Monday, August 31, 2015

Salted Caramel Sauce

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Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
Yield: 1 cup
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes, plus cooling

Follow these easy instructions to create sweet salted caramel sauce at home. Perfect for cakes, cupcakes, cookies, ice cream, cheesecake, sweet breads and more!

Ingredients:
•1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
•6 Tablespoons (90g) salted butter, cut up into 6 pieces*
•1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream*
•1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1.Heat granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a high heat resistant rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
2.Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir. Be careful not to burn.
3.Once sugar is completely melted, immediately add the butter. Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added.
4.Stir the butter into the caramel until it is completely melted, about 2-3 minutes.
5.Very slowly, drizzle in 1/2 cup of heavy cream while stirring. Since the heavy cream is colder than the caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble and/or splatter when added.
6.Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.
7.Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt. Allow to cool down before using.
8.Cover the caramel tightly and store for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Warm the caramel up for a few seconds before using in a recipe.

Additional Notes:

*Unsalted butter may be used instead, though I prefer salted. No other changes need to be made to the recipe if using unsalted.

*Heavy cream (approximately 36% milk fat) may also be sold as whipping cream. Light whipping cream (30% milk fat), or double cream (48% milk fat) may be substituted.

Black Lives matter marchers call for killing police

The president is silent. Violent crime is down dramatically the last two decades and mostly in black neighborhoods through better policing and tougher sentences pushed by the Clinton administration. This is a George Soros funded organization; the man is up to no good and promotes socialism, although he himself is mega-rich.

When Sarah Palin used the word "target" in her political ads, the Democrats yelled she was to blame for the Gabby Gifford event shootings. But it's crickets from liberals about "black lives matter" and "hands up don't shoot" hate lies and their connection to the deaths of three policemen in one week.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/08/29/black-lives-matter-protesters-chant-pigs-in-a-blanket-fry-em-like-bacon-video/

President Obama’s attacks on police began the first month of his presidency when he blamed the Boston police for responding to the call of a break-in at Louis Gate’s home.  He said they acted stupidly because they questioned Professor Gates and didn’t know it was his home.  Eric Holder continued the drum beat and they both have sent administration representatives to funerals without considering whites, Hispanics or blacks killed by blacks.

The crime rate for blacks is 8x that of whites, which means black families are the victims and suffering.  Even so, crime has dropped drastically in the last two decades after the Clinton administration released money for more police.  Now the Obama administration (along with Baltimore and New York mayors) wants to reverse that amazing life saving trend.

According to the US Department of Justice, blacks accounted for 52.5% of homicide offenders from 1980 to 2008, with whites 45.3% and "Other" 2.2%. The offending rate for blacks was almost 8 times higher than whites, and the victim rate 6 times higher. Most homicides were intraracial, with 84% of white victims killed by whites, and 93% of black victims killed by blacks. (which means far more whites are victims of black offenders than the other way around)

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf  Rate of crimes, racial

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf  Prison populations in 2013

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/bvvc.pdf  Black victims of violent crimes

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf  Domestic violence

 

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1973 Oldsmobile Delta—RIP

Our son's gorgeous 1973 Olds convertible. Great for parades and drives in the country in the fall. It caught on fire on his way to work this morning.  RIP. He got out without getting hurt, and that's what is important.

Phil's car Aug 31 2015

Phil's car

Phils_Car_

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Income inequality has decreased in the U.S. in the last decade

If one looks at after-tax income, the increase in income inequality over time is greatly reduced. If one goes further and factors in the government’s attempts to redistribute income, income inequality is not increasing in the U.S. at all. This after-tax, after-transfer income essentially is a measure of how much stuff you can consume (either by buying it or because somebody gave you free stuff). And, as demonstrated by Gary Burtless of The Brookings Institution (a center-left think tank), income inequality measured this way has actually decreased in the U.S. over the decade from 2000-2010.

http://www.forbes.com/sites#/sites/jeffreydorfman/2014/05/08/dispelling-myths-about-income-inequality/

Saturday, August 29, 2015

White males aren’t the primary culprits

Most mass shooting offenders are not white males, most have legal weapons, and most have mental problems.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map?page=1

The myth of the growing gap

Can it be both ways?  Liberals claim that federal transfer programs have decreased inequality, yet moan about growing inequality even with 123 transfer programs in education, nutrition, fuel, housing, health, child care and tax rebates. If there is growing inequality (and it's a myth the media perpetuate--spendable income inequality is not increasing, increased capital is not bad for labor, wealth is not a zero sum game, and high income taxes do not necessarily lead to a more equal outcome--Forbes.), I'd look at how the government has fed this, just as it's fed the growing college debt by floating so many loans.

By age 60,

70% of the population will have experienced at least one year within the top 20th percentile of income;
 
53% of the population will have experienced at least one year within the top 10th percentile of income; and
 
11.1% of the population will have found themselves in the much-maligned 1% of earners for at least one year of their lives.
 
