10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Happy New Year!

The coolest thing just happened. I was setting up a poll feature on my blog and while I was still messing around with it, somebody already voted! Great! Thank you. Not even sure where you're from, because within those few minutes I had people from all over viewing my web site (Wausau, San Jose, Madison, Liguria Imperia Italy wherever that is, and a few other places).

JR, Stumpjumper, and I had a great ride in the Black River State Forest today. Lots and lots of snow. The groomer was going over the trails as we were riding, but we never actually saw it. Quite often we came upon freshly groomed trails. Trouble is, I think they were using the same drag that they use in the summer without a packer on the back, because it didn't pack the snow very well. We almost wished that they weren't grooming, since it made the trails so soft.

I can't say enough good things about the little Hawkeye on it's first real winter trail ride. It never missed a lick and kept up to the big boys with no trouble. Until I traded with JR for the last mile of trail. That new Sportsman of JR's is one awesome machine. No comparison even to the old Sportsmans. I was feeling a little sheepish at first, and wished I hadn't rode that thing. But then I realized that the Hawkeye sits lower to the ground, feels the bumps and ruts of the trail better, and is a little more work to ride. It gives you a much "fuller" riding experience that way, right? Way different than riding a couch down the trail. Now I feel better again. Ha ha!

Can't wait to go again, soon!

NEW YEARS COMET: After a 13.6 year absence, Comet 8P/Tuttle is once again traveling through the inner solar system and on Jan. 1st and 2nd it makes its closest approach to Earth--only 24 million miles away. The emerald-colored comet will brighten to a predicted magnitude of 5.8, visible to the unaided eye from dark-sky sites and a fine target for backyard telescopes.

My most memorable blog posts of 2007 in chronological order:

2/16 Where's my dollar?
2/18 Do I have E.S.P. or what?
2/18 A webmaster says goodbye.
2/18 Chicago UFO sighting.
2/23 Does my helmet make me safer?
3/16 Happily married!
3/16 The new ATV comes home.
4/9 Finally someone with my view of Global Warming.
4/14 A highway that I'd like to travel someday.
5/8 The best thing since the VCR.
5/20 The Hawkeye's first real trail ride and review.
5/29 An endangered species worth protecting.
6/27 My homemade winch mount.
7/24 The Hawkeye model only two years old and already lost it's name.
7/30 Trying to help but nobody cares.
8/10 A deck truss bridge.
9/1 Another helpful post but nobody cares.
9/3 My record-breaking ride.
9/10 A satisfied customer.
9/25 Glad to be heating with wood.
10/2 The Hawkeye's break-in service.
10/23 Trick-or-Treating on the ATV routes.
10/28 I spot the comet.
10/30 Proof positive that careful tree harvesting should be the rule.
10/31 My favorite holiday!
11/17 Deer season arrives.
12/1 Winter arrives.
12/21 Letter to Santa.
12/27 Santa delivers.

The Simpsons Movie is ha ha funny! Here's a few scenes:

I've been thinking a lot lately about our decision to sell Mom's house. Even though we all would like to keep it for sentimental reasons (half of us were born there and we were all raised there), I'm confident we are making the right decision. I look at it this way: If the people that owned the place before Mom and Dad, way back when, had decided to keep it forever, Mom and Dad would have never had the opportunity to buy it and raise their family there. Why should we be selfish, keep it, and not give someone else the chance to care for it as their own home and maybe raise their family in it? None of us need it, we all have our own homes that we're raising our families in (some of us have kids that our grown and have homes of their own now). It may never turn out that way with a young family in it, Easton is pretty much a retirement community now and Adams County as a whole is rapidly dying, but at least someone else will have a chance to care for it and live in it instead of it standing empty indefinitely.

Just started snowing here and it's coming down pretty good! A predicted 3-4 inches. 4 inches and I'll have to plow driveways again, 3 inches maybe not.

'so big it could swallow a bulldozer'. It's the world's biggest digging machine, built by German firm Krupp. This mechanical beast measures 300 metres long and weighs 42,000 tonnes - it's used for open cast mining. OOPS!

"Why are Quads and Fish blogs such a strange mix of interesting, innovative issues and utterly mindless trivia?

Oh yeah, it's a blog."

Finally some good news, mostly. I called planning and zoning and was able to catch the head guy in his office. He apologized for taking so long. He says that Mom's house/lot is rebuildable if something should ever happen to it. Although not in exactly the same spot where it is now, or the same size, but it is rebuildable. He will put that in writing and have it for me next week after the holiday, which I can then produce for any potential buyers.

Great! I left a message for my real-estate agent and once I get it in writing, maybe we can finally proceed.

Scientific knowledge has seemingly been prized by the inhabitants of every culture, known and unknown. Rock engravings, which may be as old as 60 million years, depict in step-by-step illustrations an entire heart-transplant operation and a Cesarean section. The ancient Egyptians used the equivalent of contraceptive jelly and had urine pregnancy tests. The cement used in filling Mayan dental cavities still holds after 1500 years.

No fabric is supposed to have been found until Egypt produced cloth material 5000 years ago. How, then, can we deal with the Russian site which provides spindle whorls and patterned fabric designs more than 80,000 years old?

Not only did the ancient Babylonians appear to use sulphur matches, but they had a technology sophisticated enough to employ complex electrochemical battery cells with wiring. There is also evidence of electric batteries and electrolysis in ancient Egypt, India, and Swahililand.

Remains of a metal-working factory of over 200 furnaces was found at what is now Medzamor in Russian Armenia. Although a temperature of over 1780 degrees is required to melt platinum, some pre-Incan peoples in Peru were making objects of the metal. Even today the process of extracting aluminium from bauxite is a complicated procedure, but Chou Chu, famous general of the Tsin era (265-316 A.D.), was interred with aluminium belt fasteners on his burial costume. full story

Mr Pope said that while he was initially sceptical about UFOs, access to the classified files and investigation of a series of spectacular UFO sightings - mainly by police and military personnel - had changed his mind. full story

In the pages of this Web site you will hopefully be led on a journey that will show you the entire known history of how the most powerful man in the world has dealt with the most highly classified secret of the last century. In short, this is the story of how the President and the White House have dealt with the mystery of UFOs. http://presidentialufo.com/

I finally made it! It took me a few days, and I invented a way to bypass that stupid override button temporarily when I need to, but I finally got my main woods trail opened up. Still too much snow to do much more out there than take pictures, but at least the deer will enjoy it for a few days before it's snowed shut again.

On about 500 feet of my trail we allow snowmobiles. Of course, as soon as I got on that little stretch I met a few snowmobiles. I waved and smiled like I always do (they almost always smile and wave back). The lead guy stopped and gave me such a dirty look. Who the hell does he think owns the land that they're riding across? Some of these modern city snowmobilers have no clue, with their pretty little pants and their fancy little helmets. He should not assume anything, but keep his dirty looks to himself. Personally, I'd be afraid to confront a "local" out here in the middle of nowhere. It's not like the city where there's a cop on every corner to save you if you get yourself into a bad situation. I didn't bother to stop and explain it to him, it wouldn't do any good anyway. I just kept going the last few feet before my turnoff.


