JD's Thoughts

2011 Fall Election Xenia, Ohio Voters Guide

2011-10-24T22:03:00.004-04:00

State Wide Issues

Ohio Secretary of State web site about the Issues with Arguments for and Against.

Issue 1

If approved, Issue 1 would raise the maximum age when one can become a judge from 70 to 75.

Issue 2

According to the League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund, Issue 2 would: “Affect public employees, in particular, teachers, firefighters and police. Prohibit public employees from striking, eliminate binding arbitration as a way to settle contract disputes, require performance based pay for teachers, establish a minimum that public employees must pay for health insurance and pensions, allow the governing body (public employer) to impose its own last offer to settle a contract dispute.”

A “yes” vote on Issue 2 would affirm Senate Bill 5, which was signed into law by Governor Kasich this year, and enact the provisions stated above.

Issue 3

Passage of Issue 3 would make it illegal for Ohioans to be forced to buy health insurance or participate in any health care system. This attempt to block key provisions of Obamacare would likely be challenged in federal court, but it would be a clear signal that Ohioans wish to assert their 10th Amendment rights against a blatantly unconstitutional and potentially disastrous overhaul of a huge portion of the national economy that would greatly diminish personal liberty for every American.

Greene County Issues

Issue 13

Xenia Community City School District

Emergency Levy- Additional

4.8 mills- five years- Commencing 2011 ($147/year on a 100,000 house)

(Xenia School Board Statement)

Issue 14

Greene County Career Center

Permanent Improvements- Renewal

0.75 mill- five years- Commencing 2011 ($16/year on a $100,000 house )

(Greene County Career Center Statement)

Issue 15

Greene Memorial Hospital

Operating Levy- Renewal

0.5 mill- five years- Commencing 2012 ($13/year on a $100,000 house )

(Website)

Xenia City Council 4 to Elect

John Caupp (Website)

Michael Engle

Josh Long (Website)

Dale Louderback (Website)

30 by 30 list

2011-02-21T21:45:00.004-05:00

Here is 30 by 30 list. I'm not completely satisfied with it, but here it is now, I might change a few things are the year progresses.

Bike Century

Visit Hocking Hills Statepark

Visit Columbus Zoo

Learn to grill a mean steak

Buy a gold coin

Run a 5k

Roller Blade to work

Buy a nice Road Bike

Cook a romantic dinner

Finish World Map Art for living room

Weigh 160 lbs

Make a new kind of ice cream

Goto a Michigan Football Game

~~Attend a Cedarville Basketball Game with Lily~~

Ride the Van Buran Bike Trail

Make Bed Frame and Headboard

Make over my office

Take our Awana club to AwanaGames

Memorize a scripture passage

See my cousin Dan

Visit Alicia & Kirk

See a 3D Movie

Disk Golf at a new Course

Finish the Great Miami Bike Trail

Bikeride with Lily to Youngs

Drink a new kind of pop

Take Danielle to a new Resteraunt

Buy Meat from grass feed cow

Plant a Fruit Tree

6 Months savings in the bank

Xenia-Jamestown Bike Trail

2010-12-04T21:06:00.002-05:00

Here is my review of the new part of the Xenia-James town trail. From Xenia Station to Jasper Road. Pictures taken during a snowy December day. Click the above picture for more pictures of the new part of the trail, along with descriptions of the pictures.

The Xenia-Jamestown trail is now complete in Greene County other than the important fact that the tunnel still needs to be built under Bypass US-35. Below are two maps of the new parts showing the gap in the trail.

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/oh/xenia/834129151525528739"&amp;gt;Xenia - Jamestown Trail ( Xenia Part)&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/oh/xenia"&amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Xenia, Ohio&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;
Xenia Station to US-35 (NEW)

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/oh/xenia/556129151541857953"&amp;gt;Xenia - Jamestown Trail ( New Part East of US 35)&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/oh/xenia"&amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Xenia, Ohio&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;
US-35 to Jasper Road (New)

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/oh/xenia/567129151582216180"&amp;gt;Xenia-Jamestown Detour&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/oh/xenia"&amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Xenia, Ohio&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;
This is the road Detour I took. I've been told that there will be signed detour at some point.

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/oh/xenia/245129151590668344"&amp;gt;Xenia-Jamestown US-35 to Fayette County Line&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/oh/xenia"&amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Xenia, Ohio&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;
Here is the whole trail from US-35 to the Greene/Fayette County Line

I will blog for free Christmas Cards from Shutterfly

2010-11-29T20:28:00.004-05:00

Finally, it looks like my blog is going to pay off. I'm participating in Shutterfly's 50 Free Christmas Cards Promotion. If you have a blog you can too. Here is my shameless promotion for Shutterfly. Over the years Danielle has tastefully used our digital pictures to create photo books, greeting cards, and calendars. A few months ago I saw how special a personalized calendar was to Danielle's grandma. This summer our family was visiting "Great Grandma" from out of state. She was proudly displaying in her living room her calendar from 2008, the month was correct but year was a bit off. Great Grandma loves seeing bright and colorful pictures of her kids, grand kids, and great grand kids. Our family draws names for Christmas thus the two year gap in calendars, but this year we will make sure that she gets a new Shutterfly calendar from us.

Shutterfly also has some very neat products out this year just in time for Christmas. My favorites are:

We look forward to sending our these photo cards to share a smile with our family around the country and around the world.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-29T20:25:00.001-05:00

This year we traveled to Grandma House in Three Rivers, Michigan and then to Niles to spend a few days with my parents. The kids loved being with the grandparents.

Fall 2010 Bike Hike 81 Miles

2010-11-14T08:59:00.002-05:00

To London & Beyond & back again

Find more Cycling Routes / Bike Rides in Xenia, OH

Brian and I did our longest ride ever. It was a very warm Novemeber day, with a high of 71F. The forecast was for the wind to be out of the south, but ended up being out of the South West, which made for a delightful ride out to London and a exhausting ride back home.

2010.10.16

2010-10-16T09:26:00.000-04:00

Xenia, Greene County, Ohio November 2010 Ballot

2010-10-09T20:56:00.004-04:00

Here is the copy of Xenia's November 2010 Ballot. Please be informed when you vote.

