Arrested and stranded in Chihuahua, Chihuahua

Saturday 2 Mar 2019
It's dark, and it's getting late. My bags are both heavy and ill-prepared. I need to find a bus to downtown Chihuahua. I know downtown is to the right, but a passerby assures me the bus to downtown comes from the right. So I confirm with other passersby, then cross the street to wait at a bus stop on night three of a 3-week vacation now interrupted.

Driving in Mexico 2019

Mexico Customs (la Aduana) considers your vehicle contraband if you leave the border zone without first getting a Temporary Import Permit (Importación Temporal) from Banjercito (Make sure you understand how your security deposit will be returned to you) in addition to your personal visa and your Mexico insurance (I got mine from GNP).  Here's my sad story:

The Master's Money Rules v2016

This is the turnstyle that leads to eternal life, and there aren't many who find it. The arched double gate that leads to a living death is where the throngs pass. But you, go find the turnstyle and go in there.

A hardware store DIY deep well hand pump shopping trip

Based on three videos at Youtube (Peters, agua:yaku, and a "prepper"), I decide to go to the hardware store and see what kind of a hand pump I could come up with quickly and easily with ease and speed of assembly being more important than cost. I was surprised at how quickly I ended up with a pump lying in front of me on the floor of the store.

I fixed my Palm screen that won't calibrate

My Palm screen calibration was getting worse, so I tried to calibrate the touchscreen, but I got stuck in an endless digitizer calibration loop.  Here's how I fixed it.

Kitchen Gardening

Kitchen Gardening by Kato Haws

A few tips on Sprouting, Seed Testing, Indoor Plant Starting and Sauerkraut Making.

Rotary vs. Foil Electric Shaver

Several months ago I bought a $10 Emerson Rotary Shaver and a $10 Emerson Foil Shaver at Walgreen's.  Since then I have alternated between them with every battery charge.  Without wasting a lot more words, I'll blog here the main differences between them.

How to Keep Food For a Long Time in the Refrigerator Without Spoiling

It's easy to keep food from going bad before its time in the fridge, and to make its time longer than ever before, when you understand two words: Danger Zone.  Once you understand how to work around the Danger Zone, your food will last far longer.

MaTireLire Palm OS Budget Manager Yearly Database Pruning

I have been a happy and loyal user since 2010 of MaTireLire (French for MyPiggyBank), the free and open source personal accounting software for Palm OS. It makes budgeting and balancing my checkbook easy and fun, and I love its cute little piggy bank icon. It's hard to convey just how wonderful this program is. I will gladly at any moment get a used Handspring Visor Deluxe or a Palm for $20 to $60 just so I can carry MaTireLire in my pocket everywhere I go.

To manage my budgets, I just make a negative "account" for each budget and a positive account each for the real money (checking and cash) accounts. As long as all the "accounts" (the negative budgets and the positive real money) add up to zero and none of the budgets go into the positive (unbudgeted!) territory or the real money into the negative (broke!) territory, I'm budgeted and solvent. (Tip: if a budget goes into positive territory, but your real money is far from negative, don't panic. It just means you need to rob another budget to get that budget back below zero.) And after (at the moment or at home with my receipts) I spend money, I just assign (link) all expenditures and receipts to a budget. Other than a few other procedural nuances I've developed to deal with special situations like pre-budget money (taxes, savings), that's all I do.

The database (Tom's household, for example) summary page gives me an instant glance at my budgets any time I wonder, keeping me always out of trouble.

Over the course of a year, the transactions accumulate, and MaTireLire starts to slow down. At the end of the year, here's what I do to prune the data.

1. Clone the database. Set up the new names (Tom 2011, Tom 2012, etc.) and whether each database is launchable from its own Palm OS home screen icon.

2. Perform a soft reset on your device to rebuild the home screen icons.

3. Purge the cleared transactions from all accounts (like checking) where you are using "clearing".


4. Delete all transactions from all other accounts, and set their initial balances to match the ending balances of the original database.

That's it. Happy New Year.

Tip: You can track unrelated accounts (like savings) in your main database without affecting the bottom line. 1. Tap (to select) the balances of a group of accounts. 2. At the upper right corner of the database summary screen, choose to add up only "Selected" or "Not Selected" instead of "All" .

