A Medical Situation

Well, stuff happens as they say.  And sometimes it happens to The Fuzz.

It's no secret  that he has been cutting firewood for years, and that some of those chunks can get a bit heavy.

It is also a fact that Our Fuzz is a bit foolish at times, and has a tendency to not ask for help* when it would have been a good idea.

It turned out that what he tried to convince himself was only strain, wasn't going away.

And then the day came when he pushed on that little bulge and felt (and heard) something gurgle.

While discomforting, The Fuzz figured this was something he could live with as long as he was careful.

Eventually it was mentioned to His Sweetie, and passed on to other family.

That was when things hit the fan.

The family is large by contemporary standards and some members are or have been involved in the medical field.

The Fuzz started receiving phone calls...
long phone calls.

At this point His Sweetie became involved.

The Fuzz's view that people must have lived with these sort of things for thousands of years didn't seem to hold much weight.

In short...

He made an appointment with the surgeon.

And surgery was scheduled.

Well, it's been a couple of days now, and The Fuzz is glad to report that he is still living and beginning to move around a bit.

He regrets that there are no pictures, but perhaps that is for the best.

They wouldn't let him bring his camera, and besides he doesn't remember anything after being wheeled into the hallways himself.

So we'll just post a few more from the camping trip!

*It may be debated whether this is a macho thing or simply stupidity.

Living on the Edge

Living on the Edge of the Ocean

Whilst on our recent Annual Beach Trip, The Fuzz took one of his morning walks up to the end of the island.  One has to realize that these "islands" are just giant sandbars.

Erosion is a constant threat.

The dunes are what protects the houses, and are in turn protected by law.

Of course the sea doesn't pay a lot of attention to these signs.

In some places there's not a lot of dune left to protect.

There seems to be a layer of shells under this dune.

(or what's left of it)

But this hasn't kept folks from building out here.

The dune may be gone, but the walkway is still here.

And lastly, our latest Mystery Pix...demystified!

Genetically Engineered Crops Protected

Saw this little item.


Obama signs bill that protects makers of genetically engineered crops from federal courts

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/30/obama-signs-bill-that-protects-makers-genetically-engineered-crops-from-federal/#ixzz2P4PASuad


"The so-called Monsanto Protection Act essentially requires the Agriculture Department to approve the growing, harvesting and selling of such crops, even if the courts rule environmental studies are incomplete -- undermining  the judicial review system and posing potential health risks, critics say."

Oh well.

Turtle Island Preserve & Building Codes

The Fuzz happened on this little bit the other day.

"Mountain man fights local government to keep nature school natural"

"Eustace Conway, who owns and operates a school that teaches hundreds of people how to live closer to nature, received a cease and desist letter from county officials who say his buildings don't meet code."

"Officials say unless Conway can meet building codes and safety regulations, the camp and school will be closed."

(Here's a bit more on this)

"Turtle Island Preserve has been closed to the public since mid October for violating building and health codes after a neighbor called the department of Watauga County Planning and Inspections about unpermitted buildings being built on the Turtle Island Property.

Director Joe Furman later received a detailed map of the property. Furman added that he didn’t talk to or know the name of the complainant, but Furman said he believed it was a male who called and reported the unpermitted buildings."

The man must not be popular with his neighbors.

"This is supposed to be the land of the free. Government is supposed to help people, protect their individual liberties and freedom -- that's not what's happening here," said Conway.

Conway says he plans to fight to keep his nature school the way it was built.

"I'm not confident I can win it. I'm confident I ought to win it," said Conway. "This is something I spent this much of my life, I don't have much left."

Can't we all just get along?

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/28/mountain-man-fights-local-government-to-keep-nature-school-natural/?test=latestnews#ixzz2MgWJAG3N

Mountains and More

The Fuzz has been enjoying his new opportunity to take that motorcycle out.  Last week he decided to shoot up to the Parkway one more time while the weather was still nice.

The leaves were starting to turn just a bit.  They seem to be a little late this year to us.

The Fuzz likes to pick up a deli sandwich on his way and stash it in the saddle bag.  Then he'll stop at one of the picnic sites, or just an overlook (some have tables) for a break and leisurely lunch.

But there was a slight complication this time.  Which is the basis for this little pix.

And a Tale of Woe.

At the Trade Lot & And the Future of Fat

The Fuzz's Sweetie has been working on this for a while now. This weekend we finally went to the trade lot to try out a Henna Booth. Actually there was no "booth" as such, only a card table and some chairs. But there were actually some takers. Here is an example of what we're talking about.
These are actually the feet of a volunteer used for demonstration purposes.
I am happy to say, that while there was not a large profit, Things did at least break even. And it was a positive experience, even for The Fuzz.

