tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4663535213535289312024-02-18T19:50:55.217-08:00From Thailand to CaliforniaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-48753923061435340052014-07-25T19:48:00.001-07:002014-07-25T20:00:17.130-07:00ProgressJust returned from a camping vacation to Mt Rushmore. Saw Grand Tetons, Jellystone, Mt. Rushmore, and Arches national parks, stayed with old friends in Torrington, Wyoming, and generally had a great time with Carlos, Bubbles, and CKTF. Was very eager to check out the girls upon our return. They have been hard at work, sealing everything with loads of propolis, pulling comb in my second deep box, and filling it with honey. There was some weird burr comb in between the boxes that I ripped apart when I removed the top box. The comb was filled with huge larvae which I suspect were drones. Oops. Anyway, I don't really want weirdo burr comb in between my boxes, so all's well that ends well, except for those poor drone larvae.<br />
I asked Bubbles to take some photos of the frames, which she did, kind of. Carlos got attacked by hornets while we were hiking in Harriman state park and now both of them are not too psyched on stingy things. For some reason I can't upload a photo from my iPad so I will try to figure that out and get some of Bubbles' long distance pictures on here. I added a third box today and a pollen gate. The pollen gate allows me to harvest some pollen to feed CKTF, who suffers from miserable allergies.<br />
All in all, things are looking pretty good in the hive.<br />
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The white stuff is capped honey, ready to be eaten!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-79166443409651359662014-06-22T09:38:00.002-07:002014-06-24T07:39:12.902-07:00StungWell, I finally got stung. It was the day before I left on a three day houseboating trip. I got stung directly on the knuckle of my middle finger. My finger and hand swelled up pretty handsomely, but luckily CKTF had some mysterious green salve that reduced the itching. The following week (last week) I got stung three times in one trip to the hive. I thought it would be okay for me to replace their syrup feeder without wearing any protection or using the smoker. A bad thought... I have added a second deep brood box, which is taking them a lot of time drawing out. Drawing out means they build comb on the frames which they can then fill with honey, brood ( bee larvae), or pollen. The first deep brood box is full of all three, but mostly brood. the queen is busy as a, as a..., I don't know how to complete the simile but she sure is busy laying eggs. I wish they would hurry up and fill the second deep so I can add a third just for honey! They look healthy and happy, which is the main thing. Since the stingings Carlos and Bubbles are not that excited to come photographically document the goings on in the hive. Maybe next time. Cheers. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-36864216101326559342014-05-17T12:53:00.000-07:002014-05-20T10:22:13.138-07:00Smokin' in the Girls' Room...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZBfaZKLNUazyy2MqMRVBmscvHeStkwew0qaRUHrTEGkzgrtRlEfNFaqVOABRrI3nQ8tkgNb_aohJqZFZshWNDNeg4H7YllrTd63OCYzet68LM6zKRybFmzd6O2P-t5lYrJmKyt8o81Xl/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZBfaZKLNUazyy2MqMRVBmscvHeStkwew0qaRUHrTEGkzgrtRlEfNFaqVOABRrI3nQ8tkgNb_aohJqZFZshWNDNeg4H7YllrTd63OCYzet68LM6zKRybFmzd6O2P-t5lYrJmKyt8o81Xl/s320/photo+5.JPG" /></a></div>
A few weeks ago, my colleague Knock Knock and I started singing a Brownsville Station classic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3lulkgzVMU">Smokin' in the Boy's Room</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3lulkgzVMU&noredirect=1"></a> in the Miami Room (what we call our teacher's lounge area), much to the joy of our other colleague Old Foxy. It was a fun way to start a school day, that's for sure. Anyway, the title of this post comes from that incident. I thought I would just post a few photos of one of the more important tools of the beekeeper, be he a maverick backyard hobbyist or a commercial by-the-book apiarist. I am talking, of course, about the smoker. Before opening the hive to check out how things are going with the queen and her brood, you have to blow some smoke on them. Smoke masks the pheremones that bees use to signal trouble (among other things)so when they get smoked the calm down and mind their own beeswax. Here is a link to some guy on youtube who has a collection of smokers. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR3U523TLgI">smoker collection</a><u> </u> I am going to post some photos of my smoker and the material I use etc. Also a quick shot of my latest wardrobe accessory, suggested by Solar Chaucer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBJWK-WhItpp2B-AE85p7xxRgyNk_ju80xaK_n4Cdxw5K9YoWV4oBc8dDMYIGy7GwRQbbmyusE3ur6kBkvhTbvxUnoaGy6B8hMSg52htqKjeeBaWjyPKraPjM9QV3i0rDCg9d12SL1F1G/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBJWK-WhItpp2B-AE85p7xxRgyNk_ju80xaK_n4Cdxw5K9YoWV4oBc8dDMYIGy7GwRQbbmyusE3ur6kBkvhTbvxUnoaGy6B8hMSg52htqKjeeBaWjyPKraPjM9QV3i0rDCg9d12SL1F1G/s320/photo+1.JPG" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-30220312363935867242014-05-12T08:19:00.000-07:002014-05-12T08:19:06.233-07:001 Week in... Well, I opened up my hive to check out what the girls have been up to since I hived them last Saturday.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZQnPCPCvEk8jYbxUIt2HgzXpiEjCJZ-GzFiNbkbwcCBldY1L-cbu0q4J5UWqye2TBedcItJWANR7015AP_rDxANghJzV2aXGmU2G96DkyT1tdIFJ3SZLj2txLSGKZI5DvypnLZzxmQPw/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZQnPCPCvEk8jYbxUIt2HgzXpiEjCJZ-GzFiNbkbwcCBldY1L-cbu0q4J5UWqye2TBedcItJWANR7015AP_rDxANghJzV2aXGmU2G96DkyT1tdIFJ3SZLj2txLSGKZI5DvypnLZzxmQPw/s200/photo.JPG" /></a></div>
They had been running through a quart of syrup (1:1 sugar and water mixture)almost every day, which is supposed to be a good sign that things are going well. Yes, and no. The good is that the bees are working their tails off making honeycomb. This is called "drawing comb" in the biz, by the way. "Yeah, my gals drew about six frames of comb last week," is probably what I would say at a Beekeeping party, if I were invited to one. Then I might say,"Is anybody buzzed yet?" Or not. Anywho... the not so good thing is that I didn't notice any eggs laid in any of the comb. Bummer. This means one of two (or about 50) things. The biggest possibility it that the queen just hasn't started laying becasue she is not completely comfy yet. The next biggest possibility is that the queen is a failure and there is a good chance my hive will decline and die. That would be a drag. Apparently I can order a new queen and maybe save the hive, but if I wait too long it will be too late. I have seen the queen and she looks happy and healthy, crawling around being a busybody. I don't really want to give up on her after a week, but this realm of maverick beekeeping is a cutthroat world. I am going out there after school today. If I dont' see any eggs, I will order a new queen, and send my present one to the guillotine.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__0CABbbT4KQhIiJJRpdO-bNdVSesllmDT1wZL6k4fIw-2Q_2MggJ1mmgBOIGRzFF84QOq-Yu9H4OqB0245Thdf_VCh4Vj0C6bpCa454cQZfLsAzIrElsGj_MTSaFAH13lTZmhnc7PEsj/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__0CABbbT4KQhIiJJRpdO-bNdVSesllmDT1wZL6k4fIw-2Q_2MggJ1mmgBOIGRzFF84QOq-Yu9H4OqB0245Thdf_VCh4Vj0C6bpCa454cQZfLsAzIrElsGj_MTSaFAH13lTZmhnc7PEsj/s200/photo+1.JPG" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-22849401813997392952014-05-05T08:29:00.000-07:002014-05-05T08:34:24.916-07:00Maverick Beekeeper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjy7ie0m9T_VXqqKRxS2L_hTMXIboMcyFckV8AicIx6arg06kGhFfDovXn4fVr4kGVhntdeJmhQ2kQ4_-KIRy_rG0Qc2S9Re5uhIOkWcYDSupdK85uIcuF-Y9kyWdBSS7Q34xt0mYAugOs/s1600/20140503_180328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjy7ie0m9T_VXqqKRxS2L_hTMXIboMcyFckV8AicIx6arg06kGhFfDovXn4fVr4kGVhntdeJmhQ2kQ4_-KIRy_rG0Qc2S9Re5uhIOkWcYDSupdK85uIcuF-Y9kyWdBSS7Q34xt0mYAugOs/s320/20140503_180328.jpg" /></a></div>Well, here I am. Keeping bees. On Saturday I performed a successful hiving of a package of bees. Sadly, I am not very digitally capable, so all I have is one photo of me after the successful hiving. You can see the smile of a job well done on my face. You can also see, in my hand, the book <i>The Circle</i> by David Eggers. I used it to cover the hole of the bee package after I removed the sugar water feeding can that comes with the bees. I always knew Eggers was good for something...
