Cold is still our weather of note. Teens in many parts of WA and our low was 20°. This photo was taken this am. It is ice. I saw a seagull land on it. Of course when I got the camera out it had gone.

After posting the hate mongers I thought I should show something nice.

A better than average morning. This was November something or other. Middle of sort of I think.

The Radical Right

From the "Progress Report" Dec 8, 2009

RADICAL RIGHT

The Billionaires Behind The Hate

Billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch are the wealthiest, and perhaps most effective, opponents of President Obama's progressive agenda. They have been looming in the background of every major domestic policy dispute this year. Ranked as the 9th richest men in America, the Koch brothers sit at the helm of Koch Industries, a massive privately owned conglomerate of manufacturing, oil, gas, and timber interests. They are best known for their wealth, as well as for their generous contributions to the arts, cancer research, and the Smithsonian Institute. But David and Charles are also responsible for a vicious attack campaign aimed directly at obstructing and killing progressive reform. Over the years, millions of dollars in Koch money has flowed to various right-wing think tanks, front groups, and publications. At the dawn of the Obama presidency, Koch groups quickly maneuvered to try to stop his first piece of signature legislation: the stimulus. The Koch-funded group "No Stimulus" launched television and radio ads deriding the recovery package as simply "pork" spending. The Cato Institute -- founded by Charles -- as well as other Koch-funded think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, produced a blizzard of reports distorting the stimulus and calling for a return to Bush-style tax cuts to combat the recession. As their fronts were battling the stimulus, David's Americans for Prosperity (AFP) spent the opening months of the Obama presidency placing calls and helping to organize the very first "tea party" protests. AFP, founded in 1984 by David and managed day to day by the astroturf lobbyist Tim Phillips, has spent much of the year mobilizing "tea party" opposition to health reform, clean energy legislation, and financial regulations.

STOPPING CLEAN ENERGY: David Koch presents himself as a champion of science. Next year, because of his donations, a wing of the Smithsonian will be named after him. Nevertheless, Koch has done more to undermine the public's understanding of climate change science than any other person in America. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, funded in part by Koch foundations, has waged an underhanded campaign to falsely charge that a set of hacked e-mails somehow unravels the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring. Koch finances the "Hot Air" tour, a nationwide roadshow using a balloon to depict climate change science as "hot air." Despite the brothers' extravagant wealth, Koch's Americans for Prosperity has run populist ads mocking environmentalists as spoiled brats more concerned about their "three homes and five cars" than about economic conditions. In addition to its efforts to misinform the public, Koch Industries has spent nearly $9 million dollars so far on direct lobbying, much of it on climate change legislation. With a team of Koch-funded operatives going as far as attempting to crash the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this week, the brothers may succeed in scuttling any prospect for addressing climate change.

STOPPING HEALTH REFORM: Much of the fierce opposition to health reform can be credited to Koch organizations. As the health care debate began, AFP created a front group, known as "Patients United," dedicated itself to attacking Democratic health care reform proposals. Patients United has blanketed the country with ads distorting various provisions of the health reform legislation, particularly the public option. Patients United even centered a media campaign around Shona Robertson-Holmes, claiming she had a brain tumor the Canadian system refused to treat. However, the Ottawa Citizen reported that Patients United has been exaggerating Holmes' case, and that she in fact had a benign cyst. In their quest to block health care reform, Koch-funded groups have fostered extremism. A speaker with the roving Patients United bus tour repeatedly compared health reform to the Holocaust while an eight-by-five foot banner at an AFP health care rally with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) read, "National Socialist Health Care: Dachau, Germany" superimposed over corpses from a concentration camp. Although many were surprised at the level of anger AFP channeled into Democratic healthcare town halls in August, it wasn't the first time Koch groups have helped to hijack the health reform debate. Back in 1994, Americans for Prosperity, then known as Citizens for a Sound Economy, worked closely with then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich to bring mobs of angry men to health reform rallies with then-First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Health Care Silliness

From: Media Matters for America Date: 8/14/2009 7:20:29 PM Subject: Media Matters: Please give a warm welcome to our death panelists

