Colorado: The Land of the Directional Impaired

As I get my bearings in the area, I have become aware that the locals around here do not know or use cardinal directions correctly, or at least how I was educated with them.

Let me demonstrate some examples:

• If you go "up valley" you actually have to travel south...now most maps are laid out with north being the top of the chart. The rest of society will tell you that you go up to go north (As in, "I went up north this weekend."), not up traveling south to your destination. Everyone here will quickly remind you it is an "elevation thing." But if you are south of Aspen and have to go down in elevation are you going up or down?
• The "South Canyon" is located to the northwest of West Glenwood Springs. Everything north of the canyon is desolate and very steep, so not that approachable from that direction, so not sure why they call this the "South Canyon"? The other canyon into Glenwood Springs is to the east of South Canyon and is called Glenwood Canyon not "North Canyon."
• In defense of the locals, I will confirm that the Roaring Forks River flows north until the confluence with the Colorado River (which then flows northwest through the South Canyon), while most of the rivers in the northern hemisphere flow south.
• Secondly, I refer to being from "back east," but to get back east I have to travel to the front. You see they call the eastern slope of the Rockies here the "Front Range." I assume the name is from the time of the expansion west. But the majority of the weather here travels west to east, so can we call it a storm "front" if it is coming from the back of the front range? Just asking...

No one gets lost here with their localized aboriginal system of directions, I guess they are preserving an earlier civilizational way of thinking.

Bring on the Biblical Floods

I am by no means a religious man, nothing I have seen has ever convinced that a god exists and has done anything for man. If something ever happens to prove the existence of a god(s), I will reevaluate at the time. But for now I remain a man of science.

But maybe it is time for any god to show its hand and bring back the floods. You know the one, that supposedly cleansed the planet of all sin, yes that one. 

Looking around the world and what is happening currently, now would be the time to eradicate the earth of its sins and sinners. The politicos and their ill regard to people, the surge of sexual predators being exposed, the average man's disrespect for the planet. 

Maybe some are right and we need not heed the climate change, let the seas rise and wash the land of the Gula, Luxuria/Fornicatio, Avaritia, Superbia, Tristitia, Vanagloria, Ira, and Acedia. (And why do they call them the seven deadly sins when there are eight?)

I am sure the world has been this way forever, just now the cesspool has gotten full and the lid has floated off it and we are being exposed to the shit mess we have made. Some maybe enjoying the fertilizer, but to many the smell has become unbearable.

Here is to an appearance of a higher power, now would be the time to prove an existence...

Colorado-isms Part 2

So last year when I travel west to see my daughter I did a blog about the various quirks I noticed of being in a different region and the people that live there. The following is a continuation and update of that first post.

• I meet a lot of people that live there now, but are not from there originally, including a lot of New Englanders
• I was picked out from not being a local for my vernacular and colloquialisms...use of 'wicked', and few other nor'eastern terms.
• I got to have a rare brew to find that is brewed in CT while I was in Colorado.
• My beard is now long enough to be accepted as a local, I know this because of the eye contact and head nod of approval from other bearded humans.
• I still have not seen any big horned sheep.
• The locals panic when they have no snow.
• The country roads in the mountains are scary, they are twisty and turny, narrow, and have no guard rails.
• My beard likes the climate there better, as I needed less to keep it manageable. 
• Buffalo and elk are delicious.

Until next time...

The Resiliency of Nature

The mighty oak.

Like most of northeastern CT, my yard was infested with Gypsy caterpillars (and moths). They stripped the large oak in my front yard. Many of the caterpillars got the fungus that let to some dying off, the rest of the eggs laid I took care of with the pressure washer.

During their hay day, I had to endure the frass (caterpillar shit) on my car, driveway and walkway. But that too has passed.

The oak tree looked devastated, but in just a few short weeks and a fair amount of rain, the tree is back to its mid-summer glory and fully leafed again (yeah, I get to rake leaves this fall!).

Nature is still the most powerful force know to man.

I Promise This To You All

I can survive, I am a white heterosexual male, I will survive. I can keep my mouth shut and and nod and smile and laugh when "appropriate" to avoid any confrontation and in any situation. I can easily dress the part, talk the part, have that polish that will allow me to manage in this world. I have always had that advantage, it was given to me upon my birth as an Anglo-saxon with a y chromosome. But that is not who I am.

This is who I am...

I am afraid for my daughter, who is not white and a female. Her world challenge just got a little tougher. Granted she is Asian, which will ease her journey, but the environment we have just decided for her is not a positive one. I am so sorry sweet girl, but Daddy will keep fighting for you.

