Mixing It Up

I don't understand these people that vacation at the same place every year.

Yeah if you have a *free* place to stay it makes sense in the short run. But it's a big world out there...

You have to fight turning into a *creature of habit* with all your might.

Last year we went on a mini vacation to Sandusky, Ohio - to a homeschool convention.

This year I really wanted to do the Jersey Shore....er, the South Jersey Shore which isn't to be confused with that show that I've still never seen. South Jersey is Philadelphia country, really.

I had such a great time, again, at my golf tournament in Wildwood three weeks ago I got to thinking about bringing the entire fam down.

Ocean City, pictured above, is where we are heading next week for 5 nights ($988 motel). I've never been there before. All I know is that it is a *dry* town, i.e. no alcohol, period. And that it's supposed to be terrific for young children.

My wife's family does have a house out in the Hamptons, but, again, I don't think it's healthy to spend all our vacations there, no matter how *cheap*.

Branch out a little, will youse?  The alternative is that you WILL TURN INTO YOUR PARENTS.

New Jersey - The Armpit Of American Education

I can't believe that I hadn't already heard of this documentary film on the rampant corruption in New Jersey government schools:

They say in Newark alone there are over 400 administrators making over 100k per year!

There are plenty more clips on YouTube. And you can also visit the film's website for more information.

Apparently the full film is on Netflix too - for those of you that subscribe.

Golf, Golf, Golf

This past week I played golf three times at Eisenhower Park - the White Course. Curiously, I shot 81 all three days. And in between rounds I've been hitting the driving range, practice greens, and flipping flop shots in my backyard.

This upcoming week I will be golfing another 4 or 5 times. I'm playing in a two-man tournament on the South Jersey shore along with a bunch of my South Philly jabronis. Recall I threatened to do that last year. See - Triumphant Jabronis!.

I've played in it before - three times actually - but not in the past 8 years as I moved too far away - from NY, to NC for a year, and then to serve my 5 year sentence in Boston before returning to NY last May.

So the pretext, er excuse, for all this little-white-ball-whacking has been that I'm preparing for my tournament. Is it competitive?

Yeah, at the top anyway. 128 teams qualify on the first day and are then flighted for match play. You can treat it as seriously or as frivolously as you please. Lose a match and start boozing...

Now I'm not that good (7-9 handicap?) compared to the guys that play in these events. BUT I am smart enough to at least choose a partner who's better than me!

While I do practice hard, I don't take the game too seriously. I'll be content to just *not suck* and have a couple streaks of good play, a few low carb beers, and a dozen cheesesteaks/hoagies over the week. Heck you could put bird $hit on an Amoroso roll and I'd lap it up.

Of course the idea of hitting a ball around with a club is intrinsically Moronic...

But that's not the point. Golf, for me anyways, is a rewarding exercise in *self-mastery*.

The spring has been tough on my time. The kids were swamped with organized activities that I had to chauffeur them to; I had tons of yard work to do; and then there was my golf practice. After this tournament I'll be putting my clubs away for a while so I can get back working on my websites.

MyFace.com's Upstart Moron

As the headline reads, the founder (idea stealer?) of FaceBook has decided to burn a whole lot of money in Newark, NJ as George Costanza said to Steinbrenner, "...all for the glorification of your massive ego!"

Newark only spends $22,000 per pupil, near the highest in the nation....so OBVIOUSLY the system there simply needs a little more money.

There's not much else to say here. Just behold this jaw-dropping Moron and realize this isn't some harmless act of charity.

ABSOLUTELY NOT. It'll simply prolong the life and *standard operating procedures* of hideously unsuccessful institutions.

Thanks to Taylor for alerting me to this one.

More Evidence: Real Estate Brokers = Morons

Read this - from a sob story on tony Rumson, NY - and tell me where the *analysis* falls flat:

"People don't have the money they used to have," says Richard "Ric" Martel Jr., a broker in the Rumson office of Prudential Zack Shore Properties. "The scenario could be a banker who was making $1.5 million, and now their company went under -- like Lehman Brothers or Bear Stearns -- or they have seen their comp cut to $750,000, and the house they bought in 2005 for $1.6 million is now worth $1.1 million, and . . . the mortgage is $1.280 million."

Residents are "still owning nice cars and belonging to beach clubs and country clubs, and they're asking themselves, 'Where can I cut my monthly nut?' The answer is to put their home up for sale."

First correct answer scores a n@ked C-Nut bobblehead doll...