This Voodoo Priest business seems to have promise !

"Fire marshals said the fire started around 6:40 p.m., when a woman visited a man in the building and paid him $300 to perform a voodoo ceremony to bring her good luck. The man was known in the neighborhood as a voodoo priest, the AP reported.

A city official told the AP that the ceremony involved the man and woman having sex in a bed surrounded by candles. Those candles set fire to the linens and clothes on the floor, the FDNY said. But instead of calling 911, the man conducting the ceremony tried in vain to douse the flames with water."


http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/brooklyn/fdny-voodoo-sex-candles-caused-fatal-fire-in-brooklyn-20110225-akd#



Sign me up !

Restrepo

The only surprise is - - - that people are surprised !

Residents Flee St. Louis

ST. LOUIS (AP) - St. Louis is losing residents, according to U.S. Census figures released Thursday, and the population decline goes deeper than being another blow to the proud city’s image.

The drop will mean a financial loss that could cost the already cash-strapped Gateway City millions of dollars.

Figures from the 2010 census were a bitter disappointment, as the city’s population dipped to 319,294.

That’s down more than 29,000 – a staggering 8 percent – from 2000.

For St. Louis leaders, the news was doubly disappointing because they were expecting to see an increase.

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/02/25/residents-flee-st-louis-especially-north-city-over-last-decade/



The great flying gas station ! ! !

To be built in American factories !

"Stonehenge" in Maryland !

"One of Maryland's most mysterious ruins can't be seen from any nearby road. In fact, in summer you could stand within 20 feet of it and see nothing but the trees and vines that are slowly demolishing the fragile structure.

But behind that green curtain, off Garrison Forest Road in Owings Mills, you would find stone walls two stories high, pierced by rows of vertical slit windows that suggest gun embrasures.

Scott Frenkil, 53, a Lutherville mortgage broker, thought he'd found a forgotten old fort when he first saw it as a kid in the 1970s.

Experts who have seen it seem to agree the structure probably dates at least to the 18th century. The evidence suggests it was modified several times and used as a barn in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

But Frenkil has accumulated a pile of documents that convince him that the original structure was built in the 1690s as a fortified house, or trading post. Perhaps it served as part of a defensive line, established in the 1690s to protect settlers fearful of Indian attacks."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-greenspring-fort-20110221,0,7106720.story

Is it time to ditch "magnetic north" ? ? ?

"Magnetic north, the point at the top of the Earth that determines compass headings, is shifting its position at a rate of about 40 miles per year. In geologic terms, it's racing from the Arctic Ocean near Canada toward Russia.
As a result, everyone who uses a compass, even as a backup to modern GPS navigation systems, needs to be aware of the shift, make adjustments or obtain updated charts to ensure they get where they intend to go, authorities say. That includes pilots, boaters and even hikers."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/fl-magnetic-north-shift-20110218,0,2819271.story

With the advent of inexpensive handheld GPS units, has the day of magnetic navigation gone the route of celestial navigation ?  You can buy a decent GPS for the same cost as a good navigational grade compass.

Personally I only use the compass for quick general heading references, GPS and the GPS backup are what come into play when precise navigation is required.

Using magnetic navigation seems to be similar to carrying pigeons to detect when you are close to land ! ! !

Busy, busy, busy

And a bit of bad vision to boot, most of those 39 wives are pretty hard on the eyes.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358654/The-worlds-biggest-family-Ziona-Chan-39-wives-94-children-33-grandchildren.html

Public sector unions and the mess in Wisconsin.

First the disclaimers, I am from a Union family, my Father and most of the Uncles worked in either the steel industry or mining. I am well aware of the progress for salaries and working conditions that the unions brought, and I fully support them in the private sector.

However public sector unions are a different bird, and in my view they should be outlawed.  Why you may ask, well it comes down to the very foundation of the union versus management adversarial relationship. The push and pull and compromising of each other’s interest is balanced by the need of both of the parties to work together to make a profit.  Remove the profit incentive and the equation changes dramatically.

In the public sector union, the “management” sitting across the table in negotiations is most often an elected official, and are all too frequently “bought and paid for” by political contributions, quite often from the very unions they are supposedly “collectively bargaining” with.  There is no adversarial relationship except perhaps between the union, in collusion with their “bought men” and the poor taxpayer who is left holding the financial bag when the politician is long gone.

When you consider that the average teacher in Wisconsin makes about $90k in a total compensation package it is pretty clear who is greedy, and who is holding the financial bag. Strange that you never hear the actual average salary in the mainstream media  J J !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x2N4bDmzdc

The king of combat fishing ! ! !

Heaven knows that I love to fish and my favorite type of fishing is Salmon fishing, and the best I have ever seen is on Alaska's Kenai River. One of my favorite spots is the confluence of the Moose and Kenai Rivers. We are of course talking about combat fishing when the salmon runs are hot and the spot is accessible by road.

I had this Moose / Kenai place "doped out". Because I lived there I was able to see this water in the winter when it was low and figure out where the fish would be when the water is up in the summer.

Just off shore in the main river is a large rock that salmon pile up behind, it is unseen when the water is up. In the picture below I am standing on "the secret rock". When you line up the secret rock with a particular pine tree on the far shore the "big rock" is right in line.

If you cast too far upstream your fly (weighted-spinning tackle) would either snag on the rock, or be swept out of the sweet spot behind the rock.

