November
1 November
Pair-A-Dice Escapee Co-op
Pahrump, NV
It was warmer this morning than it has been for the past few mornings. A high cloud cover contributed to that but will also help to keep the high temperature below 80 today. Should stay like today until the 9th and 10th when the high will only be mid 50s and the low just above freezing.Patches met a new friend this morning when we stopped at the Dog Run. This is a Boston Bulldog that was rather unsure of Patches when they first met a couple of days ago. He was still not so sure this morning but Patches was good with him, just doing her constant sniffing. She attempted to get him to run with her but he wasn't having any of that.
My prediction about the gasoline situation after hurricane Sandy has come to pass in spades. This is from State troopers deployed as tensions boil at gas stations in Sandy's wake by Greg Wilson for FoxNews.com. No reported killings yet but this is only the second day and maybe law enforcement or National Guard personnel can keep it from happening.
The gas shortage is going to quickly take away all the vote advantage that the President generated by his acting Presidential during the storm if it is not fixed quickly. He will be held responsible, even by his supporters, if people can not get gas soon.
Officials said more than half of all gasoline service stations in the New York City area and New Jersey have been shut down because they are either out of fuel or don’t have power to operate pumps. In addition, pipelines and refineries have been shut down due to storm damage. More than 80 percent of stations in New Jersey were unable to sell gasoline as of Wednesday, according to the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association.My new neighbors arrived a couple of days ago and are staying for a week. They are living in a Class A motorhome, maybe 35', which is not new but looks in good shape. Nothing unusual about any of this except in this case the wife is in a wheelchair and they have a lift added at the door that allows her to get in and out. Still not so unusual.
Where it gets interesting is their toad, the only one that they have. They have a flat bed trailer that has been modified somewhat to carry a Honda Gold Wing Trike that does appear to be new. The wife is able to get up into the pillion and the wheelchair is carried on a rack at the rear.
They have been out together a few times and I have also seen him pushing her around the Park in her wheelchair. I say good for them to not let her disability keep them prisoner to a sticks and bricks all the time.
Since 1900, the stock market has correctly forecast nearly 90 percent of presidential elections. In the 28 elections tracked, there have been only three exceptions: 1956, 1968, and 2004. If the stock market gains in the two months leading up to the presidential election, the incumbent party wins. If the market falls, the incumbent party loses. In the 16 elections when the stock market climbed before Election Day, the incumbent party was re-elected 15 of 16 times. And, in the 12 election years when the stock market suffered losses, the incumbent party lost 10 of 12 elections.
The Dow Jones average was at 13,091 at the close on August 31, 2012. It closed at 13,096 yesterday, October 31. 2012. So, if the election were held today the stock market is forecasting a win for President Obama - it is very close however. If the two months were to be measured from September 5, 2012 then the Dow was at 13,047. Where will it be on November 5, 2012? Will this be another exception year?
2 November
Pair-A-Dice Escapee Co-op
Pahrump, NV
Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: November 2, 1924More of the same today. The weather has remained the same and my daily routine has not changed. Did nothing out of the ordinary at all.
I did finish the historical fiction novel that I was reading. This was the last book in my library that I had not read before arriving here. I'll exchange it tomorrow and then every book that I have will be unread and all from this Park. With any luck they will last me until I return.
I'm looking forward to having my second 'linner' from the pot of chili that I made. I think this is the best batch that I have cooked. Only slightly different from past tries but I think this one is GOOD.
Nothing very unique just browned about 1.5# of hamburger and 1# of Jimmy Dean Sausage. This went into the Thermal Cooker with a large diced onion, two Poblano chiles (AKA Pasillas) diced, two small cans of red kidney beans, two cans of crushed tomatoes and two packages of Taco Seasoning Mix. Brought it to a boil for maybe 10 minutes and then let it sit in the Cooker for about 5-6 hours.
The Bureau of Labor has released their non-farm job numbers for October, an increase of 171,000. The media is not saying much about this nor are they focusing on the increase in the Unemployment Rate to 7.9%. It is a mixed bag of numbers again and probably will not change many voters minds one way or the other.
The monthly report looks much better when you look at the Bureau's historical data, by month, for Total Employed (which includes farm workers and has not been manipulated quite as much). The numbers for the past four months are mixed but with two strong months now creating a new trend: July LOST 195,000, August LOST 119,000, September ADDED 873,000 (the most for any one month in 29 years) and October added 410,000.
The Consumer Confidence Index rose to a 4 year high in October which brought more people back into the Labor Force. There was a decrease in Not in the Labor Force of 369,000 but a lot of them did not find jobs with Unemployed increasing by 170,000. All in all not bad Job News for President Obama.
Richard Cohen a liberal opinion writer for The Washington Post and strong supporter of Obama closed his latest Opinion with this: “I will vote for Obama with regret, I wish he was the man I once mistook him for”.
I think that is the feeling that many voters have for President Obama this election. If he wins he is going to have a very difficult second term, with strong criticism from his supporters as well as from those that opposed him.
In Europe Makes Obama Look Good, But That's Not The Whole Story a posting today on The Automatic Earth.com blog, this is the closing paragraph. The blog authors believe that President Obama will be re-elected by the way but not because Europe makes him look good.
When the eurozone explodes, so will the rest of the world economy. Including the US. Obama doesn't have to worry about NOT getting a second term; he should instead worry about getting it, and about what's going to happen on his watch in the next four years. If he lasts in office that long.
3 November
Pair-A-Dice Escapee Co-op
Pahrump, NV
I cut my coffee time short in the Club House this morning. This was after cutting short our walk by going only to the Dog Park. I was foot sore and just didn't feel like a walk around the Park, perhaps lazy would be a good description.The reduced coffee time had a different cause. Today is an annual/semi-annual(?) meeting of the Park owners which started at 9:00. The Club House was set up for early arrivals with a extra big coffee pot and donuts. This inducement to arrive early seemed to be working and I left as the crowd began to build around 7:15.
Will be switching to Daylight Savings Time tonight. That should give us some daylight in the morning to walk in once again. That is assuming that Patches will set her clock back as well, if not she will be wanting to get up at 0:Dark Thirty like always.
I found this story on News Busters® a conservative biased consolidator of the NEWS on the Internet, similar to Drudge. You will most likely NOT read/see/hear it reported by any of the lame stream media. If you were watching Real Time then you had the good fortune to see, and hear, Bill live.
Bill Maher on HBO's Real Time Friday said one of the more disgraceful things uttered during the 2012 campaign season. "If you're thinking about voting for Mitt Romney, I would like to make this one plea: black people know who you are and they will come after you". Imagine for a moment the outrage if Rush Limbaugh said even jokingly to Obama supporters, "White people know who you are and they will come after you."
Three Presidents have lost the popular vote but won in the Electoral Collage: Rutherford Hayes (by 1), Benjamin Harrison (by 65), and George W Bush (by 5). John Quincy Adams lost the popular vote, did not obtain a majority in the Electoral Collage and became President by a vote in the House of Representatives. Thomas Jefferson was also elected by the House not because of the popular vote but how the Constitution was written, after that the 12th Amendment changed how the President and Vice President were elected.
This election is shaping up to be another very close one so it is possible that we will have a fourth President elected without getting the popular vote. It is even possible that it could end up in the House again but that would be a real strange outcome with just the two party candidates getting votes. IF there were a third party candidate involved that got some votes then the chances would be greater because the winner must get a majority of the Electoral votes.
