victory (horoscope)

for tomorrow:

"Why be so modest when the whole world is singing your praises? Okay, maybe not the whole world -- but a significant enough group of people for you to feel like it's the world that's responding. This is a wonderful time for you, when people are finally paying attention to all the good stuff you're doing and recognizing what a good person you are. So accept their applause and take another bow -- you deserve it. Things are going to start happening now. Get ready to make some tough decisions and be busy!"

i am ready!!

conspiracy talk now fact (as forecast)

like the real id, public-private partnerships are no longer just conspiracy talk ...
------------------------------
(conspiracy talk) ...

PPP
January 15, 2011

“Public-Private Partnerships – when private industry provides public services for profit. The original taxes for the services remain in place, but a duplicative “service for FEE” structure is added. It is FASCISM, and it should NOT be considered as a solution to the State’s budget woes. It promotes monopolies and destroyes small business. If the stakeholder is not a shareholder, he has no voice.”
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/ppp
------------------------------
(conspiracy talk) ...

Pete Domenici
March 19, 2011

"It's like losing a war to Hitler. And they say in advance: what would it be if you lost a war to Hitler? Well I don't know. We didn't.  We never lost one. But you want to try? To most of them they say: No. But looks like they want to try on this one." (Pete Domenici)
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/pete-domenici
------------------------------
(conspiracy talk) ...

November 29, 2011
http://www.nmpolitics.net/index/2011/11/newspaper-criticizes-abq-racino-lease-process/comment-page-1/#comment-22232

Public-Private Partnership to Boost New Mexico Jobs
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:
Until June 30, 2011

“SANTA FE, N.M. —The New Mexico Economic Development Department (EDD) and the Galvin
Electricity Initiative signed on to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that creates a public-private partnership to maximize the economic benefits of the New Mexico Smart Grid Initiative and other activities related to electrical grid modernization. The agreement covers specific activities, including assessments of technical progress, policy analyses and public education and outreach.

“New Mexico is establishing this cooperative partnership with the Galvin Electricity Initiative because we believe the pursuit of smart grid will create jobs for both current and future generations of New Mexicans,” EDD’s Secretary Jon Barela said. ”
http://www.galvinpower.org/media/releases/public-private-partnership-boost-ne
------------------------------
(conspiracy talk) ...

erikhawkes
January 17, 2012 • 8:05 am

Listening for “Public-Private-Partnership.” (New Mexico State of State Address 2012)
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/ppp
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/political-translation
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/april-15-2011-our-economy-is-not-recovering
http://www.nmpolitics.net/index/2012/01/watch-the-state-of-the-state-address-here/comment-page1/#comment-23102
------------------------------
(conspiracy talk) ...

How PPP's Really Work
June 27, 2012

https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/how-ppps-really-work
------------------------------
(conspiracy talk) ...

return on investment (ppp)
December 20, 2012

"whenever government (or media coverage about government) uses the term ROI, they are preparing you for public-private partnerships ... (they are building the public lexicon) ... only under fascism does government partner with business to make money off the public (i.e. return on investment)."
http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/12/return-on-investment-ppp.html
------------------------------
conspiracy talk now fact (as forecast) ...

[local news story]
NM to lose jobs in face of fiscal cliff
December 28, 2012

"There's ways you can look at new ways of partnering, new ways of doing business," said Casey DeRaad of the Phillips Technological Institute, a networking agency for public-private partnerships in the defense industry."

"We need to be prepared for that, and this New Century Jobs Agenda gets us prepared," Barela.
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2880166.shtml?cat=500
------------------------------

like the real id, public-private partnerships are no longer just conspiracy talk.

http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/12/conspiracy-theorist.html
http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/12/three-manufactured-themes-we-all-know.html

three "manufactured themes" we all know

boxing gloves (romney obama post-election luncheon)
http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-boxing-gloves-another-manufactured.html

fingers (second 2012 presidential debate)
http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/10/party-colors-at-presidential-debate.html

chair (clint eastwood 2012 republican national convention)
http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-finger-part-2.html

the boxing gloves (another manufactured theme)

on november 29, 2012 mitt romney visited the white house oval office for a private luncheon with newly re-elected president obama ...

the universal photo of this meeting shows mitt romney standing in front of the president's desk (on the left), shaking hands with president obama (on the right) ...

every news network focused on two boxing gloves in the far background ...

not one person pointed out that romney and obama were standing in the wrong places ...

obama should have been in front of the presidential desk ... not romney ...

i believe the boxing gloves are another "manufactured theme" ... sequel to the empty chair ... where it was the throat-slash gesture from clint eastwood that was important, not the empty chair prop where the imagined president (obama) was sitting.

in this case, if you didn't already know who won the election, you'd think it was president mitt romney.

again, not one person pointed this out ... that cannot be an accident ...

it was concealed by a manufactured theme.


http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-finger.html
http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-finger-part-2.html
http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-finger-part-3-bird.html

with a horoscope like that

with a horoscope like that ... i won't be doing anything risky today or tomorrow ...

horoscope for next week:

The legal system has a role in your day on Monday, though most likely it's not like something out of a cop drama. You may just need to deal with City Hall, which is considerably easier to handle. Throw around big ideas in the middle of the week, especially around the workplace but anywhere you get to interact with peers. Once you've got a good-sized list of options, use your time on Thursday and Friday to really think each one through and come up with the best one. You should know you've made the right choice by the end of the weekend, and should be quite happy as a result.

we'll see about the rest of it.

... or monday! ... i won't be doing anything risky today, tomorrow, or monday ...

whew ... they almost got me.

engine of the world

i am seeing economic regions as circles with spokes ... maybe there are three of them, maybe many more ... now take one circle and stretch it to form a line ... on that line is ranked every country (the spokes) within that economic region ... on this particular line the countries are ranked from least freedom to most freedom ... from left to right... least freedom to most freedom ... ok, now imagine all the circles being lists of countries ... now all those circles with all those spokes really are spirals and where they touch each other, they roll ... and that is the motion of history ... as one country moves left or right within a list, within a region ... and where a region perhaps spirals down, or another spirals up ...

i think it may be possible to create that map of ... what, the engine of the world? which direction is your spiral spinning? where is your country within the list? what defines the region? a currency? an army?

can large regions shatter into many smaller regions? ... like when currency collapse occurs.

i imagine so.

cow doing a farmer's blow

i saw this big, black, mama cow use the front bumper of this truck to blow her nose today ... first closing the left nostril and blowing, blowing, blowing ... and then switching to close the right nostril and blowing, blowing, blowing ...

then she just looked at me, like ... what?

since i started counting everyone everyday, they don't even move when i walk past them ...

the other day, this little one just stretched, farted, looked at me, and then went back to sleep.

-1F (first morning below zero)

this morning was the first morning below zero ... -1F ... breaking the ice at the drinking tank usually takes 30 minutes ... today it took 45 ... (i usually break the ice at 8 am and the cows come in around 9) ... by 8, it had already warmed up to 20F and i  actually got too hot wearing all my winter gear ... snow boots, snow bib, snow coat, insulated gloves, and a furry sheepskin hat that velcros under your chin ... i was sweating ...

i called for papa cat last night, and then again this morning ... i kept thinking ... if it gets dangerously cold, he will come in the house regardless of my presence ... but he did not ... he is still out there under the floor boards of the small barn in the corral ...

i hauled some water this afternoon ... tomorrow i'm getting wood ... today's high was mid 40s ... tomorrow should be about the same ... and not so cold in the morning.

another old-timer's phrase (20dec12)

... "wilder than a shithouse rat" ... yes-sir ...

return on investment (ppp)

[local news story] 'New Mexico True' campaign has 3-to-1 return
"The New Mexico Tourism Department said their latest campaign has tripled its return on their investment."
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2872756.shtml?cat=500
-----------------------------------
no ...
it is at best 3.6-to-2.5 return
it is at worst 3.6-to-3.7 return
-----------------------------------
a state tourism department's marketing campaign cannot generate return on investment because there was no investment ... the department purchased a marketing campaign ... it was an expenditure ... the investment is in the tourism department itself ... the investment is the department's budget.
-----------------------------------
"Back in April, they hired a Texas firm to do the work on the "New Mexico True" campaign.  It cost around $1.2 million dollars and the Department says they have seen $3.6 million dollars returned in state and local taxes."