At the same time, it’s much more rare for a person to reach the top 1% and stay there. According to PSID data, only 0.6% of the population will experience 10 consecutive years in the top 1% of earners.

http://fortune.com/2015/03/02/economic-inequality-myth-1-percent-wealth/

http://www.forbes.com/sites#/sites/jeffreydorfman/2014/05/08/dispelling-myths-about-income-inequality/

Oreos move from Chicago to Mexico, taking good jobs

“Irene Rosenfeld, the head of Mondolez (the food conglomerate based in Illinois that has Nabisco in its portfolio), a woman touted for breaking the glass ceiling upon becoming the head of Kraft Foods and then its spin off, announced that rather than invest $130 million in modernizing the plant in Chicago, where Oreos have been lovingly produced for the past 100 years, she will instead move the jobs to a new factory in Mexico. The result: a loss of 600 well-paying and community-sustaining jobs on Chicago’s Southwest Side.”

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18259/oreos-union-busting

Farmers Almanac prediction for 2015-2016 snowfall

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Carson comeback to an atheist

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Who are the good guys?

Yesterday I caught a few minutes of Rush while out on errands; same impression I had when I heard him last week. Why is he supporting Donald Trump? He says he isn't, but I know what he sounds like when he's taking sides. Just because conservatives are irritated by the spineless frauds they elected who lie and vote like Democrats, doesn't mean you support someone worse. Get out there and support the good ones.

Well, how do we know who the good ones are?  It’s a large and deep bench.  All with talents and weaknesses.

Obviously, handling the opposing forces in DC is different than Madison, Columbus, Austin, or Baton Rouge. It's a different culture and the colleagues and enemies are different. You need alliances and experienced staff. But I don't want a socialist, I don't want someone who's fuzzy on life issues, I don’t want a dynasty, I don't want a flip flopper who calls his flips "progressive" when they looked like flops to me. And I don't want someone who divides us into victim groups.

I want a strong economy, and strong security, although increasingly that depends on global forces. That said, a weak, bowing president and sycophant Congress doesn’t help our case with our global partners.  I know from history and the economic and social failures of the 60s War on Poverty that mandatory health insurance that fines or makes criminals out of citizens who don't obey is a very dangerous road to go down--good jobs, not forced insurance, is what helps the poor.

So start with what matters most to you, and hold your nose for the rest. For instance, Jindal has had more opportunity to offend my friend Diane who lives in Louisiana than me, and Kasich has been able to offend me, but probably not her. So support and vote with what you know.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Bernie the Socialist bombs on 20th century history

I don't know why Bernie Sanders was talking about Hitler winning an election, but he was wrong, and his followers were retweeting his misinformation. I suspect as a socialist he was trying to avoid any connection with the Nazis (National Socialism) and wanted to pin that label on conservatives.

Nazis were all for government control; they were statists. They killed and imprisoned their own citizens, as did the Communists in the USSR. No Republican administration or Tea Party or libertarian group in the U.S. have done that, but Democrats have. Hillary Clinton has made up new lies about women, based on nothing but her desire to crawl out from under her email server which has collapsed on her. Why can't these candidates tell the truth?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/08/28/why-you-shouldnt-retweet-sanders-claim-that-hitler-won-an-election/?

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Madrid; including side trip to El Escorial, on YouTube

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El Escorial is more than an impressive palace for a divine monarch. It's packed with art and history — offering an evocative trip back to Spain's most fascinating age.  Rick Steves 

We’ll be seeing this during our trip to Spain in September for our 55 anniversary.

image

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OUIKm8e7Y0 (short)

Quick look at the majesty of Madrid; I plan to skip the pigs’ ears.  Happy pigs eat acorns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hifYpfW4NjI (extended)

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Valley of the Fallen, memorial for the Civil War

Granada and Cordoba. “Andalucía's Moorish heritage sparkles in the historic capitals of Granada and Córdoba. And the pride of the Reconquista and the power of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand enliven the region's great sights.” Rick Steves

Only God is victorious is repeated 9,000 times in the palace, The Alhambra. Spain was a Muslim country for 700 years.

Cordoba: http://www.spainthenandnow.com/spanish-history/cordoba-historical-overview/default_41.aspx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36UPumotJQ8

Applesauce snacking cake

I like Splenda, I think it is pretty accurate in flavor and measurements for substituting for sugar, however, I suspect always using low fat or low sugar or egg substitutes in bakery goods is counter productive.  For example, here’s Domino’s Sugar recipe compared to Splenda’s for Applesauce snack cake.  I can’t find a nutrition break down for the sugar version (usually Splenda is listed at about 170 calories, and regular about 400), but I suspect if you just ate a smaller piece of the sugar/butter version you’d be better off than eating two of the Splenda version (which is what I would do because the substitutes don’t satisfy). The Splenda version seems to be more highly spiced—that’s a whole lot of cinnamon! It also contains less applesauce.

Cake ingredients using sugar:
1 cup - Domino® Granulated Sugar
1/4 cup - quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup - all-purpose flour
1/4 cup - butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup - water, chilled
1 - egg
3/4 cup - applesauce
1/2 cup - raisins
3/4 teaspoon - baking soda
3/4 teaspoon - cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon - nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon - salt
1/4 teaspoon - baking powder
1/4 teaspoon – cloves

Cake ingredients using Splenda, low calorie shortening and egg substitute
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup reduced-calorie margarine
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup egg substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Happy 95th anniversary, women

95 years ago women got the right to vote. Big whoop. Women had already made great strides in every area before they got the right to vote--they had a higher graduation rate than men, they had employment, they owned businesses, they'd accomplished public health miracles through women's clubs and agricultural extension, they established the first public libraries, they were speakers at lyceums and actresses in theater and fledging film, they were inventors, designers and musicians and artists. They were pastors of churches. Many states and localities already had voting women, as did churches. Most important, they were wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, taking care of business in the home and on the farm, where butter and egg money kept many families afloat. Getting the vote, although morally right, made almost no difference in women's lives. Their efforts in temperance and abolition were far greater and more important. And until Obama was elected, I'm not sure they even made a difference in who was in the White House, and that's not benefitted the poor, minorities or women.

