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RE: Golf monsters, etc - 3/13/2008 12:07:37 PM
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chemdude77
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I rented a bucket of 72 golf balls and went to the second story of the range. I did not bring the rubber tees, so I had to hit off the turf. For a beginner, that is quite an adjustment. I made impact with the ground too much, but managed to get a few 125 yd drives with my 6-iron. Forget the driver; I could not hit the ball off the turf if my life depended on it...
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I have heard the saying -- if you pray for patience, God will send you trials and tribulations, as "the trying of your faith works patience".
However, He just might use golf to work patience, longsuffering and temperance. The ball does not always go the distance or the direction that we want. Big guys do not always hit the ball as far as the light, lean and slender golfers. There are 12 year old kids that can outhit and out-putt me. It will take years and discipline for me...
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One of the drawbacks of various biofuels: they can wreaks havoc on rubber hoses, gas pump turbines and O-rings. Leaks are illegal, polluting, expensive and dangerous for any gas station. The conversion of acreage to biofuel-corn could have a deleterious effect on food supplies and grain prices.
There is talk of butanol as an alternative energy source.
IMO, it is ridiculous to transfer taxpayer $$$$$$$$$ to large corporations, and it makes me wonder which retiring senators will be on the board of the major ethanol producers in the near future.
_____________________________
"Learn to put yourself there, 'cause someone is going to put you there whether you like it or not." Steve Maxwell
Meanderings and ponderings
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Springtime on the greens - 4/5/2008 11:24:50 AM
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chemdude77
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This golf thing is kinda fun. It can get a little pricey. Nonetheless, I have found something that enables me to get away from the black box and have some fun.
Back in February, I stopped at a BBQ joint in Temple, TX. A man with an acoustic guitar sang some old Janis Joplin songs, and people could drop money into his guitar case. He was in his late 30s, or early 40s. The audience (mostly families with children) was polite, and seemed to enjoy their food and drink while listening to the old classics.
The singer was a 5th grade science teacher, who performed there once a week. I admired the fact that he could sing in front of strangers in the evening, even after a day of teaching in the public school system.
A number of the eateries in Temple and Waco are filled with picnic benches with plastic tablecloths. The food is excellent, although I am not well liked by the carbohydrates on my plate. 
Central TX is quite a contrast to our area, with its nightly 'comedy' shows, raunchy bands and otherwise sleazy "entertainers" who attempt to entertain inebriated, angry and downright nasty patrons. We have people who will steal a $1 golf ball--and these folks are well-paid engineers and managers (yes, it happened on a golf course).
In Temple, I spoke to some folks who had witnessed an F5 twister rip up the dock at a lake, only to move south into Jarell and scour away homes and lives 
_____________________________
"Learn to put yourself there, 'cause someone is going to put you there whether you like it or not." Steve Maxwell
Meanderings and ponderings
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Nickeled and dimed to death... - 4/12/2008 2:21:43 PM
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chemdude77
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Frontier Airlines declared bankruptcy: credit card fees and witholding requirements take a toll...
The convenience store industry is feeling the effects of the interchange fees. When a customer uses his debit or credit card, there is a transaction fee. Visa, MC, Discover, AMEX--all of these companies get a chunk of the profit. They do not bear any responsibility for the security or integrity of the transactions or even the chargebacks. But they collected $7.6 BILLION in fees in 2007 ($7,600,000,000).
For the convenience store/stations that sell unbranded gas, the cost of fuel is higher than that of Shell, Chevron, Exxon, and BP stations.
The Financial Times identified the Seven Sisters of the Oil Industry:
Saudi Aramco
Russia’s Gazprom
CNPC of China,
NIOC of Iran
Venezuela’s PDVSA
Brazil’s Petrobras
Petronas of Malaysia
Remember the human face of the convenience store industry. Decreasing profits due to increased utility costs, mandatory environmental monitoring and vapor recovery, credit card transaction fees, vandalism repair, maintenance, transportation costs, security and liability insurance costs affect the jobs of working moms and dads.
_____________________________
"Learn to put yourself there, 'cause someone is going to put you there whether you like it or not." Steve Maxwell
Meanderings and ponderings
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RE: Nickeled and dimed to death... - 4/17/2008 9:07:25 PM
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chemdude77
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I have an opportunity to get to know some of my co-workers in our stores.
Many are from East Africa and India; many of them were very well educated before they came to America. One gentleman told me of the rigorous math training that his sons and his nephews went through BEFORE coming to America. Many of the kids in our area struggle with pre-algebra; those who immigrate from Asia usually at the top of their high school class in calculus and differential equations. They are often working long hours at startups as programmers and hardware engineers.
The front-page article in the "San Jose Mercury noose" told us that being smart is not "cool" in most of the area high schools, and that A students were NEVER popular. But those C students were so much fun!!
The point of it all: WHO CARES what lazy and unmotivated brats think?! Five years after the graduation ceremonies, do we really care about how "cool" we were in the schoolyard?
Will the lazy reporter even do a followup in 2018? What will become of the super-popular 'C-' students? Will they live on public assistance or in the ever-growing prison system?