"Monique Jacobson from the Tourism Department is asking the State to double its budget for next year to $5 million dollars."

budget = 2.5 mil
campaign = 1.2 mil
$3.6 mil returned in state and local taxes.
-----------------------------------
the only question is whether or not the 1.2 mil cost of the campaign was included within the department's budget ...

if it is, then they made 1.1 mil on investment of 2.5 mil:
ROI (nm tourism dept) = (3.6-2.5)/2.5 = .44
... they made 44 cents on every dollar invested ... not 3 dollars on every dollar invested as the article claims.

if it is not, then:
ROI (nm tourism dept) = (3.6-3.7)/3.7 = -.03
... which is negative ... meaning, they did not bring in enough taxes to cover the department's cost to the state.
-----------------------------------
return on investment = (gain from investment - cost of investment) / cost of investment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_on_investment
-----------------------------------
The purpose of the "return on investment" metric is to measure per period rates of return on dollars invested in an economic entity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_on_investment
-----------------------------------
whenever government (or media coverage about government) uses the term ROI, they are preparing you for public-private partnerships ... (they are building the public lexicon) ... only under fascism does government partner with business to make money off the public (ie. return on investment).
-----------------------------------
Public-Private Partnerships – when private industry provides public services for profit. The original taxes for the services remain in place, but a duplicative “service for FEE” structure is added. It is FASCISM, and it should NOT be considered as a solution to the State’s budget woes. It promotes monopolies and destroys small business. If the stakeholder is not a shareholder, he has no voice.
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/ppp
-----------------------------------
under the us constitution, the government derives its powers from the consent of the governed ... it does not say government above the people ... we are not subjects or slaves ...

specifically, it says:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

the power structure is bottom up, not top down.
-----------------------------------
... "It's like losing a war to Hitler. And they say in advance: what would it be if you lost
a war to Hitler? Well I don't know. We didn't.  We never lost one. But you want to try? To
most of them they say: No. But looks like they want to try on this one." (Pete Domenici)
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2005349.shtml?cat=10106
Eye on New Mexico - March 6, 2011
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/pete-domenici

the morning sacrifice

"Now, we hear a terrified eyewitness calling for help while staring down the barrel of a gun." ... (excerpt from lead story on local news website).

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2871566.shtml?cat=500

wow ... i see you all salivating now ...

this is not news worthy ... this is the morning sacrifice ... start covering stories that affect everybody ... public-private partnerships ... the real id act ... a cashless society ... the emergence of a full blown police state.

bush started it ... obama is going to finish it.

the Today show (nbc morning show) used to hold their morning sacrifice at approximately 8:20 every morning ... see if you can spot the air time for the morning sacrifice on your preferred channel.

obstacles to survival (unlicensed)

unlicensed alcohol sale
unlicensed tobacco sale
unlicensed firearms sale

unlicensed food sale
unlicensed drug sale
unlicensed milk sale

unlicensed wood sale
unlicensed game sale
unlicensed water sale

unlicensed gasoline sale
unlicensed propane sale
unlicensed electricity sale

unlicensed burn

unlicensed labor

winter coat for 10 cents

i just scored a winter coat for ten cents ... well, the winter coat itself cost 10 cents ... throw in some gas and a few incidentals and it cost 20 dollars ... but still, excellent coat for 20 dollars ... polar star ... it's not the super high end line that google images pulls up ... but perfect for me.

according to wunderground there is an 80 percent chance of snow both tonight and tomorrow here at the ranch ...

the timing could not have been better ... last week i got the winter boots and lined work gloves ... then today i got the winter coat ...

so the test for my winter clothes will be tomorrow morning ... there is a good chance that i will be breaking the ice at the drinking tank while in the snow ...

do people use ski pants when it gets much below zero? ... it's not forecast to do that tonight, but it might be something to consider getting for later ... something i could put on over jeans ... or some wool socks ... hmmm ... or a face mask ...

can you imagine it being so cold that you need a face mask? ... i did that -25 F in the east mountains a couple years back ... there, it lasted for one day ... here, i am told, it was -25 F for two weeks.

i think i will also go find where papa cat is sleeping and see what i can do to make him a warm bed and to protect him from coyotes ... i already hear those bastards howling.

180 proof cherry

[a friend] loaned me a dvd the other day ... "the last one" (2008) with popcorn sutton ...

Summary:
"Filmed in the mountains of North Carolina, The Last One is a journey deep into Southern Appalachia, and Appalachian culture, as seen through the lens of a mason jar. Lifelong moonshiner Popcorn Sutton returns to the southern highlands in his treasured A-Model Ford to seek a suitable location to run one final batch of traditional bootleg whiskey. Through the laborious process of clearing a site, building a furnace, brewing corn mash and distilling high proof moonshine, Sutton reveals the craft of traditional distillation as practiced by his forbears and reveals a lifetime of memories in the trade. Written by Neal Hutcheson" 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334253/

i especially liked the part about gaging the proof of the whiskey by the size of the bubbles ... these old-timers would take a half gallon growler full of moonshine, tilt it sideways, shake it, and then watch the size and action of the bubbles ... they would then cut it with water until the bubbles were the desired size ... they were aiming for 100 proof ... while straight from the still is 180 proof ...

i was mentioning some of these highlights from the movie to a local old-timer here ... he confirmed the bubble link to alcohol proof ... he said the smaller the bubbles, the higher the proof ... he didn't know anything about a blue tint for the 180 proof stuff ... he said it was mostly just white ...

well ... it turns out that through connections it is possible to get some of that 180 proof home brew around here ... i was told that it just takes eating one cherry that has been soaked in the 180 proof alcohol to get you drunk ... i will hunt down a 180 proof cherry and report my findings.

Augustin Plains Ranch (public-private partnership)

private ownership of the public water supply is very bad ... where's the news media coverage of all this? they've not said a word about this proposed project being a public-private partnership.

silence!
----------------------------------
"Augustin Plains Ranch has put forward a proposal for a water project to withdraw 54,000 acre feet per year from under the Augustin Plains, transport it to Socorro by pipeline, then north to the Albuquerque area."

Mountain Mail Thursday November 29, 2012 Vol. 32, No. 11. (pg 16)
Town Hall Meeting, Magdalena Senior Center (tuesday, 11dec12, 6pm-8pm)
----------------------------------
New Mexico Environmental Law Center, Bruce Frederick represents those opposed to the project.

“... we will continue to work to protect New Mexico’s most precious resource from those who
wish to monopolize it.” (Frederick)

"The state engineer denied Augustin Plains Ranch’s application for several reasons,
including that the application omitted basic critical details required by law — how, when,
where and in what quantities the corporation intended to use water."

http://www.dchieftain.com/2012/11/21/court-denies-augustin-plains-ranch-appeal-2
----------------------------------
below are the answers to the state engineer's questions (how, when, where and in what quantities the corporation intended to use water)

"Augustin Plains Ranch has put forward a proposal for a water project to withdraw 54,000 acre feet (quantity) per year (when) from under the Augustin Plains (origination; where), transport it to Socorro by pipeline (how), then north to the Albuquerque area (destination; where)."

so those are not the reasons for the denied application ...

the real reason for the denied application is that this project is structured as a public-private partnership and the laws necessary to make the project legal and viable are still being written ... water is publicly owned ... and to grant the right to 54,000 acre feet of water per year to one ranch owner so that he can then pump it to the albuquerque area and sell it at a profit requires some fancy language ... (every other rancher is entitled to 3 acre feet per year) ... (one acre foot ~ 326,000 gallons).

if you can't open this link:
http://www.nmlegis.gov/LCS/handouts/Augustin-Plains-Ranch-Water-FINAL-3-25-11.pdf

try this one:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:_Ls_sDdEI-YJ:www.nmlegis.gov/LCS/handouts/Augustin-Plains-Ranch-Water-FINAL-3-25-11.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESi9uGvrU6iKcinVcB3ianuYR_n1ijsTukV7WRXIyskOin1ZSynedH1T75K2YoWIoSwYaaYK41OkSW2aqZAtu3Ry1LBL5Ir3Ol6skvELW7SfZyYoEmhnNMk4gHXo7eek6s2bVWFF&sig=AHIEtbT1mhJ9EpbShgza3cpCbpZL4AXwSw

imagine owning a neighboring ranch on the augustin plains ... your well at 300 ft ... there's at 3000 ft ... all 37 of them ... extracting 2000 gallons of water per minute from each well ... filling a 54 inch pipeline running to socorro ... imagine that ... how long before the water table drops and your well goes dry?
they claim never ... can you believe that?

