Beef Breeds
We had a good Christmas. Nothing too exciting. We relaxed. I definately ate too much though. This week I will have to starve myself.
I am looking at projects this year, the barn/house projects as well as animal projects. I know I can't do everything I want, so we will have to weigh the choices.
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Helpful movie quotes Unformatted, you will have to figure out some of the commentary versus the quotations.
The Rooster (foggy) woke up dead the other day.
He was kinda old. He was eating a lot in his new home and he was put in a hen house with three virgin hens. He seemed to have fallen from his roost in the night.
I like that saying "woke up dead." I think it typifies information. There is always a paradox, a catch 22, a chicken-egg situation, when talking about information. How do you describe information without information? A meta language? Perhaps, however a meta language does not seem to have conversational capabilities.
I have committed my weekend almost entirely to computers. I bought a new one. I bought a dell 8400 3.2 GHz with a gig a ram and and 160 g HD.
I decided as part of this effort I would review my computer situation and get as many of them working as possible and networked. It all takes time, especially for me cause I don't call tech support much and I enjoy figuring stuff out. I have 4 computers working at this writing which is 4 more than at the beginning of the weekend.
This exercise has been a great time for me to reflect on the computers in my personal life. I remember the feeling when I bought my SX 64 that I worked on today. I bought it from COMB for about $650. It must have been 1985. I was elated at the power and enjoyed having the gadget tremendously.
Then I got my first PC. I pieced together parts starting with a 40 meg drive that was flakey from work. I scrounged other components over time and I bought a case from Jamco and pieced together parts and software fo...
It has been a pretty strange week in a lot of ways. Not in anyway that I can put my finger on specifically, but strange nevertheless.
I skidded a few trees out of the woods for firewood Saturday. I got some pretty nice ashwood. My little articulated Holder C500 tractor is awesome for getting in and out of the forest. The articulation really helps get around trees. I got the logs from down in a revine, so the tractor was put to the test. I didn't get stuck, but I did need to disconnect the logs and attach them again from another angle a couple of times. I used the 4-wheel dif lock a few times too. The wood split up nice with an axe and I put the cord wood up for use this winter. We have been burning quite a bit of wood since it hasn't been that cold. I have a ton of coal out in the barn.
My main computer has given me fits. I spent about 6 hours on Sunday trying to get it back. I think the CD ROM drive or adapter failed which won't allow me to do a reinstall off the s...
Weeki Wachee Springs
Well, we are back from Florida. We had a good time. We stayed in my brother's antique airstream trailer. You don't have to worry about EMP inside here. (note the secure URL site for the military definition)
My Brother lives on a small farm in Brooksville FL and my Sister lives in Jacksonville. Bonnie's Cousins live in Fort Myers. We visited all of them. It was fun and different. I have to say at some points I went a little mental in the traffic jams.
Brooksville is the home to the world famous Weeki Wachee Mermaids. There are several nature springs in the area. These are multi-million gallon types-of-springs making crystal clear water and a major tourist attraction. We did not go to the tourist attractions. It is nice to have friends and family that are not easily distracted by tourist attractions. However, we did do some paddling about in the areas of the springs. There are canals that have been dug that connect to the natural spring canal...
The Rooster
We have a rooster! Cousins Liz and Ken brought over a rooster for our chicks. So far things seem ok. The rooster wasn't crowing and he was lonely at my cousin's place. Our three hens are somewhat apprehensive at this point.
Tomorrow we are off to Florida for the week.
Click pic for video
MSN Search
today this is a beta and it is poo-pooed by the media. it is disruptive innovation.
poo-poo
Tonight I am listening to Cree indian music and poetry and I moved into cool jazz (stan getz). I remembered something about how Bonnie and I ended up here in Berkshire. I saw, what I know now as disruptive innovation, the telecomunications explosion. I remember some great lectures of some great thinkers at SU school of information studies. I remember working hands-on with the extreme details in digital telecommunications in the early 1980s with early TI circuits (span line) and later on with Wireless, Ethernet, SS7, E1, J1. I remember living in Columbus Ohio with the Qube system of interactive media when I was in school out there. I remember at the same time one of my classmates interviewed as one of the first VJs for the then totally unknown MTV.
