Yesterday the Long Lost Lake Curmudgeon needed 3 silver oxide batteries. A visit to Bagley found them at a local hardware store for $2.79. Unfortunately they had only 1 left. Walking over to a different hardware store I found them for $3.99 each. Visiting a drug store they were also found at the $3.99 price. Well that was just too expensive for the Long Lost Lake Curmudgeon. Later in the week a visit to a Park Rapids store found them at $1.29 each and there was a good supply of them. Looks like our state and/or federal politicians should be told about this because this might be a cause for a gauging investigation.

Have you ever noticed that logging trucks seem to think that they can use their half of the road as well as some of yours? Recently the Long Lost Lake Curmudgeon has had occasion to meet several of them on the road. Both times they were running their inside wheels on the marked centerline. Thus I had to pull way over on my side in order to have some room between us. They also seem to be traveling at speeds higher than what is appropriate for the conditions. This is just another one of the examples of the absence of common sense that so frustrates the LLL Curmudgeon.

Something was missing this morning as the LLL Curmudgeon opened the door and stepped out into the cool of the morning. The sun was poking its head up over the trees in the east and the morning dew lay heavy on the ground. What was missing? Everything seemed ok but the LLL Curmudgeon sensed something was amiss. Then it hit the Curmudgeon. The song of the wren was missing. All during the spring a wren had been singing his heart out every morning and into the afternoon. Then several weeks ago the LLL Curmudgeon noticed that a pair of wrens had built a nest in a flowering shrub. That must have been why the male wren always seemed to be singing in the same area. The LLL Curmudgeon had been carefully watching the nest. There were 3 small eggs present. The day before the eggs had hatched and the 3 new baby birds were just fine that evening. The LLL Curmudgeon approached the shrub and looked into the nest. Nothing. It was empty and looked like one side had been damaged. Something had happened during the night. What had happened? Since the nest was only a couple of feet above the ground it would be easy for some animal like a dog to reach the nest. There weren’t any baby birds on the ground so perhaps they were eaten. Imagine the mother and father bird trying to fight off the attacker. Maybe they even gave their lives to try to save their young. But it was to no avail. Were the adult wrens able to leave the area after the attack? The LLL Curmudgeon doesn’t know. But the LLL Curmudgeon does know one thing. The song of the wren is no more and most likely this world is short three new wrens; and the world is poorer for it.

The LLL Curmudgeon has come up with another "big idea" that might be of interest to some industrious person in Clearwater County. Why not start a vineyard, grow grapes and use them to produce wine! This idea was brought about by visits to vineyards and wineries in several states bordering Minnesota. There are several new grape varieties that can withstand harsh winters. In addition there are some interesting microclimates in Clearwater County that just might produce some high quality grapes. Local wines are growing in popularity so why not cash in? The capital to start up would easily be within reach. It would require lots of hand labor but that is plentiful in Clearwater County. Now that wine sales may be made over the internet I think this is a really exciting "big idea."

The Long Lost Lake Curmudgeon is of the opinion that some issues are about to be decided that will go a long way toward shaping the future for decades to come. One of these is the drift toward a western European-style welfare state. This drift is being accelerated by support of higher taxes, mostly on middle and upper income earners. This tax revenue is then funneled into programs and policies, which have as their goals a redistribution of these tax revenues. The relationship between government and citizens is also being redefined. How much should government intrude into everyday life? How much should citizens depend upon government to provide their wants and needs? And the biggest issue of them all is the shift toward a nonjudgmental secular society in which there are no definitive feelings of right and wrong. These issues will be addressed during the next few years and the decisions made on them will indeed shape the future.

I read in the paper yesterday that it appears that the statewide smoking ban will not become law, at least not this year. Let us all rejoice that those that would save us by passing restrictive laws have failed in their attempt to "save us from ourselves." This is the kind of idea that is floated by people who believe that we cannot think for ourselves. If I don’t like a smoky bar I’ll go someplace else. How about some freedom of choice? The LLL Curmudgeon thinks that if something like this does eventually pass it will be only a matter of time before we start having all sorts of social restrictions in the name of the common good. We’ll have not only the smoking police but also the drinking police, fat police, exercise police and others prying into our private lives. At least it should solve the unemployment problem!

From the "more things change, the more they stay the same" file. I thought I’d report that we are still on the road to becoming a mathematically challenged country. Recently I purchased an item for $4.83. I handed the clerk a $20 bill and since I had 3 pennies I also handed those over. Well, the clerk, a high school age girl, kind of looked at me as if she didn’t know what to do. Finally she handed me a ten and a five but then she proceeded to hand over a couple of quarters, a dime and a nickel. It was hard to convince her that all she should give me were 2 dimes with the ten and five dollar bill. Since she didn’t have a change display cash register she had to calculate the change herself and this proved to be a difficult task. This just goes to show that recent polls were most likely correct. They found that 62% of people weren’t able to handle simple arithmetic while the other half couldn’t care less.

