Pumps' Perplexities

I have become totally confused......There is not a method
I can find to compare the price of a barrel of crude oil
to a price of refined gallon of gas, sold at my local gas
station........

Here I sit today with a barrel of crude at $78 and the
price at the "pump" dropping to $2.63........

I have listened to "pundits" on the radio and TV try
to explain the entire pricing structure, supply and
demand, and refining capacity.......It has all resulted
in "naught".......I have come to the conclusion that
these "pundits" can't figure out the pricing either.......

So, it seems, that I must forget the price of a barrel
of crude and avoid the "over-thinking" as to when to
put gasoline in my car........Just buy it when I need
it and forget the entire thought process.....Pumps

"I don't know"......After an EKG, and seeing a nurse,
PA (physician's assistant - a pre-med college student)
and the doctor was the resulting answer for my
odd-ball heart beats........

I have to keep an "eye" on the problem and go back
next week for the results of some blood work.......
I suspect they will check the electrolytes........

Everything, today, tested normal, even the EKG.....
Go figure........Did my cold effect by heart muscle?
Who knows......They (the medics), and I do not
know......One think is for certain, I am typing this
"blog" so all must be well.........Pumps

The above "title" word is fancy for erratic heart beat......
Friday night mine went "wacko" after a dinner out and
resulted in 16 hours of sleep.......

Upon waking heart beat and blood pressure were all
over the place.....Nothing was constant.......

Then as soon as IT came IT left, whatever medical
condition it was......Saturday night back to normal......
Go figure......

Well tomorrow, Monday, we will get a doctor's appointment
to try to find some answers........There are some problems
that WebMD just does not have the solution for......I will
keep you posted.......Pumps

It appears that the "home building/housing" market
is now effecting the New York Stock Exchange......The
"housing boom" appears to be over......But why are
people and the stock market surprised?........

Am I wrong in this logic, which follows?.......

Land owners want to sell land.......They want to sell it
to housing developers.......Housing developers want
to sell it to building contractors......Building contractors
want to sell houses to people........People want to
sell their "old" house so they can buy the new one.......

Now who has the money to buy the "old" house.......
Not everybody can afford to buy the "old" house......
SO......Money lenders GAMBLE and lend money at
low rates to people so that they can buy "old" houses.....
If, when the loan rates change, the people can not
afford the "old" house anymore.......The money
lenders start to CRY.......And everybody looks at each
other and asks the question. "What happened?".......

It seems that if the money lenders want to "recoup"
their loses they ask the land owners for money.......

The big financial circle of "money" has broken because
the people who could not afford the "old" house should
not have bought it in the first place.......Pumps

Over the years there have been news stories regarding
senior citizens eating dog food, in order to survive.......

There have also been stories about college kids eating
cans of cold beef stew in order to save money for tuition
costs........I remember days, long gone, when I also
opened a can of beef stew and ate it cold......I also
remember calling it "human dog food" at one time or
another......I suspect most of us have.......

There has been a major recall of canned food products
lately.......One of the items mentioned was beef stew.......
In checking out the "recall site" much to my surprise
at the bottom of the long list of items was a few
dog food items.......One of them was Irish Beef Stew
with potatos and carrots.........Hum?..........Pumps

To my many avid readers, this "posting" is not about
Global Warming.......It is about the cold that starts in
your nose, goes to your throat and winds up in your
chest......

Got the darn thing from the wife some 5 days ago......
Another benefit of a double bed.......

Tomorrow is a "medical" run around day and there
will be a stop a the local "state store" for a nice bottle
of Old Mr. Boston's Rock-and-Rye.......Sure beats
Robitussin.........

Also one thing about a head cold, it does play havoc
with the flow of "mental juices".....And blog postings.....
Pumps

Here is another good "fee - tax" story.....This one is
via the US Federal Government......


Some 10 years ago the Bill Clinton/Al Gore administration
requested and enacted the Universal Service Fund, (of 1996)......
It was a simple law, just add a little fee to every one's
telephone bill so that the Government could subsidize new
computer telephone lines for the "computer age" in all
schools and libraries......Fair enough.......


The results.......$44 Billion has been collected since
this fee was added to your telephone bill......(It is still there,
if you look for it.).......


In 2006 $6.6 Billion was collected via this "fee"......Now
here comes the good part......$1.7 Billion was, rightly, given
to the schools and libraries.......$8 Hundred Million was given
to smaller funds for service to poor and rural medical
facilities......Still fair enough......But $4.1 Billion was given
to cellular telephone companies........

