Icewind's Ramblings

I had a few minutes early this morning where I was trying to sit and write for awhile but nothing came into my mind. Usually on Saturday mornings I head out early for breakfast with friends but this morning everyone was out of town so I figured I could sit and work on several book projects that I am working on or post a few things in one of the forums I frequent. It did not immediately occur to me to work on this blog so I sat staring into this blank sheet with nothing in mind. It became clear that nothing would be the mental exercise of the day. Normally trying to write about nothing occurs in an essay, usually one with a word requirement that you need to fill for some reason or another. But here I will attempt to rationalize that nothing doesn’t exist and is a moot concept. The concept of nothing as a ‘normal mind’ comprehends it is a room, maybe a box, which is void of things, hence “no things” but that, of course isn’t true. Thousands even millions of molecules, electr...

A husband and wife are getting ready for bed. The wife is standing in front of a full-length mirror taking a real hard look at herself. "You know, dear," she says, "I look in the mirror, and I see an old woman. My face is all wrinkled, my boobs are barely above my waist, and my butt is hanging out a mile. I've got fat legs, and my arms are all flabby." She turns to her husband and says, "Tell me something positive to make me feel better about myself." He studies hard for a moment thinking about it and then says in a soft, thoughtful voice, "Well honey, there's nothing wrong with your eyesight. Ice

Grilling on the Fourth is the best! and who could forget this festival: Have a Happy Holiday! Ice

I cannot let this Independence Day weekend pass without harkening back to one of the greatest poems ever written. Now, granted, most of you (hopefully ALL) know the poem’s first verse by heart. But how many of you knew that there are three more? Let’s go back to the War of 1812, when a young American lawyer went aboard a British ship of war to try and secure the release of a friend that had been taken prisoner. From the deck of that ship, the man watched as Fort McHenry was bombarded by British forces. He watched with amazement the battle that raged on through the night. And as dawn broke the next morning, Francis Scott Key looked to the fort for some glimpse of hope that the men within had not fallen. Above the ruined walls of the fort, to Key’s amazement and surprise, was none other than Old Glory Herself. Tattered and torn, but still flying free. The words of his poem were set to an old English drinking song, entitled To Anacreon in Heaven. The Navy and Army ...

DAY TWO EMPTY MILK CARTONS; DO THEY BELONG IN THE FRIDGE OR THE BIN? Group discussion and role play HEALTH WATCH; BRINGING HER FLOWERS IS NOT HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH PowerPoint presentation REAL MEN ASK FOR DIRECTIONS WHEN LOST Real life testimonial from the one man who did IS IT GENETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SIT QUIETLY AS SHE PARALLEL PARKS? Driving simulation LIVING WITH ADULTS; BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR PARTNER Online class and role playing HOW TO BE THE IDEAL SHOPPING COMPANION Relaxation exercises, meditation and breathing techniques REMEMBERING IMPORTANT DATES & CALLING WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE Bring your calendar or PDA to class GETTING OVER IT; LEARNING HOW TO LIVE WITH BEING WRONG ALL THE TIME Individual counselors available HOW DO I LOOK? DO THESE SHOES GO WITH THE OUTFIT? Answers to those age old questions where there is no RIGHT answer I think I’ll just stay home and not further my education as it’s hard to teach an old d...

I was thinking about going back to school and was looking up the available classes being offered during the evenings. This new evening class is being offered at the local college. WICOE (Women In Charge Of Everything) is proud to announce the opening of it’s EVENING CLASSES FOR MEN! OPEN TO MEN ONLY – ALL ARE WELCOME Note: due to the complexity and level of difficulty, each course will accept a maximum of eight participants. The course covers two days, and topics covered in this course include: DAY ONE: HOW TO FILL ICE CUBE TRAYS Step by step guide with slide presentation TOILET ROLLS – DO THEY GROW ON THE HOLDERS? Roundtable discussion DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LAUNDRY BASKET & FLOOR Practicing with hamper (Pictures and graphics) DISHES & SILVERWARE; DO THEY LEVITATE/FLY TO KITCHEN SINK OR DISHWASHER BY THEMSELVES? Debate among a panel of experts. REMOTE CONTROL Losing the remote control - Help line and support groups LEARNING HOW TO FIND THINGS Starting wit...

