Chazd's (Charles Dowdell's) News Burps

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." -- Benjamin Franklin, Inventor I am back from Ohio. I went out almost to Cincinnati to pick up a "Tobacco Setter." I will be using it for planting blueberries this coming year. It is good for all sorts of transplant crops. It hooks to the tractor and two people ride on it placing seedlings in a spot that gets automatically planted and watered. The guy I bought it from said he has recently sold three of them all to people from NY. It was a great deal so I figured it was justified to spend some money on a nice place to stay. I learned a lot about the Amish. Of course as soon as I got back I won a great deal on a tire changer on ebay out on Long Island. I will be headed out there in a couple of weeks. Check out the Amish guy putting the stuff from Walmart in his buggy. I learned a lot. The Amish seem to like Mountain Dew. And of course, I have to get a picture of at least one of the wre...

Last week I had a special treat. I had dinner out at the Speedville General Store. They make subs and pizza and have a very large selection of smokless tobacco and lotto. They sell gas, beer and video rentals. I am not sure exactly why I feel it is such a treat, but the isolation of the place makes me feel secure. It is a place that is basically unknown and I feel as though I could hide there and no one could find me. It is especially true in the middle of a long January freeze like now. Everyone is locked down for weeks with the cold, ice and inhospitableness. It is remarkablly close to my house and Ithaca as well as being off the beaten path. You might as well be in northern Quebec or an island somewhere. I ordered a tuna sub and the shopkeeper came by me sitting at the formica booth seating, grabed some tuna cans off the grocery shelf and got me dinner. The big reason Speedville is so secluded is that there are no state routes involved. That and it is not on the way to anywhere un...

I need to do something different with this blog. I have been thinking about it for quite a while. This is my 836th post over the course of 8 or so years. I originally started blogging because it was new technology and a new way to communicate. It was novel. Now it is mature. I was impressed by the USAIR flight that ditched into the Hudson river the other day. Everybody was unhurt. Wow!! I understand that the aircraft has a "Ditch Switch" that is thrown to seal through-hulls and helps it float a lot longer. That must have helped. The event was definitely impressive in a lot of different ways. I am surprise the engines didn't rip the craft apart when they hit the water. I wonder what the angle of attack was like when it first contacted the water? My flight instructor and I have discussed the philosophical aspects of what our reactions will be in absolute emergency situation like that one. You never really know until it actually happens. A big part of flight training is le...

I am Chicago for a few days. I haven't had to put a winter coat on for a few days because my commute is walking through a a maze of carpeted corridors and fancy lobbies. It is a pretty good time to be inside with some nasty storms and cold weather. I have had a few really good deep and long laughs with my co-working friends. It is hard to believe that Bonnie and I have been separated for almost a year. I looks like we are going to move my Mom to Florida. It is a challenge on that front.

I spent most of the holiday up in Rochester. I had to get my Mom in the Hospital. Hopefully she recovers quickly, but this looks like the end of her living alone. Her cats were hugging each other. I had to take a picture. It was about zero out this morning. I got this great pic of a Sundog. The ice crystals were low to the ground. It does appear pretty freaky.