RETIRED ISN'T SO BAD, JUST BORING

Most days I wake up and after figuring out what day this is, I try to figure out what I have to do that day. Most days, that is nothing. At least when I go to bed on those days, I can have the satisfaction of having fully accomplished everything that I needed to do all day.

Today something different. Ed and I took a boat out from the Carefree Boat Club and spent a few hours on Chesapeake Bay and the Lynnhaven River. It was a beautiful day, even though cool and breezy.

In the narrows of the river we were escorted by some dolphins. This was the furthest up the river I have seen them.

The winds and seas were too strong to stay out on the bay but we had a good time in the river.

We then went to lunch at one of the local waterfront restaurants. I think I can handle retirement.

I like being out of the Bunker.

BACK TO THE BUNKER

The bunker has its advantages. I got my resupply and the weather was fine for last night's baseball game and I was able to visit with my friends but today it is raining hard, blowing a full gale and cold for May. Where is global warming when you want it? The bunker has some advantages. At least it is dry and snug and no one is around to bother me.

Next week is Memorial day weekend and the weather is forecast to improve and be more seasonal.

I think I'll take another nap and rest up for the holiday.

Love to all
Jim

GREETINGS FROM THE BUNKER

After the Homeland Security Department put out the warnings on dangerous extreme right wingers, I thought it prudent to disappear from sight for a while. Spring has finally arrived and it is very hard to do the things I think of as fun, like attend the local AAA baseball games and walk on the beach, from the bunker.

So last weekend I went up to Mechanicsville to take in a Soccer game and a T-ball game and visit with the Richmond outpost. Today I need to go for supplies at the grocery store. Then tomorrow I will be going to see the Tides play ball and next week I will take a boat out on the Bay for the first time this spring if the weather stays fine.

My friends tell me that the roundups will probably not be done until after the Obama equivalent of the Reichstag fire, sometime before the next congressional election. The hyperinflation and government confiscations to destroy the middle class are already in progress.

My plans for the summer are to visit Florida for Patrick's high school graduation in early June, and then two weeks in Jamaica in July. I am also looking for some work but this is not the time to do that. Maybe I'll see if they want someone at the beach to rent out the chairs and umbrellas.

I'll write again the next time I stick my head out.

BAD PENNY

I'm back! I had to come back because I have to figure out how to pay my income tax and my credit cards were starting to get declined. So I have to spend some time at home living within my budget. I may have to actually find a job to supplement my income. The problem is that with the current tax code, the government will take at least half of every additional dollar up front.

I had a great time though. Even with the bad knees I enjoyed my little voyage and saw some new territory. It wasn't all water.

I always go off with all these ambitious plans and then don't carry them out. Some of this is laziness, but this time I really got hurt in a fall on a boat and wrecked my knees. I could barely walk. It was getting better but the cortisone shot from the Orthopedist did the trick and I feel much better. Now I just have to make sure I don't injure myself again because I still have the Arthritis in both knees.

The doctor told me that I would take a lot of strain off he knees if I lost about 50 lbs. Yeah, like that's going to happen.

More tomorrow, maybe.

SPRING TRAINING

Now that we have had our hard frost, 20 degrees F or -4 C for you others, spring is here and all the summer bugs will appear. It should be 70 F (18 C) this afternoon. Of course, we could use another hard frost in about a week to kill off a whole generation of breeders.

The big news is that by the end of this week the pitchers and catchers will report for SPRING TRAINING. The first workout for most teams will be Monday Feb. 16 and then by the end of the month Spring training will be in full action. I had hoped to be able to catch some of the exhibition games this year, but I will have to be in Tortola by the time of the first game. OH bummer! I am sure that I am getting all kinds of sympathy from anyone who may look at this post. Well, in the words of the Brooklyn Dodgers fans "Wait 'til next year".

At least I will be insulated from that craziness in Washington. Might it occur to our congressional representatives that any person who wants a a/d converter box for their TV already has one. Graig's list and e-bay are already full of them for sale by those trying to make a fast buck off another gov giveaway program. I don't want one and I won't get one. I only use my TV now to play Cd's(the sound is good enough for me) and DVDs.

