Someone did wrong by me this week. Seriously wrong. But I’m the man, I can move on. And that’s what I did. At times such as these, everyone needs a long dead military genius to guide their way through the more problematic moments of life. Sun Tzu, are you listening to me mate? What would you do? Fortunately, the dudes thoughts have been recorded in the two millennia old treatise: The Art of War. A solid guide to managing conflict. If you haven’t read it yet, why not?
It takes a lot of effort and skill to survive and thrive remote from the conveniences of the city. If I had a weakness, it may be that sometimes I make things look easier than they actually are. Being raised in what is impolitely known as a broken home which was dominated by a less than stable mother, a young bloke needs to learn how to learn. That’s how you rise above the past.
My grandfather saw how the winds were blowing for me whilst attending the high school for disadvantaged kids. He gifted me an education during late High School. I didn’t like it, but I knew what an opportunity looked like. He wasn’t the kind of guy to gift money, even as an inheritance. Ended up earning the A grade marks to get into the most prestigious of Universities, but instead went to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. Back then it was colloquially known as the working man’s college. Word on the street though in those days was that it provided the better education. Graduated with honours. Even won a prize for the top mark in the subject of Accounting Theory (perhaps a detailed analysis of Accounting Theory could be a fun topic for a future blog post?)
The youthful age of 17, found me working a full time job. It wasn’t long after that age, I left the unpalatable family home. The work paid for the part time University, which took seven years to complete. The professional post graduate took another three years of part time study. I’m not interested in further studies.
Work was more like an apprenticeship. Imagine every accounts job from the bottom right through to the top, and I’ve done ’em all. And for 36 years too. At the top of the profession, I spoke the language of my staff, and they couldn’t pull anything shifty over me. In cohesive teams we got stuff done and kicked goals. When I eventually left those lofty heights, some of my staff cried, because they knew what would come for them next.
The thing is, I didn’t enjoy speaking with the people higher up the food chain in those big organisations. They don’t want to hear straight talk. Telling it like it is, that takes courage. Most people I met who thrive in those sorts of environments come from similar backgrounds to the folks they report to. They’ll tell ’em what they want to hear. That’s not me. Eventually I’d had enough of the constant combat.
I’d guessed my niche would be found in small business. There’s less hierarchy, you report to the business owners, and they can’t afford to mess around. The professional accounting body didn’t want me taking this path though. If you come from my accounting work background, you’re prohibited from putting out your shingle and offering your services to the public. There’s a license for that. And because of my work experience, the professional body limited me to an income of $20,000 for three years. And that’s before costs. Not many people can jump that puddle, but I did with Sandra’s help.
When I was wronged last week, dismay quickly lead to anger. On Saturday I headed down into the paddock. Smashed up a super hard granite boulder into more usefully sized large rocks. And during the meditative work, I got some perspective. Then felt better. I’ve worked so hard over my life, and if they think they can do better themselves, give it a go. But they’ll find out, I’m the man.
Another week, another storm. You could see the thick clouds building over the central highlands.
This time around the storm was brief. For a day or two afterwards, the afternoons were kind of warm. It’s truly been an odd growing season. And just prior to the weather turning cooler again we had one of the most astounding sunsets I’ve yet had the pleasure of witnessing.
Regular readers will recall that an upside down tree stump was pushed up against a very large and old tree. It wasn’t good for the health of the tree. The wrong-way-around-stump was most likely dumped there during the post 1983 bushfire log recovery efforts. The monster thing was lifted out of the ground last week. It was super heavy and I could barely budge the monster even using the six foot long steel house wrecking bar. This week, the chainsaw was used to cut off the many side arms on the stump, and I finally managed to roll the thing away. It’ll get burned off over winter and the ash will be spread around as a fertiliser.
Once the land immediately in front of the large old tree was clear of the stump, I was able to use a combination of tools to clean up the area. It’s looking good now and in another year or two will be indistinguishable from the more orderly areas of the forest.
Nearby to the large old tree was a boulder. We needed more large rocks for the low gradient path project. And so whilst working in that area, we broke apart the boulder into five still large and heavy rocks.
The rocks in the above image are actually quite a soft granite which is easy-ish to split apart. Over on the other side of the farm was a much harder granite boulder. With a bit of angst to work out of my system, and a need for some quiet reflective time, the boulder was just asking to be broken apart.
The granite in the image above is super hard, but with enough work (and angst) it can be split apart.
The job took many hours of drilling and splitting, and the work is hard on both me and the tools. Eventually the job was done.
Those boulders provided a lot of large rocks for the low gradient path project. The following day we began hauling the rocks back up the hill using the large yellow power wheelbarrow.
It took another days work to haul all of the large rocks back up the hill. The smaller, yet still large rocks were all used as a second and higher layer of rocks on the low gradient path project on the downhill side of the chicken enclosure.
In another week or two’s time, we’ll add more soil to that path in order to level it out. Then a top layer of crushed rock with lime will be added. Before you know it, the path will look as if it has always been there.
Last week we’d also constructed a steel rock gabion cage. This week, the cage was put into place, and we began filling the thing with rocks. Despite how it looks, we are again rapidly running out of rocks. Peak Rocks is very real.
It’s a good time of year for produce, and the beans are now ready for harvesting.
One of the later fruits are the persimmons, and the oldest of those trees now has heaps of fruit. It’s a non-astringent variety.
The rather prolific and curious looking Japanese ginger shoots have for the first time produced their edible flowers. I’m yet to try these, but they’re meant to be a delicacy. The more usual ginger tubers really struggle growing in this cool climate, even in the greenhouse.
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 10am is 11’C (52’F). So far for last year there has been 174.6mm (6.9 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 152.8mm (6.0 inches)
Yo, Chris – Well, you certainly kept your “eyes on the prize.” That was interesting about the “workingman’s college.” Here, we have what some (the ignorant) consider “lesser” colleges and universities. Land Grant colleges, Teacher’s colleges and agricultural colleges. You can get a good education, without a lot of the frills. They’re generally less expensive, too. And then our whole community college system. More hand’s on tech training. I see at least 10 of our colleges and universities have a working farm, connected to them.
I think, also, you’ve had a few male role models, along the way, to nudge you along. Your grandfather, the old duffer veterans sitting around the campfire, you’re martial arts sensei. The room mates who taught you some of the social niceties 🙂 . There may have been other unsung teachers, or employers, along the way.
That is a spectacular sunset. Well, we’ve seen the large old tree, a couple of times now. I’m surprised you weren’t tempted to stand inside it. Although who knows what lives in there, that might drop down on your head.
Ruby photo bombing you … looks like she’s gazing longingly off into the forest, and weighing the pros and cons of making a break for it. Rationality overcomes impulse. At least, for today.
Rocks to line the paths, rocks to fill the gabion cages. Rocks, rocks and more rocks. Yes, a good workout can level up the head.
The ginger flowers, are lovely. I wonder if they’ll taste like chicken :-). We also have Nasturtium and California Poppy, here at the Institution. It’s always interesting, year to year, to see where they will pop up. Along with a few other plants. The Feverfew looks so much like Chamomile. Same family, two distinct plants.
Well, the Club’s yearly 2:00 membership meeting started promptly at 2:40 … 🙂 Done and dusted for another year. Lew
Hi Lewis,
Well that was weird. I’d typed a substantial reply to you, and the screen decided to reset itself. I may have to give this keyboard a proper clean. And type away into the word processing software. The computer is clearly a cheeky scamp!
The Uni was known by that by-line name at the time, but I do wonder if the name has stuck. I see, that was the name between 1887 – 1960. Well, that is interesting, the institution became a public university during my time there. But yeah, with my background, I gave myself little choice other than focus on the end game. And the recession of the early 1990’s really shook me hard as a young bloke. The Editor was hit even harder during that time. We have no desire to be that vulnerable again. You could say that we’re motivated! 🙂
Thanks, and I like to add that our regular conversation also means a lot. Learning is a funny thing, and it seems to keep on rollin’ on, that train. Interestingly, the word ‘perspective’ has been on my mind this week (and due to the dramas of last week), and was curious to know if the Club ever covers that matter?
Your suggestion is valid, however there may be some unmanly squeals should an ugly looking spider drop on my head whilst standing near to it. And yeah, some very large and old burnt trees here you can stand inside. Big trees, big spiders. 🙂 A wombat was recently attempting to create a new burrow under one, and I’m glad it’s given up on the effort. The large tree may not stay vertical if such excavations kept up.
Ruby is naughty, and has her own opinions on things. Apparently it is a trait of Kelpies to be responsive to commands, know what needs being done, but they tend to want to do the task in their own way. Given the people I’ve inadvertently annoyed, they probably think the same about me. 😉 I’d retort by suggesting that the word sorry is often the hardest thing for people to say… And yes, all that rock work was very good for my mental health.
Hehe! The ginger flowers might taste like chicken! I began looking into how to cook and/or prepare the flowers this morning, but sadly ran out of free time. Yeah, the self seeded plants move about a bit don’t they? Californian poppies definitely have wandering spirits. The feverfew is actually quite an interesting herb. I once made the mistake of talking to a doctor about the plant. Not a good response.
A lot can happen in 40 minutes. And was the outcome of the meeting as you expected, other than the wild-card fifth position?
The advice from the older Roman campaigner was an excellent read. Thoroughly enjoyed the words and insights into the world of the Roman legionnaire.
In Jack Whyte’s Camulod series there was a scene with Merlin in one of the mansiones, albeit in its later post Roman form. I’ll bet the upper officers parked themselves in the mansione whilst the sergeants would have been with the troops! It’s amazing to consider the roads and other infrastructure put together by that Empire which eventually faded away.
That makes a lot of sense about the remains of the villa sliding away. The photos of the footings looked a bit wonky (the technical description for out of level). Stone robbing makes a lot of sense to me. I’m sure the locals afterwards would have needed the dressed stone for their own uses as you note, and the Roman constructions would have been largely damaged anyway. I doubt many would have escaped such a fate. The buildings would have been an advertisement for gangs seeking fortunes. Yes, I’ve heard that salvation is up for sale. It’s an option.
Ah, a bit of further digging notes that the large timber building (less than a pile!) was constructed from 1869. It burnt down in 1954, cause unknown but was by then used as a guest house. I see what you mean by the word ‘twee’, and it’s almost a bit arts and craft movement, but early.
What do you mean the earth isn’t flat? 😉 Hehe! I dare not look that up in an interweb sludge engine, the bots record such things, and I see no reason to feed them. No, I don’t see the need to worry about literacy yet, it still has a long way to fall.
