Tuesday, July 31, 2012

This, that and a bit of those

Can't believe we're just about to August.  I swear Memorial Weekend was just three weeks ago! Does anyone else sometimes get a little scared at how much faster time seems to go the older you get?

Anyway, Congress is about to go into their August recess which means things are about to get crazy on The Hill for my agency.  We do a lot of renovation work while the offices are empty.  It's full steam ahead 24 hours a day, 7 days a week while they're out.  Good news is this craziness doesn't really impact me.

Here's a question for everyone.  All other things being equal, would you give up a private office for a cubicle if more money, say $10K a year, was involved?  And I mean a TINY cubicle.  Cu7rious to hear what others think about this.

We found 40 acres out in Wyoming we're really tempted to buy for investment but just not sure.  Unfortunately it's not really suitable for full-time living as there's absolutely no source of water other than drilling a well.  There's no utilities to it either though that's more a minor issue.  The properties (there's several 40 acre tracts available) all border BLM land.  Anyone know anything about BLM land and living next to it?

I need to get studying for my PA license.  I'm scheduled to take it on the 10th.  And I really could use a couple more of my local homeowner friends who would let me use their homes for training.  If you've had any kind of damage to your home in the last year....water leaks, overflowed toilet, cracked tile, melted siding, spilt wine on your carpet....I may be able to help you get some money from your insurance company.  At the very least, we can review your policy to make sure you have the coverage you really need and aren't paying for something you don't need.

OMG, big thanks to my friend Carol who shared a link to Community Forklift.  That place is a DIYers dream!!  For those who don't know Community Forklift is like a HomeDepot except everything in it has been donated.  It's a 35,000 sq ft warehouse filled with just about any kind of home item you can imagine...windows, doors, lighting and plumbing stuff, cabinetry, appliances, flooring, lumber, even an old bank safe.  Yes, most of it comes from people who have renovated so most of it is used.  Yes, you have to look over things to check for damage and such.  But there is still TONS of things that are in great condition and the prices are incredible.  We have been trying to find a replacement bedroom door.  Not easy in an older house where none of the doors are standard size.  It would have cost us over $100 to special order one at HomeDepot.  We found one at Community Forklift for $18.  Picked up a tall pantry cabinet that matches our kitchen cabinets for $20.  It is a fun place to just go wander around in and look for treasures if you like this kind of stuff.

I suppose I've babbled long enough.  How are you all doing? 

Monday, July 23, 2012

Asking a favour....or two

This post is pretty much for the local folks, but you can still read even if you don't live around here.

Don and I have started a business.  We are currently working on getting our Maryland Public Adjuster (PA) licenses.  I have to be honest, when the opportunity first presented itself I had never heard of a public adjuster.  So for those of you who were like me, here's the Reader's Digest explanation.  You know that guy from your insurance company who comes out to your house after something has happened to look things over and tell you how much your insurance company is going to give you?  Well, a public adjuster does the same thing EXCEPT we work in the interest of the homeowner, NOT the insurance company.  Truth is, insurance companies will rarely give you all the money you're entitled to per your policy.  They rely on the fact that very few homeowners ever read their policy or really understand what's in them.  That's where PA's come in.  We represent the homeowner in claims to their insurance company.  We know what's in the policy and we negotiate to make sure the homeowner receives all the money and services they're entitled to. 

There's a couple of other very important things we do.  First off we educate people about homeowners/renters insurance.  We explain what the types of insurance are and what types of coverage someone might or might not need. And second, we offer totally free reviews of homeowners/renters policies to educate them about what their policy really covers and maybe make recommendations about things they might want to add or delete from their coverage.


....and this is where the favour comes in.  Before you click off now let me say this.....the favour will cost you nothing but 30-60 minutes of  your time.  We come to your house so you don't even have to go anywhere.  And we are not selling ANYTHING.  And no, your house doesn't need to be all cleaned up and prettified for us to come.

One of the requirements for me is to complete some training reviews of homeowners/renters policies.  It would be me, my trainer...and probably Don...coming to your house to take a look over your policy and, if you wish, we will take a look at any damages you might have in your house (or personal property if you're a renter) to see if it is something your insurance coverage would pay to fix or replace.  Whether you want to file a claim is totally up to you. You're under no obligation to do anything.  

