Happy New Year!!!!!

Just a quick wish to all for a happy, healthy and successful new year.  2010 has been a tough year; let's hope 2011 is much nicer to us all.  Happy holiday!

Rant

'After welcoming Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John on Dec. 25 via a surrogate, Sir Elton John, 62, and partner David Furnish, 48, shared the joyous news with UsMagazine.com"

I wish the best of wishes to both parents and the baby.  Actually, what else can you do?  Are you going to start a rant about being gay?  Or gay guys with a baby?  Bah humbug!  Get over it.

There are millions of 'normal' folks reproducing and most of the fodder for COPS and all the other 'reality' tv shows are their children.  Don't even try to tell me that a child brought up by gay guys is going to have problems just because of his/her parents sexual orientation.  It just doesn't fly.  If there are so many screwed up kids in the world whose parents are 'straight'; gay parents cannot be any worse!  Shit oh dear, maybe they will be better!  Go watch 'La Cage aux Folles' - or 'The Birdcage' if you can't stand the French. 


Happy New Year to all if I am absent!

Spectacular Sunset

Somewhere I got the idea that looking AWAY from the sunset can give you some spectacular photos.  Here's one I took tonight.  These are the mountains to the northeast of our house.

The weather forecast is that a front is coming down on Southern Nevada from the Pacific Northwest.  We are supposed to be getting rain and snow above 5000 ft (1500m).  So far we've had an overcast day and nothing much else.  Maybe tomorrow will be rain but this is certainly a lovely sunset.

Nice for a moment

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were beautiful here.  I got a new camera so I should be taking more photos.  Here's one of the mountain in the sunset; taken with the new camera.

And what is my new toy?  It is a Canon SX210 IS - much like my old camera but it is smaller, more pixels, and still a great optical zoom.  It also has a built in battery and no viewfinder both of which I dislike.  I keep running out of battery power when I am out shooting something.  It's nice to be able to plug in a new set of AA's and keep going.  I also have trouble seeing view screens in the sunlight so I like using a viewfinder.  BUT both cameras using AA's and viewfinders are really scarce.  I wanted a shirt pocket size camera; this was just so close to what I wanted I had to do it.  My wife got one too.  She has no more excuses for not getting out and taking pictures.

We also got our bikes fixed up.  They have been through a lot of traveling and not much care since we bought them in the Netherlands over 10 years ago.  Now everything is lubed up and working so we can actually use them.  I've got a long term goal of weighing 200 lb (90kg) when I turn 65 in three years.  I want to make some lifestyle changes that enable me to lose that 35 lb (15kg).  Regular exercise is one of the changes.  Recently we've been walking about 40 minutes out in the desert.  When it rains the desert turns to mud and we can't walk.  But now we can ride! 

Hope your Boxing Day was great and the rest of the week as well.

Still raining

It finally stopped raining here in the desert; it is very unusual of course to get this much rain.  The cloudy days are reminding me of Seattle; I thought those days were behind me.  Today is a beautiful day; hopefully people will be able to get out and get some things done that they have been putting off.  More rain is forecast for next week though.

Yesterday was 'go get the food day' for Christmas.  The only problem is that everyone else is on the same trajectory.  I was coming out of Wal-Mart and some old guy almost reversed his car into the building through the door I was trying to use to leave.  That's too exciting for this old guy!  Menu is standard for us:  ham, mac-n-cheese (my wife isn't a potato person), asparagus (probably), salad.  No desert because everyone is trying to lose an ounce.  Simple, traditional and easy; can't beat the combination for a kind of stress heavy day.  Plus there aren't any ingredients we can't find here in Pahrump!  In some ways living here reminds me of living in Iowa as a kid; exotic things just aren't available. 

I bought some wood and I'm planning on making a rifle rack.  I've got a few old .22 rifles that I had when I was a kid.  My mom kept them and now I've got them.  They are probably worth $10 each but they have a sentimental meaning.  They have been standing up against the wall in the closet long enough.  My adventure in woodworking will hopefully begin before Christmas.  I'm planning a simple rack where the rifle is stored vertically.  It shouldn't take me more than a month to build.

