Frosty sunset by Lake Padden ball field

With two jackets, I was plenty warm for my bike ride around the lake on Saturday.

Being a janitor can turn Facebook privacy issue upside down

Some folks worry that things they confess to on Facebook can leak out onto the open web where, for instance, future employers might see it.

This is not a worry for me.

If I had a post I thought would be somewhat embarrassing, I would rather share it on my blog which is on the open web than my Facebook wall. Who looks at this blog? Yes there are a handful of folks around the world that stumble upon it in various searches.

On the other hand, things on my Facebook wall automatically go in front of my friends in their "news" or "most recent" feeds. More folks, especially folks I know, see things inside Facebook than on this blog even though this blog is available to the whole web. Why worry about things leaking to the open web from Facebook?

As for employers doing searches on the web, it seems unlikely that I'll apply for another job before I reach retirement age. What else would I do in this economy besides being a custodian?

My main web site is selling some text link ads. Maybe I should be careful what I put on my main web site, rather than this blog as it does have more volume of readership.

As for my current boss finding what I write here, he'd rather use the vacuum cleaner than a computer.

Update on this topic I wrote 11/26/12.

Simpson-Bowles Deficit Commission has some good ideas

The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has come up with a lot of recommendations for reducing the deficit.

Folks are grumbling, but many of the recommendations don't seem that bad.

Here are two of their suggestions that come to mind.

Raising retirement age to 68 by 2050 and 69 by 2075. It sounds drastic, but 2075 is a long ways off. Few folks alive today will need to worry about that.

Who knows, by then the average lifespan may be a lot longer than today, assuming breakthroughs in medical science dealing with the genetics of aging.

If lifespans increase significantly, we'll have to make many adjustments to accommodate the population. Dealing with increased lifespans would mean adjusting more than just Social Security. World population explosion, for instance. Maybe we'll start building colonies in space to accommodate all the people.

Who knows, after 2050, machines might be doing most of the work. Maybe folks will already be semi retired even before retirement age.

As for dropping the home mortgage deduction, that sounds like a good idea to me. All these breaks for home buyers are supposed to make buying a house more affordable, but the opposite might be true. The incentives just push up the value of owning a home thus helping to inflate the real estate bubble and making first time home buying less affordable.

It's a good news bad news situation. The good news is, you get a tax break on interest for buying a home. The bad news is, the home is now a lot more expensive as these policies have inflated the market. For every step forward in the name of affordability, we slide back two steps due to the housing inflation these steps promote.

The mortgage interest deduction may have done us no good in the long run. Houses are just more inflated in price and the government has lost this revenue.

Today, I hear that Obama has ordered a pay freeze for federal employees. Another step that sounds okay to me. Saving some money, but also making a symbolic gesture. We've got to start somewhere if we are going to control the deficit.

Too bad so many need Black Friday

Whatcom Museum above the snow. I walked past on my way to some friends for Thanksgiving dinner.

Today is the so called "Black Friday." Think of how many things have to sell to keep the economy rolling paying for people's rents, mortgages, medical costs, education and so forth.

Here in Washington State, we are especially aware of the role sales tax plays in funding state and local government. Washington gets a high percent of its revenue from sales tax.

Wouldn't it be nice if sales didn't have to be so brisk for people to be able to pay their rents. If folks could relax and enjoy a slower sales season it might be better for the environment. Better for taking time to walk in the snow.

There's still plenty of new Ipods, TVs and so forth trading across sales counters to bring us a cornucopia barely dreamed about just 20 years ago. The products keep getting richer in technology. Many get cheaper as well. Just think how much has to be sold now, at today's low prices, just to pay the high fixed costs in today's economy, like mortgages.

Black Friday is even starting a bit early with some stores opened on Thanksgiving. Can it ever rest? Can there ever be moderation, or has the cost of living and staying in business just gotten too high? It's probably a good thing that property values are dropping.

