tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901302011-08-16T21:06:49.273-06:00A Coyote at the Dog ShowCoyote n. A small wolf (<i>Canis latrans</i>) native to western North America.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comBlogger42631100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-2790126650666400962009-02-21T06:15:00.000-07:002009-02-21T06:16:07.891-07:00"I'm a working cowboy, a roughstock cowboy and a chocolatier"Yes, he is. I've written several times about Tim Kellogg, the Meeteetse Chocolatier, and now he's in the news. A nice article in the Casper Star.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-37915526498522577212009-02-11T05:28:00.004-07:002009-02-11T05:37:01.501-07:00When kids go bad..Goats suspected of causing Laramie barn fire!Nope, we're not dead, just getting into a routine: Eat, sleep, hike. It's tough duty but someone has to do it.Saw four bears on our last hike in the Chisos Mountains Friday! In three years of hiking the Big Bend it's the first time we've seen bears. So all of a sudden they were everywhere. It's a little nervous-making to hike in that Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-74670476733610180902009-01-05T06:28:00.002-07:002009-01-05T07:13:56.377-07:00I'm Baaack!Finally finished up the Big Job for the winter and I'm beginning to decompress. In a week or so we'll be in Terlingua, TX, where I hope to recapture my sanity. Such as that was.Here's what brought me back to the blogosphere:A few weeks back the Casper Star ran one of those sidebar polls asking people what they thought about the influx of out-of-staters coming in for the oil boom. The Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-38649637907061478082008-10-20T03:33:00.002-06:002008-10-20T03:36:11.304-06:00The more things change..The Casper Star runs an article on odd historic trivia. The caption on this one was irresistible: A Look Back in Time: Sex confuses menSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-31373120539587443832008-10-10T18:49:00.002-06:002008-10-10T18:59:46.367-06:00Let's not forget Darwin's finches..An interesting bit at the InstaPundit's. Stephen Hawking says that 'if humans can survive the next 200 years and learn to live in space, then our future will be bright.' "I believe that the long-term future of the human race must be in space," says Hawking.Sounds good to me, but.. Isolate a small gene pool and you get fairly rapid evolution. Thus, Darwin's Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-60368278678295011592008-10-10T04:01:00.003-06:002008-10-10T18:49:42.125-06:00Happy days are here again! WASHINGTON -- As the national economic meltdown takes its toll on local economies, some out-of-the-way states are enjoying unprecedented prosperity. Home prices in states such as Wyoming, West Virginia and North Dakota continue to rise, wages are growing and unemployment is at record lows...."The downturn in the economy has winners and losers," explained Scott Pattison,Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-71296712528945985942008-09-16T21:21:00.002-06:002008-09-16T21:24:07.929-06:00Ooooh, Bite!... from the Conservative viewpoint, Sen Obama is a rookie with a thin resume who “loves the future because that’s where all his accomplishments are”.*HT: InstaPunditSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-70894638446510209432008-09-09T06:48:00.002-06:002008-09-09T07:07:13.693-06:00"Republicans might want to restrain themselves just a bit, here."Indeed. From what little I know about her, I really like Sarah Palin. But it pays to remember that McCain is still the sponsor of McCain-Feingold and he's still the guy who got an F- from Gun Owners of America for his 2nd Amendment stance. He's still the guy who sticks his thumb in the eye of the Republican base at every opportunitySwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-19626638855263351112008-09-08T15:26:00.002-06:002008-09-08T15:33:52.421-06:00They can't be serious! According to the Washington Post: "MSNBC is removing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as the anchors of live political events, bowing to growing criticism that they are too opinionated to be seen as neutral in the heat of the presidential campaign."Keith Olbermann "too opinionated to be seen as neutral"? I guess what amazes me is that anyone at MSNBC could have possibly Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-71278783302368520712008-09-08T07:15:00.003-06:002008-09-08T08:04:41.891-06:00Curiouser and curiouser..Where's the outrage over the manhandling and arrest of ABC producer Asa Eslocker, who was arrested while trying to interview Democratic senators and donors leaving a private event at the Brown Palace Hotel during the DNC? Ten days later, when I search Google News for Asa Eslocker arrest I get a whopping 255 hits, including duplicates. Most of these stories just lay out Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-38361657571969158612008-08-31T05:12:00.002-06:002008-08-31T06:05:17.454-06:00The Democrat's dilemmaThis rather offensive OpEd piece by Bob Ewegen at the Denver Post suggests that if we don't elect Teh Obamessiah it will be because we're all a bunch of filty racists. Problem is, by this identity calculus the Dems have already shown themselves to be sexists: They didn't nominate Hillary.I pointed this out in the comments at the DP, along with several others who suggested Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-91310625851039228212008-08-29T03:40:00.002-06:002008-08-29T03:47:18.723-06:00A meltdown at MSNBC?Via Drudge, comes news that things aren't all sweetness and light at MSNBC. Oddly enough, Keith Olbermann is involved. Seems he's a nasty little piece of work in person too.I've always wondered what Walter Cronkite would have made of Olbermann.