Saturday, September 18, 2010

From Guinness World Records 2011: Most bottles recycled by a dog

A Labrador called Tubby, owned by Sandra Gilmore of Pontnewydd, Torfaen, UK, has helped recycle an estimated 26,000 plastic bottles over the past six years by collecting them on his daily walks, crushing them and passing them to his owner.

I recall reading the Guinness Book of World Records in the newspaper comic section in the early sixties.

I’ve been a fan ever since.

Welcome to TheMadHasher.com, Humboldt County's only professional hash extraction service!

Look at what I found this morning. A new Humboldt Blog with a purpose – to make bubble hash!

This site’s still so new they don’t have any pictures in their Picture Gallery. They clearly explain their services and are compliant with 215 law, so they are advertising (found on Craigslist).

Is this just a set-up to bust lazy growers who don’t want to make their own hash? Who knows? I  just want to share the site with you and you can make your own determination as to it’s validity.

Coming Sunday: As It Stands takes on the Gainesville Baptist Church and it’s hate-spewing pastor Phelps

I really don’t look at the 60 members (most of which are Pastor Fred Phelps immediate family) as members of a church. They are a cult disguised as a mainstream church.

They think protesting at dead soldiers funerals and hating homosexuals is their God-driven right. If this was just a 1st Amendment issue, I would agree.

But, it’s not. It’s about harassment – plain and simple. See ya Sunday at The Times-Standard.

 

New generations experience Jimi Hendrix 40 years after his death

I recall being in Ban me Thuot, Vietnam, listening to Armed Forces radio when they announced Jimi’s death.

My friends and I were really bummed out and we held a Smoke-In at a Buddhist graveyard that night that was attended by most of the “Heads” in the 31st Eng Battalion. We played his hits on big old Boom Boxes and sang along with “Are you experienced.”

“So much of the musical legacy of Jimi Hendrix rests on memory of the legendary guitarist as the fluid, inventive musical maverick who burst on the scene in 1967 -- almost single-handedly defining the creative extravagance of the Summer of Love --or the legend who exited that scene three years later, dying in London on Sept. 18, 1970, at the age of 27.

This even-numbered anniversary year of his passing has already seen a flurry of previously unreleased music and images, and there's more to come before year's end, other opportunities to discover the Hendrix that existed before the world discovered him, the lean Seattle kid struggling to survive the critical formative years that helped make him what he would become, before his talents seemed to explode on the world fully formed.

"People think that he just...appeared one day," Janie Hendrix -- Jimi's stepsister, and president/CEO of Experience Hendrix LLC, the Hendrix family company -- said in 2003. "But he also had a history and a life, from birth to childhood to adolescence to adulthood." That year the Experience Music Project, a Seattle museum, joined forces with Experience Hendrix on an exhibition of Hendrix's early life and childhood.”

Friday, September 17, 2010

As It Stands: Thoughts About The Moon

ATT0004312I was climbing to the moon the other night when my ladder ran out of rungs…

ATT000134

so I had to wait until the moon came to me

 Then I attached a string to it and slowly let the line out and watched the moon riseATT0003711 lazily into the night sky…while I read from my personal book of the dead.

ATT0002814 I try to let go of those who passed before me

sadly, but stoically

releasing their memories like the moon

when my mood is murky like this I search the night skies like a bat

I want to frame the moon and it’s mysteries for future reference  ATT0002213 

and borrow it’s eerie glow to light my way in the darkest nights that I know must surely lie ahead

But I dare not

the moon doesn’t belong to me with my short earthly span

for eons untold it’s ruled the night sky above this place that we pollute with the impunity of stupidity

Still - I look for the Moon over Mckinleyville when I know it’s due

We’re old friends you know and there’s still a lot to talk about 

 

Local farmers concerned about predicted rainfall – some crops may be ruined

I was talking with my son (Richard) today and he was concerned about an abundance of rain (2” predicted) ruining the potatoes where he works for Paul Giuntoli, owner of Warren Creek Farms.

They harvested 10,000 pounds of potatoes yesterday and are hard at it today. All of our local farmers are hustling in the fields today hoping Mother Nature’s wet passing will be brief.

Some History about Warren Creek Farms:

Warren Creek Farm has been growing organically since 1987 and certified organic by CCOF since 1991.

They conserve water and soil through crop rotation, cover cropping and dry farming. Dry farmed plants are more nutritious, store better and conserve water.

