Sunset view from Bocce court this week

thanks Marc V

Holiday Playlist

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Listen to the full playlist - Click Here
Bing Crosby It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas	Judy Garland Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas	Andrews Sisters Winter Wonderland	Elvis Presley Oh Little Town of Bethlehem	Perry Como I'll Be Home for Christmas
Louis Armstrong Christmas Night in Harlem	Bing Crosby Silent Night	Bing Crosby & the Andrew Sisters Poppa Santa Claus	Frank Sinatra Ave Maria	Chuck Berry Run Rudolph Run
Nat King Cole Take Me Back to Toyland	Rosemary Clooney Suzy Snowflake	Elvis Presley Blue Christmas	Lionel hampton Boogie Woogie Santa Claus	Johnny Cash I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Frank Sinatra Light a Candle in the Chapel	Perry Como There Is No Christmas like A Home Christmas	Esther Williams & Ricardo Montalban Baby, It's Cold Outside	Bobby Helms Jingle Bell Rock	Gene Autry Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Charlie Brown Christmas Time is Here	Jackson 5 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town	Mariah Carey All I Want for Christmas is You	Celine Dion O’ Holy night	The Mediaeval Baebes We Three Kings

thanks to Baba mail

Ancestry.com

Ancestry is advertising nonstop for the holidays and offering small discounts. 

What they do NOT tell you is that a much bigger discount exists if you are a member of AARP. This is a 30% saving on membership. It will save me $40 on a 6-month world membership. 
- - - BUT YOU HAVE TO ASK.

Alzheimer Help

Among the jewels and antiques of the WPB Saturday morning street fair on Narcissus, just north of the Banyan garage free parking, is the Alzheimer’s store. Usually it is an online store for Alzheimer’s Therapy Products for Comfort & Security but on Saturday mornings, at that time you can discuss concerns with the owner at his booth.

www.alzstore.com Products designed for people with Alzheimer's and Dementia and their Caregivers.

Opera on the Waterfront

WPB must have heard about our opera fans.

December 13, 2:00 p.m., FREE!  Meyer Amphitheatre

More than 100 musicians will come together to present a magical afternoon of live opera featuring the most recognizable arias and ensembles, performed by the combined forces of international opera singers James Valenti and Michael Chioldi, the Palm Beach Opera Young Artists, Orchestra and Chorus.

Delegate Assembly Procedures

IMHO. The Delegate Assembly is a Board of 300+ Directors, it is their job to judge motions, projects, and plans for serving the village. These items have been researched and thoroughly vetted by UCO committees, Officers, and Executive Board. The Delegate Assembly deals with ideas that have been polished and refined.

There may be people with fantastic ideas, but they need to go thru the process. Do not fling ideas at the Delegates without backup and full of unverifiable claims. That only causes confusion and wastes time.

If you have a brand new idea for the village, please DO NOT bring it untested to the Delegate Assembly. Go to UCO where there is a great experience base and the historical searchable database, most ideas are not new. When the idea is properly organised the UCO system will move the idea/plan to the Assembly. Then maybe we can finish on time.

Also spare us from historical regurgitation and whining, we understand some people have unique sensitivities but we should not waste the time of hundreds of residents.

In plainer terms, if you have not bothered to prepare, read, listen, or attend meetings to gather information, the Delegate Assembly is not the place to go to square one with elementary questions, and a lot of whining about having the right to speak and demonstrate your ignorance.

Geezerville

Little Black Book of Scams

This is an interesting booklet on helping to identify Scams. The Canadian Government has also published a similar booklet. Hope it helps the vulnerable!

http://www.cbs.sa.gov.au/assets/files/book_of_scams.pdf

A TIP WHEN NEEDING AT&T REPAIR SERVICE

Last Thursday evening, after AT&T men had been working all day in a hole in the ground outside our middle building, I found that neither my landline (AT&T) phone nor my Internet service was working. Friday morning I checked my latest AT&T bill for the Repair number and found it had changed from the old 611 to 1-877-737-2478. I called the 877 number from my cell phone and got a machine. Service would be restored by Monday, I was told. That seemed like a long time, especially when I was 90 percent sure the problem had been caused by the men in the “pit” not having reconnected the wires correctly. I wanted to speak to a live person but couldn’t, or I didn’t know how.

The repairman came on out Saturday afternoon, which was a pleasant surprise, and he could not have been nicer. The problem had been with the men working in the pit, and he set it right. I told him what had frustrated me, he empathized, and he said what you need to do at the prompts is press ZERO, and if necessary keep pressing ZERO. I had forgotten about that little trick. Dialing ZERO, he said, will get you a live person. Of course the AT&T “robot” will not tell you that.

