Glass takes one million years to decompose, which means it never wears out and can be recycled an infinite amount of times!
Gold is the only metal that doesn’t rust, even if it’s buried in the ground for thousands of years.
Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.
If you stop getting thirsty, you need to drink more water. When a human body is dehydrated, its thirst mechanism shuts off.
Zero is the only number that cannot be represented by Roman numerals.
Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.
The song, Auld Lang Syne, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year.
Drinking water after eating reduces the acid in your mouth by 61 percent.
Peanut oil is used for cooking in submarines because it doesn’t smoke unless it’s heated above 450F.
The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
Nine out of every 10 living things live in the ocean.
The blobfish was this week voted the world’s ugliest creature, but in defence of the oceans, they also possess perhaps the most beautiful in the form of nudibranchs.
The banana cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of man.
(I think other creatures besides man could do this as well but, the point is that the banana needs help.)
Airports at higher altitudes require a longer airstrip due to lower air density.
The University of Alaska spans four time zones.
The tooth is the only part of the human body that cannot heal itself.
In ancient Greece , tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage. Catching it meant she accepted.
no tossing apples pics but, maybe they should have adopted the tried and true method of the shotgun wedding. 🙂
Warner Communications paid 28 million for the copyright to the song Happy Birthday.
Who’s was it to sell?
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
A comet’s tail always points away from the sun.
The Swine Flu vaccine in 1976 caused more death and illness than the disease it was intended to prevent.
I pretty much called BS on this one before I even looked as someone who wrote it has no clue how light works. Now, if you hit your head while at the bottom of the well or chimney you may very well see stars!
When a person dies, hearing is the last sense to go. The first sense lost is sight.
I can tell you from first hand experience that the sight is the first thing to go… I did not get all the way to sound so we will have to wait and see regarding that…
In ancient times strangers shook hands to show that they were unarmed.
True I think…
Strawberries are the only fruits whose seeds grow on the outside.
This is pretty interesting stuff… If you have insomnia it is great!
Avocados have the highest calories of any fruit at 167 calories per hundred grams.
FRUIT FACTS
Avocados have the highest calories of any fruit at 167 calories per hundred grams.
Apples contain an antioxidant that fights cancer .
The banana plant is in the same family as the lily and the orchid.
A medium-sized orange contains the amount of vitamin C that a healthy adult should eat daily.
Olive trees can live for more than 1,500 years.
Kiwis are packed full of cancer fighting Beta-Carotene and contain twice as much Vitamin C as an orange.
People who eat a lot of fruit need to consume less water.
Lemons are popular for cleaning because they are high in acid – which kills bacteria.
Grapes have grown wild since pre-historic times.
Pear wood is hard and can be used to make furniture.
There are more than 100 varieties of bananas, some even have red skin.
Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.
100% percent fruit juice is a great way to get started every morning.
Kiwi fruit is said to promote respiratory health and ease wheezing and night coughing.
The largest fruits are giant pumpkins, specially grown and bred for their size. The largest ones can weigh over 1,000 pounds!
The moon moves about two inches away from the Earth each year. (actually 1.5)
As the earth gains mass one has to wonder if it will effect the moons orbit. One must also wonder if the earths orbit will be effected as the earth is “falling” towards the sun in an orbit determined by its speed and mass. As the mass changes so would the orbits of all satellites including the moon and…the earth as a satellite to the sun must also change as its mass changes. Yep, this is my sci fi brain at work.
Due to earth’s gravity it is impossible for mountains to be higher than 15,000 meters.
I would not bet money on this “bit of trivia” as this field of study is still active and someone might come along with a new mathematical formula any day…or not. It has a lot to do with the earths mantle, size of the earth and so forth. As the earth dies and cools this might change, I think it is more dynamic than one thinks.
For every extra kilogram carried on a space flight, 530 kg of excess fuel are needed at lift-off.
Gravity Works!
Kate Upton Zero Gravity for Sports Illustrated Photo Shoot.
The letter J does not appear anywhere on the periodic table of the elements.
More dumb facts found…
Ancient Egyptians slept on pillows made of stone.
In ancient Egypt, Priests plucked EVERY hair from their bodies, including their eyebrows and eyelashes.
In ancient times strangers shook hands to show that they were unarmed.
3000 years ago, most Egyptians died by the time they were 30.
In ancient Egypt, people used to shave their eyebrows to mourn the death of their cats.
In ancient China doctors would only receive fees if the patient stayed in good health. Sometimes if the patients health became to bad, the doctor had to pay them.
Married women could not view the Olympic Games in ancient Greece under penalty of death.
(The contestants were nude and I am guessing their husbands were somewhat insecure so….they made it illegal!)
Glasses have been worn for about 700 years.
About 300 years ago, people used toothbrushes made from hog bristles.
