Arnold Palmer, the King of Golf,  just died at age 87.  Apparently he really was on Xarelto.  As I have grown older I have become concerned with how long I will live.  My father died at age 86.  It appears to me that many men die in their mid 80s.  The statistics listed below confirm that fact.

Everyone will die someday, and it is only a question of when.

Business Insider provided the following charts and remarks about when we will die.

Through the power of actuarial estimates, it is possible to figure out approximately how long you are likely to live. We made a set of charts, based on data from the Social Security Administration’s cohort life tables, that show, given your gender and current age, the probability that you will reach some particular later age.

Naturally, these are based on averages for a particular age group — health conditions and lifestyle choices like diet, exercise, and smoking can vastly alter one’s life expectancy.

Regardless, this is important information for anyone who has to think about things like retirement and estate planning.

Here are the charts, in descending order by present age:

Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Social Security Administration

If you are an 80 year old man, your long-term odds are not great. There is a 30% chance of making it to your 90th birthday, and only about 14 in 1,000 will see 100.  The average life expectancy for 90 year old females of all races is 0.83 years greater than that of males.

Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Social Security Administration

70 year olds have a somewhat better prognosis. Almost 2/3 of 70 year old men and almost 3/4 of 70 year old women will live at least another ten years, and over 1/5 of men will make it to 90, as will 1/3 of women.

For 60 year olds, we see some of the benefits of modern medicine kicking in. The overwhelming majority of 60 year olds will live until at least 70, and majorities will get to at least 80.

Similarly, very few people who make it to 50 die before they turn 60. As we look at younger and younger cohorts, we see better and better long-term odds as well.

We are about to select a new American president in a world that is rapidly becoming more technically advanced than anyone could have imagined in the year 2000. Remember that as the year many of us were concerned that clocks would stop, power grid systems might fail, and commercial aircraft might fall from the sky. Of course none of that happened. What has happened is the rapid advance of technology and a globally connected society. Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat” (Published April 5, 2005) was not only a recognition of a changing world economy but the need for America to look forward and plan for the new economy.

Take just one new technology, autonomous (self driving) cars and trucks, that is predicted to be launched by the year 2020 to 2025 and consider the impact and you will understand that no one – no president of the United States – can stop the impact on the public in either the United States or other countries.

Don’t Tell The Teamsters: But Driverless Trucks Are Already Here.  Driverless trucks are operating in an Australian mine. When those trucks arrive in America the Teamsters will fight with everything they have to stop those autonomous trucks. Feather bedding will be a prominent part of their strategy. There are currently 900,000 active working Teamsters in the United States and Canada. There are approximately 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the United States, according to estimates by the American Trucking Association.

What will all those families that rely on those truck driving jobs do when they are replaced by self driving trucks? As a nation we have not looked forward. We have looked back.  Technology’s impact on the trucking industry is simply one example of the changing work environment.

Donald Trump promises to bring back the jobs that have been lost due to out sourcing. It is not clear what will motivate the return of jobs other than tariffs that could start a trade war.

Hillary Clinton says she will propose investing in infrastructure, manufacturing, research and technology, clean energy, and small businesses. The costly $787 billion spending bill that President Barack Obama signed into law soon after taking office had little effect. It was argued that it was insufficient.

In all of the Trump and Clinton ideas there is no consideration of the future.

Washington (CNN) The Cincinnati Enquirer, one of Ohio’s largest newspapers, is backing Hillary Clinton after supporting Republican presidential candidates for nearly a century.

“Trump brands himself as an outsider untainted by special interests, but we see a man utterly corrupted by self-interest. His narcissistic bid for the presidency is more about making himself great than America,” the Enquirer board said. “Trump tears our country and many of its people down with his words so that he can build himself up. What else are we left to believe about a man who tells the American public that he alone can fix what ails us?”
“Our country needs to seek thoughtful change, not just change for the sake of change. Four years is plenty of time to do enough damage that it could take America years to recover from, if at all,” it wrote.

Sadly newspaper endorsements do not have the influence they had in past years.  Mrs. Clinton has one serious strike against her.  Too many Americans will not vote for a woman under any circumstances.  Mrs. Clinton’s various baggage makes her an even less likely to win candidate.

Dilbert: September 18, 2016

The message from Scott Adams is abundantly clear.  Ask Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for a solution and you will not obtain a logical answer.  Those factories and offices coming back to the United States will provide some new jobs but not as many as were outsourced.  We are supposed to be happy.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds ,  ‘What does love mean?’

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.

See what you think:

‘When my grandmother got arthritis , she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore.. So my grandfather does it for her all the time , even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.’

Rebecca- age 8

‘When someone loves you , the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.’

Billy – age 4

‘Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.’

Karl – age 5

‘Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.’

Chrissy – age 6

‘Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.’

Terri – age 4

‘Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him , to make sure the taste is OK.’

 Danny – age 7

‘Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing , you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.’

Emily – age 8

‘Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.’

Bobby – age 7

‘If you want to learn to love better , you should start with a friend who you hate. ‘

Nikka – age 6

‘Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.’

