Thursday, November 29, 2012

Powerball and the orangutan




                                        The Phoenix Zoo let their orangutan.choose the numbers.

Kasih picked 21, 3, 29, 56, 50 and a Powerball of 24.



               (not really Kalish, perhaps a relative)

I will now rush out and pick the same, as well as the numbers on either side.
A mere $26.00! I figure I can't lose. I will also pick my lucky numbers of:
05, 16, 22, 23, 29, and 6.

Darn!  They just told me at the local "convenience" store that I am too late and the winners have been picked!  Looks like I won $26.00!!!!!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Inflation Calculator

The Inflation Calculator  is a site that adjusts any given amount of money for inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index, from 1800 to 2007. 
Plug in the amount, the initial year, and the final year. It's interesting and more than a little disturbing, to see just how little the money we have now is worth.



Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The beavers are back

As soon as things calmed down with the dam repair they moved back in. I set a camera up to watch them re-build this one. They had just started to build it on the overflow ditch. I should get some photos of them if they don't incorporate my camera into the dam.

                                                                     I removed it:

It will probably be back tomorrow. Time to set up some traps and get started making felt for my new fedora.

Friday, November 23, 2012

The US Debt, A Clock

"If Americans ever allow banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless"
Thomas Jefferson

"the FED is a bank"

"I, however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared."
Thomas Jefferson

The US national debt is 16 trillion and counting....


The US total debt is almost $59 trillion dollors and growing.

The link below is an eye opener.

The US debt clock.

A bit of humor


Well, the cows went through a section of the fence that the elk knocked down & we spent the evening hours doing damage control last night. I patched twenty feet or so good enough to last until Sunday when it is supposed to be dry. I ran out of light. 

It's raining now and I just don't feel the urgency!
-----------

A farmer got pulled over by a state trooper for speeding, and the trooper started to lecture the farmer about his speed and, in general, began to throw his weight around to try to make the farmer uncomfortable.
Finally, the trooper got around to writing out the ticket, and as he was doing that he kept swatting at some flies that were buzzing around his head.
The farmer said, "Having some problems with circle flies there, are ya?"
The trooper stopped writing the ticket and said—"Well yeah, if that's what they are—I never heard of circle flies."
So the farmer says, "Well, circle flies are common on farms. See, they're called circle flies because they're almost always found circling around the back end of a horse."
The trooper says, "Oh," and goes back to writing the ticket. Then after a minute he stops and says, "Hey... wait a minute, are you trying to call me a horse's ass?"
The farmer says, "Oh no, Officer. I have too much respect for law enforcement and police officers to even think about calling you a horse's ass."
The trooper says, "Well, that's a good thing," and goes back to writing the ticket.
After a long pause, the farmer says, "Hard to fool them flies though."
================
A policeman stopped a guy for driving erratically. He peered intently into the driver's eyes and said, "Your eyes look bloodshot, have your been drinking?"
The guy peers into the policeman's eyes and says, "Your eyes look glazed, have you been eating donuts?"
================
In case of emergency this is good to know. I had a flat tire on the interstate, so I eased my car over to the shoulder of the road, carefully got out of the car and opened the trunk. I took out two cardboard men, unfolded them and stood them at the rear of my car facing on-coming traffic. They look so life like you wouldn't believe it! They are in trench coats exposing their nude bodies to the approaching drivers.
To my surprise, cars started slowing down to look at my life-like men, which made it safer for me to work at the side of the road.
And, of course, traffic started backing up. Everybody was tooting their horns and waving like crazy. It wasn't long before a state trooper pulled up behind me. He gets out of his car and starts walking towards me. I could tell he was not a happy camper!
"What's going on here lady?!!!!!"
"My car has a flat tire,"I said calmly.
"Well, what the h---- are those obscene cardboard men doing here by the road?"
I couldn't believe that he didn't know. So I told him, "Helloooooo, those are my Emergency Flashers."
========
Thanks to Car Talk


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Albert Einstein's wisdom

This has been going around.

The day that Albert Einstein feared may have     finally arrived,    Or    The new generation.

Having coffee with friends.

A day at the beach.

Cheering on the team.

Having dinner out with  friends.

Out on an intimate date.

Having a conversation with a friend

A visit to the museum

Enjoying the sights




                                                                 I think we are there!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Twinkies are back? Update

Hostess Brands and its second largest union will go into mediation to try and resolve their differences, meaning the Irving, Texas-based company won't go out of business just yet.

The fool that paid $10,000.00 on eBay for a couple of them thinking he was making an investment for the future (They probably will be fresh for 20 years or so) is probably pretty sorry right now.
 Hostess Twinkies Cream Filled Snack Cakes 10 Count Box Delicious Tasty Sweet

To the best of my recollection, I have never eaten one of these things. But I suppose they are "American as apple pie" to some people. My guess is they aren't near as as good.
I've always preferred apple pies.

Update!  Looks like they are gone again. 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A 7,600-pound hydrogen bomb lost off the Georgia coast



On Feb. 5, 1958, a B-47 bomber dropped a 7,000-pound nuclear bomb into the waters off Tybee Island, Ga., after it collided with another Air Force jet.
In this day and age of IUD's, uhm, ICU's, Oh, IED's.        Why isn't this still news?
Fifty years later, the bomb — which has unknown quantities of radioactive material — has never been found. And while the Air Force says the bomb, if left undisturbed, poses no threat to the area, determined bomb hunters and area residents aren't so sure.
         A Mark 15 thermonuclear bomb, like the one shown above, lies in the Wassaw Sound, just a few miles from          downtown Savannah, Ga.
              NPR has an article                                              and here is Wikipedia's take on it  

While I agree that there are certain elements of the deep south that we could do without, it would be a bit of an over-kill if this thing started leaking whether or not it has the ability to explode. Both being debated questions. 
Somehow I think that the money to find this thing could be diverted from any number of :
                                       wasteful government expenditures.

