Twas a chilly, chilly morning here at the Aerie. Crisp white frost coated all surfaces as the temperature dipped to 28 degrees. But then the sun came out and things warmed nicely--all the way up to 45 degrees late his afternoon. (See, that's how things work. When the sun doesn't shine things get cool. When the sun pops out, they warm up. Works that way in the long term, too. So don't hand me any of this AGW stuff. 'Kay?)
They say we may get a few light snow showers late tonight, but they won't amount to anything. Then it will be fair in the morning but even more likely rain and snow showers will arrive late in the day into tomorrow night. We'll see.
******
Spent another morning at the therapist's giving my knee a thorough workout. It's feeling real, really good right now. I'm even able to go up and down the steps almost like a real person. None of this one-step-at-a-time stuff.
In fact, I felt so good after my session today, I went out after lunch and raked the leaves from the yard. As we get closer to the first snowfall that may actually stay around until April, it became a priority to get the leaves off the lawn. Except for the heavy frost this morning it's been relatively dry the last two days and this afternoon the wind was virtually calm. The lack of moisture and calm winds meant that conditions were excellent for raking and hauling leaves.
It's another one of those mindless tasks like pushing a lawn mower or a broom, that lends itself to contemplative pursuits. Today I merely thought of what i was doing and how to lessen the impact on my knee and lower back. Funny, the back has stated to hurt more than the knee the last few days. Probably due to the way I've been walking on eggshells as I favor the left leg. Or the seats I've been plopping myself into to work on the computer and watch sports on TV. (I confess! I slouch in my seat something fierce even though I know it's bad for my back.)
The task of moving leaves took me 2 1/2 hours today. Normally I would have been finished in one--maybe one and a half. But I was not going to rush anything. Besides, I had nothing else to do.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Watch Out for Entrepreneurial Dolphins
Smart critter!
[Full story here.]
I've commented on the referring sites that this dolphin understands capitalism better than most, if not all, of our Democratic Congress Critters. She recognizes the value of paper money (her collected litter) and has perfected a method of investment in the future (tearing off just a small piece of paper at a time and saving a fish to use as bait for the next sea gull) that works for her.
(h/t to both Tyler Cowen @ Marginal Revolution, who posted it first, and Bitter @ Snowflakes In Hell who directed readers there.)
At the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Mississippi, Kelly the dolphin has built up quite a reputation. All the dolphins at the institute are trained to hold onto any litter that falls into their pools until they see a trainer, when they can trade the litter for fish. In this way, the dolphins help to keep their pools clean.
Kelly has taken this task one step further. When people drop paper into the water she hides it under a rock at the bottom of the pool. The next time a trainer passes, she goes down to the rock and tears off a piece of paper to give to the trainer. After a fish reward, she goes back down, tears off another piece of paper, gets another fish, and so on. This behaviour is interesting because it shows that Kelly has a sense of the future and delays gratification. She has realised that a big piece of paper gets the same reward as a small piece and so delivers only small pieces to keep the extra food coming. She has, in effect, trained the humans.
Her cunning has not stopped there. One day, when a gull flew into her pool, she grabbed it, waited for the trainers and then gave it to them. It was a large bird and so the trainers gave her lots of fish. This seemed to give Kelly a new idea. The next time she was fed, instead of eating the last fish, she took it to the bottom of the pool and hid it under the rock where she had been hiding the paper. When no trainers were present, she brought the fish to the surface and used it to lure the gulls, which she would catch to get even more fish. After mastering this lucrative strategy, she taught her calf, who taught other calves, and so gull-baiting has become a hot game among the dolphins.
[Full story here.]
I've commented on the referring sites that this dolphin understands capitalism better than most, if not all, of our Democratic Congress Critters. She recognizes the value of paper money (her collected litter) and has perfected a method of investment in the future (tearing off just a small piece of paper at a time and saving a fish to use as bait for the next sea gull) that works for her.
(h/t to both Tyler Cowen @ Marginal Revolution, who posted it first, and Bitter @ Snowflakes In Hell who directed readers there.)
Got this via email...
They say riding a bike is a skill you never forget once you've learned how. THis guy takes bike riding to a whole new level(s).
As the email said: "I wonder what his Mother must be thinking when the says he is just going off to ride his bike!!!"
As the email said: "I wonder what his Mother must be thinking when the says he is just going off to ride his bike!!!"
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Election Day, 2009
Go out and exercise your right to vote. But, please, listen to the voices in your head. They have to be better than the sign posted on this corner.
see more Epic Fails
There were few choices on the ballot here in north-central PA. Most of the candidates were running unopposed and there were no questions to be decided. Certainly nothing as dramatic as Virginia, New Jersey, or NY-23. Still, Terry and I made a morning of it by having breakfast out (Grandma's Kitchen in Mansfield) and picking up 10 50-pound bags of sunflower seeds and a dozen suet cakes for the birds before casting our ballot.
see more Epic Fails
There were few choices on the ballot here in north-central PA. Most of the candidates were running unopposed and there were no questions to be decided. Certainly nothing as dramatic as Virginia, New Jersey, or NY-23. Still, Terry and I made a morning of it by having breakfast out (Grandma's Kitchen in Mansfield) and picking up 10 50-pound bags of sunflower seeds and a dozen suet cakes for the birds before casting our ballot.
To Rehash MY Wounded Knee Saga...
To recap (that's a knee joke, son) the saga of my knee.
On the morning of Friday, October 23, I took my muzzle loader out for a short walk in the woods behind the Bolt Hole in the Adirondacks. It had rained pretty goo the night before and the wet leaves, rocks and mossy roots made the footing quiet but treacherous. About 300 yards into my walk, my left foot slipped on a moss covered root and I wrenched my left knee severely enough to fall. I didn't crack my knee on anything but fell on my right side. As I went down, however, I heard a nasty, nasty sound from my left knee. When I tried to get up, a shooting pain in the knee forced me back to the ground...twice. Realizing I had to get back to the cabin somehow, I resorted to using my rifle as a cane and hobbled back to the cabin.
Two hours later, after the ice pack I had placed on the knee had warmed to body temperature, the knee was not feeling any better so I grabbed a crutch from the store room and headed down to Utica and the Faxton-St. Luke's Medical facility where I spent the entire afternoon waiting, getting examined, X-rayed, diagnosed and prescribed medication. (But mostly waiting.)
While in the waiting room, I called Terry and told her to get up to the Bolt Hole post haste. I knew my hunting was over and that I would have to get back to the Aerie. I could drive, but loading the truck was going to be a b*tch by myself--especially since Saturday's weather was supposed to be a real gully washer. Terry got to the Bolt Hole around 7 PM and we discussed our options over dinner. Saturday morning we loaded both the Tundra and Terry's Jeep with all my gear and the food that couldn't stay and headed back to PA.
Monday I saw my local GP and got his opinion. He concurred with the ER doc at Faxton-St. Luke's that it was a severe strain/sprain and that I should start Physical Therapy ASAP. Which I did on Tuesday morning, October 27.
Now, four sessions of PT later, the knee is feeling much much better. They've got me doing all kinds of exercises to keep it limber and build up the muscles around the knee. I'm scheduled for two more PT sessions this week, the final one being on Friday. We'll see how much the knee progresses by then and determine how many--if any--more sessions I will need.
