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Occasionally I think about how it might be nice to start life over somewhere else without any possessions. Sometimes I feel like I’m defined by my “stuff”. Wouldn’t it be interesting to show up in a new location with nothing but the clothes on your back and the skills you possess? Despite the sense of freedom and release that this might offer, I’ll bet that there is one thing you just couldn’t give up.

For me, the one thing - well actually the many things - that I simply couldn’t part with are the numerous images I’ve collected.

I have pictures that I’ve taken, pictures I’ve been given by my grandmother, and very old pictures of past generations of my family. I have photo books, photo boxes, and just loose photos laying all over. I have drawings that I did, drawings from my sister, and various paintings. I have a really neat framed picture I took of Dana Point Harbor in San Clemente, California during a vacation there.

The image above is of a painting that hangs over the fireplace in my den. The painting features a herd of Hereford cattle grazing in a pasture at the foot of a mountain. It used to belong to my grandfather. It always hung over the head of his bed. It reminds me of him and all of the times I “helped” him do his chores, feeding the cattle, planting his fields, and doing odd jobs around the farm. I, of course, was there mostly as moral support because I was usually too young to help much, but I’ll always remember the great conversations we had as I got older, riding along with him in his pickup truck.

If you hadn’t noticed, there is a photo tucked into the left corner of the frame. This is a photo of me at about age 2 sitting on my great grandfather’s lap. This would have been the father-in-law of my grandfather, who owned the painting. I have only a few memories of my great grandfather, but I do remember that he taught me to chew gum (prior to age 3!).

I have discovered that the most enjoyable moments in my day are often those that let me remember some past experience I’ve had, and relate that experience back to that moment. I’ve done this many times with my favorite bloggers, I do it each time I listen to my favorite radio program, and I’m constantly doing the same thing with these images that are so present in my life. Each time I come home and sit down in my den, this painting brings back all of these great memories.

If you suddenly started over with little or no “stuff”, what would you miss the most?

The past two weeks have provided numerous opportunities for recreation for me. I started with a weekend in Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa taking in their annual “Omaha Railroad Days”, a celebration of all things related to trains. For railfans, Omaha and Council Bluffs are natural destinations. The headquarters of the largest railroad in the country is here, there are several museums located here that celebrate trains, and the Dodge House is also located here.  I didn’t have time to see all that’s available, but I do plan to go back in the next few weeks and finish my tour.

A quick video of one of the garden railroad exhibits I visited at Lauritzen Gardens is here:

There is more in a series of posts I have started over on Researching the Railroad.

My next opportunity for recreation came in the form of a four-day vacation. My parents invited me to visit the Black Hills on a trip they were planning. I gratefully accepted their kind invitation and returned to the Black Hills of South Dakota for the first time in about twenty years.  Much has changed, but many things remain as I remember them.  Bonus:  Our tour of the Badlands inspired the new header image.

I thoroughly enjoyed my last couple of weeks of leisurely summer fun, and I’m looking forward to a few more enjoyable breaks before fall.  To my folks - thank you, the invitation came at the perfect time and it couldn’t have been any better.

Many people spent at least part of their long weekend traveling to cemeteries to take part in the annual “decoration”. This seems like an appropriate time to talk about those we’ve lost.

In my lifetime, I’ve seen several friends and family members pass away. The first I really remember, and the first to really impact me, was my great grandmother who passed just before I turned ten years old. Her husband, my great grandfather, was also very important in my life but despite remembering him and what a fun fellow he was, I don’t remember his passing (I was about three years old at the time).

Some of the saddest and most draining experiences have been losing friends at a young age. One of my good friends from college passed away over seven years ago. We were very close in age, and shared several interests and had a similar love, admiration, and closeness with our grandfathers. He was killed in a car accident one cold day in December, and I had seen him and joked with him earlier that day.

Maybe the hardest death to deal with is the slow and agonizing death of someone close to you. You don’t know if you should wish them comfort and a quicker journey or a longer time on earth to finish their last acts, words and thoughts.

It sometimes amazes me that some friends of mine can be rather unemotional and almost “clinical” about dealing with the difficulty of losing someone. For me, it’s as if an actual piece of myself has been cut away as I think back over the times we shared and realize that no more will be shared. I don’t know if these friends are in a late stage of denial, if they are actually aware of this lack of emotion and it is really a coping skill, or if they genuinely don’t feel the same type of loss when someone dies.

These were just some thoughts I had as I think back over my Memorial Day weekend. This three day weekend means different things to different Americans. For me, it is for reuniting with family and remembering and honoring those we’ve lost especially those who’ve made the supreme sacrifice for our freedom. Hope you had a happy, meaningful, productive and safe weekend.

William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn. He was 82.

