tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78416500568911763942024-03-17T16:15:27.593-07:00Ravine RavingsDayblogging. Outdoor adventure. Mountain biking, hiking, and whitewater trip reports. Travel.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger370125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-49038041226894318252024-03-11T16:57:00.000-07:002024-03-17T16:14:46.976-07:00Out To The Desert<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWQlC-ocxIDeuMPZu8jBju4VxHxYlAgq0Zs8cGU7Gy4IBhzw-B8hQbMKowT3FWF6CZ6E830ksh76636nYLAUlFo8GR-7LQBX71X8FLZpOPlg_hJbS44YGwroS9TWOTznZh-guFuLSJDP0j5NOucNeZ7iZDaRFQJS-8VsePThpkBgrSujNYs_fJJIq/s4032/IMG_5407.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWQlC-ocxIDeuMPZu8jBju4VxHxYlAgq0Zs8cGU7Gy4IBhzw-B8hQbMKowT3FWF6CZ6E830ksh76636nYLAUlFo8GR-7LQBX71X8FLZpOPlg_hJbS44YGwroS9TWOTznZh-guFuLSJDP0j5NOucNeZ7iZDaRFQJS-8VsePThpkBgrSujNYs_fJJIq/w640-h480/IMG_5407.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the easternmost extinct volcanoes in the Cinder Hills.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Usually I say I'm going down to the desert, meaning I'm headed south off the Colorado Plateau, but if I say I'm going out to the desert it means that I'm heading east. Technically this is also going downhill but still atop the Colorado Plateau. If you go to the Verde Valley or the Valley of the Sun you are dropping thousands of feet vertical. Generally speaking I prefer the high country but in a long winter the moderate temps of the desert are attractive.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygy-wcpEHA0uGRc0wJiOvK6LgOcY7vX-T76aUkdX8q500Nm8a-Eid8yz4XaOQAgWHVMXhqFgu0amfCqHAmiBcaOG8XdQDejh-CCfSOK47jFfaN2AhCcUc9_noe9rGmT6DXwmr-jnDSxp9t4ulCOwtt3K4CWod3Li3sdekABthyOXFzv-6zvVt3LmE/s4032/IMG_5406.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgygy-wcpEHA0uGRc0wJiOvK6LgOcY7vX-T76aUkdX8q500Nm8a-Eid8yz4XaOQAgWHVMXhqFgu0amfCqHAmiBcaOG8XdQDejh-CCfSOK47jFfaN2AhCcUc9_noe9rGmT6DXwmr-jnDSxp9t4ulCOwtt3K4CWod3Li3sdekABthyOXFzv-6zvVt3LmE/w640-h480/IMG_5406.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By late winter I'd rather be in the warmth looking up at snowy mountains than to be in the snow looking down at warmth.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I didn't really have much of a plan. I watched basketball in the morning, went for my first run of the year at Fort Tuthill County Park, then decided to go out to the Twin Arrows Casino on the Navajo Nation for a late lunch. Strangely enough, I do not gamble, except for the lottery which can be bought at any convenience store. However Twin Arrows has good food and the high temps were in the 60s out there. I'm slowly working my way through their various food selections. If it were closer to town I'd go more often. I ambled around outside for a few minutes to enjoy and take a couple of photos.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I meant to sidetrack to explore some abandoned buildings and maybe one of the side canyons but it completely slipped my mind and I drove home instead.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Another weekend gone. It wasn't completely wasted.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><b>ON DECK</b>: designing database tables for work, getting estimates for a new roof for my stepmother's house in Indiana (owned by my sister and I). Trying to find time to resume work on my second novel.</p><p><b>OPERATIONS</b>: disposing of bulk waste to try to get my house under control now that the new flooring is installed.</p><p><b>LISTENING</b>: Ryan Adams sad songs. Started second listen of Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising on audiobook, about a hypothetical war between NATO and the Soviet Union set in the 1980s. I read the print version years ago.</p><p><b>LAST WATCHED</b>: Purdue Men's Basketball won their last game of the season. Prior to that I watched the Jeff Bridges movie <i>Hell Or High Water</i> which was amazing!</p><p><b>CONDITION</b>: Feeling okay for a Monday. Not too sore after yesterday's run.</p><p><b>THINKING ABOUT</b>: Still thinking about spring. Also perhaps planning a summer trip.</p><p><b>OUTSIDE</b>: I will be on call this coming weekend so I will probably just go running and/or bicycling.</p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><b>SHIPPING FORECAST</b>: More snow possible this week. I'm getting impatient for warmer temperatures.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-39077548218372092562024-03-07T10:20:00.000-08:002024-03-08T20:31:31.112-08:00The Queen Is Dead, Long Live The King<p> </p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmzbUIi4t3U1_B0RJRCo5eS9PyNRy0bXo7SXyZt28FIe9s-OvJKxiG5BXVdl-iyqiWbvSkuw2k2WveGXavkdnjbRFusEvdKh7Jdm7Hvrnr0wXG7fmRPuUO7DiJ4vv8FBUPs6qd0poWmGHu0Oh7rOSHn3xUcqLObAhhJPHTjwp4qTNAgI7vHGnbcen/s4032/IMG_1549.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmzbUIi4t3U1_B0RJRCo5eS9PyNRy0bXo7SXyZt28FIe9s-OvJKxiG5BXVdl-iyqiWbvSkuw2k2WveGXavkdnjbRFusEvdKh7Jdm7Hvrnr0wXG7fmRPuUO7DiJ4vv8FBUPs6qd0poWmGHu0Oh7rOSHn3xUcqLObAhhJPHTjwp4qTNAgI7vHGnbcen/w640-h480/IMG_1549.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shadow, the King of the Household.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I've never been a monarchist, though sometimes I joke that democracy is going to turn me into one, but my household is ruled by a tyranny of cats. I'm still mourning my beloved Zelda but her throne had somewhat been usurped by my young tomcat Shadow in recent years anyway.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">"The Queen is dead, long live the King!"</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Zelda is gone and will never be forgotten as long as I live. But we have entered the new era of Shadow and his companion <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ada Byron King-Noel, Countess Lovelace</a>.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvwjTcykktBC6g3xsoRy06pl70tZN_BUGREJhQNrW6d_LijAQWgLE58ki55cmqNaMieGrvBggkdOTWc1qYvJlzKKWpPcAllfDjF8spPzf4vjOfQsvA-OvTFTPUKy3NGhlBxRyOxNEt8l1SlGB4xzZx5_CuHwxqNMQ2ficMB83lCZ818OEMoBFqs2a/s3264/IMG_1407%202.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvwjTcykktBC6g3xsoRy06pl70tZN_BUGREJhQNrW6d_LijAQWgLE58ki55cmqNaMieGrvBggkdOTWc1qYvJlzKKWpPcAllfDjF8spPzf4vjOfQsvA-OvTFTPUKy3NGhlBxRyOxNEt8l1SlGB4xzZx5_CuHwxqNMQ2ficMB83lCZ818OEMoBFqs2a/w640-h480/IMG_1407%202.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ada, Countess Lovelace in her youth. She was about two in this photo.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The four year old king brings youthful energy and exuberance to the household. And also cuddles. I call him a "supercuddler" because he is by far the most cuddly pet I've ever lived with.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I took a full week of mourning but now it is time to resume normal life. We celebrate the past but look to the future.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-69571455520249750392024-03-02T12:21:00.000-08:002024-03-03T06:23:14.870-08:00Bookending An Entire Cat Life<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8x4VM21szcifepUxG5sWF1xF92n1ajzD2NkEvwSj4QY8_5V3MLqvzFnql-fjTWvrA3lqVXnz2UR5MnLmj9PTp3yO0hLTNOfq0fkyJT9Bt-PFZREqx4e8Q3q8D2Or6jAgUNhpQRhYQPun8ojOdCQwOQXGdlleaAg9qzZ2dkDBAutOzAixLRaD8R1hx/s2307/IMG_2647.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2176" data-original-width="2307" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8x4VM21szcifepUxG5sWF1xF92n1ajzD2NkEvwSj4QY8_5V3MLqvzFnql-fjTWvrA3lqVXnz2UR5MnLmj9PTp3yO0hLTNOfq0fkyJT9Bt-PFZREqx4e8Q3q8D2Or6jAgUNhpQRhYQPun8ojOdCQwOQXGdlleaAg9qzZ2dkDBAutOzAixLRaD8R1hx/w640-h604/IMG_2647.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pretty girl in the snow in 2018, about a year before her health started a slow decline. She always had an alert gaze.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">My beautiful girl Griselda's life has come to an end. I've lost pets before but this is particularly painful. She was seventeen years old. We were together from the time she was small enough to sit in the palm of my hand. It feels like I've lost my best friend of seventeen years.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Griselda, or Zelda as I mostly called her, was a cat's cat. Fiercely independent, adventurous, and in her youth an aggressive predator. I referred to her as The Inimitable Zelda, like there could only be one Zelda. I have memories from her first day home. She was joined by a slightly older cat named Hogan who was already grown out of the fluff ball stage.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsPzcJ02nN46RBj4nHo_VvBeuzNNwyGoAFZkmPGTSFICtyyO-dJUUc0QMFrmTyc1ucHd0BochjLm8pRZnXKLnhkL9k160BrH5lcLcMFF_Tq41yGyymrZmVmPUUhWdFUs7jMIEDU5RDSBPkyT-4KtU7Y9Al-f_2xDPU5Ns90Gb8F5jRhBYmlo9hWAo/s3264/IMG_1121.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLsPzcJ02nN46RBj4nHo_VvBeuzNNwyGoAFZkmPGTSFICtyyO-dJUUc0QMFrmTyc1ucHd0BochjLm8pRZnXKLnhkL9k160BrH5lcLcMFF_Tq41yGyymrZmVmPUUhWdFUs7jMIEDU5RDSBPkyT-4KtU7Y9Al-f_2xDPU5Ns90Gb8F5jRhBYmlo9hWAo/w640-h480/IMG_1121.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zelda with Hogan. July 19, 2014. Despite his massive size she was the dominant cat in that era. Hogan preceded her in death in 2016.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I went to bed happy to have kittens in the house and when I got up in the morning Zelda was guarding the food and water, holding off Hogan at standoff distance, despite the fact that he was at least twice her size. They eventually became friends, as much as possible with Zelda. She only ever really tolerated other cats.