4 November
Pair-A-Dice Escapee Co-op
Pahrump, NV
Patches and I were out on the road again this morning doing a 2 mile route. When we first arrived here there was some twilight in the mornings so I felt comfortable doing those walks. For the past three weeks or more that was no longer the case we were doing almost the entire walk in the dark. Now with Daylight Savings Time we are back to walking in the twilight.I did very little else that would be considered different from my usual routine. The only exception was the amount of time I spent on the Internet planning on where I will buy the dog food that I have selected for Patches. It is not something that I am going to find in my usual grocery store nor in some of the small towns that I frequent.
As an example, when I was in Challis, ID I would have had to go to Ketchum or Salmon, ID. When in Jackpot, NV I would have had to go to Twin Falls, ID. I'll now be going to Parker Strip, AZ which is not far from Parker where I can get groceries but the closest store that I can find the dog food at is in Lake Havasu City, AZ.
I can also buy it here in Pahrump so I'll pick up a couple of big bags tomorrow when I go shopping. Lots of shopping chores tomorrow when in town for my last time before leaving.
The Telegraph of the UK has an editorial by Charles Moore posted to their on-line web site It is Mitt Romney’s 'gaffes’ that should win him the election sub-title “The Republican best represents his country’s ability to renew itself for each generation .” I recommend reading it. I can not do it justice by picking only bits and pieces to post here on my site but must tell you that he says the European elite love President Obama because he is the quintessential Anti-Americans' American.
I did not like President Clinton much but compared to President Obama I would have to give him the nod. However, I disagree with what he said in the following quote. I do not think President Obama has brought 'this country together' nor has he strengthened the military. I think most people, even his supporters, would say that he has done more to divide this country rather that bring it together.
At a campaign rally for President Barack Obama yesterday in Virginia, former President Bill Clinton talked about bringing "this country together" and crossing "all of its diversity." Then, Clinton added this: "One of the things the decider-in-chief has to do is decide whether he’s going to bring this country together across all its diversity or let it drift apart. Look at how much stronger the American military is because it is less racist, less sexist and less homophobic and we’re just looking for people who can do the job," said Clinton.
5 November
Pair-A-Dice Escapee Co-op
Pahrump, NV
We did our 2 mile walk again this morning. Immediately after getting home and giving Patches her breakfast I went to town to have mine. Stopped at the Pahrump Diner which I knew opened at 7:00. When they were not open at that time I went to the Nugget and had breakfast.After eating it was time to do my shopping chores. First was Smith's for groceries and then gas. I didn't use my Rewards card for gas today, I'll do that when I stop in Lake Havasu City, AZ next Saturday where gas is more expensive than here.
Made a final stop at my UPS Store to pick up mail and tell them I was out of town again for 6 months. Then a stop at the ATM to get some cash. I carry very little cash and buy almost everything with my credit card and then pay the balance every month but have needed cash when on the road and not had any.
The last stop was at a Feed Store. They have dog, cat and all kinds of other animal food. The no grain dog food that I have picked up for Patches is a Premium dog food with a premium price tag. I knew this from my Internet searches but buying it at a retail store is even more expensive than the prices I saw on-line. O Well, she is worth it and will love me for getting it – Sure.
Cooked up the other cod fillet that I bought last week. It will give me 3 or 4 'linners' and with the leftover chili I am set until I leave here. The only things I bought at Smith's today were for my daily salad and some snack items. Next shopping will be done in Lake Havasu City.
Well tomorrow is election day so we will get a break from political advertising for about a year. Then the mid-term campaigning will begin, not as bad as a year of presidential campaigning but still a pain. My final Presidential prediction: Romney wins the popular vote, Obama wins re-election in the Electoral Collage.
The basis of my prediction: Romney is the taller of the two candidates, this indicates a win for him 64% of the time, however against an incumbent the odds drop to even. The Redskins lost, the Redskin Rule indicates a win for him 89% of the time. Obama wins in the Electoral Collage on the basis of the two month Dow: On September 5th the Dow closed at 13,047 and closed today at 13,112, when the Dow is up over a two month period the incumbent has a 90% chance of re-election.
So there you have it. You can not get a more concise forecast than that from any of the political analyst in the lame stream media. They all hem and haw and give you their on this hand and then on the other hand predictions. Here you are getting it straight from a one handed seer!
6 November
Pair-A-Dice Escapee Co-op
Pahrump, NV
Another nice weather day, very much like the past 3-4. It will be a little cooler tomorrow, cooler again on Thursday and cold on Friday and Saturday. Freezing is possible with the high on Friday forecast to be only 54°. Even colder on Saturday with a high of 50 but I'll be on the road that day and expect to arrive in 62° temperatures.The vote counting has not even begun yet there are Democrat analysts already claiming that if they lose it is because of all the voter fraud. I don't know what they will have to say if they win, I suppose it was that the 'will of the people' overcame the fraud. All I can say is if the fraudsters lose they deserve it for being stupid, if you are going to commit voter fraud then do it right.
I devoted more time than usual to reading my latest novel. Getting close to the end and will probably finish it tomorrow. It is one that I traded for here and I'll trade it for another one before I leave. It by Michael Crichton which I have never read before. I have another one of his novels in my library but if this one is a sample of his better work then I doubt I'll be picking any more of his. I have not been impressed.
When I said that I picked up salad items and some snacks that was not entirely correct. I also got a package of frozen Hatch Chile and Cheese Tamales. A couple of those are going to be added to some of my now famous chili for 'linner' today.
Hecla announced earnings today, and it was a disaster for me, the stock was the 10th largest % loser for the day. They were expected to earn 4¢ but reported a loss for the 3rd quarter. It is looking more and more like I am going to have shares Put to me by the expiration date in December. My best hope is that the stock price will then be close to the Put price less the option premium that I received. Time will tell, the election may make it better or maybe make it worse.
Walter Shapiro wrote the following in If Romney wins, he would begin his first term as a baffling figure and If Obama wins, will he finally tell us his second-term agenda? posting both on Yahoo! News today.
Romney would enter the Oval Office as a baffling political figure. He has reinvented himself politically so many times from his centrist days of his 1994 Senate campaign against Ted Kennedy to the fire-breathing conservatism of the Republican presidential primaries that it’s impossible for an outsider to know what’s real. In fact, Romney himself may be a bit bewildered as to where he stands.
If Obama prevails on Tuesday (or survives a long count that stretches into Wednesday and beyond), I would be eager to read what he says in his post-election interviews. After a stealth reelection campaign, that might be the moment when we finally learn if Obama has fresh ideas for curbing the reign of special interest in Washington. Or how the soon-to-be two-term president intends to bridge the inevitably bitter stalemate in Congress.
7 November
Pair-A-Dice Escapee Co-op
Pahrump, NV
Well the election is over. I picked the winner but was surprised that President Obama also won the popular vote. It is the 'will of the people', there were over 60 million people in this country that thought President Obama did his job well enough during the past four years that he should continue doing it for four more. As H.L. Mencken observed: "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."In his victory speech last night President Obama said: “"We may have battled fiercely, but it's only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward."
After all the nasty things that the President's surrogates have said about Romney over the past 18 months I find this remark a disingenuous platitude. There is no way the President is going to sit down with Romney, he detest the man and has contempt for him.
I said that the President would be re-elected based on the increase in the Dow over the past two months. That increase was not much, only 65 points, but enough for the predictive powers of the Dow to hold true once again. Today the Dow fell 313 points which could be misinterpreted as buyers remorse over his re-election.
Hecla moved up in the face of a Dow collapse but nothing like yesterday. It was only up 2¢ today, after falling 41¢ yesterday, with a couple of news articles supporting the idea that it will move up in the near term. I hope that is true, it is just below $6 now and I need it to be up to at least $6.50 before the December option expiration.
