Maggie's Farm

A bear (looks like a Griz or a Brown Bear but a brown-colored Black Bear garbage hound, I believe) was walking across Rainbow Bridge (Old Hwy 40 at Donner Summit, Truckee) on Saturday when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear into clambering over the edge of the bridge.  Somehow the bear caught the ledge and was able to pull itself to safety. Authorities decided that nothing could be done to help Saturday night so they returned Sunday morning to find the bear sound asleep on the ledge.  After securing a net under the bridge the bear was tranquilized, fell into the net, lowered, then woke up and walked out of the net.

The first photo:

The rest of the photos of the successful rescue below on continuation page:

From NASA, showing the Santa Ana wind blowing the smoke west.

This came in over the transom:

We need to tell you that there was some damage to the statue of the American Bison in front of the house in Big Sky.

We did attempt to prevent the damage, throwing stones at, and hitting, the attacker. The attacker could not be dissuaded, and kept up his assault for several hours  and fortunately the attack was photographed - see below.

 The incident even caused a traffic situation in front of the house,

 The damage consisted of:

1) The loss of about two inches from the left horn. The broken piece is on the work bench in the garage. 2) Hoof scratches on the side of the Bison. 3) Some chips in the right rear hoof. 4) Blood stains behind the Bison.

The statue was also moved eight inches forward. We attempted to center the statue on the pedestal, but to no avail.

Limits on Canada Goose in a hayfield one morning last week:

 Decoys at sunset:

Below are some very interesting data referencing deaths in the military. I guarantee you will not read this in your local newspaper nor will you see it on the daily news broadcast. I pray this will help you to enlighten folks around you to the brave and courageous young people serving in our military.

The surprising stats on continuation page below: 

Is this news report true?

"Mom and Dad" as well as "husband and wife" have been banned from California schools under a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who with his signature also ordered public schools to allow boys to use girls restrooms and locker rooms, and vice versa, if they choose.

How very progressive and sophisticated to define deviance down in this way. Story here.  I am sure that Jim and Sarah D. would not be pleased. It's sick out there, and getting sicker.

Robison at American Thinker. It begins:

There are signs that the global Islamic jihad movement is splitting apart, in what would be a tremendous achievement for American strategy. The center of the action is in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the very territory which is thought to harbor Usama, and from which Al Qaeda was able to launch 9/11. Capitalizing on existing splits, a trap was set and closed, and the benefits have only begun to be evident.

Read the whole thing.

From Beaumont Vance at Risk Center: Subprime Woes are Big Business.  Quote:

One of my favorite sources of business wisdom comes from a Sufi sage named Nasurdin. Many of his stories are applicable to risk management, probably because he was fond of pointing out where people are most blind or foolish; we just happen to be blind and foolish when it comes to risk and uncertainty.

As I read through the parade of daily articles about the current subprime meltdown, each trying to be more hysterical than the last, I am reminded of one of these famous Sufi stories. While traveling down the road one day, Nasurdin ran into a man who was depressed. The man revealed that he had suffered a long string of bad luck and, as a result, had lost everything except for the belongings he was carrying in his bag. So Nasurdin, being something of a mischievous sage, stole the man’s remaining belongings and ran away down the road.

A mile ahead, Nasurdin placed the bag he had just stolen in the middle of the road, and hid in the bushes. Some time later the destitute man whom Nasurdin had robbed came upon his bag and started jumping up and down for joy. “What luck! What fantastic luck” the man exclaimed at having recovered his lost goods. Nasurdin, watching from the bushes shook his head and said, “What it takes to make some people happy!”

We often focus on our current state of loss to determine our level of happiness. If we win $100, and then lose $50, we often are unhappy, perceiving a loss. But if we lose $100, and then get it back, we are happy, perceiving a gain. Our perception of loss or gain depends not on the net result, but on how we frame it. Kahneman and Tversky devoted a great deal of time and effort to detail how framing radically changes the way we make decisions involving risk.

More below...