Best older small car to buy is the 1996 to 1999 Honda, Toyota, and Nissan

Today I went down to Desert Auto Works at 330 East Southern Avenue in Mesa, Arizona. They are a top notch shop with smart and honest guys. (Horton's Auto Repair on Main at Higley in Mesa is another place with smart guys and good high quality work.) While I was there we got to talking about cars. I knew that they like Toyotas there. They told me that Hyundais and KIAs have come a long way, and that they never see the later model ones in the shop except for scheduled maintenance. They said that Hondas and Nissans aren't what they used to be, and that the best years for Hondas, Nissan's and Toyotas were 1996 to 1999, which is what the owner of the shop likes to buy and fix up nice.

My 1991 Honda Civic DX 4-door automatic used to get 38 miles per gallon. In 2003 it got a spark plug stuck, and Perfectune in Mesa let it get dented on their lot, then it threw a rod while they were driving it. I let them junk it and pay me. If I understood then that 38-MPG gasoline cars were nigh unto extinct as of 1999 and would be through the 2000's until hybrids and plug-in hybrids come along, I would have paid whatever it took to keep that wonderful 1991 Honda Civic running.

This seems like good and impartial information to me, and I wanted to log it.

The Budget Bums Amendment

The Budget Bums Amendment

Congress shall balance the budget. If the budget is not balanced, at the following election only those members of Congress who have served equal to or less than the median number of terms for their chamber shall be eligible for re-election.

Spread this little gem that throws out up to half of the most senior members of Congress in the next election any time the budget fails to be balanced. This amendment sets the standard and leaves the details to Congress, since where there's a will there's a way, they say.

From what I can see, this amendment could keep Congress very junior if they can't find a way to habitually balance the budget. Only if they balance the budget or if they are all freshmen do they get to stay.

Call for a Debt Limit Amendment to the USA Constitution

It's time to adopt a Debt Limit Amendment.

Much has been said about a Balanced Budget Amendment. But critics have correctly pointed out that there are inevitably years when it is not feasible to balance the budget. Emergencies do happen.

Obviously, in the likely event of a budget shortfall, going into debt is not the only theoretical choice. A well-managed house simply dips into its rainy day fund. Going into debt is the fool's resort.

But since spending is addictive, debt always increases until it reaches a limit of some type, either external or internal. If an internal limit is not enforced, an external limit will eventually be reached and enforced by outside forces. The USA national debt, that now equals seven years of income, is reaching an external limit as Standard and Poor and China have made clear today and yesterday.

Since it is not possible to avoid an external debt limit, and since external debt limits are painful, it is wise to set an internal debt limit that will maximize happiness. The debt limit that maximizes happiness is Debt Limit Zero.

We have no good excuse not to work toward Debt Limit Zero. Working toward Debt Limit Zero requires an austere refusal to spend money that doesn't exist. It requires judiciously conservative estimates of future income and nimble reductions in expenditures when necessary. But we are not ignorant, and we are not apathetic. We need to adopt a Debt Limit Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

I propose that the Debt Limit amendment should have language such as the following:

"The United States of America shall have no outstanding debts at the end of any year after 2050.

"At the end of every year before the year 2050, Congress shall have no outstanding debts greater than 500 billion dollars multiplied by the number of years remaining until the end of 2050.

"Unless the national debt or reserves position has been one year of income better than required by this amendment during five of the previous ten years, Congress shall budget yearly to reserves, or until 2050 to debt reduction, one tenth of projected revenue."

How I revived my dead Palm Tungsten E2

This week I pulled out my Palm Tungsten E2 and it would not power up (The power button died long ago, and I typically use the shortcut buttons to power it up). I tried charging it. I tried all the reset procedures. It was dead. I went to Google. I revived it by opening the case, disconnecting the battery, plugging in the charger (the startup screen appeared!), unplugging the charger, reconnecting the battery, and reassembling it.

Dissasembling it required a very tiny 1.4 mm screwdriver that I happened to have in a cheap tiny screwdriver set. I also had to pry harder than I might have thought was safe or required, as there are retainer clips keeping it together in addition to the four torx screws.

