Kelly Smith (Mulford) 11/22/1949 - 07/27/2011 RIP

Kelly was my cousin. We were very close when we were growing up. He came very close to being my brother, and I have lots of wonderful memories of the stuff we did together.

For my 15Th birthday, I asked my parents to take us up into the Cascades and drop us off at Scatter Creek Campground above Salmon La Sac in Eastern Washington for two weeks. We packed a Boy Scout pup tent a couple of sleeping bags and enough provisions to keep us alive. I made sure to pack butter, corn meal and salt and pepper and a skillet to fry fish in. We survived on oatmeal, dried apples, fish fried up fresh out of the river, and a few scavenged berries. We hiked all over the area, which is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Kelly's dad was a world War II Vet. He had been shot through the jaw. They managed to patch his face back together but he was missing part of his tongue, which made his speech slurred. He was a very smart and talented man. He was fiddle-footed, so they moved up and down the coast. Kelly said he could claim no home town, as he had never stayed in one place long enough. One December 10 days before Christmas, Uncle Steve put a 30.06 under his chin and blew his brains all over the wall and ceiling. He left a wife and six kids behind.

Kelly was the second. He was a very talented artist and had started selling his art in his teens. He and I would get together on the weekend and do Beattle Portraits in black and white and sell them for $5 apiece. It kept us in spending money.

When he was a junior in high school, his mother had a massive heart attack and died. I think she was 41.

Six kids orphaned. We spread them out among the family, but my Aunt on Vashon was their legal guardian. Kelly came to live with us. My parents had agreed to adopt Kelly, so he became my almost brother. I clearly remember that Kelly and I and my dad were partitioning off a section of the basement for a bedroom for the two of us when the call came that Kelly would not be joining out family. My Aunt had found a couple that wanted to adopt the kids, but only if they got all six. All or nothing. While on one point this was incredibly generous, the other condition was not. There was to be no contact between then and their relatives. Just like that, he was gone from my life.

After High school, he wandered or several years It was about 10 years later that he got in touch with my Aunt and Uncle on Vashon, and I got his phone number.

He landed in Bellingham, Wa, and became a pivotal figure in the scrimshaw community there. He made his living doing scrimshaw, and was known all over for his incredibly detailed work.

I included a picture of one of my favorite pieces.

We visited back and forth for several years, but eventually he got tired of scrimshaw, and moved to Texas to manage some properties for his step-parents. He did well, bought a house and was involved in the local old-timey music scene. He was a talented fiddle player, also played harmonica, guitar and squeeze box.

When he moved to Texas, we lost contact, but when I set up a Facebook page, I searched for him, and found him. We started corresponding again by e-mail and phone. When he was up here the last time he spent a couple of days with us. We had a great time. I organized a small family reunion on Vashon, and a bunch of us cousins went over there and had a potluck and told outrageous lies.

The last words he said to me in person were "I had a great time. It was like we were all teenagers again."

Last Wednesday he was doing some maintenance on a rental property. He decided to take a smoke break. He went out to his truck and lit up. He had a massive coronary and died on the spot.

So long old friend. I loved you and will remember you for the rest of my life.

Every time I visit Salmon La Sac I will think of you and smile.

Westy in the shop

Not for anything that HAS to be done, but for some upgrades and improvements.
First of all, because we want to use it year round, I am having a propane heater installed.
The fridge was about worn out, so I am having a different one installed (used).
Since the tent portion of the pop top has a couple of holes and tears, I am having that redone. New rear bumper (no I did not run into anything, it was that way when I bought it).
New windshield.
Some wiring improvements.
The defrost fan switch is missing, so I am having that installed.
Nothing as pricey as the motor conversion, but I will still be into it for a couple of grand.
Then all there is left is to get it painted and a couple of dents pounded out.
Well, there is the idea of making it four wheel drive..........

Camping Outing

The camping trip in the Westy was a complete success, which means it did not pour rain on us. It did rain during the night one time, but none of it made its way inside with us. To have a three day camping trip on the coast of Washington in June and not get rained on is a statistical anomaly.
The kids loaded up the back of the truck with firewood, so er had a campfire going all three days all day long. We did all out cooking over the campfire, even though I had filled up the propane tanks in the Westphalia. I guess there is something about camping that demands wood ash in your bacon and eggs.
The sleeping are downstairs is adequate for two if they are friendly, and the upstairs is reasonable comfortable if they are not. It is a lot nicer in that regard than the Airstream was. Lots of clearance for sitting up and getting in and out. The upstairs sleeping area under the pop top could use a little more padding, but is good enough.
The west got about 18 miles to the gallon with the Subaru engine in it. I probably could have done better if I kept my foot out of the accelerator. After all, pushing a big box down the road at 75 mph pushes a lot of air.

Vanaru/Subagon

We are going camping next weekend in the Westfalia. This will be the first overnighter for the Westy since I had the Subaru motor transplanted. We have taken it out on a couple of day trips and it has performed very well. Now comes the first real test of how comfortable it is to use for multi-day outings.
There are a few bugs to work out yet.
If you are going down the road with the radio on and turn on the turn signal, the radio turns off. When the turn signal finishes flashing, the radio comes back on. As long as you know it is going to happen, it's no big deal. It has to be a bad ground in one of the circuits. I suspect the radio, since it is an aftermarket stereo, and the instl is kinda funky. It won't hold the channel presets, and turns itself off sometimes. I probably need to pull the radio out and figure out how they have it wired. Probably not wired to an always on circuit, to keep the clock and presets working.

Still Here

I haven't been around much lately. Lots going on.
First is the fact that I am finally back on first shift, after nine months on second. I am due to be on first shift until the end of October. I am thinking of jumping ship to a different group before I am supposed to go back to second.I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens in the next few months.
I finally got the last of R's stuff moved out. I need to take some time and reorganize the basement. I also need to start cleaning up the library. I need to prune the dead stuff to make room for more books.
I need to get out and start getting the Westfalia ready for it's first camping trip the end of this month. First I need to get rid of a bunch of junk, then start figuring out EXACTLY what I will need for a couple of weeks on the road. It takes some time and planning.
It's all good.

Ivan Doig

I am re-reading some of my collection of Ivan Doig novels. Nothing I like better than curling up with a good book after work.
And his works are better than just good books. Believe me I can tell the difference, having read several thousand books. Most popular books are like hotrods. A lot of flash and sound and motion that hold your attention as long as they are in your immediate view, then soon gone.
The wordsmanship in an Ivan Doig book is like a stained glass window, Each sentence is a little jewel, polished up and placed just to in the framework of the whole, each complimenting the next, but making the whole so much better than a bunch of words herded together in one place.
I can not only get lost in the stories themselves, but am always aware of the craftsmanship. These sentences did not get assembled in this inner and outer order by chance, but every bit by intent.
I think maybe they are better the second and third time around, because you know the shape and content of the book, so you can mentally step back at any point and look at what you have just read in relation to the whole. Studying on the one piece wile holding the shape of the whole in your mind gives you a greater appreciation for the hand and mind that guides you along on your way.

Just Wondering....

I worked both days last weekend, so I am a little deagged out at the moment.
The lovely Mrs A brought me home a 5 hour energy drink to take to work today.
When I look at it to open it up, there on the seal it very plainly says: "Do not drink if seal is broken"
So how am I supposed to get at the contents without breaking the seal?
Just asking.

