The other day I was searching for something on the web and came across a recipe for tea cakes. I had not thought of them in years but that recipe immediately brought back memories from my youth.
When we were growing up my sister and I spent a good bit of time down at my maternal grandparents house. Mama worked and every afternoon after school, we would ride the bus down to my grandparents house and stay there until mama got off work and came to pick us up. My grandmother who was a diabetic and nearly blind had fallen several years earlier and had broken her hip and was confined to a wheel chair. That did not stop her from getting around in the large kitchen in their house and she still did some cooking. She always tried to have something for us to eat in the afternoons. I remember eating tomato sandwiches made with whole wheat bread and canned tomatoes, but one of the staples down there was tea cakes. Seemed like they always had some tea cakes on hand. Sometimes they would put chocolate icing on them but most times they were just plain tea cakes.
When I came across that recipe I printed it out. I had most of the ingredients on hand but was running low on butter and lacked the right kind of flour so I could not fix them right then. Since then I have been to the store and got what I was lacking. This afternoon, I mixed up a batch of tea cake batter and cooked a small pan full of them. They were just as good as I remembered them. In the next few days I may try my hand at putting some chocolate icing on a batch.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Sunday, September 04, 2011
On Being Lucky
A mechanic that worked at my fathers garage used to say "I'd rather be lucky than have a license to steal." If you think about it a bit, it makes a lot of sense. If you could steal legally, you would still have your conscience to deal with but when things just pop into your lap, well, you can just kind of bask in the glow. Of course there are different kinds of luck. There is the finding a 5 dollar bill laying in the middle of a parking lot kind and the narrowly missing being hit by a train kind. I know folks that have experienced both.
My grandpa Kelley by his own account was lucky at least one time in his life but no one seems to know the exact details. Pawpaw, as we called him was a fine decent god fearing man. He was a fantastic farmer who always raised more vegetables than he and his family could eat. He freely shared this abundance with his neighbors and best I could tell was well thought of in his community. He went to church regularly and did not smoke. But none of that has any bearing on this particular incidence of luck. Being a Kelley, he had one stereotypical Irish trait. He was fond of a little drink. Unfortunately, in his younger days, there seems to have been no such thing as a little drink. It was an off or on, all or none proposition. When he drank, he would go on what my folks referred to as "a tear." I got the impression from what I was told that it did not happen that often, but when it did, look out. The incident I recall hearing of involved him having been gone off for about a week with God knows who doing God knows what. He came in stark, disheveled ,still pretty tipsy and visibly shaken. His wife and kids got him to the back porch and set him in a rocking chair and my grandmother started asking him what had happened to him. All he could or would ever say was "we was just lucky."
This morning, as I reflect on Auburn's game yesterday with Utah State, I realize that they were lucky. There are those that will tell you that you make your own luck and there is a lot of truth in that but I still think that what happened to Pawpaw and what happened yesterday at Jordan-Hare probably fall a lot closer to the being narrowly missed by a train kind of luck instead of the finding a $5 bill kind.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Coming Up A Cloud
I was sitting here just a few minutes ago and I heard the sound of thunder off in the distance. I immediately thought of what must be going through the minds of the many victims of the recent tornadoes. This thunder and lightning has got to bring back those terrible memories. I wonder if I had lived through that, would I be able to continue to live in Alabama with all our thunderstorm activity? As I sat here thinking about all that, my mind drifted to thoughts of when I was young. Back then we did not have the instantaneous communications we are accustomed to today. There were no warning sirens. No one talked of EF-4 , EF-5 , wall clouds or hook echos. Back then when it became evident that a thunderstorm was approaching, some one would say, it's coming up a cloud. That was it. No one know exactly what to expect until it had passed.
I had some relatives that were terrified when it came up a cloud. My paternal grandmother, who it was said was once struck by lightning, was one of them. I never was at their house when it came up a cloud, but I have heard my dad and my aunt Annie Julia talked about how scared she was of "clouds." Now a days, when the weather gets bad, the guy on the TV says to go to your safe place. Back then some folks had storm shelters which I think might have started life as root cellars and ended up mostly being used in bad storms. Although my mother often talked about wanting a storm shelter, we never did have one. When it would come up a bad thunderstorm with lots of lightning, we were told to go get on the bed. I don't know what the hell getting on a bed was supposed to do. Maybe, since the frames were metal folks thought the lightning ,if it struck, would run to ground through the frame and spare the occupants. Having seen what a direct lightning strike does to an oak tree I don't think being on a steel bed would help much. But that was our safe place.
I remember one time when my sister and I were quite young and were at home with mama, a particularly bad storm came up. There were a lot of direct cloud to ground lightning strikes near the house accompanied by deafening thunder claps. We had a little black fiest dog that stayed in the yard but she was as terrified of lightning as my grandmother was. When a cloud came up, the little dog would find a way to get into the house. We were all in the living room and at one point my mother told us to go get on the bed. The little dog took off running and beat us into the bedroom. When we got there, she was in the middle of the bed looking back at us. Keep in mind, this was an outside dog. She was virtually never allowed inside. How she knew what a bed was, I don't know, but it sure looked like she understood what my mother said and reacted immediately.
I am truly thankful that my worst memories of thunderstorms involve having to jump up in the middle of a bed with a little dog and not what so many of our neighbors have recently endured.
I had some relatives that were terrified when it came up a cloud. My paternal grandmother, who it was said was once struck by lightning, was one of them. I never was at their house when it came up a cloud, but I have heard my dad and my aunt Annie Julia talked about how scared she was of "clouds." Now a days, when the weather gets bad, the guy on the TV says to go to your safe place. Back then some folks had storm shelters which I think might have started life as root cellars and ended up mostly being used in bad storms. Although my mother often talked about wanting a storm shelter, we never did have one. When it would come up a bad thunderstorm with lots of lightning, we were told to go get on the bed. I don't know what the hell getting on a bed was supposed to do. Maybe, since the frames were metal folks thought the lightning ,if it struck, would run to ground through the frame and spare the occupants. Having seen what a direct lightning strike does to an oak tree I don't think being on a steel bed would help much. But that was our safe place.
