So I was watching the news this morning, and for some reason they had a story about Starbucks getting a new logo to celebrate its 40th anniversary this year. Forty years of shitty, overpriced coffee sold in cups with stupid names, like Vente and Grande (what’s the difference between a Starbucks 20oz Grande and a Dunkin’ Donuts 20oz large? About $4). Amazing what marketing will do. Not that they were ubiquitous from day one back in 1971, I guess. Seems like back then, there wasn’t a Starbucks on every corner (sometimes across the street from each other). And I don’t think I was drinking coffee back then, though it was often my job to make it, ‘cuz I was good at it as a kid (back then, it took a little skill, sort of, as I either used the electric percolator or – my personal favorite – the glass vacuum coffee maker with the two globes and the glass rod that you cooked on the stove. I wish I still had that sucker). Ah, those were the days.

I haven’t looked out at the driveway this morning, but I suppose I ought to take a look. Yesterday, the weather caught me a but by surprise, and it wasn’t until I went to leave the house that I realized we’d gotten about a foot of snow. I had to jump on the tractor and plow things out real quick like, and there was another six inches or so waiting for me when I got back home last night. Things weren’t so bad as I got closer to work, but if it’s gonna snow anywhere around here, it’s gonna be where I live these days. And it’s pretty consistently 5 degrees colder (which will be nice come summer – though I have a pool now, so, assuming I can afford to open and run it, maybe I won’t hate the heat so much).

It appears our new Guv likes him some PowerPoint, and his State of the State address yesterday was PP intensive as he described how he’s gonna reform the NY State government and balance the budget by cutting Medicaid, capping property taxes, freezing the pay of state workers, and preserving tax cuts for rich people (but he’s taking a 5% pay cut, so I guess he’ll be suffering, too; no doubt, he and his girlfriend from the Food Network live paycheck-to-paycheck).

Everybody hates State workers, of course, and when you work for a State hospital, cuts to Medicaid are a double whammy – not only do you lose the State funding, but also the Federal matching funds (not that the mandate to treat the poor people goes away, of course). So there could be tough times ahead for yours truly (and Mrs. Yours Truly). On the bright side, though, the place where we work is actually run well, takes in more money than it has in expenses, and gets a pretty small amount of its funding from the State – only 11% last year, and that includes SUNY funding. In fact, according to the bean counters, every $1 invested by the State in our institution returns $19.

Uncle Andy will no doubt also want to cut (or at least freeze) aid to schools, and if districts aren’t able to raise property taxes, then, well, the public schools are just gonna have to take the hit.

They’re saying that the Syracuse school district alone is facing a loss of at least 700 positions. I can’t imagine what NYC will have to do.

But as long as all those investment bankers and stock brokers, and all the other folks that hob Andy’s nob get their tax cuts, it’s all worth it, I guess.

I really shoulda moved to Canada when I had the chance.

Oh well, time to go see how much snow is in the driveway.