Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone in the Blogosphere! This is posted by request of my sister.

I'm Back

After a two week hiatus, I'm back on the blogosphere, somewhere. Lot's of stuff has been happening, most of which involves Dale and his kidney transplant, and shuttling their kids back and forth from Paris to Baylor. But all is going well for them now - they are back home, which means no more road trips to Dallas (sniff).

Speaking of road trips, I had a nice one earlier this week. Well, it was for a bad reason (a death in the family) but I love road trips anyway, so I made the best of things, even though there was some inital, ahem, reticence on my part to go. (Reticence being the nicest word for what I was really feeling). The drive down to Sinton (30 miles from Corpus Christi, TX) was nice, as was the return trip, even though we got in at nearly 1 AM Wednesday morning. The funniest part of the whole trip was finding out from the guy at the Motel 6's front desk that they didn't have wireless internet (!!!!!!). He then suggested I go to the Best Western Parking lot next door and use theirs - he did it all the time, apparently.

And that's really everything worth posting - wow, my life is boring. I need a good road trip or something, not that it's likely anytime soon. Oh well...

Doggie Ransom

I read about this today (just take a peek really quick - I'll wait.)

Okay, finished? So basically, someone is holding this guy's dog Edna ransom. The dognapper appears to be a kid.

First off, although I know as Christians we are supposed to show mercy and forgiveness, if someone dognapped Snickers, then threatened to hurt her unless I paid up...well, there would be no punishment sufficient for them, whether the criminal was merely a kid or not. People who would willfully torture and hurt dogs for fun (or profit) should be shot on sight, with no due process or anything of that nature. I know that's a rather extreme position, but oh well - if it was Snickers being tortured by someone while I listened on the phone (as the dognapper threatened to do in the news article) then I would cheerfully shoot them with a gun, if I had one. Again, it's an extreme position, but if anyone ever hurt Snickers, they would pay, and pay dearly.

A Big Scare...But Everything's Okay Now

I took Snickers for a walk today. Normally, I shut the gate in the fence around the track I take her to - but today I didn't. Normally, I always bring the leash just in case there are people at the track - but today I didn't. Normally, she stays with me the whole time, but today, she didn't. As we walked, I called Dee's daughter to tell her I would probably pick her up for church around 4 PM. I got off the cell phone and looked for Snickers - she was gone. I whistled - nothing. I called for her - still nothing. Then I saw her - on the other side of the fence, across the road! She must have gone back through the open gate and decided to go back home on her own. I ran - not a brisk walk, not a jog, but a flat-out RUN! I could just see her getting squashed by a speeding truck or something. I finally caught up to her after running through the gate and a good ways down the road - she knew she was in trouble but I suppose I was more glad she was okay than angry with her. Anyway, everything is okay now.
The next big thing is going to Baylor this Tuesday for Dale's surgery. I hope everything is okay for that as well. Then this weekend I'm taking Kinsey and Jessica to the hospital to see Dale, and maybe do some Christmas shopping, look at lights, and things of that nature. Maybe I'll even make some of that punch Mom makes for Christmas Eve every year and take a thermos - we always drank some when driving around looking at lights on Christmas Eve. Hmm, that sounds good...

Thanksgiving Recap

'Twas the evening after Thanksgiving, when all through the house, there was way too much food, ...... hmm, I guess I should stick to photography and leave the poetry to my sister, ha ha. Here's a challenge, Robin: Make a poem for the evening after Thanksgiving, when you are still stuffed and barely able to move, and the thought of all the turkey and related foods in the fridge almost sickens you (and yet I am compelled by some sinister calorie-infused force to go and sample Dee's pumpkin pie cake - even now it's sitting on the bar, taunting me, daring me to have "just a taste".)
Hmm, I got off topic there. Thanksgiving went very deliciously today. Mom and Dad brought the dressing, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, a uber-delicious lowcal pumpkin pie, and green bean casserole. The Martins came, bearing turkey, pumpkin pie cake (also good - and yes, I can hear its sweet siren song even now), mashed potatoes and more deviled eggs. My grandmother made a lowcal cherry dessert which was quite good as well, a ham, and rolls. I made sweet potatoes, a pork roast with a cran-apricot glaze (I reduced some cranberry juice for almost an hour, then added some apricot preserves - it was dang good), and the piece de resistance: my signature Smoked Cheddar Baked Macaroni and Cheese. Mmmmmm.
Kinsey almost ate all of the pork roast while we were still cooking. And they all said we would have too much meat! What do Mom and Dee know about cooking Thanksgiving? Ha, at one point, all the hens left the kitchen and I was alone (well, Jessica and Kinsey were there for a bit, but I was Head Chef In Charge by default), and we had reached a critical mass as far as things needing to be cooked versus available oven space. Thanks to my brilliantly contrived on-the-spot resource management techniques (in other words, I got Jess to ask the hens what to do, lol), Thanksgiving was rescued from an almost certain dismal dud of a disaster (ahh, alliteration) to the fantastic flourish of flavors that would have made Paula Deen proud.
Now I sit here, stuffed to the gills (with Dee's cake singing softly in my ear) watching the TVLand I Love Lucy marathon. I hope I haven't missed the Vitameatavegimin episode.

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Politics, Politics

I'm watching the Democratic Presidential debate as I write this - ooooh, I'm live blogging!!! Not that I am a liberal - far from it. I just enjoy watching these characters dance around the issues with feel-good nonsense answers, cliches and platitudes (i.e. "return power to the people", "what the people want", and so on). My favorite line so far (not counting Joe Biden's pretty good attempts at levity) is from Dennis Kucinich, responding to the question of providing drivers licenses to illegals. He skirts the issue, and instead takes issue with Wolf Blitzer's use of the term "illegal", saying they should be called "undocumented". GAHHH!!!????? They broke the law by coming here ILLEGALLY, therefore they are ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!! I am sick and tired of the dems trying to play down that fact - they are law breakers, plain and simple.

Hillary Clinton just said she feels "very comfortable in the kitchen", referring to the heat she has been getting from the 'boys' lately. But it reminds me of something else she said back in Bill's days about not staying in the kitchen and baking cookies. I recall Mom took some offense at that - just a little!! Seems like Hillary might not be as comfortable in the kitchen as she says, ha ha.

Obama is floundering, almost petulant because he can't seem to get his points across. The reason he can't get them across is because he refuses to give a straight answer - and they thought Clinton (Hillary) was bad about that! The guy's a politician, trying to give a slick answer and not actually answer the questions. Anyone who thinks he is a political outsider is gravely mistaken.

So far, the winner in my opinion is either Joe Biden or Bill Richards. Biden seems to have charisma, a presidential presence, at least on the debate floor. I still have no intention of voting for any of these guys, but I seem to like Biden the best. Edwards is too slick. Hillary is just.....well, she's something. Not because she's a woman - gimme a female candidate who is worth voting for, who can be presidential, and I'll vote for her in a heartbeat if she's the best candidate. Too bad Maggie Thatcher can't run for president - now that woman was a great leader. Condoleezza Rice - not that she has presidential ambitions, but if she made a run for the White House, it would garner my interest. I don't know of her experience in domestic issues, but she might make a good President.

That's all for now - watching these guys is making me laugh too much!

She's Home!!

The surgery went smoothly - I brought Snickers home this afternoon. She is tired, stressed, thirsty and hungry (not much food or water tonight, as per doctors orders!) but otherwise fine. I am tired, stressed, but otherwise fine myself - having to wait on news of the surgery was almost as bad as having the surgery itself. (Snickers might disagree, of course)

Two Days

Well, a little over one day, to be precise. On Wednesday, Snickers will have her surgery on her eye to remove the growth located there. It's not a life threatening condition. It merely irritates her eye to the point that it tears up all the time. I know if I had a growth on my eyelid pressing on and even touching my cornea, I would be ready to get it taken off, and QUICK! So this is a good thing, even though Snickers probably won't realize that. In fact, this will probably be the worst thing she's ever gone through, other than last week when I dropped her off at the vet (presumably to have the surgery, but that didn't exactly work out). First, she can have no food after 6 PM Tuesday. That in itself is a travesty, from her point of view - NO TREATS!! Then, to add insult to injury, no water after bedtime. She drinks more water than any dog I've ever seen.
Anyway, once the surgery is over, she will be much more comfortable, so to me, it's well worth it. Some might scoff at spending close to upwards of $500 total (including the bile acid test last week) on a dog - I don't. Now if it was a cat, uh, yeah, save the money for something worthwhile (like doggie treats!). Sorry, cat lovers out there.
Hmm, that makes me think: I need to get Snickers something really nice, a treat to end all treats. Any suggestions?

The Results Are In.....

