Month: March 2024

Posted on

Star-gazing

Calvin and Hobbes in praise of star-gazing…

Star-gazing.

High praise indeed!

 

********



C.S. Lewis on authors…

C.S. Lewis

Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realize the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realize it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others. Reality, even seen through the eyes of many, is not enough. I will see what others have invented. Even the eyes of all humanity are not enough. I regret that the brutes cannot write books. Very gladly would I learn what face things present to a mouse or a bee; more gladly still would I perceive the olfactory world charged with all the information and emotion it carries for a dog.

 

Last but not least…

 

Ah well:  Best to go back to star-gazing.
Posted on

Like a Mack Truck

With 36″ of snow predicted – half of it already on the ground and the other half expected to fall over the next 12 hours –  today most schools and even some businesses and restaurants are closed.  So when I rolled out of bed this morning it seemed like a good day to stay indoors by the fire and reflect rather than venture out.

Today, same as every day, a This Day in History email appeared in my inbox. But my attention was particularly drawn to a brief blurb about the demise of one of the founders of the Mack Truck company on this date in 1924.

 

John “Jack” Mack, who co-founded Mack Trucks, Inc. — then known as the Mack Brothers Company — is killed when his car collides with a trolley in Pennsylvania on March 14, 1924.

 

After the Mack brothers sold their company to investors in 1911, it continued to flourish. In fact it became one of the world’s largest makers of heavy-duty trucks. During World War I, Mack built thousands of trucks for the American and British governments. The company acquired its trademark bulldog logo when British soldiers said the truck’s blunt-nosed hood and durability reminded them of their country’s mascot, the bulldog.

 

In 1922, the company was renamed Mack Trucks, Inc. And in 2001, Mack was acquired by Volvo of Sweden. Today, the expression “it hit me like a Mack truck” – meaning something that creates a powerful impact – is a standard part of the American lexicon.

 

 

********

And then it hit me… dare I say it? – like a Mack truck: The founder of Roxborough Park, Henry S. Persse, also died in a pedestrian versus trolley collision in downtown Denver in 1918. What are the odds? The full Persse story is here.  My photo of his iconic stone house from a past hike in Roxborough State Park is below.

********

Like a Mack Truck? Henry S. Persse homestead.

********

Despite the striking coincidence, I somehow doubt if the phrase “It hit me like a trolley car” is likely to catch on. Y’think? Just not enough trolley cars around these days. But I will say this much: If on the fateful day both Jack Mack and Henry Persse had stayed indoors rather than venturing out into harm’s way, history might have turned out very differently.

********

Beware the trolley, y’all!
And, snow or no snow, let’s all be careful out there.
Posted on

Election Year Twist

Today’s Elk Valley hike comes with an election year twist. From the pictures below, see if you can be the first to guess the particular type of abandoned farm implement and its relation to the 2024 election. Extra credit if you have ever used one yourself. 

 

Election Year Twist - The Melvin Head place.
From the inside looking out of the old Melvin Head homestead in Elk Valley.

 

Election Year Twist - DC-5.

You are here: To get to Elk Valley, follow Douglas County Route 5 heading south until you can’t go any further and the road veers west steeply uphill.

 

Looking north from DC-5 you see the edge of Roxborough. The view south, it’s all horse farms as far as the eye can see.

 

Looking east from DC-5 you see Swallowtail Ridge and the bluest of blue skies. The road west is more than a bit steep, with one small ray of afternoon sunshine.

 

Still snowy; and no, the snow plow never makes it this far.

 

********

 

And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for: What’s this abandoned farm implement? And what does it have to do with the 2024 election?

 

Election Year Twist - horse manure!

A closeup of the tail end may be all the help you need to win valuable prizes:  Good luck!

 

Election year twist: Don’t let flying horse manure hit your head!

Posted on

Etymology Fans

OK, etymology fans: Today’s WOTD post is for you. Also for those who do the NYT crossword daily and love a devlishly hard Saturday solve (subscribers only, see here).  And also for those who spent way too much time watching TV in the late ’80’s. Everybody else? You get the day off. Lucky you.

 

********

 

In today’s NYT crossword puzzle, the clue for 34-across is “MacGyvering.” And the 11-letter answer is today’s WOTD, “juryrigging.” For those of a certain age who loved watching Richard Dean Anderson play the hero of this series on TV back in the day, this one’s a gimme.

MacGyver was a famously resourceful fictional sleuth best known for fabricating ingenious devices out of common household materials. You know, like constructing a completely functional atom bomb from a foil gum wrapper and Clorox. Well, maybe not quite that ingenious. But there are eight real life examples – many of which involve duct tape – here.  My favorite? DIY teargas from cayenne pepper, vinegar, and baking soda – believe it or don’t. But word to the wise: Next time you’re trapped behind enemy lines with only common kitchen supplies at your disposal, this one might just be a lifesaver.

