Monday, December 28, 2009
outside of the bubble
It also trys to record all of my pictures every time I copy music to it despite my efforts to turn that feature off. That's really a pain. I'd be happy to have one that didn't bother with pictures, or at least let you turn it off. What am I going to do with a thing like this that has my pictures on it?
Welcome to the modern world, a co-worker said..
Sunday, December 27, 2009
the Stockmans Bar
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Flathead River picture
Monday, December 14, 2009
The rabbit lives
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Clark Fork River rocks
It was misty, quiet and kind of eerie along the river that morning. I parked my car at a fishing access and started to roam along the river taking pictures and looking for rocks. I went through a muddy section and and saw some cat tracks. It wasn't a bobcat or anything like that due to the size and the stride. It was a mountain lion/ cougar. A mountain cat. I've seen a lot of cougar tracks in this area along the river and saw one run across the road infront of my car not too far from here. My mom saw a great big one as did one of my friends. The one my mom saw sounded like it was really big from what she described. The one I saw was medium sized.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Gift exchange ideas
Friday, December 04, 2009
Clear and cold
There isn't really enough snow to ski yet even though they have it open. I'm more than ready for my first turns. It's been snowing so perhaps I'll be on my skis soon.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
A walk in the park
Thursday, November 26, 2009
The road home
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Ribbons and bows
sign her letters with X's and O's..
I knew a girl like that.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Angry old man
On the other hand..
It's hard to find good content. On TV. On the radio, and on the internet.. I realize that's a sentence fragment..
It's hard to find a good blog actually. And after you find one they seem to go away. Like Dating Drama and My Dog. That was a great blog and now it's gone. Or you'll find a good blog and you'll get to liking that person and they will lock the blog or something.. Or they'll say,. "I'm done blogging but you can find me on Facebook"..
I've been thinking about Facebook. Just one of the things I've been thinking about.. I multi-think actually.. I think they ought to have friends on Facebook, but also have a website for enemies.. You could have a wall to just argue with your enemies on.. They could call it Sh**list or something.
And what about those people who don't show their face on their "facebook" page.. ? What's up with them? That's something I'd do..
I've been thinking how much I don't like the new Yahoo page. I don't know.. I just can't like a page that presents me with a big grey box on the screen that tells me that I might like something else.. What were they thinking when they came up with that? I've even had better ideas than that.. Like bringing back the Hitler moustache...
Well I can't grow a moustache.. I can but it makes me look like I've forgotten to shave.
But here's the really exciting thing that I've been buiding up to in this post. We've all heard about how great duct tape is.. I have a friend who has written an unpublished book on all of the things you can use it for. Several months ago I got a sliver in my finger. My fourth finger on my left hand. My angry old man finger. Right on the tip. The sliver went straight in and I coudln't get it out. It hurt for about a week. I thought it would disolve or something, but it turned into a wart. I'm not sure if it's really a wart but that's the only way I can describe it. It was really bothering me plus it was making it hard to play guitar. I can't afford to go to the doctor with this because I have a thirty thousand dollar deductable on my insurance and no doubt they'd use it to deny me coverage in the future.
So out of desperation I decided to try duct tape on it. It seems to be working. I've had the duct tape on it for three days now and no question, there's been a big improvement! I'd say it's half the size that it was. I was going to photograph it to document the progress but I decided not to as it's kind of disgusting.
***
Ok so I had to remove the part about this girl's boyfriend's back video. Didn't meet my decency standards, and people might have gotten the wrong idea.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Winter camp
It was exactly the same conditions that I wrecked a 4 wheel drive as a kid in. I was hunting with my Dad and he was teaching me how to drive before I had a license. Pretty difficult conditions to learn to drive in. I was coming down a steep slick snowy road and lost control. Rolled it three times down this hillside with both of us in it. I've often though of how different my life would have been if he'd died in that crash. I had flashbacks to that last Sunday as I slid down that road.
I got to a flat place where I could stop. That's where I took the picture of my camper. My friend and I decided to share chains. We both had rear chains but you needed them on the front wheels too. So I removed my chains and we took them up to my friend's truck in the jeep and he drove out. Then we took all four chains back to my truck and I drove out.. So here's a picture of my truck all chained up. (Notice the chains on the front wheels of my camper)
I've been really busy at work. Who cares right? But that's good I guess. I usually don't talk about work here. At least I won't loose my job for now. It's like if we don't have enough work we will all loose our jobs and it's unsettling. It's sort of like this thing constantly hanging over us. We're either busy to the point that we can't handle it all or we're gonna loose our jobs. It's like there's no middle ground.
Oh yeah. I fixed the action on my new guitar myself. Now I'm enjoying it. I took it to the guitar guy three times. First the action was too low. Then it was too high. Then he made it too low again. So I decided to do something about it myself. I got it pretty good. It's still a little high but not bad. At least I can deal with it now.I got this new coffee maker... Quisinart.. You can set the time you want it to make coffee. So I get up and the coffee is ready to drink. That's pretty slick. I didn't think I'd like that but I do. It saves me time and brain power in the morning.
