Today on my bike I passed 3 farms. Each one had about the same sized bags of "aged" cow manure for sale. At Farm A the price was $2, Farm B $3, and Farm C $4. This leads to several questions:
1. Is Farm C's manure twice as good as Farm A's? And if so, why?
2. Is "aged" cow manure better than fresh? Is cow manure like fine wine, better as it gets older? What's the optimum time for aging cow manure? How come cow manure isn't like fish or fruit which is best fresh? Restaurants always emphasize the catch of the day. ("The fish you eat today swam last night in Buzzards Bay.") Maybe farmers should line up their cows along the street and fill the bags "on demand."
3. Speaking of which, who fills up the bags? Is it done by machine? If not, how much does one get paid for filling bags of cow manure? Would one need a resume to apply for the job?
Just wondering.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
WTF, Installment #1
Why do Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor make me want to puke?
When will Obama grow a pair and start calling out the Republicans for sabotaging every effort to legitimately attack the deficit? Where's Teddy Kennedy when we need him? Cuts AND taxes are needed, not one or the other.
Why can't we get national health care like every other civilized country? Think how nice it would be if no individual and business had to worry about health insurance.
Everyone without exception in the USA should go through basic training when they turn 18. This country needs shared experiences to develop some unity.
Why not train all doctors in the military? Then when they get their MD, they won't be in debt. Two or three years of community service is their payment. Without debt, more could afford to go into primary care work.
Bin Laden is dead. Mission accomplished. Now leave. I have friends there that I don't want to see die for scumbags who think US aid is their personal kitty. Let them all kill each other after we go.
When will Obama grow a pair and start calling out the Republicans for sabotaging every effort to legitimately attack the deficit? Where's Teddy Kennedy when we need him? Cuts AND taxes are needed, not one or the other.
Why can't we get national health care like every other civilized country? Think how nice it would be if no individual and business had to worry about health insurance.
Everyone without exception in the USA should go through basic training when they turn 18. This country needs shared experiences to develop some unity.
Why not train all doctors in the military? Then when they get their MD, they won't be in debt. Two or three years of community service is their payment. Without debt, more could afford to go into primary care work.
Bin Laden is dead. Mission accomplished. Now leave. I have friends there that I don't want to see die for scumbags who think US aid is their personal kitty. Let them all kill each other after we go.
The Bruins
Pigs may fly, hell may freeze over, heck, the Republicans might OK a tax hike on the rich. If the Bruins can win the Stanley Cup with the team they had this year, anything is possible. After watching them all year, in fact for the past 39 years, the last thing I thought about was their winning the Cup. Just coming back to beat the Canadiens was enough for me. For many of us lifelong fans, beating Montreal IS the Cup.
I've been a Bruins diehard since I was 6 years old. That's almost 59 years. Nirvana came in 1970 when Orr scored the magic goal against the Blues to give the Bruins their first Cup in my lifetime. I'll never forget jumping off the couch, hopping into my car, and heading directly to the North Station area to participate in the celebration. What a night!
The B's of that year weren't just TV personalities for me and my friends. We spent many nights in places like the old 99 on Portland St., the Branding Iron in Charles River Park or Daisy Buchanan's by the Common pounding beers with them. They were part of the fabric of the city, much like today's team. The 99 was one of their big hangouts, and I was working for Edward's Furniture on Canal St. right around the corner from the 99.
On the night following the big City Hall Plaza rally celebrating the triumph, I found myself sitting in a booth on the third floor with coach Harry Sinden, who by then probably couldn't remember his own name. Many other players staggered throughout the bar. My most vivid recollection, though, was of Teddy Green. Teddy had been the heart and soul of the Bruins through all the bad years before Bobby Orr's arrival. But a savage stick attack by Wayne Maki had caved in part of his head ending his career. Now he sat on the bar, his feet resting on a stool, crying his eyes out. Arguably the toughest player in the NHL, Teddy couldn't play when they won the cup, and it nearly killed him.
When I saw Chara and the others with the Cup at Tia's and some of the other restaurants in town, it brought back memories of the Cup teams of the early 70s and how big hockey was then. Maybe we'll see a return to those days now.
I've been a Bruins diehard since I was 6 years old. That's almost 59 years. Nirvana came in 1970 when Orr scored the magic goal against the Blues to give the Bruins their first Cup in my lifetime. I'll never forget jumping off the couch, hopping into my car, and heading directly to the North Station area to participate in the celebration. What a night!
The B's of that year weren't just TV personalities for me and my friends. We spent many nights in places like the old 99 on Portland St., the Branding Iron in Charles River Park or Daisy Buchanan's by the Common pounding beers with them. They were part of the fabric of the city, much like today's team. The 99 was one of their big hangouts, and I was working for Edward's Furniture on Canal St. right around the corner from the 99.
On the night following the big City Hall Plaza rally celebrating the triumph, I found myself sitting in a booth on the third floor with coach Harry Sinden, who by then probably couldn't remember his own name. Many other players staggered throughout the bar. My most vivid recollection, though, was of Teddy Green. Teddy had been the heart and soul of the Bruins through all the bad years before Bobby Orr's arrival. But a savage stick attack by Wayne Maki had caved in part of his head ending his career. Now he sat on the bar, his feet resting on a stool, crying his eyes out. Arguably the toughest player in the NHL, Teddy couldn't play when they won the cup, and it nearly killed him.
When I saw Chara and the others with the Cup at Tia's and some of the other restaurants in town, it brought back memories of the Cup teams of the early 70s and how big hockey was then. Maybe we'll see a return to those days now.
Taylor Swift
I went to the Taylor Swift concert last night at Gillette Stadium. Yes, Taylor Swift, the goddess of pubescent girls everywhere. And I, a 64 year old testosterone-filled male, was there along with 55,000 others, certainly a different demographic than my usual AC/DC or the Boss. Jackie and I must have been the oldest couple present.
