WILLY'S FACE LIFT - INSTALLMENT 7

Today was a good day working on Willy but poor Pamela spent almost all of it with the same ole problem - trying to get off all the silicone someone slathered all over Willy.  She has tried the "eraser" wheel that can take off a pinstripe, chemicals, razor blades, etc., etc., etc.  A wire brush wheel on a drill will take it off, and everything else down to the bare metal. Guess we going to have bare spots.  We have to get the silicone off.  Pamela did remove the pinstripe that ran all the way around Willy.

I put on the new stink-pipe covers. Even though one of them looked okay, I decided to go ahead and replace both since they only cost about $10.  I'm glad I did. When I got down to the flange I found that someone had cracked the flange and didn't bother to replace it. They just put - guess what - silicone over it. What a mess.  I filled all of the old screw holes with Bondo.  That stuff is ready to sand in 20 minutes.  I worked on preparing some of the screw holes on the Willy's sides and then went back, sanded and mounted the new fixtures.

I repaired 27 more screw holes today!  Some of them were quite large - 9/16th lag bolt holes. Eight of the holes were large holes used to hold the top part of the awning mechanism.  One place the dipstick put a screw right through the awning track. The only thing I could do was to gently hold the track as far away from the trailer body as possible without breaking its seal, and apply Kitty Hair underneath. Kitty Hair is a great product.  It gets its name because the filler is full of long strands of fiberglass. It looks like it would be horrible to work with, but it is actually easier than Bondo.  So far there have been 7 places with holes large enough to need Kitty Hair.

Dinette window out 

Left side windows 

Last but not least Pamela and I removed all of the windows except the big front one. I'm just putting that one off because I don't have anywhere to store it at the moment.  It is a bit scary because you're afraid of what you might find behind the frame. We were good. There was one frame that had had a leak at some time in the past but the wood was still good. The butyl tape was still doing its job on the windows, but we're glad that we removed them. Painting will be a lot easier without the windows and it would not be nice to have a freshly painted trailer and have to remove a window because it starts leaking.



There is one more product I have to tell you about.  It is called Goo Gone.  It didn't remove the silicone even though it claims it will, but it did a great deal on all of the other adhesives and residues. I used it to clean the metal of the roof before I repaired the holes and mounted the new stink-pipe vents.  You can see how nice and clean the metal is.  We used it around all of the windows.  Here's a before and after picture. Notice how much cleaner the white is and how shiny and clean the frame is. New screws and it will look brand new.

Before Goo Gone

After Goo Gone

My next goal is to remove the old AC gasket, put the under-seal on the new flanges and give the entire roof a new coat of sealer.   Since Willy is getting a new coat of paint, we decided that it was time to replace all of the exterior fixtures - the water drain valve, interior tank fill and electrical compartment door. I can't take the drain valve off until the last minute because I'll lose all of the anti-freeze in the tank, but I can live with that. It only costs $3/gal.

ONENESS EXPLORED

Yesterday I shared a post by nanowerk.com about quantum physics. In that posting I said that Pamela and I have been interested in quantum sciences for years and we recently watched www.whatthebleep.com. That got both of us thinking about spirituality and science. In the program the argument for our all-inclusive oneness was based upon the quantum position - put in very crude layperson terms - that because in very structure of the universe there are no boundaries therefore everything is a part of everything else. All my career I have been a behavioral scientist while Pamela is a biology professor. That program, our discussions and many pictures of science and nature later, I find myself truly believing that this is the evidence of the oneness in which I have always believed. This belief, however, did not emerge from new knowledge but from experience to which this new knowledge was applied. Applying the new knowledge, the new understanding of quantum science (1) to experience I see the match, like the right key slipping into a lock. The next step, which sounds easy but is perhaps the most difficult, is turning that analogous key and opening the lock.  Staying with my analogy, my growing knowledge of the quantum world is the key to unlock my experiences.  Therefore I need to view my experience in light of the knowledge.  Until quantum physicists like Dr. Amit Gaswami (2) no one would have thought of putting quantum science and spirituality in the same sentence.

I must start by saying that I do not apologize for any lack of scientific rigor.  This is rather like our going wading in Iceberg Lake where in late July our feet began to go numb in less than a minute forcing us to get out of the water and reassess our behavior. With that said, my first violation is going to be that I am going to use the Quantum Theory as an axiom. That means that I only have one hypothesis; viz. H1 = that in a life experience one may have a brief encounter with the reality of our all-inclusive oneness. Our null-hypothesis, H0, is therefore that there are no such encounters. My second violation is that I am going to test my hypothesis on a past experience over which there was no control. But that isn't that uncommon in historic research as opposed to empirical research. 

A ~  I need to give you background on the experience I am going to explore. In this particular example we are given the opportunity to likewise explore the possible effect of being out away from human influence. In this case we are in the wilderness. This may appear to be muddying the waters but, besides the fact that this blog is entitled The Old Conservationist,  I have observed that the situations where one has such experiences as we are going to explore tend to be in areas well away from human influence.  

Road to Bowman Lake

Bowman Lake is a 7.7 mile long lake in the wilderness of Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana.  It is about ten miles from Canada and 30 miles from Idaho.  Bowman Lake is 31 miles from the nearest paved road. The last 6 miles of the trip wind up the side of the mountains. The road is exceptionally narrow and sometimes runs close to the edge of a sheer drop.  Actually it is little more than a trail that is wide enough for a powerful 4x4 vehicle to negotiate. It took us 55 minutes to travel that six miles. Looking at the picture to the right, which is quite representative of the last six miles, you will be struck by the solitude.  This was a place far away from the normal distractions of human occupied terrain.

Arriving at the lake we unloaded our kayaks. They are the short stubby lake or river kayak as opposed to the long sleek ocean going vessel, but they are extremely easy to carry and serve us well. We put a few items in our waterproof bags and set out to the far end of the long rather narrow lake. At it's widest it isn't more than a quarter of a mile wide.  The water was like glass and the kayaks glided easily with minimal effort.  We weren't in any hurry. It was July 8th and the sun wouldn't set until almost midnight.

