Reading Lessons

I was reading Ronni Bennett’s blog this morning and I can certainly relate to the subject. She was complaining about the fact that she was having a hard time staying focused while reading. There were lots of reasons given; television and the internet being the two obvious ones.

When it comes to the internet, I’m all over it, literally. I read everything and, just as she points out, I skim the pages. So I guess ‘everything isn’t the operative word here.

Television is history. We turned it off a year or so ago. There was nothing to watch. But, before our exit, the remote got a workout as we/I skimmed the channels looking for something; anything!

Newspapers aren’t much better at holding interest. And I’m certain that it is all by design. Duh! It’s advertising; those who pay for it want your attention. Imagine a newspaper with all of the ads on the last two pages…four pages. Six pages? And what part would you read?

We’re in a quandary here; it’s the 21^st century (Maybe not on the Planet Orland) and I wouldn’t want the internet to disappear or to return to its primitive ‘text only’ beginnings. And sometimes I think that television can be revived. It had such great promise and PBS still delivers some of what is great about the medium. But one channel out of 200 means that there is a long way to go. I’ve given up on newspapers. They are in the midst of re-inventing themselves and I may return when they get it figured out. In the meantime I skim the world’s newspapers on line.

Ah, but books; that’s another matter all together. Since I’ve gone back to books, I’ve found that my attention to the printed word has increased dramatically. I can get lost in a good book, just as I did when I was a child. I sometimes re-read a well written paragraph just for the pleasure of it. And then read it again. This brings me to the subject of my current favorite book, The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. A great book and one that I thought I might be quoting in my blog. But there’s too much ‘good stuff’ in it. I can’t decide on the parts I want to share. So I don’t. You need to read it yourself.

Bio

Here's a fresh look at the Plant Barn...and it's owner.

Oops! Here's a link to the Plant Barn as well

How do they do that?

Hard to get started this morning. I’m definitely falling behind in my writing chores. I must focus.

I just spotted something odd. I created a blog the other day to post photos and commentary on the twin’s swimming lessons. Since Bill can’t be here to see them swimming, it seemed to make sense; and when the lessons are all over, I’ll just delete the blog. But…as soon as I post some photos, I get an automated response in the Comments section from some sort of a ‘bot’. I have the Comments moderated so nothing is posted that I don’t want posted. But I do wonder why it’s happening on this one blog and not my others?

And I just checked the comments again; 7 new comments and they were all from various lottery websites. Lottery? Most irritating!

From Joe Bageant:

Jury nullification is commoners' province

Freedom? Tell me more about 'freedom'.

This is telling it like it is...

[daily dose of imagery]

June 16th Galerie Voltaire

Is this the best photo ever, or what? OK, maybe not 'ever', but I love it for today!

It looks like a 'story' that needs to be told...

Recumbent

bicycles high on comfort, gawkers - Los Angeles Times

"Turns out that riding low in a reclined position takes the pressure off aging backs, necks and wrists -- a perfect prescription for aging boomers..."

Now, if only the doctor would prescribe them, you could take them off your taxes.

I like this one! (#18 of 19)

Clear(er) Skies

All is quiet this morning. The fires are lying down and there doesn’t appear to be any fresh disasters on the horizon. In fact, with a lack of smoke, we can actually see the horizon! But, this early start on the fire season makes you wonder how many wildfires we will see this year?

Speaking of fires; I was talking to Bill yesterday and he told me that there were some pretty impressive video clips (on YouTube) of the DC-10 that is now being used to fight fires. So I searched for ‘dc-10 tanker’ and found this one plus dozens more.

From what I understand, there is only one DC-10 equipped like this. And apparently we need lots more. And that made me think of all the aircraft that are now being mothballed or retired because of the inability of various airlines to think ahead during a fuel price crisis. Those same airlines ought to donate some of those planes and gain a tax credit for each one. They may not have much room for luggage, but I bet they could hold a lot of fire retardant.

From ABC News

Michelle Obama in for 'Very Ugly Stuff'

If I were her, I would not dignify this kind of 'stuff'' with a reply.

The rightwing cretins don't deserve an answer.

Forward Pass

Forward Pass: 1923

This has to be better than football! Definitely better than basketball.

More Shorpy

Men Overboard: 1917

Even in the Navy...

Burning Sands

Iraq in 1932

Shorpy

High-Definition Historical Photos


Don't ask, don't tell...long ago.

From the Editorial Notebook

- Verlyn Klinkenborg - Fuel Thoughts -

I've certainly noticed it. SUV's and pickup's are parked everywhere where they can be seen...seen with a 'For Sale' sign in the window. The local car dealer has the front row lined with them. Every vacant lot and abandoned parking lot has them. I have one as well. There's no sign on it, but it has dropped in value so significantly that I will probably have to pay someone to take it away...someday. 1997 Ford F-250 Power Stroke Diesel! Cheap. Long bed. XL package. One owner. Low mileage (Under 100K) What'll you give me for it?

Just Wondering

In the national news, the flooding in Iowa makes headlines. But, I was wondering (I can’t help myself) if there were enough Iowa National Guard troops and equipment to help out? Or, were they busy elsewhere?

History Lesson

I was just reading that today is the anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta. That happened in the year 1215 and it’s one of those bright spots in the history of mankind. I remember taking a history class at Moorpark College back in the early 70’s and the instructor maintained that knowing the dates of important events in history was secondary. What was important was the impact of that event. What happened and why, not when. So, 1215 or 1220, who cares? It’s almost 800 years later and the Magna Carta is important today because the right of habeas corpus and a fair trial, a jury trial, were derived from this document that was grudgingly signed by King John. “The king…was more or less coerced into agreeing to the document by a group of barons who were upset at his disastrous and costly foreign policy. Although actually a reactionary move by the barons to insure their feudal rights, the Magna Carta took on symbolic significance as one of the earliest instances of the law possessing greater authority than the king.”