I'm looking to get my training reviews completed within the next couple weeks.  So, any of my Maryland friends interested in having a policy review done and willing to let me use them to learn on????  I would really appreciate it.  If you are willing to volunteer shoot me a message or send me an email.  usnbrat03@gmail.com   

Monday, July 16, 2012

Such a great feeling

We had a busy and productive weekend.  Saturday had us heading up to some friend's home to visit a gun store and do some canning.  Found a nice little .22 that fits my hand.  And before everyone starts telling me .22's are useless, my options in handguns are very limited due to my short, stubby fingers.  There are few handguns made that I can reach the trigger on.  Thank you to my Dutch ancestors for that.  So anyway, after the gun shop and some lunch we swung by the farmer's market and picked up 2 bushels of tomatoes.  

The plan was to can all of them at her place but we were just a little late getting started with the whole process so we ended up just canning her bushel.  She ended up with 7 lovely quarts of tomatoes.

Sunday Don and I started out making mulberry jam.  We discovered this spring that there's a couple mulberry trees that overhang the property and one drops tons of red mulberries.  We think the other tree is white mulberry.  Once the berries started to drop Don spread out a tarp under the tree so we could collect some.....it was an intense battle with the birds.  I'd cleaned them and stuck them in the freezer until we were ready to can them.  I was a little nervous since my only other attempt at making jelly had been a total fail.  You know those gel candles you can buy?  That's what the consistency of my first attempt at jelly was like.  Smelt good though!

Anyway, I started cooking up the jam using a recipe I found on the internet.  Can you believe the Ball book doesn't have a recipe for mulberry jam??  It looked good and tasted like jam so I'm hoping when we open a jar to try it won't require a wick and lighter to use.  



Once the jam was done....I just love the sound of popping canning lids....we started blanching the tomatoes.  I felt a bit ghoulish peeling the skins off!  We decided the best use for us would be to quarter them and can them in pints.  That's more the amount we use for cooking stuff.  They were sure pretty cooking up in the pot.



The canning went smoothly even though it was only the third time I'd ever pressure canned.  We are now the proud parents of 14 pints of freshly canned tomatoes.


In a couple weeks I think we're going to go pick green beans to can.  Then in the fall we're going to whip up some apple butter.  Also getting ready to start firing up the dehydrator to test out with some vegetables.


I really do love canning.  There's something extremely relaxing and satisfying about the whole process.
 

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Your history may not be my history

Nielsen did a survey recently of TV's Top 20 most powerful moments based on people who watched, remembered the event, remember where they were at the time and discussed the event with others.  Here's their results.

1. September 11th tragedy (2001)
2. Hurricane Katrina (2005)
3. O.J. Simpson verdict (1995)
4. The Challenger space shuttle disaster (1986)
5. Death of Osama bin Laden (2011)
6. O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase (1994)
7. Earthquake in Japan (2011)
8. Columbine High School shooting (1999)
9. BP oil spill (2010)
10. Princess Diana's funeral (1997)
11. Death of Whitney Houston (2012)
12. Capture and execution of Saddam Hussein (2006)
13. Barack Obama's acceptance speech (2008)
14. The Royal Wedding (2011)
15. Assassination of John F. Kennedy (1963)
16. Oklahoma City bombing (1995)
17. Bush/Gore election results (2000)
18. L.A. riots (1992)
19. Casey Anthony verdict (2011)
20. Funeral of John F. Kennedy (1963)

I'm have to admit, all in all I'm pleasantly surprised by the list.  I was expecting a list of a bunch of meaningless celebrity moments.  That said, there are still a few things on here that make me go, "really??"  So I've decided to do TV's Top 15 Most Powerful Moments as I see it.  One caveat...I pretty much grew up without TV so if it happened prior to 1978 I probably didn't see it on TV.

1. September 11th attack (why sanitize it...call it what it is)
2. Tearing down of the Berlin Wall (I cried watching it...never thought I'd see it in my lifetime.)
3. Sabana Seca, PR terrorist attack (1979) (I lived through it)
4. The Challenger explosion
5. Reagan being shot
6. The First Royal Wedding....Diana & Charles
7. Cincinnati riots (2001) (I was living there)
8. Thailand Tsunami (2004)
9. LA earthquake (1994) 
10. Final shuttle mission (getting to watch it from Goddard mission control helped make that pretty memorable)
11. Columbine High School shooting
12. Princess Diana's funeral
13. BP oil spill (2010)
14. Oklahoma City bombing
15. LA Riots
And a bonus one: The Final MASH.  Yeah, I know it's a TV show but it meets all the criteria for me.

There are things that didn't make the list.  It's not because they aren't memorable to me but because I didn't actually watch them on TV.

So what about you? What are your most memorable TV moments?
 