Being unable, or having it be very difficult, to get a live person on the line, is very frustrating to me. I remember the days when your place of business could have the phone company visit your business and teach the employees how to answer the phone courteously and competently. Now, it seems to me, AT&T is one of the worst OFFENDERS in helping people with a phone (or Internet) problem. I got a call today (another robot) asking me for feedback on the resolution of my phone problem, but all they wanted to know was how the TECHNICIAN did. Well, he did fine (and I said so). It was their robotic answering service that I hated, but I had only 30 seconds to describe that, and then “click,”my response opportunity was ended.

Oh, for the good old days!

The News v Channel 63

If the news is overwhelming :-( 

try Channel 63 at 7:30 am 

for a laugh and a smile :-) 

Resident Clubhouse Pool

What is behind the fence?

Tree Huggers

This looks like a good effort to protect our trees from the worst drivers. Corners are hazardous. Perhaps there is an opportunity for artistic endeavours as well.

Comcast XFINITY WiFi: Just say No

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2476444/mobile-security/comcast-xfinity-wifi--just-say-no.html

from Michael Horowitz at COMPUTER WORLD, an educational blog, heavy on facts.

"Here I will cover the obvious downsides to the service ...

Focused on Defensive Computing as I am, XFINITY WiFi seems like a bad idea for Comcast customers, both those offering the free Wi-Fi on their routers and those using the system away from home. If you read this entire article to the end (warning: it's long), I am sure you will agree."

I found it scary in many ways. Comcast is already publishing the addresses of CV wifi spots.  It is easy for bad guys to get automatically signed in, do something illegal, and an innocent Comcast customer is in for all kinds of hell.  

Note: I would trust Michael H. far more than a salesman.

Dressing Well, for Men Only

Try https://www.cladwell.com/  recommendations of wardrobe items specific for your lifestyle.  Note: sometimes you have to scroll down to see results and entire list of clothes, rather than store sales pitches.
Get your guayabera on!

Yard Sale Tiara

Look what'all I got at the Sussex B yard sale this morning.  
I always wanted a crown, sorry granddaughter.

Put Condo Expo on calendar

http://www.pbcondohoaexpo.com/

Chili Cookoff and Country Music

CLEMATIS BY NIGHT 
Thursdays, 6:00-9:00 pm

West Palm Beach Waterfront

 

OCT 2      FIREFIGHTER CHILI COOKOFF

               featuring CADILLAC BLUE/Country

               (special hours: 6:00-10:00 pm)

 

OCT 9      VALERIE TYSON BAND/R&B, Top 40

 

OCT 16    BISCUIT MILLER & THE MIX/Blues

 

OCT 23    SPRED THE DUB/Reggae

 

OCT 30    CLEMATIS BY FRIGHT

               featuring RIVERDOWN/Rock

               with costume contests, trick-or-treating, hayrides & more!

               (special hours: 6:00-10:00 pm)

 

Thursdays, 6:00-9:00 p.m. 

on the Waterfront Commons
Downtown West Palm Beach
FREE!

For more information:  561/822.1515
or www.clematisbynight.net

Humor in the UR

Thanks to Donald Foster for his 'Visit to Opa-Locka' (UCO Reporter page A23) best laugh this week. More, more, maybe a trip to Apopka.

I Was Scammed

Who me! Mrs Careful! I received a letter from Social Security saying I had opened a new online account (while I was far away at a wedding). I called Social Security (made it thru the menus from hell) they removed a false new address and noted the attempt to change the deposit bank. Fortunately they have a 30-day hold on bank changes so it had not gone thru. Now I also need to flag my account with credit report companies.

Woman shoots man at Century Village; victim’s condition unknown

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/man-rushed-to-hospital-after-woman-shoots-him-at-c/nhW67/

Rhubarb Pie and Blackberry Pie

http://www.northshoreseniorcenter.org/  Hi, I am about as far away north west as you can be in the contiguous USA. This is a vigorous senior center, lots of activities. Fitness Ctr and some things similar to CV plus more hands-on gardening, gift shop, and I like the Coffee Bar and the world famous “Pie Ladies” homemade pies, pineapple upside down cake, cinnamon rolls, coffee and tea! 

JAILHOUSE ROCK AT 127

When I arrived at my son Tim's in Stoughton, MA where I have been staying for the past six weeks (street address 127 Everett Circle), I discovered the family now has three small dogs. One is a purebred Boston Terrier (what else in this suburb of Boston?); the other two are mongrels. They are well behaved and not really underfoot except once in a while when with their pent-up energy they get dashing about play fighting with each other. Following is the poem I made up about them. I could have titled it "Three Dog Day," I guess.

(You said to put stuff on your blog, Elaine.......)

JAILHOUSE ROCK AT 127

There are three little dogs who live at 127.

When they get real frisky, why, it ain’t exactly heaven.

Their names are Zoey, Dixie, and Knox,

And they always have an eye out for a pair of socks,

Or a sandal on the floor—that is really hard to beat;

For chewing on a sandal is a very special treat.

