I got my butt kicked.......

5 fish to 1. Daniel had help though. We went to several spots down at Redman Sunday afternoon and at our last spot, an elderly gentleman hooked Dan up with a sweet fishing spot where he killed me.

We were out for 5 hours and all I got was one fish and a sunburned forehead.

We also talked to a State Game Commission officer and in addition to checking to see if I had my license (I did) he took pity on us and gave us a few tips on how to set up our lines.

All in all.......a great afternoon. We also checked in on the ducks from last week, I have a few photos here.

When I'm 62 years old, I want stuff like this to happen to me.

I'm sure glad I'm not a shuttle astronaut.

This piece on the cost of oil makes a lot of sense to me. I'm not happy about the cost of gasoline, but other then cutting back on driving and riding my fleet of bicycles more.....there ain't a whole lot I can do about it.

This would be a cool place to visit. Geology was one of my favorite subjects in school. This site has more info and some pics of the Hayward Fault. That's some scary stuff when you think about it.

Every time I fart, I laugh. Now I know why.

Till later.

Coke Blak tastes bad. Really bad.

Our son and I were out doing errands last night before I went to work and we picked up some Coke Blak.

Not a very good taste. It says on the bottle "Coffee Fusion Drink" What a load of marketing bullshit.

You might like it if you like the taste of semi-flat cherry coke with stale coffee mixed in. It's got one of the nastiest aftertastes of anything I've ever drank.

Someone at Coke really musta had their necktie on too tight when they thought this "drink concept" up............


Gotta say thanks on the comments on my previous post concerning my pruning "skillz" I cut that bastard back like that every year, so no worries-it'll grow back.

Mom, I hope you and Dad spend every last penny you saved while you were working on stuff you and dad enjoy doing. If you don't spend it- I will. And yes, a little bit of it is going to be spent on bikes I really don't need.

Ptelea, I was going to ride to work last night but I was running late and had to drive instead. As soon as I get a chance, I'll be taking a picture. I also want to see what that beast weighs with all the lights, batteries and assorted stuff I carry. I'm guessing close to 50 pounds.

Later today, Daniel and I are going fishing again and we are going to check in on the duck's nest we stumbled upon last week. Hopefully I'll have a few pictures of all the fish we caught.........

Till later.

Massacre on Plymouth Road......

I'm not a very big fan of yard work.

Yesterday, I raked leaves that were leftover from last fall.

And I trimmed some shrubbery.

No, let's make that I massacred some shrubbery.

Here's before.....

Pretty nice huh?

Nice and full with beautiful green foliage.

I have a motto.

If some's good, more is better and too much is just enough.

Keeping that in mind and my love of yard work...................





Here's after.............

Looks good to me.

I don't think I'll have to mess with it for a few weeks.

Actually, I do that to the damn thing every year and it keeps growing back.

Maybe next year I'll use a chainsaw instead of pruners.......


I did something last night I haven't done since last year...........

I rode my bike to work.

I was the "Bike Riding Donut Guy" for real.

I was a little worried about riding at dusk and then riding home at 4:30 in the morning, so I had my Surly lit up like a Christmas tree. I ran my 10 watt spot and 10 watt flood on my bars, a 5 watt LED pencil beam on my helmet, 2 rear blinkies and a thingamabobber with 40 leds that flashed. My jacket, rack bag and shoes all have reflective tape as well. We're talking overkill.

I needn't have worried about getting clipped, every car that went past me gave me a very wide berth. Probably because they thought they were either coming up on an accident scene with all the flashing LED's or they thought I was a UFO or perhaps a portable nuclear accident.

All I can say is that the rural roads I was riding on at 4:30 in the morning are dark. I was hearing the theme song to "Deliverance" so I kept up a steady pace.

I didn't want to end up like Ned Beatty.

If anyone out there in bike riding land needs a racktop mounted bag....this is the best one made on the entire planet.

Last night, I had 4 16 oz water bottles, a light battery, 3 tubes, a multi-tool, a cell phone, an iPod, an extra jacket, a first aid kit and a bowling ball packed inside and I didn't even have to open the expanding panel.

Banjo Brothers has their shit together. Just ask anyone that rides with the product, they'll set you straight. It's the real deal.

By the way.......I was kidding about the bowling ball.

Anyways, it felt great to be out riding at 4:30 AM when everyone one else is still sleeping and it didn't take all that much longer to ride. It usually takes me 10 minutes to drive and it only took 25 minutes to ride.

Some links.........

If Rush Limbaugh was black and poor........his ass would be in jail.

I've said this before, let Wal-Mart run FEMA. Ain't nobody in the USA better then them at distribution.

I'm thinking Bush's approval rating will be down in the 20's fairly soon.

Who woulda thunk it? Only 600 bucks? From an old Sears catalog.

I don't drink much beer, but when I do, I spend the money and get good beer, not this stuff.

Till later.

Make food better.......

Here's a cooking hint....

You want to make anything taste better?

Wrap bacon around it.

Our son saw a show on the Food Network where they made bacon wrapped asparagus. We made that last night for my wife's birthday dinner and while I'm not much for asparagus, it really tastes good when you add bacon to it.

Not sure that hint would work with every food, but I'm thinking it would do the trick for just about any vegetable. I don't know how you could wrap bacon around lima beans and brussel sprouts, but as soon as I figure it out, I'm gonna be rich.

Who's the "decider" in your household? In ours.......my wife is. If I was the "decider", we'd have all kinds of cool stuff and I'd have about 20 bikes but we'd be living in a rusty travel trailer............she's a much better money manager then I am.

This picture doesn't have anything to do with anything, just had the need to post it.................

Poop chute?

Everyone has different religious beliefs.

And I'm totally okay with that.

One thought comes to mind when I watch this video....

......explain the pineapple.

Till later.

Today is my wife's birthday.......

No, I'm not going to disclose her age, she reads this from time to time and she would be pissed if I told the world how old she was. Doesn't really matter, she is just as beautiful as the day I married her.

If not more so. Since beauty is really what's inside someone-she has definitely gotten better with age.

Have I gotten better with age?

Well, let's just say........let's not say anything about me and just leave it at that.

