On Top of Old Baldy

From the May 2010 Automobile Club of Southern California Westways magazine.

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Mount Baldy, circa 1890 — Mount Baldy, California, circa 1890

Bedroll, heavy-duty axe, large drum canteen. Check. Wide-brimmed hat, cravat, six-gun, holster, and ammunition. Check. Add nine of your buddies striking a pose atop a 10,OOO-foot mountain-and a photographer to prove you made it to the top-and you have the fixings of a wilderness hunting adventure at the summit of Mount Baldy, circa 1890.

Officially, the mountain bears the name San Antonio, but it was nicknamed Old Baldy in the 1860s by hard-luck gold miners who noted the mountain’s treeless pate. The peak dominates the eastern San Gabriel range and is the highest point in Los Angeles County.

The original route to the crest of the mountain started at Devil’s Backbone, a harrowing knife-edged approach from the east. But in the summer of 1889, Dr. B.H. Fairchild hired hunter Fred Dell and a party of laborers to build a shorter (but steeper) horse trail up the south ridge. Fairchild hoped to convince Harvard College that it should construct a permanent astronomical observatory on top of Baldy to replace the school’s temporary site at Mount Wilson. When the director of the college observatory later trekked to the summit-where the party from Dell’s Camp had erected a stone summit monument-the weather was so bad that Harvard opted to pass.

Although the summit never became a scientific apex, Mount Baldy has rewarded countless hikers with wonderful vistas. Be sure to bring your camera. W

Comparing the Rich to the Poor

The median American family income in 2009 was $49,777, not statistically different from the 2008 median according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (Arithmetic Median Definition: Median is the middle value of the given numbers or distribution in their ascending order.) The U.S. Census Bureau also reports that 43.6 million people in 2009 were defined as being in poverty.

However over 1% of the population has earnings of more than $250,000 per year. That is more than 3 million people. The GOP obtained extension of Bush income tax cuts for that group. Even worse is capital gains are taxed at 15% while salaries are taxed on a graduated tax scale. Thus a family earning taxable income of $212,300 – $379,150 is in the 33% tax bracket.

Representative Paul Ryan is the Un-Robin Hood.

Fox News Finally Wakes Up!

Glenn Beck should have been recognized by Fox News channel as being a few cards short of a full deck along time ago. Perhaps he was a money maker but he also tarred that TV network as willing to surrender its “conservative” values for just plain loony talk that is not based upon reality. Advertisers prevailed.

The Toronto Star (yes the network even has an outlet there) offered this summary of Glenn Beck’s greatest quotes.

To commemorate this week’s announcement that Glenn Beck’s daily show on Fox News will end later this year, we present a round-up of just a few of the words of wisdom to escape his lips during his reign.

1. “I’m a rodeo clown . . . (and) if you take what I say as gospel, you’re an idiot.”

2. “The most used phrase in my administration if I were to be President would be, ‘What the hell you mean we’re out of missiles?’”

3. “This president (Barack Obama) I think has exposed himself over and over and over again as a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture . . . I’m not saying he doesn’t like white people, I’m saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist.”

4. “I’m thinking about killing Michael Moore.”

5. “When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I’m just like, ‘Oh shut up.’ I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining.”

6. “The only (Katrina victims) we’re seeing on television are the scumbags.”

7. “Cindy Sheehan is a tragedy slut,” (referring to the anti-war activities of the mother of U.S. soldier Casey Sheehan, who was killed during action in Iraq.)

8. “Progressivism is the cancer in America and it is eating our Constitution.”

9. “Political correctness doesn’t change us, it shuts us up.”

10. “You can get rich making fun of me. I know. I’ve made lots of money making fun of me.”

GOP Long Term Budget Plan

Let’s be honest. Seniors would have a very difficult time finding health insurance if there was no Medicare. After all the age group of 65 plus are the group most likely to need health care. Just go to any medical center and you see far more seniors there than any other age group. I doubt that will change in 2022.

Still there must be some money to be made because every year I receive solicitations from every provider trying to encourage my enrollment in their plan.

The solution is non-profit health care for everyone. Call it socialized medicine if you wish but the wealthiest nation in the world provides limited health care for its poorest citizens while other industrialized countries provide health care for every citizen.

Key points of the GOP plan as summarized in the Los Angeles Times. The primary focus of savings is health care. There is no cap on the fees that health insurance providers charge.

Overall savings: Would provide about $6 trillion more in savings than the president’s budget over the next 10 years.

Medicare: In 2022, Medicare would become a “premium support program,” ending open-ended payment of doctor bills and health costs for seniors. The· government would begin paying a set amount of money to insurers. Beneficiaries would select from a list of subsidized health plans. People now 55 or older would remain in the current Medicare plan.

Medicaid: The program would be turned over to the states using a block-grant system, and $771 billion would be cut from Medicaid over the next decade.

Taxes: Individual and corporate top rates would be reduced from the current 35% to 25%. Tax loopholes would be closed and tax brackets consolidated.

Health insurance: Would do away with the president’s healthcare law and provide a refundable tax credit – $2,300 for individuals and $5,700 for families – that would allow individuals to buy coverage in any state, as well as portability.

Budget process: Would establish an overall spending limit as a percentage of the gross domestic product and require the president’s budget and the Congressional Budget Office to make annual projections.