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Lakeside family sells their cottage—a poignant story

Those of you who own homes in Lakeside or rent there, or went there as children or who have followed my blogs about Lakeside will enjoy the article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about a couple selling their cottage at 4th and Maple, "Last Summer in Lakeside,"  by Clare Ansberry which had been in the family since 1873. It's very well written and mentions Robert Putnam (who lived there as a child) who was one of our speakers this summer speaking from his research "Our kids; the American dream in crisis."

From the article:  " . . .milestones--the first tree climbed, the first fish caught, the first crush--or when part of a meaningful family tradition." We've got a photo of our son and his first fish.

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/print/WSJ_-D001-20150826.pdf

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Cousins’ Corner, owned by the Gregg family

We’ve owned our cottage since 1988 and are still considered the new people living in the Thompson place.

When the Democrats got something right—tough on crime and drugs

The Democrat party platform for Bill Clinton's second term was tough on crime, drugs and illegal immigrants. You almost can't tell it from Trump's 2016 campaign. And you actually can see the drop in violent crime rates from 1993 through today--so funding more police, stiff prison sentences and stopping crime at the base actually did work. Mandatory sentencing, zero tolerance, etc.  That Democrat policy particularly benefitted black neighborhoods which were the primary victims. But that also put more black criminals in jail (rate is 8x that of white violent crime), which now Democrats are calling racism (without looking at their own party's policies). The Democrats' campaign to stop illegal immigrants with tougher border policing and monitoring employers (it was the law) didn't seem to be as successful as decreasing violent crime and putting drug sellers in jail.

Liberals (of today) blame the tough on crime movement on Republicans, but they in fact, were not strong enough to implement it because with Democrats and President Clinton behind it, Republicans went along.

Were serious signs overlooked?

I was watching news coverage of the mental state of the former TV news colleague in Virginia who killed two reporters of WDBJ-TV live on camera yesterday then uploaded his murders to Facebook like an ISIS terrorist. Other colleagues said he interpreted everything as racial. It's unfortunate that someone didn't spot his problem--or maybe they did and were afraid to say it out loud for fear of being called racist.

About 45 years ago, and I still haven't forgotten her, a pleasant, plump, middle aged woman joined our adult education committee at First Community Church. She mentioned she was a faculty wife and her husband taught at Ohio State. There was the usual chit chat and joking as we all introduced ourselves, and suddenly her face clouded, and she said (paraphrase), "I know you are all in on it; you know about my husband's affair; you're covering for him; I won't stand for it."

We were all just stunned. Apologies were made for anything offensive we'd said, the meeting proceeded, but after the meeting we all got away from her as quickly as possible. Of course, we were not at fault—she was obsessed with her marital problems and decided we all knew.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The true cost of minimum wage

So who gains from raising the minimum wage? Politicians and labor unions. Minimum wage increases tip the balance in favor of higher-skilled—and higher-wage—unionized workers by raising the floor from which they negotiate compensation. Politicians, on the other hand, can act like they did something for the little guy while receiving union support—which is no small matter. In 2012 alone, government union SEIU Local 668 spent more than $200,000 of its members’ dues on political activity and lobbying. . .

http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/research/detail/the-true-cost-of-minimum-wage

Last October, the Wall Street Journal editorialized  about  the “minimum wage” campaign:
Amid a historically slow economic recovery, 1970s labor-participation rates and stagnant middle-class incomes, we understand that people are frustrated. Harder to understand is how so many of our media brethren have been persuaded that suddenly it’s the job of America’s burger joints to provide everyone with good pay and benefits. The result of their agitation will be more jobs for machines and fewer for the least skilled workers.

http://capitalresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/LW1508-final-for-posting-150801.pdf

Monday, August 24, 2015

Three posture tips to get the most out of a core workout

Good posture is important, even during exercise. Quick posture checks before and during a core exercise routine can help you avoid injury and squeeze the biggest benefit from your workout. Here is what you need to know:

  1. Stand up straight. When instructions for an exercise ask you to stand up straight, that means keeping your:

    • chin parallel to the floor

    • shoulders even (roll them up, back, and down to help achieve this)

    • arms at your sides, elbows relaxed and even

    • abdominal muscles pulled in

    • hips even

    • knees even and pointing straight ahead

    • feet pointing straight ahead

    • body weight evenly distributed on both feet.

  2. Stay in neutral. Neutral alignment means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe except for the slight natural curves of the spine. Whether you're standing or seated, that means your spine is not flexed or arched to overemphasize the curve of the lower back. One way to find neutral is to tip your pelvis forward as far as is comfortable, then tip it backward as far as is comfortable. Neutral is roughly in the middle. If you're not used to standing or sitting up straight, it may take a while for this to feel natural. A neutral wrist is firm and straight, not bent upward or downward.

