Tater's Adventures

USS Enterprise Potential False Flag Play

2012-01-25T23:17:00.000-06:00

Furry Friends at Winchester House

2012-01-15T23:34:00.000-06:00

Apparently this very healthy groundhog lives under my red shed! He even has not one, not two, but three entrance holes to his underground, or undershed burrow!

The continuing Adventures of Tater takes us to the West Coast!

2012-01-04T01:57:00.002-06:00

2011-11-06T00:35:00.000-05:00

Tater is moving to Alabama! And closer to Home!

I'll be working in Huntsville, AL by mid November at Red Stone Arsenal.

I'll be doing the same sort of maintenance work but for a Contractor instead of the Guard.

My membership in the Guard will only continue for another 10 months.

I'll be seeing yall shortly!

Ron Paul Revolution in 2012

2011-10-22T01:10:00.000-05:00

Muddin Cuzzins

2011-10-16T16:34:00.000-05:00

the main problem with societies today, is not that there's too many people, they just live too close to each other

2011-10-11T03:43:00.000-05:00

It occurs to me, like it has so many other Mtn Men types before me, that the biggest problems with today's world all originate from one place:

Cities.

The bigger the amount of people in one place, the more problems you have. More crime, more murder, more pregnancies, more abortions, more drug users, more drug sellers, more influences, more choices.

And if it wasn't for great collections of people, I really doubt that unpopular group think ideas like "It's ok to kill babies before they're born" would actually have enough false weight to sway any public opinion much less governing group of people.

The people came together to teach the children. Then the school houses got so crowded big government decided to throw someone else's money at it and take over. But if you decide the big group of people in washington don't know whats best for your child and try to home school them, your ridiculed. They do everything they can to demonize home schoolers like their kooks and say their vaccine and virus free kids are somehow a threat to everyone else. But if a 13 yr old girl goes to the big govt run public school and asks for an Abortion, the school says they don't have to tell the parents.

So the big group of people that run the cities, have said: Its not ok, and its not good to Homeschool your children, but it is ok to kill them. So let me get this straight: Im a Bad Parent if I don't Vaccinate my child, but I'm a Good Parent if I decide to Kill them?

And all because a group of people decided they could be mutually beneficial to each other.

Well I don't know about you, but that was just one example and I don't see any benefits that outweigh the death of child.

By the Way: you could fit every single person in the world into the state of Texas. So don't tell me the worlds not big enough for all of us.

Mad World music video, kid friendly, kinda sad, but catchy!

2011-10-11T03:19:00.000-05:00

2011-09-26T02:52:00.002-05:00

G. Edward Griffin shows us how the Rhodes Scholarship was but one of many of his Wills that led to the creation of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dismantling Grain Bins

2011-08-13T22:46:00.065-05:00

My good friend, a local Farmer, asked me to help him move some Grain Bins to his Farm and I was more than happy to help, since I was actually in town that weekend. We had never undertaken such a task, but our mutual good friend found a neat way to do it off of the Internet. We didn't have the appropriate and traditional Jacks that hold the walls up while you put one of these Grain Bins up or take them down. So that is how two generations of Kendricks, two generations of Bells and one generation of Tater convened on two old pigeon tombs to bring out what would be two Grain Bins and an what would be several hundred surprise tokens that lurked under the cold shadow of the rusty old pigeon crypt!

The following is the only evidence known to have survived the expedition.

Our adventurers faced gruesome and horrid sights of a fierce nature. Aye, the stink of death was to be found lurking behind every grain...

With mask of face and glove of hand, these visages of death were overcome and removed from our adventurer's path, so that the mighty grain bins would come down.

With the grim memory behind them, the workers carried on with their task. A great arm was erected by forces of both a pneumatic and physical nature in order to hoist a great wheel, whose sheer mass was only out weighed by its import. This wheel was the very device by which the mighty walls of the grain bin would become a lid to be hoisted up into the air. The following depictions survive to show the very act in progress and a look at the diverse but dedicated workers who slew not one, but Two Mighty Grain Bins that day.

Upon dismantling these dark pigeon tombs, our workers found the floor of said crypt to be quite sturdy for the thin grates that made up its scheme...

Only after the Bins had fallen to our workers victorious hands was it discovered what structure supported the weight of all the grain in the would be containers. No less than Three Hundred cinder blocks were found to be holding up the floor...

Here a motorized chariot with strange markings was seen by our workers as they broke for the mid-day meal...