It's not really the products that are the problem, it's the pace people have to maintain to keep up. Things like housing, health care and education need to be fed.

Images taken at Faerie Coffee in Bellingham

Thanks Kevyn, also sometimes known as Haggrid, for the hug at Saturday Faerie Coffee (I drink hot chocolate) which meets in Three Trees coffee shop. I'm pictured on left.

Thanks to Rick for the shirt and pants sent up from Ecuador.

Hagrid took my picture at Faerie Coffee in Bellingham around Halloween.

The pink bag is from Haggen's supermarket and says, Pink Power. My bicycle headlight made it glow at the Purple Church dance last night and I'm planning to walk the streets tonight.

Someone ask me if I planned to show it to Bellingham's favorite drag queen Betty Desire and I said "seeing her on Halloween would be like meeting the President of the United States." Halloween is a busy time for Betty. Just getting into Rumors Cabaret, where she often resides is most likely a long, long line on that day.

Surprise, Betty did make it to Faerie Coffee this late morning so I feel privileged.

I think Halloween is actually safer than Christmas and Thanksgiving. Those other days are so totally "family centered" that people travel to be with their scattered families. Auto accidents. Flying might be better, but stressful airports.

Meanwhile, Halloween has things for singles as well as families. Who ever you are, or want to be, you can stay in your own town.

There's trick or treat for families and kids. Often at malls or downtown where we trust merchants more than dwellers of our residential areas with handing out candy.

Then for adults, single, married or whatever, there's costume parties.

Hope people don't get too drunk.

I did actually see a tombstone store in Michigan that said, "Drive carefully, we can wait."

Here is another image taken of me at a local event.

Dancing and socializing at Rumors Cabaret which I do on rare occasions. The $5 we paid at the door that day benefited Whatcom County based Community Empowerment Network. A group that promotes self reliance in Brazil.

Hard to hear conversation, so I spent a lot of time on the dance floor.

It was fun.

A cold front to remember

From west window just below Nimbus on top floor of Bellingham Tower.

Every once in a while, a cold front whips through Bellingham bringing winds over 40 mph and temperatures below 20 F. I remember a real intense one in about 1988. Some years have one or two episodes of what they call the "Nor easterly." Wind down the Fraser Valley. Other years are spared. Some years we hardly get much winter.

It's too icy for my bicycling, but living near downtown allows me to walk where I need to go. Icy sidewalks. For those who ride the bus, they are still running.

I visited Nimbus in top of Bellingham Tower (Bellingham Towers, but there's only one tower). Wanted to see if building swayed in wind, but it's not really that tall, only 14 stories. Basically felt solid as a rock, but wind was howling and rattling windows. Building built in around 1928.

I had a vegetable soup.

Interesting views from the top as light snow was blowing off rooftops below.

With my heater on, my own room is now down to 46 F. I only set my heat to 600 watt setting to stay within one breaker. Electric blankets keep me warm in bed and sitting at my computer. I'm draped in an electric shawl. Looks like this year we can say we had a winter. Last year it was kind of a "non winter."

Below: Steam rising from power plant which is still operating near the old Georgia Pacific site on Bellingham's waterfront.

Demise of the white pages started in the 1980s

In 2010, I read that several phone companies are phasing out distribution for the printed versions of white pages to all their customers. White pages are still available by request, though. Most people look up phone numbers on line these days.

Another example of how the old world has been deteriorating for some time now while a new world is emerging.

Back in the heydays of Ma Bell, before the 1980s, folks got one local phone book, but the public library was full of directories from all over the country. People could look up numbers in just about any city by visiting the library. Browsing that shelf of phone directories was a window into local life across America.

Then came the 1980s and the situation started to change. Instead of getting one phone book to your home, you got several redundant phone books all with the same local listings. There were the Plaid Pages, the regular phone book and a whole stack of others. Competing directory companies all offering similar listings. Meanwhile at the library, that shelf for out of town directories started to dwindle. There wasn't money in providing directories to out of town libraries.

