I’m not very optimistic about Vermont’s economic future. According to Douglas’s latest, Vermont’s economic strength is in it’s “diversity”. That’s a crock of crap, the biggest load of BS that’s ever been heaped upon our state. Diversity?
We’re so reliant on tourists to pump up our economy it’s ridiculous. No wonder we have no tax base and have to tax peoples property. Driven around Vermont lately? We’re a state of tourist trap after tourist trap, just about every road you take. Can’t really blame people, it’s where the money is. None of us certainly have any.
We’ve got artisan and specialty businesses galore, but how many people do they employ? A couple at a whack. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great, but we need employers who hire a lot of people. We need employers who pay decent livable wages to Vermonters. This is where Vermont is absolutely not competitive. We’ve got a lot of educated, hardworking people who’ve had to settle for less.
How many employers are there in the thousand plus employee range? Not including the state of Vermont, you’ve got what IBM, maybe Lockheed Martin? Face it the only industry we have is our huge dairy farms, and who do they employ? Mexican immigrants with questionable legal status, because they can’t find anyone else to work for housing and pathetic wages.
Smart directed growth is what Vermont needs, spread evenly throughout the state. Not a bunch more service jobs that pay ridiculously low wages and force people to live paycheck to paycheck. This direction starts from the top. No, we don’t need all sorts of industry pumping pollutants into our air, water and soils, but we need something. The governor should be seeking out environmentally responsible businesses to bring into the state.
Better yet, look to accommodate local businesses and their growth needs. Help businesses that employ Vermonters to grow. Look at Unilever, opening a Ben & Jerry’s out west, look at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, setting up shop in Tennessee. We can’t even keep Vermont companies in Vermont let alone attract new ones!
The buck stops at the Governors office. That’s where the direction of our state comes from. Instead of taking credit for everyone elses work, and blaming failures on the legislature, we need a governor who can deliver. We need someone who can not only keep jobs in Vermont but deliver us new ones. After all the governor is not a spiritual figure head like the Pope. The governor needs to do more than make appearances, and wave to crowds. They need to do the work of the state, and work damn hard at it!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Wind and Gardens
Wind in gardens can wreak havoc on young plants. Windy days, even more so on sunny or hot days, forces a lot of evapotranspiration on the plants causing them to wilt. They don’t have deeply rooted systems yet, and the plant simply can’t keep up with demand. Thus windy days are bad for transplanting, and this is how I screwed up and my wife saved my butt.
So I decided things were too cramped in a couple of our raised beds. The russian red kale and a Brussels Sprouts were beginning to shade my turnips. So I transplanted the sprout to the edge of the bed, and the two kale to whiskey barrel flower planters. I watered. Then I watered again, and they wilted. It was the hottest day of the year so far, 90’s and high winds to boot.
I blew it. They didn’t look good. I had to go uptown for propane so to smooth thngs over with the wife I dropped by the nursery. Picked up a six pack of white impatiens, two oriental poppies, six pack of coleus, and four millet. This would make up for killing the other plants. When I got home, I surprised my wife with the flowers.
However, she had a little surprise of her own. Later on as I made dinner she went around and plucked the old leaves from the Kale I had transplanted. Leaving behind only about the three newest leaves. They are doing just fine. Lesson learned, in addition to water if you reduce the amount of surface area that evapotransiration can occur, it will help with transplant success.
We only get to have a couple of small raised beds for gardening at the place we summer. So this year I added a faux raised bed, and lined a 2X10 frame with cardboard on the bottom. This is my container garden for small nursery stock like the 2 for $2 catalog special weigelas, and mockorange, and a couple smokebush. There’s random stuff I started like echinacea, and rudbeckia.
Its also for my baby potatoes, which I grow by putting in the bottom of a container half full of soil. Once the potato plants grow past the top of the container I fill the rest of the way with compost. At the end of the season the container will be full of baby size potatoes. I think it’s probably one of the easiest ways to grow potatoes.