Thanks to those of you who have followed these words and who have wished me well.
On the morning of Friday, October 23, I took my muzzle loader out for a short walk in the woods behind the Bolt Hole in the Adirondacks. It had rained pretty goo the night before and the wet leaves, rocks and mossy roots made the footing quiet but treacherous. About 300 yards into my walk, my left foot slipped on a moss covered root and I wrenched my left knee severely enough to fall. I didn't crack my knee on anything but fell on my right side. As I went down, however, I heard a nasty, nasty sound from my left knee. When I tried to get up, a shooting pain in the knee forced me back to the ground...twice. Realizing I had to get back to the cabin somehow, I resorted to using my rifle as a cane and hobbled back to the cabin.
Two hours later, after the ice pack I had placed on the knee had warmed to body temperature, the knee was not feeling any better so I grabbed a crutch from the store room and headed down to Utica and the Faxton-St. Luke's Medical facility where I spent the entire afternoon waiting, getting examined, X-rayed, diagnosed and prescribed medication. (But mostly waiting.)
While in the waiting room, I called Terry and told her to get up to the Bolt Hole post haste. I knew my hunting was over and that I would have to get back to the Aerie. I could drive, but loading the truck was going to be a b*tch by myself--especially since Saturday's weather was supposed to be a real gully washer. Terry got to the Bolt Hole around 7 PM and we discussed our options over dinner. Saturday morning we loaded both the Tundra and Terry's Jeep with all my gear and the food that couldn't stay and headed back to PA.
Monday I saw my local GP and got his opinion. He concurred with the ER doc at Faxton-St. Luke's that it was a severe strain/sprain and that I should start Physical Therapy ASAP. Which I did on Tuesday morning, October 27.
Now, four sessions of PT later, the knee is feeling much much better. They've got me doing all kinds of exercises to keep it limber and build up the muscles around the knee. I'm scheduled for two more PT sessions this week, the final one being on Friday. We'll see how much the knee progresses by then and determine how many--if any--more sessions I will need.
Thanks to those of you who have followed these words and who have wished me well.
Week 10: The Top 25 (more or less) and their Opponents
Week 10 has arrived and we still have seven undefeated teams in the FBS ranks. (On the other end, there are four teams still looking for their first win: New Mexico (0-8), Rice (0-8), Eastern Michigan (0-8) and Western Kentucky (0-8).) There are two marquee games this week with #3 Alabama hosting #9 LSU and #11 Penn State hosting #15 Ohio State. Only ‘Bama looks to be putting its unblemished record on the line. (The rankings are from the AP/Coaches Poll/CBSSports 120. Those in parentheses are those going into week 9)
1/1/1 (1/1/2) Florida (8-0) The Gators will host the Commodores of Vanderbilt (2-7).
2/2/2 (3/3/3) Texas (8-0) The Longhorns host the UCF Knights (4-3).
3/3/3 (2/2/1) Alabama (8-0) The Tide will host the #9 LSU Tigers (7-1).
4/7/4 (5/7/5) Cincinnati (8-0) The Bearcats will host Connecticut (4-4).
5/5/6 (6/5/8) Boise State (8-0) The Broncos will play at the home of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-5)on Friday night.
6/4/8 (8/6/6) TCU (8-0) The Horned Frogs will play on the coast against the San Diego State Aztecs (4-4).
7/8/7 (10/12/11) Oregon (7-1) The Ducks are on the road against the Stanford Cardinal (5-3).
8/6/5 (7/8/4) Iowa (9-0) The Hawkeyes will host the Northwestern Wildcats (5-4).
9/9/9 (9/9/9) LSU (7-1) The Tigers will be on the road against the #3 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0).
10/11/11 (11/11/13) Georgia Tech (8-1) The Yellow Jackets will host the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (4-5).
11/10/10 (12/10/10) Penn State (8-1) The Nittany Lions will host the #15 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-2).
12/13/12 (4/4/7) Southern California (6-2) The Trojans will play at the Arizona State Sun Devils (4-4).
13/15/16 (15/16/18) Houston (7-1) The Cougars will be playing at the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-4).
14/14/15 (16/17/17) Pittsburgh (7-1) The Panthers Will host the Syracuse Orange (3-5).
15/12/13 (17/15/15) Ohio State (7-2) The Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley to play the #11 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1).
16/17/14 (18/18/16) Miami (Fla.) (6-2) The Hurricanes will host the Virginia Cavaliers (3-5).
17/16/17 (19/19/19) Utah (7-1) The Utes will host the New Mexico Lobos (0-8).
18/18/21 (13/13/12) Oklahoma State (6-2) The Cowboys will be at Iowa State Cyclones (5-4).
19/21/20 (25/25/NA) Notre Dame (6-2) The Irish will host Navy (6-3).
20/20/19 (22/23/24) Oklahoma (5-3) The Sooners will play at the home of the Cornhuskers of Nebraska (5-3).
21/19/18 (23/24/23) Arizona (5-2) The Wildcats will host the Washington State Cougars (1-7).
22/24/24 (14/14/14) Virginia Tech (5-3) The Hokies go on the road Thursday night to play the East Carolina Pirates (5-3).
23/23/NA (NA/NA/NA) California (6-2) The Golden Bears host the Oregon State Beavers (5-3).
24/22/23 (NA/NA/NA) Wisconsin (6-2) The Badgers will play in Indiana against the Hoosiers (4-5).
25/25/22 (NA/NA/NA) Brigham Young (6-2) The Cougars play at the Cowboys of Wyoming (4-4).
NA/NA/25 (NA/NA/NA) South Florida (6-2) The Bulls will be idle this week.
1/1/1 (1/1/2) Florida (8-0) The Gators will host the Commodores of Vanderbilt (2-7).
2/2/2 (3/3/3) Texas (8-0) The Longhorns host the UCF Knights (4-3).
3/3/3 (2/2/1) Alabama (8-0) The Tide will host the #9 LSU Tigers (7-1).
4/7/4 (5/7/5) Cincinnati (8-0) The Bearcats will host Connecticut (4-4).
5/5/6 (6/5/8) Boise State (8-0) The Broncos will play at the home of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (3-5)on Friday night.
6/4/8 (8/6/6) TCU (8-0) The Horned Frogs will play on the coast against the San Diego State Aztecs (4-4).
7/8/7 (10/12/11) Oregon (7-1) The Ducks are on the road against the Stanford Cardinal (5-3).
8/6/5 (7/8/4) Iowa (9-0) The Hawkeyes will host the Northwestern Wildcats (5-4).
9/9/9 (9/9/9) LSU (7-1) The Tigers will be on the road against the #3 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0).
10/11/11 (11/11/13) Georgia Tech (8-1) The Yellow Jackets will host the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (4-5).
11/10/10 (12/10/10) Penn State (8-1) The Nittany Lions will host the #15 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-2).
12/13/12 (4/4/7) Southern California (6-2) The Trojans will play at the Arizona State Sun Devils (4-4).
13/15/16 (15/16/18) Houston (7-1) The Cougars will be playing at the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-4).