It took the on line world to save the day again. One can now look up out of town things without even having to go to the library and that stack of paper phone books dumped at each home is receding to history; sort of. I guess the Yellow Pages are still filling one's doorstep with redundant local directories.

Bike touring today and in the 1960s

An MP3 player. Wonder of our modern economy. It's a radio, record player and even the record collection all in this tiny device.

I took it with me on my last bike tour. Listened through a set of headphones that only covered one ear, so other ear could be available for traffic.

A friend of mine jokingly suggested I bring a portable record player from the 1960s by Magnavox. Strap that to my bicycle. Looks like a suitcase. Speakers unlatch and swing out to the sides on hinges while the turntable tips down out of the case. It's real heavy and doesn't even include the record cabinet.

Are we economically better off than we were in the 1960s? It's kind of like comparing apples and oranges. They didn't even have mp3 players; this tiny kind of "record player" in the 1960s.

600 billion dollars created by the Federal Reserve

Some fear this could trigger inflation, but compared to the housing bubble, I think the inflation would be relatively mild. The housing bubble was significant inflation. Just 600 billion more dollars dumped into the economy now would not likely be that significant. Part of the reason why the Fed may be taking this action is to continue trying to prop up parts of the housing bubble. The inflation has already happened and the Federal Reserve may be attempting to curb the deflation that comes after the inflation of the housing bubble.

Some bad consequences of money flowing into a country

There is fear that nations all over the world will try and devalue their currencies. When your currency is devalued, your products are cheaper on the world market which helps your export industries. This puts your people to work and gives them purpose.

Is money now becoming a toxic asset?

When too much money flows into a country, the value of that country's currency rises. Prices rise and the country prices itself out of the world market. The country becomes a debtor nation.

What's wrong with this picture?

In the past, money was considered an asset. Money created capital investment which put people to work. Now capital puts people out of work.

I'm sure there are a lot of complex reasons why money seems to be less of an asset for putting folks to work than it was in the past. One factor is that there are so many of what used to be called "third world nations" emerging as industrial centers where the cost of living and doing business is low. Manufacturing and many service jobs, such as call centers, can move there. Then the money from this industrialization comes back to formerly wealthy nations in the form of loose money for investments.

In the past, people thought the rich nations could use their money to create higher end, high tech products and services to stay in the market. Now, even that advantage seems less viable.

Money is becoming more of a toxic substance. Money is a good tool, to a point, but it also has it's downside.

As export industries exit the rich nations, capital has less meaningful activities to invest in. It floats around causing trouble, in some cases. Money can inflate prices for real estate, for instance, pushing up the cost of living thus pushing up the cost of doing business in a country. This can push business overseas to cheaper nations.

Money can flood into politics also, creating a toxic situation. I hear that the last election, in USA 2010, had more money invested in it than any previous election. Even more than the last presidential election in spite of the fact that it was only a bi year election.

A "buy election?"

Then there's all that money flowing to Washington DC lobbyists and the toxic situations that creates.

Of course, there's also the money flowing through government that is producing many services which people still want. Police and fire protection, school teachers, health care and the like.

That money may be going to good use, though some might argue things like the military are not good use. Others might think we have too much education and health care, but not enough wisdom or health.

Much of the government money is now "borrowed money." It carries worry with it toxic worry like "can this ever be paid back?"

Part of the problem is that money is just taken too seriously. We need to step back and see how irrational it can make us. Money is a useful tool, but it can turn toxic. Money has both it's good and it's bad aspects. There's got to be more to life than just money.

This election is ready for the recycling bin

Click on image to see some of the slogans, or maybe you're sick of them.

If you don't like the political mood of the country, just wait a minute. It seems to change on a dime. So many contradictory interests among the people who are upset if they can't have it all; interests that are exacerbated with all that campaign rhetoric bloated in money.

It's time to dump another election into the recycling bin and just wait a few, figuratively speaking, moments. Our political climate keeps changing.

