Surfing the net Kadizzle found this Youtube video. This is a ride Kadizzle has made on his cycle with Cliff, and Jeff. It is a treacherous ride. The first part where you see the jeep going up is where we went down. It is so steep it is almost impossible to go down on a cycle. Jeff amazed me because he did it on an 800 cc Triumph Tiger. That is a big cycle and if you fall, you have had it. Cliff took his ATV. Kadizzle is not sure he would do this trip again. The big problem is going down you are on granite sand and you cannot get any braking traction. Goin up you are on horrible rocky surfaces. However, the scenery is terrific. We have hike all over this area.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Arizona Trail
On the way back a small yellow helicopter buzzed into the valley below us. The sky machine landed, but no one got out. Apparently they stopped to overlook Apache Lake. Next we ran into a couple younger hikers scoping out the trail. The two guys from Alaska had hiked the entire distance we drove from the bottom. Kadizzle offered to takedtheir packs back in the truck, but they refused.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
The Old man is moving in
The other day we visited Ruth and Rodger. Rodger told Kadizzle " The old man is moving in". Roger was referring to just plain getting old. According to Rodger the old man starts at the bottom and move into your feet. As the man moves in he works his way up to your head. There is a lot of truth in this. Kadizzle hiked up the mountain yesterday with the whole trail gang. We cleared brush as usual. Higher and higher we went finally reaching about 5,000 feet. Cliff and Mrs Kadizzle went farther as Little Mike and Big Mike returned to the truck.
When we finally got back to the Forest Service visitor center to drop off the truck Kadizzle had to walk to the office to put the keys away. Like so many days his body was frozen up. The soreness and worn out legs could hardly get the hulking body to move. The old man had definitely moved into the body.
So here we sit. Kadizzle is recovered from yesterday, only to start another day. Finding an easy mission would be great, but it looks a lot like we may go up another mountain today. Little Mike wants to get in shape so he can do an overnight backpack trip. Little Mike says you have to keep the interval short between hikes or you will lose what strength you have gained. There could be some truth in that.
The good news is we will get a break in the dreary weather and have a nice day today with crystal clear skies. Cliff should be showing up soon for morning coffee. Cliff is over at his dwelling with a candle lit listening to calming music preparing for the day. Just like everyday Mrs. Kadizzle jumped out of bed with the buzzies. Jumping around full of energy how she does it is a mystery.
When we finally got back to the Forest Service visitor center to drop off the truck Kadizzle had to walk to the office to put the keys away. Like so many days his body was frozen up. The soreness and worn out legs could hardly get the hulking body to move. The old man had definitely moved into the body.
So here we sit. Kadizzle is recovered from yesterday, only to start another day. Finding an easy mission would be great, but it looks a lot like we may go up another mountain today. Little Mike wants to get in shape so he can do an overnight backpack trip. Little Mike says you have to keep the interval short between hikes or you will lose what strength you have gained. There could be some truth in that.
The good news is we will get a break in the dreary weather and have a nice day today with crystal clear skies. Cliff should be showing up soon for morning coffee. Cliff is over at his dwelling with a candle lit listening to calming music preparing for the day. Just like everyday Mrs. Kadizzle jumped out of bed with the buzzies. Jumping around full of energy how she does it is a mystery.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
Sunshine
The day of sunshine is here. Soon Cliff may wander over for coffee and the day will start. Mrs. Buzzy Bee is slapping the mustard on the sandwiches, and it is about time to think of coffee cup number two. As the trail crew prepares for the day we are clueless about what we will do.The best idea is to go up toward the Two Bar ranch and fix a sign. We will wing it from there.
As Kadizzle sits here he waits to hear on NPR how 8 people have more wealth than over 3.5 billion other people. What kind of world allows this to happen? Each year it gets worse. Tax dodging is the main problem. Just the tax cheating of these people could put a school teacher in every class room in Africa. So here we sit in our sweet little country with the Trumpster about to give more tax breaks to the rich. Pure, plain, vanilla insanity.
As Kadizzle sits here he waits to hear on NPR how 8 people have more wealth than over 3.5 billion other people. What kind of world allows this to happen? Each year it gets worse. Tax dodging is the main problem. Just the tax cheating of these people could put a school teacher in every class room in Africa. So here we sit in our sweet little country with the Trumpster about to give more tax breaks to the rich. Pure, plain, vanilla insanity.
Monday, January 16, 2017
Make killing legal
Yesterday Kadizzle wrote about the North Dakota legislators and their compulsion to come up with insane laws. Since yesterday they have come up with a new spin that will make it legal to run over protesters. In Florida they have the stand your ground law which pretty well legitimizes shooting anyone. What has the world come to when the Republicans perpetually pass these crazy laws to advance their agenda. Sure it would be nice to shoot or run over people you do not agree with. How about taking the vote away from people you disagree with?
Why don't the Republicans just go the whole nine yards? Make it illegal to be poor. Outlaw gravity. Almost forgot another Republican dolt in North Dakota wants to up the speed limit to 80, which will mean people will drive 90. Just what we need in a population of old goats, people high on drugs, and texting on their phones.
Magic, that is what Republicans believe laws can do. Just do away with taxes, and magically the government will continue on, the roads will get repaired and the schools will run. Trump has clearly shown people will believe anything if you are rich and you promise them tax breaks.
Why don't the Republicans just go the whole nine yards? Make it illegal to be poor. Outlaw gravity. Almost forgot another Republican dolt in North Dakota wants to up the speed limit to 80, which will mean people will drive 90. Just what we need in a population of old goats, people high on drugs, and texting on their phones.
