tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.comments2023-07-26T05:01:10.813-07:00DC's MusingsDennis C Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00914332467365539148noreply@blogger.comBlogger297125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-45930401027522166902017-05-13T05:33:24.541-07:002017-05-13T05:33:24.541-07:00Positive site, where did u come up with the inform...Positive site, where did u come up with the information on this posting?I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work. <a href="https://getnugg.com/md/california/medical-marijuana-card-long-beach" rel="nofollow">medical marijuana doctor long beach</a><br />Colingwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01783606209371015909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-39388732474923703442013-11-01T10:25:55.733-07:002013-11-01T10:25:55.733-07:00I used to be strongly opposed to term limits for C...I used to be strongly opposed to term limits for Congress.<br /><br />I now support Congressional term limits.<br /><br />Strongly.Our Libertyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01826650556814402438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-88676773962285153402012-08-08T12:16:28.348-07:002012-08-08T12:16:28.348-07:00Goldie's Special with Cheese is a must - I got...Goldie's Special with Cheese is a must - I got mine last weekend when I was there!<br /><br />Don't forget these other great burger spots...<br /><br />* Claude's<br />* Brownie's<br />* Webers (they claim to have invented it!)<br />* Ron's<br /><br />And no Tulsa visit is complete without a trip to Coney-Islander and some great BBQ (Elmer's, Billy Rays, Rib Crib, Billy Sims).<br /><br />So Hungry!<br /><br />Way to go Dennis - way to introduce the family to T-Town. You've inspired me to do the same when my kids get a little older.El Jefenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-89773387192364217842012-08-02T10:21:37.466-07:002012-08-02T10:21:37.466-07:00Finally some food detail!Finally some food detail!Sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04535796177575576440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-89914966601598663922012-07-30T08:37:16.516-07:002012-07-30T08:37:16.516-07:00Where did you eat lunch? and did you see the Bob&#...Where did you eat lunch? and did you see the Bob' sign at mile 89 on 395N about 10 miles out of Bridgeport?Sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04535796177575576440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-33548308311891180372012-07-27T22:52:21.076-07:002012-07-27T22:52:21.076-07:00Really looking forward to seeing you guys!Really looking forward to seeing you guys!MikeCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-31169742706995663002012-07-27T22:09:27.340-07:002012-07-27T22:09:27.340-07:00Good map reading! Thanks, down to 9 if we follow t...Good map reading! Thanks, down to 9 if we follow the route!Dennis C Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00914332467365539148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-59025783109296970932012-07-27T22:07:41.846-07:002012-07-27T22:07:41.846-07:00According to your map, you'll be able to cross...According to your map, you'll be able to cross Washington off your list as well.Mike Cnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-17313727291143968632011-09-14T09:31:07.008-07:002011-09-14T09:31:07.008-07:00It's an interesting thought, and might be effe...It's an interesting thought, and might be effective - but they need to get nominated first, and the most effective way to do that is to pull down other candidates. Of course, the Democrats are taking careful notes for later use.<br /><br />Nice system we've got. And you know what, it's our fault. We allow it to be the way it is.Bob Schillingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-44766128809668689922011-08-10T23:20:51.496-07:002011-08-10T23:20:51.496-07:00Perhaps we should plan a week long spiritual retre...Perhaps we should plan a week long spiritual retreat. It is one of the most magnificent places I have ever seen! Imagine a bunch of Religious Scientists at Yellowstone!Peggynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-5235374913457571202010-12-07T12:31:18.552-08:002010-12-07T12:31:18.552-08:00Hi Dennis, I enjoy your posts but you need to read...Hi Dennis, I enjoy your posts but you need to read the article a little more closely for your calculations on bags weighing 15 pounds a piece. Californians (all 37,238,114 of them) use approximately 19 Billion plastic bags(not 19 Million which would be far less than 1 per person). The 25% of the litter stream is not the total amount of trash, but refers to the street litter, much of which ends up in the storm drains and Long Beach's shores after a good rain. This is a multi faceted issue that can't be solved with any snap judgement fixes. The reusable bag concept is a start that has been utilized in Europe for a LONG time. Maybe Californians just need a little nudge to do the right thing.Diane Ewoldthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800293210152961110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-13025528540110627642010-12-07T12:25:54.326-08:002010-12-07T12:25:54.326-08:00Mr. O'Connor:
Thanks for your comment, I did ...Mr. O'Connor:<br /><br />Thanks for your comment, I did not dissect the number of bags used per person but rather used the 19 million bags used in California against the total tonnage in trash they create, which would make the bags weigh 15 pounds apiece.<br /><br />Thanks for reading the post and taking the time to commentDennis C Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00914332467365539148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-29147721159390642162010-12-07T12:12:10.694-08:002010-12-07T12:12:10.694-08:00Mr. Smith:
I believe you erred in citing the numb...Mr. Smith:<br /><br />I believe you erred in citing the number of plastic bags used in the State. There are approximately 36 million people in CA. At 19 million bags that'e about 1/2 a bag per person. Don't you mean 19 billion bags or roughly 200 per year per resident, which from the amount of grocercy shopping we do appears to be about right.<br /><br />Robert O'ConnorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-44810830977527984032010-12-07T10:47:12.380-08:002010-12-07T10:47:12.380-08:00Hey Dennis,
Nice to see you're back. Clearly...Hey Dennis,<br /><br />Nice to see you're back. Clearly the supporters of the ban didn't get their facts straight, and that's usually fatal to a proposal. <br /><br />One question I have is whether the current number of plastic bags that escape the waste disposal stream is a problem. We're using fewer bags than we were, partly because people who are concerned about the environment have chosen not to use them. So the first question is whether we need to do anything. <br /><br />If we do need a law, what should it be? We can tax the bags, I suppose. But I wonder whether we could set a target as a community and see how close we could get through voluntary action -- passing out reusable shopping bags, holding rallies, giving free publicity to stores that come up with innovative ways to replace bags, that kind of thing.<br /><br />It breaks my liberal heart to say it, but it seems like building more government just to deal with plastic bags is overkill, at least until other alternatives have been tried and found wanting.Bob Schillingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-58838975868731942932010-08-03T18:22:36.605-07:002010-08-03T18:22:36.605-07:00We all share frustration with the deficits faced b...We all share frustration with the deficits faced by state and local governments. Your baseline priorities make lots of sense. In hard times, I'd rather have cops than Mobility Coordinators. And there's little question that some pension benefits seem to have gotten out of hand. <br /><br />The problem with pension benefits is that, short of a major -- and unlikely -- renegotiation, the city can't affect its short-term costs. The primary beneficiaries of the benefits are long-term city workers, who are also well-represented in the ranks of union leadership. They're unlikely to agree to changes that will affect their own benefits. <br /><br />I don't think this is just a matter of political courage, though a little of that might be useful. None of the choices before the City Council is pleasant. All of them will lead to a reduced quality of life for some group of people. What seems a frivolous service to you or me may look essential, for example, to a wheelchair user who won't be able to get a ride after we fire the Mobility Coordinator. <br /><br />And in the long run, what we're witnessing is the slow decline of the United States into a second-class country. It's satisfying to talk of defeating arrogant unions. But we're also talking about continuing and accelerating the decline of America's middle class. Remember when ordinary industrial workers could retire comfortably on their pensions? No more. Remember when a single worker could provide a modest living for his or her family? Those days are past. At the rate we're going, we're going to meet India one day as their standard of living rises and ours declines.<br /><br />So let's all cheer for salary cuts. Let's denounce the recalcitrant unions and their inflated retirement packages. Let's beat down our labor costs. And then let's cry in our beers about the decline of the American worker, their consistent pessimism, their unwillingness to spend much, and the stagnation of our economy. We can notice that corporations earn more every year, while the people who labor for them seem to earn less.<br /><br />And when we're done, perhaps we should ask if their isn't a better way....Bob Schillingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-66048690966112989452010-07-29T10:51:11.601-07:002010-07-29T10:51:11.601-07:00@Bob: DC's Musings are truly an international ...@Bob: DC's Musings are truly an international must read! <br /><br />@Charles: My suggestion: do what you are passionate about and truly enjoy. Many people work for a paycheck and are dispassionate, or worse about their job and employment, fewer do what they enjoy and care about and get paid to do it. Obviously there needs to be some skill level attached, I am passionate about golf but could not make a living playing it--however I could find a way to work in the industry itself that did not require my handicap to be at least 10 points lower.<br /><br />If the intangibles are as great or greater than the compensation then your in the right place/field.Dennis C Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00914332467365539148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-21949162243497389952010-07-29T10:38:03.207-07:002010-07-29T10:38:03.207-07:00Dennis,