JD's Voter Guide Xenia, Ohio, Greene County, Ohio Nov 2010

2010-10-07T22:54:00.017-04:00

Each election I feel like it is harder to come up with a voting guide. As I learn more about each issue, I realize how the decisions at the polls effect the people I know. I also feel the more I learn about each issue the more complex it becomes, sometimes there are no easy answers, or immediate solutions. This guide is just my opinion. I try hard not to hold to a single party, I'm backing people from the Republican, Libertarian, Constitution and Democratic Parties. I attempt to find the best person for the position, regardless of their chance of winning. I do not ascribe to the "the lesser of two evils" philosophy. In general I look for people who give us more liberties, fight corruption and push for transparency in government. I hope this guide provides useful information even if you don't agree with me.

JD’s Voters Guide November 2010 Xenia, Greene County, Ohio

Governor and Lieutenant Governor
- John Kasich & Mary Taylor (Republican) Not sure about his wall street background. Concerned about his lack of gun rights record.
* Ken Matesz & Margaret Ann Leech (Libertarian) End the Ohio income tax and school choice

- Dennis S. Spisak & Anita Rios (Green)

- Ted Strickland & Yvette McGee Brown (Democratic)

Attorney General

- Richard Cordray (Democratic)

- Mike DeWine (Republican) Moderate to Liberal Republican. Concerned about his lack of gun rights record.

- Marc Allan Feldman (Libertarian)

* Robert M. Owen (Constitution) Pro-life. Pro-gun rights, non-interventionist foreign policy.

For Auditor of State

*David Pepper (Democratic) Has a great record of cutting waste, taxes and spending. Will work to increase government transparency.

-Dave Yost (Republican)

-L. Michael Howard (Libertarian)

Secretary of State

* Jon Husted (Republican) Cut some red take to attract business to Ohio

- Maryellen O'Shaughnessy (Democratic)

- Charles R Earl (Libertarian) Could not find much info on his website.

Treasurer of State

-Matthew P. Cantrell (Libertarian)

*Josh Mandel (Republican)

-Kevin L. Boyce (Democratic)

US Senator

- Daniel H. LaBotz (Socialist)

* Rob Portman (Republican) We need Republicans in the Senate as a check and balance to the White house

- Micheal L. Pryce

- Eric W. Deaton (Constitution)

- Lee Fisher (Democratic)

US House of Representative (7th)

* John D. Anderson (Libertarian) He is for a return to Constitutional Limits. Read his issues page. Very well thought out.

- Steve Austria (Republican) Austria is one of the more liberal republicans

- Bill Conner (Democratic)

- David W. Easton (Constitution)

State Representative (70th)

* Jarrod B. Martin (Republican) Endorsed by a lot of conservative groups

- Michael Stewart Watters (Democratic)

County Commissioner

- Steve W. Key (Democratic)

- John P. Williamson (Libertarian)

- Alan G. Anderson (Republican)

Since on one here bothered to have a web page. I cannot provide a recommendation.

Chief Justice of the Supreme court

- Eric Brown

* Maureen O'Connor - conservative/republican choice see endorsements

Justice of the Supreme Court

* Judith Ann Lanzinger - conservative/republican choice see endorsements

- Mary Jane Trapp

Judge of the court of the Common pleas

*Mike Buckwalter - conservative/republican choice see endorsements

-Joe Graf

Issue #3 Xenia School Renewal Level 11.4 mils

For me this is $618/year tax

This is issue was the hardest one for me to decide on. I know the public schools kids will benefit from the money. I'll be happy with public school families if it passes. If any of the following were true I probably would vote yes on it, but that is not the case.

- School would be more forth coming about how the money is to be used or what exactly would be cut if it fails.

- The City of Xenia keeps trying to raise the income tax 28%, did you get a 28% raise?, I don't think the city should.

- County auditor is over appraising property values to keep taxes up.

- Some type of tax break for private school or homeschooling families.

Issue #4 Roads and Bridges .25 Mils Renewal

For me this is a $14/year tax. This is a good deal to maintain roads and bridges. This is a legitimate function of local government.

Issue #5 Greene County Combined Health (Replacement and Increase)

No -

For me this is a $44/Year Tax

Not much money at stake here. I'm not convinced that this is a legitimate function of local government.

Issue #9 Xenia Income tax .5% income tax INCREASE

No, No, and NO!

This would makes Xenia income tax one of the highest in the state. This would put Xenia at a competitive disadvantage. Anyone who sells goods or services knows they can't simply solve revenue problems by increasing the price, the same applies to Xenia as well. Higher income earners will avoid living in Xenia in favor of living in locations with no local income tax. In the end Xenia will have less tax revenue as people look for alternatives to Xenia. If Xenia wants to increase revenue it needs to make this city attractive to people by simplifying the zoning laws, regulations, and cutting taxes. The majority of this tax would go to re-hire police and firefighters. Perhaps the police and fire could raise money through donations? This works for our churches. Don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate very much our police and firefighters. Theses are hard economic times, hard decisions need to be made, we cannot tax our selfs into prosperity. For the record I did advocate a small property tax increase in 2009 which would have gone to police, fire and street maintenance.

Issue #10 Minimal Fire and Police staffing levels.

NO!

This is bad for Xenia is so many ways. Police and Fire consume about 75% of the cities expenditures. This could bankrupt the city. There is no provision to reduce staffing if the city population goes down.

Issue #11 Allow Xenia to utilize volunteers, temporary and/or part-time firefighters, police etc.

Sure. If have no problem with this. If both 10 and 11 pass they would contradict each other and I'm sure they law suits would fly.

Late Summer Bike Hike Verona - Dayton - Xenia 45 Miles

2010-09-04T19:26:00.000-04:00

Verona - Dayton - Xenia Actual
Find more Bike Rides in Verona, Ohio

Zoo and 4th of July Weekend

2010-07-08T21:29:00.000-04:00

Alicia Wedding May 2010

2010-05-23T22:32:00.000-04:00

Give up your credit cards for one month challenge.

2010-04-20T21:08:00.002-04:00

For years, I have respected Dave Ramsey and his get out of debt plan, except for that whole stop using credit card thing. I mean come on, I get 1% cash back, and 3% cash back if I use my credit card at a gas station. oh yeah! I pay my cards in full each month, so yeah I have the system beat. So like twice a year I could get a check for $10-$50, I'm well, on my way to becoming a millionaire. Well maybe not, but that was $50 I was getting for free, I was going to buy that stuff anyways, so I might has well be rewarded for spending.

Then I discovered River Valley Credit Union and their rewards checking account. They pay 4.5% if you make at least 12 debit card purchases a month. Then it occurred to me that I would make more money in interest than in cash back credit card rewards. So I switched to using a debit card. I discovered as a side effect that emotionally, I love having every item I buy be completely paid for. I really like not having a large credit card payment each month, budgeting becomes much simpler and I can look at my account and know exactly how well I'm doing at saving money. It's fun each month to earn more interest than the month before, you can see yourself winning. I'm not going back to credit cards, no way.

