Political Correctness

School competition in central Nevada is the usual bus ride affair between schools----though the ride can be much longer due the the distances involved. This past week a team from "nearby" Eureka was showing off their cool team bus with the accompanying school colors and team name. While most schools sport Trojans, Gators, Warriors or some such traditional name, the team from Eureka is just fine with their name---Vandals. I'm sure this name would have to be changed due to community pressure in an "enlightened" enviroment but it seems to work just fine in the high country :)

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Self Portrait

I finally gave up on my small point and click Kodak...it was a "blonde" when it came to deciding settings to use in mixed-mode situations resulting in LOTS of blurred pictures. While it had better color rendering than the last few cameras I've used, it just didn't cut it in "Auto" mode which I use quite a bit.

I have been very impressed with the camera that I use at work (older Panasonic Lumix) for rarely taking the bad shot and having a plethora of manual features.

I've attached a link to my new friend's bio.

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/compact/zs7_tz10/index.html

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MacMime Artist

A young mime hydrates herself in preparation for the day's performance which includes an oral presentation in one of her classes.....that could be interesting :)

I believe that Mr. Chaplin and Buster Keaton would be proud.

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Land of Spuds

On a field trip to visit an old surface mine in reclamation this week. The mine straddles the Idaho and Oregon border near the commonly shared Nevada border. Obviously the fauna is a bit different though the elevation is similar (6600').

Fall Temps in the High Plains

End of the season for veggie lovers.

The Big Day is Here!!!

After saving up for many months, the A-man has received his reward.....the new Xbox 360 Halo Reach Edition. The little sis got Halo Reach Legends Edition with the in game flaming helmet to let everyone know that she's a baaaaaad Spartan :)

Game on!

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"I Loathe Bananas"

Lake Powell, the futuristic landing sight for Charlton Heston & his buddies in 3978 AD, appears in the distance off the starboard side of an Airbus 320 which landed in much better shape than it futuristic brethren.

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Big Day to a Big Season

10am start makes beverage selection a bit of a challenge :)

Catch the Fever

Quite a few of the folks in the area are big into the repackaged Tea Party movement. Outside the local library a 4-wheeler with trailer flies everything but the current United States flag on 9/11. While I am more than understanding of the movement and do not question the show of patriotism, the day was not the day to further political agendas any more than on 12/7.

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Cold September Rain

A recent rain and the accompanying cold front has pushed temperatures in the valley to the coldest of my youth. A light dusting of snow for the mountaintops announced that summer was officially over in the high plains.

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Stress Busters

As reflected in the photo with a group of my co-workers, life in a gold mine is an extremely stressful, dog eat dog, way to make a living :)

Geometrid Smorgasbord

A bright Tennessee morning exposes a raft of morning glories lining the driveway on the north side of the house and allows for a variety of inchworms to flourish with the obviously tasty petals.

Labor Day Sunset in central Nevada

Back to work in the wilds of Nevada.....

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Hot Summer Nights

Heading back east for the little woman's 39th birthday tomorrow.

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Early Morning Stretch

A young hawk (genus unknown) is caught at the top of their lifting stroke for flight off the fence post they were resting on just before dawn broke over the valley.

Personalized Shopping

Big Brother has already arrived in.the high plains! Dropped by the store to pick up my weekly gallon of 1% milk and the dairy department has me pegged. My HAL nightmares are coming true (for those sci-fi buffs among us)

New and Improved

The washer back home was making a funny sound and yours truly, being somewhat naive fearless with this sort of thing, of course opened it up. Not much going on in these new front loading washers---no transmissions, solenoids or mechanical timers at all. A electronic control box for the motor drive, the motor, flat grooved belt and the water pump (middle of second pic) . Noise came from the pump as some "debris" had made it by the filter cup. Cleaned it out and all is well. Did order a new pump as the old vibrates a bit now but nothing serious. The large pulley in the first photo was made in Harrison, AR by a customer of a previous employer of mine.

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Breakfast of Champions

The term "open range" is very appropiate on the high plains. There are many thriving cattle ranches throughout the valleys. The range required for grazing each head of cattle is rather large due to the sparse vegetation though the sparseness did not seem to bother the small herd that was grazing on the roadsides on the way to work one morning this week.

The Veggie Patch

The little woman has been busy this summer growing a few varieties of tomato including Better Boy, Cherry & Roma, a yellow variety of sweet pepper, red & green bell peppers, yellow squash and her usual collection of spices in the assorted planters on the deck.

Mo knows gardening :)

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Dog Days of Summer

If you're a sled dog it would be good I guess......a quick shot at Mini's temperature gauge the other morning showings temps getting into the low 50s and some 40s in the evening this past week. The day temperature is still a warm 80s and 90s but a big swing once the sun is down.

Chasing Luna

A trio of planets chase our moon down to the horizon this evening. Still quite light as star-gazing goes which does not allow Saturn and Mars to show up as well as their cousin Venus. Hopefully a few more nights and I may be able to get a somewhat darker shot.

Three Out Of Four Ain't Bad

A recent blogger had noted the juxtaposition of four planets in a recent summer night sky. Distant cloud cover had obscured the view in recent nights and anything on the horizon has to deal with the mountains to both the east and west. Without going and checking out the exact configuration, I believe that the enhanced photo includes Venus, Saturn and Mars. Mecury, being the fleet-footed messenger he is, has escaped below the horizon before the darkness descended enough to make out all of his companions.

Late Afternoon Silhouette

The sun dips behind a cloud just outside of Death Valley along the Nevada-California border.

Back in the Big Country

Cruising back to central Nevada this past Sunday on the very open roads. Sunset was a long, drawn out affair in technicolor.