Craig Daily Press

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

redneckgirl - in Mr. Yester's Bio II class in high school we had to do a bug collection and I put our traps up on the sand rocks hoping to catch some black widows. I even bragged to the class about how widespread they were. I spread out cups with a dab of antifreeze in them and all I attracted were harvester ants, grasshoppers, and I think 1 jerusalem cricket. I was disappointed.

You'd actually be surprised at some of the stuff you can find around Craig. We saw a couple horned lizards up on the sand rocks once (horny toads), salamanders, those godforsaken Pinacate Beetles (the shiny black stink bugs that raise their derriere and emit that foul odor that smells like rotten leather), centipedes, millipedes, and of course box elder bugs and miller moths.

On Scorpions in Craig?

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

There is indeed one species of scorpion in and around Craig, but they're fairly reclusive and rare. My folks live across from the Sand Rocks on E 10th and my brother and I used to go up there looking for Black Widow spiders. Flip over a few flat rocks up there and occasionally you'll find a striped bark scorpion or two. Their sting is usually no worse than a bee's, but if you're allergic to bees a sting from one of them could have serious consequences.

You're more likely to come across Black Widows. Craig is crawling with 'em. My brother and I went hunting for them one day and gathered 24 in a mason jar. I'm amazed to this day that we didn't get nailed. They're poisonous but very rarely fatal. You go to the hospital, they give you some calcium gluconate for the muscle cramping, antibiotics to prevent infection, and send you on your way.

On Scorpions in Craig?

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

The rules have changed, and for the better. What you're saying used to be the standard for buying a house. You either got a traditional loan with 20% down or an FHA loan with 3% down. Those were your choices. Quite frankly we're in the mess we're in because WAY too many people, who were TOTALLY unqualified to own a home were put into houses. Others bought houses that were completely out of their price range hoping to flip them in 6-12 months for massive profit. They then got stuck with their McMansions when the housing bubble burst. I don't feel sorry for someone who stupidly took on a $300,000 note with an interest only period or an adjustable rate on $50,000/yr in income.

On Annexation approved

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

I saw them predicting $7 a gallon gas on TV today...40 years from now. Predicting stuff like that is complete hogwash. The economy isn't linear. It contracts and expands at variable rates. Are we going through a tough spot right now? Sure. Does it do you any good to give yourself ulcers worrying about it? No. We're not going to have another Great Depression. Too much has been learned about the failings of the 1920s to ever see anything like that again. Fed Chief Ben Bernanke is a student of The Great Depression. He's written at length on the topic.

If you remember your market principles, you buy low and sell high. Now is a great time to buy! If I had some extra cash I'd be looking at getting some GM stock. Their position right now sucks but a lot of analysts think once GM starts cranking out high fuel mileage cars AND starts their new contract with the UAW (which will save the company money) we may see out of this world growth from GM.

Instead of worrying about the economy, keep yourself relevant. Never stop learning. It's the easiest way to keep yourself employed.

On Prepare For $7 "Seven" Dollar/Gallon Gas

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

It'll go to the Judiciary Committee and never be brought up for a vote. There's not enough time for a house vote or a Senate trial. As much as I dislike George Bush this is just a last-minute attempt to further smear his legacy and quite frankly it's an unneeded waste of taxpayer time and money.

In addition it's nothing more than tit-for-tat partisan infighting and crap like that does nothing to address the issues. It just increases the rancor between the parties and ensures us of more of the same garbage for the next 4 years.

I believe that history will come to judge Bush's legacy in a largely negative light. He'll get high marks for standing resolute for what he believes in but overall his administration will be blasted for it's lack of transparency, meddling in state's rights (Terri Schiavo case), the prosecution of the Iraq War, FEMA's failures in response to Katrina, and the rampant spending that has helped fuel the economy's decline.

On Articles of Impeachment against Bush

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

It's not getting any coverage because no matter how much Dennis Kucinich wants it to happen, it's not going to. He's wasting his breath and congress's time. His resolution to impeach Cheney last year went nowhere. Pelosi sent it to the Judiciary Committee for a vote and Conyers has sat on it.

On Articles of Impeachment against Bush

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

It's good to see that they're using the Mayo clinic and not following the trend of outsourcing lab and radiology services to India like many other hospitals are.

On TMH switching to use Mayo Clinic for lab testing

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

Oh the longer you finance the more interest they make on the loan. According to Toyota's website their top 2 largest shareholders are banks.

Why GM ever divested itself of the only consistently profitable subsidiary it had, GMAC, is beyond me.

On Driving prices

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

They'll always offer incentives especially on the cars with the widest margins. Why do you think they can afford to give you $5000 plus back on a truck? They're still making money ;-)

On Driving prices

harkner (Neal Harkner) says…

50cal - More food for thought. The program only gives you 12,000 miles worth of gas per year. So if you buy a car that gets 20mpg, you'll use 12000/20 = 600 gallons of gas per year.

Assume that gas is $4 a gallon. Their cost per gallon is $1.01 ($4.00-$2.99)

600*$1.01 = $606/year = $1818 over the 3-year period.

If they offer $3000 cash back, it's smarter to take the cash back than the cheap gas.

On Driving prices