Thoughts from the Middle of Nowhere

I see in the local rag a story about the new Indian Museum in Washington DC. I have read quite a few stories about the new museum in the past few days and the whole thing seems like quite a triumph for Indians. I'm curious as to what there goal is though. To me a museum is about facts and science. According to this story science and facts have no place in this museum.

But the National Museum of the American Indian has no anthropology department and likely never will. Gerald McMaster, a deputy assistant director for the museum and a Plains Cree, says, "Anthropology as a science is not practiced here."

Science, McMaster suggests, tries to impose an objective truth upon things that might not always lend themselves to such a framework. Science is not going to be the final arbiter at the museum. Says McMaster, "We look to the communities" -- the natives themselves -- "as authorities about who they are."

So truth about the Native Americans is not a factor hear. Most of the time if somebody is trying to hide the truth, there is some pretty dirty laundry in the past somewhere.

If this is a muesum about Native Americans don't you think it would talk about how they came to be on this continent. I think this question is a very valid one for a museum.

One thing visitors won't encounter in the museum is a scientific explanation of how the Americas were populated. Until fairly recently, scientists were confident that Asian hunters migrated across the Bering Strait on a land bridge during the Ice Age. New evidence, however, has cast doubt on that simple scenario. Some scholars believe people came by boat and land in multiple migrations. None of this, however, is discussed in the Indian Museum. It conflicts with the cosmologies of many native peoples, who believe they have occupied their lands since the beginning of time.

They probably don't want to bring the subject up because they feel threatned for some reason by clues there might have been other migrations. These clues are from the Kennewick man and this recent story about remains found in Mexico being related to Australian Aboriginals and not the more common Native American Indians. I personally don't see why they are so threatned but they are.

This muesum is only about the cultures that are here today. What about Indian cultures that are no longer around?

By focusing on living cultures, the museum may find it tricky to talk about cultures of the distant past. There is no exhibit in the museum, for example, about the great mound-building cultures of North America, or about Cahokia, a city in the Mississippi Valley near present-day St. Louis, that probably had more than 20,000 inhabitants a thousand years ago -- more than London. Museum spokesman Thomas Sweeney said he's fascinated by Cahokia but wasn't sure how it would fit into the museum's present-tense, first-person approach. But West, the museum director, said that an exhibit on Cahokia would be possible if officials had discussions with current Indian tribes in the Mississippi Valley.

Again, why are they so afraid to have an exhibt on such an important cuture in America? It appears this musuem is about defining who the American Indians are according to what they want the truth to be, not based upon the actual truth. It seems like an awful waste of taxpayer money to boost the ego of a segment of our population at the expense of the truth.

False history gets made all day, any day, the truth of the new is never on the news. False history gets written every day. Adrienne Rich

I had to laugh at My Darling Wife's comment on Cowboy Wisdom. I purposely put

--Like a good cowboy, a good hat just gets better as it gets older.

at the end since she hates my hat so. She is threatening to do a Mexican Hat Dance on it.



Now I don't see what the problem is with my 25 year old hat. I think it looks good and I know it is very comfortable. I don't know why my wife doesn't like it?

I was driving around looking to make sure we had got all the cattle out of the windmill pasture when I noticed the leaves are starting to turn on what few deciduous trees we have around here. Sure sign that fall is here.

While I was looking around I ended up on a ridge looking down at the cattle grazing. In case you can't tell the black dots in the middle of the picture are the cattle. The mountains you barely see in the far distance with the clouds over them are the Pryor Mountains.

The cattle are getting closer to the shipping corrals every day. I have a few more miles and quite a bit of riding yet to get them there and ready but we should be set for shipping next Thursday.

Humor is by far the most significant activity of the human brain. Edward De Bono

1,000 lb. man. I can't even imagine. Don't get me wrong, I am heavier than I should be by over 100 pounds but I can't imagine weighing 1000 pounds.

Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of, a blessing money can't buy. Izaak Walton

--Don't name a cow you plan to eat.
--Life ain't about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.
--Keep skunks, bankers, and lawyers at a distance.
--Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
--Don't squat down with your spurs on.
--Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
--Don't interfere with something that ain't botherin you none.
--Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
--If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin.
--It don't take a genius to spot a sheep in a herd of cows.
--The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches you shave his face in the mirror every mornin.
--If you get to thinking you're a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else's dog around.
--Only cows know why they stampede.
--Always drink upstream from the herd.
--If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there with ya.
--Letting the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in.
--Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
--When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
--Always take a good look at what you're about to eat. It's not so important to know what it is, but it's good to know what it was.
--Never miss a good chance to shut up.
--There are more horses asses than horses.
--There's two theories to arguin' with a woman. Neither one works.
--There are three kinds of men:
The one that learns by reading.
The few who learn by observation.
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.
--Most smart asses just don't fit all that well in a saddle.
--If you work for the man, ride for his brand.
--Solvin' problems is like throwin' cattle. Dig your heels on the big ones and grab the little ones 'round the neck.
--Like a good cowboy, a good hat just gets better as it gets older.

