Call Me Naive

An article on the news reported that over 180 women have filed sexual assault charges against various franchises of a national massage company.

Since I have never had a massage at one of these places and have little knowledge of them, I was bewildered that women allow men to massage them.  I'm not implying that there is automatically anything nefarious, however ...

I guess there are massages and then there are "massages."  Even in a place like Massage Envy I have to assume the women are scantily clothed with the massage specialist (I hesitate to call them a therapist) touching various parts of the body - and before someone accuses me of making a sexist comment, that isn't my intention. 

I can see the difference where a male physical therapist is treating a female patient in a medical situation, but am still wary of a male massage person massaging a female.  Seems to me that is an open invitation to accusations of inappropriate touching, innocent or not. 

Call me naive, but I just don't get why men are still allowed to give massages to women in these businesses.  

Just one day more...

High Wind Warning

We had planned on taking a trip to Joshua Tree National Park tomorrow.  It is only a 2½ drive from Hope.

What we didn't plan on was a high wind warning with gusts of 40-50 mph, something that can be problematic with the pickup camper.  On our way south we had two days of driving in high wind, so we don't care to repeat that.

Being retired we have no schedule, so we'll just delay this excursion one day and avoid the high winds.  Life is good.*

Just one day more...

*In the words of our friend Croft Randle.

Net Neutrality

Back in September I commented how Verizon's so-called "unlimited plan" isn't (here).  Things could get even worse.

Net Neutrality is in jeopardy.  Not-my-president Trump’s FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, wants to destroy Obama administration policies on Net Neutrality.

Net Neutrality is the basic principle that prohibits internet service providers like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon from speeding up, slowing down or blocking any content, applications or websites we all use.

Without Net Neutrality, internet providers could carve the internet into fast and slow lanes. An ISP could slow down its competitors’ content or block political opinions it disagreed with. ISPs could charge extra fees to the few content companies that could afford to pay for preferential treatment — relegating everyone else to a slower tier of service. If you are a big corporation with the bucks, you would be given preferential treatment over everyone else.

Companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon would also be able to decide who is heard and who isn’t. They’d be able to block websites or content they don’t like or applications that compete with their own offerings. (source FreePress)

The "wreck everything Obama did" moron* Trump juggernaut continues.  And, once again, the little guy gets screwed.

Just one day more...

*attributed to Rex Tillerson

By the way... Happy Thanksgiving.

The Fish Rots From The Head Down

Ever since the Roy Moore accusations there has been blood in the water and the sharks are swooping in.  

I’ve had less than a passing interest in the number of men who are now being accused of various sexual misconduct.  However it is the news du jour, so can’t be avoided.

It seems to me that so long as this country has elected a president who has been accused by thirteen women, with corroborating witnesses*, of being touched inappropriately, the electorate has spoken and acquiesced.  (This doesn’t include the number of women athletes, beauty pageant contestants and models who claim our moron-in-chief** groped or molested them at one time or another.)

The fish rots from the head down.

Just one day more…

*  Washington Post

** attributed to Secretary of State Tillerson

If It Wasn't True

WASHINGTON — The House passed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill on Thursday that would slash tax rates on corporations and private businesses, overhaul the individual tax code and eliminate taxes on wealthy heirs.

Under the House legislation, the top corporate tax rate would be reduced from 35 percent to 20 percent and to 25 percent for certain pass-through businesses. The individual tax code would be reduced from seven brackets to four with a top rate of 39.6 percent. It would reduce and then end the estate tax.

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) also estimated Thursday that the Senate bill would raise the average tax rate for those making $10,000 to $30,000 in 2021 and on all income groups making under $75,000 in 2027.

The latest Senate tax plan would eliminate the ACA's penalty for going without insurance. If an individual wanted to take advantage of Obamacare's tax credits, they'd still be able to under the Senate bill if they qualified and there was a participating insurer in their area.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates 13 million fewer people would go with coverage by 2027, mostly because healthier individuals would decide they didn't need insurance. Premiums would also go up by 10 percent per year in response.

Because many of these uninsured would be eligible for federal subsidies to buy a private plan or for Medicaid, the government would spend $338 billion less on their health care, savings that Republicans plan to use to help finance their tax bill.

Trump has insisted, for months, that the Republican tax plan he supports won’t benefit him, however he and his heirs potentially could save more than $1 billion overall under the GOP tax proposal, with most of that amount coming from a repeal of the estate tax

Trump would save more than $20 million himself, according to the analysis of how the legislation affects his 2005 tax return, and his heirs could potentially save $1.1 billion based on his reported wealth.

Unlike other past presidents and presidential nominees, Trump has refused to release his income taxes, saying that the federal government is auditing his returns.  (NBC)

It would be funny... if it wasn't true.  😟

Just one day more...