14/14/15 (16/17/17) Pittsburgh (7-1) The Panthers Will host the Syracuse Orange (3-5).
15/12/13 (17/15/15) Ohio State (7-2) The Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley to play the #11 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1).
16/17/14 (18/18/16) Miami (Fla.) (6-2) The Hurricanes will host the Virginia Cavaliers (3-5).
17/16/17 (19/19/19) Utah (7-1) The Utes will host the New Mexico Lobos (0-8).
18/18/21 (13/13/12) Oklahoma State (6-2) The Cowboys will be at Iowa State Cyclones (5-4).
19/21/20 (25/25/NA) Notre Dame (6-2) The Irish will host Navy (6-3).
20/20/19 (22/23/24) Oklahoma (5-3) The Sooners will play at the home of the Cornhuskers of Nebraska (5-3).
21/19/18 (23/24/23) Arizona (5-2) The Wildcats will host the Washington State Cougars (1-7).
22/24/24 (14/14/14) Virginia Tech (5-3) The Hokies go on the road Thursday night to play the East Carolina Pirates (5-3).
23/23/NA (NA/NA/NA) California (6-2) The Golden Bears host the Oregon State Beavers (5-3).
24/22/23 (NA/NA/NA) Wisconsin (6-2) The Badgers will play in Indiana against the Hoosiers (4-5).
25/25/22 (NA/NA/NA) Brigham Young (6-2) The Cougars play at the Cowboys of Wyoming (4-4).
NA/NA/25 (NA/NA/NA) South Florida (6-2) The Bulls will be idle this week.
Monday, November 02, 2009
World's Largest Model Railway
This is an amazing video tour of the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany.
The idea of a model railroad under the Christmas tree is as old a Lionel. It's an idea that has been displaced by computers and video games for the most part.
Dad and I had a small set up in our basement once upon a time. Ours was a Lionel set with one of those engines that would puff smoke from its stack when you put a special little pill in there. The entire set up was just large enough to fit on a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood. When I entered my teens and started to show a lack of interest, Dad decided to sell the whole set to a co-worker without asking me. (He would do the same to the TR-3 we rebuilt, but for a different reason. I'm guessing the insurance cost. Man, I wish I still had that car!)
There are still many active model railroading clubs including one in this area (well, actually, Elmira) that occasionally puts up a sizable display in one of the vacant mall shops. (And if you get the chance, Roadside America off Route 22 in Shartlesville, PA is still a cool place to go.) Most of those clubs have switched over to HO-Scale for both the economy of space and dollars. I started purchasing HO-Scale trains when Chef Boyardee started putting out sets that could be bought at discount with label redemption. I've still got more than half a dozen engines, over 50 cars (also known as "rolling stock"), a few buildings, and enough track to really, really interest the cats should I decide to set them up.
The idea of a model railroad under the Christmas tree is as old a Lionel. It's an idea that has been displaced by computers and video games for the most part.
Dad and I had a small set up in our basement once upon a time. Ours was a Lionel set with one of those engines that would puff smoke from its stack when you put a special little pill in there. The entire set up was just large enough to fit on a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood. When I entered my teens and started to show a lack of interest, Dad decided to sell the whole set to a co-worker without asking me. (He would do the same to the TR-3 we rebuilt, but for a different reason. I'm guessing the insurance cost. Man, I wish I still had that car!)
There are still many active model railroading clubs including one in this area (well, actually, Elmira) that occasionally puts up a sizable display in one of the vacant mall shops. (And if you get the chance, Roadside America off Route 22 in Shartlesville, PA is still a cool place to go.) Most of those clubs have switched over to HO-Scale for both the economy of space and dollars. I started purchasing HO-Scale trains when Chef Boyardee started putting out sets that could be bought at discount with label redemption. I've still got more than half a dozen engines, over 50 cars (also known as "rolling stock"), a few buildings, and enough track to really, really interest the cats should I decide to set them up.
Aerie Report, November 2, 2009
A cold, crisp morning here at the Aerie. The temperature fell to a mere 31 degrees over night as the clouds finally disappeared and the full moon shown brightly. The ground--and anything else that stood still long enough--was coated with a layer of frost when I looked out the windows. With the cloudless sky, that won't last long. The soft touch of the sun's rays will send easily melt the frost and then, should the air remain as calm as it is currently, we'll see the moisture curl up from the roof, car, and other dark surfaces as ghostly wisps.
******
What the heck happened to my Giants and Jets? After great starts, they have both fallen apart. The Giants got trounced by the Eagles yesterday in a game in which it looked like the Eagles actually tried to hold the score down. As for the Jets...Come on guys!! TWO kick offs returned for TDs? Give me a break! Still, aside from those two plays, the Jets only gave up only about 160 yards of total offense. 160 yards! A team should lose easily if it only gains 160 yards, right? Damn! I hate Ted Ginn!
******
I've been hobbling around pretty well on this bum knee over the weekend. I even felt well enough to go out to dinner with Terry at the Penn Wells Hotel in Wellsboro Sunday. Afterward we went to the Gemeiner Center for an art show that was opening. Mostly wildlife art and really, really good.
Today I go back to the therapist for moretorture therapy. I've two more appointments this week. We'll see ho it feels on Friday before deciding on whether I need more or not.
******
What the heck happened to my Giants and Jets? After great starts, they have both fallen apart. The Giants got trounced by the Eagles yesterday in a game in which it looked like the Eagles actually tried to hold the score down. As for the Jets...Come on guys!! TWO kick offs returned for TDs? Give me a break! Still, aside from those two plays, the Jets only gave up only about 160 yards of total offense. 160 yards! A team should lose easily if it only gains 160 yards, right? Damn! I hate Ted Ginn!
******
I've been hobbling around pretty well on this bum knee over the weekend. I even felt well enough to go out to dinner with Terry at the Penn Wells Hotel in Wellsboro Sunday. Afterward we went to the Gemeiner Center for an art show that was opening. Mostly wildlife art and really, really good.
Today I go back to the therapist for more
Idaho 35, Louisiana Tech 34
The resurgence of Idaho football continues after their disaster last week in Nevada (70-45 loss). Playing at home in the Kibbie Dome, the Vandals opened the show with something that seemed extremely common this Halloween weekend: a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD.
They promptly gave that score back with interest as they fell behind to the Louisiana-Tech Bulldogs 21-7 at the end of the first quarter. On the theory that slow and steady wins the race (ask the tortoise), the Vandals scored 7 in the second, and 7 in the third while holding the Bulldogs to just 7 points in the second, to draw to 28-21 and set up a wild fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs' Myke Compton scored on a 1-yard run but then they missed the extra point giving them a 34-21 lead.
The Vandals then came back with two scores of their own, the final coming with just 52 seconds left, and, more importantly, made both extra points for a 35-34 victory.
Next up for the Vandals is a home game with the Fresno State Bulldogs(5-3, 4-1).
Idaho is now 7-2 overall and 4-1 in conference and ranked 44 on the CBSSports120. Having dropped their game to Nevada (5-3, 4-0) and with Boise State (8-0, 3-0) two weeks from now, it is unlikely that the Vandals will be able to win the Western Athletic title, but their accomplishments thus far after years of frustration (when they were consistently down there around 110 of 120 or so) should get a lot of notice for Coach Robb Akey's Vandals.