Public-Private Partnerships – when private industry provides public services for profit. The original taxes for the services remain in place, but a duplicative “service for FEE” structure is added. It is FASCISM, and it should NOT be considered as a solution to the State’s budget woes. It promotes monopolies and destroys small business. If the stakeholder is not a shareholder, he has no voice.
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/ppp
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/how-ppps-really-work

the city of albuquerque (pop. 552k) consumes 100,000 acre feet of water annually ... this project proposes to extract  54,000 acre feet of water annually (for 300 years) ... and to sell it to you at a profit ...

they tried this in argentina ... once the ppp began charging people for collecting water in cisterns on their rooftops, that's when the trouble really started.

[a friend] adds ... See the san luis valley colorado water war over the last 25 years as an example of people over privitization. Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting over.

first cold night 2012 and papa cat

last night was the first cold night ... 3 F ... though you wouldn't know it inside ... yeah baby ... it took a little bit of chopping this morning (with the ax) on the drinking tank.

i am a little concerned about papa cat ... he is an orange tabby that lives out by the corral in one of the side houses ... i have been putting out crunchies in a bowl on the picnic table ... and he has fattened right up ... but otherwise he stays to himself and runs when he sees me.

last winter i stayed out here for a month or so ... during that time papa cat and mama cat were sleeping together in one cat bed in the freezer room ... the same room where mama cat and the kittens now stay ... however, papa cat has been banished or something, because he is never around.

mama cat and the four kittens went out to play at dusk again today ... it really is amazing how they stay together when they go outside ... they have a really tight family.

i wonder if papa cat will be allowed in the house when it gets below 0 F? ... i wonder if mama cat will allow it? ... i don't have a problem with it ... i might even feel better about it.

[the neighbor/relation bro] said that it is normally much colder, much earlier in the year ... he said that this was a late start ... but that it should just get colder from here on.

well, if so ... so be it ... the delay worked perfectly for me.

take what you can get (take it all)

i went wood cutting yesterday with [a friend] ... we were cutting cedar and i was collecting the entire tree ... even the small branches that others leave behind ... he asked me if i was going to burn those smaller pieces and i said yes ... i told him that a couple of years ago i was staying at [another buddy's place] and we burned old construction debris ... so even these smaller branches of cedar were cherry in my eye.

i remember ... [that bro back then] found the wood on craigslist ... it was free to whomever would remove it ... and it was everything from two by fours to plywood ... we packed it all ... took it to his place and piled it up in the backyard based on cleanliness ... the wood without nails goes in one pile ... the other stuff over there ... and of course you start with the clean and work your way down.

we had a metal garbage can that we would fill up from the wood piles in the backyard and then take in the house to burn ... it would be blowing snow ... and you'd be back there with the sledge hammer breaking two by fours and stuffing them into the garbage can ... wind blowing ... hurrying to just get the can full so that you can get back in the house ... it was pretty rugged, but, hell, we managed ... and it was warm once the fire was going ... and more importantly it was free.

i didn't go into all this detail while we were cutting wood yesterday ... the construction debris term was enough for [the friend] ... when he heard that he simply said ... i guess you take what you can get.

so now i am in a warm house and i have a stack of cedar logs on the front porch ... and a pile of smaller cedar branches five feet further ... and i can burn those smaller pieces during the day while i am up and at the computer ... and i can burn the thicker pieces at night when i want more time to sleep and less work to tend the fire.

2 old-timers phrases

"bug eyed as a bullfrog in a hail storm" ... (new to me) ...
"useless as tits on a boar hog" ... (in case i forgot to write it down) ...

be sure to use these phrases locally ... hahaha

another shopping disappointment

wednesday i went to [the big city] with [the neighbor/relation to the rancher] ... he and the family raise prize winning long-horn cattle and cut wood to heat their house ... he had his allergies tested ... they told him he is allergic to trees and beef ...  he told them to [expletive] off ... hahah

i returned that hiking backpack i got a couple of months ago ... once i started looking at it to describe on the blog i realized that it had a false bottom in it ... it couldn't support any weight (though i bought it for the end of the world and said so then) ... so i got a pair of sorel winter snow boots instead ... maybe just in time for winter too ... i see that tomorrow morning it is supposed to be 3F.

i also purchased a liner for my elk hunter sleeping bag ... the bag itself is very warm and it will meet my needs at the ranch ... but it is probably too bulky to pack ... the liner is supposed to keep your bag clean by enabling you to wash just the liner ... however ... once again, i was disappointed ... the liner does not zip to the bag like a liner to a jacket would ... it is just another bag to put inside the sleeping bag ... and it does not have a slit on the side so you are more restricted than just the sleeping bag itself ... of course, you were not able to see these details until after the purchase and you opened the packaging ... i doubt i will ever use this liner ... though i will probably not take it back ... lesson learned ... i will stop buying anything that i do not fully investigate first ... everything is a con ... believe it.

hope for the future

i was talking with [a new bro] the other day ... i was simply explaining the dark patch ahead ... and he actually said ... that he hopes he is dead ... before that happens ...

it took me by surprise because he is a young, strong, upstanding, country, christian ... with a family ... and i was like, what? really? ... then the bad guys win ...

... you gotta fight the bad guys.

animal control (part 2)

Bernalillo County makes changes to animal law

"County residents no longer can keep their dogs on a "cable trolley" and must get a
microchip implant for their dogs and cats."

"Matt Pepper of the Bernalillo County Animal Care Services says animal control officers
actively will be enforcing the ordinance."

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2858991.shtml?cat=500
----------------------------
Think about that:

Actively enforcing an ordinance which mandates microchiping for all dogs and cats.

Knock knock ... i am with animal control and i am here to scan your animal ... no valid id means citation.

(knock knock ... who's there ... animal control ... animal control who? ... animal control your ass if you don't show me some id ... for the dog and the cat ... )
----------------------------
animal control - no valid id (chip)

1."to protect and serve for the animals" [animal control officer (ppp?) ]

2. no license on record for animal (state)

3. [informant program (partnership)] to report any animal violations please call ...

4. warrantless entry (violation of fourth amendment)

5. scans animal for id chip

•  valid id (chip) -    proof of license (taxes paid)
•  no valid id (chip) - no proof of license - citation

a growth industry ...
another ppp?

american fascism.
privatizing your enslavement.
one database at a time.

http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/12/animal-control-no-valid-id-chip.html
http://adventuresofagreenhorn.blogspot.com/2012/12/conspiracy-theorist.html

conspiracy theorist

[local news station] did a story about the state drivers license no longer being acceptable identification for boarding an airlines beginning in january ... the real id act is the reason ... their story aired at the beginning of december ... they should have been investigating and reporting the real id act for the past 7 years.

• "The REAL ID Act of 2005, Pub.L. 109-13, 119 Stat. 302, enacted May 11, 2005, was an Act of Congress that modified U.S. federal law pertaining to security, authentication, and issuance procedures standards for the state driver's licenses and identification (ID) cards, as well as various immigration issues pertaining to terrorism."
• "The law set forth certain requirements for state driver's licenses and ID cards to be accepted by the federal government for "official purposes", as defined by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Secretary of Homeland Security has currently defined "official purposes" as presenting state driver's licenses and identification cards for boarding commercially operated airline flights and entering federal buildings and nuclear power plants."
• "As of April 2, 2008, all 50 states have either applied for extensions of the original May 11, 2008 compliance deadline or received unsolicited extensions."

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REAL_ID_Act

-----------------------------
i then sent this sarcastic email to [local news station]:

to [them],

talking about the real id act means you are a conspiracy theorist ... next you'll be talking about the national defense authorization act of 2012.

[me]
-----------------------------
[me]---

     I wasn't even working on Monday.  How can I be a conspiracy theorist?

[news anchor]
-----------------------------
[news anchor],

The only news that matters today is all labeled conspiracy theories ... which should by itself prove the point.

If you counted all the webcams at every traffic intersection state wide, how many are there and who monitors them? FBI fusion centers or somebody else? yet another public-private partnership? PPPs are straight fascism ... in which the state sells a monopoly to a private company and then provides the muscle to collect. Why is there no questioning of authority today? Instead there is only blind obedience. Tell [this reporter] and [that reporter] to investigate meaningful topics. Those tattle-tale investigations of theirs resemble the 8th grade.