  3. Get the angle. When angles appear in exercise instructions, visualize a 90-degree angle as an L. To visualize a 30-degree angle, mentally slice the 90-degree angle into thirds, or picture the distance between a clock's minute hand and hour hand at one o'clock.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/3-posture-tips-to-get-the-most-out-of-a-core-workout

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Sunday evening thoughts, 6 p.m.

Today I've been thinking about a testimony I heard in church this morning. It wasn't a "come to Jesus" call, but a story about how homeless, indigent and ill people are helped in his community in North Carolina at a small facility supported by as many as 500 volunteers. It takes in people recently released from the hospital who have no home or family to return to. No government money is accepted so they can freely offer the Good News of salvation in Jesus. Many of those who are helped will never make it back to main stream life or jobs or health; but that really isn't what Jesus calls us to do. Serve them, and we meet him. Bless those faithful who not only serve, but give the rest of us hope.

I had planned to attend sunset vespers at 8 p.m. tonight--my last chance before returning to Columbus to watch a sunset over the lake while praising the Lord, but the rain is already in Toledo and moving this way.

Lakeside sunset

Beautiful lakefront church service today

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receive.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus the Son,
And give him the glory, great things he has done!

Sung at the service by the lakefront, August 23, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-15v9iworAU

And now for the choral music (we didn’t sound this good).

Lakefront, Aug. 20

Photo by Beth Sibbring

Lakeside cottages--late 20th early 21st century vernacular, pt. 2

21st Century
Early 21st century cottages at Lakeside Chautauqua, Ohio, a summer community on Lake Erie on the Marblehead peninsula. The first four are designed by Robert Bruce, Architect.
Foley House
The Foley House (2002) is a “healthy house” for which light gauge metal was used for the floors, walls, and roof framing instead of chemically treated wood.  The design, although modern, is reminiscent of stick-built Victorian styles of 100 years before.  The wrap around porch has multiple skylights with clerestory windows along the great room for maximum natural light.
June 25,2006 036
This 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, story and a half for Wes and Sue Kunze (2004) is my favorite Lakeside cottage—it’s small, fits the lot and neighborhood perfectly, has a pleasant open floor plan, and a delightful porch. This is a summer home.
June 28,2006 012
This style roof is called a clipped gable, and the owners, the Blossers, specifically requested that in the design.  This story and a half home on Fifth St. E. and Elm Ave. has  1763 sq. ft., with four bedrooms plus a loft—it accommodates many people and has a lovely wrap around porch partially screened. Originally the owners used it as a rental, and only in the summer.
 005
This 2007 photo of the Gurney house on 7th and Walnut faces a park and was designed for a steep lot and has a full basement with 2,063 sq. ft. living space and an open porch.  It is a year around residence.  After 5 years the owners were allowed to add a garage to the east (this is a coverage rule) , so the very large tree was removed. There are now 4  trees shading the house, and mature flowering shrubs so it would be difficult to see this much of the house  today.  
009
Facing Perry Park on 2nd St. with a wonderful view of Lake Erie, this home was new in 2015, and replaced a smaller brick traditional style home. Part of the large porch is screened, and part open, plus an open porch/deck on the second floor.  For many years a 3rd story was discouraged by the Lakeside Design Review Board, but so many of the newest homes have them, that  is apparently not the case today.  It almost dwarfs the beautiful stick Victorian next to it.
012
One of the first of the big ones going up with a 3rd story, this home facing Elm is reminiscent of Victorian styles. I think it was built around 2003.
023
This bungalow style was popular in the early 20th century, so this has followed that design of a gable roof with shed dormer with windows in threes and large pillars on the porch. The owners were adding a garage (5 year coverage rule) when I walked by in the summer of 2015, which probably means this was built around 2010. It’s a summer home.
015 (2)
This neat ranch style with a porch facing Oak Avenue instead of the side gives the perfect impression of many of the 1920s and 1930s summer homes, but with all the modern conveniences like indoor plumbing and central air and heat. Was built about five years ago.
047
This three story lake front “cottage” replaced a very handsome Dutch Colonial which had a large tree fall on it during a storm (see next photo) I’m not fond of this look, but it is the direction the newer cottages are going. Up. Big. Wide.
Tree down 2.
The early 20th century Dutch Colonial which was on the lot of the above cottage.
044
This one replaced a large 4 unit cottage we stayed in around 1976.  It has a similar style (see photo below) and size of the hip roof cottage it replaced and I believe it went up around 2013 probably first used in 2014.  Now a single family. Good view of the lake and the “most beautiful mile in Ohio.”
037
We rented this, north west unit above, as it appears covered for the winter weather. Right on the lakefront, so that can get very severe.  Site of Phil’s first fish catch.
075
This cottage on 2nd St. was new within the last 10 years, but has an interesting history.  It replaced an A-frame with a large deck overlooking Perry Park, a style not typical in this  area, however, that cottage had replaced a garage converted to a cottage about 100 years ago, which burned in a fire set by “rum runners” on the lake leaving 3 lots open.  I chatted with one of the owners (of a family) who lives in Arizona.
016
This home on South Oak above 7th was built during the past year, and I just noticed it on my walks this summer.  It has a low gable roof, with very clean lines and very little trim.  It reminds me more of a Florida home, but fits nicely in the newer neighborhood which has been created since 1999.
018
The owner of this cottage on the last lot on Oak told me it was built in 1999, so I’m grouping it with 21st century.  Although the story and a half style is a fooler, it has 5 bedrooms.  The current owners added a connecting area to the garage which they use for laundry and storage.
004
I think I noticed this cottage on Oak about a year ago, and actually don’t know if it is a complete makeover of an older building, or if it is completely new. It has gables to the front and side, with a shed dormer and open porch.  However, there is nothing left if the older structure is in there somewhere. I’ve never seen anyone there I could ask, but if I find out differently, I’ll revise this entry to correct it. Update: Aug. 3, 2016.  I finally saw someone on the porch, so I stopped and asked.  There had been a house on this lot and they did incorporate a few walls so that it was easier to get it approved.  It is one floor; no stairs to what looks like a second floor with a shed dormer.
015
This is typical of many of the 21st and late 20th new build vernacular cottages.  Lots of gables, double deck porch, shingle trim, with a nod to Victorian, but still with all modern conveniences.
017
This eclectic style on South Oak Avenue is reminiscent of some 20s-30s bungalow cottages that had gable roofs with shed dormers on the side or front; it has a nice enclosed porch but with part of it open.  80 years ago, that meant it was remodeled to accommodate some of our fierce storms, but today they are designed to have some protected and some open areas.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Strickland wants to stop executives from earning more—“It must stop now.”

