Am I the only one looking forward to the elections being over?

"On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does."
-Will Rogers

I have a confession to make; I haven't watched any of the debates, and I don't really plan on doing so. I'd rather look over the candidate's records to make any decisions.
The first thing to consider with anyone running for office is that politicians lie. What you have during a debate is the equivalent of two used-car salesman competing to see which one of them can sell you an overpriced clunker. No matter who you choose, it's still BOHICA time. As far as I'm concerned, those clowns can yammer all day, what counts is deeds, not bullshit. You want to know what those bullwinkles will do? Look at what they've been doing all along. Remember that both of them have been screwing over someone, it is part of the game. The only difference is who is getting it, and how hard are they getting it. Always check their past, and make sure to go to different sources. Some sources are more objective than others, so I like to try and find sources that lean in different directions, and compare.

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"Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right."
-H. L. Mencken

Looks like the bailout may be settled, but the dust is still settling, so nothing is dead certain as of yet. No matter what they do, the citizens are going to be footing the bill. Seems that everyone in both parties screwed the pooch on this; and everyone is getting sprained fingers from pointing at the other guy. I still don't like the idea; it is essentially nationalizing the organizations, and that just digs you deeper into socialism. Socialism never ends well; either nations go broke, collapse from ennui, or turn into totalitarian regimes. Personally, I distrust all wealth redistribution programs unless they are completely voluntary, and taxes are NOT voluntary.

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I'm hoping to get up in the hills and do a little photography sometime soon; the leaves are changing and it is going to be full of snow in the higher elevations, so I'd like to get up there before the roads get closed.

I've been feeling a bit down and melancholy the last few days; I don't know if it is the weather, the news, my health, or what. It does seem to show in the playlist I'm currently listening to, however. Anyone familiar with this top ten from the list?

"It Was a Very Good Year" by Frank Sinatra
"Ain't Even Done With the Night" by John Mellencamp
"Never Comes the Day" by The Moody Blues
"American Pie" by Don McLean
"Misery and the Blues" by Maria Muldaur
"Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding
"Night Moves" by Bob Seger
"Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin
"Someday Never Comes" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
"If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot

I remember when the first one in the list came out during the sixties; it was ok, but I wasn't really crazy about it. As I've gotten older, however, it seems to sound better and make more sense.

Whoops...

Last time I was here I said I was going to try to blog more often. Notice how well that worked.

I like taking this test from time to time to see if any of my outlook has changed much. It doesn't seem to vary a lot, other than I seem to be floating toward anarchy. I'm not sure if that is good or bad.

You are a Social Liberal (80% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (85% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

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My brother sent this to me in an email for a good laugh. (Thanks, Rich.)

This video proves that stupidity knows no borders.



Even though Mexico send a lot of drugs up here, they must be keeping the best stuff at home. I have to wonder if these people are hitting the local mushrooms. Instead of village idiots they have some idiot villages.

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The presidential contests are getting into full swing now; the sniping, lying, shit-throwing, and name-calling is starting to get to really obnoxious levels; I don't think half of the idiots out there are even checking any of the facts they hear, they just pick the ones they like and take them on faith. The politics is getting to a level of slime that would scare a cockroach.

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Feeling like something a little different, this list has a lot of stuff other people don't listen to a lot. Anyone familiar with the top 10 on the list? The songs or the artists?

"Classical Gas" by Terrence Farrell
"The Fool on the Hill" by Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66
"Slaughter on 10th Avenue" by Rodgers & Hart
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" by Diana Krall
"Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix
"Hell Hound on My Trail" by Eric Clapton
"Someone to Watch over Me" by Reneé Olstead
"Yakety Axe" by Chet Atkins/Mark Knopfler
"More Than a Feeling" by Boston
"I'm Eighteen" by Alice Cooper

Hello again, it's just me

I'm trying to blog more often; hopefully before the 3 or 4 people who visit give up on me.
The Greek Festival was a success; as usual they had tons of food and lots of visitors. Prices have gone up, but that is true anywhere you go these days. I quite enjoyed kalamaria, dolmathes, keftethes, souvlaki, spanakopita, loucomades, and various other dishes.
The Greek Orthodox Church of Salt Lake is a nice example of byzantine architecture. I got this photo from across the street; to the left is part of the building that housed the kitchens.



In one part of the festival they had Greek dancers demonstrating the various dances from Greece that have been passed down; some are mixed gender, but a lot are either women only or men only, as many dances are in that area of the Mediterranean.
In the other part of the festival there was a local Greek band. I got this picture of the singer/bouzouki player. If you want to hear an example of bouzouki music, there is a clip here.



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The presidential campaign is starting to warm up; the sniping is getting busier. I don't know why politicians can't act like adults and talk about issues. Instead, it's like watching a bunch of 13-year old schoolgirls getting all pissy and bitching about each other from behind. And some schoolgirls would be a lot better at it. I still wish one of our choices was "None of the above".

