Day 1 of the trip

Angel at Hoover Dam

Left way later than I’d originally planned. But still had time to wander around Hoover Dam a bit. Getting there late was surprisingly nice, most of the crowds were gone, and it wasn’t as hot only 104F instead of 106F earlier in the day.

“But it’s a DRY heat”

You could feel the moisture being sucked right out of you.

Being without the crowds was bliss. I actually got to see the representations of the constellations that are built into the plaza around the Angels.

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The water Level in Lake Mead is really low. They’ve had to extend the docks again and again somewhere on the lake, they simply gave up pouring the concrete to make a nice ramp. The cost of the concrete was breaking the dock owners pocketbook.

I’ve managed to take some other photos that I’m kind of liking. 

The photos at Hoover dam are kind of limited because I wasn’t able to go on the tour. I was just walking across the top.

I can officially say I’ve walked from Nevada to Arizona and back. So can a million other people but it’s fun to be able to say it.

Made it to Utah crashing in a hotel after only 8 hours on the road. I was thinking about camping but it’s midnight local time and Still 90F with little to no breeze.

I’m all for roughing it but even I have my limits. We decided instead to revel in the glory  that is a hotel room where you can make it cold enough that the moisture in the air condenses into rain.

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Ahhhhhhh!

Including some other photos here, these are from my phone… I’m actually pretty impressed with the quality. A little cropping, a touch of color correction and perhaps CLEANING THE Smudgy lens and these too would be ok.

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T -23 Hours and counting

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Doing the final prep for a departure tomorrow to a family event.

My intention is to continue blogging albeit sporadically and perhaps even putting photos from the trip up as part of the blog.

That is provided that I don’t kill my partner from having been confined in a car for 30 hours.

Fingers crossed, the trip will be pleasant and uneventful…

 

Busy bodies win

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Friends of Animals, a Connecticut-based animal-rights organization has succeeded in Imposing their will on Texas Ranchers.

A federal court has banned the hunting of exotic animals on private land. While these moronic animal rights activists have managed to have the hunting forbidden they have doomed the 3 species they sought to protect.

The scimitar onyx is extinct in Africa and has been since 2000. But these creatures have thrived in Texas on private ranches. The Texas ranchers using their skills in animal husbandry managed to grow a population of 32 oryx into a population of over 11000.

The rarest of the 3 species is the dama gazelle Their population in 1979 was 9 there are now over 800.

The last species to be brought back from extinction is the addax. There were only 2 in 1971 there are now 5000 of them living in safety on Texas ranches.

Well they were living in safety…

The ranchers allowed hunting of these creatures. To the tune of anywhere between $7,500 to $12,500 dollars.

This extremely high cost was paid by a relatively small percentage of the hunting population. They gladly paid because they got to hunt without having to go to Africa, where these creatures don’t exist anyway.

The cash went to the ranchers and they in turn used the money to continue their breeding programs, feeding, watering, veterinary care and any number of other things required to maintain a heard of animals.

This business model makes sense!

It F1GOD00Zwas in the best interests of the Ranchers to have and maintain a vibrant healthy heard of animals that would otherwise be extinct. The numbers show that that is exactly what was going on.

Friends of Animals… Has no fucking clue. Their law suit and subsequent win has now made the herds a liability.

Given the numbers of the herds, if you had 100 taken by hunters a year then you have probably only equaled the natural predation that would have occurred in the wild.

Although if all these creatures were returned to Africa they would probably be extinct inside a year.

Their former territory has become a desert. There are literally thousands of people starving in those areas, does Friends of animals really think that starving people won’t hunt every last one of these creatures down and eat them?

And since WHEN does the federal government have the right to say to a private land owner what they can and cannot do with and on their property?

YES! Folks… these animals are the property of the ranchers. They bred them, they fed them and in that way they are no different from cows.

So they can’t be hunted anymore…

But I’ll bet they can be slaughtered and turned into meat.

And who could blame the ranchers? They have to make a living. Who’s going to pay for the maintenance and upkeep? These ranches have to turn a profit. These creatures had a higher sales price than cattle. But NOW cattle is the only option the ranchers have to be able to feed their families.

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Does Friends of Animals think that the ranchers are just going to keep shelling out what must be at least tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain these creatures?

Really? Maybe Friends of animals should start  fundraising and PAY for the maintenance themselves.

How long then until FOA decides that the costs are too high?

Our country is supposedly a free country.

When I see stupid stuff like some socialist fucking morons in Connecticut who have NEVER spent a day at hard labor like the kind you do on a ranch or a horse farm, I loose my mind.

Our Country and our world would be a DAMN sight better if people kept their noses IN THEIR OWN BUSINESS!

These idiots have no clue about the level of work and dare I say it love that these ranchers have for these animals.

Yeah, the ranchers allowed hunting but they knew that typically ONLY the old, slow, blind, or otherwise infirm would be killed. That’s the way of nature… I don’t care if these animals are inside a 50,000 acre enclosure. It still requires some level of skill to track one and eventually shoot it. ( I am opposed to hunting them from vehicles. Hunt them… on foot. Pit your hunting skills against the animals avoidance skills. Be an Apex predator, and remember even the cheetah doesn’t get a kill every day.)

