Random

I keep forgetting to write stuff…… Crazy Bizzy.
Here are my disjointed thoughts of the moment:

I need to mow.
I sure wish Uncle Sam would send my tax refund.
Freelance drafting activities on the way.
Damn….. this computers old.
Nice daffodils.
Termites suck.
I’m getting one of those Atari Joysticks with the games built in.
Maybe even a bean bag……
Payday!
Hey…whats that smell?
I’m ready to go camping.

Lost Valley

I finished another lap around the sun last weekend and had an awesome time. Me and the clan headed out to Lost Valley by the Buffalo River and enjoyed the bounty of kick-ass Ozark goodness. We hiked and climbed and found cool places. Me and my little hiking angel crawled into a cave with a creek coming out of it, and when we got all the way back, it opened up into a huge cavern with a 35 foot waterfall coming out of the ceiling. This was her 2nd cave this year, and she loved it. She’s only six, and she’s never truly busted her butt, so she doesn’t understand the need to be careful yet. Other than that, she’s an excellent hiking companion, and I look forward to many miles of fun and exploration with her.

Galactic News Center

I have survived the spell of the evil ivy, and have returned to normal.
My favorite news this week is that astronomers found a new planet or maybe a planetoid, there seems to be a heated debate about its classification.

You should check out the Hubble website. Some of these pictures will totally blow your mind…… they really make you think. Here we are, one small planet orbiting an unremarkable star in an unremarkable galaxy. I wonder how many civilizations and people like us are living in the Sombrero Galaxy. If there are any, they could be looking at amazing new pictures of the Milky Way Galaxy and wondering the same thing.
Makes me want a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster

sacred ooze

Saturday was a beautiful day for lumber jacktivities. I pulled out my neglected chainsaw and gave it the once over. I sharpened the blade, adjusted the chain, filled it up with fresh clean oil, gassed it up, and headed to the back forty. I was giddy. There’s nothing quite like hearing the wood start to crack when the chainsaw has finished its job, and looking up to watch the dead tree top scrape the blue sky as it agrees to give up its piece of heaven and join its ancestors below with a final thud. It makes my heart pound….. partially from the physical exertion involved, but something else too… the anticipation, the fear that something’s gonna go wrong, the finality…..

One of the trees was completely choked with poison ivy. The vines were as thick as my wrist at the base of the tree. The top of the tree fell off in an ice storm last winter, but there was about 15 feet left. Last summer it was a 15 foot high monument to the Goddess of Oozing Rashes…clad in evil leaves grouped in threes. I was careful, I had gloves, long sleeves, and safety glasses on. I cut through the Ivy with the top of the blade so that the sawdust would shoot away from me. I successfully reduced the tree to a 2 foot stump, then I piled wood around the base of the stump and set it on fire. I kept it burning all day to eliminate the stump. I knew better than to get in the smoke.

It got hot. I took off my flannel shirt. I cut down more dead trees and ended up with saw dust on my arms, I wiped it off with my gloved hand…I was sweating… I wiped my brow with my arm…. Today I write this post while peering through two squinty slits that the Goddess of Oozing Rashes has graciously allowed me to keep even though I toppled her evil temple. I am leaning slightly to the left. This is because my normal man arm has doubled in both mass and volume and is dripping with the sacred ooze.*

The stump is still about 6 inches high and needs to be burned again. The top and middle of the tree are laying where they fell, with the rotting arms of the goddesses minions waving in the breeze and waiting to curse me one last time…….

*Physical symptoms grossly exaggerated for effect

Thud

I’m sure you’ve seen that Microsoft Office commercial where the office dude is dancing and gyrating in celebration of his real time-database-integration accomplishments. I'm trying to do the same thing, but with limited success. I’m stumbling around trying to turn 2 years of mildly effective spreadsheet record keeping into a comprehensive “data on demand”, super duper database. It’s a bitch, but I’m making headway. This is in addition to my regular responsibilities, and the coma-inducing drafting activities that are dropping onto my plate with gnarly thuds.

Next Phase

Not much to say now, I think…… Spring is rearing its awesome head and my mind is turning to other things; the family, the house, the yard, the job, the taxes, the music, etc. It’s almost time for t-ball, the angel is thriving, and the boy is increasingly mobile, and decreasingly asleep. My brain is churning at full speed but more is going in than coming out, which is good for the brain, but bad for the blog. I shall return.