Pumps' Perplexities

This aged Yankee use to listen to country music late at night when
it was broadcast from West Virginia, years ago....A little country
music does not hurt anyone even a Yankee, when taken in small
doses...

To find Internet music in the United States is easy....But it all
comes with a "price tag"...

If you like a wide range of olde and new country, with a few
different songs you never hear before thrown in, listen to
Austrialia's Broadcasting Corporation free music stream....

Start first at "abc.net.au" and progress from there....You want
JIG Internet Country.....Can't beat it.....And no one will
"bust them" while you listen....Pumps

Toll a word having some roots in the Greek telones meaning
tax collector or telos meaning tax...

There are some older, existing, toll roads which were built
prior to the Federal Interstate System...But, there will soon
be more...

It appears that the Federal gas tax is not enough to pay for
new roads, and the maintenance of the old...It also appears
that our Government Representatives fear additional taxation...
So, since people want to get from point A to point B in this
hurried day of Palm Pilots and Blackberries, they will begin
to once again pay for the privilege to do so....

Just remember that it "costs" to go from A to B...Nothing
has changed in the history of man...Leave your cave and
cross the river once cost only 1 bear skin now you need
an Ez-Pass purchased with a credit card...

Just remember the new modern toll road will come fully
equipped with new modern pot holes....Pumps

If a human ever purchases a major item and it breaks, for
what ever reason shortly after its purchase, a "lemon"
has been created....The item may be a vehicle or, let's
say, a washing machine....

The item is repaired under the manufacturer's full
warranty and returned...From that date forward the
human mind has classified the item as a "lemon"....

No matter how well the item operates, no matter how
long it is in service, it's a "lemon"....The slightest change
in noise, wear or operation will reaffirm its "lemon"
status...And when the item is finally junked, the mind
says, "Glad to get rid of that "lemon" once and for all"....

I guess the whole thought process involves "faith and
trust"....Two aspects of our lives which seem to be
diminishing...Pumps

Everyone has a cell phone...The modern life style says we have
to keep in touch...You can call for help, day or night, from
anywhere with it...And it makes you stupid...

Life is a learning experience and one learns from his or her
own mistakes...If you buy the wrong product in the
supermarket you will be informed of the fact and you will
never make the same error again.....

Now with the cell phone you can call someone else to make
that "decision" for you....You can call your boss and have him
tell you "what to do.".....Now your life is complete...You do
not make any mistakes anymore....The mistake is made
by the voice on the other end of the cell phone, if one is to
be made...

Everytime you "use" someone's brain you are not
using your own....You are dumbing yourself down...Your
learning experiences cease to be renewed...

And when you need a past life's experience to solve
your current problem, you can only hope that the
"decision" made years ago, by another, over the cell
phone will work again this time....

The cell phone is good to call 911 but will not help you
learn about the freshness of strawberries.....Pumps

Do you live in a city or town that has THAT Furniture Store
which has a sale on everything if they blow a light bulb in
the stock room?...Or is it the "last time, never again sale"?...
The "moving stock (from one wall to the wall) sale?....
Carpet, mattress and recliner (one day only - Wednesday-
between 5PM and 10PM) no interest until 2013 sale?....

If this furniture store has been open for 63 years, 4 months
and 3 days boy do they have the "sale of sales"?....Enough is
enough...The daily radio and TV advertising hurts.....

It appears their owners must have graduated from the
P.T.Barnum School of Merchandising....I suspect their
profits come from interest rates and "the fine print" more
so than the sale itself....

It would be the last place in the world I would buy a piece
of furniture...Like walking into a lion's den.....Pumps

It will be interesting to see what happens as a result of the
CDC's findings of last week that a little extra fat on your
bones is good for you...I have been one to always held
the belief that a few extra pounds, especially on seniors,
was good...Should an illness strike at least the "body"
had some extra fat to live on until "it" healed...

What now will become of the unofficial "fat patrol"
organizations?....What will become of all those pending
"fat food" legations?....Will this hasten the departure of
the low carb craze?....Will South Beach just become a
strip of sand again?....Is there hope for Super Sizing
again?....Does L A Weight Loss and Jenny Craig close
branches?...One less Fitness Center in town?....

The next thing we will hear is that keeping a little
extra fat on our bones is effecting jobs and the
economy...Pumps

The following comments are from a view of "realism"...

