Category Archives: General Talk

Today is National Walking Day

April 6, 2016General Talk, HikingNational Walking DayNick Gatel

AMERICA HAS BECOME INSANE

I disdain most holidays. Christmas and Thanksgiving I like. I like Independence Day too. Most other holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are just made up by 5th Avenue so we spend our money on a bunch of junk. We used to celebrate George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays for the right reasons, but now we have Presidents’ Day, so government workers get a 3-day weekend while the rest of us work to pay for their paid Federal Holiday.

Now we have National Walking Day.

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Energy Upgrade: Stats Thru Month 6

March 14, 2016General TalkHome Energy UpgradeNick Gatel

In January I wrote that home solar might be lipstick on a pig, and it makes more sense to make a home energy efficient before even considering solar. I also promised to post monthly updates on our utility bills.

Here is month 6:

Go to Month 5 Stats

Go to Month 7 Stats

Is One Million a Lot?

March 9, 2016General TalkretirementNick Gatel

There was a time when reaching a net worth of $1 Million dollars was a big deal. Becoming a millionaire was the epitome of success and security. A million dollars seemed to be an infinite amount of money that could last a person forever.

Today I noticed a 1 million milestone on this blog.

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The Income Inequality Fallacy

March 7, 2016General TalkIncome InequalityNick Gatel

This post has nothing to do about backpacking or camping. It is a philosophical, political, and economic discussion. If these subjects are not of interest to you, then you just might want to skip it, plus it is a long commentary.

I recently got involved in a conversation regarding “Income Inequality” in one of the forums over at backpackinglight.com. I think it is an important conversation, and as a parent I would like my children to read my thoughts on the subject.

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Dispatches from the Home Front

February 25, 2016General TalkHome UpgradesNick Gatel

It is said that when you retire you have to keep busy if you want to live long. Well, with all the work I’ve been doing, I’ll live to be 150 years old! We have a lot of deferred maintenance and much to remodel. Last month I wrote about our Home Energy Upgrade improvements.

Here are some of the other things we are making progress on. To be honest, the improvements are cutting into my camping and backpacking time, but since Joyce is still working, it’s okay. I need to get everything finished so she can retire too and we can finally play full time.

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What Should We Do With Our Federal Lands?

February 21, 2016General TalkNick Gatel

Many people want to turn over all our Federal lands to the states. These people are as shortsighted as Mr. Magoo. I wrote about this danger last year in A Call to Action, that I recommend you read since it is now being discussed by some of our Presidential candidates. No need for me to retake it here.

In this article “Ted Cruz vows to sell-off or give away the state’s national parks, national forests, national monuments, and other public lands.” The article goes on to say that of the Republican hopefuls, only Donald Trump and Jeb Bush are against transferring our Federal Lands to the states. Bush is now out of the race, so at first thought, Trump would be the only acceptable Republican candidate to the millions of Americans who support setting aside and protecting our wild lands.

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I’m Officially Retired

February 17, 2016General TalkretirementNick Gatel

Today I received my first Social Security payment.

Not a check, but a direct deposit into my bank account. So the Government of the United States now classifies me as retired. As much as I am generally frustrated with our Government, the experience with the Social Security Administration (SSA) has not been what I anticipated.

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Another Day in Paradise

February 14, 2016General TalkNick Gatel

San Jacinto Sunset — Sitting in our backyard watching the sun set behind the San Jacinto Mountains.

This weekend I thought we were going camping, but instead I had to deal with some irrigation problems and then do our income tax return. All in all a good weekend. When you’re retired you don’t feel guilty about 4 hour “work days.” This evening we sat in our backyard and watched the sun set behind the San Jacinto Mountains. Once it got dark, I checked the temperature – a balmy 79 F. Much better than what I had been dealing with the past three winters.

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Air Force One in Palm Springs

February 12, 2016General TalkAir Force OneNick Gatel

“Salute the rank, not the man.”

Maj. Richard Winters

Band of Brothers

Today Joyce wanted us to have lunch together and watch President Obama land at the Palm Springs Airport, which is only a couple miles from our house.

The President’s views on just about everything and mine are diametrically opposed, just about 100% of the time. But I learned in the military that you respect the rank and he is our Commander in Chief. Given that, it was exciting to watch Air Force One land. Besides, it dismissed me from the Honey Do List, and I couldn’t go hiking on the trails leading out of Palm Springs into the San Jacinto Mountains… the Police shut down access for security reasons. Too bad I don’t have a camera with a large telephoto lens.