The events get stranger still. I have saved the most disturbing and strange picture for last. These primitive workers claim to have accomplished this great task with sheer human ingenuity and the sweat of their brow. But such aspiring claims might be best kept to those with an open mind when faced with the following evidence. Pay close attention to the bright other worldly light streaming down from the heavens as a long thin pale arm can be vaguely seen as it lends a hand from "up above"...

Did our arduous workers have help from "off planet", like the ancient workers of old?

What really killed all 28 of the unfortunate pigeons?

And last but not least, was this the day that the "Volunteer Union" become known as the legendary "No Biscuit for Better Workers Union"?

The truth, may never be known.

See the Rare Video Footage below:

The Avett Brothers

2011-07-14T22:01:00.000-05:00

how many wonders in a tuft of grass

2011-07-12T00:56:00.000-05:00

How many wonders in a tuft of grass? And so many un-named and un-understood.

So many insects, some visible, some not. Bacteria and enzymes vital to our co-existence carrying out actions we may never completely understand, right under our feet.

How many insects in your Yard are there, that you can't name? What do they do and what is their purpose? If we started now we could never catalog all of them on planet Earth in our lifetime.

So much life. And so much of it unknown and unfamiliar.

We have cut ourselves off from our natural environment. And we're dying in an artificial one.

We're so accustomed to living in boxes, that we have to be buried in one.

I say if you just live your life going from box to box, your already dead, and life is waiting for you out where there is no right angles. Only curves. Curves and the elegant design of Phi, the divine rule.

Let's live outside, we can live in a box when we're dead.

We are apart of the Earth's closed eco-system. And when one part of a closed system is separated and taken out of the equation, the entire system breaks down and both suffer for it.

Brady Rockin Out

2011-06-20T18:53:00.002-05:00

Currently Reading

2011-05-31T23:15:00.000-05:00

"The Wheel Of Time" Series by Robert Jordan

Currently on the Third in the Series entitled

"The Dragon Reborn"

FN Tactical Shotgun

2011-05-07T22:48:00.000-05:00

The Beautiful Truth

2011-03-29T00:46:00.002-05:00

Since 1928 a Cure for Cancer and other chronic diseases has been known but suppressed by Pharmacom and the American Medical Association. Here is Dr. Gerson's story:

Attended a nice wedding at White Stone Chapel, nestled in the hills of East Tennessee.

2011-03-05T00:24:00.000-06:00

Image courtesy of the Droid X Panoramic Assist.

Knife Making

2011-02-28T22:04:00.000-06:00

The creation bug has bitten me again, this time with interest in knife making. Admittedly I was looking for a video on putting together a simpler "stamped out" type of knife blade but this one that I found on forging a knife is very informative, and hearkens to my undying need to learn blacksmithing. To many hobbies, not enough days, right?

It's brought to us by Ray Mears( raymears.com ), who I'm finding out is somewhat of a survival icon across the big pond. So enjoy, and may your own endeavors prove twice as successful.

Cat drinking from faucet

2010-12-31T18:06:00.001-06:00

The local wildlife of Horn Lake proper.

SNOW FALL 12/12 2010

2010-12-12T11:30:00.001-06:00

I woke up to snow falling this morning, here on Bradford hill! I took some video and posted pics too, in case they take too long to load. Theres just something about snow that makes it feel a lot more like Christmas. So here's to the first snow of this Christmas Season! Merry Christmas!

PICS:

Taken Around 0930

Taken about 30 Mins Later! It really picked up and for several hours.

Mid Day Hunt

2010-10-27T16:31:00.001-05:00

sittin over a water source at mid day, theres a cool breeze blowin in with the wx front...gotta love the spirit of the wild! Happy Huntin!

2010-09-22T23:00:00.004-05:00

My life is a lot fuller now, with the addition of two lovable creatures to my family. The first photo and Dark Sorrel Mare is Brooksy Casanova a 10 yr old Quarter Horse Mare and next the Reddish Sorrel Mare is Sweeties Snipper a 9 yr old Quarter Horse Mare and half sister to Brooksy. The two have never been seperated since they were almost one, and now they have a new home at the "Koulan/Double T Ranch". They originated in KY and come from good stock tracing back through many famous Quarter Horses and a few Thoroughbreds all the way back to Man 'O' War. For their pedigree, simply click their names.

