Facts Scare Me?

Had an interesting encounter on the comments pages of the DP yesterday. Full article is here.  My comment is just one among many at the bottom of the article. What is most interesting to me is how wolves seem to be a proxy for so much else in this world. It’s not surprising, I guess, given how wolves have factored into our collective imagination down the years in fairy tales and such.

But wolves are on the ballot here in Colorado next week. So of course there’s a lot of partisan back and forth, not just on the initiative to re-introduce wolves in this state, but also in the Feds’ actions to – well, let’s be honest here – stir the pot in advance of next Tuesday’s vote.

The last comment I read was “Facts scare you?” But it turns out that this particular comment was directed at another commentator, not at me. Two people, apparently with deep feelings about wolves, were arguing about something that happened back in the Nixon administration, fercryinoutloud. Go figure. Anyway, you be the judge…

 

Gray wolves stripped of endangered species protections by Trump administration

Bottom line,  as I said in my comment: I got no dog in this fight. Well, except for the fact that my last name is “Wolf,” of course. But I don’t take it personally. And neither should you. Because facts don’t scare me. And neither do wolves.

 

Facts don't scare me and neither do wolves.
Seen smiling in Santa Fe.

Thought Bubble

Yesterday my brother sent me a shot of his dog Tater sitting on the beach in South Carolina. I don’t often hear from my brother, so I’m taking this rare opportunity to turn Tater’s photo into a “Thought Bubble” contest.

 

What’s on this dog’s mind?

Thought Bubble - by Tater
Tater says:  “Best entry wins a prize… C’mon guys, give it a try!”

Benevolent Today

Yes, the meme-gods were benevolent today. Many thanks to Jack H. for being the narrow crevice where Internet wisdom filtering down from on high tends to lodge. Notice I said “lodge” and “crevice” rather than “gets stuck in your crack.” That’s because we love you so much, Jack. And if you also happen to be a Cowboys fan? Well, then so much the better.  First one below is a carryover from yesterday’s post on Alferd Packer. Read on if you dare, fellow Vegans.

 

Alferd Packer funeral

Benevolent Today - Sibs
Isn’t this one about right, boys?

 

 

 

 

Not so benevolent - Sibs Benevolent Today - politics

I just threw this last one in there for my linguist daughter. Yeah, yer welcome, Kate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Have a great Tuesday, folks. This week around here, Monday was snowed out. We’ve got about a foot on the ground. That’s good for the fires, but bad for my fingers and toes. Temps stayed mostly in the single digits yesterday. That broke the previous daily record low by over 10 degrees.  Ah well, tomorrow’s another day. Let’s hope it’s at least as benevolent meme-wise as today.

“Backyard Still Life, With Snow.”

World’s Most Unlikely Vegetarian

Halloween is just around the corner. To commemorate the holiday, the DP has published a spread on Colorado’s Historic Graves. You can see the complete list – here – all the way from Buffalo Bill Cody to John Denver.  My personal favorite in the epitaph-on-tombstone department?  It’s Doc Holliday’s…

 

Unlikely Vegetarian
“He died in bed?” Hoo Boy, that Doc, he was such a card.

 

When it comes to unusual backstories, there’s always gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson having his ashes shot out of a cannon near Aspen.  But for the truly bizarre, it’s hard to beat the tale of Alferd Packer, sole survivor of the ill-fated Donner Party, mentioned here before in these pages.  For those of you unfamiliar with the gory details, Packer cannibalized his fellow travelers on a trip across the Sierras during the harsh winter of 1873.  He then went on to became the world’s most unlikely vegetarian. Oh, and in case you were wondering:  He served 18 years in prison for his crimes before being paroled. After that he lived another 16 years on the outside where presumably he subsisted on root vegetables and hummus.  Alas, it was too little, too late.

I find it curious that, of all Colorado’s notorious sons and daughters, it’s Linda Lovelace (née Linda Boreman) whose grave ended up unmarked. As some of you may remember, she starred in the trailblazing porn classic, “Deep Throat.” As I bet very few of you remember, she netted a measly $1,250 for her cinematic efforts. In my book, that’s a much bigger crime than anything that happened to Alferd Packer’s fellow travelers in the winter of 1873.  But I digress.  <Ahem.>

 

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And if all that doesn’t get your blood running for Halloween?

Well, then nothing ever will – though you can’t say I didn’t try.

Say, you got those full-size Snickers ready yet?

Only five shopping days left, you know.

Hey, what would Alferd Packer do?

Hmm…  I wonder.  😉

Albert Fall

Ah yes, sometimes I pine for the Good Old Days – you know, back when men were men and you could tell the Fat Cats by their walrus mustaches and cool fedoras. From the archives of This Day in History – October 25, 1929 – comes the lurid tale of Albert Fall, the first (but not the last) cabinet member found guilty of accepting bribes for his part in the Teapot Dome Scandal. You can read the full History.com blurb here, or see an excerpt below.  Oh, in case you were wondering, “Teapot Dome” is in Wyoming and it has nothing to do with Earl Grey or Chamomile. In fact, it was all about oil reserves. Or, as a wise man once said:

 

Follow the money.

Teapot Dome - Albert Fall

You been warned, Fat Cats.

 

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As a member of President Warren G. Harding’s corrupt cabinet in the early 1920s, Albert Fall accepted a $100,000 interest-free “loan” from Edward Doheny of the Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Company. Doheny wanted Fall to grant his firm a valuable oil lease in the Elk Hills naval oil reserve in California. That site, along with the Teapot Dome naval oil reserve in Wyoming, had been previously transferred to the Department of the Interior at Fall’s urging.  Evidently he realized the personal gains he could achieve by leasing the land to private corporations.

 

Last word….

 

As another wise man once said: Pride goeth before a Fall.

Also: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that!

<Ahem.>

Lockheed Martin

Alright, enough with the Internet humor posts. Time for a shout out to the good folks of Lockheed Martin over at the mouth of Waterton Canyon. Some of these people have been working on this Touch and Go project for 16 years now. It came to fruition this week when, in the span of only a couple of seconds, an 11-foot robotic arm scooped up a bucketful of asteroid dirt 200 million miles from Earth. Way to go, L-M eggheads! Pop a few champagne corks, then get back to work. After all, when your target is only 0.31 of a mile in diameter and it’s orbiting the sun at 61,300 mph, you better not blink or you might miss it.

 

Lockheed Martin eggheads rule
A view across asteroid Bennu’s southern hemisphere and into space.

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Lockheed Martin, partners celebrate NASA’s first-ever in-orbit collection of material from an asteroid

Favorite?

So much Internet humor, so little time. Which one is your favorite?

 

1.  Dog-bolt.

Favorite? Dog-bolt

 

  2. Man-bun.

Favorite? Man-bun

 

3. Corrections-dept.

Favorite? Corrections-dept.

 

4.  Cat-store.

Favorite? Cat-store.

 

5. Breathe-in.

 

6.  Cark-cup.

 

7. Inter-view.

 

Yep, that’s me alright. And if you’re anything like me, right about now you’re getting a little tired of pollsters calling you all day every day.  So c’mon, take the challenge, give it a go, and pick your favorite.   After all…

 

Not naming any names here…

 

Thanks to High Church Coyote for all of these except the last one.

Bonus cartoon here.

John Muir

Today’s Word Of The Day comes via American naturalist John Muir.

John Muir c1902.jpg
Nice beard. Nice hat. But the hiking boots? Those are gonna need a little work, my “sainte-terre-er” friend.

 

The word is “saunter” and its derivation is explained below.

 

 

Now, please excuse me while I go take a saunter.

 

The hiker himself.