T E X A R R A K I S

 Let's take a brief look at the news of the hour!

Wow, journalism at it's finest. Is this what it's gotten to? A day of minor frustrations for people trying to smoothly use Facebook for their weekend social ritual, as opposed to their hourly screen based socialized ritual. I'm glad the news is keeping us informed about how a potentially good day on Facebook was ruined for millions of Facebook users. 

Hmmm, Google seems to be getting a little too . . . real for my taste. I'm starting to feel a little bit . . . surrounded.

Dear Mortals,
The internet will make you smarter! Well, it's PROBABLY not making you stupid. The internet is just making our brains . . . different. Not dumb. Here's some energy. Sorry about Facebook Saturday. See you tomorrow!
Yours truly,
The internet

And finally the most interesting news item. Actually it's not a news item at all,
just something i did by accident as I was making all these screen craptures.

the infinite hallway

 As we march closer and closer to our leaving date (which is now determined to be somewhere in between March 22nd and April 1st), we're really starting to get close to the wire, and will try to give you regular, weekly (at least) updates on our progress.

• You can’t direct the wind, but you can adjust your sails.
  FOR ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED MONEY, or bought t-shirts from us, either in person or through the website, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! We have raised $790 so far towards our fundraising goal of $5000 (separate from the money we are raising through working full time). We assure you, this money is not going to waste, it is all accounted for. After a meeting last night, we decided to make our first purchase using this money;
  A MALLARD WIND LOW WIND GENERATOR
  
  This beautiful thing is hand built in Arizona. It cost us $469, shipping, extended warranty and weatherproofing combined. It draws in 4 watts at 5 mile per hour wind speeds, and over 900 watts at 35 mph, and everything else inbetween. There is a regular wind where we're going, (averaged at around 10 - 20 miles per hour). THIS IS ALL THANKS TO YOU, our WONDERFUL contributors, no matter how much you contributed, part of your contribution has gone into this. Rest assured, we will not waste a single penny that is received through contributions, so please consider helping us out, and we'll show you exactly how the money is spent. For the wind generator, we still need to purchase inverters, regulators, a buss bar, and batteries for our battery banks. DONATE TO OUR PROJECT TODAY!!!
• THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG
  We have been researching the idea of getting chickens. At first, this seemed kind of like something we would decide on after months already existing down there, but the more we look into it, the more appealing it is to us to start out almost as soon as we can with chickens. They are easy and inexpensive to take care of, and if we had 15 of them, we could easily get a dozen eggs every. single. day. This would go a long way towards feeding ourselves!
• FIRST AID CLASSES
  For any of you nervous about us dieing out in the middle of the desert, you can breath slightly easier. Before heading down, at least a few of us will get certified by the Red Cross in first aid.
• TRAILER TROUBLES
  We're unsure if my truck will be able to actually haul the trailer the entire way down to our land. Unless we purchase a new truck, or find someone with a larger truck willing to drive it down (we could help subsidize the extra gas money the trailer would require). If you know anybody that could do this, let us know! We would still love to bring it down, it just seems improbable with the vehicles we have at our disposal at the moment :/ .
• YARD SAILING
  It will be early in the season to be sure, but sometime in mid-March we will be having a large yard sale, as we try to expel all of our extra stuff that we have no need or desire for any longer. We'll keep you posted with a date for this.

This is all we got for you at the moment. Thank you for your interest. Consider donating a few bucks! AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS!!

FOR THE WEDGE! FOR THE VERY WEDGE!!!

OTHERWISE KNOWN AS, reason #4711 I am moving to the desert. As posted on the b0st0n livejournal community.

Hello. This is my twenty-eighth winter in Boston. I know how it goes. I know how to be warm, in spite of frigid temperatures. It's true. I'll show you how, in this guide which cleverly mixes capitalization and normal speak. I hope you enjoy it.

