Do Sea Kittens taste good?

PETA has launched a campaign - and I'm not going to link to it here because I don't want to give them a modicum of satisfaction with a link - to Save the Sea Kittens.

I've never eaten a sea kitten, but I will if they're worth eating.

I do like eating the right cat, 

much as former President George W. Bush does.

barack hussein obama clearly does NOT prefer
any sort of kitten. Michelle bites back.

Former President Clinton clearly does like cat
---- in the form of an intern.

But I don't think it's the same thing as a sea kitten.

I understand that PETA wants to save them.

I'm not sure WHY.

Poltroon

Winfrey is a devoted fan of barack hussein obama. When you consider who she's had on her show, he's in incredibly appropriate company.

Mutilation

Somebody needs to explain to me why people do this because I just don't get it. Perhaps I'm simply old fashioned.

In the world I grew up in, being skinned was something that came under the rubric of torture. Don't get me wrong, I know people have been skinned alive for a long time. I know a guy that has a drum head made of human skin - but it's not something I'd personally treasure.

The world has taken a turn for the surreal:

When a tattoo simply doesn't make enough of a statement.

(h/t WoFat)

Retro Perspective - 6

Ah, the good old days!

Back by popular demand, we turn back the pages of time, and sigh. Ah, the way we were!

That was the old days, when it was still legal to kill tigers.

There are differing views on the matter...

Well outside of the range of a joke, I don't

really know how mothers with three or four

children keep it together without resorting to

chemical aids... ###

I ate a capybara

The last time I was in Mexico City (this spring), I went to an outdoor restaurant to meet with attorneys that I had business dealings with. They had a real treat in store for me. There is a Mexican name for Capybara so I didn't know what sort of critter would emerge on the platter - but it was a Capybara, cooked Argentine style - bbq with garlic. It was described by the Mexicans as a "giant Guinea Pig" which is not far off the mark.

The striated muscle tissue is separated by layers of fat, making it a very greasy meal - and difficult to proceed if you want to avoid the fat, which I did. I ate it anyway.

And it made me sick.

Though I am not Catholic, the Mexicans I was with were, and it was a Friday. The Pope made a special dispensation that allows capybara meat to be consumed on days that consumption of meat that is otherwise not allowed. It still made me sick.

Oops

There I was, getting ready to tackle Black Bear Trail from Ouray, Colorado to Telluride, Colorado, thinking that all was well. One of the guys who was planning on making the run with me asked, "did you know you had a differential leak?"

Huh?

He pointed, I gasped. (see above)

So it's Friday morning and I need to get a new seal for the differential on the right rear wheel. I called around and nobody who has the knowledge and equipment to fix it was able to fit me in. I didn't want to beat up the truck on hard trails (I had planned to finish up in Colorado on Friday and move on to Moab, Utah). With little alternative, I limped the rig home (17 hours on the road, only stopping for gas and to keep an eye on the leak).

The Scorpion ('07 Toyota FJ Cruiser) (above) made it back and just needs to be cleaned up. The picture doesn't graphically express how dirty the truck is. With the exception of the trail carnage explained in this blog post, the trip was GREAT.

Poughkeepsie Trail (Colorado)

Today seven of us in FJ Cruisers ran the Poughkeepsie Trail between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado.

The Lower trail.

The sign doesn't apply to the road we were on.

Recovering a truck that was stuck on the trail.

Going uphill over rocks.

A high lake (in background) where Poughkeepsie meets the Alpine Loop.

Two Years Ago

Link back two years:
Black Bear Pass (CLICK HERE)
Telluride and Black Bear Pass (CLICK HERE)

fast forward to the present-
I'm not running Black Bear Pass this year because I want to hit some different trails. However it's a spectacular trail as evidenced by the photos (link above).

This year I'm not staying in Ouray, I'm in Telluride. Telluride is a city with a rich history in the annals of the Old West. Black Bear Pass is the pass at the center (top of mountain) of this photo.

The drive from Ouray to Telluride is very spectacular. Because it's so easy on the eyes, I enjoy the trip daily. These are the San Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado. (Uncompahgre National Forest)

This is a view of Telluride from an airplane above. Note the rugged San Juan Mountains that I'm driving my truck over this week.

Yankee Boy Basin

Four of us got together and ran the old mining road to Yankee Boy Basin. It's not a difficult route. As you get closer to the summit, the road becomes a bit more challenging. The scenery is spectacular.

