September 30, 2011

A beautiful, coolish, sunny day in Carroll County Maryland.  Lots of little problems to fix this A.M., such as:  the medical technician lost my urine sample..  !?  I had even drawn a smiley face on the container....  also:  oh..never mind.  It's all unimportant in the scheme of things.

1. "Power corrupts.. etc."

Four out of the five (count 'em) Commissioners for Carroll County have voted to extend the contract for a Conservative Media Consuting Service (consisting of one person, named Simpson, I believe... no.. it couldn't be, could it?)  When a Carroll County Times reporter tried to discuss this contract with him, he refused.

Haven Shoemaker, the dissenting Commissioner said, and I quote from the CC Times: "This notion of having a person specifically dedicated... to handling media seems to me to be a frill..."  I agree, Haven. However, it could become less of a "frill" if the Commissioners would see fit to paying me the paltry sum of  $500 per month (instead of the $6,000 that Simpson is getting) to see that all of the Maryland newspapers and magazines receive news items and articles that would make Carroll County shine forth as a tourist heaven (Haven) and a place where all business money, not just for Conservative businesses, could find a good home.  What other "access" is needed, Commissioner Rothschild?

I must repeat again, that closed administration sessions (like the one in July, where the Commissioners decided on Mr. Simpson) generate a false and dangerous feeling of power.. a feeling that certain activity does not need oversight by the public..  in my humble opinion.  We will be hearing a lot more about this shortly in letters to the editor of the CC Times.

2.  Druggies?

The Carroll County Times also reports that a pair of persons has allegedly robbed a victim of some Oxycontin while trying to sell him some of theirs.  The female part of the pair may have even threatened the victim with a knife.  In Westminster!?.. by all reports, the least crime-ridden place east of the Chesapeake Bay.

This reminds me of the time when I was browsing at a used furniture store in Westminster.  Seated in front of the store were two of the workers, resting after lifting a heavy bureau.  A friend walked up and asked them if they needed something to get their breath back.  They thought that would be a good idea.

The friend reached into his pocket and brought out a prescription bottle, opened it, and offered a few pills, which were accepted.  The friend said to them: "This is good stuff, I got it from my doctor yesterday and it's already making me feel good."  I don't have the faintest idea what the medication was, but it doesn't matter.  I hope they all survived.

3.  More druggies?

I heard an NPR report preceded by a warning... it concerned six bodyless heads that were found in Acapulco, Mexico.  Do any Americans vacation in Mexico any more?

I constantly hear from Massachusetts relatives that they would definitely not want to visit Baltimore because of the crime and violence.  It doesn't help for them to watch TV shows like Homicide and The Wire.  I try to tell them that the Baltimore area is a great place to live.  Of course, there are parts of the city and county that you must avoid to stay alive.. or at least connected with your pocketbook.  But on the whole.....

There are horror stories.. such as, my fellow worker, Lou, who got lost in the city and when he asked for directions, was badly beaten up and robbed.  However, once my car broke down in a very "bad" part of town.  I expected trouble, but instead, people came right over and helped me get fixed up and going again.

4.  Optimism after pessimism

Robert Wack once again wrote an interesting column in the CC Times today, about our current "tough times."  If I might, I would like to quote part of his final paragraph, which, as usual, "nails it."

"...Things will eventually get better, but perhaps not before they get a lot worse.  Which way they go depends mainly on what we hope for and are willing to work toward."

5.  One can't always be "The Best"... why not?

Sadly, the 2011 Carroll County's Best award for a Continuing Care Community went to Fairhaven, in Sykesville, rather than Carroll  Lutheran Village,  (where I live)  which only got "honorable mention."  I guess we will just have to try harder next year.

6.  More Good news for Dick Tracy!

The October 3, 2011 issue of that bastion for truth, the Sun magazine, published by American Media, Inc reports that scientists have  now been able to fuse the genes from goats and spiders, to make bulletproof skin for our policemen, soldiers and heads of state to wear instead of those bulky bulletproof vests that they are used to.

