This is my 53rd column for the year 2011 and how, you may ask, can that be since I only publish on Saturdays and there are only 52 weeks in the year? Well, this year has been special in that it both started and ended on a Saturday. Therefore, there actually were 53 Saturdays in 2011.
Okay, go ahead and find you r calendar and count the weeks to be sure – I’ll wait.
Because this is a bonus Saturday, I’m going to use it to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going to write the closest thing to a newsletter that I can come up with. So, if you don’t care to read peoples annual newsletters, you have my permission to skip this column. (But I hope you won’t)
The year has been momentous for me. I continued to work on my “bucket list” with a couple of road trips, managed to keep my finances in order and healthy, spent almost the entire month of July shuttling between home and the hospital, and gained back some of the pounds I lost over the past two years of dieting.
First, let’s tackle that added weight! You would think that a cardiac event and a steady diet of Healthy Choice, Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine would at least keep a person at the current weight. But no, all the extras that came to the table on Sundays (dinner with the extended family) and on road trips (not all motels and hotels come with microwave ovens in the rooms) added on the pounds a little at a time. At year’s end I have put back on 12 of the 30 pounds I lost last year. It looks like there’s gonna be some fast days in 2012.
In May, Judy and I drove to New England. In the process I added four more states to my list of places I’ve visited: Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine. The only states I haven’t ever been through are North Dakota and Alaska. Well, maybe I haven’t been to eleven of them. According to President Obama, he visited 57 states during his 2008 campaign, but he never got to Hawaii or Alaska. Somehow, I doubt that I’ll ever get to all 59 states, but there’s still time. I still have to learn the names and locations of nine of them.
My implanted pacemaker was due for a checkup in early July, and when the technician hooked up the monitor she discovered that I was in atrial flutter again. That’s when the upper heart chamber (atrium) beats faster than the lower one (ventricle). The doctor scheduled me for a procedure called ablation. They insert a catheter with a laser on the end through the groin and up into the heart. Then the laser burns a little tissue in the atrium. That interrupts the heart’s natural pacemaker and brings the heart back to sinus rhythm. It sounds painful and complicated, but I was in la-la land during the whole thing, so all I cared about was that it worked. Ta-da!
Complications set in and I was back in the hospital two more times in the next two weeks for repairs. Then, after that finally worked, my ticker decided to act up and I got a ride back to the hospital in an ambulance for a three-day stay and yet another catheterization.
All this medical care cost Medicare beaucoup bucks, and I didn’t even enjoy it.
With all that surgery, you’d think that I’d be good as new, but that isn’t the case. My Cardiologist says that there are no further grafts or PTCA procedures—called Balloon angioplasties—available to me to salvage whatever is left of my heart, so medicine is my only remedy. The next time I have a cardiac event will probably be my last time. That’s life and I accept it!
In October we drove up to Chapel Hill, NC for my sister-in-law’s reception. She remarried two years after my brother, Don, passed away, and I’m very happy for her and her new husband, Allan. Then we continued to Indiana to visit Judy’s aunt and uncle, and on to Kansas City to visit old friends there. We returned via Alabama with the intention of doing some sightseeing in the northern part of the state, but the weather foiled us, and we didn’t see half of what we had planned. Oh well, another time we’ll get there, since it is an easy drive over and back.
October also saw my grandson, Chase, go to Army boot camp at Fort Leonard Wood. He just came home on leave last week, and he seems to be 30 pounds lighter and about 4 inches taller. We’re very proud of him.
You may have noticed that I started something new back in November. I have a new daily message that I send out to those in my address book called, “Your Daily Dose of Humor.” I send a joke, a cartoon or a video each day. I get these from you, and I dole them out one at a time instead of immediately forwarding them. I have a continuous feed and always have a dozen or more ready to send.
By the way, if you ever prefer that I stop sending you my column alerts or daily humor updates, just send me a short message and I’ll remove you from the list. You always have that option.
I hope that the year 2012 will be at least as good as this past one has been, and I also hope that I haven’t bored you with my summary of 2011. I know that I’m living on borrowed time from now on, so I guess I have to hope that I’ll get in another 52 columns next year. I look forward to it with optimism, enthusiasm and anticipation.
Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Donations That Give 100-percent
Here is a wonderful idea that I read about this past week. It is too late this year to take action, but keep it in mind for next year around Thanksgiving. In fact, I will try to make a note to publish this column again about the middle of November to remind you.
I read a column authored by Crista Huff that told of anonymous donors were paying off the layaway bills for customers at Kmart. She thought it was an excellent way to provide charity without all the administrative costs.
I guess we’ve all seen the stories that circulate in emails about those huge salaries that directors of the large charitable organizations draw. Whether or not they are truly that large, there certainly are a lot of expenses that eat up our donations.
So here is a neat way to provide for those in need and feel good about doing it on a personal, hometown level. The article that brought this to Miss Huff’s attention, and later to mine, Was published in the Detroit Free Press and titled, Anonymous Donors Pay Strangers’ Christmas Layaway Accounts. If you care enough to read that article, I’ve provided a link for you.
Here is some of the advice I took from both the article and the column. Don’t just blindly pay on someone’s layaway account, but try to do some investigation (perhaps with the department manager) as to what is on layaway and to whom the gifts will go. Maybe the manager will have some useful input as to the financial situation of some of the people who have gifts on layaway. In one case cited in the article the person in need was one of the store employees who had recently lost her husband and was providing for several kids.
You might be thinking that paying off a layaway account could be a big expense for you, a larger amount than you really want to give. That’s okay too, because you don’t have to completely pay off an account. Maybe you can pay off $25-50 of an account. It still helps, and your donation could change a hopeful gift to a realized one.
One thing you want to keep in mind is that you should leave a balance of a few dollars on the account so that it remains open. The Layaway Manager can call the customer to break the news that the balance is minimal. If you pay the account off and the customer is not present to take the merchandise, there is a chance that it will get put back into inventory and the customer will never get it.
Of course there are other ways that you can donate so that some little boy or girl will get a gift. The best ones I can think of are the United States Marines’ Toys for Tots program and the Angel Tree that is usually in the vestibule of Wal-Mart, Kmart or Target stores. Go investigate these programs if you want to donate but cannot afford a large amount.
Whatever the gift, If you are blessed with some spare cash and want to make a difference, I cannot think of a better way to do it than to use one of these vehicles to donate and get the biggest “bang-for-the-buck.”
And remember that charity doesn’t have to be a Christmastime activity. As the song, The Secret of Christmas says, “It’s not the things you do at Christmas time, but the Christmas things you do all year through.”
I read a column authored by Crista Huff that told of anonymous donors were paying off the layaway bills for customers at Kmart. She thought it was an excellent way to provide charity without all the administrative costs.
I guess we’ve all seen the stories that circulate in emails about those huge salaries that directors of the large charitable organizations draw. Whether or not they are truly that large, there certainly are a lot of expenses that eat up our donations.
So here is a neat way to provide for those in need and feel good about doing it on a personal, hometown level. The article that brought this to Miss Huff’s attention, and later to mine, Was published in the Detroit Free Press and titled, Anonymous Donors Pay Strangers’ Christmas Layaway Accounts. If you care enough to read that article, I’ve provided a link for you.
Here is some of the advice I took from both the article and the column. Don’t just blindly pay on someone’s layaway account, but try to do some investigation (perhaps with the department manager) as to what is on layaway and to whom the gifts will go. Maybe the manager will have some useful input as to the financial situation of some of the people who have gifts on layaway. In one case cited in the article the person in need was one of the store employees who had recently lost her husband and was providing for several kids.
You might be thinking that paying off a layaway account could be a big expense for you, a larger amount than you really want to give. That’s okay too, because you don’t have to completely pay off an account. Maybe you can pay off $25-50 of an account. It still helps, and your donation could change a hopeful gift to a realized one.
One thing you want to keep in mind is that you should leave a balance of a few dollars on the account so that it remains open. The Layaway Manager can call the customer to break the news that the balance is minimal. If you pay the account off and the customer is not present to take the merchandise, there is a chance that it will get put back into inventory and the customer will never get it.
Of course there are other ways that you can donate so that some little boy or girl will get a gift. The best ones I can think of are the United States Marines’ Toys for Tots program and the Angel Tree that is usually in the vestibule of Wal-Mart, Kmart or Target stores. Go investigate these programs if you want to donate but cannot afford a large amount.
Whatever the gift, If you are blessed with some spare cash and want to make a difference, I cannot think of a better way to do it than to use one of these vehicles to donate and get the biggest “bang-for-the-buck.”
And remember that charity doesn’t have to be a Christmastime activity. As the song, The Secret of Christmas says, “It’s not the things you do at Christmas time, but the Christmas things you do all year through.”
Saturday, December 17, 2011
How Do You Spell Hanakkuh?
No, in answer to your question, I am not Jewish. Not that I would mind if I was, but I am not, and I don’t expect to convert at this late stage of life.
Earlier this week a conversation started over the spelling of the Jewish Hanukkah (sp?). The original dialog included a Jew who wished us all a Merry Xmas and himself a Happy Chanukah.
I sent back a query as to how the Jewish Festival of Lights (this year it starts at sunset on December 20 and ends at sunset on December 28) should be spelled. I’ve seen it spelled several different ways, as I’m sure you have.
One of the other recipients of my group email responded with a link to Sixteen Ways to Spell Hanukkah. That link spurred my curiosity and I read the column along with some posted comments.
I will give the credit for the article to its author, Joe Maller, but I will summarize it for you as to the parts I wish to use. The link is available by clicking on his title in case you want to read it.
The sixteen accepted ways to spell “the word” are: Chanukah, Hanukah, Hannukah, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Hanuka, Channukah, Chanukka, Hanukka, Hannuka, Hannukkah, Channuka, Xanuka, Hannukka, Channukkah, channukka and Chanuqa.
I must say that through research I found 5 more ways to spell “the word”, but I won’t spell them now. I will give you the four phonetic variations, which were used above:
· The word starts with “H” or “CH”
· The second consonant is “nn” or “n”
· The third consonant is “kk” or “k”
· The word ends with “a” or “ah”
Mr. Maller also provides the number of Google “hits” that were tried during the year 2011, and there are literally millions of them. I don’t profess to know how Google keeps track of these things, or how Mr. Maller had access to the numbers.
The “preferred” spelling at the Library of Congress in Washington is Hanukkah. My Jewish friend with whom the discourse started spells it Chanukah, and the Hebrew spelling—in case you’re interested—is חֲנֻכָּה.
A big reason that Jewish words are spelled differently in our translation is the fact that Jews love to argue. And they aren’t necessarily argumentative; they consider it a good mental exercise. What better to argue over than the spelling of a word? It’s harmless, and you know that if you put two Jews together and ask them how to spell Hanukkah, you’ll get twenty minutes of debate, 5 different spellings and each of them will go away with the same spelling they started with, discarding any others because each thinks his is the “right one” and shaking their heads to cool their brains after all that exercise.
Now that you and I know how to spell “the word”, I also found a cute video in one of the posts on Mr. Maller’s article. If you have a few minutes do watch it.
http://vimeo.com/8264593
And before I forget, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas or a Happy Hanukkah (sp?)
Earlier this week a conversation started over the spelling of the Jewish Hanukkah (sp?). The original dialog included a Jew who wished us all a Merry Xmas and himself a Happy Chanukah.
I sent back a query as to how the Jewish Festival of Lights (this year it starts at sunset on December 20 and ends at sunset on December 28) should be spelled. I’ve seen it spelled several different ways, as I’m sure you have.
One of the other recipients of my group email responded with a link to Sixteen Ways to Spell Hanukkah. That link spurred my curiosity and I read the column along with some posted comments.
I will give the credit for the article to its author, Joe Maller, but I will summarize it for you as to the parts I wish to use. The link is available by clicking on his title in case you want to read it.
The sixteen accepted ways to spell “the word” are: Chanukah, Hanukah, Hannukah, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Hanuka, Channukah, Chanukka, Hanukka, Hannuka, Hannukkah, Channuka, Xanuka, Hannukka, Channukkah, channukka and Chanuqa.
I must say that through research I found 5 more ways to spell “the word”, but I won’t spell them now. I will give you the four phonetic variations, which were used above:
· The word starts with “H” or “CH”
· The second consonant is “nn” or “n”
· The third consonant is “kk” or “k”
· The word ends with “a” or “ah”
Mr. Maller also provides the number of Google “hits” that were tried during the year 2011, and there are literally millions of them. I don’t profess to know how Google keeps track of these things, or how Mr. Maller had access to the numbers.
The “preferred” spelling at the Library of Congress in Washington is Hanukkah. My Jewish friend with whom the discourse started spells it Chanukah, and the Hebrew spelling—in case you’re interested—is חֲנֻכָּה.
A big reason that Jewish words are spelled differently in our translation is the fact that Jews love to argue. And they aren’t necessarily argumentative; they consider it a good mental exercise. What better to argue over than the spelling of a word? It’s harmless, and you know that if you put two Jews together and ask them how to spell Hanukkah, you’ll get twenty minutes of debate, 5 different spellings and each of them will go away with the same spelling they started with, discarding any others because each thinks his is the “right one” and shaking their heads to cool their brains after all that exercise.
Now that you and I know how to spell “the word”, I also found a cute video in one of the posts on Mr. Maller’s article. If you have a few minutes do watch it.
http://vimeo.com/8264593
And before I forget, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas or a Happy Hanukkah (sp?)
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Community Sharing
My wife and I recently stayed in Oxford, Ohio, a small college town. It was the source of two interesting facts I didn’t previously know: Oxford is the home of Miami University – the other one always called “Miami of Ohio”. It is also a town with a hotel that shares its swimming facilities with the local residents.
The hotel we stayed in had indoor pool and hot tub. I’m not prone to use the pool, but I do love a hot soak after a long day of travel, which is the main reason we chose that particular hotel in the first place.
When I was checking out at the front desk I noticed a sign in sheet for the ‘pool club’ so I asked about it.
I was told that Miami University doesn’t have a swim team. Therefore, they also have no swimming pool for the students to use. The hotel owner decided to allow the students – and I suppose anyone else not registered as a guest of the hotel – to pay a fee and use the pool facilities.
Well, upon further research I learned that the above is completely false. The Miami Redhawks boast both men’s and women’s swim teams that are very competitive, and I’m pretty certain that the pool is available to students for classes and leisure time swimming.
However, I believe I have the real reason there is a fee-only ‘pool club’ at that hotel. It is probably a defensive move by the hotel owner to limit pool use by non-guests and to also satisfy insurance requirements for pool use by them.
I can’t count the times I’ve stayed in hotels with indoor or outdoor pools, spas and exercise rooms where I’ve struck up a conversation with another hot tub user, only to learn that they live nearby and are using the facilities on the sly.
I know, the hotels have installed key-card locks on the doors to discourage non-guest use, but there are easy ways to get around that barrier as I frequently learn. Kids are usually adept at convincing a hotel guest that they “…forgot the room key” and need someone to open the pool door for them. Once inside, they then open the door for any of their friends to also use the pool.
Anyone who wishes to participate in the ‘pool club’ must sign a waiver of liability and then pay a fee of either $5.00 per day, or $35.00 per month. It is a perfect way to accommodate the students and realize a small profit at the same time.
No, I’m not going to blow the whistle on the hotel and divulge its name. This is an isolated case that might cause repercussions for the hotel owner. However, I think it is a great way to utilize the hotel facilities to the fullest extent while sharing with the students at the college. My hat – if I wore one – is off to the owner for that hotel.
The hotel we stayed in had indoor pool and hot tub. I’m not prone to use the pool, but I do love a hot soak after a long day of travel, which is the main reason we chose that particular hotel in the first place.
When I was checking out at the front desk I noticed a sign in sheet for the ‘pool club’ so I asked about it.
I was told that Miami University doesn’t have a swim team. Therefore, they also have no swimming pool for the students to use. The hotel owner decided to allow the students – and I suppose anyone else not registered as a guest of the hotel – to pay a fee and use the pool facilities.
Well, upon further research I learned that the above is completely false. The Miami Redhawks boast both men’s and women’s swim teams that are very competitive, and I’m pretty certain that the pool is available to students for classes and leisure time swimming.
However, I believe I have the real reason there is a fee-only ‘pool club’ at that hotel. It is probably a defensive move by the hotel owner to limit pool use by non-guests and to also satisfy insurance requirements for pool use by them.
I can’t count the times I’ve stayed in hotels with indoor or outdoor pools, spas and exercise rooms where I’ve struck up a conversation with another hot tub user, only to learn that they live nearby and are using the facilities on the sly.