As for the stimulus package, does anyone really think that the 5,000 laid off by Bill Gates at Microsoft are going out to learn how to run front end loaders and road graders? There is a lot more garbage in that thing but I have to close now. If I really get on my soap box, I could go on for hours and I have to get back to the boat show.

I was there yesterday and there are several cruisering trawlers of the type I want in the price range I am looking for. Prices on older boats are coming down fast.

But don't worry kids, I will not spend all your money on a boat, at least not this week.

I will have more to say before I leave.

Love to all.

HOME AGAIN

I'm back! Been back about 10 days and not entirely sure that I want to be back, but I did miss my family and friends, even though I haven't had a lot of time to see them. I am back out of here next week and this time I will be going to see my daughter Kathy and her family in Florida and then off to the British Virgin Islands and the Leewards on a sail ship. This time I'll be gone until about the first of April, if I don't run out of money or credit before that.

I don't take my computer with me any more because the TSA has made traveling with it too hard. Also, Internet access in that part of the world is spotty at best. I will try to check my e-mail, but no promises. I see there are instructions now on how to post when traveling, but I don't know if this old dog can learn that trick.

I love Jamaica and the people are wonderful, but it is so poor. The government is ineffective, the politicians corrupt and the police are a bunch of thugs. That is no different from home but the weather and the people are warm and friendly so I can tolerate it during a Virginia Beach winter. They even have an illegal immigration problem of people from even poorer islands and places where the government is even worse, like Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti. Some of the comments about that sounded just like the ones I hear in the US.

The weather here is seasonal and many of the restaurants are closed for the winter, or the recession, or the minimum wage increase. Take your pick.

I may have some things more to post before I leave again or I may learn to post from another computer or maybe the pig could learn to fly!

LOL, Jim

WANDERING AGAIN

A lovely Christmas. I had all six of my children together for Christmas if only for a few hours. That gets harder to do every year and every occasion.

In less than an hour the taxi will be here to go to the airport and I am on the way to Jamaica again. By dinner time the cell phone will be off and I will be out of touch except for emergencies. No phones, no newspapers, no TV, no football or basketball. I expect to be home about Jan 21.

Happy New Year everyone. Ed or James will know where to find me.

A special shout out to Patrick, who had another emergency last night. Since I didn't hear more I assume he is doing better. The adventure continues!

Love to all,

Dad

RECOVERY

Enough time has gone by since the election for me to begin to recover from the depression I sank into that I can try to get back to normal life.

I intend to devote the remainder of the time to solving the great unsolved mysteries of the universe.

The first one I intend to investigate is "WHERE DO ALL THE ONE MISSING SOCKS GO?"

When I was in the Navy and all the laundry was done in massive machines the size of a school bus, we all knew that the elusive one legged laundry man was stealing the odd socks for himself.
The seventeen year old high school dropouts who worked in the laundry were more than happy to let him take the socks if he would do most of the work and stay out of sight most of the time. That left them more time to remove at least one button from each officer's and chief's dress shirts each laundry day.

When I was retired from the Navy and my wife usually did the laundry I found out that she was merciless in discarding any worn sock without necessarily looking for its mate. Mystery solved!

Now I live alone and do all my own laundry and since I have a small machine, I do laundry almost every day. I still lose just one sock in a pair every so often. Who can figure? Is the peg leg laundry man still around? Is the ghost of my late wife still working to see that I replace my socks, and other clothing, before they are reduced to rags? Any ideas will be helpful.

I do not intend to spend a lot of time on each question. From time to time I will move on to other topics like, the significance of human existence or the nature of God or the uniqueness of the social bond in the former USA as it decays into the Socialist Peoples Republic of the Beltway.

On a more practical note, it is almost Christmas and as usual I have done almost nothing to prepare.

I am going to visit Peggy at the Richmond outpost for Christmas and then on Saturday I am going back to Jamaica for a few weeks. I don't travel with my computer so I don't know how regularly I will post, but I have learned to check and answer e-mail from the hotel computers.

I will probably have something to post in the next few days.

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY ANY _______ WOULD VOTE FOR OBAMA

Fill in the blank: Catholic, Jew, small business owner, military person, non-union worker .....