Cellular telephone companies do not have any telephone
poles or copper wires to maintain......With just a cell tower
in sight of another tower is almost maintenance free......
And if a telephone company offers both "land line" and "cell"
service it gets paid TWICE the subsidy money.......

In fact it even gets more complicated to explain........And
now the Government is talking about "Broadband"
computer fees because the original telephone lines of 10
years ago are becoming outdated......Pumps

This is not a political essay regarding George W. Bush......
It is a commentary on the last years of a presidential
term when nothing will get done, in the government,
and everybody will make a "buck"........

Have noticed that prices are going up!......Have noticed
that the stock market is going up!.....It is "Wa Hoo" time
in the business world.........

The guy leaving the office of the US Presidency will not
get his "dander" up because it has only got 18 months
to go and then it is "bene packageville"........Health care,
guards and becoming one of the most valued US senior
citizens........

The new guys coming in do not know what to do yet.......
The only way to know how many rolls of toilet paper
are needed in the White House, is to get there first.....
(This is major political statement, using different words,
by some politicians)......

So in the meantime.....Things SLIGHTLY run amok......
I guess it will always happen in the future, as it has
happened in the past.....

Enjoy your Stock Market gains and spend them in the
grocery.......Easy come-easy go...........Pumps

In the everyday world a "fee" is charged by a professional
for services rendered......If it is charged by the government
the "fee" is a "tax".......

Here in Virginia, since many attempts to raise the "tax" for
road building and maintenance, have been turned down
at the ballot box, we got a new "fee".......Effective 7/1/2007......

It is a civil "fee" for traffic violations which are added on to
your original "fine" (another "fee").......If you have 8 points
for driving violations on your driver' license, then this new
"fee" will kick in.......

Getting a traffic ticket for driving 20 miles over the speed
limit and you get 8 points and a reckless driving charge.......
You not only pay for the traffic ticket and court costs but
you will be billed by the State of Virginia an additional $3,000,
payable at $1,000 for 3 years for a "civil fee".......

They are going to build roads on the back of traffic violators......
Our Governor Tim Kaine say, "To avoid the fees, drive
safely"........So let's do it......

#1 Drive 5 miles below the speed limit on all roads and
highways....

#2 Drive by the "book" and leave the "one car length per
each 10MPH between you and the car in front of you......
This will improve road safety........

It should be noted that his law does not apply to
out-of-state drivers (there is no way to enforce the law)
and Virginia residents which are illegal (there is no
way to enforce the law).......

If the State of Virginia wants a "highway headache" all
one has to do is drive by the rules of their DMV driver's
instruction manual.......Pumps

The newspaper business is in trouble.......Advertising
monies once spent in newspapers is now being
diverted to the internet.......All the world headline
news, once printed on the front page, is now
available 24/7 from some news cable stations or the
internet.......In many cases most of your local paper
is also on the internet.......

The big city newspapers are losing money and
circulation.......But I think there is hope for the small
town papers........

I think it is about time that the "local" paper printed
more "local" news........The big news organizations are
not going to spend time and money on the "small"
stories, but the small town paper will........

My local newspaper is cutting every corner that it
can.....Less pages in some sections, different printing
formats that save space, smaller page size to save
"newsprint paper"........

It will survive if Section B (local news) becomes
larger than Section A (national news)........Pumps

Well someone has had the nerve to print it......Teens and
young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 cause three
times more car accidents than senior citizens......IT IS
ABOUT TIME........

For years the insurance industry has been blaming us
seniors......"We drive too slow"......"We do only the speed
limit"......"We CAUSED the accident".......Bull......

We were taught how do drive properly......We were not
only taught the written test but we had to have a minimum
of hours behind the "wheel", day and night.......Today the
kids take a written test, on some touch screen computer in
their local DMV and "Shazaam" they are "drivers"......

I have said it before......Take away their power steering and
brakes, give them a clutch pedal and make them use hand
signals and you do not have any body parts left to use a
cell phone, text message, put on makeup or eat a burger.......

Let's face it......IT'S THE SPEEDERS AND WEAVERS that
cause the accidents......Pumps

In politics what "works" for you once usually comes back
to "bite" you in the rear a few years later......Years ago
the filibuster was a great "stalling" tactic in the houses
of the US Congress........To stop the passage of a proposed
law some members of congress talked and talked and
talked........Some even read from the telephone book........

In modern times the process of a filibuster has changed......
In order to stop a "non verbal" filibuster now the
"members" must vote for "cloture"......(This stops debate
and end to a filibuster).......In the US Senate "cloture"
is reached when 60 members vote for it........

