Rest peacefully, timberlandko

Foxfyre wrote:

dlowan wrote:

Gelisgesti wrote:

Eva, what makes you think Timber is not orchestrating this thread as we speak? :wink:

That he didn't believe in an afterlife?

Yeah, I can't wait to tease him about that.

What makes you assume........if there IS an afterlife...that you'll be in the same place?

dlowan wrote:

Foxfyre wrote:

dlowan wrote:

Gelisgesti wrote:

Eva, what makes you think Timber is not orchestrating this thread as we speak? :wink:

That he didn't believe in an afterlife?

Yeah, I can't wait to tease him about that.

What makes you assume........if there IS an afterlife...that you'll be in the same place?

What makes you assume there is more than one?

Foxfyre wrote:

dlowan wrote:

Foxfyre wrote:

dlowan wrote:

Gelisgesti wrote:

Eva, what makes you think Timber is not orchestrating this thread as we speak? :wink:

That he didn't believe in an afterlife?

Yeah, I can't wait to tease him about that.

What makes you assume........if there IS an afterlife...that you'll be in the same place?

What makes you assume there is more than one?

What makes you assume there isn't?

I did marry into an AWESOME family!!
Denny and I went to Mexico in Oct., and like others, my husband aided in this life dream of mine being fulfilled! I had always wanted to swim with dolphins, and it was every bit as exciting as you'd imagine!

I am also 2 1/2 months pregnant in this picture, so Baby Ginko is "there" too! We are due June 4th with our first; we don't know the sex so we can be surprised! Kevin was really cute about his well-wished about the baby... his gravely voice somehow exuding love and genuine joy for us~

Kevin was really cute about his well-wished about the baby... his gravely voice somehow exuding love and genuine joy for us~

you oughtta see me get wound up about my grandkids

tryingtohelp wrote:
Hi timber I hope you stop by again I would like to ask you some questions about you gun Nothing bad I assure you.

Sorry; didn't see this 'til just now - guess this thread moves faster than I do. Anyhow, don't mind a bit if you ask - go right ahead and shoot. Meanwhile ...

tryingtohelp wrote:
You do know what the CAR-15 is?

Yeah, though you didn't ask me, I'm pretty sure I do know ... Colt Automatic Rifle (Series) 15 ... its the manufacturor's family/platform designation for a particular variant in the M-16 line of gas-operated, autoloading, magazine-fed, air-cooled select-fire (single shot, 3-round burst, and/or - depending on variant - full-auto), primarily but not exclusivey 5.56mm NATO-chambered infantry rifles which Colt Arms Co. developed from Gene Stoner's (then working for now-defunct airframe, powerplant, and weapons manufacturor Fairchild Aviation's Armalite division) 1958 .223/5.56mm-chambered development of his earlier (1954/'55) 7.62mm NATO/.308 Enfield-chambered AR-10, a design which was intended, but not accepted, as a high-capacity magazine-fed, full-auto-capable replacement for the WWII-era .30 caliber semi-automatic, 8-shot disposable-clip-fed, top-loading M-1 Garrand infantry rifle (the full-auto-capable, detachable-magazine-fed T-44/M-14 evolution of the Garrand M1 was adopted in 1957). Colt Arms Co. acquired the design in 1959, when they bought the rights to Stoner's design from the Armalite division of Fairchild Aviation. Stoner himself soon thereafter left Armalite for Colt, where his design talents were far more appreciated, and far more fully realized, than had been the case during his employment with Fairchild/Armalite.

Now I betchyer sorry ya asked - or at any rate, sorry I answered


If ya want more, just holler, but be patient; for more detail I'll prolly hafta start looking up stuff - I think I've given ya 'bout all I can off the toppa my head. Oh, and if I got something wrong in that ramble up there, just lemme know - always open to factual correction.

On a serious note, I grew up in a military family, with Dad being a relatively senior officer, while both Mom's and Dad's immediate families were moderately prominent, more-than-just-comfortably-well-to-do, as well as fairly well-connected politically, and my "growing up" was mostly in the '50s, so there was a sorta class thing going on there to some extent, and of course I was aware of it, but I pretty much didn't play into it - a circumstance which occasioned not a little dismay among my elders. I've always kinda leaned toward taking folks for what their words and deeds show them to be, regardless who or what they purport to be, and I've never had much use for folks who show they consider themselves "better" than anyone.

I live in a rural area now - have for many years - and I love it; a more accepting, outgoing, downright nice-and-freindly, always eager to help, "egalitarian" society hardly may be imagined - even if some of them might have no idea what the word "egalitarian" means.


Well except for looney old Olaf - but nobody likes him ... been that way since FDR was President, from what I understand. Still, ain't nobody shot the sumbitch.

Knew a fella once who, on achieving his Doctorate, was mightily self-impressed. He made a point of letting folks know he was a "Doctor", and should be addressed accordingly. Unsurprisngly, lotsa folks made a point of not doing so. That upset the fella some, and was sorta fun to watch. His position was he'd earned his title, and deserved the rspect due thereunto. I made a point of adressing him as "Doctor of Philosophy, Business Administration, Northwestern University 1971, (his name)". That upset him some, too.

