I learned about this in one of my haz mat recert classes. The plastic bottles we buy that contain everything from water to pop that we consume leach plastics into their contents over a period of time. That is why bottles have an expiration date. Water does not "go bad" if it is stored in sealed glass or metal containers. As for myself I use filtered water. Not that I'm fearful of some local contamination (we have some of the best water in the nation) but because water is treated with chlorine and that is a known carcinogin.
A toast to your health
Monday, December 24, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
This is just the beginning folks.
Fun times ahead
When I checked the mortgage crisis over the last few months I assumed that the beginning was in August. It normally takes a minimum of 6 months to do a forclosure. I know because there have been a few in my neighborhood in the last few years. So, when I saw this article I was surprised at the timing. I've also noticed that people from Ca. are moving here to the Northwest. I hate to tell them this, but our economy isn't any better. They may be lucky and find a niche position for technical jobs, but to find a transitional job until they get the job there after, well those type of jobs dried up in just the last two months. Our housing market is following California with the price of homes falling and rents climbing. The other problem with this is that there are still limited funds for financing and you can expect to be put under a microscope to get those loans. Don't expect to pick up a forclosure either as the speculators swoop down and snap them up like vultures.
The sad fact is that this is only the beginning. Let's see where we are in March or April when the next round of rate adjustments comes due. This is bringing back bad memories of the early 80's. Here's a brief accounting of what happened back then for those of you who were lucky enough not to have lived through it. We had massive inflation. Interest rates were around 18% or better then. Employers started cutting back jobs. People looking for work found nothing, not even the 'Mcjobs' in fast food and convience stores. With no work spending slowed and in turn employers cut back even more and the cycle continued. I don't remember what ended that recession only to say it took a very long time. It was not a fun time then but as they say "history repeats itself".
One last note to consider. All of the safety nets that had been in place in the 80's are now gone, wiped out by Reagoon and the Shrub in Chief. Might want to consider that used tent trailer and some other camping gear. It could come in handy soon.
Update: Here's an article that pretty much sums up what I said above. I'd like to add a side note to this. If the Feds lower interest rates, foreign investors who haven't already moved their money out of this country are sure to do so when rates drop making our problems worse.
Mortgage crisis
When I checked the mortgage crisis over the last few months I assumed that the beginning was in August. It normally takes a minimum of 6 months to do a forclosure. I know because there have been a few in my neighborhood in the last few years. So, when I saw this article I was surprised at the timing. I've also noticed that people from Ca. are moving here to the Northwest. I hate to tell them this, but our economy isn't any better. They may be lucky and find a niche position for technical jobs, but to find a transitional job until they get the job there after, well those type of jobs dried up in just the last two months. Our housing market is following California with the price of homes falling and rents climbing. The other problem with this is that there are still limited funds for financing and you can expect to be put under a microscope to get those loans. Don't expect to pick up a forclosure either as the speculators swoop down and snap them up like vultures.
The sad fact is that this is only the beginning. Let's see where we are in March or April when the next round of rate adjustments comes due. This is bringing back bad memories of the early 80's. Here's a brief accounting of what happened back then for those of you who were lucky enough not to have lived through it. We had massive inflation. Interest rates were around 18% or better then. Employers started cutting back jobs. People looking for work found nothing, not even the 'Mcjobs' in fast food and convience stores. With no work spending slowed and in turn employers cut back even more and the cycle continued. I don't remember what ended that recession only to say it took a very long time. It was not a fun time then but as they say "history repeats itself".
One last note to consider. All of the safety nets that had been in place in the 80's are now gone, wiped out by Reagoon and the Shrub in Chief. Might want to consider that used tent trailer and some other camping gear. It could come in handy soon.
Update: Here's an article that pretty much sums up what I said above. I'd like to add a side note to this. If the Feds lower interest rates, foreign investors who haven't already moved their money out of this country are sure to do so when rates drop making our problems worse.
Mortgage crisis
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Bowl games
I remember when I was a kid there used to be six or seven bowl games usually played at Thanksgiving and maybe one or two around New Years. Now there are (count em) 32 games between Dec 20 and Jan 7. As much as I like a good college rivalry and a good game after a quiet dinner, this is just getting rediculous. Teams I've paid no attention to during the regular season are suddenly cast on national TV to make an endless show of football lasting from noon till midnight. Even as a kid when I loved football more I thought it was getting to be a bit much. But then I stopped to think that with the writers' strike the networks have few options in this matter.