	August 14, 2009
Media Matters: Please give a warm welcome to our death panelists The role of rationality in our republic was again called into question this week, as the newest conservative lines of attack against health care reform embraced an equally new level of madness. As you surely know by now, Sarah Palin loves Facebook, and last Friday, she wanted to make sure her friends knew the terrible secret hiding in H.R. 3200. "The America I know and love," she wrote, "is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of [President] Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil." The idea that government bureaucrats will soon create "death panels" that will encourage the killing of Americans with disabilities as well as the elderly has now officially entered the conservative media's playbook. The notion is apparently rooted in an extremely selective reading of past writings by Ezekiel Emanuel, coupled with a total misreading of Section 1233 of the House health care legislation, which aims only to reimburse doctors who provide voluntary end-of-life counseling for those on Medicare. As usual, media conservatives didn't let the facts get in the way of fear. Glenn Beck defended Palin's "death panel" statement on Monday, as did Fox News' Andrew Napolitano. That same day, Rush Limbaugh cited an op-ed that, while raising concerns about the end-of-life consultations, called euthanasia talk "rubbish." Then he ignored that statement and proceeded to talk about euthanasia. The narratives continued unabated and were repeatedly given attention by Fox's Brian Kilmeade. (Fox & Friends, it turns out, is a bad place to go for accurate analysis of health care reform.) Beck dismissed the unconvinced, warning that they would "laugh all the way to the death panels," and Ann Coulter said that Emanuel was on her "death list." Beck and Limbaugh also revisited the Nazi theme of the previous week, equating the principles and tactics of the Third Reich to those being employed by congressional Democrats and the media. When the Senate Finance Committee indicated that the end-of-life counseling provision would be removed from its version of the legislation, The Fox Nation impartially reported the news by declaring victory. By the way, in case you had any doubt about how hard the conservative media are working to defeat health care reform (and I know you did), just take a look at this study Media Matters for America conducted. Over a two-day period (August 10 and 11), we tallied up the guests on Fox News who discussed health care. The result: 10 supported progressive reforms, and 63 opposed them. As always, fair and balanced. So what's the good news? Despite it all, there was actually a host of accurate coverage concerning health care reform this week -- a reminder of just how shockingly irresponsible most conservative media outlets are. ABC's Kate Snow dismissed the end-of-life controversy as misinformation started by Betsy McCaughey, and Joe Scarborough put the smear out to pasture as well. The "death panel" assertion was further debunked by CNN's John Roberts, MSNBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman, David Shuster, and Willie Geist, NBC's Anne Thompson, and ABC's chief medical editor, Dr. Tim Johnson. CBS and NBC also ran stories illustrating the urgent need for health care reform, and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta addressed the right-wing "rationing" canard, explaining how rationing occurs all the time under our current system. There was even pushback against the claim that Democrats were advocating a "Canadian-style" system. Sadly, there was also some backsliding. USA Today falsely claimed that the "estimated cost of a health care overhaul" would be $1 trillion, and one CNN report cited Heritage Foundation research while ignoring estimates from the CBO. Most telling was an ABC piece that contradicted the network's own reporting and portrayed the end-of-life issue as still being an open question. It was a classic example of the mainstream media's desire to avoid criticism by presenting both sides of a story -- even when one side doesn't make any sense. Let's hope this Sunday's Meet the Press won't follow suit (David Gregory has promised it won't). Don't show me the money! There was an encouraging development in the ongoing campaign to get hate off our public airwaves. After a host of progressive groups, among them Media Matters and ColorOfChange.org, publicized Beck's recent rant accusing Obama of racism, multiple companies announced that they would no longer advertise on his program -- among them: ConAgra, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Radio Shack, GEICO, Travelocity, and Sargento. Reflecting on the development, The Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart said that it might "pump the brakes on some of these wild statements." We can only hope. Anti-democratic Democrats continue hosting public forums Town hall protests continued this week, all of which were given extensive coverage by Fox News and other conservative outlets (respectful meetings were ignored). Andrew Breitbart attempted to blame any past or future violence on Democrats and their thuggish union allies, while Fox's Megyn Kelly allowed protester Mike Sola to claim that Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer had sent goons to his house to intimidate his family. No, there simply aren't any provocations coming from the right these days. "[W]e need to be very, very careful," Beck warned his audience while appealing for calm. "Somebody's going to do something stupid, and it will change the republic overnight." Nor does Lou Dobbs want anyone to misinterpret his assessment of Howard Dean ("[H]e's a bloodsucking leftist -- I mean, you gotta put a stake through his heart to stop this guy"). When a guest criticized him for calling Dean a "bloodsucking liberal," Dobbs defended himself. "I called him a bloodsucking leftist," he repeated. And just for good measure, Beck and Bill O'Reilly derided an 11-year-old girl's question at Obama's town hall in New Hampshire. Just a normal day at the right-wing office. Conservatives, seeking to exploit the town halls to full effect, also aimed to portray Democrats as being anti-democratic. In a Monday op-ed, Pelosi and Hoyer made a simple declaration: "Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American." It seemed clear enough -- if you attend a town hall, you shouldn't shout people down. But that's not how the right -- as well as the mainstream media -- spun it. The line was twisted, and both representatives were attacked for calling the protesters "un-American." Dobbs chastised their "hypocrisy." Kilmeade repeated the distortion, as did Politico and Fox's Gretchen Carlson and Steve Doocy. Even NBC's Chuck Todd and NPR's Diane Rehm got into the mix. Sean Hannity, of course, wasn't to be topped, saying that "we've had hardworking Americans called Nazis and brownshirts and un-American by Nancy Pelosi." It seemed as though the CNN's Errol Louis and MSNBC's Contessa Brewer were the only ones who took the time to read the editorial before commenting on it. Barack Obama is just like Richard Nixon How, you ask? Why, they both have enemies lists, of course! That's how Beck and Dobbs described the White House's request that supporters pass along emails containing erroneous smears about health care reform. Indeed, Rush nailed the administration's true intent: It's a "snitch website" he declared. It's Obama's "own exclusive, private domestic spying program" -- forget that whole FISA thing. In order to ensure the program's secrecy, the president chose to publicly address the attack during a town hall meeting. Then he asked for everyone's Social Security number and something embarrassing he could blackmail them with. Down the rabbit hole At a few points this week, words were exchanged that simply don't fit the rubric of normal conservative misinformation. Specifically: Michael Savage again warned the public of the "internment camps" that Obama is now readying for his political opponents; Hannity derided the "sick, psychotic, twisted individuals in their underwear in a basement" who monitor Fox and right-wing talk radio (he means us!); Limbaugh once again dismissed a report on the growing threat of right-wing militia violence (because there were no consequences the last time that was done); and Beck explained that health care was not a God-given right for all Americans -- not unless Jesus himself is conducting the physicals. But in the end, it was Beck who truly broke new ground when he said something that was so crazy that even his panel of yes-men were left speechless. He's really hitting his stride. This week's media columns This week's media columns from the Media Matters senior fellows: Eric Boehlert asks why the media don't care when conservatives cry "Nazi" (only when liberals do), and Jamison Foser reminds us that facts matter. Don't forget to order your autographed copy of Eric Boehlert's compelling new book, Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press (Free Press, May 2009). If you use the social networking site Facebook, be sure to join the official Media Matters page and those of our senior fellows Eric Boehlert, Jamison Foser, and Karl Frisch as well. You can also follow Media Matters, Boehlert, Foser, and Frisch on Twitter. This weekly wrap-up was compiled by John V. Santore, an associate at Media Matters.	Forward This E-mail To A Friend Share your concern about conservative misinformation Sign up Did a friend forward you this email? Click here to sign up to receive Media Matters for America email alerts.
You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking here © 2008 Media Matters for America 1625 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20036

