The Tractor Knew

For the first time since the tractor was new, it wouldn't start yesterday afternoon.

If it had started, I'd have gone up the hill to mow and I wouldn't have gotten the phone call. But since the tractor didn't start I was in the barn office when the phone rang. Middle daughter called, it was time for GreenBarn to go the the hospital. Her mother was near death and there wasn't much time.

We all think it would be fitting if the tractor starts right up today.

The mouse and the scale

Startled by a mouse while sitting on the throne. Attacked the mouse with a bathroom scale.

First, some background:

We moved into a new tract house in 1970 that was really out in the country. The town sign still said "Population: 100". Of course that was left over from the 1960 census, but it would be correct to say that the population was small but growing rapidly (Population was about 60,000 in 2008). The old inhabitants of what had been a field/orchard just a few months before hadn't decided to move on yet. Fields/orchards => field mice. In fact, the field mice would have been happy to inhabit a barn so they tried moving into our house as a substitute. The problem was eventually resolved (closing up any openings in the house, landscaping that was less hospitable, more neighbors, more cats...) but in the early days in the house we had some "visitors".

The event:

I was in the bathroom minding my own business (actually, taking care of business) when a mouse scurried between my feet and made for the nearby wall. I was startled and reacted as anyone would and kicked the nearby scale at the mouse. I guess I hoped that this would damage the mouse but it just made a lot of noise. The racket was loud enough that it concerned my best friend (the mother of my three children) and she was further concerned when I shouted "get me a towel, NOW!". She did hand a towel in through the door that was quickly opened and closed but still didn't know what had caused the crashing sound or why a towel was needed. The towel provided a place for the mouse to believe it was safe and I was able to scoop it up and let the mouse swim for his life in the nearby "exit".

Of course, this was quite a while ago, so I may not have remembered things as they really happened. Perhaps others will want to comment :-)

Auntie Gate

What did he know, and when did he know it?

Why does he choose to deny that he knew her status? Does anyone actually believe that?

Did he learn nothing from the example of Richard Nixon, William Jefferson Clinton, Martha Stewart et.al.?

Taxation isn't just "Oreo Cookies"

From today's _San Jose Mercury News_ letters section:

Rich Nielsen wrote:

In case any of your readers don't quite understand what Sen. Barack Obama's "income redistribution" amounts to, here is an analogy. You study real hard and get an A in class. Some other student skips class, hardly studies and gets a D. The professor decides that there is too great a disparity between the grades in the class, so he lowers your A to a B- and raises the D to a C+ to help even things out.

Sound fair to anyone?

=======

There seems to be a great missunderstanding of the difference between "Equal Opportunity" and "Equal Results". The first is the American Ideal, the second seems to be the new way to measure progress on the first.


Results also include a component of "Effort and Ability".

Tax me too much and I'll stop working. That will reduce my taxes and sink everyone's boat.

"Change, We Need"

Barack,

I'm confused by your signs.

Change
We Need

Is this a lame attempt at Yoda speak? Did you want to say "We need change", but wanted the "Change" part to be bigger and bolder?

In any case, "Change" is too easy and too dangerous. Different for the sake of different should not be confused with progress. Change is just entropy, not a way forward.

Your speeches frequently describe to your audience how your policies will benefit the individuals whose votes you seek.

You seem to want to invoke JFK's exhortation - "Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather ask what you can do for your country!"

When you say the words it sounds like "Ask not what you can do for your country, but rather ask what your country can do for you!."

Ask more of your government. I could support that idea.

More - efficient
More - forward thinking
More - useful
More - humanitarian

A blog you might enjoy.

For the Jesuit educated among you (and every one else too)...

http://cptdrfrtim.blogspot.com/

Thank You

Thank you, green barn, for 41 wonderful years.