Since 2002. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays
Submit anything of a positive nature, unless it’s breakthrough stuff to island@bigpinekey.com
(Ed: Although all advertisers’ contracts have expired I’m still going to display their ads for free until they get used to the new CT. Hopefully they will all want to keep advertising.)
 [2015 Super Boat Races in Marathon] This past Sunday I had the opportunity to stand on top of the Lighthouse, thanks to Faro Blanco management, and got awesome footage of the 2015 Super Boat Races held in Marathon, Florida. Melissa took footage from the 7 Mile Bridge, thanks to a pass from Capt. Don Mull, and Justin took that footage along with interviews with the drivers the day before in the dry pits at the Marathon Airport. The recap of the 2015 Super Boat Power Boats can be seen on MarathonFlorida.com where you can find about 4,000 videos of other scenes taken from Marathon & the surrounding Florida Keys. All are available for the enjoyment of those who live in, do business in, or vacation in Marathon & the surrounding Florida Keys. Video |
| The next meeting of our Big Pine Computer Club is this morning, Saturday, July 11, 10 am at the Senior Center. Hope to see you there. |
 Key West’s Hotel LaConcha room rated from a long time ago. |
| Recent checks on cheap flights between Miami and Budapest, round-trip, showed a fare of $975, but my cousin can fly Budapest to Miami round trip for $609. Flying used to be a pleasant experience, now it’s more like an airborne bus ride. |
 [“Sea probe”] My friends make them in Cape Coral and would be interested in picking it up for data retrieval. Please call them at 239-994-2337. |
| [Inappropriate Signage] I was driving back from Key West and noticed those big green highway signs were just giving out public service messages. I agree that the concept to let people know about highway conditions, wrecks, etc. is a good one, but in the Keys do we really need these very expensive signs telling us to drive responsibly? I think a few small signs telling us to turn to a dedicated AM channel for highway information would have been a lot better deal for the Keys, and a lot less intrusive and expensive. Too bad we were not given a choice. |
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| [Definition] Politics: from poli meaning ‘many’ and – ‘tics’ meaning blood sucking parasites. |
 Chicane in Japan to slow down bicycles. |
| [Good News] After everyone’s account, everywhere, has been hacked we’ll no longer have to worry about our privacy. |
 To understand human nature, look how worn out the elevator’s “close the door” button is compared to the “keep the door open” button. |
| Mid Keys Yard Work 305-395-0588. Business Directory > Lawn Care |
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| [“Bill Cosby admitted using Quaaludes in order to have sex with women”] It’s better and cheaper than booze and it keeps them from yakking all night! |
 1939 Duesenberg Coupe Simone Midnight Ghost. The car was made by the American car body designer Emmet-Armand. It looks like a 1939 Batmobile. |
| [“Sea probe”] I would like to come pick it up. I made it up in Cape Coral. 239-994-2337. |
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| Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. ~Eleanor Roosevelt |
 25-year-old Venezuelan model, Aleira Avendano, the, wears a corset 23 hours a day for extreme hourglass figure. She looks like a breeding machine. |
| [Sewers] Picture this. All properties from Lower Sugarloaf thru the 7Mile Bridge condemned. Consider this, all properties connected to sewers, system up and running, All septic tanks destroyed and then the massive system failure happened that environmentalists predicted. The property owners have no place to flush. This will constitute a severe health hazard condemning all properties in the CRWS. Let’s not forget what all this raw sewage spilling over the ground will do contaminating the food and water sources of the endangered species to say nothing of what it will do to the nearshore waters. Was this the Nuevo Gang of Three’s goal all along? To go along with Pritam Singh’s goal to “Cape Cod” the Keys from Key Largo to Stock Island? Unbelievable that the voters won’t do something about it. After all, all we have to loose is everything! |
 Today is my buddy Ron Leaf’s 66th birthday. We’ve known each other since the mid-70’s. And, although we don’t always agree on everything, I always appreciate his perspective. Happy birthday old friend! |
| Hackers stole Social Security numbers, health histories and other highly sensitive data from more than 21 million people, the Obama administration said Thursday, acknowledging that the breach of U.S. government computer systems was far more severe than previously disclosed. The scope of the data breach — believed to be the biggest in U.S. history — has grown dramatically since the government first disclosed earlier this year that hackers had gotten into the Office of Personnel Management’s personnel database and stolen records for about 4.2 million people. Since then, the Obama administration has acknowledged a second, related breach of the systems housing private data that individuals submit during background investigations to obtain security clearances. That second attack affected more than 19 million people who applied for clearances, as well as nearly 2 million of their spouses, housemates and others who never applied for security clearances, the administration said. Among the data the hackers stole: criminal, financial, health, employment and residency histories, as well as information about their families and acquaintances. |
 The travels of this CT token has been documented all over Florida and then out to California via Oklahoma. It has been missing for about a year. Hopefully, it will show up again and continue traveling. Link |
| Reading about each 2016 Presidential candidate scared me to no end. There are over 95 people who think they have the brains and guts to run this country, this planet and my life. Some of these are so scary they actually should be committed to a funny farm. I would not vote for any one of these screw-balls. I wonder if it is that profitable to run and collect support funds instead of working for a living. Maybe I will put my own name on the ballot as the Pirate Party or Independent Road Warrior Party, might as well try for the funds of it! |
 [Cruise] To hell with taking a ‘volunteerism’ cruise to Cuba on Carnival. Take an adventure cruise to the Indian Ocean off Somalia. Link |
| Welcome to the Key West MCDC Hostel. For a very small subsistence fee per day. Your short or lengthy stay includes: paper-pedic twin mattress on solid steel frame. In semi-private room. Two windows, one overlooking courtyard or common area. 1/4 bath with soap and towels provided. Access to free public women’s showers daily, boiling springs hot water, for lobster lovers look. MCDE also provides 3 meals over 3000 calories per day in large dining hall, 1/2 court basketball and recreational yard for exercising. Other accommodations include: laundry pick up and delivery, air conditioning, color TV, snack bar for $20 processing fee and donations from people on the outside, night and day security cameras and staff, transportation to local attractions within 100 mile radius, nursing staff available if needed 24/7 |
 The birth of The Who. Audio |
| [Hotel Scam] You arrive at your hotel and check in at the front desk. Typically when checking in, you give the front desk your credit card (for any charges to your room) and they don’t retain the card.You go to your room and settle in. All is good. The hotel receives a call and the caller asks for (as an example) room 620 – which happens to be your room.The phone rings in your room. You answer and the person on the other end says the following: ‘This is the front desk. When checking in, we came across a problem with your charge card information. Please re-read me your credit card numbers and verify the last 3 digits numbers at the reverse side of your charge card.’
