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Greetings, Quotaholics:
I
read an article in the Washington
Post that reminded me of the George Orwell novel 1984. If you remember,
Oceanian was always involved in a war. When the foe changed the history
books were changed so it would appear they had always been the enemy.
"We’re at war with Eastasia. We’ve always been at war with Eastasia"
the government would declare.
Well the United States is at war too. As far as many of our readers are
concerned we’ve always been at war. The war I refer to is, of course,
the war on drugs. According to the Post, the war has been going on for
40 years now and has cost over a trillion dollars.
I never understood the laws against drugs. I mean, if I want to smoke
I legally can. Even thought it’s been proven to damage my health. If I
want to drink, I can. Even thought more people die of alcohol related
accidents and illness than ever died of drugs. Yet I can’t legally choose
to use drugs, but other self-destructive behavior is not only legal, it’s
socially acceptable.
According to the article I mentioned, Portugal had a massive drug problem.
"An estimated 100,000 people - an astonishing 1 percent of the population
- were addicted to illegal drugs. So, like anyone with little to lose,
the Portuguese took a risky leap: They decriminalized the use of all drugs
in a groundbreaking law in 2000."
"Now, the United States… is looking for answers in tiny Portugal,
which is reaping the benefits of what once looked like a dangerous gamble.
White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske visited Portugal in September to
learn about its drug reforms, and other countries - including Norway,
Denmark, Australia and Peru - have taken interest, too."
"’The disasters that were predicted by critics didn’t happen,’ said
University of Kent professor Alex Stevens, who has studied Portugal’s
program. ‘The answer was simple: Provide treatment.’"
"Drugs in Portugal are still illegal. But here’s what Portugal did:
It changed the law so that users are sent to counseling and sometimes
treatment instead of criminal courts and prison. The switch from drugs
as a criminal issue to a public health one was aimed at preventing users
from going underground."
"Other European countries treat drugs as a public health problem,
too, but Portugal stands out as the only one that has written that approach
into law. The result: More people tried drugs, but fewer ended up addicted."
Since the law went into effect there have been some major improvements
in Portugal. Among other things, drug-related HIV infections are down
75 percent, drug-related court cases are down 60 percent, and the number
of people treated for addiction is up 20 percent.
Of course we don’t do things just for the "good" of it, we need
to know the bottom line. Unfortunately there are no firm numbers from
Portugal. "Officials have not yet worked out the cost of the program,
but they expect no increase in spending, since most of the money was diverted
from the justice system to the public health service."
So, it appears it doesn’t cost any more to take this approach, but I’m
sure all the lawyers, judges, and police officers who make a good living
off drug cases would balk at turning all that money over to public health
workers.
But our spending seems totally upside down to me. "The U.S. is spending
$74 billion this year on criminal and court proceedings for drug offenders,
compared with $3.6 billion for treatment." I always felt it made
more sense to treat people than imprison them, whether it be drug or alcohol
addiction they are dealing with.
But there may be light at the end of the tunnel. According to the article
tight budgets are creating more "drug courts" which allow the
judges more latitude in sentencing, including treatment.
"San Francisco’s drug court saves the city $14,297 per offender,
officials said. Expanding drug courts to all 1.5 million drug offenders
in the U.S. would cost more than $13 billion annually, but would return
more than $40 billion, according to a study by John Roman, a senior researcher
at the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center."
How sad it is that we will make changes to save money, but not lives.
Still with state officials looking for ways to save money, creating more
drug courts could accomplish both. Maybe, for once, U.S. officials will
be willing to accept the fact that we don’t always know best. Maybe they
will learn a lot from Portugal. Then we can rewrite the history books,
"We’re at war with poverty, we’ve always been at war with poverty!".
Addictively,
Comment
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“Nobody believes the official spokesman… but everybody trusts an unidentified
source.” - Ron Nesen
“Never underestimate a child’s ability to get into more trouble.” -
Martin Mull
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The Good Ol’ Days
[Thanks dEE]
Grandpa was always
going on about the good old days, and the lower cost of living, in particular…
“When I was a kid, my mom could send me to the store, and I’d get a
salami, two pints of milk, 6 oranges, 2 loaves o’ bread, and a magazine,
some new blue jeans… all for a dollar!!
