Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

Emu Today...your source for Livestock, Meat, Research, Nutrition, Leather, Production & Marketing If you were ever curious about what an emu egg looks like, be curious no longer. Day grrow here..You never know what will show up in the rural areas of New York state.

Christmas Santa coal Everybody has an angle. I mean it sounds sort of snotty to say it that way, but it is true. We all take a different vantage point on the fundamental truths, hence angle. Once we agree on what a fundamental truth is, it gets distorted. I remember when I was a very young kid I had a revelation, or an inspiring moment, that I understood and stated the nature of a postulate; "To know is to articulate." I remember it vividly. I have no idea where it came from. It has followed me my whole life. Today, I am thinking that "To articulate is to bring question." There seems to be a strange juxtaposition between these two arguments. I find both to be true.

llamarama pg 2 I finished what I set out to do this weekend. I put new rear brakes on the car, made the llama heater llamaproof and installed it, cleaned my bench, got firewood and a few other things I am sure.

MiningLife - Current Metal Prices Hmm.. is it worthwhile to drive to Scranton PA for bulk coal? I have to get wood out back today snowstorm or not. Also on the list is rear brakes for the Subaru, try out the new llama heater, check the antifreeze on the jeep, burn the trash and some other stuff to be sure.

BKHoliday The above link is kinda fun. Sorry if It offends anyone at Burger King or anyone else.

Led:Untitled: Led's Llamas Business Plan Good Link! However, I find the references to eating llamas repugnant. Below you can see the llama curtain I built. I bought the plastic strips in a roll and fashioned this loading dock door for the llamas. Aries did a llama dance in the pen after he figured out the curtain was passable and kept the family warm. I am installing a very small radient propane heater in the llama house. It will be just enough, I hope, to keep their water liquid. I figure that is the cheapest way of de-icing and helping my llama buddies out on these cold nights.

Center for Information-Development Management I have been a a workshop for the past couple of days in Rochester. It was titled "Content Managemant Strategies". It was pretty good. The workshop was presented by the Author "JoAnn Hackos". I learned some stuff and it was worthwhile. It is interesesting to hear the same stuff from other Publications managers. Some of these folks have some huge departments.

Useful-items.com: Useful Llama and Alpaca Items We had a good Holiday. My Brother, Sister in law and my mom were here. We had a pretty good llama hike with our new hunter-orange collars.

NSC Issue - Agricultural Safety Thanksgiving was good. We had lobsters and NY strip steaks. Yeah, diet food, uh huh. I made lobster stock last night and today. I expect to make some awesome lobster bisque in a couple of weeks. It made the whole house smell like fish, but the stock turned out very lobstery. We shall see when we as we work through the clarification process. James and I worked on the Holder Tractor today. It runs great now. I am trying to get the heat working

The Labyrinth Society Today. It struck me. I will create a labyrinth for our llama walks. I have the land, grass, space, desire, mower, and even llamas. What a great idea. I will be researching patterns and figuring out how to survey it. This will be great fun. labyrinths are famous for psychic healing through the patterns and exercise. What a strees reliever it will be. Imagine ariving at our farm and taking a llama for a walk through a one mile labyrinth and then walking with the llama through some of the prettiest forest you have ever experienced. After that we make brunch out in the clearing around the old thorn apple tree. You can relax in a hammock as the llamas are in their holding pen at that point. After brunch we make our way back to the world just in time to begin a great winery tour of New York state fingerlakes region. Doesn't that sound like folks would want to spend money for a day like that? I think so.

mc.clintock.com If you every wanted a good working model of what Information Architecture is the above link may help. This guy is working on Information Architecture. Ishould be sleeping.

RhymeZone rhyming dictionary and thesaurus This is a great site forrhyming I delivered the following Toast to Canada at the district conference tonight to honor our visitors from canada. I thought it went well. My trip this summer up to James bay came back to me when I was writing it. Let us toast. Oh Canada, Between the ice caps of the north pole and the States United There lies a land in which we’re invited Where symbols of hockey are part of the style And we remember there are 1.6 kilos per mile It is Canada. Oh Canada. The cities down south, cosmo for sure The worlds growth living lifestyles ensured The vast wilderness panoramic and great It opens the heart we know the son create It is Canada. Oh Canada. Between the provinces Bilingual is norm Constant, goverment the state is reform Here we know Otego, Otisco, Oswego, Owasco... and Owego. both we have winters, snow, although

A Moron's Guide to Toast: An Online Humor Resource for Those Who Want Toast This is an invaluable site. Great reference.

Are Asteroids History's Greatest Killers? It is really neat to see how "planetary impact" has really become a good science in the last 20 yrs or so. I remember the stuff we were taught in 5th grade about stuff that in these few years has turned out to be dead ass wrong (DAW). A good example of DAW teaching was that all biological life depended on the sun. That turned out not to be true at all, after the discovery of biologics near volcanic vents at the bottom of the oceans.

