dairy farmer early retirement

Do you wave?

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 06:02:42 GMT

(ALA Fred Phillis, us Ferndale Westsiders flash the peace sign, often in a waving manner)

Doing the Wave

When I was in college, I brought some friends home one weekend to see the sights of rural America. As we drove through my hometown, they would frequently look and ask who someone was, and seemed increasingly puzzled when I could identify by name only about half of the people. Finally, I asked why they thought I knew all those people. "Well, you waved at them", they pointed out. For the first time I realized that most people don't habitually wave, especially with the style and protocol of rural America.

Waving is one of the first social skills we learn. I can still remember our son as a toddler standing motionless as a neighbor drove by, while Jan and I urged him to wave, and then frantically pumping his arm after the car was far down the road. Waving "bye-bye" is an early triumph when mastered, and I think we never lose the enjoyment of seeing a response to our wave.
Different personalities find expression in different waves. The Standard Wave- hand open, palm forward- can be modified by folding one or more fingers slightly for personal expression. n addition, the number and intensity of wrist movements can make even Standard waves a message as expressive as a carefully selected T-shirt. I personally favor the first finger erect with neighboring digits drooping increasingly with faint boredom. This formation is given one, and at most two, sharp wrist twists before freezing in a dignified salute. It is a wave that says at once "I Do Too Know What I'm Doing!" Rarely seen among men, but popular among women, especially those with names like Melanie or Trish, is the Bye-Bye Wave. It starts like a Standard, but the fingers remain together and are bent in unison like a chorus line of frantic actors taking a bow. The effect of this wave can be made even more syrupy by cupping the fingers, making the movements smaller and/or faster, or (max sweetness) executing the wave beside the face. Women who adopt this style should remember, however, that there is a hazy line between "cute" and "come hither" in the minds of many farmers.

Waving while driving requires a degree of sophistication. A higher plane of social status can be expressed by the Wheel Wave, in which the hand does not leave the steering wheel, and only those fingers interested in being friendly stand up and say hi. This technique reaches its utmost aloofness with a single index finger at half-mast, while the rest of the body remains absolutely still. Such provocative waving caused the introduction of the Head Wave, in which the head is jerked up sharply and returned slowly
to position. This is a "Power" wave and can be mildly challenging. It should be used only when you can back it up. Another variation is the Shooter, index finger pointed with thumb raised, not unlike our first simulated firearm as a child. Given the current social climate, use of this form can get your head blown mistakenly off.

In many social situations, correct choice of wave can speak volumes. Downgrading a neighbor from a 3-Shake Standard to 2-Finger Wheel Wave lets him know, without unpleasant verbalizing, that it's time he returned the chain saw he borrowed three years ago. Not waving at all, even after eye contact, or worse yet, failing to return an obviously seen wave is a singular affront and can only be interpreted as the greatest displeasure. Once during planting, I was staring off into the distance with the pained look of a farmer trying to remember something important, and a good friend passed waving cheerfully. He was down the road before it registered on me. It took me four years to cajole him back into good relations. Conversely, I have a friend who uses a Full-Open Standard with Quintuple Twist, and it's impossible not to smile back after such an energetic display of friendliness.

Equally important is knowing when to wave. Beginners can use these simple rules of thumb:
1. Wave every time. (The "Early and Often" Rule) If you're hauling corn and pass a neighbor building fence every 25 minutes, wave each time. If you make eye contact and don't wave, he'll wonder what he did. Combining close to a busy road allows use of the No-Hands Wave as necessary, but waving is still expected in polite communities. The most difficult situation occurs when working in a field next to a neighbor, and your rounds synchronize with the neighbor to cause repetitive meetings at the end. This can be tricky- it's hard not to wave. Compounding the problem is timing- waving when your neighbor is looking and vice-versa. To save time and energy, I always pretend to fix a chain until we are out of sync.
2. Wave in the rearview mirror when passing. Passing someone on a country road can be seen as a put-down and a wave can prevent hard feelings.
3. Waves are non-discriminating. Everyone, especially strangers, deserves a wave. Besides its fun to watch them turn to see whom you are. Even though it marks me for a farmer, I love to wave in cities. It drives the urban paranoids frantic.
All of these things are, of course, second nature to well-bred rural citizens. But I think that, with gentle persistence, we could set an example
©John Phipps 1994
for the rest of America. Such an effort would raise the amiability of our urban colleagues. Furthermore, it is my belief that taking time to wave politely would also make them better drivers.