Anyways, our daughter got some gift ideas out of her and we went shopping yesterday for some stuff.........bought different coffees, a particular type of shoe sock, some popcorn, a nice plant and what our son and I hope to be a killer dinner.

Daniel and I went shopping for the food, I've never heard of bacon wrapped asparagus before , but Dan's got a recipe and my wife loves bacon and asparagus, so we can't go wrong. Well, we could go wrong, but I ain't going there......................................



Damn, how do I get one of these jobs? How the hell does anyone deserve that much money? My favorite on the list is Lee Raymond. I'm sure his board thought he did a good job of sticking it to the American public, but nearly 1 million bucks a week? That ain't right.

Should gas be 3 bucks a gallon? Beats the hell out of me, but George Bush isn't going to be able to do anything about it. Price probe? I got a probe for you, G.

Maybe if we all drove vehicles that got more then 10 miles per gallon........that'd be a start.

20 years ago today and things aren't looking too good.

I'm not sure what this lawmaker's problem is. The federal government loses track of more money then that on a daily basis.

At least this is a start in Darfur.

I can't remember if I posted this or not, but no matter......it's free stuff.

I'm not much of a photographer, but these are some neat pictures.

This asshole is lucky the cops didn't shoot him.

I used to be a paperboy. I turned out okay.........sorta.

Till later.

Allergy season is here........

I woke up Saturday and thought for sure I was getting sick, my throat was closed up big time. After taking some allergy meds, I was uptight and outtasight. What I thought was a sore throat is merely my allergies kicking my ass. It's that time of the year.....

I'm all better now.

I was at the drugstore the other day to buy some Sudafed, what a pain in the ass. I had to give them I.D. and fill out a logbook. I told them I want as much Sudafed as is legal because of the inconvenience. Our daughter and I both take it, so I'll probably end up having to buy it in several places and eventually I'll end up on a "drug addict" list on some FBI file.

Let's face it, meth addicts usually look like this...........



I'm not quite that skinny.

Sure, it's not fair to "profile" meth addicts, so we all have to be inconvenienced. That's the price of living in a "free" country. I just can't figure out the attraction of a drug that makes your teeth fall out, ruins your health and and makes you look real ugly........and as a side benefit, it makes you stupid and broke. I just wish they didn't need Sudafed to make it.

On to a few links..............

Today's "Poor judgment and insight" link. Damn.

I love this guy's picture.

No accidents. That wouldn't happen in America. Some SUV driving soccer parent would mow down sometime in short order. Our son and I almost got creamed going to Home Depot on Sunday by some guy talking on his cell phone. He drove right through a stop sign and directly into my path.

Got crappy credit? Go here for furniture. Or not.

Probably took them a whole week to put this clip together.

This makes me proud to live in Rick Santorum's state. I can't believe I once voted for that asshole.

Stihl chainsaws are the best.

Parody of that Honda commercial.

I wasn't there, but from the way the article reads, this asshole did a good job of tearing up a trail with his entourage. It must be fun riding a mountain bike for solitude and have 20 people, a couple of SUV's and a helicopter follow you. I like the fact that he insists on being in front all the time. What a tool.

I brake for cake.

I beat Tiger Woods.

Took a hike down at Kain Park Sunday afternoon to check out the latest logging.......


Click to make biggerer.

So far it's not nearly as bad as the Water St. logging but it's done on a hillside that drains right into the wetlands next to the lake. Not sure how all the stuff works but the hillside where they logged is super muddy and the water in the lake was very muddy as well. Not sure if the water was muddy because of the recent rain or runoff but a good bit of Lake Redman was brown.

Here are some more pictures of our hike. They logged right up to the trail and stopped which was nice, the trail now has a view of the surrounding countryside it never had before.

I had a few comments on my previous post from someone that rides the Lakes and I'd like to address some of those in my comments.....

-I am totally guilty of shopping at Wal-Mart. Yes, I will continue to shop there. I'm not going to spend 400 bucks on an American made lawn mower to mow my 1/5 acre of suburban lawn when I can spend 1/4 of the money and still get my grass cut. I'll also buy other stuff there as well, sure I don't agree with all of their policies, but we have 2 kids to send to college and every penny counts.

-Did we piss off the York Water Company when Hank and I talked to a reporter? I'm sure we did. My only regret is mentioning YAMBA when we talked to them, it was a mistake to include them in our conversation and I've apologized to Skip on the phone for including his organization on our dialogue with the York Daily Record. Not much I can do about that now, but if I had to do it over again, I sure as heck would not have mentioned YAMBA.

-Wear sun screen when I'm riding at Kain Park? You're kiddin', right? Of course, I've come to the realization the Kain Park is first and foremost a working forest and a county park is secondary as it's purpose. I'm not very happy about that, but other then going to the media about it, there isn't a whole lot I can do about it. Fortunately, YAMBA is around to cut more trails into whatever's left after the loggers leave every year.

-Why am I not as pissed at the oil companies as I am at York Water? Good question, I guess if an oil company owned Kain Park and was doing the same thing the the current owners are doing.......I'd be pissed at them as well. So I suppose I am guilty as charged. You're right, "Big Oil" does much worse things to the environment, but since they aren't around here with thumper trucks and oil refineries.....I'm don't complain. Maybe I should. Thank you for pointing that out and your other comments............

Darfur. Go here for some info and links to what's going on in the Sudan. It's not right and yet we hear very little about it in the American media. No, we get bullshit like this to read.

Good read about the latest G7 Finance Ministers' talks this past weekend.

A good read about "Forest Activism". I read lots of stuff online (no paper) but I also love getting bike catalogs and read tons of magazines (lots of paper), so I am conflicted about this. Sure, I bitch about the recent logging in Kain Park, but as I am realizing, it's main focus is a working forest and not a county park. Damn shame.

Dump Cheney. This article makes too much sense for it to actually happen. After all Cheney is one of the hardest working guys in Washington.

Sure, George Bush has to address the rising price of oil, but he's not really saying anything, just blowing more smoke up our asses...........the 400 million dollar retirement package Exxon paid to Lee Raymond says to me that "Big Oil" has more money then common sense.