  

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Photos

I was out the other day taking some nature pictures.  It was nice.  I've not gotten to do enough of that this year.  I did a little playing around with my photo editing software too.  And yes, I do know that one of these things is not like the others! ;)











 

Immigration and politics

Immigration is a hot topic this year.  Let me start by stating my position.  I am 100% for legal immigration.  Emma Lazarus said it best,  
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" 
I firmly believe we should welcome with open arms anyone who comes to this country....as long as they meet some basic requirements.
1. Come here legally. 
2. Have some sort of skill that will allow you to provide for yourself/family.
3. Know enough English to be able to adequately function in society.

I want to really take a look at the things the "experts" say about immigration.  I have no doubt some are true, some are flat-out lies and a lot are half-truths.  A lot of my reading is from politifact.com.  I feel they tend to do a fairly decent, balanced job of getting past the political propaganda and focusing on the facts. 

They did have this on their site though.  
"Given the debate recently, it might surprise you to know that illegal immigration from Mexico is actually down.

A report from the Pew Hispanic Center, a respected nonpartisan research group, found that migration from Mexico has come to a virtual standstill, and the number of illegal immigrants in the United States may even be in decline.
 
I'm sorry, I have a hard time believing any group, nonpartisan or not, can accurately count or estimate the number of people illegally in or coming in to the country.  Statements such as these come across as very partisan and statistically unprovable to me.

Now, on to some other statements.  Let's look at some statements that have been making their way around Facebook recently.  You'd be amazed at how many people seem to get their "facts" and "news" from something someone shared on Facebook.

1. "Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties in U.S. are illegals."
To put it nicely.....horsepucky.  HUD applicants are required to show documentation that they are citizens or legal immigrants.  According to HUD about 96% are citizens and 4% are legal immigrants.  Keep in mind however than an illegal alien can stay in HUD housing as long as the HUD applicant is a citizen or legal immigrant.  So that could be what is being referred to though there is certainly no documentation to support the 60% number.

2.  "Less than 2 percent of illegals are picking crops, but 41 percent are on welfare." 
Let's look at these two numbers separately.
The Pew Hispanic Center estimates about 3% of illegals work in farming and related fields.  The Center for Immigration Studies estimates at peak harvest time it's possible that up to 5% are working on farms.  I figure these are probably reliable figures since one group is supposedly non-partisan and the other group advocates for stricter immigration laws adding up to a middle-ground blend.  So, based on the information, less than 2% of illegals are picking crops is probably pretty accurate.
Now, about the 41% on welfare.  Again, according to The Center for Immigration Studies which provides the most detailed statistics, about 40% of illegal-headed households receive government assistance.  The number could be as high as 71% for households with children.  This assistance consists almost entirely of food stamps (that are going to children who are citizens) and health care.  Oddly enough Politifact rates this statement as "Mostly False" apparently on the basis that the 41% is a misleading number.  They seem to think food stamps and health care don't really qualify as welfare.  I have to disagree with them on this one.  Seems to me the facts fully support this statement.  

3. "More than 43 percent of all food stamps are given to illegals."
This is an easy one.  It's illegal for adult illegal aliens to receive food stamps.  Their children can but the math simply doesn't add up.  In 2008 there were 30.8 million people on food stamps.  43% of that is 13.2 million.  Pew puts the number of children of illegals to be at 3.4 million....far short of 43%.  In short, this "fact" is hogwash. 

Enough FB news.  How about what the politicians have said?

4. "The (border) fence is now basically complete." 

Barack Obama on Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 in a speech in El Paso

Well, I suppose if you consider single layer pedestrian fence and vehicle barriers to qualify as the double-layer fence the law specified then I guess his statement is true.  But if we don't talk like politicians then really not so much.  I'm deeming this statement to be false.

5. "Phoenix, Arizona, is the No. 2 kidnapping capital of the world."

John McCain on Sunday, June 27th, 2010 in comments on 'Meet the Press'

Short, simple and to the point, there are simply no statistics to back this statement up.  In the absence of that, it's a lie.

Some additional interesting statistics from Politifact:
Among the comments Obama makes 46% are deemed to be fairly true, 25% are half-truths and 28% are lies.

With Romney 31% can be deemed true, 28% are half-truths and 40% are lies.

Of course, I consider half-truths to basically be lies.  So what these numbers tell me with either one is if they're speaking they're probably lying.  Big surprise, huh?

 


 
 
 

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Drive by blogging

Stuff to do today so just some pictures taken this morning in our garden.


Fried green tomatoes for dinner last night.  We had squash from the garden.




The Romas are starting to ripen.


We did not expect to have any grapes the first year.