Out With The Old

What a great year it's been for us... for the most part. In some ways I feel like not a lot got accomplished, and in other ways I can hardly believe how much got done. Looking back on my resolutions for this departing year, I did pretty good, though my "biggie" didn't get started at all. I'd planned on building a new bathroom in the house and renovate the original, but I got started on neither of these projects. I did get a master plan together at least and know what should bet accomplished in the future... of course unless something else gets in the way.

The old barn kinda looks new, and though I first thought that project would carry into the new year, it got completed. We made big progress on cleaning up the place, but I underestimated the amount of work required, partly because I couldn't see much of the property because the weeds were so high, and there is plenty to do still. We met our neighbors, went to the stock car races, attended a couple county fairs, and I didn't start smoking again. My Internet business idea grew quite a bit with very little effort as more and more people visit my web site every month, and only watching local baseball got missed on my resolutions list of other things to do.

Goodies continue to find their way to our door. I've mentioned several times how our neighbors have stopped by with fresh produce, and now with the holiday season we've been blessed with sweet treats. Cookies, fudge, and other goodies have been made their way to our door thanks to the thoughtfulness of our neighbors, and I still have no idea how we'll ever repay the kindness we've been shown here.

I've been busy lately pulling old oak flooring out from the pile that was left in the barn when we bought the place and working it into new moulding around door and windows in the house. I hadn't planned on this project getting so much attention, but once I started taking down the old stuff, I was beyond the point of no return. Right now I hope to have the living room finished with this part of the project by Valentines Day. At least we learned the original source of the wood was the old Minnick Hospital here in Cambridge.

I bought a combination hunting/fishing license, and could just as well sent a donation check to the state as I never pulled out my fishing rod or shotgun. For me, I think most of the enjoyment of fishing and hunting was getting away from the city and now that we live in the country, I seem content to just watch the pheasants run across the back yard instead of me chasing them through a field.

My Denver Broncos disappointed me this year as they have so often since John Elway hung up his cleats, but you can't be the Super Bowl champs every year either I guess. However, the owner of the Broncos decided that one playoff win in the last 10years wasn't good enough either as they fired the old coach, and a new guy will be selected in the new year. Big surprise to me, but then I'm just a fan.

This has been quite a year politically, economically, and internationally. From modern day pirates to a modern day stock market crash, we've been exposed to some pretty horrific news. Living here seems to isolate us from many of negative things going on, and maybe that's part of why we love living here so much.

I'm happy to send old 2008 out the door and welcome 2009 in to replace it. With the new year comes the hope of millions that the world can become a safer place than it is today, that our nation can get back on track to peace and prosperity, and that we can keep our new year resolutions whatever they may be.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Tractor Tippin'

I've heard of cow tippin' before... whether or not it is true is up for debate as far as I'm concerned as I've never heard anyone actually admit that they have gone cow tippin'. I'd guess if true it must involve sneaking up on the cow. What brings this to mind is a movie that Margie and I enjoyed on TV so much this week that we got a chance to watch it twice and did. I'll watch it again too!

The story largely takes place in a rural town called Radiator Springs in Carburetor County, and part of the plot involved tractor tippin'. As long as Frank doesn't catch you, it actually looked like a lot of fun. The little town was once a thriving community until circumstances beyond its control found most residents moving away, and a set of extraordinary circumstances brought it back to life.

The computer animated film "Cars" is the show I'm talking about, and though I'd never have guessed I'd enjoy this show as much as I did, I'm recommending it as a really fun flick and hope if you get a chance to see it that you do. The rural setting of the town, the characters that inhabit the town, and the good versus evil plot is hard to beat. A love story is part of the plot as well, and the classic conflict of youth and age is integral too.

I don't know if kids liked this movie or not, but it sure has plenty for an adult to enjoy. The primary characters included Sarge the owner/operator of the Army surplus store, Fillmore the hippy selling organic fuel, Ramone the low riding customizer and his wife Flo, Sally Carerra, "Stickers" McQueen, Doc Hudson, and Mater, the best backer upper in the world. It's Mater that introduces us to tractor tippin'.

From the real world, the cast is pretty impressive with some of the voices provided by Paul Neuman, Owen Wilson, Cheech Marin, Michael Keaton, John Ratzenberger, Larry The Cable Guy, George Carlin, and even racing legend Richard Petty and his wife get in the act.

Those tractors that get tipped are 1950's era Chew-All's, but the rusted red paint would suggest to me Farmall. Not many brands were ignored in this movie... Chevy, Dodge, Plymouth, Renault, Mack and Peterbilt, and even Ferrari were represented. The movie has some great one liners, and if you don't pay attention, you for sure will miss some.

Around our place, the landscape is almost completely worked over by green machines, so perhaps JD's are not susceptible to tractor tippin', but if Frank, the big red machine after our hero is even 1/2 as fast in real life... watch out! The movie even inspired a kids board game called... Tractor Tippin'.

So next time you see this show on the TV schedule, or see it in the video rental place, I recommend you take "Cars" home with you. You may just find yourself saying... "Well dip me in axle greese and call me slick".

Our First

This is our second Christmas at the farm(stead), though it's the first we've actually spent in the house. Last year about this time we were in Lord's of Indianola renting a Rug Doctor as they gave us Christmas day free and we knew that we needed a rug cleaner for more than one day... it worked out great and saved us a few bucks to boot. We were camped out in our motor home in the driveway as the house wasn't ready to be occupied yet, and getting moved into the house was high on our priority list last year.

This year is a bit different. We've got a lot done around the place with a lot more to do, but at least we're in the house and really enjoying the country life. Margie and I were just talking about our years on the road in our RV, and thinking about places we spent Christmas, and we've concluded that living in Cambridge in the dead of winter beats camping out in the desert. Though days are pretty nice often in the southwest, nights are often freezing or a little above, and wind could rock the RV like crazy when they got whipped up.

We open our Christmas gifts early Christmas Eve every year as Santa always seems to visit our house first, and were surprised by a present one of our neighbors brought by. Now I have no idea how the neighbors would have known that I live on coffee, but we got geared up with a couple of the coolest John Deere mugs filled with goodies. I'm looking forward to consuming the goods so I can pour a steaming cup of Joe and enjoy the view with my new John Deere mug.

So our first Christmas in the house is pretty special for us beyond the celebration of Jesus birth. We wish you and yours a merry and blessed Christmas, and special howdy to Carolyn and her family of Hutchinson, Kansas. Though we've never met, I feel like we've been introduced already.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Slip Slidin'

We've had just a couple three inches of snow at our place this winter season so far. That's not to say that we haven't shoveled snow as we have cleared the sidewalk to keep icy spots down where we walk at least. The snow here sure seems a lot different than snow we got in Denver. For one thing, the snow in Denver seems to melt off pretty fast most of the time, while here it hasn't melted any yet.

This was brought to mind yesterday as we headed to church. We're 4 miles north of town, and our gravel road was in what I'd call good condition considering the snow we've had. There was a good path with gravel showing all the way to town. When we got to town, it was a different story.

Town streets here were almost like glass. No salt, sand, or anything else, just slick. Now it doesn't bother me a bit driving on snow packed and icy roads, but I got to thinking that there are a few places that could probably use some sand at least. I noted several places at intersections where someone had slid into the curb, and remembered how bad drivers were in Denver on the slick roads. It was as if they totally forgot that when the road is white, it probably means it's slippery. Of course last winter I noted several places where folks had slid off the country roads around here so I guess it's pretty common to forget to be careful when road conditions change.

How often we hear about drivers hitting black ice and losing control of their vehicle, but when it's obviously icy it just doesn't make sense to try and keep up with the speed limit. As I've said before, the speed limit is only a suggestion for many folks with most driving above the posted limit when conditions are good. Trying to go the posted limit when conditions are bad is just a really bad idea too. It's a shame folks can't slow down just a bit when the road is slick, but trying to make up time because we didn't leave early enough to get to our destination is the norm instead of the exception. Few people think of the possibility of crashing because of their own poor planning as they rocket down the road no matter what condition the road surface is, and horrible accidents can be the result.

This Christmas week, please think of others as you slide behind the wheel for your last minute shopping or that trip to Grandma's house. If you think someone will be upset by your being late, consider how they will feel if you are in the hospital or worse trying to make up lost time. Please slow down and live to see another year as the life you save may belong you... or me.

Different

It was exactly a year ago that we closed the real estate transaction that made us Nebraska residents. Last year we were shoveling the drive so we could get the motor home into the drive after several inches of snow had blown in. Our power was turned on, and I recall thinking "what have I gotten myself into?" as I backed the RV in front of the barn.

I look back on that day and try to compare the place to what we first set foot on as ours. A seemingly unlimited amount of firewood awaited the chainsaw and ax, acres of weeds had overgrown much of the place, and the barn looked like a lit match might be it's future as a training exercise for the local fire department.

Well the weeds are down for the most part, firewood is stacked in several locations and will provide years of winter heat, and the barn is repaired and painted. The RV is gone, replaced by a cool 0 turn mower that almost makes mowing the place fun. Two cats have adopted Margie, or perhaps I should say one she likes, the other she tolerates, that I hope help with the mouse population of the immediate area. Things are sure different around here from a year ago.