Here’s a good quote from an Art History Prof:

"He contradicts the fundamental standards of the university, which are order, morality, personal honor and most importantly, the rights of others," said Pamela Lee, an art history professor. "This person has played a critical role in a disastrously failed military policy. He has aggressively abused international law.  We view the appointment as fundamentally incompatible with the ethical values of truthfulness, tolerance, disinterested enquiry, respect for national and international laws and care for the opinions, property and lives of others to which Stanford is inalienably committed,"

 Oh wait, Pammie is at Stanford and she’s talking about Don Rumsfeld….

Photo: The Lane Reading Room, The Bing Wing, Stanford University

“Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Nelson Mandela

Coulter:

The only "crisis" in health care in this country is that doctors are paid too little. (Also they've come up with nothing to help that poor Dennis Kucinich.)

But the Democratic Party treats doctors like they're Klan members. They wail about how much doctors are paid and celebrate the trial lawyers who do absolutely nothing to make society better, but swoop in and steal from the most valuable members of society.

Maybe doctors could get the Democrats to like them if they started suing their patients.

Read the whole thing.

Maybe use this weapon on Ruffed Grouse in New Brunswick next month? We might hit one.

Raw humor in bad taste: Language is questionable for work - depending on where you work. Note: Posting The Guy from Boston should not necessarily be construed as an endorsement of any of his views, but rather as a vigorous rant from a regular fellow.

Microsoft must share code with rivals. Quote from the piece at My Way News:

 LUXEMBOURG (AP) - Microsoft lost its appeal of a European antitrust order Monday that obliges the technology giant to share communications code with rivals, sell a copy of Windows without Media Player and pay a $613 million fine - the largest ever by EU regulators.

The EU Court of First Instance ruled against Microsoft on both parts of the case, saying the European Commission was correct in concluding that Microsoft was guilty of monopoly abuse in trying to use its power over desktop computers to muscle into server software.

It also said regulators had clearly demonstrated that selling media software with Windows had damaged rivals.

"The court observes that it is beyond dispute that in consequence of the tying consumers are unable to acquire the Windows operating system without simultaneously acquiring Windows Media Player," it said.

"In that regard, the court considers that neither the fact that Microsoft does not charge a separate price for Windows Media Player nor the fact that consumers are not obliged to use that Media Player is irrelevant."

A law professor of mine defined antitrust law as a horse race in which it was compulsory to compete, but illegal to win.  Microsoft is guilty of succeeding while American. The interesting thing about this anti-American case, however, is the precedent it sets.  Microsoft was found guilty of giving something away that a European wanted to charge for.  Sears should now be able to sue Mercedes saying that the free batteries it includes with new cars hurt Sears’ ability to sell batteries to new car buyers.  Japanese car radio manufacturers should be able to do the same.

How traffic works. This is cool, especially for people like me who are always going to nifty places like my hunting and fishing clubs. Waste some time playing with this thing.

Hinky-dinky
Parley voo
Cheer up the face
The war
Is thru
Burma-Shave (1930)

Another lost piece of roadside Americana, the Burma-Shave advertisements were placed one line at a time on small board road signs along country highways, with a spacing of maybe 200 yards and the last sign was always Burma Shave. At the height of the campaign, there were 7000 of these on the roads. See http://www.quiltbus.com/burma.htm , and also here, for the story.

I can't wait for my annual duck/goose/grouse trip to Lake Winnipegosis in just a few days.

h/t Carson's Post

From "Crazy Ann:"

Democrats claim Gen. David Petraeus' report to Congress on the surge was a put-up job with a pre-ordained conclusion. As if their response wasn't.

Democrats yearn for America to be defeated on the battlefield and oppose any use of the military - except when they can find individual malcontents in the military willing to denounce the war and call for a humiliating retreat.

It's been the same naysaying from these people since before we even invaded Iraq -- despite the fact that their representatives in Congress voted in favor of that war.

Read Coulter's entire summary of the history of logical inconsistencies regarding Iraq, at Human Events. The story tells of the setting of a new low for the concept of "loyal opposition."