See books written by Paul Pakusch at https://www.amazon.com/author/paulpakusch



Thursday, October 27, 2022

The Facts About the Economy and Gas Prices

In today's world, misinformation spreads like wildfire via social media.  Getting "information" from a Facebook post is the worst disservice you can do to yourself. People just keep reposting opinions as "facts" without any sort of attribution. 

The best thing you can do for yourself is educate yourself on the topics. Go back to what you learned in Economics 101, or if you never took it, do some real reading from an educational source that is neither "red" or "blue." Once you understand the basics of how economics works, it will be painfully obvious which politicians are not giving you the full truth and you won't have to rely on Fox, CNN, or Facebook posts to tell you what to think. The news media caters to the audience it is trying to appeal to. 

Let's get down to understanding economics and what to believe about gas prices and the current economy. I am linking a couple websites that have a reputation for being non-biased. 


And here's one on the current U.S. economy: https://www.reuters.com/.../us-economic-growth-rebounds.../ 

Take what you can from those two sources and figure out what politicians are telling the truth or not.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Going Forward in a World with Covid

Since I've been directly affected by Covid, testing positive and having my travel plans significantly altered, I've been thinking about where we as a society have been since all of this started and how it has evolved over the past 2.5 years. Stacey and I are aware of about 15 people who tested positive and were denied boarding on this cruise. A common reaction I keep hearing is, "It's not going away and we need to learn to live with it." I agree. I'm a firm believer in the vaccine; I was horrified when we first heard of Covid, something for which there was no "cure" at the time. I excitedly jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the Pfizer vaccine study when I first heard of it, and I'm still participating. I have been communicating with them this week about my condition. FYI, Stacey is still negative; she had 2 booster shots, I only had one, which is what the study wants me to have. They did make a note that she has not tested positive so far, even though we've been together constantly through this trip. We are now on day 9 of our trip.

Going forward, now that the majority of the population has been vaccinated, had Covid, or both, I believe we need to watch out for ourselves. I believed in quarantines and shutting down before the vaccines were available, but I don't believe it's necessary anymore. Just like any other illness, I believe it's now up to the individual to take care of themselves. I believe a vaccine is the better choice, but if you don't believe in vaccines, that's your business (I'm not going to argue with you). If you're contagious, you should isolate, mask up, or use sanitizer. Likewise if you're vulnerable and want to protect yourself. I now long for the day when we can once again make our own responsible decisions about where we can go.

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Sunday Blog for April 3, 2022

I would like taxpayers to fund my business venture. If it's good enough for the Buffalo Bills, it's good enough for me. (or any of us).

An anniversary passed a couple weeks ago. Stacey and I first met on March 3, 2017 among a gathering of common friends who like to dance. We began a friendship that gradually grew closer and we started dating 5 months later, in August. I had wanted someone who I could come home to; someone who was a companion in life's activities. Stacey wanted someone who would accept her for who she is. We spent many hours just talking. I really listened to her. I found a really sweet, caring person who also wanted a companion. We both have disabilities. We look at each other's strengths and focus on what we are capable of doing, not what we can't do. We help each other out. I'm amazed at how much we've done together since we met; literally in places around the world.

People have often commented that we go on cruises or travel a lot. Yes, we do. It’s been my life’s goal to travel a lot when I got older, and Stacey has jumped right on board with me. How do we do it? By following my motto, “Live cheap and take expensive vacations.” If you keep your living expenses down, you’ll have more money left over to do the things you love.

Ending with a poem from my poetry book.....

Slow Dance

She sat, smiling

Thin, frail and elderly

Reveling the celebration

She asked, hoping

“Will you dance with me?”

Her eyes, lit

Grand anticipation

“Slow,” she said

“It has to be slow”

We waited for a soothing rhythm

She rose, gently

Taking her delicate hand

I guided her to the dance floor

“Tighter,” she said

“Hold me tighter”

I held her close to my chest

Eyes closed

Time stood still

Caressed in sentimental warmth

Reminiscing

She relished anew

Memories of her youthful days

The song ended

A graceful twirl Then back to her granddaughter’s day





Sunday, March 27, 2022

Sunday Blog for March 27, 2022



I'm on a quick 1 ½ day trip to Baltimore. Two weeks ago I discovered I had several hundred dollars of Southwest Airline credit that expires April 1. I knew I had it, but thought it was good for travel until October. It was not transferable, so I had to use it for myself or lose it. I had wanted to do a quick getaway to Florida, but none of the schedules allowed for much time. Since all the routes transferred in Baltimore, I decided to go there for one night with Stacey's blessing. I booked a hotel near the Inner Harbor and an early flight on Saturday. I caught a tram from the airport and started my sightseeing journey along the harbor by 8:45 AM.

