Linky...

As if you have something better to do today.

A Foregone Conclusion

As of last weekend, Hillary Clinton has lost the race for the Democratic nomination. Or at least, that seems to be the word on the street. The news is that her campaign is a mess; her fund-raising is drying up; Bill is a drag; her hair and her suits are uninspiring; her poll numbers are falling and Obama has won 11 contests in a row!

If you watched the Cleveland debate (or any post-debate coverage -- especially the part where she complains about always getting the first question) I bet you got the feeling that Hillary has just thrown up her hands. Nothing she does seems to have any effect on the perception that Obama is invincible, mainly because that perception isn't based on anything in reality.

These debates are taking place inside the aura of Obama which makes the political differences between the two irrelevant. In the Obama bubble, nobody cares what the candidates say. If Hillary says she's happy to be there with him, it means she's resigned to losing. If she says she disagrees with Obama and finds his approach naive, she's nit-picking or throwing a hissy-fit. Try everything, try nothing, doesn't matter! He's so handsome! And he can slide by, saying nothing substantive, committing to nothing, promising nothing.

In case anyone's interested in actual facts, Obama's winning but only by a narrow 81.5 delegates. There are 370 delegates to be decided in the primaries on March 4th (Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont -- and 566 more delegates after that), so this thing is still up in the air.

But what's blowing in the wind is that Hillary is done and a sore loser to boot. Where did this come from? I have no idea. But what will these people do if Clinton wins on Tuesday?

Not What You Thought Utah

Nelly and I just got back from our trip to Utah. We went with a group of NYU Law students. I think everyone really enjoyed the trip.

Skiing was really fun and skiing in Utah was really excellent. Apparently, the weather in Utah has been really excellent and that was certainly born out by our trip.



We flew in to Salt Lake City on Wednesday night and headed for the condo we had rented. It was a cute little place, nothing too exorbitant, but plenty of beds and plenty of room for everyone. And a hot tub!

Thursday was our first opportunity to get out on the slopes. The morning started off with an avalanche shutting down the only road up the mountain. So although most of our group set out before 8am, nobody got on the mountain before 11.

We started at Snowbird because it was close to our condos and allowed both snowboarders and skiers (and had a good rental deal). Little did we realize that Snowbird skews towards more difficult trails. Their beginner runs were very challenging, especially for the people in our group who were actually beginners. And, because of the avalanche, they canceled all the lessons.

Due to the danger of another avalanche on the road, they closed down the lifts early. So we only got in two runs on Thursday. A meager showing, to be sure, but we still had Friday through Sunday to make up for it.



Friday was a better day for most everyone. We headed back to Snowbird, undaunted by their intimidating trails. While the beginners made their way along the easier slopes, I went up to the top of the mountain for some blue runs. The first couple times through I had a pretty good time. But the last run of the day was torturous. I was just not in good enough shape to take the pounding Snowbird was intent on laying on me.

Boy was I glad for the hot tub on Friday night. Oy!

By Saturday, we'd learned our lesson. We headed further up the mountain to Alta. Alta not only had a better selection of green and blue trails, but it was also really groomed. All the greens and most of the blues were set up to offer a smooth and exhilarating ride.

It was a revolution for the beginners and intermediates on the trip (myself included) to be able to angle down the hill and just ride. By the end of Saturday, the beginners were trying blues and I was challenging myself with some black diamond runs!



The only flaw on Saturday was the fog that had settled over the peaks of the mountains. So while the rides were fun and challenging, there was a layer of nervousness added by the fact that you could barely see 10 feet in front of you. But once we dropped down below the clouds, it was just pure enjoyment all the way down.

Sunday we headed back to Alta. The day started off beautiful and stayed that way. With the sun shining down and the sky free of clouds, I felt even more confident. And headed all over the mountain, taking on some long and challenging runs. It was really perfect!



Utah is a beautiful place.

Woooooooooooooooooooooooo!

For those of you who follow the American Football and particularly New York's Football Giants, an amazing thing just happened! The Giants won the Super Bowl, defeating the ludicrously favored Patriots 17-14!


For those of you who don't follow football, it's hard to precisely describe the inexplicable-ness of this occurrence. And without the context of the Giants' struggles throughout the season, their improbable surge through the playoffs which lead up to the Super Bowl... all the angst about Eli (QB), the questions about Coughlin (Head Coach), the injuries to key players and the elevation of so many rookies to starting positions... without having followed them through all that, you probably couldn't understand what makes it so ridiculous.

All the things that go wrong in a football season seemed to go wrong for the Giants. Yet there they were in the Super Bowl against a Patriots who had seen everything go their way for the whole season.

And lo! They won! The Patriots didn't fall down, they played their best game, but the Giants were better tonight. And that makes it all the more impressive!

Goooooooo GIANTS!

We're Engaged!

Hi hi! Nelly and I are engaged!

The happy couple!