Perpetual To-Do

To celebrate 10th anniversary of this blog and 100th anniversary of own house, seems fitting to talk about the meaning of commitment. For one to enjoy daily benefits and privileges, often taken for granted, many responsibilities must be shouldered. Thus the myths of demigod Atlas laboriously supporting weight of entire world, and Sisyphus rolling an enormous stone uphill by day only to have it to tumble down every night.

Unexpected expenses of home ownership never cease, often exceed foreseen and planned insurance premiums, monthly mortgage, and property taxes when major improvements are needed, such as roofs and windows.

While gardening makes weekly demands, there are tasks people forget or postpone indefinitely since they’re only required every 3, 5 or 10 years, depending upon your property or residence. Each requires planning in advance, since they are inevitable budget busters. Save annually about 3% of total value of appliances, auto, and home for contingencies. Given high housing costs and need to know when neglect is inherent, old timers might be persuaded to share their tribal knowledge with Gen-X mansplainers who don't know they are headed into crises:

Assess household appliances; planned obsolescence means your air conditioner, clothes dryer, dishwasher, furnace, garage door opener, microwave oven, refrigerator, sump pump, washer, water heater, or well pump are living on borrowed time waiting to fail when least convenient. Had to replace a furnace oil burner on Christmas Day one year. Attaching a plastic tag with an installed date can be a useful reminder. Appliances typically last on average 13 years, dishwashers, microwave, and water heaters 10, HVAC units 20.

Change jobs to move up; after 3 years of marginal increases or no promotions you’re sure that bosses don’t respect your contributions, thereby making home ownership more difficult. Being taken for granted never compels loyalty.

Check CO2, radon, and smoke detectors; replace batteries. Some might argue this is an annual or biannual task, but 36 months it a hard limit. Entirely replace every 10 years.

Clean grout lines, porcelains, and tiles with an appropriate chemical solution; weekly or monthly washing leaves buildup of film, grease, and wax. Reseal grout.

Cut hedges back by 1/3 and remove dead branches late every 5th winter; manure, mulch, and water to restore thick foliage.

Dispatch and/or replace stuff untouched in 3 years, especially broken tools, expired canned goods, drugs and ointments, frayed extension cords, stored liquids and paints; shred outdated financial statements no longer useful as tax records past federal statutes of limitations at 3, 6, or 10 years.

Divide garden perennials, such as daylilies, irises, and perennial herbs; roots strangle each other producing ever fewer blooms. Loosen garden beds and renew with well rotted compost.

Drain and refill boiler/furnace and water heater every 3rd summer when demand is least; any service you get past 10 years is a bonus due to good maintenance.

Dry lubricate door hinges, portal locks, slider rails, and window glides.

Empty septic tank. If instead connected to sewers, have drain lines inspected every 10 years.

Inspect motor vehicle belts, hoses, and tires; all are rated for only 5 years, slightly longer if routinely garaged. Many cars must be replaced after 125,000 miles, unless exceptionally well cared for, with a hard limit of 250,000 miles or 20 years before recycling or rehabilitating. Ownership costs average $9,600/year, but decline with age as long as driven often enough, say weekly, to keep components free and lubricated.

Inspect wooden building foundations for termites. After initial, more frequent, and successful extermination efforts, routinely renew pest control and spread protection at 5 year intervals.

Install gutter guards, or scrape out debris and leaves. Gutter flooding can damage roof and siding, even indoor ceilings and walls.

Lightbulbs supposedly fail after ~1200 hours, which could be 3 years depending upon intervals left on. Keep multiple replacements on hand for when they do, then not always available. Consider LED alternatives that use less wattage for same lumens, as long as their bases fit your installed fixtures.

Lubricate garage door hinges and roller runs.

Note drafts and reseal periphery of exterior windows neatly with vinyl caulk. If you can’t remove window air conditioners for winters, you might consider wrapping outdoor portion in an insulated cover.

Power spray algae, flaked stain, lichen, loose paint, mildew, and mold off decks, door jams, railings, sidewalks, siding, soffits, steps, and storm gutters. 

Recaulk sinks, tubs, and transitions; remove excess for a concave, indented surface which sheds water to retard mold.

Replace bicycle helmets; they deteriorate and get brittle from exposure to direct sun, household chemicals, impact shocks, or poor storage; once cracked in a crash, they are worthless as noggin shock absorbers.