I am afraid for my son, who is registered in the draft and can be called into service at any time. He is also a recent college grad, who is trying to make his mark in the world. His prospects of solid employment will not improve in the next 4 years (outside of forced military service). He has an empathetic soul and wants to present his art. The dark times ahead will not be good for his dreams and ambitions. I am sorry intelligent son, but Dad will keep fighting for you.

I am afraid for my mother, who dedicated her life to educating others, taught me to care for others, and be kind. She may not have a lot of years left, and those years will now be financially hard. It is currently a struggle to get what she needs on a fixed income, and an underfunded medicare system, this will not improve and will most definitely get worse for her. I am sorry mom, but your son will keep fighting for you.

I am afraid for my friends that have a different skin color, believe in a different religion, practice a different lifestyle. You have just been placed into a very difficult and troubling time. I have always had acute sense that the bigotry, the racism, the sexism, the xenophobia has never really gone away in this country. We have now unleashed this behemoth from the closet, your constitutional rights have just taken the biggest hit of your lives. Everything everyone has worked for is deteriorating right in front of our eyes. I am so sorry, but as your friend I will continue to fight for what is humanly right for everyone.

I PROMISE THIS TO YOU ALL, I WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR YOU.

Good Ol' Fashion Hardware Store

What ever happened to the old time hardware store, where you could walk in and get a single piece of hardware. You know; nuts, bolts, washers, screws, nails, and any other sort of fastener. You go to the big boxes and you can buy them in multi-packs, either by count or weight, but if you need just one, no frickin' way...

I have a pair of hand grass clippers that lost one nut, instead of throwing them out, I decided that I am frugal enough to just go ahead and repair it myself. After several stops and not finding the 1/4" by 20 nut (that is the size it turned out to be, once I was allowed to open a package and trying it- they don't let you do that at the big boxes) I needed, I finally went to the auto parts store (still a chain, but nice enough to let me open a few packets) and found the part. I still had to buy the entire bubble container of them, but there was only three in the box...<insert needle across the record or skidding sound>...

Now it has me wondering why packets of three? Why not in pairs, or half or full dozens? Counts of 10? But 3, seriously?

What if I needed four? I would now have to buy two packs of three and get two left over. Are they expecting me to lose one right away, so they actually pack them in sets of two and throw in the extra at no charge? This reminds me of the hot dog in packs of 10 and hot dog rolls come in packs of 8, you have to but 4 packs of hot dogs and 5 packs of rolls to get it to balance out evenly.

The bottom line is, they are not expecting many people to actually fix and repair anything in this throw away society...so they go with the inconvenient packaging and counts to discourage my frugalness.

Shoe Laces

So I need to replace laces on my favorite pair of boat shoes.

Figured I go to the local big box store and find what I needed. I was wrong.

After trying several other stores including a few shoe stores I could not find anything suitable to replace the worn and broken laces. So now I had to resort to the large online market places and still can not find anything satisfactory.

Seriously?

The soles are still in great condition, the leather uppers are just getting that perfect broken feel. The pair is truly agreeable with my feet, and I should be able to get another several years out of them.

Has the world we live in advanced so far down the path to a complete throw away society that one can not find simple shoe laces? Am I supposed to just throw out the shoes and buy a new pair? How do we expect to be kind to the mothership Earth, if we have to dispose of items that can refurbished, renewed, or replace simple parts to extend the life and use of a product? This is just sad, no wait, pitiful...

Consumerism, and more specifically capitalism, is ruining this world. It is the little things like this that is driving the human race to extinction. Built in obsolescence, this will soon become us, we will be obsolete (not that we not already become obsolete) and that the planet will not need humans, probably this big orb does not need us or really has never needed us. It existed prior to us and will most likely exist after we are gone.

I hope everyone is happy with our creation...

NIMBY

As I peruse Facebook and drive through the local communities, I see a lot of people in snits about what is being purposed to be built in their neighborhoods. Pure NIMBYISTS (NIMBY=Not In My Back Yard)

Lately it is a gun range or natural gas station. Everyone wants the protection of a well-trained police force and cheaper energy as long as they don't have to see it or be near it.

I think the 'everyone gets a trophy' ideologue has been with some of the older people for longer than they would like to admit, and not just with today's kids. . "I want all the benefits, but I don't want to put in the time, effort, and sacrifice." <BUAAA!>. In other words, don't build that in my neighborhood, build it somewhere else, my neighborhood is too good for that kind of thing.

I am not going to get into the political stance of either of these issues, I have my opinions and everyone has theirs. I understand the necessity and vital need for both. I can empathize (and sympathize) with those with projects that environmental impact will outweigh the benefit (i.e., Keystone XL) and not wanting it in their backyard, but neither of the aforementioned issues will have an environmental impact.

