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Company asks judge to quash subpoena in Swallow investigation
11/08/2013 7:23amA payday loan software company that once employed Attorney General John Swallow wants a judge to quash a subpoena it received from the Utah House special investigative committee.
Four students suspended for throwing Pop-Its on school sidewalk
11/08/2013 7:58amA parent wants the rules reviewed after his child and three others were suspended for throwing Pop-Its onto a sidewalk at an elementary school.
Christmas retail creeps earlier, annoys some shoppers
11/08/2013 10:27amEvery year, it seems the retail frenzy around Christmas creeps in earlier and earlier. A lot of people are bothered by it.
Utah man pleads guilty to playing key role in online drug market
11/08/2013 10:50amA Spanish Fork man pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge Thursday for his role in an online black market known as the Silk Road that authorities say processed more than $1 billion worth of illicit business.
5 ways to raise kids who love the outdoors
11/08/2013 11:01amUtah's capital city has been recognized as the best place in America to raise outdoor kids, and that doesn't stop when the mercury drops. If you want your kids to grow up loving the outdoors, here are five suggestions to help them along.
Feds award $2.3M from healthcare overhaul to new Utah centers
11/08/2013 11:14amThe federal government is sending $2.3 million in grants to three new Utah health centers.
Utah 'In God We Trust' license plate now available
11/08/2013 11:34amUtah residents can now order a license plate bearing an American flag and the motto "In God We Trust."
Utah company helps protect NY man from cold
11/08/2013 1:00pmA Utah company is sponsoring a New York man working to recover from the financial crisis and hurricane Sandy.
Attempted abduction 'prank' wasn't funny, police say
11/08/2013 2:49pmWest Jordan police say trying to entice young children into a vehicle isn't a laughing matter, and they are compiling evidence about a "prank" to the district attorney's office for possible criminal charges.
Man flashes 'police badge' at real officer, gets arrested
11/08/2013 4:32pmA man who apparently tried to get out of a minor traffic violation by allegedly flashing a police badge was arrested by a real officer Thursday.
9 new subpoenas issued in Swallow investigation
11/08/2013 5:15pmA legislative investigation into embattled Utah Attorney General John Swallow intensified Friday, a day after he suggested state lawmakers have it in for him.
Prosecutor to jury: MacNeill committed an 'almost perfect murder'
11/08/2013 6:37pmMotivated by his love for another woman, Martin MacNeill used his wife's plastic surgery as the cover for committing an "almost perfect murder," prosecutors said Friday.
New police panel established to investigate Willard shooting
11/08/2013 6:38pmThe Salt Lake County District Attorney has set up a panel of police officers to construct a criminal case over the Danielle Willard shooting.
Convicted murderer to stand trial in separate teen killing
11/08/2013 6:51pmA judge on Friday ordered a man already serving a life sentence for murder to stand trial for murder and rape in the 1989 death of Felicia Pappas, 17.
Officer creates 'scent kit' to aid in search for missing children
11/08/2013 7:19pmA police officer has invented a kit to speed up the process of finding missing children and elderly people.
Utahns filter e-book content with new app
11/08/2013 7:30pmA new local Kickstarter project would allow readers to choose filters for their e-books.
Utahns worry for family, friends after typhoon displaces thousands
11/08/2013 7:52pmFriday is a day of worry for many Utah families with friends and family in the Philippines. KSL spoke with two Utah mothers — one said most of her family is still on the islands and the other said her son is less than two weeks from returning home from his mission there. Both have no idea how they're doing.
FDA proposes safety regulations for brand name, generic drugs
11/08/2013 8:12pmThe Federal Drug Administration announced on its website Friday a proposal that would allow generic drug manufacturers to independently update safety information about their medications.
Family allegedly called 'turkey killers' after reporting aggressive bird
11/08/2013 8:36pmA turkey that chased after children and a dog in Corinne was shot and killed Sunday, and the family said they have received calls and text messages calling them "turkey killers" and saying her kids were tormenting the turkey.
WVC students build computers to compete for 'Fastest Geek'
11/08/2013 9:09pmA battle of technology wits took place on Friday at Hunter High School as students competed for the title of "Fastest Geek."
51 restraining orders issued in Utah since May
11/08/2013 9:33pmFifty-one protective orders — 37 temporary and 14 permanent — have been issued under a new state law that went into effect in May. The law allows Utahns 18 and older who are abused or threatened in dating relationships to seek protection.
Vandals deface deputy memorial for 4th time in 6 years
11/08/2013 10:32pmThe words "illegal cross" and "dead pig" have been scrawled on a memorial dedicated to Uintah County Cpl. Kevin Orr, who died in a 2006 helicopter crash. It's the fourth time the site has been vandalized since friends and family erected it in 2007.
Police arrest man suspected in 8 dine-and-dash cases
11/08/2013 10:44pmA Colorado man found out the hard way there's no such thing as a free meal in Salt Lake City, police say.
Sen. Lee set as keynote speaker at tea party event
11/08/2013 10:48pmUtah Senator Mike Lee will be the keynote speaker at a tea party event in Iowa on Saturday, but experts say this may hurt him in Utah.
Nitro Circus founder talks about Utah roots, upcoming show in SLC
11/08/2013 10:53pmA Utah man and his family have become famous for their high-risk stunts and now travels the world performing in the sold-out show known as Nitro Circus Live.
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Caesars Entertainment, then named Harrah's, pioneered the casino entertainment industry's first responsible gaming efforts more than 25 years ago when a group of employees formed a task force to study the issue of gambling disorders. After months of research, the task force developed the industry's first initiative to help employees, guests and the public understand the importance of responsible gaming and the prevention of underage gambling.
Caesars Entertainment continues to be the casino industry's chief advocate for promoting responsible gaming. We have implemented two responsible gaming programs, Operation Bet Smart® and Project 21®, as well as an Unattended Children Policy.
Additionally, Caesars Entertainment works with the National Council on Problem Gambling, Inc., its local councils, and other service agencies in our markets on a continuing basis to promote a better understanding of responsible gaming and underage gambling. In fact, we provided the initial funding to establish the National Council's 24-hour toll-free helpline. Caesars Entertainment launched the casino industry's first broadcast advertising campaign to promote responsible gaming and increase awareness of toll free helpline numbers.
We also support research on these issues through ongoing financial contributions to the National Center for Responsible Gaming. We were awarded the National Council's first corporate award, which recognized Caesars Entertainment for its proactive efforts on responsible gaming. Caesars Entertainment invites other members of the casino industry to join us in promoting responsible gaming.
Operation Bet Smart®: Know When To Stop Before You Start® is a program designed to formally train employees about the importance of responsible gaming and the policies and procedures of Caesars Entertainment's Responsible Gaming programs. While we recognize our employees are not counselors, Caesars Entertainment feels that encouraging employee awareness puts employees at a comfort level, helps them understand the company's position on the issue and supplies them with valuable information and direction to potentially help others.
At all our casinos, we provide Responsible Gaming signage on the casino floor and back-of-house so that employees always know where to refer customers requesting assistance. We also provide Responsible Gaming information in brochures, on hold messages and via Caesars Entertainment's Responsible Gaming campaigns, as well as including helpline phone numbers on all marketing collateral, player cards and hotel directories. These communication efforts serve to provide our customers an unobtrusive vehicle for obtaining more information about Responsible Gaming and seeking assistance. Since 2003, Caesars Entertainment locations throughout the world also have Responsible Gaming Ambassadors who promote responsible gaming to our guests and offer assistance to guests who may not be gambling responsibly. In 2017, we had 815 Responsible Gaming Ambassadors at North America locations.
This initiative teaches casino employees, minors, parents and guardians about the consequences of gambling under the legal age. Casinos are not for our kids. We do not hesitate to uphold the laws concerning the legal gambling age in each state.
For more than a decade, Caesars Entertainment has been the chief advocate of Project 21®, now an industry-wide program that encompasses employee training and public awareness about underage gambling. Caesars Entertainment is committed to keeping minors off the casino floor. Project 21® is now a licensed program for any casino in our industry to use, and any casino can contribute to Project 21® scholarship efforts. We are very proud that the success of Project 21® has let it outside our door and into the halls of high schools across the U.S.
Other Project 21® efforts include the front and back-of-house signage, detailed employee training on cues for identifying minors, and the on-going creation of materials to keep employees and players aware. Like Operation Bet Smart®, Project 21® also includes the creation of materials for public education, such as TV public service announcements.
All Caesars Entertainment employees are trained to card individuals who appear to be below the age of 30, as well as ways to detect potentially invalid identification. If a minor is trying to gamble under false identification, our security officers will intervene and may contact outside law enforcement. We want all of our guests to have an enjoyable time at our destinations, but we will not condone breaking the law. We Care. We Card.® And we will take action.
Our Unattended Children Policy is a communication effort that encourages parents not to leave children unattended at our destinations, and trains employees on the proper approach to use upon discovering an unattended child. Seeking to urge parents not to leave their children without adult supervision, every Caesars Entertainment casino has standard procedures to promote parental responsibility and protect the safety of children and minors. Parents are informed through signage and brochures about our policies and employees are asked to keep an eye out and call security for any child that has been left unattended.
In 1995, Caesars Entertainment helped fund the first national helpline (1-800-522-4700) for gambling disorders – providing callers with counseling and direction to local assistance in any state. Our funding to assist local health service agencies, councils and seminars continues yearly through funding efforts by our corporate office and casino properties. Knowing gambling disorders can potentially reach the "other side" of the table, Caesars Entertainment provides confidential counseling assistance for employees through our Employee Assistance Program.