The Michael Crichton novel Timeline was not all that great in my opinion. However, he did have a paragraph in the Acknowledgements that I thought was timely in view of our recent political campaigns and the candidate promises.
“In fact, the conception of a brutal medieval period was an invention of the Renaissance, whose proponents were at pains to emphasize a new spirit, even at the expense of the facts. If a benighted medieval world has proven a durable misconception, it may be because it confirms a cherished contemporary belief – that our species always moves forward to ever better and more enlightened ways of life. This belief is utter fantasy, but it dies hard. It is especially difficult for modern people to conceive that our modern, scientific age might not be an improvement over the pre-scientific period.”
8 November
Pair-A-Dice Escapee Co-op
Pahrump, NV
It is much cooler today than it has been. Tomorrow will be cold with a chance of snow at the higher elevations. That is of some concern to me because one of those higher elevations is the pass that I have to go over Saturday morning. The chances of rain range from 20% to 50% with the chance of snow being less than that so I will go for it.Took Patches to the Dog Park for her morning toilette. I didn't feel up to doing a 2 mile walk today. I may shorten our morning walk tomorrow also because it is forecast to be near freezing.
Have started another novel that is much more entertaining than the last. I also began to set up the December links to the Will Rogers weekly articles. That and doing my laundry while at the Club House for coffee was all the excitement I could stand for the day.
Hecla got a couple of upgrades from analyst today. That coupled with higher silver prices today gave the stock price a 15¢ boost. Not gaining back all of its big loss in one day but at least it is going back up. Gives me some hope and a more optimistic frame of mind since the Dow is continuing a post-election decline.
FoxNews.com has posted all kinds of statistical data supporting how President Obama won the election based on their exit poll. However, they did NOT ask are you receiving Food Stamps, do you belong to a union or are you employed by the federal, state or local government? There are about 47,000,000 people receiving Food Stamps, about 14,000,000 union members and maybe 22,000,000 government employees. There is some overlap within these three categories but the total was certainly enough to re-elect President Obama. I would like to see an exit poll that breaks down how these three groups voted forget all the cutting and dicing that Fox did.
I tend to agree with Gary Johnson when he claims that a mission was accomplished. The Libertarian Party was on 45 state ballots, a huge accomplishment, and there is a 'grass roots' organization in place. If the economy continues to go to hell a third party is going to look better to voters in 2016 when they might garner the magic 5% that will give them a place in the Presidential Debates.
That assumes that the two monopoly parties don't change the rules to exclude anyone else. I will be more optimistic about their Presidential chances IF they can win some House or senate seats on 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020.
"Ours is a mission accomplished," Johnson told FoxNews.com. "We put a true small-government, individual-freedom option on the ballot in virtually every state and have assembled an organization that will carry that message forward." With final vote tallies still being calculated, Johnson's current total of 1,139,562 puts him significantly ahead of any of his party's nine other presidential candidates.
9 November
Pair-A-Dice Escapee Co-op
Pahrump, NV
Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: November 9, 1924It is colder today than it was yesterday but not nearly as cold as the original forecast. The weather guessers have raised the expected high to near 60° but are still calling for it to freeze tonight and only reach 50 tomorrow. I can still expect mid-60s when I arrive in Parker Strip.
The last things that I needed to do to be ready to leave in the morning was dump holding tanks and take on fresh water. I got that done early before the wind got very strong. Then around noon I went to the Park Office and settled my electric bill. I may have a problem getting over Mountain Springs Summit if there is snow down that low but the forecast is still only 50%.
I have no idea what our recycled President is going to say in his speech today but I seriously doubt that it will be anything new. This excerpt from Daily Pfenning today is nothing new either, Chuck Butler has been saying the same thing for a long time now.
I have this feeling though, that lawmakers will do the wrong thing, thinking that they are doing the right thing, by compromising on a solution to avoid the Fiscal Cliff. look. I love tax cuts just as much as the next guy. but we can’t go on like this (why do I feel like I’m breaking up with a girlfriend? ) These tax increases are what I’ve been warning you all about for years now, and here they are! And it won’t stop here, folks. Once these tax increases go into effect and the Gov’t sees the increase in their revenue, they’ll go back to the well and implement more / higher taxes. The tax burdens here in the U.S. are going to be very painful. But, that’s what we get for allowing our leaders to deficit spend like there’s no tomorrow.There is another compromise that the Republicans can make and I'm happy to see that someone, Arnold Ahlert, in Changing Demographics? More Like Enduring Ignorance has written about it. I know it is unreasonable to expect the Republican Party to take his advise but I would really like to see it happen.
I have a suggestion for the Republicans, one they won't hear from anyone else: give Barry and Company everything they want, without an iota of resistance. Let 'em raise taxes and the debt ceiling, gut the military, and run up trillions of dollars of additional deficits and debt. Then stand back, and let an utterly corrupt media chronicle the demise--without being able to pin an ounce of the ensuing socialist catastrophe on an "obstructionist" GOP.
Harry Reid wants to end the filibuster? Tell him it won't be necessary. For the next four years, Republicans will do what a certain Senator from Illinois made a career of doing: they will simply vote "present" on every bill put before them in both houses of Congress. In effect, give Democrats they same unassailable majority they had in 2008--the same one that led directly to the passage of ObamaCare.
Give the people what they want--until they can't stand it anymore.
10 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
I may be posting my daily blogs much later while I am here. I have a good Verizon signal but the connection is so slow that I can not get My Yahoo! to open. This is going to cut into my web surfing time drastically and I'll probably post multiple days when I go to town and get a good connection.I'll continue to write about my daily 'stuff' but I know that is not very interesting. My route today: NV160, (In Las Vegas) Durango Dr, Warm Springs Rd, Boulder Hwy/US93, AZ68, (In Golden Valley) Aztec Rd, Shinarump Rd, Oatman Rd (Historic US66), (Near Oatman) Oatman-Topock Hwy (Historic US66), I-40 @ Exit 1, AZ95, (In Lake Havasu City) Industrial Blvd, Acoma Blvd & AZ95. Note: I have added a stop at The Omelet House that was not originally included in my Journal but I am reasonably certain that I did stop there.
It was only 259 miles but took a long time. At least half of Historic US66 had a posted speed limit of 20 mph with curves of 10-15 mph. I then got delayed in Oatman for about 15 minutes where they had the street blocked and were doing a re-enacted gunfight. Patches did not like that very much but she didn't go crazy, just ran to the back of Desperado or onto the couch away from that awful noise.
It also took me twice as long to pick up some groceries at Smith's in Lake Havasu City. As I have said before, my biggest adventures are learning where everything is at in all the new grocery stores that I go to. I did much better filling up with gas at Smith's, at least their fueling stations are the same.
Castle Rock Shores Resort is not the worse Park that I have stayed in but it is the worse for Verizon and it is not a Resort. The showers and laundry room are nothing to brag about either, about equal to the worst that I can remember. I haven't checked out the 'Club House' yet, they were using it for a wedding reception this afternoon.
Patches and I found a 1.3 mile route this afternoon along AZ95. There is a well used ATV trail on both sides of the highway. Also saw a side road going to the east that we will explore. The one we took to the west today went to a home which is not what we were looking for.
11 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
I found a WIFI location yesterday afternoon that did not require a password and was able to check email and also post to my blog. This morning I could not get that WIFI to connect and found out later in the day that it is the Resort's and can only be used reliably from the Club House.Patches and I took a morning walk around the Resort, it is quite large, and a stop at the gas/convenience store across AZ95 where I got coffee. I'll probably be stopping there every morning unless I find that the Club House has a coffee hour.