I know, the hotels have installed key-card locks on the doors to discourage non-guest use, but there are easy ways to get around that barrier as I frequently learn. Kids are usually adept at convincing a hotel guest that they “…forgot the room key” and need someone to open the pool door for them. Once inside, they then open the door for any of their friends to also use the pool.
Anyone who wishes to participate in the ‘pool club’ must sign a waiver of liability and then pay a fee of either $5.00 per day, or $35.00 per month. It is a perfect way to accommodate the students and realize a small profit at the same time.
No, I’m not going to blow the whistle on the hotel and divulge its name. This is an isolated case that might cause repercussions for the hotel owner. However, I think it is a great way to utilize the hotel facilities to the fullest extent while sharing with the students at the college. My hat – if I wore one – is off to the owner for that hotel.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
A Tale about Tails
Have you heard the latest news? Jerry Sandusky was caught in the shower abusing Herman Cain. Or maybe it was the other way around, I don’t know which is worse…
Just kidding, that didn’t happen, but don’t put it past the mainstream media to try to print something that ridiculous if it will sell the news.
I’m going to attempt to cover two topics in this column, and they are about the two people named above, Jerry Sandusky and Herman Cain. Well, obviously both have been in the news a lot lately, Sandusky for his alleged child abuse and Cain for his alleged sexual harassment.
Note: Both of these cases are about S-E-X. Child abuse was when my father used to use his razor strop and give me 10 or 20 lashes depending on the severity of my misdeed in his mind. There was nothing sexual about it, so I wish the news media would quit calling what Jerry Sandusky was alleged to have done, “child abuse.” Properly labeled, it was homosexual pedophilia.
Note 2: Sexual harassment, on the other hand, can be anything from demeaning remarks about the opposite gender to making uninvited and unwanted sexual advances. However, it is rare for sexual harassment to occur between members of the same sex, or when a female perpetrates it on a male. (Kind of like saying that racism can only be committed by whites on blacks, but not by black-on-white or black-on-black—unless the black who commits it happens to be a conservative black.)
Now, let me examine these two alleged cases of—let’s call them what they are—sexual abuse for you.
First I have a confession to make; one that I have never discussed with anyone in the 50+ years sine it happened. I want to be considered an “expert” on this topic, so I must tell you that I was a victim of sexual abuse as a young boy. I won’t mention any name, and it would be irrelevant at this time anyway, because my molester is long since dead.
Enough said for now…
It is my firm opinion that a person who commits sexual acts of the alleged nature that has been reported is addicted to that behavior. They do not have the ability to stop it, and they cannot be rehabilitated or reformed. Once they are committed to the act, they will continue to commit it wherever and whenever they can. There is no “come to Jesus” moment for these addicts. They are hooked for life.
In the case of Jerry Sandusky, his first reported act was in 1998. That was when another coach saw him in the shower with a younger male. He was later seen several times in situations that suggested covert or overt sexual behavior with young males. That pattern of behavior over a span of several years suggests the addiction I refer to above. If it proves to be true, Jerry Sandusky is every bit the threat to young males today as he was in 1998. It has even come out now that he may have abused his grand children.
When people are convicted of pedophilia, whether heterosexual or homosexual, I can think of only one appropriate punishment: castration. They might want to continue to commit acts, but they will no longer have the equipment to do so effectively. Women who are addicted to pedophilia can also have their own form of castration. It is called female circumcision, but more commonly referred to in our society as female genital mutilation.
Ah, but there is an exception that must be taken into consideration. It is unfortunate that cases of statutory rape could also be construed as pedophilia, and I don’t advocate for the radical punishment in those instances. I can only suggest that the line between the two be drawn at six years of age difference. Since 18 is the usual age of majority that would give some leeway for young adults up to 23-years-old having consensual sex with a minor.
Please notice that, although my suggested punishment is severe, I do not feel that serving a term in prison is an adequate or appropriate sentence for convicted pedophiles. That kind of punishment would only foster more bad behavior both in prison and after release.
The mutilation sentence would be sufficient in my view.
In the case of alleged sexual harassment against Herman Cain, I will refer you back to the above belief on my part that a person who commits these acts is addicted and continues to commit them for the rest of their life. Therefore, we should be seeing a lot of women who worked for, or had contact with Mr. Cain in many cities and on many different calendar dates since the alleged acts 10 years ago, coming forward with more charges.
To date*, I believe all of the women who have alleged sexual misconduct on Mr. Cain’s part have been from Chicago. All the alleged acts were said to have taken place within the four years, 1996-1999, when Mr. Cain was head of the National Restaurant Association.
Isn’t it exceedingly strange that nobody else has brought up charges of sexual misconduct from 2000 to the present day? Isn’t it also strange that all the misconduct occurred in and around the city of Chicago? Is there something in the water there that temporarily turns people into sex fiends? Is there any possible connection between the city where the charges were laid and the city our current president calls home?
I might be way off base here, but remember, I consider myself an expert analyst. I know from my own experience that coming forward to accuse someone of sexual misconduct is a very difficult thing to do. I suffered a lot of guilt over the years that maybe I had been a direct cause of the abuse. I was also embarrassed and mortified to admit to anyone that I had participated, even though it was not consensual. (I don’t recall seeing any names of Mr. Sandusky’s victims, and there is a reason for that. Those boys were probably also reluctant to confess participation.)
I believe Herman Cain’s statement that he had nothing to do with any of these women’s allegations. He is guiltless in my opinion, and a stronger candidate because of it. Jerry Sandusky is in a much worse position to plead not guilty, and I wish castration were on the table for him.
In conclusion I have only two more questions, both rhetorical:
1. If you believed my “confession” without any concrete proof, doesn’t that make my statement equally as credible as those of the five women who accused Herman Cain?
2. But thinking back, didn’t that titillating paragraph give you more reason to read the entire column?
Maybe I should have been a news reporter.
*I wrote all of the foregoing prior to the announcement earlier this week by Ginger White that she has had a 13-year-long affair with Herman Cain. That brings into question my theory that sexual offenders are addicted and continue their behavior and Cain is not one of those people.
Do I believe the accuser or the accused? I definitely believe Mr. Cain for three reasons. He denies the allegation and his wife backs him and states that she does not believe he is capable of such behavior. Those who know Herman on a personal or working setting agree that he is not that kind of person. Ginger White has a long and shadowed past of stalking, sexual harassment and financial troubles. She recently declared bankruptcy, so it would seem to be to her advantage to get some sensational national publicity that might lead to better days ahead.
If Herman Cain does quit the campaign, it won’t necessarily signify that he is guilty of the alleged transgressions. It is more logical to conclude that the character assassination is ruining his family life regardless of the truth. The double standard used by the news media that allows some people a pass on misconduct, but crucifies others for the same behavior merely because of their political philosophy is ridiculous. The talking heads talk about civility and toning down the language, but practice destructive slander based on nothing but innuendo and, in some cases, lies.
Just kidding, that didn’t happen, but don’t put it past the mainstream media to try to print something that ridiculous if it will sell the news.
I’m going to attempt to cover two topics in this column, and they are about the two people named above, Jerry Sandusky and Herman Cain. Well, obviously both have been in the news a lot lately, Sandusky for his alleged child abuse and Cain for his alleged sexual harassment.
Note: Both of these cases are about S-E-X. Child abuse was when my father used to use his razor strop and give me 10 or 20 lashes depending on the severity of my misdeed in his mind. There was nothing sexual about it, so I wish the news media would quit calling what Jerry Sandusky was alleged to have done, “child abuse.” Properly labeled, it was homosexual pedophilia.
Note 2: Sexual harassment, on the other hand, can be anything from demeaning remarks about the opposite gender to making uninvited and unwanted sexual advances. However, it is rare for sexual harassment to occur between members of the same sex, or when a female perpetrates it on a male. (Kind of like saying that racism can only be committed by whites on blacks, but not by black-on-white or black-on-black—unless the black who commits it happens to be a conservative black.)
Now, let me examine these two alleged cases of—let’s call them what they are—sexual abuse for you.
First I have a confession to make; one that I have never discussed with anyone in the 50+ years sine it happened. I want to be considered an “expert” on this topic, so I must tell you that I was a victim of sexual abuse as a young boy. I won’t mention any name, and it would be irrelevant at this time anyway, because my molester is long since dead.
Enough said for now…
It is my firm opinion that a person who commits sexual acts of the alleged nature that has been reported is addicted to that behavior. They do not have the ability to stop it, and they cannot be rehabilitated or reformed. Once they are committed to the act, they will continue to commit it wherever and whenever they can. There is no “come to Jesus” moment for these addicts. They are hooked for life.
In the case of Jerry Sandusky, his first reported act was in 1998. That was when another coach saw him in the shower with a younger male. He was later seen several times in situations that suggested covert or overt sexual behavior with young males. That pattern of behavior over a span of several years suggests the addiction I refer to above. If it proves to be true, Jerry Sandusky is every bit the threat to young males today as he was in 1998. It has even come out now that he may have abused his grand children.
When people are convicted of pedophilia, whether heterosexual or homosexual, I can think of only one appropriate punishment: castration. They might want to continue to commit acts, but they will no longer have the equipment to do so effectively. Women who are addicted to pedophilia can also have their own form of castration. It is called female circumcision, but more commonly referred to in our society as female genital mutilation.
Ah, but there is an exception that must be taken into consideration. It is unfortunate that cases of statutory rape could also be construed as pedophilia, and I don’t advocate for the radical punishment in those instances. I can only suggest that the line between the two be drawn at six years of age difference. Since 18 is the usual age of majority that would give some leeway for young adults up to 23-years-old having consensual sex with a minor.
Please notice that, although my suggested punishment is severe, I do not feel that serving a term in prison is an adequate or appropriate sentence for convicted pedophiles. That kind of punishment would only foster more bad behavior both in prison and after release.
The mutilation sentence would be sufficient in my view.
In the case of alleged sexual harassment against Herman Cain, I will refer you back to the above belief on my part that a person who commits these acts is addicted and continues to commit them for the rest of their life. Therefore, we should be seeing a lot of women who worked for, or had contact with Mr. Cain in many cities and on many different calendar dates since the alleged acts 10 years ago, coming forward with more charges.
To date*, I believe all of the women who have alleged sexual misconduct on Mr. Cain’s part have been from Chicago. All the alleged acts were said to have taken place within the four years, 1996-1999, when Mr. Cain was head of the National Restaurant Association.
Isn’t it exceedingly strange that nobody else has brought up charges of sexual misconduct from 2000 to the present day? Isn’t it also strange that all the misconduct occurred in and around the city of Chicago? Is there something in the water there that temporarily turns people into sex fiends? Is there any possible connection between the city where the charges were laid and the city our current president calls home?
I might be way off base here, but remember, I consider myself an expert analyst. I know from my own experience that coming forward to accuse someone of sexual misconduct is a very difficult thing to do. I suffered a lot of guilt over the years that maybe I had been a direct cause of the abuse. I was also embarrassed and mortified to admit to anyone that I had participated, even though it was not consensual. (I don’t recall seeing any names of Mr. Sandusky’s victims, and there is a reason for that. Those boys were probably also reluctant to confess participation.)
I believe Herman Cain’s statement that he had nothing to do with any of these women’s allegations. He is guiltless in my opinion, and a stronger candidate because of it. Jerry Sandusky is in a much worse position to plead not guilty, and I wish castration were on the table for him.
In conclusion I have only two more questions, both rhetorical:
1. If you believed my “confession” without any concrete proof, doesn’t that make my statement equally as credible as those of the five women who accused Herman Cain?
2. But thinking back, didn’t that titillating paragraph give you more reason to read the entire column?
Maybe I should have been a news reporter.
*I wrote all of the foregoing prior to the announcement earlier this week by Ginger White that she has had a 13-year-long affair with Herman Cain. That brings into question my theory that sexual offenders are addicted and continue their behavior and Cain is not one of those people.
Do I believe the accuser or the accused? I definitely believe Mr. Cain for three reasons. He denies the allegation and his wife backs him and states that she does not believe he is capable of such behavior. Those who know Herman on a personal or working setting agree that he is not that kind of person. Ginger White has a long and shadowed past of stalking, sexual harassment and financial troubles. She recently declared bankruptcy, so it would seem to be to her advantage to get some sensational national publicity that might lead to better days ahead.
If Herman Cain does quit the campaign, it won’t necessarily signify that he is guilty of the alleged transgressions. It is more logical to conclude that the character assassination is ruining his family life regardless of the truth. The double standard used by the news media that allows some people a pass on misconduct, but crucifies others for the same behavior merely because of their political philosophy is ridiculous. The talking heads talk about civility and toning down the language, but practice destructive slander based on nothing but innuendo and, in some cases, lies.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Killer Tips – Part 2
I gave you five tips in a recent column and promised more to follow. Well, this is the follow-up column with five more “killer tips.”
Tip 6 – When driving in hazardous conditions with either wet pavement or snow and ice on the roads, never drive with your cruise control on and shift out of overdrive-usually the gearshift position with an encircled D-and use the next lower gear. In most automatic transmission vehicles, that will be the D with no circle around it. You will have much better traction and control of your vehicle. You can also use this downshift on steep uphill or downhill grades to get better traction and avoid overuse and heating of your brakes on downhill roads, as it will hold your speed down considerably. I always use this downshift tip when there is a road sign warning truckers to use lower gears.
Tip 7 – This one is state law in most states, but so many drivers ignore it that it needs to be in here. When driving in rain, snow or fog, in addition to turning on your windshield wipers also turn on your low beam headlights. Don’t use just parking lights since they aren’t as effective. This is not only for you to see better, but so that your vehicle can be seen by the oncoming and following traffic. Don’t use high beams at all. If you’ve ever tried that in snow or fog, you’ll know that it tends to blind you, and it certainly doesn’t make you any more visible to other drivers.
Tip 8 – Do you have some money sitting in a dormant account that you’ve forgotten about? A few years ago I was reading one of my daily Kim Komando messages and she gave a link to a website that allows you to learn whether or not there is a sum waiting for you to claim it. I used the tip to view the web page and subsequently claimed $78.70 for the price of two postage stamps. It was money I didn’t know I was owed, and I still have no idea specifically where it came from.
If you’ve never done this before, take a few minutes to go to missing money. Follow the instructions to type in your name and see if you have some unclaimed money out there. If you’re married, type in your spouse’s name too. Don’t neglect to use maiden name as well. It will only take a few minutes to complete the scan, and you might find a windfall similar to or even larger than mine.
Tip 9 – We all know the old sage saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Did you know that that apple could also do more good if eaten in the morning when you first get up? It isn’t true that it is better than coffee at waking you up. That myth has been debunked. However, eating an apple first thing in the morning is just about the healthiest thing you can do, so choose your variety and take a bite. Here’s a link to an article that tells of all the benefits you’ll get from eating just one apple each day.
Tip 10 – This one is near and dear to my heart, pun intended. If you ever are witness to someone collapsing with danger of losing consciousness or worse, you may be the only person who can save that person’s life. You might not be trained in CPR techniques, but you can still make the difference. When you finish reading this column I’d like you to go to the following link and read about how to administer hands-only-CPR.
The few minutes it takes to read the article might be enough for you to save a loved one, a friend or even a complete stranger. Hands-only-CPR is easy enough to administer that almost anyone can do it, even without formal training.
There you have it. I’ve given you ten tips, some of which I’ve covered in past columns, but all bearing repeating. Some of them just might save your life too.
Tip 6 – When driving in hazardous conditions with either wet pavement or snow and ice on the roads, never drive with your cruise control on and shift out of overdrive-usually the gearshift position with an encircled D-and use the next lower gear. In most automatic transmission vehicles, that will be the D with no circle around it. You will have much better traction and control of your vehicle. You can also use this downshift on steep uphill or downhill grades to get better traction and avoid overuse and heating of your brakes on downhill roads, as it will hold your speed down considerably. I always use this downshift tip when there is a road sign warning truckers to use lower gears.
Tip 7 – This one is state law in most states, but so many drivers ignore it that it needs to be in here. When driving in rain, snow or fog, in addition to turning on your windshield wipers also turn on your low beam headlights. Don’t use just parking lights since they aren’t as effective. This is not only for you to see better, but so that your vehicle can be seen by the oncoming and following traffic. Don’t use high beams at all. If you’ve ever tried that in snow or fog, you’ll know that it tends to blind you, and it certainly doesn’t make you any more visible to other drivers.
Tip 8 – Do you have some money sitting in a dormant account that you’ve forgotten about? A few years ago I was reading one of my daily Kim Komando messages and she gave a link to a website that allows you to learn whether or not there is a sum waiting for you to claim it. I used the tip to view the web page and subsequently claimed $78.70 for the price of two postage stamps. It was money I didn’t know I was owed, and I still have no idea specifically where it came from.
