The Fountains of Rome.

Today's Tids Issue 3,159

Opening Stuff:

Sunday was a great day for Otterino Respighi. His music just seems to walk hand in hand with sunshine and cool breezes.

 

“Without basketball I’d either be dead or in jail” is a phrase uttered recently by a local kid, but has been repeated often by kids across the country who come from  inconceivable,  tough, almost even inhumane neighborhoods. I understand completely. But I’d like to hear – “If it wasn’t for math, English, science, my clarinet, art…” Nobody loves sports more than I but, but we place too much emphasis on sports as the salvation for many. When you think about it, sports is like a funnel with opportunities to play top levels declining during a life cycle. In other activities from education there is a reverse funnel with more opportunities widening from knowledge acquisition. Just a thought. Sports is great for a some kids, but learning is better for more.

 

There’s no truth to the rumor that the US Government through their IRS department will be issuing all citizens Salary Authentication Cards (SAC). It is all part of the new “Fee Fairness” program which was necessitated by the new trend  of cities, states and feds hiding tax increases in fees. For instance, the proposed global warming fee which would be added to to all airline tickets (Not private jets of celebrities) could  be prohibitive for poorer travelers. The SAC. Would allow low income people justification to avoid fees. Criminals’ will like it too, as knowledge of real income makes them more efficient when hacking into bank accounts. The computer is a marvelous thing.

 

With several new readers entering the morning Tids fray, I always like to give them a shot at the On-Line version:worldviewetc.blogspot.com.

 

The Question:

What does the name “J.C. Higgins” mean to you? Bonus: Name five of the earlier bicycle builders. Bonus-Bonus: What popular line of bicycles and wagons was named after inventor Marconi and aviator Lindberg?

 

The Headlines

--National Guard Goes Into Battle Torn Ferguson.

--0-Man Comes Back To Washington.

--Yellen Expected To Emphasize Interest rate Patience In Jackson Hole Talk.

--Gaza Cease Fire End Looms; Sides Seem Far Apart.

--Kurds With US Assistance Seem To have Taken Back Dam.

--Large British Hotel Chain Removes Bibles From Rooms: Muhammad (Combined Four Spellings) Becomes Most Popular Boys Name In Britain.

--Ebola Clinic Looted Raising Fears Of Disease Spreading.

 

I’ve been thinking and I believe I now know what the Affordable Health Care bill is all about. It’s about collecting more data on people. The new mandated computer programs for Doctors and their offices collect more personal data that is available instantaneously  by more people than ever before in the history of mankind. As my Doctor says of my former now retired Doc, I love his hand written notes about your medical ups and downs. It has everything I need to know to treat you, and not all of the extraneous necessary for the government. In other words it’s for you, the patient and not make work for a bureaucrat counting numbers.

 

Minnie Minoso is one of my all time favorite baseball players. Sometimes the greats of the not so distant past get lost in the cacophony of the 24/7 sports media. Lest we forget, Saturnino Orestes Armas Arrieta Minosa (Now you know why he was called “Minnie”)  was a 9 time All Star.. The kid could run and hit (.298 Life time), and man-o-man Minoso, could the Golden Glove winner field!. But, God dammit, Minnie is not in the Hall of Fame.

 

I would vote for Rick Perry for President. When the media works so hard to discredit a candidate you know the Dems must be really afraid of he or she. His indictment is so transparently political that the news media, if they were truly objective, would reject it out of hand. But their focus on it just shows how irrelevant they have become compared to what was originally protected by the 1^st Amendment.

 

Using email makes me feel so old fashioned and archaic.

 

One of the more unfortunate trends in today’s US culture is more and more of the people feeling comfortable rationalizing the truth to their wants.

 

Every kid in the 40’s and early 50’s (And secretly adults too) wanted a Dick Tracy radio Wrist watch. Well now they are here with more coming and they aren’t doing too well – except Pebble. The early electronic “wearables” were based on fitness, and it appears that market is thin mainly because half the population isn’t even among the fit. A survey shows that most stopped using them after 6 months (Again, except for Pebble). So, how does this bode for the success of the powerhouse entrants – Apple, Google and Samsung? Maybe not so good if you consider that most of the competition in the smart phone race is for larger screens! They’ll be cool, but will they only be a niche player. How about a micro chip under the skin that expresses the information across contact lenses and operates with eyewinks? Actually, that’s probably already here, somewhere? Tess Trueheart, where have you gone?

 

You know have a pretty good grandson when he feels comfortable going right to the refrigerator when he walks the door.

 

A lot of people dislike having Social Security being lumped into the entitlement category of Government over spending. SS was a mandated, coercive, non-voluntary contribution by working people and companies into a what was mistakenly called a “Trust” fund, which had built up a $2.5 Trillion surplus, subsequently robbed by congress. What collection agency do the people use to collect back their $2.5T from the Government of the People?

 

I always thought that former RI Governor Sundland was a megalomaniacal bore, but his WWII activities reads like a heroic, superspy novel. You never know.

 

The Answer:

The name JC Higgins was used by Sears & Roebuck as brand name for much of their sporting equipment. Their shotguns and Bicycles were well known. In my neighborhood, kids with JC Higgins baseball gloves were typically not very interested I baseball and always picked last for teams. Bonus: My memory conjures up primarily Schwinn and Columbia as being enviable, and jC Higgins for kids who couldn’t ride well. I remember Raleigh as being the first cool “English” bike with gears. Huffy, another very old brand, was also a choice of the day. Today the ten top selling brands are Trek, Schwinn (Still hangin’), Giant, Cannondale, Mongoose, Raleigh, Specialized road, Diamondback, Fuji and Haro. Bonus-Bonus: Radio Flyer!

 

Kids in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s had stronger legs because their bikes were heavier.

 

Have a Great week!