Dear Washington

Dear Washington politicians dealing with the national debt,
I do not care which side of the aisle you are but STOP TH E POLITICAL THEATER! The average household has to balance their books are a regular basis. It is about time you did too. I've got an easy solution for you. Just cut 10-20% every year out of the budget until the budget balances. Don't like the reduction of revenue- tough crap! All the people who are unemployed or had to take a pay cut in the last few years do give a crap how hard that is for you. At least for my household, we have to learn to do more on less to get our finiancial house on a better footing. The least you morons in Washington could do is the same. And for the love of god, do not think of raising taxes. The people and businesses have been taxed enough. We are not a never ending source of money. The more you tax us, the more we will look for ways to do things in a non taxable way. I will delay making purchases. I will do things that I use to pay others to do. I will trade and barter for as much as I can. That will ripple through the economy as people and businesses who use to get my money no longer do or at least not at much. Others will be cutting back regardless of what I do.

Get the federal government affordable then get about to getting the hell out of people's lives. I do not want the government to coddle me from cradle to grave. I do want the government to make it possible for the nation's biggest asset, the people of this nation, to let her people succeed on their own. If left to their own and not having things in their way, the people of this nation will prosper and take everyone else with them.

Saint Paul's Evangeical Lutheran Church

I needed to go downtown Fort Wayne and decided to waymark on of the local historical churches in Fort Wayne. It is on the National Historic Registry and has a history sign out front. It is waymarked HERE.

S.S City of Milwaukee, Manistee, Mi

One neat place neat my in laws is the USS Milwaukee. It is a retired train ferry turned museum. Their website is HERE. Joey!

Batmobile... on a stick!

I was out running errands and waymarking (just trying to get the most out of the gas money) when I stopped off at the local military museum to waymark batmobile on a pole.I thought it was cool and the waymark is HERE. Enjoy!

DIY Ethic

With the economy being the way it is, I have become more and more of a DIYer and adopting the DIY ethic. What gets me, is the DIY ethic is on wikipedia and the article about it is HERE.I generally agree with the DIY ethic as stated in the article except a couple of things. the main exception is when it talks about the Punk ethic is against consumerism. There will always consumerism of some sort or another. I can not see how anyone can provide themselves so well with all their food, all their clothes, all the products they need that come all forms of manufacturing. You would have be be farmer, doctor, miner, manufacturer and all sorts of things or get those services from someone.
However, having said that, I think people would be far better off if they learned to do more for themselves and learn to do more with less. How much better people would be if they learned to do at least basic car maintenance, did most or all of their own cooking and learn to sew or knit? I can not do it all and it is a challenge to learn all the skills and have the time to do stuff yourself but I am the better for what I can do for myself. Saving money on what I can do myself frees up money for the stuff I can not do for myself. Maybe I should not say this but I dare Washington to try to tax the worth added by my DIY projects. (watch them try now that I said something) It may not avoid taxes completely but whenever my money does not go into the government coffers, it makes my little heart shine a bit brighter. For that matter, whenever I get to keep more of my money period it is a victory won.

I guess that is my soap box for the day.

Far Out Shirts

I was looking for some Cuthulhu pictures for wallpaper for my computer when I found this image. I followed the link to find the website it came from and found far out shirt website. I was hooked and since the presidential election is starting to turn on, i thought I would get the political satire going early this time. Guess what shirt I will be proudly wearing through the end of this year and next?

Matheny Family Mausoleum

As part of my going about and waymarking, I sometimes wind up in a cemetery and finding a mausoleum. Maybe it is because I love a good gothic horror story or it could just be I think they are a neat and sometimes very beautiful buildings. In any case, they fascinate me and through waymarking I can help share my love of them and see more of them at least virtually online.

This one is waymarked HERE.

Mad Anthony Wayne

This is a statue and historical sign in downtown Fort Wayne. the sign reads as follows:
Major general Anthony Wayne

In the early 1790's, the United States suffered two serious defeats at the hands of the Indians under the leadership of Little Turtle, war chief of the Miami nation. In response, President George Washington sent Revolutionary War hero Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne into the western frontier. He had earned the nickname “Mad” for his reckless daring in a spectacular attack on the British at Stoney Point, New York, during the Revolution.