What can I say, we do the rock breaking work better than the Roman’s. Now conjugate the verb!!! Very Monty Python. I laughed so hard at that scene in the Life of Brian. Anyway, hope the Romans don’t come and try and enslave us, what with being barbarians and stuff. Ugg!
This place looks like hard work, and that’s the entire point. They should be afraid.
A good list of films, and not all remakes or franchise instalments. I did note that the last film was a remake of a remake in Nosferatu (what does this spell checker even know? Hmm.) I’ve seen the version from the late 70’s and it was very creepy. I must read the book.
Cheers
Chris
Hello Chris
Very interesting. I have been done wrong within the last few weeks and am still having trouble shedding it from my mind. Usually I can let go and move on, so here’s hoping I achieve that soon.
We had a bad storm last night. I lay in bed listening and only fell asleep when it died down a bit. Can’t see any outside damage this morning, just a few objects plus a chair flung around.
Inge
Hello Chris,
Good to hear that you are working for The Man. In a different kind of way. Since you are him.
Work arrangements usually work out as long as both parties think there is a benefit to them. If one of the parties lose that perception, things can unfold quickly. I think it is not much difference between employment or contracting. I have had several times clashes with “managers”, which have led to change of employment. Of me, never of them.
I am wary of your suggestion that feudalism would offer advantages. I am of the opinion that large power differences reside on fear, more than mutual benefit. Very few kings used a round table. Most employed a throne.
Did you read “Bullshit Jobs” by David Graeber? He actually compares “management teams” in large organizations with feudal courts (the closest people around a feudal lord). The main job when you are on a management team is to give prestige to the top boss, and you have some secondary duties as well. It was apparently the same, if you belonged to a feudal court, the main job was to give prestige and flatter the boss, and you also had a secondary role, e.g. head of the archers or tax collection or something else.
The multinational organizations that I have witnessed from the inside work like that on the top levels. No real connection to content. Loyalty is everything. A lot of fear.
The only advantage of feudalism is that the reach is less than today’s universalistic ambitions. In the periphery, there will be more freedom(s) and less rule of law. Pro’s and cons.
(I saw that you noted on another blog that the reach of goobermint is getting more and more stretched and spotty. Here, the officials watch the Land of Stuff and salivate.)
In Europe, one of the practices to reduce govermint interference is paying with cash. In Germany, cash is still big. However up here in the Scandinavian countries, most people trust everything official and are happy to pay with their phones, even though “everybody” could watch what you purchase and where and when. I am very old fashined. I would prefer silver coins, but since the 1970s, money is not what it used to be.
Your other working arrangements could quickly fill the rest of your week, if you don’t look out… I suspect that some of your other customers will ask you for more services, if you are more available.
Great work with the boulders. It looks amazing. I have never crushed a rock, and where we are, the most nearby rocks are 10 km away. Only sand and clay, in all directions.
Talking about sand and campaigns, I thought about the “meditations” by Marcus Aurelius, that was mentioned last week. When I read it, a long time ago, I found it peculiar that a man who lived his whole life as a wealthy aristocrat with plenty of slaves talks enthousiastically about “simple life” and stoicism.
On the wikipuddle page, there is a claim that the book was the all time favourite of Mr. prosident Clintn, as if someone needed advice against reading the text.
Did you get to reading the booklet? What did you extract out of the exhortations?
I prefer reading about physical work and personal experiences, written by someone who actually breaks boulders.
Peace,
Göran
Yo, Chris – This just in! Prof. Mass is taken aback! 🙂
Yes, through a slip of the finger, I’ve lost a post or three. Sometimes, a careful poking about with the back arrow, or into “history,” and I can make a recovery. Sometimes. But, yes. Lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Hmmm. Perspective. Nothing comes to mind. Maybe from a different angle? Maybe, “Life on life’s terms?”
Besides practicing “no,” I also try practicing “I’m sorry,” “I was mistaken” and “I was wrong.” One runs across people who are incapable of those phrases. Best to just move on, and leave them in the dust, as they are time wasters.
It’s always fun in the spring to see what pops up where. Fennel, viola, comfrey, California Poppy, Nasturtium and wild geranium. And now we also have Love-in-the-Mist, Forget Me Not and Parsley. Ooops! Afraid I’m responsible for those last three.
Well, when all was said and done, the people that were elected to office were the capable and sensible ones. As far as I can see. The fifth position was the wild card. But, as it is an “alternate” position (think heir and spare), probably can’t do too much damage. An unknown quantity. Someone who got sober here, but now lives in Kelso / Longview, and is very involved in the Club there. Which is sometimes held up as a shinning example of success. Whatever. They do own their own building. But why were his toenails, painted black?
That bit from the old Roman campaigner was interesting, and a bit humorous. Some bits come from actual Roman documents. Such as the bit about the Egyptian fellow who joined the Roman navy.
I think I mentioned a long time ago, that there are some Roman / British mysteries, set around a mansio. Owned by two sisters. Actually owned by an absent brother. There are some mentions in the books that they were refugees from Pompeii. But I forget the details. The books are “The Aurelia Marcella Roman Mysteries,” by Finnis. There are four books in the series, plus some short stories in a collection.
Time period is about right. Queen Victoria (or Prince Albert) popularized the Swiss Chalet “look.” They also pop up, here and there, in pattern books for rural villas. I think they were a response to the whole “Romantic” movement, in literature and art.
Yes, be careful what you search for. You may end up with an invite to join The Flat Earth Society. 🙂
Amo, Amare, Amavi, Amatum.
Everything you ever wanted to know about Nosferatu.
http://www.mentalfloss.com/article/84080/11-nightmarish-facts-about-nosferatu
I’ve seen the silent version, somewhere along the way. Also, clips and stills. It’s a real classic. The photography was ground breaking and the expressionistic sets, the play of light and darkness, ahead of it’s time. The early 1950s film, “Night of the Hunter,” leans heavily on the style. Another film, well worth a look.
When I got home from the meeting, yesterday, of course, there was no parking. About two hours later, there was a knock on my door, and it was our night manager letting me know a spot had opened up. What a sweetheart!
I spent about an hour, wrestling with The River, last night. Ended up spending about $200! Had a terrible time finding a new coat for H. In the color and size I wanted. Also, they were out of stock, or discontinued of her dental chews. Had to order another brand. I hope they’re a.) safe and b.) she’ll chew them. Vegemite and Marmite are also on the way. I was almost out of pumpkin seeds. It all adds up. Time was also wasted on making sure I didn’t fall into a trap of signing up for their “Premium” program, or, accidentally ending up “subscribing” to something. Easy to fall into these traps, but from what I understand, takes a 16 step process to disentangle yourself. The Goober Mint is looking into it. Buyer beware, I guess. Lew
PS: Goober is a slang term for peanut. Sometimes used as a nickname, for people. Sometimes an enduring nickname, sometimes a slam.
Hi Inge,
Ah, I do hope that you’re doing OK? Letting go is something I’ve learned to do. Dunno about you, but for me it means acceptance of the losses.
The situation down here stressed me out for a few days, but I made the decision yesterday to move on, and communicated that decision. Mostly I seem to be hated from that direction, but really, it is their circus and doing. Now I can’t speak for your experience in such matters, but the pivotal point for me becomes making the decision. How matters play out from there is as they say, in the lap of the Gods.
Had a very pleasant paid work day today. I work hard and provide good value. Usually everyone accepts the arrangement.
Out of curiosity, have you had a relatively warm-ish winter? Glad to read that there was little damage from the storm.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Göran,
🙂 Thanks very much for the friendly nod and astute observation on work relationships.
That’s been my observation as to work relationships as well. A pivotal difference with contracting is that the relationship is far easier to sever, regardless of length (without going into further details).
Man, I so hear you. As a general observation, if you are having a clash (and I’ve had the occasional clash as well), then you’re on the wrong side of a relationship with a power imbalance. You see, the clash would never occur if the odds weren’t stacked against you in the first place. It reminds me of the student-organised after school fights at the more English than the English grammar school. You find yourself in those brawls because the other students believe that they know the outcome in advance.
That’s why I took myself off to the local Dojo, and inadvertently stumbled into an entirely different world with a true grand master of those arts. I destroyed the other kids, and they left me alone afterwards. However an employment situation is entirely different matter and I’m unable to wield the skills learned in those arts. It doesn’t look like a meritocracy to me. Can you imagine the horrors which would accompany a journey into the ultimate cores of the present social power structures?
Always was it thus, and I agree. But less hierarchy is where history tells us that we are headed. And feudal lords have to worry about localised ranged missile weapons. Those change everything.
I have not read the book on Bullshit Jobs. But the outcome was more or less what I’d noted in the essay. Unfortunately for me, I’m practised in straight talking and the outcome is pure annoyance at those heady levels.
My main point there was that it takes a lot of energy to exert a dominant reach. And what I observed in the recession of the early 1990’s was that the economic rot crept in from the periphery. Luxury cars, holiday homes, waste, were all some of the first things which were cut. After a few years there was a suggestion at the time that the state goobermint stripped wealth out of the rural areas to prop up the city, and eventually it became bad enough that they lost the entire rural vote. The population is quite concentrated in this part of the world.
I use either forms. Some friends of mine insist on paying cash.
Maybe, but I’m aiming for a more diversified income base. But right now, I intend to wind things back a month or so and enjoy the recouped time. It’s been many long years since I’ve had more than a weeks uninterrupted holiday. There was a serious cost to the work done and candidly it’s been a lessening of a burden.
Sand and clay were probably once rocks! 😉 Hehe! I’ve had a lot of practice with splitting boulders and the work produces very useful materials.
Many thanks for the candid review of the Roman Emperor’s thoughts and musings. An interesting perspective indeed, and my mind now moves onto other matters. 😉
Thank you, and one of the reasons I began blogging was so that people can see for themselves what is possible. It’s like your blog in that you’re doing this and that, and the whole becomes all that much greater.
Had a warmish day here today (although I was in the big smoke). It was 32’C when I got home again. Feels quite pleasant to me.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Say, that’s a lot of jet stream! And good to see that the professor had taken into account the esoteric art form of the high altitude balloon. Reminds me of the minor tornado – that’s a funny looking cloud. I wonder what it means. Incidentally, I was attempting to use the words ‘bone up’ as in the learning side of that definition in an earlier sentence. Unfortunately it looks as though the words can only be used in the past tense due to other and very different meanings. Oh well.
Yeah, I’ve discovered the reload closed tab function, and most of the time it seems to work. But last night the function was giving me nothing. Generally I save the text as I go, but last night I was somewhat distracted by unfolding events.
Thanks for considering the concept of perspective, and life on life’s terms is along such lines.