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-62306116838981696372008-08-28T20:33:00.002-06:002008-08-28T20:46:32.450-06:00There'll be no Serenity..Seems that Teh Obamessiah has sicced his brown shirts on Stanley Kurtz for his investigation into the relationship between Obama and William Ayers, former leader of the Weather Underground and unrepentant bomber of the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol.My comment at Protein Wisdom: Obviously, Obama and his brown shirts haven’t been paying attention to the new rules: Rule #1 — YouSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-87043151984583275942008-08-27T07:35:00.002-06:002008-08-27T07:44:53.076-06:00So pick up your trash!!An interesting poster I found at the Forest Service visitor's center on Grand Mesa, Colorado.Of course, how long something lasts depends a good deal on the environment. Cow-sized bones will weather away to nothing in 20-25 years if exposed on the surface. However, if quickly buried they can last for thousands of years, or fossilize and be with us millions of years later.We Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-39347120105399711452008-08-26T18:30:00.002-06:002008-08-26T18:35:58.090-06:00"... this behavior is un-American" It is wrong, vile, and an assault on the most basic liberty that the Republic was founded to protect.Via the InstaPundit comes one of the more important messages of this political season. Note that the miscreants are politicians across the spectrum, all of whom would love it you'd just STFU.Do read it all.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-26497980305063137312008-08-24T19:12:00.002-06:002008-08-24T19:39:46.589-06:00Things that make you say Harumph..Quite a nice article on the venerable DC-3, but it fails to mention the rest of the story: That the DC-3's ability to use rough, short landing strips made it the legendary backbone of the underground air force in the 1960s and '70s.[Sigh] And it also makes me feel very old. Googling "underground air force" returns all sorts of odd stuff, but doesn't mention that Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-80970567372193479832008-08-24T13:25:00.001-06:002008-08-24T13:27:03.317-06:00"hollow chocolate bunnies"Isn't that an apt metaphor for today's politics?Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-79533303735343161642008-08-23T18:37:00.002-06:002008-08-23T18:51:14.578-06:00How you can tell Peggy Noonan isn't an Aquarius..Today we have:Will Mr. Obama dig deep as to meaning? As to political predicates? During the primary campaigns Republicans were always saying, "This is what I'll do." Mr. Obama has a greater tendency to say, "This is how we'll feel." Republicans talk to their base with, "If we pass this bill, which the Democrats irresponsibly oppose, we'll solve Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-79137759256616232122008-08-23T16:16:00.002-06:002008-08-23T16:34:35.353-06:00Muphry's Law strikes again!No, I didn't misspell that. Muphry's Law is the "... adage that states that "if you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written"." This one, posted at Hot Air, is a classic of the genre, with at least one grammatical error in every paragraph: On a somewhat different note: Has anyone else noticed that Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-5107250768547788772008-08-23T06:39:00.002-06:002008-08-23T06:45:30.372-06:00The more things change..Biden? I'll tip my hat to the new constitutionTake a bow for the new revolutionSmile and grin at the change all aroundPick up my guitar and playJust like yesterdayThen I'll get on my knees and prayWe don't get fooled again...Meet the new bossSame as the old boss-- The WhoLincoln was right: You can fool some of the people all of the time.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-91373371243295833512008-08-20T19:31:00.002-06:002008-08-20T19:37:17.825-06:00Everyone needs a good .22Here's an interesting short article on the Marlin M39. I'm rather fond of mine.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-2771899516166927732008-08-14T19:01:00.001-06:002008-08-14T21:13:57.949-06:00The view from the Devil's KitchenYes, as a matter of fact it was hot. Pushing 100F when I snapped this photo a couple days ago in Colorado National Monument. Pretty darn scenic though.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-83981459586635282222008-08-14T18:49:00.002-06:002008-08-14T19:00:25.231-06:00Local color!A yellow-headed collared lizard we came across while hiking No Thoroughfare Canyon in Colorado National Monument a couple of days ago. Cute little bugger and oddly colorful where most critters are drab for camouflage. Maybe they taste bad?Oh, and have I mentioned lately that this Olympus E510 and 70-300mm lens kick butt? The 12x telephoto really brings things in close, but a monopod Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-24015721924511653752008-08-14T07:48:00.002-06:002008-08-14T07:53:19.758-06:00Things that make you say Hmmmm...Somehow, I find the DenverPost's Obamessiah photo really creepy. Because a) Someone maneuvered to take the photo; b) The DP has run it prominently more than once; and c) I can easily imagine them lighting little votive candles in front of it.That ain't a political following, it's a cult.