There once was a woman...

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M", she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

LA Times

I just spied a couple of men wearing capri pants.


That should be enough to clue you in that I've been in LA again, visiting the family here and helping with Tommy's treatments. It's questionable how much "help" one can really provide as Tommy is clearly shouldering the physical burden, but it helps me to be close by.

Speaking of Tommy, here he is, hanging out with his best friend, Lyla:



How's he doing? With the exception of nagging side effects, he's weathering the storm like a trooper.

During my time here, I was able to guilt Chris and Sunny into taking me to an RV show at the Rose Bowl, and as this picture portrays, they were overjoyed with the experience.



Afterwards, we visited Koreatown, and powered our way through a massive luncheon feast. The Korean grocery store we visited afterwards was teeming with Saturday shoppers who uttered not one word of English. Did you know rice could be purchased in 20-pound bags?

I embarked on a few mid-range bike rides, once going to the Pacific and [reluctantly] turning around and heading back to Brentwood (pedaling past OJ's former home). There were plenty of bike lanes available. Saint Charles, take note!

While dining in the neighborhood Souplantation eatery, we spotted the actor who plays Toby Flenderson on The Office. Note: when you see someone in St. Louis who resembles a celebrity, it's probably not who you think, but when you see a familiar face in Los Angeles, the odds are it's exactly who you think it is.

By the time you read this, I'll be back in good ol' Missouri, where men don't wear capri pants unless they're also wearing a football helmet.

The Beatdown That Never Happened

The Rams are showing a pulse.

Sure it's preseason, and they're young and unproven. But they're 2-1, and they've achieved it with some style. The o-line is starting to gel, the quarterback projects confidence in the pocket, the run offense is showing consistency, and the defense is popping.

I don't think the victory over New England was a fluke. The Patriots left their starting offense in the game a quarter longer than the Rams, but even the second-liners showed some spunk.

Whether this translates into a better season record or not remains to be seen. At the very least, things are more interesting for football fans in St. Louis than earlier anticipated.

Rainy Days

Whenever I leave the kids I always try to have Amber take a picture of the kids and me. I thought this turned out pretty good.

I don't have very many pictures this time. It rained from Sunday afternoon until I left on Wednesday morning. I tried to keep the girls busy even though we couldn't play outside. On Monday we went out for lunch and then to the mall. Everyone on the Cape was at the mall also, due to the rain. Parking spots were hard to come by. We actually went to buy Michael, Jr. some pants, but ended up buying fairy wands and princess skirts instead.

On Tuesday we went to the dollar store. The girls thought this was the greatest place. They bought coloring books, a beach ball, bathroom toys and some dish rags for their mom. All for $5.00!

I told them we would go out for a fancy dinner that evening. We had the best seat in the house. (It was pretty easy. We were the only people there!) Notice the candle on the table? That's the fancy part. I think they enjoyed the rolls the best. They each ate 2. Rainy days can be fun too!

Twelve (+3) Updated Money Rules

Reprinted excerpts from Kiplinger.com ...


Some traditional rules of saving and investing are due for an overhaul. Here are 12 restated rules:

1. Renting may beat buying. Buying wins hands down when home prices are rising. But when they're flat or falling, it makes sense only if you get a great deal, your monthly payment won't exceed rent on a comparable home by much, and you'll own the home long enough to recoup your costs.

2. Consider a Roth. Although the traditional rule of tax planning is never to pay a tax bill today that you can put off until tomorrow, Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k) plans stand that rule on its head. With a traditional IRA or work-based retirement plan, you get an upfront tax deduction, but every dime you withdraw in retirement is taxed at your ordinary income-tax rate. With a Roth, you forgo the upfront tax break, but all withdrawals — including decades of earnings — can be withdrawn tax-free. If income-tax rates rise, a pot of tax-free retirement income could be a financial lifesaver.

3. Focus on dividends. Invest in stocks that pay dividends. During periods of market volatility, when stock prices tend to bounce around in reaction to political and economic gyrations rather than accurately reflect corporate fundamentals, dividends can provide a predictable income stream.

4. Personalize your emergency fund. The standard advice is to keep enough in savings to cover three to six months' worth of expenses. But a lot depends on the stability of your job and the predictability of your income. The greater the risk your income could drop, the larger your emergency fund should be. Retirees should keep two to three years' worth of expenses in money-market funds, short-term CDs or other liquid investments.