During the Middle Ages, people used spider webs to try to cure warts.
Rockets were first made by the Chinese more than 750 years ago.
During Martin Luther’s Reformation, he claimed the Catholic Church to be the anti-christ, and in response, they claimed he was the anti-christ. The common people, assuming one must be the anti-christ, believed that the Apocalypse was coming. It never did.
The first sound recording ever made: “Mary Had a Little Lamb” in 1877.
In 1848, Niagara Falls stopped flowing for 30 hours because of an ice jam blocking the Niagara River.
And last but not least:
This is called ‘Money Bags.’ So send this on to 5 people and money will arrive in 5 days. Based on Chinese Feng Shui, the one who does not pass this on will have money troubles for the rest of the year.
Superstitious or not, I passed this along because it is interesting information.
Pretty much doubt that it will work but just in case… 🙂
Today I swung my front door wide open and placed my Remington 30.06 right in the doorway. I left 6 cartridges beside it, then left it alone and went about my business.
While I was gone, the mailman delivered my mail, the neighbor boy across the street mowed the yard, a girl walked her dog down the street, and quite a few cars stopped at the stop sign near the front of my house.
After about an hour, I checked on the gun. It was still sitting there, right where I had left it. It hadn’t moved itself outside. It certainly hadn’t killed anyone, even with the numerous opportunities it had presented to do so.
In fact, it hadn’t even loaded itself. Well you can imagine my surprise, with all the hype by the Media about how dangerous guns are and how they kill people.
Either the media is wrong or I’m in possession of the laziest gun in the world.
The United States is 3rd in Murders throughout the World. But if you take out just 4 cities: Chicago, Detroit, Washington, DC and New Orleans, the United States is 4th from the bottom, in the entire world, for Murders.
These 4 Cities also have the toughest Gun Control Laws in the U.S.
It would be absurd to draw any conclusions from this data – right?
Well, I’m off to check on my spoons. I hear they’re making people fat.
Through her private tutelage under Bill, she learned what the definition of “is, is”. Although it is clear that Bill is still a little foggy on the term.
Cute couple, yes?
Knowing her adversaries, well, planning a successful campaign strategy should be a piece of cake, simply tell the truth as the Clinton’s have never tried that strategy before.
I think that she is going to put away the blue dress and opt for red, as she is not happy with Democratic philosophy!
Yes, Monica for president 2016, its the only obvious choice!
-Best
Yes, this is satire…. Kind of like Hillary running should be!
According to the searches that people use to find my blog, if I wanted to increase my traffic, all I would really need to do is write about nude people, or naked people, or topless people, or nipples……Isn’t that just sad?
We can talk about many things besides this. History, art, literature, physics, science, philosophy, theology, spiritual awareness. There are so many things of interests and yet it all comes down to sex or nudity.
I for one would like to stick to things beyond the baser instincts man. This blog is for enlighten conversation. While I don’t perport to have all of the answers to all of the woes or all of the things going on this planet. I’m reasonably intelligent and more than happy to engage in debate or conversation on just about any topic.
I am guessing that the human condition is more about emotions, or primal instincts than it is regarding asking why, or how.
Just a random observation I thought I would share.
This is a map of the locations of Casinos near Texas draining revenue from this state and what are we doing about it? The larger question is why?
With the huge influx of aliens from Mexico and beyond, we clearly could use the revenue so again I ask; why are there no casinos in Texas?
Why should Texas Dollars end up in BFE Oklahoma or Shreveport or even Vegas?
We have the lottery; so it really can’t be religious objections. You could blame them if you want but, I for one would not believe you.
Why not Casinos with places that can host Vegas style entertainment as well as produce revenue from those with a penchant for gambling?
We have horse races for Pete Sake, why not Galloping Dominoes?
Why are we letting all of that revenue go north, or east, or to Nevada? If it is an Indian thing, we have Texas Indians too. I know this for a fact so, why? Why does it have to be an Indian thing?
I would bet that the good folks at Winstar or Choctaw or even Shreveport or possibly some of the folks in Vegas who manage an Oasis in a desert, would love to open up a casino here.
After you have scurried around trying to come up with an answer I have a bigger question than that, Why the hell doesn’t California have Casinos? They are billions in debt, why not bring some dollars to their state via Casinos. With competition everybody wins!
After asking yourself this question and going through all of the possible machinations of why, we can take it one step forward and probably answer the question.
What would happen if Texas and California allowed it, along with the other states?
What would happen to Vegas?
What would happen to Winstar, or Shreveport, or even Chocktaw, if they suddenly had competition?
And the multi-million dollar question is, why do we care?
In 2011 a town in northwest Arkansas which had been dry for ever, wanted to sell alcohol. It was put on the ballot and by a margin passed.