• PRE-WINTER COLD TRAINING; In the months leading up to winter, it is important to remain as cold as you can. This way, when it's actually cold and not a balmy 30 - 40 degrees, you will be prepared. The whole point is to be shivering and freezing early, so later when it is ACTUALLY cold, you will barely feel it.
  • Going out for a minute? Wear a t-shirt and shorts.
  • Sleep with your windows open, unless the outdoor temperature reaches below 25 degrees.
  • If you drive, do so with the windows open.
  • Don't wear a hat unless it dips below 20 degrees.
• LAYERS; It is important that you look like a hobo. The more like a hobo you appear, the warmer you will be. You will know when this effect has been achieved when you notice no one sits next to you any longer on public transportation.
  • TSHIRT
  • THERMAL
  • BUTTON DOWN SHIRT
  • SWEATER/SWEATSHIRT
  • HOODIE
  • WAIST-LENGTH JACKET SUITABLE TO FALL/SPRING
  • LONG WOOL COAT
  • LONG UNDERWEAR OVER REGULAR SIZED UNDERWEAR
• WARMING ACCESSORIES;
  • BOOTS - I mean come on what century is this?? IT'S 2010 PEOPLE THERE'S NO REASON TO NOT WEAR BOOTS
  • FINGERLESS GLOVES - So you're actually able to function in the real world.
  • CONSTANT HOT CUPS OF COFFEE WITHOUT DE-WARMING SLEEVE - This is to counteract the negative effects fingerless gloves will have on your fingertips.
  • LONG MATTY HAIR  - Stop getting haircuts in September, barely ever wash your hair, this will give your hair a nice mat feeling that will help lock in warmth.
  • A HAT - Make sure this is long enough to cover your ears.
  • FUZZY SOCKS - When the garment district has their 50% off sale, completely buy out their selection of fuzzy, feminine socks.
  • BEER - Try to make sure you have at least a slight buzz at all moments where it is not inappropriate to do so.
  • SMOKE CIGARETTES - This warms your insides and helps you feel bad ass, which brings me to the next topic;
• WARMING ATTITUDE/BEHAVIOR;
  • Never complain about how cold it is, but complain about others who do complain
  • Rub into everyone's faces about how not cold you are
  • Always face the wind, avoid shelters (for instance at bus stops) because you can handle it

THERE! I hope you have enjoyed this guide. I spent fifteen minutes working on it.

23 MOST RECENT LIVEJOURNAL IMAGES
 Potentially VERY NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

WELCOME. TO TEXARRAKIS MOST RECENT LIVEJOURNAL IMAGE SERVICE. Here, we manipulate the internet, by copying simple code easily downloadable, and present to you, in it's pure form, the TWENTY THREE MOST RECENT IMAGES that random livejournal users have posted on livejournal, in real time.

BE FOREWARNED

there are some major weirdos out there on livejournal, so there could potentially be really distressing, disturbing, pornographic, terrifying images here. We are in no way in control of what transpires on livejournal, we are merely showing you what, exactly, IS transpiring. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND

ENTER HERE

a few tasty concepts that can be rolled into one:

DIY SOLAR PANELS MADE OUT OF BROKEN SOLAR CELLS

these things are amazing. after doing some quick research on ebay, i am pretty sure we will be able to produce 100 - 200 watts of power for under $100. compared to the alternatives (60 watt solar panels starting at $300, 50 - 400 watt (depending on windspeed) wind generators starting at $300). it's beautiful, the potential to turn nearly every flat surface into a solar panel is here now, using broken but still usable chunks of broken solar cells. every structure, could serve as a power plant. i've ordered a small bag of thirty 1 - 2 inch solar cell chunks off ebay for like eight bucks, so we can actually try this out soon. there will be pictures.

ALSO, in the wake of switzerland banning minarets from it's landscape, i have been reading about minarets. well, i'm exaggerating there, it makes it sound as if i've been doing actual research. i just mean i read the wikipedia article on minarets. it is a fascinating article, and i recommend it. but there was one particular line, which caught my attention:

THAT IS ALL.

this is kind of interesting. it's a solid 55 degrees and raining up in boston; but down and over in west texas, it's going to snow tonight!:

Tonight: Snow showers. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 29. Northeast wind between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of snow showers. The snow could be heavy at times. Cloudy, with a high near 32. North wind around 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. West wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. 