You have collected some great thoughts her...Dennis,<br />You have collected some great thoughts here, thank you. The ending about "vision" is most challenging. After more the six decades, I still do not know what I want to do, to be or not to be. As a product of the "Baby Boom" era, we had it all, everything was easy, no pressure to make decisions, little risk, etc. Now, everything is at risk and haven't a clue. Any ideas?CharlesShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17199761436961749801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-39789146430026320202010-07-29T08:31:45.378-07:002010-07-29T08:31:45.378-07:00True...sometimes it takes a little risk to have a ...True...sometimes it takes a little risk to have a little success. And the highs can be worth the inevitable lows.<br /><br />From Bangalore, India, working with a new client....Bob Schillingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-72121925245849437412010-07-20T11:23:27.333-07:002010-07-20T11:23:27.333-07:00Bob: You seem to have high tolerance for public o...Bob: You seem to have high tolerance for public officials who have little, if any, integrity. Unfortunately the mindset pervades our populace, hence our governance.<br /><br />I am not at all shocked at the straight DNC endorsements by the teacher's union, nor any union. My point is that the teachers' current consequence up and down the state is exactly what they paid for with their donations. And exactly what they will continue to get because of their donations.<br /><br />What you see, hear, as "shouting conservative rhetoric from the rooftops" I see as realism in our current republic.<br /><br />Thanks as always for your comments.Dennis C Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00914332467365539148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-59593693443151648472010-07-19T17:03:09.352-07:002010-07-19T17:03:09.352-07:00Wow...commendable passion. Unfortunately, it'...Wow...commendable passion. Unfortunately, it's not new news. The tendency of people to express cynicism about the legislature as a whole, but to support their specific member of the legislature goes back at least a hundred years, and perhaps more. It's not logical, but it's a very firm trend. <br /><br />It's not like it can't be broken. Scandal can drive an incumbent from office, which is why the press is so eager to find them. What's also true is that most of us don't think the specific identity of a senator or member of Congress or member of the Assembly makes much difference. If you think the system is corrupt, and that it is designed to corrupt anyone who gets into office, who that person is doesn't matter.<br /><br />I think you're right about the breakdown in our legislative bodies, though it's most obvious in California. I know you don't agree with what the Congress has done, but despite determined Republican opposition (at least in public), they have in fact acted, passing at least three signficant pieces of legislation in the past two years. The Congress may not have acted in the way you think best, but it has acted.<br /><br />As for Laura Richardson, well, show me the money. Who's in the race that will be a moderate, listen to both sides of an issue, and vote the interests of the District? Right now, God help me, Laura looks like the best of a very bad lot.<br /><br />Noticing the the CTA votes the straight Democratic ticket down the line is not breaking news. The Democrats have been far more amenable to their interests than Republicans. You can't consistently badmouth and try to break a union and expect them to contribute to your election. What we need to do with teachers is to try to accept the fact that they're in a very stressful occupation, and work to improve their working conditions. Just paying them more isn't the whole answer, as we can see. But threatening to fire them won't help, either. And just so you know, the teachers don't blame the Democrats for the layoffs -- the blame Republicans and their own management. <br /><br />I wonder, by the way, if Mike Villines voted his conscience, even knowing that it would be unpopular. If that is true, I'd suggest that he might make a good -- and unusual -- elected official.<br /><br />If you want independent elected officials, make them independent. Pay them handsomely, and provide an electoral process that insulates them from special interests. Send people who offer them bribes to jail, and provide the laws and resources to make sure that happens. Apply Truth in Advertising standards to political ads. Make every dollar given to a candidate for any reason starkly transparent. Make their personal finances entirely reportable. <br /><br />You can't excoriate the legislature without including the corporations, private interests, and wealthy individuals who lobby, influence and bribe them. The Congress and State Legislature don't cause our troubles -- they reflect the sorry state of our society. We live in a world where any lie, any unethical act can be justified on the basis of profit. If we don't change that, it will ruin us.<br /><br />Shouting conservative rhetoric from the rooftops will not help.Bob Schillingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-58062541367334981642010-07-12T12:27:04.487-07:002010-07-12T12:27:04.487-07:00Dennis,