They don't use snow fence across the road from my house. It doesn't do anything. They go out in the field and plow around and around and around. That helps some. When I took this picture, the grader was stuck. He got out right away though.

Castle Rock Family ATV Club Newsletter:

Dear CRFAC Members and Interested Parties:

The following is the next three CRFAC scheduled events:

Club Annual Meeting: The 2008 CRFAC Annual Meeting be held on January 27,
2008 at 12pm at the Pine Cove on Castle Rock Lake. At the annual meeting,
the election of 2 Board Members will take place. A summary of the Board
term status if as follows:

Doug Lindner - Past President position - Current President
Dale Swinehart - term expires 2010 - Current Vice-President
Ron Bark - term expires 2010 - Current Board Member
Randy Dohnke - term expires 2009 - Current Board Member
Jim Fank - term expires 2009 - Current Board Member
Roger Bean - term expires 2008 - Current Treasurer and "Temporary Recorder";
this board position up for election
Vacant - term expires 2008 - this board position up for election


Feb 2, 2008 Annual Winter Poker Run on the lake at Shipwreck with an ice
date of Feb 23, 2008. Posters for the Poker Run are being printed and should
be available this week. More info will be posted to the web site. Sandy
Stanley is the event coordinator contact but will need support. Anyone
wishing to help with the event should contact Sandy or Karyn F. Also bring a
dish to pass. Shipwreck will provide meat, buns, etc.


February 29/March 1, 2008 - ATV Safety Certification Course will be held at
the Outdoors Forever Club House on County Rd N east of Mauston. Times are
Friday, Feb 29th - 6-9pm and Saturday, March 1st 9-3pm. Contact Doug Lindner
about registration.

How is your firewood supply JR? There's too much snow now to go out and cut some, and more snow on the way. If you run out, let me know and we'll fix you up.

Christmas was pretty simple here this year. Ashley didn't ask for much. She got more minutes for her phone, which she always needs anyway. Got a little dog with amplified speakers that plugs into her MP3 player and dances to the music. She wanted the Simpsons Movie and we were going to get it anyway, but since it came out just before Christmas, made a good present (by the way is really funny). And that's it.

Spider Pig, Spider Pig!

This is all the farther I made it on my Hawkeye:


Mrs. Reverend standing by the drift in the front yard:


The way icicles form here, because the wind always blows (crooked):

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I like the cold weather, but the snow can go away anytime now! We do want to do a little tobogganing if it ever quits snowing long enough for me to get caught up. Just wish I could find a good sledding hill. Anyone know of one? The Easton Bluff is closed down now due to new ownership, so that's out.

I'm finally done with all my driveways - again. The new snowblower works great! The old one works great too, but it's so little that it takes longer. It's even better exercise though. I was a little concerned at first, because normally when I used to plow with my ATV under conditions like these I'd have a hell of a time. It's all ice underneath and by now I would be running out of places to push the snow. I'd be doing a lot of spinning and revving and cussing. None of the driveways are paved and they are all uneven so I can never get them scraped too clean, and that also turns to ice, which was an even worse problem with the blade than the snowblower. The snowblower scrapes them cleaner than what I ever could get them with the blade due to their unevenness, and I never have to worry about running out of room. As a result, today I think I got done faster than I would have with the old Sportsman, and the blower loads in the truck much quicker. Sportsman would probably have been quicker in town on a parking lot where it's level and paved and lots of room to push snow, but out here in the sticks, brush, rocks, and HUGE drifts it makes a difference. A guy was trying to plow out the driveway to the barn today with his 500 and and he finally gave up. Couldn't push it because of the ice underneath. I know exactly how he felt. Been there, done that, many times. I do miss plowing with the old beast sometimes, but not today. I remember. If I ever get anything else for snow removal, it will be a truck with a blade, or maybe a blade for the old Cherokee. A tractor would be cool, but overkill for me I think.

Looks like my little rides in the woods are done for awhile. I couldn't even make it past the garden. I didn't think I would make it, because the drifts are too deep, but I thought I'd try. One thing I discovered is the safety engineer that invented the reverse override switch should have it crammed real far. If you've ever been stuck in the snow, you know why. On the old Sportsman I had the worthless thing bypassed and used it for a horn button. Then when I got stuck I'd just get off to the side, squeeze the throttle, and walk it out. I can't bypass the override on the Hawkeye because the button also controls the odometer and hour meter functions. There's no way I can reach over to hold that stupid little button in at the same time as running the throttle and pushing it out of the drift. I think I'm going to carry a big clamp around with me and when I get stuck, I'll clamp the damn button in. I've got a clamp with a 2 inch opening, and it almost fits on there, but not quite.

Now don't laugh at me (well, maybe a little is ok). Yesterday I was in a hurry after plowing my driveways, cleaned up quickly, then before we were out the door to try to get to Reedsburg I wanted to put a disc in my DVD recorder and program it to record some shows last night. Normally I would use one of my DVD+RWs that I use over and over, but I wanted to keep one of the shows. In that case I use a DVD+R because they're cheaper and you can only use them once, which is all I need if I am saving the show to watch over again. That happened to be the last DVD+R in the package. I thought it looked kind of funny and had a couple strange marks on it. I could have opened a new pack and just thrown that one away, but thought I'd try it and see if the recorder would accept it or not.

I put it in, and it made some really loud vibrating noises and took a long time to read it. Finally it gave me a disc error. I ejected it, then tried it again. Same thing, really loud vibrating and shaking. Took the disc out again and Ashley says, "Dad, why do you still have the clear plastic disc from the bottom of the package stuck to the DVD disc?" What?

Uh oh. No wonder it was vibrating. In the bottom of the DVD package there is a clear plastic disc shaped exactly like a DVD. It was stuck to the bottom of the last disc. I put the whole works in the recorder without realizing it. Twice. I guess it didn't hurt the recorder, because I pealed the clear plastic disc off the bottom of the DVD disc, stuck it back in, and it recorded my shows just fine! Duh.

I'm going to put my official storm total at 12 inches. We got just as much snow during the daylight yesterday afternoon, after I plowed my driveways once, as we did before the sun came up in the morning. I'll be plowing them again today. The wind didn't make it as hard as I thought. I figured it would keep blowing the snow in my face, but the wind direction was fairly steady so I used that to my advantage and kept the blower pointed with it. It was cold enough too that the snow didn't melt, what did blow on me, so I didn't get wet. The hardest part was that at my sister's place they must have gotten some pretty good rain. There was water under the snow. Non of the other driveways had that. We didn't get that much rain here and there was no water under the snow at Mom's house either.

