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« June 2009 | Main | August 2009 »

Ortiz on Steroids? Say it ain’t so!

As reported in the New York Times, both Manny Ramirez (no surprise) and David Ortiz (big surprise) were among the 104 MLB players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

Big Papi?

It’s bad enough that the Sox are losing left and right and are now 3 1/2 games behind the Yankees, but to now have this scandal?

Ouch.

Red-sox-baseball

Posted by on July 30, 2020 at 02:10 PM in Business, Entertainment, Games, Health, Legal, Sports | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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Sox Give One Away

The Sox are up 7–4 in the 9th and Jonathan Papelbon is set to close it out. Done. Game over. End of story. Right?

Not exactly.

Add two ninth-inning throwing errors by shortstop Nick Green and viola — Oakland wins, 9-8 in 11 innings.

Come on Sox. It’s one thing to lose — but to just give the games away?

RedSox

Posted by on July 29, 2020 at 11:11 AM in Business, Entertainment, Games, Sports | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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The Gate House by Nelson DeMille

Gatehouse

 

The Gate House

By Nelson DeMille

Grand Central Publishing

$27.99, hard cover, 677 pages, 978-0-446-53342-3 (2008)

 

            Nelson DeMille’s best novel by far (and I’ve read at least ½ dozen of his books) was The Gold Coast. If you’ve read the book, you’re undoubtedly a fan.

 

            The Gate House is DeMille’s sequel to The Gold Coast and picks up 10 years after the stunning conclusion to that book. (If you haven’t yet read The Gold Coast, stop reading this review now and go pick up a copy at your local bookstore or find a copy in the library. It’s a book that will stay with you for a very long time.)

 

Without giving away the plot of The Gold Coast, this novel involves the same characters, John Sutter and his former aristocratic wife, Susan Stanhope Sutter. After a three-year sail around the world and then living in London, John returns to the Gold Coast of Long Island to attend the funeral of an old family friend.

 

            Circumstances find John living temporarily only a quarter of a mile from Susan, who has returned to Long Island after living in Hilton Head. Naturally, they meet and eventually get back together.

 

            But Susan isn’t the only one John meets again from his past. Anthony Bellarosa, the son of the infamous Mafia don Frank Bellarosa – who played such a powerful role in The Gold Coast – wants to drag John back into the violent world of organized crime. Anthony is a ruthless mobster and John and Susan need to watch their every step.

 

            The Gate House is DeMille’s best book since Plum Island. The writing is top notch, the plot twists are unique, the tension builds to an incredible finale, and the dialog sparkles. In short, the book is extremely entertaining and one of the most humorous I’ve read in years. DeMille’s deft writing had me literally laughing out loud on numerous occasions.

 

            The following passage comes when John is seeing Susan’s parents for the first time just after Susan has told them that she and John are getting back together. Susan’s parents don’t approve of John and this brief passage explains what he thinks about them.

 

I considered running toward them with my arms out, yelling, “Mom! Dad!” but instead I said simply, “Hello” and walked toward them.

                        Susan stood, then William and Charlotte rose without enthusiasm.

            I first kissed Susan, to piss them off, then I extended my hand to Charlotte, who gave me a wet noodle, then to William, who game me a cold tuna. I asked, “So, did you have a good flight?”

            William replied, “Good enough.”

            Susan said, “Sit here, John, next to me. I’ve made you a vodka and tonic.”

            “Thank You.” I sat next to Susan on the love seat, and she took my hand, which came to Mom and Dad’s immediate notice and made them wince.

            Schubert was playing softly in the background, and the room was lit with candles and adorned with flowers. Sort of like a funeral home.

            I sipped my drink and discovered it was pure tonic.

            William the Color Blind was wearing silly green trousers, an awful yellow golf shirt, and a shocking pink linen sports jacket. Charlotte had on pale pink pants and a puke green blouse, and they both wore these horrid white orthopedic walking shoes. I’m surprised they were allowed to board the aircraft.

 

            The Gate House is a satisfying revisit with the irreverent John Sutter and all the other characters from The Gold Coast. Do you have to have read The Gold Coast before wading into The Gate House? No. Would it be helpful to read The Gold Coast first? Certainly – besides, The Gold Coast is a great book and it will only make reading The Gate House more pleasurable.

 

            The Gate House certainly can stand on its own as a novel. Unfortunately, it requires giving away the entire plot of The Gold Coast to understand the motivation behind the characters’ actions. So reading The Gate House is a spoiler to reading the earlier novel. Either way, you’ll be thoroughly entertained with either of these highly recommended novels.

