kaBOOM

Been having some weather with attitude lately. Spring. We've had close lightning strikes before. Real close. Lost a phone or two but nothing worse. Until this week. Luckily the dollar loss won't be outrageous.

The one thing I can't figure out is why the satellite clock was reset to Eastern Standard Time. It's battery powered so it would not see the surge that tripped the breakers. Yet it must have experience some energy field. Wierd. I actually had to change the clock settings, which can be a challenge for me. The kids laugh at my inability to work around digital mode settings without instructions. But I DID it. Now we just need to go out and start replacing things.

Spring Break '09

The weather's been nice. Spring Break is here and it's time to get out and do some hiking. We headed over to northern Arkansas to the Buffalo National River. It was Amy's idea to see some hiking and backpacking country. I was all too pleased to plan it out. We kept too busy for me to sketch during the trip. Took pictures, though. Got home and figured out what I wanted to show. The country there is so scenic I think we'll be back.

Another Spring Break, Pre-Trip

Time for Spring Break again. We decided to head down south again to pursue warmer weather. Arkansas this time. Wife and I, daughter and boyfriend. We'll catch some day hikes and three of us will do an overnight backpack trip while Wilma lounges in a cabin. Sounds like a plan.

Out With The Old

Happens from time to time. We live outside of town. Vandals hit mailboxes like frogs eat flies. It's a fact of life and as long as it doesn't happen on a regular basis (for some neighbors it does), I can live with it. It used to make me mad, but it's out of my control. They can strike at will and there's nothing I can do about it. My approach is to put up the cheapest box I can find to reduce my costs. I may try to straighten this one out as a backup, but the lid and flag and body are all bent. It may be a junker. I'm still pondering the significance of February (see sketch dialog).

Biz Travel

It's time for travel again. Doesn't happen that often. This time Little Rock for two days/one night. We have an electric utility organization with working committees to address issues of common interest. So I meet with fellow engineers for a couple days to talk about computer modeling and data submittals. May not be interesting to the masses, but it is to me. The meeting was in a nice hotel down by the Arkansas River in a revitalized section of downtown. Glad I wasn't paying for it. The hotel had a neat duck theme going that needed to be journaled about. I missed the marching in of the ducks, but I got to see the 5 p.m. marching out. Can't help but smile. One Mallard drake and four hens. Not perfectly trained, either, if there could ever be such a thing. But the eventually went where they needed to.

Out Of The Blue

I just never know where the next sketch is coming from. This one came out of nowhere. Saturday I was looking out toward our back yard and saw something orange in the pasture just north of us. Thought it was a gas can, since our neighbor was out in his pasture earlier in the day (lives in town). When I walked over to check it out the thing was a plastic parachute rigged up with everything you see here. When I was a kid my Uncle Lawrence found a weather balloon in his pasture and I remember playing with it with my cousins. The balloon material looks the same. The instruments are much smaller and lighter now, though. Some Internet research filled in the rest of the facts I mention in the journal. Pretty neat stuff. I used my voltmeter to check the 'just add water' battery and it's dead. Final proof that it's trash. There's no "If Found Call XXX-XXXX' label. Their trash . . . my treasure.

Just Some Photos: Kaw (Kansas) River

Here's some of the results from my darkroom work I journaled about. This is the Kansas River by Lawrence. We have a real hydro plant on the far side. I liked the icy flow over the dam, the sound of rushing water, the mist hanging in the air and the solitude in an urban setting (strange how cold temperatures keep people inside).