Our self-restriction program allows a person to request not to receive direct marketing by Caesars Entertainment owned, managed or operated destinations, as well as be denied credit and check cashing privileges. Our self-exclusion program allows a guest to request to have all privileges, including play privileges denied at all Caesars Entertainment owned, managed or operated destinations. Forms to request self-restriction or self-exclusion are available at all Caesars Entertainment owned, managed or operated destinations or by calling 1-800-694-9960.
For self-help materials for people with gambling disorders, download Harvard Medical School's "Gambling – Your First Step To Change" toolkit.
For additional information about gambling disorders, visit the National Council on Problem Gambling's website.
If you or someone you know might have a gambling problem, call the National Council on Problem Gambling's toll-free helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Click here for Responsible Gaming at Caesars Windsor.

subset: commoncrawl


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This privacy policy governs your use of the software application Hepatology 2017("Hepatology2017") for mobile devices that was created by Nikolaos Goulas. The Application is an Online programme and e-evaluation tool for Hepatology 2017 congress.
What information does the Application obtain and how is it used?
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The Application obtains nopersonal information when you download and no registration is requiered
Automatically Collected Information
In addition, the Application will not collectany information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device you use, your mobile devices unique device ID, the IP address of your mobile device, your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browsers you use, and information about the way you use the Application.
Does the Application collect precise real time location information of the device?
This Application does not collect information about the location of your mobile device.
Do third parties see and/or have access to information obtained by the Application?
Application will not obtain and therefore submit or transmit to third parties any personal data.
What are my opt-out rights?
You may use the standard uninstall processes as may be available as part of your mobile device or via the mobile application marketplace or network. You can also request to opt-out via email, at Αυτή η διεύθυνση ηλεκτρονικού ταχυδρομείου προστατεύεται από τους αυτοματισμούς αποστολέων ανεπιθύμητων μηνυμάτων. Χρειάζεται να ενεργοποιήσετε τη JavaScript για να μπορέσετε να τη δείτε..
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We do not retain User Provided data or other personal or mobile data.
This application will not aquire any user information so your children will not be exposed to any risk about sending photos or personal information.
We are concerned about safeguarding the confidentiality of your information. We provide no electronic methods to transmit or save your personal information to any third party or to our databases. This Application only transfers data to your mobile device and not vice versa.
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time for any reason. We will notify you of any changes to our Privacy Policy by posting the new Privacy Policy here and informing you via email or text message. You are advised to consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes, as continued use is deemed approval of all changes. You can check the history of this policy by clicking here.
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text:
- Makes 8 servings
- 1 8-pound watermelon, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 16 cups)
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 6 tablespoons crème de cassis
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
- Place watermelon in large bowl. Whisk fresh lemon juice and sugar in medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Whisk in vodka and crème de cassis. Season mixture to taste with salt. Pour mixture over watermelon. Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours. Sprinkle with chopped fresh mint and serve.
Courtesy of epicurios


text:
Sprint to Unveil Aggressive New Pricing Plan
Sprint is poised to unveil a new set of aggressive unlimited pricing plans to compete with T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. WSJ's Ryan Knutson explains on MoneyBeat. Photo: iStock/manley099.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... in mm mm mm ... appears set to go or no Paul Companies double four with an extremely low priced mobile plan that aims to seriously ... undercut the competition but ... can the telecom make it ... all trying to not sin is here with the D tells ... on Ryan wrote the story ... it was the key to what is for doing ... well spring is trying a ... few different Preston Lions they just got a new CEO last moon ... I mean he is going to try to hit the ground running today working on their network for ... several years in a filing fee like a centerpoint with a concert ... aggressive reviving customers back on and so they've been trying out a couple different pricing plans ... one of them is just fifty dollars a month for unlimited talk text and data ... that's thirty dollars cheaper than what T Mobile offers for the same planning tools in the price in the market ... I'm that's an extremely attractive offer ... I'm sure a lot of people don't like that ... how can they often ... don't have any money on ... well I guess it remains to be seen in there that some of the other plans that they're offering are less aggressive and do more to just basically match when the team to Verizon are offering ... aam to do so by offering more days of places you can get for a hundred sixty dollars a month ... family plan with four lines with ... ten gigabytes to share with a different view Verizon ... when the plans the tryline with the twenty gigabytes of spring but ... become Brisbane cash flow negative on for awhile now to have a net profit ... since two thousandseven on an annual basis so ... there that is their hope is that by adding more customers they'll be able to ... be no ... increase in their customer base was open to the Dow will SoftBank came in and bought up spot last year we know that everyone in this the sector ... trying to figure out what mergers in the know why me obviously there's a lot churn within the companies in the sector ... on is this planner of response for all that is this table setting role that made ... his plea into the bigger picture well we Manassas on the the ... the CEO of SoftBank acquired spring everybody is considered a telecom Janes never in doubt with the to do ... turns out the first line of business was trying to acquire T Mobile so a lot of time and energy was spent focusing on that and there wasn't really a lot of aggressive behavior and spread ... but now that he's decided to scrap the plan to install his guys see you know ... I think we're going to really start to see what you


text:
I am a freelance journalist specializing in individual, community, and environmental health. I write personality, business, and neighborhood profiles. I interview authors, physicians, health experts, NPO/NGO leaders, activists, artists, and corporate CEOs. My published work includes cover stories, feature articles, columns, and department pieces.
On a more personal note - my essays touch on everyday life in all its splendid and less-than-marvelous moments: family, pets, nature, and more.
Contact Information:
Noelle Robbins
(510) 523-6055
Favorite Quotes:
"Take out another notebook, pick up another pen, and just write, just write, just write. In the middle of the world, make one positive step. In the center of chaos, make one definitive act. Just write. Say yes, stay alive, be awake. Just write. Just write. Just write." -Natalie Goldberg
"The biggest mistake people make in life is not trying to make a living at doing what they most enjoy." -Malcolm Forbes
"Write what you really think and mean, not what you think you should write and not what you thought you would think, and not what you hope it will mean, but what is really authentic and true." -Susan Orlean


text:
Thoughts and Tributes on the passing of Douglas Christie
One of Canada's Greatest Freedom Fighters
"I think my daughter said it best, that everybody talks about his legacy as a lawyer, a public speaker, an inspirational speaker — a person who helped a lot of people who were down and out and couldn't pay — but she said his real legacy was as a father," – Keltie Zubko
"I was honoured to work with Doug Christie over the past 25 years. Canada is a much better place today than it might have been because he had the courage to defend clients targeted by the powerful and did so brilliantly. I regard him as one of the greatest lawyers Canada has produced, since he defended extremely unpopular and isolated people fearlessly and in doing so protected the rights of all Canadians to freedom of speech and the right to be heard. He is an advocate in the truest sense of the word." – Barbara Kulaszka
"I'm saddened to report that my friend Doug Christie has passed away. Doug was a lawyer, husband and a dad from Victoria BC. But he was more than that of course. For a generation he was Canada's leading free speech advocate – in fact, he was often Canada's only free speech advocate. … Doug Christie kept the flame of free speech burning for all of us. For Jews, for gentiles, for blacks, for whites, for conservatives, for liberals… That's the thing about free speech that Doug Christie understood; it's the gift that you have to give to your opponents, if you want it for yourself. I'll miss Doug. He was a great public speaker, and a passionate scholar of history … He's gone, but his project [for freedom] continues; and I pledge that I'll continue his fight. Rest in Peace Doug Christie; A freedom fighter of the first order." – Ezra Levant
"Doug was an immensely brave man and a towering presence in Court. His height and firmness of bearing made an impact on many a judge, and, I suspect, many a miscreant or liar under cross-examination. Other lawyers have told me that Doug was one of the most intimidating cross-examiners in this Dominion. … The Doug I knew was a sensitive and proud man. He was a deeply moral man. He did not seek notoriety. He felt the rejections and condemnations deeply. Yet, Doug felt a higher imperative -- individual freedom and liberty. These had once been the values of our generation. … Doug Christie was a one man Dutch boy with his finger in the dyke holding back the tidal wave of repression. His achievements were many." – Paul Fromm
"I weep and am sorrowful. Doug Christie stood his ground, he fought using principle, he is and always was a free man, he loved his life, his children, his partner and all the treasure his life created. I saw him take on the most difficult conundrums in our struggle to be free and defended the principle of freedom for all of us. Objectively, we are measured by our ability to improve the human condition and I am a better Canadian because Doug Christie defended my freedom. This is a great loss to humanity, to humans everywhere. I am proud to call Doug Christie my countryman. You are a hero Doug Christie. We will not forget you. I will not forget you. Thank-you Doug Christie." – Philip Kuefler
"Along with so many others, I will remember Doug Christie with gratitude and high regard. The memory of this courageous and principled man shines all the brighter during our dark age of rampant opportunism and deceit. My sympathy goes especially to Keltie, his devoted wife." – Mark Weber
"It was God who sent Doug to me in a David and Goliath situation back in the 90s. If you have never had an experience of being a client of his in a courtroom full of hate, (for him and us) then you will never know the feeling of the hand of God on your shoulders when the crown stays the charges and the crowd gasps in disbelief wanting their pound of flesh. Doug rescued us from the fire, for that, and all of his work there IS a special place for him, in the arms of God." – Joe Lockhart
"When I met Doug Christie he was the complete opposite of what I was told to expect. He was a very caring libertarian; he stuck up for the rights of almost anybody. … I've always kind of compared him to a giant sequoia. His roots are deep; the shadow is right across the country. And we've lost a giant. We really have." – Barclay Johnson
Barbara Kulaszka, Douglas Christie and Marc Lemire
Ottawa, Ontario. 2007 in front of the Canadian "Human Rights" Tribunal
"Douglas Christie is a hero and dedicated fighter for freedom of speech. In my youth, I recollect attending a meeting where he was the guest speaker. I was struck not only by his superior oratory skills, but even more so by both his passion and love for freedom. He brilliantly conveyed the significance of what freedom is all about and how vital it is to resist artificially induced state control over it.