There are also one gallon containers filled with habanero and jalapeno peppers. The small container forces them to flower sooner in our short growing season here. It will allow me to harvest peppers sooner, and transport them. Container growing allows season to be extended in the spring or fall if a greenhouse, coldframe, or south facing window is available.
Lastly there’s a lone red pear tomato, because it like variety in my salad. It’s also to keep it away from the Sungolds I planted, and the Tibetan tomatoes my wife planted. I always seem to have issues with cross pollenation or something the more varieties I grow. So those are my gardens, and how their affected by wind.
So I decided things were too cramped in a couple of our raised beds. The russian red kale and a Brussels Sprouts were beginning to shade my turnips. So I transplanted the sprout to the edge of the bed, and the two kale to whiskey barrel flower planters. I watered. Then I watered again, and they wilted. It was the hottest day of the year so far, 90’s and high winds to boot.
I blew it. They didn’t look good. I had to go uptown for propane so to smooth thngs over with the wife I dropped by the nursery. Picked up a six pack of white impatiens, two oriental poppies, six pack of coleus, and four millet. This would make up for killing the other plants. When I got home, I surprised my wife with the flowers.
However, she had a little surprise of her own. Later on as I made dinner she went around and plucked the old leaves from the Kale I had transplanted. Leaving behind only about the three newest leaves. They are doing just fine. Lesson learned, in addition to water if you reduce the amount of surface area that evapotransiration can occur, it will help with transplant success.
We only get to have a couple of small raised beds for gardening at the place we summer. So this year I added a faux raised bed, and lined a 2X10 frame with cardboard on the bottom. This is my container garden for small nursery stock like the 2 for $2 catalog special weigelas, and mockorange, and a couple smokebush. There’s random stuff I started like echinacea, and rudbeckia.
Its also for my baby potatoes, which I grow by putting in the bottom of a container half full of soil. Once the potato plants grow past the top of the container I fill the rest of the way with compost. At the end of the season the container will be full of baby size potatoes. I think it’s probably one of the easiest ways to grow potatoes.
There are also one gallon containers filled with habanero and jalapeno peppers. The small container forces them to flower sooner in our short growing season here. It will allow me to harvest peppers sooner, and transport them. Container growing allows season to be extended in the spring or fall if a greenhouse, coldframe, or south facing window is available.
Lastly there’s a lone red pear tomato, because it like variety in my salad. It’s also to keep it away from the Sungolds I planted, and the Tibetan tomatoes my wife planted. I always seem to have issues with cross pollenation or something the more varieties I grow. So those are my gardens, and how their affected by wind.
Half A Home
So my wife found some rather inexpensive real estate real estate recently on the internet. Here in a northern Vermont city, ten minutes away from where we currently live. I called the realtor and made an appointment that evening to check the place out. It was being sold as is, in need of TLC. The realtor said it was a foreclosed property with a lot of deferred maintenance. I naively thought to myself; needed new furnace, doors, windows, plumbing, electrical, probably even has a leaky roof.
The price, I wondered. Between what the realtor said on the phone and some quick internet research, something was off. The average price of just a lot in this city, was $50-60,000. This was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home for less than half that. What would make the price of a home go down I querried, then I Googled.
Damage to a house drops its price. Foundation and roof issues are usually the culprit. They’re also the two things that make a home not “structurally sound”, and the credit unions won’t give you a VHFA loan for it. That must be it I said, there must be something wrong. So I did more Googling looking up tips to spot a bad foundation and a bad roof.
When we got there in the evening the realtor was really nice, met us in the driveway, and brought us right to the door of the house. She was on her way to a wake, so I didn’t want to be rude and take all night. This was our first mistake. ALWAYS WALK AROUND THE HOUSE BEFORE YOU GO IN. So we walked in.
It was the most beautiful little hundred plus year old city home. As we entered the house I noticed the gap in the concrete block foundation immediately. This and the crack on the inside wall were a dead giveaway. Serious structural issues. But we went in anyways, and it was filthy. I mean the filthy like I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind, and will probably have PTSD and nightmares later on in life about! Filthy.
