skipper

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    Mariner wrote a post recently that said the first thing to fix in health care is its costs. In the nineties, administrators and a new breed of eager MBAs decided to change how health care was billed. Instead […]

  • Every one of us at times has learned something from a person, a book, an event, a family circumstance, that changes who we are, what we believe, how we behave. Often the person is a mentor – someone who exposes a […]

  • Mariner begins to understand the virtues of being a grandfather. He and his wife have lived a long life and have become wise in observing the Yin-Yang, the flow of timeless bonding, the energy of living an active […]

    • Son appreciates the sentiment, but Grandfather has more of a role than he may realize. (It is the dog who has no useful role!) Perhaps the role of the Family is to provide grist for the mariner’s musings…

    • Being a grandfather is most awesome. The grandchildren are always happy to see you. Since you do not see them on a daily basis, the subtle changes they under go in growing up are much more discernible.

      Grandparenthood is God’s reward for putting up with your own offspring and if you’re lucky you’ll get to see their offspring inflict some of the same frustration you had to endure. The circle of life becomes complete.

  • Mariner visited his newly born granddaughter for the first time yesterday. Ever since he was four years old he has developed a reputation for speaking of newborns with ignorant, perhaps unwarranted, certainly not […]

  • Throughout mankind’s current history, that is, since about 10,000 years ago, some form of religion has guided culture’s behavior. Even in the days of Cybele eight millennia ago, the original mother of creation rep […]

  • Before Guru leaves on his flight around the world, mariner asked him for a few markers that may be too imminent for a long study of the world’s circumstances. He commented on a few while he dressed in his flight s […]

  • Having Donald in one’s life is like having fleas. Donald is similar to fleas because he is everywhere, in everything, constantly irritating, and a handheld disinfectant is too little too late – that is, erase one […]

  • A tip from fivethirtyeight’s (Nate Silver) website:

    $31.4 million – – Russian trade with North Korea doubled to $31.4 million in the first quarter of 2017. Reuters found eight North Korean fuel ships that l […]

  • The intense distraction swirling around Donald masks economic reality. Mariner has gathered some insights from expert observers of the economy who pretty much are not swayed by the soap opera involving Donald and […]

  • Way back in time, before mariner was a grandfather, he worked for a living. He had an interesting job as a consultant who designed computer system upgrades for large corporations then developed the project […]

  • Her name is Nova. It is a celebration by the family, definitely a high point of the year. Many acts of recognition and admiration will occur this year and many years to come.

    Mariner has mixed feelings about […]

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    A past post spoke of the Mississippi River in natural terms. The River is a vast flood plain worthy of an unrestrained course without canyons, gorges, and other constraints. Typical of many rivers in the […]

  • The United States is not the only nation suffering an interruption caused by populism. Remember Brexit? And Greece, France, Italy, and just about everyone in South America? Don’t forget Ukraine, thrown into c […]

  • Today’s post is a copy of the Washington Post article about what Donald has undone. The press has under-reported this activity which is as damaging as the absence of legislative progress. It is recommended that t […]

  • The mariner’s wife was listening to an old CD today. The CD had a number of old favorites including Bob Dylan’s The Times They are a-changin’ published in 1964 in the midst of the civil rights rebellion and the e […]

  • Here is some encouraging news: in the 2018 elections, 209 democrats are registered to run for the House of Representatives. This is quite a phenomenon. See past elections in the following chart provided by the […]

  • Has there ever been a time when your pet dog caused a flea invasion of your home? One begins by trying cures that are simple: bug sprays, washing the dog, sending rugs to be cleaned, etc. The manner by which we […]

  • Mariner is a potential customer for switching from standard electrical hookup to solar. He believes it is one of the major constraints to the use of fossil fuels in the next decade and will be a cost saving […]

    • We installed a 6.6megawatt solar system two years ago as part of our retirement strategy. We figured we were paying for our utility costs upfront while reducing our use of fossil fuels. There were tax advantages as well.

      Our only regret was not doing it sooner.

  • When will he be gone?

    Sad.

     Ancient Mariner

     

  • If you want to know what the special investigator, Robert Mueller, is investigating, the following article from New Yorker Magazine tells you where he is wandering. The powerful oil industry, long beyond the grasp […]

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