After struggling with yesterday's WIFI and Verizon until 9:00 I went to the Office to check in/pay. I was also looking for a different space that would give me a consistent signal once I found out that I had stumbled upon their Club House WIFI.
That was not possible but I was told that a wintering snowbird from Tennessee that is directly south of me, across an open field, offered Internet Service from his router. I went over and talk to him and for $10 I have a connection for the month. It is not the best connection but it it far and away better than the Resort's and better than Verizon.
The problem that I have had so far is a difficulty in getting connected. Once the connection is made I have good up and down load speeds. The first time I connected it took a long time, the second time I timed out 3 times before a connection was made this afternoon I can not get a connection, multiple time outs. Maybe going to the Club House is the only solution?
I bought some more red snapper at Smith's yesterday, it was cheaper than cod for some reason, and today put it to use as some more pescado a la veracruzana. The two fillets that I used today should give me 3-4 'linners' and I have two more in the freezer for next week.
Not knowing if I would be able to post yesterday I didn't write about my breakfast stop. That was at the Omelet House in Henderson, NV on Boulder Hwy/US93. I didn't realize how lucky I was to arrive when I did. I waited a looooong time for a server to take my order, it was only when I left that I saw people waiting to be seated – get there early on a weekend. The cooks are on top of their game and my food came quickly. They also give you plenty; I boxed up ½ of my omelet, then with a tamale had it for 'linner'. Their charge for coffee is outrageous but considering I got two meals out of it the cost was not bad at all.
If you want to get a good prediction of where the US economy is going I suggest that you read about what is happening in France and California. Those two governments are providing the blueprint for where I think we are headed.
California has elected a super-majority of Democrats to their legislature to serve with their Democrat governor. This should allow everyone in America to see the modern liberal-union state in all its raw ambition. The Sacramento political class thinks it can tax and regulate the private economy endlessly without consequence, the same thinking as at the Federal level. As a political experiment it all should be instructive.
12 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
An Internet connection continues to be problematic. The $10/mo router solution would have been fine but it didn't work out. Yesterday afternoon I could not connect and I got my money back.Walked down to the Club House and was able to use the WIFI there to post to my web page yesterday. Went down there this morning and everything was working fine for about 15-20 minutes then I was dropped. When I signed back on I was on a different server, supposedly a newer one, that said I was connected but I could not open any web pages.
I may be posting multiple days yet if I can't get a reliable connection here. I talked to the Office about my problems this morning and they said that they would check it out. When that will happen I'm not sure but I'll give it another try this afternoon.
Doing most of my walks within the Resort so far. I think that will come to and end very soon. Too many other dogs out and about that are causing Patches reaction fits. It is also causing the other dog owners to have reactions to Patches so it is best that we don't meet.
Went for a walk this afternoon to River Island State Park. There are ATV trails on both sides of AZ95 from the Resort to it and the highway sign claims it is 1/2 mile. We walked a little bit farther than that but not much.
Have a connection at the Club House on the 'newer server' just hope it does not kick me off before I can get this posted.
13 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Patches and I went across AZ95 this morning and walked a winding route through a storage unit complex. This is just north of the convenience store where I have been getting coffee. It is mostly gravel covered so the walking in twilight is easier than along the highway and it makes for an easy coffee stop.The weather here has been VERY nice. I'm not sure what the high temperatures have been but I would guess in the upper 70s. There has also been a light breeze during most of the day which has made for pleasant afternoon walks. The lows are probably in the mid to upper 40s which is great for our morning walks.
Finished reading a much better book today. The Charm School by Nelson DeMille is an action spy novel involving Military Intelligence, CIA, State Department Intelligence and the KGB with Russia as the background location. An action movie on paper, I recommend it.
I can not stay well read on the current News because of my dodgy Internet connection here at this Park. I have been able to read the headlines but not get into most of the story details. There was one headline today that caught my attention, that was the trial balloon that was sent up that John Kerry, who served in Vietnam by the way, is being considered for Secretary of Defense.
If the President is truly considering this then I think he is intentionally trying to destroy what little morale there is left in our military. It would be a big slap in the face which could only be made worse by picking Jane Fonda as Assistant Secretary of Defense.
What is he thinking? With the Benghazi/CIA/Patraeus scandal blowing up all around him. It looks like that entire fiasco is going to have the State Department and the Defense Department also mired in controversy. Maybe he thinks that it doesn't make any difference if he has Kerry in State or Defense, either way it is going to be a controversial appointment.
Here is one story where I was able to read the details. This company is only a growing number that are cutting their workforce or changing from full time to part time employees to manage their medical costs under ObamaCare. There will be more.
Hostess has argued that workers must make concessions as it tries to improve its financial position. The privately-held food maker filed for Chapter 11 protection in January, its second trip through bankruptcy court in less than a decade. Hostess cited increasing pension and medical costs for employees as one of the drivers behind its latest filing.
The maker of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread said Monday that the strike has prevented it from producing and delivering products, and it is closing bakeries in Seattle, St. Louis and Cincinnati. The facilities employ 627 workers.
Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, operates 36 bakeries nationwide and has about 18,300 employees. It warned earlier this month that the strike, by about 30 percent of its workforce, could lead to bakery closures.
"We deeply regret this decision, but we have repeatedly explained that we will close facilities that are no longer able to produce and deliver products because of a work stoppage — and that we will close the entire company if widespread strikes cripple our business," Hostess Brands CEO Gregory F. Rayburn said.
14 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
It is slightly cooler today or maybe it is just that the breeze has picked up a little. Still very nice weather with the majority of the snowbirds walking around in shorts and t-shirts. The locals complaining about there being a bit of chill in the morning.Patches and I did the storage unit route again this morning, that will probably be our routine. Yesterday afternoon we followed an ATV trail up a small canyon that is just south of the convenience store and behind an open boat and RV storage lot. It is very soft powdery dirt in some places and very rough rock in others, VERY well traveled by ATVs.
About ½ mile from the Park the trail splits. We took the one to the left yesterday which climbed up out of the canyon but we did not reach the top before turning back. Maybe tomorrow we will take the one on the right and see where that goes.
I have had good luck using the Club House WIFI the past two days. The afternoon routine now is I will eat 'linner', walk with Patches and then get on the Internet using the WIFI. It is very fast compared to Verizon in Pahrump which is good.
I can still use Verizon from my space here in the Park but it is really, really slow. Some of my Daily blog reads, mostly blogspot, will time out before they completely open. A couple of others will open enough for me to read the text but the photos never completely open. Trying to read the News is very frustrating because every page opens so slowly or does not open at all.
My initial assessment of the bathrooms and laundry room was based on appearance. That assessment still holds and I will probably do my laundry in Parker if I can find a a laundromat when I go into town.
However, the bathroom toilets work and the showers have plenty of scalding hot water. There is plenty when you figure out which knob to turn; the left side is labeled 'C' but will give you 'H' if you wait a couple of minutes. The shower head is about a foot lower than eye level. Somewhat like Bulgaria and Mexico. HA
Sadly, my Hecla has gone the way of the Dow since the election. Not only gone the way of the Dow but has done it in spades, down over 12% in the last week. IF it stays at this level there is no question I'll have the Put I sold exercised and I'll be the owner of more Helca shares. I don't think that will be all bad for the longer term but I was short term trading for income rather than long term gain.
I got a neighbor to my east today just as I was leaving to take a shower. When I got back I saw them outside with their two dogs. We visited for a few minutes and I asked if Patches had been barking and they said that they didn't know that I had a dog. I took Patches over to introduce her to everyone and she did SO GOOD. A couple of barks but calmed down quickly and met the two dogs with lots of smells and tail wags. Progress?
