I'm not a very good "girl" I guess... I've always tried to ignore Valentines Day.
But it comes every year, around the same time, whether I pay attention or not.
I try to get Farmmom flowers or a Valentine's themed stuffed animal every year, just to see her smile, but other than that, the whole thing could vanish into thin air, and I wouldn't mind too terribly.
It's a couples thing, really.
So, gentlemen, if you've got ladies in your life that you care about and want to make smile, order your flowers now. It'll save stress later, and you'll look a lot better if you're not bringing her cellophane wrapped grocery-store flowers.
Oh, and if my opinion matters at all... skip the roses. Everyone in the world gives or gets roses. Be different, get her daisies, lillies, buttercups or bluebells. Anything but roses.
I would much rather be amythysts and wildflowers to a special person than diamonds and roses.
If you feel you must give her roses, go unusual. Peach, lavender, fire and ice. If you know her favorite color, ask the flower shop to find roses in that color... they can usually do it.
If nothing else, go into the flower shop, and ask to see what they have available. Look for something that reminds you of her, and ask them to make an arrangement.
If you just can't make it into the flower shop, break out the credit card, go to FTD or 1-800 Flowers and pick something out online. These sites make it really easy to schedule the delivery, meaning you can get it taken care of now, while you're thinking about it, and not have to worry about it as the day approaches!
Trust me, fellas. She'll appreciate you giving her a dozen red roses. She'll love you for giving her an arrangement that you can honestly say made you think of her.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Post Secret
I'm altering the time on this one, to keep my Valentines Day Public Service Announcement at the top for another day... Gotta make sure the menfolk that only read me first thing in the morning get their reminder to order goodies for their loved ones, too.
I am addicted to this site.
It's not really a voyeuristic thing for me, although there is a bit of that. And it's not just the artistic way that some people convey their secrets.
To me, there is something deeply touching about so many people surrendering what may be their deepest, darkest secrets to a complete stranger, who then shares them with the world.
Perhaps sending in a secret is a freeing experience. Maybe the people who send their secrets to Frank feel a sense of relief, that they've finally told someone, even if he, or the people who read it thereafter, will never know who the secret belongs to.
I know that I've seen secrets that made me want to cry. I have seen postcards that bolstered my faith in humanity, and ones that have undercut it. Secrets that made me laugh, and some that in a very few words conveyed enormous meaning.
I dare you to read the Sunday Secrets for three weeks, and not find something that touches you on a level that most of the people around you don't even know about.
Maybe it's just a silly thing that one man in Maryland is making money off of (you can buy the books, and see Postsecrets that never made it on the site.)
But then again, maybe it's not. I think it's worthwhile.
Check it out, and judge for yourself.
I am addicted to this site.
It's not really a voyeuristic thing for me, although there is a bit of that. And it's not just the artistic way that some people convey their secrets.
To me, there is something deeply touching about so many people surrendering what may be their deepest, darkest secrets to a complete stranger, who then shares them with the world.
Perhaps sending in a secret is a freeing experience. Maybe the people who send their secrets to Frank feel a sense of relief, that they've finally told someone, even if he, or the people who read it thereafter, will never know who the secret belongs to.
I know that I've seen secrets that made me want to cry. I have seen postcards that bolstered my faith in humanity, and ones that have undercut it. Secrets that made me laugh, and some that in a very few words conveyed enormous meaning.
I dare you to read the Sunday Secrets for three weeks, and not find something that touches you on a level that most of the people around you don't even know about.
Maybe it's just a silly thing that one man in Maryland is making money off of (you can buy the books, and see Postsecrets that never made it on the site.)
But then again, maybe it's not. I think it's worthwhile.
Check it out, and judge for yourself.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Interesting Question....
Suppa41 over at Living History sent me an email asking a really good question. (Yep, I'm that nice, if ya'll send me a question and I blog about it, and you have a blog and I know where it is/you link me to it, I'll link you in the post about the question. New policy, that I just enacted right this minute.)
