Sunday, December 8, 2013

[“Taking legal action to stop grinder pumps”] Bravo, but before I part with my cash I want to know who is the unnamed lead person and who is the unnamed attorney and who are the unnamed engineers involved? I’m not donating to any unorganized effort that will just waste my money and buy someone free lunches and gasoline while they complain. And what is the business’s name that is taking contributions to the legal expense fund? I need names. The Cudjoe Gardens defense fund was very open and professional–and succeeded.

[“FKAA site has no map”] From what I’ve been able to see, there is no map available or it’s hidden away from prying eyes. I”m supposed to get an aerobic system, but I can’t locate anything online that confirms it, nor can I find any pictures of the monstrosity that will replace my beautiful landscaping. Everything about this sewer system is a question.

[Doubt] I have never met a Christian who didn’t have doubts about his faith. Isn’t the acknowledgement of doubt the same as admitting that the faith you chose to live by is a delusion?

[Costs of producing the raw materials for products is in direct relation to the greed of the banks] Banks are a business that charges a slight markup percentage to loans they provide to people and businesses. Like any other business, the cost of their supply of money from the Federal Reserve (prime rate) and other sources (like CD’s) determines the bulk of the costs of borrowing. If loan rates are high and banks are offering good CD rates, it usually means the Fed has the prime rate high to slow down inflation in the economy. It has nothing to do with banks being greedy as there is competition between banks, it’s just their costs of borrowing money to loan is higher, much like gas prices are tied to the price of oil and refining.

[Dear John and Julie Landau]  It’s your money to spend how you want!  Thanks for your generosity and a big BAH HUMBUG to the person who ‘suggested’ you spend more of it how they thought you should.

That local dining piece was a riot. It must have been written by the slop shop owners themselves, eh? Taste is only in the mouth of the eater and that means wherever that eater lives is where they think they know what good chow is. So if you live in the Aussie Outback, then grubs are delicious, but if you live in Camden NJ, the MacDonald’s grit burger is the best. Now let’s look at the Keys! It’s all relative to what your stomach can take.

For the rambling 71 year old poster: Since when is Japan an oil rich country as described in your opening ramble? I feel for you buddy but that thing you wrote will qualify for bizarre rant of the year. Take a breath, count to three, then post.

[Ground Mule] Has anyone else had Tough Hamburger Meat lately? Some of the stuff my wife buys is like ground mules or something tougher?

[Humorous Amazon reviews] I’ll see your Uranium ore and raise you one pack of Bic pens for her. Link

The Keysnet.com  website seems to endorse Spark Trust PC cleaner on its site.  I looked into it.  Spark Trust PC is extremely deceptive. Nowhere during their ‘free’ offer do they tell you it is not free, there is a charge for it. It damaged my control panel and was extremely difficult to removed, as it did not show up in the add/remove category. I would never used this company for anything  Link

[Grinder Pump Meeting] At 1:30 p.m  Wednesday, commissioners will hear from Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority staff on estimated costs of switching more Lower Keys neighborhoods from low-pressure grinder pumps to gravity sewer systems.

I don’t know if this 1:30 p.m is the time  allowed for public input, but it will be an issue discussed at the Wednesday County Commission meeting in Marathon.  I guess we had better go there and voice our concerns about this low pressure grinder pump system or suffer the consequences of doing nothing. I hope we have learned our lessons. Thanks to all those doing their homework and research on this issue!

Fuel in Marathon today is $3.33, on Big Pine at the Shell it is $3.60. By my math that is .27 cents less and is still a savings even with .25 cents off with your card. Maby not worth driving to Marathon for but still a rip off in my book.

How reliable are these grinder pumps? A picture is worth a thousand words. Stop construction of LPS sewers

The USAF Band Holiday Flash Mob at the National Air and Space Museum. Video

Magic. Link

The Agenda lists an approximate time of 1:30 pm to address the grinder to gravity sewer issue. That time may be way off. If you wish to speak, here is the procedure: “Any person who wishes to be heard shall provide the Clerk with his or her name and residence and the agenda item on which he or she wishes to be heard. Such information shall be on a card provided by the County. Once public input begins, there will be no further speaker cards allowed to be submitted to the Clerk for that subject.” The Agenda item is K1.