Over the past couple of decades I have become closely acquainted with Doug. The respect that spawned the evening I saw him speak for the first time only deepened with every case and submission that he made on behalf of freedom. His defences consisted of a rare combination of sound logic and reason combined with compelling emotion." – Marc Lemire


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text:
The Collected Poems
Edward M Robertson
Volume II
(1928 - 2011)
The Collected Poems of Edward M Robertson
Author – Edward M Robertson
Published by Ian Robertson at Smashwords
Copyright 2017 Edward Robertson
Smashwords Edition, Licence Notes
Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form.
This second volume of The Collected Poems of Edward M Robertson has been produced so that additional material, discovered while sorting through his papers, can be made available.
Those who knew Edward will, no doubt, be able to identify with many of the images and emotions he expresses and will hopefully take pleasure in exploring these additional poems.
For those who did not know Edward personally, we hope that reading this small volume of poetry proves to be a rewarding experience.
Table of Contents
Suddenly, as I read your poetry,
the whole world tilts sideways,
and the pretences, defences and confident senses
drop from all people
like plates flying out of the waiter's hand
as the ship strikes rock
and lurches up
and down.
Suddenly the feeling of all the
shipwreck of the poised commonsenses
becomes unbearable ....
the little people - and I
one of them -
breaking in pieces, flying crockery,
leaving only the hand
which tried to communicate
thin, brittle words
in accepted restaurant rituals -
the pain unrealised and
the feeling unadmitted.
And I, wrecked on your poetry,
fling myself into the
swelling waves vast empathy.
Better drown in pain loved
than seek safety where there could be
no poetry.
The red fields lie
open to the dry March wind -
rolled flat and burdened with seed -
corn, wheat, barley and rye.
They wait for life, rain-awakened.
And always they sweep the eye on, up
to a sea of hills,
wind-tossed and bare -
or suck sight down to
the valleys
deep-clefted and filled with trees -
a hundred years old or more -
where vision follows the circling bird
down and down into
the blue depths
of a Chinese pattern of peace.
I sit on top of Ruberslaw
and feel myself like a windhover
hang in the air,
but where he sees and clutches with
his eye only the quivering blade
and threads the vole's individual,
all- excluding heart beat
to him,
I see all at a rolling endless sweep of the eye.
And while the kite-kestrel
tugs at the taught thread of sight
that draws him down suddenly,
I am made one with all that I see -
give myself to the prey of my eye
to be devoured by it.
Sliding in on slanting rays
of March morning sun
five lapwings came.
There was no calling.
Almost like fingers of
a blind man's hand
exploring a half-forgotten room
they moved about the fields
falling and rising,
rising and falling.
Were they a vanguard
of the returning array of life
unsure if this were in fact
the mating-ground where
once more they would engage
in love's war of self-giving?
Thus to their ears that would hear
the ground moving beneath
tentative feet,
the shrilling hail's vituperation
would be in vain.
Again their vibrant gliding wings
gave muted celebration
to unforeseeable victory
in the relentless division of cells
within the stippled shell's
true, irresistible fragility.
This April wind rasps rough and thrusting
jagged as the branches in a flail-torn hedge,
driving out of their pine-top rookery
a cawing cataract of raucous crows.
And yet the frail-born kestrel hovers
hunting along the roadside edge,
fluttering like a chestnut ribbon,
pinned to a pinnacle of tall, still air.
For all that the wind gathers and grows,
charging across the quilted strath,
it is the kestrel's wavering wings
that flail and scatter the wind's wild rushes
where it still holds steady and brings
its eyes to focus down their straight path.
The wind needs no words to communicate
the wildness of the hills
But flings about my head
by touch and sound
its message of wild upland places
Where in the valley I walk with
open-handed eyes not grasping
but receiving
as the wind gives
more than can be seen
whether of scattering birds -
the wind's slight toy -
or here where faded grasses
shake, slender spears piercing
the eye with delicate joy.
Here is the last true countryman who
walks hands-in-pockets
across the wide fields;
carries a pick-axe on his face,
head hammering it hard
into the firm ground, then,
with his battered brains,
staggers awkwardly about the furrows.
Yet, in a moment, he
becomes the graceful ballet dancer
of the skies, as spread-winged
he flies upwards
mounting the invisible staircase
of air, to a height, where,
with a twist of the wrist of flight
suddenly he falls off the edge
of the wind, tumbling
down, wing-over-wing,
sweeps over grasses and swoops
up to a tangle in the tall trees' hair,
his nest, a scribble in the topmost
branches. And there he sits
and smoothes the rumpled wind
with velvet cawing.
Yet he is never 'rook'
but always 'rooks' -
leaves sprouting from one living
invisible rook-tree,
a sky-shoal netted with rook calls.
But on the ground again, in meek
ploughman fashion, he follows
the sharp share of his
air-furrowing beak.
I sit on top of the triangulation point
on top of Ruberslaw -
a skylark on the highest rung of its
Jacob's ladder of praise.
My eyes pour out rejoicing -
every field, fold, wood and hill
rolling and tumbling about me,
draws out the endless singing of my gaze.
The lark threads up together
the numberless small sounds of Spring
and ties
them all in an ecstasy to
God's blue skies.
So my eyes
take all that seems small yet lies
boundless about me
and tie it here
where God's knowing and loving arise.
Rooks ride and slide the wind,
Dolphin its wide waves,
Wing-wide, half-closed, tight aside;
Arrow the air monster,
Puncture the balloon bluster;
Counter-thrust in low flight
Fighting grass-high across the field,
Against the whole force;
Seeping into the cracks of stillness,
Take head on the wind waters
Full flood.
There, look there!
The field-flying lapwing
takes to himself the life dance
of this Spring,
each step of aconite,
the grass vibrating,
the bat's-wing leaf uncurling,
and the large leaping hare.
There, look there!
He scoops up with deliberate, blunt wing
the earth's Spring dance
and flings it wildly up
into the air.
There, look there!
The weak bird,
gigantic in power of poetry,
tosses the vast world madly
about the skies -
his the still and steady point unturning,
all else falling and rolling away from him.
There, look there!
Joy breaks the sad monotony
of man heaved mountains of cities.
Hope flings away
pain's dulling death-throes.
Love gathers up
a crescendo of shrill trivialities
and, blunt-winged, tumbles them
down an endless sky.
How can he ever achieve it?
Hill-high in mid-air,
muscle-minded, locked against the gale,
flickering wings stippled on the sky
as he strives for poise,
wind playing his splayed tail.
How can he, then, hold still,
eye steady as surgeon's hand,
infinitely delicate the dissection,
splitting the vole's whisker
trembling from grass?
This power is not his prize
for he is time's inheritor.
No human span of practice
but a skill of millions of years
makes him achieve this dizzy impossibility.
He swoops, hesitates, drops and feels them,
warm and quivering in his talons,
the ages' miracle,
united prey and predator.
Chained to the earth my mind
flies up with you
gliding the wind's wide acres,
leaf-blown across clouds
lingering lawns
swept like a branch down
rivers of air
along the flat strath of sky
hemmed in by billowing
inverted mountains.
Sharp and fierce your cry
scythes down the dark distances
hiding the rabbit's fear,
a sentry's bayonet
plunging to seek in straw bales
the escaping prisoner,
a Highlandman's dirk rending
and ripping the plaided air
to reach the heart thrust.
Pierce fierce accusing finger of sound
the rabbit's guilt-goaded leaping,
dread-drawn to precipitate
the fatal intersection
of prey and predator.
You do not hang like a kestrel's
feathered kite
strung by its sight to a vole's trembling.
Free over fathoms of air you sweep
surfing up to the wind's foaming crest,
then down to a death-thrust
where the earth cannot chain you.
Bodkin-beaked brawling birds
In a crowd crashing the bird-table party;
the percussion of the aerial orchestra,
with cymbals clashing and castanet's that clatter,
more eager it seems to fight than feed,
to scatter food than eat it,
in all your manic melee of
grab and stab,
hustle and stuff,
shovel and shove.
Yet, roosting in the tall tree,
you fill the afternoon
with ceaseless chatter,
if not musical, then at least,
in friendly harmony.
You get the feeling
these seagulls positively
enjoy the wind and rain;
not battling against
but playing through them -
surfing the air-waves
(tuned in to them too!)
and twisting into the rain-surf.
But do they perhaps
miss the bite of brine
on their tongues,
drinking a wet saltless air?
Killiecrankie has swallowed the sun an hour ago.
And yet the sky, a vast upturned porcelain bowl
of egg-shell blue, is wet with a thin film of light,
Dripping slowly down;
Splashing in infinitely slow motion clusters
Of faded grass across the field,
Spilling down the dry pale dusty track,
As sounds from the curved curlew's beak
Curl gracefully down like golden leaves
from an Autumn tree.
Slowly the light soaks away into
the trees, the dykes, the ditches.
A toad, little fat fellow, leaps frantically
Out of my way and struggles deep into
A gigantic jungle of grass and rosebay willow-herb.
Overhead a heron sets sail for some
secret pool and a bat
Flickers erratically in and out of sight.
Here is a moment to savour,
As dusk draws out the living night
And Killiecrankie thirstily drinks down the very last
Lingering drops of liquid light.
Crisp, prickly stubble fields swing up
into the Autumn evening sky,
sharp giant cat's paws stretching out
to scratch the moon's cyclopic eye.
Along the field's edge
hedge and tree, black breakers
of a flowing sea of darkness,
toss and swirl up to the hill,
an island
where the light lies still.
The robin sketches a self portrait
on the day's blank page.
