God comes to my house

Anyone who knows Kadizzle knows he is not a religious person in the traditional sense.  So why does God keep sending a disciple to the home of Kadizzle?  A few years back when God decided to strike Kadizzle with prostate cancer The Commander told the neighbor Kadizzle seemed down and out from the anxiety of cancer.  The neighbor told his pastor and one day the pastor showed up on Kadizzle's doorstep.  Among the locals Kadizzle is considered an orthodox athiest, so this was a bit of a strange event.

Over the years the minister has returned many times.  We sit on the deck and discuss everything under heaven.  The minister is a very learned man, and the conversations are pleasant and fun.  The honesty and integrity of the man are refreshing.  Any man that sees all people as his flock to the extent he goes outside his franchise to help those who do not participate is probably accomplishing the goals set out for him by his faith.

Last night the doorbell rang, and it was God's representative to Kadizzle making a house call.  It did not take long before we were drinking wine and enjoying the fine evening on the deck.  From a Christian standpoint Kadizzle might as well be a Muslim, a Buddhist, or a Rabbi.  However, it makes no difference when God comes to my house, that is how it is supposed to be.  We sit, we talk, we solve the world's problems, we drink wine, and we sometimes sail together.

As we talked one of our basement dwellers came back from work.  Kadizzle knows Cory likes to talk philosophy, religion, people, and life, so Kadizzle waved Cory in to partake of the wine and conversation.  So the night went on with ideas flying from about as diverse a universe as one could imagine.  The evening finally came to an end and Kadizzle sent the pastor home with a bottle of wine.   How much better would the world be if religion were conducted this way.  What if there was no church, what if there was no set time, no music, no prayers, no collections, and all the regular trappings of religion?  What if people just sat in the kitchen and talked?  So if God comes to your house invite him in, give him some wine, and enjoy life.  God never wanted you to be afraid, live in fear, or be unhappy.  God just wants some good conversation, and perhaps to spread some enlightenment.

Look Under your Bed

Kadizzle and The Commander have covered some ground, particularly in the the Southwest.  Currently we have a couple working men staying in our basement while they help with an outage at a local power plant.  Both of them say this is as far west as they have been.  How many Americans are like that?  How many people never saw even a small portion of the country they live in?  The world is a big place, our country is a big one.  For Kadizzle it is hard to imagine never seeing the Grand Canyon, The Rocky Mountains,  The Pacific Ocean, and on it goes.  Remember the movie where a guy pulls a knife on the other guy?  The other guy pulls out a knife five times larger and says "Now that is a knife".  Well if you haven't see the mountains of Alaska, and Canyons of the west, you have an experience waiting.  The beauty and the sites are endless. So look under your bed and you might be surprized what is there.

Who makes the world go round?

Our society is obsessed with those on top, but who really matters?  If the CEO stayed home for half a year, probably the world would go on.  Try that with the garbage man, the coal miner, or anyone who actually gets up and makes things work. As a country we have developed a profound disrespect for the people who put the cars together, cook the hamburgers and stock the shelves.  Most of the disrespect is in how we pay these people. Some guy throws a football, or someone else sings a nice song, and we give them millions.  Get up some day hungry and cold,  ask someone to throw a football or sing a song, see how much warmer you are or if your appetite is satisfied.

Once people lose respect for those who work the best way to restore that respect is for the workers to simply stop.  That is what unions were about.  Paying someone a decent wage is respect. No one respected the slaves.  Today those on top see the working class as peasants to be exploited and raped with poor education and pay.  History has shown us the disrespect always erupts into revolution and change.  Who always loses their head when the masses finally have had enough? Yes, it is the guy on top. That Republican selfishness ultimately backfires.  That unwillingness to address fairness can get you killed.  Look to the past and see how it turned out in France, China, and each of those countries where greed got out of hand.  The top one percent got their head handed to them on a plate.

