Back in the mid to late 1970’s the series: “Welcome back Kotter”, played on television screens. The show was about a teacher trying to encourage kids who were in serious remedial school, and probably facing their last chance at earning an education. One of the young actors was John Travolta, and he had an amusing saying, something along the lines of: “Hey, Mr Kotter!”, referring to the amiable and talented teacher. The erstwhile master of that gang of miscreants, had a dodgy seventies smoking jacket with leather arm patches. It was the real deal and sure looked sturdy, and was hopefully clean, maybe? Back in those days I don’t recall jackets being washed all that much, and dry cleaning was a very expensive and rarely used process. The leather elbow patches were most likely locally made and would have staved off some serious wear and tear – quite suitable for those days of high inflation and unemployment. They sure knew how to make and repair clothes back then, and there was less of the stuff.
Ah, the seventies! There are memories of some sort of oil crisis, a currency crisis, wars in foreign lands. A whole bunch of unemployment. Inflation going up and peaking at 17%. As a young fella, what I recall most was that the food was bad, that’s a definitive memory. What kind of excuse for a dinner is a single grilled lamb chop and three boiled vegetables? No wonder I was a skinny lad who’d gnaw the chops bone, consume the fatty tail and suck out the marrow. Still, could have been worse, my grandfather, the one I didn’t much like, used to enjoy boiled tripe on Sunday’s – even the thought of aroma makes my stomach turn. Yuk!
Food was not plentiful, although I cooked family meals from about the age of twelve and introduced some care and finesse to the stodge. Most kids I knew in those days worked, whether delivering newspapers, milk bottles, chemist rounds, retail, baby sitting or advertising pamphlets, there was mad cash to be made for the mercenary youngster. As a side story, I was having a laugh the other day with a bloke about how we as kids were trusted to deliver who knows what drugs to patients too sick to visit the local pharmacy. I’d have not known what stuff I was bicycling around the place anyway, and just wanted to see the cash in my hand on Saturday mornings. Securing a retail job at a Tandy Electronics store was like hitting the jackpot. My time had come, until after two years the new boss wanted his old assistant to replace me. The feelings of corporate betrayal began early, let me tell you!
The good thing about having stores of mad cash, was that at times I loaned some of it to my mother, at interest. I’d describe her as an untrustworthy debtor, yeah. Earlier lessons of regular nagging for repayments proved useful later on during the recession of the 1990’s when I worked four years as a corporate debt collector. With 10% unemployment, there was no other work on offer, but let’s just say that I had prior experience at that dark art.
Finances were always a bit precarious in the single mother in the 70’s household. Her father (the nice grandfather) had to eventually guarantee a home loan, which at least meant that we didn’t have to move around every year. Leaving a school and job was a pain, but fortunately for the motivated youngster, jobs were easy to come by. However, there was always uncertainty and you had to continually establish yourself in a new environment. The flip side is that you learn to speak with all sorts of people and ask hard questions, like: Have you got any paper rounds? They always did.
Mum got into trouble after her second marriage failed. Back in those days, blokes would sign their wives up as company directors, and if the enterprise failed, the creditors came a knocking even if the bloke was no longer around. My grandfather bailed us out of that mess, but mad cash was never splashed with a loose hand. Nope. I remember when the first bank credit card turned up unsolicited in the mail. The outrage was like someone had farted loudly during a particularly quiet moment at the Sunday church service.
The devils card hung around like a bad smell and constant source of temptation. But the banksters knew all along, necessity would eventually kick in via a financial emergency of one sort or another. The handy card got used. After that first time… You all know how the story goes. It was the 70’s and inflation was off the charts nuts. Incomes barely kept up with expenditures, nobody did anything, and an unsolicited line of credit became salvation.
In the news the other day, I learned that Australia now has the second highest household debt per capita in the world of $3.4 trillion, or roughly around $314k per household. That’s a lot. And when you compare it to household income, it’s around 190%. So for every $1 earned of disposable household income, $1.90 is owed. It’s a sobering number. Corporations owe about half as much again, and this week the federal government debt passed the $1 trillion mark. All very impressive numbers which must make the banksters proud. The media pulled a nifty distraction technique by pointing out that the US federal government has $40 trillion in debt, which is a number so massive that it is beyond my comprehension. If only I’d paid more attention in year nine maths class…
It’s a universal truth, that lenders tend to ask for a higher rate of return, more politely described as interest if the borrower is perceived to be risky. That’s what I did with my mother. If she wanted a short term loan, the lady had to pay plus interest. I was her kid, not a bank. Right now across the globe, bond traders who make their living by basking in all this debt glory, are taking a cold hard look at the borrowers and asking the hard question: Can these loans ever be repaid? And the observant person will notice that bond yields are rising, so their thoughts are clear. The cost of new and existing debt, is going up. How far will it rise? We may yet get to find out.
In these enlightened days of back to the 70’s oil crisis, rising unemployment and inflation, my own house jumper, a natty dark green colour, has lately been deemed as ‘not to be worn off the property!’ I have that instruction on good authority as it now has a hole in the left elbow. How did that get there? Sandra amusingly opined that my elbows are pointy, but that observation doesn’t explain the lack of a hole in the right sleeve does it? My logic is sound and I now rest my case. In a lovely peace offering, after examining the worn wool, she offered to sew a Mr Kotter patch onto the elbow, to which I declined. It’s a home jumper, and there’s no shame in the bush! But what really happened was that the long ago mental image of 1970’s sturdy smoking jackets with leather patches sprung to mind. Am I ready to go back to the past? It’s an intriguing question.
Mid week it rained so heavily that the ground was finally saturated. Walking around the shady orchard sounded as if some cheeky scamp had attached sponges to the soles of my shoes. Slosh! Slosh! Slosh! It was way too wet to continue forestry clean up work, but never fear valiant readers, for there are always more things which need doing! We pruned, thinned and fed the raspberry and rose garden beds.
The above image shows that most of the raspberry canes had grown to about four to five feet tall. They’re a sturdy heritage free standing variety which was gifted to me by a local lady who mentioned that they were handed down by her grandfather. They’re a bit weedy, but require little additional watering and are super productive – they’re our largest berry crop. The two garden rows are around fifty feet long each. Observant readers will notice a black steel climbing structure. That, and another at the far end were removed with those growing spaces planted out to more raspberries.
Raspberries are really simple to maintain. We cut all of the canes down to about a foot using an electric hedge trimmer. The prunings are then burned off in the brazier in the courtyard.
The most difficult part of the raspberry task is thinning the second year canes. Those won’t produce berries, so are best removed. You can tell which is which, because the older canes are generally thicker. Secateurs and a deft hand get the job done. Transplanting raspberries into the new beds (where the steel climbing frames were removed) involved pulling the shortened canes from the soil, then replanting them.
Adjacent to the raspberries are another two rows of roses. They’re very pretty, flower for months and have the most delightful aroma on warm summer days. All of the roses were pruned, and that stuff was burnt off as well.
The next day we began the process of feeding the soil in the four garden beds.
An entire four x seven foot trailer load of purchased compost had plenty of juicy minerals added to it. The compost was loaded into the small yellow power wheelbarrow, the additives were chucked on top, and the lot was mixed using a shovel. The additives included bags of: Seamungus; Gypsum; Agricultural Lime; Blood and Bone meal; and the ash from the previous days burn off of pruned plant material.
The soil feed is really crucial in getting the productive plants through the summer months with almost no additional watering other than rainfall. Generally we’ll splash some water on the garden beds for a few minutes the night before a day which is forecast to be over 40’C / 104’F.
Sandra received a pH meter the other week, and I’d not had the opportunity to use it until yesterday. Here’s a reading of the usual sort of soil mixture we provide the plants:
It was interesting to see, because the usual forest soils around here are on the acidic side of things. Still, pH is merely one of the stories in relation to soils. The newest raised garden bed in the greenhouse had formed a crusty surface, and I was a bit worried about what was going on under that. A quick turn of the soil disturbed dozens of worms. I needn’t have worried.
I thought that the lovely readers here would appreciate a wider view of the garden terraces.
As part of this terrace freshening up work, we brought back uphill a huge number of rocks. Those will be installed on the downhill edges of the terraces, which should slow erosion.
The three round raised asparagus beds were also given a top up feed of the soil mixture. Already spears had been growing through the soil, and asparagus are very demanding plants. Also 1kg / 2.2 pounds of sea salt was spread over these three beds.
The trees in the citrus enclosure had the grass and ground cover plants removed from near to their trunks. I do that work with a line trimmer, and it’s easy enough as long as a person is careful not to nick the bark. Many of the trees there are now double their original height despite wallaby and rabbit vandalism.
Here’s a young wallaby now:
Fortunately, Ruby and Dame Plum are onto the rabbit situation.
Oh! And one of the chickens laid a 100g egg. I’ll bet that hurt. It’s huge!
Onto the flowers:
The temperature outside now at about 10am is 10’C (50’F). So far for this year there has been 866.2mm (34.1 inches) which is up from last weeks total of 822.0mm (32.4 inches)
Comments
41 responses to “A dubious achievement”
Yo, Chris – Every once in awhile, someone in our building cooks something, that smells ghastly. I can only describe it as smelling like someone is roasting a chicken with the feathers on. I wonder if it’s tripe? Maybe, chitterlings?
I also had to occasionally get dinner on the table. Dad took side jobs, painting and hanging wallpaper. Mum was off waitressing. I can’t say experimentation was encouraged, so it was usually a general idea, with canned and frozen food playing a large part.
Oh, my. You inspired me to descend into sit-com territory. One day, a young debt collection bloke, discovers his Mum is on the list of people to be collected from. Hilarity, ensues. Your Mum’s lucky Mr. Inbetween didn’t come paying a call.
Yes, you guys are pikers, compared to our 40 trillion dollars of debt. Lots of articles, this week, about that, and the bond market. Something else will catch the attention of the media, next week. But, it’s still there, and not much can be done on an individual level.
I don’t think I had a credit card, until I moved away from home. To Seattle, and opened a bank account, there. The nice bankers were more than ready to give me one. The folks were death on debt, but somehow or another, credit cards didn’t seem like debt. Better instruction would have come in handy. Maybe, even in school.
Put the patch on the jumper. It will start to unravel, and with all the messing about you do with machines, you might get pulled in and lose an arm. Oh, well. Won’t need the sleeve then, anyway.
A long process, but your raspberry and rose beds are ready to produce. We had raspberries, when I moved. But, no one took care of them and they grew too close to the building. So, the Master Gardeners took them out.
Worms. Lovely, lovely worms. I have been finding some in the bags of compost. I pitch them into the strawberry bed, where I have been burying kitchen scraps. That bed needs all the help it can get.
A lot of work, but your garden terraces have a sweeping grandeur. All that rock work (and I do mean work) keeps the land from washing away. But also provide a lot of “effect.”
Thanks for the picture of your asparagus beds. Ah, you leave longer stems, then I would have imagined. So I see how a top up would be achieved.
That’s a big egg! I wonder if it will be a double yolk. I wonder if a double yolk, if fertilized, would yield twins? Ah, with a bit of human help, it is possible, through rare. Also known are triple yolk eggs.
Alkanet is an interesting plant. The root yields a red dye, sometimes used for coloring cheese. Also, as a wood stain. Under different circumstances, the dye will be blue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkanna_tinctoria
If I remember, I’m going to ask the Master Gardners, if we have a place for a culinary bay. I’d be willing to spring for one. I’m sure the local, more exotic nurseries probably carry them. Lew
Hi Lewis,
Oh yeah, stinky unknown emanations can be a serious drama. A few weeks ago the official census was done, but maybe two and a lot decades in the past, maybe even three, the Editor and I did a census run. Oh my, we were already busy at the time, and that job was a turning point to not overdo things in the future – strong words were exchanged! Anywhoo, the census run was in a small area which had a large public housing tower, you may call such places: The Projects? Dunno. Maybe twenty stories, could have been more. So we went from door to door dropping off and collecting the forms. It was a most interesting insight into the world of public housing. A lot of the chats with the residents were fun and enjoyable, but then there was the dead meat guy. Now we dropped the form off with him, but when it came time to pick up the thing, let’s just say that there was the aroma of decomposition, and nobody seemed to notice. Didn’t get the completed form back either, make your own mind up as to what happened. I recall you had a similar across the hall experience. Hmm. The smell is memorable, put it that way.
Some of the folks were delightful, and super cheeky. Others wanted to sit us down, feed us cake and recount their life story. I enjoyed the work, but we were so busy already.
Chitterlings has a really ooky other worldly vibe to the word. Tribbles would sound much nicer! 😉 I see, another form of tripe. The old timers did used to say: “Everything, including the squeak!”, and we’re only squeamish because we’re not hungry enough.
Getting stuck into the kitchen at a young age demystifies the entire cooking process. And dunno about your experience, but that was where I learned to be a neat cook, after all, the cleaning up fell onto my head as well. As a kid, a friend’s mother used to work in a commercial kitchen and was a superb cook, and my expectational friend used to whinge to me that she only knew 30 different recipes. My thoughts in that matter were along the same lines of what my grandfather may have called him!
Interestingly, we didn’t start meals with much pre-prepared ingredients, so I got to see the entire preparation process from scratch at an early age. Tomato paste from a glass jar was about as exotic as it got. Being broke, I didn’t grow up eating a lot of canned or processed food either. Veg was usually fresh, albeit a bit limp by the end of the week.
🙂 Glad you enjoyed the story and went places sit-com wise! I used to enjoy that show, it was silly, but in a fun way. Like Mr Inbetween, I collected upon my debts. 😉
We may be pikers, it’s true, and the goobermint will most likely go much harder on debt in the future. On the other hand, there are 12.5x more people in your country, so the debt gap per capita is not as far a leap as you’d imagine. The interesting thing about the bond market, is that when yields were really low a few years ago, the numpties in charge (your other political party) could have taken out hugely long term bonds like a century, and the whole problem now wouldn’t be a big drama. They didn’t do that, the last lot you had were super excited about short term bonds, and we’re coming around to roll over time. It’ll be exciting! The extra debt paper, my friend, for all this stuff, will only go up exponentially from here. Unless they deliberately crash the economy to avoid that fate, or inflate the lot away, which are always options. Your biggest chief is having a melt down about this topic. Oh well, one day it was always going to end badly.