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">As far as I can tell, Zelda loved me, though it took about five years to get her to willingly sit in my lap. She had been found on the side of the road and was apparently a feral kitten. I believe this explained her personality. She grew affectionate and liked to be tended to and served, though her affection could be transactional at times. If I gave her part of my meal, she would climb into my lap after we finished eating.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I allowed my cats access to a screen porch and my garage at my house in Georgia and for the first few years she was always bringing in her latest kill and dropping it at my feet. This included a variety of grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects, as well as mangled salamanders and on multiple occasions, tiny ring-necked snakes about the size of a pencil. I took the wriggling snakes away from her and released them outside.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Zelda was ever interested in my food as much as wild prey. She had a habit of hiding around corners and pouncing my ankles when I was carrying my dinner. I don't know if it was symbolic stalking of prey, or a prank, or if she actually hoped to make me drop the food. I took it as a prank. Some people would be angry about this, especially "dog people," but to me it was hilarious. You have to realize that cats do have a sense of humor, though often subtle.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Usually I gave her scraps of any meat I was eating, but one time it slipped my mind. I had cooked salmon in a baking dish lined with aluminum foil. When I finished, instead of placing the foil where she could get to it, I simply folded it up and put it in the waste basket.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">That night I awoke to the sound of a disturbance. I decided I had better check on things. When I rounded the corner to the dining room, I flipped on a flashlight fearing to see a burglar but instead saw Zelda looking back at me.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">"Oh, it's you," I said and went back to bed.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">In the light of day I rounded the corner and saw what had happened. Zelda had dumped the entire trash can to get at the discarded foil I had denied her and scattered trash everywhere. She was sitting exactly in the middle of the mess and made an aggressive trill of a type I heard many times from her both in play and in apparent anger, then she ran off and hid under a chair and gave me the evil eye.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">That taught me I guess. I was annoyed but amused.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">One other time Zelda was trying to get some of my food and became so irritated that she threw a literal hissy fit, her tail raised straight up and shaking accompanied by a four legged dance and an irritated rowwwrrr! Then she swatted me and again ran off and hid under the same chair, giving me the evil eye again. I sat fork in hand, jaw hanging open in shock. Reflecting on it later I realized where the term "hissy fit" came from.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I realize this eulogy may sound like she was a lot of trouble but I was mostly entertained by her antics and have many other happy, affectionate memories involving Zelda. Playing with a string until I tired of the game. Chasing a toy mouse when I threw it. Batting paper wads under the door in a game of cat hockey. Approaching me for help when she got her head stuck in the handle of a plastic bag while playing with it. Running back and forth in the screen porch chasing a squirrel that was chattering away and climbing figure-eights on the outside of the screen.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">One day Zelda refused to come inside when I was ready to leave for work. She was at the screen looking down. I went out to pick her up and saw a turkey with three chicks walking into my back yard. She looked over her shoulder at me and I could almost hear her saying, "Big chicken."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">After we moved to Flagstaff I woke up from a sofa nap and found Zelda wrapped around my calf for warmth in the cool apartment, her arms clinging to me. And yes, eventually she did start sleeping in my lap, enjoying the stroking of the soft hair on her head and the attention for up to an hour or more at a time.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObzOFul90tKOLct1CAARHQQ4IEpZ0gf8fGw9V3qvj6fZFf5nsxPJd0oynlvvZPyrMONDj7aAINRYnUBcwznbMteI4XaqJFJl_aDPZ2qIBo0sMlGK7cdPjq7eOiY7M2lMVYSig0VWRK3B4c7ut66HJJgdBepqnqahFOFH-nfBRwrxFFOM1JdmUtGd8/s3264/IMG_0178.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObzOFul90tKOLct1CAARHQQ4IEpZ0gf8fGw9V3qvj6fZFf5nsxPJd0oynlvvZPyrMONDj7aAINRYnUBcwznbMteI4XaqJFJl_aDPZ2qIBo0sMlGK7cdPjq7eOiY7M2lMVYSig0VWRK3B4c7ut66HJJgdBepqnqahFOFH-nfBRwrxFFOM1JdmUtGd8/w640-h480/IMG_0178.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After Hogan died Zelda acted forlorn for a few weeks so I adopted Ada (right). Soon they were frenemies.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">So many memories. Mostly good memories. Some minor offenses but nothing I couldn't roll with. We lived in mutual affection and respect for over seventeen years.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_F50eSDZ-bk_nhDsmqn5wEWsAwaz3CZTqrp1ox9-X5-suD0i-EBCKdDBo34LlO1fEw4VhiLdt9wW5XRE-8qm1MZy4Gka8ROloAVWtM-awZQuWeBLVwnwYNc5kKPlKhrX3nhZLBxBLGeBgBk4nEypVHAHFNySIdvD3hKsVcciVQuJPLWoX1rFS9aLd/s4032/IMG_4380.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_F50eSDZ-bk_nhDsmqn5wEWsAwaz3CZTqrp1ox9-X5-suD0i-EBCKdDBo34LlO1fEw4VhiLdt9wW5XRE-8qm1MZy4Gka8ROloAVWtM-awZQuWeBLVwnwYNc5kKPlKhrX3nhZLBxBLGeBgBk4nEypVHAHFNySIdvD3hKsVcciVQuJPLWoX1rFS9aLd/w640-h480/IMG_4380.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Because Zelda and Ada didn't always get along, I adopted Shadow in 2019 (foreground). I referred to this as The Triumvirate, because I often felt they were in charge of the house.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Every year on her birthday for the last five or six years I would say, "Well you made it to twelve, are you going to make it thirteen?" The next year I would ask if she was going to make it to fourteen, and so on.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Alas, we came to the end of the road. Last April I asked her if she was going to make it to eighteen. She did not make it.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3LHVNGGH6k70ZGEWwxN6pKA_VZjNZcN_Go__OjYl1jOeY1dJ9o6WPzXHOL2PKl7hjDo_0MdZ1ajmbaeumIhODHjN9Rl8MGvuxBzIiMHfbVgl9j8sGMbCSoQg8K8sL8St8EQVOrPl5_0eqeVQLNPt9AaUcNweqTxYFiRnz9n700LZp8TQSv7kJvxfa/s4032/IMG_4676.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3LHVNGGH6k70ZGEWwxN6pKA_VZjNZcN_Go__OjYl1jOeY1dJ9o6WPzXHOL2PKl7hjDo_0MdZ1ajmbaeumIhODHjN9Rl8MGvuxBzIiMHfbVgl9j8sGMbCSoQg8K8sL8St8EQVOrPl5_0eqeVQLNPt9AaUcNweqTxYFiRnz9n700LZp8TQSv7kJvxfa/w640-h480/IMG_4676.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April 24, 2023. Her seventeenth and last birthday.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The vet found cancer in her lungs last Sunday. I knew she was suffering and had a persistent cough, but after hearing the diagnosis I realized we needed to bring things to an end. I arranged for a few days at home and a house call so she could die at home and so the other cats could be present. Fortunately this worked out fine and the other cats had a good look at Zelda, especially Ada, who laid right next to her in her last moments. It was more than I hoped for.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">My heart is broken.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-26640736743172289942024-02-23T17:40:00.000-08:002024-02-23T17:40:39.141-08:00Embrace The Chaos<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxB7NoWhv9iGc7boGFTUHCuWghh4IxN2Avhp3MKA13S-_DBRsmzoUkttYTxUiIGTMp50qsCWuV-EEyL6dwfZ8cfofYKwlhAHNwK4FiVTu-iZzH27rhRcaB056ttyNl7SUIrGPyCqAtAM8xLe608Ul5qiWLefZ58gCJ17ZmJSYbvnafel_GpRDP2Fak/s4032/IMG_5300.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxB7NoWhv9iGc7boGFTUHCuWghh4IxN2Avhp3MKA13S-_DBRsmzoUkttYTxUiIGTMp50qsCWuV-EEyL6dwfZ8cfofYKwlhAHNwK4FiVTu-iZzH27rhRcaB056ttyNl7SUIrGPyCqAtAM8xLe608Ul5qiWLefZ58gCJ17ZmJSYbvnafel_GpRDP2Fak/w400-h300/IMG_5300.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My living room right now. This is only about half the construction materials.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I'm busy both with work and in my personal life right now. I can't control work but the personal chaos was something of a choice. I put things off too long and now many things need done. Most of them cost money but I decide to just go ahead and spend and try to catch up.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Fortunately I'm in a rare mood for winter. As I have mentioned before several times on this blog I usually get depressed in the winter, but this year has been different. I have to admit it's probably from prescription medication. At this point I'm like "whatever works." I'm moving ahead with plans and juggling appointments and responsibilities.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The house is in an uproar as I have ordered new flooring and installation. They are giving away flooring right now by the way in case you need some. I guess the business is down so they have cut prices.