Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New Years Eve Tomorrow, What To Do?

So many things going on tomorrow, but what to do? L.A. is certainly filled with many events, but the drive + hotel plus all that is really not attractive right now. Staying home seems a bit better, but I've done that too much in recent years.

Well, ran into some friends in Downtown Pomona on Monday and I think I've decided on what to do. Looks like it will be an early night of Jazz at the Hip-Kitty in Claremont, to begin. It is right up the street from me (about a mile) and I can certainly have a beer while there. Following the Hip-Kitty, they are planning to attend a Rock-A-Billy/Swinging Music Night of some sort at the Fox Theatre in Downtown Pomona. In fact, here's the flyer:



I can pop in back at home after Hip-Kitty and catch a cab to Downtown Pomona. Yeah, it's only 3 miles but drinking and driving do not mix. Let's see if this plan holds up. If not, oh well, this is the best I can do. Sorry L.A., once again not this year.

Interesting Truth

Monday, December 28, 2009

California Toxic Waste Expansion


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Kettleman City! Especially from the Kings County Board of Supervisors, which has approved the expansion of the largest toxic-waste dump in the West, despite concerns about an increase in birth defects.

The town boasts about 1,500 residents, but I guess they're the farming Spanish speaking sub-class, so I guess that makes it ok. Not! Pretty sad, not only for people in the area, but for our environment as well. Get this:

"About 400 truckloads of waste are hauled to the dump each day. In 2007, the last year for which complete statistics are available, that meant more than 3 million pounds of lead compounds, nearly 2 million pounds of asbestos and more than 118,000 pounds of arsenic, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It's the state's only facility that accepts cancer-causing PCBs."

But then again, Chemical Waste is Kings County's biggest business, contributing as much as $3 million a year to the county's general fund. The sad part is the little town of Kettleman City doesn't even have sidewalks or stop signs! I'd at least do some road paving or something to keep the residents at bay.

I had to mention this because it sickens me what we're doing to our State and Environment.

Read the full report HERE.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas To All!

Merry Christmas to everyone and anyone out there. Hope you all got what you wanted this Christmas. Was out last minute shopping on Wednesday night and it wasn't as bad as I thought. Went to the Santa Anita Mall, which I must say, if you haven't been there in the past several years, you will be amazed at the size of this new and improved HUGE mall, with outdoor shopping as well! Amazingly was there for less than 2 hours in the afternoon and had time to grab a bite with the kids.

Made a late evening stop at the Montclair plaza, and was in and out even quicker and painlessly. Despite somewhat larger crowds, this is nothing compared to the good old days of the 1990's. The recession shows very clearly, at least to me, a shopaholic.

Hope the new year brings and end to the horrible mess Bush and Co. put us into since the early 2000's. Obama may not be the answer, but I say the lesser of two evils at least buys us time. Perhaps until 2012... LOL. Anyways, this wasn't meant to be a rant, just wishes from me to whoever is out there.

Here's a great video of 'Do You Hear What I Hear', sung with a sound I can deal with. Cheers!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Top 10 Reasons to Kill Senate Health Care Bill


Top 10 Reasons to Kill Senate Health Care Bill

1. Forces you to pay up to 8% of your income to private insurance corporations — whether you want to or not.

2. If you refuse to buy the insurance, you’ll have to pay penalties of up to 2% of your annual income to the IRS.

3. Many will be forced to buy poor-quality insurance they can’t afford to use, with $11,900 in annual out-of-pocket expenses over and above their annual premiums.

4. Massive restriction on a woman’s right to choose, designed to trigger a challenge to Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court.

5. Paid for by taxes on the middle class insurance plan you have right now through your employer, causing them to cut back benefits and increase co-pays.

6. Many of the taxes to pay for the bill start now, but most Americans won’t see any benefits — like an end to discrimination against those with preexisting conditions — until 2014 when the program begins.

7. Allows insurance companies to charge people who are older 300% more than others.

8. Grants monopolies to drug companies that will keep generic versions of expensive biotech drugs from ever coming to market.

9. No re-importation of prescription drugs, which would save consumers $100 billion over 10 years.

10. The cost of medical care will continue to rise, and insurance premiums for a family of four will rise an average of $1,000 a year — meaning in 10 years, your family’s insurance premium will be $10,000 more annually than it is right now.

Ream More: Pam's House Blend

Friday, December 18, 2009

Weekend Joke / Checkpoints



By the way, this weekend will be a HIGH CHECKPOINT weekend all over the San Gabriel Valley. Several cities such as Alhambra, Pasadena, Pomona, and Baldwin Park are scheduled. Also inland in Ontario. Watch your drink and be careful!

No Health, No Care, No Reform.

The American Insurance Cartel IS the death panel. Looks like HB 3590 aka Health Care Reform, will not contain the single payer system, public option and medicare buy-in. It has now been raped, cut-up and left for dead, all for what appears to be another HUGE gift to the private insurance industry. We're now at the hands of the health care industry. Oh and thanks Mr. Obama, for sitting back and doing nothing about this. You gave in to these selfish greedy Republicans and corporate sellouts, not to mention the stupid people the media is paid to show on TV constantly against this. Those same stupid people will now be worse off than ever, especially our seniors. The Health Care Industry thanks all stupid, gullible, easily-led Americans. They cannot wait to profit off each and everyone of you while you lose your jobs, home and health.

