Buying a Dog

OK, I’m getting older, my hair is changing colors, my belt has shrunk, and I am a walk is a little slower but 18 Presidents have been older than my current age, God knows how many CEO’s, executives, and heads of major league sports teams.  Professors at major universities are often older than I, Harrison Ford, Elton John, Ann Margaret, and Sophia Loren are older.  I can still read, write, think, and move by bowels without drug help and plan to continue those conditions for quite some time.

So I’m buying a dog and these people parade docile, over aged, low spirited mutts before me and claim they would be perfect, match my life style.  My life style?  They just met me and don’t know a damn thing about me. I drive a Z3, can sail a boat, ski the Rockies, hit a golf ball around 300 yards without an engineered club and flexible ball.

Well, I didn’t get a dog from them and my new pooch is a 1 and ½ year old 90 lb German Shepherd pup who will kick their K 9’s tail. 

The point is people are only old when their views and perceptions are out of date.  I’m not old but that person of limited years is.   In 1750 they would probably be putting me on an ice flow but today I have a chance of going thirty or forty more years, especially if our government offers health care to citizens and doesn’t privatize social security.

Don’t make the same mistake.  Best advice I can give you today.

26th New York

On May 24, 2011 the people of the 26^th congressional district of New York elected a new congressional representative.  Some people have read a lot into this (usually supporting their own views) and some have downplayed it (to disguise the abuse to their positions), and many people just don’t care.  The first two groups are normal but that third group is growing and should be examined.  You and I know what is going on but does anyone else?

Forget how you feel about George Bush but one thing that everyone agrees with is he excited electors.  In 2004 his people liked to point out that he grabbed more votes than any person who ever ran for president.  Democrats missed the fact that their own candidate, John Kerry, had more votes than anyone ever had who opposed an incumbent President.  The point is, people voted.

Now the 26^th happens and few people care. Why?  I believe both political parties are at fault and neither knows it.  They are traveling on the same tracks they have used for two centuries without realizing that the world uses computers and the internet.  And the news media, for the most part, reports what it is told by the two parties instead of asking us.  Gee, what a novel concept, interview people for a story.

Look at the normal 26^th NY Republican.  Conservative? Yes, but in a Rockefeller way, not a Palin rhetorical disconnect.  They had a history of some very solid Congressmen including soldiers from the Revolutionary War and a Secretary of State under President Grant but were embarrassed by Chris Lee who solicited women on Craigslist by sending them semi-nude pictures of himself and possibly transgender women though he was married at the time.

At the same time they hear leaders of their Party walking lock-step with a TV and Radio network, making statement diametrically contrary to what those same people  had said a few months earlier, and complaining about overspending when their President had squandered a federal surplus.  It is embarrassing to have your Party leaders tell you that winning an election is far more important than supporting your nation or even being civil to your neighbor.

That is where the story is, that is where the truth sits, not the Ryan plan to dismantle Medicare and eventually Social Security.  The people of the 26^th will vote against that on their own.  Why doesn’t the media tell everyone that the election was not changed by the candidacy of Jack Davis because he wasn’t a Democratic tool.  Hell, he was a lifelong Republican before he ran as a Democrat two years ago and in 2011 attempted to be the candidate of every Party but only the Tea Baggers would have him.  People of the 26^th know this but it wasn’t reported by the media.  I guess it was too difficult to look at a voter registration document.

No, the people of the 26^th N.Y. are just fed up, like people all over the nation.  The Daily Show and Colbert Report have become the only reliable news sources, Congress people only respond to the media and polls conducted by lobbyists, Ryan can only be elected by those dumb enough to vote during a Wisconsin ice storm, the group interested in Palin or Bachman running are the same promoting Trump, stand-up comedians.

We get it, you talk to us like we were eighth graders but in the end;

1. we graduated from more than the eighth grade,
2. your funding of education has reduced eighth graders to seventh graders, and
3. few politicians or reporters today are smarter than a fifth grader.

Grandma’s Birthday

Just something to make you happy.

My Mother-In-Law celebrated her 90^th birthday in May of 2011.  She is a huge Cleveland Indians fan so we all got together (16 of us) and surprised her with an Indians v Mariners game and dinner.  We came to Cleveland from Maryland, Wisconsin, Toledo, and Dayton.  I made the arrangements by calling the Indians front office and to accommodate us they put the tickets in several envelopes and left them at will-call.  That way we didn’t have to all arrive at the same time and spoil the surprise.