But have no illusions, they're just gonna be good Trail Horses for right now. If this is what they mean by going green, maybe I can jump on the band wagon! Hell, at least now I'll have some way to pull it! LOL

Mayan Calendar Explained

2010-09-02T20:43:00.000-05:00

Nature Is Well Guarded

2010-07-15T21:22:00.002-05:00

Many a fowl has made me duck for cover or laugh in wonder this summer season. The lil birds that nest in the corner of my porch every season were very defensive of their abode. At one point, all I had to do was walk near the corner where their nest was and from the wire where they were perched vigilantly near by, they would swoop down and glide straight for my head! Then they would bank away at the last second.

Another similar bird at the facility would do this too. Only from an apparent blind spot. When anyone would walk down the sidewalk toward the side door on the facility, this bird would drop down from inside the little enclosed stoop over the door and fly straight at your head. And up inside the stoop the nest is even facing away from the sidewalk. My only conclusion is that the little fella was watching our reflection in the rectangular window of the door his nest was facing!

Not to be outdone, the beach type birds at the airport, with their pointed white tip wings are quite defensive of their eggs too. If you walk toward their nesting area, they will scurry away and promptly fall down and writhe on the ground like some sort of bird break...i mean, beakdancing. Seriously, it flops around like it's neck is broke or something, it's hilarious! Others say this is a defensive mechanism, to guide a predator away from the nest and to fool it into thinking the parent bird is wounded and vulnerable.

And strangely enough I encountered another property peculiar bird. As I approached the mailbox on my riding lawnmower this evening, a lil brown bird with a white belly was perched atop it. And of course as I drew near, it flew away. On the next pass however, the little brown bird was back. And once again he flew away. Then the next time around, you guessed it, he was back again! I then noticed a small gathering of white refuse underneath his makeshift watchtower. For whatever reason, he/she had decided that mailbox was their territory and meant to claim it!

Given that and the fact that my front yard not only sports a half a dozen dragonflies per square yard, but is also home to Crawfish, Nature my friends, is well guarded.

-Tater

Dave Canterbury

2010-06-30T21:36:00.002-05:00

The founder of the Pathfinder school, Dave Canterbury, is on a new show on Discovery with another survivalist. The timber of his voice and his bare bones style make him easy to listen to, and consequently a good teacher. Sort of like the voice of Jesse Ventura, I could listen to him talk for hours, lol. So I visited his YouTube channel again from his website wilderness outfitters and ran across some really neat videos on how to make your own arrows for a self made limb bow out of oak dowel rods. Check it out:

THERE COMES A TIME...

2010-05-18T23:41:00.012-05:00

Federal Tax Dollars fund the killing of babies

Big Government tells Private Industry how much money they can make.

Federal Government says you will buy a product from a retailer they choose, or you will be penalized and/or go to jail.

The Senate stifles the Free Market, then says it must take more stifling action to fix it.

The Rep/Dem Coin is being tossed into the same pile of stolen money to buy everyone in America a one way ticket to a Brave New World. But in that world, the year isn't 2011 or even 2012, it is always 1984.

"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part, you can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your body upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people own it, that unless your free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"

-Mario Savio, 1964

2010-05-17T14:35:00.007-05:00

"Google acknowledged on Friday that it had collected snippets of private data around the world"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/technology/16google.html?pagewanted=1

Google Data Admission Angers European Officials

By KEVIN J. O’BRIEN

Published: May 15, 2010

REPRINTS

BERLIN — European privacy regulators and advocates reacted angrily Saturday to the disclosure by Google, the world’s largest search engine, that it had systematically collected private data since 2006 while compiling its Street View photo archive.

Google Says It Collected Private Data by Mistake (May 15, 2010)
Bits Blog: Google Inadvertently Collected Private Data (May 14, 2010)

After being pressed by European officials about the kind of data the company compiled in creating the archive — and what it did with that information — Google acknowledged on Friday that it had collected snippets of private data around the world. In ablog post on its Web site, the company said information had been recorded as it was sent over unencrypted residential wireless networks as Google’s Street View cars with mounted recording equipment passed by.

The data collection, which Google said was inadvertent and the result of a programming error, took place in all the countries where Street View has been catalogued, including the United States and parts of Europe. Google apologized and said it had not used the information, which it plans to delete in conjunction with regulators.

But in Germany, Google’s collection of the data — which the company said could include the Web sites viewed by individuals or the content of their e-mail — is a violation of privacy law, said Ilse Aigner, the German minister for food, agriculture and consumer protection. In a statement Saturday, her ministry demanded a full accounting.