From Media Matters of August 7th

More madness from the right.

Media Matters: A long, hot summer of hate

It was an ugly week, and a telling one.

"Global warming is no different than health care, is no different than cap and trade," Rush Limbaugh explained on Monday. "It is simply another branch of liberalism, statism, that is designed to expand government control over individuals and their liberty and their freedom and their income."

"And if this plays out right ... you can do some great damage, culturally, to liberalism," he concluded.

The next five days showed how seriously the right wing is taking those words and how far it is willing to go to confuse and manipulate the public, and to capitalize on the ensuing fear and rage. The goals: the complete delegitimization of Obama and the wholesale destruction of the progressive movement he leads.

Glenn Beck is anti-violence, pro-poison

On Monday, Glenn Beck made clear that he does not support violence in the name of political causes. Sure, he's advocating civil disobedience if need be. Maybe 70 million people voted for Barack Obama less than a year ago, but who cares? "It is time to go to Washington!" he preached on Wednesday. "It is time to stand or sit in the middle of the street if you have to!" But remember: no violence.

Then on Thursday, he poisoned the speaker of the House. Not literally, of course -- just in effigy. On live television. What's the problem? Can't you liberals take a joke?

It was a perfect example of the game conservatives in the media are playing: pouring gasoline on the fire, and then, once they are criticized, saying that they were only kidding. But what does Beck expect his viewers to take away from his broadcasts? After a week of increasingly violent protests at town halls around the country, including one such event at which protesters reportedly mentioned Beck by name when explaining what inspired them, he cannot seriously contend that his rhetoric isn't having an impact, isn't stirring up the rage and confusion that is defining opposition to Democratic reforms. How many times can Beck portray Obama as a traitor who is destroying our national sovereignty, or compare the president's health care proposals to those of the Nazis, before the anger spills over? He calls for calm, and then describes the Obama-led "brownshirts" who are silencing dissent and the "enemies list" the White House is compiling of those who dare to voice their opinions. Meanwhile, it is the Democrats, we are told, who are the irresponsible ones. It is Democrats who are using the language of "pure hate," as Frank Luntz told Beck, to describe the brave patriots who are shouting down members of Congress in defense of liberty. Why are they doing it? Beck's answer? They want to create "more problems" so "they can use the iron fist and crush people." In the meantime, Beck urged his supporters to continue pressuring their members of Congress, even if they have to "hold a meeting ... in front of their house."

There was a hint of accountability this week after several of Beck's advertisers canceled their contracts with his show in the wake of his accusation that Obama hates white people. But the provocation continued. "When will someone stand up and say, "Traitor'?" Beck ranted on August 5. "When will someone stand up and say, 'Thieves'? ... The American way of life is being systematically dismantled and destroyed! The republic is in danger!"

Beck is right. If he gets his way, it is in danger. Reason will have been replaced by rage.

With Obama in office, Lou Dobbs claims to be an independent no more

Lou Dobbs took aim at everyone this week -- and CNN still has his back.

In spite of fresh criticism from sources as diverse as the NAACP and Don Imus, CNN alone among the major cable channels decided that it would refuse to run the ad Media Matters put out calling for the network to address Dobbs' promotion of the "birther" conspiracy theory. Predictably, Dobbs tried to make the entire issue about Media Matters itself, saying the ad "really reveals a lot about" who we are. He continued the theme throughout the week, portraying Media Matters as one of the White House's "attack dogs" and asking Obama to call us off, something Ann Coulter agreed with when she was a guest on his radio show.

It was actually a banner week for Lou. In fact, he officially abandoned his stance as "Mr. Independent," using his radio show to inform Obama (a regular listener, to be sure) that he was "moving from being an independent, sir, to being absolutely opposed to ... any policy you can conceive of!" Dobbs celebrated his newfound opposition by spreading misinformation on health care reform (it's socialism, by the way, because Obama's a socialist), hosting a Michelle Malkin lovefest, defending Limbaugh, raising the specter of incipient fascism, and repeatedly attacking Keith Olbermann, whom he described as a "cretin" and a "psycho" who was "psychologically scarred" from beatings by "girls" that he supposedly suffered as a child. No wonder, then, that Olbermann works at MSNBC, the network Dobbs called a "coven of thugs."

And not to be left behind by his fellow right-wing media celebrities, Dobbs offered support to a caller who threatened to "brawl" with health care reform advocates at a town hall, encouraging others like him to make their "voice heard."

But whatever you do, don't say "birther" on his show.