He likes it, for a moment, then
rubs it out and tries again
more delicately, 'till he hears
an echoing call, throws down
his crumpled drawing in a rage,
sharpens his pencils to a point
and throws them violently at
the challenge from the hedge, then hurls
himself, a fiery dart, burning
war to the death to wage.
The hedge is emptied by discretion.
He shakes his feathers out,
lightly lets anger fall from him.
Then on his favourite perch resumes
self-portraiture, his Autumn whim.
The rowan stands like a gun
blazing death in the evening,
flames of frail, frayed leaves
spurt and flash,
increasing continuously
in fury and force of self-purgation.
The tree spits death,
cleansing itself of dying pitilessly,
withdrawing behind the impregnable bark,
thrusts out victims,
sacrificed to the unrelenting, life-hating frost.
Twisted and tortured the expendable
defenceless victims turn,
gnarl, contort and crumble.
This harsh purging of death
should be an ugly, loathsome sight,
but it is not.
It is a glowing glory of victory,
the helpless martyr's soul
burning more brightly than the flames,
the political prisoner in the labour camp
higher soaring in freedom,
than his trapped guards
and the enmeshed manipulators of power.
Dying, decaying has its own glory of passion,
more startling and depth-knowing
than life's blind green lust.
And now, suddenly, I look up
and see a torn and tangled
set of branches.
The shoals of fish leaves have escaped
and only the tides of wind
wash through them.
As suddenly too a sound reaches down to me
into the box classroom,
out of the toss of bitter wind
in clear searing sky
the call of geese overhead,
snaking ropes
spliced and braided together,
in movement of muscle and cry.
Death crawls across the hill
slowly strangling the starved ground;
grows down out of the frosted air
through tips of bracken and marsh grass,
driving the sap back down
into the shoot, the stem,
down into the root, the ground,
where, frozen, found no longer
flowing in liquid life,
it lies rock-hard,
free once,
but now death bound.
The hill has become the year's tombstone
and on it bronze bracken
and russet marsh grass
write its epitaph.
Half-sights and half-sounds,
slight smells - apples and damp ground,
leaves lapsing into rich humus;
interweaving counter-point of curlew calls,
owl deep-hollowing out of billowing trees;
bat-wings flailing ripe night air,
winnowing rich grain of insects;
robins halting-the-heart
stippling on hedge and bush
bright points of sound;
chestnut trees turning to golden fountains
and spiked green hail;
geans and rowans differently burning
to reds and glowing purple;
shapes of hills and great trees by-the-river
merging, water and land flowing
into darkness half-seen, half-heard
drawing and moulding me
to a new half-knowing.
Go out into a gale-lashed day;
let the wind blow through your mind,
and toss your wild thoughts far away
over tumbling hills.
Take your ragged images that
whip-clap and clash,
caught in the branches of the trees wind-slashing
and let them there go flying free.
Let loose on seagull-wings your wishes
and the gale toss to sky-height
your dreams'
Where the high eagle threads
the eye of the needle of daylight.
And where the sun sheds sky-lark song,
silver, shimmering and bright.
Then let your mind descend,
wind-wide over the
opening landscape,
fresh with the wonder of
new sight.
Even the bird - song was brittle
in the frosty air,
a robin's singing found thin ice
over the wintered garden,
not claiming territory
but affirming it was alive,
would live,
its territory the warm mystery of life
impenetrable to the cold clarity
of frozen death.
Beyond the logical analyses of frost,
beyond the notes of song, plotted
on the computer-screen of a Winter sky,
the frail bird's life, flame frosted,
drove back December's harsh reductionism
Here on the hillside
the raiding clans of frost
while on the flat strath
blue mist hangs about
the farms like smoke
from winter's icicles of fire.
But at the valley's end
broad mountains billow
in pink tinted clouds of snow
downing into soft legends
the cruel realities
of winter feuding.
Mid-winter comes -
driven on by packs of wind
rampaging in defenceless hills
where all the black-sheep pine trees
tightly penned, rush, heave in panic;
where the still pool
of hill lochs
beaten brown becomes sheep held,
swirling and leaping round
into a water of dark wool.
Mid-winter comes -
swept on by rivers,
building a muscled-mass from
sinew streams,
thrusting aside thin eyesight,
beating the solid piers
of the bridge into
fierce opposition,
until their counter-thrust
makes stone seem light
and it must skim the water and become
a Catamaran rushing upstream
and out of sight.
Mid-winter comes -
the moon's sharp sickle
scythes the short daylight down,
scattering stars
like grains of light,
spilled from its meagre harvest;
sprinkles the fields of sky ploughed
into darkness - soil of night -
fields yet more cold than dark,
more felt in the eyes
than simply now seen through them,
more shattered ice than bars
of cloud.
The bitter winds that hold us prisoner
in our car, cannot deny us the freedom
of eyesight. From up here on the rising
edge of the Sidlaw Hills our gaze
wanders at will over the
brown-green quilted strath. Snow
dapples the tops of dark distant mountains
like foam cresting gigantic waves.
While nearer at hand tiny houses
huddle in small grey towns.
Look here! beside us, above the roadside verge
a fluttering kestrel hangs, wings
scarcely moving. It seems in this
storm-tossed sea of wind,
to inhabit some island of stillness
that moves untroubled with it,
or to sail a small boat that drifts
only to anchor again fast above
some tussock of quivering grass.
Light, like thin cold soup, is
ladled out into the
beggar's bowl of the frosted valley,
while hills, permanent as the poor,
draw clouds in tatters
round stark limbs.
The misery of winter
digs deep into this place.
Brewing tea to bring cheer
to my shivering flesh
I look out of the kitchen window
and feel the garden's grim greyness
freeze my eyes;
when, suddenly - like laughter
in a prison camp -
a blackbird's song gospels the day.
Tentative, half-remembered phrases
question the finality of dawn's chill prophecy
of death.
The singing notes climb
numb-fingered up
sheer cliffs of frozen air,
reaching at last a peak,
a point of credal affirmation
of a baptismal winter-death
and spring rising.
Briefly the Winter dawn glows
and dies down into dull grey.
Etched on the sky an urgent arrow
of geese divides the still, steely air.
Against the drooping belly of the clouds
the tall stark trees stretch out
dark veins, and now the wind
uncoils and whips away
all hope of warmth,
and certainty of life prolonged.
Coldness intense as hatred
repels the right to live.
How can the midget mouse
the miniature wren,
scuttling amongst the wreckage
of the hedge hope
to keep death at bay?
("Yet Winter's hate must at last give way to Spring's life-giving love, and love lasts to eternity". Anon - quoted by Sheila Cassidy in "Good Friday People")
The sunshine of those dull days
was the laughter of children playing
in a world, snow covered, of white delight
transformed from green braes,
where slithered and sped bright
plastic sledges bundled with excitement.
And their laughter was a sparkling torrent
flowing freely in a world imprisoned in ice;
glittering and gleaming natural joy
unlocked an inner door,
stirred the dull adult mind
with a wonder that lightens our darkness
when a child plays.
(A rugged promontory in Knapdale, Argyll)
"As we die of a disease, so we live of love, hidden within us."
(La Soif - Gabriel Marcel)
Here, where I stand on the land's thrust of the Keills,
the rock-rent ground, the sea-thrashed shore about me,
the wind, thundering in my ears, hurtles from Jura,
across the battering Sound.
I look at Jura's mountains - massed menace wrenched from
patient miles of moorland;
everything about me is glory and torment,
its contradiction thrust through my being
with this wind's fierce, final questioning.
The rocks (not flat, slab-heavy masses) rise
round me, a thousand spires
pulling against their weight,
reminding me of the small chapel behind me -
stones, useless now, except for memory to penetrate
time, to recreate in thought a living community of worship,
a meeting of men,
there gathered to face full-force the wind out of
the contradiction of their own flesh and spirit,
on that stone slab where was concentred
all the encircling contradiction of this place.
What mad metaphysical system
bodied their belief?
What superstition-sodden faith
drenched their prayers?
What cruel charity
of righteousness and the damned
bent their self-will to care and respect
for each other?
No matter. They held out words
to give their being in return
for Being received.
There on the black menace of Jura
a light, a speck - no more - flickers
and stares, as clouds clear sun from water.
It is in me,
that light that flickers
and yet steadily stares in silence.
Wind out of contradiction cannot extinguish its glare.
For this small flickering light
stills the wind's thunder, melts mountains,
solidifies the sea
into peacefulness.
This light takes all gleams, glances, dances,
flickering and bright glories,
and binds them in me into
one beam of brightness.
This light unwinds the tangle of light and darkness,
the wavering warfare of joy and pain,
and says, "I stand, not I, but love stands in me.
All is love-living, whether unfolding in peace or
tortured by suffering.
Love in me is an openness, light-leaping
yet still,
joy-feeling, yet not holding.
Out of the contradiction of rock and sea,
flesh and spirit, suffering and celebration -
out of it all - light, love in me is
reflecting the Being of Light and Love
who made this place."
When man first separated himself from the animal
by the height of a hill,
pulled out of the gravitation of instinct,
and by his first flickering intelligence,
made the unwelcoming wind
his neighbour;
took rocks and built on the hill
his own hill
set higher still against
the cruel tongue of the gale -
scandalmongering, harsh tale-telling to the whole
open heavens his weak shivering nakedness -
shut up her mouth with
the ragged dyke of his first hill-dwelling;
then the amazement in the chill first morning sight
of his separateness of hill-height
echoed down his labyrinthine mind,
setting him level with the sun rising
as his mind dawned with re-echoing
life-and-death power to match
the sun's flower of flame.
And in its dying a wonder
projected him to the first space-exploration
of sight,
throwing his eye-open feeling
wildly reeling about the
shatter of scattered stars,
in awakening ecstasy, as he welcomed night by growing night
the still glowing glory of
pregnant moon,
who in time from her full womb
gave birth to his worship and dread delight.