I decided to get some bees because my friend Solar Chaucer told me last year up on Lake Bill about how a couple beehives tripled the amount of fruit he harvested from the fruit trees on his property. Intrigued, I started doing some reading. "Self," I said, "you can do this." So I took my daughters, Bubbles and Carlos, down to Sacramento Beekeeping <a href="http://www.sacramentobeekeeping.com/"></a>, bought a box, and ordered a package of bees. We built the box and painted it. I let Bubbles and Carlos choose the colors. We decided on a camoflague(ish) of brown, green, and gold (ish). I don't think I took any photos of that event, but I am going to try to better document this new undertaking henceforth...
Back to the bees. Or rather, the beesuit. Even though I am a rogue beekeeper, I was very concerned about being fashion appropriate while working with my new ladyfrens. Solar suggested coveralls for all the pockets they offer. Looking for a dowel at Emigh Hardware last week, I stumbled upon apair of white coveralls made for a Shaquille Oneal-sized painter. Sweeeeet! Now, not only am I covered head to toe in white, I also sport the sagging look favored by most of the sophomers that I teach.
Tomorrow will be day 3 of the the new hive. I am supposed to open the hive and check to make sure the queen has been released from her cage. I'll try to take some photos.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-4490138264487108132009-02-20T18:37:00.000-08:002009-02-20T19:17:45.949-08:00ListsWell, it is that time of year at work. Classes are finished, finals are graded, grades are calculated, and there is nothing left to do but throw away the detritus of this year and waste time. The 21st century has brought us a wonderful new way of wasting time- Blogging!!! So, I decided to make a few lists for today's blogpost. The first one is my supergroup:<br />vocals- John Fogarty<br />lead guitar- Curt Kirkwood<br />Rhythm Guitar- Buddy Holly and Joe Strummer<br />Bass- Mike Watt<br />Drums- Keith Moon<br />Fiddle- Jason Kleinberg<br />Keyboards- Ray Charles<br />Harmonica- Sonny Terry<br />Interpretive dancing- me<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7jjDtFQUeJ7SLlwj-JcttXhcnZDXFnkKGiJ-flz86BrqovMtI6fMNxr5o8vlG5Nugxnhw5jk6DjfB3Zyd-1TlZHhZUhY-vugF7kLjl3CNe5ultV4vs5MwaNuPpKxFurtVbJPGrpMvtGz/s1600-h/sonny-terry.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 40px; height: 50px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7jjDtFQUeJ7SLlwj-JcttXhcnZDXFnkKGiJ-flz86BrqovMtI6fMNxr5o8vlG5Nugxnhw5jk6DjfB3Zyd-1TlZHhZUhY-vugF7kLjl3CNe5ultV4vs5MwaNuPpKxFurtVbJPGrpMvtGz/s320/sonny-terry.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305078871370683410" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBG2v_cW7K9DYhFo_8wNfknc0ihk5glkx5zRr9hhSryadjx_i6Wcz_34EbhQt4Ds8QGARvcuP8sv2PA7nO-T7ChLUvAsO1rPB_3u-8t0uAX1bv96net-RV86fozL2_uRuFycsBJ7t9PVES/s1600-h/jword.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; 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cursor:hand;width: 50px; height: 50px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihJMqfgU7GLs09zkMabB4s2A8KZZtA4aUgzxSuU0u16wzCTuNhsyoISbWy6Itz-zYxHowMD5GnRol2tiBab7iJqlCsfO4adU_HH_JwmHDf_a0F2mDetpaRBpUzi00A2avzQ3WWam5_3LoH/s320/John_Fogerty_20070212_50.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305078620026376802" /></a> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbyKpnL4wRbAhE0K1FLiLtIJaIXWYGHTOAsiWJ4tB_LEypzLwYYpqaRI6i03zZDNhHFElK00-dvWwnUSHjK3W-0kD_uoNRpG_KdQL7kh0-ctTkAT1GKAw2u73cS3m0zJ9BGmt03SAts9h/s1600-h/joestrummer.bmp"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 50px; height: 50px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHbyKpnL4wRbAhE0K1FLiLtIJaIXWYGHTOAsiWJ4tB_LEypzLwYYpqaRI6i03zZDNhHFElK00-dvWwnUSHjK3W-0kD_uoNRpG_KdQL7kh0-ctTkAT1GKAw2u73cS3m0zJ9BGmt03SAts9h/s320/joestrummer.