It's an odd change of colors--so far--and I'm hoping the rain forecast for the next couple of days doesn't dampen the spectacular like the past couple of years.
I already see out there some brilliant yellows and reds. Some maples are aflame, yet others right next to them are still solid green, no change at all. Hmmm......
Perhaps that will extend the color show, one of my favorite times of the year. K is due to head Up North next weekend and we were wondering the other day if the peak times will have elapsed. We hope not. For me, I have started to reconsider a last-minute trip back to Amherst for Homecoming. Likely the game, vs Wesleyan, will be for the NESCAC championship (although Trinity might have something to say about that). But even more, I think I'd love to see the New England color show--it's been about 43 years since I've seen one. Michigan's spectaculars are just that, spectacular in the autumn. But New England shows are something very special, esp the mesmerizing view of the Holyoke Range from the top of Memorial Hill.
On our run this AM, Bob and I talked about upcoming races. We're going to do the Big Bird in November. I think this will be my 24th Big Bird 10K, missing only one year when K and I were in NY for a wedding. I think we've talked Michael, our blind runner partner, to run it with us. Last year, for the first time, I didn't race the Big Bird--I just ran it. (OK, racing implies I am fast, not so.) I yakked with people running from 8 and 9 mins a mile to 14 mins a mile, running a mile or two with different runners. One running friend told me, "Get up there where you belong," implying I should be running faster. But I smiled and told her, "On this day, right here is where I belong." It was--it may have been the most enjoyable Big Bird I've ever run and it is one of my two or three favorite races. I've run the Big Bird about 15 minutes faster than I did last year, but I don't think I enjoyed it much more. Then, Bob and I remembered the LightFest, which will come not two days, but nine days, after the Big Bird. Bob and I used to park at the finish line early, run to the start to pick up our tee shirts, and then run back to the finish, doubling the five-mile run through the LightFest of Hines Drive. It's a very pretty run, very festive, and capped off by pizza at De Luca's, our favorite. The past few years, Karen and friends have joined Bob and me. Michelle, Russ, Carrie, and K walk, but, of course, have pizza with us. I think last year, Bob and Carrie switched roles. Bob walked and Carrie ran with me. It was a nice change of pace and, although Carrie and I got lost (I couldn't find my car, forgetting what it looked like since I had just picked it up a couple days before!), the rest of our teammates arrived at De Luca's early enough to order so pizza was served shortly after Carrie and I made our appearance. Oh, that pizza is good!!!!!!
I may or may not have mentioned that Matt and Linda are getting married! Hooray! It seems to me to be a great match--each is lucky to have found the other. It appears the wedding will be in Las Vegas, which is great, but I don't know when. Gee, I wonder if our trip out there for the wedding will still let me take in the Motown Show?????? Nah, I'm kidding......
Out to take the kids to the apple orchard for picking, cider, and doughnuts--I don't know which is my favorite part!
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
"Deserve Better?"
Several times this week, regarding the fiasco in Washington, namely the shutdown, I read in op-eds, letters-to-the-editor, etc. something that boils down to "Americans deserve better...."
Oh, do we?
Perhaps I'm out in left field, way off base (yep, the Tigers open the playoffs tonight!) on this, but I don't think so. I think we have exactly what we deserve. We keep electing small people with small minds, people who have demonstrated sneakiness if not dishonesty, "the lesser of two evils." And we keep re-electing them! So, why exactly do "Americans deserve better?" Was it John Arbuckle (or Juan Valdez?) who, in another context said, "You get what you pay for?" Well, we get what we vote for.
I'm not taking sides on this--I'm aiming at both the Democrats and the Republicans, nationally, state-wide, and locally.
Several years ago, when the Detroit mess came to the fore (and who didn't really see it long before?), many, especially from the suburbs, said, "They (Detroiters) got what they deserve (Kwame Kilpatrick)." Why did Detroiters' actions, electing the likes of KK, get them what they deserve, but Americans electing the Bozos we have elected not?
I guess it's whose ox is being gored.
Oh, do we?