In one place, millions of tons of rock overhang the old mining road. (above and below)

As you continue up the mountain, you leave the timber as you gain altitude.

 The scree (small rocks that flake off from the granite massif) blocks the glaciated snow in places and forms lakes (below).

The tundra is fragile and it's necessary to take care to stay on the road. The segment of road pictured looks very tame, but there is a steep and winding grade that requires a high-clearance 4x4 to get there.

On the Million Dollar Highway

Colorado State Route 550 from Durango to Ouray is referred to as the "Million Dollar Highway". The average grade is 8%, there are 110 curves and it feels like you're on a mining road the entire distance. In once case a river actually runs over the highway (in a sort of man-made diversion that you drive under) BUT the view is spectacular. Yesterday I crossed the Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations and ran up the Million Dollar Highway.

When I rolled into Ouray, Colorado there was a deer in a front yard. So I snapped a photo - feeling very much the tourist. The deer seemed completely at home.

There are 225 Toyota FJ Cruisers gathered at Ouray, Colorado for the annual Summit. Here are but three. (mine is in the center)

Sedona

The city is named for the wife of the apple farmer who first settled here. It's a beautiful city, surrounded by red rocks that are quite splendid. As with many places, Sedona is better experienced than photographed.

But I digress. I was here today looking at real estate (a vacation home perhaps) and while I was looking at a house with the owner/builder and real estate agent, the name barack hussein obama came up. Those who know me understand that I wear my heart on my sleeve in regard politics so I expressed myself bluntly on the subject -- and waited for the blowback. Both people smiled at me and said that they felt the same way I did -- and asked my why I sugar-coated my feelings.

Then I realized that I was standing in Arizona (a no-obama zone), the State of the Union that barack hussein obama encouraged Americans to boycott because they opposed ILLEGAL immigration. It's the state where the capitol city, Phoenix is quite literally the kidnapping capitol of the world -- because of narcotics cartels and illegal immigrants.

I went to put fuel in my truck and found that gasoline is over .30/gallon cheaper here than it is in California. Then again, Arizonans are not supporting 33% of all welfare recipients in America. Likewise property taxes (should I buy a house) are much lower than they are in California.

I looked at one property in a gate guarded community - that comes with a large gym, pool, racquet club - nice/new and asked what the association fees were. The agent dipped her head and said $650. I was OUTRAGED! I said, "$650 a month is what you'd pay in "occupied America" (a term I use for the Kalifornia Republik)." (**The Mello-Roos assessment in many neighborhoods in Southern California exceeds that amount and all you get is parkway maintenance - people cut the grass on the area next to the road). Red faced, she clarified that it's $650 per year. Another property we looked at had an association fee of $25 per year. After that she was more careful to point these things out in a way somebody from California.

I went to a cowboy restaurant for dinner tonight and at least half of the guys there wore holstered handguns (legal in AZ). There is a very low crime rate in Sedona. In California, nobody is allowed to carry firearms and the crime rate is very high. I felt naked, so I walked out to my truck, pulled on my .45 handgun, and walked back inside. Nobody said anything about it. A deputy sheriff came in for dinner and he wasn't bothered at all by the large number of citizens there who were willing to back him up if there was a problem. Yes, I nervously fingered my California police badge in my pocket in case somebody challenged me. But nobody did. An armed society is a polite society.

Tomorrow I move on to Telluride, Colorado.

Rental Movie: PURPLE HEARTS

There is a hopeless romantic inside of me (deep inside) (very deep inside) (don't bother looking because a camouflaged face with a sniper rifle is looking back at you). Still, I have some favorite films that are based on a romantic premise. This is one of them - a sleeper - circa 1986 -  you may never have seen it. However, it's out there in DVD format.

"This tale of doomed romance is set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War... Ken Wahl stars as Dr. Don Jardian, a Navy medical officer assigned to duty in Vietnam. Jardian is no flag-waving patriot, however; the reluctant warrior is just biding his time until he can return stateside and start a lucrative private practice. Then he meets and falls in love with Deborah Solomon (Cheryl Ladd), a devoted nurse who at first keeps the handsome doctor at bay, disgusted by the avariciousness that led him to choose what Deborah considers a noble profession. Eventually, however, Deborah's selflessness inspires Don and their romance blooms despite their bloody surroundings, leading to a dangerous mission that could separate them forever."

Movie Review: INCEPTION

I'm a tough movie critic - but I just saw INCEPTION at the local theater and it earns the highest marks. I give it an "A". It's one of the best films of the year in my opinion.