Previously just outside the city limits were several “boozatoriums” which were set up to sell to that city along with other surrounding cities just outside their borders.
It turns out that the people who owned those or who had interest in them, alerted the various churches that this town wanted to go wet and got the people all up in arms. The churches were the pawns for the owners of the existing stores which would lose business if the local Walmart could sell booze.
Never mind the fact that people would go out of their way to buy beer at the towns edges and start drinking it on the way home, on mountainous roads! Those folks who owned the “joints” didn’t care if people got drunk on the way home and drove off a cliff! There was the bottom line and after all, what else is there?
A dichotomy existed between those that wanted to buy booze and those that thought it was the work of Satan, the latter being stirred up by the folks who owned the existing stores on the periphery of the city. Huge vinyl yard signs were created and distributed to the town’s people both for and against; in the end Walmart and others who actually had businesses in the town won. Tax dollars for Booze now went into the city, which hosted the stores and had to provide the infrastructure for its people.
Who is pulling our chains?
People with an interest in gambling will go to where it is legal, much like those with a desire to smoke pot; they will either simply do it, damned the consequences; or they will go to where it is legal.
Instead of making all of these toll roads in Texas, which is nothing more than a hidden tax on the people, let’s use funds from gambling to build our infrastructure and stop charging the people for services that you should already be providing! Since our population is increasing from external sources who will all need medical and scholastic services, let’s find the funding for it from those that already spend the money elsewhere.
I welcome dissenting opinions and arguments, as I love good debate.
I certainly don’t have all of the answers but, if there is dialogue then maybe we can learn to at least ask why, and think outside the box!
The answers are out there, we just need to ask the questions and not be satisfied with “because,” or “that is just the way it is,” or “it’s the law.” If it’s the law and it is stupid, let’s change it, or change the people who made it!
People need to rise up and question the status quo, if the status quo does not make sense!
Every now and then I run across a place that is worthy of mention either for good or not so good. These last few days I found myself on a road trip of sorts. West of Gainesville Texas a few miles is a town called Muenster. The Town founded in 1889 lies about 15 miles west of Gainesville. My road trip consisted of Antiquing, eating, and a visit to Winstar Casino. One of the highlights of this trip was Muenster and Rohmers. http://www.rohmersrestaurant.com/
This was the best!This was really good as well…Next time…..
The down home feeling one gets once inside the establishment is unmistakable. While I have never been there before I was made to feel like a local, and was treated the same as they would treat anyone else. The food was top notch, fresh and brought in about the normal time one would expect. I found the food rather bland but I suspect that might be the culture and as I was not going for Tex-Mex or some spicy food so it was as you might expect. I usually do not eat dessert when I eat out as the serving sizes today are too large to accommodate room for it however; when I entered into the establishment I spied what looked like fresh made pies on the counter top. Inquiring about them well into the meal indeed; the pies are made fresh each morning. Lemon pie pecan pie and coconut pie are made fresh daily. Folks, good lemon pie is hard to find. This was the real deal including the pie crust which was light and flaky. I give this place two thumbs up and suggest you give it a try if you are ever in the area. That night I stayed in Gainesville at the Comfort Suits right off of I35.
Nightmare stay, too much for too little with rude ass patrons.
Requesting a room away from the freeway we were placed at the west end of the hotel. Right next to us with an adjoining room separated by a locking door they placed a family with young children and a dog. The room keys were not created correctly the first time and I had to wait over 20 minutes in line to get them re-created. The girl behind the desk was chatty and nice enough but the manager was the one who quietly got things done. The room / hotel was under construction so an afternoon nap before dinner was out of the question. The room was barely what I would call clean with stains of some sort on the couch and although the sheets appeared clean they did not smell fresh. As the matter of fact the pillows had the distinct smell of burned hair. There was a free breakfast in the morning which we opted to skip as we did not want to take any chances on the food being taken care of the same way that the hotel was. This hotel gets two thumbs down and although the manager was trying, I think it is going to take a village to get that place where I would want to stay there again.
A note to the “assholes” in the room next door. If you have a child and you stay in a hotel, your child should not be allowed to scream at the top of their lungs until they tire of exhaustion. And just as an FYI, you really can hold the doors until they close as to keep them from slamming and the same is true of the toilet seat. I found it a true amazement that the dog was better behaved than the child!