I got a FB message from Ted Strickland (running for governor of Ohio): “CEOs and executives get higher bonuses and stock options, while middle class wages haven't budged. It makes no sense, and it must stop now.”

Well, Ted, let’s look at the government sector, since that’s your area. The federal government pays its employees substantially more than they would earn in the private sector. The current federal pay system:

  • Pays hourly wages 22 percent above that of comparable private sector workers;
  • Provides more generous health care and pension plans;
  • Provides total compensation on the order of 30 percent to 40 percent above similarly skilled private sector workers; and
  • Offers near-total job security and insulates federal employees from recessions.

The excuse for this is government workers are better qualified by education and skills, so perhaps that applies in the private sector, too? And CEOs have no job security--if the stock takes a dip, or she can’t compete, it’s out the door. Sort of like Democrat governors. (Strickland lost his reelection to Kasich).

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/07/comparing-pay-in-the-federal-government-and-the-private-sector

Sheriff Clarke on victimhood

Cultivating victims for voters must cause the party some burn out, because they've moved on to the less than 1% who are transgendered, less than 2% who are gay, while elevating the 15% who are Hispanic [made up word that is meaningless], ignoring the 38% of aborted babies who are minorities, and frolicking at parties with the upper 1% of entertainment celebrities who contribute to their campaigns.

FlyoverCulture.com's photo.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Where is the United States in Biblical prophecy?

I've never been a dispensationalist or one to look for prophecy in Scripture. I know Jesus is coming back someday, and I know in whom I have believed. However, I've always wondered why the U.S. doesn't seem to be in any of the prophecies. Then I saw the 7th Planned Parenthood video, and I think I understand. A country/people/culture that supports this kind of evil or calls it by a benign name like "health" probably cannot make it to end times. It will implode all on its own.

Now take a look at this.  The fetal tissue for research battle has been going on since 1973, when the Supremes managed to find abortion in the Constitution. Reagan and Bush years eliminated federal funding, but that was reverse during the Clinton years.

fetal tissue research

West J Med. 1993 Sep; 159(3): 400–407.

Read the rest of the story  here. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1011357/?page=1

Kathie Lee on Frank

Movie to Movement's photo.

Happy Birthday, Stan Corbett

Happy birthday to my dear, sweet brother, Stanley. Nicest guy in the world, made so sweet by his 3 older sisters. He's not on Facebook, but I think he reads my blog. So if you know him,or if you run into him in northern Illinois, give him a shout out. Oh, the stories we can tell about this adorable kid. I used to feel sorry for my friends who had to put up with nasty brothers, because mine was such a dear. And he still is. Photo from 1944, Alameda, California and 2013 at the White Pines.

Alameda

Corbetts at the Pines

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Human vivisection and Planned Parenthood

Video 7 is even worse.  Are you still contributing to this evil organization?  Are you still voting for your Congressman who refuses to defund it? Somehow, 50% of Americans don’t yet know about these videos.  Have they been living in a cave?

“‘Want to see something kind of cool,’” O’Donnell says her supervisor asked her. “And she just taps the heart, and it starts beating. And I’m sitting here and I’m looking at this fetus, and its heart is beating, and I don’t know what to think.” Referring to the beating heart of the aborted fetus, O’Donnell remarks, “I don’t know if that constitutes it’s technically dead, or it’s alive." The StemExpress supervisor then "instructed her to cut through the face of the fetus in order to get the brain."

http://www.lifenews.com/2015/08/19/7th-shocking-video-catches-planned-parenthood-harvesting-brain-of-aborted-baby-who-was-still-alive/

In the course of history, Antietam out weighs Gettysburg

We really had an amazing speaker for Lakeside’s Civil War week Tuesday and Wednesday, Dennis Frye,  the chief historian at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and the author of seven books and scores of articles on a variety of Civil War topics.  He did a  presentation on John Brown on Tuesday that was excellent and then today talked about the Battle of Antietam and why it was more important than Gettysburg.  He said President Lincoln was seen as a complete failure in September 1862 when everyone hated him and the Union was losing on five fronts, the 5th front being in Minnesota against the Indians who had decided to fight the U.S. troops. Even the abolitionists had turned against Lincoln because they believed he should move quickly to free the slaves.