Since 2000, the democrat party has had one policy. George Bush is evil. The United States is the great Satan. Republicans are the demons of Revelation. The democrat party must destroy the capitalist system(evil Wall Street), free speech is a mistake, anyone with "too much" must give it to the government for redistribution.

Obama does not understand the Constitution. It was set up to limit government. Obama thinks that it should be modified by the courts to make it possible for the government to do everything "for the people", which is which ever group is in favor with the current administration.

Obama is a Marxist. He has already said that he will take from the ones who have too much and give it to those who need it. He is for government control of all education. He has suggested a Federal Security Force "at least as powerful as the Armed Forces". Like the Stasi?

Obama does not believe in the uniqueness of the United States and in the inherent goodness of its people. Even if he does very little to implement his more radical ideas, he only needs to do nothing to see the destruction of Israel, moderate and tolerant Islam and democracy in Latin America.

This would be the end of the republic as we have known it. Some of my friends and relatives think that is a good thing. I do not.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S UP WITH THE MARKETS

Here we go again! I still don't understand exactly how this blog thing works.

I don't understand the wild swings in the stock markets. I know a lot about the markets and I probably spend too much time following them, but I am clueless as to what is going on now. The extreme volatility is not warranted by the economic conditions. Now that almost all my wealth is in equities, I am very interested. I no longer own any real estate and the cars I own are barely above junkers, but I still have a considerable amount of gold and silver and I know where to get more at below current market prices.

I do know that when prices and values go up, they go up too high and when they go down they go too far as well. I knew that 14000 on the Dow was too high and was a bit of a bubble but 8000 on the down side is way undervalued. What I don't know is where these wild swings are coming from. Up to 10% of the total value of all the markets around the world in one day.

The amount of money involved is enormous. It has to be in the trillions of dollars. It is far more than any government can come up with. I don't seem to follow the flow of money. My financial advisers tell me that small and medium investors like me are standing pat. I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories, but it is suspicious that this is happening just at the time to influence the election. Where is the selling pressure coming from?

Also there is the short term trend that commodities (oil, Gas, gold, industrial metal, grain) usually move opposite to the financial markets. Not so this time. Precious metals are down 30% from their highs and oil almost 60%. Go figure.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS UP WITH THE MARKET

AUTUMN CONTINUES

And maybe I'll tell you what I really think next time I see you. It wouldn't go in a family site.

My apologies to my land lord. He had a crew in last weekend and put a whole new roof on. I suspect he knew he needed a new roof for some time, but was waiting for a complaint.

I spent the whole of the last two days arranging my winter vacation. I hope that it will be as much fun as it is work to set up. I have discovered that I know more about how to get around the Islands than most of the local travel agents. I can also get significantly lower prices when I deal with the resorts directly. Who would have thought. There is a bundler, usually in Florida, who handles a large number of resorts and then the local agent and they all have to be paid.

But all these places have web sites and 800 numbers and you can deal with them directly.

The middle men provide a useful service, but are usually not ready for the man travelling alone. There are agencies who specialize in travel for single men, but I haven't found one yet for men like me.

AUTUMN, THE END TIME

As the Sun sets this evening earlier every day, I can't help feeling it as a metaphor of the USA. If the Marxist wins this year with a super majority in congress it will be the end of the Republic as we know it.

Some of my children think the replacement of American capitalism with Marxist style socialism is a good think. Well, whatever you think of the Bushes, you will miss them when they are gone.
Not only is Obama a Marxist, but he is a machine politician and crook of the worst sort. Chicago politics is as bad as Tammany Hall or Boston's Irish Mafia. Unfortunately for the nation, Obama will be in a position to halt all investigations and prosecutions before he is indicted for corruption.

I am sorry for the nation and for the mess my descendants will have to endure. I can only be proud and grateful that I had the good luck to live in the United States and serve it during the period of its greatness.

I can only hope that the American people will realize what is going on before it goes too far and reverse course. I am not hopeful because I fear that Obama and Acorn will distort the franchise to prevent any opposition or reversal of the democrats suicidal national policy.

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy myself and spend my money before the new government can take it away.

