Categories
2014 September

Monday, September 29, 2014

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The-Coconut-Telegraph-w-CoconutsAnonymous Letters to the Editor with Pictures. Published Daily by Noon Since 2002. No Saturday Edition

flycasting29
[“Fly fishing Starter”] I would start with a book by Mel Krieger, The Essence of Flycasting. In step by step it lays out the mechanics of the cast. Next there are a many fly fishing instructors in the Keys. And even two of the few fly fishing instructor instructors. Seek them out. As far as tackle is concerned I would personally recommend starting with an 8 weight rod and matching reel, along with matching floating fly line. The sky is the limit with fly tackle as you can pay thousands for one outfit, however I believe that you can get into a serviceable set of gear suitable for training purposes for around $200.I thought that after casting in fresh water for years that I could cast in salt water. I know better now. The distance and accuracy need to be successful on the flats of the Florida Keys is probably best described by a difficulty factor of 4. While I am ten times better than I was, I am still half as good as I want and need to be. I don’t think that I properly answered your question of how much it will cost, but I hope that these suggestions help.
Radio-Shack-750w
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sweeper29
[“Street Sweeper“] The lovely graphic shown with the story of the rotary sweeper yesterday should not have been used.  That graphic would be a dream machine compared to what the wire brushes of the rotary sweeper actually look like (see enclosed photo).  This rotary sweeper helps to pulverize the corrosive dust.  Rather than use a vacuum sweeper that takes away this awful dust, the rotary sweeper creates a dust cloud 30’ high.  Sometimes a water truck is used afterward.  That water only creates a slurry which, once dried, is a corrosive powder that flies everywhere with every passing vehicle.  If you see this rig in your area, wear dust masks or risk huge respiratory problems.
[Taxation without Representation] Have you ever checked your restaurant receipts lately for the tax con they are pulling in Key West Hotels? You go to dinner at Happy Hour to get the discount for your food. The main course is charged at $19.95, but everything else being ala carte, is charged full price, then the bastards charge you full sales taxes on the full price of the dinner, not the $19.95 charge. This is also done on drinks where you get 2 for 1 but you have to know to order well drinks or get stung for a higher priced booze. Then on top of that they automatically stick a 20 percent tip charge on the full priced total which you did not pay.To me this is theft and should be investigated by the State Sales Tax Department. I cannot mention which hotels do this because my wife works in one. This con cannot be legal. If the State says this is legal, then the State is more of a bunch of pirates than we think!
lower keys boat rental7.11.14
[Gun Nuts] Police say 15 people have been hurt in a shooting at a Miami nightclub and that the youngest victim is 11 years old.
iphone6-29
The new iPhone 6 is now available and in stock for AT&T and Sprint at the RadioShack store next to Winn Dixie on Big Pine Key. Stop by or give us a call at 305-872-4267.
[Gun Nuts] Terre Haute, Ind. 1 student shot yesterday.
george-neugent9.3.14
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sky29.14
How to make a Drunken Fruit Salad. This should be a Keys favorite for those needing vitamins and booze. Link
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[Rules of War] In the past 64 years we have lost or ruined the lives of over 400,000 American citizens, and wasted over 4 trillion dollars.  These numbers are at the very least twenty fold if you add in civilian contractors, civilian collateral damage, continued health care for vets.  All for wars we didn’t have the cajones the actually win.Before going to war, certain questions need to be asked and answered.
1) what is the justification?
2) what will the cost be?
3) how long will it take?
4) what’s the goal?
5) how do we gauge winning or losing?
6) what does victory look like?
7) what’s the exit strategy?
