The Earth Starts Moving: Dio Mio!!!!!!

Was visiting the always interesting All About Lemon who has a most exciting piece about the Earth. Visit the site and then click any picture of the Earth and wow! Scary stuff. Increible!!! is right. Below pic is from region after the slide. Happened awhile ago, not current events but interesting to watch.

CRACKED IN HALF ROAD: A view of a road destroyed by a landslide Tuesday in the southern Italian town of Maierato. A landslide, thought to have been caused by heavy rains in the region, split a hillside in Maierato the previous day. About 200 residents of the town in the Vibo Valentia province have had to be evacuated, authorities said. (Belcastro Antonietta/EPA) | WSJ

Every Day in May Writing Challenge: Conservation & Pigs

EVERY DAY IN MAY CHALLENGE: SEE ALL THE TOPICS AT HOW SMALL A TROUT

Conservation? Well, I live in Oregon..duh. It’s a given. Or is it? It seems it should be given the perception in much of the I-5 corridor of being at one with Nature. But, it seems to me that there needs to be, even here, a re-acquaintance with the basics of picking up after one’s self. I rarely see a public service announcement about the basics of littering in Oregon. I can’t speak to elsewhere. I don’t want to. There is, for me, to much of that. Take care of your own back yard first before our minds traipse off on every global BS initiative.

Of course, that said, look at this Indonesian gem of perversion, poverty and stench:

Citarum River in Indonesia (The River Seers)

And, of course, less than a month ago I highlighted the Salton Sea’s alleged demise, via the New River, after visiting it’s shore. But, I still believe that many of us need to focus on our home waters to generate awareness about stream habitat projects, volunteer projects, creating public service projects about littering along streams and rivers (most campaigns seem focused on littering from cars on the move). The dumping of truck loads of garbage in vacant lots is egregious. The dumping of garbage by bank fishermen is equally obnoxious, if seemingly less harmful than the Citarum River’s garbage problem above.

Oregon Bank Fishermen on rivers and lakes: That styrofoam cup or plastic lid that held eggs or worms; that old glass jar that held those Pautzke Eggs or Power Bait, the carton that held sand shrimp, the empty spool of Berkley or Maxima fishing line, the wadded up tangle of twelve pound fishing line, cigarette butts, beer cans, sandwich bags, bottles, toilet paper. I don’t have to connect the dots here. Certain types near put and take fisheries join together to create a mess and there seems zero effort to prevent littering, over harvesting, snagging, or awareness. While I can decry the poverty and filth in Jakarta, I feel more compelled to create awareness here on my home waters.

 I have done my part on numerous occasions to help in cleanup projects along river’s edges (Sandy River, Salmon River, Crooked River, Mollala River, Wilson River, Necanicum River) but, each time I am cleaning up the discarded crap of pigs, I am left wondering why we don’t do more. Illegal dumping signs quoting penalties and statute numbers are required, but public pressure and awareness ad campaigns are in order. If Smoky Bear was here today…………. 

Tomorrow’s Every Day in May Outdoor Blogger’s Writing Challenge: Waders

Recall Contaminated Diamond & Kirkland Pet Foods (Kibble + Salmonella)

Check your pantry, food bin or tubs for certain types of dog or cat kibble that may be contaminated with salmonella. A little over a dozen people have fallen ill in nine states so far. The products under recall are produced by Diamond Pet Foods. Most notable are Kirkland (C0stco) pet foods made by Diamond Pet Foods.

“So how exactly did the salmonella jump from dog-food bowls to the unfortunate folks who came down with the strain? The CDC is still tracking the outbreak, but said there could be a handful of explanations: people touching the dog food, then their own food; contact with bowls or utensils used to serve the dog food that weren’t cleaned properly afterwards; and that old standby, a canine carrier licking their faces.

How to prevent it in your home? Washing your hands frequently and thoroughly with hot soapy water is the best way to fend off any illness. Also wash your hands before and after contact with pet food, including treats; after petting or handling pets (and especially their poop); before preparing your own meals, and before eating them. Children are less able to fight off food-borne illness, so don’t let them near the pet food bowls, and keep an eye on those photogenic dog kisses, which could spread disease as well.

In this case, the easiest preventive measure you can take is checking your pantry for suspect kibble, and getting rid of any recalled brands pronto, then cleaning the surfaces and storage containers it had contact with.” (source)

The Donner Party: Diaries Come to Light

Many of you probably recall how the Donner Party ends up, stranded in the mountains and suffering enormous hardships and tragedy.

This site, The Donner Party by Daniel M. Rosen delves, not just with the tragic portions, but also with the prelude, which makes the ending all the more wrenching.

Courthouse Rock, as drawn by James F. Wilkins in 1849.

“In her 1891 memoirs, Virginia Reed fondly recalled the Platte: “The road at first was rough and led through a timbered country, but after striking the great valley of the Platte the road was good and the country beautiful. Stretching out before us as far as the eye could reach was a valley as green as emerald, dotted here and there with flowers of every imaginable color, and through this valley flowed the grand old Platte, a wide, rapid, shallow stream. … Exercise in the open air under bright skies, and freedom from peril, combined to make this part of our journey an ideal pleasure trip. How I enjoyed riding my pony, galloping over the plain, gathering wild flowers! At night the young folks would gather about the camp fire chatting merrily, and often a song would be heard, or some clever dancer would give us a barn-door jig on the hind gate of a wagon.”

“I have not wrote to you half the trouble we have had but I have wrote enough to let you know that you don’t know what trouble is. But thank God we have all got through and the only family that did not eat human flesh. We have everything but I don’t care for that. We have got through with our lives but Don’t let this letter dishearten anybody. Never take no cutoffs and hurry along as fast as you can”.

