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2014 May

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

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The-Coconut-Telegraph-w-CoconutsThe Original Unsocial Media. Anonymous Letters to the Editor with Pictures. Published Daily by Noon Since 2002. No Saturday Edition

hammer-auto-body00[Hammer Time] When I was 16 I washed dishes in a diner in the Northeast. One morning on the way to work I saw a rubber-ended auto body hammer lying in the road. It had probably fallen off a worker’s truck on the way to a job. It was scraped and chipped from the fall. I kept it and used the hammer often even when I moved to California. Years after that when I moved to Key West I used the hammer in my remodeling work, but lost it somewhere along the line. I found it again one day under some steps of a house I had remodeled about six years earlier.

I still have the hammer and use it for many things because the extra weight of the rubber end comes in handy and doesn’t leave marks. I’ve had the hammer for half a century, the handle’s been replaced a couple of times and I hope I don’t lose it again.

Trini Lopez – If I Had a Hammer

(Ed: What interesting things have you found in your time on this planet?)

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I noticed when driving by the affordable housing sites in Key West seeing half of their parking lots filled with sport fishing and water skiing boats.
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If laid end to end, the yearly output of Kingsford charcoal briquettes would span the earth 4.2 times.
[“Sale items missing — just ask for a rain check”] And wait in line at the Custome Service counter for ten minutes to save a dollar? I don’t think so.
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Didn’t anyone see that coming?
[“Cuba”] I like those photos of Cuba posted here. I’d like to go myself. I hope the useless embargo ends.
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[Bike Fright] I was walking along the bike path yesterday when one of those spandex boys flew right by me at full speed. If I would have moved a little to the left he would have hit me. Aren’t they suppose to give you a little warning like “on your left” as they approach from behind?
Eden-Pines-Canal-YUK-004[Canals] Eden Pines property owners who are supporters of the proposed canal restoration program need to immediately become active in contacting your neighbors and encouraging them to send in their approval responses. To date, there are 247 yes votes, 3 uncertain votes, 13 no votes and 264 no responses. 148 more yes votes are required to meet the 75% approval requirement.

Act now or risk possibly giving up the opportunity to be part of this wonderful, fully funded, canal restoration project. (The photo is of algae in our canal.)

[“Boring”] Trust me, things are not so boring when they affect the environment, the future of the Keys, your property rights and your pocketbook. I remember when almost everyone down here was worth 1/2 million plus. Then came the crash. In those days people were a lot happier. When there was a party or special event people did not have to get drunk to dance. People were a lot happier. Look what has happened here.
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These pencils were withdrawn from US schools after a 10 year old pointed out a little problem.
[Margaret Sanger] “She even presented at a Ku Klux Klan rally in 1926 in Silver Lake, N.J. She recounted this event in her autobiography: “I accepted an invitation to talk to the women’s branch of the Ku Klux Klan … I saw through the door dim figures parading with banners and illuminated crosses … I was escorted to the platform, was introduced, and began to speak … In the end, through simple illustrations I believed I had accomplished my purpose. A dozen invitations to speak to similar groups were proffered” (Margaret Sanger, “An Autobiography,” Page 366). That she generated enthusiasm among some of America’s leading racists says something about the content and tone of her remarks.” Link
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It would be helpful if the FKAA or the County Building Department  would post a list on their websites, with pictures, of approved  parts to be used in putting together the home sewer lateral connection for the home owners intending to do this themselves.   If there are any special rules involved in using these parts, it would be really nice if they  put them on there too.
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[“Big Cat”
] I don’t believe it’s a cat. It has a muzzle more like a dog. Chupacabra?
How to load a motocross bike. Video
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[Havana Meat Market]
 An open air market selling meat goods.  Refrigeration is a luxury in Cuba that most can’t afford.  This man sells pork and chicken.  A few steps away is a produce vendor selling fresh veggies. You can also see wagons and flat carts along the side of the street in the more populated residential areas.
The 148-room Parrot Key Hotel and Resort in Key West will be sold for $100 million, according to the buyer, Pennsylvania-based Hersha Hospitality Trust.  Parrot Key was built in 2006. Its developer, Pritam Singh, is now building a 96-room hotel in Old Town. Link
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U.S. to veterans: You can go fight our pointless wars for us, but you can’t smoke weed when you come home broken. Link
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[Look Up] I don’t have a smartphone. I do use a desktop computer. The computer has made a very positive difference in the lives of most all of us. I feel smart phones separate us from — US. “Look Up” is about that. I don’t feel this will change anything for most of us. It could and from what I see that would be nice. Look Up’ is a lesson taught to us through a love story in a world where we continue to find ways to make it easier for us to connect with one another, but always results in us spending more time alone. Video
The right of way should be for vehicles. 2000 pounds or more of speeding metal is a hell of a lot more dangerous to walk in front of than some nitwit in sandals who expects the world to stop while they cross the street or push their shopping cart. Come on people, pedestrians never had the right of way. Years ago people knew to wait for traffic to pass so they could safely cross. Ask yourself how much pollution you create by making vehicles stop? Sneakers do not pollute, or at least most do not, so they should stop and wait.
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The Witches of Salem: The Events of 1692. Link
Guns are serious tools that have brought innumerable benefits to humans. Unfortunately like all tools, when placed in the hands of those who do not respect the consequences of the actions that are possible if the tool is not treated with the respect that it warrants, accidents happen. To the citizenry among us who are aware of the consequences of improper handling of tools such as these, accidents are exceedingly rare. The suffering of incompetents in all things is the cross that society must constantly bear. To banish the tool for the negligence of the incompetents is not the answer nor is it the answer for the rare legitimate accident which is unavoidable.
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[“Put grinder pumps in the right of way and let FKAA maintain them”] Makes you wonder what is in it for the few who are insisting it be done their way. Makes you wonder about the mental health of some of the people running this place.
I will bet that it is the many “overpaid” Government  employees going out and spending all of their wages in the sainted businesses in  their local communities that is propelling our economy as it tries to get back to normal.
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How a real man peels apples for a pie. Video
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cat7
[“Big Cat”
] It looks like one of those cougar panther hybrids the wildlife people bred to keep the panthers from going extinct. Why or how he is on Big Pine is a mystery. Link
[Food Costs] There is an Aldi store here in Port Richey and several in Tampa. They are based in the Midwest somewhere. I also remember them when I was stationed in Germany. The stores are small and clean and pretty basic, usually one of each kind of item and it will be the store brand. They do advertise here by a weekly flyer as well as a weekly email. The meat dept. is small but quality is very good.They sell paper and plastic bags (5 and 6 cents each) and you bag your own after you pay. Yes the carts are a quarter, but that keeps them out of the parking lot. I have been in more than one Aldi store and there were always more than one employee. I like them but don’t think they would work in the Keys.
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[New Construction] There’s at least two or three very expensive looking houses being built and almost finished on Big Pine that have stopped construction completely. I can only assume that they are caught in the time frame between installing an aerobic septic system or waiting for the sewers to be connected. Either way, they’re paying for a construction loan for a house they can’t realistically complete.

