SLO: HHH - Hunger, Homelessness and Housing (First Post 2/28/2014, Most Recent Post 4/30/2014)

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Update 4/30/2014: Thanks to SLO City Council member John Ashbaugh, I am now officially on the HSOC Housing Committee, and attended (and contributed) at the April meeting. I will give it a year to see if I can make a difference. I come from the perspective that the problem is political and not economic. In our relatively affluent society, we should be able to provide a clean, dry, warm bed for everyone, as well as a simple, basic healthy meal - period. That is my goal. Affordable housing is a key component of that goal.

Below: posts are boring without a photo. From a recent trip - while exploring a native American shelter in Johnson Canyon, Panamint Mountains, Death Valley, a small group of
Bighorn Sheep appeared about 30 to 40 feet above my head at the top of the cliff! It was getting dark, and the photos weren't great, but this was my best one; following that is the Indian pictograph cave that I was exploring. Click to enlarge - Enjoy!

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Update 3/5/2014: I attended the monthly Homeless Services Oversight Committee (HSOC) meeting today. HSOC is a SLO county advisory board that you can read more about by clicking here. Its about a 2 hour meeting, and I left a little more than an hour into the meeting. My main purpose in attending was to meet Laurel Weir, who is the coordinator of this committee. I enjoyed interacting with her while I was applying for the HSOC committee myself (I was NOT appointed - no surprise). I was hoping to also meet Jerry Rioux, who is executive director of the San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund. I have spoken with Mr. Rioux about homelessness housing issues over the phone, but we had never met before. We didn't meet this time either, because although he was in attendance, nobody could identify who he was before the meeting started.

Although I applied to be on HSOC recently, I was skipped over in favor of others who appeared to have far less experience in dealing with homelessness than I have had. How do I know? I read their applications. Note, however, that no experience with Homeless Issues is required for you to apply, but I would think they application committee would find the experience helpful - apparently not. Also, they interviewed some of the applicants over the phone, but declined to interview me. How do I know? Because I was told by people "in the know" that the other applicants were interviewed, so I didn't even come close to getting on this board. I'm trying to be happy about not being picked, but my ego has gotten in the way a little bit (read below for an explanation). When I was younger, I always got picked for this stuff, but no more. No longer politically connected - no surprise. I'm not trying to be.

JUST FOR FUN! Lee Flat in Death Valley National Park

According to "matmiss" on DeathValley.com talk forum, Panamint Valley Road is now open, but according to the Death Valley Morning Report, the Wildrose Road in lower canyon CLOSED to through traffic. No mention of the status of the Trona-Wildrose Road either:

[The Panamint Valley Road] is in amazingly good shape considering how many places the water crossed the pavement. The part that suffered a bunch from undercutting is actually uphill by Indian Ranch Road and the T intersection - so they removed the broken pavement and lowered the road "to grade" so that next time the water can cross over the road instead of undercutting it. 1.7 mi. of graded (smooth!) gravel, and a detour to use when they pave it - so that road should not be closed again for a while. Some serious equipment parked there. Yeah!!

Some fun photos from the Lee Flat area of Death Valley:

Below: Lee Flat Joshua Tree Forrest in Death Valley National Park at sunset. On the horizon: French Madam Peak and Maturango Peak. Click to enlarge.

Below: Look carefully - very carefully!  Click to enlarge.

Below: Click to enlarge.

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Click Here to go back to "Tim Waag Blog" Home Page! 

NATION: Why People Become and Stay Homeless

Non-Professional Analysis of the Causes of Homelessness

This article is not done yet - a work in progress.

Above: Petroglyph of an Ancient Homeless Family (Mom, Dad & the kids) in search of shelter (Native American Petroglyph, Valley of Fire, Nevada)

As many of you know, I consider myself to be an unofficial advocate for the homeless and the hungry. Okay, so you didn't know - now you do. I have often pondered the circumstances of homeless individuals and families as I have interacted with them over more than a decade. Many people have difficulty wrapping their minds around homeless people and how they got to that point.

