Chicadee

We have this little bird house hanging on a wall here.  It's not in the best of shape and I was planning to fix it up soon. 

It's been empty for several years - the entrance is quite small and therefore limits the type of bird that can use it.  No Steller's jays, or pigeons here, thank you.

Well, we have a lot of Mountain Chickadees here.  They love the trees with all the pine seeds and insects, their principal diet.  They are hard to spot if you don't know them as they have a habit of perching in the trees where they just whistle at you.  It sounds a little like "We're in the money!"  A very cheerful sound.

Now one of these little fellows has decided to take possession of the bird house, in advance of me fixing it up.  I'm a little concerned that the bottom of the house might fall off, but still he's in and out of there all day. Furthermore, he's now decided to do the place up himself.  I didn't think that chickadees were woodpecker types, but this little chap is banging away in there.  We think he's already put up pictures, and now he's making bookcases.  He's at it most afternoons and into the early evening.  Naturally we can't disturb him in his work.  But be sure once the family has arrived, grown up and flown off for the winter break, I shall get a grip of his house.  Certainly I shall strengthen the floor.

Press Kit

I went on an assignment the other day and before going - it was to be on a weekend so no-one at the PR dept was around - I asked if they could leave a press kit at the desk for me along with the necessary pass.  It's a normal thing as it gives you details that you might miss on a general tour around the premises.

Some of these kits can be quite bulky and I often have to ask the desk to hang on to them while I wander about.  However this time, and it was at the LA Science Center, all the information they handed out was aboard this little thumb drive.  I think that's a great step forward, don't you?
About a year ago I went on a trip and was handed a business card that was also a thumb drive.  At the time I thought this would be the way of the future, but I've not yet received another one.

Video - Skidboot

You may have seen this video but if not, it's 8 1/2 minutes on a remarkable dog - Skidboot - in Texas. http://www.silverandgoldandthee.net/V/Sk.html

Right Track - Tantrum

Recently the President had a little tantrum on TV about his gun control law failing to pass in the Senate.  For several weeks we have had the dubious spectacle of him trolling the grieving families of the Sandy Hook murders around to shore up support for more background checks and smaller magazines.  We also have to endure the sad sight of Gabby Giffords, who underwent the shooting two years ago by a maniac in Arizona.  What all these sorry people refuse to accept is that the legislation was voted down because it would not have impeded any of the recent tragedies.  More importantly we just don't trust the government to handle a "register" of gun owners.  Many of us believe that the libs want full confiscation, and therefore we will resist what they propose to make that any easier.  Please note that an extreme partisan "dem" and the leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, also voted it down - for whatever reason.

Trevor's Tirade - Bombs

The loathsome little creatures who blew up the Boston marathon have at least awoken the up-to-now sleeping public.  We are at war, in spite of our current leaders wanting to pretend that if we play nice then our foes will as well.  It's never worked before in history, but every generation produces those who believe if they could "just talk to them nicely they'll come around."  In the 1970's, London was hit with a series of bombs courtesy of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).  The result of this terror was to produce an ever vigilant public who could spot a left bag or knapsack in an instant.  No doubt the USA will become similarly sensitive.  In the words of the old phrase: The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.  So Come on People!

Music Track - Bream

This is five minutes of sheer technical brilliance, and it's hard to accept that this is one musician and not an overlay of several tracks.  Julian Bream is also an Englishman and not Spanish.  The video accompanying this piece, "Memories of Alhambra" also shows how Islam dominated the southern part of Spain before the 17th century. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqfkMgVaOeY It just so happens that my friend Paul, in England is having a short trip down to the south of Spain today.  I wish him "bon voyage."  I'm also rather envious!

Launch Day!

Although the Hurricane was launched a week ago, apart from driving it round to its berth from the ramp, it's taken a week for us to get out on the water.  Well we finally went out for our first cruise of the season on a perfect day.  Flat water, few other craft and warm temperatures.  Here we are back again in our dock, where S.W.M.B.O. and the boys have hidden themselves in the shade.

Chris Ross - R.I.P.

I was very sorry to hear of the death of an old friend, Chris Ross of Woking, England.  I first met Chris in the early 60's when we both would play snooker at the Woking Conservative Club, when it was located on the main street of the town.  When the club moved just outside the center we moved our games with it.  He was a brilliant player and eventually won both the English amateur snooker championship, and also the national billiard championship.  He had a maximum break of 147 in Epsom once, and knowing I worked there he hoped I might wander in at the momentous moment.  For years he was stuck on 136 which he achieved on the night Kennedy was assassinated.  He taught me a lot about the game and very occasionally I would beat him, but it was only very occasionally!  He was a master of positional play, and he was a joy to watch. I last met him at the Woking Snooker Center where this picture was taken.  It was about ten years ago.