A perfect confluence of circumstances led to this undertaking. First, my wife loves Taylor, playing her music constantly, singing it in the shower, looking for it on Cat Country 98.1 or WKLB, 102.5. Second, Gillette is a short drive from our house, and the weather looked good for last night. Finally, I found two half price tickets on Stub Hub yesterday morning, $32 for 2nd row in the top deck overlooking the stage, not bad especially with some good binoculars. So off we went.
Taylor purports to being a country artist. However, her concert lacked the requisite references to Ford pickups, green tractors or beer. I never heard any odes to Daddy, Mama or coon dogs. Despite what Brad Paisley says, this was not country music. Instead Taylor put on a pop extravaganza, replete with countless wardrobe changes, elaborate stage props, pyrotechnics, even a basket which transported her high over her adoring fans via an intricate network of wires. Midway through the show the skies opened up and rain poured down. But Taylor didn't miss a beat. In fact, she was a trooper, getting as drenched as the crowd. It even added to her aura.
Hard as it may be to believe, I really enjoyed the concert. Despite the grief I give my wife, I like many of Taylor's songs. Her latest single "Mean" may do more to prevent bullying than all the anti-bullying educational programs put together. It was nice to see the positive influence she has on so many young girls, a total contrast to the drug and alcohol-addled, forever rehabbing young sluts that populate the news media. Taylor seems like a genuinely nice, sincere young lady who at times last night appeared close to tears as she partook in the adulation of the crowd. Hopefully she'll remain that way.
Today my ears are thankful for a nice peaceful Sunday. The shock-and-awe initial bombing of Baghdad was quiet compared to the maniacal screaming of 45,000 teenage girls who knew all the words to all the songs and felt a moral obligation to sing them as loud as possible. I finally realize how fortunate I was that my coaching career was limited to boys.
A perfect confluence of circumstances led to this undertaking. First, my wife loves Taylor, playing her music constantly, singing it in the shower, looking for it on Cat Country 98.1 or WKLB, 102.5. Second, Gillette is a short drive from our house, and the weather looked good for last night. Finally, I found two half price tickets on Stub Hub yesterday morning, $32 for 2nd row in the top deck overlooking the stage, not bad especially with some good binoculars. So off we went.
Taylor purports to being a country artist. However, her concert lacked the requisite references to Ford pickups, green tractors or beer. I never heard any odes to Daddy, Mama or coon dogs. Despite what Brad Paisley says, this was not country music. Instead Taylor put on a pop extravaganza, replete with countless wardrobe changes, elaborate stage props, pyrotechnics, even a basket which transported her high over her adoring fans via an intricate network of wires. Midway through the show the skies opened up and rain poured down. But Taylor didn't miss a beat. In fact, she was a trooper, getting as drenched as the crowd. It even added to her aura.
Hard as it may be to believe, I really enjoyed the concert. Despite the grief I give my wife, I like many of Taylor's songs. Her latest single "Mean" may do more to prevent bullying than all the anti-bullying educational programs put together. It was nice to see the positive influence she has on so many young girls, a total contrast to the drug and alcohol-addled, forever rehabbing young sluts that populate the news media. Taylor seems like a genuinely nice, sincere young lady who at times last night appeared close to tears as she partook in the adulation of the crowd. Hopefully she'll remain that way.
Today my ears are thankful for a nice peaceful Sunday. The shock-and-awe initial bombing of Baghdad was quiet compared to the maniacal screaming of 45,000 teenage girls who knew all the words to all the songs and felt a moral obligation to sing them as loud as possible. I finally realize how fortunate I was that my coaching career was limited to boys.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Bike Riding
One of the great things about living here in Bridgewater is the opportunity for road biking . I can ride 5 minutes from my house and find mile after mile of secluded roadways. On any weekday between about 10:00 and 2:00, it's like having one's own private paved bike path. Some days I've ridden 15-20 miles while encountering maybe two or three cars. The topography couldn't be better with generally flat riding and only the occasional small incline or hill. Roads traverse rivers, ponds, woods and farmland with, particularly in Middleboro, wide vistas across vast, for Massachusetts, fields.
Wildlife and domestic animals abound. Every day I see many cows, horses, goats, rabbits and chickens. Often I'll pass deer, wild turkeys and the occasional possum, fox, muskrat or woodchuck. Once a 12 point buck sauntered across Auburn St. in Bridgewater only 15 yards in front of me. Of course roadkill also abounds, with all of the aforementioned wildlife being vulnerable.
The best area is east of Route 18 heading out beyond the Bridgewater State Prison complex into Middleboro and Halifax. At one time this vast stretch of land was considered as a possible site for an international airport. More recently the Wampanoag Indians planned on a huge casino resort between Precinct St. and Route 44 in Middleboro. Thankfully that idea went down the tubes along with the economy. While I have nothing against casinos, I'd hate to lose all my best bike riding terrain.
Wildlife and domestic animals abound. Every day I see many cows, horses, goats, rabbits and chickens. Often I'll pass deer, wild turkeys and the occasional possum, fox, muskrat or woodchuck. Once a 12 point buck sauntered across Auburn St. in Bridgewater only 15 yards in front of me. Of course roadkill also abounds, with all of the aforementioned wildlife being vulnerable.
The best area is east of Route 18 heading out beyond the Bridgewater State Prison complex into Middleboro and Halifax. At one time this vast stretch of land was considered as a possible site for an international airport. More recently the Wampanoag Indians planned on a huge casino resort between Precinct St. and Route 44 in Middleboro. Thankfully that idea went down the tubes along with the economy. While I have nothing against casinos, I'd hate to lose all my best bike riding terrain.
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