People today complain about the treatment of Obama, but he read excerpts from the press of that day, and really, it was hateful and I don’t think today any newspaper would be allowed to say those things about a president.  The election (House) was coming up in October 1862 and if the Democrats won they would have cut off appropriations for the war and it would have been over—and no “United” States.  There was no election for Senate because in those days the states appointed senators. 

(Background on Harpers Ferry) But the Union troops won the battle of Antietam (24,000 casualties in one day) and that stopped Lee’s march into Pennsylvania, so public opinion of the failed presidency turned around and the Republicans held on to Congress in the election.  It also stopped England and France from stepping in.  Then on Sept. 22 Lincoln took political advantage of this win and issued the Executive Order for the Emancipation Proclamation.

Frye works for the Park Service and lives in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  He’s quite dramatic and speaks without notes--I suspect he’s given these presentations many times. He’s easy to find on YouTube.  Early in the Antietam talk he noted that the farm land on which the battle happened was owned by Dunkers, but didn’t really explain the term.  Of course, I knew what that was--German Baptist Brethren, or today’s Church of the Brethren.  However, at the end of his talk he was dramatizing finding some bodies in an archeological dig when that battle field was still in private hands in 1987 (now a national park) with picking up bullets from the chest cavity of a long dead soldier., With a dramatic pause he said it was ironic that the worst battle in American history, a battle that changed the course of history, was fought on land owned by Dunkers who were pacifists.  Then he said, “I am a Dunker, my ancestors were all Dunkers.”  Quite an ending to a powerful talk.

image

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/antietam/antietam-2015/

Planned Parenthood and Democrats

Robert Laurie's photo.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

He’s got the moves—maybe too many

I saw a great video on TV of a football player (actually was a professional dancer) performing in uniform with the cheerleaders. Great moves. Until he started with the crotch grab move. What's that about? It's been going on for years, with hip hop and rap and I see a lot of women like Miley Cyrus doing the "grab" too. Sometimes it's just a quick hand movement to draw attention to the area; sometimes with a thrust and a threat. Do they have the crabs (std)?

Monday, August 17, 2015

First time home buyers

I heard on the news today that the median age for a first time home buyer is 33. I was 22 when we bought our first home (a duplex in Champaign-Urbana so the renters could pay the mortgage for us). I think I know the problem. Today young people sell their lives to various tech companies for their phones, cable,Netflix , Facebook and Instagram and they drive nice cars. Fifty years ago we didn’t have any of that. TV, no cost but the set; phone, no cost but rent from the phone company and monthly charge; movies were something you went to in a theater, not that came to us; an automobile--we didn’t have one in 1962, but had a bike. Today’s young families spend so much on their tech contracts they can’t afford a mortgage. Oh, and at 22 we had no college loans to pay back. No one did. We bought an older home in a racially mixed neighborhood with mixed zoning. Today people would rather rent for 10 years with amenities, then start big.

The typical first-timer now rents for six years before buying a home, up from 2.6 years in the early 1970s, according to a new analysis by the real estate data firm Zillow. The median first-time buyer is age 33 — in the upper range of the millennial generation, which roughly spans ages 18 to 34. A generation ago, the median first-timer was about three years younger.

The delay reflects a trend that cuts to the heart of the financial challenges facing millennials: Renters are struggling to save for down payments. Increasingly, too, they're facing delays in some key landmarks of adulthood, from marriage and children to a stable career, according to industry and government reports.

 http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/StreetTalk/Older-First-Time-Homebuyers-houses/2015/08/17/id/670406/

Who is middle class?

There is no definition of middle class by the U.S. government.  There are approximately 117 million households in America, 36% of households fall in the poverty range (Under $15 – $35K annual income), 43% of households are between $35K to $100K. 16% are between $100K and $200K and nearly 4% are above $200K annual income levels as of 2009. After 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau confirms that the upper open-ended interval for which to assist in calculating the median income is $250,000, being that is the considered upper class income. So Middle Class could safely be considered above $35K and below $100K annual income levels, which is 43% of American Households.  The Black alone households total 14.7 million. Of that, approximately 38.4% are in the middle class, with earnings between $35K – $100K annually.  Their household income has gone down under Obama.  Because the Census looks at Households, the middle class, if shrinking, is doing so because of single women raising families with no husband. I’m no math whiz, but two incomes equal more than one income in most cases. Marriage of their parents who have finished high school, and have a job, any job, almost guarantees that children will not grow up in poverty. Not growing up in poverty, is probably the single best way to achieve Middle Class status, better than any socialist or government transfer program, which tends to keep people down and “in their place.”

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009, Current Population Reports, Consumer Income

Grace Lee Boggs, American radical, communist and author

We get Detroit PBS here at the lake, and I watched a fascinating documentary of Grace Lee Boggs, a Chinese American, and no matter what other descriptions you give her--feminist, radical or activist--she is an American old time Communist, always disappointed, but always hopeful. She married a black man and spent her life in various causes for African Americans and particularly Detroit. While she was marching, writing, and agitating for poor blacks, women and Asians in the U.S. soared ahead, and she seemed quite elderly before she noticed that Asian Americans are by far the most successful demographic in our varied population. In my opinion, that was capitalism, not communism, and it passed her by. She ignored her own heritage. She's 100 this year. I'd recommend the film, especially if you are from Detroit or enjoy 20th c. history.