                                    It is hard to believe the hustle and bustle,

As each one tries the others to outmuscle.

A struggle will ensue as they chomp and chew,

Until you think you’re at the Cincinnati zoo.

From the kitchen to the hall, upon the sofa if they dare,

Their antics are quite frantic when the three are on a tear.

When you hear them growl and occasionally howl,

You are wise without a doubt to give a warning shout,

“Hey, the three musketeers are out and about!”

At 127 with Zoey, Dixie and Knox,

It is certainly true that the jailhouse rocks!

BLOG WARS AND GUESSWORK

Who is “Eduardo,” and who is ghostwriting for Dave Israel? It’s interesting, the sheer guesswork that goes on in our opposing blogs.

I’m reminded of the “Who is John Galt?” question from the book Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. At least in the end of that book there turned out to be a real John Galt. In our case many of the alleged realities are not realities at all. Sometimes they are more a “testing of the waters.” Sometimes they are simply wild fantasies or figments of the imagination, with one common purpose: denigrating the opposition in the eyes of the reader.

We get caught up in all this for sure. A certain someone just loves to come out with a whole new screed every day. “See me, see me!” the post fairly screams.

These are the days of the Blog Wars in Century Village. I wonder if the era will pass. I suppose it will.

Chevrolet knows we need WiFi

Click  http://www.chevrolet.com/culture/article/4g-lte.html 
Internet in your car? It’s here. Chevrolet is leading the way with the most vehicles in its line up offering the available built-in OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing drivers the ability to seamlessly connect their smart devices and vehicles to the Internet.  

Lobster rolls done right.

This one's on a foot-long, toasted, buttered hot dog roll and filled with a generous amount of fresh meat, juicy and salty. No mayo here since it's the warm, saute butter Connecticut style. (Carmine pay attention)

Maine-style rolls have a light swipe of mayo.

Happy Grandparents Day

I remember a time when my dad used to roll me down the hill in his old tires..

...Those were good years.

Idling is different now - Turn it off!

When I learned to drive, I was told it was more wasteful to turn off a vehicle and restart it than it was to leave it idling for a few minutes. I'm afraid I'm showing my age because thanks to efficient electric ignitions in today's vehicles, idling a car for just 10 seconds burns more fuel than restarting it. The facts are simple, and the solution is elegant! If your carpool is not into saving 40,000 tons of CO2, maybe they'd be into saving up to a couple hundred bucks a year in gas money. http://iturnitoff.com/ 

http://iturnitoff.com/#/the-issue

Joan, one of a kind

81 Years of wonderful spirit, viciously funny, 
gonna miss the zingers.

Jury Duty Scams

Beware of Jury Duty Scams An old scam, commonly known as the Jury Duty Scam, has been recirculating around Florida recently and has already defrauded consumers of thousands of dollars. Any caller asking for personal information should automatically be a red flag as potential fraud. Follow these tips to avoid becoming a victim. How The Scam Works Consumers receive a phone call from an individual identifying themselves as an officer of the court. The "officer" says that an arrest warrant has been issued for failure to appear for jury duty. They state that in order to resolve the issue, information for "verification purposes" is needed. This information may include your date of birth, Social Security number and even a credit card number to pay the fine. Other instances include the scammer asking for payment of a fee, typically through a prepaid debit card or a Green Dot Money Pack card, to settle the outstanding warrant. Some consumers fall victim to this fraud and before they realized what happened, the scammer opens new accounts and credit cards and is able to access personal banking and financial information. Avoid Becoming Victim Court workers never request payments from jurors over the telephone, nor do they ask for personal information, such as Social Security or credit card numbers. If a consumer is unable to fulfill jury duty, they are typically asked to provide an explanation or directed to appear in court. Never give out personal information when answering an unsolicited phone call. If a consumer is contacted by someone requesting payments for failing to report for jury duty, hang up the phone, it's a scam. Anyone receiving this type of call should immediately contact the local law enforcement agency and the clerk's office at the nearest district court to notify them of this scam. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the state's clearinghouse for consumer information, protection and complaints. For additional information, contact the department's Consumer Assistance Center at  www.800helpfla.com or call 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) or 1-800-FL-AYUDA (352-9832) en Español.

Cleaned Up

Northampton R & S, thanks for removing those trashy, offensive, and misleading signs. I think condo sales will improve in the NW corner of CV now.

Humana Health & Well Being Assessment Market Research

This is an actual program from Humana but online there are many complaints that their phone calls sound like a scam. It would be better if they gave the patient the following info, rather than nagging phone calls. 

http://www.agentpipeline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/In-Home-Health-Well-Being-Program-Assessment-FAQs-AP-503.pdf

They send medical personnel to your home and ask about 90 minutes of their questions and fill in their forms. The result for me is that there are 3 sets of the same info on myself, with my Dr, with Humana, and this assessment. Their focus seems to be Big Business medications, vaccines, and cancer mammograms. Since these were not my concerns, and my questions were met with 'see your Dr.', I did not get much out of this, I hope Humana did.

