I thought I would go for a quick walk in the woods the other evening. I brought along a .45 and my video camera instead of my usual DSLR. As I started up the road, I thought I saw a glimpse of a light color that disappeared when I looked back up - explainable by sunlight.
I continued walking, and spooked two deer that took off running.
Usually, as I get closer to the end of the road, I can feel the hairs on my neck stand up and tingling in my spine like I'm being watched.
If it's friendly or ambivalent, we'll continue on our own way. If it's hostile and persists, there's a couple extra magazines...
So, I got to the end of the road, heard a deer up on the hill snorting at me. I turned around and headed back out.
I got halfway back out, when it happened...
What kind of animal makes a heavy, plodding sound moving through the brush (besides Bigfoot Roll Eyes Wink and the Wolfman who was reported seen in the general area 45 years ago)? It also doesn't run when you throw fist-sized rocks in the vicinity... No other cars in the lot. No "Hey, stop throwing rocks at me!" Whatever it was didn't come out of the brush to make a youtube debut...
As I focused intently on the area, the sound abruptly stopped. Was it sizing me up and decided I was too ready? I heard birds chirping all the way up and back, except at this time - maybe I tuned them out.
I headed for the truck, pausing to look behind me every so often.
So... Opossum? Raccoon? A bear was picked up in the area a couple years ago and transplanted. A couple others have been spotted and escaped.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
quick thought
To whom it may concern,
Where did you go? Why did you leave us? The stock market is a roller coaster. War is raging in the Middle East. Pirates are attacking ships. Floods, earthquakes, harsh weather and other natural events are happening. Dictators are pressing for more power, more land, and the annihilation of those who disagree with their standards. Gas prices seem to increase more than they decrease. I heard someone ask, “What happened to the world?” and “Can't a person turn on the news without hearing of a murder or abuse victim, or someone who ran away or was kidnapped?” The outlook seems bleaker by the day...
Where did you go? Why did you leave us?
We've been waiting here for you to come back... All you have to do is turn around on the road you're on – make a U-turn – and come back. We're waiting for you. A Savior, to save your soul from an eternity in Hell. A Comforter, to guide and intercede when the words won't come out. A God, patiently directing things for the good of those who follow. A Lighthouse guiding people through the darkness of this world to an eternal safe harbor.
Won't you come back? We're waiting.
Faithfully Everlasting,
God
Where did you go? Why did you leave us? The stock market is a roller coaster. War is raging in the Middle East. Pirates are attacking ships. Floods, earthquakes, harsh weather and other natural events are happening. Dictators are pressing for more power, more land, and the annihilation of those who disagree with their standards. Gas prices seem to increase more than they decrease. I heard someone ask, “What happened to the world?” and “Can't a person turn on the news without hearing of a murder or abuse victim, or someone who ran away or was kidnapped?” The outlook seems bleaker by the day...
Where did you go? Why did you leave us?
We've been waiting here for you to come back... All you have to do is turn around on the road you're on – make a U-turn – and come back. We're waiting for you. A Savior, to save your soul from an eternity in Hell. A Comforter, to guide and intercede when the words won't come out. A God, patiently directing things for the good of those who follow. A Lighthouse guiding people through the darkness of this world to an eternal safe harbor.
Won't you come back? We're waiting.
Faithfully Everlasting,
God
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
I want to see Jesus
I want to see Jesus
I want to see Jesus
Though it's hard to wait in line
But, I'll keep waiting
'Til He says "It's time."
Oh, what a Savior
What love divine
Oh, what joy and peace
To know this love is mine
Though all the treasures
On Earth I can find,
None of them will matter
When Jesus says, "It's time"
Oh, what a Savior
What love divine
Oh, what joy and peace
To know this love is mine
Even a mansion
Waiting on the other side
All that seems small
Because Jesus is mine
Oh, what a Savior
What love divine
Oh, what joy and peace
To know this love is mine
I want to see Jesus
Though it's hard to wait in line
But, I'll keep waiting
'Til He says "It's time."
