Ah........Gardening. When I was a small boy growing up on a small working farm, my Mother always had a garden. Out of that garden, she canned everything we needed for an entire year. In those wonderful days, buying a can or jar of anything was a novel and weird thing to do. Everyone canned their own supplies from their gardens. We also had cows for milk. My Mom would squirt fresh, warm milk straight from the cows teet into a metal cup for me to drink. From the cows came the ingredients for my Mom to make cheese. Ah....I remember the cheese balls hanging from the rafters of our dark, cool, damp cellar when I was sent down for another jar of canned vegetables or fruit.
So, vegetables from the ground and fruit and nuts from the trees. All in their own season and all put away with loving care with skills passed down through the generations of my family and the families of most people of those times. The only food type items that one bought from the store were salt, sugar, flower and maybe spices. She even made most of our clothes with material she bought. One pair of Levy's and one pair of shoes each year right about the time of the county fair and beginning of school. The rest my family was basically self sufficient with using things we grew or raised. Chickens were for meat and eggs. BY the way, real fresh laid eggs are supposed to have a dark orange yolk, not the pail yellow crap you get at McDennys or at most stores. Pigs, chickens and butcher cows were our meat supply.
To this day, what's for dinner usually revolves around what's in season, ripe and ready to go out in the garden and what we bought and store in the freezer from the local butcher shop. Lets get something perfectly clear here. There is no comparison between ANYTHING one buys at the store to what you grow yourself and pick fresh straight from the ground. Also none of the butcher departments of the major grocery stores has anything to compare with finding a local butcher store, with the whole carcase hanging right there in plain sight for you to see. Real butchers know exactly where the cow was raised, slaughtered and how and what it was raised on.
Our daughter when young asked one day in the middle of winter why I bought those "so called" tomatoes. She said they were nothing more than pale yellow cardboard things and we should not buy them from a store ever. Also one time at a Denny's (probably one of the last times we have ever eaten there, thank the goddesses above!) we were just served out breakfast and was starting to dig in when we noticed her just setting there staring at her plate. We asked her what was the matter. She said "What are those"? Pointing at the eggs. "Eggs", we said. "no they're not, eggs are orange, these are pale yellow". You see, she was raised her whole life with fresh eggs straight from the chickens butt and had hardly ever even seen a store or restaurant egg until then.
OK, back to gardening......
It's actually quite simple really. Just add something organic back to the soil every year in the winter to make up for what your plants that year took out to grow and your good to go. As everyone knows by now, the only way to go is with raised beds. That way whatever you put in your beds stays there. Also, the weeds tend to be less and easier to deal with.
Don't ever let anyone tell you that it's just easier and cheaper to buy everything at the store. Money has nothing to do with the subject of great, freshly picked and eaten food. What you grow yourself comes with unbelievable taste and soul and you're not going to come close to that with store bought anything.
One more cool thing. Even if your children are not required to work in the garden, they will see how important it is to you and see you doing it. They will also learn how great the food that their parents grew tasted. That will stay with them for the rest of their lives and they too will have gardens when they're adults. Then their children will get to experience it also. So pass it on for the next generations of your family...
To this day, our daughter has these tubs she bought at the hardware store, along with pay dirt and plants and has a little garden in the backyard of her condo.
YEA!!! IT WORKED!
As we all know, there are lots of city kids who think eggs, vegetables and meat come from the cabinets at the supermarket. They have no idea they too can do this in the backyard or patio of their apartments.
and to me, that's a pretty sad thing indeed..........
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Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
The big rip off in America
The news just made this amazing pronouncement that should be nothing but a miracle for millions of people all over the world.
Two novel anti-cancer therapies -- one that targets a type of lung cancer, the other a drug that trains the body's immune system to fight off melanoma -- created a stir at a major cancer meeting this weekend. Both therapies are still in their experimental phases; however, physicians at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 's annual conference in Chicago were hopeful that the different approaches could change the way doctors treat cancer.
For one thing, he said, the study demonstrates the speed with which discoveries can be translated to clinical testing. The protein that the therapy targets was first reported in 2007, and that finding is now starting to show results in clinical trials.
"In just three short years we've gone from a description of [a cancer gene] to a therapy," he said.
He also said that patients with the mutation that leads to the protein "can expect a dramatic benefit."
Indeed, in the study of 82 patients with advanced disease, Bang and colleagues found that the patients had a 72 percent probability of halting the progress of cancer at six months after starting the therapy. The majority of these patients saw their tumors shrink by more than 30 percent, he said, and some saw their cancers disappear.
Now all this is clearly the most important and wonderful news perhaps in my lifetime for those poor souls suffering from these cancers plaguing humans all this time.
At the end of the announcement, they threw the proverbial rock into the glass wall. The same rock that always ruins everything to do with our pharmaceutical system here in America. That would be the cost. I just heard them say on the news that these wonderful new miracle drugs could and probably will save countless lives very soon BUT the damn thing at this point will cost "hundreds of thousands of dollars PER PILL".
