Sunday, October 19, 2008
My old mining claim
This one of my old claims. You can see my claim notification on the tree above my truck, still there after 20 years. At least I think it's the same sign...... The claim looks completely abandoned judging by the brush that had grown back after I cleared it out.
This was one of the most accessible claims I've had. You could drive right up to it!
I bought the claim from a friend thinking that I could remove all the overburden right down to the country rock, clean out the gold and start living the good life within a week or two. Yeah, right. For one thing, there's only water there during the spring - the rest of the year it's dry diggins and that means backbreaking work.
See the pile of rock in the background of the 3rd picture down? That was the result of a solid weeks' work, and I never did hit bedrock.
I worked the claim just enough to make my purchase price and claim filing fees back then I gave it back to the scorpions, tarantulas and rattlesnakes. I was seriously outnumbered by them anyways......
California's Mother Lode
Most people think of The Mother Lode as quaint little towns along Highway 49. That just ain't so. This is what the Lode really looked like to the 49ers as they searched for gold back in the 1850s. And believe me, this is some tough motherfucking country - I know from experience. These 3 pictures were taken in Mariposa County, and I've prospected and mined in the locations shown.
In the top picture, I had some decent luck in the gulch covered by the trees, but it was so damned hard to get in there that I never bothered actually filing a claim. It took me a full day to pack uphill the 1000-1500 feet to get there. And by the time I was done a couple of days later I had 2 broken fingers, more scrapes and bruises that I could count, a burst blood vessel in my eye and I was covered in ticks.
The top of the hill in the middle picture supposedly had a couple of pockets of gold but I never found them. I did get a little flake gold from dry panning.
I had a claim down at the bottom of the gulch in the bottom picture but couldn't perform enough work to hold the claim as required by law. I lost the claim and when I decided to get serious about working it again somebody else had filed behind me.
Yeah, it's rough country. I couldn't imagine living and working it full time. At least I had a home to return to after I was wore out. The original miners didn't.
Gotta be California (again)
I'm running out of gay pictures. Time to make a run to the Castro in San Fransicko for a resupply.
Sweeney Todd
I had a hard time finding a barber that would cut my hair the way that I wanted it after I decided to start wearing it short. When I went to a "salon" they all wanted to cut it real short and "spikey."
Fuck that, I'm almost 50 years old.
A year ago I found an old timey barber shop that cut men's hair only. The barber had one chair, no waiting, and was my kinda guy. Shaved head, braided beard, ear plugs and heavily tattooed. The sort of guy that was craving a hold-up just so he could beat the fuck out of the robber.
The first time I went in there, there was a fine looking babe and her child there and Sweeney introduced me.
"I'm Sweeney Todd, I'm 42, this is my 21 year old wife and my one month old baby girl. You wanna talk shit about it?"
I knew then that I had found the right barber.
Fuck that, I'm almost 50 years old.
A year ago I found an old timey barber shop that cut men's hair only. The barber had one chair, no waiting, and was my kinda guy. Shaved head, braided beard, ear plugs and heavily tattooed. The sort of guy that was craving a hold-up just so he could beat the fuck out of the robber.
The first time I went in there, there was a fine looking babe and her child there and Sweeney introduced me.
"I'm Sweeney Todd, I'm 42, this is my 21 year old wife and my one month old baby girl. You wanna talk shit about it?"
I knew then that I had found the right barber.
My favorite blogs
http://wwwdaver1172.blogspot.com/
http://throwtheball.blogspot.com/
http://bitsandpieces.us/
http://chriswoodbooks.blogspot.com/
http://debbiedoesdrivel.blogspot.com/
I get a lot of my material from these folks and more than a couple of laughs. If you haven't been to their sites yet, give them a whirl. If you like my stuff, you'll love theirs.
-Wirecutter (AKA Ken)
http://throwtheball.blogspot.com/
http://bitsandpieces.us/
http://chriswoodbooks.blogspot.com/
http://debbiedoesdrivel.blogspot.com/
I get a lot of my material from these folks and more than a couple of laughs. If you haven't been to their sites yet, give them a whirl. If you like my stuff, you'll love theirs.
-Wirecutter (AKA Ken)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Hot sauce
I read on Tabasco's website a few years ago that the average family uses 2.5 ounces of pepper sauce a year. A quick check of my refrigerator turned up 5 different kinds of hot sauce, none of the bottles under 5 ounces, and I'll burn through those before the end of the year.
Ever sprinkle red Tabasco sauce on your popcorn? Yum........
I'm not even going to mention how many jars of store bought salsa I have, and I use mostly my own homemade stuff.
Ever sprinkle red Tabasco sauce on your popcorn? Yum........
I'm not even going to mention how many jars of store bought salsa I have, and I use mostly my own homemade stuff.
I bet it didn't take much to talk her into shooting his dumb ass......
Woman obliges after husband begs to be shot
CENTENNIAL, Colo. —
Authorities said a woman who shot her husband in the knee won't face charges because he begged her to do it. The Arapahoe County Sheriff's office said a 35-year-old woman accused her husband of being drunk and becoming violent during an argument.
She took control of a handgun during the dispute and claimed her husband begged her to shoot him and told her to 'finish it' after she fired a shot.
The sheriff's office said the 34-year-old husband was uncooperative with deputies before he was taken into custody and hospitalized. He was now being held at the Arapahoe County jail after his wife accused him of forcing her into the bathroom and holding a gun to her head before the shooting.
He faces charges of felony menacing, third-degree assault and false imprisonment.
Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
CENTENNIAL, Colo. —
Authorities said a woman who shot her husband in the knee won't face charges because he begged her to do it. The Arapahoe County Sheriff's office said a 35-year-old woman accused her husband of being drunk and becoming violent during an argument.
She took control of a handgun during the dispute and claimed her husband begged her to shoot him and told her to 'finish it' after she fired a shot.
The sheriff's office said the 34-year-old husband was uncooperative with deputies before he was taken into custody and hospitalized. He was now being held at the Arapahoe County jail after his wife accused him of forcing her into the bathroom and holding a gun to her head before the shooting.
He faces charges of felony menacing, third-degree assault and false imprisonment.
Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
Go for it, kid
Kinda reminds me of the time I rode my Opie Taylor bike down a ski slope one summer when I was 7 or 8.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Susan Tedeschi sings "Angel From Montgomery"
This song was written by John Prine. I think it's just cooler than shit the way she brings in The Grateful Dead's "Sugaree" towards the end. Damn, I love the way this girl wails. She is definitely one of my favorite artists.
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