Meeting Engagement

FBR Hangs with Wingman

Yesterday was one of those days you cringe when it appears on the calendar and not just mentally. I was scheduled for the monthly meeting with my customer where we compare how the company did with actual revenues and expenses compared with the budget over the past month. This is a monthly torture session where I have to be able to explain any deviation, good or bad. Because this wasn’t enough fun my CFO is out of the office with a serious illness which meant her assistant, just a couple years out of college, had to put it together, high adventure indeed. While that went well I still had two additional meetings to “look forward” to.

Public Meeting

We had another public hearing on potential service cuts due to lack of state funding where I anticipated the Voice of Inappropriate Worth would be in high fettle as well as a union organized public rally at city hall protesting the governor’s budget. The public hearing was held in Worcester’s main library and I felt better as soon as I walked in the door. As a dedicated bibliophile I’ve enjoyed walking into any library for as long as I can remember. I still recall as a very young lad the marble stairs of the Keene Public Library that I would rush up upon arrival to reach the children’s section with my mother trailing far behind. The denizens of Worcester Main Library bear no resemblance to that well remembered refuge of my youth with onsite police to keep the idiots well behaved. The hearing went as planned and there were some actual cogent comments that I believe cowed the VIW from their usual diatribes so I considered that a win.

City Hall Rally

I wandered across the street to City Hall and was greeted by a very large crowd for the rally for public transit. I was impressed at the drive and passion of a group of the younger drivers who formed a committee to garner support for better funding for public transit outside of the Boston Metro area. They even coaxed a number of local reps and senators to show up and speak. I was particularly impressed with a candidate for governor, Seti Warren, someone to keep an eye on in the future. I was actually fairly proud of the group and despite being besieged by the far left radicals these type events seem to attract in untenable amounts (actually had a bona fide communist come up and try to recruit me - unsuccessfully) I enjoyed my time there. That is until I could no longer feel my feet as the first day of Spring was anything but spring like.

FBR and Friend at Day Care

This week’s Nor’easter is blowing through today as we’re only supposed to get between 4-8” of snow which is cake walk compared to the past three weeks. I laughed this morning when the morning news reported that the nation’s capital was paralyzed by the threat of 2-6” of snow. I less than fondly remembered my winters in Virginia where it snows every year and seems to surprise them, every year. I’m so glad to be back in place that can handle it.

Caption Says it All

My daughter took my less than subtle hint yesterday about the lack of FBR photos and provided the attached evidence of her continued pulchritude. As depicted in one of the photos the FBR is being brought into the fold on the mysteries of Girl Scout cookies. I really miss the shortbread ones and have to dodge the hucksters outside the grocery store weekly if I have any hope of not sinking to the bottom of the pool each morning. I caught up with the New Jerseyites last night at dinner time where the FBR rather emotionally insisted on being the one to open the ingredients for dinner. Two year olds can be very effective negotiators. I should say emotional negotiators. My wife was feeling a little better down in Panama. I’m more than sure shopping was involved in that recovery.

Craft Time

Croft Time

I was back at the movies last night to see Tomb Raider. I was pleasantly surprised at this reboot as the filmmakers decided to go away from the focus on mammary endowment and short shorts to cast a really good actress as Lara Croft. Alicia Vikander is superb and kicks some serious ass in a more realistic hero than the over the top Angela Jolie versions. While I’m sure the adolescent male target audience of the original video game will be disappointed at the lack of shirt movement Vikander dominates both physically and emotionally as a daughter seeking a long lost father in the wilds of an ancient island temple. She’s ably supported by Daniel Wu who got out of the Badlands long enough to serve as an able partner to Croft’s wanderings. Goggins, who’s usually so good as a bad guy, sleep walks through his performance as the villain. The action as exciting even with the usual abundance of CGI and that’s a tribute to the great shape Vikander obviously got into to play Lara. A nice re-boot of the character with a more able and believable actress in the title role.