Collected Works
Andy Reekers was the grandfather I never knew. He died before I was old enough to remember him.
In the 1920’s he invented and manufactured fishing lures that are popular to this day. Fishermen still use them.
Some of them even frame the lures and hang them on the walls of their “man caves”.
I have created a web site to tell as much I know of the story of Andy, his lures, and his company
You can visit it at: http://www.andyreekers.com
Joshua Bell is widely acknowledged as one the the worlds greatest violinists.
In January of 2007, in an experiment organized by the Washington Post, he stood on a street corner near the subway in Washington DC and assumed the role of street musician.
Playing a 3.5 million dollar Stradivarius, he performed six Bach pieces for about forty five minutes.
Two days earlier he sold out at a theater in Boston where the average cost of a seat was $100.
His forty-five minute street performance earned him $32.00. Rather than his customary standing ovation he didn’t even receive any applause.
There is a lesson to be learned from this, but I’m not sure what it is.
What do you think this says about our lives, our society, and our culture?
Saba Ahmed is one of Oregon’s, and America’s, more unusual politicians.
She is a twenty-eight year Muslim woman who recently ran as a democrat for the Oregon House district one position in the US senate.
Following her defeat in the primary she switched parties to become a Republican because she felt the Republicans more closely reflected her conservative values. This seemed an unusual move considering the hostility many conservative Republicans feel towards Muslims.
None-the-less, Saba continues to seem satisfied with the switch.
Saba Ahmed has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Portland State University and is currently completing her joint Juris Doctorate-MBA degree at Lewis and Clark Law School and University of Portland.
She is no intellectual slouch.
She has worked for Intel Corporation, Digimarc Corporation, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, and the Oregon Supreme Court.
In 2010 she successfully fought to repeal an Oregon law that banned teachers from wearing the Muslim headscarf, Sikh turban, Jewish yarmulke , or other religious attire. This was an Oregon law, originally passed to discriminate against Catholics, that was badly in need of repeal.
On the campaign trail Saba emphasizes her obvious qualifications to bridge the gap between the Christian and Muslim world view. She is also an outspoken critic of American military involvements.
Though I agree with her on some issues, her rather extreme conservatism doesn’t blend well with my observations of how the world works.
But what the hell, it’s our differences that make life so interesting. And Saba Ahmed is one interesting lady.
I’ve always been fascinated with oddball architecture and i can’t imagine anything more cool than living in a hobbit house.
So it’s not surprising I am fascinated by this hobbit house that was built in Wales by Simon Dale.
The framing is of locally gathered oak, the walls and foundation are made of mud and stone, and floor walls and roof are insulated with straw.
Virtually everything inside (flooring, windows, plumbing) is made of reused materials.
The house is heated with wood, water comes from a near by stream, and solar panels provide electricity.
You can learn more about this fascinating house at,
Extraordinary Off-Grid Hobbit Home in Wales Only Cost £3,000 to Build
I’ve been going to a WordPress meetup in Portland Oregon.
It’s facilitated by Kathleen Burton McDade.
For the most part it’s really good, though I don’t exactly fit in. They break the group into WordPress newbies or experienced WordPress professionals.
I don’t quite fit into either group.
I’ve done a number of WordPress blogs, my primary one being for the Washington County Public Affairs forum. I am very comfortable with WordPress, but far from being a professional.
I find the way the WordPress templates use CSS baffling and many of the plugins are downright weird.
None-the-less, I remain a huge fan of WordPress and will continue attending the group because I continue to learn new things.
As long as there is something to learn, I will continue to go.