The Planned Recession

Financial experts are predicting a recession in 2013 based upon decisions which have already been made. In a sense, it's a recession which has been pre-scheduled.

This analysis is based on the following events:

1 - Tax rates go up when the so-called Bush tax rates expire in 2013.

2 - Tax rates go up higher as allowable deductions are trimmed back.

3 - Tax rates go up even higher as the government health care plan kicks in.

4 - Increasing business regulations and an anti-business press continue to stifle job creation and growth in the US.

5 - And if all this happens in the face of an unresolved debt crisis, it could knock the US down a few pegs in the world economy.

In other words, we're going to be hurting in a big way soon because of our flirtation with a planned economy. It reminds one of the plot in Orwell's Animal Farm, doesn't it?

If these signposts materialize as assumed, one should adjust their personal portfolios appropriately.

Let's Play Some Football!

On the way to work, I pass Rams Park. Monday morning, the place showed definite signs of life. The parking lot was full, the port-a-potties were strategically placed to support fans observing training camp drills, and you could almost hear a hum emanating from the brain trust cloistered within the building's confines.


Apparently, the owners and players have decided how to split their take of the fans' money, and are ready to play.

Go, Rams! I'll be watching you on free TV.

Just so you know

In case you've been singing, "The gay paradise, they put up a parking lot" that is incorrect. Apparently this place was not a "gay" paradise, nor was it a place that people went to to have fun. One of us stands corrected!

Test Hike

Rising at six on a Saturday seems unnecessary - unless you want to make sure your post-crash hiking legs are ready for a trip to the Rockies and if you sleep much later it'll be 100 degrees outside. So up and out I went ...

The start was inviting ...

... but it soon heated up, and my shirt was soon soaking from the light effort of putting one foot in front of the other.

The creeks invited one to jump in ...

In the end, the ol' legs checked out just fine and will soon be laboring up the side of a steep - but cool - mountainside. But, today, I think I'll go home for a nap!

Happy Birthday Mary

Today was Mary's 3rd birthday! She and I practiced posing in the mirror for her official 3rd birthday picture. Here are the poses we came up with. More pictures to come next week of the actual party.

California Dog

When the sun comes out, and the patio stones warm up, this former beach dog from Southern California knows what to do.

Bread Making 101

Cousin Sue asked last month if I wanted to take a bread making class. Sure, why not? It's especially nice when they have everything laid out and premeasured for you.







We came home with a delicious loaf of buttermilk white bread and a loaf of whole wheat honey nut bread. Yum! Yum!

Biking Paradise

Some bicyclists like tackling the hills. I prefer the flats. The topography of Saint Charles County affords one a bit of both.

The large expanse of flat land between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers is a flat-landers paradise:

I recently rode a 30 mile circuit without back-tracking on myself and there was nary a variation in elevation readings on my GPS. With a tailwind, one can move quickly on these lightly traveled backroads.

The riding is best on clear days with low humidity and wind. On those days, you're pretty happy you pulled away from the easy chair and hit the open roads which seem to stretch to the horizon.

We've Been Here Before

Certain members of Congress are fixated on symbolic actions rather than addressing the problem. The latest misdirection has been "stopping tax breaks for corporate jet owners". Changing this writeoff, first inroduced by the same people complaining about it now, would address 1/5000th of the budget gap.

Go ahead and cut the corporate jet tax break. Quit talking about it. Throw in all the other businesses the government should stop funding - radio stations, TV stations, abortion clinics, unproductive farm land, etc. In the end, however, there will still be a gap to be addressed.

But we've solved this problem before ...

In 1982, a corporate and personal tax cut created 15 million new jobs! We've spent over a trillion dollars, and have made zero progress toward a fairly modest objective of 3 million new jobs. In a global economy, jobs will grow where business conditions are best.

Think of the additional revenue 15 million new wage earners would pay into government coffers. It is possible to cut taxes and raise revenues. Yes, if the cuts are designed to improve business conditions and not redistribute wealth. We've done it before.

The Biz

A long weekend in LA provided an opportunity to check-in on baby Olivia and the movie-making activities of the up and coming Rennier brothers.

Olivia was cute and healthy as expected with Chris and Sunny doing a great job ...

... but the staggering number of tasks required to shoot a feature film surprised me.

There was casting, auditions, offers and negotiations, contracts, location-hunting, more negotiations, more contracts, artwork, props, crew formation, permits, readings, script changes, adjustments, endless calls, payroll services, catering services, budgets, meetings. endless calls, and financing for it all.

It looks like they have everything on track to meet their shooting schedule, including an impressive cast and crew. In "the biz", nothing is guaranteed, but their project - entitled "Lionhead" - looks very promising.