Back in 2005 the Democrats used "cloture" against the
Republicans.......Now, in 2007, the Republicans are
using it against the Democrats......And the Democrats
are whining and do not like the "tactic" which they used
two years ago......

It seem that the Democrats forgot the "bite you in the ass"
rule of governing.......Pumps

The State of Vermont does not have an anti-nudity law......
Considering the fact that the average daily temperature,
year round, is 40F, who would want to walk around
without any outer clothing on?.......

But some young teenagers did......Let's face it, there is
really nothing to do in Brattleboro, VT except to await
school graduation and then move to Boston for a job......

Since the young kids had fun, at the town father's
expense, it now seem that other "wackos" are coming
from other parts of the United States just to be able
to walk nude which shopping in town......

If anyone has not figured it out, this is the middle of
Summer, which usually falls on the second Tuesday
in July........So the "wackos" are out and about.......

It may snow in September, but the Brattleboro town
fathers can not wait......It seems they are going to
be forced to consider a law banning the nudity.......

What a shame........Some olde "farts" from out of
state will prevent the young teenage girls from going
topless.......Once again Brattleboro will become the
dead town it was some 30 years ago when I was
in it.........Pumps

I am becoming totally convinced, without any sound
foundation or facts, that Osama bin Laden is no longer
among the living human beings of the world......

MSNBC has shown a "tape" of his, released
by Al Qaeda, which is reportedly some 5 years old......
Anytime a "new tape" is released by Al Qaeda, it is
Ayman al-Zawahiri who is talking......The so-called
number two guy in Al Qaeda.....

Where is Osama?.......

Fidel Castro has been sick and people are waiting
for him to "pass on" but one thing he does do is show
his face on TV........He may not look in the best of
health but at least you know it is him and he is alive........

I suspect that Osama was killed in Tora Bora some
years ago or he has quietly died of kidney failure
somewhere in the mountains of Afghanistan.......

To let the Western World know that he is dead would
not be good "public relations" for Al Qaeda......So
they are keeping their mouth's shut and all we are
seeing these days is al-Zawahiri........Pumps

I fear that the American public just loves to live in FEAR......
FEAR of anything......I guess that is what keeps their
"life's blood" going - FEAR.......

The marketing and advertising people in America have
convinced their customers that only bottled water is good
for you.......To the point that water is now being sold in
New York City for some $30 to $55 a litre (aka US quart).....

What idiots........

Tap water, city or well, contains minerals.....No one really
knows what kind but they are in there and have been
there for the history of the Earth......But, it does not come
in a bottle.......Some bottle waters are filtered tap water......
Some are filtered well water......Some are even purified in
order to take all taste out and then chemically treated to
add the taste back in......(Something to do with quality
control.)......

Well the expensive brands in New York City contain
magnesium, calcium and potassium......Goodie for them.....
If you need and want these minerals in you body may
I suggest one simple thing.......

Take a "multivitamin" tablet and down it with a glass
of tap or well water......It is a hell of a lot cheaper in the
long run, any you blame any bad taste on the pill....Pumps

Today I got to know Stanley's first name......Or was it.....

He is the man who takes my order at my local
Chinese take out restaurant.......Since the little shop
was empty, at the 4PM hour, I asked him his name......

He said, " Stanley"......."No, I said, your given name."
He answered, "Shen-Li"........Then I said, "What do
they "call" you".......His answer was "Big Hong".......

I concluded many years ago that it was best to ask
an "immigrant" their "real" name.....For some reason
it shows some sign or "respect" between two
human beings......

My Chinese food order will not change a bit the next
time I ask for "Big Hong", but at least he knows
that he has another American friend.......Pumps

When American was formed its founders set up a
government of the people.....Elected officials went to
Washington DC, represented the people who sent
him there and then went back home to resume
their life........Good system......

Then someone found out they had a job in Washington,
that was better then the one home, if they just stayed
there and got re-elected every so often.....The longer
you hung around, DC, the more power you got --- boy!
not a bad "gig".......

In two hundred years plus, the original idea has turned
into a mess......Politicians spend more time trying to
get re-elected, and hold on to their good job, then they
care about the people who voted them into office.......

But the system has not become fool proof.....Thanks to
the Founding Fathers......That is because of the word
VOTE.......Every 2, 4 or 6 years the "people" can
vote someone OUT of office and another one IN.......