This place, area, and state are everything we hoped for and much more. We've met wonderful people, and we've already visited with our neighbors more than anyplace we've lived. We've enjoyed watching the corn and wheat growing outside our windows, and watching the cows make their rounds through the harvested corn fields and hearing the turkeys gobble nearby makes for a very peaceful life if you ask me.

Rural living isn't for everyone, but it sure is suiting us for the most part. I didn't expect the number of insects we had to deal with, and didn't fully appreciate the amount of work required to clean up the place. Every day we find something for the dumpster that has worked its way out of the ground, and I've accumulated a couple large piles of metal that I need to get hauled to the scrapper. The road can be dusty and muddy at the same time, and when the wind blows just right, the "smell of money" from a small feedlot catches your attention now and then. Just about everybody waves when they drive by, and going to town almost always finds us visiting with someone we know.

We have almost daily visits by deer and pheasants along the windbreak, and even though the wind blows maybe a bit more than we expected now and then, we feel like we're getting used to it. We're working on fixing up the inside of the house at a painfully slow pace thanks to me, with refinishing an old hardwood floor in our office, the addition of some shelving, and most recently adding a couple doors and painting the living room. My first plans for a work schedule went out the window a long time ago, but we think we've made a good start into making this the place we envisioned when we bought it a year ago.

Would we change anything? Other than fewer bugs... Nope!

Tresspasser

I got an email from a friend of mine in Colorado Territory that reminds me that no matter how smart you are, there is someone out there likely to be a lot more clever. Our neighbors have told us some fun stories of dealing with trespassers, so the following doesn't sound like too much of a stretch. I can almost imagine my farming neighbors in the following situation, and suppose this is old information among rural folks, but for those of us uninformed people in the area...

A big city lawyer went pheasant hunting in rural Nebraska. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence.

As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing.

The litigator responded, 'I shot a pheasant and it fell onto this field, and now I'm going to retrieve it.'

The old farmer replied, 'This is my property, and you are not coming over here.'

The indignant lawyer said, 'I am one of the best trial attorneys in the United States and if you don't let me get that pheasant, I'll sue you and take everything you own.'

The old farmer smiled and said, 'Apparently, you don't know how we settle disputes in Western Nebraska. We settle small disagreements with the 'Three Kick Rule.''

The lawyer asked, 'What is the 'Three Kick Rule?'

The Farmer replied, 'Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, I get to go first. I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up.'

The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old farmer.

He agreed to abide by the local custom.
The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney.

His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel toed work boot into the lawyer's ankle that dropped him to his knees.

His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer to all fours and his third sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.

The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet.
Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, 'Okay, you old codger. Now it's my turn.'

(I love this part)

The old farmer smiled and said , 'Na, I give up. You can have the bird.'

Hacker

The other day Margie and I went and cut down our Christmas tree. We've cut our own tree for Christmas all the years we had a house, and only the last 5 did we not have a tree as the motor home just didn't have room. That's not to say we didn't decorate as Margie is good at that kind of thing, and we had a wreath, cards, and decorations displayed. Anyway, we'd load up the Jeep with our dog, lunch, rope, saw and go to the National Forest Christmas tree cutting area every year. For $10, you could pick your tree from millions of possibilities, with the only drawbacks that you might get stuck if not careful, and it was about 40 miles each way to the cutting area from our house. We enjoyed the day away from the city and needing 4 wheel drive is always fun to me.

Being home owners again had us wanting to get out and cut a tree somewhere and that's just what we did. To be sure, it wasn't quite the same as wandering around the mountains looking for the perfect tree to cut, but we had a nice drive, good weather, and plenty of trees to choose from at Porky Pines 2E 1N of Arapahoe. (Notice how I've learned to give rural directions?)

We started our search for our tree at the USDA Forest Service web site. I wondered if the Nebraska National Forest might have a cutting area. They don't have a cutting area, but the site referred me to http://www.agr.state.ne.us/pub/apd/trees.htm where I found Porky's Pines. If you look at this site, scroll all the way to the bottom for a reference map of tree farms. In our case, it was just a 20 mile trip, and getting out in the country is fun for us anyway.

We picked out our tree, and went to use the provided bow saw for the task at hand. This is where the hacker part comes in. Once we had our tree picked out and started cutting, the saw would bind almost instantly. It was me and the saw against the tree with the tree putting up a much better than expected defense. After making multiple cuts and trimming (hacking) branches out of the way, old Tannenbaum let go. We loaded our first Nebraska cut Christmas tree on top of the Jeep and headed for home.

As we were heading up the last couple miles of 409 to our place, one of our neighbors happened to be out and we pulled up to say "howdy". He says "I'd have let you cut one from the pasture for a lot less than you paid", to which I jokingly said I got it at the towns park and the price was right". I told him of Porky's place and his final comment was that we still look like we're from Colorado... Jeep with a Christmas tree tied to the top is one of his mental pictures of folks that live in Colorado.

As we pulled into our drive, we noticed new neighbors! We've got cows across the road now that were not there when we left. It was kinda funny the way they just stood and watched us pull in, remove the tie down ropes, and unload the tree. They watched as I took the tree inside, and waited until the Jeep was put in the shed before strolling off. It was as if they were saying "look at those new Nebraska folks from Colorado, it's true I guess about their Jeeps and Christmas trees".

Rocket To London

Our latest adventure involved a Rocket, and ended in London. Indianola has some of the best pizza found anywhere in our opinion. Now I know that pizza, like Mexican food, have their loyal followers and me saying The Rocket Inn in Indianola has the best pizza will likely get me corrected. To be fair, we haven't been to many other pizza places in the area. With that in mind however, The Rocket gets our double thumbs up recommendation. If you do know of a better place for pizza, or at least as good, please let me know!

Next it was off to McCook to see "A Christmas Carol" at The Fox. We got there a bit early so we window shopped the stores along George Norris, and found that Brown's Shoe store was one of the few open. Big mistake for my wallet as the first thing I saw was a pair of winter boots for Margie. You need to know that she has a hard time finding shoes and boots with her size 5 feet, but the pleasant fellow in the store had just what she needed and out the door we went with a new pair of winter boots.

We wandered around a bit more and I admit to being a bit surprised that more stores were not open on a Friday night, especially with a play in town that night. It probably saved me some green because they were closed.

We noticed that quite a line was at the theater so we unloaded our package in the car and headed into The Fox. I was sure surprised from the get go by the gal in the box office when she said she enjoyed reading my blog! Yikes, I had no idea anyone would recognize me from the picture that shows up on the Gazette web site. Margie figured it out that not a lot of guys have a hat like mine with a beard, so she had pretty good odds of being correct.

We walked into the old building and sat down in the the back half of the theater. What a cool old place! Reminds me of theaters in Omaha when I was a kid. They sure don't build 'em like that anymore! The place filled up too! I only saw one vacant seat anywhere around us, and though I saw a several of the younger persuasion text messaging before the show, I didn't see any of that use during the show, and not one cell phone went off around us.

The play was great! The talent shown by the cast was first rate in our opinion, and we look forward to seeing more of the college drama groups productions in the future. The costumes fit right in with old London, and the sets used for the show added to the sense of time travel with office, city, and bedroom scenes well portrayed. I especially liked the smoke illusion when the ghosts departed!

I said to Margie on our way home that if we were still in Denver, we could have easily spent twice the amount of money and not had nearly as much fun. We would likely take twice the amount of time to get home with four times the risk of being involved in an accident. Yep, we figure we're pretty darn lucky to be living in the greatest part of this great country of ours.

Jar Full Of Money

It's been plenty windy around the farm(stead) the last few days, but yesterday brought a big change that we took advantage of. We've got one of those digital thermometers and have our sending unit in the tree in front of the house. It got up to 68 around here mid afternoon, and with no wind blowing, we wrapped up our barn project for the year by putting on a few trim boards on the back of the building and painting a window frame and the new trim. The old barn looks like it may last a while.

Along with finishing the barn repairs which really were few, we (Margie) decided that we should start working at cleaning up more of what was wilderness of sorts around the farm. From the start, we made paths through the overgrown weeds and slowly made the paths wider. We've got a lot of down wood and overgrown weeds along the edge of the yard that we want to mow by next spring, so off we went to clear paths and clean up an area we'd barely started before.

The project started easily enough with us breaking up medium sized wood pieces into firewood kindling. As we got down through a pile to ground level, Margie yells... "Jar full of money!". I say "what are you talking about?", and she says "Jar full of money!" again so I turn around to see her bent over a 3/4 buried quart jar with something green inside that from a short distance away look like the edges of a roll of money!

Now to be fair, the jar was one of those old kinda bluish greenish Ball quart jars with a lid. It was 3/4 covered in dirt, but I gotta say at first glance, it really looked like a jar full of money. Once we got it dug out of it's dirt prison, it became obvious it was not a jar full of money. The lid of the jar had a rather large hole in it that appeared to have been made by an old beer/pop can type opener often referred to as a church key. Inside was some kind of plant whose green leaves looked like money from even a short distance away. What a hoot!

We continue to find interesting things around the farm and one that really stirred the imagination. Can you just imagine digging up a real jar full of money? We've got 5 acres to search so who knows, we might still find one.

Thrilling

I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend. We were in Colorado territory for turkey day with family, and driving around Denver after living nearly a year in Nebraska was to say the least... thrilling! I can hardly believe that I used to think that kind of traffic was normal.