"I work as a AV professional and we had a request by a client for a video wall that is 5’ by 65’ to train horses to herd.
First off, while using a "flag" or stuffed pillow like cow on a series of ropes and pulleys with a motor on one end and a remote control has become fairly standard practice, that is still a real object. It's something that the horse can relate to, it's three dimensional, even if it only moves in two.
A sixty five foot long video screen, however, is not.
Now, I may be entirely off base here, but I've never seen one of my horses cozying up to the boob tube to watch Mr. Ed re-runs. I'm not sure that images on a wall would be a concept that they could grasp as a training tool.
As a matter of fact, running through the scenario in my own head, I see a large chance that a lot of damage will be done to said video screen bout the first time someone tries to get them near it. Horses spook at a weird shadow on the ground... a wall that moves... that's just asking for trouble. They have no idea that the images on the screen aren't going to jump off of it and eat them.
And, if you put a fence between the screen and the ponies, they're only going to want to work from the other side of the fence.
Another question I have is: What is this "herding training" they speak of? I can see possible applications in cutting, but that's about the only equine sport involving cattle that you can really train for without... well, real bovines. And then it's just to get the whole "this is my line, I have to block you" concept through their heads.
You don't "train" a horse to herd cattle. You go out, and you herd the damn cattle. When you start, yes, you have to tell the horse which cattle to put pressure on, which ones to chase after, and when it's time to back off a bit and just let them amble on down the road. As you go along the horse starts to watch for that cow that's looking for an opening to make a run for it.
The horse does learn, so I suppose you could call it training, if you really wanted to. I call it Saturday afternoon, myself.
But the point is, you can't "train" that in an arena. It's something that they have to learn on the job, in my experience. You get your horse to the point that he or she doesn't take off for the horizon, or the sky, every time you twitch, and then you go and you work.
Personally, I like to have my horses to the point that they don't try to give me flying lessons when I swing my leg over before I start taking them out to move the herd.... Just a precaution, and a courtesy to the neighbors.
I hate those "Hey, there's a horse in our yard," calls.
As for whether or not it will be a valid training tool for cutting, which may be what was meant by "herding".... I am not the world's authority on training horses, but to me, it doesn't seem like it would be too useful.
Or maybe I'm just enough of an old fashioned girl that I think there are some things high technology ought to just be left out of.
After all, the beef is better when it's grass-fed, the sky is bluer without the smog, and, in my mind, a good horse doesn't come from training in the arena or corral.
A good horse comes from spending more time with your mount than your mate, from stumbling home after a full day's work together, from play in the pasture and in the saddle, nights spent walking in circles because your partner has colic.
And most importantly, a good horse comes from two very basic things:
Trust, and Love.
Trust your horse and he'll trust you, and a horse that loves you will walk straight into Hell with you, if you ask them to. It's your responsibility to make sure that they've got enough water when you get there.
"I work as a AV professional and we had a request by a client for a video wall that is 5’ by 65’ to train horses to herd.
Just wanted to get your thoughts on this “idea” and if you think it would actually work. We don’t want to get sucked into a project that has the prospect of not paying because the horses didn’t learn and getting stuck with a mess of equipment."
Well. Lets take this one step at a time.First off, while using a "flag" or stuffed pillow like cow on a series of ropes and pulleys with a motor on one end and a remote control has become fairly standard practice, that is still a real object. It's something that the horse can relate to, it's three dimensional, even if it only moves in two.
A sixty five foot long video screen, however, is not.
Now, I may be entirely off base here, but I've never seen one of my horses cozying up to the boob tube to watch Mr. Ed re-runs. I'm not sure that images on a wall would be a concept that they could grasp as a training tool.
As a matter of fact, running through the scenario in my own head, I see a large chance that a lot of damage will be done to said video screen bout the first time someone tries to get them near it. Horses spook at a weird shadow on the ground... a wall that moves... that's just asking for trouble. They have no idea that the images on the screen aren't going to jump off of it and eat them.