.....and they are very good! Snicker's liver function is quite normal. The bile acid test was completely normal, nothing wrong at all, so she is doing fine and is well enough to have the surgery on her eye next week to remove the growth on her eyelid. Thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers - you too, Frances!

Snickers Update

Not much of an update - I didn't hear from the vet today, but he told me that the test results might not be in until Thursday, so here's to another day of waiting.

Snickers

Two weeks ago, I took Snickers to the vet for her annual checkup. There was a growth on her eyelid that had been there for some time, but I wanted Dr White to check it out. He inspected it, and it turns out the growth was touching hey eyeball and irritating the eye, causing Snickers to tear up and blink all the time. Anyway, we scheduled surgery for Tuesday (yesterday), so when the time came, I took her to the vet (again! - she's getting suspicious of getting in the car now, ha ha). Not even an hour after I had dropped her off, I get a call from the vet - no surgery after all, at least not for now. Her blood enzymes (found in the blood CBC) were way off - suggesting something is wrong with her liver.
Dr. White performed another test on her during her stay. He fed her and then sampled her blood after eating to see if the liver was performing as it should. The results from that test should be in tomorrow. If all goes well, it will show her liver function is normal, and the surgery can go as scheduled. If not, that could mean any number of things, including imminent liver failure, which is bad. We'll find out Thursday, hopefully.

It's Been Awhile....

It's been quite awhile since my last post. I'm not sure why I haven't been posting the way I used to. Mostly, I guess, it's just that nothing worth posting is happening. And I don't believe in posting just for the sake of posting. But today I have fun stories from this weekend to share!
Saturday I went to Woody's Halloween party at his new place just outside of town. He had his two children that weekend, and lots of peeps brought theirs as well. Having no kids of my own, I brought Colby, who could almost be considered my own kid. Sort of, except I can't claim him on my taxes, ha ha. Anyway, there were lots of people there (almost more than I like - I've found I'm just not much of a large crowd person. More than three people and I start to get uncomfortable, ha ha). Anyway, Woody had invited an internet friend named Gloria up from Lewisville. Right after Colby and I showed up, Woody started the bonfire. The smoke blew right at my car, and then Gloria's, parked right next to mine. Colby moved my car, but in the process he blocked Gloria's. She asked him to move my car so she could move hers. Colby did so, and Gloria snapped up her three year old son, hopped in the car, and drove off. Yeah, she just left. Someone jokingly asked if maybe she missed the turnaround (it might have been me ;) ). Woody called her but she didn't answer. The bad thing is that she left right after I showed up - perhaps I ran her off?
Later on, Woody's little girl Charity (she's 3 I believe) was changing everyone's name to someone else. Charity's name was Tina. Tina was Charity. Colby was Jim, and Jim, Colby. I asked Charity what my name was. "Daddy!" she replied. Everyone got a good laugh from that, and I couldn't resist asking her, "Charity, who's your daddy?". To which she replied, "You are!!"
Woody looked up from grilling the hot dogs and mentioned I owed him child support now. Another round of laughs. Apparently, I am one of those people that spread cheer and laughter wherever I go. They even tell me at work, when I'm gone on vacation, it's so boring, nobody talks or laughs or anything, all they do is work. That's what Mallory told me once - they get more work done if I'm not there! I think she was being facetious, but I don't know....

This weekend is Pumpkin Fest 2007 - and I have to work at Back In Time. So does Colby, but he'll get paid. I'm family, so for Dad and I, it's slave labor. Oh well.

There, an honest-to-goodness post!

Where the Heck Have I Been?

My sister just posted, and she said it's my turn, so here goes.


It's been awhile since my last post. Not much has been happening that is blog-worthy. However, that has changed this weekend. First, Mom got me an original Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison album (an actual record!) for my birthday - still in the plastic wrapping and all! It is way cool. Then Dee got me a cool pan - you can cook in it and drain it as well. Perfect for spaghetti. Then we went to Fishtales with Mom and Dad, the Martins sans Kinsey, and Colby. Dale sat at the far end of our tables, so he wouldn't get into trouble (Dee planned it, I bet - she knows me, Dad, and Dale are far too sick and twisted to be trusted to sit together, ha ha, and Dad is corrupting Colby so he fits in with us all too well). Other than a few "chop alerts", the evening passed without incident.
Then today, I was out at Mom and Dad's, and we were scrounging for something to make for supper. I came up with a primo idea - some pork chops, rice, cream of mushroom soup, green chiles, mushrooms, black beans, bacon, green onions from the garden, and other things - all mixed together to make Mexican Pork and Rice! It was pretty good. Worthy of the Food Network, it was!

Wow

So who else woke up extra early to catch a glimpse of the total lunar eclipse? Anyone? Well, I'm glad I did. Not only did I see a blood-red moon, which is plenty cool, but there were several lightning bugs swarming. At times, they seemed to swarm around the moon. If I'd thought to get my camera, it would have made a great photo (long exposure, catch the lightning bug trails, etc) but I was so enjoying it, I never even thought to grab it. The perfect way to start off the day - with nature's own light show, ha ha.

Where, oh where, has my little blog gone?

It seems as if nothing has happened since I got back from my South Dakota trip. Nothing worth blogging about, that is. I wanted to do a pictorial entry about the trip, but it's been like, meh. If there was anything interesting to talk about, I would, but nothing has been happening. So until something does, or I think of something to blog about, I guess this is it for awhile. Hmmph!

Update

I was wrong it runs EVERY 20 minutes !!!

Choo Choo!!

There is a train going by our motel room as I type this. Anyone ever see that old I Love Lucy episode? Yeah, it's that bad. I know why it was such a cheap room now. The train comes by every 45 minutes. It blows the horn. It is loud. I can hear it rumbling past even now. I hope it derails soon so I can get some sleep here in Thedford, Nebraska.

Day 5

As requested by Dee

It's been awhile since I posted on this trip - lot's of stuff we've done, and no time to tell everyone about it. Anyway, here is a quick rundown of what Colby and I have been up to.

Day 3: Sunday. We woke up in Colorado Springs and drove to Denver so Colby could say he's skated at the Denver Skatepark, which is somewhat more cool than the Paris one. See flickr for pics. After that, we ate lunch at Casa Bonita, which is famous for its cliff divers, live entertainment, and helium balloons. After that, we drove to Rocky Mountain National Park. That was freakin sweet. I pulled off at a scenic driveoff (ha ha, Jessica) to get pics of the mountains, but instead we saw a herd of chipmunks there. We fed them from hand - it was kewl. I have pics - here is a link to one of them, but there are plenty more. In all, I think the chipmunks were the coolest part of the trip so far. Colby agrees. Then we drove to Boulder and spent the night in a motel with bad internet, which is why I didn't post anything (also, I am lazy).

Day 4: Woke up not so early, and drove to Golden, CO, to tour the Coors Brewery. I tried Blue Moon, which wasn't that bad - pretty good actually. Then we shot off for Gillette, WO - that was a drive, but not that bad. The mexican place we ate at WAS bad, though - I ordered a bowl of queso, and the waitress looked at me like I was crazy, then asked if I wanted it 'melted'. Now, every mexican restaurant I've ever been to serves queso MELTED. I felt like telling her, "No, give it to me on the rocks." Anyway, she later brought out a plate of melted cheese - not cheese dip, but just melted cheese.We tried the chips with the salsa and melted cheese, and it kinda made me think of a mexican pizza. But not so good. Anyway, Colby's Dr. Pepper was flat. He says it tasted godawful - I tried it, and would agree. So we got a room, and it was not cheap - a single at the Budget Inn in Gillette runs $110 - and the lady told me no room in Gilette would be under $100 at all - alot of the miners there stay in motels because the housing market has'nt caught up with the booming mining business yet. And that was Day 4.

