Well I thought it was quiet...

Got the weekly paper in the mail today. Yeah, I said weekly. Anywho, just had to fill you in on the exciting week the police had.

Out of 24 calls, only 6 were to unlock a vehicle. I can't tell you how unusual that is. Most weeks the police roster lists unlocks and dogs loose. No wonder the city police have time to follow new drivers to give them tickets.

So this week was full of action....goats on highway...two suspicious persons CubeDog: and we left on Saturday...tree on highway...two thefts...gas drive off (actually unusual that there is only one at Thanksgiving)...two minor traffic accidents....reckless drivers (kids had the long holiday) (or 2 suspicious drivers from the East)...vehicles blocking roadway (see previous post of traffic jam)...and a hit and run. And not one loose dog!

The rest of the paper is hunting pictures and details about the upcoming Christmas main street lighting....complete with singing and a play. Y'all come now, y'hear.

I think I need a haircut

Its been all of 8 weeks since my last cut. What started out as a cute, modern, youthful cut based loosely on Ashlee Simpson












has somehow morphed into:

About 25 yrs too late.......

Otter: You know you wouldn't mind the hair if you could have the body she once had. OH, oh, and Ashley has the cut I always wanted! Just spike it up a bit on top and it looks like a "Rod Stewart" cut. Hmmmmm......

Otter again: Ugh.....posted this, reread it, and realized I have dated myself. Woe!

CubeDog: Thanks for cleaning and clearing up this post. Oh hell honey, I'd take Farrah's body NOW. gotta be better than what I look at in the mirror!

All Quiet on the Western Prairie

Thank goodness for quiet days in the country. I am sore all over from a busy day yesterday. I helped set up and clean up after a Christmas party with my study group, then a couple of hours after that was kids church. I am really trying to learn all the kid's names but I am horrible with names and it has only been a couple of months.
Today the dogs and I piled into the SUV and headed into town for errands. Most important was dog food. We got up to the gate and had to wait on turkeys to get out of the road. It was a batch of hens with this spring's chicks who are almost as big as their mommas. Jack hung his head out the window with intensity as we drove past them. I thought he was going to jump out of the vehicle when we passed a squirrel in town. Then the same batch of turkey were close to the road when we came home, only they were intently scratching through some hay leftover from horse feeding at the neighbors. There was another flock (?) of them in my pasture when we got close to the house. I am trying to get the dogs not to chase them but it's difficult when they are such fun. The cats don't bother. I will have to dig up a picture of what happens when the birds spot a cat. Hmmm....maybe another time. Apparently that was so long ago that the cats were interested that the pictures are now on floppies. Don't want to dig out my player right now.
Just got through spilling Pepsi on my computer desk. Don't know why I can't just pick up a glass and drink it like other people. No, I have to fling it hither and yon and only drink half of it. It has been a clumsy week. Maybe I should just go lie down on the sofa and knit.
Cubedog: Interesting, I typically suffer that same malady, but with coffee and my office computer. Big Dog usually tags the home 'puter. And speaking of Big Dog tagging something; bet this pic would make him salivate. Kinda the Pavlovian/dog theme.
Oh, and the turkey pic is from a couple of years ago in my backyard. Quite a spectacle that I got lots of shots of. This one is labeled Tom Gentlemen.

Color me scared

This situation just popped up on my radar screen. Course this was reported on Nov 21st, but what can I say, I was preoccupied: (I've blocked out names and places to protect MY anonymity, but this was a true, local news report)

XXXXXX COUNTY, Texas --
Xxxxxxx police started testing unmanned aircraft and the event was shrouded in
secrecy, but it was captured on tape by Local # Investigates.
Neighbors in rural Xxxxxx County said they thought a top-secret military venture was under way among the farmland and ranches, some 70 miles northwest of Xxxxxxx. XXXX Local # Investigates had four hidden cameras aimed at a row of mysterious black trucks. Satellite dishes and a swirling radar added to the neighbors' suspense.
Then, cameras were rolling as an unmanned aircraft was launched into the sky
and operated by remote control.

You know the type-like the US Military is using in Iraq and Afganistan.

Xxxxxxx police cars were surrounding the land with a roadblock in place to check each of the dignitaries arriving for the invitation-only event. The invitation spelled out, "NO MEDIA ALLOWED." XXX Chief [H. H.] attended, along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and dozens of officers from various police agencies in the Xxxxxxx area. Few of the guests would comment as they left the test site.