Album Rituals

With today's online access to music via iTunes, certain rites of the past are fading quickly. In my high school days, the acquisition of new music was a near-religious ritual. I'm talking, of course, of the purchase of a bonafide wrapped-in-the-plastic freshly-stamped vinyl album. The golden age.

Albums generally were a themed creation as opposed to a collection of songs, with each side having a personality of its' own. In addition to the music, the artwork and contents of an album were of tremendous interest.

The "ritual" of acquiring a new album usually followed this general pattern:


1 - Flip through the stacks in the store to find the object of your hunt.

2 - Read every word on the outsie of the cover to affirm your willingness to buy.

3 - Pay (with cash) and be careful to avoid direct sunlight while driving directly home.


4 - Flip on the receiver and turntable, and find your very large Koss headphones.

5 - Carefully remove the plastic covering as if you're going to save it forever. Then discard it.

6 - Remove the album sleeve with the album still in it.


7 - With minimal touching (and only on the edge and center) remove and inspect the record.

8 - Gently lower it onto the turntable, and with the hands of a brain surgeon, lower the needle onto the space just before Side One, Track One.

9 - Play the recording loudly via headphones, and as it plays, inspect every detail of the cover and inside material.

10 - After listening to every track, silently prepare your review of the album, return it to its' jacket and cover, and file appropriately. Later, you'll copy the album, or maybe just certain tracks, to 8-track media for listening in your car.

iTunes is cool, but to me, the ritual of the album is hard to beat.

Dogwood Canyon Animals - Part 2

For some reason these pictures didn't show up on the previous animal posting. Hopefully this time blogger will work! As you can tell there were also buffalo at Dogwood Canyon. They had a couple of babies with them.




This steer wanted to sneak back in and get some more food, but the buffalo thought he was after their babies. They will not allow any animals to get between themselves and the little ones. The last pic is for my dad and daddy-in-law.

Disney Princess Ballet Dance Class

If you read Amber's blog, you know what happened at the ballet show. They went on the floor and lined up. The music started. Catherine decided, this isn't for me. When Mary saw Catherine wasn't around, she reacted likewise.

Dogwood Canyon - the animals

Dogwood Canyon - the water

Falling Skies

Notice a trend in my posts? Falling from my bike ... falling rain attacking the homestead ... and now Falling Skies, a new sci-fi series on TNT.

The show features Stephen Spielberg as an advisor, and deals with the situation on Earth after an alien conquest. The plots are meant to balance the human interest within the human camp with the aliens themselves.

Much like "V", no one knows what the aliens, called Skitters because they dash about quickly on six legs, are up to. Currently, they are enslaving the younger set, much like video games have already done.

The show has garnered excellent reviews, runs on Sunday nights, and deserves some time to develop.

Falling Rain

Saturday before last, it rained a phenomonal five inches in about an hour. Even though it was the middle of the night, a quick check of the basement windows (which are below ground level "protected" by window wells) found them full of water. From the inside looking out, it smacked of the view one would have in an aquarium. Needless to say, the windows were leaking a small stream of water into the house.

The next day, I devised a 2-stage defense plan ...

The first step involved caulking and covering the window wells, elevating the AC unit, and raising the ground around them to keep groundwater at arm's length. It rained again shortly after, and the new approach worked well.


The second step, which will be tackled this fall when growing grass is easier, will be a slight re-grading of the side yard. Doing this will keep water several arms' lengths away.

It was another battle in the ongoing "man vs. nature" rivalry. We're currently tied, but I seem to be working a lot harder at it!

Big Cedar

Last weekend we made a trip to Branson and stayed at Big Cedar Resort. All of this happened because our lovely, wonderful, beautiful neighbor Karen invited us to stay with her at her timeshare. The following pictures are a hodge podge of a few things we did while down there.
Jena and her sisters Ali and Hannah rode go karts after eating Andys ice cream!

We saw King Kong. He loves playing amongst the electrical wires!



This was a cute little airstream that they had transformed into a snack shop. Good sandwiches. Good ice cream.


Jena burning her marshmallows to a crisp. Apparently she likes them that way.


We saw this fellow at the restaurant where we ate dinner one night.

We all had a really great time. I can't wait to go back.

July 4th

We had a wonderful 4th of July. The only way it could have been better is if all of our kids/grandkids had been with us. We started the festivities with a fun time in the back yard swinging and blowing bubbles while Grandpa bbq'd.






Then we headed down to the new lake in town to paddleboat.





After a fun time on the water, what else could you ask for except chocolate ice cream with sprinkles on top?

We came home, had baths and then Catherine begged me to stay up late to watch fireworks. She had a very good argument. Her 2 year old cousin got to watch them the night before and since she is 4 that just didn't seem right to her. So Grandpa and I relented and the 4 of us walked up to the park behind the house and watched all the neighbors set off fireworks! There were several really awesome small parachutes/balloons that drifted into the area. We've never seen these before and enjoyed chasing them to see where they would land.