Seek and ye shall find

Yesterday Kadizzle wrote about being bored.  So today a good friend stopped by to help cure the boredom.  Kadizzle just visited the doctor today so the topic of healthcare came up.  Now my friends wife at one time worked in the healthcare field and he related this story to me.  Just about every man has had his prostate checked, but did it occur to you how do you train someone to check a prostate gland.  Presumably everyone knows where the prostate is located and how you get your fingers to it.  Well his wife was learning the intricacies of the procedure and of course you can only practice on men.  Who could you get to volunteer?  Hmm, the answer should be obvious, but they asked the gay guys to volunteer.  Well all's well that ends well.  Now, all those people who oppose homosexuals need to think about this.  Without them you may have to be a volunteer, just like giving blood.  So maybe you want to see a silver lining, or perhaps brown lining in every cloud.

Boredom falling from the sky

How many days can you surf the net?  With rain setting in for a week the boredom is falling from the sky.  Do we miss the crystal clear skies of Arizona?  So what can you do?  Clean the house? Think of crap to buy?  Ho, hum,  another day in the windy cold North.  One temptation is to buy some more Sonos speakers.  The children got gramps a couple for Christmas.  They are nice, you can play anything on the planet from your phone from radio, to music.  Only problem is Kadizzle just has two speakers so we need some more scattered all over the house.

Noah

Noah did his thing with his boat.  Noah had to get all those animals on and off.  On a smaller scale Kadizzle has to get a lot of crap on and off his boat.  The good ship will sail in a few weeks seeking a Northwest Passage.  For thirty years we have been searching for a sea route to the Pacific.  Rumors are Lewis and Clark tried the same thing and found the Missouri stopped at the mountains.  The first thing to come off the boat as it is prepared are the newspapers.  The Commander has a new approach to keeping the boat free of odor.  In the fall she stuffs crumpled newspaper everywhere on the boat.  So Kadizzle had a huge Santa Claus bag of crumpled paper to remove from every nook and crany.  Along with the newspaper are sock full of coffee grounds.  Add to that some lavender weeds all over the boat and it seems to have worked.

Now the bottom has to be sanded, fiberglassed, and painted, and tons of junk has to be put back on the boat.  A lot of this stuff migrates from The Earth module to the Good Ship Sovereign.  To add to the fun one of the tires on the boat trailer is flat and will have to be removed to be repaired.  The sails have to be put on, and a hundred other little items taken care of, but it will not be long before the wind gently moves the boat west.

Help with shipment

Kadizzle is collecting money to ship Thoughts and Prayers to people in need.  Shipping them food, tools, medicine and other items has proven too costly.  Like so many churches Kadizzle has found that sending real help can eat into the budget for the choir, and building a new Sunday school.  Praying for people has proven to be very effective, and the thoughts help too.  Actually doing something takes a lot of time, so if you have some thoughts, prayers, or just plain good wishes let us know and we will package them for you.  That child starving, that person dying under a collapsed building will be delighted to know you are thinking about them. The effectiveness of thoughts and prayers has been proven over and over again.  So when you go to church this Sunday you just stay after everyone else has left.  Sweep up all the thoughts and prayers put them in a jar, and Kadizzle will ship them free to someone who will appreciate thoughts and prayers.  Well it is not exactly free, there is a $19.95 shipping and handling fee.  Deep thoughts or sincere prayers may need more packaging, so if you want to donate a little money that will be fine.  If enough money can be collected Kadizzle will build his own church to manufacture more thoughts and prayers.  This should help a lot, and if the project grows Kadizzle will acquire a jet to spread the idea over the world at ski slopes and golf courses just like the other big thoughts and prayers magnates. 

Bringing Ideas out of the Basement

People live in my basement.  Different people live in my basement.  There was a Turkish guy in my basement.  There was a guy from Honduras in my basement.  Last night a mill right came out of my basement and had dinner with me.  All kind of people come out of my basement. The Kadizzle's rent out the basement when the occasions arise.  The Commander is sometimes a little leary.  Awhile back we rented to a serial killer.  Not really, the guy was harmless, but had the personality of a psychopath.  He paid on time, was clean, and not a problem, but his social skills were non existent.  On the other hand we have met a lot of very nice people.  Almost without exception we become friends.  It is a good way to see the world differently.  Young people struggling to get a hold on life, older people trying to make it.