Replace faucet washers, or units themselves, and whole house purification filters. Routinely check to ensure no water leakage throughout plumbing system.

Replace installed rugs and stair runners every decade. Area rugs can be cleaned as needed, or at 5 year intervals, and reused.

Restain wood decks, railings, and steps; if you wait too long, you’ll have to power wash and/or sand and sometimes bleach to revive wood, perhaps even replace boards or components.

Review financial direction, post mortem wills, and retirement plans.

Sand and scrape loose paint or rust off enclosed porch decks, house exterior surfaces, metalwork fences and railings, or trim not covered by aluminum or vinyl siding; repaint.

Sand exposed wooden floors and immediately varnish every decade.

Seal asphalt driveways or walkways every decade; asphalt doesn’t last long under heavy use.

Service gas lawnmowers, snowblowers, and trimmers.

Snug toilet flange bolts; never over-tighten.

Soak shower head in solution to remove lime deposits.

Stand apart from house at various angles and view entire roof with binoculars to inspect for buckled or missing shingles, cracked siding, or loose trim. Check ceilings indoors for stains that might indicate leaks.

Sweep ducts, dryer exhaust, and flues, and install new filters.

Sweep chimney if you intermittently burn firewood, more often if you heat by wood. Every 10 years have a professional inspect flues.

Treat windows with glass wax at least every 3 years, more often if stained. Moist sponge it on to clean, let dry, then remove haze with a microfiber towel. Extends shine and repels dirt.

Trim tree limbs, especially ones that overlap or threaten power lines.

Tuck point masonry every decade; at same time, check foundation for cracks and window frames for rot, especially around basements.

Vacuum dust from refrigerator coils.

Vote in national elections every 4 years, and, if possible, elections occurring in between; only 50% of eligible citizens exercise this democratic right, including residents of true blue Rhode Island, United States of America. Beats living in Texas, The Separatist State of Magastan, where governor unilaterally decides whose votes get counted.

Reflective Interim

Flying was once cheaper, faster, and safer than driving. Times change. Airlines are now experiencing increased incidents with air traffic controllers being laid off, NOAA cuts that jeopardize flight path strategies, NSA and TSA searching aggressively for contraband, and officials over reaching with immigration enforcement resulting in cancellations, delays, and lost luggage. Leaves passenger vehicles or some combination of bicycles, rental cars and trains for relatively unencumbered transportation.

Before digital gaming, internet searches, and social media, kids were bored senseless by long drives. Parents concocted all sorts of competitive games to keep them from monotonously chanting, “Are we there yet?” or singing endless verses of B-I-N-G-O or Bottles of Beer. Websites list many of them, but somehow seem to neglect the prime example: Points for Traffic Signs. Bicyclists in groups routinely watch for them as inducements to sprint. 

Beyond mere entertaining and quieting carload so you can concentrate, Points for Signs serves 3 positive and separate purposes:
1) Encourages participants to be observant, training eyesight for fine detail.
2) Sharpens accounting skills, adding various point awards and running totals.
3) Teaches operating a vehicle safely in future and playing fairly by set rules arbitrated by an impartial referee.

One need only to bring a pencil, download this list, and state game’s begin and end points, such as state line or time limit. Suggested rules include:

a) Points are awarded to whoever first perceives a sign and starts to claim.
b) Any colored sign (or specify blue, brown, green, orange, and/or yellow) displaying a listed legend or graphic equivalent is worth 3 points, with a 3 point bonus for claiming 3 or more with same legend. Plentiful black, red and white guide and regulatory signs are exempt.

c) Put player's initials next to listed sign names each time points are awarded. At end, designate which sign is least seen, and award a 25 point bonus to whoever found it.
...or you can agree to you own variations. Familiarize yourself with graphic images found at official USDOT website.