I remember one time when my sister and I were quite young and were at home with mama, a particularly bad storm came up. There were a lot of direct cloud to ground lightning strikes near the house accompanied by deafening thunder claps. We had a little black fiest dog that stayed in the yard but she was as terrified of lightning as my grandmother was. When a cloud came up, the little dog would find a way to get into the house. We were all in the living room and at one point my mother told us to go get on the bed. The little dog took off running and beat us into the bedroom. When we got there, she was in the middle of the bed looking back at us. Keep in mind, this was an outside dog. She was virtually never allowed inside. How she knew what a bed was, I don't know, but it sure looked like she understood what my mother said and reacted immediately.
I am truly thankful that my worst memories of thunderstorms involve having to jump up in the middle of a bed with a little dog and not what so many of our neighbors have recently endured.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Drinking from a Branch
When I was in my early teens I often went squirrel hunting with my uncles or grandfather. We never still hunted. Instead they had squirrel dogs that ran through the woods smelling the ground. When the dogs caught the scent of a squirrel or surprised one on the ground the dogs would follow the scent or chase the squirrel to a tree and then bark. We would follow along and when we got to the tree we would locate and shot the squirrel. This kind of hunting made for a lot of walking and occasional running. Even though the weather was cool during squirrel season, pretty soon we would get thirsty. Back then, late 50's and early 60's, we did not take canteens or water bottles along to drink from. Instead, when we got thirsty, we would drink from a branch. It was a little tricky because if you were not careful, you would get wet but few things in my life have ever tasted as refreshing as a drink of cool water from a branch.
They tell me you can't drink from a branch today because of giardia. In case you don't know, giardia are little protozoan parasites that do nasty things in your intestines. I have not drank any branch water in years and would not attempt it now without a proper filter to get the little nasties out first, but this whole situation brings a question to my mind. Where were the giardia back when I was young? I did not take a lot of biology during my years in school, but I know enough to know that protozoa are an old life form. They haven't just shown up in the last few years. People say they are spread in the feces of wild animals and birds. Well, there were plenty of wild animals and birds back then, maybe even more than there are today. So why did we not have intestinal problems back then from drinking from a branch?
They tell me you can't drink from a branch today because of giardia. In case you don't know, giardia are little protozoan parasites that do nasty things in your intestines. I have not drank any branch water in years and would not attempt it now without a proper filter to get the little nasties out first, but this whole situation brings a question to my mind. Where were the giardia back when I was young? I did not take a lot of biology during my years in school, but I know enough to know that protozoa are an old life form. They haven't just shown up in the last few years. People say they are spread in the feces of wild animals and birds. Well, there were plenty of wild animals and birds back then, maybe even more than there are today. So why did we not have intestinal problems back then from drinking from a branch?
Friday, March 11, 2011
Since I have started using Twitter I don't blog much anymore. Actually I don't tweet very much either but I do read what others are saying. I have found that most everything that I think of, someone else is thinking of it or has already thought of it some time ago. I have also discovered that most of the time, they have expressed it much more succinctly than I could ever hope to.
Don't get me wrong, I am not giving up on blogging. I just think that when I think of something, I will count to ten before I blog. Chances are while I am counting some one else will tweet what I am thinking and I can just re-tweet them.
Don't get me wrong, I am not giving up on blogging. I just think that when I think of something, I will count to ten before I blog. Chances are while I am counting some one else will tweet what I am thinking and I can just re-tweet them.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Everything Reminds Me Of Something Else
I have reached that stage of my life where nearly everything that happens of any significance reminds me of something else. Sometimes something happens and it reminds me of an event from a week or two before, sometimes it reminds me of something that happened back in the 1980's or 1990's. Occasionally it reminds me of something older than that.
I am an Auburn fan. I have been ever since I was ten years old, I am currently sixty three years old. During those 53 years I have seen a lot. This current years football season has reminded me of a lot of things. The most recent being the 2004 season. Also I have had old feelings that reminded me of when Bo Jackson played. I've even had some emotions similar to the early seventies when Pat Sullivan was there and the 1972 Iron Bowl when what looked like a losing cause turned into a spectacular delight.
Since the news broke week before last on the allegations against Cam Newton, I have been trying to put it in perspective. What does this remind me of from the past. Since the story is not over with yet, I am having a hard time figuring out exactly what it reminds me of but I have seen enough of the handling of the story and the slow leaking of information that I know what I am reminded of with regard to that.
It is a story that I have not thought about since I was in my late teens. Back then, we did not have Snopes so it might have been an urban legend, I don't know, but I do know that when I heard it, it troubled me greatly. This is how it was told to me. There was an old man that lived by himself out in the country, near Kellyton. He was a bit reclusive and did not have a lot of visitors. He was rumored to have a stash of cash hidden somewhere on his farm. One day, two or three people came up to his house and gained entry on some pretense. They overwhelmed the old man and tied him to a ladder back chair. They told him to tell them where his money was or they were going to hurt him. He told them he did not have any money. They took a pair of bolt cutters and cut off the end joint of one of his little fingers. After the commotion had settled down, they asked him again to tell them the location of his money. He again insisted that he had no money. They cut off another finger joint. They continued on that tact for several days. After a while, they apparently decided that the old man loved his money more than his fingers so they told him if he did not tell them where he had hid his money they were going to do something worse to him. He still insisted that he had not money. As it was told to me, they decided to band his arm with screen wire, so tight that the skin would pop through the grids on the wire and then shave it with a safety razor. The affect was to cut off hundreds of pieces of skin and open up his arm for bleeding and infection. The guys that told me this story said that after this had gone on for a few days and the old man still did not give up the location of his money, that the thieves took some household items and left, leaving him to die. If I remember correctly, a neighbor happened by for some reason and found him. That is all I remember of the story. I don't recall if the old man died, if the torturers were caught or any of that. It has been over 40 years since I first heard this story and about that many years since I had thought of it again, but there is something about the way the information has been presented about the Cam Newton controversy that brought that old story back to mind. Like I said, everything reminds me of something else.