Chumly wrote:
We live on acreage, not city dwellers, well water, backup generator as the power is iffy.

Ditto all the way around. Our generator automatically swithches on when mains power "iffy"s - it runs on propane, fed from the 1000 Gallon tank which provides our heating and cooking gas. If it runs much more than half an hour, we cut back to essential electric only; while power disruptions usually are brief, there have been some of many, many hours, and a couple have dragged on more than a day.
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My wife does her own home décor not much on shops.

Pretty much the same - but Mrs. T is a fiend for garage and yard sales.
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I have never heard of Ben Elton.
Ben Elton - run-of-the-mill entertainer/author of some regional, if past, reknown.
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I am not overly socially responsible.

Yup.
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I have not been to Granville Island nor Whistler for years, no like much.

Ya got me there - I've never been to either, as best I can recall. Of course, there was the '60s, so ...
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I don't send any Christmas cards, my wife might, I don't ask.

Mrs T exchanges Christmas cards with a circle of freinds and family; I know this because its my job to make the daily treks to and from the mailbox.
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I do all my own work on my machines, electrical, structural, vehicular: a man and his tools.

Yup - tools and duct tape are way-of-life stuff here; if it ain't broke, just gimme a little more time
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For anniversaries I most often get my wife some interesting trees and other larger plants, she would likely give me a credit for a plunge router or some such, we don't go to restaurants much, most often the food is not the great.

We usually exchange gift certificates on the appropriate occasions - but we do go out for dinner pretty regularly, not just special occasions - we're fortunate to have some pretty nice restaurants conveniently nearby (within an hour's drive or so)
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If jeans and T-shirt are not enough, then I take a sweater along.

Our haberdashers must be cousins.
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I just checked the toilet paper but the packaging is not there, just a bunch of anonymous rolls, perhaps not wholly dissimilar to the rolls found on the midriffs of some UK city dwellers.

We generally buy it in bulk - couple dozen rolls or so of whatever is the best "on sale" bargain at the time ... no brand loyalty there whatsoever.

Were the "points" you "raise" to less resemble offal and droppings of excreta to be avoided and stepped around, as opposed to interesting artefacts to be noticed, picked up, considered, and examined with care, were your postings to these discussions to be pertinent, relevant, topical, and of any substantive, intellectually honest, academically valid, scientifically sound, recognizable value whatsoever, your experience on these boards well might be other than heretofore it has been.

One of my mother's sisters is named Antoinette (and never, never, NEVER "Toni" ). As wee'uns, it seemed to us she was "Aunt Toinette" - never could get our little minds around "Aunt Antoinette". She's nearing her 80s now, and within the family, she's still "Aunt Toinette"

The primary function of any organism is to survive long enough to successfully pass its genes to the succeeding generation. For some organisms, the simple act of generating the requisite biologic precursors of regeneration is sufficient, for other organisms more is involved, up to and including relatively time-energy-and-resource consuming gestation and rearing of offspring, tending them untill such time as they, the offspring, are capable of caring autonomously for themselves and seeing to their own passing on of genes to the generation to follow them. Not all orgqanisms will successfully reproduce, but for a species to survive, sufficient numbers of that species must do so.

Yeah, 2; one's a Field Grade Marine Corps officer, closing on his 20, with 2 kids of his own, the other is a multiply degreed and certificated Special Ed teacher, the mother of 3, the eldest of whom this year entered a major university. You?

BlaiseDaley wrote:
snood wrote:
... Not a one - any special reason you ran their credentials?


Snood-A father's pride.

Yup, and if it seems I'm proud of my kids, you oughtta see me get wound up about my grandkids.

I remember Harry Truman's radio addresses interfering with my Saturday Morning radio favorites. The radio was a huge thing, with a deep yellow glow, which was the focal point of the living room. I remember 3-and-4-digit phone numbers, nickle postage, dime comic books, snacks, and comic books, and quarter-a-gallon gas with price wars occasionally dropping it into the mid-teens, quarter-a-pack major name brand cigarettes. A draught beer was usually a dime, canned or bottled went for a quarter, and a shot or mixed drink was fifty or seventy-five cents - a buck at real tony places, with booths, fancy glasses, dim lights and a 3-piece (piano, base viol, and sax, usually, but sometimes a drummer was there too) combo behind a singer who wore either a crew-cut and a narrow tie, or a ball gown and big hair. I remember when both the dimmer switch and the starter were ob the floor of the car. I remember my family being one of the first in town to get a TV set - and neighbors coming over to watch the likes of Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, and Sid Caesar. There was 1 channel in town for several years. I remember carhops on rollerskates, sockhops on the gym floor, and the day my dad and one of my uncles, his brother, went off to the Korean War. I remember dad came home a couple years later, my uncle didn't. I remember family dinners with the whole family at the same table at the same time, with real conversation.


