Pumps' Perplexities

That little gecko has now become a TV advertising icon.....In all
honesty, I do not need the insurance that he is 'hawking' because
I already have it.....However, I have fallen for his "pie and chips".....

Since this dish is not on any American menu, it required a
little time on "Google".....OK, it is British and Australian......
We all know that 'fish and chips' is a piece or two of deep fried
fish and 'french fries'......Well, 'pie and chips' is a small hand held
'savory' pie (filled with meat) and 'french fries' (size of steak
fries).....It seems shoe string fries are only at McDonalds, etc.....

So at home tonight, it will be 'pie and chips'.......Got me some
beef pot pies and steak fries......Also bought a bottle of English
Malt Vinegar just to keep it somewhat authentic......No ketchup
on the fries tonight......It will not be the same but I did save the
cost of airfare to London or Sidney.......Pumps

Daily monitoring of the New Orleans paper is very informative
at times.....While the story is 'local', it may not be picked up
by the national media even though they have news bureaus
in the city.....

The latest story is regarding the possible failure of the levees
due to the draught......Some people are seeing some damage
to the levees caused by the lack of rain and the heat.....(The
media may pick this up as a global warming story.).....I can
just see the headline now, "GLOBAL WARMING CAUSES
LEVEE FAILURE IN NO'.........

The good news is that the Coliseum in New Orleans has been
reopened for tourist and convention trade.....Bad news is
the drug gangs are back and fighting for their control of
the tourist trade......Will keep you posted......Pumps

I have always been a little bit of a 'weather bug' in my 70 years
but common sense is beginning to govern my weather
observations and my thoughts on global warming......

For the past 60 years or so meteorology and weather science
have made great strides....The use of radar, developed in
WWII and recent satellite technology have provided the
scientists a huge amount of raw data, with which they can now
analyse and dissect.......

With the establishment of the US Weather Service in
1890, people have been recording the readings of thermometers
and wind direction....So in the last 110 years of so we have
accumulated about 60 years of recorded observed data and
60 years of increasingly precise date......

Last week a report was issued by the United States government
that confirmed that the temperature of the Earth was increasing....
Between 1900 and 2000 it increased approximately .5 degrees
Centigrade or 1 degree Fahrenheit.....I can believe this because there
is proper documentation, of some quality, after the 1860's......
But the report said the earth has been warming since 1600.....I now
have a problem between 1600 and 1860.......

The global warming during the 1600's and 1700's was measured by
the 'rings' of trees or the 'cores' of ice.....How can a measurement
in millimeters or centimeters be converted to an actual
thermometer measurement?......Does one millimeter equal to
1/100th of a degree?......To me this is like comparing apples
and oranges......

Also since all this global warming is being caused by Man.....What
was Man doing in 1600 and 1700.....How much greenhouse gasses
were being produced by the sails of commercial sea going vessels?.....
How much CO2 was being produced by the gun fire of the French
and Indian Wars?......What started this sudden spike in global
warming?......Were the people of the earth burning too many
candles for light and too many trees for heat?......

If all these 'know-it-alls' know what is causing it now, then they
have to know what was causing it then......Was the internal
combustion engine developed 200 years before its time and not
recorded in the history books?.....

What was the mean temperature in Vermont in 1680?.....And if
it increased in 1730 why did it increase and what is the name
of the person that recorded and measured the fact?....Pumps

There it was in yesterday's newspaper......Circuit-City is selling
the new NEW "Blue-ray" Samsung High-Definition DVD
player for the small sum of $999.99......If you buy one you
will get 4 FREE Blu-ray DVDs.....Or you can buy extra DVDs
at $24.99........

The advertising and marketing are telling you that your
life is now 'not complete' without watching your favorite
movie in this new 'format'.......

So forget the food shopping and putting gas in the car for this
Fourth of July, run out and buy the latest invention in audio/
visual technology......And when you do so, by no means turn
on the radio in your car......Marconi invented that just about
100 years ago and it has to so 'passe' to listen to....Pumps

I have touched on this subject before.....The telecommunications
wars between your local telephone company and your local
cable company........You have seen the television 'ads' and
other commercials for public involvement because the
competition will save the consumer money.......

I have received my first 'comparison' information in the
mail......Net savings for switching over one dollar a month...
Yep, my cable broadband is currently $45.95 a month and if
I switch to the telephone company I can get it for $44.95
a month......There is your big savings, folks......

Now, since my telephone company damaged my telephone
line when installing their fiber optic cable, the telephone
company will replace my 'copper' telephone line but will
not upgrade my telephone connection to a 'fiber optic'
one unless I give them more money for additional services.....
(I know you may have to read that twice - to figure it
out.).....It all comes down to, give us YOUR money......