Sources: Reuters, Rep. Paul D. Ryan

Visiting Tijuana is not a Good Idea

Driving into Tijuana, Mexico is really not a good idea. In fact, walking into Tijuana isn’t a good idea either. Why? There have been too many visitors killed or robbed there. There have been reports that many visitors to San Diego are still visiting the Mexican border city. I have both driven and walked into that city across from San Diego. Two men were killed by a gunman who opened fire while they waited in line, in their pickup truck, to reach the Tijuana border crossing at San Ysidro. The vehicle wait is usually 30 to 45 minutes. They were U.S. citizens who moved to the Mexican border city where they could afford to live on the beach.

The Associated Press report:

In the first six months of 2010, the latest State Department figures available, 49 Americans were victims of homicide in Mexico, up from 37 for the same period in 2009 and 19 in the first half of 2008.

The majority of the slayings happened in border cities such as Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, which have also been the hardest hit by drug violence. In some cases, the Americans apparently were in the company of Mexican friends, relatives or acquaintances who were the targets.

Choosing the Safest Aircraft

AOL News reports Inspectors find damage in 3 more Southwest jets after one was forced to make a harrowing emergency landing.

In the last two summers we flew to Toronto, Ontario, Canada from Los Angeles, California non-stop on American Airlines. The plane is a Boeing 738 (also called a 737-800). The Southwest Airlines plane that developed a 1’ by 5’ hole in the ceiling is a 737 (older 737-300 model). So the question is: How safe are these planes? The answer is there are over 6,000 Boeing 737 aircraft around the world and they are still delivering more. I found one aircraft web site that contends a 737 is taking off somewhere every 2.2 seconds. That claim seems rather unreasonable but the planes are certainly well used with few complaints.

According to Wikipedia 737s take of every 5 seconds. The 737 is operated by more than 500 airlines, flying to 1,200 destinations in 190 countries. With over 8,000 aircraft ordered, over 6,000 delivered, and over 4,500 still in service, at any given time there are on average 1,250 airborne worldwide at any one time. There have been 4097 fatalities as of May 2010.

The Airbus A320 family is the European competitor to the 737. It was not introduced until 20 years after the first 737. Total fatalities are 795 as of July 2010. That is something to think about!

Stock Rally Will End In Tears

In January 2010 we all saw the stock market dip, rise and dive. At the end of the month there was no appreciable change from January 1. I offered the historic fact that January’s are a worthwhile bell weather forecaster of the entire year. I was wrong and the market grew dramatically month after month. I threw in the towel in December 2010 and joined the obvious surge in stock market values. The decision was reinforced this past January. However, I have continued to be sceptical because I see no reason for optimism in the United States. Brazil, China, and India are growing because the West has outsourced its manufacturing.

David Rosenberg of the Financial Times supports my view with some valuable observations.

There’s no denying we’re in the midst of an “incredible” stock-market rally, said David Rosenberg. But that doesn’t mean we’re in a bull market. Genuine bull markets are preceded by demographic shifts or technological advances that promote rapid, sustained growth in productivity and capital assets. The 1949-66 bull market was spurred by “a baby boom that would unleash years of tremendously strong demand growth.” The 1982-2000 bull run was powered by “a wave of innovation” that brought us the mainframe, the personal computer, the Internet, and the smartphone. By contrast, the “bear-market rally” of 2003-07 was fueled by “phony wealth generated by a nonproductive asset called housing,” with a dubious assist from “widespread financial engineering.” Likewise, the current rally doesn’t owe its existence to the iPad or Facebook. They’re “fun,” but they haven’t revolutionized productivity. What has fueled the rally is “unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus.” Granted, it’s tough to sit out a rally that has seen “the market surge more than 90 percent.” But “it is much, much tougher to actually experience a correction in the other direction.”

Photo credit: http://photobucket.com/images/crying/?sortby=sevendaysview#!cpZZ2QQtppZZ16

4G Wireless – We Are Not There Yet

The ads on television are daily and almost non-stop. AT&T and Verizon Wireless have been bombarding everyone about their new 4G networks that you need and they can supply.

The questions are what the heck is 4G and do I really need this?

Ezinemark.com offers this explanation posted Jan 31, 2011
This label which, in a simple explanation, stands for the ‘fourth generation’ of mobile technology has a multitude of definitions behind it. Having no singular predetermined industry standard has made it hard to put numbers and labels on exactly how much faster different plans will be. Each provider might be using a different method or source for the network (such as LTE or WiMax) but the basic idea is that the speed is far faster than old 3g networks. As many will remember 3g wireless networks took people from being able to access basic internet and basic information to being able to use images, videos and other media right from their phones. The 3g wireless networks are what allowed people to access basic internet, social networking websites, email and more from their mobile phones or mobile internet devices. Now, 4g wireless internet will allow them to use not only their mobile phones but their notebook or laptop computers to use the full range of internet functions they would on a home, school or office full terrestrial broadband connection only while on the go!

This was posted by money.cnn on Feb 23, 2010
Despite claims from mobile phone carriers, the next generation of mobile technology, or 4G, will only be slightly faster than current 3G speeds, at least initially.

Massive costs, soaring consumer demand for data and the logistical nightmare of setting up tens of thousands of new cell sites will prevent 4G technology from reaching its promised speeds for years, according to carriers and wireless experts.

True 4G must generate speeds of at least 100 megabits per second, according to the International Telecommunication Union. Current 3G technology offers speeds of up to 2 megabits per second and broadband delivers 5 megabits per second to the average U.S. household.

April Fools’ Jokes

Just say any of these things to your family.

The maple syrup’s full of ants.

A cat just chased a mouse into the house through our doggy door. (I actually used this one).

A mouse is creeping on the shelf.

Is that a spider on your back?

I ate the whole pie by myself.

The kitchen sink just overflowed.

The toilet just overflowed. (ours has risen to the brim)

A flash flood washed away the school.

I threw your blanket in the trash.