If you’ve never done this before, take a few minutes to go to missing money. Follow the instructions to type in your name and see if you have some unclaimed money out there. If you’re married, type in your spouse’s name too. Don’t neglect to use maiden name as well. It will only take a few minutes to complete the scan, and you might find a windfall similar to or even larger than mine.
Tip 9 – We all know the old sage saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Did you know that that apple could also do more good if eaten in the morning when you first get up? It isn’t true that it is better than coffee at waking you up. That myth has been debunked. However, eating an apple first thing in the morning is just about the healthiest thing you can do, so choose your variety and take a bite. Here’s a link to an article that tells of all the benefits you’ll get from eating just one apple each day.
Tip 10 – This one is near and dear to my heart, pun intended. If you ever are witness to someone collapsing with danger of losing consciousness or worse, you may be the only person who can save that person’s life. You might not be trained in CPR techniques, but you can still make the difference. When you finish reading this column I’d like you to go to the following link and read about how to administer hands-only-CPR.
The few minutes it takes to read the article might be enough for you to save a loved one, a friend or even a complete stranger. Hands-only-CPR is easy enough to administer that almost anyone can do it, even without formal training.
There you have it. I’ve given you ten tips, some of which I’ve covered in past columns, but all bearing repeating. Some of them just might save your life too.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Super Autobiographical Memory
Tuesday night I was watching one of my favorite television shows, Unforgettable. If you haven’t ever watched it, it stars Poppy Montgomery as a NYPD detective who has a condition called super autobiographical memory, the ability to recall every day of her life in perfect detail. She solves crimes by visiting the crime scene and then later revisiting it in her memory to detect fine details. It is a fascinating show.
This past week Marilu Henner was a guest star, a person I hadn’t seen in many years. My wife and I were at a loss to recall what series she had been in. So after the show was over I went to my trusty PC and Googled ‘Marilu Henner’. (Well, actually I input Marilou because I didn’t know that her stage name was a combination of her real first and middle names, Mary and Lucy.)
The series she played in was, of course, Taxi, a show that made stars out of several people including Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kauffman.
What really shocked me was another link that referred to ‘Marilu Henner’s Super-Memory Summit’. That peaked my interest, so I clicked on the link and learned that Marilu is one of only a handful of people who actually have super autobiographical memory. You can give a calendar date for any day she has been alive and she can tell you what day of the week it was and relate many details about what happened that day, including what clothes she wore and many other trivial facts.
It was no shock for me to also learn that Marilu Henner is a consultant for Unforgettable. Who better to consult than a person with the gift on which the show is based?
I read on and learned that Marilu is a personal friend of Leslie Stahl, one of the reporters on CBS’s 60 Minutes. It seems that that show wanted to do a feature on super autobiographical memory, and tried to talk Leslie into doing it. She refused at first, but then took on the assignment after it was learned that Marilu Henner would be one of the subjects.
The resultant clip featured half-a-dozen people, including Henner, who were assembled at one location and showcased their talents. If you care to see Marilu Henner's Super-Memory Summit, click on the link.
Now here is a really humorous fact about the show I watched on Tuesday… The character that Marilu Henner played was an aunt of Poppy’s character who was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. How’s that for irony?
This past week Marilu Henner was a guest star, a person I hadn’t seen in many years. My wife and I were at a loss to recall what series she had been in. So after the show was over I went to my trusty PC and Googled ‘Marilu Henner’. (Well, actually I input Marilou because I didn’t know that her stage name was a combination of her real first and middle names, Mary and Lucy.)
The series she played in was, of course, Taxi, a show that made stars out of several people including Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kauffman.
What really shocked me was another link that referred to ‘Marilu Henner’s Super-Memory Summit’. That peaked my interest, so I clicked on the link and learned that Marilu is one of only a handful of people who actually have super autobiographical memory. You can give a calendar date for any day she has been alive and she can tell you what day of the week it was and relate many details about what happened that day, including what clothes she wore and many other trivial facts.
It was no shock for me to also learn that Marilu Henner is a consultant for Unforgettable. Who better to consult than a person with the gift on which the show is based?
I read on and learned that Marilu is a personal friend of Leslie Stahl, one of the reporters on CBS’s 60 Minutes. It seems that that show wanted to do a feature on super autobiographical memory, and tried to talk Leslie into doing it. She refused at first, but then took on the assignment after it was learned that Marilu Henner would be one of the subjects.
The resultant clip featured half-a-dozen people, including Henner, who were assembled at one location and showcased their talents. If you care to see Marilu Henner's Super-Memory Summit, click on the link.
Now here is a really humorous fact about the show I watched on Tuesday… The character that Marilu Henner played was an aunt of Poppy’s character who was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. How’s that for irony?
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Crime and Punishment
Yesterday was Veterans Day and I placed my American flag outside to display it in honor of those veterans who gave the Supreme Sacrifice for our country. I hope you did likewise, or at least paused to meditate and reflect on the military heroes of America.
Unfortunately, there was a news report yesterday that marred the otherwise peaceful time of contemplation and, yes, thanksgiving. Here is a brief capsule of that story:
Lewis-McChord soldier found guilty of 3 murders in war-crimes case
An Army panel Thursday found Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, the highest-ranking soldier charged in a major war-crimes case, guilty of three counts of murdering unarmed Afghan villagers and a dozen other crimes.
I do not want to delve further into the story in this column, but I do want to comment on the despicable action of that one soldier. He is a disgrace to the uniform and dishonors all those whose lives we celebrated.
Sergeant Gibbs received a sentence of life imprisonment for his crimes, but he will be eligible for parole in ten years. I wish he had been given the ultimate penalty instead. Every war has a few like him and they tend to be given lighter punishment than what they gave their victims. Their actions reflect badly on the whole military and at times cause reactions like the demonstrations that took place over the Vietnam War. They should be made to pay dearly in my opinion.
Why do we paint the entire establishment with the same brush when a rogue among them commits a crime? We should expect that there would always be psychopaths among the many who join the military. They see the battlefield as a place to commit their heinous crimes and “get away with it” in the fog of war. That is all the more reason to sentence them to the harshest sentence possible.
When Gibbs does come up for parole, who will represent the families of his victims? The only people to speak will be those who have a vested interest in his release. That doesn’t seem fair to me.
Several others were also charged and some will face court-martial for their part in the murders. As is often the case, a charismatic leader pulls others into his crime. In this case, however, the others were permitted to testify against him and will likely receive reduced charges.
If you care enough to read the entire article from the Seattle Times here is the link to it:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016739416_gibbsverdict11m.htmlhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
I sincerely hope that this case will not turn into another one like that of Lt. Calley in the Mi Lai incident. We don’t need another scandal to incite protesters.
I know that the day is past, but if you have some time this weekend, go to one or both of these websites and read the tributes there. You’re guaranteed to have a tear in your eye when you do so.
http://www.military.com/veterans-day/
http://www.legacy.com/soldier/MovingTributes.aspx
Unfortunately, there was a news report yesterday that marred the otherwise peaceful time of contemplation and, yes, thanksgiving. Here is a brief capsule of that story:
Lewis-McChord soldier found guilty of 3 murders in war-crimes case
An Army panel Thursday found Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, the highest-ranking soldier charged in a major war-crimes case, guilty of three counts of murdering unarmed Afghan villagers and a dozen other crimes.
I do not want to delve further into the story in this column, but I do want to comment on the despicable action of that one soldier. He is a disgrace to the uniform and dishonors all those whose lives we celebrated.
Sergeant Gibbs received a sentence of life imprisonment for his crimes, but he will be eligible for parole in ten years. I wish he had been given the ultimate penalty instead. Every war has a few like him and they tend to be given lighter punishment than what they gave their victims. Their actions reflect badly on the whole military and at times cause reactions like the demonstrations that took place over the Vietnam War. They should be made to pay dearly in my opinion.
Why do we paint the entire establishment with the same brush when a rogue among them commits a crime? We should expect that there would always be psychopaths among the many who join the military. They see the battlefield as a place to commit their heinous crimes and “get away with it” in the fog of war. That is all the more reason to sentence them to the harshest sentence possible.
When Gibbs does come up for parole, who will represent the families of his victims? The only people to speak will be those who have a vested interest in his release. That doesn’t seem fair to me.
Several others were also charged and some will face court-martial for their part in the murders. As is often the case, a charismatic leader pulls others into his crime. In this case, however, the others were permitted to testify against him and will likely receive reduced charges.
If you care enough to read the entire article from the Seattle Times here is the link to it:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016739416_gibbsverdict11m.htmlhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
I sincerely hope that this case will not turn into another one like that of Lt. Calley in the Mi Lai incident. We don’t need another scandal to incite protesters.
I know that the day is past, but if you have some time this weekend, go to one or both of these websites and read the tributes there. You’re guaranteed to have a tear in your eye when you do so.
http://www.military.com/veterans-day/
http://www.legacy.com/soldier/MovingTributes.aspx
Killer Tips – Part 1
This week my column will be a compilation of tips that I’ve given in the past along with some I’ve gained more recently. I hope they will benefit you as much as they have helped me. Some of these are not “killers” because they actually might save your life but who ever heard of “lifer tips”?
Tip 1 – The next time you’re at a pharmacy pick up a bottle of child strength aspirin, 81 grain, and place it either on or in your bedside table. These little pills could save your life if you ever experience any kind of pain during the night. Of course they are supposed to be used for heart attack symptoms, but those symptoms can come in any number of ways. One characteristic common to all of them is pain in some part of your body. Taking one or two of those baby aspirin might prevent a full-scale heart attack.
Tip 2 – That same bottle of baby aspirin can also be used by anyone—especially those over age 40—to maintain a healthy body. Take one of these little pills before going to bed every night. The half life of aspirin is about 12 hours, so nightly dosage benefit is twofold: It prevents cardiac events which recent studies have shown to occur more frequently in early morning hours, and it relieves those little aches and pains we sometimes get that prevent good sleep.
Tip 3 – If you are one of the many people who fear a major banking disruption in these fragile times, you probably have a “stash” somewhere in your house to use in emergency situations. It could be quite substantial. The problem is, with the amount of B&E that is taking place there are few places where you can secure your cash and valuables where the thieves cannot get them.
There are some safes you can buy that mimic a wall socket, or a food container or some other common household gadget. However, you can make your own safe by using any empty food container in varying sizes to hide your valuables in plain sight. What thief would spend the time to search your whole pantry or your entire clothes closet? Most want to get in and out as quickly as possible, and the pros know about the sugar bowl, the freezer and the china cabinet as the most common hidey-holes. If they don’t find anything there, they give up and move on. The oatmeal container in the rear on the middle shelf isn’t likely to draw anyone’s attention, nor is the high top shoe sitting in a pair in the closet. (Those are just examples, not necessarily my choice in case anyone reading this wants to rob me)
Tip 4 – I guess we are all capable of committing the error of locking a vehicle with the keys inside. I know that the companies that provide onboard services in newer makes and models use the problem to promote their services. I have AAA membership and I’ve had to call for roadside service when I locked the key inside my car.
A friend who is a locksmith gave me a great hint: Pay a couple of dollars for a valet key-one that only opens the doors but won’t start the car—and then put that key behind your license plate with one of the license plate screws through it. A coin can be used to unscrew and retrieve the key. No more service calls and delays waiting for someone to open the car.
Tip 5 – Always keep a tool in your car that can be used to break the side window in the event you ever are in a situation where your vehicle is submerged in water. I know, it isn’t something you would voluntarily do, but many accidents end with the car in deep water. There are multi-use tools sold at auto parts stores and online, but if you can’t find one, put a heavy-duty screwdriver or a small hammer in your glove compartment. Since many cars are equipped with electric windows that won’t work underwater, this can be a lifesaver.
Those are the first five tips, and I’ll have more next week, or within a few weeks if some topic comes up that has more value between now and next Saturday.
Tip 1 – The next time you’re at a pharmacy pick up a bottle of child strength aspirin, 81 grain, and place it either on or in your bedside table. These little pills could save your life if you ever experience any kind of pain during the night. Of course they are supposed to be used for heart attack symptoms, but those symptoms can come in any number of ways. One characteristic common to all of them is pain in some part of your body. Taking one or two of those baby aspirin might prevent a full-scale heart attack.
Tip 2 – That same bottle of baby aspirin can also be used by anyone—especially those over age 40—to maintain a healthy body. Take one of these little pills before going to bed every night. The half life of aspirin is about 12 hours, so nightly dosage benefit is twofold: It prevents cardiac events which recent studies have shown to occur more frequently in early morning hours, and it relieves those little aches and pains we sometimes get that prevent good sleep.
Tip 3 – If you are one of the many people who fear a major banking disruption in these fragile times, you probably have a “stash” somewhere in your house to use in emergency situations. It could be quite substantial. The problem is, with the amount of B&E that is taking place there are few places where you can secure your cash and valuables where the thieves cannot get them.
There are some safes you can buy that mimic a wall socket, or a food container or some other common household gadget. However, you can make your own safe by using any empty food container in varying sizes to hide your valuables in plain sight. What thief would spend the time to search your whole pantry or your entire clothes closet? Most want to get in and out as quickly as possible, and the pros know about the sugar bowl, the freezer and the china cabinet as the most common hidey-holes. If they don’t find anything there, they give up and move on. The oatmeal container in the rear on the middle shelf isn’t likely to draw anyone’s attention, nor is the high top shoe sitting in a pair in the closet. (Those are just examples, not necessarily my choice in case anyone reading this wants to rob me)
Tip 4 – I guess we are all capable of committing the error of locking a vehicle with the keys inside. I know that the companies that provide onboard services in newer makes and models use the problem to promote their services. I have AAA membership and I’ve had to call for roadside service when I locked the key inside my car.
A friend who is a locksmith gave me a great hint: Pay a couple of dollars for a valet key-one that only opens the doors but won’t start the car—and then put that key behind your license plate with one of the license plate screws through it. A coin can be used to unscrew and retrieve the key. No more service calls and delays waiting for someone to open the car.
Tip 5 – Always keep a tool in your car that can be used to break the side window in the event you ever are in a situation where your vehicle is submerged in water. I know, it isn’t something you would voluntarily do, but many accidents end with the car in deep water. There are multi-use tools sold at auto parts stores and online, but if you can’t find one, put a heavy-duty screwdriver or a small hammer in your glove compartment. Since many cars are equipped with electric windows that won’t work underwater, this can be a lifesaver.
Those are the first five tips, and I’ll have more next week, or within a few weeks if some topic comes up that has more value between now and next Saturday.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Back to the 1930s
I know before I write this column that at least two of my grandchildren would be up in arms over it if they could read it. And I know too that it is politically incorrect. I am going to dare to make fun of modern-day icons. For that I make no apology. So here goes…
Whenever I see pictures of life in the Depression Era I am struck by the ugliness of the fashions of that age. The clothes worn by men and women are probably utilitarian, but they are just plain, well… plain. The hats are especially hideous, those of the women being only slightly more so that the male headgear.
But what absolutely makes me gag is the idiotic design of the cars. They are square and boxy and black. Didn’t they have paint colors back then? With rare exceptions all the cars looked just about alike and they all showed a lack of imagination or nonconformity.
Oh there were a few people out there who designed cool cars, but those models cost more than the average guy made in a decade. Fully 99 percent of the automobiles on the road were interchangeable and indistinguishable from all the others.
World War Two changed all of that. After the war, carmakers started putting curves and colors on their creations, and boy did they take off! By the time we reached the end of the 1950s decade, cars had huge tailfins, bullet headlights and taillights and outrageous colors.
Well, maybe they went a little too far – though many of those same cars are considered “classics” today – and the fins and such disappeared by 1961. Even so, every kid could spot and name the make and year of a car from two blocks away. Each brand was a little different from the competitor.
By 1980 there was another trend, this time back toward the “standard” design again, but at least the standard was a fairly nice looking one. Who cared that you could buy nearly any brand and model and it would look pretty much like every other one. It got a lot harder to identify make and year too. The trend persisted for the next twenty or so years.
Then styles changed again along about the turn of the century. People started thinking “green” and the age of the hybrid was born. And along with the new age came a new design. Well, it was supposed to be new, but to my way of thinking it was a throwback to the Depression Era. Square, boxy cars were all the rage, cars with names like Scion, Element, Soul to name a few.
We were supposed to be more energy conscious, but did we have to sacrifice design and good taste to achieve that goal?
