I had to make a trip to town to pick up dish soap. Yep, if it were not for a need to have clean pots and pans, I probably would have stayed in the woods a little longer. To bad there are not some disposable pots and pans, in a paper plate style that could be just used and then tossed. Oh well. This gives me an opportunity to grab some Thai food, pick up some other supplies, and upload some more fun stuff.
Today at the request of my friend Mickie, who might comment here the most, I have made a video of me popping corn over a bonfire. I shot this the other day in single digit temperatures, so I hope you all enjoy it.
By the way, while I am here at the library, there is a lady fast asleep in the room. I know because I can hear her snoring. And I thought I would be the one most likely mistaken for a homeless person when I entered the library.
Well, I have one more week before I head home for the holidays. So until then, stay safe and happy holidays.
So I stepped off the island the last couple days to assist in the butchering of a deer. This was supposed to happen before Thanksgiving, but due to the lack of solid ice, I could not make it. Luckily for me, my relative was able to score another deer. Thus, I now have a cooler full of deer meat to experiment with. So if you are in the area, come check out my deer delights.
Here is the latest of videos. Some are already commenting that this could prove that I have snapped. You be the judge.
There have been several things I have thought about posting about, but due to a drop in temperatures the last few weeks, I found myself trapped on the island. A week ago last Friday night the entire lake froze over. The ice was too thin to walk across for most of the week, yet almost too thick to bust through with the boat. I did not feel like taking any risks, so I found myself wandering around in circles for over a week.
Here are a few news items I am late to the party to post about, but better late than never, right?
The local news earlier this week said that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome can be reduced greatly by using a fan in the baby’s room. While there might be some research that proves this could work, I don’t think the scientists have considered that it would only put them at risk of the dreaded Fan Death. I am betting most of my readers have never heard of this deadly killer, but to those who believe it is no laughing matter.
I have seen a few clips about people being trapped at the Bangkok airport for the last week. As one who has passed through that airport, my heart goes out to those stranded. While I found most of the people of Thailand I encountered to be a friendly, this was not the case at the airport. A couple years ago, a friend and I had a layover there. As we passed through passport control, I was sent out towards baggage claim, while my friend was directed to the transit area. The guards would not let him follow me, or even send someone to find me, as it was my first time in the airport. Due to the time, I actually had to run to get to the gate, only to be told by the lady behind the counter that I needed both the boarding pass (which I had) and the receipt (which was in my friend’s possession). They were very unhelpful, not allowing me to page my friend or even have them find him themselves. I returned to the counter several times to see what I could do to make sure I was on the flight out, only to be told on my last visit that they were paging me. That was funny, as I was within eyesight of them the whole time, and never heard my name announced. Luckily, I was able to get to the plane, where my friend had been waiting for a while.
The media has been telling us lately that the economy is so bad that people are not shopping. Guess that was proven wrong on Friday, when not only did people go shopping, but they did it with lethal force. It is sad to think that people are capable of trample a person to death in order to get a good deal on a television. Hopefully those involved will spend more time behind bars than they will spend paying for that television.
And how in the world can you plead not guilty to shooting yourself in the leg? Seriously, it was his gun, in his possession, and the bullet ended up in his leg. Can we not save the tax payers' money on a trail? Perhaps this is yet another reason why our country is a little messed up.
I am beginning to think that if Ted Kaczynski had a YouTube account he might not have gone the route he did. All I know is that after spending over a week completely trapped on that island one of the things that prevented me from going on some crazy binge was making stupid videos for you all to see. There are more where this one came from.
New photos have been posted on my flickr account. And more videos including the one posted below, can be viewed on my YouTube page.
Oh, and speaking of photographs, and the title of this post... Is Citibank trying to get me to stop using my credit card? They are offering lucky winners the chance to go on the road with Nickelback, all you have to do is use your Citibank credit card to enter. Sounds like a reason to use cash.