zombie-bicycle29
Ride of the Living Dead
. Our own zombie ride on Sunday October 19th. The ride starts at 3:30 at the Big Pine Moose on Wilder. We will wind our way through BPK stopping at Coconuts, passing by Bistro 31 and ending at Springer’s for music, food and beverages. Please bring a light for the ride home. Events
[The Beautiful People] They should let that Cay Club couple go because they are really hot looking.
BP-Flea-Market-closed
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milkweed-plant29
[Free Native Milkweed Seeds] Please help save the Monarch Butterfly. Link
[“Stephen Smith Mosquito Control Letter”] Did I read it right in Mr Smith’s letter of yesterday that he wants to centralize Mosquito Control in two locations and build an extra building with additional staff and all the other expenses that entails? I must have read it wrong. Maybe Mr Smith wants to pay the expense himself and save the taxpayers the exorbitant costs of having multiple locations.
manley-deboer-7.11.14
[Good Health Clinic] Along with the new director, the clinic’s board and staff are working diligently to improve the services provided by the Good Health Clinic. With this fresh start, the clinic is now staffed with two nurse practitioners focused on providing needed medical care within a holistic approach to patient health. The clinic also boasts new Medical Co-Directors, Dr. Eugene Manuel and Dr. Brent Sperry, both talented physicians who are Board certified in Internal Medicine and long time members of our community. This new staffing structure facilitates continuity of care for many of the patients from the hospital to outpatient setting because of the dual association our practitioners have with Baptist Health South Florida. Additionally, with more practitioners on staff, patients have the benefit of a broadened scope of medical knowledge.The Good Health Clinic is open Monday through Friday 9am-3pm. Eligibility guidelines and applications for service may be found at the clinic or online at link. The Clinic’s major fundraiser, the Big Kahuna Contest and Luau, will be held in February 2015. Please support this event through donating to a Kahuna or attending the event. If you are interested in supporting the Good Health Clinic with volunteer or monetary support, or have questions about our services, please contact Kate Banick at 305-853-1788
road-cross29
[Death Crosses Suck] Enough already with the death road markers. It is a shame something happened at these sites, but that something is family business, not public. The signs distract drivers and cause undue depression. (Oh, somebody is making money on this scam I see!).
Who owns the state traffic sign company? They must be getting rich as hell with all the extra useless signs they stick all over the place. I bet it costs a fortune each too! Our tax money at play, right?
Coconuts-sign-ad-750w
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chem29
[Believers] For all the chemtrail, shadow people and angel believers.
[New Recycle Bins Allow Deer Mess] Today many of us received new recycle bins from WM. I was concerned because this type of trash bin (has wheels) is usually used with automatic recovery systems. (driver doesn’t leave the truck). I contacted WM and chatted with a very nice person named Karlya. (If I misspelled your name, sorry.) I was told that if you received a bin that has wheels the recovery system is being automated. I expressed concern because I live next to the key deer refuge and that leaving trash bins out without some sort of lid restraint was not an option. (unless you don’t care about picking up trash at 4:00 AM or what happens in the canals with floating trash) Her response was, put bungee cords on until recycle day (next new bins for trash day) then take them off. My response was “The Key Deer are very resourceful they will wait until you remove the restraints and go to work then tip over your trash cans. I thanked her for genuinely trying to help.
Springers-ad-750w
SEE BELOW for FTR’s response to Stephen Smith, Commissioner, Chairman, Florida Keys Mosquito Control’s letter from yesterday.
head29
[Pot-Smoking Moms] Unapologetic about getting high. These Colorado women want to make smoking weed as socially acceptable as drinking a glass of wine. Video