Osama Bin Hidin'

Last night I removed the black stud ear ring that I have worn in my left ear for almost ten years.
I put it in shortly after 9/11 in memorian of the over three thousand innocent people who lost their lives in the despicable terrorist attack on this country.
I put it in with the goal that it would stay there until the cowardly insane bastard that was responsible was dead.
That day changed the world in a terrible way. Our lives changed for the worse. Everyone's lives. Rich, poor, black, white, Christian, Muslim, all thrown into chaos by the twisted sinister machinations of one sick individual.
My measure of a man in this world is : Was the world a better place for his having lived? In this case the man was a waste of skin. The world would have been a better place if he had never been born.
I do not celebrate his death, for it diminishes us all if we celebrate even his death. I am glad he is dead. But I will not celebrate his death any more than I would celebrate the end of any other odeous chore, like cleaning out the crap in the chicken coupe. It was a nasty chore that needed to be done, and now it is over, and while there is a certain sense of satisfaction in his passing, I don't feel compelled to celebrate.
His death will not bring back the innocent dead, or even begin to repair the great holes he ripped in the world community. He was a twisted, evil, bitter monomaniac.
And I'm glad he is dead

Easter Bunny

For those of you who were wondering what happened to The Easter Bunny.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but.......

Sorry

Plannin' a Trip

We are planning on going on a trip this fall. A couple of weeks of wandering around the countryside in the Westfalia, no real schedule or destination, just some general ideas of what we want to see, stay at parks and camp out, see the sights. So far that looks a little like this: Start out with going up the Gorge of the Columbia, catch the Maryhill mansion and Stonehenge replica. Spend the night somewhere, Cross over the Northwestern corner of Oregon into Idaho and go see Craters of the Moon, spend the night somewhere. Drop down South into Utah and see the kids for a couple of days, then head South and see Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. Wander around that part of the country for a couple of days, then back home. Two weeks total. This Saturday is our anniversary, so we are going to REI to pick up maps and look at equipment and then go to dinner. I love perusing camping gear. It will give me a chance to think about what I want to get to outfit the Westy. And lots of cool gadgets. I am also taking a few days off at the end of June to go camping. It will be our first camping trip in the Westy, so a kind of trial run to get everything sorted out. We will be going to Twin Harbors State Park outside Westport, Wa. we have been there before many times, so it is a fairly close and comfortable destination, about two and a half hours away. Then I will have a couple of months to get everything ready for the longer trip. I would like to get the West into the kind of shape that we can just drop everything and climb in and take off wherever we want, whenever we can.

Spring My ASS

A couple of mild sunny days to suck you in, then back to more of the same excecpt maybe worse. The couple of decent days we had just got you to believe that winter might be ending, but the forecast for the next two weeks is soggy at best. Every day has some sort of precipitation involved. You know how they say that the eskimos have two hundred different ways to describe snow? Lattelanders have a whole lot of different ways to describe precipitation, depending on the frequency, rate, individual drop size. I think they have used most of them over the next two weeks. I WANT SUN!

Spring at last

The weather turned halfway decent today, and here it is only the second day of Spring. I have been needing it bad for the last week or so.
A bunch of the early flowering trees and shrubs are beginning to bloom, The early plum and cherry blooming fairly well, the forsithia sowing it's histerical yellow blooms.
I actually got out and worked on a car for a little bit today. The truck needed a new headlight, but I have been waiting for time when I wasn't tired and the weather was nice. Today was that day.
It had clouded over by the time I had to go to work (2:00) so I didn't mind going in too much. Tomorrow, however is another matter. My bad sholder tells me the barometric pressure is changing quickly, and since it has been way low, that can only mean that tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day. Either that or a tornado.
But I'm betting on nice.

Music Room

Flooring

Here are a couple of pictures of the new flooring in the music room. The pictures didn't turn out that great because I couldn't get the lighting right, but you get the idea, Still have to find baseboards and trim strips.
And work both days this weekend.

New flooring

I just today finished installing a new bamboo floor in the music room. I'm not sure what it will do to the acoustics, but it sure looks (and smells) a lot better than the old raggedy, pet stained carpet that used to be in there.
It is ginger bamboo, which is a couple of shades darker than just regular, and it matches beautifully with the moss green walls and white ceiling.
I still need to buy and install moldings and a trim strip to transition between the dining room and the music room, but that will have to come a little later, as my poor ancient arthritic body is already complaining loudly about all the bending and sawing and such.
If I can remember, I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them.
As a reward I get to work both days this weekend.

Help Youself

I was partly raised on a rural farm. You learned to do without and do yourself. Being trained as a combat medic, I received a smattering of medical training, so I have performed a couple of small surgeries on myself. Just removing warts and cysts and stuff like that.
When the temporary metal cap on one of my implants fell out, I saw no need to run to the dentist to have him screw it back in. After it is only a funny shaped screw going into a funny shaped socket.
But I do draw the line at other Dental repairs. Unlike the guy they were discussing in the Dentist's office the other day. He had a three tooth bridge. Which came loose. He had broken the underlying tooth.
So he put it back in with superglue. And left it.
The first time it lasted for six months.
The next time it lasted for six weeks.
The last time it lasted for six days.
When he finally gave up and went to the dentist, it was in pretty bad condition. It seems superglue ATTRACTS decay bacteria, so his tooth was merrily rotting away underneath his super glued repair.
By the time he got to the dentist, the tooth was rotted away to below the gum line.
When they mentioned super gluing a three tooth bridge in I thought "Yeah, that would work. I could see myself doing that."
As a temporary measure.
Until I could get to the dentist.

Today is a Good Day

That has become my Mantra lately.
Because it's true.
No one is trying to kill me, wound me, maim me, or harm me.
I have the ability to satisfy all of my basic needs without worrying about how I am going to accomplish it.
I have a good job that adequately compensates me for what I do, and has benefits.
No one is trying to suppress me or deny me my basic human rights. I am not a slave, a serf a peasant or an untouchable.
I am free to come and go as I please within reason.
I have a wife whom I love, and loves me in return.
I own my own home and several cars.
In the whole History of mankind it has been a real recent phenomenon that a person such as myself could live a life free of want.
So: It is a Good Day

One Day Weekends

I pretty much work six days a week, some times seven. This was going to be a seven day week, but they asked me to give up one day so another guy could have a day of overtime. I know this particular guy is putting his son through College, so I gave up Saturday. Mainly because Sunday is double time.
I will need the money because I am finally getting the caps done where I had the implants put in a year ago. The first thing I am going to do is go buy a big bag of beef jerky. Not for a couple of weeks though, because Monday will just be to take impressions. Then the lab has to create the caps. I am getting impatient to have a full compliment of teeth. This process is pretty expensive, Hence the overtime. Some day I will be able to blow any overtime money on entertainment, but for now it is buying down debt towards retirement.
Also this week will be a visit to the Optometrist. I cannot see properly out of my left eye. I think this is partly because they prescription is wrong, partly because they didn't sync the lenses properly. I already went to the Optical dispenser to have them check that they cut the lens per the prescription and they say it is dead on. I know the astigmatism factor is wrong, because lights become "V" shaped in the distance. A single point of light, like a streetlight looks like a "V" laying on its side.
I had my annual Employee Evaluation this week. Of course I have the highest retention level possible, and I got a 3.1% pay raise. Better than a Vitrectomy (or a poke in the eye with a sharp stick) My boss was very complimentary of my work. I doubt she has any idea what I do, but I won't complain.
I had a very nice one day weekend. When you only have one day, you have to cram a lot into the time you have. I'm not going to go over the morning, but lets just say a good time was had by all. This afternoon we went and saw "The Adjustment Bureau" which was very enjoyable. It is an adaptation of a story by Philip K. Dick, one of my favorite authors.
Well time to get to bed. Got to go to work tomorrow.

