A year ago today …

We lost you but your memory lives on …

Interesting read

Cost of pennies spurs calls for change Bills would give U.S. Mint freedom to use cheaper metals to make coins

WASHINGTON — The U.S. penny is not what it appears to be, and some in Congress would like to see it change further, if not disappear entirely.

Because of a surge in the price of copper, the U.S. Mint decided 25 years ago to manufacture the coins almost entirely with zinc, save for the coating on which Abraham Lincoln’s profile is engraved.

Now, the fate of the penny is up in the air once again. With the price of zinc soaring amid a worldwide commodities boom, it costs the government almost 2 cents to make each 1 cent coin — a pretty penny considering roughly 8 billion new ones are placed into circulation annually.

While it is unlikely the penny will be pulled from circulation, there are some lawmakers who want to ditch zinc as a raw material and instead use steel or some other less expensive metal.

The nation’s sole supplier of zinc “penny blanks,” Jarden Zinc Products, is lobbying the federal government to protect its interests.

The subsidiary of Jarden Corp., based in Rye, Westchester paid Baker & Daniels LLP $180,000 in 2006 to fight legislation that would have allowed retailers to round off cash transactions to the nearest nickel, effectively creating a penniless society. Fortunately for Jarden, the House legislation did not gain traction, and its author, Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., has since retired.

In the past two weeks, however, bills in the House and Senate were proposed that would give the Treasury Department the power to decide — without congressional approval — the type of metals used for all coins. The bills’ authors said using cheaper metals to make pennies and nickels, which incidentally cost an estimated 10 cents each to produce, could save taxpayers $100 million annually.

Jarden’s lobbyist in Washington, Mark Weller of the law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, said House staffers recently assured him the latest bills won’t open the door to another effort to get rid the penny. “We’re satisfied, but we need to stay on top of that,” Weller said.

Francois Velde, a senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said the federal government should rid the U.S. currency of pennies, or at the very least find a cheaper way to make them. Velde noted that equivalent coins in Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe are made from steel, which is roughly five times less expensive than zinc.

The Mint spent nearly $100 million manufacturing pennies in 2006, based on a 1.2 cent per-penny cost at the time. The cost has risen to 1.7 cents per coin in 2007, according to the Mint.

Since March 2003, global demand for core metals has driven up the price of zinc 450 percent, lawmakers said.

Weller, who has long lobbied for the penny with a group called Americans for Common Cents, argues the penny is good for the economy. Its absence, he said, would lead retailers to raise prices, influencing inflation. Weller also said past polls have shown a majority of Americans favor the coin, which was first produced in the United States in the 1790s.

Velde said he isn’t aware of any widespread movement in Congress, or elsewhere, calling for its demise.

“We are talking about small change,” he said. “It’s not something people get extremely excited over.”

Boycott!

Enough is enough!  I am calling for a boycott of all products that are made in China!  First dog food, then toothpaste, now children’s toys …by the millions might I add.  From here on out I’m not purchasing anything that is made in China!  Come on people …unite! 

Why are we buying these products anyway?  Wait, I know …they’re cheaper.  On one hand people want the best price and then on the other they’re complaining about outsourcing.  You can’t have it both ways.  Bring the jobs back here and pay a few cents more!

Priceless

Woman Arrested After Complaining About ‘Fake’ Drugs

ROCHELLE, Ga. — A woman was arrested after she called local police to help “get her money back” after she was unhappy with the crack cocaine she purchased.

Juanita Marie Jones, 53, called Rochelle Police late Thursday night after she purchased what she thought was a $20 piece of crack cocaine, according to police reports.

She told officers she broke the rock into three pieces and smoked one, only to discover the drugs were “fake.”

She took Officer Joel Quinn and Deputy John Shedd of the Wilcox County Sheriff’s Office into her kitchen and showed them the drugs, police said.

She was promptly arrested on charges of possession of cocaine.

On this day …

I was born!  Others celebrating with me today:

Robin Quivers, Dustin Hoffman, Drew Lachey, Bradley McIntosh, Donny Most, Connie Stevens, Mel Tillis and Esther Williams.

Personality test

I saw this on Kelly’s site and thought I would give it a try.

Ah-choo!

I think I have a case of summer allergies.  sigh  I’ve been doing so well.  Other than that I have nothing going on.  It’s nice out and it’s finally cooled down a bit so I think I’ll mow the lawn.  That should be good for my nose.  lol

Bridge safety

I’m sure everyone has heard about the bridge collapse in Minnesota a few days ago.  Tragic is all I can say about that.  I’ve never been a fan of bridges and I have to cross one twice a day over the Hudson River to get to and from work.  This morning I thought I should do some research to see if I could find out the status of the bridges that I have to travel on a daily basis.  This is the first thing I found on one of the bridges that was published in our local paper this Monday, just 1 day before this weeks disaster.

Then I read this article from today.

Track side

Twice in one week!  Life doesn’t get much better than this.  OK, yeah it can but for right now it’s looking good.  My cube neighbor just went to the gas station to pick up the racing program so we can get a head start on our picks.  The weather is nice, hot but nice.  I washed my folding chair last night and it’s still damp :\  It’s outside next to the building drying as I type.  I’m good to go!  Now all I need is a little bit of luck!

Countdown

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been in the process of being laid off since last October.  Actually, it’s been since 2000 but last October it sounded like this was it.  Here it is, August 1st and we have a meeting with the higher ups.  This could mean one of several things.

1. We have decided to keep you on but we still don’t know where you’ll be working on 01/01/08 (our lease runs out on 12/31/07 and at this point can’t renew)

2. We have decided to keep you and we have a new building

3. We have decided to keep you and you’ll be working from home

4. We’re sorry, we no longer need your services and you end date is 12/31/07

I’m not sure which one I want to hear.  Naturally I would love to keep my job.  Who wants to go through the process of finding a new job and getting used to a whole new group of people?  Not me!  On the other hand, if they let us go we have a really nice package and I could take some time off between jobs.  In theory, it’s a win-win for me, so why don’t I feel that way :\

Update 08/02/07 – We received a mixed bag of news yesterday.  They told us that the plans to close our office are off the table, we’re being absorbed by another department and they’re undergoing a re-org.  LOL  So you’re not losing your job just yet is what I got out of it.  It looks those who end up with a job (there’s a chance some people might not have a job) will be working from home.  WOO HOO!!  We should know more by the end of the month, I’ll keep you posted.