Oh man, that’s so true. When people don’t back down like that, or they strategically back you into a corner, it tells you everything you ever need to know. I’m always curious about peoples motivations, and it provides a sort of ‘cold reading’ facility about what they may do next. Most of the time, past actions are a reasonable guide to the future. And that’s my view as well, move on. There’s little to be gained from hanging around. From what I’ve observed, it takes an awful lot of personal energy for a person to change their ways. Mostly people don’t do so.
They’re all good plants those three, and the others you mentioned. Good shot too!
So the election is done, and worked out about as expected. Well, I suspect that you may discover the dudes quality. I’m surprised that people would be held up as shining examples. Not for any reason other than it may put the individuals ego in an uncomfortable position, but I dunno really. Aren’t you in the depths of winter? Way too cold for shoes which display the contents of feet. In the article on the frost heaves you linked to, I was rather surprised to see what one of the gentleman were wearing on their feet, but then I wear sturdy leather boots. And thick woollen socks in winter.
I agree, there was some humour in the older veterans advice, and dark topics were introduced that way – like the funeral costs. Honestly, I was reminded of the costs levied against the dead band members on the Titanic for their uniforms. It’s a bit outrageous.
Mention of the Roman navy sent me on an interweb rabbit hole (where was the trigger warning I ask you? 🙂 ) which ended up with the galleon. What I was curious to know was whether the Roman navy was any good. Turns out, the Romans were fast learners in that regard.
Ah, thank for the architectural history. I’d not been away of the Swiss Chalet “look”. Down under the look was quite rare, and most buildings from that mid to late 19th century went from Georgian simplicity, to the more ornate Victorian era buildings. It’s actually very difficult to find the occasional pre-Victorian era building in the big smoke.
Such interweb searches as those flat earth queries, might put you on a list. 😉 Well, in even asking such interweb questions as to whether you were joking about the reality of such societies or otherwise, has probably put me on a list. Hey, the queries sure returned some strange places. 🙂 Thanks for the fun.
Oh very funny! Thanks for the laughs. I’m a bit slow tonight, but the penny finally dropped. Nice one.
Ah, I’d wondered why the Noseferatu film had an eastern european vibe. A shame the publisher appears to have had the better end of that book deal. Count Orlok is a very creepy character. And oh no, it was undead film itself, and banned to boot. And Sponge Bob. A wild journey.
They’re looking after you.
Hey, even Conan knew that if you sail on the River, be prepared to battle serpents and sorcerers. Be thankful you survived the experience. Things could have been worse.
Yeah, it’s pretty funny isn’t it? And the indexes are so dumb, they can be thwarted so easily.
Cheers
Chris
Hello Chris
Oh I have accepted the loss. What I am having trouble with is accepting the intended deceit. There were clues and I should have been warned but I tend to give people the benefit of doubt. It will stop haunting me eventually.
The winter has been warm on the whole so far. Rain and storms have been the main feature but we have a way to go still.
Inge
Yo, Chris – Well, we’ve discussed my spotty job history. 🙂 Basically, if things got intolerable, I moved on and did something else. Sometimes odd “something else,” but stayed employed. The only time I held on by my fingernails, was when I worked out at the Yelm library, as a permanent employee (as opposed to a free lance clerical). And, the reason I did that, was to get invested in the State retirement program. Once that was firmly nailed down, I gave my two months notice, and went back to free lancing. Unfortunately, about two years down the line, the free lance jobs went away. Yelm was difficult, as the woman who ran it was crazy. About a year after I left, she was moved to a non-public position, at the Service Center.
Getting back to acceptance, and recovery programs, etc.. I forgot that old saw. You’ve probably heard it, but it came out of 12 Step Programs. “God (of whatever choosing. Singular or plural) grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change. The Courage to change the things I can. And the Wisdom to know the Difference.” Sure got me through that rough first year. There’s a short form. “I can’t, God (whatever) can, I think I’ll let him (he, she it.) The parentheses are my additions, just to make it all inclusive, and stuff. 🙂 As long as we’re here (wherever that is), I might as well mention that “higher power” can be anything of a person’s own choosing. Anything bigger than oneself. A forest, the ocean, any one of a pantheon of gods or goddesses. A seven foot tall kangaroo. Whatever works. But not people. They’re pretty fallible.
I noticed another volunteer I neglected to mention. Garlic. I don’t know how it manages to travel, but around here, it’s always popping up in odd places. When I took H for her walk this morning, I noticed a few sprouts … in a mulched path.
As far as people from outside the Club go, I always wonder, “Were they invited?” “Who invited them?” What’s their agenda?” We have enough problems beating back, and keeping in check, the religious crazies. I might not be an elected member, but I keep my ears open. Move in the background. A nudge here, a nudge there.
Besides Sun Tzu and Marcus Aurelius, you might consider poking into a little Machiavelli. 🙂
Burial Societies. They were popular, right up into the 20th century. The Romans had a lot of them. Some were purely social, other’s attached to occupations. Even gladiators gave their mates, a good send off. Emperors were a little leery of them, as they could often morph into political organizations. One of the things mentioned in “The Roman Emperor” was that the Empress Livia, set up a rather posh mausoleum for her servants, slaves, freedmen (and women). The stones had their job titles. So we know a lot about the inner workings of the palace, at least from that time period.
The channel fleet, the Classis Britannica was always a bit of a problem. Far removed from the center of power, the admirals often got up to all sorts. 🙂 Dividing booty with pirates, to build up a nice war chest, so you could declare yourself emperor. It happened. Of course, a few years later, his accountant (!), did him in, declared himself emperor … but didn’t last too long.
Speaking of imbalances of power, I stopped by the veg store, last night. They’re in the same complex, as the Club, but a separate building. I think I mentioned their burst pipe. Well, as the Club found out, all repair costs are borne by the renter. They pay over $2,000 a month, in rent.
I had another go around on the Net, last night. Trying to pay my yearly rental insurance. I’ll attempt it again, tonight. Lew
Chris,
Moving on can be tough. Sometimes what you want to do is to go completely medieval on someone. It would provide instant gratification and be quite satisfying. Moving on is usually the wiser decision. Sigh. Oh, and I’ve been there. Many times. Yesterday was another occasion to practice “maturity” and “wisdom”. Walk away, keep mouth closed, no incident occurs. Rather unsatisfying when the other person deserved a good arse kicking, but much wiser. Sigh.
Chop wood, carry water does more than bring enlightenment, doesn’t it? I, too, find such activities somewhat meditative while allowing the physical release of the otherwise pent-up emotions. So congratulations on a job well done, or dealing with two birds with one stone, or is it “rocking the afternoon away”? Oh, right, that old song “Rock, Rock Baby” brought enlightenment and more rocks for the projects.
Meanwhile, we endured 2 days of the dreaded freezing rain. It was very warm aloft, but still -3C where I am. So it was raining and freezing on the roads and cars and everything rather quickly. 6mm of it, somewhat more than the 2mm of ice that was expected. Being Spokane, people added large amounts of stupid to their coffee and proceeded to drive on the ice as if it was +25C and sunny. Physics happened. Repeatedly. The theme song for the day quickly changed from “Ice, Ice Baby” to “Slip Sliding Away” to “Crash! Thud! Baby”. I stayed home. The Princess spent an extra day visiting her brother to allow road conditions to improve. No ice on her trip home.
Avalanche didn’t know exactly what to do with the ice. On the walkways, she slid around until she figured out how to walk. But on the snow, it was different: step, slide, break through, foot drops into the snow. That slide and break through the ice threw her for a loop. Dame Avalanche really never got used to that. She did the smart thing and stayed indoors with papa.
I see a gathering of rocks in the picture of the newly cleaned area near the large old tree. Something tells me that the rocks in the pile are simply peaking at you at the right time to be photographed. Would that make them peak rocks? 😉
But the sunset photo. That is grand! We get similar sunsets sometimes. In fact, we had several similar ones through parts of November and December. I’ve always enjoyed that shade of orange in the clouds.
As always, thanks for the flower pictures. It’s either foggy, misty or thickly overcast, so the pictures are a welcome break from our grey season.
DJSpo
Hi DJ,
Yeah, society seems to frown upon the medieval option, despite the circumstances warranting that response. Oh well, now I get to enjoy them simply hating on me for doing me wrong. It’s a funny head space for them really, but my best guess is that it allows them to sleep well despite having done me a wrong. Lest their previous decisions ever be brought into question! 😉
The old zen masters knew a thing or two, didn’t they? And also maybe got they got their water chopped and the wood fetched by the students. 🙂 That’s very funny, yes rockin’ the afternoon away indeed. And fingers crossed the rocks enjoy their new more important – therefore now much higher status – location which is ever slightly to the downhill side of the chicken enclosure when they were placed there several days ago on a more cooler afternoon. Oh my, I was almost channelling the boring prophet of Life of Brian fame. Personally I was thinking of AC/DC’s Jailbreak song, but hey I break rocks for fun – no chain gangs required here.
Your weather sounds truly horrid. And I’d also keep off the roads in such conditions as well. What can I say, other than those sorts of machines endow people with a sense of recklessness and indestructibility. You got to see how that played out.
The weather here continues to be odd. Last night was very warm at 22’C and the wind blew hard. In the middle of the night I awoke to see flashes of lightning turning night briefly into daylight, and then who can sleep through the constant crash of the thunder giants at their games?
The warm-soft-climate-fluffies would cower in fear at such icy weather. Yes, all very brave and stuff, until they encounter such solid ice. If Dame Avalanche struggles navigating such conditions with many millennia of ingrained knowledge, mate we’re all stuffed.
Incidentally, Ollie encountered his nemesis the other evening. A lone bull kangaroo which stood his ground. You can be forgiven for not having ever encountered such an enraged creature before, but to make themselves even taller, they can pivot on their legs and tail, like a tripod. And if provoked the bull can kick outwards from that angle. Ollie sought my assistance. Assistance denied. Then he gingerly backed away, he knew he’d been beat. A dog’s gotta know his limits. If I went to assist him, he take that as encouragement.
Oh yes, peeks are just asking to be poked. Sorry for the very poor 1980’s computer pun. You may be right there. Certainly I’d wish nothing more than Peak Rocks to be a disproved theory.
Good stuff, and all that smoke in the atmosphere from the fires way off and up to your north during summer and autumn would have made for some spectacular sunsets. At least the winter weather would have stomped out the fire mischief up there, if anything is even left to burn up there.
