Wine From Ballistic Mountain: wine lovers, trust me on this

[this was originally the last half of the previous post, but I wanted to make the posts a mile or two shorter than usual)

****added bonus!!! wine tip--if you want to try some wine from the winery further up the dirt road from me, go online to
Rock Canyon Vineyards

The site gives a feel for the better parts of Ballistic Mountain. Tim and his wife are great people. I got to know them at the party up the hill the other night. People seemed to be enjoying the wine they brought. I don't risk alcohol, so I rely on the impression of others. Some people brought wine with them, but I noticed that after tasting the Rock Canyon stuff they just stuck with that.

If wine reflects the personality and character of the vintner, then this stuff has got to be good; intelligent, witty, smooth, earthy, with lots of personality. When I'm around the right people I end up cutting up with as little inhibition as those who are drinking, sometimes I'm more over the top. Such was the case with this crew. That only happens rarely. Check out their wine and if it can be shipped to your locale, give it a shot. Shipping alcohol involves a ton of convoluted regulations. Can't ship to Tennesse or other places who try to protect their own fledgling wineries.

This is from their site, and very much what the view off my deck was like this morning, early. They live sort of to the south and west of me, but you can't see the place from here.
Just follow the dirt road, take the right fork and when it seems like the road is gone keep going.

Click the pic for the full view.

Oh well, I decided to steal another pic from Rock Canyon Ranch and Vineyards. This guy used to live at the beach. Seems like a surfer dude/cowboy. Way it is here.
There's a rise between us, but this view includes some of mine.

Gourmet Tips for those Who Have Not # 6

Actually, this is tip # 1 in this series, but I wanted to make people think this has been going on awhile, and that they missed something. Then, because I am ever so compassionate when it comes to deceptions, I had to own up. I'm the guy who spoils the tasteless practical jokes if it involves misleading or messing up the victim too much. I have my own brand of those.

Imagine your kitchen consists of a hot plate, and that you gave away numerous blenders, mixers and more when you decided you had to be a vagabond, or else. So, as luck would have it, your only powered appliance is the vegetable juicer given to you as a welcome to your new place present (and maybe by default--finally, he's not sleeping at our house present). I love/and/or/heart my juicer, so don't be messin'.

You don't know when you last had a milkshake but you are craving one, yet you do not want to spend the money for a store bought one. Assume that you purchased ice cream on sale, along with some extra stuff so you could finally get back to the vegetable juicing. I'll discuss that later.

OK so you are making a tasty sandwich, bread toasted in your frying pan with a little oil and garlic powder. The hot plate is slow so I put an upside down steel bowl over it. I have one that just fits.

Spinach lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, and those Morningstar farms picture-of-bacon strips. They cooked along side the bread. Don't criticize--it is what I like. You may like squid. Just not for me, that's all. Of course I use lots of mayo to glue things to the sandwich, and mustard too. I even splurged for chips. I worked today, got paid, and quit feeling like life is or should be over, so I planned my reward.

The combo is sometimes best with a milkshake, and I am not sure when I had the last one--was it in Seattle? Who knows. But now I have milk (I don't know why but one of the brands claiming to be organic, from cows that don't use steroids, seems to last twice as long as other milk. I don't use it quickly and the normal stuff goes bad before I'm done. Not the milk from happy cows. So, I actually save money even if I pay slightly more.) and ice cream.

Alright, usually I'd make a milkshake by putting ice cream and milk in a blender, along with some extra flavoring if I had it. I don't.

So what you do, if you are a have not, and you want to make a milkshake is put milk and ice cream in your glass, then use your handy dandy wire wisk--the only one you have, which just happens to be smaller diameter than the glass. It works like a charm.

(spellcheck on this blogger thing doesn't think "wisk" is a word. I think it is.)

I used a little vanilla ice cream, and a lot of mint chocolate chip--Breyer's if you must know. I go by price on these things, and it is so rare I have ice cream, I don't know that I'd like one brand that much better. It said "all natural". But every atom on earth is natural in some way, so who knows what that means. You can manipulate natural ingredients, but where else but in the natural universe can you get the most basic of raw materials for anything?

