Ace Wisdom

I walked out the door this morning and it was 32 degrees. 7:00 AM and it is already 32 degrees. Who needs the warmth of Florida or Arizona? Whoopeeeee!
Tomorrow Grasshopper No. 1 returns to the hospital In Wausau. The rapid heart beat has returned but not to the extent it did before. So for one, two or three days (whatever it takes), the doctors will try different medication combinations to control the heartbeat. Here is hoping they find the solution soon.
Tomorrow Nana enters Rocky Knoll outside of Plymouth until she gets fully enrolled in a new assisted care program. Depending on how long the bureacracy takes to get her approved for the new program will determine how long she stays at Rocky Knoll. It could be a day, a week, a month or several months. The promise is that everything will be expedited and she will be back in Kindred Hearts shortly. Anytime the government says they will take care of you, I get nevous. Here is hoping the process goes quickly.
Tomorrow I will do my taxes using Turbo-Tax. Interesting enough, the biggest job is calculating the medical deductions. First there is Medicare A that we don’t pay for. Then there is Medicare B that we elect to receive and pay around $100 per month per person. Then there is the prescription drug program that we pay for on a monthly basis. Then there is supplemental personal medical insurance to cover what Medicare doesn’t cover. And then there are the things not covered by the insurance programs such as dental procedures, deductible amounts for prescription coverages and the cost of eye glasses. When you get done filtering through all the receipts, you only get to deduct the costs in excess of 7.5% of your income. It almost doesn’t seem worth the effort.
If you notice, there is a medical pervasiveness to this blog. The message is don’t get sick. Don’t get old. Don’t get stuck on government programs. I guess there is something to “living it now”.
To continue my cynical view of the world (it is what I do best), I want you to know that the Wisconsin Badgers are rated the No. 1 basketball team in the nation for the first time in their history by the AP poll. They play Michigan State on the road tonight and the Badgers will lose. The No. 1 rating is like a curse. The Badgers are still a very good team and could go far in the NCAA tournament.
I grew up around baseball. It comes with promise each year. It means weather will be getting better. It means that you can get out the gloves and toss around the “pill”. It means a potential championship as teams work with new players and young rookies. It conjures up visions of hot dogs, popcorn, soda and even a brew. It is America. Yep, and the Brewers will still suck!
Love,
Dad

This blog is about George and Lyla (Grandpa and Nana). They took humble beginnings and together built a fulfilling life. They had 3 children to generate life’s promise of “family”. They took the risk of starting their own business. They earned success. They retired with some reluctance but they knew that they had lived the American dream. They passed on their business and they were confident they could live out life in dignity.
Grandpa’s health failed in his middle 80’s and he passed away after his body just gave out. He was proud of what he accomplished and he was allowed to live out his retirement in dignity.
Nana just turned 96. Her choice has been “assisted care” for the last 5 years. She is very capable of most things and her mind is sharp. The financial resources that she and George built over a lifetime have allowed Nana to have her residence of choice.
The dilemma is that Nana is broke! 96 years of financial independence has slowly disappeared. It seems to me that this is a cruel fate of life. Aging can strip away the financial dignity that was built over a lifetime. Her choices are gone. She is now totally dependent on others.
There are State sponsored programs that should allow Nana to continue to live in the assisted care facility she has enjoyed over the last 5 years. The State controls where you live, the doctors you can see (they have to be in a the State approved program), her drug purchasing program and she gets the princely sum of $45 spending money each month. Imagine having only $45 to buy discretiionary things each month. Her social security check must be surrendered to the State.
Nana will always have the dignity and respect that go with living an exemplary life. I hope the loss of financial independence does not strip away any of the dignity she has earned.
One of Andrews’ Laws is that everybody is entitled to the dignity they have earned. It is just common sense. As we all stand the prospect of living longer lives because of medical improvements and drugs, we could outstrip our own savings and financial resources. I pray that everyone is allowed to keep their dignity.
Love,
Dad