My pleasure, and rest assured the sun is just now setting and the atmosphere at this time is a very dirty looking orange. It was a warmish day today, and the next couple of days will cool down again. This time, not much rain will fall around these parts. Some parts of the continent are forecast to hit 49’C with a potential for getting up to 50’C. It should be cool here.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Nothing wrong with spots like those, and hey, the best I ever managed was four years before having to seek greener pastures. When I was a kid they really did used to fill my ears with mischief. That job for life business used to be spoken about as a serious thing in those days. Working for lots of different people all at the same time was the only way out of that loop for me. It’s probably me… 🙂
Sorry to hear that, and some places can be just odd and difficult. Usually for no good reason too. I’ll tell you a funny story about such matters. Captain Bligh was mutinied against down near to Pitcairn Island. Didn’t seem to hurt his promotion, for he was soon sent back down to this part of the world as Governor Bligh. Again, mutinied against in a military coup over rum. Returned to the UK, and ended up as a Vice-Admiral. The guy was a mixed bag in that he was superlatively competent at some things, and almost utterly clueless when dealing with the finer points of human nature. Some folks perhaps should not be put in charge of other people?
I’d heard that old saw of the program, and it is a fine guide to life. Dunno about your take on the wisdom, but I can see that there is an element of the saying which intends to push a persons ego into the background. Of course, this is merely an observation on my part, and I could well be wrong. Don’t stress about the inclusivity angle, my brain isn’t wired for such niceties. 😉 I hear you, people are fallible from the factory.
It’s funny you mention the seven foot kangaroo, but Ollie learned humility and caution the other evening. A very large old bull kangaroo was enjoying the grass. Ollie did not appreciate the competition for a food source with which he was unable to partake. There was a genuine Mexican stand off between the two, and the kangaroo increased its height by pivoting on its tail and two legs, like a tripod. I’d seen kangaroos doing this, and leave them well alone. Ollie got close, but not close enough to be kicked. The dog ran to me to get my support, and I know what my grandfather would have called the dog at that very moment. Hmm. I walked off, and Ollie backed down and left the ‘roo in peace. A smart dog, he may well have lost that battle.
Really? You must have some critter which distributes the garlic cloves. I can see that happening. It’s not the very garlic like leek known as the ‘society garlic’? They taste the same to me.
Dude, that’s so Fight Club. I’m not doubting you, but why would random folks go to a meeting? Ah, you’re what I’d call a keeping-things-nice background worker. It takes one to know one! 😉 One of my rarely used, but effective tools, is forcing the long winded folks in meetings to get to the point. Whilst they’re going on and on, I talk over the top of them and say: ‘so what you’re saying is…’ then provide a precis which covers the core of the ramble. It’s brutal, but effective. I’d imagine your meetings are effectively moderated?
I dunno why, but don’t you get an uncomfortable vibe when the word ‘Machiavellian’ is used? It’s titled ‘The Prince’ isn’t the work? The problem I have there is the whole ‘do unto others’ aspect of such behaviour. Makes me a touch nervous. Am I wrong in this regard?
It seems that an old gold mining town (Walhalla) far to the east of here, has been converted into a giant film prop. The actor Liam Neeson is over there, and the town has been converted into a Nepalese village. Looks pretty authentic to me from what I saw of the photos. Victorian town Walhalla styled as Nepalese village for set of Ice Road 2 film with Liam Neeson. Who knew Victorian era splendour could be converted into a Nepalese village? After travelling in that part of the world, I must say that the big smoke was very bland looking.
The cynic in me wonders if the equivalent societies and collective groups in our recent era weren’t a victim of the divide and conquer strategy so beloved of our culture? My grandfather was very big into the idea of social, sport and support groups etc.
Cool. I guess the fleet had to pay its way occasionally, and if opportunity for a bit of pirating came up, then why not? Trade was pretty central to that Empire. Accountants would make for terrible leaders, and that short lived emperor outcome does not surprise me at all.
It takes a lot of vegetables to pay for such rents. That’s the dirty little secret of the ever increasing property price obsession with the policy makers. After a while, you can make sales, or earn a wage, but how do you pay for the rent and/or mortgage?
Computers, good when they work. Given they want your mad cash, you reckon they’d make it easy for you? Maybe I expect too much.
Cheers
Chris
Hi, Chris!
I have a copy of The Art of War, though I have only hoppped through it. Lots of reasons for that, but I guess I already depend on certain strategies for dealing with conflict. Maybe they are already Sun Tzu’s. But since there are always wrongs, well done to turn to him.
I didn’t know that you went to that university; what forsight. I would say that you indeed had enough uni studies.
Chris – quit leaving broken hearts behind you! And that’s only the business-related ones.
I reckon being a self-employed small business owner is actually so much more work, but at least you have options that the employed worker does not, you have more control. Except for government. I am shocked at the hoops that you had to go through; very discouraging.
It was 11F (-12C) Monday morning, then 52F (11C) Tuesday afternoon, tomorrow to be 68F (20C). Such things literally make me dizzy.
About the tree stump: My son wants to know if it looked like it had originally been dug around after it was turned upside down, though I realize that soil may have washed in around it over the years.
We are enjoying persimmons from friends, store bought. What a glorious fruit.
As always the flowers lift the spirit, Thanks! Especially for the Queen.
I have printed out what you sent me.
Pam
Yo, Chris – Well, back in the day, there were jobs for life. Loyalty ran both ways. My father worked for the same company, for over 40 years, and ended up with a lush retirement. Ditto my brother. Same company. I was always surprised my father didn’t give me any grief over my spotty job history. I think he really knew the world was changing.
Some people are not cut out to be in charge of other people. Isn’t that the truth. The Peter Principle?
LOL. Ego deflation is a big part of recovery programs. In a nutshell, there’s the old chestnut, “You’re best thinking got you here.” 🙂
Well, god(s) know, who might be reading your blog.
Yup. Best steer clear of those big fellas. As you know, they’re kick can kill a dog … or a person. And as he apparently doesn’t have a harem, he might be a bit on the raspy side. 🙂
I figure the garlic might be moved around, by the squirrels. They think they’ve found something quit tasty, take a nibble, and think better of it. I think most of the travelers are Elephant garlic. They produce little bulblets, that break off pretty easy, and can fly all over the place.
No random folks. No one is allowed in the membership meeting, unless they’re on the membership list. Of course, some people buy a month or two’s membership, just to attend the meeting. In fact, once everyone had been vetted, they locked the door. 🙂
“So the bottom line is … ”
Yes, the word “Machiavellian” does create a little chill. A feeling of a ruthless player. The Roman emperors had the frumentarii. They were the secret police. They started out as imperial couriers. Evolved into a spy agency. Could even perform the odd assassination.
That was an interesting article, about “Ice Road 2”. I didn’t know there was an Ice Road 1. 🙂 Once wonders if there’s a clean-up crew, to put everything back. Per usual, I also read some of the side-bar articles. The one on supermarket price gouging was interesting.
Speaking of movies, last night I watched “Prey”. Which is the fourth film in the “Predator” series. It was pretty good. I should have made a bowl of popcorn. It’s the early 1700s, and some indigenous Comanche folks are living near the high plains and minding their own business, when an alien predator drops in. French trappers are also a problem. There’s a cute dog.
And, in a round-about story … I noticed something on the new book list, from the library. “The World According to Kaleb.” Which I gather is a humorous take on farming, in England. Well … actually, there’s a TV series called “Clarkson’s Farm.” A fellow named Clarkson, is a “gentleman” farmer, who knows nothing about farming. Kaleb is the hired man, and I guess his down-to-earth take on the world has made him quit a celebrity. The farm is called “Diddly Squat Farm.” Here’s the trailer for season one. There is a season two. The library doesn’t have them. There’s a bit of rough language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW-iVG0_D34
Kaleb is the young blond fellow.
And, in interesting developments … I get the occasional box of nicotine gum, from an outfit, back east. It usually arrives in two or three days. Well … it’s been over a week. But the tracking said, due to bad weather on the east coast, it had been delayed. No drama. But, I was watching the tracking, and first it landed in a small town, just south of here. Winlock. It next appeared in Kent, which is north of here, near Seattle. They couldn’t toss it off the truck, on their way through? I could have seen the truck go by, out my widow. Oh, well. I see it’s “out for delivery,” today. Speaking of bad weather, Southern California is really catching it. The photos from San Diego, are terrible.
I attempted to pay my insurance on-line, again. No dice. So, I ended up talking to the nice Robot Man. Actually, they made a slight change, that makes it easier. I don’t have to punch in my (very) long credit card number. Which usually takes two (or three) tries. I can just say the number. So, anyway, that’s taken care of.
And, maybe the parking situation has eased up. Maybe. I can only see half the parking lot from my perch, but there was a space that was open, all evening and night. Might be because a tow truck showed up yesterday, and hauled out at least one car. Clearing out the dead wood? Lew
Chris,
That is an interesting head space, albeit in a weird way. Working in the government sector, of course I was surrounded by that type. They seemed to know how to climb the ladder and get nice promotions, too. One of the worst tangled with me. Once. Only once. I mentioned the ramifications to her boss and my big Boss…in their minds the suggested ramifications were worse than going medieval on them, so some changes were made.
It’s funny what can be enjoyable. You get your tools together and rock out. 🙂 When I heated with wood, I’d get out the splitting maul and get chippy. It’s all good stuff.
Yeah, we try to avoid the icy and snowy roads. People drive foolishly and much too fast for the conditions. Tuesday night a thick fog rolled into the area and the temperature dipped to -1C. The wet roads turned to ice and the fog limited visibility and also froze on everything. There was a fatal accident before daybreak caused by “excessive speed and road conditions”. Yup, driving too fast for the ice. We stayed home.
Dame Avalanche got into one of her primal moods today. I was there when it started. I was calmly enjoying the morning and sipping my outdoor coffee when all of the smaller birds got excited. Then they took flight in a wicked hurry. Soon thereafter, the resident hawk flew into our yard with its lunch, saw the husky and the human and went into the neighbor’s yard for a feast. Dame Avalanche, smelling the blood from the victim bird, wanted to partake and attempted to climb the fence separating the yards. Not a chance, but she got into pure primal mode for the day. Sorta fun to watch…sniff around for food, be aggressive toward the birds, sniff the water bowl, then walk away from it and find a hole filled with snow melt and drink from the hole. The holes filled with snow melt and the other puddles must taste much better than that sissy domesticated water. 😉 And there wasn’t even a slim chance that she would come indoors. Nope, it was a day to be primal in the rain.
I remember watching a cartoon when I was maybe 3 or 4. There was thunder in the cartoon. On top of the clouds, giants were bowling. We happened to have a thunderstorm a few days later, and I told my dad that the giants bowling above the clouds were the cause of the thunder. He shook his head and said, “Umm, NO!” Even now, I still prefer that idea or the idea of Thor going medieval on giants’ heads with his hammer Mjollnir. The actual science is interesting, however…
I’ve watched videos of bull kangaroos in bad moods. They are remarkable. I wouldn’t mess around with one. Glad that Ollie figured it out. It says a lot to a good dog when papa won’t engage.