All a little "Conspiracy Theory" for ya? Well, there's more:

News Chopper # had a Local # Investigates team following the aircraft for more than one hour as it circled overhead. Its wings spanned 10 feet and it circled at an altitude of 1,500 feet. Operators from a private firm called Insitu, Inc. manned remote controls from inside the fleet of black trucks as the guests watched a live feed from the high-powered camera aboard the 40-pound aircraft.

Apparently this was all supposed to be 'hush-hush':

"I wasn't ready to publicize this," Executive Assistant Police Chief [M.M.]said. She and other department leaders hastily organized a news conference when they realized Local # Investigates had captured the entire event on camera.
"We still haven't even decided how we were going to go forward on this task, so it seemed premature to me to announce this to the media," [M] said. "But since, obviously, the media found out about it(read;o crap-we've been made), then I don't see any reason why just not go forward with what we have so far."

Oh really? Do tell.....Ms. [M.M.] (Emphasis added)

[M] told reporters the unmanned aircraft would be used for "mobility" or traffic issues, evacuations during storms, homeland security, search and rescue, and also "tactical." She admitted that could include covert police actions and she said she was not ruling out someday using the drones for writing traffic tickets.
A large number of the officers at the test site were assigned to the department's ticket-writing Radar Task Force. Capt. [T.R.] insisted they were only there to provide "site security," even though XXXX cameras spotted those officers heavily participating in the test flight.

Y'know, I thought we had laws in this country about this sorta thing...you know the ones...the ones that are supposed to protect the citizens against a police state. Oh yeah, ITS CALLED THE CONSTITUTION!

Wait for it....

XXX leaders said they would address privacy and unlawful search questions later.

riiiiiggghhhhttt...apparently at some point AFTER they set themselves above the FEDERAL GOVT:

Xxxxxxx police contacted XXXX from the test site, claiming the entire airspace was restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration. Police even threatened action from the FAA if the Local # helicopter remained in the area. However, XXXX reported it had already checked with the FAA on numerous occasions and found no flight restrictions around the site, a point conceded by [M].

I really think OUR local yokels need a good swift kick in the arse.

Hello from Insanity

Ok, so we went out to the country for 4 days to shake the city stink off. I've been back for 2 days....24 hours. In that time we have had 2 elder-living high rise fires, one apartment complex fire, 2 business fires, 2 highway shutdowns, 2 evil people jailed, and one murder-suicide. Ahhhh-home sweet home.
Hello, this is the "eastern prairie-dog". I live in a large metropolis. Ok, so that is an understatement. My commute is typically 45 min to an hour....each way and I only have to go 27 miles. I work in a medium sized company and have a "line manager" position. The comic strip 'Dilbert' perfectly describes my work environment. I spend most of my life in a cubicle and popping up to look over a cubicle wall is called "prairie-dogging". A room of cubicles is called a 'prairie-dog town'. My constant companion is stress-which accounts for much of my outlook on life ('Happy Bunny' is my absolute favorite snarky character).
When western p-dog talks about different lifestyles, she ain't kidding. Hopefully this will become VERY clear as we go along. Thanks for stopping in for a visit.
Hey, western p-dog, I have absolutely no comeback for your traffic block. Kinda had the ole 'head-down, butt-up' thing going on today. I have two HUGE projects due to the city this week. Yeah, I just love the oh-so-reasonable expectations of some people. Did I tell you how much I loved hearing from your big kid today? Its been so long since I thought of myself as related to anyone in the next generation....hmmmm,weird.
I hope I get better at writing humor as we go along.

Welcome to Texas

Welcome to I-10. I am the western prairie dog. You will soon meet the eastern prairie dog. I live in a small Podunk town, the other poster lives in a huge metropolitan city. We are sisters who chose very different lifestyles and dreamed up this blog after laughing till we almost wet our pants at the vast chasm of differences between our living areas.
So, to start this off, we will explore traffic jams. Today we had a major one in Podunk. We are always getting huge equipment hauled through the middle of town. In this picture you can see in the distance, two large tubes. I am told they are demetholizers...or something like that...headed for Colorado. Apparently there is a large gas plant up there that needs to extract methanol.
Traffic was backed up and blocked off for a mile. Problem is.....that is about how wide the town is. The largest tube had a broken skid that lifts the electric lines over the top of the equipment. The local yokels decided they had to repair the skid right there....in the middle of town....just before the noon traffic hit. They didn't bother to send an officer down to the other intersection behind where the picture was taken, to redirect traffic. Oh no, can't do that when they could all stand around watching the equipment being repaired. So semi's kept backlogging. The ones that had been to town before knew they could turn the opposite direction and go around town on I-10.....if they figured it out before they got trapped in the jam.
Luckily, about 15 minutes after I took the picture, they got things rolling again.
So how was your special time in traffic today?