A laugh a day

 Well, we can hope it will keep the doctor away!  

I think my county has some kind of dumb commissioners but at least I'm not living here!  I mean, really?  At least it makes the rest of the country look better.  And it makes me want to go out and buy more Coca Cola not that I need the sugar. 

Here in Nevada we have an official mystery.  The body of a young boy was found by the road between here and Las Vegas.  At first the authorities thought they knew his identity but later that boy was found alive and well in Utah.  So now we have an unknown child dead and abandoned.  So sad.  The FBI has been looking at missing children from all over the country for heaven's sake.

I've got a few blogs that I read almost every day and here I found one that refers to my town!  It was published quite a while ago.  Here is a link to the not unfair review.  I must say that not a lot has changed in the last 11 years so I guess he doesn't need to return.  I really liked the comments though especially where one woman started in on 'fortification' at our local brothels.  I get the idea she has a problem or three.  Actually I've never visited any of our local sex businesses but I doubt if there is much fortification going on in them.  Per my earlier comment on dumb commissioners, the owner of one of the local brothels was a commissioner who was elected to the state legislature a few years ago but he died before he could take office.  Apparently that bothel has gone out of business.  Check out the photos. 

Weatherwise, we are in the 105F range most days.  Yep, welcome to summer even if we aren't quite there yet according to the calendar.  Our solar array is slaving away most of the time.  We had to laugh at yesterday's production.  We had a bit of a cloud problem about midday.

This morning we did have a lovely almost-a-sunrise.

We got down to 79F last night.  What would we do without air conditioning?  Have a good one and keep washing those hands.

Jeez, 3 weeks later.....

Honestly I've been not blogging because I care for my readers.  It is that dull around here!  Well, unless you count dental appointments.  I went to the dentist back in April and she said, 'Gee, you need a root canal'.  I'm not going to detail all that follows but I still haven't had my regular dentist do anything.  I'm scheduled to see her on Thursday so we'll see if she can earn a buck or two then.

We are into the 110F (43C) time of the year.  It's kind of a pain but what can you do?  I'm sure happy about air conditioning though.  We take our morning walk as soon as the sun comes up which is about 06:00 these days.  It is mid-70's then (24C) which is do-able but even then you can feel the sun on your shirt.  Earlier in the year we were able to open the windows at night and get some fresh air but that's 'out the window' for a while anyway.

Since we are home we immediately start discussing our next trip.  Unfortunately, we aren't coming up with any good plans and can't until the whole dental thing gets finished.  Right now a short trip up to southern Utah sounds like the best option.  We could visit Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and the north rim of the Grand Canyon without much sweat.  It was 1983 the last time we visited Bryce and Zion so the memories aren't that bright. 

I keep hoping that President Trump will suddenly turn into a thinking grown-up but it doesn't seem to be happening.  I don't sincerely believe that he has terribly close ties with Russia but what with all the other crap that keeps coming up; it just smells bad.  Another problem that is pretty much being ignored is the President's private companies.  I can see the odd billion or two being spent with his companies without anyone even noticing.  Of course the Congress is so screwed up that they probably won't notice. 

Do you get the impression I'm a little down?  Yeah, I guess so.  I'll try to get back on track one of these days.  Thanks for stopping by.  Take care.

Pompeii

Our visit to Italy started with a long train ride from Venice down to Naples in the south of the country.  Naples itself is a busy city and we did see some small part of it but the basic reason for our visit was to see Pompeii.  There is a modern Pompeii but the one we wished to visit was destroyed in 79AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted covering the city with ash.  Our friend Wikipedia says the town had about 11,000 residents at the time of it's destruction.  It was lost for many centuries and wasn't really found again until the mid-1700's.  Excavation and re-building is still going on.

We chose to stay in Naples near the train station since there is good train service to Pompeii.  Hotels are found in modern Pompeii as well but we got the impression they were quite some distance from the ruins.  The train worked just fine for us.  The day we visited was a beautiful sunny day; unfortunately warm though since we were both wearing long pants.  You pay your entrance fee then need to decide if you want a human guide, an audio guide or nothing at all.  We chose the no guide option.

You hike up this hill and come to a large open forum.  The roads are rough, large cobblestones and the sidewalks vary in height from a few inches to close to two feet (10 cm to 65cm). 

The photo of the street was taken quite early in the day before the hordes of tourists arrived.  As you can see we were hardly alone.  The forum is currently being used to display some modern bronze sculpture.  They actually fit in reasonably well but were a bit disconcerning.

 The town as it has been excavated consists of nine sections and you can pretty much wander around at will.  Some of the homes and buildings have been rebuilt using those portions of the original building that could be found and reused. 

