AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO'S THOUGHT OF THIS?

I avoid political stuff on this blog, but I think I've got a way to solve some problems caused by our friends in Washington D.C. and it's so simple it will never happen.

At the same time our is congress trying to find a way to please everybody, win votes and pretend we aren't hopelessly up to our ceiling in debt; our Federal Reserve continues to make and stash U.S. dollars nobody wants.  And even though the neglected mountain of money recently grew past the $1 billion mark, the U.S. Mint will keep making more and more of the coins under a congressional mandate.

One strange twist to the story was that some people have been using the Mint's dollar coin mail order program to get free frequent flyer miles. Tim Brooks just got back from a trip to Hawaii, all on miles, thanks in part, to the U.S. Mint.

Mr. TIM BROOKS: The round-trip flights for me, my wife, and my son, four nights in Maui in a condo, and then the inner-island flights between Maui and Kauai, five nights in Kauai at a condo, and then two nights at one of the nicest hotels on the island there.

KESTENBAUM: You just order the coins with one of those credit cards that gives frequent flyer miles. The mint pays for shipping and when the coins arrived, you could just deposit the coins and use the money to pay off your credit card. Free frequent flyer miles. Brooks said he tries to spend the coins he gets.

Anyway, I was just wondering why all those dollars couldn't be used to pay some of the money they owe to U.S. citizens in things like the congressmen's own paychecks, welfare, medicare, social security.  Agreed, a billion dollars wouldn't last more than a day in this capacity, but at least it would be a way to get all those pretty little dollars out of the Federal Vault where they could be spent.  And, just another thought, the U.S. Post Office could be used ship those dollars which would be giving a boost to another government program circling the drain.  It sounds like a win, win, win to me! 

SINCE YOU ASKED...

Lots of requests from my last post to see my pretty little purple, uh, pansies.

There they are just scattered around the garden where anyone can see them. 

I'm not shy to show them off. 

My hollyhocks a.k.a. "holy hecks" are also in full bloom.

Even the dark purple ones that I thought were eaten by a back hoe have recovered.

This is the miracle crop.  Our pie cherry tree produces plenty of fruit almost every year.

And every year the robins and all their friends clear out every last cherry

before they are even ripe.  But not this year.  The mild wet spring produced

a bumper crop of fruit.  Too many for the birds to get, even though they 

emptied the top branches and were doing their best  to get the rest.

DH is quite the domestic guy.  He loves cherry pie and when he had summers off from

 teaching and I was still working full time, he bottled the fruit 

as long as I would make the pies.  You've gotta go with what your good at.

So now I've shown you my purple pansies.  Hope you're not too disappointed.  

TRYING TO AVOID A PANCAKE ATTACK

About a year ago I posted a little rant about the frustration of having to buy a bunch of stuff I didn’t want, just to get the one thing I did.  It seems so many things such as shoe laces, socks and batteries are sold in large quantities in indestructible packages.

Another similar bit of marketing I find frustrating is too much technology. 

For example I wanted to upgrade my graphics software and get a newer version of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.  It turns out these programs are now so powerful and come with so many menus and submenus that no one will ever, EVER be able to totally comprehend all their capabilities.  Which explains why they cost a ba-jillion dollars.  BUT a consumer is almost forced to purchase Adobe products in a “creative suite.”  As a result, along with Photoshop and Illustrator, I have installed on my  computer programs for:   animation, word processing, web design, do it yourself heart surgery and directions for constructing and launching an international space station.

Which brings me to telephones.  You know where I’m going with this don’t you.  It just wasn’t that long ago that a phone was tied to wall with a wire, had a little clickety-click wheel to dial the number and was only used for voice communication. 

I was almost getting comfortable with my little cell phone with the teeny tiny keys.  You know the ones that allowed you to text your friends and tell them you love the little purple panties in your garden and you need a good recipe for fried children.

Well, now I’ve got a “smart phone.”  It has a beautiful display, can surf the web, take photos and movies, call anyone, understand voice commands in a twisted sort of way (somehow gummy bears become crummy broads, and deathly hallows turn into deadly halitosis), predict weather, locate the nearest drug dealer druggist, etc.  I’m learning to slide my finger all over that slick little screen—tap, double tap, swipe, flick.  I just know I’ll never, never master even a fraction of the powers of this little gadget.

However, I’ve made it all the way to the twelfth level of Angry Birds. (Stupid pigs)