I meet Ethiopian and Indian scientists who have succeeded and prospered despite polio, violence and deprivation beyond anything we will know (hopefully).
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A family member was discussing religious topics to another family member, and he firmly believes that the greatest and most important issue that the church will face in the 21st century is homosexuality.
In his church, perhaps. In some urban churches, that could be the case.
Based on history and current events, I beg to differ, even as I do not have any ability to look into the future. Humor me as I speculate 
I believe that the following events may be of great importance:
-Economic downturns, evictions, higher taxes, and employment disruptions--yeah, the big 'D'
-A change in the racial and religious landscape. Immigration, the rise of Islam across the globe, a growing number of youth who did not grow up in the church, a growing number of folks who are suspicious of the church, and a number of prominent intellectuals and bureaucrats with an open hostility towards Christians.
With foreclosures, layoffs, dropoffs in contributions, and rising costs, how can the church make its love felt to a dying world?
Have a great Friday!
< Message edited by chemdude77 -- 4/17/2008 10:42:30 PM >
_____________________________
"Learn to put yourself there, 'cause someone is going to put you there whether you like it or not." Steve Maxwell
Meanderings and ponderings
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The real world - 5/1/2008 11:31:16 AM
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chemdude77
Posts: 755
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From: Here to Eternity!
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One of our stores was robbed last night, thankfully, no one was hurt. We are looking over the surveillance videos for details.
Add this to a list of other forms of theft--the stealing of aluminum trashcans and scrap metal.
And we have problems with the illegal immegrant day workers that sexually harass and verbally abuse the female customers outside of the c-stores. While waiting for contractors to offer them work, they bring their beer and wine and loiter 
The convenience stores now have another issue: gas theft. We force pre-auths from our pumps, so we do not face this issue.
However, stores with satellite uplinks should beware: thieves now tamper with the satellite dishes and use a bogus credit card.
As always, physical security is very important.
My SIL went back to the emergency room to deal with a blood clot. She is back home, on additional medication.
A family friend is now affected by the health care budget cutbacks in Cali. His daughter is incapacitated and required 24x7 care (night care). According to one health care provider:
Medi-Cal 10% Payment Cuts and the Impact on Health Care Services
On January, 10, 2008 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008-09 state budget proposal. Fundamental to that proposal was meeting a projected $14.5 billion shortfall. Meantime, the Governor proclaimed a state of fiscal emergency for the current budget year and the Legislature had 45 days to reconcile an estimated $3.3 billion shortfall. The end result was a 10% Medi-Cal provider rate reduction for the current year, effective July 1, 2008, and additional 10% rate cut for the 08-09 budget year.
According to the Governor, these cuts will "save" the state approximately $20 million. Unfortunately, these cuts are not equitable in that they apply to providers like Care at Home, which have not had a rate increase in eight years, the same as they apply to those with statutorily required annual rate increases.
Impact
Home health agencies cannot withstand these cuts and are faced with two options:
1. Continue serving our Medi-Cal customers, with the 10% rate cut in reimbursement, increasing the current loss we face on every Medi-Cal client that ultimately exceeds our cost.
2. Discontinue service to our Medi-Cal clients, like many other agencies have done. Although we have made every effort to step into the gap left by our competitors that have discontinued Medi-Cal to date, we are no longer able to withstand additional rate cuts.
_____________________________
"Learn to put yourself there, 'cause someone is going to put you there whether you like it or not." Steve Maxwell
Meanderings and ponderings
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Midweek musing - 5/14/2008 2:37:25 PM
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chemdude77
Posts: 755
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: Here to Eternity!
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My evenings are now spent at the driving range; I have a bit of a twinge in my rib muscles lately  I had a horrible time with hooks, and my shoulder started to hurt a bit.
We are in a warm spell lately. We trimmed the Pom down, and we realized that the dog is mostly fur 
It is advisable to look before you open your door; I crunched a man's bumper as he pulled into the parking spot. The gentleman was very polite and calm as we exchanged insurance info. These days, there are fights, homicides and assaults that come with even minor auto accidents. God protected me from my own carelessness.
I am at a baseball game tomorrow with one of my vendors. We are looking at the wireless IP cameras as well as the analog units for our sites. The crooks now tamper with the ATMs and the pin pads, even installing cameras to catch the PIN entry. A major market was hit by these thieves, as they obtain the Track 2 data on the cards as well as the expiration dates, and create bogus credit cards tied to the victim's account.
I am hearing enough stories from IT managers who are throwing out MS Office for OpenOffice, due to the outrageous licensing fees. Consider that a software audit from the BSA can result in fines from $25k to $100K! A disgruntled employee or terminated worker can easily get a company in deep financial trouble.
My latest challenge involves the installation of Windows 2003 x64 on a Sunfire server (Intel Xeon). So far, the driver disk is not even recognized from the setup. This way to the egress...
_____________________________
"Learn to put yourself there, 'cause someone is going to put you there whether you like it or not." Steve Maxwell
Meanderings and ponderings
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