And, if you put a fence between the screen and the ponies, they're only going to want to work from the other side of the fence.
Another question I have is: What is this "herding training" they speak of? I can see possible applications in cutting, but that's about the only equine sport involving cattle that you can really train for without... well, real bovines. And then it's just to get the whole "this is my line, I have to block you" concept through their heads.
You don't "train" a horse to herd cattle. You go out, and you herd the damn cattle. When you start, yes, you have to tell the horse which cattle to put pressure on, which ones to chase after, and when it's time to back off a bit and just let them amble on down the road. As you go along the horse starts to watch for that cow that's looking for an opening to make a run for it.
The horse does learn, so I suppose you could call it training, if you really wanted to. I call it Saturday afternoon, myself.
But the point is, you can't "train" that in an arena. It's something that they have to learn on the job, in my experience. You get your horse to the point that he or she doesn't take off for the horizon, or the sky, every time you twitch, and then you go and you work.
Personally, I like to have my horses to the point that they don't try to give me flying lessons when I swing my leg over before I start taking them out to move the herd.... Just a precaution, and a courtesy to the neighbors.
I hate those "Hey, there's a horse in our yard," calls.
As for whether or not it will be a valid training tool for cutting, which may be what was meant by "herding".... I am not the world's authority on training horses, but to me, it doesn't seem like it would be too useful.
Or maybe I'm just enough of an old fashioned girl that I think there are some things high technology ought to just be left out of.
After all, the beef is better when it's grass-fed, the sky is bluer without the smog, and, in my mind, a good horse doesn't come from training in the arena or corral.
A good horse comes from spending more time with your mount than your mate, from stumbling home after a full day's work together, from play in the pasture and in the saddle, nights spent walking in circles because your partner has colic.
And most importantly, a good horse comes from two very basic things:
Trust, and Love.
Trust your horse and he'll trust you, and a horse that loves you will walk straight into Hell with you, if you ask them to. It's your responsibility to make sure that they've got enough water when you get there.
Silly, Silly Farmdad
He gave me power tools today. And pneumatic ones too!
Got the rafters re-enforced, and most of the sheeting put up to make the base of the new roof, in the area over the kitchen and bathroom. We were literally one board foot short on our 1X12 stuff to finish the sheeting. Not bad for a guestimate.
I managed not to fall off of my precarious perch (pictures were taken, and may follow, of me a-straddle the wall running the Sawsall) but did put a little more blood and sweat into the house. Caught the web between my thumb and index fingers on a nail and made a nice divot...
Said bad words too... it doesn't look like much of an injury, but it sure hurts like heck.
'Specially when you pour peroxide on it.
I also managed to break the roofing nailer. Not real sure how, but we still had the palm nailer, so we got it done.
Sometimes, for a Farmgirl, the best sound in the world is "pop pop pop popopopopopopopopthunk."
'Specially since it means progress on my house.
Got the rafters re-enforced, and most of the sheeting put up to make the base of the new roof, in the area over the kitchen and bathroom. We were literally one board foot short on our 1X12 stuff to finish the sheeting. Not bad for a guestimate.
I managed not to fall off of my precarious perch (pictures were taken, and may follow, of me a-straddle the wall running the Sawsall) but did put a little more blood and sweat into the house. Caught the web between my thumb and index fingers on a nail and made a nice divot...
Said bad words too... it doesn't look like much of an injury, but it sure hurts like heck.
'Specially when you pour peroxide on it.
I also managed to break the roofing nailer. Not real sure how, but we still had the palm nailer, so we got it done.
Sometimes, for a Farmgirl, the best sound in the world is "pop pop pop popopopopopopopopthunk."
'Specially since it means progress on my house.
Wah!
It's supposed to be a gorgeous day today, and I can't go ride!
Somehow, getting a roof on my house before the snow comes in this weekend seems just a wee bit more important, but still, a part of me is one sad cookie.
Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, too, so if we get the roof stuck back on today, maybe tomorrow I'll take off with my saddle and a bridle or two and go see how the chilluns are feeling.
Maybe take Monkey out and just go play for a couple hours... I feel a need for speed, and he's got it.
At least I get to be outside today and enjoy the gorgeous weather, even if I'm not on the back of a horse...
Somehow, getting a roof on my house before the snow comes in this weekend seems just a wee bit more important, but still, a part of me is one sad cookie.
Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, too, so if we get the roof stuck back on today, maybe tomorrow I'll take off with my saddle and a bridle or two and go see how the chilluns are feeling.
Maybe take Monkey out and just go play for a couple hours... I feel a need for speed, and he's got it.
At least I get to be outside today and enjoy the gorgeous weather, even if I'm not on the back of a horse...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Darned Sleep Schedule...
I'll get it lined out one of these days.
It's ten pm and I find myself sitting here, not really even tired, again. Probably a weekend full of late-night excitement. Around here, we roll the sidewalks up at midnight, so there really isn't that much to do of a late evening.
So, I thought I'd drop a few lines in here thanking everyone who's come to take a peek at me since the weekend outpouring of linky-love. Kick up your feet, take a look around, have a drink. If you like what you see, come on back!
Maybe, if I entice enough of you, I can catch up to AD's sitemeter scores. I doubt it, but a girl can hope, can't she?
Come on, folks. You know you want to visit my site sixteen times a day, just so I can rub it in his face....
Kidding! Don't yell at me for whoring for hits. (That sounds sooo wrong...)
More seriously though, I hope that ya'll enjoy what you read, and keep coming back. It is, after all, for the ego boost, adoration, and gifts of cash and chocolate that I write this silly little thing in the first place.
By the by, I'm still waiting for the cash, chocolate, and adoration. Must be lost in the mail....
Off to put on a DVD and try to sleep. Chronicles of Riddick tonight, that way it increases my chances of having nice dreams of buff men with hawt voices, instead of nightmares about Borat in a mankini.
Don't ask.
It's ten pm and I find myself sitting here, not really even tired, again. Probably a weekend full of late-night excitement. Around here, we roll the sidewalks up at midnight, so there really isn't that much to do of a late evening.
So, I thought I'd drop a few lines in here thanking everyone who's come to take a peek at me since the weekend outpouring of linky-love. Kick up your feet, take a look around, have a drink. If you like what you see, come on back!
Maybe, if I entice enough of you, I can catch up to AD's sitemeter scores. I doubt it, but a girl can hope, can't she?
Come on, folks. You know you want to visit my site sixteen times a day, just so I can rub it in his face....
Kidding! Don't yell at me for whoring for hits. (That sounds sooo wrong...)
More seriously though, I hope that ya'll enjoy what you read, and keep coming back. It is, after all, for the ego boost, adoration, and gifts of cash and chocolate that I write this silly little thing in the first place.
By the by, I'm still waiting for the cash, chocolate, and adoration. Must be lost in the mail....
Off to put on a DVD and try to sleep. Chronicles of Riddick tonight, that way it increases my chances of having nice dreams of buff men with hawt voices, instead of nightmares about Borat in a mankini.
Don't ask.
Words
The discussions on writing this weekend got me thinking about the nature of words.
I like words. In fact, I love words. They are the glue that holds society together, and the hands that rip it apart....
Without words, we wouldn't have such concepts as love, romance, or honor. Or, we might have them, but giving a thing a name makes it real.
The versatility of words is amazing to me. I tend to use some of them more often than others, just like anyone else... We all have our verbal quirks, after all.
The way different words impact different people, and putting them together in different combinations to see which ones stick, so to speak.
I'll admit something right here... half the things that ya'll love in this blog, phrases, imagery, and such, are things that I've just thrown out there because I couldn't think of a better way to do it.