Perhaps I'm out in left field, way off base (yep, the Tigers open the playoffs tonight!) on this, but I don't think so. I think we have exactly what we deserve. We keep electing small people with small minds, people who have demonstrated sneakiness if not dishonesty, "the lesser of two evils." And we keep re-electing them! So, why exactly do "Americans deserve better?" Was it John Arbuckle (or Juan Valdez?) who, in another context said, "You get what you pay for?" Well, we get what we vote for.
I'm not taking sides on this--I'm aiming at both the Democrats and the Republicans, nationally, state-wide, and locally.
Several years ago, when the Detroit mess came to the fore (and who didn't really see it long before?), many, especially from the suburbs, said, "They (Detroiters) got what they deserve (Kwame Kilpatrick)." Why did Detroiters' actions, electing the likes of KK, get them what they deserve, but Americans electing the Bozos we have elected not?
I guess it's whose ox is being gored.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Autumn in Michigan
By the calendar, autumn arrived in Michigan early last week (the autumnal equinox). But real fall usually comes with the change of colors. And, the leaves are starting their change--and fall.
The last couple of autumns, it seems (although I confess to having lost recollection), we've been cheated out of our colors. Storms, high winds, and heavy rain shortened our seasons, knocking down Mother Nature's artwork before we had much of a chance to appreciate it.
I noted quite a few leaves down in the backyard this AM, without benefit of a storm or high winds. And the maple trees, at least some of them, have begun turning. Although several out back as still lush with green, thanks to the continued rain and warm temperatures I suppose, a couple are fiery red--already.
On my runs through the woods, I've noticed a lightening of the greens into the yellows and even golds--are those the oaks? Tinges of red have begun to appear, at least before today.
Yet, the grass is still growing. I'm mowing once a week, both front and back. Fortunately, Bopper bails me out by often doing the front while I trim or pull weeds in Grandma's flower beds and berms.
It's sure beautiful out there and the promise is for even more beauty. In fact, although I just visited three weeks ago (Has it been three weeks already?), I'm thinking about another long weekend to New England later in October, the third weekend I think--for Homecoming. We'll see......
And, to top off a good week (after one of several devastating e-mails the week before), Matt and Linda are getting married! Hooray! Now, will the wedding be here (unlikely)? in Linda's hometown of Philadelphia (where I think her parents still live)? in Las Vegas? Karen is opting for the Jacuzzi Winery in Sonoma, although my guess that option doesn't stand much of a chance. Great news!
The last couple of autumns, it seems (although I confess to having lost recollection), we've been cheated out of our colors. Storms, high winds, and heavy rain shortened our seasons, knocking down Mother Nature's artwork before we had much of a chance to appreciate it.
I noted quite a few leaves down in the backyard this AM, without benefit of a storm or high winds. And the maple trees, at least some of them, have begun turning. Although several out back as still lush with green, thanks to the continued rain and warm temperatures I suppose, a couple are fiery red--already.
On my runs through the woods, I've noticed a lightening of the greens into the yellows and even golds--are those the oaks? Tinges of red have begun to appear, at least before today.
Yet, the grass is still growing. I'm mowing once a week, both front and back. Fortunately, Bopper bails me out by often doing the front while I trim or pull weeds in Grandma's flower beds and berms.
It's sure beautiful out there and the promise is for even more beauty. In fact, although I just visited three weeks ago (Has it been three weeks already?), I'm thinking about another long weekend to New England later in October, the third weekend I think--for Homecoming. We'll see......
And, to top off a good week (after one of several devastating e-mails the week before), Matt and Linda are getting married! Hooray! Now, will the wedding be here (unlikely)? in Linda's hometown of Philadelphia (where I think her parents still live)? in Las Vegas? Karen is opting for the Jacuzzi Winery in Sonoma, although my guess that option doesn't stand much of a chance. Great news!
