Sunday, December 6, 2009

Emotional Affairs???

I read this article on MSN, and wanted to comment.

Emotional Affairs 101

I think this lady is full of hot air. For a Psychiatrist, she did not give allot of facts or medically grounded advice. The article is completely opinionated. The writer assumes that all relationships can be perfect and harmonious. She is delusional. She believes emotional affairs are friendships that involve more than being friends, but no sex. I have news for this lady, that all depends on your definition of sex. For instance, Bill Clinton's definition of sex, we all know what that is.

It all boils down to what a marriage can handle, and what rules both partners are willing to agree on. The writer is very assuming that the slightest transgression, by her definition, is grounds for divorce and oh such an ugly betrayal of trust. It all depends where you draw the line between right and wrong.

Lighten up missy. If relationships are that fragile, then why are these people married to start with? The fact is, some people need these "emotional affairs" to keep it all together, or else they might REALLY cheat. These emotional affairs give them something they can't and won't ever get at home. No psycho-babble of marital counseling is going to get it there.

I can speak from experience, which is something the writer did not. Having gone down that road and dealt with the consequences, I can proudly say that my wife and I will celebrate 25 years of marriage next month. Was it easy? No, How many times did it almost come apart at the seams? More times than I can remember. But it has survived because neither of us is naive enough to think nothing could ever happen. Love, forgiveness, and sense of humor go a long way to keeping a marriage, or any relationship together.



Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Friday, November 27, 2009

New Tires Made from Orange Peel Oil Instead of Petroleum

naturalnews.com — (NaturalNews) Yokohama Tire, the North American subsidiary of Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd., has introduced a new tire that replaces much of its petroleum with oil derived from orange peels instead. The tire, known by the moniker Super E-spec, is made from vulcanized rubber just like other tires. While most vulcanized rubber tires use...Read article


Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Sunday, September 13, 2009

America's Health Care Ailments

Over the last few years I've grown to hate watching the news, pretty much since 9/11/2001. If it was just the run of the mill local news with the good and bad stuff, that's palatable. But even the local news is filled with the political, and the bizarre. I find news channels and local news to be ultra depressing. Where I work it's pretty much in my face all day long, and I can't turn the channel.

So I'm just a little bit tired of hearing about the economy, bad weather, the bizarre things people do, and most recently, health care reform. This has been going on since the 1992 Presidential campaign, albeit, it took a hiatus during the Bush Administration.

It's not just the news, it's a lively debate at the office too. I also caught a few minutes of a radio talk show this morning, the 4 women being interviewed about health care had very opposing views. Oh did I mention that I loathe TV talk shows, especially the shock-jocks like Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh.

So the latest super-buzz about health care is just the tip of a very large ice-berg. People want to something simple that's not going to empty their wallet. But I don't think that's possible in our society.

Problem #1. Health care is a business. The goal of every business is to make money, and more of it every day. They don't like taking loses and do not willfully allow themselves to get into libelous circumstances. If a person has an illness or injury, they are a liability, and the cost detracts from the bottom line.

Problem #2. Doctors no longer practice medicine with passion. The lawyers and the HMO's take most of the fun out of it. The landmines they have to traverse to stay in practice, let's just say this is not a time honored professional anymore. We have a similar issue in professional sports, no more love of the game.

Problem #3. While Webster has incorporated insurance to conform to modern society, insurance is really a bet that something won't happen. But if it does, there's compensation. This is STUPIDITY at it's best. Everyone, young and old needs medical attention at somepoint. So we lose that bet when we go for regular checkups and immunizations. So first we need to change our train of thought from "insurance" to "health care coverage".

Problem #4. If I'm paying for coverage, why do the provider have the right to tell me what they will cover? Think about that. Ever play the board game of Monopoly? The purpose of buying insurance was to be COVERED in case of you lost the bet. Covered, period. Not 50% covered; COVERED completely. I pay my premiums. The "insurance company" puts that in their escrow accounts, invest it, and I get health care for whatever I need. When health care became a business, that concept was quietly buried. Maybe they should give me the interest they are making on my premium money.

Then there's pre-existing conditions. I guess you're just a lost cause and the HMO's would rather you just die anyhow, then you are not their problem and they have your money in their bank account. Ahhh but hopefully you have LIFE insurance. Oh but it won't save your life, it only pays a surviving beneficiary. But don't commit suicide, or die not wearing a seatbelt, or die doing something risky. The LIFE insurance company may not pay either.

I hear people say they don't want to pay for everyone else's health care. I have news for them, we already do. Having spent my entire adult life in the military, socialized medicine is here to stay and has been around for a long time. It does work, if left alone by the HMO's who try to choke money out of it. The fact is, when you are young and healthy, it's easy to be complacent. But wait until you have to give birth, or contract a debilitating illness or get hurt really bad, and it changes your life (and your outlook).