We didn't make it all the way to Reedsburg yesterday afternoon. Mrs. Rev didn't want to try it at all, but I thought we'd head out that way and just see what it was like. I could have gotten us all the way down and back without getting stuck or sliding in the ditch, that Cherokee is a good car, but it's the other crazies on the road crashing into me that I worry about. At times it was hard to see, because it was snowing and blowing that bad. We stopped at 13 & 82, called her stepbrother and he said it was no better down there. She convinced me then to turn around and go home. We'll probably try it again next Sunday, or another day.

Well, it's really hard to say how much snow so far. It started to rain a little bit about 8:00 last night. Then at around 9:00 it turned to sleet and snow mix. By 10:00 it was all snow. After that it must have quit for awhile because at 1:30 this morning it was snowing fairly hard but we only had maybe a half inch. By 5:30 this morning was a different story. Because of all the drifting, it's hard to determine exactly how much snow so far, but it's over 6 inches and still snowing. They say it will taper off, then after 10:00 this morning start snowing again and get another 2 - 4. Once I get out in it later on, maybe I'll be able to tell better how much we ended up with.

One thing is for sure, the drifts are big and getting bigger. I've had wind gusts over 40 mph in the last few minutes. From what I can see of the drifts, some of them are 2 - 3 feet deep already.

Am I going to make it to Reedsburg today? We'll see. If it was just me, I actually kind of enjoy braving the elements, but the girls will be with me and they might bitch if we go in the ditch and have to walk. Good thing Mrs. Rev didn't have to work today.

You know what the difference between a snowman and snowwoman is?














Snowballs!

Are you looking for cheap jeans for work or whatever? I just bought a pair at Wal-mart for 8 bucks, and they're really comfortable. I can't believe you can even find jeans for $8 anywhere. Seems like they keep going down in price, instead of up. Of course, that's one thing I like about Wal-mart (and their competition doesn't like). But no matter which side of the fence you're on about it, you must admit that Sam Walton really knew how to create a successful business. It's probably also the reason they've never put one of their stores in Adams County, but circled around it. That would be like putting cargo in a ship that has holes in the bottom! Ha ha! They didn't get so successful by making mistakes like that.

Snow is a comin'! Again. I have to go to Reedsburg tomorrow, so don't know how that's going to work out. If I can go, I for sure won't have time to plow my driveways until Monday. Too bad I'm not wealthy and powerful, then I'd just hire somebody to plow them for me! I heard that they get $30 to plow your driveway now. Wow. Years ago when I still had the old Willy's, I used to charge people $8 to plow their driveway. When I raised it to $10, everybody thought I was stealing from them. I wonder what they think now? Just in the last few weeks alone, at 30 bucks a time, a guy could save enough to buy a lot of snow shovels.

There are widespread reports today of an Tunguska-sized asteroid on a collision course with Mars. The odds are 1 in 75 that 2007 WD5 will hit the Red Planet in late January. While this would be exciting to observe, it probably won't happen. The asteroid was discovered in late November and has been tracked for barely a month. This means its orbit is not well determined. As more observations in the weeks ahead refine the asteroid's path, the chances of a Mars collision will almost certainly evaporate. Of course, sometimes the unlikely does happen.

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is:

Any South Park episodes that I don't already have: Especially the collection of Christmas episodes.

DK Jungle for Nintendo DS: We used to have hours of fun playing Donkey Kong Country on the old Super Nintendo and I think DK Jungle is similar to that.

A vehicle with a snowplow: That would save me so much time plowing my driveways, that I might even have enough time left over to plow JR's for him. Then that would save him time and money and he could go riding with me again!

A newer used snowmobile: With all the time I'd save plowing snow, I might have time to do a little snowmobiling again. But, Santa, I wouldn't want you to waste the money on a new snowmobile for the few times a year that it could be ridden, if at all.

More ATVing with friends: Riding alone is fun, but when I'm peeing and drop my glove and pee on it, there's nobody to laugh at me and tell the story every time we go riding again for the next decade! Riding with friends is much more fun.

Good luck for Mom's house: I want to be able to sell Mom's house to somebody that will care for it and raise a family there like Mom and Dad did. I do not want to have to abandon it or sell it only for the empty lot.

My one dollar in change back from the Adams County Parks Department: I've waited almost a year now.

Thank you Santa. Give Mrs. Santa a kiss or two from me and maybe a little something extra this year.

The Reverend Quads

snowmen

By the way Mike, I want to apologize for the way you were treated [over there]. It's pretty obvious now that there's some animosity and jealousy. I guess I can understand, look at the way [it] turned out. It wasn't my fault though. A few of the [new wave of power] didn't want [things] to be [run like a "local" at the whim of those running it]. I helped give the [new wave of power] the opportunity to do just that. No sour grapes at all on my part, it was with my blessing and at my suggestion that I let [it] go. One thing is for sure, [they] got [their wish]. There's no mistaking [it] for being run by [a local] anymore.

Anyway, if you have technical difficulties with my web site, you can always feel free to contact me directly. Hell, even if you have technical difficulties with [over there] you can feel free to contact me then too. I will at least check [it] out and tell you if I am having the same problem as you or not. Just remember that I have no control over [the content or lack thereof] like so many people still think I do. At least no more control over [it] than [just paying my dues] gets me, which isn't much nowadays.

I made a few changes, so hopefully your setup handles it better now. It could have been partially caused by my recent ISP trouble too.

"It helps if people think you are at least a little bit crazy. Then they fear you, and fear is a very powerful tool."

A little web site maintenance done, a couple e-mails to take care of, then I'm out the door to haul up the wood and sweep the chimney.

The cow that had the ceasarian went out for exercise this morning. She seemed a little confused, but not as wild as most. She was pretty calm. That's good, because then I might not have to chase her tonight. She will most likely need some convincing though, to come back in the barn. She's been getting a shot of antibiotics, but that's almost over. Then I still have to keep giving her milk to the calves and dumping the rest out, for at least another seven days. After that, I have to send a sample to the dairy for testing to get the ok to start putting her milk in the bulk tank and selling it with the rest. Antibiotics in milk is a bad thing. If you happen to let some get in there, then you have to buy the whole semi load back from the dairy!

I copied some posts about poker runs from years past. The good old days.

Called planning and zoning again today. [The head guy] hasn't been in since last week and no decision has been made on Mom's house. They don't know when he will be in again. After Christmas maybe? She didn't know for sure, apologized, and hung up. In the meantime we keep heating it, just paid the property taxes and the insurance tonight.

The cows are still hanging in there. The one that had the ceasarian will go outside tomorrow for a little exercise. She's feeling better and eating better. The two surviving calves are happy and healthy so far. They're bull calves, so probably won't be too long before someone adds them to their beef herd.

Tomorrow will be my day this month to haul wood up and clean the chimney. Almost exactly one month since last time, which is about all the shorter it gets when it's windy and cold. Just in time, before the weather turns nasty this weekend, and colder next week. There's one thing about keeping ahead of the firewood game. Not ahead by a few weeks or months, but by years. Two years and more seems to be about right, makes sure that the wood has had plenty of time to season. This wood was cut the year of the tornado, 2004. Burns easily and heats nice. Anyway, I'll be busy tomorrow so planning and zoning won't hear from me. I'm sure they'll miss me, but I'll be back to them again by Friday.

