Ravings of a Madman

Stand up and speak out

2009-09-29T04:28:00.000-07:00

What are they doing? I never ceased to be amazed at their actions. Do any of them know how to balance a check book? I am speaking of congress of course. Does anybody remember the House banking scandal of 1992? 450 members of congress and other House officials wrote checks on the house bank that they did not have funds to cover. The house bank would honor them with the understanding that the member would pay them - - - sometime. No fees, no penalty, no responsibility. For some it was hundreds of checks that were effectively overdrafts outstanding for Years!

Most of us can not withstand the temptation that comes with the ability to write our own rules. For many generations it was the press who stood as the guardian against abuse. We know longer have the luxury of a press that is a true watchdog. They have become so biased in their own agenda that they can not speak out when they see corruption for fear of harming their own agenda. So it falls to us the citizens of this great country to be vigilant and hold our officials accountable.

The "Government" is out of control and lacks the ability to govern itself. While the rest of us are tightening our belts and our companies are laying off employees, the Government is spending and has added 25,000 new jobs since the first of the year. The only problem is, it's our money, and our children's money and our grand children's money.

The president says "he can not just kick the can down the road". He says that we must address these "problems" now. That sounds all well and good, but we are kicking the bill for all of this down the road. No one who is in congress now, has any expectation of being in congress when we start to pay for this. Think about it they are spending our grand children's money because they know they won't be there to answer for it. They will be at home with generous pensions and benefits guaranteed for life - - -by the rest of us.

Their are countless programs available (many sponsored by the government) that council people on how to get their financial house in order. As far as I know, not one of them, has ever advocated borrowing your way to financial well being. You pay down your debt and then you buy if you have a need.

By the way, for the record, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it is a political leadership issue, or lack there of. Our political leaders think we can't handle honesty and reality. I think we can. I think it is the lack of faith that our political leaders have in us that is the crime here. The citizenry is grounded in reality. We must pay our bills every day, we have to make hard choices and set priorities. We are used to it. Most of us shoulder our personal responsibility quite well. Our elected leaders are simply not grounded in the real world. They pander to our base nature, and we let them get away with it.

I think we have lost faith in our leaders. I think that is why we have taken the position that these folks are never going to do the right thing, so I might as well get "mine". We are better than that. We are better than those who seek to lead us!

Stand up, speak out, demand that that congress be responsible for their actions. It is not to late, we can make a difference. Just because congress doesn't get it, doesn't mean we have to act like we don't. Don't let them cower you down with talk of fairness. We cannot make everyone equal. We cannot make life fair for everyone. Where did we ever get that notion, and where does it stop? Everyone deserves a house, everyone deserves healthcare, everyone deserves a Cadillac, every kid deserves $200 Nikes. If we don't have lifeboats for everyone, do we all drown in an attempt to be "fair".

What if it is to late you say, well I would still rather go down swinging. I have to look my grandchildren in the face, and explain why my generation stood by and did nothing to save theirs. I don't want to do that, do you?

Letters

2009-09-15T04:55:00.000-07:00

Few of us are fortunate enough to have know a good "letter writer" in our life times. Most of us tend to be better communicators in either the spoken work or the written word, but seldom both. Let's be honest most of us are "talkers". Most really good written communicators tend to come up short on the verbal side, but it appears to me that written communications carry more weight. The era of writing a good letter or memo for that matter have just about passed. We tend to jot a few words in an email or pick up the phone and bam- we are done.

I don't know why I found myself musing about this today, but it was on my mind and I reflected back on people that I have known with a great skill for writing. I don't think I have it by the way, as a matter of fact I know I don't, it is a real gift that few are blessed with.

I have known 2 or 3 really good written communicators in my lifetime. Amazing really, I am nearly 58 years old and have only know 2 or 3. Several years ago there was a regional manager with a company that we worked for that had the "gift". His name was Tom. Tom was a moody guy, whose verbal skills were lacking and he tended to really irate people with his manor whenever he was in the room. In fact he was down right easy not to like. But when he wrote a letter, (we used to do that back then), it was powerful. Every word seemed to have weight and value. It was like he was building something of lasting value with each communication. They were never ambiguous or vague, and no matter what the subject matter, they left you feeling satisfied. You felt as if he had shared something intimate of great value, even if he was dressing you down about something you had failed to do.

There is a good chance that you have never crossed a "writer" in your lifetime, they are rare. If that is the case, then this may all sound a bit strange. There are many sources out there and they are worth finding just so that you can have the experience. When Ken Burns did his epic on the Civil War for public television, it was the letters form soldiers that he laced in, that kept us spellbound for hours. Most were short with amazing clarity and feeling. That kind of communication is hard for us and nearly lost.

I Googled "How to write a letter" and got 57,300,000 hits. Must be tough if there are that many results on how to do it. Next time you get the chance pick up a book of letters. It helps if they were written at least 50 years ago. (more people knew how back then) Read a few, and I think you will agree we have lost a lot when it comes to communicating with our fellow man.

Maybe we can do better.

Bubbles

2009-09-14T05:27:00.000-07:00

I was in Cracker Barrel Saturday morning and they were having a porch sale. It is really hard for me to pass up a sale, especially a porch sale! I spotted some children's battery powered bubble blowers, and decided I could not pass them up. I was filling a small hand basket when the smooth talking sales lady saddled up to me and said "Hey buddy, I got 3 or 4 cases of those in the back if you want." She obviously spotted me as a man with vision or as an easy mark! I told her I would take 2 cases, and a man standing behind me piped up and said "I will take 2 cases as well". He wife immediately called him out on that and said "What are you going to do with 2 cases of bubble blowers?" He pulled himself up and in his best man tone said; " Oh yea, what do you think he is going to do with 2 cases of bubble blowers." Made perfect sense to me!

As we were waiting at the check out with our bubble machines, we caused quite a stir. His wife was still questioning the wisdom of his purchase, meanwhile folks were trying to get close enough to see what was so great that these 2 old dudes were buying them by the case. Needless to say Cracker Barrel sold out of bubble machines in record time - - -and all the customers were men like myself who saw the vision.

I raced home to award my neighbors on the river from my new found larder. They all acted excited, but the trail of bubbles I expected to see floating down the river never really materialized that lazy Saturday afternoon.

I guess some people just outgrow bubbles. I hope I never do! I choose to believe that the other guy had better luck. I bet somewhere there was a whole neighborhood awash in bubbles. I bet his wife was even telling people it was her idea - - and that would be OK. I think I will try again next week!

Chapter 2

2009-08-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

I went for my official pre-op (that's doctor talk) consult this past Thursday. I still have not made up my mind as yet, but all signs still point that way. There are a few roadblocks in the way yet. One big one is my insurance does not cover the surgery. Turns out, Blue Cross offers 5 different plans in the State of Alabama. Apparently 4 of them cover the surgery. Guess which one we have! I guess we don't have one of those "Cadillac" plans Obama is always taking about. The insurance-rep was very nice, but just to make sure I understand, she said I will be getting a letter from a Blue Cross attorney. No joke a letter from their attorney - - -I guess they want to make sure there is no misunderstanding. I am pretty sure I get it already. The good news is that since Barb is one of those retired Chrysler employees, I may be covered under her Blue Cross plan. Maybe being the key word here. I think it is one of those "Dodge" or "Ford" plans but again no "Cadillac" plan here. We will see.

At any rate I am proceeding with all the formalities to get myself prepared. Barb went with me for moral support, and the first think she noticed in the smallish waiting room was that it was furnished with small settees. I was standing since the room was full and I could not fit on her "settee" with her. I explained, as quietly as I could, that these were bariatric chairs. It was then that she realized we weren't in Kansas any more Toto. She eventually had to leave for another appointment, and I was left to bond with my own kind.

We laughed, we cried, we told stories. Big people bond well! Turns out 2 of the small group had gotten this far before only to decide to do it on their own. It was amazing, between the 2 of them they had lost 150 pounds, at least before they gained 175 pounds back. Two of the folks had already had the surgery and were back for check-ups. They had lost a lot of weight, but were not there yet. (their words) I took a little informal pole as post surgery patients came and went. (They were easy to spot) They all said without exception that they were glad they did it and would do it over again in a heart beat. I will confess I did not see anyone with "six pack" abs, but they may use a different door.

After 2 hours I finally got in to see the doctor. I got my official BMI number on a print out suitable for framing. The doctor is very matter of fact, but I was impressed with his demeanor. He said I would be a difficult surgery since I have previously had a colon resection. He said he was up for it if I was. They gave me 10 pages of instructions on things I needed to get done before surgery. Number one on their list - - find out about that insurance! They said they would do all they could to help. Number two - - no more cigars, none, nada, zip. He said I would be tested for nicotine, and he would not do the surgery if I tested positive. I did not have my customary stogie this weekend, but I choose to consider this a negotiation tactic on his part for now.

