Proof

So I heard some people doubting that I was a cowboy and they wanted some proof. O ye of little faith. O ye that must see to believe. Well, here is the proof.

How do you stack four ton of hay? One bale at a time.

A few days ago, a man came and dropped off some hay for our horse. He brought us four ton of hay when my dad had only ordered 2 ton. Not only did he bring us more than we needed, but he pushed it off his tractor in one very tall stack. As happens in the Tri-Cities, the wind blew hard that night. You can guess what happened next, the stack fell over like Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall. Fortunately for Scott (my older brother) and I, we are not part of all the King's horses or all the King's men so we were able to put it back together again. We also had Whit snap a few pictures of our exploits. Have a gander.



Can you see the fallen stack on the left?



You gotta lift with your legs.



You tend to get a little dirty with all the sweat and flecks of hay flying around.



The stacking job is done!



I'm exhausted.

Rodeo Drive

Though you may not know it, I am a cowboy. I grew up with horses and rode for 4-H in our County Fair. Walking around the fair and smelling all of the animal stuff brings back memories. Riding our horses to the fairgrounds, dressing up in the cowboy shirts that have snaps instead of buttons, wrangler jeans, boots, hat, the whole bit. It was wonderful times. As gross as this will sound, I like the smell of sawdust, dirt, and manure. There is just something that says fresh and clean. Something that says your in the country with people who have wholesome values, are easy going, and work hard. Maybe you know what I am talking about maybe you don't. But I love it.

Well, the reason for all this nostalgia is I went to the fair and rodeo tonight. It is such a fun atmosphere. Even Whit thinks the rodeo is fun and she doesn't like very many sporting events. We watched the bareback and saddle bronc riding, the steer roping and wrestling, team roping, barrel racing, sheep riding (for the little kids), and bull riding. The announcer was funny as always, the clown was hilarious (he told a joke about how his girlfriend wanted him to take her out to someplace expensive so he took her to the gas station), and the riding and roping was terrific. The only bull rider to stay on got a score of 90! It was an awesome ride. Here are a few pictures from the evening (they are from the beginning because it got too dark to shoot any good pictures).











I added a picture of the "Saloon Girls." Tanner (my nephew who is 1 1/2) had a good time flirting with them. He would wave at them and they would wave back and he would get a big smile. Anyway, if you have never had a chance to attend a rodeo, I would recommend you do so as soon as you can.

Television Heaven

Some of you already know this as I have talked with you about televisions. My dream television (though I will be the first to admit that future TVs are sure to pass it in time) will be coming out soon. It is a Vizio VP505VXT 50" 1080p plasma TV.



I love this TV. It is a plasma, which I love because of the great colors, deep blacks, and smooth motion. It is nice that it is 1080p because it will be future proof for the next little while. But the thing that I like best is the Silicon Optix chip. This thing is awesome. It helps to process the input to make it the best possible picture. Check out the technology at the website by clicking the link above.

Despite all the love I have for this TV there is one thing I wish it had, a wireless card and the ability to be a media center extender. I love windows media center and it would be awesome to be able to connect the TV to my computer.

Anyway, I won't be getting it anytime soon. So it is just a dream for awhile.

Come on down, You could be the next contestant to have a new Car!

Well, for those of you who read Whit's blog you already know this but here it is again. We just bought a new car. A 2009 Toyota Camry. It is Whit's dream car. White with a Bisque interior. We really liked our salesman, but not the financing manager. Anyway, go to Whit's blog to check it out.

The beginning of the rest of my life . . . well, sort of

So I started my new job last Wednesday. I am an IT Specialist at the Umatilla Army Depot located in Umatilla Oregon. It was really exciting and nerve racking to be starting a new job. The reason that this is sort of the beginning of the rest of my life is because first it is new and I have finally joined the ranks of the full time employed and second I will be having to change jobs in 3-5 years. The Army depot housed biological weapons such as Mustard, Serin, and VX gas. The contract of the company I work for, URS Washington Int'l, is to destroy all of the weapons through incineration. The task will be complete in 3-5 years in which I will need to find a new place of employment.

My first day was really interesting. The depot is guarded by the military 24/7. You have to have a badge to get in and your car has to be registered with them to receive the clearance to drive it onto the base. Well, I had not put my current registration in my car, so I could not drive on the base. Fortunately, I was able to ride with another new hire who was apparently more prepared than I was.

I got on the site and was taken to the medical facility where they drew my blood and administered a urine drug test. I was then taken to Masking where I tested and received my very own gas mask. This is the real thing. It fits all the way around my face (it was very comfortable to wear though hard to see through) and has a mouth piece that attaches to a water bottle so you can drink water if you need to wear the mask for an extended period of time. The mask is placed in a bag that contains 3 separate dual injectors for the off chance that you come in contact with the nasty stuff. You are to take the mask with you at all times. So when I get up from my desk to go to the bathroom, I take it. When I go to see someone further than a few cubical away, I take it. It is like I get to carry around a cool looking army purse.

I failed to mention Wednesday was a training day for the military. They simulated a bunch of things like a terrorist attack, people hacking the control room computers, protesters, taking hostiges (real employees were called and had to go be the hostiges), and a many more. We would have to lock all the doors and wait in the trailers (called modules) until a message was sent declaring normal operations. I got stuck in one module for about 30 minutes. It was rather exciting.

Well, this post is getting long. needless to say, there was a lot more sitting and waiting than there was doing. But I will receive tons of training this next week. I will be CPR certified and know a lot more stuff. Hopefully I can be more diligent in writing my blog. I know I always say that but maybe it will come true this time.