Excuse me, but you seem to have stumbled into my little corner of the World Wide Web. Please wipe your feet.
Thank you.
Friday, July 4, 2003
Happy Independence Day
So far it’s been a quiet one. When I was a kid you’d start to hear the kids'
cap guns pretty early in the morning. Heck, when I was a kid, I was one of those kids. And if you didn’t have a cap
gun, you’d be slamming caps on the sidewalk with dad’s hammer (don’t tell Dad). Maybe they don’t have cap guns anymore, or
maybe today’s kids won’t deign to own them. Or maybe they’re just waiting until this evening to set off the heavy artillery
from Wisconsin. Anyway, it’s been quiet.
Hope you're having a lovely weekend. Hope you're taking some time to think about what it all means. And those of you
in Wisconsin, let’s be careful out there and meet back here later with all of our fingers, okay?
...and we shall have...music! For as long as I can remember, I’ve been enchanted
by the haunting and mournful sounds of the North wind whistling through the holes in the dock posts up at the lake. Lately
it occurred to me that it might be fun to make use of this principle and try to create a kind of "instrument" to enhance the
dock’s music-making potential. A little research revealed that there exist at least two major types of wind-powered or Aeolian instruments (after Aeolus, the Greek god of
the wind). Aeolian harps, as the name suggests, are stringed instruments; probably not practical for the dock. Aeolian organs,
on the other hand, operate on essentially the same principle as our musical dock posts. Although they are typically made of
bamboo, I recently ran across a website that describes a method of making a simple wind organ using plastic soft drink bottles. I think it’s an intriguing idea.
We’ll see where it leads.
I’ve been away. Spent a long weekend up at the lake doing, well… nothing for the most part. (Even if you do nothing as well as I do, it doesn’t hurt to practice now and again
just to keep your edge.) One of my favorite practice routines involved holding down the dock while watching the wily bluegills
circle. They seemed to sense that I hadn’t gotten my fishing license yet and so gathered in great numbers. I wonder what they’re
plotting...
When I wasn’t busy training, I built some chairs
to arrange around our fire pit. Genuine authentic imitation Adirondack chairs (some assembly required). From China!
You may be wondering where a person would have to go to find a genuine authentic imitation Chinese Adirondack chair. Why Cub
Foods, of course! Silly question. We bought four, two gallons of milk and various and sundry assorted groceries. They must
have been out of the Water Seal, so I had to get that at the hardware store of all places.
Now I suppose a native Adirondackian might take
issue with the authenticity of our chairs, but we’re not planning on inviting any native Adirondackians up to the lake and if one does slip in, hopefully they’ll be too polite to
mention it. You, however, are welcome to stop by and give them the sit test. I think they’re pretty comfortable. In fact I’m
already planning to work them into my training regimen.
...and last I saw he was trudging down a logging road.
Coordinates are: N45°39.004' W091°35.332' (accurate to within 23 feet, which was the
best I could do under tree cover)
This one should be easy, assuming he hasn't been kidnapped by wild forest gnomes. If you happen to see him, send me a
picture of him or get someone to take a picture of you with him (you may choose a more modest pose). Or just send me a note.
Happy hunting!
The dated links above are to previous week's posts. Take a look if you haven't been following along.
And just for the record, all words and pictures, except as noted, are mine and mine alone. I take full responsibility
for them (unless, of course, legal action is threatened).
Willie, here, is both the mascot and the arbiter of good taste for this site... So, as you might
expect, people will be offended. My apologies.
"There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman!"