As I watch the evening news, I am constantly reminded that our economy is not doing so well. Last night, the local news reported a car dealership and a major hotel that was closing for the last time. Everyone is pointing the finger at everyone else to point the blame. The real problem, as people see it, lies with the fat cats on Wall Street, the crooked CEOs at AIG, the government, the banks who told us we can afford the biggest house in the neighborhood, etc... Few are actually standing up and taking a little blame for their current situations. But deep down, a lot of this problem falls on the individual. I was taught a lesson a long time ago about money and spending. It might sound simple, but if you want something, you should have the money to buy it. If you don't, you really should not buy it. Now, I know there are some things like houses and college educations that you might need, but don't have the money in hand to make that purchase, but those are exceptions. Yet, the house or college education you purchase don't have to be the top of the line, just the one you can afford on the means you have.
Sadly last night on Nightline, they reported that lottery ticket sales have been one of the few things that have actually increased in this current economy. They had one family who spends hundreds of dollars a week to purchase tickets, including driving across state lines to buy different tickets. They have had to make cuts to their family's spending, yet will not forgo the lottery tickets. Ironically, the guy just lost his job as a financial planner. Yet, they are not alone, if ticket sales are increasing like they are. Some people are just stupid, spending money they don't have on things they don't need. (I did however learn on the program my odds are better of dating a supermodel than winning the lottery, so I got that going for me.)
I passed this sign several times when I was out in California. It pretty much sums up part of the problem with the mindset of many Americans.
Really, if you can not afford to buy a pet with the cash in hand, I doubt a payment plan on a pet is your best option. Not only are you going to have a monthly payment for that pet, but you will also have extra expenses like food, shots, and the pet sitter. Sure, no money down on a dog sounds like a great deal, but in the end, it will probably just bite you in the butt.
So to sum up, if you can not afford it, go without it. It reminds me of this SNL skit.
So another video has been posted. My friend Chris, asked for either a hunting or sock puppet video. One of these has been granted, the other might still be in the works. If you have any requests for videos of the woods, leave them in the comments.
Also, from time to time I come across an artist that I feel I need to recommend. The latest is Brendan James. There is a long story about how I came to hear his album, but the short of it is that I bought it from him on a bus. When I finally put it in my CD player, I was amazed. So give him a listen, I got a feeling you will be hearing his name in the future. And if so, remember you probably heard it first from me... unless I have been in the woods so long that he is already a household name.
Being a hermit in the woods makes it tough to keep up with the latest news and respond in an appropriate and timely manner, at least online. Sure, I can tell all the birds and fish around me my thoughts on the events of the day, as I get them via the nightly news. But to post online for all to read, my thoughts are probably a few days old before I go town to access the internets. So I will say I am excited about the President Elect and all that means. But last night, I was a little saddened when the news reported that the "Evangelical Christians" are upset about this election. The ABC report went on to say that even though most states propositions regarding gay marriage went in the religious way, the fact that our new president does not share a pro-life stance that they are upset.
DANG, as one who considers himself a Christian, and sometimes in the Evangelical world, I am upset by this response. Really, can we be upset after seeing the nation come together in such a great response the other night? When "God's chosen" president GWB has been in power for eight years and has done jack squat about abortion, let alone taken us to war to avenge his daddy, put our economy in toilet by telling people to spend, not conserve in a time of war, put the world in jeopardy with with environmental stance, and generally has made our country the laughing stock of the world, yet still some who claim to be Christians would rather continue along this same route. Sadly, I heard an interview with one Texan who was upset he couldn't vote for GWB for a third term. REALLY?
And while I have some pretty big reasons to be against abortion, I also know that no matter what government does, people will continue to have kids they don't want and look for ways to prevent that. In my book it is not a rules and laws thing, but something that needs to be dealt with on the personal and relational level.
All I know is that there appears to be hope on the horizon. And instead of getting all pissy about not having a pro-life president, perhaps we should look at some of the other aspects that Obama will bring to our nation that are right in the eyes of our God. First of all some much needed healing that our country needs.
As for me, I will still stick with Romans 13:1 - "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."
And now I will go back to my usual stupid posts about photos and videos I have made, or music I think you need to hear....
plus I should have first read this post of a friend of mine. His words are so much better than mine.
