I don't know about you, but finding good help around here has been a bit difficult for us. It took us the better part of a year to find someone willing to work on our wood stove chimney, and though it has worked out, my experience was a long way from what I sought.
We asked for recommendations about someone that would do the job, called the folks recommended, left messages, but never got a call back. I suppose we didn't hear back because the person recommended didn't want to get involved in our chimney replacement after driving by perhaps, wasn't hungry enough, or knew they didn't have what it took to get the job done.
My goal was to get the job done without getting involved on the roof or having to bother my neighbors for help. As long time followers of The City Slickers know, our farming neighbors have come to our assistance numerous times and we've not been able to return the favors, and frankly I don't like to ask for help... I want to cover my own butt if you know what I mean. So when I found a guy willing to do the work from a newspaper ad, I thought we had contracted someone to do the job so I could relax and get down to doing things I know how to do. To make a long story short, we had to get our neighbors involved, had to make a trip to Grand Island for parts for the job, and I had to actually complete the job... mostly because I was tired of messing around with the guy I "hired". I will say that I think the guy I hired wanted to do a good job, he just didn't have any experience on this type project, and couldn't anticipate problems.
That's not to say that there is nobody able to do quality work around here, just that they seem hard to find, and when you do find the quality guy, you probably gotta stand in line.
My example is John's Repair in Cambridge. John gets my highest 5 star rating for both work done, and price charged. If I was going to complain at all, it's that John is so popular that you may have to wait a while. John is a vehicle mechanic, and though I could have done the work on our Jeep myself, I didn't want to pull the transmission and transfer case out by myself since we don't have a garage, so we contacted John. It took a while to get Blackie into the shop, but once there, the work was completed in a timely manner, the work performed left me 100% satisfied, and price charged was well below what I expected. Two thumbs up!!
More good men...
My neighbor and his son came to our rescue AGAIN on our chimney project when I had to ask for tractor loader help to get high enough to get the chimney assembled on the roof. We needed to get higher than we could get with ladders alone. Once the chimney was assembled, it was quickly determined that the chimney supports were completely inadequate for the windy conditions we experience around here, and my resourceful neighbors came through for us still AGAIN with parts and metal support fabrication work so our chimney will withstand the winds that will try to knock it over. Thanks neighbors... Two thumbs up AGAIN!!
I'm hopeful that I can help these fine folks out this harvest with free labor! I was asked, if needed, if I'd be willing to run a grain cart for them. YEAH! PLEASE ASK! I WORK CHEAP... FREE! Anything I can do to help even my debt to them would sure make me a happy man. I just hope I can be close to as much help to them sometime as they've been to us.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
BS Spotters Guide
Have you ever looked at a spotters guide? Maybe you've never heard of one, or wonder what they really are? Spotters guides are available for lots of things. There are storm spotters guides that show pictures of cloud formations to help the observer determine level of danger for example. There are train spotters guides that show different railroad equipment, locomotives, and cars as some people are really into trains. There are Jeep spotters guides for those that want to know the subtle differences of vehicles manufactured under the greatest name in 4 wheel drive (my opinion). The same is true about aircraft, plants, and animals, though the last two mentioned are usually included in what is commonly called a "field guide".
With the intense political debates going on, I offer the following BS spotters guide. I'll preface by saying I've cherry picked terms and information in an effort to get you to investigate for yourself, and hope you will keep them in mind with any debate...
Ad hominem abusive - This tactic is frequently employed as a propaganda tool among people who are attempting to influence voters in their favor through an appeal to emotion rather than by logical means, especially when their own position is logically weaker than their opponent's.
Faulty generalization - A mode of thinking that takes knowledge from one group's or person's experiences and incorrectly extends it to another
Fundamental attribution error - Cognitive tendency to predominantly over-value dispositional, or personality-based, explanations. You can think of personality made endorsements as an example.
Genetic fallacy (not what you may be thinking) - May help illuminate the reasons why the issue has assumed its present form, but is irrelevant to its merits.