I asked if he thought it would be easier if I waited for "Obama Care". I got the distinct impression that if "Obama Care" does go through he will become an auto mechanic. ( BMW and Mercedes only) He said he had practiced in India and England, and that Americans will be very unhappy under those systems.

His office emailed me an 80 page PDF file on life after surgery. Now that my friends is a fun read! Can you say pureed peas - - -yum! That is just until I can handle pureed potatoes. In no time I will be up to a thimble of food that I chew on my own - - -60 times.

Next week I wrestle with Blue Cross of Michigan and go to the Heart Center for a stress test. I hope skinny is worth all this!

Gastric Bypass

2009-08-12T04:35:00.000-07:00

I went to a seminar last night hosted by a highly respected surgeon. The purpose was to educate us about our options for weight reduction through surgery. The Doctor decided to give seminars because he is literally flooded every day by calls from people who want to know about the procedures. It was a very serious presentation with life altering implications. As you might guess those of us there are desperate for help. The seminar was very informative, and I for one intend to proceed with the procedure. It is no small undertaking, and cannot be taken on without serious thought and commitment. I have to go through 6 months of diet, testing, psych evaluation, and red tape to be eligible for the surgery.

All that said I could not sit there in that room and not see the humor in the situation. At 6 ft. and 300 pounds, I felt rather svelte in this group! Here we were 50 or 60 seriously overweight people trying to sit in an auditorium with seating designed for 150 pound people. It was explained that all the seats had swivel desk tops so that we could take notes. The only problem being that anyone was small enough to work that swivel desk top around our middles, would not be here in the first place.

There was a big sign on the door that said: "No Food or Drinks Allowed" OK so it is 5:00 PM, about the time most of us are starting to think about a little snack before dinner and here we are in a 2 hour seminar - - "No Food or Drinks Allowed" The women had some serious advantage here since most of them were carrying a purse that would hold a weeks rations. As a "Large Boned" person, I have an ear that is tuned to the sounds of various snack food wrappers. I am pretty sure I heard a Hostess Cup Cake, Doritos, Snickers, and a Bit-O-Honey being consumed during the presentation. I was pretty sure I picked up the sound of a Klondike Bar, but it was midway through, and unless someone had an insulated purse, I guess that would not be possible. By that time I was getting a little weak myself so my ears may have been playing tricks on me.

The lady in front of me whipped out a Diet Dr. Pepper and a hand full of mints before the seminar started. I told her straight up that unless she wanted to start a stampede were innocent people could get hurt, she better put it away. She gave the room a careful scan to make sure it was not too late and then eased it back in her purse. Crisis averted!

The doctor talked a lot about "morbidity" and "morbidity factors". I never was sure exactly what that word meant (I have since looked it up) but it sounds gross and generally scares the hell out of me. Turns out I am morbidly obese and have 3 morbidity factors, you know that can't be good!

He showed us charts that show the death rates for obese people. Based on the make up of that crowd, death had to be close at hand. Maybe that is what I mistook for the sound of that Klondike Bar. Maybe it was the grim reaper trying to trick us into coming over.

All I know for sure is that the line at the Burger King around the corner sure was long when the seminar was over - - -not that I was in it mind you. I just sorta kinda noticed on my way home.

Who pays?

2009-05-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

Government does not, and can not, create wealth. Wealth is only created in the private sector by leveraging capital with productivity, innovation and risk. The result in a successful enterprise is profit, and accumulated profits generate wealth. We may not all agree with this, but it is the way I learned it in school, so we will run with it. After all, it is my blog.

Our government has been in the business of redistributing wealth for years. Since the time of Johnson's "Great Society" programs of the early 60s, we have been working hard at it. President Johnson, to be fair, did not invent redistribution of wealth, but he did put it on steroids. We fund this redistribution through our "progressive tax" system. The more you make the bigger the percentage of each dollar you pay in taxes.

You with me so far? OK, so how do these 2 fit together in my mind? Well it seems to me that the government has decided open the gates of the Great Society wide open, as a matter of fact it looks like we have removed the gates entirely. Banks can't make it on their own, Uncle Sam will put you on the dole. Insurance companies, sure come on in. Car companies, steel factories, newspapers, the Stat of California - - -the list seems endless. Borrowed money you could not afford to pay back to buy that big house, doesn't seem fair to Uncle Sam. "Free" health care for everyone - -why not. Government always thinks it has the answers to our problems. That generally translates into throwing fistfuls of our earned money at any problem that arises. Maybe the government intervention can do for all these groups what it did for the Post Office! Now there is a model of success.

If Johnson's vision of the Great Society had worked, maybe I could see it working on this grand scale. The fact is it did not, and will not. The government can not make unproductive companies productive. It can not keep us as individuals from making stupid financial mistakes. It can't make us all smart or productive. It can't make us willing to take the risks required to accomplish great things. In short Uncle Sam can not deliver us from the hard cold facts of life, or the realities of free markets.

The only way that the government can level the playing field for us, be it on a corporate level or personal, is by lowering standards for everyone not raising the masses up.

For a while, the government can print money to try and cover up the problem, but it can't fix it . The government can not create wealth. So the question remains, who pays? I think in our heart of hearts, we all know the answer. One way or another we all do. It is easy to say "sock it to the rich", but the truth is more and more that "the rich" is anybody holding a job in the private sector.

Some of us will see our tax rates go up. I believe that every one's taxes will have to be raised to pay for this frenzy of spending. I don't think anyone really believes otherwise. But even if I am wrong about that, the inflation that every economist agrees is coming because of all the money that was printed out of thin air, well that will savage all of us equally.

So in the end who pays? Every single one of us! So much for "sock it to the rich."

Citizen of the World

2009-05-20T04:37:00.000-07:00

My dictionary (dictionary.com) defines the word citizen as follows:

"a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien )."

Webster defines it as follows:

"a native or naturalized person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to protection from it"

I have heard our president speak of being a "citizen of the world". Like many of you it bothered me on some gut level when he said it, but I could not put my finger on why. It bothered me , but not enough so that I did any research. At the time I did not sense the broader picture of where we might be headed with such attitude.

As I was driving to work today, I heard a story on the radio about Italy turning away boat people from Libya. It seems they have adopted a new policy that says if they do not reach shore they will be towed back to Libya. This is not unlike our policy on boat people approaching our shores. The commentator was saying that this was unjust, because as "citizens of the world" they were entitled to unrestricted immigration! I was taken aback by this statement, and wonder if this was part of the new political correctness of the 21st century. If it is I am about to be politically incorrect yet again!

I do not feel like a citizen of the world. I am a really good citizen with my neighbors, I think I am a good citizen in my city and state. I hope I am a good US citizen, but beyond that - - no thanks.

Looks like to me being a citizen of the world is cover for complete open immigration with no responsibility of allegiance to anything. I am a big tent kind of guy, and I favor a fairly liberal immigration policy for our country. I believe all that want to come here and become Americans are welcome. I define an American as someone who has allegiance to this country, learns to speak it's language, and is willing to invest in it through hard work and taxes. You have to be willing to be part of the mix that is America, and not a subculture who happens to reside on the same Continent. We pledge allegiance to the flag for a reason. If you can not do so in good conscience, then you should be a citizen in another country. If they will have you that is.

We the citizenry have a right and an obligation to defend our borders and our way of life. There are always those that want to blur the lines on what is right. Our citizenship in this country is our greatest treasure. Let us not blur it into something that no longer has value. If being a citizen of the world is any real value, why is so much of the world trying to get here?

I think we should be good neighbors to the world. We always help when other are in trouble, as good neighbors should. We should keep our "neighborhood" tidy and not make trouble. We should be friends and coexist, but that is about as far as it goes in my book.

Me a citizen of thew world - - -not so much. How about you?

Green Jobs

2009-05-12T04:32:00.000-07:00

There is a line in the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" that goes something like this: "The teacher says every time a bell rings, and angel gets it's wings"
It was a catchy line that has survived the test of time. I am afraid the term "green jobs" may not. It was great for an election, but I am afraid that it was mere cannon fodder for the masses.

A little history lesson here. Forty years ago electricians started putting in resettable breakers panels instead of throw away fuse panels. It was a pretty big technology change and most electricians had to learn how to do it. Once they had mastered the task, we called them "electricians". Thirty years ago ground fault interrupters were introduced by companies to keep us safe in our bath rooms and other wet places where electricity was present. Electricians had to learn how to wire them and what circuits needed to be on them. Once they learned how to do this task, we called them "electricians" This is how it has been through history, and not just with electricians, but with plumbers and other trades as well.

As I was driving to work today, I was listening to NPR and they were interviewing some bureaucrat that is running a $40 billion dollar green jobs program for the current administration. I don't remember his name and it is just as well since he is likely to be remembered just about as well as the guy that ran the bomb shelter program for government in the 1950s. At any rate this wizard explained that when an electrician had been trained to install a solar panel, that a green job had been created. What! That is right, and when a plumber learns to install a solar hot water heater what do you think happens? That's right we just created another green job. And a carpenter that learns to install thermopane windows, you guessed it another green job. Sounds like our government caught a big sell on Easy Buttons at the Staples store doesn't it.