Then Grandpa said sadly …”You can’t DO that any more…they got those
darn video cameras everywhere you look……”
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“Derive happiness in oneself from a good day’s work, from illuminating
the fog that surrounds us.”
“He who loves, flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds
him back.”
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” - All by
French painter Henri Matisse born on this day in 1869
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Speak right up!
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Deliberation (Conclusion)
How a cache is hidden is simply up to the discretion of the hider.
Many factors play in this decision. As previously mentioned, muggle
activity is one of the biggest considerations.
Entertainment value is often the deciding factor. How interesting
or challenging it will be for the potential finders plays a major role
in how and where a cache is hidden. I’ve mentioned one cache of
mine is placed on a 40 foot rock cliff. Only the most adept of
rock climbers could get to it without the aid of equipment. Then,
they would have the added difficulty, if they could find it at all,
to sign the log proving their accomplishment as they clung to the sheer
rock surface. This is one extreme example of challenging the potential
finders while avoiding potential muggles.
A hollowed out fallen tree branch can hide a small container in a forest.
As plentiful as such downed limbs are in such a setting, they are often
overlooked as a potential hiding spot, as are drilled out pine cones,
a branch stub on a still erect tree, and similar techniques.
A golf ball drilled out with a small tubular container inserted may
be passed over as unremarkable when it is near a golf course or driving
range. Even a similar technique applied to a rock with a small
container inserted can be easily overlooked in an area strewn with other
rocks.
At one location, a cacher placed a log inside what appeared to be a
lost and damaged arrow. Appearing like an unusable casualty from
a hunting expedition, it was simply out in the open, on the ground.
Unbeknownst to a cacher who felt this would be an interesting memento
of a failed cache find attempt, they took the cache home with them.
After discussing their difficulty finding the cache with other cachers
at an event, they divulged they had taken the souvenir. The other
cachers laughed and hinted that they may want to take what they found
back out to the given coordinates and leave it there after signing the
log. The accidental finder went home, opened the cache where the
feathers attach to the arrow shaft only to find the log tucked inside
nicely. They returned it.
It isn’t uncommon to find animal remains out in the woods. For
whatever cause, their bones are reminders of the circle of life.
A micro container can be hidden inside the skull of a raccoon.
A deer can become a hiding place for a small cache container.
If you can imagine it, something can be hidden in it. Therein
comes a lot of difficult hides.
Some cachers want to make their hides so difficult that there will be
few finders. They enjoy watching the "Did Not Find"
logs amass on the cache page. They won’t even offer a clue or
hint as to where it really is. That’s fine if it is rated properly.
I see a highly rated hide value and know I am going to have a challenge
ahead of me. I enjoy the challenge. Finding a pill bottle
under the skirt of a parking lot lamp post is boring. It does
add to the numbers of finds, but there is no challenge beyond that in
finding it.
I have a list of caches I’ve attempted but haven’t found. Some
were simply missing when I went to find them. Others were so well
hidden that I overlooked them. I’ll return to find them when I
get the chance. One such is called "Payback’s A B".
It’s one I mentioned above. It is a rock that a small hole was
drilled in it and an even smaller tubular vial was glued into it.
It was then placed back into the pile of rocks from which it was selected.
It’s the "needle in the haystack" technique. I have
been to that cache more times than I can count. And I’ll go back
again and again until I find it.
Here’s your quiz:
If you were to place a geocache, how & where would you hide it?
(Yes, I’m in need of some ideas! *grin*)
Would you place one that would be found by most, or by few?
Would you go back to a particularly difficult cache knowing your chances
of finding it were slim to none?
Deliberation (Conclusion) - Because Part Four Wasn’t Written
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature pic’)
Comment
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December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the
Gregorian calendar. It is the last day of the Gregorian calendar.