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The problem is that I'm having to move furniture around and my living room is full of construction materials and packed with relocated furniture. This has upset my elderly, unwell cat Zelda. She always gets stressed by change, even rearranging furniture. She is taking out her frustration by peeing on the moved furniture. Ironically, or perhaps appropriately, her peeing all over the place is somewhat the reason for getting the carpet replaced. The new flooring will be much easier to clean. I have two bedrooms carpeted, the rest of the house is already hard floor of one kind or another so after this I will be done with carpet and not too soon.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Carpet also collects pet hair and pet dander at a prodigious rate. And cats tear it up by "sharpening their claws" on it. I don't think I'll ever have carpet again if I can help it. If you have cats or dogs it's a losing battle.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Cats.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-63786258479171452182024-02-12T10:54:00.000-08:002024-02-12T10:55:06.466-08:00Cabin Fever<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicP5JLcur3Xl5mZgNVD6WbVlbvYv3CYNhI95DYtQO1QuQ7VbP0hG_2MHYCwIz7RpqUGnpC3FYgEEBvfqvnpDcRjk9LixnlC0N3nFlGFJ9kR3pdfod1UwDXRcdWLCoW5tonpu9iHc6xNm6SLALKGwSL2bCXYkKDTgGikEVf588d5bXBNew57C92h-kf/s4032/IMG_5305.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicP5JLcur3Xl5mZgNVD6WbVlbvYv3CYNhI95DYtQO1QuQ7VbP0hG_2MHYCwIz7RpqUGnpC3FYgEEBvfqvnpDcRjk9LixnlC0N3nFlGFJ9kR3pdfod1UwDXRcdWLCoW5tonpu9iHc6xNm6SLALKGwSL2bCXYkKDTgGikEVf588d5bXBNew57C92h-kf/w640-h480/IMG_5305.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat for scale.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">We got about 3 feet of snow last week. I've been lifting weights regularly over the last few months so I didn't get sore from snow removal until the end of the second day. When it snows that much you have to remove it incrementally or it gets too deep to use the snowblower on it. But you still end up shoveling some regardless.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH3WEH6SuJwfqP3O-3LH-azqljHW4HltgZjnU_Wfv65NClFwmxHnuSAMDfHjQqtcxQ5piwAdQ3KjC_K-bd5QSOowASYpqfimN-1NAqVfHuj7BscHUPTiPhaRqmyxzRB810CQO9ZPHfjX6I-OzjCwfPkcxqkFxcL8IYfMhT8946fMSiMYkK0HOpHaE/s10762/IMG_5336.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="10762" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH3WEH6SuJwfqP3O-3LH-azqljHW4HltgZjnU_Wfv65NClFwmxHnuSAMDfHjQqtcxQ5piwAdQ3KjC_K-bd5QSOowASYpqfimN-1NAqVfHuj7BscHUPTiPhaRqmyxzRB810CQO9ZPHfjX6I-OzjCwfPkcxqkFxcL8IYfMhT8946fMSiMYkK0HOpHaE/w640-h228/IMG_5336.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Verde River at Rockin' River Ranch State Park.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It also gave me and the cats "cabin fever." Once the weather cleared I went down to the Verde River valley for a lovely hike at Arizona's newest state park: Rockin' River Ranch State Park. It's so new that much of still looks like grazing pasture. The elevation there is about 3000 ft above sea level so it is free of snow. It features access to the river, scenic cliffs, and views of the broad Verde Valley. This time of year the mountains of the Mogollon Rim and the Black Hills are snow capped. It was perfect! But the cats were stuck in the house.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I mentioned <a href="https://ravine-ravings.blogspot.com/2022/09/organization.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">before</a> how I enjoy the newsletter and blogging of the author and screenwriter Warren Ellis. He uses a format on his blog to record what he's doing at a particular time, mostly for his own future reference. In the spirit of this blog being as much a journal for myself as for anyone else to read, I copy that format here.</span></p><p><strong style="font-family: -apple-system; font-size: 18px;">ON DECK:</strong><span face="-apple-system" style="font-size: 18px;"> a major software upgrade for work</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system; font-size: 18px;" /><strong style="font-family: -apple-system; font-size: 18px;">INBOX: </strong><span face="-apple-system" style="font-size: 18px;">1</span><span face="-apple-system" style="font-size: 18px;">3</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system; font-size: 18px;" /><strong style="font-family: -apple-system; font-size: 18px;">OPERATIONS:</strong><span face="-apple-system" style="font-size: medium;"> I'm having flooring parts delivered today. The carpet in my bedrooms will be replaced with laminate in a couple of weeks. The rest of the house already has either laminate or tile.</span><br style="font-family: -apple-system; font-size: 18px;" /><strong style="font-family: -apple-system; font-size: 18px;">LISTENING: </strong><span face="-apple-system" style="font-size: 18px;">Usher's halftime show at the Super Bowl</span></p><p style="font-family: -apple-system; font-size: 18px;"><strong>LAST WATCHED:</strong> The Super Bowl <br /><strong>CONDITION:</strong> Didn't drink too much considering it was the Super Bowl but nonetheless woke up after midnight and didn't get enough sleep.<br /><strong>THINKING ABOUT:</strong> Spring. It can snow as late as May in Flagstaff but warm weather should arrive in about a month.<br /><strong>OUTSIDE:</strong> Nothing until next weekend but I will probably ride my bicycle trainer in the garage at least one day this week.</p><p style="font-family: -apple-system; font-size: 18px;"><strong>SHIPPING FORECAST</strong>: We get a break from snow for the next week. Yay!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-7574112622931091492024-02-06T15:57:00.000-08:002024-02-06T15:57:21.941-08:00Chili Pepper Heat<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnydi9LTOxkQLDcJoEJU5pRxmWsBCFlkAwbU0dR__NsBTvyvZFr714BFPM15LDdYvYXW_lAMuflqAhRRia-CK4coCWELdJD6O7UGqSivjYZQvLNO5Gy2ENxmMOlU_S_7ixEm44Sdej297YyljlSxNm716_4eYPez7HO3LILXRTqNAx2Oa6_t2uekF/s3927/IMG_5299.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1963" data-original-width="3927" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnydi9LTOxkQLDcJoEJU5pRxmWsBCFlkAwbU0dR__NsBTvyvZFr714BFPM15LDdYvYXW_lAMuflqAhRRia-CK4coCWELdJD6O7UGqSivjYZQvLNO5Gy2ENxmMOlU_S_7ixEm44Sdej297YyljlSxNm716_4eYPez7HO3LILXRTqNAx2Oa6_t2uekF/w640-h320/IMG_5299.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My array of chili sauces and peppers. Please forgive my work desk being a little cluttered.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">When I was a small child I was a picky eater and avoided spicy foods at all times. In retrospect, I can see that this was somewhat programmed. Relatives and peers mostly ate middle American cuisine. People like to say it's "bland," but it's really just savory rather than spicy. My uncle Glenn liked spicy food but most everybody else I knew did not eat anything with chili pepper in it.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">After I moved to the south where spicy cuisine is more common, I began eating mildly spicy foods. It seems that it always starts easy and then your taste for chili heat increases as the years go by. Now I have a bunch of chili sauces in my fridge, red pepper (Cayenne) powder, and dried Arbol pepper pods in my cabinet.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The other night I decided to crush up a pepper pod into my Top Ramen. I was only going to use half but thought, "Don't be a chicken!" I put the whole pod in. Soon my face was sweating and my mouth and stomach were on fire.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Still worth it though.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-61262301194893373062024-02-04T15:12:00.000-08:002024-02-05T03:52:41.005-08:00Plane Spotting In Flagstaff<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisS2ZErg7_9cto6Ks6wZN7vzStUknDCjOUmGoZNXG-ELKSMNjCOOK0mrC25TPQS_NCYLxJ4-ytmywjualUTxbsviSfcc4ljz2mcvJSKO04k2Cr9jYjZFuTxjIFpoPoJws_55DBN2KKc5sbnqdsWI15yVb8BqmsbdT1caViK2w5_UNidCwKNs4k1keO/s992/IMG_5298.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="992" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisS2ZErg7_9cto6Ks6wZN7vzStUknDCjOUmGoZNXG-ELKSMNjCOOK0mrC25TPQS_NCYLxJ4-ytmywjualUTxbsviSfcc4ljz2mcvJSKO04k2Cr9jYjZFuTxjIFpoPoJws_55DBN2KKc5sbnqdsWI15yVb8BqmsbdT1caViK2w5_UNidCwKNs4k1keO/w640-h506/IMG_5298.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C-17 Globemaster practicing touch-and-goes at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (FLG).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Flagstaff is a pretty good place for plane spotting, even though it's a small airport. We have frequent military visitors due to the airport's high altitude. It's a good place to practice. We see C-17s, C-130s, F/A-18 E/F/Gs, F-35s, and a variety of helicopters several times throughout the year. Civilian aircraft are mostly confined to regional jets and business jets. But it's actually pretty good considering the population of Flagstaff, the relative remoteness, and the lack of a military base.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-46520383675628565402024-01-29T17:26:00.000-08:002024-01-29T17:26:37.805-08:00Psychology<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVxVlsNDtKFl7A4k_bpiOcCkv_r9jdgHaVuxgYm8A7nIskzLnI6gzTxYB-zHZY3N60tURk-Ps5k4KrD0Sw4CkiHtWMIfxw98v0GcMOAyoAOch6sbTd3kHFDAMTQ_ffok2jGfP8mcWDVFBVlhJdDPvq21zaMVkdKujfYJrsalOBkveiN5IuPXLFStU/s1541/1541px-Hemessen-cirujano-prado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1541" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVxVlsNDtKFl7A4k_bpiOcCkv_r9jdgHaVuxgYm8A7nIskzLnI6gzTxYB-zHZY3N60tURk-Ps5k4KrD0Sw4CkiHtWMIfxw98v0GcMOAyoAOch6sbTd3kHFDAMTQ_ffok2jGfP8mcWDVFBVlhJdDPvq21zaMVkdKujfYJrsalOBkveiN5IuPXLFStU/w640-h448/1541px-Hemessen-cirujano-prado.