Scrooge never had it so good

From a news report:

David and Victoria Beckham have hired a £1000-a-day [$1,888] butler to spend four hours unwrapping their Christmas presents.

A source close to the Beckhams said: “When Victoria and David’s long-standing butler John Giles-Larkin quit earlier this month there was a bit of a panic – especially as it was so close to Christmas.

“After such a turbulent year they’re determined the festive period is going to be devoted to family. They want to spend as much time together as possible and prove they’re still a strong family unit.”

To make sure the festivities go without a hitch Posh has enlisted the help of the butler.

The source added: “The person they’ve hired is one of the best in his field. He was originally booked by the Osbournes to spend Christmas with them, but the Beckhams really wanted him so they upped their offer.”

He will reportedly spend half the day unwrapping gifts for the couple’s sons, as well as presents for the rest of the family.

Pointer via Sideline Chatter.

Leno

“The temperature was cold, wasn’t it? It was so cold, Karl Malone got his tongue stuck on Kobe’s wife.”

“According to ‘In Touch’ magazine Donald Trump is coming out with a line of hair products for men. Donald Trump hair products? Isn’t that a little like Keith Richards coming out with his own line of facial creams.”

And from New Year’s Eve:

“Happy New Year everybody! We’re live tonight. Unfortunately, so is bin Laden. And Scott Peterson.”

“Andre Champagne has announced they have a new screw on top that keeps their four-dollar bottle of champagne bubbling for days. Well that’s good news – you wouldn’t want to rush through a four dollar bottle of champagne. That’s something you want to keep in the refrigerator next to the half eaten Big Mac in the zip lock bag. “

Rainy day news

In Albuquerque, last year was the eighth wettest year since 1931 with 11.80 inches of precipitation, ending a five-year streak of below-normal precipitation for the state’s largest city.

But elsewhere, drought has been harder to erase, Liles said. Santa Fe’s precipitation was below average for the year and Jemez Springs fell further behind.

“In parts of the northern mountains, the drought worsened this year,” he said.

From report in the Albuquerque Tribune

One-fifth of Albuquerque’s precipitation came in a 24-hour period last April. The average annual precipitation in Albuquerque is 8.46.

Utah …

was admitted to the Union as the 45th state on this date in 1896.

It’s the birthday

… of Jane Wyman. The Oscar-winning first Mrs. Reagan is 91.

… of Floyd Patterson. The former heavyweight champion is 70.

… of Dyan Cannon. The actress and Lakers fan is 68.

… of Julia Ormond. Guinevere or Sabrina, take your pick, is 40.

More on Social Security (because it’s damn important)

More from Paul Krugman’s excellent column:

Here’s the truth: by law, Social Security has a budget independent of the rest of the U.S. government. That budget is currently running a surplus, thanks to an increase in the payroll tax two decades ago. As a result, Social Security has a large and growing trust fund.

When benefit payments start to exceed payroll tax revenues, Social Security will be able to draw on that trust fund. And the trust fund will last for a long time: until 2042, says the Social Security Administration; until 2052, says the Congressional Budget Office; quite possibly forever, say many economists, who point out that these projections assume that the economy will grow much more slowly in the future than it has in the past.

Best line of the day, so far

“The long-term cost of the Bush tax cuts is five times the budget office’s estimate of Social Security’s deficit over the next 75 years.”

Paul Krugman