The LLL Curmudgeon has returned from vacation just in time for the political silly season. I’m really tired of being bombarded by TV ads stating half-truths and outright misrepresentations. Usually making generalizations about subjects leads to oversimplification. But when it comes to political theories the LLL Curmudgeon attempts to see through the smoke and find the fire that lies within. So cutting through the bombast and bloviating the LLL Curmudgeon finds the following core political idea. At the heart of all political theories you find an implicit statement of the relation between citizens and central government. One theory sees the relation as one of government providing the tools and freedom for the individual citizens so that they can help themselves. Individual initiative is cultivated with the ultimate responsibility resting upon the shoulders of the individual. Under this concept the individual citizen rolls up their sleeves and goes to work helping themselves. The competing theory sees government as a means of intervention in the lives of the citizens. Government is responsible for taking care of everybody because individuals cannot help themselves. The concept of entitlements and rights to these entitlements are stressed because of the understanding that citizens are victims of something. Under this concept the individual citizen rolls up their sleeves and stands around holding their hands out to receive their just due. Pretty simple isn’t it? The LLL Curmudgeon knows which theory he supports. Which one do you support?

The Long Lost Lake Curmudgeon likes big ideas. Recently a LLL resident spoke with me about what I think is one of those big ideas. The suggestion was that Clearwater County build a county ATV trail. It would be built, maintained and supervised entirely by Clearwater County. All other parts of the county would be closed to ATV riding except on private land by the landowner. The county trail would have several access points with parking lots and amenities. The route of the trail could be directed toward already established facilities such as bars and resorts. However those facilities would have to pay a sponsorship fee to help maintain and police the trail. ATV riders would gain admission to the trail by buying annual, daily, weekly or monthly tickets. These ticket booths would be at the trail access points. Sworn officers riding ATV’s would actively police the trail. Think of the people that would jump at the chance to be one of those trail officers. In addition a name brand hotel/motel could be sought to establish itself somewhere along the trail. The beauty of this plan is that it would be entirely under the control of the county. The DNR would not be involved. It would be local citizens controlling local interests. The trail would be built so as to protect the environment. If this idea really took off and was adopted by neighboring counties, perhaps a consortium of counties could be setup where each county’s trails would tie into the next county. The jobs created would be a boon to Clearwater County. Wow! When I first heard this idea I thought this was indeed a big idea. But it’s the kind of thinking that will shake up Clearwater County and move it out of the backwater it now finds itself into the forefront of community development. The Long Lost Lake Curmudgeon really likes this big idea!

There seems to be a wave of nonjudgmental activism sweeping across the country. We are being told not make judgements about the actions or statements of others. Don’t show or state your disapproval or moral objection to what someone else is doing or saying. Well, excuse me, but the LLL Curmudgeon does not subscribe to this extreme version of "political correctness." Recently I came across an article in a medical journal about the latest fad in medicine. Its called "harm reduction." An example of this is doctors and other health workers being encouraged to not admonish drug users for injecting heroin. Harm reduction would rather you encourage drug users to use clean needles and cookers. I’m sorry but it just seems to the LLL Curmudgeon that actions that are wrong should not be wrapped in a cloak of "ok-ness." Some things are just plain wrong and everyone knows it. The problem with absolute acceptance of actions and statements is that by such absolute acceptance you also stop thinking and questioning. Expect the LLL Curmudgeon to let you know exactly what his judgement is about actions, statements or anything else that may come up.

I visited a local fast food establishment yesterday. As I looked over the pictures of the various meals and sandwiches I came across something called a chicken baguette. It looked very appetizing so I ordered it. After picking it up I proceeded to a table where I unwrapped the sandwich. I was taken aback for a moment because what I had before me looked nothing like the picture on the menu. Where were the onions, green peppers and other sandwich components that appeared to be spilling out from the center of the sandwich on the picture menu? Where was the fluffy bun? As I ate my sandwich I pondered this question, "Why don’t real fast food sandwiches look like the pictures on the menu?" If the picture menu is advertising then wouldn’t they be covered under "truth in advertising" statutes? The LLL Curmudgeon is tempted to order a fast food sandwich, pick it up and unwrap it at the pickup counter and then ask, "There must be some mistake. This doesn’t look anything like the picture."