Magic, that is what Republicans believe laws can do. Just do away with taxes, and magically the government will continue on, the roads will get repaired and the schools will run. Trump has clearly shown people will believe anything if you are rich and you promise them tax breaks.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
A special kind of stupid
North Dakota has some very special legislators. Our legislators try to out do each other to see who can introduce the silliest law. Years ago our local representative introduced a bill that would limit how strong a flashlight you could use while hunting racoons. Currently one of our rocket scientist want to introduce a bill that will make it illegal to wear a mask while protesting. Of course it is not illegal to wear a mask while robbing a bank in North Dakota, but maybe they will realize that and add it to the law. Another one of our bean brains wants to allow anyone who wants to carry a concealed weapon. Why not put guns in vending machines.
One thing our cultivated idiots like to do is imitate some goofy law from another state. Their favorite is abortion laws. Anything they can come up with to harass a woman is wonderful. Some southern state full of Bubba law makers will come up with a goofy law, and in no time North Dakota wants to try it.
Sadly most of the law makers in North Dakota are trained old monkeys. The Republicans in charge tell the monkeys what to do and the monkeys comply. As a courtesy to the monkeys they are allowed to introduce silly legislation. The old goats in office on behalf of the NRA, and every other right wing organization, are people near death who need a little extra income. So they follow the party line to get free health care, and some pocket money. On any given day you can walk into the chambers of the capital and be overcome by the sound of old men sleeping.
Back to the new law that you cannot riot with a mask on. What about Halloween? What if you go to a costume party and a fight breaks out? Will you be charged with wearing a disguise? The dingers never think of the implications. It was the warriors protesting the pipeline that sparked this ingenious law, but what if a warrior decides to put on war paint? Is he wearing a mask? What if it is cold during the protest and a warrior decides to stay warm by wearing a ski mask? The dingers never think of the implications. Why not make it illegal to wear cloths during a riot. This would limit riots to warm weather. Why not require people to file a report if they break the law? Our geniuses have endless opportunities to show their legislative skill.
One thing our cultivated idiots like to do is imitate some goofy law from another state. Their favorite is abortion laws. Anything they can come up with to harass a woman is wonderful. Some southern state full of Bubba law makers will come up with a goofy law, and in no time North Dakota wants to try it.
Sadly most of the law makers in North Dakota are trained old monkeys. The Republicans in charge tell the monkeys what to do and the monkeys comply. As a courtesy to the monkeys they are allowed to introduce silly legislation. The old goats in office on behalf of the NRA, and every other right wing organization, are people near death who need a little extra income. So they follow the party line to get free health care, and some pocket money. On any given day you can walk into the chambers of the capital and be overcome by the sound of old men sleeping.
Back to the new law that you cannot riot with a mask on. What about Halloween? What if you go to a costume party and a fight breaks out? Will you be charged with wearing a disguise? The dingers never think of the implications. It was the warriors protesting the pipeline that sparked this ingenious law, but what if a warrior decides to put on war paint? Is he wearing a mask? What if it is cold during the protest and a warrior decides to stay warm by wearing a ski mask? The dingers never think of the implications. Why not make it illegal to wear cloths during a riot. This would limit riots to warm weather. Why not require people to file a report if they break the law? Our geniuses have endless opportunities to show their legislative skill.
Friday, January 13, 2017
A gray day
Life is never easy, but a gray day always makes it worse. Mrs Kadizzle is plagued by fears about our electrical system. The lights have flickered and the power has gone on and off a few times. Kadizzle figures it is an old ancient breaker or a poor connection somewhere. Kadizzle got into a little trouble for doing electric work he was not qualified for, but such is life. The new neighbor is an electrician, so that is great.
Netflix has been providing our entertainment. Now we are experts at detecting Russian spies and drug dealers in Kentucky. It is wonderful to have your brain turned to mush. Justified, and The Americans are the two series we are working on.
Rain may fall at any moment, and boredom may also strike. Since out gigabytes come from the phone we pay dearly and on slow days you can smell the gigabytes burning.
Our new neighbors are caught in a conundrum. They are working for the National Parks which run the Cliff Dwelling up on the mountain. We on the other hand are working for the National Forest Service. The Forest Service has been a good organization to work for, but the Park Service is overstaffed. Our neigbhors are bored, and not happy with youngsters young enough to be their children telling them what to do. They have to run a booth in Phoenix on Sunday. One of the young whipper snappers told them to dress appropriately, bring money for lunch, and a few other gems you do not tell someone 58 years old who has owned and run their own business. The neighbors want to switch to our team, which Kadizzle thinks would be a good idea. Mr. Neighbor has many very useful skills such as being a plumber and electrician. Right now the Forest Service could really use a volunteer with both skills. More than like the big decision will play out today. So that is the news from lake Wobegon.
Netflix has been providing our entertainment. Now we are experts at detecting Russian spies and drug dealers in Kentucky. It is wonderful to have your brain turned to mush. Justified, and The Americans are the two series we are working on.
Rain may fall at any moment, and boredom may also strike. Since out gigabytes come from the phone we pay dearly and on slow days you can smell the gigabytes burning.