WHAT THE HELL!!!!! What are they made out of, pure gold and diamond dust?
How in the hell could that be? I'll tell you what I and others think. The same thing that drives almost everything humans can't live without. GREED! Our financial system has these cool words for this. "Whatever the market will bear". "Supply and Demand". So lets get this straight. These idiots will set their prices not by how much each little pill cost them to make but the highest possible price the most amount of money people can scrounge up. Also if they keep the supply very low and the demand is huge, which of course they will, they can charge whatever the hell they feel like.
Okay okay, I know they tell us it costs a lot of money to do the "Research and Development" stuff. I'm sure it does but that's what they're in business to do, isn't it? How about instead of trying to make all their research money back in just a year or two, they make the damn things affordable to the masses and get their return in however long it takes under those logical and humane conditions?
Another aspect we should look carefully at is how much money does the owners and management of these zillion dollar companies personally make on the backs of the masses? Millions and millions? Do they drive Rolls Royce's and live in mansions? Do they have personal jets to travel? If the answer to these questions puts them anywhere near super rich, then they can just live closer to the normal people they are claiming to care about. Isn't that the ultimate, real reason for these pharmaceutical companies to exist? Or are they in business to become super rich and the hell with everyone else?
I also see on the box ads for drugs to help us with the cancer drugs. They say "Our new drug makes cancer a much more comfortable problem". I ALWAYS say "Yea, if your rich! Otherwise suffer and die fool".
One more thing. We've all heard that the cost of meds in Canada and Mexico is pennies on the dollar. I know people who go to these countries once or twice a year and get all their prescriptions for incredibly low and reasonable prices. For prices that normal working stiffs can handle without going without food.
What should this tell us about the pharmaceutical companies operating in America?
Indeed what?
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
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Two novel anti-cancer therapies -- one that targets a type of lung cancer, the other a drug that trains the body's immune system to fight off melanoma -- created a stir at a major cancer meeting this weekend. Both therapies are still in their experimental phases; however, physicians at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 's annual conference in Chicago were hopeful that the different approaches could change the way doctors treat cancer.
For one thing, he said, the study demonstrates the speed with which discoveries can be translated to clinical testing. The protein that the therapy targets was first reported in 2007, and that finding is now starting to show results in clinical trials.
"In just three short years we've gone from a description of [a cancer gene] to a therapy," he said.
He also said that patients with the mutation that leads to the protein "can expect a dramatic benefit."
Indeed, in the study of 82 patients with advanced disease, Bang and colleagues found that the patients had a 72 percent probability of halting the progress of cancer at six months after starting the therapy. The majority of these patients saw their tumors shrink by more than 30 percent, he said, and some saw their cancers disappear.
Now all this is clearly the most important and wonderful news perhaps in my lifetime for those poor souls suffering from these cancers plaguing humans all this time.
At the end of the announcement, they threw the proverbial rock into the glass wall. The same rock that always ruins everything to do with our pharmaceutical system here in America. That would be the cost. I just heard them say on the news that these wonderful new miracle drugs could and probably will save countless lives very soon BUT the damn thing at this point will cost "hundreds of thousands of dollars PER PILL".
WHAT THE HELL!!!!! What are they made out of, pure gold and diamond dust?
How in the hell could that be? I'll tell you what I and others think. The same thing that drives almost everything humans can't live without. GREED! Our financial system has these cool words for this. "Whatever the market will bear". "Supply and Demand". So lets get this straight. These idiots will set their prices not by how much each little pill cost them to make but the highest possible price the most amount of money people can scrounge up. Also if they keep the supply very low and the demand is huge, which of course they will, they can charge whatever the hell they feel like.
Okay okay, I know they tell us it costs a lot of money to do the "Research and Development" stuff. I'm sure it does but that's what they're in business to do, isn't it? How about instead of trying to make all their research money back in just a year or two, they make the damn things affordable to the masses and get their return in however long it takes under those logical and humane conditions?
Another aspect we should look carefully at is how much money does the owners and management of these zillion dollar companies personally make on the backs of the masses? Millions and millions? Do they drive Rolls Royce's and live in mansions? Do they have personal jets to travel? If the answer to these questions puts them anywhere near super rich, then they can just live closer to the normal people they are claiming to care about. Isn't that the ultimate, real reason for these pharmaceutical companies to exist? Or are they in business to become super rich and the hell with everyone else?
I also see on the box ads for drugs to help us with the cancer drugs. They say "Our new drug makes cancer a much more comfortable problem". I ALWAYS say "Yea, if your rich! Otherwise suffer and die fool".
One more thing. We've all heard that the cost of meds in Canada and Mexico is pennies on the dollar. I know people who go to these countries once or twice a year and get all their prescriptions for incredibly low and reasonable prices. For prices that normal working stiffs can handle without going without food.
What should this tell us about the pharmaceutical companies operating in America?