One of my excuses for not posting is that I've been doing stuff around the house.  Simple stuff:  my wife finished a board for a new shelf about 3 months ago.  We finally put it up two weeks ago.  But that isn't the top of our procrastination list.  We bought a new kitchen faucet about eighteen months ago.  We just installed it last week!  Installing it nearly killed both of us.  I'm too big to fit under the sink comfortably and my wife isn't strong enough to do some of the job.  We had lots of fun.

Gotta go.  I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season regardless of what you celebrate. 

I've been AWOL

No excuses, Sir! 

We are in the middle of a storm here in the desert.  It's coming in over California then coming to see us.  Most of the precipitation is already out of the clouds but we have these marvelous streams of clouds rolling overhead with cloud and fog up in the mountains.  The sight is fantastic but the photographic opportunities are beyond me.  I need a 120 degree wide angle lens with the ability to distinguish about 50 levels of gray and another 50 levels of beautiful sunlight on the mountain sides.  Hmmm, guess I need a camera with a human eye for a lens!

We did make another trip to Las Vegas; it's almost Christmas so I'm not saying what we bought but we helped the local economy with another grand or so.  I would like to buy things here in Pahrump but if it's not here, it's not here.  Bought a bunch of scotch though so I can last through the holiday.  The lines for checkout at Wal-Mart were exceptional today so I'm hoping the local economy will be ok.  There was no local collection for the food bank; I've no idea why but apparently no one set one up.  Here's hoping that those folks who needed help on Thanksgiving will be getting it again for this holiday.

We were watching 'The Thin Man' the other day; I love those old films.  Someone was asking Nora Charles if her husband, the detective Nick Charles, was working on a case.  She replied "Yes, a case of scotch!"  (My kind of guy!)  Boy, we just don't get lines like that any more.  And you have to remember that there wasn't a knee-cap in the movie much less a crotch or breast!  I appreciate the freedom we have today but I must admit I miss the way we've replaced a rules based society with one which sees no value in rules.  (Getting old, huh?)

In another sign of incipient old age, I'm moving more of our portfolio into dividend paying stocks.  I'm not abandoning 'growth' entirely but we need some income in the mix.  I bought some Cisco (CSCO) the other day; it just isn't a p/e 15 stock.  On the other hand, Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) isn't a p/e 13 stock.  The thought that they are in the same p/e area is fantastic to me.  Doesn't it bother anyone else?  Oh, and my old employer Paccar (PCAR) is at a p/e of 63!  Please let me disclose that I own all three of these stocks!

We are talking about our next phone plan.  It won't be for a while but are talking about smartphones.  Today I found this article about traditional cell phones:  http://www.appolicious.com/finance/articles/4344-which-dumbphones-are-still-worth-buying  - I have to recommend watching at least part of the vid about the Motorola Tundra; it's got guts!

I'm going to try to post more but if I don't - Happy Holidays! 

Valley of Fire

Yesterday we took a day off from doing whatever it is we usually do and piled into the car (with the dog) and visited Valley of Fire State Park.  It was really cool.

As you can see, it was a rather gray sort of day but it was comfortably cool and we got to see some really interesting rock formations.  It was Red Rock Canyon on steroids.  Really I think Red Rock has taller formations but Valley of Fire has a lot more of that startling red rock.  There was a small visitor center where you could learn a few things about the geology of the place, some of the plants and animals common to the desert, and a tiny bit of the history of people in this area.  It's about 35 miles (55km) north of Las Vegas if you hop on I-15 Northbound.  Highly recommended.

Coming home we drove on a couple back roads that were almost completely without traffic.  It was really odd to come down this road that was empty except for us down into North Las Vegas.  We struggled through traffic for quite a while finding our way out of town.  We had almost made it when we heard on the radio that there were two accidents currently being worked:  we had passed both of them!  It just wasn't a day for speed.

I've been reading a site about self-defense called No Nonsense Self Defense.  I like the site.  The people seem to know what they are talking about.  They are NOT about judo or carrying a knife or gun; they are trying to teach the reader about using his/her head to recognize and avoid dangerous situations.  Give it a shot.