Satellite view of Bowman lake

Looking at the satellite photo to your right and the picture below you will notice that starting at the southwest end of the lake you move into a deep mountain valley with snow covered peaks all around you.  This seems to heighten the senses. Most people I know report feeling what they might describe as "a rush". Is that rush a chemically induced excitement. Probably.

As we made our way up the lake we encountered only one other kayak and they were a good half mile or more away from us. Other than that we were totally alone during our almost eight hour voyage.  There was a lot of time to glide along, admire the view and think. That's when we both had the sense of oneness. Neither of us said to the other 'oh, do you feel at one with nature?'  The fact that we both had an experience where we felt an all-inclusive oneness didn't come out until we were talking about spirituality and quantum physics recently.

Bowman Lake from our point of departure

B ~  How do we proceed from here? How do we test the hypothesis?  If we accept that we had some sort of experience, which we are identifying as an awareness of our all-inclusive oneness which lasted for a finite period of time, then we might ask 'which came first, the experience or the knowledge?'  The experience was July 8, 2014.     Pamela had done some reading on quantum sciences and spirituality prior to our trip but we had not talked together about that. In fact, I just learned that she had prior knowledge. I, on the other hand, had done some reading about quantum theory and I had definitely formulated my own beliefs of oneness but I had neither read nor heard anything about quantum sciences and spirituality. Therefore for me the experience must have come first.  That would imply that knowledge gave definition to experience.

Are we on a role yet?  Well, slow down I think I'm about to throw us a curve.  I just acknowledged an unanticipated variable - viz. that Pamela had prior knowledge.  Whether she had experience before or after that knowledge is unknown. We have to consider that in the quantum world our consciousness effects our physical surroundings because nothing is fixed in the first place.(3)  So does this mean that the nature around us didn't alter our perceptions in any way but that we created the environment necessary to momentarily see the reality of our oneness?  After all, both of us had a concept of all-inclusive oneness before the trip.  If the brain has previously encountered oneness, then it will have identified, categorized and determined expectations for when oneness is encountered again.

C ~ Lest this turn into a dissertation, let me summarize and leave you with some questions.  I do believe that we had one of those marvelous experiences where our consciousness collided with the reality of our all-inclusive oneness. Therefore I would say to give points to our hypothesis. Even though I believe that, in my case, knowledge gave definition to experience, we have to be careful since Pamela had both previous knowledge and previous experience. Furthermore quantum physics would most likely hold that there had to be an experience for the brain to identify, categorize and determine expectations. The program www.whatthebleep.com used the example of the native Americans who first encountered Columbus couldn't see his ships. The quantum theory would be because their brains hadn't had the opportunity to identify, categorize and determine expectation.  The example I used with students and patients is how one might walk by a friend or family member on the street if there was no expectation of seeing them there.  So the relationship of knowledge and experience in consciousness is still up for grabs - as though any conclusions I draw here are going to effect the quantum science community.  The third point, which really has nothing to do with the hypothesis; viz. the relationship of the location of the experience to human influence; appears to have great potential.

I'm going to leave you to ponder all this on your own.  And you are welcome to share your thoughts. Just the process of considering and exploring can be very enlightening. And, to bump it up a notch,  add this to the mix . . .

Humans talk about nature as though it is other, when in reality we too are a part of nature. This attitude or belief is extremely restrictive and limiting.  Could it be that we need to escape the confines of human influence in order to be able to return to our realization of our all-inclusive oneness?  Could it be that parks, forests, wilderness areas, oceans and other places undisturbed by human influence and restrictiveness are a prime location for our self-searching?  After all, isn't escaping the mundane the purpose of all places of religious worship - churches, mosques, shrines, etc?

=========

(1) I use the term quantum science(s) in order to speak in a general sense of all forms of  quantum study and theory - e.g. quantum physics, quantum mechanics.  They all share a common theoretical starting position.

(2) Taken from the Center for Quantum Activism website: "Theoretical Quantum Physicist Dr. Amit Goswami served as a full professor at the University of Oregon’s Department of Physics from 1968 to 1997. He is currently a pioneer of the new paradigm of science called “science within consciousness,” an idea he explicated in his seminal book, The Self-Aware Universe, where he also solved the quantum measurement problem elucidating the famous observer effect."  http://www.amitgoswami.org/

(3) I must again remind the reader that I am not a quantum scientist and am an absolute novice in the field, so please bear with me if I don't quite get it right. But since this is my analysis, then I guess that I should be able to express my own expectations and understandings of the quantum realm. This does create a dilemma of sorts, but I'll have to deal with that later. Like I said, it's like wading in Iceberg Lake. After less than a minute we had to get out and re-evaluate our behavior. 

One of a plethora of interesting articles:
 "Is Consciousness Related to Quantum Physics?" Andrew Zimmerman Jones  http://physics.about.com/od/QuantumConsciousness/f/IsConsciousnessQuantum.htm

The eyes are the window to the soul.

Have you ever had one of those haunting moments when you feel connected to the eyes of someone in a photo . . . when you feel as if they are looking back at you in real time? Many of my friends are very involved in animal shelters and animal adoption efforts. When you look at the pictures they post, do you find yourself transfixed by the animal's eyes? Do you feel like the animal is reaching out to you personally?

Maybe I'm strange, but I have those experiences almost daily. I look at a picture of a dog or a cat that needs an adopted home and my heart aches. I can't keep looking. I have to turn away.

I remember the first time I went rabbit hunting. I was with my cousins on my grandparent's farm in northwestern Indiana. “There” I remember my cousin, Bobby, saying. There was a rabbit. I brought up my rifle and looked down the sights at the rabbit. I never pulled the trigger and I've never aimed a weapon at any living creature since then.