5. Think McCottage, not McMansion. If you decide you're ready for homeownership, stick with the traditional (and temporarily forgotten) rule of thumb that you can afford a mortgage equal to up to three times your annual gross income. Most lenders will limit your total monthly housing payment — including principal, interest, insurance and taxes — to 28% of your gross income (and your total debt load to 36%). With a down payment of 20% and a 30-year fixed rate of 5%, a couple with a $100,000 income can afford a mortgage of up to $300,000.

6. Age 66 is the magic number. Although you can begin collecting Social Security benefits as early as age 62, your benefits will be reduced by 25% or more. Better to hold out for full benefits at your normal retirement age — 66 if you were born between 1943 and 1954; older if you were born later.

7. Cut your credit-card debt, but not your cards. Minimizing credit-card debt is a great goal, but closing old accounts could hurt your credit score. About one-third of your FICO score (the credit score most lenders use) is based on your credit-utilization ratio, which is the total of your credit-card balances divided by the total of your credit-card limits. A good target is to use 20% — or even less — of your available credit.

8. Lock in your retirement income. Without a pension, you're on your own to figure out how to make your savings last a lifetime. You can use a portion to buy an immediate annuity, which will guarantee monthly payments for the rest of your life.

9. Think single-digit returns. Reality check: You should be happy to get 6% a year if you've dialed down risk in preparation for retirement and downright joyous if your overall investments earn 8% annually over the next ten years. Think of the past no-growth decade as a bridge from the unsustainable high returns of the 1980s and 1990s to an era of more-moderate performance.

10. Retire your mortgage when you do. A house is a long-term investment with attractive tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes. It's great during your highest-earning years, but a monthly mortgage payment represents a major portion of most household budgets. One of the best ways to reduce your costs in retirement is to pay off your mortgage by the time you retire.

11. Spread your assets around. There's no good formula for the right percentage of stocks in your portfolio — especially the old 100-minus-your-age rule. A fresh idea is to start with 50% and slide the percentage up or down based on your personal situation. If you're 30, you can tilt your long-term money heavily toward stocks but keep your short-term savings in easy-to-access accounts. If you're 60 and have a secure pension and little debt, you can angle for some growth with your long-term investments, perhaps putting 65% in foreign and domestic stocks. Cast a broad net.

12. Save early for retirement. Paying off debt should be a top priority, but don't let your single-mindedness get in the way of your long-term goals. If your employer offers a matching 401(k) contribution, save at least enough to capture the match. Otherwise, you're walking away from free money. Ideally, you should aim to save 15% of your gross income for retirement (include your employer match in that calculation). The magic of compounding will do the rest.

And for good measure, here are three personal rules I would add:

13. Differentiate between what you want and what you need.

14. Become a do-it-yourself expert!

15. Don't invest in things you don't understand.

Catherine and cake

We attended a church picnic on Sunday. It was held indoors due to rain, but they still managed to have Catherine's favorite dessert. Cake! She has already started eating it in this picture. You can see cake crumbs on her mouth.

Here she is contemplating the poster on the wall. Or is she looking at the dessert table to see if there is more cake left?

Good to the last crumb!

The Vanishing Variety Show

The staple of modern TV is the reality show. They're cheap, popular, and don't require great writers or expensive actors. So with an overabundance of programming time available, they're everywhere!

When I was growing up, the venue used to fill time was the variety show. Usually an hour long, these shows featured comedy monologues, skits, song, and dance. Unfortunately, they have vanished for the most part.

There was the Ed Sullivan Show and Ted Mack's Amateur Hour which featured a variety of acts, but no entertainment contribution from the hosts other than as emcees. Some shows today (America's Got Talent, etc) come close to this format.

I preferred the star-driven shows, however.

There was The Carol Burnett Show, which featured a great supporting cast which always seemed to be cracking itself up. Apparently, there were no retakes, and the "live" feeling was an important part of the show's charm.

There was The Mac Davis Show, of which my favorite part were the improvised songs he would write on the spot.

There was The Dean Martin Show which boasted some of the best guests while Dean drank, smoked, smirked, and broke into an occasional song.

The Flip Wilson Show was strong on comedy and classic lines such as "the devil made me do it!".
The Sonny and Cher Show was one of my favorites. They became even more famous due to their show's success. Too bad they split.

My all-time favorite variety show was undoubtably The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour with Dick and Tommy Smothers, and regulars such as Pat Paulsen. They were supposedly "edgy" for the day, but to me, they were simply hilarious.

