Children of the corn II

35-30...great win!!! The game was incredible, the fans were excited, the atmosphere was electric, and the best part was that Tech WON! I am back in Montana after the little jaunt to the cornhusker state. I am also going on approximately 2 hours sleep as we didn't get back to the hotel until after midnight and the flight out of NE was at 6:55 am which meant a 4:30 wake up and quick shower before calling a taxi back to the airport. Now my throught is soar, I am hoarse, and I hope to sleep tonight, but it was a blast. Pictures from the Hokies win can be found here.

Children of the corn

I am enjoying my trip to the cornhusker state and hopefully tonight the Hokies will show up and quieten down the home team. The folks here in Lincoln have been incredible...no joke. I didn't pay for a drink all evening last night...thanks Huskers!!! I hope that next year Blacksburg will be as accomodating to the travelers that they have been to us this year. Well, it's time to go tailgate and get tuned up for the game...LET'S GO.............HOKIES!!!

Just another rant

I listened to the President last night discuss this country's financial problems. Now I understand that the government probably needs to step in and save the financial industry but it really chaps my tail that bad descions by greedy (no other word for it) consumers has led this country to the point that we are at. President Bush is correct when he said that the underlying issue, the issue that started the whole mess was consumers' assumptions that housing values would continue to rise at the inflated rates of the 1990s and early 2000s and then borrow more money than they can afford. How stupid are people? If you are buying real estate as an investment fine, but don't borrow more money than you can afford. I have heard a lot of people want to blame this crisis on "predatory" lenders...to that I say bull. It doesn't matter how "predatory" the lender is, they still have to disclose the terms of the loan and you as the consumer still have to sign it. I have never seen a loan agreement that says "I promise to pay this loan back so long as my investment is making money". I know that it is sad that people are losing their homes...that is a travesty, but if these people took out adjustable rate mortgages or fixed rate mortgages that they could not afford then that is their own problem I should not have to bail out stupidity. I am not saying that there aren't lean times in people's lives and that sometimes a little help is needed, but to take out a loan on the assumption that you can refinance once the value of the investment rises is purely irresponsible behavior. These people infuriate me because they destabilize the entire economy putting people that pay their bills on time every month (me) at risk. Now I am on the hook, and so is every other taxpayer, to invest in shaky investments just so banks can resume lending...what a crock. I believe that there are times that call for borrowing money like buying a house that you can afford, operating loans on large farms and ranches, and such, but borrowing money should be avoided as much as possible. I for one have lived without credit for over a year now and it is wonderful. That is not to say that I have paid off all of my debt, but I have not incurred any new debt. It can be done, it should be done, and now it must be done...

Last vestige of summer

This weekend was probably (not hopefully) the last warm weekend we will see in Montana, so I just had to get out and enjoy it. Saturday I went out for a bike ride that ended being quiet an epic adventure. I didn't realize that the divide between the Little Big Horn and the Big Horn Rivers was quiet that steep or long. I started out like normal riding down to the Big Horn where I talked to a couple of families that were getting ready to put their raft in the river for a family float trip (looked like fun...although the kids were being kind of snotty), I then decided that I wasn't ready to go back to town so I continued up the Big Horn Valley to the "Crow Cut Across" (a paved road connecting SR 313 to Crow Agency) and I rode across to Crow Agency and then back to town on the frontage road. The cut across is a lot longer than I thought and quiet a bit steeper than I had anticipated, but it was fun. The frontage road was BORING to ride on, but at least no one tried to run me over (it happens sometimes on the "old" highway to Billings)! I then went to the 4 Aces to watch the second half of the VT game...Danielle and I don't even have to ask them to put the game on anymore they just ask which channel that Tech is playing on when we come in! Yesterday was supposed to be my second 4-H shotgun class, but no one showed so I just went back home and cut the grass and piddled around the house before taking Maggie for a walk around town last night...Maggie likes to explore town and rile up every dog and cat here!!! Anyhow, this is going to be a short week as I am going to Lincoln, Nebraska this week to watch Tech play the 'Huskers. That ought to be fun; I haven't been to Nebraska for several years and I am kind of looking forward to it. I wish that I was driving, but flying was so cheap that I couldn't pass it up.

Just checking in

Well, nothing of major consequence is going on right now. I started class this week, started the 4-H shotgun project, went to Bozeman for a training, held a 4-H goat meeting, and tonight I hope to start on the flooring in the basement. I did go out this morning and look at some trees for a homeowner and then went out and took some pictures of the farming activities going on. Fall is certainly coming on and it is an active time on the farms (even though grain harvest is over); winter wheat is planted in most fields and is growing nicely, beets are nearing harvest, fields are being plowed for spring plantings, and hay is being made. It is really an interesting time! Anyhow, some pictures that I took this morning can be found here; no more talk of Montana being a brown wasteland, OK. I also took some pictures while I was in Baker, MT two weekends ago; there was a herd of antelope that I found while I was trying to get close to the wind turbines. These pictures can be found here.

