Category: Random Thoughts

I was going to write something today. But I got derailed. It happens a lot lately. I wake up with thoughts and ideas I’d like to share. I fire up the desktop, grab some coffee and relax a bit with hot java before descending into the chair in front of the screen.

But somehow the thoughts I had awakened with drain out of some ethereal trough into ‘somewhere’ and I’m left with nothing. Zilch. So I proceed to ‘research’ anything that happens across the screen on my way to somewhere, lost for a few hours into a digital vacuum bouncing from one item to the next until I land somewhere that snaps me back into ‘the now’. The realization of that time spent aimlessly wandering an electronic pathway can never be recovered and I once again begin feeling lost and worthless, never achieving the ‘goals’ I had set as I pulled myself out of bed that morning.

But today was different. Yes, I had wandered off the chosen path and into another era. Old memories of days past resurfaced when I discovered a broadcasting legend had been rescued from the scrapheap it was about to fall into. Someone had wandered onto something when they strayed off the planned path – and they took a chance and pursued a dream. A 1975 GMC Motorhome had been sitting under a tree in San Francisco dying a slow death when a man rediscovered it and brought it back from the brink of death. This wasn’t just another GMC Motorhome. It was a fully built-out mobile radio studio from back ‘in the day’ when radio was still a viable product and this mobile studio was evidence of that day. I recalled I had worked with its twin in Miami in the 1980s, the WAXY-FM Mobile Studio that used to travel the highways and streets of South Florida playing the Classics from Palm Beach to Homestead. Those were the days.

But they were the days. The fond memories this discovery stirred reminded me how fortunate I truly have been throughout my time here. But those days are those days. They helped shape me into who I am now. The people I interacted with who left imprints on my soul, some still with us on this Planet, some not. They all had a hand in who I am now by how they interacted with me. Even those who weren’t very kind had an effect on my evolvement to date. And I must admit I had an impact on their lives also. That’s how it works. It is always a give and take with everything in life. Can we remain balanced in our interactions?

So I was going to do a list of chores today but instead got lost down a rabbit hole once again. Perhaps the chores weren’t all that important anyway. Getting lost for a time reminded me of how wonderful life can actually be.

Each month our natural gas supplier sends an email newsletter. This month, with winter approaching, they are offering information on Carbon Monoxide (CO) safety. They warn malfunctioning heating units, blocked chimneys and other winter heating appliances, can cause carbon monoxide to build to a dangerous, even deadly level. They recommend installing carbon monoxide detectors on each floor with attention to sleeping areas. That is a great reminder to all who are customers of our supplier. However…

They blew it in a somewhat risky area. The photo they display shows a technician installing a detector on the ceiling. This is not the proper location to install carbon monoxide detectors. Only smoke detectors should be installed on the ceiling since, everyone knows, smoke rises. But what they are not letting us know is carbon monoxide will mix with air so it may never reach the ceiling. That translates to this: if the alarm goes off in your sleeping areas with the detector located on the ceiling no one will theoretically ever hear it because everyone would either be unconscious or already dead.

Recommendations suggest at least 6 inches below the ceiling and at least 12 inches from walls. This keeps your detector out of ‘the dead zone’ where air typically becomes trapped and unmoving. Another recommended height is about waist level, about the same height that you sleep. Also it is recommended the detectors be placed outside sleeping rooms before the CO can enter the area. Something else to be aware of – ceiling fans. Will the operation of the fan interfere with the proper detection of the CO gas?

There are cost effective CO detectors available at your local Home Center that operate from battery or those that plug into wall outlets with a battery as backup in the event of power loss. A word of caution: When choosing a detector it’s recommended to stay away from those Combination Smoke and Carbon Monoxide detectors being sold everywhere. They may seem easier seeing you only need to install one unit but again, if you mount it on the ceiling it will detect smoke as intended but won’t do well with CO. But if you mount it low, say 36 to 60 inches above the floor, it will operate perfectly as a CO detector but will fail with smoke.

If you are worried about cost, you can choose a separate battery operated CO detector and a separate battery operated smoke detector and install them in the proper locations. The local DIY Home Center sells economy versions of CO detectors that can be had for around $19.99 (includes batteries) and can go up in cost depending on features, like talking detectors, flashing beacon and so forth. Same goes for smoke detectors. A 9 volt battery operated smoke detector can be had for under $5 and includes the battery.

The CO detector misconception of mounting on the ceiling is a risky profit ploy. Be informed and stay away from the misleading marketing. Your safety, and your family’s safety, is most important.

For many, many decades people would take their extra money to the bank for safekeeping. In return banks would pay out a small return called interest. Some banks would pay a higher rate than another and would therefore attract many people. Those banks held many people as customers and the people became used to the fair return on their deposits.

Then one day things began to change. The banking business began moving to a different space. They started paying out less in interest and this practice swept through the entire banking industry.

But customers remained. They remained because it was the only option they knew. They grew up with that option just as their parents had and their parents before them. Even though they were not gaining return on their investment they stayed. And they complained.

As time quickly continued forward banks quietly persisted in lowering interest return. Less and less was being paid to their customers and the customers noticed. And they complained.

Then it finally happened. Banks began charging customers for keeping money in their banks. People noticed but they stayed. And they complained.

But quietly, one by one, some people began realizing that the system had changed. The way it was had passed into recent history. People began realizing. Some silently began withdrawing their investments. Banks began feeling the pinch, subtle at first, but the banks noticed. So they cranked up the charges to the diehard customers remaining. The diehard customers noticed. And they complained.

A growing group abandoning the system began getting larger. The banks noticed but they were making more money off the diehard customers who chose to remain. And they complained.

The diehards who remained made a choice to stay in a situation that was costing them hundreds or thousands in lost returns. And they complained. But they were becoming angry that others would not rejoin them in a system that had been around for many decades. After all, that system was tried and true. And they complained. They began attacking those who chose to leave a failing system in pursuit of a better way, a new way of existing financially. It was costing the diehards more money while others who abandoned a failing system were beginning to gain abundance in many ways. And the diehards attacked and complained.

Those making a change are concerned because it is a place they have never been before. They are building a system from the ground up with no roadmap and no blueprint. That system will be fair for all people and that angers the diehards, too afraid to abandon a narrow system that has been around for many decades. It worked for their parents and grandparents after all. And they attack and complain.

A new system is emerging and gaining traction. It is being built in many variations not just one set model. This will allow each individual to generate abundance in a way that matches their way of BEing not a model designed to favor a few. All people will have the same potentials and opportunities. The new system is favoring abundance for all. Welcome to the new.

And the diehards will attack and complain until the day they die…