1. I received a nice bottle of wine as a holiday present from an attorney who does work for our firm. On the UPS shipping label, it said in caps, "Alcoholic Beverages: Cannot Deliver to Intoxicated Persons." So, the UPS guy is supposed to do a quick field sobriety test on our firm's receptionist who signs for the package, or me, the intended recipient?

2. From an economic newsletter I received this morning:

Venezuela “Strengthens” Bolivar

"Venezuela has launched a new “Strong Bolivar” through the symbolic but economically futile deletion of three zeros off the end of its former currency. The typically heterodox measure is an apparent bid to curtail runaway inflation, but it may end up fueling further rises if companies round up prices to cover costs of implementation...."

JH comment: We learned this method in a secret seminar in business school called "Econ 109 1/2: Killing Inflation in One Fell Swoop." In a five minute seminar, a Nobel-prize winning professor showed us how to lop three or six zeros off your hyper-inflated currency...and presto-chango, all your inflation problems are cured. Just like magic, only different.