October 26, 2011

This will have to be a really quick hour.  Lots of stuff to do.

1.  A Piece of the Pie

Diane Rehm says that polls now show that more people like Occupy Wall Street than the Tea Party.  Both "movements" developed, in my opinion, because of the disasters imposed on the people of the United States by past-President George W. Bush.    Argue with me about that, please.

2. A Meeting of the Minds?

I thought that I would never  know a time when a couple of my fellow Social Security retirees would agree on something.  John Culleton could perhaps be considered an "ultra-liberal" and Bud Nason could  perhaps be considered an "ultra-conservative."   In a letter to the editor of the Carroll County Times (Maryland) last Monday, Bud agreed with John that under the U.S.  Constitution, protection of religious freedom extends to all, and that people should actually read the Constitution, understand it, and "maybe even abide by it." AMEN!

I hope that people read the writings of both Bud and John, and as the Reverend Lou Piel suggested in a recent religious column in the same Carroll County Times, take the time to learn the viewpoints of persons with whom you may not agree.

3.  Rotten Old Tomato Cans?

I'm afraid I raised the hackles of some folks when I mentioned that I thought that the ROTC should not be allowed to operate in schools.  This may be "sour grapes" for me, because I secretly wanted to join the ROTC in High School.  (I had severe "stage fright" and as I worked out on the parallel bars in the gym, I watched some of my fellow students give presentations to their fellow ROTCers on the basketball court.  I envied how well they were doing. )   I also wanted to study Latin and Ancient Greek.

However, being more or less the whole support for an aunt and grand-parents since I was 11 years old, a classical education was not in the cards for me.  Also, a career as an Army officer was just not considered a goal in life for people in  my working-class environment. 

Now, with that out of the way.. I must also say that I have always been a peace-loving person who hates war and military activity, even though I did spend 4 years in the military during the Korean War era.  In my cryptographic job, I was required to keep a "burp gun" nearby and I was ordered to shoot any "commies" who tried to break into the Crypto Van.  Luckily, the "reds" never seemed interested in me or my van, hidden in a forest in Germany.

So.. bottom line.. In spite of what I said, I think that ROTC is ok as long as it isn't required.  If somebody can handle the ROTC duties and not ignore their main studies.. more power to them (so to speak).
We do need educated military leaders. 

I read in the Carroll County Times where the barred ROTC will be coming back to Yale next year.  One guy has already signed up.  Off-campus, three Yale students pursue ROTC.  Even though the program will be opened, campus officials believe that very few students will join in.  (I wonder what their dress parades will look like.. five or six guys and girls in uniforms passing in review?)

The Carroll County Times article also says: "The ROTC program, which was founded in 1916, has 490 host units, most of them concentrated in the South and Midwest.  Students receive scholarship money in return for agreeing to military service after graduation.." 

4.  You've got Mail!

The transcontinental telegraph was completed 150 years ago, near the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. The Associated Press says; "...a primative Internet united the US," and quotes Thomas Jepsen, author of My Sisters Telegraphic: Women In Telegraph Office 1846-1950: "I really see the telegraph as the original technology, the grandfather of all these other technologies that came out of it: the telphone, the teletype, the fax, the Internet"

Something for me to think about as I remember the five irritating telemarketing calls I have received this morning so far, and  the one hundred or so emails that came in over night.

If it wasn't for the telegraph and Morse Code, I would not be hearing dots and dashes all the time in my head because of the years I spent as a radio operator and cryptographer.

dit dah   dit dah dit

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October 22, 2011

Our local newspaper, The Carroll County Times, has quite a bit of provocative content today, in my opinion.  Here are my comments on a few of them, and also some other stuff that comes to my mind, such as it is..

1.  Uniform rights

A teen-ager was told that she could not wear a religious scarf while marching in a parade with her fellow ROTCers.  A national Muslim civil rights group has filed suit. 

Although I have no love for the ROTC, and believe that they should not be allowed to operate in our public schools, in this case, I think that the ROTC officers were right.  What kind of military organization would it be if everybody wore a differently styled uniform?  And what about separation of Church and State?