What also gets me is that some politicians just "fear"
being voted "out of office"......Like they are not going to
starve or anything like that......Like they have the
best health care coverage in the world.....Like they
don't have to worry about an old age pension.........

What causes the fear of "loss of power", in men, that
they just become a useless political organism....Pumps

I do love Sir Isaac Newton's Third Law of Physics......That
being, "Every action has and equal and opposite reaction".....
Trying to convince the people of the world that their way of
life, what ever it may be, is causing the end of the world,
just is not working.......To the point that Global Warming is
beginning to be replaced by Climate Change.......

Several years ago, in my county, the local government tried
to ban loud noises which could be heard 50 feet away from
the vehicle......(This was to stop "boom-box" music sounds
from cars)......Law did not work because the "opposition"
said, "Then ban sirens on police cars, fire trucks and
ambulances"......(They make noise also.).......

Global Warming and Climate Control will take the same
path if laws are enacted........If you ban a light bulb then
what do you do with a car headlight?.........A motor
scooter vs. a lawn mower?......You get my "drift".......

The only way people will change their lifestyles is if the
World changes first......And even then it is not "change"
but "adapting"........Pumps

Well commercial television truly is becoming what its
name implies.....Every day, month, year, the TV stations
find a way to "sneak" in more commercial advertisement
time.......

A few years ago a 30 minute show had only 8 minutes
of commercials.....That is now being pushed to 9 minutes.....
I suspect soon to be 10......In an one hour "teleplay"
a script writer will only have to right 40 minutes worth......
Include the opening and closing "credits" and it will be even
less.......

The "cable channels", not the paid for ones, but the
"commercial" ones are adding commercials between some
1/2 hour "re-runs".....If there is a "mini-marathon" of the
same show the third show can start almost 6 minutes later
then its scheduled time......That is 6 extra minutes of
commercials in a hour-and-one-half time period........

Seems like the final result will be a TV program full of
commercials with a few minutes of "story" just "breaking
in" once in a while......And, do not get me into trying to
watch a movie on a "commercial channel".......Pumps

I helped repair a swamp cooler once in Arizona, back in the
mid '80s.....It is a simple air exchanger that has a fan and
running water......It is used to cool down homes in the desert
during periods of medium high heat......Like in the Spring
or Fall.....

Water flows in front of the fan and is cooled.....Then the water
droplets are blown into the housing duct work.....This
moisture takes the "edge" off the dry heat......It is something
like a cold water vaporizer or humidifier.....

Well there is a full page advertisement in the current issue
of the AARP Bulletin for a new gadget that does the same
thing......"Less costly than an air conditional" etc. and it
also includes an extra "water cartridge".......

This little unit, which is the size of an electric heater, costs
$300 plus, including shipping........I saw one of these little
room units some twenty years ago.....Then it cost $30......
I guess someone must have put a micro-chip in it....Pumps

I have written about this 3-in-1 deal before.....This is
the one that will combine your cable-internet-telephone
service and bill in one easy monthly payment......

The cable companies are trying to get into the telephone
business and the telephone companies in to the cable
business.....Therefore all the TV advertisement and the
belief that competition is good.....WRONG.....

Once you switch from one company to another, the new
company will "lock you in".....In the long run it will cost
you additional monies should you desire to change your
service again.....Your future "options" will be limited and
costly......

I am one that likes to keep my "options" open.....Triple
service can be $99 for the first year, then you are stuck
with $145.....I have concluded that if you keep your
communications "status quo" most likely the companies
will change you over for free when they have to.....If
they don't, they will lose "another" customer......
That is not cost effective to them in the long run.......

Still love my olde Western Electric dial rotary wall
telephone....Bought it in 1987 for $26 and it is still
working fine on my olde copper wires........

PS: Microsoft is going to spend millions in repairing their
X-Box game controllers.....Seems they are not holding
up after 2-3 years of use.....Pumps

Today is Al Gore's Live Earth Day......Concerts will be held on
all 7 continents but I doubt there will be much of a crowd in
Antarctica.......

All these concerts are to make the world aware of Global
Warming and what people of the world can do to "save the
planet"......(If you believe in GW in the first place.).....

Well the website carbonfootprint.com has come up with the
following figures regarding today's effort to save the world....
#1 The superstars will fly some 222,265 miles to do "their
thing"....(Burning a little bit of aviation fuel, I see).....
#2 The "carbon footprint" left behind by artists, spectators
and TV watchers will be some 74,500 tons of greenhouse gas......
#3 In England alone 65,000 spectators will produce some
59 tons of garbage, only a third of which will be able to be
recycled.....
#4 Any monies paid to the reduction of the "carbon footprint"
will be given to a company which will plant trees in
Mozambique........

