Feed Me

It is the end of the Spring season ready for summer to begin, which means it is primo time for the Hummingbirds to make their appearance. At my dad’s he has multiple feeders that he keeps out for them to come and go as they please. He puts plain sugar water in his feeder no color no extra flavoring or special mix and he gets them by the dozens every day. According to the website Birdfeeder.com you can even fill a feeder with seeds. I have never seen that and was a bit surprised by that information.

I don’t recall seeing many hummingbirds growing up in Michigan we mostly saw cardinals and robins. After I moved to California they became a daily sighting. The magic of their wings in continuous motion and the way they seem to be floating in air. I love sitting on the porch in the early evening and watching them come and go.

Hummingbird feeders are a great gift for the person who has everything. For Father’s day, grandparents day or even an end of the year teacher gift. It is economical and is something that can be used by apartment dwellers as well as in a single family home.


This is a sponsored post.

Calm Before the Storm

It is a quiet Tuesday evening (quiet now because Matthew stopped screaming and Caitlyn stopped whining), within the next half hour or so Kathy will return home with Stephanie and Arnild in tow. Then in a mere 16 hours later Gretchen, Gordon, Melody, Jon, Lynn, Megan, Robin, Bryan, Shawn, Erika and Jackson will also arrive.

We are gearing up for a rip roaring good time. A simple layout/breakdown of the plans:

Wednesday: Dinner (spaghetti) at Dad's in Canoga Park
Thursday: Seaworld San Diego
Friday: Dockweiler Beach (fire pits!)
Saturday: Lazy day by the Hotel pool, Pizza at a park and then dessert at the Soda Fountain with Dad.
Sunday: Hiking at Placerita Canyon to spread mom's ashes.
Monday: The Gerth/Franks/Mizgala contingent leaves (minus Megan, she figures into my later plans). Los Angeles Zoo.
Tuesday: The Zynda contingent leaves and Me and Megan head to Vegas.
Thursday: The Winters contingent leaves
Friday: Megan and I return to LA.

Busy busy busy!

Any and all are welcomed to join!

Send me an email and I will give you more detailed information

Senility or Stupidity

We all know Caitlyn thinks I am old, now I am just trying to prove her right.

When I got the email about working this next convention, I immediately put the dates on my Yahoo calendar which automatically updates to my phone and then I went into the kitchen and wrote it on the family calendar on the fridge.

Good right?

A few days ago Marisa IM'd me asking if I was working this weekend or next aqnd I said I think I am working both but let me double check. I looked again at the email and realized I had marked the wrong days on the calendar in the kitchen, I started the assignment on Sunday and should have written Saturday. So I replied to her yes, I am working in Los Angeles this weekend and Las Vegas next. Then I went to the kitchen and corrected what I had thought to write wrong.

This morning I got up (I went out late last night, more on that another time) and got ready for work, reopened the email to find where I was to meet my supervisor and who exactly it would be. WHA? HUH? I had it right the first time, SUNDAY is May 31 not SATURDAY. Even writing it on the stupid calendar I didn't realize that the 31st was Sunday and that I had it right the first time.

Ugh

Proposition 1b

"EDUCATION FUNDING. PAYMENT PLAN"

EDUCATION FUNDING. PAYMENT PLAN.

• Requires supplemental payments to local school districts and community colleges to address recent budget cuts.
  


• Annual payments begin in 2011–12.
  


• Payments are funded from the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund until the total amount has been paid.
  


• Payments to local school districts will be allocated in proportion to average daily attendance and may be used for classroom instruction, textbooks and other local educational programs.
  


• Summary of Legislative Analyst’s Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:
  


• Fiscal impact would depend on how current constitutional provisions would otherwise be interpreted.
  


• Potential state savings of up to several billion dollars in 2009–10 and 2010–11.
  


• Potential state costs of billions of dollars annually thereafter.
  

Sounds good right? Other than the fact that it doesn't actually happen until 2011? But wait. And this part isn't even on the Secretary of States website, but according to my favorite conservative radio "shock jocks" John Kobalt and Ken Champaeu and their crayola comments (kidding!), Prob 1b can not pass if Prop 1a doesn't pass!

So what the are telling you is, you wanna give money to the schools? You want us to fund education? Then do what we tell you and no body gets hurt. Or as Arnold said in a press conference today, No body burns! As he threatened to fire fireman and put California in danger if Prop 1a didn't pass.