At Warren Creek Farms they manage weeds, pests, and diseases by mechanical and manual cultivation, crop rotation, strip grazing, soil testing, fertilizer management and as a last resort, application of organic program approved materials and practices.

Soil fertility is considered after annual soil testing. Green manure crops, compost, micronutrients and fallow years are used to maintain fertility and plant health.

At Warren Creek Farms they have a box recycling program. They pay their customers to save their boxes and many of them are used several times over.

Blue Lake & Arcata Bottoms (0-4 miles from packaging facility) Warren Creek Farms is owned by Paul Giuntoli, a third generation Humboldt County Farmer.

He and his wife Carla farm two plots of certified organic land – one on Warren Creek Road between Arcata and Blue Lake, and one in the Arcata Bottoms.

They have been supplying the co-op with potatoes and winter squash for more than 20 years, making them one of our oldest suppliers.

My son, Richard (and daughter-in-law Jassmine), having been working for Paul and Carla for years. Last year’s Corn Maze set records for attendance at the event. The Pumpkin Patch is another popular people pleaser and is also held at the Arcata Bottoms. In two weeks, Warren Creek Farms will open up it’s store for business. Meanwhile you can find their products at The Farmer’s Market in Arcata every Saturday.  

Jon Stewart announces ‘Rally to Restore Sanity’

I admit that I’m a long-time fan of Jon Stewart.

I love the way he goes after the political Right and Left. Even his enemies admire his ability to clown around and still make serious statements about politics and other hot issues. He holds the media in contempt, but is making his living behind the cameras and on the air. That paradox is puzzling, but somehow it doesn’t bother me.

I can’t wait to hear more about his rally. You know this is going to be an event to remember. If laughter is the best medicine, then a dose of Stewart should set you right up.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What’s the longest you ever owned a car?

!cid_1_1210017425@web84102_mail_mud_yahoo

Mr. Allen Swift of(Springfield, MA.) received this 1928 Rolls-Royce Picadilly P1 Roadster from his father, brand new - as a graduation gift in1928.

He drove it up until his death last year.....at the age of 102!!!

He was the oldest living owner of a car from new.   Just thought you'd like to see it.

He donated it to a Springfield museum after his death.

It has 170,000 miles on it, still runs like a Swiss watch, dead silent at any speed, and is in perfect condition. (82 years)

Just thought you would find this of interest....

 

Thursday, September 16, 2010

States spying on us is scary but not surprising – Pennsylvania’s govenor says he’s sorry

Homeland Security is sounding more like the S.S. and Gestapo every day. Doesn’t this admission make you wonder what the other 49 states are doing right now? If I had to guess; I’d say exactly the same thing. Hi, Big Brother!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Opps! Video shows Stefani Carter plagiarizing Obama

I get a kick out of the recent crop of candidates for office this November.

Today, let’s take a look at Stefani Carter, a would-be politico, who has already stumbled (make that screwed up) when she plagiarized Barack Obama’s 2004 keynote address to the Democratic National Convention recently.

How ironic that a Republican “want-to-be” is using a speech from a Democrat. What does that say? No imagination? No scruples? No sense? You pick.  

From The Lone Star Project (Fighting back with facts):

District 102 Republican rips off Obama while padding resume

“When House District 102 Republican nominee Stefani Carter gives her stump speech, her style and cadence seem oddly familiar, especially coming from a first time candidate.  Not only are Carter’s theme and tone similar to Barack Obama’s 2004 keynote address to the Democratic National Convention, several lines are virtually identical. She has clearly ripped off one of the President’s most memorable and widely heard speeches.
Some of those who heard Carter give her stump speech notified the Lone Star Project that she is “channeling Obama.” After some research, we were able to obtain a

video of Carter clearly lifting lines from Obama’s ’04 convention address.”

“Further research shows that Stefani Carter may be grossly overstating her past work experience and the importance of her duties. By padding her resume, Carter raises legitimate questions about her actual experience and background.

There is no requirement for an extensive background as a public speaker, journalist, or prosecutor to run for the Texas Legislature, but there is a requirement for honesty and integrity. That’s where Stefani Carter falls short. She clumsily plagiarized a famous speech and foolishly exaggerated her official biography and resume. Most employers would refuse to hire, or would likely fire, any applicant who plagiarized his or her public remarks or provided overtly misleading information about their background.”

It's Time to Pay Up Donnie!

It's looks like there will be some prime real estate going on the market soon in New York City. Convicted rapist and former president ...