Facts about Antarctica, index I am thinking about Antarctica again. What does that mean? I do not know. It must mean winter is coming or I am getting restless. It will be time soon enough to get my application in for a summer antarctic job again. Maybe this year I will get the opportunity. Generally it takes a PhD to clean toilets in Antarctica, or a least a Masters degree in environment waste management, no kidding. The jobs I am suited for are the ones to help scientist manage their data and information as to ensure time and experiments are not lost. It is summer in Antarctica now. The hiring season for the next Antarctic summer starts in May. I had a dream the other night I managed to get on the ice roads up on hudson bay, with a road train. That would be fun too. I am pretty sure in the winter you can drive all the way to greenland. There are numerous Inuit Indian towns along the coasts which are totally unreachable by land. I bet gas gets expensive there. Our guide in Jam

I find some weird stuff out there on the web. I would call this style "relentless_unknown_dream_beat". www.mywebpages.comcast.net/dragineez/OddShorts.HTML I really get a kick out of people. The good stuff is on the web, served up for your amusement if you have the ability to concentrate on the question, not the answer. How long will it take? Maybe forever. O Wondrous Llama Much is made of the llama, that frisky little critter who is frequently glimpsed chewing on large distended sacks of filth over by the side of the highways and byways of this great land. But how much do we really know about this rakish knave, this whimsical creeper in the twilight world of the underbrush? What are his habits, his dreams, his preoccupations, his intimate hygienic problems, his credit card numbers? At home, the llama is a savage brute, fond of rubbing ferns on his bottom and playing the kazoo. He beats his children daily with hardened balls of inexplicably furry mucus. A

www. GOPHER MILK IN A SHOE .com I wonder if we should milk the llamas? What wild claims can I make about llama milk? Maybe I can claim it grows wool on your head instead of hair. Well I picked up a few more bales o hay tonight. The llamas just keep on eating... kinda like me. I figure I had better skid some trees up front for firewood this winter. It takes too long to cut it up out back. I can concentrate on getting trees closer to the house then cutting them up at my "logging leisure". I think my Holder tractor will fit the bill just fine. I will be sitting in a heated cab dragging a tree with a chain. Sounds like hard work doesn't it?

Ben Chapman's Menu Page I lost my speech contest yesterday. I think I was disqualified because of time. Oh well. I am planning on thge tall tales and Internation contests for the spring. My sister sent me a poem she wrote about the "Creature from the Black Lagoon" dinning in an evening dress. It is unquestionably odd. She says it is part of her creature series in poetry. Hopefully she can get me the original art that goes with the poem and I can post both.

llama packing, news, equipment, literature and ranch source It is just a few hours until the divsion speech contest. My speech as about my llamas. "It took me exactly 3 minutes to learn that rope, trees and llamas do not mix as I was lifting a llama off me"

CuraGen Corporation Investor Relations This is a neat milestone. The true visualization of how DNA works is not far away for humans.

How To Become A Good Orator? I must practice for my humorous speech contest this weekend. I am a wreck over this... but it is always worthwhile. I get better every time!.

SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids Karl Kuehn took some great aurora borealis photos the other night. Very impressive.

RecycleNet Scrap Metals Index - Online Market Prices Scrap metal prices are sometimes surprising to folks. The value of junk can really make a difference in projects and the bottom line. The real "scrappers" don't want people to know how much scrap metal is worth since you are effectively bypassing the middle man if you would throw it out. The scrappers will get the dividend picking through the trash at the tipping floor. Information is power, or in this case information is beer money.

I'm fscked. I swallowed the number 7. - Powered by Infopop Here is a bizzare article. The things people put in their mouths.

This link POS++++

this link!! POS

I spend a lot of time at auction sites like this one. Someday I may discover I have purchased a complete flocking facility with state of the art electrostatic coating equipment in Holland... Quite a number of folks have been letting me know that they read my blogs such as: "HI there Charles I' ve been following your blogs. I came across a site that I like. www.jimpinto.com He is the founder/owner of an industrial controls company, OPTO 22, and one of the gurus in the field. I like his writings. I am planning a blogger that any visitor can post a rebuttal or remark that would be interesting to the guysatwork. It almost happened already.

berkshire I have a toastmasters meeting this am. I have to get going. I had a doctor's visit yesterday. Things went well. There are always follow up tests though.

'Llamarama' by muckpond - DPChallenge We went for a nice llama walk yesterday. The woods are nice this time of year.

SU School of Architecture - Contact Main Page I am looking to work with a student architect on our property redesign. Some things are obvious, some are not. Since the house is basically a box sticking out of the ground it is like a white canvas. The old house dictated a lot of how we could proceed. This one is all open. The elements we are looking at incorporating are: Two or three car garage, preferably connected Large porch for valley view, roofed Deck for sunrise and coffee Outside brickoven, incinerator Carport Some kind of circular driveway Optimized valley view New bath down stairs Fireplace New septic system location Ponds Outdoor water cistern Improved drainage Barn attachment, equipment shed Curb appeal Larger window in computer room, bay window Improved plumbing and heating Barn electrification New roof New southern elevation Veneer rear existing chimney, or remove

HearthNet Informational Links This is the year of stoves. We just got a new cook stove and I finnaly installed the coal stove we have had. It is definately a neat feeling to go out back and pick through the wood lot for firewood. It is amazing that getting heat for our selves is that easy. Easy with a chain saw that is... I take the jeep out back and hack up a fallen tree. I am working on some hickory now. We lost some small hickories last winter in the ice storm. I have to sharpen the blade often. That hickory gets as hard as the anthacite coal. We are using bagged coal I had around that I got with the used stove we bought eight years ago. It feels good to use something that was in storage so long.