Football
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
This doesn't look good
Forclosures
The economic slowdown is starting to show its' face here in the Northwest. I don't have the figures on what the average rates of forclosures are for any given year, but I've seen a shift in project delays, postponments and cancellationsin construction in just the last month. I'm seeing holds or cancellations in projects that had been planned years ago. Add to this the spending necessary to repair the recent flood damage that will take money away from other building projects, well you get the idea.
The economic slowdown is starting to show its' face here in the Northwest. I don't have the figures on what the average rates of forclosures are for any given year, but I've seen a shift in project delays, postponments and cancellationsin construction in just the last month. I'm seeing holds or cancellations in projects that had been planned years ago. Add to this the spending necessary to repair the recent flood damage that will take money away from other building projects, well you get the idea.
This just made my day
Bushwacked again
Bush wants to change Haz mat reporting requirements.
Shrub strikes again. For over 15 years I've had to deal with nasty chemicals and as require by law made an accounting of what that chemical was and the amount disposed or recycled. All of this info is put on either a waste manifest or a RCRA sheet. It's a piece of paperwork no more than one or two pages that takes all of about five minutes to fill out. Most of the forms are just checking off boxes. The purpose of these forms is to show emergency responders and the public in general what chemicals and amounts are stored at a factory so that in the event of a fire or major spill they know what they're dealing with and can act accordingly. Sorry George this is not a burden on me or the company I work for and if it helps in an emergency then it was worth it.
Hope the video at the link still works. Via King 5 News
Bush wants to change Haz mat reporting requirements.
Shrub strikes again. For over 15 years I've had to deal with nasty chemicals and as require by law made an accounting of what that chemical was and the amount disposed or recycled. All of this info is put on either a waste manifest or a RCRA sheet. It's a piece of paperwork no more than one or two pages that takes all of about five minutes to fill out. Most of the forms are just checking off boxes. The purpose of these forms is to show emergency responders and the public in general what chemicals and amounts are stored at a factory so that in the event of a fire or major spill they know what they're dealing with and can act accordingly. Sorry George this is not a burden on me or the company I work for and if it helps in an emergency then it was worth it.
Hope the video at the link still works. Via King 5 News
Monday, December 17, 2007
Here's some news we should all be fearful to hear.
Bush says the economy is sound
This from the man who said "Great job Brownie" and the rethuglicans who posted the sign "Mission accomplished"
If this clown says everything is okay then be worried. Be very worried.
Let's see, before Shrub took office the U.S. had a budget surplus. Now we're in the hole hundreds of billions and with the cost of war that will be in the trillions. Gas was aboout $1.50 a gallon now it's over $3.00. The costs of everything is going up except wages.
Sorry George the economy isn't sound and this is only the beginning. Cranking up the money presses is not going to do anything to bail us out of this one. It will only make things worse.
Bush says the economy is sound
This from the man who said "Great job Brownie" and the rethuglicans who posted the sign "Mission accomplished"
If this clown says everything is okay then be worried. Be very worried.
Let's see, before Shrub took office the U.S. had a budget surplus. Now we're in the hole hundreds of billions and with the cost of war that will be in the trillions. Gas was aboout $1.50 a gallon now it's over $3.00. The costs of everything is going up except wages.
Sorry George the economy isn't sound and this is only the beginning. Cranking up the money presses is not going to do anything to bail us out of this one. It will only make things worse.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Random
Oh Boy!
First there were killer bees and now there are Rambo rats. Japanese scientists have sucessfully removed the fear genes in mice. Just what we need. You head to the kitchen for a midnight snack to be faced by a fuzzy faced New Yorker. What are you lookin at? What no Brie?!
Bushwacked
The Shrub plan for health care. Make em pay for their own medical costs. Let's see $19 a week works out to nearly $1000 per year that covers $1100 worth of coverage. Oh and something they don't tell you. If you don't use it you lose it. This looks like a great deal if you are an insurance company. You get $1000 and only have to pay out $100 and if you can deny the claim it's all yours.
First there were killer bees and now there are Rambo rats. Japanese scientists have sucessfully removed the fear genes in mice. Just what we need. You head to the kitchen for a midnight snack to be faced by a fuzzy faced New Yorker. What are you lookin at? What no Brie?!
Bushwacked
The Shrub plan for health care. Make em pay for their own medical costs. Let's see $19 a week works out to nearly $1000 per year that covers $1100 worth of coverage. Oh and something they don't tell you. If you don't use it you lose it. This looks like a great deal if you are an insurance company. You get $1000 and only have to pay out $100 and if you can deny the claim it's all yours.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