One item in the debate is fining people who do not have coverage? Whose backward ass idea is that? If I can't afford to buy the coverage, slap me with a fine so I have something else I can't pay? Do these freaking morons understand that families are poor or dead broke as it is? We're in a major recession, many people would call it a depression. Just because it is barely noticeable in the immediate DC area, the person(s) making this suggestion need to spend some time in some the hard hit areas of the south, where whole towns have practically vanished, all small businesses have closed up, local governments have no money to "insure domestic Tranquility" and provide for the common defense. Only the upper middle class can see light at the end of the tunnel. The media needs to stop telling people the worst is over, cause it's not, not when you're poor and destitute. When you have nothing to eat, your electricity is cut off, your vehicle is repossessed, or your home is taken from you, the worst is not over, not by a long shot. That light at the end of the tunnel is an incoming train.

One final thought. Congress and the executive branch needs to pull their head out of the ass. They need to think like the poor people they were ELECTED to represent. Stop listening to the lobbyists. Get out to the nations hard hit areas and speak to real people that need health care.



Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Please Don't Send Hillary

Americans are rejoicing in the news of the American reporters Euna Lee and Laura Ling being freed from a North Korean prison. It was certainly good news, and even the most optimistic among us could not have seen it coming. As I watched the story unfold yesterday with my co-workers, we were brainstorming as to why the North Korean government would let them go after such a stink they made about making them pay for their crimes, however far fetched we knew the charges were.

What we came up with was pretty simple. Bill probably told them very politely that since he was a former President of the United States, and if they did anything to him, that the U.S. probably had enough firepower aimed at North Korean to make it uninhabitable for centuries. But more than that he put the fear of God into them. He probably told them that "if you do not cooperate with me, the U.S. will send Hillary here to negotiate. And fellows, having been married to her for many years, I strongly recommend you let these Americans go while you have a chance to get a word in."

Then we were discussing if Bill Clinton got paid to go there. Then it was revealed that two female escorts interns went with him on the trip. That was payment enough. What else can we say about that, close but no cigar?


Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Monday, August 3, 2009

Cash For Clunkers?

This Cash For Clunkers program, whose bright friggin' idea was this anyhow? They want me to give up my vehicle, my truck, for $4500. I have to go into how much debt to get a new vehicle, $20,000-$30,000? What would possess me to do that? Both of my vehicles are paid off. Yes my truck gets 13 miles per gallon. But it's paid for - NO PAYMENTS.

Ok, they can have my truck. My old Dodge four wheel drive truck. I hardly use the four wheel drive. The AC doesn't work. The paint is fading in spots. Yes they can have my truck, when they pry my cold dead fingers off it!


Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Smart Fortwo Car: I Don't See The Smart


I see these cars now and again, that is, if you can call them cars. I had a go-kart when I was 12, these Smart Cars are not much bigger. So I thought maybe I'd do some research and see what they are and what they're made of.

I was surprised at the price, $11,000-$20,000, really expecting something approaching $30k. Right now you can finance them for $99/month for the first 3 years. It has a standard (only one offered) 1.0 Liter engine that makes 70HP. It has a list of standard and optional features including anti-lock brakes, AC, power windows, power steering, heated seats, and something they call ESP (electronic stability program). But you won't be hauling too much with this car It has a maximum permissible weight of 2315lbs. The base model has a curb weight of 1808lbs. That leaves 507lbs for everything else, including passengers. The web site specs do not specify if that includes the 8.7 gallons of gas (gasoline is 8lbs per gallon = 69.6lbs). It's also unclear if the 1.3gallon reserved is in addition to that, it would make sense to add up to 10.

In any case you're not going very far on a tank of gas. The EPA estimates are 33 mpg for city, and 41 mpg on the highway. That's 287-356 miles on a tank of gas. Ok, so I thought maybe this car was a hybrid. It's not, at least not in the U.S. Here's an excerpt from their web site FAQ:

"The smart fortwo is designed to achieve 33 city/41 highway mpg according to 2009 EPA standards, which involves measuring mpg while taking into account real-life driving conditions such as start/stop city traffic, air-conditioning, heating etc. According to information obtained on fueleconomy.gov, the smart fortwo is the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid gasoline-powered vehicle in the USA today."

So, you have this Smart Car, you gas it up and get in. This car would be perfect for a single person (or married with no kids), that lives in an apartment that has limited parking available. I think I just described half of the European population, which is maybe why this vehicle is so popular there. In any case, if two adults are in the vehicle, they will be shoulder-to-shoulder, and they will be over their weight limit if they make a stop over at the grocery store.

I don't see what's so smart about it? Is it the built-in MP3 player? The rear-engine design? Can someone tell me what's so SMART about this car? Did I mention it comes with just a 2 year or 24,000 miles warranty. It is customizable, that means you'll pay extra for it. One high note, is their free road side assistance, as quoted from there brochure:
"smart 1 service provides free, speedy and straightforward breakdown assistance around the clock in the first 2 years."

There are many other SMARTER vehicles widely available that don't look like a claustrophobic death trap. The Ford focus, for example, is in the same price range (starts at $16,000), and gets 24-35 mpg. It has a tried and true list of safety features and options, and it's made by the only American car company the U.S. Government has not had to bail-out.