I was curious if there were any cruise ships in the Baltimore Cruise Port,, so I walked that far. There weren't any. On the return trip, I stopped at the Technology Museum and the Science Museum. The Science Museum has a planetarium, which is included in the price of admission. I stayed long enough to watch three different planetarium shows. Then I toured the nearby tall ship, USS Constellation, which was built in 1854. That price of admission includes a submarine and another ship, which I will be touring this morning before I head back to the airport.

I've heard it said that it takes three weeks to change, create or undo a habit. This was definitely the case when I had to adjust to trifocals. The optician had told me it would take about three weeks to adjust to them. And that's exactly what happened. But it would certainly also be beneficial to undo a bad habit or create a new good habit. I think about that when I hear of people trying to quit smoking or go on a new diet. I think the bottom line is you need to push yourself through it for the first 3 weeks, and then it should be a new habit. In that case, congratulations! Of course, if you let yourself drift from your new habit, you will essentially be creating another new habit to replace that habit. In this example, your new habit after 3 weeks would be to exercise. But then if you stop exercising for three weeks, sadly you've created a new habit of slacking off again.

Backlash against Russians who happen to be in America. I figured this would happen. But the blame should go squarely against Putin. Once again, another reason to fight against authoritarianism.

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/russian-businesses-us-face-backlash-war-ukraine-83502964?cid=social_fb_abcn


Sunday, March 13, 2022

Sunday Blog for March 13, 2022


This week's blog is a follow up to some comments I made last week about Trump, who I believe is the most dangerous man in America. Since this is political, I will ask you not to post any comments about it on my Facebook page. Feel free to comment right here in the comment section at the end of this blog. (I have it set to be approved by me only because I'm trying to keep spammers out.)



In response to people who have often defended Trump:

In all of our conversations about politics, you seem to keep missing the point that it is Trump in particular that I have issues with. I do not follow any particular politician, such as Biden, like Trumpsters idolize Trump. Their fascination with Trump and willingness to blindly follow him makes them a part of a cult.


https://www.gq.com/story/the-cult-of-trump/amp


I do not follow any particular political ideology. Democrats have some valid points. Conservatives have some valid points and Liberals have some valid points. Republicans traditionally have held some valid points, although lately all of their values have been washed away by their support of Trump. If you want to promote Republican or Conservative values, please choose someone else!


You keep claiming that Trump is not a politician. He is very much a politician simply by the fact that he argues against so-called Liberal points of view. The moment he declared his candidacy for President, he became a politician. So any argument that Trump is just a businessman running for office is no longer valid.


Whether you recognize it or not, Trump very much fits the personality profile of a narcissistic person who cares only about himself. He demands loyalty, and when he doesn't get it from someone he takes revenge against them.


https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/04/trump-revenge-2024-stephanie-grisham-514989


https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-revenge-endorsements-drive-republican-congressman-race-2021-09-09/


This is not how it should work in the American government. I don't know of any other US president that has ever exhibited that kind of behavior.


Trump wants to be an autocrat. This is dangerous! Autocrats generally have character disorders.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/prehospital-and-disaster-medicine/article/character-disorders-among-autocratic-world-leaders-and-the-impact-on-health-security-human-rights-and-humanitarian-care/9C1DE6A42288503BDA79791C5DFE8B5E?fbclid=IwAR3Pl_bj3j8Z8rMcEZnrCsy3ZaFhW27gXqE_Im10f1kkODSzI3l8rLTDLZQ#


Trump is too cozy with Putin and calls him a genius.


https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/23/trump-putin-ukraine-invasion-00010923


Many Trump supporters form their opinion of him by watching Fox News and other conservative outlets and claim that the mass media is trying to bring him down. This chart shows how the information that Trump supporters get is skewed.