Should we be rewarded for our good works?

I read the Columbus Catholic Times, a hand off from a family friend. I'm learning a lot. Just this week I noticed a difference in how Catholics and Protestants use the concept of giving. Catholics suggest "works of mercy" or "works of charity," and Protestants say, we will change poverty, schooling, politics, the environment, etc. if we just chip in $10 for the food pantry, or a backpack for a Highland Elementary school child, or cleaning up a town in Kansas after a flood or tornado. There's a huge difference. We are to give because Jesus gave first, not because we will end poverty (we won't) or make up for the terrible home of a child (we can't). According to Matthew 25, we will meet Jesus in those acts of kindness and service, so we do them without expecting the reward of change. Meeting Jesus is the reward.

Why is college freshman orientation two weeks?

This baffles me.  I’m sure I had freshman orientation when I was dropped off by my sister at Manchester College in the fall of 1957.  Was it a day, half a day, to learn the names of the campus buildings and admire the upper classmen and learn how to get our weekly quota of clean sheets in Oakwood Hall and learn the meal routine in the dining room (where I gained 20 lbs.)?  But that’s just not good enough for our delicate millennials.  They have to be brain washed—even if their families are liberals, it won’t be good enough.  The strings to normalcy must be cut and cauterized.  And for conservatives?  Wow.  Let’s hope their parents warned them.  This is from an excerpt on Facebook written by a dad attending parts of his son’s orientation.  He thought it couldn’t get worse, but it did . . .

They had a ceremony with speakers, singing by the glee club, etc. The kids received an inspirational coin, etc. I looked on the program. "Oh good. An invocation." Being the apparently naive person that I am, I was not prepared for what I heard. A "moment for prayer and meditation" turned into a cross between a confession and admonition about how selfish we are, how we've taken more from the earth than we give, and how we hope to heal the planet. it ended with "in your many names we pray." I opened my eyes, looked at my wife and rolled my eyes.

Afterward I reminded my son that he's in the midst of severe liberals. He smiled and agreed. It will be interesting to follow this over the next several years.

In politics, the truth can hurt you

When the left abused Romney for saying 47% of Americans don't pay federal income tax when explaining to donors why tax issues don't matter much, he was absolutely right.  It was a sound bite and he didn't give them a dissertation on why that is true. It's not a criticism, it's a fact, and it has to do with tax law, age of our population, the recession, etc. Here's some good information on how both parties have worked to make that possible. And it's still true today--revising tax laws still don't matter to many voters, but Bernie the Socialist will claim it does. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/18/who-doesnt-pay-taxes-in-charts/

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Walk with a Doc

Do you sometimes think one person can’t make a difference?  Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist at Mt. Carmel hospital in Columbus, Ohio created the program “Walk with a Doc” to encourage his patients to get more exercise. The walks are an  hour long, with the physician leader giving a short, health-related talk. Dr. Sabgir started this in 2005.  Now, just 10 years later  the program has grown to 150 walks in 36 states and five countries.
http://walkwithadoc.org.

Celebrating 70 year anniversary of VJ Day

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII (we used to call it VJ Day) The Lakeside symphony orchestra performed a fabulous program last night that included a Marine honor guard, representatives of all the branches of the military during Hymn to the Fallen, the full orchestra, a chorus that included Lakesiders, the Terra Choral Society and local church choirs, two conductors, Robert Conquist and Michael Shirts who wrote some of the selections,  Shirley Stary as narrator, guest artist Joan Ellison of Cleveland who performed popular WWII era songs made popular by Vera Lynn (now 97), and a slide show to accompany the music. The scenes of the cemeteries for those who didn’t return were just stunning in magnitude. Tear and cheers, standing ovation. I can’t even fathom the amount of work and coordination to took to get all this accomplished with so many people, groups and jurisdictions participating.

Friday, August 14, 2015

Stand up for good health

If you are sedentary, just exercising after work won’t help much.

“The fight against sedentary behavior cannot be won based only on the promotion of regular exercise," he wrote. "A person walking while at work for 2 hours, standing for another 4 hours, and performing some daily chores at home for another hour will burn more calories than jogging or running for 60 minutes."

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/ExerciseFitness/52877

“Researchers attached a monitor to nearly 700 participants over 7 days and found that each additional 2 hours per day spent sitting was significantly associated with higher body mass index (risk ratio 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05; P<0.001), waist circumference (Beta=2.12, 95% CI 0.83-3.41, or around 2 centimeters; P<0.001), fasting plasma glucose (about 1%), total/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio (5%), triglycerides (12%), 2-hour plasma glucose (4%), and with lower HDL cholesterol (0.07 mmol/L).”