Rush Limbaugh hates Nazis, which is why he hates Nancy Pelosi

It's hard to imagine, but in certain ways, Rush was actually the most reasonable of the conservative heavy hitters this week ... except for his repeated comparisons of the Democratic leadership to the Nazi high command. Whoops -- never mind.

With the precision the right-wing echo chamber provides on a daily basis, Rush reiterated his heartfelt belief that if Democrats have their way, senior citizens -- the very same group that benefits exclusively from that evil government-run program known as Medicare -- will spend their last days on a "Statist Farm," where they will be unable to see a doctor and suffer at the hands of heartless bureaucrats whose job it will be to "make sure certain people die." On the other hand, if you were a loyal Obama supporter, you know, like an HIV patient, you might get special treatment. Limbaugh also mocked the voice of Kathleen Sebelius (he sure hates it when women talk) and described her work promoting reform as a "campaign of pure fraud and deceit." And he had a warning for some of the crooks in D.C.: "You Blue Dogs are about to see your last days if you vote for this bill." At least he's giving them one more chance to get it right.

Predictably, Limbaugh decried the idea that anti-reform town hall protests were anything other than the work of self-informed citizens. "It's not ginned up, it's genuine. It's real," he explained. Sure, there isn't a single shard of evidence that any well-funded conservative organization has spent a single second spreading lies and advocating aggressive tactics in the hope of furthering the disruptions.

"There is no manufactured anger," Limbaugh said the next day. "The anger is legitimate and real and it is boiling over."

There's that idea again: The anger is boiling over.

In order to truly manipulate people, you need to convince them that they are fighting pure evil. And on Thursday, Rush finally got down to business.

"[T]he Obama health care logo is damn close to a Nazi swastika logo," he said on air. He went on to explain "the similarities between the Democrat Party of today and the Nazi Party in Germany." Key among them: "Adolf Hitler, like Barack Obama, also ruled by dictate." On Friday, he did it again, but blamed Nancy Pelosi for "starting it" because she had pointed out that one conservative protester had made a sign featuring a swastika. There was plenty of photographic evidence to back her up, but Limbaugh still called her "deranged."

Sounding the same call as Beck and Dobbs, Limbaugh explained that Obama's "brownshirts" were coming, sure to make use of the "snitch website" he had set up. He warned of "union thugs" who had "roughed up" a protester -- "Mussolini-type stuff." He accused a St. Louis SEIU local of violence, and then gave out the office's address.

He even latched onto a recent fad in conservative circles: comparing Obama to the Joker, the sociopathic anarchist from the most recent Batman movie. "His goal was to undermine the whole system," Limbaugh said of the character, while actually explaining himself.

He wasn't kidding. The conservative playbook has been laid bare, and it is ugly. In the face of this summer of hate, progressives must persevere. And in so doing, they must be driven not by anger at the thought of who they are fighting against, but by devotion to who they are fighting for: everyone the conservative movement is so content to leave behind.

Too make things worse...when I sign in to blog I see an ad for Ann Coulters right wing screed. I may have to switch blogs.

Energy and Health

Where are the Democrats? Where are the Democrats talking back to the right wing wackos who are spreading lies about President Obama's Health plan and energy plan? Why aren't they all on the air telling the public they are being fed lies by the health insurance industry and the enegy lobby (remember them? They of the millions in campaign contributions who sat with Dick Cheney and wrote an energy bill?).

I am disgusted by the lack of fire in the Democrat's response.We need someone to shut up Rep. Boehner and his ilk. We need more Rachel Madows telling the right wing they are are liars.

But the majority of american people get their news from CNN (Liar Lou Dobbs) or Fox (Liar Liar News all the time doesn't matter who). Are they stupid? Lazy? Maybe both.

We need more bumper stickers bashing the right. We need leadership. Harry Ried ain't up to the job. Either is Nancy Pelosi for that matter.

More Right Wing Nutcases

From "The Progress Report"


'The Wacko Wing'
Last Thursday, CNN President Jon Klein sent an e-mail to a handful of the network's "Lou Dobbs Tonight" staffers informing them that he considered one of the stories pursued by the infamously anti-immigrant host to be "dead." On his radio show the week before, Dobbs declared that President Obama needed to "produce a birth certificate," picking up on a thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory that claims Obama was not born in the United States, and the birth certificate released by his campaign last year was fake. Dobbs repeatedly pushed the "birther" cause despite the fact that his colleagues at CNN have repeatedly called the story "total bull." In fact, while guest-hosting Dobbs' own show on July 17, Kitty Pilgrim refuted the fringe theory, saying, "CNN has fully investigated the issue, found no basis for the questions about the president's birthplace, but the controversy lives on, especially on the Internet." But Dobbs has persisted, attacking his critics as "limp-minded, lily-livered lefties" who hate him because he has "the temerity to inquire as to where the birth certificate was." As Dobbs continued to air the conspiracy theory, Klein backed off his admonition of the host, telling the Los Angeles Times that Dobbs had handled the issue in a "legitimate" manner and "if there are future news pegs, then we have to take that story as it comes." On Sunday, Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz used his CNN show to chastise media outlets that "give the birthers any airtime" to repeat their "ludicrous claims." Kurtz specifically criticized Dobbs for not acting "responsible."BORN IN THE USA: Obama was born on Aug. 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. This date is on the Certification of Live Birth released by the Hawaii Department of Health last year at the request of Obama. Birthers like Dobbs point to the fact that the campaign released the "short form" certification rather than the "long form" -- which is drawn up by the hospital and contains more information -- as the crux of their argument that the President is hiding something. But as FactCheck.org noted when they investigated and debunked claims about Obama's birth certificate, "the Hawaii Department of Health's birth record request form does not give the option to request a photocopy of your long-form birth certificate," and "their short form has enough information to be acceptable to the State Department." Birthers, like conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi, claim that the certificate posted by the Obama campaign was "a false, fake birth certificate," but its authenticity has been independently confirmed by FactCheck.org, which examined it in person and declared that "it is real and three-dimensional." Additionally, on Oct. 31, 2008, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii Department of Health, issued a statement saying that he had "personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Sen. Obama's original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures." Definitive proof of Obama's Hawaii birth has also been found in the archives of two Hawaii newspapers, the Honululu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin, which both printed birth announcements days after Obama was born in 1961. Birth announcements in those papers are placed by the state Department of Health, not the family.