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:03:43 GMT

Goat girls right now (11:00) on KSRO.
Streaming

Today's effort

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:20:59 GMT

I might stop soon, I think I got a good one here..

Fledgling

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:49:40 GMT

One more

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:08:02 GMT

This actually came up in the article about Sarah palin.

"Narcissistic personality disorder:

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:[1]

1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty or ideal love (megalomania)
3. believes that he or she is "special" and can only be understood by, or should associate with, people (or institutions) who are also "special" or of high status.
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement
6. is interpersonally exploitative
7. lacks empathy
8. is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes"

Hubris

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:53:09 GMT

In its modern usage, hubris denotes overconfident pride and arrogance; it is often associated with a lack of humility, not always with the lack of knowledge. An accusation of hubris often implies that suffering or punishment will follow, similar to the occasional pairing of hubris and nemesis in the Greek world. The proverb "pride goes before a fall" is thought to sum up the modern definition of hubris. It is also referred to as "pride that blinds", as it often causes someone accused of hubris to act in foolish ways that belie common sense.

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:08:45 GMT

7 things you need to know about California's budget crisis

Summer guest

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:23:28 GMT

I've spent 4 days trying to get a good photo of our resident swallows.
This is the best one so far.
I'm not a big fan of these types of photos ( flowers, birds, etc) but this has been a good exercise. I'm still not completely satisfied.

My religion is Skepticism. I am not alone.

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:03:56 GMT

Genius Hall of Vindication

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
— Arthur Schopenhauer

When a true genius appears in this world, you may know him by this sign, that the DUNCES are all in confederacy against him.
— Jonathan Swift

All great truths began as blasphemies.
— George Bernard Shaw

The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false.
— Paul Johnson

Ignaz Semmelweis - Surgical cleanliness, puerperal fever

Semmelweis intuits that germs are leading to infections and death in surgical settings. He studies the phenomena and makes dramatic improvements in patient care that save thousands of lives. Instead of accolades, he is seen as bringing criticism on the medical establishment. He is demoted and ridiculed. In 1865 he suffers a mental breakdown and is committed to a mental institution. There, at age 47, he cuts his finger. Ironically, he dies of puerperal fever a few days later.

Morning milking

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:23:27 GMT

Another one gone

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:16:22 GMT

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Opening

Arcata Bay Oyster Festival

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:42:14 GMT

I was actually sobbing at the end of this

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:15:28 GMT

O K I'm about as hetero as they come. Srsly at the far end of the scale.

This was really awesome. Really.

If only everyone could say:
"I was making uninformed opinions"

30 Days. A very straight Christian goes to The Castro in SF.

http://www.blinkx.com/video/30-days-straight-man-in-a-gay-world/4QKF_MIN4Y0KIATBixHydg

I Love this

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:15:21 GMT

http://www.littlebrowndress.com/brown%20dress%20archive%20home.htm

brown dress

a year-long performance project

365 days. one brown dress. a one-woman show against fashion.

devised, built, and performed by Alex Martin

launch – July 7, 2005

completion – July 7, 2006

So, here's the deal - I made this dress and I wore it every day for a year. I made one small, personal attempt to confront consumerism by refusing to change my dress for 365 days.

