Best Stock Market Tip I can give

After the drop in the stock market yesterday you probably think I am going to recommend staying away from stocks.  And although we may all stop looking at the value of our stock investments after this last week I have seen something that made me feel there is a company that is doing just fine.

I have always tried to be an “early adopter” of new technology when it came to computers and applications.  I have been Skyping for a couple of years, got a Gmail account when they first came out and went to digital cameras when they only had 3.2 mega pixels. Got a computer from Radio Shack when you had to program you own programs and save data to a tape cassette. But for some reason I still have never purchased a smart phone.  Somehow I have always resented the amount I send to Verizon every month and the thought of sending them more money has made me hold back.  But I have had “smart phone envy” for a long time.  When I sit in an airport and see everyone checking their emails on their phones I feel behind the times.  Especially when I see teenagers with their own smart phones. Now I am noticing that many of the people at meetings have IPads.  Am I the only one still stuck with an out of date laptop?

So recently I decided to get with the program and look at joining the smart phone crowd. But the dilemma now is to I start with a smart phone first or go with an Ipad?  I know most people will say I need both because they have different uses but I don’t want to shell out the money for both.

So off I go to the Apple store in the Columbia Mall to see which I want to purchase and to play around with both.  This is what led me to the conclusion about buying a certain stock.  As I approached the store I was amazed at the number of people in the store.  There must have been a dozen store assistants each helping groups of shoppers.  It looked like the last shopping day before Christmas except it was July.  No “one on one” help here.  Except for myself and one or two others everyone looked high school or college age.  I hung around for about 15 minutes thinking maybe things would thin out and I could get to talk with one of the store personnel but it only got worse. 

So all of you ought there---should I start with a smart phone or an IPad?

P.S.

Have an hour or two to give a ride to a senior citizen?  Think about being a Neighbor Ride volunteer.  Their orientation for new volunteers is Thursday, August 11 · 7:30am - 9:30am

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Location

Neighbor Ride

8950 Route 108, #115

Columbia, MD 21045

P.S. 2
Best reason to eat up
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/02/news/la-heb--dieting-brain-cells-20110802

The Most Important Thing Happining in Howard County

OK so I hyped the title to get you to look at today’s blog.  If I would have given it a more accurate title like, “Howard County Plans for its future to 2030” I would probably have a handful of blog views today.

So what is the “important thing” that I mentioned in the title?  Howard County is now in the process of developing a General Plan for the County.  Normally the planning period is a plan for 10 years but this time the time frame has been extended to 2030.  So is the general plan of interest only to developers because it does identify where new development is likely to occur in the next decade or two?  What is different about this plan is that it will also include a look at human services and quality of life issues that past plans didn’t address. 

The general plan lays out its task as follows:

Comprehensive general plan. Within five years from the adoption of the comprehensive rezoning plan, the Department of Planning and Zoning shall coordinate the preparation and revision of a general plan for the County, including but not limited to a plan for land use and land conservation and multiyear development plans for transportation, public facilities, water, sewerage, parkland, housing, human services and environmental protection. The General Plan shall follow general guidelines promulgated by the Planning Board and adopted by the County Council.

Among the general plan guidelines is to “Identify means of improving the quality of life of special populations (homeless, foreign born, developmentally disabled, adolescents, seniors aging in community, etc.).”

The inclusion in this General Plan of the look at human services comes out of the Howard County Human Services Master Plan that was jointly developed in 2005 by the Howard County Department of Citizens Services and the Association of Community Services of Howard County.  The document set out to identify “Quality of Life” indicators for individuals and families, children and youth, older adults and the disabled.

The Plan “identified four overarching issues: housing, homelessness, transportation and access to services. The first result in this report, “Individuals and families are able to meet their basic needs,” was added after the committees recognized that these overarching issues are economic ones. Indicators for this

result address housing and transportation issues, but not homelessness and access to services. That does not mean that these two critical issues will be forgotten. Implementing the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness continues to be a priority. The County’s newly created Board to Promote Self-Sufficiency

will be working with community advocates to build on the framework established by the Homelessness Board. Access to services includes issues such as barriers faced by people living with disabilities, language and cultural barriers, location and hours of services, and transportation. These issues are not always

specifically noted in this document, but it should be understood that addressing them is critical throughout.”