I can't remember right now where I put my glasses - I think they're in the kitchen, but I'm not sure.

I wasn't bein' snide, snood - havin' a REAL relationship with an other-than-human critter can be therapuetic beyond belief. Now, if you're not a pet sorta person, then a pet isn't a good idea - either for you or for the pet. On the other hand, dogs share really well, they're very empathetic, they really believe you're the sort of person you wished you were, and they don't rack up phone bills, want the ceiling painted, insist you be nice to their family, or ding the car. Think about it.

Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2002 8:45 am Post: 53146 -

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Hi, HumsTheBird, and welcome. Re hummingbirds .. here at Timberland we put out several feeders for them every year. The feeders are scrupulously maintained, kept clean and filled with fresh nectar on a daily basis. The cleaning and refilling of a feeder usually occasions much chirping and peeping (no, the little suckers really do chirp and peep), and bold, defiant, head-skimming strafing passes on the offending human. We have come to recognize returning individuals from year to year, noting their return with delight, missing old freinds who may not return. There appear to be a few different families or colonies which take their summers here, the young of one year returning to produce young of their own the next. Their evening meal time often coincides with our own, and there are large feeders in view of the diningroom windows which are surrounded by their busy interactions and rivalries as they jockey and jostle for sipping room. An ornithologist of my acquaintence assures me it is the change of length of day which triggers their migratory instinct, and that a secure, reliable, plentiful food source encourages them and their young to return year after year to a particular spot, resulting in increasing population density. As some years back when we started feeding there were just a few and we now harbor clouds of them in season, I suspect the validity of that conjecture.

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2003 9:01 am Post: 59393 -

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Welcome Felix Noir, and all the other newbies.

A personal observation on cats; Cats take vermin control seriously.
Living in farm country, I value their inclination is such regard. A number of cats reside here at Timberland, but dwell in the outbuildings. Few have names, all have jobs, and the population appears to be self-supporting. I view them sort of as "Independent Contractors".

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2003 4:44 pm Post: 302165 -

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I think I've done this somewhere once before here on A2K, but I'm too lazy to wade back and find it. Anywhooo ...the area in which I live is known as Timberland (the Timberland Town Hall, a now more or less typically decrepit one-time farm-country one-room schoolhouse) is a short ways to the west of me), on Timberland Rd, I have some timberland located off the intersection of County Highways K and O, and my initials are K and O. That, and erudite_witty_highly_respected_sage_general_raconteur_and_formidable_dartplayer is just too damned much to type.

Well, too, there was that whole business about the elephant, the hot air balloon, and the whisky, but never mind

Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2003 8:19 am Post: 343611 -

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OK ... I figure I'll stick myself in the Madison vicinity on the evening of Thursday the 9th, and plan to drive back up to Timberland Sunday afternoon the 12th. That RedRoof is a possibility, but there are other options. The 151 Mile Marker exit on 90/94 is swarming with possibilities, and there are also a couple nice campgrounds nearby ... still thinkin' mebbe I'll bring a tent, or maybe my camper trailer. and campgrounds are pleasantly quiet "Off Season". I'll sort things out and update as appropriate here on this thread. Oh Boy! I'm excited!

Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2003 9:28 pm Post: 375553 -

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You'd love it around Timberland, Set; some of the roads are paved, most of the homes have indoor plumbing, and there's phone and electric nearly everywhere. We're real into the finer things fer sure.
Why, there's even been talk recently about lookin' into regular garbage pickup, but it'll likely be a while before the politics of it get sorted out. Still, we're gonna have ta do somethin' pretty soon, since we can't afford to bring the town dump into compliance with the upcoming regulations. Pity, really; the old place has been real popular with the bears and 'coons for over a hundred years. Dunno what they're gonna do now.

Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2003 8:19 am Post: 343611 -

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OK ... I figure I'll stick myself in the Madison vicinity on the evening of Thursday the 9th, and plan to drive back up to Timberland Sunday afternoon the 12th. That RedRoof is a possibility, but there are other options. The 151 Mile Marker exit on 90/94 is swarming with possibilities, and there are also a couple nice campgrounds nearby ... still thinkin' mebbe I'll bring a tent, or maybe my camper trailer. and campgrounds are pleasantly quiet "Off Season". I'll sort things out and update as appropriate here on this thread. Oh Boy! I'm excited!

Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2003 6:59 am Post: 377438 -

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Kinda a fun thread, though. I laugh too, but here in Timberland, the tallest structures around are silos, there are more John Deeres than minivans, SAABS, and Volvos combined (and quite a few Combines, too), more chainsaws than lawn edgers, more rifles than computers, more bakesales than bridge clubs, and more down-to-earth, straight-on, just-plain-good-folks than anywhere else I've ever lived. A redneck might punch you in the face, but he'll never stab you in the back.

Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2003 9:09 pm Post: 384190 -

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All sorts of lawyers in my family, Lola, for generations predating the Age of Electricity. Plenty of politicians among them, and a few judges, at national, state and more local level, appointed and elected, along with some party state and national chairmen, impressive military personages, and career diplomats as well. Even as a kid, I had, and took, opportunity to peek into some mighty stuffy closets. I not only know that sort of folks, I've had dinner with them, every way from formal to picnic, been in their homes, and splashed on the beach with them, their parents, and their kids.

Of course, now, I'm the blacksheep of the family. I don't see those folks much any more, other than the occasional funeral, but I've kept track of them, and I have family that still fraternizes with them ... enthusiastically. I just don't happen to be a Democrat ... something that really pisses them off.

Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2003 8:14 pm Post: 406839 -

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I'm home ... dawdled a bit on the way back ... kinda nice to be able to do that. The critter sitter was fine when I got here, but maybe a little shellshocked, and certainly a tad bamboozled by the puppies. The ponies were no problem at all, she said ... but the puppies had her convinced all sorts of stuff was cool ... stuff we don't really let 'em get away with. They're just like kids.

Anyhow, we had a great time, it was over way too soon. I'm not even gonna unload the stuff out of my truck 'till tomorrow ... but I'll get the pictures into my gallery shortly thereafter and post a link to 'em here.

And no naugas were harmed in the crafting of this post.

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 7:05 pm Post: 637527 -

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If there are gonna be guns in the kids' environment, then gun safety oughtta be uppermost from day one. When the kid displays enough sense and maturity to appreciate the need for gun safety, start 'em off with a BB gun ... a pump-type, not CO2, so they gotta work for each shot, and never let them at the BB gun without supervision untill they've demonstrated competence and responsiblity. I got my first firearm when I was about 9, I think; a cumbersome single-shot 22. I had a gen-you-wine Daisy Red Ryder lever action BB gun a good while before that. I didn't go shooting "alone" with the .22 for a couple years at least after that - I was probably around 11 or 12 (this was a looong time ago ). I still managed to get into trouble a couple times. I went that way with my own kids, and they've turned into responsible gun owners and conscientious hunters. Of course, there were a couple incidents when they were kids ...

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 6:04 am Post: 719346 -

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It bein' mornin' here in Timberland, I figure some fruit juice and hearty cereal would be appropriate. A shot of brandy, please, with a sturdy dark beer back, if you would, barkeep. That and mebbe a couple cups of coffee stoutly laced with good whiskey oughtta just about cover breakfast.

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 2:29 pm Post: 776183 -

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Pretty good 4th here at Timberland; a parade in town earlier in the day, then a buncha freinds and family and barbeque and assorted deserts, and ever-flowing beverage-of-choice, a nice bonfire, and some stuff got blowed up real good. The Puppies and The Ponies will get over the pyrotechnics ... they always do. Prolly gonna be a few days before egg production gets back to normal though ... always is. No serious injuries, and only minor, cosmetic, physical damage, all of which is readilly correctable with nothing more than light carpentry, a bit of paint, and a buncha yardwork. Well, most of it, anyway, but then I never bother with bodywork on The Rough Truck unless the damage impairs functionality. None of the dings from last night's enthusiastic, if not particularly sensible, 4-wheelin' are gonna keep it outta the fields and off the trails.

No shopkeepers or dyspeptic folk of any gender or ethnicity were harmed during the festivities. Rarely ever happens ... they're fairlysafe hereabouts.

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 2:29 pm Post: 776183 -

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Pretty good 4th here at Timberland; a parade in town earlier in the day, then a buncha freinds and family and barbeque and assorted deserts, and ever-flowing beverage-of-choice, a nice bonfire, and some stuff got blowed up real good. The Puppies and The Ponies will get over the pyrotechnics ... they always do. Prolly gonna be a few days before egg production gets back to normal though ... always is. No serious injuries, and only minor, cosmetic, physical damage, all of which is readilly correctable with nothing more than light carpentry, a bit of paint, and a buncha yardwork. Well, most of it, anyway, but then I never bother with bodywork on The Rough Truck unless the damage impairs functionality. None of the dings from last night's enthusiastic, if not particularly sensible, 4-wheelin' are gonna keep it outta the fields and off the trails.

No shopkeepers or dyspeptic folk of any gender or ethnicity were harmed during the festivities. Rarely ever happens ... they're fairlysafe hereabouts.

Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2004 12:35 pm Post: 779323 -

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Panasonic, Seimens, Braun, GE, and a few others have 2-way/multi-handset models, too. Here at Timberland, we use the 2.4GHz Panasonic setup, with the base unit/speakerphone in the kitchen, and handsets scattered throughout the house ... generally, however, never in the same location as the person getting the phonecall

The system works pretty well, actually, and we even use it as a floor-to-floor, room-to-room, or house-to-outbuilding intercom ... as long as its remembered to bring a handset along. Theres a big brass bell hangin' outside the back door that still gets used though ... hear the bell, come to where you can shout back-and-forth with whoever's at the house

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2004 4:53 am Post: 790979 -

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Interesting ... I'm a Volunteer Firefighter (We've never lost an adjoining farm )/EMT/First Responder, and Mrs Timber is a healthy, happy RN who hates cooking ... which is fortunate, 'cause I hate her cooking. She sees to it what hair I have left is cut, but she (a neat freak) thinks I'm a junkyard looking for a place to happen. The kids are grown and gone, the mortgage was burned long ago, and all the vehicles are paid for. The lawn gets watered when it rains, right along with the fields, I specifically wear trail and work boots that Don't require shining, and I have a full, bushy beard (can't grow it on top, so ... ). I'm afraid neither of us qualify on the young or slim parameters, but we once did. The happy part is pretty much in hand, thoug ... 'cept for when I do somethin' that really pisses her off. Its often much easier to figure out I've done that than to figure out how I did it ... and that doesn't go down very well with her either.

Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 4:46 am Post: 797086 -

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I dunno, I figure that sorta thing is gonna be more or less just about as bigga deal as you make of it. If you want your kides to grow up thinkin' naked is nasty and bad, then do what you gotta. On the otherhand, I figure kids all around would be better off learnin' naked is neither nasty nor bad, but that there are times and places where it is both appropriate and wholly unremarkable, and times and places where it is inappropriate. My take is everybody is responsible for their own body, and nobody oughtta be ashamed of it or any part or function thereof.

So, I guess the choice comes down to teach kids responsibility, or teach kids shame. As in most such choice sets, its really dismayin' to me how rarely responsibility wins. Dismayin', but wholly unsurprisin'. I think that's a damned shame.

Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 5:13 am Post: 797140 -

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Of course, kids are gonna find a way to drink if they wanna, just as they'll find a way to have sex or do drugs if they wanna. That doesn't make any of it right.

I figure it comes down to responsibility. And I figure stuff like binge drinkin' displays a total lack of either responsibility or maturity. If kids don't wanna be treated as kids, they should demonstrate they know how to not act like kids. A well-displayed sense of responsibility goes a long way to cancel a lack of years when it comes to assigning points on the maturity scale.

Problem is, it takes most kids a while to figure that out, and there's no question there are plenty of adults still short on the concept well into later life. No doubt that's why there are laws about such things ... not so much to protect us from ourselves, or kids from themselves, but to protect the rest of us from the immature and irresponsible of whatever age.

An amusing anecdote occurs to me. First time I came home drunk, I was, oh, I dunno, 14, mebbe 15. I'd been out partyin' with the Big Kids, and had taken on a pretty fair load of beer. Anyhow, I was tryin' to sneak back into the house, it bein' well past my curfew, apart from my being illicitly lit up, but my stealth measures failed. My old man busted me as I came through the hallway window. Coming seemingly outta nowhere, he grabbed me by the shoulders as I was unsteadilly regainin' my feet, giving me a good attention-getting shake, and sternly, loudly demanded "Just what do you think you're doin', young man? Have you been drinkin'?". Well, take a kid, fill him full of beer, then shake him up, both figuratively and physically, and what do you think is gonna happen?

I got to put in some mop time. Hadda do the resultant laundry by hand, too, all before I was permitted to crawl into bed. Next mornin', bright and early, dad decided a buncha wood needed split and some holes needed dug. A real bummer of a deal for me all around.

...he did offer me a beer at one point when I'd worked up a good sweat. In fact, he insisted, and shoved a cigar at me too. I accepted. That turned out not to have been a very good idea, either. I hadda keep diggin', though.

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:46 pm Post: 1023425 -

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Personal confession here ... Damn, you folks are so much better at this sorta thing than I seem to be able to manage; I do enjoy this sorta stuff, but I always feel a little overmatched ... outta my depth, a tyke tryin' to play with the big kids.

Ain't gonna let that stop me though; I may be clumsy, but I'm pretty hard to intimidate

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2004 10:26 am Post: 1040956 -

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Sorta like tellin' kids its OK to ignore biology if they feel cuttin' up frogs is disgustin' , IMO. Facts is facts, learnin' is learnin', objective, critical thinkin' is objective, critical thinkin', and the more of each you've got at your disposal, the better off you are.

Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:46 pm Post: 1062026 -

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Tracy's Donuts ... that Fish and Chips place, the bowling alley across from the Straight Theater, that drive-in around the corner, there right across from the entrance to the park - what was its name - Don's, I think, but it was so long, and so very, very, so unbelieveably much ago. The Digger's Free Store, The Garuda coffee shop, with those fantastic teas and incredible pastries, and the shop next door that sold leather and fur and shimmering indian silk and paiseley linen in swaths and whole bolts. Love Burger, and the little Chinese grocery, The Drog Store, and the Bank of America branch that Patty Hearst robbed, and big, wide brimmed hats. The Lion coffeehouse, over on the other side of The Panhandle - it was on, or just off, Baker street, I think. Barefoot kids, dirty, tattered, diffidently beseeching passersby for spare change - usually with a dirty, tattered, scared little puppy leashed with a bit of twine. An explosion of smells, a symphony of colors, a riot of sounds. The tinkling of bells, the wail of a sax - a passable riff of classical flamenco guitar, the roar of a bus, a giggle, a tambourine. Patchouli and sandalwood and pot and curry and dust and exhaust fumes. Alone in a crowd, or amongst hordes of freinds you didn't know - did it matter? Not if you were there. There on Haight Street. Then. That's all that mattered. Then.

Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 9:40 am Post: 1070711 -

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Not really pertinent, but here in Timberland, we got hawks of all sorts, and owls and osprey and eagles aplenty too. I really appreciate bein' fortunate enough to be able to enjoy watchin' 'em as a day-to-day thing. Pretty neat to see a big ol' Baldy steal a fish from a startled and outraged osprey in mid-air, or watchin a couple rough-legged hawks chase a buncha indignant crows away from a tasty bit of carrion only to have a redtail sieze the moment - and the roadkill , or to see a flock of sparrows botherin' helloutta a perplexed barn owl. And then there's kestrels and harriers - they really enjoy the songbirds that hang around through the winter hereabouts

Another off-the-wall aside; seems our Northern Hawk Owl is Back

Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:41 am Post: 1158367 -

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My trucks usually operate right here in the immediate Timberland neighborhood, Dys - I find the Off-Road rubber quite satisfactory given the local paucity of pavin'. 'Course, the winter snowcover is another strong argument for an agressive lug-based tread design. Mrs Timber's Regal sees pavement on a reagular basis, so its outfitted with M^S rubber ... adequate mosta the time, though she sometimes has trouble makin' it up the driveway here at home followin' a decent snow.


Oh, and congrats on the retirement tidings, Reyn, and a hearty welcome to A2K. I'm pretty much retired myself, but I was dumb enough to retire to a hobby farm equipped with a century-plus old house. Well, at least I've got the time to take care of mosta what needs to be done


Seriously - wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything involvin' cities and neighbors and deadlines and traffic and such. Taxes are damned reasonable too, and no mortgage. Plenty of compensations. This'll do just fine.

Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 7:12 am Post: 1167700 -

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Speakin' of fools, m'dear, you've no idea what degrees certifications, and professional experience I have. For my education, I'm a product of Catholic schools, public schools, a Jesuit university and a state university, with assorted other essentially professional-level study in my field. I am in fact qualified to teach a variety of disciplines. Right up front, I lack the compassion and patience to be an effective teacher - so I don't. As to my kids, one's a Captain in the Marine Corps, currently serving his second tour in Iraq. the other is a contract Special Education teacher with the Atlanta school system and a mother of 3. Both attended public schools in a variety of locales, as when they were growin', my work moved us about all over the country. Along with their public school education, both received considerable guidance and attention at home. Both attended well-regarded private post-secondary institutions, progressing through post-graduate work. Both largely share my view of the US educational establishment.

Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 9:36 am Post: 1224286 -

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Just for giggles, POM - My Jebbie years were spent at Loyola institutions - academies (where in grammar school I achieved accellerated grade placement, entering highschool at the age of 12, just shy of my 13th birthday and and I managed to graduate highschool and gain college acceptance (with a SAT in the 96th percentile) in 6 semesters - transcripts available). Secondary and post secondary institutions attended were Loyola Chicago Lewis Towers, University of San Francisco, and within the University of California system. Scholarships, both athletic and academic, defrayed some though by no means all costs. Throughout, there were periods of foreign study. There followed some fairly specialized military training and advanced training, wholly unrelated to my field of study (though I had hobbied in the general field from youth), and which formed the basis of my civilian career. Obviously, I never really learned to type, though I still manage a respectable Morse WPM rate.

As for the various public schools my kids attended, they were typical suburban public schools. My wife and I did put some research into the suburbs we chose, and the schools were a large part of that decision. Both kids attended college in the University of California system.

I submit that any perception of the superiority of your argument in comparison with mine lies with yourself. I note your frequent unwarranted - and frequently incorrect - assumptions in particular.
I do indeed see your plaint as negativist, self-centered, falsely exculpatory, excuse-ridden, deflective, and entirely characteristic of the part-and-parcel of the crisis confronting our educational system due to the generation-plus mismanagement it has suffered.

Now, there are plenty of excellent, dedicated, extraordinarily competent and qualified educators. There is plenty of deadwood there too ... way too much, and that pile seems to grow almost exponentially. We as taxpayers provide funding to education second to none in the world. Money is not the problem. It is imperative we demand, and verify, performance from those who spend that money.

