Thursday, February 14, 2013

[Valentine Day] If I worked at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day I would put a fake engagement ring in every girl’s drink!

[Murder] You know that South African Olympic runner with the pogo sticks for legs? He just got arrested for murdering his girl friend.

[History of Ramrod Key] I noticed that the author, John Clark, is an old friend. My wife and I used to live on Martinique Lane on Ramrod Key and we would take walks around the neighborhood with our umbrella cockatoo (Bobbie). Our walks took us by John’s house and he and his wife would come out and talk to us about Keys conservation which was a passion of theirs. Bobbie was only three and he would “call” in the evenings while I was playing tennis at John’s house. One evening John was interrupted in mid swing by one of Bobbie’s calls – he said smiling, if my wife and I wanted to keep that bird alive we should give him a tranquilizer. I have many fond memories of John – he had a deep, broad base of knowledge. Rest in peace John.  (ED: See also > More … >  History of the Keys > Ramrod Key history)

[Iguana Killers Club] Deer Ed, Do you happen to know the address of the person that is the head of the Iguana Killers Club? Apparently there has been word that this person has killed 6 cats in the past 2 weeks. I’m with the animal shelter in Marathon and would like to speak with them. (Ed: I bet you would. The sheriff has already been at the house for questioning.)

[“NNK Henney-Penny or Chicken Little”] I was thinking more about the precedent being set. There are many area’s of critical Concern & Coastal Barrier Islands that would like to be developed. There will ultimately come a time when federal funds, FEMA, ect will be required to rebuild or assist after our storms.  NNK could very well come into play. Then there’s the, “If they get it, why can’t we have it.” This is still far from over. If it was so cut and dry NNK would have power already. I don’t have a dog in the fight except, I don’t like you, whoever you are, but I’m darn sure pro business. So let’s make some money.

I’m the one, along with a few others, who want to put a seafood joint at the roads’ end. A well lighted dock, fishing pier, marina operation with a boat ramp a lots of parking. I’m your pro growth, frack and drill for everything everywhere kind of guy. Come on, really, who give a rats butt about NNK anyway. Really.

I read the story about the Scrub Club and the question is how stupid can these guys be? It’s basically every other day there is a complaint about them stealing money. So here is my debit card and PIN number. All it is a legal front for theft from stupid drunk and horny guys with a merchant services account. Here is what I do: 1. Go grab a cab. 2. Have them drive you to Stock Island and buy crack. 3. Pick up hooker on the street. 4. Drive to hotel room. Taste great. Less filling

[Valentine’s Day Massacre] Seven gangsters were shot and killed in a Chicago garage in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929 so accept your box of chocolates because it could have been worse.

Happy Valentine’s Day! For all you’ve done to make the Florida Keys a great place to live, we are truly grateful. ~With love, Your friends at United Way

Find the kitty.

[“No warrants”] Hell, how bout KWPD’s Knock and Talk? They enter your property, knock on your door to talk, see or smell something in your house, then hold you until the warrant gets there! That’s just the most asinine policy ever. If they have no warrant just don’t open your door. I think it’s America still. No law says we have to let uninvited guest in, is there? A good rule of thumb is to treat police like vampires and never, ever invite one in.  

Prime Rib Dinner    Live Music

The Navy closed the Truman harbor in Key West to civilians, citing military training needs. Just about all tour boats use the harbor for sightseeing.

[No Name Electric] Bless them for they know not how they embarrass themselves around those who know. If you know horses, and see a painting done by an amateur, you likely smile and say, “Horses don’t walk that way.” If you are a sailor, and see a beginner’s rendition of a sailboat, you will grimace, and say, that sail set is antithetic to what is happening in the picture. I’m sure you can add other examples. It is clinically interesting to me that the folks who blog most in their ignorant and selfish opposition to the electrification of No Name Key are those who know the least about it. If you don’t know horses, sailboats, or solar from third base, you might at their efforts, and not see the flaws. For those of us with 20 years experience with solar applications, your pathetic offerings, are simply laughable at best. 

Friday’s asteroid. Link

[Free Time] That awkward moment when you are not sure if you actually have free time, or you’re just forgetting everything.

I tried to login on my iPad. Turns out it was an Etch-a-Sketch and I don’t own an iPad. Also, I’m out of vodka.