49C? Ouch! We should surpass 49F next week. 49C? That is HOT. Are they expecting that up in Alice Springs or something?
Dame Avalanche rediscovered an old toy. It’s a stuffed lamb with a squeaker in it. She likes to play with it and tug on it with me. Due to extreme use, the squeaker is mobile within the toy. This evening, I held it up, she grabbed it by the crotch and they toy gave out a big squeaky squeal.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
I get that about the book, and it is a truth universally acknowledged that neither you nor I, will ever need to know about the finer points of troop management. So yeah, we can blithely skip those bits of the book and perhaps not miss out. But then. But then! Is running a troop any different from that of running a household?
Thanks. As far as I can understand the world we live in, you can’t dodge trouble coming to your doorstep. No matter how bucolic and ideal the conditions, stuff goes wrong. And sometimes other people are seriously mischievous and like to cause trouble for the dodgy reason: just because they can do so. Painful folks.
It was a long time ago, and even back then I understood that the degree was a barrier to entry. Looking around working environments told me it was thus. Nowadays, I don’t see the great return on investment from that path, and would advise people to think long and hard upon that choice. But I’ve done so much study, that I am over it.
Aw, shucks! 🙂 Pam, I can’t help being me! 🙂 A year or two afterwards by sheer chance, I met one of the people who reported to me at the train station. She was a lovely lady. And I got the biggest hug, and maybe there was a tear or two, but then maybe something got in my eye. Dunno. We had a few laughs too.
It is more work, and more responsibility, but then most of the people I work for and with, share similar burdens. And truthfully I have not had a break longer than just over a week for many years. I’m sure some people get upset and ask, why is he having a coffee and reading a book at a cafe when normal people are working. Sure. They get proper holidays. The professional accounting body simply did not want me taking this path.
Stop it! It was warmer where you are than here today – and it rained, half an inch to be precise! So far… A cold wet miserable summers day.
Yes. Your son is most astute. The loggers either used a very large excavator to rip the side roots and then push over the tree, or they had two bulldozers with a chain between them and dragged the tree over. Only machines that big can leave a cut tree stump upside down with the soil still compacted to what remains of the root system. But yeah, they may well have had to deep rip the side roots first, but I wasn’t there after the 1983 fires, and am only guessing as to how the work may have been done.
Ooo, yum! When those fruits are good, they’re very good. A very reliable fruit tree too because they flower long after the risk of late frosts.
My pleasure, and thank you very much and hope that you are doing OK. Oh Pam, I’ve experienced a lot of loss, and it never gets easier.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
I so hear you. My weakest area is the politics of such situations, and sometimes I simply say what is on my mind, and everyone gets embarrassed at the candid and forthright opinions then so expressed. Then they probably want me to go away! 🙂 I left that world for all the reasons you stated, however, it’s also been my experience that too many layers of hierarchy spoils the activities.
Yeah exactly, use of a splitting maul can well have a similar effect on the mind. Don’t you think it is strange that many people can be horrified by the thought of such hard work when it is in fact mentally soothing? Out of curiosity, was this when you were up north in Alaska?
Oh that’s not good about the fatality sorry to say, but what do you do other than stay clear. It was foggy here last night, except I woke in the middle of the night to the crash of thunder overhead. It was quite loud, and for the next thirty minutes outside was foggy accompanied with a light and sound show. I can’t recall being in fog in a thunderstorm before, but with all the noise, it was hard to get back to sleep. Half an inch of rain has fallen here today. Oh well.
Truly that sounds like the call of the wild to me, and DJ, the wild is strong in that one for sure. Hey, I dunno about the birds in your area, but here the magpies have a specific call for when predators are around like that hawk. Except the magpies would have formed a pack and tried to take out the hawk and obtain the meal for themselves! And who can argue with Dame Avalanche about such matters? She may also have been lapping up some soil along with the snow melt, all for the minerals of course. Did she eventually calm down and spend the evening in front of the heater?
When I was that age, the adults lied to me about all sorts of stuff, although your dad may have taken the exact opposite route and described in detail the science of thunder and lightning. You’re right though cloud giants bowling is perhaps less disconcerting than a very annoyed Thor taking vengeance on giants heads. I mean, if he can do that… We probably wouldn’t stand a chance. Incidentally, my ten pound mallet looks like a less tricked up version of Mjollnir. It’s a hefty tool and works wonders on some tasks.
It’s funny you say that, but dunno how I came across this short video of a skydiver landing and a kangaroo bounced up and kicked him hard. Sends a strong message, don’t you reckon? Not backing Ollie also sent a strong message. I’ll see if I can find the short video… … Here goes: Curious Kangaroo Charges Paraglider
Oh no, 49’C was beaten today. Birdsville apparently reached 49.4’C in the afternoon. That’s hot, and in the shade. They have an annual race meet up there in late winter / spring. There may be a hotel there and a few hardy residents.
Squeak! Squeak! Dogs love those things. 🙂 Last weekend I discovered an old tennis ball way down below the house in the paddock. I have no idea how it got there, but was wondering if the fox cubs had been playing with the thing at night. Dunno.
Went to the pub tonight for a pint and a shared pizza. It was quite good and the new chef used anchovies, which I quite like. Gives the pizza a bitey taste.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Hmm, yes. I may not have mentioned it, but I did point out to the wronging folks that loyalty goes both ways. However, during the recession of the early 1990’s sadly I was made redundant when 10% unemployment was in vogue, and my trust has not ever recovered. And that’s the other thing, promises of lush retirement are one thing, but the reality for most now is all rather difficult. I’m pretty certain I’ll have to keep working hard for the next two decades, and then who knows?
Actually it was pretty good that your dad didn’t simply say: ‘this is my experience, why aren’t you achieving the same?’ Many people try that trick, it’s quite common way to pretend and blame. And you’re perception of the his thoughts is probably right. It’s hard out there though man.
Oh yeah, the Peter Principle. So true. I hit my upper limits, where I could do the work, manage the teams, and yet struggle with the politics of those above me. 🙂 Yeah, Dirty Harry said something about ‘a man’s gotta know his limits’.
That’s a great line about ‘your best thinking getting you there’. So true. I think ego deflation is an important part of life as it has other relevance’s too. Specifically I mentioned last week about obtaining a useful and workable perspective on matters.
Got the Editor a birthday gift of a hardcover version of the Bram Stoker book, Dracula. The book looks lovely and the cover is actually cloth bound. My plan is to read it after she’s finished with it. 😉
That’s the thing isn’t it what with this being a public forum and all. I know some of my clients read the blog, and I just hope not to annoy them. It’s a gift that… 🙂
Bull kangaroos are a bit randy. The things I’ve seen, and can’t repeat here. But the old fella the other day had been kicked out of his mob, and well you called it. Ollie was wise to back down, but he has to learn when it is a smart thing to do so. In the reply to DJ I linked to a short video of a kangaroo attacking a paraglider.
That’s what I thought about the garlic. That particular variety is related to leeks, but same, same as garlic really. Makes sense the squirrels would move them around. Walking onions actually can move across the land, although not as we know it.
Very good. I was wondering how real those scenes in Fight Club were, and unfortunately the film would definitely inspire copycats. Vetting people and locking the door is very wise.
It’s all a bit ruthless for me. Sadly my leaning is more towards cooperation, and Machiavelli would only consider me weak for that. Far out! Those Emperors sure knew how to party, and note to self, never, ever annoy them. Probably very easy to do. One cannot forget the lessons learned in the Monty Python scene in the Life of Brian with the sniggering centurion at the stupid names.
It ain’t just you, I wasn’t aware of the first instalment of the film franchise either. You’d hope there is a crew to put things to rights afterwards, but then not many people live in that town. At one stage it was abandoned. It’s got an interesting history, and I’ve camped there in the past.
The trailer for Prey looked awesome. The dog was good. Looks like a dingo, but maybe coyote? Not sure. So did the Predator come to a bad end? The protagonist looked up for the job.
Hehe! I’d heard of this farm, it’s a hoot. And I do love the antagonistic neighbours in the clip. The guy who owns the place is quite famous for car driving (Top Gear) I believe. I’d heard some story that he wants to build a large something or other, and the locals are possibly rather upset at the thought. I dunno the details. Kaleb is awesome and he is giving the bloke heaps of poop – and then laughing. I like his style.
That’s weird about the delivery. Incidentally, the opposite seems to have been the case here lately. Things are turning up faster than before, and some items have weirdly been airfreighted, which is not cheap when compared to sea-freight. Someone must be paying for that, somewhere. Did the stuff turn up today?
Dude, you took on the robot man and survived. Holy carp! I’ve had mixed outcomes with those things, but when it works, it’s a relief isn’t it?
Ha! Sorry for laughing, but did I not say that there may have been a car parked in there which should not be there? Tow trucks always have the last laugh. You did well mentioning the matter so that something got done about it. Probably expired rego, dumped or some other reason, but it’s gone and good to see someone taking out the trash.
It was cold and wet here today. Another fine summers day. Hmm. Anyway, it was too wet to work outside, so I fixed up some of the computer matters here which needed attending too. That also involved sending a supplier a lovely note about how helpful they’d been with one of the components. Went to the pub for a pint and a shared pizza, which had anchovies. Now, what’s your take on those salty fishy things? For the record, on the pizza, they worked.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – And, from the wonderful world of archaeology … a little find from Roman Wales.
http://www.yahoo.com/news/metal-detectorist-stumbles-ancient-roman-165646156.html
Dad did try and lure me into a company job, in sales. Gee, I’d get my own company car, and everything! 🙂 I didn’t take the bait.
DJ was talking about a cartoon with giants playing bowls. I vaguely remember that cartoon, and I think it had something to do with the story of Rip Van Winkle. The Dutch thought thunder in the Catskill Mountains (New York State), were giants playing bowls. By the way, there’s a lovely little film called “Rip in Time” (2022) about Rip sleeping into the modern age. It’s a rom-com / drama.
That’s a really nice gift, for the Editor. I just hope that cloth cover isn’t green …
http://www.cnn.com/style/wallpaper-history-deadly-design/index.html
That was a very funny video of the Kangaroo and the paraglider. Funny as it all turned out well.
LOL. The Predator always comes to a bad end. After a high body count of indigenous folks, French trappers and grizzly bears.
Things could be worse. Saw a headline, yesterday, that Britain is thinking of moving to mail delivery, only three days a week. Yup. My package showed up, yesterday. My order from the River, started to trickle in, today. Ten pounds of shelled pumpkin seeds.
