Why do they do that?

Erin

Why do engineers who design things design then so something little breaks first?
ie Wash machines. What breaks? The timer that changes the cycles. The washer is fine. It goes around with water and soap inside; pumps; spins. It does everything a washer is suppose to do, but that crumby little timer won't let it because it wore out.
Seems to me that people would be a lot happier if the engineers would design the damn thing so the drum fell out of the washer or the pump motor broke first so you at least could look at it as a broken wash machine rather than, "It would be perfectly good if the timer didn't conk out" feeling you have while you blankly stare at the machine.

My washer is not broken by the way, I was just using that as an example.
However I do have a home repair tip for those willing to give it a go should you run into this:
A few weeks ago the floor in the laundry room was wet. Turns out the cold water valve inside the washer had not closed all the way and was leaking water into the wash machine until it over flowed. Grrrrrr! I have a stacked set of washer dryers which meant I would have to pull the dryer off the top first and then the washer away from the wall so I could get at the back panel to remove it so I could get somewhere near the cold water valve. It was seeming like a nightmare.
For days I got along by turning off the external cold water valve after finishing washing. That was a pain in the ass too. My hopes that there was something stuck in the seat of the valve and maybe it would get flushed out didn't happen.
I was thinking about ordering a new valve for the damn thing the other day and just before I did I thought maybe it was rust. Maybe rust had built up in there keeping the valve from seating all the way.
To my favorite household tool, a bottle of Sno-bowl toilet bowl cleaner. Pretty much straight hydrochloric acid.

I took off the cold water hose from the external valve and dumped out what water was in it. Then I filled the hose up with Sno-bowl; turned the washer on and off quickly so the Sno-bowl would get into the valve and let it sit for a few minutes.
Whalla! Fixed.
Works like it should. One time I am glad they make things like valves out of cheap plastic crap these days.
Ran a couple of empty cycles to flush out any remaining cleaner and I was back in the laundry business.

Erin from our Boundary Waters canoe trip.

Hate is such a strong word

Claya

But there are things I hate.
Styrofoam. I hate Styrofoam, it squeaks. And it never goes away, it just breaks up into smaller pieces.
I hate that people under 30 don't know how to use a capital letter and think a semicolon is on a keyboard only to make a winking smiley face.
I hate people who base so much of their life on pretending to protect the rights of citizens because the constitutions says so, then turn around and bash someone for doing something perfectly legal under it because THEY don't think it is right. These people are time wasters for the rest of us and are the ones you don't want to bring into court to be on your side when it gets down to the nitty gritty.
I hate people who want to change the entire moral and economic values of an entire nation to fit their screwed up family. These people need to suck it up and accept they did a piss poor job of being parents instead of making the rest of the world suffer for their bad decisions.
I hate sports. All of them. Created to entertain the male human thousands of years ago; you would think he would have progressed beyond that point sometime along the way.
I hate that this entire country thinks we need to support our troops. These idiots volunteered to be in the military. And they are fools enough to think they are doing something great by going to a foreign country and killing people. They sure as hell don't have my support. And while I'm at it; no I don't give a rat's ass if some VFW group goes by in a parade. I'm not taking off my hat or recognizing them with some pagan gesture. Just another bunch of weak minded fools dressed up in costumes.
I hate chain letters that try and make idiots get teary eyed over America; our military people; the World Trade Center; or any other such crap. And I really hate the people who pass them on.
I hate cell phones. How did this species survive before it came equipped with a cell phone glued to it's ear.
I hate that people forgot why they switched to satellite TV. Remember it was because you didn't get commercials and therefore you were willing to pay to watch TV rather than getting it for free. Now you have just as many commercials and you are paying a lot to watch TV. Seems one party in this triangle was duped and was not aware they were being duped because they are a bit slow in the mental capacity department. That would be the male human beings who watch sports.
I hate that all cars look alike these days. You use to have a choice in body styles by going from one brand of automobile to another. There is no more reason for owning a BMW these days. It looks just like a Nissan and runs half as well. Save a lot and buy a BMW logo and glue it on your Nissan if you feel the need to impress people. No one will be the wiser. Load the back seat up with a Styrofoam cooler full of Budweiser and head to the tailgate party where you can watch the game on your iPhone. Take your hat off while you sing the pledge of allegiance as they pan some old VFW group on the sidelines. And don't forget your hat that looks like a big slice of cheese or your helmet with horns. You wouldn't want to be confused with someone who got past third grade.
I hate most people.