Hard Tack Daniel Zinder - openDemocracy This is an interesting link. Hardtack is the staple of the supply chain. MREs are hard tack?

RCUniverse - The Ultimate RC Site! - Research & Discuss RC Airplanes, RC Helicopters, RC Cars, Boats, Engines, Radios, Park Flyers and more plus RC Classifieds and Auction Got an e-mail today from an old co-worker. He directed me to a website where his writings show his "new" passion. These RC planes are neat. The first time I saw one flying I was absolutely amazed at the performance. It is tough to break the stereotype/archetype of a slow electric powered glider. These things get fast and very powerful, without all the mess of IC propulsion. Our electric fork trucks at work, I suspect, get the same treatment.

Cowasaki!!! Marvin won second place and Claudia won first place in their respective contests today for Area 11 toastmasters! Congrats. I am getting the hang of the coal stove... just leave it alone.. the coal is smarter at burning itself than I am.

Grouse hunting...the ultimate joy of autumn I have to learn more about this hunting thing

The Art of Using Humor in Public I like what this guy says about analyzing humor.. "at your own risk". I feel great. Someone at work today set the bar higher than ever before. I always ask. "How are you today??" Now I ask this knowing full well that this person will answer politely and honestly with a bias towards the positive. Today I heard, "I have reached the utopian work experience". Now mind you, I attach a grain of salt to everthing... even salt. It just set the mood right. Even with some blarney, it made me feel good. Things are good and will probably get better. Isn't that where we all want to be? Forget this crap about mediocracy and letting our work become the burden of peasants and slaves. Historically, work is where you got money for your toils. Today, as harsh as life seems to be... it is nowhere near the physical hardships our elders endured as little as a hundred years ago. Today, work is how we spend our days.

Essential Wisdom I went to a Toastmaster dinner at the silo last night. I had a good time. It is a lot of fun to watch people give their tenth speech towards the CTM. It definately touches me. It seems that the subtle experiences like that are often more powerful than the ones that are "in your face." What I mean is that with the era we live in with the loudness, bigness, boldness and colorful experiences to get our attentions, these attentions certainly have little to do with the quality of the experience. I am chief judge at the area 11 contest this weekend. I still have a lot to do else ways with winter coming and all.

The Unusual: A site dedicated to the bizarre and weird. It is a normal Thursday. I have the coal stove working but it can be a little tricky getting the fire going right. It will take a little time to figure that out. I did not get the Town Justice appointment. The town board indicated that I was final choice but I was opted out for another bloke. They are encouraging me to run for the poistion in Nov 2004. Additionally, they have suggested that I become more involved in the town's civic activities. I may. I have to prioritize.

SCIENCE HOBBYIST: Do This Now This sight is full of great stuff to do when you should be sleeping. I should be sleeping.

Home This is a pretty good x-prize contestant. They seem to have fun anyway. Watch the videos. The X-prize should go to the chinese for launching their astronaut this week. (I know they are not eligble). You wouldn't see me getting into one of these things. I have winterization work to do today. It is quite foggy, I hope it clears a little. I am worried about the clearances on my stove.. one thing says one thing another piece of paper says another. I can't move the chimney now... It is in. We plan on moving the wall in a few years but I am at the minimal clearances now. I won the area 9 speech contest yesterday only because no one else showed up to compete. That is not the way to win. So now I have to practice for the southern division contest in Ithaca on November 8th.

Vintage Computer Festival Today is the Toastmasters Area 9 Speech contest. I am a contestant. I have the chimney installed. I have to finish installing the coal stove and its related stuff.

Ball Lightning I gave some friends some crap tonight. I loaded up the trucks with some llama pellets. It makes great low nitrogen, no smell garden fertilizer. The llamas feel compelled to continue to manufacture more on a daily basis. I like our farm. It is quiet. I enjoy broken things. It is easier to enjoy them that way.

Pigs CAN fly Below is a pic of my fleet of second or fifth hand machines for screwing around on my farm. First we have my latest aquire of a 1986 Toyota 4 rumnner with only 380000 miles. It is a convertible. It runs great and the 4wd drive works. It is my spare lot car. Second is my jeep with only 288000 miles. Notice the tires are from mobile irrigation machinery. The strength of the sidewall will hold the vehicle up with no air in them. The tires were only 50 bucks a piece since they are industrial tires not testonerone-hungry racer mudder tires for wayward boys. The jeep has acquired some dents in my ownership. The famous quote "what do you expect you think it is a tank" comes to mind. Thirdly we have my Model 632 bobcat. It has a 4 cylinder ford gasoline engine. It runs ok and if has no hydraulic leaks. I don't know what I did before I had a bobcat. I had to lift stuff, man. Fourthly.. you can see the crown jewel of the fleet, my germany made Holder c500 tractor.

Physicists Build Nano Motor Small motors indeed. Douglas brought down my new toyota 4 runner today. I didn't need another lot car but the price was right. I will have a spare. It is shown below high centered after comparing how the jeep did in similar experiments. We had to use the bobcat to lift the machines off the dirt pile. We found the machines similar in this test although the 4 runner has a higher ground clearance, the jeep has a shorter wheelbase. A man cannot just sit around.

dogpoweredscooter I need a llama powered scooter like one of these dog powered scooters. What will they think of next.