I can't understand idiots like Dobbs. How did he get a job like that being so stupid? But air head TV talking heads are nothing new. Oh where Oh where is Uncle Walter when we need him? Or even Huntley/Brinkley?

Our new best friend. Comes every morning at 5am to have breakfast in the Cherry tree. Eating Cherries of course. Brought the wife and kid tonight. Too dark for a photo of the whole family.

So, June was the last post. What has happened since then. School is out. Mom was here for a few days. A very nice visit.

Also since then I have actually joined the Whidbey Golf & Country Club. I have played 36 holes since then and parred two. Last Sunday it seems I broke Vince's 3 Wood and am having a new shaft put on. I was using the 3 Wood as a driver cuz I wasn't hitting the driver worth a hoot. Today I went with the driver again and am consistantly hitting a good tee shot. That does not mean that on the 18th hole I didn't dribble the ball about 20 yards. Good thing no one was in the clubhouse to see that.

My pitching and chipping is still a laugher. And getting out of a sand bunker is achingly bad. Today I managed to avoid the sand until the 14th hole or so. I did get out but it took three tries and was rewarded with 3 lousy putts before I put the little white ball in that little hole.

But am I having fun? YES!! Am I getting better? Yes. Less emphasis then you noticed...uhuh...I am getting better but fun is more important. Sure. Okay...getting better is very important but having fun is near the top. I mean I have only been at this for a little over nine weeks.

I did take a series of five lessons from the club pro. I may take another lesson or two but will spend some time on the practice tee and on the practice putting green. Maybe even the sand trap.

What else? Put some new plants in the garden. Dug up some old ones that had died in last winter's cold spell. Built a new deck. Okay...it is a sort of play deck close to the bluff. It is only 8'X12'. Big enough for a couple of chairs and a little table. Gives us a different perspective of the water as we have our coffee on the "deck".

It only took the better part of three days to put up the deck. It started out as a simple little deck made from left over lumber from our regular deck when we expanded the stairs. Well, that stuff was scrap. Leave off the "s" and you get it. So it was off to the lumber yard for 17 12' 2x6's. It is very sturdy. Sitting on 6 concrete blocks with saddles and 2x6's for joists. It is not going anywhere unless the whole bluff goes and that would require 25 feet to go first.

So golf and building decks has kept me out of trouble. Ina has been battling the blackberries on the bluff and is doing a marvelous job. I may pitch in soon.

Later.

Wahoo!!

Got my Laptop back today via FedEx and it did have all my email addresses intact. It never did have my snail mail address book on it. That was on my desktop which, BooHoo, was almost wiped clean. So it will be a slow rebuilding of our address book. Might have to make a hard copy of it too.

Mom is here for a few days. Tomorrow I will be going to a Mariner's game with my brother and some other Phoenix folk. Ina and Mom will find plenty to keep themselves occupied while I am gone.

So, anybody reading this, send us your address so we can include you in our Xmas list. Ho Ho HO!

GOLF?? Me??!!

Okay. Since some have asked. Okay only one person. Me? Golf? Yup.

Why? Good question. When I was in Arizona for spring training I entered a drawing for a free round of golf. I actually entered twice. Once with my name and once with my brother's. Won both times. Could not figure out how to pass for William Brown so did not claim that one. Bill does not golf nor want to. Both notifications were by cell phone while my brother and I were heading home.

Anyway, I decided to claim the one for Columbia Point Golf Course in Richland. Then I proceeded once home to tell my good friend Vince about it and invite him to help me use it. Well, sure did I know how to golf? Of course I knew "how" but did I have any experience? No.
So, I did the only thing possible. Signed up for a series of lessons from the club pro at the Whidbey Golf and Country Club. Six weeks later and five lessons later and one nine hole round with Vince, he and I headed over to Eastern Washington. We decided to play three rounds. One at Sun Willows in Pasco. One in Richland at Columbia Point (the freebee). And one at Canyon Lakes in Kennewick.

Was it hot there? Sure. It is Eastern Washington. 84° or so on Monday when we arrived for our 1:46 tee time at Sun Willows. Greens were kind of slow. Did I play well? Come on?? What do you think?

We stayed at Vinces brother's house in Pasco. Nice guy. Nice Wife and we ate well and drank too much wine. Had a good time though.

Tuesday morning we head off to Richland. 10:02 tee time. We got paired with a fellow who had his non playing wife driving the cart. Yes a cart. I'd be dead if I had to walk all that in that heat with a bag on my back. He was from the South. Nice guy though fairly good golfer. Greens had been sanded (means they lay sand on them to keep the grass a certain way or something) and were a tad slow. Same answer as before.