This would be a great opportunity for Humana to talk about diet, junk food, pesticides, GMOs, hormones in food, but they do not. Nutrition - zip.

I tried their phone number for comments, so far 4 biz days - zip.

Chocolate Attack

Take one frosted cake (sticky would be good) cover the sides with KitKat bars and the top with chocolate malted milk balls.  This is actual cake made by my cousins.

A ribbon or colored M&Ms are alternatives.

COFFEE

How do you feel about a Clubhouse with no coffee - DEPRESSO!

Do other Century villages have coffee? Keep asking ... Operations Mtg tomorrow at UCO 10am.

How to Nap

If you’ve ever taken a nap and woke up feeling even more tired, you’re not doing it right — here’s how to find the perfect time to nap.

Like we do not know how to nap in CV!!

Only one ice bucket challenge

CV Bikes

CV needs this, or bikes stay on walkway.

Friday Nonsense

Budget Planning Meeting

UCO  FINANCE

BUDGET  MEETING

AUGUST 21ST

10:00 AM

CLUBHOUSE  ROOM  C

Ready for Village-wide WiFi

Here come the gadgets, devices, i-things in CV looking for Village-wide WiFi.

Walmart Savings Catcher

Cheep, cheep. I shopped at Walmart and tried their Walmart Saver Catcher, it works. https://savingscatcher.walmart.com

Read it, I got back 9c, probably not enuf to compensate for the time spent typing the receipt number into their system.

CV Weather, you never know what we will get

Today, the 13th before and after the super soaker.

Is your Alarm Clock or Timer Broken ?

http://onlineclock.net/ has alarm, timer, radio, etc. choices of music ...

http://www.metaclock.com/ Has choices of wake-up songs that will make you fall out of bed.  Below is only picture, not a link.

Un-recyclable Coffee Pods

We love convenience. So what's not to love about coffee pods, that make sort of good cup of coffee with no muss and no fuss? They have taken over Europe and sadly, these alien specimens have crossed the Atlantic and are invading North America. 

The problem with them is the waste that mostly goes straight to landfill. Yes, coffee pods are made of recyclable materials (the plastic shell, the paper filter and the aluminum) but recycling plants don’t hire staff to pull these materials apart and put them in the appropriate bins. And while EcoCups use No.6 plastic, other companies like Green Mountain use No. 7, which can’t be recycled in most places. No.7 plastics may also release unwanted toxic chemicals when incinerated.

The East Bay express estimated that they could produce about 966 million pounds of waste per year. If that’s not enough of a visual for you, Mother Jones reported that the amount of coffee cups produced by Green Mountain (8.3 billion) in 2013 was enough to go around the earth 10.5 times – and that’s just one company.

http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/whatever-happened-coffee-pods.html

Wop Wop Wop must be a Huey

County to Conduct Aerial Spraying for Mosquitoes Monday Evening

The Palm Beach County Division of Mosquito Control will be conducting aerial spraying Monday evening, August 11, beginning at sundown, weather permitting. This is in response to increased mosquito populations from recent precipitation throughout the county. Should unstable weather conditions prevent spraying Monday, it will take place on the next available night conditions allow.

The coverage area of approximately 270,000 acres will target populated areas west of Military Trail. The aircraft used is a Huey helicopter.

Aerial spraying is necessary to control the mosquito population that has increased during the recent heavy rains. To further help control mosquitoes, residents are asked to drain or minimize standing water on their properties.

If you are going to be outdoors after dark, use an insect repellent containing DEET and wear long pants and a long-sleeve shirt. The Aerial Spray Hotline is 561-642-8775.

Astronauts

Do Ya Feel Like a Movie, Well Do Ya'

Thank you Marc
It will go to full screen, click frame on lower right.

Baseball Spring Training could be on our doorstep

"The piece of West Palm Beach land being eyed by major league baseball for a spring training stadium has some additional suitors, it was revealed Wednesday.

West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio said during her weekly media briefing three other groups have approached the city to pitch projects for the property. The piece of land is approximately 160 acres located between Haverhill Road and Military Trail, south of 45th street.

“We are going to be weighing what will be best for the city in that area,” Mayor Muoio said Wednesday.

PLUS....

It became public yesterday that the County isn't willing to do a land trade with the city to make the baseball deal happen." Boo

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Follow the signs and please show respect for our village.

Dalai Lama

Three New Families

Duck Island is a natural protection against predatory raccoons. The tiniest ducklings will race to your grandchildren hoping for crumbs.
Yes, this is a Duck/Picnic Island photo, they are eating bugs!