I definitely don't want to get into an argument about hunting. I don't hate the hunter. I'd just as soon he doesn't show me his kill or pictures of same, but I accept that the human animal has been a hunter as well as a farmer back to long before recorded history. I don't think ill of the mountain lion who kills one of the mule deer who would visit our campsite. I don't condemn the lioness who takes down the young antelope for the pride. So why should I condemn the human hunter who hunts to feed his/her family? We may not need to, but that is a choice and not mine to make for others. We are like our brother bears. We are omnivores. We can survive with or without meat. Our digestive systems can handle either a carnivorous or vegetarian diet. (But it does work better with the vegetarian diet.) I consciously do not elect to kill another sentient beings - that is those living creatures who have a consciousness, can experience fear and/or pain, and struggle not to die. In stead of worrying about whether a creature fits the definition of 'sentient', I just limit my food to plants.

The Mule Deer doe watching form the woods

One of our first days at Glacier in May 2014, Pamela and I were returning from Avalanche Lake. We were actually in a campground area that would, in about four weeks, be filled with camper trailers and people. But this day it was deserted. As we walked along I was aware of being watched. In the wilderness you always want to be aware of your surroundings. While the bear will avoid you, the mountain lion is always a predator. I looked around and saw a Mule Deer watching me through the trees. I took this picture of her. The picture is framed and mounted in Willy. It is one of my favorites because when I look at it I can hardly break away from the eyes.

Look at the picture. Look at the eyes. What is she saying? What is she asking? I know there is a message, but I can't hear it, or see it, or feel it. She has never gone through a hunting season, so she doesn't know humans as predators but she doesn't trust me. But does she know that my species can mean the life or death of hers?

I so remember her eyes looking at me. I also loved to look out from the table in Willy (our 16' vintage trailer) and see a deer or animal looking back. Their eyes penetrated me. What is it? Is it some sort of corporate guilt I feel about the way their species has been treated by the very animals who should protect them - viz. humans? There is an old saying that has been accredited to everyone from Shakespeare to Cicero - “the eyes are the window to the soul.” Their eyes seem to be speaking to me, but I'm not hearing. I want desperately to sit quietly and watch so that I may learn.  

RYUHIKO - 05

Ryuhiko-05-20150128

It was everything Shinmasa's brain could do to comprehend what had just happened. He was struggling. He was struggling to stand. He was struggling to think, to know what to do. She was falling. Falling. What could he do? She had said 'you won't let me die'. He had already failed because he was helpless. She had jumped. Why did she jump? She was falling. Falling. If he had had some warning he might have held her and kept her away from the edge, but he had no warning. Time was moving in slow motion. Why was it moving in slow motion? He could see her face looking up at him, her arms outstretched. She was looking for him to save her. She was falling. Falling. She believed in him and now she was going to die because she believed in him. He cursed himself. Then he heard his Mother calling him - “Akai Ryu”. She believed in him. Moru believed in him.

Why was he doing this? What was happening? He must save her. Shinmasa took one step and lept into space. As he fell he could see that he was getting closer to Moru. He could see her face smiling up at him. How could she smile? They were going to die. As he got closer to her he reached out to take hold of her. That's when he noticed his hands or what should have been his hands. Instead of hands he saw claws. What? There was no time. If he was going to die he wanted to die holding her. The claws gently wraped around Moru's body. He felt a powerful upward thrust. Their descent stopped and slowly they began to rise.

Smiling, Moru put her arms around Shin's neck. With her head close to his she said, “You are my akai ryu. You are my red dragon.”

* * *

“What is happening?” Shinmasa demanded after gently setting Moru on the ground. “This isn't delusion. It is hallucination. What is happening?”

“You're okay,” Moru tried to comfort Shin. “You became akai ryu to save me.”

“This is impossible,” Shin insisted. “I can't be a dragon. Dragons don't exist. This must an hallucination.”

“It is not an hallucination.” Moru realized that she was not going to convince Shinmasa that what had happened was real. “Here,” she offered him what appeared to be small yellow berries, “this will help you relax and you can go to sleep.”

“What is it?”

“It's just soybean kernals. They are rich in niacin and can help you relax.”

Shinmasa ate a handful as Moru stroked his head between his eyes. He could feel himself relaxing.

“Don't worry,” Moru said softly, “we'll work through this together.” He nodded agreement as she continued to stroke his head. “You can go to sleep and we can talk when you wake up.” She continued to stroke. Soon he was asleep.

She looked around the mountain peak upon which they had landed. She needed to rest too but she was afraid of Bafu Nama. There really was no easy way to sneak up on them and they were hopefully far away from where Bafu Nama might be looking. She had to rest. Holding out her hand a blanket of green covered the sleeping dragon. She curled up against his chest and fell asleep.

* * *

Moru sat up as the world was turning that ethereal blue that can only be seen moments before the spender of dawn. Shinmasa was still in his dragon form and sleeping peacefully. She reached out and stroked Shinmasa's head. He stirred.

“Good morning,” she said as she saw an eye open.

“Good morning,” replied Shinmasa. “Where are we?”

“I don't know,” Moru responded truthfully.

Shinmasa started to get up. That's when he realized that he was still a dragon.

“Before you get upset again,” Moru pleaded, “please try to stay calm. I can explain and I will answer all your questions.”

Shinmasa didn't say anything but paced the mountain peak like a caged animal except instead of bars there were steep cliffs in every direction. “I guess I don't have any choice,” Shinmasa said somewhat reluctantly.

“First of all you are not hallucinating. This is real, and I really wish that there had been some other way for you to find out, but you and the entire world are in grave danger and I had to make you believe.”

“Didn't work, did it?” snapped Shinmasa.

“Well, partially. You did take on the form of a dragon and save me. Now I just have to convince you that it is real. What questions can I answer? What will convince you?”

“Am I stuck like this now?”

“No. There are many breeds of dragons and there are two groups within each breed. There are those who are born as dragons and will remain in their dragon form their entire lives. Then there are those who are born as humans with the ability to change forms between dragon and human known as kawizate dragons. The kawizate dragons developed many centuries ago when a man of magic successfully transformed himself into a dragon. You are a kawizate dragon. All you have to do is focus on the form you want to take.”

Shinmasa closed his eyes for a few moments. Opening them he looked at himself. “Didn't work.”

“It's going to take some practice,” laughed Muro.