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305078617209936434" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrjG1U3usnI9iA-3yDc9_7WN0jeQMC5B5JoDhz2gUP9et1TfpthNQsX1Pji1wjPGTGoGHGtwVufnprQ4QcTN2da_soTHHMGfEmtYyoJxnQYMEst6VDOh_RndKe_56rJwQiMm6UXn7WwSx/s1600-h/curtkirkwood.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 50px; height: 50px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrjG1U3usnI9iA-3yDc9_7WN0jeQMC5B5JoDhz2gUP9et1TfpthNQsX1Pji1wjPGTGoGHGtwVufnprQ4QcTN2da_soTHHMGfEmtYyoJxnQYMEst6VDOh_RndKe_56rJwQiMm6UXn7WwSx/s320/curtkirkwood.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305078614339483474" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFLytgg0-6QE53PP6z7snolgZm8OVeRJjJGCsFRYUwKXjmnX2V-8EQHP8u9Id3Wf6itAYtkGKVze6dYBxu7mAx4J__EjQl2Y5ruuqR1pEHGv4NpDGFS_rRHKpm9k5KDjKYjpgliHJGWMK/s1600-h/Buddy%2520Holly.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 45px; height: 45px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFLytgg0-6QE53PP6z7snolgZm8OVeRJjJGCsFRYUwKXjmnX2V-8EQHP8u9Id3Wf6itAYtkGKVze6dYBxu7mAx4J__EjQl2Y5ruuqR1pEHGv4NpDGFS_rRHKpm9k5KDjKYjpgliHJGWMK/s320/Buddy%2520Holly.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305078613717528146" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnK0wZRCiNJK3Ob-gqk1rXHQTIPtxbaOL4G4WLbsqJZBwPtjWTThGwgVt3hBfN5SqQ3BvFi_uIXrExy_keKU4dqQ-E4IXR-sH339ENgd2wmjimru_B_b7hOYSXqyqkFRwH9VX18Ye9XdZe/s1600-h/mikeWatt.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 36px; height: 42px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnK0wZRCiNJK3Ob-gqk1rXHQTIPtxbaOL4G4WLbsqJZBwPtjWTThGwgVt3hBfN5SqQ3BvFi_uIXrExy_keKU4dqQ-E4IXR-sH339ENgd2wmjimru_B_b7hOYSXqyqkFRwH9VX18Ye9XdZe/s320/mikeWatt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305078614554095650" /></a><br />Tell me that group wouldn't raise the roof at your local sockhop.<br /><br />My second list is my all-time Field Day team. Who knows what events will come up- could be 3 on 3 hoop, could be tug-of-war, could be competition Pictionary. Anyway, here are the guys I pick on my squad:<br />Michael Jordan<br />Jason Kidd<br />Nolan Ryan<br />Patrick McCrystle<br />Walter Payton<br />Sergei Bubka<br />Tiger Woods<br />Satchell Paige<br />Andre the Giant<br />Lance Armstrong<br />You'll notice that my team is heavy on winners.<br /><br />Alright, I'm off to do the crossword, the Sudoku, the Scrabble, the word find, and to pretend that the Wizard of Id needs three or seven reads to find the humor in it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-91374490616527209542009-02-19T19:44:00.001-08:002009-02-20T17:37:06.323-08:00Heading HomeA happy post in which I let everyone know that TANK will be in California from March 9th until May 5th.<br /><br />We are really looking forward to the trip. The girls are already Disneyland-crazed, my wife is going to learn how to shoot a gun, and I am hosting a big picnic in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=golden+gate+park&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&ei=QkCeSfikNdjZkAX1tPjSCw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title">Golden Gate Park</a>. If you are in San Francisco on April 25th stop by Lindley Meadow, have some barbecue, play some gaint croquet, and have a tasty beverage.