In our lives we all reach the moment when we become
a "Don Quixote" and charge the "windmill"....

Whether it be for personal gain, pride, concience or
principle we take lance in hand and charge the mighty
windmill...I was told many years ago that the windmill
always wins....And if you think about it deeply, you
will confirm this belief...

One may enjoy the charge upon the structure....One may
also enjoy a little damage being done....But in the end.....
This is not say one should not take lance in hand and
charge...This is to say, just as in a game of poker, that
knowledge of the odds will always effect a beneficial
outcome...Pumps

A young cashier recently had a problem with his sales computer
in an auto parts store...In entering a sales transaction of $8.37
he pressed the wrong key and the "computer" did not calculate
the change required from a twenty dollar bill....

"Do it the old fashion way."....And so he took pen and paper and
wrote 20.00 on top and 8.37 underneath it...He subtracted....
Result 12.63........

The "real" old fashion way is to start with 8.37 ADD 3, then 10,
then 50 (2-25s) and close out with 1 dollar and a 10 dollar bill...
Total 11.63....

This lack of basic knowledge is compared to a story out of
Michigan which regretted the possible removal of laptop
computers from a school system....The article mentioned the
fact that some of the sixth grade students, pictured above,
were attempting to finish their essays on Cesar Chavez....

Cesar Chaves and Samuel Gompers may be of value to
a history lession, but should not the counting of lettuce
be a priority...Now let's see, you have 2000 heads of lettuce
and if you give one head to each of your 837 friends, how
many heads of lettuce will you have left?.....

The pity is that Chaves and Gompers were taught the
answer in school with no computer.....Pumps

Welcome to the world of auto parts...Most vehicles on the road
today have what is known as a "serpentine" (V-ribbed)
drive belt...Years ago a your car or truck had 2-4 belts each
"driving" a different auto part...Now this one belt supplies
power, from your crankshaft, to the alternator, water pump,
power steering and air conditioner...

If it ever needs to be replaced, and is not broken, ask your
mechanic for the used belt and place it in your car's trunk
(or boot)....While you may never need it, the old belt just may
get you out of a jam, in the middle of nowhere, some day.
Remember this one belt runs the whole car...

Other used auto parts which may come in handy are a
windshield wiper which has a little life left in it...And saving
one or two of the longest ignition wires from your old wire
set will not hurt either......Pumps

In honor of Earth Day this post is appropriate...There is some
concern with the burning of fossil fuel and the related
consumption of gasoline by a SUVs...There are some
people and organizations which believe these vehicles should
not be manufactured..."This in turn would be for the benefit
of greater mankind"...

Did you know that a school bus only gets 5 miles to one
gallon of gasoline?....Have you counted the number of
school buses in your community?....Have you attempted
to obtain the daily mileage for each of these buses while
they are in service 9 months out of the year?....

Since no parent wants their children to walk to school, (and
get some exercise), where is the automotive development
of the "hybrid" schoolbus?....It appears to me that there
would be plenty of room for some battery storage (power)
on the bus....Pumps

Grant you that a culinary chef has had years of training at his
chosen profession...They have gone to the best schools...They
served years of apprenticeship...They open fancy restaurants...
They wear funny shaped hats...But are they cooks?....

A cook does not have someone to order their supplies....They
buy them, themselves....A cook opens the kitchen cabinets and
says, "What dish can I prepare for my family with what I have?"...
(Did you notice that Chefs now have TV shows trying to do the
same thing a "cook" has done for years?)....

The cook makes it taste good and does not need a small drizzle
of red lobster tail sauce around the edge of the plate to entice
you to eat, besides pretty food is expensive...

Remember that there are more good cooks in the world than
fancy chefs with a "drizzle spoon"....Also if you look at a chef,
why is he always surrounded by "cooks"?....Pumps

We have all received telemarketing calls, whether we have
caller ID or not...We have all read scores of of interesting
things to say to the annoying or inopportune caller...

But the best way to answer the telephone is to GRUNT...
Just remember the sound you may have uttered on a
day of great bowel discomfort...And use it...

This sound is so negative and denotes such unhappiness
that the "caller" will hang up first...They sense that they
have contacted a person in pain who will not be
responsive to any of their offerings...In contrast, if the
"caller" is a friend, they will remain on the line in order
to confirm your well being..."The Grunt" will be
understandable and easy to explain to them...