Virginia Reed to cousin Mary Keyes, May 16, 1847^[L]

“I will now give you some good and friendly advice. Stay at home,—you are in a good place, where, if sick, you are not in danger of starving to death.”

Mary Graves to Levi Fosdick (her sister Sarah Fosdick’s father-in-law), 1847^[162]

Bungee Cord Snaps…Eek!!!

Aussie Girl Survives African Bungee Disaster

Utah Family Rescue: Ice Waters & Heroes

Roger Anderson and 3 Children Rescued By Heroic Efforts

“Car plunged down a 10-foot embankment and flipped over into the icy river 10 bystanders brave the freezing water and turn the car over using their hands…”

“As many as 10 heroic people jumped into an icy Utah river to help save three trapped children after a car plunged down a 10-foot embankment and flipped over.  The rescuers helped turn the Honda Accord upright in the Logan River, and one man shot out the car’s window with a handgun and cut a seat belt to help free the children after Saturday afternoon accident….” (more)

For the Anderson’s, the car is in the river, upside down, and but for nearby citizens they would have died. But, what about your preparations  to survive a roadside or worse stay in inhospitable conditions? Is your car or rig outfitted to sustain you and others until help arrives?

And, are you mentally prepared (have you mentally rehearsed/envisioned what would happen and how you would respond? is your life currently in chaos and you are distracted and mentally ill prepared?) to meet a challenge for yourself, loved ones or someone like the Anderson’s, upside down in a stream?

Plan, Envision, Respond. 

Lights Out: Destiny, Luck?

Life's Journey & the Dead Ends (1953)

This picture has nothing to do with fly fishing or the outdoors. It is a picture of Rusty (L), Ruth and SwittersB (R). Rusty and Ruth were brother/sister. We all lived in a working class neighborhood that in retrospect was rough, being situated adjacent to taverns, bars, industry, low rent and hard people.

We played all the usual kid’s games and all seemed simple and safe to us.

Ruth left home young chasing some hard case. She was found dumped in a lot, naked and done.

Rusty, an outlaw biker, laid his chopper down on a Portland bridge and perished beneath a car.

My parents moved us across town to a nicer neighborhood. I learned not to wear my pants so high on my hips.

 

Berdie Judd, driving sluts & res ipsa loquitur

Renowned fly fisher and advocate for women's rights

You are probably unaware, from life experiences, that once a woman takes to the wheel the community is rife with lust, infidelity and debauchery. That is the assessment of the ruling class in Saudia Arabia.

“In a typical move by the highest religious council in Saudi Arabia, clerics recently announced that if women were allowed to drive in their country, it would lead to “no more virgins” in the Kingdom.

The statement says a lot about the view of women in Saudi Arabia. First, it basically implies that women are all whores who are looking for indiscriminate sex around every corner. Men have to retain strict control over women’s movements, the sheikhs say, because women themselves, if given the slightest opportunity—the slightest freedom—will run around seducing anything that moves.” (more)

As you know doubt know, if you have followed here for several years, Ms. Judd has involved herself to promote women’s causes in France and the U.S. Often she participates sans clothing as a way of expressing women’s independence from the manipulations of men. Given her staging venue, Berdie assured me that she would not, that is not, be communicating without clothing.

Berdie said the abuses via the ‘theothugs’ must stop. She further slung Latin at me that I had to look up: res ipsa loquitur (‘it speaks for itself’). When I wrote back if she had been fly fishing of late, she responded that she had recently traveled, this Summer, to SE Europe, India and Spain to fish. I hope to eventually receive an update re her exploits. Happy New Year Berdie and please keep your top on. (you can enter Berdie’s name in the ‘search’ box and get up to date on her past exploits)

Avoid The Incoming Tsunami Wave

MISCALCULATING HIGH WATER & THERE GOES THE EXPENSIVE CAMERA AT PLANET 5D BLOG

The Penis & The Thumb (Separate & Not Equal)

No, not much to do with fly fishing…well, I suppose the thumb factors in here and there. I was seated in a doctor’s office today for a followup visit, post op. Muscles repairing and nerves tweaking have made for some difficult times of late. ‘Difficult’? 

In the doctor’s lobby, I came upon the November 2011 issue of Men’s Health and perused the insides. Lead story, with a promo from the Editor, our wounded warriors are suffering ever increasing losses of their genitals because of the greater use of IED’s in the Afghan theater. More profound is the VA has a traumatic injury protection program, an insurance policy, that attaches a value to lost body parts: thumb $50K each, foot $50K, hand $50K each, eyes $50K each eye, lips $75K for two lips……the list goes on and on, but according to the author, Bob Drury, there is currently no compensation for the loss of a penis, or testicles. Of course, compounding all this is the probable loss of lower limbs. The Afghan War has become notorious for multiple limb loss per wounded combatant. I am not certain if all combat soldiers automatically qualify for the insurance policy. I hope they do, as seemingly inadequate as it seems.

British Developed Tier II Body Armor Codpiece

Some soldiers have had the forethought to store their sperm prior to heading over seas. Obviously, there is horrendous mental adjustments for the wounded warrior on so many levels. I will simply offer that the VA must develop some form of compensation for the loss of a genital component (regardless of sex). Further research will evolve with genital reconstruction and hormone replacement therapy because of these ever increasing injuries from IED’s.

Yes, I have some pain, but I will get better in time. I am lucky. I am trying to figure out if I will be able to fish this Winter. Others with all manner of traumas are mustering the will to live and somehow adapt.   Attached is a very graphic/violent video…you don’t have to watch it to grasp the reality.