Strange Machines In August, scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division, traveling by boat on a research mission to attach satellite-tracking devices to whales to study their habitats, managed to capture what they believe is a historical first photo: the water pattern that results from the bubble when a huge whale releases flatulence. Said researcher Nick Gales, "We got away from the bow of the ship very quickly. (I)t does stink." [ News.com.au (The Australian), 8-14-03] Actual Citation

The World's Weirdest Machines - Page Two Two blogs in one night. I must have some work to do that I am avoiding. ---BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK--- GTW/IT d? !a s: w- Y-- PGP- t+ tv G- E+++** ---END GEEK CODE BLOCK--- To decode

A Commonplace Book: Work Jokes: Meeting Bullshit Bingo I get such a kick out of some of the office rumors/facts that go around work. There was some major secret news at work today (last few days) where the seniors were going around telling the high level managers what the lower folks already knew. It is all about information. Information is everywhere. Management of information is not like the days of the iron curtain. Trust is not something you can count on. The golden rule does not apply. It is an unfortunate. There are new rules of no rules. That also is unfortunate. Integrity must come from within. There is no substitute.

Send an alien a Postcard.. or a Blog for crying out loud. I saw something today that I had never seen before. I saw the end of the rainbow. Truely, it was the end of the rainbow. Although the photo does not show it, (since I had to boot the beast up...blah blah blah..) Anyway, the rainbow was clearly in the foreground of the trees in the pasture before I took this photograph. Bonnie and I were pretty much in awe. Although I do not believe in these things personally, I may be up in the pasture with a metal detector soon enough, ya know now. The little men appearing afterwards had little else to do with things either.

How to be a more efficient employee This url is a handy boss url. Keep it handy so when he or she comes up behind you unexpectedly you can bail from your otherwise waste of time activity. I remember some early computer games had a boss key so when you pressed F11 a spreadsheet popped up. Your game was still safe although not visible until the coast was clear and you toggled the F11 key.

vBay - Your Dumpster Diving Community Vbay, ebay it is all the same. It is all just material stuff. Does it matter? You can't take it with you ya know. However, I do have have just a little bit set aside though just in case it turns out you can. The nights are getting cooler. The sun is setting earlier. I like this time of year. I feel pretty good. I think I may be figuring out some stuff. That always makes me feel good.

Strawberry Pop-Tart Blow-Torches Please do not attempt these pop tart experiments at home. I am sure they are trained professionals and they know the meaning of DANGER. Besides, didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with your food!! --------Other news---- This should probably should be a new blog. HOWeverrr, FAWN wore a halter for the first time tonight! It took a lot out of her...and a lot out of me!. She is large and she is the last of our animals to wear a halter. it is great. She was sooo nervous. But she did it! She yanked on me and yanked. She fell once, ran into some stuff. She never came close to hurting herself but to get an adult llama haltered is a big deal in my book. I never had large animals before this group of five we got last march. It is a different kind of animal. One that could pounce on you or drag you around. It is scary. I was wary of her lunging at me. The first time Calisto lunged...it scared the crap out of me seeing a large animal legs up

LiquidSOLAR.diesel conversion I think I may convert my truck to run on used fryer grease. It is reported only to have the side effoect of an occasional craving for french fries. These guys are in Ithaca.

random.org - heads or tails service The random service above seems pretty good. You need to beware anytime something around a computer claims to be random. Computers are many things and random is about the only thing they are not. Johnson noise or other atmospheric type noise are believed to be the only true random events we can use for this purpose.

BLOGGER I am at work and I again have started to realize how powerful and easy blogging is. I just went through my archives, it is intersting to look back that is for sure. Things that bothered me then may not now and the other way around.

Google News It is interesting to see what google does with blogger. I see new free features. I suspect that we they are trying to get access to more content. I apologize for not blogging much lately. It is always a busy time of year. I still have to finish my story traveling to James Bay James Bay as well as llama stories and I need to post aerial photos I took of the house and property. Thanks for stopping in. Please stop back.

I have almost finished my travel log of Jamesbay. http://www.theguysatwork.com/jamesbay/jamesbay.htm Click on the "actual trip"

I have been ill for the past few days. I have cut back on all activities 'cause I know if I don't I will end up with "ammonia". I will be finishing up my adventures in Jamesbay website soon. It really was a great trip. Thanks for stopping in.

My James Bay experience website is posted. here

The James Bay Cree and Hydro-Quebec - An Overview I am back!! What a trip!. It was absolutely what I expected and more. I learned so much about basic stuff. It was indeed a great trip!. I will be posting a new website for the adventure with pictures and more. Iwill be a few days, so stop back.

Standby!!! Technical issues Blah Blah Blah... and business has prevented my blogging. I am leaving for a road trip driving to James Bay Canada this weekend. After I return I will have much to blog about.

Almost all the llamas will wear halters for us now. They really are sensitive animals. They are very curious about humans and it seems they can sense us well... like dogs can or perhaps better. Click pic for video llamagrass2.mpg llamagrass3.mpg

Well the weather got cold and rainy again. It is too cold for June. It is in the low 40s today and rainy as well as windy. Ukk. I went to the rochester Hamfest yesterday. It was pretty much a wash out. I didn't find anything I was interested in really. I came home early. Here are a couple of pics of a couple of my friends, Doug McManus and Kevin Carey, WB2QMY

The weather has been great for the last couple of days. It is highly appreciated. We have professor wearing a halter now!. He has bad breath we realized last night... ohh llama-breath..yuk. The picture below shows Artemis eating some dessert grasses that Susan Spear donated to the llamas. Artemis (not normally a big eater) grabed a big bunch and did a grunt to indicate his pleasure and dominion over the grass. Tioga is our big barn cat that keep the critters under control. Click pic for video

The llamas are having fun. You can see a 10 foot by 10 foot training area I made. We are making good progress. I managed to get a little llama dance on video. They bound very high sometimes when they do their impish dance. I will get a more dramatic dance at some point. Click on the pic of artemis for video.