Ode to the welfare state 1949


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease here in the valley!


I am sorry to report that an occurrence Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease has claimed the life of one of our neighbors. He was only 62 years of age. This was diagnosed by OSU only this month, and he died soon after. To the best of my knowledge has yet to make the news media. Out of respect for the family, I won't offer any names, but I imagine this will all be out in the open soon.
The prions that cause mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy as well as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cannot be destroyed by normal cooking and can be acquired by eating food contaminated with the brain, spinal cord or digestive tract of infected carcasses. 
In view of this, I would suggest researching this disease, and great care in processing not only wild game, but domestic animals, as well. 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Elk hunting season

Spike season started today! I went out to check the cameras for trespassers and found these guys frolicking in the mist and fog. Or is that redundant?


RIP The Twinkie


It was time!  
Oh, Twinkie. You were a great snack, a great reference, and right up to the end, a great joke. Please bow your heads as I read from Ecclesiastes, chapter 3 verses 1 & 2:
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.”
Stolen from :The Twinkie should die: Why it’s time to say goodbye  because I am lazy and thought it was about time I posted something.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

A quote from an unknown author

"Marriage is like a deck of cards. It starts with two hearts and a diamond, and in a few years you wish you had a club and a spade".

That the author is unknown is not surprising. He just may wish to remain anonymous.

Fortunately this is not the case with my current marriage.
(I of course need to add this on the chance she will visit this blog)

I am not the type to join clubs, and I will refrain from any further puns out of political politeness.

However, in 30 or 40 years I plan to still be married & perhaps we will share the spade in a way.

I probably should just shut up before someone gets the wrong idea about me.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Salmon fishing

While my good friend Buddeshepard was sliding around in the mud and rain and suffering the sorrows of the habitual farmer, I decided to accept the invite of my friend Randy the cat-skinner. (not that kind of cat, the one with tracks), to go to the coast and fish. The other Randy (the logger) joined us. Getting up at 3:30 to meet along the route did not allow enough time for the morning constitutional, and the outhouse at the boat ramp on the coast was not conducive either. Everything there was covered with a layer of ice, including Randy's boat.  The sun came out briefly to tease us, then the clouds moved in and it got colder. There were about three dozen other boats slowly trolling back and forth in the bay in hopes that the one fish we all saw landed, had brought along his family. It was not to be. I believe that the survivors were all happily laying eggs far up stream by then. Although told to wear warm clothes, I didn't realize what I was in for until I saw both Randys donning multiple coats and assorted survival gear. I don't think I have ever been that cold, for that long, and in a place with no escape, since & spent the night in a small tent in Eastern Oregon as a kid. It was below freezing, the tent blew down, and the sun came up to reveal several inches of hail covering the high desert.
Note to self: Do not believe the tag on those $6.00 pair of gloves that promise "waterproof" and 40grams of thinsulate.  The Chinese have a greater tolerance to cold I guess. Also, long underwear today isn't what it used to be and costs a lot more.
Needless to say, we caught no salmon for our $16.00 tags.
But I guess a good time was had by all.
But next year I hope the invitation comes at the start of the run, not the end.



                                                                  What I expected:


What I got. Herring cut bait

Saturday, November 10, 2012

beef tongue recalled?

Beef tongue recalled, tonsils possibly still attached

Because " they are a specified risk material: tissues that are known to contain the infective agent in cattle infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or mad cow disease. "

Why not ban T-bone steaks as well, they contain parts of the vertebrae which may have particles of the spinal cord, tissue that is known to contain the prions in question. When was the last time anyone ate bovine brain? Is it still sold?

Included in the article is the following: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the odds of a person contracting mad cow disease, even after consuming contaminated products, are less than one in 10 billion.
What udder bull!!
These are odds that are impossible to arrive at. There are too many unknowns.  It's hard to believe they would issue such a report.

Where does CNN get this stuff?

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

DPS helicopter opens fire ... Two dead!

This may get glossed over by the election coverage.

 A Texas Department of Public Safety sharpshooter opened fire on an evading vehicle loaded with suspected illegal immigrants, leaving at least two people dead, sources familiar with the investigation said.

Public safety?   Words fail me here.  I lack the eloquence of others.

Shooting varmints from aircraft is one thing, but shooting at people in cars because they don't stop?

Our country has enough bad publicity and ill will. What idiots!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Albert Einstein's quotes on religion



"God does not play dice with the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." - Albert Einstein
"I want to know God's thoughts...the rest are details." - Albert Einstein
"I cannot conceive of a personal God who would directly influence the actions of individuals, or would directly sit in judgment on creatures of his own creation. I cannot do this in spite of the fact that mechanistic causality has, to a certain extent, been placed in doubt by modern science. [He was speaking of Quantum Mechanics and the breaking down of determinism.] My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality. Morality is of the highest importance -- but for us, not for God." - Albert Einstein 'The Human Side', 1954
"Subtle is the Lord, but malicious He is not." - Albert Einstein
"Strange is our situation here upon this earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose." - Albert Einstein
"There remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion." - Albert Einstein
"Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player." - Albert Einstein
"Do you believe in immortality? No, and one life is enough for me." - Albert Einstein
"Scientists were rated as great heretics by the church, but they were truly religious men because of their faith in the orderliness of the universe." - Albert Einstein
"I do not believe that the Good Lord plays dice." - Albert Einstein
"When the solution is simple, God is answering." - Albert Einstein

And last but not least my favorite, this applies to everybody, religious or not:

"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." - Albert Einstein