Indeed what?
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The History of the Art of Barbering
The word "barber" comes from the Latin word "barba," meaning beard. It may surprise you to know that the earliest records of barbers show that they were the foremost men of their tribe (Damn, I was right all along!). They were the medicine men and the priests. Wherever there were legends and superstitions about the hair, the barbers flourished. To this day in India, the veneration of the hair continues and those who cut and dress the hair are important characters. In Egypt, many centuries before Christ, barbers were prosperous and highly respected.
In Greece, barbers came into prominence as early as the fifth century, BC. These wise men of Athens rivaled each other in the excellence of their beards. Beard trimming became an art and barbers became leading citizens. Statesmen, poets and philosophers, who came to have their hair cut or their beards trimmed or curled and scented with costly essences, frequented their shops. And, incidentally, they came to discuss the news of the day, because the barber shops of ancient Greece were the headquarters for social, political, and sporting news.
The earliest known organization of barbers was formed in 1096 in France when William, archbishop of Rouen, prohibited the wearing of a beard. The barber-surgeon, or chirurgeons, began to thrive all over Europe. They were the doctors of the times and the royalty as well as the common people came to the barbers to have their ills treated as well as for shaving and haircutting. The barbers embraced dentistry as well as surgery and this brought down on them the enmity of the dentists of the times.
Up to the year 1416, the barbers were not interfered with in the practice of surgery and dentistry. But it was soon evident that they were attempting too much. It was impossible to expect ordinary human beings to competently practice surgery, dentistry and the various tonsorial operations. People began to complain that the barber-surgeons were making them sick instead of well. Many barber-surgeons resorted to quackery in order to cover up their ignorance of medicine and anatomy. Some of the McHaircut places pretending to be Barbers, when they are actually beauticians trained in beauty collages still do to this day........."^)
ORIGIN OF BARBER POLE
The modern barber pole originated in the days when bloodletting was one of the principal duties of the barber. The two spiral ribbons painted around the pole represent the two long bandages, one twisted around the arm before bleeding and the other used to bind is afterward. Originally, when not in use, the pole with a bandage wound around it, so that both might be together when needed, was hung at the door as a sign. But later, for convenience, instead of hanging out the original pole, another one was painted in imitation of it and given a permanent place on the outside of the shop. This was the beginning of the modern barber pole. The blue stripe was added in recent times as a political gesture.
In these modern times the Barber Shop still is the place where men and some women come to relax, hang their worries on the hat rack for a bit, kick back and enjoy some humor and have some intelligent conversation with like minded souls. Also a place to get a great naturaly cut, long lasting haircut without a gallon of overpriced product capable of holding the hair in place in a full blown hurricane. I also think it's one of the last bastions of a completely free speech arena. A place where you can talk about anything and say anything you want without the bullshit of political correctness unfortunately so prevalent in these times.
So wherever you get your haircut, if it's at a regular Barber Shop by a real Barber trained at a Barber Collage, thank the guy or gal cutting your hair. They probably are a dying breed of professionals. They started out on the forefront of the art of cutting hair and are now slipping into the past with a lot of other wonderful things we all will come to miss. Like the rest of the world the McHaircut places located in McWallmart will probably eventually win the contest.
Until then frequent your local Barber Shop, keep them in business for as long as possible and give them a huge THANK YOU!, along with a giant tip........."^)
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
In Greece, barbers came into prominence as early as the fifth century, BC. These wise men of Athens rivaled each other in the excellence of their beards. Beard trimming became an art and barbers became leading citizens. Statesmen, poets and philosophers, who came to have their hair cut or their beards trimmed or curled and scented with costly essences, frequented their shops. And, incidentally, they came to discuss the news of the day, because the barber shops of ancient Greece were the headquarters for social, political, and sporting news.
The earliest known organization of barbers was formed in 1096 in France when William, archbishop of Rouen, prohibited the wearing of a beard. The barber-surgeon, or chirurgeons, began to thrive all over Europe. They were the doctors of the times and the royalty as well as the common people came to the barbers to have their ills treated as well as for shaving and haircutting. The barbers embraced dentistry as well as surgery and this brought down on them the enmity of the dentists of the times.
Up to the year 1416, the barbers were not interfered with in the practice of surgery and dentistry. But it was soon evident that they were attempting too much. It was impossible to expect ordinary human beings to competently practice surgery, dentistry and the various tonsorial operations. People began to complain that the barber-surgeons were making them sick instead of well. Many barber-surgeons resorted to quackery in order to cover up their ignorance of medicine and anatomy. Some of the McHaircut places pretending to be Barbers, when they are actually beauticians trained in beauty collages still do to this day........."^)
ORIGIN OF BARBER POLE
The modern barber pole originated in the days when bloodletting was one of the principal duties of the barber. The two spiral ribbons painted around the pole represent the two long bandages, one twisted around the arm before bleeding and the other used to bind is afterward. Originally, when not in use, the pole with a bandage wound around it, so that both might be together when needed, was hung at the door as a sign. But later, for convenience, instead of hanging out the original pole, another one was painted in imitation of it and given a permanent place on the outside of the shop. This was the beginning of the modern barber pole. The blue stripe was added in recent times as a political gesture.