Phil-Goodman8.14.14
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help wanted sm
[Part-time Help] We need a person or couple to clean our house and do general maintenance no more than twice a month. The house has five bedrooms and five bathrooms and a guesthouse. We are open to a per diem for when cleaning and maintenance is needed. Please call Classified Ads > Help Wanted
[Tennessee Williams] The new biography of America’s great playwright by the acclaimed theatre critic, John Lahr. In today’s episode, echoes of Tennessee Williams’s troubled childhood find their way into his first Broadway success, The Glass Menagerie. Audio
johnsons-7.9.14
George Harrison – The Last Performance. Video
moose29
We are still up on the far northern end of BPK and Still Bill is shown here admiring some metal art work done by his late friend, Willie Morrison, for the city of Frisco, Colorado.
This guy brings ukulele playing to new heights. Eat you hearts out Coconuts! Video
eleanor-mcadams-9.18.14
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writer29
Deer Ed,
Hope you are refreshed, but I’m sure you are glad to be back on the rock. Thanks for all you do in getting out the word and connecting the Keys to outer World.
If the USA is a Christian nation why does it worship idols? The dollar bill with In God We Trust is worshiped! If Islam is a religion of peace why do Muslims behead unbelievers & why don’t the vast majority of peaceful Muslims try to curb something that is making their religion look dreadful?
hareens-hats8.29.14c
[The manners of some people!] The other night I was sitting at our favorite bar talking to some stranger next to me while I waited for my wife to come in from work so we could have a few and eat. She finally came in and walked to where I was sitting. She hinted to the strange to move over to the empty seat next to him, but he just shrugged his shoulders and kept drinking. What a rude uncaring S.O.B. he was, She had to stand there and drink and eat, for over an hour. Some people have no manners at all!
superman-phonebooth29
We can only blame ourselves for all the crime and violence today. We removed all the phone booths and now Superman has nowhere to change.
[One dollar equals seventy three cents] When the Euro was created 1 Euro equaled 1 Dollar. I just changed currency in Europe and I only got back $0.73 per dollar. What happened? For what reason is our government running our country down the tubes? Are we becoming just another Banana Republic? Can the voters really do anything about it or is it too late? Folks, it’s too late. It’s not “Of the people, by the people, for the people” any more. As I’m not just whining, I present a possible solution. Never reelect any incumbent! Break the chain of corruption, break the Good ol Boy network, take the lobbyists out of the equation. Take our country back. Or are you content to just sit back and watch it all crumble under your feet? Was the death of over 28,000 Americans back in the 1780’s who gave us the opportunity for nothing? More than likely we’re too comfortable, why change? Good luck
bluewater-750w
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pirate hook sword bean
There will never be a Pirate Fantasy Fest. It would be totally boring because all the Key West merchants dress like that already!
[Radical Or Mainstream Leftist Feminism] The redefinition of the word violence continues among revelations that discounting a sexual partner’s feelings and withholding sex constitutes sexual violence at the University of Michigan. The relevant info can be found at the university’s “Stop Abuse” webpage. “Sexual violence” is a criminal offense.”Examples of sexual violence include: discounting the partner’s feelings regarding sex; criticizing the partner sexually; touching the partner sexually in inappropriate and uncomfortable ways; withholding sex and affection; always demanding sex; forcing partner to strip as a form of humiliation (maybe in front of children), to witness sexual acts, to participate in uncomfortable sex or sex after an episode of violence, to have sex with other people; and using objects and/or weapons to hurt during sex or threats to back up demands for sex.”