TECHNOLOGY TRAP

Up until about 1850 a man and his family, a few friends and livestock, tools and a lot of hard work, could set off to the wilderness of Kentucky or Kansas, set up and make do.

I don't have a clue about how to fix most of the things I use everyday, let alone how to build them. I used to know how to do computer programming. Now all I can do is fill in the blanks on applications like Excel. I did have a car I could fix myself (the 65 Mustang) until last year. Now I can't even get my hand into the engine compartment.

Last week I got a greeting card in the e-mail last week and when I opened it I suddenly found myself off the internet with many of my programs corrupted. After many phone calls, I spent three hours on the phone with a very nice gentleman in Madras, India. After a long session, and $250 later, my computer had gotten rid of several very nasty spyware and trojans and I was back online. My accounts all needed to be reestablished but I'm working on it.

Last week I bought a used car because I wanted something a little fancier than my jalopy of the van. Just three days after I brought home I got engine warning lights. I took it back to the dealership and was told it would cost $650 to fix. I maintained my cool and they finally fixed it at no cost to me. I didn't even have to threaten them.

My point is that we are in a situation where all these machines have become essential to our lives. Then consider that they mostly run on electricity from a nuclear power plant a hundred miles away or on oil that comes here on ships from Arabia. Our politicians are more concerned with free school lunches than establishing real self sufficiency. Nuclear power is wrong. Oil companies are evil. No new production. We can't go after new coal production.

Maybe that is why West Virginia is still a wilderness.

PLANNING

The Landlord was quick to promise someone would come by to check the roof. I haven't seen anyone but the roof doesn't leak on a sunny day. Sometimes I think that Chic's Beach operates on Jamaica time.

I don't feel nearly as rich now as I did last week, but it's only money and at my age, you shouldn't put off gratification.

My plans for the Fall and Winter are beginning to come together, although I may have waited too long to make some of my plans, I will find something to fill in the time. I have been told that some of the places and dates I wanted are booked full, particularly at the single rates.

October 11 is the Dean Applebutter festival in Mechanicsville and sometime I will have to fit in a visit to a movie theatre to see "Express", the movie I have heard so much about.

November 15 is the Notre Dame game in Baltimore.

November 27 is Thanksgiving. I have been invited to Peggy's and I intend to be there.

December 6 is the Army game in Philadelphia and our 13th Company mini reunion.

December 25 is Christmas, which is probably at Peggy's again this year although I haven't talked about that yet.

December 27 back to Jamaica to Negril, until Jan. 6. I wanted to stay longer but the resort is sold out. I will look into going to someplace in Ocho Rios, Montego Bay or Runaway Bay. There is not much to see in Negril outside the resorts, which are pretty much the same.

About mid-January I am looking at spending a few days in either Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic.

Then it is off to St. Maarten in the Leewards to embark on the S/V Caledonia, a Canadian barkentine, that is based in Newfoundland but spends the Winter in the islands.

That should leave me in Grenada about Feb. 7. When I get the paper work for the cruise, confirming the debark schedule, then I will look for a place in the down islands to hang for about a week. Grenada, Barbados or Trinidad come to mind. I know that I can get a flight from Barbados to Kingston for the next part of my adventure but I will not be filling in details like that until I get the paperwork for the parts of the trip I already paid for.

Then it is back to Negril about Feb. 18 until early in March. Then I think I'll come home for a few weeks.

My sailing club is looking at early April for the Virgin Islands cruise, but nothing firm yet.

When the plans are set, I will write up a complete schedule for anyone interested.

FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

Who said anything about getting rid of the van? I have been offered a trade in on the van, but I don't think I want to do that. I am still waiting for the credit union to come through with the check.

Of more immediate interest is the weather. We have had a steady Northeast wind for about six days up to 60 knots. The closest beach is gone, but it will come back later. It always has as the weather changes later in the season.

At the height of the storm my roof started to leak. I didn't realize it until I went to the closet to get dressed to go to work. I had to run the dryer to get dry clothes to wear to work. I spent the morning checking to make sure the closet dried out and the clothes won't get mildewed. I have not been able to contact the land lord this morning, and no one can predict when he might get around to repairing the roof.

