Garage Sale

Every year, in the spring and fall our subdivision has it's community garage sale. We particpate most of the time just to open up some space and make a few bucks. We usually invite friends to join us as it's a good excuse to get together and it also helps pass the time. It also has the benefit of having an extra pair of eyes watching the potential customers. Wifey and I have a symbiotic relationship when it comes to pricing our wares. She tends to want to get rid of the stuff as expeditiously as possible (translation-cheap) whereas I tend to want to make a buck extra even if it means foregoing the sale if I can't get a minimum (translation-expensive) price for the item. There are limits though as my wife put it so well the other day, "If they can't pay $5 for a $40 item then we'd rather donate it to someone who is really in need". Of course, there's the usual items we disagree upon that should or shouldn't be in the sale. How many times have I sold something only to have found a use for it 5 years later? Remember that left over 4 inch piece of weather stripping I had? Now where did I put that? The garage sale rule of thumb is "If you haven't used it in 1 year, you can do without it". Being a guy who likes to store stuff, I really don't think 1 year is adequate for determining if something is worth keeping. Besides, I can't tell you how many times a friend has needed a particular item only to find that I have it and would be glad to lend it to them, if only I could remember where I stored it. Or even worse, something I could have needed. Why do you think guys garages and workshops have so many old spare parts from projects finished (and unfinished) years ago? Those 5 rusty 4 inch nails could be used to shore up an aging wooden fence in a few years, right? Do you think we like to keep those 357 different types of nails along with the 289 types of screws in that coffee can? Sure it may take us 3 hours to find the one we need but at least we saved a trip to Home Depot, and don't get me started on the gas savings too! I'm sorry if we can't fit our 2 cars into the garage, but we really need that old lumber I saved from replacing the fence 3 years ago. I can use those boards to replace the ones that go bad in 2 years on the new fence. Of course we could also need firewood this winter in case the heating bills get too high. Everything has a purpose, and if it doesn't then I'm sure one will come up in time. Of course if I don't end up using those boards I could always sell them in our next garage sale as long as my wife doesn't price them too low.

Funding for the Aid.

Here's a novel idea, let's have all the Senators and Congressmen take the funds they've diverted to their pork barrel projects this year and use that money to pay for the relief effort in Louisiana. Mississippi, and Alabama and use the left over to cut the gas taxes.
There's someone laughing on the floor of the Capitol right now....

State of Disaster

Thoughts on the Hurricane aftermath in Louisiana..
I've seen the news reports, read the stories, and looked at the comments made by bloggers and other posts written by various people and have come up with a few thoughts on the ranting and raving of those who believe everything went wrong with the relief efforts and the opinions about those who stayed behind.
Blaming the people who stayed is as ridiculous as blaming the government for not showing up right after the hurricane moved out. Do you know the logistics in getting supplies, people and equipment into an area where the roads are all destroyed and there are no feasible areas to stage help from? Then add to that people shooting at those who were trying to help and you have now created a scene where caution makes things go even more slowly. Why weren't there more people evacuated via busses set up by the local and state government? What makes those that decided to stay think they were immune to the devastation of a category 5 hurricane? Where were the Jesse Jacksons before the hurricane hit? Couldn't they have been telling people to get out? Funny how the critics and "leaders" only show up after the devastation and all they offer is criticism instead of help. I agree that the government could have moved faster and I'm sure they'll be some repercussions on that fact, but let's not forget that even the civilian disaster relief organizations had trouble getting there in a timely manner. Also, many of the people that stayed are victims, but there are also some that made a decision to stay and ride the storm out who could have left.
Why is Louisiana the state that has had the worst problem with the relief efforts. Could that be due to local and state unpreparedness? They have a lot of responsibility in this as well.
The lawlessness is what really gets to me. I can understand people needing to raid a store for food, batteries, flashlights and other necessary items, but guns, jewelry, TV's? Those are the people who are not taking to survive, they are taking because they can. Those are the ones who would prefer the state of chaos and will do things to keep it that way. I believe that anyone who shoots at the relief efforts should be treated as they would on the street by law enforcement and be shot back at. There is no excuse to be shooting at people who are coming to the aid of those in need. Then the woman on TV saying how bad the food she received was after she hadn't eaten in 3 days. She ought to be ashamed. How dare you profess to be hungry and in need and then turn around and insult the aid you were provided. You ungrateful person. Give it back then and fend for yourself if the meals we feed our soldiers are not good enough for your palette. Entitlement seems to run rampant in her mind. I know it's harsh, but there are others in need also who would be grateful to receive food and water even if it is the MRE's fed to our military.
It boggles my mind how some people can react with such arrogance.
Those who blame the Administration for the mess are just grasping at anything they can to blame the President and government. Let me say this once... IT was a Category 5 Hurricane! What did you expect, that the state would be back on it's feet in a few days? It'll take years before it's back to normal, but you know what? I bet it's rebuilt better than it was before. It needs to be. There were so many problems just waiting to surface with the gulf coast. Having a city that is on the coast and under sea level just doesn't seem like a smart thing to me. Add to that the fact it's sinking also and it was just a matter if time before something happened or something had to be done. Maybe now is the chance to rebuild New Orleans and make it stronger and more stable than ever. I hope so, it is a city rich in culture and would be a great loss.
People will find anything to complain about these days. Where is the help from other countries? Why can't we do something about the price of gas? Why don't they stop those people from looting? Where was the President and why did it take so long for him to respond?
First, do we need help from other countries? We are the most powerful and resourceful nation on the earth, who is more able to help us then us?
The price of gas is affected by everything these days. Do you think that having the restrictions on where we can refine petroleum products to the gulf area was smart? Diverse locations would ensure more stability should anything else happen somewhere else.
The looters are not all bad. In fact most are probably trying to find supplies to survive and for that there is no fault. Who wouldn't do the same? Unfortunately those who loot for profit are doing so because there is no way for police to stop them. The police also have families to care for. Those that are working are in help mode and to try and grasp what to do next while being shorthanded.
Where was the President? Staying away as he should have. The fastest way to slow down everything is to have the President visit too soon. This diverts resources from the job of getting aid enroute to where it is needed. The security needed and restrictions placed around the President's location would have made matters worse.
The relief effort is in full swing now and I'm sure we'll be seeing better management of this situation. With a catastrophe of this size, you can't expect everyone to be cared for in 3-4 days. But of course that's not what people think.
There are so many more issues on this subject that I could go on for days, but that's enough for now.