In these modern times the Barber Shop still is the place where men and some women come to relax, hang their worries on the hat rack for a bit, kick back and enjoy some humor and have some intelligent conversation with like minded souls. Also a place to get a great naturaly cut, long lasting haircut without a gallon of overpriced product capable of holding the hair in place in a full blown hurricane. I also think it's one of the last bastions of a completely free speech arena. A place where you can talk about anything and say anything you want without the bullshit of political correctness unfortunately so prevalent in these times.
So wherever you get your haircut, if it's at a regular Barber Shop by a real Barber trained at a Barber Collage, thank the guy or gal cutting your hair. They probably are a dying breed of professionals. They started out on the forefront of the art of cutting hair and are now slipping into the past with a lot of other wonderful things we all will come to miss. Like the rest of the world the McHaircut places located in McWallmart will probably eventually win the contest.
Until then frequent your local Barber Shop, keep them in business for as long as possible and give them a huge THANK YOU!, along with a giant tip........."^)
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Upcoming bullshit...er, I mean elections
Every election I go through this ridiculous, frustrating and worthless endeavor to try and understand the issues I'm asked to vote on. On top of that, I give it my best shot to try to get a grip on all the candidate's stands on things I care about. Which ones would best represent my views on what the government should or should not do with all the incredibly complex but worthy causes we encounter in life.
That is after all the reason most democratic countries have these things called elections. Supposedly we pion's get the chance to vote for people we think are way smarter than us to represent our wishes. Although at this time in our history a whole bunch of pion's seem to think they know what's best for the country and are making a bunch of noise to try and talk the majority into forcing our representatives into agreeing with their agendas. But that's a whole other blog for later.......heh.....heh.....
My main frustration for years now is how in the hell am I supposed to get unbiased information and knowledge about these things to help me make intelligent, responsible decisions at the voting booth? Don't EVEN suggest I find those answers on the internet. If you believe ANYTHING you see in there, I've got some swamp land for you to buy. I don't know about where you live but I can only talk right now about California. Being the 5th largest economy in the world, makes our problems huge indeed. I've even been told our problems effect the entire United States, if not the world. So, if you live elsewhere, you can't just write us off as "those crazy, hippy dippy left wing radicals". It's just not true in the first place and if our problems do effect the whole country, everyone everywhere better pay attention.
To get to my point (Holy crap, what a blabbermouth), I watch the political ads on the box and what do I get? We have three people running for the Governor of California right now. On the Republican side is a lady with a Gazillion dollars in her front pocket she made running some high tech company, then a career politician who is also at least a several times over millionaire. On the Democratic side we have this old as the hills, skinny, malnourished forever politician who was the damn Governor of California back in the cave man days, for craps sake.
Now what does the gazillionaire lady tell us with her ads? Every four minutes, for months on end (remember, she is a gazillionaire) she just pours on every negative spin she can find, make up or create about the career guy who is running against her, including accusing him of being one of those dreaded liberals in disguise. Does she tell us anything at all about how she would handle the many problems we have. Nope. Just how crappy the other guy is. I was at first infatuated with a successful businesswomen running the state but now just see her as a bitch.
Now what does the career politician tell us with his ads? Well, lets see here. That the gazillionaire is actually one of those dreaded liberals in disguise. On top of that his latest discovery is she has never voted in an election in her life. Holy crap Mr. career politician, I'll bet you screamed right out loud and wet your pants when you found that one out huh? Does he tell us anything at all about how he would handle the many problems we have. Nope. Just how crappy the lady is. I see him as this invisible nothing with a suit on, with nothing whatsoever to offer anyone, much less the state of California.
What does the one old fart Democrat tell us in his three or four ads thus far (He is only a millionaire after all). That his running mates (has a nice ring doesn't it?) are a bunch of nut cases, completely out of touch with reality. Does he tell us anything at all about how he would handle the many problems we have. Nope. Just how crappy the other two are. What I think about him is about as insignificant as can be imagined.
So after watching all the ads, reading all the political pamphlets and listening to everyone tell me who and what to vote for, do I have the slightest idea on how to do this very important and vital thing called voting with any intelligence or wisdom?
Nope!
Do you?
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
That is after all the reason most democratic countries have these things called elections. Supposedly we pion's get the chance to vote for people we think are way smarter than us to represent our wishes. Although at this time in our history a whole bunch of pion's seem to think they know what's best for the country and are making a bunch of noise to try and talk the majority into forcing our representatives into agreeing with their agendas. But that's a whole other blog for later.......heh.....heh.....
