You Be The Judge

OK readers, I need your comment as to whether you think this is a good or bad idea.

I've been thinking I might add something new and hopefully helpful for people that see my blog.

I grew up reading Ann Landers and Dear Abby so I think that might qualify me as an expert for people to write to for advice.

The way it would work is people would send their questions anytime to my blog via the comment section which allows the sender to either attach their name or sign as anonymous.

If one chooses to remain anonymous even I have no way of knowing who they are.

When a comment is made, the comment won't post unless I approve it, so with the advice questions I would extract them rather than posting, then once a month I would publish the question along with my sound advice.

If a person wants advice but does not want their question published, then they would have to tell me that and include an email address for me to respond to.

As was the case with Ann and Abby, there would be no boundaries as to subject matter or types of questions that could be asked.

I am hopeful I would be receiving a lot of questions, and can answer more frequently as the demand dictates.

I'm thinking of calling it "Just Ask Wag."

Now I am asking you to please respond in my comment section with 'it is a good idea' or 'it is a bad idea.'

Many receive advice; only the wise profit from it. - Latin Maxim

Hey Buddy, Do You Have A Light?

A fluorescent light that is. Oh you don't? Well, you will.

Will you like it? I don't think so, but the Government, in their infinite wisdom, is going to mandate that you use them.

Well gee, what's not to like? Fluorescent bulbs use 75 percent less electricity and last up to 10 times longer.

Ah, but there is a small, or large, caveat that most people are not aware of.

Lets review, shall we?

Fluorescent bulbs can cost 10 times more than incandescent ones.

The fluorescent bulbs must be used for at least 15 minutes once they are turned on and ideally for at least several hours at a time.

Turning them off quickly after you have turned them on dramatically reduces their life expectancy.

Well, that is not a problem. I'm sure once you hit your light switch you always leave the light on for 15 minutes.

Let's think back, shall we? Do any of you remember what we have now learned about the dangers of mercury?

Oh oh, last time I checked fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury.

Has anyone ever done any kind of study on whether the mercury in a little light bulb is anything to be concerned about?

The answer is yes. One study found that immediately after the bulb was broken - and sometimes even after a cleanup was attempted - levels of mercury vapor exceeded federal guidelines for chronic exposure by as much as 100 times.

Oh those studies are studies. What does the EPA say just in case you break one?

Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out. Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more. Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag. Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug

Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken. Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials

If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.

You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.

If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup. Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.

Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

No no, you are not done yet.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming. Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

I don't know about you, but I have never broken a light bulb and I'm sure Home Depot has never had one break in their store either.

So if we put our head back in the sand I guess the only worry is how to throw them away when they burn out.

What should you do with a burned out bulb?

Undoubtedly many people will simply dispose of used compact fluorescent light bulbs in the trash.

The problem with the bulbs is that they'll break before they get to the landfill. They'll break in containers, or they'll break in a dumpster or they'll break in the trucks. Workers may be exposed to very high levels of mercury when that happens or should the bulb break in your trash then you too will be exposed.

Oh, I almost forgot. How do we transport them from the store to our house?

Warnings state that the bulbs be put in containers with tight fitting lids and further suggesting the containers be filled with kitty litter around the bulbs to protect them from breaking due to sudden shocks. There is even the helpful suggestion that the container be labelled “Mercury — DO NOT OPEN.”

You might want to consider tying them on you roof in case one of the bulbs break. That way they are in a well-ventilated area and not inside your car.

Ah, but rest easy because the dim bulbs in Washington D.C. will keep the light on for ya.

Something Smells

How cool is this? GM gets a huge influx of cash from the Government, goes bankrupt, emerges as the new GM and their first new product off the assembly line is?

Cadillac cologne.

GM apparently has decided to start small -- small, as in the Cadillac Fragrance for men.

Cadillac cologne is described as having a real "guy" smell, composed with top notes of grapefruit and chamomile; middle notes of geranium, tarragon and cinnamon; and a dry-out of ebony, sweet spice, vetiver and incense.

The company GM licensed to make this new line of scents, Beauty Contact Inc., describes it as "at once bold and sporty, yet luxurious and refined. It pays tribute to the opulence and extravagance of past eras, as well as the luxury and ease of today."

Well guess what, Beauty Contact Inc is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Our Government owns 60% of the new GM and the company GM licensed to make this new line of scents, Beauty Contact Inc., is from the United Arab Emirates.