It had potential, but needed a lot of work, and a lot of cleaning. Then there was the basement, I opened the door to a ridiculously old light switch that didn’t work. Stepped down the stairs to a cellar that on this side of the house had an old stone foundation, a dug basement. The light found a very old furnace and most of the rest of the basement. The ad?
Yes, the ad said something about a full walkout basement. Not really wanting to venture further my mind had already been made up, wasn’t interested in the place. We headed back outside to look at the yard. It was the most beautiful city lot we’d ever seen. It had a stream running down one side and along the back, with the backyard sloping to it. We were commenting how hard it would be to eradicate all the invasive Japanese Knotweed, when we turned back to look at the house and saw the full, walkout basement.
The crack I had seen in the house was no doubt associated with the fact that the backside of the house had no foundation save for some pressure treated 6X6 supports and sheets of plywood. It looked like someone had undertaken to enlarge their basement themselves and hadn’t gotten very far. They dug a hole so deep and far behind the house, water from the brook was seeping in. The whole thing was wet, and eroding the foundation. We shot around to the other side of the house and observed a 2x4 holding up the corner of the house. So I thanked the lady for her time and we were on our way.
On the way home I said someone with the cash is going to come in and level the place. Put in fill and concrete slab for a house and garage, and have themselves a nice place in the city.
The price, I wondered. Between what the realtor said on the phone and some quick internet research, something was off. The average price of just a lot in this city, was $50-60,000. This was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home for less than half that. What would make the price of a home go down I querried, then I Googled.
Damage to a house drops its price. Foundation and roof issues are usually the culprit. They’re also the two things that make a home not “structurally sound”, and the credit unions won’t give you a VHFA loan for it. That must be it I said, there must be something wrong. So I did more Googling looking up tips to spot a bad foundation and a bad roof.
When we got there in the evening the realtor was really nice, met us in the driveway, and brought us right to the door of the house. She was on her way to a wake, so I didn’t want to be rude and take all night. This was our first mistake. ALWAYS WALK AROUND THE HOUSE BEFORE YOU GO IN. So we walked in.
It was the most beautiful little hundred plus year old city home. As we entered the house I noticed the gap in the concrete block foundation immediately. This and the crack on the inside wall were a dead giveaway. Serious structural issues. But we went in anyways, and it was filthy. I mean the filthy like I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind, and will probably have PTSD and nightmares later on in life about! Filthy.
It had potential, but needed a lot of work, and a lot of cleaning. Then there was the basement, I opened the door to a ridiculously old light switch that didn’t work. Stepped down the stairs to a cellar that on this side of the house had an old stone foundation, a dug basement. The light found a very old furnace and most of the rest of the basement. The ad?
Yes, the ad said something about a full walkout basement. Not really wanting to venture further my mind had already been made up, wasn’t interested in the place. We headed back outside to look at the yard. It was the most beautiful city lot we’d ever seen. It had a stream running down one side and along the back, with the backyard sloping to it. We were commenting how hard it would be to eradicate all the invasive Japanese Knotweed, when we turned back to look at the house and saw the full, walkout basement.
The crack I had seen in the house was no doubt associated with the fact that the backside of the house had no foundation save for some pressure treated 6X6 supports and sheets of plywood. It looked like someone had undertaken to enlarge their basement themselves and hadn’t gotten very far. They dug a hole so deep and far behind the house, water from the brook was seeping in. The whole thing was wet, and eroding the foundation. We shot around to the other side of the house and observed a 2x4 holding up the corner of the house. So I thanked the lady for her time and we were on our way.
On the way home I said someone with the cash is going to come in and level the place. Put in fill and concrete slab for a house and garage, and have themselves a nice place in the city.
Crappie Fishing
There’s not too much pride involved in fishing for Crappie. When people ask you what you’re catching, and say “Crappie”. If they’re not to acquainted with fishing, they always reply, “too bad, good luck” and are on their way. Someone who fishes panfish though will come right over, drop their ine in next to yours, elbow to elbow on the dock, and say “Any with size to’em?”