Finished about 2 something. Went back to Vince's brother's house. Got cleaned up (shower to get rid of sweat and salt) went out to dinner at their fav Italian place. Authentic Italian by Italians from Rome. Really good. More wine.

Wednesday morning 10:10 tee time. Paired with a fellow and his wife. She needs lessons as much as I do to teach her to keep her head down. Anyway, greens were better. Interesting course. Some tees looked way down on fairways and then when on fairway you looked up at green. Lots of slopes on rough. I hate slope lies. Did I play well? Yeah sure....

After we finished about three we headed home but not after a stop at Vince's brother's fav vineyard. Bought a couple bottles of wine. Stopped in North Bend for dinner. Home about 10pm.

Analysis of playing. Learned a lot. Need to practice chipping and putting. Also need to stay out of the sand traps. This was impossible at Columbia Point. Lots and lots and lots and lots of bunkers there.

I would say about 80% of my drives were okay. One actually was about 180 yards. 20% were, well, atrocious. Hook, Slice, Fade, Draw, Dribble...whatever you call them, they were bad. My fairway shots depended on the lie. If it was on a side slope...well forget it.

On the 18th at Columbia Point, I was lying 120 yds from the pin. I was going to be cautious and go left around the water hazard that was about 90 yds away. Vince convinced me to go for the glory. The game was on the line. So I took out my trusty 5 iron and would you believe it? I hit a shot that landed just behind the pin. I think I got a bogey on that one. Lousy putting.

Out of 54 holes, I think I parred two. On several holes I was on the green in three but eighty putted. Slight exageration maybe. All in all I had a lot of fun. Vince was not too happy with his game on Wednesday, but hey it was hot.

Was it worth it? Sure. Got to spend time with a good friend and lots of sunshine. Lots of laughs. At least I was laughing. Will I play more golf? Sure. Just not sure how much. Vince has loaned me an older set of clubs. He loaned me a pair of older shoes too but I needed to buy my own to fit so my feet would not be pinched.

All in all, my "free" round of golf cost me about $360. It was well worth it. Did we take photos? No. Why? Too busy playing golf.

There you have it.

New Rant

Getting tired of looking at the same old rant? Me too.

No rant. Just a new thing to look at. Getting ready to golfing for three days in E. Washington. What have I done?

Golf

Today was a red letter day. No, not a "Scarlet A" branded on my forehead, but a day recognised the world over as the "1st Golf Lesson for me"!!

Since I won a free round of golf at a new course in Eastern Washington (the Columbia Point Golf Course) in Richland while I was in Arizona, which I decided to sort of share with my buddy Vince, I needed lessons. Today was the day.

At 9am I met the pro and he started me off with the "pitching wedge", then moved on to the 6 Iron and then the driver. He was patient and very good. He could see my bad moves and told me how to fix them. Which I tried mightily to do. Some success and a lot of balls going the wrong direction. Not behind me but way off to the right (fading) and often off to the left and a couple dribbling down the grass in front of me.

Today was an hour lesson with another hour and a half spent by myself practicing what he had shown me. I could sense when I did things right and I could also sense when I did something awful. Which was often. But I felt good about it. Will have four more lessons and lots of practice in between. All so I can play Columbia Point? Who knew?

Watch out Tiger!

New Keyboard

Trying a new keyboard that more closely resembles the laptop keyboard. A tad smaller than old ergo keyboard but is the same shape as laptop so I do not have to relearn the keyboard every time. Has most of the same function of which I used maybe three. We shall see.

New keyboards come with their matching mice now. But I wanted to use the old Logitech mouse. I like its feel. Now I have another spare mouse. There is already one out in the garage. Oops gave away my secret. Well, it's not a secret, I just stuck it out there. Who knows when one might need a spare or two?

Spring and Cats

Well, we did have three days of spring with sun and warmer weather. Now we are back to gray. 500 shades of gray but gray nevertheless. But I don't mind. Being a webfooted native gray is a part of life here in the beautiful NW.

Tried to take Bitsy to the vet today. I thought she would hurt herself in her struggles when I tried to put her into the cat carrier, so I stopped trying to put her in. I hope she forgives me. Reason for the vet? She (the cat) has not eaten in several days. She took some water this morning but only sniffed at her food again. Thought sew was doing better yesterday when she took a few bites. It's as if she does not know what the stuff is.

The cat took off like a shot when I dropped her. I made the mistake of having the garage door open and out she went. Probably gone into hiding again as she did for a couple of days. Did not see her until she decided it was time for bed. Then she comes to the sliding door in the bedroom and meows. That is her usual mode of operation so she hasn't forgotten everything.

Yesterday in the nice warm sun I pruned some troublesome branches from our cherry tree. That tree sure has been abused in it's long life. It was here when we moved in and from what I know it was planted over 30 nyears ago. It usually has a lot of cherries though we don't many of them as the birds, Racoons and neighbors get most. The neighbors with permission so dont get excited about bad neighbors. Some say to put netting over the tree. I don't mind sharing the cherries with the critters in our yard. It is fun watching a momma racoon and her kits climb into the tree and try to get the ones on the ends of the branches. Sometimes they tumble out or mom has to come and rescue them as they hang onto the limb about three feet off the ground.