This reminds me of a decision I made when I was a Claims Authorizer for the Social Security Administration.  A beneficiary wrote a letter asking that a religious abreviation be appended to his last name, so that it would appear on his monthly check.  I thought about it, and figured "what harm could that do?"   I made the change.

Letters started to come in from hundreds of other members of his religious sect, and changes were also made  for them because of my precedent-setting decision.  

However, shortly thereafter, hundreds of letters started coming in from members of a rival religious group which had found out about the changes. They wanted similar changes made to reflect their beliefs.  Oh Oh!  I had opened the proverbial "can of worms". Now I was in big trouble... so, a decision was made that all of the name changes already made had to be undone, and no changes of that type be allowed in the future.  Such name change problems should not occur now that (supposedly) all Social Security benefits are deposited electronically to bank accounts.

I wonder what happens to the checks for people who cannot get bank accounts.  Are they deposited in the bank accounts of Representative Payees?


2.  Billionaires' Lament

I read where the rising cost of health care is causing trouble for Walmart and they are about to cut health benefits for some future employees and raise premium costs for others.  The corporation employees a million and a half workers, so their employee costs must be astronomical.. but so are their profits, I've been told.  I've also been told that their dividend rate is very low and profits are instead plowed back into the company. 

Just try to get a parking place at the Westminster, Maryland store.  The lot is always full.  In contrast, the parking  lot at the K-Mart in nearby Eldersburg, Maryland is almost empty, almost all of the time.  Walmart has got to be making lots of money.  Therefore, it seems to me that Walmart can well afford to "eat" the rise in the price of health care for their employees and should stop their complaining.

To be fair, I did visit the local Walmart recently and some charitable information was posted near the rest rooms, where all should be able to read it.   It said that in 2010:

Walmart donated $19,299,556.00 within the State of Maryland.
Walmart donated $1,000.00 to each of these Carroll County entities:
     Carroll County Public Library
     Mission of Mercy
     Literary Council
Walmart donated $467,000,000.00 in cash or in kind within the USA.
Walmart donated 99,000,000  meals within the USA.
Walmart employees contributed 1,500,000 volunteer hours within the USA.

3.  Listen up!

Reverend Lou Piel has a solution for some of the ugly devisiveness that is presently plaguing our country.  In his Column this week he makes a very powerful point:  "... Knowing what I believe but being open to the thoughts of others creates a more healthy society.  Good dialogue tends to break down the walls that we ourselves have created."

4.  At last.. a raise!

It has just been announced that there will be an increase in Social Security benefits in January.  A cost of living 3.6% increase is supposed to take place then.  Of course, this also means that rents for the elderly will also rise.  Where is President Nixon when we need him?  Old Tricky Dick did a lot of bad things, but he also put a cap on prices for a while, to let people take a breath of fresh air and keep a few bucks for themselves.

5.  Label Names

Since I have always loved junk mail, I have always gotten lots of it.  For the past few years, I have tried to keep it confined by renting a post office box, but it still shows up at my home each day.  Have you ever looked at your name on these mailings?  Sometimes they get quite creative, at least for me.

For instance, at some long-ago point of time, I replied to a survey.  Whoever ran the survey sent me a "thank you", addressed to Josurv Vaughan.  The surveyer sold my name to mailers and now every few days I get junk mail with that name.

Yesterday, I got a piece of mail from the Learning Company.  It was addressed to Joseph Called Vaughan.  Since I don't have a middle name, I appreciate their gift to me.  (I did call their 800 # once.)

(I gave a speech once at a Toastmasters Club meeting in which I told everyone about my love of junk mail.  At the next meeting, I was presented with a massive pile of junk mail the other members had saved up for me. )

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My hour is up.  See ya!

October 19, 2011

A very tough day.  Now, I'm waiting for some dark clothes to run through the washing machine and have an hour to spend on my hobby.. which is bugging people with my take on the current "scene".