Oh, what a Savior
What love divine
Oh, what joy and peace
To know this love is mine
Though all the treasures
On Earth I can find,
None of them will matter
When Jesus says, "It's time"
Oh, what a Savior
What love divine
Oh, what joy and peace
To know this love is mine
Even a mansion
Waiting on the other side
All that seems small
Because Jesus is mine
Oh, what a Savior
What love divine
Oh, what joy and peace
To know this love is mine
from the "Oops..." file
Zoo solves mystery of celibate polar bears
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Puzzled zookeepers in northern Japan have discovered the reason why their attempts to mate two polar bears kept failing: Both are female.
The municipal zoo in the city of Kushiro in Hokkaido brought in a polar bear cub three years ago. They named it Tsuyoshi, after the popular baseball outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and waited until it reached reproductive age.
In June, the zoo introduced Tsuyoshi to its resident bear, an 11-year-old female named Kurumi, and waited for sparks to fly.
But much to the disappointment of zookeepers, Tsuyoshi never made any amorous advances toward Kurumi.
Earlier this month, zookeepers put Tsuyoshi under anesthesia to get to the bottom of the matter. That's when they made their discovery: Tsuyoshi is a female.
Still, the Kushiro zoo plans to keep Tsuyoshi because he -- or rather, she -- has become immensely popular with visitors.
"I have rather mixed feelings, given the need for breeding, but Tsuyoshi is an idol for Kushiro," Yoshio Yamaguchi, head of the Kushiro zoo, told Japan's Kyodo news agency.
Tsuyoshi will even keep her name.
"We will not be changing it to 'Tsuyoko' since it is loved by citizens (by the current name)," Yamaguchi said.
"Ko" is a common suffix for a Japanese female name.
Meanwhile, Tsuyoshi's "brother," who was adopted by another zoo, has also turned out to be female, Kyodo reported.
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Puzzled zookeepers in northern Japan have discovered the reason why their attempts to mate two polar bears kept failing: Both are female.
The municipal zoo in the city of Kushiro in Hokkaido brought in a polar bear cub three years ago. They named it Tsuyoshi, after the popular baseball outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and waited until it reached reproductive age.
In June, the zoo introduced Tsuyoshi to its resident bear, an 11-year-old female named Kurumi, and waited for sparks to fly.
But much to the disappointment of zookeepers, Tsuyoshi never made any amorous advances toward Kurumi.
Earlier this month, zookeepers put Tsuyoshi under anesthesia to get to the bottom of the matter. That's when they made their discovery: Tsuyoshi is a female.
Still, the Kushiro zoo plans to keep Tsuyoshi because he -- or rather, she -- has become immensely popular with visitors.
"I have rather mixed feelings, given the need for breeding, but Tsuyoshi is an idol for Kushiro," Yoshio Yamaguchi, head of the Kushiro zoo, told Japan's Kyodo news agency.
Tsuyoshi will even keep her name.
"We will not be changing it to 'Tsuyoko' since it is loved by citizens (by the current name)," Yamaguchi said.
"Ko" is a common suffix for a Japanese female name.
Meanwhile, Tsuyoshi's "brother," who was adopted by another zoo, has also turned out to be female, Kyodo reported.
St Louis alderman wants armed residents
http://realestate.aol.com/article/_a/st-louis-alderman-encourages-residents/20081203114909990002?ncid=AOLCOMMre00dynlsec0003&icid=100214839x1214490964x1200879194
St. Louis alderman encourages residents to get armed
ST. LOUIS - A city alderman frustrated with the police response to rising crime called Tuesday on residents to arm themselves to protect their lives and property.
Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said police are ineffective, outnumbered or don't care about the increase in crime in his north St. Louis ward. St. Louis has had 157 homicides in 2008, 33 more than last year at this time.
"The community has to be ready to defend itself, because it's clear the economy is going to get worse, and criminals are getting more bold," Troupe, 72, said Tuesday.
Troupe said that when he and residents approached a district police commander last year, they were told "there was nothing he could do to protect us and the community ... that he didn't have the manpower."
Police did not immediately return requests for comment. Chief Dan Isom wrote Tuesday in a department blog that citizens arming themselves will lead to more danger, not less, he said. Neighborhood watch groups, and the hard work of helping to eradicate poverty and other social ills, are better crime-prevention tools, he said.
Mayor Francis Slay wrote in his blog Tuesday that some of the most violent crimes in Troupe's ward are committed with guns stolen from law-abiding citizens.
