Chopping Wood

Today I helped out with the Forestry Club/Woodsmen's Team cutting wood. We went up to the Watershed to split oak pieces with mauls. I haven't done that in years and years! I am feeling the effects of all that work. I really need to get in shape.

 

Later, we cut other oak logs by campus with a hydraulic splitter. It's much easier than a maul, but less satisfying. It's still not easy, though!

 

All in all, I'm glad that I don't rely on wood for fuel. I am happy with oil.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

A Close CAll

This morning our dog Gus found an old packet of rat poison. By the time my wife found him he had ripped open and spread it all over the couch. We had no idea how much, if any, he ate.
The vet said we should make him vomit by giving him two teaspoons of salt. After he was done we took him to see the veteranirian.

They ended up giving him an antidote shot. We have pills to give him over the next few days. I personally don't think he ate any. But we are covered in case.
It just shows that amyuthing can happen.

Dogs are worse than children in some ways. They never grow up!

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

World Aids Day

Today is World Aids Day. The news I have heard is really mixed. There are new medical advances, but the funding is limited during the economic downturn.

I remember the first World Aids Day back in 1988. I was in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. I was coming home from a short visit for the University of Maine. There was a possibility of getting involved in a development project, that never panned out. I had seen a few articles on Aids in Ouaga throughout Burkina. Sitting across from me on the flight was an American doctor, who had lived next to us when we lived in Bobo Dioulasso. He was there as an epidemiologist for USAID, studying Aids. He told me that the disease was much more widespread than anyone thought. That was an understatement! It's good that there are so many anti-virals available. And soon we may see the end of this terrible disease.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Personalities of Map Projections

Amazing!
Permalink to the original.

We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People

As someone who worked in foreign aid in Africa in the 1980's I was eager to reader Peter Van Buren's memoir of his time in Iraq, We Meant Well. Although there was neither so much money to spend in Africa nor the political push to spend it quickly, the same American mentality of not really understanding the local culture held true. It takes years to even begun to understand another culture, time that the American system of government and administration doesn't allow. 

I was sorry to hear that Van Buren has been disciplined by the State Department, but I wasn't surprised. No organization wants to see the inside story, warts and all, aired for the world. This is a highly readable book. It should be mandatory reading for anyone who thinks the US should do another military intervention.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

The Daily Nightly - What happens when a 1,500-year-old tree falls?

The Daily Nightly - What happens when a 1,500-year-old tree falls?:

'via Blog this'

When I visited the parks with redwoods I noticed that fallen trees were very common! In some of the parks, California State Parks, they tended to leave the trees. But they did cut the dangerous branches and built trails around them. The downed tree is part of the scenery. There really shouldn't be any controversy at all.

Closeup

I bet that Gus really wants food. He usually does.