Wasn’t that nice of the banksters to give you a credit card? Now, that is a topic I’ve heard much said about over the years. Yes, apparently there is a distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ debt in many peoples minds. I’ve heard people make that claim you noted in relation to say, student debt, as if it is somehow different. Man, I’m banging hard on the theme of ‘return on investment’ with that story whenever it is mentioned, and it’s like slapping people in the face like the old Victorian era folks did to people suffering from hysteria – although they did other much more fun stuff too which could have been more enjoyable… It’s all a bad deal as the Bard mentioned centuries ago, despite fashions changing. Oh well.
Agreed, better instructions in relation to debt would have worked a treat. I didn’t get that lesson either, and had to learn the hard way, which at least happened when I was a young bloke and could recover.
By the way, the Editor asked me what I was going to write about yesterday – the debt milestones – and suggested that it would be hard to make that story fun. The proverbial challenge glove was thrown down. 🙂
Thanks for the good advice about the ratty jumper and moving machine parts, and reminds me of the urban myth of the awful ending for scarf wearing ladies in convertible cars. I’m sure that dire outcome never really happened.
Ah, sad about the raspberries as they are quite low care plants. Hardy to heat and dry conditions.
By the way, those compost bags will also contain worm eggs. Winning!
Thanks so much, and I really liked that outlook from the highest point of the five garden terraces. The rocks will slow the erosion nicely – we’ve tested that approach. When the rocks and terrace edge sinks lower, we simply add another layer of rocks, and that stabilises the lot. I always remember what you said about rocks always ending up downhill. Hmm.
Thought you might appreciate the asparagus beds photo. Once they’re established and kept well fed, the plants just supply. But they are a demanding plant. People have been freaked out at the thought of chucking sea salt onto the soil surface, but it works. Also, those beds are slightly above neutral pH – which is very hard to achieve in this location.
It’ll be a double yolk for sure. Ouch! I’m feeling sorry for any chicken which has to lay a triple yolk egg.
Oh poop, Alkanna tinctoria is a close relative of the plants growing here, which are Green Alkanet or Pentaglottis sempervirens which has other interesting uses.
A culinary bay tree would do very well in your part of the world, and they seem to be super hardy to cold weather, and brush off the hottest of days. I’ve never seen any frost damage on either of the trees. We use the leaves in cooking.
It may have been the West Australian band Tame Impala, and their song: The Less I Know the Better. A clever title don’t you reckon, and the band is internationally renowned as one of those performers respected by other artists. Plus Kevin and co make some good psych rock.
Ha! Dude, it’s been a very long time since I’ve worked in a business which had an employee manual, let alone an orientation program! 🙂 Mostly I turn up to places and get to work, I’m simply not wired for big business, despite having worked in those heady airs.
Yeah, you have to know when to walk, and we’ve all been there. The dress code would would have bothered me as well. White clothes and food service requires a lot more cleaning than would be economically viable. And the ladies tottering around in high heels and the other getup would have been torture, unless danger money was part of the remuneration? Agreed, the poor waitresses would have been doing it tough. Candidly it sounds more like a dungeon where repressed people go to err, be dealt to. 😉
The Peruvian deities may have a different opinion upon the length of time, but I see what you mean. The unlucky settlers heading west, probably deserve a decent burial, I hear you.
The mission is a beautiful looking place. I get that, and spend a lot of my time out in the bush, for those very reasons. Headed down below today and did a bit more forest clean up work. Had a good bonfire, and packed up just as the sun was dropping below the horizon. An enjoyable day out among the tall plants.
Yeah, the Editor mentioned that Mr Inbetween seemed to get into a lot of trouble, and wasn’t well off despite the err, um, steady work schedule! An interesting insight into that subculture.
Oh my! Glad none of us are involved in such movie snafu’s.
A shaving horse probably has to be constructed from scratch, which is a job for the future, but will get done.
Hehe! Things can indeed be silly in the Monty Python Camelot, or so the song went. Was it a musical? My mind is now reeling at that thought!
Have you noticed that Readit, the unfiltered interwebsite is now asking people to log in? Just wanted to find out what folks had to say about the train trip from Melbourne to Sydney. All the same, the extra mad cash for a sleeper cabin is probably worthwhile.
Just going with my gut feeling, but economy model freezing, is probably going to be a problem. I mean what happens if the power gets cut, and would anyone even notice?
Oh! the sunflower seeds would give a bit of crunch, much in the same way people chuck pistachio into muffins, but honestly, softened or not, I’d have not ever thought of trying pumpkin seeds. They’re a bit big I reckon for a cupcake, but it’s a preference thing. How did the strawberry centre work out? I’m intrigued.
Man, I get triggered with this loose talk of deer. 🙂
It happens, and at least the maintenance guy and family weren’t kicked out. A kind of important role, but maybe that’s just me. Dunno!
Mr Greer’s blog had mentioned those cameras. I’d not heard of them, but live up the bush. Hang on a second… … Oh, the freeways have data collecting cameras, but not at random road side locations around town. Interesting, but every technology can be abused one way or another.
Ha! When we went out for a sausage roll trip on Sunday morning, a classic car club was cruising through the local township. It’s not a cheap hobby any more. No way. One of the cars which went past would have been well over the six figures replacement cost. Mad Max’s car these days is pushing almost half a century old – just sayin! But agreed, it’s not worth opening your local business when such a mob do a street take over. There’d be none of the usual walk by traffic. And I like your style with the toilet explanation. Respect!
Oooo, the Club is progressing with it’s bump-in, as they say in certain entertainment circles. You’d definitely need sound proofing, and did you say that there are plans for the counter? Did you slip in any of the ideas you dreamt up?
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Yup. From here on out, I know what a dead body smells like. Different from other forms of decay. Boy, that apartment had to be Haze-matted out!
“Only” 30 recipes? Poor baby! 🙂
I wonder when they kick around figures for individual household debt, if it includes things like mortgages, and maybe a car loan or two. Any more than two, and that’s … excessive. I’d call those kinds of things, maybe, “good” debt. Maybe.
I’d guess, short term bonds benefit Wall Street, in some way. They, and the Tech Bros, run government, these days.
I only have one credit card, and it gets paid off, every month. But I must say, it was a bit of a hard earned lesson.
Not an urban legend.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan
It’s all about vanity, I suppose. Reminded me of an American folk tale. I always wanted a frozen Charlotte doll. Just so … macabre.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Charlotte
The Master Gardeners were here, this morning. No, we don’t have a culinary bay, lurking about the place. I see I could grow one, inside. But, checking out the local nurseries, no one seems to have one for sale. Back when I had my store on tower, I planted a bay in a big pot, out from of my store. Someone kept knocking it over. So, I build a small platform, with wheels, and rolled it out in the morning, and in a night. I can’t remember what happened to that plant. I must have found it a good home.
I scattered a quart of pee, around my gardens last night. Might keep the deer off, for awhile.
As with books, song titles aren’t copyrighted. Search kept coughing up “You Don’t Know” (Me), which is not what I asked for, search guys! But there seems to be a song by the YDK title, covered by every one from Eminen to Cyndi Lauper to Bon Jovi. There’s also some gospel tune, with the same title. I didn’t listen to any of them.
I’d occasionally get a table of blokes, who were a bit miffed that they got a waiter, instead of one of the waitresses. Usually, a pretty odious bunch.
Shaving horses are pretty basic construction. There are plans, on line, and probably a lot of U-Tub videos. You’ll get around to building one, when you need it.
I have little to do with Read-It. It turns up, occasionally, in a search. But so far, I haven’t run across a sign in situation. If so, the information I seek is somewhere else, less restrictive. Moving on …
I often put sunflower and pumpkin seeds in the muffins I make. Adds a little extra crunch and a few more nutrients. Also (as I did the other night), if the batter is a bit too moist, I throw in a scant handful of rolled oats. The strawberries added a little extra zing, to the banana muffins. Other than the spices, which I jack up, they can be a bit bland. I let the strawberries thaw, a bit, while I mixed up the batter. I finally got around to transferring the recipe, from a bit of scrap paper to a 3×5 card. I always try and record where I got the recipe from. In this case, I titled it “Betty Crocker – Adapted.” 🙂
Yes, someone is drawing up plans, for said counter. I didn’t see them. I figure there’s enough “better ideas,” without me adding my input. Later, the final product can be tweaked.
Well, something new in interior design. The “analog room.”
https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/designers-analog-room-cozy-design-123000373.html
Our high yesterday was 73F (22.77C). Our overnight low was 57F (13.88C). Our forecast high for today is 86F. Prof. Mass is banging on about global warming / climate change. Seems like the El Niño forecasts are getting a bit more solid. Looks like for our area, winter will be warmer, and rainfall average. Of course, if a months average rainfall gets dumped in 24 hours, it’s still average, but devastating.
I see Reno, Nevada is burning. Every year, we took a two week vacation. Either to California, or Nebraska / Montana. Either way, we swung through Reno, on our way home. So the folks could gamble. They saved up for that yearly splurge, all year long. Mostly, Mum’s waitressing tips. I know you don’t tip in Australia, but it’s a thing, here.
They had a set amount, and once it was gone, we headed for home. Kids were parked in a free movie theatre, that all the casinos subsidized. Pretty much the same fare, as at the neighborhood Saturday matinee. Third run movies, old cartoons and serials. Anything they could get cheap.
I started watching the series, “The Haunting of Hill House,” last night. From the same people that brought us “The Haunting of Bly Manor.” “Hill House” is quit a bit different, from the 1963 film. Which I probably saw at an above mentioned Saturday matinee. In the series, Mum and Dad have bought Hill House because … they’re house flippers. :-). Lew
@ DJSpo:
Geez, I didn’t often see a tarantula in El Paso and as for the cockroaches, we didn’t have them in the house I grew up in there, the dorm at UTEP, or my subsequent apartment. I assume everything was sprayed. However, our first house in Dallas after we were married had cockroaches the size of mice. I would guess that is just a standard Texas/New Mexico cockroach.
My parents lived in Grand Junction once upon a time. I spent a summer there working in the Coors sparkplug factory. In the winter I would sometimes visit so I could go skiing at Powderhorn. I loved that whole area.
I only tasted prickly pear once. It did not bite me, but it was really gritty. Perhaps it wasn’t ripe.
Pam
Hi, Chris:
Yeah, the oil crisis hit me hard. I had just gotten my driver’s license – and there was no gas! That’s enough to make a teenager with her grandfather’s old wonky Buick cry. And when my husband and I bought our first house in 1982 the interest rate was 18%.
As a kid, I didn’t know many kids with jobs. Remember, I grew up coddled. Make good grades and that was enough; no other responsibilities. My mother’s cooking was as blah as it gets, but there was always my grandparents’ housekeeper/cook, who was the best in the world. My mother “borrowed” her once a week to come over and clean and cook. Yay!
Now I see how you could endure being a debt collector – you had previous experience!
BUT – you have those great paths. So much help with the slosh. That’s a heck of a lot of compost, but it sounds delicious – from a plant’s point of view. I love the terrace view. Neat as a pin, as usual. All your orchards look great.
Yum – there’s dinner. Just as well you took it away from her. What’s that parasite that rabbits have? Wow! That’s some egg. You’ll probably never know who did it unless there’s one that refuses to sit on the ground.
From last week:
I think that if your potato boxes can’t breathe, a lot of moisture is going to build up in there.
I’d like to know how they removed the old shovel handle, too. Heat up the metal part? I got my shears back today; they look great and work great, but the place did not have any lanolin oil.
Thanks for the lovely flowers.
Pam
Hi Pam,
Awful, and history suggests that the lines for the gas stations were rather long indeed in those days, as they will be again at some point in the future. We rarely went anywhere in the car in those days. But yeah, you’d have had troubles fuelling the machine. Buick as a brand are unknown down here, and the Skyhawk model looked pretty racy for the 70’s! I’m guess your grandfather gifted you the GSX 455 V8, which wouldn’t have looked out of place on the Dukes of Hazard? Just a wild guess, probably wrong. 🙂 I’m sure your venerable beast was milder, maybe.
Yeah, we saw the 18% interest rates too, and it was a true horror receiving a letter from the banksters. What new outrage were they about to inflict upon us? Fortunately houses and mortgages were much cheaper relative to average income in those days, but there wasn’t a lot of disposable income for much else. The high unemployment was an unpleasant experience too.
I know, you’ve mentioned that before about your comfortable upbringing, which to me sounds warm and snuggly, but probably has its own set of challenges I’d imagine. My mother, who was single, worked and had a strange sort of pride about not be able to cook or clean. I was roped into cleaning from a young age as well. Between you and I, I would have loved those intermittent meals you mentioned. Super yummo, and made with love, or at least a well deserved pay check! 🙂
Exactly, it was ask for the mad cash back, or not receive it. The Bard provided much useful advice about that debt situation between friends and family. He was probably right.
More rain today, well over half an inch, it being already wet – probably like your place is now after the many storms? The paths are very necessary and much appreciated in these conditions, and the lime from the crushed rock is beneficial to the nearby plants – you can see the difference in growth.
Thanks, and so glad that you enjoyed the photo from the top of the terraces. The vista caught my eye that day and the light was just right. Tell ya what, the additional rocks will work a treat, and even provide a bit of extra stored warmth on cold summer nights, maybe.
Do rabbits have a nasty parasite? Yikes! Hang on a second, I’ll see whether it is present down under… … Hmm, not sure which you are referring too, but down here they seem to have ticks, fleas, mites and two types of worms. The rabbit looked reasonably healthy, despite being dead, and I took it off the dog quickly. Dunno. What’s the dreaded parasite?
I know, the poor chicken, and sometimes they do stand above the freshly lain eggs looking a bit uncertain about the state of the world. The birds bounce back pretty quickly all things considered.
I appreciate that bit of info about the potato storage and humidity. Hmm, another thing to consider. The old timers used to store them in metal lined wooden boxes in a dark and cool-ish room which may be as you guessed less prone to humidity build up than plastic storage containers. Hmm.
The broken timber handle was removed from the metal part of the shovel head by removing any nails, bolts or lugs, and then drilling out the timber. Probably best if the metal is securely anchored in a bench vise when that is done. It’s a rough way to do the job, but that advice worked. The other trick which worked was ever so slightly shortening the replacement timber handle so that it sat snugly in the old metal sleeve. It was originally too long by about half an inch and wiggled around.
