16) Ho Hum

9 May, 2007 -

Seems a job is finally going to come to fruition for me; HOORAY! And of course, I am pleased about that. "My" ARCO Station's Regular is @ $3.35 per gallon now further encouraging me to drive longer, further, and faster; NOT! Be that as it may, my new place of employment (Awaiting background check clearance) is very close-by and located as near perfectly as one could hope for in the South Bay. Big fire here in the basin as most of you probably know in the Griffith Park area; you know it's serious when they put the water dropping helicopters in the air at night. For a while, the fire was threatening the Griffith Park Observatory which has just recently been reopened following a $93 million, four-year makeover of the art deco landmark! It was close there for a while evidently. The ankle continues to be a problem. Must go recline with an ice bag on my ankle now........Until next time, Peace........

15) RUF & Moto GP

Cinco De Mayo, 2007 -

For tomorrow's Moto GP of China, Valentino Rossi is once more on pole shattering the track record by over half a second; huge for these guys.......I'm guessing that if all fossil fuel products as we currently know them were suddenly unavailable to the general public, among other things, the dynamic and mindset of the employer/employee - workplace/labor force would change virtually over night. From the beginning of the Industrial Age (in America at least) for the most part workers have moved themselves and their families to the proximity of the workplace. I believe that if fossil fuel ran out today, that dynamic would shift and to one degree or another the workplace, particularly new businesses, could be forced to come to the worker. I have also always been a firm believer in "the positive" and I have faith in mankind overcoming the obstacles that we now face.

One answer could be the utilization and installation of Pelle R. Jensen's RUF System of transportation = Rapid Urban Flexible (See illustration) The RUF System is a "Dual Mode" Electric/Hybrid vehicle system. One can drive these hybrid vehicles by themselves or take them to a station where you get on a track and let the system drive for you allowing stress and hands free commutes for example. The Texas DOT has issued a grant for an in-depth study and concepts for several American metropolitan areas have been rendered. See: http://www.ruf.dk/

14) Thirsty for Oil?

4 May, 2007 - The link is to yet another Paternity Fraud article - http://www.yorkdispatch.com/pennsylvania/ci_5818095

Yesterday, I paid $3.29 per gallon for Regular Unleaded fuel here in the LAX area (ARCO) which is at the least .14 cents per gallon cheaper than any other station in the vicinity. Before I lost my job, I'd always subscribed to the fact that buying Premium fuel enhanced the performance of my vehicle and thereby I needed to visit the filling station less often; I'm having to buy the cheap stuff until I get back to work which, God help me, should be soon. The fever pitch across the country about gasoline prices I find distracting in the big picture of life on Earth; what we're all going to need in the not-too-distant-future is more water! And nowhere else on this planet is this better demonstrated than guess where? That's right, The Middle East leads the world in the number of Desalination Plants (See photo) Personally, I have never understood why we don't have Desalination Plants all along our coasts in America and in my research on the subject I found that we have Biwater Advanced Environmental Water Technologies right here in Pasadena, CA. The infrastructure to move drinking and potable water is already in place. All we would have to do is to link the desalted water from near the ocean into our existing water supply delivery system; it is my view that this should be done immediately. According to an article generated by Biwater Technologies, this could be achieved economically by utilizing the less expensive Reverse Osmosis or Nano-Filtration techniques of today which use membranes to treat the salt water within the desalination plants; it is my position that construction of these plants should commence right away! Until next time.....Peace

13) What's Next?

2 May, 2007 - My two older daughters pictured -

Here's one from New Mexico just this morning - Why am I not surprised?

Woman indicted in scheme to collect child support
In Albuquerque a woman accused of forging birth certificates and other records to collect child support has been indicted. A grand jury indicted 54-year-old Viola Trevino on twenty-four counts, including kidnapping, perjury, conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to commit forgery. She is accused of creating an imaginary child to get more than twenty-six thousand dollars from her former husband. The couple divorced in August 1999. See the Clip here: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2a2451e124
For the first time in my working life I am without comprehensive medical benefits; not a comfy feeling for sure. I spent seven hours in the Emergency/Urgent Care area at Harbor/UCLA Medical Center yesterday so that I could have the condition of my slowly healing ankle region assessed by an MD; I'd seen my Chiropractor on 1 May, and he advised me to have it checked for ligament or tendon tearing which he could not do with precision. From time to time while sitting in the waiting area at Harbor, I felt I knew what it must be like to be in the Green Room of the Jerry Springer Show; weirdos man, weirdos! But hey, waada ya gonna do? The apparent class and cultural differences present in the waiting area were most profound: Young, some Preppy, medical professionals and clearly established senior Medical Staff mixed with every homeless street urchin in the area and every country south of the American border well represented at Harbor 24/7. I found it striking and trust me, I've been around plenty of "low" people in my life and do not look down my nose at anyone. Refreshingly, the staff proved to be excellent and for me, surgery is not going to be required, I am most happy to report. During my wait, a very attractive young Hispanic looking woman was looking for a seat; I had my X-Ray envelope and Sony Walkman sitting in the chair next to mine. The young gal and I made eye contact and we nearly simultaneously glanced at the chair with my stuff in it; I moved my stuff - she said thank you and sat down.