Where are the FEMA camps?

[me]
-----------------------------
i'll let you know if this conversation goes anywhere ... i figured, if you can't bring them to the discussion with logic and reason, then hook them with their own guilty conscience ... when one person says to another: "you are a conspiracy theorist," in a derogatory manner ... it is actually a reflection of themselves ... what they mean is ... yes you are right ... no i will not agree ... instead i will go along with the powers that be ...

be careful with that person, because they are willingly ignoring the truth ... they are either scared into compliance or have always been a bully and like power trips.

what we need to do is switch today's negative connotation of "conspiracy theorist" to a strong positive meaning ... like, wear a baseball hat that proclaims "Conspiracy Theorist" proudly on the front ... (maybe sell them) ... what would happen if suddenly you saw thousands of people wearing black baseball hats with big white letters saying "Conspiracy Theorist" on them?

start a fad?

phishing scam

i got a text message on my phone early this morning, saying:

Fr: zpwtbtgbicsqsy@bestbuycashcard.net,
Thanks for being a member of Best Buy. You have been chosen for a Complimentary Gift Card! Your Code is: t357 http://www.bestbuycashcard.net Dec 4, 4:44 am

it looks professional ... however, the last time i was at best buy was two years ago ... and i am suspicious about everything ...

so i searched best buy cash card ... and google suggested best buy cash card scam ... and i found a discussion board ...

one individual said: "Just got a scam text from 4253813590 saying to go to some site and enter code 6655 to get my $1000 best buy gift card. I'm on the DNC [do not call] registry as well." ...

another said: "it's a definite scam to steal personal info....don't be a schmuck lol." ...

how many people go to the url in the text message rather than running a search?

i knew [a friend of a friend] three years ago who fell victim to the “Fake Check” scam described in the link below ... it took me 20 seconds to run the search and find this link but it was too late ... she had already gone to her bank, withdrawn the money, and lost $5000.
http://info.pch.com/consumer-information/fraud-protection

the scary thing is ... one day the scam will be too good and fool everybody ... like dylan says ... steal a little and they throw you in jail .. steal a lot and they make you king.

i am thinking about the federal reserve, a fiat currency, fees for checking ... a digital wallet ...
and i have concluded ...
that they are not on your side ...
any of them.

first time water hauling

my water hauling days have begun ... today i hauled three loads of water to the ranch ... about 1500 gallons total ... it takes about one hour round-trip per load ... or three hours total, today ... and that should last us 5 days ... say, until saturday or sunday.

i think this was my first time towing a trailer too ... jeez, so many firsts.

here's how it works ... you have two hoses ... one hose goes from the water source to the pump and the other hose goes from the pump to the tank on the trailer ... the pump sucks from the bottom and pushes from the top ... so when you are filling the tank on the trailer, the order is: water source to hose to bottom of pump (sucking) and then hose from the top (pushing) into the tank on the trailer ... when you get to your destination and want to unload the water from the tank on the trailer to the tank at the property, the order is (reversed): tank to hose to bottom of pump (sucking) and then hose from top (pushing) into the storage tank at the property ... each time you suck or push you have to switch the two hoses around so that you are either filling the tank on the trailer or unloading it ... its only two connections, no big deal ... (you do have to close the valve to the tank on the trailer when it is full before you disconnect or switch the hoses.)

oh, and you have to make sure that you prime the pump with water before sucking ... just fill it with water from the top before connecting the hose ... and be sure to drain the pump after you are done (drain plug underneath) so that water does not freeze inside the pump and break it.

there are people who make a living hauling water for retail sale in this state.

the dying television

i think the television just died ... the first tv that was out here used to take about 3 hours to warm up ... so i'd turn it on at 3am and by 6am i could watch the news ... that got old fast, and cost a lot of electricity ... so [the rancher's wife] gave me another tv to bring out here ... but then something happened to the digital receiver ... and i could only get one channel ...

i found that if i dropped the receiver box a bunch of times and let it kind of rattle around that the tv would first display a "weak signal" message and then flick on ... but you still couldn't change the channel ...

well, now this morning, the installation guide is displayed on the screen and the ok button will not work on the remote ... so, i am stuck with no way to click next page to progress the installation ... hahahha ...

the dying television.

(grooving to dylan ... street legal ... new pony)

little horse (native phrase)

in college i drank natural light ... kegs and cases at parties ... then i went to europe and drank skunk beer like heineken and grolsch ... later in life i discovered micro-brews ... and finally i returned to the occasional domestic ... specifically little horse.

alamo navajo say:

budweiser: big horse
bud light: little horse

though i doubt budweiser wants to use that in any marketing campaign since alcohol is illegal on the reservation.

animal control - no valid id (chip)

animal control patrol (pets.tv hd nbc)
seaaca (southeast area animal control authority; south east los angeles)

[animal control officer]
young girl cop ... badge, belt, uniform

scans animal for id chip
"to protect and serve for the animals"

law enforcement
"proof of current vet care or citation"
----------------------------------------
seaaca (southeast area animal control authority)
http://www.seaaca.org/

"... to improve the service level rendered by private and public animal welfare agencies."
http://www.seaaca.org/about-us/history-of-seaaca

"•Enforcement of city and state laws pertaining to the proper care and treatment of animals."
http://www.seaaca.org/about-us/city-licensing

Is seaaca a public-private partnership? It sure looks like it.
----------------------------------------
santa fe county animal control

having a valid pet license …
… will reduce fines if your pet is picked up.

license fees:
altered animal - $8 per year
un-altered animal - $100 per year
http://www.sfhumanesociety.org/detail.cfm?PageID=40
http://www.santafecountynm.gov/sheriff/animal_control
----------------------------------------

1."to protect and serve for the animals" [animal control officer (ppp?) ]

2. no license on record for animal (state)

3. [informant program (partnership)] to report any animal violations please call ...

4. warrantless entry (violation of fourth amendment)

5. scans animal for id chip

• valid id (chip) -    proof of license (taxes paid)
• no valid id (chip) - no proof of license - citation

a growth industry ...
another ppp?

american fascism.
privatizing your enslavement.
one database at a time.

jbi (just be it)

"don't dream it, be it" (dr. frank-n-furter; rocky horror picture show)

you want to be the best artist, analyst, creator, liberator? ... just be it.
you want to do whatever the best, be the best whatever ... just be it.

don't fake it, just be yourself ... without fear... forget everybody else ...
know your peers ... know the subject ... speak clearly and boldly.

they may still not understand you ... that is not in your control ...
the pressure is off ...
it is only you now.

cedar firewood on the front porch

ha-ha ... i've now got cedar firewood on the front porch ...

i went cutting yesterday with [a friend] and his wife and youngest boy ... they led in their truck, i followed in ours (on loan from the rancher's brother) ... i think i heard something about it being [X] miles or so from here ... i didn't think to check the odometer ... i was told the gages didn't work in that old chevy ... and blindly went along with it.

i remembered:
extra 5 gallons of gasoline
extra car battery
jumper cables

i forgot:
truck water
drinking water

(you are always preparing for the worst out here.)

where we were was really in the middle of nowhere ... considering, that the ranch is itself in the middle of nowhere ... it could have well been the 1800's with bandits and marauders hiding behind the nearest rock outcropping ... if there had been, nobody would have been there to help us ... though i am wising up and now carry a pistol nearly all the time.

i think yesterday was the second time in my life using a chainsaw ... the first time was for just one day last year at another local ranch ... i'm sure that i'll get much more practice in the months ahead.

[the friend] taught me that with cedar, you want to do as much cutting as possible with the tree/branch standing ... that way you don't have to work to keep the limb off the ground while you are piecing it ... since hitting the ground/soil/rocks with the chain dulls the chain and is a big no-no ... (it sure makes it a lot more work when you are holding the saw out in-front of you or above your head.)

[the friend] and his wife and kid also scouted for elk ... they showed me the tracks, scat, bedding ... one trail was so warn it looked like a highway ... elk scat looks like large milk duds ... a bunch of them poured on to the ground ... and if it is soft, and smushes between your thumb and index finger, then it is fresh and current.

it's no list, but i can now identify scat from: coyote, elk, cow, horse, goat.
... and i need to learn: deer, antelope, wolf, bear, mountain lion.

