You are really hard to buy for

This time of year marks the beginning of the season with the inevitable question of  "What do you want for Christmas"? 

I am always at a quandary when asked this question as I never have a really good answer.  I have most everything I need.  That's not to say I have a of materials.  I just use the things I need, buy the things I want when I need them, and ignore the rest.  I currently have a computer, flat screen TV, and cell phone.  (That eliminates about 50% of the advertised "must have" Christmas items).  The idiot IT department has every gaming system and video game known to  man, so don't need that.  The institute's CRAP (Central Research, Analysis, and Policy) Vehicle, oddly, has been behaving lately; I don't see a Lexus with a bow on it in the driveway this year.  A plea bargain agreement stipulated we would not possess any type of GPS system after the little dust-up we had with the Garmin folks earlier this fall.  No go on that one.   My annual plea to provide me with a quality staff by recruiting and offering meaningful compensation to prized performers to upgrade the thinking around here has fallen on deaf ears of our cheap assed Board of Directors.  So, I guess we are stuck with the losers we have.  I guess it really is going to be a bleak Christmas this year. 



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The Institute received 2 registered, return receipt letters yesterday from different organizations threatening legal repercussions should our upcoming Friday Jukebox selection cause any legal or economic damage to their well-being.  I'll admit it:  I'm nervous.  We've had legal problems before, but, this is different.  No only could we be economically damaged, but,  also exposed for what we are:  A collection of misfits generating public policy and positions on various issues that most people think is stupid, irrelevant, nonsensical, or meaningless.  Kind of like our local government.