Sanger sports one antique mall worth a visit. The Sanger McDonald’s however is a travesty managed by a complete buffoon. I cannot understand how someone can take the tried and true methods of McDonald’s and screw it up as badly as this one is! Gainesville sports a couple Antique stores worth the time, Muenster had one good one with a few other little shops worth the visit and the little town of ST Jo a few more miles to the west was also worth a visit, as they had one small antique mall worth a visit to. I found the folks in ST Jo also very friendly and the local DQ while very clean and well run seemed to be a local hangout. Marietta Oklahoma had one antique mall that was rather interesting. We went up the road to Ardmore where there was several small antique malls / stores where things were priced not much differently than one might find on eBay. The old adage about eggs and cars being cheaper in the country does not seem to apply to junk / antiques in stores that depend upon visits from folks you like you and I. If I want to pay eBay prices I will shop on eBay. Winners, Losers, Zombies and Geriatrics Crooners, Arriving at Winstar around 3 we were unable to check in until after 4, although I did watch several check in at 3 while I was waiting in line. They have something called a guaranteed check in at 4. The purpose of the trip was to see Merle Haggard, Chris Christopherson and Willy Nelson perform. As we could not check in until after 4 we elected to go check out the casino. The casino is massive and requires a lot of walking and after a few hundred feet it all looks the same. The noise is what you would expect, the smoke is filtered pretty well but, if you have asthma, I would stay away. The algorithm for the electronic bandits are all pretty much the same. Give you a little taste of winning, and then empty your pocket. I would love to have access to the P&L as I doubt that there are any “big winners” ever. I remember that someone won over 11 million dollars there; they refused to pay because it was an “error.” http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=81798
I have no expectations when I visit such a place as I understand how it all works. The only way you stand a chance of winning anything is to play cards or some other game that is not tied to a computer. Once upon a time it was a algorithm built into the mechanical wheels cogs and gears of the machine, now it is programmatically accomplished. I would recommend setting a budget and understand that it is entertainment and expect to lose what you set in your budget.
I understand math to an acute level and I still purchase a lottery ticket every once in a while. The odds are so far against me they are unrealistic. My one or two dollars is spent thinking “if I win…” That is it. I supports education and I can feel good about that.The concert was not the greatest. I have paid much less for better but, let’s face it, where are these three going to get billed at some place that seats many thousand folks. I grew up with them so it was an honor to see them possibly for the last time.
The chairs were less than comfortable and pushed so close to the next guy that even skinny folks were sitting on each other laps. During the intermission there was piss poor planning where the bathrooms were concerned as a few thousand worked their way through the maelstrom of bumping and shoving and by now some folks who had drank too much, and were in a hurry to pee!
While paying extra for Good seats, this too would have been better if televised to some private cable channel or PPV where you would not have bubba in the seat ahead of you with a hat and a camera trying to video the whole event, when the signs clearly said “no cameras of any kind!” There were 20 something year old kids with “security uniforms” on which did not fit them correctly, trying to garner the respect of the mostly geriatric crowd. These kids still had pimples, trying to boss around people who were in their 60’s and 70’s and beyond. It was laughable actually. Get some booze in these old folks and well, you can guess what the conversations went like. I know I heard the kids voice crack as he was telling one guy that he could not film the event.
Hundreds were filming and taking pictures with their damned flash on so either the whole damned crowd is illiterate, or just simply does not give a fuck! You tube has much better video of them and you can download all of it you care to, no pimple faced kids to harass you unless of course your kids are there and don’t like what you are downloading.
The act started out with Chris who I must say I was impressed with. Merle had little breath to sing with, but he could still play the guitar. This was my second time to see him in concert and I feel will probably be my last. Willy put on one heck of a show for an 81 year old guy. I felt it unfortunate that the camera angle showed his wrinkled skin in all of its glory. Like his guitar, he has seen better days. His style has changed over the years as he too most probably lacks the breath to croon as he used to. He talks a good part of his songs but all in all, still puts on a good show! I would have really liked Chris to start out one of his songs with “look who’s advertising…..” I know him best in a Star is Born. There was one surprise of the night and that is when his daughter Kelly came out and did a duet with her father. She is attractive and has a good voice. I look for her to do some good things in the future!
Chris and Barbara who not only dated for a time but also starred in A Star is Born back in the 70’sHe has several of these around the country.
Toby Keith Entrepreneur.. A flaw with the casino is they really don’t have enough eating establishments for the crowds that they draw. When checking in you are given coupons for one thing or another and one of them was for free chips and salsa at Toby Keith’s restaurant. Heading to the place at 4:45 to eat and make it to the show by 7 there was already an hour and a half wait! There was even an hour wait at the El-Fenix! Since getting in your car and leaving is not an option, you are a captive audience, so bring energy bars, and don’t think about eating there if there is a show that you are going to see. We decided to go after the show, at 10:15 there was still a 15 minute wait and we left the show early to manage that. Folks, I know food. I ordered a $31 dollar 6oz filet, medium-well. It took the better part of 45 minutes before the food was delivered and … not only was the meat “not a filet” it was cold. It was raw and when I put the bloody raw meat into my mouth to discover it was cold, EWWWWW!