Friday, September 27, 2013
Exemptions
OK, perhaps I wasn't clear. Members of Congress can do (and this was supported in a letter to me by my own Democratic US Senator who voted for ObamaCare) will enter the exchanges, but can opt for better coverage than offered. That is, they can keep the same "Cadillac coverage" that they had. The better coverage costs more of course, but instead of them paying for it, they are reimbursed with federal funds. Now, for Joe Taxpayer, will he be "reimbursed" if he opts for better coverage?
That this isn't holding "to the letter of the law" is a bit of an understatement, isn't it? What it really is is members of Congress don't have the same ObamaCare that the rest of us have. That they needed this to prevent any "brain drain" is a joke--there aren't many "brains" in DC. OK, that's a bit strong, but most of those Bozos don't deserve anything like this. Just listen to some of them--from both parties!
BTW, one of my college classmates just received his bill for his health insurance. Unless he was lying and I have no reason to think he is, he received a $300 a month increase in premiums, a 30% rise. When he asked his agent, he was told the insurance company was complying with the terms dictated by ObamaCare. Needless to say, he was not at all happy. Again, I have no reason to believe he wasn't telling the truth. I should ask him if he will be "reimbursed" with taxpayer monies. (And I know about the tax credits, which won't cover his extra almost $4000 a year.)
It's a bad law which is likely to get worse the more we find out about it. I don't know if this is true, but a guest on a local radio show claimed that had the federal gov't merely purchased $20,000 health insurance policies for the uninsured, that would have save a considerable amount of money over ObamaCare. And I think this meshes with the housing crisis. Had the federal gov't merely paid several years (up to five) of mortgages costs to people underwater, it would have been far less costly than merely giving money to the big-wigs (bankers, mortgage companies, etc.) And, who doesn't know people who still lost their homes when those same companies who took the federal money still foreclosed?
That this isn't holding "to the letter of the law" is a bit of an understatement, isn't it? What it really is is members of Congress don't have the same ObamaCare that the rest of us have. That they needed this to prevent any "brain drain" is a joke--there aren't many "brains" in DC. OK, that's a bit strong, but most of those Bozos don't deserve anything like this. Just listen to some of them--from both parties!
BTW, one of my college classmates just received his bill for his health insurance. Unless he was lying and I have no reason to think he is, he received a $300 a month increase in premiums, a 30% rise. When he asked his agent, he was told the insurance company was complying with the terms dictated by ObamaCare. Needless to say, he was not at all happy. Again, I have no reason to believe he wasn't telling the truth. I should ask him if he will be "reimbursed" with taxpayer monies. (And I know about the tax credits, which won't cover his extra almost $4000 a year.)
It's a bad law which is likely to get worse the more we find out about it. I don't know if this is true, but a guest on a local radio show claimed that had the federal gov't merely purchased $20,000 health insurance policies for the uninsured, that would have save a considerable amount of money over ObamaCare. And I think this meshes with the housing crisis. Had the federal gov't merely paid several years (up to five) of mortgages costs to people underwater, it would have been far less costly than merely giving money to the big-wigs (bankers, mortgage companies, etc.) And, who doesn't know people who still lost their homes when those same companies who took the federal money still foreclosed?
Doo-Gooders
No, that's not a typo....
I see McDonald's and other fast-food places are "under pressure" to serve vegies now. Apparently they are scrambling to do so.
I wonder who is "pressuring" for vegies. I can't imagine. But it seems to me that this is one sure way to kill fast-food restaurants. C'mon, who will stop for vegies? Maybe I'm wrong and people will, maybe lots of people. I just don't see it. When was the last time I went out with others to eat and people, just one, ordered vegies--no meat or spaghetti or fish? Oh, never or at least I can't remember ever having someone order that. I think, at some wedding dinners, there have been vegie choices instead of chicken or beef (I originally mistyped "beer," a Freudian slip?) and some folks have eaten that choice. But, boy, not many at all.
