If Your Collecting That, I'll Need To Finish My Glass.

People collect all manner of things; some good, some bad and some indescribably weird. What possibly would one do with some of these odd collection. Yet, we all have our quirks and one person's junk is another's others choice of strange fascination. Mine of course is wine. Which I was forced to tap into last evening as I endured one final state of the union address from the boy who who'd be king, aka W. It took a bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1999 to stomach the President's lies. (Nothing like a good "freedom wine" to dull one's pain.)

But all that politics and lies aside, it wasn't the speech that bothered me it was is actions afterward that had me scratching me head. What was with the signing of autographs? Why is a statesman, the so called leader of the free world, signing autographs? In a room of his peers, following a an address to the entire nation regarding its health and future. Why, following such an important speech does our current President chose to parade around like he's a ballplayer or a starlet. What happened to the days of the regal statesmen? Besides doesn't he have important work to attend to like a looming recession, growing unemployment, a war?

More over who are the fools that want to collect his autograph. A President's signature seems like a silly collectible. Not to mention a signature of the worst President ever. But then again maybe in the future people will want to remember the first man that was not elected (in 2000 Bush lost Florida) but rather appointed to the Presidency by the supreme court.

Like I said, "...one person's junk is another's others choice of strange fascination." I'd rather stick with a collectible that I believe in the value. It might be pricey but just taste Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1999 once and you'll understand the fascination.

12 bottles of Bookwalter Lot 21 - A Exceptional Case

A fortune I received recently promised a prosperous new year. Since I've always been a betting man I figured, now is a good time to bet on myself. Having recently earned some extra cash thanks to my performance in fantasy football I decided to double down (so to speak). Thus I grabbed a bottle of Bookwalter Lot 21 for inspiration, plopped down in front of the computer and went to work.

I've always thought that the key to placing a quality bet is as simple as understanding the numbers. Take for example the NFL game that I settle on for action, Washington Redskins at the Seattle Seahawks. As I worked on deciding my bet began in a traditional manner, breaking down records, stats and player match-ups. Then factoring in weather, location, momentum and experience; I soon realized that on paper this looks to be a very close match-up. Hence, a 3 point spread divides the teams in the bookies minds. Knowing I'd need to look deeper to find an advantage, I poured myself another glass in an effort of limbering up my thoughts. It was then that the numbers came alive to tell me the outcome of the game. It is as simple as 12 vs 21, 21 being the refection of 12 and the power of the sum of each pair of digits which is of course the power of 3, the trilogy.

At this point you might think you need a glass of Bookwalter Lot 21 to understand my thinking. (Of course it wouldn't hurt to enjoy the sweet, almost caramel like palate that transitions seamlessly into a voluminous flavors of all spice, black berries and cherries followed by long silky finish of lush tannins.) But really my thinking on this matter is quiet clear. For tomorrow this game is larger than the normal 11 on 11 expected in most football games, nope this game is about the extra player booth teams draw power from.

Bet the over.