Now comes the real rub… Not only did we revert to the box-like, wind-resistant shapes of 1930, other models that had heretofore been pretty neat looking took on the same boxy look as the hybrids. Perfect examples are the Ford Flex and the Dodge Caravan. It seems that Ford and Chrysler took two great looking automobiles, the Ford Excursion and the Dodge Caravan (pre-2010 model) and chopped them up to make them look like the big brothers of the Honda Element and Toyota Scion. All I can say is UGLY!
Ford even makes fun of the “box look” in one of their commercials featuring a couple that bought a new Ford Sedan. In it the man says, “We wanted to get away from ‘buying a box’ and this certainly does that.”
Oh yes, and Chrysler recently announced that it is discontinuing the Dodge Caravan in 2012. Maybe the new boxy look didn’t impress many buyers. You sure see a lot of the older models on the road.
Can you say, “streamline”? Doesn’t that imply that wind will flow past with less effect? Isn’t that why Indy cars are built so sleek and low? Doesn’t energy efficiency depend in large part on less wind resistance? I could go on and on, but I think you get my point.
Please, please go back to a car that looks nice and doesn’t resemble a railroad boxcar.
Whenever I see pictures of life in the Depression Era I am struck by the ugliness of the fashions of that age. The clothes worn by men and women are probably utilitarian, but they are just plain, well… plain. The hats are especially hideous, those of the women being only slightly more so that the male headgear.
But what absolutely makes me gag is the idiotic design of the cars. They are square and boxy and black. Didn’t they have paint colors back then? With rare exceptions all the cars looked just about alike and they all showed a lack of imagination or nonconformity.
Oh there were a few people out there who designed cool cars, but those models cost more than the average guy made in a decade. Fully 99 percent of the automobiles on the road were interchangeable and indistinguishable from all the others.
World War Two changed all of that. After the war, carmakers started putting curves and colors on their creations, and boy did they take off! By the time we reached the end of the 1950s decade, cars had huge tailfins, bullet headlights and taillights and outrageous colors.
Well, maybe they went a little too far – though many of those same cars are considered “classics” today – and the fins and such disappeared by 1961. Even so, every kid could spot and name the make and year of a car from two blocks away. Each brand was a little different from the competitor.
By 1980 there was another trend, this time back toward the “standard” design again, but at least the standard was a fairly nice looking one. Who cared that you could buy nearly any brand and model and it would look pretty much like every other one. It got a lot harder to identify make and year too. The trend persisted for the next twenty or so years.
Then styles changed again along about the turn of the century. People started thinking “green” and the age of the hybrid was born. And along with the new age came a new design. Well, it was supposed to be new, but to my way of thinking it was a throwback to the Depression Era. Square, boxy cars were all the rage, cars with names like Scion, Element, Soul to name a few.
We were supposed to be more energy conscious, but did we have to sacrifice design and good taste to achieve that goal?
Now comes the real rub… Not only did we revert to the box-like, wind-resistant shapes of 1930, other models that had heretofore been pretty neat looking took on the same boxy look as the hybrids. Perfect examples are the Ford Flex and the Dodge Caravan. It seems that Ford and Chrysler took two great looking automobiles, the Ford Excursion and the Dodge Caravan (pre-2010 model) and chopped them up to make them look like the big brothers of the Honda Element and Toyota Scion. All I can say is UGLY!
Ford even makes fun of the “box look” in one of their commercials featuring a couple that bought a new Ford Sedan. In it the man says, “We wanted to get away from ‘buying a box’ and this certainly does that.”
Oh yes, and Chrysler recently announced that it is discontinuing the Dodge Caravan in 2012. Maybe the new boxy look didn’t impress many buyers. You sure see a lot of the older models on the road.
Can you say, “streamline”? Doesn’t that imply that wind will flow past with less effect? Isn’t that why Indy cars are built so sleek and low? Doesn’t energy efficiency depend in large part on less wind resistance? I could go on and on, but I think you get my point.
Please, please go back to a car that looks nice and doesn’t resemble a railroad boxcar.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Ave Maria Grotto
Can you guess what this is? Don’t cheat and use your zoom function. I’ll show you later what it is and why I took the picture.
On our recent trip through northern Alabama, we visited the St. Bernard College Campus in Cullman. It is home to a wonderful display of most of the world’s great cathedrals and churches created in miniature on a hillside. They are all the work of one man, the late Brother Joseph Zoetl (1892-1961). He was a Benedictine Monk and was the caretaker of the college.
On the grounds of the college, beginning in 1912 and continuing throughout his life, Br. Joseph built replicas of many religious sites from various materials native to the area and also donated by others from around the world. He named his creation the Ave Maria Grotto. It is a National Historic Site today and a “must see” if you are ever in or near Cullman, Alabama.
In all there are over 125 miniature stone and cement structures on the hillside, and all are easily accessible for viewing from a sidewalk that winds up and down the hill.
One of the classic structures in the grotto is St. Peter’s Basilica, a perfect replica of the one in Vatican City, including St. Peter’s Square. Alongside it to the right you can also see a replica of the Coliseum.
Not all of the buildings and shrines are religious in nature. Some are whimsical, and others are historical, such as the Leaning tower of Pisa. There is also a Temple of the Fairies with Hansel and Gretel as guests and a fierce dragon in the dungeon.
The main structure is the grotto, huge cave-like shrine 27 feet high, 27 feet deep and 27 feet wide.
A scale model of Jerusalem is perhaps the most ambitious project Br. Joseph ever attempted. It has many buildings and the Herod’s Gate at the very front.
As you can see from these few pictures, there is a lot of love and work that went into the making of this manmade wonder, and people from around the world come to visit it.
Now, back to that first picture… One of the more fanciful creations of Br. Joseph is this gate, ramps and a set of parallel lines painted on the walkway near the top of the hill. I enlarged a portion of the picture so that you can see what it really is: a chipmunk crossing.
I hope you enjoyed my preview of Ave Maria Grotto, and that you will be sure to include it on your itinerary if you ever get to Cullman.
On our recent trip through northern Alabama, we visited the St. Bernard College Campus in Cullman. It is home to a wonderful display of most of the world’s great cathedrals and churches created in miniature on a hillside. They are all the work of one man, the late Brother Joseph Zoetl (1892-1961). He was a Benedictine Monk and was the caretaker of the college.
On the grounds of the college, beginning in 1912 and continuing throughout his life, Br. Joseph built replicas of many religious sites from various materials native to the area and also donated by others from around the world. He named his creation the Ave Maria Grotto. It is a National Historic Site today and a “must see” if you are ever in or near Cullman, Alabama.
In all there are over 125 miniature stone and cement structures on the hillside, and all are easily accessible for viewing from a sidewalk that winds up and down the hill.
One of the classic structures in the grotto is St. Peter’s Basilica, a perfect replica of the one in Vatican City, including St. Peter’s Square. Alongside it to the right you can also see a replica of the Coliseum.
Not all of the buildings and shrines are religious in nature. Some are whimsical, and others are historical, such as the Leaning tower of Pisa. There is also a Temple of the Fairies with Hansel and Gretel as guests and a fierce dragon in the dungeon.
The main structure is the grotto, huge cave-like shrine 27 feet high, 27 feet deep and 27 feet wide.
A scale model of Jerusalem is perhaps the most ambitious project Br. Joseph ever attempted. It has many buildings and the Herod’s Gate at the very front.
As you can see from these few pictures, there is a lot of love and work that went into the making of this manmade wonder, and people from around the world come to visit it.
Now, back to that first picture… One of the more fanciful creations of Br. Joseph is this gate, ramps and a set of parallel lines painted on the walkway near the top of the hill. I enlarged a portion of the picture so that you can see what it really is: a chipmunk crossing.
I hope you enjoyed my preview of Ave Maria Grotto, and that you will be sure to include it on your itinerary if you ever get to Cullman.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Debate Format
Thomas Sowell had a column in Townhall Daily this week that was similar to the ones I publish under the heading “Random Thoughts.” In it he placed a paragraph that hit me harder than any of the others. Here it is:
Regardless of how the current Republican presidential nomination process ends, I hope that they will never again have these televised "debates" among a crowd of candidates, which just turn into a circular firing squad -- damaging whoever ends up with the nomination, and leaving the voters knowing only who is quickest with glib answers.
I completely agree with his sentiments, and I want to add to them. I have not watched any of the debates fully and my reasons are perfectly clear and correct.
First, of course, is that in every one of the debates – including the one hosted by Fox News – the moderators were generally hostile to the candidates. They were disrespectful in their questioning, focusing on only the candidates they wanted to challenge, not for clarity, but to emphasize the moderator’s view, which differed from the candidate’s
Second, the debate turned into a match to see who could come up with the “wittiest” line or catchphrase. Huntsman: “I thought 999 was the price of a pizza.” The object of each moderator was to get the candidates into name-calling slugfest that will later be used by the Democrats to develop their campaign ads.
Third, there is no need to watch candidate debates unless you want to vote for the one who looks the best, or speaks the best. The current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is, I admit, good looking and speaks well – at least with a teleprompter and pre-screened questions. It doesn’t necessarily reflect on his job performance, however.
Fourth, Giving a candidate a minute to explain or detail an idea they promote is just ridiculous. Using Herman Cain as an example, his 9-9-9 Plan cannot be adequately illustrated in a one-minute sound byte. It takes at least 10-20 minutes to address all of the pros and cons of the plan, and anything less than that gives a distorted conclusion. The same is true with any of the proposed “fixes” the candidates posit.
Fifth, there are way too many candidates up there on the stage vying for attention. Most of them don’t get a fair shake, and only the more controversial ones even get a chance to participate. Unless a candidate wants to be rude and interrupt – a sure way to get put down – they get very little microphone time.
And sixth, all the bickering and verbal jousting is counterproductive. The contenders should be outlining and detailing what they would do differently from the present failed policies to get America moving again. We’ve had a bellyful of Perry’s forced inoculation and Romney’s Obama-like healthcare for Massachusetts. I want to know what they would do to create jobs and reform Social Security and Medicare and the banking system.
I have to tell you that I’ve changed my mind on who I would like to see win the nomination several times, but it hasn’t been as a result of the debates. It has been based on in-depth studies of the candidates’ biographies and past accomplishments. I know that I’ll vote for whoever the eventual candidate is, but I sure hope we don’t have another Bob Dole or John McCain clone.
Now, if you consider this to be a political (offensive?) column, then go ahead and fire away at me for upsetting your day. But know that I would have written the same column if it were a Republican incumbent and a mob of Democrats vying for office instead of the current mob of Republicans. My topic is televised debates, which I detest, not who I think deserves your vote next November.
Regardless of how the current Republican presidential nomination process ends, I hope that they will never again have these televised "debates" among a crowd of candidates, which just turn into a circular firing squad -- damaging whoever ends up with the nomination, and leaving the voters knowing only who is quickest with glib answers.
I completely agree with his sentiments, and I want to add to them. I have not watched any of the debates fully and my reasons are perfectly clear and correct.
First, of course, is that in every one of the debates – including the one hosted by Fox News – the moderators were generally hostile to the candidates. They were disrespectful in their questioning, focusing on only the candidates they wanted to challenge, not for clarity, but to emphasize the moderator’s view, which differed from the candidate’s
Second, the debate turned into a match to see who could come up with the “wittiest” line or catchphrase. Huntsman: “I thought 999 was the price of a pizza.” The object of each moderator was to get the candidates into name-calling slugfest that will later be used by the Democrats to develop their campaign ads.
Third, there is no need to watch candidate debates unless you want to vote for the one who looks the best, or speaks the best. The current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is, I admit, good looking and speaks well – at least with a teleprompter and pre-screened questions. It doesn’t necessarily reflect on his job performance, however.
Fourth, Giving a candidate a minute to explain or detail an idea they promote is just ridiculous. Using Herman Cain as an example, his 9-9-9 Plan cannot be adequately illustrated in a one-minute sound byte. It takes at least 10-20 minutes to address all of the pros and cons of the plan, and anything less than that gives a distorted conclusion. The same is true with any of the proposed “fixes” the candidates posit.
Fifth, there are way too many candidates up there on the stage vying for attention. Most of them don’t get a fair shake, and only the more controversial ones even get a chance to participate. Unless a candidate wants to be rude and interrupt – a sure way to get put down – they get very little microphone time.
And sixth, all the bickering and verbal jousting is counterproductive. The contenders should be outlining and detailing what they would do differently from the present failed policies to get America moving again. We’ve had a bellyful of Perry’s forced inoculation and Romney’s Obama-like healthcare for Massachusetts. I want to know what they would do to create jobs and reform Social Security and Medicare and the banking system.
I have to tell you that I’ve changed my mind on who I would like to see win the nomination several times, but it hasn’t been as a result of the debates. It has been based on in-depth studies of the candidates’ biographies and past accomplishments. I know that I’ll vote for whoever the eventual candidate is, but I sure hope we don’t have another Bob Dole or John McCain clone.
Now, if you consider this to be a political (offensive?) column, then go ahead and fire away at me for upsetting your day. But know that I would have written the same column if it were a Republican incumbent and a mob of Democrats vying for office instead of the current mob of Republicans. My topic is televised debates, which I detest, not who I think deserves your vote next November.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Nature’s Wrath
My wife and I were on another road trip from October 1st until the 12th. We covered a lot of territory, and were going to spend the last two days sightseeing in Northern Alabama. However, the weather wouldn’t cooperate, and it rained both days so we didn’t get to see very much.
One thing we did see that was completely unplanned was the aftermath of a tornado that had gone through the little community of Phil Campbell – believe it or not, the town is actually named “Phil Campbell” – on the way to see a place called Dismals Canyon.
As we drove along the country road I noticed that lots of the trees were either “topped” or lying on the ground, and these were pretty large trees. In fact, the scene immediately reminded me of the destruction I saw near Mount St. Helens in Washington back in 2009. The only real difference was that the trees at that site all were pointed away from the open crater of the mountain, while these tree trunks were jumbled and pointing in all directions.
As we got closer to the town we could see buildings with roofs and siding torn off, and several were being rebuilt. The Tornado went through on April 27, 2011. We even saw a house being raised by a group of Amish men and boys, a sight you wouldn’t expect to see in rural Alabama.
The path of destruction stretched for several miles on both sides of the road. It must have been one heck of a storm, though I don’t recall hearing about it. I guess the tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and in Joplin, Missouri eclipsed this one in the news. It did pretty well destroy Phil Campbell though, including the school, which was minus the roof and a whole brick wall.
It was quite a sight, and it was a good thing we got to see it, because Dismals Canyon had a sign that said it is open daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day and then only on weekends in the fall and spring and closed completely in the winter months. I’m sure the closing was a direct result of the tornado, which also hit the canyon. We were there on a Tuesday, so we never got past the entrance.
If you ever get the chance, take the short detour off Route 78 (east-west) or I-65 (north- south) and go see Dismals Canyon, which is not really “dismal”, but is named for the tiny bioluminescent creatures called dismalites which light up the canyon walls at night. I know we are going to return there sometime next year.
There are other worthwhile attractions in the vicinity, which you can preview at Road Trip America in case you’re interested. It might be best to wait until the area is fully restored to do it, however.
One thing we did see that was completely unplanned was the aftermath of a tornado that had gone through the little community of Phil Campbell – believe it or not, the town is actually named “Phil Campbell” – on the way to see a place called Dismals Canyon.
As we drove along the country road I noticed that lots of the trees were either “topped” or lying on the ground, and these were pretty large trees. In fact, the scene immediately reminded me of the destruction I saw near Mount St. Helens in Washington back in 2009. The only real difference was that the trees at that site all were pointed away from the open crater of the mountain, while these tree trunks were jumbled and pointing in all directions.
As we got closer to the town we could see buildings with roofs and siding torn off, and several were being rebuilt. The Tornado went through on April 27, 2011. We even saw a house being raised by a group of Amish men and boys, a sight you wouldn’t expect to see in rural Alabama.
The path of destruction stretched for several miles on both sides of the road. It must have been one heck of a storm, though I don’t recall hearing about it. I guess the tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and in Joplin, Missouri eclipsed this one in the news. It did pretty well destroy Phil Campbell though, including the school, which was minus the roof and a whole brick wall.
It was quite a sight, and it was a good thing we got to see it, because Dismals Canyon had a sign that said it is open daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day and then only on weekends in the fall and spring and closed completely in the winter months. I’m sure the closing was a direct result of the tornado, which also hit the canyon. We were there on a Tuesday, so we never got past the entrance.
If you ever get the chance, take the short detour off Route 78 (east-west) or I-65 (north- south) and go see Dismals Canyon, which is not really “dismal”, but is named for the tiny bioluminescent creatures called dismalites which light up the canyon walls at night. I know we are going to return there sometime next year.