I present this information I found as is with no way of verifing its authenticity.

PC-WELT discovers and fixes serious security issue in Windows XP SP2

"Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies helps you protect your PC against viruses, hackers, and worms." - this is how Microsoft promotes its Service Pack 2 on its website. What the company does not say: Instead of viruses, worms, and hackers, the supposedly safe SP2 for Windows XP invites any Internet user to have a look around your PC.

As soon as you install SP2 on a Windows XP PC with a certain configuration, your file and printer sharing data are visible worldwide, despite an activated Firewall. This also applies to all other services. The PC only has to provide sharing for an internal local network and connect to the Internet via dial-up or ISDN. Users of DSL services are also affected, if a firewall is not integrated into the DSL modem or a common modem instead of a DSL router is used. Additionally, Internet Connection Sharing of the PC has to be disabled.

The instructions on how to fix this are not real clear so since I didn't need file sharing I just unallowed all of it. The only thing I needed on my Winblown computer was to print to my linux print server which I do via IPP so I just turned off sharing internally and externally. Hopefully somebody more informed than me about Winblown can help figure this out.

Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied. Pearl S. Buck

Suicide by fire a way out for many Afghan women

I don't know what to say about this. What really bothers me though is Feminists in the US are always talking about how persucuted women are in the US. I feel they need to turn there attention to womens rights throught the world, like in Afghanistan, and help the women in these places. Sucide as the only option to women is a sad commentary on the rights women have in such poor countries and needs to be worked on somehow. I just wish I knew how.

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome. Isaac Asimov

Did you know that political bloggers have opinions? It appears the major media did not know this about bloggers. You only have to read a political blog for a few minutes and you know what their political leanings are. What I find funny is that this story makes a big deal about it like bloggers were trying to hide the fact. They also point out that the people who questioned the documents Dan Rather revealed have ties to Republicans. Duh, no surprise there to me.

That revelation will likely fuel the suspicions of some Democrats that Republicans were behind a scheme to discredit CBS by supplying the network with fake documents.

This I find extremely humorous since I reported on this a few days ago when i found it in a humorous/satire site. I'm sorry, I just have to laugh at this whole article. I'm sure a lot of bloggers will take some kind of exception to it, or agree that it's all a Republican plot, but to me it shows the nature of blogs, political one in particular. Partisan web sites that espouse their views and attract legions of devoted, mindless followers but that's what the major media is too. Just look at Fox News and CNN. Partisan news reporting services that espouse their viewpoint and have legions of devoted followers.

There is a standard for journalists and the stories they report.

1.Seek truth and report it. "Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information."

2.Minimize harm. "Ethical journalists should treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect."

3.Act independently. "Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know."

4.Be accountable. "Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other."

Surprise, there is no such standard for bloggers. Anybody that thinks there is needs their heads examined. Really this is what the whole article is about. The major media reporting to the public that their is no common code of ethics for bloggers. As Gomer Pyle would say, "surprise, surprise, surprise." The only thing that's important to bloggers is to espouse their views and to get as many people to read it as possible. I guess the cat's out of the bag about blogger now and they are doomed, or are they? You decide.

Ethics is in origin the art of recommending to others the sacrifices required for cooperation with oneself. Bertrand Russell

I was in Billings today to meet some of my family for my oldest's birthday when I finally got fed up and just have to ask this question. Is there some kind of psychic ability drivers from Yellowstone county have that the rest of us lack? For the past year or so whenever I am in Billings the only turn signals you see working are on vehicles that do not have a 3 (Yellowstone County) on the license. Either everybody's turn signal is broke or they just signal each other psychically, I am not sure which. Can any body out there answer this.

Additionally about Billings drivers is the common thought that a red light means go faster than hell. The closest I have ever been to a wreck in my life is the numerous times I have been in Billings and start driving when a light turns green and have a Billings vehicle about ram into the side of my vehicle going through the red light. Is life this frantic in Billings that it is worth endangering everybody's safety?