Just remember that there has been great competition in
the cell phone industry and I do not think anyone really
saved anything.....I suspect the cable TV/internet
Broadband/internet telephone wars will accomplish the
same for the consumer.....NOTHING, except a rising
monthly telecommunications service bill that has to
be paid once a month......Pumps

With the price of everything going up again, ever so slowly,
something that has happened since the beginning of time,
when is a ' deal' a 'deal'?.......I have come to the conclusion that
it is only a 'deal' if you can USE it.....

A 'deal' on a wheel barrel is of no value unless you have some
dirt to move......

Too many people buy things because it is a 'deal', only to
turn around and store it with the rest of their 'stuff'.....Use it
once or twice and then forgotten.......I guess what I am trying
to say is that you should only get a 'deal' on something that is
utilitarian or eatable.....

Maybe some rich people can buy something that can be put
away in the vault, hoping for a financial gain somewhere down
the road, but us plain folk should only buy what 'one' needs
to exist......

Just remember that a 'copper' roof and one of 'thatch and mud'
both keep the rain out.....Pumps

---Get this far and evolve into an intelligent being?.....

Last night's TV health reporter, here in Jabunyaville,
conducted an interview with a person who is involved
with the opening of the local public swimming pools....
The reporter asked, "What should children do before
the get into the pool?"....A fair question.....The answer
from the 'mini-official' was, "Learn how to swim.".....
There was no mention of which body of water a child
should get into before attempting to enter the body of
water known as a swimming pool.....Like saying, "Do not
get on a horse unless you know how to ride."......

Why does modern society want to take away the "learning
experiences of living?"....The only way you know how not
not hit your thumb with a hammer IS TO HIT IT......You
never do it again, once is enough......

I guess modern life has come down to living in a 'bubble'.....
And, if the 'bubble' breaks find someone who caused it and
sue........Becoming a lawyer 101........Pumps

We all grew up reading or seeing movies regarding Blackbeard
the Pirate and his ghost that haunted many an island cove
in the Caribbean.....(I know Edward Teach was killed in
North Carolina - but there is no blog in it.)......

Well the modern day ghost is Natallee Holloway and her
haunting of the island of Aruba.......And, indeed, it only took
about one year for the serious haunting to start.......

Natalee's story is no longer the 'lead' for CNN or FOX News......
What little there is to the story is buried in pending court
cases, which will go no where except to buy some good
dinners for the lawyers involved.......

However her ghost has caused an economic disaster for the
island of Aruba......Tourism is down some 15%-20%......The
Carnival Cruise Line will no longer make the island a "pee"
break on it's 2007 tours.....Tax revenues are down and the
local people are beginning to suffer.......When Holland, its olde
Mother Country, asks if everything is all right, the young
Aruban government is saying, "everything is fine and under
control Mom and Dad".....It is not......

I suspect that the story of Natallee Holloway will soon fade
into the 'cold case' files of many news organizations, but today
she still roams the beaches of Aruba at night, when the moon
is full, along with the ghost of Blackbeard.....He looking for
his treasure and her looking for justice......Pumps

The NHL Hockey season has just come to a conclusion and
so has the NBA Basketball season......Let's face it,
these days they have to end before the All Star Game
in Baseball which is played at their mid-season......

July will be pre-pre-season Football camp month and Hockey
and Basketball will get into their pre-season in September/
October.......October is also good for the World Series of
Baseball.....

Why do I remember being more active in sports than listening
to them on the radio when I was young?.....So many sport shows,
so many sporting events on so many TV channels....Where the
hell did it all come from?.......Also when will we get Lacrosse
on TV?.....(LOL)......

The bottom line, as it directly effects me, is that beer is just
too expensive these days due to the inbuilt advertising budget
for the product line......Think about it......How much cheaper
would Bud and Coors be it they did not have a sign in each
sports arena or stadium and without the TV 'spots' every time
the game on the field was halted??......

Bud spent six million on the World Cup in Germany and the
Europeans hate the stuff.....They know cheap beer when they
taste it......Let's have less TV sports and lower the beer
prices......Pumps

Everything is going digital......Movies, audio and in a few years
television signals.......I suspect that when the TV signal
goes digital everyone will be watching their TV, whether olde or
new flat screen, on a cable hook-up and there will be no
problem.....

However, if you own an emergency, battery operated, TV-
Weather Radio-AM/FM-Flash Light survival unit, you are
in deep do-do if you want to use the analog TV.......

Within the next few years a lot of 'system formats' will change
in the electronic industry......'Rabbit Ear' TV will be obsoleted......
DVDs will be replaced by either DVD-HD or BlueRay.....The
only thing safe will be your CD/Cassette/LP collection......