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Jan Sanders van Hemessen - http://www.museodelprado.es/imagen/alta_resolucion/P01541.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27499328</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I don't really think I lost my mind at any point in my life. Instead, I think my mind was lost several generations back. We live in an era when people pretend that genetics don't count. That's false. This is the question of nature versus nurture. If you think about it, if craziness runs in the family then the nurturing may also be crazy. There could be both genetic craziness and a family tradition of craziness.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I guess I won't give details to avoid offending my relatives but I think several of us are crazy and not in a good way. In my own case it's mostly internal but sometimes a little escapes into the world for others to see. I'm not sure if it's something that could be diagnosed as a mental illness or if it's just a personality type but I can't imagine it's healthy.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Anyway I don't have much confidence in psychology. I consider it a primitive science at best, a pseudoscience at worst. That's based both on personal experience and education in neurobiology and artificial intelligence. I tried counseling last year and found it counterproductive and expensive.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I don't trust my own mind but I also don't trust those people.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-48073371319561243712024-01-24T09:13:00.000-08:002024-01-24T16:57:25.633-08:00Feline Fugitive<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="896" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5GcZ6KRzeAjgxWuYAv0CfebLnu4p67KWLSGYzGAsAQCu5mQC4_N7Gtrh5lZ6d6itNJzmKqV5h0cy0UgZ2Z_I8W3vJ9F-XAZ4S1yYD4JdQjf536wZJ5VQun7COSYYE2okrRm3MiHjj2dwv6ZZhHiGwP6gxQkGayZEko2Lo5UA3qb7MfcSHDhTWI8c/w478-h640/GDpyTW3WEAA0wid.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="478" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Great Escape, Minyoung Kim. 2023</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="sc-faswKr rTxrE" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; margin-bottom: 5px; text-align: start;"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="text-align: start;" /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I take my cats outside one at a time for 4 to 5 minutes per day for a supervised walk. Sometimes they run off. The worst offender is Shadow, my four year old tomcat. He is adept at opening doors and latches and jumping and climbing the standard wooden privacy fences in my neighborhood. Occasionally I'm unable to catch him and have to wait for him to come back. It worries me because local social media is an unending series of missing pet posts. Unfortunately last summer he had a hostile encounter with another cat. I didn't find any wounds but I'm afraid he could contract a disease with all the running amok.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I took him to the vet yesterday. It's the first time he's been in a cat carrier since I brought him home from the shelter in 2019. They found nothing wrong but he made terrible yowling sounds during the car trip the likes of which I've rarely heard from a cat.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I also took the other two cats. Old Zelda was due for her annual (she has a prescription that requires it) and the younger two haven't had veterinary care since they were kittens. It was quite a circus. We have to go back next January. The two younger cats were vaccinated and the middle cat Ada had a particularly bad time with the side effects.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It was kind of an amusing adventure but I'm not sure I'm looking forward to next year, and don't ask how much it cost.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-73097292299280479532024-01-13T18:42:00.000-08:002024-01-16T15:18:26.893-08:00Winter Update<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifMb9vojsMNacEkXcPwpNgK08Vs2joyZzGFG9ciO0mKZyDlU65wOio9W6NYoNughhVdLjxAKU9IhPPW4nma-1W2NV4SapVvCwui34sWyY2FwEjONfj5xS9USz1ezmZJpoya-lr6Sit87x_kurxTr7VjXgppfdTZa1NSrGnLeUUj_nzGcqpt2kUrwUi/s4032/IMG_5219.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifMb9vojsMNacEkXcPwpNgK08Vs2joyZzGFG9ciO0mKZyDlU65wOio9W6NYoNughhVdLjxAKU9IhPPW4nma-1W2NV4SapVvCwui34sWyY2FwEjONfj5xS9USz1ezmZJpoya-lr6Sit87x_kurxTr7VjXgppfdTZa1NSrGnLeUUj_nzGcqpt2kUrwUi/w640-h480/IMG_5219.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McCallister Ranch Road. This will soon be a neighborhood.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Flagstaff finally entered proper winter, only slightly behind schedule. Officially the maximum snowfall so far is 11 inches according to the National Weather Service, but I don't think we got that much in my neighborhood. Other than that we've had a series of smaller storms. It got pretty cold last week but will be warmer over the next few days, enough to clear the snow completely off my solar panels.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHSiHGG7Vq6Fqb65qVi3LUk1eFxqAU7VT4wvtxMTAjacDmHL7E926mf9b4vKIPT2Up1QpSNbXCqJUGSr-a0a-dAHmvDUkO7c2FINMeJN0iJ7MUE-yqpjFP-XebVc0v-TfZkuUsrzamaclOpWIZDK8v2AQPSXLxVYb2-bTVbEW2-YRJt8FB3szmXOH/s4032/IMG_5220.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHSiHGG7Vq6Fqb65qVi3LUk1eFxqAU7VT4wvtxMTAjacDmHL7E926mf9b4vKIPT2Up1QpSNbXCqJUGSr-a0a-dAHmvDUkO7c2FINMeJN0iJ7MUE-yqpjFP-XebVc0v-TfZkuUsrzamaclOpWIZDK8v2AQPSXLxVYb2-bTVbEW2-YRJt8FB3szmXOH/w640-h480/IMG_5220.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the peaks down the alley. My house is on the left near the end.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Though cold most of the twenty-four hours of a day, it's beautiful here.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-78188060410759086822024-01-08T16:12:00.000-08:002024-01-16T15:19:22.739-08:00Types of Donkeys<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9rfAKiJY5YUutPO5eVLUPskK2Z6VrxR69OCojgKQ_Wu7JHrPeIlnpJ_XWdfbgY4wkimkC-sMiiamVQG-sYyAZIfwwLvfWs5TfB2ioZfAHFWpcH1GdhnPMnStBRmc7D9oTqDnxm7lur0j-dGxtjrgooK-io757wyrIQoZD0ukBWUrGWzOZ7UxQ83v/s2560/Wild_Burros.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9rfAKiJY5YUutPO5eVLUPskK2Z6VrxR69OCojgKQ_Wu7JHrPeIlnpJ_XWdfbgY4wkimkC-sMiiamVQG-sYyAZIfwwLvfWs5TfB2ioZfAHFWpcH1GdhnPMnStBRmc7D9oTqDnxm7lur0j-dGxtjrgooK-io757wyrIQoZD0ukBWUrGWzOZ7UxQ83v/w640-h480/Wild_Burros.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ecirphr, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">There are several types of donkeys:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">1. grey</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">2. brown</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">3. black</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">4. tourist behind the wheel</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYS3Sl8xAsZL4DQMk3N1bQfTV3aLV3ofbHbPgfC_CJu5aYGqKYsgKhDQQtuCdeijphBOkT0sGtpe3bYFRSqt0eQgT5CsDbeamPMQouTEpvWjqn5K4H8291ZgQxLhuckrq71jPONlBQRe-fLRenIyb2lAYHSJciZTqF_Khd2ZfWvTTglR3idfjwRmQF/s2700/Dodge-based_recreational_vehicle_in_Munich.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1960" data-original-width="2700" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYS3Sl8xAsZL4DQMk3N1bQfTV3aLV3ofbHbPgfC_CJu5aYGqKYsgKhDQQtuCdeijphBOkT0sGtpe3bYFRSqt0eQgT5CsDbeamPMQouTEpvWjqn5K4H8291ZgQxLhuckrq71jPONlBQRe-fLRenIyb2lAYHSJciZTqF_Khd2ZfWvTTglR3idfjwRmQF/w640-h464/Dodge-based_recreational_vehicle_in_Munich.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High Contrast, CC BY 3.0 DE <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/de/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I have chosen to live in a tourist town. The same factors that make a city a great place to visit makes it a great place to live. But there are drawbacks.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">When I am a tourist, I try to be respectful and not cause inconvenience to the local residents, though sometimes it can't be avoided. You don't know your way around. You don't know the local customs. It's embarrassing to cause others inconvenience. But it's apparent that not everyone thinks that way.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">When I lived in Georgia, I chose to live in the mountainous north. People who live there tend to visit Florida for vacation (holiday). But Florida does not have mountains. So the Floridians like to visit the mountains on their vacations. As tourists do, they often make a nuisance of themselves, causing the locals to refer to them as "Floridiots."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My friend Steve Smyth told me a story about this once. Steve grew up in Florida and moved to the mountains of North Georgia. One of his childhood friends came for a visit. Steve took the day off to spend time with his friend. The guy was out driving on a weekday, going 30 miles per hour in a 55 zone. A long line of cars backed up behind them.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Steve said, "What are you doing? Why are you going 25 miles per hour below the speed limit?"</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">His friend replied, "Man, I'm on vacation! I don't care!"