Our new neighbors are caught in a conundrum. They are working for the National Parks which run the Cliff Dwelling up on the mountain. We on the other hand are working for the National Forest Service. The Forest Service has been a good organization to work for, but the Park Service is overstaffed. Our neigbhors are bored, and not happy with youngsters young enough to be their children telling them what to do. They have to run a booth in Phoenix on Sunday. One of the young whipper snappers told them to dress appropriately, bring money for lunch, and a few other gems you do not tell someone 58 years old who has owned and run their own business. The neighbors want to switch to our team, which Kadizzle thinks would be a good idea. Mr. Neighbor has many very useful skills such as being a plumber and electrician. Right now the Forest Service could really use a volunteer with both skills. More than like the big decision will play out today. So that is the news from lake Wobegon.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
The shock continues
One wonderful thing about our life of quasi leisure and travel is meeting new and interesting people. Today Kadizzle met another Forest Service volunteer. Oddly she and her husband are Canadians. So we have Canadians coming to our wonderful country and helping make it great again. Mrs. Canadian has lived an interesting life. She and her husband live 52 miles down a dirt road in Canada with no neighbors. They raised their family back in the woods with nothing but solar power and home made hydro power. Kadizzle has always wanted to live like that so the conversation was interesting. From the sound of it they have a wonderful life and a good place to run to when the old Trumpster gets the decline going.
In the sun on the deck of the very nice laundry facility the Forest Service has for us we talked about the recent election. Kadizzle has always been amazed that people in other countries universally know more about American politics than the typical American. Mrs. Canada had about the same shock the morning she awoke to a Trump victory as Kadizzle did. So many people are still suffering from the disbelief that there are so many more ill informed people and mislead people than one could ever have imagined in this country. Every day waking up in a surreal world where a man suffering from various forms of insanity is going to lead the country is a totally new experience. It seems no longer possible to distinguish between dreams and reality. We now live in a nation where reality, the truth, science, and what used to be called normalcy is gone. Trump manufactures his own truth on a daily basis. His minions don't question the reality he creates. He is caught in front of thousands of people mocking a disabled reporter. The incident is on video tape. Trump claims it did not happen. His cult accepts his explanation. What they saw and heard with their own eyes and ears did not happen because The Donald said it did not happen. How do we now live in a world were a man about to be president says he has a secret plan he will tell you on Tuesday never tells you the secret plan on Tuesday, and you just don't notice. The whole thing is like the Jim Jones deal years ago where people drank the cool aid. How do you get adults to poison their own children and then themselves?
People with functioning brains don't know what to make of a whole country full of delusional people. Here we are with a man who just put a woman in charge of education who does not believe in the public school system. Trump has appointed a Fox to watch every chicken house in the federal government. People just don't notice. Try as I may I just cannot get used to the idea of our country turning into a third world dictatorship run by a few rich people. I cannot get used to the idea that Americans chose to do this. It was not anything but willing ignorance and rampant stupidity, seasoned with false news, and wishful thinking. Is this the new normalcy. Will we ever return to the time when public figures were at least expected to make plausible lies. Last night we watched a segment of the series Justified. A distraught soldier was considering suicide with a grenade. The soldier had a conversation with an older veteran at a bar while he played with the grenade. He put the pin in, took it out, but never let go of the lever. It created tension in the scene. Now, we have a man with serious mental problems as president of the United States. We have put a grenade in the hands of a man with an explosive ego, and a desire for revenge that makes him us twitter in the middle of the night. What a prospect awakening everyday under the leadership of a captain who would run the ship into any iceberg that insulted him. His followers just don't notice he is nuts, just like the cool aid drinkers never noticed. In one fell swoop our county has become a cult.
In the sun on the deck of the very nice laundry facility the Forest Service has for us we talked about the recent election. Kadizzle has always been amazed that people in other countries universally know more about American politics than the typical American. Mrs. Canada had about the same shock the morning she awoke to a Trump victory as Kadizzle did. So many people are still suffering from the disbelief that there are so many more ill informed people and mislead people than one could ever have imagined in this country. Every day waking up in a surreal world where a man suffering from various forms of insanity is going to lead the country is a totally new experience. It seems no longer possible to distinguish between dreams and reality. We now live in a nation where reality, the truth, science, and what used to be called normalcy is gone. Trump manufactures his own truth on a daily basis. His minions don't question the reality he creates. He is caught in front of thousands of people mocking a disabled reporter. The incident is on video tape. Trump claims it did not happen. His cult accepts his explanation. What they saw and heard with their own eyes and ears did not happen because The Donald said it did not happen. How do we now live in a world were a man about to be president says he has a secret plan he will tell you on Tuesday never tells you the secret plan on Tuesday, and you just don't notice. The whole thing is like the Jim Jones deal years ago where people drank the cool aid. How do you get adults to poison their own children and then themselves?