The weather here is getting better and summer is just around the corner. It was sunny and 55 degrees today and it is noticeable again the days are getting longer when it is still light outside at 11 pm. The trees should pop their buds this week making everything all of a sudden green again. Gotta love it, survived another cold dark winter. Countdown to fishing, 3 weeks . . . I was thinking again today and pondered . . . Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak? Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle? I'm not sure about the lower 48 but is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale? Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance? Or is that just me? When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes fo...

It's that time of year in Alaska when woodpeckers are out pecking on telephone poles. I always wondered why they do it since there can't be any bugs to dig out, certainly none that don't taste foul from years of soaking in creosote. Turns out the birds use the poles for the same thing humans do — communication. Woodpeckers don't use the wires, just the poles. The dried wood makes a satisfying sound that can be heard by other birds for blocks around. Most of the telephone-pole communicators are males advertising for mates. In that regard they are remarkably like humans. I learned Morse code many years ago at the Army's Rotary Wing Flight Training School in Alabama at Fort Rucker and realized recently that woodpecker code is quite similar to the old Morse classic — and the birds use their own version of text messaging. The other day, one in my neighborhood was sending out a signal saying, "Macho male w/big bill and great plumage ...

I have not been posting a lot lately and will try to get back into the rhythm of writing again. There has been much going on between work, family, and the season. The snow is melting now but there are still times that we will get a couple of inches overnight which will hopefully melt away quickly. I am ready for the summer season to arrive and fishing to get into my time. I was on several trips which I do need to write about as there were some funny things that happened. Vacation was much needed but alas too short. The plane flight back to Alaska from Miami was long, and full of sick people coughing all the way. It took me two days after being home to come down with whatever they had and it took me over two weeks to finally get it out of my system. I am still coughing but not like I was. Anyway, here is a little ditty that I thought you may like. Can you remember these or answer the questions? If you are an old fart like me, you just might be able to. 01. After the Lone Rang...

The start of the annual Alaskan Iditarod Dog Sled Race started last Saturday in Anchorage on 4 th Avenue . This year there were 83 mushers attempting to make the trek from Anchorage to Nome 1,100 miles away. This adventure through the Alaskan wilderness over mountains, along frozen rivers, and in harsh winter conditions reaching minus 50 below zero temperatures. The world's longest sled-dog race thrives on the mystique of mushers and their canine companions braving the vicious cold of faraway Alaska . But only rarely can anyone see firsthand what's happening along the trail. From the helicopters clattering over downtown Anchorage on Saturday morning to the crowds swarming the streets, it was clear Iditarod has become the new Anchorage Fur Rendezvous World Championships. Who could have imagined that a 1,100-mile ultra-marathon waged across the vast emptiness of the 49th state could someday spark a show like this: gawking tourists f...

if there's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore and looking like an idiot. Ice

How well do you know the States? Place the State for a little fun. Ice

To be honest I am not a big football fan. I was born and raised in Atlanta and suffered through a lot of years where none of the sports teams were very good. There were many “professional teams” there, the Braves, Hawks, Flames, and the Falcons. In my time living there most were hardly professional in that the excuse every week on television broadcasts were, “Well we didn’t have our game face on” or “we just didn’t get into it today”. Now most of these guys only work for about 6 months out of the year (baseball) and football even less so I think they should give it "their all" for those few weeks, especially for the amount of money they are making. The Braves finally started an excellent farm system and won the World Series in 95 the year I left Atlanta so I did see several games before moving away. It was always distracting year after year with the only true “winners” being NASCAR races and the crazy fans that came to the races. Television got invol...

of me posting lately with a family emergency in Atlanta. I will be away until 2-06-06. It is a great time to head south as it is -15 degrees below zero tonight as I catch the plane. For your enjoyment. Ice

This just in from the Recoil Archives . . . I saw this and wanted to share as there may be others with similar situations. Lafayette , Ga. -- Attempting to pacify his wife Jena 's incessant desire for verbal interaction, area husband Chris Woodman pretended to give a shit Tuesday as his wife of six years initiated and dominated a series of prolonged dialogues regarding an array of unrelated, unimportant subjects. According to Woodman, the thoroughly pointless conversation - which comprehensively detailed his wife's work day, lunch experience, plans for the evening and friend's relationship difficulties - took place in the living room of the couple's Lafayette home at approximately 6 p.m., shortly after Woodman began watching television in an effort to unwind from work. "I love my wife, but Jesus, does she like to talk sometimes," said Woodman, 30, who works as a field technician for a local civil engineering firm. "I wanted to just come hom...