GOOD 12Z MODEL INITIATION WRT POSITION OF 5H LOW JUST S OF AZ
BORDER. DOWNSTREAM OF SAID LOW MID/UPPER FLOW IS DIFFLUENT WITH
STEEP MID LEVEL LR/S TO NEAR EL PASO WHERE OCCASIONAL ISOLD STRIKES
WERE NOTED EARLIER THIS MORNING AND MORE RECENTLY IN THE DAVIS
MTNS. VISIBLE IMAGERY SUPPORTIVE OF MID LEVEL INSTABILITY WITH
CONVECTIVE CLOUD ELEMENTS NOTED. AS SUCH THERE WILL BE ENUF LIFT
TO KEEP SCT PRECIP AROUND THRU REMAINDER OF PM. CONSIDERING THCK
CHARTS 1000-500MB AND 500MB-850MB WINTRY PRECIP WILL BE CONFINED
TO MTNS AND HIER ADJACENT PLAINS, I.E., PARTS OF EDDY/CULBERSON
COUNTIES AND WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN IN EFFECT SINCE 18Z FOR
MOST OF THOSE AREAS. HAVE HAD REPORTS OF 2" OF SNOW IN QUEEN LAST
NIGHT/FREEZING DRIZZLE WITH LIGHT ICE IN THE DAVIS AROUND 5500 FT
CURRENTLY AND HEAVY SNOW HAS BEEN REPORTED AT TIMES ON GDP MTR. WRT
TO DETERMINISTIC MODELS THE SYNOPTIC PATTERN IS ONE THAT DOES
FAVOR SNOW...SOME HEAVY WITH CLOSED 5H LOW EXPECTED TO MOVE ENE
ACRS SRN 1/3 OF CWFA. THIS WILL TEND FAVOR SNOW N AND W OF A LINE
FROM CANDELARIA TO NEAR LAMESA BTWN 00Z-12Z AND INVOF A LINE FROM
NEAR FT. STOCKTON TO MIDLAND/ODESSA TO GAIL BTWN 09Z- 21Z TUE.
CLIMATOLOGICALLY THE AVERAGE GREATEST SNOW AMOUNT IN THIS PATTERN
IS ABOUT 7" BUT AS HIGH AS 9". THIS MORNINGS FCST BASICALLY HAD
5-10" ACRS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS FOR THE 12-18HR PERIOD FROM TODAY
THRU TUE MORNING AND ABOUT 2 INCHES FOR THE PB FROM 12Z/TUE-
00Z/WED. ALL MODELS SUPPORT 2.5-4" ACRS THE SE NM/WRN AND NWRN PB
WITH NAM12 SHOWING EVEN HIER AMOUNTS ACRS NW PB. FINALLY MAKING AN
ATTEMPT TO QUANTIFY THIS USING PROBABILISTIC SREF DATA THERE IS A
50-90% PROBABILITY THAT SNOW AMOUNTS OF 1-4 INCHES WILL OCCUR N
AND W OF A LINE FROM CANDELARIA TO NEAR LAMESA BTWN 00Z-18Z TUE
AND 30-50% PROBABILITY THAT 1-4 INCHES OF SNOW WILL OCCUR ALONG/W
OF A LINE FROM NEAR GAIL...TO MIDLAND/ODESSA...TO KERMIT BTWN 12Z
TUE-00Z WED. HAVING SAID ALL THAT AND TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE
AGREEMENT BTWN THE SYNOPTIC CLIMO PATTERN FOR HEAVY SNOW AND THE
DETERMINISTIC/PROBABILISTIC FCST WILL OPT TO SLIGHTLY DECREASE
SNOW FOR THE MTNS USING 5-6" AND LOCAL 8" AND INCREASE AMOUNTS
FOR THE SE NM PLAINS/PARTS OF PB...2-4" LOCAL 5" NOTING HIEST
AMOUNTS MOSTLY LIKELY IN SE NM AND NW PB. AS SUCH WILL GO WITH
WINTER STORM WARNING TO INCLUDE REEVES/LOVING/LEA/GAINES/ANDREWS
AND GO WITH WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ACRS MUCH OF THE PB EXCEPT
FAR SE-E. ATTP 62/180 FROM SEMINOLE TO AROUND CARLSBAD AND I-10
FROM PECOS WWD SEEM TO THE MOSTLY LIKELY CANDIDATES FOR MOST
SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL PROBLEMS. OF COURSE SFC TEMPS WILL MAKE TIMING
OF ONSET DIFFICULT ACRS PLAINS AND WILL OPT TO START ADVISORY
AROUND 09Z ATTP (EVEN THOUGH NAM12 FCST SOUNDINGS ARE STILL A
LITTLE WARM ON THE SFC TEMPS). MOS GUIDANCE SEEMS A LITTLE TOO
WARM DURING THE DAY AS WELL FOR TUE AND WILL GENERALLY UNDERCUT
WITH MID LEVEL COLD POOL/LOW THCK MOVING ACRS AREA...CAN`T RULE A
MIXTURE AT TIMES ACRS PB AFTER 18Z. WILL CONTINUE THE WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY THRU 00Z/WED BUT IT MAY HAVE TO BE EXTENDED IN
COVERAGE TO INCLUDE SE PB/LOWER TRANS PECOS. WRAP AROUND SNOW
SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE INTO THE OVERNIGHT TUE NIGHT/WED MORNING
AND WILL CONTINUE TO UNDERCUT MOS TEMPS. SKIES WILL EVENTUALLY
CLEAR SOME BY LATE WED BUT IT WILL STILL BE COLD AS INITIAL FRONT
FOLLOWS IN WAKE OF 5H LOW. OTHERWISE NOT A LOT TIME SPENT ON FCST
AFTER WED. SFC HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO BE RE-ENFORCED THUR
AS DEEP COLD TROF/SRN EXTENT OF HUDSON BAY VORTEX KEEPS COLD THCK
IN PLACE WHILE KEEPING DOOR OPEN COLD CONTINENTAL AIR TO MOVE S
THRU FRI. 5H PATTERN GIVES WAY TO WLY MID LEVEL SAT- MON WHICH
SHOULD BE WARMER...BACK INTO THE 50S FOR THE MOST PART.

