Thursday September 2, 2010

Kudos to the Monroe County Public Works crew who fixed the boat ramp access and the parking lot. The parking lot had a one foot dip from the road to the lot that was tricky to cross without slamming your boat’s hull against your trailer. And we no longer have to park in the roadway before backing onto the ramp to launch. We can again park off the roadway now that they have filled that area too.

[BPK Improvements] To the person with the ugly eyes who drove through Big Pine, I forgot another very nice improvement, TIB's new building. And they removed the old one and the new bank across US1 at the light, The 1st State Bank. It used to be B&G’s old A-frame real estate building. It's not Pine Key, it's you.

[Charter Captain Stiffed] Getting stiffed on a tip is just part of the industry these days. I can tell you after 25 years of chartering down here there is no telling how well, or if you are going to be tipped.  There are days when fish are just flying in to the boat and no tip, and days when little was caught and the most exorbitant tips are handed over just because the customer enjoyed the company and being on the water. 

Another thing is that income is not an indication of tips to come, the filthy rich do not always tip well and the poor don't always tip poorly.  You need to remember that some people work hard all year to just afford a day out on the water. Times are getting tough for most working people.  I recommend that you just appreciate the fact that you even had a charter this time of the year and thank your clients for fishing with you.  If you really don't want them back I would be happy to take them next year. If you can't relax and take the good with the bad you are not long for the service industry in general and chartering in particular. 

The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!

http://MarathonJournal.US

[American Justice not Sharia] Hundreds of Muslim workers walked off the job at the Grand Island, Neb., plant during Ramadan in 2008, saying they needed time to pray at sunset and break a day-long fast. Management adjusted the work schedule the next day. Non-Muslims protested and the accommodations ended. The company fired 86 Muslims for walking off the job. Swift plant sued over treatment of Muslim workers - The Denver Post

[Bad Programming] A mad bomber took over the Discovery Channel in Washington DC yesterday and threatened to kill the thousands of people in the building with his six bombs. He wanted the Discovery Channel to change their programming to stuff he liked more. That sounded reasonable, didn’t it?

The cops killed him at the first opportunity. That sounds reasonable too.

I got my tax notice last week.  After I got my blood pressure in check I realized just how corrupt this county and its staff are. Last year the value of my home fell, my taxes went up 20%.  This year the value of my home fell again and my taxes went up another 20%, 40% in two years?

The save our homes act was created to limit increases in homesteaded property taxes.  But the county only adjusts the millage to extract more money.  That kind of defeats the spirit of the law. The thing that really puts a kink in my slinky is the 40% increase I'm paying was stolen by county employees.  If I don't like it that's fine, I'll lose my home if I don't pay.  Doesn't the mob operate this way?

This unbridle spending has got to stop.  We need someone like Sloan to tell these spoiled politicos “No, put that back you don't need a TV show.”

What this county has done to homeowners with downstairs enclosures is in humane.  All under the threat of losing FEMA flood insurance.  The way I see it, it's all a money generator for the county.  Even compromise plan the county dreams up include paying the county.  Fees for having a downstairs enclosure, inspections fees, increased taxes. The money involved is not chump change. Remember the long time resident that was brought into compliance and it cost him $92,000.  Tell me Monroe County shares this money with FEMA, and I'll forever shut my mouth.

If Sloan is not involved, which one of you will stand up and say no?  I won't be staying.  I'm sick of being lied to and stolen from.

Stand up, say no!  ~cordovapaynem@bellsouth.net

Life is an echo. What you send out comes back.

Stop Japanese hunting dolphin. Sign the petition at http://www.takepart.com/thecove

[Halloween] Lady Gaga, an Avatar and Snookie are among the costumes being sold for Halloween. A wig that spoofs former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's full head of hair is also generating a lot of interest.

[Sloan] State Attorney Dennis Ward was on US 1 Radio yesterday morning with news coordinator Bill Becker. After doing a segment on the Monica Acevedo sentencing, Bill had Dennis come back for another segment of the program. In that segment Dennis expanded the discussion to other areas, including the need for county ethics laws regulating lobbyist registration, county employees accepting gifts from outsiders, and conflict of interest. Dennis specifically mentioned a smelly situation at Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, which I had only just the day before discussed with County Commissioner George Neugent.
 
FKAA recently asked for bids for an external audit. Six firms submitted bids. All firms were deemed qualified. The list was paired down to three firms. One of the three was Orpeza & Parks, which had done FKAA’s external audits for 30 years. Another firm was Grau & Assoc. The third firm was Marcum Rachlin. (Forgive me if I don’t have these three firms’ names spelled exactly right.)