Previously posted January 2006:



quads
Posted: January 20, 2006 12:16 pm
Webmaster
*****
Group: Admin
Posts: 1645
Member No.: 1
Joined: April 25, 2004
Here's one of my favorite pictures from an old poker run (currently my desktop wallpaper). Sure doesn't look anything like that so far this year!







FUN2ATV
Posted: February 01, 2006 09:31 am
Beginning Poster
*
Group: Members
Posts: 5
Member No.: 60
Joined: February 01, 2006
Hiya all !
Any idea on the # of riders that plan on attending the Poker Run?




quads
Posted: February 01, 2006 12:09 pm
Webmaster
*****
Group: Admin
Posts: 1645
Member No.: 1
Joined: April 25, 2004
Last Year Poker Runs:
January poker run drew 114 participants.
February poker run drew 77 participants.





Muddychick
Posted: February 07, 2006 04:34 pm
Beginning Poster
*
Group: Members
Posts: 6
Member No.: 20
Joined: July 28, 2004
We are all getting super pumped up about the poker run...can't believe it is almost here! I think this year the record number of people will be easily beat. Lots of people from ATVNation are coming as well as WATVA...we all spread the word well. Best Western is booked 100% We are all doing the fish fry at BW in Mauston on Friday night at 6:30 if anybody is interested in joining up with us. We'll also be in the bar there all night I'm sure

Look forward to seeing all of you again! Who can we snag up for a leader?





SWINEY
Posted: February 07, 2006 09:03 pm
Vice-President
****
Group: Members
Posts: 75
Member No.: 2
Joined: April 27, 2004
Hey everyone, sounds like we will have a good turn out for the "pokie run" as long as it stays somewhat nice out. I have signed the new routes that have opened but are not on the maps. Some new territory to check out on Satuarday. The group that goes along with me will probably run around 95 miles, given we don't make a couple of altenate stops??? We will see what the day brings!!! Anywho, our group always has a good time and this time won't be know different.
Leave early, and stay late... Thats how Grandma has trained me
SWINEY

Previously posted January 2005:



quads
Posted: January 09, 2005 06:32 am
Webmaster
*****
Group: Admin
Posts: 1645
Member No.: 1
Joined: April 25, 2004
Here's a few pictures from past poker runs:










quads
Posted: January 22, 2005 09:28 pm
Webmaster
*****
Group: Admin
Posts: 1645
Member No.: 1
Joined: April 25, 2004
Thank you to everyone that organized this event! I really enjoyed myself. I took a lot of pictures and will upload some in the next day or two. Can't wait until the next one!





JRS-500
Posted: January 22, 2005 10:38 pm
Super Moderator
*****
Group: Members
Posts: 447
Member No.: 6
Joined: May 20, 2004
I had a blast also.Hope i get off of work for the February 19th ride.I have said it alot but i am going to say it again"CRFAC sure knows how to have fun."Thank You Sandy And Everyone Involved For Your Hard Work On The Poker Run.You Guys Did A Excellent Job.




SWINEY
Posted: January 23, 2005 09:08 am
Vice-President
****
Group: Members
Posts: 75
Member No.: 2
Joined: April 27, 2004
It was a pretty good time with a great turn out. Thinking of new ideas for the next one. I think we could even do better. Special thanks to the crew that went out and helped me drill holes and put stakes in (Denis and Kara Hadley, Todd Kroll, Randy Dohnke, Rick Bean, and old timer Darwin Pease.)
Can't wait to do it again in Feb. Alot of people seem to forget to turn their gas on when riding, like J.R., the Hadleys and Todd....
Live and Learn

A juvenile probation officer ate one of every item in a county courthouse vending machine in one day. She consumed more than 7,000 calories and more than 300 grams of fat, eating such items as beef sticks, candy bars, Pop Tarts and potato chips -- all to win a bet with co-workers and raise $300 for charity.

Two employees from the rival companies got into a tiff over shelf space in the aisle of a Wal-Mart in Indiana. The Pepsi worker allegedly assaulted the Coca-Cola employee, hitting him in the face, giving him a black eye and breaking his nose. Police say the two were also accused of trying to run each other over with pallets full of soda bottles.

After two men robbed a Domino's Pizza delivery woman, one of them called the victim from his cell phone to apologize -- and to ask her out.

Four women employed in a small New Hampshire town were fired for gossiping about a relationship between the town administrator and a fellow co-worker. They were fired on the basis that "gossip, whispering and an unfriendly environment are causing poor morale and interfering with the efficient performance of town business."

An employee in the Detroit planning department sued the city, saying a female co-worker's strong fragrance prohibited her from working. The woman claimed she is severely sensitive to perfumes and her co-worker not only wore a strong scent, but also plugged in a scented room deodorizer.

A McDonald's employee was arrested, jailed and is facing criminal charges because a police officer got sick after a hamburger he ate was too salty. The employee accidentally spilled salt on some hamburger meat and told her supervisor and co-worker, who "tried to thump the salt off." The employee was charged because she served the burger "without regards to the well-being of anyone who might consume it."

A carpenter caught hammering nails and sawing wood in the nude says he prefers working in the buff because it's more comfortable and helps keep his clothes clean. The carpenter was found not guilty of indecent exposure.

A Southwest employee asked a young woman in a short skirt to leave the airplane, saying she was dressed too provocatively for the family airline. The young woman was eventually allowed to complete her trip after covering up. On her return flight, she came home with no problem -- in the same outfit.

A Taco Bell employee was arrested for impersonating a law enforcement officer and attempting to arrest his managers and co-worker. He passed himself off as an undercover narcotics investigator, going as far as typing fake criminal histories on the general manager, two shift managers and an employee and telling them they were going to be arrested.

An assembly worker hid screws in a specially designed hiding place and took up to 7,000 home with him every day. Over a two-year period, he stole more than 1.1 million screws with an estimated value of $155,000. He allegedly sold the screws over the Internet at discount prices.

An off-duty jail deputy was pulled over and charged with driving under the influence -- by her husband, a fellow deputy. She supposedly left before he could give her a Breathalyzer test, so he pulled her over again and called for backup. She was placed on administrative leave.

A car dealership owner killed two employees because they kept asking for more pay. The employer told police he was having financial problems and was under a lot of stress.

A radio station employee was threatened at gunpoint when an angry patron was unhappy with the promotional bumper stickers he received. The patron demanded McDonald's coupons instead; when the employee didn't have any, the man flashed what looked like a handgun. She searched her car and found a coupon for a free cheeseburger. The man took it, made a derogatory comment about the radio station and rode away on his bike.

When a 27-foot-long, 11-foot-tall vehicle -- known to most as the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile -- was slowing traffic in a construction zone in Arizona, an officer ran its "YUMMY" license plate to make sure it was street legal. A bad computer entry erroneously showed the Wienermobile as having stolen plates, forcing the officer to pull it over. After further investigation, the officer learned that the entry should have read that license plate had been stolen -- but only if found on any vehicle that isn't a giant hot dog.

