Thursday, February 09, 2006

Portraits??

Who Should Paint You: M.C. Escher

Open and raw, you would let your true self show for your portrait.
And even if your painting turned out a bit dark, it would be honest.


Hmmmm.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Husky!!


609652-R1-039-18
Originally uploaded by Popokiknut.
Hang on. This lovely girl is not a Mal. She's a husky. Mals cannot be shown or registered with blue eyes. Otherwise, it's hard to tell the breeds apart unless you are a 'professional' judge or have lived with these guys for a long time. The Movie, 6 Below by Disney, have these guys as heroes. Those are huskies.

609652-R1-033-15


609652-R1-033-15
Originally uploaded by Popokiknut.
Here's my friend Kareon, with her lovely Sashie. She was a stray, took her to pound, and after time, and proper channels, Kareon's family decided to keep her. She's about a year old, and gorgeous, conformation etc --- great disposition. Man, if she had papers, she'd be show quality!

Friday, February 03, 2006

Pictures coming soon!

I don't recognize myself. Been thinking about milestones, and the decades past as I remember, and the person I was at that time, I am and am not now. There's a constant state of renewal going on, and I will tell you something. Nothing is forever. Not even the basic you, as other people perceive you to be. I remember me at 20, then at 30, 40, 50 ... through the haze of time --- And it's interesting how it all came out. I no longer think that heartbreak is permanent. I don't even fret about the things that used to upset me. The further I go along in life, the more I realize how much the past has influenced me, I am a product of my environment, my politics, beliefs mirror the area in which I was born. It's really amazing -- considering myself as an experiment in my own private lab. Onward! Pass the beaker and the bunsen burner. Oh that dates me!

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Cheerio!

Well now let's see. Traveling pain. It has been my experience that random piques of pain travel through the body. The hip for example. Aches. Then the knee, which stops the hip. Now the hip is fine. It's the knee. No, now it's the tummy, or the toe, or section of jaw. When one pain starts, the other stops. Very interesting.

Handy hint section: If you have lived in a house over 20 years, and the furnace is not doing as it should, and making noises -- call the duct cleaner and have the furnace cleaned. You'd be surprised.

Recent television series. "Book of Daniel", about a Methodist minister and his family. Canceled. Apparently some very powerful people do not like this show to the point of swiping it off the air. Now, there have been some interesting points that have been discussed on the program, and surely many find it offensive if they insist on taking it literally seriously, which obviously they have. Personally, I found it a witty and provocative hour, with some parts in it sure to shake the fundamentalist to the core. Talking to Jesus was one such. Personally, I agreed with all said. I do advocate people taking moral responsibility for their own actions. Certain things were mentioned that some would speak of in terms of 'blasphemy' , but I do not think so. But boy, the uproar! The rapid snatching off the air! Blatant suppression! In the name of What -- status quo of the majority? I find that a bit offensive. Crying out loud, it's a story, a story. Not real. Fiction! Oh well.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Perversity, thy name is January ---

Midmonth. It's supposed to be winter here. It is, sometimes, but we are having a warming trend. This week, however, in the 30s and wind. Typical for this state. Drives people mad. This state is reknown for a high rate of suicide. It's the wind, cussed, relentless, all consuming, threatening to blow your body to Nebraska with all the other loose stuff. The specials on Presidents abounding on the TV waves puts forth the reminder that we are all fallible, and sometimes outrageously so. In spite of that, some individuals rise above the stew, letters in alphabet soup. Hi ho!

Life is quite funny. Sometimes, 'ha-ha' and sometimes just plain weird. It's to keep our souls on tippy-toes, alert and ready. Some will tell you that life on this old world IS Hell -- that we are sojourning through it to learn and refine our self. At any rate, stop right now and give yourself a hug. You are alive on this Planet Earth and that makes you one courageous being! Suspense novels are just varifications, to tell you that, yes, it's not your imagination. We are all in our own perilous journey.

God invented time to keep everything from happening at once.

Soon I will have more good pictures!

Monday, January 09, 2006

festoons


festoons
Originally uploaded by Popokiknut.
Oh yummy! Blueberries and Mars bar chunks! Actually this is one nice little picture from the Rovers -- and is a lovely argument for WATER! Great, huh.

The older I get dept.