This is a filet…
My guess is that it was prepared and sat somewhere for a while and allowed to get cold before it was delivered. The baked potato was warm as was the cornbread. When one orders a filet, as in beef, it means beef tenderloin! I guess you can call anything a filet but if I were a place with a name like Toby Keith I don’t think I would split hairs and call any cut of meat a filet! I can eat medium rare if it is hot, I don’t typically eat under-cooked food however as the dangers of illness are much greater. Retiring to the room was different.The room was $233 for one night. Now I have stayed all over the world so $233 is not really out of the way but, for Oklahoma?! That is $233 a night for 19 hours of which you are in the room for possibly 8. $12.26 an hour. I heard others complaining about the $149 a night, so I am guessing that once you become a “player” offers for cheaper rooms to get you back will be forth coming. Here is the rub. While the room was quite, really quite, no noises from the hallway, the rooms next door or above us, the damned bed was hard as a rock! Not only was the bed rock hard, the pillows were so fluffy that I had to roll up a towel and use it for a pillow as I cannot have that much of an extreme angle of my head without risking a pain in the neck! Had the bed had some give it might not have been that big of a deal.
The room was clean, the bathroom was clean and there was a sign in the bathroom cautioning people about stealing things but in a clever manner. It went something like “We are glad that you enjoyed your visit, take it with you! If you like the towels or radio clock or such, contact hotel management for pricing! I laughed at that, as we all know someone who takes the extra soaps and shampoos and other extra shit, and we may know people who have actually taken towels and things. Cheap bastards the lot, but those people visit these places too.
I get dirt cheap rooms from the Hard Rock in Vegas.
Hard Rock in Vegas
I can use miles to get there, practically free, and I get free drinks delivered to me by some attractive lady at the machine on the floor as opposed to $5 well drinks from the bar, delivered by someone who has the attitude of F U if you don’t like it. This guy at the bar really did exude an FU attitude, like he did not like white folks.
Vegas is a plan ahead, make reservations , flight to and from and taxi ride etc. well Winstar is 65 miles north of me, short car ride.
This is my third Indian owned Casino that I have stayed at, the first being The Mystic in Minnesota. The theme that is re-occurring is the smoke, and Zombies that are at a machine when I retire; and still there when I awake and no booze. The Mystic actually had the cigarette smoke in the hotel that was thick even in my non-smoking room.
Winstar is the first casino that actually had Alcohol, so why not take it the next step and give it away like Vegas does? You got people dropping $4 a throw, spending $100 in less than 10 minutes, you can afford a free drink!
We crossed some imaginary line with a drink in hand and were accosted by some older gentleman who fussed at us for having alcohol near the hotel. We originally bought it in the casino, we were in the casino when he accosted us and we had just walked near a shop in the hotel for a second and then back into the casino when we were forced to throw it out.
Taking a line out of WKRP in Cincinnati from Less Nessman, watch out for those imaginary lines!
Of the three, Chocktaw probably has to be my favorite of easily accessible casinos; as I really don’t care about alcohol, and it is not so big that I cannot get my car and go find food that is not tethered to the casino. I need to check out Shreveport and see how it stacks up. If Winstar wants to compete with Vegas, they need to hire people who like White Folks. They need to get some comfortable beds and loosen up on the rules with imaginary lines and drinks for Christ sake! Nobody but nobody likes to be harassed about such things when you are trying to have a good time. Go spend a little time in Vegas. People are walking around everywhere with drinks in their hands on the streets, and the cops just look the other way even though it is probably illegal. So walking from the carpeted area to the tile for a few seconds gets Barney Fifth upset!!!!?
Oh, here is the kicker, it was sierra mist, as you guys don’t have 7up, it was not even booze, although it was in a plastic cup from the bar which once had rum and sierra mist in it, 4 hours ago! Why? I like to keep the amount of Styrofoam that I use to a minimum and you folks must burn through it like crazy!
Toby Keith needs to go and visit his place, and hire someone who can manage it better. Maybe you could ask Gordon Ramsey for a little help? The live entertainment was surprisingly good and the waitress was personable. How the food was allowed to get cold is your expediter’s deal, if you have one. There was no manager, no apology, nothing. Really a disappointment.
As an aside I have visited Gordon Ramsey’s place in Vegas, TOP NOTCH!
What is your take?
Which Casinos have you visited and what did you like?
What did you not like, other than losing money?
Would you return?
Do you Antique?
If you are in the area or even close are there places that you would recommend?
How many time have you yourself searched and searched online to find the best deal?
We are all guilty of looking for the best deal and if we can save a few dollars, we are all for it. How could you not be?
The truth of the matter is, the best deal is not always the best deal.
I submit to you “Radio Shack.”
Why has Radio Shack become the latest victim to go by the wayside?
What is its competition?
As far as small components are involved they have little competition, most probably a small percentage of folks order direct from China however there are very few specialty electronic stores who specialize in small electronic components.