Can’t say I’ve ever had an anchovy, at least knowingly. Not that I’m morally or philosophically opposed to them 🙂 . Seems like anytime a group would order pizza, someone would shout, “No anchovies!” I got all healthy, and stuff, for dinner. Brown rice, mixed veg, broccoli, garlic, seeds, dried tomatoes, mushrooms and a bit of Feta cheese, on top. Tasty.
Oh, I don’t think anyone was towed, who didn’t live here. What happens, is, at a certain stage, late in life, old duffers come to the realization that they can’t, or shouldn’t drive anymore. I do have a certain amount of sympathy, because sooner or later, that moment will come for me. It’s a fraught moment. Giving up independence, mobility. Although I said nothing to the building manager, I did put it about here and there, that some of those cars hadn’t moved in a long time. (Some of those nudges). And that perhaps it was time to let go. Apparently, it worked. I rarely take the elevator, but was dragging in a lot of stuff last night, and noticed there was a notice, that caregivers and visitors should park on the street.
I had to swing down by my Credit Union, last night. You know, one of the reasons they moved, is because their ATM had been stolen, about three times, in their old location. There are two ATMs, at the new branch. One in the side of the building, the other a drive through. Well, I read that they had been hit again. I thought it was perhaps the drive through ATM. Much to my surprise, when I drove up, there was a gapping hole (covered with wood) in the side of the building. Pretty daring robbery. The new branch is practically in the parking lot of two big box stores, and there’s a couple of 24 hour fast food joints, nearby. There’s a lot of traffic, at all hours. The crims were caught, by the way. Swung by the Dollar + store and another discount grocery, and picked up some stuff for the Club pantry. A few things for me.
I also stopped by the library, yesterday. Only two DVDs to pick up. But six books! That’s a lot of reading. I so enjoyed the “American Vikings” book, that I checked to see if the library carried anything else by the same author. Yup. “Mayflower Lives: Pilgrims in a New World and the Early American Experience.” (Wittock, 2019). It’s a deep dive into the biographies of some (but not all) of those folks. They’re picked to illustrate some aspect of that early settlement. The group was made up of a mix of “Saints and Strangers.” The Saints were there for religious freedom reasons. The Strangers, for economic betterment.
I was reading about one of the Strangers, last night. Interesting history. Stephen Hopkins. He had been to the New World, before. He was on his way to Jamestown, and was among those wrecked in Bermuda. Made it to Jamestown, went back to England, and returned with the ship Mayflower, with his family. So he was a pretty valuable member of the group. Given that he knew the land, plants and animals, and had had dealing with the indigenous people. Had a hard time putting the book down, and stayed up, way to late.
And finally, an article on the rise of self pollinating plants.
http://www.cnn.com/2024/01/23/world/flower-self-fertilization-pollinator-decline-scn/index.html
Nature finds a way. Lew
Hi Lewis,
It seems that the Roman toilet spoon was a useful item with many different purposes. It’s interesting that the Romans comprehended that the metal silver itself had antimicrobial properties, and so used it in their medical procedures. Clever and observant folks. So what do you reckon as a likely outcome, will the detectorist sell the find, or keep it? I’m not entirely certain what motivates a person with that hobby / interest.
Wisely dodged, sales is hard graft and it’s like when the economy is on the up, the job would be easy, but when the behemoth is on the way down, you fall too. Having several family members working in the one company is a lot of eggs in one basket, plus can you leave the family dramas at home? Not always the case.
I’d not previously encountered the story of Rip Van Winkle. Yes, education sadly is not what it once was, but it seems like William Irving was riffing off a much older tale, with the notable ancient Greek Diogenes as the earliest source. Although, the clever bloke may have heard it recounted from even earlier peoples. He was an interesting bloke that Diogenes.
Who knows? The cover of the book may be toxic. In that case it would be the gift which keeps on giving. I recall stories of the dyes producing the colour green and blue in ye olde days being not so good for the wearers. Anyway, such fine distinctions are rarely noted when there is a good chance of a sale – which was the entire point of the arsenic in the wallpaper article. 🙂 Hey, it reminds me of the conversation we were having about the lead based paints. Super toxic, but did they last or what?
Oh yeah, the grizzly bear meets Predator scene was epic. Anything which can slide a dead grizzly backwards and then heave it into the air, is a true force to be reckoned with. Of course, I have a different theory regarding the Predator universe. Given they seem to always come to an end, despite the many advantages (such as being able to travel between star systems), maybe that is how that fictional species meet their demise – they go out in one massive orgy of hunt? Dunno, but that is how the story seems to roll. Hope the dog made it too.
Go the super-annoyed kangaroo! Did you see the claws scratching at the paraglider? He was lucky he could wield such potty mouth, and that the marsupial took umbrage at the blokes words. A local lost his dog to a ‘roo many years ago. It was a small and annoying dog, however the kangaroo grabbed the dog and shredded it with the claws. Not a nice ending. They’re pretty tough forest critters.
That’ll happen with the mail delivery over there, and has already happened down here. I dunno, I’m in two minds about the change. One mind suggests that it’s good for the bricks and mortar stores in that they can compete with online shops which will have delivery artificially slowed. The other mind suggests that they too would have to deal with labour shortages, but rumour also has it that there is a very wide disparity between top and bottom earnings on that front.
Glad to read that the pepitas have arrived. We know more of King Charles’s bits than perhaps we’d need to know. The delivery was not quite next day, which I believe was the original promise. Candidly I’m now at the point where I’m happy if the stuff actually turns up.
Anchovies are small salty dried fish chunks. The salt may well give the dried fish a half life of a million years, or so. 🙂 I’d volunteer to put that theory to the test, but would probably soon end up bored and jaded after the first couple of millennia. How would you go with such an option? That is healthy, and tasty. We’re doing a salad for dinner with plenty of fresh garden produce, eggs, Parmesan cheese and a home made dressing. Although late this afternoon we took a short break from work to skewer a small slice of cheesecake and a coffee. Yum!
We’d been digging and hauling soil since early this morning, and earned the break and cake. The soil was all placed on the low gradient path which runs on the downhill side of the chicken enclosure. There’s still more work to be done on the path, but the section immediately adjacent to the chicken enclosure is now completed. We even compacted the clay and chucked on a surface layer of the crushed rock with lime. Finished up work around 7pm. It was another cool summers day, otherwise there is no way I’d go back to work after a late lunch.
It ain’t just you, I too have a certain sympathy for that future change in transport options. It’s a long way from here to anywhere, and I was reminded of the local history book (more of a many paged pamphlet recounting an old duffers earlier memories of this part of the mountain range) that only a single person lived up here in this area after WWII. I’ve got some thoughts on this subject.
Yeah, you did well and got the wheels of administration spinning on your car park concerns. Nice one.
What? That’s crazy and hardly at all surprising that the crims were caught. There’d be cameras all over the place there, not to mention people who would take note of the noise and make some calls.
Hehe! Six books is more than I can manage in a short window of time, so I doff my hat to you good sir. 🙂 That bloke was a valuable addition to the dreamers on the voyage. I’d imagine that blokes like him would have carried the less practically minded in the very early days of the colony? Robinson Caruso was an intriguing story, but it was also part survival guide for that part of the world. Dude, I tell you truly, always easy to stay up late, but this getting up early business is not all that it’s cracked up to be you know. 🙂 What other books did you score in the haul?
Yeah, nature will be fine and it’s a survival technique. As the number of pollinators increases once people stop spraying anything and everything, the plants will adapt back. Funnily enough, I’ve kept the greenhouse open for the past few days for the pollinating insects. And there are masses of moths and butterflies hovering over all of the garden beds. It’s feral out there! But not so much in the big smoke where insects are rare occurrences in gardens. People don’t seem at all that worried by this outcome, although they probably should be.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Well, that was fast. El Nino, we hardly knew ye! 🙂 According to Prof. Mass, El Nino is dying. What that means, for us, is higher than average temperatures … and lots of rain.
Even though the Romans knew bumpus about germ theory, and didn’t have soap until late, you’re right. They must have been pretty observant. Surgical tools, usually bronze, were boiled. Lots of vinegar was slopped around, to clean wounds. Opium was well known, and used as a pain killer. Full medical kits have been found, here and there. Several medical tools were found, around Pompeii. So many in one house, that it’s called, “The House of the Surgeon.”
Washington Irving also wrote the very popular “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” I always thought he had re-told American folk tales, but you’re right. He retold German folk tales and Greek and Roman myths. Odd, that. We have a rich trove of American folk tales.
Nothing better for a kitchen or bathroom than lead based paints. 🙂 I wonder how milk paint holds up, in those areas? According the The Font of All Wisdom, milk paint holds up, pretty good, in kitchens and bathrooms.
Speaking of things that get banned, there was a lot of chatter at the Club this morning, that styrofoam cups are to be banned, in our State. I fact checked it. Sure enough, in June, all polystyrene food containers, will be banned. Not a problem for me. I drag my ceramic mug, to and from the Club. I guess we’ll be switching to cardboard.
I wonder if the Predator had to get a license, to hunt on earth? 🙂 Didn’t seem to be a bag limit. I figure they’re a race, like the Klingons, but carried to extremes.
Small annoying dogs seem to have a short lifespan. I remember that footage, from your north, of the crocodile snapping up the small annoying dog.
The River runs it’s own delivery service, in our area. So stuff from their warehouses, get delivered, using that. But the pumpkin seeds came US Post. So, I suppose it came direct from the supplier. So, any package I get, seems to come via one of four delivery services. The tracking varies, but is pretty good. I have to keep an eye on “out for delivery”, as I may have to electronically open the door, so they can get in. One company I deal with, on a fairly regular basis just switched from the postal service, to one of the other delivery services. Cheaper? More dependable? Who knows.
Well, last night, for dinner, I made French toast. Hadn’t had that in a long time. I decided to test run the grape syrup, I made. It was OK, but can’t say it was a hit. But more sampling may change my mind. There are other jams, that I find more tasty.
So, when’s the ribbon cutting for the low gradient path? I want to pencil it in. Will there be a brass band? 🙂
I wonder if your mountains emptied out, during WWII, due to gas and tire rationing? Plus all the fellows going off to fight. Did you have something like the Women’s Land Army, in Australia?