I had sausage and cabbage for dinner tonight. Good German meal. Used to have that when I was growing up. It's really easy to make. Just boil some cabbage and have some sausage in there. (I used fully cooked German sausage sliced) That's it. If you use uncooked sausage you have to cook that first. Then put it in with the cabbage and boil it.
That's about it for now. Soon I'll be skiing. I hope everyone is doing well.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Lodgepole Pine
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Camp photos
I call this picture; chair, guitar and fire. Or chair, fire and guitar... Chair, fire, guitar and stump... Well I haven't exactly decided. That's the difference between punk rock and camp rock. In punk rock you smash the guitar into the amplifier at the end of the song. In camp rock you just throw the guitar on the fire and cook a hotdog over it.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Flathead River
I retain the rights to all of my photos. Please do not use without permission.
Monday, November 02, 2009
You aint goin to no bar!
Good grief! I thought. They went past me in the bolt section and walked away. The little girl following along behind not saying a word. She was all of ten years old.
How I wish I had a daughter like that I thought as I watched them walked away. We'd never have a conversation like that. I'd enroll her in girl scouts and teach her how to tie a BOWLINE knot. I'd get her a camera and tell her how nice her pictures looked. I'd give her dance lessons and let her pick out a shelter dog.
But we wouldn't be talking about going to no bar.
***
The rabbit comes out of its hole, around the tree, and back down its hole... That always confused me. But if you're going to learn one knot, learn how to tie a bowline. They shouldn't graduate people from college until they can tie it.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Daylight savings time
You know, I'm not that fond of November. Maybe we could have two more weeks of October and two more weeks of December, and just save November in case we need an extra month in the spring.. We could throw it inbetween April and May. Or perhaps we could use November for an extra month of summer..
I got my guitar back from the luthier and now it's better, but I'm still not that fond of it, so I'll probably be selling it. I think there might be a Martin in my future.
I'll be keeping the case.. I could put my laptop in it. and a change of clothes..
Friday, October 30, 2009
Storm clouds
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tweed guitar case
But I have to admit that I even like it now. I think I like it better than the guitar that came in it.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The great pumpkin
Monday, October 19, 2009
Tamarack and Larch
Here's a picture of a young Tamarack that I took last year deep in the forest that was starting to change color. That post is HERE.
I retain the rights to all of my photos. Please do not use without permission.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Flathead River pictures
I retain all rights to my photos. Please do not use any of my photos without permission.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Outhouse picture
Monday, September 28, 2009
Leftover chicken
You know that chicken you get in the grocery store? They cook two kinds baked and fried. The fried kind has this golden brown breading on it. 8 piece.. and they grab it with tongs and put it in a paper box. When they grab, I count. Could be doing the slide of hand as they move pieces around to get you the right eight.. Plus what if they give you one drumstick and three thighs?! That would just be wrong, and under that breading how can you really know?
If they were to segregate the chicken when they cooked it instead of when they served it, they could save time I thought, and much more of the breading would stay on the chicken.. After the first day if they don't sell it they put it on a black plastic tray with plastic wrap and sell it cold. It starts to become less golden and more brown. And it would be one thing if they lowered the price after the first day, and I guess they do a little, but if you ask me it's worth paying more for first day chicken unless you like your grease dry..
Who doesn't own a swim suit?.. Isn't that a little dysfunctional? I thought as we looked around her apartment complex. I wanted to get in the hot tub with this girl, and she really was on the edge, unlike me of course..Plus she had a great body, perhaps a swim suit was a little to square for her?.. "I can wear some shorts" she said. Shorts and a T shirt. She really was pretty, but she could be really ugly too. She had a problem I never fully understood. When she was straight she was sweet and hot, kind of like that mustard,.. but when she was messed up she was like split pea soup, the little girl in the Exorcist. The contrast was hard to imagine. One moment she would straighening my collar and tell me how nice I looked, and the next moment she was barfing pea soup and her head was spinning around 360 degrees. (not sure how many degrees in Celcius)
I pulled off the highway at night and drove into a small town to get some things at the grocery store. As I walked up to the store all of the people seemed edgy to me. But then I thought, I'm one of the edgy people too. We are all edgy at this store or we wouldn't be doing our shopping this time of night. After I got my things I went up to the counter to pay. Behind me in line came this woman. A woman from my past. I glanced at her. Is that her? I asked myself.. It is. It has to be. She glanced at me but we both did a good job of not noticing eachother.
She had a package of leftover chicken on a black plastic tray, the golden breading shrivled and brown. She could just throw that in the toilet when she got home I thought. It could save a lot of effort. "They have a good deal on soup" I wanted to say..
