Hi everybody

Kind of a crazy few weeks with work and the kids just getting so big.....and yeah our anniversary is right around the corner.

I took Brody to his first NU football game and he loved it, even the tailgating. He is a third generation NU football fan.

Allergy season is upon us and I feel awful, I sound like I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day. In a shocking turn of events Brody wants to be Superman for Halloween instead of a green frog. As for Jayne we are still debating this critical decision (we are open to family suggestions).

And anyone who wants a short synopsis of the financial mess we (the US) are in I read this blog and it helps describe the bailout:

“I will tell you that the real issue is not whether the plan will work, but what will happen if this plan is not implemented. The public does not realize that last week we came extremely close to a complete collapse of the financial system, on a par with 1929. Major corporations were having difficulty issuing commercial paper. There was almost a run on money market funds (190 billion liquidated in one day). The 3 month T-bill was trading at a negative yield. If this plan is not approved very soon, the consequences might be extremely dire. Anyone who says otherwise does not understand what's going on. Fortunately, in addition to Bernanke and Paulson, the leaders of both parties realize that it must be approved, and they are merely debating the details. Do not think of this as a bailout of Wall Street. It is a restructuring of the financial system. Without it, many more average people will suffer greatly. Think about massive bank failures, inability to obtain mortgages, inability of corporations to obtain financing, a total lack of confidence in financial institutions, inability of financial markets to function, a critical lack of liquidity in the system, etc. Will it work? Well, it will certainly help, and it is absolutely necessary and urgent. Financially stressed institutions will be able to exchange currently illiquid and depressed assets for urgently needed capital. It will not solve all our current problems - the housing market is still depressed and getting worse, unemployment rates are still increasing, economic growth is still slow - but this plan is an absolute necessity in order to restore some confidence to the financial system and avoid dire consequences.Lost in the discussion is the fact that the government will be acquiring billions of dollars of currently distressed and illiquid assets at bargain basement prices. As the economy improves, many of these assets will be worth substantially more. Also, the government will most likely have a call on future earnings of some of the assisted institutions, i.e. as the earnings of some of these banks recover, they will have to pay part of the profit back to the government. Therefore, the long term cost of this program is likely to be substantially lower than the numbers being kicked around. So, yes, the plan will help and will likely not cost as much as the public thinks, but the fact is that the failure to approve this plan might well be catastrophic”.