My challenge to you is the give up your credit card for one month and use strictly cash or your debit card. Let me know your experience and the freedom of one less bill.

JD's Voter Guide Xenia, Ohio, Greene County, Ohio May 4th Republican

2010-04-16T21:33:00.005-04:00

Here is my recommendations for Xenia, Ohio, Greene County, Ohio May 4th Republican Primary Ballot. I'm only including the contested races. I was unable to find much information about the judges. Their websites did not have much substance and I am relying on solely the option of Virgil Vaduva. As always, I welcome anyones else's recommendations, there might be other considerations that I failed to see.

For Auditor of State

*Seth Morgan True conservative fights to lower taxes, listed out the issues he cares about on his website and I agree with his view on all of them.

David Yost

For Secretary of State

Jon Husted

* Sandra O'Brien More conservative of the two options, check out her issues page.

For Representative to Congress (7th District)

Steve Austria

* John Mitchel Opposes the Iraq and Afghanistan War. He is a champion of Liberty.

For Judge of the Court Appeals (2nd District)

Mike Hall

* George Reynolds Recommended by Virgil Vaduva

For Member of State Central Committee, Man (10th District)

Joseph Haines

David Kearney

(no recommendation)

For Member of State Central Committee, Woman (10th District)

Ashley Knowlton

Brenda K Lewis

*Cynthia J Bieghler - Tea Party Rep.

For State Representative

*Jarrod Martin Recommended by Virgil Vaduva, 2nd &10th amendment advocate.

Bill Miller

For Judge of the Court of Common Pleas

Raymond Dundes

David Mesaros

*Mike Buckwalter Recommended by Virgil Vaduva

For County Commissioner

Alan Anderson

*Virgil Vaduva Ron Paul supporter, believes in small limited government, and personal freedom. He strongly opposes Xenia Income tax. He will say no to a lot of the current nonsense in Greene county politics. Virgil is so well spoken, I'll just let you read for yourself why he is running. The following is copied from his election website:

Here is what I pledge to you, should you vote for me as county commissioner:

I will do my best to eliminate or lower tax rates in the county.
I will work to eliminate the bureaucracy which has been creeping in, making it a hassle for people to create businesses, build homes and work in our county.
I will find and promote ways to encourage people to reside in the county rather than seeking ways to leave the county due to high taxes and bureaucracy.
Improve communication with county residents by an improved website and electronic means, and by making the budget, finances and salaries of all county employees more easily accessible to all. Such information should be easily accessible via a well-designed website where residents should not have to ask for it or go to great lengths
to obtain it.
Lastly, I will only accept a $1 a year salary; it is disgraceful for an elected official to accept $60,000 a year in taxpayers money for sitting in a few meetings each month and signing paperwork.

For County Auditor

*Dick Gould Not endorsed by Luwanna Delaney, our current oppressive auditor. He will demand FAIR and ACCURATE appraisals of your property.

David Graham

Ohio Issue #1 To Extend the Ohio third Frontier Program by Authorizing the Issuance of Additional General Obligations Bond to Promote Economic Growth

NO No way I'm voting for more debt in our state

Ohio Issue #2 To change the location of the Columbus Casino

No It was not a good idea to grant monopoly privileges to casinos. Even dumber idea to put the longitude and latitude in the Ohio Constitution of said casinos, so no, you are stuck with the dumb law and location.

Local Issue #7 Proposed Municipal Income Tax City of Xenia

NO I'm not against police and fire fighters, but as I understand it, the City of Xenia only needs to raise half a million to pay for the current police and fire coverage, not the 2.5 million that the tax will raise. I don't think the city has been wise with their money. They used tax payer money to fund advertisements for this levy, this is not at all fair. This tax would also put Xenia and one of highest taxed cities in the state. This would put the city of Xenia at a competitive disadvantage for attracting new families and businesses. Why is the city asking me and other families for more money, when city workers get a raise, and while many in the city are taking pay cuts or facing unemployment. I think we should fund the shortage with donations and not through force of taxation.

Republican Primary Ballot May 4, 2010 Greene County Ohio

2010-04-16T21:03:00.004-04:00

To promote education in the election process here is a copy and the Republican Primary Ballot May 4, 2010 Greene County Ohio (Xenia) ballot.

Winter '09-'10

2010-02-19T22:34:00.000-05:00

20100219

Bunch you cute pictures

2009-12-29T21:10:00.001-05:00

Yeah It has been awhile since I posted pictures. Here is early winter and Christmas '09

20091229

Late Fall and Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-29T16:38:00.000-05:00

Late Fall and Thanksgiving 2009

Fall Bike Hike Map

2009-11-21T20:11:00.001-05:00

Here is the map of where Brian and I biked.

50 Mile Fall Hike Still Water trails
Find more Bike Rides in Beavercreek, Ohio

A bunch of Pictures

2009-11-01T14:53:00.001-05:00

Wright Brothers Bike Trail

Fall Bike Hike 2009

20091101

Pumpkin Time Pics

2009-10-17T20:37:00.001-04:00

20091017

Hiking, Race, Ezra eating rice cereal

2009-10-03T17:37:00.001-04:00

2009.10.3

Pictures

2009-09-13T15:45:00.001-04:00

As Requested pictures

2009 09 13

Summer 100K Bike Hike 2009

2009-08-24T21:48:00.003-04:00

Our 100K bike hike turned into a 102.2K bike hike complete with blown tire, taking a wrong turn, rain, and a peddle mishap. All 5 of us had a wonderful time, full of memories and adventure. I'm going to start planning the fall bike hike soon.

2009 08 22 100K Bike Hike

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/oh/-springfield/682125098752269228"&amp;gt;100K Buck Creek Actual&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/oh/-springfield"&amp;gt;Find more Bike Rides in Springfield, Ohio&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Friends, Family, Pictures

2009-07-26T14:42:00.000-04:00

2009 07 26

Planning for the 100K Bike Hike

2009-07-25T09:43:00.002-04:00

100 K Youngs
Find more Bike Rides in Xenia, Ohio

We will be leaving from my house, riding north from Xenia, through Yellow Spring into Springfield, to the Buck Creek trail. You will have the option to swimming at Buck Creek State Park. On the way back we will stop for ice cream at Youngs. Bring a sack lunch. I have a basket on my bike to hold it.