Good article about CFL's. We are in the process of replacing our light bulbs with these as they burn out. They cost more at first, but it's nice to not have to replace light bulbs constantly.

My idea of a good movie. The only bike related link in this entire post.

I saved this for last today.....

The Invisible children. It's hard to think about atrocities like this and others going on in this world while I am fat, dumb and happy here in America.
Buy the bracelet. It's only 20 bucks, you can afford it.

Till later.

Forest "Management"

A friend of mine posted this on the YAMBA website concerning "forest management" and the recent logging of Kain Park. Duane Close of The York Water Company which owns the land was kind enough to meet with members of YAMBA to discuss this matter, this is my friends opinion...............

In recognition and celebration of Earth Day (and that YAMBA has
officially sanctioned recruiting new members from the
environmentalist community), I offer this critique of the recent
meeting between YAMBA, the York County Parks, and the York Water
Company.

Whether due to ignorance of modern environmental practices, or from
inadvertantly perpetuating outdated misinformation, or from
intentionally disseminating disinformation, there were
several "errors" in the presentation given to YAMBA by the Parks and
the York Water Company on April 12th.

Thus, circumstances thrust upon us a timely "teachable moment"...

1) Did you notice how many times "monitoring non-native species"
appeared on slides following the various forest management (logging)
events? And that "spraying" was generally mentioned in conjunction
with this "monitoring"?

There are no species-specific, systemic herbicides for mile-a-
minute, garlic mustard, Chinese rice grass, privet, Russian olive,
asian bittersweet, multi-flora rose, or any of the myriad other non-
native species that already inhabit the park. "Spraying", in this
case, invariably means using a broad-spectrum, broad-leaf herbicide,
along with a (hopefully) biodegradable, systemic herbicide, such as
Rodeo.

The spraying is necessitated by the clear-cutting to allow the new
pines to get a firm head start over the invasive species. The clear-
cutting is necessitated by the age of the old pines, and the
monoculture they created, suppressing other species from succession
(at least in the shorter term). Eventually the pines would die off,
and fall over, and oaks and other hardwoods would try to take hold.
The old pine forest could not sustain itself - it is not the natural
climax forest for this region.

Broad-leaf herbicides will generally kill everything with broad
(flat) leaves with which they come into contact. The spraying is
neccesary because of the threat/presence of non-native invasives
over-running the clear-cut area. And, one of the reasons to
reforest a clear-cut area with pines is that pines are inherently
resistant to (less affected by) these types of herbicides, since
their leaves (needles) have a much lower surface area to cross
section ratio than those of broad leaf plants.

However, spraying of herbicides indiscriminantly affects much of the
remaining plant life - natives, and non-natives alike. In addition,
it will also negatively impact the indigenous animal life: a host of
insect species, salamanders, skinks, snakes, various small mammalian
inhabitants, many species of birds. Any animal that is in the food
chain that feeds on anything that ingests plants from the sprayed
area, (as well as areas that are indirectly impacted by overspray
due to wind and/or from water runoff of the sprayed areas) will be
affected.

This is the same mechanism that almost wiped out the California
Condor, the Bald Eagle, the Golden Eagle, the Osprey, and many other
birds of prey. Heavy and indiscriminant use of DDT (a pesticide) in
the 1960's to control crop pests worked its way up the food chain to
the top of the order (the raptors), and had a deliterious affect on
their eggs - thinning the shells, and causing the eggs to break
before they hatched.

Whatever spraying is conducted will only be conducted until the new
pines have taken good root, and had a chance to get ahead of the
invasives. After that, the spraying will cease, and the invasives
will take over the ground, and will remain for our foreseeable
future. Invasives are on a perpetual march forward - once they are
established in an area, there is little that can be done to remove
them. They advance, they don't retreat. Perhaps, in 25 years, when
the Loblollies have grown tall, and shaded the floor, those
invasives will be gone - but, it's doubtful. Look at the T3
hillside above the development along George Street, or the area on
the other side of George St. Both areas are covered in invasives -
and will remain so for the rest of our lives - unless the land is
sold for development, in which case, the ground will be covered in
houses, asphalt, and grass (which is just a managed, monocultural,
non-native invasive).

An oak forest, once started, can sustain itself - it is the natural
climax forest in this area. However, it takes a long time, and a
lot of effort (in the face of the relatively recent invasion of so
many non-native species) to recreate (regenerate) oak forest. You
generally can't use spraying techniques when regenerating an oak
forest from clear-cutting, because the spraying will wipe out the
oak seedlings - so time-intensive manual management of the invasives
is necessary. Also, the deer population will eat the oak saplings -
so the deer herd needs to be managed (or the regenerating area
fenced off).

2) Wasn't anyone else concerned that the York Water Company was so
willing to repeatedly spray herbicides so close to their own water
source?

3) Regardless of what Duane Close had to say, grass is not the best
control for erosion and run-off - a leaf-littered, deep humus forest
floor is. The decomposing leaf-litter, porous humus layer, and top
soil act as a natural sponge and soak up the rain. The large tree
roots and fine nutrient roots act to reinforce the hillside and
prevent mudslides and landslides. You don't see mud running across
Water Street off the hillside after a heavy rainfall - that's
because of the intact forest floor. The only place you can usually
see evidence of erosion in the forest is where there are fall-line
trails or steeply cut embankments (both of which remove the sponge-
like affect of the leaf-litter, humus, and topsoil.

What Duane meant was that growing grass is the fastest and cheapest
way to cover an area to control EROSION once it's been denuded and
graded. Grass certainly won't control RUNOFF, since it creates a
thick carpet of knotted, shallow roots that prevent the water from
rapidly soaking into the ground. We've all seen water pouring out
of grass fields after a heavy rain, or when snow is melting.

Interestingly, Duane mentioned that the Lake Williams dam will have
to be "armored" to withstand the new 100-year flood guidelines. And
the significant increase in the 100-year flood criteria is the
direct result of additional, 100% human-generated water runoff. The
unabated creation and planting of grass lawns, from which heavy
rains run off onto driveways and side streets, which all generate
their own runoff and then funnel it all into the creeks, and
streams, and tributaries of the Codorus, has actually become a
significant threat to life and property.

