Winter has come to visit

Not real crazy about the white stuff falling from the sky. This is what it looked like this morning. One problem is that our leaves haven't fallen yet, and the snow is weighing down the branches badly in some of the trees.


A view from my front sidewalk.



No birds in there...



The vegetable garden is pretty well closed for the year; there are some herbs and greens that I can harvest during the winter, but most everything else is gone, as you can see by the zucchini, tomatoes, and tomatillos.

To everything there is a season...



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A man who hid in a closet talking to emergency dispatchers while his house was being burglarized helped police catch the intruder.

Personally, I can't imagine hiding in a closet while someone robs your home. What if the burglar checks out the closet where you're hiding? I don't like the idea of having to fight my way out of a closet against someone younger than me. If someone tried that to me, and I'm unarmed, I'd rather wait somewhere with a blunt object where I have room to move, and ambush the SOB.
Just my opinion.

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For those who think that there is a communication problem between environmentalists, politicians, scientists, and all the bullshit they seem to come up with, check out Labrat's post; it is one of her best, and she writes a lot of good ones. If you aren't reading Atomic Nerds, you should be.

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The weather and lack of sleep seems to have put me in a bit of a dark mood; some of the tunes seem to reflect that. What do you think?

"Tales of Brave Ulysses" by Cream
"Lili Marlene" by Dave Brubeck
"Dust in the Wind" by Kansas
"I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink" by Merle Haggard
"As Time Goes By" by Terrence Farrell
"Melancholy Man" by The Moody Blues
"Time of the Season" by The Zombies
"Stardust" by Artie Shaw
"House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals
"I Am a Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel

The last two are a couple of my favorite oldies; give them a listen.

Good day for some ranting and raving

By now I imagine everyone has heard of the flight that overshot its destination. The pilots claim they were in a "heated discussion" and lost track of things.













I find that hard to believe. I'm more likely to believe they dozed off. Nobody argues and ignores messages from the ground for over an hour. I'll be curious to see what investigators find out.

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It's looking more likely that the idiots in the Senate and Congress are going to pass the so-called health reform.
Personally, I don't see anything good coming out of what they've done. They have a 1500+ page document that hasn't been scrutinized closely by anyone in the government, and are pushing for everyone to ignore what it says and just sign it. Anyone who thinks that is proper procedure has never bought a used car from an "ethically-challenged" car salesman. I think the major results will be more federal meddling in people's lives, higher taxes, and a lot of problems that will only get worse as they try to patch things later. And since it won't automatically solve all the problems, it opens the way to more governmental control and interference in our lives. Instead of trying to overhaul everything, how about finding a few main points, and then tackle them one by one? You'd think we could elect people in who were something other than crooks and dumbasses.

"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress."
-Mark Twain

"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.'"
- Theodore Roosevelt

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Looks like even the other media networks are getting embarrassed by the White House trying to own the news media. This administration is acting like a bunch of bitchy pre-adolescent schoolgirls, who are pissed off because they can't get their way all the time. They have several networks who are going out of their way to pucker up to them, but that isn't good enough; everyone is expected to kiss their asses, and only print what The One approves.
Get real, people. All news outlets are biased, to a certain degree, towards one side or the other. The idea of a completely objective media is right up there with Santa Claus, unicorns, and the Easter Bunny. My personal preference is to look over several sources, then form my own opinions. The idea that the White House wants to push out any news network because they aren't sucking up is abhorrent to me, especially as the latest crop of crooks politicians bragged so much about how they were going to have transparency in government, get rid of corruption, and bring sides together rather than being divisive.

What is next, the Ministry of Truth?

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More ancient music, and a couple of videos, of the last two. I think these are older than some of my readers. Anyone remember all of these?


"Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" by Three Dog Night
"Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot
"Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles
"Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol
"The Poor Side of Town" by Johnny Rivers
"La Bamba" by Trini Lopez
"Two out of Three Ain't Bad" by Meat Loaf
"Rebel Rouser" by Duane Eddy
"Reasons for Waiting" by Jethro Tull

Does that include the tip?

A Democratic fund raiser in San Francisco that cost $30,400 per person, and you get to have your picture taken with the POTUS. That's lot of coin, whether the president is democrat, republican, or any other crooked political party.
Reading the transcript is interesting; evidently we have "billions of people who don’t have coverage" (his words, not mine); I guess we better get that new census done quick, our population seems to have skyrocketed.
And he said this sort of thing with a straight face:

Somebody in an introduction was saying everybody has a kind word to say about Nancy Pelosi, her generosity, her intelligence.

But with style and grace, but most importantly, with steely determination, she does not back down, she is there doing battle each and every day on behalf of not only her constituency here in California, but people all across America who are looking for a fair shake, who are looking for a decent job, who are looking for quality health care, who want a good education for their kids, who want a planet that they can pass on to their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren. That's what Nancy Pelosi is all about. We could not have done any of the stuff that we’ve done this year without one of the best Speakers imaginable.

I may puke.

What we seem to have is a lot of people who paid a lot of money to kiss the president's ass. That's fine if you can afford it, I guess, but most people don't really have that kind of money.
It must really suck to be rich, I guess.

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Looks like the Washington sniper claims that he deserves mercy; I find it amazing that this POS thinks he deserves clemency. Interesting how these types turn into cowards when it comes their time to pay the piper.

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Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement; I guess somebody out there might care, but I'm not sure who...

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Some old songs, some even older.

"American Pie" by Don McLean
"Sentimental Journey" by Les Brown
"Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran
"I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
"Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins
"It Was a Very Good Year" by Frank Sinatra
"Understand Your Man" by Johnny Cash
"Heart of the Night" by Spyro Gyra
"99 Luftballons" by Nena
"Keep on Truckin'" by Hot Tuna

LOL!

Check out the golf carts. There are three pages of them.

