Oh,no!

Bill (The Florida Masochist) doesn't have good news on his medical problems.

You're very stoic and matter of fact, man.

I continue to wish you all the best.

Oh, yeah

I just clicked over another year on the age odometer a couple of days back.

Trust me...it's both the years and the mileage on the ol' bod that make you old.

But first...

Holy crap! Just noticed I'm listed by The State of Sunshine as a Florida conservative blogger. I've now joined several blogs I read regularly. Thanks, Jim! (I've had you on my blogroll for a bit now.)

Now I feel I'll have to post more even sooner than I thought.

Update

Some crap has hit the fan, so I've been off line for a while. It'll be a while longer before I return.

Disturbing news

The very excellent Florida blogger, The Florida Masochist, buried the lede in this linked post. At the end of the post, he mentions he's got some medical issues to deal with. But those of us who are constant readers, if you're like me, feel sure he can handle it. But I'm hoping there's only good news.

Best wishes, Bill!

Marion County Brushes with "Greatness"

Two instances from the Ocala Star-Banner:

Mel Tillis is going into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October and the man who owns a ranch in Marion County will talk about the honor Thursday morning around 7:30 on Thunder Country radio, 102.3-FM.

AND

One steamy July day in 1961, Elvis got the shakes and Ocala felt the heat.It happened during a break in the filming of "Follow That Dream." Part of the movie was shot in Ocala and other Central Florida locations, including Crystal River, Inverness and Yankeetown.
******************
Elvis had been in Ocala once before, on May 10, 1955, at the old Southeastern Livestock Pavilion, during the dawn of his singing career. He was on a bill headlined by country singer Hank Snow. Six years later, Elvis was back in town for the film shoot.

Hey, ya’ takes your celebrities where you finds them…here, in Marion County.

A Travesty in Marion County/Ocala

Something doesn't make sense.

I looked real hard but didn’t find my name of the Women and Men of Marion.

Thirty-six Marion County nominees are the 2007 finalists for the Women and Men of Marion Showcase Event to be held tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. at Rondo’s State Road 40 location. The event and resulting calendar are a fund-raiser for the United Way of Marion County.

The 12 winners representing 12 categories of professions and industries will be featured in a 2008 United Way calendar.

I don’t know why I was overlooked.

Perhaps a conspiracy?

Minnesota Bridge Collapse

Bad news...good news.

Bad news: antimedia (of Media Lies) went on sabbatical and stopped posting in mid-July. He was very encouraging to me when I started my blog and was helpful in me learning some the the ways of Blogger. But more importantly, antimedia is a thoughtful and intelligent writer.

Good news: he's back for at least 2 posts. The one linked above concerns the Minnesota bridge collapse this week. Please read it. He has one reader leave a comment that (essentially) it's all the fault of conservatives ever since Reagan. That's a stupid assertion, of course, but one that the Democrat leadership are spouting and the MSM is parroting.

I left the following comment:
"Great to see you posting again, and on an important topic. Unlike Eddie (apparently), I've actually seen government close up when they allocate money for infrastructure. They can find money for new projects, but set aside insufficient money for maintenance. That's one reason there is so much new construction...to replace projects that were too small to begin with, or were poorly planned, or more often had to be replaced because of failures resulting from inadequate maintenance. And it's not dem or rep, this is true of all the governments I've seen or been involved in."

And it's true that I've seen the inner workings of government for the past 20 years and frankly it's frustrating...and a little disconcerting...to see how many decisions are made. Too little money is too often appropriated for all needed maintenance. Few politicians are really bad people, but sometimes they have budgetary restrictions that result in limitations. (OK, sometime they make decisions solely on political considerations. And some have no business anywhere near the public purse.) Often only routine maintenance-mostly superficial-is performed. If buildings, roads and bridges are properly maintained (after being properly constructed) they can significantly exceed the estimated usual lives. And that saves money.

Well, given the revenue cutbacks forced on state and local governments by the Florida legislature, local governments are now cutting back even more on structural maintenance. Significantly cutting back. We will be paying a price for this. Not now, perhaps, but later for sure. And it will be much higher then.

UPDATE: See The Florida Masochist post on similarities in Florida.