Once again our dysfunctional federal government reared its ugly head and made many of us wonder why we continue to send money to Washington DC? The taxpayer continues to be squeezed by our bloated bureaucrats who can’t seem live on the nearly trillion dollars we send them each year — it’s ridiculous!
From my fiscal conservative point of view, today’s government shut down has more to do with future obligations associated with Obamacare than it does with improving health care … but fighting it now is a lose, lose proposition. I don’t like the federal government dictating one more area of our lives, health care, but I’m of the opinion that The Affordable Care Act is here to stay and we’re going to have to make the best of it. If it were me, I’d let it play out and let Democrats take ownership of the quality of Obamacare … sooner or later the cost overruns and begging for more money along with the overall frustration by those signing up will have them looking for a way out. Republicans should save their political powder for the debt ceiling argument and fighting for tax reform. You’ll have plenty of chances to point out how costly and inefficient Obamacare is … and be sure to hold Democrats to their promised savings and proposed spending levels. A winning strategy is not to fighting a losing battle today, but to focus on strengthening private sector jobs and economic growth, with a continuing effort to reduce the size and reach of the federal government in other areas.
Once upon a time, a “little” boy named Taylor lived with us … but that was a long time ago. That little boy has grown into a young man and as of Monday is working for Williams County in Williston, ND. Before heading out the door for work, he sent me a “selfie” as he prepared to make his loooong “minute and a half” commute to the office — yes, he is that close.
Looking good Taylor! Mom and I are very proud of you.
Bummer … I missed bidding on this old truck [kidding] … and it sold for ONLY a paltry $142,000.
Collectors came from all over the WORLD to bid on several of the vehicles at the VanDerBrink auction of the closed Lambrecht Chevrolet dealership inventory (they closed in 1996). According to the owner Ray Lambrecht, it was his policy not to sell trade-ins or the previous year models when new cars came out. Most of the inventory was kept in a field in Pierce, Nebraska, but a few were kept caked with original dust in a closed indoor showroom.
Here are the four vehicles that fetched the highest prices Saturday:
1958 Chevrolet Cameo pickup truck with 1.3 miles: $140,000
1963 Chevrolet Impala with 11 miles: $97,500
1978 Corvette Indy pace car with 4 miles: $80,000
1958 Chevrolet Apache 31 Series Pickup (5 miles): $80,000
Almost all of those vehicles come with their original paperwork and a new Nebraska title and bill of sale. The Cameo pickup’s transmission is a "three on the tree" …
I’m taking a look at the Apple Macintosh blogging app called PixelPumper after using the Windows-only Live Writer for years. I know the day is coming when either I’ll upgrade my old clunky PC notebook computer for a lightweight Macbook Air or see Microsoft eliminate LiveWriter entirely (rumors). I’m still a mostly Live Writer blogger, but find myself using the iMac more and more for the occasion blog post (bigger display and much faster). Since I have Parallels running 95% of the time on the Mac, it is relatively easy to post something using Live Writer, but figured that there must be a better way.
So far, the interface is smooth and Mac-ish, but PixelPumperis missing a few features I regularly use … such as formatting the photos with added space without going to the HTML code or for text wrapping and spacing around images (at least the free non-Nerd mode version, as they call it). It would also be nice to have a quick preview button for different browsers, although WYSIWYG is pretty good. The “Save as draft” worked well as does a much simpler calendar-click publishing date and time.
So far it works fine … but unless the $11.99 full priced version offers a few more features besides HTML access, I think I’d stick with Windows Live Writer for now.
This past week I flew up to Williston, North Dakota to help my son Taylor move into his new apartment. My expectation were low and so the brand new apartment with easy access to everything made for a very positive first impression. Taylor drove his late grandfather’s “loaner vehicle,” a Chevy Trailblazer, from Cincinnati to North Dakota with the U-Haul trailer a few days prior to the arrival of his “slave labor” (aka, me). He also enjoyed a couple days in Minneapolis with a friend from high school and his cousin Justin and family. The drive was long and he (we) really appreciated their hospitality as a way to break up his trip.