I am an Auburn fan. I have been ever since I was ten years old, I am currently sixty three years old. During those 53 years I have seen a lot. This current years football season has reminded me of a lot of things. The most recent being the 2004 season. Also I have had old feelings that reminded me of when Bo Jackson played. I've even had some emotions similar to the early seventies when Pat Sullivan was there and the 1972 Iron Bowl when what looked like a losing cause turned into a spectacular delight.
Since the news broke week before last on the allegations against Cam Newton, I have been trying to put it in perspective. What does this remind me of from the past. Since the story is not over with yet, I am having a hard time figuring out exactly what it reminds me of but I have seen enough of the handling of the story and the slow leaking of information that I know what I am reminded of with regard to that.
It is a story that I have not thought about since I was in my late teens. Back then, we did not have Snopes so it might have been an urban legend, I don't know, but I do know that when I heard it, it troubled me greatly. This is how it was told to me. There was an old man that lived by himself out in the country, near Kellyton. He was a bit reclusive and did not have a lot of visitors. He was rumored to have a stash of cash hidden somewhere on his farm. One day, two or three people came up to his house and gained entry on some pretense. They overwhelmed the old man and tied him to a ladder back chair. They told him to tell them where his money was or they were going to hurt him. He told them he did not have any money. They took a pair of bolt cutters and cut off the end joint of one of his little fingers. After the commotion had settled down, they asked him again to tell them the location of his money. He again insisted that he had no money. They cut off another finger joint. They continued on that tact for several days. After a while, they apparently decided that the old man loved his money more than his fingers so they told him if he did not tell them where he had hid his money they were going to do something worse to him. He still insisted that he had not money. As it was told to me, they decided to band his arm with screen wire, so tight that the skin would pop through the grids on the wire and then shave it with a safety razor. The affect was to cut off hundreds of pieces of skin and open up his arm for bleeding and infection. The guys that told me this story said that after this had gone on for a few days and the old man still did not give up the location of his money, that the thieves took some household items and left, leaving him to die. If I remember correctly, a neighbor happened by for some reason and found him. That is all I remember of the story. I don't recall if the old man died, if the torturers were caught or any of that. It has been over 40 years since I first heard this story and about that many years since I had thought of it again, but there is something about the way the information has been presented about the Cam Newton controversy that brought that old story back to mind. Like I said, everything reminds me of something else.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
The Economy
I read last week that the folks that determine such things decided that the recession ended in June 2009. I don't put too much faith in proclamations of that type. I really did not need them to tell me the country had entered a recession, therefore, I did not need them to tell me when they thought it was over.
I realize that there is a specific technical definition for a recession but where I come from we use a different methodology. When people start giving up their new pickup trucks that they are making payments on and start back driving the old clunker that has been parked in the backyard, we say times are getting tough. Some of you that are long suffering may recall that I warned of just such a happening several years ago. I noticed as I was out driving the highways and back roads that there were a lot more vehicles on the side of the road with for sale signs on them than there had been previously. This was an indicator of increased economic difficulty. Over the past few years, I have been noticing more and more little business closing. I would ride by a place that was selling used cars one week and the next week the lot was empty and the trailer or building shuttered.
Now, as I said, the powers that be say the recovery has started. In fact according to them it started over 15 months ago. But what about the street, what does it say? Well last week Linda had a bad cough and felt like some hot and sour soup would make her feel better. So, I headed down to the Pelham / Alabaster border to the little Chinese place in the Food Depot shopping center. When I got there, it was closed, the electric open sign was not just off, it was gone. The windows were covered with white paper. I looked through a crack and the tables were gone and the chairs were stacked in a corner. I don't care what the leading economic indicators say, when my favorite Chinese restaurant has to close, the economy is still in trouble.
But don't despair, the economy will recover at some point. New businesses will open and the folks driving the clunkers will get to trade for a new truck. As for the hot and sour soup emergency, when I called Linda to report the closing of the Chinese place, she reminded me that there was a Chinese place over in Helena so I went over there and got the soup.
I realize that there is a specific technical definition for a recession but where I come from we use a different methodology. When people start giving up their new pickup trucks that they are making payments on and start back driving the old clunker that has been parked in the backyard, we say times are getting tough. Some of you that are long suffering may recall that I warned of just such a happening several years ago. I noticed as I was out driving the highways and back roads that there were a lot more vehicles on the side of the road with for sale signs on them than there had been previously. This was an indicator of increased economic difficulty. Over the past few years, I have been noticing more and more little business closing. I would ride by a place that was selling used cars one week and the next week the lot was empty and the trailer or building shuttered.
Now, as I said, the powers that be say the recovery has started. In fact according to them it started over 15 months ago. But what about the street, what does it say? Well last week Linda had a bad cough and felt like some hot and sour soup would make her feel better. So, I headed down to the Pelham / Alabaster border to the little Chinese place in the Food Depot shopping center. When I got there, it was closed, the electric open sign was not just off, it was gone. The windows were covered with white paper. I looked through a crack and the tables were gone and the chairs were stacked in a corner. I don't care what the leading economic indicators say, when my favorite Chinese restaurant has to close, the economy is still in trouble.
But don't despair, the economy will recover at some point. New businesses will open and the folks driving the clunkers will get to trade for a new truck. As for the hot and sour soup emergency, when I called Linda to report the closing of the Chinese place, she reminded me that there was a Chinese place over in Helena so I went over there and got the soup.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Nobody Is Wrong All The Time
But sometimes it seems that I can come pretty damn close. I was just reading an article on al.com and of course since it is football season, it was about football. Actually since it was on al.com it does not make any difference that it is football season cause most al.com articles are about football, 24/7/365. Anyway, after I read the article, I drifted down to the comments prepared to once again be overcome by the stupidity. Well, to my amazement, the comments were lucid and to the point and more amazingly, even though there were comments by both AU and UA fans, the comments were quite civil. This, right after I had just tweeted a few days ago about how all the people posting comments on al.com seemed to be in bred idiots.