Although I have been interested in politics since junior high school, I never knew quite how to classify my own politics. I knew some things that I was not - some things I didn’t believe in. For one, I have never had much faith in group thinking or the “wisdom of the crowd”. For another, I have never had much time for middle men - people who place themselves between me and something or someone of value.

What does this have to do with Buckley’s death? Well, it was not until I started college that I sort of found my political footing, so to speak.

My early days at Central College were marked by a full year of trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life as a profession. At least two or three times a week, I visited the library’s periodical stacks to read about people who I regarded as successful, hoping to discern their success secrets. It was during these frequent “soul searching” sessions that I came across the National Review. This was like having a light turned on. At that time, the original George Bush was president and the original Iraq war was just getting underway. In a world that was changing rapidly and perhaps less certain than ever before, the logic and the pure thought and intellect that were apparent in the pages of National Review gave me a hopeful, positive outlook.

An antidote to the popular press of the time, National Review contained consistently well-crafted prose which was thoughtfully critical when necessary, but not in a cheap, populist way. Continued reflection on and examination of Buckley’s publication was like reading a map that revealed the details of my own political mind.

While it used to be hard to explain my own personal politics, it is easy now to tell people that I am most definitely a conservative, but more importantly, I think it is now easier for me to understand why that is true and what it means to be a conservative.

William F. Buckley Jr., Rest In Peace.

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It has been a while since posting but I am still upright and breathing. Good news for me!

I’ve been dealing with Sinus maximus over the last few days and this, among other things, has taken my attention away from the nocturnal blogging activity.

Hope to be back up in lights with feature posts very soon!

President Hugo Chavez on Sunday threatened to cut off oil sales to the United States if Exxon Mobil Corp. wins court judgments to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets. “If you end up freezing Venezuelan assets and it harms us, we’re going to harm you. Do you know how? We aren’t going to send oil to the US. Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger”

Sometimes you try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but this is really difficult to do so with Hugo Chavez. Wow, Chavez needs to give some thought to what he is saying. Undoubtedly the United States is Venezuela’s number one export destination for these barrels. Is his “threat” of $200 barrels of crude supposed to scare us? This is exactly why our country’s energy policy needs to be multifaceted.

We really should address our dependencies on single regions, single resources, and single relationships with an eye toward broad diversification. Our goal should be to develop many energy sources, many supplying regions (both domestic and abroad), and no more “cozy triangles” between government, industry and special interest groups. Click the “Digg Story” link below to read the news account of Mr. Chavez’s banter.


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“Our law is by definition a codification of our morality.”

Barack Obama is speaking here about religion & the value of remaining tolerant of others religious views, even if they don’t claim a religion. The video linked here is long, about 40 minutes, but you really owe it to yourself to hear what Barack Obama is saying about religion and its place in the public discourse.

This is something that the democratic party can be proud of. Please don’t interpret this as an endorsement - people who know me know that I certainly don’t carry any water for the democratic party. Also, it pains me to imagine the media hurricane that would result if someone who isn’t from the left made some of these exact same statements.

That said, if ever the democrats needed something, it is a person who can address situations with truth, with reason and with humility. Funded by individuals and not beholden to suspect special interest groups, Senator Obama might be the best hope for the democrats. He is certainly someone without a barge full of baggage and dirty laundry and other assorted political uglies.

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Linked here (from Digg) is an interesting article from the Economist which, of course, is critical of using corn as a feedstock for ethanol. It is even more critical of ongoing U.S. subsidies of ever-larger farming operations which are focused on row crops (mainly corn/beans) and livestock production. These are discussed as barriers to the economic advancement of poorer farmers around the world. The article examines increases in food cost both as a threat to poorer consumers and as an opportunity to wean U.S. farmers from this paternalistic subsidy system.

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Where do you get inspiration from? For me, seeing someone succeed against the odds always seems to stir me to do more. My creative juices flow faster, my adrenaline pumps a little harder, when I watch someone succeed despite everything and everyone saying that they shouldn’t.

With that in mind, take a look at the video below. By the way, stay tuned because I’ll tell you some little known facts about this in part two. Many of you already know my “little secret”, and even if you don’t it might seem obvious if you’ve been following along, so just play along and don’t spoil the surprise for others!

The U.S. government ruled on Tuesday that food from cloned animals and their offspring is as safe as other food, opening the door to bringing meat and milk from clone offspring into the food supply.

One justification for this approval was that there appears to be no danger posed by food from cloned livestock. This is reckless approach to a complex issue, if you ask me. It is a little like saying that although an army tank might be dangerous if it is armed, you can drive one around town if you just leave the shells at home, because at that point it poses no apparent danger.