Man. Take this as an example. The hoo ha about the mega volcano at Yellowstone. Worst case scenario is always hyped because it's the most exciting. All part of the simplification and dumbing down of information. Take all the news you hear, add salt. Nothing is AS horrible as projected, and many times it's a mild version, quite manageable. Every once in a while we get a mega 'bad news' but should speculation of possibilities be catastrophic ALL of the time? Food for thought.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

DNA goo is everywhere

Partial Ingredients for DNA and Protein Found Around Star
For Release: December 20, 2005



NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered some of life's most basic ingredients in the dust swirling around a young star. The ingredients -- gaseous precursors to DNA and protein -- were detected in the star's terrestrial planet zone, a region where rocky planets such as Earth are thought to be born.

The findings represent the first time that these gases, called acetylene and hydrogen cyanide, have been found in a terrestrial planet zone outside of our own.

"This infant system might look a lot like ours did billions of years ago, before life arose on Earth," said Fred Lahuis of Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands and the Dutch space research institute called SRON. Lahuis is lead author of a paper to be published in the Jan. 10 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Lahuis and his colleagues spotted the organic, or carbon-containing, gases around a star called IRS 46. The star is in the Ophiuchus (pronounced OFF-ee-YOO-kuss), or "snake carrier," constellation about 375 light-years from Earth. This constellation harbors a huge cloud of gas and dust in the process of a major stellar baby boom. Like most of the young stars here and elsewhere, IRS 46 is circled by a flat disk of spinning gas and dust that might ultimately clump together to form planets.

When the astronomers probed this star's disk with Spitzer's powerful infrared spectrometer instrument, they were surprised to find the molecular "barcodes" of large amounts of acetylene and hydrogen cyanide gases, as well as carbon dioxide gas. The team observed 100 similar young stars, but only one, IRS 46, showed unambiguous signs of the organic mix.

"The star's disk was oriented in just the right way to allow us to peer into it," said Lahuis.

The Spitzer data also revealed that the organic gases are hot. So hot, in fact, that they are most likely located near the star, about the same distance away as Earth is from our sun.

"The gases are very warm, close to or somewhat above the boiling point of water on Earth," said Dr. Adwin Boogert of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. "These high temperatures helped to pinpoint the location of the gases in the disk."

Organic gases such as those found around IRS 46 are found in our own solar system, in the atmospheres of the giant planets and Saturn's moon Titan, and on the icy surfaces of comets. They have also been seen around massive stars by the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory, though these stars are thought to be less likely than sun-like stars to form life-bearing planets.

Here on Earth, the molecules are believed to have arrived billions of years ago, possibly via comets or comet dust that rained down from the sky. Acetylene and hydrogen cyanide link up together in the presence of water to form some of the chemical units of life's most essential compounds, DNA and protein. These chemical units are several of the 20 amino acids that make up protein and one of the four chemical bases that make up DNA.

"If you add hydrogen cyanide, acetylene and water together in a test tube and give them an appropriate surface on which to be concentrated and react, you'll get a slew of organic compounds including amino acids and a DNA purine base called adenine," said Dr. Geoffrey Blake of Caltech, a co-author of the paper. "And now, we can detect these same molecules in the planet zone of a star hundreds of light-years away."

Follow-up observations with the W.M. Keck Telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii confirmed the Spitzer findings and suggested the presence of a wind emerging from the inner region of IRS 46's disk. This wind will blow away debris in the disk, clearing the way for the possible formation of Earth-like planets.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech. JPL is a division of Caltech. Spitzer's infrared spectrograph was built by Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Its development was led by Dr. Jim Houck of Cornell.

For graphics and more information about Spitzer, visit http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/spitzer. For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/.


HOwzat. More goodies from "Out there". Soon we creatures on the little blue dot are going to have to commit to a major attitude change.

About time, I say!

God At His Desk


best2005_cosmic_bunny_03
Originally uploaded by Popokiknut.
Whence we came from, stardust as we are, where we are going, one way or another. I'd like to say to Clone science nay-sayers -- we need to change our physical selves -- our bodies as they are, are Earth-bound, and need gravity, air, water, etc. Wouldn't it be easier to explore the universe without lugging all that around? If God didn't want us to explore, we would have never found a way to tamper with it all. Period. Use the brain given to us! Please! Also, we do need to go, oh you people who would we never step into space. Earth is not finite. Neither is the sun. It's time to learn how to high-tail out and find another planet and another solar system. Again we have the tools, we have the imagination. Let's get on with it! Every time we venture out and explore we come back with much more than we ever dreamed. The universe awaits!!! I'd rather see us, going as homo sapiens sapiens than just motes of dust from our exploded existences. We have the stuff. Let's go for it!

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

About 2 weeks --

The 'Hmmm" Department. Apparently some mega churches are closing Christmas Sunday. No services at all. Doors are closed. Now I'd like to say 'howscum'?? Even if it's NOT Christ's birthday, it's officially that. Some bureaucrats have been smoking too much interference potion. C'mon guys. Please, the human beings have far too much trivia to 'worry about' without adding some more.