I think I am back. I have taken a lot of photos and I will be taking more in the future so please stop back. Movie getting diploma

My computer is still running. However, I still have to set my my ftp tool for uploads of photos. Dennis McCarthy came down for hunting and fishing. I have a lot of photos I need to post. The llamas are well. I built a 10 by 10 training pen. We have a regimen for pack training. We like them alot. The llamas are a lot of fun.

I have my machine up and running again. Everything seems to be ok. I am still installing software to get full functionality but I am getting closer. I lost all my internet bookmarks. I had forgotten to back those up. I had some good ones too. I had some some obscure sites that I may never find again. Oh Well. Douglas graduated from Clarkson last weekend. We are very proud. We were up there for graduation. I will be posting some photos of that event soon. Dennis McCarthy is coming down this weekend to try hunting some turkeys. We will see. It should be a lot of fun. The llamas are well. I had a pasture mowed. Now I have to get some fence up. I will be posting some more pics soon.

Well I am back. I lost little data. You will always looose something though. It takes time to get the machine the way it was. Hopefully it is better now. It was not shutting down well before. The registry was kinda messy. Now I have a 20 Gig and a 40 Gig drive in the machine. I expect that to be the last upgrade for this box. I don't need the fastest most powerful machine. The Satelite Internet link is my bottle neck. Last weekend Bonnie and I went to visit Bob and DJ McCullough in the next town over to see their baby pygmy goats. They are fun. I will post a pic as soon as I rediscover my passwords for the ftp connection to the server.

My hard drive gave up the ghost!!>! I am blogging from my work computer. Unfortunately, I only have one computer at home so I cannot get my email etc. I am still trying to get everything situated with teh new hard drives. These things take time if you are attempting to save data. I apoligize for all the emial that has gone unanswered.

The Dowdell Farm, Berkshire N.Y. The office is an absolute mess here at home. I have disk drives hanging out of the computer chassis and disks and cds strewn about. I have the main disk drive backed up now. I am pissed though, some how I only got half of the 20 gig drive formated. I am still thinking about what to do next with the computer here. What a mess!!!! At this point I have lost no data. I am hesitant to embark on an ebay deal though, since my computer infrastructure is not solid. The llama chute will be done tommorow. I have combined ideas from several designs and I plan on making detailed drawings of my rendition. I have designed it so I can move it around with the bobcat and load it into my truck with the bobcat by myself. The animals are very happy. We touch them more and more and I can can hang on to professor and aries for long periods of time. Their nails will be trimmed soon and their new pasture will be ready soon as well. I have a 15 foot brush hog in the driv

I haven't posted too much lately. no real reason. I guess the good weather has distracted me and my computer work. My hard drive is making some noise... so if you don't see me on line you know what happened. I have a 10 gig backup drive but I have to install it. If it isn't one thing it is another.

I gleened this paragraph from: Econtent mag The Cost-Price-Value Equation One of the truisms of the information business is that information has collection and delivery costs that can usually be determined with reasonable accuracy. The problem comes with the fact that an individual user, in the context of any given information environment, determines the value of this information. Moreover Technologies is providing me with a customized newsfeed on intranets, extranets, and content management. I'm finding this out personally in the management of my own intranet blog. Many items are of great value and I use them directly in the blog. Others are of more peripheral use, and stimulate me to look into an issue that has not been high on my agenda. There are also items that duplicate other sources of insformation, or treat something well known in the industry as news. If another intranet consultant used the same feed I am certain that we would each put the daily list of news item

Voyager Submarines I follow all sorts of auctions on the net. In fact, I believe that normal future business commerce will be done in auction-like environments as a result of the information explosion. Everything becomes a commodity, almost. It takes businesses time to understand this concept and longer to act on it. The successful business of the future realizes buyers and buyees can both leverage this new open marketplace. The link above is an auction for two subarines and support craft. Now is your chance to own a submarine!!

Financial Warfare - Michel Chossudovsky The above link is an article that has made some rounds. It is interesting if nothing else. Here are most of the kids in one shot.

Standard Crystal - HC49 Two people contacted me yesterday looking for electronic components. First it was a tunnel diode and then it was crystal. The llamas are doing well. We had some fellow llama owners over this weekend and they agreed that our llamas are very nice. We are using a special massage on the llamas to calm them. Instead of "petting" like you do with most animals, the llamas enjoy a circular motion with the tips of your fingers. Weird.

Oceania -- The Atlantis Project I saw a quote in a llama book that I imediately identified with. In fact I could have written it myself. Here it is. Llamas are like big cartoon characters. WIth their huge eyes, big ears, long eyelashes they are naturally dramatic. The spitting thing, along with a repertoire of other unusual behaviors, makes them perplexing and sometimes a bit scary in the begining. As a brand new llama owner, you wander out to the barn that first morning and feel as if you woke up in the movie "Planet of the Lamas".