As I said yesterday, I can not read all the Internet that I usually do nor want to. What I have read since the election and President Obama's re-cycling is that the Republican Party is finished, to never again be a serious threat to the Democrat Party. Their only hope is to 'change' into a Democrat-Lite Party and thereby compete in future elections by offering the same policies but put forth by a more 'likable' candidate.
This is being said by both Republicans and Democrats. Balderdash, if that is the only way that the Republican Party can continue then it is better that they disappear and a new party take their place on the political stage. A new party that will compete for votes based on principles, if they then lose so be it. Why have two parties with the same party platform?
15 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Continued great weather with a high near 80° but with some high cloud cover during the morning. The extended forecast is for gradual cooling from the upper 70s to the upper 60s just before I leave. There is only one chance of rain shown and that is two days before I leave.Yesterday afternoon Patches and I walked south on AZ95 about ½ mile until we came to another ATV trail going east into another small canyon. That took us up over a low saddle and we could look down into the other canyon that we had walked a couple of days ago. Returning along AZ95 going north was not very good walking, shoulder is not as wide as what is available going south.
My neighbors left this morning. They didn't leave the Park just 'moved on up'. I think they went to the higher rent district where they have a Colorado River front space and view. I considered that move, not for the view but to reduce my walk to the Club House. Didn't consider it for long however, the increased price is too much and I need the exercise.
Silencing General Petraeus by Judge Andrew P. Napolitano for FoxNews.com says what I thought was going on from when Petraeus first briefed Congress. It is going to prove very interesting to see what he has to say in his 'secret testimony', we all know it will be leaked. The lame stream media desperately wants to turn the Petraeus story into a sex scandal soap opera and forget about the four Americans killed in Benghazi.
In the modern era, office-holders with forgiving spouses simply do not resign from powerful jobs because of a temporary, non-criminal, consensual adult sexual liaison, as the history of the FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, and Clinton presidencies attest. So, why is Petraeus different? Someone wants to silence him.
Gen. Petraeus told the Senate and House Intelligence Committees on Sept. 14, 2012 that the mob attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, three days earlier, was a spontaneous reaction of Libyans angered over a YouTube clip some believed insulted the prophet Muhammed. He even referred to that assault -- which resulted in the murders of four Americans, now all thought to have been CIA agents -- as a “flash mob.” His scheduled secret testimony this week before the same congressional committees will produce a chastened, diminished Petraeus who will be confronted with a mountain of evidence contradicting his September testimony, perhaps exposing him to charges of perjury or lying to Congress and causing substantial embarrassment to the president.
16 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: November 16, 1924A busy day, busy for the way I live now perhaps not how I did live. After Patches and I finished our morning walk I un-hooked from electric and we went to town. Located a laundromat with Free WIFI that I will use within the next couple of weeks.
Then the first order of business was to have breakfast at the Crossroads Café. I have stopped here at least once before, maybe twice, as I was passing through Parker. They have a good breakfast at a decent price.
Then went to Chuy's Barbershop which I had looked up on Google but did not write down driving notes and was a little lost. When I found it there was one guy in the chair and one other waiting. Neither the fellow in the chair not the one waiting needed a haircut in my opinion and the one in the chair took forever, I could not see what was being cut.
I had probably four times more hair cut off than the other two did combined and it took only half as long. I'll probably stop in and see Chuy again in February if I'm back this way. He did a good job, much better than the last one I got in Challis, and only charges $11.
From there it was back toward home with a stop at Safeway for some comestibles just before leaving town. Got the fixings for another batch of chili that I will probably put in the Thermal Cooker today but will not eat any until tomorrow. Cooking up the rest of the red snapper fillets, that I had frozen, for today and a couple more 'linners' later in the week.
I finished Code To Zero by Ken Follett yesterday and traded it for another one of his novels. This last one was a good spy thriller but not as good as his Pillars of the Earth. It was not as good as The Charm School either that I finished a few days ago but good enough that I'm giving him another try.
Edward Klein author of The Amateur wrote Yes, Obama is still an amateur president for FoxNews.com where he says the following in part. The entire article is well worth a read.
In the wake of Barack Obama’s victory at the polls, I’ve received a torrent of emails from liberal friends asking me how I can possibly stand by my characterization of the president as an amateur. After all, they say, Obama ran a masterful election campaign—conclusive proof that he’s a pro, not an amateur.
As usual, my liberal friends are conflating two different Obamas—the campaigner and the president—and in doing so, they are missing an important point. Obama has a political sense, but he lacks an executive sense. He is a happy warrior on the campaign trail, doing and saying whatever it takes to get elected, including lying shamelessly about his opponent. But when he leaves the hustings for the Oval Office, he becomes a different person, one who derives no joy from the cut and thrust of day-to-day politics and is inept in the arts of management and governance.
This explains the bullying, divisiveness, and extreme partisanship that have typified the operation of the White House since Obama took office. And it explains why, given Obama’s arrogance, his sense of superiority, and his air of haughtiness, his second term is likely to be a retread of his first. Tom Daschle, the former Democratic Senate majority leader and Obama confidant, put it best when he said: “Don’t expect a personality transplant with Obama.”
17 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
The problem with Verizon became worse this morning. I could not get a connection signal which probably means their system was swamped. I have had slow connections but have always been connected before my computer timed out. Not today.I did finally get a connection while in Desperado and saw I had an email but could not get Yahoo Mail to open. So I went to the Club House this morning as well as in the afternoon. I read my email, all my Daily blogs and wrote most of this posting while there in the morning and then posted in the afternoon.
Overcast this morning and a lot warmer because of that but back to a cloud free sky by 10:00. The high temperature is still expected to be in the upper 70s so another real nice day. No breeze at all early in the day but it picked up during the day as it has been doing, this time bringing clouds. I have run my A/C only one time since being here, then only briefly, when I heated up the interior of Desperado with my cooking efforts.
I have been having some success in curbing Patches' reaction to dogs using the Heel command. She can be lunging and/or barking but has been coming to the Heel position, or close to it, and then looking up to me for a treat or praise. This is VERY good, it stops her from reacting and if the other dog owner is there it provides a positive impression about what a good dog she is.
On August 18, 2012 I wrote: I finished a mystery by Elizabeth George today. I don't know if I traded for this or if I bought it at The Hub. She is an American but writes mystery novels that are placed in England with British dialog that includes slang and what we consider a strange English language. It was very good.
Unfortunately I did not include the title and now can not remember what it was. A Google search plus a scan of the book reviews on her web site revealed that it was For The Sake of Elena (I love the Internet and Google search). I have started another one of hers. It is over 1,000 pages in paperback and I'm now about 75 pages into it. She has me hooked, can't wait to find out what is going to happen next.
Some companies are cutting staff others cutting hours to part time but there is another way for businesses to comply with the provisions of ObamaCare - raise prices. This restaurateur is going to do so but he is going to be transparent about it which President Obama is not going to like.
I would be willing to bet that there will be a regulation imposed by the Secretary of Health that prohibits the adding of an identifiable surcharge. Businesses will be able to raise prices but NOT identify the raise due to ObamaCare.
A Florida restaurateur who operates roughly 40 Denny’s locations and five Hurricane Grill & Wings franchises in Florida, Virginia and Georgia intends to add a 5 percent surcharge to customers’ bills to offset costs from ObamaCare beginning in January 2014 when the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented.
“People are trying to find ways to avoid the penalties and to avoid having to pay for ObamaCare,” John Metz told FoxNews.com. “Everyone’s looking for a way to not have to provide insurance for their employees. It’s essentially a huge tax on all us business people. I have a choice: try to live within the rules, or go out of business.”