Source: NOAA

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we received a nother one hundred dollars in donations! THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

Unrelated; here is a song created by myself, and our associate, Mr. Benjamin MetalGod Hammerschmidt, in the basement.

WIKILEAKS RELEASES 9/11 PAGER TEXT MESSAGES 
...some highlights...

2001-09-11 13:51:14 Metrocall [1059973] B  ALPHA  i cant get on the internet anymore either. i want you to think of another guy taking 
me out. touching me..and kissing me? can you handle that? i'm not saying thats what i'm gonna do.just think of it
2001-09-11 13:51:33 Skytel [007512593] A  ALPHA  (1 of 2) I believe you Heath I appreciate you respecting me I love you and I am 
2001-09-11 13:51:44 Skytel [0001403] C  ALPHA  ]!z00]"AB];0a]<4Breaking News:  ]<2Three planes have crashed into the World Trade Center

towers.  Both of the towers were destroyed.  Death and injury reports are sketchy...]$ (74
2001-09-11 13:51:52 Weblink_B [1365174] B  ALPHA  Just came across the news. They are closing alot of Chicago up. All downtown is shut

down. They didn't say why just that everything is to be evacuated! Call me later
2001-09-11 13:52:52 Skytel [003936701] D  ALPHA  FYI, Wells Fargo in the Peninsula Center, across from Bank of America was robbed this

morning.  In lue of the present state of America please take extra precautions when visiting your branches. 
2001-09-11 13:53:46 Metrocall [0049728] A  ALPHA  Lesley wanted to know if you arrived safety. If not please call --unless deceased
2001-09-11 13:53:57 Metrocall [1575695] D  ALPHA  USAR TEAM IS ACTIVATED FOR DEPLOYMENT NYC

2001-09-11 13:53:57 Skytel [007521240] C ALPHA 17) Y! || The Federal Aviation Administration has shut down all aircraft takeoffs nationwide.

2001-09-11 13:54:12 Metrocall [0704616] C  ALPHA  Call Cliff ASAP...LUS to cut down trees to put up new pole!!!???

