While low key as birthday celebrations go, I think next year's will be a big blowout when he turns 18.
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Now a quick shift over to a little economic news, specifically the housing market and unemployment, at least here in New Hampshire.May's home sales here in the Granite State actually looked pretty good, with numbers close to what would normally be seen in May: 951 homes sold. The downside being the median price was lower than compared to last year ($210,000 versus $220,000), though last year's numbers were probably skewed due to the first time homebuyer's tax credit. Even with those sales numbers, it has to be understood there is a large unsold inventory of homes on the market as well as some shadow inventory (bank-owned homes) not presently on the market.
May's unemployment numbers looked better, with an unemployment rate of 4.8 percent this year versus 6.1 percent in May 2010. However I have to cast a skeptical eye at the numbers considering they do not include those who have dropped off the unemployment roles because they've stopped looking for work or have taken seasonal jobs outside their usual occupation.
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It appears the trend of “reshoring”, meaning returning jobs from overseas to the US, is picking up.I've seen other companies also returning operations to US soil, with some citing the increased manufacturing costs overseas as well as the rising costs of shipping products to the US.
This trend of reshoring or insourcing is likely to grow in the coming years, as the cost gap between building overseas and building at home narrows. It's an encouraging sign in a job market where hiring has stalled in recent months.
--snip--
Greater quality was the major factor cited by Carbonite for moving back jobs to the U.S. as well. The company's call center in New Delhi, India was having turnover of 100% or more each year, said Tom Murray, the company's vice president of marketing.
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Alexandra Cahill describes how she survived four years of liberal indoctrination at Wellesley College and remained a conservative.Some of the comments are telling, showing how some liberals are still close-minded bigots incapable of independent thought outside of their indoctrination.
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Peter Heck tells us about the sorry state of liberal compassion.In effect, they have none...unless they want to spend someone else's money to deal with something they see as a problem, whether it really is or not. But don't look for them to spend their own money on their causes unless they expect some kind of a payback from the powers-that-be.
(H/T Maggie's Farm)
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Bogie has pictures and observations from Bike Week, which ended today.The roar of motorcycles has been fading away throughout the day as we bid farewell to the 88th annual Laconia Motorcycle Rally.
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I had the opportunity to commiserate with some bikers up from Ocean City, Maryland as we ate breakfast at the Olde Bay Diner in Alton Bay.One observation they made: There are a lot of independent diners throughout New Hampshire, unlike the various franchises, chain restaurants, and fast food joints back where they reside. All in all, they liked the atmosphere and the food at the diners far more than the chain restaurants. They were also surprised to see the owners greeting their 'regulars' like family and newcomers like friends.
There's something to be said for some of the old fashioned ways of doing things.
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Ann Althouse quotes two possible strategies for the unions to follow in regards to the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision upholding the state legislatures passage of a bill stripping the public unions of collective bargaining rights for benefits and pensions.But the real action is in the comments to Ann's post, where it is obvious that at least a few union supporters have a very skewed idea about the integrity of unions and the tactics they would use to take back control of the taxpayer's wallets.