The trip home on Friday was thrilling too. We listened to the CU Nebraska game Friday and to say the least, that was a thrilling finish! The miles disappeared as we were drawn into the game by the great Nebraska radio announcers. Go Big Red!

We watched the Denver Broncos win with several thrilling big plays for both teams involved. I sure can't figure out the Broncos. Might be a real good team if they ever get consistent. Go Broncos!

Nice to be home away from all the thrills of the big city. Going there reminds me why we're here. I believe our transformation to country life is going better than expected.

The End Of Time

Today is the end of time as we've known it... at least since last March. Yep, this is the last day of daylight saving time and tomorrow we go back to good old standard time. As for me, I like daylight saving time and wish they would leave it alone. Tomorrow will get dark pretty darn early to my way of thinking, though I could just as easily adjust my internal clock and get up an hour earlier and go to bed earlier to make up the difference, I'd miss the 10PM news if I did that.

So today is a little history primer about daylight saving time. It was first proposed by our friend Ben Franklin in a 1784 essay called "An Economical Project" and you can read the full text here... http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/franklin3.html

First, a little history about time in general...

The British were the first to come up with standard time instead of solar time which was based on the sun and where the term high noon came from as noon was always when the sun was highest in the sky. It was also called solar time back then, but the British railroads wanted a reliable way to keep track of train schedules and the varying time afforded by solar time didn't work well. The use of standard time started in London in 1840, but wasn't fully implemented in England until 1880. At least one of the clocks in England even had a different set of hands to indicate solar time and standard time using the same clock face.

In the US and Canada, standard time using time zones became official in 1883 thanks to the railroads again. Not everybody was totally enthused with the idea as Detroit for example maintained solar time until 1900 when they shifted their time to Central Standard Time by changing their clocks 28 minutes.

Daylight Saving Time has been around since 1916. It was thought to save fuel used to generate electricity and it quickly was adopted in Europe. DST wasn't adopted in the US until 1918, but it had a rocky start. After only two years, the law that established it was repealed and DST was left as a local option with only a few states keeping it during the summer months.

During WWII, FDR instituted year around DST called War Time and this continued until 1945. After that, individual states could decide if they would use DST and when it would start and end. This caused confusion as different states had different start and stop dates that made it difficult for any business with a multi state schedule such as railroads, buses, airlines and broadcasters. It wasn't until president Nixon signed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973 that everybody in the country got on board with DST.

But that's not the end of the story... Daylight Saving Time was extended to the first Sunday in November just last year to make trick or treaters safer as Halloween night had 4 times the pedestrian accidents as other nights with all the kids out in the dark. During Viet Nam, DST was used as a loophole for the draft in some cases based on what day you were born because of DST, and even terrorists have been killed setting timed bombs that went off on Daylight Saving Time when the bombs clocks were set to standard time. Violent crime is lower during DST, and legal cases have even been decided on when something was scheduled on DST such as a sprinkler coming on after a car crash, but the sprinkler was set for standard time.

So maybe I should have titled todays blog the start of time instead. If I can just remember to set my watch before I go to bed tonight, the start of Standard Time won't make us late to church tomorrow.

This is just some of the highlights of DST, and there is a lot more interesting information available at... http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/

Boo!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

When I was a kid visiting my grandparents in Ewing, Nebraska at Halloween, my friend Leon and I would go trick or treating around the town of 500, and the towns population was always generous with their goodies for us little guys. As we got older, I heard stories of kids going outhouse tipping, and wondered why that idea had some sort of mean appeal to kids. Now I've also heard and seen picture of wagons placed on top of barns, school mascot statues being moved and placed in odd locations so pranks Halloween pranks were a big deal that involved a lot of work for the perpetrators.

City kids seem pretty mean spirited by comparison. Spray paint, eggs, rotten tomatoes, and bags of nasty stuff on fire at some peoples doors are the stuff of modern day big city pranks. It's not just the kids doing them either. I'm sure we'll either hear of, or read about tainted candy with needles, razor blades or who knows what else given to kids just trying to have fun.

Many communities in metropolitan areas have gone to "safe" Halloween festivities where the city provides the goodies so parents don't have to worry. Hospitals offer free X-Rays of kids candy to check for foreign objects, and there are almost always stories about some idiot driving down the streets with their headlights turned off hitting kids somewhere.

It's such a shame to me that a fun time can turn tragic by purposeful actions of a few. Tipping over an old outhouse sounds pretty tame compared to some of the stuff that goes on today, and I'm pretty confident that around southwestern Nebraska I won't be reading about such horrors.

On a lighter note, a recent trip through the big "discount" place on the west side of McCook found a candy isle with more different kinds of stuff than I had any idea were even made. A US Census Bureau report stated that Americans ate 24 1/2 pounds of candy per capita in 2007. Yikes! Me and Margie haven't eaten a total of 24.5 pounds of candy since we got married, let alone the 49 pounds we were "allotted" for just one year. So those of you eating our share, we want it back. We don't expect any trick or treators this Halloween being 4 miles out of town, but in case they show up, we might need it otherwise they might tip over the outhouse.

Did You Know?

Did you know...

If you are one in a million in China, there are 1300 people just like you?

China will soon become the #1 English speaking country in the world?

The 25% of India's population with the highest IQ's is greater than the total population of the USA? That likely means that India has more honors kids than America has kids!

The projected top ten in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004?

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist using technologies that haven't been invented yet to solve problems we don't know about yet.

The US Department of Labor estimates that today's learner will have 10-14 jobs by age 38?

One in four workers have been with their current employer less than a year and half of current workers have been there less than 5 years?

One out of 8 couples married in the US last year met online?

There are over 200 million registered users on MySpace.com meaning that if MySpace was a country, it would be the 5th largest in the world?

Bermuda is the #1 ranked country for broadband Internet penetration while the US is #19 and Japan is #22?

There are 31 billion Internet searches on Google every month? Things are changing very fast here as in 2006 that number was 2.7 billion.

The first commercial text message was send in 1992 while the number of text messages send and received everyday exceeds the total population of the planet?

It took 38 years for radio, 13 years for TV, 4 years for the Internet, 3 years for iPods, and 2 years for facebook.com to reach a market audience of 50 million?

The number of Internet devices in 1984 was 1000, 1 million in 1992, and over a billion today?

There are 540,000 words in the English language, which is about 5 times the number in Shakespeare's time?

It is estimated that a week's worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century?

It is estimated that 4 exabytes (that's 4.0x10^19) of unique information will be generated this year which is more than the previous 5000 years?

The amount of new technical information is doubling every 2 years meaning that students starting a 4 year tech degree, half of what they learn in their fist year of study will likely be outdated by their third year of study?

NTT (Nippon Telephone - Japan) has successfully tested a fiber optic cable that pushes 14 trillion bits per second down a single fiber strand which is the equivalent of 2,660 CDs or 210 million phone calls a second?

The above mentioned speed of data flow is tripling about every 6 months and is expected to do so for the next 20 years?

In the last 5 minutes, 67 babies were born in the US, 274 in China, and 395 in India?

You can see a video presentation of this information at...
http://release.theplatform.com/content.select?pid=x7aVOMrlfkkijQwcLllwk6WjB5JE0zrF

Fire!

"Our house, is a very very very fine house" were a few of the lyrics to a Crosby Stills & Nash tune popular somewhere in my past. Now while I love our place, it does have some interesting features that have been added since the house was built. For example the plumbing system. Yep, this place was built without indoor plumbing in 1925 we understand, and though not added to "code", the system works pretty good most of the time... until yesterday.

I had just headed into the basement to start work on a shelve project when I smelled the unmistakable smell of an electrical fire. Unmistakable to me at least as I worked for years with electronic systems that "smoked" wires and components and the smell is always the same to me. So off I go looking for the source as quickly as possible and once I hit the utility room, the cause of the smell was apparent... there were flames!

Now before you get a mental picture of the utility room being on fire, there was a small flame coming from the water systems pump pressure relay and not a full conflagration, and the flame I doubt could have ever caused a serious fire the way it was installed and away from combustible materials, but the sight of an open flame where it should not be is always disconcerting.

To make a long story short, I quickly cut the power and extinguished the flames simply by blowing on it like a putting out a candle. I drained the water system enough to replace the relay and after a quick call to Lord's Hardware in Indianola, determined they likely had a new replacement relay. So off I went, procured parts, and replaced same to get things back in order. While I was at it I replaced the sediment filter that I'd been putting off since I knew I would have to drain the system. What I didn't know was that someone had removed the old filter element and never put one back in. No wonder I noticed sand in the toilet tank when working on a leaky tank ball a few weeks ago.

So now that this emergency repair is behind me, I can go back to my original plan of building some utility shelves. I just hope something else doesn't come up to bite me in the butt. Like I said before, me and Murphy (Murphy's Law) must be pretty good friends because he still seems to be living around here somewhere.

Divided We Fall

Since this election cycle has warmed up, blog posts around Nebraska prove to me that this state has conservative values which I admire. Yep, Nebraska is firmly in the "red" column when it comes to it's political leanings, but I think most folks would also say they vote for the candidate rather than the party.

November 4 is just around the corner, and I can hardly wait for the peoples voice to be heard and the direction of our country decided for the next 4 years. A recent poll states that more than 4 out of every 5 (82%) of us feels that the country is headed in the wrong direction, so here is our chance to help right the ship. I'm looking forward to not hearing terms like Republi-cants and Dumbo-crats as I feel these do nothing to foster an intelligent discussion of the issues... indeed I think they are intended to stir up negative emotional responses to color the position being discussed.