At least, for now, there's a place to recycle all that paper.

One thing we have needed for many years, and not gotten, is a bit more patience. Patience among the people and especially patience among all the special interests, which are somewhat the people's interests in disguise.

Special interests are the people's interests jacked up with money and on steroids. Special interests have been hyped, sliced and diced.

Now it's time to take all that campaign stuff and grind it back up into pulp. Make new paper.

Tax cuts for corporations creates jobs for machines

A good sound byte could be made from that piece of wisdom I heard in the sauna.

Tax breaks for corporations creates jobs for machines.

That kind of blows the philosophy of more employment from tax breaks.

As the future unfolds, employers often prefer automation. For instance, machines don't take health insurance.

Has Obama's health care plans brought an elephant? Republican logo by coincidence.

They say the animal designed by committee is an elephant. Health care reform has gone through many a committee mill of Washington DC lobbyists and the like. It may have come out an elephant in the form of the Republican mascot, the elephant. Republicans may take many seats in November.

Sad, because Obama's heart is in the right place.

Many folks deride Obama's plans calling it "Obama care." Even blaming Obama Care for another large hike in insurance premiums this year. Well, how can we blame Obama care? Seems like insurance premiums have been rising every year.

Yes, there may be some problems with health care reform's attempts to prevent insurance companies from knocking more costly sicker people off the insurance roles; thus passing higher costs of their care onto other policy holders. This may account for some of the rate hikes, but huge rate hikes happened in previous years anyway.

If Republicans succeed in repealing Obama Care, rates will continue to rise most likely. More will go without insurance. Maybe, by year 2014 (the year Obama's main plans would have gone into effect) less than half American workers will have health insurance. Private plans will be dropping people like flies.

This is partially because the post war baby boom is getting older.

The problem could get so bad that there will be more political capital to do something about it. Political favors may swing strongly in favor of Democrats again, in time for 2012.

As more and more folks go without, we will need something that Obama Care was planing toward 2014. Subsidized premiums for those who can't afford health insurance.

Sliding scale. Yes, tax the wealthy. Also we might even get single payer.

Maybe the subsidized premiums should have been loaded in on the front end of Obama Care, 2010 and 2011, rather than toward 2014. Then more people could be under the tent thus keeping healthier folks in the insurance pool. As premiums rise, many folks just drop insurance, usually leaving the insurance pool less healthy on average.

Rather than try to straight jacket insurance providers into not dropping sicker than average patients, the early years should have provided some of the subsidies to keep people in the insurance pools. Yes, tax the wealthy.

Those who are very sick among us often end up not being able to work anyway, so disability becomes the insurance provider.

Also, since the cost of health care is swamping us, we should all try to be more healthy. Watch what you eat, get moderate exercise. Folks in the industry, from corporate execs to the local providers must be more reasonable in expectation of their salaries and profits.

Elephants conjure up images of obesity.

If I could draw, here would be my cartoon idea

Health care reform package, strapped together with duct tape and things likely to fall off. The body of a horse drawn carriage.

Potholes ahead in the road; like Republican Congresses.

Destination for most of the goods, 2014.

As carriage passes sign saying "2014, 4 years away." Driver remarks, "I hope this holds together till then."

I still support the idea of health care reform, but see a lot of potential potholes. Glad they're trying to do something, as daunting a task as it may seem.

Scared to ride the bus?

Is this why it's hard to get so many people out of their cars? Folks are scared to ride the bus. Scared of the drivers, scared of being stranded, scared of the experience.

Really, it's not that bad.

This WTA bus was set up as a haunted bus near the transit terminal for Halloween.

Happy Halloween.

Lazy days

Riding my bike around town. Fall colors in Laural Park. Riding up to Lake Padden, around Western, along the waterfront. Shouldn't I be home accomplishing something on my computer? Responding to someone's though provoking "thread" on Facebook?