So if these vegie doo-gooders do manage to drive fast-food places out of business or merely hurt their sales, who takes care of the people who have lost their jobs? The doo-gooders? Hardly. They remind me of the guy who was walking along a pier and heard cries for help by a nonswimmer who had fallen into the water. The doo-gooder found the lifebuoy/ring and threw it out to him. When the drowner grabbed the lifebuoy/ring, the doo-gooder asked, "Do you have a good hold of it?" When assured that the drowner did, he said, "Good," dropped the rope attached to the lifebuoy/ring and moved on to do another good deed. Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Burt Folsom, and others have enumerated countless of well-intentioned people whose deeds had terrible unintended consequences.
Perhaps on a bit of a different note, but related. (And I know it's dangerous to generalize on things like this, but....) I stopped at a fast-food restaurant today and wondered, "How can these workers demand a pay raise up to $15 an hour??????" My bill came to more than $6 for my four-year old and me--and I ordered off the so-called "Value Menu." Then, it took between 15 and 20 minutes to get our food. Granted it was 12:45, but there was only one person ahead of me who hadn't ordered. And, my order was wrong! To top things off, my tummy has been growling all afternoon.
I see McDonald's and other fast-food places are "under pressure" to serve vegies now. Apparently they are scrambling to do so.
I wonder who is "pressuring" for vegies. I can't imagine. But it seems to me that this is one sure way to kill fast-food restaurants. C'mon, who will stop for vegies? Maybe I'm wrong and people will, maybe lots of people. I just don't see it. When was the last time I went out with others to eat and people, just one, ordered vegies--no meat or spaghetti or fish? Oh, never or at least I can't remember ever having someone order that. I think, at some wedding dinners, there have been vegie choices instead of chicken or beef (I originally mistyped "beer," a Freudian slip?) and some folks have eaten that choice. But, boy, not many at all.
So if these vegie doo-gooders do manage to drive fast-food places out of business or merely hurt their sales, who takes care of the people who have lost their jobs? The doo-gooders? Hardly. They remind me of the guy who was walking along a pier and heard cries for help by a nonswimmer who had fallen into the water. The doo-gooder found the lifebuoy/ring and threw it out to him. When the drowner grabbed the lifebuoy/ring, the doo-gooder asked, "Do you have a good hold of it?" When assured that the drowner did, he said, "Good," dropped the rope attached to the lifebuoy/ring and moved on to do another good deed. Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Burt Folsom, and others have enumerated countless of well-intentioned people whose deeds had terrible unintended consequences.
Perhaps on a bit of a different note, but related. (And I know it's dangerous to generalize on things like this, but....) I stopped at a fast-food restaurant today and wondered, "How can these workers demand a pay raise up to $15 an hour??????" My bill came to more than $6 for my four-year old and me--and I ordered off the so-called "Value Menu." Then, it took between 15 and 20 minutes to get our food. Granted it was 12:45, but there was only one person ahead of me who hadn't ordered. And, my order was wrong! To top things off, my tummy has been growling all afternoon.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Here's a link to Congress's Exemption from ObamaCare
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358550/congresss-exemption-obamacare-john-fund
Senator David Vitter from LA is behind the move to force Congress to make a public stand, unlike the President, who ordered the OPM to exempt (OK, to "reimburse") members of Congress for any costs related to their forced entry into the ObamaCare exhanges--like the rest of the people, except those favorites who've already received exemptions and extensions. Still more, including some of the larger unions, are calling for exemptions. Hey, if the thing is so darn good, why are so many people seeking exemptions?!?!?!
Senator David Vitter from LA is behind the move to force Congress to make a public stand, unlike the President, who ordered the OPM to exempt (OK, to "reimburse") members of Congress for any costs related to their forced entry into the ObamaCare exhanges--like the rest of the people, except those favorites who've already received exemptions and extensions. Still more, including some of the larger unions, are calling for exemptions. Hey, if the thing is so darn good, why are so many people seeking exemptions?!?!?!
History
If ObamaCare is defunded (and, wow!, listen to all the lies and obfuscation flying around with that!), I recently wondered how historians will rate President Obama. No doubt they'll be swayed by the fawning of the LameStream media and mostly undeserved praise he gets from them. And, those who rate Presidents, largely college political science and history professors, are generally on the left of the political spectrum.