If you can attend and help support the anti-grinder pump movement, it would be much appreciated by those of us who have jobs that do not permit us to have our say on the issue. Even if you do not speak, your visual presence in support of dumping the pumps would be appreciated. Perhaps something like everyone opposed to grinders wears red and carries a small sign No Grinders or Dump the Pumps?

Wednesday, December 11, 2013,Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Highway, MM 47.5 (Gulf) Marathon.

I’m glad that somebody posted a picture of the grinder pumps on Sugarloaf.  Two months ago I saw a flatbed truck heading west through Marathon filled with those exact same things. I thought they might be grinder pumps, but did not for sure know until I saw the picture yesterday. Nothing has been said about vacuum systems which we have had in Marathon for ten years and they run great. If the power goes out the waste plant has the only electricity involved so a power outage is handled by their generators. Editor, I am tired of reading about all the bellyaching of anti grinder pumps. Put it at the bottom of the page like long winded tomes or just before FTR because when I see his logo my reading is over!

I put my tree up on Dec 1st and take it down the day before Dec 1st.

We like wine and are not afraid to try a new one at 9 bucks a bottle and, .25 off per gallon of gas.  That alone is 4 bucks off my 20 gallon fill up but hey, us wino’s can’t count anyway.

[Grammar Inquiry] Where does the comma go when using it in a sentence with but? Does the comma go before the word or after? ie, She is coming, but is delayed. Or should it read: She is coming but, is delayed.

I’ll bet you don’t have one of these! 

[Ice Snow] A spectacular video from Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota demonstrates the incredible capabilities of nature.  The footage is of snow getting pushed ashore in the spring.  This is called an ice shove or shoreline ice pile up.  It is a surge of ice from an ocean or large lake onto the shore. They are caused by ocean currents, strong winds, or temperature changes.  Ice shove’s usually are not this drastic. Link

One person’s problems with grinder pumps. This will be happening all over the Keys if these things are installed. Has anyone tried to “follow the money” from the E/One pump vendors and sewer maintenance companies to any of our illustrious commissioners? If we had any investigative journalists worth a damn down here this would have been exposed a long time ago. Where is 60 Minutes when you need them? Link

[Big Boat Launch] Watch as the 488-metre-long hull of the Shell revolutionary Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility is floated out of the dry dock at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) yard in Geoje, South Korea. Video

[“School trip mess”] The only chance Tarpon Belly had to be cleaned up after the little darlings were through with it would have been if their moms had been out there to do it for them, just as they usually do at home.

[“CT losing it”] I concur that the tone here has been uncivil, and at times hateful. How about a modest proposal? Please move all political/issue/ad hominem bashing to a new sub-page linked to the CT. Call it Political Beef & Bull. (Ed: If you think it’s bad now, you should read the posts before I edit them. You wouldn’t believe the hate and lies. When I get rich I’ll do away with politics and just keep FTR because I think he’s outrageous and I like outrageous the best.)

Looks like the Pigeon Key Svengalis are going to get their way with the Old Seven Mile bridge,  with  a spanking new $500K  off ramp thrown in to make the deal even sweeter. Congratulations.

[Grinder Pump Meeting] If you want to be heard regarding the County Wastewater Plans and Grinder Pumps, then I strongly suggest you attend the upcoming BOCC meeting: This Wednesday, December 11, Marathon Government Center, Agenda Item K1, Time Approx. 1:30 p.m.

Discussion And Direction Of Whether The County Will Fund Conversion From Low Pressure Collection Systems (Aka Grinder Pumps) To Gravity Collection Systems For Any Additional Areas Of The Cudjoe Regional Wastewater Collection System.

The documents for this agenda item can be viewed here. Link

Motorhome for sale, 2012 Jayco 29D, 5500 miles, best offer. Classified Ads > Auto

 Contact Us. Send us your comments and attach any stuff you want published to this email.    

[“Is this blog changing”]  No, but politics is worsening and most of us have given up on trying to change this system, really, I do not care too much about politics anymore because it is so messed up and will remain so unless people revolt and abolish this system. It is way too corrupt. I do not watch the news anymore. I will watch old movies over and over again before I turn the channel to what is happening in this United States. I don’t care. Sorry, I’m done, it is useless. Going fishing now and enjoying this beautiful place God gave us.

The whales are heading back toward shore, the whales are heading back toward shore!  Sound the alarm!

So you think that your fuel perks are a great deal? Do you also believe in Sants Claus?A supermarket that charges high prices gets you a discount at a gas station that charges high prices. Think about that for a while.