Pictures of the trip to Michigan

2009-07-12T16:01:00.000-04:00

2009 07 12

Three Rivers Loop1

2009-07-12T12:09:00.001-04:00

Map of the bike ride I took at Grandma's in Three Rivers, MI

Three Rivers Bike Route 1
Find more Bike Rides in Three Rivers, Michigan

Pictures

2009-07-05T13:54:00.000-04:00

2009 07 05

Ezra, Lily, Park, Helping Janelle & Bob move.

Prairie Grass Trail aka Ohio to Eire Trail Map

2009-06-30T18:54:00.003-04:00

Trying out a new bike maping program. This is the Prairie grass trail. I use about 7.5 miles of it to ride to work.

Ohio to Eire Trail
Find more Bike Rides in Xenia, Ohio

Jungle Jim's

2009-06-27T16:28:00.003-04:00

All 4 of us made it to Jungle Jim's. The trip all thing considered, went very well. I bought a lot of realy good pop including many flavors of Jones Soda, Mexican Coke, Throwback Pepsi, Organgina, and Jarritos Lime Soda from Mexico. I am a really big fan of using real sugar and not HFCS.

A bunch more pictures

2009-06-21T15:56:00.000-04:00

2009 06 21

Lily opening presents 2nd birthday

2009-06-21T15:31:00.003-04:00

Lily playing in the pool

2009-06-21T15:24:00.003-04:00

I'm a little behind on posting this, but Lily really enjoys her pool!

Happy Birthday Lily

2009-06-21T15:10:00.002-04:00

Lily is 2! Danielle and her mom made the cake, Chocolate with whip cream, blueberries and strawberries.

Proud Grandparents

2009-06-06T13:45:00.000-04:00

Lily and Ezra

Even More Ezra (and Lily) Pictures

2009-05-30T17:11:00.001-04:00

Ezra Comming Home

Few more Ezra Pictures

2009-05-27T17:32:00.002-04:00

Ezra

Ezra with our family. Lily is very excited about being the big sister and adores Ezra.

Ezra Pictures

2009-05-27T00:15:00.001-04:00

Ezra

Welcome Ezra John

2009-05-26T21:53:00.003-04:00

Baby Ezra was born today at 7:45 weighing in at 8 lbs 13oz and 21 inched long. Both Ezra and Danielle are doing great! The goal is to have a few pictures posted tonight.

Flight Memory and twitter

2009-05-20T22:22:00.002-04:00

Found this fun website

I also signed up with twitter.

I wish I was holding my son, but I guess I'll have to wait.

Xenia-Jamestown Bike Trail

2009-05-18T21:01:00.003-04:00

Jamestown Xenia Trail

Xenia-Jamestown Connector

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Sunday I was able to ride my bike to the Jeffersonville outlet malls. I rode the whole Xenia Jamestown bike trail. I really enjoyed this trail. It was very rural, pretty and very shady. The trails doesn't have mile markers. This trail will be especially nice when it connects to Xenia Station, and even cooler when it connects to Washington Court House and Chillicothe.

[Insert clever phrase]

2009-05-10T22:06:00.005-04:00

I thought you might enjoy these pictures taken about 22 months apart. Our son should be born in the next few days. A few days before Lily was born, I wrote a nice sentimental blog post. I tried that this time around and nothing really good came to my mind. But, I was inspired to write this on my bike ride home:

Wahoo! We are having a boy in just a few days! I'm going to have a son and I'm trilled. God is good to us and Danielle is amazing! I'm a big fan of being a Dad.

Lily does seam to understand that we have having a brother and to quote her "[Babies Name] belly, come, out, play!" I think she is excited as well.

As is becoming my tradition, our car is all washed and clean ready to go. Lily even help me out.

Travel Bug in Svalbard

2009-05-10T21:08:00.004-04:00

One of my Geocaching travel bugs with the goal of traveling around the world heading east is currently hanging out in Svalbard. Svalbard is halfway between main land Norway and the north pole. This travel bug has been on an amazing trip starting in December of '05 and has travel to Venice, Mauritius, Austrian Alps, Sweden, and now islands in the Arctic Ocean.

Lower Bellbrook Washington Mills Loop

2009-05-09T14:50:00.006-04:00

I'm going to be posting my non-commute bike trips on my blog.

Starting Point: Sterling Greene and Lower Bellbrook.
Type: Loop
Length: 20 Kilometers (12.4 Miles)
My Time: 53 Minutes*
Weather: 67F Sunny and Very Windy W at 28 mph gusting to 35 mph
Quick Description: This is route is very hilly for SW Ohio, with a killer hill on the way out of Bellbrook. The roads are well paved and there is plenty of rural scenery to enjoy. Traffic is on medium side. Very enjoyable route.

Lower Bellbrook-Wahington Mills

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

*includes time to get to starting point

Growing Tomatoes upside down

2009-05-07T22:38:00.003-04:00

This is our effort to grow cherry tomato's without having the dig up our yard. We are growing the tomatoes up side down in two litter bottles of pop filled with 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 manure and compost, and 1/3 peat moss. We grow the tomatoes from seed. I bought 7 iron hooks from Lowes and attached them to my desk railing. They are very easy to water, and hopefully will produce tasty tomatoes. I'll keep you posted on their progress.

CNN and credit cards

2009-05-06T10:39:00.001-04:00

How often do you read about Clark Howard, Dave Ramsey and Crown Finical in One CNN Story that includes quoted scripture?

Not voting

2009-05-04T22:36:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow, us Xenia folks have to opportunity to vote on a massive expensive new school system. The good news is that the state of Ohio is going to match almost dollar for dollar what Xenia will raise in increased property taxes. This just drives me crazy, personally, I don't think we need to spend 85 million dollars on schools. True some of our schools are falling apart and need replaced, but why do we need the Cadillac version? I'm not trilled about paying $365 a year for 28 years in extra property tax. But I would like to see nicer schools, but I don't think it's fair to the families who home school or families who pay to sent their kids to private school. With increased property taxes comes the possibility that families could not afford the higher taxes. With all this turmoil in my mind, I think that I am not going to vote. I'm going to be unhappy either way, that is unless this vote fails and we vote yes for far less extravagant new schools in yet another election later this year.

Mexican Coke

2009-05-03T21:45:00.003-04:00

Today, I enjoyed a Coke imported from Mexico, complete with glass bottle and a pop cap, that I needed a bottle opener to open. The basic different is Mexican Coke is made with sugar not corn syrup. US coke is made from corn syrup because of the sugar tariff. The Mexican Coke does taste mush better, more pure and less like syrup. Stupid government messing up the Coke tast.