“Disastrous and costly foreign policy”? "Habeas Corpus"? Fair trials? Whoa! Does any of that sound familiar? I love history!

Tension

It’s going to be a tough two weeks for the cat. Twins and the cat don’t mix and right now the twins have ‘squatter’s law’ on their side. They’re in the house and their suitcases are unpacked. They’re not going anywhere soon.

I just let Boo in the house a little while ago and after getting her usual breakfast, she hurried in to greet me here in the study; scurrying past the open door to the twins bedroom. After some mutual ‘meows’ we engaged in our normal 5 minutes of cat wrestling; I won 2 falls out of 3. At that point she will normally take to her chair in the other bedroom and sleep till noon or longer. It’s a tough life, but a cat has to do what a cat has to do. But, wait... that room has a grown-up sized person sleeping in it this morning. What to do? She sat in the hallway and stared at the chair for awhile. Just ten feet away. Finally she decided to go for it; she’s in the chair now, but how long will she stay? About two minutes! The tension mounts. Where will she sleep? In the meantime, she’s nervously parading back and forth on my desk top. OK, she made some sort of decision and she has left the room. Where did she go?

More from CN&R

The E-word

From Ted Rall, a worthy author...

"Since 1941, the U.S. has attacked, among others, North Korea, North Vietnam, Cuba, Cambodia, Laos, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Grenada, Panama, the Philippines, Libya, Iran, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Haiti, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Not once were we defending ourselves. We were always the aggressor. Over the course of six decades during which we were the world’s leading instigator of armed conflict, no one attacked us—not even the people we attacked! No one declared war upon us."

Mr. Rall is not the first person to point this out and I'm sure he won't be the last. What a shame.

CN&R

Prop 13 at the age of 30

Yes, it is time for a change. I voted for it 30 years ago because the legislative engine was out of control and the only way to stop them at the time was to shut off the fuel; the money. If today's legislature could get their act together and look at the whole problem, instead of their own special interests, we might get somewhere. We need 'smart' taxes!

Fair is always Fair

The furor over the trials at Guantánamo continue. As usual, those who proclaim they love America the most, the right wingnuts, are the same ones who are quite willing to abandon the most elementary of our freedoms. (McCain is one) The Supremes (minus the 3 Stooges+1) have agreed that the Decider has decided incorrectly three times in a row and it’s now time for fair trials. What’s un-American about ‘fair’?

Direct

From the Planet Orland

Besides not being able to say the word 'gay', the citizens have an initiative on the fall ballot to forbid the 21st century from entering the city limits. So there!

From Time Goes By

This Week in Elder News: 14 June 2008

Good for Ronni! But shame on the WSJ for using the tired business model of paid subscriptions to websites. You would think that Rupert would be smarter than that.

And the bit about McCain not being able to use a computer; it tells me everything I need to know about the man. Clueless. How could you possibly vote for him. Remember how Emperor Bush the First was defeated? He revealed his ignorance of how a scanner worked in a supermarket. True!

But that does raise a question about the other 99 Senators. How many of them are just as clueless? Maybe 90? More?

Radio Star!

With the sun just coming up, I see that we don’t have the usual blue sky. It is quite red on the horizon and it looks like it will be more of a dirty brown color once the morning actually becomes day. And I can smell the smoke in the air from the Humboldt Fire. For those living in Chico, the ash is coating everything. Hmm? I hope it doesn’t come this far and get into my clean pool!

And I received this email late last night, “Hey there Dad....KCHO In a northstate garden...by Jennifer Jewell...can't seem to link and send to you...the piece is airing at 7:34 am sat and 8:34 am Sunday...if you can pass that info along??? Thank you...love ya,ttys Dotta1” Well, I tried to find the link as well, but the site has no search capabilities. Best I can come up with is this link. And if you listen, Saturday or Sunday, you can hear Denise being interviewed for the North State Garden show. Very cool!

Speaking of corn

Feds Scrape Together $30M for Plug-In Hybrids. That's All?

$30 million. We spend that much every half hour while fighting World War III.

The Perfect Storm(s)

Corn Crops Damaged by Midwestern Rain : NPR

The better plant choices (Switchgrass) for ethanol production weren't damaged by these storms.

It's over

It’s so quiet outside! No wind at all. And yesterday we had to begin the mucking out of all of the dirt that had come in, blown by the wind past closed windows and doors. The vacuum demanded emptying every ten minutes and then quit altogether when the clogged HEPA filter overheated the motor. That required an hour wait before the vacuum was operational.

Earlier, I was reading the owners manual for the vacuum and trying to figure out why it had quit on Laurae. It mentioned that the HEPA filter would need to be cleaned every 3 years under ‘normal’ use. Jeekers! We haven’t had this vacuum for a year! It was the very fine dirt, the dirt that can only come in past the normal barriers when driven by the wind, which had clogged the filters.

It was also time to clean the pool. Past time. We should have been enjoying the water for the past month, but it wasn’t to be as long as the winds were dropping leaves and litter into the pool almost constantly. The twins are coming down this weekend to begin two weeks of swimming lessons at the community pool here on the Planet Orland, so the pool will be seeing heavy use every day as the kids practice their new found skills.