So now the definition of sexual violence is both demanding sex or withholding sex. Only in the most fanatical of cults is this sort of sub intellectual radicalizing possible.

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[American Foreign Policy] I was in the big city last month and a Muslim taxi driver said Muslims don’t hate America or Americans, they hate American foreign policy, it’s as simple as that. He said Americans always change the subject, but the consistent hate of Muslims is focused on American foreign policy. He wanted to know why we always say it’s something else. He said our foreign policy was capricious (he was educated) and people died because of it. We say one thing and do another and then leave those that help us to die. I couldn’t really argue with that.
coat-hanger29
Thank you Neighbor, the plantings at the Eden Pines entrance are beautiful and goes well with our beautiful sign.
Nira-Tocco-6.14
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cat  gun ak47
[Guns] The Second Amendment does not give any rights at all. What it does is limit Government’s ability to infringe on your natural born right to self defense and defense of others. Nothing gives you the right to murder. Self defense is not murder. It is up to the individual to assure that they are justified in their assessment that their actions are justified or they will be judged by a group of their peers who will decide if those actions were indeed justified.
To the people that firmly believe that disarming the law-abiding will also disarm the criminal element, all that I can say is that you are at best delusional.
What cracks me up is web providers and their displays on home pages. You get such ridiculous mixtures of news and advertisements I wonder what kind of mentality would put a Lady Gaga entertainment popup next to a ISIS beheading news piece? Seems there is no respect for anything except profit! I cut the damn cable and love it, next is the web unless I can find an ISP who is mature, and basically, lets me pick what I want to read. Too many greedy people.
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Republican leaders want to send troops back to Iraq!
car 54-29
Attention all units
… Attention all units … Cancel the   B O L O   on Deer Ed … Subject has been located!
[Dump the Pumps] I cannot believe in this day and age, a group as uninformed as Dump the Pumps can solicit and receive money! The people in the Keys that I know are a fiercely independent bunch. Why would they choose to follow instead of gather their own information?
Case in point: The most vocal members of Dump the Pumps are a realtor, a gentleman who just got out of jail for strapping dynamite to himself, and someone who speaks to angels. All of them followed Walt Drabinski who himself is not an engineer, and disagrees with experts’ opinions who are engineers and have been designing sewer systems of all kinds for 20+ years. Hell, he even argues against physics if you read his writings. His lies are starting to mount, and the truth will prevail.
Finally, Dump the Pumps have accused people involved on this project as being “on the take”. They always claim “funny” stuff goes on behind the scenes. I think irony is funny. Their ace-in-the-hole is actually a disgruntled FKAA employee who got passed over for a promotion. That’s right Mr. Anon Emus, we know who you are Joe Prosser. So all of this conjuring up fear and misstating facts is all over someone’s hurt feelings? Now that is funny.
If Dump the Pumps were so concerned about the welfare of the residents of the Keys, they would give the people their money back. I cannot imagine the amount of money wasted on this frivolous lawsuit. Go to the state website and read for yourself. The depositions and pre-trial proceedings of their “experts” are listed on there. It is a complete and utter joke. ~lightthedarkness2014@gmail.com
fanci8.4.14
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bocce court29
[Coconuts Bocce Team] The NUT’s Bocce Team getting ready for the World Bocce Invitational Challenge Cup. We just need an invite. For all you Piners that have not made time to check out our park, shame on you. It’s beautiful. Anyone out & about close to Big Pine Key should stop by and see your tax dollars at work. Video
If the local bars don’t up grade to better well [cheap]  booze, I’m going to quit drinking. Happy Hours are not as happy as they used to be!
second-nature6.1.14
Gasoline is $3.11 on Florida’s Gulf coast. It’s $3.74 here!
y valve-29
What if I want to install a three-way Y valve incorporating my house drain to my septic tank and to the street hook up. This will give me a back up system in case (yeah right) the FKAA gravity system back flushes my do-do. I see no problems with this if it is a manual valve. Anyone else think of this? Of course the FKAA will knock this down as will the County, but I want real answers. Why not?
Anyone download iOS 8 for their iPad yet? A feature I used to use a lot is gone. I can no longer search for a word on a page I’ve opened in Safari. Anyone know the work around
Cousineau-Ad-7.3.14
Learn to grow in tropical & subtropical areas. Link
tower people
[Spies Line US] Your devices broadcast unique numbers, and they’re being used to track you. Link
[Tarpon] [?] My friend worked at Robbie’s Marina when this happened. I saw this a while ago and saw him at the hardware store and I asked him about it and he was there and saw it happen. He said this a**hole brought this fish up and broke a woman’s arm and it was major bad trips for everyone.
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We have all been told on here many times that the President is fully responsible for gas prices. Every time they went up a few pennies the Right has made darn sure to put the blame squarely on our President.Now their are many parts of the country seeing gas prices drop below $3.00 a gallon. I have a feeling that somehow in this case the President wont be the one the right gives the credit too. The credit will strangely go to someone else.

That is until they go up again. Then its back to being the Presidents fault.

Selective memory will hit yet again.