Now and throughout the rest of the year the Office of Planning and Zoning will be discussing issues to be addressed and attempting to get public input.  The next time will be 7 p.m. on Aug. 24 at the Howard Building in Ellicott City to address topics that include transportation and infrastructure. You can complain about what is happening in the County if you don’t get engaged in the discussions.

A good way to stay informed is to follow the Sarah Says Blog.

Your Not Going to Throw that in the Landfill--- Are You?

Howard County has been testing the composting of food scraps and hopes to eventually have this system Countywide.

There are a great many reasons to compost food scraps, covering a range of interests from financial to environmental. Food sent to a landfill is a wasted resource – it takes up space, costs money to bury, and creates methane (a greenhouse gas) as it decomposes in a landfill. Composting not only avoids these problems, but the finished compost is a valuable soil amendment, an alternative to synthetic fertilizers, and may help reduce runoff and water pollution problems. To encourage residents to compost at home, the County has given away over 5,700 free compost bins to residents, partnered with the Master Gardeners at compost demonstration sites, and included compost information on the County website. Despite these efforts, a recently conducted telephone survey on County residents recycling habits found that only 24% of residents compost at home.

Over the past 5 years, the County was very fortunate and was able to extend contracted trash disposal fees, thus securing a lower-than-average tipping fee for residential trash. The current contract with secured pricing is soon coming to an end and it is reasonable to project a substantial increase in the tipping fee. In anticipation of this increase, recycling staff were directed to find ways to reduce the amount of material sent for disposal, specifically through food waste reduction. To augment the County’s successful curbside single stream recycling program, the implementation of a curbside food scrap collection program would be the next logical step to reduce the amount of material sent to a landfill, thereby keeping trash disposal costs down.

According to information posted on the Colorado State University site “to make traditional compost, alternate different types of shredded plant materials in 6- to 8-inch layers. Layering helps compost reach the correct nitrogen balance. Use equal parts by volume of dry and green plant materials in the overall mix. Use caution when you add layers of fine green plant wastes such as grass clippings. Grass mats easily and prevents water from moving through the mass. Use 2-inch layers of fine materials or process them through a machine shredder. Alternate fine materials with woody plant prunings to prevent clogging the machine and to create an equal balance of dry and green materials.

Traditional composting includes soil as one of the layers. While soil can serve as a source of microbes to "inoculate" plant wastes, research has found that the microorganisms that break down plants also are present on the surface of the leaves and stems. It's natural for some soil to cling to pulled weeds and uprooted vegetable and flower plants. When you add large amounts of soil, you increase the weight, which makes composting difficult and less efficient. Large amounts of soil also can suffocate microorganisms. Soil less composting is often practiced. Add water to the compost after every few layers of material.”
The Virginia Cooperative Extension has this to say about building a compost bin, “if you plan to produce compost regularly, consider a permanent compost bin. For convenience and aesthetics, you can choose from numerous commercial composters or construct your own from wooden planks, concrete blocks, used freight pallets, hardware cloth, or chicken-wire.

Before purchasing a commercial composter, determine if it will work effectively in your landscape. It should be well built, economical according to your needs, easy to assemble, and have easy access for turning the compost. It should also be large enough to handle all the leaves in your yard.

   

Some gardeners build separate bins for each stage of the compost process - one for fresh plant refuse, another for the actively composting pile, and a third for the finished compost. When building your own bin, keep one side open for easy access. Also, leave spaces between blocks or planks for aeration - air is essential to the rapid decay of organic materials. The size of the compost pile determines how effective it will be; piles smaller than 27 cubic feet (3 X 3 X 3) do not hold sufficient heat for the composting to be effective, and piles larger than 125 cubic feet (5 X 5 X 5) do not allow sufficient oxygen to reach the center. Be sure your compost pile is a manageable size.”

To learn more about composting you can attend one of the Master Gardeners demonstrations at one of the following locations:

Saturday, August 6 • 9 am • Alpha Ridge Landfill

Saturday, August 6 • 9 am • Centennial Park

Saturday, August 13 • 11 am • Howard County Conservancy

Thursday August 11 • 7pm • Schooley Mill Park

Tuesday, August 16 • 7 pm • Centennial Park

Saturday, August 20 • 9 am • Alpha Ridge Landfill

Saturday, August 27 • 9 am • Schooley Mill Park

Finally I have always promoted the Columbia Freecycle as a way to get rid of just about a No matter what you have, or what condition it's in, don't throw it out! Nothing is too big or too small, too old or too new -- anything that can be reused or even repurposed can be recycled here! As long as it's free, legal, age-appropriate, and given away with no strings attached.
Groups are local, so your personal residence must be in Howard County Maryland. We serve ALL of Howard County EXCEPT for the areas below.