No matter which side of the fence you ride, come January a new president will be sworn into office. I personally believe that the guy that gets sworn in, no matter which party he is affiliated with, loves this country and will fulfill his sworn oath... "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

It's been commented over and over on every type of media outlet that our nation is deeply divided, and it makes me wonder how that happened. Since most of us already feel the country is headed down the tubes unless we change our ways, it is my hope that we can unite behind whoever is elected to public office and do everything we can to help pull our nation back together again. I hope we can again become one nation under God, not one nation divided by intolerance, indifference, and selfishness. Our forefathers had a vision that seems to be slipping away, please do your part to help us heal our differences. United we stand, divided we fall.

I received the following email message, and want to share it with you. At least in Nebraska, I think most folks would agree with Billy, and I hope it is actively received by folks all across our land...

Prayer attributed to Billy Graham...

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and
called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!'

Words That Start With "S"

There is a popular game show on TV that asks questions of all types, one of which is "Words that start with", and plug in a letter and they have probably covered it. So with that in mind, today's blog topic is animal names that start with S around our farm.

First up for $100... What is another word for a feral cat? The answer is... stray. Almost from the first day we bought the farm, we've had a Tom cat visit every couple weeks. We've given him the name of Yellow Tail as he has been here so frequently, and lately he's been taking up residence in the refurbished barn it seems. Not only that, but he now has a girl friend with him that I've been trying to shoo away so we don't end up with a flock of kittens hanging around. My last attempt involved a walk where the cats followed us down the road to the next vacant farmstead. Once there, I did everything to scare the cats into the brush, and though Yellow Tail has visited once since then, I've not seen his girl friend again.

Next question for $200... What birds live in barns (and other places) and are considered "swift fliers"? The answer is... Swallows. We had at least 10 Barn Swallows living on and in our barn this summer, though they have all moved on in the last week or so. These little guys are a lot of fun to watch as they are quite the aerobatic flyer's.

Words that start with S for $300... Besides snakes, what other reptile has a name that starts with S? The answer is... Skink. These lizards are very common around the farm we've discovered. My first encounter scared the heck out of me as I was moving a pile of brush. One of the larger variety of Skinks moved in the bush and I thought is was a big snake to start with, only to find it to be the biggest lizard I've personally encountered.

Next question for $400... What insect family has 8 legs? The answer is spiders. We've got spiders of many types around the farm. The Wolf spiders get me the most as they are so fast and BIG. I don't like spiders and snakes you see, but at least we seem to be knocking the spider populations down around the farms house. Now snakes are a different story completely. I may go into that some other day but not today.

And finally for $500, what animal do people and other animals try and avoid? The answer is skunks. A couple times in the last week I've spotted the black and white relatives of the weasel rooting around our yard just before sunrise. Now I enjoy watching wildlife as much as anybody, but I don't really need these guys in the yard, though they do seem to provide the benefit of lawn aeration as they like to dig.

So that's it for today... Brian's game show of the week recap. Stay tuned for future tails (tales) from the farm(stead).

Political Advertising

Why can't our political candidates present straight scoop with their political ads? You probably wouldn't like my answer depending on which side of the political fence you sit, so I'll just say that it's well documented that advertising is effective. The difference between political advertising and product advertising is that there are laws that restrict deceptive ads for products while political ads apparently allow unlimited deception to sway your opinion.

As I was wading around the internet this morning, I came across a couple TV ads that are a BIG departure from common political ads we're exposed to every day. So to beat the drum and jump on the bandwagon, turn on your sound and click here...

Republican Ad

And to learn just about everything you ever needed to know to make your decision...

Democratic Ad

Too bad the current crop of ads go in such a different direction!

New Year Resolutions

I remember one of my new year resolutions last January was "Clean, repair, and paint the barn. This may be a job that extends beyond this year". It's convenient for me that the Gazette has all my blogs archived as I would never have remembered the exact phrase used, but when I looked it up I got a bit disheartened as I'm not doing so well on some other resolutions. More on that later.

As those of you that follow the City Slickers know, we've spent a good portion of the summer working on the barn. Now I will be the first to admit that I have spaced apart the work done as best as I could so as to not burn out on the project, and we had major help from Margie's family from Colorado territory. The old barn sure looks different than the day we made our offer for The Farm(stead). I've got a few small things to wrap up like getting the hay loft windows located if there are any, and getting one hinge and a couple of boards attached to doors on the back of the barn and painted, but that's it!

We'll be running our own test of barn red paint. I've heard paint doesn't hold up too well around here, but we're hoping we don't have to paint more than every 5 years or so. The old siding really swallowed up the paint, but we did our best to put plenty of the red stuff on to really soak into the cracks completely.

OK, so the barn is pretty much done which was high on my list of things to do this year. Where I've fallen behind is going to baseball games and I guess I waited too long now though we've been to Cambridge home football games. Getting organized is well behind schedule as is building a new bathroom and remodeling another. Beyond that, I've loafed my way through my list of things I planned to accomplish.

And the best part of all this is the year isn't over yet! I've still got time to catch up on quite a few things I want to do. Our priorities shift back and forth around the place as we get more and more used to how we think we'll live out here in the country. It's been 9 months already and I can hardly believe we've been here that long. Summer is over and I have no idea where it went.

I have a bad feeling that I won't get the bathrooms completed as resolved, but we'll see how far into the remaining construction projects we get before the end of the year. With the weather cooling off, the weed war is about to have a seasonal shutdown and I hope to make some good progress. Now if it just wasn't for football on TV, I might have a chance.

Losters

From Brian's dictionary... Losters - Term used to describe football fans favorite teams when they lose on the same day. They are not losers, they're losters.

This was a tough weekend for this football fan. It started Friday night when the Cambridge Trojans ended their perfect winning streak, continued Saturday night when the Cornhuskers couldn't salvage a win, and Sunday wrapped it all up with the Denver Broncos going down in defeat to what was arguably the worst team in the NFL.

Something about calling any of these teams losers just doesn't seem right. It is true that they lost, but not one of them gave up. Losers give up, losters don't.

Though the weekend was filled with losters for me, things worked out just great around the farm anyway. Margie's dad and brother came out from Colorado territory and we all but wrapped up the barns repairs. My fear of climbing the tall aluminum ladder to finish up the high painting was for naught as Gary and Tom don't mind that ladder for some reason and finished it for me... whew! Thanks guys!

We've now got a barn door on a new track and the darn thing slides open and closed! Most of the painting associated with the door is done, but I'll be putting up a bit of siding, squeezing some caulking into the cracks, and finish painting. This is one project I'm looking forward to wrapping up as it's been going on for what is beginning to feel like forever.

This warm September weather is spoiling me. I know it's just a few more days/weeks until I'll be lighting the carbon furnace (wood stove), starting indoor projects, and watching football on cold fall days. Only thing is, it somehow seems to be more fun when the weekend isn't filled with losters.

Hiding The Truth

Our Vice President hid the truth and it's a documented conspiracy. What lengths will politicians go to protect themselves? A long way apparently!

Here's what's documented...

Hiding weapons in unmarked boxes for shipment

Making those involved turn their backs for plausible deniability

Moving from one jurisdiction to another to avoid prosecution

Used unmarked boats

Wow... good thing I'm not talking about Dick Cheney, but at times most of us wonder what our politicians are up to behind our backs. The above documented conspiracy surrounds the Burr/Hamilton duel where the guy that's on the $10 bill gets killed.

The sitting Vice President Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton and was acquitted. The duel included hiding the dueling pistols in an unmarked box so the guys rowing the boats to New Jersey from New York (where dueling was illegal) could honestly say they didn't see the weapons, and all involved except the duelers turned their backs in the name of plausible deniability. The unmarked boats were row boats (I had to come up with something else to catch your attention!).

So politicians stretching the truth and conspiracy is nothing new to our political landscape. We've got the VP debates coming up soon and I expect to hear some pretty fantastic oratory stretching and distorting the truth from both sides. Since at least one of the debate participants has documented firearms use in their resume, please check your guns at the door.

You can read all the facts about this event at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr-Hamilton_duel

Me and Murphy

I know Murphy. He seems to live on the farm with us much of the time and I wish he'd move out and stay out! You probably have met Murphy at one time or another, but unless he lives with you now and then, you really don't get the scope of his influence.

Murphy is that guy that has laws that cover most of the bad things that occur to us each day, but most of us don't think of him and his laws that often unless he has moved in and set up a law kiosk in the back yard. The following is just a Murphy's Law sampler...

1. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
2. Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
3. Nothing is as easy as it looks.
4. Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.

This week Murphy set up his kiosk on Road 409.

It started by jumping in the Jeep for a quick trip to town. What's this? The check engine light didn't go out. I think this problem will eventually fall into Murphy's Law #2 above because after looking up the check engine diagnostic code the Jeeps computer spits out, and (Murphy's Law #4)getting tools together to further isolate the cause of the malfunction, the light went out. So going from Murphy's to Brian's Law... if it ain't broke, don't fix it, there is every possibility that Murphy's Law #2 will be realized in full effect at some undetermined time in the future at the worst possible moment.