A stern disciplinarian, Wayne rigorously trained his troops before he took his “Legion of the United States” into Miami territory in 1794. His forces defeated the Indian confederacy at the battle of Fort Recovery (July 2,1794) and then again at the battle of Fallen Timbers, near Toledo (August 20,1794).

Wayne moved his “Legion” up the Maumee River to the large Native American settlement of Kekionga at the confluence of Three Rivers. He choose a site across the Maumee River from Kekionga to build the first American fort and then handed command over to Col. John Hamtramck. On October 22,1794, the fourth anniversary of the defeat of the United States at Kekionga, Hamtramck called a parade together of the garrison, fired 15 rounds of the cannon, (in honor of each of the fifteen states of the union) and formally announce that henceforth to be called Fort Wayne.

Anthony Wayne left four days later never to return. After inspecting the other U.S. Garrisons and successfully negotiating the treaty of Greenville in 1795 with the Indians of the regions, Wayne returned to Pennsylvania where he died in 1796. "

The waymark I did for this is HERE.

A Year after taking Finiancial Peace University

It has been a bit over a year since my wife and I finished taking the Dave Ramsey Financial peace University Course. There are several upsides and a couple of downsides. The two big downsides is that it has not been easy and we are not done with debt yet. Mathematically we knew both to be true but there is a difference between seeing the numbers and then living it out. The big upsides are that we are still doing what Dave teaches (more or less because who is perfect) and we are doing that because we have rid ourselves of debt in the thousands of dollars. We are not done with that but we are well on the way. Other upsides is that we are not only able to get some nice things for ourselves but for better prices than we use to but we are paying cash for it instead of charging it. There is some frustration in this since we have to put things on hold either until we have the money or we or we can find things at the price we want to spend even if we have the money. the one upside of a down economy is that there are deals to be had if you are willing to be patient. I think there has always been deals if you are patient but some are more low hanging now. We are getting better at finding deals and taking advantage of when there are good prices on things. Learning to do more do it yourself projects are also helping. Never ever stop learning and trying.

Arch

This week's webness is Arch. Their website is HERE. I found about them as I was waymarking and saw a sign about the Lincoln Building that they put out. Check it out. It is another way to learn about the area. I am always on the look out for stuff to learn. Enjoy!

Lincoln Bank Tower

The Lincoln Bank building is another interesting site in Fort Wayne. It is a NGS Benchmark, it was the tallest building in Fort Wayne at one point in history. There is a sign across the street from the bulding telling of it history. It states:
"The Lincoln Tower
Construction of the Lincoln Tower started less than a month before the stock market crash of October 1929 that signaled the beginning of the Great Depression. Completed in November 1930, the 312-foot Tower was for many years Indiana's tallest building. Its design, developed by the Cleveland firm of Walker and Weeks, was based on the Tribune Tower in Chicago.
The Lincoln Tower is a monument to the German Immigrant in Fort Wayne.the project was conceived and directed by Charles Bueching, a first generation German immigrant who was president of the Lincoln National Bank and Trust Co. from 1929 to 1962.A. M. Strauss, a German Immigrant,was the local architect. The construction Firm of Bueching and Hagermann, a partnership of German Immigrants, built the Tower. The Lincoln Bank and Trust, which funded the project, was the direct descendant of the German-American Bank of Fort Wayne founded in 1905. In the face of anti-German sentiment during World War 1, the bank changed its name in 1918 to the Lincoln National Bank, which operated until 1993. The Lincoln Tower continues as an office building."

Two of the waymarks covering this building is HERE and HERE.

So You Want to see the Whole World

I love going to libraries and the main branch of the Allen County Public Libraries is a stellar library. It has one of the best genealogy sections in the nation as well as a really cool, large globe that rotates. It has been waymarked HERE.

First Police Station

I was wandering around downtown Fort Wayne and I came across this sign on the Allen County Courthouse's grounds. I waymarked it HERE. There are a couple of other neat spots downtown that I came across while I was going around. I waymarked those as well and will reporting on those over the next couple of days or so.

