Touched by Angel(s)

If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening all over this land
I'd hammer out danger, I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between all of my brothers
All over this land

Well if I had a bell I would ring it in the morning
And I would ring it in the evening all over this land
I'd ring out danger, I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between all of my brothers
All over this land

Now if I had a song I would sing it in the morning
I would sing it in the evening all over this land
I'd sing out danger I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between all of my brothers
All over this land

Well I've got a hammer and I've got a bell
And I've got a song to sing all over this land
It's a hammer of justice it's a bell of freedom
It's a song about love between all of my brothers
All over this land
All over this land

Sometimes you meet Angels in the strangest and most unexpected places, they usually disguise themselves in an effort to remain anonymous.

I had absolutely no "intention" of a follow-up to my last blog post but sometimes you get hit with a "Hammer" when you are looking for a simple drink and a bite to eat. So unexpectedly I am stretching the religious "play" from my last blog "Angels and Demons" one "blog" further on the same topic.

Last night My Faithful and Obedient Companion and I headed out,in the midst of quite a snowstorm, to our favorite "watering hole" and light apps eatery, for drinks and a bit to eat.  The place "Idlewild Distillery" is located right in the heart of Winter Park.    Several of you have sampled their Gin products and blog follower Phil and his Joan went there with us a week or so ago.

Barbara and I  always sit at the Bar and this week was no different.  There were only 3 seats available and we ended up sitting between 2  "young" gentlemen on My Faithful and Obedient's left,  and an "interesting" young lady on my right.  Interesting (?),  she wore a Tee Shirt that literally had F-ck You as the top line!

We immediately started the usual  bantering back and forth found in a "Ski Resort" watering hole and quickly learned the two gentlemen came up to Winter Park for just one day of skiing (the following day).  One was from Boca Raton Fl, the other from Dallas TX.  They had  both been in Denver to attend a "Foundation Board Meeting" they served on, and decided to squeeze in a day on the slopes before flying home.

Of course, having served on a couple of Foundation Boards, this comment captured my interest.  We  talked about some of the some things our Foundations were doing but oddly they seemed reluctant to specifically name their Organization.  Eventually they indicated they were "Drilling Engineers" (Oil/gas) and this was an "industry group".  At the time  I could not help but sense they said it so quietly that the young lady next to me could not pick up on it-nor could any others at the bar.

This morning I reflected on this specific "sense" I had and on the rest of our ensuing conversation.

If any of you have ever watched the movie (yes another movie reference) "Groundhog Day" there is a scene (repeated several time in the movie because after all  every scene is played over and over)  It is when Andie Macdowell is chatting with Bill Murray about her college years.  He asks her what her College Major was and she looks at him apprehensively and reluctantly states: "French Poetry".  In the first scene played out he  he laughs and says: "That must have been a complete waste of time". Rita's (her character name) eyes tear up and she sadly looks away.  It was obvious she expected ridicule every time she told anyone her major.

I bring this up because that look was EXACTLY the look I saw in that man's eyes when one said "Drilling Engineer".  He anticipated ridicule.

This struck me as "odd" at the moment, but then I realized he was at a bar, in a ski and resort and there was a high likelihood of several  anti-"fossil fuel" zealots- much like those marching Vermonters I cited in my last blog, sat among us .  The girl in the T shirt next to me fit that image (maybe unfairly) to a "T".

After the Bar cleared out (including the aforementioned tee shirt girl) our conversation opened up. It was interesting to say the least.  I told them that what a great profession "drilling engineer" was and how it likely made positive impact in the world.  I talked about Vermont., and how that anti-fossil fuel bias made it  cost 3 times as much for heat and electricity in Vermont as it does in Colorado.  Then we chatted about how Colorado's increasingly anti-fossil fuel population wants to become like Vermont.  It was evident during this conversation that both of these gentlemen had been confronted by the "Anti- Fossil" fuel crowd at various times in their past.