While I consider myself fairly progressive with regard to scientific innovation, I also consider myself a thoughtful food consumer. Having grown up in an agricultural area, and having family ties to the grocery business, and with a professional interest in food production, I have had lots of time and opportunity to think about what I eat.

One thought that I have is that some things work better in “low gear” and some should be pushed a little in order to get certain tasks done in a timely manner.

If you are planning to plant corn after the fourth of July parade, then you can bet you won’t face much success. Planting is something that happens in the spring, on a schedule. When it is time to go, you go. Feeding livestock is another task that must be done on time. Late just won’t cut it.

Planting your crops on time, however, doesn’t mean planting your field with the tractor in road gear. Likewise, farmers don’t expect the plants to grow at a quicker pace than nature will allow.

Genetic mutation is, I think, something that should happen at a slow and natural pace in the great outdoors, not rushed by nerdy guys in white coats at the lab bench (it is OK for me to stereotype them, because I am them).

A safety net that all of the species on earth enjoy is that of genetic diversity, or in other words, a broad pool of genes to select from as the generations proceed. Genetic diversity demands a slow and natural mutation process, not instantaneous, “on-demand” mutations initiated by man.

It is the wild types and “waste animals” that become the vehicles for genes which, while perhaps not studied by well-funded scientists, are likely the best insurance policies against creating a dominant class of animal that eventually becomes devoid of desirable traits like disease resistance, longevity, weather hardiness, and reproductive vigor. The truth is that we don’t know how our experimentation will affect generations of animals into the future, because we’ve not had the required time to observe these effects yet.

I don’t think that our genetic basis for life is anything less than miraculous and I don’t think that it is nearly so easy to understand as we sometimes like to assume. Relationships aren’t always only the ones we can observe, some causes have multiple and unknown effects. Clearly a newspaper article doesn’t qualify you to make these decisions, but I wonder how many of the bureaucrats at the FDA have studied this issue beyond the white papers provided by the lobbying groups for either side of the argument. While the food itself may be safe for human consumption, and I would still emphasize the word “may”, I find it difficult to believe that humans can exert proper control over something as complex as genetic cloning, especially in light of all the other things we have already gotten so wrong.

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You really need to click throught to the article and read it! You almost get the idea that this could read “Only in Poland”.

A POLISH schoolboy who turned a city’s tram network into a giant toy by maneuvering rolling stock using a TV-style remote control has been arrested after he caused chaos on the public transport system. It is probably good to arrest the kid and give him an appropriate punishment, but once that is finally done, it might not be a bad idea to figure out a better way to remote control the trains. If any schmuck with a TV remote can go derail the trams, do you really think this will be the last time?

I am always on the look-out for train related news and I also have a little blog about my developing model layout at http://bvcentral.blogspot.com. Check it out and let me know what you think!

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I don’t claim to comprehend all of the issues around the Hollywood writers’ strike, but I do understand that it revolves around the writers wanting greater compensation based on an increase in the number of channels that their work is now appearing in, while the producers wish to retain the extra income from these alternate channels.

I have mixed feelings about the strike itself, but little sympathy for either side, since I perceive mostly greed on both sides of the question.

If I may digress for a moment, as a comparison, I’m a research technician and in that role I perform various different laboratory tasks.  My products, if you will, are the results of my experiments.  I don’t demand greater pay if my work gets recognized by more people, I just thank the person or people responsible for increasing my exposure. Most likely either my boss or my company are the responsible parties, and yes, they sometimes can realize an increased profit by sharing these results with a greater number of people, but it isn’t actually easy to do this type of promotion so kudos to them!

Back to the writers, I understand that the writers’ products are unique, but can’t you say that about most jobs?  Could the writers, for instance, sell advertising to clients or do other types of promotion? Could they negotiate placement of DVDs into major retail chains at specified price points?  Could they put together a multi-part marketing push involving merchandising of toys, fast food co-branding, product placement media buys, et cetera?  Could they manage the payroll for all of these operations?  Does the creative role trump all others?

What about all the support staff? I’m sure that if they left work for a month or two, much production would grind to a stop.  Instead, many of these people are now facing the prospect of layoffs.  Why must these people be pawns in such a chess game of greed, with their livelihood hinging on whether or not an overstuffed union or a bunch of overstuffed shirts win a staring contest?  What all of these self-important people decide to do can mean the difference between employment and unemployment for some innocent bystanders.  What if you had to wonder whether you are going to have insurance or have none tomorrow, pay the bills or wonder how to pay them?

Lest you think I’m giving the producers/owners a free pass, please be assured, I’m not.  There are several questions that need to be addressed.  First, is there a logical method for allocating the income from alternate channels?  If so, what is it? If there is extra income and there is a real reason for withholding it from some of the people who helped create the “content”, then the studios should be explaining that reason to their stakeholders.