If you cast too far down stream your fly would never make it into the hole. There was only about a four foot window you had to hit, and the only good place to hit it from, was the "secret rock".

I could hook up with a Salmon on almost every cast when they were in the river. People were amazed thinking I was using some secret flys, I even sold a few thousand of them.

Click to enlarge. 

Look in the center of the picture, the guy up to his butt in 45 degree water is "ol' Bay Bob" the guy beside me in the hat is my old Australian buddy Leonard.

When I got tired of catching them, I would "hold court". I would tell the guy to my right "let me see if I can hook one with your rod" I would promptly hook one, hand the rod back to him and he would wander off to the right to fight his fish in calmer water, the next guy would step up hand me his rod, and in short order he was "hooked up too".

Really miss the old place.

The Brits are truly disgusting :) :)

http://www.shortersclub.co.uk/products/26047-westlers-hamburgers-in-onion-gravy-425g-pack-of-6.aspx

I cannot imagine even for a second hamburgers out of a can - - -

No wonder we had to bail them out in WWII :)

The Grizzly that nearly ate Ol' Hogsanta ! Final Part

The day before our scheduled pickup we were sitting around a campfire in the little clearing just in front of the cabin. Tired of catching big Rainbows if you can believe that, and planning our final evening hunt. The morning would be full of packing and hauling our gear and hide down to the floatplane landing.

As we were relaxing we heard the faint but unmistakable sound of pack frames jingling with tied on accessories making a rhythmic tune. Apparently a group of hikers had covered the nearly 20-mile distance from the Sterling Highway trailhead. And to go along with the jingling, what to our wondrous eyes did appear?

It was a group of "Outward Bound" college girls, with a University of Alaska female professor in the lead.

They were beat, trail weary and trail worn. We broke out a couple of six-packs of Coors cooling in the snow melt fed stream that runs right by the cabin (Pee Creek we named it! Ever camped by running water?), and put on a fresh pot of coffee and sat down around the campfire to exchange pleasantries.

The Professor inquired as to what we were doing in that area so early in the spring. We showed her the Rainbows we had cooling in the creek and mentioned that we were also bear hunting. She replied that it seemed like a lot of trouble and expense to hunt Black Bears, which are common, and even considered a pest in Alaska. We added that we had hoped to run into a Grizzly of two also.  She replied that we were wasting our time there because there were no Grizzlies in that area. She had it on the good authority of several biologists from the college. I wish I had video or at least pictures of what followed.

I adopted my best West Virginia hillbilly drawl and said, " well Mam', you seem right knowledgeable about bears and all, could I get you to step behind the cabin here and help us identify what kinda bear this is that we shot".

Get this picture! Here we go around the back of the cabin with the professor and a whole gaggle of young college girls who trust this lady with their very life. And behold there is a 9 foot Grizzly Bear hide nailed to the back of the cabin, "just getting a little sun" I quipped. Their eyes got so big that the light reflecting out of them, I swear, was brighter than the sun.

After much Oohing and Ahhing we settled back around the campfire. The professor was dumfounded and swore revenge on the biologists who put her and her charges life at risk. I asked why she was so concerned about bears. One shot in the air from your .44 will send most packing. She replied that since there were no Grizzlies in the area she did not want to carry the extra weight, and mumbled something about communing with nature on it's own level. They pitched their tents real close to the cabin that night, and the sound of the privy door opening and closing all night testified that Pee Creek was fulfilling its God given chore!

After a great breakfast of ham, eggs and pancakes whipped up by yours truly (we always take too much food in case the trout don't bite) they were ready to break camp and continue on their several day trip. I found the professor and handed her my .44 Redhawk, in its holster, and a spare pouch of ammo, and my name and phone number scribbled on an unused bear tag. I added that she could call me when she got back and I would come by and reclaim it. She was much relieved, and we got big hugs from her and all of her charges. Wilderness hospitality is a wonderful thing!

Well we had to stock the cabin pretty well with our excess food and supplies, but we got light enough to make it out in one trip. My partner has retired back to Texas, too old to hunt, but "ol' griz" hangs on his wall. I missed my date with the big sow the following spring because the breakup was late and Grizzly season was over before the lake cleared of ice. "ol' thumper" is on detached duty, back in Alaska. It is with a young friend who moved to Anchorage with his Alaskan wife. Which reminds me, I need to brew him up some of my special loads for "ol' thumper".

Post script - - - The Upper Russian Lake Cabin still stands and has been refurbished, you can rent it for a small sum and fly or hike in for a great getaway.

http://www.recreation.gov/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=71830

Amazing, but lengthy photo essay of the rebuilding of the URL Cabin.

It would have been easier to just build a new cabin but being a historic landmark I am glad they kept the existing log walls and just raised it before adding a new roof and porch.

http://photos.mombok.com/Alaska/Upper-Russian-Lake-Cabin/3204715_tCtSh#176693931_ytbzP

Birther Redux !

"Birthers make a majority among those voters who say they're likely to participate in a Republican primary next year. 51% say they don't think Barack Obama was born in the United States to just 28% who firmly believe that he was and 21% who are unsure. The GOP birther majority is a new development. The last time PPP tested this question nationally, in August of 2009, only 44% of Republicans said they thought Obama was born outside the country while 36% said that he definitely was born in the United States. If anything birtherism is on the rise."

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2011/02/romney-and-birthers.html