It sounds like we watched a lot of TV, but there were only 3-4 channels available and the we really didn't. We did watch TV more as a family than the multiple-TV households of today do, and they were frequently tuned to these creative and missed variety shows.

Speaking of family: Happy Birthday, Dad! One of the reasons these memories are so happy is because you were there.

Hum the tune to jaws while reading this

The girls helped me wash my car Friday. They were a big help.

Late afternoon we left for the beach. Some nice girls made a big shark head and of course we had to take a picture of the shark eating Mary and Catherine.

It's too bad they never have any fun!

Michael had a good time too!

The weather has been wonderful here. Much better than it was in July. We're now getting ready to head out to a church picnic. Good times on the Cape.

Catherine and her letters

Into the Backcountry (3 of 3)

This is the third pictorial installment of a recent 4-day hike through Yosemite National Park, starting in Tuolume Meadows and ending in Yosemite Valley.

Our last camp site was outstanding as we found a flat spot amidst some large pine trees.




The trail was rocky at points, requiring that one follow these markings of stacked rocks. Note: these are NOT New Age symbols of mysticism, and should not be destroyed!



As we descended into Yosemite Valley (6 miles of steep downhill trails), we passed several waterfalls. This is a picture of Nevada Falls:





The views were always fantastic.





This is another view of Nevada Falls from another angle.



Downstream, we crossed over Vernal Falls ...




... and soon after negotiated our way downward past Mist Falls:





Here's a closeup of the same:





Soon after, the hike was over. Great job, Stick and Mike!

Into the Backcountry (2 of 3)

This is the second pictorial installment of a recent 4-day hike through Yosemite National Park, starting in Tuolume Meadows and ending in Yosemite Valley.

We camped at high-altitude the second night and witnessed some bad weather (though it did no more than rain lightly on us for no more than an hour during which we were comfortably within tents). The view from our camp site:



The same view soon after ...





The storm passed over as the sun was setting ...






The next morning we continued our upward journey and soon approached our mid-hike objective: achieving the summit of Cloud's Rest. Here's a shot of Stick and Mike during the final stages of the ascent.







On the top ...





Looking down (a LONG way down) ...






Starting the descent of Cloud's Rest on the other side (it was downhill for several hours thereafter!) ...




As we descended, our next destination, Half Dome, came into view. We would reach it by nightfall and join a line of fellow adventurers in using pre-installed cables to climb to the 5-acre area on it's top.

As we climbed the trails high on Half-Dome that afternoon, storms were visible in the distance ...

... and due to the threat of lightning, we were not allowed to complete the cable climb to the top. The dome looked as follows as we descended to our base camp two miles lower on the trail.

Friday's post: descending into Yosemite Valley.

Family Photo's

We attempted to take a family photo when we were out on the Cape in July. This is what we came up with. Mike showing his muscles. (Catherine seems really impressed!)

Mike showing us his suave and sophisticated side.

Mary and Michael eating their fingers.

This is a good one. Oh, yea, we're missing Catherine.

Finally! What a great looking group! (If I do say so myself).

Into the Backcountry (1 of 3)

This is the first pictorial installment of a recent 4-day hike through Yosemite National Park, starting in Tuolume Meadows and ending in Yosemite Valley.

The hiking "team" consisted of Mike Taylor, Andrew Elkins, and myself. Thirty-four miles were covered carrying about 40 pounds of gear each (and in my case, an extra 25 pounds of body fat). The equipment inventory included a digital camera which was used to create the remainder of this post.

As we drove into the park, we passed Yosemite Falls on the left ...

... and Bridalsveil Falls on the right.

The trailhead at Tuoloume Meadows offered a beautiful and easy place to start ...

The first five miles were a simple walk through stunning scenery at 8000+ feet ...

... which featured a serene stream which became more and more rugged. We crossed it here at the "twin bridges":

In the afternoon, we lunched beside a small lake.

After lunch, Stick and Mike led the way along a peaceful but increasingly more difficult, trail.

After camping along the trail, we began the next morning with a trek along Lake Tenaya. This was to be the last level trail we encountered for the remainder of the trip.

It was up, up, up for the rest of the day. Flowers were common in the cool air of the mountains.

The trails became more rugged and difficult, and often featured rock-hewn stairs.

Next post: on the way to Cloud's Rest!