Leading the Way

I suppose just about everyone knows by now that Boeing won the competition for the Tanker. It is a pretty big deal. The total order is for something like 179 aircraft, based on the 767. It only took 10 years to get here.
First Boeing won the bid, but Financial improprieties were discovered, which eventually let to jail time for a Boeing Executive. They threw the bid back open, and this time EADS (Airbus) won. Boeing protested because of improper proposal/bidding. Their protest was upheld, and the bid was opened again. This time it looks like a win for Boeing.
The win was based strictly on economic reasons. The Boeing proposal was significantly lower.
Why?
In part because of the P8-A.
The traditional way Boeing had done derivative aircraft was for the Boeing Commercial Aircraft to build a "white tail" aircraft and deliver it to Boeing Whoever.
They would then tear it partly apart and install the structural components, control surfaces and systems to support whatever the mission was. A very expensive proposition.
When the P8-A was proposed to the Navy we threw all that out the window and rethought the entire process. We spent several years before the first aircraft started production figuring out how to install the structure, controls and systems during production. It was a very intensive process, and the first several aircraft were watched very closely. There was a great deal of scepticism that Boeing would be able to pull it off.
We did.
I think it was more important than even the P8-A that we proved that we could perform well in a joint exercise.
Need I point out that the P8-A program has provided a single successful implementation in a pot of boiling crud.
Having proved we could work well in unison, Boeing bid on the Tanker Program using the business model that had been proved out by the P8-A. So I like to think that we led the way, and proved out the Business Model. Without this established Model, I don't think Boeing would have succeeded with their bid for the Tanker Program.
But then again, I might be just a little prejudiced.

Sittin' on a wad

I sold an intake manifold and carb setup for a Jensen Healey engine today for $1,000.00 Cash. So I am sitting a little taller in my chair at the moment.
As a part of my restoration of Frankenhealy, I buy up spare parts whenever a good deal comes by. The Jensen came stock with Stromberg carbs, which although reliable are also ugly power robbing high maintenance carbs. Preferable are the Dellorto's which were only available in Europe.
So I bought a couple (make that three) manifolds, and a couple (also make that three) sets of carbs. I have the best set on the car and was restoring a second set for the engine I plan to build up.
A guy at work was walking by, stopped and asked "Say is that a Jensen Healey engine?" because I had the engine compartment of Frankenhealey as my screen saver. I said "You got a good eye. I don't think one person in a thousand would know what that was." He asked if I knew where he could get an intake manifold to fit the Dellorto carbs. "I have three" How about the carb setup and linkage "I have spares. Tell you what, I will put together a complete setup for you for a grand."
He said he had been looking for years, I said look no farther. I needed to finish up putting them together and needed to locate a couple of parts, but I finished last weekend. and we exchanged Carsh for carbs today.
It's not like I made a bunch of money. I had over $700 into the setup, and $300 isn't that big of a profit considering the amount of time I spent getting it all together, rebuilding and rejetting the carbs. But it was all doing something I love.
Knowing I had these sold, I bought another set of Dellorto DHLA40 carbs for the spare manifold in the basement, using the profits from this exchange. The overall plan is to rebuild and sell spare parts and eventually pay off the investment in the car. After selling the spare manifold and carbs today, my total investment is around four grand.
After I rebuild and sell the other spare manifold, it will be down to around thirty five hundred.

PIRACY

OK so I'm going to go all politically incorrect here, so if you are a sensitive soul, get out while you can.
We have become a nation of wimps.
A band of pirates attacks and murders US Citizens on the high seas, and murders them in cold blood.
What do we do?
After capturing them we dither around trying to decide where to take them to bring them to trial
What a bunch of horsepucky.
The trial should be immediate and the penalty inevitable.
I WILL PERSONALLY PAY FOR THE BULLETS.
The penalty for piracy on the high seas is death.
End of story.
Maybe these sorry assholes might be deterred from the path of piracy is they knew that the penalty would be immediate and final.
Who the hell are we trying to impress?
We stick our nose in all over the place where it isn't really even our business.
This IS our business, and we send a spineless answer to criminals and terrorists.
Are we afraid we might hurt their feelings?
I'll hurt more than their feelings.
Kill them all and let the devil sort them out.

Jigsaw

One of the things I do in the winter, when the days are short and the nights are cold, and the cabin walls start closing in is put together jigsaw puzzles. Gives my brain and eyes and hands something to do.
My family has always kept around a good jigsaw puzzle to keep the cabin fever away.
One of the Engineers at work really got into jigsaw puzzles. He became obsessed with them, in fact. He was working a particularly challenging puzzle, he became so obsessed that he had to take some time off of work so he could finish it.
It took him a couple of weeks to finish, and when he did, he threw a party to celebrate his accomplishment. As a fellow puzzler, I was of course invited.
I suppose I shouldn't have expected as much as I did, but when I saw the puzzle, I asked him if this was the puzzle he had been so obsessed with.
He assured me it was, and I asked if it wasn't a bit much having a party to celebrate completing this particular puzzle, after all it had taken him a six weeks.
He looked at me with a puzzled (HA!) look, and replied "Well it says three to five YEARS right on the side of the box."

Slow Boat to China

I have an opportunity to go to China for several months for the company. Company housing, Per Diem. It would pay quite well. And I want to go to China.
Real bad.
But I think I will turn it down.
Because I can't take Mrs A with me.
I would be very busy helping set up a production line to manufacture control surfaces for the 737, but would still have enough time off to do a little exploring, buy a few souvenirs. But I really don't want to spend that amount of time away from my sweetie.
Even if they would let her come with me, what do we do about the house? I really wouldn't feel comfortable having it sit there empty for five months. We would most likely come home to an empty shell.
R can't stay there since she has a restraining order against her, and I don't know that I would trust her, since she just got out of rehab for Heroin addiction. Not exactly a highlight on your resume'.
Oh well, if I want to go there, I will have to pay to go on a trip. I'll work it out somehow.

Sleepless in Latteland

So , what does the image at the left of this post have to do with this topic? Not a whole lot, and everything.
It's just that I have seen that exact same shit-eating grin before. And it's not the grin itself, but the eyes that strike a chord.
The story goes like this: I was a PFC in the Army, and had just joined the Psychiatric Facility on Okinawa as a Social Work Psychology Specialist. It was one of our duties to do pre-trial Psychological examinations to determine sanity for any major case.
Enter Earl Pleasant.
Earl had served six tours of duty in Vietnam, and wanted to go back for a seventh, but the Marine Corps decided he took a little too much pleasure in his duties. As far as Earl was concerned, it was the ideal situation. He was not only allowed to kill people, but he was rewarded for it.
He kept applying for a seventh tour of 'Nam, and his Commanding Officer kept turning him down. Finally in a fit of frustration, he barged into the C.O.'s office with a loaded M16 and demanded to be allowed to return to 'Nam. When his C.O. refused he, emptied a clip in him.
He was brought into the Psych Clinic in chains and fetters, guarded by three armed Marines, Our head Psychologist was to do the exam and interview. He demanded that the chains and leg irons be removed. At first the guards refused, but when he pointed to the twin silver bars on his collar and ordered them to remove the chains, they reluctantly did so.
I was on the front desk, and the interview took place in a conference room immediately to my right. I was answering phones and minding my own business, when I thought I hear some thumping off to my right, Then I heard a very faint cry for help.
I jumped up and ran into the conference room. Earl had the good Captain bent over backwards over the desk, his hands around his neck, squeezing for all he was worth. The Captain's face was purple and he looked unconscious. At least he was not fighting back or responding.
Since Earl had his back to me and was bent over forwards, I rushed up behind him and very quickly put him in a full nelson. After that things became rather confused, as he was trying to throw Me off of his back, and I was hanging on for my life. Literally. He was a trained killer, and his hobby was killing. If he got loose I might very well become his next victim. So I hung on and tightened my hold until I thought I might break his neck. After an eternity which probably lasted no more than 30 seconds, he gave up and said he was OK and I could let him loose. No way was I letting go until someone with weapons took over control of him.
Eventually one of the guards peeked around the corner and asked "Is everything OK in here?" I don't remember my exact reply, but it was enthusiastic and obscene.
I had to testify at his trial. During the entire time of my testimony he sat there with THAT EXACT SAME CRAZY GRIN on his face. He never said a word but kept his eyes on me the whole time. His expression said "Somehow, someday, I am going to find you and remove you from the face of the Earth"
I honestly say it spooked me, Even in court with armed guards, I was spooked. It is a moment that has never completely left me. It is stuck there in the back of my head with some other nasty stuff. Mostly I don't think about it, but every once in a while something will cause it to resurface.
And when I saw that picture, it all came rushing back to the forefront of my consciousness.
And I haven't been sleeping well.

