Clarkson Energy Homes

Perpetual:
1. Continuing forever,
2. Occurring continually. Indefinitely long-continued.

I found this argument on a political forum about energy and oil.

Don’t atoms, the solar system, and the galaxy itself perpetually move?

Yes. They move, but not perpetually. Anything that has a definite end is not perpetual. The motion of an electron, a planet or a star will end eventually. They are not perpetual.
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The whole is more than the sum of its parts — Aristotle

I read something recently and it got me thinking. Basically, I have always relied on the old axiom the the whole is more than the sum of its parts. People, working together, often can accomplish tasks that could not be done working separately.

The mathematician in me, balks at this idea. The whole could never be greater than the sum of its parts. So, I compartmentalized my thoughts on this. Sometimes math doesn’t work in the real world.
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Aargh!

The worst traps are not those which opponents deliberately place in your path. No, the worse traps are those placed there by people who are unaware they are laying a trap. Can you spot the trap in the question blow? I was asked it on a forum while debating free markets with a mixed market enthusiast. My answer is also presented.

Please explain The actions of the robber barons and the dismal conditions of workers health standards not to mention child labor laws and more in the 19th century? Business had little regulation and did what they always do without outside regulation.

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I might be dating myself some, but I have liked smart people on TV and in the movies. I remember Dexter from The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and I really liked John Doe in John Doe. I love to watch anything having to do with a smart hero.

Now, I have never been one for memorizing facts, like John Doe did. I don’t view the knowledge of trivia as a gauge to how smart someone is. IQ tests are biased toward white males from English speaking countries. Many other intelligence tests test test-taking skills or memory not intelligence. To me, an exceptionally intelligent person has a superior ability to solve problems.

That means the top sales person in your office might be the smartest guy there. The same is true for a typical company CEO. These folks spend much of their days solving problems.
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It is not uncommon to run across arguments which insist that if a particular society does not exist now, it is unlikely to exist in the future. I often find this situation with free markets. The argument goes something like this.

If free markets are such a good idea, why aren’t there any free market societies?

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Another hopeful sign for gay marriage. Of course, the bigots still don’t want to allow it, but gay marriage is gaining ground. Freedom has a way of doing that. Give us an inch of freedom and we will take a mile.

I have a tough time recalling the names of movies I have seen. I’m getting better, but I still have trouble. I recall several movies in which black people were segregated from white people by law. I recall the image of the water fountain which said WHITE ONLY above it. I recall a movie where a black person dies because all the closest hospitals are for whites only. I wish I could recall the names of those movies.
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I just got around to filing my 2003 and 2004 income taxes. I didn’t make much during those years, but boy I’m paying for it. Now I know enough to know enough not to do my own tax reporting. I take my receipts, statements and stuff and plop them down on my Accountant’s desk. You know what she does? She thanks me. I think she is crazy. Just crazy.

One problem with having someone else do your income tax reporting is that they want you to pay them to do it. I have both typical and non-typical income and expenses for a micro business. My returns aren’t too complicated, but I would hate to see how long it would take for me to do them myself.

On average I am paying about $1,200 per year for my returns. The problem is the procrastination. With three years to do instead of one, I’ll be paying for these three returns and that means this month is the last month I can do substantial rehabilitation on my main business, the Sun Valley Mobile Home Community. For the rest of this year I will see most of my expenses go toward income tax compliance costs.

Note that I mentioned compliance costs, not income taxes. When all the dust settles, I rarely make enough money that I owe income taxes. I live comfortably enough, but on a very low income. The community needs a lot of repairs and maintenance and much of my cash goes to it instead of me.

If I didn’t have to report my income, I probably wouldn’t keep any records. After all, what would be the need? True, it would be easier to sell the property with good records and good accounting eases management, but I’m a procrastinator and I know I wouldn’t be keeping records if I didn’t have to.

I simply remember my favorite things …

What a day. I pulled the deck plate off my garden tractor for the third time in two days and the PTO makes more noise now than it did yesterday. It’s been a dismal, fruitless, expensive day and I really need to remember my favorite things.

Puppy Dogs and kittens. Not much for the grownup animals, but I love those little ones.

Love. Yesterday, a clerk from the hardware store asked if I was married. She then informed me she was engaged, but there seemed a little interest there. She says I make her laugh.

Convenience. I need to bring the tractor into the shop tomorrow. I aided my own self some by loading the tractor up today. So, it’s good to know I can bring the mower in first thing tomorrow without first having to load it in the truck.

Clean clothes. My clothes came back today. Just after I took a nice hot shower. I usually have to wait a few days for my clothes. The lady next door washes them weekly for $5 and returns them when she can. I only have four real shirts. My real shirts are pull over with V-necks. Since I am stuck with taking prednisone (a cortico steroid) for the rest of my life, I have no neck. My head and the glands at the just got bigger and bigger until my neck disappeared.

Screaming children. I love to here the girls outside screaming and having fun.

Comfort. I just rubbed fragrance free moisturizer on my feet and covered them with socks. I massaged my much neglected toes while I was there. It still feels grand. All warm and cozy.

Lasagna. I love lasagna.

Reading. I love to read a nice book on a cool day.

Thin and sexy. I don’t have any snack food in the house. Well, no chips anyway. So, I can’t pig out on chips for instant gratification. I did eat some french fries with ketchup. Or was that some ketchup with french fries. Either way I am almost full and there is pasta cooking in the microwave.

Rent free. I don’t pay rent or a house note. I have a mortgage, but it is on a mobile home park and paid by my corporation. I live smack dab in the middle of it and don’t charge myself $180 per month in lot rent. I bought the old run down mobile I live in for cash and need only pay the bribe property taxes, electric and propane for it.

No itching. The increased prednisone levels completely stop the itching of all the Poison Ivy rash I have on my neck and arm. This is very good because the increased dosage also makes my emotions go nuts. Yesterday, I started crying in the parking lot of the lawn mower repair shop, after thinking of a plot for a book I haven’t read in years (A Cat of a Silvery Hue). Today I yelled “Damn!” at the absolute top of my lungs and I can be very loud.

Gazebos. I love gazebos.

I just turned the thermostat to 74 degrees F. Oh, it’s good to the King!

I just got off the phone with a client. We have an excellent relationship. It’s close but not exactly like an old marriage. We fight and makeup and celebrate at different times of the year. She is just as opinionated as I am and we wound up the conversation shortly after I asked if she was closed today.

She said she didn’t think “those people” should be so ungrateful. After all, we provide so much for them. Then she asked how I felt about immigration. I first said she really didn’t want to know. After a moment I gave in. Here’s how I see it.

As sson as a person steps across the border they should be Americans (assuming that is what they want). No tests. No waiting period. No paperwork. Just enter the country. That’s it. If you really think you need to vote or to collect Social Insecurity feel free to go fill out some paperwork. All I had to do is be born in this country. What kind of an asshole would I be if I made someone else jump through hoops to be a citizen here.