Green jobs are important to us. It sure would be nice if our politicians could be honest about it. It is in the same vane as when a politician tells us he is cutting a programs funding or other spending, when what they are really doing is cutting the rate of growth increase. In my house when we cut spending, we actually spend less money.

We sure could use some straight talk.

$100 million

2009-04-21T04:32:00.000-07:00

That my friends is a lot of money! No question about that, so why am I so outraged that the President has called for his cabinet to save $100,000,000? It is simple really, it is a disingenuous effort whose sole aim is to sooth an outraged electorate with a mere token of an effort.

Let's put this in perspective. Let's say your family spends $60,000 a year on "stuff". Things like your house, cars, clothes, food, you know stuff. Now, as the head of the family you announce that things are really tough. We have to make sacrifices and cut back. We are going to go through our budget "line by line" and come up with some savings. We are going to target wasteful spending. We all know we have some wasteful spending, right? Now here is our goal, $6. That's right we spend $60,000 a year on stuff and all I am looking for in savings is $6!

Based on the Federal budget that the President has submitted, and passed, that is what we are talking about. Congress this year gave themselves an additional $400 million to run congress. Are we so naive that we can accept this as a real effort to curb spending. I hope not, but I wonder. I guess when the Cabinet members come back in 90 days that they will give us way more than was asked for, and they will be lauded for their efforts. Let's say they come up with $250 Million. Our politicians will slap themselves on the back , march on TV and tell us what a great job they are doing for us "the people".

When that happens, just remember that is like taking 15 bucks out of a $60,000 budget.

The President has just asked for 100 BILLION dollars for the International Monetary Fund. He said the funding "does not represent a budgetary expenditure or any increase in the deficit since it effectively represents an exchange of assets." The last time I heard this kind of garbage, somebody was trying to explain to me how a "credit default swap" was a good tool for financial institutions. The only thing I got out of that was the "default" part. We all know how that worked out, right!

This money is to loan to countries in "Emerging Markets". You know what an emerging market is don't you? It is a country with bad credit that can't borrow money form anyone who expects to get it paid back. Kinda like a sub-prime home loan! As I remember, didn't that turn out bad for all of us? You think we could take a billion or two out of that "asset exchange"?

If we don't wake up, will will qualify for one of these loans from the IMF ourselves. Maybe we can take them our budget where we saved the $6 as proof that we can be trusted with their money.

I love my country, and I want to support our President. We all need for him to be successful. It disappoints me to see him play these kind of games aimed at a public which he believes can be manipulated so easily. Such action is beneath the dignity of the office, and speaks volume about what he thinks of our intellect. I guess he has a right to expect us to be naive, after all we elected a first term senator with less than a years experience before he started his run for the presidency. I don't think I would go to a heart surgeon that had only been to medical school for only 1 year before he hung out his shingle. But then again that is an important job.

For the sake of your children and grand children, hold your elected officials responsible. Let your voice be heard before it is to late!

It's Only The Census - -So What?

2009-03-25T04:31:00.001-07:00

Most of us a vaguely aware of the federal census taken ever 10 years, but we don't think much about it. We should think about it, a lot! In 2000 we the tax payers spent $4.5 Billion to count the people residing in the United States. Please note I did not say citizens residing in the US. More on that in a minute.

The census is a very important undertaking. It's impact is far reaching and profound. The government makes decisions on allocations of funds based on the census. We make social policies based on the census. But the most important thing we do with the census is reapportion each states representation in the House of Representatives. Every ten years there is a jockeying for position as sates fight the census over whether or not they will gain or loose representatives in congress. Some states go up and some go down. As a result of the 2000 census 12 seats changed from one state to another.

Money and power will always will generally start a good cat fight every time, right?

In 2000, we spent $4.5 Billion to do the census, that is $15.99 for every man women and child in the US. That's right is cost the Federal Goverment (you and Me) $32 to find out there were 2 people living in my house. As a reference we, in 1970 we spent $1.22 per resident to get the job done. Also don't forget that the vast majority of us are counted by a form we receive in the mail. So where is all that money spent you ask. It is spent trying to prove that the census is wrong! Politicians everywhere are saying wait you missed some of our people, we need to do outreach. Homeless and illegal immigrants are afraid to be counted, we must go to them and make hem understand.

Did I say illegal immigrants? Yes I did. You see there is no place on the census form to say whether or not you are a citizen. We are making representation decisions and deciding where our tax money should be spent based on the head count of illegal immigrants in our country.

Am I the only one that sees a problem here? Oh this is wrong in so many ways!

The Villian has a face- -well sort of.

2009-03-19T04:20:00.000-07:00

We should all be happy now that we have someone on which to focus our anger. These guys are the perfect scape goat. We don't know them, they are obviously well off, and they work for an insurance company that took government money. They are the absolute perfect patsies to take all of our wrath. Tax them at 90%, out them in public, haul them before congress and humiliate them.

Sounds like a screen play for a movie doesn't it? All we need is a hero to stand up and bring us to our senses about what is really going on. Jimmy Stewart would have been the perfect actor. Don't hold your breath. Our elected officials have appealed to our base nature calling for revenge. Never mind that these same public officials also took money from AIG at the same time. Chris Dodd and Barack Obama took over $225K for there election campaigns in 2008. The same Chris Dodd that put in the provision that let them keep those bonuses in the first place.

I don't know any of these villains, and I suspect you don't either. My guess is that they are not evil people. Overpaid, maybe, but I don't know that either. What I do know, is that most of them were losing their jobs. What I do know is that AIG needed them to work for a while longer and paid them a bonus not to leave. I also know that that is a fairly common practice. I also know that if most of us found ourselves in the same circumstance, we would take that money without a moments hesitation. With no shame or guilt attached. Indeed most everyone around us would feel sorry for us because we were loosing our jobs in a tough economy.

These folks were served up to us on a silver platter by the very folks who were their best friends a year ago, our elected officials.

There is a lot of guilt to go around in this mess. There was a lot of money sloshing around in the economy, and we all benefited at least in the short term. Our home values went up dramatically. In a sense we were all making the dreaded "windfall" profits that congress likes to tax. We had easy credit to buy anything we wanted whether we could afford it or not. We were all lined up at the same feeding trough and living high, at least for a while.

Now we face the day of reckoning, and we are angry. We need a face on which to target that anger, and now we have one. How convenient.

When I was a kid, I used to go to the movies and watch westerns. Seems that more often than not some innocent loser was always about to get lynched in those movies for some crime that he did not commit. As I recall, the real guilty party was always at the front of the mob leading the lynching. He was the guy always screaming to "hangem high". Once somebody is hung we generally quit looking for the real crook.

Kind of makes you wonder doesn't it?

Taking Stock

2009-02-24T04:56:00.000-08:00

I guess I am in a "high road" state of mind these days. That may be a natural defense mechanism to keep me away from sharp objects! At any rate I do find myself focusing on the positive aspects during these troubled times.

To that end I have been "taking stock" of late, of all my blessings, and there are many. It is awfully easy to look at the mess around us and despair at our plight, but that yields little fruit.

I am going to try to take a minute each day to do a little inventory of what really matters. For me that would be family, friends, health, and happiness. I started to put pets in there, but I was afraid it would make me sound somehow shallow and needy, so I will leave them out of this - -but you get my drift.

I am going to try and remember to tell those I care about how much they mean to me. It is good exercise, and I clearly need that. Speaking of that, for me health is a big issue. That is one area where work needs to be done, big time. I was always concerned that I would outlive my financial resources. After all $328.52 is not that much money! Now I worry that my money will outlast me by at least $250.

I suggest we all take stock each day. I think our treasure may be much greater than we think. It is really good exercise for the heart, and may well lift the days burdens from our shoulders. By the way, if you see me with a big old cheeseburger going toward my mouth, slap it out of my hand and tell me you love me. We will both feel better!

"I'm Blessed"

2009-02-20T05:09:00.000-08:00

I rolled into the drive up window at McDonalds this morning at 5:30. When the lady opened the window, I asked "how are you today". With a big smile on her face, she responded "I'm Blessed". From the looks of her, she had been up a lot longer than I had. From all the flour on her shirt, I am guessing that her work day started about 4:30 making biscuits for me.

She neglected to tell me that her 401-K was now a 201-K as we so often say, or that she was worried about the market. She never mentioned the unemployment rate, or the stimulus package.

With all the doom and gloom we are hearing today, we often forget just how blessed we really are. Shoes on our feet, food in the pantry, roof over our head, and clean water to drink, I guess that about covers it. Most of the world can not say yes to all of the above.

