New M8 Railcars Make their Debut on the Metro North Railroad New Canaan Line

Interior of the M8 Railcar (courtesy of 

The New Haven Register)

What a delightful surprise to ride the new M8 Japanese (Kawasaki) railcars.

As I boarded the 5:43AM Grand Central bound train at Springdale, I was totally blown away by the arrival of these much improved cars.

First off, the seats are not only brand new, but they are actually comfortable. They are firm, yet slightly resilient which made the 60 minute trip most comfortable.

There is also more leg room between seats.

And the lighting is consistently bright.

Eventually, the M8 will replace all of the nearly 300 cars on the MNR--some of which are over 40 years old!

As of March 14, 2012, Wikipedia reports that 96 cars have been delivered.

Kudos to the New York Times Op-Ed Article on the fallen Culture at Goldman Sachs

In two of my blogs from last year on the toxic mortgage catastrophe ( AIG sues Bank of America for $10 Billion Over Sale of Toxic Mortgages. The Irony of this All! AND The Quotable Oscar: .. "three years after our horrific financial crisis caused by massive fraud, not a single financial executive has gone to jail...") , I quoted the following memorable comment from Senator Carl Levin to Goldman Sachs executives in April 2010 during a senate hearing:

"...600 million dollars of Timberwolf securities is what you sold. Before you sold them this is what your sales team were telling to each other. Look what your sales team were saying about Timberwolf : 'Boy that Timberwolf was one sh---y deal..'

Does that bother you at all?"

Today, The New York Times published an Op-Ed piece by Greg Smith (a 12- year employee at GS, executive director and head of the firm's United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa), entitled Why I am Leaving Goldman Sachs.

Here is a man who entered the firm fresh out of College and joined a culture that "made me love working for the firm for many years."  He goes on to say "that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have even seen it."

He has seen no less than five managing directors label their own clients as "muppets."

He says that leadership is at all time low for three reasons:  (a) the emphasis is on selling clients the products they want to get rid of (b)The directive is to "Hunt Elephants": have clients "trade whatever will bring the biggest profit to Goldman" and (c) "Find yourself in a seat where your job is to trade any illiquid, opaque product with a three-letter acronym."  [think MBS's or CDO's]

He finishes with a caveat to the Board of Directors to make servicing the client the central focus and "weed out morally bankrupt people."

No doubt, Smith leaves the firm with disappointment and even a grave sense of disgust.

I only wonder why didn't he quit sooner?

Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy our early Spring and Summer

Diners at an outdoor cafe along Third Avenue

in Manhattan earlier this week

The weatherman has had many surprises in store for us, this winter: namely many days of above average temperatures.

So, many city folk congregated on the sidewalks of the city at outdoor cafes on Wednesday as the thermometer hit 60.

And this is still early March!

Then on Thursday, the temps rose into the 70's and even more folks ventured outdoors in short sleeves.

So, take advantage of the early spring, get outdoors and soak in the great weather.

  An outdoor restaurant in Soho 

on Thursday as temperatures soared to the 70's

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Colonoscopies save Lives

There's been some great buzz lately on the success of colonoscopies: they have cut the death rate of colorectal cancer in half.


Click here for a recent New York Times editorial on the subject. 

Here in Stamford, the Tully Health Center has an excellently staffed and beautifully designed endoscopy center.

Check it out!
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A Night at the Movies: The Artist is a Delightful Movie

Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo who 

co-star in The Artist 

I finally caught up with The Artist at our local Avon Theater and what a delight it is!

It is hard to explain why a black and white movie with virtually no audibly spoken words (although there is a lovely musical accompaniment) should score so high in an era that emphasizes sound, color and spectacle.

I will try to touch on the subtle, yet overt magnetism of the movie.

First, there are the two main actors.

George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) heralds the end of the silent movie era. He is a Hollywood silent star movie performer in the late 1920's just as sound movies are being introduced. He is suave, debonair, immaculately groomed with a flair for dancing. He will soon be eclipsed by the new sound medium because of his unwillingness to adapt to it.

At the beginning, he accidentally meets his co-star Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo); she is an admiring fan who bumps into him under the marquis of a movie theater where one of his movies is making a debut. There is an instant attraction between the two;  she morphs into a movie extra, then is 'discovered' and becomes a star in the new world of the talking motion pictures.