And now a note from the news.

"Feds to Monitor Obesity"

It seems that part of our Heath Care Reform involves sending you Fatness Quotient to the government.

We quote,

"[T]he Obama administration sets its sights on overweight Americans, demanding obesity ratings for all citizens by 2014..."

And,

"... under the stimulus law, health care providers must establish "meaningful use" of electronic health records to qualify for federal subsidies or risk seeing their Medicare and Medicaid payments slashed. The electronic health records must include Americans' body mass index, or BMI, height and weight."

And lastly,

"... a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that $147 billion is spent annually on obesity-related costs, or 10 percent of medical costs."

It's all about money.

Giant Muffler!

Here it is, The Giant Muffler!

Yup, that's one big muffler.
Every so often they crank that sucker up for a test flight. That muffler is pretty impressive, but there's no question when that thing is on line.
It's back-up power for the water plant.
The Fuzz was just a bit lazy, and this is all he gave us to work with tonight. We think he's a little PO'd about the time change again.
He was wondering just where all this daylight we're saving is going.
He's thinking it's just some new kind of tax, some way those congressmen are getting our daylight.
Well, we'll just have to take it I guess.

R 2

In a reply to one of our recent posts, maria asks..."What are the other R's?" Well, the 2nd is of course, 'riting.
In this The Fuzz has been somewhat less successful. Back in the days, there was a class called Penmanship. As can be seen from the example here, The Fuzz was not what one would consider an Honor Student. In fact, by the time he reached the 7th grade, he was ordered to abandon cursive writing altogether. This was not too big a sacrifice since he couldn't read it himself.
Now it seems to be possible to read his writin' if he draws the letters rather than attempts to write them, as can be seen here.
But there are other aspects to this writin' stuff besides neatness, stuff like grammar and spelling. Now that grammar stuff can get confusing, so well not get into that here. But that spelling business deserves a word or two. It has been said that the English language is 80% phonetic. The obvious problem here is that 20% is not! If this wasn't enough, how does one know if a mystery word is in the 80% or the 20%? I mean, is this fair? And just who decided what's what here?
The fact is, if not for "spell check" you probably couldn't even read this.
So now we've dealt with two of these "R's". One of these days we may get to the next.

Death Comes To Another

You may remember these guys. They were the subjects of a recent inquiry* involving an unpleasant incident on the back porch.

Well, the sad news today, is they are now orphans.
Their foolish mother got out in the road one too many times.
Fortunately, they are old enough to make it on their own, but it is a sad thing for all.

*The results were inconclusive, although B seems to played the "Cute" card.

Chastened Investment Bankers

The Fuzz usually reserves his politics for other places, but he wanted to voice his disgust.

From US News & World Report-

"Today, Citigroup shows that whole "chastened investment banker" meme is basically a lie. According to Bloomberg, Citi gets $45 billion in taxpayer bailout money and decides its chief executive and top lieutenants should spend $10 million on new offices."


The unemployment rate here is 14.5%

We have to fill out our *tax papers on the kitchen table since we lack a $10 million office to do it in.

These people seem to have totally lost touch with reality.


*The taxes that are paying for these "Offices"

Wednesday of Doom

It's about time for a Cute Kitten Picture again, so here we go.

But what we're really dealing with here, is The End of the World. (On Wednesday)
It seems that this Welsh Physicist is planning to test fire his new Particle Accelerator and some other Scientists think he may do us all in. It seems that he liked to blow stuff up when he was a kid.

"I had a number of chemistry sets. Like everybody, I used to make explosives. I even blew the fuses of the whole house a few times."

The Fuzz says he's not so sure about all this, but he does remember "Ice 9" I suppose it's gonna happen sooner or latter. But just so you know, here's what we may be in for.

"...the spinning-top-like quasar devoured the world from within, the two jets emanating from it would grow and catastrophes such as earthquakes and tsunamis would occur at the points they emerged from the Earth.

‘The weather will change completely, wiping out life, and very soon the whole planet will be eaten in a magnificent scenario..."

Apparently, this Global Warming stuff ain't squat, so The Fuzz says y'all better get ready for the Real Thing.

More Stupidity

Here's some small town stupidity for your enjoyment.


Phone conversation tips off two deputies

Drew Brooks
February 2, 2008 - 10:27PM
KINGS MOUNTAIN — A 17 year-old boy dug his hole a little deeper Saturday after being arrested by a Cleveland County Sheriff’s deputy and, in doing so, helped solve a crime that happened earlier in the day.

