Bad timing...

A week ago Sunday Carolinians were buying bread and milk in anticipation of the incoming snow...or more correctly, the changeover from the heavy rain to snow late in the day. I had been shadowing Keith Monday at WSOC that day, and was heading home around 1pm when the driver-side windshield wiper began to make a loud clicking noise. Then it quit. Then it started. Then it quit.

About half way home I noticed the same wiper making erratic sweep patterns, sometimes going far left, other times only part way left. Mind you the rain was pouring and going without wipers was not an option. Finally, the last 10 minutes of the ride was quite uncomfortable as the noise had gotten much worse and I would manually run the wiper once every 15 seconds. But I did make it safely.

I should clarify that I was driving the 1991 Subaru wagon that I was given through the house work I did last fall...it doesn't leak in the driver's door like my old Escort wagon, and it's a great driving car to boot, low mileage, and dare I say much cleaner inside!

After the weather warmed I began my inspection of the wipers and quickly realized the driver's wiper assembly was loose, as if the mounting bolts had come off and the unit had fallen into the cowl. I was hoping that whatever the problem was that I could somehow fix it myself to save money.

That was/is not to be.

The area the wiper bolted to is sheet metal that was spotwelded at the factory, and the whole area around the wiper broke through from sheer stress (it's not rusted out, just cracked from pressure). I've seen a lot of things on a lot of cars, but never have I seen something like this before...


I went to a couple of repair shops, and both said to go to a body shop as it would need welding to fix it...I do a lot of things, but welding ain't on that list! Just when I was in a bit of despair, one mechanic said to put the longer driver's wiper on the centered passenger's wiper post and adjust it for a big centralized sweep. He went on to say that a lot of kids customizing their cars go to a central solitary wiper to look different, which it does...


And so, for now, this will do just fine! Didn't exactly make lemonade from lemons, but it works. With this gloomy economy, stepping stones are welcome, very welcome.

Well, "no budget cuts" aren't even an option as the Economic Grim Reaper is having a field day, a hay day, anyway you cut it. Most of us are getting mowed down. No one is immune, but I do have a thought that runs through my mind as a really really bad idea.

When times get tough, it seems to bring out more of the criminal element looking for easy picks like stealing purses and breaking into cars, etc. Reducing police forces is one of those bad, bad ideas...especially at a time when we need them more than ever. Cut back on administrative costs, give furloughs for 1-2 days per month to save money, but simply cutting off entire police duty jobs is bad business. In like manner, reducing the firefighter force is also a bad idea. It's not as if most of us aren't hanging on to dwindling precious resources...and to think there are less responders for fires and emergencies is another of those bad ideas.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) announced that over 450 teachers and over 85 assistant principal's positions will be cut next year. Baaaaaad idea, given that classrooms are already crowded enough. We're talking the very future of our country, the generations to follow...we can ill afford to scrimp on the front line teaching force and do an even bigger disservice to our children. CMS in particular is extremely top-heavy administratively, and has not done enough to reduce that portion of the beast. There is on-going talk that CMS is too big to effectively coordinate such an enormous school system from just one organization and should be split into 3 or 4 entities, which would actually lower costs.

For example, there is a new first grade curriculum that 'administration' has said has to be put in place. All new books. All new workbooks. All new supplies. The items currently being used are perfectly fine, and while 'new' sounds fancy, it is irresponsible to direct the excessive sums of money for an unnecessary program (over a million, I've heard) in this climate. Consider the number of teaching positions that would save. Have administrative pay rollbacks and see how many more positions can be saved. Cutting the teacher work force is another of those bad ideas.

--------------------------------------------

Speaking of cuts, The Black Yak is now back to being Mercy, who did NOT want her picture taken at any point yesterday. These pics were the best I could do, and don't really show the real transformation. Maybe I'll get a better picture today, because she really does look cute, now.


The flute dust is still flying and today comes the oil and first finish coats for a pretty good sized group of flutes. I have had to tend to a car issue that I'll try to get pics of and blog about tomorrow...it will show you how I'm having to be highly resourceful for a very strange and unexpected problem that developed in the heavy rain before the snow 9 days ago....

"There's NO business like SNOW business..."

What a difference a week makes, eh? From the goodly amounts snow this time last week to highs pressing 80 today, we've had a major turn-around. Winter's not done yet, but with the sun getting higher each day, and the macro weather machines starting their seasonal shifts, the long deep cold spells start losing their potential.

I just have to start with my nephew and niece since my brother kindly forwarded some pics a few days ago. They've had quite the winter in Boston, especially the month of January, and Willie Boo and Ellie Sue had myriad opportunities to grow rosy cheeks and play in the frozen fluff.


And this pic was prrrrrrrrr-ecious!...


Can't you just imagine the conversational captions you could come up with for this one?