The LLL Curmudgeon opened next years homeowners renewal notice today. After recovering from the swoon brought on by the premium amount the LLL Curmudgeon read all the enclosures. The underwriter offered to change my $1,000 deductible to a 1% of coverage deductible. That would save me $612. If I accepted a 2% deductible an additional $203 would be saved and if I went all the way to a 3% deductible an additional $51 would remain in my pocket. Now being a curmudgeon means that I am happy to save money anyway I can. But something seems amiss. Why would anyone in his or her right mind accept a 3% deductible if all it saved were $51? Doesn’t this seem backwards? Shouldn’t the higher deductible save you more on a percentage basis? The LLL Curmudgeon has long held a philosophy of insurance that seems counter to today’s prevailing opinion. Insurance should protect the policyholder against really catastrophic events. But what seems to be happening is that people are adopting the prevailing cultural attitude of "victimhood" where insurance should pay them money for even a trivial occurrence. This type of thinking forces insurance premiums up and up in a never-ending spiral. The LLL Curmudgeon is really getting tired of paying for every Tom, Dick and Harry who run to their insurance company with their $1,000 claim for hail damage to their roof.

Have you every received an e-mail with no capitals at beginning of sentences and very little in the way of punctuation? The LLL Curmudgeon remembers the time when it was the custom to send letters written on paper via the US Post Office. I cannot recall receiving written letters that compare in structure and composition to some of the e-mail I receive. And the worst offenders are those that have grown up in the e-mail era. Is it that they are just careless or do they really think it’s ok to run sentences together, skip capitals, omit punctuation and misspell even simple words? Do our schools still teach grammar as part of writing courses? I’m probably expecting too much but I feel our society is losing something that puts the civil in civilization, i.e., the ability to construct written text that conveys meaning in an elegant manner.

It seems to me that the younger generation is losing its mathematical ability. This was reinforced by a recent visit to a local service station. Actually there are no such things as service stations anymore but that’s a topic for another time. I filled my tank with gasoline and proceeded to the counter. I had a coupon good for a 4-cent discount per gallon. The clerk, a part time high school student, took my coupon, punched a button to get the readings and said, "That will be 21 cents off your purchase." Since I had purchased exactly 7.5 gallons I stated, " No, that should be 30 cents." The clerk retorted, " Seven gallons times 4 cents is 21 cents." "No, I think it’s 28 cents and plus an additional 2 cents for the half gallon," I replied. "Are you sure?" "Yes, I’m pretty sure." So I got my 30-cent discount. This just goes to show you that a recent survey may have been correct when they reported that half the population knows they are mathematically deficient and the other two thirds doesn’t really care one way or the other.

Recently I viewed a TV commercial for ATV’s. That commercial got me to thinking. Why are ATV’s always pictured engaging in what I would call extreme usage? Some commercials show them flying around corners with wheels throwing a tail of dirt and dust. Others show them plowing into mud holes and throwing water in all directions. Just about every commercial has them engaged in activities that require a maximum of speed and illustrates operation that borders on recklessness. Of course if you are fast enough and able to read small print you will see in the corner of the screen, "Professional driver – do not operate your ATV in this manner." Well if it’s something the average ATV owner shouldn’t be doing then why are the manufactures advertising this way? The Long Lost Lake Curmudgeon, always one to point out such absurdities, has a suggestion. The next person that gets injured on an ATV because of extreme operation should sue the manufacture on the grounds that their commercials show these kinds of activities and thus the plaintiff was just doing what they saw on TV.

Have you ever bought something that looked like a bargain but later turned out to be anything but a bargain? The LLL Curmudgeon, always on the lookout for a bargain, recently bought an assortment of bits. There were Phillips, straight, torx and square head bits of various sizes, 5 bits of each size. This totaled up to 100 bits, all for $10.00. Even though they were marked, "Made in China," at 10 cents a bit this was a real bargain! Later I tried one of the T10 torx bits on a reisser screw. The first bit worked on 4 screws before it was ground down so much that it just slipped in the screw head. So I went to a second T10 torx bit. It was ground down after just 3 screws. What kind of steel are these bits made of? The next bit broke off on the very first screw. By this time I was just a little bit upset but I forged ahead with another bit. I continued until I had used up all the T10 torx bits. But I still had some screws left that had to be screwed into the wood. Later in the week I made a visit to Bud’s and bought a US made T10 torx bit for $1.36. This price was 13 times the Chinese made bit. But it finished the project, another 10 screws, with little wear showing on the bit head. What do we learn from this? Well, aside from the fact that Chinese steel is somewhat lacking in strength, the old adage, "A bit that breaks isn’t a bargain no matter what the price" has been proved again.