They promptly gave that score back with interest as they fell behind to the Louisiana-Tech Bulldogs 21-7 at the end of the first quarter. On the theory that slow and steady wins the race (ask the tortoise), the Vandals scored 7 in the second, and 7 in the third while holding the Bulldogs to just 7 points in the second, to draw to 28-21 and set up a wild fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs' Myke Compton scored on a 1-yard run but then they missed the extra point giving them a 34-21 lead.
The Vandals then came back with two scores of their own, the final coming with just 52 seconds left, and, more importantly, made both extra points for a 35-34 victory.
Next up for the Vandals is a home game with the Fresno State Bulldogs(5-3, 4-1).
Idaho is now 7-2 overall and 4-1 in conference and ranked 44 on the CBSSports120. Having dropped their game to Nevada (5-3, 4-0) and with Boise State (8-0, 3-0) two weeks from now, it is unlikely that the Vandals will be able to win the Western Athletic title, but their accomplishments thus far after years of frustration (when they were consistently down there around 110 of 120 or so) should get a lot of notice for Coach Robb Akey's Vandals.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
BCS Standings Post Week 9
BCS Rank, Team, and BCS Pct following last week's action.
In an effort to show trends, I've included last week's values in parentheses.
1 Florida 0.992 (1, 0.973)
2 Texas 0.923 (3, 0.893)
3 Alabama 0.917 (2, 0.945)
4 Iowa 0.841 (4, 0.825)
5 Cincinnati 0.803 (8, 0.774)
6 TCU 0.801 (6, 0.789)
7 Boise State 0.786 (7, 0.775)
8 Oregon 0.765 (10, 0.646)
9 LSU 0.712 (9, 0.703)
10 Georgia Tech 0.629 (11, 0.59)
11 Penn State 0.617 (12, 0.585)
12 Southern California 0.534 (5, 0.794)
13 Pittsburgh 0.44 (15, 0.342)
14 Utah 0.423 (16. 0.316)
15 Houston 0.421 (18, 0.315)
16 Ohio State 0.378 (17, 0.315)
17 Miami (Fla.) 0.371 (19, 0.249)
18 Arizona 0.259 (20, 0.224)
19 Oklahoma State 0.218 (14, 0.449)
20 California 0.21 (24, 0.092)
21 Wisconsin 0.194 (NA)
22 Notre Dame 0.19 (23, 0.12)
23 Virginia Tech 0.156 (13, 0.492)
24 Oklahoma 0.149 (NA)
25 South Florida 0.079 (NA)
In an effort to show trends, I've included last week's values in parentheses.
1 Florida 0.992 (1, 0.973)
2 Texas 0.923 (3, 0.893)
3 Alabama 0.917 (2, 0.945)
4 Iowa 0.841 (4, 0.825)
5 Cincinnati 0.803 (8, 0.774)
6 TCU 0.801 (6, 0.789)
7 Boise State 0.786 (7, 0.775)
8 Oregon 0.765 (10, 0.646)
9 LSU 0.712 (9, 0.703)
10 Georgia Tech 0.629 (11, 0.59)
11 Penn State 0.617 (12, 0.585)
12 Southern California 0.534 (5, 0.794)
13 Pittsburgh 0.44 (15, 0.342)
14 Utah 0.423 (16. 0.316)
15 Houston 0.421 (18, 0.315)
16 Ohio State 0.378 (17, 0.315)
17 Miami (Fla.) 0.371 (19, 0.249)
18 Arizona 0.259 (20, 0.224)
19 Oklahoma State 0.218 (14, 0.449)
20 California 0.21 (24, 0.092)
21 Wisconsin 0.194 (NA)
22 Notre Dame 0.19 (23, 0.12)
23 Virginia Tech 0.156 (13, 0.492)
24 Oklahoma 0.149 (NA)
25 South Florida 0.079 (NA)
Week 9 in College Football
Top 25...more or less...Results
Week 9 saw almost everyone in the Top 25 (more or less) in action. And there was a lot of action! And scoring. The numbers between 40 and 50 got used a great deal this week—sometimes by both sides in the same game. The rankings are from the AP/Coaches Poll/CBSSports 120. Those in parentheses are those going into week 8
1/1/2 (2/1/2) Florida (8-0) The Gators routed The Georgia Bulldogs (4-4) by a score of 41-17.
2/2/1 (1/2/1) Alabama (7-0) The Crimson Tide was idle this week.
3/3/3 (3/2/2) Texas (8-0) The Longhorns dismantled the #13 Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-2). Two defensive TDs helped make it 41-14.
4/4/7 (4/4/6) Southern California (6-2) The Trojans were taken apart by #10 Oregon (7-1) Ducks—who may still be scoring, although the official final was 47-20.
5/7/5 (5/6/5) Cincinnati (8-0) The Bearcats defeated the Syracuse Orange (3-5) 28-7. Cincy’s sub QB Zach Collaros threw four TD passes.
6/5/8 (6/5/7) Boise State (8-0) The Broncos jumped all over the San Jose St. Spartans (1-6) 45-7.
7/8/4 (7/8/4) Iowa (9-0) The Hawkeyes came from way, way back to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers (4-5) 42-24. Hard to believe it was Indiana leading at the half 21-7 and after 3 quarters 24-14. This was the fourth time this year the Hawkeyes have come back from behind in the fourth quarter to win.
8/6/6 (10/7/9) TCU (8-0) The Horned Frogs had their way with the UNLV Rebels (3-6) 41-0.
9/9/9 (9/10/10) LSU (7-1) The Tigers shut out the Tulane Green Wave (2-6) 42-0.
10/12/11 (12/14/12) Oregon (7-1) The Ducks really, really beat on the #4 USC Trojans (6-2) 47-20. Trust me, it wasn’t nearly that close.
11/11/13 (11/13/14) Georgia Tech (8-1) The Yellow Jackets stung Vanderbilt (2-7) in a score fest, 56-31.
12/10/10 (13/11/11) Penn State (7-1) The Nittany Lions started slow but came out to play in the second half as they beat the Northwestern Wildcats (5-4) 34-13.
13/13/12 (14/12/13) Oklahoma State (6-2) The Cowboys helped the Longhorns of #3 Texas (8-0) get two defensive scores as they got gored 41-14.
14/14/14 (15/15/15) Virginia Tech (5-3) The Hokies hosted North Carolina (5-3) on Thursday night. Oops! NC got a field goal on the final play of the game to come away 20-17 victors.
15/16/18 (17/18/18) Houston (7-1) The Cougars hosted the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (5-4) in the football version of Rocky. Casey Keenum threw his 5th TD pass (for 46 yards) with 21 seconds remaining in the game for a Houston 50-43 victory. Keenum had a total of 595 yards passing for the game.
16/17/17 (20/19/20) Pittsburgh (7-1) The Panthers will be idle this week.
17/15/15 (18/17/16) Ohio State (7-2) The Buckeyes shut out the New Mexico State Aggies (3-6) 45-0.
18/18/16 (8/9/8) Miami (Fla.) (6-2) The Hurricanes trailed the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-5) for most of the game, but they got two TDs in the final quarter—the second with about one minute to go—to win 28-27.