I'm back again already

It would appear we are going to ease into cold weather this year; usually summer to winter is like flicking a light switch around here. A lot of parts of the valley have had freezes, but I'm still picking tomatoes, tomatillos, chard, and zucchini. There has been some snow, but mainly in the mountains.

Wasatch Mountains on the east side of Salt Lake Valley



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Sunday we took a trip up into American Fork Canyon; it was a bit cool, but a picnic was enjoyable anyway.
There has been quite a bit of snow up there (we were only at a little over 8000ft elevation), but most has melted until you get up onto the mountainsides. Didn't see much in the way of wildlife, but we did get a few pictures at both American Fork and Sundance.

Tibble Reservoir


Tree growing out of a rock


Thistle heads (these were over 7 feet tall)


Sundance


Mountains above Sundance


Closeup of mountains just west of Sundance


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Got a pretty good laugh at the news this morning.

Obama aide accuses Fox of operating as GOP arm

I don't see what all the excitement is about; ABC, MSNBC, and others have been sucking up to the Whitehouse for months now; seems sort of silly to get pissed just because one small part of the media doesn't seem to be in their pocket. Of course, if it were up to them I guess anything that isn't praising The One would be ruled as hate speech, and illegal. I'm no fan of the Republican party, but lately the Democrats are really getting on my nerves. They seem to act like they are better than anyone else, but I don't see where they are any better than the assholes in the GOP. They're certainly no smarter, and they are just as corrupt and hypocritical.
Just my opinion.

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"Naked Eyes" by Tim Weisberg
"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" by The Beatles
"El Nicoya" by Santana
"Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel
"Born to Fly" by Sara Evans
"Downtown" by Petula Clark
"Reasons for Waiting" by Jethro Tull
"Hellraiser" by Lita Ford
"Tales of Brave Ulysses" by Cream
"Whispering Pines" by Johnny Horton


A lot of people don't remember Johnny Horton. This one from the playlist was one of his best, in my opinion.

I'm in a bad mood, and it shows

Still trying to get my head around the idea of Obama receiving a Nobel Peace Prize; from what I can glean from his supporters (who all seem to be reeling in a group orgasm right now), is that he did not get it for his accomplishments, but for the great job he did talking about what he was going to do. Remember that the nomination had to have been sent within a few days of his coronation inauguration, while he was still spending most of his time patting himself on the back and getting his ass gang-kissed by the media . If talking a good game is all it takes, then he should be sharing the prize with his teleprompter.

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Does anyone really give a rat's ass about Letterman's flings? I'm getting tired of seeing his name any time I look at the news. Almost as tired as seeing Jon and Kate, whoever the hell they are. If I want to see stuff like that, I'll start watching soap operas.

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Two years and nine months ago we got tired of the way the Republicans were running Congress, and gave a bunch of them the boot, replacing them with Democrats. Looking at things now, I can't see where there is any difference between that bunch of crooks, and the bunch now. Anyone see any improvements? We still have politicians being bought and sold, still lying to us, still wasting time on bullshit while real problems go unresolved. Anyone else starting to feel that tar and feathers might be a good investment?

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Any favorites in this bunch?

"We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner
"Sloop John B" by The Beach Boys
"Tuxedo Junction" by Glenn Miller
"Dengue Woman Blues" by Jimmie Vaughan
"I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield
"Diddy Wah Diddy" by Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band
"The Lonely Bull" by Herb Alpert
"A Hard Road" by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
"Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" by Johnny Cash
"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra

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Changing of the seasons

At midnight last night, it was almost 80ºF outside. This morning at 6:00, it was 43ºF. Seems that a winter storm has moved in, bringing a lot of cold rain here in the valley, and snow in the mountains.
The picture below is of the Oquirrh Mountains, just a few minutes west of me (I took this shot standing in front of my mailbox). They reach up about 9000 ft, and I am at 4350, so the snow you see on there isn't that high above us; I wouldn't be surprised to see a light frost tomorrow morning.



When I first woke up I knew we had bad weather, my joints have gotten quite reliable in warning me.

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Sunday my wife slipped and fell, landing on her right side. She was feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous, so I took her to emergency (I've had concussions before, and was worried about the possibilty). Luckily, she didn't have a concussion, but did manage to bruise her knee, elbow, ribs, and sustained a mild whiplash mainly affecting her trapezius muscles. Cold packs the first couple of days and now a heating pad seems to be helping. She just started a new job last week, so she didn't want to try taking time off from work. I'm just glad the injuries didn't turn out to be too bad.

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Looks like SCOTUS is going to be looking at whether the Second Amendment applies only to the federal government, or is also applied to the states. I don't see why not; it seems like a no-brainer to me. I don't see anyone trying to say that the Thirteenth Amendment doesn't apply to states.
Of course, even if they rule in favor of gun owners, it doesn't mean that it will make it any easier for them. Most anti-gun tactics these days favors incremental steps and sneaking around to the back door. Things like ridiculous requirements, excessive taxes and costs on licensing are all tactics to inch their way to banning private firearms. It has nothing to do with public safety; firearm control is all about control. Make people feel like they can't take care of themselves, and they will turn to Big Brother to protect them. Anyone who says it is about crime and safety is either a liar or uninformed.
Just my opinion.

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Looks like there's a bill in the Senate wrapped around the climate change politics raging around the world right now. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., (a pair of idiots from two of the goofiest states in the US) want to start charging companies that they feel have too big of a "carbon footprint". What this will accomplish is twofold; small companies may not be able to meet these requirements and have to fold (just what we need, less jobs in this country), and the larger companies will just pass on the cost to consumers, thus booting up the cost of living, something we all like, right? Personally, I think there are a couple of reasons for it, to increase taxes without actually saying they are taxing people, and the old ploy of the politician in which they pass bullshit laws so that they can try to trick their voters into thinking they are doing something useful.

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
- Aesop

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Any favorites in this bunch? With the cool, rainy weather, I got feeling like more of my oldies. Some of these are older than most of my readers, I think.