[ZaZas] I have not seen, other than here, anything to indicate that ZaZa was going out of business and closing. It is listed for sale, that is all. Do you all know that many restaurants are for sale? Businesses are for sale for various reasons and what may shock some of you is that it’s not always that they are doing poorly. Maybe the owner wants to move on to another project. Maybe the owner wants to retire. Lots of you also seem to know exactly what it takes to operate a successful restaurant in the Keys. Now’s the time to put up or shut up. Don’t have the $500K to buy it? Get some buddies together and you can all invest. You can dumb down the decor and bring back the 70’s lounge motif that was there and serve $1 drafts to all your buddies as you lament about the way things were. 

[Fish Fry] This Sunday from noon till 5 the Sugarloaf Volunteer Fire Department at MM17 will be having their 48th Annual Fish Fry. Live music all day long from Howard Livingston, The Doerfels, Terry Cassidy and Gary Hempsey, Bobby D & the No Slack Band and Adrienne. Your choice of Fried Dolphin or BBQ Chicken. Served with Babys Coffee’s famous cornbread, beans, coleslaw and dessert. Beer, Wine and soft drinks will be available. Also a huge plant, book and yard sale and live demonstrations by the firefighters, US Coast Guard Auxiliary and Florida Dept. of Forestry. Come out and support your local volunteers who save the county millions in tax dollars every year. Bulletin Board

The Ramrod Key coon ate your baby!

[Rover] This rectangular version of a self-portrait of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity combines dozens of exposures taken by the rover’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity’s work on Mars (Feb. 3, 2013). 

The rover is positioned at a patch of flat outcrop called “John Klein,” which was selected as the site for the first rock-drilling activities by Curiosity. The self-portrait was acquired to document the drilling site. 

The rover’s robotic arm is not visible in the mosaic. MAHLI, which took the component images for this mosaic, is mounted on a turret at the end of the arm. Wrist motions and turret rotations on the arm allowed MAHLI to acquire the mosaic’s component images. The arm was positioned out of the shot in the images or portions of images used in the mosaic.

Some people find fault like there is a reward for it

[Iguana Killers Club > raccoons > DTR list] You got it all wrong! You start with the chickens, iguanas and feral cats first, then move to rats before killing those that eat them like raccoons. Raccoons are our predatory friends until they are not needed anymore, just like Saddam Hussein.

[Murder For hire Plot] Suspect’s friend confronts target. Link In the real world that would be witness tampering. How afraid can the victim be if he’s chatting up his would be killer’s friend? I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s not a brain cell in the bunch, considering they’ll all talk to the media at every turn. While they try to be heard in the press, they’ll lose when they’re being heard in court, based on the flapping lips in the street.

[“Is there really a leopard on Ramrod Key”] Good to see some people are interested in where they are and what is going on. As I recall, there was a family a few decades ago that owned a licensed Leopard. It was quite a site to see it driving in the back seat of the vehicle with its head out the window catching a breeze like a pet dog as it went down US1. I believe they lived in Little Torch, not Ramrod Key.

Good people don’t need laws that tell them to act responsibly.

[Air Force Bugbots] I see you! Link 

[Sewers] Disagreement lingers over lobbying plan for sewer money. Link

[Privacy] What ever happened to the eye-in-the-sky cameras up on really high poles put in a few years ago? Is anyone watching us? Many taxpayer dollars were spent on this US1 scheme. 

[“We love Zaza’s”] Good for you Mr Moneybags. Take it with you back to Jersey when leave for the season because it’s down to one waitress doubling as a host in the off season, a part timer to come work for dinner.

The owner is in the back cooking because they can’t find a good chef who can work cheap. Typical pay in cities for a high end lunch/dinner chef is $25-$50 an hour and thus they can’t find one good enough that will work for $10-15 a hour on the books and can afford to live nearby. The illegals are also not good enough and have no cheap place to hide close in the area like they can in Marathon or Key West.

The Zaza tablecloths and napkins used to be cloth and now they are paper, so you see I have eaten there occasionally. The per head cost of $25 for breakfast, $35 for lunch and $55 (minus drinks) for dinner, is not reasonable. Outback’s dinner prices are the definition of “reasonable”. 