Oh GM probably couldn't find a company in the United States that could make cologne.

That must be another one of those jobs you hear about that no one in the United States wants to do.

Is it any wonder GM wasted all our bailout money and had to file for bankruptcy?

Can't you see it now, someone gives you a bottle of Cadillac cologne, you open it and put a dab behind each ear, then it suddenly gives you the urge to race to your nearest dealer and buy a Cadillac. Now that's some good stuff.

Speaking of our Government owning automakers, we are also part owners of Chrysler, and in addition our Government forced Chrysler to make the Italian automaker Fiat a partner as well.

So now instead of being all American it now has the Italian influence.

That makes me wonder if to compete with GM, the first new product off the Chrysler assembly line will be Spaghetti Sauce.

Can't you see the ad, Chrysler Hemi Spaghetti Sauce, bold and sporty, yet tasteful and refined.

I can see it now, the husband comes home after a hard day of job hunting and the little woman is standing at the stove with her high heels on, hair all in place, lipstick and makeup on, wearing a dress with an apron over it tending to the Chrysler Hemi spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove.

The aroma is in the air and the man is so overcome with the tantalizing fragrance he tells his wife to turn off the stove because he wants to do it right now.

"Right now?" she exclaims, "But what about dinner? I have been in the kitchen all day simmering the new Hemi spaghetti sauce from Chrysler and you come home and want to do it right now?"

"Yes," he says. "I have the urge to do it, so we really should, don't you think?"

She replies, "Well, dear, it has only been 3 years since we did it the last time, so don't you think it is too soon to do it again?"

"No," he says. "It's not too soon and that's all I have been thinking about all day so let's just go do it."

"Well, OK," she says. "I really don't want to do it, I have a headache and even though I know it will only take you about 3 minutes to finalize the deal it always seems to take forever to get it done. If you really insist, let me go slip into something more comfortable before we do it."

Can't you picture it now? She turns off the Hemi spaghetti sauce, slips into something comfortable, they get in their 3-year-old car and head to the Chrysler dealer to meet the salesman Guido and purchase a new car.

A red Hemi, of course, just like the Chrysler spaghetti sauce.

Memo to the wife Vicki regarding your comment on Monday 7-27-09 blog: "I loved my '66Mustang." You should have filed divorce papers the day I convinced you to let me sell it. That car was a classic and I was stupid.

Fishing Story

Something made me think of fishing the other day, and I recalled a time when I was 10 years old that a friend of mine and I went fishing.

On this day, I was sitting in the shade of a cottonwood tree when my friend Ronnie walked up and said, "Whatcha doing?" I said, "Nothin, whatcha doing?" He said nothin, so I said, "Well if you aren't doing nothin why don't ya sit a spell?" Ronnie said OK and sat down.

We sat there for about 10 minutes watching the cotton from the cottonwood trees floating in the air then Ronnie said, "Whatcha wanna do?" I said, "I don't know, whatcha wanna do?"

We sat there another 10 minutes watching the cotton from the cottonwood trees floating in the air and then Ronnie said, "You want to go fishin?" I thought about it and said, "Sure, why not."

There was a lake about 2 miles down the road so Ronnie and I each got a can and off down the old dusty road we walked kicking our cans as we went.

After our 15 minute walk, we got to the lake and Ronnie said, "Where do you think we should fish?" I said, "That looks like a good spot right there." Ronnie said, "Then that's were we will fish."

So we sat down close as we could to the water and started fishing.

We had only been fishing about 18 minutes when a man walked up and said, "What are you boys doing?" We said fishing and he said, "How are you going to catch the fish?"

I said, "Well mister, my Dad said you can catch fish when they are biting so we take turns putting our toes in the water and when the fish bites our toes then the other one of us will grab and catch that fish."

The man just stood there shaking his head.

The man was carrying a long stick looking thing with a shinny thing on the end of it so I said, "What is that thing you are carrying?"

He said, "This is my brand new $50 fishing pole and $100 reel." I said, "What do you do with that?" The man said, "You throw it out on the water as far as you can and you will catch fish with it."

I said, "Really?" He said, "Yeah, really. Would you boys like to try it?" Well, it was Ronnie's turn to have his toe in the water so I said sure I would try it.