“Based on the information we have before us, it appears that Google has illegally tapped into private networks in violation of German law,” Ms. Aigner said. “This is alarming and further evidence that privacy law is a foreign concept to Google.”

Johannes Caspar, the data protection supervisor for Hamburg, who is leading the German government’s dealings with Google on the issue, said the company’s revelation of illegal data collection would be taken up by a panel of European national data protection chiefs that advises the European Commission.

“This is a data scandal of a much larger magnitude,” Mr. Caspar said. “We are talking here about the large-scale collection of private data on individuals.”

He declined to speculate what action European officials might take.

Mr. Caspar said he had inspected one of Google’s Street View recording vehicles at the company’s invitation this month and had noticed that the recording device’s hard drive had been removed. When he asked to view the drive, he said he was told he couldn’t read the information anyway because it was encoded. He said he pressed Google to disclose what type of information was being collected, which prompted the company to examine the storage unit.

“I am glad that this cat-and-mouse game with Google is finally over,” Mr. Caspar said. “I hope now that the company does what it says it will do.”

Over the weekend, Germany's federal commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, Peter Schaar, asked Google to let an independent regulator examine one of the hard drives to determine how much data had actually been collected on individuals.

In a blog posting written late Saturday on his official government Web site, Mr. Schaar, who is also a member of the panel that advises the European Commission on privacy and data protection issues, questioned whether Google's collection of the data was a simple oversight, as the company has maintained.

‘‘So everything was a simple oversight, a software error!'' Mr. Schaar wrote. ‘‘The data was collected and stored against the will of the project's managers and other managers at Google. If we follow this logic further, this means: The software was installed and used without being properly tested beforehand. Billions of bits of data were mistakenly collected, without anyone in Google noticing it, including Google's own internal data protection managers, who two weeks ago were defending to us the company's internal data protection practices.''

“I think this is going to damage the company irreparably,” said Simon Davies, the director of Privacy International, a London-based group of privacy advocates from 40 countries. “Three years ago the company was wearing a halo. But over the past year it has moved substantially in the direction of being perceived as Big Brother.”

Kay Oberbeck, a Google spokesman in Hamburg, said the company was in contact with data protection officials in Germany and in the rest of Europe to address their concerns. He disputed the notion that Google was recklessly collecting private information, saying the company’s services were meant to let users control what information is made public.

“This was obviously a mistake, and we are profoundly sorry,” Mr. Oberbeck said. “We take individual privacy very seriously at Google. There was a breakdown in the communication between teams and within teams, and we are investigating this and want to take up the lessons we learn from this to improve our processes and to have instruments installed which are really robust to make this never happen again.”

Google Says It Collected Private Data by Mistake (May 15, 2010)
Bits Blog: Google Inadvertently Collected Private Data (May 14, 2010)

Google was collecting the data on locations of wireless networks to improve geolocation for mobile devices. Some cellphones can determine their location by scanning for nearby wireless networks and comparing that information to databases like the one Google has compiled.

Google plans to hire an outside auditor to investigate what personal data was collected through Street View. The improper collection of data came to light, Mr. Oberbeck said, after German data protection officials asked Google two weeks ago to detail exactly what information it had collected from household wireless local area networks, or WLANs.

Initially, Google had told German officials that the data it had collected was limited to just two bits of information: the publicly broadcast ID number of the device, which is called a MAC address, and the name assigned to it by the owner, called an SSID.

But in its review, Mr. Oberbeck said the company learned that its data collection performed by roving Street View vehicles was much more extensive, including a record of sites viewed by the user and potentially the contents of messages if users did not secure their WLANS with a password.

Despite its internal efforts to address the situation, Google may face an uphill battle in Germany overcoming skepticism about its intentions. So far, thousands of Germans have signed up to have their properties excluded from Google’s Street View archives.

If Google’s software makes a mistake, it could be costly for the company. Till Steffen, the justice senator for the city-state of Hamburg, where Google’s German headquarters is located, said Google’s latest disclosure raised questions about its intent to follow local laws.

Mr. Steffen has introduced a bill in the German Parliament that would fine Google for displaying personal property in Street View without the consent of owners. On Saturday, he demanded that Google turn over the illegally obtained information to regulators.

“Google is in the process of frittering away its last shred of credibility,” Mr. Steffen said. “The company must immediately disclose to what degree it has secretly eavesdropped as we’ve sent e-mails to friends in Germany and the rest of Europe or as we’ve done our banking in the Internet.”

