Off I go.

It appears to be 7 AMish and this is the first time in four weeks that I have gotten up on time for my bowling class. I guess wrestling is important enough for me to bother with getting up. Anyway, I am off to Embassy and the Excel for the next few nights and days and so will not be bringing forward any thought provoking ideas. I will, however, see a bunch of folks from around the state and perhaps even stop in at Hamline for a brief respite from the overly-manly nature of the state tourney. Just might have to get my fem-fix.
I will explain this once: Wrestling is the oldest and greatest sport in the world. There is nothing else that pits the wills of two men against each other in quite this way. This pulls at the pure, animal urge of all humans to be dominant in their own worlds. This is one of the last bastions of physical one-on-one combat that is left for the fighters of this world. I can think of nothing that is better suited for taking up my winters and the winters of young people around the state.
I say, combine the oldest sport in the world with the oldest profession in the world and get these fellas some real helpful cheerleaders.

Peace.

Wow, those conservatives.

No real post here, I just want people to go to this website and slide it over the the side.
Check out the add with this label:
"The REAL AARP Agenda"
These folks are just too hilarious. Although, it does appear that my oft grumpy grandmother is many times more tolerant than many of the young people I meet these days.
By the way, that ad is a link to this place:
USA Next

R.I.P.

Hunter S. Thompson

Biography

Quotes
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

Beavis:

Why is it that they call it "taking a dump" and not "leaving a dump"? You aren't taking it anywhere. Funk Dat!

Odd occurance.

This evening I attended a sporting event involving the males of the St. Charles high school and Lewiston-Altura high school. What was I doing there? I have no idea. I didn't even realize that that is what I was to be attending when I left my home. I was under the impression that this game was between the Saints and the Eagles. Danged kids had me tricked.
I did get the chance to yell things a lot though. I enjoy waiting for quite moments to yell because otherwise people can't hear as well and I feel that my words are very necessary for the people to hear.
"I LOVE YOU LANCE!!!!"

Peace.

I am old.

My memoirs are forthcoming. Or at least a short essay on my standard beliefs.

I believe that man is born to work hard and be honest, but society quickly breaks that base.
(Edit: Actually, this in not true. We are born without a concept of honesty and we naturally push borders and take as much as we can get until someone stops us. So...I believe that man is innately out to take over the world, society just crushes that dream...unless they are rich.)

That is a sample, the essay will consist of other such useless thoughts.

Oh, fun fact, if you checked out the one comment on the last post you would know that I am now a landowner. Now I need to make a trip to Nepal to do some work to make a nice garden (for the poor to eat from) on my land.

Peace.

A thought that I found interesting:

All men-and women- are sadly, weakly human. They are inclined to expect more than they are likely to get, and to expect it to come easier than they will or should.

I have read things close to this several times, and I think it holds true, for the most part. We all more than a little lazy and to content to assume that things will come our way, even if we don't deserve it.

Peace.

Oh, one further note, I am going to try and make a comeback with the Eyotan site mostly because I have nothing better to do. So check that out or you will never know what is going down with the po-dunk folks from Nowheresville.

I have seen the light.

Well, that does it, I have now decided to abandon Eyota and move to Goodhue in the future. Those kids have heart and strength, unlike the Eyota kids. They do lack a bit in the brains though. But I can handle that. I think this predisposition to use all of their athletic abilities comes from their having one school K-12. These kids get to see the local studs everyday from age 5 on up. This, I believe, has quite an effect on the children. Also, they all have the crazy farming strength.

I might be the least able person to use power tools that I have ever met. We were putting in a bay window at Tyrel's house yesterday and somehow Tyrel and I are capable of only making our cuts correctly half of the time. It would be nice to have some skill with power tools, but I am content to be the greatest ever with an ax.

Also, twice this weekend my bed was inhabited by two men, and for some reason I wasn't even one of the people sleeping in my bed. It seems that I have lost some of my range as head lion. Darn it.

Oh, goodness, I am going to be late for my 4-H Alumni Tea and Coffee party. I must ske-daddle.

Peace.

A Useless But Slightly Entertaining Post.

Hmmm, been a bit since I simply talked about what I am up to and I figured out why. I don't do anything. All I seem to do is go to school, go to my internship, work at my g-parents, and then occasionally party on weekends.