I’m kind of a fussy panfish eater. I don’t like the taste of Pumpkinseed, and I only eat Yellow Perch when fishing throught the ice in winter. Just about everything else though, I’ll fillet and toss in the freezer. Crappie are by far my favorite, but Bluegill are a close second.
I was lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time once this spring. I had found the school a few days earlier with a bobber and ultralight jighead/tube combo. Caught one nice White Crappie, then a huge Black Crappie the size of a paper plate. I went back with same bobber and jighead setup but with fathead minnows. Now that combo worked, my only regret being I hadn’t started earlier in the day. By the time the Crappie were done about 11 AM I had doubled up all the hooks on my stringer. Even managed to catch a huge Bluegill while I was at it.
Took me about a half hour to clean all those fish, but I had a pile of fillets. I divided it in two, tossed each in some freezer bags with water and froze them. Works great as long as you use them within a couple months, after that so so….. Right about the time near shore fishing for Crappie ends, people will troll for them with mini-spinner setups. But I’m distracted by something else; Bass season opens………
I’m kind of a fussy panfish eater. I don’t like the taste of Pumpkinseed, and I only eat Yellow Perch when fishing throught the ice in winter. Just about everything else though, I’ll fillet and toss in the freezer. Crappie are by far my favorite, but Bluegill are a close second.
I was lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time once this spring. I had found the school a few days earlier with a bobber and ultralight jighead/tube combo. Caught one nice White Crappie, then a huge Black Crappie the size of a paper plate. I went back with same bobber and jighead setup but with fathead minnows. Now that combo worked, my only regret being I hadn’t started earlier in the day. By the time the Crappie were done about 11 AM I had doubled up all the hooks on my stringer. Even managed to catch a huge Bluegill while I was at it.
Took me about a half hour to clean all those fish, but I had a pile of fillets. I divided it in two, tossed each in some freezer bags with water and froze them. Works great as long as you use them within a couple months, after that so so….. Right about the time near shore fishing for Crappie ends, people will troll for them with mini-spinner setups. But I’m distracted by something else; Bass season opens………
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tax On Windfall Profits Would Be Double Dipping
Crossposted @ www.greenmountaindaily.com
At no point am I a fan of the oil companies, or many of the foreign governments/cartels behind them. As far as I’m concerned they’re drug dealers on a much larger scale. They got our whole planets economy hooked on their stuff, and eliminated any threats of competition to it. They suppressed technology and inventions to get us where we are today; between a rock and a hard place. Nobody, not even governments are strong enough to stand up to them.
That said I strongly feel that the United States is very much in the wrong by trying to tax oil companies windfall profits. That is, while they’re still taxing us at the pump. It’s clearly double dipping; tax users, and tax the suppliers. Where does the taxing end?
Guess what, peoples wages aren’t going up, and because of the high prices people are driving less. Time for the state and federal governments to wake up! Time to find a new way to pay for roads and bridges because the projections won’t ring true, the budget shortfalls are coming; plan for it NOW. End the regressive tax on gasoline, the incentive to cut down on use is already there!
If you want to make a windfall profits tax, make it across the board for ALL corporations. Why single out the oil companies, and leave the war profiteers like Halliburton off the hook? Any companies that make an excess percent of their normal profits, has to pay a certain amount of that percent to the government. It’s simple. Use this money to pay for state and federal infrastructure needs like bridges and roads, and pay off the national debt. If it goes into the general fund it will just get eaten up by pork projects, and these don’t help the nation.
These are tough times, and they’ll only get tougher ahead. Our nation needs to stop, assess, think, plan, and act. By having a little foresight and acting now, we can get our country back on track. We need to wrestle it back from the grasp of greedy corporations and foreign governments/cartels!
At no point am I a fan of the oil companies, or many of the foreign governments/cartels behind them. As far as I’m concerned they’re drug dealers on a much larger scale. They got our whole planets economy hooked on their stuff, and eliminated any threats of competition to it. They suppressed technology and inventions to get us where we are today; between a rock and a hard place. Nobody, not even governments are strong enough to stand up to them.