Out of the animal jungle,
against the grain of himself,
he climbed,
to make rock and mind,
heaving giddy height and imagination
his element.
By these hills he raised himself
to stand above himself,
become more than he was,
set his mind madly mountaineering
on visions and dreams,
made this wild place
the discovery of a human wildness;
mountain-leaping, stretched out
wings of longing,
and became eagle minded,
soared and plunged,
loved and despaired as never
in the blind earth-bound jungle.
To-day I come to this place
of heaving, harsh, unsympathetic rock,
of tormenting rejection of wind,
to set the human jungle
of town-and-earth-bound people
at a distance -
to be a person,
to become in the wind's frantic action,
still -
to be, by the height of a hill,
separate, alone, human -
and, by the soaring sweep of sight, to
waken again the height and depth
of longing,
of love and despair, to dare
the eagle wings of
dread and delight.
Not the thrusting, eager cry of geese
striving to rise or arrowed
against the wind, but,
from behind the great pine tree,
a mellow, murmuring music of swans
flying in line, low,
wide-winged and slow, with
flowing, round sound,
calling, thirteen in number;
passing overhead, yet not passing
but blessing, and white-clad too
as the newly baptised, washed white
by the obedient blood of the man,
answering love's invitation
to death. All this at that point
where the ground-bound desolation
of prayer, sharing the will-bending
weight of others' pain and frustration,
and the impossible burden
of uncertainty; at that point,
when at last prayer too rose
in flight, winged with the spirit,
uplifted by the crucified affirmation,
there the swans flew straight,
like a saint's will joyfully
answering God's call;
and my heart was touched by
the feather floating breath
of blessing, from thirteen white swans,
answering God's call.
Why are you always mourning?
Tears again at the touch of a word,
A phrase, sight or sound.
What have you lost?
Is it forever the dead mother
Departing into the relentless assimilation
Of the cold, pitiless ground?
Loss it is; the impossibility
Of recovering prisoners time has taken.
But it is more - the sense of the possibility
Of discovery, gaining more ground,
If we could only risk the wave's torment,
The fathomless deeps,
Travel out from the shore.
"Christ turns all our sunsets into dawns"
(Clement of Alexandria - 2nd Century)
This they call 'The evening of life'
implying there a mellowing,
a sheltering, a relieving from the
knife-thrust of competitive self-fulfilment,
which is known as 'Getting On In The World'.
Do they forget that evening is bright
with burnishing clouds into gold,
sword-thrust of dazzling beams of light
sun-setting, glorious glowing red sky
fulfilled, and that life, like light, may seem to die,
but rises always beyond sight's limited horizon?
There is a wildness in my mind, confined
behind the bars of rigid duty which define
the practical precincts of each day. Only the wind
is free to come and go where he must live,
and stars shed silver sparkling tears
into the deep pools of his eyes
where, as he lies,
he looks with longing
at the freedom of the skies.
From time to time his restless tread
thuds like a heart-beat in my head;
his shadow ripples over the bars,
and sighs like birds fly to the stars.
Sometimes I wonder if he is there.
Then, with the breeze, his nostrils stir
and waking, he leaps against his cage
until the wildness of my rage
surprises me.
Or, when the sun draws ecstasy of life around,
a sudden longing for the hills
startles me, stretching against the iron bound
necessity of duty.
I lie awake at night and ask myself
if I took strength, crumbled the bars, let him go free
would he, insane with lust,
imprison himself in my destruction or
would he, with a wild leap of love,
take me his prey -
and set me free?
Centuries of experience have wrinkled
your rock-skulled face.
A dignity lies deep in your
millennial age and,
in the slowness of your year's change,
a gradual grace.
The growing tree is, to you,
a leap of life,
over as quickly as foot returns
to the ground.
Flowers flicker a moment,
smile at the corner of your mouth.
Yet everything about you possesses its
own unborrowed place.
Slowly you gather all growing and dying
to your decay
as time, which you seem to hold timeless,
must have its way,
and you too pass as the swift shadow-clouds
that over you run the wind's wild race.
"No dark can ever hide this dear loved land from me"
(If I Were Old – William H Ogilvie)
You wrote once about a blind poet
out on the hills seeing by the inner
sun of clear memory all that rolled
and swept in still solid waves
around him. Little did you think
then it was the inner light would dim
within you so that your eyes open and
hill-wandering would be lost into
the mind's darkness; and yet I remember
how, when I came with Christ's own humility
in my hand to feed your sightless
soul with bread and wine of His love,
the smile of years of joy from those
comforting hills wandered still about
the corners of your mouth.
And now this bronze book, set on a lectern
of stones, your face on a medal of bronze
fronting it, I feel your soothing words
spread out over the flowing ground
motionless yet rolling around me,
and know you see the joy within me
for you remembered here, and that
your smile is in this place.
The Rev. Edward Macallan Robertson graduated from Aberdeen University with a first-class honours. He followed this up with a B.Litt at Queen's College, Oxford. He came back up to Scotland in 1960 as Rector of St. Cuthbert's, Hawick. Prior to his retirement in 1993 he was Priest-in-Charge at St. Kessog's, Auchterarder and St. James, Muthill.


text:
January 22, 2011
The Little Giants returned to action as the 2011 portion of the indoor track and field season started Saturday afternoon. Wabash came away with 13 top-five finishes at the non-scoring 2011 Little Giant Invitational.
View photos from the Little Giant Invitational here.
John Haley led the way for the Little Giants by finishing second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.13. He also scored a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash (23.32), and a fifth-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles (8.22).
Kevin McCarthy (left) posted the only first place finish for Wabash, winning the one-mile run with a time of 4:16.54. Teammate Donavan White finished second (4:26.53), followed closely by Seth Einterz in third place (4:26.88). Einterz and White took second and third place, respectively, in the 3000-meter run. Einterz finished in 8:53.87, while White crossed the finish line in 9:05.69. Brian David added a fifth-place finish with a time of 9:11.45.
McCarthy, an All-American in the 800-meter run last season, scored a third-place finish Saturday with a solid early-season time of 2:01.20. Jake Waterman, who also earned All-America honors in the 800, took fourth place with a time of 2:01.51.
Matt Knox cleared 14 feet (4.26 meters) in the pole vault to claim third place. Trevor Young also topped the 14-foot mark for fourth place.


text:
After about a week-long hiatus for technical / upgrade reasons, The Diatribe is back up and running.
A Merger and Acquisition
One year, eight months and eleven days ago I went to New York City to hang out with my friend Hillary who I had met on Jam Cruise earlier that year. We'd been in touch throughout much of 2011 and had tried to coordinate a time to get together to hang out. In late September, that time came in the form of a Primus show in New York City. We immediately knew there was something special and started a cross-country relationship. We kept telling ourselves "don't worry, we'll figure out a way to make this work.."
Then in January, we figured it out. I offered up the idea of moving back to the east coast so that we could reduce the distance variable in this long distrance relationship by 90%. And let me say that there's a lot to be said about dating someone in the same time zone. In June, I said goodbye to my friends, packed my stuff up and drove cross-country to relocate in Brooklyn.
Things got a lot easier after moving to New York. I'd take the bus down to Virginia on the weekends to visit Hillary and the boys, and they'd come up here periodically to hang out in New York — with the end goal of eventually moving in after school got out. And while I do miss San Francisco, I've really grown to love my Brooklyn neighborhood and being closer to Hillary made it all worth it.
So here I am, on move-in eve. We've been counting down the days for over 9 months and it's finally here. Hillary, Kaleb and Peyton are packed and ready to go. Tomorrow afternoon they'll make their final drive from Winchester to Brooklyn, to the Park Slope neighborhood that they'll call home.
At one point, Hillary joked about the move being a "Home Invasion," however I quickly corrected her and called it a "Merger and Acquisition." I'm very excited to be a part of Team DoLewis. I'm excited to acquire two fantastic boys and a wonderful girlfriend and I'm excited for the merging of our lives.
The boys first day here will be Sunday. Father's day. And while I don't exactly consider myself a "Father," just yet.. I'll celebrate this year's holiday to "Male Parent/Guardian Day." Next year, you can wish me Happy Father's Day.
I love you, Hillary.
An update on India
It's been just over a week since I arrived here in India and it's been an experience. I've particularly enjoyed how friendly everyone has been all around the country. Like many countries outside the US, you need to be a little more assertive than in the States, which puts me out of my comfort zone — but it's something I've been working on. This is particularly true when you're "waiting in line" or trying to navigate public spaces. With 1.3 billion people in the country, you need to be a little more aggressive to get where you want to go — whether you're driving or walking.
We've been working long days, but it's been quite enjoyable. Our teams are great that we've been working with and I'm very impressed with how the project has been going thus far. One of the biggest challenges has been the hours that we've been working. We've been getting up in the morning to discuss the plan for the day, go to the gym or the pool for a bit, and then head into the office for 4pm. We do a few hours of training followed by several hours working on the floor with the teams to help them out and learn how to handle tickets from the sales teams until 2am or so.
The food has been good. I've had a few bouts of discomfort due to my acid reflux, but I've managed to work through it. I also started trying to figure out Cricket. It started as a way to put myself to sleep, because I had no idea what was going on, it allowed me to have something on the television that I had no interest in — but then it turned into a bit of a puzzle. I've slowly been figuring out the rules each day and I've got a pretty good understanding of the sport. Baseball is still much more exciting, but it's interesting.
We finished up our shift on Friday and got a 6am flight to Delhi on Saturday morning. From the Delhi airport, we got a car to take us up to Agra, the small town where the Taj Mahal is located — about 3.5 hours north of Delhi. Unbeknownst to use, the driver we hired happened to know a tour guide in Agra, so we found ourselves pulling over on the side of the road only to pick up this well-spoken Indian guide that helped us navigate the monument.