If you live in one of these areas, please click on that link to join your local group:
• Zip 20723 east of Rt. 29
• Howard County west of Rt. 97
• Outside Howard Countynything you are thinking of throwing out. Someone out there is looking for your item.

Growing Old in Howard County Ain’t for Sissies!

     One of the statistics that came out of the 2010 Census was that Howard County had a rapidly aging population.  While the Baby Boomers have been aging the US population generally, the aging in Howard County is exaggerated because of the large influx of young families into the County in the 1970’s and 80’s.  The median age in Howard County is now almost 38.  Over the next 10-15 years the percentage of residents 55 and older will increase to about 30% of the total population.  In 2004 the County Planning Office of Planning and Zoning released a Senior Housing Master Plan that discussed the housing situation and needs for this older population.  What they found was summarized in their report,

“Nearly 70% of the County’s older adults want to remain in their homes or nearby. This phenomenon of “aging in place” requires strategies that address both the physical features of housing and the access to services available in the community. The County’s Office on Aging provides a range of services to residents who want to remain in their homes, but its resources need to be increased. The Plan also highlights “Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities”, or NORCs, which are geographic areas where more than 50% of the residents are 65 years or older. NORCs are found throughout Howard County, with Columbia and Ellicott City having the highest concentrations. These communities should be targets for increasing access to a range of services, including home repair and modifications, transportation and in-home health care.”

 Today the concept of “aging in place” is the goal of many of the programs for the elderly in Howard County.  A few years ago the Horizon Foundation funded the Howard County Office on Aging to examine how prepared the County was to address the needs of its aging population and to recommend the development of the needed supportive services.  The focus of this initiative was on the areas of home repair and remodeling, mental health, fall prevention and affordable in home services.

Today a new grant funded program called Opting for Independence (OFI), an aging in place program, is operated by The Coordinating Center, a statewide nonprofit that has helped thousands of persons with complex medical needs live successfully in their communities for the past 28 years.  This three year project (ending 9/30/2011) is funded through the Community Innovations for Aging in Place launched by the federal Administration on Aging in 2009.   Only fourteen of these projects exist nationally, and Maryland’s is one of the few to involve case management for older adults.  The Howard County program is operating in three Howard zip codes of 21043, 21044, and 21045.   The purpose of the grant is to find innovative ways to help older adults wishing to remain at home draw on available resources, and to try out new ideas that result in Howard County organizations learning new ways of supporting older adults.

OFI has three parts.  The first links a care coordination team with persons over age 65 of any income who want to remain at home but are living with health issues that make staying at home more difficult.  The goal of this part of the project is to help adults learn new ways to accomplish their goals of aging in the home and community of their choice.  The team is headed by a care coordinator who works directly with the person and family members to help assess what is needed to help the older adult meet their goals and priorities.  

The second part of OFI is a Case Study project, directly by project manager Rusty Toler in partnership with members of the 2011 class of Leadership Howard County.  The purpose of the study is to find out what a representative group of older adults in 21044 and 21045 thought about their aging future and what they might be planning in order to remain where they are currently living.  Using qualitative research guidance and training from the New York Academy of Medicine’s Center for Evaluation and advice from Howard Community College’s Executive Director of Planning, Research, and Organizational Development, Toler and Leadership developed an interview guide, recruited volunteers to conduct the thirty five interviews, and identified willing participants to be interviewed over a month’s period this summer.  The interviewees were recruited through PATH, National Association of Retired and Active Federal Employees, Howard County Office on Aging, and announcements in the Columbia Flier.  

The third part of OFI is a project designed to increase the social engagement of OFI enrollees through involvement in a life review process.  The details are in development by the Office on Aging, but the intent is for volunteers to be used to work with enrollees to hear personal stories of their past and have these stories presented to the community in a public arts event.  To accomplish this part of OFI, the Office on Aging and TCC have partnered with the National Center for Creative Aging and the Howard County Arts Council.