Speaking of swimming...The doctor I met yesterday at the Chico Pain Clinic, Dr. Lal; told me the usual things about my condition, things that I already knew. Yes, it’s arthritis. Yes, the disks are bulging. These are things that can’t be undone by exercise. I expressed a desire to racewalk again and he told me that would be foolish. But, he’s the ‘pain’ doctor, not a surgeon. He did give me some alternatives though; he said that swimming is a great exercise, and his personal favorite; rock climbing! Hmmm? Could I start on really small rocks?

Well, I’m a great floater, a life saving skill learned in the Navy, but I’m not the most skilled at real swimming. Moving through the water from Point A to Point B. I suppose I can give it a try though. And he did say that I could cycle. Now that’s something I want to do anyway. Maybe a recumbent bike? But…I’m not sure I want to be pedaling while lying down so close to the road and any pursuing dogs. I better stick with the good bike that I already have.

Another Brilliant Idea

Ok, I’ve been to the new doctor and we’re not off to a good start. Oh, he’s fine and I like him so far. But, I had an 8:30 appointment; the first one of the day. And I finally saw the doctor at 9:15. That’s 45 minutes late. I know there are far worse stories than mine. But those usually involve surgeons or internists that have patients in the local hospital. That’s not the case here. (here's the weird part...they had a wall clock in the waiting room! Have you ever seen that before?)

And then I was reading an article about ‘secret shoppers’ for the medical profession. It seems that there are people who are hired to visit doctors, dentists, hospitals and emergency rooms and pose as patients; even have minor procedures done. The resulting reports can sometimes get an angry response from a doctor. OK! We need more of that.

To cap it off, we went to Lowe’s and the service was pitiful. As usual. And that is when I had another brainstorm. Develop a website that would allow consumers to critique everything. Hardware stores to surgeons. Sure, you can go to Lowe’s website and after 30 minutes of hunting, you might find the complaint department; maybe. But if there were one website that would consolidate all the gripes in the nation, then Lowe’s would be looking there. Imagine a pull down menu and various scroll bars that would let you narrow down the focus of your complaint. State, city, type of business, business name, etc. Text boxes to input businesses that aren’t already in the database. More text boxes to allow you to vent your frustration in an orderly manner. No profanity allowed. And then the complaint would be shielded from viewing by other in-putters. We wouldn’t want copy cat complaints. After 5 complaints or 2 weeks, whichever comes first, the offending party would be notified that complaints were available for their viewing on-line. No more secret shoppers, retailers and other service providers will have the info direct from the ones who matter, their own customers. Customer Complaint Clearinghouse. CCC. Imagine yourself as CEO of Lowe’s; wouldn’t you like to browse through your customers complaints without having them filtered by your staff? OK, if you use my idea, it’s the usual 10% of the net profits for me.

Boycott Dr(e)yer's!

The growing food crisis has hit me in a most vulnerable spot; ice cream. The local Long’s Drug store has been advertising ice cream at $2.99 for a 1.75 quart of the good stuff from Dreyer’s. Wrong! It turns out that all that is available is a new 1.5 quart size. 1.5? If you can remember, this used to be called the half-gallon size, 2 quarts. Some time ago, the manufacturers quietly resized their product to 1.75 quarts and now, a few years later, they are doing it again. Why isn’t this headline news? Why aren’t your legislator’s busy coming up- with a solution to this disaster? It’s a crime!

U.S. Severe Weather

Map : Weather Underground

Interesting view. But I have to wonder about that tiny orange spot on the left coast. Shouldn't it be bigger than that?

Those Friendly Skies

The other news story that caught my eye was the one about United Airlines and their decision to charge for checked luggage. So if I travel by air, I should buy new clothes when I arrive at my destination and then donate them to the Salvation Army just as I return? Is there anyone that doesn’t travel for more than a week without checked luggage? And if I remember correctly, and I do (how could I forget?)…the amount of overhead bin space is limited on all airplanes. It was already a fight to get your carry-on stowed before all of the space was taken and they forced you to check your bags. And that was 5 years ago! So I have to wonder, if you are now one of those ‘losers’ and all of the bins are filled just as you step on board; will they charge you the $15? And all you have is a $100 dollar bill? Or a credit card? Or $10 and some change?

Catch that dog!

This is a real break. There is no wind this morning. Oh, sure, there is a breeze; a zephyr, but it’s nothing compared to what was. And I’m not hearing a lot from the scanner. It’s been 45 minutes of silence and just now, the first thing I’ve heard is a report of a pit bull that’s loose. OK, that’s better than having to hear about more fires. Dogs running loose are a much better news story!

Swans

On the good side of the day; on a positive note…I started reading The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Apparently, this is the book I was meant to read. It starts out with mention of Umberto Eco; one of my favorite authors. I have just started the book, but I already have an urge to underline and highlight certain passages. Yikes! It’s a library book…must restrain myself.

I remember the stir this book caused when it came out last year and I do remember an NPR interview (Terry Gross on Fresh Air?) with the author that was quite good. I will have to look and see if it’s still available as a podcast.

I guess this is a warning; I'm sure I will be posting observations and comments about/from the book for the next week or so.

Supreme Court

again says Guantanamo prisoners should have rights - Los Angeles Times:

"Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was less restrained. 'I am deeply disappointed in what I think is a tremendously dangerous and irresponsible ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court,' he said. 'The court has conferred upon civilian judges the right to make military decisions. These judges have virtually no training in military matters, yet civilian judges, in some of the most liberal district courts in the country, will have an opportunity to determine who is a threat to the United States.'"

Well, Lindsey...I'm deeply disappointed in you. So that makes two of us that have had a bad day. Get over it.