I told both of them their work over the years has been one that saved millions, but most people are too stupid and misinformed to have a clue.  I even kidded them that if you asked the average person who actually saved the "Whales" they would likely say "Greenpeace" instead of EXXON, which in reality is a true statement.  Whales were being hunted to extinction until Drake drilled that first Oil Well in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile several states are currently suing Exxon , for supposedly "hiding" the effects of  spewing CO2 into the atmosphere.  I am convinced that misguided politicians and those marching in Vermont might actually prefer we all live in Yurts.   In my mind they are the real threat to our kids and grandkids future. More importantly they threaten millions of the poor around the world. The misinformation spewed by anti-fossil fuel zealots coupled with our  education systems failure to provide any information on the benefits gained from cheaper energy has the the potential to be much more tragic than any  "projected"  2 degree increase in global temperatures.

So today I played  with a few quick stats (only for brevity of this blog) this morning:


In 1970 India had a life expectancy of 49 years and  GDP per capita of  $142
By 2017 it was 68.6 years and $1,940.  The average person added about 20 years of life and increased their income 10 fold.  Does anyone put a price on that??

In 1970 Pakistan had a life expectancy of 53 years and a GDP per capita of $100
By 2017 it was 66.5 years and $1540.  The average person added 13-14 years to their life and increased income 15 fold.  Does anyone put a price on that?

I am confident the same types of stats from any "third world country" would emerge over the same time frame.

Meanwhile it is true that worldwide CO2 emissions (from all that economic activity which uplifted literally BILLIONS of people  into better, longer lives, less hunger, better healthcare and sanitation) increased about 3 fold.  The correlation. is no mirage, nor is it "coincidental".

Meanwhile one  can also observe that global temperatures over the last decades look like this:

Satellite Observations

I will  concede that the observed "global" temperature since 1980 are up about .5 centigrade..  While I still may question how much is regular climatic change (example note how cold it was pre 1930 was that "abnormal"? ) versus human induced change is open to debate .  At any rate scientific inquiry on the issue is worthwhile.

I also believe continued political dialogue on the science is worthwhile since no doubt lots of CO2 gas has been generated.  I have no issue with exploring  more "sustainable"  and less fossil generated energy sources.  Even though I remain a skeptic on the methods and models used to project the future, I take no issue with a meaningful discussion on this as well.

What I remain concerned with is the total lack of media coverage and the total lack of educational discussion except that "climate catastrophe" looms, and the attendant demonization on the "evil" Oil and Coal industry. There is no public discussion about what forced reductions would cost not just in dollars but in actual human misery.

The sad observation from my  simple "Bar Encounter" is that all the "dialogue" that has taken place so far is to openly demonize 2 guys that I consider to be the real Angels over the last 30 years.  Certainly I believe they have contributed more to improving billions of people lives than  all the 350.ORG "Climate Activists",  and the media fear mongers ever did.

I promise to close this and all future blogs on this issue with this Observation.

The radical voices, unanswered and unchallenged by those who fear "ridicule" in even our daily conversations are a much bigger issue than we all realize.  It is for that reason why I have been so passionate in adding my contrarian view to this topic. 

Our kids and grandkids, including those in third world countries,will ultimately pay the price or reap the benefits of whatever the outcome may be.  Demonizing those who have unquestionably helped us advance people's lives is a real tragedy in my humble opinion.  Go give an oil worker a big hug!

With that I bid a final adieu to Climate Change

Angels and Demons Climate Change

I believe for every drop of rain that falls 
A flower grows
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night
A candle glows
I believe for everyone that goes astray
Someone will come to show the way
I believe
I believe

Frankie Lane



A few days before my Faithful and Obedient Companion and I trekked back to Colorado (October of last year) I had lunch with two  of my Stowe golfing buddies.  They were guys I often enjoyed political or social  discussions with while having a cigar and a Whistle Pig after a round of  our Thursday Men's golf group.  One was a "progressive" leaning gentlemen the other I could never quite figure out, as his opinions went all over the place.  Both loved to engage in the seemingly endless issue of "Climate Change".  Historically they both sided with the "scientific" consensus that Human induced climate change was a major issue for mankind.