The people at will-call were great.  When my Wife and I arrived with Grandma they didn’t say a thing about the other envelopes and spoil the surprise.  When the usher found out what we were doing he contacted the front office and made arrangements for them to put her picture on the scoreboard.

Well something always goes wrong and it rained during the end of the first inning and the game went into delay.  We all found shelter in the tunnel leading to our seats whish isn’t the most comfortable area in the world.  The usher went into the adjacent concession area looking for a chair for Grandma and they built one out of large plastic crates they had cleaned.  Then they all came out to the tunnel, wished her a happy birthday, and sang.  Since my Wife’s maiden name is Wlodarski one of the women even sang Happy Birthday in Polish.

Because of the way we were treated right from the start we will definitely go to another game when in town and root for the Tribe.  It will be difficult to attend the make-up game since we are all coming from decent distances so we are giving the tickets back to the Indians to be given to charitable organizations so some children can enjoy a game for free.

Remember this when you are doing your job.  Sometimes we get fed-up with our work, our boss, our company but the client isn’t there for that.  Give them a good experience, maybe they are just trying to get away from a bad situation themselves.  And wouldn’t the world be a better place if we all tried to put a smile on someone each day?  The Cleveland Indians sure put a smile on all of us.

Public Trust?

There are several reasons that voters get upset with their public officials and here is one of them.  In Virginia several counties are enacting laws that prohibit children from being in dog parks.  Now it isn’t a bad idea for the real young to be required to have parental supervision but some of these laws extend to 14 year olds.  Last year Virginia passed a statewide law that allows people to carry open and concealed weapons into bars if the person is 18 or older.  Parental supervision at 14, Smith and Wesson at 18.

We all know the reason for this, the NRA contributes more to political campaigns than the American Kennel Association but I guess some law makers don’t think we are smart enough to figure it out. 

Evolution

So much has been written on this subject, some correct and some not, that I thought I would add my two cents.  First let us clear up some clearly incorrect facts that just get in the way like Darwin preaching “survival of the fittest”.  It never happened.  He wrote about how life evolves to meet the environment it is in.  Spencer actually wrote about “survival of the fittest”.  And then there is the Scopes Monkey trial which was made even more famous by the movie “Inherit The Wind”.  William Jennings Bryant (Mathew Brady in the movie) argued against the Spencer idea of “survival of the fittest” and not necessarily against evolution.  He believed that form of thinking discriminated against the average hare working person and promoted the highly successful to a superior class.

Now that I have that off my chest let us look at the idea itself.  It can be argued that human beings have evolved over time in both physical and mental ways.  People living near the equator have darker skin, Eskimos put up with the cold, Irishmen drink great whiskey because they got fed up with potatoes, and Clevelanders don’t mind sports teams that never win.

But then people can argue that some human beings never change.  The English still go ga-ga over the Royal family, Women continue to talk a different language, dogs have never leaned to kiss on the lips.  Men are probably the best example of this as you can see from this picture.  Look at it closely and see if you can identify physical responses that have never changed.  It may take a while, especially if you are a male but I trust that you will identify the commonality.  By the way, don’t try this experiment on your own as it may result in unrelated problems and medical attention.

A Thought About Congressional Salaries

Back in the 1980’s Social Security was partially reformed and the idea should be continued.  People who were making enormous amounts in retirement income for the day had their Social Security payments reduced and even taxed.  On the surface this may sound bad but if someone has an annual retirement income of a million dollars should they really receive Social Security when that money could more appropriately go to balance the budget and help people who now have to live on the meager Social Security checks?  Why not extend the idea?

If a Congress Person, from a different source, earns an amount larger than their Congressional pay then the Congressional pay should be reduced by 50 cents for every dollar of additional income.  For instance in 2011 the normal House and Senate member earned $174,000 per year.  If they earn an additional $174,000 (a total of $348,000) then nothing will happen.  But if they earn an additional $200,000 instead, then their public pay would be reduced by $26,000.  This could be done by a direct payment from the Congress Person or collected with their subsequent tax return. 

I don’t think that is too much to ask.  Their income for the year would be $322,000 which is more than enough to live on. 

Now not all of Congress makes $174,000 each year, some make more.  Cong. John Boehner, the Speaker of the House makes $223,500 and I believe others get extra money for chairing committees etc. well I propose that these extras be considered as extra so the $49,500 that Cong. Boehner makes for being Speaker would be classified as additional income so if he earned $200,000 outside of Congress he would be considered to have earned $249,500 from non-standard Congressional pay and have to pay back and have to pay back $37,500.