Guilt by association - Attacks a source because of the similarity between the views of someone making an argument and other proponents of the argument.
Hasty generalization - Often used by basing a broad conclusion upon the statistics of a survey of a small group that fails to sufficiently represent the whole population.
Inverse ad hominem - Praises a source in order to add support for that source's argument or claim.
Slippery slope - Argument states that a relatively small first step inevitably leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant impact, much like an object given a small push over the edge of a slope sliding all the way to the bottom.[1] The fallacious sense of "slippery slope" is often used synonymously with continuum fallacy, in that it ignores the possibility of middle ground and assumes a discrete transition from category A to category B.
tu quoque - "You too" - Claim that the source making the argument has spoken or acted in a way inconsistent with the argument. "x" did it, so it's OK for the "y" to do the same. It seems reasonable, but does that make it right?
There's a lot more out there to consider when listening to or reading information, but being aware of the tools used to influence us is a good start to getting to the real truths that are almost always buried somewhere below the surface of the rhetoric.
With the intense political debates going on, I offer the following BS spotters guide. I'll preface by saying I've cherry picked terms and information in an effort to get you to investigate for yourself, and hope you will keep them in mind with any debate...
Ad hominem abusive - This tactic is frequently employed as a propaganda tool among people who are attempting to influence voters in their favor through an appeal to emotion rather than by logical means, especially when their own position is logically weaker than their opponent's.
Faulty generalization - A mode of thinking that takes knowledge from one group's or person's experiences and incorrectly extends it to another
Fundamental attribution error - Cognitive tendency to predominantly over-value dispositional, or personality-based, explanations. You can think of personality made endorsements as an example.
Genetic fallacy (not what you may be thinking) - May help illuminate the reasons why the issue has assumed its present form, but is irrelevant to its merits.
Guilt by association - Attacks a source because of the similarity between the views of someone making an argument and other proponents of the argument.
Hasty generalization - Often used by basing a broad conclusion upon the statistics of a survey of a small group that fails to sufficiently represent the whole population.
Inverse ad hominem - Praises a source in order to add support for that source's argument or claim.
Slippery slope - Argument states that a relatively small first step inevitably leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant impact, much like an object given a small push over the edge of a slope sliding all the way to the bottom.[1] The fallacious sense of "slippery slope" is often used synonymously with continuum fallacy, in that it ignores the possibility of middle ground and assumes a discrete transition from category A to category B.
tu quoque - "You too" - Claim that the source making the argument has spoken or acted in a way inconsistent with the argument. "x" did it, so it's OK for the "y" to do the same. It seems reasonable, but does that make it right?
There's a lot more out there to consider when listening to or reading information, but being aware of the tools used to influence us is a good start to getting to the real truths that are almost always buried somewhere below the surface of the rhetoric.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Dig Baby, Dig...
"Earth worshipers" is a term I've heard in these parts to define environmentalists, and to be sure, there are some real environmental extremists out there. ELF (Earth Liberation Front) and Earth First are a couple groups that come immediately to mind when I think of environmental extremism. Damage to personal and public property by extreme environmental groups has caused millions in damages worldwide... http://www.furcommission.com/resource/Resources/Terror.pdf and of course we end up paying higher prices, insurance premiums and taxes for these extremeist incidents.
Yep, we'd be a whole lot better off without all the crazy environmentalists right? Let's remove regulations that hamper business and get back to the business of business instead of the business of dealing with government regulations right? It's all about government control right?
Hmmm... not so fast.
Today I'd like to offer a few places for you to consider when you think that government regulation is such a bad idea all the time...