So during telemarketing business hours of 9AM to 9PM
when answering that unknown telephone call just
GRUNT...No fancy words, no perkiness, just a good
solid GRUNT...Pumps

These comments are ment for those who need to know what
awaits them as a "Senion Citizen"...Unreadable and duplicate
medical bills...

If like most people, you receive Medicare and have a Part B
Supplemental, you will get more paperwork on a "hangnail"
they you can think of....

You get a paper from the Government, if the "hangnail" is to
be covered by your annual deductible...There is the
supplemental paperwork you receive and then there is
the Doctor's Bill which is not understandable....If you do not
get a Doctor's Bill, you will get additional suplemental paperwork
noted "Duplicate Filing."

Doctor's offices do file duplicates with an insurance company
hoping that some computer has a "glitch" that day and double
pays...(At least it appears to me that way.)

Just hope the Government does not make a mistake....They can
send you money one year and ask for it back two years later...
Trust me....

If seniors desire mental stimulation, you do not need poker or
Bingo......Just try to figure out your medical bill which was
designed to run on a Commodore 64.....Pumps

I fear what is missing in most homes today are good cooking
smells....I do not mean the smell of a pizza when you open
the box after the delivery boy has left...I do not mean the
oriental smell from a Chinese take out (or take away)....

I mean that pot of stew or a loaf in the oven which just
fills the entire house with the desire to eat....

These days you are more likely to get "the smell" from
passing a McDonalds or Applebee's then in your own
kitchen...

I bet if the kitchen smelt good then the entire family would
hang out in it...The next time you microwave a dinner,
for the gang, prepare some frozen garlic toast in the oven....
It will be a start....Next find a stove top recipe which calls
for a pinch of cinnamon, it will do wonders....(By the way, if
you are having an Open House for its sale, a little cinnamon
tea on the stove does wonders for potential buyers.)...

Bring the smells back....If they were good enough for
grandma, they should be good enough for us....
Candles are cheating and soot up the house....Pumps

Starting tomorrow every major world orginization will have
someone watching a "chimney"...The 24/7 cable networks
will have a camera taking the picture of a "chimney"...There
will be male and female anchor people talking about the
"chimney"...

These anchor people will gibber and jabber, make up
unneeded verbiage because there will be a picture on the
TV screen of a "chimney"...

Frustration will ruin the day of many an anchor person
because they do not know what is happening underneath the
"chimney"...That is because the mighty world of the modern
press corp can not deal with 115 people keeping their mouths
shut...No sources, no informants, no leaks, just 115 people
who have nothing to say...

Within a few days there will be white smoke coming from
the "chimney" and the bell will ring in a new Pope....Until
then enjoy the "World of Non-News" on your favorite cable
or television network...Pumps

I thought that it would be tough to come up with a topic on a
quiet Saturday, until......

There is some idiot in the State of Maine that wants to place
a 4 cent per gallon tax on bottled water.....Hold on a minute....
We pay for it to come into our homes, then we pay for it
when we flush, (even a septic tank has to be cleaned)...
Now he wants you to pay to drink it....

For some strange reason, this jerk, considers the tax
applicable because it is a "natural resource".....As, in "oil"
and "coal"....What will be the next "natural resource" to be
taxed?....AIR.....

If the State of Maine wants to raise/save money, they should
do what Nebraska has done.....Only have "one house"
of state government...No Senate and House (or whatever)
just the House....There would be a savings to the State
if this idiot was not on the State's payroll and no need for
a tax on bottled water....Pumps

Once upon a time there was the AMC TV Channel...It provided
"non commercial" viewing of old movies...At the same time
there was the Turner Classic Movie TV Channel which
competed for the same viewer...Well guess who won the battle
for the audience...Turner...

These days the AMC TV Channel has turned into an awful
viewing experience...Their "library" of movies consists mostly
of the "B" category...(Turner holds "title" rights to the good
ones.)...

While they are trying to attract viewers with their new
"wide screen" format, for those viewers with the new
plasma HDTVs hanging on the living room wall, TCM has
followed suit...

AMC has turned into a Channel of repeats...It repeats its
movies just as often as it repeats its commercials...