Workers at a Burger King in New York got into a dispute with a customer after he refused to turn his music down while ordering at the drive-through. The customer grabbed the restaurant's manager, tried to pull her through a window and then attempted to run over a worker who came to help the manager.

In business, repurposing is all the rage. Take a product or service intended for one purpose and have it do something else.

Even NASA has caught the repurposing bug. The agency took its Deep Impact spacecraft — the one that in 2005 sent an 800-pound probe crashing into comet Tempel 1 to understand better the composition of comets — and gave it a new mission.

Two missions, really. One was to study known extrasolar planets with one of the telescopes on the spacecraft, and the other to fly past a second comet, Boethin, in 2008, and try to characterize it by surveying it with cameras and an infrared spectrometer.

But since what is now called the Epoxi mission was announced, a problem cropped up. Boethin, which is about a mile in diameter and was discovered in 1975, seems to have disappeared. Astronomers cannot locate it and suggest that it may have broken into pieces to small to be seen.

So in addition to repurposing Deep Impact, NASA is retargeting it, too. The agency announced last week that it had approved sending the spacecraft to another small comet, Hartley 2. The spacecraft has already performed a course-correcting rocket burn, and it is now scheduled to pass within about 600 miles of the comet in October 2010.

The mother of all civilisations

The ruins were so magnificent and sprawling that some people believed that the aliens from a faraway galaxy had built the huge pyramids that stood in the desert across the Andes.

Some historians believed that the complex society, which existed at that time, was born out of fear and war. They looked for the telltale signs of violence that they believed led to the creation of this civilisation. But, they could not find even a hint of any warfare. It was baffling. Even years after Ruth Shady Solis found the ancient city of pyramids at Caral in Peru, it continues to surprise historians around the world. It took Ruth Shady many years and many rounds of carbon dating to prove that the earliest known civilisation in South Americas—at 2,627 BC–was much older than the Harappa Valley towns and the pyramids of Egypt. full story

The USB mouse works great. Only problem is I went to Pamida in Adams and got it - $30 was the cheapest they had. Wal-mart in Lake Delton has them for $6, your choice of PS2 or USB. Guess for $24 I should have just went back to the Dells. I've learned this lesson many times over, but I always fall back into it and shop locally. Someday maybe I'll finally get it and never go back to Adams.

Funny thing about the USB mouse. All I had to do was plug it into the laptop and it installed itself. Simple. When you look in the control panel at the mouse, the weird little button that's built into the laptop is listed as a PS2 port mouse, which is probably why it doesn't have an external PS2 port, to avoid trying to run two mice off the same port. Anyway, the new USB mouse is listed as a USB "Human Interface Device". I thought that was kind of funny. Almost makes us humans sound like an accessory, which in reality is probably more true than we know.

The dead deer is gone. And where I put it, I'll bet it got removed within an hour! Hee hee. A few years ago somebody threw four bags of garbage in my yard. I called the sheriff's department and they told me that if I looked through the bags and was able to find a name and address, then they might do something about it. Otherwise, they're deputies do not go through other people's garbage. Well, neither do I. Where I put those bags of garbage, I'll bet they got picked up within an hour too!

I'm learning. I learn something new everyday about somebody. I know one thing is for sure, I've learned not to depend on the sheriff's department or the county for very much. Next time, I'll handle it myself like I normally do everything else anyway.

Now - concentrating on the planning and zoning department.

Ok, so the new mouse for the laptop won't work! It sure looked like a PS2 port, but turns out it's an S-Video port. Crap. I guess it has no PS2 mouse port. It was only 6 bucks and I can always use an extra mouse. I'll have to get a USB mouse next time.

Busy, busy.

The Christmas shopping is done. Well, was done until I thought of another gift I wanted to get, so will go today and finish that. Just waiting for the washing machine to get done so I can go! I also need to get a few supplies, one of which is a real mouse for my laptop. I don't use it very much, but when I do I hate using that little rubber pencil eraser type button in the middle of the keyboard. How awkward. The homemade CMOS battery is still working great, by the way.

It's sure been a baby factory down at the barn. Some bad luck with them though. The first baby born several days ago, was still-born. The mom (my favorite cow, #27) hasn't been feeling too good. Turns out she has the shitting disease. I was afraid of that. She's a goner now. We'll keep her until she starts to get too skinny and sick, then she'll be shipped. Damn.

The day after #27 had her stillborn calf, #13 started to have hers. But she had a little trouble so the vet came and helped her along. Cow and calf are doing great thus far.

And the morning after that, a new heifer from out behind the barn started to have her calf (her number is #1 now - it depends on which stanchion they occupy in the barn and hers is the first spot). She had trouble, so the vet came to help her out. The calf was already dead inside the cow, so the vet started to pull it out. It broke in two! Yuck. The he had to perform a ceasarian to get the back half of the calf out of her. Poor cow. She's still not feeling the best yet, because of the ordeal. Hopefully she starts eating better soon.

And then that night #6 had her calf. Fortunately she had it all by herself and the baby is so far healthy.

On other matters, the dead deer is still there. The hillbilly didn't come back in the middle of the night to pick it up and add it to his meal from the first one he picked up. I don't know what more I can do. I called the sheriff's department twice. If it's still there today, I'll drag it out in the middle of the road and leave it. If someone drags it back off and into my yard, I'll drag it back out into the middle of the road. Maybe they'll get the hint.

Of course, not a word from planning and zoning. The longer they piss around, the more it's costing to keep the place heated. I had hoped to have it sold by now. If it's ok'd, then I want to keep heating it until it's sold, which is delayed while I'm waiting for them. If not ok'd, then I want to drain it down and shut the gas off before abandoning it. But, I still have to keep heating it and buying that damn gas until the planning and zoning does what I paid them for - make a decision!

CONFIDENCE REMAINS HIGH THAT THE REGION WILL BE IMPACTED BY A WINTER
STORM THIS WEEKEND...WITH SATURDAY AS THE FOCUS. AS FOR WHAT
FALLS...AND WHERE...IS ANOTHER MATTER. THE 00Z MODEL RUNS ARE IN
PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT...BUT THIS TIME MORE EAST. PREVIOUS TO
YESTERDAY...THIS WAS THE GFS/S STORM TRACK...UNTIL IT SHIFTED WEST
WITH THE EC A RUN OR TWO AGO. THIS EAST SOLUTION ALSO HAPPENS TO BE
WHAT THE PREVIOUS 00Z GFS ENSEMBLES HAD FOR A STORM TRACK...AND
LOOKS MORE REASONABLE. SO...FEELING IS THAT THE MODELS ARE SETTLING
DOWN WITH THEIR STORM TRACK...BUT STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY. THIS
MORE EAST TRACK WILL MAKE SNOW THE DOMINANT PCPN TYPE FOR FRI
NIGHT/SAT...WITH WARM AIR LOW LEVEL AIR LEADING TO A SNOW/RAIN MIX
ACROSS THE FAR SOUTH. THANKFULLY...THE TRENDS WITH THE LOW LEVEL
WARMING CONTINUE TO INDICATE EITHER RAIN OR SNOW...RATHER THAN SLEET
AND FREEZING RAIN. WILL ADJUST FRI NIGHT/SAT POPS/WX GRIDS FOR A
MORE SNOWY SOLUTION. STAYED TUNED TO LATER STATEMENTS/FORECASTS...AS
THIS HAS THE LOOK OF A HIGH IMPACT EVENT FOR THE REGION...ESPECIALLY
CONSIDERING THE HOLIDAY TRAFFIC. HEADLINES COULD BECOME NECESSARY IN
THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS IF THIS STORM DEVELOPS AS PROGGED.

