Return To Space

Posted on 11/03/2017 by Grumpa Joe

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There is a huge lapse in time since my last book report. Not because I didn’t read any books, nor because I didn’t find any of them worth reviewing, but because I had no desire to write articles for my blog. Call it blog overload or blog-o-phobia whatever, it is a loss in interest in the stuff of life. One expert has told me it is a sign of depression. Who me? No!

On Ash Wednesday I began a walking routine which I have maintained for ten days straight. The exercise gurus will tell me that is wrong. I should have had a rest day in there. My idea is that if I don’t establish a habit I’d never make it past the first rest day. Tomorrow will tell the story. The point of this lame tale is that ever since I began walking my spirits have risen, my energy level is higher, my interests are returning, and I feel better.

The book I am reviewing is titled How To Make A Spaceship by Julian Guthrie. The story is true and has an interesting flow. Julian chronicles the lives of several men from the time they were young, very young in most cases, until they achieve goals set early in life. If there is one word to describe these men it is “passion.” None of them let go of the dream, and directed their lives in ways that would give them the tools they needed to reach success.

Here is a short list of the men involved, Peter Diamandis is the central character. Most people have never heard of him unless they are space nuts. In Peter’s course to reach space he runs into men like Burt Rutan a builder of airplanes and a man who flew his design around the world on a single tank of gas. Another is Erik Lindbergh grandson of Charles Lindbergh the first man to solo fly across the Atlantic ocean non-stop from Long Island, New York to Paris. Erik attributes his recovery from debilitating rheumatoid arthritis to inspiration acquired from Diamandis’s enthusiasm to reach space. Paul Allen co-founder of Microsoft, Elon Musk inventor of PayPal, Richard Branson who earned a fortune off Virgin Records and today heads over four hundred company’s under the Virgin Group. Marion Blakey second lady administrator of the FAA, and a gaggle of others who worked to launch the first citizen initiated sub-orbital flight into space.

Authoress Julian did an amazing job of telling a highly charged story of a technical nature into a fascinating spell binding read. This is one book I did not put down, and when I did, I could not wait to start it again. If you are into stories about flight, space, or passionately driven people this is one for you.

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Stirring Up Trouble

Posted on 08/03/2017 by Grumpa Joe

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This morning I did something I haven’t done in over two years, I ate breakfast at the countertop bar, and watched the morning news. Aside from remembering times past when Peg and I made this a daily ritual, memories of my work days stirred to life. How many times did I tell an engineer not to be feel distraught after presenting me with his proudly drafted report, and gave me a chance to critique it? My comment to them, it is a darn-sight easier to criticize something that already exists than it is to be the first one to draft the thing. What caused this recollection? The big flap about the new American Health Care Plan. So many of the people reading the drafts are being so critical of it being too much like Obama Care, Obama Care Light, etc. For Pete’s sake, it is about health care. For awhile I used a program called Grammarian, and another called Grammarly. One of them had a feature in it to check for plagiarism. I turned it on to check my work. After all, I didn’t want to add  plagiarist to all the many ‘ists’ I have accumulated. I quickly came to the conclusion that I had to turn the dang thing off. Why? Because it cited nearly every phrase uttered by man since he invented speech as a plagiarism.   I couldn’t  use any of my favorite phrases because they were used by someone before in a masterwork. So, what are the chances that a new document about health care written on the heels of an old document on healthcare  can be phrased completely different? Nada. I challenge the best grammarian, author,  writer in the world to take on that challenge. I’ll give them a rotten apple as a reward if they succeed.

Of course the first draft of the new health care act will sound similar to the Affordable Care Act it is all about healthcare, doctors, procedures, drugs, etc.  What I am afraid of is that the critics who wrote the ACA will never be happy until they see something that is like this, “Everyone in the world will have their health care paid for by the U.S. government with no questions asked.” To them I say, go jump into a very cold  lake, and wake up. The working citizens of this country are not slaves to everyone else. Here is what I want to see in the new program:

  1. Health care is not a God-given right, it is a benefit. If God had anything to do with it we would never get sick. God does give us free will, and free will dictates the choices we make. Go to any doctor and tell him you have a pimple on your ass and he will ask you if you smoke. Why? Because he knows that smoking has been connected to so many different outcomes that we can not imagine.
  2. Everyone has a choice to buy health care insurance.
  3. The choice is available anywhere in the country.
  4. I get to select the plan I want. If I chose to buy one that covers a pre-existing condition(pre-existing conditions are much like plagiarism phrases as cited above) then I will pay for it. If I am seventy-five and chose a plan with out pregnancy coverage, I will pay for it. Buying cheap insurance is like visiting a casino to gamble. Except in a casino you gamble your money, in healthcare you gamble your life. Since gambling is such a popular activity in the USA this should be an easy concept to accept.
  5. If an employer wishes to cover pre-existing conditions, and kids living at home until they are twenty-five let them be free to do so, but the employer will be in control of how much they will pay toward the plan.
  6. Doctors will not be allowed to invade our privacy by asking me if I own a gun. A gun does not have a damned thing to do with my health care, or a doctor’s treatment decisions.
  7. It will be the choice of the employer to offer a healthcare plan to its employees. If you are applying for a job because you need health care, and the employer doesn’t offer it, go work somewhere else, or buy insurance for yourself.
  8. Kids who are no longer covered by their parent’s policy and are too smart to buy health care insurance, will be cared for at the retail rates of the provider, and offered a plan to pay the bill at the going rate of interest. Maybe they will get smart and buy a plan or to work to cover themselves.
  9. People who have disabilities like Down Syndrome, Cp, MS, etc who will need lifetime care will be covered by a separate plan.
  10. People who choose to continue addictions like smoking, drugs, alcohol will be charged more for care than the un-addicted. Remember it is all about Liberty and freedom of choce.
  11. Each State will manage their health care systems using Federal Guidelines. If you don’t like what your state is doing with healthcare, move to another state. If no state offers what you are looking for then pay for what you want, or move to a country that does.
  12. If the Federal Government chooses to pay for any of the care it will do so equally to all, regardless of their ability to pay.

What people in the USA don’t seem to grasp is that the countries in Europe who offer what appear to be superior plans are also countries where taxes are very high. Sweden and Denmark for example have a seventy-five percent tax on their happy citizens. Think about that folks, that means you keep a quarter out of every dollar you earn.

What ever happens in the course of the next few months we will be having a debate about healthcare. My guess is that whatever the first draft is that we are criticizing today will not even be close to what finally passes. What is different already is that the project is transparent. Unlike the Democrat twelve hundred page plan which appeared out of thin air (I’m sorry for who ever coined that phrase ‘pulled out of thin air’ for plagiarizing ) and the Congress had little to no time to read it much less argue about it. Remember “you have  to vote for the plan to find out what is in it.” (Sorry, plagiarizing again)

We live in interesting times. (Sorry again, I just can’t seem to get out of the habit of using other people’s words.)

Filed under: Conservative, family, Government, health care | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

Fake News-170306-For Seniors Only

Posted on 07/03/2017 by Grumpa Joe

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Teens have their texting codes (LOL, OMG, TTYL, etc.).

Not to be outdone by these little SNK (snotty nosed kids), now, finally we long-suffering seniors have our own texting codes!

Texting for Seniors as follows:

ATD – At the Doctor’s

BFF – Best Friend’s Funeral

BTW – Bring the Wheelchair

CBM – Covered by Medicare

CUATSC – See You at the Senior Centre

DWI – Driving While Incontinent

FWBB – Friend with Beta Blockers

FWIW – Forgot Where I Was

FYI – Found Your Insulin

GGPBL – Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low

GHA – Got Heartburn Again

IMHO – Is My Hearing-Aid On?

LMDO – Laughing My Dentures Out

LOL – Living on Lipitor

OMMR – On My Massage Recliner

ROFL..CGU – Rolling on the Floor Laughing..Can’t get Up!

TOT – Texting on Toilet

TTYL – Talk to You Louder

WTP – Where are the Prunes

WWNO – Walker Wheels Need Oil

GGLKI – Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking In

SYAG – See you at the Gathering (Dan)

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PSA-170307-Words

Posted on 07/03/2017 by Grumpa Joe

“Lexophile” is a word used to describe those who have a love for words
and their uses, such as “you can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna
fish,” or “to write with a broken pencil is pointless.” A competition
is held every year to see who can come up with the best one. Last
year’s winning submission is posted at the very end of this list.

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Some examples of other entries:

… When fish are in schools, they sometimes take debate.

… A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

… When the smog lifts in Los Angeles U.C.L.A.

… The batteries were given out free of charge.

… A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.

… A will is a dead giveaway.

… With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

… A boiled egg is hard to beat.

… When you’ve seen one shopping center you’ve seen a mall.

… Police were summoned to a daycare center where a three-year-old was
resisting a rest.
… Did you hear about the fellow whose entire left side was cut off?
He’s all right now.

… A bicycle can’t stand alone; it’s just two tired.

… When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

… The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine is now fully recovered.
… He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

… When she saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she’d dye.
… Acupuncture is a jab well done. That’s the point of it.