Finally, I want to propose something very radical: Life’s given us lemons, so let’s make lemonade.  Forget the writers.  Forget about them altogether.  What is the worst that could happen if we don’t get the writers back?  Will we only have one CSI program instead of half a dozen?  How will we cope?  Will there be less sitcom silliness?  Oh, no, not that.

Will this be the end of our world?  Is this a crisis?  No it is not, and I assert that there is much good writing available for consumption without taking it through the filter of television and movies.  Places to look include the newspaper, the good old-fashioned book, and even the blogosphere.  I’m guessing that many, probably most, and maybe even all bloggers would be absolutely delighted to know that their material is being consumed by a growing audience (you won’t see me picketing any time soon!).

If you can’t find any quality writing, why not start a blog of your own and produce some quality writing yourself? Who knows, maybe the studio will call up and you can be a SCAB!

What do you think?

The $200 million dollar project is designed to be a functional and profitable working farm growing enough food to feed 72,000 people for a year and provide another tourist attraction to the city.

Being an “aggie” by training, I find this fascinating. Replicate this in downtown, urban renewal areas, and the possibilities are quite intriguing. The logical way to grow is usually up, so it just might work.

Concerns I’d have from an operations standpoint would be the costs in addition to the initial cost (annual purchases of inputs, annual maintenance cost, unexpected repair cost, etc.) and the widely varying market prices of farm produce. But I’m assuming they’ve spoken with an engineer and an accountant already.

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First, a question then an explanation.

The question: How long has it been since you listened to a favorite album, CD, or cassette from beginning to end, without stopping? I’m wondering if our rushing, ever more “productive” tendencies are taking the good out of our life.

The explanation: I got the idea to use a song lyric as the title of this post after I thought for a while about my recent (and very unusual) twelve day stint away from work. I had taken a few days off during the holidays, resulting in almost two weeks of vacation. After the first day off, I began to forget about scheduled duties and my concept of time and itineraries soon slipped away. I even stepped outside my house without wearing my watch a couple of times - the equivalent of being stark naked for me at any other time.

So, what did I do with this newly liberated time? Many things, but one of the long lost joys that I revisited was listening to music. Not just throwing a CD in while I’m exercising, or taking the mp3 player with me as I run out the door, but really listening, and sitting down. Relaxing and trying to figure out what an artist had in mind with a particular song. In the case of a concept album, what did s/he intend to convey with the whole work?

To say that my musical taste is varied would be accurate, but I listened to a relatively narrow range of music between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Frank Sinatra’s Las Vegas box set was high on the list, while a Dropkick Murphys CD also made the cut. Shannon Brown is a country favorite (she also has a very nice name) from here in Iowa, and her last album was produced by John Rich of Big and Rich fame.

Eventually the whole experience took me back to a time, around ten years ago, when I sat with a friend of mine who also has a fairly eclectic taste in music. That night, we discussed the merits of Texas Swing as a style of American Folk Music and whether or not Bob Wills was and is the King of Swing. I’m not sure which was more valuable to me, the relaxation of the present time or the memory of the past. I’m glad I got to enjoy both.

Happy New Year to all.  I have enjoyed getting to know many new people this past year and I’ve really enjoyed finding my little place in the “blogosphere”.  Now there is a word I never learned to spell when I went to school!

I’m still finding my voice, as they say.  So far I’m quite pleased with the preliminary responses to my homespun blogging effort.  I’ll be much more familiar with the mechanics by this time next year and I hope to be updating the navigation features very soon.

Thanks to all who have supported me with encouraging words or good advice - it’s much appreciated.  Hope your 2008 is all that you hope for plus a few pleasant surprises.

I found this over on Digg. It finally happened. I had predicted $100 barrels by the end of 2007 during January of 2007. Looks like I missed it by a couple of days. I am driving a flex fuel Taurus, and at my little home town gas station, E85 (85% ethanol fuel) is currently $2.35 per gallon, while regular and super (10% Ethanol) are around $3+. I am guessing that this will drive the per gallon price of gas toward $4, with peak demand pushing it past later this spring/summer, while E85 will (hopefully) stay under $3.

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Guess what?  No content yet, but look to your left and let out a cheer.  That’s right, we have the Lijit Widget (Wijit!) installed, so when the content finally arrives, you’ll be able to search it with ease.

I’m a fan of Lijit’s people and their technology, but mostly their people.  If you have a blog and you’re not offering your readers the opportunity to use the Lijit search widget, you are missing an opportunity and so are your readers.

Merry Christmas.  I  hope your holidays are truly blessed.

Check back soon, things will be changing…