Two groups make up most of our guest.  One group are the people at the local plants for outages.  We get welders, crane operators, pipe fitters, and just about any trade that travels.  These guys have families, but have to travel to jobs to make a living. They work hard and put in long days.  Some work midnights, most work ten to twelve hours a day.  Unlike the Walmart CEO they do not get $8,000 per hour.   They are trying to make it, and they work much harder than that Walmart CEO who does not want to pay taxes on his salary, or pay the greeter at Walmart a living wage.  Of course Kadizzle has some good times talking politics with the people who make the country run.  We rarely get CEOs in our basement.  Maybe if a CEO saw what it was like to live in a basement and work twelve hours 1,500 miles from home the greedy bastards would share.  Well they need their yachts, and third and fourth homes.  So let's forget about it.

Why imprison you mind by only associating with the people who are just like you?  Why not get to know the so called "welfare cheats",  the working class, the welders, and the crane operators.  Perspective is everything in life.  How you see the world will educate you, make you happy, or make you depressed.  Some of the best people Kadizzle knows could qualify as bums.  Our basement is like a pinata, the door flies open and who knows what you will find.

Peeing a rainbow

Cheech gave the Kadizzles an unusual gift for Christmas.  It was a motion detecting light that goes under the toilet seat.  To top it off the LED changes color.  First we installed one in the toilet of The Earth Module. We were surprised how much we liked it. When you get up at night to pee the water in the bowl glows a wonderful shade of blue, no more blinding light in the middle of the night.  Now Kadizzle installed one at the home base.  Kadizzle did not take the time to set the light so it will stay on one chosen color. The result is the LED changes color while you create your little waterfall, but there is an upside.  You get the effect of a rainbow.

Bored sensless

Well, the Kadizzles are back in North Dakota. Today is bleak and depressing.  We have access to every electronic gizmo imaginable, lights we can turn on and off with our phone, music that magically plays millions of songs, heat that regulates itself, all the warm showers you want.  That is the good news.

Now the bad news.  This little town will not invest in a wellness center.  There is nothing to do in this little town.  The town is plagued with dingers.  The dingers roar their goof wagons at night, and the motorcycles roar as they simple minded are amused by the loud noises they can make.  Sleeping in the desert was so peaceful.  Of course you have the slummers who want to park pickup trucks in their front yard and leave a few engine blocks on the driveway for a year.  Ah yes, the brain dead city commission, incapable of enforcing any ordinance or moving the city forward one inch.

Why do we live here?  We have some wonderful neighbors, and there are some good things.  Mainly it is the lake that keeps us here.  In twenty minutes we can be on our sailboat leaving the dingers in the wake.  Like all places you take the good with the bad.  So here we sit with snow falling, thinking about the lakeside we left in Arizona where we would be sitting in the sunshine watching the hummingbirds.  Arizona is going to get so hot even the hummingbirds will go north.  Life is what you make it wherever you are. Life is friends, fun, and making the most of every moment.  People forget the clock is running.  If you are sitting on you ass when you could be breathing the essence of life, it is your fault.  Maybe Kadizzle can inspire himself to get something done today.

Big Oil owns the Heritage Museum, and they have a right to say what goes in it.

RGO – If there was any doubt about Big Oil's undue influence on the government of North Dakota, which there should not have been, this week's news of the State Historical Society crumpling like a $6 lawn chair in the face of pressure from the energy industry should put it to rest.

The North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck had a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution titled "Green Revolution," which highlighted some of the harmful effects of fossil fuels. The oil and coal boys didn't like it, because they wrote big checks to help build the Heritage Center and any talk of air pollution or climate change conflicted with their exhibits of the all-around unquestionable wonderfulness of fossil fuels.

Perhaps they thought any acknowledgement of the side effects of fossil fuel would warp young minds, sort of like science pornography.

Read Mike McFeely's previous columns here

"Daddy, is the smoke in those pictures air pollution?"

"Air pollution? What air pollution? All I see belching from those smokestacks is jobs and money, Billy. Now look away and never speak of this moment again. It's time for the next exhibit, sponsored by Mr. Hamm, that tells us how putting 50 oil pads on sacred Native American land actually enhances its cultural significance."

"Ooh, awesome! Daddy, I love oil."