Moving to Las Vegs is looking better and better each day.

Proposition 1a

"STATE BUDGET. CHANGES CALIFORNIA BUDGET PROCESS. LIMITS STATE SPENDING. INCREASES “RAINY DAY” BUDGET STABILIZATION FUND. "

• 
  Increases size of state “rainy day” fund from 5% to 12.5% of the General Fund.
  
• A portion of the annual deposits into that fund would be dedicated to savings for future economic downturns, and the remainder would be available to fund education, infrastructure, and debt repayment, or for use in a declared emergency.
  
• Requires additional revenue above historic trends to be deposited into state “rainy day” fund, limiting spending.

What does that mean to you? At first glance it looks like a great idea, limiting state spending, increasing our rainy day budget. It's a no brainer right?

Wrong.

If you read farther down on the Secretary of State page you will see this:

• Higher state tax revenues of roughly $16 billion from 2010—11 through 2012—13 to help balance the state budget.
  
• In many years, increased amounts of money in state “rainy day” reserve fund.
  
• Potentially less ups and downs in state spending over time.
  
• Possible greater state spending on repaying budgetary borrowing and debt, infrastructure projects, and temporary tax relief. In some cases, this would mean less money available for ongoing spending.

Higher taxes - this is an extension of the tax hike we just got last month. This measure extends it for 2 more years.

Potentially less ups and downs? What do you mean potentially? If we are going to cut state spending let's CUT IT!

Possibly GREATER state spending.....HUH? Wha? Wait a minute, up above it said LESS state spending.

Double talk anyone?


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A Dialog On California State Spending (seeingtheforest.com)
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Cubist

I consider myself to be a firm believer and executer of the Democratic Way. I not only look at things from both sides (I can't help it even if I don't want to, I HAVE to), but sometimes I end up looking at them from as many sides as a 3 dimensional cube. It is amazing to see that quite a few things that so many things people think are very clear and even "black and white" are really in so many various shades of grey and have multiple sides, versions, outcomes that just get pushed by the wayside when you only think 1 dimensionally.



But right now I am having a hard time trying to understand the reasoning behind why I had to sit for 2.5 hours in a hard metal chair in a room that didn't have air conditioning and listen to something I have heard over and over again.



You see, our lovely Governator has called for a "Special Election". this would be the lovely Governator, who when he ran after Gray Davis was recalled, ran on one major platform (yes this is a direct quote) "I will NEVER raise taxes on Californians, PERIOD." He was supposed to reign in the overspending and get us back on our feet WITHOUT having to raise taxes. Instead what he has done is make more cuts to education and other social issues and AND AND he raised taxes this year! Car tax is one of the Hated things that Gray Davis wanted to raise and was one of the main reasons for the recall election that was his demise. Guess what? The Governator DOUBLED the car tax last month. SMall businesses all over California are hurting even more than they have been because if they have a fleet of trucks or business vehicles, their costs have just doubled for this fiscal year.

So, after the taxes have been raised and the cuts have been made, what is his next brilliant move? (btw he has already stated he is not running again, so he pretty much is a lame duck at this point) This is where we get to why I sat in a metal folding chair for 2.5 hours. Our loverly Governator called a Special Election. there are 6 Propositions on the Ballot and each one is more confusing than the other and some depend on another to pass in order for it to even matter.

This is why it is important to look at things from all sides. Don't say I am a Republican so I vote NO on all taxes! Or I am a Democrat we need more taxes for blah blah and blah. You have to actually read between all the lines. You have to do your research, you have to know that you are not only exercising your right to vote, but that you are making an informed decision and that you are making it to the best of your ability.

And here I am coming at it from another angle. In that same measure there is no wrong or right vote on these measures. You may disagree with someone elses vote but that doesn't make either one of you wrong, or as my sister likes to call me when she and I disagree on a ballot "stupid". It just means that you disagree.

I will try my best over the next week (ish) to post about each of the 6 propositions and give you information and not opinion (well maybe a little opinion at the end, this is afterall MY blog). But (whoo hoo) I am working a temp job this week and next so don't hold your breath. If you live in California, read your sample ballot, go to the Secretary of State's web site and research the propositions for yourself. that way if/when I post you can gice your opinion too.