Rants

Airport Security Tip

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Since I was a teenager, possibly even younger since I was in Cub Scouts, I have carried a pocket knife.  Something unthinkable for kids today.  Did you see the recent story about theEagleScout Eagle Scout that was kicked out of school for having a pocket knife (Weapon!  Zero Tolerance you know!) at school?  In a box…  In a locked car… In the parking lot…  If you want to read the AP story, it is here.  But this is to be a “Tip” not a “Rant” and once again, I’ve digressed.

Anyway, my knife is one of the small multi-purpose ones.  It’s so dull it can hardly be called a knife, but it is ocassionally useful on site visits and around the house.  I know better than to take it to the airport, but in the rush of getting ready last week, I transferred it from pants pocket to pants pocket as I always do when dressing and didn’t give it a second thought.  That is until I was emptying my pockets in the security line at the airport.

This was at South Bend Airport and fortunately I was early for my flight.  There was no one else in the line with me and the TSA personnel were sympathetic, but said there was nothing they could do.  They suggested I take it out and put it in my checked bag… I wasn’t checking a bag.  They suggested that I take it out to my car…  I was dropped off at the airport, i.e. no car.  They suggested I call someone…  It had been 20 minutes since I was dropped off and there was no one close I could call.

As I’m standing there in my stocking feet, my computer, computer case, shoes and coat already down the conveyor belt, a possible solution came to me.  I retrieved all my  things and got out of line.  (Fortunately there was only one person behind me and he seemed to be more amused than upset.)  I went back out of the security check area and went over to the car rental counters.  I picked the one with no one waiting, Hertz, and asked the attendant, “Do you have a Lost & Found box?”  lostandfoundShe was very helpful and said yes as she started to walk and get it when I explained, “I didn’t lose anything.  (yet)  I want to put something in it!”  I explained that even if I ended up not being able to claim it from their lost & found, there was at least a chance that I could get it back.  With TSA, it was going to be a 100% certainty that it was gone.  She was extremely nice, let me put a note on it and put in in the lost & found for me.  On my return trip, I retrieved it.

Okay, this may not be a great tip and it may have limited applications, but I thought it was worth passing along.  It would never work in one of the larger airports at the point that I discovered my error, but it worked for me this time!

Constitution Day

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we_the_people_american_constitutionToday is Constitution Day!  The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787 by thirty-nine brave men.  Constitution Day is not something you hear about too much, but if you’re interested, there is information here and here. 

Did you hear anything about it today?  I guess it’s not too surprising that Constitution Day is not something celebrated.  The Constitution seems to be largely ignored lately, most obviously by representatives of the three branches of the Federal Government.  It’s not an overly large document.  It’s about 19 pages long in this PDF here.  Take a moment to read it.  It’s really quite elegant.  What do you think?  Should we all mail a copy to those representing us in the government?  If they took the time to read it, they might be shocked at the limits of their power.

Are Golf Carts the Vehicle that would allow Culver to Annex the Lake?

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Golf Cart 1I’ve been watching all the hullabaloo about golf carts in town.  It’s obviously a State-wide issue as the legislature has taken it up and clarified things.  (Is that possible?)   In the case of Culver and Lake Maxinkuckee, golf carts can be used within the Town of Culver as long as they meet minimum safety requirements and are registered with the Town.  This puts 3/4’s of the Lake and a large portion of the Culver Academies on the wrong side of the law when it comes to operating golf carts on public streets and highways.

Child restraints? We don't need no stinkin' child restraints!

The new State Law  really hasn’t changed anything for the residents outside the Town.  It was and remains illegal to operate golf carts on public right-a-ways.  The new Law clarified the rights of Cities and Towns to license golf carts for use on their streets if they chose to to so.   Culver’s Golf Cart Ordinance is available for review on the town website here. 

C'mon! Do you really think this would stand up to a collision with the real thing?
C'mon! Do you really think this would stand up to a collision with the real thing?

It’s unbelievable how passionate people are on this issue!  I find it somewhat unfathomable that so many people are willing to send their children out in these vehicles to compete for right-a-way with cars, trucks, SUV’s and Semi’s.  I’m sure some of these same people check out Consumer’s Reports for crash test ratings before buying a car.  How would a golf cart rate in a collision with a car?  To paraphrase a classic movie line, “Child Restraints?  We don’t need no stinkin’ child restraints!”

But that’s not why I’m typing at you today.  Tongue firmly in cheek, I propose that the Culver Town Council is missing a wonderful opportunity to Annex the Lake!  This has always been a divisive issue.  The Town always feels that they are providing services to property owners that don’t support them through taxes.  The Lake residents feel that they are already under too much Town control without representation.   Are golf carts the vehicle that would allow Culver to annex the Lake?  I say, “Full speed ahead!”  Heck, it’s only a golf cart… What is that, like, maybe 20 mph?