I vote yes on Washington State I-1098 since life can't be perfect

I'm for Washington State's I-1098; a tax on the wealthy. Some fear it might hurt business investment, but it's a trade off. If state government has to cut back, that hurts business also as state government and it's employees are a lot of the customers of business. We can't have it all.

Hurray for the miners in Chile being rescued

Wow, Google cars that can drive themselves

As much as I advocate alternative transportation and bicycling, driving might not be so bad in the future. Technology to the rescue. Here comes Google cars that can drive themselves.

Much safer than the horrible carnage of over 37,000 US highway deaths per year from today's vehicles. Most people take this death toll for granted. It's an appalling truth about today's cars, but maybe not tomorrow.

I've heard it said that one can "tighten every nut in a car, but if nothing is done about the nut behind the wheel the car is still not safe." Well, automated driving can do just that; eliminate nuts behind the wheel.

This could reduce traffic congestion as well since computers are likely to be better drivers than humans. Better at spacing cars on the freeway.

Technology might even solve our fossil fuel problems with clean energy. Might I say something like solar or nuclear power to charge the batteries in electric cars?

I know, some folks cringe when I say nuclear power.

American culture has trouble slowing down so it looks like this is our fate.

Bicycling still has it's advantages for those of us who like slower paced things. Traveling through landscapes at the pace of a bicycle is great for really seeing things; not to mention getting exercise.

It seems like most people don't want to slow down that often though. It's not something this culture does with ease.

For that reason, most Americans are in trouble unless technology can come to the rescue. Google cars may arrive just in time since the cars of today are crap.

For some trips, I'd even consider using a Google car if it was available. That's saying something for me.

Flowers on Cornwall. Sad days in Bellingham

In memory of the little girl who was run down in the crosswalk when a speeding car rear ended another car that was stopped causing that car to slide forward and hit her.

Several tragedies have happpened in Bellingham recently including the Western Student who was missing for over a week. His body was found under a dock yesterday.

No carrot left for reducing federal deficit

Carrot and stick is used to motivate. Carrot is positive, stick is negative. Must be lingo from horse and buggy days.

Today, the carrot has been removed as an incentive for curbing our federal debt. Carrot being low interest rates.

Back in the 1980s, we heard if we lowered the debt, there would be more money available for private borrowing, thus lowering interest rates. Well now, interest rates are about as low as they can get in spite of the high deficit. How can they get any lower? The carrot is removed.

The stick remains. The stick is financial panic if the government starts to default on its debt. The stick is theoretical, however. It's only a future scenario that is possible. Something theoretical is less apt to work as a motivator. No wonder we keep adding to the debt.

Closer at hand are the carrots created by spending. Military spending, veterans benefits, education, roads, health care, government spending in our economy and so forth. Also closer at hand is the stick if these things are cut back.

The theoretical stick of government defaulting on debt is farther into the future and not as evident. It's less of a motivator. It's like avoiding global warming as a motivator.

No taxes? How about running the government all on deficit spending?

How about no federal taxes? Just run all the government from deficit spending. Let the government go bankrupt or let the Federal Reserve just print the money that the government spends thus sending the value of our dollar down the tubes.

Use your imagination. How would this scenario play itself out?

Privatizing Social Security. Borrowing to save

It doesn't really make sense to borrow money from a bank in order to deposit money in a savings account, but this is what Bush's plan for privatizing Social Security would have done.

Glad it's now dead in the water, but other similar ideas are floating about.

Back before the crash of 2008, former President Bush came up with a plan to allow young people to pay slightly lower Social Security taxes in order to divert that money into private savings accounts for supplementing their Social Security when they reach retirement age.

Problem is, with less tax revenue coming in, Social Security would have to borrow money in order to continue paying out the same benefits for older people who are currently retired.

This situation of "borrow to save" would take place during a long period of transition until enough of us, who are currently at, or near, retirement age have died off.