An elderly couple was having dinner at another couple's house and after their meal; the wives left the table to go to the kitchen. The two elderly gents were talking, and one says: "Last night we went out to a fabulous new restaurant I'd highly recommend." The other man says: "What's the name of the restaurant?" The first man thinks long and hard with a furrowed brow, finally saying: "Ah, what is the name of that red flower you give to someone you love?" His friend replies: "A carnation?" "No, no. The other one," the man says. His friend suggests "The poppy?" "No, no, no" growls the man. "You know - the one that is red and has thorns." His friend says: "Do you mean a rose?" "Yes! Thank you!" the first man says. He then turns toward the kitchen and yells: "Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?" ...

On the farm lived a chicken and a horse, both of whom loved to play together. One day the two were playing, when the horse fell into a bog and began to sink. Scared for his life, the horse whinnied for the chicken to go get the farmer for help! Off the chicken ran, back to the farm. Arriving at the farm, he searched and searched for the farmer, but to no avail, for he had gone to town with the only tractor. Running around, the chicken spied the farmer's new Harley. Finding the keys in the ignition, the chicken sped off with a length of rope hoping he still had time to save his friend's life. Back at the bog, the horse was surprised, but happy, to see the chicken arrive on the shiny Harley, and he managed to get a hold of the loop of rope the chicken tossed to him. After tying the other end to the rear bumper of the farmer's bike, the chicken then drove slowly forward and, with the aid of the powerful bike, rescued the horse! Happy and proud, the chicken rode the...

My friend SC sent me something that I wanted to share and it also got me thinking about a few things. Friends and friendship has been presented before as that is one of the things you go through your life and hopefully as you get older there are those you have around you everyday, those that are there for you without the everyday or recent contact but you know they are there for you or would be there if you needed them. This was a simple analogy and I do not know where it originally came from or who the author is. The words and concept have me thinking and looking at the different possibilities from my own life as different people have come and gone. I’ll comment more after so think about this concept and see where your own mind and life takes you. Life is a theatre – invite your audience carefully. Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row in our lives. There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance. It'...

As 2006 winds up and another year has gone by the wayside I was thinking about what older movies I had watched this past year and what made my favorite list. I was watching some movies recently and thought about some older movies that I had seen this year or watched again and decided to put a small list of movies and/or scenes that made them enjoyable for me. What’s yours? My list goes like this: The Shawshank Redemption (1994) – Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman – This movie was from a short story by Steven King, It's a poignant story about hope. It's also a story for freedom. Freedom from isolation, from rule, from bigotry and hate. Freeman and Robbins are majestic in their performances. Each learns from the other. It is one of my favorite all time movies. Last of the Dogmen (1995) – Tom Berenger & Barbara Hershey – I like the narration by Wilford Brimley all through the movie. The scenery is specta...

Real life has got in the way of me writing this week. News from home and a busy week at work have been partly responsible for my lack of writing. I have also started going back to The Alaska Club so I can get into better shape and lose some weight. I have wanted to do this for some time now but put it off for one reason or another. This is not a New Year’s Resolution as I had debated this for several months and I just happened to put into action now. Scott, one of the people I work with has also been trying to lose weight and me grabbing him for lunch everyday has not helped him in his quest for better health. We have decided to eat salads several days a week and possibly go to the club for a steam at lunch other days. We will do our 3 nights a week and hit the place on weekends. Now only to stick with that plan and see what happens. I was downtown the other day and went to the store. I was only in there for about 5 minutes getting some work out clothes. W...