“So while I'm trying to turn back into a human, tell me who you are. Tell me about this guy Lefu, and why the hell he wants to destroy the world. And definitely tell me how a nerdy geophysicist like me is going to stop him even if I can become a dragon.” Shinmasa still had a bit of a pout in his voice.

“Anything else?” Muro teased.

“Yes,” Shinmasa smiled, “you can tell me why am I here?”

“Last night . . . .” Muro started.

“No,” Shinmasa interrupted, “not why am I here, but why am I here? The ultimate philosophical question. I might as well throw that in while I'm asking the impossible.” He smiled and tried again to return to his human form. No luck.

“I can't answer that last one, but I can answer the rest of your questions,” said Muro. “This guy, as you call Lefu Sefefo, is a spirit. His name means 'death storm'. Me Tlhaho, the spirit of all nature and queen of the spirits, had made Lefu the spirit of death. It was not a punishment or demeaning. She felt it was a very important spirit role and meant for him to help all living creatures to understand and accept death as a part of the cycle of life. Unfortunately Lefu Sefefo became jealous of the other spirits who got to deal with beautiful things like mountains and oceans. He himself saw death as ugly and mean instead of a peaceful transition, so that's how he became. He was soon absorbing the fear and anger of all creatures and turning that to his power. Then he realized that the human animal has a unique ability and propensity toward hatred, cruelty and evil. Fear and anger are very natural. Fear is the basis of the primitive brain's fight-or-flight mechanism for all creatures and anger is a part of that response even though it is more prevelent in higher order of animals. But hatred, cruelty and evil are not a part of fight-or-flight. Even though the lioness is seen as a 'killing machine' does not make her cruel or evil. She hunts and kills to feed the pride. Nothing more. Nothing less. Humans, however, kill because they enjoy killing, hate the one they kill or they are simply being malevolent. Only humans hate. One of the higher order primates may have a violent reaction toward another but it is not hatred. It is based upon instinct or learned behavior not an emotion.”

“Yes, I understand all that.”

“Well, Lefu Sefefo takes all that anger, hatred, cruelty and evil and turns it into power. The more anger, hatred and cruelty he can create among the humans, the more powerful he becomes.”

“I understand how tyrants, terrorist and even your everyday politicians can create emotional power through anger, hatred, and cruelty, but how does he turn it into physical power?”

“He's a spirit.”

“A spirit?”

“Yes, a non-physical entity that is made up of the spirit, essence or energy of that to which it is associated.”

“That was clear as mud,” Shinmasa grunted, trying again to change into a human.

“I am Moru. That actually means 'forest'. I am a spirit.” Moru paused. “I am the second daughter of Me Tlhaho. I draw my energy and magic, my very being, from the oneness of all plants and the reason for my existence is to protect plants and maintain the unity of their spirit with the spirit of all living things - Me Tlhaho. Each of my sisters draws their being from that to which they are one - Metsia from water, Thabeng from the earth itself, Phoofolo from animals, and Moea from the air. We exist because of and for that to which we are one. By maintaining the unity of our spirit with Me Tlhaho we maintain the oneness of all things, including our oneness with the universe.”

“Wow,” said Shinmasa. “So Lefu Sefefo is one of these spirits gone bad.”

“Yes. I guess that just about sums him up.”

“Can spirits die?”

“I guess so,” Moru pondered the question for a while before answering. During her pause Shinmasa tried again to transform without success. “If that to which we owe our existence and for which we exist were to perish, then we would perish.”

“Why doesn't Me Tlhaho just take away his powers, or why don't you all gang up on him and stop him?”

“I wish it were that simple. Me Tlhaho can't take away his powers. It comes from his oneness with the essence of hatred, cruelty and evil. To take away his power Me Tlhaho would have to take away all hatred, cruelty and evil in the world, or at least most of it. And don't think we haven't tried. There have been many, many people like Shakyamuni, Joshua bar Joseph, Francis, Tenzin Gyatso, Mahatma Gahdhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Betty Williams, Mother Theresa, Thich Naht Hanh, and, right in your own country, Martin Luther King. Literally hundred and hundreds of marvelous humans over the millennium. We thought we had something going when we had an entire generation of North American humans working for peace, harmony, and love. But it seems that Lefu can always get a war or riot going because humans have such a strong belief that all wrong requires retaliation of equal or greater force.”

Shinmasa was thinking about his own humanity which he now shared with a dragon. He was fragile compared to his dragon form, but he did share his sense of kindness, peace and harmony with the dragon. Shinmasa had never believed that dragons were real but thought of them as a symbol. To Shinmasa the dragon had always represented strength, courage and protection of others. He had always admired that and wished . . . . that was it. Shinmasa relaxed, shut his eyes and in a moment he was sitting there butt naked in his human form.

Moru could not help but to laugh. Shinmasa gave her an angry look. “I'm sorry,” Moru said as she laughed, “your clothes are lying in shreds where you transformed.”

“This has got to be hard on the clothing budget.”

“Most kawizate dragons have worn an outer garment that could be removed quickly and they'd go back and get it when possible.” Moru was still laughing. “I can give you a fig leaf.”

“Very funny.” Shinmasa wasn't laughing.

“I'm sorry. Transform into a dragon, we'll go back to your truck, and you can get some clothes to put on when you transform back to your human form.”

“Won't people see me?”

“Not very likely. You will as invisible as you can possibly be.”

“How's that?”

“You will take advantage of the fact that the human brain receives one hundred million internal and external signals every second. The brain has to filter all that. What you remember and how you react to a particular signal is dependent upon your previous experience and how your brain interpreted that experience. If you never experienced a dragon, never saw a dragon and don't believe that they exist, you will not see the dragon fly over.”

“There are those who say that the natives who first encountered Columbus never saw his ships because they could not comprehend such a thing," said Shinmasa. "Evidently a shaman finally notice the movement of the water around the ships. I don't know if that's true, but it sounds like what you're saying.”

“Exactly.”

