Good Saturday, Everyone.  The weather people say hot, with a chance of showers today through tonight and a tad bit cooler tomorrow.  But the predictions for this week is still hot over all.  The gardens are doing well so far--except for the roses.  Unfortunately I put them in a spot they didn't like much so they now are looking a bit sad and thin.  I have since moved them to a different spot and just sprinkled some fertilizer around them.  In the fall I plan to replant them into one of the large containers, permanently ( I hope.)  We found a way to anchor a light shepherd's hook in the largest containers.  The single hook we have in now is doing very nicely as a spot for the hummingbird feeder.  It actually attracted a little female Wednesday morning.  I am looking for a vine that attracts hummingbirds to plant on the trellis that anchors the hook.  We got two more double hooks that I will put in in the fall as I start cleaning out the beds and I plan to put the blueberries at the base of one and the roses around the other. We plan to put a small bird feeder off one hook and some small hanging pots off the other three.  The squash, tomatoes, one of the peppers, cucumbers, and strawberries are blooming nicely.  On to the internet.....

I agree, Kay.  I wish we could do something about the idiocy that seems to pervade our economic/political system.  Unfortunately, I remember an old saying that insists that any system that hopes to be 'idiot' proof underestimates the amazing ability of idiots to get around such systems.

I saw an interesting segment on the Nightly Business Report last night.  They have an ongoing series featuring young entrepreneurs in unusual pursuits.  The story last night featured two sets of partners who have gone into artisan foods: specialty popsicles and hand made cheese.  All four left more typical careers in finance and law.  They said that the economics are chancy but the satisfaction is much higher.  Makes you wonder about our fixation with college education, doesn't it?

The damage tally from those freak hailstorms that hit Texas keeps going up.  This story is the latest I have seen--$2billion.  I was a bit curious because I seem to remember a report last year that 2011 had the most $1billion damage events due to weather.  This site says that there have been 134 such occurrences since 1980.  Fourteen of those came in 2011.  Think Progress gives even more details.

I mentioned a few days ago the leak of parts of the draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty.  Susie Madrak has some commentary on it today at Crooks & Liars.  She makes an interesting point which should be broadened to encompass most aspects of Presidential power in economic and political affairs: whoever is President is is irrelevant because other, more powerful, interests are involved.

Good morning, Everyone.  We are supposed to start a week (or more) of 90+ weather today.  The weather people are wavering between whether we will or will not get any rain at all over that time.  I am already well into watering the gardens before it gets too warm for outside work.  We are still in the mid 60s so I have time yet.  We are waiting to see if we will have to put the air on.  As dry as it is, we might not.  Lets see what is on the web today.

I thought this was interesting.  An enterprising youngster takes pictures of her school lunches and blogs her ratings of them with the approval of both her school and the kitchen staff.  She uses the blog to raise  money for a food charity.  I would have had to use the past tense because the local city council banned her from taking any more pictures basically shutting down her blog.  Supposedly, they claimed, the kitchen staff was stressed out with worry for their jobs because of some negative reactions to stories in the media--yeah, the kitchen staff that had been so supportive earlier.  Well, the reaction to the ban produced a reversal and she can now blog again

Another interesting story (sorry, I can't find it again to link.  I think it was on MarketWatch.) from this morning indicates that law schools are cutting the size of their incoming class.  Why? you wonder.  Because something a bit over 10% of their  latest graduating class are unemployed and 66% are employed in positions that really require JDs.  The most interesting question asked in this story was whether the overproduction of lawyers wouldn't be a good thing leading to lower prices for legal services.  And the answer was one we had discussed here with respect to the medical profession.  Given the fact that law school costs somewhere around $50k per year on top of the costs of a bachelor's degree (which most law schools require now), the graduates really need a high income to pay off the costs of their education.  And as schools cut the sizes of their new classes the costs of law school will likely increase as the schools try to protect their cash flow. (Update: I just found this article on MSNBC that gives some more of the details.) As I listened to the story (it was on video) I recalled a similar measure taken by the Ohio University system (I think it was Ohio) about fifteen years ago in response to the same dismal employment picture for History PhDs.  Every PhD program in the state except one were cut and the number of master's degree programs were pared back severely.  The peculiarly funny aspect of these stories is that higher education has been and is touted as the way to get good jobs especially during economic hard times.  Maybe we should be much more skeptical of the received wisdom we have all accepted so unquestioningly.