Lakeside Farmer’s Market

Back from the Farmer's Market. I've already steamed and eaten the beet tops. I'm always surprised that so many people don't know how delicious they are and throw them away. Remove long stems, rinse carefully, put in a pan with lid, turn on the heat for about 2-3 minutes (I've never boiled them), put in a bowl with butter and salt, enjoy all those vitamins and minerals. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2353/

Also got zucchini, home made strawberry jam, peach pie, corn (one ear), pint of blueberries in addition to the bunch of beets. Still have lettuce, tomatoes and onion from Tuesday.

farmers market

Leg crossing and body alignment

Although I do a lot of walking in the summer (5-6 miles a day in short segments) I also do a lot of sitting in lectures and programs. Sometimes it takes several blocks to get the kinks out when I start for home. So I finally decided I'll need to break a very bad habit--sitting with my right leg crossed over my left knee. Yes, as always, I researched it, and was horrified to read all the back, neck and leg problems that causes. That's why your hairdresser always (at least mine) tells you to uncross your legs when you're getting a hair cut. Really throws everything out of alignment. But breaking a habit of 60+ years is very hard. Now, I'm only 12 hours in to this new life style change--hope it helps. My FB friend Debbie says that she gave it up after years of pain, and it was like a miracle!

When seated with your feet flat on the floor and both buttocks in contact with the chair, the force of the position is applied naturally and equally to the lower body.

However, when sitting with the legs crossed, all the downward force is applied to only one side of the lower body, concentrated on one half of the buttocks, the sacroiliac joint and the hip socket. http://www.sciatica-pain.org/sciatica-from-crossing-legs.html

http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/Handouts/patellofemoral_pain/patellofemoral_pain.html

Cross-legged sitting resulted in a relative elongation of the piriformis muscle by 11%, compared to normal sitting and by 21% compared to the length of the piriformis when standing. It should be noted that the leg that was crossed over top of the other was resulted in the greatest elongation. The leg crossed over the top is in a position of
relative hip flexion, hip adduction, and hip external rotation. http://www.damienhowellpt.com/pdf/crossed%20legs.pdf

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Wednesday night picnic at Lakeside

Not exactly a tradition for us, but we do go frequently.  Hot dogs with assorted relishes, macaroni salad, baked beans, potato chips, watermelon, and sandwich cookies.  It’s sponsored by the children’s ministry, and they have a great group of volunteers who cheerfully, set up, prepare, serve and clean up for huge crowds. This photo was taken last Wednesday with Jim and Marion, our friends from Toledo who’ve recently decided to sell their adorable cottage.

picnic with the Boyers

Then during Civil War week a few years ago (2011) we attended the picnic with Rod and Lynn from our church in Columbus.

042

Our friends Joel and Angela (2010)

picnic 3

Everyone gets plenty of food.

picnic 7

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

And Asian Americans?

I was just reading yet another demand for racial equality--actually, I didn't even read it, just passed it over because it’s more black/white hustlers and academics making the demands.The FBI and DoJ statistics are ignored; the marriage rate is ignored.  Why not look at another demographic that does better than whites in all areas?  Asian Americans excel in almost all areas that are tracked by our census and academics--household income, education, health, marriage, lack of poverty, BMI, low crime, etc. I just can't remember a demand by whites or blacks or Hispanics that they should have what Chinese or Japanese or Korean Americans have. Have I just missed those articles?

  • Only 10.8% of Asians in America are considered obese, compared with the 33% of whites, 42% of Hispanics and 48% of blacks with a BMI of 30 or higher.

  • Asian Americans are a smaller percentage of the population, so perhaps they get left out of the studies, but transgendered are less than .01% and they certainly make the news in health, wealth, celebrity, etc.

And immigrants?  A higher proportion of foreign-born (55%) than native (48%) households were maintained by a married couple (US. census). Among the regions of birth, householders born in Asia (63%) and Oceania (62%) were the most likely to be in a married-couple household. Within Latin America, households with a householder born in Mexico were the most likely to be maintained by a married couple (58%).Marriage is the strongest predictor of childhood poverty and adult crime; it's a much better safety net than anything the gov't provides.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Lakeside cottages—late 20th early 21st vernacular, pt. 1

Our first summer at Lakeside was 1974.  Things were pretty primitive by today’s standards, or even standards of the 70s, but there was an upswing.  There were a few cottages being remodeled, as Americans began to look for vacations spots closer to home to compensate for higher fuel costs.  Still, for many years we brought a fan with us, and a small vacuum cleaner—two items most cottage rentals didn’t have. In 1973 51% of new houses in the U.S. didn’t have air conditioning--by 2014 it was 9%. 19% of  1973 new builds had 2.5 baths, but by 2014 it was 30% with  an additional 30% having 3 bathrooms (not even on the radar in 1973). 64% had 3 bedrooms  and 23% 4 bedrooms 40 years ago, compared to 44% and 46% today.  So you can see we’re getting cooler, cleaner, and more separated even as families get smaller.  Mean square footage of a newly constructed home in America is almost 2,600 square feet. And so it also goes in Lakeside.  The new builds are BIG, granite counter tops in kitchens, multiple bathrooms, and AC.
https://www.census.gov/construction/chars/completed.html

20th century

005
This is on Oak, near 7th.  Not sure of the age, sign on the house says established 1988, and now for sale, nice side yard.

006

Not sure of the date, but this was a popular modular home of the 20th century. Also on Oak Avenue. Most of Oak south on the last street was developed from 1999 on.

017 (2)

Clipped low gable with lots of porch and screened areas.

018 (2)

Gable roof with dormers, nice porch. Steep hilly construction site.

016

008

A three dormer gable, modular home on Oak. Parsonage for the United Methodist Church.

030

Another modular home, probably year around.