People with functioning brains don't know what to make of a whole country full of delusional people. Here we are with a man who just put a woman in charge of education who does not believe in the public school system. Trump has appointed a Fox to watch every chicken house in the federal government. People just don't notice. Try as I may I just cannot get used to the idea of our country turning into a third world dictatorship run by a few rich people. I cannot get used to the idea that Americans chose to do this. It was not anything but willing ignorance and rampant stupidity, seasoned with false news, and wishful thinking. Is this the new normalcy. Will we ever return to the time when public figures were at least expected to make plausible lies. Last night we watched a segment of the series Justified. A distraught soldier was considering suicide with a grenade. The soldier had a conversation with an older veteran at a bar while he played with the grenade. He put the pin in, took it out, but never let go of the lever. It created tension in the scene. Now, we have a man with serious mental problems as president of the United States. We have put a grenade in the hands of a man with an explosive ego, and a desire for revenge that makes him us twitter in the middle of the night. What a prospect awakening everyday under the leadership of a captain who would run the ship into any iceberg that insulted him. His followers just don't notice he is nuts, just like the cool aid drinkers never noticed. In one fell swoop our county has become a cult.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Up Early
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Old Ben Franklin said that. So Kadizzle blasted out of bed early and had the Forest Service ready to go by 6:45. The mission was to replace the sign on A Cross road out by the Jug. Little Mike, Mrs Kadizzle, and old fat Kadizzle headed down the road to drive right through Tonto Creek. The signs said road closed do to high water, but what the hell we crossed anyway. As we drove slowly we picked up the trash the degenerates left on the road. We took turns getting out to retrieve the beer cans and other crap. If only the degenerates knew how much it cost to pick up their crap, but then again they don't really care or they would not be certified degenerates. Finally we got to the downed Forest Service sign. Without the correct bolts we improvised and got the sign back up. Termites must have weakened it and the wind did the rest.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Driving with a drunk.
We all have done it. We got in a car with a driver who may have been drunk, or just not capable of operating a car. We rationalized the situation. I need to get home. This guy is not that drunk. We are not going on any big roads. On it goes we get in the car and if we are lucky we make it home safe. Well now our country is about to be lead by a drunk. A delusional egomaniac who cannot tell the truth to save his life. He may not even know what the truth is. Of course the Republicans assure us he is a little drunk, but they can control him. So here we go. The drunk is going to do what drunks do. Their brains don't get enough oxygen and certain parts of the brain shut down. With parts of the brain shut down you can do dangerous things. The brain is very clever. When it starts to shut down it shuts down the least important things first and tries to keep enough blood and oxygen available for the things that really matter. Drunks are friendly, often with the wrong people that take advantage of them. Drunks can be fun, and funny, and fun to watch. Drunks can start fights. Drunks don't realize when they are in danger. Drunks are destructive to relationships. So here we go, a man drunk on the need to be his own hero will drive our car. He will buy drinks for his buddies. Our drunk may get us home, he may not. He may destroy the whole country, he may just bust up a few things. Once we get out of his car and look back at the stupid thing we did hopefully we will be smarter. We will realize we came closer to disaster than we thought. We may not get out of the car. The drunk may plow the ship of state into a crowd of innocent people killing them and us. Here we go.
Monday, January 09, 2017
A day in the Life of Joe Republican
A Day in the Life of Joe Republican
January 2, 2017
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Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards.
With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.
All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.
He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.
Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.
He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.
If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills.
Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.
Joe has to pay his underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.
Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.
Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.
He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.
The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.
He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.
Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good.
He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.
Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."
Poor old Joe.
Once upon a time
Back in the dark ages Kadizzle was in college. As part of a psychology class Kadizzle visited an actual insane asylum. It was a very shocking experience. Our mission as students was to take the patients out into the woods for a walk. First we took a tour. This was of course in West Virginia where the state did not spend much on the mentally ill. Hell most of them were walking the streets and running the state. Some idiot had designed the building where the poor patients were housed. The idiot had the idea that the building should be round. Every floor had a cage in the middle, and because the building was round the overseer could see into every patients room. Brilliant idea, but it meant all the rooms were pie shaped. Now try to put furniture in a pie shaped room.
So we walked onto one of the floors of this crazy house. The stench of the human condition was overwhelming. The place was kept warm because the people were in a near naked or naked state. The floor was just bare concrete, and many of the inmates were barefoot. People were laying around on the floor there was no furniture to speak of or the people were sitting on the floor drugged and staring into space. Finally we got to some other area of the institution where people were slightly more normal. This is where one of the patients was playing the piano and doing a damn good job of it.
Now to a quick side story. Back at Marshall University which Kadizzle was attending Kadizzle had met a young woman who had spent some time incarcerated in this insane place. She had tried to commit suicide. She had cut her arm senseless with a razor blade in an attempt to end her life. When she was put in this place she said she realized she had to get out quickly or she would die or become permanently insane. As Kadizzle explored the place he realized if you were not totally insane when you got here, you soon would be.
In the course of taking the patients out there was a young boy about twelve on the bus with us. He told an incredibly sad story which showed how bad the system was. The young boy had been placed in the institution as part of a vendetta against his family from some small hillbilly town. The doctors found nothing wrong with the young man, but no one would come from the town to take him home. Imagine being twelve and stuck in this crazy place.
So off we went on the school bus full of crazy people. We took them for a walk in the woods. During the walk one of the patients picked up and osage orange. This is a strange inedible fruit that grows in West Virginia. A naive girl in the psychology class ran up to the patient shouting " Don't eat that". Kadizzle will never forget what the patient said. The patient said " We are in here because we are crazy, not stupid".
What got Kadizzle thinking about all this? Reading the New York Times today Kadizzle had to laugh thinking about Donald Trump. He is both crazy and stupid, but the Republicans love him.
So we walked onto one of the floors of this crazy house. The stench of the human condition was overwhelming. The place was kept warm because the people were in a near naked or naked state. The floor was just bare concrete, and many of the inmates were barefoot. People were laying around on the floor there was no furniture to speak of or the people were sitting on the floor drugged and staring into space. Finally we got to some other area of the institution where people were slightly more normal. This is where one of the patients was playing the piano and doing a damn good job of it.
Now to a quick side story. Back at Marshall University which Kadizzle was attending Kadizzle had met a young woman who had spent some time incarcerated in this insane place. She had tried to commit suicide. She had cut her arm senseless with a razor blade in an attempt to end her life. When she was put in this place she said she realized she had to get out quickly or she would die or become permanently insane. As Kadizzle explored the place he realized if you were not totally insane when you got here, you soon would be.