This lady, who I dare to say, does not have a job that most of us would trade for, made me stop and take stock this morning.

I'm blessed today, how about you?

Stepping off the path

2009-02-18T04:31:00.000-08:00

Most of us go through life saying that we would like to learn how to (insert your interest here) water ski, weld, learn Spanish, play the banjo, whatever. When you reach 55 or so your realize that you never did most of those things things, and worse yet, you never will. I am pretty sure at some point in my life, I could have learned to play a mean banjo. Heck, I already own the banjo. I had really good intentions.

So what happens to us that we don't go for it? We all have lots of excuses, the job, the family, money pressure, peer pressure, and the list goes on. For most of us it turns out that it is just a basic law of physics - - inertia! We all learned it in school, Sir Issac Newton defined it, the resistance of an object to change its state of motion. That explains why it is so hard for me to get out of my recliner!

Most of us never step off the path and make that first step in a new direction. It is clearly our loss and leads to many regrets.

I have always admired those that don't seem fettered by the same chains that seem to bind me whenever I think about doing something different.

Take my buddy Rick. He does not seem to be bound by the same rule of physics that gets me all bound up. His feet move toward new things effortlessly, while mine seem stuck fast in clay. Rick is an engineer who quit a good job to go back to school to become a teacher! He learned to make beautiful furniture. He wanted to restore an old pick up, so he learned how, and is doing it. Metal casting, camping, cooking, welding, and metal machining are just a few of the things he is into actively.

All that said, that is not what makes my buddy Rick stand out. What makes Rick stand out is the fact that he encourages others to take the journey with him. He prodded me into welding last year. I had always wanted to learn welding, but I would never have done it. I talked about attending a class for years, but never overcame the inertia and actually signed up.

I encourage each of you to step off the path, and try that thing that you have always talked about doing. It is most likely worth the effort, and even if it is not, it will help you get rid of the "if onlys" and the "I wishes". You know "if only" I had takent the time, I could have - - - or "I wish" I had made that trip to Spain when I was younger.

Stepping off the path is hard. If you can't make yourself do it, then I hope you have a buddy like Rick with a cattle prod to help you along the way. I will warn you now, a buddy like Rick is hard to find, so you might want to try a little harder on your own to take that first step. If you do find that you can do it on your own, then maybe you could be somebodies Rick and help them make that step.

Now where did I out that banjo?

I am very sad

2009-02-09T04:21:00.000-08:00

I am very sad this morning, and I think I know why - - I have lost all confidence in our elected officials. What a mess! Would you ever say "it is not as important what we do, it is only important that we do it fast" WHAT! I sometimes tell the joke in the car, "that I don't know where we are going , but we are sure making good time". It generally gets a chuckle because it is a joke, if it were true nobody would be laughing. Our elected and appointed officials made the rounds Sunday on the talk shows and made just that argument. "We are in uncharted water", "we are not sure what to do, but we must do something fast", "we don't know how much money is needed, but we know it has to be bold". They don't know where we are going but they sure are in a hurry to make good time.

What would you think of a doctor who told you he was not sure why your thumb hurt, but he was going to be bold and cut off your arm in hopes that it fixed the problem? I think you would say wait a minute let's talk about this, I need to understand what is going on. If he then told you there was no time to discuss it, you had to be bold and act right now, you would. Only your action would be to get up, walk out of his office, and call the American Medical Association to report the quack!

The one thing that all the economist seem to agree on is the fact that the mess we are in was caused by our collective determination to live above our means. We bought houses that were to big for our needs, we bought cars that were impractical, and we did it all with easy money loans that clearly we could not afford to pay back. We were borrowing to support a lifestyle we could not afford. And what is the answer now? The government will borrow several trillion dollars, that we can not afford to pay back, to buy "things". Buying "things", or "investing" in them as the politicians like to say, will stimulate the economy. I suppose that is true. The politicians argue that if they gave us the money, we might save it and not spend it as needed. Interesting that saving has become evil. I suppose it is true that most Americans are concerned (see scared) and might want to hold on to some of their money, of course if we had been doing that for the last few years, we would not be here today. Non the less we need to spend, we need to buy cars and houses and shoes and TVs to get our economy rolling. I would be willing to do that if I had any confidence that our government was not driving us toward a real depression.

It is also true that a big part of this financial mess was caused by greedy charlatans on Wall Street, and they are being dealt with - - -by giving them several hundred billions in bailout compliments of the tax payer!

There are those that argue that government spending is more effective than spending in the private sector. That argument generally comes from those folks who are living off the taxes of the private sector and are not the least bit worried about losing their jobs. You and I would never pay $1000 for a toilet seat or spend millions of dollars to study the sex life of badgers.

We are looking for answers without pain, and I am not sure there are any. I don't know the answer. I know that the problem is very complex, and the solution is even more so. I also know that whenever someone tells you that they don't have time to explain the solution or discuss it, that is a bad sign. We all sign legal papers all the time that we don't understand. Not a good practice but we do it anyway. We are usually comforted by the fact that we are invited and encouraged to read the documents, and to ask questions about anything we do not understand. What if you sat down to sign those same documents and they were covered up? What if you wanted to read them and you were told there was not time? What if you protested and were told, "just trust me, I am looking out for you." Would you, or would you say wait a minute you have some explaining to do, I am not signing anything.

The economy will not collapse if they take time to explain the "stimulus package" to the American people. One trillion dollars explained in 800 pages of legislation. At a cost of a little over one billion dollars per page, that might be worth reading.

They cried wolf and we gave them 700 billion dollars without any idea of what it was being used for, or accountability of where it went. We have a new president and he said the 700 billion was handled irresponsibly, I will do better. He is now crying wolf for a trillion more dollars. Don't ask any questions, just hurry and give it to me where I can save you. (with your own money I might add)

"Change we can count on" - - if "count on" means the same old pigs at the trough getting what they want, looks like we got it. I have children and grandchildren who will never see this money paid off. I was hoping for more.

Just in case you did not understand lastime!

2009-01-15T04:27:00.000-08:00

Ok Ok so you did not follow yesterdays post on the bailout. Let's try it one more time and I will keep it simple.

Case in Point: Bank of America

1) The government gives Bank Of America 25 billion dollars and says go forth and lend. Being prudent bankers, they are not about to loan that money to anybody. After all they may not pay it back.
2) B of A now has $25 Bil. burning a hole in it's pocket, and goes looking for a bargain to buy. Yes this is the same money they were supposed to be lending to their customers.
3) Merrill Lynch is in trouble because of poor business practices and can be bought for a mere $50 billion.
4) B of A knows a good deal when they see one, so they buy Merrill. I mean in reality who could resist, that Merrill logo of a big raging bull is really cool.
Now don't get the wrong idea, B of A did not take the check Uncle Sam gave them and write their own check to buy Merrill. After all they were still 25 billion short right. No like any good company they just issued more shares and exchanged those shares for Merrill shares, so they got Merrill and still have the 25 billion we gave them. Now that is one smart deal.
5) The deal closes 12/31/08. Somebody deserves a big bonus!
6) January 14, oops we did not look at Merrill close enough. Turns out in the last 14 days we have discovered they are losers.
7) Hello Uncle Sam, can you please send us a few more billion dollars, we are a little short. We need to keep that balance sheet strong.
8) Uncle Sam says sure, we got your back on this deal, who could have seen this coming. You guys sorta messed up here so somebody needs to be punished, at least a little.
9) B of A says sure, we understand. How about we all keep our year end bonuses but we cut the dividend of all of our unsuspecting stockholders by 50%?
10) Uncle Sam says, it really hurts me to get tuff, but we must. That dividend reduction may not be enough punishment, you acted irresponsibly.
11) B of A says we understand we are willing to sacrifice more in the way of dividends to our stockholders if we have to. We understand somebody must be made to pay.
12) Uncle Sam says, call me if you need more, my pocket is always open!

I am sure no in the government or anyone at Bank of America sees it this way. I am sure both would say this is way to simplistic, and that I just don't understand. I will confess that I truly do not understand, do you?

All I know, is if the president of B of A or somebody from the Treasury had to got to Mrs. Jones 3rd grade class and explain this deal, and he wasn't directly involved - -I think explain it like I just did.

Buy the way, the porn industry has a lobbyist asking for several billions to save jobs in that industry. I am sure that in Washington it will sound perfectly reasonable, and may even be considered.

I just think if you can't justify it to a 3rd grader, it may not be a good deal for the taxpayers.

Just say no! Stop the borrowing!

2009-01-14T05:15:00.000-08:00

Act I
It seems widely accepted that we are in this financial mess for 3 reasons: One, we allowed people to borrow money that they could not pay back to buy houses that they could not afford. Two, house prices had become inflated because anybody could borrow all the money they wanted, credit worthy or not. Three, we allowed wild speculation in the financial market with the creation of financial instruments that nobody understood or regulated. "Credit Default Swap" The very name should have raised regulators eyebrows. Trading bad debt for bad debt is good business somehow? I think most high school students would have questioned that one!