WAR

The Band War, that is.
They were at Jazz Alley, so I made reservations for dinner and the show. It was a great evening.
The food was good. Mrs A had the salmon, I had the Paella. Both were excellent.
When I mention the band most people ask "Who."
Until I mention a few of their hits. Lowrider. Cisco Kid was a Friend of Mine. Spill the wine. Slipping into darkness. Why can't we be friends. Oh yeah, they have been around.
Live they are really a kick. Very funky, humorous, exciting, great with crowd participation. They are one of the few bands that I have seen at Jazz Alley have people up and dancing in the aisles.
Unfortunately the second show was completely sold out. We really wanted to stay, but they hustled us out pretty quickly after the first set was over.
Oh well, we had a great time.

Political Science for Dummies

DEMOCRAT
You have two cows.Your neighbor has none.You feel guilty for being successful. You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.
REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.Your neighbor has none.So?
SOCIALIST
You have two cows.The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.
COMMUNIST
You have two cows.The government seizes both and provides you with milk.You wait in line for hours to get it.It is expensive and sour.
CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.
BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.
AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO (Initial Public Offering) on the 2nd one.You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.Your stock goes up.
FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.You go on strike because you want three cows.You go to lunch and drink wine.Life is good.
JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.Most are at the top of their class at cow school.
GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.
ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are.You break for lunch.Life is good.
RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.You have some vodka.You count them and learn you have five cows.You have some more vodka.You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.
TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two.You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts.
You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.
IRAQI CORPORATION
You have two cows.They go into hiding.They send radio tapes of their mooing.
POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls.Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.
BELGIAN CORPORATION
You have one cow.The cow is schizophrenic.Sometimes the cow thinks she's French, other times she's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.The cow asks permission to be cut in half.The cow dies happy.
FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow.Everyone votes for the best looking one.Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one.Some people vote for both.Some people vote for neither.Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.
CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
You have millions of cows.They make real California cheese.Only five speak English.Most are illegal.Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.
VIETNAMES CORPORATION
You have two cows you have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity and arrest the newsman who reported the numbers.

Lake Quinault Lodge

>This weekend wa one of the ways I pay us back for the long hours and continuous days I work. I got an e-mail from the Lake Quinault Lodge offering a buy-one-get-one-free weekend. Stay one night and get a second night free.

We love the Lodge, as it is quiet and peaceful, with lots of very nice hiking trails in the area. The Logde was built in the 1920's and is a beautifully crafted structure, with a lot of exposed log beam features in the main lobby, as well as a huget stone fireplace. It is in the Quinault Rain Forrest, so if you hate rain, this would not be the place to go. There is no cell phone service. The rooms do not have phones, and most of them have no TV.

There IS a very good restaraunt with exceptional food. The cedar Plank Salmon is exceptionally good, but the crowning glory of the place is the Marrionberry Cobbler, topped with top-shelf vanilla ice cream. The also have a seafood stew that is way above par.

This was monk's first time there, so he was beside himself with excitement. He has a little problem with barking at every noise the first night. It's a good thing he is so damn cute, otherwise I would have to strangle him. By the second night, he had gotten over his initial excitement, so we all slept better.

Saturday was an exceptionally nice day, as the sun was out, the skies were blue and the temperature was moderate. After all, this is the quinault RAIN forest, which holds the record for the most rainfall over time, like an average of twelve feet per year. We took the dogs for a walk by the lake and watched the sunset. It was so still you could hear the ducks quacking clear across the lake.

What a wonderful way to recharge your batteries.

Curmudgeonly

That's how I have been feeling lately.
Part of it has to do with the time of the year. I tend to withdraw this time of year. So just leave me the hell alone, already.
Part of it has to do with being stuck on second shift. I hate second shift. It totally screws up your life. I get home at 11:30 or so, take a couple of hours to unwind, usually get to bed around 2:00. Eight hours sleep get's me up at 10:00. By the time I shower, and get breakfast, it's too late to do anything before I report to work at 2:30.
Part of it has to do with working six or seven days a week, although there has been nothing to do. I sat here both days this weekend and didn't do a blessed thing except play solitaire, surf the internet and do some statistical reports. Well. I did bid on and win a set of Dellorto DHLA 40 carbs ( I know that is greek to most of you) , but that is hardly work related.
So, you there, get off the lawn or I'll sick the dogs on you (A Shi-Tzu and a Brussels Griffon). That ought to be a hoot.

Uncle Fred II

Well, the results were a lot worse than anticipated. They had to take Uncle Fred's whole foot to the ankle. The blood flow in his lower leg was so bad that the doctors didn't feel there was enough to support healing. That's one of the worst things about diabetes. I have seen people I love slowly be decreased because of the things that get amputated. First a toe, then a second toe, then the whole foot, then the leg to the knee, then the whole leg, and finally loss of life.
I just hope that Uncle Fred will rally and take it for what it is: A severe warning that he needs to mend his ways.

Hope he rebounds quickly.

Uncle Fred

I received the news through e-mail that my Uncle Fred is in the hospital. That's him in the picture, with his sister, my Aunt Mary Rose. He had injured his big toe, and not taken care of it, and it went septic. They have had to amputate.
Uncle Fred occupies a special place in the family. He never married, and kept the farm first with my grandparents, then with my parents.
I would trust Uncle Fred with my fortune if I told him to keep it and hold it for me. I cannot say that about any other person on this Earth. He is the most honest person I have ever known, and his integrity has never been questioned.
Unfortunately he believes everyone else is just as honest as he is, and has the same integrity. This mkes him one of the worst possible businessmen on the face of the Earth. I hate to think of how many times he got screwed in a cattle deal or was sold a bad milk cow with mastitis. Or got a "Deal" on a used peoce of machinery. It never changed his attitude or his way of doing things. He was what he was in an elemental way. Easier to change the weather than change Uncle Fred.
I sure hope his recovery is quick and trouble free.

