Storms

Summer heat storms... getting worse?

Efficiency

The ultimate in efficiency... 

Something to think...

U.S. prisons... It cost the tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep each conflicted criminal in prison for life. Several hundred million dollars each year for all the prisoners that committed crimes so  heinous that they are incarcerated for life no chance of parole... never to be released back into society. Simply a drain on the the public ... forever. ( thanks to bleeding hearts that don't believe in the death penality). 

Cost being the issue...

Electrocution... Preparation costs and cruel (painful?)

Injection... again costly. (painful?)

Old time remedies...

Firing squad - bullets a minor cost (painful?)

Hanging - only cost, rope, but can be used repeatedly (painful?) 
But then again, why do criminals that inflicted so much pain on their victims deserve considerations for painful execution.  

And the ultimate in efficiency... the French guillotine.

Can be used over and over again... virtually painless. 

FAST, EFFICIENT,  COST EFFECTIVE.

Now we know this would never happen. 
I guess its all about what is socially acceptable. 

200,000 criminals x $106,000 = 21,200,000,000 per year.

That 21 billion dollars per year.

Average time of imprisonment... 30 years.

That totals $630,000,000,000

( $630 billion )

Backroads

On a dark country backroad... 

Cool wind in my hair...

I thought that road would never end. 
That bridge, basically a slab of concrete

With no edges or railings.

Attitude

Attitude makes all the difference in the world. 

Of course it helps to

NOT be offended by everything.

It's a source of self imposed torture.

They do it to themselves. 
So you can't feel sorry for them. 

Deciding factor

The deciding factor...

Just in case you forgot, 

Or never knew... So now you do. 

It's time...

It's time... Actually it's past time...

Forecast

The Forecast Today...

And for the future?...

Healthy

A healthier life...

The key... Exercise and diet.

YUCK...

Turkey bacon = dog treats.

What next?

So... What next? 
Croc flashlights/headlights?

There's no denying it... I'm a flashlight Kinda guy. 
But this... No way. 

Teaching?

So... What in the world are kids being taught?

Kinda males you wonder...Grandkids...

My teenage Grand daughter asked my if I ever got the chance to meet Abraham Lincoln.  Really? I'm old,  but not that old. 

And there's lots of things, especially related to history that they simply have no clue about.  I asked the what they knew about pearl harbor.  One said that is where the oyster are. What?  You know,  the oysters where they get the pearls from. Color me shocked... but at least they knew where pearls came from... Go figure. 

I asked the other one who bombed pearl harbor.  Got several answers, or should I say guesses. The americans? The Germans? Guess again... the British? 

And there is no concept of time. I was asked about horses and wagons. What about them? They asked if I traveled around in a covered wagon by horses. And no... They weren't joking around. 

And old things from the recent past ... from the civil war?

Yep.... What are they learning today? 

Hot

Nature is turning up the heat.

Serious health alert.

We are usually a bit cooler

this close took the mountains. 
But not this time. 

Good morning

Lunch

Date day.... lunch & movie.

Lunch at Chedders. Tried the Monte Cristo sandwich. Wow, something diffent. Smoked ham, smoked turkey, cheese, in a deep fried wrap, sprinkled with powdered sugar and accompanied by a raspberry jam sauce.

Exceptionally good. But I'll probably never ever get it again. The wrap is like funnel cake that's deep fried very good but also very unhealthy. 1475 calories.  God only knows how many carbs and sugars. And I think the funnel cake just kind of blew up in my stomach, now overly filled.

But it was great to try just once. Plus another 200 calories for the croissants that are to die for. Plus the two tablespoons of ketchup for my French fries. But on a positive note I did have a Coke Zero to avoid some sugar clearly a useless endeavor.

Order

Order # 8-6-7...

Such is life...

It is what it is

It is what it is...Disney food.

I've written about food at Disney before.
Things you expect: or maybe youbknowv this already

Food will be over priced, moderately to the extreme. 
Given realistic expectations,  the food should be at least average in quality and quantity. Average 6/10 is the normal. 
If you are somewhat disappointed in the food quality you will definitely be disappointed when considering the price. 
Most items are prepared in advance, so it is merely warm and clearly not freshly prepared. 
Premium table service is hit and miss on quality but always extremely over priced. 
Occasionally the quality is terrible. Edible but extremely disappointing.