It took Shinmasa only two tries to transform into akai ryu. Moru decided to stay in human form and ride on his back to help guide the way. Once at the truck and changed both into human form and clothes Shinmasa asked, “now what?”

“I think we need to get your camping gear packed into the truck, find a place to leave the truck that won't trigger a nation-wide search for you, and then find a place where we can hold up while you learn to be a dragon. My sister, Thabeng, can help with that.”

“What's her specialty?”

“She the mountain spirit.”

They arrived at the base camp. There was a large group. There were two university groups and a half dozen regulars.

“Oh, God, man, where've you been?” demanded Trevor. “I was worried about you when you didn't come back last night and then this place has been a madehouse with all these undergrads. And. . . .”

Shin interrupted him, “I'm sorry I worried you. We got a little too far away and it wasn't safe to travel at night, so . . . .”

“Sure,” this time Trevor interrupted Shin. Grinning, he looked back and forth at Shin and Moru, “I understand.”

“It wasn't . . .” Shin stopped when he saw Moru shake her head and just returned Trevor's grin.

Trevor was constantly under foot as Shinmasa and Moru tried to pack up his camping equipment, and a number of the undergraduate students had to stop by and pay homage to the acclaimed Dr. Takeyo. But finally the two were headed back down the trail toward the truck. They had honestly told Trevor that they were pushing farther into the wilderness. Shinmasa had said that it was to get as physically far away from human developments as possible.

When they were well out of sight of the camp Moru took one last look around and said rather loudly, “Thabeng Moea, ka kopo tla. Ke hloka Tou.”

Shinmasa looked at her. She said, “I just asked my sister, Thabeng, to join us.”

They hadn't gone far when there was a swirl of vapor replaced by a tall woman who was the color of a red clay. Her hair almost matched her skin but her eyes were black as coal. She was dressed like a hiker in the 1920s - nickers, high boots that laced all the way up to the nickers, a quarter-zip pullover over a plain cotton blouse, topped with a cloche style hat. It was all in earth colors.

“Thabeng, it's the twenty-first century not the 1920s,” Moru shook her head, laughed and then stepped forward to embrace her sister. Then making introductions, “Thabeng, this is Takeyo Shinmasa the akai ryu. Shinmasa, this is my sister, Thabeng.” As he had been programmed from childhood, Shinmasa put his hands together and bowed from the waist. Thabeng likewise put her hands together and bowed smiling broadly. 

“He's gorgeous,” exclaimed Thabeng. Shinmasa blushed deeply.

Moru again stood shaking her head and laughing at her sister. “He can hear you, Thabeng.”

“Oh, wasn't I speaking moea lefatshe?”

“No, you were speaking English.”

“Should I speak Japanese?”

“No, you should speak English. Just don't talk about someone in front of them as though they aren't there.”

“Did I do that?”

Moru gave up and hugged her sister again.

“Shinmasa is the one,” said Moru. “He is the one of whom Mahotsukai no Ryunake spoke.”

“You are Ryuhiko,” Thabeng turned to Shinmasa and bowed again. “I am so happy Moru found you. The entire world is dependent upon you.”

“Thank you,” Shinmasa replied. “I am very pleased to meet the spirit of the mountains I love so much.”

Thabeng just grinned and did a little dance. 

“Thabeng, we need a place where we can avoid Lefu Sefefo until Shinmasa has had a chance to learn how to be a dragon.”

“Oh, a dragon's lair,” said Thabeng clapping with glee. “I haven't made a dragon's lair for such a long time. I'll go and make you a place. I'll let you know where it is.”

“Thank you so much,” Moru said.

“Yes, thank you,” Shinmasa bowed.

Shinmasa and Moru threw his things in the back of the truck and headed down the mountain to find a safe place to leave his truck. The first town of any size was Salmon, Idaho. They found a U-Haul storage company and left the truck. They stopped by the local Good Will store and bought Shinmasa some extra clothes. A bathrobe and kimono on display gave Shinmasa the idea to buy the kimono and some robes which he could wear like a kimono and remove quickly when he wanted to become akai ryu. He also bought some material from which he could make fundoshi, traditional Japanese underwear that is wrapped around like a loincloth. This would give him some respectability since it can be worn in public and wouldn't shred but would fall off as Shinmasa changed, therefore it could be reused, assuming he remembered where he left it. 

As they walked toward the mountains, Shinmasa called his Mother and some colleagues to tell them that he was pushing farther into the wilderness to get some new readings well away from any direct human contact.

When he spoke with his Mother he ended the conversation with “I know who I am, Mother.”

“I'm so glad,” replied his Mother. “we must sit down and talk.”

“Yes,” Shinmasa promised. “As soon as I'm done with this project. It shouldn't take long.”

Moru and Shinmasa walked silently toward the mountains. They ended up on a road called Brady Street and about a quarter of a mile outside of town they found a nice knoll a few hundred feet off the road over looking the town of Salmon. They sat down to wait for Thabeng.

* * *

As they sat looking out over the Salmon River valley Muro noticed a storm cloud. It moved erratically and was exceptionally dark and menacing.

“I'm afraid that Lefu Sefefo has found us,” Muro said softly, as though she was afraid he might hear.

“What?”

“Storms around here don't tend to come from the north and they definitely don't move back and forth as though they're looking for something . . . or more specifically someone.”

“What should we do? Should we hide?”

“Hiding isn't going to do us any good at this point.”

“But I don't know what to do,” Shinmasa was seriously frightened.

“Give me a moment,” said Moru. She stood staring at the approaching storm for what, to Shinmasa, seemed like an eternity. “Okay. There's no way he's going to pass without spotting us, so I'm going to have you transform into Akai Ryu. If he tries to turn his storm on us, I want you to fly straight up. Don't worry about me. I'll be okay. You just go straight up until you are above his storm. Turn west and fly as fast as you can. You can move a lot faster than his storm. Go west and find a place to hide. I'll find you.” Moru paused and looked back at the storm then back at Shinmasa, “Got it?”

“Yes,” said Shinmasa, “I've got it. Go up, turn west, and run like hell.”