Have a good one.

What a difference a day makes

This morning I was singing.... (well, thinking about singing!)

A foggy day in a Pahrump town
Had me low and had me down
I viewed the morning with alarm
The county museum has lost its charm

Whereas yesterday was slightly different:

Thanks to Joe in Vegas for reminding me to look up!  It's a beautiful world if we only look for it.  You might check this out:  http://www.wimp.com/breathtakingfootage/  - It's a guy who got a ride in a U2 spy plane.  It's a different world at 70,000 ft (21,000+ meters).

Have a good one!

Going to Vegas

For most folks 'going to Vegas' is a big deal.  For us 'over the hump'; not so much!  I went in alone on Wednesday and we are planning on returning later today.  It's all about shopping, gift giving and all that jazz.  You know the drill.  On Wednesday I got to go via Red Rock Canyon.  It's a lovely place!

My wife and I have been talking about electric vehicles.  We'd love to have one but it's got to have a lot more range than they have today and be a lot cheaper.  It wouldn't surprise me if the RAV4 we have now will be our last gasoline car.  (Of course we usually keep a car for about 10 years so there's no need for the dealer to call us quite yet.)  Still, the range would have to be over 150 miles (say 250 km).  The electric grid would probably need some beefing up too if we were all recharging cars every night.  Right now we'd be buying a 'coal fired' car since that's where our power originates.  There is a huge solar project planned for just north of us but we put so many roadblocks in front of progress that in the two years we've lived here they haven't put up one panel.  I have trouble understanding why it's so difficult but you can be sure there are a bunch of lawyers living well over the discussions.  Looking at the area you'd expect to have solar everything but it's just not reasonable at this point.  As an investor I know it's the next great disruptive technology but we've been looking for it to come into it's own for at least thirty years.

What I don't know is if electric trucks will ever be a force.  There are plenty of people towing 5 ton loads; the truckers are towing 40 tons or even more.  That's going to be a heck of a battery!  But look at cell phones; they have changed!

Thanks to Wikipedia for the trip down memory lane!  Speaking of Wikipedia; they are having a fund raising event.  If you use the site as much as I do, you really ought to donate.  I'm off to do so now. 

Have a good one!

Thanksgiving is over; now for Christmas!

Well, really, BAH HUMBUG!  Tis the season to go out and buy stuff for people that they don't really want and is most likely fairly useless.  Joe asked me if I've got the lights up yet, NO!  I'm an atheist! 

We do have a small tree that we put up and put presents under but it's pretty low key.  We can celebrate the solstice a few days late.  It won't offend the earth.  We like the tree because it's a fake we bought while living in the Netherlands so it always reminds us of those days.  The lights may get changed out for some LEDs this year but I think that will depend on how the current ones survived the year.  The ornaments all have a story; some the kids made; some are from my wife's mom; some are Swarovski's that we bought when they did more than just put the year on a snowflake.  Like I said, there is a story for almost every one.  I'll post a photo when we get the tree up but it won't be for a while yet.

When I was growing up my folks had a clothing store.  In retail, December is perhaps a quarter of your year; maybe even more.  We were open 13 hours a day, six days a week.  We weren't open (still had 'blue' laws) but there was always work on Sunday as well.  Putting up the Christmas tree was about the last thing my folks had time or energy to do.  It usually waited until the Sunday before Christmas.  My wife's family was just the opposite, they would put the tree up soon after Thanksgiving.  After we got together we kind of compromised so it goes up when we get around to it. 

Gift giving among adults doesn't do a lot for me and I doubt if it does for anyone.  Not having any children around makes the whole thing much more somber.  We have a tradition of me giving my wife some sort of tool; one year it was a set of screwdrivers for her to keep in a kitchen drawer, that sort of thing.  It has become almost a joke but I still have to search Lowes & Home Depot for something.  Who else can claim to be in a family with his and hers Dremel tools?

If you've got a great idea, let me know.  This shopping thing takes way too much time!

Duh!!!!