"The Green Leaves of Summer" by Dimitri Tiomkin
"A Summer Song" by Chad and Jeremy
"Bob Wills Is Still the King" by Waylon Jennings
"Runaway" by Del Shannon
"Witchy Woman" by Eagles
"Moon River" by Andy Williams
"Burnin' for You" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty
"If We Make It Through December" by Merle Haggard
"Promenade" by Modest Mussorgsky


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Hi, remember me?

It's been over a month since I posted; haven't really been feeling up to snuff most days. Lack of sleep for the most part; this has been a bad couple of months for my back. When you are not feeling well, and tired most of the time, your mind gets a bit fuzzy and lazy.

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Just got back from a visit to my cardiologist. My heart seems to be doing fine for now, and he is happy with the fact that I've managed to lose some weight (about 37 lb) since my visit with him a few months ago. Hopefully I'll be able to get it down some more in the next few months.

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While I was at the gym yesterday I caught part of Qadafi's speech at the UN on the TV there. That had to be one of the longest skeins of pure babbling drivel that I have ever heard. He bounced around all over the map, mainly just talking bullshit for an ungodly long time, and put me in mind of a hashhead who had also been overcome with dementia. About the only thing he said that made halfway sense was in wanting to move the UN to another country other than the US. I agree; I also think we should drop out of the UN, as I can't really see where they do much good in the world, and the money could be better spent over here.
Just my opinion.

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Not the most cheerful of playlists today; any favorites in this bunch?

"Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran
"Hellhound on My Trail" by Robert Johnson
"Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Black Rose" by Waylon Jennings
"Brandenburg Concerto No. 2" by JS Bach
"Holy Water" by Bad Company
"Born Under a Bad Sign" by Cream
"I Wanna Go Back" by Eddie Money
"I Drink Alone" by George Thorogood
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams

If you're not familiar with the last two, here they are:






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An important day tomorrow

On August 18, my wife Sandy and I celebrate 36 years as a married couple; I can't think what I would do without her.



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More fighting over the health bill; I hope they scrap the one they're pushing. The government is necessary, sometimes, but should never be brought in unless absolutely necessary; most of the time they just make stuff worse. And the people in Congress are up to their usually hijinks. (H/T to The Irritable Architect)

"Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
- Mark Twain

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office."
- Aesop

"What's the difference between a whore and a congressman? A congressman makes more money."
- Edward Abbey

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Some good articles in the blogosphere for those people who believe in taking care of themselves.

Brigid has a good post (I don't think she has ever written a bad one) concerning home security; it is an excellent read.

Paladin shows how he put together a practical medical pack for a fraction of what you would pay if you bought one.

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More ancient music. Any favorites in this collection of moldie-oldies?

"Moondance" by Van Morrison
"Red, Red Wine" by Neil Diamond
"Scarborough Fair/Canticle" by Simon & Garfunkel
"You Only Live Twice" by Nancy Sinatra
"Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones
"Eight Miles High" by The Byrds
"Whispering Pines" by Johnny Horton
"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys
"Legend of a Mind" by The Moody Blues
"Let Me Be" by The Turtles

The last one has always been a favorite of mine, due to the lyrics.

Please don't mistake me or try to make me
The shadow of anybody else
I ain't the him or her you think I am
I'm just trying hard to be myself
Oh, society's goal is to be part of the whole
That may sound good to you, not to me

Let me be, let me be
To think like I want to
Let me be, let me be
That's all I ask of you
I am what I am and that's all I ever can be

Don't try to plan me or understand me
I can't stand to be understood
I could never give in to or ever live up to
Being like you think I should
I've got some inner need which I'm tryin' to heed
I can't take hand-me-down destiny

Let me be, let me be,
To think like I want to
Let me be, let me be
That's all I ask of you
I am what I am and that's all I ever can be

Don't try to change me or rearrange me
To satisfy the selfishness of you
I'm not a piece of clay to mold to your moves each day
And I'm not a pawn to be told how to move
I'm sorry I'm not the fool you thought would play by your rules
But to-each-his-own philosophy

Let me be, let me be,
To think like I want to
Let me be, let me be
That's all I ask of you
I am what I am and that's all I ever can be

I said that's all I ever can be
I said that's all I ever can be
I said that's all I ever can be



The next to the last one is familiar to anyone old enough to actually remember the Woodstock years, the Sixties, and the relevance of terms such as Orange Sunshine, Purple Microdot, and Clear Light.

Can we move on now, please?

Okay, the cop, the professor, and the president have had their little get-together; can we get on with the real world now? Or is the fourth estate going to try milking this for the next couple of weeks?

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Sounds like more taxes may be in the future; since when is this news? Every administration says they are going to keep taxes down, but they don't. As I've said many times in the past, politicians lie; it's what they do.

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Looks like Nissan has an electric car. Sorry, but I'm unimpressed. For one thing, this has to be charged up to use, which means more power from the grid. And that means burning more coal. Alternative energy sources are nice, but unless they are nuclear, they cannot keep up with even the demand today, let alone if everyone is charging their vehicle all the time.
According to the article, it will run 100 miles on a charge. That may sound good to people in the tiny little eastern states, but here where I live that isn't very much. Just running to my mom's and back is about a 120 mile round trip. I'll pass, thanks.

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The Park City Art Festival has been going on this weekend, so we went up there for our yearly visit. Had an early dinner at Wasatch Brewery; we both opted for fish and chips and a couple of mugs of cold brown ale. Good stuff.
We spent a bit of time listening to various groups playing music here and there. Spent the longest time listening to some Brazilian jazz; a friend of ours was playing sax and flute for them.



We didn't get a chance to go in here, but I liked the sign.



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Spotted this little guy tapping away at one of my trees; he didn't seem too afraid of me.







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My usual hodge-podge of music; any favorites in this bunch?