[the friend's] wife said that there are also now hybrid coyotes out here ... the result of coyotes breding with domestic dogs ... they are larger than normal coyotes ... more like a wolf ... and i think she said that they are especially aggressive.

everybody to new mexico (the hippies are coming)

"A New Mexico Drug Policy Alliance proposal to erase criminal penalties for small-scale possession of marijuana is on the Thursday, Nov. 29, agenda for the Legislature’s interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee."

..."allow adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana with no repercussions and impose civil fines for up to 8 ounces."

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/112812Pot

... and according to KOB 4 (tom joles), anything more than 8 ounces to infinity would be a misdemeanor with a max penalty of $1000.

three on the tree (well update)

i heard once that people survived the great depression by working together ... one family might score some meat, and invite the entire building to dinner ... while another family had the only functioning bathroom, so everybody would use the facilities there.

as you know, two weeks ago the well went dry ... today the rancher's brother loaned us a spare pickup truck and his water hauling trailer ... it can suck up 500 gallons of water in 5 minutes ... i can now haul water, myself ... and we can wait until spring to fix the well, if we must.

this also means that i can go cut wood ... the rancher left me his chainsaw the last time he was here ... and now i have a truck too ... it is a late model 4 wheel drive chevy, with a 3-speed manual column shifter ... that is another first for me ... i gave it a try, seems to be fine.

the rancher's wife says she learned to drive with three on the column ... she said if i show up tomorrow at their other residence, i can work in the yard to earn some gas money too.

so there you have it ... all the needs have been met ...
water, cows, wood, house, me.
thanks to the rancher, his wife, and the rancher's brother.
three on the tree.

new old-timer's phrase (new to me)

"going to see a cat about a dog" means going to take a piss ... hhahaha ... i'm pretty sure ... i need to verify.

whereas, to kill a dog means to take a shit. hahahhh.
who comes up with this stuff?!

fracking, dripping faucets, and pilot lights

we've all seen those videos where people light on fire the water coming from their kitchen faucet ... blamed on fracking ... well, now we are seeing homes blow-up in the midwest ... and i am wondering  ... are they dripping their faucets? do they have a gas appliance with a pilot light? ... and could the same fumes (methane) which are combustible in those videos accumulate in a home with a dripping faucet?


Methane:

• the main component of natural gas
• at room temperature and standard pressure, methane is a colorless, odorless gas.
• methane is not toxic; however, it is extremely flammable and may form explosive mixtures with air.
• as a gas it is flammable only over a narrow range of concentrations (5–15%) in air.
• methane gas explosions are responsible for many deadly mining disasters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane

CAN YOU DO THIS WITH YOUR TAP WATER?
http://youtu.be/U01EK76Sy4A

finding linny boyette

"that black guy in the today show audience."

i think it is hilarious ... it's like find waldo ... only it's linny ... he's probably been there longer than matt lauer.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Linny-Boyette-That-Black-Guy-in-the-Today-Show-Audience/186277367843

the cat preserve, a shared residence

it's twilight ... dusk ... and the cats are enjoying the ranch house yard, like they do every morning and evening ... playing chase, and tag ... doing ninja kicks ... and stalking each other. i have never seen cats this energetic before ... they literally play games ... mama cat will lead the troop to some spot in the yard, and everyone will play there ... maybe, climb a tree ... pick up a rock ... chase your brother ... whoa ... watch out ... her comes mom ...

they were here first ... they are tolerating my presence ... hahahah ... when i sleep in the back room, they are in the room next door, and there is no door between us ... they stay in their cat-pile on their cat bed, watching me go to bed ... just eyes in the dark ... (i use a flashlight) ... then they get up and have a bite to eat, or a drink ... i hear them in the dark ... all pitter-patter ... slurp slurp slurp ... crunch crunch ...

but i aim to win them over ...

yesterday for thanksgiving i gave them three scrambled, uncooked eggs ... just golden, sweet, gooyness ... and, of course, they loved it ...

i thought mama cat was going to lick the color off the plate.

well went dry

the well collapsed and/or went dry ... it is a very old, uncased well ... and most drilling operations will not touch an old, uncased well ... this one needs to be cased, and then deepened by another 100 ft ... the rancher thinks he has found somebody to do the job, but they cannot come out until next spring ...

for the past week, we've been hauling water for the cows, while trying to dig out the bottom of the well with these contraptions called bailers ... we were not successful ... [the rancher] thinks he will have to sell most, if not all, the livestock ... the rancher's brother is thinking about doing the same thing, but for more general reasons ... too old, too tired, too little rain ...

needless to say, all water at the ranch must now be hauled from the brother's well [X] miles down the road ... and be brought into the house by buckets ... tonight i bathed with water heated in a kettle on a wood burning stove  ...

i hope the rancher can work something out with his brother ... i told him i'd watch all the remaining critters he and his brother keep ... i really feel for him ... this is a terrible situation.

either way, a winter at the ranch without running water, will make this experience more extreme.

al roker and the christmas star

still working on the well after three days ...

al roker (nbc) was just talking about lighting the star on top of the christmas tree at rockefeller center ... he said ... at 9 o'clock, the star gets lit ... at 9-0-5, i get lit ... hahahah

media confession (flavored)

this morning, on nbc's today show, [a journalist] revealed that fruit pieces in popular breakfast cereals, waffles, pancakes, etc ... are fake ... the pieces are in fact flavored balls of sugar and oil ... and whenever you see the word "flavored" it is a magical word which means "true but not true." he highlighted the contrast between the fruit images on the front of the packages versus the ingredients on the back of the packages ... and apparently some of those fruit images are suggested supplements to the cereal ... that you can add ... not what is actually in the box ... hahahhaha ...

that is called a lie ... fresh fruit does not equal sweetened, flavored balls of oil ... but it is legal.

everything is a lie ...

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you will learn and labor.
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that's the future i see.

first snow 2012

winter is here ... last night's low was 20F, and it snowed ... about 1/4" ...

i moved my subzero sleeping bag to the couch, next to the wood burning stove ... i needed to check on the fire during the night any way, and why not? ... i was pretty comfortable ...

i think i got up three times to tend to the fire and check that the faucets were still dripping ... though i don't know what i would do if they weren't ... look for a hair dryer real quick, maybe ...

winter came on real quick ... last week it was 70 or 80F and now it is wood burning stove, dripping faucets weather ... i still need to go get wood ... a neighbor/relation to [the rancher] has offered to take me with him the next time he goes to cut wood ... i'll certainly take him up on that ... my little four-banger wouldn't hold much ...

it's strange when you move to the country and see only pickup trucks ... and there you are zinging along in a city vehicle ... with city tires ... and city ground clearance ... just an accident waiting to happen, right?

i helped move the rest of the rancher's winter hay today ... it was me, the rancher's stepson, the rancher, the hay guy, his son, and his grandson. since the rancher is currently without a truck due to those elk, the hay guy came through with delivery of the hay ... very generous of him and all his ... they even helped us unload and stack it ... the job was done very quickly, which was good since it was rather cool out.

the hay guy had a ford f-250 diesel with a 120 gal tank ... yep, 120 ... he said he could go 2000 miles between fill ups ... now that is country.

biden's notes

today (8nov12) on inside edition they discussed brittney spears and her role as a judge on some singing show ... the hosts were asking whether or not she had an earpiece and was being told what to say ...

funny thing is ... [my brother] thought he could see an earpiece on both obama and romney during the third debate ... and remember biden's notes? ... (oct 11, 2012; vice presidential debate) ... was he actually taking notes from somebody in his ear?

and [my mom] thought she could see something in obama's ears during the dnc ... some strange bumps on the ears.

does everybody now have an earpiece and a handler?

links my brother sent:

Third presidential debate (Part 3): America's role
http://youtu.be/VE7Z7-aztOw
strange bumps left ear

Obama's ear piece in the 3rd debate and his head scar ( = brain surgery?)
http://youtu.be/mIdxclx0b0s

growing a story (PR)

a press release is fake news that is pushed to become real ... it is written by a pr agent or the subject itself ... it is an attempt to seed the news or to cultivate an interest ... a pr agent will often write the article, distribute the article, and nurture its acceptance through a network of personal contacts ... it is growing a lie.

"Churnalism is a form of journalism in which press releases, wire stories and other forms of pre-packaged material are used to create articles in newspapers and other news media."