Day 5: Today. We got off to another late start, and along the way to Devil's Tower, we took a wrong turn and drove on some road that suddenly became unpaved. But we were determined and pressing forward, so we drove aways on the dirt road, and ran across a herd of antelope. Score one for the Random Cool Photo Op Guys!! Actually, this is score 2 for us, because the chipmunks were totally random. Anyway, we finally got to Devil's Tower, walked the trail for aways, got some good photos (not uploaded yet, Dee) and then took off for Mt. Rushmore. But, along the way, we stopped at Sturgis and saw alot of cool bikers getting ready for the rally next week. Then we went to Mt. Rushmore Cave, which is even more cool than Cave of the Winds. It was alot bigger - pics will be forthcoming. Oh yeah, before the cave, Colby had to stop at the Christmas Village. I don't know why, but i wasn't driving, so I had no choice. I looked for an ornament for Mom but didn't see anything but crap. So anyway, after the cave, we went and saw Mt. Rushmore. Not as impressive as I thought it would be - certainly not on the same level as the chipmunks. Chipmunks Rule!! But we did see some random goats walking around the parking lot - they almost charged me because I got a wee bit too close (I was still using the 14mm lens and was too lazy to change to the 150mm), so i had to get very close. Colby kept 'baaaa'ing and they didn't like that. And then the park ranger pulled up and said we had to get out of the way to give the goats clearance, and that the one goat that was P.O.'d and charged me was having a bad day, which is apparently why she charged me. Oh well, guess I'm not a goat person. After that, we found a room, and then I started this post. While i was doing that, Colby noticed the blood vessel on his foot was pulsing - you could see it. It is kinda weird. Oh well, now it's time to go eat, because we're hungry. So adios, and until next post... -BJ (and Colby)

Day 2 - and Day 1

Okay, here's the recap from day 1:

July 27

9:04 AM
Just outside of Oklahoma City
We left around 4 AM, then had to turn right around and go back because SOMEONE forgot the sandwich stuff in the fridge (me), and then the line at Whataburger was kinda long, so we got off to a late start, but anyway, who cares? We're on vacation, so I plan to enjoy every minute! Traffic hasn't been bad so far, but the roads in Oklahoma – geez! I guess we're spoiled in Texas with our pretty decent roads (on the highway, anyway).

The next waypoint of our trip is Amarillo – just a little over 200 miles away now. After that, I hope to find the Giant Ice Cream Cone of Yore – more on that in the next post.

July 27^th
11:16 AM
70 miles east of Amarillo
The stretch of I-40 from Oklahoma City to Amarillo has to be one of the most BORING drives in the entire USA. No scenery other than grass, trees, and farms. Ughh, worse than Mississippi. Anyway, the only thing of interest so far happened when I stopped for gas earlier. I thought I gave the cashier a $20, but it was really a $50. I walked off to fill the car before she could give me the change, but good ol' Colby was still inside waiting for the restroom to empty – he got my change for me. What a kid.

3:50 PM (Mountain time)
We stopped at a roadside park for a potty break near Sierra Grande Volcano. The restroom had a sign with two buttons. You could vote for whether it was a good restroom, or a bad restroom. How cool is that?

(Later that day)

We finally made it to Pueblo!! A very long drive, especially when we stopped to check out the Capulin Volcano in New Mexico - see Flickr for pics. There were tiny little fruit flies everywhere there - at least I thought they were fruit flies until they started biting us! When we got back to the car, it was covered with them (see the pic on Flickr)

Anyway, now it's Saturday, and we're spending the night Colorado Springs. Today we did just a little driving - it was much more about the DOING, today! First, we got up and checked out the Royal Gorge near Pueblo. Very awesome - in some ways, even more impressive than the Grand Canyon, since you can walk out over the gorge itself. We met an older couple there from Connecticut, who had been through Colorado Springs already and several other places we had planned on seeing. They advised us not to take the train up Pike's Peak since we didn't have reservations - we most likely wouldn't be able to get a ticket! So we decided to drive up Pike's Peak instead. They were headed for the Grand Canyon, and i told them to be sure to check out Horseshoe Bend. It was like an exhange of travel information - very helpful for all parties.

After Royal Gorge, we drove up to Colorado Springs to see Garden of the Gods - now that was awesome (see Flickr for pics, although I haven't posted those yet, ha ha). From there we checked out the Cave of the Winds (as suggested by Mr and Mrs Connecticut) - again, an awesome tour underground of some majestic rock formations.

And then finally, we drove up Pike's Peak. 20 miles of windy uphill (and then downhill) roads. It was 34 degrees at the summit! See Flickr for pics - again, these aren't posted yet, so it'll likely be tomorrow before you can see them.

Quickie post

Too tired to post much, or write in complete sentences. Will post tomorrow. Tired, sunburned, and all drove out (about 15 hours of driving, including stopping at places)

The Trip

Well, we made last minute plans and kinda got the 'schedule' (if that's what you want to call it) ironed out. Colby and I will leave about 4 AM this Friday, drive up the Indian Nation Turnpike, hit I-40 W through Oklahoma City, continue through Amarillo, turn onto US 385 (I think) at Vega, drive up through New Mexico and into Colorado, winding up at Pueblo sometime that evening, or afternoon if we push it. Then Saturday, we check out the Royal Gorge Bridge and Garden of the Gods, and possibly Pike's Peak, or that may be Sunday. Sunday for sure we will do a drive through of Rocky Mountain National Park, plus Pike's Peak if we don't manage to get it in Saturday.
Monday will be some driving, all the way up through Wyoming to see Devil's Tower. Probably spend the night in Gillette, then Tuesday and Wednesday we will tour South Dakota (Black Hills, Jewel Cave, tour an old gold mine somewhere, and the Badlands). After that, we will begin the long journey home through Nebraska and Kansas and Oklahoma.

In other news: I was watching a Lunesta commercial last night. You know, the one with the glowing green luna moth that flies around the insomniac people, hovers over them, and then they fall asleep right away. I have to tell you - if I ever woke up and saw a glowing green moth hovering over my face, I would probably yell out very loudly. That would totally creep me out, ha ha. Of course, the luna moth is supposed to make you sleep (since you took Lunesta) so I probably wouldn't wake up, so everything would be copacetic, even if the glowing green moth appeared. I wonder, if you took Lunesta and set your alarm to wake you up, would you see the moth? Hmmm....

One week to go

The title says it all - one more week to go until the Great South Dakota Journey. The plan is to leave about 5 AM next Friday morning, and drive through Amarillo, up through New Mexico (Dad says I'll go by the giant ice cream cone - Robin knows what I'm walking about) and into Colorado, and make camp in Colorado Springs the first night. Spend a few days in Colorado, then head through Wyoming (Devil's Tower!) and into South Dakota to check out Mt Rushmore, the Black Hills, and the Badlands. After that - we'll just have to see what happens. I am SO ready to go - I could just travel forever, given the opportunity.

I've Got A Bad Feeling About This...

I took the Star Wars Personality Test as seen on Dee's blog - here's my results. I really thought I was more of a Vader/Emperor person.


You are Boba Fett

Boba Fett 75% Darth Maul 70% R2-D2 70% Yoda 69% Luke Skywalker 68% Darth Vader 67% Han Solo 66% Qui-Gon Jinn 63% Emperor Palpatine 62% Chewbacca 62%

Because of your dark past you don't say much, and you don't have many close friends, but man do you look cool!

(This list displays the top 10 results out of a possible 21 characters)


Click here to take the Star Wars Personality Test

Fireworks and the Fourth

Although the annual fireworks show put on by the Paris Rotary Club (what is a rotary, anyway? Dale Martin has the answer, but I can't mention it here) was canceled due to -- guess what? -- RAIN!!!!---- I was still able to see some cool fireworks at the Hutchison-Killingsworth Annual Fireworks Show, featuring Robert Dyer as the whiring dervish of blackcats (see the picture).

Robert tied a pack of Black Cats to about 6 ft of string - lit the cats, then whirled them around and around like a crazy man. I captured it in a long exposure - I just wish I'd brought my video camera!!

Don't forget to check out my other fireworks pics here.

In other news, the next great vacation has already been planned - this time, not westward, but north! An incredible journey or perilous proportions, northward through Colorado, Wyoming, and ultimately to South Dakota (and perhaps further into North Dakota if I feel like it). Things to see: Mt. Rushmore, of course, but my personal favorite thing to see right now seems to be Devil's Tower in Wyoming - I'd like to have a Close Encounter with it (pun definitely intended - if you don't get it, well, explaining it would simply devalue the joke more than it already is). Launch date is set at July 27th as of yesterday - already counting down the days. I could just travel for the rest of my life - go see things, come back for a bit, then head out and see some more. Wash, rinse, and repeat. Hope to get some great pics, even to rival my Grand Canyon series from earlier this summer.

Something Different

Among all the usual editorial topics - people complaining about whatever - I found this gem.

From The Paris News, July 3, 2007.

To the Editor:

This is an apology to the lady I went ahead of (Friday, June 22) at the Paris Family Physicians Clinic to have blood work. I am so sorry and didn't realize that I had gotten ahead of you. Even though I was 85 April 1, that is no excuse for my rudeness. It has really bothered me and I get very emotional when I hurt someone or when I've been hurt. If you had just spoke up I would have gladly waited. I didn't realize you was upset with me until I was told after we left. There's to much sadness and hatred in the world. I wish we could all love one another and be happy. Please forgive me.

Fay Lancaster

Cooper

Just thought I'd share this with everyone - thought it was kinda cool.