Final Meal Requests...true!! We are getting closer to getting the halter on. Listen closely to the movie and you can hear Aries gently blow into the camera. Llamas will lightly blow into your face to get to know you. Strange. They are indeed weird. Click pic for video

A Steaming Load of Shatner It is foggy this morning. The llama paddock is getting muddy. Bonnie put down more straw to protect the grass from those weird feet they have. I don't think I have time this AM for any photos. Working as an information person at a non-information company can get tough. The value of information and the efforts of what goes into a manual or parts catalog of CD ROM is significant. Many unenlightened individuals have no concept of the process of moving from dark to light and even if they do understand how they learned something they may attribute the learning to their own prowess without regard for the individual who created that learning tool. I have said it before. Information technology is an enabler. Information use is the material of competitive advantage.

Are YOU a problem thinker The animals are getting slightly better around me. Fawn is still a bit of a problem to approach. She is soo skittery. She did let me touch her today. I am pretty sure that is a first. Bonnie and I were talking and I think we have to go slow so we don't totally violate their trust. But on the other hand we have to get them dewormed and toenails clipped. The radiator I bought on ebay came in yesterday. I bought a used radiator for the jeep for about 50 dollars. The new one should help us help the jeep stay cool when we are driving around the property. Today's portrait is of FAWN

NEWS of the WEIRD - Current News My last blog did not seem to appear. I must have canceleded the FTP before it was done my mistake or something. The llamas are fun. I feel good today, that is somewhat strange because I had been feeling uptight about work. The llamas at Breakfast today. The close up is of "Professor".

Hoaxes It is LD-7 and April fools day. The llamas are getting a little more comfortable around us, but not much. I have all, but Fawn, eating grain from my hand. They are wary of the grabs that may follow. They are fun, no doubt about it. They were doing the llamadance the other day a little bit. I must get a video clip of that. It is really something different. The long necks and front legs set-back give them an interesting center of gravity. They buck and playfully kick while moving their necks in a weird undulation. It is a happy dance no doubt. We are starting to get more systematic on training the animals. It will be great if we can get them all halter trained this summer. It is 12 degrees in Berkshire this morning and we have a complete snow covering for the last two days. The llamas hunker down in their house and we have the water heater keepng their water liquid. We deliver them hay a few times a day and of course their precious grain. Will winter go away this year? I am

District 65 Toastmasters Web Page I am headed to the southern division speech contest today at the Brothers 2 restaurant in Endwell. The llamas are getting more and more used to us. They cush and allow more touching. I think is important that it seems they do not like talking. They are much more comforatble if you don't talk. They approach and watch.

The Why-Files Here is a portrait of Aries at breakfast.

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Kurd guerrillas seize Iraqi positions I think it is LD-4 today. The llamas wer fun last night. Bonnie and I went out there after dark and just stood in their paddock waiting for them to approach us. They never really did. The cat thinks its great though. The llamas see him accross the yard and all point and snort at him. They don't know what to make of the cat yet. The cat has an anvange being able to dart in and out of the fenced area however. I am heading to an auction today. It is over in Lisle, looks big.

Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters Well it is the start of LD-3. The llamas seem happy. However, they are skittery. Bonnie and I have only been able to touch/pet three of the five animals. It will take time to train thes critters. The water was froze over this morning. Their heavy coats are well suited for our climate. It just dipped below freezing and we did not have the heater on. The animals like grain that is for sure. Calista was wearing hay for a hat this morning. I did not have the camera with me but it would have been a good photo of a goofy llama. They are comfortable with their house. I was getting concerned that they may not like it for some reason but it appears they do like it. Most of them slept inside it last night. Work is bothering me. It was nice to spend a couple of minutes with the beasts, They are just so curious!

Belfast Telegraph The first day of llamas was fun. They are skittery, as we knew. It was great fun introducing the cat to the llamas. The llams wer very curios and the cat was apprehensive.The llamas all started frolicing at one point and thgey were jumping and jerking their heads. You can tell it was a dance of happiness in their new home. They all have names now. We have Professor, Fawn(a), Callisto, Aries, and Artemis.

Gilfus Family Found Guilty The llamas have landed!

The New York Times on the Web Today is LD-1. That is short for llama day one. The five llamas will arrive at approximately 11:00 AM. We are getting them from the humane society. Presumabaly the llamas were abused. They are fine now, albeit perhaps more skittery than other llamas. We have decided to name them after Greek and Roman gods. We have named Artemis and Fawna. The rest are to be named. I will post photos later today. I have to go out and place food, hay, straw and water.

John Henry - The Music - Lyrics - Folk I am working on a "storytelling" project for Toastmasters. I have chosen "John Henry" as my folktale. It is a *great* story, legend, folktale, and biography. It is about America and the incrediblely hard work that we do as Americans. We are ready for the Llamas today!. Our farm is being inspected and then they will arrive. It is Exciting!. The picture shows our llama house and their paddock. Over the summer we will have more fence put in, but this should be fine for now.

CNN.com I hav not blogged in a while. This coming Wednesday the folks from the humane society will be here to decide if we are good hosts for our llamas. We have almost everything set. I have to get a few things this weekend and we should be ready. The weekend promises to be warm (50 degrees F).

