Rain Barrel

I can't speak for everyone but, I believe the water department here in Lorain is raising the rates by the day. I find that our bill for the amount of water we use seems high and considering the steps I have taken to reduce the amount of water we use it seems out of proportion. I am washing the dishes by hand and using the clothes washer on one day only and it still seems the water bill is still too much.
Consequently, this year I have gone one step further and decided I will institute the use of a rain barrel to water our garden and the flowers. Additionally, I have installed a soaker hose in the garden to water the plants on a slow steady basis. Should you also like to cut the amount of water you use continue reading. The rain barrel is nothing more than a large plastic barrel which you can get from factories of manufacturers who throw them away. Make sure you clean them out thoroughly because more than likely what came in the barrel to begin with was not good for you and your plants. Drill a one inch hole near the bottom and you will need a ¾ inch tap and a bulkhead fixture. These can be purchased from a big box hardware store for about sixteen dollars. Install the fixture and the tap and you're in business. I have mine under the downspout from the gutter on my garage as if you set it out in the yard it will take a long time to fill. When it rains the rain from the garage roof fills the barrel up completely. You might want to cover the top with screen to keep dirt and animals out of the barrel. Animals will drown as they have no way out once there inside the barrel so, bear this in mind.
I have been able to water my garden everyday for two weeks on one barrel of water and with no help from the city. Water like the air should be free but, we all know that will never happen.

New Bridge

Several months ago I posted pictures of the Ford road bridge over the Black river. Basically, it was unusable and closed to all traffic. I had been told that the bridge would be fixed and traffic would be restored. I was very skeptical at the time as we were still in deep recession and I did not think that the state had the funds. However, I am happy to say I was wrong and the bridge and the road are well on the way to being finished.

My First Clue

Recently, I had an interview with a large Lorain County hospital for an emergency department position. The experience was not what I expected from the start. I had submitted my resume and application online and received a call from human resources that was a little startling to say the least. "So, you want an interview"? Yes, that is what the woman on the other end of the line said and it should have been my first clue that this job was not to be. While I waited the three weeks for the scheduled interview I studied all the interview questions that could be asked. I was ready.
Interview day finally arrived I was ushered into a small room and introduced to the nurse manager and another nurse from the department. Questions were nothing new and are pretty standard. What wasn't standard was the other nurse yawning away while I answered questions guess that should have been my second clue. Finally, I should have realized that I was wasting my time as the nurse manager was not taking any notes. I checked my email when I got home and had already received thanks for submitting your interest but we are going to go with someone else.
Being unemployed mean suffering all kinds of indignities in search of a job. Overwhelmingly most places are very nice when they interview and the above incident is not the rule.

Over 50

Should you find yourself out of a job and over fifty years old you are probably going to find yourself falling on hard times. People want to believe that age discrimination does not exist but, I am here to tell you that it is alive and well and you would do well to hide your age at every turn. Lucky enough to be currently employed then if I were in your shoes I would start the process of thinking, acting and looking younger. What I mean by that is if you are going gray then color your hair. Should you have wrinkles around your eyes or on your face then get Botox. Start some sort of exercise and go on a diet and lose some weight. I am not talking about women here I want men to do this also. More than ever you need to do whatever it takes to keep your job and looking younger is they way to go. Should you lose your income and you're over fifty you are in a world of hurt and probably this will be the toughest time of your life. The stress it puts on you and your family is significant and you cannot imagine how bad it can get and I do mean divorce and worse. I believe it is the same as being told you have a terminal illness.

Should you become unemployed then you need to start looking for a job on day one and spend at least eight hours a day trying to secure new employment. Don't take the severance money should you get a check and think you can coast for a time and then look for a new job. You're behind the eight ball from the moment you are let go just because of your age. You may not feel old and everyone tells you that the fifties are the new forties. Nice sentiment for the over fifty crowd but, nothing but empty platitudes as far as employment is concerned.

Friends and family for most of us can be a saving grace and tend to help out as best they can but, they can only do so much. This is as I said much like a terminal illness and you have to go all out to save yourself. Many of you already know what I mean and have suffered through this terrible time but, for those of you who will lose your employment its war in every sense of the word. How do I know this? I have been living this hell for over a year. The take home message is hold on to your job as best you can and if you find yourself out of work fight like hell to get another!

This is my last blog post as we will be losing are internet service due to our own budget cuts. I want to thank the morning journal and specifically editor Tom Skoch for affording me this opportunity. I would also like to thank the readers and those who choose to interact.

Business Bull

American business laid off workers by the thousands and forced the remaining workers to do double and sometime triple duty. Speak up about your work load and you could be fired and replaced easily with one of the five folks waiting for the chance to take your place. Business has been hanging onto millions of dollars and yelling that we will hire folks when you cut taxes and make it easier for us to hire. Kasich has cut taxes for Ohio business and we are still waiting for the jump in hiring. Businesses still has their workers doing double and triple work to keep their jobs. The impetus is not there to hire and not likely to show up anytime soon.

Legislative Change

A house divided cannot stand. President Lincoln said that over one hundred years ago and it is relevant as ever now. We as a nation are divided along political lines and that division has brought us to the point of legislative gridlock. I believe that we are so entrenched in our beliefs that we may never get any real legislation enacted. Changing the way we pick our legislators may be the answer. Now our legislators spend more time begging for money than they do enacting legislation and we all must agree that the more money you contribute the more likely your agenda has president in the legislators mind.

Consequently, maybe we should take away all that money and all that influence. First of all we do away with elections and find our legislators the same way we do our juries. Legislators would be picked from voter registration and serve two year terms one time with no chance for renewal. During their service they will be billeted much as recruits are in the military. Spartan rooms with no luxury and all amenities provided. One day per week legislators would hear from constituents about legislature concerns. Members would work behind locked doors for eight hours each day and would be able to see their family once per month and have their families during holidays. Sounds like being in prison will in a sense that's what we need. Members have one job and it's to enact legislation not to be swayed by lobbyists' and have affairs and the like. We need take all the extras that our current legislators enjoy and make it a hard job and one where the trust is high much higher than it is now.

War Between the States

Seems that we are a nation that is divided right down the middle our political ideology has us divided blue states and red states democrats and republican conservative and liberal. Now we are mired in gridlock and the local and the national level. We seem of late to become almost rabid at times with our ideas to the point of becoming violent. Maybe, we should settle it with a big fight and winner takes all. Maybe, then we can actually get something accomplished and move on. Let's just run into the streets guns a blazing and settle everything at once. Sounds stupid doesn't it! I wonder sometimes if that is the direction we are indeed going.