"Anvil of Crom" by Basil Poledouris
"Rebel Rouser" by Duane Eddy
"See You in September" by The Happenings
"Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Bob Wills Is Still the King" by Waylon Jennings
"Cold Hearted Woman" by Cross Canadian Ragweed
"Photograph" by Def Leppard
"Witchy Woman" by Eagles
"Tennessee Stud" by Eddy Arnold
"My Mirage" by Iron Butterfly

If the first choice on the list doesn't look familiar, then listen to it here; I'm sure you'll recognize it. It's from one of my favorite music scores.

Yes, it's really me

Again, I have gone too long without posting; it's just one of my many character flaws, I guess.

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The past couple of weeks have been busy; my wonderful wife had her birthday. I just wish I aged as well as she does. Her brother had his 60th birthday a couple of weekends ago, we all went up in the hills and had a good time. Last weekend I went out to my mom's place to do some chores. The rest of the time I've been trying to keep up with the yardwork around here, but the high temperatures have been kicking my ass.

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The birthday party in the mountains was good; we went to the Potter's Pond area. Some the people went fishing, others hiked, some just sat around and visited. I opted for some walking around, and managed to get a couple of photos. Double-lick to enlarge.

One end of the lake.




The dragonflies were thick.



Colombine.



Wild geranium.



Near where we had our picnic.




A view of the sky, with a tree for contrast.



Same tree as previous picture, showing its full size.



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Have you noticed how the pressure is on for Congress and the Senate to hurry and pass the "healthcare reform" bill? You know, if someone is telling me to sign a contract several hundred pages long, without reading it, I get the feeling they are trying to slip something by that I might not like. I don't believe in buying a pig in a poke, and distrust anyone who is trying to sell one.

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The Thune Amendment was defeated; evidently marriage licenses and driver's licenses are good across state lines, but not people who have CCW's. These are a group of people with some of the lowest instances of violence, but are regarded as dangerous criminals, due to lies and fabricated statistics designed to frighted those who are ignorant of such things. A lot of people argue that it doesn't come under the Second Amendment, but it is fairly obvious what the writers of the Bill of Rights meant, no matter what the lying politicians say.

"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves in all cases to which they think themselves competent..., or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of the press." -Thomas Jefferson

"The great object is, that every man be armed." -Patrick Henry

I'd say that it's fairly plain what they meant.

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A mixture, as usual.

"Thelonious" by Thelonious Monk
"It Was a Very Good Year" by Frank Sinatra
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye
"Abracadabra" by Steve Miller Band
"The Four Seasons - Largo - Winter" by Antonio Vivaldi
"Proud Mary" by Tina Turner
"Magic" by Electric Light Orchestra/Olivia Newton-John
"No More Mr. Nice Guy" by Alice Cooper
"Run Through the Jungle" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"Baby the Rain Must Fall" by Glenn Yarbrough

The last one in the list was also done by Steve McQueen in the movie of the same name.



Any favorites in that bunch?

Hello again

You'd think I'd get better at blogging more often, but I still seem to flake out. It's been busy around here with relatives visiting, yardwork, etc. Little low on energy right now, and it shows in this post.

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I can't believe all of the celebrity deaths since I last posted; they seem to be dropping off right and left. Doesn't really matter who you are or how much money you have, we all have an expiration date. You can shorten your time, but you can't extend it.

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I see where there is talk about another "stimulus" bill; I guess some of the Congressman found some more pork that they forgot to put in the last one. Seems like every time we get a new bunch in there the trough gets bigger.
If one of the damn things didn't faze the bad economy, why should anyone expect another one to work?

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
- Albert Einstein

The more I see of politics, the more I wish we had a reset button on the government.

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Did you see where some Congresswoman wanted a resolution passed honoring Michael Jackson? As if the federal government didn't have enough real work to do. There was finally a bit of bipartisan agreement on the fact that the resolution was unnecessary. I really don't see why they are acting like he is some sort of national hero; personally I didn't care at all for his stuff, and don't see why he is so revered.

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Now here's a disgusting bunch of characters:

A group of Illinois grave diggers were charged Thursday with running a morbid scam in which they exhumed corpses in a historic black cemetery to resell the empty plots, cops said.

Investigators suspect more than 300 bodies were dug up in the suburban Chicago graveyard and discarded in a pit so the ghouls could cash in.

I hope they throw the book at them.

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Now for some of my attempts at photography. As usual, double-click to enlarge.

This little guy was watching me out in the yard, so I took his picture. I got within five feet of him without alarming him. Most of the robins in the yard are getting used to me. He'd been eating some berries before setting down and watching me.
















This is a shot of one of my tomato plants; it's almost five foot high. I also got a whole jungle full of volunteers, so I have been thinning them and leaving some of the bigger ones intact.



Tomatillos; these come up as volunteers in my garden every year.
















These are only the size of golf balls, but we've been eating them for several days now.
















My Japanese Blood Plums should be ripening in a few weeks; hopefully the robins will leave me some.
















Red seedless grapes.















Golden Delicious apples.















Hopefully I can get out somewhere for some decent scenery to photograph; in between doing stuff I've been laid up quite a few times with bad sciatica and back spasms; all the rainy weather we've had lately seemed to trigger them.

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"Cherokee" by Charlie Barnet
"Dengue Woman Blues" by Jimmie Vaughan
"Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" by Waylon Jennings
"Beg, Borrow and Steal" by Rare Breed
"Tuxedo Junction" by Glenn Miller
"On the Road Again" by Canned Heat
"Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard
"Hellhound on My Trail" by Robert Johnson
"More Than a Feeling" by Boston
"Promontory" by Trevor Jones


The last one may not look familiar, but is quite well known. It is the full version of the song played during the last part of Last of the Mohicans when Hawkeye and Chingachgook opened up the can of whoopass on the Hurons.



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Bob Who?

