Man in Denver gets paid to sample marijuana

There are over 200 medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver. This guy gets paid to sample their products and write reviews. Watch this! I think this guy smokes so much grass -- once a month he has to mow his stomach! They now have marijuana-flavored toothpaste. You still get cavities, but you don't care.

Cubs fans fill Coors field

A common complaint by the Rockies fans is that so many Cubs fans show up when the Cubs are in town. Last night they were greeted by a 12 run 8th inning! Keep coming! But you might want to leave the Cubs Jerseys at home. Final score: Rockies win 17 - 2. After the game, the Cubs manager Lou Piniella said, "I've never seen an inning like that, we had two outs and two strikes on a hitter and they score 12 runs. I've never seen an inning like that." The Rocks batted around twice! I guess Ian Stewart gives credit for this one where it's due.

Why the delay?

"I had far rather walk, as I do, in daily terror of eternity, than feel that this was only a children's game in which all the contestants would get equally worthless prizes in the end."

- T.S. Eliot

Herbert Hoover's words

It was Herbert Hoover who said, "Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt."

Taxes

Taxes are going back up. Yes, it's true! Every bracket will be going higher unless Congress acts soon. What I find interesting is that the tax bracket with the largest increase will be the lowest. That's right! People in the 10% tax bracket will now have to fork out 15%. Hmmm. I thought Obama was just going to tax the rich? And now it looks like poor people will shoulder the largest increase!

This raises a number of questions. How can they pay that tax when they can't even afford to put gas in the car? And gas prices will certainly increase with new regulations on off shore drilling. Taxation is based on supply and demand. We supply when the government demands. I can hear what the people in this bracket are going to say. Every time my ship comes in the government unloads it!

What is God doing?

"Without somehow destroying me in the process, how could God reveal himself in a way that would leave no room for doubt? If there were no room for doubt, there would be no room for me."

- Frederick Buechner

Little big horns

Nancy and I went for a long bike ride yesterday from our house all the way up Waterton Canyon to Stontia Springs Reservoir. On the way we were greeted by these young big horn sheep.

Other bike riders stopped to watch them and none of all this activity seemed to bother the animals. I would've thought so many people would scare them off. They were unafraid, playful, and seemed very tame. Of course the adults weren't around.

Up Early in Alaska

Alaska has a special charm and very good raspberries! We got up early one morning because it was so light and went for a walk up an old little two rut dirt road. This was the kind of road you drive your truck on and grass in the middle scrapes the underside of the chassis. Everything out there had that fresh clean smell after the rains from the day before, and the berries were just dropping off the bushes into our hands. All you had to do was touch one with your finger and it would drop into the palm of your other hand. I almost felt like we were taking the food right off the bears' plate! We ate about as many as we collected and then returned to the river, built a fire, and enjoyed a cup of coffee. What a special place.

City lays off firefighters and spends $850,000 on a fountain!

The City of Ann Arbor, MI laid off firefighters but spent $850,000 on a fountain! It looks like the City is learning from the Feds how to operate.

Click here for the article

Alaska fragments

During our camping trip in Alaska we went with our good friends from Wasilla. Nancy and I slept in this camper at the end of the Chitina airport. Two planes would land everyday and two planes would take off every day. It was a no-frills airline. Twenty minutes before the flight the passengers got together to elect a pilot!

The best part of the trip is being with such great people. It's amazing that you can be thousands of miles apart in such unusual places and yet have so much in common. We love the outdoors, fishing, camping, eating, reading, our church, and so much more.

On the big fish, Rich filleted the fish... mercifully. I can butcher a little one with not much damage, but the big ones... well, I'd hate to destroy one of those! I'd be all thumbs! Or worse, no thumbs!

Wrangell St.. Elias Range

When you camp on the Copper River in Alaska you get views like this. The Wrangell St Elias Range is the largest National Park in the United States. However, nature made one goof in Alaska. Mornings are too early!

This little creek was not far from our camp and flowed into Copper River. We stopped here on our way back to Wasilla. And no, once again I missed seeing a bear. We did see a moose.

Alaska Fishing

Nancy flew to Alaska with me last week to visit our franchise owners in Anchorage. They drove us to Chitina over the weekend and we went fishing on the Copper River. When we first got up in the morning, Nancy and I went for a walk and found loads of these yummy raspberries.

This 35 pound Chinook was pretty slippery but I managed to hold on. A guy from New Hampshire stopped by and was telling us about some of the fish he caught. He'd taken a picture of some of the smaller ones, and the picture weighed five pounds!

She certainly was tasty. You know, I decided to quit my job as a food taster. They don't give me enough time for lunch. A few minutes later sparks were flying from my knife and fork. More on this trip tomorrow...

Reflections on my journey

I love the words of James Michener in The Fires of Spring. Perhaps it's helpful to reflect on our lives from time to time. However even this, requires exceptional courage.

"For this is a journey that men make to find themselves. If they fail in this, it doesn't matter what else they find. Money, position, fame, many loves, revenge are all of little consequence; and when the tickets are collected at the end of the ride, they are tossed in a bin marked failure. But if a man happens to find himself, if he knows what he can be depended upon to do, the limits of his courage, the position from which he will no longer retreat, the extent of his dedication, then he has found a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life."

We find God as much as we want to

They're nice folks if the water isn't too cold. The trouble with religion today is that a lot of people practice it but not too many are good at it! It's a good thing God forgives us. Which offends you more - your ongoing pain, or your ongoing sin?