Enough, listen to Keith Olbermann here, this is what YOU NEED TO HEAR!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Wine Message


To paraphrase W.C. Fields:

"I don't drink water, because fish screw in it."


To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine... and those who don't.

As Ben Franklin said:

"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria."


In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces.In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember:
Water = Poop, Wine = Health


Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I'm doing it as a public service!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Enjoying The Wonderful Rain All Week!


Haven't blogged much but it's just so beautiful with the rain outside! You can go out into the streets and it's just gorgeous. The garden is swollen with water and it's great! I'm sitting here with my laptop and a cup of the ol'Joe staring at my yard. The wife is busy crocheting scarves for Christmas. My daughter is hopping around the house with her Nintendo DS. What a beautiful day!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Aetna Forcing 600,000+ To Lose Coverage For Profits

Boy, am I in a political mood today. And here's more crap from the corporations who continue to push for continued economic depression, while raking in profits.

Are you still one of those morons who are helping the health/insurance corporation by fighting health care for those who can't afford it? Wake up and smell reality (if you haven't already). Stop believing all the paid-for talking points and B/S they're feeding you.

It's simple, PROFIT before PEOPLE. That's what they're doing with your health and money.

"Health insurance giant Aetna is planning to force up to 650,000 clients to drop their coverage next year as it seeks to raise additional revenue to meet profit expectations."

"The pricing we put in place for 2009 turned out to not really be what we needed to achieve the results and margins that we had historically been delivering," said chairman and CEO Ron Williams.


Oh, and Aetna actually made a profit in 2009 but not at levels that it anticipated.

Read the HuffPost article here.

oh, and here's a video from MSNBC on the subject:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



And while we're at it, here's another little bonus. Do you know what an MLR is? Never heard of it? Wall Street sure knows what it is, and I think you should too: Click here for a quick article on MLR

Someone Who Gives A Damn About The Middle Class?


Thank you Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont! Looks like he will try and block the Senate from confirming Ben S. Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

"The move is unlikely to derail Mr. Bernanke’s reappointment, but it could slow the confirmation process and give the Fed’s critics additional opportunity to press their case. As a practical matter, it means Senate Democratic leaders will have to line up 60 votes in favor of Mr. Bernanke rather than a simple majority at a time when the Federal Reserve is under increasing populist attacks from lawmakers on both the right and the left."

Mr. Sanders also said in an interview:

"In this country, there is profound disgust at what happened on Wall Street. People want a new direction and people are asking, where was the Fed? How did the Fed allow this to happen, when one of their mandates is to oversee the safety and soundness of the banking system?"

You can read more at: NYtimes.com

Monday, December 7, 2009

Rain Around Town

Had to get out this morning and run some errands. Took my handy little camera with me. Got some snaps of the surrounding rain around town for you to enjoy.


The New Montclair Police Department HQ:



The Claremont Post Office:



A Random Pomona Tree-Lined Street:

Monday WalMart Funny

I'm not a big WalMart supporter, so if there is something funny about it, I enjoy seeing/reading about it. This might also apply to many retailers nowadays.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Flagstone Brew Walk

Just wanted to show off a 'green' idea that I've created, uh, let's say a while back. To be honest, I thought of it this summer while pondering to purchase some moss or something for the in between of the flagstone walkway. This is just a small walkway to the side of the house, but as you can see, it needs no irrigation, talk about drought tolerant! I just love the colors of the blooms, or caps I should say.

(click to enlarge image)


After a while though, some caps might become rusty. That's okay, these little caps can always be found in my home. Guests at my home love this, not only can they drink a nice beer, but they can also partake in helping the earth and my garden look cool!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Happy Holidays From The Woods Family


The media circus frenzy begins. Poor Tiger Woods, this one is going to hurt for a bit. When will he begin to lose endorsements? Not to worry, once our attention span on this b/s dies, they'll re-endorse him.

I hate this 'celebrity private life' fascination that America has. But that's just me. Go on, drool and get into the tabloids. At least we don't have bigger problems in this country, right?

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Recycle Trash Bandits Update

I have previously blogged about the recycling trash can bandits here in Pomona, and it sure applies to other cities as well. One of the problems was that the recycling truck would always be the last to pick up, and very late.

I'm posting this message to compliment the City of Pomona Utility Services for doing something about it. The last 4 weeks I've noticed that the recycle truck has been the 1st to pick up! Yes, they are doing it at an average time of 7:30am. What a difference it makes from picking up after 11am. In fact, I heard it this morning about 7:30am, I looked out and actually saw 2 recycle thieves at the same time! One was right behind it and the other was on the next street that 'T's. The recycle truck was moving fast picking up, much faster than usual. It seemed he was trying to beat the bandits.

Although this doesn't solve the problem fully, it definitely makes a difference!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Niagara Falls

Has it ever froze since then?