----------------------------------------------

Well, the ship launched Sunday morning....kinda sorta. Started my temporary on-air work for WSOC 9 in Charlotte (Sundays only, AM/noon). News 14 is scheduled to have a major WSI computer upgrade with their weather system this coming week, which I have to believe will be what 9 has...I do have some fill-in work in April for N14 in the Triad region, so hopefully there will be little to no learning curve.

Even though I've been at this well into my second decade, the 'first time' at any station is always a litmus test of 'let's see how un-smooth we can make this...'! The set's different, the show players and remote controls look and feel different, and no matter how you prepare it's still always 'new' that first time.

Out of the gate I forgot to turn on my microphone. In the 'old days' there were audio operators who did mic checks before a show, but like so many other parts of the TV biz, people are being placed with machines, so the control room doesn't have as many people to watch all the more check lights in place. On my first long forecast, I didn't receive one single audio cue in my ear, and as I droned on and on I realized I needed to land the bird and sit back at the desk...I guess after all the years of doing this I very closely finished in the 3-minute time slot by 'sensing' it.

It all ironed itself out as the 2-hour show progressed, as I got comfortable with the booth folks and they got comfortable with me...the studio is state of the art robotics, too. Instead of camera operators, there is one computer operator who joysticks (new verb!) these monster HD rolling cameras into their postions as the show morphs along. It's really slick to see in operation, smooth and quiet.

It's been 3 years since I basically filled in in the same capacity at 9 as they continued a search for a full-timer. And once again I work with the same anchor I did then, Ann Marie O'Keefe, who is excellent and fun to interact with...the anchor interaction is something that is absent at News 14, something I enjoy and excel at and have missed over the years. I'll enjoy this little run while I have it through April.

-----------------------------------------

I'm really letting the sawdust fly while I can...I should soon have pics of some very special flutes, and a new one from the last of this stunning board of Cocobolo I've had. Today I may get far enough along for my favorite part....the oil dipping! Nothing like watching beautiful grain come to life. Several of the flutes have turquoise inlays, which contrast beautifully with the darker woods I've selected. That's always good for the Soul to be productive, so am thankful I can do it.

Too, a red-letter day as The Black Yak is going to get her winter coat taken off today (if I can get her in)...will try and get before and after pics of her slimming transformation. Tomorrow she goes in for her annual dental work which should hopefully alleviate her killer breath. I'm pretty sure if she saw one she could drop a deer at 100 feet by breathing in its direction...

"Fried Fridays: Please Engage Brain"

Iowans are a different breed, so it has been said. "The Music Man" touted such, so it must be true.

Apparently, though, some older citizens objected to being called 'elders', which is a bit comical since an 'elder' is a term of honor in other cultures...

DATELINE: DES MOINES, IOWA

Yep, leave it to a governmental body to not leave well enough alone. "The Department of Elder Affairs" just wasn't good enough for a group of lawmakers that saw fit to change the name of the department.

Both houses voted recently to create a new name that is more in line with Federal Agencies that deal with the elder-.....er, I, uh, mean older folks (?). Rep. Janet Peterson (age 38) noted that the previous department's name caused problems because "some" older Iowans objected to being called an elder.

Puh-leeeeeez.

So, to pacify the oldsters about ready to take up pitchforks and torches, the department got a new name....

Department of Aging.

DOA.

Nice acronym. I wonder if they'll find 'elder' more acceptable now...

Spring cleaning...

With Sunday night's snowfall heading quickly down memory lane, the days are turning distinctly warmer, the birds are going bonkers in the hormone department, and that ever so slight greening of grass is punching through. Almost to a one we're looking forward to spring, thanks to the cold and wintry season many of us have had.

"Spring cleaning" is one of those eternal on-going things with me. Basically, it hits me when I've gotten thoroughly fed up with my mess and inability to find something that I know is right under my nose but for the life of me I can't find it even though I walk in circles around and around and around and around the house checking the same areas eighteen times over and never finding it while I waste 5, then 10, then 20, then 30 minutes until I accidentally knock something over or move something and....voila, there it is. Through that exasperation (just like the last sentence), my proverbial 'birdies' fly by and I forgot what I was going to do in the first place. *sigh*

Purging is salubrious on many levels. Goodwill and Amvets benefit nicely. Some sense of order and arrangement is achieved, which gives me hope that I can find things more quickly. Too, there are those objects that have some worth and think about selling it...this economy is pushing that button for many of us, no doubt.

And so it is in my wood room that I have held on to this brick of curly Maple I bought off eBay probably 5 years ago. At that time I had just 'discovered' and made my first little ultra-high flute; too, there were much better 'deals' then than there are now (you really have to hunt and peck to find bargains, if any are to be found). It needs to be resawn for little flutes, blocks, etc...I'm not a turner, but for someone with a lathe this chunk would make an incredible vase. It's one stunning and unusually sized piece of wood that would make any woodworker drool.