The nice telco ate my day today. Awful isn’t it? The call centre folks are overseas and just passed me from one group to another. I refrained from swearing and tried being delightful, which got me nowhere. I despaired for a while, then lodged a complaint, and ended up in the same place – nowhere. Sad. Pam, are they trying to break my spirit? Maybe… Oh well.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Man, makes you wonder how folks can do that crime scene clean-up work? You’d hope they were paid well? Beats me, the strong aroma would bother me deeply, and yeah it is unforgettable once encountered. When I was a kid people would often purchase what was known as ‘pets mince’ but was actually just offal. Cats and dogs didn’t seem to mind, but the stench turned my stomach. Yup, hazmat indeed!
Hehe! My thoughts, exactly!
Funnily enough I was considering that question the other day. Go back far enough in time and people bought cars for cash, there were no credit cards, no personal loans, few bills, and lay-by schemes meant you had to pay the item in full, before getting access to it. When I think about all the different ways mad cash leaks from a household in these enlightened times, the word ‘proliferation’ springs to mind.
The missed bond opportunity was just weird. It was almost as if failure was what they sought, or a kicking of the can down the road.
Yup, the temptation my friend with that lot dangling trinkets, is always there. And I too learned that lesson the hard way.
Oh my! I really did believe that it was an urban legend, and that’s an awful and rather quick ending. Isadora was very beautiful and graceful lady, with just a touch of naughtiness of the true artist about her.
Possibly vanity is at the core of the issue, but it may also have been questionable personal choices and poor safety standards. Alas but for a shawl… Some people are larger than life, with habits which don’t match the income.
Those frozen Charlotte dolls were apparently quite popular back in the day, and affordable. I can see how the kids would have enjoyed the macabre side of them. And they were associated with an American folk tale. Alas but for the shawl, again…
Oh yeah, word on the interweb street is that bay trees can survive down to 23’F, which you’d see sometimes, but if the wind hit at that time, it’d be game over at a guess. Such low temperatures require a well established tree. A ficus I moved late last year was doing really well, then the deer damaged the plant, and winter did the rest. Looks rather sad now with blackened leaves.
Hadn’t mentioned it for a while, but the cool climate red and green paw paws died, even as they were sheltered in the greenhouse. Too cold for them and it is a waste of mad cash to try again. The Babaco is at it’s lowest limit here, and that’s again sheltered in the greenhouse. Outdoors it’d be deceased.
I try that too with the deer, and encourage the dogs to do their business near to the forest edge as well. Obviously it’s not a scientifically rigorous test, but the deer didn’t seem to care one way or another. Still, worth trialling.
I for one am glad about the title situation otherwise I’d rapidly run out of clever words to use. At a squeeze I could maybe come up with 52 titles per year, but it’d be a challenge and probably not add much value to the blog.
Just took the dawgs out to do their business, and Dame Plum gave a big overly complacent brush tail possum a reminder as to who is the boss around here. They’ve been getting lazy and careless those marsupials and not taking the dogs seriously, so serves them right. None were harmed, but there was a lot of noise, and hopefully they’ll be more careful next time.
Ha! Man, I tend to appreciate restaurants for the quality of their food, other offerings seem a tad out of place to me.
Rumour has it that readit sold its soul for arty-fish-al scraping. I’m done with it now there are demands to log in, and I’ve never commented there. Adios wesbite. Wonder if their traffic will be hurt as a result? I reckon there is some truth to the whole dead interweb theory.
Also, if I may add, the pumpkin seeds are good nosh for blokes. But yeah, plenty of people add crunch to muffins like the pistachio I mentioned, and walnut used to be a good chance of finding. Strangely enough, since I stopped picking up the coffee grounds, and they stopped making the tasty muffins, they’ve dropped off my cake options. I’ve noticed that prices for coffee and cake are on the up.
🙂 Always nice to know that your muffin recipe has such a noble pedigree! There’s really something to say about tried and true recipes which is my preserve. I often observe folks failing to get the basics right, and indulging in more complicated dishes.
Fair enough, and hope the counter project gets constructed sooner rather than later. But agreed, it’s better to get something now, than wait for the perfect.
By the way, I really enjoyed the look of all of those analogue rooms. A place for humans to hang out in.
I’m envious of your nice weather, and it barely made it past 50’F today, and rained for most of the time. Sadly I wasted four hours of my life with the machinations of the nice telco folks. Looks like they’ve sent their call centre work back overseas, and I was kicked from one department to another, before finally cutting the Gordian Knot and lodging a complaint – which went exactly nowhere. My blood pressure was mildly elevated and the struggle was real. I dunno man, I’m trying some other avenues, and may eventually have to pull the big gun option: The ombudsman. It’s such an easy thing they have to do, but nobody there wants to take responsibility. And bizarrely, a few times they tried to flog unrelated or requested products. Hmm. Not happy, but will deal with this lot.
The Professor may have been writing about this area. Warmer winter, although slightly elevated rainfall. How that Pacific Ocean thing plays out, is different depending upon where a person is on the planet, but this does not stop blanket pronouncements in the media. For all of the noise about global warming, have you noticed how many datar centres are being constructed? The whole thing just seems weird to me. Sure it’ll be a problem, but we’re an adaptable species.
Not a good time to be in Reno, is it? The satellite imagery showed some pretty dry country, so with a bit of heat and wind, that’d be a fast moving fire. You guys are having a bad year for fires, and hope all that particulate matter getting up into the atmosphere produces a wetter winter coming up.
A clever strategy to have a set limit, and then walk. But I’d have enjoyed the cinema you were dumped off in better, the machines, not so much. Presumably they did the pre-screening cartoon? Mostly Warner Brothers stuff by the 70’s but gee they were fun even though it was the same story over and over again. That may have been part of the appeal, you knew the wily-e-coyote was a goner. I’ve only stepped into a casino maybe two or three times and they give me the heebie jeebies, dunno why. Could easily live without them.
Ook! Truly, the series sounds like a warning to erstwhile house flippers! Beware the room leading down to something which looks like a dungeon and has this orangey flickering glow.
Oh, I did have some fun today. Admittedly in my unicorn earlier beliefs I’d imagined the telco drama would last 10 minutes, max. Not to be. Anywhoo I wrote and submitted a delightful story for Mr Greer’s latest compendium. We’ll see how it goes. Always nice to see one’s name on a book or publication, but I’m unfussed if the story flops. One can only but do their best, and try, try, again! As the old timers used to say.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Sad news, today. Dolly Parton died, and it’s not click bait. She will be long remembered, not only for her music, but also her movies, amusement park and “good works,” such as reading programs for children.
I think the crime scene clean-up folks, are well paid. I forget how much it was to clean up the apartment, across the hall, but it was in the several thousands.
After an early-in-their-marriage snafu, the folks paid cash for everything. The snafu involved time payments on furniture, a lost job, and having to collect pop bottles, for redemption, just to put food on the table. There was some kind of a “payroll savings plan,” that bought government bonds. I remember serious conversations about large purchases (house, car), and if some bonds ought to be redeemed.
RIP Paw Paws. It’s always sad when a plant goes to that Big Greenhouse in the Sky. There’s this ground cover, on the slope where the pumpkins run. I asked the Master Gardeners if I could cut it back, or pull it out. I always check with them when … impinging on their territory. LOL. They said “have at it,” as the ground cover is Ladies Mantel, which is quit invasive.
If titles were copywriter, you’d have to invest in a random title generator. 🙂 When they wrote The Big Book for AA, back in 1939, there was a lot of back and forth over what exactly to call the thing. Here’s a brief narration, from the East Bay (California) Intergroup. “It is startling to realize that the program still did not have a name. Both the New York and Akron groups made many suggestions for the book title. Eventually, two contenders emerged: Alcoholics Anonymous and The Way Out. Although Alcoholics Anonymous won the most votes in New York, The Way Out was more popular overall. Bill decided to have his friend, Fitz M., who lived on a farm in Maryland, go to The Library of Congress and see how many books were registered with the title, The Way Out. It turned out that there were twelve such books, and nothing named Alcoholics Anonymous.” Which is the official title of the book.
Dawg doesn’t bark much, and I wonder if I ever get another dog, if I’ll be able to find another “quiet” one. I’d hate to have to re-home. As has happened here, a few times. Dawg has developed a new quirk. When it’s time to go out for our midnight walk, she races around … barking. Not going to fly. But, I discovered if I just grab a nearby towel, and toss it over her (Who turned off the lights?) she gets quiet. Takes her awhile to figure out how to get out from underneath the towel.
Some people, apparently, expect to be entertained, while eating. Maybe to distract from the quality of the food? 🙂
Yup. Pumpkin seeds keep the old prostate perky! 🙂 When I give away baked goods, with the seeds, I always mention that those “green things,” are pumpkin seeds.
Our high yesterday was 84F (28.88C). Our overnight low was 55F (12.77C). Our forecast high for today is 86F. We may see some rain, over the weekend, and on and off into next week. We might be getting some smoke, but so far, not. But I think it’s high up. The moon looked sort of reddish, last night.
I had a creepy feeling the telco wasn’t gong to be an easy go. And it’s something you HAVE to do by phone?
Reno is quit the place. Their motto is, “Biggest Little City in the World.” The Truckee River runs through it. Back in the day, a “Reno divorce” was a thing. Nevada was the only state, at that time, that had fairly loose divorce laws. But you had to establish a six week residency. So, there were a lot of “dude” ranches, around Reno .. almost spas, where well healed women would go, to establish residency. It’s a major plot point, in the most excellent movie, “The Women,” from 1939. What a cast!
There was also a kind of tradition. When a divorce was finalized, the women would toss their wedding rings, in the Truckee River. 🙂
I don’t like casinos, either. All that noise and flashing lights. I used to go out and visit Dad, when he’d come up once a week, to gamble at our local casino. Then we’d have lunch. I do say, they had great food! Back in the day, slot machines were mechanical. They were called “one armed bandits,” as you had to pull a lever, to get the thing spinning. Now, of course, they’re all electronic. I didn’t find them near as interesting. Old slot machines, are quit collectible. What isn’t?
“The Haunting of Hill House,” is kind of hard to follow, at first. It bounces between the present, and the past. And, Mom and Dad house flippers have five children … played in the present by five adults. I had to check the Wiki, to sort everyone out. 🙂
I see several popcorn worthy movies, are in transit to me, from the library. “Sheep Detectives,” and “Disclosure Day.” And something else I can’t remember. Can man live by popcorn, alone? 🙂 Lew
@ Lew:
My sister just told me that Dolly Parton has passed away. She was a dear, sweet soul, besides being so beautiful, and with a lovely voice. I will miss her.
Pam
Chris:
Ha! No racy car for me. Scroll down to the pale blue Buick Invicta; it was like that (and also pale blue). My grandfather was very thrifty, so it was a ’60s model. Though he missed out on using it as a trade-in. Actually, I wish I had it now;my son could fix it easily. And it’s kind of stylish.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/analysis/full-size-buicks-of-the-1960s-how-buick-reinvented-its-lineup-between-1959-and-1970/
You’re right about the Bard. Hee, hee. 1 1/2 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXId5jOTxdg
Yep, we have mushrooms all over.
I was thinking of this; it’s a bacteria, not a parasite like I thought. “Tularemia, also known as ‘Rabbit Fever’ is a bacterial disease which occurs most often in rabbits, hares and rodents but can affect people as well as wild and domestic animals. The disease is caused by toxins in the blood which are produced by a bacteria called Francisella tularensis. The bacteria survives in the animal’s body by creating tumor-like masses in the animal’s liver. ”
Did the old timers have lids on the boxes?
I don’t think they care much about your spirit, probably just their coffee break – unless they were bots. What kind of break does a bot like? In the past, jokes were made about giving a machine a drop or two of oil.
I see that you mentioned to Lew that your pawpaws died. Oh, wait, they are probably not the pawpaws that we have. Isn’t there a South American one, a different species? Ours are native here and you know how cold it can get in the winter.
Pam
@ Pam,
Small mice. Yes, that is about the size of the Las Cruces cockroaches.
One day when I got back from class, the guy I shared an office with had decided to make a pet out of a cockroach that had wandered onto the office. We got in a rather heated argument about it. Chap from a nearby office heard the hubbub, came to investigate. He walked past my officemate, stared at the cockroach and then stomped it. Then he turned to my officemate and deadpanned, “Dude, your pet died” and walked out.
DJSpo
Chris,
Young Neighbor DID have some of the best soil for the zucchini seeds she planted. However, twas not by my design. I handed her some seeds, gave instructions on how to plant, then she chose where to plant them. She chose wisely.
Yes, the tomato plants are fragile compared to the robust chili plants. Both are still producing new fruit even this late in August. Of course, today was another 38C day with 14% humidity. One more hot day then we should have a fairly good temperature break.
Okay, here is a quick lesson for you, as you missed out on some of that year nine maths class. 40 trillion is the number forty with gobs and gobs of zeros behind it. Hope that helps. 😉
Sorry, but now a quick lesson in anatomy, with apologies to George Orwell. Chris’s elbows are both pointy, but some elbows are pointier than others. This would explain why only one sleeve has a hole at the elbow at the current moment. I’m guessing that that is about what Sandra had in mind?
Your ground is sloshy. We got something wet fall Saturday night. Just enough to get the streets wet and give the new gutters a brief trial run. Alas! Nothing measurable. Nothing in the 15 day forecast either.
Cool! Worms in the soil. That’s always a welcome sight, isn’t it?
Thanks. Photos of the terraces help. They look very nicely done. I’m sure the addition of the stump by products that you hauled up will both enhance the looks and reduce the erosion. What was that about “peak rocks”? 😉
How cool! The two sisters worked together to nab a rabbit. That’s what they should be doing.
The Dame caught another mouse, this time without my assistance. She reached out and nabbed it with her teeth. Then she set it down and it started to run, so she pounced on it with a foot and stomped it pretty well. Then she picked it up with her mouth and flung it about 3 meters. It started to move again, so another pounce on it. I thought it looked rather the worse for wear, but when the Dame removed her foot, the mouse had enough panic in it to scamper just fast enough to get through the chain link fence and disappear. I think it wasn’t going to last very long.