Bicycle
Bicycle Lane
Bike Route
Blind Driveway
Bump
Cattle Crossing
Construction Ahead
Cows Crossing
Cross (upcoming Intersection)
Curve Ahead (sometimes designated by a chevron)
Dangerous Curve Ahead
Dead End
Deer
Detour
Divided Highway Ahead
Do Not Enter
Do Not Pass
Duck Crossing
Emergency Signal Ahead
End Road Work
Falling Rocks
Farm Machinery
Firehouse
Flagperson Ahead
Fork Ahead
Golfers Crossing
Hairpin Curve
Hazard Ahead (could be stack of slashes)
Hidden Driveway
High Water Possible
Lane Drop/Reduction
Left Turn Ahead
Low Clearance
Merging Traffic
Moose (limited to northern US states)
Narrow Bridge
No Passing Zone
No Left Turn
No Outlet
No Right Turn
No Turn on Red
No U-Turn
Object Marker
One Way Traffic
Pavement Ends Ahead
Pedestrian
Ped-Xing
Photo Enforced
Playground
Raised Pavement
Right Turn Ahead
Road Ended
Road Narrows
Road Work Ahead
RR Crossing
School Zone
Share Road with Bicyclists
Sheep Crossing
Side Road Intersection
Slippery When Wet
Slow Moving Vehicles
Snowmobile Crossing
Speed Advisory (versus b/w Posted Limit)
Speed Hump
Speed Change Ahead
Squeeze Left/Right
Soft Shoulder
Steep Grade
Stop Ahead
Thickly Settled (often least posted)
T Intersection
Tractor Crossing
Traffic Circle (Roundabout)
Traffic Island
Trail Crossing
Truck Crossing
Truck Escape Ramp
Truck Rollover Warning
Two-Way Traffic
Winding Road (or Squiggly Arrow)
Yield Ahead

Parents can impart best practices on offspring by following not only traffic regulations but warning suggestions, including always yielding to bicyclists and pedestrians, never entering intersections unless you can clear, pulling over so emergency vehicles may pass, showing courtesy to other road users, stopping fully at boulevard stops and yielding at unsigned intersections. Such thoughtful guidance may someday avoid senseless deaths including your own. After all, motorists seated in air conditioned luxury can comfortably afford to let others pass and gracefully merge into the great traffic dance.

Granted, many motorists stick to highways where such local signs are seldom visible. It's a shame, because you see little but interstate uniformity and other vehicles. 

What strikes as ludicrous are Rhode Island’s penalties for impaired driving. A DUI conviction, 2nd violation with Death Resulting, earns a top prison sentence of 20 years, but only a 5 year license “revocation”. Technically, this means felon/killer could be out on parole and operating again after 5 years. “Revocation” is supposed to mean lifelong permanent; this is just an extended “suspension”. Driver’s Manual also neglects to mention Frank’s Law, which specifies a $75 fine for motorists crowding bicyclists by passing within 3 feet. Though enforceable, police never notice, stop, or warn violators.

Sick of hearing how lenient courts are for fatal and serious transgressions. Convicted drunks, felons, pedophiles, and rapists run America now, and they’ve weaponized justice for ethnic cleansing and extortion tactics in total contempt of constitution and justice.

"Pendemic" Polemic

Babies are adorable, no? So what happens meanwhile to produce so many homely and misshapen adults? Diet fads, expensive cosmetics, gyms visits, and plastic surgery wouldn't ferry vast majority into vicinity of beauty with decent skin, narrow waist, nice hair, and proportionate figure. Although clothing creates a desirable illusion, are people allowing themselves look grotesque on purpose? Looking like a movie star just invites unwanted attention. Plus it's hard to maintain for too little gain. Anyway, bar to hurdle is too low to bother among obese subhuman crews in ragged wear with greasy hair and gross tattoos. And, as abundantly apparent, every pinch of exterior surface can also be pierced, though good looks aren’t necessary to be effective or superior, so you shouldn't care.

Toned up spandex cyclists tempt wrong types. Yet bicycling has become the exercise of choice among furloughed workers who can’t afford to drive, don’t own home gyms, and rather distance themselves from public spaces and subways. Former “governator” and self quarantined septuagenarian Arnold Schwarzenegger endorses cycling wholeheartedly. Safe distance for bicyclists is 30 feet, since rolling at speed can inadvertently intercept a cough, sneeze or talk faster than those who walk. Epidemiologists advise covering eyes, mouth and nose. Double thick cloth masks and m-frame safety glasses join gloves and helmets as essential cycling apparel.