Movie Lily's Easter Egg Hunt

2009-05-02T20:45:00.004-04:00

A bit delayed but here is a clip of Lily hunting Easter Eggs.

Bike Hike Spring 2009

2009-04-18T22:18:00.003-04:00

Brian, Ben, and Patrick joined me in a 41 mile bike hike today. We started in Lebanon and completed the Lebanon trail, then we took the Little Miami Trail to Xenia. This was the first time I've been on the Lebanon trail. The trail was fun. There were mile markers every tenth of a mile, which was nice. Most of the trail doesn't follow old Rail Road tracks, so it was hillier than normal. I advice starting in downtown Lebanon, you will enjoy a very nice down hill, just watch out of a stop sign at the bottom of the hill. Part of the trail is a shared road with nice wide shoulders.

Bike Hike Spring 2009

Lebanon to Home

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T22:30:00.002-04:00

Easter 2009

Easter Pictures. Lily's dress was made by Danielle. Most of my family was able to meet in Oxford, OH for a wonderful Easter dinner.

Air Force Museum

2009-03-28T16:11:00.002-04:00

We finally made it to the Air Force Museum. Lily enjoyed the planes, but even more she enjoyed all the steps to go up and down, and all the room to walk and run. It was a good free activity for a cloudy March Saturday.

Air Force Museum

(click on the picture to view more pictures)

Quick update

2009-03-26T22:05:00.003-04:00

I was able to ride my bike to and from work, this week for the first time this year. It was a bit of a challenge. The wind was strong out of the east. It was an uphill ride and ending up taking 1 hour 12 minutes to get to work. 12 minutes longer than I planned.

This week I also started tracking my calories intake and consumption at gyminee.com. This is a really neat free website. It is a lot like tracking money, only for me a lot harder (for me at least). I also found out that I eat a lot. But, on the flip side a round trip bike ride of 24 miles to work in back burned 1800 calories.

More Ultrasound Pictures

2009-03-23T21:21:00.003-04:00

Here a couple ultrasound pictures taken today, a face and a foot. Our baby is average sized at about 4 pounds 2 ounces.

New Skirt

2009-03-22T19:46:00.000-04:00

Danielle made this really cute for Lily - *the Big Sister*

2009.03.22

What does a Trillon Dollars Look Like?

2009-03-20T09:19:00.002-04:00

Find out more here.

you can either use credit or creativity

2009-03-19T23:01:00.003-04:00

Living Life Richly on the Cheap
Choose creativity over credit.

I think we can all learn from this family.
"We have found that you have a choice when you need something you can either use credit or creativity." I have read their book. It is an excellent read full of ideas all of which do not include borrowing money.

Go Blue!

2009-03-19T21:42:00.003-04:00

I was able to watch Michigan win their first game in March Madness, I'm sure they are well on their way to winning the whole thing. Which would be a very good thing, since in my bracket, Michigan is going to beat Michigan St in the final game. I watched the game over the internet. I had to have the quality on fair, which was just barely good enough, but exciting none-the-less.

New Videos

2009-03-15T21:45:00.005-04:00

It's been since October since I've posting any video and since Lily hasn't ceased to be cute, I thought it was time to catch up a bit. Hopefully, next time to void in videos will not be this long.

Lily's Kitchen

Everything else. 5+ Minutes work. Unedited b/c I'm Lazy.

Midway through March

2009-03-15T21:19:00.002-04:00

Spring is almost here in South West Ohio.

* The robin that keeps trying to peck his way through my office window is back
* I have seen a couple of garage sales.
* There have been a few warm days in the 60's and 70's,
* Day light saving time is here. (Lily just doesn't understand leaping ahead and going to bed when the sun is still up.)

Yesterday, I spent many hours fixing our ever faithful, but noisy '94 Saturn. I told Danielle I hoped to be done in an hour. Hope and reality are two different things, at least for me. I'm sure a saved well north of $100 and it only cost me a Saturday morning and half an afternoon, and some blood. Lily is also enjoying Spring and going to the *gark*. Enjoy the pictures.

Awana Swag

2009-02-22T22:57:00.005-05:00

I have accumulated vast amounts of Awana pins and Awards. I am working a creating a web application so Awana nerds like me can display their Awana awards on their website. This is as far as I got today. This project is just in its beginning state. I'm looking for more pins to scan. If anyone wants to let me borrow yours, please let me know.

JD's Awana Awards

Homestar Runner

2009-02-22T21:43:00.003-05:00

Apparently Homestar Runner and I have very similar email addresses.

Feburary 2009 Pictures

2009-02-21T20:42:00.001-05:00

Feb 2009

City of Xenia Operating Levy

2009-02-02T20:54:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow February 3, 2009 we in Xenia have an opportunity to vote on an increase on the city operating levy. This is an increase of 1.5 mils. According to my property tax calculator this would increase my taxes by $6 a month. While I hate paying higher taxes and I hate the idea of property taxes in general. I feel in this case that my money would be used on expenses that local government should be spending money on. I not thrilled this this tax increase may force some other homeowner to pay higher taxes when they cannot afford it. However,I feel that $6 a month shouldn't break anyone. I emailed Jim Percival, the city Manager and Mark Bazalek, the Finance Director. Here is their responses.

Thank you for your interest in the February 3^rd tax issue on the ballot. The tax levy additional dollars would be utilized to cover any cash flow shortfalls from general operations. These general operations include police, fire, and street maintenance as illustrated in the insert with the utility bill. Any amount generated over our two month operating reserve requirement can be utilized for general capital improvements. Capital improvements projected for 2010 include replacement of fire and police equipment and vehicles, the City share of grant funded projects like the Jamestown Bikeway Connector and the West Main Enhancement Project which would improve the gateway in to our City. Basically the dollars would be utilized to maintain, and improve if the economy turns around, the level of service to the citizens.

Mark Bazelak
Thank you, for inquiring about the request on the ballot February 3. The City of Xenia funds the majority of our Capital improvements through the surplus generated in our Key Operating Funds. In 2003 we were generating less income than we were expending, and we eliminated 15 positions across the board at that time. We have projected our revenues and expenditures over the next 10 years, and if nothing changes we will be in a negative cash flow position in 2010. If you wish I would be happy to share the projections with you.