Shouldn’t there be some grace period for homes in the final phase of construction to allow them to use an aerobic (or septic tank) system for, say a period of ten years, before they’re forced to connect?

I drive by this one beautiful house every day and get sick thinking that could be me–waiting for a sewer connection while paying off a huge mortgage for a house I can’t use. It doesn’t seem right to me.

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It is Winn Dixie’s fault that items on sale are not in stock, but remember to always get a rain check. As for the new manager, he has improved the store greatly. He is well liked by all who come in contact with him. The employees respect him a lot because he is always giving a hand where needed unlike the previous manager.
[Sale Items Missing] Just ask for a rain check
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Mayor Craig Cates
says he is a mechanic, rooted in his love for boats and cars and having owned a NAPA distributorship for many years in Key West. From all I have heard, he is from a respected Conch (native to Key West) family. He married his high school Conch sweetheart and they are still in love.  They birthed and raised three Conch children, who attended Key West schools through high school. Craig works hard as Mayor; it is a full-time job for him. He loves Key West. I imagine he frustrated over how some things go in the city government. I imagine he wishes he could make and enforce city government policy.
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[“Big Cat”] Tuesday’s photo of the big cat seen on Big Pine sure looked like a panther or cougar to me. Maybe it’s bigfoot’s feline cousin!
[Islamic Intolerance in Beverly Hills] The Motion Picture & Television Fund joined a growing list of organizations and individuals Monday refusing to do business with hotels owned by the sultan or government of Brunei. They’re protesting the country’s new Islamic Shariah criminal law that calls for punishing adultery, abortions and same-sex relationships with flogging and stoning.

“We cannot condone or tolerate these harsh and repressive laws and as a result support a business owned by the sultan of Brunei or a Brunei sovereign fund associated with the government of Brunei,” the fund’s directors said in a statement.

Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who owns the Beverly Hills Hotel, has praised his country’s new laws as a “great achievement. The decision to implement the (Shariah penal code) is not for fun but is to obey Allah’s command as written in the Quran,” the sultan said last week. Video

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Publix is better you say. I thought Albertsons was better than both W/D and Publix. So who is stopping you. Go to Publix. The grass is always greener on the otherside.
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World’s most dangerous cruise? Count me out!
[Gun Nuts] More and more government agencies are arming themselves and creating their own SWAT teams because, thanks to groups like the NRA, more and more of the citizens they deal with on a daily basis are packing heat.
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from the right
Yesterday the weather Henny Pennies ruled the roost. Team Obama released an 800+ page document concerning global and especially the US climate. It is billed as being the work of the “overwhelming majority” of scientists with an interest in climate. I remind you that at one time the “overwhelming majority” of scientists were positive that the earth was flat, and at another time that the sun circled around the earth. Anyone who spoke out against those precepts were pilloried. Sound familiar?