Happy New Year

2010 will not ever be my favorite year. Way too much drama. two major eye surgeries, Three dental surgeries. Drama with the kids,
New year's Day has been the kind of day I hope to repeat many times in the coming year. Slept in, late mutual shower and and all. I made Tempura for dinner for Carol and I and my cousin Lynn. A quiet evening at home. A scene I hope is repeated often in the upcoming year.
We have been together for nine years, marries for almost the same, but we have never had the time to really explore our relationship. Hopefully we will have the time to just relax and spend some time together.
L and D were driving down the freeway the day after Christmas, and the driver's side wheel and tire departed the truck and crossed six lanes of traffic without hitting a thing. We had made plans to work on his truck on New Years Day. Guess we shouldn't have delayed. The noise he was hearing wasn't brakes after all, but a wheel bearing. He managed to stop the truck without hitting anything. Damned lucky.
So I have loaned them my truck until they can get theirs repaired.
Hope everyone had a nice Holiday season. Mine turned out to be pretty good. The new grand daughter has red hair and these incredible golden eyelashes. She has a good disposition, is mostly happy, but will certainly let you know when she wants something. Nothing I love better than holding an infant in my lap.

Chaos

I am not a big fan of Christmas. Too many bad memories associated with the time around now. I manage to survive, but I always feel a lot better once Christmas itself is passed. I get the following week off, so I can pull the covers over my head and make the world go away for a couple of days.
We are headed out on Friday for Utah to see our new grand daughter. We won't straay too long, will be back on Monday. As the saying goes, relatives are like fish, they start to stink after a couple of days.
Tomorrow we have to get going early. Take the dogs off to the pet hotel, come back and pack, cook egg rolls, and go in an hour early to work. Promises to be a hectic morning. Then Friday finish packing and head out to the airport for a 1:30 flight.
Not looking forward to the security crap at the airport, but you do what you have to do.

Brakes II

Well, I have the Westy Back, and the brakes work just fine. They replaced the defective proportioning unit for free, so I guess I can't complain.........wait.........check that..........
Yes I can.
They screwed me out of $1000.00 doing a bunch of work that didn't need to be done, while not repairing what DID need to be done. I wanted all of the other stuff done eventually, but not right now. I mean, who wants to spend a grand on brakes right before Christmas?
I still need to get some other stuff done in my quest to get the Westfalia into better-than-new condition. For some reason, someone has removed the defroster fan switch. It is in the glove box, not connected to anything. I have a feeling that when I get around to checking out the situation, it will not be nice. Vanagons have a history of burning up defroster fan switches. I just hope the fan itself is OK. It is a kind of a pain in the butt keeping the windshield clean.
Then the stereo went all wonky. It keeps turning itself off and back on. You can hear an audible click in the computer somewhere, but I haven't had time to check it out. I had all of the 12 volt accessories wired to go through the secondary battery so that you can play the stereo without draining the primary battery. I think they must have screwed something up.
Well, maybe on Sunday I can get the time to go out and look at it. Only thing is, Sunday is the only day I have with Mrs A, and I hate to spend it out elbow deep in a car.
I still haven't put up the tree either, or strung any outside lights.
Bad Al, bad, bad.

Brakes

I have been driving my truck instead of the Westy for the last couple weeks, just to drive it a little. When I went to switch back over, I got in and.......no brakes.
I am all in favor of brakes. Stopping is the second most important thing you do in the car. Stopping is secondary, because brakes mean nothing if you first can't get going. I got in the car, and the pedal went right to the floor. Since it was freezing butt cold out, I didn't want to work on it, so I took it to the local shop. They managed to wring a grand out of me by the time they were through. And that was with a 10% discount........about that discount: Firestone sent me an on-line coupon that said 10% discount if you spent over $500 and put it on your card. SO when I went in to pay my bill, I handed over the coupon. The guy behind the counter called over the manager, they looked at the coupon and said "This is only if you open a new credit account, and threw it in the trash. I asked them to dig it out of the trash and hand it to me. They reluctantly did.
I read it very carefully, even all of the small print. There was nothing that said anything about a new account, just if you charged over $500 on your Firestone credit card you got a 10% discount. That was over $100, so I confronted them, and asked them to show me where it said it was for new accounts only. They couldn't, so I got me my $100 discount.
Part two: I drove the Westy to work on Thursday. When I get out to the car and get in, the brake pedal goes clear to the floor. NO BRAKES. I spent over a thousand dollars and I HAVE NO BRAKES.
I managed to get the van home using the emergency brake. This morning I had a Dental appointment, and afterwards I stop in, drop the keys on the counter, and loudly announce "I just spent over $1000 for you to fix my brakes AND I HAVE NO BRAKES. I am extremely unhappy".
They asked me if I could bring it in, and I said "WERE YOU NOT LISTENING???? I HAVE NO BRAKES!!!"
So I insisted that they call a tow truck at their expense, and tow it down to the shop. Which they did.
I just got off of the phone with them. The Brake Proportioning unit was leaking, which was draining off the fluid. If they had done any testing, they would have seen it dripping. Before I could say anything they snuck in "We will replace the Proportioning Unit free, but it won't be in until Tuesday".
Here I was all worked up and ready to fight, and they pulled my soapbox out from under me.

Belated.........

I hate that word. It means I have once again procrastinated my way past the socially accepted deadline to do something.....again.
We went down to Bonney Lake and spent Thanksgiving with L & D. They are working themselves up towards a permanent commitment.
We spent the night. There was beer before dinner, wine with dinner, and whiskey after dinner, so it was just a good idea to stay off of the roads.
The meal was fantastic. Turkey and dressing and spuds and gravy and collard greens and ham hocks and sweet potatoes. And two kinds of pie for dessert. Everything was perfect. Best Thanksgiving Dinner in a long time.
Afterwards we watched "The Expendables". Heck of an action flick. There was so much action that at times it was difficult to tell who was doing what to who with which weapon. Testosterone wafted off of the screen like heat waves. May be the best action film ever..........and it even had a plot.......sort of, but who needs a plot anyway.
Before dinner we watched "Trains and Planes and Automobiles" a true Thanksgiving classic. Then after "The Expendables" we watched "A Christmas Story" while telling stories of our own and solving most of the wold's problems.
What a great day!
Tonight we are going down to Jazz Alley for dinner and to see The Taj Mahal Trio. Not everyone's kettle of fish, but someone I thoroughly enjoy.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Snow Job

I have lived in this part of the world for the majority of my life.
I have never seen the driving conditions worse than last night. The wind was a sustained 35 miles an hour, blowing snow. Underlying the blowing snow was a sheet of ice. One advantage of going home after 11:00 is that most of the idiocy has already transpired. The disadvantage is that the temperature has usually fallen below freezing. What was bare and wet has become a sheet of ice.
So I didn't even try to make it up the big hill to home. I drove around to the ballpark that is located at the bottom of the hill right below home. Parked the truck, and walked the couple hundred yards up the hill home. I couldn't have tried to go up it, as someone had gotten their truck stuck sideways right in the middle of the street, blocking both lanes.
Getting around this morning was a piece of cake, but I am hoping that there will be enough traffic on the main road up the hill that I can actually drive all the way home. It's supposed to be about 14 degrees tonight. Not exactly weather for a stroll.
One more day of this nonsense, then a four day weekend. The warmer weather is supposed to give us something to be thankful for.
I'll just be happy to make it home in one piece.

Four Letter Words

This one starts with "S" and is usually either preceded or followed by unprintable other words. Yeah, I mean snow.
White crystalline stuff falling out of the sky.
I guess this means Indian Summer is over with.
And in a couple of hours I get to go to work.
The roads are getting scary, but not impassable yet. I will be able to make it to work, it being downhill and then flat. Making it back uphill can be another thing entirely. It really doesn't bother me. If it gets bad enough, I just park at the bottom of the hill. There is a ballpark there with a small parking lot. It is about a hundred yards up a steep windy road to the house. I have left my vehicle and walked a couple of times. It's no big deal (other than the time an out-of-control SUV almost ran in to me.)
It is supposed to freeze up overnight, so it might get a little slippery coming home. If I can't make it up the hill, I just turn around and head for the parking at the bottom of the hill.

