Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A Tax Is A Tax

If you were going to build a new house for $200,000 and the taxes on your new home were going to be $200,000 a year, would you build it?  I don't think so.








Cook Medical, an Indiana company that makes medical devices, decided last week not to build five new plants that would have employed 1500 workers.  The cost of building the new plants would have been $20 million.  But Cook Medical found out that Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act) creates new taxes on the medical devices that they were going to manufacture.  And guess how much the new taxes were going to be?  Yup, you guessed right.  The new taxes were going to be about $20 million a year, the same amount as building the five new plants.  A Cook Medical spokesperson said the company would not be able to support both the new taxes and the cost of building the plants.  Jobs that would have been created in the Midwest may now be shipped overseas according to company officials.


But wait, now the fun begins.  The politicians in Congress have gotten wind of the problem and they say they'll pass a law repealing the medical device tax provisions of Obamacare.  Hmmmm?  Seems to me I remember a few weeks back that U.S Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts declared that the "individual mandate" provision of Obamacare is a "tax".


Now, it also seems to me that what's good for the goose is good for the gander.  If Congress repeals the medical device tax provision of Obamacare, they'd better be repealing the individual mandate tax provision as well.


A tax is a tax is a tax is a tax is a tax...


Inspired by "Check This Out"      

I Gotta Have One Of These

Who To Call


Monday, July 30, 2012

Sunday, July 29, 2012

My Thumbs


Speaking Of The Olympics...

Do you know what a "diabolo" is?  I think I had seen a picture of one once but didn't know what it was for.  Well for those of you like me, here's a brief description and a picture and a video. A diabolo is a juggling prop consisting of a spool which is whirled and tossed on a string tied to two sticks held one in each hand.  Diabolos come in different shapes and materials and they evolved from the Chinese yo-yo.  Below is a picture and below that is a video of a very talented diabolo trickster.  If the Olympics had a diabolo event, I'm quite sure the young man would win the gold medal.




Friday, July 27, 2012

Guilty As Charged

Do you know this guy?

This is Dan Cathy, President of "Chick-fil-A".  He said this week in an interview that his privately owned company is "guilty as charged" when it comes to the "support of the traditional family".  He went on to note, "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit.  We are a family-owned business, and we are married to our first wives.  We give God thanks for that...we know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."


Do you know this guy?
 

This is Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts.  Upon hearing the remarks made by Mr. Cathy supporting the traditional family, Mr. Menino wrote a letter in which he stated, "There is no place for discrimination on Boston's Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it.  I urge you to back out of your plans to locate in Boston."


Do you know this guy?

This is Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, Illinois.  Upon hearing that Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno was seeking to block a permit for a Chick-fil-A in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood because of Mr. Cathy's statements supporting traditional family values, Mayor Emanuel said, "Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago values.  They're not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members."  He went on to say that Chick-fil-A has no place in the city of Chicago.


Do you know this guy?

This is Billy Graham, a 93 year old child of God and the dean of American evangelists.  He praised Dan Cathy and his son Don, "for their strong stand for the Christian faith".  Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is urging people to turn out to Chick-fil-A restaurants next Wednesday to show their support for what Cathy had to say about support of the traditional family.  Upon hearing about the event, Mr. Graham says he appreciates Huckabee's leadership and plans to visit a Chick-fil-A next Wednesday, August 1.


Do you know this guy?

This is me.  I too am "guilty as charged" in my support of the traditional family and the biblical definition of the family unit.  I too praise the Cathy family for their strong stand for the Christian faith.  And just like Mr. Graham, I too am going to a Chick-fil-A restaurant next Wednesday.  How about you?









Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Here's To Yesterday

For 15 years my generation laughed at "All In The Family" and "The Jeffersons".  We learned a lot about each other.  This video is a little over eight minutes long.  Nowadays an eight minute discussion about race would probably get you labeled a "racist", maybe a punch in the face, and perhaps something worse.


George was as black as Archie was white.

R.I.P Sherman Hemsley
February 1, 1938 - July 24, 2012


The last line of this video says it all.


This video should be required viewing for anyone under the age of "40".

The Past Is Just A Good Bye

Monday, July 23, 2012

Why Work ?

Saw this on Facebook the other day and thought I'd add my three cents...


1.  I don't work for a-cause or a-plause.  I work b-cause...I need a pay check to pay the bills.


2.  I don't live my life to im-press or ex-press.  I mind my own biz-ness (I'm in the business of God-Family-Country).


3.  There are about seven billion people around here.  Few notice my presence and even fewer will feel my absence.


One More Quote For Today



"If you trust in yourself,
And believe in your dreams,
And follow your star...
You'll still get beaten by people
Who spent their time
Working hard and learning things
And weren't so lazy."


