Some people decide by the number on the scale. For others, it’s the recognition that their thighs are rubbing together, their boobs feel like over-cooked matzo balls, and the reluctant realization that their fat jeans are well on the way to becoming their skinny jeans. Monday December 29th, was my day of reckoning. I met three out of my four personal diet determinators,and that was it. No more pretending I could eat what I wanted without consequences. I was looking at the consequences.

Does it really matter if the AP Editors say that the number one business story of the year is the Wall Street Turmoil while the folks at Time say it's Bernie Madoff's $50 Ponzi Scheme,and the powers that be at

The other day while I was spending some time on LinkedIn I saw the name of a college friend based in St. Louis. He is someone that I have been out of touch with for many years and it's great fun to be back in touch. One of the best benefits of social media. He works as a freelancer for television  news and  in his email back to me he said while 2008 was a very bad year for people in the freelance television news business, he was heading to Chicago to be the official Christmas Jew for one of the network's midwest bureaus.  He was hoping it would be a slow news day.

For the two plus years my daughter worked at the coffee shop, I would greet her after a shift saying,"How was work today?"

After tomorrow, rush hour traffic should be delightfully light, phones will be eerily quiet, Outlook calendars will have blank spaces,email boxes will not be quite so full,and cubicle workers will not have to plug in iPod earbuds just to drown out the noise from fellow workers. Ah yes, it's beginning to feel a like like Christmas Corporate American Style .