Friday, June 29, 2007

 

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Single track anyone ?

 

Ornithological Observation

Saw one of these "Western Tanagers" in the days before I was going so fast everything was a blur!
They are, apparently, the most exotic looking birds to be seen in the Rockies. The name comes from a native Indian word in the Amazon Basin. From my observations they would look more at home there.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

 

Latest Flagstaff Achievements

To the flagpole - (overlooking this amphitheater and Boulder below) - 44 minutes
Up. Total time for up and down non-stop 56 minutes!
There are some things money can't buy - for all the rest use Mastercard!

 

Summer Flora

In the background the Flatirons then the ugly house accross the street. Then lavender, roses, budlia and things I can't name.
Then right outside the window - where the tulips were - spectacular WEEDS!

I must dig them out - they have roots like trees and you can't pull them out.



 

Compulsory Reading

I will be sending the Hosseini book to Elaine - sort of like the "Kite Runner" but more about girls than boys. Quite a violent book - with murders, executions and beatings.
I heard the author on the radio recently saying that the Afghanistan of his childhood (as in the Kite Runner) had become much more hardened and children knew all about AK 47s and how to dismantle and rebuild them rather than fly kites.

The MUST read is the one Elaine recommended on the right by Kim Edwards - a most insightful study of human relationships. Full of vivid mental pictures and believable people. I could not put it down and can not thank E enough for the recommendation. I finished it at 11.30 last night. Those who know me will confirm that not a lot of things (? I can just imagine the comments) will keep me up that late!
This is required reading for all my blog readers!

Monday, June 25, 2007

 

This Afternoon at 95 Fahrenheit

I discovered that this road I keep riding up goes a lot further than the flagpole - further in a vertical direction!
Its about another thousand feet up from the flagpole to where I rode today - nearly killed me but I have to prepare for riding with little William in July!
Hey Di you have some nerve putting bible references on an atheist's blog - proverbs, in my opinion, only ever state the obvious - in this case - stupid people do stupid things and smart people do smart things.
Tell me more - Gill and Di - two of my, incidentally, Christian readers - wasn't there a plane for all to see at the Pentagon?
Di I told you what mixing with writers did for my writing - killed it dead - doing the world a favor I guess.
Personally I don't think extra terrestrials and UFO's are any more difficult to believe in than Jesus or Buddha - mind you that is pretty difficult. There are fairies at the top of my garden.
Sorry I bored you with the classical music - how about this outrageous blog?
Why doesn't AJ ( Gills twin sister) ever comment - or does she?

 

Chautauqua


Did you ever see a word with so many "u"s?
This wooden concert hall was built in the late 1800's as part of the Chautauqua movement which started in the town of that name in New York.
The opening concert of the festival was last night. They played a piece by Terry Riley called "In C" which was a sort of ad-lib improvised piece which I don't think anybody enjoyed. THe highlight was Carmina Burana - which I always enjoy from the days when I sang in it in England and Germany in the 80's. This was the "chamber version" with two pianos and a very small orchestra. Too many old ladies slowing the choir down kind of spoiled it for me.
The setting compensates for everything else though as you can see - right below the Flatirons with wind waved grass and wildflowers all around.
A fundamental difference I observe between Europe and the US in music, opera etc. is that the Americans are very interested in the words and the meaning behind pieces. Europeans - especially me - enjoy just listening to the music as if singers and their words were just additional instruments.
American opera houses have supertitles above the stage saying what is being sun in Italian in English.
Last night there was an excellent explanation of the background to Carmina Burana - written by Carl Orf in 1937 using the words of 13th century poems for several movements. Some are sung in German. When our choir sang it we were just told that the words were somewhat profane but it is almost like a choral "Rite of Spring" The soloists also did a little operatic flirting with each other. The woman was a little mature and heavy to be the kind of virgin she was singing about but she sang like an angel.
Anybody still awake? - tell me tell me tell me!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

 

The Road up Flagstaff Mountain from Canyon

The road starts behind the Red Lion - which claims to have served dinner nightly for over 100 years. W, K, J and I drove up a few yards of it and decided it couldn't be what we were looking for. This is where the road ends up - way up Flagsaff Mountain but bikers not allowed so it would have to be a walk.

The maps in the US are almost as bad as the beer!

The top of the road we looked for

Thursday, June 21, 2007

 

Mainly for Cyclists

seen on a nearby street in Steamboat Springs
I arrived early for the tour.

All that tubing next to the wall is Titanium - or "Tie" as they call it.

machines all familiar and many were old - Bridgeport milling machine here.


Finished frames



The frame is purged inside with argon through this pipe - to prevent oxidation during welding.




Tack welds to start off with







One of the welders had built his own bike with some carbon as well as Ti tubing - this was very very light.




Argon flows over the electrode and the outside of the work and fresh welds shine like silver - no oxygen = no oxidation! Welds are done a bit at a time to keep the frame as cool as possible.




A solid lump of Ti with some CNC machining completed






a few finished products






All in all a very enjoyable tour - great people all enthusiastic and keen cyclists.

Apparently Mr Moots was a crocodile on a pencil eraser which the owner had as a child.

He has a Scandinavian sounding name which I can't remember.










 

The High Point

In a lifetime of motorcycling - 12,100 feet up in the Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado

The watershed of the USA - a rain drop falling on the left will flow two thousand miles to the Atlantic - to the right - one thousand or so to the Pacific.