SAN LUIS OBISPO: CCCMB.org Trail Work Days

Update on Trail Workday on Sunday Feb. 23: (reported by Tim Sawchuck) We did some trail work at Santa Margarita Lake on the Sapwi Trail Extension. Thank you to the 24 workers came out and enjoyed a nice day at the lake. A big thanks to the Atascadero Horsemen Club and Backcountry Horsemen Los Padres Unit for the support. Raffle winners:
- Terri Wahlberg- Wallys bike shop gift card
- Kanisa ?  Best Bike Zone gift card
- Tom Becker- Jaffa Cafe gift card
- Melodey Fountain- Galley Restaurant gift card

CCCMB.org News Release: Well, its that time again, the 27th annual Super Bowl Sunday Trail Work at Montana de Oro State Park, even if mother nature may not be cooperating (sad trombone).

Above: crew leader Tim with the crew at recently CCCMB.org trail workday in late 2013.

All you need to know: Sunday, February 2rd, 8:00 am until 1:00 pm at the Spooner Ranch House.  We will have breakfast, do a rain dance, go out and do some trail work, come back and do a rain dance, then go watch football, praying for rain.  If you can sneak in some rain dance steps in your football game happy dance excitement, please do.

Since it is so dry, we will do some brushing and other maintenance which does not require moving dirt.  If you have loppers or small saws, please bring them.  We have a limited number of brushing tools;  all instructions will be provided, wear sturdy clothing and boots - flip flops not permitted.  Bring water, a hat and sunscreen. Remember that we are in a severe drought condition and fire danger is extremely high, so please use caution!

NATION: Some People Just Don't Get It!

Below: always got to include a photo, so here it is - Peace, brothers and sisters. Yes, that's a selfie of my shadow on an outhouse - hey, I liked the photo, so sue me! Click to enlarge (PLEASE!).

Suppose that every day, ten US citizens go out for lunch and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. In fact, they would get an earned income tax credit if they have a job.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.

WORLD: Zero Population Growth

Photo Introduction: If you follow this blog (and who doesn't?), you know that I despise a text-only post. Lacking any contextual photos or graphics, I decided to spice up this post with the photo below of a California sea lion taken in Port San Luis last week by me. The sea lion yearling appeared to be sick and abandoned. This is the type of photo that a group like ZPG might use to promote the concept that the growing billions of humans on the planet are causing environmental disaster (I do not necessarily disagree), and thus hope to garner donations to their cause. Click to enlarge.

On to the Population Growth Blog Post! Back in the 1970's, I was a member of a group called Zero Population Growth (ZPG). It was clear that unchecked human population growth would eventually bring disaster to this planet. It is still true today.

Forty years ago, this was a popular topic, both in newspapers, TV and in classrooms. Today, it is rarely mentioned. I have no idea why (actually, I do, but that is a topic for another time). From my perspective, "there is no world problem that is not reduced in scope by a reduction in the number of people on our planet." This is not a religious or political reproductive issue - it is just a fact.

PERSONAL: 2014 is the year to try a Dual Sport!

The Power of Intentions:

THE YEAR I TRY A DUAL-SPORT

Yes, many of our friends have dual-sport dirt bikes, and I’d like to try one, or buy a “beginner” bike and try it out. Maybe I’ll like it, and maybe I won’t, but

if I don’t start now, I never will. What I’m looking for:

- you don’t have a dual-sport but are interested, so let’s talk!

- you have a bike and want to teach me the ropes 
- when and where and I’m there (Rubi tried at the

Keeler New Year’s trip, but we opted for a 4x4 trail ride instead - thanks Scott for the offer - maybe another time?)

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GB: Right after I took this picture I took the towel off the dashboard and started the motor to see if it would go. Cranked a few times and started up. Once the bike moves you forget the tallness. Lots of cool bikes out there and hard to go wrong. KTMs are popular. We went on a ride a while back and a lightweight man had a 250 which was OK until we hit 101 and then it was a struggle. Suzuki Vstrom is also a 650 and it is lower. I got mine on Craigslist for $3400 from a guy in Happy Camp that wanted a sand rail. Also ebay has bikes for sale.