This was long before the internet and I remember how the SU thinkers had referenced Qube long before a commercial Internet...
I am currently in an XML class at work. I thought I would blog. I listed the 1939 22 HP Johnson outbord on ebay. I expect to get a 100 bucks or so. It is seized and very dirty. It looks like a great project for someone.
The weather was great yesterday. I think it was 60 degrees. This morning I had a inch of snow on the ground!
Good thing I put my snow tires on yesterday.
Small Business School - home.jsp
I just finished an economics course. It was fun. In January I am starting a Finance course. I really like the economics way of thinking.
The following is a piece of a transcript from the small business school tv program. I think it really rings of truth of capitalism. Adam Smith in the "Wealth of Nations" (1776) talks around this fundemntal concept that Novack puts in a nice simple wrapper. I really like this.
HATTIE: We talk about our economic system so little. Michael Novak says that democratic capitalism can be thought of as a three legged stool. One leg is the rule of law. Democracy, the government, public servants. I like to think of them as referee's. they have on the black and white shirts and they're running up and down the field trying to make sure the bad guys are corrected or thrown out of the game. As a business owner, I feel that sometimes some are bureaucrats who are heavy handed, controlling, demanding and ...
I have lost a lot of weight, about 30 pounds. It has not been that easy, but I have cracked the code. I gave up coffee, switched to diet food for everything I could. I switched to eating lots of salads, and eating a lot of fruit and yogurt. I also do exercises every morning. You know... exercises. No equipment is required. You can do them anywhere you are. It is very practical and inexpensive.
I was thinking that I have drank about a pot of coffee a day for 20 years. That works out to be 3650 gallons of the black stuff. That is a lot of coffee. I had a headache for three weeks when I quit, but it was worth it. The coffee seems to inhibit the production of insulin so some of the fat can never be burned off no matter how hard you try.
6th Annual Best Practices Conference - Welcome
I have not blogged in a while. I have a lot to report.
Professor is doing well. The "abnormal structure" turned out to be a bacteria based abnomaly. The pigs are now in boxes. Bonnie and I had a real country breakfast this morning of Bacon (that we raised) and scrambled eggs (that we raised). My flail mower is being delivered tomorrow. I had it modified to attach to a front of a tractor or the rear. It will be soooo easy to have my headphones on in my heated cab mowing my trails with the mower out front. Too cool. The other llamas are well and we really enjoy watching their grace.
I was at a conference for Content Development Management in Cape Cod this week. It was worthwhile. I gave a 15 minute presentation as part of a panel for 150 managers or so. It was fun.
NYS DEC Hunting and Outdoor Safety
What a wild weekend so far.
The pigs are gone. I buried the entrails. Bonnie spent quite a bit of time hosing things down and cleaning up the barn.
My hunting safety course is over. The lessons and lectures included, simulated hunting in the woods for turkeys and deer (very effective), target shooting, survival training, hunter [sportsman] ethics (desperately needed), Game care [field dressing, etc] and of course gun safety.
One of our instructors was stuck by a deer slug in his neck in 2002. He is very lucky to be alive. He did all the right things. He was still shot.
I feel a little different.
This is the first time we have raised an animal for food. And coincidentally; at the same time, we are changing professor's (Mr. alpha llama) dressings for the surgery's deep wound on his foot. It is all meat, Human, Llama, Pig, Hunter.
Llama - Llama glama
Professor had his surgery today. We removed a hunk of grizzely tissue about the size of a large eyeball from the side of his left foot. He behaved great!. We now have him locked in the llama house with his buddy Aries. The vet used a local in his foot. They had pictures with them to help figure out the foot anatomy of the llama.