The storm came right to them. Shinmasa transformed into Ryuhiko and stood waiting with Moru. As the heart of the storm grew nearer he could begin to make out the distorted and grotesque features of a face. It had to be Lefu Sefefo. Ryuhiko did his best to stand tall and look confident even though inside he was terrified. He had never encountered such a violent storm in his life.

The grotesque face gave a sardonic smile. “Well, if it isn't my sister, Moru.” the voice was acrimonious. “How's Mother?” Lefu Sefefo laughed, or at least Ryohiko figured that was what that terrifying sound was. “And this must be the boy prince. Ryuhiko, Dragon Prince.”

Ryuhiko tried to look as strong and menacing as he could but this spirit was so terrifying, so totally evil, that it was all Ryuhiko could do to stand there without moving.

“Lefu Sefefo,” Moru shouted in a loud voice. “don't be so smug. The dragons always were the only ones who could stop you, and Ryuhiko is our means to bringing your reign of terror to an end.”

Lefu Sefefo laughed even louder. “You pompous little ass. I don't give a damn if he is the son of Morena Ryu. Look what I did to him.” The hideous face grew close to Moru. “Your days are numbered big sister.”

The Lefu Sefefo turned toward Ryuhiko. “Awe, Ryuhiko, Prince of the Dragons, or should I say, last of the dragons.”

'What does he mean?” Ryuhiko asked Moru.

“Oh,” said Lefu Sefefo, “Moru didn't tell you. Oh, my. It must have slipped her mind. She didn't think to tell you when she recruited you into this nasty little business.” Lefu Sefefo paused a moment for effect - to let reality do his dirty work, “Tell him, sis. Tell him about his father, sister, brother and the rest of the dragons.”

The face of Lefu Sefefo backed away and looked down on the two. Sneering he said, “I'm not going to kill you now. I'm going to save you so you can see my awesome power and know the pain. On the right day I am going to rain down death on this continent which will be the beginning of the end for this pathetic, self-righteous little planet.”

With that the face disappeared and the storm abruptly ended.

BUT I LOVE MY KEURIG!

A coffee purist gets up in the morning and puts the kettle of filtered water on to boil.  While the water boils he grinds exactly 63.8 grams of fresh coffee beans that have been kept in a sealed container.  The freshly ground coffee is put in the gold filter that sits in the ceramic funnel on top of his coffee pot. All is ready. When the water begins to boil, the purist removes the water from the heat and counts out 11 seconds.  Research has shown that the perfect temperature is 11 seconds below boiling. (Of course that is altered by altitude and other variables, but it generally works.)  Slowly and carefully 1.42L of water is poured into the gold filter containing the freshly ground coffee. The moment of truth. The tremendous aroma!  This process takes time, but it delivers a perfect cup of coffee which can be adjusted to taste by adjusting the coffee:water ratio.

Believe it or not, this was me for many, many years. Ask Pamela. This is the way I make coffee while we live in Willy (our 16' vintage trailer) in the wilderness of Montana eleven miles from the nearest "developed" area.(1) Actually this is still my preferred way of brewing coffee.

But what you probably don't know is that I also have a Keurig machine.  Yes, me! The coffee purist. I had avoided the Keurig because I wanted my fresh coffee and because I was too cheap to pay 60-75 cents a cup for coffee. If I wanted to pay that much I'd go to Starbucks. (I'm sure you're not surprised that I have a Starbucks gold card which means that I can get my coffee for 50 cents or less per cup.) My first live encounter with Keurig was at my daughter's home in Huntsville, AL.  My son-in-law, also an avid coffee lover, had acquired a Keurig.  It was nice. To make a long story short (too late!), I ended up buying a Keurig for when I was being lazy or didn't want a pot.

Now that I have to admit in public that a coffee purist like me loves his Keurig, I'm confronted with a horrible reality.  My beloved Keurig cartridges might be the next big environmental threat!

I'm not ready to throw out my Keurig and hop on the 'ban the Keurig' band wagon quite yet.  But the problem of the pure volume of K-cups in landfills is staggering.  Pamela and I use an average of two K-cups a day. That is 10.22 kg per year. If 1 million homes do the same, that would be 1,200 metric tons (1005.86 long tons or 2000# tons for those who don't use the metric system.)  Based on an average cargo load of 22 tons per 53' semi-trailer, that would mean our K-cups would fill >45 semi-trailers. That's a lot.

But, alas, it gets worse.  I tried to look up the number of Keurig K-cup machines sold.  I found a lot of information but not that specific number. I know the number is out there, but I didn't want to take all day on this article, so I found that there was a recall of 7 million machines in 2014. Since the 7 million machines only represented a mini-brew style (using the same K-cup) we can assume that there are at least 7 million machines being used, which is most likely a very, very low estimate. Based on that number, we now have 7,154 metric tons or 325 semi-trailer loads of used K-cups going into our landfill each year. And that's just the tippy, tippy top of the proverbial iceberg.

Before we get all bent out of shape, those of us who like the convenience or love our Keurig machine need to let Keurig know that they need to put a lot of that tremendous profit they're making into research on making the K-cup recyclable.  Oh, if you don't think they have the financial ability check out Keurig's financial position at http://ycharts.com/companies/GMCR or wherever you want. When I checked it they had an 11.80% profit margin (quarterly), only a 0.0465 debit-to-equity ratio, a 33.78 price-earnings ratio, and selling for $126.26/share with the high of $154.50/share on Nov. 17, 2014. That's financially stable.(2) 

Good environmental stewards and big business do not have to be adversarial. 


===============
(1)  When in Montana we use Montana Coffee Co. beans.  The company is a fair trade company and roasts up some great coffees.  We brought a lot home with us and gave it as gifts. I'm not aware of its availability much farther away from home base than the adjoining states. We frequented a small coffee shop in Columbia Falls, MT., called The Montana Coffee Company about 27 miles from our camp, that not only had fine coffee but a great food menu which had several vegetarian offerings. I was in heaven!  

