I heard that in Europe that the Water Treatment Plants are downstream and the Sewage Treatment Plants are upstream. I don't know if this is true, but it does make sense, except in times of sewage crisis, when effluent cannot be treated effectively. It does allow self-regulation though. Have you ever wondered how our sewer lines work in our cities? Gravity does much of the work, but how does it get to the Waste Water Treatment Plant? Somebody told me that they use pumps, but that seems odd. How does the pipeline for sewerage stay current? What about sewer leaks and infrastructure damage? I also heard that the street sewers mix with residential effluent. Anyway, without septic tanks (which are self-contained), I don't understand sewerage systems.

I've always wondered if water is diamagnetic or not, because of the polarized molecule. As a solid, can it be magnetized? Maybe it takes impurities in order to have permeability. Its a thought. Water stores so much potential energy, I'm always amazed why this energy is not harnessed more. Freshwater falls all over our planet. Wasted potential energy, clean energy that can be developed without large dams.

I read in the paper today, that the the government is trying to improve "energy alternatives". The funny thing is that its not okay to resurrect old ideas without first changing the words. Like the novel 1984, words have altered meanings in order to dupe the masses. The government can't use the term "alternative energy", because it brings back memories of Jimmy Carter, malaise, high-interest rates, and double-digit inflation. The term for "gasahol" from 1976 is now "ethanol", but still placing corn by-products in your tank. The new alternative energy resources are now "okay" to talk about, because its now instituted by nouveau capitalism. If environmental products help not only the environment but also the economy, then its okay. Now I think that that's great for 2006, but what have we done in the past thirty years since 1976? Hydrogen? Hybrid? Geothermal? Solar? Fuel-cells? Food by-product energy? These technologies have been around since 1976, demand has been around also.

New energy sources would be fantastic, and I believe that America can solve that problem too. I'm sure that cars of the future will be just like the ones that were thought about in 1950, 1930 and 1900.

If Americans are so smart, why are working harder and longer hours for the same pay (in 1958 dollars). What is our 2006 dollar worth in comparison to the 1958 dollar?

From a calculator on website, I found that it takes $6.56 in 2006 dollars to equal $1 from 1958, or what would cost $1 today would only cost $0.15 in 1958. Yikes. That's why I collect 1958 coins...

So, for example if you made $6000 per year in 1958, in today's dollars that would be about $40000 per year in 2006. So, in some ways the pay in the United States has not moved at all. Of course this is hypothetical, because I don't know how much people were making in 1958, but I do know that cars were only a few thousand dollars. Anyway, as time goes by, inflation goes up, and people forget....its all relative.

I'll have lots of plums this year. Now I have added more plum trees to my orchard and yard. Of course, I love the taste of plums. I'm cleaning out the Okra garden, where there were plenty of "stubs". Boy, did I have lots of Okra last year. I need to figure out other ways to cook Okra...let's see, there's Boiled okra (gumbo style), Fried okra (cut in smaller pieces) and even steamed (slightly, so that it still has the crunch). I don't know, Okra is slimey, but tastes great. I like Fried Okra and Fried Squash, but that's the way I ate it as a kid. Okra is probably a weed, because it grows like it. Usually each year I will try a different vegetable and eliminate those that don't work. Last year, I grew cucumbers, but they seemed more like squash than the nice green, sweet cucumubers that I am used to. I don't understand tomatoes. They are always difficult to grow. I have tried everything...reduce/increase water, reduce/increase fertilizer, reduce/increase herbicide, pH, soil content, manure, mulch, shade/sun. Every year its the same, "small tomatoes in reduced numbers." Maybe its the climate that has changed, because I don't remember having this much trouble about twenty years ago.

My garden from last year consisted of:

Asparagus - more each year, from new sprouts.
Tomatoes - many varieties, difficult to flourish.
Okra - always grow.
Cowpeas - those were attacked by ants.
Pole Beans - Kentucky, always do well.
Peppers - Tabasco, usually for drying to create pepper.
Corn - Silver Queen, not too shabby even with sun.
Cucumbers - depends on variety, some will yellow, some are good.

I've tried Spinach, Cabbage, Squash, Strawberries, Lettuce, Zucchini and Bell-peppers. Cabbage is a mystery to me, most people seem to be able to grow this year-round.

Usually each Spring, I try to grow only those vegetables that I know are consistent. Unfortunately, the list is being reduced, but its always nice to have fresh vegetables on the dinner table. My backyard and orchard is perfect for the vegetable garden (lots of sunshine). The last few years of drought have not helped though. I tend to water alot when there's not rain for several weeks. Its always amazed me how chlorinated, flourinated tap water is not a substitute for natural rain in your garden! Once it begins to rain after a long drought, even though the garden has been watered, the vegetables begin to flourish again. That's probably why it is good practice to collect rainwater during the wet months, in order to apply it to the garden during the dry months. I'll have to figure out a way to do this.

Planted the Plum, but pulled up a strange root. What's that palmetto plant called? I think its a saw-palmetto or Serenoa serrulata. It has a tuber that is white like coconut. I thought that it was completely dead, but the roots were still there. Hopefully I got all the remnants of the palmetto out of the ground before planting the plum tree. I think the variety is a "Stanley - self pollinating", but I don't remember. Anyway, they are always nice to have during the warm summer months...and better than those that you can buy at the grocery store.