19/19/19 (19/20/19) Utah (7-1) The Utes beat the Wyoming Cowboys (4-4), 22-10.
20/20/20 (22/22/24) West Virginia (6-2) The Mountaineers went south to face off against the South Florida Bulls (6-2) on Friday night. They forgot to bring their A-game. The Bulls dominated behind the play of B.J. Daniels, 30-19.
21/21/25 (23/23/NA) South Carolina (6-3) The Gamecocks were beaten by the Tennessee Volunteers (4-3), 31-13.
22/23/24 (25/NA/NA) Oklahoma (5-3) The Sooners beat the Kansas State Wildcats (5-4), 42-30.
23/24/23 (NA/NA/NA) Arizona (5-2) The Wildcats will be idle this week.
24/22/21 (NA/25/22) Mississippi (6-3) The Rebels got beat by the Auburn Tigers (6-3), 33-20.
25/25/NA (NA/NA/NA) Notre Dame (6-2) The Fighting Irish beat the snot out of the Washington State Cougars (1-7) 40-14…in Texas?
NA/NA/22 (NA/NA/23) Central Michigan (7-2) The Chippewas got walloped by Boston College (6-3), 31-10.
1/1/2 (2/1/2) Florida (8-0) The Gators routed The Georgia Bulldogs (4-4) by a score of 41-17.
2/2/1 (1/2/1) Alabama (7-0) The Crimson Tide was idle this week.
3/3/3 (3/2/2) Texas (8-0) The Longhorns dismantled the #13 Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-2). Two defensive TDs helped make it 41-14.
4/4/7 (4/4/6) Southern California (6-2) The Trojans were taken apart by #10 Oregon (7-1) Ducks—who may still be scoring, although the official final was 47-20.
5/7/5 (5/6/5) Cincinnati (8-0) The Bearcats defeated the Syracuse Orange (3-5) 28-7. Cincy’s sub QB Zach Collaros threw four TD passes.
6/5/8 (6/5/7) Boise State (8-0) The Broncos jumped all over the San Jose St. Spartans (1-6) 45-7.
7/8/4 (7/8/4) Iowa (9-0) The Hawkeyes came from way, way back to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers (4-5) 42-24. Hard to believe it was Indiana leading at the half 21-7 and after 3 quarters 24-14. This was the fourth time this year the Hawkeyes have come back from behind in the fourth quarter to win.
8/6/6 (10/7/9) TCU (8-0) The Horned Frogs had their way with the UNLV Rebels (3-6) 41-0.
9/9/9 (9/10/10) LSU (7-1) The Tigers shut out the Tulane Green Wave (2-6) 42-0.
10/12/11 (12/14/12) Oregon (7-1) The Ducks really, really beat on the #4 USC Trojans (6-2) 47-20. Trust me, it wasn’t nearly that close.
11/11/13 (11/13/14) Georgia Tech (8-1) The Yellow Jackets stung Vanderbilt (2-7) in a score fest, 56-31.
12/10/10 (13/11/11) Penn State (7-1) The Nittany Lions started slow but came out to play in the second half as they beat the Northwestern Wildcats (5-4) 34-13.
13/13/12 (14/12/13) Oklahoma State (6-2) The Cowboys helped the Longhorns of #3 Texas (8-0) get two defensive scores as they got gored 41-14.
14/14/14 (15/15/15) Virginia Tech (5-3) The Hokies hosted North Carolina (5-3) on Thursday night. Oops! NC got a field goal on the final play of the game to come away 20-17 victors.
15/16/18 (17/18/18) Houston (7-1) The Cougars hosted the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (5-4) in the football version of Rocky. Casey Keenum threw his 5th TD pass (for 46 yards) with 21 seconds remaining in the game for a Houston 50-43 victory. Keenum had a total of 595 yards passing for the game.
16/17/17 (20/19/20) Pittsburgh (7-1) The Panthers will be idle this week.
17/15/15 (18/17/16) Ohio State (7-2) The Buckeyes shut out the New Mexico State Aggies (3-6) 45-0.
18/18/16 (8/9/8) Miami (Fla.) (6-2) The Hurricanes trailed the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-5) for most of the game, but they got two TDs in the final quarter—the second with about one minute to go—to win 28-27.
19/19/19 (19/20/19) Utah (7-1) The Utes beat the Wyoming Cowboys (4-4), 22-10.
20/20/20 (22/22/24) West Virginia (6-2) The Mountaineers went south to face off against the South Florida Bulls (6-2) on Friday night. They forgot to bring their A-game. The Bulls dominated behind the play of B.J. Daniels, 30-19.
21/21/25 (23/23/NA) South Carolina (6-3) The Gamecocks were beaten by the Tennessee Volunteers (4-3), 31-13.
22/23/24 (25/NA/NA) Oklahoma (5-3) The Sooners beat the Kansas State Wildcats (5-4), 42-30.
23/24/23 (NA/NA/NA) Arizona (5-2) The Wildcats will be idle this week.
24/22/21 (NA/25/22) Mississippi (6-3) The Rebels got beat by the Auburn Tigers (6-3), 33-20.
25/25/NA (NA/NA/NA) Notre Dame (6-2) The Fighting Irish beat the snot out of the Washington State Cougars (1-7) 40-14…in Texas?
NA/NA/22 (NA/NA/23) Central Michigan (7-2) The Chippewas got walloped by Boston College (6-3), 31-10.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Windmills at the Aerie
The clouds lifted a bit this morning. Probably because the wind has continued to blow strongly out of the southwest. Those winds hit the west end of the ridge which curls slightly to the north and are forced upwards. This tends to push things up and away from the Aerie when the winds come from the southwest. Occasionally this breaks any small storm cell that heads our way. Today, it just lifted the clouds...for a while.
Before the clouds settled down to obscure the view, the crane was busy setting the second piece of each of the three windmills and lifting the generator housings to the tops.
The view before the fog. Two towers are done
and the second housing is going up.
Once the fog set in, the work was hidden from view. You could hear the crane at work, but could only guess at what was happening.
The lifting of the clouds exposed the completed windmills.
Three sets of blades are in place.
During a brief break in the fog yesterday, I could see that the crane, near the middle windmill at the time, had been lowered. I assumed it would be leaving the ridge. Today, it appeared off to the left. Could another windmill be in the offing?
The wind may be blowing, but the windmills aren't set up yet to generate any power. Still, they are turning...very...very...slowly.
Oh, BTW, it's raining again.
Before the clouds settled down to obscure the view, the crane was busy setting the second piece of each of the three windmills and lifting the generator housings to the tops.
The view before the fog. Two towers are doneand the second housing is going up.
Once the fog set in, the work was hidden from view. You could hear the crane at work, but could only guess at what was happening.
The lifting of the clouds exposed the completed windmills.
Three sets of blades are in place.During a brief break in the fog yesterday, I could see that the crane, near the middle windmill at the time, had been lowered. I assumed it would be leaving the ridge. Today, it appeared off to the left. Could another windmill be in the offing?
The wind may be blowing, but the windmills aren't set up yet to generate any power. Still, they are turning...very...very...slowly.