The Taj was amazing. The entire structure is made out of pure marble and the work that went into it just blew my mind. The grounds were beautiful and the structure itself was breathtaking. I started playing around with the new "Photosphere" feature on Android 4.2.2, so be sure to check out the 360′ Photosphere Picture that I created of the Taj Mahal grounds.
After the Taj, our guide recommended a place for lunch where I was able to witness a real, live snake charmer. I was very torn between wanting to stay to watch him and run away.
We made it back to Delhi around 8pm and witnessed a lot of very very poor neighborhoods of the city. Delhi is home to 17 million people and it's very apparent. One fact that we quoted frequently throughout the weekend was that the traffic in Delhi is the equivalent of the population of Sweden. Insane.
On Sunday we had most of the day to do some touristy things before we had to head to the airport. We ended up getting a car for the day and having someone from the hotel drive us around to show us the city and some of the sights. These included the Red Fort, the Lotus Temple and the Qulib Minar (a monument to the oldest Mosque in Delhi). Click the links for 360′ photospheres of each.
The weekend really gave some perspective to India — allowing me to see the differences between a city which has developed as part of the technology boom and one that is hugely over-populated. I saw several things that were quite shocking throughout the week, but I also saw some very beautiful monuments and met some very nice people. So far, I've been enjoying the trip, but I'll also be very glad to head home later this week.
India: Immediate First Impressions
I landed in Hyderabad India just a few short hours ago and here are some of the things that immediately stood out:
- Everyone here is super nice — I knew that coming into this trip, but I figured it was worth calling out.
- Immediately stepping out from the airport, the air felt warm and tropical, but there was a scent in the air that smelled as though something was burning — more like incense than anything particularly unpleasant.
- They drive on the left side of the road — I should've guessed knowing that they were colonized by the Brits — but who knew?!
- The cars are tiny (like most of the rest of the world) but the trucks are HUGE! The cabs of the trucks remind me of a NYC Garbage Truck, much taller and wider than Tractor Trailers in the US with huge glass windows and no doors.
- Speaking of trucks, many of them have colored lights on the side of them — including a few that looked like they had Christmas lights on the side.
- I had been warned that people drive crazy, but I didn't quite know what that meant. Essentially, people will drift in and out of lanes and they generally honk when they're passing because they want the person to not drift into their lane. I haven't seen any elephants on the road yet, though.
- As strange as this might sound, the commercial area I passed reminded me a lot of burning man. Everyone on motor bikes (rather than bicycles), people clustered together riding in groups and sitting on the back, people walking in the middle of the road, tiny little cars that I'd consider mutant vehicles, against a desert-like backdrop where many of the stores are light up with christmas lights and other glowing things to catch your attention. It's reminiscent of Black Rock City without the booming techno soundtrack.
- Security was really tight at my hotel. They searched the car for bombs and then upon entering the hotel I had to go through a metal detector and my bags were x-rayed. The hotel is gorgeous, though.
- The gentleman at the front desk brought my luggage up to my room and he walked inside with me and insisted that I sit down at the desk while he told me all about the hotel and its amenities for 5 minutes. I felt slightly uncomfortable.
I've only been here a few hours and it's already been an interesting trip. I'm not quite sure what to do with myself now though — I'm not exactly sleepy, but I'm exhausted from travelling… Oh well. That's Jet Lag for ya.
India Trip Report: JFK to Dubai
I figured I'd do a little blogging while I'm on this two-week work trip to Hyderabad, India as part of my "Trip report." I feel like I do most of my blogging while I'm traveling — but whatever. Anyway..
I took off yesterday morning at 10am from JFK headed to HYD by way of Dubai. The flight on Emirates Airlines was amazing. Each seat was equipped with a TV with 2,000 channels, hundreds of movies, music, and everything else you could imagine. For each section of four seats, there were 2 power adapters and each seat came with its own USB port for charging (Brilliant!)
One of the coolest features, though, was channel that let you switch between three cameras that were mounted on the outside of the plane to see what was going on outside. Having just about the whole row to myself, I had one TV permanently set to the Tail Camera to see what was going on outside.
With all the film choices, I ended up watching Looper first. I've been infatuated with this concept and was really excited to sit down to watch it. I fell asleep 2/3 the way through. Go figure.
I woke up about an hour later and ended up watching a few other films: "Deadfall", which I rather enjoyed, and "Safety Not Guaranteed" — a clever comedy about a guy that took out a classified ad looking for partner to go back in time with. I think this one was my favorite.
The Dubai Airport is quite nice. I've never been to an arab country before and while I would've liked to have taken a quick tour of the city, I didn't feel like I really had enough time and didn't want to risk missing my flight.
This is Your Brain on Meditation
I recently purchased an an audio book on Audible.com entitled "Meditations to Change Your Brain: Rewire Your Neural Pathways to Transform Your Life" by Rick Hanson and Rick Mendius. The authors, a neuropsychologist and neurologist respectively, have done extensive studies on the eastern traditions of Buddhism, meditation and yoga and how they impact the brain. I highly recommend this audio book, as it not only discusses the science behind these traditions, but it also incorporates several different guided meditations that are designed to change your brain. As you can imagine, this is a topic that resonates with me greatly, so I figured I'd try to distill some of the information that I've learned from their book and share it with my readers.
What is Suffering?
In Buddhism, there is a concept known as suffering or dukkha. The way I see it, "suffering" is synonymous with pain, anxiety or stress. Anything that causes discomfort in our daily lives, be it conscious or unconscious. But, as it turns out, we're all hard wired to experience discomfort and suffering. Why? Because it's one of the primary mechanisms through which life has been programmed to survive..
As human beings, there are six main reasons why were are biologically predisposed to this stress and anxiety.
Organism-World Distinction
Every organism needs to know the boundaries between itself and everything else. For most animals, it our skin. But even down at the cellular level, every cell must know the difference between itself and another cell. This creates a duality in our perception: there's me and then there's not me (or the rest of the world).
The existence of this boundary allows our brains to more quickly process information and threats. It's an easy way for our brain to cut tasks in half to make them more manageable: inside stimuli vs. outside stimuli.
But when you go down to the atomic level, this distinction doesn't exist. The atoms in your skin are bumping right up next to the atoms in the air and on whatever it is you're sitting on at this moment. At the same time, there's a constant exchange of matter and energy. You eat food, which breaks it down into chemicals, to fuel your body with energy, to allow it to function and do all the tasks that we ask of ourselves every day. At the same time, your body is constantly trading oxygen for carbon dioxide. Atoms outside our bodies become part of us and our atoms become part of our environment through these processes. A year from now, 98% of the atoms in your body will not be the same ones that are in your body today.
But, as our brain tries to maintain the illusion that we are separate and distinct from "everything else", we forget that deep down we're not any different from our own environment, which creates suffering as a byproduct. It's the conscious and unconscious fear of the unknown. The fear of things that are "not me."
Identification with the body
Our brains not only have to monitor all of the internal and external activity, but there also has to be functions that are watching all of this activity and responding to it. There are circular circuits in the nervous system specifically designed to watch the function of other systems in the nervous system. Someone has to fly this ship, right?
So, let's pretend for a moment that your body is a like a plane. The control panels in the cockpit panel are like the insula portion of the brain monitoring all of the various activities: the RPM of the engine, the altitude, the internal temperature, etc. The pilot is the brain, helping to make decisions based on all of this data. In the same way that a pilot identifies with the ship as being part of himself: "I'm comin' in for a landing!", "I've got a bogey on my tail," etc. the brain does the same thing with our bodies. It creates a sense of self: "I am my body."
When you think about your body in this way, we begin to relate external experiences with ourselves, explaining why we take things personally. All of the various drama and stories that we witness, we envision it as happening to ourselves — causing suffering or stress.
Anxiety of Survival
All animals have it imprinted in their DNA that they have to do whatever is necessary to survive. Throughout human history we've been trying to protect ourselves from being the prey of some predator. Our brains are programmed to constantly scan our environment for potential threats. Even when we're asleep, our brains are ready to act in a moment's notice if there's a threat. So much so, in fact, that our circadian rhythms cause us to wake up on average ten times a night to check the status of the outside environment.
This internal warning system is constantly engaged in measuring the risk of potential threats to our existence.
Maybe now you can start to see now why meditation and yoga are so beneficial. These activities allow us to focus solely on the internal stimuli and thus relieve the brain of some of its duties of worrying about external "threats": things going on at your job, in your personal life, your grocery list, etc. But, I think this also can help explain why we all find the practice of meditation so challenging.
Our Ever-changing World
Everything changes. The planet is constantly changing — rivers, tectonic plates, the wind, trees growing, etc. The same holds true for the rest of our universe — everything is always in a constant state of flux — up until the inevitable point at which, billions of years from now, Earth and our entire solar system will be consumed by the sun. So, if everything is always changing, that means that we always need to pay attention. Nothing will ever be still for one moment.
Maintaining Equilibrium
So at the same time that we're trying to adjust to all of this external stimuli, we have the exact same thing going on internally. We encounter input all day, from all different sources that our brain constantly has to process. Neurons are constantly firing to perform different tasks, sending and receiving information from the other systems in our bodies. Then, add in the constant death and rebirth cycle of all of the neurons themselves. All the while our complex systems of the brain are trying calibrate itself to the equilibrium point from all this stimuli. Quite a Sisyphean task!
But while all of this helps us to survive, you can probably imagine how this might deter us from being able to quiet down our minds.
Seek Pleasure and Avoid Pain
Lastly, the most basic questions that any cellular organisms is faced with is: approach or retreat. Absorb or reject. For us humans, we view this behavior as the concept of likes and dislikes. It's what motivates our species towards pleasure and makes us retreat from pain, anxiety, discomfort.