18 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Just another beautiful day. Clear sky this morning that remained that way. A nice gentle breeze that stirs the big trees that partially shade Desperado. There are some disadvantages to this RV Park but the weather has not been one of them.It is Verizon that is my biggest disadvantage. Early this morning I was able to connect and read my Daily blogs. Couldn't get all the pictures to load on three of them but those are the three that contain lots of pictures. Then later in the morning I had trouble connecting and even more trouble trying to open web pages. Can only guess that by that time the bandwidth was swamped once again.
Had some of my chili yesterday and it was excellent. However, I now want to experiment with what I think is a great recipe and try to make it even better. I want to add some more 'heat' to it; adding some Tabasco, Tapatio or even Colula after serving is not the way it should be done. I need a good hot salsa that can be added while cooking and also used with my other meals. That is the challenge!
A few days ago I wrote about how the Republican Party needed to become the Democrat-Lite Party. The Associated Press is still playing that tune with GOP needs to get with the times by Kasie Hunt and Steve Peoples. This quote is only part of what they had to say as they continued propagandizing for a one party system in US politics. I think Groucho Marx provided some of the same thinking when he said: These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others.
To hear some Republicans tell it, the Grand Old Party needs to get with the times.Then there is this included in the November 12, 2012 posting on Of Two Minds. It makes the case against the one party political system that is now being championed by the left leaning media and many in the Republican Party.
Some of the early prescriptions offered by officials and operatives to rebuild after devastating elections: retool the party message to appeal to Latinos, women and working-class people; upgrade antiquated get-out-the-vote systems with the latest technology. Teach candidates how to handle the new media landscape.
From longtime GOP luminaries to the party's rising stars, almost everyone asked about the Republicans' Nov. 6 election drubbing seems to agree that a wholesale update is necessary for a party that appears to be running years behind Democrats in adapting to rapidly changing campaigns and an evolving electorate.
If the citizenry cannot replace a dysfunctional government and/or limit the power of the financial Aristocracy at the ballot box, the nation is a democracy in name only. In other words, if the citizenry cannot dislodge a parasitic, predatory financial Aristocracy via elections, then "democracy" is merely a public-relations facade, a simulacra designed to create the illusion that the citizenry "have a voice" when in fact they are debt-serfs in a neofeudal State.
Here's how a sham democracy works: candidates are duly paraded in front of credulous voters in a "which is better, Bud or Bud Lite?" false-choice marketing blitz, while all the meaningful codifying of Aristocratic rule is directed or purchased by the financial and political Aristocracy (two sides of the same coin).
19 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
I didn't feel like doing an afternoon walk yesterday so Patches only got about a 200 yard potty walk to the dumpster and back. Then I took her out again as it was getting dark for even a lesser distance. She didn't seem to mind so I think she was looking for some rest also.We were back to our usual walking routine this morning. This RV Park and the surrounding area is absolutely overrun with cottontail rabbits. Patches has been charging off after them since we got here but hits the end of the 6' leash rather quickly. Now, after a week she has decided, maybe, that is NOT the smarts thing to be doing and she has calmed somewhat.
This might be good training for her. She was like this with birds when I first got her but has improved a lot over the past year. She still reacts to some birds but not all of them as she once did and her reactions are not as wild as they once were.
Almost the same issue with Verizon this morning as yesterday. I was able to read my Daily blogs but none of them completely opened a picture. Took another look at them this afternoon when I went to the Club House. Trying to open News web sites using Verizon today was simply trying.
20 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Another routine day. The weather has been uniformly fine which has now also become much of the routine. Continued clear sky, soft breeze and high temperatures in the upper 70s.If I were to have a convenient Internet connection all would be right with my world. The Club House WIFI has been reliable since the first day and it is very fast. It is too bad that I can not get the signal here at my space. Verizon is very bad again today, always bad just sometimes worse.
I saw a sign yesterday that there will be a Thanksgiving meal there on Thursday. The first thing that popped into my head was that it would disrupt my access to the WIFI. No thought of participating in the meal just WIFI access. Is that a sad commentary about my life or what?
I have noticed only a couple of 'gatherings' in the Club House since I have been here. That surprises me somewhat with the number of people that appear to be here for the winter. I would think that there would be more group activities but it probably takes an organizer to make it happen and it does not look like there is such a person here.
The ugly truth about Benghazi and Team Obama by Michael Goodwin tells it like it is. President Obama and many others in his Administration are going to pay a price during the next four years. As Goodwin says in the same piece: Oddly, Petraeus, brought down by the reckless affair with his biographer, nonetheless looks like the only honest man in the drama.
Until Friday, there were two possible explanations for why the White House failed to immediately call the Benghazi attack an act of terrorism. One was incompetence, the other was worse.
Now there is only one, and it is the worse one. Based on the persuasive testimony of ex-CIA boss David Petraeus, it is clear the Obama administration made a deliberate decision to mislead Congress and the American people.
The repeated claim that the attack was spontaneous and grew out of a demonstration against an anti-Islam video — a claim made by the president and secretary of State as they stood next to the bodies of four dead Americans — was a monstrous lie. It was vile and done for the basest of reasons.
Because we now know the truth of what happened — CIA reports were edited to remove the names of al Qaeda groups involved in the attack, Petraeus said under oath — we also know the motive. It was political self-preservation, meaning the president and his team put politics first.
The timing helps tell the tale. Just days removed from his Charlotte convention, where he danced on the grave of Osama bin Laden and boasted that al Qaeda was decimated, Obama couldn’t bear to admit that affiliated groups were thriving in North Africa. And he certainly couldn’t admit they had carried out a murderous attack on our consulate on the 11th anniversary of the most awful day in American history.
21 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
After getting home from our morning walk I gave Patches her breakfast and cooked up mine. Then struggled with Verizon again to read all of my Daily blogs.For a month now I have tried to contact a dentist in Algodones, Mexico that cleaned my teeth back in January 2010. Sent off an email every week and had no reply. Last night I looked up another periodontist and tried to send an email but my connection was so bad that it would not go through.
After breakfast I went to the Club House and was able to send the email using WIFI with no problem. I stayed there for about an hour looking at the Daily blogs with a lot of pictures that never load using Verizon. Also checked the News that I can not get to open. Then just before I left to go home I check my mail and I had a reply from the dentist I contacted today; later in the day he set my appointment. Things are shaping up!
I have also been thinking about my future home location. I was going to leave here and spend a month at the Kofa Escapee Park in Yuma but they will only let me stay a week at a time which could be a problem. So I have now started to look for another RV Park in that area were I can stay for a month or maybe two.
I had originally thought that I would come back here in February. However, the Verizon situation here is a real bummer and the Park is not where I want to be. So I have started looking for an alternative RV Park for the month of February. I'll then be going back to Pahrump about mid March for a month stay while I go to VA, Dental and Groomer/Vet appointments plus get my Income Taxes filed.
22 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
The first indication that today was not your usual day was the convenience store was closed and I could get no coffee. The second indication was the lack of people moving around in the Park. There continues to be some movement but not the usual coming and going of cars and golf carts.It is a usual day for Verizon only worse. I could not get all my Daily blogs to open today and had multiple dropped connections. As the morning wore on the dropped connections reached a point when I could not connect at all. I'm hoping that I can get caught up this afternoon while on the Club House WIFI.
The weather is the constant. No change in it from past days, just another day. I have some complaints about the Park but the weather has not been among them. Probably the longest period of what I consider perfect weather that I have had in a long time.
A Happy Thanksgiving to all!
23 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: November 23, 1924Today is a semi-usual day. It is Black Friday or a semi-Holiday with many people off work for a 4 day weekend.
