Freezing In the House

I read a comic strip recently that got me thinking about something. One person was cold and wanted the other to turn up the heat, but was told to put on a sweater instead. So she asked why in this age of being so technologically advance we have to keep our homes so cold (because we can't afford to heat them)?

I remember when I was young, everyone's home was nice and warm in the winter. Not like now when most people keep their homes in the 60s. It's not so much by choice...it is that we can't afford to keep them warmer. So if we are so advanced why can't we develop some new methods of heating and thurn that thermostat up. Or bring back the coal furnaces. There's still plenty of that stuff around.

So Sayeth The Shack

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Spend It All!

Well from the latest news, a round of tax rebates is just about a done deal. The government needs to "give" people more money so that they can spend it to boost the sluggish economy.

It seems to me that there is something wrong here. Why is it that we all need to spend every penny we earn...and more...to keep the economy chugging along? When I was young, people saved as much as possible. Credit was used sparingly and only for major purchases, like a home and perhaps a car. If we wanted something, we saved for it. If something worked, we kept it; if it didn't work, we got it fixed. Only as a last resort did we dispose of it. Now, if something doesn't work, we toss it and get a new one. If we can't afford it, we buy it on credit. Savings, what's that? Most technology is made to become obsolete within a few years. Cell phones, computers, video game systems, etc all have a life of just a few years or so before a major upgrade or replacement is necessary. We would have been better off without all this stuff. Maybe the Amish have the right idea of forsaking technology and conveniences.

We are sometimes chastised for not saving enough and being too deep in debt, but when there is a reduction in consumer spending and the economy slows down, the economists and politicians panic like they are now. I wonder what would happen if everyone stopped spending on all but the necessities and started saving like in the "old days". Would the economy completely collapse?

I think everyone who gets a rebate should either sock it away in savings or use it to pay down old debts. Don't spend a penny of it on anything new.


So Sayeth The Shack

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What Right Do They Have?

Bellefonte bans outdoor furnaces

I've never been around one of those outdoor furnaces, but I doubt if they are much worse than the coal furnaces of my childhood. Will they ban indoor woodburners and fireplaces next? Do they even have the right to tell you what you can and can't use to heat your home? I'd like to see someone challenge this law and take them to court.

NFL Tiebreaker Rules

I'm not a big sports fan and for the most part I pretty much don't care, but I think the N.F.L. overtime rules are quite unfair. It basically boils down to whoever scores first in overtime wins...the other team doesn't even get a chance to come back. Even college is better...setting a definitive amount of time for each overtime period. Basketball too. And baseball seems to be the most fair, playing an entire extra inning if the score is tied. So come on, NFL, put some fairness i your overtime rules!!

So Sayeth The Shack

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Messy Kids' Rooms

Here's another thing to add to the list of things in life I don't get. What is it about kids and their rooms? When I was a kid, my room was neat and clean, and my parents didn't really have to keep after me to keep it that way. I have two teenagers, and their rooms are dumps. My daughter has more garbage in her room than a New Jersey landfill. (Maybe there are a few dead gangsters in there, too?) My son's clothes are all over the floor. He has a closet and a dresser, but the clothes are pretty much always on the floor. He says he likes it better that way. Me...I couldn't live like that. I can't stand messy, dirty places. We have them clean their rooms, but a few days later, it's back to the slop. Kind of like Penndot fixing I-80...as soon as they're done it starts falling apart again. I don't even want to think what their houses or apartments will look like after they move out.

So Sayeth The Shack

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Getting Gouged

So I heard today that gas is below 3 dollars in Williamsport and Lamar, yet it is still 3.15 here. If that's not gouging, I don't know what is! Someone's getting rich and, as usual, it ain't me!

I'm just glad I don't live in Moe-Shannon anymore and drive a big 4WD truck. Would have gone bankrupt by now even though I might have had the house paid off.

So Sayeth The Shack

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Yak, Yak, Yak

So I was watching a football game last weekend. I like football. There's plenty of action and I can understand the game and rules. Unlike baseball where there are long gaps in the action, or basketball, where there is plenty of action, but I don't understand the rules...like the fouls. People are running into each other all the time, but sometimes they call a foul and sometimes they don't. What's up with that? But back to the point. I really don't understand why they need a pregame show that tells you about the game you are about to watch, a halftime show to tell you about the game you are watching (and maybe a few others) and then a postgame show to tell you about the game you just watched. They are paying a handful of former players and coaches probably hundreds of thousands of dollars to do all this yacking, and it's like a bunch of girls yacking about their wardrobe or whatever...it just goes on and on and on. Please, just show me the game without the pre- and post- stuff. And at halftime, I'd actually like to see a marching band instead of all the yacking. Like back when I was a kid...they actually showed halftime. Those kids put in just as much practice as the athletes. They deserve to be on TV too.

So Sayeth The Shack

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Cars Taken To Hospital?

From the 3WZ website and local Cable Channel 4:

"A BOROUGH POLICE CRUISER AND A MAZDA HATCHBACK COLLIDED ABOUT 3 A.M. SUNDAY AT SOUTH GARNER STREET AND EASTERLY PARKWAY. BOTH WERE TAKEN TO MOUNT NITTANY MEDICAL CENTER. "

So now they take the cars to the hospital! Wonder what they do with the occupants....take them to the junkyard maybe? Or the body shop? Maybe it would be cheaper to do it that way!

So Sayeth The Shack

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Yeah Right

So I hear Prez Bush is predicting "peace in the Middle East" by the end of his term.

Sure.

The only that will happen is if we go over there and annihilate every last person so there is no one left to fight. Maybe that's what he has in mind.


So Sayeth The Shack

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A Sad Ending

O.W. Houts & Son to close

I didn't shop there often, but this store was always known as 'the place to go if you can't find it anywhere else" I did usually get vegetable plants and other stuff for my garden there in the spring. It's sad to see another locally owned and run business close down

So Sayeth The Shack

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A Beautiful Rainbow

Not in the habit of posting pics, but....This full rainbow appeared on the morning of January 9th a little after 8 A.M. It was visible for quite some time looking west from town. It is one of the best rainbows I have ever seen so just had to share it. Used my cell phone camera and could not fit it all into one show so had to take two to get all of it.

So Sayeth The Shack

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Last Of The Nog

Today I drank the last of the egg nog for this season, which makes my very sad. Egg nog is one of my favorite things about the holiday season. My Mom used to put rum in hers. My sister-in-law spiked hers with a good bit of whiskey and made it so think that you almost had to eat it with a spoon. But even regular store-bought no-alcohol nog is fine with me. I realy like the taste. So I wonder....why do they only make it for the holidays? I'll tell you what...I would drink it all year if they made it all year.

So Sayeth The Shack

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