Ah yes! The olde days...Three to five channnels, each one
of them watched by millions...Today 150 watched by
a bare few...Pumps

There are two states which are considering giving traffic tickets
to people driving too slow in the fast (left) lane of their highways...
As usual, it seems, the senior citizen is once again the major
cause of this problem...

Let me get this straight...If the speed limit posted is 65 miles
per hour does that not mean that the speed in the right lane
is 65 mph and that the speed in the left lane is also 65 mph?...
Or am I missing something?...

Some highways do have a minimum speed posted of 40 mph...
If someone is doing 40 mph in the left lane, they should get
a traffic ticket...But I have yet to see anyone do 40 even in the
right lane, except a school bus...

To solve this problem, I think that the right lane should be
posted at 65 mph and the left lane at 85 mph...This then will
get all the fast drivers out of the way of the slower ones...
Also the State Police will only have to worry about only one
lane instead of two...(Anyone going 85 mph will always push
it 10 mph more to 95 mph)...

Since road and highway posted speeds are based on night time
road visiblity in rainy weather, let's see how far the younger
generation wants to push it's driving talents...Pumps

It is almost a generally known fact by now that the publishing
of newspapers does not have the financial rewards it once had...
Newspapers are losing their readership...24/7 cable news
programs and the internet are becoming major providers of
news and information...

Newspapers are now adapting their subscription requirements
to meet their customers needs...First there was 7 days a week...
Then there was weekday (6 issues) and Sunday (1 issue)...
Some newspapers now offer weekdays (5 issues) and weekend
(2 issues), Saturday and Sunday...The latest subscription
offering is an extended weekend (3 issues), Friday, Saturday
and Sunday...

I expect, the pretty soon, you will be able to order the newspaper
on the days you want it...Like, let us throw in Wednesday's
Food issue...With any great hope, maybe cable television will
some day offer the same subscription plan and let us only pay
for the channels we watch and not the 50 we do not...

There is always hope...Pumps

Considering that it is a cloudy Tuesday, there should have
been some signs of life in an enclosed mall today...But there
was not...The mall was dead...And worse it was noticed by
everyone, including the stores' employees...

While gasoline may cost a little these days, I do not think
that was the main reason for the lack of patronage...
I think it was the date on the calendar...After all it is the
12th of April and it is only three more days to the 15th of
April...

It is major Income Tax Time...The majority of the people
do not have the money because they just had to sent it
with their Tax Return or they have only three days left
to save it up and then send it with their Tax Return...

I have always been under the opinion that between the
15th of March and the 15th of April the flow of moneys
comes to a grinding halt...For some reason the flow
resumes after the 1st of May...

Cash flow is cash flow and this time of the year your
money is made out of molasses, not paper and zinc...

One of the real treasures of life, often missed by most, is having
a good honest, trustworthy, auto mechanic...

The Service Departments of auto dealerships are there to add
to the profit "bottom line" of the dealer...Your local muffler and
brake "chain" operators have quotas and annual sales projections
to meet, with District Managers pushing the need for "add-on"
sales...

But, that little mechanic, on the corner, in his little old shop who
is trying to feed his family and employees, is worth his weight in
gold...Yep, he does not have any discounts or deals...He does not
print sales coupons...His hands are dirty and his floor may have
too much old "quick dry" on it but get yourself dirty to and
hug him...

He may charge a little more one week but there is always the
quick "freebie" the next...Be his friend because I am afrain that
he and his kind may be a dying breed...Pumps

There are many sides to this story, here is mine...The AARP is against any
changes in Social Security because there is no money in it for them...

AARP is an insurance broker...They are in the business of making money
by selling insurance...In their most recent AARP Bulletin of April 2005 they
advertise Auto on page 13, Life on page 17, Motorcycle on page 23,
Annunities on page 26, Dental on page 27, Pharmacy Svc on page 30,
Mobile Home and Medicare on page 29 and used pages 20,21,32,36 and 38
for other AARP services...The Bulletin is a total of 40 printed pages...

They supported Medicare Drug benefits because they will get a piece of the
action...They are selling Part "B" Medical insurance coverage now and will
just convert the system over to one funded by Federal money just like other
drug insurance companies plan to do...

With Social Security there is no Federal money for them...But there is a
whole bunch of 40ish "baby boomers" which are future AARP members and
insurance customers...So with all this "anti-Social Security change" activity
AARP is planting the seed of future protection for those who will turn 50 soon...