It is really quite amazing that these frescos managed to last 2,000 years!  There are even some paintings that were done on exterior walls that have managed to survive.  There are buildings in all stages:  some like the frescos shown above that have roofs, some are shells, some are only a couple walls.

There is work being done to make the place even more of a tourist destination than it is already. This building had a history of being re-built several times prior to the cities destruction.  Now it is at least covered over while someone decides what further work should be done.

As a large Roman town, Pompeii had it's own ampitheatre where I'm sure all kinds of grisly games were played.

Before visiting Pompeii we had visited the Archaeological Museum in Naples.  It wasn't directly associated with Pompeii but gave a good overview of the Roman Empire arts and crafts.

I should mention one unfortunate happening in Naples.  My wife and I were returning from Pompeii when we were stopped by a young man who said we'd dropped something.  We said we hadn't but we were held up for a few seconds.  We walked on and a minute later arrived at our hotel.  I removed my backpack to discover it open and my wife's purse was missing.  Hmmm.  Pickpockets can do backpacks as well!  My wife is an unusual woman.  She carried nothing in the purse but her glasses and her camera.  Her credit cards, money and id are in her pockets.  It was a pain in the ass but not the worse thing in the world.  The next day we reported the theft to the police.  They were very nice but they can do nothing.  We spoke with one officer who spoke rather good English while another kind of followed along.  When we gave them our address in Nevada, the one following along pulled up our house on Google Earth!  They got a big kick out of that.  Yes, rural Nevada is just a little different from metropolitan Naples.

Next day we hopped on another train this time headed for Rome.  We wanted to look at some more ruins.  Stay tuned but I'll warn you now, it was disappointing.  Take care!

I'm not even going to try

There just isn't much you can say about the tragic murders in Orlando of all those people.  When someone is that determined nothing much is going to help.  Cops can't be everywhere watching everyone.  Gun control isn't the answer; they'd just create a bomb.  Teaching love, understanding, even the freedom to be different doesn't seem to have much traction either.  The human mind can go such strange places. 

This post is just going to be a ramble.  Just a warning in case you want to bail now!

Out here in the Nevada desert we are enjoying a slight reprieve from the Excessive Heat Warnings.  It's just hot; not 'don't go out unless you must'.  We still have people doing foolish things.  A woman was cited the other day for leaving her young dog in the car.  She left a window open but it was still over 120F (49C) inside - as measured by the Animal Control officer.  So she is shoping at Goodwill when she gets the ticket; I'm thinking she isn't very well off.  And she gets a $650 ticket for abusing her animal.  How do you think that going to work out?  Animal Control is doing their job but $650?

There was a 'feel good' story on the news a month or so ago where this cop pulls a guy over then notices the guy's kid isn't in a child seat.  Why not?  The guy says he can barely buy food, doesn't have any money left over for a child seat.  The cop could have written him a ticket but instead takes him to Walmart and buys the kid a car seat.  Later he said he couldn't see writing a ticket the guy couldn't afford.  I guess there are people like that in the world as well.

Big plan for today is to take some food stuffs over to the VFW Food Bank.  We try to make it over there every month.  Last month's load was kind of light but we made up for it this time.  We find it difficult buying for a food bank.  Who knows what they need?  We ask but I suppose the needs change daily.  At any rate the answers we get from the folks running it do.  They support some people, both male and female, who are living alone out in the desert; they also support people who have families even extended families.  As a result some of the stuff we buy is single serving, eat from the can.  Some is family size requiring cooking.  What can you do?

Our local Primary Election is tomorrow so my wife and I will be voting.  It really is pretty sad though.  We are both independents, not associated with a political party.  All voters, including us, have two positions to vote for:  a member of the University Board of Regents and a member of the School District Board of Trustees.  Each position has only one person running so, they will both win.  It really motivates a person to go vote!

The Republicans and Democrats have to choose candidates for the Senate and the House of Representatives.  In addition, the Republicans have a race for a seat on the County Commission.  Thus, in the fall the ballot will have President, Senator and Representative.  That's it.  No state offices, no local offices at all.  What a farce.  Maybe we are getting the government we deserve. 

So that's all the news that's fit to print today.  Sorry about the random nature of it all.  Thanks for stopping by and have a good one!

Sheriff Election continued!

Ok so last time I told you about how the guy I really thought would be the best candidate managed to screw things up by ripping up signs that were rude about him.  That's stupid and, of course, illegal.  However it's only the start of the story.  The guy who put the signs up was watching them being pulled out of the ground.  He even filmed the candidate pull the darn thing up!  Jeez.  Then he called a detective that he apparently knows and likes.  This detective and FIVE other deputies show up and ARREST their fellow cop.  Apparently it wasn't a calm arrest, there is some discussion about guns being drawn!

