BigPineKey.com

[The Untold Tragedy] 18 US veterans commit suicide every day.

[Sewers] I’ve changed my mind on the sewer debacle. I now support pouring all the money available, even floating bonds, to use to expand the gravity system wherever feasible. That means using all of the 1 cent sales tax we voted on to pay for the sewers, and stopping the purchase or Rowell’s Marina. That money should all go to expanding the gravity system.

I am still opposed to having 1,900 individual grinder pumps on peoples front lawns. Centralized grinder pumps should serve clusters of homes and be placed in the right of way for the FKAA to maintain and easily pump out during power outages. The cost will be about the same, but will be less intrusive and save the homeowners big bucks in extra expense.

Speaking of expense. I find it disconcerting that no one at each meeting I’ve been to knows what the average cost of doing anything it. You would think with all the sewers being put in the Keys they would be able to tell us what hook up, or trenching, or expanding more gravity, or central grinder pumps would cost. If I pay for something once I know what it cost. These guys have done the same thing thousands of times and can’t tell you a thing. Very odd.

[Idea] I need a switch to turn off the horn button on my car’s remote key chain. The horn is always going off at the wrong time. I rarely need it to find my car on Big Pine.

Travel agency “wants to do it right” with flights to Cuba.   Link

[Idiot or Grinder Pump Peddler] I checked with Marathon’s Utility Department and verified some information posted here recently that I wanted to share.

The sparsely settled Grassy Key area of Marathon has about 200 homes served by 31 “grinder basins”. The residents connect by gravity with several homes to a basin (grinder pump station). The basins were described as very deep for reserve capacity, but the City has generators to pump both big and small pump stations in an extended power outage. The city has a total of 130 Grinder pumps out of 5812 connections which is 2%. The only individual grinders in Marathon are where a house is too far off the road or too low for a gravity connection and therefore has no option but to pump.

Do not believe the smoke that FKAA is blowing at these meetings! Their engineer said that they need to use $110k pump stations if they are in the right of way because of DEP and “Ten State Standards”. The FKAA engineer that said that is trying peddle grinder pumps or not look like the idiot he must be to have authorized such a design. You choose unless you think both apply.

The Big Pine Museum is now open and featuring the 9 known issues of the fabled Mangrove Newspaper. Menu > Big Pine Museum > Mangrove Newspaper

What earth would look like if all the ice melted. Goodbye Florida! Video

[Freebie]  During the day, computer screens look good—they’re designed to look like the sun. But, at 9PM, 10PM, or 3AM, you probably shouldn’t be looking at the sun. f.lux fixes this. It makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.

It’s even possible that you’re staying up too late because of your computer. You could use f.lux because it makes you sleep better, or you could just use it just because it makes your computer look better.

Computer screens – and that includes smartphones and tablets – emit light in the blue part of the spectrum. This doesn’t cause any issues in the daytime, but at night, this blue light limits the production of melatonin. In layman’s term, the bright light from your laptop/iPhone/iPad etc screws up your sleep-wake cycle.

Link

Today in 1895, physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays.

[Wanted] Little sailboat. Cheap, but functional. Cudy, daggerboard or swing keel, easy to drop mast to slip under bridges. Will pay cash. What have you? Thank you. John. Classified Ads > Wanted

Since we really do not have a representative that supports the Big Pine Key area I am pleased that Danny[?] stepped up for us at last night’s sewer meeting.  He got them to consider gravity feed for the more densely populated areas, that only makes sense.  Now they need to take the funds intended to purchase Rowell’s Marina, develop, and maintain what ever is planned and use that millions to further expand gravity wherever it makes sense.   

[Keys disease] Cirrhosis often has no signs or symptoms until liver damage is extensive. When signs and symptoms do occur, they may include … Link

I just saw again the study on coffee that observed heavy drinkers and low-down winos had 60% less liver disease when they drank 3 or more cups of coffee a day. Decaf or regular, it doesn’t matter (I’ve got to go now my water is boiling.)