The short answer to your question is that the revenue generated will be used to support capital purchases and projects. We have and will continue to do everything that we can to keep our costs contained; however, there are several costs that have risen that we cannot control. Two examples are salt and asphalt. Our cost for road salt rose over 30 % this past year. We are using this resource as tightly as we can but no one can control Mother Nature. The cost of asphalt doubled last summer; therefore we could only complete half of the projects that we had hoped. Without additional revenue we cannot keep up with the projects that need to be completed. These are only two examples, there are many more costs that have risen significantly even in the past couple of years.

Again, thanks for your inquiry. If I can be of further assistance please contact me.

Jim Percival

City Manager

Snowman!

2009-02-01T16:28:00.001-05:00

We are in the midst of a major heat wave today! (47F) This made for excellent packing snow. There also was a layer of ice that kept the grass out of our snow balls. Lily enjoyed helping me with the snow man.

2009 02 01

Yet Another 25 Things

2009-01-31T22:37:00.004-05:00

It appears that the chain email of the 90's have been reborn in facebook, where everyone and their mother is posting 25 random things about themselves. So here is my list of 25 things for all you non-facebook people.

Includes an extra bonus one.

0. Danielle and I have one car for our 2-car garage - Our faithful ’94 Saturn with 153K miles.
1. I walk or ride my bike one mile each way so I can carpool to work.
2. I think Cedarville’s 4.0 mugs are idols. But I think it’s mostly jealously on my part b/c my friends made a pyramid of them.
3. When I was in 3rd grade I live in Paris for 6 months. I had a vast majority of the subway system memorized.
4. This last year I did two major bike hikes. One from Xenia to Cincinnati and one from Urbana to Xenia.
5. I am the Awana T&T director at Emmanuel Baptist in Xenia.
6. I used my study halls in high school to write a computer game for Awana Quizzing. Later, my friend Brian helped me write questions and market the game. We have since made thousands. I almost didn’t list it on eBay b/c of the 25-cent listing fee.
7. My brother and I were saved on the same day.
8. I voted 3rd party for president this last election.
9. I have a $10,000 Zimbabwe bill. As of today it’s worth 100,000,000,000,000,000,000th of a US dollar
10. I have totaled two cars, once b/c of speed and ice, the other b/c the engine gave up the ghost going up a hill.
11. Danielle and I spray painted her first car white, our nose hairs turned white. Years later we sold that car for $175.
12. In college I told God I never wanted to program for a living using vi or go to Africa. My first real job out of college, I programmed almost extensively in vi. Then when I started work at Cedarville, I learned to program in AE. So far no Africa.
13. I like to spend $2 bill, dollar coins and 50-cent pieces.
14. I hoard copper pennies (pre-1982) just in case the US dollar goes the way of the Zimbabwe dollar.
15. I am an Awana citation winner.
16. I have tens of Awana pins that I keep but will never wear on my uniform, so I don’t look too Awana spiritual.
17. My dad, my brother and I have developed a Thanksgiving or Christmas tradition to hunt for geocaches in Michigan in the snow.
18. When I lived in Kentucky, I used a ferry on a bike ride.
19. I am a numismatist
20. I email my cell phone company every time I get a spam text asking for a refund. I’m hoping they just give up and give me free texting. So far no luck. But they have refunded the fee each time.
21. Danielle and I have purchased two foreclosed homes.
22. I have never had a car payment
23. I hate shopping for cars. So instead of getting a bigger car, I bought a car top carrier for our car. I’ll let you know how it works out.
24. When in high school at Cedar Point, 3 fierce waterspouts were heading right towards us. Danielle drug me to the girls bathroom for safety, while my brother and other friends, stayed inline and got a better place since everyone ran away.
25. My college roommate kicked me in the nose while on a web cam talking with Danielle. There was blood everywhere.

A few more Lily Pictures

2009-01-31T12:35:00.000-05:00

2009 01 01

2008 in Review

2009-01-01T12:12:00.001-05:00

Here are my favorite pictures from 2008

Best Pictures of 2008

Christmas 2008 Pictures

2009-01-01T10:57:00.001-05:00

We are having a boy!

2008-12-22T18:40:00.003-05:00

Here is one of two ultrasound pictures from today. (The other will be kept off the internet.)

Winter Time Pictures

2008-12-20T10:49:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas 2008

2008-12-16T20:08:00.002-05:00

Wishing you a very merry Christmas. Love,

JD, Danielle, Lily and baby2

Luke 2:1-20
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.

4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

wii blogging

2008-12-05T20:50:00.000-05:00

This blog entry was posted using the wii browser and fhe wii remote.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-30T16:17:00.004-05:00

This year Danielle and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house. We enjoyed having family over and eating wonderful food. Danielle made a great juicy turkey. We are truly blessed and praise our Lord for his provisions. Enjoy the pictures.

Same Dress Then and Now

2008-11-30T12:07:00.004-05:00

Danielle and Grandma

Same dress made by Danielle's Grandma.

Living Life Richly on the Cheap #14

2008-11-20T14:39:00.002-05:00

#14 Don't Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford
I don't think I could say it better myself.

Baby2

2008-11-14T18:48:00.002-05:00

Lily is looking forward to being a big sister. We are happily expecting our second baby in mid May.

Wii

2008-11-13T22:30:00.001-05:00

So yeah, I bought a Wii. Yeah, it is a lot of fun. Lily can even pitch in the baseball game. She is known to pitch shutouts. Watch out world.

Really Cute pictures of Lily

2008-11-13T22:19:00.002-05:00

Lily is enjoying a Subway sandwich. I find the 1st four pictures really cute. She is posing in all of the Sandwich pictures.

2008 11 12

This is Hyperinflation

2008-11-12T22:36:00.003-05:00

I started a new blog called This is Hyperinflation for my economic interest.

Is Icelandic króna the next Zimbabwe Dollar?

2008-11-09T15:52:00.003-05:00

Iceland was recently the UN's world’s best country in which to live. There prosperity was built on debt. Now the country's currency has lost half it's value.

New York Time's piece.

Wikipedia Entry.

Election Day Thoughts

2008-11-03T22:11:00.001-05:00

Daniel 2:21
He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.

F16 Fly Over

2008-11-02T22:23:00.002-05:00

We saw this on our bike tour

October Pictures

2008-11-02T15:17:00.002-05:00

Here are a few picture for October 2008.

October 2008

Fall Bike Hike 2008

2008-11-02T08:52:00.004-05:00

Brian, Ben and Patrick joined me for a 47 miles bike hike starting in Urbana, OH and ending at my house in Xenia. We took detours to see 3 airports. Be sure to check out the pictures.