Do yourself a large favor and don't read up that much about the movie because spoilers ruin the film. It's an excellent movie and part of enjoying the movie is trying to figure things out.

A Father's Love

Today was a daddy-daughter day. I took Emilie out to lunch today and she wanted to see "The Last Airbender". ONLY a father's love would get me into the movie theater to see that film. My expectations were very low. The movie was worse than I imagined it could be.

It's a movie, made from a cartoon.

Rating 1-10

Acting                              2
Plot and Script                 2
Effects                             2
Casting                            2
Buddhist Message            1
Costumes                         1
Karate                              3 (the karate really wasn't a 3 but it was a karate movie - sort of - so I'm letting my generosity shine through.)

So I give The Last Airbender a generous 2 - meaning, don't see it.



It's $17.00 and hour and a half of my life I'll never get back.

Women

NewSpeak

Bible Song

Samson & Delilah song (from Sampson's point of view)

Marksmanship

Because I have trust in my fellow man, I am completely disarmed except for an old rusty pocket knife that I carry at times out of nostalgia. However there are those in the world who are and were not. And today I would like to tell a story of Tell - a story of marksmanship and tyranny. Tyranny is one of those things that rears its ugly head whenever the government gets too big and the citizen becomes too small.

William Tell was an expert marksman with a crossbow who originally hailed from a tiny town called Burglen, in what is now part of Switzerland. When he was a man, the 14th century Hapsburg emperors of Austria were seeking to dominate this part of Switzerland that Tell called home.

One day, the newly appointed Hapsburg chief of the region raised a pole in Burglen's central square and hung his hat on top of it. He demanded that all the local townsfolk bow before the hat. When Tell passed by the hat without bowing to it, he was immediately arrested.

As punishment, Tell was forced to shoot an apple off the head of his son, Walter, or else both would be executed. Tell had been promised freedom if he successfully shot the apple.

On November 18th, 1307, Tell drew a single arrow from his quiver and split the apple with his crossbow, without harming his son. The town was amazed and the chief was aghast.

When the chief asked Tell about the purpose of the remaining second arrow in his quiver, Tell answered that if he had killed his son, he would have turned the crossbow on the chief himself. The chief became enraged at Tell's defiant response.

As a result, the chief had Tell bound and brought to the chief's ship to be taken to his castle at Kussnacht, the capital, which was several days travel away.

During Tell's journey on the ship, a storm broke out on Lake Lucerne and the ship was capsized. At this moment, Tell managed to escape.

Now a fugitive from the chief, Tell went to Kussnacht himself and waited for the chief to arrive. Upon the chief's arrival, Tell shot and killed him with his crossbow.

Tell's defiance of the chief sparked a rebellion in which Tell himself acted out a leading part. This rebellion eventually drove out the ruling Hapsburgs and lead to the formation of the country we now know as Switzerland.

Why do I post this story on my blog? Because men don't have to stand for tyranny. And because the skill necessary to put ordnance on target is a good skill to have.

Independence Day Thoughts

I went into the Credit Union to make a deposit the other day. The lady on the CCTV screen (bullet proof glass isn't good enough) offered me a car loan at 1.9%. I declined. They push loans at me these days.  It's part of how the government is trying to restore the economy. We borrow TRILLIONS of dollars or just print money and try to throw it into the system to "stimulate" spending.

I met next-door neighbors at COSTCO while loading up on food for our Independence Day party. I live on a short street in a nice neighborhood -- and ignore most of the neighbors' personal lives. The neighbors told me that three houses on our street are up for government auction. They stopped making house payments two years ago - and bought toys (boats, cars, vacations, etc.) with the money they "saved". The toys clog their driveways. These days the government subsidizes people who do that -- with borrowed money.

There is a reckoning coming to this country and it's not going to be pretty. The fools in Washington DC are trying to stave off disaster because they don't know what to do. Their cheerleaders in the state-run/mainstream media swoon in their brutish corruption.

You may call me nostalgic for an America I used to know and you'd be right. Yesterday the US Congress couldn't decide on a budget. So there were no discussions of what our $1.12 trillion dollar budget would be spent on. For the first time in history, they "Deemed" it as having passed, voted and in effect, spent it without even knowing how it would be spent.

We're going to have a party at my house to celebrate Independence Day. Food will flow and there will be fireworks at night. The pool will be warm and inviting for those who want a dip and by all accounting, the weather will be perfect. But all is not well.