PLUS CA CHANGE, TOUT LE MEME CHOSE

I found a car I intend to buy. It is a late model Saturn SL1 just like the one I gave Ed last year but much more recent. It doesn't cost much and it is from the used car division of the Saturn dealership so I think it can't be a lemon.

It has what I want. That is a working A/C unit, cruise control, four doors and a usable, if small trunk. It is also looks like a new car after the dealership cleaned it up. The big thing is that I won't be ashamed to drive and even ask someone to ride in with me.

I'm waiting for the approval from the credit union and I may have the car by this weekend.

A WILD RIDE

Two of my children, and some of my friends, have called to ask me if I am worried about my money. Well, yes and no. The current "crisis" is much exaggerated and politicized. The government must act to maintain liquidity in the market place, a reasonably stable currency and the underlying faith in the capitalist system. The failure to inject sufficient liquidity into the markets in 1929 by the Federal Reserve was one of the things that made the great depression so bad.

On the other hand, the resultant volatility has stopped me from making certain adjustments to my holdings that I had planned for this time of year. And October is traditionally the worst month of the year for the markets. What bothers me about the proposed "bailout" is that there is nothing in it to end the addition of new bad credit to the mix. The president or the secretary should immediately cut of the guarantee of any loan where the borrower does not reside in the property, end new sub prime guarantees and political contributions from any company involved in the "rescue" or their officers. Now I hear that the politicians are taking about adding relief for auto loans and credit card bills. There is more but I don't have time or space to go into it. My point is all the bad things that are included in the current package. It provides relief for many of the people who caused this problem and don't deserve relief.

As for the long term, the Federal government should make money on this package. The loan to AIG is at Prime plus 11 1/2 %. If you can't make money on that, you don't deserve a government job. When Clair went off to college I had to sell stock on the day the Dow was 750 to pay Georgetown. Those who complain because the stock market is down from its high of last year have no sympathy from me. I am still richer right now than I ever thought I would be.

In the long run I think everything will eventually work out AS LONG AS THE GOVERNMENT BACKS OFF AND LETS THE MARKET WORK ITSELF OUT.

While McCain is clueless when it come to macroeconomics he can spot a crook when he sees one. He has been a sponsor of several attempts to reform the system so that this debacle would not happened. These were blocked in the Senate by the very people who are now blaming the republicans for the results. McCain predicted what would happen on the floor of the Senate in 2005. The reform bill never came to a floor vote because of a straight party line vote on a "procedural" issue.

Obama, on the other hand, has a very good understanding of economics according to Marx and Engels and would impose those on the nation.

I fear for the country.

SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN

Sunday mornings walking on the beach. I always think of Johnny Cash, a great local favorite. Many of my neighbors can relate to Folsom Prison Blues since they have had many similar experiences. During Monday evening football, most of the non game talk will be about who spent the weekend in the local lockup, but I love the neighborhood.

I've already been to brunch and for a walk on the beach. Not much beach since it's high tide and the wind is from the Northeast right in the mouth of the bay. I think I'll take a nap and watch part of the Redskins and Giants games next door. And then there is the Neptune Festival Airshow (Blue Angels performing) and I might look in on the model train show at the Convention Center.

Thius retired life is sort of difficult but someone has to do it. More tomorrow.

FALL HAS ARRIVED

I said recently that the weather would break about the middle of September and the Fall weather arrived exactly on time. As I was sitting on the beach yesterday, the cloudless warm day began to deteriorate and by the time I left the beach there was a cool wind and overcast and then showers by dinner time. Today there is a steady cold rain and a high temperature in the 70s F. We will have more nice weather later in the Fall, but it looks like this week is out for any outdoor activity. I have to start going to the City Rec Center.

Sooo, it's time to start thinking about my Fall and Winter travels. I guess in October I will be going to Richmond to visit the Deans and Peggy and Sue and their group. Then in November there is the Notre Dame/Navy game in Baltimore and of course Thanksgiving, and in December there is the Army game in Philly and Christmas.

Then after Christmas, I plan to go to Jamaica and then sailing in the Virgin Islands. I have also found a Canadian company that operates cruises similar to the ones the late and lamented Windjammer Barefoot group did. So I may be able to stay down in the Islands for a lot longer this weekend.