Global Warming...

Recently seven hunters from Utah went to Colorado for a 100% guaranteed cow elk hunt. Rather than having the 2 feet of snow and temps near freezing we had dry ground and temps in the mid 40's. One long time guide and hunter said they had not seen anything like this in his 15 years of tracking elk in Craig.

Scientists agree that global warming is at the root of unsuccessful hunting in Colorado. Ice cores, tree rings and deep ocean coral analysis suggest the rapid increase in green house gasses and worldwide increases in temperatures including winter migration of elk herds in Northern Colorado are anthropogenic or man caused in origin. Burning of fossil fuels and the industrialization of our civilization has leaded us to this point. Core samples from more than 800,000 years of ice build up from Antarctica confirm there never has been the concentration of C02 in the atmosphere as we have experienced in the last 200 years.

Continued upset of the world climate will bring further changes to all the people on the planet from the Polar Bears in the Arctic to penguins in the Antarctic. For next year Utah elk hunters will factor in the changes in global warming and push back the harvesting of animals by one month.

The matter of sleeping

Dr. William Dement of Stanford University founded the first clinic in the USA to diagnose and treat sleep disorders some years ago. A new Podcast now from the aforementioned university allows access to faculty lectures on a plethora of subjects including sleep disorders. Since sleep disorders are shared by more than a few of us I recommend listening to the Podcast. I intend to inquire further into the matter of sleep. For some, according to Professor Dement, the solution to a better night's sleep is simply watching the sun set or more precisely the resetting of one's biological clock by increased exposure to light. On cloudy days when the light of the sun is shielded one may need a light box to aid in the resetting of this biological clock.

Next to research for me are light boxes which have the proper wavelength and intensity to achieve the resetting. Could have fewer side effects than Lunesta or Ambien. Anyone want to try a light box?

Won 10 big ones...

Just returned home by truck from the 'Redwood office' on the North Coast. For speed in travel we drove through a couple fast food joints coming and going, but after driving 6 hours from Reno we decided to seek food served on a plate and at a table. I recommended we go to the buffet at the Rainbow Hotel and Casino in Wendover. The food did not disappoint, neither the attentive care of the near 100% Hispanic staff in the restaurant. RA could not focus on the food as her attention was drawn to the mirrored celings, the neon lights, the gaming and the number of seniors that seemed to be there spending their kid's inheritances. Personally I found the shrimp to be plentiful, the fruit fresh and sweet, the prime rib thick and the vegetables not overcooked like I used to get at a school cafeteria growing up. I confess though I always liked those plump overcooked green beans that came out of government supplied number 10 cans.

RA said if she had a blog she would write about our experience at the Rainbow in Wendover. I offered encouragement to her to do so. She may have wanted to disclose that I played the dollar slots and won 10 big ones. That helped subsidize our buffet which was not cheap. How much is ten big ones, you ask-- $10.00, maybe $1,000.00...? Actually it was ten cents. I played a single dollar bill and won $1.10. I got some sort of bar coded credit slip that you have to feed into another machine to get your cash back. I did so and out came a dollar bill and two nickels, 10 big ones, ten cents that is. Content with winning and getting ahead of the casino and not subsidizing this immoral activity any further we passed on out of the casino to the parking lot.

I would expect I have misinterpeted RA's comments and intentions to some degree and therefore await her comments to more correctly describe our stop and the whole experience. She should tell us in her own words about the stop at the Rainbow, including the decor. I looked for a nice graphic to put with this post but could only find an image of an old slot machine. I also found this post by someone from West Vallley City reviewing the Rainbow for a travel service. They had less than a rewarding experience. Some real sour fruit here: "May 14, 2004, my husbond and I have been to the rainbow a couple of times with in the last year, and don't plan to go back. The slots are way to tight we put $1000 in their slots and didn't get nothing I mean nothing.." Given that prospect of getting "nothing, I mean nothing" we did good to come away a dime ahead. The Rainbow aint got nothin on us, we were too smart to be tricked by those mirrored celings, neon lights and the gaming atmosphere there. Not tempted to pour any more money into the slots, besides I miss those handles you used to be able to pull. What ever happened to the 'one arm bandits'?

We also averaged 17+ mpg for the Dodge and used several tanks of bio diesel on the trip. Biodiesel is the 'fuel of peace' proclaimed one bumper sticker which we received as we signed up to become members of the biodiesel club in Laytonville CA. The nice lady who pumped our 95% biodiesel managed to keep a straight face as she explained that her work was entirelly altruistic in providing this "community service" at $3.85 per gallon. The bio is entirely from reclaimed cooking oil. I guess those fast food joints must be selling their old oil for more than the sheiks, mullahs, and princes of the middle east at sixty bucks a barrel. Somebody is making some sweet moolah at those prices. We felt good though as our tank was filled with this free range, organic, fuel of peace. I still harbor feelings of hostility toward some Republicans. Will that ever change?

Announcing...

The new "Redwood Office" of Fisher Company will be opening before this Christmas Season. Ribbon cutting ceremonies are scheduled on the 22nd of December. A high speed wireless internet satellite connection will be installed thus making it easier to conduct business from this location. This suggests increased efficiencies and implies more time will be spent at the offices there. This places us closer geographically to many of our west coast customers offering better service. Of course this will require some sacrifice on our part but we at Fisher Company are dedicated to servicing the needs of our many valued customers and are excited about this step forward in the evolution of our business.

A small reception is planned and we request confirmation if you should be able to attend. Menu items include smoked salmon, Calistoga water, various cheeses and pastries. Hope to see any of you there!

Best wishes from the Management

Let the party begin...

Stopped by the store on the way home tonight and picked up some goodies to begin the celebrations in anticipation of the Democratic sweep in the House and Senate tomorrow. Not to be overlooked either, in this mid term election, is the fact that this is a referendum for the failed policies of George W. Bush in Iraq.

We have Calistoga water with lime, two kinds of Pepperidge Farm cookies, French bread, Brie, cheddar aged two years, and bleu along with limited edition entertaining crackers from Nabisco called 'Hearty Wheats'. We'll put some Brie on those along with bleu and aged cheddar.

Do you suppose Karl and George, Dick, Donald and Condi are getting ready for any celebrating? In order to save face some have suggested Donald could be fired or retired. I promise one of these days I will post some of the great quotes from the Generals and the Joint Chiefs, how they feel about their Secretary of Defense from Bob Woodward's new book.

This is better than Christmas and New Years all rolled into one.

"Men behave differently...

in the presence of each other than they do when women are there. I could not begin to say why," according to Andy Rooney,” even if I knew. It is not only different, but the atmosphere, for that brief time, is often better. I should think the same thing is true about a group of women who gather for bridge or to elect a candidate to office. I can't speak about a woman's locker room."

I believe that observation by Mr. Rooney having experienced annual hunting trips to the mountains and diving trips to the ocean. I think that is why many of my friends continue to golf together on Saturday mornings, "for that brief time" that "is often better."

In pursuit of this special time I, J. and A. are having a men's afternoon out tomorrow. Yes, we can do this. I will be fortified with ample supplies in the diaper bag and do have some experience and ability, though dormant, to be able to change A's diaper if the need arises. We plan on visiting the Museum of Natural History at the U of U, probably make a stop at Toys R Us and then a stop at the Centerville Dairy Queen where we will drink root beer, eat ice cream and have ketchup and French fries. Topping off the afternoon will be some time on the living room carpet assembling and playing with our toys. After all is that not what men do best together?