Fry’s electronics being one of the largest.
Small hand held or other consumer grade electronics would also be Fry’s, Best Buy, and to some extent Wall-mart to name a few.
Cell Phones have way too much competition including the carriers themselves.
Radio Shack indeed has survived past its time with all of the competition and one has to wonder how much of it actually comes from China direct.
On-line sources such as Amazon and eBay are probably responsible for more than just a few dollars going away from the retail giants here in the states and I would imagine that we will soon see legislation introduced by someone in the pocket of the large retail chains to levy heavy taxes on imports from China by way of eBay and other online partners.
eBay Logo
While the “Walmart Effect” took out the mom and pop shops all across America other big box stores will put the nail in the coffin of the smaller stores who try and sell consumer electronics.
WalMart Electronics Department
As a business Owner; I sell and service a device that is made lock stock and barrel here in the USA. Because these two companies that I represent have not farmed their stuff out overseas the prices are higher than what you would expect. The interesting thing though is that these devices last for over 10 years and even with abuse can usually be resurrected and sent back into to the office for another 10 years.
Full Rapidprint line of file mark machines.Widmer T-LED 3 Time Stamp File Mark machineWidmer Check Signing Machine 300 checks in about a minute.
One interesting aspect of this is there are Internet companies that sell a plethora of equipment including my two lines and they depend upon volume to make ends meet. Doing so, they sell with little markup and make it tough on the little guys to compete as we don’t do volume. Basically what WalMart does.
While my prices are competitive, I am not the cheapest. I provide something that most internet companies do not however, I provide service. That is service after the sale!
Many companies find me after they have had an unpleasant experience with one of my competitors and I earn their business as well. While I may not have made the original sale I get their subsequent business because I stepped up and actually lost money doing a warrantee repair for their customer!
Electrical tape has no place in these machines.
My point to all of this is simply don’t look for the cheapest, look for the best.
I build relationships with all of my clients and work hard to keep them. I must however turn a profit to stay in business.
There are times I feel like one of the last American business hold outs as I have managed to stay in business while many of my competitors are going or have gone by the wayside.
The technology involved is over 30 years old. Very few know how to repair these things as there are so many variables that must be taken into account when they are disassembled and re-assembled after the cleaning process that one missed step will cause the machine to not perform accurately.
There are no shortcuts. They might use a Band-Aid of sorts, but it is a shortcut and will not last.
There is an air-conditioning advertisement on the radio here in North Texas. They de-bunk the outrageous prices the other guys offer and then tell you to call the other guy first, check out their prices and then call them. Honesty above reproach.
I don’t know if that commercial is gaining traction, but it caught my attention as that is the way I do business.
Do business with the mom and pop companies, if you want them to stick around. Small towns all across America have vacant store fronts because of retail giants and I would submit, online direct from China.
There is a dichotomy that exist in most folks that I know. That is where to live and why?
Most young folks want to live in some loft downtown somewhere with access to food, entertainment and the arts. I am guessing that being around others in their age group doing the “in thing” or whatever is in vogue, is the cool thing to do.
Even us folks with a little “experience” behind us want to have access to some sort of night life.
The trick is to juxtapose the nightlife with the serenity that one needs to have a healthy mind and lifestyle.
The perfect example of this is the movie Doc Hollywood. In this movie he finds himself going from the city life to the small country life of some small town that if you found; you might think that you had fallen down the rabbit hole or perhaps ended up in Brigadoon!
Often we take refuse in such places through the literary efforts of a few authors who too long for such a place and create them. We also find them in some movies. Turner Classic Movies has the draw that they do because they are from a simpler time.
Xanadu was such a movie that brought the dreamer together with dream.
We hear often that the grass is always greener, but is it?
Technology to a large extent has made “generic” those things that set some things apart in the past such as the small town from the large town.
I remember hearing live gunshots from Vietnam over the radio. While the war or whatever we called that was a world away through technology, it was now coming from my radio making it very real.
Today “this very blog” may be read by anyone, anywhere in the world, who has access to unfettered internet.Today you and I can share ideas that not too long ago were controlled by governments wishing to use their media for purposes of propaganda. Many governments around the world still do.
During WW2 the different governments used such things to get people to get squarely behind them much like different football or baseball teams from the days of high school or college. Kill or Crush or what have you was often the slogan before the “big game.”
Today with technology, people around the world can actually talk with others and learn that we are more alike, than different, that what we think we know and believe, may not be true.
Religion among other things are often the tools used to divide people and get them to get on-board and thus relegate people to slavery. If I can control your input; I can affect the output.
There are days however when I just want to un-plug. I don’t know about you, but television has just about been something that I do not watch. If I watch an hour a week that is probably too much.
Why you ask?