Mr. Steffen on May 7 introduced a bill in the upper house of the German Parliament that would fine Google 50,000 euros, or $62,500, for each time it failed to remove the personal property of a citizen who requested to be exempted from Street View. Action on the bill is not likely before summer.

The latest episode will further complicate Google’s business in Europe, where the company has faced a series of legal entanglements over privacy issues.

In April, data protection regulators from eight European countries and Israel and New Zealand sent a joint letter to Google’s chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, criticizing the company’s Buzz social networking service, which unwittingly publicized the connections of some users without their permission.

In Switzerland, Google has agreed to halt the display of further Street View images pending the outcome of a court case lodged by Swiss federal data protection officials.

2010-05-08T12:26:00.003-05:00

IRON MAN 2

Welcome to the Next Level!

2010-05-07T01:03:00.002-05:00

The fireflys are coming out for the summer,

the Big Dipper is prominent in the sky now at sunset,

untold number of planes, a few satellites and possibly the space station flew over our yard,

but most of us missed them because,

we were watching TV.

A snapping turtle crossed the road to return to his habitat,

A dragon fly found its mate, in the few days it has to live,

Barn swallows raised their eggs to young adults inside of 4 weeks,

Deer may have fed on the freshly cut grass in your yard, but...

You were watching TV.

Potential friends come and go,

Lost souls give unheeded calls,

Babies are murdered before they have a chance,

Bankers are ruining the country and no one is told, because;

we were watching TV.

We think there's nothing we can do,

we think the government's supposed to help us,

we're told over and over again what to be afraid of,

each week stories flip and flop,

boogie men change names, agendas do a polar change,

and we believe the government Has to be the ones to fix what they caused, because:

We're watching TV.

....

You think you're watching programming on your TV.

ABC CBS NBC MSNBC CNN HN FOX DISC TLC EXXON IBM WAL*MART UNION CARBIDE

DUPONT 3M SHELL GM TOYOTA POLITICALLY CORRECT NAFTA WTO FED RES GLOBAL WARMING ACID REFLUX TAKE UR VACCINES PROPAGANDA U MUST BE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE AND REPEAT WHAT THE TV SAYS TO YOU UNTIL YOU BELIEVE IT

Your TV is programming You.

TN Flooding

2010-05-03T10:02:00.004-05:00

This was what blocked my path from getting into town on Saturday and on down to I-40. So I tried to go west and it was blocked too. Couldn't go East down thru Trezvant cause the road was flooded by Atwood. So I went backward and crossed over to Hwy 45E only to run into the same flood scene 1 mile down the hwy.

Ended up going up and over to Dyersburg, TN and taking 155 thru Missouri and I-55 down thru Arkansas to get to Mississippi.

And Nashville got it worse than us!

2010-04-24T21:57:00.009-05:00

Another spoke on God's great wheel was put into place today.

As a bright flame of God returning to the Father

to add to the fiery brightness of His Heavenly Host.

I can only hope that those in the hereafter enjoy his humour and wit

half as much as those of us in the here and now.

And as the lights go out, another ember of the passing generation

floats aloft on unseen drafts to heaven.

Now as the embers gather and come together, a great joy can be seen and felt,

as choruses of rapture and elation emanate from their core

as they welcome one of their own into the fold.

So it comes to pass, that the light of God grows a little brighter on this day,

to light the path for others,

to stoke the soul fire

and lead the way home.

-TT

Dedicated To PA

Reverend Ralph Barker

Dec. 17th, 1922 - Apr. 24th, 2010

Click to hear a nice song by Pearl Jam on You Tube that I find comforting...

Mello Yello New Retro Design

2010-04-20T23:48:00.002-05:00

There is a bright note to the past week, almost as if to keep me sane, my old friend Mello Yello went Retro and came out with a new logo design, that harkens straight back to their starting days.

I think it looks great.

clipped wings

2010-04-20T19:47:00.002-05:00

I'll spare everyone the mind boggling changes my flight school status has gone thru over the last week. Suffice it to say for now, that I strained the shoulder blade muscle on my right arm to the point that is swollen and pressing on nerves that run down my arm, and when I try to do a pushup, my right arm just collapses and hurts most of the time. This kept me from going to Flight school this time and probably forever, seeing as how I have been removed from the WOC list and brought back down from the steps of Olympus to be placed on the ground as a lowly E-5 once again.