You Shall Not Pass

It is springtime and it is time for it to do the annual spring flooding. The pictures are from this location (HERE). The charts are from this website (HERE). The river gauge is locate HERE. It is only minor flooding but it is something to be aware of here in North East Indiana.

Memorial

I like going hiking and I like waymarking. I also like it when I can do them both at the same time. My wife and I have taken to exploring the local Acres trails so i thought I would waymark them at least under the hiking trail trail head categories. I was not expecting to get to find anything extra. I noticed these memorial markers and being the shameless waymarker I am, put them into the citizen memorial category.

Every so often i get a bit down because we do not go on vacations because the economy and the price of gas has made that harder to do, but then again, since I am taking to explore things closer to home, I am noticing neat thing close to home.

Cool!

I go walking with my dog. A LOT! Sometimes I like going down the allies just to mix up the route we walk. We both get bored walking the same old way all the dang time. You really get to see a different view of the neighborhood going the back allies. I am just glad I have the dog along so people are not as much wondering what you are up to. It is not much of a concern to me but there are some longer people who do are not always up to their best behavior walking the allies and that can get people watching. I never did like playing freak the norm.
Anyway, I got to see this hearse this time. Kinda cool if you ask me but for some reason i like hearses and would like one to get around in if money was not an issue kind of car. Guess I am just weird that way.

Spoiled Dog

Apparently, Jeremy the dog thinks the new to us coach was gotten for him. I do not think he is entirely wrong.

Fort Wayne Philharmonic

For those of you who love classical music in the Fort Wayne area probably know about the Philharmonic already. For those not in the Fort Wayne area or for whatever reason have not heard of them yet, their website is HERE. Enjoy!!

Trailer for Atlas Shrugged

I think the fact this movie is being made says a lot about the state of the country. I really hope people watch the movie, read the book, understand it and then make choices about where this country is going.

Candidates should not be allowed to office until they answer the question, "Who is John Galt?"

Gypsy Dance

This song is done by a Fort Wayne Celtic Rock Band called the Mimi burns band. the music truly rocks so enjoy!!

Hacker Public Radio

One of the podcasts I listen to is Hacker Public Radio. I generally like it. One of its biggest strengths is also one of its biggest weaknesses- it is run and done by its community. That lends itself to a variety of topics and a variety of quality. It lends itself to be like looking for diamonds in the rough but the diamonds are there. I am certain that there is plenty for just about anyone to both like and dislike. It has helped me quit a bit finding info that was most needed. their website is HERE.

Upcoming Municipal Elections

There will be municipal elections around Indiana this year. I do not know if i should make this a prediction or just throw it out as my opinion but I get the feeling that the throw the incumbent out sediment is not totally gone. There is not a lot that the municipal leaders can do when the greater economy is in a deep long recession. I realize their are some that say the recession is over and I have been seeing some signs of improvement but I really have not been feeling it except for my own better use of my own dollars and making them stretch like the dickens.

To the incumbents and any challengers, I will say this, do not for the love of God promise us the moon and stars and then reach around to my wallet to pay for it when the bill comes do. There are a lot of things I both need and want that I am already doing without. I do not need the politicians spending more of my money and calling it helping. Do more with less or do without like the American people have been doing for a long time already. The best advice I can give any local politician or any politician is whenever you spend your budget full of taxpayers money, ask yourself if those same taxpayers would think it was a good deal if they had to be billed and write a check for each individual thing you get.

You may be leaders of the community but you are also the stewards of the resources of that same community. Make the most of them. Make your area affordable for both people and businesses to stay in and move to the area. Make your area attractive enough and the finances will take care of themselves due to the fiscal responsibility and people and businesses flocking to the area. The details might be up for debate but the need for individuals, businesses and government to pinch their pennies until the scream and moan in pain is not. Now get to it, make your community the best it can for the best value on the dollar. (and that is not always the lowest price but that is another blog post)

February wine

This post is going to have a get yourself some cheese because I am going to wine warning.
It must be February because I am truly and fully sick of winter. It is not like I do not like cooler weather or do not know how to deal with all the cold and snow. I do not want to see any more negative Fahrenheit temps and I am tired of shoveling snow. My mood did not improve when I got home after dropping when wife off at work and found a roughly cubic yard snow boulder in the driveway left by the city snow plow drivers. In their defense, I understand that they will leave berms in driveways and I had dug out a path to the mail box which helped set up the formation of the boulder when they drove by. Having said this, it still took all my resolve not to yell at some poor city worker for having a snow boulder in my driveway on a single digit morning because they were widening what they plowed which I wished they had done earlier.