Disconnecting the battery was also baffling to me, but with this Youtube video at 00:02:20, I saw that I simply needed to pry with my fingernail.

The Standard Deduction Club

It just occurred to me this week that very likely this year and for the rest of my life I will be taking the standard tax deduction as a result of drastically reducing my living expenses and my income.

Since decades ago I have itemized tax deductions yearly, with the primary deductions coming from my home mortgage and my church contributions. But while I expect to continue charitable contributions, I no longer expect to have a home mortgage.

So I guess that means I am joining the super duper elite Standard Deduction Club. Probably along with most of the people in my apartment complex. Shhh. Don't let out the secret.

The Master's Money Rules

(See 2016 update for more practical advice.) This is the turnstyle that leads to eternal life, and there aren't many who find it. The arched double gate that leads to a living death is where the throngs pass. But you, go find the turnstyle and go in there.

Letting Go of Unwanted “Treasures”

From my dad:

For some people cleaning up relics from the past, such as books, hobby materials, and etc. can be a very hard job. Here is an idea that may help:

1. Pray for strength to let go of the past.

2. Make mental categories of the things that are taking up too much room such as: a) old school work, b) work items, and c) hobby items.

3. Pick one of the categories that you need to clean up.

4. Go through that one category only, separate it into three groups: keep, throw away, and store out of sight.

5. When you are finished with one category pat yourself on the back. Then take a break or start on another category. (You must resist the temptation to work on more than one category at a time, or you will find your resolve and energy fading away quickly)!

Growing papayas, mangos, bananas, and zapotes in Mesa, Arizona

Yesterday I went on a Sunday afternoon walk near the new Alma School Road and 8th Street fire station in Mesa, Arizona with my dad, my brother-in-law, my nephew, and two of my nieces. We stopped by at a house on 10th Street where there were papayas growing in the front yard. I rang the door bell, and the owner of the house treated us to a tour of his jungle, which included under cultivation all the following:

• papayas
• bananas
• zapotes
• persimmons

The owner told us his mango got frozen recently.

The visit got me thinking about the importance of miniclimate and microclimate. This fellow is fortunate to live on the nose of a subtle major ridge that runs east-west along 9th Place and 10th Street near Alma School Road.

Being on the ridge keeps him away from the worst of local cold air drainage. In addition, his house is near Alma School Road. That provides effective cold air drainage away from his property to the 40-foot drop down to the Salt River bottom. His papayas are growing in the front yard near the street, which provides radiant night warming in addition to cold air drainage.

Given the right property, or simply to improve an area of any property, it would be fun to design and create a microclimate for more delicate plants. A good microclimate design might include as many as feasible of the following elements.

For cold protection:

• Unobstructed cold air drainage to slightly lower land. To avoid freezing, it helps to be elevated above cold-air pockets.
• Unobstructed winter sun exposure. To keep as warm as possible, it helps if the soil is struck by the winter sun as long as possible.
• Obstructed night sky. To minimize night-time radiation heat loss, it helps to be under an awning or tree canopy. If the canopy is massive enough to act as a heat sink, it may provide additional night-time heating.
  
• Solar capture and/or reflection. To maximize winter solar capture, a reflective (white) or heat sinking (black and massive) sun wall helps.

For sun and heat protection:

• Obstructed summer sun. To avoid summertime sun and heat damage, it helps to have a shade.
• Non-reflective ground. To avoid turning your microclimate into a summertime solar oven, it helps to have a ground cover outside it that minimizes the reflection of summer sunshine into the planter.

For help designing or analyzing your canopy overhang, use a sun chart such as this one from the University of Oregon.

Do better than McDonalds - Food can be cheap and healthy

I spend very little on groceries for myself and my three kids (who are around only 3 days per week). My monthly budget is $150, and that is very adequate for some frivolity and luxuries.

Tom's secrets: part 1

Today's secrets are for long-lasting water bottles, long-lasting refrigerated food, a clean car interior, and consistently perfect discount bananas.