My wife and I managed to drink a little too much last night.  Then we looked outside and saw this strangely colored apparition.  We couldn't imagine what it could be.  Here's what the camera saw:

This morning, somewhat more sober, it's obvious that our neighbor has put up their Christmas lights!  Duh!  Well, that's what you get from having thought altering substances.  The red light in the top of the photo is on a radio tower.  LOL  Hope I didn't make any investment decisions!

We also got some 'rain' last night.  There are little pools around but it's 36 degrees so no white stuff.  The mountain is looking pretty sporty though; much like the photo at the top of the blog.  We are at almost 2,700 ft (822 M); it looks like the snow came down to about 3,000 (914 M) so it was pretty close.

Gotta go.  Just had to post about my Duh moment.  Have a good one!

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving!

Yep, I was so busy I haven't been on the computer for three days!  And our only guests were the kids.  I can't imagine the frenzy next April when various older relatives show up.  It should be ugly.  Why do we do it to ourselves?  Obviously I don't have that great a grasp on human nature.

The good news is that everyone is gone and there is lots of turkey left for me!  Even after sending everyone home with 'goodie bags'; there is still a lot.  Leftover stuffed mushrooms too that are calling to me to be cooked for lunch today.  Tough life but there I am.

I was reading Random Roger today and he was talking about buying country funds then being sure to know how much they are investing in various sectors of the market.  Sometimes I start going cross-eyed from all the different things one needs to consider.  Of course I could always go dump all our financial stuff on the desk of someone like Roger and let him/her do the work but then I'd miss out on all the challenge and frustration.  Can't have that!  It's much more fun to make your own mistakes.  I held Barrick Gold (ABX) for years & years; it did absolutely nothing just sat there around $25 and paid maybe a 1% dividend.   Now, of course, it's $50 still with a 1% dividend.  Who exactly is making money from the $1,300 gold; it sure isn't the shareholder. 

Have a good one!

Blue moon???

Ok, yesterday I read a Yahoo article about the blue moon.  Whatever it is, here:

I just love living in this mountain surrounded valley.  No matter which direction I point my camera, I find a mountain. 

I was reading a blog by an rv boondocker who is visiting the Sequoia National Park.  He talks about being among those tall old trees and feeling as though this is the real church.  I agree so totally!  When I am enveloped by nature I am totally awestruck.  Does it mean I think some super-being made it?  Hell no!  Am I completely aware of my own tiny insignificance?  Yes!  Definitely.  We humans think we are the top of the food chain.  Bah humbug.  We are about as important as ants; if that's not an insult to ants.  Being among those great trees or viewing the stars on a dark night or looking at these amazing mountains explains that to me very clearly.

Go have a wonderful, humble day! 

Brrrr

It's getting chilly in our part of the world.  Went out and put some anti-freeze in the p-traps in the rv.  It usually only gets down to the mid-20's F (-5C) but there is no reason not to take the precaution.  Got the batteries off the rig as well; watered them and will get them all charged up.  The 'phantom loads' had pulled them down quite a ways. 

A supermarket here was advertising turkeys for $7 with a $25 purchase.  There was a food drive going on so my wife and I went shopping.  You can buy a heck of a lot of stuffing, instant potatoes & veggies for $25!  But we persevered and managed to get a $7 turkey and two huge bags of other stuff for the food drive.  It's the second food drive this season but I can't imagine it going to waste with almost 15% unemployment.  Saw one of the servers from the casino in the store and hardly knew her with her hair down.  Funny how a little change like that transforms a person.

The sun is just setting.  The mountain gets all beautiful.  Life is good.  Have a good one!

Not much to say!

I've been quiet lately because there just isn't a lot going on in my life.  My wife hurt her foot so we aren't walking in the desert.  I've been visiting the dermatologist and have 5 stitches in my back; 5 in my right shoulder and a big band-aid on my stomach.  You'd think I like getting carved up for as much of it as is going on but I have to say I don't like it and it slows me down. 

