Hello world

Anyone who has studied programming should recognize the title phrase from their first program. Nothing geeky here, just a way to break the ice. It's been so long since my muse left me and hit the road, I probably wouldn't recognize her if she did come back.

I've been meaning to post something before now, but just haven't really been up to it. The past few days have me feeling somewhat down; it was on the fifteenth of November three years ago that I lost my dad to cancer, and, though the pain has lessened somewhat, it never quite goes away.
The weather change has me feeling like someone took a club to me from my shoulder blades to the back of my knees; most of the time it just hurts, but now and then I get some really interesting muscle spasms in my back that tend to wake you up fast when they happen at about 400 in the morning. Sleeping has been a chore; I already sleep with a CPAP machine, but when you combine that with a charlie horse in the wee hours of the morning it tends to ruin your beauty sleep. Sleeping 3 to 5 hours a night has my head a little foggy, so excuse my whining and my meandering thought processes. Right now I feel about as friendly and cheerful as a bear with a sore tooth.

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This has me a little puzzled:

A Salt Lake City man is accused of slashing another man's face with a meat cleaver he was wearing as a necklace.

In charges filed Monday, police wrote that the man, 22, had called the victim's girlfriend "bad names" during a fight Nov. 10, and the victim threw his soda on the man.

The man allegedly took a meat cleaver he was wearing as a necklace and swung it at the victim, striking him in the face, arm and chest. The victim required 65 stitches, police wrote.

The 22-year-old was charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault.

Who the hell wears a meat cleaver on a necklace?

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I really don't understand all these problems with pirates; it used to be that if you had thugs on the high seas, you hunted them down and blew them out of the water. What the hell happened to that idea? The UN is always acting like they're useful; this would be a good time to prove it, rather than just bad-mouthing everyone else and sucking up money and bribes. Some types of people don't understand talking; with them you just have to get rough. Try executing a few of these sea-going assholes and maybe some of them would change vocations. Of course, the eunuchs at the UN have fits any time someone wants to actually get rough with criminals, and they start whining about arms and weapons and acting like bumping off murderers and thieves is a bad thing. Executing pirates is a public service, and should be treated as such.
Just my opinion.

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Mostly older stuff in the playlist today. Anyone old enough to remember some of these?

"There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings
"As Tears Go By" by The Rolling Stones
"Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel
"Never Comes the Day" by The Moody Blues
"Red, Red Wine" by Neil Diamond
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles
"Two out of Three Ain't Bad" by Meat Loaf
"Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins
"With You There to Help Me" by Jethro Tull
"The Lonely Bull" by Herb Alpert

The weather is not cheering me up...

Not really fond of this white stuff falling from the sky; it means slippery roads, broken tree branches, and lots of arthritis pain. This is a shot to the west of me, from my front yard. The snow had let up for a few minutes.



Zoomed in here, to show the Oquirrh Mountains.



This is about thirty minutes later; notice you can't seen anything now with the snow coming down.



The trees in my front yard haven't dropped their leaves yet, so they're catching all the snow.



Not too cold yet, but that will be happening later tonight, I think.

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One of my favorite authors has died.

Best-selling author Michael Crichton has died in Los Angeles aged 66 after a "courageous and private battle against cancer", his family has said.

I'm really going to miss his books and movies.

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Any of these look familiar?


"Ride the Wild Surf" by Jan & Dean
"The Girl from Ipanema" by Eliane Elias
"Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol
"A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran
"The Wayward Wind" by Eddy Arnold
"Summertime" by Janis Joplin & Her Kozmic Blues Band
"March of Cambreadth" by Heather Alexander
"It Ain't Right" by John Mayall & Eric Clapton
"Different Drum" by Linda Ronstadt
"Your Cheatin' Heart" by Hank Williams

Battle royal

Hopefully by the end of the night we will know who won the brass ring; no matter who gets the presidency, I think We the People will be the losers. Right now it is 1800 here where I am, so the local stuff will be done before too long. I voted early this morning, so I feel I did my part for the day. Right now it's trying to snow off-and-on, but I don't think we'll get much during the night. Just enough bad weather to make all the joints hurt.