Blog neglect “pendemic” parallels outbreak of pandemic, but not because author was sick. During a disease outbreak dare one delve into local detours? COVID-19-SARS did cause worst recession on record in England, but has also had a devastating effect on Rhode Island in particular among other American states. Ocean State economy already weak, work closures resulted in massive joblessness, worse than The Great Depression 90 years ago, which lasted for a decade with a peak of 25% unemployment. Policy miscalculations let most jobs revolve around badly hit government, small businesses, and service industries. Yet pandemic hardly affected banking, construction, home repair, insurance, laboratory, landscaping, manufacturing, mining, pharmaceuticals manufacture, road maintenance, and such crucial sectors as supermarket sales, though elective doctor and hospital visits were severely curtailed, so many medical layoffs occurred, while manufacturers of durable goods all but suspended operations. Consequently, availability and choice of major appliances has declined while prices have skyrocketed. Epidemics display total contempt for profit motives, in fact, target greedy along with aged, careless, homeless, poor, stupid, and those who think threat isn't real. Pundits recommend saving for a rainy day and staying home for good reasons.

Never a time out, less traffic offered RIDOT an opportunity to repave highways and secondaries, and restore bridge underpinnings. When departments of transportation repave streets they restripe them, as well. Federal and state laws mandate equal accommodations for all users; roads must allow for bicycling, walking and wheelchair use. To remove road shoulders or skip curb reliefs is to violate ADA and CFRs. When infection threatens, not taking public transportation and relying on self could save your life.

League of American Bicyclists rates cities through their Bicycle Friendly America program, but among Little Rhody's cities only Newport earned any mention, third class, based on biased reporting by advocates there. Providence, which lately has had more bike-centric boosts, was entirely snubbed. At least People for Bikes recognized state’s “speed of infrastructure improvement” over last few years, which still only garnered a 2.9 overall rating. With a post-contagion outlook, planners and street repainters might overlook guidelines already in the book.

Self improvement, street amendment and survival investment are interdependent. To do nothing is to die. Body needs to exercise though it loves rest, resists exertion, and screams, “No more reps!” Roads made more dangerous by limiting cycling and stealing shoulders for unnecessary lanes endanger lives and scare away self propellers. People balk at spending thousands of dollars on a bike when they think they can’t safely ride them. Yet state does have 100 miles of dedicated bike paths, more miles in signed neighborhood routes, and thousands of road miles recommended by RIDOT and vetted by bicyclists. Click here for 2020 construction status, but note no new projects are underway except for two bridges in Western Coventry. Wouldn't be a big deal to turn over swaths of soil alongside bikeways so cyclists passing by could sow wildflower seeds. Goal should be to link all infrastructure with shared roads and wide shoulders. Issues arise with what’s best to do, who has jurisdiction - federal, private, state or town - and who must pay. Healthcare costs taxpayers trillions annually, an enormous expense worth reducing. Cardiovascular and cancerous ills, both preventable via bicycles, still cost and kill more than infectious diseases ever will.

All road funding comes from a combination of sources, mainly government grants matched by local tax revenue. Delays in updating streets for all users impacts funding. Feds may deny or divide grants, or impose fines that residents have to pay. You might be outraged to know officials not only force you to abide outdoor restrictions but it comes at your own expense. Certain parties lobby leaders for these policies because it hastens the transfer of money from you to them. Weren’t family losses, economic recession, pandemic protocols, and supreme sacrifices already too much to bear without pure greed forcing bureaucratic decisions in favor of autocratic ambitions? Pawns greatly outnumber kings and resent being treating as toys or trophies. 

Don’t toss the baby out with the bathwater come election time. Support any politician no matter how repulsive who arranges progressive changes for a healthy alternative. Meanwhile, go forth safely and sensibly for fresh air and sunshine in style. 

Wages of Sin

Several Rhode Island cities and towns entered into or face bankruptcy: Central Falls, Coventry, East Providence, Johnston, Narragansett, Newport, Providence, and West Warwick. Distressed municipalities result from all sorts of reasons, but usually it comes down to either malfeasance or mismanagement. Seems no reason for this cancer not to spread throughout, since state has suspended municipal aid. It’s too easy to divert money from the treasury into pockets when times are good. Mayors or overseers often overestimate future revenues and promise too much to workforce in retirement entitlements. A less understood reason lies in an insufficiency of scale. If you give breaks to businesses for locating or staying within your borders, it restricts residential taxes you could assess and shrinks footprint for other investments. Foremost, people must somehow be able to secure gainful employment, which explains these acts of desperation.