CNN.com - Shuttle 'wounded' earlier than thought - Mar. 5, 2003 We have the fencing. We have ordered the Run-in (3 sided building) for the llamas. We will have everything we need in about a week and a half. I have to get some feed this weekend. I have an area 11 contest to host this weekend on Saturday. It looks like we have 4 contestants for each contest. It should be fun. I am a lot less nervous for this area contest than I was for the last one. I received my diploma in the mail yesterday. Those things take quite a while. The big decisions are whether to pursue more school, certifications or what. I still have to decide what is next. I may pursue a certicate in "knowledge management" http://www.kmcertification.org/ I may concentrate on the book or the e-commerce website. I have a lot to decide.

Blogging Blogging is really a largely overlooked way to transfer information effectively and easily. My system is set up so my browser effectively works as a two-way browser. When I want to say something I hit a button and type away. There is a lot going on at work. I feel overwhelmed somedays and largely underwhelmed others. Politics at its finest. It is interesting to note that politics has a negative connotation. Should it? I mean politics is what drives dialog and societal progress. I think my personal values at workk are straight forward. I want to to feel effective. Others are are not driven by these values. It may be prestige, honor, money, power and other second-order values. There is little anyone can do to change someone else's values. It is alarming when someone attempts to chnage mine. What are they thinking? How does that reflect on them? An individuals values must not be changed, only identified and aligned with organizational goals. This example is clearly le

Student writes essay in text message form Our language is dynamic. No doubt about it.

www.kauffmanbuildings.com The above is a menonite website for their business, I am buying a building from these folks for the llamas. I get a kick out of this... even the menonites are on the web... it is old. I realized I had no mention of Dave Ernst and Miracle racing on my blog of going to Canada. Dave and I work together and that was the main reason for going to Canada, was to watch them race and experience bitter cold. http://www.miracleracing.com

Guidelines for Hay Storage in Ontario The answer is about 40 bales.

Psychologist helps victims of data loss / Some soothing words after the data wreck The above article (probably a 404 by the time you read it) is about a crisis counselor for victims of "data loss". Fun Stuff. I am working on a paper for a competition at school on the topic of "information ethics" I have two weeks to finish that. The paper is thought provoking if nothing else. Bonnie went to vistit our llamas yesterday. I have secured the domain name "www.llamafootnotes.com". There is nothing there yet. The photo is one of our llamas. She is currently named Fawn. I had to retouch the photo cause it was so light. Look at the eyelashes. She is very pretty in person. I am getting hay this weekend.

ASIDIC - Association of Information and Dissemination Centers Someone was asking about my old boat. Here is a picture of it.

Burningbird: Google Blogger = What? here are more photos from Douglas's and my trip to Quebec. Douglas is a real colonial. He very carefully pronounces his english words when asking for something in a store. This movie was an attempt to show the steam from the cars. It was cold. Cold Steam from cars...some cars looked like they were burning up.

Bombardier - Experience the Extraordinary Well Douglas and I had some fun up in the great white Nord. We went to two differnt Tim Hortons, The Bombardier Musee', checked out a couple of used Holder tractors, stayed in Montreal and cruised the scene. It was 12 below zero F !!!!. It went down to -33 degrees below in Potsdam. Video of Blair (superman) Morgan........

Snowsports canada.com Douglas and I are planning on heading up to Valcourt Quebec this sunday for the Snow Machine races. The high temp in Potsdam is calling for 0 degrees F. A low of -18 degrees F is expected. I suspect it may get colder in Canada, Eh? We will have to decide if it is worth it.

Binghamton, New York Regional Radar Loop by Intellicast It's Snowing!!! Loard knows we need it. I told the guy in Mass to forget about the deal on his HOLDER tractor. I found a better deal in Ohio I think. It is a lot less money for a better machine. Let's see how it goes. Wish me luck.

The Western Ohio Triple Crown ~ Llama and Alpaca Show We have picked out 5 llamas. They will be delivered in Berkshire in 6 weeks. I need to get some fences. This is exciting. 1.5 year old male, currently named "professor".

BargainBuilder.com The Online Marketplace for Excess Building Materials I haven't blogged in a while, too busy I guess. Today I have to go to Rochester to perhaps pick out a few llamas. Tonight we have to back to binghamton for a TM dinner. I am unsured if I RSVP'd so I will have to try and get a hold of the host to find out if we are going. I installed Visio on my computer. Now I can work on the drawings of the house. I am getting tired of the cold.

134 Here is a movie of one of the chickens. Chicken

Seven Stars ... a poem by Allison Chambers Coxsey These people gave their lives for their work as most of us do. Whether it be by stroke, stress, or violent end, we humans live to work and toil to totality for the betterment of humanity. I can't help but think about the nameless individuals that I have know that have died for their work. I have known many.

SILO I got the bobcat running again. It appears the starter motor may have broke because of severely retarded ignition timing. The distributor was very loose and probably walked to the point of "reverse start" causing the starter to jam and break at the tip. Anyway, it is OK and the weld job only cost a box of donuts. I am negotiating with a guy in Mass. to buy the following machine and attachments. Don't see many two-seat tractors do ya? The HOLDER is goofy but after thinking about it it really makes sense for our farm.