Carl Sagan said it right. If you have been tuning into COSMOS running on DISCOVERY channel -- you'd know what I mean. We have far too much at stake to continue fighting over space in our sandbox. Let's call it a rest. Keep your religion to yourself in the best way you know how, and let others practice theirs the best way they know. Put away weapons. Put down arms. Stop committing murder in the name of a God. Our liittle blue marble in space is much too precious and vulnerable and humanity needs to grow up or it will perish.

Hug your mother. If she irritates you, hug her harder. The thorny roses have the best bloom and best perfume.

Stop whining "Why me", "I didn't ask to be born" and other put downs to rail at fate. For one, why not you. You charted for this when you asked for life, and Oh yes you did ask to be born. Most definitely. You don't remember because you aren't supposed to. No cheating!! Live your life, have fun, and stop being a crybaby.

Pain is a given on this planet. There is a lot more of Pain than of anything else. There's a reason for that too. Suck it up!

God answers ALL prayers. Sometimes He says 'no'. Sometimes He says not now. In all answers, he sends you love. He does care.

Death is this world's way of making room. You do not pass into oblivion, your essential being is still present, as is everyone's. Who wants to hang onto a diseased, warn out old carcass anyway?? Rather be 30 years old and flying!

And you will.

Trust me.

Have fun wrapping presents and spreading love --- K

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Bambi2


Bambi2
Originally uploaded by Popokiknut.
Good ol Wyoming. Over at Dave's 'little house on the prairie about a mile out of town. The deer come in when it gets cold, apparently. This lady brought her half-grown fawns and it makes it a nice addition to our fauna pics.

Monday, December 05, 2005

Kitty poem

12 Days of Christmas - A Cat's Rendition

On the twelfth day of Christmas my human gave to me:
Twelve bags of catnip!
Eleven tarter Pounce treats,
Ten ornaments hanging,
Nine wads of Kleenex,
Eight peacock feathers,
Seven stolen Q-tips,
Six feathered balls,
Five MILK JUG RINGS!
Four munchy house plants,
Three running faucets,
Two fuzzy mousies,
And a hamste-e-er in a plastic ball!!

Brings back memories for me. Its windy in my state. Hurricane force winds. Gusts up to 100 mph. Yowie. Don't open your coat, you'll be sailed off to Nebraska! Of course *ahem* that's not a blizzard. You gotta have SNOW for that, and so far --the blizzard conditions affect all living creatures shorter than a foot off the ground. That's how high up the 'white out' conditions are with the miniscule bit we've been getting. I should declare equal opportunity things and find poems for dogs and other critters... Pass the Ritz Bits! It's beginning to look like Christmas.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

moose & Turtle


moose & Turtle
Originally uploaded by Popokiknut.
"I think this is the business end --" Moose is investigating turtle -- first time for the old dawg. Moose is now in Green Pastures but a beloved dog of my step-daughter-in-law. We are in the midst of jolly season time, and while I predict a lot of us are going to be tight this year, still, Christmas will be Christmas, and by the way --it's silly to be so politically correct as to call them 'holiday trees'. C'mon, the tradition is Christmas Tree!! and before that, pagan holidays so what does it matter?? Golly people can get worked up into a foamy swivet over the darndest thing. Christmas Tree! Get over it! Ol Moose here is more direct and pragmatic of something new within her line of sight. Turtle! Turtle! I think this is her backside!!Yup!!! Yup!!! Seasonal backside?? Who cares. From this end I don't get bitten!

Monday, November 28, 2005

Just for the hali-but ---

Not not cod. Not the wandering eye fish. Halibut. Honestly, I've got to clean out my memory closet. In the wrong file. Tis halibut that makes that transformation. Doesn't affect the taste tho. yummm. Oh now, oh, is it --- flounder??? Dang it, but I hate having to look it up. It's one of those fishes. All edible. If I were a scientist, I'd be more careful with my wild fluctuations.

Now, UFO's. Looky. I'm with the most sane. If the UFO's are extraterrestrials, they are not out to 'get us'. Or they have, would have already. I think they are naturalists, tourists, and whatever they need from butchering cows with lasers, I don't think we can help.

There are too many self-important, holier than thou hoaxers on our Planet who feel that somehow they are enlightening us as a species by their antics. You! Human! Cut that out!!! And I don't mean cow eyeballs and sex organs.