As those of you who have been keeping up with the goings on at the farm know, we've been repairing and painting our barn. I have no idea when the last coat of paint was applied other than to know it's been a while, so the siding really sucks up the paint. So guess what... though we were sure we'd have more than enough paint, we didn't, and the west side is waiting for a trip to McCook for more of the red stuff to finish the job. Murphy's Laws #1 and #4.

Murphy's 2nd and 3rd laws came into play as the weed war continues. Murphy's Law #3 - I was using the mechanized assault vehicle (riding mower) when the front wheel caught a propane line that I have not gotten around to properly re-installing since we bought the farm (Murphy's Law #2). The combination of Murphy's second and third laws combined to equal Murphy's first law as the effect was to kink the gas line causing a leak. The only good thing about this was that I didn't lose all the propane in the tank, but I also don't own the tool needed to repair the problem (Murphy's Law #4) so a call to the local fix-it guys was required.

Murphy's Law #1 came into play that same afternoon. Margie comes in and says to me "China". I say "what?", and she proceeds telling me that the outside water hydrant next to the barn has started leaking. The China remark goes back to my blog with the same name, and in case you missed it, you can check The City Slickers archived blog entries to read about it. It will involve digging for sure, and Murphy's Law #4 is proving true as I will need a new hydrant to fix the problem.

There's more, but you get the idea. Murphy... Please find another place to set up your kiosk!

You can read all of Murphy's Laws at http://www.murphys-laws.com/

Call Of The Wild

Since we moved to the farm from city life, we've heard a wide range of animal sounds that have bewildered us and still do. Margie is especially interested in what animal makes what sound, and has spend quite a bit of time trying to find sound bits of the animals we "expect" to be around here on the internet. Problem is the recorded sound bit doesn't sound one bit like what is outside our windows now and then.

I suppose some of this is my fault. We were camping in the Pacific northwest a few years ago and I heard something. Now I can't say what I heard as we were camped near a small hydroelectric plant and dam, but at first I'd say it sounded like someone a short distance away speaking in a language that I never heard before. I never gave it another thought, but the sound was there the next night too. Still, I kinda figured that it has something to do with the power plant...and maybe it did, or not.

We were at a privately operated public campground and I wanted to find out more about the camping area, so I did an internet search on the campground name and up pops the result... "BFRO Report 12997: Possible vocalizations at Kulshan Campground" which is the name of the place we were camped. Vocalizations? What is that? So off I go to the BFRO (Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization) web site where I learned that somebody else had reported what sounded like the same phenomena I heard. Unfortunately, on both occasions of the sounds I heard, Margie was asleep and she has always accused me of not waking her just so I could have the Bigfoot experience all to myself.

Now I don't really believe that I heard Bigfoot, but I have no idea what I heard either. What brings this to mind is there is something outside our place that kinda whistles. Now I have no idea what it is and neither does Margie, but we at least have both heard it. She has spend quite a bit of time listening to animal sounds but nothing comes close to what we've heard.

With that in mind, I wish I would have gone with Margie to drop off a banana bread at our neighbors last night as I imagine it was quite a hoot! I have no idea what brought up the conversation, but my darling wife told me she tried to duplicate the sound made by the unknown "beast" in the back yard. Now if you had heard the sound made, and Margie's rendition, you would quickly understand that from her attempts nobody would EVER figure out what was outside... there is just no comparison. I'm quite sure the neighbors now feel that they have confirmed that their neighbors on the hill are really nuts after all, and will start hiding the cows whenever they see us around.

Maybe it's a relative of Bigfoot along Medicine Creek or maybe it's a coyote with asthma. Whatever it is, don't ask Margie to duplicate the call of the wild trying to determine what it is... that is unless you want a good chuckle.

...and the produce parade continues

We just got back from a quick trip to Colorado Territory for the Acme Automated Snowthrower's birthday party. We had a great family get together and barbecue, got to visit with my fellow brother's in law (outlaws so to speak), and enjoyed some typically wonderful Colorado weather. I had planned to install some cable for TV in their house as a birthday present, but that task was completed when we arrived, so all I could do was mow the yard. Just a couple of the weekends high points were the Broncos theft of their victory over the Chargers of San Diego, and listening to the radio broadcast as the Cornhuskers beat up some on New Mexico State. Nebraska sure has the right guy doing the play by play...what enthusiasm!

We've been making some progress on painting the barn. I've decided I'm the wrong guy for the job. The aluminum extension ladder used to reach the high points of the barn is downright scary to me. Call me a coward if you wish... I sure feel like one going up that ladder. During my phone company days, I worked on ladders a lot. Heavy duty commercial grade ladders that is. The darn things weighed a ton it seemed, but were very stable and I'd forgotten how wiggly one of these aluminum jobs can be. Most of the high work is done now, and I've got a new 16 foot sliding barn door channel and trolly wheels on order for the new door to be built next. I'm going to get the barn done one way or the other!

And the produce parade continues with neighbors sharing more tomatoes, melons, and most recently a sack of apples. Our two tomato plants have taken over the front of the house with vines 5 feet tall covered with tomatoes of all sizes. It is going to be a challenge to keep the frost away, but the forecast is for warm days for the next week so perhaps the things will get it in high gear and ripen something!

A trip to Denver sure reinforces our decision to move to Nebraska! I'm amazed just how quickly we've embraced country living here away from the hubbub of the city. The farm is starting be a real farm too! My farming neighbor has agreed to farm some of our place as a win/win as far as I'm concerned. He gets use of the land to grow what he wants on it, I don't have to worry about mowing it and weed control. I'm beginning to feel like the guy described in a John Denver tune... Thank God I'm a country boy, or at least I think I'm turning into one.

Elephants and Donkeys

Politics sure bring out the biased side of folks, no matter which side of the political fence you sit on. I've spent an inordinate amount of time reading as much as I can about our primary choices for the leadership of our country, but making a decision isn't real easy for me. I don't necessarily follow party lines, and I, like everyone else, has an opinion about what I think our country needs to, or should do to improve our world status, put our economy back on track, and generally provide the types of services and leadership of our country I think necessary.

Change? Yep, I think everybody thinks some things need to change, and both parties are embracing change now. Experience? Yep, there are questions on both side of the fence regarding the respective candidates. Age? Yep, it's mentioned against both sides of the fence as an extension of experience and longevity. The media? Yep, I wonder if these guys are watching the same interviews I watch, 'cause it's pretty obvious that depending on who is doing the interview evaluation, the story, while generally factual, can be persuasive and slanted to the left or right easily. Rarely do I read an article I consider unbiased one way or the other.

How you say and present things is more important than the facts it seems, and if you spend much time on the internet reading up on the candidates and the responses to these articles, it's pretty obvious that name calling and misleading information is rampant all in the name of getting the facts right.

So today I've decided to present a couple of unbiased facts that you might want to know...

The Republicans say their elephant is strong and dignified, and Democrat's say the donkey is smart and brave. OK, so why do they have them anyway? They go back to 1800's politics, and were both made famous by cartoonist Thomas Nast. It seems the donkey came first when Andrew Jackson's opponents called him a jackass. Jackson used the strong willed animal on his campaign posters, and Nash popularized it in his newspaper cartoons. The Republican elephant showed up in Harper's Weekly years later in another Nast political cartoon and has stuck ever since. Source

Facts are facts so there ya go, unbiased reporting from The City Slicker.

THE Game

November 25, 1971 - My family moved to Colorado in 1968, but my love for the Cornhuskers never faded, and I was certainly not disappointed on that day. It was Thanksgiving, the #1 Huskers were playing the vile #2 Sooners of Oklahoma in Norman, and what ensued is the stuff of legend. The "Game Of The Century" it would become known as, and long term Husker fans will never forget it. Nebraska 35 - Oklahoma 31.

January 26, 1998 - The Denver Broncos were big Superbowl XXXII underdogs against the Packers of Green Bay that day. It was the Bronco's 4th shot at the NFL championship title and John Elway's third trip. Bronco fans were scared. You see, Bronco fans are different than most...we bleed orange and blue, or so we like to say, and having been defeated in each of our previous trips to the big game, we were pretty sure another trouncing was likely a matter of 60 game time minutes away... still we watched. The game was considered at the time the greatest Superbowl ever with the Bronco's winning after Bret Favre's 4th down pass was tipped away with 32 seconds left. Denver went wild! Broncos 31 - Packers 24.

September 5, 2008 - It was a beautiful night for football in Cambridge as another high school football season got underway for the Trojans. The Blue Hill Bobcats rolled into town hoping to beat the home team, but it didn't work out for them on this evening. The Trojans defense was tough shutting out the Blue Hill offense with only a blocked punt in the end zone for a safety to show for the Cats scoring efforts. Cambridge 19 - Blue Hill 2.

Last night was my first Nebraska high school football game in nearly 40 years. It's the first small town football game I've been to ever, and I can't help but make some observations. We got to the game about 4 minutes into the 1st quarter and got to sit on the 45 yard line right next to the band. The running track surrounds our towns football field, and many folks watched the game from the sideline on the track, moving up and down the field with the teams. I'd forgotten high school football game quarters are 12 minutes long. Halftime found each team in an end zone instead of a locker room as is common in large venues. The most common penalty was offensive holding. Many players work both sides of the ball, that is to say they play offense AND defense. The fans are polite, not boisterous.