Oh, BTW, it's raining again.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Aerie Report, October 30, 2009
I attended my third torture therapy session today. Surprising to me is the lack of pain in the knee as we go through the exercises. There's plenty of cramping going on in the quad of my left leg, however. Every exercise seems to require that I tighten that big muscle. And when you're doing four or five different exercises in three sets of 10 each (that's 30 reps of each exercise), heh! I might as well be climbing 15 flights of stairs. Luckily, few of the exercises put any real pressure on the knee joint. The therapists has suggested I do a little more walking about the house without the use of either the cane or the leg brace. I'm cool with that as it means a little more freedom.
I've got three more sessions scheduled for next week and I'm hoping that the progress will continue at the same pace and I'll be able to start walking in the woods again soon.
******
We had one of those "blah" days here at the Aerie. Our low for the day was just 46 degrees and our high was 50. Blah! It didn't actually rain, but it misted from time to time. The fog of yesterday remained just above us. The ceiling must have been close to 2200 feet. The tops of the new windmills across the way were shrouded in fog much of the day. The presence of fog usually means that things are quiet. Not so! The wind is actually howling. Again, just above the Aerie. Standing on the deck the sound is similar to standing on the cliffs above ocean's edge and hearing the surf crash against the beach. There's a constant roar in the tree tops but here's very little movement at ground level. If the winds blow like this, we'll never hear anything from the windmills. (The company rep said the sound 200-300 yards from one of these machines would be no more than that from a refrigerator across the room. And from visits to other new wind farms, I'd have to agree. They're pretty quiet--one might say eerily so.)
[UPDATE: While watching the West Virginia vs South Florida game on ESPN, the winds have found the Aerie. The occasional gusts make the very substantial log home creak and groan. They have to be in the 30-40 mph range.]
I've got three more sessions scheduled for next week and I'm hoping that the progress will continue at the same pace and I'll be able to start walking in the woods again soon.
******
We had one of those "blah" days here at the Aerie. Our low for the day was just 46 degrees and our high was 50. Blah! It didn't actually rain, but it misted from time to time. The fog of yesterday remained just above us. The ceiling must have been close to 2200 feet. The tops of the new windmills across the way were shrouded in fog much of the day. The presence of fog usually means that things are quiet. Not so! The wind is actually howling. Again, just above the Aerie. Standing on the deck the sound is similar to standing on the cliffs above ocean's edge and hearing the surf crash against the beach. There's a constant roar in the tree tops but here's very little movement at ground level. If the winds blow like this, we'll never hear anything from the windmills. (The company rep said the sound 200-300 yards from one of these machines would be no more than that from a refrigerator across the room. And from visits to other new wind farms, I'd have to agree. They're pretty quiet--one might say eerily so.)
[UPDATE: While watching the West Virginia vs South Florida game on ESPN, the winds have found the Aerie. The occasional gusts make the very substantial log home creak and groan. They have to be in the 30-40 mph range.]
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Aerie Report, October 29, 2009
The fog lifted--well, it didn't actually lift lift, it sorta just thinned out temporarily--to expose the windmills across the way and that crane must have been busy under the cloak of the clouds. All the blades are in place and I never got to see if they lift all three at once--which I suspect is the modus operandi--or if they do it one at a time. Guess I'll never know unless I hit one of the breakfast spots (or a gin mill) where the crews hang out.
******
As I mentioned this morning, the weather.com folks said we would have a mere 10% chance of rain today and that it would be mostly cloudy. Well, truth be told it hasn't rained, but it's difficult for it to rain when you are either in or above the clouds. Thank goodness the temperature has been hovering between a low of 48 and a high of 52 degrees. If this had happened when the air was around 32 and the surfaces cooler, everything would be coated in ice.
I see that it's supposed to be around 50-55 degrees at Yankee Stadium tonight and no precipitation is expected. Looks like MLB has lucked out for one more night. I look forward to when the Brewers make the World Series and get to play in their new outdoor facility some brisk November evening. Or even for the Rockies to make it into the fall classic. Perhaps they can play it with baseballs colored orange or some other more visible shade. Certainly the fans in the stands will have an abundant supply of blue ones.
******
That wasn't a backhoe on the flat bed as I suspected, it was a grader. I know this for a fact because it went to work grading the road in front of the Aerie just a short time ago. It was being followed by the sad sack of a flat bed that it came in on. Probably had to repair the damage to the road the flat bed created while it was spinning its wheels.
As long as the grader makes things flat again, the fleet of loaded dump trucks--which continue to move up and down the hill--will have it packed as hard as any steamroller could possibly ever hope to do.
******
The little birds continue to hit the feeders on the deck hard. They were joined today by some Goldfinches, a couple of Purple Finches and a pair of Downy Woodpeckers. I watched the female Downy give the male a lesson in proper etiquette (ladies first, last and always, sucker! and don't you forget it!) and then settle down to wedge a sunflower seed in the cracks between the deck floorboards where she could comfortably peck it open for the kernel inside.
We even had a couple of gray squirrels come up on the deck for some sunflower seeds. This is a bit of a surprise because there's been one heck of a crop of acorns in the woods and I thought the squirrels would still be busy with that harvest. Perhaps they just wanted some variety.
******
As I mentioned this morning, the weather.com folks said we would have a mere 10% chance of rain today and that it would be mostly cloudy. Well, truth be told it hasn't rained, but it's difficult for it to rain when you are either in or above the clouds. Thank goodness the temperature has been hovering between a low of 48 and a high of 52 degrees. If this had happened when the air was around 32 and the surfaces cooler, everything would be coated in ice.
I see that it's supposed to be around 50-55 degrees at Yankee Stadium tonight and no precipitation is expected. Looks like MLB has lucked out for one more night. I look forward to when the Brewers make the World Series and get to play in their new outdoor facility some brisk November evening. Or even for the Rockies to make it into the fall classic. Perhaps they can play it with baseballs colored orange or some other more visible shade. Certainly the fans in the stands will have an abundant supply of blue ones.
******
That wasn't a backhoe on the flat bed as I suspected, it was a grader. I know this for a fact because it went to work grading the road in front of the Aerie just a short time ago. It was being followed by the sad sack of a flat bed that it came in on. Probably had to repair the damage to the road the flat bed created while it was spinning its wheels.
As long as the grader makes things flat again, the fleet of loaded dump trucks--which continue to move up and down the hill--will have it packed as hard as any steamroller could possibly ever hope to do.
******
The little birds continue to hit the feeders on the deck hard. They were joined today by some Goldfinches, a couple of Purple Finches and a pair of Downy Woodpeckers. I watched the female Downy give the male a lesson in proper etiquette (ladies first, last and always, sucker! and don't you forget it!) and then settle down to wedge a sunflower seed in the cracks between the deck floorboards where she could comfortably peck it open for the kernel inside.
We even had a couple of gray squirrels come up on the deck for some sunflower seeds. This is a bit of a surprise because there's been one heck of a crop of acorns in the woods and I thought the squirrels would still be busy with that harvest. Perhaps they just wanted some variety.
I think I can. I think I can. I th...