4) In talking with Duane after the meeting, he mentioned that
herbicide technology had not kept up with the non-native invasive
species. For instance, he mentioned that nothing had been created
to replace the effectiveness of DDT. Well, this came as quite a
surprise and shock to me, since DDT is a PESTICIDE, not a
HERBICIDE. Shouldn't we be a little concerned that Duane doesn't
know the difference?

5) Regardless of what Duane had to say about the area of T2 around
the Log Trail, oak forest maintains, sustains, and manages itself.
It doesn't need our help. Pennsylvania is covered with climax oak
forest - who manages all of that? How did it manage to regenerate
itself after the entire state was clear cut in the 1800's and early
1900's? How has it managed to sustain itself without our help since
then? How did it manage to fill in for the loss of the American
chestnut in the first half of the 20th century?

The trees are constantly giving off seeds (acorns).
Squirrels "plant" the acorns when burying them for the winter. Some
of these acorns remain "unfound", and sprout. Some of these plants
are eaten by deer. Some actually succeed in growing into young
trees. If there is not sufficient sunlight and available moisture,
the young trees will eventually die off. If the canopy opens up due
to a dying or fallen tree, any young oaks in the area will have
sufficient sunlight and water uptake to continue growing and will
eventually fill the canopy.

It's a random statistical process that ultimately "drifts" toward
the optimal solution due to natural environmental influences. The
forest doesn't "know" where or when it will need a new tree - it
just grows them all over the place. If the conditions are right for
the tree to continue growing, the tree grows and fills a void. If
the forest is mature, and has no "need" for the new tree, at that
location, the new tree will eventually die off because there are not
enough resources left over to sustain it. A healhy climax forest
will consist mostly of mature trees, a few dying mature trees, and
some healthy young trees, and more dying young trees. There is no
need to open the canopy to allow the young trees to grow. They will
naturally succeed where they are needed, and die off where they
aren't. It is a natural, self-balancing, self-regulating, negative
feedback loop. The only "help" that an oak forest might need in
this geographic area is that of deer herd management, since deer can
wipe out all of the oak tree regeneration - but that requires
planting and protecting the new trees, while limiting the deer
population, not cutting down mature trees so that new trees can grow
in.

The understory of a healthy climax forest is populated by plants
that have evolved to survive and thrive in that climate - shade,
rich soil, cooler temps, etc... Non-natives will generally not
thrive in the understory for exactly that reason, they didn't evolve
in that climate.

I can not think of a (good) reason why the YWC would insist on
logging in the area of the Log Trail. If it's not for profit, then
it must be due to some type of self-perpetuated, old-school, forest
management practices. And remember that "forest management"
typically refers to treating the forest as a crop - to be harvested.

6) As to Duane's insistance on the necessity for removing fallen
trees - fallen trees renew the forest floor with nutrients that were
removed as the tree grew up. Fallen trees are essential as habitat
for many of the animals that inhabit the forest and contribute to
the symbiosis of the ecosystem. Removing these fallen trees en
masse weakens the forest's ability to regenerate itself - it does
not strengthen it. There is no need for this removal - the forest
will slowly decompose these trees at a natural rate, and consume the
nutrients that they provide, as needed.

7) In tromping through the woods with logging equipment, and opening
up the canopy to ostensibly let more light reach the floor,
and "encourage growth", what really happens is that the heavy
machinery crushes the existing native plants, and drags non-native
seeds into the woods, "plants" them in the ground, and the logging
provides the light these invasives thrive upon, thus encouraging
their growth, which then discourages the growth of the native
understory flora.

Given the end results of all of the aforementioned issues, this
collection of practices would more appropriately be described
as "forest mismanagement".....

While you, the reader of this blog might agree or not agree with the above statement, I thought it was a very well written piece and thought it deserved wider exposure.

Meat is good..........

If eating meat bothers you, you might want to skip the next paragraph.........

My wife and our daughter ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries last night. We don't eat out all that often so it's a real treat when we do. Maybe it was just because I was hungry, but that was just about the best bacon cheeseburger I've ever had.

I suppose I'm used to "fast food" hamburgers which look like they've been sat on and heat lamped to within an inch of their lives before they are served, but these hamburgers actually taste like meat.

Yum.........I'm going back.

Bush and China.....

Yeah, I know.......I just make donuts for a living but I'd love to be a mouse in the White House when Bush's advisors try to explain to him why this guy is so important. For some reason George thinks he's in the drivers seat in as far as China/U.S. relations go. He ain't. The world economy is.

Bush oughta make real good friends with guys like Hu. Too bad things didn't go so well yesterday. If George only had a brain. (Give this link a few seconds to load)

Could you imagine if China sent several hundred thousand troops to Iran to help us out if our diplomatic attempts to convince the Iranians to stop making weapons grade plutonium failed? The Iranians would be shitting in their pants......those Chinese don't f**k around.

Do I agree with the way China treats it citizens? Nope, but every country in this world is different then ours and America isn't going to convert every last person on the planet to our way of thinking, so we may as well make as many friends as possible and try not to shoot the folks that disagree with us.

Today's links are stress free with no scary pop-ups. Honest.

Today's science break. Some cool facts.

This has gotta be one of the dumbest inventions ever. I think I'll stick with my trusty VCR to record TV shows.

A joke...........


An elderly man in North Carolina had owned a large farm for several years.

He had a large pond in the back, fixed up nice; picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple and peach trees. The pond was properly shaped and fixed up for swimming when it was built.

One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over. He grabbed a five gallon bucket to bring back some fruit.

As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee.

As he came closer , he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end.

One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!"

The old man frowned and replied, "I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond naked." Holding the bucket up he said,

"I'm here to feed the alligator."

Moral: Old men can still think fast.

As disgusting as this looks....

....it makes me wanna go buy one.

Good news.....most of us have jobs. Bad news....half of us work at a fast food restaurant or Wal-Mart.

A reader sent me this link in reply to my blog posting yesterday. Yeah, I guess it makes sense, but it would really be cool if everyone could cut back driving and rode a bike more. Even just a little bit would help.

