Anne is pictured above with her symbol of recognition, a chocolate bar. This is in response to the success of the standardized testing team. They succeeded in getting every student tested, save one, leaving almost no child left untested. It is always nice to receive recognition for a job well done. Being recognized with chocolate is even better. On another subject, Anne finished one knitting project and began another one this week. I can’t show any pictures, because both are intended to be Christmas presents.

Three months ago today, The Perma-Bear made a prediction. He predicted that by September 2nd, 2012, the bottom would fall out of the economy, the Great Recession would make its true self known as the Great Depression II, dogs would begin sleeping with cats, but I exaggerate. What he really said and then wrote on a yellow post-it was, “Ask me about the Starbuck’s index, September 2, 2012.” I had been extolling the virtues of the Starbuck’s index, when with a bearish harrumph, he sprang into action and threw down his gauntlet.

The Starbuck’s index or rather my version of the Starbuck’s index is a simple measure of economic health. The underlying idea of this index is that people with four or five bucks to spend on a cup of coffee represent a positive trend in a down economy. Each workday morning, on my way to work, I’ve stopped at my local Starbuck’s coffee shop and then counted the number of people in line ahead of me. Back in the fall of 2008 there was rarely anyone in line, when I strolled into the store. In the interim the line and my index has steadily grown both longer and more positive.

A quarter has pasted since the post-it was written. In that quarter the Dow has risen over 800 points. Today, I could barely get in through the door at Starbuck, because there were so many people in line, between 20 and 30, a personal record. Needless to say the Perma-Bear was not happy.

Continuing with the caffeinated flavor of this post, The Multiple-Sclerosis Society’s Saint Louis Chapter held its annual awards banquet last night. Team Kaldis, the bicycle team that Anne and I ride for, won first place, for the most dollars raised, $140K, and for the most number of riders, 143. A lot of the credit for this success goes to the team’s captain and our friend, Captain Don. This means that next year, our team will be the first one to start. This also means that Anne and I will be pasted by 100% of the other riders and not just 99%. Anne and I would also like to thank our own generous donors, whose generous contributions were rolled up into the winning $140K total.