In the course of taking the patients out there was a young boy about twelve on the bus with us. He told an incredibly sad story which showed how bad the system was. The young boy had been placed in the institution as part of a vendetta against his family from some small hillbilly town. The doctors found nothing wrong with the young man, but no one would come from the town to take him home. Imagine being twelve and stuck in this crazy place.
So off we went on the school bus full of crazy people. We took them for a walk in the woods. During the walk one of the patients picked up and osage orange. This is a strange inedible fruit that grows in West Virginia. A naive girl in the psychology class ran up to the patient shouting " Don't eat that". Kadizzle will never forget what the patient said. The patient said " We are in here because we are crazy, not stupid".
What got Kadizzle thinking about all this? Reading the New York Times today Kadizzle had to laugh thinking about Donald Trump. He is both crazy and stupid, but the Republicans love him.
Sunday, January 08, 2017
Back to Normal.
The sunken or once sunken boat sits down on the beach. Kadizzle rode the cycle down there yesterday to see the giant whale beached. The boat had been at it's slip in the marina last year when apparently a 75 mile per hour wind hit the marina. The big house boat sank at the dock. According to the locals it was under water for two weeks. Somehow someone got the boat to float. The plan mush have been to pull the boat up to a repair area. The plan did not work as the trailer came out of the water with the boat on it. The trailer sank completely into to the mud. The boat has been sitting there for a long time. Now the lake is coming up. It appears someone patched the boat and hopes it will float off the trailer. The back end of the ship is now in the water. It will be interesting. If the lake does not come up another five or six feet the whole plan will fail. So it better rain a lot to float that boat.
Well it looks like the sun is going to bust out today and it may be warm enough for a cycle ride. Yesterday Kadizzle was bored and rode up to the cliff dwelling. The place was buzzing with people. Tourist in the Southwest are kinda amazing. The spend about an hour in places they should spend weeks. Kadizzle realized at some point in his life he had done many " I ve been there tours". You jump out of the car look over the edge of the Grand Canyon and get back in the car. I have been there. Of course there is no comparison with taking the time to hike to the bottom of the canyon. This is the case of just about the entire country. Each unique part of the country requires days of exploring. Zion National Park is the classic case. Kadizzle and Mrs Kadizzle have been there many many times for weeks at a time, and still we find amazing places that we never knew existed there. For years we drove by Gooseberry Mesa, then one day we went there. Wow, how had we missed this for so many years. That is the way life is when you dig deeper.
Well it looks like the sun is going to bust out today and it may be warm enough for a cycle ride. Yesterday Kadizzle was bored and rode up to the cliff dwelling. The place was buzzing with people. Tourist in the Southwest are kinda amazing. The spend about an hour in places they should spend weeks. Kadizzle realized at some point in his life he had done many " I ve been there tours". You jump out of the car look over the edge of the Grand Canyon and get back in the car. I have been there. Of course there is no comparison with taking the time to hike to the bottom of the canyon. This is the case of just about the entire country. Each unique part of the country requires days of exploring. Zion National Park is the classic case. Kadizzle and Mrs Kadizzle have been there many many times for weeks at a time, and still we find amazing places that we never knew existed there. For years we drove by Gooseberry Mesa, then one day we went there. Wow, how had we missed this for so many years. That is the way life is when you dig deeper.
Saturday, January 07, 2017
Our Little Town
Our little town is filling up. A new range manager moved in, the couple working at the cliff dwellings is right across from us, the helicopter crew is in one of the apartments, and Corey is in another. The helicopter just took off to do a wildlife survey. Last year they spotted a mountain lion and some cubs.
Yesterday Kadizzle helped get the garbage truck back in service. Jim the sign man turns out to be a good welder, and thanks to Jim's free work the truck is back in service and taxpayers got about a thousand dollars worth of labor for free. Kadizzle had to go to Globe to help get the pipe needed to fix the garbage truck. An old rusty piece of pipe cost $80. We only need six feet of the pipe. Kadizzle asked the pipe yard manager how much six feet would cost. He said it would be $100. Well how much would the whole pipe cost Kadizzle asked? $80 the manager replied. Kadizzle sort of figured it would come out that way. The pipe was very heavy gauge, and cutting it would be a pain. Selling eight feet would be simple and quick. The world is strange. There is an old joke about the rectum being in charge of the body. It does control everything. For the Forest Service it is the garbage truck. Nothing creates a problem like having the garbage truck broken down. Constipated dumpsters quickly become uncomfortable. So the truck is in service thanks to Jim and all is well in the campgrounds. Kadizzle once served a stint as a swamper on the garbage truck. God bless garbage men.
Yesterday Kadizzle helped get the garbage truck back in service. Jim the sign man turns out to be a good welder, and thanks to Jim's free work the truck is back in service and taxpayers got about a thousand dollars worth of labor for free. Kadizzle had to go to Globe to help get the pipe needed to fix the garbage truck. An old rusty piece of pipe cost $80. We only need six feet of the pipe. Kadizzle asked the pipe yard manager how much six feet would cost. He said it would be $100. Well how much would the whole pipe cost Kadizzle asked? $80 the manager replied. Kadizzle sort of figured it would come out that way. The pipe was very heavy gauge, and cutting it would be a pain. Selling eight feet would be simple and quick. The world is strange. There is an old joke about the rectum being in charge of the body. It does control everything. For the Forest Service it is the garbage truck. Nothing creates a problem like having the garbage truck broken down. Constipated dumpsters quickly become uncomfortable. So the truck is in service thanks to Jim and all is well in the campgrounds. Kadizzle once served a stint as a swamper on the garbage truck. God bless garbage men.