And the cream of this twisted crop:

… Those who get too big for their pants will be totally exposed in the end.

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Something For Everyone

Posted on 07/03/2017 by Grumpa Joe

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This is really interesting and quite surprising at times……
(Unfortunately not so much for the People’s Socialist Republic of Illinois. This also puts Grumpa Joe’s attitude toward liberals and democrats into perspective. I feel so alone living here.)

STATES AND WHAT THEY ARE FAMOUS FOR (DID YOU EVER IMAGINE?)

ALABAMA …………Was the first state to have 9-1-1, started 1968.

ALASKA ………One out of every 64 people has a pilot’s license.

ARIZONA…………Is the only state in the continental U.S. that does not follow Daylight Savings Time.

ARKANSAS………..Has the only active diamond mine in the U.S.

CALIFORNIA;…………Its economy is so large that if it were a country, it would rank seventh in the entire world.

COLORADO…………In 1976 it became the only state to turn down the Olympics.

CONNECTICUT…………The Frisbee was invented here at Yale University

DELAWARE………..Has more scientists and engineers than any other state.

FLORIDA…………At 874.3 square miles, Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S.

GEORGIA…………It was here, in 1886, that pharmacist John Pemberton made the first vat of Coca-Cola….interesting!

HAWAII…………Hawaiians live, on average, five years longer than residents of any other state.

IDAHO………..TV was invented in Rigby, Idaho, in 1922.

ILLINOIS………..Has a Governor in jail, one pending jail, and is the most corrupt state in the union!

INDIANA…………Home to Santa Claus, Indiana, which gets a half million letters for Santa every year.

IOWA………Winnebago R.V.s get their name from Winnebago County. Also, it is the only state name that begins with 2 vowels.

KANSAS…………Liberal, Kansas has an exact replica of the house in “The Wizard of Oz”.

KENTUCKY…………Has more than $6 billion in gold underneath Fort Knox.

LOUISIANA…………Has parishes instead of counties because they were originally Spanish church units.

MAINE…………It is so large that it covers as many square miles as the other five New England states combined.

MARYLAND…………The Ouija board was created in Baltimore in 1892……. Bet you didn’t know that!

MASSACHUSETTS…….The Fig Newton is named after Newton, Massachusetts.

MICHIGAN…………Fremont, home to Gerber, is the baby food capital of the world.

MINNESOTA…….Bloomington’s Mall of America is so big, that if you spent 10 minutes in each store, you’d be there almost four days.

MISSISSIPPI…..President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear here The most lied about state in the nation.

MISSOURI…………Is the birthplace of the ice cream cone.

MONTANA ……..A sapphire from Montana is in the Crown Jewels of England .

NEBRASKA…………More triplets are born here than in any other state.

NEW HAMPSHIRE………Birthplace of Tupperware, invented in 1938 by Earl Tupper.

NEW JERSEY…………Has the most shopping malls in one area in the world.

NEW MEXICO…………Smokey the Bear was rescued from a 1950 forest fire here.

NEW YORK…………Is home to the nation’s oldest cattle ranch, started in 1747 in Montauk………..Surprised?

NORTH CAROLINA……..Home of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut.

NORTH DAKOTA……….. Rigby, North Dakota, is the exact geographic center of North America .

OHIO…………The hot dog was invented here in 1900.

OKLAHOMA…………The grounds of the state capital are covered by operating oil wells.

OREGON…………Has the most ghost towns in the country.

PENNSYLVANIA…………The smiley : ) was first used in 1980 by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University .

RHODE ISLAND…………The nation’s oldest bar, the White Horse Tavern, opened here in 1673.

SOUTH CAROLINA………Sumter County is home to the world’s largest gingko farm.

SOUTH DAKOTA………..Is the only state that’s never had an earthquake.

TENNESSEE………..Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry is the longest running live radio show in the world.

TEXAS…….Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. The hamburger was invented in Arlington in 1906.

UTAH………..The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened here in 1952.

VERMONT……….Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald’s.

VIRGINIA……….Home of the world’s largest office building, The Pentagon.

WASHINGTON…………Seattle has twice as many college graduates as any other state.

WASHINGTON D.C………Is the first planned capital in the world

WEST VIRGINIA…………Had the world’s first brick paved street, Summers Street, laid in Charleston in 1870.

WISCONSIN…………The ice cream sundae was invented here in 1881 to get around Blue Laws prohibiting ice cream from being sold on Sunday. Also the American Water Spaniel was created there and is the state dog.

WYOMING………Was the first state to allow women to vote.

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