</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">What a donkey!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">We have the same problem here in Flagstaff. Tourist drive 15 miles per hour in a 35, make sudden U-turns across 4 lanes of traffic, put on their turn signals to turn where there is no road or driveway to turn into.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">One day I was driving along the busiest road in Flagstaff and an RV was straddling the dashed white line, blocking both lanes, driving 15 to 20 mph. This went on for over a block before the driver finally settled into a left turn lane. It's apparent he didn't know which lane he should be in so he simply blocked both lanes until he could get the information out of his phone. I can't imagine willfully doing something so egocentric. Is he a toddler?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I guess we just have to put up with it. At least we have to until self-driving cars become advanced enough to avoid these problems. We may all be better off when self-driving cars are safe enough to remove the human from the process.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-64271129135470406352023-12-07T12:47:00.000-08:002023-12-08T06:47:44.822-08:00World War III?<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGwbFnHn5BROexKoB-72LNdFPDWb79uSuU1HdNw0R3bhmOxOXJ7ChaLAhKwgFHdRPcLO8_3aaZll_sOWZmGZKQrnayYrMNs5-nv3zX1jnBttxvO9uertQMQZUlrE0oqf9U4s6z0c8uPDwiQ0JOVm7FQlRXRYQbSfQmPhOy4PK1N69wiyY6bo04fYj/s4032/IMG_4937.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGwbFnHn5BROexKoB-72LNdFPDWb79uSuU1HdNw0R3bhmOxOXJ7ChaLAhKwgFHdRPcLO8_3aaZll_sOWZmGZKQrnayYrMNs5-nv3zX1jnBttxvO9uertQMQZUlrE0oqf9U4s6z0c8uPDwiQ0JOVm7FQlRXRYQbSfQmPhOy4PK1N69wiyY6bo04fYj/w640-h480/IMG_4937.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">F-35 Lightning II. Will it be a player in a new world war?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I grew up during the end of the Cold War. We all expected World War III at some point. When the Cold War ended, everybody was relieved and the 1990s were a pretty cheerful time in the advanced world. I wondered vaguely if the possibility of another world war would ever arise again.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">We are there.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Shortly after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 I saw commentary from some European think tank guy that we would all look back on it as the beginning of WWIII, it just wasn't obvious yet.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Proxy fighting already existed prior to 2022 between Russia and her allies and the United States and her allies in places like Syria, western Iraq, and Africa, but it has clearly spread. Russia has obviously been responsible for a series of coups d'etat in Africa, and they and their ally Iran obviously supported the Hamas invasion of Israel, and Yemeni attacks on American, Israeli, and British shipping in the Red Sea. Now it looks like Venezuela may be about to open a new front against Guyana in South America. Venezuela is a client of Russia.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Considering the United States is committed to supplying munitions to both Ukraine and Israel, our resources are getting stretched. This all feels engineered, and it is known that Putin's Russia is friendly with both the Iranian theocracy and the People's Republic of China. I think all of this was planned. These opponents of the United States have specific goals and to achieve them they need to upset the existing international order which has been dominated by the United States.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I never think it's too late to avoid war, but I'm getting pessimistic. After American resources are somewhat more expended, I expect China to open a front against one of their many neighbors whom they have threatened over the last few years. Once that happens, we will no longer be able to pretend it isn't a world war and I presume we will see events the like of which haven't been seen since the 1940s.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I just hope everybody has enough common sense to refrain from nuclear weapons.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-26770419414301289352023-12-01T15:48:00.000-08:002023-12-01T15:48:30.207-08:00Cats And Crows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1SUHV081ai2G0fK5tBV32Jwz1xujWg7mLM1jgrmRw_0elIDSTmcncB8cfysUsM275asgQKIdkp2Yj70cAQixJMlHT0AQp-aTvQ11sp4qkk2fcU-QBLEKMvNjA0qBp3F_Br7q-RImvQ9yezUbR-bETBPJdfV6XTXpF7Jd-Q4K16E_Slox71b6idKv/s4032/IMG_5174.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1SUHV081ai2G0fK5tBV32Jwz1xujWg7mLM1jgrmRw_0elIDSTmcncB8cfysUsM275asgQKIdkp2Yj70cAQixJMlHT0AQp-aTvQ11sp4qkk2fcU-QBLEKMvNjA0qBp3F_Br7q-RImvQ9yezUbR-bETBPJdfV6XTXpF7Jd-Q4K16E_Slox71b6idKv/w640-h480/IMG_5174.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I walked my cat Ada across the street to the pine park in light snow. As soon as we emerged from the house a murder of crows, numbering I'm sure over twenty, scattered and alerted. Ada looked up at them with derision and went about her business.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6x6tQaL7oo1RcMo936KXfGqOiEd8p9Ehf1iIjBIIcQPAfWVuyomdPdObuRpctcpZtbSIQeN7Lyzzz_gFe46HVeLd7L3rHYeZG3ZTmNlNavQEQ_Br4KIYhwYfvNjR3pRd9JGWLaytIicL1VepvoDrRp8GzArxb3AQqHD4RzIFtduOJAjAyVsaVSEw/s4032/IMG_5172.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6x6tQaL7oo1RcMo936KXfGqOiEd8p9Ehf1iIjBIIcQPAfWVuyomdPdObuRpctcpZtbSIQeN7Lyzzz_gFe46HVeLd7L3rHYeZG3ZTmNlNavQEQ_Br4KIYhwYfvNjR3pRd9JGWLaytIicL1VepvoDrRp8GzArxb3AQqHD4RzIFtduOJAjAyVsaVSEw/w640-h480/IMG_5172.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a few of the crows. They were perched across the block and swooping down at Ada.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">But the crows were having none of it. They cawed and repositioned, swooping at her several times. She stood on her hind legs when they came close enough. Her tail fur stood on end making a fluffy rope, a look of irritation on her furry little face. They were right to worry. She would catch them if she could.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">When it was time go home she trotted back to the house, as if in relief.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Then I brought out the next cat. The crows left the area.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpq92HBwIi7c8hasrylsytvEttv7SpqBw8UtSo272Shx-7CCVufbhhIMcXBkx06Cj-08YlE4lLnqsQWMbyuL1KRfp5rpSmqL5Ha2vOcI8F9OGyZj7g4YVd4VBYCRDz5ouAzn2rhcvbuDmDw6vfKeqv_xzNH4l_A0CSn_KkmFZXRgq9fmMnkNIcrGK2/s4032/IMG_5175.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpq92HBwIi7c8hasrylsytvEttv7SpqBw8UtSo272Shx-7CCVufbhhIMcXBkx06Cj-08YlE4lLnqsQWMbyuL1KRfp5rpSmqL5Ha2vOcI8F9OGyZj7g4YVd4VBYCRDz5ouAzn2rhcvbuDmDw6vfKeqv_xzNH4l_A0CSn_KkmFZXRgq9fmMnkNIcrGK2/w640-h480/IMG_5175.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow on the next cat: Zelda.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-7142524554107082182023-11-13T12:51:00.000-08:002023-11-13T15:29:43.660-08:00Samuel L. Jackson<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrE1S5ZX_bePe-D0Lqc915sUMCGiUdJsIm_n0lSRPGI1Kx7UYOfADiDohbbOiLNCo8Dr6CkTxpYKmQdnkHAu9Vcy0RCHIGj074t8_sHxxMilaWH-iIHF8m0lS9ks0vfCHsdb8PJP-feHH386Z-cQ7ofMp5PqVzbi7czYukNxQ84IECvkn_jEpO5Nxq/s1536/SamuelLJackson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrE1S5ZX_bePe-D0Lqc915sUMCGiUdJsIm_n0lSRPGI1Kx7UYOfADiDohbbOiLNCo8Dr6CkTxpYKmQdnkHAu9Vcy0RCHIGj074t8_sHxxMilaWH-iIHF8m0lS9ks0vfCHsdb8PJP-feHH386Z-cQ7ofMp5PqVzbi7czYukNxQ84IECvkn_jEpO5Nxq/w266-h400/SamuelLJackson.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Philip Romano, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">One of my coworkers has a Microsoft Teams background for conference calls of Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta from the movie Pulp Fiction. I've seen it many times and can recall much of the dialog from memory.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Samuel L. Jackson is the most bankable movie star in history if you count all roles (excluding Stan Lee who only made cameo appearances and I wouldn't consider a "movie star"). If you tally the income from every movie he has appeared in it amounts to $27.7 billion.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Jackson is a superb actor, and I think there are many things he does well, but his greatest talent, in my opinion, is his ability with dialog. He delivers lines as they were written with the precise tone for the scene. Every time he speaks with the correct pitch, cadence, and volume. And he delivers the intangibles. He always establishes the correct emotion. Of course facial expressions and body language are also talents he possesses. He's just an amazing actor.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-3175374150757705352023-11-09T15:02:00.000-08:002023-11-09T15:02:43.556-08:00My Fitness War With Myself<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciYbKUxjujofSpp5PVzx_tHm7jyqApTsPuu8bxGW43PMOK2UTQbpdDrWIvntpYYRQ0h66nWmstdsXenFuwh6xv6AsP6Anp-qCv3HdA6jnRMp-LeaxRYFKNH3A6IO0r0AuHHIZw9H6WA5qXNPMPPRurTQf8M5XVafmrEfAZ5knmLDOYWRfpEXE721h/s4032/IMG_5127.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciYbKUxjujofSpp5PVzx_tHm7jyqApTsPuu8bxGW43PMOK2UTQbpdDrWIvntpYYRQ0h66nWmstdsXenFuwh6xv6AsP6Anp-qCv3HdA6jnRMp-LeaxRYFKNH3A6IO0r0AuHHIZw9H6WA5qXNPMPPRurTQf8M5XVafmrEfAZ5knmLDOYWRfpEXE721h/w640-h480/IMG_5127.