Watching the backsides of the tiki hut guests sticking out of their pants behind the glass is not my idea of a “One of the best views on US 1”. Neither is watching the iguanas or occasional dead fish floating around in the lagoon. 

The Lodge is anything but upscale, it’s a pet friendly motel for mid to lower income guests with their boats. It’s no Hawks Kay, Hyatt, Hilton or Casa Marina by any stretch of the imagination. If you think it is, then your welcome to your opinion and I won’t be seeing you dine where I do, thank god

Lawmaker calls for No Name power vote. Link

The pope is infallible only in matters of faith and morals.

[“What’s this truffle stuff”]  It is a well known fact that pigs love truffels and are also used for locating them. Maybe he is adjusting his menu to fit clientele from a certain northeast state. Check around out back by the dumpsters and see if anyone is rooting around. Link

Crispy Scallops with Tarragon Cream Sauce. Link

[Musical Chairs] Man, “She chased me all around the church, and caught me by the organ!”

Judge, “Did she grab your organ?”

Man, “It looks more like a flute.”

$25K sought for Flats fishing study, ironically to see how much money flats fishing brings to the Keys. Link

When can the people on No Name Key be able to hook up to the power lines?

[ZaZas] Geez, what the heck is wrong with some people? If you don’t like ZaZa then don’t go there; not necessary to make it your life’s crowning glory to bash them. I appreciate the effort that has been made there. Another building that was badly in need of TLC got it. If this restaurant doesn’t work out, then someone will step up and something else will go in. And, as long as it is here, if you like it then go! If not, then don’t.

I was delighted that something besides a cheap burger joint offering something better than Sysco food moved into town. I also own a business down here. It’s exceptionally difficult at times to survive, including dealing with the lunacy of County gov’t. We are all in this together, let’s get along together. A little kindness and compassion goes a long way. This is Paradise, let’s respect each other. Namaste. 

Murder-for-hire investigation continues in Marathon. Link

They keep showing ads for Vermont Teddy Bears on TV. Since I saw that movie “Ted” I will never view them the same way again.

[Italian food] I’d like to recommend Frank’s restaurant in the Towne Square Mall in Marathon for Italian and then across the street Bilbo’s for BBQ.  

The last time I was in Bilbo’s they didn’t get their beer and wine license, so they told me to bring whatever I wanted to drink with me since I asked for a beer to go along with my ribs. I was disappointed not to get my beverage of choice, but, hopeful, that was my biggest disappointment of the day. 

[“Racoon kills cockatoo”] I wonder if the raccoon dipped my friend’s cockatoo in her water bowl before it ripped her leg off.

I am offended by ‘coon and I do hate South Park. I find that is a racist sophomoric show that appeals to people of low intelligence. I wish we could all be more like the Europeans.

[Captain Doom and Gloom] Ammunition Illegal and Controversial Ammunition. Link

“Chasing Ice” captures largest glacier calving ever filmed. Climate change or solar activity? Link

“If it wasn’t for guns we’d still be British” No, we’d be red native Americans and that would not be so bad. Running around naked, hunting, fishing, chasing little rain deer, and smoking a peace pipe. Did we screw up or what?

The feedback of the criticism of local restaurants and ZaZs’s points out to the hilt why the lower keys are the Lower Keys!

“$1 for a freaking tomato” Ok, so if we locals stop buying that over priced crap, the whole-sellers have to drop their prices as do the restaurateurs and in a month prices will be back down to match our freaking income levels.  How’s that for bitching? 

Many Unions have an X multiplier on their wages based on the minimum wage, so raising the minimum wage isn’t about getting people back to work, it’s about lining the pockets of Unions.

Women promise revolt over GOP stance on Violence Against Women Act — led by Marco Rubio. Link

$2 billion Medicaid program helps mostly illegal immigrants. Link

Folks, FTRs reponse to my posting about Gov. Scotts fraud charges was nothing more then a huge smokescreen.

If you want to be an informed voter ignore my postings and FTRs both and look up Scotts fraud charges and what he oversaw and what kind of business he ran then make your mind up. I dont think you will see the shining star in the northern sky pointing to the States capitol that FTR sees. But then his vision is a tad myopic. Do the research.