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Montana rocks!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Boat ride to Wild Horse Island
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Glacier Park Photos
A cabin at Lake McDonald that you can rent. I tooked around in one of these while it was being cleaned. Very rustic. You can walk right out of these and down to the shore of Lake McDonald. They are all a little different too with bigger and smaller ones depending on your needs.
This chair was at the back of one of the buildings that the staff use at Lake McDonald Lodge. Looks like a good place to sit and play a guitar I'm thinking. A lot of the buildings are painted brown like this.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
SpokeFest 2009 photos
Best Jersey, Stratocaster.
I rode with my friend Gary who I turned on to cycling and now it's his main form of working out. If you love a sport you have to convert someone.
This girl gets best form award. She had a really cool kit on that looked like a skirt, and her Cannondale bike fits her perfectly. Best smile too.
And here's a shot of the Spokane River and Pavilion that I took at the end of the ride.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
SpokeFest Spokane
I decided to stick around and ride in SpokeFest again this year. It's going to be perfect weather for it. Sunny and warm for this time of year. Last year I used my single speed bike. That was ok until I got to Doomsday Hill. I had to fly up it like Marco Pantani to keep the bike going in my one gear. I wasn't trying to show off, I just didn't have any options. Go fast up the hill to keep the crank going around or walk. I did it ok without walking but it was a little radical. So this year I'm going to ride my vintage Gitane Team and I'll have 10 gears to choose from. 5 chainrings on the back wheel and 2 on the crank. Now they call bikes 10 speeds when they have 10 gears on the back wheel, but there are actually 20 gear combinations on them if they have 2 chainrings on the crank. You knew that!
I've been wanting to ride the Gitane in a group ride, but I don't want to ride it all day so this is a good event for it. It seems like overkill to ride my regular road bike. Here's a pic of my baby. Old baby I guess I should say...
My vacation relaxation only took a couple of days to wear off. I guess that's the way it goes. I rode over 80 miles in Glacier Park. I made an attempt on the Going To The Sun Road but there was road construction about half way up and they had the pavement torn up for two miles. So I turned around when the pavement ended. No way could I ride my skinny tires on the dirt. It's too dangerous up there. Tuesday a motorcycle went off of the road and the guy fell to his death. But I did ride up and down Lake McDonald and up to the road work. It was really nice if not really cold early each morning. It would be in the low 40s F in the mornings and up to 90 degrees F in the afternoon. Who knows what it was C !?.. 32 I guess..
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Glacier Park Photos
(it's Mt. Reynolds. Thanks! I get those two confused.)
I'm not sure what these plants are called. I've never noticed them before. In case I've discovered a new plant, I named them Wild Hippy Hair Weeds.. They were doing the Hippy Hippy Shake in the wind.
This is a picture of where Snyder Creek comes into Lake McDonald. It was so hot I swam in the lake to cool off. If I really wanted to cool off I'd get in the Snyder Creek water coming into the lake. It was like turning on the cold tap.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Glacier Park vacation
Then in the afternoon I took the Highline Trail that goes from Logan Pass to Granite Park along the Garden Wall which you can see at right. I didn't go all the way to Granite Park as I didn't have enough daylight, but I did go to Haystack which is the hump you see in the distance. I wanted to make it to Haystack because I wanted to see over the other side, but kept looking at my watch because I didn't want to get caught out late up there. It's not a place you want to hike alone late in the day. If anything were to happen and you had to spend the night out it could be disaster, not to mention the Grizzly Bear issue. I timed it right although I think I was the last person off of the trail that day. Not good actually although I know the trail well. The wind really got strong and there are several places you could be blown away to your death. I guess it's happened.
One day after I went cycling in the morning, I took the canoe out on Lake McDonald. It was hot and calm all afternoon which is kind of unusual for Glacier but I knew it would be a good day to be on the water. This view is looking southwest towards Apgar. I'm infront of Lake McDonald Lodge where I stayed. I'd paddle along and then beach the canoe and go for a dip in the cold water.
The water was so clear I could see the shadow of my canoe on the bottom when the water was really deep. I could see fish swimming along too and one time a whole bunch of them swam by. I beached the canoe several times and went swimming. The bottom drops off steep in places and when you swim under water and look into the deep it is the most beautiful turquoise color. It was really amazing. I was wishing I had an underwater camera.
Here's a picture of my car canoe and bike at Apgar as I left the park. I have room for one more bike on the other side of the canoe. I stayed at Lake McDonald Lodge at the other end of the lake and Hiked in those Mountains. I rode my bike in the morning from the far end of the lake to this end and back. I had to time trial on my way back to Lake McDonald Lodge to check out on time. I rode over 80 miles while I was in the park. I took a lot of pictures too so perhaps I'll post a few more later.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wild Horse Island Bighorn
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Learning to water ski
I usually don't post pictures of people I know, but I like this picture too much.