Not politically correct, and proud of it

Erin

Seems like half of what you read in the paper, or hear on the news is people apologizing for some remark they said; a group of people demanding someone get fired from their job for something they said; or someone actually getting terminated from their job for something they said.

Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Is that freedom only good if someone is not offended?

This country needs to put on the brakes and take a hard look at where it is headed.

If you (or any group of you) don't like what someone said...Don't listen to them anymore.

Time for people to take some responsibility for themselves and quit trying to force others to think like a mass of pansy ass idiots.

Where people don't go

Brooke

Some of the best places on the north shore of Lake Superior are never seen by most tourists. They are small nooks outside the normal paths traveled by sight seers and are often a challenge to get to.
This image above is one such place. A small stream that flow into Lake Superior but is not big enough to attract any attention from the road. To get to this spot you must hike up what appears to be a dry stream bed of very uninteresting structure until it disappears from the general public's view into the hills. After awhile the walls of the stream bed get tall and intriguing. Still further up, after having crawled under fallen trees and wading through water you come to this spot. And further up stream you come to several more wonderful locations.
I have shot two different models here over the last couple of years.
I have a pocket knife laying on a rock a couple of hundred yards upstream from this shot. It is still there. No one goes here. I will pick it up on my next visit.

Morning in Marcell Minnesota

Erin

They are calling for an inch of snow this morning. It won't stay but it is a reminder that I should get the snow plow on.

I made a fabric sling that hangs from the twelve foot ceiling in the studio that I intend to stuff my new muse into. I have been working out the bugs and one of them is....what a pain in the ass to get into. For those who have never attempted to crawl into a fabric sling let me tell you, not as easy as it sounds. Once in you can move around, turn over and throw a leg up, etc but the getting in part is a real comic experience. I found that diving into the thing works the best for me.

Time for tea.

I'm alive

Abigail

I don't remember where I left off. Probably had something to do with this idiotic Government or some whinny rights group, however I shall not discuss either with you today. I'll save that for tomorrow.

This morning a made a raspberry/jalapeno/ginger/garlic sauce that I will drizzle over some Panko shrimp this evening. That with a good chardonnay will make a grand meal and take the bite out of this otherwise dreary day.

My 40 year old Speedotron pack is going tits up. Last night in the studio it started to crackle and pop when recharging. I suspect it will burst into flames any time now, hopefully not knocking a model across the studio when it does.

I still have the pontoon boats in the lake and should get them out tomorrow.

You can't change the Government with votes

This Government is too big. It has taken over the people's rights to control it. It no longer can be controlled by the people. We(the people) can not reduce spending. We can not control the costs of Government. We can not reduce our national debt. We can not control our military. All this is run and controlled by the Government we fought so hard in the 1700s to have some handle on. Something that would not get out of hand. But it has and we no longer have any control over it what-so-ever. It is a money eating, war hungry machine that has gotten out of hand and will bring this country to destruction.
In a couple of hundred years tourists will no longer go to Rome to see the ruins of an empire. They will come here. They will see what is left of the White House, The Capital, The Pentagon.
They will take picture of their girlfriends on the steps of the White House, a once powerful force in the world, but now just rubble.
Where will these people be from that come here on vacation to visit the ancient ruins of a once great nation?
Sweden? Possibly.

Winter is here

Erin ~ Rice River

27 degrees this morning. I think I will call it winter. Time to break out the hardy models, like Erin above.

Sometimes lifeless is good

Sarah Jean ~ "Body Located"

I have often been told that my models look dead in quite a lot of my images. Probably a throw back to my working days but I do prefer that they look dead than lit up like a Christmas tree and posed like they are in a runway show that just happens to be held outside on rocks.
I have taken several images at this little ripple in the Prairie River and have had some wonderful successes with those images.

But I do like my dead girl image the best from this spot. Maybe it is that one maple leaf on the rock that does it for me. Maybe it is because nobody else wants to photograph what looks like a dead person. Could be that she just has a cute ass.
It is the same model in all three of these images by the way.