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Feeling like a mix tonight; anyone like this bunch?

"It's My Life" by Bon Jovi and Sugarland
"Ride the Wild Surf" by Jan & Dean
"Baby Don't Do Me Wrong" by John Lee Hooker
"Wolverton Mountain" by Claude King
"Sometimes in Winter" by Blood, Sweat & Tears
"Bourree From Violin Partita No. 1, BWV 1002" by Andrés Segovia
"Honky Tonk Heroes" by Waylon Jennings
"More Than a Feeling" by Boston
"Maybellene" by Chuck Berry
"I Drink Alone" by George Thorogood

Changing of the seasons

Yesterday it was warm, so we took a lunch and went up into the hills while the weather was still good.
Most of the leaves have fallen in the higher country; up where we went the main deciduous trees were quakies, with a few boxelders mixed in in places. The undergrowth has died back for the most part, so things were looking a bit bare.

These are some pictures in American Fork Canyon.







Following the road up American Fork, it goes over a summit and then takes you down into Provo Canyon, and the Sundance Institute. There was no snow there (both canyons had been getting rain just before we went up), so there is no skiing at Sundance as of yet.

Sundance Institute



An Oregon grape



It was a good day in all; didn't see much wildlife other than birds and squirrels, but it was good to get out of the city for a while.

Today we have cold rain, and snow on the mountains. Winter is coming.

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Plungergirl knows how to deliver a proper bitch slap to trolls who don't like her opinions.

So I close this dissertation by recommending that the offended do one of four things: (1) rent a tractor to yank those sticks out of your ass; (2) consider the possibility that constipation may be causing you to be unusually sensitive; (3) pick up a bottle of narcotics on your next trip across the border; or (4) close the browser and resist the urge to come back.

Rock on, lady.

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Judging by my playlist, my mood seems a bit dark today.

"Iron Butterfly Theme" by Iron Butterfly
"All Along The Watchtower" from Battlestar Galactica soundtrack
"I'm Eighteen" by Alice Cooper
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult
"The Battle of Evermore" by Led Zeppelin
"Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones
"Gypsy" by The Moody Blues
"House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals
"Dust in the Wind" by Kansas
"Born Under a Bad Sign" by Cream

See any here you like?

Leadership...?

Time for another one of my rants. If you agree, tell someone, if you disagree, tell me. I believe anyone can disagree here, as long as they show some decent manners when commenting.

During the past few months that we have been afflicted with the presidential campaigns, I keep hearing a common note from both campaigns; they both claim to bring "leadership" to the American people.
A politician's job is not to be a leader, but to represent his constituents.
You want to know what a leader is for?
It is for these types here:



Just remember, the only reason a shepherd leads his sheep is to shear them on a regular basis, and cull them when they are of no more use.

Both The Coot and Golden Messiah-Boy claim they have what it takes to lead us.
Newsflash: I don't want to be led, because I'm not lost. I want someone who takes orders from the folks who pay him, namely WE THE PEOPLE.
If you want a representative, vote in the elections for someone to represent you; if all you want to do is play Follow-the-Leader, join a cult.

Just my opinion.

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Tamara sounds off about the candidates; she says it a lot better than I could.

One side is offering me politicians acting like politicians, which is to say power-hungry, callous, and scheming; the other side is trying to offer me politicians acting like missionaries, and that scares the crap out of me. Given a choice between the devil I know and the devil I don't, I'm going to stick with the one I know. Especially if the one I don't is offering me milk and cookies.

If you feel like she strikes a familiar note, read the whole thing.

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A motley mix of music today; the top ten shows it. Any favorites?

"Born to Be Blue" by Grant Green/Ike Quebec
"Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" by Waylon Jennings
"Dizzy Fingers" by Benny Goodman
"Dancin' in the Ruins" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight" by Buddy Holly
"All Over The World" by Electric Light Orchestra
"The Shadow of Your Smile" by Henry Mancini
"The Great Gate at Kiev" by Moussourgsky
"For Ladies Only" by Steppenwolf
"Moondance" by Van Morrison

Bleh...