Jobless

Benefit Extension Blocked by House Vote : NPR

It all makes sense if you think like a legislator. Once you are no longer eligible for benefits, you are dropped from the statistics. Instantly, the unemployment figures look much better! It's a miracle!

Things you hear...

From the scanner; 'Uncooperative subject. He's not allowing Cal-Fire engines and personnel onto his property.'

Makes you wonder...

CAL FIRE

- Incidents

Yesterdays news, but it may change soon.

Scanning

The fire command 'chatter' has returned as the sky turns silver in the east. Not good. All the voices are saying that without air support, they are helpless along some fronts. The terrain is being described as 'beyond mountain goat' and a direct assault won't be attempted. Clark Road is threatened as the fire moves south.

The good news is that the voices we hear are all very cool and professional. Telling it like it is!

Broken Promises

So much for promises. The wind was supposed to be over and done with by 6 last night. Not. And of course the fires continue to blaze, with a new fire reported in the Honey Run and Humboldt Road area east and south of Chico, with flames crossing the main road to Paradise. Everyone is nervous.

Ordinarily, the scanner that sits here on the desk is turned down low and most of what I hear is simply background noise; chatter. I’m not really paying attention to most of it. Somewhat like the television you turn on whenever you stay overnight in a motel. But now we’re listening and the volume is turned up. We’re paying attention to locations and to the tenor of the voices we hear. There were some very frustrated voices yesterday. This morning? Strangely enough, at this early hour and with the winds steady at 15 and gusting to 25 mph, all is quiet. Don’t know why.

Weasel Word Alert

I was just ranting (in a previous post) about ‘seniority’ in politics and it’s something that I simply do not understand. Why, if you were elected, would you stand for it? Just because it’s always been done that way? That’s not a good reason. And it’s not a good reason in any profession. I was a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America for almost 30 years. The carpenters union. Sorry, but we didn’t have seniority. You could do the job or you couldn’t. Skill was the only criteria for hiring. But that didn’t mean that we abandoned our elder members. For instance, if you needed someone to do trim work, you would look for an elder to hire. They usually had the temperament and skills for this slow but demanding work. Most young and ambitious workers just messed it up. But it was skill and not seniority! Notice how I used the ‘weasel words’ usually and most; because that is the failure of seniority. Sometimes being around for a long time only means that no one noticed you. Seniority almost always guarantees mediocrity.

Book Review

Started reading the book, Against The Tide by Lincoln Chafee. I haven’t read more than 40 pages and I’m already disenchanted with the Senator. You would think that with his credentials, I would be glad to read what he had to say. Not so…so far. What I have found so disturbing is the fact that he plays politics when we’re looking for men and women who will confront issues head on. He talks about the fact that Cheney met with his small group of moderates and they all ‘went along’ with him. He didn’t say much at the time because he was a ‘freshman’ Senator. What? As a plain thinking citizen, I don’t elect ‘freshmen’, I elect (hopefully) those who would work for me. Now. Not some years later after ‘Seniority’ is reached. Where was his bravery? He actually speaks of being intimidated by Cheney. I will try a few more chapters, but so far the book reads like an apology and a political campaign.

Arguments against

drilling in ANWR

"...said Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Senate Republican. “Let’s look at ANWR, which is a grassy plain, 2,000 acres in the middle of an area the size of the state of South Carolina, if that will make us more energy independent. Let’s set a goal for America: energy independence in 10 years.”

And when you read the oil company/administration reports on the amount of oil available, you will find the report loaded with weasel words, such as 'may', 'projected' and 'should'. And the 2,000 acres? Do you really believe that we can find enough oil to satisfy our thirst in just 2,000 acres? I think my intelligence has just been insulted.

Study Shows

Colorado Has Largest Rise in Child Poverty - NYTimes.com

"Colorado ranks 44th in per capita spending, according to the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, a research and advocacy group that focuses on tax and budget issues."

Duh!

With One Eye

on Gasoline and the Economy, Congress Keeps the Other on November

Yes, 'Exploit' is the right word. This is the same Congress that has ignored the difficult decisions and now wants to use the crisis for political gain.

ANWR will give us very little in the way of oil. But why tell us the truth when the lies are so much more attractive?

Cheap oil isn't coming back. Ever. And good riddance!

Must Get Started

Slow. I wonder what that’s all about? I am usually awake much earlier than this. It must be the wind; it tires you out! And it’s back of course. Hopefully, we can make it through the day without any more fires. They were popping up everywhere yesterday! Heck, I’ll say it. Some of the stuff destroyed is a case of ‘good riddance!’ Not all, of course; fire is never discriminating.

And from what we’ve heard, Tuesday’s fire was a re-start of Sunday’s fire. The wind found some hidden hot spots and fuel and that was all it took.

Now I have to get out and open the gates to irrigate this morning. And see what the winds have knocked down in the orchard overnight.

Wind...

Darn! Here we go again... just heard the scanner going crazy and looking out to the west, we have another fire going! They're calling all community fire agencies to respond and police are evacuating some neighborhoods. The wind is twice as strong as it was the other day so I don't know how long it will take to get it under control.

Watching the helicopter dropping water...

1,000 gal fuel tank is in the path of the fire...

OK. Fire's out. Mopping up...

No. Here's another one. On Road 30 between P and S. Spreading fast...downed power lines started this one.

We hate the wind!

Close the windows!

On and on it goes. More wind. Day after day. And I’ve spoken to a genuine elder resident of the Planet Orland and I have been told that this much wind is not normal.