If I had been in a real bind I would have secured a fork in my electric drill, and used it like a mixer.

You don't need much to produce a world class sandwich ensemble.

In case you are wondering: the juicer is not a thing that works for milkshakes.

Public Service Appeals and Charity

Something which has puzzled me on and off for some time now is the whole structure of the charity/ enlightenment game. Having spent far too much time in the underbelly of a city or two, I often find myself reacting unfavorably to guilt based efforts to encourage people here to send their wealth over there--usually to a region most people have never seen, for purposes that sometimes don't add up, and sometimes do.

Why are problems in distant regions, in cultures far different from our own, of more importance than some serious issues within subcultures right here? And why is there tax incentive to cast your lot with organizations you know nothing about, yet none for merely helping those you see who need it? Personally I am for no tax incentives, and a flat rate tax at most. It appears those who run many non-profit organizations profit plenty. Why should being non-profit be considered more noble than for-profit?

We've got situations in large cities in which people growing up in many neighborhoods are receiving more education in how to use weapons against one another than they are learning useful skills like reading, using language effectively, basic math, basic history, basic human decency, or any other constructive thing. It is a culture of crime, violence, and disrespect for life. It does not have to be that way. I'd argue that government policies and practices, the prison system, and refusal to really look at the problem contribute a great deal to the mess. You always hear about how hard it is for a kid to escape it, to distance himself from gang life. I believe that is fairly true.

So, instead of concerted efforts to eliminate the hierarchy within these places that keeps the problem going, we send money all over the world for who knows what. We build new schools in Pakistan and other regions, imagining that this will somehow "stabilize the region" and everyone will like us.

If school districts are complaining about condition of school buildings and funds, why are we building schools elsewhere? If you can't take care of your own, you really don't need to assume you can fix everyone else. It may be useful to realize that the general goals and aspirations of the people in various cultures are not necessarily the same. Thinking they are is idiotic if not suicidal.

I'd feel better if various actors and such people would give away all their money, leaving themselves the same amount I live on, then see if they enjoy being asked to donate $10 here, 7 there, 20 somewhere else. If they care so much they will buy up millions of dollars worth of mosquito nets, sponsor thousands of children, and put their money where their mouths are.

It is all part of the big pretense, the ubiquitous blind eye. To anyone who pays attention you see it in public schools where non offensive kids are terrorized by riffraff, and in prisons where many of the idiots in normal life think it is cool that there is a jungle hierarchy in which people are brutalized, mini gangs develop based on race, etc. That is dumb. With all the people incarcerated in this country, there has to be a huge number who should not be there. Well, that is obvious just from the things that land some people behind bars.

Whether it is the church, our own government, or some Hollywood hack, I do not get the drive to take up causes abroad while ignoring the problems at home. A good many problems in other places are the direct result of self righteous idiots insisting on bringing them the Word in one form or another.

It is hard to rise to the top in America, so I guess it soothes the ego to find places that have yet to discover the wheel and go play God.

Our system indirectly penalizes those who simply help a neighbor in need. No, the only way to a lower tax bracket is to throw money at huge, government approved organizations, whose top admin people make far more than most of us, and often the percentage of money that actually goes toward directly dealing with whatever problem is shockingly low.

They've done a good job of using peer pressure to maximize the profits of the non-profit game. You can buy your way to positive reinforcement and recognition without ever personally doing any thing for a person who needs it, one on one. Unless, of course, there's a photo op in it.

Lost Decades

they happen. Wasted by one form of stupidity or another, or through some inexplicable doubt in one's own right to be here.

Then and Now, apples and oranges

For those who actually think there is a comparison between the Ellis Island immigrants, who came in documented, and those who come in illegally and then make demands:


THEN



NOW:


People who have some connection to the time when people came here for opportunity rather than entitlement can probably easily discern a difference between these photos. Our president and many others can not.

Obviously selected photos, but the difference in behavior and attitudes, and motives I think is real. It is part of our ongoing great pretense that such realities are ignored. We ignore it in the home grown, and in the gate crashers.

Out My Back Door

For all the angst of being an unsettled rebel/vagabond/scofflaw/lover of freedom/defender of non offensive humans, it is kind of amazing in ways.