FKAA Board Vice-Chairman Rose Dell learned that Macrum Rachlin had done work for the City of Marahon, so she asked FKAA’s internal auditor to check with Marathon to see how its dealings with Marcum Rachlin had gone. Marathon came back thumbs up for Macum Rachlin. Dell reported this to the FKAA Board at its last meeting, at which one board member was absent.

Orpeza & Parks bid was for $106,000. Grau & Assoc.’s bid was for $85,000. Marcum Rachlin’s bid was for $58,000. Before the FKAA Board members turned in their rankings, Rose Dell asked the Board if any of them had had personal or business dealings with any of the three bidding firms. David Ritz said he has used Orpeza Park for the past 18 years. The other three directors said nothing. The directors gave their rankings. All directors present but Rose Dell ranked Orpeza & Parks first. Dell ranked Marcum Rachlin first. Orpeza & Parks got the contract for this year’s external audit, even though its bid was considerably higher than Marcum Rachlin’s. There was discussion about negotiating with Orpeza & Parks, to reduce its bid. The matter was to be finalized at a later meeting.

It is well known in accounting/auditing circles that you need to bring in a fresh external audit team every few years to make sure the previous external audit team was not missing something the client was doing, and to make sure there were no shenanigans going on between the previous external audit team and the client. For the same external auditor to be used 30 years straight is a very big red flag. For the same external auditor, in a competitive bidding with other qualified external auditor firms, to make the highest bid by some margin and still get the bid is another big red flag. For a FKAA Board member, its Chairman, actually, who has done business for a long time with the 30-year external auditor, to vote to retain that auditor in the face of much lower bids, is yet another big red flag. For the external auditor to be a local firm (think bubba), and the other two external auditors to be from the mainlaind (thing non-bubbas), is yet another red flag.

Another red flag flew at the last meeting when Chairman Ritz said he would be out of town at the next scheduled Board meeting, which meant Vice-Chairman Rose Dell would chair that meeting. Upon hearing this news, Board member Bob Dean tried to get finalizing the new contract with Orpez & Parks put off until Chairman Ritz could be present. Before the next meeting is held, I believe it is really important that someone find out if any more members of the FKAA Board are doing business with Orpez & Parks. One Board member was not present at the last meeting. And, as I stated above, this being the Keys, I simply don’t trust public officials to necessarily tell the truth all of the time. I wish I didn’t feel that way, but I know I have lots of company.

As you are thinking this over, also be thinking over that the City of Marathon once hired Keith & Schnars and paid them a $500,000 fee. By and by, Marathon had to fire Keith & Schanrs and have city staff do what Keith & Schnars had been paid $500,000 to do. This was before our County Commission hired Keith & Schnars for $1,000,000, to do what county staff could have done for what we were already paying them. Do you see county employee raises flapping away to Keith & Schnars? If not, you must own stock in Keith & Schnars. The rest ... GoodMorningFloridaKeys.com

North Carolina is home of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut.

Three storms. not a good time to go sailing.

Judge Jones won my vote. Finally a Judge that's fair and not bought by public officials.  And let's not forget about Dennis Ward. He is doing a fantastic job too.

What to plant and things to do in your September garden in the Keys. South Fla. Edition of the Monroe County Extension/ Univ. of Fl. http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/lawn_and_
garden/calendar/pdfs/September_South.pdf 

Big Pine Key has a new resident and artist, Cate Laughran. Thank you for choosing me to be your Realtor. I wish you many years of happiness!

Thanks  ~Nira.
Please visit my web site at www.keys2thekeys.com

Last of anti-venom for Coral snakebite is expiring. Don’t get bit or you’ll probably die. http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/bigger-picture/article.aspx?cp-documentid=24682236

[Theft on the Avenues] Be on the look out for a black 15" Gateway NV54 laptop computer with silver trim and a pair of black Auvio stereo headphones. Mine was stolen Saturday night on Ave D. To the idiot who stole it: You left your 305 cigarettes behind with your fingerprints on it. The sheriff's office has it for evidence and they found my wireless mouse USB receiver with your finger prints on it that you dropped. Bring back my laptop now before the sheriff finds you. I need it back for my college homework. Anybody who comes across my laptop please call the Sherriff’s office immediately.

[Monica Acevedo] I'm not defending this woman at all, but at least she plead guilty and will serve her time, unlike her balless, whiner, waste-of-space-of-a-husband who was supposedly clueless to her actions.