Oh, and just for reference, I happen to sit on my local school board, on my township board, and on my county board, all subject to the electoral decisions of the voters of my community. I am quite active in community affairs, I am an EMT2-certified 1st Responder as well as a certified Veterinarian Tech, I do animal foster care for the area humane societies and animal shelters, and I really enjoy hunting, fishing, and trapping, along with home repair-remodelin' and private landscapin'. Castle Timber is an extensively renovated farmhouse more than a century old. I wear mostly denim, flannel, and steel-toed, traction-soled workboots, and drive a mid-size SUV as day-to-day transportation, with a 1-ton 4WD DRW diesel truck for heavier stuff. Mrs Timber drives a late-model domestic full-size semi-luxury sedan. I have and use a couple tractors, too - working antiques, really. There are a few motorcycles, a boat, a couple snowmobiles, some horses and assorted other farm-type critters, some Koi, an ATV, and a 33' RV also. I fly as well, and own a light plane. There is no mortgage, no liens attached to anything else, I'm just shy of 60, and have been more-or-less retired for several years. I've not yet accomplished all I set out to do, and there have been disappointments and digressions aplenty along the way, but I'm too stubborn to do anything other than keep pluggin' away at it.

Its cool you don't like my writin' - or my politics; the sentiment is entirely reciprocated, I assure you. We may not have Paris, and I have no idea what you were wearin', but at least we have that. Here's to you, kid.

Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 10:13 am Post: 1318350 -

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George wrote:
Well, I wouldn't go THAT far (he said as he planned to
make a home office of his daughter's old bedroom).


They ain't gone 'till their stuff's outta the basement. That takes a long, long time.

Think watchin' your kids goin' off to college, or graduatin' from college makes ya feel old? Confront the specter of a grandkid enterin' highschool

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:58 am Post: 1389428 -

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Never took a buggy to school, but at one highschool I attended, kids, myself sometimes included, rode horses to school. There was even a stable, run as a joint project by the FFA and 4H clubs at the highschool. Of course, there was a student parking lot, too, and it was always packed.

I remember too walking to school - about a mile - through snow over my knees (I don't think there even was such a thing as a "Snow Day" back then - you went to school, period). 'Course, my knees were a lot closer to the ground then than they are now.

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:54 pm Post: 1519705 -

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Bella Dea wrote:
... I can't buy anything without getting carded ...

LOL - last time anybody asked me for my ID, first thing she said was "Sir, do you know why I stopped you?" Ticket-sellers assume I get the "Senior Discount" if there is one, waiters and waitresses, just matter-of-factly point out the "Senior Discount" menu items to me, kids call me "Pops" or "Gramps", folks in their 50s and older call me "Sir", and all that has been going on for years. And while I've been a patron of taverns, liquour, and tobacco retailers since my mid-teens, I have never been asked for proof-of-age when making a purchase or placing an order. On and right after my 21st birthday, that was sort of a letdown. Oh, well - we all have our crosses to bear

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 5:17 am Post: 1302971 -

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Tell her I said "Hi". Haven't seen my daughter in a couple years, though she, spouse and offspring appear likely to descend on Timberland for a summer sojourn this year. I'm really lookin' forward to that

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 3:55 pm Post: 1581153 -

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Being fairly clumsy/careless from time to time, often quite remote from civilized help, and fortunately having a pretty good familiarity with first aid techniques, I've had occasion to employ, on myself and others, self-stitching, butterfly bandages (I've used a variety of tape for that - friction tape, electricians tape, duct tape, packing tape, masking tape, and actual medical bandage tape; the medical stuff and duct tape work best, though that transparent packing tape does a pretty good job, too), superglue (stings like hell, but it works pretty good if you can staunch the bloodflow well enough and long enought to adequately coat both sides of the wound), and silicon adhesive (that stuff's real rough on body hair - real last-resort material). While I've never done it or seen it myself, safety pins (preferably sterilized, of course) will work too, according to various emergency manuals. When it comes to removing stitches from me, professionally installed or otherwise, I usually do it myself, if they're accessible. I've freed myself from a plaster cast or two also, but that's another deal altogether.

Oh, and don't recommend you try any of this at home, kids

Also, if you're injury-prone, its an excellent idea to stay up to date on your tetanus shots.

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 12:31 am Post: 1706021 -

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Always had full hot & indoor plumbing, with bathtub and flush toilet. Knew folks who didn't, went to school with plenty of kids from such homes, but thought none the less of them for it. Well, there was wierd Wally McKee and his creepy sister Heather, but their home ammenities had nothing to do with their wierdness; they were just natively wierd. Wierd household altogether, in fact. They lived with a spinster aunt and the aunt's really wierd, really old bachelor cousin - everybody called him Mean Old McKee. He useta work for the railroad, but lost a leg on the job long, long before I ever knew of him, or of that scary crutch he delighted in threatening kids with. We didn't go over there at all. They had a really strange, really ugly dog, too. Wally and Heather went on to become local celebrities of a sort, winding up serving seperate sentences of equal length. Considerable length, as I remember, dunno if they ever got out.

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 8:58 am Post: 1729115 -

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One of my brother's-in-law has been working for nearly 40 years and who-knows-how-much money on a classic Japanese full-body tatoo; dragons and lions and tigers and mountains and waves and bears and all that, oh my .... seems like an otherwise pretty-much normal guy. Good provider, great dad, church-going fella, real active in his kids' schools and his community, non-smoker, not even much for drinking - he'll have a glass of wine once in a while, but thats about it. In long sleeves and slacks, he doesn't appear to be any different than anyone else.

