It does have a certain something to it

Every now and then I run across a song that isn't my style, but I sort of understand. I guess that's the case here.

My city exploration companion

She's a real pleasure to take out on the town. Everything is interesting to her, she never asks for anything other than food or drink, and she smiles an awful lot.

Meat

1. Know in detail what you're eating eats.

2. Know how the animal lived. Did it spend its life stuffed in a warehouse, unable to walk & graze and surrounded by its own feces, pumped full of antibiotics just to stay alive due to it, or did it roam around like an animal normally would?

3. Know your rancher. Good meat comes from people who are accountable for their animals from birth to slaughter. You'll pay more for a product from a small producer, but you'll get more from it.

4. Read Hugh Fernley's book The River Cottage Meat Book to learn about meat. It's the smartest piece of writing I've ever read on the subject and every carnivore could learn a lot from it.

Working on an entirely different level

It's difficult to explain how amazing my friend Josh's current race car project is.

The fact that it will be period-perfect to the late 50's is neat. The fact that he'll race the wheels off it and let his friends drive it at the track whenever they see fit - very neat. His building so, so much of the car from scratch is what just leaves me scratching my head at how someone can have so much talent.

The nose, the hoods, the hood sides, the formed aluminum toneau that covers the place where the driver and passenger would normally sit...all Josh's work. I say "would normally sit" because the motor in this car - an injected Hemi - now sets behind the driver. The tube frame is entirely Josh's handy work too.

He'll rebuild the insanely powerful motor himself, along with the archaic fuel injection set-up. Same for the transmission, rear end, building the floor, wiring and plumbing the car...ugh! The guy cast his own steering wheel!

I wish I could be like Josh. And make no mistake, it has nothing to do with his ability to build race cars, perfect-to-a-T Hot Rods, or to be a musical prodigy. It's much more than that.

I hope it makes it

It certainly deserves to.

The Ballard Locks

Leah and I took a trip down the road to the Ballard Locks. In this pic. a large boat had just been lowered down on the right side. Left side water high, right side water low.



L for Leah. This is one of the dividers in the fish ladders. The fish get beyond the L, back 'er in, and can rest there.



Low maintenance kid.



Nice sun set shot from the bluff near our house on the way home.

Jake's childhood hero

They were made for more than walking.