[Shrimp Farm] What is the history of Tarpon Belly Key? There is a cut there obviously man made and some old pilings. I was thinking the Navy might of used the key for something at one time.

[“What happened to the logical and adult posts that were the majority“]  If you wish to improve the level of discourse, kindly submit any contributions you think will do so.  Ed prints the material he’s sent.

Visit this tackle store on your next visit to Bonita Springs or just go to’ Masterbait On Line’. Link

[Snow] For a no-fuss snowcast, How Much Will It Snow? has you covered. Enter the name of your city and the site will give you an immediate overview of the inches you can expect. How Much Will It Snow? also gives the high and low temps for the next few days as well as commute conditions. It even posts National Weather Service advisories to keep you informed of any severe weather alerts. Link

How does a wood fired brick pizza oven make better pizza then a gas or electric one?  I mean, heat is just heat, right?  Or is this just another case of mind over matter?

[Operation Dead-Mouse Drop] A group of 2,000 dead mice equipped with cardboard parachutes have been airdropped over a United States Air Force base in Guam in order to poison brown tree snakes. Relax we’re from the Goverment, we know what we’re doing. Next stop the Florida Everglades. Link

[House Plumbed for Beer] If you like your beer, it’s nice to have plumbers as your friends. You have to hand it to the Australians, they had such a great time carrying this out. This is one of the best pranks I’ve seen, what a lot of work. Video

[Citizen Of The Day Says] She can’t imagine living anywhere else, ‘It’s home.’

[“Fuel Perks”] You know, they are good at any Shell station, not just the Shellopoly here. I was in Marathon and paid $3.35 at Tom Thumb (others had it too) – are far bit cheaper than the $3.60 here. (Rec fuel is 60 cents per gallon less). I wouldn’t say to drive to Marathon when you need gas, but definitely fill up when you’re there or in Big Coppitt or south to save more. I did a gas buddy search – we have the highest gas prices in the whole region

Travel Trailer, 1999 Cardinal, 33 foot, 2 slides, good working condition, clean, Asking $4500 Located on Big Pine. Available now. Ask for Rick or Kay. Classified Ads > Auto

[Basket Ball For Midgets] Trick shots from 3” high kids. Video

[Maniac Miami Drivers] The fault lies, believe or not, with the design of cars. When one has small liter engines there is less time between transmission shifts between gears, so only the slightest gas petal pressure downshifts thus causing many, including myself, to feel like a race car driver from the quicker acceleration. The design contributes to a habit of racing light to light and being impatient, even reckless.

In defense of my own potential and from others, I drive a full sized SUV, it gets 18.5 MPG at 55, 21.5 at 45. It’s acceleration is so-so and everyone see’s it and most want to get around me as I just want to lumber along at arrive alive. The breaking takes longer also, so it forces one to be more attentive and not tailgate. I’ve been rear-ended a few times by race car drivers and the trailer hitch totals their front ends with little damage to mine. It’s over 10 years old, over 200,000 miles and no tickets because it doesn’t as easily encourage bad behavior as some other vehicles do.

Free calendars for any year. You set everything to what you need. Link

[Captain Doom and Gloom] “Chinese Conspiracy” They are doing this all over the planet. Sending sponsored families to all countries to buy land. Good land, not junk land. Sea ports, farms, river land, anything that will grow food or be useful. Wake up people before they turn you and you kids into fertilizer. They waste nothing, remember that!

If you only have a little bit of debris for trash day and only need one pick up a week, can you apply for a senior discount? What other discounts are available here in the Keys and Monroe County?

Ever wonder how much money the sewer companies make from selling our poo to fertilizer companies? Must be in the billions!

These days, whenever I hear someone refer to patriots, freedom or the Constitution I know they are either Tea Partiers or Militia and are armed. To me they are the scariest groups in America.

I have a game I play with myself.  I turn the TV to Sean Hannity on Fox News and see how long I can take him before I can’t stand it anymore and have to switch channels.   I made it all the way to 6 minutes the last time I tried.

Just imagine some right wing GOP kook like Palin or Bachman with their finger on the nuclear trigger.  Frightening thought.

[Regressive Hypocrisy #22] Before Nelson Mandela died, the Heritage Foundation said, “Mandela is not a freedom fighter. He is a terrorist. He is a Communist”. Ronald Reagan agreed. Now that Nelson Mandela is gone it’s a different story. The Foundation has stated, “While the apartheid regime was the symbol of racism and oppression, Mandela was the symbol of compassion and equality. The world has lost a transformational leader”.