Tomorrow in Valentines Day. It is the time for all romantics of the world to create an “aura of caring” for those you love. My special invitation is that you be my valentine. You are special to me and I hope your day is filled with special things. Please be my valentine.
My weekend was spent with a toothache. It was the precursor to a root canal. There aren’t many pains in the world that are more annoying. It just never goes away. You can not “block out” the pain. So you try to make yourself busy. Go places. Do things. Of course none of that works so you end up being cranky and spaced out. Yesterday my dentist did a “pulpectomy” removing a portion of a nerve with a final procedure in a month. Yes, the pain has subsided and I can’t remember why I was so miserable.
I noticed this morning that the Regis Hair Salon at the Mall was relocating within the mall to a better location. The new outlet has hardwood floors, stainless steel sinks and a bright and cheery environment. There must be money in hair styling. Regis is a mid-west chain and apparently very sucessful. There is also a hair styling outlet in the mall called Cost-Cutters. I seem to know that name. Wait, I think Jenny works at Cost-Cutters. Wouldn’t you know that Regis owns Cost-Cutters also. So if you go the the mall, it doesn’t make any difference whether you go to either salon because they are owned by the some company. Go to Cost Cutters. They have special people like Jenny.
Here is a reminder that Andrews’ Laws still work. One law is “there is no such thing as job security”. Job Security is an illusion. It is a perceived feeling. Yesterday, Marty Schottenheimer, the coach of the San Diego Chargers football team was fired. He had won 14 games and lost 2. He had the best record in football. His job was secure. Job performance was outstanding. Right! Marty’s was told his relationship with his General Manager boss was dysfuctional and the General Manager fired him. Huh? So Marty got his just reward; a boot in the ass for a job well done. So much for job security. My “law” applies.
Just a note on filing taxes. Refunds are great thing. If you file electronically, you get the refund faster but my understanding is that you pay an additional $15 fee. If you file normally, it costs you postage. Then, if you file using one of the local “tax preparation companies”, they will give you your money immediately on the premise that they charge you the interest on the money until the refund is received. So after a handling charge and a large interest cost, you get your money. If you file normally, there are no finance charges. Is this a great country or what?
So as I close, I remind you to reach out to your favorite people in the world and make them your valentine tomorrow. For that matter, make them your Valentine everyday. Wouldn’t that be special.
Love you all,
Dad

Sometimes the stars of the universe get in alignments that cause strange things to go on.
First is the “lusting astronaut”. I guess with Valentine’s Day approaching, it is appropriate that somebody famous has to do something in the name of love. I don’t remember her name but a female astronaut drove 900 miles non-stop wearing a special absorbant “huggy diaper” to intercept her perceived rival for the love of an unsuspecting male astronaut. Clearly something snapped. It was “star” alignment. You want a stock tip? Buy Huggies.
Anna Nicole Smith dies at 39. She looked pretty healthy to me. The fascination with this over-stuffed blonde was money. She marries an 89 year old billionaire who realizes his dream (he dies in bed with a beautiful girl at age 90). Anna spends the rest of her life fighting other family members over the money. It still isn’t settled. Her son dies of an overdose at age 20 and her 3 month old daughter’s paternal father has not been identified. It looks to me as if the daughter will spend a life surrounded by billions living a life of quiet desperation. Could it be the stars?
Then there is the damn cold. What is this 16 below zero stuff? It goes on and on and on.
My garage door has an arthritic condition that acts up when it gets cold. It goes up automatically and it “stutter stops” on the way down requiring manual intervention. But there is hope. As the days warm up and the temperatures in the garage get above freezing, the garage door works. It has to be mechanical arthritis.
Okay, lets get positive. February 7 marked the 43 birthday (last Wednesday) of Grasshopper No. 3. He is in effect the West Allis (a suburb of Milwaukee) Flash. He is the only offspring to be born in Milwaukee. I can tell you it wasn’t 16 below zero when he was born.
Then there is February 11 which marks the 96th birthday of your Grandma Lyla (Nana). There have been some early celebrations but there will be more to come. She was born in Minnesota but I’m not sure of the exact location.
So Grasshoppers, there is evidence of “long life”. Nana is 96 and she is obviously on your mother’s side of the family. On my side, there is a great-grandfather who reached 95 and a great uncle who approached 100. Your prospects of longevity are excellent.
We’ve gained 1.5 hours of length to our days since December and warm weather will return. The world will learn to live without Anna Nicole and without astronaut “cat-fights”.
There is a famous play where the lead song lyrics are “the sun will come out tomorrow”? Grasshopper No. 5 knows it well. Look for the sun.
Stay warm!
Love
Dad

