« January 2020 | Main | March 2020 »
February 16, 2020
GoPetClub Cat Tree
A while back, we bought a cat tree for the cats to play on. I don't recall exactly when it was, but today, Pokey finally managed to claw her way through one of the main support structures.
There's a small token on the front of the base that seems to indicate it's a "Go PetClub" brand.
"Are replacement parts available when the scratching poles are destroyed?"
"At this time, this cat tree does not have replacement parts."
So, I'm thinking I'll order a new part or try to repair it with a trip to Home Depot.
The legs are various lengths, but the leg that was destroyed appears to be 15" long.
Posted by Rob Kiser on February 16, 2020 at 8:08 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink
February 12, 2020
Asbestos Mountains
In 1993, I was living in North Dallas, and bouncing all over the country like a ping pong ball in a dryer. And one of my projects was Westmoreland Coal, in Norristown, PA. This was very near Valley Forge, where the early Americans starved through the winter of 1776, eating bark off of the trees to stay alive. There was a nuclear reactor and cooling tower just up the Schuylkill River from us. This was about 60 miles from 3 Mile Island nuclear reactor, but it was very prominent and seemed, somehow, out of place.
Then, one day, during work, we drove to another location, during work hours, for whatever reason. And, I recall that one of the guys in the car pointed to this hill and he said "Do you see that hill/mountain right there? That's asbestos. We used to play on those hills and make snowballs of asbestos and throw them at each other."
And, I almost choked because it was this massive hill and he said the entire hill was made of asbestos. Apparently, he was correct, as we were in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
Posted by Rob Kiser on February 12, 2020 at 8:52 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink
February 10, 2020
Portland, Oregon - October 2003
In the Fall of 2003, I was bouncing around like a ping pong ball in a dryer, between Denver, Austin, and Portland. One weekend, I stayed out in Porland (instead of flying to Denver) and looked up Pete "Bubba" Raiteri, an old friend from USM, and he and I went down to Ken Kesey's Farm and painted on his bus some. I thought I'd try to reconstruct/document our little trip as best as I could, as it was the last time I ever saw Bubba. He moved to India shortly after I saw him, and passed away the next year.
So, it looks like my little road trip started after work on Friday 10/17. For whatever reason, I didn't fly back to Colorado. Instead, I drove down to see Bubba in Eugene, Oregon. I probably got there on Friday evening, and spent the night at Bubba's place. That's my best guess anyway. Because, on Saturday 10/18/2003 at 12:00 noon, I was at Bubba's place: 615 Betty Niven Drive in Eugene, Oregon.
Then, we drove around and shot some murals like the Oregon Trail mural in Springfield, Oregon.
Then, we went east to a fish hatchery at about 1:30 p.m. (McKenzie Fish Hatchery, Leaburg, Oregon 1942-Located 20 miles east of Eugene, Oregon.) Just east of the fish hatchery was a covered bridge across the McKenzie River (Goodpasture Covered Bridge, Vida, Oregon 1950). Then, on to Nimrod, Oregon. Continued to follow the river to the Goodpasture Bridge. To the Lost Valley Educational Center (a commune). To the Lowell Covered Bridge. To the Unity Bridge. To Sky Camp.
Probably spent the night at Bubba's place on 10/18. Then, on 10/19, we drove To Ken Kesey's Ranch. We got to paint on the bus. Also, we went into the woods and saw the old bus abandoned in the woods. They said that, if you have a kid, you have to provide them with paint, if you want them to be a painter. So, that's the reason I bought Jennifer lots of paint supplies when she was growing up. I wanted her to have access to the materials, anyway.
Our route was something like this, it would seem.
Posted by Rob Kiser on February 10, 2020 at 8:47 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink
February 8, 2020
Talking to the Pigs
Posted by Rob Kiser on February 8, 2020 at 11:49 PM : Comments (1) | Permalink
February 3, 2020
Warren Fulton
Warren Hudson Fulton III.
Warren and I went to Tulane together from Fall of 1984 - Spring of 1986, as I recall. He was crazy and could do a back-flip in the air and land on his feet. After college, he apparently went back east, and I learned that he had passed away when I was watching TV with one of my friends in Dallas in 1990. His story was aired on television (Unsolved Mysteries?), and I called out his name before the announcer could get it out on TV. .
In any event, it looks like they finally caught a serial killer and charged him with Warren and Rachel's murder.
Posted by Rob Kiser on February 3, 2020 at 2:29 PM : Comments (0) | Permalink