Some are more then just NIMBY, there are some that are CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything).

I am neither pro-build or anti-build, I am more of...here is the regulations, stay within the guidelines, and build it right. No matter the cost of the project there is a proper way of doing it, it is the cost of doing business. I guess that same philosophy can be applied to the two issues above, it is the cost of doing business and if done right, it will benefit everyone.

I guess we can always build a wall and hope some else will pay for it.

Afternoon Adventures: I Survived Cabela's

What to do on a chilly Saturday afternoon in CT….

It was suggested that my daughter and I venture to Cabela's- the redneck mecca in the woods and wilderness of East Hartford.

I know I shouldn't pre judge, and all that visit the holy see of hunting are not simple country folk. I like the outdoors and appreciate having the proper clothing and equipment to confront the elements. I am more of a LL Bean, REI, and/or an EMS guy, and they have excellent warrantee policies for their products. Most of what I have seen of Cabela's worn by other people come in several versions of camo accented with safety orange or pink.

Cabela's did impress me with their large display of stuffed animals and we did enjoy seeing the collection of deer, elk, moose, bears, snakes, ermine, birds, big cats, coyotes, and wolves. Also the live aquarium with native fish was cool. My daughter impressed a few older gentlemen with how fast she could identify the various trophy size swimmers.

I was also impressed with the wide selection of non camo apparel, but for the same price I can get LL Bean and have the guarantee. We didn't purchase anything, she wanted either a camouflaged hunting blind or a portable ice fishing hut for the back yard. I said no.

We checked out the eatery there and I was interested in having some wild boar or elk, but the Maeve was not interested, so we scooted over to a local noodle shop for some Pho.

Of course the day would not have been complete without a pit stop on the way home at Munson's.

Check One Off the Unconscious Bucket List

I had my semi-annual eye exam this morning. When I left the house it was just a gentle flurry and the roads were still visible. As I drove, the precipitation turned into almost white out conditions, and the visibility dropped to about 50 yards and everything was coated in a slick white blanket. It was an eight minute drive.

My eye exam included having my eyes dilated and as they were putting the drops into my orbs, the synapsis in my brain connected and I realized that I was going to have to drive home…...with my eyes dilate…....in a snow storm.

Now being snow blind is not officially on my bucket list, and I would not go out of my way to get snow blindness. It certainly made the drive home a little bit more white knuckled (to be honest, everything was white) then it needed to be.

I made it home with incident (or accident).

I now know that I can handle being snow blind and function. I guess it is some kind of skill test and I can now add this to my toolbox.

Feeling adventurous, what else can I try?

Handy Men

A few months ago, the flat screen started having issues turning on. At first it would take 3-4 minutes before powering on, then a bit longer, until sometimes it was taking well over an hour before it would power on. The TV was 4-5 years old, ancient in this day and age of throw away electronics, but still had an excellent picture, and the features still in demand by today's watchers.

It was replaced, but we did not immediately discard the ailing machine. After some research by my son and some time spent watching youtube videos, it was decided that it maybe repairable, and for not a lot money.

So we spent the money getting the proper tools (soldering iron, solder sucker, and of course, solder), we had the rest already. The research had led us to what parts were most likely needed, and those were ordered via the inter web, for a great price and were delivered expediently.

Now we were set to get this thing back from brink of the local transfer station. The TV was long past its warrantee, so breaking the seal was not voiding anything. Once opened up, it was obvious which part was bad and the information found on the web was accurate. We had gotten the right part and now all we had to do was replace it.

After reviewing the youtube video again, we removed and replaced the bad cap (capacitor), reassembled the cabinet and plugged it in. WOW, it worked!

We saved a lot, not only money, but the environment by keeping this out of a landfill somewhere, and it was a great bonding experience for my son and I. With a little mechanical skill, research skill, the right tools, anybody can fix anything.

So the next time something breaks, think about repairing it yourself, or having it done, before trashing it. My son and his roommate will be enjoying the pleasure of viewing 40 inches. He even has it connected to his computer so he can type papers from across the room.

The Stupidity of Corporate America

So I drove through an industrial park or complex and was amazed at the number of buildings that were empty. About seven or eight total, but what really made me shake my head, was that three brand new buildings were being constructed for businesses moving into the complex.

What is wrong with retrofitting or using the buildings that already exist? This is just asinine and not good practice, both business wise and environmentally. It wasn't like these new building were different from the existing buildings. They were all your typical steel structure warehouse type.

I get that everyone has been conditioned to want something shiny and new. The current global economy and worldwide environmental state, I thought would leads us to better use of all resources, both economical and environmental. Seeing what I saw today, has proven me wrong.