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the second half of our Sycamore Rim hike last Sunday. I somehow injured my left hip walking on uneven ground and was nearly played out energy wise by the end. My fitness has faded again.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Some people who are fitness obsessed wouldn't allow a lapse for any reason other than a major injury, but for me it's all tied up in emotion. I've lapsed for about a year at a time off and on, but I especially lapse in late fall and winter when the days are short. There's less sunlight. I nearly always exercise to a certain degree, say at least once a week, even during a lapse. But that isn't the whole story.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is the season when I enter emotional hibernation. I spend all spring and summer getting into shape, and then when I hit late fall I get lazy and unmotivated. Only really it's seasonal affective disorder. I feel down and don't want to go out.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Fortunately my weight is approaching what I consider to be my healthy, optimal weight. But that might be because I've changed my diet somewhat due to medical advice and a prescription I take is presumably assisting in the process.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">What has fallen off most is cardio. I'm still doing my usual minimal strength training one or two days a week, but that is only a few minutes. But I have neglected running and cycling, even when the air temps were high enough.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I need to give up on outdoor cycling and go ahead and rearrange my garage for the bicycle trainer so I can ride indoors while watching college sports. I don't want to get any more out of shape than I am now. I about dropped by the end of last weekend's twelve mile hike.</span></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-21755867794496830552023-11-09T14:24:00.003-08:002023-11-10T16:35:22.105-08:00UFOs<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdg25n1NGuLToA6rmDrG4jFkCpQW1OGEOy8P-uKBIKcP8DdoTm4474gWUa_hmOuyuIXNY3eWkpH2GE46swLwNCwliTLn0p-6dXTJqKhmYrpCs26n0fGthh7q-KFcu4WLyYdcDEGMG9k9hucUUxzkWrvxTDqQV53MFshsLUSM-uwYhTP_EQD9SqRH-/s1116/Screenshot%202023-11-09%20at%203.15.50%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="1116" height="533" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdg25n1NGuLToA6rmDrG4jFkCpQW1OGEOy8P-uKBIKcP8DdoTm4474gWUa_hmOuyuIXNY3eWkpH2GE46swLwNCwliTLn0p-6dXTJqKhmYrpCs26n0fGthh7q-KFcu4WLyYdcDEGMG9k9hucUUxzkWrvxTDqQV53MFshsLUSM-uwYhTP_EQD9SqRH-/w640-h533/Screenshot%202023-11-09%20at%203.15.50%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screen capture from video of a UAP over the Atlantic Ocean in 2015 by a US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet jet fighter. Video by US Navy.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">One of my current obsessions is the controversy over Unidentified Anomalous (or Aerial) Phenomenon (UAP). The term used to be Unidentified Flying Object (UFO). I personally have difficulty believing we are actually being visited by aliens or "inter-dimensional beings" as one Air Force whistleblower suggests, but there is enough compelling evidence both in the form of sworn testimony from credible witnesses, as well as photos and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_UFO_videos" target="_blank">videos</a> from credible sources, that we can say it isn't nothing.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The current wave of interest began with the claim by retired Army intelligence officer Luis Elizondo a few years ago. This was followed by claims from several Navy and Marine Corps pilots and weapon systems officers accompanied by video captured by fighter jet cameras. Retired Air Force Reserve officer David Grusch filed a whistleblower complaint claiming that what Elizondo had said was true and that his career was destroyed due to his investigation of UAPs consistent with his orders. The Office of the Intelligence Community Inspector General obtained sworn testimony from 14 other personnel who confirmed what Grusch and Elizondo had reported. Video has been released by the Department of Defense and other civilian and law enforcement agencies.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">There's something really interesting out there flying around in the skies and apparently moving as easily through water as air. Navy submariners claim they've been monitoring and recording the sonar tracks of "fast movers" for decades. Civilian and military pilots have observed objects flying in ways that defy publicly acknowledged technology. Some military aircraft have been able to track such objects with various systems.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I have a very deep mental resistance to believing it's non-human technology. I think it's more likely this is some type of human made tech that the secret part of the military developed some time ago and has been obsessively keeping secret for decades. And the military's secret budget is hundreds of billions of dollars. Who knows how they spend all that? Because it is secret, there is very little accountability or access for auditors.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Some people suggest that the government can't keep secrets but that's false. There are still details of secret military operations from the twentieth century that are inaccessible to historians and journalists. Freedom of Information Act requests are denied. Documents that are released from generations ago are still redacted. The military is actually pretty good at keeping secrets, even for decades. But the secrecy finally seems to be falling apart. Perhaps values are changing within the military intelligence community?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">My hope is that the current congressional interest in the matter will lead to legislation passing that will put the military and intelligence organizations in violation of the law if they do not disclose what it is. Whether or not it is aliens, the disclosure is bound to be interesting.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-10309510703413775242023-10-31T12:36:00.003-07:002023-10-31T21:38:34.790-07:00Time Warp<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs57CHsiHsAV2lgKzKJCaiG4N1Ppr0-BEIPz2EIWC8CN-QQDrjEv8-7sDF2Z8JtEe_VyGd8mOuZ1ATsgKfwxi9P_SzLuymhkqPdYXbsEeHEGhkAnLK1NeRUAWtZ5wJbzY9qFyMOq93VHF0cEnmrhdJGBDEhXpAqx7MnU9d8LX9Rc5cLC_OPzSp3OqX/s4032/IMG_5071.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs57CHsiHsAV2lgKzKJCaiG4N1Ppr0-BEIPz2EIWC8CN-QQDrjEv8-7sDF2Z8JtEe_VyGd8mOuZ1ATsgKfwxi9P_SzLuymhkqPdYXbsEeHEGhkAnLK1NeRUAWtZ5wJbzY9qFyMOq93VHF0cEnmrhdJGBDEhXpAqx7MnU9d8LX9Rc5cLC_OPzSp3OqX/w640-h480/IMG_5071.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I've never been a morning person. I have this issue that I "lose" time like I was abducted by aliens or something. I get out of bed, put on pants, a shirt, and slippers and realize about 3 minutes have passed. It doesn't even take 30 seconds to put on pants, a shirt, and slippers. It's like my brain isn't perceiving time normally.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I often wonder if we know for sure that time passes at a uniform rate. It would explain why time sometimes flies and other times crawls. Seems to anyway.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-11998583056184704682023-10-20T16:40:00.004-07:002023-11-01T10:18:31.367-07:00Military History<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZltxf81Of9SyPZNqnPYmVI3VHcRKucJRvn2ip3qJaGXjrxISbCbGVOdQ-QrEsBHaTQSBn8124YXW7wha8-z3Ni7mPY0WL_nI7JJb1HEfLa103Y0MZ-q3oZ_6HQmH00V5wUooCyS2xnGRMGesEakCsMiLdqjgmwljcYJydvuUYKLViY-sOx_VdL90/s4032/IMG_5094.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZltxf81Of9SyPZNqnPYmVI3VHcRKucJRvn2ip3qJaGXjrxISbCbGVOdQ-QrEsBHaTQSBn8124YXW7wha8-z3Ni7mPY0WL_nI7JJb1HEfLa103Y0MZ-q3oZ_6HQmH00V5wUooCyS2xnGRMGesEakCsMiLdqjgmwljcYJydvuUYKLViY-sOx_VdL90/w300-h400/IMG_5094.HEIC" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From my library.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I started reading military history in childhood, beginning with juvenile books from the library. I never stopped reading it and I'm in the middle of something even now, four decades on.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">As a child I'd seen war movies: John Wayne, Audie Murphy, Clint Eastwood. I'd seen action movies: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone. When you read military history in your youth you see war as a movie.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Au9BCcuLreWHBj7CFlQXiL4sbcshBVn3c1VVgUO4Tpvqdtk0-O0L1NEY4EWIzxrwVVz403nCW_hvQ3l1qUaLm2mHiOqAzPiFMJverPzypzlkVxEqY1PL3WAohMYcs_FEcKJrBzEU7JbPNxX3aAX1FMnKpSLxTJHKoPHz5NBdzJv-OjawnVh03xo6/s2592/BattlefieldTower_2_1_2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1936" data-original-width="2592" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Au9BCcuLreWHBj7CFlQXiL4sbcshBVn3c1VVgUO4Tpvqdtk0-O0L1NEY4EWIzxrwVVz403nCW_hvQ3l1qUaLm2mHiOqAzPiFMJverPzypzlkVxEqY1PL3WAohMYcs_FEcKJrBzEU7JbPNxX3aAX1FMnKpSLxTJHKoPHz5NBdzJv-OjawnVh03xo6/w640-h478/BattlefieldTower_2_1_2014.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wilder Brigade Monument at Chickamauga National Battlefield in 2014. I used to bicycle and run there a lot when I lived in Georgia. Dozens of Confederate soldiers died in this field and in the ditch that was just to the right out of photo.