Category: California

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Hiking

Here is a picture of one of the places that I’ve been hiking lately.
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As you can see it gets a lot more rugged the higher up you go. This is at about 6750 FT above sea level. It’s also less than a mile from my house.

Whats interesting is that even though I live here in the mountains I’m supposed to pay for something called an Adventure Pass from the Forestry Service.

Sorry guys, not happening. I park my car at my own house, I leave no traces, no trash or whatever. I pack out whatever I carry in. So I’m not paying…

I’m planning to head further up this area.

Obviously I’ll wait until there is no snow and it hasn’t rained in a long time. This is a wash, and all those rocks and trees you see strewn about? Well that stuff is there because of lots of water rushing down this wash. It would be very bad to get caught in a flash flood here while I was hiking.

The Top of the peak is something like 8 thousand feet up. It’s a personal goal for me to get to the top

According to the topographical map, the  the Pacific Crest Trail is just over the ridge. As I understand it, this section of the trail is called Blue ridge Truck Trail. I’d like to walk the trail for at least a short distance.

The dogs seem to enjoy going with me. It’s good for all of us because we’re getting our cardio workouts in.
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They may not appreciate the cardio but they love getting to sniff all over the trail.

I’m appreciating the muscle tone and shrinking belly.

Before you decide to strike out and hike to the top of your nearest mountain…

Consider that you’re combating not only the slope but you’re also having to consider the altitude.

If you’re not used to it being above 6000 ft can cause shortness of breath. So work up to it, make sure that you’re not likely to have a heart attack and then begin training.

Have a blast…

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Who would want to work in America?

This video is very very disturbing.

This young lady is espousing an attitude that I’ve seen quite a bit over the past few years. Her last statement is the most chilling.

“I mean who would want to work in America? This is what the taxpayers are paying for.“

She’s talking about manipulating a system of welfare such that instead of the system being a safety net, it’s a livelihood.

She rattles off how much money she can wrangle from the welfare state and how “others” increase their profits by playing games with the definition of child care.

While stuff like this really pisses me off, I have to acknowledge that folks who “work” the system like this are pretty damn clever.

Hell, I had a tough time getting fucking unemployment because the system was convoluted and strange. Folks like this lady navigate that kind of weirdness with ease.

I couldn’t help but wonder, If people like her put as much effort into actually working would we need a welfare state anymore?

The thing that always amazes me, is that the “Entitled” class is so short sighted that they fail to realize at some point the taxpayers won’t be able to bear the burden of the “entitled” class.

When that happens it’s going to be pretty damn ugly. I picture something like Somalia. Hell we might even get some cool pirates!

How can folks like this claim victimhood? Not that this lady is claiming she’s a victim but there are others that would step right in front of any microphone and claim that they were oppressed.

She’s not dressed in rags, She’s obviously spent some time at a nail salon, she looks like she’s sitting in a fairly middle class home.

She’s not stupid either. Why work, why bother? The state will take care of her and her kids from now until the day they die.

All she has to do to make more money is fuck, (which like all of us, she’d do anyway) and make more mouths to feed and care for.

If this what welfare and being oppressed looks like, I’m doing something seriously wrong…
Better yet, I’ll take one order of oppression to go! Can I get that at Subway?
Why should I keep paying my taxes, or bills, or anything for that matter? 
Let me get my lilly white ass on the welfare gravy train!
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500 Billion needed to maintain the Roads?

So California is talking about raising the gas tax to fix the roads?

Because the state is projecting a 500 billion shortfall by 2020.

WTF?

Maybe they shouldn’t have been raiding the DMV fees, and reallocating other highway maintenance funds to purposes that WERE NOT highway related.

Of course we will never find out what happened to all the funds “Borrowed” to fix other shortfalls.

Oh yeah… We’re not supposed to remember that… And we’re not supposed to mind paying some of the HIGHEST license fees in the country.

I’ve got a salvage title on my 13 year old truck and have an annual 120.00 bill, same on my 10 year old bike. But the real killer is the 600 dollar bill on my passenger car.

Add it all up and the state of California gets 840.00 a year just for me to license my vehicles.

Add to that the 50.5 cents per gallon of gas and long commutes and I end up paying… and I’m estimating here, about an additional 480 to 600 dollars in added taxes per year.

That’s a grand total of  around 1300.00 per year to the state. Don’t even think about the additional costs of repairs CAUSED by the bad roads, or the cost of vehicle insurance.

You’re telling me that’s not enough!?! How do other states have great roads?

Why is it that when you cross the Nevada or Arizona boarder magically the potholes are gone and the roads are smooth? Why is I-75 on the East coast clean and well maintained?

