..what Ralph is going to do in the morning after he gets Char out the door and on her way to work.
I have a sister in-laws father who didn't go to work one Monday morning. He hadn't missed a day in years. A lot of years. His wife asked him if he wasn't late for work. He said, "I retired Friday."
News to her.
Char knew about this one.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Bike Show
Yesterday was pretty interesting. We went to a motorcycle show in Lincoln Nebraska. It was huge. I never realized the interest there is in this sort of thing. The main reason for us attending was to see our sons entry into the restored bikes section of the show with his 1947 Indian. This first pic is a pic of a picture. It shows him sitting on the bike circa 2002 when he first began working on it in his spare time.
The next pic was taken yesterday at the show. Same bike. Same kid.
This is the one who did my Allis D-14 along with my other son.
The above red bike is also a 47 Indian and was also painted by him. It belongs to a friend. Most of the bikes in that 'Old Indians' display were infact painted by him. The ones sitting behind the red bike.
The red side-car that you can't see very well is the same one featured below holding two of my grandchildren. The family photo is missing the youngest. Georgia was sleeping like a...well a baby. I think mostly because she is. We stopped at our other sons place to see if Hudson (green shirt) could come out and play with Grandma and Grandpa. We took him back home sporting a leather vest and a tie dyed head scarf. They agreed to let him go with us again, anyway.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
District 19
Midwest Producer
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 9:47 AM CST
I recently went to a funeral for an old friend. She was 97 years old and only struggled in the last few of those years. Before the effort it took her to exit this life, she had spent a lifetime of clear thinking and planning. It seemed she was totally in control and I suppose it was her masterful ability to or-ganize everything in her life that made her stand out to so many of us. Those of us who were pallbearers stood in the church foyer talking and reminiscing about Almeda. We soon discovered that we had all been asked to be a pall bearer at this funeral, about 10 to 15 years ago, by her personally. We talked about the impact she had had on all of us and hundreds of others of us, long ago when we were children.
You see Mrs. Hurlocker was our country school teacher. I was fortunate enough to have her for grades 1 through 5, after which she went to another school. I don't have the exact figures but I think she taught about 20 students spread out over the eight grades, all at the same time.
While attending "Tobin" School District 19, I don't recall having any free time to dally. I was always busy doing assignments. Each grade would take turns coming up to the bench by her big desk to receive instruction and the work she expected us to do in the next hour or so. If we needed some help, an older student would be asked to pull up alongside and take command of the problem we were having. I don't believe this was a bad thing for either the "student" teacher or the student having trouble. By this we learned that we can all have trouble in certain phases in our life and we can all assist others out of their dilemmas. This all took place before political correctness, it was for us to learn the lesson well that if we tried hard we could succeed and if we loafed, we were going to lose. But say what you will, we had the basics of reading and writing and math down cold. Mrs. Hurlocker liked repetition.
I fondly recall that she knew who the baseball fans were in the school and would afford a couple of us the opportunity to take advantage of the latest in technology. One crisp fall afternoon, she opened the window on her Ford Fairlane and turned on the radio so we could sit on the school's porch and listen to the last few innings of the World Series. That was where I sat on Oct. 13, 1960, with one or two others and listened to my beloved Yankees lose the seventh game of the Series to the Pirates when Bill Mazerowski hit a ninth inning home run off of Yankee reliever Ralph Terry. The ball blasted over the head of Yankee left fielder Yogi Berra, to end the game. It was the first walk off home run in Series history and I was crushed, but I at least got to hear it, thanks to our teacher. She could see the stress it had caused this ten year old boy and she was kind. She always was.
At the funeral, I began to recall all of the pretty successful folks in this world that she helped get started. I thought of farmers, doctors, scientists, teachers, salesmen, mothers and fathers, and the list goes on, all solid United States citizens that she had pointed down the right path. The little folks she gathered around the flag pole each morning to give the pledge and raise 'Ol Glory' had turned out just fine.
As we continued the conversation in the foyer, we talked that none of us had ever witnessed Mrs. Hurlocker lose her composure. She was always in control. She was always organized. She had to be, to accomplish what she did.
Thinking back on that period in my life, the system was pretty simple, the local farmers were on the school board and their charge was straight forward: take care of the building and hire the best teacher they could find.
It makes one pause and wonder at the money we spend on education in today's world and just how we got to where we are now. I do know that every child needs a caring, well-organized and intentioned teacher who can make a difference. District 19 sure had one.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 9:47 AM CST
I recently went to a funeral for an old friend. She was 97 years old and only struggled in the last few of those years. Before the effort it took her to exit this life, she had spent a lifetime of clear thinking and planning. It seemed she was totally in control and I suppose it was her masterful ability to or-ganize everything in her life that made her stand out to so many of us. Those of us who were pallbearers stood in the church foyer talking and reminiscing about Almeda. We soon discovered that we had all been asked to be a pall bearer at this funeral, about 10 to 15 years ago, by her personally. We talked about the impact she had had on all of us and hundreds of others of us, long ago when we were children.