 

Buy it on Amazon here.

Posted by on July 24, 2020 at 12:11 PM in Book Reviews, Books, Business, Entertainment, Writing | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Terry Francona on Leadership

For Red Sox fans, manager Terry Francona is in the Washington Post talking about leadership.

Terry francona

Posted by on July 22, 2020 at 10:41 AM in Business, Entertainment, Games, Sports | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Heating Oil Price Drops in Maine

As reported in the Portland Press Herald, the average price of heating oil in Maine has dropped another 2 cents to $2.24 a gallon. In March of last year the average price was at one point $3.79 a gallon. This meant for me that one fill up delivery last year resulted in a bill of over $800.

Ouch.

It also explains why when I bought my typical 2 cords of firewood this year from the same dealer I’ve used for years, the price was cheaper than last year ($200 per cord — cut, split, and delivered). It also explains why instead of a typical 1 – 2 week wait for delivery, when I called on Monday they were able to deliver the wood the very next day.

Firewood

Posted by on July 22, 2020 at 10:21 AM in Business | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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Red Sox Take Second

As I wrote yesterday, the Red Sox need to get their act together in order to stay on top of the American League East. Guess what? For some unknown reason, they didn’t listen to me.

Now, after losing 4–2 to the Texas Rangers last night, they’re in second place.

The problem? No offense.

David Ortiz summed it up: “We’ve got to hit.’’

It’s not like we’re in the preseason. Ball players should be hitting their stride right about now. Instead, the Sox can’t seem to find their swing.

If they’re not careful, even being in second place will be a fond memory.

RedSox

Posted by on July 22, 2020 at 10:13 AM in Business, Entertainment, Games, Sports | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Sox Slumping, Yankees aren’t

What was a 5 game lead over the Yankees is now gone with both teams tied in the AL East. Boston dropped another game last night – this time to the Texas Rangers by a score of 6–3. Meanwhile, the Yankees won again beating the Oriioles 2–1.

Let’s hope this is a temporary slump, not what was typically called the September slide.

Red-sox-baseball

Posted by on July 21, 2020 at 08:40 AM in Business, Entertainment, Games, Sports | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Red Sox Need To Step Up

The Sox are slipping. They’ve gone from 5 games up over the dreaded Yankees, to just one game in front. And they have several more away games where they haven’t exactly dominated this year. Losing 2 out of 3 to Toronto didn’t help matters much.

And what’s happened to their hitting? Halladay pitched great but it’s tough to win games with just 6 hits.

RedSox

 

Posted by on July 20, 2020 at 08:36 AM in Business, Entertainment, Games, Sports | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Make Any Divorce Better! by Ed Sherman

Divocebetter

 

Make Any Divorce Better!

By Ed Sherman

Nolo Press

$24.95, paperback, 177 pages, 0-944508-64-0 (2008)

 

The author has been a family law lawyer since 1967 and he is the founder of Nolo Press.  In 1971, Sherman wrote the book How to Do Your Own Divorce in California.  Clearly, this is a man who knows his stuff.

 

This is not a book written for lawyers – it’s strictly for lay people who want to represent themselves as much as possible in their divorce.  In fact, Sherman bashes lawyers and the legal system so frequently and vehemently that it’s difficult to believe he is a lawyer.

 

Take a look at some of these statements:

 

Problems in a divorce are almost never legal, almost always about personalities and emotions, for which there are absolutely no solutions in court or in a lawyer’s office – zip, zero, nothing.  In fact, getting involved with lawyers and courts almost always makes things worse instead of better.

—————–

 

Neither the law nor attorneys who work in the law have tools to help solve divorce problems.  In fact, the legal system and the way attorneys work is almost certain to make things worse.  The legal system is based on conflict, arguing before a judge in order to win.  You don’t want more argument, you want less.  Arguing doesn’t settle anything.  The legal route doesn’t work, takes too long, costs too much, and leaves the parties wrung out and broke.

—————–

The secret to a successful divorce is to minimize your use of the legal system and of the attorneys who work in it.

 

Are you starting to get the idea that Sherman doesn’t think lawyers are needed in divorces?

 

Sherman claims that 90% of all divorce can be completed without court battles or high attorney fees.  One important thing to keep in mind, according to Sherman, is that the legal system may be necessary in emergencies or if your spouse is an habitual abuser or controller.  In may also be necessary to go to a lawyer for limited advice about a certain issue in your divorce.