The other day we watched 5 eagles soaring and swooping down onto the water after fish. I assume it was fish they were after. Did not see anything on the surface. The eagles would hitr the water and fly up and come around again. Did not see any thing in talons. Could have been too small or they did not get anything.

I am still waiting for a whale sighting. They are down the island but only one sighting while I was gone was in our area. One must spend a lot of time looking out the window or working outside quietly. Quietly? Yes. So you can here the exhalation of the whale as it surfaces. Soon maybe? One lives in hope.

WhooHoo Sunshine!

A sunny day today. Ina has gone to Kent to our nieces baby shower. I mowed the lawn!! Sure needed it too. We are approaching the time of year where we will have to mow about every five days or so. By late July though we will have brown grass and no longer need to mow. We do conserve water by not mowing. It's not a great environmental thing (though some think so) it is because we are dependant on a well. We have 40 lots in our development and 26 houses hooked up so far. We have been barely able to squeeze the necessary amount from our two wells to satisfy the state that we can accomodate all 40. But conservation is still a must.

Sure felt good today to throw open a couple of windows and leave the doors open and air out the house. Fresh mown grass smell is wafting in now. Must be spring.

Last Night BBRT

Finally...almost home. If you consider Oregon almost home. Which I do. Tomorrow home!!!

I miss my sweetie!! And my own bed. Couch. Deck etc etc etc. It's been a lot of fun but it's time to be home again.

San Fran

A dash through San Fransisco. We left Oceanside on Sunday and drove to Santa Barbara. Stayed at the same place we stayed in two years ago on the way to Spring Training. Had dinner at the Endless Summer Restaurant where we did two years ago. Bill had the fish and chips again. I had Dolphin (the fish kind or Mahi Mahi as it is known). Don't think I had that last time.

So we left SB and headed north. Decided to skip Big Sur and Hiway 1 as it is slower than 101. Made a dash through San Fransisco with a short stop at a Tully's to get a coffee. Got a parking spot right in front right on Van Ness. So now we are in Santa Rosa. Two days to get home. Easy. Will probably stop somewhere in Northern Oregon tomorrow and then make the dash for home and and my sweetie and kitty. In that order too.

Sorry San, we wont be stopping in Shady Cove. Yeah Yeah..I know... Maybe next year. I'm sorry I missed you at Mom's.

The weather has been great the whole trip. Except for the day we hit the dust storms and then the rain after we left the Salton Sea. Since then sun all the time. A little cooler than normal they say but okay by me. I am after all a NW kid.

Time to find a dinner. The pools up here in CA are "seasonal". Which means they dont open them until May 1st. Pshaw!

I sure am ready to be home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dust and More Dust

Drove through a couple of dust storms today. We left Indio and decided to see the Salton Sea. Which neither of us had ever seen. In Mecca on the way down had to almost stop the dust was so thick from the wind blowing it about. Stopped at the visitor center at the Salton Sea. Very interesting. A big mistake actually. Saw Pelicans and Egrets (white pelicans with black on the wings and the Egrets were tall and skinny). We did see what I think was Cattle Egrets just before we saw a gazillion cattle.

The Salton sea is very large. Takes awhile to drive around. When we headed west on Hiway 78 we ran into another set of dust storms. You could hear it rattling off the car. Dust? More like large sand grains. Car came through okay though. We stopped and took pictures of a strange bug. (See above)

As we got to the top of the pass we hit the rain. Lots of rain and lots of wind. Basically it washed the car of all the dust we got earlier. Almost a clean car as we drove into Oceanside. It is about 67° here in Oceanside. Sun is out but windy and the temp has not recovered from the rain and wind earlier in the day.

Time for the pool even if a tad cooler.

What to do? What to do?

Oh Bother. The weather is turning for the worst. We have arrived in Indio, CA for the night to scope out the weather and decide if we can head north or head to the coast for the trip home.

The weather is going to be bad Sat. nite and Sunday. Getting better by Monday or so but we will be out of the warmer climes by then. Pshaw. Pshaw.

The Best Western in Indio has a very large pool. That was the first thing we did on arrival. The pool is only 4 ft deep but that is okay. The next big decision is where to eat.

We have to find a new place again next year. I called the owner to ask if we could reserve the house for that same week next year. No. She said we were the last VRBO rental she was doing. She did not say why and I did not feel it was my business to ask. So, back to the VRBO web site to find a 5 bedroom house. We liked this house. Very nice pool and great location. Oh well.

I called Ina at home and no answer. Then I remembered Sandee and Jack were in Kent so I called Mom's. No answer. I called Ina's cell phone. No answer. Must be at Pat and Ray's or maybe David's. I could call them all I guess. But...

The Mini continues to drive great. I really like driving my Mini!!!

Fun in the sun

What can one say about being in Arizona and splashing in a very nice pool, watching baseball and eating way too much at a variety of restaurants? Wahoo? We've had a lot of sun and lots of "pool time" as my brother calls it.

Most days were getting up, swimming, showering, eating, going to games, swimming, eating and lots of laughing. Of course, since I had a sinus reaction of some kind to AZ, I needed to take some drugs. My eyes watered, my nose ran and my sinus (only the left side) hurt. I had to cancel a dinner with an old work mate and her sister on Monday due to the sinus. But by Tuesday I was okay and did not look like a one eyed squinty goof.

I think the best day came on Wednesday when I went for a drive and passed by the "Turf Soaring School". I drove by and went on to Wickenburg after trying to see Lake Pleasant just for fun but I did not want to pay $6 to see the lake. On the way back to the house I decided to see what was up at the soaring school.