Dinner

Yesterday, those of us on second shift were supposed to get an end of the year celebration and thanks dinner provided by The Company.
Twenty minutes before we were supposed to go to dinner, they cancelled the dinner.
It seems no one had reserved the room or ordered the food.
It's sure nice to be appreciated.
I ended up going out to the Ptomaine Truck and getting a foot long Burrito.

Sub Prime Dip

I should know better than to go to our cafeteria for food. The quality is questionable at best. Sometimes it is downright disgusting.
I was drooling in the keyboard, so I went to the cafeteria for a stimulant. They stock Sobe NO FEAR sugar free, which will get me through the rest of the evening.
While I was there, I saw that the featured special for the night was Prime Rib Dip. Supposedly this is like a French Dip sandwich, except made with Prime Rib. I love French Dip Sandwiches, and it is almost impossible to ruin them. It looked OK, so I bought one.
I don't know why I do these things to myself. I should know better. I get all optimistic and set myself up for disappointment. Each time I tell myself I will NEVER make that same mistake again, but eventually I forget how hideous the experience was last time.
So: Not Prime Rib Dip
Sub Prime Rib Dip.

Escaping the weekend

Contrary to all my good intentions, I accomplished exactly............nothing.
Well, I geuss that depends on your definition of nothing.
Robert Jordan's ghost written next book of the Wheel Of Enless Sequels just released book Thirteen of Fourteen. The new co-author has been doing an admirable job of finishing out the series. The transition has been practically seamless. I reserved a copy so that it was delivered to my home on the same day it went on sale.
So needless to say, I spent some time curled up with the book.
I finished the jgsaw puzzle I have been working.
I ate too much junk foor, while mourning the state of Football in the State of Washington.
It is incredible that as sucky as Seattle has played, they are still in First Place. It's not that they are good, it's just that the rest of the league sucks even more than they do. It was painful to watch on Sunday, but I stuck it out to the bitter end. For what purpose, I dont know other than I am just plain stubborn.

Time Out

I have this weekend off. Both days. As in two days IN A ROW.
But don't worry about me getting bored. I have all the things to do that I have put off from the last two weekends. The lawn needs to be raked. I need to work on the spare room/library. And need to work on the spare room in the basement.
And I have three cars that need work.
And naps need to be taken.
Watch the Washington teams get beaten in Football. Cats and dogs and birds. All lost last weekend.
HMMMM that sounds like at least three pounds to put in a two pound bag.
But I won't be bored.

A small vacation

I shut my blog down for a couple of days. Actually I set the permissions to only allow myself access, which is the same as shutting it down.
Needless to say, I have opened it back up again.
I had to get up early to get to court to have R served with a restraining order. It is in place now, so I think I can look forward to a year of peace and quiet.
I also went and got my flu shot today. Hope it's not too late. I was coughing and sneezing earlier, but I'm hoping it was allergy and not the beginning of the flu.
Gotta run. I am at work and they are not paying me to blog. Funny how they are all fussy that way.

Back at it

Well, it is Saturday, and I am getting ready to go to work. Second Saturday in a row.We are working six days a week, down from working seven. I had avoided any overtime since I had my last eye surgery at the beginning of August.
It has been a tough week.
Besides still being on second shift and hating every minute of it, Mrs A is still angry. She went down and filed a restraining order against R. Court date next Thursday. Mrs A is really wound up. She is dreading going to court. Can't say as I blame her.
I booked a flight to Utah for Christmas. Never have been in that part of the country in the Winter. Should be fun. And it will be a good time of year to get out of Dodge. I am not a big fan of the Holidays. Too much stress and expense. At least by going to Utah, we will only be dealing with one family. Plus it will give R a Chance to be with the rest of the family without worrying about violating the Restraining Order.

Down the Drain

I have fought with the downstairs toilet for over 20 years. It constantly develops a partial blockage. Not enough to overflow, but stuff just doesn't go down the way it should. So I go in and vigorously plunge it, and it works OK for a day or two. I have snaked it with no results. I even pulled the toad and checked that there was no obstruction, after all who knows what might have een flushed
So I gave up and got a new toilet. Not just any toilet. A $250.00 Toilet with a fourstar rating.
I happened to be watching the learning channel the other day, and "How it works" or some such came on. The show was about.......toilets. They gave a demonstration, showing what the various models were capable of. The one I bought flush 20 golf balls down in a single flush, and still only use a gallon and a half of water. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it.
So I Installed the latest in toilet technology, and so far, so good.

Now, where'd I leave those golf balls?

Updates

R is checking in to rehab on Monday. This is a good thing. Maybe it means that she has turned the corner and is taking responsibility for her actions. While she is "inside" she has signed over responsibility for "i" to her mom. It's great that her mom is actually doing something for her. I guess my attitude is "Wait and see". I can't be too optimistic at this point. We'll see how it goes.

Mrs A and I are going to Utah for Christmas. We have a new grand daughter, and while we can't get away right now, we do need to show R & R that we are excited for them. We have been together for close to eight years now, and it will be the first time we have gone to Utah for Christmas. I am not excited about all the hassle and expense. Airfare is about $750.oo round trip. By the time you add in baggage fees and other crap, it will be $1000.00. An awful lot for four days.

I got the other lense for my glasses today. I can actually see again. Binocular! It will take a little while for my poor brain to adjust. It has been almost a year and a lot of hassle, but it sure as heck beats being blind.

One of the things this means is I will go back to working overtime. Probably next weekend. they have not been working Sundays lately, so I will only be working six days a week.

I was sure wishing I was ready to retire this week. I found a piece of property over around Cle Elem (also known as 'over on the dry side'). 2600 sq ft house two barns and a shop, 23 acres of land. As is bank repo. The intriguing part was the statement "Purchaser is responsible for environmental issues". That could mean anything from the house was used as a meth factory, to having a sewage pond or the river overflowed onto the property. The feedback from the real estate agent was that it was the latter. Price? $199,000. If I was ready to retire, I would jump on it, but the commute to Renton would be at least an hour each way every day. And I am five years away from retirement. I sure hate to let this one get away. It has everything I want. If it only wasn't so far from work, and over a mountain pass.

Nothing New

Just keep our head down and march.

I got the OK from the eye doctor to get my new glasses, but the eye doctor's office called to cancel my appointment. I was really disappointed. It is coming up on a year since I have been able to see properly, and I am getting impatient. They rescheduled for next Monday, but that means a delay of a week to getting my new glasses.

I am still on second shift and hating it. It is crazy at work right now, as it is at the point in the assembly process when they put in the wires. It is good to be rel busy, as there is nothing worse than sitting around with nothing to do.

Mrs A and I are trying to plan a getaway, probably to Lake Quinault. I need to look at the schedule at work and see when I can work in a little time off.

There is a new family member. A grand daughter, Ella Jones, in Utah. We are trying to work in a visit down there for Christmas, since I have a week off between Christmas and New Years. Guess I need to start pricing airfares and car rentals.

Has it been that long?

Since I last posted. Time flies when you are depressed. It all becomes a big blur.

Still hating second shift.

Things are still unsettled at home.

I don't know where my daughter and grandson are.

Other than that, there's not a lot to report.

Mrs A is going to see a counselor today. I offered to go along, but she didn't want me to go. I hope it helps her.

I know everything will turn out OK in the end, but it sure is hard getting through the middle part.

