In The News (09/24/2017)

Revisiting Webcams In Key West, Florida
Checking out the SLOPPY JOE'S BAR WEBCAM I see they've reopened their doors for business since Friday (09/22/2017). I assume the people watching are locals since tourists still aren't being allowed back in.

HOG'S BREATH is starting to show signs of life too. I also noticed the SOUTHERNMOST TOURIST STOP is a bit banged up but it too seems otherwise to be in fine shape.

Same goes with MALLORY SQUARE and RICK'S BAR.

So it appears things are starting to return to normal for the hardy stalwarts who claim Key West as their home. No hurricane can keep the "Conch Republic" down for long. They're a unique bunch. Good for them!


Temporary Inconvenience--Permanent Improvement
TPM--The border between San Diego is closed this weekend to vehicles as part of a $741 million expansion expected to be completed by 2019. Rather then making it harder the project is designed to make it easier for 40,000 vehicles to cross daily. Ssssh--don't tell Donald.


Not Everything Attached To The Obama Name Being Taken Away
TPM reports on Friday --"The red plaid shirt, jeans and sneaker-wearing first lady was venturing out into the South Lawn garden made famous by her predecessor, Michelle Obama, as part of her “Let’s Move!” campaign against childhood obesity. Mrs. Trump had said she intends to keep the garden going."
Ssssh--don't tell Donald about this either :-)



I Noticed This On My Credit Card Bill

Wow!
Lucky for me I've never been late.

If this ever happened they should enclose a note telling me how much they appreciate giving me the business. Hell I'd be better off using a check cashing agency then these guys. One thing is for sure--it would make a cash user out of me PDQ. I'd sooner take my chances getting my pocket picked by a stranger. One who couldn't mess up my credit score.



Donald Trump Thinks Some Football Players Are SOB's

Wonder how many players are going to sit it out for a different reason?

Does Trump actually believe he will receive respect in return for calling them SOB's?
Wonder how many athletes in future days will accept invitations to the Whitehouse?

What if at every future event Donald attends we do this...

Hey--why go half way ?
:-)
I was against this mixing up politics with sports. I didn't approve when they sat it out--but when the President calls them SOB's--well that puts a whole other spin on it. It's human nature to feel challenged when called a SOB. Yeah this guy is a real champ when it comes to de-escalation. I'm sure players--competitive in nature--will see the error of their ways. Question is how many more groups of people can Donald insult before it bites him in the ass?


Problem With Credit Agencies Like Equifax Is...
They never seem to gather enough data on people who are unaware nor approved them for doing so.

'New York Times'--"From birth to death... Decades’ worth of addresses and identifying information, including drivers’ licenses and Social Security numbers. Utility accounts like telephone and cable subscriptions. Criminal records, medical debt, as well as rental and eviction histories. Equifax’s records on any given individual, scattered throughout dozens of databases, typically stretch across hundreds or thousands of pages... Equifax persuaded more than 7,000 employers to hand over salary details for an income verification system that now encompasses nearly half of American workers."[Underscore is mine]

For years we've been told to protect our information. In short--what a load of BULLSHIT.

I don't know why anyone needs them anyway. If someone buys a car, a home or rents--each should require a certain amount of money upfront to cover the lender's loss if it becomes necessary. ZERO DOWN is reckless. It makes no business sense Nobody would have done it this way years ago. If I were lending money or renting I'd require whatever I felt necessary to cover my possible loses. Thus I wouldn't need some damn credit agency. Why would I care if someone stiffed the last guy They might have had good reasons.

If I felt it was appropriate to collect three payments ahead of time before a initiating a transaction so-be-it. Anyone willing to loan or rent w/o assuming the possible risks involved for doing so without the proper amount of upfront money deserves what they get. It's just bad business. Hence I see no need for these credit agencies.

On the consumer end--they're not your friend. They exist only to benefit companies willing to allow people to buy things they aren't able to afford. Companies who overcharge customers who shouldn't be charging in the first place making them poorer then they already are.


North Korea--Seismic Activity Detected
There's been seismic activity reported near where N.K. recently tested a hydrogen bomb. No one knows for sure whether it was an after effect of the test--additional tunneling they were doing for another--or a natural occurrence. Maybe it's just me but if I were Kim Jung-un I'd be cautious I wasn't undermining the tectonic plates beneath my own country. Who knows how things could turn out.