Sure glad I did.

Got to see Lake Pleasant from 5000 feet. The flight was just under an hour and counts as my first sail plane lesson. Not that I did much learning. I just for the most part looked out and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Wahoooooo!!!!

I did take the stick for about two minutes but decided I did not want to be nervous and told the pilot that I would just enjoy the ride. I sure did!!

Today is cloudy and our last day and last game. Yesterday was hot. Today may be hotter but I hope the clouds keep it cooler. Under 90 is what I mean by cooler. Tomorrow my bro and I head for home. We still do not know which way we will go yet.

We have to find a new house to rent too. The owner is no longer renting after our stay. We were not the cause she assured me. So it's back to VRBO and a search for a 5 bedroom rental. Such is life.

Sunny Arizona

After a few days on the road we have arrived. Sunny Arizona is keeping up its image. Very pleasant drive from Blythe to Peoria. Arrived at the house, checked things out and took a dip in the pool. Nice end to three days.

We had nice weather the whole drive. Ate too much but sure enjoyed it all. We had stops in Canyonville, OR. Woodland, CA (Davis) and Blythe, CA (on the border with AZ). In Woodland we swam in the pool then spent the evening with our niece's family including her mom and dad. The kids were a little wound up with all the company but still cute. It was good to see Danette and tell her how much we cared and how glad we were that her treatments are over.

Tomorrow we have a game in Peoria. It is just a 15 minute drive to the Mariner's stadium. A lot closer than we have ever been.

Maybe they will win?

On the road Again

Well, today at o'dark early, I took off for my brother's house in Bellevue. There we loaded his stuff into the Mini and we were off. A very nice day for driving. Sunny but cold and full of WSP's. And one of them decided to sting me. Oops. But Officer... So a ticket for 70 in a 60. I really did think it was a 70 zone. $218!!!! Ouch. And I have to respond in 15 days. I will need to call and find out about delays due to travel or something.

We had lunch (at Denny's of course) in Woodburn and gassed up (the car). We arrived in Canyonville at the Best Western about 4pm. Checked in had a drink and set up laptops. Will head over in a bit to the 7 Feathers Casino to see about dinner. There will be no gambling.

Mad March Weather

Looking outside one would think "Spring" but step outside and one would be freezing ones butt off!! 22° this morning! In March! In the great NW?! Strange weather. It is not unusual for it to spit a little snow but the temps are never below freezing. Not this close to the middle of March anyway.

Oh well. At least it appears to be sunny in Oregon and California. Getting packed for the Annual BBRT to Arizona. This year is a "Go south, turn left at LA kind of year. Coming home will be different depending on weather. The return route? We will play it by ear.

Time to do some last minute shopping for suntan lotion (well, more like winter dry skin lotion right now) and stuff. Might see whats in drawers first though.

Getting ready is always a bit of a bother. Sometimes I wish I could travel but just buying what I'm going to wear the next day and throw what I just wore away. Just a jacket, shoes and toiletries. Only need a very small bag. Just think of all the different styles and fashions one could go through in ones travels.

Dream on...

A long line of Lunches

Yesterday we went down to Seattle to have lunch with friends. A coupl10e of them live a block away and the others in North Seattle. Why a "Long Line of Lunches"? We have now been doing this for over 21 years. That's a lot of lunches. About 5 or six a year. We shoot for every two months but I guess the average has been nearer five. So about 105 lunches with so much laughter if you could use it for fuel I am sure we could power a moon launch.

This was originally a church group at our old church in Seattle, Elim Baptist. It was supposed to meet a couple of times then disband and we would form a new group of people within the church. Well, we did that. Then met again anyway after our other groups. We just kept on going even after most have left that church.

Even though we have been laughing and sharing for over two decades we have no intention of stopping anytime soon. It is good fellowship and good friendships. Next time it is our turn to host the group.

The drive down yesterday was quite pleasant. The sun was out for part of the drive. We did a short stop in Barnes and Nobles books in Northgate on the way in. Bought a whole bunch of books. I needed a couple for AZ and Ina needed some to fill in the blanks while I am gone.

Coming home we were anticipating a bit of snow as the weather man had been predicting it. Yes there was snow. Just not a lot of it. It was very spotty. We would drive along on very dry pavement then suddenly be in a snow storm. But nothing was sticking. Thank you very much.

Last night we had a bunch of hail. Woke us up as it was hurled against the sliding door in the bedroom by the wind. Now it is sunny and cool. About 42°. Big fluffy clouds to the south showing the convection currents in the atmosphere. Dead calm wind wise. The water is almost glassy. A good day.

Oldies

Today was a sunny cold day and great day for a drive into Seattle to have lunch with all the old retired farts from the City of Seattle. Good to see old friends and catch up a little.

I even had time to stop and get the Mini washed on the way down. Had time to stop at the Mt Vernon Co-Op for some things for my upcoming trip to sunny (warmer - much warmer) Arizona. The freeway through Everett did not back up in either direction today. Must have slipped through a warp in space.

Found out about a couple more people who will be in AZ at the same time going to ball games. I usually call their cell phones during the game to see if they are there and then we meet and jabber a bit. Might even have dinner with a few of them if they don't have other plans.

Getting excited about the 2009 BBRT. We are expecting more cold weather and possibly more snow this weekend and next week. Yuk. It's Spring already! No more snow! Okay. It's not officially Spring but ... who cares? I have Daff's who think it is.