On September 11th 2001 my wife and I arrived home from night shifts at a metropolitan hospital to the news that one of the two towers of the World Trade Center was burning. We followed events closely until we watched the North Tower collapse at 930, a mere ninety minutes later. After a few moments passed she asked, "What now?" "We go to bed," I replied, "we don't know what will be asked of us when we arrive at work tonight or how long it will be asked of us."

With the very notable exception of our men and women in uniform, most of us are still waiting to say "yes" if asked to serve our country or sacrifice for the good of our fellow citizens. The nation is divided because we lack a common vision for a better tomorrow. We are not tackling the problems that face us because our leaders do not think us brave enough, strong enough or, perhaps, smart enough to face them. That day taught us that we are not immune to the realities or dangers of a world...

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On November 1, 2011 the citizens of Wisconsin will be able to apply for a license to carry a concealed weapon and I am glad. I have no intention of carrying on a regular basis, at least not initially, but I do think that I will attend the class and apply for the license. Moreover, I think I can even convince my wife to attend and get her own license as well. I want to contribute to the movement that made conceal carry legal in this state because I believe in the right of people to legally carry; even if, in the end, I decide to never carry myself. This path is not without personal risk though, admittedly, a very personal kind of risk.

I can see myself carrying in some specific situations, mostly involving the possibility of bear or badger at some seculded apiary. This may, however, change with on-going training, personal evolution and world events. I would be very surprised to see my wife ever carry and I would have reservations about her doing so. Her instincts are rather passive...

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So I am putzing around in the farm store looking at tarps and trying to figure out how to get a couple of jobs done when I come across a product I never noticed before:



The basic idea is that one piece "the dogbone" goes on the underside of the the tarp and a second piece slides onto the dogbone from above. Supposedly it can be used to connect two tarps together. I just used it to attach two tarps: one canvas and one plastic to a building or anything else solid.

The instructions were wanting but after squinting for several minutes at the picture on the package and about twenty minutes of failed attempts I figured out which end of the dogbone was to face out:



The big draw back is that the center hole has an air space between the plastic dogbone and...

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In (American) football there is the two minute drill. The tactics you bring to bear when you have reached the two minute warning of the second half and are behind by one field goal or touchdown. Due to circumstances you play the game differently and are willing to take some chances to try to win in the end. You play in a way that you cannot afford to the previous 58 minutes.

ALOT of progress has been made over the last 7 years since I first heard the words "Peak Oil." First I researched, then I planned and, as Pops would say, I've worked the plan, but I am still behind where I want to be. Not too far behind, a touch down ties, a two point conversion is a win. I can push myself harder and take an extra chance or two beause I am fairly confident that come 24 months my ability to prepare will be effectively brought to a conclusion. There will still be a lot of work to do then but it will be a different kind of work. Opportunities that I have now will be lost.

I am going...

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Alaska's Untapped Reserves lowered by 90%.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a revised estimate for the amount of conventional, undiscovered oil in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska is a fraction of a previous estimate.
The group estimates about 896 million barrels of such oil are in the reserve, about 90 percent less than a 2002 estimate of 10.6 billion barrels.

The new estimate is mainly due to the incorporation of new data from recent exploration drilling revealing gas occurrence rather than oil in much of the area, the geological survey said.



OPEC reserves were revised upwards through out the 1980's not because more oil was found but because the allotment system which dictates how much each member can pump is based on official reserves. If you increase your reserves, you can pump more. Once one member country starts increasing...

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