The man handed me his fishing pole and he told me to cast it as far out into the lake as I could.

I was brought up to always do what an adult told me to do so I took that fishing pole walked back about 20 feet, turned, ran towards the water and with all my might I threw that pole as far as I could out into the lake.

I knew I must have done a good job of throwing that pole a long way out into the lake because the man got real excited so much so he was using big words that Ronnie and I had not heard or learned in the fourth grade.

Later Ronnie and I figured we would go home and ask our Mom or Dad to explain those words so when our summer vacation was over and we started the fifth grade we would have a bigger vocabulary than the other kids.

Anyway, the man carried on like that for over 30 minutes, which we just figured he liked to talk while he was waiting for his pole to catch fish.

After he ran out of things to say he swam out into the lake and began diving under the water over and over for what must have been about an hour.

Ronnie hollered out to him and asked him what he was doing to which he hollered back he was trying to find his fishing pole.

Finally the man found his pole and swam back to where we were and drug himself out of the water and was standing there all wet looking at his fishing pole.

I said to the man, "Well, your fishing pole didn't catch any fish either so I guess the fish are just not biting."

Ronnie spoke up and said, "Yeah, my Dad says you can't make any noise in the water when you are fishin or you will scare the fish away. With all that splashing around you were doing out there you scared the fish and they left. Thanks a lot mister."

I said, "Yeah, they're not biting now so com'n Ron let's go home."

We said our good-bye's to the man and mixed in with his good bye were more words we would have to ask Mom and Dad the meaning of at the dinner table that night, and with that we walked on down the road home kicking our cans.

Flashback

When I was younger, I noticed how older people reminisced about things in the past.

Now that I am older, I understand why. For older people the future is an unknown, sometimes frightening thought, but the discussions of the past will most of the time stir memories of things we admired or just plain loved.

Me, I'm a car guy. I just plain love cars, or as older people will say, I loved cars you could look at, identify the brand, the model, the horse power, and the year it was made.

Those were the days when the new cars hit the dealers' showrooms everyone rushed to their lots to see the new models so later that night you could join in conversation with all your other friends because they had checked them out as well.

Those were the days when cars were a statement, cars with an identity.

For my female readers that may not understand any of this, cars for the most part have always been a guy thing.

Us guys wanted our cars and our girlfriends to be hot and fast.

Straight from the factory, cars had fins, wings, bullet tail lights, twin head lights, stripes, spinner hub caps, white walls, baby moons, side pipes, tear drop spotlights, continental kits, fender skirts, curb feelers, mock antennas, rag tops, tuck and roll, bucket seats, bench seats, retractable hard tops, removable hard tops, portholes, 3 deuces, dual quads, a three on the tree or maybe a 4 on the floor, hydromatic, push button automatic, ram air, scoops,and a smorgasbord of cubic inch engines developing horse power that slammed you back in your seat.

Those were the days. The cars had trunks large enough to sneak 5 of your buddies into the drive-in theater and back seats big enough for you to passionately make out with your date while parked at lover's lane.

Cars of today have no distinction. They all look alike, clones.

As far as I am concerned, there only needs to be one large dealer that sells all the brands of cars.

Car shopping would be easy since they all look alike. You walk in, tell the salesman how much money you have to spend and what color you want.

Then the salesman gets on the loud speaker and says bring up #93582408659 in red, customer waiting.

Then as the new owner of #93582408659, as you pull out on the highway no one even turns their head to look at your car because it looks just like all the other cars on the road.

Do you think anyone will write songs about #93582408659?


















In my lifetime, I have been fortunate to be able to own enough cars that if I still had them all, they would fill up a car lot.

Of all of the cars I have owned, several of them were real high-power, gear-slamming, sit-you-back-in-the-seat muscle cars that had style and class.

So yes, now that I am old, I do flashback a lot to the past.

Utah Getaway Part 4 The Final Chapter

Alas, as they say all good things must end.

Friday morning came too soon to our little Utah getaway as we began loading the car for the trip home.

We had such a relaxing time, the dogs had a great adventure, and now it was time to head back to reality.

The wife Vicki sat on the deck one last time as the dogs and I took one last walk around the property and then we got in the car leaving behind the very nice cabin, the trees, the cool mountain air, our new found animal friends and headed back to the sweltering heat and the rat race of Las Vegas.