"The decline of original journalism has been associated with a corresponding rise in public relations."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churnalism

Where are you on the spectrum?

subject / pr agent / reporter / journalist / analyst / activist / leader

a consumer?

roadkill-elk

a couple of weeks ago [the rancher] went elk hunting with one of his stepsons ... sounds like they had a really good time ... lots of bonding stuff ... but no elk.

then this past weekend [the rancher] was headed out here, to the ranch, for his nearby deer hunt ... and on the way he runs into two elk ... literally ... may have totaled his truck ... was able to limp it back to his other residence with two elk in the bed, but it died there.

[the rancher] kept the larger of the elk, and gave the other away ... the one that i helped him dress and quarter took us all day ... then we brought it out to the ranch the following morning ... it was probably a 600 lb cow (female) and yielded 150 lb of meat ... we ate the neck last night ... [rancher's wife] cooked it in a an electric roaster of some sort ... it was damn good.

the only store nearby (about 10 miles) has elk jerky for sale... it is $8.25 for 1.825 oz ... or $4.52/oz.

it was the first time i have ever helped dress any animal ... the skinning takes quite a while ... the gutting, less ... but it was the weight of the animal, as with everything on a ranch, that was the persistent issue.

a proper host

al roker on nbc is such a riot ... today they were showcasing the star buck's  coffee cup design for the holidays ... they were asking whether or not it was too early to roll out the holiday decor ... one male co-host said that christmas decor was acceptable beginning the first day following halloween ... the female hosts were saying there wasn't enough cream and sugar for their display/samples ... al roker was saying that a real friend would have added a shot of rum to the coffee display/samples ... hahahha.

According to Wikipedia:
A Carajillo is a Spanish drink combining coffee with brandy or rum.
There are many different ways of making a carajillo, ranging from black coffee with the spirit simply poured in, to heating the spirit with lemon, sugar and cinnamon and adding the coffee last.
A similar Italian drink is known as caffè corretto.
The American version of a Spanish Coffee uses a heated sugar rimmed Spanish coffee mug 3/4oz rum and 1/2oz triple sec. The drink is then flamed to carmalize the sugar. 2oz coffee liquour is then added which puts out the flame, and then it is topped off with 3-4oz of coffee, and whipped cream.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carajillo

mmm ... i think al was right.

something bigger than yourself

today is the three year anniversary of my father's passing ... he was 60 ... i turned 40 just a couple of months ago ... if i had had a child at 23 like my father did, then i would have a senior in high school right now ... that is unimaginable to me. at 23, i was in paris; i know to whom i'd be married.

my father died from esophageal cancer and bone cancer ... he had always had bad heartburn ... in march his shoulder started hurting, in august he was diagnosed, and in october he passed ... he didn't smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs, work near toxic chemicals or mine. the only thing i can think of is he drank a lot of diet sodas.

outcomes like that tell me that you must always follow your dream, follow your passion ... be true to yourself ... because you just might get that first fatal ache tomorrow or suffer a heart attack today at lunch.

if you can be gone so quickly, then always be fighting for something bigger than yourself.

i imagine that is the purpose for having children ... for continuation ... but if both commitments begin at the same time, and i must choose between one or the other, then i will follow my path first, and worry about having children second.

RECs and solar in New Mexico, baby! ... Unfortunately, a new beginning does require an ending, first.

Next up: the ending.

prowler beware

yesterday i strung up some fishing line inside the gate where i thought a possible intruder had entered the ranch house yard ... today, the line was broken ...

so i went to town and borrowed one of [the rancher's] city dogs, one that likes to bite people ... he comes with a spike collar and all ... now he and i are on alert.

[the rancher's wife] told me a story about a developmentally slow kid who moved out this way, not too long ago ... maybe 40 miles from here ... he was murdered at his home ... found hog-tied and hanged from the front porch.

prowler beware ... if i encounter somebody in the dark tonight, inside the house yard, i put your chances at zero.

unknown excrement

found some unknown excrement outside, 5 ft from the house ... inside the fence ... maybe a coyote ... i did hear a coyote call last night at about 3 am ... looks like it has fur in it ... however ... then i noticed that the side gate was open ... it has a chain, and a post that slides into a ring ... it was open, and a wooden post that had been leaning against the top of the open gate was thrown outward to the ground ... hmmm ... not sure a cow or the wind could do that ... somebody might have been snooping around ... possibly last night ... i found a couple wipe marks on a back window like a hat brim accidentally hit the window and brushed the dust off ... and if i wanted to sneak up on this house it would be from the back road where that gate is ... hmmm, we'll see ... i have multiple loaded firearms surrounding me when i am at the computer ... so no big deal ... but i might just chamber a round in one or two of them in the evening hours when i can't hear what's going on because i have dylan too loud ... hahhahahah...

[the rancher's wife] brought it to my attention the other day ... that i am three miles off the nearest highway, in the middle of nowhere, in a house that is not visible from the street, and miles from the nearest neighbor ... if somebody knocks at the door at night, especially if i didn't see lights drive up, i will take precautions.

i remember a period of time in my life years ago ... i was living in a shady motel for a couple of months with my first cat while my living arrangement and job unravelled ... it was in the middle of the night (also about 3 am), when somebody knocked at the door ... i don't know what i was thinking ... but before i did think i had opened the door ... and was asked if i was [me] by a middle aged white guy ... i said yes, and was promptly served.

i will not do that again ... it might not be papers next time.

living in opposite world

everything is a con ...
everything is gmo unless you buy organic ...
everything is double unless you opt out ...
everything is less than you hoped, thought, expected, were led to believe.

it's the lenses which cost extra.
it's the box spring which costs extra.
it's the shrinking size.

it's the fake, less than 100%, imitation, plastic, everything.
it's the off-white footnotes at the bottom of the ad.
it's the double meaning, double speaking, improper urban vernacular and yet defensible lawyer speak.

it's everything ...
that which i repudiate.

I heard David Gregory a couple of weeks ago on Meet the Press use the present tense to describe a past event; and then describe the current situation using the past tense.

i have my eyes on all of you ... i will wait you out ... all of you.
i see you ... even if you successfully hide it from everybody else ... i see you.
this lie, these secrets, our fall into fascism.
the art of success ... where everything is a lie.
chief's overtime.

wishing for gloves

ask and ye shall receive ... i have agreed to help clean up a friend's rental trailer today ... i was just thinking, damn, i wish i had purchased those gloves the other day ... the grey cloth type with the rubber dots ... i used to use those when i was doing the furniture moving gig ...

fifteen minutes later, i am in the kitchen, i turn around, and there is a brand new pair, up on the wall, just as desired.

they are undoubtedly [the rancher's] gloves... i will take care of them or replace them (they cost maybe $3).

sweet.

homemade apple pie

talk about being at the right place at the right time ... i had to go to town to get a few things, and i stopped by [the rancher's] other home on the way ... it turned out that he needed something taken care of also in town ... so, in exchange for taking care of a little paperwork for him, [the rancher's wife] baked me an entire homemade apple pie ... using apples from their tree. it's fantastic.

i remember hearing that david bowie once said that people will one day crave the feel of wood ... as if seeking authenticity within an increasingly artificial and sterile world.

i imagine that is a lot like coffee, pie, and ice cream ... where value is determined by context ... and contrast.

i think i'll have another slice now.

party colors at presidential debate

obama is wearing red, romney is wearing blue ... is today the day the parties switch back? ... because both candidates didn't get it wrong ... they both knew which color tie the other guy was wearing tonight (second 2012 presidential debate).

hahahaha ... it's the matrix ... a deja vue type glitch ...

Party colors at first 2012 presidential debate
republicans RED                   democrats blue

Party colors switch at second 2012 presidential debate
republicans blue                 democrats RED



instead, the talk is all about the fingers ... (the manufactured theme)

Party colors switch back at third 2012 presidential debate

republicans RED              democrats blue

remember ... historically, republicans are blue tending towards fascism ... while democrats are red tending towards communism ...

the reason it is not that way today is because the us has been living in opposite world since 2000.

https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/red-is-blue

the finger part 3 (the bird)

Did Joe Biden Give Paul Ryan the Finger in Vice Presidential Debate?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzGbCH7xiIA&feature=em-share_video_user

So. Yes. Eastwood gave the throat cut sign to Obama (see part 2) and Biden gave the bird to Ryan.

And yet every media network would have you believe that the empty chair prop is the object of interest.

