Follow The Moneey

When someone says, "It not about money," it is all about money. That’s the driving point on Obamacare and just about every other government run program. Insurance companies stand to lose billions of dollars if the health care act is delayed. And, politicians stand to lose campaign dollars and special deals.

If you think that Obamacare is ridiculous, then just wait and see what happens on immigration reform.

Follow the money. Always follow the money.

PMO
©2013

So He Lied

What’s the big deal about Obama lying about Obamacare? He is a politician. That’s what politicians do. If you believe them, you probably believe that Lucy won’t move the football when Charlie Brown comes running to kick it.

PMO
©2013

Go Home

My friends Garrey and Cindy are building a house in Central Texas. They have a motor home and are staying in it until the house is complete. That sounds like fun - NOT! Anyway, a few weeks ago, two dogs showed up.   At first, they decided not to feed them in hopes the dogs would just leave. Finally they gave in and fed the dogs.

Since both Garrey and Cindy are dog lovers and want to do what’s right, they took the dogs to a vet and got them checkups and shots - not cheap for two dogs. Then they had the female spayed. Again, not cheap. But, if the dogs had adopted them, what could they do. Then it happened.

One Sunday morning as they were leaving for church, the dogs followed them to road that runs in front of their property. They stopped the car and Cindy told the dogs, "Go home." The dogs did.

They haven’t seen them since.

PMO
©2013

Don't Do It

Working with a young man on a financial planning project, he asked me, "What do you do now that you are retired?" My response was that I had no idea of what I do, but I need to find a job so I can get a day off.

The interesting thing about retirement is that it is not what you think it will be. Sure, for awhile, you may do what you want to, but circumstances change that. For example, we used to live about an hour and a half drive from my in-laws. Now, it’s twice that. We used to live in a house that required little to no maintenance. I designed it that way. Now, if I were so inclined, I could spend all day, every day working on this old house. My best guess is that if I did want to do all the things that need to be done, I would have to live to be the oldest man in the world to finish. Then, I’d just have to start over.

The company where I retired, has retirement seminars for those at or near that "magic" age. They tell them all the things they should know about pensions, insurance, social security and all that stuff. What they don’t tell them is that if they are in good health, like what they do, and enjoy most days, they should not retire. So, my advice to those thinking about retiring is, don’t do it unless you have to.

Besides, if you die on the job, the company may pick up some of your final expenses.

PMO
©2013

Dog Training

A friend of mine that works at our bank referred me to a facility that trains dogs. In fact, they have a complete doggie center - boarding, training, rescues, and a lot of other stuff. To get D D trained, it would cost about $1,500 and take 30 days at the center. I like the idea of the dog being gone for 30 days, but am not ready to spend the money. Those that know me think I’m cheap. Really, miser is what I’m going for.

The doggie center pampers and pets the dogs. They have a private room with a private area they can roam freely. Daily golf cart rides and even paddle boat rides are part of the boarding package. The dogs gets baths and a massage. Food and treats are always available. And, since the center is part of a working horse ranch, the dogs get to interact with the horses - however dogs interact with horses.

I’ve decided to spring for a few days of boarding time. It sounds too good to pass up.

For me. Not the dog.

PMO
©2013

Puppy Stage

Just how long is the puppy stage for a Shih Tzu? That’s a rhetorical question. My financial controller’s rescue dog is now about nine months old and still behaves like a six week old. She chews up everything and what she can’t chew she finds other ways of destroying it.

As I’ve mentioned before, I like dogs better than people, but this pup is real close to swinging me back to people. Yes, I have worked on training her. I might add that I’ve spent over 50 years trying to train my financial controller. The results are the same.

The dog’s name is Ziggie. That’s what civilized people call her. I call her D D.

Damn Dog.

PMO
©2013

The Duke

"There's a lot of things great about life. But I think tomorrow is the most important thing. Comes in to us at midnight very clean, ya know. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." - John Wayne

Think about that for awhile.

PMO
©2013

Immorality Crackdown

KANO (Nigeria) (AFP) - Police who enforce Islamic law in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have arrested 150 people last week, including for indecent dress, as part of a crackdown on immorality, a spokesman said. (Yahoo)

Infractions included haircuts inspired by international football players, wearing trousers too low on the waist and anything else deemed inappropriate by shiria law. The arrest were made by Hisbah, a state police force, funded by state government, but not a part of the federal police.

Hisbah could have a field day at the Walmart where I shop.

