02 August 2010
Waking Up
18 February 2010
Johnny Weir - Olympic Figure Skater
You gotta love Johnny Weir (a young figure skater taking part in the 2010 Winter Olympic games in Vancouver) for standing up for himself against Animal Rights Activitists.
In an obvious anti-fur activist rant, by Erin Donnelly down at Stylelist.com, these "Crazy Fur People" once again try to inject THEIR ideology into the lives of people who just don't give a damn about some perfectionist's view.
Follow the link to the story:
Johnny Weir 'Loves Wearing Dead Animals,' Calls Animal Rights Activists 'Crazy Fur People'
Animals, and every part of their carcass, are a natural resource. Their hides, teeth, bones, and flesh have been used by mankind for thousands, perhaps millions of years. And, in the course of just the last fifty years, these "Crazy Fur People" want to put an end to it? This goes right along with their desire to do away with the use of carbon fuels and nuclear energy. Changes that just cannot happen over-night. I wonder, just how will people stay warm IF the "grid" suddenly fails?
Faux (Fake) fur does have its merits. It's far more plentiful than natural fur, cheaper, and largely resistant to insects. It also comes in a wide range of colors and textures. However, this isn't the issue for Donnelly's story.
The real issue was about "preferences" and people dictating to others how they should Think. As noble as the "Crazy Fur People" feel about their stance, they have no desire to allow people to think for themselves or act as they choose. This isn't noble...this is enslavement. A noble action wouldn't require the use of threats. A noble action in this case would be to provide assistance and advice for alternative materials...and get out of the way.
Johnny Weir certainly deserves some respect for making a stance against this enslavement of HIS preferences, and Erin Donnelly should find a different career outside of Internet journalism.
Fur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur
Fake Fur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_fur
How "Fake Fur" is Made
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Fake-Fur.html
03 February 2010
How to Survive A Bear Attack
Okay....this video is a hoot and a half...so I had to share it.
(No, I didn't create it.)
(No, I didn't create it.)
February
I'm never satisfied with the look of my pages be it a profile, blog, or whatever. I seem to be constantly tweaking layouts and graphics, adding links, or changing content. So....
This week I've revamped both of my MySpace and CamoSpace pages to much simpler formats and added some small graphics to them...for sharing. Then I decided to do away with the original black/white coloring on this page for a little more professional and eye-catching look. I hope you like it! (Sorry if the header graphic loads a little slower than normal...not much I could do about the file size.)
February is probably in the top two of my favorite months of the year. Some folks probably hold off on turning in their tax returns until April, but by February 1st, I've usually already filed mine with the IRS. So, for starters, I'm usually looking forward to a nice check.
February is also one of two times during the year when I'm on the farm alone. During my son's winter break from school, I fly him out to spend a couple weeks with his mother. So, I usually get a couple of weeks of absolutely no stress, no noise, and no arguing. If I so choose, I don't even have to turn on the television, and I often don't when he's not around. I usually just work, sleep, and snowboard, but this year is going to be a little different...
For starters...From May of 2009 through the rest of the year, I ran into a few financial issues that consumed much of my attention and required a lot of budget juggling. The arrival of my income tax return will nail the culmination of those issues closed...Finally!
Now, I usually blow most of my tax return on snowboarding trips and gear. This year I'm opting to pick up a new bow (which has already been ordered - Mathew's Reezeen 7.0), new arrows, a new computer, a couple trail-cams, a video camera, and then the rest will be added into savings. So, an exciting time February will be!
This February is also looking to be a very relaxing one compared to the last four years. Normally, the snow is piled up high and I'll average two to four hours a day moving snow. So far this month we have just four to twelve inches of the stuff. So, I haven't had to spend a lot of time dealing with it and have been able to work on getting other chores and projects done. And, with still a good month and a half before the boss returns, I'm ahead of the game with just five more small projects to go...then I'll muddle around tidying up...unless we get snow.
I also want to extend a "Happy Birthday!!" to my friend Lori Chappell (Feb 2nd), with whom I lived with in California for nearly seven years. Love you, and best of wishes to you! *Big Happy Birthday Hugs* :D
11 January 2010
My Introduction to Fishing
Although the beginning of my interest in the outdoors trumps the beginning of my introduction to fishing, it was through fishing that I've actually spent most of my time outdoors. The affinity for the Outdoors was just a matter of that it was there...outside. The fishing came later at around the age of six or seven and it all began with a trip down to the local grocery for my mom.
The grocery store was just a hundred yards from the house, not even remotely in the direction of the river or local lake. On our way back from the grocery and while crossing the parking lot of the town hall, I happened upon a twenty dollar bill. I was excited! I ran the rest of the way home shreaking with glee..."Mom! Look what I found!"
Now, in my head I was thinking of all the cool stuff I could buy with that twenty dollar bill. Mom had other ideas, and the first one was to see if anyone local had lost it, perhaps someone that worked at the town hall. But, after a couple weeks of failing to give away my sweet find, she conceded defeat and allowed me to blow it all on toys. I still remember that day in the toy store too...but I no longer remember what I bought with the exception of a butterfly net.