It's been a couple of weeks since I have (metaphorically speaking) taken pen in hand and posted anything.
The past couple of weeks around this area have been sort of strange; usually we go right from winter into summer; cold and snowy to hot and dry. This year we are experiencing a strange phenomenon know to other parts of the country as Spring. We used to have those here, but not since I was a kid. It is hard getting used to it again. It has rained damn near every day lately, and the temperatures have been pleasantly cool (fifties at night, sixties during the day). The rain has been fleeting, with a fair amount of sunshine, so the flora around here seems to be on steroids.
I seem to be alternating between weeding and pruning part of the day, and laid up with a bad back or shoulder the rest of the time. Hopefully I'll get a little more time to do more, but that's about it for now. Now for a whole bunch of sappy botanical photographs:


Zucchini



Some tomatoes



Chiles



The tops of Egyptian onions; each bulb will grow into another onion, just plant them when harvesting the plant.



One of my wife's favorite things




Geraniums



Miniature roses, only an inch in diameter



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Good to see that the Associated Press is on top of the important news. If the President ever stopped suddenly it would take a whole team of proctologists to remove the reporters that seem to worship him and hang on everything he does.

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Interesting times in Iran; IMHO there is either going to be a regime change, or the government is going to take advantage of the unrest to get an iron-clad grip on the country. The ones who pay, of course, are the ones who just want a little freedom. Any society that gives governmental powers to religion is never going to be free; there must be a separation.

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If you don't like political rants, skip this section.


Looks as if the feds are trying to make the majority of folding knives illegal in this country; it's bad enough they try backdoor tactics to try and come down on legal firearm owners, now they worry about whether a knife can be opened with one hand or not. Neither firearm control nor "knife control" has a damn thing to do with fighting crime or public safety; they're just another way to control people. We wouldn't want the serfs to think they could take care of themselves, after all. Seems like every time we get a new president (of either party), their administration wants to squeeze the Bill of Rights a little more. And all the sheep in this country just chew their cud and go along with it, and don't even bother bleating as long as they get "free" stuff from the federal government. The fact that all the "free" stuff comes out of someone else's pocket doesn't concern them. Too many people are buying into the bullshit that the government will take care of you and protect you, just as long as you obey them and never question their judgment. Ask some of my acquaintances who grew up in the USSR how that was. Right now the government is getting it's fingers into the business world, clamping down on people's rights, and doing it all on borrowed money. At this rate the POTUS and his bunch are going to make an even bigger mess of this country than Bush did, and that takes some real doing.
Just my opinion.


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I've listened to quite a bit of music while being stuck inside during the rainy weather. No real pattern here, some old, some new, some upbeat, others melancholy.

"Goin' Through the Motions" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Number" by Cross Canadian Ragweed
"As Tears Go By" by Marianne Faithfull
"Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty
"Honky Tonkin'" by Hank Williams
"Devil With A Blue Dress On & Good Golly Miss Molly" by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
"The Pusher" by Steppenwolf
"Domino" by Van Morrison
"Cruisin'" by Vixen
"Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon

Here's a couple of the oldies:

No dance would have been complete without at least one or two of Mitch Ryder's hits.




The song was written by Mick Jagger, but his girlfriend here is the one that made it popular.

I have been remiss in my posting

Been a couple of weeks since I posted last; that's what happens when you're busy and your muse has left town.
We're finally into real spring here in Salt Lake Valley; no more frost or snow from now on. And I've finally been able to plant the garden.

Got several tomatoes planted.



The Egyptian onions are doing well; each of these tops grows into a bulb; if you plant it, another plant grows, so every time you pull one, you plant another.



A small section of my herb garden; here showing are curled parsley, cilantro, chives, thyme, and oregano.



My miniature roses are also doing well. These are an inch in diameter.





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Friday we spent most of the day at the zoo. A couple of large examples will suffice.





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Saturday was spent in northeastern Utah and the southwestern corner of Wyoming. We took a trip up into the north side of the Uintah Mountains until we got near the top, where it was still blocked with 4' high drifts.
Down lower there is a lot of drifts and runoff, and the spring flowers are coming up.







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After coming down out of the Uintahs, we stopped in Evanston, Wyoming, where they were having a large gathering of bikers; they had part of the main street closed for the event.

A picture looking to the west from the middle of the street.



A picture looking to the east from the middle of the street.



I thought this paint job was interesting.



No explanation needed for this one.



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Today we went to the Sundance area for a while, then up the south side of the Uintahs until we hit deep drifts in the road.

A shot of the mountains above Sundance.



The Provo River in the Uintahs.



Lower falls of the Provo River.



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I few old tunes, a few older ones...

"Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto
"Wild Summer Nights" by John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band
"Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol
"If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" by Diana Krall
"Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding
"Smuggler's Blues" by Glenn Frey
"Lawyers, Guns and Money" by Warren Zevon
"Highwayman" by Johnny Cash/Kris Kristofferson/Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson
"Close My Eyes Forever" by Lita Ford and Ozzie Osbourne

The song by the Highwaymen has always been one of my favorites; sadly only two of the four are still around, and they aren't getting any younger.



The last song in the playlist is a favorite of mine from a few years ago, many people probably don't really remember it, other than maybe my friend Gregor.

Happy Mother's Day

To all of the moms out there, my best wishes for today. I'm going out to my mom's place later today (she lives about an hour southwest of Salt Lake). The weather is good today, so it should be a good trip.

It's also my brother's birthday. Happy birthday, Rich.

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The flu scare is getting a bit old; how is this flu doing any different from any other variety of flu that hits every year? I don't see a bit difference in the statistics, leading me to believe this is mainly hype being put out there by the media. Personally, I'm more concerned about bee stings, or getting hit by a car. If you have any contrary information, please let me know.

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Happy birthday to the integrated circuit.

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I have neither the time or patience to talk about national politics at this time; I do leave you with these related terms however: fustercluck and goat rope.