It's just a tad over 15-inches long, and each face a tad over 5-inches wide. It's more of a rhombus than a square, but a minor detail...and it has the slightest bit of wane on one edge, wane that would disappear with the slightest of wood working. I wiped the surfaces with water for the pictures below...even if you don't work with wood, you can appreciate how gorgeous this 7-pound piece is.

The dilemma is whether to sell it or not. I keep waiting for my shop to come into being, and I tell myself I'll start working with my really fancy woods then...but it's not like I don't have other wood to create with. I've not made my final decision yet...but that decision is every bit as hard to make as giving up that proverbial ratty old t-shirt we hang on to for dear life (in my case, that's about 17 of 'em...).

(click pics to enlarge)

Happy Square Root Day!

While we are just one-fifth of the way to the Ides of March, we're square upon a 'square' day:

03-03-09

That's leaving off the "20-" for the year, but don't spoil the fun. 2 down and 7 more to go this century (assuming we make it that far before we destroy this beautiful planet)...

March came in like a roaring lion, and many of us are ready for the gentle lamb to follow. Certainly by the end of this week it will be a different world out there in the temperature department, but as I blogged about a while back, the first 10 days of March are a real wild card for late winter storms in the Carolinas. Warmer air to the south carries a lot more moisture now, and yet we can still get kicked with some deep cold...resulting snows from such an atmospheric train wreck are wet with large flakes that quickly accumulate. That is unless you're on the edge of the precipitation shield and get limited amounts (like me!).

We interrupt this blog for an important announcement:
-------------------------------------------

Notification:

Due to recent budget increases and the high cost of electricity and gas, as well as current market conditions around the world, The Light at the End of
the Tunnel has been turned off.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

--------------------------------------------

Got a good start on the serious amount of cleaning I need to do, with a table of flutes lying in wait to be worked on further outside. The mountains of paperwork and items to file now look more like the Appalachians than the Rockies, so I take some solace in that. Erosion does take time.

We would all do well to purge our 'stuff' from time to time...I look at things that I'll swear I'll need sometime, even though I haven't needed them in the past few years...clothes that don't quite fit that I keep thinking I'll be able to get back into before too long (joke of the day). Then I think I'll start filling boxes and have a yard sale, but with my volatile schedule and volatile spring weather it's almost too risky to plan one. Alas, I pick a charity and go drop off the booty, using the limited benefit of a tax write-off.

Slowly the crammed spaces open up...I can actually get the vaccuum around the inside work space and start clearing the tumbleweeds and dust bunnies that more resemble the giant wooden rabbit from Monty Python's "Holy Grail" movie...

So, let the spring cleaning continue for today, with more snow melting and more trees continuing to bud. I think a lot of us are ready for warmer weather and lower heating bills! I leave you with one of my abastracts from yesterday morning, since there wasn't that much snow for more scenic shots!

EEEGADS....

There is another post after this one that I started Sunday evening and updated early this morning with some data...and only now watching TV and seeing the scope of serious troubles many are in. I-85 is in the worst shape I've ever seen....Steve Osunsami from ABC's Good Morning America did a phoner on the show as he sat in his car near Spartanburg, SC, trying to get to Charlotte (normally under a 2-hour trip)...they had been sitting for over 14 hours. He reported a 30 mile backup in the northbound lanes, and at least 10 to maybe 20 mile backup in the southbound lanes. Thick layers of black ice have formed on the roads as temperatures have gone below freezing, multiple trucks have jacknifed, and all traffic at a stand still at last report. Some have run out of gas overnight trying to keep warm. Many have no food, no bathrooms, possibly inadequate clothing in the car. In the other blog post I mention that King's Mountain got 9" of snow...I-85 runs right through there.

So, while I lament a small snow where I am, it does have a nasty underlayer from that heavy sleet/rain mix that coated things before the fluffy snow hit...a perfect day to stay inside and truly make myself do some serious cleaning and organizing!!!

From the outside lookin' in....

(Monday update at the end of this post)

Ah, the southern ritual of the Snow Dance...

We jump for joy. We debate. We ask millions of questions. We freak out. We invade the food stores in droves. We stockpile. We wait for 'incoming'. We flip the remote more than ever before checking every station and every forecast and every radar image and every analysis to hear about the potential gloom and doom and certain death that is ready to befall us.

We are Southerners On A Snowy Edge, and we're dangerous.

We're also kind of annoying. Truly.

Alas, there is a lot at stake, especially when it's on a work day...especially in this economy you don't want to miss a day of work...you don't want to have to make up 'snow days' at a later and more inconvenient date...and you don't want to feel forced into driving what could easily be dangerous conditions, all because you were told or made to, which many are.

No, a snow event in the Carolinas is a true two-edged sword, full of the above-mentioned fraughts, contrasted starkly with the joy of freshly falling snow, sledding, building snow people (hey, trying to be politically correct, here...), family fun, and unadulterated joy on the faces of children.