Holidays and observances
- New Year’s Eve
(International observances)
- Last Day of the
Year or Bisperas ng Bagong Taon, special holiday between Rizal Day
and New Year’s Day (the Philippines)
- The first day
of Hogmanay or "Auld Year’s Night" (Scotland)
- The seventh day
of Christmas (Western Christianity)
Events
on this date
- 406 – Vandals,
Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gaul.
- 1229 –
James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as
Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian reconquest of the island
of Majorca.
- 1600 –
The British East India Company is chartered.
- 1695 –
A window tax is imposed in England, causing many householders to brick
up windows to avoid the tax.
- 1759 –
Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum and
starts brewing Guinness.
- 1831 –
Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City.
- 1879 –
Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for
the first time.
- 1904 –
The first New Year’s Eve celebration is held in Times Square (then
known as Longacre Square) in New York, New York.
- 1923 –
The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on radio for the first time by
the BBC.
- 1946 –
President Harry Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities
in World War II.
- 1955 –
The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation
to make over $1 billion USD in a year.
- 1960 –
The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
- 1986 –
A fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, kills 97
and injures 140.
- 1991 –
All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this
date and the Soviet Union is officially dissolved.
- 1999 –
Boris Yeltsin, the first president of Russia, resigns as President
of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President.
Born on this date
- 695 – Muhammad
bin Qasim, Syrian general
- 1378 –
Pope Callixtus III
- 1491 –
Jacques Cartier, French explorer
- 1668 –
Herman Boerhaave, Dutch humanist and physician
- 1738 –
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general
- 1815 –
George Meade, American Civil War general
- 1869 –
Henri Matisse, French painter
- 1880 –
George C. Marshall, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Laureate
- 1908 –
Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor
- 1912 –
Maj-Gen John Frost, British para commander
- 1920 –
Rex Allen, American actor, singer, and songwriter
- 1937 –
Sir Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor
- 1943 –
John Denver, American singer and songwriter
- 1943 –
Pete Quaife, English bassist (The Kinks)
- 1959 –
Val Kilmer, American actor
- 1962 –
Heather McCartney, British activist
- 1974 –
Tony Kanaan, Brazilian racing driver
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No
word from Lucille today. Maybe she started celebrating early!
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Uses for WD-40
[Thanks Herm]
Removes splattered grease on stove.
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Hope all our readers in England thaw out soon.
Thanks for the great limericks everyone!
Next opening line…
We come to the end of the year…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
In
England they have so much snow
they start their cars but they won’t go
so it’s stay home or cab
or walk off the flab
to catch the bus on the corner you know - dEE |
In
England they have so much snow
That it is really hard to get up and go
Anywhere at all
Be it home or the mall
And besides, it’s forty below!! - Bonnie |
In England
they have so much snow
For relief there’s nowhere to go
The Chunnel: go through
But France said, "Adieu!"
Then just sent them home full of woe. - Maria in Illinois and
Tony in Richmond |
In England
they have so much snow
They wanted to get up and go
So started for France
But France said, "No chance!"
They’re still on their British ice floe… - Maria in Illinois |
In England
they have so much snow
that there’s nowhere for it to go
They pile it in banks
for which they give no thanks
instead they just say "This weather blows". - Cassandra
in New York |
The last
time I went to the bank—
I knew I had someone to thank—
I had lots of money
it was from my honey
and lots more than to fill the thank. - Cassandra in New York |
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Re: Employment
My husband has
been out of work since Sept. 2009–so we are in those stats they are
playing with. He hasn’t been able to find a job yet despite doing
the job search every week so he can qualify for unemployment. He has
a combination of limiting factors that are a real handicap at the
moment, limited job offers for survey techs and the fact that he’s
going to be 60 this year. We are trying to come up with other options
for employment.
We are also in the position of being unable to move out of the state
we live in. I get paid for taking care of his handicapped brother
(something I would do anyway) and I haven’t been able to find out
if any other state does that. We get by on this money for now, but
when his unemployment runs out it’s going to get really tight. We
even moved out of the area we were living in, Puget Sound, to further
inland where it is about half as expensive to live! (The move was
expensive, but living here isn’t!) - Ruth in WA
I have
remained 300 percent employed. I work full-time in the ISD profession.