Rain, Rain, Go Away, and All Cracked Up

So I left the walking track last night, and on the drive home, I saw a guy building an ark - well, perhaps I am exaggerating a tad, but the fact remains that we are having one of the wettest summers I can ever recall. It's almost July and the temperature has barely reached 90 all summer long. No 100 degree days yet - this is a GOOD THING!! I keep hearing people bemoaning (my new favorite word) all the rain we're getting - yes, okay, flooding is bad, but I hope they remember all the whining when we hit August and it's over 100 day after day after day - then, they'll be bemoaning the lack of rain! People are so hard to please.

I received a pleasant surprise yesterday. A former coworker (Darwin) came by work to say hello and discuss the photo shoot I did at his church. It's been 2 months since I saw him - and it showed when he walked in, extended his hand and started to say "What up, B Jizzle?" (That's his name for me) - but he stopped and just stared for a moment, then asked me if I was "on the crack?" The weight loss is showing, very much so, apparently. I see myself everyday (well, duh) so it isn't that obvious. There are external signs, such as going down 10 pant sizes (yikes!), working all day and STILL having the energy to go walking afterwards, having the -- dare I say it-- desire to get up early on weekends and go walking, and so on. And of course the impartial judge, the scales. But still, it was really nice to get that kind of a reaction from Darwin. And no, I'm not "on the crack" - I'll just keep walking, thank you very much.

Fish Fry and other things

Last Saturday I went to a fish fry at Woody's, along with several others from work. I took Snickers along for some reason (!). When I pulled up at his house, I let her out, and she bounded out of the car with her usual gleeful abandon. Until she noticed Woody's three dogs - and her hair shot straight up. She refused to play with any of them - what a rude girl!
I caught only one fish - in all, we only caught about 4, but Woody had plenty of frozen catfish, so we ate quite well.
Then came Father's Day - which I spent outside with Dad grilling in the rain. Heavy rain. Anyway, we fixed pork chops, grilled squash, grilled peaches, grilled corn on the cob, and the awesome baked macaroni and cheese recipe - mmmm.
In other news, I am now down 65 pounds from when I started in February. Still going down, but somewhat slower than before. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though.

Mr. Wizard, Dead!

According to this Fox News article, Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert) died Tuesday at age 89. I wasn't around to watch his first TV show back in the 50s and 60s, but I remember Mr. Wizard's World that aired on Nickelodeon waaaaay back in the 1980s. He did cool science experiments and made them fun - it's kinda sad, really.

Rescue 911

Yesterday, I was out at Mom and Dad's for the usual NCIS Tuesday night. We noticed the martins (birds,not Dee and Dale) were flying around where they usually don't. One of the little ones had fallen out of the nest. Dad said he'd already had to rescue a martin chick, and there were two others that had fallen from the bird house and died. Apparently, these aren't the smartest birds, ha ha. Anyway, I tried to grab the bird but it ran into a bush, and I got Snickers to gently grab the bird in her mouth without hurting it. I was surprised she just didn't eat it, of course. Anyway, I got the bird on a broom and Dad and I lifted it up back to the birdhouse. Bird rescue is tough work!
So a little bit later, I went out to check on the bird, and it was fine - but another one had fallen from the birdhouse. Stupid, stupid birds.

I'm back!

I made it back last night - driving a total of 3550 miles since last Wednesday. Sunday was a fun day - started the day in Hurricane, Utah (at 48 degrees), drove through Nevada to see Las Vegas and Hoover Dam (don't worry, I didn't stop at any casinos), then down US 95 through the Mojave Desert and California (where it topped out at 106), then back into Arizona, then into New Mexico, where I stopped for the night in Grants. Then yesterday, I drove from Grants back home = according to Googlemaps, it should have been a 12 hour drive, but it was really about 11. But it was still very long.
The weird thing is how being somewhere different makes you notice things where you live more. I noticed yesterday just how much more grass and trees there are here - in the Mojave desert, there was very little grass and no trees where I was. There was also no humidity - something I DEFINTELY noticed on the way back. The air feels wet right now - it feels like i am breathing in thicker air or something. Now that's something I could do without.
Anyway, I'm glad to be back - I slept in until 10 AM this morning. I think I'll walk the dog later - haven't done that in a while.

Day 4

Funny, the days are all running together. I didn't realize it was Saturday until just now. In fact, all the highways, gas stations, motels and whatever are all blending together in my mind - where the heck am I right now, anyway? Oh yeah - Hurricane, Utah. The people here (locals) speak with a weird Germanish accent - at first I thought I driven a little out of the way and missed Utah and wound up in Europe - never noticed the Atlantic, though.
I saw the North Rim of the Grand Canyon - scouted the Bright Angel Trail, got some great pics, even one of a condor! Several people commented on Gary's walking stick - one man wanted to know where he could get one. I was sorry to disappoint him, ha ha.
Tomorrow I think I will check out Hoover Dam, and maybe drive into California just to say I've been there. Then I guess it's tie to turn around and head back - still cool things to see, though. You know, part of me is glad I came by myself - this journey has become more about proving to myself that I can do this. Normally, I would NEVER have done a cross country drive on my own - I just don't do things like that by myself. But it turned out great - and yet I'm glad it's coming to an end in the next few days.
Anyway, that's all for now - more to come tomorrow

live from Hurricane, Utah

Tired

I'm too tired to bother photoblogging - just a quick update. Today i saw Shiprock, the Four Corners, Page AZ, Horseshoe Bend, LOTS of scenic stops along the way, and ended up in Flagstaff. I'm tired, dehydrated, and sunburned (high altitude means less atmosphere to block UV rays - must get suncreen tomorrow). The Grand Canyon is on tomorrow's agenda - we'll see how tired i am after that!

You can see some pics at www.flickr.com/photos/homer4k

Day 2

Got off to an early start today - I left Tucumcari around 8:30, headed west. I stopped at Cline's Corners (a gift shop on I-40 at US 285) because someone told me it was a cool place. Pointless crap and junk - sorry Tina, no shot glasses for you, ha ha. Here's a thumbnail:
Click to view the large image - check out how high gas was (so far, that was the highest I've seen it - Paris peeps should be glad it's as "low"as it is back there).
From there I drove north - up 285, headed for Farmington (with scenic places to stop at on the way). Driving through Santa Fe was a biatch - construction, small lane roads (but not as small or as crowded as Taos) and confusing signs, all of which led me to miss my exit at one point. Which isn't unusual in itself, since I can't navigate worth a durn, but the worst part was I couldn't just get off at the next exit and turn around - oh no, you had to get off, travel down some highway, then detour (CONSTRUCTION!!!), get lost, and try to find out how the heck to get back to where you were before you were trying to get back to where you were.
So then I battled my way through Taos - tiny, tiny lanes, too much traffic, and lots of pedestrians who don't seem to realize they would lose very badly if they went up against a moving vehicle.
Moving on: driving along US 84, or US 64 or something, I saw this river and scenic views, so I pulled over to snap a few pics.


One of the rafters seemed to notice I was taking pics. They waved right after I took this.

A little while after the river, I found the Rio Grande Gorge - pretty cool, and the pics don't do it justice, but here's a few:



And finally, a panoramic view (click on it to see it large - looks much more cool that way) of some mountains.



Then I drove on to Farmington - through windy roads, construction (they had US 64 torn up at one point for a few miles - it was just a dirt road. Imagine 271 as a dirt road, and you'll get the idea) - but I finally made it here. Tomorrow, my first destination is Ship Rock, then either Window Rock or the Four Corners, then off to Page, Arizona to see Horseshoe Bend - pics to follow!

live from Farmington, NM
-B.J.

Movie Night!

There's very little on TV here in Tucumcari, so I think I will watch one of my movies on my laptop. The cool thing is that the motel TV has inputs for s-video, and my laptop happens to be able to export that,and I happen to have a cable for that, so I can watch my movie on the big screen, ha ha. My flick for tonight: Psycho, by Alfred Hitchcock. On second thought, I maybe should choose another movie (lone traveller, finds a motel, shower, knife, blood, etc), but I've never seen Psycho before - just the famous shower scene. We'll see if it was such a good idea later tonight, ha ha.

And we're off...

...like a herd of turtles (Dad will laugh). After a slow start this morning due to rain, rain, and more rain, the weather finally cleared about an hour away from OK City, and clear skies prevailed. There was so much construction, though - I guess Oklahoma decided to fix the entire length of I-40 all at once. Bummer. Another thing about Oklahoma - they will name a road or bridge or anything, after ANYONE! I swear they have more "John Doe Memorial Highway" and "Jane Doe Memorial Bridge" and "Joe Six-Pack Memorial Ditch" signs than any other state I've ever seen, with the exception of Arizona, where you can (for a fee) put up a memorial sign to anyone along the highway - but you aren't naming anything after anyone. In Oklahoma, if you die, apparently you are guaranteed something named after you.