Friday, January 06, 2017
Orange Men in the Desert
Yesterday Kadizzle made his first foray down the trail with the prison crew. Dressed in orange jail suits carrying trail tools eight felons, Kadizzle, and Robert the guard, who also happens to be a cage fighter took off down the rail. We got a lot done, and everyone had a great day. The prisoners and the guard want to do it again. The prisoners were so happy to be out in the wilderness. Kadizzle was so happy to see how quick eight guys could fix trail problems. In no time it was apparent that the old guys worked harder than the younger slackers. Prisoners keep themselves from going insane by joking and ribbing each other. The guard kicks in with his comments. The result is like a comedy routing going down the trail. Every hour Robert has to count everyone and call the prison with the number. When Robert made the call the prisoners could hear the dispatcher on the other end of the phone always say to Robert " I love you man". The prisoners said " How come you never tell him you love him back?"
Robert is the ideal guy to be a guard. He respects the prisoners, has fun with them, and last, but not least is an ex cage fighter. In case you don't know what a cage fighter is Kadizzle will explain. Two men get in a cage and just beat the shit out of each other until one give up. Robert said he was part of a cage fighting exhibition that a Russian mobster sponsored in Russia. While in Russia he was able to meet Putin.
Kadizzle learned as he worked with the orange men what a pickle they are in. They will get out of jail wanting to get a job and have a normal life, but the fist thing that will happen is they will be turned down because they have a record as a felon. So what choice do they have when they are released? A couple of the guys said they would love to just get out and do physical trail work. One guy said he would love to do the work we were doing when he got out and get paid for it. Our prison system and penal system is a mess.
Once you deal with people in trouble you quickly realize how many of them came from dysfunctional homes.
The second observation is they are not real high IQ people. The combination of a bad family life, few work skills, and an education that did not work, are toxic. One thing is obvious. It is far more productive for society to spend money on social programs than jails. If more effort, money, and social capital is invested in these people as children the results can only be good. It is like doing preventive maintenance on your car, it is more effective than fixing a blown out engine.
Robert is the ideal guy to be a guard. He respects the prisoners, has fun with them, and last, but not least is an ex cage fighter. In case you don't know what a cage fighter is Kadizzle will explain. Two men get in a cage and just beat the shit out of each other until one give up. Robert said he was part of a cage fighting exhibition that a Russian mobster sponsored in Russia. While in Russia he was able to meet Putin.
Kadizzle learned as he worked with the orange men what a pickle they are in. They will get out of jail wanting to get a job and have a normal life, but the fist thing that will happen is they will be turned down because they have a record as a felon. So what choice do they have when they are released? A couple of the guys said they would love to just get out and do physical trail work. One guy said he would love to do the work we were doing when he got out and get paid for it. Our prison system and penal system is a mess.
Once you deal with people in trouble you quickly realize how many of them came from dysfunctional homes.
The second observation is they are not real high IQ people. The combination of a bad family life, few work skills, and an education that did not work, are toxic. One thing is obvious. It is far more productive for society to spend money on social programs than jails. If more effort, money, and social capital is invested in these people as children the results can only be good. It is like doing preventive maintenance on your car, it is more effective than fixing a blown out engine.
Thursday, January 05, 2017
Rant Time
If you don't like Kadizzle ranting, read no more. The Trump gang wants to sell off public land. This has Kadizzle's fire lit this morning. Gradually and eventually if it works selling public land will mean that it ultimately ends up in the hands of the wealthy . The whole thing takes us back centuries to the time of peasants and serfdom, when the aristocrats owned everything. The peasants were forced into huts and even the game animals were considered the property of the wealthy. Wow, do we really want this? Long ago our family used to go to the sea shore. Now, the ocean is inaccessible because the wealthy have lined the shore with houses and the ordinary working man is not welcome. In North Dakota so much land has already been purchased by the rich for hunting, that the ordinary poor working man has no place to hunt.
The Republican party is intent in destroying everything that makes life pleasant or possible for the working class. Health care is going to be destroyed, the school system is under assault, and unions have already been devastated. Is this really the way we want to live?
Kadizzle has been an outdoor person his whole life. Your average person has no idea the treasures this country holds that belong to everyone. Kadizzle has traveled just about the entire United States, including Alaska. Thinking of the damage Trump can do is painful. Seeing pristine land commercialized and privatized is a revolting thought. The greed impulse of the Republican party running unchecked will devastate the land just like they intent to devastate the climate, and the atmosphere. These people are driven wild with greed. They never have enough. Trump claims to have billions, but he wants more. What in the hell do these people need that is so good they are willing to destroy the planet to get it?
Kadizzle is about to become a grand parent for the second time. The thought of an organized party out to make life miserable for everyone on the planet is disturbing. Trump lies almost as a daily ritual, and the ignorant suck it up. The Trump followers do not remember what he said yesterday. Trump has led the gullible down the rabbit hole.
Well now it is time to go to work on public lands. It is so hard to do volunteer work knowing Trump is going to destroy everything you do. Ah, a least a good bitch make you feel a little better, so here we go.
The Republican party is intent in destroying everything that makes life pleasant or possible for the working class. Health care is going to be destroyed, the school system is under assault, and unions have already been devastated. Is this really the way we want to live?
