Homeless - 54

Mon ami,

Happy Memorial Day!! Cold beer, pool activity, food grilling activity, music, laughter, friends - all the good stuff. Ah, yes, the joys of civilized living. It's even better when you get paid for the holiday as I will be for the first time in nearly two decades. Granted, the money ain't that huge but it's the thought that counts.

In the past life, I carried full coverage insurance for Black Thunder. These days, due to a significant alteration of lifestyle, a vast restructuring of finances and the fact that I sleep in her, I only carry liability. It used to cost $40 a quarter but at my last renewal the price increased to $80 a quarter. - that's right, double. After a couple of questions, the increase was due to a substantial modification to base coverage mandated by the insurance commission of the state of Texas - no doubt, at the behest of the insurance companies.Yes, I compared the cost to a couple of other insurance companies and all were within a few dollars of each other. My financial situation is tight enough but now I have to expend more dollars so that the insurance companies can recoup their losses from the current situation they find themselves in. Mr Jones, it came to our attention that you stubbed your toe and as a result , we will have to increase your insurance premium. Our extrapolations indicate that if you are this uncoordinated with your foot, your coordination with a vehicle is highly suspect. It seems that any time a company needs to recoup its' losses, the increase is pushed down to the consumer so that the rate of investment returns to major stockholders, which are not you or me, is within an acceptable degree of variance. Corporate pricks...another pox upon them.

And while we are in this particular area let's touch base on the credit card rules that Washington intends to pass into law that would seriously curtail bank profit. I didn't realize that the credit card business contributed nearly 40% to a bank's profit. No wonder they don't want this attribute of their business under regulation. A bank lobby spokesperson said that the industry would fight this legislation, that it is an unwarranted intrusion into the financial sector. Now, everybody and their retarded duck knows that the banks have been, shall we say, less than impeccable in keeping their moral compass straight and true for some time, regardless of how many times they show up in church. Yes, they loan finances for cars, homes, Black Thunder, real estate, global infrastructures and, yes, even wars...armed conflict where nasty things happen to people and other life forms. And when the conflict is over, they will happily loan you more money to rebuild your national infrastructure or replenish your armory after you can't squeeze the taxpayers any more without incurring armed insurrection which is looking more and more appealing these days given global concerns and economies. They're also been responsible for events that cost the taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars; check your history in the 20th century to date. In summation, that banking reform has as much chance coming into law as a screen door being installed in a starship because of the efforts of the banking lobby (bribery of politicians) and the current structure of our political, religious and economic systems.

It's no wonder our species is doomed to a dismal and painful extinction.

On a lighter note, I've read that the Milky Way galaxy will collide with our nearest galactic neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy which is a short 2.2 million light years away in approximately 3 billion years. I think there is a significant probability that havoc will run rampant in these parts due to gravity stresses, planets colliding, stars wrecking each other and black holes...black holing. Astronomers have deduced via cosmological evidence and contents of the Farmer's Almanac that after the neighborhood calms down, the combined galaxies will have the structure of a elliptical galaxy unlike the spiral configuration we currently enjoy with Earth orbiting in the Orion arm but you already knew this because you were paying attention in Starfleet class 101 - You Are Here. There are several simulations that I saw that has the Earth surviving but can you imagine what the sky would look like during those times? Would there even be a time of night? Anyway, it might be wise to start hoarding so plan accordingly.

One more thing - I hope Danica Patrick wins the Indy 500 this Sunday, May 25. I read of her in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated about her racing career. I had been following her since she came into the spotlight 2 - 3 years ago and I pull for her each race that she's competing. Not because I think she's hot or that I have an adolescent attraction for women who drive over 200 MPH, just as I don't have an attraction for heavily armed women with a cute butt. I used to think it would be nice to see a woman win a male dominated sport but I became impressed with her as a person during an interview she had some time ago. A high profile male driver made a rude remark, referring to her monthly cycle as the cause of her actions at a particular time. Yeah, I thought what a redneck butthead. She kept her poise and coolly responded that it was nice to see his personality finally coming out. I knew that he received many ribbings from his companions about that de-balling. She admitted that during the victory celebration of her win in Japan, she teared up and got a little girly. I like her gumption, style, grace and honesty. I read in the article that on the flight back to the States that the flight crew had to cut off the flow of vodka and pineapple drinks to the racing team because of their increasing rowdiness. Vodka and pineapple drinks? That does sound a little girly but if she wins I will drink a couple...at least.

Have a pleasant weekend,

David