That is just one instance but it quickly brought to mind something that happened last night. Linda and I were watching the Braves vs the Marlins and Derrick Lee was up to bat for the Braves. I made the comment that Derrick was having a hard time recently and did not seem to be able to get a hit. The next pitch, he hit a double.
This is not a recent thing with me either. Back when I worked for a living and did a little stock investing on the side I had a co-worker and a supervisor, half jokingly I think, offer to give me $20 if I would tell them which stock I was about to buy just before I bought it. They said they were going to sell it short and make a mint. Who could blame them, at one time I had a record of about a dozen stocks in a row that immediately went down significantly right after I bought them.
I've thought about this and I believe I am prophetic. No I did not say pathetic, I said prophetic. I think that in my mind, there is a little camera that sees into the future, unfortunately it is a old film camera that does its own developing and produces negatives. So, everything I see is upside down and backwards. Kind of explains a lot doesn't it?
That is just one instance but it quickly brought to mind something that happened last night. Linda and I were watching the Braves vs the Marlins and Derrick Lee was up to bat for the Braves. I made the comment that Derrick was having a hard time recently and did not seem to be able to get a hit. The next pitch, he hit a double.
This is not a recent thing with me either. Back when I worked for a living and did a little stock investing on the side I had a co-worker and a supervisor, half jokingly I think, offer to give me $20 if I would tell them which stock I was about to buy just before I bought it. They said they were going to sell it short and make a mint. Who could blame them, at one time I had a record of about a dozen stocks in a row that immediately went down significantly right after I bought them.
I've thought about this and I believe I am prophetic. No I did not say pathetic, I said prophetic. I think that in my mind, there is a little camera that sees into the future, unfortunately it is a old film camera that does its own developing and produces negatives. So, everything I see is upside down and backwards. Kind of explains a lot doesn't it?
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Illegal Aliens
Every where I turn lately, I hear or see some one complaining about illegal aliens. I guess I am kind of thick, but I really don't see a lot of problem around here. Granted, they may have some problems out in Arizona and I believe they need to do what they have to do to address their problems, but I don't see much of a problem here in central Alabama. I have challenged a few people about what the problem is and I usually hear one of two things. They are taking our jobs, or we can't afford to pay them welfare and food stamps to live here.
Well, if you see someone that you are pretty certain is an illegal alien and you want the job that he or she is doing, go to their employer and tell them you want that job. When the employer tells you it is filled, go to the suspected illegal alien and tell them you are gonna report them to the INS. If they pull out a green card or a proof of citizenship, apologize and move on. If they turn tail and run, go back to the employer and sign up. Then enjoy your $5 hour weed eating job. Problem one solved.
As far as the welfare and food stamps business goes, it is not the fault of the illegal alien for taking the government subsidies, it is the fault of the government for paying them to begin with. If you don't like that an illegal alien is getting government benefits then complain to your man or woman in Montgomery. If they stop it fine, if they don't vote them out and vote someone in that will. Problem two solved.
If there are other problems that I am unaware of feel free to bring them to my attention.
Well, if you see someone that you are pretty certain is an illegal alien and you want the job that he or she is doing, go to their employer and tell them you want that job. When the employer tells you it is filled, go to the suspected illegal alien and tell them you are gonna report them to the INS. If they pull out a green card or a proof of citizenship, apologize and move on. If they turn tail and run, go back to the employer and sign up. Then enjoy your $5 hour weed eating job. Problem one solved.
As far as the welfare and food stamps business goes, it is not the fault of the illegal alien for taking the government subsidies, it is the fault of the government for paying them to begin with. If you don't like that an illegal alien is getting government benefits then complain to your man or woman in Montgomery. If they stop it fine, if they don't vote them out and vote someone in that will. Problem two solved.
If there are other problems that I am unaware of feel free to bring them to my attention.
Weak Points
My daddy, who was a mechanic all his life, used to say that every vehicle ever made had a weak point. Some part or system that did not perform as well or last as long as the rest of the vehicle. One of his stories revolved around a situation that came up because of such a weak point.
Back in 1959, he was running a little garage in Stewartville. A young man of the community came to him and told him that he was going to build up a hot rod and wanted to know if my dad had a good V8 engine that he would sell him cheap. My dad told him that he did in fact have an V8 engine from a 1955 Buick that he would let him have for $50. Now this was when Coca Colas were still 5 cents so $50 was not a small amount of money, but it was much less than what the young man expected to pay. He asked my dad what was wrong with it? Nothing, there is just not any demand for them. The boy was skeptical and did not buy the engine. My dad said that the reason there was no demand for them was that they would run forever. Unfortunately they were coupled to Dyna-Flo transmissions which were not so robust. The transmission was the weak point on the 55 Buick and a good transmission was what everyone was searching for, they already had a good engine. My Dad always finished the story by saying that if he had asked $200 for the engine, the boy would have bought it.
As I have gotten older, I have decided that cars are an appropriate metaphor for all things in the universe, including people. We all have our weak points. Fortunately in most cases, the weak points offset each other. I may be good in math, you may be good in the arts, someone else has a talent for cooking. It all kind of works out most of the time.
However, there is one weak point that seems to afflict a majority of our species. It is the desire for complexity. Look around you. Everywhere you look you will see people dedicating their lives to making things increasingly complex. Ultimately all things touched by human hands reach a level of complexity that is unworkable, unsustainable and they ultimately collapse. In some cases the collapse comes quickly. VCRs for instance had already become completely impossible to program before DVD players came along and put them out of their misery. In other instances the rigging and iterations drag on for centuries. Most governments and many religions fall into that category.
Don't despair though, just as the DVD replaced the unprogramable VCR, so to will other devices and systems replace all the current ones that are becoming overly complicated. Of course as soon as these new simple systems arrive on the scene, the majority will set about to complicate them as quickly and completely as is possible. Such seems to be our nature.