You see Mrs. Hurlocker was our country school teacher. I was fortunate enough to have her for grades 1 through 5, after which she went to another school. I don't have the exact figures but I think she taught about 20 students spread out over the eight grades, all at the same time.
While attending "Tobin" School District 19, I don't recall having any free time to dally. I was always busy doing assignments. Each grade would take turns coming up to the bench by her big desk to receive instruction and the work she expected us to do in the next hour or so. If we needed some help, an older student would be asked to pull up alongside and take command of the problem we were having. I don't believe this was a bad thing for either the "student" teacher or the student having trouble. By this we learned that we can all have trouble in certain phases in our life and we can all assist others out of their dilemmas. This all took place before political correctness, it was for us to learn the lesson well that if we tried hard we could succeed and if we loafed, we were going to lose. But say what you will, we had the basics of reading and writing and math down cold. Mrs. Hurlocker liked repetition.
I fondly recall that she knew who the baseball fans were in the school and would afford a couple of us the opportunity to take advantage of the latest in technology. One crisp fall afternoon, she opened the window on her Ford Fairlane and turned on the radio so we could sit on the school's porch and listen to the last few innings of the World Series. That was where I sat on Oct. 13, 1960, with one or two others and listened to my beloved Yankees lose the seventh game of the Series to the Pirates when Bill Mazerowski hit a ninth inning home run off of Yankee reliever Ralph Terry. The ball blasted over the head of Yankee left fielder Yogi Berra, to end the game. It was the first walk off home run in Series history and I was crushed, but I at least got to hear it, thanks to our teacher. She could see the stress it had caused this ten year old boy and she was kind. She always was.
At the funeral, I began to recall all of the pretty successful folks in this world that she helped get started. I thought of farmers, doctors, scientists, teachers, salesmen, mothers and fathers, and the list goes on, all solid United States citizens that she had pointed down the right path. The little folks she gathered around the flag pole each morning to give the pledge and raise 'Ol Glory' had turned out just fine.
As we continued the conversation in the foyer, we talked that none of us had ever witnessed Mrs. Hurlocker lose her composure. She was always in control. She was always organized. She had to be, to accomplish what she did.
Thinking back on that period in my life, the system was pretty simple, the local farmers were on the school board and their charge was straight forward: take care of the building and hire the best teacher they could find.
It makes one pause and wonder at the money we spend on education in today's world and just how we got to where we are now. I do know that every child needs a caring, well-organized and intentioned teacher who can make a difference. District 19 sure had one.
Wild Blue Satellite Internet and Great Plains Communications
I have today officially fired Wild Blue and Great Plains Communications of Blair Nebraska.
I lost my internet signal on January 30. That day the service ticket was sent from WB to Great Plains.
Today is February 19th and I finally got a call from Johnson Communications who ultimately got the ticket. They are probably the ones to blame but there is enough blame to go around. They wanted to come out tomorrow to fix my dish or my modem.
I asked the lady if she didn't think 3 weeks was too long of a time to go without service expecially when the internet is such a integral part of doing business. We have two business' and my job as a county supervisor to think about. We file all of our tax forms to the state online.
I told Johnson Communications not to bother coming out because I had already cancelled my service and promised to do all within my power to warn everyone about the troubles with all three companies.
I will just say that if you do business with Wild Blue, or Great Plains Commuications of Blair Nebraska, or Johnson Communications of Iowa, you like me, are a fool.
I lost my internet signal on January 30. That day the service ticket was sent from WB to Great Plains.
Today is February 19th and I finally got a call from Johnson Communications who ultimately got the ticket. They are probably the ones to blame but there is enough blame to go around. They wanted to come out tomorrow to fix my dish or my modem.
I asked the lady if she didn't think 3 weeks was too long of a time to go without service expecially when the internet is such a integral part of doing business. We have two business' and my job as a county supervisor to think about. We file all of our tax forms to the state online.
I told Johnson Communications not to bother coming out because I had already cancelled my service and promised to do all within my power to warn everyone about the troubles with all three companies.
I will just say that if you do business with Wild Blue, or Great Plains Commuications of Blair Nebraska, or Johnson Communications of Iowa, you like me, are a fool.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
I Need Your Advice
I think I've found a great solution to Wild Blue. I'm going to fire them. It's now been 2 weeks of no internet service without an offer to come fix it. I've cajoled, pleaded, yelled, and tried messing with their brains. They flat out don't care.
Soooo..I bought a new cell phone and have hooked it to my computer for a modem and it is fast. I mean instant. It's probably what you are used to, but I've never had anything fast. This is fast.
It's about $5 bucks a month cheaper too. No contract to boot.
Since the plan is specific to my cell phone and we have no internet when it's with me, I plan to switch to a local company's micro link type service in the future but until then, I'm going this way. Also it will allow me to run our laptops while traveling.
Here's where I need your help. For email I started with Juno then changed my address to dial up then changed my address when I switched to satellite and now I'll need to do it again.