(2)  What I shared here were the numbers which show a company with very little debt and an excellent return on the invested dollar. Those who know all about what these numbers, and the plethora of other data, mean will tell you that it is still very complex.  However, in this case, I believe that any financial expert looking at these numbers would consider Keurig, solely owned by GMCR, is a very financially healthy company. 

ELECTRICITY BATTLE in INDIANA

If you like complex problems, try this one.   

 A new battle between solar energy and utility companies is really heating up in Indiana.  It won't immediately or directly effect most consumers since most of us can not afford our own solar electric system.  According to RTO, a utility watchdog organization, a rooftop system can cost $25,000.  Nevertheless, the outcome of the battle could effect how soon the cost of a rooftop system is within the reach of the average person.  I haven't had a chance to check out RTO very carefully, but they did seem to present both sides of the argument, although I would assume that by their nature - a watchdog group - they are going to tend to side with the consumer.


When discussing such issues; viz. where old established industries are complaining that they may go out of business if the new technology, etc., is permitted to exist; I like to point out how carriage makers at the beginning of the 20th century ranted and raged at the new automobile industry. The carriage companies may have gone out of business but those they employed applied their skills to the new technology, and most of us would agree that we are glad that the automobile wasn't legislated out of existence. What would have happened had the government stepped in and protected the carriage industry from those horrible liberal automobile people?  Would you still have a small barn in the backyard for the family horse and carriage?  (see another interesting example at the bottom.)

I'm not, at this point, taking sides on Indiana House Bill 1320 - 2015. (Be sure to look up the 2015 version. I don't know why it has the same number as a 2013 bill.)  I'm obviously in favor of more solar energy.  I'd love to be able to afford a rooftop unit. But, after reading several articles about the battle, I have to admit to feeling sorry for the legislators.  An oversimplification - the solar consumer is saying that the bill will kill the solar energy industry and/or greatly delay its availability to the average family. The utility company's most legitimate argument is that, under current law, they are sometimes paying more to solar consumers than it costs to purchase the same amount of power in the marketplace. Currently the utilities must buy any power the consumer generates and does not use.

From what I am picking up on the internet - which, as we all know, isn't always correct - is that the same issue is arising in West Virginia and Wisconsin.

In any case, here is an opportunity to be proactive in the quest to balance our comforts and our stewardship of the environment. Please check out this website -  http://www.rtoinsider.com/indiana-net-metering-12643/  Then check out both sides in this argument.  It may not effect most of us right now, but it is an issue that indirectly effect all of us and will definitely have a long-term environmental impact.  Read. Study. Contemplate. And then let your legislator know what you think.

=======================================================================
An interesting antidote when talking about industrial conflict.  There was actually a flying car that was first built in 1946 and finally registered with the CAA in 1956.  Problem was if it met all the standards of the automobile, it didn't meet the airplane standards, and vise versa. Maybe we shouldn't try to legislate and regulate everything.

The Taylor Aerocar in the Seattle Museum of flight

From Cleveland to Alaska

Arctic National Wildlife Reserve Recommended

It is a red-letter day for Americans - no, for the world - as the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve  is recommended for wilderness protection. It is wonderful that the Obama administration and others recognized that our dwindling wilderness is an important part of our future and survival as a species. The Arctic National Wildlife Reservation is an important part of nature's balance. Not only that but it is one of the last havens for caribou, polar bears, muskoxen, wolves and a vast variety of birds.  This is not a victory for the caribou, polar bear, muskoxen and wolves. This is a victory for all life on planet earth.  You all know that I really, really do not want to offend or upset people, but sometimes I must be honest even if it does offend.  Common sense will tell you that we can not continue to rape this planet and expect some metaphysical being to save our asses at the last minute. There is no evidence in any historic or even religious document to support such expectation. The buck stops here. I hope you will all celebrate with me, and the many thousands of people who worked for this day, that we have taken another step toward good stewardship.  Check out this article. 

http://content.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2015/01/conservation-groups-native-organizations-celebrate-wilderness-recommendation

* * *

A teenage girl points out the obvious - why should taxpayers give a company $3 billion to keep obsolete, non-profitable plants in operation when that money could be used for the future?

Judy Roseman with her daughter,  Hilary Vogelbaum

On January 20th. a teenager stood up to speak in  Cleveland, OH against a proposed $3 Billion bailout for Sammis Coal Plant and Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant. She spoke from a young person's perspective which tends to be more forward looking than that of their seniors. According to article author, Heather Moyer, "When she finished, the crowd not only burst into applause, they were all on their feet."  

Here is a transcript of Hilary's speech: 

     " Good evening Commissioner.  My name is Hilary Vogelbaum.  I live Moreland Hills, OH.  I am 16-years-old, and I am a junior (in high school).  I am grateful to have the opportunity to have my voice and opinion heard.

     I am extremely disappointed and saddened that anyone at First Energy would with a straight face ask to keep the Samis Coal Plant and Davis Besse nuclear power plant operating at full capacity for the next fifteen years. 
 
     I care very deeply about our environment, and facilities like the Sammis Coal Burning Power Plant are exactly the type of facilities we should be seeking to phase out, not facilities we should seek to keep going at full capacity for another 15 years by giving them special financial deals.  It is my greatest hope that the members of the Public Utilities Commission will remember that it is NOT OK to keep pushing the cost of producing energy today onto future generations by imposing on us terrible environmental costs. 
     I have a unique personal experience that I would like to share with you.  I have had the privilege of doing research on development of organic solar cells at Case Western Reserve University in the lab of Dr. Genevieve Sauve.  I cannot begin to tell you the passion that the researchers in Dr. Sauve's lab and similar labs have for moving our world to a new future of clean energy.  But these labs are struggling for survival because of lack of funding.  Often, our experiments would be put on hold because of lack of supplies or broken equipment. In a lab, where the future of clean energy can be born, funds to simply complete the projects are very, very hard to come by!  