1.  A Fishy Story

I've been told that the Bonneville Fish Hatchery in Oregon has a celebrity.  Herman the Sturgeon is 11 feet long and 500 pounds.  He is also 70 years old!  If you get out to the West Coast, take a look.

2.  Cowboy Dick

No, it's not Rick Perry of Texas. It's Richard Rothschild of Carroll County Maryland, one of our five Commissioners.  Apparently, he carries an "unconcealed" weapon.  He has a permit to carry it, but I wonder why he has to, in the safest County in Maryland, and perhaps in the whole United States.  I'm told that he can be found on You-Tube.  I hope none of the other four Commissioners get him "riled up."

3.  Joe?

Our local Jiffy Mart has an ad in the local paper: "Remember when 'a cup of joe and a paper' were only $1.00?"  They are offering a cup of coffee and a newspaper for a dollar for a little while.

Hell! I can remember when a cup of coffee was a nickel and a newspaper was a penny!  Coffee stayed at that price until suddenly newspapers reported that coffee was scarse and the price of a cup would have to go up... and up... and up...

At that time, I had a problem with caffeine and was drinking Postum, the cereal drink developed by Mr. Post and the trigger for the Post Cereal empire and Marjorie Merriwether Post and Dena Merrill.  (You can visit the Merriwether Post mansion complex in DC.. a very interesting place, where you can see all kinds of Russian treasures purchased by Marjorie when Russia was divesting itself of items that recalled it's csarist days.)

Anyway, Postum was not coffee, but guess what... it's price  went way up, just as coffee's did.. what a rip off!  Good bye Postum!

Now, I subscribe to Gevalia, which supplies me with pretty good coffee every couple of months.  I drink six cups of six ounce caffeine free coffee each day, and I look forward to it.  If I slip up and drink caffeinated coffee by mistake, I can kiss sleep goodbye that night. 

4.  Elaine's Experience

Elaine has to have antibiotics pumped into her through an IV, so she has to spend some time in a nursing environment where we live.  Since there was only one bed available, she has been located in a dementia/Alzheimers ward.

The first day she was there, she tried to help a lady who seemed to need assistance.  The lady glared at Elaine and said:  "Go to Haband!"  (Pronounced: Hay Band)  She was probably meaning a subterranean location and not a business out of Pennsylvania.

She also observed an elderly couple (both 90 years old) holding hands and whispering sweet "nothings" in each other's ears.  She has  Alzheimers and he is recuperating from back surgery, but has no mental problems.   They have been married for many years and are still in love. (Remember the movie "The Notebook")   It is very touching. 

I'm  confident that breakthroughs will occur within the next ten years and Alzheimers will be a disease of the past.  Stem cells, my friend, stem cells.

When I visit, there is usually two ladies singing: "He walks with me, and he talks with me.."  They sing it in perfect pitch and harmony.. and they have dementia.  What a weird thing our brains are.

5. Irony?

Harpers magazine reports:  July 13, 2011 was the date that Joe Walsh (R. Ill) said that Washington can't put "one more dollar of debt upon the backs of my kids."

The amount that Harpers says Joe Walsh owes in back child support: $98,422.

.......................................  My hour is up again... see ya!...................................

October 17, 2011

Since my eyes are beginning to focus again after a visit to my Ophthalmologist (who happens to be named Barber), and since I have a little over an hour until I visit with Elaine at the Health Care Center, I will do my fun thing again, namely reveal some of my inmost thoughts to the world.. that is, to the one or two of you who actually read these blog entries.

1.  Stinkies

Our Representative, Roscoe Bartlett (R:Maryland), has managed to garner a grant of money to try to find a way for farmers to rid themselves of the dreaded stinkbug. These odiferous rascals have been causing havoc with Maryland produce this year.  They also killed my squash and cucumber plants.. and feasted on a lot of my tomatoes.  I'm sure that the money that Roscoe has obtained will help our farmers.  Great job, Roscoe!

For many years,  Representative Bartlett has reigned this Republican enclave, in the midst of Democratic Maryland.  I'm not sure about what he has done to be elected every two years for ages, but I guess it must have been of benefit to his constituents.  My only knowledge about his activity in Congress has been listening to some of his one-minute Republican speeches at the beginning of Congressional Sessions. 

