…12/25-08: assess our own assets

34º in ABQ; 75% humidity at 6A…free food brought thousands to Olde Towne, many enjoyed the traditional setting; minor details being completed to build Spaceport NM; red or green?; that’s a tough question; many like ‘Christmas’; icy roads in NW NM; Luminaria still burning at The Beach in early AM hours; where did my glass of orange juice go?; hidden behind a bag in our refrigerator; NM is the fifth largest state in size, so ABQ has the fifth largest ‘wish list’, asking for $2 billion in funds; burst of snow in N NM; the calm before the bigger storm tomorrow; bank robber killed himself in CO prison; very busy at NE Duke City Wal-Mart yesterday, but some last minute customers thought the prices were higher than earlier December; CO blizzard expected; NM ‘men of steel’ make fireplace gratings; why am I constantly constipated?; why can’t people help me solve my problems; police officer charged with being a ‘peeping tom’; Brad made great Mole; motorcycle accident on I-40 near Rio Grande injured the driver; holiday gift cards stolen from CYFD children in Quay CNTY; Second Chance Rehab CTR produced the necessary paperwork to provide itself ‘a second chance’; NW NM school district wants to increase teacher housing rental rates by $150/month;

airliner skid on icy runway in Chicago; engine problems forced a second plane back to O’Hare; TX interstate killer died; domestic mail FEDEX sorting stations open this AM; deicer smelled like pepper spray; lousy economy, deals get better; Snowflake, AZ?; the ‘Santa spirit’?; eat smaller meals, because reflux results in insomnia; Obama spoke to Americans from his HI vacation location; scammer Madoff had a yacht named ‘Bull’, several luxurious homes and private jets that were always ‘on call’; warm in Boston; some travelers spending a second night in Midwest airports; economic breakdown a reason to remember the true meaning of the holiday; biracial Eartha Kitt has died from colon cancer at the age of 81; in Covina, CA six people have died after ‘Santa Claus’ fired a gun at a party in a home that caught fire; the time to refinance: IndyMac posts the highest bank loss of $9 billion; Sirius in financial trouble; AX = Armani Exchange; Celtics lost to Lakers; 5.14% mortgage rate for a 30 year loan, the lowest in years; hundreds in KC dressed as Jesus, to remind people what is the reason of the season; “there’s no way our mom would buy us all this stuff”, so says the Obama children; today, four hour travel delays still reported; ‘homeless’ for the holidays; foreclosure: the American nightmare; PRES Elect looking back at the courage of George Washington to cope with the future crisis he faces; Frosty: the ‘man of ice’, used to sell products; blue or green: red or black holiday season; the ‘snow Godzilla’ returns; WA, a state of emergency; future flights not affected by airplane incidents at O’Hare; takes ten billion snowflakes to build a snowman; ‘Iron Man’, the best movie of 2008?; kudos for the Indiana Jones & James Bond films; CA ‘Santa Claus’ then killed himself, after taking off his outfit, and walking away from the house fire in street clothes; elderly people in nursing homes have outlived their families; NATL AVG cost for gas is $1.648, the lowest in 4½ years: AK & UT have the highest & lowest prices; waiting in the wings is ‘The Watchmen’; N Rockies snow; very warm in FL; man loses control of his vehicle, crashes through Long Island Hanukkah party, injuring 14 people; a canine thief;

Canadian woman trapped four days in her car under snow, may lose some fingers and/or toes; peaceful in Bethlehem today, holiday songs played on bagpipes; traditional live manger scene & papal mass held in Rome; more Hamas attacks on the Gaza Strip; violins also provided holiday music; oil has dropped in price by 75% since July; nineteen people have died from Ukraine APT house blast, possibly caused by gas leak; Harold Pinter has died from cancer at the age of 78; Enya: twenty years of music, and never has been ‘on tour’, second only to U2 in great, modern Irish singers; German copters defeated pirates attacking an Egyptian vessel off the coast of Somalia; earthquake in S Philippines;