Fall Bike Hike 2008

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Fall Bike Hike 2008

10.2 Quadrillion

2008-10-27T15:22:00.002-04:00

10.2 Quadrillion is the current estimated annual inflation rate in Zimbabwe. (Price doubling every 7 days 20 hours)

Living Life Richly on the Cheap #13

2008-10-26T19:26:00.003-04:00

#13 Finding the lowest gas price.

Normally on trips, I advocate not worrying about the price of gas, much. Most times gas prices are within 10 cents a gallon or so. It's not worth $2.00 a tank to hunt down the lowest price.

But today I was able to get gas for the lowest price in the area. $2.119 a gallon. Here are a few websites to help you find the lowest gas prices.

DaytonGasPrices.com Internet user report the price of gas per staton. Also has great historical graphs and maps. GasBuddy.com is their national web site
GasPriceWatch.com is also user reported prices. This site let you know the highest and lowest prices in the country.
Speedway.com has a section that lets you know the street prices at Speedway stations. The site also gives directions and will plot the speedway stations on your route with their price.

JD's Voter Guide

2008-10-22T21:40:00.012-04:00

The following is my personal recommendation for how to vote for all offices and issues on the ballot in Xenia, OH. Feel free to leave your opinion, perhaps you can educate me and I'll change my mind. I did my best to include the web sites of each candidate, but I was unable in every case to find their site. I did not include the races where a person was running unopposed.

President (Very Important)

JD's Pick -> Chuck Baldwin (Constitution Party) or Bob Bar (Libertarian Party)
Richard Duncan
John McCain (Republican Party)
Cynthia McKinney (Green Party)
Brian Moore
Ralph Nader
Barack Obama (Democratic Party)
Write In_________

I'm advocating voting for anyone other than McCain or Obama. Both continue to play Santa Clause trying to buy votes for promises they cannot keep. Both voted for the bailout and both are for an interventionist foreign policy. Both will sink our county into debt and allow the Fed to create money out of thin air. I feel we need to take a stand and vote no to more of the same. Voting for the lesser of two evils in still evil.

Attorney General (Very Important)

Robert Ownes in endorsed by the Constitution and Libertarian Parties. I think this position should not be held by a partisan person. Robert Owens would protect our civil liberties and our economic freedom.

Ohio Secretary State Information on the State Ballot issues.
State Issue #1 (yawn) To provide for earlier filing deadlines for statewide ballot issues

JD's Pick - Yes
Earlier deadlines make it harder for dumb laws to be voted on? If anyone has another reason to vote yes or no let me know. I'm open to changing my mind on this issue.

State Issue #2 (Important) To authorize the state to issue bonds to continue the clean Ohio program for environmental revitalization and conservation

JD's Pick - No

Since this is not an emergency, I'll vote no to more debt.

State Issue #3 (Why are we voting on this) To amend the constitution to protect private property rights in ground water lakes and other watercourses.

JD's Pick - Yes

I'll always vote yes to protect private property rights.

State Issue #4 Withdrawn by the petitioners' committee

State Issue #5 (Very Important) Referendum on legislation make changes to check cashing lending sometimes known as "Payday lending," Fees interest rates and practices.

JD's Pick - NO

The government should never set interest rates, or keep a database of who borrows what.

State Issue #6 (Very Important) To amend the constitution by initiative petition for a casino near Wilmington in southwest Ohio and distribute to all Ohio Counties a tax on the Casino

JD's Pick - NO

Ohio constitution should not dictate a monopoly for a casino. This amendment also dictates the location. The amendment would preempt local zoning laws. May also increase crime.

Representative to Congress 7th District (Important).

JD's Pick -> Steve Austria (R)
Sharen Swartz (D)

I hate to say this but I'm voting for Austria because he is a republican. We need as many republicans in office to fight with the Democrats. This is a vote for gridlock. He is Endorsed by National Rifle Association (NRA) - "A" rating And Ohio Right to Life

State Senate 10th District

Roger Tackett (D)
JD's Pick -> Chris Widener (R)

Chris is Endorsed by Buckeye Firearms Association.He appears to be a great tax cutter.

2nd District Court of Appeals (Not sure how important)

Jeffrey E. Froelich
JD's Pick -> George B. Reynolds

I liked his speech at Cedarville more than the other guy's.

Commissioner (Somewhat important)

JD's Pick -> Eddie K. Baumann (D)
Rick Perales (R)

Eddie Baumann is a professor at Cedarville University. I read his website and I like his ideas for the commissioner position. I think the local government needs new people and new ideas.

Commissioner (Somewhat important)

JD's Pick -> Marilyn J. Reid (R)
Jerry Sutton (D)

I like the idea of having a fiscal conservative at the commissioner position. I also think have a Democratic and a Republican commissioner is a good balance of power. Her Cedarville speech.

Recorder (Needed Position)

Eric C Sears (R)
Mary Taylor (D)

Why do we vote on this position? Maybe we should vote on custodians? I not no clue who is better or worse. Just make sure the properties or recorded on time. Anyone got an opinion on this?

Treasurer (Important)

Corinna Grooms (D)
JD's Pick-> James W. Schmidt (R)

James is the current treasurer, as far as I can tell he is doing a fine job.

State Board of Education 10th District (Important)

Jane Sonenshein
JD's Pick -> Jeffrey A. Hardin
John McHenry

Jeffrey is a fiscal conversation who thinks school should be controlled locally. He had good things to say about private and home schools. He also did not seam excited about no child left behind.

Xenia Issues

(Very Important)
#20 Xenia Community City School District Income Tax- Bond Issue
4.2 Mills
$132 per year on a 100K house
1/2 % Income Tax Increase
$194 per year on the average family income of 43K

JD's Pick -> NO

This is a hard one. Clearly Xenia schools need physical help. If this passes we get about half of the money *free* from the state of Ohio. However, I don't like the location of the new school. I think we should negotiate with the state for a *cheaper* school that we can afford. This is a large tax increase during hard economic times. We need to be careful that the Xenia tax rates do not force people to move out. We don't want to build a school that is half empty.

(Not sure how important)
Greene County Children Services Board Replacement/Increase- Operating
1.5 mills
$48 per year on a 100K house

JD's Pick -> No

I don't know how important this service is. If in doubt I'll vote no on a tax increase. If it is important, I'm sure we will get a chance to vote on this tax again.

(I do not really care)
Greene County Greene Memorial Hospital Renewal- Operating
0.5 mills
$16 per year on a 100K house

JD's Pick -> No

I think hospitals should not be funded by the government. This is only $16 a year so not a big deal if it passes.