PMO
©2013

Mr. Smarty

The average IQ - Intelligence Quotient - is 100. Above average is 115, genius is 140 and extraordinary genius is 160. Those that get 70 or below are considered impaired.

Stephen W. Hawking has an IQ of 160. He has authored seven books and is credited with helping us mortals understand the universe.

Kim Ung-Yong’s is 210. He’s the guy that was fluent in four languages by age two, and audited college courses by age four. Pretty smart guy.

Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft comes in at 170 and is worth $14.2 billion. I wonder if he could fix my mother-in-law’s computer so she can’t mess it up?

Wow! Terrence Tao has an IQ of 230. I think that’s genius to the 10^th power. He was doing math at the age of two and received a PhD from Princeton at 20. At 24, he became the youngest ever full professor at UCLA.

Are you ready for a smarty you may not believe? The actor James Woods is considered the 10^th smartest person with an IQ at 180. He enrolled in linear algebra at UCLA while in high school before accepting a full scholarship to MIT. There he caught the acting bug and the rest is history.

Some other really smart people include Albert Einstein, 160, Bill Gates, 160, Thomas Edison, 145, Ben Franklin, 160 and Beethoven, 165. All of these are very impressive, but none compare to Al Gore.

He invented the internet and knows how to stop global warming.

PMO
©2013

Reboot Your Brain

I spend a little time browsing the internet looking for things that interest me. This week I came upon entrepreneur.com and found an article about how to reboot your brain. My brain needs rebooting or maybe I just need more memory. All of my computers have more memory than I do.

The five steps to reboot a brain are simple enough. First, take a walk outside. I do this often, because my brain needs rebooting a lot.

Second on the list is drink a glass of water. According to the article, most Americans are chronically dehydrated and studies show dehydration can slow down brain function.

Third on the list, breathe in or diffuse lemon essential oil. You should keep a small bottle at your desk and take a sniff once in awhile. Supposedly citrus or spicy scents stimulate the nervous system and reenergize you. I know when I smell chili, I get more focused.

Eat something healthy is fourth on the list. Personally I am not in favor of this one. I have observed that people that eat healthy still die. I’ll take my chances with ribs, chili, and hamburgers. They taste a lot better than celery and some kind of seeds.

Finally is take a nap - my favorite. I am really good at this one. It is recommended to limit said nap to no more than 20 minutes. If that is true, I usually get in three naps at a time.

So now you have it. Just follow the simple steps and get recharged.

If you go outside to take your nap, don’t lie down on the sidewalk.

People get upset when I do that.

PMO
©2013

Perfect Credit

Listening to talk radio, my favorite music, I heard the hosts discussing countries with perfect credit ratings. These ratings come from Standard and Poor's and Moody’s. The highest score is AAA. Guess what? The US is not in the top ten.

The top five are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, and Germany in that order. The reasons for the ratings include the ratio of debt to GDP. Australia’s was 27.9% at the end of 2012. Denmark has the worst government debt of the top AAA rated countries. Theirs is 59%.

The good old USA is 102%. That basically means we spend more than we produce. And, we are headed for $20 trillion debt if some miracle doesn’t happen. Never mind, there’s not likely to be that big of a miracle. But, I have an idea.

Let’s have a lottery drawing and award the winner (loser) the entire debt. It cost nothing to enter and everybody is entered. The winner (loser) would assume all the debt. Obviously that person would not be able to pay off such an amount. But, the US would be out of debt and the winner could simply file bankruptcy. Then the country’s credit score would be excellent and we could borrow a pile of money.

Hey, I don’t charge for all my great ideas.

PMO
©2013

Do You Realize?

Do you realize that about half the people in this country are below average? About 49.9% to be precise. And, do you realize that we have doctors, lawyers, engineers, pilots, pharmacist, and politicians that got through school by being only smart enough to pass?

How do you tell which ones they are? Can you imagine asking a doctor or pharmacist to see their transcripts? And, before you get on a plane, stopping to ask the pilot if he/she knows how to land a plane. How about, stopping before you cross a bridge and checking out the engineer that designed it?

Politicians are easy to tell. They all fall in the below average group.

PMO
©2013

Hate Group

According to a report on Foxnews.com, by Todd Starnes, the US Army has defined the American Family Association, a well respected Christian ministry, as a domestic hate group because the group advocates for traditional family values.