I stopped at the Cadillac Ranch too - very weird but cool place. The lighting was much better than last time I was here (late afternoon today, as opposed to the harsh noon sun the last time) so my pics turned out better, IMHO. Anyway, the plan for tomorrow is...to do whatever I feel like, and see (and photograph) whatever I want. Now THAT'S the way to do a vacation.

Live from Tucumcari, NM
-B.J.

Preparing to go

The countdown is on - only two more days (plus a few hours) until I leave for Arizona. And I am SO looking forward to this - so many photo ops, ha ha. My hope is to do a sort of photo blog here, posting as I go - we'll see how it goes.

Start Speech Recognition

This is just a test.  I am using Vista's new voice recognition features to dictate this post. I am also using a new Firefox extension called ScribeFire to post directly to my blog - it is interesting, but the voice recognition is really really much more fun.  I might even dictate posts while driving to Arizona - with voice recognition, it is hands free, so no problems there.  The only problem is that the computer does not understand everything I say yet - I still need to run the speech tutorial so it learns my voice. Still, what a wonderous age we live in. Now all I need is a flying car, a transporter (who needs a flying car then?), and some blasters installed on my flying car to shoot down all the idiot flyers out there. Maybe superpowers would be nice as well, but I won't be greedy.

Powered by ScribeFire.

What happened???

Yeah, I know it's been awhile - alot has been happening and I just don't have the time to update as much. Actually, the REAL reason is I'm just not on the computer as much as I used to be (gasp!). With all the time I spend walking/jogging, and other stuff, I just don't spend as much time surfing as I used to. Well, the past week has been an exception - but with good reason. I got a laptop (which Mom thought I should have given her for Mother's Day, lol) and I've been configuring it hastily so as to be ready in time for the upcoming Great Western Journey II - starting May 30. I set up a wireless network (like it was hard, ha ha) AND I also set up file sharing between my old computer and the laptop - so I can suck movies and music off the old one like crazy instead of burning to DVD or using a jump drive. Anyway, I also got some maps and other nav aids loaded - to use when between wifi hotspots. Anyway, instead of burning a bunch of music cds, I will run the laptop off the AC power thing that plugs in the cigarette lighter, and hook up the FM transmitter to that - how far does that rate on the geek scale?
So anyway, there is this last full week plus the weekend to get prepared - lots of hiking planned, mostly to find the perfect photo ops. I hope to do alot of sunset and even sunrise photography - that is, of course, the best time for landscape photography. Sunset if often referred to as the 'golden hour' - the light is at an angle, more golden and even red the closer you get to sunset, and that provides a great source of illumination, rather than the harsh flat light of the daytime sun. I also hope to get some great nighttime shots - the moon should be high enough and bright enough to illuminate the landscape at night - we'll see how that goes.

Been Awhile...

Yes it has, since I posted last. Not much has been going on, however, and posting just to post is kinda pointless. Still, today was busy - I did a photo shoot with Mallory and Chase for their prom pics. And I'm getting paid to do this!! Yay!!! Also, I took her graduation pics last weekend, (also got paid!!). And tomorrow, I'm doing a shoot with Darwin at his church for a fundraiser - so I only charge them cost of materials. Too bad he doesn't attend a megachurch, then I wouldn't feel so bad about gouging them for money.
Speaking of money, I went to the casino across the river last year - my first ever visit to a casino. I walked away slightly poorer - by about $20 (I don't like to lose). I haven't been back since - it seems kinda silly to throw away money like that. Well, last weekend, after doing Mal's photo graduation photo shoot, I drove around town looking for more pics, cuz I was in a photographic mood. I wound up driving into Oklahoma for a few hours, didn't really find anything that wowed me, so i headed back home. Along the way, I passed by the casino and thought to myself "Why not play $20 just for kicks?" (this is NOT a habit forming, lol). So I went in, fed the money in the machine, and played my $20. It went up a little, down a little, up a little, down, up, down, up, down...you get the idea. After about an hour, I got bored and decided the next time it went over $20 (breaking even) I would cash out and leave. And then the machine hit - hit BIG! It flashed lights, the spinny things spun backwards, bells rang - I was a little worried something had gone wrong. Anyway, I won $550 off of $20 - not a bad night's work, ha ha. I IMMEDIATELY cashed out - the lady to my left (a frequent visitor, from the look of her) said "Honey, ain't you gonna play that down some? You might hit again." Play it down? Play it DOWN??? Why the heck would I do that??? How weird! Anyway, she got on my machine after I left - I hope she won big.
I other news, the trip to Arizona has hit a snag of sorts - it seems I am going by myself. All the other parties involved had to bail (for important reasons, though) - and I have [psyched myself up so much about going that even though going solo will be so very much not fun, not going will be so very much not funner - I'll probably even get a little down about it if I don't go, I've been looking forward to this for so much and for so long. It's going to be hard - a lot of driving, so I need alot of road trip music. I even thought about taking Snickers, but they don't let dogs into the Grand Canyon unless they're service dogs, which would be hard to convince them she is. If there is anyone out there that wants to go (besides maniacal killers and crazies, although if they can drive I might be able to live with that, ha ha) just let me know - leaving May 30 and coming back June 7-10, somewhere around there, whenever I make it back - maybe never, who knows? So any potential traveling buddies out there? Laptops are a huge plus, so I don't have to buy a bunch of CF cards. Actually, going on my own might be interesting - I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, and no one can say otherwise (well, within limits - let's keep everything nice and legal, shall we?)

Explore!!!

Finally, after months of no sightings, I once again have a photo in Flickr's Explore pages. It's not even on of my best (or my favorites) but oh well - beggars can't be choosers.
Anyway, as of this morning, it's at #72 (out of 500) for August 21, 2005 (the day it was uploaded). We'll see if it stays, or if this is just a weird bump in interestingness.

Random Road Trip

Last Saturday, I went over to the Martin's to plan out the Arizona trip (well, to plan as much as I care too - I prefer much more to just get out and drive without much more than an outline of where we're going - that way, if something interesting comes up, the "schedule" can be altered - it's easy to alter something that doesn't exist, ha ha)
Anyway, so we worked out the main details (uh, yeah, we're going to Arizona, right? Good, now that that's settled...) and then for some reason we decided to go to Oklahoma City to see the memorial of the bombing. A nice little day trip. On the way, Kinsey mentioned something about the World's Largest McDonalds - and I happened to know exactly where it was (well, not exactly, but I was pretty sure it was somewhere in Oklahoma or Missouri - now THATS exact!). So we adjusted our heading, and went to see the WLM. It is built over the interstate - here is a pic. Then we set out for Oklahoma City. The cool thing about having altered our original destination is that it put us off a bit on time - we got to OKC around 7:30-8PM, somewhere around then. That was fortuitous, because I have never seen the memorial at night - only during the day. Something about seeing all the chairs lit up, the darkness and the light - well, it is simply much more powerful at night than during the day. Plus, there were ducks on the reflecting pool - it was less than an inch deep, but they were out there! I told Dale we should dress him up as Jesus (he'd need to grow his hair out again, though) and get him to walk out on the reflecting pool - walk on water! The ducks might attack him, though.

So tired....

We made it back Sunday evening. Still tired, but I feel up to making a trip recap now.

Colby and I left Friday afternoon. Around Texarkana, the rain started. And it rained. And rained. And rained. And rained. All the way through Arkansas, Memphis, and Jackson, TN. Around Memphis, we saw some incredible lightning - if I had thought about it, the lightning over the Memphis skyline would have been an awesome photo - oh well, opportunity lost (it was cold!)
We stayed the night in Jackson, after stopping at a Waffle House, where the waitress tried (desperately) to sell us a slice of pie. We successfully avoided temptation and spent the night there in Jackson (without pie). Saturday, we got up early and drove through Nashville towards Hendersonville, seeking the gravesite of Johnny Cash. The cemetery isn't marked very well - we drove by it a couple of times before Colby spotted it. Anyway, we got out and began searching the markers one by one. This old man was parked nearby, and he asked if he could help. He wasn't an employee of the cemetery - I guess he just liked hanging around and helping wayward souls (lol) with whatever they needed. He directed us to Cash's grave, which we quickly found.
Afterwards, we tried to find Cash's house (which recently burned down). I forgot to search for directions, so we tried just driving around the lake for awhile - to no avail. So I called Dee, who quickly found his house on Google and told us how to get there. I have the pics to prove she did it! (see my Flickr photos).
We had planned on seeing some other sites in Nashville, but finding his house and the gravesite had taken too much time, so we drove back to Memphis and spent the night there - and the nightlife was lively at that motel, and quite loud at 3 AM. Then Sunday we headed back - detoured through Hot Springs for some reason (I like detours) and made it back to Paris around 6-7 PM (I forget exactly). So I am very tired still - and yet ready for the Next Big Trip in late May (tentative plans call for me to take off May 30-Jun 10 or so for the Arizona trip). And that should be enough traveling for awhile (it gets expensive).

