Plenty to ponder as time to shop grows shorter
DAN MEYER Political Columnist
Some random thoughts on things that may or may not be making headlines as I ponder the meaning of life while standing behind a shopping cart waiting patiently in line at a local store to purchase some new socks for winter:

• The laugh of the week came courtesy of a help wanted sign posted outside a local watering hole in the Southtowns. The sign read: "Wanted: a real bartender for 8 p.m. to close." Doesn't that make you wonder what the "nonreal" bartenders currently slinging drinks on the night shift are doing so poorly that there's a public plea to have them replaced? And what do these imaginary bartenders think about their boss posting an advertisement like that? I would think it would be a bit insulting. But maybe that's just me.

• What's the point of having a security system if no one bothers to check if it actually works? A recent visit to a "brand-name" bookstore found nonstop buzzes, bells and whistles going off whenever someone entered or exited the premises. God knows if anyone was actually stealing books, since the employees essentially ignored the racket and went about their merry way ringing out the irritated customers who didn't realize they were suppose to bring earplugs when they do their shopping.

• I've had more than a few readers of this column drop me a line via e-mail or call my office asking why I haven't commented on the new job Joel Giambra will begin once he's officially done with serving as our county executive. There's a handful of one-liners that I could zing King Joel's way regarding his new gig working for former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato's lobbying firm. Comments like "politics make strange bedfellows," wondering aloud if D'Amato will let Giambra pick out his own office furniture and pondering whether or not Giambra will be able to get a childhood chum a job as his driver are just some of the topics that come off the top of my head.

But being that it is the holiday season and wanting to do a better job of sounding more like Saint Nick and less like Mr. Scrooge, I'll simply wish Giambra the best of luck in all of his future endeavors.

• Nothing like having the folks who brew your coffee talk amongst themselves about the inside happenings of their place of employment while you stand right in front of them. Hearing about who is sleeping with whom, who is lying down in the break room nursing a hangover and where everyone is going later that night once the shop is closed for the evening are all discussions I could do without.

• It's always a good start to a great day if you can taste upwards of a dozen fine wines before noon on a Saturday. Even if you're not a diehard shopaholic, the stop at a local liquor store will help ease the pain when dealing with the frustration that comes with those long lines and jam-packed parking lots.

• This is certainly a sign of the times when it comes to those holiday shopping lists. Instead of relying on a No. 2 pencil and the back of an envelope to scribble down what you are looking for, we now have people chipping away at the keys on their BlackBerry to track what they want to buy for Uncle Joe and Aunt Aggie.

A point of clarification needs to be made in regard to last week's column on Erie County's budget for 2008.

County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz dropped me a line late last week to point out that while my citation of a $400 million increase in the county budget since 2000 is "technically correct," that's only because of a change in accounting mandated by the state comptroller.

Poloncarz, one of the true reformers in county government, is correct in saying my calculation that the county's budget increased by more than 40 percent is not accurate. Spending has escalated, but Poloncarz says the increase is probably less than any other county or municipality in this region.

So for clarification sake, the "real" 2008 county budget is $1.18 billion, which is approximately $30 million more than last year and about where spending was in 2004.

(Daniel Meyer is a columnist for the Weekly Independent Newspapers of Western New York. For more information, visit our Web site at www.wnynewspapers.com. Comments on this column can be sent via e-mail to: meyersmusings@ gmail.com. Opinions expressed here are those of the author.)