My progressive friend was compelled to rant about Trump's pulling us out of the Paris climate accord while surprisingly the "all over the board guy" actually agreed with me that the Paris accord was a "bad deal" (albeit for different reasons than my overall skepticism about "climate changes" existential threat to mankind).

First let me show a graph about CO2 Emissions and let this help me to articulate the effect of the Paris Accords which exempted China and India (and other 3rd world countries) from many of the emission reduction goals (for good reason frankly-they are using cheap energy to bring billions out of poverty).

My point then and now, whatever your feeling/understanding/belief is about the science of global warming, the Paris accords does little to end actual carbon spewing in the atmosphere, but does require the US and Europe (but mostly the US) to cut emissions and more importantly pay poorer countries to help "solve the problem".  Note how Europe is "beating us", also note the upheaval in France on the costs to the average "Jacques".  Likewise Germany is grappling with an inability to provide enough energy from Wind and Solar.  In general Europe's economy has suffered under the Paris Agreement.

Knowing that I would never get anywhere with an argument about the "science'  (I think my past blog posts on the subject has shown my readers my perspective), the economics, or the politics. I simply conceded the point for this discussion by simply stating:

"Ok let's say it is a real threat to our future (12 years and counting): If so then why are we fooling around with half measures?"

I then made the following arguments that if  you "believe":

1.  We should immediately advocate for a huge expansion of nuclear power.  It produces no greenhouse gases and it is actually proven to be safe despite the few accidents that have occured.

2.  We should ban all but essential air travel, one of the greatest spewers of carbon.  This ban would not depend on how much you can afford to travel but on government determined necessity so all members of society can get equal access.  (hint both owned multiple homes and flew back and forth all the time, they also traveled the world over).

3.  Speaking of multiple homes which wealthy people heat and air condition  year round-they should be prohibited as harmful to our kids future.  This would also allow the less privileged access (not just in America but in Africa and South America and Asia) to carbon fuels at an affordable cost needed for their survival.

Now I was not trying to advocate this as a means of attacking them personally but as a real flushing out of their belief that it is truly an existential  threat to human kind that needs radical approaches.

Aside from an agreement that Nuclear Power should be expanded I got no takers on my solution. At the least it moved us on from an excuse to bash Trump since all else was just political posturing.  Everything else is simply straw man versus straw man and not real " beliefs" in my opinion.

Little did I realize that a soon to be elected congresswoman from New York would advocate something very similar,to what I proposed to my two friends (except no Nuclear which in my mind proves it still is about politics).  Quickly many progressive democrats climbed on board.  Conversely of course those on the right immediately began to demonize such thinking.

Let me first to say  that  i am happy that "finally" someone who is a "believer" that the Climate Change issue is very serious is also willing to frame the debate the same way I tried too.  Yes I am happy that "AOC' was elected.  Seriously I do not demonize her on this at all.  Her position is one that makes eminent sense if at your core you see the world ending in our lifetime because of Climate Change.  In this sense if she is right then she is in fact an angel, not a demon.

Speaking of some people who genuinely believe that Climate Change is an existential threat here are some true believers from my beloved State of Vermont:

I made comments in appropriate spots I underlined  (italics)

Vermonters begin 65 mile climate solutions march

By Elizabeth Gribkoff

Apr 5 2019

MIDDLEBURY — Drivers heading along Halpin Road, a dirt road in Central Addison County, early Friday afternoon encountered an unusual site. Over 100 people of all ages were walking north roughly five abreast, carrying brightly colored banners and backpacks in sharp contrast to the brown April fields next to them.

The group, which was embarking on a five-day climate solutions march, Next Steps for Climate Justice, from Middlebury to Montpelier, was well-organized, with individuals clad in yellow vests (note the symbolic reference to French  working class "Grumbling"  to Macron's " energy programs"  I mention above)  shouting “car” as needed and a VW van (powered by biodiesel) stacked with food.

Beekeeper Ross Conrad almost didn’t join the climate march, in part because he was in the midst of his annual spring fast. And he generally prefers action — like serving on the Middlebury Energy Committee and living in an off-the-grid yurt — over activism.  (yes at least he practices what he preaches a lifestyle he wants for all! read on....)