...

and like Icarus digging thru the wreckage of my would be wings, I give in to the inevitable pull of the forces of the earth and accept my destiny to wander the wastes, wraith like

....

and madly determined

2010-04-08T13:11:00.003-05:00

Change #1

W.O.C. School will now start on April 21st.

And the second hoop to jump through is, I have until next Friday to retake over a dozen online tests that I took last year, because I've been waiting for over a year to go... :(

Par for the Course right?

Jump. Jump.

Muddin in Mississippi

2010-04-06T09:46:00.005-05:00

Saw this Monster of a Ford at Lake Sardis this past weekend. Me, my gf Julie and two of her kids had fun swimming and playing in the mud. We also met some real nice folks.

We saw this suburban at the gas station which sits at the entrance to Sardis Lake. He was covered in Mud and we decided to ask him where he got muddy at. His name was Burrow and he told us how to get to a section of Beach called Hays Crossings. He had gotten stuck the previous night and had just gotten pulled out. So we followed his directions to the Beach and the kids had fun swimming and exploring the beach. Then we went for riding down the shore line and got some Mud on Many Horses and did a lil circling.

We got to the unpassable ditch (for Many Horses) and after the kids explored the creek/ditch we started to leave. I went through a pile of mud, and didn't make it out to the other side. I was spinning. So I locked my trusty E-Locker to lock in the Rear Diff and make both tires turn. Unfortunately this just made both tires spin instead of one. LOL

So while I'm cleaning out the tire treads, guess who comes down the beach in his suburban? That's right, the guy who led us here! He had the driver of the Ford with him, J.D. and commenced to hitch up to me and pull me out of the mud pile. I guess all you've heard about Mississippi Mud is true. It's hella thick, especially in Lake Beds, lol.

Burrow was gonna go across the ditch and show J.D. where he had gotten stuck, here is the video of how that turned out:

I gave J.D. and his clan a ride back to his Monster Ford so he could pull burrow out with a good length of chain tied (literally) to a Barge rope. He got it on the 4th snatch.

We exchanged numbers and hope to mud again.

2010-04-01T22:13:00.004-05:00

The first cut of the season got underway yesterday, but after priming the Kohler engine and being lucky enough to have the battery not be dead from sitting all winter and fire up, I didn't make half way through the first half of the front yard before I realized one of the rear tires was Flat!

Now, last year it was the other rear tire and I put some green slime in it. This year the hole was in the side wall of the other tire, so I opted for an inner tube from Western Auto. Turns out the owner of the store moved to Jackson 37 years ago, today (April 1st) and has owned the store ever since. A cpl buddies from work helped me get it mounted and aired up and now my trusty lawn tractor is ready to go!

One of my custom mods to the lawn mower is a handy dandy planter's peanut can that I stuck to the side body with powerful rare earth magnets...It makes a great drink holder! lol

2010-03-20T23:06:00.002-05:00

JUNE 6th
Training Begins

TV star Merlin Olsen dies at 69

2010-03-12T00:19:00.007-06:00

Merlin portraying "Jonathan Garvey" in the hit family TV show
"Little House on The Prairie"

===============================================================================================================

By DOUG ALDEN, AP Sports Writer – Thu Mar 11, 6:03 pm ET

SALT LAKE CITY – Labeled fierce for his relentless play as a Hall of Fame defensive lineman, Merlin Olsen was also gentle enough for a role on one of television's most wholesome shows and as a spokesman in a well-known flower ad campaign.

Olsen's deep, rich voice and sincerity made him a success both as an actor and in the broadcast booth, where he offered insights to the game he played so well for so long. Olsen died early Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 69.

"He was ferocious and fearless on the football field and then the other probably more important aspect of his personality was he was a true gentleman," said fellow Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood, Olsen's teammate with the Rams in Los Angeles. "We all know what a wonderful, tremendous football player he was, but he was so much more than that."

Whether it was his role in the Rams' "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line or the characters he played on "Little House on the Prairie" and "Father Murphy," Olsen had the versatility to break through to any audience. He was even the spokesman for a well-known FTD ad campaign in the 1980s — a 6-foot-5 giant pitching flower bouquets.

He was voted NFC defensive lineman of the year in 1973 and the NFL MVP in 1974, and was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982. Brothers Phil and Orrin also played in the NFL.

Olsen is survived by his wife, Susan, and three children. There was no word Thursday on funeral arrangements.