Let’s look at why. Firstly you must know that most of what is on the tube or now the flat screen comes from the uber-liberal left. Hollywood is the propaganda machine of the millennium. From sitcoms to movies some writer who has an ax to grind and writes his or her “beliefs” into the script. Now some sentence condemning the GOP coming from a well-known respected actor even though it is a show will carry a lot of weight with many viewers who don’t happen to know who the VP is but, they will remember that sentence and they might even think it is fact.
Unplugging from TV is a good start however; being totally unplugged means that I don’t know what is going on unless I happen to read news from many different sources. Even from Russia Today there is some modicum of truth. The trick is to read enough news from enough sources to actually be able to read between the lines. If you are too unplugged you run the risk of becoming xenophobic and thus will believe most anything that you can be convinced is true through hook or crook.
If you read the news as I have suggested and are dogmatic about it all of the stories will make sense, the why’s and the how’s will come together in that ah-ha moment. I am not saying that you should not have a religion but I would be suspect if that religion calls on you to give too much of anything including your time. Think for yourself. If you let others think for you…. “Hello Stepford wife…. Is dinner ready and my feet need rubbing, don’t talk just bring me a beverage and wait patiently for my next command… “
Does the small town with the gourd festival really exist?
Does such a place where man values his fellow man exist today, here in this country?
Does it exist in any country, anywhere? Are we all so self-absorbed that we really don’t give a damned about our neighbors or family?
I read a story recently where a man was visited by CPS because he allowed his children to play in a park and then walk the mile from the park to their house. The man was from Germany and recently came to this country. His children were 9 and 12 and they were in DC.
When I was young I could wander the neighborhoods all I wanted, without fear of being abducted. What happened?
I like technology but I must admit that I still like the feel and touch of a book and newspaper. I enjoy that tactile experience of flipping a page and I even like the smell of some magazines.
I like the smell of fresh cut hay and even though it might make me sneeze, that is okay! There is something to be said for sipping ice tea on the front porch waving at the neighbors or listening to the birds. Life goes by and we miss it!
We have so many screens from so many different devices! From the laptop to the desktop to the tablet and even the smartphone not to mention some hand held game, we have ample distractions.
On a recent cruise I was rather delighted when none of the signals to my smart devices were active! At the dinner table we actually talked, without the distraction of odd noises emanating from purses or pockets. For 90 minutes it was simply us talking about the day, and what was going to happen tomorrow.
Maybe that is the ticket, live on board a cruise ship and only catch up with the world when you come into port.
The people of this world are predictable and are going to do what they are going to do with or without you.
The rich will continue to get richer by taken advantage of the privileges and relationships that their status affords them. Whether it is by breaking or bending laws, or creating new ones just for them, that is the way of the world not only in this country but I suspect every country.
The poor will continue to do what they do because that is what they know. The rest of us well, we will continue to pay for the rich, and the poor, because that is all we know. While we detest being taken advantage of by those that should not we know that some really need assistance and we don’t mind a hand up offered to them on our behalf.
Animal Farm should be required reading before we ourselves end up being considered parasites by those in power.
As I ponder retirement and what that will look like, I realized that I have decades upon decades of accumulated stuff; and staying here in this house is not the plan.
People waiting to bid on someone’s forgotten stuff.
While planning for one’s retirement financially is important; planning on what one will do to keep busy and setting goals to make that happen are equally essential.
Many when they retire simply plan for the financial aspect and let life take care of itself. This often times causes one to fall into depression, shortening their golden years to just a few. Planning on actual events much like you were working will actually extend your life, and make it much happier.
Having said all that to say this; I was talked into spring cleaning by way of eBay and unfortunately a garage sale.
The process of a garage sale mandates evaluating “your stuff” and figuring out what you can live without and then, placing some sort of value on it.
Garage sales are not a money making business “for most.” Garage sales are in fact a venue for shedding your garage or house of extra stuff or clutter that has accumulated over the years and getting some sort of remuneration by way of cash to make your efforts seem worthwhile.
This garage sale went something like this. Up until 1:34 am getting everything ready. Back up at 5:30 to finish getting everything ready and then be surprised to learn that the sun does actually come up in the east!
Before morning light however there are people driving around neighborhoods with trucks and trailers looking for garage sales to acquire things like cheap furniture, lawn mowers and other yard equipment and bulkier things that require trailers.
Several times during the morning people came buy with phone in hand searching Amazon and other sites looking for the item’s that you were selling to determine if they were worth anything. I felt like I was in some sort of digital age of pickers because these folks were professional with it.
Then there were the thieves. Yep, people who would get their kids to distract you while they pocketed things, watched them do it. Now keep in mind the item if it were worth a $100.00 is already marked down to $5 but, $5 is too much so they just pocket it knowing that you have no inventory control and will never miss it.
