weird shit goes down in congress...

lovely pieces of turned claro walnut and claro blanks

lovely bottle of bourbon too

on this day...

one the day that should mark my final round of golf for the month

it's raining at 7:40 am 

and I've got a painting job to do

nevertheless...

I'm bringing my clubs

*added*
and played
it was windy

we want this

badly...

the question remains...
where and how?

ooh la la

I can't stop listening...

oh happy day!

vs

in the super bowl!

what a classic old school smash-mouth matchup

like the odds makers I give the packers a slight edge

but I'd be lying if I said the steelers don't scare me...

notice the lombardi trophy in the background?

I didn't think so

I hate birds

I've said it before and I'll say it again

but...

I live amongst a series of lakes or more accurately ponds

that are also among other things a bird sanctuary of sorts

which means there are a helluva lotta birds out there

and lately, I've been interested in trying to identify them all

despite being decidedly anti-bird I own at least three bird field guides

and a couple pairs of binoculars

yesterday I identified a small black and white wading bird

the black shouldered stilt

there's another I have to get a closer look at

then there's this little fella who spends a lotta time on my backyard fence

oh...championship sunday picks - green bay over chicago
and much as I love the jets I've gotta go w/ the roethlesberger factor and take the steelers
which is contrary to my earlier pick...we'll see and enjoy every minute of it

because I have nothing else to write about...

turned these reel seat inserts the other day

ebony (left) bubinga (right)

well yes then we have been working...

I have been doing time in the shoppe

busy making one helluva mess

which I intend to clean up this morning

ebony sawdust is some feisty nasty shit

I was blowing black dusty snot out my nose all day yesterday

hopefully this afternoon (or tomorrow) I'll be making curls

(it'll be happening again soon)

or playing golf

golf swing needs work again

gotamit

*addenda*  I absolutely pulverized the ball today
not particularly a long hitter
but I was keeping w/in pacing distance of billy and big john
both of whom are L - O - N - G
it was fun and as usual in this silly fickle game
the swing was fairly solid
still needs work though
maybe saturday who knows?

meanwhile back in washington, dc...

home of the feral government

or congress, az...
my home away from home

the more things change the more they stay the same

rush has a song where they sing that in french

perhaps because they're canadian...

let me tell ya what happened

"are you getting up daffy duck?"

my wife asks as I shake the cobwebs inside my head clear
it never works

apparently I was overhung somehow
>15 beers a half dozen shots of whikky will do that to ya
half dozen tokes of hash as well...shhhh!
fly fishing's ugly secret raises its head again

welomed a cub into the az cane rodbuilding society
and he stepped into grad school
both feet first and didn't even pinch his nose
though perhaps he should have
or his ears

I talked a lotta shit
not shit talking but shit quality

we turned up some truly lovely pieces of claro walnut
I think shaxy's gonna give it the tru-oil loving

this morning once I found my whikky and hash I turnt a couple pieces
generic brazilian and bubinga

still gotta bring the bubinga down to size
it has nice potential though

sorry no pics
forgot my camera on the gov't floor
got distracted about getting a weed card or something

wheres's my weed card?

project rod

actually we had another visitor to ye olde rod shoppe yesterday morning

a gentleman and his wife from wisconsin dropped by to show me an old bamboo rod he had

I determined that it could be refinished and result in a serviceable fishing pole

I will prolly cut off the guides and strip away the varnish clean and polish grip ferrules and reelseat

this afternoon

the rod as received...

more to follow as work on the rod progresses...

wraps cut off

guides strap and ring hookkeeper and red agatine stripper

grip cleaned up and varnish stripped

close up

spey saturday

yesterday the olde rod shoppe saw a visitor

I got an email a while back from a guy wondering if he could use my diptube

I said sure

he showed up w/ a bamboo spey rod

w/ spliced ferrules which are to be taped together to fish

WTF?

I'm very curious about how that's gonna work out and hope it does

he brought beer

good beer

inspecting his handiwork

these pcs barely fit into the drying cabinet

hey perry I checked on them this morning and they are looking good

mad river or bust

this announcement may be premature

BUT...

I got the okay from swmbo this evening

more to follow

playoff post

I picked up this t-shirt Christmas evening during our white elephant gift exchange

I like everything about it - color - design and most of all the restaurant

it is a very busy little hole in the wall on 38th street and indian school

sliders are the signature dish I guess, but there is so much on the menu that I want to try

nevertheless I always end up grabbing a couple sliders and a chili cheese dog and a budweiser

they even have brats as a special twice a week and you  can't beat that w/ a stick

unfortunately  I no longer live nearby though my mom, brother and sister do...

anyways, if I could that's where I'd be getting my weekend football grub

segueing to...this weekend's playoff predictions

after perfectly picking last week's games, this round is a little tougher

toughest game of the week to pick and prolly play...