2001-09-11 13:54:14 Arch [1660312] C  ALPHA  pizza is here come and get it

2001-09-11 13:54:16 Metrocall [1785622] B  ALPHA  TRACY:770-3388 BONNIE RIGSBEE VOMITING.NEED ORDERS

Wedgely greetings!

Due to the generosity of the Full Body Cast, who had their Rocky Horror Picture Show after party at the Sextocracy (my place of residence) on Saturday, and the very generous donation from an internet donor, plus our previous donations, we are now up to $147 (one hundred and forty seven!)! While we still have quite a ways to our fundraising goal, we find this outpouring of support to be most appreciated!

We would like to announce a new incentive to donating money; for every person who donates $50 or more, this donation will adopt a little flag with your choice of your name, someone else's name, or some other text, to fly somewhere on the grounds of Fort Awesome. We will take a picture of said flag (which will be hand made out of chunks of a bed sheet or something like that), and you can sleep peacefully at night knowing that there is a little flag with whatever you want written on it flapping around in Lobo Valley Texas. Once we are down there, you can subscribe to and insure this flag for a set amount of money a month, where we will send monthly photos of your flag, and also replace degraded little flags with new little flags, also sending the degraded little flag remains to you in the mail.

Thank you for your continued support and interest!

FOR THE VERY WEDGE!
FBZVZVNGVRNV

I think trying to configure the shopping cart on texarrakis takes about as long as it would take to make thirty t-shirts. oh well, it's done now! BEHOLD, INTERNET PEOPLE, A TSHIRT OFFERING FOR YOU!

we ran out of tshirts to test on for a model tshirt, so for now this is the model. IT WILL NOT BE UPSIDE DOWN, UNLESS YOU REQUEST IT AS SUCH. CHECK IT OUT.

wow, doesn't this look like fun!

EXACTLY what i always want in a party; cops everywhere, art & craft, halloween stories,much more, and  treats bags, all on the delightful setting of a third floor gymnasium! fanstastic! i don't want to miss out on this one, the same way i missed out on the thrilling RON BURTON TRAINING VILLAGE RETREAT, also offered by the Boston Police Department in June!

THIS IS IT! THIS IS DEFINITELY IT! after a test run, we are going to start tshirt production very soon. we may make all tshirts to order. we have one design ready to go, and at least two more on the way; WE WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THEY ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE. 

here is our first prototype:

we will be using more professional transfer paper, not just random transfer paper bought at staples. we will also offer a budget tshirt, for sale for a lower price then the rest, that will consist of a stencil and spray fabric paint. 

stay tuned, stay alert; we should hopefully have some of these available for purchase by the end of the week.

FOR THE WEDGE

hello. i have made business cards, that are printable on these sorts of business card sheets. i think they're rather dandy looking, but it's really just a first attempt at making a texarrakis product. feel free to use this! you can print these out on regular paper and cut them up, or on business card sheets; or whatever you want. leave them around places, in your seat, on the bus, at the coffee shop, at work. IT'S TIME TO START SOME INTRIGUE.

the business card template (a microsoft word .doc document) is attached to the blog entry. they are double sided.

FOR THE WEDGE!

the discussion of random cheap/free building materials and what we can build with them often shifts to pallets, which are largely available for extremely cheap or for free.  most of the discussions on pallets have been about using them as the floor for gigantic military style tents . . . but here is a how to guide on building little, livable houses with them!

tiny pallet houses for all!

that's pretty nice. 800 visits since thursday night, when we christianed the webpage by opening a bottle of champagne (which promptly erupted and splashed over everything (and was not champagne but new mexican sparkling white wine)) and uh allowing the swarms on facebook to be able to become a fan of texarrakis. 

we even have our first review, kind of! from a most excellent place, the http://unknownhighway.com/ . this place seems like it is full of our people. here is their entry about us.

and also, i couldn't help but to notice our first visit from the military, someone took a peak at our website from the navy network information center (nnic). i find their web page to be a little confusing, and there seems to be an underwhelming amount of information about them on the internet besides this article titled "Navy developing massive information network" (which doesn't mention them but comes up in a google search for that name). but this is all in a pretty exciting, mysterious way. hi, nnic! 

i think we're off to a good start here, and we've barely gotten started...

from the Texarrakis youtube channel . . . 