Empty mills can be filled with artist lofts, entrepreneurial startups, or residential apartments instead of given away to subsidiaries of big businesses who employ ever fewer workers locally. Abandoned or neglected properties contributing nothing also waste resources when they burn or collapse. Centuries of oil dripping from machines make mills tinderboxes with massive remediation necessity. Holding companies interminably dodge responsibilities and taxes. Knocking them down could solve several problems at once. As long as they aren’t toxic brownfields, sell the land for revenue producing construction.

Taxpayers and voters who absorb all the costs figure they have something to say about such fiascos. They can complain all they want, but it won’t do anything. The next mayor will inherit intractable obligations forged over decades. Better state arrests, incarcerates and seizes assets of miscreant bureaucrats formerly entrenched, but that, though possible, hardly ever happens. Better voters recall seated officials before holes get too deep, but that’s even more unlikely. Lasting solutions require foresight and intelligence, attributes forever in short supply. Progress is only possible when unsophisticated people work very hard on personal dreams in a cooperative society. Modernity is littered with educated slackers and greedy loners reacting to a dystopian plight. The medical adage of "do no harm but neglect no need" applies to every relationship, especially leadership.

In you can believe generalities and rankings, Forbes lists Rhode Island as the 8th worst place to make a living despite top 10 for livability. Sure, if you’ve got deep pockets and never need to work, buy a capitol city townhouse and lounge around aimlessly. Employers here sustain less than half of Rhode Island's residents. A disproportionate number of jobs are minimum wage and part time. One in six is illiterate in any language. About the same percentage has already retired. About 15% work in neighboring states. Economic development, though paid millions to a private organization in recent decades, has mostly been neglected for a half century. Despite efforts to improve Providence, most of Little Rhody decayed and shrank, in particular Pawtucket, West Warwick and Woonsocket. Census in 2010 revealed a 10% exodus with people leaving for opportunities elsewhere.

Shortly after land was granted to Roger Williams to establish these so-called plantations, his associate William Coddington, revered for founding Portsmouth then Newport, tried to sell it back to Massachusetts Bay Colony. Maybe Coddington was onto something. When a state is too small to exist on its own, annexing it cures many ills at once. Importantly, it sweeps away bad governance and patronage jobs. For what seems forever, state has been state’s biggest employer. Those currently holding elected office will speak eloquently for independence and pride of place, yet won’t ever deliver on promises for an unemployment percentage below 35%. Laughably,they boast it's below 6% based on new UI claims from thousands who exhausted eligibility. Furthermore, they entice unskilled immigrants and newcomers with benefits by taking them away from long time residents who established them through blood and sweat. Handouts and privileges cost someone, usually those hanging on by their fingernails.

Centuries before mills dotted adjacent villages, each a small fiefdom run by Anthonys, Browns, Knights, Slaters, Spragues, and such ambitious capitalists. Hardscrabble farmers and hungry immigrants flocked to mills for the promise of survival for which they traded backbreaking labor during 7-day workweeks. But geopolitical catastrophes, including Civil War and WWI, shuffled places where work could be done profitably. Unprepared to remake themselves to meet changing needs, owners closed shops. Well healed already, what did they care? Their patriarchal attitudes toward workers also led to devastating strikes, which further bolstered competition elsewhere. This remains one of the biggest risks facing business developers. It’s not that needs don’t exist for which manufacturers provide answers. It’s that getting humans to interact is fraught with abject failures and inappropriate responses. But it's sinful not to try. History proves that populations are best sustained by agriculture, manufacturing and mining. RI's decline is directly linked to destroying these 3 core industries that create all wealth and embracing "clean" finance institutions (banking, insurance) which contribute no profits and only count proceeds. One might argue Rhode Island lost resolve to sustain profitable enterprise long ago: factories relocated overseas, farms became golf courses and tract developments, and mines were emptied.

Today you can't visit any village without dozens of empty storefronts and fading FOR SALE signs. Antique retailers, bike recyclers, and dingy diners (folks still need to eat) are about all that's left. The wages of sin are distrust, reluctance, suffering, and this vicious downward spiral. Burnt so many times by business and governance, citizens find it nearly impossible to get enthusiastic and rally loyally. This is when dictators and theocrats appear and seize power. Conservative and religious hate has become planet's greatest threat. You never know just how bad things can get until you stop caring for equality and freedom. The sleep of reason produces monsters.