ZOOM!!

My latest lens came today. It's a 400-800mm/f8 telephoto, with a 2x thingy you can attach (haven't tried that yet) to boost it to a whopping 1600mm. I doubt the image quality will be as good with the 2x thing, but the lens itself is wonderful. I hope to use it on the trip, but I really see myself using it for wildlife photos, some moon shots, and whatever else catches my fancy. It's long - but very light. I had to get a new camera bag, however - it is far too big for my old one.
In other news, everything is ready for my trip tomorrow. I won't be able to get pics of Johnny Cash's house, though. Apparently it burned down - perhaps I can get some pics of the rubble, however.

One More Day

Well, a little more than one day, but it made a decent title. By this time Friday, I hope to be nearing or already in Nashville or thereabouts. All planning is done - all the cds have been burned, all camera batteries are charged, clothes will be packed tomorrow, as will everything else. The only major remaining "detail" will also be finished tomorrow - Colby, out of the kindness of his heart, is going to wash and "detail" my car in preparation for the road trip. He likes doing that kind of thing, and since it directly benefits me, I say more power to him. Besides, there is no better way to start a road trip than with a clean, waxed vehicle. That way, you can see just how dirty it gets by the time you get back, ha ha. I will try and find internet access along the way for a quick post or two, but Tennessee isn't exactly civilization, at least as far as Web 2.0 is concerned.

Crossed Wires

Has anyone out there ever experienced this? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Sometimes, especially in the morning after I drink my full glass of water with breakfast (usually a bowl of slightly thawed fruit, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, peaches, mangos, etc - whatever frozen fruit I've gotten from the store at the moment) sometimes I get the feeling like I am slightly nauseated. It persists for a few minutes, then suddenly I get the urge to sneeze - several times - and then everything is better. It doesn't only happen in the morning, but when it does, it is usually in the morning. I have a theory (!) that sneezing and the other thing must involve nerves that are very close or something (being reflex actions, perhaps?). And maybe, just maybe, the signals on the nausea nerve cross over to the sneeze nerve. That's my theory anyway. It sounds very similar to why you sneeze when you stare at the sun (why would you stare at the sun anyway? To see if it makes you sneeze, if you're me) - the nerves that signal "AHHH! Blinding light!!! Sensitive eyes!!!" somehow stimulate the sneeze reflex nerves, causing you to sneeze while you are blinded. Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this - or am I the only one?

Don't Talk To Me!!

When I go walking at the track, whether on my lunch break or after work or on the weekend (like today), I prefer to walk alone. Other people like a walking buddy to talk to, but I would MUCH rather listen to music or just think me thinks. I can focus on keeping my speed on track (aiming at 4 mph) without worrying about conversation, blah blah blah. Today my normal routine was ruined, however. I went to the track after eating Easter dinner - had quite a bit, which is why I decided to walk in the first place. We fixed glazed ham, asparagus spears sauteed in italian dressing, squash sauteed like the asparagus with garlic rice wine vinegar (mmm), barbecued shrimp (mmm), rolls, and Mom's special slivered sweet potatoes baked with italian dressing and parmesan cheese. And for dessert, Mom made peach fluff without the cottage cheese, so Dad would like it. Anyway, I needed to walk because there was so much good food.
I pull up to the track, and this 10 year old (or so) kid is nearby playing with a German Shepherd mix. He asked me if the dog was mine (which it wasn't.) As I continue to start walking, he follows me (the kid, not the dog) and tells me how he found the dog while riding his bike. And the kid follows me around for 3 miles (that's 6 laps, about 1.5 hours) telling me his life story. There were several other peeps at the track, but apparently I was the only one he wanted to talk to. Geez, I try to be friendly but I really don't care - I kept walking faster, thinking maybe he'd leave, but he just kept up with me. Then he told me he'd been baptized this morning at the Cowboy church in Novice - in a horse trough! So we talked a little religion, Jesus and stuff. Still he wouldn't leave. So I tell him I'm done walking, and return to the car (with kid following) - and he looked almost sad as I leave. I felt kinda bad, but also cold - the temp was only 45 degrees (in April!!). Maybe I should be more compassionate and not so self absorbed about my walking -or wear a sign that says "Walking: Do Not Talk To Me".

Weight Loss Update

I also forgot to mention - my ongoing weightloss plan (I refuse to call it a diet - it is more of a lifestyle change, something permanent. A diet is a temporary thing you do to drop a few pounds). As of today (Saturday, April 7th) I have lost 43 pounds since starting back in February. I'm averaging roughly 20 pounds per month (well, a little under that) so by the time we go on the Return To The Grand Canyon trip in early June, I hope to be down another 40. We'll see...

A Post By Request

My sister left a comment on a previous post requesting a new post to bump the old one off the top of my blog. So, to oblige her, here goes:

As you may know, the trip to Tennessee last month got postponed, for various reasons which I won't go into here. But the good news is all is forgiven, and Colby and I leave for Tennessee next Friday (ooooh, Friday the 13th!!). Any road trip is a good thing, regardless of destination - the journey is the thing.

In other news, I found a way to use old non-digital Olympus lenses (with a special mount) on my camera. I got a 400-800mm lens (with a 2x teleconverter included, bringing it to a max of 1600mm) off of ebay. Hopefully it will be here before I leave on the trip - I'm already salivating, thinking of the nice zoomy pics I will be able to take now.

That's really all that's happening now - actually sounds pretty boring when I type it all up like this. Oh well, I hope my sister is satisfied - no more embarrassing childhood moments on the top post (for now, ha ha!)

Thunderation!

Recently my sister posted about how she and I would read cereal boxes during breakfast (as children), comparing the nutrition information of one cereal with another, and if her cereal's vitamin B (or whatever) was higher, she would win. Think vitamin contest. Anyway, it sounds pretty silly to me now, being much older AND wiser (or at least one of those two). However, in the interest of reciprocity, I will mention something else weird and...well, just plain weird, that happened when we were but young.
I was at my parents' house today for various reasons, helping Dad cut trees down among them. He went outside to mow and I went inside to look at the computer - seems Mom was having computer problems. Anyway, I quickly fixed it, somehow, and I went to watch some TV while waiting for Dad to finish mowing so we could cut trees. I happened upon an old video tape marked "Red River, NM - B.J. DO NOT TAPE OVER". (I used to use any old tape I could find to record things, whether they were simply old HGTV episodes or priceless memories). So I popped in the tape and to my surprise, I saw several interesting things.
1) A clip of a deer, grazing in the valley, then running off. Pretty cool.
2) A clip of Dad, Robin and myself with Dad holding all the fish we had caught that day. Again, nothing too out of the ordinary.
3) A puppet show called Puppets On Broadway (LIVE!). Yeah, this is the one that made me laugh. It seems Robin and Erin and Heidi got the idea to put on a puppet show. I somehow got sucked into filming it and doing the music (yes, we had music!). You see, my family was vacationing in Red River with the Hombergers (Phil, Debbie, Erin, and Heidi - they have an adopted son now, but he wasn't there then), sharing a really cool old cabin with them. Anyway, the girls put on the show, featuring such hits as Thunderation, From A Distance, something by Wilson Phillips, and other hits (I use the term loosely).

I guess it isn't that bad - just funny. Not nearly as strange as the Jolly Rancher wars Robin and I used to have, or the Care Bear/Transformer wars. Gee, we had alot of wars as kids.

Hastily Replanned Trip

For the faithful (and few) readers of this blog, you were probably aware that I was going to Tennessee this weekend to find the grave of Johnny Cash with Colby. For various reasons which I won't go into here (ha ha), that trip was canceled. BUT! The good news is that an even better trip happened! And it was totally random, which is the best kind.

With these peeps (Jessica, Dee and Dale) I drove through Arkansas and caught spectacular views of the mountains. Of course, with these people, the trip itself was more interesting, ha ha. I can't say too much about certain events - the entire Dequeen, AR comedyfest comes to mind - but you can be sure the trip was a blast. (Flaming Train!!) And of course, all the pics are available for viewing on flickr.

Another Link

Here is a link to the Wikipedia article on Number Form Synesthesia - forgot to mention it in the previous post.