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">As you grow and learn, you realize that war isn't a movie. War is destructive, injurious, murderous, tragic. I knew this academically before my family moved to the south but it was visiting the battlefields of the US Civil War that transformed my views. You look at a field and an interpretive sign says it was covered with dead and dying soldiers and you start to realize that war isn't entertainment. Men sometimes lost their lives by the hundreds in a matter of minutes.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I retain my interest in military history. I consume books, articles, and documentary videos with voracity. But the more I learn of it the more I am sickened by war. Military history is an emotional hobby. This is part of the interest, but it changes you and informs your opinion on contemporary world events.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">You often hear people who've served in combat say that war should be less frequent but more terrible. Although I never served, I share that opinion. Pacifism is impractical, and war sometimes inevitable, but I say if you have to fight then do it as quick and dirty as you can.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-30149508533225249992023-10-19T17:49:00.001-07:002023-10-19T17:49:52.278-07:00Leaves<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiah0tJfuAtnuRGm6KF9SJpVuG_QUxoOys53Jg4X_WNuaemX4XBBJQu-tRqvzPKDSfak9gIqJzCapIcTkKHmk3OiGLfgmVvxS-05ghEjrO0E9aEVkZ6R5rD4Khp7sAaDftTVIUUxYB7lOKrN6NtV4JL3uEvXmHdIRj26UfMYn0UgdbMkdCciph8R8-3/s4032/IMG_5076.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiah0tJfuAtnuRGm6KF9SJpVuG_QUxoOys53Jg4X_WNuaemX4XBBJQu-tRqvzPKDSfak9gIqJzCapIcTkKHmk3OiGLfgmVvxS-05ghEjrO0E9aEVkZ6R5rD4Khp7sAaDftTVIUUxYB7lOKrN6NtV4JL3uEvXmHdIRj26UfMYn0UgdbMkdCciph8R8-3/w640-h480/IMG_5076.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quaking aspens around 9000 feet.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I got out for my usual annual (approximately) hike to view leaves. I had some time constraints so I just went up with the mobs to the Aspen Loop by Snowbowl. Except for the crowds it never disappoints.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2p6L0Pct6JrVBiOeJmlv1h02ZIt_9OxMO55Gsf0lKCtf24O4bItwfQ_LK_VGGzo5hf6xKw5U6-qX5rJ3zGNVLmXfx29OYpXLLYz_wQCjAjTes7omgrL8n1sFTMdw3vrtsYPzsOOXxnPEny4-Ku7y44jE-Arjl8KPxR6GztplQS_vUPxGghrzC_660/s4032/IMG_5075.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2p6L0Pct6JrVBiOeJmlv1h02ZIt_9OxMO55Gsf0lKCtf24O4bItwfQ_LK_VGGzo5hf6xKw5U6-qX5rJ3zGNVLmXfx29OYpXLLYz_wQCjAjTes7omgrL8n1sFTMdw3vrtsYPzsOOXxnPEny4-Ku7y44jE-Arjl8KPxR6GztplQS_vUPxGghrzC_660/w480-h640/IMG_5075.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">But the color of aspen trees varies only slightly. They go from green to gold, or sometimes change to a pale red for a few hours before turning to gold. So this year I've been enjoying the leaves on the ornamental trees and bushes in town just as much if not more.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIP2vPWf0bDRB4stjThxxE_ydliizHZoC2GsT5At-XAUKRZPYkXHgLXMLdicI9NnNC0EX295pVAWCSrSJPQOnvpqvk_be4RX6C79raF1F1gqmd6mdx5tGgoF_e8izGXyftd6qHePOGlcCr8QDnz7OfTvpbhsd9JAhAyvY-Zvmeyw2Z8nxuUXnNNqJQ/s4032/IMG_5082.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIP2vPWf0bDRB4stjThxxE_ydliizHZoC2GsT5At-XAUKRZPYkXHgLXMLdicI9NnNC0EX295pVAWCSrSJPQOnvpqvk_be4RX6C79raF1F1gqmd6mdx5tGgoF_e8izGXyftd6qHePOGlcCr8QDnz7OfTvpbhsd9JAhAyvY-Zvmeyw2Z8nxuUXnNNqJQ/w480-h640/IMG_5082.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This maple in front of my neighbor's house always goes through this incredible phased color change in the fall so that every fall color appears at the same time. I'm afraid he'll cut it down. It's an Airbnb anyway so he doesn't live there.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I remember this one year in Tennessee we had unfavorable weather and the trees were dull. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Some years are better than others but this is one of the best seasons since I moved to Flagstaff.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-50736752928183318672023-10-02T16:06:00.000-07:002023-10-02T18:34:56.364-07:00Indoor Migration<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGccFXEM1RzfHQLYRLvdh1Oz0zMqlsSuTNTJh0Z5ybFfmdo_LW5hEWbRjTvUN3WmV3lGrmxb_RJESmmExV5x-vL8_UlAcSrmlEcLcteMXY8HYopxut5WgeoeeDGTugKfKnj2mQvwLWv970EcV6fIyPS1QMmzAnx2KI8E_k64W254sTN-kVsBs8tgz/s4032/IMG_5062.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGccFXEM1RzfHQLYRLvdh1Oz0zMqlsSuTNTJh0Z5ybFfmdo_LW5hEWbRjTvUN3WmV3lGrmxb_RJESmmExV5x-vL8_UlAcSrmlEcLcteMXY8HYopxut5WgeoeeDGTugKfKnj2mQvwLWv970EcV6fIyPS1QMmzAnx2KI8E_k64W254sTN-kVsBs8tgz/w640-h480/IMG_5062.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I took the cats for a walk Sunday and got a glimpse of snow atop Fremont Peak.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I'm not migrating away from my house. It's just that at this time of year I have to consider when to move my home office in from the screen door garage. I opened on Sunday morning to cold rain. I'm in hoodie mode but it will last only so long. Eventually it just gets too cold to stay out here. For now I'm enjoying the fresh air though.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-14012432094169482702023-09-27T15:24:00.000-07:002023-09-27T17:11:12.943-07:00September 2023<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYqYZMpcKPZQPvfCucDRX-JNDIXM4MojVaau9FGMYq-xRAWw15_CUfltOWjZ98MB996cJy1R4ktjvM376vvEh6Npsg0wFZrSaWDypw9CE7DSiHIlIhdDgsak-VZdadSQ3RMyrBI1b-LueqSu_h-ofyGsK8YWbqgLpIwpp_9Ssf2esbfsySaXBD8VP/s4032/IMG_4990.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYqYZMpcKPZQPvfCucDRX-JNDIXM4MojVaau9FGMYq-xRAWw15_CUfltOWjZ98MB996cJy1R4ktjvM376vvEh6Npsg0wFZrSaWDypw9CE7DSiHIlIhdDgsak-VZdadSQ3RMyrBI1b-LueqSu_h-ofyGsK8YWbqgLpIwpp_9Ssf2esbfsySaXBD8VP/w640-h480/IMG_4990.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the top of Bill Williams Mountain. It's a big hike, but I've done bigger. I held up pretty well but couldn't keep up with my much taller companion on the downhill.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I don't want September to go by without a post.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRyqtjRhvpbmmWzQ1J8L5zdYE6OgEMDkiUS1UHHVzfQgK6XkTa2DL8kCQm3xpKbHMSHNCu5sxt_kYqcgbHRjktMABaW3m08o6p5l2vHQyxun8mZOM0oL9x9nIM63AjBnbOJlY-F5GizzmoxEqm_XyTlTESafEI030eyRvnE8rfqvzM9TMQSD6jfzc/s4032/IMG_4998.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRyqtjRhvpbmmWzQ1J8L5zdYE6OgEMDkiUS1UHHVzfQgK6XkTa2DL8kCQm3xpKbHMSHNCu5sxt_kYqcgbHRjktMABaW3m08o6p5l2vHQyxun8mZOM0oL9x9nIM63AjBnbOJlY-F5GizzmoxEqm_XyTlTESafEI030eyRvnE8rfqvzM9TMQSD6jfzc/w640-h480/IMG_4998.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I lugged a folding chair from Aspen Corner for a Subway lunch at Hart Prairie. Beautiful but a little cool. We've reached hoodie weather.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Since my last post, I explored quite a bit of new trail (new to me). It's something I try to accomplish every year and I could feel the end of summer and cold weather approaching. Places include Bill Williams Mountain, the trail system behind the Little American resort hotel, and some "unmaintained trail" near the airport. Late summer is a great time to be outdoors in Flagstaff and you don't want it to end.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkks0CADl36enSIBEMnczVLxipWPF8rvSSoLwK11r-jO25193jlE6-NP8_OJqTlz5sgs_3W2U2XoiQHes_H6GXIJ9pCLC4yA_MQ5ugW2Fyuh3V5YBaetrIyZK5iULfP_MOFrFwf20JGquRwbaQvcRAKTox6CMZuZj6nwdyEjouAwOIml0JbeTqTK1o/s4032/2%20IMG_5033.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkks0CADl36enSIBEMnczVLxipWPF8rvSSoLwK11r-jO25193jlE6-NP8_OJqTlz5sgs_3W2U2XoiQHes_H6GXIJ9pCLC4yA_MQ5ugW2Fyuh3V5YBaetrIyZK5iULfP_MOFrFwf20JGquRwbaQvcRAKTox6CMZuZj6nwdyEjouAwOIml0JbeTqTK1o/w640-h480/2%20IMG_5033.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MTSU football entering the field. Unfortunately they lost to Colorado State, an 0-3 team. At home, no less, but CSU gave Colorado a very tight game the previous week so I assume they are an improved team.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I shaped my September mostly around a trip to Tennessee to visit family and attend the Middle Tennessee State homecoming football game. It was great fun.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My health is improved from earlier in the year and I feel much better. While visiting Tennessee I watched my nephew play a soccer game and sparring in his Taekwondo class. It made me want to take up martial arts <a href="http://ravine-ravings.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-martial-arts.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">again</a>. It would be something to do but I think it's kind of expensive for an adult. I may look into it but I need to rearrange my finances to free up some money for it. Also I am getting old and know I would be fighting injuries, no pun intended.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The leaves are starting to change so the next two weeks should be scenic. Then I can start visiting the lower elevations for desert hiking. And we start clearing snow. After last winter, I'd prefer more rain this year.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-39390474421201756522023-08-15T10:11:00.000-07:002023-08-15T16:22:48.035-07:00Out Of My Shell<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6NqqyNKeK1rslyTgyyYWGD-Y129KIwSxKaGwfd-Q6Y4FuDHToy1sjYCaz-plIxVUfOkEq0peybf4pyMcFOqHxEyj8ZzEdCrQCO3IoRK4WuQmYoySLFHNHo26790x8sw7OjvvwtG-EDbypZGHXS4o2YRScJ159L642hTIQMkQIwt0YBwCxocSuCRM/s4032/IMG_4859.