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-43994840010901528922008-08-14T07:43:00.001-06:002008-08-14T07:46:16.628-06:00Sweet!Julia Childs was a spy working for the OSS?! How cool is that?Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-57426179093247941642008-08-14T07:07:00.003-06:002008-08-15T07:36:21.979-06:00Holy cow! DenverPost -- If Saleman Abdirahman Dirie intended to do harm with the sodium cyanide found in his Denver hotel room, he could have done a lot of it.Firefighters said Wednesday that Dirie, whose body was found Monday, had a pound of the substance in Room 408 at the Burnsley All Suite Hotel in Capitol Hill, and an expert said that if it were mixed with acid, that would be plenty enough Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-29221232495103158882008-08-14T06:32:00.002-06:002008-08-14T06:38:15.966-06:00Some sad news..I see in the DenverPost that Papa Jack Weil has died. He was 107! I'd just recently met the delightful old raconteur and hoped to visit with him many times again. He was right, I should have hurried back.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-5216145396450311732008-08-10T08:27:00.003-06:002008-08-10T08:34:20.824-06:00"love lips"?!I haven't seen any point in posting on John Edwards' latest, but I just can't let that pass.HT: InstaPunditSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-57303990317380268272008-08-08T04:45:00.002-06:002008-08-08T04:49:39.210-06:00Probably waiting for Fifi to come out and play.. Despite being hit with two tranquilizer darts, a mountain lion managed to elude capture after being found Tuesday evening under the deck of a Casper home.The animal fled through a gap in a fence and leapt over several other fences before disappearing in an east-side neighborhood sometime about 9 p.m. A search by Wyoming Game and Fish and Casper Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-16633232053295795922008-08-06T06:18:00.002-06:002008-08-06T06:22:04.241-06:00Things that make you say Hmmm... Soaring costs for fuel, grains and packaging, along with consumers pulling back their spending, pushed Molson Coors Brewing Co.'s profit down 56 percent in the second quarter, the company said Tuesday.The drop also includes charges associated with combining the firm's U.S. arm with the maker of Miller beers — a deal that executives say will still save money in theSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-16796341614612675512008-08-05T06:14:00.001-06:002008-08-05T06:21:14.328-06:00Yikes! A mountain lion slunk into the master bedroom of an Idledale home early Monday, snatched a yellow Labrador retriever and vanished.A yellow lab? Must have been a very big, very hungry lion.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-50357863243744654872008-08-03T17:07:00.003-06:002008-08-03T17:17:49.650-06:00Merlot in training!On our rare days off we've been hitting the wineries of western Colorado. Yeah, riiight you say. And I would have agreed. We've visited a lot of would-be wineries outside of the traditional US wine-growing regions and most have been.. drinkable. Barely. But I'm very impressed with the products of the Palisade, CO, area. Most all the wines we've tried have been decent (okay, theSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-39983755487211523142008-08-03T16:59:00.002-06:002008-08-03T17:06:19.897-06:00Very nice!I've blogged about Tim Kellogg and the saga of the broken bucking saddle that set him on the road to becoming the Meeteetse Chocolatier. Well, he's got a spiffy new web site! I assume that's the saddle he's holding in the last photo. He's also got a blog, which makes him about the third blogger in Wyoming, so far as I know (and not counting the pseudo-blogs at the Casper Star).If you'reSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-74316368957826208012008-08-03T06:24:00.002-06:002008-08-03T06:27:45.771-06:00Let them eat organic!Defending the LA fast food ban. By this reasoning fast food outfits should be banned across the American heartland. We don't have organic markets or restaurants that offer fresh ingredients either.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-26404612514996781852008-08-03T06:03:00.003-06:002008-08-03T06:16:00.049-06:00"... just not different enough."Having come to the conclusion that presidential politics this year is a choice between the same old and the same older, I haven't been paying much attention. I do find it amusing though that Obama's loudest critics are to the left of even his politics. Melinda Henneberger gets it, but still isn't happy: Recent reports that Barack Obama is, in fact, a politician, Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-52504179168708699892008-07-31T05:45:00.002-06:002008-07-31T06:17:42.068-06:00Things that make you say Hmmm..Here's an interesting article on a program intended to take bison from Yellowstone and reintroduce them to the range, starting with several Indian reservations. Overall, there are about 20,000 wild bison in places including Grand Teton National Park, the National Bison Refuge in Montana, South Dakota's Wind Cave National Park and Utah's Henry Mountains. Another Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-455385529574064712008-07-30T19:23:00.005-06:002008-07-31T06:33:15.393-06:00Wow!Ever