“Washington is a stud farm for every jackass in the country.”
- Mark Twain

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

"Alexander Hamilton started the U.S. Treasury with nothing -- and that was the closest our country has ever been to being even."
-Will Rogers

"It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged."
-G.K. Chesterton

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More golden oldies.

"If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)" by Willie Nelson
"Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones
"Perfect" by Sara Evans
"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" by The Lovin' Spoonful
"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys
"The Fool on the Hill" by Sergio Mendes
"Promises in the Dark" by Pat Benatar
"No Fair at All" by The Association
"Valerie" by Quarterflash
"To Beat the Devil" by Kris Kristofferson

It's bad enough that my muse ran away from home...

...but you'd think she could at least send me a postcard once in a while.

Not a lot in the news to blog about; the majority of the stuff out there is the presidential campaigns, and those seem to be revolving around two types of responses; orgasmic happiness on the right, and pant-soiling hysterics on the left, all concerning the vice presidential Republican runner, not the Republican presidential runner. Seems people are more concerned about Palin than they are about McCain. A question to the left: Why are you so concerned about comparing the Republican #2 to the Democratic #1? For a group of people who act so dismissive of her, they sure seem to be obsessed with going after her. While they're busy throwing all of their mud at her, McCain is skating along. Personally, I don't favor either party. To me the Democratic Party has morphed into socialists, and the Republican Party seems to favor an aristocracy. The only reason I am even considering voting is the fact that I have a mental block against socialism; I detest it as much as I do monarchies, and for the same reason, they are both totalitarian governments.
Just my opinion.

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One of my favorite events is happening this weekend, the Greek Festival. It is a charity event put on by the local Greek Orthodox Church, and is extremely popular around here. I grew up around a lot of Greek and Italian people in south Salt Lake, and this is a great place to get the sort of food I remember from friend's families while I was growing up. I'm really looking forward to some good food and a glass of retsina, followed by baklava and Greek coffee.

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Some old stuff in my playlist today; the more I hear of the stuff on the radio, the more I like the older stuff. Any day now I'll be on the porch yelling "Get off the lawn!"

"Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon
"Substitute" by The Who
"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers
"California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas
"Uncle John's Band" by The Grateful Dead
"Magical Mystery Tour" by The Beatles
"For Ladies Only" by Steppenwolf
"Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" by Santana
"The Battle of Evermore" by Led Zeppelin
"Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky

How many of these do you remember?

Late posting, as usual

It's been a few days since last posting. I actually have an explanation for that, other than procrastination.
After getting back from vacation Monday, my wife came down with a sinus infection and mild bronchitis, I got an inner ear infection that I am just now getting over, with the aid of a buttcheek full of antibiotics and some pain pills and more antibiotics. My wife is still getting over her sinus problems, but is feeling better.

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Our trip went fairly well; the temperatures were reasonable, and we didn't get rained on.
We went down to south central Utah, basing ourselves in the small town of Torrey. It's a quiet place that has grown quite a bit during the past few years, but is still small. It sits at the base of the Aquarius Plateau, which feeds the rivers in all directions in that area of Utah, so in a few minutes you can drive up to an alpine environment, or wander around in the desert, depending on temperature, time of day, and mood.

Double-click on any picture for full size.

This is a picture of the area from about halfway near the top of the Aquarius Plateau.



We did a bit of hiking in the river canyons by Escalante, and spent quite a bit of time in Capitol Reef.





At Capitol Reef, they have parts of an old community. There are a lot of cottonwood trees around, which are ubiquitous to the desert areas. Some are quite big, and very old, as you can see from this photo.



There are also a lot of these guys, who tend to hang out in the old orchards there. Since there is no hunting allowed in the park, they tend to get very tolerant of tourists.









This is the cabin of Elijah Cutler Behunin, built in 1882, for his family of ten. A rising river wiped out their crops and they had to leave.



This school house was built on land donated by Behunin; it operated from 1896 to 1941. I managed to get a shot through a window; they have tried to keep it looking like it once did.





Here we have remains of older settlers; the Fremont Indians. The Fremont lived in the area from 600 - 1100 AD. It is thought that the Fremont were the ancestors of today's Utes and Southern Paiutes.





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Interesting political developments. I'm not really sure that Biden was a good choice for Golden Boy's campaign. Of course, I am fairly confident that The Coot will do just as badly at choosing a VP. If he doesn't, I'll be very surprised.

A few quotes on government; there are a lot of good ones out there, but we'd probably run out of room.

“Democracy is little more than the system by which 51 percent of the people can pee in the cornflakes of 49 percent of the people.”
-Jonah Goldberg

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

"The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets."
- Will Rogers

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”
-Marcus Tullius Cicero

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

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

"It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged."
-G.K. Chesterton

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Have been listening to a lot of dusty old songs, a lot of these in the top ten are probably way before the time of most of you. Anyone familiar with all of them?

"Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto
"Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell
"It's Only Make Believe" by Conway Twitty
"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding
"Understand Your Man" by Johnny Cash
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye
"Baby Don't Do Me Wrong" by John Lee Hooker
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" by Buddy Holly
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams
"Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins

A break from cabin fever

Been getting things together to leave town for a few days; Friday morning we'll be leaving for south central Utah, and not coming back until sometime Monday. Hopefully I'll have a few interesting pictures for those who are interested. Right now I'm fighting with a bit of a head cold, hopefully I can shake it by the time we go. I may get a chance to post something before we go, but who knows?

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Monday is our anniversary; 35 years of marriage. Where does the time go? The years haven't been that good to me, but my wife, Sandy, is still just as beautiful as that day she walked down the aisle to me. With any luck, we'll have many more years to come.



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My playlist is all moldie-oldies today, I don't know how many will be recognized.

"Lightnin' Strikes" by Lou Christie
"Sunny" by Bobby Hebb
"Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat
"Walk Away Renee" by The Left Banke
"Come on Down to My Boat" by Every Mother's Son
"Sunday Will Never Be the Same" by Spanky & Our Gang
"Legend of a Mind" by The Moody Blues
"Lil' Red Riding Hood" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
"White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane
"Happy Together" by The Turtles

That last one is just for you, Meleah

I hate it when stuff like this happens

Wall Arch, one of the most accessible major arches in the Devils Garden area of Arches National Park, collapsed sometime Monday night.
"Not being a geologist, I can't get very technical but it just went kaboom," Chief Ranger Denny Ziemann said. "The middle of the arch just collapsed under its own weight. It just happens."
Wall Arch, located along the popular Devils Garden Trail, was 71 feet tall and 33 1/2 feet wide, ranking it 12th in size among the known arches inside the park. Lewis T. McKinney first reported and named Wall Arch in 1948.
No one reported observing the arch collapse and there were no visitor injuries,
Wall Arch is shown before and after it collapsed in Arches National Park. (Courtesy Arches National Park)
the National Park Service said.

That area has been a favorite of mine since the late sixties.

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Had an enoyable evening last night; a sort-of house warming party for some of my relatives. Much good food was in evidence.
For those who like interesting vehicles, scope out my brother-in-law's little item; he and his wife collect Pepsi stuff as a hobby, and this is one of their latest beauties.



There was a bit of rain, but not enough to really get anything wet. We were treated to this however:



You can't see it all, but it stretched completely across the sky; usually you just see half rainbows, but this one covered a full 180º.

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Anyone know all of these? Trying to decide my mood from the playlist I assembled this morning. Seems a bit down, doesn't it?

"Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire
"Red, Red Wine" by Neil Diamond
"Dark Night" by The Blasters
"Ain't No God in Mexico" by Waylon Jennings
"Independence Day" by Martina McBride
"She's Not There" by The Zombies
"Welcome to My Nightmare" by Alice Cooper
"Sole Survivor" by Asia
"Melancholy Man" by The Moody Blues
"Send in the Clowns" by Judy Collins


Here's one from The Blasters; it was part of the soundtrack of From Dusk Til Dawn. It's one of those tunes that is great when you're cruising down the highway at night with the top down.

Busy weekend

It was good to get out over the weekend, even though it was a bit tiring.
Saturday we spent time at the art festival in Park City. My wife found a couple of items she liked, and it killed a few hours walking around. The festival is on the main street, and several blocks long, going north and south. It is also on a hill, making it a bit of a walk going one way. Since the city is at about 7000 to 7100 feet in elevation, it is easy to get out of breath on the uphill.
The first picture is from above the festival, the second picture is taken from down in the midst of it, looking down one side of the street.

Click pictures to enlarge.





Lunch was fish and chips and some local brew at the Wasatch Brew Pub.



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Sunday we had a get-together with some of my relatives at a local park; an aunt and a bunch of cousins and their kids and grandkids, my brother and his wife. Most of the time was spent on chowing down and catching up on stuff. The park has changed a bit; I spent time in it when I was a kid, and my mom and her siblings spent time there when they were children. This gives you a bit of an idea of the place. The temperature was up around 100ºF, so we stayed in the shade a lot.






The husband of one of my cousins brought a car he has been restoring.



It may not be "green" or politically correct, but what the hell, it's good to see an old boat like that on the road now and then.

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The presidential campaigns are interesting. The Golden Boy warns everyone that the Old Coot will be running a racist campaign, then gets miffed when he is accused of waving the race card. Then he gets upset at being accused of running a "celebrity" campaign. Hell, all I've been seeing the past few months is how is claiming to be able to solve all the worlds problems, being treated like a finalist on American Idol, and people practically fainting in his presence. I wouldn't be surprised if they were throwing panties at him, too. It seems like he's good at attacking other people, but then yells foul when anyone attacks him. I've got news for you, Barry; in politics the fighting is two-sided. If you are going to piss and moan about people talking bad about you, maybe you should find another line of work. There's always going to be someone who dislikes you and has bad things to say.
Both of the candidates seem to be waffling for votes; I'm not sure now what they would be like; both of them say one thing, but their records show another. Just goes to prove that you can never completely trust a politician.