September 29, 2011

We're back from a nice trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to see a show devoted to the music of Irving Berlin.  You remember that music... it was the kind that you could listen to without getting a nervous stomach, and you could also understand the words in the lyrics.. and... they rhymed!

On the way up, we had a little extra time and visited the Stauffers complex in York.. and, of course, we bought some (a bunch) of cookies.. Elaine likes chocolate animal crackers.. so, we now have a closet full of them.  Come on over to visit and help us devour them..  otherwise we will probably consume them in short order.. to the detriment of our health.

A few news items caught my eye today:

1.  Saudi Women Drivers

King Abdullah overturned a court ruling that would have given a Saudi woman driver 10 lashes.  The Kingdom has an unwritten law that restricts women from driving.  Conservative tradition holds that giving such freedom to women would probably make them vulnerable to sinful activity.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans both Saudi and foreign women from driving cars.  No "women driver" jokes in that country.

2.  Here's looking at you..

You can now buy designer 3D glasses for around $100 a pair.  (Why would you want to?)  Theater owners will soon be selling reusable regular 3D glasses for a couple of dollars a pair.  (Same question.)

3.  Bookies

Yesterday, I found out that Big Lots is selling their $3 remainder books for $1.  I searched through the hundreds on display and found not even one book that got my attention enough to read the cover blurb.

However, today, I learned that the Dollar Store has some new $1 remainder books.  I hurried in and found that a few did get my attention.. I bought 5 of them.  Let me tell  you the titles:

An Illustrated Guide to the Lost Symbol  (Connections between the Freemason's and our nation's capitol).. edited by John Weber.   It has lots of slick photographs and looks very interesting.

Zero Decibels, The Quest for Absolute Silence by George Michelsen Foy. One part of the book concerns tinnitus, which I have.

Upgrade Me by Brian Clegg.  Concerned with "humanity's self-driven instinct to evolve."

Beef, The Untold Story of How Milk, Meat, and Muscle Shaped the World  by   Andrew Rimas and Evan D. G. Fraser.   Now, how could anybody not be interested in a book with that title!

Don't Get Sick (A panic-free pocket guide to living in a germ-filled world!)  by the editors of Prevention magazine.


Now, honestly, don't you think I got a great bargain for $5. plus tax?

Of course, even being a speed-reader, there is not enough time left in my life to read these and all the other hundreds of books I want to read.

4.  How to get out of the budget abyss?

Albert Velasquez (Eldersburg, Maryland) writes to the Carroll County Times today  about the money problems of the Government, and makes a suggestion that should be written on a flag and hung outside of everyone's residence:

The tax code should be made fair for everyone. 

It's as simple as that.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone paid their fair share of the expenses of running this marvelous country of ours?

5.  Otherwise Try..

If Congress does not take the steps necessary to change the tax code, what would be another step to take to get our Country going again? 

Government Bonds

"Buy a bond today!  Bonds of freedom, that's what I'm selling.  Buy a bond today!"

If you are old enough to remember this song, you know how the Country responded patriotically to Bond Drives in World War II.  We all contributed.. even kids took dimes to school to buy stamps.. get enough stamps and turn them in to a bond.  I still have some of those bonds.. uncashed.

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My hour is up again.  See ya.

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September 28, 2011

Oy! Such a day!  Up real early to  get ready for medical tests.  Fasting!  Race to Reisterstown.  Wait for an hour under a sign that reads: "Blood Draw Station"...  Race back to Westminster to find Edith Keeney to give her the only key to the Alumni Office.  Hurry up a lunch for Elaine and then  off to let Kim make me look like a movie star... then off to Pier One to buy gifts for three functions.. then off to get supper and then .. oh oh.. I forgot, at 7:00 I was supposed to  go to the Pipe Creek Civil War Round Table... can't do everything.   So, not much time left for this blog.. so it will be an abbreviated hour's worth.

