New York probably comes out ahead if people move out of the state to retire. Medicaid is a driving cost of state and county budgets, and many retirees will end up racking up large bills that are ultimately paid by Medicaid in their final years.
"Long hot summer of 1967 refers to the 159 race riots that erupted across the United States in 1967 that left 76 people dead, 2,100 injured, and 11,000 arrested for participating in riots."
"In June there were riots in Atlanta, Boston, and Cincinnati, as well as the Buffalo riot (in Buffalo, New York), and a riot in Tampa, Florida. In July there were riots in Birmingham, Chicago, New York, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Britain, Conn., Rochester, N.Y., and a riot in Plainfield, New Jersey."
"The most serious riots of the summer took place in July, with the riot in Newark, New Jersey and the Twelfth Street riot, in Detroit, Michigan. As a result of the rioting in the Summer of 1967, and the preceding two years, President Johnson established the Kerner Commission to investigate the rioting."
"On this day in 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival opens on a patch of farmland in White Lake, a hamlet in the upstate New York town of Bethel."
"Promoters John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield and Michael Lang originally envisioned the festival as a way to raise funds to build a recording studio and rock-and-roll retreat near the town of Woodstock, New York. The longtime artists’ colony was already a home base for Bob Dylan and other musicians. Despite their relative inexperience, the young promoters managed to sign a roster of top acts, including the Jefferson Airplane, the Who, the Grateful Dead, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival and many more. Plans for the festival were on the verge of foundering, however, after both Woodstock and the nearby town of Wallkill denied permission to hold the event. Dairy farmer Max Yasgur came to the rescue at the last minute, giving the promoters access to his 600 acres of land in Bethel, some 50 miles from Woodstock."
"Early estimates of attendance increased from 50,000 to around 200,000, but by the time the gates opened on Friday, August 15, more than 400,000 people were clamoring to get in. Those without tickets simply walked through gaps in the fences, and the organizers were eventually forced to make the event free of charge. Folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens kicked off the event with a long set, and Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie also performed on Friday night."
About a month ago, I noticed a squeaking noise every time I released my rear brakes, especially in stop and go traffic. I decided to take my truck to a local brake shop, as it was most convenient for me – I knew I could drop it off in the morning, and have it to drive home in the evening. I had previously replaced the front brakes in October, because I was told during an inspection that they were getting worn, and I didn’t want to risk problems during my November vacation.
The brake shop told me I should be on four new pads and rotators, for an absurd price, something like $1,200 or $1,300. I said absolutely no, because I had just replaced the front brakes. The strongly pushed me towards doing the front, insisting the only 9 month old pads were glazed due to the heavy lifted truck, and that would reduce my stopping power and might cause noise. I know they are cheap pads, and probably the lift kit works them hard, but I knew they still had a lot of life left. I said no, but I agreed to do the rear.
Replacing the rear was supposed to be like $650 final price including tax, but the shop lied about not including tax which came out to like $720. I was pissed about that. Sure, I could do it myself for less, but rear drums are a pain to get apart. I figured get it done now, and move on with my life. By dropping it off at the brake shop, I could have it off before work, catch the BusPlus express to work, and then stop at the shop before the closed after work. No time or fuss required. Replacing the rear brakes got rid of the noise, although I have a sneaking suspicion that all I really needed with some grease. I should have asked more questions before telling them to proceed, demanded my old parts back, and gotten a written estimate. You live and learn.
I worried a bit about what the shop told me about the front glazed brakes. I started to wonder the quality of both the front and rear brakes I got replaced over the past nine months were lower quality, further reducing my stopping power over OEM brakes. But at least I have a lot of pad life left, and supposedly the hydraulics are good on the brakes.
Since lifting my truck, the stopping ability of my truck has been reduced. But so has the acceleration due to the lower gear ratio and handling is worse from being higher off the ground. But I do like the increased viability. I downshift aggressively going downhill – and always have – that’s why I changed the transmission fluid at 50,000 miles. I won’t do that again, but that was an expensive mess with some broken parts found during the change and filter replacement, but I should be able to make it as long as I own the truck.
Roughly 800 to 1,000 miles later, I’ve not noticed any real issues. Sure, the truck doesn’t stop on a dime, and it takes some force on the brakes to make a hard stop happen. But under normal driving, it seems fine. I’ve done expressways, city driving, up and down mountains and hills, and all over, with no noises or noticeable problems except one time I thought I smell brakes, immediately after descending a hill and parking – but it could have been somebody burning garbage up the road or some other smell like some dry leaves or crap getting stuck on the muffler. I downshift regularly on the hills. Parking brakes sets easier, which is good, because I often use the parking brake at lights, and when I’m parked on hills, because with the lift kit’s weight and all that heavy camping gear, it’s sometimes difficult to get out of park, without some force.