Well, here we are! I'm writing this at supper time Sunday...because I'm not on-air anywhere I'm musing from the 'relaxed' side of the professional weather world. I am part of a strange 'mix' from now through early May (?) ...while I will fill in for News 14 Triad in April a couple of days each week, I will also be filling in for WSOC TV9 (ABC) in Charlotte on Sunday mornings and noon shows. This past weekend I was shadowing WSOC's Keith Monday and right there as he went through his motions for forecasting...and it was neat being able to bounce ideas off of one another.

Typical of almost all snow systems here, models do NOT handle the future in agreement, leaving meteorologists to think above and beyond the data and 'sense' what will come to pass. Some models were very 'hot' with localized and huge amounts of snow, more than a foot...but Keith chose the 3"-6" range for most as a basis to work from, and he/we stuck with that number after every 6-hour model run through the nooner Sunday, for the greater Charlotte market.

One of the quirks with this storm is what SHOULD be a high ratio of snow to water content. Rule-of-thumb is to go 10:1 comparing snow:water...but with the warm air butting up against the cold, we could see up to 15:1 ratios.....same amount of water in the air, just higher 'fluff' count. That, along with the variation of the 'deformation zone' where the heavier snow will fall is always akin to nailing jello cubes to a styrofoam board. We do our best, but chips fall where they will. We would be fools to ever think we can get the upper hand on Mother Nature, Yaweh, The Great Mystery, God, you pick the nomenclature.

For the moment I will draw a line below this last note and then add to this post later as I feel led. Hope you have had a restful weekend wherever you are! Stay tuned - the rain has turned to a very heavy sleet at this time!

------------------------------------------------

Right on cue....

Heavy sleet turned to snow a little while a ago...this, my flute working area for my larger outside tools. appropriately covered!

7:48pm
"Oh shop, where art thou?"

----------------------------------------------
6am update, Monday, March 2

last night's digital forecast model from GSP office

Alas, the early morning shows that here, maybe only 1.5 more inches fell, making for a 2.5 inch snow. Below, I've posted a few older snow reports that give you an idea where the heavier amounts fell, which pretty closely falls in line with the digital forecast run from last night (above).

The GFS model correctly pushed the heavier snow amounts west and north a line from Charlotte to Durham, which the NAM was favoring, with the eastern Blue Ridge picking up some healthier amounts of snow that topped a foot in Saluda (Polk County). Even within given cities like Charlotte and Greensboro there were wide variations in accumulations.

Admittedly, I would have liked to have seen more snow...but with the forecast temps warming later this week, the ol' pre-spring bug is hitting and I'll welcome the quicker exit of the white stuff so I can get back to work outdoors.

NC reports:

12.3" Saluda
10" Flat Springs
9" Kings Mountain
6" Morganton
6" Charlotte
6" Forest City
5" Winston-Salem
5" Greensboro
4" Salisbury
4" Asheboro
3" Asheville
3" Raleigh
3" Lexington
3" Troy
2" Durham
2" Pittsboro
1" Wadesboro

SC reports:

7" Gaffney
6" Simpsonville
5" Anderson
5" Jonesville
4" Greer
3" Easley

"Fried Fridays: Coffee to go, please!"

Who's kidding who.

Most of us are in a rush on any given weekday, and especially given this sour economy, we cling on extra tightly to what we have, job-wise (well, MOST of us do! HA!)

More and more we hear of businesses and maybe even friends and family getting laid off or having A, B, or C taken away, cut off, etc. It's downright scary, it is.

No wonder some people are even paranoid....

DATELINE: LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS

Whether it's to save gas money, or whether it's not having a car in the first place, a good many folks invest in mass transit. As long as you live near the stops and the stops live near your work, buses and trains and such are an attractive option for commuters, especially in crowded corridors like the Northeast.

While we're on the topic of commuting, the early morning has its fair share of Java Junkies to be sure, and many tote the Black Gold onto the mass transit of choice. Too, people like to pass the time, be it via an iPod, mp3 player, reading a book, reading the (last of the) newspapers...whatever you choose to pass the time you do, so that the commute time has some 'value' to it...

Imagine sitting on your transit of choice and, let's say, reading the morning paper...you read about the transit bus drivers' union threatening to strike...

you put two and two together, and since you are on a transit bus, you realize your driver is 'one of THEM'....

you start to run mental images and self-talk about what the 'truth' is, which to you is a potential disruption of your ever-important commute to work and back...

So what more logical thing to do than ring for your stop, proceed to the front of the bus, and suddenly throw your hot coffee on the driver as you dash out and run away from the bus.

I don't make this up, folks.

For real? Yes, Virginia, there is a Society of Dolts. There are bonafide adult IDIOTS that do that sort of thing...

They say it wasn't a regular 'rider'. The driver ran after them a short burst, then gave up, alerting their shift supervisor. The driver wasn't able to seek medical attention until their route was done. Ouch.