I only dreamed of living in a place like this for years. Now I'm here, and I find I tagged along. That is the only thing that slows down the process.

The phone has a tough time with dusk and night shots, but the idea is there. You really do not see any houses. Far off there are a few lights coming on in Alpine, but that is 8 miles away, as the Subaru flies---maybe 4 or 5 for the crow.



My would-be-world-dominating employer's** last guest left a new case of strawberries and much else in the fridge. They never keep anything so I had pick of raiding the goods. I get first shot. The housekeeper got an unopened thing of bacon. I was resisting buying groceries so I could waste money on bad habits and convince myself I am saving for the upcoming adventure.

Lucky me, I take what the power brokers leave untouched if it suits me. bread, eggs, dozens of yogurt whatchamacallits, and lots of produce--enough that I can again make ugly looking nourishing juice drinks. Those vegetable juice drinks make you strong and energetic. Without them I regress into mopeland.

You know you are definitely of the servant-entrance, hired help class when you can't wait to see what Mas'r left behind. Even so I see myself as something different. Although it does sometimes dawn on me that I am at that age which is hard to still call "middle aged". Even so, I don't have the soul of an oldster, and from the first time I heard the term I vowed never to accept the tag, "senior citizen". That sounds so Orwellian, like we are subjects of some state, categorized by arbitrary criteria.

I'm not quite senior anyway for most discounts, although I do qualify for some. Another of those sucker ploys people go along with. If you aren't being robbed to begin with why should a particular good or service cost less or more depending on when you were born? That is so sick. We would not need it if we did not have things like this.



But who cares? All the confusion is a voluntary maze, to some extent, and the best choice is not to enter into it. There are things to do, fun to be had. I still haven't flown a paraglider or an ultralight, haven't gone down the Mississippi in a kayak, and lots of other things that seem worthwhile.

I was doing some checking and found that one consistent theme of states without income tax is that they are usually less encumbered by debt. It is not totally black and white, however the highest taxed states are the least solvent pretty consistently. Hawaii must be really screwing up. We already knew New York and California had issues.

Looks like "fly over country" has it more together than the fly-to states. Probably because they are too busy farming, and fighting locusts, snow, blizzards, etc. to dream up the things that coastal types get into. Or they are just smarter. no opinion on that. Lots of very great people in CA. I think the riffraff have been able to take advantage of the good nature of the others, while the evil schemers get rich off the dynamic.

I just want the country to be full of easy, good looking women, people who can drive, cheap fuel, good music, and freedom. Is that too much to ask?

+++Seven states have no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Two others, New Hampshire and Tennessee, tax only dividend and interest income.


Mass and Connecticut have the highest per capita debt. Washington has plenty enough but I give them credit for not having income tax. It is just wrong.

Somehow Nebraska is damned near solvent in terms of almost no debt per capita. Wyoming and Iowa make up the rest of the three lowest debt states. A few of the more over regulated states are fairly low as well, like Colorado. I assume that is because they do not have just a few paying everything, like in some states. There are places which have a large portion of the population which take without any productivity, and a small group which pays. It is unsustainable, to use another buzzword I'm sick of; especially because in political speak it often means something other than what it is.

As good as Mexican food is, why do so many people want to leave that country? What has that government done to make people flee? And why wouldn't their president hang his head in shame rather than come here and act like it is a crime for us to want a little border security? You cannot approach anything honestly any more without accusations of racism or xenophobia. I assure you, in my case, it is neither. I love Mexican culture but not punks of any nation or color.

**a reference made, not because of this person's wealth, but how it is used and, to some extent, maintained and obtained.**

Loyal Friend, Rodent; Hero

As I was winding my way down one of the local two lane country roads, I slowed for a squirrel as I frequently do. They can be hard to miss due to their impulsive nature and tendency to change directions multiple times while moving maybe a few inches. Often they fake one way, you swerve the opposite way to avoid them, then they dash the same way you go. It happens quickly.

I've learned to fake first which often thwarts their attempt to commit suicide by Subaru.

This particular squirrel, however, was on a mission, and quite easy to avoid. He(and/or) she ran out to the middle of the road to retrieve a fallen comrade. I mean that in the sense of colleague, not calling it a member of the communist party.