Back in 1959, he was running a little garage in Stewartville. A young man of the community came to him and told him that he was going to build up a hot rod and wanted to know if my dad had a good V8 engine that he would sell him cheap. My dad told him that he did in fact have an V8 engine from a 1955 Buick that he would let him have for $50. Now this was when Coca Colas were still 5 cents so $50 was not a small amount of money, but it was much less than what the young man expected to pay. He asked my dad what was wrong with it? Nothing, there is just not any demand for them. The boy was skeptical and did not buy the engine. My dad said that the reason there was no demand for them was that they would run forever. Unfortunately they were coupled to Dyna-Flo transmissions which were not so robust. The transmission was the weak point on the 55 Buick and a good transmission was what everyone was searching for, they already had a good engine. My Dad always finished the story by saying that if he had asked $200 for the engine, the boy would have bought it.
As I have gotten older, I have decided that cars are an appropriate metaphor for all things in the universe, including people. We all have our weak points. Fortunately in most cases, the weak points offset each other. I may be good in math, you may be good in the arts, someone else has a talent for cooking. It all kind of works out most of the time.
However, there is one weak point that seems to afflict a majority of our species. It is the desire for complexity. Look around you. Everywhere you look you will see people dedicating their lives to making things increasingly complex. Ultimately all things touched by human hands reach a level of complexity that is unworkable, unsustainable and they ultimately collapse. In some cases the collapse comes quickly. VCRs for instance had already become completely impossible to program before DVD players came along and put them out of their misery. In other instances the rigging and iterations drag on for centuries. Most governments and many religions fall into that category.
Don't despair though, just as the DVD replaced the unprogramable VCR, so to will other devices and systems replace all the current ones that are becoming overly complicated. Of course as soon as these new simple systems arrive on the scene, the majority will set about to complicate them as quickly and completely as is possible. Such seems to be our nature.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Most People Don't Read
I went to Mule Day in Winfield this weekend. I set up there each year and sell surplus camo pants and shirts and various other items I have accumulated over the years. Northwest Alabama seems to have been hit by hard times long before the bust of 2008. Every year I hear of new plant closings in NE Ala. At one time, it was typical for me to take in enough money at Mule Day to cover my expenses for several weeks. One year I even had enough to go a long way toward buying Christmas. Now, things are not as good. I am lucky if I make my space rent and gas money. If I did not already have my inventory paid for, I could not afford to go. A good business man probably wouldn't go anyway, but I've never been accused of being a good business man.
This year I decided I was gonna try something radical. I was going to sell every item I had for $5.00 each. Mind you some of this stuff cost me more than $5.00 but I wanted to generate some business. Besides, it isn't doing me any good sitting in storage collecting dust. Better $5.00 in my pocket than a dust catcher on a rack. This was a radical departure from what I have done in the past. One or two years I had put individual price tags on all items, that was a nightmare. Most years I have had a price list for the various sizes like $9.00 for smalls, $12.00 for mediums and $15.00 for larges.
I knew going in that people were not going to be ready for one price fits all, but it works for the dollar store, why not for me? I created six signs. Two of them said "All items on Hangers $5.00", three had "$5" covering the entire sign and one said "Pants $5.00, Shirts $5.00, Tees $5.00, Coats $5.00". In spite of having these six signs placed strategically around the booth, about half the folks came up to me and said something like "how much for your pants?"
One guy stopped in front of my "Pants $5.00, Shirts $5.00, Tees $5.00, Coats $5.00" sign, read it out loud, looked at me and grinned and said wouldn't it just be easier to say everything $5. I pointed him to the two signs that said just that and laughed. Then I told him that even with all those signs I still get folks asking how much for a certain item. Maybe I am wrong, maybe people do read, they just don't believe what they are reading.
As for the results of my new sales tactic, I did take in more money this year than I did in 2009 but after I cover my space rent and gas, I won't be taking any Caribbean cruises with what is left.
This year I decided I was gonna try something radical. I was going to sell every item I had for $5.00 each. Mind you some of this stuff cost me more than $5.00 but I wanted to generate some business. Besides, it isn't doing me any good sitting in storage collecting dust. Better $5.00 in my pocket than a dust catcher on a rack. This was a radical departure from what I have done in the past. One or two years I had put individual price tags on all items, that was a nightmare. Most years I have had a price list for the various sizes like $9.00 for smalls, $12.00 for mediums and $15.00 for larges.
I knew going in that people were not going to be ready for one price fits all, but it works for the dollar store, why not for me? I created six signs. Two of them said "All items on Hangers $5.00", three had "$5" covering the entire sign and one said "Pants $5.00, Shirts $5.00, Tees $5.00, Coats $5.00". In spite of having these six signs placed strategically around the booth, about half the folks came up to me and said something like "how much for your pants?"
One guy stopped in front of my "Pants $5.00, Shirts $5.00, Tees $5.00, Coats $5.00" sign, read it out loud, looked at me and grinned and said wouldn't it just be easier to say everything $5. I pointed him to the two signs that said just that and laughed. Then I told him that even with all those signs I still get folks asking how much for a certain item. Maybe I am wrong, maybe people do read, they just don't believe what they are reading.
As for the results of my new sales tactic, I did take in more money this year than I did in 2009 but after I cover my space rent and gas, I won't be taking any Caribbean cruises with what is left.
College Football
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (King James Version) says "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:" To my way of thinking, the time for the purpose of playing college football is 1:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon in the Fall of the year.
When I was growing up I was told that "there is a time and place for everything." We've already covered the time for playing college football, as to the place, it should be a field of grass with surrounding seating to accommodate the spectators.
Hopefully the day will be bright and clear with a slight bit of a nip in the air and a few leaves falling in the road as you drive to the game. However, that is not a requirement. It can also be hot or cloudy or rainy or cold enough for hog killin'. All are permissible, just not desirable.
As a point of personal preference, I think the absolute best place for a college football game is located at 32.602256, -85.489138. There is the slight possibility that some others might feel differently.
When I was growing up I was told that "there is a time and place for everything." We've already covered the time for playing college football, as to the place, it should be a field of grass with surrounding seating to accommodate the spectators.
Hopefully the day will be bright and clear with a slight bit of a nip in the air and a few leaves falling in the road as you drive to the game. However, that is not a requirement. It can also be hot or cloudy or rainy or cold enough for hog killin'. All are permissible, just not desirable.
