Happy Birthday, RebLem!

[Donald Isler]

Wishing our friend in New Mexico a very Happy Birthday on Thursday, and many more!!

[david johnson]

have a happy reblem day!

[stenka razin]

Have a happy B day, reblem.


Regards,
Mel

[josé echenique]

Feliz Cumpleaños!

Pepe.

[jbuck919]

Since Rob told us in the Pub that he is 70, I guess he won't mind my mentioning it here, though I do so only because it is such a milestone. Happy birthday to someone who has given me significant insights into music he knows better than I do. (As Corlyss would have said, his posting in the Pub ain't bad either.)

[maestrob]

Many happy returns of the day: and many more milestones to reach!

[Wallingford]

Hope it's a great one, Rob!

[RebLem]

TY all for your generous comments.

At about 4 PM, I voted. I thought that would be a good way to begin celebrating my birthday. This year, I voted a straight Democratic ticket. I don't usually do that; I'm usually a split ticket voter, with most of my choices invariably being Democrats, but not all. This year was an exception.

In Bernalillo County, any voter in the county can vote at any polling place. They have all the registrations online. They ask you for your name, then your year of birth and address. If it matches their records, they ask you to sign your name on a computer screen similar to the ones they use in supermarkets. If your signature more or less matches the one they have on record, they give you a ballot tailored to your particular address, with the candidates from your party listed first for every office. Mine, of course, listed Democrats first for every office, but my brother in law, who is a Republican, verifies they give him a ballot with Republicans listed first for every office.

There were five constitutional amendments on the ballot. I voted for the third and against the other four. At present, corporations have to register with the PRC--Public Regulatory Commission. New Mexico is a small state, so regulated businesses--electric, gas, and telephone utilities, insurance companies, oil drillers, etc, are all regulated by the same agency. Members of the commission are elected.

Amendment 3, which I voted for, transfers the registration of new corporations from the PRC to the Secretary of State's office, which is the way about 45 states do it. This provides one stop shopping for companies who want to do business in New Mexico. Under present circumstances, people can wait many months for their registrations to be approved by the dilly dallying PRC. Transferring this function to the Secretary of State concentrates responsibility and accountability in one elected public official, which I feel is appropriate.

I voted against the other four amendments, all of which involve power grabs by the legislature. They take electoral or appointive powers away from the people or the governor, and put them in our very dysfunctional legislature, where they can play politics with it and get into all kinds of mischief. Its a bad idea all the way around.

I voted for all the bond issues, and I voted for an Albuquerque ordinance that raises the minimum wage in the city from $7.50, where it has been for 7 years, to $8.50 effective 1/1/2013 and provides an automatic COLA adjustment every year. We have seen a major campaign by some business groups against it. They have even been advertising on MSNBC here, and on the Clear Channel radio station, which in Albuquerque programs liberal talk radio.

Then, my sister and brother in law took my out to dinner @ a local place called Nick and Jimmy's. http://www.nickandjimmysrestaurant.com/ I started out with a wonderful crabcake in the shape of a large ice cream scoop on a thinly sliced tomato as an appetizer. Then, a bowl of lentil vegetable soup, and then the entree--an item on the special menu that featured small bits of salmon, cod, and shrimp with grilled bell peppers in a dill cream sauce placed in a ring of acorn squash on a bed of whipped potatoes. Also had a side dish of asparagus. And, for dessert, a classic creme brulee. A wonderful meal, I must say.

They also gave me a funny birthday card. On the outside, it says, "They now have a biofuel car for people your age." You open it up, and there's a drawing of a car with the front door open, and a toilet in the place of the driver's side front seat.

All in all, a very nice day.

Sorry for all the political stuff in Chatterbox, but I didn't post it here. I think Lance should transfer this whole thread to the Pub.

[THEHORN]

Many happy returns of the day !

[Donald Isler]

Glad to know it was such a pleasant, and meaningfully spent day!

[Steinway]

Very best wishes to you, Rob.

I appreciate you and your posts immensely and hope you'll enjoy the decade of the 70's as much as I did.

Let's hope your election selections fulfill your expectations.

[Werner]

All the best, Rob - happiness, and fulfilment

May all your wishes come true!

[Lance]

Belated Happy Birthday RebLem. Sounds like you had a memorable one. You and I are sharing the big seven zero ... but I am not too happy about it. I'd like to have at least 20 years back!

[lennygoran]

Belated happy birthday-this droid is making keeping up very hard-
We had a landline briefly but now it's down again Len