The empty chair is likely a "manufactured theme." Heard the term just today on Meet the Press.

the finger part 2 (throat cut)

I asked my brother to find the link, and here is what he sent me.

[Brother]: You got it ... 9:45 mark ... eastwood says "when someone doesn't do the job, we gotta let him go" ... right hand, pointer-finger, left-to-right throat cut ... and the crowd goes wild!!!!

Other interesting notes ... he calls Biden a "grin with a body behind it"... hahahha ...

I remember when you mentioned The party color switch in 2000 ... well eastwood is wearing a blue tie and also some guy in the audience had a blue elephant foam hat on ...

Clint Eastwood RNC Speech (COMPLETE): Actor Assails Obama Through Empty Chair
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=933hKyKNPFQ&feature=em-share_video_user

Clint Eastwood's Throat-Slicing Moment at the 2012 Republican National Convention
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYjXIA0nyS4&feature=em-share_video_user

Red is Blue
https://sites.google.com/site/erikhawkes/Home/red-is-blue

the finger part 1 (not the empty chair)

the finger ... not the empty chair ... it was the line drawn across the throat that i remember from clint eastwood at the rnc ... tonight i saw biden give ryan the bird ... somebody should check my memory.

overcoming fear of the dark

afraid of the dark? what exactly is it that could attack? a cat? a black, muscular, gigantic 6 ft long black panther? all claws and muscle and teeth ... or was it a dog ... a badger ... a raccoon ... a person ... diving from the dark on to you with a knife ... a bear ... a scientific experiment from dean koontz ... a mountain lion ... a bear ... what was it again ... something with a bunch of claws ... snorting or growling ... i can't remember ... why would somebody be in the dark about to strike ... there is nothing there ... i mean, really?

trust the silence ... isolation ... distance ... protection ... safety ... chill.
play more dylan or waits.
where're your blublockers?
ahhh...

scary education

knowing what you know about the true american history since 2001, the stuff that is kept silent, though understood ... those subjects that kind of turn your stomach when you hear them ...

i am not talking about the failings of the 911 narrative itself, i am talking about everything that has followed ... like americans torturing, preemptive strikes, tsa checkpoints or the loss of privacy, personal and electronic ...

imagine being a student ... imagine having to memorize narratives that you know are lies ... and being tested on them ... talk about torture ... you can feel the authoritarian control just thinking about it ... has anybody actually looked at a high school american history textbook lately? i bet 911 is not open for discussion ... that is not the agreed upon path.

i know that in this state, they have armed police officers in the schools ...

Now, what were your answers, again?

cow kisses

i just saw a mama cow swabbing her calf just like mama cat does to her kittens ... mama cow with her great, big, long, tongue started on one side of the little heifer's neck ... and the calf stretched her neck, chin up, turning to one side and then the other ... letting mama cow get both sides ... then bowed her head towards the ground as mama cow got her forehead and then down the back of her neck ... and then back up ... kisses, kisses, kisses, kisses ... it was quite affectionate ... the little heifer is nearly as tall as mama cow, and probably half her weight ... i thought that stuff would have ended long ago ...

kittens on front porch with grasshopper

the kittens are on the front porch exploring the world ... all kitten fuzz and sunshine and all ... they are playing on the remnants of last year's wood pile stacked at the front door ... mama cat with her permanent bedhead hairdo watches over everybody... the sun is rising fast but it is still just 38F outside ... weatherman says that this sunday could be cooler ... possibly 20 degrees cooler on the eastern side of the state ... it'd better not be 20 degrees cooler here! ... i still need to get this year's firewood; and [the rancher] still needs more hay ...

whoa ... the black kitten has caught his first grasshopper ... not quite sure what to do with it ... kind of just swatting it around ... mama cat and the other kittens have now joined in and encircle the grasshopper ... watching it limp along ... every once in a while getting a swat from a kitten ... poor grasshopper ... not a fast death this time ...

i don't know if the grasshopper got away or not, but the kittens kind of lost interest and are now playing in the grass ... doing cat wheelies and jumping over the tall sticks ... and, hey, mama cat just brought them another grasshopper! ... i wonder if she caught the first one too?

the cows just came in for their morning drink ...

mama cat appears to be giving personalized tutoring to the white/black kitten ... she is watching from behind as the kitten plays with the new grasshopper.

mama cat is white, short-hair, with a calico colored shaw draped over her ears and back (tortoiseshell-and-white)... she has some longer wisps of hair sticking out everywhere almost like the kittens and their fuzz ... mama cat always looks like she just got out of bed ... which is essentially correct.

there are four kittens: one black, one white/black, and two brindle

now all the cats are anxiously watching the cows in the holding pen (they are taking turns at the drinking tank) ... and a bird is angrily chirping from above ...

well, way to go, although the white/black kitten has given up on the grasshopper, one of the brindle kittens is chomping away at it ...

mama cat has now spotted me through the window ... she is sitting on the front porch watching me stand at the kitchen door.

picture over, cats gone.

how to watch political news shows

begin by assuming that all the talking heads are lying to you ... the politicians, the media anchors, the analysts ... all of them ... understand that they all receive talking points ... nobody is speaking off the cuff ... they only look like they are thinking ... this is why many responses begin with the word: "so" ... the more they think they know, the more subtle they pretend to be ... and the subject is never addressed directly ...

now, your job is to catch the lie ...

the newbies (irregular guest or novice politicians) are always fun ... they have a tendency to veer off message and to get excited ... saying things that cause looks of alarm from the others ... you will never hear a veteran politician or newspaper correspondent say the phrase "911 was an inside job" ... but you might hear it from an excited newbie ... also, watch multiple networks, both left and right wing shows (ex PBS and FOX), just like you would multiple sports games, and you will still hear the same talking points from both sides ...

it is all a charade ... if you want to know the direction of the country, regardless of which party is in office, simply make a list of all the unspeakable subjects ... those silent answers are the agreed upon path.

see: "no party for you"

hamburger with salt on dry toast

my two favorite choices for dinner and losing weight are:

1. one 1/3 lb fried or grilled hamburger with salt on dry toast
2. one can of chunky soup with four pieces of dry toast

both choices have low gas/electricity cost for meal preparation, and big hunger satisfaction for low caloric value ... it seems that condiments have always only been there to encourage faster eating and over eating (just like high fructose corn syrup makes you thirstier) ... try a "dry burger" and see if you don't find it juicier and more satisfying than one like you used to eat 'em ...

i ate one of those two choices for dinner, had corn flakes with whole milk for breakfast, and drank ice water, and lost 60 lbs in 8 months ... yes, i was moving furniture at that time, but i really believe that this meal regimen helped as well ... there is no thinking involved, it is easy to stick too, you eat the same thing, all the time, and the portions are controlled for you ... that is the key part ... in much of the world, that would still be living like a king.

if the cows-to-truck ratio falls from 142:1 to 10:1 as mentioned in a previous posting, then that dry burger at home will still cost you $25-$30 ... that might be affordable for some on a friday night, beer drinking, radio jamming, upper-middle class kind of way, but will be devastating for just about everybody else.

be ready and able to run when you have to.

i lost 60, re-gained 20, and aim to lose those 20 again this winter...i will keep you informed.

cows babysitting

it is true. cows will babysit eachother's calves ... one cow will watch a group of calves while the other mothers grab a bite to eat somewhere else ... it is obvious when you see it, and a little unsettling too ...

what i want to know is...is picking the sitter a group decision? ...and do they take turns? or do, like, four cows run and the fifth cow not paying attention gets stuck with all the calves .... hahahahah

i suddenly feel like i am in a farside comic strip ...

well, it turns out that i have been seriouly slacking ... i only just counted the herd today, and i have been back for two weeks ... when in fact i should be counting the herd daily ... [the rancher's wife] says that once i begin counting everybody everyday, i will learn to recognize every animal, and know which calf belongs to which mother, who is missing, and who is the trouble maker, and who are best friends, etc...

i will investigate this cow babysitter selection process and report my findings.

142 cows / one 2012 pick-up truck

[one local old-timer] told me that in 1949 the price of one pick-up truck with deluxe cab and heater was 10 cows ... he said that his 2012 pick-up truck cost him 142 cows ... imagine, if we were to return to the 10:1 ratio from today's 142:1 ratio, then the cost of beef at the supermarket would increase 14 times over ... that would be $100/lb or more for beef ... most restaurants have a markup of 300%, which would mean a $75-$100 cheeseburger at a fast food joint ... or a stew pot with one pound of beef serving four or more people on a special occasion only ...

today's silver spot price is about $35/oz ... 35x14= $490 which isn't really that far away from my ultimate price target of $599/oz for silver ...

with a shortage of rain, a shortage of hay, and an ocean of quantitative easing by the fed, i expect that we will soon see dramatic commodity price inflation.