AURORA WATCH: Sky watchers, be alert for auroras. Earth is entering a solar wind stream and this is causing high-latitude geomagnetic storms.

Mars will be closer to Earth this month than any time until the year 2016.

The red planet is now the brightest "star" in the evening sky and is already above the horizon as evening twilight fades away. But give it at least two more hours – until about 8 p.m. – for it to climb above the poor atmospheric seeing that's near the horizon. By then, this brilliant yellow-orange world will be at an altitude of around 30 degrees as seen from mid-northern latitudes.

Your clenched fist held at arm's length is roughly equal to 10 degrees, so by 8 p.m. Mars will be about "three-fists" up from the east-northeast horizon. Mars appears much sharper and steadier when it crosses the southern meridian, about a half hour after local midnight. Its altitude as seen from most mid-northern latitudes is then about 75-degrees (more than "seven fists" up from the southern horizon).

Mars is retrograding (moving westward) through the stars of Gemini and will cross over into Taurus on Dec. 30. It will come closest to the Earth on the night of Dec. 18 (around 6:46 p.m. EST). The planet is then 54,783,381 miles (88,165,305 kilometers) from Earth. It is at opposition – exactly opposite from the sun, with Earth in the middle – six days later, on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24.

It will then gleam at magnitude -1.6, and through Jan. 2, 2008, will outshine Sirius, the brightest star.

Telescope time

Anyone who has a telescope, no matter how modest it may be, will surely be seeing what it can do with Mars right now. No doubt telescopic observers everywhere will be spying out Mars' bright polar areas and dark surface markings. So don't let your scope sit idle, even though the planet will appear small and details might be difficult to discern on nights of less than excellent seeing.

A good 4-inch telescope equipped with an eyepiece magnifying 120-power should show Mars' dwindling north polar cap and at least a few dark features on those nights when the atmosphere is steady.

During January, Mars departs Earth's vicinity as rapidly as it arrived. It will increase its distance from 56.7 to 72.3 million miles (91.2 to 116.3 million kilometers) and in the process will fade almost a full magnitude, from -1.5 to -0.6. But at the same time, Mars will be very well placed for convenient viewing.

Unlike earlier in the fall, you won't have to get up in the early morning hours to see it high in the sky. Mars will be due south just after 11 p.m. on New Year's night, and around 8:45 p.m. at the end of January.

The night that Mars will probably attract the most attention, from even those who don't normally look up at the sky, will be on the night before Christmas Eve: Sunday, Dec. 23. That will be the night of a full moon, and Mars will serve as a companion to it all through that night. In fact, it will result in an exceptionally close approach between the two across much of the United States, while for parts of the Pacific Northwest, southern and western Canada and Europe, the moon will actually occult (hide) Mars.

When a web page is loading, does it pause in the middle and smear up and down when you scroll the window? Does it seem to give up and stop loading half the stuff? Does it make you frustrated that you can't view everything on the Internet because it's locking up and telling you there are errors on the page?

Why are you still dicking around with Internet Explorer? Get Firefox right now!

I just can't seem to get used to the way these newfangled LCD monitors look. I've had this monitor for, gosh, at least a few years now and it still looks crappy compared to the regular old CRTs. That, and my favorite old camera had a button to push to automatically set itself up to take pictures in the snow. Hard to beat that old Mavica. Just not too happy with some of the snow pictures taken with the new little camera, but I think I will eventually figure out what to tell it so it does better.

Anyway, here's a few pictures from this morning's little ride in the woods:

The 1967 Shag Harbor UFO Crash

An extraordinary event in 1967 would practically put the small fishing village of Shag Harbor on the map. Located at the southern tip of Nova Scotia, this rural community would be host to one of the best documented UFO events of the past 30 years. Named after the "shag," a bird of the cormorant family, the harbor was literally left off most maps of the time, but that would be changed once and for all. The tiny fishing community has always had its stories...stories of giant sea serpents, man-eating squid, and ghost ships. The list of local color would see one more addition to its list; a story of a visit of a mysterious flying craft of unknown origin. This craft would visit the waters of Shag Harbor, permanently stamping the village's name in the public eye.

The first indication of this mysterious occurrence would come from local residents who noticed strange orange lights in the sky on the night of October 4, 1967. Most witnesses agreed that there were four orange lights that evening. Five teenagers watched these lights flash in sequence, and then suddenly dive in a 45 degree angle toward the water's surface. The witnesses were surprised that the lights did not dive into the water, but seemed to float on the water, approximately one-half mile from the shore. Witnesses at first thought they were watching a tragic airplane crash, and quickly reported as much to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which was located at Barrington Passage. Ironically, RCMP Constable Ron Pound had already witnessed the strange lights himself as he drove down Highway 3 in route to Shag Harbor. Pound felt that he was seeing 4 lights, all attached to one flying craft. He estimated the craft to be about 60 feet long.

Constable Pound made his way to the shore to get a closer look at the phenomenal sight. He was accompanied by Police Corporal Victor Werbieki, Contable Ron O'Brien, and other local residents. Pound clearly saw a yellow light slowly moving on the water, leaving a yellowish foam in its wake. All eyes were glued on the light, as it slowly either moved too distant to be seen, or dipped into the icy waters. Coast Guard Cutter #101 and other local boats rushed to the spot of the sighting, but by the time they arrived, the light itself was gone. However, the crewmen could still see the yellow foam, indicating that something had possibly submerged. Nothing else could be found that night, and the search was called off at 3:00 AM. The RCMP ran a traffic check with the Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifac, and NORAD radar at Baccaro, Nova Scotia. They were told that there were no missing aircraft reported that evening, either civilian, or military.
The following day, the Rescue Coordination Center filed a report with Canadian Forces Headquarters in Ottawa. This report stated that something had hit the water in Shag Harbor, but the object was of "unknown origin." The HMCS Granby was ordered to Shag Harbor, where divers searched the bottom of the ocean for several days, but without positive results. The story of the mysterious crash at Shag Harbor had died as quickly as it had begun. That is, until 1993. As the original story faded from papers and newscasts, several theories were put forward. One explanation was that a Russian spacecraft had crashed, which would explain the presence of a Russian submarine in the area. There was also the rumor of American involvement in the follow-up investigation, but there was no official statement from the United States.