What happened to the grocery store internet company? What was the name? WEBVAN.COM or something? It was one of first dot-com busts to go. Whatever happened to all that Y2K stuff? Why did our country spend so much money on that anyway? I remember almost everybody that was working in any company had at least one person who was on the payroll dedicated to Y2K. Where did they go? Was it hype? It's amazing how our country can create their own work. Y2K was a good example. What's wrong with 2 digit years anyway? I use them. See......04, 05, 06. I really don't think the computers or microprocessors were going to shut down because they thought it was the year 1900 or 1901 (I don't remember which one was the kicker).

I remembered in 1997 to 1999, there were many people who decided that the rest of us were idiots for not "worrying" about Y2K. It was their job to inform us morons about the "armageddon" that was upon us...and the funny thing, they were paid big bucks for this nonsense. They probably used all their earned money in order to buy more stock in WEBVAN.COM before they lost it all. Of course, I laughed at the time and invested in conservative stock funds like ENRON (not really). I've always wondered what happened to all those TRILLIONS of dollars lost in the dot-com bust. Where did it go? Did people really get hurt financially by the dot-com bust...or was that hype too! I really never knew anyone who was investing in that stuff anyway.

The funny thing about the internet and the dot-com bust is:

I bought GOOGLE when it was $200 a share, and now its close to $500. Am I worried? I don't know, because it seems like "deja-vu", but the majority of people think that GOOGLE is really worth this amount. Is it? What does GOOGLE sell besides information? Is information worth this amount? I don't know, but I do know that the library has information and it never made this kind of money.

I do have one philosophy of investing:

The companies that I have worked for that were going through downsizing or out-sourcing...I now buy their stocks and no longer work for them. They really enjoy helping us "stockholders", while sticking it to the "employees". Hey...works for me. The best investments are with the worst companies (well...at least they are trying to be competitive by downsizing and out-sourcing, which helps move their stocks). And I only took one business class in college.
Supply and Demand, Supply and Demand, Supply and Demand.

Boy, that month is on its way, and my daffodils are poppin' up. Usually its the 2nd week in February, but now they are comin' up. You ever wonder why some grasses can grow during the cold months. I planted Kentucky fescue back in August/September and now they are growing like weeds. I probably need to cut them with the lawnmower and its January & cold. What's with that? And why do ladybugs enjoy living in my house. They are multiplying by the hundreds and live inside. I thought ladybugs liked aphids and stayed in the garden. I wonder if they eat boogers & dustmites around the house. They fly around and land on my computer when I'm not watching. There goes one now! ~~arrrrgh. Maybe I should tie a thread to one of them and have as a pet. We don't have pets, but we do have insects. They multiply like nematodes.

I'm going to plant my plum tree when it gets warm. I hope that it can cross-pollinate with my other plum/peach trees.



I found this on a webpage about ladybugs:

"In the fall, aggregations of the Asian lady beetles find their way into homes in the winter. The beetles are a nuisance and can ruin rugs and other furniture with their secretions. Fortunately they do not breed or feed inside the home. For complete information on managing Asian lady beetle problems in the home, See ENTFACT-416, ‘Asian Lady Beetle Infestation of Structures ‘. "

Ah-ha....they like HOMES IN WINTER....and they don't eat boogers.
They like MY HOME in the winter...in January to be specific. Maybe they will go outside in February and light on my daffodils & pollinate my plum tree. I hope. I hope.


What is dandelion wine? Do people drink it or is it just a Ray Bradbury book? I like the sound of it anyway. Whatever happened to Mr. Bradbury. Is there a seqel to Fahrenheit 451? Now the movie was weird...and British. And a dumb concept...to protect books. And I like books.

Speakin' of books...I have yet to receive a old book by Reader's Digest from 1976 called "Amazing Facts". It was a book that I ordered that contains info about Chupacabras. Not really, but it does have interesting facts about raining frogs. Yeh!

A friend told me today that he read somewhere that in 1979, America came close to "Fail Safe". He said that the United States was within 15 minutes of launching thermonuclear weapons. I don't know if he was right, but it is an interesting thought to know that I have been alive since that time. Of course, it probably has happened many times during the Cold War without our knowledge...ie: Cuban Missile Crisis. I've always wondered where the Al Qaieda terrorists were during that time, and why we weren't worried about them. Some things are left unexplainable. Which is more important? Destroying Communism or Reducing Terrorism? Huh? I've always wondered how America's vastness of land could be threatened. Even the Germans could not conquer the Alps during World War II.

Speakin' of...were the ski slopes open during World War II? Probably. Bobsledding? Nordic skiing? Of course...US Mountain Division.

Oh, I found some info about the Cold War in 1979 from CNN:

"One of the more publicized U.S. false alarms took place in November 1979. A technician at NORAD -- the North American Air Defense Command -- accidentally placed a training tape into the main systems at NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado. That mistake made NORAD's early warning system computer think the United States was undergoing a massive Soviet missile attack -- and it responded by alerting NORAD officials. Within minutes, they realized the error. The incident was one of five missile warning system failures that took place over an eight-month period between 1979 and 1980. It also prompted a government reassessment of NORAD and its operations."