In this performance, I challenged myself to reject the economic system that pushes over-consumption, and the bill of goods that has been sold, especially to women, about what makes a person good, attractive and interesting. Clothes are a big part of this image, and the expectation in time, effort, and financial investment is immense.

The Seattle Channel produced a great video about the project:

www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=4010633 - video download.

Ten Things I Have Learned

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:51:39 GMT

http://www.miltonglaser.com/pages/milton/essays/es3.html

3
SOME PEOPLE ARE TOXIC AVOID THEM.
And the important thing that I can tell you is that there is a test to determine whether someone is toxic or nourishing in your relationship with them. Here is the test: You have spent some time with this person, either you have a drink or go for dinner or you go to a ball game. It doesn’t matter very much but at the end of that time you observe whether you are more energised or less energised. Whether you are tired or whether you are exhilarated. If you are more tired then you have been poisoned. If you have more energy you have been nourished. The test is almost infallible and I suggest that you use it for the rest of your life.

(I discovered this one on my own...)

8
DOUBT IS BETTER THAN CERTAINTY.

Deeply held beliefs of any kind prevent you from being open to experience, which is why I find all firmly held ideological positions questionable. It makes me nervous when someone believes too deeply or too much. I think that being sceptical and questioning all deeply held beliefs is essential.

Scientists say!!!

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:06:03 GMT

There are ominous signs that the Earth’s weather patterns have begun to change dramatically and that these changes may portend a drastic decline in food production – with serious political implications for just about every nation on Earth. The drop in food output could begin quite soon, perhaps only 10 years from now. The regions destined to feel its impact are the great wheat-producing lands of Canada and the U.S.S.R. in the North, along with a number of marginally self-sufficient tropical areas – parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indochina and Indonesia – where the growing season is dependent upon the rains brought by the monsoon.

The evidence in support of these predictions has now begun to accumulate so massively that meteorologists are hard-pressed to keep up with it. In England, farmers have seen their growing season decline by about two weeks since 1950, with a resultant overall loss in grain production estimated at up to 100,000 tons annually. During the same time, the average temperature around the equator has risen by a fraction of a degree – a fraction that in some areas can mean drought and desolation. Last April, in the most devastating outbreak of tornadoes ever recorded, 148 twisters killed more than 300 people and caused half a billion dollars’ worth of damage in 13 U.S. states.

To scientists, these seemingly disparate incidents represent the advance signs of fundamental changes in the world’s weather. The central fact is that after three quarters of a century of extraordinarily mild conditions, the earth’s climate seems to be cooling down. Meteorologists disagree about the cause and extent of the cooling trend, as well as over its specific impact on local weather conditions. But they are almost unanimous in the view that the trend will reduce agricultural productivity for the rest of the century. If the climatic change is as profound as some of the pessimists fear, the resulting famines could be catastrophic. “A major climatic change would force economic and social adjustments on a worldwide scale,” warns a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences, “because the global patterns of food production and population that have evolved are implicitly dependent on the climate of the present century.”

The Cooling World
Newsweek, April 28, 1975

http://www.denisdutton.com/cooling_world.htm

Amelia and Zooey

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:10:35 GMT

Amelia and Zooey
Originally uploaded by sarah northern california.

At the show on Saturday

Lindsey and Yesterday

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:10:02 GMT

Lindsey and Yesterday
Originally uploaded by sarah northern california.

At the show on Saturday.

Ha ha!! YES!!!!

Fri, 29 May 2009 17:14:22 GMT

Finally, it is in writing..

Wed, 06 May 2009 17:53:49 GMT

Things I have been saying (but not as concisely) for years. I never unestimate the percentage of stupid people among us.
(from my cousin, Morgan)

http://fravia.com/realicra/basiclawsofhumanstupidity.htm
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity:

Our daily life is mostly, made of cases in which we lose money and/or time and/or energy and/or appetite, cheerfulness and good health because of the improbable action of some preposterous creature who has nothing to gain and indeed gains nothing from causing us embarrassment, difficulties or harm. Nobody knows, understands or can possibly explain why that preposterous creature does what he does. In fact there is no explanation - or better there is only one explanation: the person in question is stupid.