Sad Post

When I talked to my folks this week they told me that my cat Nicky had gotten run over. I had two cats when I moved out to Montana and I left both of them in Virginia with the folks. I figured that it would be nearly impossible to move the cats; and cats don't move well anyway. Well, Thomas (the other cat) hasn't been seen in a while, but Nicky was hanging in there until last week. Anyhow, attached are pictures of Nicky (Grey) and Thomas (Orange). They are older pictures, but that is all that I have.

In the Clear

Well, maybe I was a bit worked up last week. The situation, while not totally resolved, is at least at rest for now. My boss backed me up and it was awesome! It is really incredible to work for someone that has your back and doesn't make any "bones" about it. Coming to Montana from an Extension system where the administrators not only didn't back the agents but helped deride them it truly is a "breath of fresh air".

Moving on... This weekend was a busy one that began with a meeting at Pretty Eagle Catholic School regarding a grant that I am on to introduce science and filmmaking to elementary school kids. This project is really cool; the plan is to introduce the topic of ethnobotany (how and which plants were and are used in traditional Crow culture) and then have the kids make a movie about it! How cool is that? I had to cut the meeting a little short and leave for Baker, MT (it's not the end of the earth, but you can see it from there...a little shot at North Dakota!!!) for shooting sports leader training. I helped teach shotgun and got to go through the new cowboy action training. Cowboy action shooting is a pilot project this year and is going to be a really cool project that introduces 4-Hers to the history of the west (clothing, firearms, customs) and melds it with a fast-paced shooting experience! During our training we were instructed on the basic "rules" of the game which were to use the revolver and shoot five round targets, then move to the repeating rifle and shoot the five back targets, and finally move to the shotgun and shoot the "fall down" target, all while being timed! When fully implemented, the kids will dress in period clothing and shoot more targets. This is going to be a really great project; one that I hope that I can bring to my county at some point.

Sunday I did not work. I went on a "poker run" with some friends. I had never been on one and it is a pretty neat way to raise money for, in this case, one of the VFW posts in Billings. The weather was cold and I realized that I don't particuarly care to ride in cold, rainy weather but it was still an enjoyable day. It was nice to get the motorcycle out one more time before the cold sets in for good!

Life; enjoy the ride!!! (a little pissed off)

When I was playing baseball back in high school I used to really enjoy having a pitcher throw curveballs. The reason being is that I bat left handed and for a right handed pitcher throwing to a left handed batter most of the time the pitch will break down and away which puts the ball right a good place to hit with power! In life I do not enjoy the curves as much. Take for instance this week (and a good portion of the past two months for that matter) I feel like I am having to defend myself against things that I have no interest in fighting. Tomorrow will be another test and I don't really know how things will turn out. I know that I would prefer things to just 'go away' and 'blow over' but I also know that this will not be the case. I am embroiled in a situation involving some angry people and a decision that I made regarding these angry people. I am getting absolutely no support from people that should be supporting the decision (someone who has repeatedly told me that we needed to "be on the same team"). Instead of supporting a decision that I still believe was correct I have been undermined in public, to my boss, and to the state office...ahh, nothing like politics to get you going!!! The reason for all of this...I really don't know. I am not interested in a "pissing contest" but that appears to be what this is. So tomorrow I will go into two meetings and have to defend a decision that WAS CORRECT and I will defend it and myself with all the energy that it takes to fight off this unwarranted attack! This is not to say that I don't feel some trepidation at the thought of tomorrow, but rather that I am sick and tired of being cut down and my decisions being undermined...tomorrow is WAR!!!

What we call the news.

When did it become national news when a 17 year old girl becomes pregnant? I really cannot see any relevance of Bristol Palin's condition and her mother's ability to be vice president. If someone can please give me insight into to how this is newsworthy I would be most appreciative. Moving on now.

This was an extremely uneventful weekend...the words "bored to tears" come to mind. Saturday was a fundraising event for the exchange trip next summer (where I think that the sun got to me because I felt awful when I got home), Sunday I cut a tree up for firewood, and yesterday it was rainy and cold (high of 55). We did invite some friends over for board games last night so that was entertaining, but on the whole it was a pretty dull weekend. I did find out that cottonwood is extremely difficult to split when it is green, but it still burns good!!! I tried out my fireplace yesterday...works really nice.