I have noticed the comfort the political/economic talking heads have taken in the various polls in Greece which show that the majority of Greeks want to stay in the Eurozone with the Euro.  I have wondered how many of the respondents might have agreed with the sentiment with a very large 'but...' tacked on.  I saw a short video (and again I can't find it to link) interview with a Greek couple who were in exactly that position.  They would rather keep the euro but they have seen a 40% cut in their income and feel that the projected 10 years or more of hard times under the austerity imposed by the conditions of the bailout.  Leaving the euro would be hard also but perhaps for a much shorter time.  This story reinforces that.  Barter networks are growing in an economy which is tanking and money is scarce.

Natural News posted an article on a version of the VW Passat that gets 70+ mpg (diesel) under normal driving conditions but that isn't available in the US even though it is actually built here.  Given the number of stories I have seen over the last couple of years of efforts to find a way to shift from a per/gallon tax to a per/mile tax because of the bite electric and moderately efficient vehicles is taking out of highway revenue, I am not surprised at Natural News concluding that the reason the Passat Bluemotion isn't available is the potential for decreasing revenue further.  Popular Mechanics lists 10 other models that get great mileage and, they say, are fun to drive but not available over here

I have written about the insane job market before.  Susie Madrak on Crooks & Liars has found confirmation of much that was only a gut instinct for me.  Employers demand an insane level of skill/experience while offering low wages for jobs they really don't want to fill with US workers in the first place.  I said that when we were talking about the fad for 'multi-tasking.'  I said then that was simply a way to roll three or more job descriptions into one and offer the pay for the least of them.  What a racket!!

Good Thursday to you all.  Sunny again today and the forecast temperature should be in the mid-80s.  And the weather people have changed the forecast (again) so we might be missing these temperatures for the next week when we are supposed to have mid-90s.  The gardening will be early morning for the next week or so.  After I finished scrubbing the wall and washing the patio down, my get-up-and-go got up and went elsewhere.  We'll see what I can get done today.

Hi, Kay.  Glad you stopped by.  We have shifted a lot of our cleaning to white vinegar over the last few years.  It works well and is less toxic than so many commercial products.  We have even replaced the hair rinses that we have found less satisfactory over the years with a vinegar/water mix (right now 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water).  We use washcloths dampened with vinegar instead of dryer sheets.  And it is absolutely wonderful for hard water stains.  The chemical industry used to say 'Better living through chemistry.'  We say 'not always.'  I agree with you on Ezra Klein, the job market, and the liars who are accomplished at 'figuring.'

Jill Klausen has a perfect assessment of what the Repthuglicans really mean when they talk about simpler, smaller, and 'more efficient' government.  And I could take her comments a step further.  They are busy writing as many of us as possible out of the American polity.  Corporations are.  The billionaire are.  But we, by their vicious political alchemy, are not.

Good Wednesday to you all.  Another cool and sunny day.  Been productive outside.  Yesterday I got two trays of basil and four of spearmint dried.  I should harvest some orange mint and lavender blossoms sometime today.  Right now I need a rest--I just washed down a patch of our wall outside that has been growing some green mold.  Straight white vinegar did a really good job.  All that is left are a couple of spots I couldn't reach.  Then I washed down that half of the patio.  All of my tomatoes are blooming well and I found a couple of little green Romas.  I am watching the strawberries because they are blooming nicely and I have several berries forming.  I think the plants are enjoying the cooler weather.  On a not too pleasant note, the weather forecaster mentioned this morning that he expected the Chicago area to be declared in drought by tomorrow.  We are way down, as I have mentioned before, on the rain.  At least I don't have to water anything till tomorrow.  The nice thing about container gardening is that you can apply the water in smaller amounts in smaller spaces.