An Uneasy Peace

For me, anyway.
There is no peace between my wife and daughter. They go their separate ways, and although I wish we could all live together in peace, it is not to be. It would be foolish to try to do anything about it at this point.
I think I handled everything about as well as a man can. Neither my wife nor my daughter is mad at me. I have maintained my neutrality very well. I love them both, and they know it. It's just that they should never attempt to live under the same roof.
I helped R move most of her stuff. She is handling things as well as can be expected. She is pissed at the abrupt was things were handled, but recognizes that she and Mrs A are never going to see eye to eye. According to her, she didn't want to move in here because she was afraid that things would turn out badly, but ignored the little voice in the back of her head. That voice is there for a reason, and you need to pay attention. It is your subconscious telling you something that your reasoning mind isn't aware of. I know for me it is almost always right.
I keep telling them I don't care who said what to who, It happened, and I am not interested in placing blame on anyone. We just need to work our way through things in the most painless way possible.
But it is nice to come home to peace and quiet and not feel like there is a smoldering fire that threatens to burst into flame at any moment.
God, I miss my Grandson.

Around the Mountain........Again

Mrs A firmly believes that everything that happens to us of any significance is a part of a bigger plan. When there is a potential lesson to be learned, if we miss the point, it will come around again, and again, until we "Get it".
I'm not sure how to interpret this considering the latest round of crap.
Two months ago, against my better judgement, we allowed R to move in with us. Understand this: It was not my decision. When she called up and talked to Mrs A, she said she was going to have to go to the homeless shelter, because the Universal Sperm Donor had started hitting her. She had the bruises to prove it.
So she and "i" moved in. For the most part it went pretty well at first, but there is a history there, and I was pretty sure it would not last.
Let's just say that our lifestyles didn't mesh well. Mrs A and I work, R does not, and stays up until two then sleeps until noon. Nothing wrong with that except that she and "i" are very noisy, and Mrs A is a very light sleeper. I bought her a "White Noise Generator" which worked reasonable well, but not well enough. She missed out on a bunch of sleep. She got grouchy.
So she and R got into it last night. Screaming and obscenities.
The cops were called.
I had to leave work and go home and straighten things out.
No blood was shed, no blows were exchanged, and no one went to jail, but R left and won't be coming back, except to get her things. I changed the locks today.
I talked to R, and she went off on me, pulled every guilt trip known to man. I felt like shit, but told her it just wasn't working out, and she went off on me. I was in tears when I hung up on her.
Mrs A went down to the Regional Justice Center with the intention of getting a Protection Order.
Once again I am stuck in the middle, and no matter what I do or say, it will be perceived as betrayal by either Mrs A or R. Since I have no choice in the matter but to take a side, of course Mrs A comes first.
It breaks my heart to throw my grandson out, but if I don't I can kiss my marriage goodbye.
Shit, shit, shit.
All I want is for Mrs A and I to be left alone. We have a great relationship when people just leave us the hell alone.
Mrs A needs to learn to stop trying to help people when she can't help them.

More Glass

These are the other two pieces I made in my Glass Blowing class.
They came out reasonably well.
A couple of vases/votives.
My other eye continues to get better. I am sitting here typing this without wearing glasses, something I have never been able to do. I can also read without my glasses, which is very neat. I worked on the computer at work last week without my glasses, although I had to bring the monitor pretty close.
I have to use eyedrops four times a day for another month. Then eventually I will be able to get new glasses.

On Sunday, my Nephew got married. He got marries at the Edgewater Inn, on Pier 67 in Seattle. The very same Edgewater inn where The Beatles stayed when they were in Seattle, and fished out the windows.

I believe the Mothers of Invention also stayed there, also fished out the window, where they caught a fish, and penned the immortal "Mudshark".

A semi-formal affair. Good food, free booze, and and dancing. Doesn't get much better than that. I bought a good suit for the occasion, and Mrs A got a new fancy dress.

Well, I need to go get ready for work.

Eye Surgery

They did surgery on my other eye on Monday. Lense replacement due to a cataract. They also did a vitrectomy at the same time. Since I had a Macular Hole in the other eye, there was a statistically significant chance I would develop one in my left. As long as they were in there doing the lense replacement, they did the vitrectomy as a preventative.
I am struggling a little with the recovery. My vision is of course, blurry right now. but that's not the source of my struggle. The damn thing itches.
This is not helped by the fact that I went back to work on Wednesday. Also aided and abetted by the fact that I forgot my eyedrops. When I got up Thursday morning my eye was bright red. It is gradually clearing up, but it still itches. Just a sign that it is healing.
When I went back to work on Wednesday, I reported to second shift. I am not a happy camper. My boss may be the single most ineffective, harebrained individual I have ever worked for in my entire career, and I've worked for a couple of real characters.
So I am shopping my services around at the Lazy B. I have a couple of good leads, but it may take a while to work any transfer. One of the other people in our organization is also upset enough that he has already put in for a transfer.
Part of the trouble is that I will be swapped back and forth between first and second shift nine times in the next eighteen months. That just ain't right.

Dynamite

My mother's side of the family has traditionally held a family reunion on the Fourth of July every year.
I have always enjoyed getting together with the relatives I don't see the rest of the year and see what everyone has been doing. Not the same people show up every year, so there is always someone different to talk to.
It is always potluck, with everyone bringing something they make especially well or are proud of (not necessarily the same thing). It is pretty much a traditional Fourth of July.Except for the dynamite.
My Aunt and Uncle live on the South end of Vashon Island, where they have a sizeable chunk of property. It is a very rural setting. The land is mostly second growth timber and brush. At the time, because they were clearing land, they could buy dynamite (for agricultural purposes only) at the Co-op.
Anyone who has spent time on the business end of a muck stick and prybar trying to get a stubborn stump out of the ground can really appreciate the pristine beauty of a couple of well placed sticks of dynamite. Not to mention the fact that it is a heck of a lot of fun to make things go BOOM. Both the relatives on Vashon and my family in Idaho had obtained and used dynamite for a number of years.
For the family get-together, people would usually start arriving around noon, and start out with the veggies-and-dip, and chips and snacks. Around the same time the first fireworks would show up.
The policy towards fireworks has never been consistent in the State of Washington. Heck, it is not even consistent from block to block. It is literally possible to buy fireworks, walk a couple of blocks and be arrested for setting them off. It is not a policy designed to to build a great deal of respect for the law and its enforcement. To complicate matters, the Indian Reservations are only subject to Federal Law, so you can get a lot more of "The Good Stuff" from the Indians, including some stuff that is outside Federal guidelines.
Every year, McCord Air Force Base in Tacoma holds an Airshow to celebrate the Fourth. They generally flew North out of the base and turned around at the North end of Vashon. During the day we would see all kinds of Aircraft from fighters to cargo carriers, to bombers. We would hear them coming and rush outside to see if we could identify the type and model of the plane.
The fireworks would typically start with the younger kids lighting snakes and smoke bombs, then progress through lady fingers, regular firecrackers, bottle rockets and the usual small fireworks.
Since we had to take the last ferry back to the mainland at around 7:00 we never got into the more elaborate airborne displays. We spent the afternoon and early evening, when not occupied eating, inventing new and more elaborate ways of blowing things up.Firecrackers were placed under tin cans.Holes were punched in tin cans to pass the fuse through, and then the cans pushed down into mud or soft sand. The idea is to see how high in the air you can blow the can. My personal favorite was an Old El Paso chilies can inside a regular soup can partly filled with water. If you didn't get the fuse wet, it was good for at least a hundred feet of altitude.
I suppose that it was inevitable that we would someday come to the conclusion that since we had dynamite, and there were stumps to be blown, there was no reason we couldn't blow stumps an the Fourth of July.
We didn't do this every year, just when the urge was irresistible.One year after sending cans flying as high as possible, we started speculating how high in the air we could send something if dynamite provided the propulsive force and we could find something sturdy enough to not disintegrate.
First we took an old wellhead, dropped a lit stick of dynamite down it, followed by a section of madrona. It made a satisfactory BOOM, but the wood disappeared completely. We never saw it after it left the pipe.Next we saw a car wheel laying out by the barn. Perfect!We put the car wheel on a flat place over the top of a stick of dynamite, lit the fuse and got back.
BOOM!
Totally unsatisfactory. The wheel, spinning madly went about thirty feet in the air. Heck we could blow tin cans a lot higher than that. The problem seemed to be that the force of the explosion needed to be focused. Not an insurmountable problem. Having experienced the benefits of the fact that water is not compressible, we decided to dig a pit slightly larger than the wheel about a foot deep, fill it with water and try again. And since one stick of dynamite didn't provide enough propulsive force, three ought to do the job!
We finished digging our pit and filling it with water. Actually, but the time it soaked in, it was more like thin mud than water, but we were pretty sure it would do the job. We had waterproof fuse, so we didn't have to worry about the fuse going out. We set three sticks of dynamite equally spaced in the pit, and dropped in the wheel. We lit the fuse and got the heck out of there.
Just as we lit the fuse ad retreated, we heard a thumping noise on the horizon. It was a flight of six helicopters. Surely they wouldn't be coming anywhere near us! But they kept on a course that would bring them right overhead.
OH SHIT!
We looked at the wheel with the dynamite under it.
The fuse got shorter.
No one was willing to go near it to pull the fuse. A mistake would probably be fatal.
The helicopters came closer.
The fuse got shorterCloserShorter
BOOM!!!
We had succeeded in our plans, for the wheel flew a couple of hundred feet in the air.Right into the view of the helicopters. They must have seen it, because the formation split apart and headed away.
We figured we were in huge trouble.
The first thing we did was put the dynamite back in the powder shed.
Then we all went in and watched some sporting event on TV and prayed nothing came of it. Every time a car went by, we figured it was going to turn in the driveway, filled with guys in grey trenchcoats and black fedoras, but we never heard a thing.
I always wondered what the Flight Leader reported.
I don't think he would want to report that they were under attack by car wheels.
Maybe they never said a thing and that's why we never heard anything.
The only thing I know for sure is that the next time we went to the Co-op to buy dynamite, they wouldn't sell us any.