There are other worthwhile attractions in the vicinity, which you can preview at Road Trip America in case you’re interested. It might be best to wait until the area is fully restored to do it, however.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Whole Nine Yards
While I was watching a football game, I heard an announcer use the term “the whole nine yards.” That phrase has always held a certain mystique for me. It sounded incongruous in the context of a football game, since ten yards is the distance required to gain a first down. “The whole nine yards”’ is a yard short of the marker.
In the past three weeks since I heard that discordant expression, I have heard it used several more times, including in the title of a movie starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry. I even ran across it in a book I was reading. I’m fascinated by etymology anyway, so I decided to Google the term and see where it originated. Boy, was I surprised!
I’m convinced that everybody thinks they know what “the whole nine yards” means, but there are a whole host of differing opinions as to where the term originated. To save you the time and effort, I’m going to summarize them for you.
1. It refers to the amount of cloth needed to tailor a three-piece suit of the finest quality. A gentleman who wanted to get “dressed to the nines” would order “the whole nine yards” from the tailor.
2. Nine cubic yards is the capacity of a ready-mix cement truck. A big job would require “the whole nine yards.”
3. Coal trucks in England supposedly had three sections, each containing three cubic yards of coal. If an especially cold winter were forecast, the customer would order “the whole nine yards.”
4. Three-masted sailing ships had nine yardarms, the horizontal poles that held up the sails. When the captain wanted to get full advantage of the wind, he would call for “the whole nine yards.”
5. The amount of material in a bride’s wedding train could be any amount, but if she were to have the finest wedding she would require “the whole nine yards” in a bolt of material.
6. The amount of dirt removed to dig a proper grave is said to be nine cubic yards. If a person goes “the whole nine yards” he has expired. (Interesting, that one)
7. As long as we’re on the subject, a funeral shroud is also supposed to be “a whole nine yards” of material. (Hmmm!)
8. Material used to come in bolts of nine yards at the general store. Embedded in the counter were brass nails spaced three feet apart to measure the material. When someone needed only a few yards, then they “got down to brass tacks,” but otherwise they requested “the whole nine yards.”
9. The term supposedly refers to a football team that didn’t play their best game. They went “the whole nine yards” and lost.
10. It refers to the length of a belt of bullets used in fighter planes (or bombers turrets, depending on who’s version you read) during the Second World War. If the enemy plane was really hard to shoot down, the gunner was said to have used “the whole nine yards.” Alternately, if the mission was going to be a long and difficult one, the gunners requested “the whole nine yards.”
Of all these definitions, the first and the last seem to be the most popular, although none of them, including those two, is entirely accurate. And surprisingly, the term, “the whole nine yards” only came into being sometime in the late 1960’s; the first printed reference was in 1967. Surely there would have been some reference to it in all the films, books and articles written during and after WW II if it had been a common term used by aviators.
I’m afraid the term, “the whole nine yards” will remain shrouded—Oh God, another pun—in mystery. In short, there is no definitive answer as to where the term came from or who originated it. It’s no wonder it covers a multitude of situations, and usually means “went the distance.”
If anyone out there knows the true origination of the term, please feel free to write back to me and clear it up. I’ll be happy to publish an addendum.
In the past three weeks since I heard that discordant expression, I have heard it used several more times, including in the title of a movie starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry. I even ran across it in a book I was reading. I’m fascinated by etymology anyway, so I decided to Google the term and see where it originated. Boy, was I surprised!
I’m convinced that everybody thinks they know what “the whole nine yards” means, but there are a whole host of differing opinions as to where the term originated. To save you the time and effort, I’m going to summarize them for you.
1. It refers to the amount of cloth needed to tailor a three-piece suit of the finest quality. A gentleman who wanted to get “dressed to the nines” would order “the whole nine yards” from the tailor.
2. Nine cubic yards is the capacity of a ready-mix cement truck. A big job would require “the whole nine yards.”
3. Coal trucks in England supposedly had three sections, each containing three cubic yards of coal. If an especially cold winter were forecast, the customer would order “the whole nine yards.”
4. Three-masted sailing ships had nine yardarms, the horizontal poles that held up the sails. When the captain wanted to get full advantage of the wind, he would call for “the whole nine yards.”
5. The amount of material in a bride’s wedding train could be any amount, but if she were to have the finest wedding she would require “the whole nine yards” in a bolt of material.
6. The amount of dirt removed to dig a proper grave is said to be nine cubic yards. If a person goes “the whole nine yards” he has expired. (Interesting, that one)
7. As long as we’re on the subject, a funeral shroud is also supposed to be “a whole nine yards” of material. (Hmmm!)
8. Material used to come in bolts of nine yards at the general store. Embedded in the counter were brass nails spaced three feet apart to measure the material. When someone needed only a few yards, then they “got down to brass tacks,” but otherwise they requested “the whole nine yards.”
9. The term supposedly refers to a football team that didn’t play their best game. They went “the whole nine yards” and lost.
10. It refers to the length of a belt of bullets used in fighter planes (or bombers turrets, depending on who’s version you read) during the Second World War. If the enemy plane was really hard to shoot down, the gunner was said to have used “the whole nine yards.” Alternately, if the mission was going to be a long and difficult one, the gunners requested “the whole nine yards.”
Of all these definitions, the first and the last seem to be the most popular, although none of them, including those two, is entirely accurate. And surprisingly, the term, “the whole nine yards” only came into being sometime in the late 1960’s; the first printed reference was in 1967. Surely there would have been some reference to it in all the films, books and articles written during and after WW II if it had been a common term used by aviators.
I’m afraid the term, “the whole nine yards” will remain shrouded—Oh God, another pun—in mystery. In short, there is no definitive answer as to where the term came from or who originated it. It’s no wonder it covers a multitude of situations, and usually means “went the distance.”
If anyone out there knows the true origination of the term, please feel free to write back to me and clear it up. I’ll be happy to publish an addendum.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Random thoughts
Every once in a while I have to relate my rhetorical musings, which I like to call “brain farts.” Here are some of them for your consideration or amusement, but no answers please.
Why is an Indian or Pakistani accent funny no matter what the person is saying in English?
On the subject of language, have you also noticed that almost every good video or slide show presentation you receive via email is in a foreign language, many without English subtitles? What is that all about?
Why is the word abbreviation so long?
Why do people–some very public, like George W. Bush and Rick Perry–use the word “nucular”? There is no such word. (Look it up in the dictionary, if you can find it)
Why does just about everyone call a realtor a “realator”? That is another non-word, unless you accent the second syllable and refer to someone as “one who relates”.
How does jewelry becomes jewlery?
There are two ways to spell and use the word i-t-s. If used as a possessive pronoun, it’s its, but if it’s a combination of the two words it is… well it’s kind of self explanatory.
The words they’re, their and there are not interchangeable, but many people seem to think they are. The same is true for were, wear and where.
Did you know that there are four syllables in comfortable? Most people pronounce only three, and make it “comfterbul.”
Two other words that are used wrongly are have and of, such as. “I should of known better.” No, you should have known better.
Then and than are two more examples of confusing words. Then is a ‘time’ word, while ‘than’ is a comparative word.
Here’s a good one… Why do flammable and inflammable mean the same thing? Is there an antonym using the root "flammable" or "inflammable"? Perhaps "unflammable", or is it "uninflammable"? Well, there's always "fireproof".
Less refers to an indefinite amount of something, while fewer denotes a smaller numerical quantity, such as “less money” but “fewer dollars.” However, the comparative use of ‘less’ would be ‘lesser,’ as in “the lesser of two evils.”
Why is a wise guy a derogatory term for an obnoxious know-it-all who makes annoying remarks, while a wise man is a very intelligent and learned person?
Why do “Fat chance” and “slim chance” mean exactly the same thing?
That's it for this week...
Why is an Indian or Pakistani accent funny no matter what the person is saying in English?
On the subject of language, have you also noticed that almost every good video or slide show presentation you receive via email is in a foreign language, many without English subtitles? What is that all about?
Why is the word abbreviation so long?
Why do people–some very public, like George W. Bush and Rick Perry–use the word “nucular”? There is no such word. (Look it up in the dictionary, if you can find it)
Why does just about everyone call a realtor a “realator”? That is another non-word, unless you accent the second syllable and refer to someone as “one who relates”.
How does jewelry becomes jewlery?
There are two ways to spell and use the word i-t-s. If used as a possessive pronoun, it’s its, but if it’s a combination of the two words it is… well it’s kind of self explanatory.
The words they’re, their and there are not interchangeable, but many people seem to think they are. The same is true for were, wear and where.
Did you know that there are four syllables in comfortable? Most people pronounce only three, and make it “comfterbul.”
Two other words that are used wrongly are have and of, such as. “I should of known better.” No, you should have known better.
Then and than are two more examples of confusing words. Then is a ‘time’ word, while ‘than’ is a comparative word.
Here’s a good one… Why do flammable and inflammable mean the same thing? Is there an antonym using the root "flammable" or "inflammable"? Perhaps "unflammable", or is it "uninflammable"? Well, there's always "fireproof".
Less refers to an indefinite amount of something, while fewer denotes a smaller numerical quantity, such as “less money” but “fewer dollars.” However, the comparative use of ‘less’ would be ‘lesser,’ as in “the lesser of two evils.”
Why is a wise guy a derogatory term for an obnoxious know-it-all who makes annoying remarks, while a wise man is a very intelligent and learned person?
Why do “Fat chance” and “slim chance” mean exactly the same thing?
That's it for this week...
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Savings Plans
If you are under forty, you are probably too young to relate to this topic, but you might learn something about why so many in your generation have not saved anything for their retirement.
There is a K-Mart advertisement that runs around this time of year on their lay-away plan to pay up-front for gifts for the holidays. I’ve seen it several times. It reminds me of that we used to save up for Christmas gifts. That is my topic for this week.
We live in a world where credit and debit cards are the norm, and we seem to ignore those high rates of interest on credit card balances. Why else would there be such a hue and cry whenever the credit card companies send the letter advising of the rise in rates? Why else are there so many people with $30,000 or more in credit card debt, enough to spawn the growth of debt relief businesses?
When I was a youngster, and possibly up until my kids were also teens, the banks used to have two special accounts. One was the School Savings Account. It was endorsed by the schools and participated in during school hours.
I don’t recall exactly how we deposited our savings, but I believe it went something like this. We would bring our passbook and our money to school once a week for deposit into our account. The teacher would collect the money and note the amounts on deposit sheets with our names on them. We would make the entries into our savings account passbook, a good arithmetic practice. The teacher would pool all the deposits and send them to the office to be sent to the bank with all the other class deposits.
Lots of us kids learned good savings habits and built up substantial accounts. For some, it was the first link in a lifetime savings account that helped pay for college, that first car, or other young adult needs.
The other account offered by banks was the Christmas Club Account. That one was open to everyone, and adults commonly had accounts for just that purpose. If you saved more than needed for your gifts, you merely left a balance and continued into the next year. Some of those accounts stayed active for years.
Now this might surprise some of you, but we actually paid for our presents as we bought them. That’s right, we didn’t have to be concerned about those high bills coming in right after the New Year celebration died down. What a novel idea!
We would be so much better off if we learned good savings habits while in our youth, and if we also learned that most purchases should never incur long-term debt. Credit cards, while useful to avoid carrying cash, encourage wasteful (and hasteful) spending habits. We should all try to make it a rule that all credit card purchases are paid off within the 30-day “no interest” period. And we should all try to establish a special savings account for the holidays.
How novel is that? Well, not very, but it is still a good idea. Go to the links above and investigate these great savings plans. Yes, they do still exist, but we rarely hear about them anymore. Maybe it’s time we did. It wouldn't hurt for someone to canvass their local banks to learn whether or not they have such a program. If not, maybe they would be interested in starting them since it's a great way to get new customers.
There is a K-Mart advertisement that runs around this time of year on their lay-away plan to pay up-front for gifts for the holidays. I’ve seen it several times. It reminds me of that we used to save up for Christmas gifts. That is my topic for this week.
We live in a world where credit and debit cards are the norm, and we seem to ignore those high rates of interest on credit card balances. Why else would there be such a hue and cry whenever the credit card companies send the letter advising of the rise in rates? Why else are there so many people with $30,000 or more in credit card debt, enough to spawn the growth of debt relief businesses?
When I was a youngster, and possibly up until my kids were also teens, the banks used to have two special accounts. One was the School Savings Account. It was endorsed by the schools and participated in during school hours.
I don’t recall exactly how we deposited our savings, but I believe it went something like this. We would bring our passbook and our money to school once a week for deposit into our account. The teacher would collect the money and note the amounts on deposit sheets with our names on them. We would make the entries into our savings account passbook, a good arithmetic practice. The teacher would pool all the deposits and send them to the office to be sent to the bank with all the other class deposits.
Lots of us kids learned good savings habits and built up substantial accounts. For some, it was the first link in a lifetime savings account that helped pay for college, that first car, or other young adult needs.
The other account offered by banks was the Christmas Club Account. That one was open to everyone, and adults commonly had accounts for just that purpose. If you saved more than needed for your gifts, you merely left a balance and continued into the next year. Some of those accounts stayed active for years.
Now this might surprise some of you, but we actually paid for our presents as we bought them. That’s right, we didn’t have to be concerned about those high bills coming in right after the New Year celebration died down. What a novel idea!
We would be so much better off if we learned good savings habits while in our youth, and if we also learned that most purchases should never incur long-term debt. Credit cards, while useful to avoid carrying cash, encourage wasteful (and hasteful) spending habits. We should all try to make it a rule that all credit card purchases are paid off within the 30-day “no interest” period. And we should all try to establish a special savings account for the holidays.
How novel is that? Well, not very, but it is still a good idea. Go to the links above and investigate these great savings plans. Yes, they do still exist, but we rarely hear about them anymore. Maybe it’s time we did. It wouldn't hurt for someone to canvass their local banks to learn whether or not they have such a program. If not, maybe they would be interested in starting them since it's a great way to get new customers.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Lottery Players
I filled my car’s gas tank recently, and when I went in to get my change from the cashier, there was a man in front of me buying lottery tickets. He spent at least five minutes buying several different kinds of tickets and scratching off the film to reveal the numbers underneath. I guess these are tickets they call scratchers.
There are other tickets where you have to recite numbers and the clerk inputs them and prints out a ticket. Those tickets must be the ones that you try to match to numbers that are broadcast every night on television. Reciting the numbers was a lengthy process too.
The man took his sweet time transacting the purchase, and he left with (I swear) a scowl on his face. I guess he didn’t win anything for all his money.
It wasn’t the first time I’ve been stuck behind a slowpoke playing the lottery, and there have been times when I’ve had to wait in a line of them waiting for them to finish in order to pay for my purchase or get my change. I just hate that.
I have to admit that I have very little knowledge of how all the games in the lottery are played, but I see the signboards and the ads on TV that promote it and tell how many millions of dollars are currently available to win. I also sometimes watch the idiots in their tuxedos reading off the numbers as they appear in front of me on the television screen, as though I can’t read them for myself.
What I do know about the lottery is that it is a total scam, and the chances of winning are about 1-in-100 million, but even that is probably a low figure. It could be 1-in-200 million, or 1-in-a-billion. The point I’m trying to make is that the real chances of winning are astronomical.
It doesn’t increase your chances to buy 5 or 10 or even 100 lottery tickets. That just makes you a bigger sucker.
There is another aspect to the lottery that I hate. The majority of people who play it are poor, elderly, minorities, or a combination of all three. I have no proof, but I’ve heard radio talk show hosts say that there is actually a concerted effort to target the poor and the elderly for lottery tickets.
Of course there are some players who are well off, or young, and many are Caucasian. I know some of them, and when asked they tell you that they play for the fun of it and they enjoy the gamble that they might strike it rich, even against all the odds. Well, that’s okay if they want to waste a few spare bucks for the thrill of it. I usually jokingly thank them for paying taxes for me.
Okay, let’s suppose that someone actually does win that big jackpot, several million large. What happens then? There have been studies done on jackpot winners, and the news isn’t good. Most go on a spree. Then they try to help friends and family—boy, do they learn of new friends and relatives fast. The studies usually find that within two years of the windfall, the winner is worse off socially and financially than they were before they won. Some have gone bankrupt, and others have committed suicide.
Unless a person is already an investor and has a good financial plan, most do not know how to handle a big settlement. Those are not the kind of people who would ever play the lottery in the first place, either. So very few lottery winners have a better life from their good fortune. It only adds to their misery.