Act II
The government told us that if we did not spend $700,000,000,000 right now (not next week), that the world as we know it would end. Total financial melt down. No one would be able borrow money, we would all lose our jobs, we would all be eating out of garbage cans, if we could find one.

Act III
90 days later, $350 billion spent by TARP, and additional trillions of dollars pumped into banks, mortgage house, and insurance companies by the Federal Reserve. (the Fed can spend all they want with NO approval so I am not sure why we needed TARP's $700 Billion) You still can't borrow money, big bonuses are still being paid to the people who blew the deal in the first place. Unemployment is 7%!

ACT IV
In comes the new president and says please release the other $350 billion so that I can make things better, and save our citizens. I know how to spend it "wisely", and we will keep a ledger of where we spent it so we will be accountable. What!

Act V
Who actually got the money? I didn't get any of it, and I am sure that you did not either. But somebody had to have gotten it right? Our 401K got killed, my wife who worked for 35 years is likely to lose her pension and insurance benefits. Our political leaders now call that a "legacy cost" that must be abandoned by the automakers for them to survive. Beware of ever being branded as a "legacy cost". Once that occurs you are no longer a human being. It is much easier to cast aside a legacy cost than a human being.

Act VI
50 years in the future- Our children and grandchildren are still trying to pay off the debt we left them. Their standard of living is not close to what ours is because their tax burden to pay off this debt is huge.

The question is: If this mess was caused by excessive borrowing by un-credit worthy people, how can an un-credit worthy government (we the people) borrow our way back into propriety?

The answer is simple, and every body knows it in their heart of hearts - - -you can't. We just don't like the answer so we turn our heads and let it continue.

Albert Einstein gave the following definition: Insanity- doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Einstein was no economist, but I think all the economist have already left the building!

What really makes us wealthy?

2008-11-25T04:30:00.000-08:00

I most often use this spot to rail against what I think is wrong about our nation, or more specifically our politicians. As we approach Thanksgiving, I want to take a different tack. I am very thankful that I am a citizen of this great nation, and in spite of our current fiscal mess, I think we should all be proud.

A few years ago I was having lunch with a business associate from Japan who had been living here for a number of years. He had just learned that he was to move back shortly to his native Japan. I asked him what he would miss most about the United States. I had pressumed that I knew the answer already. I had worked with Japanese associates for many years, and they often speak of our big home and wide open spaces. These are indeed unheard of in Japan. Without a moments hesitation he responded that it was our ability to change ourselves as a nation. I was taken aback and somewhat confused by his answer, and I asked him to elaborate.

He told me that what he admired most was our ability to look at our collective condition and decide that we needed to change. I was still a little confused so I asked him to elaborate further. He cited two examples of this unique ability. The first was smoking. He said that while we had been a nation of smokers, we realized that smoking was bad and were changing our collective behavior to correct this problem. The second example was the issue of race. He explained to me that we had recognised that we had a problem with race in our country and had addressed it head on.

He was not deceived into believing that we had fully corrected either problem, but he was in awe of the fact that we were facing both as a country and trying to correct our mistakes.

That discussion over lunch had a profound effect on me, and forever changed the way I look at my country.

We are facing some very difficult times. Our nation has seen hugh wealth evaporate, trillion of dollars lost out of our economy. Yet our wealth is not what makes our country great. I think it is our collective soul that sets us apart. It is our willingness to send young men and women into harms way to defend freedom in the world. It is our willingness to open our pocket books to the needs of others anywhere in the world. It is our desire to address societies wrongs and make them right.

We will overcome this difficult period, we will learn from it and we will move forward. Maybe this jolt to our collective psyche will cause to reflect on what is truly important. It is not what we have, it is who we are!

We have much to be thankful for, and I am.

Bush and the New President

2008-11-05T05:17:00.000-08:00

President Bush has a approval rating in the low 30's. History will give us a better perspective I think. Harry Truman was in the low 20's at the end of his term, and now we see him for what he really was, a great president. George Bush may or may not have been one of the greats, but he is far better than how he is being perceived now.

But today, we have a new president elect. If you follow my blog, you know how I feel about elected officials that are anointed by the press without a real vetting by the media. They scare me to say the least.

What should have been, does not matter. How he got there, no longer matters. Whether the electorate was informed or merely mesmerized, does not matter. True patriots will rise to the circumstance and support our new president as he enters the world's most difficult job. That is the way we are supposed to do it in the world's greatest democracy.

I hope I have the strength to be one of those proud patriots, that is my intention. President elect Obama deserves that. History will record it as an historic moment in our nation's story, and it is. In these trying times, our country needs a true patriot and leader, not a pop star. Historians will tell my grandchildren the true results of the Obama presidency. I hope our new president gets a glowing review from the historians.

God bless America

News Media

2008-10-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

Man do I miss Chet Huntley! You don't remember Chet Huntley? When I was young, he was very famous. He READ the news every evening - -man was he boring. Yes, I sure do miss old Chet. The evening news was reported to us on the Huntely-Brinkley News Hour every night -man was it boring. Oh we were well informed of course, but there was something lacking. You see those guys did not try to "explain" the news to us, they just made sure we were aware of it. I guess they thought that our opinion was every bit as important as theirs was. They actually thought that we could make up our own minds about what they reported. Can you believe it we actually had to sift through all the information and make up our own minds about things. There were lots of things to think about to, like who would make a good President, or who was right or wrong in the world. Boy am I glad we are past all of that!

Yep, now the well informed news media does that for us. They tear down the unworthy right before our eyes. I am sure they find that unpleasant, but if they don't show us just how stupid somebody is, well we might just miss it. After all we all were not selected to go to journalism school were we. You know if Charlie Gibson had not asked Sarah Palin about the Bush Doctrine, I might never have figured our just how dumb she is, and then where would I be? You see I did not even know what the Bush Doctrine was myself, so how could I make my own judgement about her. Man if somebody would just ask Obama about the Clinton Doctrine, we might get the whole picture. I guess they did that in private and he must have passed. I kind of wish I knew where he stood on that though. If we intend to invade Dar Four when he is elected, I would like to know now- I think. Yep, it is that old pesky Clinton Doctrine rearing it's ugly head, and to think Sarah might not even know what the Clinton Doctrine is.

By any measure this is an historical election. The first black running for president, and the first Republican woman on the national ticket. Obama may well be the greatest president of our time. If he is elected I sure hope he is, we could use it.

I don't have a problem with Obama, OK maybe I have a problem with that whole redistribution thing, but hey he is not the first to advocate that and we survived. No my problem is I just don't know him. I know he makes really good speeches, but for me that is just not enough. I still don't know what a community organizer is. He is 47 years old, he has been running for President for 2 years, he was a community organizer for 3 years, what about the other 42 years.

The real question is, why am I a bad guy for wanting to know? If the media has already done all that research about Obama, why can't I know about it. The same media has made sure I know all about Sarah Palin.

I don't think that is a bad thing. After all we are electing the President and Vice President of the free world. Sure seems like to me, we should know all we can about each candidate-the good, the bad, and the ugly. Where they come from, where they want to go, and what they want to do.

I really don't think I need the news medias help in my decision process, but I sure could use there help in getting the facts!

Public Servant

2008-10-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

If we can last 28 more days this election will be over - I think most of us would say good riddance! I will confess to being a political junky, and I really don't know why. Given my disdain for most people running for political office, it seems like the last thing that would interest me. I have other vices as well. As hard as I try not to, I am one of those guys who holds up traffic rubbernecking at a car wreck, but that is another post.

This is that season where so many are calling themselves "Public Servants". It does not seem to take them long once they are elected to forget that fact.
As already stated, I have a pretty low regard for those who seek elective office. My reasoning is fairly simple, they lie about why they want to be there. You and I work because we want to make money, and generally speaking the more the better. Now if you ask most of our "Public Servants", you will be told a lot of things, but making money or having power, now that just won't come up. They are there because; "they want to make a difference", "they felt called to serve", "they felt like they needed to give something back". sound familiar?

I was raised in a rural area of Mississippi. When I was growing up, it was the practice to park a big flat bed trailer in front of the county courthouse and all the people seeking office would come and speak to the voters sitting on the courthouse steps or in lawn chairs scattered around . This generally took place on several Saturdays before the election. Food was served, usually Brunswick stew, and there was some local entertainment. In those days it was not uncommon to have someone running for office who would stand up and say: " Now I'm not saying that old Duke has not been a good county commissioner for the district, he has, but he has been in there long enough. It is time to let somebody else have some time at the trough." We could all understand that! In those days I never heard anyone ever call themselves a "Public Servant". In those days being a politician was just another line of work line being a carpenter or a painter or an accountant. We all understood it, we all accepted it. We knew what to expect of our politicians - -and we were seldom disappointed.

