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Here we are with Marcus and his work
Marcus with Red Storm #5
Last weekend, we went to Jacksonville, FL, at the invitation of Park West Gallery, an art dealer from whom we’ve bought pieces from on cruises. They put us up at the Jacksonville Hyatt Riverfront for two nights and wined and dined us…all just to attend two art auctions.
The featured guest artist was Marcus Glenn. From the Park West web site:
Marcus is known for his use of vibrant colors, his expressive use of exotic papers and fabrics, and his ability to create a masterful textured collage effect. His figures are animated and mannerist in approach, often stretching and twisting into impossible but highly expressive positions. He also has created a unique form of combining painting with sculpture to create a bas-relief effect. He has called this approach ‘Flat Life’ and has been developing the approach for more than a decade.
He’s a very personable guy, great artist, and we couldn’t resist buying one of his pieces. Isn’t it cool? You can click on the images to make them larger.
© 2009 – 2010, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.
President Obama announced another bailout. It’s not likely to work, but he has to do something besides blame the “previous administration” for the economy.
Here’s why government spending won’t fix the economy: Government money has to come from somewhere.
Government spending doesn’t create new wealth or extra jobs, it just redistributes money from those who pay taxes (or loan the government money) to those who help politicians get elected.1
© 2009, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.
Of course you do. With Medicare Advantage out of the way, you can sell more of your AARP health insurance. Let’s quit pretending you’ve got seniors’ best interests at heart, OK?
The 1.8 year old TiVo HD finally started to look like it was recording, but actually dropping programs around the 1 minute to 11 minute recorded mark. I wasn’t sure whether it was the hard disk in the TiVo, the external hard disk, or Comcast signals. Not wanting to spend a bunch of money to find out, we switched from Comcast to Dish. Since the DVR service with Dish is less than the TiVo service, and the actual Dish service is cheaper than Comcast, we’ll be saving the big bucks.
I also switched our high-speed Internet service from Comcast to CenturyLink. It’s no longer required that you subscribe to local phone service in order to get DSL. Good deal. The DSL will be about the same as cable after the discounted price expires after a year.
So far things are working superbly and we’re learning the new system.
I’m officially retiring the static page titled “Comcast Saga” effective immediately.
Obama Salutes
Congratulations, Mr. President. You’re the first President that I can remember who could render a proper military salute.
If you’re going to honor the fallen, you might as well do it right.
Way to go!
USA Today reports that the contractors who spent 16 billion dollars of the stimulus package created 30,383 jobs!
Incredible, the stimulus package is working. It only cost $528,610 per job. If the rest of the package is as successful, the stimulus should create just over one million new jobs.
Let’s turn over more stuff for the government to run.
Scene: A senior couple reading the newspaper over a morning cup of coffee.
She: So every year we get a C.O.L.A. to offset inflation…what happens if there’s no inflation?
He: We gat a C.O.R.A.
She: What’s that?
He: Cost of Re-election Adjustment.
I just went through my many boxes of electronic stuff to organize and throw out. I don’t know how I did it, but among the yards of phone lines, miles of coaxial cable, and plethora of plugs, I found 15, count ‘em, 15 AC adapters of various sizes and voltages. These do not include all the cell phone chargers, of which we have many. I must have kept them in spite of tossing the equipment to which they supply the juice.
I’m also getting real tired of this Halloween theme I’ve got going here. I’m glad October is almost over so I can change it. Maybe I’ll change it anyway.
Found in The Villages Daily Sun:
Berlin — Reuters A German man mooning at railway staff in a departing train got his trousers caught in a carriage door and ended up being dragged half naked along the platform, out of the station and onto the tracks. Dangling by his trousers, the 22-year-old journalism student got pulled along for about 200 meters, all the while managing to keep his legs away from the wheels of the train. The ordeal ended when a passenger pulled the emergency brake. Rescue services were called in, causing rail services between Bremen and Hamburg to be suspended for over an hour, delaying 23 trains.
Berlin — Reuters
A German man mooning at railway staff in a departing train got his trousers caught in a carriage door and ended up being dragged half naked along the platform, out of the station and onto the tracks.
Dangling by his trousers, the 22-year-old journalism student got pulled along for about 200 meters, all the while managing to keep his legs away from the wheels of the train.
The ordeal ended when a passenger pulled the emergency brake.
Rescue services were called in, causing rail services between Bremen and Hamburg to be suspended for over an hour, delaying 23 trains.
Moral of the story: When your mother told you, “Just keep your pants on,” she wasn’t whistling Dixie.
Apparently, I really offended my dentist, Dr. Adam Still, (or his operations manager, Stacy Markle), of Laurel Manor Dental. Offended enough that they no longer want me (or Mrs. Major) as a patient. Here’s what happened:
About a year and a half ago, Dr. Still recommended that I replace the crowns on teeth 18 and 19 as they were beginning to “leak” and I would begin to get cavities underneath them soon. He gave me a treatment plan for the two crowns at $2200.1 I have this minimalist dental insurance2 that was already maxed out for last fiscal year, so I tried to negotiate with the doctor on the price. He pretty much laughed me off.
I waited until the beginning of this fiscal year and attempted to renegotiate a better price for the two crowns. He refused. When my perodontist also recommended that I get the crowns replaced, I began to shop around to see if a local dentist would do them for less. The good folks at Royal Dental concurred with Laurel Manor Dental’s diagnosis and agreed to replace the crowns for $699 each. I requested that Laurel Manor Dental send my x-rays to Royal Dental so that they could do the work. Which they did for the agreed upon price. They did a great job, too.
A week or so later, I got a letter from Stacy Markle stating that Laurel Manor Dental was sorry to see me leave and was wishing me the “very best in your future dental care.” I called Ms. Markle several times but was unsuccessful. The last time I left her a message on her voicemail stating that I was not changing dentists. I just wanted to save $800 on my crowns. Other than the price for the crowns, I was completely satisfied with Laurel Manor Dental.
Yesterday, I received a “Dear John” letter from Ms. Markle. I quote it here:
As referenced in my letter to you dated July 20th 2009 it is my understanding that you have chosen to seek dental care elsewhere. You indicated such to us when you requested your radiographs be forwarded to another office in order to have your treatment performed there. As a practice policy, we do not assume responsibility for treatment received outside of this office when we have diagnosed treatment and established a relationship with our patient. Therefore, as stated in my letter, we regret your decision, however, wish you the very best in your future dental care.3
A nice, friendly letter making it seem like I had abandoned our relationship. Figuring that a business manager would be loath to loose two valued customers in these tough economic times, I called Ms. Markle. I was astounded that, indeed, I was fired as a patient. They had cancelled my appointment for a cleaning for Wednesday.
I guess we’ll have to find another dentist.
Heat Lightning (Virgil Flowers, No. 2) by John Sandford
Reliquary (Pendergast, Book 2) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
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