I don’t know why, given the track record of lottery winners, anyone wants to play that stupid game in the hope of winning. And I certainly wish they would quit tying up the lines at every gas station from here to Timbuktu.
There are other tickets where you have to recite numbers and the clerk inputs them and prints out a ticket. Those tickets must be the ones that you try to match to numbers that are broadcast every night on television. Reciting the numbers was a lengthy process too.
The man took his sweet time transacting the purchase, and he left with (I swear) a scowl on his face. I guess he didn’t win anything for all his money.
It wasn’t the first time I’ve been stuck behind a slowpoke playing the lottery, and there have been times when I’ve had to wait in a line of them waiting for them to finish in order to pay for my purchase or get my change. I just hate that.
I have to admit that I have very little knowledge of how all the games in the lottery are played, but I see the signboards and the ads on TV that promote it and tell how many millions of dollars are currently available to win. I also sometimes watch the idiots in their tuxedos reading off the numbers as they appear in front of me on the television screen, as though I can’t read them for myself.
What I do know about the lottery is that it is a total scam, and the chances of winning are about 1-in-100 million, but even that is probably a low figure. It could be 1-in-200 million, or 1-in-a-billion. The point I’m trying to make is that the real chances of winning are astronomical.
It doesn’t increase your chances to buy 5 or 10 or even 100 lottery tickets. That just makes you a bigger sucker.
There is another aspect to the lottery that I hate. The majority of people who play it are poor, elderly, minorities, or a combination of all three. I have no proof, but I’ve heard radio talk show hosts say that there is actually a concerted effort to target the poor and the elderly for lottery tickets.
Of course there are some players who are well off, or young, and many are Caucasian. I know some of them, and when asked they tell you that they play for the fun of it and they enjoy the gamble that they might strike it rich, even against all the odds. Well, that’s okay if they want to waste a few spare bucks for the thrill of it. I usually jokingly thank them for paying taxes for me.
Okay, let’s suppose that someone actually does win that big jackpot, several million large. What happens then? There have been studies done on jackpot winners, and the news isn’t good. Most go on a spree. Then they try to help friends and family—boy, do they learn of new friends and relatives fast. The studies usually find that within two years of the windfall, the winner is worse off socially and financially than they were before they won. Some have gone bankrupt, and others have committed suicide.
Unless a person is already an investor and has a good financial plan, most do not know how to handle a big settlement. Those are not the kind of people who would ever play the lottery in the first place, either. So very few lottery winners have a better life from their good fortune. It only adds to their misery.
I don’t know why, given the track record of lottery winners, anyone wants to play that stupid game in the hope of winning. And I certainly wish they would quit tying up the lines at every gas station from here to Timbuktu.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
A New Medicare Surprise
I had a column all written and ready to publish for this week. Then we picked up our mail the other day and I got a statement from Medicare for my wife’s latest visit to her doctor.
Everything changed…
Included in the Medicare Summary Statement was a charge of $160 for something coded PPPS, Initial visit (G0438). Of that amount charged, Medicare paid $156.30, but the good news was that the column labeled, “You May Be Billed” showed a zero balance.
Since the $160 charge was in addition to the Office/outpatient visit of $125, I decided to investigate and learn what the above charge covered.
I went to my Medicare & You 2011 booklet to decode the esoteric charge code. Sure enough, on page 39 there was reference to a “Wellness Exam” for which Medicare patients are eligible once a year. It was further defined as a personalized prevention plan screening. In case you hadn’t noticed, the acronym for that long definition is PPPS.
So, the next question to be answered was, “What exactly is a personalized prevention plan screening?” To have a cost of $160 – more by far than the office visit itself – it must consist of several tests and some blood work and such.
Well, no, it actually consists of a nurse asking you several seemingly innocuous questions. Questions like, “Do you ever feel depressed or helpless?” and “Is there any abuse in your home?” and “What day is today?” Then there are some repetitive tests where the nurse names three animals and then asks you to repeat those names several minutes later.
My wife informed me that the screening lasted several minutes and some of the questions were silly while others were highly inflammatory and personally embarrassing. She was reluctant to even answer some of them.
Okay, now you know what PPPS, Initial visit (G0438) means, and what it costs Medicare. What you don’t yet know, but you will now, is that this test is approved by Medicare for annual repetition. Those same questions will be asked every year and the doctor will charge Medicare (maybe, if the charge doesn’t get inflated) $160 for it and will get paid (maybe, if Medicare doesn’t reduce payments) $156.30.
I read an article today that stated that our current United States population contains slightly over 35 million people over the age of 65. Just for the heck of it, I multiplied 35 million times $156.30 to see what the total cost of those annual screenings would be.
Are you ready for this? $5,470,500,000 is the total, but if you would rather I state it longhand it is 5 billion, 470 million, 500 thousand dollars PER YEAR.
And just to further factor in the increase in the elderly population, which was estimated to be 71 million by 2030, that number will be over 11 billion dollars. That is not for any kind of treatment at all, but merely for asking a series of questions and posing some memory skill tests.
If this doesn’t make you the tiniest bit upset, you must be one of those young kids who wish that us old folks would hurry up and die. And if it does make your blood boil like it did mine then I have more bad news for you.
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
Everything changed…
Included in the Medicare Summary Statement was a charge of $160 for something coded PPPS, Initial visit (G0438). Of that amount charged, Medicare paid $156.30, but the good news was that the column labeled, “You May Be Billed” showed a zero balance.
Since the $160 charge was in addition to the Office/outpatient visit of $125, I decided to investigate and learn what the above charge covered.
I went to my Medicare & You 2011 booklet to decode the esoteric charge code. Sure enough, on page 39 there was reference to a “Wellness Exam” for which Medicare patients are eligible once a year. It was further defined as a personalized prevention plan screening. In case you hadn’t noticed, the acronym for that long definition is PPPS.
So, the next question to be answered was, “What exactly is a personalized prevention plan screening?” To have a cost of $160 – more by far than the office visit itself – it must consist of several tests and some blood work and such.
Well, no, it actually consists of a nurse asking you several seemingly innocuous questions. Questions like, “Do you ever feel depressed or helpless?” and “Is there any abuse in your home?” and “What day is today?” Then there are some repetitive tests where the nurse names three animals and then asks you to repeat those names several minutes later.
My wife informed me that the screening lasted several minutes and some of the questions were silly while others were highly inflammatory and personally embarrassing. She was reluctant to even answer some of them.
Okay, now you know what PPPS, Initial visit (G0438) means, and what it costs Medicare. What you don’t yet know, but you will now, is that this test is approved by Medicare for annual repetition. Those same questions will be asked every year and the doctor will charge Medicare (maybe, if the charge doesn’t get inflated) $160 for it and will get paid (maybe, if Medicare doesn’t reduce payments) $156.30.
I read an article today that stated that our current United States population contains slightly over 35 million people over the age of 65. Just for the heck of it, I multiplied 35 million times $156.30 to see what the total cost of those annual screenings would be.
Are you ready for this? $5,470,500,000 is the total, but if you would rather I state it longhand it is 5 billion, 470 million, 500 thousand dollars PER YEAR.
And just to further factor in the increase in the elderly population, which was estimated to be 71 million by 2030, that number will be over 11 billion dollars. That is not for any kind of treatment at all, but merely for asking a series of questions and posing some memory skill tests.
If this doesn’t make you the tiniest bit upset, you must be one of those young kids who wish that us old folks would hurry up and die. And if it does make your blood boil like it did mine then I have more bad news for you.
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
A Damned Yankee in Dixie
Now that we’ve lived in Georgia for almost five years and actually own property here, I guess I can consider my self a Damn Yankee. In case you don’t know the difference between a plain Yankee and a Damn Yankee, the Yankee comes south in the winter to get away from winter, but the Damn Yankee stays.
I’ve noticed that most of the southern states have a town named “Green” plus something. Like Greenville, Greensboro, Greenwood and Bowling Green. (Well yes, a lot of northern states have towns with “green” in their names, but they prefer to pronounce it as “gren”, as in Greenwich, CT – How do you get to Grenich from Greenwich? Just drive north.)
And what southern state would be complete without naming at least one highway the Jefferson Davis Highway. Old Jeff wasn’t much of a hit in the North, but he sure lives on in the South long after his mortal soul passed on.
Now the area that I live in, Augusta, Georgia, shares a border with South Carolina and the metropolitan area continues on to North Augusta and even Aiken, SC. Our particular stretch of highway known as “The Jefferson Davis Highway” is route 1 between the two cities. There are several stone monuments at intersections along the route designating it as such, and each one flies a Confederate flag along with Old Glory.
The total area comprising Augusta and Aiken is referred to as the Central Savannah River Area, or CSRA for short. I know that the natives here won’t agree with me, but I truly think the abbreviation is code for CSA, which we all know stands for Confederate States of America.
One thing I really like about Georgia, everybody seems to be laid back and casual. True, there are a lot of bible-thumping Baptists here, but for the most part they are not prone to proselytizing. I have to say they do build some pretty impressive churches though.
An interesting custom that the southern states observe is Confederate Memorial Day. Each state has its own day, but they mostly fall in April or May. However, it is never celebrated on the same day as the national holiday of Memorial Day, the last Monday in May. No, it is a special day to honor those Confederate troops who fought in the War of Northern Aggression—their title for what northerners know as the Civil War.
Don’t misinterpret what I’m telling you, though. I’ve got nothing against Dixie, and in fact I like it a lot better here than I did up north. The climate is a lot more people-friendly, as are the people themselves, and a lot of the manufacturing that used to exist only north of the Mason/Dixon line has migrated south now.
I even sing that southern classic, Dixie, with my quartet, and down here we don’t sing it like they do up north as a spirited march. No, down in Dixie it’s a hymn and you sing it with reverence in your voice and heart. And whenever it is sung, everyone in the room stands up and some even have tears in their eyes.
I often wonder what would happen if the states that seceded from the Union back in 1861 did so again today. Would it create another Civil War? Could there be two separate nations that lived in peace with each other but with different forms of government?
I sometimes think that the only way we’re ever going to straighten out the mess that the federal government has gotten us into is to divide into two countries along the lines of the current Blue States and Red States. But then, that’s just too simplistic, and a lot of those Blue States are separated by what is deridingly called “flyover territory.”
I know it is just idle pipe dreaming, but there certainly are a lot of us who are vehemently opposed to the welfare nation that Congress has made us. And please note that I am not blaming any one party; both are guilty of the creating the current mess. Neither seems capable of solving it.
So here I am, a Damn Yankee converted to a Dixie Confederate with a dream that probably won’t ever come true in my lifetime. But I can still dream, can’t I? At least I don’t think they’ve taken that away yet. Heck, I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it.
I think I’ll sing a verse of Dixie.
I’ve noticed that most of the southern states have a town named “Green” plus something. Like Greenville, Greensboro, Greenwood and Bowling Green. (Well yes, a lot of northern states have towns with “green” in their names, but they prefer to pronounce it as “gren”, as in Greenwich, CT – How do you get to Grenich from Greenwich? Just drive north.)
And what southern state would be complete without naming at least one highway the Jefferson Davis Highway. Old Jeff wasn’t much of a hit in the North, but he sure lives on in the South long after his mortal soul passed on.
Now the area that I live in, Augusta, Georgia, shares a border with South Carolina and the metropolitan area continues on to North Augusta and even Aiken, SC. Our particular stretch of highway known as “The Jefferson Davis Highway” is route 1 between the two cities. There are several stone monuments at intersections along the route designating it as such, and each one flies a Confederate flag along with Old Glory.
The total area comprising Augusta and Aiken is referred to as the Central Savannah River Area, or CSRA for short. I know that the natives here won’t agree with me, but I truly think the abbreviation is code for CSA, which we all know stands for Confederate States of America.
One thing I really like about Georgia, everybody seems to be laid back and casual. True, there are a lot of bible-thumping Baptists here, but for the most part they are not prone to proselytizing. I have to say they do build some pretty impressive churches though.
An interesting custom that the southern states observe is Confederate Memorial Day. Each state has its own day, but they mostly fall in April or May. However, it is never celebrated on the same day as the national holiday of Memorial Day, the last Monday in May. No, it is a special day to honor those Confederate troops who fought in the War of Northern Aggression—their title for what northerners know as the Civil War.
Don’t misinterpret what I’m telling you, though. I’ve got nothing against Dixie, and in fact I like it a lot better here than I did up north. The climate is a lot more people-friendly, as are the people themselves, and a lot of the manufacturing that used to exist only north of the Mason/Dixon line has migrated south now.
I even sing that southern classic, Dixie, with my quartet, and down here we don’t sing it like they do up north as a spirited march. No, down in Dixie it’s a hymn and you sing it with reverence in your voice and heart. And whenever it is sung, everyone in the room stands up and some even have tears in their eyes.
I often wonder what would happen if the states that seceded from the Union back in 1861 did so again today. Would it create another Civil War? Could there be two separate nations that lived in peace with each other but with different forms of government?
I sometimes think that the only way we’re ever going to straighten out the mess that the federal government has gotten us into is to divide into two countries along the lines of the current Blue States and Red States. But then, that’s just too simplistic, and a lot of those Blue States are separated by what is deridingly called “flyover territory.”
I know it is just idle pipe dreaming, but there certainly are a lot of us who are vehemently opposed to the welfare nation that Congress has made us. And please note that I am not blaming any one party; both are guilty of the creating the current mess. Neither seems capable of solving it.
So here I am, a Damn Yankee converted to a Dixie Confederate with a dream that probably won’t ever come true in my lifetime. But I can still dream, can’t I? At least I don’t think they’ve taken that away yet. Heck, I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it.
I think I’ll sing a verse of Dixie.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Capulin Volcano
I originally wrote this column in 2005, just after I had returned from one of my extensive road trips. That was prior to my publishing in blog format, and also prior to many of you becoming readers of the column.
The subject of this column is a national treasure tucked away in the northeast corner of New Mexico. The shame of it is that millions of travelers pass within a few miles of it without ever knowing of its existence, although it is designated a national monument. You won’t find it in any of the New Mexico tourist guides or on the official state map, and even the Rand McNally Road Atlas only shows it as a tiny square with a four-word designation.
The only reason I knew about it was because of a chance call of nature several years ago that caused my wife and me to stop at a rest area near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The wall between the rest rooms showed pictures and described an attraction north of us near Raton, the northernmost town on Interstate 25 in New Mexico.
We had some time to kill en route to Colorado Springs to visit our son, so we decided to visit Capulin (Cah-pew-LEEN) Volcano National Monument. It is off the beaten path a little ways, so you have to make a 60-mile round trip detouhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr and plan about 2-3 hours to go there, but it is well worth the effort. After all, how many times will you be able to walk down to the volcanic plug and then walk completely around the rim of a volcano that last erupted 60,000 years ago?
I will provide the Website link http://www.nps.gov/cavo/ but the Website doesn't do it justice. I also want to describe for you what you would encounter on your visit. There is only one road in, US Highway 64/87, and you find that at exit 451 on I-25 in Raton. Turning east you will travel across undulating prairie with some cattle and lots of pronghorn antelope. Don’t worry though; the pronghorns are unable to leap fences, so the chance of hitting one is practically nil.
After a drive of about 24 miles you top a rise and see in front of you a conical hill with a flat top and dissected by a diagonal slash along the side. You have to turn left onto NM Highway 325 to get to the volcano. As you drive up to the Visitor Center you pass rocky outcroppings with scrub pine. These are remnants of the volcanic flow from Capulin. Entrance to the park costs $5 per vehicle, unless you have a National Parks Pass or a Golden Eagle Pass; then it is free.
A two-mile volcanic (paved) road spirals around the volcano to the top, some 1,300 feet above the surrounding plain. It doesn’t have any offending guardrails to obstruct the view, which is quite spectacular all the way up. There is a parking lot at the rim with parking for about 25 vehicles. From the parking lot, you can hike down into the bowl on a spiral path about 200 yards in length to the very core (plug), a depression filled with more volcanic debris. Along the path you will encounter piñon pine, juniper, mountain mahogany, Gambel oak and chokecherry (Capulin means chokecherry in Spanish). Once you’ve visited the bowl, you can also take a moderately strenuous hike around the entire rim on a one-mile paved path. The views are spectacular and there are several benches to rest along the way. You can easily hike the rim trail in thirty minutes, even allowing for some stopping along the way.
Some of the scenery you can view from the rim trail includes the snow-capped Sangré De Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, where the Angel Fire and Eagle Nest ski resorts are located. You can also see the Raton Pass into Colorado and portions of the states of Oklahoma and Texas. But the scenery in the immediate vicinity is good too. The rock-strewn plain below shows the pressure ridges caused by the lava flow in secondary vents, which caused the perfect symmetry in Capulin. Since lava didn’t flow directly from the cone, it is a good example of a cinder cone volcano. Some other cinder cones and volcanic ridges can be seen nearby, including Sierra Grande, a larger and higher cone, but not nearly as nicely defined.