Diabetes now tops Vietnam Veterans claims. It is partially caused from high blood pressure pills’ side effects too. Diabetes now tops Vietnam vets' claims - Yahoo! News

The first sign that a new Chinese restaurant is coming to your neighborhood

The Sheriff is holding a meeting in Key West for people to tell them how they’re doing. I can just imagine going to the meeting and complaining. You’d probably be target for harassment for the rest of your life. Cops don’t like to be questioned, ever.

 

Lady Gaga, I mean Man Gaga. YouTube - Men singing bad romance by lady gaga

[AA Basher] In Alcoholics Anonymous, you must come to believe many things:

• Step One: You must believe that you are powerless over alcohol, and incapable of managing your own life.
• Step Two: [We] Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. So you must believe that you are insane.
• You must believe in God, and you must believe in a particular version of God who cares about how insane you are, and how much you drink.
• You must believe that it's okay with God for you to abdicate your role in life and turn your will and your life over to the care of "God as we understood Him" in Step Three.
• You must believe in a Higher Power who will micro-manage the world and change physical reality to do favors for you.
• You must believe that God really wants to spend all of His time taking care of you in Step Three.
• You must believe that God really wants to hear your confessions.
• You must believe that years of constantly wallowing in guilt and confessing your "moral shortcomings" will be therapeutic and helpful, rather than drive you crazy.
• You must believe that God will answer your demand for a miracle and remove your shortcomings in Step Seven.
• You must believe that God has a Will and wants you to be His slave and do specific jobs for him.
• You must believe that God will talk to you and tell you what to do in Step Eleven, and also give you the "sure power" to do it. (And you must believe that the voices in your head are really God talking, and not delusions.)
• You must believe that Twelfth-Step work — recruiting more people into Alcoholics Anonymous — even by deceptive or coercive means — is a good thing to do.
• You must believe that the Twelve Steps actually work and accomplish something positive.
• You must believe that Bill Wilson was sane and good — and not a vicious raving lunatic, a thieving con man, and a sexual predator.
• And you must believe that the grandiose, grossly unrealistic and bombastic things that Bill wrote in the Big Book (and 12X12) are something more than the scribbling of a deluded mad man.

And you must accept and believe all of that without question.

OIL SPILL

[Oil Drilling] The White House suffered another defeat in federal court on an issue their own advisers have declared not worth fighting.  Judge Martin Feldman refused again to dismiss a challenge to the Obama administration’s drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico, saying that their newly drafted ban didn’t differ enough from their first to render the lawsuit invalid.

NATIONAL POLITICS

[Veterans] President Obama has spent much more money on the VA than President Bush. But on his watch the number of soldiers and veterans falling through the cracks has only increased. A recent Army report showed last year- the 1st year of Obama's Presidency- more soldiers died as a result of suicides, drunk driving accidents and other high risk behavior than died in combat. The same report showed spousal abuse up 177 per cent since the start of the Iraq War and the number of soldiers going AWOL , deserting, and 'missing movement'- that is failing to deploy when they're supposed to- has gone up a shocking 234 per cent. Our Military and veteran's are in crisis. Obama's Iraq Speech | CommonDreams.org

[What's Worse] I can’t wait ‘til the GOP takes back Washington and replaces this do-nothing congress with a do-terrible-things congress.

[Racism] America, without question the least racist nation on earth, is witnessing an outrageous upsurge in hardcore racism during the administration of Barack Obama, the nation's first black president. But this racism is not, as the establishment press continually alleges, being manifested by tea-party members, conservatives, talk-show hosts and others critical of Obama and his agenda. Rather, America's "New Racism" is being intentionally created, encouraged and directed by the Obama administration itself.

We have never had such an ill prepared, uninformed loser as president ever. Obama is as epically bad as Carter ever was and is setting new lows for presidential performance.

[Crowds] I think I have discovered 2 very liberal people in our news during Glenn Becks rally. Michelle Bachmann a right-wing leader told the crowd, "Don’t let anyone tell you there is less then a million people here.” Most accounts have the amount of people at approx 300,000. Of course our own local snake oil salesman used a figure twice that size and tried to say that’s what the majority of news sources said. I guess they can be rather Liberal, at least when trying to sell their snake oil. 300,000 is quite a lot of people, but considering that it’s after 6 months of radio and TV advertising its really not that impressive.