Taylor and I unloaded in no time and headed out to eat and off to the Walmart to pick up a few forgotten items; there are a few more forgotten items being shipped up in a care package from mom as off today. We spend the next day making a few phone calls, setting up his Fedex box and exploring a bit of the area. We also drove 20 miles on both newly paved roads and questionable gravel roads to Lake Sakakawea and Lewis and Clark State Park. The weather couldn’t have been nicer for a bit of hiking around the lake and exploring the shoreline; we even collected some sands and a couple rock for Brenda (she collects samples when possible from everywhere we go). The lake is big, the third largest manmade lake in the U.S. and is formed by the earth-filled Garrison Dam on the Missouri River (map). It’s a nice recreation area … although a bit desolate.
By the time it was time to go, we had pretty much covered all there is to see in Williston. I got the chance to meet a few of the people he will be working with in the Williams County Planning and Zoning department, but unfortunately not his boss (he was away at a meeting down-state). Everybody I talked with was very nice and besides the remote location, I think Taylor will learn a lot and enjoy his first “real job.”
Leaving was actually more challenging for me that I thought since Taylor has always been independent and regularly been away from home. In junior high he was a student ambassador and traveled for a month in Europe. He has taken mission trips to Romania and spent a summer at Norwich University in Vermont at a leadership camp. Throughout college he’s lived away from home and we’ve gone for months without seeing him … but for some reason, North Dakota felt different. It probably has something to do with the distance and the fact he is moving their alone. I’m sure it will seem challenging for him at first too, but knowing his social nature, it won’t be long before he makes a few new friends.
If there was more time in the day I would have updated a bit more about my trip to North Dakota and moving Taylor into his new apartment … but that will have to be for another day. Currently I’m contemplating a move to Digital Ocean for at least one of the websites I manage and might give it a try first with my blog (we’ll see?) I hate making moves while everything is running smoothly, but the ease of management and cost of the service is pretty attractive. Any users currently care to chime in?
EDIT: Set up my first Droplet and of course there is a referral program … so if you are interested, click here then let me know. Thanks.
A shocker to be sure — I had given up on America’s Cup Team Oracle and declare New Zealand the sure winner a week ago. I was convince that after the first few races that the U.S. team was over matched and in an inferior boat; they just couldn’t keep up tack for tack. Oracle’s 72-foot catamaran had a serious problem when sailing upwind and New Zealand demonstrated a clear advantage by at least a knot and a half.
But, they didn’t give up and continued to make changes to their boat deep into the competition … and just as in business … Larry Ellison’s team, and deep pockets, found a way to make up the deficit. “It just doesn’t make sense they’re faster than us upwind, we finally broke the code.” Ellison commented. “You know what 8-to-1 is? 8-1 is motivated.”
Congratulations to Team Oracle for defending the Cup in an impressive comeback.
While dropping voice calls on Sprint heading thru Dayton, I was surprised by the 4G LTE indication. It looks like we are one step closer to switching on Sprint LTE service in Ohio.
Killing a few minutes at the Minneapolis St. Paul (MSP) airport checking email with a large cup of “bold” Caribou Coffee (free wifi). I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed the brew as it has been a while. The beautiful weather is perfect for flying, but the sardine cans my $1000 RT trip requires have a lot to be desired (FYI: used frequent flyer miles). There must be a better way to travel around the country? (perhaps my first leg sitting next to a 300+ guy had something to do with my attitude?)
The Cleveland Clinic is a bright spot in medical care for those of us living in Ohio and for people from around the country (and world) who need some of the best medical care available. The Clinic was even touted as a role model of health care by President Obama when pushing for his Affordable Care Act in 2009. Now that ObamaCare is law and nearing the 2014 implementation date,the Cleveland Clinic announced that it is being forced to cut $330 million from its budget (5-6%) due to the new healthcare law. As Northeast Ohio’s largest employer with 42,000 employees, the cuts being announced will be felt by the entire region and has everybody on edge.
According to a spokesperson for the Clinic, the cuts are necessary as we “prepare for increased costs and decreased revenue under the health care reform law.” Some of the changes will included offering early retirement to approximately 3,000 employees and reducing operational costs … but the final step will be employee layoffs as needed.
From my perspective, it is difficult to see how reducing budgets, staff and medical care at the best run and most highly respected institutions … while attempting to covering 30+ million more American under the new government run insurance exchanges … is going to result in improved health care? Charles Krauthammer had and insightful 30 second comment this past week when pointing out how the Obama adminstration’s big government is improving life for you and me — “brilliant!”
That little boy has grown into a young man and as of Monday is working for Williams County in Williston, ND. Before heading out the door for work, he sent me a “selfie” as he prepared to make his loooong “minute and a half” commute to the office — yes, he is that close. 
