Final Ride of the '08

It has become almost a tradition to take a ride on the last day of the year and this is no exception. Last year I went to Canyon and Apache Lakes and up to the Reavis trailhead. This year it had snowed so a trip to see what was left of it at Crown King sounded like a good half-day excursion. It was a fairly cold morning so I bundled up with the new jacket Vicki bought me and headed off for Bumble Bee.

It was clear and crisp as the asphalt turned to dirt. Bumble Bee looked clean and inhabited but Cleator seemed more worn than the last time. As the trip progressed the road became a muddy bog in places but still passable. Cars and trucks didn't fly down the road as is typical but carefully chose their paths. There were large puddles on the road as well as ice and snow. In Crown King it was just as I had left it last year after the snow, a muddy mess. The road are all dirt in the summer and mud and ice in the winter.

Just after ordering breakfast the owner (she also works as the waitress) came in upset and I could hear talking going on in the kitchen. I guess the owner of the building (such as it is) decided the rent was going to be increased so the owner of the restraunt served me and let her staff leave. She said that she couldn't make it if the rent increased so she just shut down. I was the last that day to eat, at 10:30 AM. Happy New Year!

The trip back was a whole lot less eventful and at least the cows stayed off the road.

Light Rail

They finished the new light rail this month and were allowing free rides. Vicki had to work so Michele and I decided to go from beginning to end. Well it ends in Mesa so instead we got off at Mill Avenue in Tempe.

We got on right away, no waiting but by the time we returned 3 hours later there was a huge line at Christown (where it starts).

I guess we must have just missed the first crash while we were riding around today.

Some New Gear and Interesting People

The leather jacket I have been using is nice to look at but leaks a little too much air and is heavy so I looked around for something warm, air tight, water proof, armored, and light. LeatherUp.com had just the ticket so for Christmas Vicki got me one. I gave it a good workout this morning and it was pretty darn good.

It wasn't raining but it was cold and overcast, probably near freezing with windchill. The balaclava helped around the neck and face and wearing my leather pants made it quite comfortable.

While on the ride to Bartlett Lake I met a couple of guys, one on an '85 Goldwing and the other in a SUV. We may have been the only ones out there. The guy with the Wing bought it used with 25K miles on it for $2,900 and uses it for long hauls and his Guzzi for commuting to work. The Guzzi has over 100K on it but he finds it annoyingly loud on the road. The guy in the SUV is recovering from a motorcycle wreck he had in November. He was on a Road Star when a Passat (he said, "piss ant") turned left in front of him doing about 45. His bike was totalled as was the car. Luckily he had at the last minute (because it was getting cold) decided to put on all of his gear. Even though he was wearing a full-face flip up helmet he still broke his nose in 3 places (I didn't even know that was possible) and damaged his 4 lower teeth enough so that they will have to be removed. He broke a wrist, dislocated his hip but only suffered a little road rash due to the car tearing his jacket as he flew over it. He planted his helmet in the windshield of the car and according to witnesses did 3 flips after clearing the car. Lucky guy!

The Coming Obamination of America

There are basic differences in this country that some can’t fathom. Why would we pass legislation that can’t be paid for? Half of the country believes that the government should be a husband to the widow (or divorced), father to the fatherless (or parentless), protector of the weak (or lazy), a provider for the poor (or a least less wealthy), teacher, doctor, retirement advisor, realtor, and underwriter of last resort. The other half doesn’t want these things and doesn’t want to pay for them. It is a case of having to live with an oniomaniac. But that’s who is running the place. They have the family credit card and the ability to print money.

The plan is to steal (by taxation and devaluation) the wealth of those who have carefully attempted to create it and redistribute it to others. Consider that the “solution” to the foreclosure crisis is to decrease the principal and interest rates of those being foreclosed on (usually with little wealth of their own at risk). They will be handed the advantages of those who have sacrificed and invested their own money (lower payments due to less owed). The message is clear, “Be as irresponsible as you want; there is no advantage to saving or planning.” Worse than that, I predict Obama won’t address the cause of this whole thing, the housing meltdown, except to blame it on Republicans. The guys in charge will still be there.

The bailout of American car companies is a prime example of the differences. Why should tax money be used to pay off a bad agreement by a private company and a union? The message again is clear, “If there are enough people (constituents) involved those who are trying to be responsible (non-constituents) will be forced to pay the bill.”

To make things even worse Obama and those supporting him in the middle of a financial downturn want to waste money on the fraud of global warming. They refuse to consider solutions to our energy needs that even have a chance of success (nuclear, clean coal, domestic oil production) and insist on throwing money away, or worse, increasing the cost of energy to all Americans by denying access to cheap energy. They promise mythical “green” jobs in exchange for real ones.

I predict that it won’t take until 2010 for the lapse in judgment to become apparent to a majority of Americans because these wastes of money won’t work. But I have been wrong before about the wishful thinking and depth of ignorance out there involving basic economics.

BTW I was discussing AGW with my science teacher friend and he is becoming pursuaded that it is not true. But, he argued, changing over to alternative energy could be a good result of it anyway. Manipulation of people by fear based on lies is not, in my opinion, the right way to make decisions. It will ultimately destroy trust and that is what holds this whole thing together.

“America is divided into two parties: a stupid party and an evil party. When they both act stupid and evil, that’s called bipartisanship.”—- Author and public speaker Dinesh D’Souza from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, when his elderly mother asked him to explain bipartisanship to her.

Finally a Break ... And a Chance to Think

School's out for the next two weeks and I can think again. Christmas time, the new year, and time off allow for a chance to reflect and boy what a mixed bag that is.

The cold weather is so refreshing it almost makes me want to be snowed in up in the mountains, but only if I can escape on one of my bikes. Is there a conflict?

Reflection sounds good as long as I don't have to think about all of these insane bailouts, but how can that be avoided? The huge Ponzi scheme that crashed (and the government is going to bail out) just makes me think about the much larger one we call Social Security that is scheduled to crash in the future, but don't worry, the government can bail it out. That was a joke that not many people get yet. On the bright side, if the government prints a bunch of money to cover every one's losses the inflation will make what we owe worth less. Unfortunately, I don't have a fireplace so I can't use it to heat my house. Why don't we just print enough so that the government can hand each family $100,000 a year and do away with all this capitalism stuff? Really, it's just that simple.

And then there's the darkness crisis to consider!

Animals have begun to check out due to despair over global warming, but thankfully Santa was saved in time.