Just starting to feel like posting; I've been doing a bit of commenting, and exchanging email with my brother, but haven't really been up to much else.
I've spent the last week with some sort of miserable bug that has my sinuses packed up tight, my lungs coughing out nasty stuff (reminded me of walking pneumonia, but I don't have a fever), and every joint in my body hurting like hell. The doctor gave me some stuff for my nose, some steroids for my lungs, a bunch of antibiotics, and they are all finally starting to make me feel like something a little bit better than hammered dogshit. Hell, I haven't even shaved my face or head in a week now; my beard and what's left of my hair (I normally shave the sparse amount on my cranium) are all fuzzy now; they're mostly silver these days, so I look funny and shiny when the light shines on my head. If I get doing better, I may be able to post my random blitherings more often.

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I've pretty well quit reading anything about the elections, a person can only take in so much bullshit before choking, and there's no shortage of that in the news. Anything I watch on television I record on DVR these days, rather than watching live; that way I can zap all the phony-ass political lies, accusations, and mud-slinging that is so ubiquitous from both sides.

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This picture was one I took a few weeks ago at my niece's place. No real reason for posting it, other than I thought the (overweight)cat was sort of cool looking.

Click to enlarge.



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Felt like more mellow stuff today; not a real lot of bangin' and twangin' in this bunch.
Any favorites here? Anyone who recognizes more than half of them?

"In The Groove" by The String of Pearls Orchestra
"Eternity Road" by The Moody Blues
"Long Haired Country Boy" by The Charlie Daniels Band
"Cold, Cold Heart" by Norah Jones
"Friend of the Devil" by The Grateful Dead
"Stealing Rosemary" by The Bangles
"Fresh Garbage" by Spirit
"It's My Life" by Talk Talk
"Perfect" by Sara Evans
"Cruisin' With the Duece" by Quarterflash

Just a few more weeks...

Excuse my rant.
Election day can't come too soon for me; I am getting real tired of the media bullshit. It doesn't help that the mainstream media seems to be taking sides. It used to be that journalists tried to just report the news, these days they are trying to shape the news. I guess journalism classes quit teaching the difference between objective and subjective, probably about the time they dropped the concept of ethics from their curriculum.
Personally, I don't really like either side, but I am getting real sick and tired of the left-wing trying to make everything about race. I keep hearing about "code words" that imply race. I have a suggestion for you: pull your heads out of your asses. This may come as a shock to some of you, but white people do not lie awake all night just trying to think up ways to mess with non-whites. Most of us don't care. It sounds more like there are too many people who are up late at night trying to find a hidden "racist" meaning in anything they hear that they don't like. Here is a revelation for you: I have better things to worry about than whether someone has a better suntan than I do. Seems like any time anyone disagrees with somebody, some dingbat jumps up and starts yelling "Racist!" That card is getting a bit worn and old.

"Why am I going to hate someone based solely on the color of their skin when if I get to know them I can find 1,000 other reasons to think they're an asshole?" -George Carlin

I've heard my share of "code words". Without leaving the continental US, I've been called a lot of things, some derogatory, some not so much. How many of you are familiar with all of these? I have had someone call me every one of these (among other things) at one time or another. So what?

Honkie, anglo, bilagáana, gringo, gije, cracker, whitey, yank, goy, damnyankee (yes, that is one word), gaijin, gentile, taibo, redneck, wingnut, hippy, nasrani, and kafir.


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Went out and visited my mom a few days ago; wanted to help her get some stuff squared away for winter. Did some pruning, hammered a few nails, did a bit of fixing.

This guy kept an eye on me.




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Looks like it is time to shut down the garden. Sunday we woke up to some snow.

My zucchini plant has looked better.



Still some snow on my vehicle at noon.



The Wasatch Mountains on the east side of the valley.



The Oquirrh Mountains on the west side of the valley.




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Top ten of a random pick; I don't seem to see any pattern here, really. Any favorites here?