since the dark ages of 35mm photography, if you didn't do your own darkroom work you were pretty much at the mercy of the doofus running the photomat machine. Getting accurate color rendition was a sometimes thing, particularly if you were photographing anything out of the ordinary. Thus, I was pretty happy with this first photo of a little abraded 'horned shaman' petroglyph. Taken with Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-40136731274189758402008-07-29T18:47:00.004-06:002008-07-29T20:42:05.657-06:00A little wildlife photography..Have I mentioned lately that the 70-300mm lens on the Olympus E510 kicks butt? It does a great job of macro photography, but it will teach you the value of a good tripod. I didn't have a tripod handy when I took this shot, and I snapped around 30 photos to get a couple that are in pretty good focus. It's darn hard to hold 12x magnification steady!I spotted this Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-72860627515363112942008-07-28T21:25:00.002-06:002008-07-28T21:34:22.566-06:00Signs of the apocalypse..My beard trimmer just died and I thought I might do better than the $10 WalMart specials I've been buying that die in a year or so. So.. I hit Amazon and searched for beard trimmers. Then I asked to sort by best selling. #3 on the best sellers list is that little gadget I've guffawed about before, the Mangroomer back hair shaver.Number Three? You've really got to be Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-1909215827102428182008-07-28T05:06:00.003-06:002008-07-28T05:25:13.848-06:00The Few, The Proud..The.. Nuns? An interesting article on The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Not many of them left.I suppose charity is out of style but, the way the world seems to be going these days, I'm surprised more parents aren't putting their daughters in convents.Update: I suppose it's a sign of the times that the author thought it necessary to parenthetically point out Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-14280952573718410032008-07-26T06:17:00.002-06:002008-07-26T06:20:24.708-06:00There's got to be a moral in this story somewhere.. MORRISTON, Fla. — Authorities say a Levy County man accidentally shot his wife while trying to hit a fox that had attacked her. The couple told deputies they had spotted an animal in their yard Friday morning and went outside to see what it was.The fox bit the woman on the left leg and wouldn't let go, so she told her husband to get a gun.The Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-49958202315984667972008-07-26T06:08:00.002-06:002008-07-26T06:12:26.855-06:00Zen and the art of lawnmower maintenanceAngry man shoots lawn mower for not starting. Perhaps sometimes putting the tools down and walking away just isn't an option..Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-56825192598426911822008-07-26T05:57:00.002-06:002008-07-26T06:03:12.585-06:00This date in history.. The location of the 1865 Battle of Red Buttes and the graves of soldiers killed in the attack remains a mystery.This summer a team of state archaeologists and volunteers conducted a meticulous grid-by-grid search for the site on private land in the foothills west of Casper near Poison Spider and Robertson roads. The area is believed by some historians to be where a war Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-42390748188652997032008-07-25T06:00:00.002-06:002008-07-25T06:03:20.698-06:00Snicker, Snort, Guffaw!The good news: Carbo-loading on doughnuts optimizes your lifespan and makes you sexually potent.The bad news: Only in crickets..*Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-68227992833416862342008-07-25T05:27:00.002-06:002008-07-25T05:34:41.144-06:00They get around..An interesting article on population genetics among the Yellowstone wolves. One thing to remember is that they've been found all the way down in Colorado and Utah so they can travel quite a long way. It's also common for wildlife managers to trap and move critters from one habitat area to another to broaden their gene pool.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-67185611066247916222008-07-24T06:04:00.002-06:002008-07-24T06:07:36.556-06:00An appeal to the video gamers?Obama channels his inner Pacman.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-54419046035378539192008-07-23T05:32:00.002-06:002008-07-23T05:38:53.322-06:00Voltaire had email?From an email I received this morning: We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our e-mails, at our peril, risk and hazard.--Voltaire, Dictionnaire Philosophique, 1764Heheh. Of course the original is slightly different, although the sentiment is the same: We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard.I kinda like Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-80231549676664285542008-07-20T15:37:00.002-06:002008-07-20T15:43:16.649-06:00Everyone's a critic!The roads out here in the Piceance Basin were never designed for the kind of heavy industrial traffic they're getting and they're developing axle-breaking potholes..Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-28445720451869614572008-07-20T15:06:00.002-06:002008-07-20T15:09:42.491-06:00Things that make you say Hmmm...Reading this bit about the joys of on-line shopping reminds me to mention that both grocery stores in Worland deliver groceries to the elderly and shut-ins. I can't say for sure, but I don't think they charge extra for the service either. Just one of the joys of small town living!Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-53821424047970778862008-07-20T05:44:00.002-06:002008-07-20T05:51:06.414-06:00"... expanding the nation's energy portfolio ..."An interesting short article on the future of energy in the US. Nice to see someone at the Casper Star coming over to the dark side.I should note though that we've been making use of solar and wind power in the oil patch ever since REA quit building powerlines to nowhere for free.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-61340695537364199142008-07-20T05:24:00.002-06:002008-07-20T05:38:28.659-06:00Things that make you say.. Holy Moses!Is anyone but me a bit disturbed at the sight of a sheriff's department officer in full battle gear, manning an M240 belt-fed machine gun (mouse-over the light blue panel at center frame)? I suppose an M2HB would be a bit much unless the religious cuckoos get out of line again.On the one hand, I suppose this is the free market in action, a business seeking Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-73711636294288944912008-07-19T07:00:00.005-06:002008-07-19T07:31:20.176-06:00Unfortunately, lawyers aren't an endangered species.. BILLINGS, Mont. -- A federal judge in Montana has ordered gray wolves in the Northern Rockies be returned to the endangered species list....The region has an estimated 2,000 wolves, a population that has been soaring and increasingly preying on livestock.Now he can put on his Game & Fish hat and enforce his ruling.Update: Here's the rest of Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-65315377031477402292008-07-18T06:03:00.002-06:002008-07-18T09:55:12.396-06:00Man shoots dog..A not-so-humorous variation on the usual theme. A few days back there was an article in the CasperStar telling us that no charges would be filed against a man who had shot an agressive dog on his property. The article goes on to tell us: It was one of at least five dead dogs that have turned up in Park County recently. One dog was apparently stoned to death. Another was found Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-61593155801208655122008-07-16T15:39:00.000-06:002008-07-16T15:40:07.272-06:00Things that make you say Hmmm..Today's DenverPost has a sidebar poll asking:Would you like to see Congress join President Bush in repealing the ban on offshore oil drilling? (Read related story.)With 9077 total votes cast, the results are:Yes -- 2147 Votes, or 23.65 %Not sure -- 130 Votes, or 1.432 %No -- 6764 Votes, or 74.51 %Don't care -- 36 Votes, or 0.396 %You'd think that most of the Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-30128605770878717782008-07-15T18:09:00.002-06:002008-07-15T19:03:03.406-06:00"... a crisis of political coherence ..." Janet Daley -- How could anyone - let alone the elected members of a governing party whose raison d'être has been to represent the interests of the poor - not have deduced that raising the Vehicle Excise Duty on cars that had been purchased years ago would be likely to fall most heavily on those who were not rich enough to replace their cars every year?..Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-58840670208028808822008-07-13T05:51:00.002-06:002008-07-13T06:01:49.250-06:00Social InsecuritySweet. If I'm reading this correctly, it appears that those "...who rely solely on Social Security have a 90 percent chance [of becoming destitute]." Got to love their recommendation for maintaining your lifestyle in retirement though:Save your money and make sure you start your 401(k) at an early age, he said. Figure out what your nonnegotiable expenses and assets are. If you Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-54763974884144151832008-07-13T04:48:00.003-06:002008-07-13T05:25:28.230-06:00Things that make you say Hmmm..An interesting article by Bob Owens on DC's attempt to maintain its ban on semi-auto handguns. His argument runs parallel to the objections we've long had to bans on "Saturday night specials": ban the cheap, pot metal, low caliber semi-autos (and revolvers) and you force the thugs to up-arm with more powerful and deadly weapons.I think the argument works for Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-73377994265474690372008-07-12T19:52:00.002-06:002008-07-12T19:55:41.891-06:00Everyone has the occasional bad hair day!Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-75050191625926774722008-07-12T17:49:00.000-06:002008-07-12T17:51:31.654-06:00Someday?It puzzles me now!*Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-9048563715224783532008-07-12T15:00:00.002-06:002008-07-12T15:04:27.225-06:00What goes up..I've been amused by the Iranian missile launch photoshopage, but note one issue no one seems to mention: Launching missiles is the easy part, any kid with a model rocket kit can do that. Getting them to come down where you want them is another story.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-87427975394117286302008-07-12T14:41:00.002-06:002008-07-12T14:52:58.057-06:00Dangerously close to perfection!One of those places we discovered entirely by accident when we drove by on our way from the Palisade Brewery. Not a fancy joint by any means, but a Peach Street Distillers' Jackalope Gin & tonic is to die for. Stop in if you're in the Grand Junction area!Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-12661536904180591362008-07-12T07:27:00.003-06:002008-07-12T07:38:36.965-06:00The Cowboy MythAn excellent article by Jeffrey A. Lockwood. Some would have you believe that self-reliance and respect for the individual are anachronisms better replaced as soon as possible by a more modern collectivist urban mindset. For them the image of the cowboy symbolizes everything that's wrong with the west.Fortunately, some of us like our cowboys.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-12914214156594092682008-07-12T06:05:00.001-06:002008-07-12T06:08:01.636-06:00Further proof..That only our carefully trained law enforcement personnel can be trusted to be safe with firearms.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-41379662991061641152008-07-11T00:28:00.002-06:002008-07-11T00:33:33.713-06:00You'd like to think that you're immune to the stuff..Mmmm.. Zombie girls. Because I haven't linked to this lately!Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-18234579052910608892008-07-10T16:56:00.002-06:002008-07-10T17:22:21.292-06:00Beer is the root of all civilization!The InstaPundit links to an article by George F. Will arguing: The development of civilization depended on urbanization, which depended on beer. To understand why, consult Steven Johnson's marvelous 2006 book, "The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic -- and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World." It is a great scientific Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-21911516060812527942008-07-10T06:06:00.002-06:002008-07-10T06:19:03.140-06:00Jumping Jehosaphat!Preble's jumping mice are in the news again. They've been delisted in Wyoming because studies have shown.. "There's literally dozens of locations where Preble's has been verified," said Pete Plage, a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist.Ah! So these rare and endangered species are neither particularly rare, nor terribly endangered. But lack of knowledge never stays the hand of Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-53214288076145813802008-07-09T05:54:00.001-06:002008-07-09T05:57:14.092-06:00Tell me again..Why national ID cards and national medical databases are such a great idea. I mean! If we can't trust the DMV to get it right, who can we trust, eh?Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-20900766670720988362008-07-08T05:39:00.004-06:002008-07-09T06:01:08.407-06:00Who ya gonna believe?I've been following the ruckus over the Rainbow Family gathering with some interest. Now there's this: CHEYENNE -- A top U.S. Forest Service official said Monday the agency must consider banning the Rainbow Family from Forest Service lands after a confrontation that led to the arrests of at least eight people in western Wyoming.John Twiss, director of Forest Service Law Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-65109578475191591562008-07-05T12:54:00.001-06:002008-07-05T12:56:11.794-06:00Biofuels..Hippies starving children to feel good about themselves.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-23943835631267772112008-07-04T15:37:00.002-06:002008-07-04T15:57:46.498-06:00It's Ho-o-o-o-o-o-t!It was about 98F when I snapped this shot this afternoon.Taken clean across the pasture with the new 70-300mm telephoto. I realized later I'd screwed up, having left the image stabilizer set for a portrait shot, so it's not as clear as it could have been.An interesting feature of the Olympus Evolt E510 -- its image stabilization is built into the camera body rather than the Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-22527374983612211162008-07-04T14:54:00.003-06:002008-07-04T15:06:44.021-06:00Happy Fourth!Yes, out here we fly the flag every day![Taken with the new 70-300mm Olympus lens from about half a mile away, then cropped and enlarged with Photoshop. Wow, that's a nice lens!]Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-78164484260964974412008-07-04T05:00:00.003-06:002008-07-04T05:07:33.208-06:00"Be a patriot! Get a job"David Harsanyi at his finest. Of course, it would never occur to most politicians that they sound a little two-faced when they chastise us for pursuing our own crass self-interests.. While they pursue their own crass self interests.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-47915396038884576462008-07-04T04:36:00.002-06:002008-07-04T04:49:36.203-06:00Embrace the suck!Poor Rifle, they want to diversify their economy by hobbling the only industry they've got. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of pain to the boom & bust of the oilfield -- when we left Rock Springs in 1987 there were tumbleweeds blowing down Dewar Drive and the standing joke was "Last one out turn off the lights!" -- but sometimes the only alternative to a boom & bust economy is Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-57580535763726298652008-07-03T19:07:00.000-06:002008-07-03T19:13:09.100-06:00I just love this time of year!Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-89781421486305343182008-07-02T20:54:00.002-06:002008-07-02T21:03:50.868-06:00Here's another cool one!You don't have to photograph many flowers before an accommodating bee or butterfly happens by. This one was also shot with the 40-150mm lens and cropped with Photoshop.One nice thing about the 10 megapixel photos is that you can crop them pretty severely and still have a usable image. I'm thinking a tripod would help reduce the fuzziness a bit and allow me to shoot with a Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-50653108841886881992008-07-02T20:20:00.002-06:002008-07-02T20:50:30.536-06:00New Toys!!For years I packed an Olympus OM-1 and a basket-full of lenses, until photographing Megan's hooters did it in. Broke the darn camera, but it was fun nonetheless.Since then I've fiddled with point & shoot digital cameras while wishing I had the bucks for a good digital SLR. I just couldn't see forking over a couple of grand for a camera that was going to be obsolete in six months, and Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-3767607768465440022008-06-27T08:47:00.002-06:002008-06-27T08:55:22.250-06:00A Red Letter Day!The Supremes have ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right.We've a ways to go yet though: Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."Seems to me that a crime-ridden area is Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-3247350146683650962008-06-26T07:10:00.001-06:002008-06-26T07:26:59.358-06:00Dang city boys!This rancher is taking no chances with folks who don't understand the "Open Range" concept.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-35364945461668148492008-06-26T07:08:00.001-06:002008-06-26T07:10:30.454-06:00Neopaganism growing fastFortunately, even the pagans consider me a heathen.[Geez, has it been that long since I posted? Funny how time flies when you're busier than a one-armed paper hanger.]Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-1090213532436655162008-06-19T19:08:00.005-06:002008-06-19T19:23:22.207-06:00Here's another..One of my favorite photos I haven't published in awhile. In reference to the article I linked a couple of posts down, the cloth you see on the inside of the poles is the liner. It creates a chimney effect by directing air from the ground (the outer cover is about 6" above the ground) up the walls and out the smoke hole. Without a liner you can't have a fire in the tipi, so it's Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-43344313743680821602008-06-19T18:49:00.001-06:002008-06-19T18:51:15.788-06:00Oh, come now..Everyone who's ever noted that children aren't carbon copies of their parents has seen evolution in action. It really is as simple as that.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-76714727767214659362008-06-16T05:06:00.002-06:002008-06-16T05:27:30.762-06:00"Stone circles tell stories"Ah, No. Archaeologists tell stories about stone circles, and lord knows we're full of stories [you've noticed, eh?]. For instance: All of the rings are pre-horse and prehistoric. Once Euro-Americans introduced tools like axes, historic tribes used wooden pegs instead of stones to keep skirts of their hide tepees anchored to the ground, Scheiber said.Granted, all of Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-66248515632768571922008-06-14T20:57:00.003-06:002008-06-14T21:04:42.659-06:00Grrrr!!Bear in mind that the key term here is "litigation". My clients bust their butts to comply with the National Environmental Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and all the other environmental rules and regulations. We have whole platoons of yahoos writing Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements. If we didn't do all this we wouldn't get our permits to develop Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-53463883746945539882008-06-13T05:38:00.002-06:002008-06-13T05:56:04.278-06:00Remembering Carter HenryI've a feeling we're going to have a safety awards ceremony this morning at the daily safety meeting and, judging from the questions our safety manager has been asking, I suspect I'll be getting one of the awards, mostly for deluging them with Risk Identification Reports. So I get to give a speech. I think it will go something like this: I can't ever work one of these jobsSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-70591157360428783772008-06-13T04:32:00.002-06:002008-06-13T04:38:56.943-06:00Something to crow about!I don't think I've mentioned Worland's Kelly McBee, Mrs. America 2008. Now I see that she's on her way to the Mrs. World pageant in Kaliningrad, Russia. We'll be rooting for her!Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-35206613377583336472008-06-12T05:31:00.002-06:002008-06-12T06:22:18.036-06:00When nobody's right ain't nobody wrong..Via the InstaPundit, Larry Kudlow says McCain Is Exactly Wrong on Energy: When asked about gas prices at the pump, and whether they could go any lower, Sen. McCain said he didn’t think so because “You’ve got a finite supply, basically, and a cartel controlling it.”This is exactly wrong. There is no finite supply, or if there is we are 100 years away from itSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-40491113884794737672008-06-12T04:02:00.002-06:002008-06-12T04:06:54.604-06:00Lucky guy!I've worked with Dick McKamey, permitting improvements on the Hanover Irrigation District's canals. Glad to hear he's going to be alright, thanks to Gore-Tex.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-9077567294545288782008-06-12T03:53:00.001-06:002008-06-12T03:55:15.558-06:00The hippies are coming! The hippies are coming!Twenty thousand of them. Holy cow.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-82938864717090931502008-06-11T06:12:00.002-06:002008-06-11T06:18:52.675-06:00Too much of a good thing?I've been drooling on the new 10+ megapixel digital SLR cameras. It would be nice to be able to take really great high-resolution photos, and the price, if not reasonable, is at least barely affordable. But now I see they're marketing soft focus filters for digital cameras. I guess I'm ahead of the game; my el cheapo $100 pocket camera does this without technical help!Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-41119068092207007112008-06-11T05:15:00.001-06:002008-06-11T05:17:12.482-06:00BarbarismWith a thin veneer of modern medicine. This is a bit disturbing.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-75463190371466238542008-06-11T04:58:00.002-06:002008-06-11T05:02:31.849-06:00Yea, gods!Just trotted across the way to the potty (conditions are still a bit primitive here in the wilds of outer Colorado) and it's frickin' snowing. I'm thinking we left Texas a bit too early this spring.It's actually only 42F outside though, so this is the sort of snow we can get anytime during the summer, generated by cold upper air. It won't stick unless it snows a lot harder than it is Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-37618002473342226272008-06-11T04:24:00.003-06:002008-06-11T04:48:23.699-06:00What's with Rawlins?I know, I've asked that question before, but it bears repeating now that they're wringing their hands over the prospect of 175 temporary workers coming to town to work on the expansion of the Williams Co. Echo Springs natural gas plant. One hundred and seventy-five! There's probably that many temporary oilfield workers blowing in and out of Rock Springs daily, contributing to Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-76943539554073568902008-06-10T07:41:00.003-06:002008-06-10T07:45:23.700-06:00"Exact appearance of new instruments may vary."No kidding. At first I thought someone had their wires crossed, but I see these are examples of various instruments that may be offered.Just in case you were in the market for an electric ukulele..Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-35548425380983930272008-06-10T05:48:00.003-06:002008-06-10T07:06:19.181-06:00Home, Sweet HomeTwo weeks ago this was a cow pasture, now we have a population of about 25, larger than some towns in Wyoming. And, as of last night, we've got a satellite internet uplink!It's about 45 miles to the nearest town and that's Meeker, Colorado, so doing this as a camp job saves a lot of driving on roads with insanely heavy oilfield traffic.I note a bit of dispair in some quarters Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-48488151015868225912008-06-03T06:42:00.002-06:002008-06-03T06:57:54.477-06:00A sticky situation..Two interesting articles on Workman's Comp in the CasperStar. The first on a guy who's been fighting since 1984 to get disability compensation for a back injury. Seems the point of contention is that his wife makes too much money, a pretty lame reason to deny someone injury compensation. Now, twenty-four years later, the Wyoming Supreme Court has sided with the injured worker.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-34913837095417245382008-06-03T05:20:00.002-06:002008-06-03T05:32:22.106-06:00I'm not sure North Dakotans are the ideal test sample..Here's another article on the question of lead ingestion from eating game meat. I'd posted previously about this issue and got some great feedback from Doug Sundseth. As he observes, eating metallic lead doesn't appear to be the problem.I'll be eagerly awaiting the results, but I'm betting if this new study shows there's no problem we won't Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-40613750688251495962008-06-02T08:12:00.002-06:002008-06-02T08:25:09.643-06:00Q: Who wants to live to be 120?A: Ask anybody who is 119.An interesting article in the DenverPost. I'm thinking that chelation therapy sounds like snake oil, but the sidebar poll is very interesting. It asks: Would you like to live to 120, as a Colorado doctor believes is possible?With 888 responses we get: Yes - Unconditionally 7.657 %Yes - But only if healthy and wealthy enough 49.77 %Not sure Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-81231970657725038922008-06-01T03:30:00.002-06:002008-06-01T03:32:56.120-06:00Wyoming is what America wasOur democrats resemble modern-day republicans and our republicans sound quite a lot like libertarians, although I'm sure they'd never call themselves libertarians for fear of guilt by association.Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-25573854452019688592008-05-31T03:36:00.002-06:002008-05-31T03:48:32.472-06:00French fries don't fly.. CHEYENNE -- A Laramie Junior High School girl cited by police in January for throwing french fries during lunchtime is out of hot water.A municipal court judge on Tuesday dismissed the citation against the 13-year-old student for breaking a city ordinance that prohibits “hurling missiles,” court records show.The charge -- an adult crime under city ordinance -- was droppedSwenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3290130.post-15243861168167854442008-05-27T04:00:00.003-06:002008-06-03T05:39:46.352-06:00Things that make you say.. Don't be naive VIENNA, Austria - Iran may be withholding information needed to establish whether it tried to make nuclear arms, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday in an unusually strongly worded report.The big surprise would be if they weren't withholding information. So.. are the IAEA really that stupid, or do they think we're that stupid?Swenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05608951312289132410noreply@blogger.com