Too Much Sun

Again it is over one hundred here, and The Commander and Lord Kadizzle spent a lot of time on the lake this weekend. The net result is a needed spell in the shade. Hopefully the trend will change tomorrow and things will cool down.

Last Friday we helped Ray put some logs up at the Trading Post he is building in Stanton. We got the chance to see the logs we cut earlier in the year turn into part of a building.

7 Millioin People Disappeared

Someone in the IRS came up with the brillant idea to make people put down social security numbers for defendants. The following year on income tax forms there were seven million less dependents than the year before. The IRS could easily eliminate the federal deficit if it had the resources to catch the tax cheats. Real tax reform would solve a lot of problems.

Freakonomics

Most things are not what they appear to be when it comes to social issues. Since I have somewhat of a background in sociology, I enjoy reading books like Freakonomics. Freakonomics delves into the reality of such issues as why did crime suddenly drop in New York City. Although politicians quickly took credit for it, statistical research indicated the real reason was abortion. The book looks at the influence economics has on a variety of issues. One segment deals with real estate agents. It turns out, as you might suspect, that real estate agents do not act in your best interest. The fun of the book is how Steven Levitt figures it out. There are two other books along a similar vein, Blink and The Tipping Point. I think it is good to take a look at things from a different perspective. Two other books I have been trying to get to are God Not Great, and The God Delusion. We all assume religion is a good thing; maybe we should rethink it. This is the premise of these two books. I rarely read a book at one sitting, but I did manage to buzz through Freakonomic last night. It is a lot of fun to read, and there are a couple of examples that made me laugh out loud. One incident involved a graduate student who was sent into high rises in Chicago to interview the people living there. His questionnaire was basically one question, "How do you like being a negro?". The possible answers went from from very bad to very good. After a hilarious encounter with drug dealers in the hallway, the interview came to the conclusion that one more choice needed to be added to the questionaire !@#$#@ You. The research assistant ends up becoming friends with the drug dealers and delves into the question, "If drug dealers make so much money, why are they living at home with their mother?". It is a good story, and the method for getting real answers to questions is something everyone could learn from.

111 Degrees Yesterday In Hazen

The only time in my existence I remember hotter weather was in Las Vegas in the 60's when it was 120. I rode my bike up the street and checked the bank thermometer. It read 111. I know a lot of people don't believe in Global warming, but my life in North Dakota has convinced me. When we moved here in 1976 we saw some winters that were hard to believe. There were 36 degree below days with wind chills of 125 below. In the last ten years most winters here have been do da. North Dakota was plagued with blizzards in the past, not any more. We used to get two or three terrible blizzards. I can't even remember when we had the last one. The drought has been going on for over eight years. Surely something has changed. I would not be surprised if we beat yesterday's heat record today. The Commander and I may go to Bismarck and shop today just to get out of the heat.

104 Today in Hazen

Lord Kadizzle and The Commander have been trying to cope with the heat. Lately the weather here seems like a prelude to Hell. It is good training for me because I am sure that is my destination. We have no air conditioning, so our only escape is to go to the basement. This is part of the training for eternal damnation. We are trying to cool the house at night then close it up. To some extent this technique works. However, today we may go to Bismarck and spend the day in the mall. It will be cool, but if we buy a new television it will be expensive cooling. Our old set gave up the ghost, so we are currently watching the tiny one for our camper. The Commander is caught up in watching the Tour de France. I love the tour, because it cuts down on my supervision, and the number of orders issued by headquarters.

How I started Sailing

Barretts Privateers


People often ask me "How did you get started sailing?". So I just condensed the start of my career into a little song.

Barretts Privateers
(Stan Rogers)

Oh the year was seventeen seventy eight
I wish I were in Sherbrooke now!
A letter of marque came from the King
To the scummiest vessel I've ever seen
God Damn them all! I was told
We'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns, shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's privateers.

Oh Elcid Barrett cried the town,
For twenty brave men, all fishermen, who
Would make for him the Antelope's crew,

The Antelope sloop was a sickening sight.
She'd a list to port and her sails in rags,
And a cook in the scuppers with staggers and jags.

On the King's birthday we put to sea.
We were ninety-one days to Montego bay,
Pumping like madmen all the way.

On the ninety-sixth day we sailed again.
When a bloody great Yankee hove in sight
With our cracked four-pounders we made to fight

The Yankee lay low down with gold.
She was broad and fat and loose in stays,
But to catch her took the Antelope two whole days

Then at length we stood two cables away.
Our cracked four-pounders made an awful din,
But with one fat ball the Yank stove us in.

The Antelope shook and pitched on her side.
Barrett was smashed like a bowl of eggs,
And the maintruck carried off both me legs.

So here I lay in my twenty-third year.
It's been six years since we sailed away,
And I just made Halifax yesterday.