 - Terry Pratchett

Hard Work

According to Ben Franklin, I've worked hard all my life...



"We are all born ignorant,
But one must work hard
To remain stupid."

Working Class Hero

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Perfect Health


Inspired by "Vince Terry"

My Uncle Was Wrong Once

When I was a kid my great uncle always amazed me with his wisdom, and everything he said I took as the gospel truth.  But one thing I remember him saying to my aunt, which I assumed was true at the time, really wasn't.  The story goes like this...


I went over to my uncle's house one afternoon and, as usual, there were umpteen kids running in and out of the house slamming doors and making so much noise you couldn't hear yourself think.  And, as usual, my uncle was sitting in his favorite chair, with his favorite hat on(yup, he wore it all the time), in his favorite place beside the big old wood cook stove in the kitchen doing his favorite thing; half asleep and oblivious to the ruckus going on around him.  Right in the middle of all the chaos my aunt yells, "I wish I could get some peace and quiet around here".  My uncle lifted his chin from his chest, looks out from under the brim of his hat and says, "The only real peace and quiet you're gonna get is when you die.  You're gonna be put in a pine box and put in a hole in the ground and covered up with six foot of dirt.  That's gonna be everyone's peace and quiet".


I think that was the first time I really thought about dying and it really put a scare in me.  All I could think about was being put in a box and being buried forever.  But like I said, my uncle was wrong.  Many years later I read this... "And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness quietness and trust forever"...Isaiah 32:17


Heaven's gonna be my peace and quiet.


Inspired by "The Bible"

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Utilities

Let me get this straight.  I'm so far out in the boonies there's no electricity.  So, I go out and buy a hi-tech wood burning stove that produces electricity so I can charge my cell phone.  There's no electric transmission lines but there's a cell phone tower nearby.  Hmmm...


Over And Over And Over


    

Listen to the politicians and pundits and they'll tell you life as we know it is about to come to an end.  If the collapse of the world economy doesn't get us then the change in global climate will.  Yup, one way or another the world is gonna come to an end and it doesn't have anything to do with the Mayan calendar.


Well, I got news for ya, we're a lot better off these days than forty or fifty years ago.  How soon we forget that back during the days of the Cold War the Premier of the Soviet Union and the President of the United States had their respective fingers on their respective intercontinental ballistic missiles' launch buttons and were ready to blow the whole world to smithereens a thousand times over.  In other words, nowadays the world may come to an end once, but back when I was a kid it would have come to an end over and over and over.


Are you starting to get my drift.  Today's problems are a piece of cake compared to back then.  So as far as I'm concerned, I'm a lot better off than I was fifty years ago and I'm definitely better off than I was five cups ago...





















Doggone It.  That "better off" feeling I just had didn't last long...



Inspired by "Like Cool" and "The Denver Post" 

Retro Cool

This is what I call "having your cake and eating it too" for geeks over fifty...


Don't Impose Your Nose

You shouldn't impose your nose
Into the lives of those
You don't knows.

Friday, July 20, 2012

The Pause That Refreshes



Inspired by "Like Cool"

I Wonder Why The Penguin's Winking?


Do you know what this is?
I'm quite sure you do.
It's that big American social network 
Facebook
and its market value is $62 billion. 




Do you know what this is?
I'm pretty sure you don't.
It's that big Chinese social network
Tencent
and its market value is $66 billion.



Thursday, July 19, 2012

Braggin' On My Grand-kids Again

This time I'm braggin' on my grandson "Caleb"  He's only sixteen and already has a resume longer than most corporate CEO's.  He's a licensed ham radio operator and a certified weather observer for the National Weather Service.  He's a member of "Fire Explorers" and wants to start training with the local "Community Emergency Response Team" when he becomes eligible.  He's an accomplished web designer, has his own blog, and recently started developing apps for mobile devices.  Which brings me to the subject of this posting.


Below is a screen shot of Caleb's first android app on "Google Play".  As you can see, it's called "My Driving Time".  It records and logs the driving time for kids who are required to log so many hours before they can take their road test for a driver's license.  Pretty neat, huh?  Just below the screen shot is a link to Caleb's blog.  On his blog you will find a button for "Google Play".  Click on the button and it will take you directly to his app at the "Google Play" website.


Check it out, try it out, and tell someone you know that might need this nifty app.  Enjoy...




http://technoweather.blogspot.com/      

Old Facebook Proverb

Friends who walk around with smile on face all the time, make rest of us very nervous.