I’ll mention the books as I go along. I’m finishing up the Pilgrim book, and am poking at “Neuromined: Triumphing Over Technological Tyranny.” (Grant & Ashley, 2023). So far, it’s just technological horror stories. Which are fun, but are there solutions? We’ll see. I worked through my list of library holds, last night, and put all the books in suspended animation. 🙂 I keep my place in the queue. People behind me, leap-frog over, until I reactivate my hold. Lew
Yo, Chris – Timely. This is what the author of the book I mentioned, is concerned about …
http://www.cnn.com/2024/01/26/tech/the-nsa-buys-americans-internet-data-newly-released-documents-show/index.html
Apropos of nothing, the movie “Dr. Strangelove,” turns 60, this week. How time flies … Lew
Chris,
Dad started heating with wood circa 1974 or so. I heated the current house with wood for a decade also. That’s several decades of splitting wood and enjoying the meditative workout.
The Princess and I drove into the mountains one day. Took along proper food items for a cookout/picnic. During the cooking process, a thunderstorm rolled in. We were in the clouds, it was raining and there was a lot of lightning and thunder. It was excitingly scary.
I note that Lew mentioned the toilet spoon from Roman Wales. I’m glad there was a picture…it looks much like the spoon with which I smacked a Roman upside the head when he mistreated the locals near ancient Carmarthen circa 200 AD. “Hoist on his own petard” was actually a rip-off of my original “Hey, what happened to Lucius?” “Oh, he wouldn’t listen to DJ, so DJ pounded him with his own toiletry spoon.” The beating explains the bends in the spoon. I have oft wondered what happened to that spoon. I had to leave it behind in my haste to leave the villa while avoiding capture and a gruesome end.
Dame Avalanche did NOT calm down that night. The Call of the Wild was loud and lasted long. New neighbors moved into the house across the street. Their dog was left outside by itself for too long and barked for several hours. Dame Avalanche found this to be a major distraction from calming down for the night. Even if she had calmed down, she would have avoided the heat sources. I’ve yet to see her spend any time curled up by the heat outlets indoors.
My summer job for two years required me to demonstrate a Tesla coil. I generated a good amount of lightning those two summers with that coil. On a good day, the lightning discharge from the coil could approach one million volts! It was in a grounded metal cage. Ever after, during the average and smaller thunderstorms, I’ve stood watching the storm and exclaiming “Go Tesla!” The epic storms, however, appear to be beyond Tesla’s range, requiring the changed cheer of “Go Thor Go!”
That kangaroo versus parachutist video had both the Princess and me in tears from laughing so hard. What I found hilarious was that I could watch the kangaroos hop up to the landing pad while the guy was airborne. Rush in, punch and kick him when he lands, rush away.
Today we ran some errands. We also walked a few miles inside the local shopping mall. We were hungry. Fortunately, said mall is near to our favorite DeLeon’s restaurant. So it was green chicken enchiladas and beer for our early dinner. Extremely yummy.
Of course, the errands came AFTER today’s walk with Avalanche. When it’s January and the sun is shining and the temperature is +7C, you take advantage and spend time in the sun. Even the Princess agreed that, after the cold blast, this almost felt like summer. 😉
DJSpo
Hi DJ,
As you’ve pointed out before, the firewood activity keeps you fit and also warms you on several occasions. 🙂 Out of curiosity, did the gas crisis spark your dad’s interest in heating with wood? I’d heard stories from that time of your national forests being opened for the collection of firewood.
Thunderstorms are quite common here during summer, and they’re very rarely experienced in the coldest months. There is just so much different air flowing in to here from vastly different environments, that it happens. I’d have found your experience to be rather excitingly scary as well. We have days where it is unwise to be outdoors near to large trees. The vast majority of time you’ll be fine, but then things could go wrong on so many fronts, and quickly. I’ll bet you and your lady have a fine degree of respect for trees?
Thanks for the explanation. You know, I was wondering about the bend in the ancient Roman toilet spoon, and now all is explained. Hey, anyone who is anyone knows that Lucius was a menace and had to be dealt to – firmly. And if I may be so bold as to suggest in a circular twist of logic that your ancestors were coming for you that day!
That’s no good for a dog. They’re social creatures and prefer the pack to isolation. And not all dogs are equipped to deal with the sort of weather that Dame Avalanche thrives in. You know what, when she gets older, I’m sure she’ll appreciate the heater. I’ve known a few dogs with double thick coats (Sir Poopy for example) and they do slow down and then appreciate their creature comforts, but then hey, don’t we all?
A friend who is an electrical engineer was telling me a month or two back that somewhere on the planet a grid which can deal with one million volts is now in operation. Forgot to ask where, but can do so if you’re interested. The more I read about the Victorian era scientists, the more I’m beginning to understand that they understood the processes, they just didn’t have the super refined gadgets we’ve all come to rely upon. Speaking of which, I began an upgrade on the fourth (and smallest) off grid system earlier today. As you can imagine, the first thing was upgrading the fusing to industrial quality. Not a bad idea.
Hehe! I thought the kangaroo was quite courageous and amusing as well. Jolly good shot! Go Skippy! Ollie has enjoyed an excellent learning experience, and survived. Mate, I refused to back him on that bout of foolishness. I have no gripes with the kangaroos who simply turn up here to consume the grass and herbage.
DJ, you and your lady are spoiled rotten! Respect, and I’d do no less. 🙂 Yum!!!
7’C is like a winters day here, and once you adapt to the chill, it’s quite pleasant when the sun is shining. Hopefully it was not windy? It would feel like summer after what you’ve both just experienced. Do you reckon that will be it for serious cold snaps?
Speaking of summer, I’m not at all sure as to what to make of the weather this growing season. For the next week, the weather is in the mid 20’C range, which as you may note is very pleasant. Might not grow the tomatoes, but a person can’t have everything can they? Other parts of the continent are either extremely wet, or extremely hot – take your pick!
It was the national youth music broadcasters annual countdown today, and I was left wondering whether to use the high or low RCA output connection on my refurbished Yamaha T-80 FM tuner. I’m not even 100% certain what it all means and could not discern any audible difference. The sound is just so good from that machine (after the refurbishment I did many months ago). Such were today’s dilemmas. Things could be worse, like all that mayhem in the middle east… 🙂
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Thanks for the article, and did you notice in the photo attached to the article with the unusual glass box building, that it was surrounded by a car park which was full? That was the very first thing I noticed. You’ve made me sensitive to such issues. 🙂 Sure, they’re harvesting data, but so what? Data is simply data, and those sorts of folks only ever interest themselves in the collection process. That’s the easy bit. I recall a clip I’d seen of the McCarthy sessions where a little old lady is being put to the question. At first I’d thought it was something Monty Python had put together, but sadly, no. It was real.
Look, not to put too fine a point upon it all, your central goobers of the mints spend twice as much each year than they take in. What could possibly go wrong when the discrepancy is something crazy like $3tn? I don’t know of any organisation which can survive such ongoing bizarre mismanagement, and I do hear serious people saying that it ‘doesn’t matter’. Sure, for now, but it will sooner or later. I dunno, it’s not how I’d do things.
The weather boffins down here also suggest that El Nino is a mixed bag, and not the only game in town. They’re also saying that it breaks down during our summer months. So the professors news hardly surprises me that it is nearing an end. However, his prediction of a return of the La Nina does cause minor alarm (could it get wetter here, let’s find out!) But, I’m of the watch and see what actually happens variety. Enjoy the coming rain, I know about such things.
I agree, the Romans may have not known the actual cause and details of germ theory, but I reckon if they were using silver in their medical instruments, there’s a high probability that they understood that one process was preferable to the other. Incidentally, we lost that knowledge for a very long time.
Well the ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ is also new to me. What’s it all about? Hmm… … If I may say so, the name Ichabod is perhaps a sticking point for the young Katrinia. How does a person even pronounce the name? Truly, he seemed a bit flighty, and the robust and obstreperous Biff, sorry Brom, most likely disposed of the body. The latter stories about the hapless romantic being spotted in other parts of the country sounded like a massive cover up to me. I’ve read enough hard crime fiction that the most likely suspects are those who are romantically involved. Nobody else cares as much.
Dude, the author was seriously down on his luck, and so he reached into the past to give the old story a new spin for the youth of the day.
I’m pretty certain I’ve encountered lead based paints, not to mention I distinctly recall the days of leaded petrol as I’m sure you do. The exhaust gases were perhaps not so good for ones mental health, and probably other issues. And I recall the squeals of horror from the car makers about the forced change. To be honest, I’ve never known an engine to knock. Sounds like a horror story doesn’t it? In the darkest hour of the night, the engine comes a calling…
Well you won’t see me shedding a tear for the loss of the styrofoam cups either. For some reason I loathe the feeling of that material, which I put into the same category as polystyrene. Don’t like that stuff either. Of course I might not be right in the head in relation to this matter! 🙂 But I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, life is way too short for take away coffee. And I’m not naive enough to think that the plastic lined cardboard cups are any better for the environment. Dude, I see people ordering take away and then wanting to take a table and have a seat. Sure, but to me it looks like they have issues with possible cooties on ceramic items. So the loss is not a problem for me either!
That’s a good point. Would the Predator species have a bureaucracy with permits to hunt? Look, I’ve seriously considered this matter today, and I have to suggest that the answer is yes. Now my thinking is backed up logic, so hang with me here. Someone has to drive the spaceship home again. Think about it for a second, and you’ll see the logic. If that spaceship recovery didn’t take place, we’d end up with the remains of alien technologies, and who knows what would then happen. It’s not like even with a high enough body count, we finally got the Predator. The outcomes of the films suggest as much, AND, they may be a species which reproduces slowly. They’d lose, and probably know it.
I hear you about the bag limit, but I’ve seen the films and really, the numbers are simply a drop in the ocean. There’s something in what you say there in relation to extending the Klingon characters to a more extreme version. Hmm.
Oh yeah, that dog. Came to a bad end, but prior to the one bad day, it sure had annoyed a lot of crocodiles. Thanks, I’d forgotten about that dog.
Isn’t that interesting. Hmm. Down here the river I believe uses the local postal service, and couriers are reserved only for the larger deliveries. I’d heard rumours about the conditions working in that distribution centre, and a while back staff were complaining they didn’t have enough time to go to the toilet. That can breed resentment of the most awful sort, along the lines of Fight Club’s onion soup warning. It ain’t my problem.
It is hard to know with these sorts of delivery arrangements. Our end of the deal has to pay a fee, but is it profitable for the delivery company? We dunno.
The grape syrup would provide a decent Vitamin C hit I reckon, maybe. Could be useful after your recent cold. Are you fully recovered now?
Hehe! Very funny, especially about the brass band. I was hoping to avoid the group who prematurely cut the ribbon on the Sydney Harbour Bridge opening. The cheeky scamps.
Probably that reason for sure. I’d read about people making home made wood gassifiers to power their old motor vehicles during those days. Not sure how such fuel sources would work with modern engines. Probably not well. But yeah, that was my thoughts too, the area was emptied of available man power. This mountain range used to produce a lot of timber, potatoes and berries. I know of an old bloke who still grows potatoes locally, and he was telling me that his mother had a potato farm up near to here – almost a neighbour.