After that, according to the Bush planners, there would be a panacea where private savings could play a larger role in people's retirement again. Kind of like the days before there was Social Security, only this time, it would be kind of a hybrid situation with some Social Security still intact. Bush apologists might call this a more "balanced" approach with private savings and government both playing a role.

Problem is, it's a long transition of robbing Peter to pay Paul until enough of the current generation of older folks dies off.

With smoke and mirrors, it might look like an improvement in America's dismal savings rate, but when money is being borrowed, even if just over a period of 20 years, or so, it cancels out what's being saved.

Increasing America's private savings rate is a good idea, but there are better ways to do this than the "borrow and pretend to save" plan for Social Security.

Why don't people just save more of their own money, aside from Social Security?

Before the crash of 2008, our environment for savings was abysmal. Interest rates from bank savings were (and still are) very low. Who would have wanted to save?

Saving isn't likely in a climate of low interest rates. That's the problem. Maybe interest rates are too low.

How did Americans save back then?

Buying real estate. That was people's "savings." Thus fertile ground for the real estate bubble. People using property as their savings. Low interest rates encourage this. I even remember someone writing a book with the title "Spend Your Way to Wealth."

While I'll admit I haven't read the book, I have heard that one thing it stressed was the wealth-building potential of buying a home. That was, of course before 2008.

Problem with the low interest rate / real estate bubble is the fact that it seemed like buying a home was the only sound investment one could make. No "diversification of portfolio" when everything else is "in the tank," so to speak. With stocks dubious, money in the bank paying practically no interest, starting a business risky; people would say, "lets buy real estate."

The bubble situation also lead to unaffordable housing as prices kept rising. When folks start spending well over 1/3rd of income on rent or mortgage, what's left over for savings?

Now that the bubble has burst, bank savings rates have improved dramatically, but not because interest rates are higher.

Why are savings rates so much better?

It's because people are scared shit less. After the crash of 2008, rainy day funds and things like FDIC look pretty darn good. It's just about protecting the principle now.

To permanently improve savings rates, it looks like we need higher interest rates. Rather than trying a gimmick like privatizing Social Security, higher interest rates could do the trick.

Still, nothing is a panacea, higher interest rates could also threaten to slow the economy. We'd have to learn how to survive and even thrive in a slower economy. We'd have to learn how to distribute the jobs in better ways. Less people unemployed, but also less people working overtime.

A more laid back economy? If one could afford the cost of living, I think most would go for it in a heartbeat.

Pay the meter and set up a lawn instead of parking a car

Pay the parking meter, but do something more interesting with the space than park a car. How about a barbecue?

I visited this temporary park when it came to part of Holly Street in Bellingham. This happens in other cities as well. Bringing nature back to pavement is a clever idea, but AstroTurf or carpet might work better. I noticed the sod smelled like silage. Maybe because drainage isn't that good on pavement. Carpet would be easier to roll down as well.

I hear someone bought the sod after last year's Parking Day in Bellingham.

Consumer credit doesn't make much sense

Even though interest on savings in the bank extremely low, I just thought of a good reason for having a savings account. It can be for making purchases under, say $5,000. It's better to save up and buy something like a computer with cash, rather than use a credit card and pay that high interest rate.

If bank savings accounts can prevent people from having to use consumer credit for smaller purchases, that saves one a lot more money than just the measly interest rates they pay.

Consumer credit can be a costly way to go for small purchases, but debit cards, for convenience make sense. Debit cards backed with saving in the bank.

These days, even $1000 can be considered a small purchase compared to, for instance, a mortgage payment.

Getting a loan makes more sense for major purchases such as a house, or a new car (if one insists on driving a car), or in the case of a business, "plant and equipment."

But for small purchases, it seems much better to use savings and avoid credit card interest rates.

One World Trade Center under construction. Almost forgotten

Construction site Dec. 2009. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. See below.

Listening to BBC News about the Ground Zero area, I heard in passing, that Freedom Tower was being built.

Why haven't we heard much about this?