[Missing Dope] Monroe County. Fire-Rescue drugs go missing from storage room. Oops. Link

Springer’s Bar and Grill Friday’s Special is Mexican Food. Beef or cheese enchiladas with a side of refried beans. Lunch $8.95 Dinner with salad $10.95

2013 Evinrude E-TEC 150 hp, 25 inch shaft motors for sale (2). Will sell separately.  Under warranty until 9/2017. Currently on boat and running and will demo. Just completed 300 hour service. Low book price is $9,300. Asking $8,900 each. Call John Classified Ads > Boats

Springer’s Bar and Grill 1 Year Anniversary Party!

The Doerfels will be playing live tomorrow, Saturday night, November 9th at 6 pm for our One Year Anniversary!
Happy Hour all day long!
50% off pizza!50% off wings!
Free Jell-o shots!
Giveaway prizes!
Come celebrate our 1 year anniversary enjoy the music, food and of course the weather. We’ll see you all here at mile marker 31!

Win a Grammy & become a star.   Link

There’s been much uproar about grinder pumps being installed on private property and the irresponsibility of our County Commission spending funds elsewhere instead of funneling those monies into additional gravity feed systems. Does anyone know what the consequences are to a homeowner refusing to grant an easement for the installation of a grinder pump on their property to the FKAA and/or, if they sneak it in without approval, what happens if you do not connect to the contraption?

Sharpening a chain on a chain saw can be done with little expense. Go to Home D and get the kit, cheap! and do it your self. It’s not rocket science believe me and its easy work.

[Bad Apple] Mac lovers are blinded by their loyalty. Yesterday an iHead did not believe possible a national news story about Apple’s policy change about syncing. I think he even called the poster and Apple basher. Get over it. All big corporations suck. Don’t be so sensitive. This isn’t like Democrats vs Republicans. This doesn’t matter. I’ll bet he defends his favorite football team when they f**k up too.

[Arcing Towards Orbit] In this two-minute exposure, the Soyuz TMA-11M rocket heads from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan towards orbit with Expedition 38 Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency onboard.  The trio launched Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013 (Nov. 6 in the U.S.), bound for a docking at the International Space Station about six hours later. Tyurin, Mastracchio and Wakata will spend the next six months aboard the orbiting laboratory. 

[“Sharpen chainsaw”] Go to Home Depot and buy a thin chainsaw sharpening file and guide. It’s simple and easy.

[Phone Mania] After I saw this, I put down my phone and didn’t pick it up for the rest of the day. Video

It seems to me that the Commissioners are enjoying the heat being on the FKAA and are intent on empire building with funds that should be getting spent on sewers that let everyone flush when the power is out. I believe it may take an injunction to stop this insane design that is not an acceptable alternative to septic tanks. This time the injunction should be on behalf of all and I hear it is being prepared that way. Be sure to tell your neighbors to keep checking this site for new information as the editor may allow. As the snowbirds arrive, have them search for Grinder Pump Petition and sign one of the two online or find the link here. Link

[“We are all one”]  (Society for World Peace symbol)  Well that’s just scary.  Sounds more like the Borg to me.  If that’s what world peace means, losing your identity, then forget about it.  I think I’d rather have wars than a society or world that looks and feels like North Korea.

[“You can sync by cable and not use the iCloud”] You can now, but not for much longer.  These instructions (manual sync via iTunes) apply only if you use OS X v.10.8.5 or earlier. If you use OS X Mavericks v.10.9 or later, your contacts, calendars, and other info are updated on your computers and iOS devices via iCloud. Link

OS X 10.9 was recently released, people are just finding out about this and like all things Apple does, will apply this to earlier OS X versions and Windows also as they push their cloud concept. It’s a gross violation of people’s privacy to force their data online. Apple hasn’t been all that keen on maintaining users data security, sends contacts in plain text over wifi networks for hackers to grab. Link

Apple used to be, but now is very far from being any better than Microsoft or Google in regards to being evil or downright incompetent. All one does is pay more for their products to be digitally raped just the same as the others.

