Mid Summer

Well we are in the middle of summer and it feels like fall. Had a cold front come in from Canada and it actually feels chilly. A good time to snuggle up.

Last weekend we went to a benefit for a neighbor of ours that has Lou Gehrig's disease.  It was called a "Ride for Randy" it ended up at the VFW in Eaton where they had a live band.  The proceeds are supposed to help him with his medical bills.  He has had a tough go of it.  There was also an accident several years ago where an engine accidentally got dropped on him and badly crushed his leg.  At one point they wanted to amputate it. But he persevered only to have this happen.

Two of the youngsters are vacationing.  Joe is in Massachusetts where reports are that he is having a good time with Michael. They went to one of the 6 flags parks last week.  Chelsea is in Florida with Jessica and kids for a two week stay.  Joe's whole summer has been a vacation since he lost his job at McDonalds.  But Chelsea is taking some well deserved time off.  Working and going to school has been wearing her down.  So this will be a time for her to decompress.

Eric has not been pleased with Home City Ice.  The routes are down - rain and the cold front have dampened the ice market.  He is thinking of looking for work with more consistent income.  

Chad and Sarah are doing OK.  Chad found another engine and transmission that he wants to pick up and add to his collection.  He is borrowing my trailer this weekend to retrieve it.  

 

4th of July

 

 

 Need a light???  don't worry these are just highway flares.  Thought that I would have a little fun.  Despite the rain all day things went fairly well.  Lots of folks cancelled, but we still managed 20-25 people.  Got a gap in the rain around 10pm and it held off until the grand finale. Everyone still has 10 digits so it was successful in that regard.

 Not much to report on with the kids.  Chelsea did make the deans list last quarter. So we are proud of her for that.  She leaves for Florida in a couple of weeks for a well deserved vacation with her cousin Jessica.  Joe is visiting his cousins in Massachusetts later this month as well.  This is the last year that we are sending him.  I told him if he wants to go next year, he will have to go on his own dime.  Plus we are celebrating the graduation of our last fledgling along with Chelsea's graduation next spring by going to South Carolina next summer.

 Local paper had an article in which it stated that the only good thing about Ohio's economy is that it is better than Michigans...  Net loss of population in Preble County.  So even with things showing signs of turning around, it is still dismal locally.  Most of the folks that got laid off when I did have gotten jobs by now.  But four are still looking. 

 Beginning to look like we lost a calf.  Momma has been moo'ing since yesterday.  Took a quick look thru the fields and didn't find it.  If it is dry enough today we may go back out.  Neighbors report seeing a large coyote the other day.  The calf was only a month or so old so it wasn't that big, so we worry that it was chased off and killed.  

 

 

Camping

 

Had a rocky start and a rocky ending.  In between we had fun.  Had an electrical storm on Thursday and coupled with a leaky trailer - it made for a long night.  Vanessa and Elaina and Chad and Sarah and Cash abandoned their tents and spent the night in our trailer. 

 The kids found the water fountain to be a novelty and gave each drinks and played in the water.  Later we went swimming at the beach.  Played some rummy - one of the worst weekends for me. Chad was the winner one night and Becky the next.

Becky took a tumble on Sunday and was bruised.  So that put a damper on things as we packed to go.  It was nice to get away and forget about things for a weekend.   Next up our 4th of July party.

rabbit rescue
Topic: Elaina

Last week I did a rabbit rescue.  Cleo the cat was roughing up a little rabbit on the front porch. Becky came to get me to save it.  Got a towel and got it free.  Then chased it around the porch and finally caught it for release in the back yard.  It was chewed up some, but scampered away with no problem.

Went to Elaina's third birthday party.  Found that cake, icecream, and sand make for an interesting combination.  Glad that I did not have to do any cleanup.  I would have just dunked the kids in the wading pool.  Was pleased that the first gift she went for was the baseball bat that I made on the lathe. The wood was from the old barn that we tore down.  All the youngsters had a good time.

Then we went to Valley Vineyards by Morrow Ohio.  Nice place, good wine. Their deal is that you cook your own steak on their big grills.   Had a good time there as well.  At least I didn't burn the meat.

 Crops are looking good locally.  Plenty of rain over the past few weeks.  Too wet to get into the garden, so we have some catchup to do this weekend with the weeds. 