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Listening to a playlist I put together Friday.

"We Gotta Get Out of This Place" by Eric Burdon and The Animals
"Moondance" by Van Morrison
"Take on Me" by A-Ha
"Walk-Don't Run" by The Ventures
"Go Where You Wanna Go" by The Mamas & the Papas
"Dengue Woman Blues" by Jimmie Vaughan
"Take the "A" Train" by Duke Ellington
"Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds
"Time Won't Let Me" by The Outsiders
"To Beat the Devil" by Kris Kristofferson

Decided to put the first and the last ones on here.
The first one is an old favorite, and used to get a lot of people singing along with the chorus when it would come on the radio at places where I was working.




This one is in a bit different vein; it has been one of my favorites from Kristofferson, and anyone who has ever been down in the dumps or had some hard times can probably relate to it.

Help Wanted: Muse

I've pretty well given up on my muse; I think she changed her name and moved to Canada. New applicants will be considered. Until then I guess I'll just sort of rant and babble in a semi-coherent manner.

I just saw in the headlines that Dom DeLuise died yesterday; he will be missed.

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The weather seems to have finally settled down into spring around here. It has been fairly warm (anywhere from 45ºF up to 67ºF), so people are finally putting in their gardens. Most of my herbs are in, the tomatoes and zucchinis are planted, and I have been putting in some poblano chiles. I wanted to plant some epazote this year, but I'm having trouble finding some at the local nurseries. Maybe I can find some seeds somewhere.

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I think the media is getting people all worked up unnecessarily about the flu this year; I have yet to see a flu season that didn't have some casualties, and this year doesn't seem much different, other than the MSM seems to be acting like it's an epidemic of Captain Trips from a Stephen King novel.

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Looks like the piracy question is forming into two camps; those of us who believe in kicking pirate asses, and those who seem to like kissing them. I just hope the US stays on the former side, and doesn't start acting like a bunch of thugs are victims. We've got enough of that BS with criminals in this country.

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Most of my time the last couple of weeks has been divided between two pursuits; working in the yard, and recovery time. These days it's harder to put in the hours I used to do; seems like the time between getting laid up with back problems is getting shorter all the time. Hopefully things will be better when it is warmer.

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I'm still trying to find an example of a country/culture/society that has managed to tax itself into prosperity. The current federal adminisration seems to think it is possible, but I haven't really been any more impressed by their intelligence than I was by the last administration. Do you ever get the feeling that some people go into politics because they don't have any useful skills, abilities, or knowledge?

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Lot of old stuff today; anyone out there who can remember even half of these?

"Goin' Down Slow" by Howlin' Wolf
"Black Rose" by Waylon Jennings
"Comin' Back to Me" by Jefferson Airplane
"Mirage" by Pentangle
"Tennessee Stud" by Eddy Arnold
"Michelle" by The Beatles
"Dirty Water" by The Standells
"Om" by The Moody Blues
"Blues' Theme" by Davie Allan & The Arrows
"El Paso" by Marty Robbins

It's looking more like spring around here

Had a light bit of snow a few days ago, but it's been sunny for the last couple of days, and it shows.
One of my neighbors down the street has some old cars he brings out now and then, thought you might like a look at them. Sappy flower blogging will come later this week.
















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Looks like some pirates failed to capture a ship after a NATO ship stepped in.

The pirates were captured at 1 a.m. Sunday after they threw weapons, ladders and scaling equipment overboard, Davies said. Several rounds of ammunition were found on the pirates' boat.
The pirates were detained, but allowed to go free after questioning.

I have a suggestion; next time you set them free, how about doing it in an old time-honored manner?

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Lots of old stuff in the playlist today.

"Baby It's You" by The Beatles
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Eric Burdon and The Animals
"Mona Lisa" by Nat King Cole
"Fresh Garbage" by Spirit
"Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline
"The Old Man Down the Road" by John Fogerty
"If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot
"Mama Told Me Not to Come" by Three Dog Night
"867-5309/Jenny" by Tommy Tutone
"It's My Life" by Bon Jovi and Sugarland

The next to last one is sort of an earworm, but entertaining.



The last song is from a concert with Bon Jovi and Sugarland. Jennifer Nettles has a stronger voice than Bon Jovi, and I think she adds a little more depth and moxey to the number. IMHO, anyway.



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"...to the shores of Tripoli..."

Is anyone else getting tired of reading about pirates in this day and age? As the title of this post suggests, we used to have ways of taking care of problems like this. What has changed? The UN should be addressing this, but that gutless bunch of idiot eunuchs are too busy playing politics and trying to talk everyone into some sort of global government. You do not get rid of thugs by paying them off or talking nice to them. What is needed is for someone to start kicking their asses and making them wish they had honest jobs. As far as I can see, this is an act of war on behalf of the country in which they are based; if that country won't do anything about them, then someone else should. Start blowing a few of them out of the water, to begin with, then hit their bases. When you are dealing with a bunch of animals like that you have to use force; it's the only thing they understand or respect.
Just my opinion.

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"Pride and Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughan
"Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" by Waylon Jennings
"Work(s): Sonata in D minor" by Andrés Segovia
"I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield
"Riding With the King" by B.B. King and Eric Clapton
"Johnny Reb" by Johnny Horton
"Burnin' for You" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Leaves That Are Green" by Simon & Garfunkel
"You Got It" by Roy Orbison
"Come As You Are" by Mindi Abair

This video is the late Roy Orbison from the list:

Look! A toy car!

I imagine everyone has seen this goofy looking thing; looks like somebody made a two-wheel golf cart on a tight budget.

According to Segway, the new vehicle is capable of traveling at speeds of 25 to 35 mph. The vehicle can be driven between 25 miles and 35 miles on a single charge, it added.