Even though this is a well built house and the windows seal tightly, the wind still drives the dust in and there is a fine film of it on everything and everywhere. But…that’s what happens when you live in the country; where every day the normal agricultural activities create more dirt for the wind to blow about.

Case in point; just east of us by about 3 miles, there is a new orchard being built. This formerly productive almond orchard was hit hard by the winds of January, with lots of trees uprooted. While other orchards in the area were cleared of downed trees and the remaining trees were pruned for the coming season, this orchard was ignored for months. Finally, about 6 weeks ago, a large chipper was brought in and the entire orchard, live trees and dead, was plucked from the ground and fed into the machine. The result was a bleak landscape of about 60+ acres of dirt and upturned irrigation piping. And one huge mound of almond ‘chips’.

Tractors were brought in and the plowing began. After the tractors finished, the laser guided land leveling took place. More tractors. And what I expected to see after this would be the process of creating the rows where the new trees would be planted. Tractors again. But that didn’t happen.

Surprisingly, a decision was made to go back over the newly leveled acreage with a deep ripper. Now a deep ripper uses a VERY large tractor to pull a single ripping shank through the hardpan that lies beneath the topsoil. This shatters the hardpan and allows for deeper rooting of the trees. That tractor has now crossed and recrossed the orchard a half dozen times. And each time we pass by that new orchard, we see a haze of dust and diesel exhaust. It’s been two weeks now and I have no idea as to when they will be through. I can’t even imagine how much fuel has been burned and its cost! Farming is not done by ‘poor folks’ anymore. I’m just guessing, but I would imagine that the ‘farmer’ will have close to $1 million dollars invested in that acreage by the time the trees are purchased and the irrigation system installed.

Evolution

Survival, And Where The Ball Goes

Who knew? I'm really surprised to see that someone else thinks somewhat along the same lines that I do...

I still think that the best competition you can have is with yourself. Everything else is simply 'business'.

That's Italian!

We’re back and the car windows have been suitably tinted. And in less than a day. All according to state law of course. And since we were still in Chico at the noon hour, we decided to stop at the new Sicilian Café and Market, out on the road to the airport; Chico International. Good food. We had sandwiches made with foccacia bread and broiled vegetables. That included some Portobello mushrooms, of course. We’ve never been to the ‘mothership’ for dinner so we had no preconceived notions regarding quality. All in all it was a delightful lunch. Although…we’re ordering just one sandwich next time and splitting it. One sandwich and one salad, shared, would be perfect.

No Child Left Behind

The legislature's job is to write law. It's the executive branch's job to interpret law. --George W. Bush Austin, TX11/22/2000

Amazing! It's the wrong answer but he still got the job...

It's Up! It's Down!

OK, I’m watching the stock market today. It closed with a 400 point loss on Friday, so who knows what will happen this morning? Let’s see…5 minutes into the trading day and it’s up 45 points. Oops! Now it’s down to +16. It’s going to be a long day.

And the basis for all of this profit and loss is oil. I’m going to mention the book, Discovery! once again. It’s a great book if you want to get a handle on the complexities of the Saudi – American relationship. And from what I’ve read and observed (from a distance), the Saudi’s are still entrenched in tribalism and ignorance; just as they were 70 years ago. Wealth does not necessarily bring happiness or equality to a nation.

It's the Buzz

Last night, in our study group, the two and three wheel adventures became a topic of conversation as one member arrived on a newly renovated bicycle. What does it mean?

Bicycles are in. Cars are out. Sorry. Seen it all before. The gasoline crunch of the 70’s had people up and about on two wheels, but not for long. Let’s face it, our highways and byways are simply not made for bicycle travel. It’s a brave person (or foolish) indeed who believes that a white line will protect them from the idiot driver with a cell phone jammed in their ear. Existing roads were never designed to carry the two types of traffic and the ‘white line’ just takes needed space away from the automobile. Not that I’m against bicycle riding; I’m not! I just wish it were safer.

Adult

Tricycles

Don't let the name fool you, there are more than tricycles available here. Lots more! Check out the 4-wheelers...

And according to my daughter, bikes are the future!

Bats

Lots of bats out last night and again this morning. I was standing at the sink in the kitchen and they were flying by, right outside the window and at eye level. Not that you can see them very well; they’re far too fast. Other than that, it’s sort of peaceful outside this morning. Just a hint of a breeze; not like yesterday morning where we had a gale blowing. But, the forecast says we’re in for more wind all of the way through Wednesday.

Yesterday’s local fire has most people nervous, including us. Of all of the possible disasters that you might experience, fire has to be the most feared. And probably the one we’re least prepared for. Fire is merciless.

It was interesting and quite gratifying to see the local response to the fire as engines from Corning, Willows and even Mendocino County arrived to fight the blaze; a fire that was more urban than rural.

The plan for the day is to drive in to Chico and have the cars windows tinted. Just in time for the summer. Odd, but they told me that they take all of the glass out of the car to tint it. And they tell us that it will take 'all day'...I guess we'll find out what that means. I'm not waiting around for it; I'm heading over to Bustolini's for coffee and something to read.

Fire

frightens residents, scorches acreage -

There's something about wind and fires...we were experiencing 20 - 25 mph winds yesterday when this broke out. More wind is forecast for this week.

Art Thoughts?

I was thinking about art last night (Duh!) and the fact that there is so much of it that is good these days. How does one person become famous? 500 years ago, you had to be rich or have a rich sponsor to become an artist. Art supplies were tremendously expensive and all were made by hand. And who is a ‘famous’ artist these days? Or am I just out of the loop?

