Monday's Missives

Honda Rune is on my list. I like it not only because they're interesting and beautiful they're actually good, reliable and rideable machines. They're based on the Goldwing with an upgunned engine.

• Callaway made a wagon version Vette back in 1982 that was disgusting- it was literally gross. They intend to unveil one in 2014 that is really pretty cool looking. I get where the 1982 was ugly to start with and the new Vettes are beautiful but it still could have gone bad. The 2014 Vette with 7 speed manual starts at 51 thousand bucks- an incredible bargain for the car it buys.

  

  In FGs bedroom. She is quite a bit younger than me.

• From an earlier post Katy and Don made me think more about snipers in war time. If a Jihadi with a scoped rifle drilled my gunner in the face with a bullet while we were on combat patrol and Jihadi Joe and I came face to face with each other in an ensuing cordon and rundown there is not a chance he would have lived to rot in Abu Graib and/or get his neck stretched. I would have have shot him down and I know this for a fact. I would not have been able to live with myself if I let the guy live. If my gunner was killed by an IED and I caught a guy that I was sure triggered the blast he would regret the day he met me- he would remember our interaction for the rest of his life but he would probably live to rot in Abu Graib for a while and/or get his neck stretched. Their is no real difference- hypothetical soldier is still going home in an aluminum box but there is to most of us a big- huge difference and we're not sure why. I guess that is why the subject intrigues.

  

  Here, a couple of flowers for you.

  
  
  
• I am dangerously close to 50 and riding a bike indoors is still one of lifes simple pleasures.
• Yesterday (10/03/2013) I randomly saw FG outside of the home and/or a planned meeting. We bumped into each other after she left work. It was oddly slightly strange.

  

  One more couldn't hurt.

  
  

  

  I have always been intrigued by bamboo and believe it is underutilized in the west. Traditionally, it should be given to you as a gift if you intend to grow it and not bought.

• The Rifleman episode I am watching now (10/05/2013 @0633) features a young and very good looking Adam West as a school teacher turned gunslinger. That show has aged very well. I still enjoy it and can appreciate the sweet morality tales it provides. You know really, it covered redemption, alcoholism, single parenthood, second chances...- in the 1950s and interestingly, Lucas McCain always tried to use non violent methods first to resolve problems.
• A connected thought: if you had been told the actors playing Lucas and Mark were actually father and son in real life you would absolutely not have been surprised such was their chemistry.  Anyway, what a sweet old show.

  

  I don't know what this is but it makes my skin crawl.

  
  

  

  FG has to use a clipboard, calculator and stopwatch at work. A little Velcro and a storage clipboard with a calculator and voila! I'm not through yet though- I have an idea to make it hold her papers better and keep everything organized in the storage compartment.

  
  

  

  The Trek bike my buddy gave me. When he told me I could have it I asked him to bring it to me as I don't have a pick up. He said, What else do you want me to do- ride it for you? Hey buddy, sarcasm is my thing. I gave him 20 bucks for his trouble and to keep him from whining too much.

  
  

  

  Sophie the pup.

  
  
  
  
  

  

  Nice legs.

  
  

  

  Gag- such a beautiful body style ruined with tacky decals and stupid looking wheels.

  
  

  

  This pic doesn't do this guys cammo any justice.

  
  

  

  Mediterranean gecko on the porch ceiling. They're an interesting migrant to Texas that arrived in shipping containers years ago in Houston and worked their way North. Interesting because they don't do any harm that I'm aware of- they eat insects and they don't spread disease. As far as I know they are innocuous and beneficial. They don't even harm or displace native wildlife. Heck, predators here eat them when they can.

  
  

  

  FGs dumb cat loves baths

  
  

  

  Umm infected implanted studs are hawt!

• People at work come to me to treat their boo-boos and get ibuprofen and get second opinions from what they were told by their doctors. And then of course there was the one who after closing the door behind her said, Kev can I ask you something between you and me...?  Anyway, her scumbag boyfriend was unfaithful and gave her something she didn't deserve.

