Random Notes -- September 4, 2015

From Portland, Oregon:

Our younger daughter / son-in-law live in Portland, Oregon. Economy in Oregon, so-so.
They moved into new home a few weeks ago and bought new appliances a few weeks and finally got them delivered. Here is her note:

They got here late last night.... but the applicances arrived!

They were to come 3:30-5:30... then 4-6... and at 5:30, the delivery guy called and said they were in Welches (by Mt. Hood) and had to go to Corbett (45 minutes drive) to do a delivery and then they would be here (we are about 15-20 minutes from Corbett -- it's where our church is).

They got here at 8.

Poor (delivery) guys (getting here at 8 after a long day), but good for the store, they were flown in from Mississippi to do deliveries (mind you, this is Portland, OR, on the west coast). They were to help a week, have been here two weeks, and were asked to stay another (third week) and they said, "No, our wives and kids miss us."

In fact the store is so busy / backed up they have flown in several people from around the country to help with delivery and installation. Crazy.

So, here we have a so-so economy in Portland, OR, high taxes, etc., and the local appliance store is so busy they had to fly in extra help to make all the summer deliveries.

And then these guys wouldn't even stay around to make extra money because their wives/children miss them. In the military, one could be deployed up to 180 days without question, and then forced over 180 days with permission from headquarters. Whatever.

This tells me that, without question, at 5.1% unemployment nationwide, this country -- the United States -- is at full employment.

************************************

Moving

I got a haircut this morning. The barber was Sandy, a full-blooded Hispanic. Her dad was born in Mexico (south of border) and her mother was born on the border, in Mercedes, TX. Sandy, herself, has lived in Irving, TX, all her life. Irving is where all the earthquakes have been. Irving has one of the largest Islamic populations in the US, and one of the largest mosques. I mentioned that Irving has probably changed over the years, but she said, "not really." Just growing by leaps and bounds. Irving sits sort of between Dallas and Ft Worth, on the south side of the airport, I guess.

She mentioned that she will probably stay in Irving until her parents move ... back to Mexico. I did not ask why they were considering moving "back" to Mexico but I assume it was to be family after all these years now that their children are grown.

I suppose it's possible they are fed up with US economy and "open-borders" policy. LOL.

*****************************************

Feminization Of Men In The US

I'm not going to go into now, but I had an "a-ha" moment last night driving home from our granddaughter's soccer practice. Some years ago there was a lot of talk of feminization of the American male in the US on talk radio and there's even a short wiki stub on the subject.

Hold that thought.

In literature (and music and the fine arts), Romanticism was a response to the Industrial Society.

Now back to feminization of the American male. There may be a dot that connects urban hip-hop / urban rap. I won't get into it now, but if there is a relationship, it could explain a lot. It would be interesting if Camille Paglia or Peggy Noonan would ever write about the phenomenon / phenomena.

**************************

Better Than Free Trash Pick-Up In Chicago

A new, huge, state-of-the-art public recreation center has just opened in Grapevine, TX, near where we live. It's quite amazing: indoor pool, water park, exercise rooms, basketball courts, handball courts, library, video monitors to watch DVDs on the big screen, and so on. It is co-located with one of the best libraries in the country, the Grapevine Public Library -- separate buildings but common parking lots. For a membership, the best rate is $170/year or about $15 month.

My wife and I planned to join a the $170 level.

But then we learned there is a better rate: free for seniors. The entire facility is free for seniors from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. That's all I would use it anyway, three hours a day. And I'm always up at 8:00 anyway. I used to go to Starbucks until they increased their prices. Now I go to Central Market in Southlake from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and then the Southlake Library until 1:00 p.m.

Now, a simply change: Grapevine Recreation Center until 10:00 a.m. and then the Grapevine Library.

The $170 I'm not paying Grapevine will be offset by the increase Time Warner is charging me for faster internet. LOL.