The Ford focus is just one of many. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, Saturn, and Mercury, to same some of them, produce vehicles that are worthy of being "smart". MSN Autos has good information on this. While I think the Smart Car looks cool, and might be cutting edge, it's also allot of smoke and mirrors. It's an OK solution for the single guy or gal.

Sources:
1. http://www.smartusa.com
2. http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2009/07/would_you_buy_a_355_mpg_smart.html
3. Picture courtesy of http://jeffnewcum.com/info/personal-life/the-smart-car-passion-cabriolet-pure-joy/


Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Friday, July 3, 2009

Judge allows DNA evidence in Accokeek (MD) street racing trial

A Prince George's County judge has ruled that state prosecutors will be allowed to use DNA tests and a defendant's statements to police as evidence in the manslaughter trials of two men accused of causing the deaths of eight people in an Accokeek, MD street racing crash the morning of Feb. 16, 2008.

Read the full story at Judge allows DNA evidence in Accokeek street racing trial


Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Loud Sex Leads to Assault Charge for Four Teens, Police Say - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

All I can say is Go Mom!!

Loud Sex Leads to Assault Charge for Four Teens, Police Say - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

Posted using ShareThis

Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

FBI: Saddam Feared Iran More Than U.S.

No one can say this is a great revelation. But after all these years, we still haven't found unconventional weapons in Iraq. Question is, can we trust the source?

Read the article at FBI: Saddam Feared Iran More Than U.S.

Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Politicians Who Voted “No” On The Clean Energy Bill


I'll admit I'm not privy to most of the details in this bill, but based on the cost (according to the article), it shoulds like a no-brainer to me.

"...the benefits of the bill could be enjoyed by ALL Americans for about ¢25 to ¢40 cents more in taxes a day. This sounds like a bargain to me! Many of us don’t mind paying $3 for a cup of coffee or $6 for a combo meal from a fast food chain."

Politicians Who Voted “No” On The Clean Energy Bill

Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

‘Spy’ mum tells of abuse

I used to worry about this when my son was in school. Now that he is an adult, I worry about what will happen when my wife and/or I can no longer care for him, and he has to go to a home.

‘Spy’ mum tells of abuse

Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews
Simple Opportunities


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Plane makes safe emergency landing at BWI - wtop.com

LINTHICUM, Md. (AP) - Airport and airlines officials say a Southwest flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Philadelphia made a safe emergency landing at BWI after smoke was reported in the aircraft. See the full article at Plane makes safe emergency landing at BWI - wtop.com

Shared via AddThis

Utilities to start shutting off customers who haven't paid up - wtop.com

WASHINGTON - When electric and gas bills spiked in our region last winter, Maryland regulators stepped in to give customers more time to pay. Now, utilities are finally beginning to shut off service to thousands. See full article at Utilities to start shutting off customers who haven't paid up - wtop.com

Shared via AddThis

Monday, June 22, 2009

FTC plans to monitor affiliate blogs

I can see some good coming from this, but far too much bad as well. Since when is it illegal to get paid to say something? Now it turns into a freedom of speech issue. or is it a "truth in advertising" they are after? If there existed a magic bullet that you could immediately seperate the crooks selling snake oil and the honest Joe with a genuine package for success. Like I said, some good, and too much bad.

In any case it will take thousands of trained computer technicians at the FTC to keep up with this, day after day. I can see tens of thousands of cases where censorship is prevalent and an honest plan to make a dollar is dissected by a judge.

FTC plans to monitor affiliate blogs

Posted using ShareThis

Monday, June 15, 2009

Grand Canyon Pictures


Last summer, my daughter went on a cross-country tour with her grandparents. They brought back some stunning pictures. Most are from the Grand Canyon, Arizona, and New Mexico. Enjoy












------------------------------------------------------------------------------





Regards
John Crawford

AutismZone
Accokeek Computers
Mamas Best Recipes
The Cartouche - Science Fiction Reviews


AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Add to Technorati Favorites

Friday, April 24, 2009

Speaking My Mind Since 1963 — The Daily Blonde

I can't remember how I found The Daily Blonde blog, maybe she's one of DIGG friends(?). I try to visit her site regularly. Once you've read some of her stuff you will agree he's sharp as a tack. I don't mean that in a condescending way. This is a sweet lady, a single mom right in my age group that has a unique and always interesting view of life and the world. She tells it like it is! I am honored she shares it with us.

Speaking My Mind Since 1963 — The Daily Blonde

Posted using ShareThis

Thursday, January 15, 2009

New in '09: You won't go in to see the doctor

In the midst of a frantic week in September filled with auditions and deadlines, New York casting agent Michael Cassara had zero down time. So one day, when he felt a sore throat coming on, Cassara had his doctor beamed into his office.

read more | digg story

Majority Rates Bush as One of America’s Worst Presidents

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Americans say Bush is one of the five worst presidents in U.S. history, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just six percent (6%) say he was one of the five best, and 34% place him somewhere in between.

read more | digg story