This time I want to go to my last email address. (ie, yahoo or google or whatever.)
WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST??
Soooo..I bought a new cell phone and have hooked it to my computer for a modem and it is fast. I mean instant. It's probably what you are used to, but I've never had anything fast. This is fast.
It's about $5 bucks a month cheaper too. No contract to boot.
Since the plan is specific to my cell phone and we have no internet when it's with me, I plan to switch to a local company's micro link type service in the future but until then, I'm going this way. Also it will allow me to run our laptops while traveling.
Here's where I need your help. For email I started with Juno then changed my address to dial up then changed my address when I switched to satellite and now I'll need to do it again.
This time I want to go to my last email address. (ie, yahoo or google or whatever.)
WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST??
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Crabby Cliffs Krabby Dip
I’ve had an idea for a dip for a couple of months now. I’m sure there must be one just like it somewhere but as for this one, I made it up and put it together for the Super Bowl get together that we had. It seemed to disappear quickly even though it really was a pretty large amount of dip.
Keep in mind that for a recipe to appeal to me you have to be able to dump an entire package or container or can, in at once or at least leave the measurements up to my judgment. So here it is.
16 oz carton of Sour Cream
12 oz package of Imitation Crab Meat (shredded with a knife or cut with a pastry cutter) (Or you could try stomping on it.)
8 oz pkg Cream Cheese (softened)
About 6 oz of a bottle of Cocktail Sauce. Or more. Or less.
Mix it all together and season to taste. I used garlic salt, onion powder, and white pepper. . Then chill.
TIP: Reserve 2 bites of the crab meat and 2 tablespoons of the sauce. Before mixing, dip the meat into the sauce and eat both pieces. Tell folks that this was to check the integrity of both the sauce and the meat. You can’t be too careful when it comes to the health of your family and friends. Then try the dip on a number of different crackers and chips and veggies. If there is any dip left, serve to your company.
For a printer friendly version of this recipe, retype it and print.
I'm going shopping till Friday nite. Well, isn't that what you'd call a supervisors workshop?
See ya.
Keep in mind that for a recipe to appeal to me you have to be able to dump an entire package or container or can, in at once or at least leave the measurements up to my judgment. So here it is.
16 oz carton of Sour Cream
12 oz package of Imitation Crab Meat (shredded with a knife or cut with a pastry cutter) (Or you could try stomping on it.)
8 oz pkg Cream Cheese (softened)
About 6 oz of a bottle of Cocktail Sauce. Or more. Or less.
Mix it all together and season to taste. I used garlic salt, onion powder, and white pepper. . Then chill.
TIP: Reserve 2 bites of the crab meat and 2 tablespoons of the sauce. Before mixing, dip the meat into the sauce and eat both pieces. Tell folks that this was to check the integrity of both the sauce and the meat. You can’t be too careful when it comes to the health of your family and friends. Then try the dip on a number of different crackers and chips and veggies. If there is any dip left, serve to your company.
For a printer friendly version of this recipe, retype it and print.
I'm going shopping till Friday nite. Well, isn't that what you'd call a supervisors workshop?
See ya.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Wild Blue Satellite Internet
I have spent 10 days without an internet connection. The thing seems to be miraculously working this morning so I wanted you to know why I haven't been around. The problem has been determined to be an equipment problem. The dish, or its aiming or the modem. I've been needing a service call. I've spent about 4 hours on the phone, being passed from city to city to town to technician and even to different countries all in an attempt to avoid having one of their non-existent service men come out. WildBlue doesn't seem to even have someone who can call me about coming out. Maybe sometime this week.
In the mean time I have contacted a different company who will be out to install a new system. I can't wait to make the phone call to Wild Blue saying "I know you just had someone out to fix my system, but You had your chance."
I did find out something that would be of help. If I had purchased my Wildblue service thru Directv, one of their service people would have come out. I've had nothing but perfect response from Directv since I started with them in 1996. If this new company isn't able to provide good enough reception here, I will cancel my Wildblue and then call Directv and have it re-installed and bundled thru them. At least they have an army of skilled service people to help customers. Great Plains Communications also bears a great deal of the blame for all of this. They are the local distributors for W.B.
Now to go answer some email. I was over my quota (because I couldn't get my email) so most of it was returned. I do have 55 new messages to do something with. Later kids.
In the mean time I have contacted a different company who will be out to install a new system. I can't wait to make the phone call to Wild Blue saying "I know you just had someone out to fix my system, but You had your chance."
I did find out something that would be of help. If I had purchased my Wildblue service thru Directv, one of their service people would have come out. I've had nothing but perfect response from Directv since I started with them in 1996. If this new company isn't able to provide good enough reception here, I will cancel my Wildblue and then call Directv and have it re-installed and bundled thru them. At least they have an army of skilled service people to help customers. Great Plains Communications also bears a great deal of the blame for all of this. They are the local distributors for W.B.
Now to go answer some email. I was over my quota (because I couldn't get my email) so most of it was returned. I do have 55 new messages to do something with. Later kids.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