Dang, that is one BIG chicken egg. Are you sure a turkey or a goose isn’t hiding out with the hens?
I think the Princess gets home late tonight. It has been a long and emotional trip for her.
Oh, Killian’s human and her job. UGG. Took another foul turn today. Fortunately, she has been doing a lot of thinking. Decided to NOT play their game, just keep a poker face when they’re trying to provoke her, say nothing, then calmly go about doing her job. I reminded her that my supervisor spent several years trying to goad me into losing my temper and saying something that he could fire me for saying. I refused to play that game. Can’t get in trouble for not reacting to provocation.
I started trimming the hedge along the north fenceline this week. I got one section done to the point that I could actually see the fence. “Who’d a thunk?” Young neighbor sagely commented when I mentioned the suddenly visible fence to her. Still a lot to be done, but it’s always good to see progress.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Are you sure yours wasn’t the Wildcat model with the 455ci V8? 😉 They look uber cool, but imagine the effort of having to keep them in pristine running condition for over half a century! An expensive hobby, but you’ve thrown down the challenge and I reckon yours was the ‘1962 Buick Invicta four-door-hardtop in Glacier Blue’. A more polite name for the colour ‘duck egg blue’ which became briefly fashionable again with Toyota’s in the early 1990’s. Dunno, go on which model exactly was it?
Agreed, it was made at a time when a clever person could even machine their own spare parts.
Thanks for the Gilligan’s memories, and had to laugh as I nabbed this amusing quote:
Especially Gilligan. He acts too stupid to be stupid. – from Russian cosmonauts who probably saw the reality all too clearly! The actor Bob Denver sounded like a fairly complicated, but decent kind of bloke.
The mushrooms in your part of the world may be better known, but outside of pine forests in this corner of the planet, and even then, I’d not touch any of them. Some of my friends used to go magic mushroom hunting, and I’d tag along with them as a call the ambulance when things go soundly wrong amongst a bunch of idiot friends school monitor. They never became unstuck, but neither did I trust them to correctly identify a fungi species. The risks are pretty severe.
Well, that bacteria is news to me, and Tularemia is quite rare in rabbits down here, but, occasionally present in the smaller ring tail possum population. The last one of those marsupials I spotted here a few months ago was being stalked by an owl. A bit like how the more northerly fruit bats may have a slight chance of the local variety of rabies. Bizarrely, in each case, four confirmed deaths have occurred over the long years.
Yes, the old timers did indeed have loose (but flat sitting) timber lids on the storage boxes. It’s a funny thing to be just old enough to have seen those sorts of storage arrangements in use. You’d have seen some changes over your life as well?
You know, the humour was much appreciated, but I decided to give up on the nice telco. My energies are limited, and some battles can’t be won. I’ve this strange insight that the call centre folks in other distant countries are deliberately useless because it is possible that their role is the same as cannon fodder. Keeping the upper echelons at a safe remove from the angry hordes. Honestly, I gave the problem four hours to resolve, was defeated, and it’s enough. I shall move on.
Those who choose to live in bubbles, run the risk of running out of oxygen.
By the way, your son’s used engine oil, is probably sticky enough to use as a coating on the metal garden tools.
You guessed it, they were all the South American variety. Your lot start at $150 a plant in this part of the world, and there are other more reliable fruit trees sorry to say. I mentioned to you a while back the plan to outsmart these paw paw gatekeepers by getting some seed, and it turned out I ended up instead with North American chestnuts, which are probably disease free.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Are you entirely sure that ‘not by design’ does not also equate with good training and presentation of opportunity? I used to pull that trick too.
My good deed today was helping someone out who’d had what I believe to be an improperly prepared goobermint form, which I reckon might potentially have cost them quite a lot without timely intervention. Nice to see that younger folks know when to be concerned and possibly also learned a good lesson! Ended up doing that during a lunch break and then eating whilst working later. Me tired tonight, oh well. I’ll see what happens with that drama as it plays out and good to do someone a solid.
Man, that’s some hot weather and low humidity. What a year you are having, and the fire season in your half of the country is sounding like what happened down here in January and February. Crazy stuff, and I’m really sorry you lost a mate during this time of emergency. The temperature break can’t come soon enough for you.
Say, that’s a lot of zeroes. Was it eight, or ten of them, I’m now confused! 🙂 Imagine trying to present the accounts for that disaster to your bosses whilst retaining a serious face. To quote Airplane! the movie:
Surely you can’t be serious?
I am, and stop calling me Shirley!
So much mayhem in one film…
Man, we’re onto anatomy, and I’m barely coping with the prior maths lesson! OK, I’ll knuckle down and absorb your next lesson. Exactly, it’ll comes back to maths here yet again, and Sandra has a much better grasp on that esoteric subject having won some award at high school, which was promptly ignored by the school – not all education is the same, put it that way. Sorry, so in my more ‘down home’ style I’m trying to comprehend whether one pointy elbow is better than a properly prepared traditional enchilada with spicy guacamole sauce? It might be! What’s your thoughts about that matter?
Whoa! DJ, you’ve had a seriously dry summer. It’s not good. How’s the river level looking?
Thanks, and the light was just right for that photo of the terraces. The addition of the rocks will most certainly slow down any soil erosion on the downhill edges. Your greater mastery of physics would already know that entropy always wins. But in the meantime, some rocks will slow down that hungry beast, maybe.
In breaking Kelpie news… I take the lead out with me on walks with the three of them, and any fighting, who ever started it, gets leaded (if that is even a grammatically correct verb?) Probably isn’t, but sounds good all the same. The two mischief balls are being super nice to each other now. Hmm.
Hehe! Dang is indeed the word which passed through my mind as well. Ouch! 100gm is a lot of egg.
Your lady has been through a lot, and hope you are especially gentle with her, and maybe involve enchiladas somehow.
I feel for Killian’s humans’ predicament, it is awful and it is a long road of escalation to end up at that point. May she find a workable solution.
Dame Avalanche can be serious, but also playful like with the mouse. Almost forgot to mention that with Dame Avalanche therein lays the difference between the two sisters here. Ruby will always want to play. It happens, and every canine has a differing temperament. Long ago, Dame Scritchy sauntered past an injured parrot. Almost without breaking her jaunty stride, she quickly killed the bird and then casually walked off. That’s cold, but probably needed doing.
It never stops, and that’s a funny line which often pops into my head as well. 🙂 Completely meaningless from a literal sense, yet full of pithy meaning. Hope the fence doesn’t fall over without it’s protective vegetation?
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Yeah, man, I read sad the news today. The lady worked hard right to the end, and the Editor tells me that it was only recently that her health had suffered and events were cancelled. May all of us aspire to bring as much joy to our fellow humans as that now quieted voice, may she rest in peace.
Reading programs for kids is a fine idea.
I’d imagine it’d have been an expensive job to clean up that apartment. All the soft furnishings, drapes and carpets – gone if the hydrogen peroxide was up to the task. This loose talk got the ol’ brain cogitating on the problem, so I did a quick look into the industry and apparently the entry level cleaners work at minimum rates, although this often involves overtime and penalty rates, so if a person can stomach the work, it’s probably not too bad wage wise. I’ll bet they have trouble getting people at minimum rates though.
Oh yeah. The dreaded lost job incident, would have been traumatic in the household and left an impression. I saw my lot take out an auto-loan for a new car, then lose their job after asking the boss how secure everything was and getting a positive response. Ook! Anger ensued and the atmosphere in the household was icy, and as a kid I just kept a low profile. I never wanted to be that vulnerable, but I see that the situation made an impression on you as well.
If the bonds had to go, they had to go. Was there ever an option?
Yeah, the paw paws were a worthwhile experiment, but the results are in – the winters are too cold here for them, which runs contrary to the advice on the label. That’s technically known as a ‘turf war’ which you know how to avoid. I’ve not ever encountered the plant: Ladies Mantel, looks quite nice, although is weedy really ever a desirable plant property? Maybe! Mind, without triggering you I won’t mention lemon balm, which is a bit feral here. Sorry about mentioning that plant!
Dude, I’d be mildly embarrassed if the random title generator suddenly began making a whole bunch of sense! 🙂 Thanks for the history of the naming of the Club. I’m with the original master of the program, the alternative title was open to interpretation, whereas there is little to no ambiguity with the accepted title.
A touch of introspection here, the title of this blog for example does not really convey any information to a prospective readers as to the nature of the notes presented. The schedule is however, clear. Hmm.
Clever to go and simply count how many of the titles were already in use!
Hehe! We must not cast aspersions as to the food quality, but yeah cheap gimmicks does in no way make up for cheap ingredients! This is known…
I’m a bit tired tonight. Spending hours and hours going around and around in circles with the nice telco yesterday, disturbed my otherwise restful sleep. You know, I woke up this morning with a new approach and plan to the problem – just giving up. I let it go man, and now feel far better.
Clever to throw the towel over the misbehaving miss! Dogs can get into bad habits, and barking late at night could cause some complications in your situation. Hey, it happens, and I’m now taking the dog lead with me on walks with the three of them. Any mucking around which involves fighting, and the instigator ends up on end of the lead. Saves me yelling at them, and also the dogs ignoring my commands – a bad habit for them to learn. Dawgs…
That’s the word on the street in relation to pumpkin seeds, and I eat them every day in the toasted muesli. Yum! And I so hear you about that, what are these green seed things? Oh well… People don’t cook enough meals from scratch these days. Time will sort that issue out – guaranteed.
Well, they do have a technology centre, but it’s almost an hour and half’s drive away (one way). I’ve decided that there are more important things to deal with in life. Sad, but their customer service looks more to me like a bunch of cannon fodder fending off the hordes from the upper lot.
A most impressive cast, and what a story. He’s not worth it that Stephen character… Still Mary probably had the upper hand afterwards, and the Klingon’s do say that revenge is a dish best served cold. Or maybe the Bard pinched that witty line off the Star Trek aliens. Could have happened. 😉 Temporal anomalies are a thing you know! Hehe!
I’d never heard of such ranches before, and it was a nice touch that the proprietress was a hard bitten sage full of good advice.
And I’ve no doubts that there’d be folks diving for the discarded rings. Still, a tradition is a worthy thing. Ook, the river looks a bit big for that fishing activity. Seriously dry country.
That’s part of it, way too much stimulation in those environments, but also, the vibe feels way off to me. I like your style there, and I totally agree with you – the food is generally subsidised and this is a good thing. I’ll bet there are still a few of the mechanical machines in operation. It’s like those old pinball machines, there are clever people who’ve learned to repair and maintain them. I’ll be the old machines are pricey!
Hehe! Having to work out all the moving parts of a story, is an investment. 🙂
Yo! Total excellence. You’ll love the film. I went to the cinema to see it, and enjoyed every moment, although something got in my eye at one point. See if you can pick all the voice actors, even Sir Patrick was present.
Lewis, one can only but try with the popcorn! 🙂 Good luck.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – They’re dropping like flies! I see Tim Curry, also passed away. Also, at 80. The Curse of Age 80! Like the Curse of Age 28, for rock stars.
I suppose the wash-out rate for those kinds of cleaners is pretty high. Might not want to invest a lot in newbies, until they’ve proven they’ve got … fortitude.
Two months before I was turfed out of the Timberland libraries, the assistant director assured me that there would always be substitute clericals. Well, so much for that! And, turfed out by e-mail, no less. A real class act.
As I remember, the conversation generally ran to cash in (some) bonds, or do a deep dip into savings. To buy a house or car, I think it was a combo of the two. Maybe.
By law, our Library of Congress must possess one copy, of every book copy written in the U.S.. I understand their off site storage, is gargantuan. So, if you wonder if a title of a book has already been used, you just check the catalog.
I’d guess that adding the call identification to your account, would bring in the telco a little extra money. You’d think …. well, apparently not. Any other folks, on line, caught up in the same conundrum?
They did a remake of, “The Women,” in 2008. I saw it, when it came out. Can’t remember a thing about it, but I sure remember a lot about the old version. Of course, Marjorie Main, one of my favorite character actresses, plays of proprietress of the dude / divorcee ranch, passing out pithy pronouncements on the women’s predicaments. 🙂
I finished a new book by Prof. Mary Beard, last night. “Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old,” She’s as entertaining, and enlightening, as Ruth Goodman. She taught classics, at Cambridge. Now retired. This book covers classics, as a subject. It really covers quit a bit of overlap, with other disciplines. Such as archaeology. By the way, she has several videos on U-Tub, that are also entertaining and enlightening. Particularly the ones she did at Pompeii. LOL. She does lean in a bit, to that fine old tradition of English eccentrics.
Until, say the 1960s, you couldn’t get into those rarified universities, without passing rigorous tests in Latin … and ancient Greek. She is of the opinion, that that was mostly a gatekeeping function. It sure kept the riff-raff out. 🙂
Our high yesterday was 81F (27.22C). Our overnight low was 55F (12.77C.) Our forecast high for today is 80F.
My registration tabs did show up in the mail, and are safely attached to my license plate. Now I need to run down Little Mary Sunshine, produce my registration, license, and proof of insurance, to get my parking tag, renewed.
My Mammoth sunflowers are getting ready to bloom. My green beans are beginning to twine up the trellis. Lew
2 DJSpo:
That was a hilarious story – thanks!
My son kept Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches in a tank to feed his Bearded Dragons (nod to Australia!). Occasionally he would ask me to pick up some more from the pet store (they must make good pets if a pet store sells them!). I didn’t mind – because the Texas cockroaches were even bigger. Though they didn’t hiss . . .
Pam
Chris:
Darned if I know what model it was. Back then – in fact, even now – I can’t much tell one car from another. When I see my neighbors drive by, all their cars look alike to me, which they are not. I do know this – the internet is now trying to sell me a new Buick.
I’m with you on Bob Denver. And now you see where I learned Shakespeare.
I can identify Chicken of the Woods (which we have a bit of), but that’s it.
Yes, I’ve seen changes, but not so much of the practical things you have seen. I had little contact with such things.
I’ve heard of using used engine oil for that. I think I may have found a store in town that has the lanolin; will find out next Monday. It is pretty expensive online because of the shipping.
Oh, yum – chestnuts. I knew somebody some years ago who had an original N.A. chestnut tree on her preoperty. They were so delicious. I do love them roasted.