In a briefing at Camp Shelby in Mississippi, several dozen active and reserve troops were told that the AFA is considered to be like the KKK, Neo-Nazis, Black Panthers, and the Nation of Islam. Even after being challenged several times by a chaplain, the presenter refused to change the position. Mr. Starnes says the Army has not responded to his calls about the presentation. In the past they have simply stated that it is not official policy.

The problem with being in the military is that you have to follow orders. I have witnessed first hand what happens when you don’t. Therefore, you now have a group of soldiers, regardless of what they believe, that will have to act accordingly.

Christians, true Christians, are the most peaceful people in the world. They have to be if they are going to follow the Christ. That is not to say that when it comes to standing up for right, if they are pushed far enough, they will fight.

Just try taking the last piece of chicken at a Baptist social supper.

PMO
©2013

1965?

This link will take you to a presentation by Paul Harvey, done in 1965.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJc8Mzg0C-c

Good day.

PMO
©2013

POOP

Okay, I’m fed up with government and their games that cost taxpayers in more ways than money. And, I’m not the only old coot that feels that way.

A while back I came up with an idea for seniors to express their dissatisfaction with all the "poop" in Washington and even the local level. When I told some peers about my plan, they all wanted to sign up. It’s simple. A bumper sticker and a total agreement to vote the yahoos out and force the replacements to follow the laws.

The bumper sticker simply says, "POOP." "Pissed Off Old People."

There are millions of us.

PMO
©2013

Got It Figured Out

The future of the country seems to hang on wether or not "Obamacare" is funded. This little "law" or whatever it is, is the driving force of the Democrats. For some reason, although no one has read it, the folks for it, ain’t gonna give up.

I have not read it entirely. Old men depend upon others, that are reliable, to read, analyze and report what the heck it says. I try to avoid all the internet doomsday stuff. And, I have come to the conclusion that "Obamacare" is not for working people. They won’t be able to afford it.

If you are male or female, have a job, have current insurance and doctors you like, or want medical services when you need them, don’t count on "Obamacare."

It’s just a tax anyway.

PMO
©2013

"Dingy" Harry

Driving and listening to one of my favorite radio stations I heard Senator Harry Reid talking about the government shutdown. I still think that we would be much better off if congress and the white house shut down and left everything operating. Reid was espousing about how the Tea Party was holding the country hostage - demanding budget control. He accused the Republicans refusing to negotiate, refusing to even meet with the Democrats.

I understand that my memory is not what it used to be, but hasn’t the Senator and the White House stated numerous times they would not negotiate on "Obamacare" or the debt limit. In fact they said the only way they would negotiate would be if they got everything they want without question.

And, the Republicans are the "terrorist?" Perhaps Reid plans to go to work for one of the major news networks when he retires. He’s got the spin down. Or, he could always do stand up comedy.

Will Rogers said, "I don’t tell jokes. I just watch Congress and report on what they do."

PMO
©2013

Fires Of Freedom

Surely you’ve heard about the Veterans march in Washington, D.C. over the weekend. They were protesting the closing of military memorials. CNN called them, the Tea Party Crazies. Just further evidence that the media has a real problem with American beliefs and values.

There are lots of opinions and I have mine. It may be that what is really happening is the beginning of the fires of freedom. A lot of people have had enough of government pushing them around. One of the chants at the march was, "You work for us," to the police. I sincerely believe that fact has been gone from the minds of politicians for a long time. They appear to think, they dictate and we follow like sheep.

There’s a lot of finger pointing going on in Washington. What they haven’t figured out yet is that there are a lot of citizens starting to point a finger at Washington.

Guess which finger.

PMO
©2013

Place For Stuff

One, if not the biggest, annoyances I have about where we live is the lack of places to put your stuff. For you old folks, you may remember George Carlin. He did a comedy routine about why we have stuff and then have to have a place to put our stuff. When we get more stuff, we have to have more places.

In our dear little community, you are not allowed to have storage space unless it is attached to the house. Well, guess what? I do. It’s hidden behind the privacy fence so no one has said anything about it. Yet. But, it’s only a small building. Just big enough to house a small riding mower and a tool box. What I need is a building about the size of the house. Years ago I came up with a formula for determining the size of a storage building. You objectively determine the maximum space you'll need and multiply that by two.

As soon as you get it built, start on another one ten times that big.

PMO
©2013

Maxine Right Again

John Wagner, Hallmark artist since 1970 created and writes the "Maxine" cartoons featured on "Shoebox" greetings. According to Mr. Wagner, the character was created using his mother, aunts and grandmother as the inspiration.