My secrets for long-lasting water bottles are 1) to use clear, strong PETE bottles instead of semi-clear, weak HDPE bottles and 2) to take the bottles directly from the house to the water store so I avoid leaving empty bottles in the car where they will deform in the heat.

My secrets for long-lasting food in the refrigerator are 1) to keep the refrigerator near freezing so that occasionally food in a certain corner may freeze, 2) to keep food out of the temperature danger zone between 40 -140 degrees F (4.4-60 degrees C) as much as possible, 3) to package home-cooked food while boiling hot and avoid uncovering, stirring, or handling food that is in the cooler danger zone and very susceptible to infection, 4) to refrigerate before opening jars of salsa, cans of food, etc. that I hope to keep long, and 5) to wash dipping utensils before dipping from any refrigerated container.

My secret for keeping my car clean with children around is to keep a wad of grocery bags hidden in the car and to have one always hanging from a seat headrest. When I see trash, I hand it to or point it out to my children, asking them to put it in the trash bag. When I drive by a dumpster, I have the kids help me snip off the old trash bag, discard it, and hang a new one.

My secret for having perfect, inexpensive bananas every day of the year is to buy lots of bananas when they are on sale, then wait until they are at my preferred ripeness, when I peel them and freeze them whole with just minutes of effort. Frozen bananas are a treat as sold on California's Balboa Island or are great in smoothies.

My secret for having crisp, clean hand soap on the bathroom vanity sink is to move the vanity bar of soap to the bath whenever the bath needs a new bar, and to put the newly opened bar of soap on the vanity. I guess you would call that soap rotation.

Practical money management practices for disciples of the Master

I discovered something about money management for a follower of the Way. No debts, right? No treasures, right? That has got me into trouble in the past. But I finally discovered the missing piece of the puzzle: paying obligations ahead. If you still have obligations (debts) from a former (pre-disciple) life, or obligations you couldn't avoid (an apartment lease, for example), every time you have extra money, use it to pay ahead on those obligations. If you are already totally obligation free (no leases, contracts, or debts), give the full amount of any windfalls away. That is a major breakthrough for me. Can you offer any refinements or suggestions? Read more explanation below.

Release all claims and make no oaths

The Master tells his disciples to release hold on possessions and to make no oaths at all, but to live day by day on the mercies of Heaven and the world. But in my world of health care bills, rents, alimony, taxes, law suits, and a mortgage I accepted a decade ago and have no resources to pay, what does that mean, and what does it look like?

After being immersed in the Tao Te Ching, Tolle's "A New Earth", Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and countless other master teachings for months, I have discovered some practical money management suggestions for making real these master teachings.

An orderly way to think about your money reality: debts, payments, assets, and income

Let's start with today. Today you have debts and possessions. I first suggest you consider thinking about them in a specific way that I will explain below.

First, consider that debts exist in two forms (two promises) at the same time: lump debts and service payments. Your mortgage includes both a lump debt of $100,000 to the bank and a service payment of $1,000 every month. Your rental lease includes both a lump promise to pay for one year and a service payment of $500 every month. With any debt, your creditor wants you to promise a) to pay her a lump and b) to service the lump with periodic payments. Please keep in mind that it is exactly this kind of promise that the Master observes can obscure happiness or the Kingdom of Heaven. Keep also in mind that the disciples of the Master are obligated to deliver on old promises or obtain willing releases.

Second, consider that possessions (or claims), like debts, exist in two forms: assets and income. You have both $1,000 in your checking account and an expected income of $1,000 per week. You have both an IRA and a job. Your creditor accepted your promises and gladly gave you debt when you showed adequate assets and income. Keep in mind that the Master teaches you not to hold claim on those assets and income. "To live like me," the Master says, "do not seek; do not expect; do not claim; release hold." And again keep in mind that the disciples of the Master are obligated to deliver on old promises.

Harmonizing your money reality with the Way: paying obligations ahead

You have lump debts, service payments, assets, and income. Regarding your debts, the Master doesn't condemn you, but says "Go forward and avoid making the same mistake again." Regarding your assets and income the Master says, "Don't lay up treasures on earth where covetous hands grasp and breakage and spoilage destroy."