It looks to be a campaign season pitting the clueless against the ignorant--at least that is what the news stories are portraying.  The Romney people and their lackeys have claimed Obama is 'out of touch' because he dared to suggest that the 'private sector is fine' when every one knows that the recession is continuing.  Obama's camp came back to 'clarify' the matter--the private sector is creating jobs (anemically) while the public sector is cutting left, right, and center.  But let's not give Romney any marks for being any more cognizant of the realities of our economy.  Take at look at this Huffington Post story concerning Romney on who pays for police, firefighters, and teachers.  And how much money is involved.

There is an old saying about someone who 'can't win for losing.'  I laughed when I saw this snippet from Reuters.  I don't know how many times when gas prices were rising into the stratosphere I saw ecstatic reports of rising retail sales and wondered how much of that was due to gas prices rather than a real increase in commercial activity.  Quite often as I remember.

Ezra Klein has a good Wonkbook piece today.  Professional licensing comes up in our conversations regularly.  Mom has considerable experience with the process as a retired LPN.  The required exams, licensing, renewals of license, continuing education courses and other related costs (like overnight stays in Indianapolis because that was where the exams and many of the courses were held) took a large chunk out of her yearly income.  That was to merely stay as an LPN an option which has been nearly phased out in this state.  Now would-be nurses have to go through a two-year pre-nursing course, be accepted into the program, spend another 4 years getting the educational requirements, pass the exam just to enter the field.  I can agree with Klein--there are some occupations for which one would definitely like to see licensing requirements.  But is there any real rationale to them?  And do they really guarantee knowledge and competence?  I guess the answer is 'No' on both counts.

This piece raised my blood pressure a notch or two.  We have been so badly screwed over by the various 'free'-trade agreements that I look at any new ones with a mixture of cynicism and extreme paranoia.  This one, if it goes through, would basically provide foreign companies with a path to extraterritoriality--that is, they would have a way to become exempt from our financial, regulatory, and environmental laws.  And it is being negotiated by an allegedly Democrat administration under an allegedly Democrat President.  I think we are well and truly screwed who ever wins the election in the fall.

Good Tuesday, All.  Blessedly cool today.  We can open the doors and windows and let Kuma stay outside as long as he likes.  The last two days he hasn't been so eager.  I have some herbs I need to harvest and dry.  I have a few other chores to do in the gardens and some watering.  Our respite from the heat will be brief--the 90s are due to return by Friday and continue through Monday.  We didn't get any rain out of the last little front and don't expect any for the next week.  If the pattern continues, the weather people say we will have one of the driest Junes on record to match the driest May we just finished up.

I also loved my advisor's take on the weather, Kay.  I'm thinking that more workers need to take that hard nosed attitude.  I remember when I was still looking for a new job and I rejected a suggestion from my nephew that I apply for jobs in Chicago or areas of Indiana closer to Illinois.  He suggested several I had seen on line.  I told him that what those employers wanted to pay wouldn't even cover my gas to and from the job much less rent, food, etc.  His attitude--at least it's a job and it might lead to something better.  I couldn't make him understand that, as I have said before, there are times when something is indistinguishable from nothing.  Nor could he understand that my calculation of the cost/benefits of taking such jobs were the same calculations employers made in hiring.  Why it was fine for them and not for me I don't understand.

I think we need a new way to deal with countries we don't like.  Sanctions didn't really work in Libya, or Iraq.  Those who think they did are cherry picking their facts.

We saw a snippet on this report this morning and scratched our heads in bewilderment.  The FBI says the statistics say violent crime is down yet again.  The Chicago Superintendent of Police said the same while announcing a new initiative to combat the recent rash of shootings and assaults.  Another statistic that is massaged, perhaps?