In response to Kerri's question in my comment section Wednesday asking if Vicki dozed off on the way home so I could kick it up an extra 5 mph, the answer is no she stayed awake the trip home so once again I had to putt along in the slow lane.

The wife Vicki just doesn't understand that I still have the same cat-like quick reflexes that I had 35 years ago and cars are much safer now, but that is a whole nother story for another post.

The Gazebo

Swains Creek is part of Cedar Mountain which is well known to have afternoon clouds move in and have a nice rain storm for a short period of time.

We were not fortunate enough to have any while we were there but the gazebo, which is part of the house and deck, would be a perfect area to observe the storm.

The Choice Of Swains Creek

First off, being familiar with the area, our preference was to find a place to stay in Swains Creek rather than the more well known and advertised Duck Creek.

To us the disadvantage of Duck Creek is the constant roar of ATV's since it is part of a large ATV trail system, along with the hustle and bustle that goes on there because of the hardware store, grocery store, restaurants, gas, lodging, a party atmosphere and all of that which are not conducive to slowing down the pace. In addition, closer attention has to be paid to the dogs thus limiting their free roaming with their nose to the ground.

Duck Creek is only about 5 miles away from Swains Creek so if one wanted to rent an ATV or wanted groceries, a couple of places to eat or things like that, the drive is no big deal.

Swains Creek on the other hand has ATV's driving around but not to the extent Duck Creek does so it is a much quieter, peaceful area and a great place to slow down one's pace and relax.

The Cabin

Over the years Vicki and I have found when you read about or see pictures of places to stay, in many cases the ads have been embellished to appear better than they really are.

No embellishment with this cabin - it is the real deal!





The Testimonial

When Vicki and I find something that we think our friends should know about, we like to share that information with them.

Here is what we experienced in regards to the cabin we stayed in.

We found the pictures in the ad do not do it justice. In the case of the last picture, you are only seeing half of living room.

We soon discovered that everything in their ad was true.

In fact we found a few more things that could have been mentioned. There are permits in the cabin that allow 2 people to fish without a fishing license in the pond and there are fishing poles and a net in case you didn't bring yours. The kitchen cupboard has as many spices as you could ever want to use when cooking. The TV is not just any TV but a wide-screen no less. They have magazines, books, wifi for your lap top, games, puzzles, and a lot more.

It was just refreshing to find that the cabin had everything there. Thanks to the owners, all you need to bring is groceries and your clothes.

The Initial Contact

The owners of the cabin are Russell and Marianne Benson and when I called I spoke to Marianne.

I am ashamed to admit this but from past experiences, when Marianne answered the phone and I asked her about the cabin, I was somewhat expecting her to be curt and ask me if I had read the ad.

Not true, in fact I found her to be just the opposite. I asked questions that she pleasantly answered, she gave answers to questions I hadn't thought of yet, and just offered me a lot of additional information, some of which I knew because we were familiar with the area.

Of course that would be the first of about 5 calls I made to Marianne because once I had the basic information, and with the wife Vicki and I just about to mark our 33rd year of marriage, I am smart enough to know I better have her approval before making a commitment.

In all of my conversations with Marianne she was always pleasant, patient, and helpful which I found refreshing and I appreciated that.

In fact she made me feel like we knew her and she was inviting us to her cabin for dinner.

Will We Stay there Again?

An emphatic yes.

Would We Recommend To Family, Friends And Strangers?

I just did in this blog!!!

Although putting the word out may make it harder for me to find an open date the next time I try to book it.

The Contact Information

Russell and Marianne Benson

(760) 832-6555 (California, USA) Phone 2: (760) 408-1672 (California, USA)

This cabin is a diamond in the rough.

Tell them Dave & Vicki Wagner recommended it to you.

Book a trip now. I guarantee you won't be sorry.

Utah Getaway Part 3

To continue the story about animal kingdom visitors at the cabin, we were probably 30minutes into our relaxing on the deck listening to the chatty squirrel and watching the happy hummingbirds when Vicki spotted a deer just wandering around.

We looked at each other and said well we sure hope we see another one while we are there.

Little did we know we would have a lot of deer walking through the yard at all hours much to our delight and to the dogs as well though they were not sure what deer were.

Chloe wanted to play with them, Zoe wanted to protect the property by barking at them, and the deer just wanted to graze through.




