Not thinking anything wrong, since the call seems to come from the front desk you oblige. But actually, it is a scam by someone calling from outside the hotel. They have asked for a random room number, then ask you for your credit card and address information. They sound so professional, that you think you are talking to the front desk. If you ever encounter this scenario on your travels, tell the caller that you will be down to the front desk to clear up any problems. Then, go to the front desk or call directly and ask if there was a problem. If there was none, inform the manager of the hotel that someone tried to scam you of your credit card information, acting like a front desk employee. |
 [Pot Fine] Commissioner George Neugent is proposing the board discuss whether the Keys should follow Miami-Dade at the July 15 meeting.“Miami-Dade County has adopted an ordinance giving law enforcement officers the option of charging those found in possession of small amounts of marijuana with a civil infraction under the local ordinance instead of charging with a crime under state law,” Neugent wrote on his agenda item. “Such an ordinance would have the benefit of allowing an officer the discretion to cite a qualifying offender with a charge that does not require an arrest or result in a criminal record for a relatively minor offense. This approach could help reduce the cost of operating the jail and other costs associated with operating the criminal justice system.”The proposal would give police officers on the street the option to write a $100 civil citation to those accused of misdemeanor possession of 20 grams or less or make an arrest and take the suspect to jail. Twenty grams of marijuana is enough for about 30 joints.
The officer could still make the arrest or simply not take any action under current law, but proponents of the initiative say it would give police more common-sense discretion. Misdemeanor possession can land a suspect in county jail for a year under current maximums, but the proposal would allow them to either pay the $100 fine or work it off via community service if they’re without funds. |
| [Math Made Simple] If your wife has $5. And you have $20. She has $25. |
 [Handicap Parking] As I was walking into the Keys Cafe this guy pulls up and parks here blocking the handicap parking space where my friend always parks. There is a whole parking lot there but he had to park like this. The worst part is he and the crew all went into the cafe and ate! They were still there when I left and the truck wasn’t moved about 40 minutes later! I could have called the police, but didn’t want someone to get fired |
| [Declared 2016 Presidential Candidates] If these are the only candidates we have, then I definitely know we are not going to make it. Lots of very sick people looking to rule my life. Link |
I really hope the rebel flag does not offend anyone. Bambi did not seem to care. |
| [Crook] Former Islamorada Mayor Michael Reckwerdt will be sentenced Sept. 21 following his guilty plea to felony tax fraud last month. |
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| Thanks for the link to the oval BPK stickers, however they are available at the flea market cheaper. I sell them for $3 or 2 for $5. One of them online is $4.95, not sure about shipping and handling fees. Thanks, Cheryl’s In Paradise. |
 If Texas secedes from the US, how will they defend against Mexico? |
| [Life in the homeless lane] Glad Tidings Church is creepy. It’s people served at the soup kitchen yesterday and the day before. They started praying before serving us, like they did when they fed us in Higgs Beach years ago. Yesterday, while we were eating, they mingled among us, trying to listen into our conversations (Jeremy’s and mine, anyway), and one of them started singing popular songs loud, he had been a loud prayer, too, and it was hard to have a conversation. I wondered if Glad Tidings was taking over the soup kitchen – I sure hoped not, the people who usually were there serving us were okay, easy to get along with. When Tim Jimley was its pastor, the Seventh Day Adventists church was creepy. KOTS is filled with creepy homeless people. Hell, Key West is a giant creep show. I look forward to any responses from local church members and pastors. Stay away from churches. |
 Crapware] I am ashamed to say it, but with all the spyware, adware, fedware, Godware, and other unwelcome crap that inundates my computer daily, I am about to go black, that is to drop the web, the TV, my cell phones, even my house phone and get a life of freedom from oppression, advertising and invasion of my freaking privacy! I might even stop snail mail to be left alone! |
| I thank you for your contribution to the betterment of the Keys by accidentally running over a large iguana on US1. However, I was not aware that an unintentional accident would qualify you to official membership of the Iguana Killers Club (IKC). However, if your recollection was slightly revised –welcome aboard! |
 Don’t forget to visit The From The Right Guy at our National Politics page where you can post a comment after signing in. |
| Submit anything of a positive nature, unless it’s breakthrough stuff to island@bigpinekey.com |