Saturday, November 29, 2008

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Lots going On

Besides the weather. I ws plowing this morning down at the bottom of the driveway when I looked up and saw a car coming around the corner sideways. He spun around and settled up against the fence on the other side of the road. No apparent damage. Nearly new Cooper Weathermasters all around, too. Blizzaks they're not. Please everybody drive carefully in this snow. Luke, you especially. Those tires of yours will be useless in the snow. Go Slowly. Be nervous.

We're replacing the tub/shower upstairs. I picked up the new one in Norwich and got it home safely. Until I drove up on the lawn. The angle on the truck caused it to go "Bloop" and roll out of the truck to the ground. I looked it over and it looked OK. So I ripped the old one out. Alas, when I unpacked the new one there were cracks in the tub and the enclosure. I could have told Curtis's that it wasn't my fault and they would have had to eat it. But I'm not a good liar. And I figure that long after the pain of a $400 loss was gone, the memory of a deceit would linger, so I bought a second tub. Do I feel stupid? Yup. Do I feel like scum? Nope.

We've also been negotiating with Nornew for the right to put a NG pipeline across the farm. They keep changing their minds. Honestly, I don't know how a large organization ever gets anything done. Their difficulty is that if they don't go across the farm, they have to go through woods, which raises their costs dramatically. So I'm optimistic that we'll come to an agreement. But after the mineral lease we signed with them, they're gonna pay for the privilege of a pipeline.

Also, we bought a popup camper. If I can find time to put a brake controller on the truck, we'll go get it and we can camp out in the back yard.

DRIVE CAREFULLY!

It's beginning to look a lot like . . . oh, wait . . .

Those of you who have moved to warmer southern climes may be surprised by what's been going on back here in the Frozen North. In short, it has been snowing like heck, and the 10-day forecast shows nothing but more and more and more snow in the future. When I left for work this morning, there were several inches of the fluffy stuff already on the ground and lots more coming down fast. Dad was struggling with the plow on the tractor, and each of the 17 heifers who aren't in the barn yet had her own personal snowdrift piling up on her back. The trash people could not get up the driveway to empty the dumpster. School is closed today at S-E.

It's very pretty snow, at least: the soft, fluffy, spring-like kind that outlines every branch and twig. I'll see if I can post some pictures when I get home tonight. But it does seem rather extreme for this early in the year, especially in combination with a temperature of three degrees early the other morning. Bring warm clothes when you come home, and drive carefully if the roads are snowy!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Don't eat yer vitamins

They'll kill ya.

It just keeps getting better and better.

I can't wait until they figure out that people who drive hybrids are 40% more likely to get cancer because of fumes from the batteries. Or something like that.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Up To Date

At 3PM on November 21, the outdoor temperature is 20 degrees. That's PM, not AM.

Why? You Know Why.

Also, the price of a barrel of oil today dropped under $50, down from a high of $148 just a few months ago. Why? Because the world is running out of oil?

I don't think so.

Lovin' it.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

This Is Incredible

Maybe we should just open a dialogue with these guys. They're probably just misunderstood.

Is misunderstood a real word?

Jack Aubrey would take care of 'em.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Then There's This

I watched it all the way through. I suppose I should look up the lyrics so I know what it's about. I wonder who John Williams is.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Molly sets a date

The Murphy Family received a "save the date" card for September 19, 2009 in San Diego.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Fascinating

To me, anyway. Camille Paglia is pro-Obama and "pro-choice", so she and I aren't on the same team, but she's honest to a degree that no other partisan I ever read is, left or right. She sidesteps nothing, calls a spade a spade, and doesn't heistate to criticize her own. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it from a political/social commentator. She spent at least part of her childhood growing up on a dairy farm in Oxford.

The comments are revealing. No criticism of substance, just lots of ad hominem attacks.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Michael Crichton, 1942-2008

"I regard consensus science as an extremely pernicious development that ought to be stopped cold in its tracks. Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled. Whenever you hear the consensus of scientists agrees on something or other, reach for your wallet, because you're being had.

Let's be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus.

There is no such thing as consensus science. If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus. Period."


Aliens Cause Global Warming.

Monday, November 03, 2008

Vote for Obama!

If the prospect of Bill Ayers eating dinner in the White House doesn't disturb you.