"How the West Was Won" Movie Soundtrack
"Don't Walk Away" by Electric Light Orchestra
"C'est What" by Bud Shank
"Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
"Guinnevere" by Crosby, Stills and Nash
"No More Words" by Berlin
"I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield
"Me and the Devil Blues" by Eric Clapton
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot
"Moon River" by Henry Mancini

Debates...meh...

Skipped the VP debates. From what I have read since then, it turned out pretty much the way I thought it would. Whatever leaning a person had going in, they usually claimed their candidate won at the end.
It reminds me sort of like a dog show. The contestants (the dogs, of course) are trained and groomed to look good in front of the judges; someone trots them out and runs them through a few tricks, and then people judge which looked best. It has nothing to do with what the dog is like; the dignified-looking Irish Setter may have a problem with chewing everything in sight; the perky, smiling Yorkie may be a vicious little menace around small children. All we see is the face that their handlers want you to see.
I've seen people speak in public to good effect who I knew were unreliable jackasses. I've also seen others who didn't look so good, but were the ones to rely on during a crunch. As I've said before politicians lie. If I want to know whether to trust someone, I look to what they've done before they put on their dog-and-pony show, when they thought no one was watching them that close. No matter what any politician says, they are running for their benefit, not yours. The best you can hope for is that there is an overlap.

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With the bailout final, we now get to see just how much good it will do. Personally, I'm not too optimistic. We have the same bunch of people running things that contributed to this mess who are now handed more money and told to fix it. Sort of like the guy in Las Vegas who goes broke and asks for a loan to try and win it all back. Anybody want to pull their wallet out for him? I think what is more likely to happen is that a few companies will get their chestnuts pulled out of the fire, and a whole lot of politicians will funnel it into their favorite pork projects, and before long someone will be asking for more money to save the economy. Some of the politicians are trying to help, but there are a lot who look at it the same way as seeing someone fainting on the sidewalk. They'll stop and act like they're helping, but in actuality it's just a ruse to go through the person's pockets for loot.

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Been a wee bit chilly today, drizzle and cold rain since this morning. As soon as I woke up I could tell; every joint in my body was telling me not to get up. It won't be too long before we get a frost, I'm thinking. Hopefully the garden will be able to hold out a little longer; I miss fresh tomatoes during the winter.
We're supposed to get some snow in the hills this weekend, down to about 6000 feet. That may seem high to some parts of the country, but here where I live we're at about 4500 feet, so the snow is usually quite visible from here.
Maybe the weather and the effects on me is why I seem to have such a foul disposition today. Or maybe I'm just old enough to be cynical of anyone who says they're trying to help me by taking my money.

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Some of these may be familiar, depending on your age.

"Washington Square" by The Village Stompers
"Burnin' for You" by Blue Öyster Cult
"Greenfields" by The Brothers Four
"Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen
"Ride the Wild Surf" by Jan & Dean
"Me and Bobby McGee" by Kris Kristofferson
"See You in September" by The Happenings
"Mojo" by Mindi Abair
"Lawyers, Guns and Money" by Warren Zevon
"More Than a Feeling" by Boston


Here is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite groups. Always good to listen to when you want to feel mellow.




"The Actor"

The curtain rises on the scene
With someone shouting to be free
The play unfolds before my eyes
There stands the actor who is me

The sleeping hours takes this part
Through traffic, telephones and fear
Put out your problems with the cat
Escape until a bell you hear

Our reasons are the same
But there's no-one we can blame
For there's nowhere we need go
And the only truth we know comes so easily

The sound I have heard in your hello
Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me
Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see
Ah, ah, ah

It's such a rainy afternoon
No point in going anywhere
The sounds just drift across my room
I wish this feeling I could share

It's such a rainy afternoon
She sits and gazes from her window
Her mind tries to recall his face
The feeling deep inside her grows

Our reasons are the same
But there's no-one we can blame
For there's nowhere we need go
And the only truth we know comes so easily

The sound I have heard in your hello
Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me
Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see
The sound I have heard in your hello
Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see
Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me
Ah, ah, ah

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?