He said Troupe could do more good urging residents to cooperate with investigating police officers, lending support for activities for children, and lobbying legislators to increase funding for jobs training and economic development.
Troupe's reaction to the spike in homicides is understandable, but his idea is not likely to be effective, said University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist Richard Rosenfeld.
"Much of the problem is free and easy access to guns," Rosenfeld said. "This hope that by putting guns in the right hands will have an influence on criminals is a false hope. There's no evidence for that."
In one of the latest violent crimes in St. Louis, a man was shot dead Monday and an unarmed potential suspect in the killing was shot by police. The 45-year-old suspect had put his hand inside his coat and two officers, fearing for their safety, shot him. He was in stable condition.
==================
One guy has it right...
Si vi pacem, parabellum
St. Louis alderman encourages residents to get armed
ST. LOUIS - A city alderman frustrated with the police response to rising crime called Tuesday on residents to arm themselves to protect their lives and property.
Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said police are ineffective, outnumbered or don't care about the increase in crime in his north St. Louis ward. St. Louis has had 157 homicides in 2008, 33 more than last year at this time.
"The community has to be ready to defend itself, because it's clear the economy is going to get worse, and criminals are getting more bold," Troupe, 72, said Tuesday.
Troupe said that when he and residents approached a district police commander last year, they were told "there was nothing he could do to protect us and the community ... that he didn't have the manpower."
Police did not immediately return requests for comment. Chief Dan Isom wrote Tuesday in a department blog that citizens arming themselves will lead to more danger, not less, he said. Neighborhood watch groups, and the hard work of helping to eradicate poverty and other social ills, are better crime-prevention tools, he said.
Mayor Francis Slay wrote in his blog Tuesday that some of the most violent crimes in Troupe's ward are committed with guns stolen from law-abiding citizens.
He said Troupe could do more good urging residents to cooperate with investigating police officers, lending support for activities for children, and lobbying legislators to increase funding for jobs training and economic development.
Troupe's reaction to the spike in homicides is understandable, but his idea is not likely to be effective, said University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist Richard Rosenfeld.
"Much of the problem is free and easy access to guns," Rosenfeld said. "This hope that by putting guns in the right hands will have an influence on criminals is a false hope. There's no evidence for that."
In one of the latest violent crimes in St. Louis, a man was shot dead Monday and an unarmed potential suspect in the killing was shot by police. The 45-year-old suspect had put his hand inside his coat and two officers, fearing for their safety, shot him. He was in stable condition.
==================
One guy has it right...
Si vi pacem, parabellum
Friday, October 17, 2008
unexpected praise note...
So, there I was, driving down the road on my way home from work. The time was around 7:50am. I was maybe 2 miles from the end of my journey. Wait! What's that brown shape that appeared from behind the building heading for the... Anti-lock brakes start pulsing! Swerve to the right!
SMACK!!!
I hit the back of the deer. Must have been around the left rear leg, or the back side of the deer. I went from about 40 to between 25 and 30. The deer spun around in a couple circles and fell down in the middle of the opposite lane. I pulled the truck off in the gravel. The guy in the truck behind me kept going. I looked in my mirror, and the deer had gotten up and ran off into the woods.
I pulled down the road a couple hundred feet (maybe that far) into a church parking lot. Didn't see any damage to my truck. Got my umbrella and walked back up the road, but didn't see any signs of the deer.
SMACK!!!
I hit the back of the deer. Must have been around the left rear leg, or the back side of the deer. I went from about 40 to between 25 and 30. The deer spun around in a couple circles and fell down in the middle of the opposite lane. I pulled the truck off in the gravel. The guy in the truck behind me kept going. I looked in my mirror, and the deer had gotten up and ran off into the woods.
I pulled down the road a couple hundred feet (maybe that far) into a church parking lot. Didn't see any damage to my truck. Got my umbrella and walked back up the road, but didn't see any signs of the deer.
the problem with grace and mercy
Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French merci, from Medieval Latin merced-, merces, from Latin, "price paid, wages", from merc-, merx "merchandise") can refer both to compassionate behaviour on the part of those in power (e.g. mercy shown by a judge toward a convict) or on the part of a humanitarian third party (e.g. a mission of mercy aiming to treat war victims). Mercy is a term used to describe the leniency compassion shown by one person to another, or a request from one person to another to be shown such leniency or unwarranted compassion for a crime or wrongdoing. One of the basic virtues of chivalry, Christian ethics, Judaism, and Islam, it is also related to concepts of justice and morality in behaviour between people. In India, compassion is known as karuna.