. . . presenting . . .

CONVERSATIONS WITH BOZO

star trek vi the undiscovered country is, in my opinion, by far the best star trek movie. far exceeding, say, jj abrams' recent star trek movie.

i have decided, in the end, that i hate the new star trek movie. there was no depth to that movie! just lensflares, flashy fight sequences, sexy renditions of characters and witty comments fast back and forth. come on, spock and uhura? really? it used all the cheap hollywood plot devices and eye appealling tricks to confuse us into thinking it was a good movie. the ENTIRE point of star trek, the ENTIRE reason i love it so much, is that it is almost entirely based on dialogue. pretty much any episode of star trek, even the worst episodes of voyager and enterprise, you can watch with your eyes closed and still understand what's happening. it's like an old timey radio show. i've ripped the audio from various episodes and kept them on my ipod as audio books before. and with good star trek, the dialogue is extremely interesting, well thought out, well written, well delivered.

anyway, my point is, star trek vi was a shining example of star trek, star trek xi was a cheap attempt at keeping me entertained with explosions and fighting, and campy tributary humor towards real star trek.

just look at this comparison:

vs.

uncomparable.

this extraction from the wikipedia article basically explains what i love about star trek vi so much:

The Undiscovered Country's Cold War allegory and references to literary history were recognized among researchers and cultural historians. According to scholar Larry Kreitzer, The Undiscovered Country has more references to William Shakespeare than any other Star Trek work until at least 1996.^[72] The title itself alludes to Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1.^[73] Meyer had originally intended The Wrath of Khan to be called The Undiscovered Country.^[74] Whereas the undiscovered country referred to in Hamlet (and its intended meaning in The Wrath of Khan) refers to death, The Undiscovered Country's use of the phrase refers to a future where Klingons and humans coexist in peace.^[75]

A phrase from The Tempest is mentioned by Gorkon as representing the new galactic order, that of a "brave new world". Chang recites most of the lines from Shakespeare used in the film, including quotes from Romeo and Juliet and Henry IV, Part 2 in his parting words to Kirk after dinner. During Kirk's trial, Chang also mocks Kirk with lines from Richard II. The final battle above Khitomer contains seven references to five of Shakespeare's plays.^[72] Two references are drawn from the title character's lines in King Henry V ("Once more onto the breach"/"The game's afoot"), while two more quotations are from Julius Caesar ("I am as constant as the Northern Star"/"Cry 'havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war"). There is a single reference to Prospero from The Tempest ("Our revels now are ended"), and Chang shortens the wronged Shylock's speech from The Merchant of Venice: "Tickle us, do we not laugh; prick us, do we not bleed; and wrong us, shall we not revenge?" The final lines spoken by Chang before he is obliterated by torpedo fire are lifted from Hamlet's famous soliloquy: "to be, or not to be..."^[76] Flinn was initially unsure about the numerous classical quotations, but when Plummer was cast, Meyer enthusiastically added more. He said, "Whether it's pretentious or not, I think it depends on how it's used. [...] I don't quite agree with using too much of that sort of thing, but once you get Plummer, suddenly it's working."^[3]

Scholars have noted that the Klingons, not humans, are the ones who quote Shakespeare; Gorkon claims at one point in the film that "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon."^[77] Shakespeare scholar Paul A. Cantor argues that this association is appropriate—the warlike Klingons find their literary matches in the characters Othello, Mark Antony, and Macbeth—but that it also reinforces a claim that the end of the Cold War means the end of heroic literature such as Shakespeare's.^[78] Meyer said the idea for having the Klingons claim Shakespeare as their own was based on Nazi Germany's attempt to claim the Bard as German before World War II.^[17] According to Kay Smith, the use of Shakespeare has meaning in itself and also derives new meaning (underscoring cultural politics in the film) by its rearticulation in a new form.^[79]