Special Place In Hell

I saw on the news that people are being scammed by emails that tell them to update their Netflix credit card information.  When they click on the link and provide that information it isn't long before the scammers wipe out their check card accounts and charge a bunch of stuff on their credit card.

This morning I got an email, purportedly from Humana where I have Medicare supplemental prescription drug insurance, that looks suspicious.  The sender address doesn't look right with "via" in it and the 800 phone number doesn't match any I can find for Humana.  All in all it just doesn't look right, so I have no intention of clicking on the link or calling the number.

There has to be a special place in hell for these scammers.

Just one day more...

Reading Our Minds?

Since we've arrived at our winter home in Hope I've been doing some minor repairs on our fifth wheel trailer, which we leave here year around.  Our fifth wheel is six years old and, as most RV'ers know all too well, little stuff wears out.

The first problem was that our surge protector was showing a code of open ground, which wouldn't allow power to the trailer.  I tried several other pedestals in the park and even had it checked by an electrician with a meter.  For whatever reason the surge protection cannot reset.  At a little over $300 when I purchased it (today's replacement cost is $538) and only five years old, I was a little disgusted.  It is very sophisticated and not only protects against electrical surge, it protects against low voltage, high voltage, reverse polarity and more.

Turns out I made the right decision purchasing it.  It has a lifetime warranty.  All I had to do was email photos to the company to verify that it wasn't damaged and they let me know they are sending a new one.  Kudos to Progressive Industries for standing behind their product.

The second problem was that our Norcold refrigerator wasn't cooling and the first thing I knew to replace is the thermistor.  I always keep a spare.  It's an easy fix and cheap at $20.  Makes me wonder if anyone has replaced their refrigerator without trying this first.

The next morning it was near 30º in the fridge.  

The third fix was the power vent opener in the bathroom.  The manufacturer used cheap pot metal, causing it to finally break.  And here's where the story gets weird.  Below is a pic of the part.

I did an online search for the part and just this morning placed an order with etrailer, the only place I could find that had it in stock.  Coincidentally, a couple of days ago I place an order with Amazon for a couple of remote thermometers and a replacement thermistor to have on hand.  That order arrived today.

Inside the Amazon box were the two thermometers, but no thermistor.  However, in a package with the thermistor bar code and label was a vent opener.  I did NOT order this, even though it is exactly the part I needed for the bathroom vent and just ordered this morning from etrailer.  What the heck?!  I checked my order from Amazon online and, sure enough, there was no order for the vent part.

It's too late to cancel my order with etrailer and at just $17 I'll keep the vent part they are sending as a spare.  I'll still have to order a spare thermistor from Amazon and can't figure out how they sent the vent part with the thermistor label on the package.  Hmmmm...... is Amazon now reading our minds??

Just one day more...

Little Ones

We arrived at our winter home in Hope, AZ on Sunday.  It takes us a couple of days to get everything unpacked and in order.

The weather is wonderful and expected to continue.

I'm a little tired of all the crappy news lately, so decided to post pics of our grandsons.  It reminds me of how horrifically sad it is for all the families who lose their little ones to gun violence in this country.

Just one day more...

Dare We?

316 miles today and we're at another casino.  It was a tough drive today with a strong crosswind.  This time we are stealth camping at the Cliff Castle Casino in Camp Verde, AZ.

We blew our annual limit of $20 each at the Sky City Casino last night, so no slots tonight.  However, as luck would have it, tonight is prime rib night at the buffet.  Dare we?  Stay tuned for any update.

Just one day more...

Update:

Stealth camping.  See us way in the back corner?

We got lured into the casino.  We each got a $5 credit on new players cards and spent a little time blowing that.  We were a bit surprised to see people bringing their kids into the casino, until we spotted this in the casino.  Hmmmm....

We did the buffet and I'm sure two nights in a row is our limit.  Back to the diets.

Whew again!

Score!

We decided this morning to take the North route, rather than the South route through Las Cruces, Tucson and Phoenix.  We took I-40 across New Mexico and only logged 255 miles today.

Our destination was the Sky City Casino at Pueblo Acoma, west of Albuquerque.  They have a FHU RV park and we have stayed here several times in the past.  The temp is 70º and only suppose to get down to 40º tonight.

We aren't gamblers and our limit at the slots is $20 each, which always ends up in the casino's pocket.  What we do enjoy is the buffet and tonight it is seafood.  Score!

Just one day more...

EDIT:

Whew!

Should Be There By Sunday

We are on our way from the farm south for the winter.  We left on Wednesday morning, a delay of a few days because of night time forecasts in the mid 20's on our route. 

Last night we stayed in Kinsley, Kansas with night temps in the 40's.  Tonight we are at the Ute Lake State Park near Logan, New Mexico.  It hit 75º today and the forecast is for a low of 39º.  Still within the "no freeze" range.

Tomorrow we will make the decision between the north route to Hope or the south route.  

Either way, we should be at our winter home in Hope by Sunday.

Just one day more...