Your plan for harmonizing your money situation with the Way will be based on the Master teaching that "What you would want others to do to you, do to them." You will be totally honest with your creditors and use your assets and income as they exist and arrive to pay forward all your service obligations. You can do this in steps that are very similar to the baby steps taught by financial peace counselor Dave Ramsey.

Step 1: Liquidate your assets to meet your payments

If you have any assets available that you aren't using now, such as savings accounts, retirement funds, old collections, or anything else that's really just junk at this point in your life, consider selling it to get ahead on your payments, then even fulfill the smallest of your debts (as I explain below).

Step 2: Ask your creditors for relief

Especially if you are behind on payments or reasonably anticipate falling behind, without making additional promises, tell each one of your creditors that you regard as sacred the obligation you made to pay them. Before you contact them, prepare a rough sheet showing honestly all your debts, payments, assets, income, and this plan.

Phrases NOT to use:

• I will pay this debt. (It's a lie. You could die tonight.)
• I won't leave you high and dry. (It's a lie. You could leave the country tomorrow.)
• I promise to pay you as soon as I can. (Promises lead to grief.)
• I don't have any money. (It's a lie. There is $5 in your checking account.)
• I can't pay you. (Extremely unsatisfying to your creditor. Have some faith!)

Phrases to use:

• Here is my balance sheet of debts, payments, assets, and income. (Honesty is satisfying.)
• I'm not sure how I'll make ends meet this (next) month (year). I wanted to let you know. (Make no judgement.)
• It's very important to me to pay this debt, no matter how long it takes. (Honest; no promise)
• If you have any suggestions, or ideas, I am glad to hear them. (Listen humbly! Take notes!)
• Thanks. I hope to get current sooner than later. (The Quaker phrase: I hope)
• Thanks. I'm hoping everything comes through in time, but I wanted to let you know early. (The Quaker phrase: I hope)

Step 3: Double-check your expenses for possible reductions

You must make ends meet. You must fulfill your old promises. You must get current. Sell anything that makes sense. Look for an inexpensive apartment. Get a smaller, older car. Cancel services as it makes sense. Beg your creditors for a modification as in step 2.

Step 3: Work and/or beg enthusiastically to get caught up

Get current on your payments. Get excited about serving Heaven and your neighbor with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. Get work. Get more work. Get better work. Ask for work. Make things better for everybody and make some income. Follow your bliss in a way that honors your old promises. Get a job or two or three if necessary to get current.

If you are working enthusiastically and still aren't getting current on your payments, be honest--beg for help. Ask your family, friends, and government for assistance if you need it. Don't be ashamed; you are an enthusiastic contributor and servant and worker in ways that are blessing the world, but not returning monetarily at this time to you. Only watch and make sure that you are laboring, not for your own kingdom (the survival, gratification, and security of your Ego) but for the greater good (for Zion, as my people say).

Step 4: Use any windfalls or surpluses to pay ahead

As your debts and expenses shrink or your income increases, you will eventually have surpluses or windfalls. Rather than using those surpluses to lay up treasures on earth or start new projects at this time, use them to pay ahead on your debts and obligations. Check with your creditors (landlord, mortgagor, phone company, bank, merchant, etc.) and get 3 to 6 months ahead if permissible. Then for true debts (mortgages and loans), apply additional surpluses to reduce the principal of the debt. And for other contracts and obligations (apartment or car lease, phone contract, etc.) apply additional surpluses to meet the obligations to their full term (a year of rent in advance, a full phone contract fulfilled, etc.), even if that is two years.

Step 5: When all your obligations are met, Give Away

Once all your obligations are met, which means you have no debts and no unpaid leases or contracts, give away any income that you don't have a real and direct use for. Yes, this does prevent you from being a capitalist, but you accepted that when you decided your Kingdom was not of this World. Right?

Be real: Let go and love others

Finally, let all this honesty and letting go permeate your life. You would never sue anybody at law, but you would agree quickly out of court. You would never hound anybody for payment on a debt that turned into a gift, but you would forgive them their debt and move on. You would never demand service or withhold your excess from anybody, but would use magic words even with your subordinates and with little children. In short, you would seek to have a Santa Claus sized spirit, and you would never be ashamed to ask for help.