Think About It

Have you ever seen anyone who's stuck on themselves, ever try to peel themselves off?

Appreciation

To all you folks that continue to visit here,
this is all I gotta say...


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Father Time

"Time Will Tell"

Only problem is,
No one lives long enough to hear all the answers.

Too Late, All Over, Done Deal

What this country needs is a military coup.  No, I'm not crazy.  Just look at the chart below.  Seventy-five percent of Americans have confidence in our military and less than half that many have confidence in the presidency or the US Supreme Court.  And as for the Congress, they're dirt bag last on the list and scrapping the bottom of the barrel with only 13% of the people having confidence in them.  So I figure the outfit that ought to be running this country is the one in which the people have the most confidence.  And it appears to be the military by a long shot compared to the three branches of the federal government.

I even talked to my neighbor about my idea yesterday.  He said, "Yea, but after the coup happens, the people aren't gonna have that much confidence in the military anymore".  I said, "I know, but by that time it'll be too late, all over, done deal".   










Inspired by "Gallup"

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Thought For The Day

I mess this one up every time I open my mouth...

"Don't speak unless you can improve the silence".


Telling God

Don't you just hate it when you're telling God something and
He interrupts you? 



Out Of College Too Long

You know you've been out of college too long when...
"You're room doesn't smell like a cross between
 a bus station restroom and a 
Taco Bell dumpster".


and...

Monday, July 16, 2012

Young vs Old

Young man to old man..."You just don't get it".
Old man to young man..."I get it.  I just don't want it, most of the time".


P.S.
Praise the Lord for "live streaming".













Inspired by "God" thru "David Lemming"

Two Dummies

The one with the bow tie is the smarter of the two...


Out Of College Too Long

You know you've been out of college too long when...


"You've had two meals in a row without Ramen Noodles".

Sunday, July 15, 2012

All The Glory

"But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord"...2 Corinthians 10:17





Inspired by "Nice Deb"

A Place

Where my imagination lives...


Counting The Days

When we're real young, 
We don't know how to count the days.
When we learn to count,
We just throw the days away
And don't bother to count.
When we're older,
We should be counting the days,
But we don't have the time.
And when we finally have the time,
And start counting the days,
We run out of 'em.

"So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart."
Psalm 90:12

Bandwagon

Seems like the only time the bandwagon's full is when the ride's free.



Random

Just some random thoughts that caught my brain today.  You know, the ones that make you stop and try to figure out what's going on...  








1. "Air quality this weekend will be somewhere between bus station bathroom and Taco Bell dumpster."
2.  "You elect a clown, don't be surprised that what you get is a circus."
3.  "When it comes to making sense, he's on both sides of the fence." 
4.  "Maximize your optimisms to minimize your criticisms."      

Saturday, July 14, 2012

It's Just A Word

I told you folks yesterday that I'd bought a new computer and was short on time to do much posting.  But I gotta stop long enough and tell you the experience I had when I turned on my new laptop for the first time.


You know when you first turn a new computer on and it prompts you to give it a name?  Well, I've had several computers and most usually I call mine "My Computer" or "My Dell" or whatever.  But this time I wanted a name that was different and distinctive.  So I thought, "This laptop has a large screen, and it's got a big hard drive, and it has a huge memory.  Hmmm, something this big needs a big name".   So I typed in "TITANIC" and just as soon as I hit "enter" it started syncing.


Sorry Sherri, I can't help myself.


Inspired by "Jeremy Berry"

Friday, July 13, 2012

Snake Oil

What pandering pundits and promising politicians peddle...


New Computer

Well folks, this may be my only post of the day.  I'm in the process of swapping out my old computer for a new and improved model.  I'll try to catch up with you tomorrow.  Thanks for the patience.




P.S.  That's not me in the picture, but close.
P.P.S  That's not my old computer, but close.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

"Hulk" Update

Yesterday morning I posted this on my blog...


"Hulk"..."One of reasons it will be difficult to beat Barack Obama this coming November is the fact that there are a whole lot of women voters out there who truly believe he looks like this."  


Then I read this last evening...


"President Barack Obama leads presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney among voters nationwide with the help of an almost 2-1 advantage among single women, according to a Quinnipac University poll."


Inspired by "Bloomberg"

No Black, No White, That's Right

This guy's so rich and that guy's so poor,
And some will argue that ain't right.
But we're all worth the same when you turn out the light.
This guy's black and that guy's white,
And some will claim that ain't right.
But we all look the same when you turn out the light.




And someday soon everything'll be right,
"Cause God's gonna come and turn out that light.


Inspired by Shel Silverstein