The Shag Harbor incident would have new life breathed into it through the efforts of MUFON investigator Chris Styles. The case intrigued him so much that he decided to search for more details. Styles found the names of many of the original witnesses through newspaper clippings, and was able to interview many of them. Styles was assisted by MUFON investigator Doug Ledger. These two men would uncover some extremely compelling evidence through their interviews. They discovered that when the divers of the Granby finished their work, the case was not over after all. The divers, along with other witnesses related these events; The object that dove into the waters of the harbor had soon left the Shag area, traveling underwater for about 25 miles to a place called Government Point, which was near a submarine detection base. The object was spotted on sonar there, and Naval vessels were positioned over it. After a couple of days, the military was planning a salvage operation, when a second UFO joined the first. Common belief at the time was that the second craft had arrived to render aid to the first.

At this time, the Navy decided to wait and watch. After about a week of monitoring the two UFOs, some of the vessels were called to investigate a Russian submarine which had entered Canadian waters. At this point, the two underwater craft made their move. They made their way to the Gulf of Maine, and putting distance between themselves and the chasing Navy boats, they broke the surface, and shot away into the skies. These extraordinary events were corroborated by many witnesses, both civilian and military. Unfortunately, the reports were given "off the record." Ex-military personnel feared the loss of their pensions, and civilian witnesses feared ridicule, and their privacy being invaded. The unusual events of Shag Harbor command an important place in the study of UFOs. There is little doubt that something "unknown" crashed into the waters of Shag Harbor on October 4, 1967.

Why Time Seems to Slow Down in Emergencies

..........time warping seems to be a trick played by one's memory. When a person is scared, a brain area called the amygdala becomes more active, laying down an extra set of memories that go along with those normally taken care of by other parts of the brain.

"In this way, frightening events are associated with richer and denser memories," Eagleman explained. "And the more memory you have of an event, the longer you believe it took." full story

A prank almost resulted in tragedy for several Wiregrass young persons.

Authorities say they exploited fears of area residents concerning reports of Bigfoot being spotted near the Coffee/Geneva County Line.

A teenager wore an outfit depicting the mythical Bigfoot creature. He then carried a fellow young person on each shoulder.

Alarmed residents called the sheriff's department and several others armed with shotguns headed to where the prank was taking place.

The young people, ranging in age from 18-to-23, were given a warning.

However, sheriff's officials say those involved in any copycat incidents will face reckless endangerment charges.

Somebody took one of the dead deer during the night. One of these sick hillbilly bastards is probably eating it right now. Or they needed a date for this weekend. They only took one, most likely because they couldn't fit both in the passenger seat of their Datsun. It was hit by a car, so the meat would be bruised and not bled out properly. It laid there dead for a week with the cats and crows eating at it's ass and guts. Ewwww. I hate this place more everyday.

Woo woo! Clickety-clack clickety-clack! Screeeeeeeeech! Craaaaash! The ongoing ADAMS COUNTY train wreck - end of week one:

Still nothing. Called planning and zoning again today. She said that the head guy was supposed to look at the papers and write something up for me, but hasn't. He isn't in today, and probably won't be all next week. What?! He put a note on them to give to corporation counsel (one of the county's lawyers).

The dead deer are still laying in my yard. Called the sheriff's department again. She said they should have been picked up by now. Yup.

And still no $1 from the parks department - going on one year.

History Channel’s new cryptozoology program MonsterQuest kicked up a lot of interest and press with one November episode, “Sasquatch Attack.” The documentary was about scientists Curt Nelson (biologist, University of Minnesota) and Jeff Meldrum (anthropologist, Idaho State University) spending five days with the show’s film crew at a cabin near Ontario’s Snelgrove Lake.

While there, the crew filmed stones flying through the air from an apparent rock-throwing Bigfoot and Meldrum collecting organics from a wooden board with screws in it, used as a bear trap.

The blood, tissue and hair samples discovered on the bear trap outside the cabin were tested. The hair did not match any known North American bear or animal and tests showed, according to the New York Post, “an uncanny similarity to human DNA with one exception: the irregular DNA matched that of a primate,” whatever that meant, considering that humans are primates!

I watched the meteor shower for awhile this morning on my way down to the barn. It was awesome! Almost continuous shooting stars. I counted like 10 in 30 seconds or less before I quit counting. They were all radiating from the area of the sky near Mars.

One of the cows had a calf yesterday, but it was stillborn. Then during the night another one seemingly had a calf, but couldn't find any calf and she acted like she was still trying. Yet, she was ripped and bleeding like she had it. Beats me. The vet will come and take a look at her this morning.

Still no results. Does anyone remember how long it took this county to paint the last line on the road in front of my house?

The dead deer are still laying in front of my house. The crows and stray cats have the asses ate out of them now. Aside from the fact that I called the sheriff's department to specifically ask them about it, the cops and plow trucks go by them everyday. I realize that they don't pick the dead deer up themselves, but they sure can see they've been laying there for days and help to move the process along. Who the hell do they have picking them up? A guy with a wheelbarrow? I'll just drag 'em out in the woods and forget about it until they start stinking in the spring, if I have to.

Still no decision from planning and zoning. I called them yesterday and they said that maybe in another day or two they might make a decision. I paid my 50 bucks the day that I knew I had to, made a special trip to pay it, and at their request paid it in advance. Even helped the guy take the measurements. I expect the same promptness in return. Ya, right.

What the hell is wrong with the world? Laziness? Stupidity? Just don't give a shit? I mean, look around the net even. Pretend to have some big wonderful website, but the links to it's pages lead you to "under construction" signs forever and ever? What's being constructed, more "under construction" signs?

Here's a few pictures I took while on a little ride in the woods Monday. I haven't been cutting any firewood since it snowed. The snow is deep enough now that it's hard to find the logs laying on the ground, and I'm sure I could get stuck pretty easy with a loaded trailer.

It's a little hard to see, but here's a picture of the deer tracks in my ATV tracks. The deer use the ATV tracks a lot. It must be easier for them to walk in the wheel tracks than in the deeper snow and ice. They use them like connecting trails around the various parts of the woods:

A few more pictures of the snow-covered trails:




The hornets nest that I was riding and walking under this fall. Now there isn't much left of it. I think it's a tasty treat for the birds, or some kind of critters:

Some of my 2011-12 firewood:

The year's best meteor display – the Geminids – is set to wow skygazers on Thursday and Friday.

The meteors, which got their name because they appear to originate from the constellation Gemini, are unusual because they come from an object that looks like an asteroid.

Most other meteor showers are caused by the Earth ramming into a cloud of rocky debris left behind by a comet decades or centuries earlier. The debris, most of which is smaller than a pebble, hits the atmosphere at blistering speed, burning up and leaving behind bright trails seen as "shooting stars".