Re: "Do you think Abby Sunderland...Dennis,<br /><br />Re: "Do you think Abby Sunderland's parents lamented awards being handed out in school for performance, achievement, success?"<br /><br />Unlikely. The Sunderlands home school their children. Moreover, like most home schooled children, they were probably kicking their peers' butts. <br /><br />Further, I bet that Abby's parents limited her exposure to television. I wonder if there have been studies correlating academic performance and televisions in kids' bedrooms.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00773155521753398202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-68781669363826331912010-06-30T11:21:36.268-07:002010-06-30T11:21:36.268-07:00I have to say that in most respects you're rig...I have to say that in most respects you're right on point. Having sailed offshore a couple of times, I feel that I have grounds for an opinion on this. Abby Sunderland voluntarily, and with full knowledge of the risks, set off on a solo circumnavigation. She is an experienced sailor, with the requisite skills. She should be applauded for her courage and her willingness to set high goals for herself. It's heady stuff. At sea, if she saw another ship, she would be addressed on the radio as "Captain," with all of the respect any captain commands. What a great experience for a 16-year-old.<br /><br />For those who ask, "Why would she do this?" - it's BEAUTIFUL out there, wild and free. When you're sailing, YOU'RE free, without the restrictions and taboos and prissy interference of land-based society. Now, it's an adult sport - the ocean is indifferent to your survival, and you are completely responsible for yourself. Some of us LIKE that.<br /><br />We can quibble with the decision to make the attempt at a time that would put her in the Southern Ocean in winter. But it was her choice, and she was qualified to make it. That she was rolled and dismasted tells us more about that forbidding part of the world than about Abby's judgment. As far as Abby is concerned, she had the presence of mind to take the appropriate emergency steps, and has been safely returned. <br /><br />If you watch the videos on her website, you can see her grow up before your eyes as she faces the joys and challenges of her voyage. She was repairing her engine because it had failed, and there was no one else to fix it. I imagine that this was one of many things that permanently taught her self-reliance. I expect that she has returned to her family not as a young girl, but as an young adult woman. Good for her, and quite possibly, good for all of us.<br /><br />As for throwaway kids, they're both a tragedy and a terrible threat. Their hurt and confusion are viscerally evident. They desperately want a family, or even a friend who believes in them and is willing to offer them some kind of stability. Our best answers so far have been foster homes and group homes, neither of which is terribly satisfactory. There are certainly foster parents who do their best and provide love and care to their kids - but their aren't anywhere near enough of them. Group homes try to fill the gap, but in too many cases they're more like lockups than anything else. And, sadly, the throwaway kids too often grow up to be gang members or career criminals or worse, allowing us to pay the price for our inability to care for them as children. <br /><br />But back to happier news. Good for Abby. A big raspberry for the hand-wringing social critics - most of whom have never been in so much as a rowboat, and none, I suspect, who have ever been out of sight of land - who think she shouldn't have tried for her dream.Bob Schillingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-72523794676705799732010-06-30T11:20:59.455-07:002010-06-30T11:20:59.455-07:00Hi Dennis,
Nice job on the wimpy kids article. Y...Hi Dennis,<br /><br />Nice job on the wimpy kids article. You are accurate when you say "generations" of kids. Few people our age, let alone younger generations, understand or realize that after December 7, 1941 millions of 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 year olds flocked to join the various services to go fight. Although 18 was enlistment age, most of us who follow that generation know that many kids lied about their age to join up with their parents blessing. Many of the younger ones who were denied enlistment because of age joined the merchant marine as cabin boys, messmen, etc. to be a part of the action known as World War 2. We live in a different culture now for sure. Keep up the good work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-85430537873149681462010-06-28T09:30:26.038-07:002010-06-28T09:30:26.038-07:00Wishes for peace among us all are noble and should...Wishes for peace among us all are noble and should be encouraged. Let me join in. Peace must be accompanied by justice, if it is to prevail. We will need to understand that our enemies' lives are as sacred as our own, and that the welfare of our poorest brothers and sisters is a present concern of ours. We will need the courage, dedication and daring of the finest warriors to succeed at peace. Let us hope we can find it.Bob Schillingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771892655051987797.post-88164796751407998592010-06-26T21:24:42.567-07:002010-06-26T21:24:42.567-07:00My guess is that it was easier to commit the $4 mi...My guess is that it was easier to commit the $4 million than it was to deal with the people who want to take down the breakwater. If we cut back the breakwater, we'll proportionately lose the anchorage and the protected water for small craft. <br /><br />Think of it as stimulus money. Moffat & Nichol is the premiere marine engineering consultant in the US, and they're headquartered in Long Beach. They should be the odds-on favorite to win the job, bringing something like $8 million into the local economy. Good, high-paying engineering jobs, albeit essentially temporary in nature.Bob Schillingnoreply@blogger.com