I have been going through my 5 recipe boxes and recipe ring binder notebooks. I have thrown out so much stuff. Almost anything with flour (there go “desserts) and a whole lot of recipes that I haven’t looked at in years.
I am looking forward to seeing you in Mr. Greer’s book.
Pam
@ Pam,
Hissing Texas cockroaches? That would be scary indeed. They were nasty enough without hissing due to their size.
DJSpo
Chris,
I was partway through a reply when the power flickered. The computer turned off and the reply was lost forever into the whole sort of general mish-mash. Oh well. More tomorrow. It’s getting late.
DJSpo
Hi DJ,
Alas, the power deities moved against you and interrupted the steady flow of electrons. It happens, even if only slightly when using an off grid power station. On Tuesday afternoon I went to the local general store to pick up the mail and noticed that they had the large diesel generator running – the power was out on their local circuit. For all it’s size, the thing is a fairly quiet machine which can run the coffee machine and some smaller appliances, but not the commercial and presumably electricity hungry ovens. Unfazed, I enjoyed the coffee and noticed the ever slight brief flick in the lights when a large load was either switched off or on.
The electronics in the inverter here runs at 400Hz which is pretty fast, and as you’d imagine can dial up or down the required supply rapidly according to demand on the house circuit. Being a sunny and cold early spring day, we ran the fan heater which uses an inordinate amount of power. You’d be amazed, it’s a beast and uses electrons who’s potential would otherwise be lost. When it was switched off in late morning, I noticed the slightest of flickers in one of the LED 240V lights.
Those efficient LED things require a ripple free steady supply which is challenging at best. Ain’t no such thing as a perfect system, although some are notably better than others. 😉 The grid looks slightly worse for wear every passing year to me, alas what civilisational gains we don’t maintain! Oh well…
Cheers
Chris
Hi Pam,
Oh my goodness, you’ve hit at a universal truth which I too one day long ago inadvertently blurted out to a mate of mine who was a car nut (and annoyed him deeply): Aerodynamics and manufacturing techniques are causing a lot of vehicles, from way back to today, to look pretty much the same. And also, does it really matter knowing which brand is which? Hmm.
Pam, I must admit the tiny and boxy Suzuki Dirt Rat looks like nothing else on the roads, probably for good reasons. But yeah, I hear you about that, and notice the vehicle colours most of all. Of late there has been a movement towards a weird sort of nondescript light washed out grey colour. Dunno what that means, but it isn’t striking is it? Long ago I heard an amusing story from the 1970’s regarding the infamous: ‘Sandman panel van’. It was apparently offered for sale in a startling purple hue known as ‘Barney’s shirt’, for that was what the gentleman wore to work one day, it being the 70’s!
By the way, the Sandman was a locally made car: Holden Sandman
Where such knowledge arises, it matters not, and I still reckon the Bard pinched several awesome lines from the Klingon’s. Can temporal anomalies be disproved and ruled out? I don’t think so! 🙂 What I liked about reading upon Bob Denver was that he supported his fellow actors in ways that mattered.
Exactly! We’ve got fungi which look a lot like chicken of the woods, but are they the same? I’m not willing to take the test because the consequences for getting it wrong, are awful. Frankly speaking, I’ve got a vague idea how these things were tested way back in the day, and it’s not a pretty story.
Lucky you, and we all travel different paths, and at times being at the proverbial coal face is a challenging place to find oneself. Still, I like to survive on my wits, for it keeps them sharp. This does not mean I’m immune to misfortune and error, sad to say. Oh well. I did notice that you used the past tense in that sentence with the word ‘had’.
The lanolin oil will be nicer to use. 🙂 The old timers used the rotten old motor oil because that’s what they had access to. And shipping down here is becoming a bigger problem too. Hey, and that story makes me wonder what I’ve missed…
Most of the chestnuts growing down here have European and Asian origins, this North American one will be interesting to see. It’s still young and probably won’t produce nuts for at least a decade and faces a serious challenge to survive, which it might.
Oh no! I’d miss gluten, as perhaps you do as well, but what is, is, and ain’t something else like unicorns and stuff. No point keeping the recipes.
Fingers crossed, the story has to cross the line of acceptance first, and I’ve no idea what was expected which may be the entire point of the exercise. General Patton suggested to: “tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results” which may be the strategy here, but I don’t really know.
On that note, I found uni to be a dissatisfying experience because all they really graded students upon was the ability to answer the question asked. I’d assumed it would be more interesting than that. Oh well.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Awful isn’t it, and whilst most folks would fixate upon the role of Dr Frankenfurter, it was as Pennywise the Clown, where the actor really freaked me out. Left me with nightmares for weeks, which is the sign of a very scary story. 🙂 Time eats all, but that outcome is better than what Pennywise offered with the balloons. Super creepy stuff and brilliantly portrayed on the screen.
I’m not mucking around, most of my lot barely passed their early 70’s, although there may have been some dubious lifestyle choices in play, but all the same, they’re not around to ask the hard questions, are they? – and such facts are suggestive! So 80 seems like a decent innings to me.
The Editor recently watched a local show which has run for seven seasons called: ‘You can’t ask that’, where people do the exact opposite to what the title suggests, and ask a bunch of questions which are on peoples minds but are generally not aired in public. A bunch of centenarians were on a panel taking unfiltered questions… You Can’t Ask That Interesting viewing.
Agreed, that sort of clean up work is not for everyone, and I’m with you about the high drop out rate. To be honest, the accounting profession sees a lot of that sort of drop out rate, which by all accounts is getting worse. I note that the former head of the tax office is in the papers lately for allegedly unusual reasons. Hmm.
Mr Greer mentioned years ago that one marker of decline is that when common garden corruption becomes hard to ignore. There seems to be a bit of that going around, but then it was always there.
The turfing by email is sadly standard practice in these enlightened times, and a favourite used in big corporates is the accidental email leak. I even hear that some relationships have ended via text messages. Yes, modern communication at its finest. Mind you, over the years I have ended some work relationships by email, mostly because it has to be delivered in writing. However, being told that things are OK, then getting turfed out of work, is pretty rough practice. Man, all we can but do, is our best, knowing that sometimes that isn’t enough.
There’s only so much filthy lucre to go around in a household, and kids generally aren’t told anything, so this sort of stuff gets picked up second hand. I always thought it was slightly weird that parents don’t level with kids in such matters, but that’s my take on the world. Pretending that everything is OK when it ain’t, is a much bigger problem because it assumes that the kids can’t observe the stress.
Fortunately wondering if a title has already been used, is not on my radar purely for pragmatic reasons of self interest! Unless I’ve missed something, like those lyrics used a long time ago… Ook! What a mess that was to clean up, but the job got done as soon as I became aware of the issue.
Man, the feedback reviews on the nice telco suggest some strong public feelings. I’d not really indulge in negative feedback, if only that I live in a remarkably litigious society. As well as telling me not to pull stupid faces lest the wind change, my mum also used to say that if I had nothing nice to say, then shut up. Blunt, but the gist of the matter was imparted.
🙂 Not all remakes capture the spirit of the original, and how could they about that particular subject in these latter days? I’m always a bit dubious of remakes as a thing, but give them the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, such films take funding away from new and original ideas.
The early incident at the British museum which inspired the Professors’ book you mentioned, probably wouldn’t happen these days. A very clever person, and a touch of the British eccentricity adds some much needed colour to the world of academia.
Those two ancient languages were at the core of the scientific nomenclature for centuries, if not millennia – look at their use in Botany for example. The Editor studied botany but was not taught the language, and so had to memorise the names. Hardly ideal, is it?
Nice weather, and I noticed that the Professor wrote about how you are heading into a cooler period. It was sunny and cool here today, but the sun finally had some solid warmth. The Editor and I, plus the dawgs, sat out on the veranda in the late afternoon sunshine. Nice.
Yes, the life admin rarely stops, does it?
Go the sunflowers! And I’ve never managed to grow those here. And the beans will be fine, just because the weather is cooling, doesn’t mean that the soil hasn’t absorbed a lot of heat. The radish seeds we planted last week have yet to push through the chilly soil. I’ll give them two weeks max, then re-sow.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – It’s a coffee morning. Every other day, I have a couple of mugs of coffee. Makes up for what I’m missing from the Club. 🙂 I walked the dog and watered the garden.
I think it’s interesting that I watch a lot of the same scary stuff you do (and, probably worse), and my sleep is never disturbed. Although I draw a few lines. Not interested in watching any of the “Alien” movies. Although I did watch “Prometheus,” which was more an archaeological origin story. Well, I watched it, and it made little sense. I just read the wiki, and the plot is pretty muddled.
My lot is pretty long lived, other than a couple of outliers. Dad lived into his mid 90s, and his folks into their late 80s. They probably would have lived longer if grand-ma hadn’t had 18 children, and grandpa hadn’t been severely beaten, late in life.
Ah, the “You Can’t Say That” centenarian episode is available to watch on U-Tub. I’m sure by the time your a hundred or more, all filters are off. Recently, I’ve noticed that some of my responses … well, I think to myself, “That went through two (or three) filters.”
Yes, corruption, in general, seems on the up, these days. And those caught, don’t seem to express any sense of shame. Just pay the fines and get on with it. Maybe be more careful, next time. Shame is not necessarily a bad thing.
I think, perhaps, a reason parents don’t talk about some things to children is because “little picture have big ears.” And, even bigger mouths. 🙂 You never know what the little … ankle biters are going to blurt out. Way back when, there was a TV series called “Kids Say the Darnedest Things.” It ran for quit awhile, and even yielded a couple of books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_Say_the_Darndest_Things
Yes, no sense worrying about repeating titles. Although I was quit miffed about that movie, called “The Dig,” that didn’t have much to do with the other movie of the same title, that I wanted to watch. Which has never, apparently, ended up on DVD. Oh, well. Plenty of other stuff to watch.
But, we have an interesting situation in Alaska, right now. Three fellows with the same name are running for an office. Clearly, it’s a ploy to muddy the election. What’s interesting is that a couple of election cycles ago, the same ruse was attempted in our state. At least until the state informed the bogus politician what the penalties would be …
Prof. Beard dedicates her new book to that unknown museum worker. Well, we’ve talked before about how a little push, here and there, can set one on a completely different trajectory.
What was also interesting is that men were taught Ancient Greek, with accents. Where to place the emphasis. Which the Ancient Greeks didn’t use. So, the Ancient Greek taught to women, was without accents, and viewed as a second-rate, “ladies Greek.”
Speaking of ancient things, I watched an interesting new documentary, last night. “The Fall of the World’s First Empire.” It’s about the Akkadian empire, which predated the other, more familiar Middle Eastern civilizations. I’d never heard of them. They only lasted about 180 years. It was the first empire to have a standing army.
There were a lot of new developments, in dating. Which was sort of crucial to figuring out why the empire unraveled. It was probably a combo of climate problems (drought), and having an empire too large to effectively manage. With constant revolts flaring up, here and there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akkadian_Empire
I found it interesting, that the founder Sargon’s origin story is awfully familiar. Baby in a basket in the bullrushes. 🙂 Same story as Moses, and Rome’s founders, Romulus and Remus. There’s also a far Eastern similar story, but I missed the details.
Our high yesterday was 80F (26.66C). Our overnight low was 55F (12.77C). Our forecast high for today is 70F. Yes, according to Prof. Mass, it looks like we’re sliding into fall. I’d better get serious about getting my cold weather crops in. 🙂 Lew
Chris:
That’s probably one of the reasons I like your Dirt Rat so much – I could recognize it! “Light washed out grey colour” – that’s sort of the color of my father’s Honda, though it is actually silver, and rather pretty I think. It was a popular color in 2003. I felt a bit lightheaded thinking of a van the color of Barney, but I like the ones I sometimes see with flowers painted on them or scenery or cows . . .
The Holden is not one I have heard of before, It’s a pretty strange object – I could remember that one!
Oh, yes – I have to be practical now!
I only went to uni because everyone else was going, and I changed my mind from pursuing a veterinary pre-med curriculum at another college in Texas away from home, and stayed at UTEP (University of Texas at El Paso) because my boyfriend/future husband was going there. And UTEP was really cheap, too.
Yesterday I met a neighbor from over the ridge on our road, whom I’d never met before, who was looking for his lost white dog. I promised that my son and I would keep an eye out for it and he told me his address. I don’t know why I didn’t ask for his phone number. Eventually, while I was eating dinner, my son called me that he’d seen the dog and I drove as fast as I could to the fellow’s house. He followed me back to my house, but the dog had run off; she was shy.
He hollered for her. My goodness, he ought to be on a Swiss alp; what a carrying voice. Soon his wife called and said the dog was home.
All this time I had been imagining a tiny, white fluffy dog alone in the wilderness – the other two dogs at their house at been quite small. Turns out (I never saw her) this one was a Blue Tick Coonhound/Pitbull cross, a plenty sturdy girl to be out in the woods.
I’m glad I met this couple. They were friendly, relaxed country folks to the core.
Pam
Chris,
Okay, so which is better, a sharp elbow or a properly prepared enchilada? Surely, you jest. 😉 As if anything can compare with a properly prepared enchilada. A sharp elbow is only an elbow, but a good enchilada is a feast.
My chiles and peppers are turning red. I took a bite out of one of the red jalapenos. OW! That was HOT! I gave 2 red jalapenos to Young Neighbor, mentioning how hot that one had been. She tried them today. OW! They were HOT for her too.
River level? Well, that’s actually a complex question. For starters, there is a dam upstream of Spokane at Post Falls, Idaho. The electric utility, Avista, won’t start releasing much water from the dam for several more weeks. Water flow used to get to a trickle in the falls downtown. The City and Avista made a deal to keep the river flow high enough for some water to go through the waterfalls, so about 1,000 cubic feet per second. Theoretically no lower than that. I remember times when it got much lower. Water flows between downtown and Post Falls often got “bony” in one mile stretch.
Second, the river and the aquiver interact a LOT downstream from Post Falls. That stretch of river that often gets “bony”? The aquiver sucks water from the river in that area. Both last year and this year that stretch has been either dry or a barely discernable trickle for part of July and all of August. Just downstream from that stretch, the aquifer adds water to the river and flows are ample for kayaks and canoes.