This goes for far left news sources as well. To me this means that anyone who watches one-sided news is doing himself or herself a disservice by not getting both sides of an issue.


Trump has a long list of chargeable crimes.

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/president-trump-staggering-record-of-uncharged-criminal-misconduct/


https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jan-committee-trump-engaged-criminal-conspiracy-broken-laws/story?id=83220758


Trump has a long history of racism in his real estate practices.

https://www.npr.org/2016/09/29/495955920/donald-trump-plagued-by-decades-old-housing-discrimination-case


There appears to be evidence that Trump was part of a conspiracy for January 6.

https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-crime-donald-trump-united-states-presidential-elections-d6f316446682ea36e85e2fc4e0581a87


The Big Lie is exactly what the name says. A big lie. Over 50 courts have agreed.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/exhaustive-fact-check-finds-little-evidence-of-voter-fraud-but-2020s-big-lie-lives-on

Finally, I'd like to mention that I was sexually abused at a young age. The person who did this to me was male. When all the revelations were coming out in 2016 about Trump sexually abusing women, I saw in him the same characteristics of the person who abused me. I wrote this poem about both Trump and my abuser during the 2016 Presidential campaign:

Victimized

 There’s no way you will ever see

the lasting impression you made on me

I was young and naïve

I had trust in you

But who would believe

the things you could do?

I am strong

I have gone on

though I haven’t forgotten

Your actions were rotten

Now I hear of others just like you

with victims who hide the things you do

Reticent to reveal

for fear of redress

A cruel misdeal

that force of aggress

Coming out

with a muted shout

They are victimized one again

by society who retorts with blame.


Sunday, March 6, 2022

Sunday Blog for March 6, 2022

I am sorely disappointed in the Republican party. Just too many things to cite, but mostly because of their support for Trump, who is the ultimate traitor to the U.S.

Actually, based on a psychological profile I read earlier this week, Trump, Putin, Kim Jong-Un and other tyrants all fit the same narcissistic profile. You'll never convince me that there is anything good about "authoritarianism." For one person to have so much control is just insanity. I am a firm believer in democracy.


Republicans are cowards for not speaking out against Trump. This is evident by those who choose to privately applaud Mike Pence for admonishing Trump.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/09/politics/pence-trump-rebuke-response/index.html


Some random thoughts of mine:


Why don't they have Intimate apparel for men?


Trying to cut through the emotional wall when you start dating somebody who has been so emotionally damaged by past bad relationships.


There's a Madness to my methods.




Have a good week!

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Sunday Blog for February 27, 2022


Good morning! As I write this, it is Sunday February 27 and we have just sailed into New York Harbor aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's Getaway. This is the first cruise in nearly 3 years for Stacey And me. It wasn't meant to be that long, but due to Covid, here we are.

On February 18, we drove to a hotel near New York City to spend the night before the cruise. It would be my second time in the Getaway and Stacey's first time. This was the first sailing out of New York City for the Getaway since Covid. Indoor maskin requirements are in place and we had to take a Covid test at the pier before getting on the ship. We both tested negative. Stacy met a lot of people and in a Facebook group so she already knew who to look for once we were on board. One piece of fun is that many of the crew members had never seen snow before. It's very cold in New York and a snow squall passed through while the ship was still docked. Many crew members were excited to see snow for the first time and went outside to see it.


We were two hours late embarking, due to wind and river current conditions. It was dark as we sailed out the Hudson River, so that left us with a spectacular view of the Manhattan skyline and Lady Liberty lit up at night. Our plan was to be on deck as we sailed under the Verrazano Narrows bridge, but it was too cold to stay out for very long.


Stacey really stood out with the entertainment crew as she wore her teacup pants and beads. We danced at the sailaway party, held in the Bliss ultra lounge, and she got on stage with the ship's band to do Sing it if You Know It. People from our Facebook group cheered her on.


The original itinerary was to have three ports in the Bahamas, but one was dropped and replaced with Norfolk, Virginia. We were supposed to get off the ship in Norfolk Virginia at 1 p.m. but arrived at 3 p.m. due to being late leaving New York. So our time in Port was cut from five and a half hours to three and a half hours. Stacey and I chose not to get off the ship.