As a point of personal preference, I think the absolute best place for a college football game is located at 32.602256, -85.489138. There is the slight possibility that some others might feel differently.
My Home Phone Number
When I moved to Pelham in 1978, I got a new phone number. I say new, in fact it was new to me but it was the same number that the previous resident had. I never did understand that, as I thought that the phone company always held those numbers back for six months. Anyway, for years after I first moved here, I got calls intended for the Rev. Williams that had lived here. Eventually I guess the word got around and I stopped receiving his calls.
Time past, things changed and before you know it cell phones came on the scene. I was on my third or fourth cell phone with about as many carriers when I decided that I no longer needed a home phone. Sources smarter than I am insisted that it would be a shame for me to give up my home phone number that I had for so many years. I compromised and rolled it out to a VOIP carrier. After a couple of years, the carrier folded and I rolled it to another VOIP carrier. This summer I got an email from that second carrier saying that they too were going out of business.
Over the years, fewer and fewer of my friends and relatives call me on my home phone. In fact, fewer and fewer of them call me at all, but that is another matter that primarily revolves around the grim reaper. So, when this latest VOIP carrier folded, it would have been an opportune time to let the old phone number go. I was about ready to do just that when I remembered that I had a Pageplus prepaid phone that I use in areas where my regular cell phone carrier does not work. Why not just roll the old home number to the prepaid cell. Yeah, that's the ticket. So, that is what I did.
The VOIP phone usually went directly to voice mail but the prepaid cell is set up to ring 4 or 5 times and then go to voice mail. It sits here on my desk and when it rings, I see the caller id. I had been aware that I got a lot of telemarketer calls from looking at the VOIP log, but now that the number is right here before me, I have started checking the calls as they come in and actually programming a name into the cell to associate with these calls. So now when I get a call I look down and see, Scam, GiftCard Scam, Telemarketer, Security Sys, etc.
One of these days, when I am sufficiently satisfied that no one that I know is ever going to call me on the old number, I'll let it go. In the meantime it is interesting to see the diversity of scammers and telemarketers that are in operation. It almost reminds me of the good old days of identifying DX stations on a shortwave radio.
Time past, things changed and before you know it cell phones came on the scene. I was on my third or fourth cell phone with about as many carriers when I decided that I no longer needed a home phone. Sources smarter than I am insisted that it would be a shame for me to give up my home phone number that I had for so many years. I compromised and rolled it out to a VOIP carrier. After a couple of years, the carrier folded and I rolled it to another VOIP carrier. This summer I got an email from that second carrier saying that they too were going out of business.
Over the years, fewer and fewer of my friends and relatives call me on my home phone. In fact, fewer and fewer of them call me at all, but that is another matter that primarily revolves around the grim reaper. So, when this latest VOIP carrier folded, it would have been an opportune time to let the old phone number go. I was about ready to do just that when I remembered that I had a Pageplus prepaid phone that I use in areas where my regular cell phone carrier does not work. Why not just roll the old home number to the prepaid cell. Yeah, that's the ticket. So, that is what I did.
The VOIP phone usually went directly to voice mail but the prepaid cell is set up to ring 4 or 5 times and then go to voice mail. It sits here on my desk and when it rings, I see the caller id. I had been aware that I got a lot of telemarketer calls from looking at the VOIP log, but now that the number is right here before me, I have started checking the calls as they come in and actually programming a name into the cell to associate with these calls. So now when I get a call I look down and see, Scam, GiftCard Scam, Telemarketer, Security Sys, etc.
One of these days, when I am sufficiently satisfied that no one that I know is ever going to call me on the old number, I'll let it go. In the meantime it is interesting to see the diversity of scammers and telemarketers that are in operation. It almost reminds me of the good old days of identifying DX stations on a shortwave radio.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Tax Cuts
I never saw a tax cut I did not like. I don't care it if only affects the richest 1 percent of the population, I'm for it. Why? Because any tax dollar that is not collected is a tax dollar that some shithead bureaucrat can't use to make life worse for us citizens. Every time I make a statement like that I always encounter someone who says something like, "oh, we have to collect taxes so we can have roads, schools, health care, head start , medicare, an army, navy, police, firemen, etc, etc, etc."
I for one think that very little of what the government does could not be done better by someone else, but I'll play the silly game. Ok, we got to have some tax money for a few pet projects. Why not use the approach of the former president of the company where I worked. The story goes that he was telling some of his subordinates that there had to be a reduction of personnel. They were pissing and moaning about how they could not do the job with less people and service would be affected. He is supposed to have said, ok, lay off people until the lights blink (it was an electrical utility) and then hire that last person you laid off back.
Why don't we do that with taxes. Start reducing and keep reducing until something important suffers. I don't mean until we have to cut funding for the arts so some guy can't get his funds to make a statue covered in urine. I mean cut taxes and spending until something really important is affected, then raise them back enough to cover that project.
And, don't let the bureaucrats do the cutting. They always pick out things like parks, libraries, other stuff that people actually get some good out of and close them to increase the pain level and make people want to put things back like they were. No, put together a citizens oversight committee and let them determine what government programs to de-fund and the order for cutting them off. One other stipulation, no one that is receiving money from the government could serve on the committee.
I for one think that very little of what the government does could not be done better by someone else, but I'll play the silly game. Ok, we got to have some tax money for a few pet projects. Why not use the approach of the former president of the company where I worked. The story goes that he was telling some of his subordinates that there had to be a reduction of personnel. They were pissing and moaning about how they could not do the job with less people and service would be affected. He is supposed to have said, ok, lay off people until the lights blink (it was an electrical utility) and then hire that last person you laid off back.
Why don't we do that with taxes. Start reducing and keep reducing until something important suffers. I don't mean until we have to cut funding for the arts so some guy can't get his funds to make a statue covered in urine. I mean cut taxes and spending until something really important is affected, then raise them back enough to cover that project.