What a day

Today could have gone a lot of different ways.

I got up feeling OK. We decided to take the dogs and go on a road trip. his would be Monk's first road trip. Molly is a road vet.

This was the first road trip in the Westfalia, the first time we have had it on the road since I fixed the gas tank, the first road trip since putting in the new engine, so I approached it as a "Let's hit the road and see what happens."

When you leave the house and hit the road, there are ten things that can happen, and nine of them are bad. None of the bad things happened. Lots of good things happened.

We headed over Snoqualmi Pass to Eastern Washington, or as we put it here in Pugetopolis "Over on the Dry Side", and I decided I wanted to go over to Roslyn and then up thru Ronald and Salmon le Sac, and then up into the mountains.

I have a special place to me. Take the road from Salmon le Sac up into the mountains at a place called the Scatter Creek Campground there is a camp ground where the view is so heartbreakingly beautiful that you just don't want to leave.

One of the reasons this place is special to me is that for my fifteenth birthday I asked my family to drop me off at Scatter Creek and leave me for a week, along with my cousin Kelly. We had a blast, hiking and fishing and exploring. It is one of my fondest memories of growing up.

When you grow older you have a lot of times you want to return to some special moment or memory, and when you try, nothing is the same. The present cannot live up to the memories.

But some times, some rare once in a while, it is not just the same, it is better. Today, when we turned into the campground, it was pretty much empty. I pulled in in such a way that the view was obscured. Then I took Mrs A by the hand and said "turn around and look behind you" When she did I heard her catch her breath, because behind her was this incredible view that belongs on post cards and calendars. Not something you can just drive up and see. In the foreground is the river coming out of the lake. In the mid ground there are the winding paths of the lake, which are accented by all of the wild rice, which is this brilliant green. The far shore is a much darker green of pine trees, the purples and dark greys winding up to the blacks and brilliant blue of the sky. Not a cloud anywhere.

We stood in the stream, me in the front her behind, hugging me, the incredible view in front of us.

Some times you CAN go back and capture a magical moment. Sometimes it can be even better if you bring someone who can appreciate it as much as you can.

yeah, I'm still here

I have been a very bad blogger lately. Too much going on in the daily world.
We were supposed to go to Idaho for a family reunion of sorts, and didn't make it. When I filled up the Westfalia to to top for the first time the other day, it overflowed a pint or so of gas. It also smelled of gas whenever I went around a corner, so my first day of vacation was spent dropping, fixing and reinstalling the gas tank. There was a broken fitting going to the overflow tank. Reinstalling the tank I managed to pull a muscle in my back, so I missed the reunion. I won't drive when I'm taking muscle relaxers and pain killers.
So I am in day four of a five day vacation. The farthest I have made it is about four miles to the Movie theater to see "Salt". Pretty good flick. Non stop action with enough plot twists to keep you guessing.
I thing we are going to pile into the Westphalia and head for the mountains today. Just to get out of the house.
R and "i" are still with us and will be for a couple of months. She is undergoing court ordered drug treatment. Since she has treatment three days a week and attends NA twice, there is no way she can hold a job at the same time. The court ordered drug treatment is because she tested positive for Pot. The State has issued the proclamation that the police relegate marijuana offences to the least priority, but there are some judges that continue to pursue prosecution as a sort of personal campaign. Rose has cooperated, but as a result she pretty much has to stay with us while she is in treatment.
Mrs A does not well tolerate another woman in her house. It has led to several arguments between us. She treats Rose like a servant girl. Lots of do this and do that. Since she is living here rent free, I guess she has a right to expect some help around here Sometimes it's not what you say, but how you say it. I try to keep my nose out of it, but it is impossible for me to ignore completely.
My sister Suzie and her kids were in town. For the most part I was too busy to visit them very much. I managed to drop by and see them one afternoon after work, but that wasn't nearly enough. I would have liked to have them over for dinner on the weekend, but when you are working seven days a week, it is hard to work up enough energy to do much of anything.
Oh well.
TTFN as tigger would say.

Glass Class

Here are some pictures of my first projects in my glass blowing class. I am pleased with them as first attempts.

The fluted bowl came out pretty much as I planned, except I wanted more red at the bottom. Doing a full red to orange to yellow color shift as you go upwards. I cut the globe too close to the bottom or something because very little of the red came through. I guess I should have gone for one more dip in the red. Oh well, pretty darn good for a first attempt.

Of course I had lots of help from the instructor.

The two paperweights were made using a "Blow and Suck" technique.

Hey you in the back of the room! I hear that snicker......cut that out right now!

You basically blow a small globe, and then suck in all the air, causing the globe to collapse, then cover it over with a layer of clear to create the globe.

The floppy bowl was a lot more technically complicated, but I had a lot of help from the instructor. There are only two people in the class, and the other on couldn't make it, so I had three hours of private instruction.
I'm not sure exactly what to expect. It was a lot hotter than I expected. The rule was more or less "First degree burns are expected. Second degree burns are bad, third degree to be avoided at all costs" I suppose over time you must develop thick skin or something. I had to back off several times when I thought I had too much heat, but I was fine this morning, although I noticed that all the small hairs on my hands are pretty much gone.
I'm not sure what to do next. Probably a vase and some votives.

Maybe a mug.