If you factor in fuel wasted sitting in traffic, sitting behind morons that drive like they’re driving pace cars at Indy, and the idiots that slam on their brakes when a bird flies overhead, it’s probably a safe bet that most folks are filling their tanks at least twice a week.

So multiply just half of what I’ve been paying, by the number of drivers in the LA area alone and that’s an OBSCENE amount of money.

Then do the same for all the cities in the state and you’ve got a crazy obscene amount. So Sacramento… tell us again how we don’t have enough cash to maintain the roads?

Here we are;

Rock… Us ….Hard Place.

Our roads are for shit and decaying more every day, that hurts the economy. On the OTHER side of the coin Sacramento RAISING the taxes on a critical item like gas screws the economy.

This is especially true of most cities in California because WE DON’T HAVE MASS TRANSIT.

With the exception of the San Francisco Bay area, cities in California opted for commuting instead of trains / buses that run on time. 

Yeah,  Yeah, The talking heads and politicians speak breathlessly about the success of the light rail in Los Angeles.  

I’ve ridden it folks… yep you can get from one point that’s 40 miles away from your home to another point that 10 miles away from your place of work as long as you’re in the LA basin.   

Oh and by the way it can take you an hour to go the same distance you can go in 15 minutes driving your car during rush hour. If you want to bicycle that last 10 miles to work…. TOO BAD, you’ll have to wait for a train that has one of 4 bicycle slots open.  

Since the trains run more or less  every 10 minutes well you could be on that platform for a while. So you put your bike back on your car and drive to work. So much for being green, getting some exercise, and saving some money. 

The Folks in the Valley and Orange County??? Uhhh well you’re screwed… have a nice day!

Again with one exception, there is no mass transit in California.

Which leads us back to the decaying infrastructure, and what to do about it.

As one article pointed out, construction costs have risen considerably since the last time the gas tax was raised. Really? I guess we in the middle class hadn’t noticed that or the rising cost of living and our more or less static wages!

I’ve mentioned it before, I’m going to repeat it again.

It’s a given that he largest cost of major projects isn’t the material… it’s the labor.

We have a standing labor force in prisons throughout the state.

Instead of feeding, clothing, housing, and providing HBO, & Gym facilities to
these folks, how about we feed & clothe them and let them pay their debt to society with real work?

Prisons wouldn’t be as crowded…

At least not during the day while the work crews were out, and at night… well folks are sleeping and then all they’re worried about is having a bunk.

I’d even be for incentivizing. For each year you work on a road crew without incident, it’s a year subtracted from the sentence. You have to admit it’s a very real way to teach someone that WORK is rewarding.

I personally think that’s a lesson worth teaching.

I also think that little Johnny or Susie riding with Mommy & Daddy in their Prius would see a prison work detail as a cautionary tale of the consequences of right vs wrong.

That might have a beneficial effect in the future, reducing prison overcrowding and the costs associated with our penal system.

After Sacramento implements my suggestion… then lets talk about raising taxes.

Until then…

Keep YOUR wasteful greedy hands out of my pocket!

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The Rusty State…

Through all of this, The loss of my job, beginning a new job search, etc. I have come to realize that I am profoundly unhappy in California.

I can’t get past how expensive it to live here and how much further the available cash would go if I was somewhere else.

Had I put the house on the market just 4 years ago I could in theory be living in another state with better  job prospects, and a pretty decent cash reserve. Now if I were to sell the house I’d probably just break even.
Yes this is “coulda woulda shoulda” but I’ve been unhappy with California for at least 10 years. I’ve stayed because of my better half. I don’t regret that decision per se, I do see the toll it’s taken on me and the relationship.

I was trying to do the ‘ol plus / minus list

Reasons to Stay                                        Reasons to Leave
House                                                         Commute
Yard                                                           Job prospects dwindling
                                                                   Crowding
                                                                   Cost of living
                                                                   State on the edge of bankruptcy
                                                                   High Taxes
                                                                   Infrastructure degrading

I’ve been in California over 30 years. I’ve lived here in this town for 19 years.

You’d think I’d be more attached and that I’d have a lot of friends. I’m attached to my house and I have 4 friends. Not a lot to show for being somewhere for such a long time.

Why not a lot of friends? I spent most of the past 30 years one way or another on California Freeways cooped up in a little metal box making money for one set of bastards or another.

Even though I’m unemployed, pretty much no matter what position I take I will inevitably have to commute. At minimum that commute will be 70 miles one way. I don’t have it in me anymore. I can’t take the frustration and shitty driving anymore.

What do I want?

A place where if I want to I could ride a bicycle to work.
A place with a sense of community
I’d like some nice neighbors, and while I’d like to have a change of season, I’m not much for long cold Winters.