I'm curious who the hell thought this thing was a viable form of transportation? I would love to see one of the people gushing over it try to drive it here in Salt Lake in winter, when the mercury is down low and there is a foot of snow to plow through. And 35 miles? That may be alright for driving down to the corner, or in one of the tiny states in the eastern US, but around here you'd be in a lot of trouble. Hell, you can drive further than that just running errands around town, let alone actually going anywhere.

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Sunday we went for a short drive up by Sundance, and then up American Fork Canyon; still a lot of snow, and the road that connects them is still closed for the winter. Thought you might like ot see what some of our near mountains look like. Click to enlarge.

Taken from just above Sundance.



Another photo from just above Sundance.



People fishing at Tibble Reservoir. (American Fork Canyon)



My wife caught this one of me looking at the mountains.



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And now some sappy flower blogging from my yard to offset the cold looking pictures above. Click to enlarge.










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Sort of a mix in today's playlist.

"Me and the Devil Blues" by Robert Johnson
"Abraham, Martin and John" by Dion
"Nobody But Me" by The Human Beinz
"Get Me to the World on Time" by The Electric Prunes
"A Fistful of Dollars" from the soundtrack
"Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Sonata for keyboard in A major, K. 322 (L. 483)" by Andrés Segovia
"Goin' up the Country" by Canned Heat
"Crazy on You" by Heart
"Soapstone Mountain" by It's a Beautiful Day

Here's the last two:

This is one of my favorites by Ann and Nancy Wilson.



Some of you older people may remember the song "White Bird" done by the group It's a Beautiful Day. This is one of the few times David LaFlamme plays guitar; most of the time he played violin (at one time he played first chair violin for the Utah Symphony).

This global warming stuff is getting me down...

Sunday was interesting, for part of the day it was snowing sideways. I caught these pictures when it had died down a bit. For those who have never spent much time in Salt Lake, this sort of weather is normal. We are out in the desert, but we are at around 4200 ft above sea level, and we also have the Great Frakkin' Salt Lake right next door to cause some goofy weather effects.

Click to enlarge.

This is a shot to the east from my driveway.



This is to the west. Notice you cannot see the mountains just west of me.



Most of the snow has melted today where the sun is hitting; all of the shadowed areas still have snow. We have had quite a few robins in the neighborhood lately. I counted ten on the way to my mailbox after it quit snowing; they were looking a bit bewildered. I caught this picture of one of them this morning, sunning himself in the front yard next to the street.



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It looks like the White House has decided to start telling corporations how to run their internal affairs . Personally, I see this as a bad precedent. Once the POTUS starts telling business who to put in charge, you have the first step to nationalization of businesses in this country. I realize there are some people in this country who idolize idiots like Karl Marx, and think socialism/communism is great, but I am not one of them. Governments that glorify the collective put a chill up my spine. Every one of them that has gone the way of putting the group before the individual has ended up as a totalitarian government to one degree or another.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have."
-Gerald Ford

"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd."
-Bertrand Russell

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I notice the federal government is on another one of its anti-firearm campaigns; now they are blaming the violence in the drug war on American gun dealers. I keep reading articles and seeing photographs of RPG's, machine guns, "assault " rifles, and grenades. Of course the fourth estate never bothers to mention that none of those items can be purchased at gun stores or shows. They are available only to the military in this country. What would be refreshing would be to see a journalist who actually researches their subject, and doesn't doesn't automatically go to the Brady Campaign for talking points. Anyone who tries to argue that gun shows are supplying the drug wars is either an idiot or a bald-faced liar. When it comes to the ATF and the Brady Campaign, they have both been proven to be liars for anyone who actually researches the BS they put out.
But enough of that rant.

"Stress is when you wake up screaming... ...and realize you haven't gone to sleep yet."
-Unknown

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"I Want You to Rock Me" by Vixen
"Love Street" by The Doors
"Two out of Three Ain't Bad" by Meat Loaf
"Ticket to Ride" by The Beatles
"Midnight Rider" by The Allman Brothers Band
"Baby I Need Your Loving" by Johnny Rivers
"Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix
"Teacher" by Jethro Tull
"Orinoco Flow" by Enya
"That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly

A couple of them for you to hear; Vixen was one of the better all-girl bands of the Eighties (gotta love the big hair and leather), and this one by Meatloaf has always been one of my favorites.

Spring is here...

...as you can obviously see from the pictures.


The hyacinths and daffodils are not really liking this.



A view to the west; the snow is not sticking much on the streets, but it has actually dumped about three or four inches since last night.



Tonight will probably be cold. Gotta love the weather around here.

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I would like a bit of help from fellow gunnies out there.

I have an old .303 Enfield that I am trying to get information on. If anyone knows what these stamps signify, and know where to get further info on it, I would appreciate it.

Click on pictures to enlarge.





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Sort of an odd mix, but it works for me.

"The Night They Rode Old Dixie Down" by Johnny Cash
"We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner
"Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat
"Someday Soon" by Judy Collins
"Willow Weep for Me" by Chad And Jeremy
"England Swings" by Roger Miller
"Sometimes in Winter" by Blood, Sweat & Tears
"Dancin' in the Ruins" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Volare (Nel Blu, Di Pinto Di Blu)" by Dean Martin
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams

For those who liked the Eighties, this one from the list was one of my favorites from Blue Öyster Cult:

You have GOT to be kidding

A FORMER nunnery that has been converted into a comfortable modern prison is expected to be chosen by Josef Fritzl as the place in which to serve his life sentence.

Fritzl, 73, who was jailed last week for murder, rape, enslavement, coercion and incest after locking his daughter in his cellar for 24 years and fathering seven children by her, six of whom survived, is free under Austrian law to choose from three prisons that offer special sections for “psychologically abnormal” convicts.

According to his lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, he will select Garsten, a former Benedictine convent about 30 minutes’ drive from the house in the provincial town of Amstetten, where he held his daughter Elisabeth prisoner from the age of 18 and sexually abused her an estimated 3,000 times.