It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play that's important around here. Sportsmanship is at the top of the totem pole as it should be, and couldn't be more evident than at last nights game. No boos or vulgarity, only the appreciation of a good effort by both teams.

After the game, one of the folks we know in the area asked if we had a good time, and the answer is YES! I may have to tone down my enthusiasm during the game around here as I get pretty excited and loud, and I don't want people to think I'm crazy, but once I get my orange and black attire acquired, folks on the Cambridge side of the field will without any doubt know a new supporter has hit town, and he loves THE game of football, whoever wins.

Go Denver Broncos! Go Big Red! Go Trojans!

High Treason

I was watching a movie on TV the other night called National Treasure. It's a pretty good action flick about treasure hunters looking for a cache of items collected by the Knights Templer and acquired by the Masonic founding fathers of the USA. The founding fathers left clues about how to find the treasure, so our hero's searched through historical artifacts including the Declaration of Independence to try and solve the mystery. I won't divulge if they got the gold, but they made a statement about the men that signed the Declaration that is true.

Had the colonies not defeated the British during the Revolutionary War, the men that had signed the document that got this country rolling would have all been executed (by some rather grizzly means) for high treason. I'm sure glad they put their lives on the line so we can enjoy the liberty and freedom they envisioned for our country.

Times sure have changed since then! I watch Cops on TV now and then, and it amazes me that crooks give up their rights instantly and allow a search of their vehicle, and of course the bad guys always have contraband in their car. If the perpetrator tries to object, the authorities say "if you have nothing to hide, why not let us search?", and the crook gives in. Another liberty gone because if ignorance? Maybe, but I suppose most folks think it's great that the crooks get busted.

Recently Google, the largest internet search engine was forced by the government to supply records of what we look up on the internet. Telephone companies have had special legislation passed to exempt them from lawsuits arising from government wiretaps, and special software has been developed to monitor the internet for "red flag" words and phrases with the reasoning that terrorist attacks can be averted. This is probably true too but I wonder...

"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either" - Benjamin Franklin

I agree with old Ben on this one. What are we willing to let slip away in the name of National Security? Only you can decide what is important to you and what you are willing give up, but I hope you will keep in the back of your mind that those that signed the Declaration of Independence risked their lives for liberty and freedom and we owe them by sustaining the ideals. Is it possible that government of the people, by the people, and for the people is slipping away?

Brushslingers

In days gone by, outlaws roamed the west with little fear of being caught by the long arm of the law. Names including Billy the Kid, the Clanton's, the Dalton's, Jessie James, and the Youngers robbed banks and rustled cattle with little regard for anyone other than themselves. Besides being outlaws, they were also called gunslingers.

From the Merriam-Webster dictionary - Gunslinger: a person noted for speed and skill in handling and shooting a gun especially in the American West.

Nowadays, we don't hear much about gunslingers beyond old TV shows and movies, and I'm glad there are not bands of armed men roaming the countryside in search of easy money and fame anymore. However, a new brand of outlaw (inlaw) has emerged here in Furnas County I'd like to mention today.

From the Brian Hoag dictionary - Brushslinger: a person noted for speed and skill in handling and painting with a paint brush.

This Labor Day weekend, we were visited by a couple brushslingers from Colorado territory. They showed up with old clothes, ladders, and determination. Their target? Our barn!

Now I admit that I can swing a paint brush, but these guys really do it. Even though it was a holiday weekend, they showed up and spent 3 days scraping, painting, and generally working me and Margie into the ground. However, the result of their visit is no dead bodies, and a barn about 2/3 painted. The weather was terrible for painting with winds pushing 50 out of the south, and temperatures well into the 90's.

So thanks Paintslingers! The barn is looking a lot different than it did Friday, and unless Doc Holliday, the Earp's, and the Clanton's show up for a paintfight behind the barn, we're on our way to eliminating barn envy.

Supper Speeders

I've thought for many years now that speed limits are merely a suggestion. Now I suppose the police and highway patrol don't necessarily agree, but depending on where you live, it is fact.

Here is an example that I still can hardly believe... On Denver area freeways, you can actually get a ticket for impeding traffic if you drive the speed limit in the hammer lane during rush hour. The logic behind this nutty idea is that driving the speed limit will force some aggressive drivers into road rage being stuck behind a law abiding citizen on their way home to supper. If the limit states 65, then the usual speed is around 75. Even the EPA with their gas mileage testing include speeds up to 85 MPH, so our government is aware the reality of driving is often higher than the posted limit.

What brings this up is that last night we were out to supper at the Bartley Cafe for their Mexican Night, and I sat next to the oldest speeding ticket I've ever seen. I'm not sure what year the "ticket" was written, but the driver was cited with a hand written ticket for going over 20 miles per hour in town. Along with the ticket was the official court proceedings as the driver plead not guilty to the charge.

OK... so this is really a plug for the Bartley Cafe, though they don't know about it. The cafe is owned by the town of Bartley, and the walls are covered with old pictures and other historical memorabilia from the towns past. On Thursday nights, they have Mexican Night from 5 PM until 8 PM. I have no idea about the food quality any other time, but on Thursday nights (the only night the cafe is open) it is outstanding. We have spent a good many dollars in Mexican food establishments over the years only to be disappointed with the fare available, but not so in Bartley!

Whoever is making the green chili knows how REAL Mexican food should be prepared in my opinion, not the Americanized imitations available at most places. The shredded beef is outstanding, and though the atmosphere has little to do with Mexico except for the menu on Thursday nights, this little place gets two thumbs up from us.

I hope you will take the time for the short trip to Bartley some Thursday night to sample some really good chow, and if you get stopped for speeding on the way, you might try telling the officer that you thought the speed limit was just a suggestion and see what he says.

Tomato Wars - A Dirty Business

September 16, 1985 - Twin Lakes, Colorado

That's the date that CBS News reporter Dan Rather reported on the Colorado tomato wars held in the town of Twin Lakes. It seems that a fellow named Tayor Adams started the wars in 1982 as a protest against Texans in Colorado who were, in his mind, constantly trying to change the environment of the state. A bunch of Coloradans and Texans got together and threw tomatoes at each other until everybody was out of tomatoes. This went on for several years with the winner declared by whoever had the least amount of tomato damage inflicted upon their team. Varying strategies were employed with varying degrees of success, but getting dirty was always part of the plan.

Spring, 2008 - Cambridge, Nebraska

I have no personal knowledge of this occurrence so it may not be, but it is rumored that there is an annual tomato war of sorts right here on Road 409. I was told about some neighbors, whom will remain unnamed, that go toe to toe to see who can grow the first tomato. Perhaps going to the extreme of getting up early in the morning to get the best selection of tomato plants at the store as there might be one with a bloom on it already! Not a dirty war at all, but good natured fun between friends.

Summer, 2008 - Cambridge, Nebraska

Margie is engaged in her own tomato war at the time. Actually this war is being waged over tomatoes, not with them. Since our tomato plants were planted about a month behind most other peoples in the area, we're just now starting to get our first tomatoes. Unfortunately, grasshoppers and other invaders seem to like them too, so a constant battle between her and them is underway. Dirt is involved to some extent.

Fall, 2008 - U.S.A.

With all the dirt on the airwaves right now, it must be an election year. McCain and Obama have not been officially nominated by their respective political parties yet, but everybody knows it's them so they're really into the battle now. I was really hoping for a realistic debate of the issues, but the road to the White House seems to be paved in mud, and there is never a clear cut winner in the slinging contest in my opinion. The real messages of the election are buried below the negative rhetoric, and it's pretty well documented that even though we don't like negative campaigns, they work. One thing Bill Clinton said that is obviously true about presidential elections is that "politics is a contact sport".

With all the tomatoes available just on Road 409 this year, I wish McCain and Obama would show up and have their own tomato war instead of the mud slinging affair going on right now. I'd love it if all the negative campaign crap was summed up by the two presumptive candidates being covered in rotten tomato guts, instead of listening adnausium to their double talk, half truths, and scare tactics. They would both look about as clean as they do now... figuratively speaking.

Barn Envy

Unless you have a crappy barn, you probably don't have barn envy. We've got a pretty crappy barn, so you can probably guess that I have barn envy. Barn envy is the feeling I get whenever I see an old barn that has been saved from the dozer or match. Our barn could have met that fate easily, but I wanted a barn for some reason so now I'm paying the price.

Around Cambridge, there are plenty of old barns, but only a few give me barn envy. It appears that modern day farmers don't use barns much anymore. Pole and steel buildings have almost completely replaced the old wooden structures with the cupola on the roof...if indeed a cupola is present. The barns that really catch my eye are those having a coat of barn red (why were barns usually painted red?) and that have been maintained or rebuilt.

Take my barn for example. The place we bought was a hog operation at one time, and the barn was used for... well, hogs. Unfortunately for me, the hog operations created a rather deep layer of manure that sat against the walls since who knows when, and rotted the sill plates and many of the wall studs. For a modern day farmer to spend the time on the old structure on our place would be out of the question. It is too small for modern farming operations and would quickly become a training exercise for the local volunteer fire department or be buried with all the other unwanted items hidden underground already.

Enter us city folk with the grand idea of saving the barn. Well, to make a long story short, our barn hasn't been buried or burned yet and it's a lot more stable than when we bought the place. Most of the bad sill plates and rotted studs have been repaired, much of the damaged siding on the barn has been replaced with salvaged siding from a derelict farmstead nearby. I hope to be mostly done with repairs and painting in a couple three weeks.