With all that technology out there, be prepared for more
'multi-functioned' receivers......Pumps

While the Democrats are now working hard to recover some
'loving status' with the American public in the elections of 2006,
I believe that their unannounced agenda is not to get stuck with
the Iraq War problem in the year 2008......But no one is saying
this......They want it gone by then.....

If you see what the goals are for the Democratic Party, should
they win the House of Representatives in the 2006, all is
geared to minimizing the Iraq War problem......It is not their
'gig" as one would say some 30 years ago......

It is just the type of problem that just does not fit in their shopping
bag or the back of a Hybrid car.......In the meantime for the next
two and one-half years we will be subjected to the 'pundit'
excrement....I guess if Western civilization has survived this
long, we can make it another couple of years......Pumps

Everybody is trying, unsuccessfully, to put a 'handle' on this
'immigrant situation'.....Nothing will really happen in order
to 'legalize' the problem because it is 'all about the money'......

Whether you are in a WalMart or Dollar Store seeing the
immigrant population spend their money, frugally, or read
about the fact the a immigrant will spend $8,000 to $16,000
for a 'green card'.....It all comes down to money.......

From corporate America, who hires illegals, to the homeowner
looking for a gardener, to the retail industry, it is the flow of
the American dollar that is back drop to this massive problem.....
Since we all know that money drives politics then we have to
add that to the equation also......Eleven million times.....

Nothing will be done because, from top to bottom, no one wants
to lose any money that they have found in the 'problem'.....
The heck with the hospitals and the US Treasury, please
continue to buy retail balloons or pinatas for that special
party......Being that either the birth of a new American
citizen or the procurement of a 'green' or 'used' Social
Security card.......Pumps

My morning newspaper, in Jabunyaville, contained an article
concerning the mis-use of a person's social security number
and its resulting effect on the 1099 and W-2 tax forms.....
I have blogged on this subject a number of times in the past...

A stay-at-home mom of one, who has not worked since the
year 2000, was notified that she owed $15,813 in back taxes
for the year 2005......In tracing the problem down with the
Internal Revenue Service she found out that her Social Security
number has been used by 81 people in 17 states......She also
found more than 200 tax documents bearing her number.....

I suspect most of the $15,813 found its way back to Mexico,
El Salvador and Guatemala....What gets me is that the United
States government has a total figure which is owed on the
1099 and W-2 forms.....Why will no one let us know another
cost, being absorbed by legal taxpayers, which is related to
the illegal immigration problem?......How much money are
we losing?.......Pumps

A few days back I expounded on the automobile repair
business and their use of 'computer software'.......Here is
the proven result of my point.....

The computer generated auto repair bill, from a few days
back, noted the purchase of two tires.....It also noted the
charges for the disposal of two 'olde' tires.....Funny thing is
I wanted one 'better' tire to hold on to.....And just disposed
of the one with the large nail in its sidewall.....

The computer automatically noted the purchase of two tires
and automatically noted the disposal of two.....

When confronted with the error the personnel at the repair
garage had to enter the computer system in order to see
if the 'automatic' could be overridden and changed......

When you take the 'decision' out of the person, then you have
to check the 'decision' of the computer's software programmer.....
This same problem exists in 'medical billing', but that is
another whole 'can or worms'......Things are just not simple
anymore.......Pumps

I doubt if this little piece of news will make the Major Media.....
But the local newspaper has reported that there is indeed
a drought in the city......They have received only 21 inches
of rain, to date this year.....Their normal is some 40 inches......

So New Orleans needs rain......Can you imagine the news
when they get it......

We all know that 'weather' has a tendency to compensate for
its failures......Florida just loved the extra rain from the first
tropical storm this year.....I suspect that New Orleans will
also like the rain when it gets it.....They will be able to test
their repaired levies and drainage pumps......But.....

Be prepared for the TV news to show you the first puddle.....
Pumps

Sometimes I can understand people who have a "Not In My
Back Yard" attitude......In all fairness there are certain 'things'
which should not be build in certain areas.....

But I cannot understand people with the 'opposite' point of
view......These are the people who complain about a problem
with a certain 'thing' after they move in right next to it.....
Here in Jabunyaville there are three examples of complaint.....
An outdoor gun club with a gun range, a rock quarry, and a
small stock car race track.......

People buy a house knowing full well what is nearby
and then complain about the noise or other problems....
Why in 'heck' did they move next to it in the first place?
If they were deceived, it was due to the lack of information
provided by the real estate agent or their own lack of research.....

In the case of the race track.....It was built in the middle of
no where in 1947......Now 'no where' is full of houses built since
then with people, living in them, that complain about its
existence......How stupid can some people be?........It is like
those people who buy a house on the edge of a golf course,
because they golf, and then complain about broken windows
caused by poor golfers off the 7th tee.......Pumps

The planet Earth has lost another species......The Inexpensive
Professional Automobile Mechanic......And it is all because of
the computer age......

