New Shoes in the Rain

Good morning, all.  Hope you're having a good weekend and that you're in the part of the country where the weather is more agreeable than the oppressive heat we've had in Kentucky, or the frequent deluges that have caused flooding and other problems. I enjoyed sharing some of the details of our recent trip to Chicago, and we're still talking about some of what we experienced while we were there.  But the last day before we all traveled back home was my birthday, number 65 to be exact, so I now have a good bit to think about. I can start taking my Social Security and apply for Medicare right now.  But I would be limited on how much other income I may have until I reach "full" retirement age, as I understand it.  So my plan, for the moment, anyway, is to stick with full-time work until I turn 67, when I will then be able to draw my full benefit AND have the opportunity to earn other income without interrupting or reducing my monthly SS benefit. Worth mentioning ...

Greetings, all.  What day is it?  I have been way out of whack for almost two weeks.  I started a long-awaited vacation after work on Friday, July 11, and returned to work today.  And, yes, I know that it's Wednesday.  Isn't it? Anyway, the central event of this vacation was a trip to Chicago to attend our older grandson's basketball tournament there.  So my wife and I counted up my Marriott hotel points and found out where our daughter and grandson would be required to stay by the tournament organizers ("stay and play" is what this is called, pretty common in youth sports) and identified a Marriott property where I could use my points.  And if you visit here frequently enough, you know that I travel a great deal for my job and rack up hotel points routinely. I've always loved Chicago.  Took our son there to see the Cincinnati Reds play the Cubs at Wrigley Field on the north side of Chicago in 1991.  And this was before the Cubs ownership tur...

Greetings, friends! I come before you this morning in a buoyant mood, as I am now on vacation for about ten days!  I must confess that I don't believe I have ever taken a vacation from a job that was this long before.  I like it! I'm thinking what you're thinking in an overall sense....can it get worse in our country? The short answer is "yes," I am sad to say. I won't recap all of the individual events of the past week or so, but every time there's a natural disaster that heavily affects Americans, I cringe to think how poorly that disaster will be handled by our government.  My heart goes out to the people of the Hill Country of Texas for their unimaginable losses. But it's really the events that are created intentionally that are so bothersome. Let's go take over a park in Los Angeles, someone said!  Even though there aren't any of our "targets" there, let's go with a bunch of armed agents, some of them on horseback, and scare ...

Well, my friends, it seems we are through the looking glass with regard to a directional turn our United States Congress has taken, moving further into authoritarian territory than many of us ever thought possible. If you've been paying attention to the news you likely know as much as I do about this spending bill that just passed the House and therefore the Congress.  It is a mish-mash of a lot of programs that will be affected one way or another.  Bottom line is that the wealthy will receive more tax cuts, middle class people not so much, and less fortunate people will suffer deep cuts in social safety-net programs like Medicaid and SNAP benefits. But never fear, the Republicans have thought of most everything, as the cuts take effect in 2027, so the GOP can blame Democrats for these program cuts, as they so often do. Worth remembering that the President said more than once, and several times on camera, that he would veto any bill that contained cuts in Medicaid funding. ...

Good morning, friends.  I’m in central Indiana this morning for business, but, wow, was there a hellacious display of severe weather here last night!  I met with someone around 2:45 and within an hour or more the skies had darkened, the wind had increased and there were suddenly severe thunderstorm and high wind warnings. I made a beeline for my hotel and walked into the building minutes before it started.  My fourth floor room offered quite a view of the rain and wind, bending trees sideways and causing a total loss of visibility!  There are tens of thousands of people in the region who are without power! If you had severe weather yesterday and last night, as did residents of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, hope you came through it OK. That wasn’t my main reason for posting this morning, but weather did play a role in this. I was in an accident several weeks ago and will be picking up my car tomorrow, with repairs on the accident damage now completed.  But I’ve...

Ask yourself a question.....when you interviewed for the job you have now, or the last job you had, were you not asked for a description of the skills and experience you have that would be necessary to succeed in that job, right? I see the same, but with the added element of having worked for several years in the temporary staffing industry and in Human Resources.  In both cases verifying that someone had the ability to do a job and the experience to ensure that they would do it well were paramount considerations. Yet in the current presidential administration, these ideas are quaint but generally not even considered.  For instance, it came to light not long ago that the latest choice by the Administration to oversee the Federal Aviation Administration was found to not have a qualification that he touted, claiming he held a commercial pilot's license that he actually does not have.  It's not essential that the FAA Administrator have a pilot's license, but rather to be hon...