You may have noticed that most "public Servants" manage to live really well. I don't begrudge them that, if only they could be honest about it. Being a "Public Servant" will more than likely get you a reserved parking space very close to the door of the building where you "serve". Of course that is not nearly so important once you reach the stage where you serve so well that that you have a car and chauffeur. I know a man who was the mayor of a medium sized city for several years. I once teased him about about having a car with a chauffeur. He first explained to me that he did not have a "chauffeur", he had a "driver". I am not sure the guy driving the car ever knew he had been demoted. Turns out "drivers" don't have an official black chauffeur's hat. At any rate, once I was straight on that , he explained to me that having a "driver" was critical, because it gave him more time to do "the people's business"!

At any rate I am rambling on so here is the point, the next time you hear someone say they are a "Public Servant", try to find out if they were ever a private servant. Did they ever mow their neighbors yard when they were sick or out of town. Did they ever cook for someone that was sick or elderly. Not their spouse mind you, but did they ever do it themselves. Did they take the time to visit a shut-in or someone they were not related to living in a nursing home - -when they were not looking for their vote.

If they were a good "Private Servant" then they might make a good "Public Servant". We all want to know at election time, what will the candidate do for me? The better question might be what would they do for you if you could not vote! That is the real measure of their character. I am not saying I am a good "private servant", I am clearly not, but then again I am not asking for your vote either. How do you think your choice would stack up?

Expectations

2008-08-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

OK, so John Edwards got caught. No big deal right, after all it is his private life and he is not the first. Sorry I don't buy that, as a matter of fact, I view that as one of the ills of our country. We don't seem to expect very much out of our elected officials. If we get what we expect, then we should expect more! If your mother would be ashamed of your actions, then we have a right to be ashamed of your actions as a country. And, I don't care if Europeans think we are being naive.

We not only have a right to expect better, we have an obligation to demand it. People who run for office are asking us to place our trust in them to do our business. They ask for our money in taxes, they ask for our contributions to support their campaigns, and they ask for our most prized possession - our vote. You want all that, then I want you to be better than the average Joe.

We must hold our elected officials to a higher standard. We not only have a right to expect it, we have an obligation to demand it. Public servant indeed! I would be happy if you would just act like a good, trustworthy employee! How about a random drug test every once in a while to go with it. Most of the time it looks like our elected officials are on drugs anyway doesn't it?

We should all strive to do better in our lives in every arena. We should resist blurring the lines on right and wrong. As humans we are naturally weak, and are particularly vulnerable to the sins of the flesh. Man how I struggle with the seductive call of a cream filled donut, but then again, I am not asking for your vote!

This year we will spend over one billion dollars to select our President. For that kind of money it sure looks like we could get a really good one. For a $1,000,000,000 I expect to get somebody a little better than your average Joe - -don't you?

Curse the darkness

2008-07-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

"It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness." Know one is sure who coined this catchy phrase, but it sure resonates with me today.

I just heard today that a federal judge has stopped a 1200 megawatt coal fired power plant in Georgia. 1200 megawatts is a big plant. That would place it in the top ten in the US if my research is correct. The plant was stopped because the judge said they had not done enough research into alternate methods of removing CO2 (carbon dioxide). Note, that she did not say it was not a clean burning plant or that it did not meet all federal and state guide lines. No, this was one person's decision. Not based on any fact of law or legal precedent, but merely one person's opinion. That's true power, to stop new plants by just saying, maybe there is a better way to clean the air. Maybe there is a better way, I sure hope so, but in the mean time we are about to hit the wall on energy producing capacity in this country.

We don't like nuclear, we don't like coal, and we don't like hydro. Wind turbines kill birds. Tidal current generators kill fish. We all know that oil is evil, but we do like solar as long as the huge solar collectors are in somebody else's back yard, and so far solar is not very efficient.

We do like to turn our food stocks into fuel, such as ethanol form corn. The only problem with that approach is now we can't afford to feed our cattle, and oh by the way, we can't produce enough corn to keep the lights on in Perrywinkle Tennessee, much less a major city. Oh yea, and did I mention that it takes more energy to produce ethanol than it provides. If Iowa were not an early primary state, nobody would consider ethanol from corn as a viable energy source. Politicians may not know how to get us over this energy crisis, but they sure know how to pander for a vote!

Obama says that drilling for oil in the US is not the answer - -it would take to long!

I have an idea, let's drill for oil, build power plants of all types if we have to. Lot's of them. We can do these things while we look for the magic elixir that we all seek. Or we can just stand and curse the darkness rather than have the pollution caused by lighting a single candle.

If God really does help those who helps themselves, then who is going to help us!

And that's all I've got to say about that.

What Happend to Wooden boats

2008-05-30T04:51:00.000-07:00

I know why boats aren't made of wood much anymore, it would be way to easy to set them on fire and get rid of them! Yes it is a boat rave. Hey it is spring so get over it and hear me out. The old joke is that the best 2 days in any boat owners life is when he gets his boat and when he can finally get rid of it. I have only had my boat 2 years and I have already grown to loath it. I swear it seems to smile at my pain.

I went to crank it a few weeks back and of course the battery was down. The battery of course is stored in a spot that is not reachable by the average guy - - OK may be by the average sized guy can, but that ain't me. I finally get it out and on the charger and begin the grueling process of trying to get it to charge. What, you don't know about this! Oh yea now we have smart chargers that won't charge if the battery is to far discharged - - WHAT! Yep, if the battery is totally discharged the battery charger won't even try to charge it. At any rate, after much coaxing and a 1/2 dozen restarts it finally takes a charge. Success at last.

So last weekend Barb and I are going to take a little boat ride. But first I must reinstall the battery in it's secret place. I can do this, after all I got it out didn't I. 3 hour later the battery was in and the boat was cranked. Unfortunately I was now way to hot and sweaty to go for a ride so we decided to wait until later in the afternoon. No problem, life is good.

At 4:00 we decided it was a good time to go for a ride. Barb by now had been wearing her sun block all day and had a decidedly Coppertone smell. The dog (Holly the terrorist) was following her and trying to lick her legs every time she stopped moving. Holly really likes Coppertone. At any rate we are in our bathing suits and ready to go. We haul all our stuff to the boat and board the proud vessel. Part of our "stuff" was the required cleaning supplies to remove the 68lbs of spider poop that was deposited on everything. After some minutes of poop cleaning, I declared that a little spider poop never hurt anyone, let's shove off. You guessed it the battery won't turn the motor over, not even a relay click. My first thought was to burn the damn boat. Barb pointed out that while I had hauled 10 gallons of gas ($40 worth) and filled up the tanks the boat was made of aluminum and probably would not burn. Curses foiled again!

And that my friend is what happened to all the wooden boats!

A World of Causes

2008-05-29T04:31:00.000-07:00

It is official now. We had long suspected it was the case, but now we have proof! The tide went out this morning along the Gulf coast. If this trend continues unchecked, all the worlds oceans will dry up in 7 years! What will we do? What - -it happens every day you say. You are trying to tell me that this is a natural cycle. How simple minded can you be, there were people there who saw it occur! Go ahead stick your head in the sand if you want, but just remember I told you in time to stop it. If man had only changed his ways, this catastrophe could have been avoided.

I heard on the way in this morning that the water level in Lake Victoria was falling. The "journalist" went on to say that if this trend continues unabated that Lake Victoria would be completely dry in 30 years. Must be that Global warming thing again. The only problem is that the water level in the lake has fluctuated for years thousands of years - -even after "we fixed it" in 1954 with a big dam.

If I had any hair, I would pull it out!

I know the world is warmer. What I don't know is why, or for how long. I also don't know why Mars is getting warmer, but I know it is.

We love causes. I know I do. There is nothing better than a puppy in peril on TV to cause us to rise to the occasion, band together and move mountains to save it. Nothing wrong with that, I like puppies. I just think we should choose our causes with a little more thought.

As a matter of fact, once the "cause" has been declared (in the case of Global warming by non other than Al Gore) it is complete heresy to question it at all. For any scientist, it is a career ending move to even question whether it is man made or maybe something as simple as a solar cycle.

It speaks volumes to our arrogance as humans. Our assumption is that there is nothing "bigger" than us. If anything significant happens one way or the other, man must have caused it. Sharon Stone created an outcry in China recently when she suggested that the earth quake there was a result of "bad karma" because China mistreats Tibet. I bet Sean Penn agrees, maybe even Al Gore.

Maybe that whole bad karma thing is what caused global warming. No that would fly in the face of the undisputed science. We are doing it to ourselves. It is the whole carbon thing. We need to all rush out and buy carbon credits. Just so happens that Al Gore is part owner in a company that sells them, which makes it really convenient since we know they will be the real thing and not some Chinese knock off.

Now Mars on the other hand has got to be karma related to the whole treatment of Tibet thing. Nothing else makes sense scientifically!