Okay, I know that most of you will never have the opportunity to visit Capulin Volcano National Monument, but if you ever do get the chance, or if you know of someone else who will be traveling between Albuquerque and Denver on I-25, it is well worth the time and gasoline to make the detour at Raton. I have been there three times, and I introduced my daughter, son-in-law and grandson to the natural wonder. Oh, and if you have a little extra time, ask at the Visitor Center about the alternate route back to Raton. It is even more scenic, but takes a little longer to traverse.
It seems appropriate for me to end this column with the phrase, Bon Voyage!
The subject of this column is a national treasure tucked away in the northeast corner of New Mexico. The shame of it is that millions of travelers pass within a few miles of it without ever knowing of its existence, although it is designated a national monument. You won’t find it in any of the New Mexico tourist guides or on the official state map, and even the Rand McNally Road Atlas only shows it as a tiny square with a four-word designation.
The only reason I knew about it was because of a chance call of nature several years ago that caused my wife and me to stop at a rest area near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The wall between the rest rooms showed pictures and described an attraction north of us near Raton, the northernmost town on Interstate 25 in New Mexico.
We had some time to kill en route to Colorado Springs to visit our son, so we decided to visit Capulin (Cah-pew-LEEN) Volcano National Monument. It is off the beaten path a little ways, so you have to make a 60-mile round trip detouhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr and plan about 2-3 hours to go there, but it is well worth the effort. After all, how many times will you be able to walk down to the volcanic plug and then walk completely around the rim of a volcano that last erupted 60,000 years ago?
I will provide the Website link http://www.nps.gov/cavo/ but the Website doesn't do it justice. I also want to describe for you what you would encounter on your visit. There is only one road in, US Highway 64/87, and you find that at exit 451 on I-25 in Raton. Turning east you will travel across undulating prairie with some cattle and lots of pronghorn antelope. Don’t worry though; the pronghorns are unable to leap fences, so the chance of hitting one is practically nil.
After a drive of about 24 miles you top a rise and see in front of you a conical hill with a flat top and dissected by a diagonal slash along the side. You have to turn left onto NM Highway 325 to get to the volcano. As you drive up to the Visitor Center you pass rocky outcroppings with scrub pine. These are remnants of the volcanic flow from Capulin. Entrance to the park costs $5 per vehicle, unless you have a National Parks Pass or a Golden Eagle Pass; then it is free.
A two-mile volcanic (paved) road spirals around the volcano to the top, some 1,300 feet above the surrounding plain. It doesn’t have any offending guardrails to obstruct the view, which is quite spectacular all the way up. There is a parking lot at the rim with parking for about 25 vehicles. From the parking lot, you can hike down into the bowl on a spiral path about 200 yards in length to the very core (plug), a depression filled with more volcanic debris. Along the path you will encounter piñon pine, juniper, mountain mahogany, Gambel oak and chokecherry (Capulin means chokecherry in Spanish). Once you’ve visited the bowl, you can also take a moderately strenuous hike around the entire rim on a one-mile paved path. The views are spectacular and there are several benches to rest along the way. You can easily hike the rim trail in thirty minutes, even allowing for some stopping along the way.
Some of the scenery you can view from the rim trail includes the snow-capped Sangré De Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, where the Angel Fire and Eagle Nest ski resorts are located. You can also see the Raton Pass into Colorado and portions of the states of Oklahoma and Texas. But the scenery in the immediate vicinity is good too. The rock-strewn plain below shows the pressure ridges caused by the lava flow in secondary vents, which caused the perfect symmetry in Capulin. Since lava didn’t flow directly from the cone, it is a good example of a cinder cone volcano. Some other cinder cones and volcanic ridges can be seen nearby, including Sierra Grande, a larger and higher cone, but not nearly as nicely defined.
Okay, I know that most of you will never have the opportunity to visit Capulin Volcano National Monument, but if you ever do get the chance, or if you know of someone else who will be traveling between Albuquerque and Denver on I-25, it is well worth the time and gasoline to make the detour at Raton. I have been there three times, and I introduced my daughter, son-in-law and grandson to the natural wonder. Oh, and if you have a little extra time, ask at the Visitor Center about the alternate route back to Raton. It is even more scenic, but takes a little longer to traverse.
It seems appropriate for me to end this column with the phrase, Bon Voyage!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
You Call This Progress?
This week I am going to share with you a column written by a guy named Seth Shostak, an astronomer at the SETI institute in California. Before I even get into the meat of it, I have a few observations. (Was that a pun? Astronomer-observations. Hmmm?)
1. What parent in the modern world names a kid Seth?
2. Astronomers must have lots of time to waste during the day.
3. It’s much easier to give credit and then copy and paste – less typing.
Okay, having said that, here is the work of Mr. Shostak. I’ll make a few remarks of my own at the end of it.
You Call This Progress?
By Seth Shostak
Newsweek, January 18, 1999
E-mail has become a steady drip of dubious prose, bad jokes and impatient requests. It's as ubiquitous as winter damp, a pernicious miasma that brings rot and ruin to society's delicate underpinnings. I speak of e-mail, the greatest threat to civilization since lead dinnerware addled the brains of the Roman aristocracy.
A technical byproduct of the Internet, e-mail lets 10 million Americans pound out correspondence faster than you can say QWERTY. One twitch of the finger is all it takes to dispatch missives to the next continent or the next cubicle at light speed. The result is a flood of what is loosely called communication, a tsunami of bytes that is threatening to drown white-collar workers everywhere. Masquerading as a better way to put everyone in touch, e-mail has become an incessant distraction, a nonstop obligation and a sure source of stress and anxiety. I expect that a public statement by the surgeon general is in the offing.
Mind you, e-mail started out cute and cuddly, an inoffensive spin-off from a government defense project. The technically inclined used it to send personal messages to colleagues without the need for a stamp or a wait. Only a small group of folks—mostly at universities—were plugged in to this select network. The amount of traffic was manageable. E-mail was something to be checked every week or so. But technology marches on. Today access to the Internet is widespread, as common and accessible as a cheap motel. Everyone's wired, and everyone has something to say.
Unfortunately, this is not polite correspondence, the gentle art of letter writing in electronic form. E-mail is aggressive. It has a built-in, insistent arrogance. Because it arrives more or less instantaneously, the assumption is that you will deal with it quickly. "Quickly" might mean minutes, or possibly hours, certainly not days. Failure to respond directly usually produces a second missive sporting the mildly critical plaint, "Didn't you get my last e-mail?" This imperative for the immediate makes me yearn for old-style written communication, in which a week might lapse between inquiry and response. Questions and discussion could be considered in depth. A reply could be considered (or mentally shelved, depending on circumstance). Today, however, all is knee-jerk reaction.
In addition, there is the dismaying fact that electronically generated mail, despite being easy to edit, is usually prose at its worst. Of every 10 e-mails I read, nine suffer from major spelling faults, convoluted grammar and a stunning lack of logical organization. ASCII graffiti. For years I assumed this was an inevitable byproduct of the low student test scores so regularly lamented in newspaper editorials. Johnny can't read, so it's not surprising that he can't write either. But now I believe that the reason for all this unimpressive prose is something else: e-mail has made correspondents of folks who would otherwise never compose a text. It encourages messaging because it is relatively anonymous. The shy, the introverted and the socially inept can all hunker down before a glowing computer and whisper to the world. This is not the telephone, with its brutally personal, audible contact. It's not the post, for which an actual sheet of paper, touched by the writer and displaying his imperfect calligraphic skills, will end up under the nose of the recipient. E-mails are surreptitiously thrown over an electronic transom in the dead of night, packaged in plain manila envelopes.
Still, it is not these esthetic debilities that make e-mail such a threat. Rather, it's the unstoppable proliferation. Like the brooms unleashed by the sorcerer's apprentice, e-mails are beginning to overwhelm those who use them. Electronic correspondence is not one to one. It is one to many, and that's bad news on the receiving end. The ease with which copies of any correspondence can be dispensed to the world ensures that I am "kept informed" of my co-workers' every move. Such bureaucratic banter was once held in check by the technical limitations of carbon paper. Now my colleagues just punch a plastic mouse to ensure my exposure to their thoughts, their plans and the endless missives that supposedly prove that they're doing their jobs.
Because of e-mail's many-tentacled reach, its practitioners hardly care whether I'm around or not. I'm just another address in a list. So the deluge of digital correspondence continues irrespective of whether I'm sitting in my cubicle doing the boss's business or lying on the Côte d'Azur squeezing sand through my toes. Either way the e-mail, like a horde of motivated Mongolians, just keeps a-comin'. Vacations have lost their allure, and I hesitate to leave town. Consider: if I disappear for two weeks of rest and recreation, I can be sure of confronting screenfuls of e-mail upon my return. It's enough to make a grown man groan. The alternative is to take a laptop computer along, in the desperate hope of keeping up with e-mail's steady drip, drip, drip. Needless to say, there's something unholy about answering e-mails from your holiday suite. A friend recently told me that he can't afford to die: the e-mail would pile up and nobody could handle it.
Today I will receive 50 electronic messages. Of that number, at least half require a reply. (Many of the others consist of jokes, irrelevant bulletins and important announcements about secret cookie recipes. I actually like getting such junk e-mails, as they allow the pleasure of a quick delete without guilt.) If I spend five minutes considering and composing a response to each correspondence, then two hours of my day are busied with e-mail, even if I don't initiate a single one. Since the number of Internet users is doubling about once a year, I expect that by the start of the new millennium, I—and millions like me—will be doing nothing but writing e-mails. The collapse of commerce and polite society will quickly follow.
I'm as much in favor of technology as the next guy. Personally, I think the Luddites should have welcomed the steam looms. But if you insist on telling me that e-mail is an advance, do me a favor and use the phone.
Okay, on to my remarks… Did you note the date of that missive? Twelve years have elapsed since Seth wrote that piece of vitriolic verse, and his prediction for the millennium notwithstanding, we have survived the onslaught of exponential increase in electronic mail. I don’t know about you, but the first thing I do in the morning, even before I get my first cup of coffee, is check my e-mail. And there are usually a dozen or more of the messages waiting for me. (One of my buddies is a night owl, and I can always tell when he’s been hitting the sauce, too.)
I share some of the author’s complaints, especially those about the grammar and spelling. Every e-mail template has a spell-checker and most will even detect fragmented and awkward sentence structure. Yet, much of the mail I receive has numerous typos, misspellings and meaningless phrases that masquerade as prose. You will not find that in mine if I can help it, I promise you.
However, having put all that down, I still enjoy seeing a full mailbox in Outlook. I don’t even mind when I get the same joke for the umpteenth time, or when the message promises to reward or punish me, based on my willingness to forward it to 7—have you noticed that 7 is the magic number—of my closest friends and confidants.
Of course there have been some additional technological advances in the years following Mr. Shostak’s lament. The advent of “smart phones” with texting capabilities has opened a whole new field of communication that is probably equally annoying and much more dangerous than the e-mail circuit—I can’t speak from experience, because I have never sent a text message, don’t own a “smart phone” and don’t intend to ever buy one.
Finally, though I know that Mr. Shostak was annoyed, I also detect some great humor in his lament. I suspect that, like you and me, he would be disappointed if he went to his PC some day and there was not a single e-mail message waiting for his perusal. Let’s face it, we’re social animals, and we love attention no matter how we get it.
1. What parent in the modern world names a kid Seth?
2. Astronomers must have lots of time to waste during the day.
3. It’s much easier to give credit and then copy and paste – less typing.
Okay, having said that, here is the work of Mr. Shostak. I’ll make a few remarks of my own at the end of it.
You Call This Progress?
By Seth Shostak
Newsweek, January 18, 1999
E-mail has become a steady drip of dubious prose, bad jokes and impatient requests. It's as ubiquitous as winter damp, a pernicious miasma that brings rot and ruin to society's delicate underpinnings. I speak of e-mail, the greatest threat to civilization since lead dinnerware addled the brains of the Roman aristocracy.
A technical byproduct of the Internet, e-mail lets 10 million Americans pound out correspondence faster than you can say QWERTY. One twitch of the finger is all it takes to dispatch missives to the next continent or the next cubicle at light speed. The result is a flood of what is loosely called communication, a tsunami of bytes that is threatening to drown white-collar workers everywhere. Masquerading as a better way to put everyone in touch, e-mail has become an incessant distraction, a nonstop obligation and a sure source of stress and anxiety. I expect that a public statement by the surgeon general is in the offing.
Mind you, e-mail started out cute and cuddly, an inoffensive spin-off from a government defense project. The technically inclined used it to send personal messages to colleagues without the need for a stamp or a wait. Only a small group of folks—mostly at universities—were plugged in to this select network. The amount of traffic was manageable. E-mail was something to be checked every week or so. But technology marches on. Today access to the Internet is widespread, as common and accessible as a cheap motel. Everyone's wired, and everyone has something to say.
Unfortunately, this is not polite correspondence, the gentle art of letter writing in electronic form. E-mail is aggressive. It has a built-in, insistent arrogance. Because it arrives more or less instantaneously, the assumption is that you will deal with it quickly. "Quickly" might mean minutes, or possibly hours, certainly not days. Failure to respond directly usually produces a second missive sporting the mildly critical plaint, "Didn't you get my last e-mail?" This imperative for the immediate makes me yearn for old-style written communication, in which a week might lapse between inquiry and response. Questions and discussion could be considered in depth. A reply could be considered (or mentally shelved, depending on circumstance). Today, however, all is knee-jerk reaction.
In addition, there is the dismaying fact that electronically generated mail, despite being easy to edit, is usually prose at its worst. Of every 10 e-mails I read, nine suffer from major spelling faults, convoluted grammar and a stunning lack of logical organization. ASCII graffiti. For years I assumed this was an inevitable byproduct of the low student test scores so regularly lamented in newspaper editorials. Johnny can't read, so it's not surprising that he can't write either. But now I believe that the reason for all this unimpressive prose is something else: e-mail has made correspondents of folks who would otherwise never compose a text. It encourages messaging because it is relatively anonymous. The shy, the introverted and the socially inept can all hunker down before a glowing computer and whisper to the world. This is not the telephone, with its brutally personal, audible contact. It's not the post, for which an actual sheet of paper, touched by the writer and displaying his imperfect calligraphic skills, will end up under the nose of the recipient. E-mails are surreptitiously thrown over an electronic transom in the dead of night, packaged in plain manila envelopes.
Still, it is not these esthetic debilities that make e-mail such a threat. Rather, it's the unstoppable proliferation. Like the brooms unleashed by the sorcerer's apprentice, e-mails are beginning to overwhelm those who use them. Electronic correspondence is not one to one. It is one to many, and that's bad news on the receiving end. The ease with which copies of any correspondence can be dispensed to the world ensures that I am "kept informed" of my co-workers' every move. Such bureaucratic banter was once held in check by the technical limitations of carbon paper. Now my colleagues just punch a plastic mouse to ensure my exposure to their thoughts, their plans and the endless missives that supposedly prove that they're doing their jobs.
Because of e-mail's many-tentacled reach, its practitioners hardly care whether I'm around or not. I'm just another address in a list. So the deluge of digital correspondence continues irrespective of whether I'm sitting in my cubicle doing the boss's business or lying on the Côte d'Azur squeezing sand through my toes. Either way the e-mail, like a horde of motivated Mongolians, just keeps a-comin'. Vacations have lost their allure, and I hesitate to leave town. Consider: if I disappear for two weeks of rest and recreation, I can be sure of confronting screenfuls of e-mail upon my return. It's enough to make a grown man groan. The alternative is to take a laptop computer along, in the desperate hope of keeping up with e-mail's steady drip, drip, drip. Needless to say, there's something unholy about answering e-mails from your holiday suite. A friend recently told me that he can't afford to die: the e-mail would pile up and nobody could handle it.
Today I will receive 50 electronic messages. Of that number, at least half require a reply. (Many of the others consist of jokes, irrelevant bulletins and important announcements about secret cookie recipes. I actually like getting such junk e-mails, as they allow the pleasure of a quick delete without guilt.) If I spend five minutes considering and composing a response to each correspondence, then two hours of my day are busied with e-mail, even if I don't initiate a single one. Since the number of Internet users is doubling about once a year, I expect that by the start of the new millennium, I—and millions like me—will be doing nothing but writing e-mails. The collapse of commerce and polite society will quickly follow.