Since the launch of this part of the project in October, 2010, OFI has enrolled over 125 older adults, and is actively working with 90-100 individuals at this time, through regular visits and phone contact.  Of the 25 no longer active, almost half have achieved their goals and no longer need regular contact.  Some chose not to complete the enrollment process, but will be able to access the program in the future.  The remaining adults have either moved into a nursing home, moved out of state, or are deceased.   

Future of OFI

The result of OFI will be to test whether this person centered care coordination can be successful in supporting the goals of older adults to age in place.  After the grant period ends, The Coordinating Center plans to expand this approach to other zip codes in Howard County and to other Maryland Counties.  

P. S.

Can anyone guess where this picture was taken?

P.S. 2
Having spent the week in January in Tucson in which Gabby Gifford was shot and having driven by the shopping center where it occurred I was amazed that she voted in Congress yesterday.  Amazing woman.

Who has the Right Answers for our Country—Liberals or Conservatives?

 We have all been watching the dysfunctionality of our government in Washington DC for the past few weeks.  It does seem as if there exists two Americas, one liberal America in heavily populous states and one conservative America in less populous states.  New York is legalizing gay marriage while many other states are outlawing abortion and taking union rights away.  In DC liberals push for increased taxes for the rich and conservatives fight to shrink government.  How do we explain the different value systems?  I have been reading the book by Michael Shermer called “The Believing Brain.”  In this book there is a chapter devoted to how people form political beliefs.   It talks about how our political beliefs are shaped by five ways we view the world.  The five areas are below:

1.       Harm/care, related to our long evolution as mammals with attach­ment systems and an ability to feel (and dislike) the pain of others. We have evolved a deep sense of empathy and sympathy for others as we imagine ourselves in their position and what a situation would feel like if it were to happen to us. This foundation underlies such moral virtues as kindness, gentleness, and nurturance.

2.      Fairness/reciprocity, related to the evolutionary process of recipro­cal altruism, in which "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine." This eventually evolved into genuine feelings of right and wrong over fair and unfair exchanges—a foundation that leads to such political ideals of justice, rights, and autonomy for individuals.

3.      In-group/loyalty, related to our long history as a tribal species able to form shifting coalitions. We evolved the propensity to form within-group amity for our fellow tribesmen and between-group enmity for anyone in another group. This foundation creates within a tribe a "band-of-brothers" effect and underlies such vir­tues as patriotism and self-sacrifice for the group.

4.       Authority/respect, shaped by our long primate history of hierarchi­cal social interactions. We evolved a natural tendency to defer to authority, show deference to leaders and experts, and follow the rules and dictates given by those above us in social rank. This
foundation underlies such virtues as leadership and followership, including esteem for legitimate authority and respect for traditions.

5.   Purity/sanctity, shaped by the psychology of disgust and contami­nation. We evolved emotions to direct us toward the clean and away from the dirty. This foundation underlies religious notions of striving to live in a less carnal and more elevated and noble way, and it emphasizes the belief that the body is a temple that can be desecrated by immoral activities and contaminants

            Liberals tend to be stronger in the first two areas and conservatives are stronger in the last three.  Our political beliefs may be inconsistent because our belief in one area may overrule our belief in another area.  The fact that in-group loyalty is stronger in conservatives than in liberals may explain why the Republican Party has more unity and consistent beliefs than the Democrat Party.  The “Republican Tent” is narrower than the “Democrat Tent” but more unified. Our paralysis in DC seems to be related to the fact that our political parties have become divided allow the conservative/liberal ideological lines.  Remember the liberal Republicans like Nelson Rockefeller and Charles Percy?  How about when the conservative Senators from the South were all Democrats? If you live in a small town you are probably conservative and in a city liberal. Go to church you are probably more conservative.  Higher educational level more liberal.  A woman more liberal, a man more conservative.  Generalizations but our experiences do form our political beliefs. If you want to take the test to see where on the political scale you score take the test.

              So who has the right answers for our country today, liberals or conservative? I am not going to try to answer that question because we probably all answer it based on our own political beliefs but I would wonder how the debate would be different if all of our elected officials knew they couldn’t run for re-election? Maybe doing what is right for the country might trump political ambition.