That said I strongly feel that the United States is very much in the wrong by trying to tax oil companies windfall profits. That is, while they’re still taxing us at the pump. It’s clearly double dipping; tax users, and tax the suppliers. Where does the taxing end?
Guess what, peoples wages aren’t going up, and because of the high prices people are driving less. Time for the state and federal governments to wake up! Time to find a new way to pay for roads and bridges because the projections won’t ring true, the budget shortfalls are coming; plan for it NOW. End the regressive tax on gasoline, the incentive to cut down on use is already there!
If you want to make a windfall profits tax, make it across the board for ALL corporations. Why single out the oil companies, and leave the war profiteers like Halliburton off the hook? Any companies that make an excess percent of their normal profits, has to pay a certain amount of that percent to the government. It’s simple. Use this money to pay for state and federal infrastructure needs like bridges and roads, and pay off the national debt. If it goes into the general fund it will just get eaten up by pork projects, and these don’t help the nation.
These are tough times, and they’ll only get tougher ahead. Our nation needs to stop, assess, think, plan, and act. By having a little foresight and acting now, we can get our country back on track. We need to wrestle it back from the grasp of greedy corporations and foreign governments/cartels!
Monday, June 9, 2008
SVR Needs A Reality Check
There is nothing in my life I am more proud of than being a Vermonter. Our rich and proud history is long and colorful. Our state is full of natural wonders from its mountain tops to its lakes and streams, and the very diverse geology that underlies it. Without the six seasons (I include Mud and Leaf Peeper), life would be mundane. I abhor ever having to live anywhere else in my lifetime.
I’ve learned to accept all the people who move to Vermont. Even the ones that decide they have to make it just like the place they moved from. Personally, if they liked it so much I don’t understand why they left, but that’s their business. Anyways, Vermont is for Vermonters, no matter how long you’ve been here, or where you moved from, you just have to be rugged enough to deal with it. Doesn’t matter your sexual orientation, your color or creed.
We stole our state from the Native Americans who were here first. We defended it against New York’s Governors Clinton, and Tryon. We defended our state in two different wars against Great Britain. As a member of the Union we were attacked by Confederate troops from Canada. As a member of the Union, we suffered dearly, probably losing more troops per capita than any other Northern state save for NY who signed the Irish up for service as soon as they got off the boat. It was Vermont’s old brigade that was the heart of Grant’s army.
That anyone would think Vermont is a good place to move to promote racism and prejudice is beyond me. To move to the state that played a heavy hand in the demise of the Confederacy, that fought to preserve the Union, and get IT to succeed. We know the costs of succession.
That’s why I see SVR as a joke. There are many people who would like to see Vermont as its own autonomous region. But we know the price our state paid, and why we cannot leave the Union. That a bunch of Confederate sympathizers can’t see that is beyond me. They’re better off moving to Puerto Rico!!
I’ve learned to accept all the people who move to Vermont. Even the ones that decide they have to make it just like the place they moved from. Personally, if they liked it so much I don’t understand why they left, but that’s their business. Anyways, Vermont is for Vermonters, no matter how long you’ve been here, or where you moved from, you just have to be rugged enough to deal with it. Doesn’t matter your sexual orientation, your color or creed.
We stole our state from the Native Americans who were here first. We defended it against New York’s Governors Clinton, and Tryon. We defended our state in two different wars against Great Britain. As a member of the Union we were attacked by Confederate troops from Canada. As a member of the Union, we suffered dearly, probably losing more troops per capita than any other Northern state save for NY who signed the Irish up for service as soon as they got off the boat. It was Vermont’s old brigade that was the heart of Grant’s army.
That anyone would think Vermont is a good place to move to promote racism and prejudice is beyond me. To move to the state that played a heavy hand in the demise of the Confederacy, that fought to preserve the Union, and get IT to succeed. We know the costs of succession.
That’s why I see SVR as a joke. There are many people who would like to see Vermont as its own autonomous region. But we know the price our state paid, and why we cannot leave the Union. That a bunch of Confederate sympathizers can’t see that is beyond me. They’re better off moving to Puerto Rico!!
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