“But I was thinking about it and it seemed really symbolic that we all are going to have to start doing things that are going to be difficult and tough and we’re not sure we’re going to be able to do them,” said Conrad. “And that’s kind of why I’m here. I haven’t eaten for four days, but I think I can walk from Middlebury to Bristol.”

Sage Lalor, a senior at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester who is organizing an Earth Day Summit at her high school, has been interested in environmentalism since a young age. Lalor said she hopes to meet more climate activists closer to her age at the march.

“One problem I keep running into is, since I live in a very small place, I try to join environmental groups, but most of the people who join those groups are older people,” she laughed.

The aim of the 65 mile march is to build community among environmental activists from around the state and to push lawmakers to pass more aggressive climate change legislation, said Zac Rudge, communications manager for 350Vermont, the nonprofit that organized the march.

Maeve McBride, director of 350Vermont, said the march began at Middlebury’s Town Green to symbolize the “terminus” of Vermont Gas’ controversial 41-mile Addison County pipeline.

“We’re saying, ‘here and no further’ to fossil fuel infrastructure,”she said when the group broke for lunch in a front yard sprinkled with apple trees. (Side Note Colorado's recent election had a referendum to stop Oil and Gas Development which was defeated  but undeterred the newly elected legislators have passed a a bill to do something similar over the objections of an "uneducated" public) .

When the group arrives in Montpelier next Tuesday, they will call on lawmakers to support two bills this session that would ban new fossil fuel infrastructure in Vermont, she said. Over 270 people have signed up to participate in at least some leg of the march.

Gail Schwartz, a writer who splits her time between St. Albans and Southern Quebec, said she was walking with her 9-year-old son to build on “personal solutions” her family has been starting, like going zero waste by 2020.

Schwartz said her family decided to forgo a vacation this year due to pollution associated with flying,  (cannot disagree if you believe it is an existential threat) which many of her friends thought was crazy. But Schwartz said hearing about weather events like a recent storm in Mozambiquethat killed hundreds of people reinforced her feeling that “privileged people” need to start making sacrifices .(here here)

“I feel like ‘business as usual’ should stop and people should be in the streets 24/7,” she said.

Bill McKibben, Ripton resident and founder of global climate justice movement 350.org, has issued that cry for some time now. McKibben reminisced while walking about a climate march he had helped organize over Labor Day weekend in 2006 from Robert Frost’s cabin in Ripton to Burlington. Around 1,000 people ended up joining in, he said, noting that it was “a lot warmer” during that march.

Almost 13 years later, McKibben said he was disappointed that climate change had not made a list of top five priorities for the House Democrats this session.

“It feels crazy that so little has changed politically, even in places like Vermont,” he said.

The switch to lower emissions energy technologies — such as solar power and electric vehicles — is already happening, but not fast enough, McKibben said. A report released last fall from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that capping global warming at a 1.5 degrees C increase would require global carbon dioxide emissions to decline by 45% in the next 12 years. (without nuclear we will surely all be in Yurts-literally if we did this just look at my CO2 chart worldwide above)

“If you take 50 years to do it, you’re going to break the planet in the meantime,” he said.

On Saturday, marchers will stop in Geprags Park in Hinesburg at 10 a.m. for a “climate grieving” ceremony. Geprags Park was the site of heated protests when Vermont Gas constructed a stretch of the Addison County pipeline through the park.

The march will end with a rally at the Statehouse next Tuesday afternoon.

End of Article from Vt Digger.

One cannot argue that this Vermont Group doesn't practice what it preaches!

So readers 12 years and counting  which side of the  fence do you sit on?  Politically time is running out to decide since our kids and grandkids future really does hang in the balance in my humble opinion.

I think My Faithful and Obedient companion and I may  have to contemplate this as we fly off to Argentina for our vacation in a couple of weeks!  It may be a once in our remaining lifetime opportunity!