And, don't let the bureaucrats do the cutting. They always pick out things like parks, libraries, other stuff that people actually get some good out of and close them to increase the pain level and make people want to put things back like they were. No, put together a citizens oversight committee and let them determine what government programs to de-fund and the order for cutting them off. One other stipulation, no one that is receiving money from the government could serve on the committee.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Bank Signs
I was riding down Hwy 31 this morning and noticed that there was a sign crew changing the sign in front of the Wachovia bank to a Wells Fargo sign. Seems like it was only a couple of years ago that the same sign was a Southtrust sign and they were changing it to a Wachovia sign. Maybe that is because it really was only a couple of years ago.
Back in the late 1940's or early 1950's, my parents went over to Alexander City and opened an account with the Alexander City Bank. At the time, Rockford did not have a bank. The two that were there before the depression, folded during the depression and no one bothered to open a new one after the depression ended. Even when a new bank opened in Rockford in the late 1960's my folks kept their account with the Alexander City Bank. By that time they had a really good working relationship with the Alexander City Bank folks and saw no reason to change. Some time in the 1990's, I think, bank deregulation came along an big banks started buying little banks. Southtrust bought the Alexander City Bank and made it a Southtrust branch. Along with the change came a big new expensive looking sign. Then a few years back, Southtrust went toes up and Wachovia took them over compliments of the FDIC or some such. Voilà, up pops a new expensive looking sign with Wachovia's name on it. Now all the Wachovias are becoming Wells Fargos with more new expensive looking signs.
I've got an idea. I know that banks are kinda stretched for funds right now so maybe rather that spending all that money for fancy new signs, maybe they should just get one of those rent-a-signs. You know the kind, arrow across the top with flashing lights, white plastic panels with black moveable letters. I am sure that the monthly rental on one of those would be a lot cheaper than these fancy new signs they are putting in place. Especially here in central Alabama where there used to be a beaucoup of them until the law closed all the bingo parlors down. Those signs are probably languishing in someones storage yard and they would likely rent them real cheap. Who knows, the banks might even be able to come up with enough money to buy them outright.
Yep, put up the portable sign, then, in six months when Citi or Bank of America or whoever the hell else it is that buys them out or takes over their failed assests comes along, all they will have to do is re-arrange the black plastic letters to the new banks name. Save themselves and their investors a lot of money. I realize that it will hurt the sign companies a little bit, but there are enough other businesses failing and new ones taking their place that I think the sign companies will have enough business to get by.
Back in the late 1940's or early 1950's, my parents went over to Alexander City and opened an account with the Alexander City Bank. At the time, Rockford did not have a bank. The two that were there before the depression, folded during the depression and no one bothered to open a new one after the depression ended. Even when a new bank opened in Rockford in the late 1960's my folks kept their account with the Alexander City Bank. By that time they had a really good working relationship with the Alexander City Bank folks and saw no reason to change. Some time in the 1990's, I think, bank deregulation came along an big banks started buying little banks. Southtrust bought the Alexander City Bank and made it a Southtrust branch. Along with the change came a big new expensive looking sign. Then a few years back, Southtrust went toes up and Wachovia took them over compliments of the FDIC or some such. Voilà, up pops a new expensive looking sign with Wachovia's name on it. Now all the Wachovias are becoming Wells Fargos with more new expensive looking signs.
I've got an idea. I know that banks are kinda stretched for funds right now so maybe rather that spending all that money for fancy new signs, maybe they should just get one of those rent-a-signs. You know the kind, arrow across the top with flashing lights, white plastic panels with black moveable letters. I am sure that the monthly rental on one of those would be a lot cheaper than these fancy new signs they are putting in place. Especially here in central Alabama where there used to be a beaucoup of them until the law closed all the bingo parlors down. Those signs are probably languishing in someones storage yard and they would likely rent them real cheap. Who knows, the banks might even be able to come up with enough money to buy them outright.
Yep, put up the portable sign, then, in six months when Citi or Bank of America or whoever the hell else it is that buys them out or takes over their failed assests comes along, all they will have to do is re-arrange the black plastic letters to the new banks name. Save themselves and their investors a lot of money. I realize that it will hurt the sign companies a little bit, but there are enough other businesses failing and new ones taking their place that I think the sign companies will have enough business to get by.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure
I could not remember whether or not I had written about this before so I did a search of this blog and did not come up with anything so...
I don't know about you but during my life time, I have been tormented by leaks. The house at Pentonville has a roof leak in one of the back bedrooms that defies all attempts at repair. My folks house at Slickhill had its share of leaks and I have had them here and also in the GMC motorhome that I used to own. I've caulked, tarred, siliconed and who know what all else with limited success.
When I bought my current truck camper, the guy that I got it from said that one of the things he did every year was to recaulk the seams. I got some 3M 5200 and used it on three or four places and it worked great but I still had one leak on the dinette seat that I could not stop. Water was seeping in where it attached to the wall. I worked and worked with it to no avail. I finally decided that the window was to blame. I resealed around the gasket with black silicone and it helped but I still had a leak. Then one day I was reading on one of the RV forums and someone mentioned Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure. At first I though it was some kind of joke but someone else responded that they too had used it to stop a troublesome leak. I did some googling and found that it did exist. It is an english product that was originally developed to seal hairline cracks in sailboats. It is pricey at $19.00 for 8 ounces, but I had spent a lot more than that in total with marginal results so I ordered a bottle.
It smells like latex paint and looks like skim milk. You pour it on in a fine bead. In the places where it disappears capillary action has drawn it in to the leak. You just keep applying it every 30 minutes of so until none is drawn in. I did that on my camper window and it worked like a charm. It has been several months and numerous hard rains since I first used it and the camper has not leaked a drop. This stuff is great and I don't intend to ever be without a bottle of it again. If you have a troublesome leak and everything else has failed, try Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure. It sure worked for me.
I don't know about you but during my life time, I have been tormented by leaks. The house at Pentonville has a roof leak in one of the back bedrooms that defies all attempts at repair. My folks house at Slickhill had its share of leaks and I have had them here and also in the GMC motorhome that I used to own. I've caulked, tarred, siliconed and who know what all else with limited success.