<br /><br />Behold this mesmerizing image: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixp6fOTyCq5ZmJ_9HBWPTwkMrKkMoHhpA8oIjXI-IJDTrxWZZhLHOVo_ZolPvy5JAwn_IMleYzwu0NCNPoKZIGPMvee42cmJYBylFJBk3lWp3-65kqQ96H4TrUr8oOW40nIuJ49UPXoi3H/s1600-h/giant+croquet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixp6fOTyCq5ZmJ_9HBWPTwkMrKkMoHhpA8oIjXI-IJDTrxWZZhLHOVo_ZolPvy5JAwn_IMleYzwu0NCNPoKZIGPMvee42cmJYBylFJBk3lWp3-65kqQ96H4TrUr8oOW40nIuJ49UPXoi3H/s320/giant+croquet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304789945509499218" border="0" /></a> Happy guy smacking giant croquet ball through giant wicket!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-7613910432694681342009-02-11T00:14:00.000-08:002009-02-20T00:38:23.120-08:00Gary Larson, eat your heart out!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6h18ZJRb1ZQUpEKPfb6sbt8T6v2JAFqLv1RKBkTa6X2T0SitG4lzGqYJV_FmXhuiYtsgOsOXYWZnRCxklGPir7_Zdh1ZyvXofHAHaCHQUdmgFwS6Vn2LtJl8bvMHl6yGSIQ_reKq9sK3/s1600-h/cartoon.GIF"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6h18ZJRb1ZQUpEKPfb6sbt8T6v2JAFqLv1RKBkTa6X2T0SitG4lzGqYJV_FmXhuiYtsgOsOXYWZnRCxklGPir7_Zdh1ZyvXofHAHaCHQUdmgFwS6Vn2LtJl8bvMHl6yGSIQ_reKq9sK3/s320/cartoon.GIF" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301452444540590418" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I stole the picture, but still... This basically puts me in the same <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">cartoonish</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">echelon</span> as Gary Larson and the guy who writes Frank and Ernest. Where do I sign?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-50156820111413266912009-01-30T22:42:00.000-08:002009-01-30T23:03:05.806-08:00homeward boundWe'll soon be making the trip from which this blog takes its name. I'm excited about it but a bit reticent as well. There are always expectations and obligations that threaten to overpower the trip. For example, I don't have any desire to see about 90% of the people I'm going to be asked to see. Nor do I want to do about half of the things that are going to be planned. I understand that what I want isn't that important, but it doens't make it any less of a bummer to me. I would be happy to wake up, walk to Noah's and Peet's, walk home, work in the garden, and call it a day. An occasional dinner with family / friends of family, a weekend alone with my friends in SF, and a week there with my wife and kids in tow would be good enough for me. I doubt it's going to be that laid back.<br /><br />ps- I know that this post is awfully quick on the heels of the last one, but there is an uber-blogger at work who is making me feel neglectful.<br /><br />His <a href="http://www.court-merrigan.blogspot.com/">blog</a> is worth checking out:Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-74685196027240604632008-11-12T23:57:00.000-08:002008-11-13T20:42:59.858-08:00Loy Krathong<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_sMp58liFgT5b5mbbv9QFhJ9Z2PyzlthHe49pfUcsWdbejY82iF6u336hEF5uxJLJbw7ugmc09JhUIaIZTcpyev-VO_zwisYJGrHg1b74AqdRoDulbUcpbfHZmbE7Bdv70uljz5E3jQI/s1600-h/Loy+Krathong1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga_sMp58liFgT5b5mbbv9QFhJ9Z2PyzlthHe49pfUcsWdbejY82iF6u336hEF5uxJLJbw7ugmc09JhUIaIZTcpyev-VO_zwisYJGrHg1b74AqdRoDulbUcpbfHZmbE7Bdv70uljz5E3jQI/s320/Loy+Krathong1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268053999172418354" /></a><br />In California most people no longer hold animist beliefs, contrary to what red and purple state folks think. Here in Thailand, however, there is all manner of believin going on, from buddhism to shamanism to animism to downright superstition. I don't mind it at all. Last night was the Thai festival of Loy Krathong. It is a thank you celebrtaion to the spirits of the water, from which rice grows and life flows. Or something. We celebrated at the temple, floating our homemade krathong in a small pond of dirty water. I didn't stick around for the beauty contests, blaring music, or carnival games, but my wife and kids did. They had a great time.