I went to town again but the only Black Friday activity I found was when I went for breakfast. I noticed a Mexican Restaurant next door to Chuy's Barbershop last week and wanted to have breakfast there today. It was not to be, they were closed yesterday and today for Thanksgiving.
This is a restaurant that still has Grand Opening signs up so they have not been open for very long. It seems to me that they would want to be open as much as they possibly could to develop a customer base.
There are probably people out and about on this Black Friday that may not want to cook when they finish fighting the crowds for Today's Special. Why are they not open to serve those potential customers? My guess is they closed so that they could go join the masses on this semi-holiday consumer frenzy. So I went to the Crossroads Café again, a restaurant that has been open for many years and understands that to make any money they have to be open.
From there it was homeward with a stop at Safeway as I was leaving town. Picked up the fixings for Pozole and got them all into my Thermal Cooker as soon as I got home. I'll have some of it today and then on alternate days I'll have some more pescado a la veracruzana, this time made with cod that was obtained at a reasonable price.
Verizon continues to be non-available. I could not connect at all this morning or afternoon after getting back home. Multiple attempts during a period of five hours and all of them failed. I hope the Club House WIFI is still available.
24 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Again, I forgot to add the Will Rogers weekly article link to my post of yesterday. When Patches and I got home after our walk this morning I fed her breakfast and went to the Club House to correct that oversight. I also prepared one weekly article for December while I was there and read all my Daily blogs. No Verizon connection again.Since I am not able to do my usual reading on-line or web searches it leaves me a lot more time for book reading. Finished A Traitor to Memory the Elizabeth George mystery that I started not so long ago. A very enjoyable read by an author that I will now seek out when I'm making trades. I found another one of hers at this Park when I made my exchange today.
When I made my Pozole yesterday I used four dried Habanero chilies to give it some heat. WOW, did it ever. It was so hot that I needed to add some diced tomatoes and water to tame it down a little so that I can eat it. Lesson learned. I knew that Habaneros were hot but had never cooked with the dried ones before and was guessing at how many I should use.
On our afternoon walk yesterday Patches was confronted with dogs off leash again. This is the 3rd or 4th time now in this Park. Just another reason for me to want to be out of it. Trying to avoid a confrontation restricts where we can walk and both of us are on guard all the time.
25 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
I went to the Club House again early this morning after our walk and feeding Patches. Didn't check to see if I could get a connection to Verizon because I wanted to prepare another Will Rogers weekly article. Even if I had the poor connection that I had before I would not try to do this using Verizon – it was simply not reliable enough.I finished getting the article ready and then read all my Daily blogs. Then spent a little time looking at the News headlines which have been rather sparse during this 4 day weekend. Yahoo! News especially has been devoid of anything newsworthy during these past few days.
I have also noticed that since Patraeus testified there has been a dearth of News about Benghazi and the sex scandal has quietly faded away. What he had to say in his testimony was NOT what the administration, nor the lame stream media, wanted to hear. I think they were both betting that the threat of exposing him would shut his mouth and then when his affair was 'outed' that he would just fold his tent and steal away.
I think it is also telling that General Allen, the other General caught up in the scandal, has quietly returned to his command in Afghanistan. I don't know what to think about the absence of stories about General Ham, the Commander of the region that included Libya during the attack. He announced that he was retiring on October 29, 2012 but I have not read that he has been called to testify nor any follow-up stories.
I found another Elizabeth George book in the exchange library here this morning and picked it up before someone else got it. I'll trade the Tami Hoag mystery that I'm probably going to finish tomorrow for it. I like Hoag's books also so I'll be looking for some of hers here also before I leave.
26 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Went to the Club House to use the WIFI early again today. Read all my Daily blogs and checked the News headlines. I also tried to connect to Verizon while I was there but had no success.Then when I come home I had breakfast before doing my chores for the day. That was to dump tanks and add fresh water. The fresh water addition went very slowly although it seemed like I had decent water pressure. There looked like there was a lot of dirt in said fresh water so I took the screen out and checked to see if had been plugged up but it looked fine.
The water issue is just another indication of how this Park has aged. The entire infrastructure is in desperate need of being torn down and replaced. I am guessing that it was bought during the real estate boom at an outrageous price and is now probably underwater on the outstanding debt. No money available to upgrade anything so it is just patch here and there and hope for better days so it can be unloaded.
After getting my chores done for the day I tried Verizon again from home and managed to get a connection. The first attempt to open My Yahoo! was a dismal failure however. The second attempt was successful but it loaded even slower that it had prior to Thanksgiving. I had some limited success in opening web sites that I want to read but failed to open others. Maybe it will improve to be just bad like it was before.
Patches and I did a shorter afternoon walk yesterday hoping to find a route that would keep us away from any more loose dogs. We then changed our morning walk today to the route that we had been doing in the afternoon. No dogs out and about in the early morning hours that we walk so this might work.
What I bought this Cyber Monday – nothing. That is even less than what I spent on Black Friday, then I did go to a restaurant and to Safeway for groceries. No big box store or other retail purchases so I guess I'm just not doing my part in keeping this Obama Recovery on track. Sorry!
Went to the Club House this afternoon and the WIFI will connect but will not open any web pages. The Park Office is closed for the day so I have no idea when they will get it fixed. I'll attempt to post this to my web page using Verizon.
27 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
I did manage to get the post for yesterday to update but it took a long time with about a half dozen timeouts on Verizon. This morning the connect speed seems to be back to about what it was before Thanksgiving. I was able to read my Daily blogs using it from home this morning.Had a problem with the ones on blogspot again but nothing that I have not had with better and faster Verizon. I actually was able to open a couple of blogs that had a lot of pictures which surprised me. I'll be going back to the Club House this afternoon to post to my web site if the WIFI is working.
I have not been able to read very many articles concerning the 'Fiscal Cliff'. What I have been able to read are the headlines and they look the same as those that were offered up concerning the Debt Limit a year ago. I also see that President Obama is going back on the Campaign Trail to get support for his proposed higher rates for those with earned income over $200,000/$250,000.
He can not, or will not, negotiate with members of Congress to get it what he wants so it is back to Campaigning. This is what he knows, this is what he is good at so this is what he does.
I also find the fixation on the Tax Rate to be a lot of smoke and mirrors. If the very 'rich' can not find a tax exemption/credit, or other loophole, to avoid paying taxes at the current rate then they probably deserve to be taxed at a higher rate – for being stupid. If he really wanted to raise more revenue from the 'rich' he would be talking and campaigning for the removal of those tax breaks that now exist for them.
28 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Nothing much has changed since yesterday. Verizon is still VERY slow making it a real struggle to open email and to post a comment on one of my Daily blog reads. I was able to use WIFI to post to my site yesterday afternoon which was a great change from the day before.Our morning walks have been during twilight and have been much more pleasant since we changed our route. We now walk along the Colorado River with a full moon shining on its waters. There is another Park across the River that has now put up a few lighted Christmas decorations which adds to the colorful scene. No dog problem at that hour and it is very peaceful.
It has been great weather with the high temperatures now in the lower 80s to high 70s with the lows remaining in the lower 50s, very nice for our morning walks. It should start to cool during the next few days and drop into the low 60s with near freezing mornings by the time I leave.
'Animal Spirit' is the new mantra that Keynesian economist are using to describe how emotions can be measured in terms of consumer confidence which in turn is what drives the modern economy.
However the historical understanding of consumer confidence was a lagging indicator of how the economy was doing. In essence, if the economy expands causing consumer confidence to be higher, consumers will be making more purchases. On the other hand, if the economy contracts or is in bad shape, confidence is lower, and consumers tend to save more and spend less.