Dealing with Suffering or Stress
So.. how do we combat this? We need to take some time out each day to quiet our minds and reduce the inputs that our brain needs to try to register. But, just like any other activity that you do: doing a sport, writing, playing music, drawing, difficult conversations, selling cars, it requires practice. Practice makes perfect, right? Meditation and yoga are just two examples of that focus on turning inwards on ourselves and allowing our brain to focus on the internal systems and thus temporarily reduce our suffering and stress.
From a physiological perspective when we meditate there are three main areas of the brain that are activated: The orbital frontal cortex, the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula.
The orbital frontal cortex is the portion of the brain located directly behind the eyes and it's responsible for all the executive functions of the mind. It's the CEO: Evaluating tasks, Keeping everything on task, Making decisions, etc. It takes the lead in organizing the neurological activities required.
The ACC, or anterior cingulate cortex, is the portion of the brain that controls attention. It's job is to keep your mind focused on the tasks you've assigned to yourself. Located just behind your "third eye" the ACC lights up during to keep your focus during meditation on the breath, your posture, your mantra. It's the portion of the brain that keeps yelling "Shut Up, I'm trying to meditate!"
The insula is the located near the ACC, but it straddles the right and left hemispheres of the brain. It's the internal monitor of the systems, but it also insula: Near the ACC on both sides of the brain. Senses the interior state of the body, but it is also the bridge between the thinking and feeling portions of the brain. If it sense pain somewhere, it sends this signal to the pre-frontal cortex to decide what to do with this information.
Scientists have observed other peole that perform similar inward-focused activities and they've seen similar patterns in brain activity. For example, in studies in which the brain activity was measured in monks and nuns during their spiritual activities, they found these same areas of the brain light up. So, if you think about it, religion is more connected through neurology and biochemistry than in the principles of the religion itself.
So, what does meditation do to your brain?
Just like muscles, when you use various parts of the brain for these tasks, they get stronger. Meditation trains our attention and interoception: our gut feelings and intuition. It improves our self-awareness and self-understanding. Meditation also trains what's known as our our meta-attention, which is how we attend to attention. This is particularly useful when trying to teach ourselves new things.
Brain activity in the insula has been linked to a human being's capacity for empathy — a social skill to communicate with other people. MRIs have shown that the more we experience empathy, the more our insula lights up. At its root, empathy is our sense of compassion, loving kindness and how relate to other human beings. It allows us to communicate with other beings because we can understand their wants and needs. This also allows us to connect to other people because we know what they're going through. In fact, neuroscientists have found that some of the exact same cells in our insula activate just as if we, ourselves, were feeling that feeling.
Meditation is also found to release chemicals in our brain associated with pleasure such as dopamine and norepinephrine. It's as though our own brain is rewarding us for doing this practice.
By working our ACC, we're strengthening the ties between what we think and what we feel. The more we do this, the more we wire these connections together — which helps improve overall brain function. Deterioration in the ACC has been known to cause diseases such as Alzheimer's and Dimentia.
Meditation also has more permanent effects on the brain. For example, people who meditate more frequently are often found to be sending out brain waves that signal that they are content and happy. It's also been found to increase serotonin levels in the brain, which also leads to our overall happiness.
People who meditate often have more brain activity in the left frontal lobe of the brain which are generally used to promote positive feelings, compared to the right frontal lobe which promotes negative feelings. Regular practitioners are also found to have thicker brain layers in the areas that relate to attention (up to 1mm in some cases!). The thicker the brain matter in these regions, the more brain cells, the stronger they become.
Most importantly, the practice of meditation seems to have a "dosing" effect on the brain. What this means is that the more you meditate, the more these changes occur in the brain and the longer they last. Just like weight training, the more you work out the more muscle you'll build, the longer it would take to lose it.
When scientists measure the brain states during meditation, what they've found is that it generally triggers the exact same portions of your brain that are associated with all of the other pleasurable activities that you enjoy in your daily life. So as you get better at meditation, you are thus strengthening your brain and teaching it how to deal with day-to-day stress, increase attention at work, and do more critical thinking. All this, while being rewarded at the same time.
So, what are you waiting for?
Cross-Country Tour: Memphis and Beyond
Cumulative Mileage: 3909mi
Ever since I left Memphis, I've not really had a lot of downtime in the evenings to update the Ethernet about my adventures. Needless to say, I've made it to New York. The last leg of my journey begins today when I head up to Boston to drop off my car with my mom. It's going to be quite sad to part with her after this incredible bonding experience, but I know she'll be in good hands.
Anyway, I left the hotel in Memphis on Thursday morning and headed to Graceland. Prior to starting my trip I had no desire to see Graceland, but after several people had highly recommended it (including the woman at Cadillac Ranch who said that Graceland was the highlight of her trip), I figured I should probably stop by.
I'm very glad I did. I have so much more respect for Elvis Presley after learning about his life and seeing his home. He's one stylish m*therf*cker. His house was out of control. I only snapped one picture on my phone, so you'll have to wait until I upload the rest from my camera to see what I'm talking about, but this place was amazing.
This was the "Jungle Room." Complete with a working waterfall that comes down the brick wall and the entire floor, ceiling, and walls covered in this green plush carpet. I realized that Elvis really was a Rock God — and he knew it. He was damn cool.
I left Memphis and took the three hour drive across the state over to Nashville to visit my sister and my nephew. I hadn't seen them since he was a week or two old, so it was incredible to see how much he's grown and what he's able to do now. I can't wait to see how he grows up. I'm glad that I'll be closer to both of them, being in New York, and get to see them more frequently.
Friday, I drove 7.5 hours over to Waynesboro/Charlottesville, Virginia to spend the night with Hillary. This was the first time that I found myself too exhausted to drive during the middle of my cruise. I had to stop at a gas station somewhere in Tennessee and take a quick cat nap because my eyes were wanting to close just too badly.
Hillary lives two hours north, but we met down in this area because she was going to participate in a Yard Sale that her storage unit company was hosting to help clear out some of those unwanted items that she's had laying around. It was so great to see Hillary and meet all her old friends that live down in that area. I felt as though she was somewhat of the prize at the end of my journey.
It was wonderful to have people to talk to in the evenings. My entire trip has been spent talking to strangers in 5-10 minute increments and then being on my way. So, to have my sister and hillary to talk to for an entire night was awesome. Thus the reason for the lack of posting.
On Saturday, we had the storage unit yard sale. It wasn't as successful as we had planned, but this is namely because the storage company failed to properly advertise the event so there weren't enough shoppers coming through the fenced-in area. They plan on doing this same thing the first Saturday of every month, so it'll be better next time — we hope.
I left Hillary bound for New York City around 3:30. Two hours later, I had just crossed the West Virginia state line and I was exhausted and couldn't drive any further. I pulled over at the welcome center and napped again. I used to feel that napping was cheating, but you really only need 30-60 minutes of sleep to feel rejuvenated and ready to hit the road again.
By 11pm, I was entering Manhattan. The sight of the New York skyline was SO surreal. I couldn't believe that I was actually here. I had been in Arizona and the Grand Canyon just days earlier — and here I was in New York City. Wow. Navigating through northern New Jersey, Manhattan and Brooklyn to get to my place was a nightmare. I never thought I was going to make it. I got to my new apartment around midnight and began to unload my car and drag everything up the four flights of stairs. Painful.
I forgot how awesome my new apartment is, though. I had a hard time sleeping because I was too excited to start taking things apart and putting stuff away. I don't think sleeping on an air mattress in a room without window shades helped, but whatever.
So, here I am. I'm getting ready to start the last leg of this cross-country trip and head up to Boston. It's been the most amazing experiences I've ever had and I'm sad to have it all come to an end. The fact that I have to go to work on Monday just doesn't make sense to me. But, I'll get used to it. Now.. if only I can get the movers to drop off my stuff — I can start to get settled.
Cross-Country Tour Day 6: Dallas to Memphis
Cumulative Mileage: 2675mi ~~ Total Travel Time: ~7 hours.
Exhausted doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling tonight. I'm a block away from Beale Street, the nightlife center of Memphis and I'm back in my hotel. Texas is draining. The drive today was very difficult and tiring. I think I went through 2 cups of coffee, a five hour energy, and two redbulls all before noon.
Before I left Dallas, I wanted to find a good place to get a real "Texan Breakfast." After asking three different people, all of them recommended IHOP. Really? IHOP? Texas. So, I go to IHOP and the waitress asks me "Smoking or Non?" Really? That's gross. Texas. I order some ridiculous meat-laden omelette and have to specify that I want my omelete made with real eggs rather than buttermilk pancake batter. Really? IHOP. Texas. I don't even know.
As soon as I get back to my car, it starts pouring. Thunder. Lightning. Hail. You name it.. I got my storm. As I was leaving Dallas, I kept looking along side the highway for signs of Tornados, but fortunately I saw none. I made it just about to the Arkansas border when it cleared up. Texas.
My original plan was to stop in Little Rock for lunch, but it was too far and I was too tired and hungry to make it there. I ended up stopping at the birthplace of William Jefferson Clinton, Hope Arkansas. It was very unexciting and I ended up having lunch at Wendy's. I broke my streak of non-chain restaurants. Sigh.
I make it through Little Rock and get back onto Highway I-40. I was very relieved to make it back onto 40. I had been on 40 from Bakersfield to Amarillo and will be on it pretty much all the way to Virginia. I feel as though the driving got very challenging when I was off of highway 40, so it was comforting to be back on my main route. That was until I hit the Wattansaw State Game Area. There was a sign that said "Construction ahead, expect delays." I had seen this multiple times in the past and didn't expect any issue. I was wrong.