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Anybody familiar with more than half of these top ten in the shuffle?
"País Tropical" by Sergio Mendes
"Got Me Under Pressure" by ZZ Top
"Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks
"She's My Girl" by The Turtles
"Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones
"Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles
"Nickel Romeo" by The Bangles
"We Gotta Get Out of This Place" by Eric Burdon and The Animals
"If You Don't Like Hank Williams" by Kris Kristofferson
"The Great Gate at Kiev" by Moussourgsky



"If You Don't Like Hank Williams"

I dig Bobby Dylan and I dig Johnny Cash
And I think Waylon Jennings is a table thumpin' smash
And hearin' Joni Mitchell feels as good as smokin' grass
And if you don't like Hank Williams, honey, you can kiss my ass

Chorus:
'Cause I think what they've done is well worth doin'
And they're doin' it the best way that they can
You're the only one that you are screwin'
When you put down what you don't understand

I said, I dig Roger Miller, Merle Haggard; George Jones
Shotgun Willie Nelson and them rockin' Rollin' Stones
And Jerry Lee's still gotta be the coolest in the class
And if you don't like Hank Williams, honey, you can kiss my ass.

Chorus:
'Cause I think what they've done is well worth doin'
And they're doin' it the best way that they can
You're the only one that you are screwin'
When you put down what you don't understand

You've got to be kidding...

How did I miss this?

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine scientists are taking a novel approach to studying global warming -- strapping plastic tanks to the backs of cows to collect their burps.

Researchers say the slow digestive system of cows makes them a producer of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that gets far less public attention than carbon dioxide in efforts to fight global warming.

Scientists around the world are studying the amount of methane in cow burps and Argentine researchers say they have come up with a unique way.

Attaching a red plastic tank to a cow's back and connecting it through a tube to the animal's stomach, scientists say they can trap bovine burps and analyze them.

Check out the article and the picture; it's a hoot. Seems like a waste of time and resources to me.
Somebody better call Al Gore...

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Wish I could say I've been doing a lot of interesting stuff, but I'm afraid not. I've been spending a bit of time doing work in the yard, but it seems like I run out of energy fairly fast; getting 4 to 5 hours sleep a night over the period of several weeks seems to accumulate. The fact that my feet swell a couple of sizes any time I am on them more than an hour is not helping. Hopefully I can bust out of this slump soon, it makes it hard to blog when you feel tired and sleepy but can't really sleep.

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The robins have been quite thick the past few years; the last two they have just about wiped out my grapes and blood plums before I can get a decent harvest. I don't mind sharing a bit, but these guys really chow down on the fruit. Caught a couple of shots of this guy sitting on my neighbor's fence yesterday while weeding around my tomatoes.




These will start turning dark soon; they are a black sweet seedless, that makes great raisins. The sugar content is so high that it actually forms a light crust on the outside of the raisins.




A couple of Roma tomatoes; I usually have several varieties (Roma, heirloom, pear, cherry, regular tomatoes). They are no longer there, as they met their end on a couple of BLT's that we had yesterday.



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My wife appreciates all of the good wishes for her birthday.

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Any favorites in this bunch?

"The Girl from Ipanema" by Eliane Elias
"Turn the Page" by Bob Seger
"Yakety Axe" by Chet Atkins/Mark Knopfler
"It's a Heartache" by Bonnie Tyler
"Tom Dooley" by Eddy Arnold
"Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers
"You Only Live Twice" by Nancy Sinatra
"El Nicoya" by Santana
"Your Wildest Dreams" by The Moody Blues
"La Grange" by ZZ Top

A special day for a special person

Today is my wife's birthday. How I was lucky enough to find and marry her, I have no idea, but it is the smartest thing I ever did, and the best thing that ever happened to me.

I won't mention her age, because ...well, because it is not a very smart thing for a guy to do. Why so many women (and some guys) worry about such things, I have no idea. Personally, I think my wife looks younger than many women who are younger than her, but for some reason mentioning a woman's age is on par with telling some women what their "butt looks like in those pants". Men who break those rules are flirting with disaster.

We went out to a nice dinner Saturday night, and will be going out tonight also. Unfortunately, she had to go to work today, but hopefully she will be able to come home early.

Happy birthday, Sandy.

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Today's playlist sort of goes with the occasion; any favorites in the top ten here?