<br /><br />Last week we put up a spirit house, which is a little cement tower that looks like a temple. My wife prays there and burns incense and makes merit in front of it. As it was going up there had to be an old guy there to make various incantations and ablutions and stuff. He is, I suppose, a shaman. He was wearing all white clothes but other than that looked like any other old-timer in my neighborhood. No nose-bone or bird-of-paradise feather headdress. <br /><br />Somewhere I have some photos.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-18044700785047908772008-09-19T20:28:00.000-07:002008-09-19T21:05:27.940-07:002nd postI was thinking about one of the main reasons I moved to Thailand the other day, namely a major reduction in stress. Ann and I recently moved into a brand new house that I designed and we had built by a contractor who lives down the road. Although the house is nice, it has a number of minor and one major problem that have caused me a whopping pile of stress.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-466353521353528931.post-67704059013204989032007-02-22T23:39:00.000-08:002008-09-19T21:07:34.320-07:00First PostYesterday a bunch of Muslim separatists blew up a slew of businesses and schools in Narathiwat. I have always wondered how these people can claim Muslim brotherhood and then kill five innocent Muslims to prove it.<br /><br /><br />In better news, my youngest daughter is walking. Her name is Kelly, named because it rhymes with Neli, which is her big sister's name, and for Kelly Leak, the centerfielder for the bad News Bears.<br /><br />So I have been listening to Snow, by Curt Kirkwood, a lot lately. Curt was the singer/songwriter/guitarwizard for the Meat Puppets, my favorite band for many years. He released a solo effort not too long ago that I think is well worth the thirteen bucks you gotta drop to get a CD these days. Gone are the wailing electric gutiars. Still there are the odd and interesting lyrics, the groovy rhythms, and the overall slow dusty feeling of a folk song.<br /><br />Living in Thailand has given me a lot of time to read. Unfortunately, my daughters try their hardest to take this time from me, but I still manage to get some done...<br />Having said that, the best book I have read in a long time is Cormac McCarthy's latest novel, The Road. It is a post-apocalyptic story of a man and his son hanging on to life as they walk through the remains of civilazation towards some sort of rescue. I have rarely read a book with such simple narrative yet complete and absorbing characterization. I thought his last book, No Country for Old Men, was pretty bad. The Road, however, has pushed me squarely back into his corner as America's greatest living writer.<br /><br /><br />You ought to check out Snow, by Curt Kirkwood.<iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpthailandt-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000ASATZI&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />You ought to read The Road, by Cormac McCarthy.<iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=httpthailandt-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0307265439&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&amp;lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09971261153766697570noreply@blogger.com1