Remember the Gore predictions that Artic ice would be gone by 2013? It isn’t! The Arctic climate is now still colder than it was a thousand plus years ago when Eric the Red colonized Greenland. His colonies raised sheep and had an agrarian economy. Global cooling drove them out.

The document claims that we are already feeling the results of climate change, they cite droughts, rain, heat, and cold. I trust that you will remember that in the ‘70’s we were told that we were entering another ice age. Then in the ‘90’s that morphed into a claim that we were entering into a period of global warming. Now, we are told that both are true. The report startles us with the information that while it’s getting colder, it’s getting warmer. While it’s getting dryer, it’s getting wetter. So we’ve gone from global cooling to global warming to climate change, and the latest catch phrase is “climate disruption”. Next perhaps “climate conundrum?”

The report is designed to scare the crap out of you, don’t let it.

Consider some of the claims in the report.  The report tells us that the intensity, frequency and duration of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes have increased since the early 1980s. That simply is not true.

When the ’14 hurricane season starts it will 3142 days since the last cat 3 storm hit US shores. That shatters the longest stretch between major hurricanes to hit the US since 1910. The annual number of hurricanes has reached a 30 year low. Last year was the third straight year for record low tornado activity.  The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) reports the number of tornadoes classified at intensity EF-1 or higher (on the 0-5 EF scale) in ‘13 ranks lowest in 62 years of records and perhaps 100. NOAA reports that this year has had one of the slowest starts to tornado season since reliable records began in the early 1950s.

Phil Klotzbach and William Gray, hurricane experts and gurus released their outlook for this year the other day, they call for nine named storms, including three hurricanes, one intense. That’s far below the average of 12 named storms, including six hurricanes, three major.

The report claims that winters are becoming shorter and warmer. Yet Team Obama just week, blamed the record breaking frigid winter for poor economic recovery and poor job creation. Deer Friends, they are strangers to truth. I also note that much of the Great Lakes are still iced up. Remember it’s May! the end of the last  ice age. (Yeah, that’s right, there have been several ice ages)

This report has nothing to do with saving our climate, it is purely a political sop to the greens. Obama swore that he was going to kill the coal industry. This document is nothing more than a part of his plan.

Obama’s obsession with killing the coal industry ignores the fact that the Chinese are putting new coal fired energy plans on line at a rate of 1-3 per week.

The US has already reduced carbon emissions to 1992 levels. But worldwide it is increasing. Killing the US coal industry will not affect the amount of co2 in the atmosphere by any measurable amount, but will increase the cost of American energy. The green ethos is a recipe for disaster for our economy. The green agenda is guaranteed to stick a dagger in what little economic recovery we are enjoying. It will be the middle class that will suffer even more than they are now suffering.

The report is nothing more than a political artillery piece designed to curry favor with his green base. That base will be infuriated with him when he approves the Keystone Pipeline after the midterms.  Count on it.

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A POSTER WROTE: “Wasting time rehashing Benghazi ?? I don’t think so. 4 Americans serving and fighting for this country of ours, and ultimately giving their lives for this country and still no back-up when it could have been so different. A select committee is necessary because parts of the truth has finally come to light. Why were previously released emails from those in the White House different from those obtained by Judicial Watch through a lawsuit citing the Freedom of Information Act. Obviously, there is much more being hidden; why else are they avoiding questions and will not even disclose where the President was that fateful night. We now know he was not in the Situation Room.

We do know the next morning he was aboard Air Force I headed to Las Vegas for a fundraiser…..very high on his priority list.

Our present administration is all talk and very little anything else. Obama has used his position for lavish vacations for family and an entourage that would make a rock super-star envious.  He thinks nothing of racking up bills for the American people to pay; he has used Air Force I like his new favorite toy.  Does he ever go Camp David ? I guess not; that would make too much sense and would not cost much. That property has long been paid for and used by scores of Past Presidents for their escape from the business of  Washington D.C.

Rehash ??  Maybe you, Mr “why rehash,” don’t care why these 4 Americans had to die; and as Madame Secretary of State herself said so blatantly, ” at this point, what difference does it make ? ”  Well, to the families of every service man and woman in this country, it makes a hell of a lot of difference. It makes a big difference when our own President stands behind some feeble excuse of a video concocted and invented by some so-called adviser in the White House.  Please, what does he take us for ? Our country was built on values far above those that currently reside and occupy space in Washington, D.C.”

FTR’S RESPONSE:  None needed…..Amen brother!

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