My main frustration for years now is how in the hell am I supposed to get unbiased information and knowledge about these things to help me make intelligent, responsible decisions at the voting booth? Don't EVEN suggest I find those answers on the internet. If you believe ANYTHING you see in there, I've got some swamp land for you to buy. I don't know about where you live but I can only talk right now about California. Being the 5th largest economy in the world, makes our problems huge indeed. I've even been told our problems effect the entire United States, if not the world. So, if you live elsewhere, you can't just write us off as "those crazy, hippy dippy left wing radicals". It's just not true in the first place and if our problems do effect the whole country, everyone everywhere better pay attention.
To get to my point (Holy crap, what a blabbermouth), I watch the political ads on the box and what do I get? We have three people running for the Governor of California right now. On the Republican side is a lady with a Gazillion dollars in her front pocket she made running some high tech company, then a career politician who is also at least a several times over millionaire. On the Democratic side we have this old as the hills, skinny, malnourished forever politician who was the damn Governor of California back in the cave man days, for craps sake.
Now what does the gazillionaire lady tell us with her ads? Every four minutes, for months on end (remember, she is a gazillionaire) she just pours on every negative spin she can find, make up or create about the career guy who is running against her, including accusing him of being one of those dreaded liberals in disguise. Does she tell us anything at all about how she would handle the many problems we have. Nope. Just how crappy the other guy is. I was at first infatuated with a successful businesswomen running the state but now just see her as a bitch.
Now what does the career politician tell us with his ads? Well, lets see here. That the gazillionaire is actually one of those dreaded liberals in disguise. On top of that his latest discovery is she has never voted in an election in her life. Holy crap Mr. career politician, I'll bet you screamed right out loud and wet your pants when you found that one out huh? Does he tell us anything at all about how he would handle the many problems we have. Nope. Just how crappy the lady is. I see him as this invisible nothing with a suit on, with nothing whatsoever to offer anyone, much less the state of California.
What does the one old fart Democrat tell us in his three or four ads thus far (He is only a millionaire after all). That his running mates (has a nice ring doesn't it?) are a bunch of nut cases, completely out of touch with reality. Does he tell us anything at all about how he would handle the many problems we have. Nope. Just how crappy the other two are. What I think about him is about as insignificant as can be imagined.
So after watching all the ads, reading all the political pamphlets and listening to everyone tell me who and what to vote for, do I have the slightest idea on how to do this very important and vital thing called voting with any intelligence or wisdom?
Nope!
Do you?
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Is speeding worth it?
I've lived in a little mountain town called Foresthill for around 23 years now. It's about 17 miles up a relatively windy mountain road from the main local freeway. Several years ago, the state did a major revamping and straightening out project on our road. The funding was provided on the basis of safety because so many terrible accidents were happening on our humble road through the years.
I remember at our little 4th of July celebration at the local park right before authorization of the project, people had a booth there asking us to sign petitions asking the state to do something about our horribly dangerous road. Even then I remember thinking what the hell does the road have to do with anything dangerous? It's just a road isn't it? In fact a beautiful mountain road with gorgeous views to enjoy on the way down the hill. Isn't that like blaming guns instead of the human finger? In my mind there are actually very few truly dangerous roads that I know of. Now there are plenty of complete idiots that drive too damn fast though isn't there? They are the ones causing all the danger to say the least.
I came to the conclusion years ago while driving about 30 miles on the freeway from Placer County to Sacramento for a job that driving like a mindless maniac or driving completely relaxed and safely made very little difference in time saved. Would you believe maybe 5 or so minutes in a 30 mile stretch? On Foresthill road almost every day I drive around 60 miles an hour on the straightaways in a 55 mile zone (just kidding Mr. Highway Patrolman Sir). Every day cars wiz past me going at least 65 approaching 75 miles an hour on these little passing lanes we have there. The truth as we all should know is the time saved driving fast on the 15 or so miles of foresthill road is probably in the few minutes range, at the most.
So the obvious question we all need to ask is this. Is this few minutes saved worth the look on the faces of our friends and loved ones standing there looking down at our coffin during the funeral? How about living with the fact that our stupidity killed a whole family of neighbors/friends living on the hill?
I know this will get me in trouble but here goes anyway......No science involved here but in my own personal experience 90% of those cars have one young to middle aged well dressed women apparently on her way to work. The other 10% are young male idiots looking to get their thrills killing someone with their sports cars/motorcycles or construction workers in their gigantic 4 wheel drive stupendous monsters they think they need for some reason.
So if you are one of those women or guys who think you need to speed and hurry everywhere you go, how important really is a couple of minutes in the grand scheme of things. Are the lives of your children, your friends, your neighbors worth so little to you that you would hold a loaded gun to their heads while drunk out of your mind? Of course not!
So for all our sakes, the next time you get in your car to start the drive down the hill to go to work, take a moment to reflect on your mood right at that moment. Grab your coffee, set back for just a moment and do some deep breathing exercises to get you in the right mood to not be stupid today.
