Amazing as it may seem, recycling "programs" exist that are, at best, vague attempts at pretending to believe in eco-friendliness, and are almost not worth the cost of having them…

Take FL, where it would seem the idea is to discourage the citzenry from recycling at every possible juncture.  If your County or State’s program is anything like FL’s it looks like this:

• No curb-side pick up for the plethora of apartment and condo complexes that make up a large portion of our landscape – this means that the millions of folks living in such complexes must drive their recycling to “drop-off” areas – I’ll get to those in a minute
• If you do live in a detached home, finding a recycler for your neighborhood can be akin to finding the lost ark…
• Glass is glass, right?  Not in FL… glass that has any color to it can’t be recycled here…. It can in almost any other State, but in FL, if you drink Seagrams vs. Bacardi, your glass bottles go into the landfill
• Back to those “drop-off areas” – “Where’s Waldo” best describes the fun of finding one… and when you do, they may or may not provide receptacles for all your recyclables… So, you’ve lugged a load of glass, plastic, and newspapers to the closest recycling drop-off area (which, by the way, is usually many miles from home), just to find there’s no bin for the glass – safari time commences in search of one that does
• So, in essence with this “system”, most of our glass goes into the landfill, and we use a ton of gas to take what is recyclable all over creation to deposit it – millions of individuals driving oftentimes many miles, to deposit newspapers & plastic bottles in bins in one location, and glass in bins in another location many more miles away…
  

Now, really… How Stupid is That???….

An email titled “Gas Pumping Tips” has been making the rounds, written by a mystery person who works for Kinder Morgan Pipeline in San Jose CA (we don't know who wrote the original email, but Kinder Morgan Pipeline does exist) and thus has insider knowledge of the gas delivery/gas pumping process….
In it, you get tips like:

• In hot months, pump early in the morning to avoid gas vapor return (that's when the gas heats up, turns into vapor, which is then sucked back into the gas pump rather than into your car
• Fill up when your tank is half full so there’s less air to be displaced
• Don’t fill up when the gas truck is filling the underground storage tanks because that stirs up the dirt in the bottom of the storage tank that can then get into your tank…
  

Unfortunately, upon further research, come to find out that whatever money those tips may save you is so miniscule, if at all, they’re not worth the brain space it takes to remember them.

So here’s the real scoop: things that will actually save you money because they improve the fuel efficiency of your vehicle:

• Regular & timely maintenance, like properly inflated tires, regular filter replacements, and properly aligned wheels - besides being great for your car’s longevity, these will also prove to be fuel-savers
• Mileage is improved by removing weightier equipment from your car when the equipment is not being used, like sporting gear, tools, and roof-racks; they cause extra drag which requires more fuel
• Finally, stop with the “jack-rabbit” starts which eat up fuel…so does driving at higher speeds in both stop & start traffic, and on the highway where the 55 speed limit has been proven to be the most fuel effective

You have been officially alerted….

(reair of 6/12 show)
Last month, ABC Nightly News did a piece on a FL woman – a Boomer - whose 86 year old father was being inappropriately given antipsychotic medications for his dementia by the Assisted Living Facility in which he was living.  This is inappropriate because loads of research clearly shows that antipsychotic meds are dangerous when used to treat dementia in the elderly.  But, the ALF ignored the science, and used the drug to, in essence, make this poor man less of a bother.  After being in the facility for only 2 months, and after watching her father quickly descend into despondency to the point of becoming unresponsive, he died.  She knew something “wasn’t right” and now in retrospect “wished she had looked into his care further, asking them what medications they were giving him, etc.”  But she didn’t.  She took a hands-off approach with the facility and the doctors.  It cost her father, who she clearly loved dearly, his life.

Another news piece last week was on folks who were scammed by unlicensed contractors for big ticket work they were having done on their home.  One woman they interviewed, also a Boomer, said that she wished she had done more research on the contractors she was considering before signing on the dotted line, now that her brand new multi-thousand dollar air conditioning unit stopped working, and the contractor she hired to provide the unit and install it, is nowhere to be found….

Stop wishing after the fact.  Our generation is the best educated of all those on the planet today.  So use that great brain to investigate prior to making important decisions.  You don’t have the time, you say?  Posh…of course you do.  Here’s why.  It's guaranteed you’ll spend lots of time cleaning up the mess made by poor choices and bad decisions – it makes much more sense to take the time up front, proactively, thus avoiding major mistakes, and ultimately you’ll expend much less time than what you’ll wind up using to react after the fact.

You have been officially alerted…

I've learned..... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person. 

I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day. 

I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand. 

I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult. 

I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away. 

I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. 

I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for. 

I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class. 

I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved. 

I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts. 

I've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds. 

I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am. 

I've learned.... That life is tough, but I'm tougher. 

I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere. 

I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them. 

I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. 

I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss. 

And…I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.

Thanks Andy….We have been officially alerted….