And so I salute the nut job who became a complete mental midget because they read an article and got upset. Scary, ain't it?

Alright, Saddle Pals... round up the Posse and keep vigilance where you are for the Num-Nuts of the world...they're out there and closer to you than you can imagine....

I well imagine everyone knows
"Mount Rushmore" when they see it...






...and many know at least something
about the secret tunnel that was to have
led to a Hall of Records behind the heads,
though only a much scaled-down
version ever got built...







But even fewer people drive
the road behind it to see
"Mount Tushmore"...





The End.

Planning...

Sometimes the best "plan" is no plan at all.

Setting aside community theater and musical performances, I got into 'real' acting back in 1990 (best of my memory, anyway). Training films, commercials, movie work as a featured extra, that type of thing. Had to learn the ropes from scratch, which can run the gamut of incredible fun to incredible frustration and sadness. When people would say, "Oh, I'd LOVE to be an actor!", I along with most others doing this would chuckle and say "DON'T!!!"

At the very least you deal with 'rejection' on a steady basis, which, when you take yourself seriously, is not easy to deal with. The key is to not take yourself seriously, of course, and by that I mean to relax, have fun, give it your best, and move on. Let your ego fall by the wayside, as quickly as possible. Going on acting auditions is not unlike playing lottery scratch off tickets...lots of trash, and the occasional treasure.

Once you've been around a while, sometimes people will book you straight up without an audition. It's always something different, too, within the broad-brush stroke of acting. The 'good stuff' is the SAG work, union work, Screen Actors Guild sanctioned shoots. I got my SAG card back in 1991 with "Guarding Tess", but overall there isn't that much union work that comes around here in particular.

When it does, it's like the hounds of hell are unleashed at auditions as actors come in from far away for their chance at landing even a dayplayer role. Competition is staggering, but we do what we have to do and don't focus on the odds. Union work is lucrative, pays quickly, great perks on-set, and if you get enough of it in a year you get free insurance (elusive without a big gig). Only a precious few get the work, however.

We all go about pursuing acting in our own way. Work and pay from it is highly inconsistent, like hot and cold running water. I go about it with a lighthearted 'whattheheck' attitude and make sure I'm the best at my craft I can be, and let the chips fall where they may. I consider any acting-related income to be supplemental and not in the 'expected' column.

I say all of the above just to fill in some cracks. With the down-turned economy, businesses are cutting back on projects where they would hire actors. Monday morning I was in flute-making mode, ready to 'have at it' after an early morning meeting (and waiting for the record low temperatures to rise some!)

At 10:15a I had a message to call my NC agent ASAP...called, but had to leave a voice mail for her when she didn't answer. Went on my way to Costco and was pumping gas when she called back. Long story short, she had gotten an email time-stamped just after midnight about several of us chosen to come in to audition for roles in a SAG feature film later in the day...the same day. I was worried it was down in Wilmington, NC which would have simply been too long of a trip at the last second. Alas, it was going to be just under a 3-hour trip one way for the audition. Just a little drop-everything-and-hit-the-road trip out of the clear blue.

You can understand why a lot of people couldn't make such a crazy immediate shift in plans. I was fortunate enough to be able to drop groceries, let Mercy out, shower and dress, and check email to print the audition script to take with me. The biggest fear is forgetting to deal with something before hitting the road...so much to think about, so much to keep straight in your head, so much to plan, gather, and take with you. With my forgetfulness, that can be a scary proposition!

By 6:15p I was home again...with a tired butt and sore knees. I made the trip and did my best for the 4 minutes I was in the audition, which is a most unglorious and simple process, really. As always, I hit the road back with no expectations. You rarely hear that you don't get a job...and if I were to get a part they may call in a couple of days, or several weeks...no rhyme or reason. And the last thing you do is pester your agent. No, the best thing you can do is resume a 'normal' life (whatever that is!) and get right back to your other 'stuff'.

With today's warmer temperatures that will mean working with my outdoor power tools, creating inlays, and cutting some new flutes up. I've run into a higher than normal number of 'lefties' lately which require totally different finger holes on my hole-staggered models, so need to whack out a couple of new ones. May even get around to carving on the woodpecker flute which I've not touched since I featured it in an earlier blog post.

Anyway, the day is starting calm and simple...I know enough to know there is no guarantee as to how long THAT will last!

What to do when you're 'stuck'...

Yep, I'm officially stuck...in a bit of a momentary, mostly mental mire.

Indeed, I'm floundering...but I'm not doing it for the halibut. It does seem a bit fishy that I can't catch on to an idea that's alluring to me. It all makes me feel crappie. Certainly not swimmingly. Almost like I'm back in school.

Normally I'd be bream-ing with a cast of ideas and witty lines, perched and ready to type away in a flash, like the way Salmon Rushdie used to do (he got grilled for his Satanic Verses book). But the past couple of days everything just seems to be bass-ackwards, as they say. Can't seem to find topics to fly with, even though I constantly float them by.