I read "Maxine" as often as I can. Saw one today that is as usual right on target.

"Most stress is caused by three things: money, family, or family with no money."

Been there and done that.

PMO
©2013

Tweet Tweet

Actor James Woods may be out of a job. He has committed a "Cardinal" sin in Hollywood. He spoke out against Obama. In a tweet Woods said, "This President is a true abomination. To have barricaded the WW2 vets, but allow illegal aliens privilege." One responder to the tweet said, "dude, aren’t u worried about...u know...ever working again?" To which Woods tweeted back, "I don’t expect to work again. I think Barack Obama is a threat to the integrity and future of the Republic. My country first."

I have always been a James Woods fan. He has appeared in 135 movies and television shows over his 40 year career. "Diggstown" is my favorite James Woods movie.

Now I like Woods even more. He has done what few have or will. He stood up for the country, even if it cost him financially. In reality, he probably doesn’t have to work, but he obviously does love to act and that is a sacrifice to risk future opportunities.

I give him two thumbs up for this performance.

PMO
©2013

Sniff To Tell

The term peanut butter in your ears is a bad thing, but maybe peanut butter in your nose is a good thing. Researchers in Florida have devised an Alzheimer’s smell test, capable of confirming an AD diagnosis. The key ingredient is peanut butter. Before you grab a jar and take a whiff, it is a bit more complicated than that.

The testing was done with participants having their eyes close, one nostril closed and the distance from the jar measured. Each nostril has to be measured separately after a 90 second wait period. According to the report in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences, patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s demonstrated a significant difference between their left and right nostrils in their ability to smell an open container of peanut butter.

Because I eat peanut butter almost everyday, I probably shouldn’t take the test. My olfactory may now be desensitized. I do know that I can smell cooked cabbage or an open can of tuna from a hundred yards.

I don’t know what that means.

PMO
©2013

Media Challenge

I hereby challenge the media to read the Affordable Health Act, "Obamacare," and report the truth about what it really says. It may require hiring some lawyers to translate the legal mumbo jumbo but that can be added to an expense account. Put it down as entertainment.

Right now, according to various polls, a majority of Americans do not want this law. If the contents were to become widely known, opposition might go to 100%. All we get are sketchy reports. Maybe it’s time to read and understand the thousands of pages and give an honest report. Just don't cancel Dancing With the Stars to run the report.

Before you think it, I don’t really expect anyone to take the challenge. Some of the major media outlets would be hard pressed to comprehend the law. They have done nothing but parrot what is given them for so many years. And, tell the truth?

Media tell the truth? LOL

PMO
©2013

The President Is Mocking You

Regardless of your political persuasion, if you can sit quietly while the current administration mocks you, then you deserve what you get. While the WWII Memorial is closed because of the government shut down, the National Mall opened to allow a protest from illegal immigrants. I am outraged.

While our military is being denied benefits, including Chaplain services and death benefits, the "Obama" golf course remains open. Although a majority of Americans are waking up to the real Affordable Health Act, the prez sez, it’s not negotiable in budget talks.

I went to a doctor today and had a short conversation with the nurse. She brought up the subject of Obamacare. Then she said the wrong thing. "What can we do about it?" The phone lines, faxes and emails should overwhelm the White House.

This isn’t America anymore.

At least not the one I know.

PMO
©2013

Fishing Tackle

The Daily Caller reports that a Cobb County Georgia high school student has been arrested for having fishing tackle in his car. Apparently police were doing a routine check of cars in the school parking lot when a police dog pointed out the student’s car. What they found was black powder from a firecracker that had been in the vehicle since the fourth of July. But that was enough to conduct a complete search.

The student, an avid fisherman, had fishing tackle inside the car. There was a knife in the tackle box. It was decided that this is a felony - having a weapon on school property. The 17 year old student was arrested and later released on bail.

As a fisherman and grumpy old man, let me assure you that one must have a knife in your tackle box. I have two. There was probably a pair of pliers too. Why didn’t the nannies charge him with planning to pull someone’s teeth also. That would make as much sense as the first charge.

The vehicle was parked with the doors locked. And, if it is a typical tackle box, it would take five minutes to find the knife.

The biggest threat to student safety is schools.