Looking dead is okay from time to time.

A regular Gene Kelly

Couldn't find a bloody umbrella. Guess we don't own one. But my little studio umbrella worked...sort of.

_____________________________

My new muse has sent me an image of her holding the key to the castle she is staying at in Italy. The chef fixed her a nice meal last night, it sounds like.
I had a cheeseburger.
It does sound like she is having a wonderful time and I do wish I was there with her, but then...things would not be the same if I were.
I will get my chance to be with her soon. Although a castle would make just a dandy setting for some wonderful images.

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Another day and another maple tree turned into firewood. This one was at least somewhat solid and I didn't have to fight the rot. I would not normally cut down a maple tree like this but it was uprooting and falling over. Falling over on one of the paths I have through the woods. It was getting so I had to stoop down to get under it and was afraid it was going to totally uproot itself while I was squatting to get by.
Time for it to go.
I'm busy cutting firewood for the studio (only place I burn wood) because I can still. In a few years I may no longer be able to swing a chainsaw or splitting maul. It would be nice if I have enough wood stored up so I didn't have to worry about it.

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Okay, maybe not Gene Kelly, but damn close.

One of the Thropp sisters

Sarah Jean ~ Prairie River

Remember the first time you jumped off your parent's roof with an umbrella? Remember that feeling inside when you realized you were going to be in big trouble with your mom for having wrecked her colorful umbrella she just bought.... but before you hit the ground?
Once contact was made and your ankles felt like they were indeed shattered, the wrath from your mom over the umbrella was going to be nothing compared to what your dad was going to have to say when he reminds you of what it is going to cost to have both ankles set.
Before your friend has gotten a chance to inform your mom you are in need of a trip to the hospital you ponder the weakness of modern day umbrellas and the shotty construction engineered by Bangladesh umbrella makers.
Mary Poppins never had troubles like this, but then that was back in the days when people took pride in manufacturing something.
I asked if you remembered the first time you jumped off your parents roof with an umbrella because if you were a male child you did it again, not believing it would end in catastrophic failure twice. That was when you began to hate the sight of Julie Andrews. Evil witch. Probably had been cast to play the witch of the east in The Wizard of Oz but was rejected for being too evil.
Just think of how many maimed little boys Julie Andrews is singlehandedly responsible for.

Mummer's Dance

Brooke ~ At an art opening of...Brooke

Stumbled across one of my favorite music CDs yesterday, Loreena McKennitt's, The Book Of Secrets, of which I am now listening to.
It makes for great background music while working on images.
I thought it may have been swallowed up in the bowels of Golden Hooves but I found it on a bookcase while searching for something totally different. A very pleasant treat.

________________________

Going to be a beautiful day.

Morning thoughts

In Your Arms

It is time to do battle with the beavers. They have dammed up the creek that runs from the lake in my front yard to the lake in my back yard with about a hundred foot long dam. The water is rising fast and will be over the top of my road soon.
I have battled with the beavers before for this reason and it is always an exhausting battle. I tear out a part of the dam during the day, which is not easy to do for those who have never attempted to remove a mud and stick foundation, and the beavers work all night rebuilding it.
The only real solution is to remove the beavers from the equation.
Visions of Caddy Shack with Carl attempting to battle the gofer comes to mind.

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The history of the U.S. military can be summed up as such: Sodomy; drugs; rape; sodomy.
Seems we have come full circle.
At least the fun part for most of us is coming next.
After we get over this hump we are in, enlistment should boom.

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Ever notice that parents of gay children become very vocal for gay rights. Trouble is they were never vocal for it before they found out their child was gay.
And the children that are playing gay because it is a fashionable thing to do these days, I wonder if their parents will remain gay activists when Suzie Q decides she is no longer gay and wants to be heterosexual again.

I don't have any gay children but I think people should be allowed to do whatever it is they want to do, but don't expect everyone else to change the laws to fit your special needs. If Billy likes to have sex with a goat, he should go for it.
I'm not in favor of making it okay for the goat to get health insurance benefits however.

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Taking a day off from chopping firewood. It is Saturday and the wife is home and I just want to hang out with her doing as little as possible.