OH SH*T
I've mentioned before that the Aerie is situated at 2100 feet. I may have also mentioned that the road up to the Aerie is quite steep-especially the last 100 yards up and the 3-400 yards beyond the driveway--hence the need for Terry to have a 4-wheel drive vehicle for those times when the Aveo can't quite make it.
Well, snow and ice are not the only deterrents to travel on that steep stretch. The road is packed clay and gravel, but mostly clay. And when it gets wet....
Not only does it radically change the color of my dark green Tundra and the bright yellow Aveo, giving each a nice shade of tan along their sides, but it becomes slippery as...well...snow or ice.
The dump trucks (which continue to to carry heavy loads up the hill as I type) have little trouble making the grade since they have that spare third pair of tires on the rear and enough gears to down shift sufficiently to create a rumble that causes the earth to quake. But (and there's always a "but") there are some trucks that just can't cope with the conditions. These are usually cargo containers on 18-wheelers or flat beds. Regardless of whatever load they are hauling, the weight is distributed differently and deflected off the drive axles of which there are usually only two directly behind the cab and ahead of the load.
I've watched several 18-wheelers grind their gears and make it just past the driveway only to run out of low gears and come to a halt a few yards up the hill. They then have to back down the hill and try, try again. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they give up.
I saw one give up and park on the side of the road until a bulldozer came down the hill to haul the flat bed the rest of the way up the hill. That truck's engine must have hemorrhaged for it backed (rolled?) down the hill and remained on the side of the road for days. The driver stayed with it for much of the time until one day it was gone.
Today, a flat bed hauling a large backhoe attempted The Hill several times.Each time it would creep past the Aerie and grind to a halt just above our driveway. It would slowly back down the hill to a somewhat leveler area and have another run at it. Three times it tried. Three times it failed. After the third attempt, it backed down and parked along the side of the road. I heard some wheel chocks being moved about and then the backhoe fired up its diesel engine. Then the backhoe climbed the hill to be followed a short time later by the unburdened flat bed looking totally embarrassed.
It all seems so futile for some of these trucks. There are more gentle slopes to the west and east but none as direct as our road. Still, I have to wonder if the wear and tear on the engines, the time lost in multiple attempts, etc. couldn't be better spent in exploring one of those alternate routes.
Well, snow and ice are not the only deterrents to travel on that steep stretch. The road is packed clay and gravel, but mostly clay. And when it gets wet....
Not only does it radically change the color of my dark green Tundra and the bright yellow Aveo, giving each a nice shade of tan along their sides, but it becomes slippery as...well...snow or ice.
The dump trucks (which continue to to carry heavy loads up the hill as I type) have little trouble making the grade since they have that spare third pair of tires on the rear and enough gears to down shift sufficiently to create a rumble that causes the earth to quake. But (and there's always a "but") there are some trucks that just can't cope with the conditions. These are usually cargo containers on 18-wheelers or flat beds. Regardless of whatever load they are hauling, the weight is distributed differently and deflected off the drive axles of which there are usually only two directly behind the cab and ahead of the load.
I've watched several 18-wheelers grind their gears and make it just past the driveway only to run out of low gears and come to a halt a few yards up the hill. They then have to back down the hill and try, try again. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they give up.
I saw one give up and park on the side of the road until a bulldozer came down the hill to haul the flat bed the rest of the way up the hill. That truck's engine must have hemorrhaged for it backed (rolled?) down the hill and remained on the side of the road for days. The driver stayed with it for much of the time until one day it was gone.
Today, a flat bed hauling a large backhoe attempted The Hill several times.Each time it would creep past the Aerie and grind to a halt just above our driveway. It would slowly back down the hill to a somewhat leveler area and have another run at it. Three times it tried. Three times it failed. After the third attempt, it backed down and parked along the side of the road. I heard some wheel chocks being moved about and then the backhoe fired up its diesel engine. Then the backhoe climbed the hill to be followed a short time later by the unburdened flat bed looking totally embarrassed.
It all seems so futile for some of these trucks. There are more gentle slopes to the west and east but none as direct as our road. Still, I have to wonder if the wear and tear on the engines, the time lost in multiple attempts, etc. couldn't be better spent in exploring one of those alternate routes.
A Love Story
For ThreeCollie at Northview Dairy:
Now get your mind out of the gutter and go get your flu shot!
(Stolen shamelessly from Theo.)
I will seek you and find you.
I shall take you to my bed and have my way with you.
I will make you ache, shake, and sweat until you moan and groan.
I will make you beg for mercy, beg for me to stop.
I will exhaust you to the point you will be relieved when I'm finished with you.
And, when I am finished, you will be weak for days.
All my love,
The Flu
Now get your mind out of the gutter and go get your flu shot!
(Stolen shamelessly from Theo.)
A Foggy Day at the Aerie
Well, the weather gurus have screwed up again. Sometime after dark, the rain (that wasn't supposed to happen) moved in and fell for a goodly portion of the night. Current statement on weather.com is for cloudy skies but just 10% chance of showers and a visibility of 10 miles. Even the temperature readings are off. They say 54 degrees we have 48. That's not uncommon, however, since we are at 2100 feet and Lord knows where the "official" readings are being taken.
Meanwhile we're sitting in a cloud bank. Visibility may be measured in hundreds of yards--if that. I can't see what's happening across the way with the windmills but I can hear the crane at work. Perhaps when the fog lifts off the hillside they will have finished erecting the third windmill.
Dump truck after dump truck of gravel and stone have been going up the hill for the last two days. There were at least twenty loads yesterday and another twenty this morning. I can hear some grading going on in the distance. They are either working on the road along the mountain ridge or the access roads to the windmills and gas drilling sites after the heavy rains. I'm sure all that water must have turned some of those into quagmires.
[UPDATE: A second caravan of trucks went up the road at 11 AM. Makes me wonder how many I missed yesterday! They are moving mountains, I tell you! Mountains!]
One things for certain, if you run a stone quarry or drive a dump truck in this area, you are making out damn well right now.
Meanwhile we're sitting in a cloud bank. Visibility may be measured in hundreds of yards--if that. I can't see what's happening across the way with the windmills but I can hear the crane at work. Perhaps when the fog lifts off the hillside they will have finished erecting the third windmill.
Dump truck after dump truck of gravel and stone have been going up the hill for the last two days. There were at least twenty loads yesterday and another twenty this morning. I can hear some grading going on in the distance. They are either working on the road along the mountain ridge or the access roads to the windmills and gas drilling sites after the heavy rains. I'm sure all that water must have turned some of those into quagmires.
[UPDATE: A second caravan of trucks went up the road at 11 AM. Makes me wonder how many I missed yesterday! They are moving mountains, I tell you! Mountains!]
One things for certain, if you run a stone quarry or drive a dump truck in this area, you are making out damn well right now.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Progress
It was raining like the Dickens when I went out to PT (physical therapy...not that other stuff grunts do at basic) this morning. I felt sure there would be no progress on the windmills...and little on my knee.
Boy was I wrong! The therapists headed my knee, bend and twisted my knee and then had me doing the same to it on my own. Then they put me on the stationary bike for 10 minutes to "stretch it out." Surprisingly, that seemed to work! Afterward, it was more bending and twisting as I did more exercises. Then the ice pack and electrical route once more. I won't say I was ready to polka out the door, but after more ice on the joint this afternoon, I feel remarkable better about avoiding any form of surgery than I did a few days ago.