You were spot on: Australian Women’s Land Army
Do you reckon there may even be solutions for technical tyranny? Could be the book is simply bragging. Has it improved? Hey, that’s a useful skill for suspended animation you have, and brings us right back to ol’ Rip. 😉
Had the national day of youth music today (and tomorrow incidentally). Very exciting and I was listening with one ear. The other ear was of course focused on other matters going on. 😉 A sausage roll was consumed, and thus possibly harmed. A lamington was shared between the Editor and I as well as the dogs. Other than those I ate like a rabbit, joined up with mates for a virtual chat (unable to attend as I may have a cold and thought I’d make poor company). And I began upgrading the final of the off grid solar power systems with industrial quality fuses. A busy, but relaxing day.
Cheers
Chris
Chris:
Depends on your household . . . Better lose that thought. You may yet find yourself leadng a “troop”.
So many nice people out there; strangers, too. And so nice to get hugs!
I know people that get proper holidays, too. It just doesn’t seem to be in the cards for some of us.
It was a glorious 76F (24.4C) yesterday.
I am fine. I don’t know, Chris. After enough of this stuff, maybe it does get easier.
I noticed your Australian Women’s Land Army link. I have read a lot about that in Great Britain, and a bit about it in the U.S. A new diversion!
Pam
Yo, Chris – Well, Goobers spending. There was an article in our newspaper, the other day, that the Chehalis town council is spending some ridiculous amount of money for a consulting firm to come up with a plan to “revitalize the downtown.” A couple of the counselors voted against it, citing a little fiscal responsibility. As the city is already dipping into the prudent reserve. And thought repairing sidewalks and filling in potholes, might be a better use. They did not carry the day.
We’re going to get a lot of rain. But our overnight low was only 48F. I wonder if we’re going to see any freezing, again?
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, has been made into several movies and animated features. What’s not to like about a headless horseman? I think about the best I saw was a 1999 movie, with Johnny Depp. Directed by Tim Burton. Just called “Sleepy Hollow.” There was also a TV series, not long ago. I watched a couple of episodes, and threw it back. Just didn’t grab me.
Stephen King already did it. “Christine.” Book and movie. Both good.
Maybe the Predator’s ship was like a horse, trained to return to the stable? And, from our small world department … I was talking to an indigenous woman, I know, at the Club. She’s seen all the Predator movies, but not the new one. Turns out, the lead actress is a third cousin, or something, on her dad’s side of the family.
Oh, the cold kind of hangs on. I had a sneezing fit this morning, and my nose just kept dripping. I finally resorted to the saline spray. That seems to have dried things up, temporarily.
Couldn’t access the article on the Australian Women’s Land Army. But, found a few others. Interesting, that down there, it was all volunteer. In Britain, some were conscripted.
I finished off the book on data collection. What the author really seems miffed about is (among other things), that these companies mine our data, and sell it. But we don’t get a cut. 🙂 For some reason, I woke up really early, and read “The World According to Kaleb.” It’s an easy read, as there are a lot of amusing color photos. It’s an amusing bit of fluff, but he does have a lot to say about farming.
I think I forgot to mention, I really kind of stuffed up the French toast. In the first place, I didn’t realize that the sourdough bread I had bought, was onion sourdough. And, by accident, I grabbed the orange extract and not the vanilla. I’ll have to try it again, and pay closer attention.
You asked about people who go out and metal detect. The why of it. Well, it’s a treasure hunt. If nothing else, it gets people out of the house for a bit of fresh air and exercise. 🙂 There was this, in the news, yesterday ….
http://www.news.yahoo.com/british-museum-reveals-record-breaking-172610961.html
I think I mentioned that TV series, “The Detectorists.” Comedy / drama. A couple of old buddies, who go out looking for treasure. They also belong to a local Club, filled with those beloved British eccentrics. The series went for three seasons, and I was sorry to see it go. But now, there’s a movie! I have it on my library hold list.
I’ve also read a couple of books on mud larking on the Thames, and real life detectorists in Britain. I find it pretty interesting, and, again, you just don’t know what you might find, where.
Last night, I had rice, Garbanzo beans, dried tomatoes, garlic and some frozen chopped broccoli. Spiced it with some Oregano, to give it an Italian twist. Topped it with a sprinkling of Feta cheese. Tasty. Lew
Hi Pam,
Can’t say that I’m a fan of that idea about leading a house load of troops. 🙂 But as you correctly note, the future is an uncertain country.
People can be pretty nice and supportive at times.
I see you know what I mean about being able to take proper breaks. It’s been my observation that many people enjoy extended breaks from work, but for many years now this has not been my experience (and yours from what you wrote). Without going into details, rest assured things have changed on that front. Happy to work hard, but it has to be reasonable.
Holy carp! It was warmer at your place than here today. How does that work? 🙂 Hehe! Enjoy the bright sunshine and warm air. I’d imagine that’s nice after the recent serious cold snap. Gives a person time to thaw out!
Glad to hear, but I dunno about things ever getting easier. Maybe age gives perspective? There’s a Latin aphorism, Carpe diem, which I kind of take to heart.
Yeah, who knew? Lewis mentioned that they were all volunteers down here, whereas in the UK some were conscripts. I’m not entirely certain I’d want conscripts working on a farm, they’d possibly be an accident risk to everyone around them. Dunno.
Cheers and better get writing!
Chris
Hi Lewis,
You know, if it was me in that council situation, I’d simply head down and speak directly to the store holders in the down town area and ask them for their opinions as to how to revitalise the place. If anyone has an incentive to get it done properly, it would be those folks. I can’t even begin to imagine what outsiders would have to say on the matter. Well, all I can add is that I hope the report earns a return on the investment. After four wet years in a row combined with rising costs, can you imagine the stress the road maintenance budget would be like in this local goobers of the mint area?
48’F is quite pleasant, and not far off my recent overnight lows. Hope the rain refills the rivers, wetlands and dams.
Yeah, they’re cool, but I’m not sure what to make of a headless horseman. Clearly the horse would have to know where it’s going, and avoid low branches for the sightless rider. Pretty spooky though. That duo was a pretty good combo back in the day.
I knew that about ‘Christine’. 🙂 A very scary book of the sort which keeps you up into the wee hours, turning pages in the forlorn hope that the horror lets up, or the morning sun turns the evil vehicular intent to a cloud of vapour. Going to sleep any earlier is nightmare inducing…
Oh no, that does sound like a valid, if not fully fleshed out Predator concept. Me, being me, wonders about mechanical and navigational troubles for the potentially unmanned alien spaceship en route back home again after the big hunt. It’s a huge investment for the species, and the risk of losing a ship is a bit of a bummer, especially if the natives captured the thing and returned the hunt favour. No way! Cool. It’s a small world.
Sorry to read that about your cold. But yeah, you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. Vitamin D is in very low supply at this time of year for you.
Why ever would Women’s Land Army folks be conscripted? After reading your observation, I began wondering about the risks of letting such conscripts work on a farm, with dangerous machinery among all the other risks, and the mind baulked. I’d have those ones working on weeding, and even then, they’d be supervised to ensure they didn’t trample rows and pull out edible seedlings. There’s something to be said about enthusiasm.
Ha! The author is onto something there, however, many years ago there was a meme specifically about faceplants, or meat as it is now known, which suggested that ‘you are the product’, whatever that means. Those words sounded quite ominous to me. Kaleb seems like an affable bloke which you’d want to have on your side when the poop hits the fan. There was a scene in the trailer when the wealthy owner looked at the field of (please correct me if I’m wrong) of 10 acres and Kaleb said it was a total loss. That’s agriculture for you, right there. You can plant a seed and have a pretty plan and all, but will you harvest anything? That’s the real question.
Oh no! What a toast disaster. I tell you what, olive bread would have been just as bad, if not worse. What I want to know is, did you eat the stuff? I might have tried…
So, with the detectorist folks, are you suggesting it provides a hobby, community and purpose? Hmm. Those dudes and dudettes might be onto something there, because this is the official trifecta for retired folks (in my opinion anyway), or at least what I tell people. And that is a phenomenal number of finds by the public. Well done them. The comments to the articles were intriguing, and way off topic. Rest assured, such off topic folks wouldn’t see the light of day here. I know their stripe.
Hope the film is good, and I look forward to your review.
Yummo! Sliders this evening. I’d made the panini mix this morning, although they were freshly baked this evening. Asparagus from the garden. Eggs from the chickens, and a root vegetable and french lentil mix. So tasty.
The youth music biz continued today, and alas, woe is me. The transformer in the 30+ year old super Yamaha T-80 FM tuner had a few hiccups. I had to switch to the plan B, which was the Kenwood and here I will geek out at a KT-1100SD FM tuner (which has also been refurbished). The sound quality from that is good, but slightly lacks the same depth as the Yamaha, although candidly few would notice. Now I have to take apart the Yamaha and replace a few more cheap components. Oh well, restoration is never complete, as you’d know from the furniture biz. The worm of time continues upon it’s merry way eating all before it.
Once I’d sorted out the music drama, we finished off the fencing on the huge new 6500ft2 citrus and vegetable growing area. It was a cool summers day, but the afternoon sun was fierce.
Cheers and better get writing!
Chris
Yo, Chris – I see consultant hiring as just a lot of tush covering. Anything goes wrong, there’s someone to throw under the bus.
Speaking of Stephen King, I picked up a movie, from the library, the other day. Stephen King’s “Sleepwalkers.” I had never heard of it. A short trip down the rabbit hole … it’s a re-release, of a film that came out in 1992. From a short story by King, that never made it into print. Reviews aren’t very good. Trailer looks rather silly. I’ll let you know how it is, when I get around to watching it.
Waste all that expensive bread and the eggs? Nope. Can’t say it was bad, but just not at all what I expected. I gave H a bath, last night, and did a lot of “doggie” laundry. So, dinner was simple. Layered a couple of soft tacos with peanut butter, yogurt, and some of that grape syrup. It may grow on me, but I probably won’t make it again. It’s like so many other foods. OK, but there are so many other things I’d rather eat. Or, I should say jams, that are a lot tastier. Although who knows? Once I work my way through the 6 jars of the stuff, I might develop a fondness for it. 🙂
Well, at least the Kenwood worked. You still got your yearly dose of music.
Congrats on all that fencing. Take that! wallabies. They will not be amused. Lew
Yo, Chris – Another cool Roman find, from Britain …
http://www.yahoo.com/news/roman-snake-head-bracelet-found-063655182.html
I wish I lived there … 🙂 Lew