QRZ.COM
The N2TYQ report: The hamfest was a lot of fun yesterday. Duane (KB0VIW) picked up a nice Kenwood 2 meter radio for 25 bucks. It was good to meet up with Jim Hastings (W2RFM) and Kevin Carey (WB2QMY). Everyone agreed it was a great hamfest, good attendance and interest. I sold a few things and paid for the expenses.
Chenango Lake Panorama
Last Thursday Bonnie and I went out for a nice boat ride on Geneganselet lake with Saul and Carol Thau. It was really nice. It is a nice lake and it was a relaxing experience during the week. During the day on Thursday I had a hard time.
My truck was leaking diesel really bad and llama "Professor" has a tumor on his foot. I spent the morning bathing in diesel fuel to fix the leak, while I was waiting for the vet to come. The vet says we have to excise the tumor and get a biopsy. The professor is having difficulty standing on that foot. We are of course worried. Probably early this week we will schedule the professor's surgery.
Community Speechcraft
I have been too busy to blog. I am starting a six week speech class this week. I am catching up on my homework. I went to a leadership meeting in Waterloo this weekend. I found water in the tractor fuel again. I have some guy coming to pick up the flail mower to modify it. It is budget time at work. I fixed the electric toothbrush yesterday. We made some awesome haddock primavera Saturday for my Sister, Cousins, and Mom. I have to get the tire fixed on the truck today and take the old dishwasher to the dump.
Ultralight aircraft, used ultralights for sale.
I went for a great ultralight airplane ride the other night. John's Dad, Mel took me up for about 20 minutes or so. It was great. I felt myself smiling pretty good. I took the controls and did some practice coordinated turns. It was a great experience. I hope to get an ultralight at some point. It is different and fun.
Click pic for video
Do It Yourself: House Exterior
The roof is done. That makes two big jobs this summer on the house. First I did the electric service entrance for the barn and the house and later the roof. Luckily, no sheathing had to be replaced. I thought there would need to be some replaced, but I lucked out. I used 56 bundles of 25 yr shingles, with new drip and rake edges, one course of snow and ice guard and rigid ridge vent. I am glad the two big jobs for this year are over.
Next year I am replacing the load beams in the barn with steel I beam. I will need to buy about 80 more feet of 8 inch beam. I get a great price on steel through work.
The other big job is probably going to be the deck. I can't start on that until we have a comprehensive design plan for the house done. We still have lots of ideas, but no definitive plan. Hopefully, I will be sponsoring a design competition at the school of architecture at SU shortly. I am waiting to hear back about the "ins and outs"...
Brian's Brick Oven Folly
I got so engrossed in reading about a brick oven that I completely forgot about the muffins in the regular oven. I could almost smell th e baking as I was reading and then the baking smell turned to a burning smell which brought me back to reality, just before the muffins really started smoking!
Great irony.
MSNBC - Fla. official: Charley death toll to rise
"Bonnie tornado kills three Hurricane Charley arrived a day after Tropical Storm Bonnie came ashore in the Florida Panhandle and quickly moved north. Three people, including a child, were killed and 29 others were injured Friday when a tornado hit a North Carolina trailer park.
Charley could move northward, bringing heavy rain to the mid-Atlantic. Across the rest of the East, the remnants of Bonnie were expected to stretch from Florida to northern New York."
We have not yet heard from my brother James who headed to Orlando from Brooksville to get away from the storm. That move very well may have made things worse it seems.
Royal Sovereign Shingle Page
Today is the day I started working on the new roof. I am going to tear the old roof off and put a fresh 25 year roof down. I originally planned on using the bobcat to get the shingles on the roof, but it didn't quite get make the height I needed and I hate getting out of the machine with the boom in the air like that. So I hoofed 33 bundles up there today. I still have to get more up there after I get the one side done.