Online Sudoku.

This dude weighs as much as one of my legs.

“That van ain’t supposed to be there”



Till later.

Boycott "Big Oil"

A friend of mine sent me this and I thought the concept was kinda interesting...........

Join the resistance!!!! I hear we are going to hit close to $4.00 a gallon by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action. Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.

This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.

BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us! By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $2.79 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..... not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea:

For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out at this point.... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people.

I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us sends it to at least ten more (30 x 10 =3D 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 =3D 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers. If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it.... THREE>>>>HUNDRED MILLION >>>>PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all. (If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am, so trust me on this one.)

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you?

Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $1.30 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN.

THIS CAN REALLY WORK.


Not too much of a problem for me to implement this, I already buy a different brand of gas. Not too sure if the whole "chain letter" thing will work as well as a bunch of people seeing this and posting it in their blogs.

One other thing that would work is to ride your bike more. Since it's getting warmer out, there's no reason not to use a bike for short trips and light errands....................

Our next door neighbor just bought a new bike........

Okay, it's not a bicycle, but it sure is a purty motorcycle.

I'm so glad all my friends and family enjoyed my link to that web page hosting those "illusions" yesterday. I have a feeling that my buddy that lives in Baltimore would like to drive up to York and personally thank me.

I can just feel the love.

After I scared the crap out of my mother with it, I suggest that she show it to my pop. Sorry dad, but maybe now we are even for the "egg salad in a blender" incident. He actually thought it was funny, I forgot he suffered a heart attack 25 years ago...........oops. Sure glad he didn't keel, I woulda felt bad.

That's it for today, be careful out there.........

Till later.

Yard work extravaganza 2006

I've been putting it off for the past several weeks but it's finally time. Time to rake up last years leaves and bag up 9 million dead tree branches and trim some shrubbery.

One bright spot, my mower started up on the first pull after storing it uncovered all winter. It's hard to beat the quality of those $99 Wal-Mart lawn mowers, this is it's 5th year so it's cost me 20 bucks a year.............maybe I should change the oil this year.

This guy keeps getting stranger and stranger. I was planning to see Mission Impossible III but I'd have a hard time sitting through it imagining Tom doing some of the strange stuff he does.

I only have one traffic signal on the way to work but this could come in handy for folks that have a long city commute. Just don't get caught, I don't think it's legal.

It's a shame that some good Republicans are gonna get voted out of office this fall, but if Bush had a higher then room temperature IQ and wasn't so damn arrogant-the country wouldn't be fighting a war that we'll never win. All I know is that whoever I vote for in November...I won't be voting for any Republicans.

Cool optical illusions.

Today's "dumbass of the day".

Unnecessary Censorship part 13.....

I like these 2 ads from Volkswagen. Safe Happens. That's a pretty cool advertising campaign. It's kind of like the one that Firestone did a few years ago right after the Ford Explorer debacle. They had Mario Andretti stand on the 4th corner at Indy talking about the safety of Firestone tires and just as he finishes speaking, an Indy car driven by his son comes by at about 200mph and drives by him with a few feet to spare.......the ads stick in your mind.

This dudes kinda being a tightass. I've been dealing with a few of them lately........NSFW due to the F-bomb being dropped a few times.....

I might be wrong about Rumsfeld resigning. It's because of the difference between involvement and commitment. When you have a ham and egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed. George Bush is committed to Rumsfeld.

Gas is 3 bucks a gallon again. Looks like it's going to go up even more. I'm so glad I don't own one of those huge v-8 powered SUV's. My mini-van gets close to 20 mpg. That's not that great but I only drive it 5 to 6,000 miles a year, unlike this guy who spends way more time commuting then I do.

"I'm the decider and I decide what's best" George Bush sounds like my dad talking to me when I was about 8 years old.

My lovely wife caught the edge of a curb with her car and got a flat, but it coulda been way worse because she didn't damage the wheel. I'm sure one of the fancy alloy wheels on her Outback costs a few hunderd bucks....

I was sleeping when she did it so my dad came to her rescue. Worked out okay because my pop works for a large tire wholesaler and can get her fixed up in no time. Sometimes things just work out:-)

Till later....

Don't be a jerk........

The Waiter Rule. This rule works for just about anyone in retail. I've waited on some people that have been real assholes to me and have have met them later in social situations. Amazingly, most folks don't realize what assholes they are when they treat "service people" like dirt.

If you receive bad service in a store or a restuarant, sometimes it's not your fault, but most of the time.......if you act like an asshole to someone in retail-expect to be treated like one.

Recently, I had a gentleman come in to our store at 11PM at night and explained that he totally forgot to order breakfast trays for a business meeting he was holding at 6AM the next morning. It would have been extremely easy to just tell the guy there wasn't any way I could help him, but I fixed him up with what he needed because he was asked nicely.

When he picked his order up at 5AM the next morning (not much sleep for him!) he insisted on giving me a 10 dollar tip. I tried to tell him I'm not allowed to take tips, but he wouldn't hear of it..........


Fried stuff can be healthier. It just costs more to produce.

Web page about the SR-71. Coast to coast in 64 minutes. I'd say that was a pretty damn fast airplane.

Today's "You've got to be kidding me" link.

The RIAA will probably have this site shut down before long. I downloaded some rare Beach Boys recording outtakes.....

This has got to be the most incredibly bad deal on a computer EVER.

I spent a bout 4 hours detailing my wife's car on Saturday, it's amazing how scratched up and dirty a car can get in between wax jobs. I also found a banana peel under the seat. Yuck.




How was everyones Easter? I found out the history of Easter candy and why it's associated with Easter.

We went over to my in-laws house for brunch. I put some stuff on my plate that I thought was potato salad but it wasn't.

It was pickled herring.

Holy Mother of God, I thought it was spoiled or something. It really tasted bad. My wife thought it was hilarious, so I put what was left on her plate so she had to eat it. She threw it out of course, she ain't dumb.

It was almost as bad as the time my dad made egg salad in a blender and tried to make me eat it. He coulda beat me with a stick, there was no way in hell I was gonna eat something that looked like it came out of a babies diaper. I'm not sure where my mom was that day, but thank God she backed me up when she got home.