==========================================================================

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I actually had caught him on TV in the waiting room while getting my oil changed today in a Little House episode, and was instantly reminded of his deep voice and rugged friendship to the Ingalls. It's very sad to see him go. Rest In Peace Mr. Olsen, you've lived a good life.

Burgess Falls

2010-03-06T20:08:00.013-06:00

I made it to Burgess Falls last weekend on my way back West from East Tennessee.

The grand Fire Place above is centrally located in the Park's Pavilion. It has two openings for ease of access and heat dispersal, but strangley enough, centered above each opening is the following sign:

Pretty funny huh?

This is one of many grill areas at the Park to enjoy a nice BBQ in. As you can see a couple of them even had a Special Picnic Table for the little hikers in the group, lol.

The Park actually has 3 Falls; a Small, Middle and Big Falls.

Small Falls

This was one of two tiny falls/cascade type erosion areas along the trail, very neat.

A good view of the Middle Falls.

A video of the Big Falls!

I didn't have time to hike to the bottom of the Big Falls this trip. Plan on going back during warmer weather. Who wants to go with me?

2010-03-05T18:45:00.002-06:00

I'm back up!

Back up on flight status, as the aviation community says after being 'grounded' for a physical. I'm going back on the list for W.O.C./Flight School and should know a tentative date (minus any shortfall) by the end of next week! I expect some time in 2011 or 2012 realistically, but you never know. I'm just glad to have gotten past the LASIK hurdle.

Wounded Eagle is stretching his wings and getting antsy. I feel more like a hawk just yet, maybe even a chicken hawk, till I get through WOC school, then I'll be learning to fly and the basics of any sort of flying predator, like a red tail hawk. That would be nice though to be a hawk for a while, after all, it looks like I'll be flying them now, and I've got no complaints. Maybe after years of flying and thousands upon thousands of hours and diverse airframes...maybe then I'll be an Eagle. But for today, this lowly chicken hawk has got permission to fly the coop, lol.

All systems functional, prep check initiated, bit test running.....the engine is whining, the green lights are glowing and everything says Go, Go, Go....wait on us to call you, lol, but Be ready.

So I am, and happily.

This is Tater, being happy to be being, after all, the sky's the limit!

2010-02-28T23:56:00.009-06:00

PATCHES JEEP TACOMA

Hit the Mtn and took no prisoners! The Tacoma led us through some twist and turns, over rocks through mud holes and up mud slides. It was a good trail with a lot of variety. The highlight vids can be viewed below:

2010-02-22T23:55:00.003-06:00

DRAGON SKIN

The firey depths of certain death were side-stepped and expertly avoided as King Krosnit once more brought to his realm the spoils of war. Inspired by Prince Akira the King went in search of the kingdom's best Jerky Meat. So after slaying what may be the kingdom's last remaining Blue Dragon with a black heart and consulting the best chefs in the whole of Orbital Kingdom, he has put the Dragon Skin to bed to soak in a special marinade. It's sure to be hot from the heat of the Dragon's heart, but also sweet for the sweet taste of victory. I shall leave you with a quote from the King himself:

"Rest O fair peasants, fine family and even fairer ladies, for the spoils of war and taste of victory shall soon be in your hand and on thy tongue!"

2010-02-20T17:20:00.004-06:00

Today it's so warm, 63 F, that Tater is grillin steaks on the front porch!

I knocked the dust off the ole charcoal grill and fired her up! The coals are turning white as I type this, and I have to go ready the grill for the New York Strip Steaks.

So as the sun sinks low on Bradford hill, the smell of seared steak will emanate from the grill.

A lil worcestershire sauce, a lil salt n pepper, some onion poweder and a fresh sprinkling of Tony Chacerone's made a quick fix to a last minute grill.

Here's to more pleasant weather, and green grass, they'll both be coming back soon!

FAVICONS

2010-02-14T01:45:00.007-06:00

Thought I'd share this neat trick I learned for changing the little icon that shows up next to your Blog's URL address.

Turns out the little icon you've been seeing by URLs lately, has a name. The latest in icon cornucopia is called a Favicon. I assume this is because it lets identify your FAVorite websites at a glance. I know I have cut most of the word descriptions out of my bookmark bar and left mostly 'Favicons' to pack as much in there as possible, and it's neat to associate one little 16 x 16 pixel image with an entire website or blog experience.