The term Ground Zero conjures up images of a bomb crater. Does mainstream media just focus on negative?

So I went to Google.

Yes, Freedom Tower is being built, but it's real name is One World Trade Center. Will be the tallest building in America at 1,776 Ft. Impressive. Projected completion in 2013.

More attention is being paid to the 13 story Park51 cultural center; that place which people mistakenly call a mosque, near by.

Well, Manhattan is characterized as a dense urban environment so there is going to be great diversity of things nearby. That's what density and US cities tend to be.

My guess is the Port Authority of New York, which owns the land under One World Trade Center, is making it the tallest US building, in part, to prove that fear of terrorism shouldn't dictate what's built there.

I say hurray for the new building.

Actually hurray for both buildings. The big building at One World Trade Center and the little one at Park51 a few blocks away. 13 stories is "little" by New York standards.

Rather than complaining about an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site in New York City where so many things are crammed together, one might think Americans would be more upset that we don't have the tallest building in the world. One World Trade Center will be the tallest in USA, but the world's tallest prize goes to Dubai, in United Arab Emirates. That's where the impressive Burj Khalifa resides. At 2,717 Ft., Burj Khalifa is the tallest structure on Earth. By the way, it's in a place where Islam is the main religion so I think that must raise a few eyebrows.

Oh well, look what petrodollars can build. It doesn't bother me as I can appreciate a great accomplishment, but I still have a fondness for my own country of USA.

In keeping with a WASP (white Anglo Saxon protestant) tradition of modesty, I'll point out that One World Trade Center will not even be the tallest structure in USA. Yes, it will be the tallest habitable building, but North Dakota, of all places, holds the tallest structure.

North Dakota? Where's that? People might ask.

KVLY TV mast. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

It's out there in the great plains between US states of Montana and Minnesota. That's where KVLY TV mast resides. 2,063 Ft. tall.

KVLY, is a Fargo TV station. Tower somewhere between Fargo and Grand Forks North Dakota. Said to be near a little place called Blanchard. Not where one might expect to find the tallest structure in USA. Its the second tallest tower in the world.

We do hear a lot of heated rhetoric these days, but America is still a good country. Part of its greatness is the diversity of its landscapes. From seemingly empty plains of North Dakota to the crowded streets of Manhattan where just about everything and everybody are in close proximity, America still offers a lot.

Easy solution to Ferndale teachers 6 minute request?

Add 6 more minutes to the student's lunch hour?

There must be more to this issue than meets my eye. Teachers in the Ferndale School District, north of Bellingham have postponed the first days of school by being on strike.

The issue - 6 more minutes of time to prepare for the day's lessons. At least according to a recent Bellingham Herald article, it looks like teachers are asking for a bit more time to prepare during the school day.

Seems like there's an easy solution to that problem which is in line with my shorter workweek philosophy. Couldn't they just give the kids a slightly longer recess and/or lunch break? How about letting school out 6 minutes early, or even just starting class 3 minutes later at the start of the day and ending class 3 minutes earlier at the end of the day?

Seems like the students wouldn't mind. No more money would have to be spent if this problem can be solved by just juggling the time differently within the school day.

I do realize that it may turn out to be more than just 6 minutes as some teachers are needed to supervise recess. Still, juggling time within the school day shouldn't be too hard.

"Quality time" for the kids versus just "quantity of time." While the kids play, a little more time for teachers to prepare for the classroom.

Of course I'm probably missing something. There may be state mandates that dictate down to the minute how much time kids must spend in class. Come on, things are getting a bit nit picky.

Maybe there's more to this issue than meets my eye. Today's Herald talked about differences over the health plan and some other issues as well. Money is tight.

An important upside from cutting government spending is no longer available

When interest rates were high, economists used to say that reducing the Federal deficit would lower interest rates and increase available capital for private lending so private enterprise could create more jobs.

Well, that mechanism no longer applies now that interest rates are at rock bottom in spite of record deficits.

