Sunday, December 29, 2013

We're Home...!!!


We're home, folks!

Yep... slept in our own bed last night...

(Thanks again to Paul Stein for the airport pick-up!)

Last night's dinner: Leftover Christmas turkey (from dad), rare roast beef (courtesy of ShopRite), and cheese sandwiches! (Yeah... plenty of Hellmann's!)

(*PATTING MY TUMMY*)

My God... think about it... I - William R. Barker - was sick and tired of eating out! Couldn't even bear a stop at the Nanuet Restaurant!

Slept from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. this morning. (That should put us back on NY time!) Still... I feel a bit like I assume "He Whose Name Dare Not Be Mentioned" feels on an average day! (It's a nine hour difference between Abu Dhabi and New York...)

(*HUGE FRIGGIN' GRIN*)

I'll start the travelogue either today or tomorrow... maybe get in a bit of newsbiting...

The UAE is one heluva place, folks... it was a wonderful trip... a great experience!

Glad to be home, though...

(*WINK*)


Friday, December 27, 2013

Soon, soon, soon...


Sorry for the "radio silence" these last few weeks.

(Frankly...it's  the fact that I don't have access to a PC here at Kim's place and between my HUGE FRIGGIN' FINGERS and Luddite tendencies I find communicating via Kimmy's "Surface" to be sheer physical and mental torture!)

Today is our last full day in the UAE. It's been a GREAT trip overall! Our (initial) flight back home departs at 7:40 a.m. tomorrow morning and as long as all goes well... we should be landing at JFK at around 4:30 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.

(GOD BLESS PAUL STEIN...!!!)

Plenty to tell... plenty to share... when we get home. (We've taken literally hundreds of photos!)

Anyway... thanks to Joey Baby and Claire Bear for babysitting Hank!

Thanks to Dad for babysitting Sammie!

Looking forward to seeing as many of you as we can prior to the curtain closing on 2013... 

Monday, December 9, 2013

Safely Arrived!


More to come!

(Forgive me for the brevity, but it's 3:15 a,m, local time, we've been traveling for the better part of two days... and I'm trying to get this out using Kimmy's Surface.)


Friday, December 6, 2013

Barker's Pre-Vacation Newsbites: Fri., Sat., & Sun., Dec. 6, 7, & 8, 2013


Well, gang... here goes! The last few days of newsbiting before "The Wife" and I head off to India for Kim's Indian wedding!

I plan to blog from over there if I can, so keep on checking in here at Usually Right!

Over the next couple days I'll try and post a few newsbites here.

No doubt they'll be at least one more "stand alone" post prior to Sunday's trip to the airport! (And maybe more!)

Anyway... just in case... we'll be back on the 28th - this December 28th that is!

Kudos to KMart


Yep... KMart is my "go to" store for pants. 48X32... no friggin' problem!

And while I'm at it... kudos to Kohl's for finally expanding their Big & Tall men's clothing inventory! I was actually able to find a number of "vacation shirts" in 2XT and a pair of quality shorts for... $4.80

(Yeah... Kohl's clearance is pretty damned impressive!)

JCPenny used to be my "go to," but they've shrunk their Big & Tall section and now they're even playing games with the underwear... creating a new line for Big & Tall called called "Foundry" and charging $20 (or trying to) for a TWO-pack of 2XT undershirts!

Sears...? Not so much. (Which is surprising since Sears and KMart are the same company nowadays!)

Anyway... just a clothing update!


Thursday, December 5, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, December 5, 2013


Afternoon, folks!

My new tee-shirts are in! (JC Penny just called!) Yep... eight brand new 2XT tees for Billy Boy!

Why am I writing about my tee-shirts...?! Because they're a PAIN IN THE ASS to get!

As Americans get bigger and fatter manufacturers and retailers seem to have responded by limiting Big & Tall clothing offerings! (Hanes discontinued their TALL tee-shirt line years ago!)

Anyway... I'm off to the store to pick up my tee-shirts! The plan is to do some newsbiting when I get back!


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, December 4, 2013


Howdy, folks!

Yep... another day of newsbiting - this makes two in a row!

(*GRIN*)

T - 4 days till lift-off... (Heading to India on Sunday!)

Busy... busy... busy...


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013


So... folks... let me just throw something out about ObamaCare:

Mary (my beloved bride) works for a small professional firm. 

Mary's firm provides ACCESS to their small-group plan, but the total financial contribution they make to each employee's "employer provided" insurance is $150/mo.

OUR CASH PREMIUM... OUR OUT OF POCKET PREMIUM... $1,327/mo.

And again... this is with lousy vision coverage and NO DENTAL COVERAGE whatsoever.

This is for two adults in pretty good physical condition!

So... about ObamaCare... 

Mary's firm has an insurance broker. He does "insurance shopping" for the firm. Each year he provides the firm and its employees with their options. 

Although the firm's current insurance contract doesn't expire until this coming summer, the firm's broker has already done the legwork researching ObamaCare.

For Mary and I... we'd have a choice of three plans here in New York. Two of these plans don't include our doctors

Costs? Turns out we'd "win the battle but lose the war" if we were to sign up with ObamaCare. 

Mary tells me that according to the broker... we'd save a few hundred bucks a year... A YEAR... if we were to join one of the plans. (I believe this includes all three plans... including the one plan offered that would allow us to retain most of our present doctors.)

HOWEVER...

By switching from a small business group plan to an ObamaCare Exchange we'd LOSE our cafeteria plan and the tax benefit of being able to use "pre-tax" dollars to pay our premiums!

THEREFORE...

We'd actually end up PAYING MORE OUT OF POCKET for ObamaCare than for what we have now!

Nice, huh...?

Not that I want to be subsidized... but where's my $2,500. in savings Obama and the Democrats promised Mary and I?

Why is it that we WOULD be forced to get new doctors if we were to sign up for either of the two (of three) ObamaCare Exchange choices which don't have our doctors "on the payroll?"

Back to the subsidies...

I'm serious! I wouldn't want a subsidy! While what Mary and I pay is truly outrageous, having other taxpayers subsidize the outrageousness wouldn't make the outrage any less - all it would do is further rob Peter to pay Paul and all the while adding to the federal debt!

So who is getting these ObamaCare subsidies?

Are people who own houses getting them? WHY...?!?! Mary and I DON'T own a house and yet I have no doubt our tax dollars will be funding ObamaCare subsidies to people who do own their own homes. How is that fair...???

We had one child because we knew we could AFFORD to raise one child responsibly. Does anyone reading this have ANY doubt that parents who make MORE MONEY than Mary and I and who own their own homes yet have three children or four or five children will get subsidized health insurance which Mary and I will involuntarily subsidize via our tax dollars and ObamaCare premiums...?!?!

Folks... forget for a moment the disasters which have been in the news concerning ObamaCare... just switch to looking at the bigger picture! Even if the website worked... even if the website was secure and trustworthy... how is it that I'm supposed to be grateful for ObamaCare?