This is starting to sound a lot like a description of some of the smaller East coast towns.

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The EDD Saga…

I started writing this yesterday, but I was way too worked up to be able to complete it.

The State of California denied my claim for a 2 week period. They were apparently really pissed off that I didn’t mail my claim on time.

This is typical of how California works.

Since I’m part of the group that has been working, contributing, paying my outrageously high taxes, and the outrageous car licensing fees I’m penalized because…

I told the truth!

I misplaced the freaking form. 

The EDD never answers their 800 number so I couldn’t even report that I’d misplaced the form or ask for a new one.

In retrospect I should have LIED my ass off. But I’m not wired that way. I don’t think to lie first. Well I guess when dealing with the State I need to get into the habit!

OK fine… California is upset… I was a horrible, rotten, fuckwad and deserve to be punished. And they want their pound of flesh. Whatever…

The real problem is this.

Their letter is ambiguous. It tells me I have the right to appeal their denial. OK! Whatever you mother fucking EDD assholes say!

But due to it’s ambiguity the letter could be interpreted to mean that now all future claims will be denied too.

UHHHH WHAT????!

Now I’m freaking out and PISSED off as all HELL!

See, I have a real problem with “official” documents that are ambiguous. I feel that any documentation should be simple and to the point. The reader should never have to wonder what was meant, what was intended, or if the information applies to them.

The fact that the EDD letter was subject to interpretation left me frustrated.

Am I screwed completely or just a little? What should I do now? How do I resolve this?

Add the fact you can’t get these assholes to answer their phones and… well the walls close in!

Suddenly I felt completely overwhelmed and that I had no recourse or clear instructions to follow. That leads to a deep anger that my brother and I call berserker rage.

This “berserker” probably worked very well in battles of old. It must have worked great when disputes were settled by the swing of a broadsword or a battle ax. Even as the weapons changed it still helped, it gives us unbelievable focus in a fight.

The kind of focus I’m talking about is physical in nature. It’s hunter / predatory  mostly visual and eye hand coordination.

The few physical altercations I’ve been in during my life I didn’t start… I can say with certainty that the    berserker element of my personality finished them. I was the one standing when it was over and people were usually more than a bit shocked at the outcome.

In this bureaucratic world there is no clear enemy. Without a target, the berserker is not particularly useful. In a world of bureaucrats, paper, rules, “not my job” attitudes, where with a keystroke your life can suddenly be made miserable, there is little use for the berserker.

Now, a survival adaptation thats served well for centuries has become a liability. Without a target, the rage that fuels a berserker has no place to go. With no outlet, the rage turns inward and prevents you from thinking calmly and rationally.

It’s a problem that I’m working on. I don’t want to lose the berserker, I just need to keep it reined in when dealing with bureaucrats.

Yesterday, I dropped the reins. As I’m pacing and yelling,

In steps my better half… Quoting Arthur Dent, “I’m English… I know how to queue.” (I was so proud…)

I responded… “I’m German… we invade and impose order.”

6 or 7 phone calls later…. all of them to local field offices instead of the useless 800 number California prints on all their documentation, and we have an answer.

My better half had to tease little bits of information out of these offices. Nothing useful was volunteered and it really was a matter of asking the right questions.

It turns out, I’m only losing the payment for the period in question. I’m supposed to be receiving some additional claim forms which should catch me up.

Why couldn’t that have been clearly written in their letter? Better yet how about including the forms WITH the letter? Then even though the letter itself was ambiguous I’d have been able to figure out what they meant.

During the phone calls we discovered that there are other options to report continued claims. Really?

Apparently, one can phone a claim in, or even use the internet. Both bits of information might have been nice to have. It would have prevented my ever ending up in this position in the first place.

It turns out the EDD website operates differently if you access it using a Mac vs. Windows. The difference is subtle and deadly.

If you use Windows, menu items are visible that are not visible when using a Mac. These menus link you to things like how to set up phone continued claims, how to set up internet continued claims, make information requests, you know… Minor details!

So the major crisis is, for the moment put to bed. The adrenaline rush from being so pissed off and a small sinus problem left me exhausted.

As I was intermittently napping on the couch I was thinking about how California Unemployment Insurance treats the folks that are collecting like we’re on the clock or something.

Folks… IT’S INSURANCE!

That means I’m making a claim, if the claim is valid (i.e. I’m unemployed) then pay me the money I’m due just like any other insurance policy. I don’t see why California sees fit to punish what are effectively it’s customers.

What I can say is this…

I’m angry. I plan to take my FULL measure of payments and benefits out of California and when I’m done I’ll decide my next move.

I’m thinking it’s time to find a new place to live, a new career, and take my earning potential somewhere else.