Colorful Colorado is what the sign reads when you enter the state with the highest average elevation, but some of that color is highly tainted with obnoxious compounds and the like that in the past have killed millions of fish in the Arkansas River, and tainted water supplies downstream with heavy metals. And guess what, you and I are paying for the cleanup to this day. In the mountains near the town of Del Norte is a modern open pit mine called the The Summitville Mine. Major operations started in 1984, and by 1994, the company that ran the mine was bankrupt and the EPA had it listed as a Superfund cleanup site. http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/co/summitville/
Ever heard of Picher, Oklahoma? This town is just under 500 miles south east of McCook along the Kansas/Oklahoma border. As recently as 1920, Picher had a population greater than that of McCook, and today that town is unincorporated. Why? Environmental damage. And to make it just a little more interesting, you and me bought the town with our taxes. You see, mining for lead and zinc ruined the environment there, and the surrounding areas so completely that the government bought the town. Lack of environmental rules allowed it, and though the mining companies left in 1970 with their profits, we get stuck for the environmental repercussions. Read about Treece Kansas, a town next to Picher and their problems here... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/us/14kansas.html?_r=1&no_interstitial
Want something a bit closer? Here is a map of Superfund sites in Nebraska, and you can read about what is or was being done to clean up these toxic locations in our own back yards... http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/ne.htm
My point is this, while environmental rules can break a business, many a business has proven that they will take advantage of their situation to the expense of the common taxpayer by irresponsible management when unregulated, and out and out illegal activities when rules are in place. Illegal dumping right here in Nebraska has been targeted with taxpayer funded advertising to combat the problem. I doubt there is any accurate figure that incorporates the costs to taxpayers for business indiscretions related to the environment, but you can be sure it's a huge amount.
Is it fair to let business operate without environmental rules? No matter what your opinion is, you can be sure the folks of Treece Kansas have some pretty strong feelings based on real life experience, and I hope you will consider their plight when you think of business and regulations.
Yep, we'd be a whole lot better off without all the crazy environmentalists right? Let's remove regulations that hamper business and get back to the business of business instead of the business of dealing with government regulations right? It's all about government control right?
Hmmm... not so fast.
Today I'd like to offer a few places for you to consider when you think that government regulation is such a bad idea all the time...
Colorful Colorado is what the sign reads when you enter the state with the highest average elevation, but some of that color is highly tainted with obnoxious compounds and the like that in the past have killed millions of fish in the Arkansas River, and tainted water supplies downstream with heavy metals. And guess what, you and I are paying for the cleanup to this day. In the mountains near the town of Del Norte is a modern open pit mine called the The Summitville Mine. Major operations started in 1984, and by 1994, the company that ran the mine was bankrupt and the EPA had it listed as a Superfund cleanup site. http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/co/summitville/
Ever heard of Picher, Oklahoma? This town is just under 500 miles south east of McCook along the Kansas/Oklahoma border. As recently as 1920, Picher had a population greater than that of McCook, and today that town is unincorporated. Why? Environmental damage. And to make it just a little more interesting, you and me bought the town with our taxes. You see, mining for lead and zinc ruined the environment there, and the surrounding areas so completely that the government bought the town. Lack of environmental rules allowed it, and though the mining companies left in 1970 with their profits, we get stuck for the environmental repercussions. Read about Treece Kansas, a town next to Picher and their problems here... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/us/14kansas.html?_r=1&no_interstitial
Want something a bit closer? Here is a map of Superfund sites in Nebraska, and you can read about what is or was being done to clean up these toxic locations in our own back yards... http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/ne.htm
My point is this, while environmental rules can break a business, many a business has proven that they will take advantage of their situation to the expense of the common taxpayer by irresponsible management when unregulated, and out and out illegal activities when rules are in place. Illegal dumping right here in Nebraska has been targeted with taxpayer funded advertising to combat the problem. I doubt there is any accurate figure that incorporates the costs to taxpayers for business indiscretions related to the environment, but you can be sure it's a huge amount.
Is it fair to let business operate without environmental rules? No matter what your opinion is, you can be sure the folks of Treece Kansas have some pretty strong feelings based on real life experience, and I hope you will consider their plight when you think of business and regulations.