Copyright Fogarty's Cove Music, Inc.
RG

Like A Coal Miner With a Pay Check

This morning on CBS they interviewed John Waters. He is a strange movie maker in Baltimore that did among other movies "Pink Flamingos" He gave the following quote on the CBS show: "I work every day. In the morning I think up weird things," Waters said. "In the afternoon I sell them — Monday to Friday. Every Friday night I go out like a coal miner with a paycheck, have a couple of drinks whatever city I'm in."

The quote brought back a fond memory for me. When I was in college, I worked as an underground coal miner at the Shoemaker Mine in Benwood, West Virginia. When I worked there the mine was under development, and so it had no regular mine portal like most mines do. The main portal was on the Ohio River, that is where the tipple was, and where the coal cars came out, but all the regular employees entered the mine on Main Street in Benwood. It was a strange circumstance. The coal company used an old house for a changing shack, and it was almost like you went out in the back yard and into the mine.

Friday was payday, and I remember so well, emerging from a hole on mainstreet, and walking across the street to a bar where all the coal miners cashed their checks. Usually it turned into a drunken mess of some sort. One Friday morning I emerged from the mine and immediately started to drink. It did not take long for the beer to take effect. The next thing I knew I was challenging a much larger coal miner to a fight. The prize would be both of our paychecks. At that time my check was for $1,200. We put both paychecks on the bar and the fight was about to begin. By the grace of God some sober miner intervened, and did not let the fight take place. Later in the day, I thankfully realized how close I came to paying someone $1,200 to beat me senseless. To this day I have learned a lesson there are many people who would be very happy to beat me senseless for free.

Sailing with Crumb Grinders

It was hot Saturday, but we headed west with David, Amanda, their two friend, and the two crumb grinders Audrey and Sidney. Audrey is six months and Sidney is two. I am amazed about the amount of gear young children now require to travel. Child care gear included so many items I cannot list them all, however the most amazing thing our children never traveled with was a CD movie player. I would guess the three hour trip took at least sixty pounds of child maintenance equipment.

Judge Kadizzled

As some may know, Lord Kadizzle is also Judge Kadizzle for both the city of Hazen, and the city of Hebron, North Dakota. Yesterday his lordship held a hearing in Hebron. It was the classic case of two stories that were entirely different. A school bus driver asserted that an elderly gentleman had passed the school bus illegally. The elderly gentleman brought two witnessed to court that said he was home having coffee when this happened.

It is hard to tell for sure what happened, but it appears the bus driver may have been mistaken about what day it happened. So the offender was testifying in regard to what he did on May 26, and the bus drive was testifying to what happened on May 25. The bus driver steadfastly said he had his dates right.

The defendant was found not guilty. The lesson in all of this is to take good notes. The wife of the defendant brought her diary to court. She had very good notes indicating the defendant took a nap around the time he was accused of passing the school bus. The bus driver on the other hand had no notes or witnesses. If you have an incident that may become a court case, take some notes, write down the time, and as much detail as you can. You never know when you will need it.

A Prickly Situation

The Commander has a bad habit of kidnapping Cacti from the southwest. These poor fellows find a home in Hazen. The collection is getting out of hand. Poor Lord Kadizzle has to move them to the basement every fall. It is similar to moving rattlesnakes. Today they are in bloom. So I sit here with my little Cactus flower waiting for May to arrive. May is our friend from Cottonwood. May is coming to sail on the good ship. May will set the record for age for the last ten years or so. May is in her eighties, but has the spunk of a teenager.

Go West Young Man

With the Commander, Lord Kadizzle set sail for the Western horizon on Friday. After taking on a supply of fresh water, his Lordship, also known as Captain Kadizzle, set sail for Whitmeyer Bay. With a nice breeze, we sailed into the bay with Roger and Ruth. A little refreshing swim, a great dinner, some stories, and lies, and the next morning we headed farther west. The wind was so good the little fleet just kept going. The Hideout and Sovereign pulled into Heaven Bay for lunch and naps. Sailing is very strenuous work, sitting there sipping a drink and listening to music.

From Heaven, we went on to Goat Island Bay. After a good dinner with The Commander's fresh salad greens from the garden, we told stories and swapped tales until bed time. Rarely does one wake up where expected in the sailing business. Because we had trouble setting the anchor, I let out well over a hundred feet of anchor rode. With light winds, the boat drifted around over night. Just as Cissie popped her head out of the hatch in the morning, the boat came into shore gently nose first, as if it had been done on purpose. The anchor never let loose, but the lack of wind made the landing possible.

On the way back we explored the North shore of Sakakawea where the pictures were taken. We were careful to watch out for Rattlesnakes, especially since we heard on the VHF radio the day before that a woman was bitten by a rattler on the lakeshore and was on the way to a hospital.