I always loved you best Mom.

I was going to go for a ride Sunday morning but I got a wild hair up my ass and decided to wash and wax my van. I thought my wife's car was dirty, I haven't hand washed the van since last October.........it was pretty crusty.

If Rummy hasn't resigned by the time I post this blog entry........I'll be surprised. Him and Dick Cheney sound like arrogant bastards.

My dad might be getting a new camera. I'd kill (not really, but I might eat a bowl of pickled herring) for one of those. That's a sweet camera.

Google Calendar. This is pretty spiffy. I probably won't use it much as I don't do too much day planning, I usually don't even wear a watch so a calendar ain't gonna do me much good.

Till later........

Bend over......

Get more stuff here...... I like this site.

I wonder if the phrase "You're doing a heck of a job" has Rumsfeld a little worried. If I was Rummy, I'd be worried.

This is just wrong. While I choose not to put anything into my lungs except air, I think marijuana should be treated the same as alcohol. If you're 21 and over- it should be legal.

If you're caught driving while you're under the influence..........I think you should lose your license.

Permanently.

One strike and you're out. Sounds hardcore but 25,000 people a year die in alcohol related traffic accidents. Get caught driving with no license and spend a year in PMITA Federal prison.

Good article........I haven't read the whole thing yet, I'll finish it later maybe.

Not sure how Easter got associated with bunny rabbits and such but have a safe and happy Easter.

Till later.

Free speech.

As of this morning, I am still unable to make any comments on the YAMBA website, I e-mailed the club's president 3 days ago and asked what the criteria are for banning someone from the site. I haven't posted anything objectionable to my knowledge and I am a contributing member to the club. I have a family membership ($15) which should allow any member of my family access to the site. Maybe I'll have my son or my wife sign up for an account on the site and see what happens.........

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

Just because you don't like my opinion isn't a reason to block my access to the site. Communist China tries to control free speech in the same manner and it doesn't work that well. Go to the YAMBA site and e-mail the president of the club and ask him what's up, he doesn't reply to my e-mails...........

Last time I checked, freedom of speech was still in the Bill of Rights. It's just not on the YAMBA site. You can ignore me, but I ain't gonna go away.

More links.........

Link-

Link-

Link-

I could go on, but I think I've made my point.........


Undocumented aliens? This whole debate makes no sense to me. Aren't all of us except Native Americans immigrants? Give them citizenship, I'm sure they would be more then happy to pay taxes for the security of not having to worry about being deported.

I'm betting that they were surplus FEMA trailers. I'd like to think that someone near George Bush has some brains...........maybe not.

It's not all bad news....I hope this works out for her.

Tons of free utilities. Free is good.

Supposedly a true long (but good) story

Dear Maid,
Please do not leave any more of those little bars of soap in my bathroom since I have brought my own bath-sized Dial. Please remove the six unopened little bars from the shelf under the medicine chest and another three in the shower soap dish. They are in my way.

Thank you,
S. Berman

Dear Room 635,
I am not your regular maid. She will be back tomorrow, Thursday, from her day off. I took the three hotel soaps out of the shower soap dish as you requested. The six bars on your shelf I took out of your way and put on top of your Kleenex dispenser in case you should change your mind.

This leaves only the three bars I left today, as my instructions from the management are to leave three soaps daily.

I hope this is satisfactory.

Kathy
Relief Maid

Dear Maid -- I hope you are my regular maid.
Apparently Kathy did not tell you about my note to her concerning the little bars of soap. When I got back to my room this evening I found you had added three little Camays to the shelf under my medicine cabinet.

I am going to be here in the hotel for two weeks and have brought my own bath-size Dial so I won't need those 6 little Camays which are on the shelf. They are in my way when shaving, brushing teeth, etc.

Please remove them.
S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman,
My day off was last Wednesday so the relief maid left three hotel soaps which we are instructed to do by the management. I took the six soaps which were in your way on the shelf and put them in the soap dish where your Dial was. I put the Dial in the medicine cabinet for your convenience. I didn't remove the three complimentary soaps which are always placed inside the medicine cabinet for all new check-ins and which you did not object to when you checked in last Monday.

Please let me know if I can of further assistance.

Your regular maid,
Dotty

Dear Mr. Berman,
The assistant manager, Mr. Kensedder, informed me this A.M. that you called him last evening and said you were unhappy with your maid service. I have assigned a new girl to your room. I hope you will accept my apologies for any past inconvenience.

If you have any future complaints please contact me so I can give it my personal
attention. Call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.

Thank you,
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper

Dear Miss Carmen,
It is impossible to contact you by phone since I leave the hotel for business at 7:45 AM and don't get back before 5:30 or 6PM. That's the reason I called Mr. Kensedder last night. You were already off duty.

I only asked Mr. Kensedder if he could do anything about those little bars of soap. The new maid you assigned me must have thought I was a new check-in today, since she left another three bars of hotel soap in my medicine cabinet along with her regular delivery of three bars on the bath-room shelf.

In just five days here I have accumulated 24 little bars of soap.

Why are you doing this to me?

S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman,
Your maid, Kathy, has been instructed to stop delivering soap to your room and remove the extra soaps.

If I can be of further assistance, please call extension 1108 between 8AM and 5PM.

Thank you,
Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper

Dear Mr. Kensedder,
My bath-size Dial is missing. Every bar of soap was taken from my room including my own bath-size Dial. I came in late last night and had to call the bellhop to bring me 4 little Cashmere Bouquets.

S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman,
I have informed our housekeeper, Elaine Carmen, of your soap problem.

I cannot understand why there was no soap in your room since our maids are instructed to leave three bars of soap each time they service a room. The situation will be rectified immediately.

Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.

Martin L. Kensedder
Assistant Manager

Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Who the hell left 54 little bars of Camay in my room? I came in last night and found 54 little bars of soap. I don't want 54 little bars of Camay. I want my one damn bar of bath-size Dial. Do you realize I have 54 bars of soap in here?!

All I want is my bath size Dial.

Please give me back my bath-size Dial.

S. Berman

Dear Mr. Berman,
You complained of too much soap in your room so I had them removed. Then you complained to Mr. Kensedder that all your soap was missing so I personally returned them.