#3
"A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses."

HA HA!!! HA! It's like I have a case study in this!!

#4, or why I am not attending the local show:
"Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. In particular non-stupid people constantly forget that at all times and places and under any circumstances to deal and/or associate with stupid people always turns out to be a costly mistake."

#5
"A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person."

Yes, yes they are.

Everytime I see another Pixar film ad

Mon, 04 May 2009 03:50:21 GMT

I keep hoping to see a female as the main character . It still hasn't happened.

Here's a very thoughtful post about gender inequality in Pixar films

http://vastpublicindifference.blogspot.com/2008/06/pixars-gender-problem.html

Pixar's continued failure to posit female characters as the central protagonists in their stories contributes to the idea that male is neutral and female is particular. This is not to say that Pixar does not write female characters. What I am taking issue with is the ad-nauseam repetition of female characters as helpers, love interests, and moral compasses to the male characters whose problems, feelings, and desires drive the narratives.

Deja Vu all over again

Sun, 03 May 2009 02:33:33 GMT

In 1976 1 person died from the swine flu, 25 died from the innoculation.

Earth First: We'll log the other planets later...

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:16:38 GMT

35 Inconvenient truths

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:06:39 GMT

The lies in A Gore's movie. This is being used to indoctrinate the next generation as it is being shown in schools, or, another reason for homeschooling.

http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/monckton/goreerrors.html

35 Inconvenient Truths

The errors in Al Gore’s movie

A spokesman for Al Gore has issued a questionable response to the news that in October 2007 the High Court in London had identified nine “errors” in his movie An Inconvenient Truth. The judge had stated that, if the UK Government had not agreed to send to every secondary school in England a corrected guidance note making clear the mainstream scientific position on these nine “errors”, he would have made a finding that the Government’s distribution of the film and the first draft of the guidance note earlier in 2007 to all English secondary schools had been an unlawful contravention of an Act of Parliament prohibiting the political indoctrination of children.

Al Gore’s spokesman and “environment advisor,” Ms. Kalee Kreider, begins by saying that the film presented “thousands and thousands of facts.” It did not: just 2,000 “facts” in 93 minutes would have been one fact every three seconds. The film contained only a few dozen points, most of which will be seen to have been substantially inaccurate. The judge concentrated only on nine points which even the UK Government, to which Gore is a climate-change advisor, had to admit did not represent mainstream scientific opinion.

ERROR 15

Mumbai "flooding"

Gore says flooding in Mumbai is increasing, by implication because of “global warming.” It is not. Rainfall trends at the two major weather stations in Mumbai show no increase in heavy rainfall over the past 48 years.

ERROR 33

Gore's bogus pictures and film footage

In the book accompanying Gore’s film, the story of the pied flycatchers and the caterpillars is accompanied by a picture of a bird feeding her hungry chicks. However, closer inspection shows that the bird is not a pied flycatcher but a black tern; and that she is not carrying a caterpillar in her beak, but a small fish. Gore similarly misuses spectacular footage of a glacier apparently calving off enormous slabs of ice into the sea – footage that is often shown on television to accompany stories about “global warming.” However, the glacier in question is one that is known to be advancing – and to be doing so more rapidly and more often than previously. It is in southern Argentina, where its snout crosses – and eventually dams, Lake Argentina. Water builds up behind the ice dam and eventually bursts it, causing the spectacular collapse of ice into the lake that is so misleadingly used as the iconic image of the effect of “global warming” on glaciers. The breaking of the ice dam used to occur every eight years or so: now, however, it occurs every five years, not because of “global warming” because of the regional cooling of the southern Atlantic.

Via my cousin, Morgan

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:54:56 GMT

Ahhh to be this happy...