Your child is 18 years old. You want them to retire with a lots of money! Is there a simple way? I mean, a simple formula for success with minimum pain.
Yep, there is! Always pay yourself first. Save a small amount of money from each paycheck, put it in the bank until it builds up and then invest in blue chip growth stocks that average 10% annual growth. If you save $20 per week for the 47 years until retirement, you will have $700,000 in your accounts. If you can manage $30 dollars per week to age 65, you will have over a million dollars.
There is a catch. The weekly savings can not be touched. It is not for impulse purchases or any other kind of use. $20 or $30 per week is manageable and over the years as you earn more, it becomes easier.
You need to set aside money on a weekly basis without fail. The suggestion is $30 per week but more or less is dependent on your earnings and level of commitment.
Never miss a weekly contribution. No exceptions! This is a habit. Make a special trip to the bank each week to deposit your money.
Never touch your cash or investments. Never, never, never. Figure out different ways to solve you day to day financial problems as though your “set-aside-savings” don’t even exist.
Invest your accumulating cash in solid blue chip growth stock for the “long pull”. Forget the stocks that promise to make you rich in 20 days.
Enjoy the success of your program. The money totals will grow and you can take pride in what you are accomplishing.
If you 5 Grasshoppers had started saving $30 per week at age 18 and stayed steady with your commitment, the following totals be sitting in your bank accounts:
Grasshopper No. 1 – $182,425.
Grasshopper No. 2 – $165,676.
Grasshopper No. 3 – $136,276.
Grasshopper No. 4 – $ 52,555.
Grasshopper No. 5 – $ 27,817.
Start today. Pay yourself first. Never deviate from your plan. Never withdraw from you accounts. Invest wisely. Have fun! it works! Use the concepts of disiplined savings, compounded growth, and long term “focus”.
Love,
Dad

Today is Feb. 2 and it is Ground Hog day. It is the day when stupid people believe that if a ugly little “rat” can see his shadow when he emerges from a hole, we will have 6 more weeks of winter (or is it the other way around?). Who cares?
There was one family birthday on Feb. 2. My great grandfather (Myrna’s dad) always celebrated on Ground Hog day. He lived to age 95. The date was lucky for him.
Today is also a full moon. If anything bad happens to you today, it is explained.
It is also Super Bowl weekend. It is a weekend when people spend huge amounts of money to see a football extravaganza that means absolutely nothing. It is an excuse to celebrate something. I didn’t know the facts until recently but the Thursday and Friday before Super Bowl Sunday account for sales of more TV’s than any other days of the year. So some fans go out, spend $2500 to buy a 55 inch flat screen HDTV and then invite friends and family over. Another small fortune is spent on appetizers, pizza, and beer. And the winner is? The NFL. Beer producers: Budweiser and Miller. Cable and Satelite broadcasters. TV manufacturers. Media types of all kinds. Is this a great country or what?
Now my rant. A Baptist church in Indianapolis was going to host a “Souper Bowl Sunday” featuring hot soups and chili along with showing the 200-300 participants the Super Bowl game on a 12 foot TV screen. They were to charge a small fee which was to cover the food. Guess what? The NFL issued them a letter telling the church it was illegal to advertise a Super Bowl event (Souper Bowl, come on), charge for it, and show the game on a screen larger than 55″. The event has been cancelled. Apparently Sports Bars are exempt because they have an on going relationship with the NFL (they pay huge fees to satelite TV to get featured games). What a crock of unadulterated bullsh–! I know the NFL is trying to protect their franchise but it seems NFL lawyers have forgotten about common sense. Why do you want to irritate your good customers (and parishners)?
So how does the NFL ruling affect you? Don’t you dare hold a Super Bowl party with more than 10 people using a screen larger than 55 inches. You could be arrested and held for copyright infringement. You dare not attend a party with over 10 people either.
Grasshopper No. 4 understands the concept of “serving the customer”. In this case, the NFL should be trying to bring it’s product (a NFL Championship Game) to as many “fans” as possible. In doing so, they will make a lot of money. Everything will take care of itself. Why irritate 300 Baptist fans in Indianapolis and then potentially all Baptists and then potentially a denominations? Why risk a potential boycott of the stupid game? The NFL has not heard of good public relations.
Yes, I am going to watch the Super Bowl anyway! It is good thing I’m not a Baptist.
Stay warm. Enjoy the Super Bowl.
Love,
Dad