Immigrants in decline, but this doesn't include the ones already here, I doubt if any have run back home. Number of illegal immigrants in US now declining (AP)

[From the Right] It is becoming clear that some Obamaphile CT fans are not carbon based life forms. These folks take in food, air, their surroundings, and facts and yet interpret all of that entirely differently from everyone else. Yesterday a poster whipped up on Right Wingers, He claimed that we want to rob Mr. Obama of his Iraq Victory. In the odd posters mind’s eye, we Right Wingers lust for the war to continue just so that Mr. Obama will be denied his “Victory.” Think about that, Mr. Obama and the heavy hitters on his team violently opposed the Bush Surge. Indeed before the Surge they gleefully proclaimed that the Iraq war was lost. It was only Mr. Obama’s decision not to kill the Bush Surge and to continue the Bush policies that permitted the recent “Victory.” The poor deluded soul doesn’t realize that Mr. Obama did not want a “Victory.” Mr. Obama specifically denied that victory was not a part of the event. He said that his speech was not a “Victory lap.” Mr. Obama does not view Iraq as a victory. Mr. Obama presented as being morose. Mr. Obama would have been much more comfortable in apologizing to the heirs of Saddam Hussein for the American incursion that freed the Iraqi people.   Even in this most solemn of Oval Offices speeches, Mr. Obama simply could not foreswear lying. In the speech he swiveled from the war and again placed the blame on Mr. Bush and the deficit associated with the war for our current situation. I’ll save you the paragraph or so that would take to explain his lying, but I urge to read http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/30/cbo-years-iraq-war-cost-stimulus-act/.  The ultimate irony is that Bush battle tactics have delivered a not wanted “Victory” to Mr. Obama. Mr. Obama and his cabal are at this very instant considering extending the Bush Tax cuts so as to rescue the economy. Swee! I know that CT Obamaphiles will not believe it, but we all will read and talk a lot about in the coming days.

(Part II) A tip of this old fart’s cap to the humorist who did the Conch Rag “Interview” the other day. It was well done (sort of). I’m a certified olde farte who first came to the Keys with my parents in 1947 in a two mule ‘46 Keiser. Back then the 7 Mile Bridge was only 5 miles long. I’ve been in and around here since then, especially since the 60’s. But the Conch Rag that bubbled up yesterday from old cesspit is a newbie to me. I suspect it might have been some sort of local’s communication net or paper. But the term also works as a descriptor or brand for an aid to feminine hygiene favored by crusty conch ladies (isn’t that a mind stretching image). Perhaps it is an absorbent garment for very little stinky Conch kids. Or, maybe it’s that odd shuffle we see at the Tiki. 

I really think that yesterday’s Conch Rag is the Conch equivalent of the hankie used by magicians to divert the attention of the audience from the mischief at hand.  The wielder of the Rag sure doesn’t want CT fans to pay any attention to the news. He sure doesn’t want readers to even think about all the crap that is heaped on us by our progressive/liberal masters.  So the rag flutters, dives, dips, and diverts. And we find the diversion amusing. Don’t get me wrong, the Conch Rag has the potential to be really funny, much more than merely amusing. The very notion that so many Obampahiles can get so pissed by their addictive reading of sharp criticism of Mr. Obama is really truly absurd. Absurdity is the heart of humor. The "interview" might have had more kick if the author could have come up with something, anything in support of anything that he wrote. How about the putative humorist taking on a challenge to come up with an amusing little monograph chronicling how amusing it is that nearly 10% of us are unemployed. Or maybe a few little funny paragraphs about the hilarity of our grand kids being forced to pay for Mr. Obama’s excesses? How fun that would be! The dude must have burned hours of time and used mounds of greasy China Garden napkins when obsessively scribbling out an incredible array of permutations of the letters “FTR.” Maybe there is some sort of Guinness record that he could qualify for. Or maybe a little potion to relieve OCD might be in order. I’m humbled at all of this attention. Does anyone remember how the term FTR got started? I know that there is one reader who will remember.

Perhaps I can supplement my social security by selling FTR stuff; what the hell, O’ Reilly and Limbaugh do it. Consider this a market survey, just let us know how many and what size.  Being an aging hippy I will readily concede that writing humor is not easy. I wish I could do it. Carl Hiaasen’s politics bite, but, he’s one hell of a comedic writer, I’ve read all of his books.  My humble postings are almost never funny; they are not supposed to be. But the claims and opinions are backed up with sourcing.  If you disagree or disapprove, don’t read my postings. There is nothing even remotely funny about what Mr. Obama et al are doing to our country. I wish there was humor to be had. It’s great to be back, thanks for the kind words.

NO NAME UTILITIES

[Grid Storage] Would you please stop saying the grid "stores" excess power.  It doesn't store anything.  The excess power is “consumed" by others attached to the grid and less power from other sources is produced.  Is grid connection a good thing?  Yes, but it is because an equivalent amount of power need not be produced from fossil fuel.

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Thursday September 2, 2010

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