I was at a dead stop for over 30 minutes and didn't get out of traffic for over an hour. It was unbearable. This was really the first traffic I had hit since my first day on the road, so I'm considering myself lucky. I'm also very fortunate that I wasn't going westbound, because as I was stopped I had noticed that there was NO traffic going west. Not a single car the entire time I was stopped. Strange. I realized that both East and Westbound of 40 had construction down to one lane, but still, why wasn't there cars?
After a while, when we started moving I noticed there was a Red PT Cruiser on the other side of the highway parked with all four doors open. The family that owned the car was sitting outside of it, eating and talking to some policemen. Behind them sat 20 miles of traffic at a dead stop. Everyone was out of their cars hanging out. Nobody had a clue as to what was going on — not even me. I felt bad for all these people. 40 West was a parking lot. It still is, according to Google Maps. I wonder if those people are all still there.
I was expecting to get to Memphis by 5:30. I ended up getting to my hotel just before 8pm. I blame Texas.
If you've never been to Memphis, I highly recommend it. Beale Street is a very happenin' place. I wish I had more energy to go and enjoy it. I've never seen so many tricked-out motorcycles. I guess it's what you're supposed to do if you live here — get on your hog and drive it down to Beale Street.
The street smells like Barbecue and has music coming out of every store/bar/restaurant/club. It reminds me a lot of New Orleans, actually.
Of course, I had to have some Memphis BBQ while I was here and I ended up going to an amazing place called Charles Vergos' Rendezvous. Unbelieveable. Some of the best ribs and brisket I've ever eaten.
After dinner, I walk down the street and notice some sort of stadium-type place. At first, I thought it was a horse track because there were no turnstiles to get in and there were people cheering. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was a baseball stadium for the Memphis Redbirds. Apparently, they take down the turnstiles after the 7th inning and let anyone into the park. Lucky for me!
I walk in and it's 2-2 in the top of the 8th, the Redbirds (AAA St. Louis) are playing the Round Rock Express (AAA Texas!). Ryan Spilboughs was the only player I recognized. He played in Colorado for 7 seasons including the 2007 World Series against the Red Sox (0-10, 2BB, 2 SO). The Express went up 3-2 in the top of the 8th and the Redbirds answered right back in the bottom. Bottom of the 9th, two on, two out, a ground ball single to the right fielder scores the run from second. It was almost a close play at the plate, but the Redbirds rallied to win the game. All things considered it was a pretty exciting two innings. I even got to see some guy by the name of Hamburger pitch.
After the game I walked around Beale street for a little bit to see if there was something that caught my ear. Unfortunately, I was just too tired to deal with it. So, here I am. I hadn't planned to write much this evening — I thought it was a pretty uneventful day. But, turns out I had plenty to say.
Tomorrow, I am planning on checking out Graceland while I'm here. I'm not an Elvis fan, but why not, right? After that, I head to Nashville to see my sister, her husband, and my nephew Henry. It's only a 3.5 hour drive it's going to be a much-needed day of rest. Good night, Etherwebs.
Cross-Country Tour Day 5: Amarillo to Dallas
Cumulative Distance: 2132mi. ~~ Total Travel Time: ~8 hours.
Whew. That was a long day. Driving through Texas has been the least exciting day thus far — I had to stop for coffee several times and even busted out two five-hour energies along the way because Texas is just so damn boring.
My first stop of the morning, though, was at a "Texas Landmark" known as Cadillac Ranch. There are essentially ten cadillacs that are buried, nose first, into the ground in the middle of a field. Visitors are encouraged to spray paint and decorate them. You can imagine how much paint there are on these vehicles at this point. On one spot, the paint was starting to chip and it was about 1/4″ thick — and there was still spray paint showing. So, who knows how thick the stuff is.
There are no signs or explanations of the exhibit. It's just there in the middle of a field with a sign that says "It's against Texas law to spray paint anything on this side of the barbed wire fence." Other than that, you just need to park on the side of the highway and walk up to it.
I met a woman with two kids that was driving from Georgia to Utah and she had stopped at Walmart that morning to pick up some spray paint for her and her kids to use on the cars. She was kind enough to lend me some and I put my own little mark on one of the cars:
After a while here, I hit the road towards Dallas — and it was rough. Nothing but very boring farm land, much worse than Eastern New Mexico. If this is any hint of what's in store for me tomorrow, I'm very worried.
One thing I noticed about Texas, though, is that there is an insane number of white trucks. Everyone has a white pickup or white SUV. Everyone. I couldn't believe it, so for a ten mile stretch I started to count all of the ones I could find excluding Semis, Vans, and Car Dealerships (I saw two truck dealerships and they had a lot full of hundreds of them! I SWEAR!) After ten miles, on the highway I counted 128. That's 12.8 white trucks per linear mile.. How is that even possible? If you own a white truck and go to a baseball or football game, how do you find your car?!?
There's also a ton of churches and Jesus signs across the entire state. I think my favorite that I saw was "Jesus Doesn't Tapout" with the MMA Tapout Logo on it. Classy.
I stopped for some Texas Barbeque somewhere in Wichita Falls. It was the highest rated BBQ place in the city and it was pretty damn good. One thing I found very peculiar, however, was some "memorabilia" they had hanging on the wall. It was a piece of wood with almost 100 different types of barbed wire attached to it, each with a name and the date on which it was created (?). Who knew there were so many different kinds?! Only in Texas.
I got into Dallas/Arlington/Fort Worth around 5pm and planned on going to a Ranger's game. Turns out my hotel shares the parking lot with the Rangers Stadium at Arlington, so it was a quick walk over to the ballpark. I scored some great seats behind home plate and got to watch the Mariners thump the Rangers 10-3. Andrus had two errors at Short Stop which directly led to 3 Seattle runs. Oddly enough, too, Ichiro had 1/3rd of the putouts for the entire game. He caught 9 flyball outs in Right, three of which in the 4th inning. Strange.
I sat 12 rows behind Nolan Ryan — who is named after EVERYTHING in the ballpark. If George W. had been there, I would've been peanut-throwing distance from him. I guess he heard I'd be in attendance.
Tomorrow, I'm headed to Memphis by way of Arkansas. Hopefully it's more exciting than today — I can't do another 8 hours of boring landscape. I've heard there's supposed to be some thunderstorms tonight. I've got the shades open to try to catch some of these exciting storms. I'd rather watch them from the safety of my hotel room rather than from my car — especially as I drive through Arkansas.
Cross-Country Day 4: Flagstaff to Amarillo
Cumulative Distance: 1,828 mi ~~ Total Travel Time: ~12 hours.
I made it on the road by 8am — knowing that I had a full travel day ahead of me. It's about 9 hours from Flagstaff to Amarillo and I planned on making a few stops along the way. I also realized that I'd have a time change when I left Arizona, losing an hour in the process.
My first stop was Meteor Crater, about 50 miles east of Flagstaff in Arizona. The crater was pretty impressive. A meteor the size of about 50 yards across made a crater 570 feet deep and 4,000 feet wide. I took a tour of the museum and went to a few of the observation decks. I would've liked to have taken the tour, however it was an hour long and I didn't feel like sticking around for an hour.
I got back on the road with my next stop being the dinosaurs from Pee Wee's Big Adventure or the Petrified Forest, whichever came first. Turned out the petrified forest came first and I was disappointed to find out that this was not going to be a quick stop. Located about 50 miles off highway 40, the national park had a small museum area and "forest" that you could walk through and take pictures — followed by a 28 mile drive that catches back up to highway 40. The disappointment being that my route through the forest short-circuit my trip to the dinosaurs. Sigh.
But, the petrified forest was pretty neat. It was for the museum and first "forest" that you walk through. There were several other walkable areas that the park rangers were way too excited about but I felt it unnecesary to stop at them. If you've seen one petrified forest, you've seen them all.
The trees were pretty remarkable. Many of them glistened in the sunlight — the photo above doesn't nearly do it justice. Each piece of wood fossilized and turned into a gem-like stone. Some of the trees were huge: 30-40 feet long.
I got back in the car and managed to listen to the last half of the Red Sox game. I've been able to listen to a lot of baseball on my trip — MLB.tv has come in quite handy and you'd be surprised how much 3G service you can get along major highways. After another hour or two I entered New Mexico and I had to adjust my clock an hour forward. It was about 1pm by the time I got to New Mexico and in order to try to make up some time, I didn't plan on stopping again until Albuquerque around 4pm.
I stopped for a very late lunch in historic old town Albuquerque, which was a very cute part of town. I had lunch at an amazing Mexican restaurant that had a tree in the middle of the dining area. I had an exceptional pork dish and a great dessert pastry type thing that you dip in honey. Delicious. I ended up spending an hour in Albuquerque, which meant that I'd be getting into Amarillo around 9pm, instead of my planned 8pm.
Leaving Albuquerque, you could see the landscape start to change from desert/mountain area to grassland. There is nothing in Eastern New Mexico. Amarillo is about an hour inside the Texas border and to my surprise, when I crossed the Texas border, I saw a sign that read "You are now entering the Central Time Zone." Argh! This meant that I'd actually get into Amarillo at 10pm! Ugh. There goes my dinner plans.
Everyone recommended that I go to this restaurant called "The Big Texan," home of the free 72 ounce steak. I hadn't planned on ordering it, but it would've been nice to get a good steak dinner. I kept thinking of The Great Outdoors every time I saw the signs for the free 72 ounce steak, but alas, I never made it.
Tomorrow, I've got a 6.5 hour drive down to Dallas, where I plan on catching a Ranger's game in the process. I also plan on going to see Cadillac Ranch on my way out of Amarillo, which should be interesting. That's all for tonight, folks. It's time for me to get some rest — it's been another long day.