1. End of an era..

Andy Rooney is retiring from CBS-TV's "60 minutes".. (I think this was the program which had a presentation on "finding your birth mother".. and started the process that allowed my brother Joe to find his Massachusetts family).. anyway, Andy started with "60 Minutes" when it started itself.. in 1978.  He stayed with the show fror 44 years!  In 1988, he began his special part of the show, before that he was involved, but not a "star."  I think that Andy is now 92 years old.. but don't write him off just yet.  I think we'll be seeing more of him in the near future.

2.  Bam!

Emeril LaGasse.. Fall River, Massachusetts' pride and joy is very sad today.  His mentor, Ines DeCosta died this weekend at the age of 79.  Ines' family ran a nice Portuguese restaurant in Fall River (8 miles from my hometown of New Bedford) and Emeril spent long hours watching her and learning how to cook.

I think that this is her Recipe for good Portuguese Kale Soup:

Take a few pounds of good green kale, and one friendly Portuguese wife.  Then get the hell out of her kitchen and let her make some kale soup!

3.  Scruffy guys..

For some time now, I have been bothered by these actors who think it is sexy to have constant 5-O'clock shadow.  Apparently, some ladies must think so too, or it wouldn't continue.  Guys like Hugh Laurie on House.. If I had a doctor that treated me and looked like a bum, I would rush for a second opinion.

(BTW: did you know that Laurie was once Mr. Bean's sidekick, and often played a kind of effeminate Prince?)

Today, the newspaper feature called "Annie's Mailbox" had this observation, addressed to a questioner with the title: "Sloppy Old Man", who also didn't seem to like partially bearded guys.. as well as women who sported mustaches:

"...A loving heart is the most important attribute of any relationship.  But there is no excuse for either men or women to become unshaven, unkempt pigs because they have become complacent." 

Many years ago, my late wife and I had fun following the careers of the Monkey Lady and the Alligator Man.   He had a bad skin condition that made him look like he had alligator scales.. and she had a flat nose and a luxurient mustache and beard.  They got married and retired to Sarasota, Florida.  They were real nice circus people who did not mind being stared at.

My point in all this is:  if you are going to allow your facial hair to grow.. go all the way!  Don't be wishy washy about it.  There is a lady in the Westminster, Maryland area who has a very nice mustache that she keeps trimmed... I admire her for that.

4.  Enlarging the brain?

A new magazine (I think) popped out at me today.  Its called Ideas and Discoveries, and is written to tickle your thought processes.  One of the provocative questions in the magazine is:  Can bodybuilding raise your IQ?

A Danish study indicates that when muscles are stimulated, a protein knows as BDNF is produced by the brain.  Apparently BDNF has something to do with forming new learning experiences.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-derived_neurotrophic_factor

I bought the magazine because it purported to answer many of the everyday questions that humans pose.. and seldom get answers for.   Stay tuned.

5.  Zoom, Zoom.. can you hear that?

The Week magazine mentions that chemists at Tufts University have created the world's smallest electric motor out of a single molecule.  60,000 times thinner than a human hair!!

OK.. even though stimulated, my brain can't handle the idea of such a motor.  However, I like the last line of the report:  "...it could one day be developed into microscopic machinery to perform single-cell surgery or power minuscule computer chips."

Can you even imagine what this world is going to be like in the next 100 years?!

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My skinny hour is over.  See Ya.

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September 27, 2011

I'm running late.  Got to get to the Social Security Alumni office in a little while for a Board meeting, so this hour will have to be a lot shorter than 60 minutes.  Wow!  What power.. to be able to change time.

1.  Money... again!

Another monetary crisis may have been averted by Congress approving a "compromise"  continuing resolution.  This puts the "body" of the Government back to life, at least until November.. when we have to go through this disgusting process once again.  It's a shame we can't update next year's elections to this year and get rid of some of these congressional "clowns" right now. (In my humble opinion.)