It is just not this one industrial park, drive through any town, any city, and you will see empty buildings not being used and new construction for new business. I can understand that some businesses have a certain need or particular look to promote their commercial enterprise, but you have to think that at some point business schools are going to have to teach that reuse, reduce, refit, is more economical approach and this will lead to a more environmental friendly way of living.

I work part-time in a city and also see the number of empty store fronts, office space, that go years without use. I have been told that building owners will purposely keep the properties un-used for tax write off purposes as a business loss. May be it is time to change the tax structures and close the loopholes and start giving the tax breaks to property owners that get businesses into their buildings and refurbish spaces for use. And place higher tariffs on those that leave structures empty for years. How about moratoriums on new construction until all other properties in the area are being utilized?

Lipstick

I have never been enthusiastic about women that wear lipstick (especially a lot), I guess kissing something greasy is not a turn on for me and that I like a more natural look and feel. Then I saw the meme above and it got me thinking....

Everyone today is all gluten-free-range-organic-not tested on animals-all-natural-no chemical based in their lifestyle or at least they try or pretend to be. So I looked up what is in lipstick (not all), but some and most have some really interesting ingredients and components that go into them.

So lets take a look into what is found in lipsticks, like I said some but not all....

The ingredients of lipstick has to be approved by the FDA, but the amounts and mixtures do not. FDA requirements are a lot looser then most people think, but that is a whole other blog post.

Most lipsticks are wax based and use three different waxes, bees, candelilla, and carnauba (the same stuff we wax our cars with). The wax, by the way, is to hold its shape. Oils are the next ingredients, oils provide some of the shine. Castor, vegetable, mineral oil, and lanolin are the most common oils used. The wax and oils make up 60% of the lipstick.

Now the other stuff involved, pigments and dyes, fragrances, preservatives, and pearl essences. 

Pigments and dyes provide the color of the lipstick. These can range from bismuth oxychloride, manganese violet, titanium dioxide, D&C Red No. 6, D&C Red No. 21, D&C Orange No. 17, to D&C Red No. 34. Fragrances contain alcohol and are used to mask the smell of the other ingredients and as a solvent for the wax and oils. Preservatives and/or antioxidants are added to keep it from going rancid. 

Pearl essence is not made from pearls like the name would suggest. It is actually the scales of herring or other really shiny fish. They have also been known to use silica and mica, also known as rocks.

Other ingredients that are showing up in lipstick are jojoba oil, chamomile oil, Shea butter, along with pigments like turmeric and beetroot extracts, see there is some good stuff in there.

If the above didn't raise questions lets get into the good stuff that is still approved by the FDA to be in lipstick. 

• Lead: some contain small amounts of lead (there is a limit, but it is still allowed).
• Coal tar derived coloring:  a number of red dyes are made from coal tar.
• Carmine: color made by boiling cochineal scale insect, yes, bugs.
• Lake colors: pigments that are made from aluminum, barium, potassium, and strontium.

So there you have it, Bon Appetite!

Sounds fair?

The federal government announced this month that a West Virginia chemical company would be fined $11,000 for a spill earlier this year that poisoned the drinking water for 300,000 people in the state.

According to a citation document obtained by The Charleston Gazette, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hit Freedom Industries with a $7,000 fine for keeping chemicals in diked areas that were not “liquid tight.”

The administration fined Freedom an addition $4,000 for not providing employees with a proper hand railing to walk over the storage dikes.

About 300,000 people were left without drinking water when coal cleaning chemicals leaked on Jan. 9. A recent survey found that one in five people reported health issues after the chemical spill.

That is a little less than $.04 a person effected.....

Enough.

As a "hardy" New Englander, and I never really minded the winters here, but I can say I have had enough of the "polar vortex". I like the snow, even like going out and shoveling it (snow-blowing now). I find it awe-inspiring in its beauty, less so when it starts to get dirty, so new snow always freshens it up and returns it to a state of pretty.

But the cold this season has actually been an annoyance, may be it is my age or that I have just grown tired of it. This winter my joints have ached, my muscles are stiff, I have had times when I can't get warm enough, and this is all before I go out to push the snowblower around or rake the roof.

Also being an altruistic environmentalist for the most part, I do not like the use of salt, as it is not good for the local flora and fauna. I also do not like the use of sand, as it tracks into the house and now I have to vacuum more often. But with the longer stretches of cold, I have had to resort to use of salt to subdue the ice, making it possible to get in and out of the house and driveway. Which by the way was so icy and couple of times that my car slide halfway down the drive from where I had parked it earlier (no harm, no foul, but still).

I know that more comfortable days are just around the corner, but I am ready today.