Good sunny Monday to you all.  The say we may get some hit or miss showers later and over night.  I hope so because everything, other than my containers and pots, is very dry.  Our temperatures outside did hit the low 90s yesterday forcing us to put the air on.  Even the cat didn't want to be outside.

The news last night presented a snippet of an interview Chicago Mayor Emanuel gave with Fareed Zakaria that irritated me.  He said rather baldly what most dealing with pension plans of one kind or another have only glided over.  Workers cannot, he insisted, continue to trust the promises made in the past.  In other words, simply because a string of politicians have scammed the pension plans by deferring their portions or by borrowing the money to make those payments, workers should accept the fact that part of the compensation promised for their work won't be forthcoming.  They should accept being defrauded.  The workers fulfilled their part of the bargain but our politicians aren't willing to follow through.  How many more 'promises' out there will our politicians renege on because they have so mismanaged our public affairs that the money has disappeared?

As I wrote that paragraph I had a flash back to a conversation I had with my then academic advisor some decades ago.  He described his negotiations with the Dean and other university officials when he was considering their job offer.  One gushed about the weather and how wonderful it was: blue skies, sunny days and outdoor sports year round.  My advisor said he looked them in the eye and asked if they would compensate him for the blizzards, hail, cloudy days, and rain.  They decided to get serious about the 'bread-and-butter' issues like salary, health care, and pension.  He should be retired now and I hope he is enjoying his all of his retirement benefits without the possibility that the pension is considered as much of a promise as blue skies, sunny days and outdoor sports year round.

Good Sunday to you all and  I hope you are enjoying the weekend.  Ours has been very warm and sunny.  We haven't had to put the air on yet.  Though the temperatures have been hot the humidity has been low.  I didn't see much to comment about during my trip through the internet yesterday.  Let's see what I find today.

I noticed on the news last night and this morning that Spain has asked for the bailout that anyone with an ounce of awareness has expected for quite some time.  The timing is perfect--on the weekend when the makers are closed.  It is also interesting in light of Obama's press conference on Friday which focused on Europe as the possible bump in the road for the U.S. economy.  Preparing for the news, maybe?

The GMA morning reports today included a report on the new 'prank' called 'swatting.'  Some morally/emotionally/intellectually deficient asshole decides to hack into someone's internet connection and calls 911 claiming a violent crime is in progress which brings the local swat team out.  The story this morning was the second I have seen lately.  I was a bit disgusted with the first one because the victim featured was a conservative talk show host/blogger who claimed he was targeted because he is a conservative voice.  A quick and dirty internet search reveals that he is blowing smoke on the motivation. This nastiness has been going on for at least the last five years and the above mentioned assholes have more often targeted random victims they didn't know.  Contrary to the idiot conservative blogger the political link is bogus.  However, that aside, I hope whoever is involved in this asinine and dangerous activity is caught and imprisoned for a long, long time.  This story, from 2009, gives some interesting details.  The incident that leads off the story occurred in 2007.

I remember when, more years ago than I care to remember, students I knew regularly took No-Doz and other over-the-counter pills to pull all-nighters.  Some may have taken other drugs but I couldn't testify to that.  I did take No-Doz a couple of times but found that I could pull a 36+ hour stint with out the help.  Now-a-days it seems the kids have taken things up a notch.

I used to live in Ft. Collins, Colorado.  I can't remember any time during the 20 years I lived there that the Poudre River dried up.  It has been a favorite for white water rafting and kayaking.  Not this year.  And they have a nasty wildfire not yet controlled burning nearby.  For an interesting contrast, compare the picture at the top of the column with those at the end.

Ah--someone else thinks that AARP's poll on Social Security and Medicare is more than a little bogus. Susie Madrak at Crooks & Liars hit all the criticisms I had and adds a few more.