2.  The Birthplace of Democracy

The government of Greece will be trying to enforce a new property tax on its citizens, to try to get the country back to solvency.  Officials say that enforcement will indeed be "trying".. because  85% of the Greeks have their savings invested in their homes.. not in banks or 401 set ups, and they will probably find some very innovative ways to protect their investments, and avoid the tax. Greeks are very clever.. remember Ulysses in the Odyssey?


3.  Top Banana?

In a letter today to the Carroll County Times (Westminster, Maryland), Dave Owings suggested that we create jobs by building greenhouses in Michigan where we can grow acres of bananas; thereby taking over the place now held by Big Banana.  He also hints that this might even put buggy whip makers back to work.

As you can tell, we have another Voltaire in our midst.  Instead of bananas, I would suggest pasta plants.  Just think about how many people like spaghetti.  Why should Italy get  all the money for growing pasta plants?  Give the good old USA some of that action! 

4.  A fun job?

Today, in DC, tourists will be able to see guys rappelling down the sides of the Washington Monument.  They will be looking for cracks caused by the recent earthquake.. and having one hell of a good time while doing so.

5.  Get your TV program here!

Our local newspaper, mentioned above, will begin charging fifty cents a week  for a TV guide to be delivered with the newspaper.  I like our local paper very much, but I think that $26 a year  for a weekly TV guide is a bit steep.. especially when you can get a subscription to a publication called TV Guide for a lot less than that.  I wonder if it will work out for them.  Time will tell.. (or Newsweek or somesuch).


6.  Neither rain nor snow... but $

Postmaster General Patrick Donahue is (even as we speak, or write) on the Diane Rhem Show, discussing things that may happen to the US Postal Service:

The closing of 250 post offices.

The laying off of 35,000 postal  workers.

The discontinuance of Saturday mail delivery.

Are we (the American public) going to stand for this? 

7.  Good News and Bad News

Good:  The stock market is starting to rally again.

Bad: A typhoon has hit the Philipines and millions are being evacuated.

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My short hour is up.  See ya!

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September 26, 2011

I'm going to quickly comment on some stuff in this morning's papers and on the airwaves (radio and PC).

1.  More freedom for ladies?

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has announced that Saudi women will be allowed to vote in the 2015 elections (not the 2011 elections).  Can this be a "foot in the door" for the ladies?  Will more freedoms be allowed in the future?  Will they be allowed to drive someday?  Will they always have to be subservient to male guardians?  Time will tell.

Hasn't  Aristophanes' play Lysistrata ever been viewed by Saudi women?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lysistrata

2.  That's a lot of ...

The last  bull has supposedly been slaughtered by a bull-fighter in the region of Catalonia, Spain.  A cheering crowd in Barcelona happily watched recently as an unfortunate bull had his innards pierced.  A regional anti-bullfighting law was passed in 2010.  It is not scheduled to take effect until the beginning of 2012, but the last of these "spectacles" took place last week, a little ahead of schedule.  

Will these "fights" go underground, like "pitbull fights" in the U.S.?  Probably.  Bullfighting is too much a part of the Spanish culture to disappear completely, in my humble opinion.

http://www.Spain-info.com/Culture/bullfighting.htm

3.  Left, Right or Left?

In the see-saw that is French politics, the Left recently took over their Senate from the Right.  This is reported to be a "smack in the face" to that fellow short guy named Nicolas Sarkozy, and perhaps a foretaste of left-tending voting that may take place in the U.S. next year, because of the obstructionist activity of one of our  political parties, in my humble opinion.

4.  Taking gas...

I have been making an effort to do all my shopping at the local Giant super market, in order to get points towards lower gasoline prices at Shell gas stations.   I got a "fill-up" last week and "saved" 40 cents off each gallon, based on Giant purchases.   Now I have heard on NPR that if I had waited  until today, I would have gotten the 40 cents off anyway, because the price of gas fell that much or more over the weekend.

I remember when gasoline cost 18 cents a gallon.. of course, at that time, I only earned $1.00 an hour (a pretty good wage rate for 1950!)  It's all relative, my friend.