The County Commission is probably hoping that those of us chasing the grinder pump issue will tire or lose interest in the matter and wander off to do something else.   Do we all have to sue them in order to get this resolved to our liking?  Why don’t our local neighborhood associations speak out on this?   Sounds like a natural cause for Citizens Not Serfs to jump in on

[“Cutting through the Centennial bank to avoid traffic”] It’s kind of like cutting through CVS/Walgreens to get from US1 to Key Deer Blvd and vice versa. Oh, did I mention that the police were giving out tickets for that? It is a violation to cut through a parking lot to avoid traffic. After all it is a parking lot, not a drive through for those of you that think you’re smarter then the cops. They will eventually get you.

[Macs] An acquaintance just got a job at a mid sized advertising firm in Florida who all use Macs. They hired him to show them how to create themes for WordPress websites, but the most popular design software doesn’t work on Macs so they’re thought they would be forced to buy a windows machine and were all flummoxed. He demonstrated some of the cool customizations and right click options you can do with Windows and they were reluctantly impressed. They were all uber fans of Macs but didn’t know a thing about them, like Mac’s only redeeming feature —  in my opinion — the ability to run multiple operating systems seamlessly. So that’s what they are going to do.

[More bar wisdom] Part of me says, “I can’t keep drinking like this.” The other part of me says, “Don’t listen to that guy. He’s drunk.”

[“Sharpening chainsaw”]  This is one of the easiest things to do yourself. Go to your local hardware store and buy a chainsaw file. They come with a guide and with a little practice is fast and easy to do. If you have a Dremel tool you can also use it with a small sharpening stone with very little effort. 

[“Why won’t the Commission listen to us”] Because we are the local peasants that the junta wants to move out of the Keys and take our islands for redevelopment. When are you folks going to wake up and smell the BS? You can vote any way you want, but the big money guys will do as they damn well please. You are nothing and never will be. Money is God in the Keys!

The flea market is busy, thanks to all of you that visit us for fresh produce and great deals. Come in on Saturday or Sunday for the best tomatoes and vegetables.

The Pizza Shack is now open. Stop by for pizza or my favorite, the meatball sandwich.

Our Fish Fry is serving fresh fish and they also cook excellent breakfasts.

The flea market is the best place to be to make new friends and sometimes meet your own neighbors.

[Chainsaw blades] Lawnmowermen & More in the Big Pine Bus.Center on Quail Roost Trail sharpens chainsaw blades and other outdoor tools.

Obama claimed that he wanted everyone to have insurance. To date, 15,000,000 people have lost the insurance policies that they were content, and also covered with. When is this BS plan going to get scrapped?

FTR has already explained his lack of being in the real world. He calls himself “the olde fart”.

[Obamacare] It’s nice how everyone is taking responsibility, but that’s not enough. Either fix it or quit if you can’t.

Comment on the military strike Obama planned for Syria.

Does Obamacare let you keep your “friends with benefits?”

After reading some of the posts by the left supporting anything and everything Obama does, I’m starting to think he could take a nice big turd, wrap it in used toilet paper, call it affordable healthcare and these same people would think, “Oh gee, what a nice guy, he really does care about the American people.”.  And, if any conservative dared to call it what it is, they would be labeled “un-American” and “racist”.

Obama’s Health Plan says woman cannot use makeup any more, I heard.

[“Expecting Obamacare to work perfectly right out of the box”] Obamacare was hashed by behind closed doors with the insurance companies without most Democrats knowing anything about what they were voting for. It holds a shotgun to the heads of Americans to force nearly all, except in NY state, to pay a lot more than before, with higher deductibles. It’s forced many employers to cut hours to 29 a week, forcing more into poverty than there is currently. The ACA website arrogantly forces one to sign up and supply information before shopping for plans, because it assumes, rightfully so because of the law, you have no choice. Well Americans do have a choice, they can vote Republican and get the law adjusted so it really works or remove it entirely for something that will, like good paying jobs.