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Funny Pages
Somewhere along the line, I've kinda lost interest in the newspaper funny pages. Oh sure, there are some I cartoons that I've enjoyed, Dilbert being my favorite as his engineering issues and boss reminded me of... well me to some extent. Though I posted a link to a short Dilbert video before, I like it so much that I'm gonna do it again at the end of todays blog.
Now what brings the funny pages to mind was an article I found the other day about scientists "levitating" a mouse in a magnetic field. You can read the article here if you wish, but I'll tell you the title to save time if you're not interested... " Scientists levitate mice using magnets to simulate space travel" Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1212553/NASA-levitates-mice-using-magnets-simulate-space-travel.html#ixzz0RT6Q5fcX
What really made the article catch my attention was the title as it reminded me of a Dick Tracy panel I remember very well from WAY back. Though Dick Tracy has been "off the air" for quite a while, the cartoonist had quite an imagination when it came to crime fighting now and then, and his series about Moon Maid and space travel was pretty fanciful in it's day. Here is the original Dick Tracy cartoon panel from a Sunday long ago that explains space travel by magnetism.... http://drexfiles.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/tracy_552.jpg When you get to the cartoon panel, click on it to see it full size.
So what's my point? Well, I'm not even sure as I can't seem to decide if I want to blog about technology advancements foretold years ago, or just talk about funny stuff, so I guess I leave off with some funny stuff for this Friday...
Getting To Heaven
I was testing the children in my Sunday school class to see if they understood the concept of getting to heaven.
I asked them, 'If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?'
'NO!' the children answered.
'If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?'
Again, the answer was, 'NO!'
By now I was starting to smile. Hey, this was fun! I continued...
'Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into Heaven?'
Again, they all answered, 'NO!'
I was just bursting with pride for them. 'Well,' I continued, 'then how can I get into Heaven?'
A five-year-old boy shouted out,
'YOU GOTTA BE DEAD.'
And now... the rerun of the aforementioned Dilbert video... Have a great weekend!
Now what brings the funny pages to mind was an article I found the other day about scientists "levitating" a mouse in a magnetic field. You can read the article here if you wish, but I'll tell you the title to save time if you're not interested... " Scientists levitate mice using magnets to simulate space travel" Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1212553/NASA-levitates-mice-using-magnets-simulate-space-travel.html#ixzz0RT6Q5fcX
What really made the article catch my attention was the title as it reminded me of a Dick Tracy panel I remember very well from WAY back. Though Dick Tracy has been "off the air" for quite a while, the cartoonist had quite an imagination when it came to crime fighting now and then, and his series about Moon Maid and space travel was pretty fanciful in it's day. Here is the original Dick Tracy cartoon panel from a Sunday long ago that explains space travel by magnetism.... http://drexfiles.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/tracy_552.jpg When you get to the cartoon panel, click on it to see it full size.
So what's my point? Well, I'm not even sure as I can't seem to decide if I want to blog about technology advancements foretold years ago, or just talk about funny stuff, so I guess I leave off with some funny stuff for this Friday...
Getting To Heaven
I was testing the children in my Sunday school class to see if they understood the concept of getting to heaven.
I asked them, 'If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?'
'NO!' the children answered.
'If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?'
Again, the answer was, 'NO!'
By now I was starting to smile. Hey, this was fun! I continued...
'Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into Heaven?'
Again, they all answered, 'NO!'
I was just bursting with pride for them. 'Well,' I continued, 'then how can I get into Heaven?'
A five-year-old boy shouted out,
'YOU GOTTA BE DEAD.'
And now... the rerun of the aforementioned Dilbert video... Have a great weekend!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Takin' Sides
It's Labor Day weekend. In reality, it's little more to most folks than a three day weekend and the traditional end of summer, but the reason for the holiday should be remembered. Labor Day has been a Federal holiday since 1884 when President Grover Cleveland made it so.
It turns out that Cleveland was in hot water over his involvement in the deadly Pullman Stike of 1893. The Pullman strike was huge! 225,000 American Railway Union (ARU) workers in 27 states became involved in what started out as a wildcat (unauthorized) strike by workers of the Pullman Palace Car Company.