Last weekend, Brad and I disapeared for saturday night to make sweet love in the woods somewhere in Wisconsin. So, yeah, River Falls was pretty fun, but I am still amazed by the fact that any college town would not have a 24-hr Perkins, McDonald's, or seemingly any 24-hr business of any kind; except, of course, the vast shirt-stealing horny drunk girl business. Oh well, at least Danny got a shirt out of the weekend too then. I was going to give it to Sarah, but Danny has bigger breasts and that wins everytime.
Also, and this is amazing, Bob Predmore did not have a single bit of food in all of his room or at least I couldn't find any. I went from 4pm saturday afternoon until 11am sunday morning without food and not much water either. Now that is not too long, but I did not ask to cut weight anymore and I simply thought it was interesting that Bobby wouldn't have a crumb for me. He must clean out the fridges to make room for fluids each weekend. Good thinking.
Brad and I are law breakers. I even vandalized a sign on a hiking trail in Red Wing. There is probably a warrant out for us in Hazard County now. Cool beans. Oh, Brad, let me know how our pretty pictures turned out. Hmmm, I just thought of this: did I leave my camera at Bob's? I had best check my glovebox and I hope I don't get it back in a couple weeks with any tasteless butt crack pictures.

My grandmother is one funny lady. She gives me money sometimes for the work I do out there, and she does it in funny ways. The other day I got a $25 handshake with the five around the twenty and the message: "Here is a few dollars for food money at wrestling tonight." I should also note that she was going to wrestling that night as well. It is fun to catch her digging out money when she thinks I am not looking. It doesn't work to refuse it either, not that I would, I am too darn poor to do anything of that sort.

Turns out that I am an instinctive coon-basher. The other day I was wandering in the woods when I suddenly saw a big ol' coon staring at me out of a little gully. By reflex I grabbed my dog and reached for a club. It be in my blood I think. Turns out, it was dead in another man's trap and I didn't get to kill it, but I probably did help out my dog by grabbing it and not letting it get caught up in the other traps around there.

Yeah, I really am a nature nerd. I now keep gardening and plant books next to me at the computer, everywhere else too, and seem to read them constantly. I sure hope my g-parents don't mind me taking down a few trees and attempting to change out a good number of the plants there for more desirable native trees, shrubs, and flowers. Also, I just gained a worker to help me with the work who will be available in a couple weeks. I have the task of keeping Dan Gray's weight down, that means that I get to put him to work with an ax. Good for him and good for me.

Alright, I will come back with a nerdy, environmental sissy type post next time. I am sure anybody who reads this just loves all that.

Peace.

"I was spottin' those raccoons..."

I had an interesting experience in the woods the other day, and I just might tell you folks about it some day on here. For now, Brad will be the only person to share knowledge of that experience. Instead of relating that story or telling about my weekend (I will probably get to that too), I am going to give this post a real purpose and even respond to a comment from one of my few readers.

Sarah said: "Okay, so, what? The hoover damn is harming you how? You will be a Minnesotan for the rest of your life."
And she is right, I need to give you folks some information that will perhaps hit a little closer to home. I have a larger tree-hugging agenda, but I should start with some small stuff. Did you know that "just eight percent of rivers and 14 percent of lakes have been tested" in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act? And of those that have been tested, 1,900 fail to meet the standards set forth by that act. Most violations showed contamination with mercury, phosphorus, or fecal coliform bacteria (cow and other animal shit which host e. coli. and salmonella).
Oddly, despite our failure to meet the standards set forth for water quality as well as standards in other areas, we aren't planning any increases in funding for our environmental programs, but instead (in real dollars) are spending less now than in 1999. At this point our funding for the Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Board of Water & Soil Resources, Office of Environmental Assistance, and Minnesota Department of Agriculture all total up to 1.35% of our general fund expenditures. Our governor is leading the way in this and, also strange, the Republican held legislature is even recommending more funding than Pawlenty. I guess Timmy-boy is under the impression that inflation does not apply to the money spent by our environmental agencies and that they will be able to achieve more while being restricted more and more by their funding.
Oh, goodness, I am getting offtrack. Back to water...soil erosion is still a widespread problem across the state (even at my grandparent's place, but I am working on that) and, along with all that soil, many tons of cow shit and other pollutants are entering into our water systems and eventually into the water table. We have caused this, in large part, through our agricultural practices. We farm land right up next to streams and lakes with no thought to a buffer zones that could stop the sediment and/or filter out some of these toxins. Currently, Minnesota is having its first batch of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands come to the end time for the contracts that protect them. This program is used to pay farmers not to till or farm marginal cropland that is near areas needing protection, often water areas. This is a program that needs support and advertisement as it is a viable option for preventing some pollution until the time that we learn about the greater benefits of letting these lands lay undisturbed instead of the slight monetary profit that can be gained from raising crops on these lands.
This is just one program in Minnesota that I would like to draw more attention and, perhaps, more funding to. We have a lot of issues (not just about the water) within our own state and I will try to help out with getting out awareness about these things. I'll try to leave the Colorado River for another time.
Minnesota is better than most other states in its efforts to protect the environment, but, really, does this do more to speak well for us or to speak poorly for the rest of the nation.

