if it has really sunk in. It was kind of a impulse decision to be honest. I'm going to be there for my birthday, which I now have mixed feelings about that. I'm in the process of trying to recruit people to go, as it is just me right now. I have friends just outside of London and a goody buddy in Dublin, so I could go to ireland as well. Right now I have to flesh out the details such as hotels, itinerary and anything else. Ill let you all know how things are progressing.

Just read an article in the Atlantic Monthly that I wanted to recommend. Its called How the Crash will Reshape America, by Richard Florida. Good article. Buffalo even get some face time, not that flattering, but hey. Its a really interesting article. If you go to the website, its in the magazine section.

The outback is very underated for a chain/corporate restaurant. Haha...it could be that I'm biased catching up with one of my good friends who happens to be behind the stick. Swapping stories and the goings on of the past few weeks while I enjoy a Newcastle.

Usually at lunch there are a few things I do everyday. I guess a routine if you like. I read the Times, Buffalo News and the Newsday. Usually its my second helping of the BN, sometimes when I get in in the morning it seems to be yesterdays news.

By read, I mean I scan to see what interests me and read that. I have to say I prefer the Times, only because of the wide variety of pieces I can dip into. The buffalo news helps me keep up to date with what's going on back at the ranch haha.

Recently however, I have started going on "lunch time vacations" I go to flickr and search a destination, then flip through the vacation memories of others. Its interesting seeing what people snap pics of while on holiday. Of course you get the obligatory shots of monuments, tourist traps, and government buildings. I find the other pics much more interesting. Of course some of them can get quite racy, not that I mind, but its funny how everyone is truly the "same". By that I mean people do the same types of things around the globe. Not that I ever though otherwise, but seeing it "done" in locations all around the world is reassuring I guess.

Traveling abroad during lunch always leaves me with a mix of emotions. It keeps a fire going inside of me that desires nothing more than to pack it in and travel. Working along the way. It reminds me of what else is out there, not that I need that. But it feels like people my age seem to forget what is outside of their world. They have homes and a family and their focus changes. Rightly so, but there is a loss of wonder about the outside.

Well that was quite a rant. May be a bit wild, you'll have to bear with me. Just gettin back into the swing of this. I also have to learn how to load pics from a mobile post!