I’ve seen that “bony” mile of river low before, so that it was difficult to navigate a kayak through it. The extremely arid summers are part of the problem the past two years. I don’t know how far down the aquifer has been drawn these two years. Data for that is nearly impossible to find. It could be that there has been a larger drawdown of the aquifer, although it is possible that months of 15% humidity with high temperatures and winds simply evaporated that stretch after the normal interaction with the aquifer.
Today is the 59th since the last measurable rainfall. It was a mere 30C and with temperatures due to drop to the 20C to 25C range by Saturday for several weeks. No rain in the 15 day forecast. I’ll enjoy the cooler temperatures. So will Dame Avalanche.
“Gets leaded”? If that’s not grammatically correct when discussing dogs and leads, then it should become grammatically correct. It’s perfectly descriptive, definitely beterrer than the alternatives. 🙂
Yup, the Princess is receiving some serious pampering right now.
Killian’s human and I had a lengthy serious discussion Wednesday night. Long story short, I made suggestions for how NOT to play their game and how to play HER game. What attitude to cultivate, how I accomplished that under similar circumstances in the same organization. Straight talk that she was ready to hear.
Unfortunately, in a bureaucracy, what the solution is will never be implemented. Rather, the employee needs to figure out how to continue to do the job while not allowing the jerks to make life miserable for the employee. Once that happens, then the jerks get to be rather miserable, as their main victim of their bullying becomes immune to the bullying.
Oh, the suddenly visible fence is fine. Chain link and was never relying on the hedges for support. Well, hopefully I’m not jumping the gun with that comment. There’s still a lot of hedge to trim before the entire fence is visible. 😉
I saw a statistic today. As of August 24, over 800,000 acres had burned in Washington state this fire season. It’s in the top three. 2015 burned slightly more than a million acres.
Didn’t want to write out all of the zeroes for a million. Too easy to lose count and end up with enough zeroes for a quadrillion or a trillion or something. It’s getting late and I don’t want to count that high.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
Nothing else on the roads looks like the Suzuki Dirt Rat mostly because it is small, narrow and boxy. They’re remarkably popular down here probably because they’re cheap, fun, and engaging, although high winds can prove to be bit wandering around the road lanes when at freeway speeds. Keeps a person awake! Some are sold in some rather striking colours too, like bright yellow and a nice deep electric blue. Silver is pretty cool, and I like Honda’s as they’re well engineered. But silver to my mind is not at all like washed out light grey colour. Hey, remember the duck egg blue phase, which was also popular around the turn of the century?
There’s just not enough hand painted cars on the roads these days. Agreed, flowers and scenery would be very pretty, and it’s not like there aren’t spray artists who’d love the challenge of doing a car. Ook! That reminds me that maybe a decade ago some naughty Queenslanders (the state up north) stirred up a lot of controversy by deliberately painting offensive comments and crude pictures on their tourist hire vans. Backpackers loved the notoriety, and It got the company a lot of free publicity, but eventually the regulators moved on in and put an end to the mischief. Ah, they were known as ‘wicked campers’ and have now taken up your good advice of sticking to flowers and hippy scenery. Probably for the best. They took escalation as a general strategy perhaps slightly too far.
Yes! Holden was the local subsidiary of General Motors, and they once made cars from scratch which very few countries have the ability to do. Hmm. The Sandman was associated with surf culture, and it would not be out of place to have a few boards strapped to the roof racks.
Pam, I also have to be super practical now. Awful isn’t it? Did some forest clean up today and discovered that the naughty deer had ring-barked a rare native cherry fruit tree (Exocarpos cupressiformis) and I’m not happy about their naughtiness.
Hehe! I so hear you about that, and only went to uni because that place had become a vocational training centre, and the degree was a requirement for the profession. It truly bothered me that I discovered at the time that my opinions were not relevant. Oh well… And your consideration of the cost, is from my perspective an astute comprehension of the concept of ‘return on investment’. Did you enjoy your time in that institution of learning?
Hehe! Thanks for the laughs, and yes, I too have noticed that some folks can project their voices way beyond their stature. Possibly worked in theatre in a past life, no? 😉 Dunno about you, but generally I’m quietly spoken. Oh yeah, that dog breed you mentioned is like Ollie. Such canines need no help in the forest, in fact the forest critters have to worry about such breeds! 🙂
I don’t let Mr Gangle Freckle chunks roam free out of my sight for more than a few seconds.
But then dogs will do, what dogs do, and best be super chill about that. All three ran around the forest like crazy critters this afternoon, and are now wiped out and sound asleep. if only I could harness that energy, and now that it’s warming up, I noticed a few of the properties which were for sale in the local area, have sold. Hope nice folks like the ones you met turn up here.
On that note, I spotted a young lady walking up the road earlier today with a baby out front and what looked like a Husky. The area needs some younger folks.
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
You answered your own question, but hey, I’m with you and elbows are fine and stuff, but a properly prepared enchilada is a most excellent experience. Yum! The Editor made the suggestion that the hole in the jumper elbow came about because I randomly stretch too much, and that this activity is straining the woollen strands. It’s a theory, and may even be true, but! If no stretch then forest clean up work ceases. Not quite how a computer program would state the question, but you get the drift. We could also chuck in the ‘else’ instruction and purchase a replacement jumper or two, which just between you and I, occurred this week. Standards must be maintained, even in the bush! But also it is known that heavier clothing is cheaper at the end of the season. 😉
Man, I really appreciate your random discussion of enchiladas a few months back. Who knew they were so simple to make, and way yummy. Thanks!
Ha! Softie! Also, double softie with your young neighbour! 🙂 A growie has to be prepared for the horror of biting into home grown chili’s, which are not at all of a consistent ‘Scoville units’, and be prepared for ignition! That’s the fun part of chilli!
I’ve noticed that as well with Jalapeño, in that they can be mostly mild and pleasant, then from the same plant, an individual will knock you off your feet. And you know you’ll experience the same heat at an unspecified later time not too far into the future… 🙂
So the real question here becomes, are you going to save seed from those wicked chili’s?
Ah, thanks for the explanation, and yes, dams of any variety can exert a strong influence on the water level. I’d not appreciated that the river running through your town was dammed upstream. Sadly working the forest clean up today I discovered a rather large wombat burrow, and the opening was full of water. Fortunately, wombats tend to have numerous burrows and are smart enough to decamp from a burrow before waters rise too much, maybe.
I’d read in the local paper that at lower elevations where the land is flatter, wombats are having a hard time of it this winter due to the incessant rain. Anyway, on the way down to push in the fire earlier tonight, I spotted a large wombat roaming around the sunny orchard.
Essentially that is the problem with drawing water from aquifers. Who monitors how deep the water table has fallen? Although the lay person knows because if it falls too far then the deep tap roots of trees can’t access moisture. You’ll see them dropping what looks like dry leaves as a stress response.
Glad to hear that your local climate is now cooling as the sun shifts lower in the sky. DJ, that’s a lot of days without significant rain. Some summers here, all the trees have is the overnight accumulation of condensation, and that is something, but just isn’t enough. You know why I take the forest clean up work seriously.
Thanks for your analysis! 🙂 During the clean up work this afternoon, one or both of the Kelpie’s required leading, but they soon tired of their sport and decided that my significant looks were perhaps suggestive that the gentle art of forest investigation was probably the preferable move. Hey, I like the word ‘betterer’ as well, although noted you introduced the double r. A fine innovation!
Very good to hear, and if I may say so, tragedy and heavy emotions take a while to recover from. Hope you nab an enchilada or two with your lady as part of the process!
Oh no! It’s the same org, right! All is now clear. Your insights would have been valuable as to how to implement coping strategies.
Dude, in the Myers Briggs matrix, you have an ‘N’ and it has been my observation that people with an ‘S’ instead do better in such organisations. Those places baffle me, but on the other hand, the last time I went to a job interview with such a mob, they look scared. A mystery, but I did wonder if they talked about change, but never really truly wanted it and there I was taunting them with it. Dunno.
Presumably the chain link is made from durable galvanised wire? Probably tough-as, that stuff. Still, you’re in the land of the unknown until it’s all visible. The old timers used to have a saying about not counting chickens until they’re hatched.
A dubious competition, and the area burned in your state this fire season was just ahead of Victoria at 740,000 acres earlier in the year. It’s been a bad summer both here and in your part of the world, but my thinking is that all the particulate matter now high in the atmosphere, may increase your rainfall come winter. That has been the case here, but we’ll find out in a few months time whether that works out for you.
Hope you slept well after all that late night maths work? 🙂 I went to a talk held by a forensic accountant years ago, and he mentioned that the difference between a hundred thousand and a million was but a single ‘0’ digit. Hmm. Maths is complicated…
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Hope the counter gets constructed and then manned soon. Coffee is such a good drink to enjoy with friends, or at least known associates! 😉 You’ve done well to navigate the lack of facilities there, but I believe that it will return back to normal soon enough. It is even possible that even H misses the Club interaction outings. Dogs are remarkably social creatures, but yes, she’d not skip the opportunity for a walk.
We did forest clean up today, and went up until the sun went down, and the drizzle and mist set in. It wasn’t exactly cold feeling, mostly because spring is fast approaching. In that area today there is a large example of an indigenous cherry tree, known as an Exocarpos cupressiformis. An entirely different type of cherry, but not too bad. When they’re young trees, they are parasitic off the roots of Eucalyptus trees, but as they age that need becomes less. The deer had been scratching their velvets on the large tree and may have ring-barked it, and I’m very unhappy about that. The trees are quite rare around here, and produces a very fascinating acid.
Lucky you in that regard, for scary films do enter my sleep state and cause nightmares. Funny, but I’ve not seen Prometheus, that I can recall. Or maybe I have. Reading the plot line and background to making the film, it seems an impressive undertaking and what a cast! You chose well with picking that instalment of the series. I’m with you about the plot, but then the franchise was known and maybe people really wanted the origin story? After all the 1980 original film, the viewer never really knew whether the hapless crew was directed to the planet, or it was sheer chance. Turns out, they were pushed in that direction.
What a deep dive, and there is a wiki fandom site, which went into lots of depth on this whole Alien business.
Having that many kids would put a strain on a lady, that’s for sure. I sense a story there regarding your grandfather, was it a random encounter which resulted in a beating? That can happen.
Exactly, what would centenarians care about offending other people? Unfortunately, that happens to me too, and sometimes I find myself (very rarely) saying remarkably stupid stuff. Most though are jokes which fall flat, or are possibly deemed as inappropriate, and it wasn’t even necessary to have said them in the first place (note to self, learn to shut up!) Oh well, to err, is to be human. Dunno about your take, but it is not possible to be at the top of your game all of the time.
That’s the thing isn’t it, a degree of shame, displays a level of genuine remorse for actions. I too wonder about the lack on display. If I’ve upset people, I do say sorry and genuinely mean it, it being an important thing to do, but perhaps not in many folks minds if interactions are any kind of guide.
Kids do spill the beans, and display a lack of discernment with information. Hadn’t thought of that aspect. But there sort of comes a point where the adult – child relationship has to be renegotiated, and it seems mildly weird to me to push kids out into the world with a lack of skills and knowledge in various areas – like the mad cash management we were talking about.
I’d heard of that show, and had not watched it. I’ll bet the guy hosting the show may have said some surprisingly darned things too over the years. I recall a scene in an Eddie Murphy skit where he was contacted by the guy and given a dressing down for swearing so much. Hmm. Richard Pryor who was good friends with Mr Murphy said that Bill can go and… I probably would breach the blog code of conduct if I repeated what was said. 🙂
Oh man, that title mix up happened with me as well, when long ago looking for a film version of the classic ‘Shōgun’ novel by the author James Clavell. Yes, the title was unfortunately used a lot. I’ve never seen it, but loved the book.
That’s pretty funny about using the same name in the election process, and we’ve got a ‘liberal’ and ‘libertarian’ party which inevitably get mixed up by the careless. Whatever will they think up next, but yes the consequences for not taking the process seriously are probably severe. However, think Count Binface over in the UK. I see that their drought is leading to fires, hardly the green England of yore, is it? Mind you, we’ve discussed that back in the days of the Romans they could grow grapes…
It’s really pivotal with people’s lives when an interested party gives that little push of encouragement. The old timers used to say that from little things, big things grow. I’ve been truly lucky to have had some solid mentors over the years.
Ha! What a fine joke, the accent was. Yes, get two people of the wrong sort together, and hierarchies and social games get played. Oh well, we get the education system we deserve.
I’d not heard of the Akkadian’s before either. Reminds me of the poem Ozymandias. And a stable climate is a wonderful thing. And oh yeah, why waste a good story, and also the rulers proclaimed divinity. It’s not like that hasn’t happened, a lot.
It was maybe 54’F today and cloudy. Perfect weather for hard physical work. Drizzle set in about half an hour before the sun went down. We’d fully packed up just as it was getting dark. Me tired, but well pleased with the work. By the way, your weather sounds pretty nice. How’s the pumpkins enjoying the late summer warmth?
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – It’s easier to man / woman the Club counter, in winter. We do take advantage of nice weather, when we have it. H always seems a little depressed, when we take a ride, and come home without visiting the Club. She does like attention, and I guess I’m just not enough for her! 🙂
Ah, I think the indigenous cherry was the tree I asked about, in one of your forest clearing photos. I see it’s good for carving tool handles. Darned deer! I’ve been sprinkling around urea, every other night.
I never got the details of my grandfather being beaten. It might have been, walking home from a bar, when he was set upon by a bunch, and tossed in a ditch. I remember it was touch and go, and he had mental problems, after. Had to stay on his meds, or he got really … raspy.
So much for our First Amendment, freedom of speech. 🙂 There’s a lot of stuff I can’t say, around this here old Institution, “…even in jest.”
Sort of related to the topic of shame, I’m reading a really interesting book, right now. “Coming up Short: A Memoir of America.” Robert B. Reich, 2025. I’d read a lot of articles, by him, over the years. The title is kind of a play on his situation. He never topped 4’11” 🙂 It’s kind of an autobiography, but also an overview of how we got to where we are, today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reich
He was good buddies with John Kenneth Galbraith. Reich’s writings are always very clear. Not “wonk-ie” at all. And, he has a pretty lively sense of humor.