Synesthesia

Synesthesia (from the Wikipedia article) is condition where the brain "mixes up" information streams from two (or more!) senses ( a simplified definition). It only affects a small percentage of the population (around 4%). Most commonly, synesthetes connect graphemes (letters and numbers) with colors. The letter 'A' might be red, while the letter 'Q' might be purple. Others might connect music and color - they will literally feel different colors depending on the kind of music.
A more rare type is called number form synesthesia. People who exhibit this form may, for example, have detailed maps associated with things like numbers, time, or anything linear. These 'maps' may even occupy a definite geographical location (from the brain's point of view). N.F.S may result from "cross-activation" between regions of the parietal lobe that are involved in numerical cognition and spatial cognition.
The reason I am going on about this is simply, I believe I have Number Form Synesthesia (!). As long as I can recall, whenever I think of numbers, I can see a definite visual map, like a number line, with each number in a definite physical location, always the same. The mental map will rotate and track along the twisting number line to keep whatever number I am thinking of centered. For example, the number line starts at 0 (negative numbers are represented, but they are more of a shooting line off to the left, going on forever) and sweeps around through 180 in front of me up through the number 10. If I start to think of higher numbers, the line rotates as the angle increases, so 11-20 are in essence behind me, but are rotated into view when I think of them. When the numbers reach beyond 20, things get ever weirder - the number line begins to spiral away in ever increasing circles, with little wiggles at each decade number (30, 40, 50, 60, etc). 100 is a special number - the line no longer spirals but extends to the right, still with wiggles at the 10s and (if I am thinking of higher numbers) at the 100s. Does this sound bizarre yet? Cuz it gets weirder.
I also see time as a map - the hours of the day are (surprise) a clock face! Not that weird, I guess, and I suspect alot of people may use this image as well. After all, we all see clocks every day. But beyond hours - the days of the week have their own mental map for me. Imagine a smiley face, very broad smile, with the eyes just above and VERY close to the smile. Monday begins the smile on the left, followed by Tuesday (a little further down and to the right), and then Wednesday, which is at the trough (deepest part) of the smile. Thursday and Friday complete the curve of the smile. Saturday and Sunday are completely disconnected from the smile days - they rest above the curve (they are the eyes of the smiley face - I'm not seeing a smiley face, that's just the best description I can think of).
The months even have their own map - each with its own definite location relative to the others. Even the years themselves are arranged in a weird linear map. To me, the 1990's have a almost physical location (well, not really physical in the real sense, but the mental map is very real to me).
I've never really thought about it much - its not something I ever mentioned, simply because it is so basic I never thought about it (like walking or breathing - it just happens, unless something goes REALLY wrong). I was perusing Wikipedia, something I do when I'm bored, and came across the synesthesia article. I almost jumped out of my chair when I read the number form section - I kept thinking "THAT'S ME!! THAT'S ME!!!! " Not that it makes a big difference - synesthesia isn't a terminal condition, nor is it a disease at all. I just think it is wonderful to discover something about myself which has been part of me for 30 odd years, but not something I ever really thought about before. I AM A SYNESTHETE (well, from reading the article, I am very very sure I am, but that's not a professional diagnosis). I would really like to be able to hear color in music though - that would be awesome.

Missing Dad's Birthday...Again

Last year, I went to Arizona in March. I missed my Dad's birthday (3-14, which is Pi day for you geeks out there, or more precisely it's Pi Day officially at 1:59 AM on March 14). Although we did celebrate later, after I returned, by going to Fish Tales (his fave restaurant) I haven't heard the end of it, about missing the actual day.
Well, it's Round Two. I'm going to be gone the weekend he and Mom wanted to go out for his birthday (the weekend right after 3/14) but I will once again be gone, not to Arizona, but rather to Tennessee, to visit Johnny Cash's gravesite (among other things). I was out at Mom and Dad's earlier today, and even though we decided to do the BD thing this upcoming weekend instead, I still got an earful about missing his actual bd TWO YEARS IN A ROW. This will be one of those things that is still brought up 20 years from now, I'm sure, like how I once giggled at Dad about the way he ate corn on the cob. That was YEARS ago, and yet I still hear it every once in awhile. Oh well, it's one of the things that makes Dad so cool.

Name A Country That Starts With "U"

I came across this video whilst surfing the web. Please watch before reading the rest of this post - it's rather long, but worth it. I laughed at first - making fun of our American tendencies toward self-centeredness as a nation - our collective attitude that we're #1, and the rest of the world is rather unimportant. Yeah, I'm generalizing, but you know what I mean.
As I kept watching the clip, my laughter turned to a sick, sick feeling. At first, I thought this was like an SNL sketch, but I came to realize it was more of a Candid Camera, featuring actual Americans answering the simplest of questions about world events with the dumbest of answers. It is funny, in a horrible, demeaning way - how did we get to this point?

Reporter: Name a country that starts with a 'U'.
American: Uhhhh....
Reporter: How about the United States of America?
American: Yeah!

The worst part was the last part of the clip - an entire segment of Texans being interviewed. Oooh, that was fun.

I realize that this video does not feature a representative sample of Americans - they just took the stupid ones and edited the smarter people out. Still - these were SIMPLE QUESTIONS!!!

Reporter: Who is Tony Blair?
American: A skater?

Reporter: Who is Fidel Castro?
Stupid American: A singer??

Reporter: What religion is Israel?
Stupid American: Uhh, Israeli?

And so on, ad infinitum (or nauseum) For the sake of Pete, Ol' Roy has more sense than these American Idiots (also a Greenday album) - at least Roy knows the difference (kinda) between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Surely we aren't a country full of idiots! Well, I know there are alot of them out when I am driving, but that's a different story...

Bright and Yellow!

Bright and Yellow!
Originally uploaded by homer4k.

I took this today - it looked pretty cool in the LCD preview screen of my camera, and after a little photoshopping it kinda wowed me for some reason - until I just noticed that the horizon (bottom left) is way way way unlevel - a total photo newb mistake. Oh well, I'll just pretend I did it for artistic reasons...

The Return of Roy

It's been awhile, but Ol' Roy is back!!! This time, his pointless diatribe is directed at the Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Read on:

To the Editor:

Iraq is a religious war. Sunnis and Shites are both Muslims, but each believes their group should choose the leaders. They have believed this, and have been fighting since Muhammad died in the year 632.

Most of the Iraq's are Shites, but a majority of Muslims in the world are Sunni.

So we have the Sunni's and Shites in with a few Kurd's, Catholics, Jews, Methodist, Baptist, and Agnostics. Most of them think God is on their side and all others are going to Hell. An exception is the Agnostics who are not sure if anyone is going anywhere.

Roy Bunch

Paris

So there you have it. My favorite part is his definition of an agnostic: not sure that anyone is going anywhere. By the way, I wasn't aware that Kurds were a religious group - I thought they were an ethnicity! Boy was I wrong on that one. I only have one question, Roy: What the heck is your letter about?? For the answer to that, I guess we'll have to wait for his next letter.

Mmmm, Lasagna

I have been on a low-carb diet for the past month or so, and along with a daily dose of walking (at least 30 mins a day) the pounds are coming off. However, one of the pitfalls of the low carb diet is that pasta is anathema to it - a huge no-no. And I love italian food, hence my problem.
So I applied a little culinary creativity and designed a new recipe tonight - Cabbage Lasagna! (Don't say 'eww' just yet). Basically, I just replaced the lasagna noodles with cabbage leaves - it gives the lasagna its layered structure, yet without any of the high carb levels of pasta. Makes it healthier, too!! I reduced the amount of liquid I put in to compensate for the fact that the noodles wouldn't be there to soak it up. Other than that, I just made normal lasagna (sausage, spinach, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, shrooms, and about 3 tablespoons of minced garlic - man, I love garlic!!). The only thing I would change would be to cut up the cabbage leaves further - or just buy a bag of shredded cabbage. I tore rather large portions of cabbage leaves - I thought they would be more tender and easily cut up after cooking. Anyway, it was delicious, and I allowed myself to indulge my italian tooth (instead of sweet tooth) a tad tonight as a reward for doing so well this past month. And I am quite full, too!

Downtown Paris

Downtown Paris
Originally uploaded by homer4k.

One of my latest shots - this one came out really really well. Black and white can make ANYTHING look artistic!

I AM PUBLISHED!!!!

...or whatever you call it when someone uses your photo for something! Check out this link!!!

I spent the weekend doing several things, most notably winning at Bingo (and it wasn't Colby who won this time - it was ME!!! Ahh, the thrill of yelling out "BINGO!!!"). But I also watched two classic movies - Casablanca and Carrie, neither of which I have ever watched before.