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6NqqyNKeK1rslyTgyyYWGD-Y129KIwSxKaGwfd-Q6Y4FuDHToy1sjYCaz-plIxVUfOkEq0peybf4pyMcFOqHxEyj8ZzEdCrQCO3IoRK4WuQmYoySLFHNHo26790x8sw7OjvvwtG-EDbypZGHXS4o2YRScJ159L642hTIQMkQIwt0YBwCxocSuCRM/w640-h480/IMG_4859.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new (to me) view of the Canyon from the Shoshone Point Trail.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I went through a phase where I was just staying home and not doing anything new or interesting. Sometimes that happens after I've been traveling and I spent a week in Tennessee visiting family back in July. I finally managed to get myself out of my shell and visited a couple of new restaurants, hiked new trail at the Grand Canyon, and did some riding and hiking that I have not done recently.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I wish I could get myself to participate in more group activities but every time I think about meeting new people I just decide to stay home. That's the life of an introvert.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I have some more travel planned and I'll be interested to see if I go back into my shell again when I get back.</span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtys0q90ZDoJCP3Jo3PTzwi-kqNrxr7yvbyMbWxYKIAYNruaPEflF4opOLCfQHj27_9tK7yRkCn-n53bpbkOXZF-PYc8h0HSwkclTotzJ52qKiAmJ5T1h3XHU-b84o2pzYNCuMGBxRKqhJXM-UHZ3qJWMgMP0eOT9HEc8WGg35tsCKO6xzzGBSuhi/s4032/IMG_4904.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghtys0q90ZDoJCP3Jo3PTzwi-kqNrxr7yvbyMbWxYKIAYNruaPEflF4opOLCfQHj27_9tK7yRkCn-n53bpbkOXZF-PYc8h0HSwkclTotzJ52qKiAmJ5T1h3XHU-b84o2pzYNCuMGBxRKqhJXM-UHZ3qJWMgMP0eOT9HEc8WGg35tsCKO6xzzGBSuhi/w640-h480/IMG_4904.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monsoon storms crossed over Mormon Lake on my bicycle ride last weekend. I did the road loop around the lake in the counterclockwise direction for the first time. I got lightly rained on a few times but finished before most of the lightning got going.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-14988408271539865092023-08-02T15:54:00.000-07:002023-08-02T15:54:58.367-07:00Watching College Sports<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifm6fIqTrWhihQCYZiRNcUaRv8x-RBz2ZJrYySyAr9Fye_LuHiOnhSTzr6iAMVd5Ay3eT84xttyvwORi4JEBCCz1jMFuqG8txFjUdtvkvaCGC99UFrN0W9_Mkco0QpM0E_go85PXXvzpar7N5nd8YN5fPbLGcYowb-2dTEs_7yOR7zTVnMajbHcTu0/s3072/IMGP0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifm6fIqTrWhihQCYZiRNcUaRv8x-RBz2ZJrYySyAr9Fye_LuHiOnhSTzr6iAMVd5Ay3eT84xttyvwORi4JEBCCz1jMFuqG8txFjUdtvkvaCGC99UFrN0W9_Mkco0QpM0E_go85PXXvzpar7N5nd8YN5fPbLGcYowb-2dTEs_7yOR7zTVnMajbHcTu0/w640-h480/IMGP0003.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The football team runs onto the field at Homecoming 2010 at Middle Tennessee State University.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I guess I didn't blog at all in July. I had some travel to visit family in Tennessee that lasted for a week but otherwise I've been normal. Except my evenings have been boring since I suspended my YouTube TV account for three months after the end of the college basketball season, with the plan to reactivate it before the beginning of college football season. Those are the two sports that interest me most in recent years. This saves money and is one of the advantages of subscribing to YouTube TV rather than traditional cable. Connecting and disconnecting cable is an ordeal, but it can be done with a couple of clicks on a streaming service. YouTube TV is cable without the nuisance and poor customer service. It's also slightly cheaper, though it requires internet service.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">These days I mostly watch two things: documentary format videos and live sports. Sometimes I watch current news, podcasts/vlogs, or movies but much less. Regular YouTube is good for those but YouTube TV or traditional cable is desirable and cost effective for live sports.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">YouTube TV currently includes the Big Ten network, my favorite conference as my first degree was from Purdue. I have more difficulty watching Middle Tennessee State, which was my second <i>alma mater</i>, if there is such a thing. I haven't found a single, cost-effective solution to that problem. It's not as important of an athletic program so coverage is spotty.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I guess the point of this post being that I saved money by moving away from traditional cable. I think the future of cable companies is to be an internet service provider, and eventually satellite will likely kill that. You might want to think about selling your stock.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-54814465754558130222023-06-30T13:51:00.000-07:002023-06-30T16:06:50.032-07:00Apple vs. Microsoft<div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU8LZ24HLpJeo4Fn-PKlHo2z_zeVsB9HPIo9MG5bpzAGBe29kwdlL5zcG6RQt21sDaIZDGM-eLfZrbNoOevWKO1eR-UuAxjpLwYSetaXfjiYhMm4UCqr2gDuwsj1mYYVWIJIXPxtRjPUXOhtQvCoXmx-Y9jEQxBW5gAHTAGky0t8xGEgDTkmgbFprt/s4032/IMG_4804.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU8LZ24HLpJeo4Fn-PKlHo2z_zeVsB9HPIo9MG5bpzAGBe29kwdlL5zcG6RQt21sDaIZDGM-eLfZrbNoOevWKO1eR-UuAxjpLwYSetaXfjiYhMm4UCqr2gDuwsj1mYYVWIJIXPxtRjPUXOhtQvCoXmx-Y9jEQxBW5gAHTAGky0t8xGEgDTkmgbFprt/w640-h480/IMG_4804.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 2015 MacBook Pro that still works like new, except for battery life. The blue fringe around the apple logo is some kind of camera effect that isn't visible to the naked eye.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first version of Microsoft Windows that I used was 3.11. It sucked although I doubted the newer Windows user interfaces were actually better for about 15 or 20 years. All Windows 3.11 lacked was right-click functionality. And stability. And it also lacked true multitasking so I guess it wasn't really good at all.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I eventually went to Linux for a number of years, then when OS X came out, I abandoned Microsoft entirely except for work (Mac OS X is now known simply as MacOS). Microsoft's operating systems were inferior, and they still are, except for some enterprise features and gaming.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Whenever someone tells me Apple sucks I know they are a gamer. If you don't game, you would never say that. Apple is expensive but better for most applications, and is like a thousand times more reliable. If you can afford Apple, don't waste your time and money on Microsoft.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have an 8 year old MacBook Pro. It works as well now as the day I bought it. Try that with a Windows machine.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm not a huge fan of gatekeeping on credentials, but this is a good time to mention that I have a degree in Computer Science and have worked in the field since 1998. It's reasonable to prefer Windows for the enterprise, and you will find other IT professionals that prefer Windows for personal use but they are usually gamers.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841650056891176394.post-10940674729332445662023-06-13T16:24:00.000-07:002023-06-13T16:24:58.863-07:00Multiblogging<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fDLpsT9yf_lZKk4onPAkEDp1PhmrXgQ9Y-IoTKjNnxBtNWL73-zVAlEDwT_aYJj5wy52fbAz2ID9oZe2bWNiStrASIGCa27dPrzpjf0vY1y8B-K_erZLpnwaqOV-QmwIIEP8OiQ-AzU_JTQMUrPq-zWEvXnBuQTOxuGlGT7cEgu3DVy06ZWPIQ/s4032/IMG_4759.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fDLpsT9yf_lZKk4onPAkEDp1PhmrXgQ9Y-IoTKjNnxBtNWL73-zVAlEDwT_aYJj5wy52fbAz2ID9oZe2bWNiStrASIGCa27dPrzpjf0vY1y8B-K_erZLpnwaqOV-QmwIIEP8OiQ-AzU_JTQMUrPq-zWEvXnBuQTOxuGlGT7cEgu3DVy06ZWPIQ/w640-h480/IMG_4759.HEIC" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My personal journal. Cats think they need to be involved in everything.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">My urge to journal all the time has somewhat waned the further beyond the pandemic we get. But I work from home permanently now so I still feel isolated a lot and still want to write sometimes. Also, I have a compulsion to write that goes back to my childhood and I couldn't stop if I wanted to, which I don't.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">This compulsion manifests in having three separate blogs, in addition to my languishing second novel (the first remains unpublished), and a separate handwritten journal. One of the blogs is somewhat neglected and reserved for my most controversial opinions and speculation so I don't advertise it here. But I do write in my other blog on the Ravine brand, <a href="http://ravine-rantings.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ravine Rantings</a>. You can take a look at it if you are interested in critical reviews and opinion. It doesn't get much traffic but I also rarely promote any of my entries. I guess I've decided I'm not in it for fame or money. It's just something I like doing.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">People who are successful at blogging form a definite theme, stick to it, and are somewhat bound to a relentless process of posting on a regular basis. I don't like the commitment of that and perhaps lack the focus. It's the same with social media stars and YouTube channels. You really have to stick to the plan and can't wander off topic, with the exception of a handful of charismatic personalities.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I guess I just don't have that.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0