In a legal sense, a defendant having been found guilty of a capital crime may ask for clemency from being executed.
To be "mercy", the behavior generally can not be compelled by outside forces. (A famous literary example is from The Merchant of Venice when Portia asks Shylock to show mercy. He asks, On what compulsion, must I? She responds The quality of mercy is not strained.)
----- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Christianity, divine grace refers to the sovereign favour of God for humankind — especially in regard to salvation — irrespective of actions ("deeds"), earned worth, or proven goodness.
----- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_grace
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The problem with grace and mercy, is that people take it for granted. It is shown to us once, and then we come to expect it. When it is finally taken away, we become indignant and upset.
Have we given any thought to why grace and mercy are extended to us?
Is it because of weakness? They're scared of us - they won't do anything. They're scared of being laughed at by higher-ups - they won't do anything. Those who are Christian aren't supposed to care what the world thinks of them. We have to remember that we don't get our value - our self-worth - from what the world thinks of us. We're not supposed to be of the world, because of this, the world will despise us. The world judges by its own skewed standards.
(I find it disgraceful that the media is trying to convince us that McCain has lost the election, so that their messiah can be elected.)
(McCain '08 The slightly lesser - but still lesser - of two evils)
Maybe grace and mercy are extended to us because we're being protected from something... God extends grace and mercy so we can escape Hell. Maybe non-Christians are just "paying it forward", or they just feel like it. (Can the unsaved truly know what grace and mercy are?) Maybe Christians are trying to practice what they preach...
One day it ends. The events involved with the End of Times occurs in Christian Theology. Procedures and protocols are trampled over in the human world.
Comments? Questions?
Thinly veiled message? I went to Walmart a while back and bought a pair of 13W boots. They felt good when I put them on. (The 12W I had to soften and stretch before wearing.) Now, my toes have the sides pushed out, and they fit really well. So... I wear them. Had they been 11W, I wouldn't wear them - because they wouldn't fit...
I write as much for myself as anyone else. The whole removing the plank thing... :)
In a legal sense, a defendant having been found guilty of a capital crime may ask for clemency from being executed.
To be "mercy", the behavior generally can not be compelled by outside forces. (A famous literary example is from The Merchant of Venice when Portia asks Shylock to show mercy. He asks, On what compulsion, must I? She responds The quality of mercy is not strained.)
----- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Christianity, divine grace refers to the sovereign favour of God for humankind — especially in regard to salvation — irrespective of actions ("deeds"), earned worth, or proven goodness.
----- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_grace
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The problem with grace and mercy, is that people take it for granted. It is shown to us once, and then we come to expect it. When it is finally taken away, we become indignant and upset.
Have we given any thought to why grace and mercy are extended to us?
Is it because of weakness? They're scared of us - they won't do anything. They're scared of being laughed at by higher-ups - they won't do anything. Those who are Christian aren't supposed to care what the world thinks of them. We have to remember that we don't get our value - our self-worth - from what the world thinks of us. We're not supposed to be of the world, because of this, the world will despise us. The world judges by its own skewed standards.
(I find it disgraceful that the media is trying to convince us that McCain has lost the election, so that their messiah can be elected.)
(McCain '08 The slightly lesser - but still lesser - of two evils)
Maybe grace and mercy are extended to us because we're being protected from something... God extends grace and mercy so we can escape Hell. Maybe non-Christians are just "paying it forward", or they just feel like it. (Can the unsaved truly know what grace and mercy are?) Maybe Christians are trying to practice what they preach...
One day it ends. The events involved with the End of Times occurs in Christian Theology. Procedures and protocols are trampled over in the human world.
Comments? Questions?
Thinly veiled message? I went to Walmart a while back and bought a pair of 13W boots. They felt good when I put them on. (The 12W I had to soften and stretch before wearing.) Now, my toes have the sides pushed out, and they fit really well. So... I wear them. Had they been 11W, I wouldn't wear them - because they wouldn't fit...
I write as much for myself as anyone else. The whole removing the plank thing... :)
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