"She's a Lady" by Tom Jones
"My Girl" by Smokey Robinson
"Allies" by Heart
"Whenever You're Away from Me" by Electric Light Orchestra/Olivia Newton-John
"Hey, Good Lookin'" by Hank Williams
"For My Lady" by The Moody Blues
"I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield
"This Guy's in Love With You" by Herb Alpert
"I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash
"Forever in Blue Jeans" by Neil Diamond

Summer is starting to warm up to normal temperatures

Spent most of yesterday out at my mom's place helping her with some chores. The weather was windy, and in the high nineties. Blah! The foliage out in her area is starting to dry out; hope they don't have any brush/grass fires out there, but it seems like they have some almost every year.
I had an audience for some of the time I was out there; her neighbors' goats decided to watch me by the fence. I'm not certain of the breed, but the buck with them has four horns.







I was hoping to get some bird pictures, but the only avians I saw were a couple of ravens and a turkey vulture. Usually there are quite a few eagles (both bald and golden) and hawks, but they weren't out gliding around like usual.

I've noticed that the finch population in my yard has almost disappeared; usually they are all over the place. This year about all I have are robins and mourning doves. Even the starlings and magpies aren't as numerous as usual.

I probably won't get a chance to do much in the way of blogging tomorrow; we're going to a barbecue with my in-laws. Hope it doesn't get too hot, but they're predicting up around 99 or 100 tomorrow. Since I won't be home much tomorrow, I'd luck to wish all of you a good July 4th, and don't forget what it is all about.

UPDATE: Got looking at the pictures a little closer (I didn't look that closely at the animals while I was out there). The animal I described as a buck goat would appear to be a ram; which means he is probably a Jacob's sheep, some of which appear to be mixed in with the flock of goats.

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Any favorites in this bunch?

"Don't Come Around Here No More" by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
"Quicksand" by The Youngbloods
"I Know You're Out There Somewhere" by The Moody Blues
"A Real Fine Place to Start" by Sara Evans
"You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" by The Lovin' Spoonful
"Cruisin' With the Duece" by Quarterflash
"Magical Mystery Tour" by The Beatles
"El Paso" by Marty Robbins
"Promises in the Dark" by Pat Benatar
"To Beat the Devil" by Kris Kristofferson

This is too funny

Don't you just love how companies can use whatever is the latest buzzword to sell stuff to idiots?

Hi, remember me?

I have been somewhat remiss in my postings. Seems like every time I thought about typing stuff, either something came up, or I was not feeling up to snuff. If I could get more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night, that would probably help. I'm going to try to post a little more often and more coherently in the future.

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I was sort of surprised at the Heller decision from the SCOTUS; I thought there would be less dissenting votes. After reading the decision all the way through, I can understand what happened. From reading the dissenting opinions, the 4 judges did not really read the cases such as Miller, as their ignorance showed. And when Stevens refers to the First Amendment as a collective right? Sounds more like they had their minds set on dissenting before it even started, and were just trying to justify it.

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The presidential campaigns are getting muddy already; I think those on the left are a bit confused. I keep hearing that Obama is for Hope and Change, anyone who doesn't like him is a racist, we need to redistribute the wealth, and Bush sucks. Let me see if I can clarify things for you:

1. Hope and Change are concepts; they are not plans, and the accomplish nothing by themselves.
2. I don't like a lot of people, and they tend to be all different colors. Just because he has a better tan than I do doesn't mean a damn thing to me.
3. Government redistribution of wealth is not a plan, it's a recipe for disaster. Few things run a country into the ground faster than socialism.
4. NEWS FLASH: Bush is not running for election; what the hell does he have to do with either one of the idiots running for office?

For those on the far right, quit worrying about where Obama was born, and who is dad was; he isn't living there now, and his dad isn't running for office. I know lots of people who were raised in a religion that didn't take. I'm more interesting in what the candidates have in their resume, and what they were doing and saying before they ran for office. Both of them have been doing some serious waffling.

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It's been cooler than usual around here this summer (global warming, I assume), the plants that prefer cooler weather have been happy, but it hasn't been so cool as to stunt the others. My tomatoes are up over three feet in height, and are starting to put out; I picked a couple of cherry tomatoes just last week.



These tomatoes are a bit larger than a golf ball; they should be ready before too long.



A sweet yellow pepper, almost tennis ball sized.



These are a favorite of my wife: strawberries. She has been picking these almost daily from the small patch we have; they are just about done for the year.



The Egyptian onion is unfamiliar to a lot of people. It is like a large scallion, only slightly tougher, and with a more pungent flavor, making it good for cooking. At the top of the stalk you find a cluster of bulbs as shown in this photo. After you pull up the onion, you break off the top bulbs, and plant them back into the ground where they each grow up into an onion, thus perpetuating the onion patch. I've been mulching heavy to cut down on weeding and watering, it is a good way to use grass clippings, leaves, coffee grounds, etc.