Thought I might plug a book, "How the Colorado River was Stopped" - it was dam good, full of literary efforts that held water. But that spawned off other ideas, all of which didn't flow much of anywhere. My normal river of ideas have slowed to a trickle...my net results have been, well...let's just say the 'big one that got away' never even got close to the boat. I did see a troll, though...under a bridge...but that would be over your head to explain it further.

Maybe I'm just not 'hearing' the ideas...maybe I need to get a herring-aid. I wonder what Marlin Brando would do. Maybe I need to bail out of this lame littany of bad puns that smelt in the first place, chums...

(are you waiting with baited breath?...)

Get reel...these can't go on forever...even if you are hooked on puns...

...although I was just musing fishermen in India truly belong to a cast system...

Alright, I've reached my limit...catchy weren't they?

OOPS. Oh well, a 'fine' way to end this pain and suffering...


------------------------------------

The colder weather isn't helping much as I have a lot of wood work that needs to be done outside, but when you switch to the orbital palm sander you have to forgo gloves as it's important to feel the wood as you work with it. All semblance of feeling disappears in about 10-15 minutes when it's only 41 degrees outside.

And yet the birds are certainly starting their pre-spring singing...the Silver Maple in the front yard has it's characteristic red leaf buds fattening up. The days are getting a little longer each day, and March is only 6 days away.

I've not filled in at News 14 in quite some time, so outside of those bodacious thunderstorms a week ago when I pulled 'em up in 3-D for personal enjoyment, I've not looked at any models for what may be ahead. If you've lived in the Carolinas for any length of time, you're well aware that "March Madness" not only refers to the basketball hoopla (I'll quit, really) but also to the very volatile weather mechanisms.

Polar and sub-tropical jet streams start to duke it out for dominance, and with the warmer sub-tropical air coming in from the south and southwest, airmasses can hold much more water vapor then. When you get a really cold snap with a topping of a southern storm, you get the ol' Reeses factor: chocolate in your peanut butter, or peanut butter on your chocolate. Potentially big snows and, on occassion, killing freezes after the plant kingdom reaches the fragile blooming stages.

For now, all seems pretty quiet. Maybe I'll take a gander at more data soon, but as anyone who knows me, I'm not a 'weather-head' kind of person. Right now I rather resemble the Peanuts character 'PigPen' as clouds of dust poof off of me with every step I take. After some morning errands, I'm starting on some inlay work on a few flutes. You might like to see pics of the stages as I do that, but it's hard to take pics of me actually doing the work since I was not born an octopus. I'll see what I can do.

Check in later, if you dare...!

"Fried Fridays: Cross words..."

Time to sit back and relax as I tell you the tale of this week's "Fried Fridays" winner, a news story that is strange, whacked, and/or bizarre enough to wear the laurels...

--------------------------------------------------

As always, plenty of fish in the barrel to shoot today. Since I highlighted a situation in India last Friday, I did not pick the Indian infant that was ceremoniously married to their neighbor's dog so that the boy would be protected from tigers as he grew up...besides, to those villagers it was a rather understandable thing to do...

(could it be I hear those crickets chirping again?...)

We need to raise the bar, here, friends. So clap your hands, get on your feet, and sing along with the choir 'cause the Gospel Train is pullin' in to the Blah-Blah Blog Station!!!!!!!!!!!

DATELINE: CHATANOOGA, TENNESSEE

February 11 began as any other weekday, and for one gospel artist it meant a performance that evening at the Harmony Baptist Church. I searched a dozen news links and never could find his name, but he was famous enough that he often performed at "local churches and fast food restaurants". That should have narrowed the list a bit...

In smart business style, the singer's wife acts as his agent, handling the financial and logistical details while her husband focuses on his artistry. And so that evening's performance went according to plan and all was hunky-dory. Peachy-keen. Copasetic.

That is until the preacher opened his big mouth. (ED: actually, I don't know how big his mouth is; just starting to add in a bit of sardonic wit for what follows...)

He did what any kind preacher would do and offered them overnight accomodations. As they broke down the equipment after the show, the preacher observed that neither person was wearing a wedding band and simply asked them if they were married.

Oh, you done did it now, Pulpit Man. The cat claws are out. Hell hath no fury like a questioned woman. There was yet another raisin' of that congregational roof that night, and it wasn't the good kind.

Let's just say the argument got heated and the couple did not partake of the overnight accommodations. Fair enough.

Sometime later that night an alarm came in to the fire department from the same church, and according to department spokesperson Bruce Garner, firefighters arrived to the strong smell of propane gas coming from the kitchen area. 10 of the eyes on the commercial propane stove were turned full on, with a roll of paper towels placed nearby.

Luckily there was no fire or damage. The following day the 'wife' was arrested for attempted arson and then released from jail on bond, claiming her innocence all the while.

Kinda gives a whole new meaning to being on fire for the Lord, eh?