It was about 40 degrees in Norfolk. We finally got some warm weather in Port Canaveral. We took a walk on Cocoa Beach and walked around some shops.


It was mid 70's at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. We relaxed on the beach, took a short dip in the cold water, danced to the DJ, and had lunch.


It was also mid 70's in Nassau, Bahamas, where we took a land and sea tour.


Our activities on board were the usual mix of fun, dancing, karaoke, participating in games, seeing shows, and hanging out with crazy new friends that we met!


We saw a show called Burn the Floor, and The Million Dollar Quartet. We saw a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, and the same group also did an 80's prom show.


The ship had a little over 2,000 guests on board, about 50% of capacity.


It was SO GOOD to be back on board again! Time to catch up; we have two more cruises booked this year

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Sunday Blog for February 20, 2022


Posting the blog for Sunday, February 20 early.


Some people have asked me how Stacey and I met. It was March of 2017 and our common friend Judy had arranged for a bunch of us to get together at Taylor's Nightclub on Monroe Avenue to see the band Hall Pass. When I arrived, I texted to Judy that I was there. As I was standing near the front entrance looking for Judy, Stacey walked up to me and said, “Judy is in the back talking with someone she told me to come out and look for a tall guy named Paul.” I said, “Well that's me!” So as a group we all had a fun evening dancing and listening to the band.


I met her on a few other occasions that spring. One event that stands out to me was an 80s night at Burgundy Basin Inn. That night that I noticed that Stacey stayed on the dance floor longer than most other people. I was impressed that she had what I called “dancing stamina.” Another occasion that stands out to me is when Stacey and a few other friends came to Shortsville to see me in a parade. We stayed that evening to see the band The Dean's List play at the carnival. The ground was soggy from a lot of rain, and we remember that night as the night we danced barefoot in the mud.


Both of us were in relationships at the time, and by coincidence both of those relationships ended the same weekend. I was not ready to date anyone else yet. Stacey and I quickly became good friends, dancing and hanging out a lot together that summer. I was scheduled to go on a cruise in August. While I was on the cruise, Stacey sent me messages every day. I still felt like I wasn't ready for a relationship during the first part of the cruise.


A notable event happened about halfway through the cruise when I was in the country of Estonia. While on an excursion, the tour guide pointed out something called the Kissing Statue. It's a statue in a park of a man and a woman in an embrace and kissing. I took a selfie with it and posted it on Facebook with the caption, “I wonder what good fortunes this statue will bring to me!” It was meant to be in jest.


But in retrospect, I realized that shortly after I saw that statue, I started thinking that maybe I should pay more attention to Stacey. Just before I came home she sent me a message saying she was going to greet me at my apartment and give me a big hug and kiss. After I got home and saw her arrive, I said, “Well I'm yours if you want me.” She gave me a big hug and a kiss and we have been together ever since!



I will end this week with the poem that I wrote for my proposal to her in 2018:


Proposal


When we first met dancing

We weren’t thinking of romancing

Our friendship grew stronger

As our time together became longer

It meant a lot to me when you said

“When I’m with you I can just be myself”

I’ve grown very fond of you

And fallen in a love that’s true

The time is now right

A new beginning in sight

I now ask of thee

Will you marry me?



(Stacey said “Yes!”)


See you again on Sunday, February 27!

Saturday, February 12, 2022

Sunday Blog for February 13, 2022

I started this blog years ago, before social media became such a thing. I’ve always enjoyed writing. I let the blog slip. I’ve had short-term restarts through the years, but usually felt overwhelmed by keeping up with it on a daily basis. That was too much. I’ve decided to try a weekly approach. I thought, “How about publishing it when most people are home, like on a Sunday morning?” It’s gonna replace most of what I’ve posted on Facebook. Instead of impulsively posting thoughts on Facebook, I’ll put them in my blog draft through the week. Then I can expand on, revise, or delete any impulsive comments.

I’m making it a policy that anything that goes on my blog stays in my blog. Comments about my blogs are welcome, but they have to be posted within my blog, not on Facebook. I’m not going to respond to comments that people post about my blog on my Facebook page. So, feel free to comment below.