In the case of speeding cars, stupid=DEATH!
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
I remember at our little 4th of July celebration at the local park right before authorization of the project, people had a booth there asking us to sign petitions asking the state to do something about our horribly dangerous road. Even then I remember thinking what the hell does the road have to do with anything dangerous? It's just a road isn't it? In fact a beautiful mountain road with gorgeous views to enjoy on the way down the hill. Isn't that like blaming guns instead of the human finger? In my mind there are actually very few truly dangerous roads that I know of. Now there are plenty of complete idiots that drive too damn fast though isn't there? They are the ones causing all the danger to say the least.
I came to the conclusion years ago while driving about 30 miles on the freeway from Placer County to Sacramento for a job that driving like a mindless maniac or driving completely relaxed and safely made very little difference in time saved. Would you believe maybe 5 or so minutes in a 30 mile stretch? On Foresthill road almost every day I drive around 60 miles an hour on the straightaways in a 55 mile zone (just kidding Mr. Highway Patrolman Sir). Every day cars wiz past me going at least 65 approaching 75 miles an hour on these little passing lanes we have there. The truth as we all should know is the time saved driving fast on the 15 or so miles of foresthill road is probably in the few minutes range, at the most.
So the obvious question we all need to ask is this. Is this few minutes saved worth the look on the faces of our friends and loved ones standing there looking down at our coffin during the funeral? How about living with the fact that our stupidity killed a whole family of neighbors/friends living on the hill?
I know this will get me in trouble but here goes anyway......No science involved here but in my own personal experience 90% of those cars have one young to middle aged well dressed women apparently on her way to work. The other 10% are young male idiots looking to get their thrills killing someone with their sports cars/motorcycles or construction workers in their gigantic 4 wheel drive stupendous monsters they think they need for some reason.
So if you are one of those women or guys who think you need to speed and hurry everywhere you go, how important really is a couple of minutes in the grand scheme of things. Are the lives of your children, your friends, your neighbors worth so little to you that you would hold a loaded gun to their heads while drunk out of your mind? Of course not!
So for all our sakes, the next time you get in your car to start the drive down the hill to go to work, take a moment to reflect on your mood right at that moment. Grab your coffee, set back for just a moment and do some deep breathing exercises to get you in the right mood to not be stupid today.
In the case of speeding cars, stupid=DEATH!
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
House Concerts
My wife and I became converts and complete fans of a relatively new phenomena started just a few years ago called "House Concerts". I wanted to take the time to introduce all of you to this new very cool musical venue. This is a new venue idea that the musicians and the audience both love because of the intimacy and realness of seeing great acts on such an up close and personal level. Instead of watching your favorite acts with binoculars from hundreds of feet away, you're now just 10-20 feet away.
What is a House Concert?
It’s an invitation-only concert in someone’s home, presented by a host who does not profit from the event.
Also, house concerts are usually…
Held indoors and on weekends.
Attended by 20-100 people.
Paid for by a $10-20 donation per guests, the entire amount goes to the performer (s).
Known to include light snacks, beverages or in some cases, a pot-luck dinner.
Attended by the host’s friends, neighbors, co-workers, and maybe a few fans of the artist.
Attended by a 25-60 age group.
Performed by solo, duos and small groups.
Performed with little to no amplification.
Very intimate - the audiences sit close and are attentive.
Performed in 2, 40-minute sets with a 15-20 minute break.
Almost always has the artist Cd's for sale. Plus the wonderful chance to personally talk to them.
Then there's the chance to socially network with others of like interests.
The host often are known to house and feed the artist for the night.
They usually are scheduled about once a month, sometimes more often.
We are always completely blown away with the quality, perfectionism, intimacy and great story telling abilities of these traveling minstrels. My wife and I are complete Jazz nut cases and I never thought we would enjoy these Singer/Songwriter types. What I found is all artists of this caliber and talent are far and away in the same creativity realm, no matter the type of music they play. In fact, I personally made a choice that we would go back until we were disappointed with a concert, then just stop going.
Well, it's never happened and we've been attending one in our area for over a year now. We've seen some of the best guitar players, best incredibly unique singers, best creatively written songs imaginable in that year. We leave every concert with a smile on our face that lasts for days and our souls more than amply fed.
With the house concert series we attend, we were invited to be put on the concert e-mail list. Then the incredibly talented and giving host (Thank you Kevin from the bottom of our hearts for inviting us) e-mails you a notice with who's coming and when and you simple RSVP them back that your coming. They are almost always sold out performances, so you need to respond back immediately. We enjoy ourselves so much that we asked to be put on the list of always coming, so we don't miss out on any of the sold out performances.
I read a piece in the newspaper the other day that these House Concerts are the rage now across the United States and beyond. I'll bet if you do a net search for your area, you will very likely find one or several to pick from. In our area, there are at least two that I know of and maybe more. I've heard that there are several up in Grass Valley. Most of them are Folk type singer/songwriter types but heard that one of them in Grass Valley is a Classical venue. Also in San Francisco, I know of one which presents Jazz.