A major theme of the film is change, and people's response to that change. Meyer considered Valeris and Chang "frightened people, who are frightened of change", who cling to old ways despite the changing world. He hoped that the fictionalization of a current events story allowed for an objective look at the issues, rather than being blinded by personal bias. At the beginning of the film, Kirk operates under a similar bias, calling the Klingons "animals" and putting him at odds with Spock. The Vulcan sees the Gorkon peace initiative as logical, responding to the sudden change in the status quo in a collected manner;^[80] he even opens the peace dialog at the behest of his father. Kirk, meanwhile, is willing to "let them [the Klingons] die", unwilling to listen to Spock's words because of his biased understanding.^[80] Kirk undergoes a transformation through the film by way of his incarceration; realizing that his hatred is outmoded he allows for a cleansing that restores his son to him in some way.^[28] While Star Trek in general features few overt references to religion, there is a clear recognition that a laying aside of past hurts is necessary for peace, similar to the concept of shalom in Judaism.^[81] Shatner regretted that Kirk's angst at being outmoded was minimized in the final print. A scene where Spock asks Kirk if they have grown so old and inflexible they have outlived their usefulness had two meanings: it was as much Nimoy asking Shatner the question as it was their characters.^[4]

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_VI:_The_Undiscovered_Country

that is all.

GREETINGS. we have purchased a 17 foot long 2000 pound trailer from a man in Haverhill Massachusetts, and successfully stored it in a storage yard with an alien theme to it New Hampshire. What an insane thing this is turning out to be.

When me, Chopper and Haley picked it up, it turned out my truck sits too low for the ball mount we had, so we had to go out and buy a ball mount with a 5 and a half inch lift. Once back, the Haverhill dudes helped us hook everything up, and we tore out of the place, at extremely cautious speeds.

The trailer DWARFS my chevy s10, but found it easily towable at speeds of 30 - 40 miles per hour. On the highway though, I was certain we were all going to die. Getting the truck up above fifty miles an hour was a nightmare. If a huge truck passed, the trailer would sway a bit, and I would start to have to compensate my steering, while realizing that if I over compensated, I would flip the whole rig, truck and all over. Going over bridges was even worse, especially with the type of upkeep Massachusetts has of their bridges these days; they were bumpy, all of the bumps reverberating from the trailer into the truck. And during this, the wind coming from the side from the river hundreds of feet below would whip against the trailer, making me sure the trailer was about to flip up and over the guard rail, dragging us all down to our watery deaths.

But we made it. And advice was given to me by the guy running the storage yards with his wife. SWAY BARS, otherwise known as weight distribution bars, which both take a lot of the weight off of the back of the truck, and also reduce how the sway from the trailer being towed behind. These run about $300 new, and I'm afraid will be absolutely necessary if we want to actually get this trailer down to Lobo Valley.

I wish we had more time to take photos, but the whole thing was so rushed and hectic, we didn't get the chance.

big bill fromzy begins towing the crowly monitor 2 command center for the first time
(click for more photos)

Gene

last night, i had a conversation about black-capped chickadees and sparrows. it led to discovering this amazing site, the Internet Bird Collection, where people post their videos and photos of birds. at first appearance, kind of stupid, but after some perusing, pretty bad ass. i may contribute so bad ass west texas birds to the the collection, after the move.

at any rate, today, after waking up, i decided to be hyper concious of birds. their songs, and their behaviour. the day before i had watched many interesting birds. a flock of pigeons being chase by an urban hawk near symphony. other pigeons that seemed to prefer walkng long distances then flying in cambridge. today i was going to dedicate all my waiting for the bus and looking out the bus window time observing birds.

i did not see or hear a single bird during my forty five minute commute to work. not a single one.

WHERE ARE ALL THE BIRDS

HAVE YOU SEEN ANY BIRDS? I WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE OK

at least that's what the article headline originally read, until finally someone noticed and changed it to "West Texas town shuts down police department". the town they're speaking of is Marfa, a beautiful town along US route 90, approximately sixty miles from our land. this is where both there will be blood and no country for old men were filmed.

apparently, the headline is true; as of october 1st (tomorrow, as i'm writing this), marfa will no longer have a police department, the police chief will turn into a texas mandated town marshall!

http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/092909kvue_Marfa_police-cb.1caacefa...

i just found this on the ground in fenway. wow, what a beutiful, uplifting, deep poem.