Shame on Congress!

The recent passing of the Energy Bill has made the priorities of our Congress quite clear to me. Over 4400 items added for individual projects spending over $16 Billion dollars in taxpayer money. What do they care? It's not their money, it's ours. And to add insult to injury there is NOTHING in the bill to help alleviate the current prices of gas we are paying now. Fuel is taxed by both the state and federal governments. For every dollar spent on gas, 31 cents is tax. Imagine if the government decided to help struggling families by saying they would reduce the amount of taxes charged on gasoline. That would have been something tangible. It may have not been a long term solution but it could have helped. Not too mention that the less money flowing into D.C. means more controlled spending (at least I would hope). Also not in the bill is anything to make sure we reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I believe the raising the minimum MPG for vehicles would be a good start. I wrote in an earlier blog my thoughts on foreign oil and with the price of oil at $65.00 a barrel it is even more poignant. our energy policies are so inefficient it's laughable. If congress really made the effort to streamline our energy needs we could reduce the cost of gas, increase our efficiency in our vehicles, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and improve our air quality by reducing emissions all by making some common sense adjustments. It seems that congress no longer listens to common sense, they listen to money and that is trouble for all of us.
If there was a way to give the President a "Line item Veto" it may be worth it. Or at the very least create an overseer committee that are not politicians but rather economists and accountants to filter through the garbage added. Better yet, take the GDP of each state, put aside a set amount of funds out of a bill to be divided up according to each states population and GDP and then make that the amount each Congressman is limited to sending back home to use how ever they deem necessary. This would create 2 things, an equal share of funds per state according to each states need and fiscal responsibility by the legislators of that state to spend the funds on real projects. For example, if a state like Arizona is getting 100 million, I bet the citizens would make sure it was used to pay for highway infrastructure, education, tax relief, or some other improvement for the citizens instead of a bridge that is not needed or a warehouse to be renovated, or even highway beautification projects. Make those who want to spend the funds accountable because lets facce it, Congress is not accountable to anyone, and that can be dangerous.
All I can say is shame on Congress and shame on President Bush for not vetoing this pork laden, inefficient, embarrassing piece of legislation. The energy bill should be named "Congresses personal spending account bill".

And that's what I think about that!