By the way, next time you are in Africa please carry a bottle of water to pour in Lake Victoria - - just in case. You know if we all band together we could lick this thing. No tap water please. The best water comes from melting a glacier.

Passing of a pet

2008-04-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Rick, recently had the grim task of consoling his young son Jordan, who was coming to grips with the loss of a pet. Jordan and his sister found a lizard in the back yard last week, and like good youngsters everywhere they adopted it. Jordan soon realized a lesson that many of us don't learn until we are much older. That lesson is that if you love something, you must often set it free no matter how much you want to keep it. With watery eyes, Jordan set his new pet free after a couple of days.

That might have been the end of the adventure, but I am sad to say for Jordan that it was not. He was on the lookout for his little pet and sure enough, a couple of days later he found him again. Jordan once again took the little critter into his care. As an adult it occurs to me that any lizard that allows itself to be caught twice, might not be in the best of health. Mr. Lizard I guess was not as he soon died.

Jordan wanted to have an official burial. His dad agreed to this, but was soon left with a problem as Jordan had decided that only a metal coffin would do. As the lizard was doing what dead things do, Rick went looking for a suitable container. I provided an Altoids box, painted for the occasion, and the funeral was on. With many tears, Mr. Lizard was placed in his coffin, which by now had to be placed in a zip lock bag to protect the innocent. Services were planned. Graveside services will be held today at 4:30.

This story, or one like it, has been played out many times across our country this very day. It is how our children learn values and learn how to live as adults. Some fathers have always flushed the lizard down the toilet, while others have looked for the metal coffin. My concern is about the ratio. I am afraid today we have a lot more "flushers" than we had 25 or 30 years ago.

Were Norman Rockwell here today he would have been moved to paint this scene, and we would all have understood what it meant when we saw it in the "Saturday Evening Post". We would all have smiled and felt comfortable. The scene takes me back to a time when we all felt closer to each other. I really miss that time, but the ritual of Mr. Lizard's funeral gives me hope. We need a lot less flushers.

If you are not old enough to remember the "Saturday Evening Post" you have really missed something. It is not to late to enjoy Norman Rockwell however, and we should all do so lest we forget how life once was in our country - - at a simpler time.

It boggles the mind!

2008-02-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

So much going on. I am a back-slid blogger, but I vow to change. Doctor says I am a diabetic. That sucks! All new rules for eating, no more "banking points" for a night time pig put. This only makes sense if you are a fellow Weight Watcher, or a least a former WW as I am. I am losing weight and my latest blood work was good. Enough about that.

This is my season - - politics! I am a confessed political junkie. I don't really know why, I don't believe any of them, but I sure do like to watch. It has been a very interesting election cycle. A black man, a white woman, and one very seasoned citizen. Who would have thunk it.

Last but not least, Rick has got me going to a welding class. It is not like he forced me, he just told me he was going and I sure do hate to miss anything exciting. I have burned up a lot of welding rods, and I still suck. The good news is I don't have to make a living at it so sucky is OK. Is that cool or what! The class was not cheap though. $175 to sign up and $500 for the welder I now think I can not live without!

Come to think of it my friend Rick is going to cost me a fortune. He keeps coming up with neat stuff he wants to learn about and do - - -and I am easily lead astray. I will be broke but well rounded. I am pretty sure that has the makings of a career path for a WalMart greeter.

Speaking of WalMart, I went to WalMart tonight to buy a shoe horn. (yes, I got some new shoes. I have been looking for a couple of weeks and can't find a shoe horn anywhere - -at least not one that I was willing to part money with to buy. Us greeters have to watch our pennies. I went to the shoe department and asked the lady where they kept the shoe horns. She told me that she had only worked their a week and did not know what a shoe horn was, so she went and got the department head. Turns out they had long plastic ones and fancy metal ones, but no "regular" shoe horns at all.

I had one of the long, plastic, $2 shoe horns in my hand and was telling the department manager that every shoe store used to give away shoe horns with every pair of shoes, whether you wanted them or not. As a matter of fact, I am sure that I must have 100 here in the house somewhere, if only I knew where. At any rate, I was telling her about how it used to be. OK, I was telling her back as she was walking away from me. She took about 10 steps to her official department managers cart, pulled out a drawer and gave me a very nice, regular old shoe horn. I know she was rich, ther must have ben 50 of them in her drawer. I sure hope the shows one to the first lady I met - -she needs to know what a shoe horn is if she is going to work in the shoe department don't you think. ay any rate, I was too embarrassed to put the $2 one back, so now in my house there are 102 shoehorns - - 2 of which I can now find - - at least temporarily!

The Weekend

2007-08-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

We are trained through out our lives to be very goal oriented. We are instilled with sayings that foster this - -"begin with the end in mind" , "don't take your eye off the ball". We are working to make a good grade, to get a promotion, or to achieve some status. To get ahead we are taught is a virtue. We work hard and save so that we can have a "meaningful" retirement, and leave something to our heirs. "He who dies with the most toys" and all that I guess.

This is all well and good, and I for one have not only learned this lesson well, but I have preached it to my son as well as to others who have come under my tiny sphere of influence over the years.

But what of the others, the ones for whom the journey itself is the goal. Louis and Clark, Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, and countless other just like them. Artists, philosophers, musicians, and countless free spirits who have roamed the earth. A road less travelled?

How did I get here in these deep waters you ask? Well, I started out thinking about my weekend. It was great. Like most weekends, if I don't have a project, I take my hand off the rudder and let the current take me where it will. In most cases that random course to nowhere turns out to be very enjoyable. We roam the country side with no destination in mind except what is round the next bend. The joy is in the journey not the destination.

My mother always taught me that happiness is a journey not a destination. I forget sometimes and I really should not. This weekend I remembered!

Enjoy the ride, it is all to often a short one.

The journey really is important!

When do I get to vote?

2007-08-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

My wife has gotten interested in politics of late. It may be the fact that she is a grandmother now and worries a little more about what we are leaving for our grandchildren. After all, every politician decries the misery of the mountainous debt we are leaving our grandchildren, even though none of them is really in favor of doing anything about it.

What ever the reason for her conversion, I am grateful, for I am a political junkie! I watch all the talking heads on TV. Heaven forbid that I miss "Meet The Press", or "This Week" on Sunday morning. At any rate today the Republicans held a debate in Iowa on a special addition of "This Week With George Stephapolis". All nine candidates lined up to tell us their positions on various matters. Mostly it was about how any of them would be better for us than than any of the democrats.

In the interest of open disclosure here, I must say that I agree, but that is a rant for another day. At any rate Barb and I watched together, and she commented when it was over that some of those folks had really interesting ideas for the future. I had to explain to her that non of those folks had a prayer of being the nominee. But I don't understand she said, they have the same chance as anyone else. I will vote for them and so will a lot of other people once they hear what they have to say.

That is when I had to break the news to her that she really did not get to vote! I explained it as follows:

The process starts with anyone in this great country having the right to run to be elected for the Office of President. Doesn't that sound great. Wait a minute not that easy, lets go through the process. First you have to already be a politician. It is not a rule, but if you aren't, everybody says you don't have enough experience. So somebody like say Bill Gates or Warren Buffet would not qualify. That's OK with me, no use to temp good men to go to the dark side. Beside those guys, and folks like them, acutally generate a lot of wealth for a lot of people. Better to leave those guys alone.

Secondly you have to raise a lot of money. For President now it is at least $100 Mil. just to get the nomination of your party. (Once you get that far the tax payers take over most of the tab.)

Now where do you spend that money? Well everybody knows if you want to be the nominee for your party, you have to win the early primaries of Iowa and New Hampshire. You will do anything, say anything, and spend whatever it takes to win those 2 states. Makes it real easy to understand why we "need" ethanol to go in our cars even though it costs way more than oil and is not very efficient. They grow a lot of corn in Iowa.

Now the real problem is we don't really want change! We want the status quo in a prettier package. So the guy with the new ideas stirs a little something in us, but in the end he or she makes us just a little uncomfortable, and we do not like uncomfortable. There is also a good chance that they are against ethanol, and that stance won't get you many votes in Iowa.

At any rate by the time the first 2 primaries are over it is usually pretty much decided. If it is close maybe South Carolina come into to play, but for the rest of us - - forget about it.

I finally explained to her that the best way for us to have an impact on choosing a candidate, was for us to send money to the candidate we liked so that he or she could spend that money on TV ads in Iowa and New Hampshire so that those folks could see what we saw and vote for the right person. Sounds simple doesn't it.

By the way I checked it out, the number one industry in New Hampshire - -you guessed it tourism. Don't be surprised if some politician doesn't suggest there be a law that says we all have to take our vacation there in a car powered by ethanol no less!

Maybe we should just let those folks get together and decide who the president should be as well. At least then we would have somebody to blame no matter how it comes out!