 

********

 

Anyway, the reason we know the answer to 34A isn’t “jerryrigging” is that we’d need a 12th letter for that to fit. This set me to thinking about “jury-rigging” versus “jerry-rigging,” The differences are subtle, but real. If you’re deep into etymology, you can get the full story, here. If not – or maybe you’re just averse to clicking – the Cliff Notes version can be found below.

Bottom line? When used in this way, “jury” is a nautical term, not a legal one. And “jerry” has nothing to do with the slur for “Germans” from the WW1-and-2 era.

 

Intrigued? Well then, by all means, read on.

 

A jury-rig is a temporary solution created with the materials at hand. In some cases, a jury-rig may be poorly put together, but that sense isn’t part of the definition. Jury-rigs can be clever, innovative, and impressive. If something is jerry-built, however, it’s poorly constructed by definition.

 

So, there you have it, etymology fans. And now it’s time for me to get back to constructing a hot air balloon out of duct tape and…. Oops, sorry folks: I guess maybe you’ll have to click the link to find out what else you’ll need next.

 

Etymology Fans - MacGyver.

Happy MacGyvering, y’all!

Posted on

International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day to a couple of my favorite International Women.

 

Intertnational Women's Day - Timor Leste.
RGW’s hammock in Timor-Leste.

RGW vacay at Japanese shrine.

Intertnational Women's Day - Iodine.
KAW in the U.K. with Iodine.

 

Also, this blast from the past, an unparallelled tradition of familial double-X chromosome resilience.

Intertnational Women's Day - Hoffmans.
Great-grandma Hoffman with (L-to-R) Mary (Trostle), Rachel (Harbold) and Esther (Wolf). Back then, not only trucks were built to last.

 

Last but not least there’s my better half, who has been keeping the world safe for the gifted since 1985.

International Women's Day - AVW.

 

Posted on

Theodor Geisel

The celebrity birthdays they keep on coming: Happy 120th to Dr. Seuss – born Theodor Geisel on March 2, 1904. Best birthday greeting for him I saw was from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Insta site, here.

 

Theodor Giesel

“While a fox will never really wear socks, or a bear will never really wear pants or a Barred tiger salamander will never wear a tie that is too wide because no one wears them like that anymore, we’re here to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday.”

 

********

 

 

Posted on

Happy Birthday Javier Bardem

Born March 1, 1969: Happy Birthday, Javier Bardem!

Happy Birthday, Javier Bardem!
“What do you say to a man that by his own admission has no soul? Why would you say anything? I’ve thought about it a good deal. But he wasn’t nothin’ compared to what was comin’ down the pike.”

 

********

A group of psychiatrists studied 400 movies and identified 126 psychotic characters. They chose Javier Bardem’s portrayal of Anton Chigurh in “No Country for Old Men” (2007) as the most clinically accurate portrayal of a psychopath.
When directors Joel Coen and Ethan Coen approached Bardem about playing Chigurh, he said, “I don’t drive, I speak bad English, and I hate violence.” The Coens responded, “That’s why we called you.” Bardem said he took the role because his dream was to be in a Coen Brothers film.
“All the work I usually do: imagining the past, the circumstances of the character in this case I didn’t do it. We all saw him as a force of nature, the embodiment of violence.”
The Coens used a photo of a brothel patron taken in 1979 as a model for Anton Chigurh’s hair style. When he first saw his new haircut, Bardem said, “Oh no, now I won’t get laid for the next two months.” The Coens responded by happily high-fiving each other; Bardem’s response meant Chigurh would look as creepy as they had hoped.
Bardem won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance…. He was the first Spanish actor ever to win an Academy Award.

 

********

 

Sorry, Sir Tony. Better luck next time.

“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”

Posted on

MUTCD

Came across a new FB group that tickled my fancy: “There is NO way that is MUTCD-compliant.”  In case you wondered about the acronym:   MUTCD means “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.”

 

From their site:

 

Admin note: This is not a political group. Plenty of those exist. No one is here for that. There are plenty of other groups for political discourse.
A post recently had comments locked for this reason. I started with the intention of removing the inappropriate comments, but it was a lost cause.
Posting of traffic control devices with a political implication (such as rainbow crosswalks, blue center lines, politician names added to stops signs, and so on) is fine. But please keep discussion to the traffic control device and its impact, and resist the temptation to take political pot shots.
Please bump this by posting a funny sign, billboard, road marking, etc. in the comments. It doesn’t have to be traffic related.

********

 

Here’s the photoshopped post that first caught my eye:

MUTCD - Frost Heaves.
Love that sophomoric literary sense of humor.

 

The last two are going to be my first contributions.
Got any roadside faves you’d care to share?
Remember: It doesn’t have to be traffic related.
Site link is here.