  

  Paper wasp nest. The maggots taste buttery and sweet- kinda like whole kernel corn that wiggles in your mouth.

  
  

  

  Our South of the borders friends have discovered Turner Falls. It has been trashed and vandalised over years like no park setting I have ever seen. The city of Davis doesn't appear to view itself as any kind of steward of the land and it's wildlife- it is their Golden Goose.

Friday's Dispatch

• I have no idea how many bikes I have owned. With some effort I can account for most of the cars but not bicycles. It must be at least 50 but I could be convinced the number is closer to 100. 
• The headlines related to the shutdown are, good News for furloughed Workers- They May Get Back Pay ! Good grief, this whole thing has been so dishonest- they weren't ever not going to get back pay.
• Another related thought: instead of beating each other up over the thought of causing another recession by prolonging the shutdown how about making the economy less dependent on the government? Every way you make it more dependent on the government, the less sustainable you make it. We would be surprised how awesome things would be here if we rebuilt our manufacturing sector, made waste, fraud and abuse scarier than it is worth to the miscreants and got out of the way of the productive segment of our society.
• Insane: Congress sucks up 10,000 dollars an hour or 77 million dollars a year. I cannot comprehend that, or more correctly- I cannot justify it to the common sense side of my brain.
• Tonight (10/05/2013) is the star watching party at Mineral Wells State Park. Drats, I just looked at the weather- cloudy and humid. What are the odds?
• Recently a patient tried to manipulate me to get what she wanted by acting interested in/attracted to me. I saw right through it but was oddly and slightly hurt by her actions. She also lied to other staff when she returned to clinic saying I OKd some special treatment. It was bothersome because among other reasons she didn't have to jump through those hoops- I would have done the same thing to help her and things were going to work out the same regardless. 
• There is a show on now about doomsday prepping. One of the featured people built a shelter that cost 700 thousand dollars. While he was away from his undisclosed location thieves stole his generator which was buried, set in concrete and covered with a concrete slab. So much for undisclosed- anyway, spend half the fortune spent on those things, build a nice house in the country with a basement and/or a storm cellar to survive a tornado. That way when you survive the apocalypse or a nuclear or biological attack that is never, ever going to happen you will have money to finance your retirement. 

Monday's Missives

Inside of friend-girls hand?

Pardon me while I spray this tree.

I forget what this kinda comical looking guy calls his home species.

Left turn Clyde

One more reason to not buy cheap crap. It may end up in the water or otherwise downstream from you where it will be an eyesore for too close to forever.

• Carolyn Wonderland No Exceptions.
• The past few years I have seen multiple articles related to the impending doom of wristwatches. People point to the fact everybody uses a phone to tell the time making a wristwatch archaic. I know numbers purchased are down but the first thing that comes to mind is the fact there have been new factories opened to make watches- notably at least a couple in the US. Wristwatches aren't going anywhere. PS to that- pulling a Smartphone out of your pocket to check the time is literally and absolutely comparable to pulling a pocket watch out of your pocket- except way more troublesome and cumbersome.
• I just read producers are giving beef  cattle a drug to boost muscle mass and therefore weight so more money will be made off the animals at slaughter. A side affect is fat is not gained along with the muscle so the meat is less flavorful. Big producers are going to make it so much easier for people to make a fortune with grass diets and no additives for their animals. I promise you a  producer who does that will not be able to keep up with demand soon- if that is not already true.
• The SEAL who shot Bin Laden could write his own check working for any military contracting company- literally he could start a bidding war. My guess is he could drag down around 200-250K per year without breaking a sweat. He may be medically retiring though so, I guess that could hurt his options. Also, he is unlikely to want to leave his family for long periods. His book deal would absolutely be worth some millions and over his lifetime if he had any talent, his speaking fees would be worth as much. It seems though he wants to make a point for other vets.
• It means a lot when somebody compliments me on pictures I take and hurts my feelings when someone else says, What do you expect? That high dollar camera does all the work!