AARP can offer very little to 85 year old Aunt May...She has bought all the
insurance she required years ago...But, there is a new found market in the
"40 somethings"...They will remember how "AARP protected THEIR Social
Security retirement money."...They will join AARP when they are able, at
the age of 50, and then buy more insurance in order to feel better "protected"
under the security of AARP...

AARP is protecting no one...Anyone over the age of 58 has nothing to fear
regarding future Social Secuity payments...AARP is only interested in itself
and its financial future...It is no different than any other "Lobby" in
Washington...It is protecting its own interests and its ability to make money...
Pumps

In these days everyone is concerned with gasoline and the price of it...
A few years ago, the History Channel, produced a show for its Modern
Marvels program entitled "Gasoline"...I highly recommend that everyone
watch this episode when it is televised again...It seems that the History
Channel is running it more often lately...
While the program covers the "history" of gasoline and its manufacture,
in great detail, it is the fact that all gasoline is basically the same
which effected me the most...It seems that all gasoline which enters the
pipeline and is transported for a long distance by that method must be
manufactured to the same specifications no matter what "brand name" is
on the refinery...
If oil company "A" deposits 100,000 gallons of "grade 87" into the pipeline
in Texas on Monday, it can take out 100,000 gallons of "grade 87" in
Illinois on Tuesday..."Monday's" deposit of gasoline will not reach Illinois
until Saturday...Therefore "Tuesday's" gasoline withdrawal was refined
by oil company "B"...Same grade and same manufacturing specs...Same gas.
Company "A" can introduce some additives to the "same gas" but
company "B" does it also...And the additives are similar.
Please do not take my word for this...I suggest you watch the television
show and confirm these facts yourself...
History Channel > Modern Marvels > "Gasoline"...Pumps

Over the last few years several retail companies have install
"Do It Yourself" check out counters...The unloading of your
basket or cart, scanning and weighing items, bagging and paying
for same is all done by the customer...It is hoped, by the
retailer, that your time at a checkout counter will be reduced,
you will be happier and exit their premise quicker...
Be mindfull of the following, the DIY Checkout reduces the number
of cashiers needed by the retailer...This in turn does reduces
employment and fewer employees, especially if a union is involved.
The retailer has increased his profit on the items you have
purchased...Does the existing staff of the retailer get a raise
in salary or even better yet do you, as a consumer, get an
additional discount on your purchases?...NO...
Therefore, since you are in a hurry and enjoy the convenience,
you are working for the retailer for free and putting someone
else out of work...With in-store cameras, RFIDs, barcodes, DIY
Checkouts all a retailer will need is a store manager who can
stock shelves and a security guard at the exit door...Pumps

Fact: Everybody is buying items which are made in China...Everything costing from
one dollar to high-end electronics...
Fact: In order to keep its manufacturing base expanding to meet the world demand China is requiring more and more of the world's oil to do so.....
Fact: This additional demand on oil reserves has increased the price, per barrel,
of crude oil...And, a bi-product known as, gasoline...
Fact: The high price of gasoline now makes it more expensive to go shopping for the
lower priced Chinese products...
Fact: A conundrum that no longer produces any financial savings...Pumps

If you live in an apartment in a major city. these comments will be of no interest to you....If you live in rural America and have a well for a water supply to your dwelling, these comments
will be of not interest to you...Others may read on...
Each two or three months you receive a bill from the city, town or county for the amount of
water which has flowed through your dwelling...In a lot of places you are charged for the same
water going in and then coming out...The latter is a sewer service fee...
The water billed to your dwelling is measured in CCF (C=Hundred [in Latin] Cubic Feet)
The bill will have a basic minimum charge, for the water connection, and then added on is
each additional one hundred cubic of water consumed by your household...
Question how much water is there in a CCF?...
We do not drink water or other fluids by CCFs...
Now for all that care...A CCF (one hundred cubic feet) of water is 748 gallons...If you get a bill
for 20 CCF, that means 14,960 passed through your dwelling or a total of 2992 five gallon buckets...
This "post" is not intended to change your water usage habits, by any means...It just raises
the question, one does not give any thought to paying a bill that states "20 CCF"...But, would
one question a bill for 14,960 gallons?...Where did it all go?....
Actually it went down the sewer drain and they charged you again for a "sewage charge"...