Thus my conclusion is - that if you want to save the planet
then stay home.......When I find out how much money
Al Gore made, on the concerts today, I will post it on this
blog........Pumps

When it comes down to the Live Earth concerts, around the
world tomorrow on July 7, 2007, it becomes some what of
a "little" joke.......All the people who will participate in this
event have not lived long enough to experience any real
changes in the earth' overall temperature change.....

Thus from an Australian reporter, named A. Davies, comes
this fact, " It remains to be seen whether the concerts
(referring to past attempts on saving the world) come and
go with little more than a compilation CD to bear witness
to them"........

Yep, the attendees can tell their grandchildren that "I was
there" and "I have the CD" to prove it.....I suspect that in
2050 the CDs will have gone the way of the 8Track tape...

Time moves on......Pumps

Well, once again, I have started to keep my "TV Viewing
Diary" for a week......Yep, I can say that I did my little
bit for the TV ratings business......This is my second time
at.......

It is a little bit of an inconvenience to maintain a diary
for each TV you are watching in the house......It is all done
by TV station and in 15 minute increments.......To tell you
the truth, by the end of the 7 days, you are glad it is over,
finished and the diaries are mailed back to Florida.......

I guess for some legal reason, they do pay you for
maintaining the diary......They send you "one buck".....

The "ratings industry" is beginning to use feedback from
people who own TiVos......I suspect that other ways will
be found to tell the Networks what TV shows people are
watching, but for this week I am doing it the olde
fashioned way - a diary......Pumps

No, I have not seen Michael Moore's movie, nor do I have
any intention to.......Having taken some dozen gurney
rides, for various maladies, I am quite familiar with the
"good" and the "bad" of the United States health care
system.......

What gets to me is that Mr. Moore, in his promoting of his
film, claims that the health system in the United Kingdom
and Canada are better.......

Well this week's news has brought to light that the
60 million in England (which is slightly smaller than the
State of Oregon) have a national health system which
includes 90,000 foreign trained doctors......And that
England still has a very bad doctor shortage......
This means that only life threatening medical problems
are treated first.......God help you if you have a bad hip
or knee joint......The treatment wait can be as long as
52 weeks, just to get on the "to do" list.......

Admittedly, our American system is costly and does have
"cracks" that one can fall through.......But in the end
where will Mr. Moore go to have his "overweight" and
possible future heart problems taken care of?......
Cuba, India, Canada?........No, I suspect it will be the
Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.........Pumps

The answer is yes.......Years ago you worked, had children,
bought a house and earned nothing by modern standards.....
A buck or two an hour......

Today $10 an hour is considered "low waged" pay.......And
yes the price of everything has also gone up.......

Having a baby 40 years ago cost $250......Today it is in the
thousands of dollars......Worse yet, forget raising your
child in a blanket, you need every protective device sold
by "man" to insure their "good being".......

Where the heck do these young adults today get all the
money to buy this must have "legal protective crap"?.......
I guess if you are not married you can wait on line to
buy the new iPhone for $600 with a $700 yearly subscription
fee.....Otherwise hope the Pampers are on sale this week.....

Times have sure changed.....(As always)........Pumps

I guess I am a little bit of a fanatic when it comes to cooking
and the use of spices......My kitchen wall unit contains 36,
alone, not saying what kind of weird stuff I have in the
cabinet.......

The other day I bought some focaccia rolls....They are quite
large, about the size of a bagel, if it were square, and they
were covered with basil and oregano - thus making them
focaccia........

I can just see the machine that makes these rolls......
On the "line" somewhere basil and oregano has to be
flying all over the place, in order to "dust" the top of the
them, prior to baking or packaging.......

Now, you can buy a jar of basil for a little under a dollar in
some stores.....But go to the supermarket and a little jar
will run you over $3, for half the ounces of the $1 jar......

I know someone will tell me that the quality of the spice
is different and therefore one is more expensive than
the other......Bull, unless you are the finest of world chefs
and are preparing a "delicate" meal, throwing 2 teaspoons
of basil into a pot of crushed tomatoes, whether $3 or $1,
will give you the same taste result........

On a $20 "delicate" dish the hand chopped, garden fresh
basil picked that morning, will be noticed......But not that
dried stuff in a jar........

Them fancy supermarket spice merchants must be making
a small fortune selling those little jars of "gold"......Pumps