"Me, too, son. Me, too. C'mon, sport, let's race! First one to the life-sized sculpture of Lynn Helms licking Mr. Hamm's boots gets a bottle of Bakken light sweet crude!"

So the energy boys sent emails voicing their concerns and, poof, the next thing you know the "Green Revolution" was shuttered, hidden from public view behind a locked door. Kind of the way we used to treat lepers.

See Mike McFeely's blog here

The folks at the Heritage Center, of course, said there was no pressure to close the exhibit. They thought the "Green Revolution" was boring from day one (as opposed to the oil-sponsored exhibit about land reclamation, which makes the hair on the back of one's neck stand up). They are also looking for ways to "balance" the information presented—by asking energy industry groups for input.

There has been progress. Thanks to a leaked memo, we've found out about some of the changes to "Green Revolution" once it reopens using the ideas of the energy industry:

— It will no longer be called "Green Revolution." The exhibit will now be named "EPA Overreach—The Federal Government's Increasing Infringement of Your Personal Freedoms."

— Any reference to climate change in the exhibit has to include the word "hoax." Also, there will be a video board playing a loop of Sean Hannity explaining that because it gets cold in the winter in North Dakota, that's irrefutable proof there is no such thing as climate change.

— Information about "green jobs" will be allowed to stay. However, in an effort to drive visitors away from it, a lifelike hologram of North Dakota House Majority Leader Al Carlson, will be displayed nearby.

— Recycling information will be enhanced with an exhibit titled "100 Re-Uses for Radioactive Filter Socks." Among them: safety vests for highway workers, glow sticks for Bison football games and street lights for budget-strapped small towns.

— A new display: "The Upside of Oil Spills: Augmenting Natural Selection." This is where we find out animals killed by spills would've died anyway because they weren't smart enough to live in an area that didn't have oil.

— There will be a sign posted near the exhibit entrance that says, "Oil and coal paid for the tyrannosaurus rex you see in this museum. If you insist on entering this exhibit, there's a chance we may take it away. It's up to you. Just saying."

— To balance a display about pollution that includes the line, "The effects of industry remain in the environment for many years and are very costly in terms of human health, ecological damage, and cleanup," there will be a competing display called "Living In Harmony With Pollution." It will include the following information: "Don't be so quick to sell poisonous air and water short! There are many benefits to pollution including decreased life expectancy for pesky poor people, increased profits from bottled-water sales and less boat traffic on bodies of water rendered lifeless from chemicals. If we just give pollution a chance, we can all learn to love it!"

With these changes, the controversial "Green Revolution" exhibit should become more exciting and balanced for Heritage Center visitors. More important, it should satisfy those calling the shots in North Dakota. And we aren't talking about politicians.

Earth Module Lands on Planet Hazen

On a sunny day the Earth Module landed in Hazen, North Dakota.  This is a special planet most inhabited by Republicans.  Here there is no global warming.  Here every problem is caused by Obama. Here the poor are lazy welfare cheats.

It isn't all bad, there are no traffic lights.  Parking is never a problem.  Stores don't require any kind of payment if you do not have your wallet. Everyone knows everyone. You can walk right in and talk to the editor of the paper, the mayor, or the police chief.

Small towns have their virtues and vices.  Anyone can get elected to anything.  One simple minded dolt can wake up the whole town with his loud blunderbuss pickup truck.  When there is a fire or an ambulance call the whole town knows.  Rumors spread like weeds.

If you really want something you have to drive to Bismarck.  The post office is where everyone ultimately sees everyone.  You go have coffee with your group.  There is a small liberal group, and mostly right wing Obama hating NRA loving groups.  Nothing every changes.  At coffee people bitch about the hole in the street, the price of gas, how much the city spent on the garbage truck, and the price of grain.  The farmers complain it is too wet, or too dry.

Something is always going to happen, but never does.  They are going to build a hotel, but it never gets built.  We want a wellness center, but the old goats don't want any taxes.  The Earth rotates, and by some magic circle you are in the same place you were yesterday, and the year before.

The magic 27%

27% seems to be a magic number.  In almost every energy conversion it comes up.  A power plant or a car usually converts about 27% of the available energy into motion. The rest is lost as heat or friction.  Strange that this number seems to apply to people.  27% of people are hopelessly simple minded.  What does this mean. It means Fox News automatically get's 27% of it's viewers.  It means Rush Limbaugh automatically gets an audience of people who will buy any lie.

