So what are folks up to this weekend? I know it's a day early, but I'm bored and figured I'd try to kick start a conversation.

I'm going up to Maine, and my brother his wife and I are taking our Mother out for Easter dinner here: [link]

We've been doing this the last couple of years. I love this place. They have the most amazing 72-Layer Hand-Cut Cream Cheese Biscuits. Unfortunately, getting these before the meal can seriously fill you up.

Oh, Scrappy. I'm so sorry about the cause of the heart attack. All kinds of vibes that she hangs in there, though.

Thanks for updating us on your niece, Scrappy. I am hoping for the best for her.

Can anyone explain to me why the water supply is a public utility and the electric and gas lines are private companies, even though they essentially have a regional monopoly? I mean, I can't choose which provider to use for my electricity, and they maintain the lines. Which, okay, but why aren't they a public utility and water is?

Also, can anyone explain why Verizon is a company that provides internet service and yet had the most poorly designed corporate web site I have ever had to use regularly?

Scrappy, I am so sorry about your neic... thank you for keeping us updated and {{{scrappy and family}}}

Yes Scrappy. Glad to hear about the stability, but sorry to here the cause of the problem in the first place. Here's hoping it was a major isolated slip instead of part of longer-term step backwards.

This guy being a dick has nothing to do with the economics of the credit crunch.

I wish I understood this better. It's freaking me out, and I have no idea what it all is, and how it rights itself. Every time I try and figure it out, my eyes glaze over from financial jargon.

This guy being a dick has nothing to do with the economics of the credit crunch.

It sounds like he was fined for being a dick during his deposition, not because they blame him for the credit crunch.

Can anyone explain to me why the water supply is a public utility and the electric and gas lines are private companies, even though they essentially have a regional monopoly? I mean, I can't choose which provider to use for my electricity, and they maintain the lines. Which, okay, but why aren't they a public utility and water is?

Probably the work of the same logic wizards who have the trains in this country be a public entity while the tracks are privately owned.

bon bon, I'll agree you have a point but think "rubbish" is a bit strong. It isn't so much that the guy was a dick (though if anything, that's a mild way of putting it). It's that he seemed to consider himself above the rules -- a relative of "the old rules no longer apply" attitude that governed during the boom times.

And based on what was said in the Legal Intelligence article, I have to admire opposing counsel for keeping cool in such a trying situation.

I do think being a dick might have been connected to him being a CEO. You don't generally get that kind of job by being a nice guy (I know there are exceptions).