She is lithe, energetic, light on her feet with a winsome smile. In short she is captivating.

As her star burns bright with her getting leading roles in the 'talkies', George's success diminishes. His marriage falls apart and there is no demand for his 'silent' acting.

Yet the magnetism between them is strong.

Early on, there is a heavenly scene where the couple join each other in dance even as they are constantly
changing partners. Each time they dance together, there is a radiant magnetism.

Though his life is in the decline, Peppy sticks with George through his severe depression and attempted suicide; she even revives his career by having George be her dancing partner in the talkies.

The movie ends with the couple dancing together, which is reminiscent of the marvelous Fred Astaire- Ginger Rogers duo.

It's a great movie. I urge you to see it--if you haven't already done so.

This movie is slated to win many Oscars.
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Presidents' Day: A Day to be Thankful

What is the true spirit of this holiday?

School kids love it because they have the whole week off as part of a midwinter recess.

Car dealers and large retailers love it, too. They can use the whole week to blast their sales messages under the banner of red, white and blue including images of Washington and Lincoln. 

Originally, the holiday was intended to honor our first President George Washington who was born on February 22.  However, later on it was felt that Abe Lincoln should have his birthday, February 12, celebrated as well. 

In 1971, Congress designated the third Monday of February as a federal holiday; however, several states continued to honor the two presidents on their respective birthdays. 

Today, it seems as if the term Presidents Day has stuck. And so we have the option to celebrate this day to commemorate the lives of all 44 of our leaders!

I believe the essence of this day is that we live in a stable democracy--a system of government whose leadership is fixed for at least four years. 

We are living in a world which has seen such leadership turmoil. 

First came the Arab Spring uprisings bringing down the governments of Khadafi and Mubarak, which will hopefully bring stable democratic governments to Libya and Egypt.

However, we hear of  the daily violence and bloodshed under the Assad government in Syria in a internal war that seen over 5,000 Syrians killed. 

We Americans have a duty to show our appreciation to our country and its peaceful system of government under the leadership of our President. 

God Bless America on this Presidents' Day and everyday!  

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Socrates: A Man for our Times by Paul Johnson

What makes Paul Johnson's Socrates palatable is the author's knack for distilling with clarity the essential beliefs and actions of the great philosopher.

It is well known that Socrates never committed his ideas to writing. So, it is from the dialogues of Plato, the writings of Aristotle and the observations and testimonies of others that we attempt to construct what Socrates believed.

 Just how reliable can this method be?

Johnson underscores (one might say, unlocks) some of the underlying principles and character traits of his subject. Here, they are.

1. Socrates (469 BCE-399 BCE) loved to wander the streets of Athens and conduct question and answer sessions with its individual denizens--its "tanners, metalworkers, shopkeepers, water sellers, hucksters, barrow folk, scribes and money changers." One answer then elicited another question and so on. This Socratic method or dialectic he loved to employ; he probably had a pleasing personality with charm so his efforts were fruitful.

It was Cicero who succinctly pointed out that "Socrates was the first to call Philosophy down from the skies, and establish her in the towns and introduce her into peoples homes and force her to investigate ordinary life, ethics, good and evil."

2. Socrates as a citizen of Athens fought in the battles that helped to protect her interests. He was at the siege of Potidea; during the Athenian retreat from this port, his wounded aristocratic friend Alcibiades commented on Socrates' courage in saving his life by standing over him and fighting off the enemy.

3. In a culture that worshiped many deities, Socrates firmly believed in one divinity. It was the voice of this single god that constantly inspired him and guided him on his life's mission. He believed in the separation of the body and the soul.

4. He firmly espoused the belief that revenge has no place in the system of justice. The law of retaliation simply did not exist for him. In fact, Johnson believes that Socrates may have been the reason an order to execute all the adult males in Mytilene (on the island of Lesbos) was overturned at the last moment.

5. He had an unwavering devotion and respect for the law--even if it meant compromising his safety.

6. He believed that women should be allowed to develop their minds and skills to realize their potential.
(According to Plato, he is said to have been greatly influenced by Diotima who used the Socratic method to educate him)

Johnson spices the book up by using Socrates's positions to draw parallels to modern day thinkers as Bertrand Russel, Richard Nixon, Churchill and others.

The book is a great read. Enjoy it.
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