Did I  mention that the current sheriff was out of the country on vacation so the guy being arrested is in charge during his absence?  Honestly, you can't dream this stuff up!  So the next week, those six deputies and one other apply for paid 'Stress Leave'.  Apparently arresting your boss then having to go to work with him the next day is stressful.  Hmmm, maybe they should have thought about all that before the made the arrest so showy. 

So now we have seven deputies out on stress leave.  What do you think they are doing?  Resting?  Talking with a doctor?  Maybe a shrink?  Naw, at least three of them are out CAMPAIGNING against the guy they arrested.  Really?  I'm basically at a loss for words.  What a bunch of idiots. 

Other than all THAT it's being pretty quiet around here.  We are into the low 100's (39C) which is pretty normal for this time of year.  We are walking early in the morning, like 06:30, to avoid the heat.  By 09:00 I'd be pretty sweaty after the first half mile.  The bbq gets plenty of use as well because heating up the house just seems wrong.  Besides, who doesn't like bbq? 

Here's hoping that things aren't quite as crazy where you are! 

Insurance Folly

I read blogs from other countries where there is some sort of socialized medicine and think that if only we could call it something other than 'socialized' it would be a big hit here in the U.S.  Unfortunately that particular word is misunderstood in this country.  I blame it on the abysmal job done by our education mafia but I digress.  I got a letter from my doctor's office yesterday containing a bill for an x-ray I had done.

First of all, we have health insurance that is associated with my wife's retirement.  It basically does nothing and costs us about $10K a year.  However, if either of us ever had something desperately wrong, it would pay for itself in moments.   BTW, my wife, being the inquiring sort, has figured out that even though we are pretty healthy, we are actually getting our $10K a year back based on accounting such as I shall relate.  Now, back to my doctor's bill.

On 16 May I had my x-ray.  The statement is dated 16 August; how it only got here on 23 August (from Las Vegas) is between the doctor's office, the Post Office and God.  I was billed $282.00 for my x-ray.  The insurance company paid $79.34 for the x-ray.  The contract between the insurance company and the doctor's office obligated the doctor to 'adjust' the bill by $182.82.  So my bill is $19.84.  Now what kind of screwed up mess is that!  If you walk in without insurance you pay almost $300; with this 'insurance', you pay $20.  Huh???

So folks, if you don't think the medical situation in this country is AFU, think again!

On a completely different subject, I normally use Firefox for a browser.  Yesterday I discovered that trying to view a video on YouTube (a Google company) gave me a message:  "An error occurred.  Please try again later."  Remember I was getting messages from Blogger( another Google company) about using Firefox; well, I fired up Chrome, Google's browser, and was able to view the video perfectly.  Anyone want to guess what's going on?  I'm not paranoid but I could learn to be. 

Have a good one!

Nothing to say?

Yep, I've got nothing to say.  Have lots of things to do; things I should be doing anyway, but I'm even being lazy about that.  We've been walking our 40 or 45 minutes every morning and I manage to do not much the rest of the day.  We've been eating out too much but when you are careful about portion control it isn't too bad. 

I was reading Random Roger this a.m. and his outlook for the U.S. economy is going even farther downhill than before.  He's probably right, he seems like a pretty sharp guy and the news is certainly grim.  The Congress is doing it's best to disagree about almost everything and the thought that they might do something responsible is pretty much impossible.  The topping on the cake is all the politicians, John Edwards, John Ensign and Arnold Schwarzenegger are only the latest, who can't keep it in their pants.  I don't expect too much of our politicians but damn, here you are 50-60 years old and wanting to run the nation and you can't manage yourself.  Bah humbug!

Locally some people have come up with the idea of building a theme park outside of town.  A theme park, you mean like for kids?  Look folks, we are an hour outside of Las Vegas.  You know, Sin City?  It's partially a 2 lane road going up a 7% grade.  We have 3 or 4 brothels in town.  This isn't fucking Kansas, guys!  Oh, and the developer they are talking with; they haven't ever done this before.  Their first park is supposed to start construction later this year.  Yeah, sure!  These 'site location' experts have their first bill prepared anyway if the Town Board is will to pay them their $150K.  What hicks!

Gotta go.  Hope I didn't depress you too much.

Idiots!

We are surrounded by idiots.  Sometimes it is just more apparent than others.  Here's a sign here in town.

First, I'm in only in favor of lawful felony's; those unlawful ones can lead one to spend time in the pokey.  Secondly, I've no idea what 'abandon or cruelty' means.  And why do you have a big sign about cruelty to animals?  Doesn't everyone know it's illegal?  Or is that one of those lawful felonies? 

The sigh, by the way, was placed between the lanes of a divided road which eventually widens into a small local park.  Go town sign planter!

