Posted inRecreation

Panoramic Metolius River photos

It got up to 103 degrees here in rural south Salem today, so this is a good time to dig out some photos I took recently at what was a much cooler spot in Oregon -- the Metolius River.I'm still learning how to make my new Sony DSC-HX1 do its camera tricks. I hadn't played around much with the Sweep Panorama mode, so decided to give it more of a try. Here's a description:World's first digital camera with Sweep Panorama. Equipped with Sweep Panorama mode, the HX1 reaches beyond the limits of wide angle lenses and makes it easy to…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Facts about health care reform

Ooh, that's a scary word for lots of people nowadays: facts. They prefer the truthiness of Stephen Colbert:Truthiness is what you want the facts to be, as opposed to what the facts are. What feels like the right answer as opposed to what reality will support.Like most progressives, I like policy-making to be based on reality that is as real as possible. Things just go better when they're founded on facts rather than falsehoods. Sure, you're free to drive a car assuming that a red light means "go," and a green light means "stop" -- what right does society have…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Letting children die isn’t a valid religious belief

It's a warm Oregon day, but I'm still frosted over a jury deciding that child sacrifice in the name of Jesus deserves no more than a legal slap on the hand: the father was found guilty of criminal mistreatment, a misdemeanor; the mother got off entirely.Over on my Church of the Churchless blog, I said "Child sacrifice gets a yellow light in Oregon." That post has generated a lot of comments, many of which mystify me.Disturbingly, they seem to reflect the misguided sentiments of the jurors who voted to absolve Carl and Raylene Worthington of the most serious charges. Believing…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Obama, take my health insurance company — please

Yeah, this blog post title is based on an old joke. But the fact that I remember it, because I'm old, is related to my increasing anxiety over whether President Obama is going to pull off the health care reform that this country in general -- plus my 60'ish wife and I in particular -- sorely need.I want Obama to save us from the clutches of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon. Recently a Twitter Tweet popped into my head: I'd love to have government come between me and my health insurance company, just as I want a policeman to come…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Marijuana

Marijuana is getting high attention — legalization near?

No, it isn't a flashback from my '60 days. I've carefully perused the dates on a bunch of marijuana-related stories, and they're all recent. Something is happening here, particularly in the western reaches of the United States, and I don't know what it is. (To paraphrase an old friend.) But it sure seems like the times they are a-changin'. Evidence... Oregon's Governor is about to sign a bill that will legalize the industrial production of hemp. Oregon is on the verge of becoming the first Western state to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp... Oregon will then become the seventh…
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Posted inUncategorized

Photos of 2009 Salem Art Fair

Salem (Oregon), as I frequently point out, doesn't have a lot going on compared to its much cooler city cousins an I-5 hour drive north and south -- Portland and Eugene. But we do have the Salem Art Fair, a first class event, that's beautifully nestled in the towering trees of Bush Park. In the northwest is there a nicer setting for an art fair? Can't believe there is. This is how the fair looks walking up to it from High Street. And this is a view from the line exiting the vastly popular stand that sells "Moo" shakes of…
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Posted inHome life

Our new well silts up 60 feet. Here’s why.

We're always learning something new about country living. Today, it was that our 440 foot new well, just three months old, can quickly accumulate 60 feet of silt.Who knew? It surprised even our well driller, Troy, who said that in his experience he's only had a couple of ten inch wells manifest this odd behavior. Unfortunately, it was our well and the next one he drilled. Unlucky us. But at least now we know what's going on, and how to fix the problem, thanks to some down-the-well diagnosing with a submersible camera.When Oregon Pump came by a few weeks ago…
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Posted inHome life

When to start getting Social Security benefits? I say, ASAP

It's hard to believe, but my gray hair (and driver's license) testifies to the fact: in a bit over a year I'll be 62 and eligible to start getting Social Security benefits. So a New York Times article caught my eye this morning. Reading "Collect Now or Later? Timing Your Social Security Benefits" I realized that no matter what the experts say, I'm strongly inclined to stick with my current inclination:Give me my freaking benefits As Soon As Possible -- ASAP!Now, I realize that others will decide differently. And that's understandable. I just wanted to share my philosophical take on…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

The truth about Obama’s butt ogling

I never really believed that President Obama would ogle a teenager's butt (though it was undeniably attractive) at a public function.Now the truth comes out, thanks to a Daily Kos video. No surprise: once again, Fox News purposely spread a falsehood. See for yourself:
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Posted inHealth

Health insurers shun people with health problems

Here's a personal story -- a single vignette out of countless others -- that shows why the United States needs to reform our screwed-up health care system, pronto. Earlier I wrote about how we labored to fill out a lengthy on-line Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon application: a request to change our individual coverage from Plus to Premier, since that seemed to fit our needs better.Yesterday my wife and I got individual letters from Regence. Bottom line: denied. Here's how my letter started out.Thank you for your application requesting a change to your current coverage.After carefully reviewing your health application…
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Posted inEntertainment

Oregon Country Fair photos — the ’60s live on

 Today Laurel and I headed to Veneta for a marvelous counterculture celebration, the 2009 Oregon Country Fair. I wished we had an old VW bus to drive there, but had to settle for our Hybrid Highlander (less cool, but not nearly so prone to break down).We hadn't been to the Fair for about fourteen years. It was good to see that the '60's flower power hippie ambience hadn't changed. Except the original flower children, like us, had aged. But as some of my photos show, we're still youthful at heart. Walking to the fair entrance, we encountered some philosophy: "The…
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Posted inFamily

If divorce screws kids up, what’s wrong with that?