Even though I had already seen the encaustic pieces at Chico Paper Company, it was fun to examine them once more. Some were quite complex and almost 3-dimensional while others used a minimalist approach. And what I would like to see, somewhere, would be pieces using multiple media. Wax, acrylics, clay, glass, metal, paper, wood, etc. I also saw some nice ceramic and wood, ceramic and metal pieces at the Art House.

New forces

fraying U.S.-Saudi oil ties - Los Angeles Times

Especially interesting if you read the 'new' book, Discovery! by Wallace Stegner. It's the story of Aramco and the beginning of the Saudi oil empire. It's a fascinating book by a great author (Angle of Repose). Especially timely are the bits about Iraq and the British at that time (1930's).

Cranky Old Guy

We went to the First Saturday Art Walk last night. The weather was pleasant for it; high 70’s and breezy. But…their just wasn’t much to get excited about. Part of that is our fault as we don’t go to all of the galleries and we really need to expand our horizons. We have a short list of about 5 regular venues and last night that only took 90 minutes to see what they had to offer.

The Chico Art House is always a pleasant place to start the tour and you get a chance to see how their vegetable garden is doing at the same time. It’s doing great! There is a lot of sculpture and you have to wander through the garden to see it all. In the middle of the garden is a potters workplace and you can go inside and see the ceramic art. Their ceramic art is always among my favorites.

Then we went to the Chico Art Center at the Amtrak station. There was an ongoing show from two Chico artists with very different styles. One was serene with lovely shading of colors that created a soft landscape look; sky and earth and water. In fact, I don’t remember seeing any vertical elements in any of the pieces. The other was explosive. Great swirls of color and motion. Exciting. It reminded me of grandson Zach’s work.

When we got to All Fired Up, we started seeing works that we had seen last year. Interesting but not very exciting. More of the same next door at 1078 Gallery. And it was the same at the Chico Paper Company. More boring. A couple more stops and we were through for the evening; except for dinner of course.

We decided to visit a restaurant that we had been to a very long time ago; California Pasta Productions. Time has not been kind to this restaurant and it definitely needs some restoration. Maybe just some simple cleaning and paint would help. The food was OK; I had a smoked salmon fettuccini dish and the salmon overpowered the dish. It was more like a smoked salmon stew. And they had no O’Doul’s. In fact, no NA beer at all and they seemed quite proud of that fact. A bad beginning!

Senate

Republicans block climate bill -

John Engler, a former Michigan governor who heads the National Association of Manufacturers, said economic studies showed the bill "would have resulted in significant job losses across our nation, lower household incomes and increase the cost of gasoline and electricity."

Sort of like a war in the Middle East might do, right?

Where Hillary went wrong

By allowing the mainstream media to define the contest:

Career politicians depend on the media to muddy the waters and making it difficult to pin the candidate down. It didn't work this time. Or, maybe it worked too well?

Meandering

Best laid plans and all of that. We dropped the car off at the dealer where we were told it would be a couple of hours. Danger; there is no valid definition for a ‘couple of’. In my mind it is 2 hours, no more and no less. At a car dealer, a ‘couple of’ is an unlimited number; 2, 4, 24, etc. But enough of that; we went across the street to the shopping center where we split up. I went to Starbucks, hoping for a pleasant morning of reading the NY Times and exercising the mind. Unfortunately, the store was crowded, dirty and noisy. The music was being played at hyper levels and so the conversations had to increase as well. Finally admitting defeat, I decided to go outside even though it was windy.

Jeekers! The music was being played outside as well. What are they thinking? I spotted a table that was all by itself and away from the speakers and that’s where I settled in. I opened my paper; that was when one of the locals decided to rearrange the outdoor furniture; shuffling tables and chairs all about until he had them spaced equally. 5 tables and each with two chairs. (Why?) My once lonely table was now but half a dozen feet away from the next table; the one where he sat down and lit up a cigarette. To compound that felony, one of his pals wandered by, sat down and lit one up. That did it! I headed back to the dealership, hoping that the waiting room was quiet. Even if it wasn’t quiet, there wouldn’t be any smoking.

Now the waiting began. But I did have a good newspaper to read and I had a chance to read it from cover to cover. There are lots of things I don’t care for in New York and I probably wouldn’t want to live there, but as I read through the theatre and movie ads I grew envious. So many great movies to see! (Indie and foreign films) I remembered when I was working in Connecticut and we would visit an ‘art film’ house in Bantam every weekend. Saw Diabolique and Mr. Hulot’s Holiday. I know if I lived in New York, I would be in the theatres all of the time. And the art galleries! Amazing… but I was startled to see an art exhibit where you had to pay for admission?

Finally the wait was over and the ‘couple of’ hours turned out to be 4, but they washed the car for us as gesture of goodwill. And with any luck at all we won’t be back for quite a few months…or at least a couple.

Black Friday?

From cab drollery:

Oh, Please!

Someone needs to tell us how the Bush/Bolton foreign policy is SO much better. People are simply DYING to find out...

Winds of Change?

Windy. As usual. And why is that? I don’t remember this happening last year. Well, maybe not as much or as often. And it’s tiresome. On the plus side, it makes for comfortable temperatures.

Always busy. We’re going into Chico this morning to get the airbag seat sensor replaced on the new car. That will take a few hours and we will have to find some way to occupy our time. Unfortunately, the only coffee shop within range is a Starbuck’s. Darn! But they do sell the NY Times and that’s a plus.