Duh, just special stuff

It's just a great day here in the world.  Here's a link to some idiot who thought there was easy money to be had in day trading without any knowledge whatsoever.  Jeez, this idiot is certainly going to get off the hook but why?  Ignorance is just ignorance and this guy is way too dim to procreate!  At least the government should cut off his balls.

Tiger Wood's wife has finally dumped him.  Why should this be news to anyone?  Jeez!  He is such an idiot!  Granted she was way idealistic but don't we all want to expect the best from our spouse? 

Went into Vegas yesterday to get a tire replaced on the truck.  We were driving along in Oregon when we had a choice:  either every road we were traveling over was total crap or we had something wrong with the truck.  After some discussion with my BIL, we actually looked at the tire and you could see a bulge in the sidewall.  NOT GOOD!  We put the spare on.  Many miles later, the guy at the dealership just took a quick look and started finding me a new tire.  It took all afternoon but I have to say he managed it.  Good on you Gaudin Ford!

That Mexican weather I was grouching about is finally about to dissipate.  We have clouds and 20% humidity, a chance of rain (not likely!) and the weekend is forecast to be in the 90's (~36C)!  Ok!  Works for me!  Here's what our sky looked like tonight.

 
Hmmm, we might make it through this summer after all!  Have a good one.

Help!

Someone suggested that I provide an RSS feed. I'd love to but I keep going around in circles trying to manage it. Can anyone tell me in REALLY SIMPLE WORDS what I need to do? Whatever Blogger is telling me just isn't working for me.

AFU

My title today is indicative of how I feel - I downloaded a 'registry cleaner' that cleaned things so well that I had to reload my computer. I couldn't even get Freecell to work! Couldn't see the router that is about five feet away; etc. Bah!

I'd forgotten how much I dislike Microsoft and how many extras I've downloaded. It's amazing how much stuff I use to avoid Microsoft or to do things that just aren't available from them. Anyway, the machine is back to about 50% of it's old self. Some things I'm still working on. For example, when I hover the cursor on top of something, the machine decides to go there without a click. This is something that is installed to enable people who for whatever reason can't click on the item. That's a nice idea; but in is not supposed to be enabled; the box isn't checked; but the damn thing is working anyway. Bah, humbug! At any rate, the people at Toshiba did include a 2 disc set that quickly and easily reset the machine. I am happy they did such a nice job.

Unfortunately, I didn't backup my 'favorites' list. Some blogs and other sites will be forever lost. Guess I just didn't care all that much anyway. If you spot my comments in the future, know that I really like you!

It's a sunny day in the desert; we've been overcast for several days. Should reach 70F (21C) today for the first time this year. I'm planning a little outside work to mark the occasion. The previous owner planted perhaps 20 trees in the yard then didn't water them. Needless to say, all are dead. They are little; 1-3 inches (2-7 cm) so some I can just snip off; others I'll saw off at ground level. We are going to rock over the entire yard so leaving the root ball shouldn't be a problem.

Must go get to work. Be careful, it's dangerous out there!

Warning!

Found this on the web somewhere; it's so true! Be careful out there, it's dangerous.


BREAD IS DANGEROUS.

1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.

2. Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.

3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; Infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; Many women died in childbirth; Diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations.

4. More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread.

5. Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat, begged for bread after as little as two days.

6. Bread is often a "gateway" food item, leading the user to "harder" items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cream cheese.

7. Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey, bread-pudding person.

8. Newborn babies can choke on bread.

9. Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 450 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than two minutes.

10. Most American bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaning-less statistical babbling.

Dumb and dumber

Here is one of the dumbest things I've seen in a long while. It doesn't even work as a joke. It is being called a Democrat Special; you are supposed to be so down about the way the world is going that you want to end it all. Jeez! That implies to me that things were so much better six months ago. Don't these people have any memory at all? Gotta admit, the artwork is nicely done though.

Take it easy, it's dangerous out there.

Visit to Vegas

Went over to Vegas the other day. We've been carrying a bunch of stuff in the back of the truck and wanted some air conditioned storage for it. Couldn't find any in Pahrump so over the hill we went.

Stopped and checked out the storage and went to get back into the truck when I discovered I didn't have my keys. Went all over the storage place and couldn't find them. My wife looked in the ignition; no keys. Finally I looked into the truck and something clicked: when we parked we'd been charging the cell phone and I put the cord in the back seat and there were my keys. Bah!

The guy at the storage place just happened to have this wire hanger... and I had happened to leave the window down about a quarter of an inch... so after five minutes work we managed to hit the unlock button. It set off the car alarm but that was easily fixed once I had the keys back! Dumb! And it should be only about fifteen years before my wife stops laughing about it. Jeez!

We are wandering around Pahrump trying to learn about the place; deciding if we'd like to live here. Need to meet with some people in the city planning office to learn about development plans. And I found this place: need to learn about it too!



Have a good and safe day, y'all.