I did try to contact him once to tell him I didn't agree with something he had said in Congress.   Someone from his office wrote me that the Congressman was pleased to see that I agreed with him on the issue.. whatever it was that I can't remember.   I guess they sent me a form of the "bedbug letter," hoping that I would give up and not contact him again.  Well, it worked.

I kind of feel sorry for Representative Bartlett now because the Maryland Democrats are about to Gerrymander his district so that he would have powerful Democratic opposition in the next election. 

2.  Hey, Dude!

I've talked a number of times about the phrases that people use in everyday communication, and how some of them clang in my ears.. such as,  "like" and "I mean, you know".  There are other phrases and words that people use that can let others know when they were brought up, such as:

"23 skiddoo!" ..  popular in the 1920's and early 1930's

"Katey, bar the door!" .. popular in the 1930's and 1940's (I have a friend who is in his '80's that still uses that phrase when he is excited by something....which isn't too often)

"Cool!" .. came into usage by musicians in the 1940's.. and resurfaced in the '60's.. and is used even today, mainly by people under 30.  I have heard people in their 50's and 60's using this word and feel that they should let the younger folks use it.

"Dude!" .. Once again, used by musicians many years ago.  I believe that it popped up into common usage in the 1970's.  Besides it's usage by Michael Moore and other celebrities, it is very popular with folks under 30.  (Recently, at the local hospital, Elaine was being transported by a 24 year old guy named Jordan.  Every few feet, someone would yell at him: "Hey, Dude!")

Of course, I could be wrong about all of this.. but as a curmudgeon, I am allowed to comment on everything, even without doing appropriate research.

3. Alzheimers

The Week magazine mentions a new study by the Mayo Clinic that found it is possible to greatly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimers Disease by lifestyle choices.

a. Become more physically active.
b. Treat depression.
c. Stop smoking.
d. Exercise your brain.

4. Pretty Betty

Good news for us old timers:  Betty White topped Kate Middleton and even Oprah to become the most trusted popular celebrity, according to a recent poll.  At 89... she's still going strong.  I'll bet she joins Bob Hope and George Burns in the Comedians' Centenary Club.

5.  Dick's Book

As I've mentioned before, I'm reading Dick Cheney's book: In My Time.  I'm over half way through and have spent a lot of sleep time with the book in my hands.  BORING!  But that is my opinion.  I lived through all of the events and thought about all of the issues he has brought up.  He tells us why he did some of the things he did.. and I still don't agree with him.   However, from his words and his numerous pretty color pictures, he has always been a dedicated family man, when he wasn't working 20 hour days in the West Wing.  He probably would be a nice guy to have a beer with.  But frisk him first.

That's enough, my hour is up.  See ya!

October 15, 2011

Elaine has been in the hospital, so I haven't done any blogging for over a week.  Events are better today, so I submit the following for your perusal.

1.  Pee More Yet

An NPR report this week made me think about something my grandfather told me years ago.  He was president of a club in a small Massachusetts town.  To become a member of this club (restricted to males), one had to be initiated.  The new person had to wear a topcoat and submit to a mask covering his eyes.  The initiation (which they called "Pee More Yet") consisted of every one of the current members urinating in the new person's pockets.

Gross?  Yes!  But I thought that such activity may have to happen on this one airline that has begun charging to use their restrooms.  That same airline is about to eliminate all but one restroom on their planes, to make room for more seats. I hate to wait in long lines..  I'm glad I don't fly anymore.

2.  Ho Hum!

A study has now shown that turtles do not participate in contagious yawning as humans and other primates do.

3.  Hum Hum!

Another (high-priced?) study has now shown that some beetles mate with empty beer bottles.  (I think that this study was conducted by a Nobel awardee.. ?)

4.  I do, but only for a little while.

The Week magazine reports that Mexico City may start allowing couples to set time limits on their marriages.. with some to last as short as two years (which is probably a bit longer than some regular marriages last these days.)  Lawyers would probably make money on the contracts, while losing money on divorces.. so it will all come out equal.   What ever happened to "trial marriages"? 