 

Sherman runs through five divorce profiles (early, easy, difficult, domestic abuse, and legal battle) and discusses various strategies for each one.  He then provides a roadmap of the legal system and discusses ways to have a successful divorce and provides helpful tips for getting through rough emotional times.  This is extremely helpful as my experience in handling hundreds of divorce cases is that most clients are stressed, in shock, angry, hurt, and highly emotional. 

 

Sherman then provides guidelines on divorce law.  This is where this book, and all general books on divorce, suffers.  Unfortunately, no guide written for a national audience can tell you exactly what the law is in your state.  In most cases, it’s quite difficult for a layperson to figure out what the law is in their state.

 

Here in Maine, for example, there are child support guidelines that most folks could use on their own to determine appropriate child support (though the forms are far from simple).  However, there are no written guidelines at all that help with determining the amount of spousal support that is appropriate – if any at all.  In fact, there are many areas of divorce law that unsuspecting people trying to do their own divorce overlook or never recognize.  (I often have these people come to see me sometime after their divorce when this ignored issue becomes important.)

 

Sherman does an admirable job of providing ten concrete steps spouses can take to make their divorce less painful and also avoid expensive court battles.  He also makes common sense suggestions on how to win and survive a legal battle when it is unavoidable.  In addition, the book contains a CD with worksheets, sample settlement agreements, sample parenting plans and more.

 

For anyone considering doing a divorce on their own, this book provides lots of helpful information.  The only caveat is that divorce law is somewhat different in every state and is often more complex than you might anticipate.  I would urge anyone doing a divorce on their own to at least have their paperwork reviewed by a lawyer prior to obtaining a final judgment.

 

Buy it on Amazon here.

Posted by on July 15, 2020 at 09:58 AM in Book Reviews, Books, Divorce, Legal, Writing | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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University of Maine Recommendations Ignore Elephant in Room

The University of Maine system now has recommendations from three distinct groups on what can be done to get rid of the $43 million budget gap projected over the next 4 years.

David Flanagan and his 12–member task force produced a 67–page document that urged Maine’s 7 public universities to cooperate in cost-cutting.

Wow — a recommendation to cooperate. The group must have spent months of bouncing ideas back and forth before coming up with that insightful plan.

Here’s are the tak force’s guiding principles:

1. ESTABLISH A PUBLIC AGENDA

2. ACT AS A UNION AND NOT A CONFEDERATION

3. RESTRUCTURE SYSTEM-WIDE SERVICES

4. USE FINANCIAL POLICY TO REALIZE SYSTEM GOALS

5. START NOW

Talk about revolutionary — I’m just amazed they could waste 67 pages on this drivel of obvious advice.

The chief financial officers came up with their own document of proposals. They include such mind-blowing recommendations as this:

To achieve efficiencies, the seven campuses must work like a System in implementing technology solutions and business processes in order to take advantage of economies of scale.

How long did it take this group to come up with that golden nugget?

Academic leaders drafted a third document of ways to reduce costs, including such things as eliminating classes and majors that only have a few students in them and getting rid of those pesky Microsoft Office products on campus computers and using free stuff from the Internet.

Brilliant concepts — each and every one of them. Who would have thought to get rid of courses or majors with only a few students in them? Genius, I tell you, simply genius.

I’m so delighted these hard working members of the task force, the financial officers and the academics put their combined educational wisdom and good common sense to use incoming up with inconsequential ideas.

But I what to know one thing. Did each of the groups talk to one another and agree that neither of them would make the only recommendation that really makes and sense?

After all, the things that they’re proposing are really just a drop in the bucket. It’s like recommending that you turn down the thermostat in the winter, keep the windows locked shut, and make sure there is plenty of insulation in the attic — while not noticiing that the front and back doors to your house are totally missing.

I can tell you what the University of Maine system needs to do to save money. I don’t need a task force, board meetings, an academic study or months to ponder the question either.

It’s simple.

Close some campuses.

Maine has 7 public university campuses all doing their own thing. That is at least four or five more campuses than what we need.

Want to close the budget gap and do it fast?

Close some campuses.

Get rid of all the needless administration associated with running seven separate entities that have little to do with one another.

Close some campuses.

Hmmm — I wonder how these three separate recommendations could have missed that simple suggestion?

 

 

 

Posted by on July 14, 2020 at 10:15 AM in Books, Business, Legal, Politics, Weblogs | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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