Of course this would not have a great effect on the national debt or budget but it would help treat us all the same.

The Death of Osama Bin Laden

There was cheering in the streets, emails passing around the world, high fives and screams of happiness and joy.  But was it right to celebrate the death of a human being?  If we call ourselves the greatest nation in the history of the world, if we say that we are a God fearing culture that believes in the sanctity of the individual and condemn those who would even support the concept of abortion can we be exalted in the termination of a man for whatever reason?  NO.

I, like you, do not rejoice in the death of Osama Bin Laden.  I am not pleased that our nation’s military might was used to stop the bodily functions of this man.  I find no cheer in his last gasp of air.  But neither will I shed a tear that he is gone.

The leader of the insurrection, the architect of the war has been eliminated by paying the same price that so many innocents have been forced to pay and in that I am happy.  Osama means nothing to me but the cause of the battle is no longer and I see no reason to be sad over it.

This does not make me an advocate of capital punishment.  The taking of a life is not something that can be justified based on circumstance and personal definition.  In my eyes it is wrong and the fact that Bin Laden “started it” is an insignificant fact.  That is an argument that would allow others to control my actions and that is something I can not allow.  But capital punishment was avoidable and only became a consequence when the plans were approved to bomb the USS Cole.  We are responsible for our actions and the actions of others when we are the cause.

So, I am not happy that he is dead but I am happy that possibly the end is in sight for the ridiculous murders that have resulted from the ego and false interpretations of God and Gods will.  I am happy that more people will be able to shed their camouflage uniforms and come home.  I am happy that the people of the world will be able to see and appreciate the problems of the Arab and Muslim people without the distortion that results when a Bin Laden is around.

I am also sorry for Charlie the Tuna, Orca, Sponge Bob Square Pants, and even Moby Dick.

Osama is dead

Donald Trump is insisting on the long form death certificate, Oliver Stone is doing a new movie where OBL was on the grassy knoll, Palin started her own investigation but stopped before any conclusion, John McCain said “who is OBL and where is Booth.  I can’t make fun of Faux News since they are already doing the stupid thing by saying the shooting was a week and a half ago.  Like the President wouldn’t have used such great news to force the budget. 

I’m not really sure why everyone has to think they are being lied to all the time.  Those people who are telling you that something is false are doing it so they can get paid.  Theyi have as little or less credibility than the ones they are accusing, including Congress.  I’m not saying that everything you are told is true, I’m just saying to use your own brain, it is much more reliable. 

You probably got the email comparison of JFK and Lincoln.  Think about it.  JFK left Marilyn Monroe’s house on the way to Dallas?  She was dead about a year by then.  Lincoln didn’t go to Monroe, MD before the assassination because there is no Monroe, MD.  The US did land Neil Armstrong on the moon, Babe Ruth never telegraphed his home run against the Cubs, and Billie The Kid is as dead as Hitler.

It would be impossible to keep the secret.  Besides, who cares.

Have fun and Stay Thirsty My Friends.

Effective Phone Courtesy

I don’t memorize everyone’s phone number, there are just too many, so when someone calls and wants a return call without giving me their number, I take my time. First I have to look it up in an personal address book, on my cell phone director, or look it up on CID. This reduces the priority which I assume they know since they assumed I had their number memorized. Hence the delay.

If they do leave a number, more times than not they say it so quickly that I have to play the message over several times before I get it. If they don’t speak clearly I probably wont get it correct so there is no return call.

Companies looking for my business make all the above mistakes frequently which is really dumb. Then they shrug it off or say “well, it’s on the invoice.” How stupid can you get?

Here is are a few simple things to do so that people who you want to call back, will.

1. Leave your phone number.
2. Leave it a second time.
3. Don’t leave it at the beginning or end of the message. (God, don’t leave a message that is over a minute long. Half minute is better)
4. Speak slow and clearly.
5. Follow it up with an email or text message.

Now, that isn’t so hard is it? “Hi, its Ed Boyle. Could you give me a call at 4,4,4,3,3,3,2,2,1,1, that’s 4,4,4,3,3,3,2,2,1,1, I want to talk to you about the tickets. I’m not sure I can go since my car was just hit by an elephant that was crossing outside the crosswalk. I don’t care what the Police say, Dumbo can’t even fit in the crosswalk. Why can’t the circus have a street parade like they use to? Who is going to clean up after these things?”

See. Simple.