Reading the new issue of TIME magazine last night, I came across an article that says divorce is worse for children than most people believe. Great. Here I am, sixty years old, having been raised by my mother, no contact with my father except some phone calls and a one hour visit shortly before he died, and now it seems that I should be even more screwed-up than I've considered myself to be.Caitlin Flanagan, who must be super well-adjusted since her article starts off by mentioning her parents' 50th wedding anniversary, writes:The reason for these appeals to lasting unions is…
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Posted inSalem

Salem sucks: Trader Joe’s coming to Corvallis!

Reason #437,618 why Salem, Oregon's tribute to boring white bread living, sucks big time: Trader Joe's has chosen to open a store in Corvallis rather than here."It's really about the income of the community and the education level of the community. Those two points are really important in Trader Joe's world for analyzing a site," said Martin, who specializes in retail properties. Corvallis ranked a bit higher than Salem on both points, she said.Salem Mayor Janet Tayor has been lobbying hard to get a Trader Joe's in Salem. Great job, Mayor. Somehow her efforts were useless in convincing the company…
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Posted inScootering

A scooter will change your life! Here’s why.

I'm approaching the one-month anniversary of getting a Suzuki Burgman 650 Executive scooter. I can predict pretty well how Burgie and I will celebrate: by going for a ride! As you can tell by the exclamation marks in this blog post title and first paragraph, I'm enjoying my new scootering life even more than I thought I would. Yes, I am!So much so, I run the risk of becoming a scooter evangelist, which is kind of scary given my churchless leanings. I don't want to end up going door to door, on my Burgman, naturally, handing out pamphlets that say,…
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Posted inNeighborhood

Photos of Independence, Oregon Fourth of July celebration

On Independence Day 2009, it seemed oh so appropriate to head over to nearby Independence to see how a namesake Oregon small town celebrates the Fourth of July. I hadn't been to this annual event for a long time. But now that I have a Suzuki Burgman 650 scooter, I look for reasons to go for a drive. Even on a 93 degree day. My timing wasn't so great, because I got to Main Street just as the parade had ended. Onlookers hadn't left yet, so at least I could pick up a hint of the parade vibe. The town…
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Posted inScootering

Looking safe and stylish on my Burgman 650 scooter

Three weeks after my first three days on my Suzuki Burgman 650 maxi-scooter, I've still got plenty of smiles on my two-wheeled motoring face.With plenty of warm and dry weather here in western Oregon (pretty typical for June-September), I've been riding as often as possible. A big part of my scootering enjoyment, aside from the hugely lovable Burgman, has been my choice of riding gear.I want to be safe on my scooter. I also want to be comfortable. And, naturally, stylish. I feel like I'm batting three for three with the gear I bought prior to picking up the Burgman.…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Obama, save us from BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon

The debate over how to fix our country's broken health care system can get pretty darn abstract and complex. But last night my wife and I had a hands-on experience of what's wrong with private medical insurance. And it made us ever so eager to escape from the clutches of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, which is our increasingly costly insurance provider.After Regence's 40% premium increase on our individual plan over the past two years, we decided to look for a way to get more health care bang for our bucks. Laurel has a friend, Christy, who is an insurance…
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Posted inSalem

My new Sony DSC-HX1 captures Salem World Beat Festival

 A great weekend: I've fallen in love with my first high-end point and shoot digital camera, a Sony DSC-HX1 that I got last Friday (a three-month early birthday present from me to me, figuring that if I waited to give myself this gift, I'd miss a lot of summer photo opportunities).And I got to try out the camera at Salem's 2009 World Beat Festival, where I always have a good time. I went yesterday with Laurel, and returned today by myself -- wanting to apply some photo lessons that I'd learned my first time out and soak up more of…
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Posted inRecreation

Horse riding lessons and the meaning of life

Is it possible to get in touch with life's meaning, or the lack thereof, while getting some riding instruction in an outdoor arena? Absolutely. I've been re-reading Albert Camus' "The Myth of Sisyphus." Here's some existential pondering that applies to a couple of hours of horse riding lessons Laurel and I experienced a few days ago.I must say that what counts is not the best living but the most living. It is not up to me to wonder if this is vulgar or revolting, elegant or deplorable. Once and for all, value judgments are discarded here in favor of factual…
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Posted inSustainability

Getting the facts straight on saving the Metolius

I'm thrilled that the state legislature has passed HB 3298, which will stop destination resorts from ruining the mostly unspoiled Metolius River basin in central Oregon -- which my wife and I visit regularly.But it's disturbing that misinformation about the basin being designated an Area of Critical State Concern keeps being thrown out by the Portland Oregonian, Bend Bulletin, and other news sources (both in editorials and supposedly unbiased stories).So I want to get some facts straight.(1) HB 3298 isn't a end run around the state's land use system. Instead, it makes use of the Area of Critical State Concern…
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