Word to the wise. Don't wait to become your idea, or your parents' idea of perfect. Have fun now. Love, Be Passionate, Cuddle! Don't wait on life. Grab it by the handles and go with it! I'm fair, fat and sixty. Can't see, can't hear, diabetic and a walking case for congestive heart failure. But I got a boyfriend! And we pounce on each other like you 20's do ---those who aren't "waiting for life to make them perfect." And dang it I'm happy and so is he!

Sunday, November 27, 2005

track to nowhere


011_8a
Originally uploaded by Popokiknut.
At least at one time, it went somewhere, but now, not, sitting in a vacant lot next to the UP railroad Switch -- was taking pics of old trains and decided this looked nice.

Thanksgiving weekend. Gulp! All done, with a prime rib dinner at Dave's house with family. The poinsettas are coming, marching up the stairs ---I have 5 plants now. One to go to girlfriend...maybe another... I love em in all colors! Hijacked a turkey breast, bought it home so we could have the leftover turkey sandwiches. Goodness, Thanksgiving without cranberries and leftover turkey sandwiches?? Not possible. Not in my world. Winter finally arrived today, with nippy 25 degree and 50 mph winds... yikes! Drove me to put on my car coat! Now it's off to Ft. Collins to shop. That's traditional here on the front range. I25 becomes the 'mall corridor from Cheyenne south through Denver. Will it snow?

Friday, November 18, 2005

Odd as a cod, b'god --

Which start life as ordinary fish. Swimming normal, eye on each side. Then the eye drifts and the cod begins to swim sideways, no eye side down. Hmm, or is that flounder??
Know what you get when you cross an elephant with a rhino?? Hell if I know.

I've been staring at the moon too long. Realized that it has a tilt in its axis, just like earth does. The pole isn't "up" and the south bit isn't "down". If it were, you could no longer see 'the man in the moon.'(unless you tilted yourself, that is --)

Is it the 'ides of November'? Dang soon, it'll be mad mad shopping days, turkey day, and we will be having prime rib. Time to flush out all the holiday decorated sweatshirts. I have not yet succumbed to vibrant violet and hussy red outfits. I suspect years of being a redhead naturally and unnaturally has put a crimp in the urge. Now my hair color is gray and apricot streaks. The loud purple will have to wait a few more seasons.

I refuse to be THAT annoying. Had a loud discussion with one of my best friends. Don't worry, we are still friends! About I maintain that there is not one original thought from mankind since the very first written down. That dragons were at one time real creatures, and from a little speck of primordial memory, we took fossils from the ground and cobbled up creatures such as Griffons. All stories come from 5 or 6 basic plots, and whatever creativity we possess comes from acute observation.

She says No Way. Dragons and dinosaurs are not fictional cousins. I sez they are.
Loud discussion commences. I say psychics are the real deal, she says no way. I predict this will take a extended debate.

I'm on the side of angels.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Outlook --furry


cat_dakota
Originally uploaded by Popokiknut.
Those of you --remember the idylic decades of the 40's 50's and 60's?? The end of a war, everyone off to the suburbs, full of optimism, and high visions of the future. The weather was steady, predictable, and prosperity seemed within everyone's grasp. Inventions bombarded us, as new cars --every year a new model, trade your old one in. 2.6 children, a pet and a home with a yard. Television became a household member, and electronics were born, with marvels everywhere one looked. Computers were coming, ready or not, and many appliances had them in already, however primitive. The microchip changed the world. Satellites --onward, upward!!!

Then things have changed. The weather is no longer reliable. That which we had taken for granted is no longer. We are not safe on our shores or in our homes. We must become flexible and responsible for our surroundings. No longer can we afford to leave rotting bodies in buildings for months, as had been done during hurricane Katrina.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Cabin 30 miles from Cheyenne


cabin
Originally uploaded by Popokiknut.


Now in the town of Cheyenne, it's flat. Pretty much. In the distance are mountains, but nothing dramatic like down Denver way. But, hop in your car and drive west toward Laramie on I80, and soon enough you are in as wild and bumpy country as you can desire. We got billions and billions of 'photo op's' in the roadside -- from micro view to magnabig. Sorta like a time-pocket, where there hasn't been much change in 100 years or so. Out here you can easily imagine such desperadoes such a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid riding by.

Got to talking about Psychics today. Lately thanks to Halloween, there have been TV programs about paranormal and other spooky stuff. Imagination. Such a maligned title for a little understood ability! We, as a species, look upon 'imagination' as something a bit unsavory. Its not the truth. When you realize that the table you are sitting near, and can rap on, isn't as solid as it appears, or that the air we breathe has volume and weight, we should know better than to accept proof of our five senses as a reliable gauge of 'reality'. Psychics are. We can all be psychic at one time or another, and some are much better at it than others. The reality of an artist existing, producing fine paintings to stir the souls of others, or of a signer able to transport an auditorium into the sublime -- proves that our species is, multidimensional in ability.