At least one current Town Council Member, Lynn Overmyer, has a golf cart and uses it around town regularly.  I would suggest that she run for re-election on a Golf Cart Platform.   Admittedly a precarious position where she would have to balance many issues… but could this be the issue that unites the Lake, Town and Academies?  I’m picturing Lance driving the cart while Lynn expounds on the virtues of community in a rousing oratory from the bag rack…  like off the back of a train, Herbert Hoover style…

Marshall County with Union Township in Orange
Marshall County with Union Township highlighted

Personally, I think we should think big on this.  Our Man Mitch would like the State to do away with the townships.  Let’s be a progressive community and form our own smaller version of Indianapolis’s uni-gov by absorbing all of Union Township while we’re at it.  There’s only a thin ribbon of area to the south and west between Culver’s Zoning boundary and the County Line anyway.  Burr Oak and Hibbard will become suburbs!  Culver will once again have train service.  Our boundaries will encompass a river and a couple of additional lakes.  (They’re small, but they’ll look good in the brochure text.)  We’ll pick up a connection to another state highway (110) and bring us within spitting distance of State Road 8.

Oh, sure…  There are naysayers that will bring up issues like water and sewer as well as police protection.  Those are just details.  Our Senators are voting 1,200 page bills into Law without reading them, so we shouldn’t get caught up in the details when we  can vote for… wait for it… “Change”!

Oops!  I slipped off my original soap box onto an adjacent one.  Sorry.   We were talking about golf carts.   Annex the Lake!  Annex the Lake!

There are lots of good reasons for pursuing additional annexation.  Unfortunately, good reasons aren’t often good enough.  The Town is pursuing annexation on South Main Street, but one property owner is threatening to oppose it.  Why?  No apparent reason.  The property is already within Culver’s zoning boundary and any tax increase would be minimal since the property is undeveloped.  Since part of the package is the extension of water and sewer to this area, the annexation would only enhance the property and increase the value.  Apparently those aren’t things worth consideration.

Towns are either growing or dying.  There is no staying the same.  Culver needs to plan for growth and pursue it diligently.  The golf cart debate is kind of silly.  Annexing the Lake should remain on the table for consideration.

Daylight Savings Time

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alarmclHave you noticed all the cranky people out and around today?  I’m not ashamed to say that I’m one of them.   It will take me a week or so to get over the transitional trauma.  I am NOT a morning person!!!  I would say that I woke up cursing our governor, Mitch Daniels, for pushing through the time change in Indiana, but it wouldn’t be true.  I wasn’t awake enough for that…

Doing away with Daylight Savings Time (DST) was one of the more progressive things Indiana had done in the past.  There’s no daylight being “saved”.  It’s not like it’s something we can harvest and sell to northern Alaska to get them through the 30 Days of Night.  I’m not saying that it’s the cause of our droughts like Mr. Hill here, but I’m not sure what good has come of it.  Everyone is not a farmer these days.  Whether I have the lights on in the morning or at night is irrelevant.  I’m still not getting enough sleep…

But now we have it back…  Governor Mitch was so adament that we needed to be in lockstep with the rest of the country that he lost control of the House in the following election over this issue.  Nothing like having the Time Change right before the election to remind everyone and put them in the voting mood.  And then what happens?  The Feds decide that we need to change DST and extend it, without consulting with the rest of the world.  So now, Indiana may be in step with the rest of the United States, but the United States is out of step with the rest of the World for about a month each year.  Brilliant!

The Persitence of Memory by Salvador Dali
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

As the day goes by, the drag will get worse.  I wonder if Salvador Dali was suffering from the effects of Daylight Savings Time when he painted The Persistence of Memory?  It seems appropriate to me as it shows the melting of clocks on the landscape…  That will be me, dragging more and more as the day goes by.  But hey!  Give me a couple of weeks and I’ll be back to my normal hatred of mornings without the DST enhancements…

Culver’s Wolf’s Dilemma

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Can Culver survive Wolf’s Dilemma?  For those of you that don’t know, there are various versions of Wolf’s Dilemma, but basically it goes as follows:

This is the Dilemma.  A random sample of people are chosen to “play”.

  • You are each placed in a separate booth and cannot communicate with each other at all.
  • In each booth is a button and nothing else.
  • You are required to stay in the booth for 5 minutes during which time you can either press the button or not press it.
  • You do not find out if anyone else pressed the button until the 5 minutes are over.

The Payoff

  • If nobody presses the button during those 5 minutes, then each person gets $100,000.
  • If anyone at all presses the button, then:
    • Each person who pressed the button gets $20,000.
    • Each person who did not press the button gets nothing at all.

Except this is Culver.  Everyone knows everyone else.  Does that make it better or worse?

There seems to be a constant battle between the various factions in Culver.  The Mary Means Study that was completed several years ago referred to these groups as tribes and labeled the main tribes as the Academies, Town, Lake and Ag.  Unfortunately the chiefs and their allegances seem to change depending on what the issue is.  Pardon me for not printing my list here, but I think we can all name an issue or squabble.  If I name even one here I’ll be on one side or another of a group or individual with which I have to work!  At times this goes all the way down to issues between individual board or committee members that are unable to work together.

My point is that we all should quit pushing the button! If we work together for the common good, we would all be better off.  Occasionally we do come together for the common good.  The original formation of the Second Century Committee is an example of this for civic groups.  The Culver Union Township Public Library as well as the EMS and Fire that are under a Town and Township partnership are good examples in the public sector.  We should do it more often.