Video - Birds of Paradise

When my friend Paul in England sent me this video - I though it might be a clip from Valley Girls!  However it seems to be genuinely about flying objects in Borneo.  It takes about 5:30 and is well worth the time to watch. https://www.youtube.com/embed/REP4S0uqEOc

Sunday's Column - West Inn and Suites

This week my column was wrested away from me by Frankie - the senior of the two Poodles who share our lives.  The article is about the West Inn and Suites down in Carlsbad, a dog friendly hotel.  We had been there before to write about the hotel and restaurants, but this time we stayed and checked out the overnight facilities.  Naturally the "boys"came along and Frankie did quite a nice piece on it from a dog's point of view.  You can read the entire article at http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_23224692/people-at-west-inn-and-suites-carlsbad-are

Right Track - Taxes

It's a fairly well known and accepted fact that those on the left like to raise taxes, while those on the right want to lower them.  It's a struggle that has been going on throughout out my lifetime.  Now the president has submitted his budget and no surprise that being on the left of things, he wants more taxes.

Now what I'd like to know is how much is enough?  It's a simple question, but one I've never heard an argument on.  Many years ago when Dennis Healey was the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK we had a top rate of 99%. Naturally it didn't generate any extra revenues.  So how much is enough?  How much should the government be able to take from the wage packets of those still lucky enough to have a job?

Tirade - Boston

No doubt you are a little tired of the continuing media obssession with why the Boston bombers did what they did.  I received this interesting email from my friend Jim in Pasadena, it explains a lot.  Not why they did it but who cares.  Read on...

Now the news media will spend days trying to determine why these men did what they did in Boston. They will want to know what America did to make these brothers so angry with us. They will want to know why these men were not arrested before they did something unlawful. The media will be in a tissy about the new era of home grown radicals and about how they could live among us and still hate us.

Here in west Texas, I have rattlesnakes on my place. I have killed a rattlesnake on the front porch. I have killed a rattlesnake on the back porch. I have killed rattlesnakes in the barn, in the shop and on the driveway. I kill every rattlesnake I encounter. I kill rattlesnakes because a rattlesnake will bite me and inflict me with poison. I don’t stop to wonder why a rattlesnake will bite me. It will bite me because it is a rattlesnake and that is what rattlesnakes do. I don’t try to reason with a rattlesnake…I just kill it. I don’t try to get to know the rattlesnake better so that I can find a way to live with the rattlesnakes and convince them not to bite me…I just kill them. I don’t quiz a rattlesnake to see if I can find out where the other snakes are because (a) it won’t tell me (b) I already know that they live on my place…I just kill the rattlesnake and move on to the next one. I don’t look for ways that I might be able to change the rattlesnake to a non poison rat snake. I just kill it. Oh, and on occasion I kill a rat snake, because I thought it was a rattlesnake at the time. Also, I know that for every rattlesnake that I kill, two more lurk out there. In my lifetime I will never be able to rid my place of rattlesnakes. Do I fear them? No! Do I respect what they can do to me? Yes! And because of that respect I give them their fair justice….I kill them. Maybe as a country we should give more credit to the jihadist just being a rattlesnake!

Music Track - The Good the Bad and the Ugly

I'm a big fan of the spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone.  I was sent this interesting track by my friend Kevin in the Marina.  It's a different approach and after a lead in of about 1:15 you'll get to the recognisable part. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLgJ7pk0X-s&feature=player_popout

Warranties

I've posted a couple of comments about TV's recently.  We've had a little activity on that front and not the least was an experience with our main TV about a month ago.  It went wrong.  It didn't just fade away like the old ones used to do, but it lost its picture and instead made a really loud buzzing electronic noise, which scared the dogs.  We began looking at adverts for a replacement and even went to the local store.  It's a fairly big item so we were not in a rush as we could still coax the old one - about three years old by the way - into life by switching it off and on.

Now, when I buy electronics I'm always offered their extended warranty and I usually refuse, having a childlike belief in the march of technology.  So it was an odd instinct that made me look in my files and there I found a warranty for this set.  I was amazed and She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO) looked glowingly at me for quite some time!  As a result an attempt was made by the firm's man to repair the TV, but in the end, I was offered a free replacement.  As I wrapped up the deal at the store they offered me another extended warranty; you can be sure I agreed to it!