I am an “American People” who is tired of hearing about Benghazi.  It’s an imperfect world and an error in judgment was made as to when it was OK to set up an embassy there, an act that hopefully would help normalize and stabilize the situation, lending credibility to the rebellion.  But given the dynamics of Libya at the time and to this day, there wouldn’t ever be a perfect moment.  The tragic event itself escalated too rapidly for any military response from us.  Of course the Republicans, as always, are fixated on finding some person to punish when something goes wrong, unless the trail leads back to one of their own, that is.

Ted Nugent, the latest in a long line of distinguished Republican clowns

When Americans were asked if they approved of President Obama‘s State of the Union Address, the polls differed from 53% to 67% approval. America is a center left country.

Seeing as the GOP has moved so far to the Right to be off the map, I think it’s time to decommission them and get a new opposition party that understands modern day America and not just the bottom line. If they ever want to win an election the opposition must realize that we are not an accounting firm we are a Nation!

Marco Rubio‘s Watergate redux. Link

Thank you FTR. Your endorsement of soon to be ex-Gov. Scott will guarantee his demise. The last thing I would ever want is your endorsement. You are now irrelevant

Let the conspiracy theories begin.  Here’s one:  Obama sent in a special team to firebomb that cabin with the California killer in it to end the siege quickly early Tuesday so the incident wouldn’t distract the public from his State of the Union speech coming up later that evening.

For everyone with their hair on fire over Benghazi, our patriotic Republican congressmen voted to cut funding for our embassy security program.

FROM THE RIGHT

“Rubio has lips like a fish.” Thus sayeth a CT denizen of left field. Isn’t that just special? Isn’t that typical left fielder? Aside from the childish insult, yesterday’s Rubio mocker did raise an interesting line of inquiry.  The poster stated that Rubio is a crook. He stated that Rubio is under investigation by the IRS.  But, not surprisingly, he failed to provide any evidence to support his/her claim.

The reason that our left field friend failed to provide proof or even evidence of his claim is because there is no ongoing investigation into Rubio’s activities. The name of the Democrat game is smear, smear, smear.  Deer Friends, that is page one of the Democrat play book.  The prime directive for Democrats is to throw slime and feces and step back to see if any sticks to the wall. They make a nasty accusation, then refuse to back it up with facts.

Here are the facts. Back in 2010 Florida headlines bleated that 3 Republicans were under investigation by the Obama’s FBI and IRS for misusing Republican Party funds. The three were then Florida GOP Chairman, James Greer and the then Fl GOP Executive State Party Chairman, Delmar Johnson. Greer, the prime target of the FBI was subsequently charged and convicted. Delmar Johnson testified for the State, and was not charged. Rubio was not charged, nor was he involved in the prosecution of Greer. He was not charged because he had committed no crime, nor had he committed any ethical breach.  The feds could find no evidence that he had committed any offense whatsoever. 

The facts are that Rubio had been issued a Florida Republican Party credit card. Such credit cards are to be used to pay for party related matters. The investigators, in a preliminary investigation, determined that Rubio had billed the party for travelling expenses that were questioned as to whether they were party related or not.  Rubio, in an abundance of caution, reimbursed the RP the total amount of the questioned expenses.  There was no finding of criminal or unethical behavior on the part of Rubio.  That is important because the investigation has been over for about 3 years and the Obama Justice Department has not found reason or excuse to charge a rapidly emerging Conservative threat to Democrat politicos.  If they could have, they would have.

As usual, you can find headlines that screech that Rubio is under investigation, but the facts are that after nearly 3 years, the media fails to report there are no charges. It is a stalking horse issue; expect to hear more of it in the future. As for Obama’s FBI and IRS and their supposed investigation into Rubio’s conduct, they just faded away. By the way, Jim Greer who was the Chair of the Florida Republican Party, pled guilty and now faces us to a 35 year prison term.

Rubio is classic Americana. He is the son of immigrants. His Mom was a hotel maid, a cashier, and his Dad a bartender. It was/is a classic family. He pulled himself up by his bootstraps. He and his family are very much middle class. They live in the same home that he was raised in. Rubio is a good man, an ethical man, an honest man, a humble man. Rubio is, and will continue to be, an exceptional public servant.