 

obamer
My Dearest Obamer,

Comrade, things are going swimmingly here in your first year of office.  You snap your fingers and you get what you want. Which is easy when both houses are filled with Democrats.  Buy up bad banks, snap; Buy GM, snap.  Need a trillion here, a trillion there, snap snap.  But I wonder if you watched the movie a bridge too far.  Where the allies tried to capture a string of bridges with paratroopers.  But ended up only reaching 2 of 3 bridges and losing the paratroopers at the last bridge. With the Koreans shooting off fireworks like the 4th of July, China trying like the dickens to make any currency but the dollar the standard for international trade, and enough unemployed to fill the state of New Jersey - that maybe it is time to stop and take a breath. It's been a good run and why spoil a good thing by going for nationalized healthcare. I think that folks are starting to wake up and realized that things are changing, but are they changing for better or for worse.  Oh, and great idea to get Pravda er, uh, ABC to broadcast from the whitehouse during your big push for healthcare.  

Folks say that this administration is no different from the last one. But I feel that you have exceeded Bush's presidency already. Sure he ran up deficits - but they pale to the deficits that you have amassed here in just a few short months. Wait and see what they are in another couple of years. Why Bush will look like Scrooge compared to the IOU's that you are ringing up. Here Bush just piddled around in Afghanistan, but you have pressed the throttle and soon there won't be a hillside or a hut that won't have a special ops soilder or a helicopter behind it. I think that Nancy Polosi's husbands defense company was getting worried, but they will have work for years to come. Now you are lagging in gas prices. But I see that they are now heading the right direction. $4 dollar Gas?? Ha! I think that can easily be doubled, just like the deficit.

Great ideal about getting corporate pay under control. But thats just a start isn't it?  My gosh, when I think of folks who are over paid I think of Shaq dragging his big behind up and down the court. I've seen garbage trucks that show more hustle than him. And how about Tom Cruise, seeing him in Valkerie strutting around in his uniform like a spastic rooster was unbearable. He shouldn't have been paid, heck he should have to pay us to watch that.

Waiting to hear from you,

Your Bolshevik in arms

What times
What times we live in.  North Korea is firing off rockets like a 13 year old on the fourth of July.  Obama is throwing money around like confetti.  And soon it will have the same value... We need more money - just print some more.  Just like Rhodesia and the Weimar Republic.   Russia is commenting that we are becoming too socialist.  GM has gone from being the worlds biggest auto company to being Government motors.  Mom, Apple Pie, and Chinalet. 

Spring has sprung

 

Well we are finally drying out.  We have had back to back sunny days for the first time in a long time.  The farmers must be pulling their hair out from frustration.  They are just now planting full bore.  They are way behind where they typically are for this time of year due to all of the rain. 

 We are putting out 2 gardens this year.  The second will have popcorn and cucumbers.  Since the cucumbers practically took over the garden last year, we are segregating them now.

 We have a new addition - Tucker the border collie.  He is a young dog about a year old.  Full of energy and smart.  Joe has been entrusted as his caretaker.  We shall see how long this set up lasts...

Luxottica made a counter offer to Union Central (more $$) and I start as a full time employee on Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day.  Nice to be wanted after floating around so long like a leaf in a breeze.  Now I shall have to put down roots again. For awhile I was thinking of getting out of programming and use my business degree. 

Did buy a new car, a Suziki SX4 with AWD and a stick shift.  I did look at some American cars.  But none of them had what I wanted and were more expensive.  The ole pickup truck is being retired to the farm for the time being.  It is definetly better on gas than the truck.  around 28mpg going to and from work.

Joe bought another camaro - a fixer upper that he found on craiglists.  Motor is shot (it runs but knocks badly) but the body is great. So the plan is to pull the motor from his wrecked Camaro and put it in the new one.  He gets out of school next week, so he should have all the time in the world to get this done.

 Chelsea is maintaining.  Spring term ends shortly but she is taking summer classes.  So no time off for her. She does have a job at L3 Technologies next fall. Sinclair helped her find it.  The job will be an internship. By coincidence, it is practically around the corner from me. So we may be able to commute in September. 

Vanessa's husband, Eric, is working part time for Home City Ice. They called him back.  Hopefully it goes back to full time as the weather gets warmer. 

Chad has been cleaning up some of his stuff.  Found out that we can save $500 per year on insurance, once we get the place cleaned and painted.  So that is incentive for us to put the whip to Chad.  Have to admit he has worked hard and done a good job with his stuff. Went to eat out and watch Star Trek with Chad and Sarah.  They wore Star Trek shirts. The movie was good and we all had a good time.  Live long and Prosper.