This morning I did the semi-annual window washing.  It takes a couple of hours to do all the windows and all the screens.  I tried just putting the screens back once; nope, doesn't work.  The screens get all crudded up and are difficult to get out.  Then you clean them and they just drop back into place.  Amazing huh.  I would have preferred leaving it for a couple more days because of my shoulder but it's going to get cooler and windy so it was pretty much now or never.

I stopped at Wal-Mart this afternoon and bought a bunch of canned goods for the food pantry.  It's not much but I figure it all helps.  Thanksgiving is next Thursday so it's about time to think of others.  I ought to do it more often; like every month maybe, but haven't gotten to that level of enlightenment yet.

There's a pretty good chance that we will have both daughter and son (and his S.O.) for the holiday.  That would be the first time since they were children!  We've already got the turkey so we are good until about Tuesday to get all the rest of the goodies.  Monday is already booked for a trip to the liquor store in Las Vegas; gotta have a kind of special Pinot Noir to go with Mr. Turkey.  We need to get some Beaujolais Nouveau as well even though it's been out for a few days.  Having to wait is just one of the costs of living in the boonies.

The Nevada Dept. of Transportation (NDOT) has decided to repair the main road through Pahrump (Highway 160).  That's a great idea but it's been about three weeks now and they are still fooling with it.  I'm thinking they need something to do until Xmas.  Well, it keeps them occupied and makes us locals happy that we live here & not over the hill!

Have a good one!

Confused

Ok, I had to stop along the road and pull this sign up.  It was posted on a piece of empty land between here and the main part of town.  It was placed there a day or two before the elections.

Whoever placed the sign is clearly angry but I guess I'm having trouble figuring out if they really know what they are angry about or not.  President Obama; lots of people are tired of him.  Sheriff DeMeo; he won re-election but by a much smaller margin than I had expected.  Senator Reid and his son Rory Reid; the Senator won and the son lost his bid for Governor.  People are angry at all career politicians and Harry and Rory are certainly that.  Finally, mosques.  What the devil does that have to do with any of the above?  This person seems to be striking out at any authority figure.

Can there be anyone reasonably thoughtful who really thinks the President isn't Christian?  The Reid's are Mormon; not mainline Christians but there are lots of Mormon's around here and even more just a couple hundred miles north of us in Utah.  The Sheriff's religion is unknown to me but I can't imagine it is Islam.  I don't think there is even a mosque in the county; Las Vegas probably, but not here.  So what is going on with this sign?  Look how carefully it is made! 

The only think I can come up with is that the person is so angry that he or she just isn't thinking straight.  There are so many things going wrong for this person that they needed to strike out; to just say 'NO'.  I really don't know what to make of this but I hope it made the person feel better.  Now, if everyone in our country could just let go of a little of this anger and start trying to work together to fix things....... 

Have a good one!

More quiet times

We've been having some quiet time here in the desert.  We get up; walk then spend the rest of the day trying to figure out what to eat.  Tough life!  I've been shifting some money around in our portfolio; selling some Paccar (PCAR) stock is the big thing.  I worked for them for nine years and ended up with way too much of their stock in the portfolio.  It's doing pretty well right now so it's time for a little re-balancing.

We are headed for Las Vegas today to help our daughter spend money.  She has decided to buy a house and one of her criteria was that it be a new house.  We are going to the 'design center' with her to help choose carpet, tile and all that stuff.  We have never bought a house that was not yet built so it should be interesting.  Our first house was un-lived in but it was already built; the next three were from 20 to 40 years old; and this one was three years old when we bought it; so helping to chose options in a new home will be cool.  We are planning on 'helping' a bit with money, of course, but she's on the hook for most of it.

Who's the boss around here:

We had 32F (0C) this morning for the first time this fall.  Don't know if the 'boss' is going to stick around for the cold weather or not.  I guess we'll just have to find out.  At least you won't hear any more whining about being hot for a while.  Hope you folks in the Southern Hemisphere are enjoying the warmth.  Have a good one.