The 24 Camays which had been taken and the three Camays you are supposed to receive daily (sic). I don't know anything about the 4 Cashmere Bouquets.

Obviously your maid, Kathy, did not know I had returned your soaps so she also brought 24 Camays plus the three daily Camays. I don't know where you got the idea this hotel issues bath-size Dial. I was able to locate some bath-size Ivory which I left in your room.

Elaine Carmen
Housekeeper

Dear Mrs. Carmen,
Just a short note to bring you up-to-date on my latest soap inventory. As of today I possess:

- On shelf under medicine cabinet - 18 Camay in 4 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.
- On Kleenex dispenser - 11 Camay in 2 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 3.
- On bedroom dresser - 1 stack of 3 Cashmere Bouquet, 1 stack of 4 hotel-size Ivory, and 8 Camay in 2 stacks of 4.
- Inside medicine cabinet - 14 Camay in 3 stacks of 4 and 1 stack of 2.
- In shower soap dish - 6 Camay, very moist.
- On northeast corner of tub - 1 Cashmere Bouquet, slightly used.
- On northwest corner of tub - 6 Camays in 2 stacks of 3.

Please ask Kathy when she services my room to make sure the stacks are neatly piled and dusted. Also, please advise her that stacks of more than 4 have a tendency to tip. May I suggest that my bedroom window sill is not in use and will make an excellent spot for future soap deliveries.

One more item: I have purchased another bar of bath-sized Dial which I am keeping in the hotel vault in order to avoid further misunderstandings.

Important video from C-Span.

Video about a boat. A very expensive boat. The video is kinda long, but damn-that's a nice boat.

Just because you work hard and are dedicated doesn't mean you can't be incompetent.

I always thought POS stood for something else.....

This guy gets a Darwin Award.

Till later.

The critics have been silenced.......

The critics being myself and my friend Hank.......


Click to make bigger. I've been banned from making any comments on our club's message board. I suppose that's one way to shut me up........All in all, an extremely immature action on the club presidents part. I emailed him about it two days ago and he hasn't replied, so I guessing that he's ignoring me.

Whatever.

I guess it's no secret that the president of our club and I haven't exchanged Christmas cards for the past couple of years. For the past several years York Water has been logging different areas of Kain Park hoping no one would make much of a stink. Every year when it happens, some of the club members would get upset and post a few messages and that was that.

Not once did the president of our club publicly speak out or publicly criticize what was going on. Not even a petition was circulated among members to hand in to the water company. Last year he did arrange a meeting with our members and the water company which resulted in............more logging this year.

The fact that our club president is also the county parks advisory board president is a good thing but since the vice president of the water company was also on the same board up until last year and the fact that they are friends creates a conflict of interest in my opinion. I might be totally off-base.........but that's how I feel.

Both the guys I am talking about are super nice guys but that doesn't change the fact that the forest at Kain Park is getting hacked up piece by piece every year.

The fact that myself and Hank went to the local media was made out to be a bad thing on our club's website by our president like somehow he wanted less publicity and make less waves................oh, I forgot, his buddy is the vice president of the water company...........we wouldn't want to piss him off, would we?

At least we got an article in the morning paper to make more folks aware of what the water company is doing and I saw this letter in the evening paper last night...........

County should target Kain Park
Opinion by Rick Altland York Township

Having lived in York County my entire life, I have followed the eminent domain battle in the eastern park of the county with mixed emotions and thoughts.

What of the right of personal property and your rights to do with it as you please? But aren't zoning laws stopping you from doing just that?

Do we really need another open-area park? Don't we have enough area now to support our citizens' outdoor enjoyments? One would think so, since some of those parks have low usage by the general citizens of the county.

But, I would imagine, from the folks who use those parks you would get a different answer since they are being used to walk, bird watch, ride a bike or horse, or just enjoy the solitude of nature.

One such area has always been the William H. Kain Park between York and Jacobus. Having lived next to the park on Reynolds Mill Road for the last 28 years, my family has had a unique opportunity to enjoy

This area with no more than a short walk from our back door. Anyone who has used the trails has enjoyed a unique experience that I believe is unmatched in any other park in the county.

The trails are wide, spacious and totally tree-covered with towering 30-foot pines and some hardwood. It was possible to enter into the park on the Lake Williams side and follow those tree- covered trails for hours if you so chose.

The solitude and quiet were unbelievable with the only sounds being those of the birds or of the flocks of geese in the spring and fall.

Coming upon a vista of the open lake or crossing the Lake Williams' dam was always breathtaking any time of the day or year. Then of course there was the almost secret sighting of the signs of the resident beavers and their distinctive mounds.

About eight years ago I started to enjoy the park on a mountain bike. I am sure, to some, I'm an obtrusion to their walking or bird watching or riding a horse, but we all shared the same love of the park, its unique beauty.

Three years ago a degenerative knee stopped me from enjoying the sport and the park, but last summer a knee replacement made the sport a possibility again.

Sunday was my latest adventure into the park I loved to enjoy. What I found broke my heart.

Sure I witnessed the loss of trees along the Old Trail on the knob overlooking Lake Redman and the eventual loss of those trails to development -- and last year the clear-cutting of the trees just down the street from my home on Reynolds Mill Road.

I was sure this was not the norm, but were my eyes opened on Sunday.

The entire park is in danger of being destroyed by logging. The whole south end of the park, as we speak, is lined with dozers and loggers clear-cutting the hills and destroying those tree-lined trails.

What you now have is nothing but dusty, open, windy and noisy (yes you can now hear the traffic on I-83) bald hills.

Who is going to want to enjoy these areas? Not the bird watcher I passed on Sunday, nor the family walking their dog. It is no longer an enjoyable place to be. So what will happen to those of us who have frequented the park? We will stop using it, since it no longer represents what we have loved and enjoyed.

With the loss of patrons and the stretched York County Park Service dollars I sure the area will be dropped out of the system. Then what happens to the land?

Is that the master plan, to sell off all the land to developers and to make more money for the York Water Co. and their investors?