Follow-up to "Birdfeeder Buddies: Newbies"

(click on pics to enlarge)

The last blog entry (before my alien abduction yesterday) ended with the picture below and my noting that while not very sharp, the picture was one I needed...

In my crop of new flutes, I glued up several 'closed-end' flutes. Instead of the regular bore hole at the 'foot' of the flute, you can cut the bore and leave solid wood at the end, giving me room to carve whatever it is I want to tackle.


Of course, I have to tap a hole at the end of the bore, which in this case I opted for an oblong hole on the bottom side of the flute. The air has to be able to escape to make the sound; I could have easily done a more traditional pattern of 4 holes around the flute, drilled in roughly the same area and leaving the end solid, but I prefer the finished view to not see the hole unless you flip it upside down...

I designed this particular flute (Ambrosia Maple, keyed to F#) with a bit longer and wider solid area, as I wanted to carve one of the woodpeckers I've photographed lately. If you follow this blog, you've seen my Downy and Hairy Woodpecker pictures; they are quite similar except in relative size. I'll paint this one as a Downy but make it have a bit sturdier beak like the Hairy...maybe I'll call him "Hairy Downy, Jr." or something like that!

And once the weather clears I'll go outside and start power carving the solid area and shape it into what hopefully will look like a very realistic woodpecker. In this case, the head will be turned chin-up and in line with the body...the wings will be folded over the body, and the tail feathers will extend close to the lowest playing hole. Yes, this is tricky and quite time-consuming, but the results are worth it...

And now back to the picture that 'started' this entry...the one thing I lacked was a clear idea of what the backside of the Downy looked like, since books and photos show mainly side views. This picture was exactly what I needed when I reach the final painting stages!


Now, if I can only find my stash of 36-hour days to get it finished in a timely manner....

Due to an Alien Abduction this morning, Bob was not able to post a blog today, Tuesday. He is supposed to be released and down-beamed later today, allowing him to post more fully tomorrow, Wednesday.

Thank you - (the management)

Birdfeeder Buddies: Newbies

Although it's still deep in winter, and we still have a good bit of cold and potentially heavy snow to go, you can't help but see Nature starting the slow gearing up towards a new Spring here in the Carolinas. Trees are fattening their buds, some areas with ferns are magically a bit 'greener', and even the raspberry patch is starting to show the greenish low stems and reddish tips.

A very infrequent visitor finally made lots of appearances to the feeder this weekend: The Red-bellied Woodpecker. I will say it is a much more skittish bird than any of the others so far, but maybe it's just not use to the house and some big guy sitting inside with this huge gun-like camera pointing at it!

FYI, there is an itty bitty red patch down low on its belly (hence its name), but it is hard to see in the field given it's 'low-cation'. Too, the male's red head goes from the nape all the way over the crown, where the female's red covers just the nape.

(click on pics to enlarge)


Red-bellied Woodpecker (female)

A pair of Cardinals also came around for a while...always nice to have that splash of vibrant color in a dun winter landscape...

Cardinal (male)

Cardinal (female)

"MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE!"
is what I thought of when I saw this Carolina Wren vocalizing on top of the suet feeder...

Carolina Wren

I've shown the Downy Woodpecker on several other posts, but thought this was a really good picture showing how the woodpeckers use their rather stiff tails to help balance them on tree trunks (or suet feeders!) while they 'drill'...

Downy Woodpecker (male)

And while this next shot is not the sharpest, it was a shot I specifically wanted to have...for a special reason...and the subject of the next blog post...(cryptic enough for you???)...

Downy Woodpecker (male)

"Fried Fridays: I'll drink to that!..."

Cheers, Mates. Belly up to the bar. Down the hatch, as they say.

But wait, the news gets better: it's non-alcoholic!

That's right, you, too, can soon enjoy the fresh taste of... ...of, uh.....

DATELINE: NEW DELHI, INDIA

...a new line of soft drinks made from, uh....cow urine.

(cue cricket chirps from last week)

In India things are just a bit different, especially when it comes to their sacred cows. While still testing the recipe for another 2-3 months, a hard-line Hindu organization (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is planning on releasing their new soft drink made from liquid cow wastage, in hopes of undermining western 'corruption' in the food import industry.

After all, the cows are quite sacred to begin with, and, probably not as widely known, is the salubrious nature of cow urine to the human body: it supposedly fights cancer and diabetes, among some of the 70-80 incurable diseases it's 'proven' to work against, so the RSS reports. (EDITOR'S NOTE: either they're incurable or not...like pregnancy. Middle ground is not an option.)

(crickets continue chirping...)

If it makes your mouth water any more, they are experimenting mixing it with gooseberries, aloe vera, and other tasty additives...

(more chirping...)

Hey, it's been approved and used at many religious festivals, too...

(down to a dozen crickets chirping...)

