Love's First Kiss

If you can't tell by the picture, it is the outline of two pair of feet. They are apparently from the feet of young Abner and his gal Nik. This is the site of their first kiss. I thought it was pretty cool. I can remember my first kiss. More importantly I can remember me and my wife's first kiss. I think these events are probably so powerful, flooding our brains with endorphins and other chemicals that they become ingrained in our synapses.Maybe it is just me, because I am such a romantic, I don't know. Maybe since I married the girl that I kissed back in high school when hormones were at their peak, that I can remember it so well. I don't know. I would be curious to know if others remember their first kiss. Will Abner and Nik always remember this day when they shared this?  I would like to think so. Judging by the size of the shoes I bet their parents do not want to know anything about it. These shoes are way smaller than my kids. Yikes!

I just think it is fun to look back on those times when things were simpler and we marked milestones with a Sharpie. Would have been a great one for Valentines day, but I take what I can get.

A man snatches the first kiss, pleads for the second, demands the third, takes the fourth, accepts the fifth - and endures all the rest.
Helen Rowland


We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine.
Eduardo Galeano

End of the Month Ouch

Made it through a month. Didn't post every day. Would like to get these up on a little more consistent basis instead of flooding you loyal readers with a dozen in a day or two. I find this photo a good end to the month of January because this month was both prickly and colorful. You can tell its been a mild winter when cacti looks this good in Kansas at the end of month of Jan. 

Picture my goals underneath this pile of prickly. That's kind of where I am right now. Everything is right there, just a little hard to obtain with drawing a little blood and enduring some discomfort. I know, boo fricken hoo. Don't cry for me Argentina. I got it under control.  

• We do not like the confiding, the intimate, the ingratiating, the hail-fellow-well-met, but prefer the unapproachable, the hard-bitten, the recalcitrant, the sinister, the malignant, the saturnine, the cross-grained and the cankered, and the howling wilderness to the amenities of civilization, the irascible to the affable, the prickly to the smooth.We have no damned fellow- feeling at all.
  
  -Grieve
    'The Dour Drinkers of Glasgow', in The American Mercury, Mar.

MMMMMMeat 29th

Superbowl food practice. I bought a new electric smoker and I thought I better try it out before Super Bowl Sunday. (Trademark infringement, I know.) Ribs and sausage on top. Followed by pork shoulder, and more ribs. Finally a chicken on the bottom. (You don't want a chicken dripping on the pork of course.) I was a little skeptical, being a die hard wood and charcoal guy, but I have to say,  it turned out fantastic. They were all cooked to perfection. I put them in, closed the door, added wood through a hole once in a while, and opened the door many hours later. Smokey goodness. Smoked chicken salad on asiago ciabatta bread is to die for. One artery at a time. 

Ever try to find a quote about meat? Impossible. I can find a lot of quotes about how bad a carnivore diet is, but not how wonderfully tasty it is. Don't get me wrong. I love animals. Cuddling with some and eating others. So here is the best quote I found......

I kill flies, I eat meat, you know, whatever.
Ethan Hawke

I was at sea the other day and loads of meat floated past. It was a bit choppy.. . .

Tower of Power

Tower of Power. Reach for new heights. Soar, Climb, aim for the sky, the stars. I don't know. What do you say about a picture of a tower. It's all about perspective? Where you are and where you want to be. One step at a time will help you reach your goals. Every little step you take will help you reach greatness. It is all a bunch of bull. I could go on and on (I think I may have), spewing these hallmark card ideas. I will spare you more of my sarcasm. I am at a point this week where it doesn't seem to matter how hard you work, how important you may be. Certain things and people stand out more. Have you ever known a time where the quiet, smart, studious thinker stood out and elevated up from the masses. Think about high school because it is kind of the same. I may be invaluable in a certain instance but if I'm not loud, obnoxious, or just flashy, I will continue to go unnoticed. That is where I am at right now. I know, I'm a little frustrated and bitter right now, but believe me, I am reaching for the stars. (or at least the top of the tower at Shawnee Mission Park.)

A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better than the view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands.
William Lyon Phelps

It's 'Science....Sort Of' 27th

Science.....Sort Of

My favorite podcast. One hour, once a week. A few guys, graduate students, Doctoral Candidates and Professor types all sit around and discuss cool stuff about science. Really, they talk about the cool stuff. They also drink beer and other elixers and discuss that in a segment called 'What are you Drinking'.

They discuss and rate movies based soley on the trailers in the segment 'Trailer Trash Talk'.

Like sitting and listenening to your buddies if they were cool and way smart.

Their logo is a Brachiolope. Notice my shirt and my dog in antlers. I sent this to the website Sciencesortof.com. Part of the Brachiolope media network. All rights reserved.

A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.
Max Planck

For those of you that are new to my blog, here is how it goes. I take one picture a day, everyday. One shot, no takebacks. That is the picture I post. I tell about the picture and why I chose it or whatever. Sometimes I just talk about what is on my mind. Following the pic is a favorite quote that goes along with the pic. Somedays are harder than others. Try finding a quote about smoked meats. Please check it out. This project only becomes more interesting as I struggle for subject matter. It is going to be a jouney I promise.

I see my Shadow

Gizmo sees his shadow. Six more weeks of winter or whatever you call what we have been having. I am going to say it here and now for the record. Guinea pigs are pretty flippin cool. Gizmo is my buddy.

Man in Hallway: Think it'll be an early spring?
Phil: Winter, slumbering in the open air, wears on its smiling face a dream... of spring. Ciao.
Man in Hallway: Ciao.

I love this movie. I'm sure I've said this many times. Top 5 fer shur.

Phil: You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life.

Office View 26th

I just thought the reflection off of my office window was pretty cool that morning. I know, three days in a row with sunrise at the airport. Would you like to see another picture of my desk instead?

I am never short of quotes on light though. Another of my favs.......

In the beginning there was nothing.  God said, "Let there be light!"  And there was light.  There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.  ~Ellen DeGeneres

Feeling a Little Foggy 25th

My mind is still in a fog. Can't seem to get it all on track. Two sunrises in a row. What would it take to get the chance to sit each morning and enjoy the sunrise. Even clouded in fog, it is pretty cool. I guess all it would take is a night job, but I don't need that again. Retirement? Too soon. I guess I will take what I can get and enjoy the little bits that come my way. Would it diminish the beauty of sunrise if one were to sit and enjoy it each day? Would one eventually look like the next? I would sure like to do a study where I could sit and ponder these ideas. Anyone willing to pay me for my thoughts?.................

I thought not. Just the rantings of a lunatic.

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.  ~Aaron Rose

Rays of Light ... 24th

I'm behind. I get it. I have taken pictures, but with my ever increasing list of things to do I can't find the time or motivation to get these posted. I have heard your calls so I am on it. All I seem to want to do when I get home is drop on the couch and watch something that may or may not be worth watching. I need a ray of hope. A light at the end of the tunnel if you will. Fricken beam me up Scotty.

See how I worked in beams and rays and light. To quote Fonzie "I still got it," Whatever it is.

We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.  ~Evelyn Dunbar