It will look just like any old barn that somebody painted when I get done, but at least it will look like we care about the poor old thing. It's too small a barn for much of any real use. I'll put the mechanized assault vehicle (riding mower) in there once I get the shi... er.. stuff shoveled out, and the building is pretty good habitat for barn swallows and a dry place for all the salvage wood around the place. Too bad it never had a cupola, but then I have no idea how I'd get up there to paint it anyway.

Bug Of The Week

So far, the bug of the week is a black wasp like flying insect that is tough to kill even with the infliction of numerous crushing rolled up newspaper blows. I've found that several swats are usually not enough, and the sole of my shoe is often required. These are the toughest bugs I've ever run into which is not to say that I have a lot of experience, just that I've swatted my share.

This is just the latest of a long line of bugs that decided to visit the farm, and it seems like we have a different predominate visitor from week to week. When we lived in the city, our most frequent invaders seemed to be ants and we had no trouble dispatching them, not the 'roided up super bugs we've encountered in Nebraska.

First up in the spring we had flys, followed by (not necessarily in order) Box Elder bugs, crickets, bees, wasps, moths, mosquitoes, some very tiny black flying things, and a large assortment of beetles and spiders. I'm glad we've got a few predators around to help thin out the menagerie as the barn swallows seem to be pretty excited at breakfast and supper time.

With Fall approaching faster than I figured, I've got some work to do around the place, and I hope to reduce the number of overwinter insects with some advance defensive work. Now all I need to do is find the time to research what works, how to apply it, and when. At the rate I've been getting things done lately though, we'll be in for a repeat bug parade next Spring if I don't kick it into high gear real soon.

Home Delivery

After spending the winter attacking 4 acres of mostly weeds that were 8 to 12 feet tall, we decided this spring to NOT plant anything that needing much care including a garden. For one thing, we were concerned about how we were going to take care of to us what seemed like a park sized yard. How much trouble would we have trying to get the yard and property spruced up would help us decide how big a garden to plant in the future.

Enter my mother...

While Mom was here in June, she decided that we needed a pepper and a couple tomato plants. Never mind that she wouldn't be here to enjoy them at harvest, she just had the perfect place in mind and that's where they went. All summer, Margie nurtured those plants but the pepper didn't do much except occupy space. The tomato plants on the other hand went nuts! The two plants now look down on my 5'2" wife, and there are blooms on them everywhere. Only problem is we've had blooms like this all summer it seems and only yesterday did Marge pick her first tomato from our farm(stead). There are some other tomatoes getting close to being ripe, but there are less than a dozen on both plants so far.

Shortly after our initial "harvest", one of our neighbors showed up with a yellow 5 gallon bucket in his hand. Now I figured he was bringing some more sweet corn as he had stopped just a day or so earlier with the same yellow container full of what I have to say was some of the most delicious corn on the cob I've had...ever. Anyway, it turned out it wasn't corn, but tomatoes. 5 GALLONS of tomatoes. We got one tomato and he's got 5 GALLONS he's giving away.

Needless to say, it stole a bit of Margie's tomato thunder, but she got right to work and we've got a pretty good supply of tomato soup available for use this winter already. The unexpected benefit of country living is reaping the benefits of our neighbors gardens, and it turns out they provide home delivery as well!

I think I've mentioned we've got great neighbors before, but if you don't know, we've got GREAT neighbors! Folks are so generous around here providing us home grown goodies including rhubarb, cut green beans, pitted cherries (ready for a pie!), sweet corn, and now tomatoes.

Next year we're going to have a garden. Now I don't know what we'll plant that the neighbors don't already have, but we hope to repay a bit of their kindness with some home delivered produce of our own.

Thanks!

Just a word of thanks for everyone that supported the Furnas County Relay For Life. We had a good turnout and over $30,000 was raised to help fight cancer and provide funds to wipe out this dreaded disease. It rained and the event closed up about 3AM, but I can still feel those miles in my legs so I won't complain about not walking further.

Thanks again everyone!

Too Late

I suppose it's too late to back out now. Today is the Furnas County Relay For Life and our team is in town and we'll get set up for the Relay this afternoon. We've bothered just about everybody we know for a donation, but I wish we could have done better. It's tough asking people to donate to charity when they have plenty of things going on in their own lives.

For example, my brother-in-law got laid off his job in Denver a month ago, yet sis and bro in law somehow managed a big contribution. They have 2 kids so making a donation had to be a real stretch for them, yet they felt compelled to help out.

I know McCook had it's Relay last week and many of you donated to that worthwhile cause, but for those of you that didn't, forgot, or maybe never thought about contributing to cancer research, it's really not too late to help.

Tonight starting at 7PM at the Cambridge track and football field, those of us that feel very strongly about helping find a cure for cancer will be out putting some miles on our shoes until 7AM Saturday morning. There will be games, food, basket autcion (there is some really cool stuff up for bid) and numerous activities for the whole family.

It may be too late for us to back out of the Relay as I'd rather sleep than walk all night, but it's not too late for you to help our cause. If you can't make it to the Relay, you can still help beat cancer at Hoag's Heroes Relay for Life Web Site.

If you can, please come on down, have some fun, and celebrate life with the Furnas County Relay For Life. I can't speak for any other teams, but at midnight Hoag's Heros will be holding a frozen T-shirt contest with a $25 prize for the first person getting their frozen shirt on. It won't be easy to be the winner of this one and a limited number of frozen shirts are available. Stop by Hoag's Heros campsite (you can't miss us, we got us a sign!) and meet the team and have some fun. I hope to see you there!

Farming 101

Living in the city for years didn't teach me about farming. Not many city folk have need for a tractor, combine, or other farm implements, and the public schools I went to didn't spend much time on Ag education, or I wasn't paying much attention which could be entirely possible too.

I had some farming relatives when I was a kid, but my time on the farm was limited to a visit of a few hours and were not much of an educational experience. The things I clearly remember from those visits was the butchered chickens and the resulting headless parade, the cream separator, a hand water pump in the kitchen, the rain barrel, and the gravel roads to get there. So now that we live in farm country, I really want to understand why my neighbors do what they do in the fields, the timing involved, and how they go about accomplishing their goal.

In my quest for information, my neighbors have been very willing to share their farming knowledge such as why there is silk on corn, and showing me the operation of farming equipment. I kinda feel like a kid wanting to learn something fun and new, but bothering my neighbor with "childish" questions probably makes them wonder where in the world I came from.

With that in mind here is a list of topics that I think could be included in a Farming 101 advanced education class for people like me...

Vehicle operations. Covers multiple vehicle types from typical passenger and off road vehicles through all types of heavy equipment including off camber and slippery condition operations as well as vehicle recovery. Sometimes the tractor gets stuck!

Diesel Mechanics - Fix your tractor, combine, or other diesel power equipment.
Auto Mechanics - Fix your farms pickup truck.
Building Construction/Maintenance - Includes concrete, roofing, carpentry etc.
Animal Husbandry - How livestock do their thing.
Horticulture - How plants do their thing.
Meteorology - Is it raining and if not, when?
Entomology - How bugs do their thing.
Chemistry - Compounds designed improve crops, kill weeds, or destroy insects.
Plumbing - Those center pivots pump it and livestock need it!
High Tech - GPS, computers, and robotics OH MY!
Crops - What can be grown.
Crop Rotation - Sustainable farming principals explained.
Basic Electricity - It's nice to have a light in the barn!
The Commodity Market - Selling Ag products to the highest bidder.
Business Management - Keeping the books straight and making a profit.
Legal Issues - What can get you into trouble?

This is just my first few thoughts about farming and farmers knowledge level. You really can't teach a lot this stuff as OJT (on the job training) is probably the best teacher, but getting a better basic understanding of what goes on just outside my front door is high on my priority list, and a Farming 101 course is just what I could use.

What Currency?

I owe, what I can't seem figure out is how to pay my debt. We've got some what I have to say are really great neighbors. I've mentioned before that we've gotten help in the form of heavy lifting, dirt moving and gravel spreading, but I may not have mentioned that some weed spraying and concrete removal have been accomplished as well. Today a JD4330 shows up with a field mower on the back and made short work of a rather large area that needed the exact type of mechanism used.

Now every time these fine folks show up and make short work of what Margie and I figured to be a rather large job, we offer to pay for fuel, chemicals, or whatever we can, but our benefactors just smile and drive off into the sunset. I know that chemicals and fuel cost money, so here I sit trying to figure out what I can do to repay some of their kindness and helpfulness.

I'm thinking that if I can convince them to train me, I'll gladly offer free help in exchange. Maybe I can run a tractor when time is short and much needs to get done, be a gofer, truck driver, or whatever. I've driven some pretty big equipment when I was in the Air Force and have a proven record of being able to be trained, so maybe they would take the chance on an unpaid helper trying to learn the ropes.

I guess I just want to be as good a neighbor to them as they are to us, and since they won't let me pay for their expenses to take care of my property, maybe I can repay them by lending a hand when things get hectic. Only problem, to be helpful, I need to be fully trained before the help is needed.

Then again... they may feel that trying to train a city slicker to do farm work is a lot more work than the work that could be accomplished without training said city folk. In which case the only currency they seem to accept is a heart felt Thank You!