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Not too much in the way of CW in my playlist today; mainly rock, blues, and jazz, as shown in the top ten of the shuffle below:

"Edge of a Broken Heart" by Vixen
"We Gotta Get Out of This Place" by The Animals
"Monk's Mood" by Thelonious Monk
"Let Me Be" by The Turtles
"Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones
"Dream a Little Dream of Me" by The Mamas & the Papas
"Boogie Chillen" by John Lee Hooker
"The Battle of Evermore" by Led Zeppelin
"I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield
"I'm Eighteen" by Alice Cooper

Any favorites here, comments, anecdotes?

There's a pair to draw to...

June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Former Vice President Al Gore will step off the sidelines and make his first campaign stop with Democrat Barack Obama tonight.

Gore, who made the announcement in an e-mail to supporters, will appear with Obama at a rally in Detroit that is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. local time.

``A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan, to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama,'' Gore wrote in a fundraising letter. ``From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected president of the United States.''

That sounds like a good place for a conservative and/or a libertarian to avoid. Or anyone who is allergic to bullshit. The way those two are worshiped by the left wing, there will probably be more panties thrown at the stage than at a Tom Jones concert. If McCain wants to make a decent fight of it, he needs to find a couple of political idols to do the rah-rah cheerleading stuff for him. I'm missing Pat Paulsen more all the time.

Yep, I'm still here

It's been a couple of weeks since I scribbled here; I imagine some people were wondering where I was.
The past couple of weeks have been strange weather around here; chilly and raining during the day, cold at night. It is not typical June weather for this area, believe me. Of course, the weeds have flourished during this time, trying to take over everything. It seems like a lot of my spare time has been out trying to discourage them. Along with weeds, the weather is prone to a lot of pressure changes. To those out there with arthritis, rheumatism, and bad backs, you know what that means. A lot of the time I haven't been outside I've been fighting with my bad disks. For about thirty years now, I've had some slipped disks, which means that during that time, I have been in pain, 24/7. On a good day, I feel like I've been whacked across the kidneys with a two-by-four. On a bad day, said two-by-far is studded with sixteen penny nails. Air pressure changes means bad days, and when you couple that with yard work, the results are less than pleasant. This gets very distracting when you try to sleep. Waking up at 300 in the morning with a trapezium muscle having a severe spasm is not conducive to rest, so I'm about half asleep these days. My heart seems to be adjusting to things also; I've been getting tired fast if I work bent over, and the edema in my lower legs seems to be harder to fight. Just thought I'd let people know where I was. But enough whining about my problems.

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I'm curious to see how the presidential campaigns will get going; right now both parties seem to be poking each other with sticks to see what makes the other bark the loudest. I don't know yet what kind of campaigns the candidates will run, but I have a feeling that the supporters will be doing some nasty fighting. As the old Johnny Cash song says; they'll be "kickin' and a gougin' in the mud and the blood and the beer". I wouldn't be surprised to see tactics done by third parties that will be embarrassing to both candidates. I think what will be important next election is who we send to Congress; they are the ones who make the laws. Personally, I always get a little wary whenever the majority of the house is the same part as a president; it tends to get out of control, no matter which party is running things. Power corrupts after a while, which is why things need shaken up and swept out on occasion. The Republican party learned that the hard way last election, and the Democrats don't seem to have learned from their example at all. I mean really guys, when Congress has a lower approval rating than Bush, you really need to pull your heads out of your butts and look at yourselves.
Personally, I don't like either of them; one is an old guy who claims to be conservative (LOL), the other is for all practical purposes a socialist who claims the ability to do everything but walk on water and cure cancer, all you have to do is let him redistribute the wealth.
Much as I dislike McCain, I have a strong dislike for socialism in it's various forms, so I'm not really happy about the coming election.
I think a lot will depend on their running mates. I have a feeling that the first one that picks a female VP will score quite a few votes from the Hilary supporters who are spitting mad right now.
Just my opinion.

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My miniature roses are doing well; this is one of them.



The bloom is only an inch across. I have several of these, all different colors.

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Any favorites in this bunch?

"Crazy" by Willie Nelson
"Gotta Get a Hold of Myself" by The Zombies
"Walk, Dont't Run" by The Ventures
"The Story in Your Eyes" by The Moody Blues
"Dream a Little Dream of Me" by The Mamas & the Papas
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles
"Sole Survivor" by Asia
"Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel
"Se a Cabó" by Santana
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" by Johnny Rivers

Time flies when you're having fun

Hello out there, I finally decided to sit down and do a post.
The trip down to Santa Fe was interesting, lots of wet weather.
We left town Thursday morning about 600. An hour and a half later, going over Soldier Summit outside Price, Utah, we had to go through a snowstorm that had 3-4 inches and was still falling. Observe:







The top picture is taken by my wife as we were climbing up into the active part of the storm, you can see the storm up the road.
The next two pictures are taken in the storm; the picture is not blurred, that is how hard the snow was coming down. Luckily it was only in the higher elevations, and we eventually came down out of it into wind and rain, which was with us most of the way. Around Chama, New Mexico, we ran into more snow, and a hailstorm with marble-sized stones that slammed down pretty good for a while. When we finally got into Santa Fe that evening, it was only lightly raining there.
Santa Fe isn't quite the town it was years ago; commercialism is slowly showing on all of the western towns that attract tourists. We spent a lot of our time just looking at stuff, taking a few pictures of architecture here and there. Didn't get around quite as much as I'd hoped. A lot of the area you have to get out and see on mare's shanks, and I'm not in the condition I used to be. The elevation is 7000 feet, compared to about 4500 feet here where I live, so I was out of breath a lot. A few years ago the thinner air wasn't as noticeable, but since my heart went bad, I haven't had the stamina I used to have. (On a side note, Friday was the third year anniversary of my heart going sour and requiring a stent.) There also seems to be some strange laws of physics there; it seems that every where you walked, no matter what direction, was always uphill; hiking around that place really kicked my ass.

Some of the more interesting stuff around the area is the old Spanish architecture; some of it goes back to the early seventeenth century.
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is a good example of some old stuff there; it was originally built in 1610, destroyed during a revolt in 1680, and rebuilt in 1714. In the late 1800's, it was rebuilt, the only part of this church still existing is the Chapel of Our Lady, La Conquistadora.
This is a picture of the outside, which is undergoing some restoration at this time.



They allowed photographs to be taken inside, but flashes were forbidden, so the pictures are not quite up to the standards I usually prefer. These two are of the old part of the church, and the top statue of the Madonna is 380 years old. The lower picture shows her in a little more detail.





The Loretto Chapel and it's famous staircase is also interesting, and it is close to the previous church. You may want to look at the history and controversy surrounding it here. Here are some close up pictures of the famous stairs; if you know anything about carpentry, you will definitely appreciate the craftsmanship. I have taken it in two pictures; top and bottom, so that I could catch more detail.





There are quite a few museums and such in the area, but many of them don't allow photographs, so we couldn't get photographs of some of the stuff.

The food, as usual, was good, if you go to the right places. New Mexican cuisine is southwestern, but it is different from Mexican or Texan cooking. The spices are handled a little bit differently, and can be exceptional, if handled correctly.

We also stopped in on Taos over the weekend, but it isn't what it used to be; it has been changed over the same way that Boulder, Colorado got changed, everything being built around fleecing tourists.

The trip back was fairly uneventful; no snow, but a lot of rain and gusting wind. When we got home late Monday night, it was clearing up, but it had been cool and raining the whole time we were gone, so I have a jungle to clear up in my yard over the next few days.

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Today's playlist has a fair mix of older rock with a few wild cards; the top ten here are a good representation of what I've been in the mood for since we got back. Everyone familiar with these:

"Hold on Loosely" by .38 Special
"Gloria" by Laura Branigan
"Kind of a Drag" by The Buckinghams
"Misery and the Blues" by Maria Muldaur
"Maggie May" by Rod Stewart
"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meatloaf
"Back to the Cave" by Lita Ford
"Prelude From Cello Suite No. 1, BWV 1007" by Andrés Segovia
"Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" by Judy Collins
"Legend of a Mind" by The Moody Blues

Where does the time go?

Seems like I just posted a couple of days ago, but it was actually almost two weeks. Had a good time for a couple of days up in Idaho visiting some people; a friend of ours had her graduation from school to be a RN. After the graduation there was some munchies and a lot of beer and other alcoholic substances. I made sure to go light; the next morning I was up at 6:00, watching the squirrels outside the window and listening to a lot of birds heralding the day.
Seems like I've been busy since then; trying to get things in order around here. There is always something around the house or out in the yard that is clamoring for attention.
My wife and I are going to be out of town for a few days; Thursday morning we will be driving down to the Santa Fe area. We probably won't be back until Monday evening. If I get any good pictures, I'll post them. We haven't been down there for several years, so I don't know how much things may have changed.

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Last weekend we drove out to visit with my mom on sort of a belated Mother's Day. Part of the day we looked over a lot of old pictures; made for and interesting afternoon.


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The Presidential Primary Circus seems to be in full swing now; the three clowns running are starting to get down to the kicking, scratching, and eye=gouging stage; we should be seeing some major shits torms in the next few months.

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Feeling a little nostalgic today; my playlist seems to be a lot of older stuff. Any favorites in the top ten?

"Ride My See-Saw" by The Moody Blues
"I Don't Know Where I Stand" by Joni Mitchell
"The River Is Wide" by The Grass Roots
"Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks
"Heaven Can Wait" by Meat Loaf
"Night Time Is the Right Time" by Ray Charles
"99 Luftballons" by Nena
"To Cry You a Song" by Jethro Tull
"Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole
"Walkin' After Midnight" by Patsy Cline

"I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in"

A few months ago, Allison Kraus (bluegrass singer and fiddle player) got together with Robert Plant and worked on an album. They also did a concert on TV. This is one of my favorites they did on the concert, but sadly it wasn't recorded on the album. For those who like Kraus, Plant, and blues, this is their version of the Led Zeppelin hit Black Dog.