I remember, too, that historians and their textbooks still credit FDR and his New Deal for ending the Depression, when they did no such thing. That's a hard one to dispel, so firmly ingrained is this historical myth. Facts, for example, of unemployment and production numbers do little to persuade people after what they've, often erroneously, learned in their history courses. After all, "The textbook says...." I've had this discussion with a number of folks and they refuse to listen to any contradictory evidence. I wonder what is the fascination with FDR that historians have.
I suppose it's like Kennedy and the myth of Camelot. He is often, not always, but too often portrayed as a good President. Some, esp the people on the street, identify him as "a great" one. That, of course, is hardly so. His record as "a cold warrior" was not enviable. He was very lukewarm on civil rights, finally goaded into a minimum amount of action by his equally-lukewarm brother Bobby when he finally changed his views. I will credit JFK for inspiring Americans to do more than they might have thought capable and, over the past 10 or 12 years, I've changed my mind on this. I think this was the most important aspect of JFK's Presidency. But, when queried about what made Kennedy "great," what it boils down to is he was assassinated. So, to be "great," all a President has to do is get assassinated. That's a tough criterion.
I know how I will rate Obama and it's not good. Even if I left my personal animus aside (I think he's a fraud, a hypocrite, a narcissist, and more--and I was infuriated when, for a while, there was a move to favorably compare him with Abraham Lincoln, certainly, if sincere, quite an ignorant attempt), which I would, he would be rated poorly. To head off some who might find fault with that, I also rate W. Bush poorly. Neither were good Presidents, not even close. And, even worse, the times really necessitate good Presidents. In the end, I could blame the American voters and I do--to an extent. But then I remember the alternatives and they were bad, too (although my school's still out on Mitt Romney). For that I blame the Democratic and Republican leadership/establishment--they gave us the rotten choices. I suppose voters could demand better, but they don't.
I think it was Fatty Arbuckle, back 100 years ago, who said, "You get what you pay for." (It might have been Juan Valdez?) I suppose that goes for politics, too.
I remember, too, that historians and their textbooks still credit FDR and his New Deal for ending the Depression, when they did no such thing. That's a hard one to dispel, so firmly ingrained is this historical myth. Facts, for example, of unemployment and production numbers do little to persuade people after what they've, often erroneously, learned in their history courses. After all, "The textbook says...." I've had this discussion with a number of folks and they refuse to listen to any contradictory evidence. I wonder what is the fascination with FDR that historians have.
I suppose it's like Kennedy and the myth of Camelot. He is often, not always, but too often portrayed as a good President. Some, esp the people on the street, identify him as "a great" one. That, of course, is hardly so. His record as "a cold warrior" was not enviable. He was very lukewarm on civil rights, finally goaded into a minimum amount of action by his equally-lukewarm brother Bobby when he finally changed his views. I will credit JFK for inspiring Americans to do more than they might have thought capable and, over the past 10 or 12 years, I've changed my mind on this. I think this was the most important aspect of JFK's Presidency. But, when queried about what made Kennedy "great," what it boils down to is he was assassinated. So, to be "great," all a President has to do is get assassinated. That's a tough criterion.
I know how I will rate Obama and it's not good. Even if I left my personal animus aside (I think he's a fraud, a hypocrite, a narcissist, and more--and I was infuriated when, for a while, there was a move to favorably compare him with Abraham Lincoln, certainly, if sincere, quite an ignorant attempt), which I would, he would be rated poorly. To head off some who might find fault with that, I also rate W. Bush poorly. Neither were good Presidents, not even close. And, even worse, the times really necessitate good Presidents. In the end, I could blame the American voters and I do--to an extent. But then I remember the alternatives and they were bad, too (although my school's still out on Mitt Romney). For that I blame the Democratic and Republican leadership/establishment--they gave us the rotten choices. I suppose voters could demand better, but they don't.
I think it was Fatty Arbuckle, back 100 years ago, who said, "You get what you pay for." (It might have been Juan Valdez?) I suppose that goes for politics, too.
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