Prakash, from one of the four holiest cities on the Ganges, was quoted as saying the product will be sold nationwide but would not rule out international success...

(one little cricket still chirping...)

I think I'll stop while I'm behind.

The Circle of Life...

Michael Woo's memorial service is this morning. At just 31 years old, he died suddenly from respiratory complications just before surgery on a cancerous kidney. He was a gentle giant in every way, a loving, special-needs guy that had a big heart and loved a party. I'd given him one of my flutes a few years ago - don't know if he ever tooted on it, but he loved music. His sister Alison asked me to play a song for him in the service, which I'm honored and humbled to do.

I said 'died', though I myself don't use the word because we don't 'die' at all...we transform and cross-over, with only our 'car' left behind to return to dust. We are not our 'cars'...we are our Souls, spirits, energy fields that, like matter, can neither be created or destroyed. Michael parked his car early, and he, like all of us, actually knew when it was he needed to do that. We know this before we're born, but lose memory of that once we take on a human form. 'Death' (there's that word again!) isn't to be feared, nor is it to be mourned. It's a wonderful time for a celebration, and that's exactly what the Woo family wants. Aho!

Alison said Mike was an 'original' and that my writing a song for just this occasion would be just like him. As I meditated and mulled over this, I was rather bombarded with images and information on what to say and play...and so this morning I'll honor him with "Michael's Bumper Sticker" (hence my car motif above)...


We each need to take care of our 'cars'...they won't last forever, but they'll get us where we need to go...and even for me there is no better fitting bumper sticker for my car than the one above!

And in that mindset I'll go from the service to help Gene home from the hospital. What a happy occasion for him to be able to come home to his castle, to sleep in his own bed, watch his own TV, be with his wife more than just a couple of hours each day, and have the love of his precious two dachsunds all over him. It will make for quite the day in the ol' emotional realm for them, and for all of us.

Friday I'll deal with my next issue, which is yet ANOTHER dead RIDGID oscillating belt sander that simply quit running yesterday. Grrrrrr. I'm in the middle of a large batch of flutes and this is one of the critical time-saving tools...while it's under warranty it will take a month to fix it, potentially, so to save myself the stress I'll worry about what I'll do later today. Got just a few fish to fry in the meantime!

How do some people sleep....

As I've done most mornings the past couple of weeks, I've gone over to my stroke friend's house to finish his bathroom project that halted when he had his stroke at Christmas. The good news is he is coming home from the hospital tomorrow, Thursday. A long overdue blessing.

His lovely wife has had her hands full. She is a double cancer survivor, and was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's just before her husband's stroke. With all of her problems she has had to become the caregiver, and she deserves a medal. She is currently on medical leave from her job at Bank of America, where she's been an assistant for a high-level executive for the past 14 years.

I walked in the door this morning and she said, "You're not going to believe the latest."

I had no idea what twist was now at hand.

Yesterday an HR representative from Bank of America called and told her that she no longer had her job. More than that, they wanted her to come in and clean out her cubicle that afternoon.

She had done nothing wrong, and even did work for her boss over the Christmas holidays. She has been able to do some work from home, but legitimately applied for her temporary leave to care for her husband. Her boss of 14 years must have made the decision but hasn't talked to her directly, and I know full well she has done nothing short of an exemplary job. When asked for particulars about why the sudden decision and at this time, the HR person had no answers, only that she had been asked to make the call with the decision from 'corporate.'

It has to be one of the most cold-hearted, calculated maneuvers I've seen somebody make, and I have no doubt that is not an isolated story. Part of the dark side to the corporate world, sadly. The proverbial bottom line of dollar symbols at any cost, including human costs.

But her spirits are good...a door shuts, two windows open, as we both said. She has plenty of connections to find other employment, though she is very close to retirement and may opt out that way. While there is no good way to dismiss someone from their job, there are certainly better ways to do it than this way, certainly with regards to her particular situation.

Busy week...

Minimal posts for the moment as I've got a full plate and running in myriad directions...but I have to pass on a story worthy of a "Fried Fridays 'Idiot Of The Week' Award".

This past Sunday I went and visited with my mom and sister down on the SC state line. As a rule, SC has less gas taxes than NC and so you can find cheaper gas just by going over the border.

Some Ingles grocery stores have cheap gas retail pumps, and so I pulled in to tank up as I had timed it perfectly for my car to be running on fumes. Whew.

At the pump beside me was a 'family' that couldn't help but catch my eye. There was a teenage boy that was sorta punk and goth and something else....a mom behind the wheel that was 'unique' looking shall we say...and some older 20-something guy pumping gas.

To be honest, you wouldn't have to imagine more than a millisecond that this family was prime material for the Jerry Springer show, in looks and behavior as they were talking loudly to each other. But the best (read 'most idiotic') part of the whole scene was....

...the guy pumping the gas was smoking a cigarette.

I got the hell out as fast as I could...

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and now for a little pic of our current full moon Sunday night....