I don't do drafts. If I save something as a draft on my blog, it's never going to make it on the main page. I've got a bunch of those that I swear I'm going to finish and post someday... but if those tales ever see the light of day, they'll be completely re-written.
If I'm not satisfied with it in one sitting, for a blog post, it's stale the next time I look at it. We here at Tractor Tracks are dedicated to bringing you only the freshest words and phrases.
Jane is, of course, the exception to this rule, which is why it takes me so long to get a chapter up. When I started, I was just messing around, so it was ok for it to be mediocre and awkward in places... but now that people like it and are asking for more, I feel like I have to give them my best.
I am honestly envious of people who can save a draft, go back and tweak it, and then post. If I don't get it up before I walk away from the computer, the words are doomed to languish in Draft, with all the other neglected words, smoking cigarettes and asking each other "what are you in for?"
There is a zone that I find sometimes, when I'm writing something, where everything else just goes away and if you could peek into my head you'd see some really good CGI of words and phrases swirling around each other in an ether of creativity, some of them finding their way down my arms and into the post, the remainder floating gently to rest until the next time.
Let me tell you, it's a good thing I'm a fast typist, because otherwise, I'd never be able to hold on to an idea long enough to finish it.
But all any of my writing is, and I suspect in their own ways most writers feel like this, is an experiment. It's just a little kid taking blocks and building something. My blocks are words, and sometimes I build a graceful tower, magnificent to the eye and ear, but it's precarious, and will fall at the first harsh look.
Sometimes, I build a solid little house that you couldn't knock over with a brick, and when people like it, I go back and what I thought was a squat, ugly block of a thing turns out to have hidden grace that I didn't even recognize the first time around.
And that is the amazing thing about words, right there.
Ain't they fun?
I like words. In fact, I love words. They are the glue that holds society together, and the hands that rip it apart....
Without words, we wouldn't have such concepts as love, romance, or honor. Or, we might have them, but giving a thing a name makes it real.
The versatility of words is amazing to me. I tend to use some of them more often than others, just like anyone else... We all have our verbal quirks, after all.
The way different words impact different people, and putting them together in different combinations to see which ones stick, so to speak.
I'll admit something right here... half the things that ya'll love in this blog, phrases, imagery, and such, are things that I've just thrown out there because I couldn't think of a better way to do it.
I don't do drafts. If I save something as a draft on my blog, it's never going to make it on the main page. I've got a bunch of those that I swear I'm going to finish and post someday... but if those tales ever see the light of day, they'll be completely re-written.
If I'm not satisfied with it in one sitting, for a blog post, it's stale the next time I look at it. We here at Tractor Tracks are dedicated to bringing you only the freshest words and phrases.
Jane is, of course, the exception to this rule, which is why it takes me so long to get a chapter up. When I started, I was just messing around, so it was ok for it to be mediocre and awkward in places... but now that people like it and are asking for more, I feel like I have to give them my best.
I am honestly envious of people who can save a draft, go back and tweak it, and then post. If I don't get it up before I walk away from the computer, the words are doomed to languish in Draft, with all the other neglected words, smoking cigarettes and asking each other "what are you in for?"
There is a zone that I find sometimes, when I'm writing something, where everything else just goes away and if you could peek into my head you'd see some really good CGI of words and phrases swirling around each other in an ether of creativity, some of them finding their way down my arms and into the post, the remainder floating gently to rest until the next time.
Let me tell you, it's a good thing I'm a fast typist, because otherwise, I'd never be able to hold on to an idea long enough to finish it.
But all any of my writing is, and I suspect in their own ways most writers feel like this, is an experiment. It's just a little kid taking blocks and building something. My blocks are words, and sometimes I build a graceful tower, magnificent to the eye and ear, but it's precarious, and will fall at the first harsh look.
Sometimes, I build a solid little house that you couldn't knock over with a brick, and when people like it, I go back and what I thought was a squat, ugly block of a thing turns out to have hidden grace that I didn't even recognize the first time around.
And that is the amazing thing about words, right there.
Ain't they fun?
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