Quite scary riding - high winds and big drops!


 

Wyoming Scenes

Atop the "Snowy Range scenic byway" about 10,000 feet



The Indians came here to get a particular wood to make their bows.


My kind of police car! - must have been rotting there 20 years!



My room at the Gaslight Motel - Laramie




Wednesday, June 20, 2007

 

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More Upscale in Steamboat Springs Colorado

 

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Factory tour

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

 

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Fish Creek Falls

 

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Gaslight Motel

Monday, June 18, 2007

 

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Dinner

 

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Downtown Laramie Wyoming

 

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Downtown Laramie Wyoming

 

Roaming Wyoming

Cheyenne (state capital) - bottom right is only about an hour or so from here so I am going :

(to the tune of "roaming in the gloaming on the bonnie banks of Clyde"

Roaming in Wyoming
On my yellow bee em dub-yah

Colorado is the state immediately south of Wyoming.
Wyoming is the fourth largest state and the population is only half a million so it should be pretty empty.
Planning a couple of days there on my own. I will post photos from my phone if I can.

Friday, June 15, 2007

 

Finchley Central



There were three of these house finches on the bird feeder as I sat down to blog (not on the bog!) but they flew away when I fetched the camera. This one courtesy of Google.

They are really common here and much cuter then the big robins.

I am still working on the move-in stuff but there has been one bit of really good news this week!

W, MK and J are coming for two weeks in July!

I will have to dust off the high chair and put away the glass!

I can't imagine that this blog will stimulate any comments at all but you never know.

I am thinking of motorcycling to southern Wyoming next week when M is away - any suggestions? how about Brokeback Mountain?


Wednesday, June 13, 2007

 

Surrealism

Be gentle with me Elaine - I know nothing about art!


I think this looks like a Dali!


this too



Taking a big risk getting into this but it seems to me that the Belgians (as above by Delvaux/Magritte etc.) were producing surrealist paintings before:
Dali. - I once saw a painting by a Belgian artist which my ignorant eyes would have sworn was a Dali but in fact it pre-dated Dali considerably and was by a Belgian artist.
I don't remember their name but can't you see some similarities here?
The careful student may tell me, of course, that these examples followed and were influenced by Dali.
Regardless I am a big fan of Belgium - a much overlooked, rushed-through country with great food, beer, art and music.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

 

Narrative Backbone

My newest reader (that I am aware of) - George Ingram in California - tells me that my blog lacks "narrative backbone" - now is the time I need your support! come on readers tell him where he gets off!

Actually I think it has become rather esoteric in here - on the assumption that only family and friends read it it's easy to assume everybody knows I am big William and there is little William - actually considerably bigger than me.

There is Ben my other son and their wives - Katherine or MK and Elaine or E.

Writing a blog is a bit like lighting a fire and occasionally it burns on it's own - without being fanned or stoked. Like the exchanges between MK and Di. Who have never met but MK has been very close to where Di lives. I get a good feeling watching their fire burn a little. Not that there is any aggression but today I have been staying out of the rain moving boxes as usual.

I am reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini who wrote the Kite Runner. E gave me the Kite Runner and I agreed with her high opinion of it. The author is a doctor in San Francisco and the new book seems equally gripping. I will be sending it to E when I have finished it - pretending it is new and unread as usual.

BY the way - George Ingram DID compliment the photography - and he is a very keen accomplished photographer so I am flattered.

While we are feeling pensive I have to confess a couple of things - I did NOT take the lightning photograph and I did NOT write the Relativity poem. I learned it at school when we were learning about relativity.

There was another one about a man with a rapier and something about

There once was a swordsman called Fisk

So swift was his action

The Fitzgerald Contraction

Reduced his rapier to a disc


The Fitzgerald contraction is a phenomenon whereby things get shorter at relativistic (close to the speed of light) speeds.


Is anybody still awake?

Want a picture? - the feet of a reclining Buddha in Malaysia - the feet are about 10 feet wide.
Am I a budding Buddhist?

Sunday, June 10, 2007

 

Culture Vulture Swoops to New Depths!


One of the few advantages of living in Colorado is that nobody else does.
Advantageous, that is, if you like rock concerts because there were even tickets available at the door.
Our friends the Aspleys tried to book for one of the nights in Birmingham UK in November unsuccessfully. We got ours last week.
According to M's tee shirt they will be in Denmark at Aarhus if anyone there is interested later in the year. I can hear the groans from 5,000 miles away.
I went to writing classes with the guitarist Andy Summers - on the right when I was in LA.
Last night I kept my earplugs in all night and could hear just fine. Seeing was another matter. Somewhat less civilized than symphony concerts, with everybody standing up and dancing, but M loved it and I enjoyed some of my old faves like "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "Walking on The Moon" and "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
They disbanded in 1986 swearing they would never tour again unless hell froze over. - another perverted, inverted example of global warming.

 

Other Vultural Activities

Unwrapping
Unpacking

Flattening and schlepping boxes.
Some of my Jewish friends will doubtless correct me but schlepping is a Yiddish word (in response to a comment weeks ago) - common in the US but not the UK.
I think the nearest UK word might be "lugging"

However did we manage before we bought a truck?
Truck is another US word meaning anything except a car.


Now where are we going to put it all?


Meanwhile the green hills wait patiently for me!



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