Every evening we would take the dogs for a ride just down the road and see herds of deer in the meadows.

Return tomorrow for part 4 the final chapter of the Utah Getaway.

Utah Getaway Part 2

OK so now let's pick up where I left off on my part 1 Utah Getaway story.

On a very short notice we hooked up with the owners of the cabin and they agreed we could stay there Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of last week.

My partner Richard agreed to cover my day job, and my night job schedule was for Monday and Friday 4 p.m. to midnight so I could cover Monday before leaving and Friday after we returned home.

The dogs knew something was up as the car was partially packed and ready to go by Sunday.

Personally I wanted to leave after I got home from work Monday night, however the wife Vicki would not agree to that.

Through intense negotiations she did agree to a 6 a.m. departure time on Tuesday.

We missed the 6 a.m. time due to me not having a recipe printed so we rolled out of the driveway at 6:03 a.m. sharp.

Of course as I got to the I-15 I realized we were running naked so I had to pull over and get my radar detector from the back and hook it up so we could stretch the legs out on the car and see if she was born to run.

Now we were rolling, and as luck would have it, traveling through Nevada, Arizona and Utah we did not get stopped for speeding. Of course everyone that knows me knows I only go about 1 mile an hour over the posted limit.

So here we are out on the interstate just putting along at the posted speed limit of 75 with me wishing Nevada would go back to the days of no speed limit. (You kind of have to be a little older to remember those good days.)

Here's the deal with cars - I have always felt they should be able to go the top speed as shown on the speedometer otherwise that is false advertising and then you can get your money back and a car that will do as advertised.

The problem is, every car I have owned since October 1976 has had a governor in it, usually sitting in the passenger seat.

Tuesday was no exception so I thought maybe if I made idle chit chat with the governor Vicki sitting in the passenger seat she might not notice is I opened it up a bit.

That didn't work so I hoped she might take a nap and I could put the hammer down but alas she was too excited about our trip to doze off.

So there I was with 200 miles of freeway and a car with a speedometer that goes to 140mph and we are just putting along.

My biggest fear was being passed by one of those Smart Cars, how embarrassing would that be especially since our plates say ZOOMBYA?

I may have gone a mile or two over the speed limit just to blow the carbon out of the car since the wife Vicki is the primary in town driver and I think the computer had her average speed at 12.5 miles per hour.

We finally hit Cedar City and the anticipation began. We took the dogs to Zoe's favorite park so she could show it to Chloe who now, after chasing the tennis balls with Zoe' for 30 minutes, loves it as well.

From there we grabbed an early lunch, hit the store for some last minute groceries, gassed up and headed up the mountain.

The drive up Cedar mountain brought back many memories and stories as Vicki and I over the years had spent many a weekend camping at Navajo Lake at the top of the mountain.

We took the turn off for Swains Creek and as we are headed to the cabin we start to wonder if the cabin is as described or if we will be disappointed.

As we reach the cabin, see the setting in the trees, the deck with chairs sitting there inviting us to kick back and relax we are saying we hope when we open the door it too is as described.

We were not disappointed when we opened the door and walked inside as it was more than we expected and better than advertised.

We rushed to get unpacked and settled in so we could fill those chairs sitting empty on the deck. The dogs, without missing a beat, were roaming with their noses to the ground checking out all the new smells of friends that they would later encounter as would we.

I fixed my ice tea, Vicki grabbed her water and we picked out our chairs, positioned them to our liking and the getaway started.

So there we are, kicked back enjoying the mountain air when we found out how friendly the animal kingdom there is.

It started with a loud greeting from a squirrel sitting in the tree yelling out greetings to us and to Zoe' and Chloe.

He was a chatty little fellow that visited us often during our stay, I think to confuse Zoe' and Chloe as they could never figure out just where he was in the tree.


The wife Vicki has a fascination and love of hummingbirds and was excited to see a feeder hanging on the deck side of the house and commented that she hoped one would stop by for fuel so she could see it.

Much to her delight a hummingbird was the next to stop by and welcome us to the cabin. That was one of many that stopped by during our stay.





Stay tuned for part 3 of the Utah Getaway.

Utah Getaway Part 1

It was time for a little stress relief for the dogs so we left town and spent a few days at a nice cabin in Swains Creek Utah.

Part 2 will be posted Wednesday