Old people who too should be paring down, were picking up things and bargaining with you for a long time over .25 cents or less.
During the garage sale experience, the neighbor’s sprinklers went off twice, both times flooding the sidewalk. Other neighbors came out and mowed, weed whacked and then used the obligatory leaf blower to blow the debris either into the street or their neighbor’s lawn.
Not what mowed the grass either timeThis is what mowed the grass…
Noon time found the traffic down to a scant few, and found me ready to take the rest of it to some donation place as I was done with it. Many of the dust-ables are now in someone else’s house and the rest will find its way into some thrift store for others to pick over and figure out what to do with it.
eBay will end up with some of it because; eBay attracts a larger base than a garage sale and your chances of getting something more than a few cents is much higher than haggling with the deal seekers.
Garage sale attenders for the most part are serious deal hunters and I suspect take your dust-ables back to some place where they make a business out of it.
Unless you are filthy rich, when you decide to clean out your house take the time to look your items up on eBay or Amazon and see what they are worth. If they are worth a few dollars do the garage sale bit and prepare to give them away for a few cents on the dollar.
I would not consider and antique mall as those places make all the money for renting you a small place. While they bring in customers the ends rarely justify the means. You must necessarily have turnover in an antique mall so unless you are buying cheap at garage sales and stocking a small space continually at such a place don’t do it.
You might consider buying such a place and leasing out small chunks of it to people who think they are going to get rich by selling clutter but; that is the only financial entanglement I would have with such a place.
Now, if you are filthy rich and don’t have anyone to ruin their lives with tax issues having too much money, consider making me one of those people who would love to have too much money to deal with.
California will soon be a re-creation of the dust bowl of 1930 and it is their own damned fault! Liberal tax and spend policies over the years have bankrupt the state.
Their debt to GDP ratio is 18.5 %
They have a total population of 38,409,959 with an unemployment at 1,256,658 and a food stamp recipient population of 4,575,589!
Their liberal progressive economic policies are and have been unsustainable and yet the same liberal thinking that has them in this mess is trying to convert Texas and other red states to the same kind of thinking!
How are they doing this you ask? By attacking voter id laws. There was a lawyer on a talk show the other day who specializes in going after voter id laws in states that have them.
His argument is that the right to vote is guaranteed by the constitution so having a picture id to vote should not be necessary as it is for everything else that you do in this country including purchasing over the counter decongestants! His argument defies common sense and logic and yet because he is a lawyer he knows how to twist the intent of the law to create a loophole so those that wish to steal an election can. Like the counties that had over a 100% turnout and all of the votes were for the democratic candidate. Statistically that is not possible!
Marxism does not work! The uber rich sit up in their ivory towers while the rest of us suffer, and while they smoke their cigars and drink their Champagne we fight to keep alive.
Socialism, Marxism and communism only benefit the very rich the people at the top, those in control!
There are college kids today who have no idea who the VP is much less what Marxism is.
How can they expect to vote intelligently when they don’t know any history?
If this drought continues the GDP of California will be worse than what it currently is and something will have to give. When there is no more to give what then? Will the people who caused this mess just disappear in to the woodwork from which they came?
Bernie Madoff is a girl scout compared to these idiots running the state, and the people who voted for them!
Had they had a surplus like Texas currently has, they could spend a couple Billion and build some desalinization plants and guess what, the fields could be watered, the farmers could continue to grow their crops and there would not be the struggle for water that they have.
There is no rainy day fund. There is only debt and IOU’s!
I think that California suffering a drought serves a larger purpose for this liberal ideology of this country. If this continues, the narrative from the media will carry around the world the terrible conditions which exists and they can take their junk science that Al Gore is spreading like a cancer, and push carbon credits!
California’s drought is clearly because if climate change (we can’t call it global warming anymore because their science does not support it, so now it is climate change.) There is no way that the drought could simply be “weather!”
California should be investing in solar powered desalinization plants as should most states that have access to the ocean.
The dust bowl of the 1930’s would be called Global warming or climate change if it had happened now, so they are not letting a crises go to waste. They push their junk science to further their case to sell carbon credits so Al Gore can make more billions by scaring the hell out of people with utter BS!
I suspect that other billionaire’s are behind the carbon credit scam because how much money is enough? How many billions of dollars does one person need?
When you take your last breath what will your legacy be? “I screwed over an entire country!?” Is it he who dies with the most toys wins?
I don’t understand a politician spending millions of his own money to try and get elected to a job that pays $150K. I don’t understand people with Millions nay billions of dollars actively seeking more.
How much is enough?
What does someone with unlimited amounts of resources do for fun?
How about creating a company that specializes in building solar powered desalination plants?
Attn Bill Gates
Wouldn’t that be fun to create a company that has a product that helps people?
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