Bird & Bunny Lovers, Tree Huggers, and Rock Lickers (Oh, My) June 30, 2017
Posted by skinbad in Nature Shit.comments closed
This is a little long. If you don’t want to read–watch the video in the post.
Retired Geezer sent me a link to a somewhat “viral” video related to a forest fire a few hours south of me. I had read about it but hadn’t watched it. I’ll link it below, but first a little background. I’m not a bug or forest expert, but here goes: Many forests in the west have been hit very hard by a bark beetle that kills evergreen trees. In my area, it’s mostly big spruce trees. We usually cut two to four cords of wood each fall to keep my wife toasty in our basement where she has her sewing gear set up. There are thousands of dead trees up our canyon and along the mountain range near our home. In some areas there’s more gray than green on the mountain. For $20, you can buy permits to cut four cords–that’s the minimum purchase. There are a lot of rules (I’m sure you’re surprised). You can’t cut more than 100′ from the road; you can’t cut within 100′ of any stream; you can’t use any mechanical help to “skid” logs closer to the road and your truck or trailer, etc. Of course this doesn’t even get into the idea of timber sales for commercial operations.
On Vacation Until Next Thursday June 29, 2017
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
Kind of a crazy summer for me – we had a mini IB/H2 meetup last weekend and tomorrow I head to Phoenix to tube the Salt River. I’ll be back next Thursday, but the following Monday I fly to the East Coast for business. The day I get back from that trip is the same day my son comes home on leave from the Navy.
So I’m really lagging on posts, but I hope to make it up at some point. I definitely owe the world a recap of the meetup (including very kind gifts from the Skinbads and Geezers), an analysis of the CBO’s scoring of the GOP healthcare bill, and of course the upcoming unemployment release (next Friday).
If I don’t manage to crank out any posts while I’m vacationing, please have a wonderful 4th of July weekend.
Career Advice: Do What You Love… June 26, 2017
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
…but love something immensely profitable.
IB Lost and Found June 25, 2017
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
Ran across a blue windbreakery-type garment after this weekend’s hubbub. Anybody missing one?
I Think This Tribe Does Not Wish To Be Discovered Just Yet June 24, 2017
Posted by daveintexas in News.comments closed
So Things Have Been Quiet Lately… June 23, 2017
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
…but boiling and frothing beneath the surface.
Kind of.
Anyway, the all-too-reclusive Skinbad & family have been staying with me for a couple of days. They’re a higher class of people – you probably won’t ever get a chance to meet them.
Retired Geezer & wife are coming by as well, as are a few other IB luminaries, most notably laura & scott.
So this real life stuff has cut into blogging.
But soon things will pick up here.
Sooooooon…
Corey Hart is Sending Me Some Really Mixed Messages June 14, 2017
Posted by Sobek in News.comments closed
Like most Americans, I often lie awake at night wondering what Corey Hart is trying to say with the song “Sunglasses at Night.” For starters, here’s what Corey Hart looks like:
As you can see, he’s trying to look tough, but not too tough because he’s Canadian. So when we get a song called, “Sunglasses at Night,” you can kind of assume we’re sticking with the tough-guy (relatively speaking) thing. And that’s consistent with a line like, “don’t switch the blade on the guy in shades, oh no.” See, because he’s tough enough that you don’t want to risk pulling a knife on him (but not so tough that he can’t make it sound like a polite warning).
If that were it, then I’d move on with my life, content that I had Corey’s oeuvre well enough in hand.
But then he says things like, “she’s deceiving me/It cuts my security,” and that’s more of a “betrayed by your woman” line, and then “‘Cause you got it made with the guy in shades oh no” is more like hey, join my gang and you’ll be safe from other potentially dangerous Canadians, like Snow. And then we have “And I wear my sunglasses at night/So I can so I can/Forget my name while you collect your claim,” which might be more about the wife of an amnesiac who is getting disability insurance on his behalf. Or at least faking amnesia for that purpose. I don’t know if amnesia correlates to nocturnal-sunglasses-wearing; I should probably look that up.
Crazy Awesome Bass June 9, 2017
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Don’t Give Hate a Chance, by Jamiroquai.
I’m posting this bass cover version so you can see just how fast this guy is jamming along. The band’s video is cool, too.
Unsavory Pikachu USB Charger June 5, 2017
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Pikachu, being an electrical sort of Pokemon, seems like an ideal candidate for a cute USB charger. Unfortunately the Chinese designers who decided to create such a device didn’t really think it through:
Mini-Review of Wonder Woman June 5, 2017
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
The whole time I was watching I was thinking, “Man, I wish Marvel had done this movie.”
Oh well.
Exports Decline for 3rd Straight Month June 3, 2017
Posted by geoff in News.comments closed
This very young month of June has not been a happy one for economic reports: a downtick in full-time jobs, a pause in manufacturing jobs, and now, yet another decline in exports.
Here’s your mildly depressing chart.
I, for one, am certainly craving a heaping portion of winning.
Innocent Bystanders 