At least this week I did not have to hear any more politicians on TV talking about how awful the Iraq Parliament is for taking the month of August off. Why you ask, well because all of our leaders are on vacation this month. Hey, ease up, those folks in Iraq got real problems to deal with. Here of course everything is perfect.

Next time I will take on the water and school board! That is really where it all starts.

Business trip

2007-07-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a week long sales trip to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. It was a long week with lots of planes, long car rides, and new customers. The good news is our product was well received at every stop. There were a few skeptics of course, but when people saw our demo system they were impressed. I tend to shoot straight with people and add a little dash of humor to keep them smiling and people seem to respond well.

It is really amazing the bill of goods that people have been sold about Zigbee. I guess we all want to believe deep down inside that "things" will be easy! No matter what it is, we are conditioned to be believers - - -even when we know better.

I had one customer ask me if our system would support 65,000 nodes. He is an engineer who is currently using Zigbee from one of our competitors. Currently he would be happy if he could get 10 working well. I told him in theory, we could support 65K nodes. I also told him that I wanted to be there when it happened, as I was sure it would be a train wreck like we had never seen before. He laughed, but I had the distinct impression that if I had said sure it would. that he would have believed. Like most of us he wanted to!

One thing that was of particular interest was the fact that I did not see one single customer who was using Zigbee (or planned to) in what I would call a classic application. Tells me we best keep our pocket knives handy. We will be trimming a lot of square pegs to go in round holes if we are to be successful!

I have a weeks worth of action items to work on next week, so it will be a busy week.

Ah yes the joys of pressing the flesh!

Rural Life

2007-07-16T05:20:00.001-07:00

Barb and I went to the lake this weekend as we do most weekends. It is Nice to get away to a simpler environment and decompress. Friday night we went up the road to a little town called Anderson. Anderson has a population of less than 1000 souls. We have passed through several times and noticed a restaurant that is always busy. It is call the "Fish Creel". We had asked our neighbors and they said that the food there was not to good, but the crowds would indicate otherwise, so we decided to try the place out.

We arrived at 6:00 which was definitely the rush hour for the Fish Creel, as there was no place to park. We ended up walking about 100 yards to get there so we just knew it must be good.

The first thing we noticed was that there were more tables for 6, 8, and 10 than there were for 4, and that there were no tables for 2. It soon became apparent that everyone knew everyone else. There was a great deal of table to table visiting and hugging going on. I overheard a lot of conversations that revolved around checking on every one's family status. You know the kind I am speaking of: "hows aunt Bertha", "I hard Purvis's daughter go saved last Sunday", I saw you uncle Bob in town last week, and he was looking better".

The neighbors were right, the food was awful, but it was clear that was not the draw of the place. When your in the Fish Creel restaurant you are among friends and family who care and are glad to see you.

Dr. Steven Covey would say they were getting their "emotional bank accounts filled". I guess he is right, but in rural America they were just being good friends and neighbors.

I know "visiting" is a big part of my daily sustanance. I think we could all stand a lot more of that kind of contact.

Have you visited with anyone today? It sure makes the bad food go down easy!

Harley Davidson, the economy ride - -

2007-07-10T05:09:00.000-07:00

Well I guess I have heard it all now. I was on my way to work this morning and heard an ad for Harley that went something like this - -"Tired of the high price of gas? Harley's average 52 miles to the gallon." I own a Harley, and yes it does get really good gas mileage, but give me a break. Owning a Harley is one of the most expensive hobbies a person can have. If I am not mistaken it ranks right behind collecting fine art.

You start by paying way to much for the motorcycle, which is really just a place to hang expensive chrome and leather. Then you have to dress the part. Who would have guessed that you can easily spend $600 or $800 just to look like you are a bum who can't afford new clothes, and that is before the boots!

The only place you don't overspend is on a helmet. You just can't look Harley cool in a DOT approved helmet. No way! What you do is buy a plastic Nazi helmet that offers the same protection as aluminum foil. But not to worry, remember you have on those really heavy boots. Just remember to land on your feet when you leave the beer garden and run into the side of the 18 wheeler.

Let's face it, a lot of folks buy a Harley because they can't afford the most expensive hobby in the world - -owning a boat!

When you buy your Harley, you are thinking about a lot of things, but saving money on gas - - no way!

Nice try though, I will have to give you that. Hope you didn't spend the entire add budget on that one. At least hold a little something back for the "free" Budweiser do rags! We really like to wear those when we are buying chrome and leather.

Terrorism- - The Real Deal

2007-07-08T18:58:00.000-07:00

I took a few days off for the 4th. I spent 5 days at the lake with no computers! Lots of time to read and reflect. This generally leads to more "Ravings", this time was no exception.

I generally think of terrorists in the same way I think of gang members in a big city - -uneducated people living in poverty with no hope for a better life, with no regard for life - theirs or others. A situation where crime and violence is the way you make a living and survive. I tend to think if only they had a way out they could turn their lives around - - -

Maybe gang members fit this image I have, but terrorist, well last week reminded me of what we are really up against. The terrorist attacks in England were carried out by Doctors and medical students. Good jobs, educated, all the creature comforts! These "people" have a hatred for us and our way of life that is beyond anything we can comprehend. They really are convinced that we are the devil and we must all convert to Islam or be killed.

On the 4th we celebrated Independence Day. If we intend to protect our way of life and our right to live free, we must take stock of our enemy. Political correctness be damned, we must be prepared to defend country and our way of life.

I don't know the answer, but I do know we are not taking the threat seroiusly enough! This is not about politics, it is about survival!

Reunion

2007-07-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

My wife and I attended her reunion this weekend. It was one of those things that was not class specific. Anyone from 1932 (when the school was founded) to the class of 1975 were invited. The school is small so they group classes to try and get people to participate. Barb graduated in 1966 so we had already attended her 40th last year. This was a bonus for her. Most of the people in this community don't "wander" to far from home when they graduate, but several people had travelled some distance to spend time with old friends. (and in some cases I do mean OLD).

We are fortunate to have grown up in the South in a farming area. Roots run deep here, so you always feel at home when you come back. There were maybe 125 people in attendance, and it was a very nice experience for Barb. I guess I should note that I did not go to this school, or live in this community growing up. I knew a few people, but not many.

Barb's class had a classmate to pass away recently so they had funded a scholarship in her honor. Barb made the presentation, and did a great job.

You know you are in the South when dinner is a buffet of Fried fish, fried chicken, and fried chicken livers. My kind of people, my kind of food!

A Great Goal

2007-06-08T05:53:00.000-07:00

I am behind on my posting, it has been a very busy week. I want to go back and post about last weekend. I was at the lake and my neighbor, Nat, wanted me to help him put up his flag pole. Nat is 79 years old. He is very quick witted and mentally sharp and in very good health for his age. He is very active and works in his yard or around the house constantly.

Barb and I love to watch Nat fishing. Whether he is using a spinning rod or his trusty fly rod he is very graceful in his motion. Watching him fish late in the evening is almost a surreal scene. It is very relaxing for us as just to watch him at his task.

A month ago we arrived at the lake to find that we had a new flag flying on our flagpole. We fly our flag all the time so it has gotten tattered. Nat told me that the flag needed to fly "proud" so he replaced it.

All this brings me to the reason for my raving today. I have know Nat for 3 years now, and he practices the adage if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything. In that vain he is quick to look for the good and praise.

I have noticed over time that Nat's highest praise for someone is that they were a "good citizen". If they were really outstanding in his eyes, he might add that they were "a solid member of the community".

It has given me pause to think about what greater aspiration any of us could have than to be a good citizen and a solid member of the community. What better goals could we have for raising our children?

How you can tell

2007-05-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well if you have ever wondered how to tell when you are old - -I think I know. We went to see Pirates of the Caribbean III tonight with my niece. The show was too long, all I could think about was that it cost $24 dollars for the 3 of us to get in, and popcorn and 3 drinks were another $18. Yep, I'm old.

Next thing you know I will be telling people that we walked 6 miles to and from school up hill both directions with the temp at 30 below.

Ah how I miss the good old days.

First Post

2007-05-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Just returned from a quick lunch and decided that this was as good a time as any to get started! Many thanks to Rick for helping me (pushing) to get this started. If Rick had not set it up for me I would still be "studying".

If there is to be a theme for this, I have not found it. Perhaps that is what ravings are all about. My first rant is about spell check. I am widely regarded as one of the worst spellers on the planet. Thank goodness for Pat. I accept this as a missing gene, since I don't want to consider the fact that I didn't pay attention in school.

I am pretty sure there are many of us out there with the same missing gene, we will call it BR549, that said why would anyone ever enable a spell checker that did not also have auto suggest! This is clearly an attempt to humiliate us as a group! It is bad enough that we have to guess about "to" vs "too" and "loose" vs "lose".

I think I may give up any attempt at written communication in the future.

Is there such a thing as a 1 post blog?