Ireland Vacation

I just returned from a two week, Ireland, Scotland and England vacation with Enrichment Journeys. The trip began with three days in Dublin. It is a beautiful city with much to offer. I mostly toured the city, walking, and on the hop on hop off bus. There were pubs, castles, museums and shopping.

After Dublin, I boarded a small cruise ship, the Sea Explorer for a week of travel, sightseeing, and meeting wonderful people. The ship is newly refurbished, and carries about 115 passengers. The accommodations were fantastic, and so was the food and ship's crew. Our itinerary include: Waterford, famous for its crystal, Liverpool, famous for the Beatles, the Isle of Mann, and the Isle of Mull, with quaint cities and beautiful country sides.

After cruising, I ended up in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a wonderful tourist destination with fantastic museums and gardens. There were tonnes of visitors from all over the world in both Dublin and Scotland.

My trip was planned and directed by Christy Fabiano (christy@onlinevacationcenter.com). Christy and I met at the Miami City Ballet about a month ago. She was the cruise director on board the Sea Explorer, and was excellent at that task.

I know I've been lazy about updating my blog. Everything else for Ronni, Sneakers, Sadie and I has been about the same. Sneakers celebrated his 8th birthday yesterday. Getting away was fun, but getting home was great.

"Happy" by Robert Caisley at The New Theatre

Robert Caisley is presenting his third play at the New Theatre, these first two weeks in December. With its twists and turns, wit, humor, and drama, Ronni and I had an enjoyable evening. I'll give this one, two thumbs up, and recommend it to my local friends. The New Threatre is located near FIU off S.W. 8th Street.

Just a thought

If government intervention or central bank stimulation actually worked, there would only be prosperity the world over. Unfortunately the opposite is true, debt, depression, and despair.

A note to Sneakers from Alan Greenspan

To keep you up on what's happening. Below is a note in reply to a card I sent to Alan Greenspan praising his book Age of Turbulence. The book was loaned to me by my friend Don Castaldi. Don's book was autographed by Greenspan for Don's former friend and boss, Henry Jerome, who passed away about a year ago.

Before taking an interest in economics, Greenspan was a musician. One of his first professional music jobs was playing saxophone in the Henry Jerome band in the 1950s. Greenspan has always had fond memories of his time with the Jerome band, and kept up his friendship with Henry until Henry died.

Age of Turbulence is a wonderful book, which I highly recommend.  The book is in three parts. Greenspand's early years, his years as a presidential advisor and Fed Chairman, and a primer on free markets economics in today's world. The note card I sent Greenspan was made from the above picture of Sneakers.

A message from Alan Greenspan, in response to your note:

Dear Mr. Gorback,

Thank you. Regards to Sneakers.

Alan Greenspan

Which are you?

 

Libertarian:

The government's sole function is the protection of private property. There are very few persons who adhere to this philosophy. A few with this philosophy waste much of their time trying to convince others to believe the same. They won't succeed.

Conservative:

 The government needs to be all powerful, and to support our morality and way of life. Nothing is beyond its grasp. Government power is god given through the constitution, the 10 commandments, and biblical scripture. No other proof is necessary. This is the white-man's burden.

Liberal:

The government needs to take from anyone who has more that someone else and make us all equal. We need the government to take care of the young, old, and middle aged, and to promote love between one another. This we know from our heart.



Cliff Dwellings

Pueblo Indian Cliff Dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park in Utah, from our recent Tauck Tour. The saying is from Robert T. Carroll's book Unnatural Acts and Critical Thinking, which is available at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Click photo to enlarge.

Sharing

Many times I come across really interesting things on the internet, that I think I should share with my friends. Robert T. Carroll’ s web site and blog are such. His blog is http://www.59ways.blogspot.com/ and his web site http://www.skepdic.com/  are dedicated to rational thinking.

Carroll is a philosopher, skeptic and critical thinker. My other share is the Mises Institute web site, http://www.mises.org/  The Mises Institute perpetuates the writings and ideas of Ludwig von Mises, the father of the Austrian School of Economics, and the greatest economist and free market thinker of the 20th century. They are advocates for free market economics.
The photo was taken at Monument Vally, Utah on my recent Tauck Tour.