In the case of the Geminids, however, the particles follow the path of a 5-kilometre-wide object called 3200 Phaethon that was discovered in 1983 by NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite.

The object, which lacks a tail, may be an asteroid – it spends part of its orbit in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. If that is so, it may have collided with another space rock there to create debris that then spread along its orbit – ultimately producing the Geminid meteors.

Alternatively, 3200 Phaethon could be a comet that has lost all of its ice after too many close passes by the Sun. In that case, the meteors would be produced by material shed from the comet long ago.
Dark skies

Whatever their source, the Geminids produce fine displays each December, generally producing more meteors than the next best show, the August Perseids. This year should be especially good for the Geminids, since the Moon will appear as a thin crescent and therefore will not interfere much with the shower.

The Earth is expected to pass through the thickest part of the cloud of debris at 1745 GMT on Friday 14 December. Observers in Asia should watch on the night of 14-15 December.

For observers in North and South America, the peak occurs during daylight hours. For them, the display will be best before dawn on Friday morning, when a few dozen meteors per hour should be visible from a dark site at mid-northern latitudes, according to Sky & Telescope magazine.

Southern hemisphere observers will see meteors at a lower rate. Observers in North and South America can also try watching on the evening of Thursday 13 December, when some meteors will already be arriving, although in smaller numbers.

For observers in Europe, the display before dawn on Thursday morning may be about equal to that on Friday evening.

Although the meteors will point back towards Gemini, they can appear anywhere in the sky. To see the most meteors, do not focus on Gemini, but watch as large a patch of the sky as possible. The best displays will be visible from darker sites away from city lights, which wash out the fainter meteors.

Interestingly, 3200 Phaethon happens to be passing near Earth during this year's meteor display, though it cannot be seen without a telescope. Its closest approach was on 10 December, when it was about 18 million kilometres away.

My ISP was broken down this morning again. Dials up and connects (most of the time), but won't load any pages or e-mail. It's been happening off and on since the first part of November. I finally called and complained. The technician was real nice about it (I got one guy several years ago that wasn't so nice). He dialed up himself and had the same problem as me, so didn't try to tell me it was my problem (like sometimes in the past they've done). Now it's working again. Permanently? I don't know. Let's hope. They've been real good for a long time, until recently.

I decided to build my own CMOS battery for my laptop. I got a CR-2032 watch battery from Radio Shack, cut the lead off the old battery, bared the ends of the wires, and wound black tape around the battery to hold them on. Works great! I thought about soldering the wires directly to the battery, since Radio Shack didn't have a CR-2032 with solder tabs, but decided not to try it. I think that little battery would really make a POP if I got it too hot.

This morning I walked out of the house in the dark, heading down to the barn. Partway across the yard I fell over something. In the dark I could not see what it was, but it felt like a body! Scared the hell out of me. I ran back away from it a few steps, then fumbled around in my pocket for my flashlight. Once I got the light going, I see it was a dead deer. During the night, someone had hit it in front of my house and it died in my yard.

Once it got daylight, I see there was a second deer laying in front of my fire number sign. Apparently the car hit two deer. A few old car parts lay scattered in the yard and on the road. I called the sheriff's department and they put them on their list to be picked up. I had heard they didn't pick up dead deer anymore, in which case I guess I would have dragged them out in the woods because car-killed deer meat is usually bruised and yucky. I know a lot of people eat it though. Blah.

The funniest part about the whole thing: When Mrs. Rev got up this morning, she saw the deer laying in the yard. She told me later that at first she thought it was me laying there. But then she didn't think I was wearing my brown coat down to the barn this morning, so she decided she didn't need to go out and check to see if it was me. Gee, thanks honey.

AURORA WATCH: A solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetosphere and causing high-latitude geomagnetic storms. Sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

Woo woo! Clickety-clack clickety-clack! Screeeeeeeeech! Craaaaash! The ongoing ADAMS COUNTY train wreck:

Planning and zoning was at Mom's house today and took some measurements. If something should happen to the house and it needed to be rebuilt, a future owner could shave 3 feet off the width and move it back away from the county road 31 feet. Then it would fit perfectly with the setbacks of 83 feet from the road and 75 feet from the creek. Sounds good, except then it would be setting on top of the septic!

The guy today is going to meet with the other inspector tomorrow and the head guy. He said he'd call me when they make a decision. I told him I need it in writing either way, no matter what they decide, so I can proceed with my next step. Whatever that step may be. If they decide it could be rebuilt if it had to be someday, then great. I would have that proof in writing for a potential buyer and at least be able to ask a fair price for it. If not, then I would have that proof for the tax assessor so we could remove or greatly reduce the taxes, then leave it empty indefinitely.

"In Case of Emergency"
(ICE) Campaign
In view of recent terrorist events, hurricanes, and winter storms the "In Case of Emergency (ICE)" campaign has been launched worldwide. The idea is to store the word "ICE" in the address book of mobile phones with the name and phone number of the person that should be contacted in the event that the cell phone owner is injured and unable to communicate this information. For more than one contact name and priority, use ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc. It's that simple.
Most people carry mobile phones, but research shows that more than 75% of people carry no details of who they would like contacted following a serious accident. With "ICE" first responders and hospital staff will turn to a victim's mobile phone address book and know immediately who to contact. When seconds matter, this information may be vital. For example, the emergency contact may be able to provide critical information about the victim's medical history. Research also suggests people may recover more quickly from the psychological effects of their loved one's injury if they are involved at an earlier stage in the emergency.
Please think carefully about the "ICE" contact, especially when minors may be involved and this person has to give consent for emergency medical treatment.
ICE in your Mobile Phone
The original concept, conceived by Cambridge paramedic Bob Brotchie, involved putting the acronym ICE in front of your designated emergency contact. Follow these hints to get the best out of ICE:
Make sure the person whose name and number you are giving has agreed to be your ICE partner.
Make sure your ICE partner has a list of people they should contact on your behalf - including your place of work.
Make sure your ICE person's number is one that's easy to contact, for example a home number could be useless in an emergency if the person works full time.
Make sure your ICE partner knows about any medical conditions that could affect your emergency treatment - for example allergies or current medication.
Make sure if you are under 18, your ICE partner is a parent or guardian authorized to make decision on your behalf - for example if you need a life or death operation.
Should your preferred contact be deaf, then type ICETEXT then the name of your contact before saving the number.
Noted Concern:
My phone doesn't show the callers name any more
This will be because your ICE contact number is a duplicate entry of another contact in your phone book. If you have two numbers the same, your phone won't know which one to display so it will show just the number. To get round this, simply type a * after the number under your ICE contact. It will still work and will cure the caller-ID problem.

ASTEROID FLYBY: Asteroid 3200 Phaethon is flying past Earth today at a distance of 11 million miles. This asteroid is significant because it is the parent of the annual Geminid meteor shower due to peak later this week on Friday, Dec. 14th. Amateur astronomers with large backyard telescopes and CCD cameras may be able to photograph the space rock shining like a 14th magnitude star in the constellation Virgo: ephemeris.