[Lost Benefits] Remember the woman from California that has cancer that the anti Obama zealots were parading around saying she was going to lose her insurance and by switching to Obamacare it was going to force her into much higher premiums? She was their show dog. Turns out as usual the rights typical Pavlovian response to any good news for America was wrong. Here’s her true breakdown she found out after getting exact figures. She will save over $3,200 a year. This is why the right is so incensed. The entire story can be found on the Huffington post website.

[More Obama Lies] Now says he’s sorry so many losing healthcare coverage but knew so back in 2010 yet kept on lying about it. Not only that, Nancy Pelosi forced the ACA vote by Democrats without them even knowing what it contained. The ACA website is “The worse IT disaster in history”. Going further back, Christopher Dodd was responsible for the Freddie and Fannie subprime housing mess warned in advance about by Alan Greenspan. We obviously have many well meaning, but grossly incompetent people on the Democratic side of the fence we need to vote out and never in again. Link

Charlie Crist, want to know about him? Ask anyone from NJ, especially teachers![?]

Let’s think about Charlie Crist.  Crist, then purportedly a Republican, but actually a RINO, was Florida’s governor from 2007 until 2011. During his tenure he really screwed things up.

Charlie Crist did not govern as a Republican, his disdain for fiscal responsibility cost every Floridian dearly. Under  RINO  Gov Charlie Crist, Florida lost 832,000 jobs in four years. Florida’s unemployment rate more than tripled – from 3.5 percent to 11.1 percent. The 7.6 percentage point increase in Florida was the second largest jump in unemployment out of all 50 states.

Charlie Crist’s failed leadership led to Florida sinking faster and farther than most other states in the country.

Charlie Crist also left Florida with a $5.2 billion increase in state debt, and massive billion-dollar budget deficits.  Crist’s governance was a fiscal disaster for Florida.

Apparently realizing that his single term was a failure, he refused to even attempt to seek reelection. That decision was a very good decision for Florida.

Since Crist has been out of office, Republican Governor Scott has led our economy out of the quagmire of Crist debt. During Governor Rick Scott’s first term, we have  paid down $3.6 billion of the state’s debt, and paid back $3.5 billion Florida owed to the federal government for unemployment insurance.  Because of Governor Scott’s fiscal stewardship, Florida now has a $1.5 billion rainy day fund.

Republican Governor Scott’s conservative fiscal policies have led to the creation of nearly 400k private-sector jobs since he took office in January of ’11. Since then Florida’s unemployment rate has dropped 4.1% – that’s the second largest unemployment drop in the nation since December 2010. The current rate is 7%, below the national average for the 6th consecutive month.

More about Charlie the Changeling soon.

Part 2) We’ve heard endless repetitions of Obama’s lie “If you like your insurance, you’ll be able to keep it. Period.”  Now it is crystal clear that he was purposefully lying.  Those lies were one of the most important pieces of Obama’s snake oil pitch. Many American’s believed him. His ACA became law. Only now are we discovering the consequences.

We all know of the nearly unimaginable mess he and his made of the Obamacare roll out.

There are other consequences.

Christopher Conover is a research scholar in the Center for Health Policy & Inequalities Research at Duke University and an adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. His studies reveal that of the 189 million Americans with private health insurance coverage, when and if the ACA is fully implemented, at least 129 million (68 percent) will not be able to keep their previous health care plan either because they already have lost or will lose that coverage by the end of 2014. Of these, ‘only’ 18 to 50 million will literally lose coverage, i.e., have their plans entirely taken away. This includes 9.2-15.4 million in the non-group market and 9-35 million in the employer-based market. The rest will retain their old plans but have to pay higher rates for Obamacare-mandated bells and whistles.

Many of my younger friends are already getting cancellation notices, and their mad as hell.

Part 3) FLASH!   Obama has just admitted that his lie about “keeping your health insurance policy” had damaged many Americans.  Obama must be scared droopy drawered by the huge firestorm that his lie has generated.  Yesterday he said; “”I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me,” “We’ve got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.”

Bullshit…he’s sorry he got caught…now let’s see if he will postpone the individual mandate to make it even with the business mandate. Better yet, scrap it and start over with a bipartisan approach.  Lets really do something to reduce the cost of the delivery of health care.  Things like tort reform.