Until next time 

Adieu

My Personality Disorders

Time is on my side, yes it is
Time is on my side, yes it is
Now you all were saying that you want to be free
But you'll come runnin' back (I said you would baby)
You'll come runnin' back (like I told you so many times before)
You'll come runnin' back to me, yeah

Rolling Stones





I have two blog posts in the works and a third in my head but I cannot bring myself to finishing them because they touch on Politics, Values and our counties divide.  I have decided to let them sit a bit, primarily because I figure all of you get enough of that every day right now.  So they will remain on the back burner a bit longer. So today I thought I might introduce a topic a little more personal, and to some perhaps even humorous, one that discusses my own "personality "disorders" on matters financial.

I hope you can follow along.....somehow.

Observation/disorder 1.  Looking a gift horse in the mouth or not knowing a good thing when you have it.

At this time of year we all face  "tax day" a time of year that in the past was a non-event to me,  But suddenly it has gotten more frustrating to me in the last two years, frustrations caused by my own doing. 

Up until  2 years ago during our entire married life "taxes" (and financial transactions in general) were handled by my "Faithful and Obedient Companion".  Barbara balanced our checkbook, paid all the bills and essentially handled everything financially.  That included our personal income tax filings. etc.

Now don't get me wrong......I was involved in "big" financial decision making (our investments, loans, house purchases etc) but for most of our married life I could not tell you my current bank balance unless I had just gotten a receipt from an ATM.  Sometime in the early 2000's  I started using "Quicken"  but that was generally an  "after the fact" involvement based on downloads which served my other obsession....statistics and data.  I began to see  my financial job as one to provide "oversight" and interesting "fun" numbers and maybe some helpful "intellectual" guidance to my "Faithful and Obedient" companion.  Kind of a "benevolent" dictator role you might say.  My Faithful and Obedient companion would smile at the various  "reports" I generated which she promptly tossed into the "out basket" located under our kitchen sink in Yardley (and later  in Vermont).

Well all Dictator's even benevolent ones eventually meet a reckoning even if it is on their "deathbed".  Mine came when Barbara decided my "oversight" went from occasional  printed reports quarterly to day to day questions, comments and criticisms of various financial transactions.  You see I now had the time to obsess on  initial "data quality", an obsession I learned from years of poor data quality at AIG.  (Right Steve Clark!).  More on that haunting me later.

Now in case you think I was criticizing  someone's spending habits, that was never an issue in our marriage.  We had always had an "equal opportunity to spend " kind of deal.  I was blessed with a generally frugal spouse (well in our first 35 years of marriage anyway) and most of our really impulsive "stupid" purchases were by yours truly.  No,  my criticisms (which became more prevalent when I stopped doing my consulting business) dealt with minutiae that I gradually became  more obsessed with  as I had "time on my hands" in retirement.  I started asking  detailed questions on things like Amazon Purchases so they could be assigned to proper categories not just "shopping". I criticised her opening new credit card accounts (my Faithful and Obedient Companion does that to get a quick discount) because I felt left to clean them up in my beloved "Quicken".  Bottom line my chief accountant finally said "I quit" in Salt Lake. Stunned I said OK, I will take charge no problem dear  you just watch I can automate everything!

So it began.. mentally and emotionally I felt happy as things seemed to go smoothly.  With all this automation I felt I could handle my first Tax Season (2017) very easily.   (First, some quick additional background..We have had a nice accountant , "Ed" from Berwyn Pa doing our taxes since the late 1990's.  Barbara always physically gathered up our tax documents and promptly mailed  them to "Ed".  He then asked her questions, she answered, and when they were done I signed the return-always underneath Barbara's name and SS number. I always  kinda liked that - thinking any IRS problems would only mean Barbara and Ed would go to Jail!),

 One of the first things I decided to initiate in 2017 was to "scan in all" our tax forms, store them in the "cloud" in well organized folders Like "1099's", W-2's, Mortgage and Real Estate Taxes, Charity receipts, ad nauseum.   No paper files for this guy!  These I could share directly with Ed in these folders.  Unfortunately the first time Ed tried to access them it did not work.  No problem I simply emailed them -which promptly clogged up due to data size.  I then had to spend a few hours unclogging by sending multiple emails to Ed .  His first response was "what "file format" are they Jim?  I said "PDF".   He responded: "no they are not" and I said "oops...they are JPEG.  Ed's response-"Jim can't you just mail them?"