I was so touched and amazed by the act, I stopped and took a photo as seen below. The loyalty and bravery shown was commendable. I hope the creature wins the Golden Acorn award, and is named Rodent of the Year. I have bestowed the name Sparky upon this brave ball of fur. Partly because it doesn't matter what gender it is, so I remain politically correct and avoid trouble. Sparky is a noble, dynamic moniker which befits such a rodent.

It really was amazing to see it run out, inspect what I assume was a corpse, deftly grasp t by the nap of the neck with its razor sharp buck teeth (I know this from raising a squirrel and experiencing just a hint of what squirrel anger can mean---they can kick your butt, be sure of that. Although my friend Waldo just let me know he could tear me to shreds--he never actually drew blood).

Where was I? Oh yea, he/she got a grip and transported the allegedly lifeless squirrel safely clear of the road. I say allegedly because it may have still had a pulse. I think Sparky did some very quick triage as he inspected the downed colleague before dragging it to a good spot to render first aid.

Let this be a lesson to us all.

Maybe they'll make a public service announcement out it. ("us all" is an oft used phrase when blasting the masses with drivel) Uh oh. I don't want to get started on public service announcements. Latest one I saw is an actress who obviously lives well telling me to wear a sweater if I am cold and to open a window if I'm hot. The nerve. And it is required that the media play this garbage. Why don't you mind your own business, lady? IDIOT

Sparky would never go bossing strangers around on TV. Real heroes just do not do that.

If You Knew What I Do About You Know Who

No telling. You'd probably just carry on like you are. Or you'd be squirreling away survival supplies and dried food, looking for a safe getaway cave, learning how to make alcohol and run it in your motorcycle, or else you'd look into moving to Costa Rica, the Falkland Islands, or who knows. Most likely, none of the above.

I'd suggest finding the place whose rhythm suits you. For me, I suggest this thing. I get a beat going through my mind and for days it runs in the background of everything I do. There may be a chord progression to go with it, and it goes on and on. Really, as much as I think guitar, it would make sense if I played it. Too much of a bare bones vagabond even for that. I'm thinking of grabbing one the next time opportunity presents itself. Very hard to play, but what the hell. Good for thinking.

The thing I want to remember is that the people who made money in the gold rush were those supplying the people who were in a rush to find gold.

Somehow I think that ought to make the market slightly clearer. But the truth is the invisible hand has been replaced by the heavy hand, and unlike the invisible one, the heavy one does not follow natural law. Figuring out what the heavy hand is up to could get you rich, thrown in jail, killed, or all three.

Who Scrambled the Eggs, and When?

In attempting to eventually get the ever elusive handle on things I realize the tendency toward disconnect and isolation began long before I even got out of high school. It appeared as if I had lots of friends but in truth I had few, if any. There were partners in crime and self destruction but not much in the way of normal friendship. I did not recognize it when I saw it anyway.

Somewhere along the way the eggs sure got scrambled. It is astounding when I try to figure it out. Some are just born one way and others some other way. That is about all I know. It wears a person out.

There's a better shot at whatever IT is than there was a couple of years ago, but it is certainly a touch and go proposition. Wish there was a pill to fix it. Any I tried proved to create other undesirable issues.

I bet it all gets sorted out and enlightenment and energy abound maybe a day before I die. Time's running out, and it only seems right that one grow up before the end. Most likely this is just the sort of side effect one experiences when he is hopelessly ahead of his time. By definition that is not the sort of thing you can expect would be answered satisfactorily by some sort of consensus. Just goes to show that consensus of opinion means little in the long run.

Sounds Good, But Watch Out--electoral hoax

Few people grasp why the president is actually elected by the Electoral College rather than by straight popular vote. Of course, some of those people are wondering who the EC plays in sports; do they have a football team, how do they stand on supporting women's athletics?

Those afore mentioned people tend to swing elections. Show them something shiny and they will follow anyone anywhere. I'd venture to say they are basically good people. Most people are, until you tempt their greed for material things, power, recognition etc. Greed and envy can be easily triggered and then all bets are off, especially if you can rationalize the result.