Personaly, I would love to have a Jazz House Concert to attend also. Hell, maybe I'll just take that on myself in the future........who knows........
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
What is a House Concert?
It’s an invitation-only concert in someone’s home, presented by a host who does not profit from the event.
Also, house concerts are usually…
Held indoors and on weekends.
Attended by 20-100 people.
Paid for by a $10-20 donation per guests, the entire amount goes to the performer (s).
Known to include light snacks, beverages or in some cases, a pot-luck dinner.
Attended by the host’s friends, neighbors, co-workers, and maybe a few fans of the artist.
Attended by a 25-60 age group.
Performed by solo, duos and small groups.
Performed with little to no amplification.
Very intimate - the audiences sit close and are attentive.
Performed in 2, 40-minute sets with a 15-20 minute break.
Almost always has the artist Cd's for sale. Plus the wonderful chance to personally talk to them.
Then there's the chance to socially network with others of like interests.
The host often are known to house and feed the artist for the night.
They usually are scheduled about once a month, sometimes more often.
We are always completely blown away with the quality, perfectionism, intimacy and great story telling abilities of these traveling minstrels. My wife and I are complete Jazz nut cases and I never thought we would enjoy these Singer/Songwriter types. What I found is all artists of this caliber and talent are far and away in the same creativity realm, no matter the type of music they play. In fact, I personally made a choice that we would go back until we were disappointed with a concert, then just stop going.
Well, it's never happened and we've been attending one in our area for over a year now. We've seen some of the best guitar players, best incredibly unique singers, best creatively written songs imaginable in that year. We leave every concert with a smile on our face that lasts for days and our souls more than amply fed.
With the house concert series we attend, we were invited to be put on the concert e-mail list. Then the incredibly talented and giving host (Thank you Kevin from the bottom of our hearts for inviting us) e-mails you a notice with who's coming and when and you simple RSVP them back that your coming. They are almost always sold out performances, so you need to respond back immediately. We enjoy ourselves so much that we asked to be put on the list of always coming, so we don't miss out on any of the sold out performances.
I read a piece in the newspaper the other day that these House Concerts are the rage now across the United States and beyond. I'll bet if you do a net search for your area, you will very likely find one or several to pick from. In our area, there are at least two that I know of and maybe more. I've heard that there are several up in Grass Valley. Most of them are Folk type singer/songwriter types but heard that one of them in Grass Valley is a Classical venue. Also in San Francisco, I know of one which presents Jazz.
Personaly, I would love to have a Jazz House Concert to attend also. Hell, maybe I'll just take that on myself in the future........who knows........
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Time to think outside the box.....
I actually thought about this years ago, when I heard young people moan and groan about it being so hard to get a job. When I asked them what they were doing to find one, they would say things like "Well, I ran around all day long one day filling out applications". "And then?" I would say. "Well, that was two weeks ago and no one called me to come in for an interview yet".
Then I would give them my humble (suuuuuuure) advise that their method was not going to get them anywhere. They would need to first off show up dressed to the hilt. Clean cloths, shined shoes, hair combed. Act with some class and complete confidence. Try to find and ask to please speak to the manager or owner and introduce yourself to him personally while handing him the application.
Then go back a couple of days later and ask to talk to him/her again. Reintroduce yourself as the one he met just a couple of days ago and ask if he might have any openings yet. Then repeat that process at least every week until he/she hires you or tells you to get the hell out and quit bugging them. You want them to remember you as the person who is doing everything they can to get a job. Not just some name on a piece of paper stuck inside the big stack of papers on their desk. You want to stand out in their minds. That way when an opportunity does come up in their business, they might very well think of you.
Ok now there is my normal advice to young folks in normal economic times. As we know though, these are NOT normal times and each applicant to any job nowadays are competing with a hell of a lot more people. People probably far more qualified than average. So now the trick would be to stand out as much as possible from the masses. Stand out like the blazing sun for Christ's sake.
So now the trick is to start thinking outside the proverbial box as they say. WAY OUTSIDE the damn thing. Ok, how about this idea?
Work out some way to involve the media. The local newspaper of your town, a News radio station, the local Television News station or all the above any way you can think of. Lets see here.......how about having a friend stand by with his cell phone and call them all, yelling and screaming that there is a person doing something dangerous and they need to get this on film or tape quick before their competitors get there first. In fact tell them you heard the other station, newspaper or whatever were on their way over right now to cover this wild fast breaking local story. You could even arrange to have a group of friends pretend to be just passerbys who happen to see this happening and start a crowd of lookyloos, pointing up at you in wonderment and amazement.