LOL. My mother smoked, but never in front of us kids. She was afraid we’d spill the beans, to grandma!
I’d read the book “Shogun” when it came out. And, saw the original miniseries with Richard Chamberlain. I guess it was redone, but I don’t think it made it to DVD.
I’ve seen a few articles about Count Bin Face, here and there. But didn’t delve too deeply, in what that was all about. I figured he was just another one of those fine old English eccentrics. 🙂
The Akkadians, were quit a mystery, for a long time. They were referred to, by other cultures, hundreds of years later. They still haven’t found their capitol city.
Our high yesterday was 73F (22.77C). Our overnight low was 52F (11.11C). Our forecast high for today is 73F. I thought I caught a whiff of fall, yesterday. But, I think it’s more a couple of Inmates have not been watering their tomatoes, and, they’re withering. I haven’t heard, or seen any geese heading south yet. A sure sign that fall is here.
I’m heading out, after I finish this, to check out the pumpkins. And see if the Ladies Mantal needs to be dug out, or if it can be pulled. I’m still getting a lot of blossoms, on the pumpkins. Lew
Chris:
The Isuzu Trooper that I loved was also rather boxy and I remember it wandering a bit in a high wind. The duck egg blue cars that I remember here were from well before the turn of the century. Maybe that color got to Australia later?
Anything to make a buck . . .
I wondered where that Holden’s name came from.
Oh, goodness – deer trouble again. We haven’t had that trouble yet. Since the acorns are dropping now, there is a regular group of 6 deer that hang around the oak trees near the house all day eating them. They like that spot because the ground is cleared and so far there is just a dirt road to the back, no gravel and no leaves on it. There are 2 does, 2 fairly new fawns, and 2 yearling bucks. The yearling bucks have their first antlers; one is tan and one is grey. The tan one chases the grey one all the time. I hope Master Grey learns to fight back. They may well be brothers.
I enjoyed a couple of classes at uni. Mostly it was the extra curricular stuff that kept me busy. And get this: My grandfather had set up college trust funds for his grandchildren, so neither my parents or I had to pay for it, though I did actually work in a bookstore.
How interesting that properties near you are selling. My next door neighbor with the $10 million farm still hasn’t sold it. It is down to $6,500,000. I do hope you get some good new neighbors; we have been very fortunate in ours. We need some younger folks, too. My son is the youngest on our road. He is 42 and always helping out us old folks.
There has been a funny smell in my Honda lately. It comes and goes, though. I couldn’t find any old sandwiches under the seats, so I thought maybe it had something to do with mousies again. Well, today I decided to check the shopping bag I always take into town with me that has a lunch box in it, some water, and a book. How about this? I have an open container that fits in there, too, that holds one banana. Wow, was that banana black and moldy.
Pam
Chris,
Ah, now I’m seeing it. Pointy elbow gets stretched whilst wearing the warm clothing. Pointy elbow eventually rubs a hole in the clothing’s elbow due to its shape during the stretching. There is a solution. File off the pointy bits of the elbow. 😉
I like cooking simple and tasty foods. Glad the enchiladas are still working for you.
The Hatch chilis I bought, well, some were very mild, some had a lot of flavor and some zip. I ate one parts of which were mild and parts of which were nicely spicy.
Yes, I’m saving chili seeds. From various varieties including the hot jalapenos. The seeds are all mixed together, so if they actually do grow next year, it will be a mystery what any plant is until the fruit is well developed. I have yet to have any chilis successfully sprout from a seed.
Yeah, the Post Falls Dam dictates a lot of water flow. However, I remember reading early settler records. That portion of the river was dry most summers until they dredged the river’s outlet form Lake Coeur d’Alene each year. Also, the water also drops into the aquifer then reappears again downstream.
I know the aquifer level is monitored. It’s not obvious how to access that data. The aquifer typically has a summer drawdown of between 5 and 15 feet. Apparently, the aquifer is much much deeper than that.
Today was a pleasant day. Air quality was fair. It wasn’t hot, nor was it cold. The next few days should be cooler then a brief increase. There is now a chance of rainfall in about a week. Time will tell.
Yes, beterrer with a double “r”. There’s British and Commonwealth spellings, then there are the Americanized spellings. Sort of like “color” and “colour”. 😉
Eventually enchiladas will be procured and eaten. Tonight she wanted spaghetti, so that’s what I fixed. Yummy. I’m thinking maybe Tuesday for enchiladas.
Yup, same organization. Different subsection of the same branch that I worked in. Same floor. Different people, same issues, mostly. Once I figured out how to set my rules and ignore their internal politics games, life became easier most of the time. So that’s what we discussed. I need to find a good picture of the peasant from Holy Grail saying “Help! Help! I’m being repressed! Come see the violence inherent in the system!” Then have my friend place that inside her cube where it is visible from the hallway. Nothing can be said about that type of thing.
The biggest issue is one that I faced. Managers who feel threatened by their employee who is smarter, harder working and more talented than the managers are.
I always thought I had an “N” in the Myers-Briggs stuff. Several months ago I pulled up one of those tests and had the Princess answer the questions for me based on how she observes me and knows me. ISFP. Very clearly ISFP.
Yeah, galvanized wire. And I know the fence is there. It is visible once the leaves drop from the hedge shrubberies. (Ni!) The neighbors have a clear view of it and would say something if there were a problem with the fence. And I can see it pretty well from both the side yard between houses and from the alley. The hedges grew so thick this year that they were almost a jungle.
That’s a lot of water you’ve had. Hope the wombat was able to escape from another exit before getting flooded out.
Alas! Tweren’t enough maths work to exhaust my brain. Should be able to sleep better with a nicely cool night expected, open the windows for some fresh air, too.
Ah, yes, the difference in appearance between a hundred thousand and a million is merely a single zero. But what an entity is represented by the space that zero inhabits – an entire factor of 10. Nice observation by the forensic accountant at the cost of taking that out of practical context.
DJSpo
Hi Pam,
The early Isuzu Troopers looked a lot to me like they were a Japanese built vehicle based on an early boxy English Landrover. Yes, I’d appreciate the utilitarian knock about design as well, which would have taken the best of the old country and given it a more reliable Asian spin. A local once recounted a fun tale of the ‘Landrover’ brand from way back in the day which was (his words, not mine): ‘Landrover, teaching drivers to become mechanics’, although I have no idea what he meant. Now fun fact, those Isuzu were sold down under as the Holden Jackaroo. A fine name, for a hard working bushman. A girlie working out bush in the same job is known as a ‘Jillaroo’, and there are plenty of those.
Sadly it’s true, anything to make a buck is probably not the smart move, but then I prefer the state of harmony over that of self interest.
Pam, I was talking about this very deer matter today with friends, and you are in the harvest time of plenty. What the collective of herbivores will eat in five months time at your place will be a total mystery, which they will face. If the deer could tone things down here a bit and find some middle ground, I’d make space for them, just like what the other critters enjoy. But! Sadly they take things to extremes, and many local birds may go hungry due to the possible destruction of the native cherry tree. At the very least, the tree will send resources into survival over fruiting. Oh well.
The Master Grey may wilt as the late winter snow covers the land, whilst the dominant tan buck takes the lead to edible greens. Nature is both bountiful and harsh, and the unfolding foreseen events also fill me with sorrow.
🙂 Is it just me, or did you also notice that occasionally grandparents can set plans for the bigger picture? In your case, the benefits of that path were not what your granddad had imagined, but worked out all the same. Well done you.
Ha! The old timers used to say that it doesn’t hurt to ask, reality however is closer to the actual point of price discovery! As your neighbours may learn. I’m not working on this land for the purposes of sale, so the subject lacks interest, and in fact I’ve not bothered to find out how much the houses got. Time will provide that data via the bush telegraph.
Respect to your son. Sadly the local fear to ask for my help, lest I extract a cost. None of us up here are truly independent, that concept is a mirage and the sooner it is let go, the better. But until then…
Hehe! The old mouldy banana trick gotcha! 🙂 And the weather is warm too in your part of the world!
Cheers
Chris
Hi DJ,
Very funny, but yeah, nah, that is so not going to happen with the elbow filing. But I do like the way your brain works.
The home made veg enchiladas work a treat, and are deemed tasty enough to feed to visitors. On that note, I have trialled them on one visitor, but it was early on with that recipe and hadn’t quite separated the yoghurt curds from whey, which gave them a slight tart flavour. Should have done better and will do so in the future.
Ha! I’d save seeds from all of the chili’s you’ve been enjoying consuming of late. They’re hardier plants than tomatoes and tend to hybridise anyway. And therein lays the secret to the mouthful surprise! My experiments with these fruits tend to suggest that the seeds are way hotter than the flesh. Months ago a rat sampled one chili and put it this way, did not go back for seconds.
Really? Chili plants will self seed here as do tomatoes, so I do let some fruit fall to the ground. I wonder if your winters are just too cold for that option? But then I do tend to ‘chit’ tomato and chili seeds before planting out so as to give them a head start on the growing season. Might be worth trialling and not getting them in the ground early in the season when the soil is still too cool. Patience used to be described as a virtue.
Post Falls Dam is quite a large enterprise, and once began life as a water source powering a sawmill. An impressive feat. It’s odd to consider that your country has all these inland waterways and lakes – mostly due to the enormous internal mountain ranges.
Did you know, that half a billion years ago, the centre of this continent had Himalayan sized mountains, known as the Petermann Orogeny. With no plant life back then, they weathered as fast as they rose leaving massive quantities of sediment in what is now the outback. Nowadays, those mountains barely top the 1,000m above sea level mark.
Good to hear that someone is watching the aquifer levels.
Nice to hear that your area is beginning the slow cooling descent into winter. And it’d be a relief. Of course several months into the coldest part of the year, your opinion may look back at this time with a wistful feeling.
Went into the big smoke today to have lunch with friends, and it was on the cool-ish side of things with a bit of a breeze but plenty of sunshine. The loose and free talk which occurs with mates, makes for a warming experience!
Ook! I’d not realised that the word is in its early stages of acceptability! Who knew?
Wise to go with the flow, knowing that enchiladas will be more appropriate at another time. Home made pizza for dinner this evening. Yum! Hope your lady’s energy levels are being restored.
Ah well, they do say that a fish rots from the head, and you know what, I speak with a lot of people, and the quiet quitting thing is very real. Hmm. I tend to walk from toxic environments, but that’s me and I have resources with which to employ in such situations. I freely admit that not everyone does so, but after the early 1990’s recession debacle, I never wanted to be so exposed again, and altered everything in my life, literally.
Interesting you mention that issue, for it has happened to me in the past. Truly, I’m no threat for such people and would make a most useful resource, but my loss was their economic gain and perhaps they did not want to be embarrassed knowledge wise. It happens. Truly, I don’t know everything in my field, because that would be impossible, but those who know little, can be insecure.
Just between you and I, the Adventurer is the only ‘S’ whom I get along with. The rest of that lot are infuriated by my err, out of the box thinking and problem solving, when instead rules and tradition should guide one’s behaviour and choices. The Adventurer for some unknown reason also has that ability, but moves at a slower more measured pace than I who probably by comparison looks impulsive and flighty. Lovely folks.
DJ, ’tis a sad day when passing ruffians feel free to say Ni to old fellas such as myself. Hehe! You go! 🙂 And the extra climactic heat you’ve experienced would seriously favour some plants. It may surprise you to know that I have five hedge trimmer machines. They’re all very useful, and not all constructed to deal with the same material or power sources, thus the number. Now I’ve written that, it sounds a bit, you know, obsessive. Moving on… 😉
That was my thoughts as well in relation to the wombat burrow. I’d like to believe the clever marsupial got out, but don’t really know and the water looked a bit ooky – which can mean much or little. Dunno. Given it has failed, I’ll backfill the entrance hole when it dries out so that the creatures do not use it again. Whatever happened, the situation is not ideal.
Lucky you with the maths prognostication, I just felt confused! 🙂 But like your most excellent example, never let the mental effort upset one’s sleep. Now the situation with the nice telco folks, did bother me… Oh well, few things are perfect.
Actually it was a good training session with the forensic accountant, but it is also my opinion that only those who don’t know the system, or implement lax internal controls, that have issues with fraud. And I’ve seen both situations over the long years. I’d describe some of my efforts to curb such laxity under the label: Boring, but important! 🙂
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
Agreed, the short days of winter make it far nicer for people to spend time in convivial company and presumably warmer indoor conditions, such as at your Club. In the summer months, there’s a lot to be done, and the days are naturally longer.
Whatever season it may be though, I tend to work around the same-ish sort of day length, but now I consider the matter further, due to the hot summer afternoons, I tend to wind up outdoor things no later than 2:30pm (but start earlier in the day when it is cool). That’s when the day’s extreme peak UV will begin to squoosh the ol’ brain, and nobody wants that!
The old adage of ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ is possibly one part truth, and another part a cautionary tale. Still, good advice to avoid the torpid hours of the middle to late afternoon. I wonder if it originated as a joke? Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Man, told you that dawgs are highly social creatures and yes, H would definitely miss the Club outing. I’m not saying that she’d blame you, but well, they’re complicated creatures! 😉 I was in the big smoke today having lunch with friends, and just as we were saying our goodbyes, some little white fluffy thing snuck up behind me on the end of a long string. What can I say, dogs seem to find me magnetic. Possibly due to the subtle aroma of three dogs, although other folks have suggested the preferable calm demeanour explanation. That lot didn’t see me after having dealt with the call centre folks at the nice telco for several wasted hours the other day. Hardly the epitome of calm at that moment let me tell you! The blood pressure was up that day.
Had a fun catch up too today, and we discussed philosophy, although in that realm I’m a bit out of my depth. Probably comes with being a bit ‘down home’ if you know what I mean. Lunch was very good, actually, probably one of the best Porchetta Panini’s I’ve had from that place. If one must eat meat, then let it be good!
Oh well, anywhoo, blood pressure the other day, yeah, death by bureaucrat is probably a thing. Speaking of which the modem here was playing up all day. Fortunately the Editor had little need for the device. Turns out the copper electrical contacts on the sim card (it uses the mobile phone network) had ever so slightly tarnished. I took the card out of the modem, and buffed the copper surface up with a rubber eraser. Chucked it back in, and fixed. That trick can be used with the cards in cell phones too.
