John F Dean

Hi Jay,

I have hiked the Grand Canyon extensively; it is amazing the people I bumped into during those travels.  There are warning signs all over the place …that get ignored. One vision that is still with me is the couple with the 10 year old that was going into heat stroke.   It was 100 degree+ weather. They had minimum water.  I encouraged them to get him to lay down in a nearby stream to lower his core temp.  They refused because the stream “ might have bacteria” as opposed to the heat that I was 100% certain was harming him.  I gave my best advice and moved on.  Hours later I was able to contact a ranger. I have no idea as to the outcome.  

I got to thinking back to my 8th Christmas. I opened one of the gifts, there was a bat inside.  It flew away.

For whatever reason I have been keeping a closer watch on my credit rating.  Sort of like quantum physics, it seems that merely watching it impacts it.
I have also noticed that my pr-approved credit card requests have dramatically increased.

 Having taught at the college level for 15 years, I have been shocked at the lack of a moral compass too many of my adult students have had. …out of fear of heading into Cider Press, I will stop with that comment.

That photo speaks volumes!

Where I have located homesteads, it has always been well protected by trees and always on the upper east side of a hill. I find I am more protected from winds and flooding.   In my present location I have had at least one tornado skip over me. And , at least once, I have found myself living on an island,

I find the use of sugar to be highly individualized.  I tend to be anti sugar, but I do use a sweet wine.  My wife is pro sugar. Any acid taste from the tomatoes bugs her.

Building on Douglas’s comment on insurance rates. Quite by chance, I got into a conversation today with the President of a tiny insurance company.  His company is pretty specialized, but he stated that there can be around a 30% mark up for bad credit in the industry in general. Now, he also made it clear that the thinking behind it doesn’t always go in a straight line.  One example he used was that if you are seeking insurance for the first time and you have a bad credit rating, you are probably in trouble.  If you bought a policy when you had  good credit and now your credit is not so good, you will probably not see so much of an impact. Of course, each company has their own practice.