As always, comments and questions would be great as they inspire me for future writings and force me to do research to back up claims that I make.

Here are some good links for environmental issues and activism in Minnesota:
Minnesota Environment Partnership
-Contaminated Waters
-State Budget
Minnesota Conservation Federation
National Wildlife Federation (I totally want to get certified.)

Peace.

Save the Minnesotan Farmers

Alright folks, this could get me flagged as a threat to the U.S. , but, this is the new theory, it is time to bring down the Hoover Dam. By one means or another, the resevoir should disapear. The people of the Southwest do not need it to drink, but those sorry SOB farmers of California seem to be using a good bit of it. Where did these a-holes get the idea that they should be farming the desert?
The desert is decent for cities and tourist attractions and sometimes for old people, but not farming. It simply isn't efficient. But...through government subsidies and government payment for dams and things of that sort it became possible for large amounts of water to be saved up and then used for field irrigation. This is why we now have the biggest dairy producer in the country as California and oodles of family farms are failing across the real dairy belt.
Without the over production of goods by these mega-farms we would not need welfare for farmers (which actually help corporate farms more than family farms) to pay for their crops or to pay them not to plant a field.
Also, for those folks who are sick of those damn immigrants, this will help your bigoted ass as well. You see, if these farms aren't around, there isn't work for the immigrants who can't get real jobs that aren't paid in cash and for which you have to be a citizen. (I see flaws.)
So the only option is the removal of most of the dams in the western United States which have already caused large amounts of ecological damage. Although, if this global warming thing turns out to be real, we might need this water. You decide.

By the way, this argument was created in my environmental geology class and came purely from my head and ass. I don't currently have any facts to back it up, but it makes sense in my mind and follows the rules of common sense. Plus, if I hadn't just given you that warning, you would have totally believed me that it was a good idea. It just makes that much sense.

Also I will include a couple of links that talk about the environmental problems created by these beasts. This is just an add on (although probably more important) to the problems created for farmers around the country.
Page from some dirty hippies.
Problems of dams in general.
More Environmental impact.
My next task is to find out if I am right about where the water from these resevoirs is going. I remember being told something along the lines of what I am claiming once. This may be a bit trickier to find than the other stuff.
(Updated: 11:02 pm Feb. 3, 2005)

Well, here is something. This has to do with Lake Powell, the second largest resevoir in the U.S. behind Lake Mead which is created by the Hoover Dam.
Anyway, from the article: "85% of the water goes to agricultural production, and a relatively small amount is used in urban areas."
The bastards, soon I will have the info. for Lake Mead.
(Updated: 11:11 pm Feb. 3, 2005)

Alright, I guess it isn't the Californians to blame for the Hoover Dam, that is the Nevadans and Arizonians. A lot of the California water actually comes from Lake Oroville and from the groundwater. But it is still misused I say. I will look around and find up what problems have arisen from this one, but first I should finish up with the Colorado River dam system.
(Updated: 11:29 pm Feb. 3, 2005)

This is my last update on this page and when I have fully formulated my arguments I will create a new post anyway. Lake Mead is responsible for the water for the Las Vegas area (90% of it in fact), but for some reason, Lake Mead is half full, but still is larger than necessary. I mean, what the hell is Lake Tahoe doing next to Reno, just sitting there? The Hoover Dam is excessive and simply allows Americans to practice extremely wasteful water use techniques while causing irreversable damage. Well, actually, a lot of it is reversable. Get rid of it, it is just a terrorist attack waiting to happen. We have dammed up our rivers excessively and now we are starting to see some of the effects. In the Midwest people are actually working to help fish move up and down the rivers and helping to keep the environmental impact to a minimum. I will be back with more at some later date.
(Updated: 11:42 pm Feb. 3, 2005)

Peace.