And that means knowing the 'unknowable'. Psychics are. Unfortunately, it is a skill that is uncertain. It is known that psychics rarely are psychic about themselves. They cannot rely on their talent for their own gain. It's hard to measure. It's hard to prove. But nevertheless, it does exist! Imagination cannot be spun out of whole cloth. There must be a seed or starter in it somewhere. Just as sure as there were once dragons! Of course there were, can't you believe it? We find bones all the time.

People do me a favor. When coming upon imagination in flower, in a child, in a story, in a person -- do not squelch it! Do not put it down, bad-mouth it, or degrade it in any way! Touch not the rare thing! It's probably the most -real thing one can come across in life. It's bad enough we grind down on psychics! Nearly lost that gift, what price will be paid if we lose imagination?

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Killer Blogs!

Yikes. According to FORBES, November issue, there are certain blogs that slander and libel companies. Those often express ill-informed or partially formed ideas that are not flattering, and determental. Now look. This is a new member of the Fourth Estate, mass media, and it comes with responsibility. Ethics. If you don't know the word, look it up. I just did. When perusing a blog, the caveat emptor is brought to mind, as well as grains of salt --which I might admit might apply to enough salt drained from the Lake in Utah. What is 'said' in media is not necessarily gospel. It is an opinon. It could be gospel truth. It is often not total truth because that is difficult. Subjective opinion is that. Subjective, and that means it's how the author views it. Your right to say a thing in public is limited to ethical considerations -- fight back! Flag those offensive blogs! Submit your opinions! Just don't misrepresent them as more than your own idea about things.

We have a brave new world. It is public mass media. We had wanted something like this for ages. Well, with internet and e-mail and public broadcasting comes a huge responsibility for civilized behavior. Altrustic behavior. Let us grow up, behave ourselves and be on our best!

Monday, November 07, 2005

George Carlin on New Orleans

George Carlin on New Orleans
"Been sitting here with my ass in a wad, wanting to speak out about the
bull --t going on in New Orleans. For the people of New Orleans... First we
would like to say, Sorry for your loss. With that said, Let's go through a
few hurricane rules: (Unlike an earthquake, we know it's coming)

#1. A mandatory evacuation means just that...Get the hell out. Don't blame the Government after they tell you to go. If they hadn't said anything, I can see the argument. They said get out... if you didn't, it's your fault, not theirs. (We don't want to hear it, even if you don't have a car, you can get out.)

#2. If there is an emergency, stock up on water and non-perishables. If you
didn't do this, it's not the Government's fault you're starving.

#2a. If you run out of food and water, find a store that has some.
(Remember, shoes, TV's, DVD's and CD's are not edible. Leave them alone.)

#2b. If the local store has been looted of food or water, leave your
neighbor's TV and stereo alone.(See #2a) They worked hard to get their
stuff. Just because they were smart enough to leave during a mandatory
evacuation, doesn't give you the right to take their stuff...it's theirs, not yours.

#3. If someone comes in to help you, don't shoot at them and then complain no one is helping you. I'm not getting shot to help save some dumbass who didn't leave when told to do so.

#4. If you are in your house that is completely under water, your belongings
are probably too far gone for anyone to want them. If someone does want
them, let them have them and hopefully they'll die in the filth. Just leave!
(It's New Orleans, find a voodoo warrior and put a curse on them.)

#5. My tax money should not pay to rebuild a 2 million dollar house, a
sports stadium or a floating casino. Also, my tax money shouldn't go to
rebuild a city that is under sea level. You wouldn't build your house on
quicksand would you? You want to live below sea-level, do your country some good and join the Navy.

#6. Regardless of what Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton want you to believe, The US Government didn't create the Hurricane as a way to eradicate the black people of New Orleans; (Neither did Russia as a way to destroy America). The US Government didn't cause global warming that caused the hurricane (We've been coming out of an ice age for over a million years).

#7. The government isn't responsible for giving you anything. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave, but you gotta work for what you want. McDonalds and Wal-Mart are always hiring, get a damn job and stop spooning off the people who are actually working for a living. President Kennedy said it best..."Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

Thank you for allowing me to rant.


Now, THIS IS NOT ME. It's George. I copied because its become public domain via e-mail and I don't think he'd mind. Now what IS me, is that 99% of it I agree with totally. I know there were a few people who couldn't leave because they were taking care of the crippled, infirm, deathly ill etc. But, you know, in an ideal world they could have been shipped out too.