What I really love about Billings drivers is there love of telling a person their number 1. I mean I am driving down a street going the posted 35 mph speed limit and Billings drivers are speeding around me like I am standing still and elevating their middle finger to me in salute. This behavior puzzles me. What is the problem they are trying to communicate to me?

Either I'm getting way to old or Billings drivers are getting mean and discourteous, I'm not sure which. Can anybody out there tell me if I am right on Billings drivers, or am I just getting to old.

Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the twentieth century Alexander Solzhenitsyn

3 charged in death of boy, 3

This kind of stuff so infuriates me I can't even think straight. I realize they havn't been proven guilty, but killing your own kid just trips my trigger. I would never be able to sit on a jury and judge assholes like these, my emotions would get in the way. People will say it was an accident or some such stupid malarkey, but it isn't. Murder is what it is, plain and simple.

Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has to take the place of the victim and on his behalf demand atonement or grant forgiveness; it is the one crime in which society has a direct interest. W.H. Auden

The whole idea of public employees giving endorsements to candidates for public office have always bothered me. But this one really bothers me. I realize as citizens they have opinions but what right do they have to endorse people. The only thing that this causes for me is to be suspicious of who public employees endorse and maybe not vote for them so in a way it might be backfiring.

Never give advice unless asked. German Proverb

I always like stories about people doing heroic things. A 3-year old saving his mom and brother in two seperate incidents in one week merits special mention though. Not many kids have this much cool to do the right thing.

We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by. Will Rogers

Residents of Billings should run for their lives on Friday. I've been around lawyers, I wouldn't be too sure if it's a meeting of the bar, or at the bar.

The question arises ... whether all lawyers are the same. This is like asking whether everything that gets into a sewer is garbage. Florynce R. Kennedy

Shhhhhh! ..... Listen ..... Can You Hear It .......... Listen Real Close ....... I Hear It.

THE GRASS IS GROWING!!!!! I can hear it.

After 2 inches of rain and nice temeratures I can hear the grass growing. Can you? It is such a nice sound. The beginnings of next years grass crop. How exciting after this horrible year.

Shhhhhh! ..... I Swear, You Can Hear It ..........

He who cannot exaggerate is not qualified to utter truth. Henry David Thoreau

Two days with rain in a row. A record for this year. I was going to start gathering my far pasture yesterday to get ready to ship. About 3:00 AM it started raining so after looking the weather forecast over I decided I could wait a day and try today. Why ride in the rain when when it was going to be nicer today. Well this morning rolled around and they were predicting some showers so we took off to gather. As soon as we started riding it started to rain, and rain, and rain some more. IT WAS WONDERFUL!!

I decided since we had started all ready to keep going and do our gather. The only thing I was concerned about was the country that we were going in was fairly rough and in slick conditions can be dangerous. You know the flatlands of Eastern Montana, or so some people think. We kept riding all the way to the end of the pasture, about 8 miles from where we unloaded the horses, and finally come across some cattle. They were hanging in an area where part of last years massive 35,000 acre fire happened. Luckily I only lost about 1000 acres which made me luckier than others. Finally got some cattle together and started moving them towards home. Even through our slickers we were pretty wet by the time we were done and my poor hat must have weighed 15 pounds it had soaked up so much water. But again I will say, IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

Probably the best thing I saw all day, and the rarest was this:



This was taken in the morning before we ever left the house. It's pretty rare to see a rainbow in the morning in the western sky around here. It was beautiful.

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

William Wordsworth

My oldest daughter is to that age where she thinks tattoos and piercings are pretty neat. She knows that they are not allowed, except for one piercing in each ear, as long as she is in the house. I keep telling her that they might seem cool now but down the road when you have to get a job and make a living it might be an impediment. I see an article now that backs up what I am saying. Now to just get her to believe it.

The whole issue reminds me of my grandmother. As I was getting ready to leave for the Navy I can remember her standing in front of me, looking up at me shaking her finger, and telling me my body was fine the way it was and I was not to profane it by getting a tattoo. It took everything I had not to laugh at her and I promised her I would not get a tattoo. I never considered at the time nor since on getting a tattoo but I will never forget her scolding me. Probably one of my fondest memories of my Mom's mom.

It’s a pleasure to share one’s memories. Everything remembered is dear, endearing, touching, precious. At least the past is safe—though we didn’t know it at the time. We know it now. Because it’s in the past; because we have survived. Susan Sontag