Brown eggs. Didn’t these used to be the rage with the hippy crowd? More organic? I remember when they sold at a real premium for that reason. At least here, the opposite prevails, they sell for $1.49 a dozen. Is there anything to brown eggs? Not that I know of. They look healthier.
Trivia. PopSci reports that they are putting cell phones on elephants. The purpose is to track their positions before they can get into farmer’s crops. That’s in case anybody doesn’t know cell phones do that. What I found interesting was their serendipitous discovery that if an elephant has not moved in over four hours (their normal sleep cycle), the poachers may have killed it. Four hours is a luxury to say a zebra, an animal which spends its entire life running from one thing or another.Checking my guidebook closely, to qualify for government job placement, I have to be taking a course leading toward a diploma. So let’s look at some diplomas. Remember the Stratford Career Institute, where I got my locksmithing? “SCI for a brighter future.” I pulled them up online, figuring they’d know what is selling. What do we have here?
Funeral Service. I’ll pass on that. Even if there is a future in it.
Astrology. Now hiring somewhere in the universe.
Relaxation Therapist. I have no time for such studies.
Criminal Justice. As opposed to what?
Start Your Own Business. Formerly titled “What Not To Say in a Resume”.
Still, some of the offerings deserve a look. What does a medical transcriptionist actually do? I notice pharmacy assistants all look to be under 25. The main attraction of these courses (to me) is that they are transferable skills and once enrolled, I have a year to complete. A childhood friend of mine, John Campbell, said he was going to become a pharmacist. Seven years later he was still working in a shingle factory.
On my way to the Barn this morning, I invited Teresa along. She’s the lady who auditioned last week, but has just too far to go with music to be up on stage in a reasonable time. She reminds me of Liz Fletcher, who was one of my best friends for ten or so years. We were not each others type, but that didn’t stop us from using each other for bait. We had a lot of good times although things weren’t always 50/50. For example, when she met somebody, I didn’t mind driving home by myself. I always had to make a date for the next day. Teresa said maybe later in the week.
This left me time to do a complicated analysis of the breakeven points on my pension. This is not a simple task, since the pension amounts are based on fixed dates, while the data I need is based on each of four options that flex according to the number of months before I tap into my pension. (Remember, that is not a government pension, but an amount I can take any time.)
That may not sound exciting, but not calculating this factor is the single biggest mistake most people make when they retire early. If they do any figuring at all, that is. They don’t know where the breakeven point is. My results reinforced the conclusion that I must not listen to people who tell me take the money now. If I go back to work for just two years, I can pay for this place, double my pension and still have the option of setting myself up in Belize or Mexico if the money proves worthless here. It already costs $6.00 to chow down at a fast food joint.
[Author’s note: Worthless, in the last paragraph, has a very definite meaning in this context. It is a conversion to constant dollars so that my personal inflation index is not affected by the “basket of goods” used for consumers. Inflation will soon be back. And sooner or later, the world is going to figure out just how much money our government is printing.]
Last, reminding you that I use PopSci and PopMechanics interchangeably, watch out for another crime. It seems the cameras in new cell phones have a resolution great enough to photograph any keys you leave in sight. This photo can then be used to create a duplicate key. If I recall, a specially designed camera took one photo from 165 feet away. Keys in the pocket, people.
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