 

 

Spring - New Beginings

Well change is still happening for me.  When I got the job at Luxottica, I also applied at several different places. I was contacted by Union Central Insurance for an interview.  Last week they extended an offer and I accepted. It is pernament job and for more money.  Plus I get to do some leadership as well as do programming. I start there May 4.  So I am a gypsy no more.

 I feel bad about leaving Luxottica.  I enjoy the work, and have learned new things.  People were nice - a good cooperative working environment.  I guess that I hate to leave in the middle of a job.  So I kind of feel guilty about that.  It was a 3 month contract and I will leave at the end of the 2nd month. 

 The contracting has made me more confident.  When I worked at Medco, I was so nervous.  It was my first IT job outside of LexisNexis.  Would I be able to learn new things - would I be able to learn a new system, computer languages, culture, etc.  I was slow in the first month, then I hit a groove and things started to fall in place.  So when I got to Luxottica - I came in calmer and with the knowledge that I can do this. So this should serve me well at Union Central.

Today has been tractor day.  I got the alternator hooked up on the Moline in the morning. Then did some welding on the bucket where some of the old welds were cracking. Joe told me the garden tractor wouldn't start so I spent the afternoon on it.  The teeth were ground off of the starter.  Had to take a lot of tin off to get to it, then run to Eaton to get a new gear for the starter. 

 Chelsea is trying to buy a house.  I am co-signing for it.  I have co-signed so many student loans - why not co-sign for a house as well.  It is a small story and a half house on a 1/5 acre lot.  A good starter home for a young person.   She is hoping to get it at a greatly reduced price as it is headed for foreclosure. We know the guy who did a lot of the work to the house (his daughter is the one that owned it and walking away from the property)and so we know that good quality was used inside.  If we get for the price we hope to get it for then I can always turn around and rent it if some how she can't keep up with it or has to move away.  She also may have a co-op job at L3 Technologies in Mason. She interviews in a week. But they sounded very interested from the email that she forwarded to me. 

 Helped Vanessa and Eric do a steel roof on their house.  It is cheaper and 'greener' than traditonal shingles. It is an energy star product.  We got it half done as the counter guy miscalculated on the number of sheets needed.  He ordered exactly half the shingles, but got the felt, trim, and metal screws correct.  Go figure. Once the other half comes in I will go back over and help them finish up.

 Joe has prom next week. We let him rent a Tux.  He is taking a girl that he met at McDonalds - Jeri.  They are kinda sorta seeing each other.  She is coming over tomorrow to visit for the day.

Chad and Sarah doing OK. Not much new to report. Sarah has been doing some part time painting and tutoring to make some extra $$ on the side.  He is still rebuilding the Sprint.   I think that it is a second job. That vehicle had better last another 200K miles after all the work that he has put into it. 

 

 

 

 

Marching into Spring

OK one more comment about Congress and the AIG bonuses.  Does anyone else find it ironic that Congress is getting into an uproar about someone misspending government money???  People in glass houses...

NCR is cutting back - another Dayton firm slowly vacating a dying city. 

 Empty Parking Lots -  That is something that you see more and more of. Big empty buildings that used to house vibrant companies and surrounded by massive empty parking lot. Almost like a moat. 

Drove by the truck plant in Moraine the other day.  I had to do a double take.  There used to be trains, one area full of new Blazers and S-10's, and the parking lots filled with the workers vehicles.  Now it is barren, quite a contrast.  And on my way to and from work, I see more of the same.

 

Springy

Have had some springy weather as of late.  It has warmed up and so we have been able to get some stuff done outside.  Getting some cleanup done. 

Chad and Sarah are off for a long weekend in Tennessee helping out habitat for humanity.  He bought a new hammer for the project - made sure it was American made to help out our economy, not China's. 

 Joe has made some progress with the Dodge. But I think that there is a negative correlation between the number of friends at the car and the amount of work done.  In other words, the more kids, the less work. 

I just shake my head at the government. Give Billions to AIG, they give out millions to their execs as bonuses.  Now they want to tax the bonuses.  What a circus sideshow.  The whole situation is one big mess.  But one point that is it illustrates is how politicians can reward or punish willy nilly with the stroke of a pen. Hope that folks take notice and get more involved with politics.  

 One point that isn't getting much notice is that one of senators put the provision in the bill that allowed these bonuses. So they created the situation and now they are going to punish the guys that got the bonuses. The senator that put the rider in the bill - just shrugs his shoulders and says oops - don't blame me...

This week it is the executives, but where next will the eye of congress fix its gaze?   Nobody knows, but everyone better watch their wallets.