Years ago your local 'repair garage' had an olde dirty 'rate'
book on the shelf.....The owner would ask, "How long did it take
to fix the vehicle?".....His mechanic would tell him the
approximate time and the garage owner would prepare the
'work order' for billing......

Go into any 'repair garage' today and you will find a computer
which is running software designed for the repair business.....
The computer now lets the garage owner know how long each
function should take.....The functions are entered into the
computer and if the total 'labor time' is two hours, then so be
it......Whether it took the mechanic one and a-half hours is not
important.....Bill two hours at $75 to $90 per hour......If
you are a mechanic in an auto dealership, your paperwork
(work order) is subject to audit.....

With all the prices going up in the industry, I am not surprised
that some auto insurance company is not offering HMO
repair insurance at reduced rates, as long as you stay in
your 'repair' group.......A hospital will let you out of the building
and then send you a bill......A repair garage or dealer will
'impound' your car until you pay up.....

When will the little 'gecko' start selling 'repair insurance'?.....
Pumps

Once again this subject has 'hit' the media......A food shop
in Philadelphia put a sign in the window that upset some
people....I think the last one was in an Ohio bar.......

It seems when a sign reads "This is America - Speak
English" that this is a discriminating statement and the
local law and ACLU are down your neck.....Resulting in
unneeded legal expenses.......

In my opinion both problems were as a result of the
wording of the sign......Flip the coin.....Become the poor,
illiterate shop keeper and just say "We Only Speak English"....
This is just a notice that a non-English speaking person may not
be understood.......The sign must also be printed in English....
Since the non-speaking person can not read English also
there is not intentional discrimination....Just a simple
conflict of cultures........

There is just one point that all lawyers and activists seem to
forget......Any non-English speaking person will always find
a way to complain if their Friday paycheck is incorrect.....
'Been there, done that"......Handled payroll and time cards
back in '84......Also have you noticed that non-English speaking
people seem to 'shop well' in a local supermarket?......Pumps

Well 6-6-06 has gone, just like Y2K......And, we are all still here....

Why not!.....I do not know about the calender but there had to
be a June 6, 6AD.......Then a June 6, 60 and June 6, 600.....
Don't forget the entire year of 666AD also had a June 6, 666AD....
While this year it was June 6, 2006 what happened on
June 6, 1006?......

The human mind still has the great quest for knowledge which
has resulted, amongst other things, in superstition, myth and
religion......Next date is June 6, 3006AD......But come to think
of it, if the hell fires of the devil keep on increasing the global
warming, Man may not have to worry about it......Pumps

Well this subject is back in politics again......For a period of
10 years, out of my 70, I was a superintendent and 15%
of my tenants were gay.....Some lived alone and others
co-habitated.....

Growing up, the whole 'gay thing' was a sub-culture....In
fact one of my tenants regretted the fact that 'it' was
coming out of the closet.....

This whole 'issue' is only about money......Many gay people
have money and have structured legal civil matters to
protect themselves and their companions.....The 'poorer'
members of this sub-culture want to join the 'mainstream'
in order to receive the financial benefits.......

The money lies in Social Security and Medicare spousal
benefits......The gay community, on one hand, wants a
life in their sub-culture but, on the other hand, wants
the rewards of the mainstream......They want it both
ways.......Pumps

Have you noticed recently that everyone you know does not
like 'stink' anymore......There is the chemical smell from
cleaning agents and paint.....Some even complain about
the air freshener and deodorant aisles in the supermarkets......

With the recent raise in gasoline prices, the search for
alternative fuels is in full gear.....One current fuel is made
from used deep fry cooking oil......Willy Nelson is even in the
business......College kids are converting cars over to the new
fuel.....

One draw back though......When it burn in your automobile
engine the exhaust gas smells like french fries......Today the
occasional smell of french fries as you drive by a McDonald's
or Burger King is appealing.....What will happen when 10 or
15% of the cars smell like it.....Will people begin to complain
about the 'stink' and it unhealthy effect on your lungs.....
First tobacco, then paint, next bio-fuels........Pumps

This is the new 'cry' of the Global Warming group....Has anyone
out there in cyberspace realized that 'energy' cost money....So
why do not we just save money instead......I guess that will have
no political impact and the credit collection companies will lose
money.....

The 'true' non cost of energy would be to live on 100 acres of
wooded land and be able to cut as much wood as needed for
cooking and heat.....Otherwise let us pay our electric and gas
bills or buy our ton of coal and purchase on solar roof panels.....

There are many people today who know how to save energy
money....They do so for economic reasons not to join a Green
Party.....I often wonder how many trees the Green Party needs,
to not keep its offices warm, but to use as paper for newsletters
and contribution mailings......Pumps