Posted inSalem

Oregonians are heat-weenies

OMG! Oh, the heat here in Western Oregon. Why, oh my my my, it got to 93 degrees here in Salem a few days ago. Well, maybe it was 95.  I can't remember exactly. This senior citizen has been too busy land paddling his longboard skateboard five miles around the up-and-down trails at Minto Brown Park in 90-degree weather. Takes me 40 to 45 minutes. Halfway through my workout I stop for a minute and take a few sips of water. Then I get back on my longboard. No problem.  I grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Delay in Obamacare mandate for large businesses not a big deal

It's always entertaining to watch right-wingers try to make an OMG! mountain out of some routine Obama action (or inaction, such as his being proven to have nothing to do with Benghazi talking points or IRS review of tax-exemption applications). Now the outrage of the day is the Obama administration's decision to delay by one year implementation of the Affordable Care Act mandate that large employers provide health insurance. Wow. One whole year. And the decision only affects 1 to 1.5 million workers who are employed by a company with 50 or more workers that doesn't already provide health insurance.…
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Posted inWeb/Tech

Tips: if Reeder isn’t working for you after July 1

I've been using Reeder on both my iPhone and MacBook Pro to peruse blog updates, along with Google Reader when I'm at my computer. After Google Reader died on July 1, I've had to turn completely to Reeder and The Old Reader, a web-based Google Reader look-alike. I like The Old Reader, but prior to July I found that Reeder updated feeds automatically more often than The Old Reader. So I'd decided to make Reeder my main replacement for Google Reader.  Only problem was, and it took me a few days to notice this, I wasn't getting any blog post/RSS updates.…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Stu Rasmussen’s closet is a transgender thing of beauty

(Embedded video I had originally via USA Today was auto-play, irritatingly; I got so irritated by it playing I've linked to the Statesman Journal web page where the video can be watched.) Like I said in "Salem to Silverton: a trip from boring to charming," Silverton mayor Stu Rasmussen is one of the many attractions of Salem's pleasingly eccentric neighbor-city.  Rasmussen became the nation's first openly transgender mayor when he was elected in 2008. HIs popularity hasn't diminished; in 2012 he was elected to another term.  A video tour of Rasmussen's closet shows why Stu Rasmussen is such an appealing…
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Posted inHome life Humor

Even with my Ninja Fan, I don’t look much like a Geisha

As noted in a post about my visit to the 2013 World Beat Festival here in Salem, I bought an $8 Ninja Fan at a booth in the Asia Pacific area.  (this is the metal version of the plastic fan I got) For a long time I've wanted a fan. My Tai Chi instructor knows a fan form, which looks really cool when he does it. The fan snaps open and shut in harmony with his movements. After all, fans can be weapons. However, when I had a photo of me and my new fan taken by a Statesman Journal…
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