Bad Odds

I've heard the term "odds" used in association with probability statements numerous times. For example, we often hear about the odds of winning or loosing associated with gambling of all types. One description I found that makes about as much sense as anything... "Odds are an alternative way to express the likelihood that an event will occur". So good odds to me would mean that something is likely to occur, and bad odds? Well... you get the picture.

Blackie, our modified Jeep TJ (Wrangler) has a soft top. For those of you familiar with Jeep soft tops, you know that the canvas door skins with zippers don't last forever. Zippers it seems, just were not made to go around corners as they are asked to do on Jeep tops, and replacement of these "door skins" as they are called is necessary every couple of years when the zippers fail. There are numerous manufacturers of replacement door skins as well as the Jeep dealers themselves, and I'll tell you that I cringe every time I have to dig for a couple of Franklin's to keep the weather on Blackie's exterior.

We live in Nebraska, not exactly known for the number of Jeeps on the road, let alone soft top Jeeps, so what odds would you give for finding soft top Jeep door skins brand new at a garage sale in Cambridge? Don't forget to factor in that within the last 48 hours, a discussion had taken place about the need to get some new skins ordered before the old ones give out?

BAD ODDS is what I'd say! When we lived in the Denver area, a city well known for the number of Jeeps on the road, the odds of finding brand Jeep TJ door skins at a garage sale would be about the same as me trying out for the Denver Broncos. So of course the Cambridge yard sales held yesterday yielded exactly the above mentioned door skins at an incredible price.

What are the odds of that happening? Pretty long I imagine, but just more proof to me that us City Slickers are supposed to be here.

The Acme Automated Snowthrower Returns

The Acme Automated Snowthrower (see blog archives if you are not familiar with this) and his wife showed up and put his shovel manure and barn repairman attachments on. I'm embarrassed to admit that I can't keep up with the 77 year old by any stretch of the imagination as he seems to be able to work in the worst of conditions and not be bothered one bit.

The temperature in the shade showed 101 but that didn't slow Tom down one bit. He was on a mission, possessed with the notion that in two days, the rotted sill plates and studs on the old barns south and west sides would be dug out and replaced. Day one had him with a pick digging through the crust to expose the concrete foundation. Day two we're off the to lumber yard for supplies and then the fun began in only 99 degree heat.

I suppose most of you locals don't notice the humidity around here much, but for someone that has spent most of his life in the southwest US, I'm not used to it one bit. We jacked up the walls, removed the rotted sill plates, drilled and installed new retainer bolts in the foundation, installed new sills, cut off the rotted studs, and fashioned cripple type supports and got it all done in 2 1/2 days. Father in law is amazing! Thanks Tom!

There is a lot of work left to do on the barn. I'm in the process of tearing the doors off the front of the barn to provide better support for new and replaced doors. I've got a lot of trim and siding to replace too. My neighbor owns several farmsteads in various states of repair, and he stopped and told me where I can get some siding to match the old stuff on the barn that rotted. By the time we get done with the old building, it will look pretty good I hope.

Perfect Timing

I see that McCook got 4" of rain yesterday, and we got a little over an inch at our place north of Cambridge. Our farming neighbor spoke of needing rain just a couple days ago...he had just finished up his wheat harvest, and while at a local eatery we heard the same thing... "sure hope it rains, the corn is lookin' kinda stressed". One of the other patrons asked the farmer if his wheat harvest was completed...the reply was "yesterday".

So my thought is that farming is much about luck and timing. Reduced water allotments for irrigation weigh heavily on the minds of the locals and the weather is a conversation topic almost everywhere we go. If you love to gamble, being a farmer might fit right into your personality... no rain, no crop, no money, you're out.

Maybe the perfect timing luck of the farmers around me is rubbing off. In our war with the weeds, the light MAV - mechanized assault vehicle (riding mower) has become a casualty. When I last started my scheduled counterattack, one of two main hydraulic pumps that control vehicle movement completely failed leaving me with a quickly expanding enemy and little effective way to fight off the attack.

We contacted a local business about reinforcements and struck an agreement for an almost new MAV including the surrender of the 20 year old MAV. It was to be delivered into service last week, but one thing we've learned about some businesses in this area, you can count on getting exactly what you want...just not exactly when you may have understood it was to happen.

To be fair, I think the fellow we bought the mower from is one busy guy. Besides civic duties, he's also a repair guru and works on all types of equipment. I think he has to prioritize his work to be helpful to whoever needs his services the most at the moment, and though this concept was new to us coming from the city, we fully understand and accept it. Few city businesses perform a wide range of services like we've encountered in rural Nebraska.

Though a few days late, the new mower got delivered a day before the rain came giving me plenty of time to hack the heck out of the advancing enemy. To help pay for the equipment, our economic stimulus check is on the way just in the nick of time. Maybe some farmers perfect timing luck was left on the farm for us to use, or it's rubbed off on us from our neighbors, or just maybe we're just being taken care of by the Highest Power. I think that would explain "perfect" timing best.

Truck Stop

I mentioned the other day that I got my first ride on a tractor, and it's happened again... another first ride but this time in a combine. The combines have been hard at work around Cambridge working over the wheat fields, and it was another real thrill for me to ride along to watch the big cutters operation.

Watching that big wheel out front and learning that you don't just drive a combine, you operate it was a bit surprising to me being a city slicker. I had always figured a combine was pretty much like a large lawn mower and you could just point it and enjoy the view. I learned real fast that there is a lot more than that involved!

I have a feeling my neighbors think I'm a bit nuts or perhaps just a big kid for wanting to ride along during harvest operations. Still, there is a lot I want to learn about Ag and farming operations, and I seem to learn real well through the observation method so until they tell me to leave them alone, I'll keep askin'.

Here comes the truck stop part of the story...

Part of the afternoon's fun was a trip to the Bartley grain elevator in a powerful if not comfortable semi loaded with wheat. Now I'm not a stranger to the cab of a truck... I drove just about everything the US Air Force had, and I spent many a day behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler hauling equipment into remote locations, but a delivery to a grain elevator was something completely new to me.
It wasn't really any different than I expected, other than the line of trucks waiting to dump their cargo. When we neared the elevator, the line of trucks ran through the elevator yard and past the railroad tracks on the county road. It happened to be one of those hot days in the upper 90's, no clouds, breeze, or air conditioning in the truck.

It didn't take long for the lineup of grain haulers to move through the scales and onto the grates where the grain was dumped. It appeared to me to be a well organized ballet of trucks and spotters that moved with the simplest of hand signals and accomplished a lot of work without a word being spoken. Still, it takes a bit of time for several hundred bushels of wheat to fall out of a truck, so the line movement was more like rush hour in Los Angeles.

Please help us fight cancer! Visit Hoag's Heroes Relay for Life Web Site.

I need a band!

A couple nights ago, we were to Arapahoe to see the 43rd US Army Band play in town park. What a treat! The guys and gals did an outstanding job entertaining the crowd with some fun and inspiring music. Of course part of the reason behind the Army band concerts is recruiting, and a comment that recruiters were available to answer any questions was made. How great is that! Have an organization with what seems like unlimited funding offer entertainment with the background agenda finding new recruits.

I need a band! Why? Because it might help me enlist the help of a different kind of soldier. No, this isn't about weed warriors for those of you that have been following along for some time, this is about making donation to help the American Cancer Society.

Relay for Life is about to happen in Furnas county, and I ask you to dig into your pocket a bit and help Hoag's Heroes. Our Relay "team" is small and we don't know many folks to ask to sponsor us. Every penny you donate goes to the American Cancer Society to help fight this dreaded disease.

I can't speak for anyone else, but my motivation for helping in the fight against cancer is that even though I beat it, I wouldn't wish it on anyone and will do everything I can to help stop it so you or someone you know doesn't have to.

So strike up the band, and please go to our ACS Relay For Life web page and make a donation. You will be helping someone that doesn't know they need the help... yet.

Bioluminwho?

"Broken Arrow" was a movie title that was defined within the movie, as well as being rather a well known term outside the military community. In the movie, a broken arrow was described as the loss of a nuclear weapon, and the person being told what a broken arrow was replied..."I don't know which is worse, losing nuclear weapons, or the fact that it happens so often there's a term for it".

We've got terms and definitions for just about everything. Here's an example...

Bioluminescence - the emission of light from living organisms, or the light emitted by same...

We've got an abundance of Fireflies at our place that turn the lawn into dazzling displays of twinkling lights on a nightly basis. I remember catching these little creatures when I was a kid growing up in Omaha, but I've not seen Lightning Bugs since we moved to Colorado when I was 15. I suppose the humidity and altitude isn't favorable for them there, but seeing them again in Nebraska is really a treat for me, especially since there are so many!

The reason for the light show is it's part of their mating ritual, and it appears there is a lot of lovin' going on with the display of thousands of lights blinking on and off. They kinda remind me of a darkened concert hall with people holding up butane lighters, though I have no idea how that idea ever got started.

Fireflies are not only entertaining to watch, they are incredibly efficient producing their light. Nearly 100% of a Fireflies light is given off as light compared to a standard electric light bulb that gives off only 10% light and 90% heat.

Chemoluminescence is what makes glow necklaces and glow sticks work, and is mans invention/imitation of bioluminescence. Personally, I think Fireflies got it right and mankind is still stumbling along in the dark pretty much.