This new 'Animal Spirit' is now thought to be driven by the Wealth Effect. Said Wealth Effect being the perceived increase in wealth due to an increase in the stock market or home prices/sales. Therefore, prior to the election the Dow was up and the government was reporting increased home prices and home sales. This data was then used to explain the 4 year high in consumer confidence and the economic recovery.
So President Obama has now been recycled, the Democrats are singing Happy Days Are Here Again, the Dow has dropped 2% since November 5th, the government now report home sales were flat for September – October, corporate earnings are weak and unemployment remains high. But in spite of the poor economic reports the reported consumer confidence remains high which supports a growing economy for the Keynesian believers. I can not help but think 'this is not economics, it is a religion, based on faith'.
29 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Today was another of what I call busy days. Right after we finished our morning walk I un-hooked from electric and we went to town.The first stop was at Wal*Mart, I wanted to make amends for not participating in Black Friday, Black Friday Weekend or cyber Monday. Picked up a 60 day TracFone card, some poop bags, new bed sheets and pillow case plus a plastic squeeze bottle for my home brew hot sauce. I thought that was enough to be redeemed in the eyes of Mammon.
Next it was to Lily's Mexican Restaurant for breakfast. There I had a decent Hevoes Rancheros but not worth repeating. I'll probably go back next week and try something else on their very limited breakfast menu.
Then it was time to do some multitasking. That is do my laundry in town and use their Free WIFI. I found that I could get a connection to Verizon with speed that was as fast or faster than the WIFI but I used both to read through most of my Daily Blogs.
I was the only one in the laundry when I got there but the beauty salon next door also opened while I was there and others came in. What that meant was I got blocked in with cars in front and back of me. The one behind me was a handicap spot and I think the car that parked there was illegal but I found the driver of the one in front and she moved so I could get out.
Last stop was at Safeway to gather groceries for this next week. I then made up another Thermal Cooker full of Pozole when I got home. Cut back to half as many habanero chili as I used last time and used beef stock rather than tomatoes for the liquid this time.
Tried to use Verizon after I got home and it was back to being able to connect but NOT able to open any web pages. I tried again after noon and was not even able to connect. This is what was going on during the four day Thanksgiving weekend. I was surprised because I was getting such good service while I was in town.
In the articleThe inconvenient truth about the 'fiscal cliff' and 'taxing the rich' by Robert Hardaway he says what I said a couple of days ago. Focusing on the Tax Rate rather than raising revenue is all smoke, mirrors and politics.
Lost in the hoopla is that Mitt Romney favored an approach that would greatly increase the taxes on the rich by limiting deductions.President Obama continues to bloviate about the 'rich' needing to pay their 'fair share' and how the Republicans are obstructing tax rate increases. It is the same stump speech that he has been giving for 18 months or more. It didn't gain him control of the House in the last election so I don't believe that the recently elected/re-elected Republican Representatives are going to roll over for him now.
While proposing a reduction in the marginal tax rates for all, Romney’s proposed cap on deductions (say a limit of $50,000) would, according to the Tax Policy Center, inflict 96.2 percent of the resulting increase tax burden on the top 20 percent of income earners, and 79.9 percent of the increased higher tax revenues on the top 1 percent.
If the demagogues were really serious about raising revenues from the rich, they would expose the myth that the home mortgage deduction is a “middle class” deduction. In fact, the inconvenient truth is that the bottom third of Americans reap nothing from the deduction, and half of the remaining 65 percent can’t use it because the standard deduction is more favorable. And of the top 35 percent who do actually use it, the lion’s share goes to the very richest homeowners who can afford, and thus deduct, the interest on—believe it or not-- a million dollar mortgage. No other country in the world rewards its very richest homeowners with largess on such a magnitude. (Note: He is wrong about this, the Netherlands is ever bit as generous and it has created a serious problem for that government.)
He wants everyone to think that come January 1st EVERYONES taxes are going to go up. This is a mis-statement at best or simply a lie, there are about 47% of the income tax filers that pay no income tax now and will not pay any if tax rates go up. If my Taxable Income is zero then I owe nothing at a 10% rate and will continue to owe nothing at any tax rate unless my Taxable Income goes up. During the past 4 years that has not happened.
If he wanted to generate some significant revenue and 'tax the rich' he would leave rates where they are and exclude ALL Deductions and Exemptions for anyone with Taxable Income over $200,000/$250,000. That would punish the rich and generate some revenue! Want to punish the 'greedy rich' from investing offshore, take away the tax credit for Taxes paid to foreign countries – that would add to their 'fair share' in US Income Taxes.
He has not proposed such tax changes because it would in fact punish the rich, the rich that give the biggest percentage of campaign contributions. The rich know they can avoid most, if not all, of a tax rate increase but serious tax reform would hit their pocket book hard and would seriously impact campaign contributions.
When I went to the Club House there was no WIFI available. Today's posting may happen tonight using Verizon or tomorrow using WIFI, then again it may not.
30 November
Castle Rock Shores Resort
Parker Strip, AZ
Read Will Rogers column 88 years ago: November 30, 1924After my very busy day yesterday I thought it best to slow down and take it easy today. So, with that in mind I settled back into my usual routine.
One small deviation in the morning. I had finished my latest novel last evening so I went to the Club House and traded it for a Tami Hoag that I had located a few days ago. They had 5-6 of hers here but I had read all but the one that I picked up. A good find, although it is in rather worn condition.
I was able to post yesterday's update to my web page last night, using Verizon, with only a couple of time outs. I got lucky, soon after that I tried to reply to an email and the reply timed out repeatedly until I gave up. This morning I was able to send the reply with no problem at all. I was also able to read all of my Daily blogs this morning and even see all the pictures that they had posted.
I have even been able to read some of the stories about the Fiscal Cliff and the non-negotiating that is going on. I'm guessing that President Obama has launched his Campaign for a third term on this issue or perhaps it is a bid to be President for Life. Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel wrote Congress should dive headlong off fiscal cliff for The Daily Caller where they said the following in part.
America is now the most indebted nation in the history of the world, a country about to post its fourth consecutive trillion-dollar budget deficit, a place that owes more to creditors than the sum total of its entire economy. We are going under, for real.Then this is what Charles Krauthammer had to say about the Fiscal Cliff proposal that President Obama has offered up.
And almost nobody in our political system really cares. Sure, some in Congress make the right noises. But at this point there is no sizable constituency for reducing federal spending. By contrast, entitlements are more popular than ever, and most voters favor sending an ever-larger portion of the bill to a relatively tiny group of people. When Obama says we ought to soak the rich, he is speaking for the majority.
It's not just a bad deal, this is really an insulting deal. What Geithner offered, what you showed on the screen, Robert E. Lee was offered easier terms at Appomattox, and he lost the Civil War. The Democrats won by 3% of the vote and they did not hold the House, Republicans won the house. So this is not exactly unconditional surrender, but that is what the administration is asking of the Republicans. This idea -- there are not only no cuts in this, there's an increase in spending with a new stimulus. I mean, this is almost unheard of. What do they expect? They obviously expect the Republicans will cave on everything. I think the Republicans ought to simply walk away.I agree with what Carlson and Patel as well as what Krauthammer have to say but I would suggest that the Republicans walk away and give the majority what the want - what the President has proposed. To do this House Speaker Boehner should tell the President that the Republicans accept his proposed deal and for him to submit a Bill. When it comes up for a vote in the House the Republicans would simply vote 'present' and let it pass to the Senate where the Democrats have control. The ball is then in their court , they can then pass it and have ALL the responsibility for the tax increase or back off and negotiate.