When I bought my current truck camper, the guy that I got it from said that one of the things he did every year was to recaulk the seams. I got some 3M 5200 and used it on three or four places and it worked great but I still had one leak on the dinette seat that I could not stop. Water was seeping in where it attached to the wall. I worked and worked with it to no avail. I finally decided that the window was to blame. I resealed around the gasket with black silicone and it helped but I still had a leak. Then one day I was reading on one of the RV forums and someone mentioned Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure. At first I though it was some kind of joke but someone else responded that they too had used it to stop a troublesome leak. I did some googling and found that it did exist. It is an english product that was originally developed to seal hairline cracks in sailboats. It is pricey at $19.00 for 8 ounces, but I had spent a lot more than that in total with marginal results so I ordered a bottle.
It smells like latex paint and looks like skim milk. You pour it on in a fine bead. In the places where it disappears capillary action has drawn it in to the leak. You just keep applying it every 30 minutes of so until none is drawn in. I did that on my camper window and it worked like a charm. It has been several months and numerous hard rains since I first used it and the camper has not leaked a drop. This stuff is great and I don't intend to ever be without a bottle of it again. If you have a troublesome leak and everything else has failed, try Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure. It sure worked for me.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Fire Ants
I think I wrote a while back about how this year has been different with the blueberries ripening at a later date than usual. Something else hit me yesterday that I really had not thought about until now. There are no fire ants in my yard this year. For the first time that I can recall, and I have lived here for about 32 years, there is not a single fire ant mound in my yard. That is very unusual. I have always been plagued with fire ants. One year I counted 120 mounds in just the mowed portion of my 2 acres. This year there are no mounds and as best I can determine, no fire ants either. This is not the result of anything I have done. I quit putting out fire ant poison several years ago since it did not appear to do any good. Maybe they are just taking a year off and resting underground but they certainly aren't running around my yard like they have in the past.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Comida Típica
A while back I was reading a blog or a travel log where someone had traveled in Mexico and Central America and he or she was talking about eating comida típica. I am a threat to try exotic foods so I googled comida típica to see what it was. I discovered that it just meant typical food or food commonly served. In the region in question, that turned out to be rice, beans, salsa, tortillas and maybe some pork or chicken. Kind of like a #3 at your local Mexican restaurant.
I had not though of comida típica for awhile until last night. I was eating supper over at Lindas and we were having chicken, mac and cheese, peas, sliced tomatoes and onion. It dawned on me that for the time of year and place we were, that we were having comida típica for supper.
I had not though of comida típica for awhile until last night. I was eating supper over at Lindas and we were having chicken, mac and cheese, peas, sliced tomatoes and onion. It dawned on me that for the time of year and place we were, that we were having comida típica for supper.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Blueberries Were Late This Year
Back when my parents were still alive, they planted several blueberry bushes around their home in Coosa County. Mama and Daddy are gone, but their blueberry bushes continue to bear fruit. Every year in late June and early July, the berries start to ripen. Some years there is a big crop, some years not so many. Regardless of the crop size, for every year since the bushes originally started bearing, the berries have always seemed to ripen on the same schedule. First the big bush up near the house by the chinaberry would start to ripen. Then the bushes at the edge of the front yard and by the garage and finally the ones in the back near the green house. Most years by my birthday on July 11th they were about gone. As soon as the last of the crop ripens, the song birds, crows and turkeys move in and pretty well clean the bushes up.
Yesterday, July 16th I went down there with my daughter and my oldest grandson to pick berries. There were still plenty of ripe berries and a few pink ones. From the looks of it, there will be some berries for at least another week. It seems to me that the entire season has shifted forward this year by 10 to 14 days. Maybe not, maybe I am just getting old and have started remembering things differently but my sister insists that all the berries were gone last year by the weekend following the 4th. Maybe she is getting old too.
Yesterday, July 16th I went down there with my daughter and my oldest grandson to pick berries. There were still plenty of ripe berries and a few pink ones. From the looks of it, there will be some berries for at least another week. It seems to me that the entire season has shifted forward this year by 10 to 14 days. Maybe not, maybe I am just getting old and have started remembering things differently but my sister insists that all the berries were gone last year by the weekend following the 4th. Maybe she is getting old too.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Zoning
When I worked at the power company, I had a supervisor that was also an attorney. Nice guy and very intelligent. I always liked him alot and agreed with him on most everything. One thing we did disagree on was zoning. I am totally and absolutely against zoning. I feel that if a person owns a piece of property, they should be allowed to do with it as they please. Of course there are some things that would not be allowed because they are against the law, like running a cathouse, or making moonshine whiskey, but if it ain't illegal, then it should be allowed. He always countered my argument that owners need protection. One time I remember him offering up the example of what if someone built a nice home and then someone moved in next door and built a hog farm. At the time, I did not have a good answer, now many years later I realize that the answer to that is if you fear what your neighbor might do, move into a subdivision that has suitable covenants and restrictions and a HOA that will enforce them. Or, if you really want to be safe, buy enough property so that your nearest neighbor will be so far away that they could crap in their front yard and you still would not care.
Most folks would agree with my former supervisor. They say what can it hurt to have a zoning board to look out for the interests of the people. If you agree, take a look at this article from al.com . That is what happens when you have a zoning board. You give some people a little power and they go batshit crazing if anyone challenges it. Over the years I have had some friends in Gardendale but I don't know anybody that lives there now. If I did, I would ask them if all of the city's business was taken care of in such good shape that they had the spare money laying around to pay the legal fees required to fight a zoning battle all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court. All of this over 21 inches in variances and on top of all that they lost. Nope, my old supervisors argument may sound good, but in the real world, zoning equals trouble.
Most folks would agree with my former supervisor. They say what can it hurt to have a zoning board to look out for the interests of the people. If you agree, take a look at this article from al.com . That is what happens when you have a zoning board. You give some people a little power and they go batshit crazing if anyone challenges it. Over the years I have had some friends in Gardendale but I don't know anybody that lives there now. If I did, I would ask them if all of the city's business was taken care of in such good shape that they had the spare money laying around to pay the legal fees required to fight a zoning battle all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court. All of this over 21 inches in variances and on top of all that they lost. Nope, my old supervisors argument may sound good, but in the real world, zoning equals trouble.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)