I see the steelers over the ravens, despite the ravens being one of my favorite teams

I'll be rooting for them, but all the intangibles point to pittsburgh

my big game of the week - packers over falcons

falcons barely won week 12 despite near perfection from ryan and >100 yds from turner

again, I enjoy watching the falcons play, but I'm afraid I bleed green and gold baby

bears over seahawks - the cinderella run is over

UNLESS...seachix d can get steady pressure on cutler and rattle his fragile mental constitution
forcing oh let's say four turnovers
which is actually something I'd rather enjoy seeing
we hate the bears

is anyone picking the jets over the patriots?

not me even though it means again picking against one of my favorite teams

I'd sure like to see LT go for >100, but I don't think sanchez quite has what it takes

and no one is better prepared for this kinda game than the patriots

back to food...

made chicken and dumplings last night

mise en place

finished dish
it was delightful and I'm fixing to have a bowl once I sign off hear...

bird fighting fish

they've drastically lowered the level of my backyard lakes

exposing some very interesting structure

undercut banks beneath the reedbeds

a perfect place for grampa bucketmouth to lurk

awaiting prey

though that's not what I want to type about...

yesterday I was fortunate enough to watch a heron hunt for about half an hour

every two to three steps his head and very shark beak would stab slash and swallow

it was cool

then this morning I saw a fairly large fish flash on two small birds

robins?  I dunno...

anyways I wrote down the phrase "bird fighting fish"

googled and image searched it 

and came across these two cool images...

*update*  wow - turns out this post/pic was rather prescient
I just watched one heron chase another off his turf on the backyard bass pond
pretty fuggin' cool

bcs championship game

after going 4-0 predicting the nfl wildcard games

I suppose I should offer up my take on this fiasco

while everyone involved in the bcs is busy patting themselves on the back

for finally getting the matchup of undefeated teams

where does that leave the tcu horned frogs?

a clear cut #2?

co-champion?

nosireebob

but that's not even my problem w/ it

my problem is this...college football should be finished for the year

on new years day just like it used to be
not on january 10th...

the big four or five since the fiesta bowl snuck in the back door

have been relegated to virtual irrelevance 

by this stupid national championship game

which in years past has barely determined a TRUE

national champion

in short leaving it no better than what we had

w/ the cotton bowl gator bowl sugar bowl rose bowl and orange bowl

I'll throw the peach bowl in there as well since I miss it

I like knowing how things played out and seeing the final poll on january 2

and turning my attention to the nfl playoffs
where it should be and currently is

and really now while we're at it shouldn't this bcs championship game have a stupid corporate sponsor attached to it since almost all the others do?

I'd suggest a feminine hygiene product...

the summer's eve douche bcs championship bowl

on to my prediction...

this game will not be as high scoring or as close as everyone thinks

31-24

and yes I prefer sec football to pac 10 football

auburn's defense is vulnerable

good night college football

until next year

they'll never get this thing straightened out

weekend

*turns out we blew off playing golf
in all honesty I was leaning in that direction anyways
my hands and fingertips are a mess and very very sore
and I believe my muscles could use the break
my metal side too

five consecutive daze ain't too shabby either*

wow

yeah

today will be the sixth consecutive day that I play golf

five competitive rounds

and one pretty extensive session at the driving range

three new clubs

yesterday I threw the newish cobra irons back in the bag

today I took them out and fell back to the callaways

although it looks like I may be playing today w/  a set of adams

which I'm kind of looking forward to

I guess I'll miss the seahawks/saints game but I'll dvr it

just in case the mother of all upsets occurs

the better game is this evening anyways

totally unrelated but...

a wrapping shot

whoa nellie this little fucker wrock

originally I thought that this was a frivolous purchase

until I plugged in and cranked it up

kinda unnecessary since I've got the big amp wrocking the rod shoppe 

and another in the living room

but I hate listening to music on headphones or earbuds

now I just gotta finda place for it

it is a little bitty thing with a big big sound

oh - that's little steven - justice playing

wood

they chopped down a couple gigantic eucalyptus trees near my brother's backyard

I helped myself to a couple scraps

I'm curious as to how these will turn down for reel seat spacers

kickin' one hunnert million acres of wilderness ass

who'd have ever thought punk rock played in a stadium could sound so fucking good?

it does

and now you know

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ftpq6h


get some it's great

really now...you may not know this

but it's really fucking hard to lower yer handicap when yer golf game fucking
STINKS OUT LOUD!

I need to get my shit together

I'd also like to shake the lethargy that's seized me since the holidaze
pick up the plane and make some 2011 curls already
damn

not today though
today I try again to find that gotam golf swing which has gone missing

resolutions

I don't make them

there are so many things that I could resolve to do

only to let myself down when I fail to follow through on any of them

so I don't bother

on the other hand I could make a handful of self-serving and indulgent ones

but that's contrary to the nature of the damn thing

of course I want to golf more and lower my handicap

(as if three rounds a week isn't enough)

or go out and fish more

who doesn't want that?

nevertheless I intend to do just those things

just without resolving to do so

thus revealing what a selfish and self-centered bastard I truly am

whoopsie!

I guess I just did that

I do want to continue to do whatever I can to help my friends and family

and gift a few lucky folks w/ a nice fishing pole

do what I can to become a better husband

a better cook

expand my palate and repertoire of techniques

fix one more meal a week

pleasing my wife coming home from work 

to a home cooked meal w/ the enticing aroma that entails

my walk w/ Christ is always a struggle

necessary as it is to my growth as a man and a Christian

forgiveness is in my nature

though my vices are always a battle

(if you know me you know what I'm talking about)

having said that 

I should smoke less drink less stop cussing work harder and more often

spend less exercise more make better choices and decisions

indulge the wife instead of myself

watch less football and golf on tv

do more to serve the Lord

and follow so many other paths to improve myself

yet to resolve to do so is to set myself up for failure

and I won't do that

but apparently I know what I need to do

new year's day - rose bowl edition

nuff said

well the bad guys (and better team on this day) won
kudos to the horned frogs well done
and congrats on an undefeated season