Who else stands to benefit from this? Surely not the residents of York County. As the water company has expanded into each small town or burg across the county, have they lost sight of the benefits to the community? Or are they just a slave to the bottom line?

Where are the York County commissioners now? Why spend millions on land that presently is open farmland. Do we need more open-space parks for ball fields and pavilions? Or do we need to save and enrich the unique park areas we currently have that make York County what it is.

Since the William H. Kain Park is nothing more than good will from the York Water Company, why not utilize the money and the eminent domain process on an area that we currently utilize as a park.

Stop the logging now. Seize this land and preserve something beautiful before it is too late.

Nice letter.

This whole thing has been a major disruption in my personal life, but if more residents (and potential Park users) were made aware of the continual logging at Kain Park by myself and Hank going to the media.............it was worth it.

I just hope that more club members wake up to the fact that our club president has a conflict of interest and ask him to step aside as long as he is on the county parks board.

I honestly wish him no ill will but he isn't doing us any favors by staying in both positions due to his friendship with the folks at the water company......check your ego at the door and let someone else represent us.

Not a cloud in the sky......

First time I can remember that it was sunny and warm on my day off. Ripped off a nice 90 minute ride Monday morning, did a whole bunch of errands and took a nap.

I have something like 2 weeks of my favorite TV shows taped and ready to watch, hopefully if the weather stays nice.......they will gather some dust before I get to them. I have all kinds of yard work to do........pick up some of last years leaves, pruning, trimming, raking and mowing. I can hardly wait to get started.

Not.

I like my yard to look nice but I don't go overboard on being anal about it. Yardwork cuts into primetime riding season, driveway basketball and fishing with our son......


Get yours here.

Till later.

We made the news...........

Here's a couple of articles that ran in our paper this morning..........

Cyclists worry about trails
A local bike club is concerned that logging by York Water Co. will destroy park trails.
By LAURI LEBO
Daily Record/Sunday News

At bottom: · FOR MORE INFO
Apr 10, 2006 —

George McNally and Hank Smelter trudge up the stone-covered trail, mud clinging to their feet.

They point to where, until recently, a swath of red pines stood. In the distance, a bulldozer was working on timbering another area.

"This used to be a great place to ride," McNally said.

As part of York Water Company's ongoing forest-management program, pine trees standing along the south side of Water Street, just outside Jacobus, were cut down recently.

McNally and Smeltzer are members of the York Area Mountain Bike Association. Members of the group work with the York County parks to maintain the trails.

The organization's mission statement says it "seeks to promote the conservation of the trail ... to ensure the longevity of trail access for all trail users."

But one of the popular trails that cut through this area was destroyed by the logging.

Jeffrey Osman, water company president, said the trees in William H. Kain County Park had reached maturity and that it was time to replace them with younger trees. He said any trails destroyed by logging will be replaced once the areas are cleared.

A certified trail builder, Smeltzer said he wants to know that the trail that will be replaced will have little impact on the environment.

"We don't want it to wash out and get gullies," he said.

Smeltzer and McNally also pointed out that trees on the other side of Water Street were cut down almost two years ago and they have not yet been replanted with seedlings.

While they recognize there is little that can be done regarding the recent harvest, Smeltzer said he is hoping that the bike club can work with the water company in the future.

He would like to see it serve in an advisory capacity regarding decisions affecting the trail.

"We would like a spot at the table," he said.

On Wednesday, bikers will meet with Duane Close of the York Water Company to address their concerns.

But the men said they don't want this to be just a water company versus bike club issue.

Many organizations - from equestrian groups to hiking clubs - use the park.

In addition to the trails, Smeltzer and McNally are also concerned about the bald eagles that have made a home in the park. Osman said that logging is not being done near the nest. But McNally and Smeltzer worry that if too much of the forest is cut down, the eagles could be forced to look for other territory.

Mike Helfrich, a river keeper with the Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna, said that he has contacted the water company about the logging and was assured that the trees were mature trees and were being harvested before they die off.

Regardless of their assurances, he said, there isn't much that can be done.

"It's basically a privately-controlled county park," he said.

The water company has been managing the forest in the watershed of its two reservoirs, Lake Redman and Lake Williams, for at least 50 years.

Company officials said this most recent tree harvest, which began two years ago, was in response to 2003 storms, which damaged and destroyed many of the trees.

FOR MORE INFO

For more information on the York Area Mountain Bike Association, visit http://www.yamba.org.

And an editorial from the York Daily Record...........

Logging in county park
Was it really necessary to cut so many trees at Kain Park?
Daily Record/Sunday News

Apr 10, 2006 — Assorted thoughts on assorted subjects:

If a tree falls in the woods: Please pardon the pun, but we just can't resist: They're razing Kain - William H. Kain County Park, that is.

And that's razing with a "z" - not an "a-i-s." As in: Cutting down trees.

Well, not all of them, thank goodness.

But the York Water Co., which owns the land while the county operates Kain Park, recently cut down a sizable stand of mature pine trees along Water Street and sold the timber to Glatfelter - irritating mountain bikers who frequent the area.

Water company president Jeffrey Osman said the trees had reached maturity and "it was time to replace them with younger trees."

But what's wrong with having mature trees? Aren't they better than spindly little saplings?

Granted, some of the trees were damaged by a storm a few years ago, but couldn't they have just cut down severely broken or diseased trees?

Kain and Nixon parks, which surround the water company's reservoirs, are true jewels of our community - a testament to the vision of Mr. Kain, who was instrumental in providing the land to the county for a park. In fact, he noted that accomplishment as one of the highlights of his distinguished career.

As our county continues to grow with sprawling development, these parks are much-needed buffers of green space. So it's sad to see mature trees cut down - almost as sad as it was a few years ago to see the water company sell part of the parkland for a housing development.

With many local golf courses being nibbled away for development, you can't help but worry about the future of Kain Park. The potential profits from development might prove extremely tempting.

Let's hope the water company takes seriously its stewardship of this public resource. As the county - rightly - moves toward preserving another spectacular piece of open space at Lauxmont Farms, the commissioners might want to ask themselves whether it's equally, if not more, important to protect what they already "have."

Just shining a little light on the subject......

Till later.