Eventually, I think I will take it to another, hopefully more reputable shop and get their assessment of the brakes – especially if I notice issues with stopping. I guess I could also pull the pads and look myself, but I’m not really experienced with working on brakes. If I need to upgrade, I won’t put just OEM or basic after-market pads back on the front if they say those brakes are truly glazed and worn as the sleezy brake shop insisted they were. I’m sure they mostly trying to sell me brakes – probably ones cheap – and would glaze back over. If I do need new front brakes, eventually, I’ll look at bigger brake kits with ceramic pads and slotted rotators. I’ve heard thiner brake lines can also increase caliper pressure, which means more braking with less force. Front, disc brakes are relatively easy to service – I could probably order and install premium pads and slotted rotators online for under $500 and install myself. Maybe my best option is to go to the lifted truck shop in Schenectady, and see what they suggest for brake performance upgrades. I doubt a regular shop would be as familiar with lifted trucks with big heavy wheels to stop.
But despite my lingering questions about a future undiagnosed brake failure coming down the line, I think I will be fine. Glaze on brakes won’t promote premature brake failure – indeed if anything the brakes will run cooler rather then hotter – because they aren’t sticking well enough. All the evidence suggests that things are fine for now. I will make sure to continue downshifting on steep hills, and keep an eye on the stopping power of the brakes. But with no noise being produced, and brakes stopping well enough for now, I can’t even be bothered to look towards spending more money on a second opinion. I might think about getting a second opinion though in October before I go to West Virgina, and explore those steep hills. I will see – I don’t want to waste money on my truck unnecessarily – but I want to keep it in top condition for when I am on the rough back country and steep mountain hills.
Good morning! Today the Altamont Fair Opens as we wind through our month of summer. Mostly cloudy and 76 degrees in Albany. There is a south breeze at 8 mph. The dew point is 64 degrees. The cloudy skies of this morning will clear around 4 pm.
Today will have a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high of 81 degrees at 3pm. Typical for today. Maximum dew point of 67 at 2pm. Southwest wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had mostly cloudy skies. It was somewhat humid. The high last year was 83 degrees. The record high of 96 was set in 1959.
The sun will set at 7:55 pm with dusk around 8:26 pm, which is one minute and 28 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for partly cloudy conditions and 77 degrees. The dew point will be 67 degrees. There will be a southwest breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 13 hours and 52 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 32 seconds over yesterday.
Tonight will have a chance of thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Partly cloudy, with a low of 63 degrees at 5am. Three degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 6pm. Southwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2016, we had partly cloudy skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It became sticky as the night progressed. It got down to 68 degrees. The record low of 41 occurred back in 1972.
In 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival Opens on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, much to the distaste of his neighbors and fellow community members. Also, on this day in 1971, President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.
Looking ahead, there are 7 weeks until Friday the 13th (October) when the sun will be setting at 6:31 pm with dusk at 6:59 pm. On that day in 2016, we had drizzle, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 72 and 57 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 65 degrees. We hit a record high of 83 back in 1967.
"Is one of Detroit's Big Three for sale to the Chinese?"
"Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has reportedly rejected an acquisition bid by a Chinese automaker — but a variety of analysts and observers within the auto industry believe it could be just a matter of time before FCA is given an offer it would be willing to accept."
"FCA was formed by the merger of Italy’s Fiat and Chrysler shortly after the Detroit carmaker emerged from its 2010 bankruptcy with the help of a massive federal bailout. Over the last several years, however, FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has made it clear he is looking for another partner and might alternately consider the sale of all or part of his company."
"By 1970, the United States only held $14.5 billion in gold against foreign dollar holdings of $45.7 billion. At the same time, President Nixon's economic policies had created stagflation. This double-digit inflation reduced the eurodollar's value. More and more banks started redeeming their holdings for gold. The United States could no longer meets this growing obligation."
"The gold standard ended on August 15, 1971. That's when Nixon changed the dollar/gold relationship to $38 per ounce. He no longer allowed the Fed to redeem dollars with gold. That made the gold standard meaningless. The U.S. government repriced gold to $42 per ounce in 1973, and then decoupled the value of the dollar from gold altogether in 1976. The price of gold quickly shot up to $120 per ounce in the free market."
"Once the gold standard was dropped, countries began printing more of their own currency. Inflation usually resulted, but for the most part abandoning the gold standard created more economic growth."
"But gold has never lost its appeal as an asset of real value. Whenever a recession or inflation looms, investors return to gold as a safe haven. It reached its record high of $1,895 an ounce on September 5, 2011. "