Table service is mostly lacking in good service, sometimes surprised, average at best, and sometimes terrible.

Food quality is hit and miss from place to place. Some are better than others,  some are disappointing all the time, and some that were once good are now terrible.  

Probably just what you expected.  
Set your standards and expectations lower.
Eases the disappointment.

I thought that perhaps my perspectives might be out dated.

Clearly ... Some things never change. 
Here's some recent comments from a Fb site.

You would think that Disney could and would do

a better job with the food,  especially given the price.

And the negative comments went on and on. 

On the bright side... You just might be fortunate

and most of your food experiences won't be too bad.

But they still will be costly. 

 

Magic

Show me the magic...

Well... How much does it cost? 
Because all magic comes with a price. 

The longer you live,  the more sensitive you are to prices. I mean, I remember gas costing 19.9¢ per gallon. And bread costing 25¢ for regular white bread. So being sensitive it higher prices is an under statement. Of course they younger you are you are less price sensitive. Then... Teenagers have no conception and somehow think $50 can buy the world. 

But I digress, back to price sensitivity from my perspective.

Everyday Prices are what they are... Then there's Disney prices. And from my perspective... well, let's just say... They are outrageous.  Not that I have to worry about it,  because we will never be able to go there again. Even if they had a 50% off coupon day. 

But to others this might seem reasonable. 
From a Disney tips site.

Economy Price Resorts

(Moderate & Premium Resorts are much more expensive)

Our personal favorites are Wilderness Lodge,

Animal Kingdom Lodge,

and Port Orleans Riverside. 

Recent Tips...
2 Adults... 2 days... Hotel + parks.

Art of Animation Resort

 Add to these prices... Genie+ 

$15-$35 per day per guest.

Plus Food,  merchandise,  and extras.

Port Orleans

Other options

Pop Century... the cheapest resort

Speaking of food...

Every body complains that the food costs too much, 

for food less than enjoyable. 
Or exuberantly expensive for a great meal.

But that all depends on your perspective.

1 adult and a 4 year old child.

Beware

Beware... walking or hiking in the wild. 

Nada

No... Nada... No Way... Ever!

But... to each their own.

Digital

Digital Photography...

You can't truly say enough about digital photography. It burst onto the scene in the early 2000s. I remember my first digital camera... Extremely low megapixels... like 320 x 240. Not a very good resolution.  Then the step up to 680 x 420... still, not terribly good, and certainly not a good as film cameras. 

Then the giant leap forward to 20+ megapixel digital cameras. 3200 x 2600 photos. And the cameras became so refinded with numerous photo settings that it turned the most amateur photo taker into photographer, yeilding professional results. Add to this editing programs and apps to enhance those digital photos and you could make almost every photo professional quality. 

Pushing the contrast and color a bit,  straightening and cropping photos, adjusting exposure, and taking out anything in the photo that you didn't want in the picture. 

The amateur photographer is not quite the trained professional... but getting closer every day. Refining perspective and composition completes the project.

Added bonus... Once you by the camera,  and the programs or apps, and rechargeable batteries... Everything you do doesn't cost you anything... except for printing. Snap away... take hundreds of shots... It doesn't cost you anything. And you don't need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars in photo equipment. I use a little 20 megapixel pocket camera... And I really don't miss carrying around my old SLR digital camera, the extra lenses, and battery packs. 

So... Snap away and have fun. 

O's

What an exciting season... Baltimore Orioles

How  'bout them O's!

July 1st... 6 -1/2 games behind the 1st place Rays...

Three weeks later we are 2 games ahead in 1st place.

Just won 3 out of 4 games from the Tampa Rays.

Days end

Days End...

FYI

Life in the 60s

Life in the 50s & 60s

How did we ever survive it when you consider todays conveniences and the tidays mind set of how things should be.

Clearly is a mystery to todays generations how we endured or survived the hardships. 

We use to walk to school.... to and from... 1 - 1/2 miles everyday...

In the best, the cold, the rain, and the show. Todays kids want to be driven 30 yards down the driveway to catch the bus to school. 
OMG.... Are you kidding me? 

Here's some of the things that we had as part of everyday life. 
How did we endure... How did we survive?  It's a mystery.

We were tough enough to not even think about it.