In Garsten he will be able to improve his English or study other foreign languages, as well as singing in the choir or training in a gym that is better-equipped than those of many hotels. As an inmate, he will be offered a wide variety of hobbies and entertainment, including tennis, darts and art classes.

The prison, set in woodland in the foothills of the Alps and considered one of the best in Austria, provides inmates with the light and fresh air that Fritzl’s victims were deprived of in their dank cellar.

Fritzl, an engineer who could in theory be released on parole after 15 years, will be able to indulge his passion for reading, as Garsten has one of the largest prison libraries in the country.

That is ridiculous. What that disgusting animal deserves is to be shot, or locked away in a dungeon somewhere and the key thrown away. Instead, after all those crimes he gets to go to a resort.

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It's been nice seeing some spring around here for a couple of days. Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, then Sunday night the snow will hit through Monday morning, and we'll be back to winter. This is normal around here; spring is primarily a calendar event. Usually we get winter up into April and then it turns warm. I miss gardening and I'm looking forward to it when spring/summer finally hits.

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Plenty of old stuff.

"Lawyers, Guns and Money" by Warren Zevon
"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" by The Lovin' Spoonful
"No More Mr. Nice Guy" by Alice Cooper
"I Can Make It With You" by The Pozo-Seco Singers
"Heart of Glass" by Blondie
"Black Blade" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight" by Buddy Holly
"Lili Marlene" by Dave Brubeck
"I Drink Alone" by George Thorogood
"In the Pay of Spain" by Ian Anderson

The Pozo-Seco singers may be unfamiliar to anyone under 55; they were a folk/rock band that was somewhat popular back in the early to middle sixties. Here is the one that is in the list:

Where does the time go?

It would appear that my blog is three years old today. I would like to thank you people for taking to time to read (and even answer!) my questionable scribblings; I have met (in virtual space) a lot of good people who have visited here, and hope to see you in the future, also. If at times I seem a bit goofy, just think of the lines to the old Waylon Jennings song:

"I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane"

A view of my desktop (excuse the clutter and dust)



A few flowers from my yard to celebrate.

The humble but beautiful periwinkle



The daffodil; a joyous harbinger of spring



Miniature daffodils; these are only an inch across



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I've been reading news from what's been happening with our friends across the pond in the UK.

The U.K. government is considering the mass surveillance and retention of all user communications on social-networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo.

and

The travel plans and personal details of every holidaymaker, business traveller and day-tripper who leaves Britain are to be tracked by the Government, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Like I told my brother the other day in an e-mail, I'm beginning to think that Orwell was an optimist.

“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals.
“Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone?
“But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted-and you create a nation of law-breakers-and then you cash in on the guilt.”
-Ayn Rand

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Lots of golden oldies mixed into this bunch.

"I Want You to Rock Me" by Vixen
"Crossroads" by Robert Johnson
"Devil Woman" by Cliff Richard
"Perfect" by Sara Evans
"Season of the Witch" by Blues Brothers Band
"Rebel Rouser" by Duane Eddy
"Ride the Wild Surf" by Jan & Dean
"I've Always Been Crazy" by Waylon Jennings
"Homeward Bound" by Simon & Garfunkel
"Twist and Shout" by The Beatles

This song from 1967 always tickled my funnybone for some reason.

No rant, I'm in a better mood today

I found an interesting/amusing item; what amounts to a golf ball rifle. The first thing that occurred to me after seeing this was a picture of someone with a shortened version popping a burglar between the eyes with a golf ball.



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The last snow has melted away, except for patches in the shade on the north side of buildings and trees; spring is trying to pop up around here. For those who like nature photos, these are from my yard. Click to enlarge photos.


Some crocuses in my flower garden.


Violets



One of my Swiss chard plants coming up early


A catkin from a quaking aspen


One of my miniature roses is leafing out.


One of a pair of doves; they are quite numerous in our neighborhood.



How are things coming up in your neighborhood?

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Some old, some very old.

"Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" by The Byrds
"Highwayman" by Johnny Cash/Kris Kristofferson/Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson
"Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin
"Today" by The New Christy Minstrels
"Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat & Tears
"Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran
"Michelle" by The Beatles
"Against the Wind" by Bob Seger
"All Over The World" by Electric Light Orchestra
"Right Down the Line" by Gerry Rafferty

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Who was the idiot who invented the term "The Golden Years"?

Been laid up most of the weekend; the weather has been changing and my back decided I didn't really need the ability to stand upright, walk, or anything else that involves using the lower back muscles and/or sciatic nerves. The air pressure seems to have evened out (it's snowing outside right now), so I am able to hobble about for now. It's getting where any day you can get out of bed without help is considered a good day.
Had to see my cardiologist today for my periodic checkup; my heart doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but I still need to get my weight down to a reasonable level. More calorie cutting and more time exercising, I guess. Amazing how your body gets so damn goofy when you get older. Years ago I could eat more than I do now, and only weigh a fraction as much. Of course, that was when hair grew on the top of my head, where it belongs, instead of trying to grow out of my nose and ears.

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Barbie is 50 years old; in keeping with her age, this is the latest model:



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Every day when I decide to listen to music while on the computer, I open my music program and toss a bunch of songs together for the day's playlist, so each day tends to be a bit different. I have a few basic lists that I modify on occasion, but usually my mood determines what I'll be listening to. Today's list, for some unfathomable reason, is all female singers. Some of the top ten in the shuffle may be familiar to you, but a few of them have been around a long time.

"Queen of Hearts" by Juice Newton
"Midnight at the Oasis" by Reneé Olstead
"Have You Never Been Mellow" by Olivia Newton-John
"Wishin' & Hopin'" by Dusty Springfield
"Born to Fly" by Sara Evans
"To Sir with Love" by Lulu
"Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins
"Society's Child" by Janis Ian
"Cold, Cold Heart" by Norah Jones
"Dreamboat Annie" by Heart