links for 2009-06-08

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You Know You Only Turn 90 Once

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My Grandmother turns 90 this month and since that's a rather momentous occassion about 65 of our relatives, representing four generations, gathered at my Aunt's house at Laurel Ridge, near the Eastern Continental Divide and celebrated her birthday in style.  It was a beautiful day in the mountains and we had a wonderful time catching up with some family we hadn't seen in years, sometimes decades.  Best of all, I think Grandmother had the time of her life. 

Grandmother comes from a long line of women who live past the century mark so I figure we'll be doing it again in 10 years. Here's a pic of the bunch of us gathering for the Moravian blessing before we started to eat lunch:

Blessing Before the Meal

Tanglewood Triathlon

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What with all the biking that's done on the roads around Lewisville and Clemmons it should come as no surprise that Tanglewood hosted a triathlon this weekend that maxed out in participants in its very first year.  Apparently the 36 North Sprint Triathlon did just that, and a local blogger and his wife did quite well in it.

I like the looks of this event as it's the first triathlon I've ever seen that has distances that I think I could finish.  Of course everyone else would be sprinting and I'd be jogging, floating and coasting, but at least I'd finish.

The Spa My Daughter Will Never See

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The Utopia Salon and Day Spa in Clemmons claims that one of its chairs helps women get pregnant simply by them sitting in it. While that might be a positive marketing spin for some people, I can tell you that as long as I have anything to say about it my daughter will never pass through their doors.  Nor, for that matter, will my wife.

Fellas, keep this in mind when you're desparately seeking that perfect last minute gift certificate for your significant other's birthday that you completely forgot about.  It could end up being the gift that keeps on giving.

links for 2009-06-04

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My Guess? Hummers Will Be All They Can Be

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So GM agreed to sell its Hummer unit to someone, but not telling anyone who it is.  My guess?  The Army is buying it.  Why not?  That will keep the unit "in the family" since the US Government is the majority shareholder of GM.  I also figure the Army can save a ton of money by closing their recruiting centers and moving the recruiters into dealerships (or vice versa) and they can cross train recruiters to be car salesman since the jobs are virtually identical.  And of course they can sell to themselves at cost so you have to figure they'll save some change there as well.  Yep, I'm liking the idea more and more as I think about it.

Relativity

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So a report by the Mortgage Bankers Association says that the number of mortgage applications plummeted thanks to a large jump in interest rates.  Sounds bad when you equate economic recovery with housing starts, but on the other hand if you look at where the interest rates ended up, 5.25% for a 30-year fixed mortgage, and if you're old enough to remember interest rates that were double figures, you find it hard to exclaim, "Holy crap that's a high rate!"  I can still remember my Mom being happy about her 13%-ish interest rate back in the late 70s or early 80s.  After all just a few years earlier rates were closer to 20%.  Don't believe me? Check out this table of prime interest rates since 1947 and pay particular attention to the jump in rates from October, 1980 to December, 1980, from 13.5% to 21.5%.  Ouch.

AAA Baby

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Fitch gives Forsyth County a 'AAA' rating:

The county's 'AAA' GO rating reflects its strong finances and management, increased economic diversification, moderately low debt, and healthy income levels.

Continued expansion of biotechnology, health care, leisure and hospitality, and financial activities is producing a diversified economy that can absorb decreases in manufacturing employment.

Projected population and assessed valuation growth are expected to maintain a manageable debt burden, in spite of infrastructure demands attributable to population growth.Located in the Piedmont region in central North Carolina, Forsyth County is one of the state's major commercial and industrial centers.