Greene County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Board Renewal- Operating
3.5 mills
$111 per year on a 100K house

JD's Pick -> NO

Again this is not a something that should not be funded by the government.

Greene County Mental Health and Recovery Board Replacement/Increase- Operating
2 mills
$63 per year on a 100K house

JD's Pick -> NO

Mental Health needs two taxes?

Living Life Richly on the Cheap #12

2008-10-17T21:27:00.003-04:00

#12 Zenni Optical
Lily ended up finding and breaking my old glasses from many years ago. So I was in need of new glasses. A friend recommended that I check out zennioptical.com. They have glasses that you can order online starting at $8.00. All you have to do is enter your prescription information. I only use my glasses when I don't feel like wearing my contacts. I didn't care all that much how they look. I was able to find glasses for $8 that looked fairly close to what I had before. I did add Anti-Reflection Coating for $4.95 and shipping was $4.95 per oder. Danielle also got glasses for reading and driving at night. She got nicer glasses for a total of $28.90 Making the grand total for two complete prescription eyes glasses: $46.80. It took two weeks to receive the glasses in the mail.

Total Savings: $38.31 (At Eye Mart glasses are 2 for $85.12 with tax)
Extra Hassle: Knowing how to read my prescription. Zenni Optical was less than helpful helping me, but Eye Mart where I got my eye exam was very helpful.
Catch: Waiting 2 weeks for glasses verses one hour and not being able to try them on.

BJ Lawson

2008-10-14T21:20:00.002-04:00

I want a guy like this to run for Congress in my district.

50,000 for the 3rd time.

2008-10-13T18:32:00.013-04:00

Zimbabwe is out with a New-New-New $50,000 banknote. There are 14 hidden Zero's behind the 4 that are visible. Inflation is running at ~~two~~ ~~5.77~~ ~~188 Trillion~~ 10.2 Quadrillion percent per year. (Price doubling about every 9 days) I'm guessing that the 100K note will come out in about a week and a half.

New Links

2008-10-13T12:13:00.002-04:00

LJ's Territory Jud is an excellent writer. He is also our Awana Commander
The View from my perch Danielle's cousin. She is spending a year in Côte d'Ivoire
EBCX Awana Blog The official blog for Awana at Emmanuel Baptist Xenia

How much is that new property tax going to cost me?

2008-10-12T21:57:00.010-04:00

Here is Xenia, Oh there are 5 tax renewals or increases on the November ballot. Each are measured in mills. So what is a mill? A mill is one thousandth of assessed value of your property. Here in Ohio the assessed value is 35% of your appraised value. There is also a 10% rollback and other mysterious "any [other] reimbursements". If you live in Greene County Ohio, you can look this up here. Most other counties in Ohio have similar sites. You can find then using Google by searching [Your County's Name] County GIS.

Here are the issues in Xenia:
#20 Xenia Community City School District Income Tax- Bond Issue
4.2 Mills
$132 per year on a 100K house
1/2 % Income Tax Increase
$194 per year on the average family income of 43K

Greene County Children Services Board Replacement/Increase- Operating
1.5 mills
$48 per year on a 100K house

Greene County Greene Memorial Hospital Renewal- Operating
0.5 mills
$16 per year on a 100K house

Greene County Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Board Renewal- Operating
3.5 mills
$111 per year on a 100K house

Greene County Mental Health and Recovery Board Replacement/Increase- Operating
2 mills
$63 per year on a 100K house

I'm voting no all the tax issues. I'll lay out my reasons in a another post.

Here is a calculator I came up with so you can figure out what a tax issue would cost.

Ohio Millage Property Tax Calculator.

Lily Master of the Playground

2008-10-11T18:01:00.004-04:00

Here is a break from all the political posts. A new video of Lily mastering the playground.

Who is the Liberal Now?

2008-10-08T21:30:00.004-04:00

Are you upside down on your home mortgage? Don't worry John McCain and the government will take care of you. Here is what McCain said last night in the debate:

You know that home values of retirees continues to decline and people are no longer able to afford their mortgage payments. As president of the United States, Alan, I would order the secretary of the treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes -- at the diminished value of those homes and let people be able to make those -- be able to make those payments and stay in their homes.
Is it expensive? Yes. But we all know, my friends, until we stabilize home values in America, we're never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy. And we've got to give some trust and confidence back to America.

This is non-sense and completely crazy. Maybe I should fall behind on my mortgage so the government will take care of me. Never mind the fact that the Fed will have the print the money out of thin air to pay for this. Hold on the your hats, we are going to be in for a wild economic ride as long as the government keeps interfering. Between this proposal and Bomb Bomb, Bomb Iran, there is no way I can vote for McCain. (or Obama.) I honestly, do not know which will do more harm to our county. I encourage you to vote 3rd party. I'll have more on this in a later post.

Living Life Richly on the Cheap #11

2008-10-07T20:17:00.002-04:00

#11 Free GPS.

Danielle found a great offer from Discover Credit Card. Sign up for a Discover Miles Card, make one purchase and they will send you a free Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS. I signed up for the card online and made one purchase to buy gas. About 6 weeks after signing up for the card, I received my free GPS as advertised shipped from Amazon.com. The GPS works great. Even if I had to pay the $160 or so dollars for it, it would be worth it. It not only gives you directions, it also knows where all the good places to eat are. The offer is still valid here.

I must warn you, I have no clue what it does to your credit rating, so if you are going to buy a house or something on credit, I wold skip this offer. Also, credit cards can easily turn into monsters, so if you have trouble paying your bills on time, or are carrying a balance, or spend to much with a credit card, I would also pass on this offer as well. I'll save my theory on credit cards for another post.

Those of you interested in the features of the GPS feel free to contact me.

I see an Empire Falling...

2008-10-05T14:46:00.004-04:00

The National Debt Clock has run out of digits. The most fascinating part of the whole clip to me was when a New Yorker said near the end "I see an Empire falling".

Maybe we should just knock off ten zeros. They tried that in Zimbabwe.

1/2 Trillion percent inflation

2008-10-03T22:14:00.004-04:00

$20,000 is the newest note from Zimbabwe. This is after knocking off 10 Zero's two months ago. They are burning through 2 zero's a month. Maybe by the new year they will knock 10 more off.

The Cato institute has estimated the annual inflation rate of the Zimbabwe dollar at 1/2 of trillion percent. This is price doubling every 11 days. Here is an example of what it is to live in Zimbabwe economy.

Pictures.

2008-10-01T23:20:00.001-04:00

Here are a few pictures of our adventures in the past few weeks.

Early Fall 2008