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The left’s war on poverty: In 1992, Ron Weddington, co-counsel in the Roe v. Wade case, wrote a letter to President-elect Clinton, imploring him to rush RU-486 — a.k.a. “the abortion pill” — to market as quickly as possible. “(Y)ou can start immediately to eliminate the barely educated, unhealthy and poor segment of our country,” Weddington insisted. All the president had to do was make abortion cheap and easy for the populations we don’t want. “It’s what we all know is true, but we only whisper it. . . . Think of all the poverty, crime and misery . . . and then add 30 million unwanted babies to the scenario. We lost a lot of ground during the Reagan-Bush religious orgy. We don’t have a lot of time left.” Weddington offered a clue about who, in particular, he had in mind: “For every Jesse Jackson who has fought his way out of the poverty of a large family, there are millions mired in poverty, drugs and crime.” Ah, right. Jesse Jackson. Even with abortion rates at an all time low African american’s abort their children a rate 5x whites do. The democrats may eventually win the civil war after all.
from the right
term-limit29Yesterday’s posting by Stephen Smith, Commissioner, Chairman, Florida Keys Mosquito Control, was a fascinating read, and it was a perfect example of why we so desperately need term limits for all elected officials.   Mr. Smith, who has been a FKMC board member for 18 years essentially made the case for term limits.First, his mention of his 18 years on the Board was intended to lend gravitas to his opinion. Apparently Mr. Smith wants you to forget the corruption and the waste that plagued the Board during the first 15 years of his tenure. He would have you forget or ignore the criminality of certain staff members during his tenure and his full throated defense of at least one of those staff members.

Mr. Smith criticized other board members for not routinely attending state wide “conferences.”  It is recognized that FKMC is the preeminent mosquito control entity in Florida. Even given that fact, maintaining a knowledge of the latest developments in the field is essential. But attending “conferences” is not a cost effective means to that end.  There is no reason whatsoever that individual commissioner’s cannot avail themselves of the latest literature and products from the web, periodicals, from the various vendors, or from staff. In this electronic age, it is possible for any Board Member to link with any person in our nation who might have information germane to FKMC business.

Having spent nearly 40 years in public employ I have personally attended dozens of these “conferences”. There is precious little study, precious little exposure to new products or tactics, but there is long tons of boozing and schmoozing.  I trust you will remember the photo of the Director of The General Services Administration, Jeff Neely, wearing gold chains, seated in a hot tub overlooking Las Vegas, and the scandal that erupted from that “conference.”

These conferences are expensive. This year Mr. Smith spent more than $6k of your tax dollars attending these “conferences.” FYI the entire budget for that activity for the year was $10k. In the past 2 years, Mr. Smith has spent more than $14k of your tax dollars…..”conferencing.”

spa29FYI this year’s fall conference of the Florida Mosquito Control Association is being held at the Bonaventure Resort & Spa in Weston, FL. It bills itself as a 4 star resort. You may want to check it out at Link It sure looks like a great place to booze and schmooze at taxpayer expense.

Additionally Mr. Smith specifically criticized Commissioner Goodman for not attending “conferences”.  Mr. Goodman holds a degree in chemical engineering and a Masters of Business Administration. His entire career was involved in the use and manufacturing of chemicals. Mr. Goodman is no neophyte in the chemical industry nor in the application of chemicals. Nonetheless, in fact, Mr. Goodman did attend one of these “conferences”. He did not charge the taxpayers of Monroe for his attendance, he paid his own way.  Mr. Goodman determined that the “conference” was not an efficient forum for the exchange of knowledge. In my own experience, the only benefit from these “conferences” is that the attendee has a great time, socializes, and networks.  Apparently Mr. Smith is a strong advocate of having a good time, socializing, and networking. But I’m at a loss as to how that translates into killing mosquitoes.

Incredibly, even in this dire fiscal climate, Mr. Smith is critical of budget control. Specifically he suggests that failing to increase this year’s budget will negatively affect financing for the needed new building. That argument is specious. What he fails to mention is that he and certain others are road blocking efforts to bring the entire administrative component and the operations of the MKC under one roof, the new building to be constructed in Marathon. Instead, Commissioner Smith and others, prefer to keep the comptroller and accounting personnel in a new and separate building to be constructed on Big Coppitt. That strikes me as a monumental waste of tax dollars.  It makes no sense to construct two separate facilities.

While it is true that calls for service have slightly increased very recently, the existing staff has done a magnificent job of keeping us free from the health hazard and the discomfort of our mosquitoes. There is no reason to increase staff or to increase our budget to levels that will require a millage increase.

Mr. Smith, wants to increase your tax bill, Mr. Goodman opposes a tax increase.