PMO
©2013

Bicycles In Traffic

On a little weekend jaunt, we came to a four lane intersection with two additional turn lanes. As, I waited for the light to change, a guy on a bicycle proceeded to go between the cars waiting in line and move to the front. When the light changed, he cut off the driver on the far left turn lane and proceeded to impede the traffic until he go up to a left turn lane. He then moved into that lane to continue on his trip. Why not? He has rights. People in cars and trucks don’t.

It’s going to take longer than eternity for anyone to explain to me why bicycles can operate on the same roads with cars and trucks. In case you haven’t noticed, a fat guy on a bicycle and his bike don’t often weight four hundred pounds. And, they travel at about 5 miles per hour - ten at tops. They have a right to run in the same lanes with trucks that weigh up to 72,000 pounds and travel 30 to 80 mph? Doesn’t anyone see a problem with this plan?

Don’t give me that junk about courtesy. Where does courtesy play a part in insanity?  Big rigs and bikes don’t mix. However, the people that make such laws and the people that want to ride bicycles in automobile traffic do have a lot in common.

They should be put somewhere so they can’t hurt themselves.

PMO
©2013

I Hate Computers

The problem with computers is that they do not do what they were supposed to do without a million glitches. All of the time they were supposed to save is consumed by time required to fix the glitches. Back in the day when a computer was about the size of an average kitchen, we used keypunch cards. If there were any glitches, it almost always was a keypunch operator error, or a bad reader. Either way, it wasn’t hard to find the cause and correct it.

Today, if you have an error, and if you don’t you are dead, it takes sometimes hours or days to locate and correct the problem. I spent two hours on the phone today with a tech service representative trying to fix a problem with the audio on Youtube. The videos ran correctly but there was no audio. And, strangely enough, the problem appeared on two of the four computers in our office. The other one was shut off. And, I never use the second one that had the same problem. Because I think I still know something about computers I had tried several fixes that did not work.

The tech and I went through a number of trials with no result. After two hours, I told him that I would run some malware detection and call him back. The malware software found no problems. Because I am more than stubborn I did some more searching for possible solutions, got some ideas and went back to the site in question. On the second try, I got the audio back. Since two computers were involved, it apparently is a Youtube problem. I am confident they will fix it by the end of the next century.

In life, if you pay attention, you will discover that if you can’t fix something with duct tape or a hammer, it’s an electrical problem. With computers, you just never know what it will take. Unplug the dang thing and leave it alone. Buy a $1 deck of playing cards and play solitaire. It is just as fun as it used to be.

With real cards, you can cheat.

PMO
©2013

Wisdom

Theologian and writer C. S. Lewis (1898-1963): "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

That’s what I’ve been trying to say. He says it better.

PMO
©2013

Two Out Of Three Falls

When I was young, my Dad used to really enjoy watching professional wrestling. I did not, but tagged along on his trips to sit ringside because I got sodas and hot dogs. The whole show was a fake. Yes, the players had to be in good physical shape, but even a boy could tell what was really happening.

One of the favorite tricks to excite the audience was for one wrestler to get a bottle cap or other prohibited object and scratch the eyes of his opponent. Think about that for a moment. Well, the referee always caught them and then the show began. The villain would always plead innocent and blame the opponent or the audience.

If you are a wrestling fan, you must enjoy what’s going on now in the Capitol. The Dems have Obamacare and they don’t want to give it up - no matter that the majority of Americans don’t want it. So they use the media to point to the opponent and proclaim they are innocent of not getting on with the budget process. Silly me, I always think the good guys win. They always did in the wrestling matches.

Even with their eyes scratched out.

PMO
©2013

Government Shutdown

The government shutdown has all the talking heads and politicians in a tizzy. Why don’t we just out source all the government services to the private sector and get better service for less money. At least we could have some control over our tax dollars. I don’t know anyone that would want to pay for a host of things that government spends money on - like Michelle’s vacations.

The problem is that they have shut down services. We need to shut down congress and the white house.

They’re the people wasting our money.

PMO
©2013

The Question

As I posted yesterday, my granddaughters’ dog Sparky died. The youngest, a sixteen year old, understood and of course is sad. Daughter and son-in-law wondered how to explain it to the special needs granddaughter. 

With special needs you wonder how, and if they will understand and what their reaction will be. The only way was simply to tell her that Sparky was old and that he died. Her response was amazing. She simply asked, "Is he happy?"

No preacher I’ve ever heard or read could sum life up as well as that.

My daughter assured her that Sparky is happy.

©2013