My Faithful and Obedient companion just smiled...all to smugly as I headed to the post office.

OK, "we" (Ed and I) eventually got through 2017 successfully, and we even got a small refund..  I will come back to 2017 shortly when I describe Observation/Disorder number 2.


This year the 2018 filing season rolls around  and everything seemed to be going smoothly........Ed and I had  a couple of discussions during 2018  and we were all lined up ready to go.  Heck he even got PDF's from me via email!!!   Quicken allowed me to quickly calculate rent expenses in Vermont etc. See that Barbara!

Unfortunately  last week BOOM! the IRS sent a notice that they "recalculated" our 2017 taxes and we owed them $3,800 plus interest.  They claim I received an "extra" 13,899" in Pension Income from AIG that I failed to report but AIG did.......huh????   If you wonder why I will refer you back to my introduction on AIG data quality!

  So now we move on to:

Observation Number 2: Dealing with Incompetence, over which I have no control, requires more patience , understanding and forethought than I possess.  Follow if you dare:

When 2017's  AIG W-2 first rolled in I noticed that it showed my state taxes were incorrectly "split" between Utah and Vermont.  We had lived the entire year 2016 in Utah and moved to Colorado in 2017. and I had changed my address in 2016 correctly and had also changed my Address in 2017 timely to show Colorado half a year .  Why the w-2 showed some Vermont income was beyond me and I called to have it corrected.  A correct W-2 was issued  and I then proceeded to file 2017. 

Moving on to 2018 year, in the mail from AIG I get a W-2 for 2018 that showed "Colorado and Utah...again for 2018.  I lived in Colorado all of 2018, AIG knew that Huh?   My problem was in 2018 so I called AIG and they said no problem we will fix.  A week later they sent another  corrected 2017 W-2.  Huh????  There was no need to correct 2017!  I called again and they said OOPS.  No problem we will fix.    One week later bingo a "valid 2018 tax year correction arrived and I forwarded to Ed all my tax data for 2018.  Stupidly I tossed that 2017 second correction in the trash, as AIg's rep suggested.

Two weeks later...BOOM the IRS now says my 2017 tax year was redone and AIG reported an additional half year of Pension income (exactly the half Colorado/Utah  income, what a coincidence!) reported on the "recorrected" 2017 I had received in error from AIG.  You all got that????  They think somehow my 2017  pension from AIG was suddenly 13,889  more than AIG has paid me ever since I retired. 

The fun now begins.  I have called AIG three times, explained the issue, and ask them to either correct whatever they filed or send me an explanation to send to the IRS.   I also faxed them the IRS inquiry/demand which, needless to say, they do not comprehend.  Frankly neither can I! (I even had fellow blogger Phil Gocke review my fax for clarity on his visit last week!  Not blaming you Phil!)) Each time the answer has been a phone call that  "we sent W-2's properly".  However, nothing has been given to me in written form that I can forward to the IRS.  They simply want a payment or the proper documentation by...April 17th. 

Yesterday's call was a classic.. I went over the fax with some unlucky AIG person who still  cannot grasp my problem but promised a "fuller review" by Friday....we will see.  Meanwhile my Faithful and Obedient Companion listened in, keeping her calm, happy demeanor,  and gently suggesting that I stop threatening the poor people at AIG with death.  She reminded me that this will get me nowhere since these people I am yelling at about poor AIG Data Quality are no longer "my" employees.

So now all I can keep thinking is WTF how did I get here in the first place!   What goes around comes around in more ways than one Huh??  Unfortunately my Faithful and Obedient Companion has no penchant to my "running back" to her at this point.


So, until next time, perhaps from Jail for tax evasion, (because Ed and Barbara have no intentions of serving time on this one!) I bid you all:

Adieu.

PS I invite comments on any similar or "funny" IRS stories you may wish to share!

PSS Since we leave for Argentina April 23rd I will be gone just in time for any likely IRS response to my correspondence I send them by the deadline.  The form allows me to designate someone to act on my behalf.  Do I have any volunteers out there??



 







   





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