Big Government has brought us this….Preliminary Map of Cancelled Health Insurance Policies Link > cancelled-health-insurance.

There are millions of policies cancelled. Each one is a person. A real person, some with a wife or a husband . Many with a family. Millions and millions of real people.This Democratic/ObamaCare has a long way to go before it done doing it’s damage. Costing billions,trillions,hurting American families,both financially and medically. Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen.Democrats should be ashamed for not reading and knowing what they were voting for.

There is no excuse for what President Obama & the Democratic party did to all of America. You should hang your collective head in shame. This post is not directed at democratic voters. It is directed at who you voted for and how they misused your trust. Most of all remember how your vote was taken for granted.

It’s amazing what free enterprise can do if government is not in the way. Remember Government makes nothing, it only takes…Have a blessed day.

This will light you up and further explain part of the problem with America in the early 21st century. God help us……they are out there, and they do vote! Video

[CT political BS ‘left vs right] Have you listened to DC lately? And you think the sixth grade rhetoric and 3rd grade grammar is beholden to the Keys? You need a dose of reality!

[Why I am a Republican] You have to see this 4 minute video.  How come we never see stuff like this on the liberal airways? This state senator has a message that should resonate with all of us. Video

[Obamacare] 25% HealthCare.gov applications to insurance providers have errors introduced by the website. Link

[Pot poll 82% approve] Total bull as usual. Link

[“Republican environmentalist oxymoron”] Goes to show how much you don’t know about Republicans. Look at Bush Jr’s environmentally friendly house next to Al Gore energy wasting McMansion. Link

The 2016 Presidential Candidate That No One is Talking About. We are getting deeper in the goo everyday. Link

A huge tip of the FTR fedora to the good people who put the Christmas tree on the 7 mile bridge.  The logistics of the effort must be daunting. Think of having to scale the old bridge from a boat, then hoisting all the gear that is necessary to get the job done. We drove by the decoration late yesterday afternoon, and I thought I saw a large battery back and a solar panel to keep it charged.  It took a lot of hard work and considerable expense to put it up. We drove by again after dark last night, and it is beautiful….it looks like it’s floating in mid air.  Good job and hearty thanks to the those who put it up.

Part 1) Last Friday Team Obama’s BLS released its monthly employment situation report. At first glance it looks like good news across the board. There were 203k new hires during November. That looks pretty good until you realize that at that rate it will take us four years to get back to the employment rate we enjoyed pre 2007. Today there are 1.6 million fewer Americans with jobs than there were pre 2007, the year Democrats seized control of our governance.

Then we have to realize that November was the 60th month in a row with unemployment at or above 7%. Then we have to realize that typically employment tics up in November and December.

There were 818,000 net additional jobs created in the United States during the month of November. Once again that sounds pretty good until you look just a little deeper.  Fully 41% of those jobs were government jobs. While the overall unemployment rate fell by 3/10th of 1 percent, the government unemployment rate dropped by 1.2%.

Then we just learned that median income has dropped to its 1995 level.

The knee jerk left field reaction to falling wages is to raise the minimum wage. That is an abysmal idea. First of all, only about 2.9% of us make the minimum wage….of that 2.9% more than half are under 24, and most are in school working part time jobs. The average family income of a minimum-wage worker is more than $53,000 a year, 62 percent have incomes over 150 percent of the poverty line. Two-thirds of minimum-wage workers earn a raise within a year. As they gain experience and employment skills, they become more productive and can command higher wages. Entry-level, minimum-wage jobs are the first rung on many workers’ career ladders.

The only way out of poverty is jobs.  Therefore one deeply concerning factor is that increasing minimum wage tends to decrease the number of jobs. Mr. Obama opined that was not true. For that statement he earned two Pinocchio’s in the Washington Post. Every day the evidence grows that under Democrat governance the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Part 2) Every now and then a piece of news pops us that is absolutely delicious. CNN reported Reid was the only top congressional leader to exempt “some of his staff from having to buy insurance through the law’s new exchanges.” Reid denied the story. Reid said that all federal employees should be under Obamacare. He finished by saying: “…. under Obamacare, my insurance costs me about $4,500 more than it did before. Yes, because it is age-related and it wasn’t like that before.”  So much for Obamacare being cheaper.