Yesterday Kadizzle was suffering from boredom, so he went to the main check in point for the campground at Cherry Creek State Park where we are staying.  As he waited to ask the volunteer at the desk for some magazines to read a man and what seemed like his son came in the door.  The man was seeking a place to camp for the night with his RV.  The volunteer explained to the man there were no spots available.  The hopeful camper became irate and begged for a spot.  The poor volunteer told him he could not randomly park in the grass or anywhere else the campground was full.  This would have been a good point to end, but the man started to rant at the poor volunteer and told him the campground was full because Obama was letting so many immigrants into the country.  If immigrants were in the campground from Syria as the man complained, Kadizzle did not notice them.  Most of the people in the campground were in nice RV's. Strange immigrants would get to the country and be given a nice RV, but we all must remember Obama is to blame for everything.

As the man went out the door the incensed man said " Trump will fix this when he is president".  Kadizzle could not resist as he followed the man out the door.  Kadizzle said to the man " Why not Bernie Sanders?".  The man said " He is a communist".  Kadizzle corrected him by saying " No, he is a socialist".  " They are the same thing said the dolt".  "No" said Kadizzle, " There is a difference".  Kadizzle went on to tell the man most of the socialist countries in Europe had better health care, lived longer, had a better education system, and a lower poverty rate. To Kadizzle's surprise the dolt agree, but said " That will all soon come to an end." In an attempt to show the dolt how widespread socialism actually is Kadizzle explained to the dolt that North Dakota has a socialist power company, a socialist phone company, and even socialist gas stations.  The dolt responded " Well then North Dakota is a communist state".  Kadizzle said " No, no, no our state is a stronghold for Trump supporters.  At this point we parted company.  The mind of a Trump supporter is special.

The Energy Gene

Kadizzle does not have the Energy of The Commander.  The Commander was born hyperactive. The Commander's mom sent her to summer camp at an early age. The Commander goes all day on one charge. Now, we have the junior Commander Sylvie. Our granddaughter got the energy gene.  Yesterday Grandpa had to build a gym in the tree by the camper with hopes of wearing out Junior Commander.  We built a swing, and a trapez.  One of Sylvie's nicknames is Skinny Minnie.  For a skin and bones kid she has a lot of muscle.  Grandpa got a break when The Commander took Sylvie to the lake.  Sylvie played in the cold water at the beach for an hour.  Grandpa stayed home and took a break.  Back at camp and back to the tree gym.  Grandpa had to entertain Skinny Minnie.  Early in the day Grandpa spent almost two hours being the narrator for Skinny Minnie as she worked out on the playground equipment doing all kind of tricks she invented.

Now Grandma wants to have the little energizer battery come to North Dakota this summer.  Grandpa is trying to get Grandma to understand what it will be like to entertain a 7 year old all day with energy blasting out of her arms and legs.

Cherry Creek State Park

The migration is underway. For so many years we have migrated home that we now have it down to a science.  First night out we stop at Cochiti Lake in New Mexico.  After a day or two there it is on to Lathrop State Park in Colorado.  Had a nice stop there and got the brains storm to possibly buy a B & B there as a place to live. The little town of LaVita was charming and a tempting place to live.  On to Denver we are now parked in Cherry Creek State Park and will spend two days with Sylvie in our camper.  After this we will head to Angura State Park in South Dakota, then the final leap home.

Well run state parks are a great way to migrate.  Usually they have showers, electricity, and water. The bonus at Cherry Creek is WiFi.  One of the nicest things about winter travel is the state parks are rarely crowded.  The weather usually does not get uncomfortable until we get back to the arctic in North Dakota. If we play it right even that is not to bad by April.

To pass time while at Erin's house in Denver Kadizzle took a bike ride down to the new mass transit station a block or two away.  It will be such a nice addition to the neighborhood.  In a week when it opens you will be able to buzz right downtown or out to the airport.  At the station they were installing a sculpture. Kadizzle talked to the artist involved and learned about some new materials that would be fun to experiment with.  The sculpture has a steel armature surrounded by foam. The foam is covered with a product called Hydrocal. The hydrocal covers a fiberglass matt and the final finish is regular car paint.  It all turned out very well.

