Memorial Weekend

Memorial Day weekend, ..... A busy time for some, .... a laid back weekend for me. I don't like the current batch of gas prices, .. so I'm not buying any. At $3.08 per gallon, ... I'll just stay at home.

Of course that means the travel trailer stays at home too. But Hey !, .... ya can't have everything!, .... right?!

So I spent my day going out to breakfast (down the street to Hardee's), loading some new software on my new MacBook PC, grilling out (hot dogs and bratwursts), ....yes, ....a lazy day indeed.

I'm looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.

I'd like to take the trailer and make a trip to Utah and/or Arizona, .... but I'm not too keen on incurring something akin to the National Debt to pay for the gas for such a trip.

Oh well, ... I just had company come in, ... so , ...That's all for now.

SPRING !

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed the Kentucky weather the last two days. Low humidity, temps in the 60's to low 70's, sunshine, gentle breezes, ...... what more can one ask for? Only trouble is, .... it won't last.

It remindes me so much of what I generally experience when we're in Flagstaff, AZ. Boy, ... would I like to be there right now, .... sitting in the 'Woody Mountain RV Park', watching the squirrels, a couple of steaks in the Barby, ... enjoying the cool air falling down from the mountains. Aaah! My idea of heaven, .... especially if you throw in a trip to Swensens for a good icecream cone.

If you haven't experienced Flagstaff in the Spring let me tell you a bit about it. I've seen it snow right in town during the first half of June, With nightime temps in the 30's. Even in August you'll find a light jacket or long sleeved flannel shirt in order after sundown. No such thing as humidity. I'd move there in a heartbeat, ...... if, ... I could only get the wife to agree.

She's determined to stay in Kentucky so she can be near her sisters, our kids and grand kids. Oh well, .... I can still dream, .... and visit once in a while. ..... Maybe in June, ...... or July.

Let's go to "Black Barts" for dinner, .........................

Electric Car Anyone?

Well !?, ..............Is it time for us to switch to an 'Electric' car (or truck)? As you are aware, there is much discussion about 'Greenhouse gases' and the rising cost of fossil fuels to keep our internal combustion engines running. There are different ideas as to the best way to solve these problems.

I don’t think I’ll get involved in the many discussions as to which fuel we should switch to, …. Ethanol, E85 Ethanol blend, Bio Diesel, Hydrogen based Fuel Cells, coal gasification or maybe just burn old corn cobbs.

While all of these people are trying to work this out, the Electric Automobile is gaining ground at a fanatical rate. One company, ZAP-

http://www.zapworld.com/

has been opening dealers as fast as they can, and selling vehicles as fast as they make them available. Their current strong seller, the Xebra (pronounce zebra) only gets around 30 to 40 miles per charge, and has a top speed of about 40 mph. It’ll recharge from a normal 110 volt AC outlet in 6 to 8 hours. The cost for the consumer is approximately .01 cent per mile of driving. ( 1 penny per mile)

“What good is this” many ask. Think of it, …. If you are a city dweller, as I am, most of your daily driving is at speeds below 40 mph. For my errands around town (grocery, pharmacy, Wal-Mart, Doctor’s office, Post Office, dinner out) a 30 mile range is more than sufficient, considering that when I’m not driving the car, it will be plugged-in on my carport. With the car plugged in between trips, you can exceed the 30 to 40 mile limit in a day’s time.

But the Xebra is only ‘one’ example. There are others currently available with longer ranges and faster speed capabilities. Two hundred and eighty miles to three hundred and twenty miles are currently available, as are speeds in excess of 155mph. The biggest factor in the mass production of electric cars, with both speed and extended mileage, is the cost of the batteries. Battery technology is progressing so fast that it is thought by many that the ‘full electric car’ will be available to the masses before any of the other internal combustion fuels will become practical for extended mass usage.

http://www.zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=4692

(copy and paste the links into your browser)

Right now,…. The Xebra will fulfill the vast majority of my daily driving needs, … without gasoline, or other burnable fuels, no oil changes or filters and no gaseous emissions.

Some say that the electricity is still produced via the use of fossil fuels, as in the burning of coal or oil, so the net result is a ‘No Gain’ situation. This is partly true. But consider the many hydro-electric dams, the vast arrays of wind generators, solar voltic generation and nuclear plants that all produce eco-friendly electricity. As a nation, we have the ability to further enhance these alternative methods of producing electricity.

Hey !, ……….. maybe we can just burn Corn Cobbs !

Immigration

I couldn't pass this up, ..................

Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the
Orange County Register:

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on
how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one,
suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the
people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who
passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people
like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this
new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a
rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States , people
had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be
documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and
kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support
their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English
a primary rule in their new American households and some even
changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children
a new life and did everything in their power to help their children
assimilate into one culture.

Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor
laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and
craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of
prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II
broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come
straight over from Germany , Italy , France and Japan . None of
these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what
country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting
Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan . They were defending
the United States of America as one people. When we liberated
French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The
people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that
represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have
thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to
represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their
parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants
truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the
melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2007 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the
same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing
with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement
card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm
sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe
that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's
deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice
in raising future generations to create a land that has become a
beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they
would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those
waving foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty , it
happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the
immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the
United States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

Concealed Carry Permit

Please check my friend, Juan Portela's, Blog site. He has good comments on the responsibilty that goes along with Concealed Carry Permits.

(Sorry, ....Juan closed his blog)

My wife and I have had and concealed carry permits for several years now. We feel that every American has the right to immediate personal defense. But this carries a very high level of responsibiity. Not only to be able to recognize a situation where you "Need" to use deadly force, but also the ramafications of that action to others in the immediate area.

That's why each state mandates a specific training period, and susequent testing, before they issue the Concealed Carry Permits.

There are, unfortunately, many in our society who are afraid of guns. They don't want to be near one, and believe they have the right to limit their ownership, and use when necessary, by everyone else.

Thankfully there are great numbers of use who grew up with guns, having hunted for food for the family table,... engaged in target shoots, ... and had them in the home as a level of family protection. We have come to understand that there is nothing inherently evil about a gun. Guns don't kill people, ...... people kill people.

The gun control advicates will not engage you in conversation that cites the fact that in every state in the country where concealed carry has became the norm, ... robberys have decreased, as have personal assaults, rape and burgulary.
Conversely, ... the states with the strictest gun controls have the highest crime rates in the country. Folks, .... the hand writing is on the wall, .... when guns are limited and controls are high, ..... your chances of becoming a victim are at their highest.

Think of a gun as another level of insurance. If you are a responsible person, ... as I'm sure most are, .... you likely have Home Insurance on your home and it's contents. You don't want to use it, and will go to great ends to prevent that eventuality.
But, ... if you need it, .... it's there to help bail you out. Now apply the same logic to a gun. Keep it loaded, ... keep it reachable, .... keep it ready, ..... and hope you never need to use it.