I was reading, somewhere, about the apparent demise of the Hummer brand. Not soon enough, but it’s symptomatic of all that is wrong with Detroit. You would have thought that GM could have seen this coming more than a few years ago. But, even as oil supplies tightened, Detroit kept saying that the American public must want SUV’s because they keep buying them. Ignoring the fact that a growing number of buyers were making Toyota quite rich. American automakers have long ignored those who were looking for an economical substitute for the usual Detroit iron and now it’s hurting them. And interesting; Tata Motors, from India, is supposedly looking at the Hummer brand.

Education

and sex Vital statistics

Me? I think it's culture. And it's time for a change...

But that geometry thing? That makes me wonder.

The Art House •

Sculpture Garden & Gallery • Chico California

I got an email last night from the Lawton's, reminding me that tomorrow is Art First Saturday.

From Time Goes By

Aging in the Land of Nod

I'm validated! I love my naps and now I know why...

Although, I wonder if it's genetic or cultural...or both? I seem to remember Mom taking naps, long before she qualified as being an elder.

And this, from the article - Phase Advance is the fancy medical term for the experience of going to bed earlier in the evening and waking up earlier in the morning. The sleep phase advances as we age. Many older people fall asleep early in the evening, yet awaken much earlier than desired in the morning and cannot fall back to sleep easily.

Phase Advance! I love technical terms.

Toxic legacy

Bad news for the EU and the world

"Czech workers from the airfield have said that sometimes fuel-supply trains would arrive before the base had room to store more kerosene. When that happened, the newly arrived fuel was poured on the ground."

Lexington

Raising the Barr Economist.com

I've got an idea! Let's all vote for Bob! Bob for President...after all, how bad can he be?

Verry Interresting!

Top U.S. Air Force official resigns: report

I was just reading another story about the fact that the Decider just might decide to attack Iran. Are the stories related? Were high officials asked to do something that they found they could not condone? It's only conjecture of course. But if I were the Decider, I would want someone who would not question my motives. A non-thinker. No pointy headed itellectuals!

(Later) I guess that wasn't the story, though I liked it! The real story is apparently plain old incompetence on the part of the two officials. So when did that become a reason for firing anyone?

Absolutely

Amazing. I’m just back from the doctor and another acupuncture session. The results; a lessening of the pain and a greater range of motion take a few hours to appear, but when they do…I love it!

I was reading a brochure while I was waiting for the doctor and I saw the factoid that acupuncture has been around for 2,500 years. Hmm? Can you imagine the size of the needles about 2,000 years ago? And of course I had to wonder; why would the first person to do it…do it? “Yeah. I had this really bad headache, so I grabbed the wife’s sewing needle and stuck it in my foot. The headache’s gone!” What?

mental floss

The Surprising Source of New York’s First Environmental Problem

Ah! The good old days!

California's Own Decider

Some headlines; drought declared in California. This is bound to revive the bad feelings between the wet north and the dry south. Especially so when it appears that no plan has been made to conserve water by rationing. Did I say rationing? Of course that brings up a memory from long ago; WWII and the rationing of just about everything! As we suffer through rising gasoline and food prices, I can’t help but think of what this nation would do if those things were rationed once again. Imagine having a collection of ‘gas stamps’ and cashing them in to buy enough gas to go to work.

Sort of the same topic; we can’t help but notice that there are less SUV’s on the roads these days. It’s not just because we have switched to a hybrid; a lot of people have. The streets of Chico seem filled with lots of shiny new and smaller cars these days. I’m sure that someone, somewhere, is keeping track of these kinds of statistics. And if you watch the informal auto sales, the vacant lots that attract do-it-yourself sellers, you will see a majority of large vehicles parked there. Hoping.

Proud Mom - two daughters

Last night, we were in the large crowd of family and friends that had gathered to watch the 75 graduates of Durham junior high receive their awards and their promotion to high school. It was especially rewarding for us as we watched Meghan receive her scholastic rewards for her 3.96 GPA. Someone we didn’t know, remarked, “I didn’t know she was smart too?” Yes. She is. And her equally bright cousins were there as well. We had four of our grandchildren in attendance last night. What fun!

Durham is somewhat unique among California schools as all grade levels, kindergarten through high school, share the same campus. So when Meghan goes off to high school in the fall, it will be to the same familiar corner of Durham, just different class rooms.

Evenings like this always generate memories and so I remembered my own junior high experiences. I can do without high school memories completely; junior high was my all time favorite school experience! That’s where I first learned that the English class could teach you more than how to spell correctly. I learned to write and I discovered art. I became one of the AV geeks and I played John Wilkes Booth; assassinating ‘Lincoln’ and jumping off of the auditorium stage before limping through the audience. Are there any ‘do-overs’? I want to do junior high over again!

(Too bad I didn't include her shoes in this photo...black high top tennies!)

Election Night Results

- Butte County

Scary! Logue is running on a campaign of misinformation and fear mongering... I feel sorry for the Butte County residents.

Glenn County went as expected. We're still a 'Red' planet. (Gag!) But we did have 47% participation; nice but not as good as tiny Alpine County where 499 voters made up a 63% particpation number.

Mexican Style

Shredded Pork - Allrecipes

Reminds me of last nights dinner at La Hacienda in Chico...I ordered the Mayan Pork entree. Yes it was quite good. (Too much of course, but that's another story)

But what I was thinking about here, was the fact that I ordered the pork because I wanted that old fashioned taste of pork. Most people today don't know that pork once had a distinctive taste. It's gone. Pork is manufactured now and the meat is bland. It's the other white meat...but which other we don't know. So if we want to enjoy pork now, we have to spice it up! And this one looks spicy.