It is tough to accumulate cash. A savings habit is a good thing, but for those of you who are weak, there is the phenomenon of “compounding” that can rescue you.
Just for fun, lets say that your parents gave each of you Grasshoppers $10,000 when you were 18 years old. The money got placed in a deferred account that grows at a compounded tax free rate of 10% each year. The compounded annual rate of growth of the stock market over the last 75 years has been slightly over 10%. Now you don’t have to add another penny. The only requirement is to keep your hands off the account.
So how does this work. You start with $10,000 and it grows 10% the first year. 10% amounts to an additional $1,000 bringing your new total wealth to $11,000. You didn’t have to add a single dollar. In year two, you start with your $11,000 and it grows 10% or another $1,100 to bring your total of $12,100. You get the idea! The original $10,000 is left to keep growing along with the compounded annual gains. You can do you own math.
After 10 years, your original $10,000 account compounded at 10% will be worth $25,937.42.
After 25 years, your balance would be $108,347.03. Remember, you haven’t added one new cent of savings.
After 40 years (or when you reached age 58), you have $452,592.23.
And then, if you can keep your hands off the deferred account for 49 years until you reach the age of 67, you will have $1,067,188.90. That is right! You would be a millionaire. You never saved another dime after the original $10,000. You just watched it grow. Of course there is the small matter of getting the first $10,000 set aside at age 18. If it didn’t happen for you, maybe you can figure out a way to make it happen for your kids..
So I was thinking with my imaginary example (I emphasize imaginary), if your mom and I had set aside $10,000 for each of you Grasshoppers at age 18, what would you have in those original accounts.
Grasshopper No. 1, Account Balance on 46th birthday, $144,209.89.
Grasshopper No. 2, at age 45, $131,099.90.
Grasshopper No. 3, at age 43, $108,347.03.
Grasshopper No. 4, at age 34, $ 45,949.72.
Grasshopper No. 5, at age 29, $ 28,531.17.
Remember, this was achieved with a simple deposit of $10,000 for you at age 18 and achieving gains that match the growth of the stock market over time. It takes advantage of “compounding”. Use the concept in your life. It requires no additioal savings after the original investment.
Imagine if you saved additional amounts each year. Imagine the growth! Imagine! Holy sh–!
Love,
Dad

Before I start, basketball affectionatos might have noticed that the Wisconsin Badgers are rated number three in the nation. They’ve won 16 in a row and their record is 20 wins and 1 loss. My trivia question for the day (and a place in the Trivial Blog Hall of Fame) is “who is the only basketball team to beat Wisconsin this year”?
Okay, on to football. The Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts are going to the Super Bowl in Miami. We have to endure 2 full weeks of media hype before they play the game. The ticket prices are prohibitive. There is one sweet young pregnant house wife in Chicago who knows she doesn’t have the “contacts” or the money to travel to Miami (she seems like a really nice young lady). Her proposal using the internet is to offer her expanding belly as a “billboard” to the highest offer for a Super Bowl package. She indicates she will wear a Paris Hilton type outfit with a bare midriff with her pertruding belly displaying any message you want. I bet that someone will take her up on it. To increase the excitement, her baby is due on the date of the Super Bowl. Talk about potentially “dropping the ball”.
Now to my football happening. Each Sunday morning I make a trip to my local news (and tobacco) store located across the street from The Paper Valley Radisson Hotel. Being a creature of habit, I get there about 8:30 AM. On the Sundays that the Packers play a noon home game in Green Bay, the visiting team lodges at the Paper Valley Hotel. Usually the visiting team arrives on Saturday, stays over night in Appleton and then is taken by bus to Lambeau. With close to 50 football players, coaches, team assistants, special friends and media, this event turns into about a 5-6 luxury bus caravan. Then you ad in local police department cars, sheriff department cars from Winnebago, Outagamie, and Brown (whatever county that Green Bay is in) Counties along with vans for special guests followed by fans that know about the routine and you have a football extravaganza. All police lights are blazing and the visiting team gets a special escourt all the way to Lambeau. On Sunday morning, local folks come down to the Paper Valley hoping to catch a glimpse of that special player. You know, Drew Brees, Brian Urlacher or Reggie Bush. Sometimes when it is cold, kids come down still in their “jammies” wrapped in quilted blankets to stand in the cold until their player exits the hotel and enters the bus. This extravaganza makes parking the car a bitch. Sometimes inside the news and tobacco stand, an occasional player or coach will come in to buy a magazine or newspaper.
This football “event” in local downtown Appleton costs nothing to witness. It costs a bundle of money to provide the security escourt to Green Bay. Nobody worries security costs because that is buried in tax revenues.
The City of Green Bay feels that visiting teams should stay in Green Bay not Appleton. They offer up the danger of a bus accident or the high cost of security. Doesn’t Green Bay get enough revenue off the Packers? I hope the teams continue to stay in Appleton. I always get this feeling I am witnessing something really special.
Football generates lots of interesting situations from “belly button billboards” to secured transfer of visting players from one location to another. It provides a place for people to place a passion.
So Grasshoppers, what is my advice? Get a life! It is football for “crying out loud”. Football is extorting your money in ways you do even know. They have a pregnant housewife traveling to Miami to witness the Super Bowl with a “Big Bud Life” scrawled across her pertuding belly as she is ready to deliver. We stand in the cold to get a glimpse of some overpaid Terrell Owens type step onto a bus! Folks, there is more to life than football. Isn’t there?
Love,
Dad