I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I love how I can connect with nearly a thousand friends (do I really have that many friends?), but I hate the arguing. And I hate the idiotic way Facebook treats people. No, you can’t blame the government for that. Facebook is a private entity; you don’t own your Facebook page, Meta Platforms, Inc. owns it. They can censor or delete your page at will. You want your own website? Pay for it. I did have a situation recently where Facebook’s robot warned me that a comment I made on a complete stranger’s post was “against community standards.” That was a wake-up call. First of all, the comment I tried to make was in no way against any standards. But you can’t argue with Facebook’s robots. I want my Facebook page so I can stay in touch with friends and promote my drumming and wedding business. There is NO WAY I want a complete stranger to be the cause of me going into Facebook Jail or some idiotic “punishment.” So, for that and other reasons, I am limiting my Facebook activity from now on.


Looks like people have had enough of billionaires. They should dismantle Bezos yacht's masts so it will fit under the historic bridge, not the bridge itself.

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/09/1079568745/jeff-bezos-yacht-de-hef-bridge-rotterdam-eggs?utm_term=nprnews&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr


Hey people, STOP GETTING MEDICAL ADVICE FROM POLITICIANS AND TALK SHOW HOSTS!! Listen to your own doctor!! And keep your friends out of it, too. Their medical needs are different from your own.


Masks work. But they are ineffective when not used with other means to prevent Covid from spreading; washing hands, sanitizing surfaces, handling utensils, etc. People have been required to wear masks at work, school, etc. But when the same group gets together socially without masks, what's the point? And so many people don't wear masks properly. The nose is exposed or they drop the masks down like chin straps. Again, what's the point?


Well, I'm ready to stop all the social distancing procedures. I was in favor of all this until we had a vaccine. Now that we have it, we know it works, and the majority of the population has been vaccinated, we all know what to do to protect ourselves.


"If you're sick, stay home." Makes sense. So why do some businesses reward people who never take a sick day?


I see the car lots are filled up again. The shortage of cars is what drove the prices up. It's all about supply and demand. When things were shut down because of Covid, there was no way to get new cars into the U.S. That drove up the price of the remaining supply of cars. It's economics 101. I see people giving the President too much credit or blame for prices. It's the same with gas. There are a lot of factors that drive up or drop the price of gas. But at this time, you could blame Putin.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/oil-prices-slip-hot-us-inflation-concerns-2022-02-11/


And now this truckers' protest is causing shortages. People have the right to protest, but I don’t see how this truckers' thing is doing anything other than slowing down the economy and driving prices up even more by causing a shortage of items needing to be shipped. Workers in the auto industry are losing wages as a result.


But seriously, who is advocating this protest?

https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/fox-news-goes-all-promoting-anti-vaccine-mandate-canadian-truckers


Rich vs. poor. Have you noticed the rich like to post "private" at the entrance to their big fancy houses while the rest of us common folk put out "welcome" mats.


Have you ever thought of billionaires being hoarders? They hoard money!


After receiving a gift card, we finally tried out Chick-Fil-A. I don’t know what all the fuss is about. It was OK; didn’t taste any better than any other fast food I’ve had.


I’ll leave you this week with a poem I wrote a few years ago. This was inspired by a wedding that I officiated. It’s one of the poems in my poetry book, ‘60 to 60.

Slow Dance


She sat, smiling

Thin, frail and elderly

Reveling the celebration

She asked, hoping

“Will you dance with me?”

Her eyes, lit

Grand anticipation

“Slow,” she said

“It has to be slow”

We waited for a soothing rhythm

She rose, gently

Taking her delicate hand

I guided her to the dance floor

“Tighter,” she said

“Hold me tighter”

I held her close to my chest

Eyes closed

Time stood still

Caressed in sentimental warmth

Reminiscing

She relished anew

Memories of her youthful days

The song ended

A graceful twirl

Then back to her granddaughter’s day

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Weekly Sunday Blog Start-Up

Starting this Sunday, I will be reviving my mostly-dormant blog with a weekly posting of my random musings of a geezer-in-the-making. It will be a great way for me to occupy your brain while you have your Sunday morning coffee! No topics will be off limits. I've been dissatisfied with much about Facebook in particular and social media in general. From now on I will be limiting what I post on Facebook. So I have decided to revive what has worked well for me in the past. In the meantime, you can read some of my old blogs from the past. See you Sunday morning.