5.  Food for Thought?

I enjoy reading what Rob Spring, a Conservative-leaning columnist for the Carroll County Times (Maryland), has to say every other Monday in that newspaper, even though I seldom agree with it. 

In August, he said that he would stop eating at McDonald's because he did not like them "dictating" apples over French Fries in their Happy Meals.

Was Rob "pulling our legs?"  Happy Meals are for kids.. and senior citizens like me, who look for bargains to supplement our meager pensions.. I know, I know.. he was probably just talking about the food that children eat.. and, yes, I get the point, he doesn't want Government dictating what our kids eat.  But, should we have Governments that do not care about us?  And since when has McDonald's allowed anybody to influence what they serve?

Anyway, I really like the final paragraph in Rob's column for today: 

"People should open their minds and think for themselves.  Don't trust me and don't place all your trust in media outlets that agree with you.  Research outside of the media you regularly frequent, but always find the source story, not an interpretation of it."

I hope that Rob's TV viewing habits include programs in addition to Fox News.

6.  That's puzzling..

I want to put in another plug for The Week magazine.  One of their features is "The Puzzle Page".  There, you will find a crossword puzzle replete with topical clues,  a Sudoku puzzle (if you are so inclined), and "The Week Contest", where you are asked to come up with a clever title or phrase related to a specific topic.

In the May 13, 2011 issue, readers were asked to name the top tune that whales (the Sinatras of the Ocean) were crooning.   Elaine had, what I thought was a winner:

"I am so blue, without you."

In the September 2, 2011 issue, readers were asked to name the smaller of the two original moons orbiting the Earth.. you know, the one that crashed into the bigger one and is now part of it.  My picks were:

"Blew Moon"

"Boo Moon" (Actually, the moon we see at Halloween,)

I know... not too good.. sorry about that.
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My hour is up.  See ya!
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September 24, 2011

Listening, watching and hearing lots of news this morning about "Break ups", I thought that this would make a good theme for today's blog entry.

1.  Breaking up is....

One of my famorite Carpenters song is "Breaking Up is Hard to Do"..  when my kids (and I) were very young, we would lay on the carpet in front of the massive stereo set  after supper and listen to our favorite Carpenters long-play album.  You ask:  "Who the hell are the Carpenters?"  Check Wikipedia, young person!

2.  A Satellite is breaking up.

On the news today, I learned that parts of the falling NASA satellite could either be in the Pacific Ocean, Canada, North Africa, or the Atlantic Ocean.   Stay tuned.

3.  REM is breaking up.

I ask:  "Who the hell is/are REM?"  Something to do with sleeping?  Check Wikipedia, Joe!

4.  Aaron is breaking up.

Aaron Sorkin (West Wing) recently head-butted himself in a mirror and broke his nose.

5.  Arizona heat wave is breaking up

Today, the residents of Tucson were enjoying a break from the current heat wave.  I'm told that the temperature is  now down to 96.

6.  The United States Postal SERVICE is breaking up

I hear that the House has already passed a bill to cut Saturday mail delivery.

7.  NETFLIX is breaking up

With the separation of DVD and streaming movie services.. QUIXTER has been born.  However, the name Quixter is already being used by a guy named Jason, who describes himself on TWITTER as a "girl-loving dopester."

8.  No child left behind is breaking up.

President Obama is now going to allow States to opt out of the No Child Left Behind program.  Virginia is probably first in line.

Lastly:

9.  Fat cells may be breaking the bank soon.. 

A "fat bank" has been established in Orlando, Florida as a place to store the fat that you have had liposuctioned off of your body... because, you may want to have it back sometime.. in surgery?  To get fuller lips?  To cover up wrinkles? To make your sunken cheeks come back to life? To round out your sorry aging butt?  How about you, Santa?  Joe?

(Remember the WWII ad:  "Ladies, take your fat can down to your butchers."  Fat was needed in the 1940's to grease artilliary, and civilians were encouraged to keep a can ready in the kitchen to hold used lard, and fat like that.)