A Man I respect

Anyone who knows me knows I am a flaming liberal. One of my pet issues is income inequality in our country. Frequently I argue with someone on the conservative side regarding the trickle down nonsense. The best person I can site to support my case always turns out to be Warren Buffet. Mr. Buffet is one of the top four wealthiest people in the United States. His investing knowledge is legendary. His economic knowledge is sought by every peanut that wants to become a great investor. Several key things he and I agree on are the inheritance tax, he is for it. Secondly he believes in a strongly progressive income tax. These are both things the typical conservative is against. Buffet intends to leave none of his billions to his children. He is giving it to Bill Gates charity, which in turn will give it away. Mr. Buffet is one of the few people in his income bracket that in my mind is honest, and moral.

The best thing about using Warren Buffet as a source in an argument with a hard core Republican is that they cannot question any aspect of Mr. Buffet. His credentials are impeccable. Buffet has done every thing the typical greedy person wants to do, but he has never used more than his share or threatened not to share. I have no problem with his form of capitalism. Buffet is a perfect example of what capitalism should be. Read about the man if you are enraptured with the Bush gang, or the Reagan mentality, you might become enlightened.

One of the best things Buffet ever did was write a letter to the Washington Post. The letter explained in detail how his receptionist paid a higher tax rate than he did. This letter blew a lot of the trickle down guys right out of their easy chairs.

Discovery

As is frequently the case our little band of pilgrims stopped at a library in Canada. When traveling The Commander always has carefully chosen books to read, however His Lordship who suffers from attention deficit disorder cannot concentrate long enough to read more than the back of a cereal box. In light of this situation a stop at the library for a pile of old magazines works well. The pile happened to be old Discovery Magazines. Of the ten I looked through my favorite was one devoted to Albert Einstein. Einstein truly was a remarkable person. Every time I read about Einstein I find something new. One of his unique abilities was to think like a child. He was able to see things more clearly that way. For example: A famous question he asked himself was "If you were driving along at the speed of light, and looked out your window at the light you were driving beside what would it look like?". The whole thing helped him resolve the question of whether light was a particle, or just a wave.

It had never occurred to me until I read the article that Einstein made so many things possible. Einstein did not invent the laser, or the GPS, but his theories were crucial in enabling these inventions to take place. The GPS would not work properly without the theory of relativity. Since a GPS involves an atomic clock in space, and one on earth, the time of the two clocks is not the same because of relativity. If you do not correct for the theory of relativity, the GPS would not work.

Einstein's love life was also interesting. Albert could not manage to stay married. He finally married his cousin as a matter of convenience. She told him he could have a girl friend, but only one at a time. This seems to be a whole new theory of relativity, that may point the way to a new kind of atomic bomb.

As Close to Heaven as Lord Kadizzle will get

Yesterday Lord Kadizzle helped install his third sailboat mast in the last year. Perhaps his lordship has found his calling. Marice Cook's new 33 foot Bavaria was commissioned by Bill Hooper from Hoopers Yachts. Lord Kadizzle had to go to the top of the mast to install the wind indicator.

Fashionable Daughter featured at Style.com

Megan was at a Cat Power concert in New York near her apartment when Style.com thought she would make a good example of someone dressed nicely for the concert. Megan was included in a photo display Style.com did at their site. If you want to see the article go to the section called style file, then scroll down to the section below Madonna named Well Played. Meg's photo is on the bottom left. Megan is still struggling with her fashion business. If you know of or are someone with idle millions, she desparately needs stock holders. Lord Kadizzle is currently the biggest stock holder. Lord Kadizzle gave Noble Youth, Megan's design company a credit card. It makes it very nice for both of us. To find out how much stock His Lordship has in the company, Lord Kadizzle only needs to look at his credit card statement every month. If you would like to be on the new accounting program it can be arranged. Just send Megan one of those extra credit cards in you wallet. This system also eliminates broker fees.

Breast Tassles sales good at Folk Fest with good weather.

The Kadizzilator made it back from the Winnipeg Folk Festival. The weather was good, and that apparently made the sales of breast tassles better. Her Lordship overheard a conversation someone was having with the ladies at the breast tassle sales booth. The sales ladies said the warm weather helped sales. Periodically the sales ladies went through the crowd displaying their wears. Sandy Barns and Lord Kadizzle filled out applications at the booth as fitters and measurers. It was nice to be at a music stage and see some happy customer walking almost bare breasted through the crowd with the recently purchased gear. One sales lady had a lovely tan, and the other was white as a sheet. I guess they wanted to show a nice range in color for the customers.

We heard a lot of good music and I think my favorite was Chris Smithers. I would watch two or three sessions, and then bike ride to the lake for a dip, have a drink with Sandy and perhaps take in another session. a nice way to spend a day.

Spruce Woods Canada

The commander and Lord Kadizzle are having a wonderful time in Canada. We are slowly headed to the folk festival at Winnipeg. We stopped at a little marina in Ninette, Manitoba. Had a nice tour of the boats and asked a Canook to come down to our lake and sail. Then we went to Spruce Woods park. Very, very, nice park. Have been riding bike and swimming for two days. Weather has been excellent. Will be at Birds Hill park in about two hours. The Canadians know how to live. I fail to see how they are suffering from national health care. It seems to take a big load off their mind.