Now we have states oddly voting to by-pass the electoral process in presidential elections. I'm not exactly sure why, except they may resent states like South Dakota or Texas having a say. The main incentive I see for by-passing or eliminating the present electoral system is to further strengthen and centralize federal power over the states and people.

Some have complained that laws vary from state to state. Those same people have often touted various european countries for one custom or another, ignoring the fact that many states are as large or larger than most european countries. You do not expect France and Germany to be identical in law and character.

The system we have was designed to give some weighted influence to smaller state, and limit the possibility of a majority tyranny over the minority. States were considered just short of being countries. By throwing all electoral votes toward the candidate with most popular vote you guarantee that a very limited and un-diverse set of voting blocks can carry the day.

The present system is designed as one of those checks and balances which were put in place to make it tougher for megalomaniacs to have their way with us. "Us" being individuals. The way of power is supposed to be #1--the individual, #2--the states #3-the federal government. It has flipflopped completely, and because so many people now look to european models for leadership[, they don't even realize the implications of this or why it is not a good plan.

I attribute the emergence of gang mentality, insane public school culture, general environment of fear, inability to let kids have the run of the neighborhood, all of that, to the shift in power out of the hands of the individual and family, to the state, to the feds. What blinds people is that secret pretense we have been perfecting for at least 40 or 50 years. It is such a sacred pretense (like all those which serve as the cornerstone of a dysfunctional system) that you just can't name or expose the truth of it.

But make no mistake, pretense has been key in the surrender of local and individual power, responsibility, and even thought.

For those who do not want a few large population centers to dictate their fate, removing the thorn in the side of those who would love to control you from afar is a bad idea. Of course, president is only one part of the mix, or used to be. It does appear that executive power has run amok for many years at a geometrically increasing rate. And other representatives have managed to create a system by which we are somehow told of our choices by those who own and buy the officials. But, how many really resisted the government - corporate partnerships when they saw some benefit for themselves?
Don't lie.

I've known many people who voted a certain way because some favorable government act was going to enrich their employer their union, themselves. Did the taxpayers footing the bill owe you that favor, or benefit from it? Irrelevant to those who stood to benefit, although they would often disingenuously spout off platitudes in support of the ridiculous like hawkers at a fair.

So, if your state for some reason votes overwhelmingly in favor of the candidate favored by people in other states or other regions, if you are CO, Mass, NC, or some others, California, I guess, all your electors will be required to support the guy you do not want. It is a bad move, as were other moves which eroded sovereignty of states, and consequently individuals. The things ensuring individual liberty and rights are good, but rarely the items pushed by those who see centralization as progress. Quite the opposite.

In school a lot of teachers who were actually not very independent in their thinking, used to push us to think the electoral college was a fool's scheme. They also seemed to see the office of president as akin to king or supreme ruler, so what can you expect.

No wonder people think in those terms today, rather than wondering why Congress allowed or encouraged Bush, since the same people had a majority for much of his reign. The same general players and power camps secured more executive authority under Bush as are doing so under Obama. The 911 report was merely a plan to usurp power from people and localities. Obama could not do what he's done without cooperation. Congress has been giving over much power to executive discretion for a long long time.

The Bush crowd, with democratic congress and help, set the stage for the current power grab. First it is in thew name of keeping us safe, then to prevent certain financial meltdown, next who knows what. We aren't safer and definitely losing economic freedom and power.

Maybe people want a king, absolute and final, a total dictator. Someone to worship, and if it all goes sour, someone to fight against. I don't get it.

What could have motivated those states? Anger that Bush won the election with a possible sliver of more popular votes going to Al? That part seems debatable, but I still think it is a good idea that some geographic weighting is in place. Pure majority vote on everything is not a good plan. Got to put limits on anyone's power over others.

Once again, back off the federal government to its proper limits, back off the executive branch to its proper limits, and maybe people would come to see president as something other than supreme czar. And for the love of Pete, quit calling these damned agency heads, "czar". What the hell is that about? I do not answer to royalty. Sorry. I do not recognize nobility, and I don't subject myself to its arrogant assumption of authority. What a sick thing that we accept all these soulless clerks as supreme authority over finances, industries, health, etc.