Mountain Nomad Chronicles

In Memoriam: Buck Owens

Buck Owens passed away yesterday at the age of 76.  I was never one to watch HeeHaw, which  Buck Owens co-hosted or rather I was never one to be allowed to watch HeeHaw.  I discovered Buck Owens through his music.  Although he does not hold the same place in my psyche, as say Tom T. Hall, Charlie Pride or Merle Haggard, I still honor his place in Americana music.  Buck Owens thankfully passed the torch to artists like Dwight Yoakam and Robbie Fulks.

Ouch

I got my wisdom teeth yanked on Monday...not a tramatic experience, but disturbing nontheless.  The dentist office in Whitehorse was pretty posh.  Lots of showroom furniture.  I felt like I was in Ethan Allen.  Maybe this makes some people comfortable, I just felt out of place.  The dentist chair was high tech and had a 42 inch LCD screen about 4-5 feet in front of it - playing CMT apparently all day.  The patients can't see it, just the dentist and his assistant.  I was like HUH! I hope it was very expensive background audio and the 24 year old dentist kept his attention centered on my mouth and not on Carrie Underwood.  "Jesus take the Wheel" gained new meaning for me and there's nothing quite like the sound of cracking molars to the tunes of Tim McGraw. 

It was interesting miming for pen and paper most of the Monday cause I couldn't talk.  The codeine made me want to hurl so I switched to normal Tylenol because there was no way I was going back and pay for another prescription. 

Anyway, I want to hear other wisdom teeth stories, food tips, gross out moments etc. 

Ferry Accident

I was rereading my post from yesterday and I believe I came across selfish.  My heart and thoughts go out to all the people that were touched by the tragic accident.   My son and I took that same ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert about three years ago.  It's unbelievable to me that now that ship is at the bottom of the ocean.  The Tsmishian community of Hartley Bay saved those people and should be honoured for their heroic actions.  The north coast is isolated and sparsely populated, I don't want to think of the consequences if the ferry had sank in another location.  I hope that BC Ferries are able to compensate the passengers for their material losses and re-establish their services that the coastal communities rely on.

All winter I've dreamed of

All winter I've dreamed of spring and clear roads.  Yesterday we drove back from a few days in Whitehorse and the roads were almost completely clear until we reached the last 10 kilometres.  The ice-free roads opened my mind to planning a trip down to Vancouver Island at the end of April on the Rupert-Hardy ferry with a trailer of stuff.  The ferry I was going to take sank last night.

Ferry sinks off coast of Queen Charlotte Islands

Blogs and comments

I'm listening to a panel discussion on blogging that is part of a lecture forum series in Boston.  One guy just made the assertion that a blog that has little to no comments on it, is probably not a well-trafficked one.  My friend and I were discussing this recently after he blogged about the this fact himself.  It's quite interesting because we often don't know who reads our blogs.  I wonder at times if anyone is reading my blog and then out of the blue there's a comment for someone I don't know.  I think bloggers generally like comments.  So here's an invitation...Comment.  Even if you don't have anything to say...it's nice to know that someone is out there.

Dan Kennedy | Blogosphere: Who's Talking? - WGBH Forum Network

Panasonic to release Skype capable phone

Panasonic's KX-TG9000 series phones (pic is of Skype-less KX-TG5456S) handles calls through your traditional landline or Skype's P2P network via a broadband internet link. Besides not requiring a router or PC, Panasonic's offerings will support free calls between Skype accounts, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Voicemail, and allow users to choose whether their outgoing calls are handled by Skype's network or their landline.

I've been using Skype for a few months now and I love it....but I just bought a new phone.  I hate it when that happens!!!  There's always ebay for my old/new phone if this one turns out to be all it says it is.

Panasonic's KX-TG9000 cordless Skype phone - Engadget

Huge List of Free Software

Hey, my wife's away on business and I've been taking over her class of hellians.  Man, I respect her dedication.  Also my mind has been cluttered, too cluttered to be able to find where I put my blog posts.  Well, here's a nice list for you. 

Who needs to pirate software with a list like this? - 121Space