Bye bye Wright

The Wright Amendment. A rule imposed by 1 man at the behest of 3 of his major contributors to restrict flights from Dallas Love Field to anywhere outside of Texas and the 4 states directly surrounding Texas and later amended to include Alabama, Mississippi, and Kansas. An anti-competitive law that stifles affordable air travel from Dallas and protects the 800 pound gorilla, DFW. It's time for the rule to go. Proponents of the law say it's needed to ensure that DFW maintains it's role as the main airport in the region. They say it was an agreement between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth when DFW was being built and it should be maintained. They say it's a law and shouldn't be changed. Here's what I say. Laws are made. Laws are un-made. Things change and laws become obsolete. This is one of those laws. DFW is the main airport operating over 1000 flights a day all across the nation. Dallas Love is only allowed to have up to 250 flights and will never grow to the point of challenging DFW. It's like restricting a Mom and Pop store because it could hurt the Wal-Mart 2 blocks away. Let's really call this law what is was, a favor. A favor by the then Speaker of the House Jim Wright to the 3 major airlines in Dallas who were po'd that Southwest won in every court case and were to be allowed to operate from Love Field instead of being forced to fly from DFW. In other words, the law was on Southwests' side. Southwest won in court and the only way to get even was to call in a favor from a politician. This restriction is outdated and needs to be repealed. The law is a holdback to the times when airlines were regulated by the government. When de-regulation was passed for the airline industry, Love Field was forgotten and left in that year.
Perhaps back when DFW was a fledgling airport and growing it needed some type of stimulus or protection, not anymore. It's the 3rd largest airport in the country and no longer should be afforded this benefit. Face it, if it can't survive without the protection of this law, maybe they need to look at making some changes? It's the 800 lb gorilla that was raised in a cage and is now afraid to go back to the wild and compete with the rest of the animals.
Competition is good for the consumer and even business. As with many laws made decades or centuries ago this one has become obsolete and it's time we got rid of it. If we can't change laws or adjust our rules to accommodate changing times we may as well get used to living in a world that never evolves.

Let the Hockey Season Begin

Whoo hoo! Hockey is back in town. I'm watching with interest all the changes teams are making. Of course I'm most interested in my team, the Red Wings, but there have been some acquisitions that have just floored me. Chicago got Khabibulin. That was a major accomplishment. I was hoping my guys would get him but to be real it would have taken almost a miracle for that to happen. I also just read Pronger is going from St. Louis to Edmonton. That was a surprise. Pronger still has a lot of good hockey left in him. It seems all the teams are going for 1-4 major players and then going conservative in the hopes of getting a break later on. Oct 5th is the starting date and I am looking forward to it! The schedule also is keeping the teams closer to home and having them play their regional opponent's more. They say it'll help make more exciting rivalries but I think people would rather see the teams match up against a broader spectrum throughout the year. It gives you a better feel for how things will shake out in the race for the playoffs. We'll see how it goes. Just from looking at the trades I really don't see any team that is positioned much better than any other so far. Everyone got a few elite players and no one team seemed to have faired better than any other. The only real stand out is Chicago. They made moves that have increased their potential tenfold. I guess the only way they had to go was up anyway so maybe it's not such a surprise.
We'll, I'm looking forward to seeing the season start. I'm getting my jersey out.
Game on!

Being a Daddy

As I tuck in my little boy and we say his bedtime prayers he looks up at me as asks for me to lay down with him. He's at that age where his imagination is running rampant and having Daddy there helps calm his anxiety. I think of all the things I need to do before bedtime but all I say in answering him is, "of course I will". You see, I realized early on that I never want to be able to say I wish I would have done this or that or taken the time to do something with my little boy or baby girl. I know I'll still think of them in that way even when they are older. I don't want to ever regret not taking the time to be there when they need me to make the scary things go away, or catch them when they're bouncing too close to the edge of the bed, or being pushed around by an older kid. You see, that's my real job. It 24/7 and pays better than anything else I've had.
The adoration, friendship, playfulness and Love I receive from them make all the backaches from pony rides and bounce on daddy games worth it! It's the most rewarding, caring, wondrous, and heartbreaking job a person could have and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I get heartbroken everytime I think of them getting older and more independent and eventually creating their own life, a life with me on the sidelines. At the same time it's that responsibility to raise them so they may grow independent that is the cornerstone of raising children. What an oxymoron! It's like winning the lottery as long as you give it away, but we do get to watch them grow and become older, bigger, smarter, and hopefully a person that is better than we are. That is one of the rewards for doing a good job at being a Daddy. To hear your child say they want to be just like you is the best compliment in the world. Hearing about how much fun they had going out running errands or helping you complete a project is the affirmation that stays in your memory. To have you little boy come up to you and say, "Daddy, will you play trains with me?" is a feeling of pride that your son thinks you are cool to play trains with. Well, it's time for me to look in on him. It's just another thing in a long list of things I don't ever want to miss out on. It also give me an appreciation of what my parents went through (and still do) and go through every time our visit has ended and we have to return to our own home 5 states away.