Casablanca didn't impress me much - I was expecting something incredible, from all that it's part of pop culture. There were many many familiar lines of dialog - "Play it, Sam", "Round up the usual suspects", "Here's looking at you, kid" and more. But all in all, not a big deal.

Carrie, on the other hand, was a pretty interesting movie. Not the usual Stephen King stuff - the only gory part was when she got drenched with pig's blood (eww). And the mother was very creepy - what with her warped view of Christianity and tendency to stab her daughter. Anyway, Carrie is one of the few King books I have never read, either - I think I will take a stab at reading it sometime soon (oooh, bad bad pun). Oops, time to go to work!

Mars Dog

Mars Dog
Originally uploaded by homer4k.

No, it's not what you think. Snickers didn't become the first canine to walk on Mars today. I took her to Pat Mayse Lake for a walk and to take pics. The winds were gusting 50-60 miles per hour, raising dust from West Texas into the air and carrying it over us. The white balance was all off, but I liked the effect. It reminded me of some of the photos I've seen from the Viking probes and the Mars Rovers - minus the trees and water, of course. And dog.

Zzzzzzz...

Hmm. I slept right through the storms that rolled through this morning - no pics or anything :(
Springtime is here in Texas, though - storms rolling in, trees beginning to bud out. Dad even told me he has daffodils blooming. It's this time of year that starts me thinking...road trip! That's how we wound up going to the Grand Canyon last year - I got that feeling and BAM - there we were. I'm feeling that way again right now. Of course, in March I'm going to Tennessee to see Johnny Cash's grave (among other things) but the really awesome upcoming trip to Yellowstone isn't until June. I kinda want to go right now! But it will still be cold. Oh well.

Lightning

Lightning
Originally uploaded by homer4k.

Still playing with Flickr/Blogger. BUT: There are severe storms on the way (supposed to hit around daybreak or so) - perhaps some awesome lightning pics in the making if I can make myself get up.

Not likely, unless there is very LOUD thunder!

Snickers

Snickers
Originally uploaded by homer4k.

This is just a test of Flickr's blogging feature - I made this post from Flickr straight to Blogger! Plus, this is one of my absolute faves of Snickers, what with the megasniffer effect of the macro lens.

A List...

Gee, not much posting lately. Of course, not alot has been happening - over the past few weeks, here is a partial listing of interesting bits of tid:

1) I got a teleconverter (2x) for my camera, so my 150 mm lens becomes a 300 mm lens - with a slight reduction in image quality. But it was much much cheaper than buying that $6,000 lens I had my eye on (!)

2) I got sick - went home from work Tuesday of last week feeling quite icky. I felt so bad I didn't walk for two days straight!

3) Speaking of walking, I have been spending my lunch break walking at a local park for the past three weeks (excluding sick days, lol). At least a mile at first, I am currently working on 2 miles per day this week. Soon, I may even start jogging!

4) Along with number 3, I have modified my diet, so to speak, and so the diet/exercise combination has resulted in a loss of 21 lbs as of the Tuesday morning weigh-in. Yay me!

5) I got a fisheye converter for my camera (same as number 1, but does the opposite. I believe it is a 0.42x converter, which means it increases the field of view, along with a slight reduction in image quality, but for much cheaper than a fisheye lens)

6) I joined a local photography group - we have a monthly 'contest' where we submit a photo taken during that month and we all decide on the winner. No photoshop allowed (that was my suggestion, otherwise I would blow everyone else away cuz they are mostly photoshop-challenged). On second thought, I should have kept my mouth shut - blast, foiled again!!

7) Addendum to number 6: Okay, it's not really a photography group, it was just an idea Mark had, but I thought calling it a group sounded cooler. Anyway, the 'members' include myself, Mark, Marion, and related children who like photography (Meredith). It may be small, but we could be open to new members - call us the Lamar County Photography Association (if that group already exists, we'll have to destroy them first - I'll let my Minister of Getting Rid Of Peeps I Don't Like handle that. Dee, where are you??)

I guess that's it for now!

Photoshop Techniques

I learned a nifty and easy new PS trick to liven up photos recently. Basically, you take your image, duplicate it as a new layer, then apply a gaussian blur to the new layer so that basic shapes are still visible, but the details are blurred. Then change the mode to Overlay, and you wind up softly increasing contrast and saturation - here's a before and after.



Simple, but nice - and very effective on low contrast images.

A Pilgrimage

Some of you may know of my fascination with Johnny Cash - a somewhat recent thing, of course. I never listened to him much growing up, other than when Dad would hum Ghost Riders In The Sky to wake me up in the mornings (I was very young, ha ha). About two years ago, I saw the video to Johnny Cash's song, Hurt (originally by Trent Reznor (spelling?) of Nine Inch Nails). I have never watched a music video that had emotional impact - I was floored by Cash's video (and had to immediately download the song of course). The scenes of an old man looking back on his life of excess, and realizing that it was all for nought. (You could almost hear in the background something from Solomon - meaningless, meaningless, all is meaningless). Anyway, it completely shattered my preconceived notions about Johnny Cash being a old country singer. And I began to listen to some of his other songs as well.
When the movie Walk The Line came out, it grabbed my fascination as well - a good story, well worth a viewing (or multiple viewings, in my case). And last year, when I went to Arizona, guess what we listened to all the way there? Why, nothing but Johnny Cash (and the Walk the Line soundtracks as well). Good times!
Anyway, yesterday Colby had an idea that has captured my fancy - a weekend trip to Henderson, TN, to see the grave of Johnny Cash and June Carter. Almost like a pilgrimage, but more fun. And of course, we can listen to all the Johnny Cash music we want.


And by the way: if you are tired and sleepy when you wake up in the morning, take a hint from Dad and sit on the edge of the bed, feet hanging down, and hum the theme from Ghost Riders In The Sky - it really does help you wake up!

Random....

Have you ever been in a situation where (during a conversation somewhere among a group) someone blurts out something totally random and unrelated to the main conversation? That's the impression I got after reading the following editoral (not written by Roy!) from the Paris News.

To the Editor:

This month I saved $598 on grocery and other items with sales coupons. I spent $139. I bought 279 items from Jan. 1 until Jan 28.

Martha Lane

Paris

Okay, let me get this straight. Martha was totaling up her coupon savings (as well as counting the number of items she bought) for nearly a month. She saw the total savings, and was apparently impressed by the figure, enough to tell the Paris News about it.

How bizarre and totally random! I guess Martha just likes to share the details of her life with peeps - or perhaps it was a thinly disguised promotion for the use of coupons? You be the judge!

Long Time No Post

Soooooo.....where to begin? Not much is going on, and I can't really think of anything to talk about right now. I just wanted to post here to keep the blog rolling until something postworthy happens. This is B.J., signing off.....

Hello Internet. It's me, B.J.!

After some awful, awful time this week without internet, I am FINALLY back online!! There were some problems earlier this week (well, it started over the weekend, really) and I haven't had reliable internet service from last Friday until last night. Since Suddenlink bought out Cox Communications, the quality of internet service (as in reliability) has sucked like a vacuum cleaner. Anyway, not much else has been going on - just thought I'd post since I can, now!

Yet Another Exciting Post!

This post is dedicated to Dee, who told me I haven't posted in awhile and I really should. The only thing that happened to me that would even be remotely post-worthy since Christmas/New Years and Dad's stint procedure would be that I found tangelos at Krogers last night. My favorite fruit in the whole world!! Not a tangerine, but a tangelo. Mmmm.


And that is pretty much the only slightly interesting thing that has happened this week (so far!). Perhaps that is a good thing, in some ways, but a really boring thing, in other ways. I need to go on a photo shoot, and soon. Maybe if we get some ice or snow I can get some snowscapes or something like that this weekend. The arctic blast is supposed to be on its way....

Happy New Year

Oh, is it a new year already? Must have missed the ball dropping last night - I've never been much of a New Year's celebrant (to me, it marks the death of the holiday season, which is depressing enough with the Dec 26th Christmas Letdown). I went out to Mom and Dad's yesterday afternoon to walk Snickers, and wound up staying for a bit, watching the Hee Haw marathon on CMT. Uh, yeah, you read that right - it was more fun than it sounds, since we mostly made fun of the show, but there was some good music. Johnny Cash even guest starred on one episode.

But eventually I couldn't take Hee Haw anymore, so I left around 10:30 or so. And I got on the computer, Flickered for a bit, (insert obligatory Flickr photo here:) and then I decided to watch Walk The Line (must have been from seeing Johnny and June on Hee Haw). And then I looked at the clock on my screen and it was a little after 3 am. And that was the extent of any 'celebrating' that I did. Yay.