You find something very high to climb up on. Like a power pole, a high building, a bridge. Anywhere where it's going to take the authorities quite a bit of hassle to get you down. Dressed to the hilt as stated above . As soon as the media show up, start yelling down that you ARE NOT COMING DOWN until someone offers you a chance at a job. All you want is a chance! YOU NEED A JOB! I'M NOT COMING DOWN UNTIL I AT LEAST GET A CHANCE TO GET A JOB! Then absolutely refuse all pleas from the law or fire department to come down. All this of course is becoming quite the scene with the media and the crowd that's starting to gather to watch this crazy person.
Ok ok, the truth as we all know is you ARE going to get in some trouble with the law for causing this uproar but I guarantee even they are going to admire your creativity and initiative. In the end, you come down peacefully with the help of the rescue people and thank them profusely for their kind and professional help.
In the meantime this news will be watched by business owners or people who know business owners. This crazy story on the news about this guy who so wanted a job that he did this wild, potentially dangerous stunt to draw attention to his jobless plight. Now within the next week or so, you WILL be getting offers for jobs. In this instant news world we find outselves in, this is just a fact.
Now.....if I, just one guy can set here at my compuker and think up this one out of the normal box idea to get everyone's attention and get a job, how many more super cool "out of the box" ideas are out there just waiting to be discovered?
How about I ask all my blog readers out there to use the "comments" link at the bottom of this piece (Thanks for the comment about the i and e being out of place) to give their "out of the box", creative ideas on this?
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
Then I would give them my humble (suuuuuuure) advise that their method was not going to get them anywhere. They would need to first off show up dressed to the hilt. Clean cloths, shined shoes, hair combed. Act with some class and complete confidence. Try to find and ask to please speak to the manager or owner and introduce yourself to him personally while handing him the application.
Then go back a couple of days later and ask to talk to him/her again. Reintroduce yourself as the one he met just a couple of days ago and ask if he might have any openings yet. Then repeat that process at least every week until he/she hires you or tells you to get the hell out and quit bugging them. You want them to remember you as the person who is doing everything they can to get a job. Not just some name on a piece of paper stuck inside the big stack of papers on their desk. You want to stand out in their minds. That way when an opportunity does come up in their business, they might very well think of you.
Ok now there is my normal advice to young folks in normal economic times. As we know though, these are NOT normal times and each applicant to any job nowadays are competing with a hell of a lot more people. People probably far more qualified than average. So now the trick would be to stand out as much as possible from the masses. Stand out like the blazing sun for Christ's sake.
So now the trick is to start thinking outside the proverbial box as they say. WAY OUTSIDE the damn thing. Ok, how about this idea?
Work out some way to involve the media. The local newspaper of your town, a News radio station, the local Television News station or all the above any way you can think of. Lets see here.......how about having a friend stand by with his cell phone and call them all, yelling and screaming that there is a person doing something dangerous and they need to get this on film or tape quick before their competitors get there first. In fact tell them you heard the other station, newspaper or whatever were on their way over right now to cover this wild fast breaking local story. You could even arrange to have a group of friends pretend to be just passerbys who happen to see this happening and start a crowd of lookyloos, pointing up at you in wonderment and amazement.
You find something very high to climb up on. Like a power pole, a high building, a bridge. Anywhere where it's going to take the authorities quite a bit of hassle to get you down. Dressed to the hilt as stated above . As soon as the media show up, start yelling down that you ARE NOT COMING DOWN until someone offers you a chance at a job. All you want is a chance! YOU NEED A JOB! I'M NOT COMING DOWN UNTIL I AT LEAST GET A CHANCE TO GET A JOB! Then absolutely refuse all pleas from the law or fire department to come down. All this of course is becoming quite the scene with the media and the crowd that's starting to gather to watch this crazy person.
Ok ok, the truth as we all know is you ARE going to get in some trouble with the law for causing this uproar but I guarantee even they are going to admire your creativity and initiative. In the end, you come down peacefully with the help of the rescue people and thank them profusely for their kind and professional help.
In the meantime this news will be watched by business owners or people who know business owners. This crazy story on the news about this guy who so wanted a job that he did this wild, potentially dangerous stunt to draw attention to his jobless plight. Now within the next week or so, you WILL be getting offers for jobs. In this instant news world we find outselves in, this is just a fact.
Now.....if I, just one guy can set here at my compuker and think up this one out of the normal box idea to get everyone's attention and get a job, how many more super cool "out of the box" ideas are out there just waiting to be discovered?
How about I ask all my blog readers out there to use the "comments" link at the bottom of this piece (Thanks for the comment about the i and e being out of place) to give their "out of the box", creative ideas on this?
READ THESE INSTRUCTION VERY CAREFULLY AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY!!!
Right at the bottom of this posting is a "Comments" link. Click on it, follow the instructions and leave a comment about this post. You can use your name or make up one, BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Name/URL".
Or just leave your comment anonymously BY CLICKING INSIDE THE CIRCLE beside "Anonymous".
I will receive an e-mail, OK it and then it will appear for others to view after they click on the comments link.
Come on.......DO IT!
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