Sammis Coal Burning Power Plant

     Let me give you some idea of what I am talking about.  The average National Science Foundation grant is about $150,000 a year to do new research.  That will fund two grad students plus supplies for a year.  I am begging you not to approve First Energy’s request, which will only prolong the life of a dirty old coal plant and an outdated nuclear facility which aren’t even naturally profitable.  Imagine what we could do if we took the $3 billion that First Energy wants consumers to pay over 15 years and put that money into renewable energy research.  
     Instead, First Energy is asking that you approve giving them unfathomable amounts of money to prop up old technology, when we could look to the future, to MY future and the future of my generation, and create new, clean technologies right here in Ohio which would not have the same negative environmental impact as the Sammis coal burning power plant and the dangerous risks of the Davis Besse Nuclear Plant.
     First Energy may sing some sad song about needing to preserve jobs at the existing plants.  
     Perhaps because I am only 16, I see the future more than the past.  But I am asking you to think about it.  Think about the enormous number of jobs that would be created if instead of propping up old technologies, we invested in the future of energy by creating labs like the one I worked in which would create cheap, efficient solar power and other forms of renewable energy.      Every time a new industry is created, we need new factories, new engineers, new management positions, new line workers, new marketing efforts and all kinds of things that create new jobs of every kind.  Those are the new jobs we should be creating.
     I want to be sure that there ARE jobs for my generation in the industry…not dirty coal jobs, or dangerous nuclear plant jobs, but clean tech engineering and production and sales jobs.  To create these kinds of jobs, we need to let our old technologies die instead of propping them up.  I am asking you to turn down First Energy;s request to prop up its old energy plants that use old, dirty and dangerous technologies which have huge environmental impacts and risks, and instead approve only measures which will help invest in a future of clean renewable energy.

      Unlike the executives of First Energy, these researchers are barely making a living.  It takes a long time to get meaningful research done because of lack of supplies, equipment and personnel.  If we had the same funds for renewable energy research that First energy is asking for as a subsidy for its outdated coal and nuclear plants, we would have innumerable new jobs because we would create a thriving new renewable energy industry."

If you want to read more, check out this site:  http://www.sierraclub.org/compass/2015/01/ohio-high-schooler-gives-most-powerful-testimony-face-big-coal

WILLY'S FACE LIFT - INSTALLMENT 6

WA-HOO!  A great day at the garage.

I decided this morning that I was going to stay in Madisonville and work on Willy.  We both had a bit of a rough evening because we were concerned about the edging.  Like I said, I could make it work but I didn't like it or the original. We wanted something that was going to permit us to use screws instead of staples and plenty of sealing surface. We didn't feel that the edging we bought had enough sealing surface.  I decided to stay in Madisonville so that I could work on this problem so we didn't get too far  behind.

Left front edge. Single screw

First thing this morning I went to Lowe's.  I don't know if I should admit this in case a vintage trailer restorer purist reads it. Awe, heck.  I ended up looking at edging for pole barns. I bought a couple of pieces just to tack on so that Pamela could see it on and give me her opinion.  It works extremely well and I was able to have one piece of edging go the entire distance. The other materials were going to have at least one joint because they couldn't make the extremely sharp curve on the front.

Here are a couple of pictures.  On the front right you can see one of the screws. There will be a line of screws so this isn't a blemish or damage.  Each of the screws, which will be about 4" apart, will have a similar dimple giving a consistent appearance. The picture of the front left shows how nicely it goes around the two bends. Fewer places to leak when your edging is solid all the way down!

Right front edging without screws

After I got this tacked up I turned my attention to the two seams on the back. On the rear left the wood was rotten all the way up. It took me a whole lot longer to clean out the old rotten wood than it was to measure, cut and install the new wood.  The back also has an angle. If you look directly at the back it looks straight. If you look at it from the side you can see the angle. It isn't much of an angle but it is an angle. Tell your kids there is a reason for geometry.  Both of the back seams went together very well and I was pleased. I didn't take any pictures of the rear seams. Figured you'd seen enough.

rear angle

I was about ready  to install the wood on the last seam when Pamela got home from school. Boy, was she surprised.  She likes the molding.  I'm glad.  I like it too and I think it will do a good job.



The hole left by the antenna is going to require some replacement material, so I'll face that tomorrow after I finish the fourth and final edge seam.  Pamela is ready to go buy paint.  If all goes well we should have Willy back on the road inside of a month, but we want to do a good job and aren't rushing.

WILLY'S FACE LIFT - INSTALLMENT 5

One of Pamela's paint schemes

Today was a rather singular day --  Pamela spent the entire time working on removing silicone.  Unless you've done it or watch someone else do it for hours on end, you have no idea what it takes. She did take a little time to come up with some painting ideas for Willy.  I thought this idea was rather nice looking.

I spent my time putting the front right seam back together.  All the wood was cut except for one piece to go behind the curve. I went to Lowe's this morning and got a piece of 2x4 and cut the curved piece from it with a reciprocating saw and hand jig saw.

Curved piece & where it goes

I ended up using hand saws a lot.  I must admit I like them better even if they do take a little bit longer. There were a couple of cuts that there is no way you could have done them with a power saw except an expensive table jig or router.

Once the curved piece was finished I started screwing the skin onto the new wood.  I was really worried about the sharp curve which had had such a tremendous gap when we bought Willy.  At each cross seam and bend I had to be extremely careful to get things lined up correctly.  It really wasn't hard. It was nerve racking because I was constantly worried about the place that had been so bad when we started this project. My fear was that it still wouldn't come together.

It fits!!!

You can imagine my excitement when I got the seam to come together at the dreaded bend. Pamela came from the back of Willy, where she had been work, to she why I was yelling.  The front and right side skin of Willy probably haven't been this close together for years.  People had kept putting silicone in the gap, just making it

worse, instead of opening up the seam and putting in new wood. We're hoping this lasts another 30 years. I may not be the greatest of craftsmen, but at least we are doing our best to do it right!

I didn't get any of the hole patching done. That will have to wait for another day, but we are ahead of what we expected to have done at this time.  This was perhaps the worst seam, and it was the first time I had pulled back the skin, removed windows, etc.  Even with these factors the seam was done in 8 hours.  Hopefully I should be able to do the others in less.

These sides haven't been this close in years.

The dreaded bend.