Backyard deversions

I took time away from blogging to work on a new novel then I found a house I liked, moved into it, and busied myself with turning the house into something that is truly me.

My wife enjoys her bird feeder, I enjoy my fish and we like to relax around the pond. We caught a yellow finch trying to peck a seed from a sunflower and the koi were in a feeding frenzy, even jumping out of the water to grab a piece of food.

Hulu

What does that mean?

President Barack Obama said the U.S. is ready to cope with "any contingencies"

The above was said in response to Kim Il's threat to consider boarding a North Korean ship an act of war. When I step out my back door the birds on the bird feeder fly away. Ready to cope is political double-speak for "I don't know what the hell I will do but I'll convince the American public that even if I'm frozen in fear it was the "right thing to do" and "change you can believe in."

I just wonder is pulling the troops from one war zone to another war zone will allow the one zone's fire to flare up again and put us in the position of fighting two unwinnable wars. Maybe we should just declare bin Laden legally dead since he hasn't been seen in seven years. The only way to prove he isn't is to appear live and in person to the masses and then we can kill him for sure.

Maybe the campaign slogan for the next President can be "a person you can trust." I certainly don't trust this one.

Heating up the planer

Wouldn't this account for gloal warming?





20 Things You Didn't Know About ... the Summer Solstice
Why Galileo wasn't in a partying mood during the 1633 solstice, and more

By Dean Christopher
Provided by Discover Magazine

18. And the Sun keeps getting brighter. Models of stellar evolution estimate that the Sun is about 40 percent more luminous today than it was when the Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago.

Murder on Iron Mountain

Nice title for a murder mystery but there wasn't exactly a murder. The scenario was a substitute mail carrier was attached by three men and shot. His house was later found to have been involved in an arson. The wife of the victim was out of town.

One possibility is that she hired three men to kill her husband and to destroy the house because it may have had evidence linking her to the crime and she can always collect the insurance money. What's your opinion?

The Doctor Visit

She was thin and wheelchair bound but each was equally sweet and interesting. I would have liked to have had more time to talk with her but it wasn't to be. I had taken my mother to see her doctor and chated with an older lady. I thought she was there to see her doctor but she said she was only there for her mother.

I expressed my surprise and when I asked how old her mother was, the lady replied
99 When the almost centurian was wheeled out into the waiting room, I jusmped up to meet her. I wasn't sure at first if she was the ladies mother because she didn't look near her age. I told her she had a very nice daughter. She asked me who I was as she was surprised to have theis stranger taking to her. I said I was no body.

She had a very nice family and I know in my heart that she is truly a special person. I was happy to have met her.

Local news

The paper is thin but that's okay. My letters get printed and coverage of local stories is excellent--like the purse snatching incident in Randleman or the prostitution arrest in Asheboro. I saw the women just minutes before she was picked up. She looked to be about thirteen at first glance. I had just purchased a peach tree was was heading home when I saw her. She was just walking but somehow one just knew why.

My wife works at the store where the purse snatching incident took place. Just think, if you lived in New York City or Los Angelas, Asheoro would just be a small neighborhood and Randleman would be a sparesly population city block. One would probably not read such stories in thewir local papers.

Fish Killer

At first it seemed absurd that someone would face legal santions for killing a fish but after carefully thinking the situation through, it seems that punishment is justified. I've kept aquariums at home before (I once owned several pet stores) and I now have an outdoor pond with four koi.

Aquariums and koi ponds are not natural environments for fish and they (the fish) depend on us to provide a liveable environment for them. If we are to keep them as pets it is our responsibility to do so properly. I believe to intentionally harm ones pets, even a lowly fish, in such a situation is a criminal act.

While we are talking about criminal acts, one was attempted last night at work that I found to be comical. It was getting late, a little after eight and was rather slow. Graduation ceremonies had taken many families out of the grocery stores into restaraunts so there were not the usual number of customers.

A young male (I hestitate to use the term man) who appeared to be in the twenties asked me if we had any Ribeyes. I pointed out where those steaks could be found and he said thanks. There wasn't anything unusual about that exchsnge. What was suspicious about the person was his use of a shopping cart.

He was a tall fellow who was wearing a red and white striped pull-over t-shirt type garmet, had unkempt blonde hair and dirty scuffed shoes. he wasn't wearing a wedding band either. He lacked social graces and tact. People like him don't use shopping carts, especially late at night.

I minute or two later he wheeled his cart off. he had placed 10 or 12 packs of steaks in the buggy. I alerted security.

The person then went to cusromer service and asked for two cartons of cigaretttes, then buggied on down to the beer department for a couple of cases of brw, then over to the paper aisle for a pack of toliet paper to cover his merchandise with. He thinks he has a clear shot for a quick exit.

He might have had a better change of getting away with his attempy if he had just come on in to the store holding up a sign that said in bold letters "shoplifter". Or maybe he could have just went to the office and asked for the manager and told him what he was up to. He wasn't the brightest of theives.