"Brenda" was obviously nervous and wanted to talk: She explained that she'd been sent there following a visit to her dentist earlier in the morning; it was 11:30 AM when I arrived at Harbor. She went on to say, that a wisdom tooth had been giving her problems and that she'd gone to have it extracted. The Dental Assistant went to numb her and while looking at her wisdom tooth region called the dentist into the room. "Brenda" had Thyroid Cancer in 2000 with surgery and radiation following surgery to remove her Thyroid glands in her throat area. "Benda" said that lately she was having trouble swallowing and that her entire cheek and jaw on her right side was in pain. Being a cancer survivor myself, I could empathize. I was fortunate to have impeccable and caring support in 2005/2006 when I went through it, this youngster was by herself in a clinic for crying-out-loud! Anyway, I wrote down my oncologists name and told her about the incredible "Wellness Community" I also told her she mustn't mess around with this. She hasn't had treatment or follow-up since her final radiation treatment years ago. Well, it was just one of several scenarios played out in front of my eyes yesterday- It made me wonder about our country and the health care industry specifically. Maybe the people who have been calling for a National System have been right? I don't know, but I do know I've worked just about all of my adult life and just had my medical benefits end April 1, 2007. And, "Brenda" needs an oncologist/endocrinologist, makes $8.00 per hour, has kids four and seven years of age, and is frightened. A shitty combination really.....Onward

12) Surprise? Not!!

29 April, 2007 -

The link I've posted this time- http://news.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBOMUQI11F.html - is a must read article; another single mother household injuring, and nearly killing, the custodial child! I hope that Mr. Clary has the resolve to go the distance; research and data confirm his concern is concrete. Children are, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 24 times more likely to be killed in single mother households than they are in single father households, yet the Family Law Industry continues to award mothers primary custody 90% of the time. Seems the Industry remains more interested in Dad's income (Read- Child Support) than they are in the mythical "best interest of the child"....
And what about this chick, Linda Nowak, in this post's photo? On 5 February, 2007 this mother/idiot was arrested in Orlando, Florida, and subsequently charged with the attempted "kidnapping" of U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman. If Nowak had been a Dad, she'd be incarcerated pending trial on attempted murder charges. Nowak was released on bail, pleaded "not guilty" to the charges and requested a jury trial. Nowak's assignment to the space agency as an astronaut was terminated by NASA effective March 8, 2007 yet she is working full time at NASA's Corpus Christi, Texas facility! If there are any Virgina Tech alum employed down there, why aren't they demanding she be removed and or detained? Mark my words; this chick/mom/idiot is a time bomb!

11) Damn it!

28 April, 2007 -

The civilian in this picture has just had the bracelets put on as a result of yet another "sting" to round up "Deadbeat Dads" who are behind in their child support payments. But guess what? Not only is this guy "Deadbroke" he isn't the biological father!

..........Below in quotes, is a tiny excerpt from a February 25, 2007 letter written by Dr. Stephen Baskerville and printed in the Fargo Forum in response to a one sided article the Forum had published. As nearly always, Dr. Baskerville's words say it all: "Forcing parents to part with their children and then charging them with exorbitant “debts” they have done nothing to incur, on pain of incarceration, is not solving a problem; it is creating one. The unsurprising fact that ever-more invasive measures result in higher collections for the government hardly means that the system is “working.” "

10) Huh??

27 April, 2007 -

Wondering how many divorced Dads are dealing with personal nightmares today; thinking of you all. Michael Jordan, Sir Paul McCartney, Rudy Giuliani and all the other high profile dudes, wish you'd go public with your experiences, perspectives, and opinions on the Family Law Industry pit.

The guy pictured shooting over the Laker's Lucius Allen during the 74-75 season was my man, "Pistol" Pete Maravich (DoB: 6/22/47 DoD: 1/5/88) He remains the all-time NCAA scoring leader despite the fact that Freshman were ineligible to play varsity ball and there was no three point shot during his college career; good thing for all the UCLA haters too as it would have meant at least another two titles for Coach Wooden had Freshman been eligible. A "bad white boy" Pete was, maybe the baddest though Rick Barry could possibly argue. During a time frame when black players justifiably dominated this style of play, in my opinion Pete was one of the few white guys who could hang with the style in the 70's when "Showtime" type basketball was beginning to gain mainstream popularity. Not to mention, he was a big 6'5". The Anglo European players of today, or Americans for that matter, with all due respect couldn't hold the proverbial candle to guys like Pete, Jerry West, or Rick Barry. Simply put; the white players who enjoyed the Showtime style were better then in my opinion.....Ankle more and more colorful....Where are the comments on my bolgsterette?

Peace........