I wasn't a butterfly person at the time, nor a bug person. I think I just ran out of cheap stuff to buy and so I likely settled on it. I do recall, though, the day I took it down to the meadow for a test spin whacking at bees, grasshoppers, and butterflies, and when I would catch something I would just let it go and run...hoping not to get stung. I also remember that I was alone..walking through the woods, then the meadow, and then to the woods beyond the meadow. I was heading into prohibited turf at this point because my parents greatest fear lay just beyond the meadow...the river.
To me, the river was an exciting place. But, looking back, the river bank, cut steep by the currents, fallen trees, and the fact that I didn't know how to swim...would have been any parent's nightmare. The fact remains though, that I was there and I was doing my part in exploring America...armed with a butterfly net.
As I followed the river I came upon the dam just beneath the bridge in Oneco, Connecticutt. At that point, I knew where I was. My only question was how do I get home without revealing that I had been down to the river. And, just when I was thinking about following the river back downstream, my older brother Jack called to me "Hey, what are you doing down here?" and he didn't seem too happy about it.
Jack is seven years older than I, so at fourteen he had permission to venture to the river and on this particular day he happen to be fishing. He yelled to me to cross the bridge and so I did. As I walked up to him on the other side of the dam he hooked a fish. I was excited being with him at the river, but not really knowing what the heck he was doing. He was excited too! "Give me your net!" I don't even remember asking "what for?", I just handed it to him and he dunked it in the water and pulled it out with a fish in it.
I was reborn a fisherman right at that moment. Hooked! Then the handle of my net broke. Bummer! But, look at that F-I-S-H! I couldn't take my eyes off it. What I didn't know while we walked up the hill towards home was that this fish was a smallmouth bass. I also didn't know of the butt-whooping I was about to get. (I was hoping the FISH would distract everyone.) Wrong!
No doubt, holding my son after he was born was the best day of my life. But, the day I was introduced to fishing is forever etched into my memory.
===================
Added:
Not too long after that day, my brother Jack took me fishing and I caught my first fish, a 12 3/4" Brown Trout.
When my son was three I took him fishing hoping to give him the same thrill. He hooked, fought, and netted his first fish (Brook Trout) on his very first cast...and then proceded to catch a couple dozen more over the next hour. Between him and the two other kids we brought along, I didn't even get a chance to put my own line in the water. Nor did I need to.
Location: Virginia Lakes, Sierra Mtns, CA.
The grocery store was just a hundred yards from the house, not even remotely in the direction of the river or local lake. On our way back from the grocery and while crossing the parking lot of the town hall, I happened upon a twenty dollar bill. I was excited! I ran the rest of the way home shreaking with glee..."Mom! Look what I found!"
Now, in my head I was thinking of all the cool stuff I could buy with that twenty dollar bill. Mom had other ideas, and the first one was to see if anyone local had lost it, perhaps someone that worked at the town hall. But, after a couple weeks of failing to give away my sweet find, she conceded defeat and allowed me to blow it all on toys. I still remember that day in the toy store too...but I no longer remember what I bought with the exception of a butterfly net.
I wasn't a butterfly person at the time, nor a bug person. I think I just ran out of cheap stuff to buy and so I likely settled on it. I do recall, though, the day I took it down to the meadow for a test spin whacking at bees, grasshoppers, and butterflies, and when I would catch something I would just let it go and run...hoping not to get stung. I also remember that I was alone..walking through the woods, then the meadow, and then to the woods beyond the meadow. I was heading into prohibited turf at this point because my parents greatest fear lay just beyond the meadow...the river.
To me, the river was an exciting place. But, looking back, the river bank, cut steep by the currents, fallen trees, and the fact that I didn't know how to swim...would have been any parent's nightmare. The fact remains though, that I was there and I was doing my part in exploring America...armed with a butterfly net.
As I followed the river I came upon the dam just beneath the bridge in Oneco, Connecticutt. At that point, I knew where I was. My only question was how do I get home without revealing that I had been down to the river. And, just when I was thinking about following the river back downstream, my older brother Jack called to me "Hey, what are you doing down here?" and he didn't seem too happy about it.
Jack is seven years older than I, so at fourteen he had permission to venture to the river and on this particular day he happen to be fishing. He yelled to me to cross the bridge and so I did. As I walked up to him on the other side of the dam he hooked a fish. I was excited being with him at the river, but not really knowing what the heck he was doing. He was excited too! "Give me your net!" I don't even remember asking "what for?", I just handed it to him and he dunked it in the water and pulled it out with a fish in it.
I was reborn a fisherman right at that moment. Hooked! Then the handle of my net broke. Bummer! But, look at that F-I-S-H! I couldn't take my eyes off it. What I didn't know while we walked up the hill towards home was that this fish was a smallmouth bass. I also didn't know of the butt-whooping I was about to get. (I was hoping the FISH would distract everyone.) Wrong!
No doubt, holding my son after he was born was the best day of my life. But, the day I was introduced to fishing is forever etched into my memory.
===================
Added:
Not too long after that day, my brother Jack took me fishing and I caught my first fish, a 12 3/4" Brown Trout.
When my son was three I took him fishing hoping to give him the same thrill. He hooked, fought, and netted his first fish (Brook Trout) on his very first cast...and then proceded to catch a couple dozen more over the next hour. Between him and the two other kids we brought along, I didn't even get a chance to put my own line in the water. Nor did I need to.
Location: Virginia Lakes, Sierra Mtns, CA.
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