Kadizzle has been an outdoor person his whole life. Your average person has no idea the treasures this country holds that belong to everyone. Kadizzle has traveled just about the entire United States, including Alaska. Thinking of the damage Trump can do is painful. Seeing pristine land commercialized and privatized is a revolting thought. The greed impulse of the Republican party running unchecked will devastate the land just like they intent to devastate the climate, and the atmosphere. These people are driven wild with greed. They never have enough. Trump claims to have billions, but he wants more. What in the hell do these people need that is so good they are willing to destroy the planet to get it?
Kadizzle is about to become a grand parent for the second time. The thought of an organized party out to make life miserable for everyone on the planet is disturbing. Trump lies almost as a daily ritual, and the ignorant suck it up. The Trump followers do not remember what he said yesterday. Trump has led the gullible down the rabbit hole.
Well now it is time to go to work on public lands. It is so hard to do volunteer work knowing Trump is going to destroy everything you do. Ah, a least a good bitch make you feel a little better, so here we go.
Wednesday, January 04, 2017
Complications with the chain gang
Here we go one more day of making America great. Poor old Kadizzle is till sore from yesterday. A six mile hike with brush cutting thrown in has depleted the man. Today it is confusion. Our new boss is in charge of the prisoners and wants to take them on trail work. This complicates matters. The roads are not in good shape because of the recent rains. The prisoners have to be back by one, which makes things hard to accomplish. So the net result is we have no idea what we will do today. Cory is the new boss and wants to go up one of the trails. The nature of our work means often the first part of the job is hiking to the work. As the trail work progresses you may have to hike three miles to get to where you left off yesterday. That is the case today for the Deer Creek trail. If you hike in three miles and out three miles which takes over an hour each way, you lost three hours hiking and perhaps there is only an hour or two to actually get anything done. Well hi ho, hi ho, it is off to work we go.
The orange men may be better off than the volunteers. The prisoners have to dress in orange jumpsuits. The orange men get free accommodation and are paid fifty cents per hour. The volunteers have to buy their own food, pay for our electricity, and work for free. Something seems strange here.
The orange men may be better off than the volunteers. The prisoners have to dress in orange jumpsuits. The orange men get free accommodation and are paid fifty cents per hour. The volunteers have to buy their own food, pay for our electricity, and work for free. Something seems strange here.
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
Up Early
The trail crew will go into action shortly. At 5:30 A.M. the coffee has been brewed and the world is coming together. Just completed the update and it looks like the world will make it through another day. Met the new neighbor yesterday. He and his wife have been full timing in a nice 40ft diesel pusher for about three or four years. They have been moving about doing jobs for the Fish and Wildlife service, and a few other public entities. Now they will work up at the National Monument across the road from here where the cliff dwellings welcome the public.
As lazy old Mr. Kadizzle sits here Mrs. Kadizzle jumps around like a wild bean getting ready for the day. The apparent plan is to go up to Deer Creek and hack on the trail. Kadizzle may work on the actual footpath while the other three cut brush. With the rain it may be muddy, but also it will be nice to see the streams running. Amazing how quickly the grass has grown around here because of the rain. We have been keeping the trail head picked up pretty well by Deer Creek. It will be interesting to see how badly the degenerates have trashed it. Our friends Jeff and Barb pick up degenerate trash every day to pay back the world. Yesterday they found a twenty dollar bill. Shows the lord works in strange ways.
Almost daily Cliff and Kadizzle have some sort of philosophical conversation. Cliff is into spirituality, whatever that is. Is there a god, and what church does he go to are frequent topics. Kadizzle goes to the church of "If it isn't bothering you leave it alone". Cliff likes mediation and is into nature as a religious inspiration. Kadizzle also believes in the refrigerator god. Sometimes you open the sacred door and low and behold there could be anything. Yesterday Mrs. Kadizzle made two pumpkin pies without any crust. So really they are just pumpkin pudding in a pie pan. Perhaps Kadizzle can con her out of pie for breakfast.
As lazy old Mr. Kadizzle sits here Mrs. Kadizzle jumps around like a wild bean getting ready for the day. The apparent plan is to go up to Deer Creek and hack on the trail. Kadizzle may work on the actual footpath while the other three cut brush. With the rain it may be muddy, but also it will be nice to see the streams running. Amazing how quickly the grass has grown around here because of the rain. We have been keeping the trail head picked up pretty well by Deer Creek. It will be interesting to see how badly the degenerates have trashed it. Our friends Jeff and Barb pick up degenerate trash every day to pay back the world. Yesterday they found a twenty dollar bill. Shows the lord works in strange ways.
Almost daily Cliff and Kadizzle have some sort of philosophical conversation. Cliff is into spirituality, whatever that is. Is there a god, and what church does he go to are frequent topics. Kadizzle goes to the church of "If it isn't bothering you leave it alone". Cliff likes mediation and is into nature as a religious inspiration. Kadizzle also believes in the refrigerator god. Sometimes you open the sacred door and low and behold there could be anything. Yesterday Mrs. Kadizzle made two pumpkin pies without any crust. So really they are just pumpkin pudding in a pie pan. Perhaps Kadizzle can con her out of pie for breakfast.