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For some reason this cracks me up.



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The presidential campaigns get goofier all the time; it's a three-ring circus, and all three rings are full of clowns.

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Finally getting out of town for a bit; my wife and I will be leaving around noon Friday to go to Twin Falls, Idaho for a visit to a friend. We should be back sometime Saturday night. Been a few years since I've been up that way.

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Anyone know where the post title came from? Hint: it was the first hit song of one of the artists below.

Who needs new music with old familiar ones like these?

"Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top
"Africa" by Toto
"Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones
"Chicago" by Benny Goodman
"Bloody Mary Morning" by Willie Nelson
"Squeeze Box" by The Who
"The Story in Your Eyes" by The Moody Blues
"Career of Evil" by Blue Öyster Cult
"No More Words" by Berlin
"The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers

An event you don't want to miss

Black Gold Testicle Festival

Home grown celebration from the ranching and team branding community. 2008 will be the 8th annual. Friends and family do the cooking. T-shirts available at the festival and year 'round.
Location: Rodeo arena in Woodruff, Utah
Date: Memorial Day weekend and the first weekend in June

For those of you who like exotic cuisine, this should fit the bill. I've never tried them myself, but I'm always open-minded about cooking.

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Finally got my garden area tilled up; just in time for a couple of days of ass-kicking wind, and cold temperatures; might not get my stuff in for a few days. Been weeding like crazy; for some reason we have an amazing bumper crop of dandelions and sand burrs this year. If my herbs and vegetables grow half as good, I'll be overjoyed.

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Campaigns are getting a little more lively; Clinton is swinging away at Obama, Obama and his ex-pastor are taking turns pushing each other in front of the train, and McCain is sort of puttering around. I don't know of anyone who is voting for any of the candidates, they're all voting against someone. The promotions aren't as much of "My guy is best" as much as they are "My guy doesn't suck as much as the other guys". I guess you have to find some sort of relatively positive thing to say and go with it.

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A few people seem to like the floral photographs, and I enjoy taking them. The top two are from my front sidewalk; I tend to like my bulbs scattered a bit, rather than in formal designs.
The bottom one is some blossoms on my Japanese blood plum tree.











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Someone should have at least one or two favorites in this shuffle:

"I Can't Stop Loving You" by Martina McBride
"Turn the Page" by Bob Seger
"Who Will You Run To" by Heart
"Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin
"Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer" by Nat King Cole
"Cruisin' With the Duece" by Quarterflash
"Tweeter and the Monkey Man" by The Traveling Wilburys
"Head over Heels" by The Go-Go's
"But You Know I Love You" by Kenny Rogers
"Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

I'm still here

It's been way too long since I've done anything here; seemed to have a case of the blahs caused by the changing of the seasons; it always seems to knock my metabolism out of whack for a while. Hopefully I can get my act together soon.

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The presidential brawl has been interesting to watch; the Democratic candidates have been down in the mud and the shit kicking, gouging, biting, and kneeing each other fairly good on the news. I am getting the feeling that whoever gets the nomination, the followers of the other side will vote against them just out of spite by the time this is over. In the meantime, McCain is sitting on the sidelines, sniping on occasion. Basically, these two are digging up enough dirt on each other that McCain won't have to do it; I hope they realize that when the real campaign starts, then whoever wins the primary has to start digging up stuff on McCain and shifting gears to fight with him. Personally, I wouldn't want any of them voted in as dogcatcher, let along POTUS, but that's just my opinion, yours may differ.

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Talk about a fool's paradise; I have to wonder what rock he has been hiding under; anyone who thinks that Hamas is going to sit down and make nice with Israel is either uninformed or an idiot. Those groups hate Israel and have only one goal regarding it; the complete and utter distruction of Israel and the death of all the Jews. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to get a clue. To them, a peace treaty is something you use stall with while you're collecting pipe bombs and organizing people who are brave enough to murder children.

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We are starting to get something that looks like spring, only colder. I've been taking more pictures (this is starting to turn into a garden blog); hope I'm not boring you too much with these. The bottom one is a mourning dove; our neighborhood is full of them, and I usually have several in my yard at any one time. This one was a little shy, so I had a hard time getting a photo. I also have a couple of greenhead mallards (a drake and a hen) who come around now and then, but they get really uptight if I try to photograph them.












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No country music in the playlist today; everything else, though.

"After Dark" by Tito & Tarantula
"Lazy River" by Benny Goodman
"Maybellene" by Chuck Berry
"To Cry You a Song" by Jethro Tull
"Bye Bye Blackbird" by John Coltrane/Miles Davis
"Honey Bee" by Muddy Waters
"Kentucky Woman" by Neil Diamond
"Hey Lawdy Mama" by Steppenwolf
"When the Music's Over" by The Doors
"Crawlin' King Snake" by John Lee Hooker