Actually, the native cherry is a really lovely local tree – which indeed you’d noticed the previous week. I read long ago a casual mention that the indigenous folks used the rare acid from the root systems as a treatment for some snake bites – it has potent antibacterial measures. The deer as usual have earned my extreme displeasure, although they bolt from me on sight now. Dunno why that would be… Oh yeah, the wood is very valuable too.
Wise to keep up the urea applications, and the old timers swore by that, although my experience has been a bit hit and miss with that stuff. Still, better than nothing. I reckon deer must have a very strong sense of smell.
Ah, an unfortunate incident for your grandfather, and such rough treatment at an advanced age can be hard to recover from, if at all. And I’d probably feel raspy too after that experience, and would only hope that the pain was equally felt by the perpetrators – that would be my goal. Head injuries can do strange things to people, and it has been my observation that some folks do come back a little bit different.
Ha! Hey, welcome to my world! I get that about keeping one’s mouth shut, and look on at the things written in your country with a sense of astoundment (! the gentle art of being astounded). Especially naming names and pointing fingers when no court proceedings had occurred. Far out! There was a whistle blower who was just recently awarded $0.5m in legal fees. Who has that kind sort of resources? A lot of ideological stuff down here push for whistle blowing, but the protections just don’t seem to be there. It’s brutal. I envy you your first amendment rights.
Mr Reich is a very interesting person, and may be short in height, but large in stature. He certainly doesn’t shy away from challenging subjects! The author would have had a ringside seat for many of the changes having taken place since the mid 70’s. I agree with many of his points of view, but am deeply uncomfortable with the idea of a universal basic income. Mostly on the basis that such largess can only be paid from earnings, and the over use of debt as a strategy can be taken too far. Merely my opinion. The rest sounded highly pragmatic.
I very much appreciate a straight talking person who can explain their concepts. In fact, actually today I asked someone to explain something to me as if they were talking to a twelve year old. I wasn’t being facetious either, and learned a lot which I’d not previously comprehended via the clear explanation.
Ha! You’ll get a laugh out of this. The opposite was the case, my grandmother (the ethereal one with the faery blood) smoked on the sly, because the lady did not want my mother, her daughter, to know.
Lucky you! I totally missed that mini series, and have only heard good things said about it. But loved the book, it’s a classic.
Same here, the images in the news paper of a so called space warrior wearing what looks like a bin on his head, was kind of hard to ignore. Grabs your attention so to speak. I don’t believe that that trick is possible down here.
There was a by-election held for an outer urban electorate in that remote city in the far west of this continent today. Looking at the results so far, I’d suggest that the mood is ugly and the voters are sending our pollies a rocket up their backsides. Hope they’re fast learners, or they’ll be out of a job. They’ll prevaricate and whine etc, but it is primarily about the economy and interest rate rises. I believe it to be that simple.
Hope the Icelanders retain their independence.
Really? The poem Ozymandias has more truth to it than at first glance. Anyway, what will the ruins of our civilisation look like in four millennia time?
Yikes! Hope your inmates give their vines a bit of a drink, but then I stopped watering the vines in late February and it forced the plants to ripen the fruit. It’s not a bad strategy.
Fingers crossed that the pumpkins have increased in girth.
Cheers
Chris
Yo, Chris – Starting with the last, first … I got out around noon, and pulled up the ground cover, around the pumpkins. I was hoping that there would be a few more, hiding in the foliage. No such luck. So, only two. A few nubbins, but really too late for them to do much, this year. Any-who … when I took H for a walk around 6, I discovered that … wait for it … someone has stolen one of my pumpkins. It was the larger of the two, furthest up the slope.
As it wasn’t even showing any color yet, I see it as a purely vindictive thing. I’ll take it up with Little Mary Sunshine, but don’t expect much from that department. I’ll put a curse on the pumpkin patch, so that the perp rots along with the pumpkin. I do have an idea, of who may have done that. They’d have to be impulsive, fast and sure footed. Given the slope. Of course, it might just be someone who appears to be a sweet old lady.
Our high yesterday was 72F (22.22C). Our overnight low was 54F. (12.22C). Our forecast high for today is 69F. We did get some rain, overnight. Enough to not water the garden? Maybe. No geese flying south, but I did see a bi-plane, yesterday. They are so cool.
The flood in Nepal is terrible. I know you traveled in that part of the world, back in the day. I’ve seen that they’ve had similar problems, in the Swiss Alps, due to global warming.
Prof. Mass has a post on the “super” El Niño.”
Maybe it’s too soon for humor, as far as your telco goes, but I saw this in our local newspaper.
https://www.chronline.com/stories/richard-stride-commentary-in-the-age-of-ai-press-zero-for-your-sanity,406915?
Philosophy is mostly lost, on me. I’ve always been sort of disappointed, that the library from Herculanum is mostly about some minor Greek philosopher. 🙁 If they ever find the Latin part of the library, it might prove more interesting. probably not in my lifetime.
That’s quit a trick with the SIM cards. If there’s not a U-Tub video, you should put one up.
I find Reich refreshingly direct and clear. Speaking of books, I saw one on the libraries “On order” list, that you might find interesting. “A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World.” (Wigglesworth, 2026.) I did not put it on my hold list. What I did put on my hold list is “The World Beneath Our Feet. the Hidden Life of Soil and Why It Matters to Us All.” (Ashwood, 2026.)
Our upcoming mid-term elections, ought to be “interesting.” “Throw the rascals out!” 🙂
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1100253#google_vignette
I saw a headline that school districts, financially, are doing it tough. As far as buses, due to the cost of diesel. Will bicycling and walking to school make a come-back? Probably, not.
Time to pack up the dog, hit the library, and head for the Club. See what progress they’ve made, this week. Lew
@ DJSpo:
I always start my jalapenos inside, in March, I think. They can easily take 3 weeks to sprout. Maybe you’re not waiting long enough to see?
Pam
Chris:
I’ll just bet the Trooper was “a Japanese built vehicle based on an early boxy English Landrover”. I think that was another reason I liked them. Jackaroos and Jillaroos – that’s fun.
I owe an enormous debt to my mother’s parents, very little of which had to do with money, though later my grandmother (my grandfather had passed away) helped my husband to start a business.
We have such a small property – 5 acres – that I keep my eye on property prices around here in case some deal should come up and we could afford some extra farmland nearby. Fat chance, I’m afraid.
Pam
Hi Pam,
Isuzu continues to sell down here and has built an enviable reputation. By all accounts, they make sturdy vehicles, which is not the case with every manufacturer. They’re good names, and used in the outback, even today.
It’s interesting to read about your experience, and always nice to have a more experienced guiding hand. Truthfully, growing up I probably spent more time with my grandmother (the nice one), than my mother. Being single, with my mum working and studying, plus having two older sisters was possibly not ideal. As the youngest in the household, keeping a low profile seemed like the wisest path.
You’ve got me thinking about all this stuff. Hmm.
! Can a sentence begin with an exclamation mark? Let’s make an exception here. Another local property appears to have sold. But yeah, I hear you about that, and also have a working area of around 5 acres, but a reserve of another 17 acres. Yes, it’s not as much as it could be that sized land, but then who knows what property prices will do in the future? Candidly speaking, I’m surprised that things have gone on for as long as they have done so on that front. Baffling. All it will takes is a reduction of the population, not even a large one, just a slackening of demand.
Cheers
Chris
Hi Lewis,
That’s outrageous! The great pumpkin heist of 2026. Ouch, it’s a dastardly act and that’s for sure. Man, even the rats and mice won’t touch pumpkins at the young stage your two were apparently at. They’re no good to eat when unripe, and you could possibly be dealing with a person who has a bit of early dementia, so you never know. Looks can be deceiving. Most non human critters I’ve encountered lack the strength and dexterity to pull an unripe pumpkin from the vine, although you do have bears. Have you checked whether it has merely rolled downhill?
My gut feeling is that your concerns will be listened too, but seriously what can be done about the theft? You may wonder at my many trail cameras about the place here? Proof always carries more weight than suppositions. The curse is of course an idea, but beware of the blow-back.
Nice weather, and it was sunny, calm and 59’F here today. That is one serious labour of love to keep a biplane airworthy. Far out! Yeah, what a sight!
We’d intended to head off and nab a gourmet pie, but dog school stuff intervened and plans got reduced to the closer option of a gourmet sausage roll and tomato sauce from the nearby bakery. Yum! I pottered around doing things here and there, like removing a very large and heavy branch which was anchored on the ground, but stuck up in a tree. The word ‘widowmaker’ did go through my mind, and it was nice to do the work when the Editor was elsewhere. That’s not a criticism either, it is just that dealing with such a dangerous thing requires absolute focus – and is not a time to receive useful advice from a distance. We have a rule about whomever is up a ladder, is not to be disturbed – for good reason.
Whatever, the monster is now on the ground, although it was a bit tricky to do and required me getting closer to the thing than I was entirely comfortable with. The foot-in-diameter branch will make for some good firewood.
Hey, it’s good that you are getting some rain at this late summer time of the year.
Yup, late last century we did an 18 day walk in Nepal on the western side of the ranges closer to India. The scenery is beyond epic and we ambled up as high as 5,000m / 16,500ft above sea level. A number of Australian’s are likewise now among the missing. There is little that people could have done to prevent the disaster, or even get out of its way. It’s truly awful, and would be hard to know how those areas will even recover from the sheer scale of the mud. I doubt that land can be rebuilt upon. And word on the street is that the risk with other glaciers in the area are also at risk. Once, also long ago in New Zealand, I once touched the face of a glacier (I was young and dumb) and it was one of the stupidest things I’ve done. Utterly foolish, but at least it was winter and there was no melt, but still.
I tend to agree with the Professor regarding the super El Nino phenomenon. The media down here has latched onto that like a dog with a bone, but until the season is done, who knows how it will play out? We were meant to be in a La Nina this past summer, but the scale of the bushfires weren’t far off what your west coast has experienced over the past two months. Simple explanations to complex and dynamic systems, end up sounding a lot like sweeping generalisations. Of course, I could well be wrong. What I fear at this location, is too much rain.
Thanks for the article, and the gentleman is correct! I too would be surprised to encounter a human who simply resolved the issue, or explained why it was unresolvable, or even why it is possible, but might cost more. The nice telco call centre folks from a far distant land, were trying to flog me unrelated product. That’s what I might describe as a ‘conflict of interest’.
The ancient Greeks very much enjoyed peering at their navels and marvelling at how clever they all were, or possibly the quantity of belly button lint discovered. Hard to know really. I’m a pragmatic kind of guy first and foremost. Now that part of the library in the digs would be quite an interesting find.
The rubber eraser trick just works. It’s an old tech geek thing, but I also have some interesting de-oxidation chemicals too, which are the big guns if needed. Nice to have a plan B. A good suggestion too. I wonder if it has been done already? Oh poop. The arty-fish-al monster seems to have gobbled that idea up already.
Apologies, time was not on my side yesterday, and I forgot to mention that I’m uncomfortable about the idea of universal basic income, mostly because it is unsustainable, but also introduces great moral hazard. The people wheeling out the checks would have a lot of power, and therein lays the problem.
🙂 Wiggles or Ash? My vote would be for the soil book too! Respect. Bonds are remarkably esoteric instruments which may or may not accord with reality. Once you appreciate that, what else is there to know? Please do let me know if the soil book is good.
Thanks, and it is a most insightful observation from the author. We’re having state elections in the last Saturday of November.
Ha! We have no such bus system down under, and my understanding is that any school buses are paid for by the parents of the kids using the service. Sometimes, what your countrymen consider as normal, is very far from the experience of other countries. We mentioned the school lunch thing too a while back! Oh my, down here kids would take their lunch, or have to buy it from the tuck shop. But rising diesel prices are affecting all sorts of things, like rubbish pick up. Yup. Things be gettin’ ‘spensive.
Hope the visit to the Club was enjoyable and that H strutted her stuff for her minions. 🙂
Cheers and better get writing!
Chris
Yo, Chris – Yeah, I’m pretty bummed about the pumpkin theft. I think, even more than angry. I checked to see if it had rolled down the slope. With the ground cover pulled up, it would have been easy to spot. I wish they would have left it, as, it was large enough that it might have ripened up, in my window. We have camera coverage, out front, but I don’t think we have any in back.
Our high yesterday was 70F (21.11C). Our overnight low was 48F (8.88C). Our forecast high for today is 72F. We did get some rain, yesterday morning. Enough so I didn’t have to water. H and I got a bit damp, heading for the truck for a ride. We might see a bit of rain, mid-week, and on and off for a few days after. Nothing major.
You can get rid of all those solar panels and batteries. 🙂 Just wire up your lemon trees. Maybe we should have been so fast to get rid of the penny?
https://science-u.org/experiments/lemon-batteries.html
Congrats at getting the big limb down. Safely. A job like that, you move slow and consider all angles.
When Mt. St. Helen’s blew, a lake reformed that had been drained by a river. It was blocked. I think it was the Army Corp of Engineers, who hustled up there, and dug a relief channel. Later, it was made a more permanent feature.
Here, school buses are financed by the school districts, mostly. Back in the day, when we lived in Portland, it was up to the student, to get to school. When we moved to Vancouver, out in the country, it was school buses. Here, you can either buy a lunch, or, pack your own. As I remember, we did a little of both, growing up.
Things progress at the Club. Dawg did her usual meet and greet. In the last week, a wall was extended, t the ceiling, to close off the one and only meeting room, and provide a bit of privacy. It beg for a mural, and I think plans are afoot. A row of tables and some old lockers (where meetings store their stuff), has provided a counter area, of sorts. Volunteers are being sorted, and the Club will be open, between meetings, after Labor Day, which is September 7th. There’s an old AA saying. “Progress, not perfection.” Applies here, I think. 🙂
Well, I made a big plate of shrimp nachos, for dinner. Chopped garlic, cherry tomatoes, green bell pepper and a few peas. Held together by a lot of Mozzarella cheese.
And then I settled in to watch “Disclosure Day.” Not a bad movie, as far as sci-fi goes. Spielberg knows how to do it. Lots of cool car chases and nefarious non-governmental companies. He also tugs the ol’ heartstrings, here and there. But! It had a very unsatisfying and crap ending. Oh, well. At least there were nuns. :-). Lew