200 bales of hay

today i helped load and unload 200 two-string 70 # bales of alfalfa hay...

for the loading, it was me and [the rancher's stepson] on top of the trailer while the alfalfa farmer's worker used a tractor with a hay grapple attachment (or hay bale stacker) to lift 6 bales at a time to us ... we simply repositioned the bales on each level and built our way up 6 levels ... the first level had 38 bales turned up on their side, and then each of the next 5 levels had 32 bales, regular way, and criss-crossing each level, for a total of 198 bales sewn together on one twenty foot trailer ... it wasn't bad ... but i cringed when i heard that those hay stackers are a new gizmo and that [the rancher's stepson] has in the past done this same job by hand ...

the unloading was equally cherry ... a best case scenario ... there were three of us for unloading at the first location ... and four of us at the second location ... the fourth guy was a new friend of [the rancher's stepson], and had just moved to town from connecticut ... he learned today why ranchers wear long sleeve shits after he scraped and poked his arms with the hay ... i understood quickly after i arrived here that the long sleeves are protection from things that can poke you and protection from the sun ... the hat is additional skin cancer prevention ... or simply, to keep you from burning your neck and ears ...

i grew up in florida ... land of sun and beaches ... and yet i never really used sunglasses until i moved out here ... you've got to have a hat, sunglasses, and at least 30 spf sunscreen or else you will cook.

divining a horse's age

materials: one gold ring (ex. man's wedding band), one strand of hair from the horse, either mane or tail (preferably with root), one glass of water filled halfway.

procedure: thread the horse hair through the gold ring and hold from the top allowing the ring to rest at the bottom of the loop of hair...lower the ring into the half-filled glass and suspend about one inch above the water ... remain as still as you can ... the ring will begin to swing ... count the number of times the ring hits the side of the glass for equivalent years of age for the horse.

i have been told that witching for water, either for waterlines or well placement, is fact and not fiction around here ... witching a horse's age?  i might need to see it a few more times ...

salt and water

two things you've probably never heard of:

1. dowsing for a grave site
2. putting salt on watermelon

and yet, somehow, i'm the strange one out here.
----------------------------------

below are two excerpts to consider.

"Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites,[1] and many other objects and materials, as well as so-called currents of earth radiation (Ley lines), without the use of scientific apparatus. Dowsing is also known as divining (especially in reference to interpretation of results), [2] doodlebugging[3] (particularly in the United States, in searching for petroleum[4]) or (when searching specifically for water) water finding, water witching or water dowsing.[5] There is no accepted scientific rationale behind dowsing, and there is no scientific evidence that it is ffective."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing

"The first time that I had a slice of watermelon with salt on it, I was skeptical. At the time, an acquaintance of mine insisted that it would make the watermelon sweeter, better. I gave it a try and I was an instant convert to salting my melon. I’ll eat watermelon (and other melons) without that pinch of salt, of course, but my friend was right: watermelon is better with salt."
http://bakingbites.com/2011/08/does-salt-make-watermelon-sweeter/
----------------------------------

i say, regarding the dowsing, a lot of people here swear by it ... ranchers dowsing waterlines ... i have heard one oldtimer claim his grandson can dowse grave sites ... supposedly, the d.o.t. uses it too ... i will let you know when i experience it first hand ... same with salting watermelon.

trust silence

i noticed a while back that, out here, i snap to the sound of a vehicle before i see it ...
the silence is so vast, the sound of a motor really stands out ...

i thought about that one night when i was feeling a little apprehensive ... alone at the
ranch, in the dark, miles from neighbors ... but then i remembered the truck example ...
and i thought, why be afraid of seeing something that i have not yet heard or felt? ...

silence is like a web of motion detectors ... trusting silence is the opposite of fearing
darkness

Rule 1 - trust silence...you are safe in silence
Rule 2 - when there is noise, listen, don't look

this attitude helps when you find yourself in vast darkness ...

starring cats

back in august i found some cats down in the basement...after i cleaned the basement, they
moved upstairs to the shop...i have not yet cleaned the shop...so they are "hiding out" there...

but i did clean the freezer room...which i have a direct view of from the kitchen window ...
it goes:  kitchen...shop...freezer room...so, whenever i am standing at the kitchen sink i can
see through the shop to the freezer room...and to all the activities going on there...

you see, now that it is clean, there is space to play, bounce, frolic, and do what kittens
do...and i placed a cat bed in direct eye shot of the window (what i really need to do is
to put up streaming video from a webcam or something)....it is quite entertaining ... there
are four kittens and one mama cat...they are mostly feral, with a cat bed ... caught
between two realities...one of crunchies, fresh water and a litter box...the other, self-
sufficiency... hunt, kill, eat...reality...

yesterday i saw mama cat carrying a large grasshopper in her mouth outside...she took it
inside to the kittens...the four of them were playing in the cat bed...when she gave them
the grasshopper, three of them went into action, became killers, eating it...but one just
stretched out in the bed...looked lazily over at the others...couldn't care less ...hahhahaha
...you gotta think that mama cat thinks i've corrupted her child ... hahahha

pack and bag

last weekend i purchased a Teton Elk Hunter -35F sleeping bag...it rocks...and a hiker's
backpack...the Kelty Redcloud 90 which features the CloudLock 2 adjustable suspension ...
hahhahah....i never even thought about backpacks and bags before this past summer...i did
one tour with the forest service fighting wildland fires and know that you gotta have that
waistbelt and back support...you would die without it....

i've been sleeping in the bag every night since i got it...figured, i now don't need to
worry about finding enough blankets...half tempted to pack my new backpack, and everything
that doesn't fit throwing out...i hate having more stuff than i can move by myself in one trip...

t-shirts and jeans from a vending machine...then what would we need? just barracks and a
smartphone?...that would be ideal, i just don't want big brother

i spent five or six weeks out here at the ranch last winter...but last winter was very
mild...my gut said so then, and i saw a meteorologist explaining why a couple of days
ago...

the year before last, 2 years ago, it registered -34F and was colder than anchorage alaska
that day...

i should probably still get some insulated boots...when i purchased the pack and bag, [the
rancher] thought i should get boots before the pack...i chose the pack first because i do
still have some nice redwings i used with the forest service...figured, i could
double/triple sock it ... but they might not be exactly water proof for snow...hmmm

no party for you

You are not welcome in either the republican or democratic party if you are:

against dhs
against tsa
against patriot act i, ii
against ndaa 2012
against iraq war
against afghanistan war
against guantanamo
against abu ghraib
against bush
against obama
against public-private partnerships
against israel
against fascism
against communism
against religion
against drones
against federalizing police
against warmongering
against attacking iran
against antagonizing russia
against antagonizing china
against antagonizing venezula
against antagonizing north korea
against sacrificing our troops
believe 911 was an inside job

long overdue visit

wow...so, i started with going to visit the grandparents...it'd been more than 20 years, sorry to say...i caught their 66th wedding anniversary...had the mono-a-mono talk with grand-dad...he reminded me that our first family ancestor in america arrived in 1630 and that every first son since then has had a first son...for something like fourteen generations...and that i am holding up progress...

it was very green...misty, foggy over the mountain in the mornings...or "ridge" as my grandmother has apparently said... and wet, even when sunny...trees everywhere...college town...i ate and drank well..i watched the republican national convention...i stayed at my step-mother's...argued about politics and the future price of silver (100 then 599)...saw my uncle and his wife too...listened to him and my grandfather discuss military medal clusters that are available if you call the dealer at home on sunday...

i then got to visit my mom and brother...watched the democratic national convention...watched down by law and the rum diaries...swam in the atlantic during heavy surf...got treated to a bunch of free over the top pampering...ate well, drank well..saw my mom, who never drinks, get wasted...which was a first...she giggles a whole lot...

just got back...i stopped at walmart and bought 60 or so cans of soup...then visited with [the rancher and his wife] before coming out to the ranch...yes, i enjoyed the visit very much...i am now grooving  to infidels, man of peace...got a hot cup of coffee...think i'll light some incense...