If you want to personalize your blog's icon or your just tired of the Blogger's Orange B just copy the html code below:

>link href="'http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt342/phuse/TatersAdventures/MelloYelloFavicon.jpg'" rel="'shortcut" type="'image/vnd.microsoft.icon'/"> >link href="'http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt342/phuse/TatersAdventures/MelloYelloFavicon.jpg'" rel="'icon'/">

{This is kinda embarrassing but, I couldn't fig out how to make the code show up without flipping a few ">" arrows in front of the two "link"s, just mirror those to the way they should look and everything will work like a champ.}

And paste in your Page Template Html code between the head close out tag and the body tag.

Now for your own favicon to show up, simply make your own 16 x 16 pixel image and upload it to a photo sharing site like Photobucket or imageshack and past your images html link over the one in the code above. Be sure to do it twice for both hrefs. If the icon doesn't change you may have to clear your browsers memory cache under properties/settings.

A link through Blogspot deserves all the credit, I just want the opportunity to make some more of these things...

I have had a lot of fun making these things in Paint, so if anyone would like me to make one for them, I'd be happy to! Just shoot me an email or comment and let me know what favicon you would like, and I'll see what I can do!

Here is some samples of the Favicons I've created so far...

Smoke and Fire

2010-02-13T17:08:00.006-06:00

Good afternoon all...

I had the luxury of enjoying a fine Romeo Y Julieta cigar today and also discovered a new way to light any cigar or camp fire while listening to the "Cigar Dave" Radio show any time.

The Cigar Dave show is broadcast locally on 105.3 FM or 1390 AM on Saturdays from 11pm to 1pm. However if you visit his website, you can listen live at that time anywhere in the world, as well as play older broadasts any time you wish. He offers a great fountain of knowledge on Cigars and all things Cigar enthusiasts enjoy. Visit his site at:

http://www.cigardave.com/

For an interesting look at how the Brand of CAO cigars are made and great Cigar Store Locator, vistit CAO's website below. Just click on menu in the lower right corner, then click Store Locator if your having trouble finding a smoke shop near you.

http://www.caocigars.com/

Lastly, while looking up how to make charcloth on youtube, I discovered how to make a Fire Piston! This crazy lil invention, compresses air and heats up enough to ignite a small piece of tinder and instantly turn it into a flaming ember! Incredible Man! I will definitely be making me one of these!

Fire Piston! DIY "Diesel compression Lighter"

Make Magazine: Weekend Project: Fire Piston

Ice, It grows on Trees!

2010-02-10T15:29:00.001-06:00

Sledding Attempt Take 1

2010-02-09T19:13:00.001-06:00

For your Amusement, at my own expense, I attempt to sled over fresh snow, on a clear tote lid, covered in PAM. With all the enthusiasm I could muster, I might add. Hey...sometimes you just gotta get a little crazy.

First Post -- Snowcoverd in Feb 2010

2010-02-09T13:49:00.000-06:00

I've got about 5 inches of snow on the ground here at what I call Bradford Hill. It's very pretty, but won't pack good for snowmen or makeshift sleds you try to make out of rubbermaid tote lids and PAM cooking spray...

During the last snow cover I found some turkey tracks in my front yard, and scared a cow off. This time 'round I could track the paw prints of what looks to be a cat, walking from the back yard up the side of the house, up to the front porch where he plopped down into the front yard snow drifts and plotted across to the field next door. Hmmm, I wonder if he's after the latest tenants of the bird nest in the corner eve of my porch roof? They make their nest out of mud and grass, I think someone told me they were some sort of Swallow.

Found some more good outdoor blogs and vids and inspired me to actually start cataloging my thoughts for my friends and family that will get a kick out of seeing what I'm up too or thinking, more than once a month. And if I happen across some good info to share, I can share it here, without blasting out a family wide email.

I'm thinking of starting to try and trap some coyotes soon, their open year round, their a nuisance and I can learn to skin and tan their hides without messing up an elusive whitetail skin! Yeaahh! I'm gettin excited!

Jeremiah Eat Your Heart Out! Well, okay, maybe I should watch the whole movie first....lol

If your into camping and neat survival tricks check out the following blogs and youtube channel:

Blog: Lessons Learned From An Alaskan Trapper

Blog: Mungo Says Bah!

Video: Building A Discount Bushcraft Kit from Wilderness Outfitters

Videos: Wilderness Outfitters youtube channel -- main page

Until next time I remain,

Snowed in and sled crazy!