Many readers here are likely familiar with the Pullman name. Pullman made railroad cars, and is especially remembered for it's luxury sleeping cars that bore it's name into the 1980's. Just as a note of interest, the son of Abe Lincoln became head of Pullman in it's history, but I digress.
Pullman was quite the business man. His factory was within walking distance of his town of the same name. Pullman owned everything in town, including the churches and actually charged pastors rent to preach in them. If you worked for Pullman, you had to live in his town. Pullman also controlled the rents there.
So what do you suppose happend when Pullman lowered wages, increased hours, and didn't reduce his workers rent? Ka-Chow... walkout! Now a single local union shop walkout ordinally wouldn't trigger an all out strike, but a lady named Jennie Curtis made a speech to the ARU begging for total union support... she got it.
To make a rather ugly story shorter, by the time the whole mess was over, the body count was 13 dead and 53 wounded. President Cleveland declaired Labor Day the following year and it is speculated that he did so because his sending US troops to settle a labor dispute caused such a national outcry. Cleveland lost the following election, and his labor stance of 1883 is credited as a major reason for his defeat.
Organized labor has taken a lot of grief over the years. Union busters of all types have been employed to control workers. Innocent women and children have died in these conflicts such as the Ludlow Massacre. This one involved the Rockefellers with the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company. Among the dead were 2 women and 11 children. Turns out the tent city the company had for the miners was set on fire, and the women and children died as a result. This dispute was especially ugly, and haunted Rockefeller for years. The above picture shows what union folks had to deal with.
So this weekend, I hope you will take the time to read a little about some of the biggest labor disputes in US history. Labor relations have gotten pretty ugly over the years...
Pullman Stike
Ludlow Massacre
Battle Of The Overpass
Friday, September 4, 2009
Health Food
Around here, food seems to be hot topic. If you pick up the paper and read an event announcement, nine out of ten times, food is also included in the description of events. Take almost any auction for example... "Lunch provided by...", or anything going on at the senior center, and food choices from snacks to a full blown meal will be available. Even town sporting events get loaded up with goodies with "tailgate" nights and such at sporting events when food for everybody that shows up is prepared with great care by a host of volunteers.
Lately we're being bombarded with TV ads and conflicting information about health care. Part of the argument as I understand it is that the government wants folks to get preventive health care as part of the plan, and I think most of us feel that if we take care of ourselves, get some exercise, and eat right, we will be healthier.
Since any insurance, health insurance included, has traditionally been priced based on risk factors, it makes sense that insuring folks that are a good risk is good business. So with that in mind, I offer the following...
The extent of government involvement in health care is yet to be determined, but they could start in Texas. I've always been told you are what you eat, and if Texans eat much from the menu below, there should be no question as to why health care is so expensive.
Here are just a few of the tasty treats on Texas State Fair menu...
Don't believe my above list? Here's my proof... bon Appetit!
Lately we're being bombarded with TV ads and conflicting information about health care. Part of the argument as I understand it is that the government wants folks to get preventive health care as part of the plan, and I think most of us feel that if we take care of ourselves, get some exercise, and eat right, we will be healthier.
Since any insurance, health insurance included, has traditionally been priced based on risk factors, it makes sense that insuring folks that are a good risk is good business. So with that in mind, I offer the following...
The extent of government involvement in health care is yet to be determined, but they could start in Texas. I've always been told you are what you eat, and if Texans eat much from the menu below, there should be no question as to why health care is so expensive.
Here are just a few of the tasty treats on Texas State Fair menu...
- Chicken Fried Bacon - Battered and fried bacon
- Deep Fried PB&J - A new twist on the old family favorite
- Deep Fried Coke - Doughnuts filled with Coke syrup and browned carefully
- Deep Fried Twinkies - I wonder if they will stay edible as long?
- Deep Fried Banana Split - At least they wait until it's done frying before adding the whipped cream
- And my personal favorite... Deep Fried Butter
Don't believe my above list? Here's my proof... bon Appetit!
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