I'm as much in favor of technology as the next guy. Personally, I think the Luddites should have welcomed the steam looms. But if you insist on telling me that e-mail is an advance, do me a favor and use the phone.
Okay, on to my remarks… Did you note the date of that missive? Twelve years have elapsed since Seth wrote that piece of vitriolic verse, and his prediction for the millennium notwithstanding, we have survived the onslaught of exponential increase in electronic mail. I don’t know about you, but the first thing I do in the morning, even before I get my first cup of coffee, is check my e-mail. And there are usually a dozen or more of the messages waiting for me. (One of my buddies is a night owl, and I can always tell when he’s been hitting the sauce, too.)
I share some of the author’s complaints, especially those about the grammar and spelling. Every e-mail template has a spell-checker and most will even detect fragmented and awkward sentence structure. Yet, much of the mail I receive has numerous typos, misspellings and meaningless phrases that masquerade as prose. You will not find that in mine if I can help it, I promise you.
However, having put all that down, I still enjoy seeing a full mailbox in Outlook. I don’t even mind when I get the same joke for the umpteenth time, or when the message promises to reward or punish me, based on my willingness to forward it to 7—have you noticed that 7 is the magic number—of my closest friends and confidants.
Of course there have been some additional technological advances in the years following Mr. Shostak’s lament. The advent of “smart phones” with texting capabilities has opened a whole new field of communication that is probably equally annoying and much more dangerous than the e-mail circuit—I can’t speak from experience, because I have never sent a text message, don’t own a “smart phone” and don’t intend to ever buy one.
Finally, though I know that Mr. Shostak was annoyed, I also detect some great humor in his lament. I suspect that, like you and me, he would be disappointed if he went to his PC some day and there was not a single e-mail message waiting for his perusal. Let’s face it, we’re social animals, and we love attention no matter how we get it.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Tipping Etiquette
Tips is actually an acronym - To Insure Prompt Service
Over the past two decades our country has become service-oriented, and that is especially true now that we have this huge recession. Because many people who lost their jobs have had to take on lower paying service jobs, tipping is more important than it has ever been.
Since I once worked at one of those low-pay service jobs where customers expected good service, while I depended on tips as the major source of my income, I thought it would be appropriate to review tipping protocol this week.
The necessity for tipping is misunderstood by many people. Some are offended that they are expected to give a gratuity to someone who is obviously paid to do their job. The fact that the job usually requires a low level of skill and knowledge only exacerbates the dilemma.
Did you know that most people who wait on you at restaurants, carry or check your bags at transportation terminal entrances, make up your room at hotels and motels, or do any of the menial tasks that we demand and expect while away from home are paid far less than minimum wage? The almost universal hourly wage when I worked as a waiter and later as a skycap was $2.17 per hour. I doubt that it is any different today.
Could you support yourself much less a family on $2.17 an hour? I certainly couldn’t.
When I worked as a waiter—I was a teenager at the time—I developed a routine of always writing down the order in the same sequence around the table so that the food would be delivered to the right person when it was served. I also tried to always return to the table a few minutes after serving the food to make certain that everything was okay. I memorized the specials of the day, and always knew which desserts were still available so that I could make suggestions. As a result, I got pretty good tips.
As a skycap I always made it a point to use the customer’s name—last name with a title—at least twice during the check in. I thanked the customer by name for using the service, gave directions to the gate and made sure that he or she knew that it wasn’t necessary to go through the ticket line inside. Again, I received good tips.
Soliciting tips is considered very bad form, although there are subtle and not-so-subtle ways of asking for them. A tip jar on the counter is one of the poorer methods, but it does work, providing your employer will allow it.. The envelope or note left in a hotel room with a maid’s name on it is another cute way of suggesting without actually soliciting tips.
I don’t mind telling you that I had my own unique means of getting tips. If I saw that no tip was forthcoming, I would thank the customer and add, “I’m sorry if it wasn’t a rewarding experience for you.” Solicitation? I think not, since I truly was sorry about it, but more often than not, the hint produced the gratuity.
The next question is, “How much should I tip?” Well, that depends on what the tip is for and whether or not there is a bill to be paid. If there is a bill, fifteen percent is the minimum amount to tip, but up to twenty percent is appropriate for really good service. I don’t agree with those who say that the fancier the establishment, the higher the tip percentage should be. The bill will obviously be higher at fancy restaurants and such, so the tip will also be higher even at fifteen percent. In some of those establishments, you can check the menu for the notice that says. “For large parties a gratuity of (*) percent will be added to the bill.” Whatever that amount is will provide you a good guide for what your tip should be. However, as you’ll discover in the next paragraph, it is only a guide, not a fast rule.
Next, should the tip be based on the total bill, including tax, or should the base amount be used? Since taxes vary widely, I prefer to tip on the base amount. And I always check to be certain a tip wasn’t already included on the bill. That is sometimes the case, especially if you are one of those large parties. The tip in that case is often figured at eighteen percent of the base, since there are usually two servers for the table. There is a little leeway when only one server is waiting on a smaller party of 5 or less.
The minimum tip for restaurant service should be one dollar. That would be the right amount for beverage only service where refills are free. Therefore, if I only order coffee, and I sit for half-an-hour and get two refills, even though the coffee only cost me $1.25, I really got the equivalent of $3.75 worth, so a dollar is a reasonable tip.
Most of us carry some type of cell phone these days. Even the least sophisticated ones, the “throw-away” phones, have some form of calculator in their “tools” menu. There are usually two calculators, the second being a tip calculator. It makes it very easy to determine the proper tip, merely by inputting the bill amount and a tip percentage in the blanks. It will give you the correct tip amount at the bottom of the screen.
When there is no direct bill for the service, hotel porters, maids, skycaps, etc., tips should be commensurate with the service. If the person gives extremely good service, the tip should be up to a dollar per bag for porters. Maids should be tipped $3-5 per night during your stay, and the tip should be given daily if you are on an extended stay at the hotel. There are usually several maids and the same one won’t be servicing your room every day. Five dollars would be the minimum tip for room service too, but if the server is one who uncovers the dish and makes sure your order is correct and prepared to your satisfaction, then a ten or twenty dollar tip is appropriate, especially in fancier hotels.
If you receive poor service from any of the above ‘servants’, then I think it sends a better message to leave a token tip that shows your disdain for that poor service. You don’t have to make a scene, but the person will know what you meant by the small gratuity. Maybe they will make an effort to improve, too.
One more caution: In some countries, such as Japan and Iceland, tipping is not expected and might be interpreted as a sign of poor taste. Be certain to check out the customs of any foreign countries regarding tipping to avoid embarrassing and humiliating situations.
Over the past two decades our country has become service-oriented, and that is especially true now that we have this huge recession. Because many people who lost their jobs have had to take on lower paying service jobs, tipping is more important than it has ever been.
Since I once worked at one of those low-pay service jobs where customers expected good service, while I depended on tips as the major source of my income, I thought it would be appropriate to review tipping protocol this week.
The necessity for tipping is misunderstood by many people. Some are offended that they are expected to give a gratuity to someone who is obviously paid to do their job. The fact that the job usually requires a low level of skill and knowledge only exacerbates the dilemma.
Did you know that most people who wait on you at restaurants, carry or check your bags at transportation terminal entrances, make up your room at hotels and motels, or do any of the menial tasks that we demand and expect while away from home are paid far less than minimum wage? The almost universal hourly wage when I worked as a waiter and later as a skycap was $2.17 per hour. I doubt that it is any different today.
Could you support yourself much less a family on $2.17 an hour? I certainly couldn’t.
When I worked as a waiter—I was a teenager at the time—I developed a routine of always writing down the order in the same sequence around the table so that the food would be delivered to the right person when it was served. I also tried to always return to the table a few minutes after serving the food to make certain that everything was okay. I memorized the specials of the day, and always knew which desserts were still available so that I could make suggestions. As a result, I got pretty good tips.
As a skycap I always made it a point to use the customer’s name—last name with a title—at least twice during the check in. I thanked the customer by name for using the service, gave directions to the gate and made sure that he or she knew that it wasn’t necessary to go through the ticket line inside. Again, I received good tips.
Soliciting tips is considered very bad form, although there are subtle and not-so-subtle ways of asking for them. A tip jar on the counter is one of the poorer methods, but it does work, providing your employer will allow it.. The envelope or note left in a hotel room with a maid’s name on it is another cute way of suggesting without actually soliciting tips.
I don’t mind telling you that I had my own unique means of getting tips. If I saw that no tip was forthcoming, I would thank the customer and add, “I’m sorry if it wasn’t a rewarding experience for you.” Solicitation? I think not, since I truly was sorry about it, but more often than not, the hint produced the gratuity.
The next question is, “How much should I tip?” Well, that depends on what the tip is for and whether or not there is a bill to be paid. If there is a bill, fifteen percent is the minimum amount to tip, but up to twenty percent is appropriate for really good service. I don’t agree with those who say that the fancier the establishment, the higher the tip percentage should be. The bill will obviously be higher at fancy restaurants and such, so the tip will also be higher even at fifteen percent. In some of those establishments, you can check the menu for the notice that says. “For large parties a gratuity of (*) percent will be added to the bill.” Whatever that amount is will provide you a good guide for what your tip should be. However, as you’ll discover in the next paragraph, it is only a guide, not a fast rule.
Next, should the tip be based on the total bill, including tax, or should the base amount be used? Since taxes vary widely, I prefer to tip on the base amount. And I always check to be certain a tip wasn’t already included on the bill. That is sometimes the case, especially if you are one of those large parties. The tip in that case is often figured at eighteen percent of the base, since there are usually two servers for the table. There is a little leeway when only one server is waiting on a smaller party of 5 or less.
The minimum tip for restaurant service should be one dollar. That would be the right amount for beverage only service where refills are free. Therefore, if I only order coffee, and I sit for half-an-hour and get two refills, even though the coffee only cost me $1.25, I really got the equivalent of $3.75 worth, so a dollar is a reasonable tip.
Most of us carry some type of cell phone these days. Even the least sophisticated ones, the “throw-away” phones, have some form of calculator in their “tools” menu. There are usually two calculators, the second being a tip calculator. It makes it very easy to determine the proper tip, merely by inputting the bill amount and a tip percentage in the blanks. It will give you the correct tip amount at the bottom of the screen.
When there is no direct bill for the service, hotel porters, maids, skycaps, etc., tips should be commensurate with the service. If the person gives extremely good service, the tip should be up to a dollar per bag for porters. Maids should be tipped $3-5 per night during your stay, and the tip should be given daily if you are on an extended stay at the hotel. There are usually several maids and the same one won’t be servicing your room every day. Five dollars would be the minimum tip for room service too, but if the server is one who uncovers the dish and makes sure your order is correct and prepared to your satisfaction, then a ten or twenty dollar tip is appropriate, especially in fancier hotels.
If you receive poor service from any of the above ‘servants’, then I think it sends a better message to leave a token tip that shows your disdain for that poor service. You don’t have to make a scene, but the person will know what you meant by the small gratuity. Maybe they will make an effort to improve, too.
One more caution: In some countries, such as Japan and Iceland, tipping is not expected and might be interpreted as a sign of poor taste. Be certain to check out the customs of any foreign countries regarding tipping to avoid embarrassing and humiliating situations.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Locking Onto The Great Lakes
On our tour of Upper Michigan last year, my friend Tom and I visited the “Soo locks” in Sault Ste. Marie. They were built to bypass the waterfall in the St. Marys River and lift or lower boats from Lake Superior to Lake Huron or vice versa.
We arrived in the evening near sunset, and there was no traffic in any of the four parallel locks that make up the complex. The only boat that went through the locks while we were there was a small work vessel about the size of a tugboat. It traversed the lock from east to west.
We were able to watch and photograph the entire process of lock operation from a glass enclosed viewing tower that looked like an elevated train station. It was good that it was enclosed because there was a good breeze blowing and it wasn’t very warm despite the late June date. Neither of us had a video camera, so we only took still digital pictures.
The small boat approaches the MacArthur Lock, the farthest south of the four parallel locks. This is the approach from Lake Huron to the east.
The lower gates open to admit the boat into the lock.
The boat is in the lock and the lock is flooding to raise it to the next level.
After about 10-12 minutes, the boat proceeds out of the lock to the St Marys River and eventually to Lake Superior.
If you ever are anywhere near Sault Ste. Marie during the shipping months when the locks are open, you must visit the Soo Locks and watch a huge lake freighter go through. It is one of the best free attractions you can visit in Upper Michigan.
If you want even more fun, book one of the cruises that transit the lock. Those are not free, and rates vary depending on the time of day, type of cruise and age of passenger. No passport is required for any of the cruises.
Note: I am not promoting the cruise, nor do I receive any commission for recommending it. In fact, I didn’t take a cruise due to time constraints, but I wish I had done so, since it does look very enticing. If you want more information, go to the cruise website:
http://www.soolocks.com/index.phtml
Now, the real focus of this column is not the Soo Locks, but rather another set of locks in a canal further east on the Great Lakes. The Welland Canal runs north and south between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It is entirely in Canada (passport is needed if you are not a citizen) and it has 8 locks that lift or lower boats over the Niagara Escarpment. Guess which waterfall it bypasses. (Niagara, of course)
I won’t give you all the details of the Welland Canal, but if you care to pursue some of the facts, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welland_Canal or any of several other websites about this important waterway that bypassed the Erie Canal and just about put Buffalo off the map, while making Toronto the major city it is today.
I was born near Buffalo and aside from my tour in the Air Force, spent the first 38 years of my life there, yet never once visited the Welland Canal. How unfortunate for me that I missed this manmade wonder. Of course, there are no boat tours there like there are up in Michigan.
Last week I received an email from a friend in Buffalo that contained a YouTube video of a lake freighter ship going through the Welland Canal from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It was taken in time-lapse photography, and a good thing it was, because it takes about eleven hours to complete the transit, as you’ll see. If this is the closest you ever get to go through the locks on either the Welland Canal or the Soo locks, it is still an amazing journey that you can take in less than ten minutes.
Enjoy the ride!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U15Fwo9tbJ4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
We arrived in the evening near sunset, and there was no traffic in any of the four parallel locks that make up the complex. The only boat that went through the locks while we were there was a small work vessel about the size of a tugboat. It traversed the lock from east to west.
We were able to watch and photograph the entire process of lock operation from a glass enclosed viewing tower that looked like an elevated train station. It was good that it was enclosed because there was a good breeze blowing and it wasn’t very warm despite the late June date. Neither of us had a video camera, so we only took still digital pictures.
The small boat approaches the MacArthur Lock, the farthest south of the four parallel locks. This is the approach from Lake Huron to the east.
The lower gates open to admit the boat into the lock.
The boat is in the lock and the lock is flooding to raise it to the next level.
After about 10-12 minutes, the boat proceeds out of the lock to the St Marys River and eventually to Lake Superior.If you ever are anywhere near Sault Ste. Marie during the shipping months when the locks are open, you must visit the Soo Locks and watch a huge lake freighter go through. It is one of the best free attractions you can visit in Upper Michigan.
If you want even more fun, book one of the cruises that transit the lock. Those are not free, and rates vary depending on the time of day, type of cruise and age of passenger. No passport is required for any of the cruises.
Note: I am not promoting the cruise, nor do I receive any commission for recommending it. In fact, I didn’t take a cruise due to time constraints, but I wish I had done so, since it does look very enticing. If you want more information, go to the cruise website:
http://www.soolocks.com/index.phtml
Now, the real focus of this column is not the Soo Locks, but rather another set of locks in a canal further east on the Great Lakes. The Welland Canal runs north and south between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It is entirely in Canada (passport is needed if you are not a citizen) and it has 8 locks that lift or lower boats over the Niagara Escarpment. Guess which waterfall it bypasses. (Niagara, of course)
I won’t give you all the details of the Welland Canal, but if you care to pursue some of the facts, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welland_Canal or any of several other websites about this important waterway that bypassed the Erie Canal and just about put Buffalo off the map, while making Toronto the major city it is today.
I was born near Buffalo and aside from my tour in the Air Force, spent the first 38 years of my life there, yet never once visited the Welland Canal. How unfortunate for me that I missed this manmade wonder. Of course, there are no boat tours there like there are up in Michigan.
Last week I received an email from a friend in Buffalo that contained a YouTube video of a lake freighter ship going through the Welland Canal from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It was taken in time-lapse photography, and a good thing it was, because it takes about eleven hours to complete the transit, as you’ll see. If this is the closest you ever get to go through the locks on either the Welland Canal or the Soo locks, it is still an amazing journey that you can take in less than ten minutes.
Enjoy the ride!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U15Fwo9tbJ4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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