Long Winded Tome

[Grouper is $20lb, tomato $1 each] And why is gold $1700 a ounce and gas $4 a gallon now? It’s because during the real estate bubble our Democratic controlled Congress though it would be a great idea to have Freddie and Fannie purchase massive amounts of near worthless sub-prime mortgages from banks and let just anyone gamble in real estate speculation.

Freddie and Fannie have been eroding the banks market for home mortgages for decades with low interest loans and the general idea if they ever went belly up, the government would bail them out. Now the two Government Sponsored Organizations own over 95% of home mortgages in the United States.

So how does this affect the price of Grouper, tomatoes, gold and gas? Well during real estate bubbles, a game of music chairs is played, those holding speculative real estate when the music ends loses their shirt as the price drops to more reasonable levels. This game is fine being played by those who can afford to lose, but no so fine for those who can’t. The government allowing those who can’t afford to lose, then bailing them out when they did and then “socializing the risk” by making everyone else pay is the problem.

Before Democratic Congress made their decision after getting into power, it was a Republican controlled government and conservative. They wouldn’t gamble taxpayers money buying near worthless sub-prime mortgages from banks, but the Democrats did once they got in. The Republicans complained, but were the minority, only having the White House (Bush), they were labeled as racists for not allowing the poor whites and minorities from getting loans during this seemly great economic time. 

The Federal Reserve originally created the bubble attempting to defeat deflation exported by China (in the form of very cheap goods flooding the world market), by lowering the prime interest rate they loan money to banks with, which in turn passed that on to consumers in the form of very cheap loans, which spurred the economic activity, high employment and the bubble followed.

The Democrats making this FHA decision were for expanding government and socialism, saw the rise of private companies out of California offering sub-prime mortgages as a threat to Freddie and Frannie’s control of the housing loan market, so they got the government involved, even though they KNEW it was a scam and it was going to have terrible consequences when the bubble blew out. Their plan was to blame Bush and then print money, which is the Left’s “Keynesian” ideal to bail out the situation THEY themselves caused. What about the banks? They were caught with too many bad loans before they could dump them on the government as Bush and the Treasury finally seized control of the Freddie and Fannie and basically halted the massive scam on taxpayers.

The Federal Reserve did have to create money out of thin air, it’s called Quantitative Easing and other names where they simply enter more zero’s into a computer system and then purchase less valuable assets from the banks in compensation.

Guess how much they had to create?

Bear Sterns – $29B, Economic stimulus checks – $178B, Bush Homeowners Bailout – $300B, Automakers Bailout – $25B, Freddie and Fannie Bailout – $400B, AIG Bailout – $42B, TARP (2008) – $700B, ARRA (2009) – $787B, Obama’s Home Owners Bailout – $275B, Small Business Loans – $15B, Automakers Bailout – $22B, QE 1 – $1750B, QE 2 – $600B, Operation Twist – $400B, Extending Payroll Tax Cut – $100B, QE 3 – $960B, QE 4+ – $1080 (continues at $45B per month until unemployment -6.5%)

Total stimulus: $7.633 trillion dollars. 2011 Gross Domestic Product of the U.S. $15.6 trillion. Total stimulus as a percent of GDP 49.1%

So the Federal Reserve entered some more zero’s on a computer system to generate more spendable cash, then used that to purchase less than worth assets from banks. Increasing the money supply in the process which has the effect of devaluing the purchasing power of the paper currency in your wallet and bank accounts, which in turn increases the value of commodities like oil, gold, food etc.

It’s the Barney Frank and Frank Dodd way of forcing everyone to pay for their own socialist mistake. If only the people who could afford to gamble in real estate speculation did so, only those people would have taken a hair cut, not the entire nation.

The economic fallout continues because those who are barely hanging on their underwater mortgages don’t have much more disposable income for other things that support other people and their incomes, like eating out at restaurants for grouper and tomatoes.

Banks used to sit down with a person and carefully evaluate their ability to pay, but with Clinton era changes to the Community Reinvestment Act, basically forced the banks to accept bad loans, which a year later Bear Sterns created the first Mortgage Backed Security and banks sold the higher risk mortgages to investors seeking more reward. The government later taking the taxpayers into this market was ludicrous and a act of pure criminality, but the Congress is immune to prosecution and can thus act legally on insider information among other things, like criminal socialism.