Noelle – age 7

‘Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.’

Tommy – age 6

‘During my piano recital , I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.’

Cindy – age 8

‘My mommy loves me more than anybody You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.’

Clare – age 6

‘Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.’

Elaine-age 5

‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.’

Chris – age 7

‘Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.’

Mary Ann – age 4

‘I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.’

Lauren – age 4

‘When you love somebody , your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.’

Karen – age 7

‘You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.’

Jessica – age 8

And the final one:

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry , the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard , climbed onto his lap , and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor , the little boy said , ‘Nothing , I just helped him cry.’

This would be a frightening situation. 270towin is a web site that provides a map where you can guess which states will be won by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. By accident I entered the states shown here as won by the two candidates. The result came out to 269 for each. The scenario I suggest is not beyond logic.

 

What happens if there is a tie? Congress will make the choice. The Congress meets in joint session on January 6, 2017 to count the electoral votes (this count happens whether the election is close or not). If no candidate has reached 270 Electoral Votes, then the House and Senate take over and elect the President and Vice-President, respectively. Note that the newly elected Congress will be sworn in on January 3, 2017. It is that new Congress that takes on this responsibility. If each states gets one vote the winner would be Donald Trump as more states have a majority of Republican congressional districts in the current session and that is unlikely to change.

I was visiting my local AAA office (Auto club of Southern California) on a mission to renew my car license. While waiting my turn I looked at their table of close out travel books. There I found a book titled “10,000 STEPS A DAY IN L.A.” I am unlikely to walk 10,000 steps in a day but the book offered ideas of places to visit for my photography hobby. At $13.50 the book is a bargain.

Lots of places to see are on my list of known places to visit like Beverly Hills downtown, Hollywood Boulevard, and the Fairfax District. Still the book does identify buildings of historic significance in those areas.

My first tour was to the East San Fernando Valley near the border with Burbank. There I found an attractive location along Chandler Boulevard between Vineland Avenue and Burbank city border where murals are painted on the walls of buildings with their backs facing that boulevard and an interesting book store named Iliad. The cross street is Cahuenga Boulevard and that road is lined with industrial buildings and low rent apartment houses. Not an attractive street.  However Chandler Boulevard is a walk in a park.

Iliad Book Store – Books in front stand 10 feet tall next to Chandler Boulevard

Mural along Chandler Boulevard with junk yard behind

Friends walking and talking along Chandler Boulevard

An industrial building along Chandler Boulevard across from the mural attempting to participate in the fun.

All photos taken with Lumix FZ200 camera.

 Ronald Reagan was the oldest president of the United States. He was the oldest to be inaugurated for his first term, 69 years old and consequently was the oldest when leaving the office eight years later (77 years old). It was rumored that he fell asleep during briefings in his second term.

Now we have the two oldest people who have ever run for presidency. Donald Trump is 70 years old and Hillary Clinton will be 69 in this coming October.

For the population to accept the idea that these two people, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, are as fit as Barack Obama who leaves office at a 55 is utterly ridiculous. If his hair color is any indication, Obama took a serious physical beating.

A young Barack Obama, 2008

August 20, 2014 Barack Obama

The likelihood that Clinton or Trump could experience a serious health issue is very high. Mrs. Clinton will undoubtedly insist she has no consequential health problems. Mr. Trump will make similar comments.  The public deserves to know both Clinton’s and Trump’s health condition.

If the question of candidate health becomes a significant campaign issue I anticipate that will be a deciding factor on November 8. It shouldn’t!

Look at the vice presidential candidates. Mike Pence as president would be pushing and enforcing his conservative views that include discriminatory views against the LGBT community and his total opposition to abortion under any circumstance. Tim Kane has a record of inclusiveness. The choice between them is clear.

This is a frightening election season. We are forced to choose between a loud mouth, bully, racist, know-it-all and someone who has no other campaign slogan than “I’m with her; Stronger together.”

Maybe best not to vote for either candidate.

A report from the Daily Beast, September 7, 2016

Dallas Paper Backs 1st Dem Since WWII

The Dallas Morning News has endorsed Hillary Clinton—the first Democratic presidential candidate backed by the Texas daily standard in more than 75 years. “Résumé vs. résumé, judgment vs. judgment, this election is no contest,” the editorial board wrote. While the paper acknowledged that Clinton’s party, in general, is “at odds with our belief in private-sector ingenuity and innovation,” the endorsement noted that her experience and record of service outweigh those differences. Notably, the Morning News wrote, “We reject the politics of personal destruction… Trump’s values are hostile to conservatism.” The editorial reads: “He plays on fear—exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism, and misogyny—to bring out the worst in all of us, rather than the best. His serial shifts on fundamental issues reveal an astounding absence of preparedness. And his improvisational insults and midnight tweets exhibit a dangerous lack of judgment and impulse control.”

When a renowned Republican newspaper endorses Hillary Clinton you can only realize how flawed Donald Trump really is as a candidate for commander-in-chief of the United States.   Those of you reading this that are devoted Republicans should be evaluating your preference of Mr. Trump.