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My hour is up.. and I'm starting to break up.. so I am signing off.  See ya!

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September 22, 2011

(If you are looking for "Chicken Little", you need to see my blog entry for September 21, 2011.)

Today, which I think is the first day of Autumn, I woke up to Good News and Bad News.

Good News First:

1.  Hi!

I woke up!

2.  Thank you, President Kennedy

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, an Organization that shows how great we are as a Nation.. 

3.  No Chubby Checkers

Operation  TWIST has been initiated.  Maybe the financial outlook will improve.

4.  Publication

A book called Time for Outrage has been published in the U.S.  It is an English translation of Indignez-vous, a European best-seller written by Stephane Hessel, a 93 year old diplomat, French Resistance fighter in WWII, and a concentration camp survivor.

Mr. Hessel challenges young people to fight the outrageous things that are going on.  He wants them to stand up to what is wrong in the world, and like Lou Piel indicated in a recent column.. get off of one's butt and take action.

5.  Get lost!

Corn mazes are suddenly appearing around the area.  There is a remarkable one being unveiled at the Ag Center in Westminster, Maryland.   That MAZE is really AMAZING!  Bring the kids and get lost in the maze for a while. It's a lot of fun.

And now for the BAD NEWS!

6.  I'm Going Broke again!

The Stock Market is way way way down again and banks are paying almost nothing for the use of your money.  But I'm told that is OK because inflation is low.  I'd rather have a little inflation.. perhaps that would cause us to have some job creation.

7.  Ah Choo!

Once again, the 5 (count 'em) Carroll County (Maryland) Commissioners, in their wisdom, have cut funding for the Department of Health, and FLU shots are no longer going to be given by that organization.    People will have to get their shots out in the open  at Rite Aid or WalMart or Giant.  Some Medical Offices will be giving shots, at least to people over 65.. I guess that is because Medicare may subsidize them.

(These same  Commissioners have; however, found the money to hire a hot-shot Conservative advertising expert... as well as to contribute to a hot-shot lobbyist for the Maryland General Assembly.)

Another thing  that bugs me about these Commissioners...they like to have their planning sessions in private.. at least they used to before people complained.. when I was Chair of the Carroll County Commission on Aging, I had to make sure that all of our meetings were publicised and open to the general population.

8. "They look alike.."

Twenty six year old twins have been charged with burglary and other crimes in Counties surrounding our relatively crime free Carroll County Maryland.  The madula oblongata apparently has yet to mature in these two guys.  Its a shame we still don't have a Draft.. maybe that would have gotten them off the streets and into a program to learn a more useful skill than thievery.

9.  Did he or didn't he?

The Supreme Court opted not to hear the appeal information for convicted cop-killer, Troy Davis.  Apparently, most of the people who testified that they saw Troy do the crime, recanted their testimony. I would think that this would cause a reasonable doubt in the minds of most people.  But Mr. Davis was executed anyway... he maintained his innocence to the end.

Finally.. Hope?

10.  In an editorial in The Nation magazine dated September 26, 2011, four actions are outlined that President Obama can take, on his own, to relieve the jobs situation.  These are actions that do not allow for immediate obstruction by an obstructionist Congress.

a.  Forgive the mortgage debt for the millions of homeowners facing foreclosure.

Supposed result:  Put 71 billion dollars a year into the economy and create one million jobs.

b.  Enact trade and tax reforms and penalize the offshoring of jobs.

Supposed result:  Stop the accumulation of trillions of dollars in debt and keep jobs in the U.S.

c.  Let Government create pilot programs and public jobs.

Supposed result:  The generation of 2.2 million jobs.

d.  Let the Federal Reserve lend direct financial support to producers and workers, as they did to the financial sector.

Supposed result:  The end of this damned depression.

Do you think that the President will do any of these?

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Well, I think that I got  quite a lot into this day's hour.  At least, I got my juices flowing.  See ya.
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