Warmer weather is in the forecast and I for one think it can not come fast enough.

Soul of the Machine

Soul of the Machine is a phrase I first heard on the Solder Smoke Podcast. As I roll my own computers out of old computers and spare parts, I am understanding this phrase more and more. My present laptop is the computer that feels most like mine. Some of that is due to the fact that is the computer that has been most exculsively used by me alone. However, since I resurrected it myself and have been setting it up for my use from the bottom up. There is something to be said about using something that you had a role in crafting. That goes for more than just computers. Things that you make take a life of their own; sometimes they can be quarky and definitely unique. That is not always a bad thing especially when they get a bit of soul about them because you left your touch on them. They are still just things but can become the best possessions and gifts.

House of Flavors

While visiting my in laws in Michigan, I was introduced to a restaurant in Manistee Michigan called house of Flavors. The food was really good and a 1950s style restaurant. Their website is HERE.

Open caching

I was listening to the Geotalk Podcast. They mentioned the open geocaching website. I found the open caching US website and i am curious about it. I have not checked it out too much yet but I think I might. It has not picked up too much around home so I do not know how much it will. Waymarking has not taken off too much around us either. I might register on it and put up some virtuals. I think I might be able to do some good write ups based on some of the waymarks I have done. time will tell and I will post back about it if I actually get off my butt about it. the website is HERE.

Interenet Kill Switch

I heard this morning that a bill was proposed to give the president the ability to shut down the internet. I do not care who is in the big chair, this scares the hell out of me and makes me want to set up non internet and non networked ways to communicate so the government can not shut it down. Those in power may see this as a security issue or a threat to power but I see this as a free speech and an essential for freedom. Click HERE for an article on it.

Income statistics

With the economy being on everyone's minds, this site listing how people's incomes are going might be of interest. Check it out HERE.

Geocaching Virtual Souvenirs

Groundspeak has been doing virtual souvenirs on their geocaching.com site. Mine are listed HERE. I am not that impressed with them.I think part of the problem is that geocaching is a hobby that i am jst not doing as much as I use to. I am benchmark hunting and waymarking more than caching and even that is not being done as much as I use to. I think the other problem is I do gps games to find a nice hike or an interesting spot I would not have found otherwise. I am not really interested with my online stats other than a statement of fact of where I have been.

I guess I am just a slacker but what the heck. It is just a hobby.

Wells Fargo Sucks!

This weeks webness speaks for itself. If you do not like Wells Fargo or lending institutions in general check out this site about Wells Fargo. It is HERE.

Archive.org

This is the second try at this entry. The turn of the year is catching me on posting further posts. I was listening to Linux in the Ham Shack when they brought up arhive.org. It is an interesting online digital library covering at least some of the history of the internet. There is way to much stuff on there to cover so check it out and enjoy. It is HERE.

hulu.com

This week's website is hulu.com and the link is HERE. I am a very johnny come lately but I have been really enjoying this site. We dropped our subscription a while ago to save a few bucks. With me finding out about hulu and hearing about netflicks offers and the fact there is a device that can hook directly into your tv to display your streaming tv,i am thinking that cable and satellite services are in trouble. This service is not much extra on top of what I am paying for Internet which I still have kept. It is cheaper than paying for cable or satellite and internet. Besides that, I can get shows on demand. I think my paradigm for entertainment just changed. It does not get me access to the latest shows or all the shows i want but man does it it take the need (more like want) for subscription tv to go away. The economy has made me look at new ways to get more for less. This is helping with this. Not perfect but helping.