An Embarrassing Grandpa

Kadizzle is a Grandpa, and only has one wonderful little granddaughter named Ticklepinch.  Yesterday was the great gymnastics exhibition.  Actually it was just a class.  Sylvie gave Grandpa a stern warning not to embarrass her while he watched her practice at the wellness center with the other parents and kids.  Sylvie told Grandpa " Don't shout out Sylvie is awesome".   Grandpa managed to make it through the class without embarrassing Sylvie.  However there was an incident. Grandpa got bored watching the little kids do less than Olympic quality routines, so periodically he would wander about the wellness center and watch other activities.  Kadizzle happened upon the racquetball courts and managed to get a racquet and a ball.  As circumstance had it Sylvie's group was taking a break from their class.  Kadizzle encountered Sylvie with a few of her classmates at the water fountain.  Kadizzle thought the class was over and said " Hey Sylvie want to hit some balls?".   Later in the car Kadizzle asked Sylvie how he did on not being embarrassing.  She replied " Well in the middle of class you asked me if I wanted to play tennis".  Apparently Kadizzle failed.

Looking Around

The Commander, and Kadizzle went on an exploration by pickup truck yesterday.  We are camped near Walsenburg, Colorado.  The truck took us up into the Spanish Peaks area.  On the way we went through the little town of La Veta.  Spending a little time in the town we liked it.  The town had excellent scenery, was a nice little size, was clean, and the climate seemed very nice.  At first The Commander was skeptical, but the little town grew on her quickly.  The Commander has been wanting another home in a different climate.  The attraction for are current home is the sailing.  The Kadizzles have been sailors for a long time, and it is hard to give up the addiction.

The world is a big place, and in the world are a lot of nice place where one could live.  When you think you have found " The place", you find another.

Breast of the Earth

The sun is up and the sky is crystal clear.  At this moment the scenery could hardly be improved.  In the center of the window in the Earth Module are The Spanish Peaks.  The Indians called The Spanish Peaks the breast of the Earth. That was a good description.

Today the plan is to drive over in the area of the peaks and explore.  The southwest in the United States is a huge wonderful area bigger than most countries.  The Commander and Kadizzle have been exploring the southwest for over 16 years.  We will never get done.  Today we will see some strange volcanic vents.  Not only does the southwest contain every imaginable type of physical feature, but also the people.  Hundreds of tribes and cultures inhabit the southwest.  It is your country, get off your fernidigus and go see it.  The real thing is in 3D.  The one you see on your TV is flat.  The 3D one is much better.

The Gate Through the Mountains

Yesterday Kadizzle and The Commander visited Pecos Pueblo.  When you think you have see just about every major western Indian site you find another one.  The Pecos site is easily accessible by car.  It sits close to Interstate 25 and we have driven by many times.  It has two qualities that struck Kadizzle.  First it is the only major gap in the Rocky mountains for many hundred miles.  This means just about everyone and every animal that wanted to cross the rockies would go right by the Pecos Pueblo.  It is the Panama Canal of the rocky mountains.  The size of the place is mind boggling.  The original buildings were up to five stories high, and there were two thousand people living in the one huge building complex.  This was the choke point and the Indians that built right in the middle were sitting pretty good.

Like all Indians of the southwest they were struck by the plague of the Spanish and their religion. The Spanish forced them to build a huge church.  The size of the church was staggering. Because there were so many people available no doubt the Spanish thought they had to take advantage.

What Kadizzle found most amazing was the amount of pottery shards everywhere.  If you like finding pottery shards, which Kadizzle loves searching out, this is the mother of all spots.  You cannot look anywhere without finding pottery shards.  The real amazing fact is so many of them are colored.  Usually in the wild all you find is the typical reddish shard.  At Pecos you will see decorated white on black, black on red, and an amazing variety.  The people in the visitor center were very knowledgeable and fun to interact with.  If you are driving in the Sante Fe or Albuquerque area stopping at the site is worth the effort. It is right off the interstate and easy to get to .