Longer lasting tires? Soy Bean Oil used to make better tires that are not dependent on petroleum derivatives? Apparently, this is a possibility by maybe 2015. Tests are on going in Oklahoma and Texas. Good Year Tires is leading the way! Is there enough soy bean production to satisfy this demand?
Could other parts of the country or world for that matter grow soy beans? Would it truly be a game changer?
In 2007, I traveled with friends to Christmas Island. I have written about the preparation and suggestions I thought of after the trip (query Christmas Island in the search box to the right). I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure, much like you enjoy difficult events years later…only remembering the high points.
Standing on a flat gazing out toward the outer barriers and the edge of the flat, the darker aqua colored water. Deeper off the edge, it is the source of what creatures decide to cruise the flat in search of prey. The search for movement, shadows and contrast consumes the eyes as the relentless wind batters your ears. SwittersB
My only regret was not having more of an opportunity to have my catches recorded by the guide. Few wanted to put forth the effort to capture the events. I was often fishing alone and unable to juggle the camera and the fish. These days, you have gizmo’s like the Go Pro Hero (my son has one of these) that can capture the events, while perched atop your head.
The image of the beautiful sunset over the Pacific ocean suggests what? A warm, tropical day along the Mexican coast? A cool, breezy moment off the Oregon coast? When I look at this shot, I always think warmth and feeling healthy and content. Of course, it was taken on a rather cool, sunny day on the Oregon coast. Sometimes sunny, rarely warm, always beautiful.
Old Ranch House just west of Madras, Oregon (SwittersB)
As you push on, heading from one point to another, you pass those old places off the highway. Setting there alone, usually abandoned, visited only by the harsh weather and the occasional person with a camera.
I often wonder who originally stopped along the way on some wagon rutted road or dirt tract and considered the vistas, the land, the water, or lack thereof, and the possibilities. Were they alone? Was it two brothers, a man and woman, a family, a lone soul? What time of year was it? How did they come by the building materials and how long did it take to build the home?
What dreams did they have? They had probably escaped the confines of civilization, but were they lonely? How did they leave here? Was it opportunity or defeat that made them walk away? Did people die here or who was born here? Was anyone ever buried on this land, their remains’ location long forgotten?
These are but a few questions that blaze through my mind as I drive by or on rare occasions pull over and contemplate the structure. Someday, if I am still alive, I will drive by and see that the house has collapsed. Will anyone else notice?
Old Homestead (SwittersB)