Northeast Llama Showcase I fixed the typo in the previous blog href for the movie... Don't hold your breath for me fixing other typos and errors. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. It is after-all about the information not so much the presentation. I got my starteer for the bobcat fixed by some freindly welder today. I was really having a hard time finding the right part. I hope it works right. I think it will 'cause often the cheaper way works better too. There was a exceedingly pedantic scholar that crossed paths with my family in several ways (before and after his death) that used to write correspondence with phonic spellings and natural grammar. For example: he wood goonanon abowt somthing he was passioant abowt with nothing butt strings ov gramaikal gook. thee lettrs are nou in washinton university's arkives. Interestingly enough, don't we see this now emerging again with IM and our new fast kbd speak. These shorthands are not new to ham radi

Wired 11.02: VIEW It looks cold out there again and we have a couple inches of more snow. We have had at least some snow every night for weeks. I have to get the new starter for the bobcat tonight. I think I will post a photo from last summer so I can trick myself. Movie

The World Time Server - correct, current, local Time is just flying... are my observations of time moving faster evidence of an expanding universe? It is cold again. The truck is running. I warm it up for a least half an hour when it gets this cold. I need to get a one of those cool new thermometers with wireless remotes. That way I can measure the temp around the farm and in the barn. The llamastork called Sunday. The humane society has 38 llamas for adoption. I put in an application in about a year ago. They finally got back to us. We have a meeting with them on the 8th of February. We may have llamas sooner rather than later. Exciting! I am sooo PO'd at FEDEX. I can't even talk about it.

Bonnie is shipping 6 large boxes of comercial radio parts out to the west coast today. I like the kind of profit obtainable from dumpster to installation. I also get quite a charge of not seeing these things go to landfills. We all need to remember that the first "R" in the 3 "R"s of ecology is "Reuse". I received some great positive feedback on eBay from the person whom I sold the used sewer pipe adapter. Great fun!

t h e v i r a l f a c t o r y - the viral marketing experts I have been having troublkes with my truck. It has been cold. I am thinking the reason it quits for no reason on th eway to work is a fuel related issue. I will run it this morning to see if I get anymore symptoms after giving it a cocktail of anti-gel, anti bacteria, anti sludge and a good wash of kerosene. I want to create a humorous video for toastmasters that can be distributed on the web. Something like the following movie but using humorous speech segments. Interesting movie I gleened off the web.

Small Farms Lead Page I have a busy day today...meetings... I a meeting DeWitt in Bainbridge at 5:30. We will drive to Oneonta for a Toastmasters meeting then the long ride home. It takes about an hour and a half to get from Oneonta to my home. That is a long way for TM meeting. Living here, everything is a ways away. It takes over 1/2 an hour to run to the store and back for the simplest of items. Luckily that is a general store and they have almost anything you may need. The place surprises me constantly. When I was in Rochester, driving an hour and a half put me in Buffalo...(a big trip). Now an hour and a half gets me just around the region. It is wierd how things change. A big part is that there are not many interstates or divided highways. All the twists, hills, traffic lights and slow drivers make the trip a lot loger than you think it would take given the ground covered. We actually get on interstat 88 to go to Oneonta for about 45 minutes though.

Trader Online Classified Ads Douglas and I messed around with the jeep in the snow this weekend. We got a few things done, but not much. Movie 1 of Mindless entertainment Movie 2 of Mindless entertainment

Viburnum Leaf Beetle (VLB) Citizen Science - Home page We have volunteered to participate in a "Viburnum Leak Beetle Study" this coming year. We will make observations of the beetle on our 20 acres of Arrowood Viburnum. Last year we didn't see any. We were not looking either. The arrowwood looks very healthy. It looks so healthy that we are trying to figure out the market angle. The study will guide us to one it there is one. The hot crop seems to be American Ginsing. We may have some. It is said to be the most valuable (expensive) herb in North america. Now that we know the ID we will be diligent looking for it.

The Industrial Revolution 1700-1900 I managed to relax a little over the weekend. I did not find it very satisfying however. There is a lot to think about. I feel terrible about the folks that were laid off. I am going to a Toasmasters demo meeting in Geneseo tommorow night. I think in January I have 12 Toastmaster engagements. That is a lot. I have been learning alot as Area 11 Governor. It gives me a much better perspective than if I was not engaged in the organization. It is such a positive organization. I have to get some boxes weighed today that I am sending out to the west coast.

BBC World Service on yahoo! Broadcast I am thinking of buying the following machine. It is weird but it looks like a great deal. Why can't I be normal?

Michael Porter's Big Ideas We had Toastmaster's officer training the other day. I presented a piece on "Service and Leadership". I really enjoy that topic. There is alot to it when it is said that great leaders serve. Or that there is a "following part of leading". I find it to be profoundly true. If we look at some of the great leaders (independent of style) we can see that although they are often authoritarian, they still believe that are doing it for the masses. Interesting stuff. The power went off again. That make it three times for this series of storms.

Northern Tool and Equipment - Online Store - Home Standby/Portable Power We were pretty lucky with the power outages. Some of the folks around here were out of power for a week. No FUN. I had to lay off a couple of people in my department this week. It is very unfortunate, but the company is refocusing and the future of the company appears bright.

TABASCO® Pepperfest - the hot, legendary pepper sauce! We are all ready for work, I feel good and ready. I took this photo for the "scale of economies". Both bottles cost the same amount...hmmm