Tommy Lee Sears of 111-16 High Ridge Court in Kings Mountain was arrested for larceny of a motor vehicle.

During booking, two deputies overheard a conversation Sears had with his mother via telephone in which Sears said he had taken some items from a neighbor’s home and stored them at the Sears’ home, according to an incident report.

When contacted by deputies, Sears’ mother, Jennifer, gave them permission to search the home.
Inside, they found a number of items that matched those taken from 132 Yarboro Road earlier in the day, including sheet rock, power tools, 2 x 4’s and assorted tools valued at more than $500.

The items were returned to their owner, the report said.

In addition to his larceny of a motor vehicle charge, Sears faces charges of felony breaking and entering, felony larceny and felony possession of stolen goods.

Stupidity

Just thought I'd pass this along, poor kids.

CHESTERTON, Ind. — Two fourth-grade boys mimicking a scene from the movie "A Christmas Story" wound up with their tongues stuck to a frozen flagpole.

Gavin Dempsey and James Alexander were serving on flag duty at Jackson Elementary School Friday morning, with the job of raising and lowering the school's flags. They decided to see if their tongues really would stick to the cold metal.

"I decided to try it because I thought all of the TV shows were lies, but turns out I was wrong," Gavin said.

Karen Alexander, James' mother , said her son told her he got the idea from the movie, which is based on stories about a boy growing up in the northwest Indiana community of Hammond in the 1940s.

"I can't believe he did it, but they learned their lesson," she said.

James said he plans to eat a lot of ice cream to help nurse his wound.

"When you're young, you're just messing around," he said.

Billie Dempsey, Gavin's mom, said a nurse called them to tell them the boys' tongues were bleeding.

"The nurse asked them, 'OK, who double-dog dared who?"' Billie Dempsey said, a reference to a phrase that a character in the movie used to dare another child to stick his tongue to the pole.

This Stinks

On the World Scene, over there in Naples they're finding out just how important we Garbagemen are. Truthfully, the problem is not exactly with the Garbagemen themselves, but what to DO with the Stuff, and Crime, and Politics.

What's even worse, a lot of the Stuff they're dealing with is, like, Toxic Waste and people are getting sick. Our current "Landfill", started out as a deep hole. Now it's becoming a Hill. On the plus side, now there is getting to be a nice view from up there. But there are plenty of other places to go for the "View". I think the thing is, we all just need to make a lot less trash. And what we don't actually use, we need to recycle. That may seem inconvenient, but look at these pictures.

Holiday Disaster

Since he is such an important part of the operations of this Fine City, you may justifiably wonder what The Fuzz was doing at home on such a busy day. Well, the old back is acting up again, but that's not the problem. It would seem that while hard at work at his daily task of cleaning up the remnants of everyone's Holiday Cheer, he made a small miscalculation, and destroyed this Utility Pole.
Well not exactly This Pole. This is a poor attempt to illustrate the situation he found himself in. But it does convey somewhat of the situation. You will notice that the middle section of This Pole is missing. This is because after The Fuzz finished backing a Huge Garbage Truck into a real one, the middle section of That One was missing. Well not exactly "Missing" since we know where it was, but it was not where it was supposed to be. This left the upper section hanging, as they say.
No one was happy about this, especially The Fuzz.
After an interview with the Police, The Fuzz was relieved of his command, and forced into a pickup truck which took him to the basement of some sort of medical establishment. Here, he was forced to Pee in a Cup.
At any rate, since his back was acting up anyway, he was told to take a sick day today. And that is why he was here to give you the Cat Poetry Update this morning.
But just in case any of my Loyal Readers are worried about The Fuzz's future in the workforce, it appears that he will still have a job, lucky guy.

водка

I am not pushing водка here, but I thought this was interesting.

The Fuzz's Sweetie sometimes worries about the various critters imbibing his antifreeze. This is real antifreeze, like one puts in a car or truck to keep from busting the block, or at least the radiator.

It seems a certain person, on a visit "Down Under", was either very stupid, or, very thirsty, and had himself a big drink of the stuff. It seems that the antidote for this stuff, is Vodka ! Who would have thunk or thought it !

Let me state at this point, that The Fuzz does not recommend this method for obtaining Vodka when one is a little short of funds or something like that. It does appear that this fellow survived, and is not blind or anything.

But now we all know that this "medicinal use" stuff is not BS. So go ahead, enjoy your водка.