5.  No more playboys?

The much advertised Playboy Club TV show died a quick death.  Can you remember those clubs back in the late 60's and 70's?  I went to the one in Baltimore once and spent a lot of money and the most boring two hours of my life.  Most men expected centerfold ladies to serve them drinks and sit on their laps.  Dream on, guys. 

6.  Burning Question!

Who is Click and who is Clack?

7.  Big Mama!

To kill some time at night while Elaine is in the hospital, I have been watching some Mae West movies.  A few are wonderful..

Night After Night with George Raft (1932).. a hokie view of Prohibition. 

I'm No Angel with Cary Grant (1933).

My Little Chickadee with the great W. C. Fields (1940)  Filled with ridiculous situations and double entendres. 

Mae West wrote most of the scripts for her movies and one of her lines that I really like was:

"When you're good to mama, mama is good to you!"

........................OK, my hour is up.  See ya!

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October 2, 2011

Another cold rainy day in Maryland. Lots of little sparrows chewing at the seeds of the purple flowers outside of our windows.  I wonder why they are doing that instead of eating the bird seed I provide in three (count 'em) feeders.   I guess purple flower seeds are tastier.

Here is the main headline in our local newspaper for today:

RAINS CAUSE SURGE IN FUNGI

While we wait for Governor Christie to decide whether he is going to get into the Presidential race, I will purge my mouse pad of remaining notes.

1.  Postal Service?

We are waiting to learn if we will have 5-day mail service.  Meanwhile, Germany has privatized their Postal Service.. and this has been followed by a first-class stamp increase to what would be for us: 68 cents.  Be prepared.

2.  Handy Andy

I just learned that the first TV work by the now retiring Andy Rooney was titled:  An Essay on Doors.

3.  Gas attacks? Gas, a tax.

DC papers report an exploding toilet.  No details available as yet.   Meanwhile, even as we speak, the WAMU Cojo Show is having a debate over whether a rise in the Federal Gas Tax is needed.  Most of the local bridges were constructed around 50 years ago and that is the average lifespan for a roadspan.  Right now, 40 to 50 cents of each gallon of gas we buy goes to State or Federal Highway Funds.

Elaine says that there is a fantastic solution to all kinds of money problems in the DC and Baltimore areas.. just make the Baltimore and Washington Beltways toll roads, in the manner that some North-South Highway Toll Booths are set up.  When you get off, drop a quarter in the pot.  Millions of cars use these beltways each day. 

4.  Whew! Or as we used to say: P U!

XM Radio has a Doctors Channel.. where people can call in and have their questions answered by Doctors who are experts in their fields.  Yesterday, a Doctor who has spent 20 years studying body odor was on call.  I could not believe the different types of odor problems that people can have.

One youngster has had bad breath since she was a baby.  The problem may be that certain bacteria are living a good life on the back of her tongue.  They need to be dislodged from their happy home.  This is usually a hereditary condition passed on from family member to family member.. in this case, the grandmother, who has always had fetid breath liked to kiss her granddaughter quite a bit when she was a new-born, and in that way, probably shared those bacteria.

Armpit smell is also probably caused by a specific set of bacteria.  I think the Doctor said it is curable.

Meanwhile, check out an amazing article on the billions of bacteria that live upon and inside of us.  The article is in an equally amazing new magazine:  ID (Ideas and Discoveries) dated October 2011.  A newer issuance of the magazine comes out on October 12, 2011.

5. New Laws in Maryland

Effective on October 1st, 2011:

a.  No READING of text messages in a car, whether driving or stopped at a light.  Sending is already outlawed.

b.  Fortune tellers can now legally receive money for telling fortunes.

c.  No funeral protests can be staged within 500 feet of the place where the funeral is taking place. !!

d.  Carroll County Commissioners can serve for 4 years, followed by another 4 years, if reelected.

6.  Good news for retired Presidents!

You don't have to be dead now, to be honored on a US stamp!

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