Animal conservatorship and husbandry is about maintaing a balance between what your land can support and the number of animals  that land can support. I don’t see any lions, cheetahs, leopards or for that matter any apex predator except man wandering these ranches in Texas. If these herds are allowed to grow uncontrolled they will eventually starve. That is a stone fact.

The ranchers now have to choose… They’re going to choose cattle.

I hope Friends of Animals is pleased with single handedly causing the permanent extinction of these three beautiful species.

I for one will be ready and able to POINT out that Friends of Animals and a socialist court system are responsible.

I am so over Crazy!!

ChaosMan

You know, we all deal with enough crazy shit in our daily lives to make our ancestors convinced that we are all out of our damn minds.

In my neighborhood, there are a number of “eccentric people“.

All but one are pretty quiet and not much of a nuisance. You can most of the time overlook their respective crazy. I think they’re all fairly harmless.

One however, more than makes up for the others and As she’s getting older I’m convinced she’s getting crazier and more dangerous.

Several times offer the past few months she’s been screaming at the top of her lungs at people that weren’t there.

Today… While I’m detailing my car, enjoying the silence that is supposed to be what we enjoy up here in the mountains.

She starts playing music so loud that the whole neighborhood can hear. When I say hear… I mean rattle your teeth loud.

The volume level in my fucking garage 500 feet away was uncomfortably loud.

Then she decided to go on a little promenade carrying on a conversation with at least 4 people (none of whom are actually there). She’s also letting her dogs run free which makes my dogs INSANE. 

My dogs don’t like her dogs, and she finds some humor in my dogs charging the fence to get at her ill behaved animals.

I know I’m supposed to be kind and forgiving but I ask you where the fuck does it stop?

We call the cops, they come up she’s quiet for 20 minutes then it starts all over again. The cops can’t really do anything because SHE’S NUTS and if they don’t perceive her to be a threat to herself, then at most they’ll give her a disturbing the peace citation.

I swear, more and more lately it feels like my right to freedom, happiness, peace in my own home are being steamrolled over by other people and no matter what you do to stand up against it, you get nowhere. 

So I’ve taken the only action I can. I’ve closed the house up, turned on the A/C and decided to do stuff that needs to be done inside. 

Granted I’m comfortable… But it simply means that I’ve imprisoned myself in my own home. 

This kind of SHIT is exactly why I hate living in apartments, condos, and town homes. You always end up being imprisoned just so you can have some peace & quiet. 

I bought a house 80miles out of Los Angeles to escape the bullshit. That apparently was an Epic #FAIL

…And now she’s doing Xena… I expect her to be butt naked in the next 15 minutes. (Not a pretty sight at all!)

Mind you, I’m sitting in my house doors & windows closed and locked washing machine running and I still hear her.

FUCK!

I am sick of other peoples crazy intruding on my life.

This sounds terrible…

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I have the entire house to myself, and the weekend to myself too!

For two whole days I can turn the house into my man cave… 

I don’t have to be embarrassed that I’m watching a really bad “b” or “c” grade scifi movie. I can stay in my boxers if that’s what I want to do. And I can eat what I want… when I want and nobody can say shit about it.

I’m on antibiotics again so I really shouldn’t be drinking… but I think I can sneak a Jack Daniels without the world coming to an end.

I do have to do some things, but those chores are actually chores that I like doing. The plan is to wash and wax my car and do a little detailing without endless interruptions. Then start pre-packing for a trip so I know everything I need and want is in the luggage and ready to go.

I don’t have to fix anyones technology but my own. If I don’t feel like fixin stuff, the shit can stay broken and there’s no-one to whine at me about when it’s going to be fixed.

I can walk around nude, stoke my dick and most blissfully of all… I can sleep the sleep of the dead without earplugs. I won’t be awaked 3 times a night.

And in further news… I knew as I typed it that I wouldn’t be home alone… The Godson showed up!

OK so no naked debauchery and I won’t be watching porn on the big screen. 

I can’t complain… he’s good company and tends to spend his time with his friends on the rare days off he has. He’s going to be looking after the house while I’m on a couple of trips. 

I do find myself wondering why his schedule is so erratic. It’s like he has no defined workweek and That has to be really tough given that he is a very social animal. He comes in and has to often do at least one week if not two of laundry and fit in his banking or other personal business affairs into a very few business hours.

For example he got off work yesterday at 5:00, the week is shot since it’s Friday and him raising anyone to do business is pretty unlikely, he goes back to work Sunday morning.

Just when the fuck is he supposed to deal with banking, his bills, or any of the other stuff that modern life entails.

I personally think the management where he’s working hasn’t ever managed a crew of people. They’re completely oblivious to the realities of their employee needs.

But it’s not my business. I can say I’d do it differently, but then again… I’ve managed crews of 20+ folks and have a bit of a clue about how to schedule folks.

On the plus side, he’s making pretty decent bank for someone his age. 

So my plans change a little bit… but I love the kid and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Humm man cave time on Sunday?