Republican's Problem

I've been thinking more about how Mr. Obama can become a one term president and it seems to me that if the Republican party can find the right candidate, Mr. Obama is toast.  On the other hand, finding that person is going to be really tough.  I can hear people talking up Sarah Palin now.  I've gotta say, it's tough finding someone less experienced than Mr. Obama but you've got one there!

Here's something that Jack Welch (former head of GE) says:  "The Republican Party has a real challenge and I think more than I've ever seen in my life they need a vision,".  I couldn't agree more.  When Mr. Obama won election it was because it sounded like he had a vision.  Maybe he did but he's been unable to implement it so it's like it was never there.  One of the mysteries of history is whether Jack Kennedy could have implemented his vision had he lived.  Lyndon Johnson inherited the office and the vision and he was politician enough to implement the vision.  Welch went on to say the Republican's must not be merely obstructive:  "If we get wild gridlock and we don't get constructive discussion about these policies, we won't be better off but no worse off,".

So why are our politicians unable to think these ideas?  Jeez!  A quote for Mr. Obama from Samuel Johnson:  "He who waits to do a great deal of good at once, will never do anything."

We're all voted....

I hope that at least some of your candidates won.  I've had a couple elections where I didn't get a single winner; happily that was not the case this year.  I didn't bat 100% for sure but at least Senator Reid was returned.  I hate having to vote against someone but that was the position we were given.  Bah humbug.

Now it's going to be interesting to see in the new Congress can manage to do anything at all.  From what I've heard of the Republican leadership, there's a reasonable chance that nothing will be done at all in the next two years.  That might be a good thing! 

Random Roger, who is an investment advisor, had an interesting post that included his opinion that it's going to be very difficult for Mr. Obama to be elected for a second term.  I agree that it will be difficult but don't see it as an impossibility.  The way Harry Reid was re-elected was because his opponent was to far right for a lot of people; no reason why Mr. Obama might not have the same good fortune in 2012. 

Hell, Mr. Obama might even stop sounding so good and actually do something.  A reasonable immigration bill might be a start.  (I was watching "Undercover Boss" on tv the other night.  As an aside, the guy says getting his US citizenship cost him $15K.  Can that be true?  What the hell is that?)  Simplifying and clarifying Obamacare would perk up a lot of people.  Since we are supporting Fannie May and Freddy Mac anyway, why don't we just write down every mortgage by 25% or so.  Your outstanding balance was $200K; now it is $150K.  You still might be upside down but it would have to feel better and you would be much more likely to be able to afford it.  Do I like the idea?  No.  Is it the American Way?  Probably not.  But we need to get this behind us and foreclosing on 20% of the population is going to be ugly.

Well, at least we don't have a bunch of political ads to listen to any more.  Thank goodness for small favors!  Have a good one.

Lots of little stuff

Is it really November 1st?  Jeez, time is sure flying.  We had zero trick-or-treaters last night.  Can't say that I missed them though I did always get a kick out of the really small kids.  I asked a couple of the neighbors and they said not to expect any.  I still bought a small bag of candy so I'll get a couple thousand calories out of it.

We went in to Las Vegas Sunday; our daughter has found a house she would like to buy.  Well, she has found a builder who has a model she likes and wants to have one built.  We checked the company out; looked at the model; that stuff.  We can't see any reason she shouldn't go ahead with the deal so come March or so she should have a new home.  Very exciting time for her.  She works from home so is excited about the extra space.  It is practically a zero-lot-line area so she won't have anything outside to worry about and it is still only about 10 minutes to the airport for when she is traveling. 

Quite a long time ago my wife got a recipe for hummingbird food from her mother.  It was supposed to be 'top secret' but, of course, it is all over the internet.  Anyway, we finally got our feeder out and after about 10 days, our first little guy has showed up.  (Apologies for the photo; it was through the window AND the blind!)

We are forecast to have good weather later this week so I'm going to be doing some window washing and other outside tasks.  Winter is coming and doing the windows then isn't nearly as much fun.  We are expecting number 1 son and S.O. for Thanksgiving (25 November) so having the windows half-way clean will be a requirement.  We also have a certain amount of rock-raking to do to level things out.  How's that for life in the fast lane? 

You all have a good one!