Well, he does like cats, but other than that, I can't think of anything wierd about him.

Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:24 am Post: 1975343 -

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Today was a dual treat here at Timberland; a couple of the puppies made the acquaintence of a skunk this morning, and just a few minutes ago, one of the skunked puppies and 2 of the unaffected engaged in a through-the-fence (thank goodness) confrontation with a porcupine.

The porc escaped irritated but essentially unharmed, lumbering off into the woods with barely a backward glance as the pups maintained an awesome din, and relatively few quills were left in the pups. I think I've found and yanked 'em all, but the wounded bear watching for a while.

As for the scented pair, we have over the years developed an effective if tedious remedy, one not much appreciated by the pups, and which seems, along with the experience of getting skunked in the first place, no deterrent to repetition of the adventure at any opportunity.

Posted: Sun May 07, 2006 9:09 pm Post: 2023808 -

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Just wanna say I'm glad everybody had a great time. Boy, am I disappointed - I was really looking forward to seeing everyone ... but, whatchya gonna do? Despite my anticipation and plans, as the old joke goes, "and then the horse died" ... really.

Sorta ... I dunno ... empty, I guess ... here at Timberland right now, hard to realize she's really gone. Pretty much a big surprise; she was old, but not exceptionally so, and had seemed perfectly healthy, even getting into the arrival of Spring. Then in a matter of hours ... well, all I can say is "Damn!"

Anyhow, enough of that ... I wanna read all about The Gathering and see lotsa pictures.

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 7:54 pm Post: 2456580 -

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cicerone imposter wrote:
... As kids, we connected a string to two paper cups, and we used that to "communicate" ...

As a kid - around 13 or 14, anyhow, but from where I sit now, that's definitely "Kid" - I built a color TV ... there was only one station in town at the time broadcasting color, and that was only a few prime-time hours a few evenings a week. Quite a deal in the neighbohood at the time.

Well, "built" is an exageration; mostly it was a kit. So were the breadloaf-sized walkie-talkies we kids used back then - but they worked.

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:04 pm Post: 2460683 -

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Dorothy Parker wrote:
Must be scary to have neighbours with shotguns.

Dunno 'bout that - offhand, I can't think of a neighbor around here that doesn't have shotguns ... and rifles, of assorted variety. I know a few who don't have handguns, but riflles, shotguns, fishing tackle, sturdy boots, and denim just about define the immediate surrounding community.

New Years at Timberland went pretty well - no shots fired in anger, no charges filed, no major property damage, no injuries calling for professional attention.

Among the folks who stayed overnight, a few actually pitched in to help with the cleanup - way cool and much appreciated; there was a buncha cleanup to be done, but its pretty much handled now, and a great - if late -breakfast was had by all as reward for getting the job got done.

Among the folks who elected to not stay overnight was one who shoulda chosen differently even given that he lives less than a mile from here, just off the same road - and who wound up doing so despite his wishes. Making his way down the driveway to the road, he managed to pilot his vehicle into the shallow (but last night wind-driven-snow filled) drainage ditch which runs downhill alongside the driveway. His evidently buffudled efforts to extract himself from the predicament effectively worsened the predicament, and he showed up back in the (then still a debris-strewn disaster area) kitchen, seeking assistance in the matter of extracting his at the time thoroughly stuck truck. In the charity and fellowship of the moment, those still awake quickly came to the unanimous consenus the desired result best and most conveniently would be achieved some time after daylight had come and a hearty breakfast had been enjoyed. And so it was that the truck and its owner departed for home around 2:30 or so this afternoon, some 12 hours following the initial attempt to that end.

I think this might be what started this off; here's a shot of my 'puter office desk:



I do a lotta my A2K-ing from here. Now, actually, I gotta admit the desk hardly ever is that neat. In that pic, you can see a small TV, a couple printers, a flatbed scanner, a wireless gateway device, a couple routers, a few outboard drives, a KVM switch, 3 desktops, a laptop, and the monitors, mice, and keyboards for 4 desktops. There are a buncha machines and other stuff, including the full-sized surround sound system, that you don't see. And I'll guarantee ya, you don't wanna see my workbench - or, as Mrs Timber calls it, "The Parts Pile".

There's also a laptop that pretty much lives in the den, from which I do quite a bit of A2K-ing, I A2K some from the MediaCenter PC (it didn't start out that way; just sorta evolved into it) thats part of the main AV rig in the livingroom, from the "Upstairs Bedroom" 'puter (an older iMac fine for browsing, emailing and for letting visiting kids play with), from a couple other laptops, and from a handheld/palmtop (which also functions as a comprehensive universal entertainment appliance remote) that has this really irritating way of disappearing into the cushions of chairs and couches.

And yup, its all networked together.


When it decides it wants to work