The downside of cutting government spending still applies; reducing the size of government and it's employees as consumers in the market.

With less government spending, consumer demand drops since a lot of that demand is government purchases and the spending of public employees.

Does private enterprise have anything to fill the hole blown into consumer demand if government cuts back?

The old argument of lower interest rates no longer applies as far as I can tell. How can interest rates get lower?

What else is there to bolster consumer spending?

Maybe cutting government would have one long term benefit. When it brings a deeper recession, rampant deflation is also likely. Yes, deflation meaning prices coming down. Deflating the obese American economy, that is now on the life support of government spending. Deflating property values still farther, for instance.

This would be painful, but as things come crashing down, there might be an upside. If America was cheaper, our products and services would be less expensive on world markets.

Another way to cheapen America, without creating the social chaos that huge cuts in government would most likely bring, is to devalue the American dollar. Devalue the dollar by just printing more money.

If Federal Reserve prints lots of money to prop up government spending, a "soft landing" could possibly be engineered. A soft landing would basically be lower valued US dollars which would make imports to the US more expensive and exports from the US less expensive.

In the long run, maybe the US would be consuming less and producing more.

A leaner US indeed.

Better not to burn the Quran on 911 anniversary, or maybe burn all dogmas including the Bible

The pastor of that Florida Church who wants to burn copies of the Quran on the 9Th anniversary of 911 is acting out of anger. I can see maybe having a ceremonial burning of holy books and dogmas, including the Bible, but any burning would be an act of hostility. Sometimes one feels like burning holy books and dogmas since rigid interpretation of these things leads to so much war and hardship.

Burning the flag is a possibility also. How about tossing in the flags of all nations?

Still, if all we end up with in the end is a pile of cinders, what have we accomplished?

Rajni Bakshi: The Bazaar

Rajni Bakshi: The Bazaar.

Very interesting book. Lecture broadcast Sept. 2.

Excerpt from KUOW web site.

Around the world, grassroots movements are resisting free market culture. And yet societies around the world have also rejected communism. What if there was a middle ground between the two?

Tonight we hear from a voice unknown in the United States, but lauded in India. Mumbai–based journalist and activist Rajni Bakshi won India's biggest literary prize, the 2009 Vodafone Crossword Book Award, for her book "Bazaars, Conversations and Freedom: For a Market Culture Beyond Greed and Fear."

Bakshi says the traditional bazaar is that middle ground between communism and free market capitalism. She argues that the traditional marketplace — where vendors and customers compete, collaborate, bargain and gossip — represents a more socially responsible culture of commerce. Whereas the free market separates our economic activity from our social and ethical selves, she says activity in a bazaar is as much about forming values and ideas as trading goods.

Bakshi happened to be in Seattle visiting her brother when she took some time to speak at the Elliot Bay Book Company on May 19, 2010.

My 2010 summer bike tour photos now on line

Looking at the forest through the trees across I-90 in Spokane Valley. What forest? That one's artificial.

2010 trip was another one around parts of Washington and Idaho. Then another trip to Vancouver, BC after getting back to Bellingham. Total of around 1,200 miles in 4 1/2 weeks.

At first I thought I was slowing down, putting on less miles per day than previous trips, but looking at the mileage, it's still a lot of miles. Not the 4,200 miles I did in 9 weeks of 1991 when I crossed USA by bike. That was 19 years ago. Maybe I am slowing down.

I'm I slowing down due to old age, or the digital age?

Good question.

Maybe a bit from "old age," but back in 91, I wasn't stopping so often to update my status on Facebook. No one knew what wifi was. In 1991 it was either 24, or 32 frames to a roll of film. Stopping to take pictures meant deciding if it was really worth one of the last 5 frames on a roll before getting to the next store and shelling out money for more film. Yes, those were the days.

Now I'm stopping every few feet to take a picture. Not really, but sometimes it seems like that.

In this 4 1/2 weeks, I took nearly 1,000 digital images.