I also have worked as an umpire during baseball season. Don’t knock
it, it can pay about 30 dollars an hour. I have also preached at some
churches and have made about 75 dollars for a 90 minute service(not
the reason I did it). I have worked as a computer consultant for 65
an hour up to 95 an hour (my own company). I write and sometimes make
some bucks from that. I currently get a Military check, Social Security,
Pension and these other perks.
I try to remain 300 percent employed because… I was laid off in
1971 in Wichta, Kansas when working at Boeing. It was so bad that
I could not find a job for six months. It took me years to recover.
I slept in my car. I vowed to myself to never get in that position
again. I became terrified of being unemployed or underemployed. When
I got employed, I worked two jobs for about 10 years.
A graduate of the school of Hard Knocks. - BJ in Guthrie/Caldwell
The economic situation
has affected my family, my friends and myself quite a bit.
One friend was a computer programmer and his duties involved him in
systems using rather old programming languages. He didn’t keep his
skills updated with the newer languages and he was let go when the
technology he was working with was retired. He has been looking for
work for quite a long time. Finally, after a requisite period, he
was able to use the unemployment benefits to get training on newer
languages. He is still enrolled and we are quite optimistic he will
be able to find work when his training is complete.
My son’s wife was transferred to another city. Her promotion was enough
to convince them to accept it and make the move. My son had to quit
his job to do so. After quite a while, he was able to get another
job, but it was a major step backward in duties and income.
My daughter’s husband lost his job as well. Where he worked suffered
a slowing of demand, thus letting some go. Luckily, his being idle
wasn’t too long as he was called back to work, albeit with less hours
as his employer worked to spread the lack of work amongst the employees,
cutting hours for everyone, rather than laying off people.
My wife works at a chain home improvement store. Luckily, her employment
hasn’t changed at all. She has even received raises all through this
economy down-turn. (**pats self on back for picking well**) She has
been the source of much of the store’s revenue, so they have rewarded
her accordingly.
I am self-employed. I am in the electronic telecommunications business.
I have had many customers go out of business, or shut down a plant
or branch office due to the economy. One such was a company that would
have my company respond to a service call at least twice a week. Each
call would be a lengthy visit chasing down anomalies somewhere among
the many buildings on the campus. They shut down. Luckily I have been
able to maintain my business income levels to be able to pay my bills,
or better. The word "profit" has all but become an endangered
species, but we are hanging in there.
Now, if we can get the news to report positive things and quit being
so "doom & gloom", maybe people would regain their optimism
and things would get better. Instead of reporting this or that excuse
is causing gas prices to rise, they could report the record profits
oil companies are raking in at our expense and call them what they
are, greedy. - Cliff - The High Tech Redneck
Re:
Car Keys
Locking
one’s keys in the car is one of the most common faux pas. Followed
closely behind that miscue by statistics is losing one’s car keys.
I have become one of each of those statistics multiple times.
Once, as I was heading out of town, I was waiting for the bus to take
me to the airport. I sat in my car reading the paper as I waited.
I glanced up and saw the bus, so I hurriedly gathered my things. I
dared not miss it or I would miss my plane as well. As I nudged the
door closed, I realized I had locked the door. I also realized my
keys were still in the ignition and the car was still running. As
this was before the days of hand-held cell phones, all I could do
was get on the bus, take the lengthy, multi-connected trip to the
airport. Once there, almost 2 hours later, I called my wife to have
her take the spare keys and shut off the car.
Due to that event, and many others less comical over the years, I
have resorted to carrying two sets of keys with me at all times. Suffice
it to say I have locked my keys in my car since then, but I have not
been left standing outside.
Another good recourse for such things, and others, a membership to
an auto club is a very handy thing. Some years it does not pay for
itself, but most years it does. And key retrieval is one of those
benefits. - Cliff - The High Tech Redneck
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be
accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect
quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.
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