Pass the potatoes, please

"As Costs Keep Rising, Restaurateurs Find Creative Ways to Cope...
All across New York City, cooks, chefs and restaurateurs are devising ways to cope with the soaring costs of many of their basic ingredients."

Hey! I have an idea...how about smaller portions? I know it's revolutionary, but who knows? It just might catch on.

Crime stoppers

"The hardest ones are the old ladies."ALBERT FERNANDEZ, a police officer who carries out evictions in Dade County, Fla.

Hey! You know the old saying...Don't do the crime if you can't do the time!

Speaking of History

I was browsing through my journal from the year 2003. This is from 3/10/2003...

"I took the camper off and then went to Old Sacramento to meet Gordon and his son and his son’s girlfriend. We went for lunch at Mikuni’s and I had some great sushi and a little sashimi. I returned them to Old Sac and then drove home. I bought some diesel fuel on the way and found the price up to $1.91 a gallon. But that is better than gasoline, which had gone from $1.97 at 11 AM to $2.01 by 2 PM. All of this price gouging is the result of *bush’s desire for war. From what I have read, the price of gas will come close to $3 a gallon in a month or so."

Ah, the good old days!

My Views On

Political news. Senator Obama will be the Democratic candidate for president, a fact that has been apparent for quite awhile, but it’s now mathematically proven. Senator Clinton has not conceded yet, but that’s only because of the ‘backroom’ politics that have to be indulged in before we, the electorate, are given the ‘facts’.

Is that good news or bad news? I’m neutral on this because I really don’t trust the average voter. There. I said it. I don’t trust the average voter to do the right thing. We need above average voters and they are rare. Am I an elitist? Could be. If I remember Greek history correctly, average voters weren’t allowed during the infancy of democracy. But, hey…that’s just old and dusty history. And what we are about to experience during the next 5 months could also become history; important and shining history. That’s only if the candidates will stay on the high road and keep their supporters focused on the truth and not the slime of political opportunism. (Fat chance!)

Weather...or not.

I just checked the weather report and once again we have winds. 15 to 20 mph with 35 mph gusts from the south this time. But, the good news is that the winds won’t abate till after midnight. Good? Yes, since we will be sitting outside at the Durham high school football stadium tonight, to watch our granddaughter ‘Saluta-tate’, those same winds will help to keep the infamous Durham mosquitoes at bay.

(Salutatate? Of course it's a word! It's what Salutatorians do...)

Miss Megs

That was fun! We were out and about for a celebratory dinner last night. But, before dinner, we received this news about our junior high graduating granddaughter; she was selected to be the Salutatorian at her graduation tonight. How very cool! According to the stats, she had a 3.96 grade point average for her 3 years at the junior high school. All of which made our celebration that much sweeter.

(Sure, it's an old picture...but one of my favorites of her)

Hey!

I have an idea! Senator Obama should choose Senator McCain to be his running mate. Game over!

Speaking of Geeks

Although I’m very much tempted by the Amazon wireless book reader, Kindle, I just can’t get enthused about paying for books I can read for free at the library. At $10 for each electronic book and if I’m reading a book every other day, Whoa! That’s a lot of money. And that doesn’t include the cost of a news subscription. And how do I share that book once I bought it? And does the news subscription include the comics? These are important questions!

I think I'll save my money for a Wii...

Nap Time

I started my morning in the usual way, but now I’m ready to go back to bed; until sometime late in November. I made the mistake of reading some of the comments posted on a story about Dick Cheney. The tone of the comments quickly deteriorated to a rant about the possibility of Senator Obama being nominated. And to be honest, the tone of the comments wasn’t all that good to begin with. They didn't have far to fall.

Who are these people and why are they allowed to post comments without using their real names? Cowards.

The local rag features the same sort of thing with their ‘Tell it to the ER’ column. Those with less than average mental capacity are encouraged to use the telephone and give their opinion about any subject. Anonymously of course. But, wait… isn’t that what bloggers do? No. We’re not all that anonymous. I use my name and if you read my profile you can find out where I live. You can even see my photograph. And I’m smiling…

Speaking of newspapers. How much longer will they survive? The ER and the Sac Bee are now totally dependant upon chiropractors for their advertising revenue. The local, local paper; the Press Register of Orland, consists of 3 pages of the sheriff and police logs and one page of obituaries. What kind of business model is that? (They actually want 75 cents for it!)

I can’t help but wonder; how many newspapers have failed in the past year? I doubt that your local newspaper would do a story on it. That’s the kind of bad news that won’t make the front page…or any page.

What will replace newspapers? Will they be replaced? My geek mind says I would like a wireless and compact news reader. ‘Electronic paper’. All news, all the time. But geeks are few and far between and I can only imagine what the subscription rates would be like.

Cheney

Ridicules West Virginia

So?

The farm bill

A harvest of disgrace - from the Economist.com

Business as usual. Farm business.

McCain wins an 'Attaboy' and Obama gets a 'Boo'. And shame on all of the rest.

Facts are Facts

The neighborhood is noisy this morning. The sheep that graze behind us are voicing their frustration at something and I can hear the bawling of the small herd of cattle that live to the north of us. All of which brought the subject of alfalfa to mind. And from my bothersome treasury of useless facts, came this…alfalfa is an Arabic word that means something similar to ‘the best grass’. Arabic? Oh, oh! And we have millions of acres of it planted right here in the good old US of A. What will we do? Spray it with Agent Orange? No, better idea; we change the name. After all, we renamed ‘French’ fries to Freedom Fries; we can do the same with alfalfa. Our All-American cows deserve it! Freedom Grass for all!

And khaki...the word for American soldiers uniforms? That's from India.