Monday, January 02, 2017
Flowing Water
The desert is awakening. Rain has exploded the grass and the clouds are plugging the sky. The son of our new neighbors is visiting with his homemade camper. It is a small cobbled together contraption on a small two wheel trailer. Kadizzle took a look inside and it looked comfortable, but cramped. The young fellow is at that age where you can wander from job to job and live life with the luxury of freedom. Want your freedom constrained? Have a baby, that is Cheech's plan. In about thirty days Cheech will provide Old Grandpa Kadizzle with another little bundle of girl problems. Sylvie will have a cousin on our side of the family. In her basement Sylvie is spinning around on her new gymnastics bars. The family fortune was sacrificed to purchase the gym equipment, but perhaps she will spin some of the granny energy out of herself. Confined to the Earth module fighting boredom will be a major project today. Yesterday Cliff beat Kadizzle senseless playing dominoes. Apparently Cliff has loaded dominoes. It might also be the result of Cliff having the ability to add and subtract.
The other night when we drove in we saw a bobcat. Kadizzle has only seen four in his life, one in West Virginia, and perhaps the same one twice on Cherry Creek, Number four was just down the road a little ways from our encampment.
So here goes 2017. The bull will be released shortly in the china shop. Right off the bat the old Trumpster will start his insanity. Who knows what he will do. It is hopeless to predict. Until he actually starts breaking things no one knows. Will the Republicans with functioning brain cells be able to restrain him? Will he just bump things, or will he trample things? The day for the explosions from the tweeter is nearly upon us. It is exciting, we could see our first nuclear war, we could enter a new depression. Making America great again will be an interesting project and having a baffoon lead the way will be an entirely new experience. In the old days when Kadizzle worked among construction workers and coal miners there were sayings like " Don't let you mouth overload your ass". Another one was don't let you mouth write checks your ass can't cash. Donald Trump has definitely made both sins. The world is a big place, and the bravado of the Donald will now have to face reality. The little drunk guy may have just insulted the big quiet bruiser at the end of the bar. Everyone has seen a little guy pumped up on alcohol get a tune up. Some of these dustups end with one punch. We could be in for a nuclear punch. Usually there are no winners in a bar fight. The bar is torn up and most of the participants are cut and bruised. The Tweeter will fire his first shots soon. China may be first up to give the Donald a tune up. My advice when things start to heat up is stand near the door. Unfortunately for our electoral system the door is two years away. Once The Donald starts the game and if the Republicans don't harness him, it will be two years before voters can put sane people in office.
The other night when we drove in we saw a bobcat. Kadizzle has only seen four in his life, one in West Virginia, and perhaps the same one twice on Cherry Creek, Number four was just down the road a little ways from our encampment.
So here goes 2017. The bull will be released shortly in the china shop. Right off the bat the old Trumpster will start his insanity. Who knows what he will do. It is hopeless to predict. Until he actually starts breaking things no one knows. Will the Republicans with functioning brain cells be able to restrain him? Will he just bump things, or will he trample things? The day for the explosions from the tweeter is nearly upon us. It is exciting, we could see our first nuclear war, we could enter a new depression. Making America great again will be an interesting project and having a baffoon lead the way will be an entirely new experience. In the old days when Kadizzle worked among construction workers and coal miners there were sayings like " Don't let you mouth overload your ass". Another one was don't let you mouth write checks your ass can't cash. Donald Trump has definitely made both sins. The world is a big place, and the bravado of the Donald will now have to face reality. The little drunk guy may have just insulted the big quiet bruiser at the end of the bar. Everyone has seen a little guy pumped up on alcohol get a tune up. Some of these dustups end with one punch. We could be in for a nuclear punch. Usually there are no winners in a bar fight. The bar is torn up and most of the participants are cut and bruised. The Tweeter will fire his first shots soon. China may be first up to give the Donald a tune up. My advice when things start to heat up is stand near the door. Unfortunately for our electoral system the door is two years away. Once The Donald starts the game and if the Republicans don't harness him, it will be two years before voters can put sane people in office.
Sunday, January 01, 2017
What you see
Flying back to our Lake Roosevelt home in the Earth Module Kadizzle managed to fight his way into the window seat. From the air it is fun to fly into Phoenix because so much of the land we explore is below as you land. Unfortunately many clouds obstructed the view yesterday, but Kadizzle did get to see the area we have been working on in the Mazatal mountains.
At the airport we used Uber to get to our truck. This was our second go at Uber. The service is rally fast, and much better than a cab. It is amazing how fast they show up. With it all run by computers it is a new world of transportation. You don't even have to pay with anything. When you make the computer request the driver is automatically paid. Can easily see why this is becoming popular.
Arriving back at the Earth Module in the dark we find our new neighbors. Now our little community is four instead of three. Fortunately we are on the lake side, but it does feel a little tighter here in the wilderness.
Cliff stopped by to update us on local goings on. Cliff and the new boss were busy up in the Mazatals clearing logs from the trial. With the constant rain here in the area it will be hard to get anything done this week. First we have to resupply the Earth Module.
At the airport we used Uber to get to our truck. This was our second go at Uber. The service is rally fast, and much better than a cab. It is amazing how fast they show up. With it all run by computers it is a new world of transportation. You don't even have to pay with anything. When you make the computer request the driver is automatically paid. Can easily see why this is becoming popular.
Arriving back at the Earth Module in the dark we find our new neighbors. Now our little community is four instead of three. Fortunately we are on the lake side, but it does feel a little tighter here in the wilderness.
Cliff stopped by to update us on local goings on. Cliff and the new boss were busy up in the Mazatals clearing logs from the trial. With the constant rain here in the area it will be hard to get anything done this week. First we have to resupply the Earth Module.
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