First things first. January 22 is reported to be the “blueist” mood day of the year. I don’t know why! Maybe it is dark short days. Maybe it is lousy weather and being cooped up inside! Maybe it is the emotional low that follows the busy Christmas holidays. You’ve got to have faith that this too shall pass.
My world keeps getting turned upside down. The Wall Street Journal is now narrower in size and supposedly better. Bullshit. They have cut out sections that I have been following for years and they are trying to save on paper. The Milwaukee Journal effective today is putting out a smaller size paper. It is improved and better. Bullshit. The change that got me this morning is that WTMJ dropped it’s Paul Harvey segments in favor of new and improved local news reporting. Bullshit. They are trying to save money on purchased programs. And so the world turns. I shall adapt.
Here is where I need help. Last summer, your Mom and I went to see the movie Prairie Home Companion and I was “awe struck” with the star, Garrison Keillor. As the 2006 golf season was ending, one of my Monday Morning League buddies mentioned that Garrison Keillor was coming to Appleton. I checked it out and sure enough, the Fox Valley Symphony was sponsoring a night with Garrison Keillor in February of 2007. I made some calls and found tickets were available for the one night performance at the PAC. So for the princely sum of $65 per ticket, I bought two tickets. Pretty expensive, but what the hell.
Here is the dilemma. eBay has bids for the Garrison Keillor performance ranging from $184 at the lowest and as high as $492 per ticket at the high end. If we sold both tickets at the high end we would profit $427 per ticket or about $850 total. Would you surrender your tickets to Garrison to make a profit of $850? Simply put, if you had a job paying $20/hour, it would take you over a week to earn that kind of money. In those terms, Garrison’s two hour performance is very expensive.
Actually the decision is made. We go to see Garrison Keillor. Some things in life are just worth doing. We were smart enough to procure tickets early and got them at a fair price. Issue over. Quality time spent with the special person in your life – priceless!
Grasshoppers, you will be faced many times in life with choices. There are no right or wrong decisions. Sometimes there is money involved and sometimes it is just plain emotional. If it “works for you”, it is right!
Love,
Dad

The State of Wisconsin had a small company in Ripon, Wisconsin mail 150,000 tax forms to Wisconsin residents. It was a business contract that netted Ripon Printers $22,000. Everybody was happy, right? Not exactly. The information that the State provided for the “mailing labels” contained the social security number of the recipient.
Check the tax form you received in the mail. My return contained your Mom’s social security number on it. That means anyone wanting to steal a number just had to check our mailbox (or intercept our mail somehow).
I would normally ignor such a dumb mistake but apparently the social security number allows crooks to tap into your credit cards and suddenly you will be getting bills for things that you didn’t charge.
The last I heard, the State of Wisconsin was going to mail an “insurance form” to all people that had their social security numbers compromised allowing the option of having your credit cards monitored and protecting you from fraud. If you are given the option, take the free insurance. Why not? You didn’t commit the error.
Now my rant! How could the State of Wisconsin even include the social security information in their instructions to the label printers? It is not needed to complete a mailing. Estimates are that the State will pay $4,000,000 to monitor credit records if every person involved selects the insurance option. That is our money. $4,000,000 being spent by the State for a screw up. I bet somebody’s head rolled over that mistake. Yeah, right.
To compound the folly, the printing company that received $22,000 for printing the forms will pay the first $110,000 of the insurance cost. I guess you could argue that the printer was at fault for not catching the error but that is a stretch. Blaim the little guy trying to eek out a living!
So here is how our great system works. The State employees get to keep their jobs and get generous salary increases for a job well done. The private little printing company has to incur an expense of over $100,000 (because the State screwed up) and all company bonus payouts will be suspended. In fact a few people may have to be laid off to reduce costs. Is this a great system or what?
The one Grasshopper not affected lives in Minneapolis. For this particular screwup, Minnesotans are not affected.
Love,
Dad