Still, I'll take the Doctor's and therapist's advice and stay off it as much as possible for a few more days. I'll do the exercises the therapist gave me and apply ice when I'm through as he recommended. We'll see how it feels on Friday when I have my next appointment.
******
Now, about those windmills. When I got home around noon, the rain had stopped and the crane was lifting the second section of one of the towers into place. Then around 2 PM it lifted the housing for the generator to the top of the tower. I sort of forgot to follow along for a while after that but the next thing I know, there are three blades spinning slowly on the top of that windmill and the crane has moved on to the third on the hillside.
No doubt, if the weather holds tomorrow--and it is supposed to be a beautiful day, they will erect the second section, the generator, and the blades of that third windmill before moving back up the hill to the first which awaits its blades. (I'm guessing they didn't install those blades because the crane has to go past that windmill on its way out. And that may be done before quitting time tomorrow.)
I failed to see if they put the entire blade assembly in place as a unit--which is my guess--or if they put one blade up at a time. Tough to see how they could do the latter. Heck, it's difficult enough to understand how they attach the entire blade assembly except when you see the generator housing on a truck and realize it's about the size of an 8'x10' shed. It looks so damn small perched atop the tower and when in contrast to the 75' long blades.
Cool thing is there was the tiniest of breezes blowing at sundown and those newly installed blades were turning ever so slowly.
******
Speaking of the weather, Terry emptied the rain gauge last evening and poured out nearly two inches of water. That would be water from last Friday through Monday. The stuff that fell last night was pretty intense and I'm sure must have been well over 3/4 of an inch. (I didn't empty it today, however, so that's just a guess. Tomorrow I'll get to see what is really in there.) Temperatures have been right at, or at least around, the seasonal averages for Aerie. Morning frost on clear nights and afternoons in the upper 50s.
Boy was I wrong! The therapists headed my knee, bend and twisted my knee and then had me doing the same to it on my own. Then they put me on the stationary bike for 10 minutes to "stretch it out." Surprisingly, that seemed to work! Afterward, it was more bending and twisting as I did more exercises. Then the ice pack and electrical route once more. I won't say I was ready to polka out the door, but after more ice on the joint this afternoon, I feel remarkable better about avoiding any form of surgery than I did a few days ago.
Still, I'll take the Doctor's and therapist's advice and stay off it as much as possible for a few more days. I'll do the exercises the therapist gave me and apply ice when I'm through as he recommended. We'll see how it feels on Friday when I have my next appointment.
******
Now, about those windmills. When I got home around noon, the rain had stopped and the crane was lifting the second section of one of the towers into place. Then around 2 PM it lifted the housing for the generator to the top of the tower. I sort of forgot to follow along for a while after that but the next thing I know, there are three blades spinning slowly on the top of that windmill and the crane has moved on to the third on the hillside.
No doubt, if the weather holds tomorrow--and it is supposed to be a beautiful day, they will erect the second section, the generator, and the blades of that third windmill before moving back up the hill to the first which awaits its blades. (I'm guessing they didn't install those blades because the crane has to go past that windmill on its way out. And that may be done before quitting time tomorrow.)
I failed to see if they put the entire blade assembly in place as a unit--which is my guess--or if they put one blade up at a time. Tough to see how they could do the latter. Heck, it's difficult enough to understand how they attach the entire blade assembly except when you see the generator housing on a truck and realize it's about the size of an 8'x10' shed. It looks so damn small perched atop the tower and when in contrast to the 75' long blades.
Cool thing is there was the tiniest of breezes blowing at sundown and those newly installed blades were turning ever so slowly.
******
Speaking of the weather, Terry emptied the rain gauge last evening and poured out nearly two inches of water. That would be water from last Friday through Monday. The stuff that fell last night was pretty intense and I'm sure must have been well over 3/4 of an inch. (I didn't empty it today, however, so that's just a guess. Tomorrow I'll get to see what is really in there.) Temperatures have been right at, or at least around, the seasonal averages for Aerie. Morning frost on clear nights and afternoons in the upper 50s.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
They're baaaackk!
We started putting some sunflower seeds out for the birds when the snow began a couple of weekends ago. While we haven't been putting all the feeders out every day, the ones we do put out are getting hit pretty hard by Blue Jays, Tufted Titmice, Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches. The last three birds are in the habit of coming up to the deck, grabbing a seed and then zooming off into the pines to either eat it or tuck it away in a safe place for later. Only the Titmice will actually eat a seed or two before taking one back to their larder.
The Blue Jays? They would stay until there wasn't a crumb on the tray if they weren't pestered by the smaller birds.
Black-capped Chickadee at the feeder.
Red-breasted Nuthatch at the feeder.
The little birds don't much care if we're standing on the deck when they come in, either. The Jay's won't come in if we're outside, but the little guys will sit on the rail a few feet away and tell us to vamoose...or go right on feeding.
Luckily the Agway is having a sale on sunflower seed right now. At $14 a fifty-pound bag, I may have to pick up ten or more bags. The problem will be getting them into the garage with this bum knee.
The Blue Jays? They would stay until there wasn't a crumb on the tray if they weren't pestered by the smaller birds.
Black-capped Chickadee at the feeder.
Red-breasted Nuthatch at the feeder.The little birds don't much care if we're standing on the deck when they come in, either. The Jay's won't come in if we're outside, but the little guys will sit on the rail a few feet away and tell us to vamoose...or go right on feeding.
Luckily the Agway is having a sale on sunflower seed right now. At $14 a fifty-pound bag, I may have to pick up ten or more bags. The problem will be getting them into the garage with this bum knee.
Wind Central
Windmills are popping up on the ridge line like mushrooms on a warm morning after a soaking rain. They are clearly visible from down in the valley but many of them disappear from view as we approach the Aerie. They are juuusssst over the ridge and down behind the trees. I made Terry stop the Jeep so I could take a couple of pictures.
Two windmills just to the west of the Aerie.
Three more just above and to the east of the Aerie.
Only one of these is at all visible from the Aerie and then only if you know just where to look. Even then all you'll see are one or two of the blades as they lift above the tree line.
When we got back to the Aerie, they were hard at work erecting one of the windmills across from us on the hillside I photographed a few weeks ago when it was full of color. Now it will also have three windmills.
A crane lifts the second section on one of three across the way.
As you can probably deduce, we have no Kennedys living in our neck of the woods to complain about the damage to the environment from fossil fuels AND block construction of windmills or the drilling of gas wells.
Thank goodness!
Two windmills just to the west of the Aerie.
Three more just above and to the east of the Aerie.Only one of these is at all visible from the Aerie and then only if you know just where to look. Even then all you'll see are one or two of the blades as they lift above the tree line.
When we got back to the Aerie, they were hard at work erecting one of the windmills across from us on the hillside I photographed a few weeks ago when it was full of color. Now it will also have three windmills.
A crane lifts the second section on one of three across the way.As you can probably deduce, we have no Kennedys living in our neck of the woods to complain about the damage to the environment from fossil fuels AND block construction of windmills or the drilling of gas wells.
Thank goodness!
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