Thursday, January 31, 2013

Customer Appreciation Night

The Captain's Wheel Resort announced last week that Saturday, February 2 starting at 8:00 pm will be customer appreciation night. Fifty cent beer,drink specials and live music as well. Entertainment is by Steel Billy Cadillac.

Bring very little money and a designated driver. We'll all have a ball. I may be hobbling around since I had toe surgery the 30th, but I'll be there.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

I'm Spoiled

Back when I was a teen, in the 1950's television news casters were trained in radio before they became anchors on TV. What that meant was they were selected for diction, voice, usually a baritone, and slow delivery. All of these traits were to facilitate the audience's ability to understand and to follow the conversation.

Baritones were mostly featured because hearing loss tends to be in the higher frequencies, such as with male tenors and women. Slow speech is necessary as well. Guys like Eric Sevaride, John Cameron Swazee and Walter Cronkite were stars in their time, not only for understandability but for objectivity.

All of that is gone. News anchors rattle on at warp speed, (Anderson Cooper) or talk strangely, (Greta Van Susteren) and others never bothered to learn broadcast quality speech. The were chosen for notoriety, (O.J. Simpson trial) and other social engineering purposes.

All you have to do is compare the rigid objectivity of the old school to the lack of trust in the above examples and many more.News and editorializing used to be clearly separated. Now they blend as the policies of the network slant the news which ever way they bend. Fox News and MSNBC are great examples of that, but even the conservative FOX features guests of opposing viewpoints. O'Reilly especially does this every show. MSNBC doesn't bother to even cover up their disdain for objectivity nor do they feature conservative foils to balance their shows.

Now days, liberals watch MSNBC applauding their intelligent insights and over at Fox, Conservatives lean forward in their seats smacking their lips with glee as the "Progressives" are shown to not be.

The news industry as a whole tends to be liberal almost to extreme.Newspapers are not immune. Here in our area we have the Spokesman-Review which features at least 95% left wing reporters and editors. Whether that is because of the professors in their educational progress or not, it is a large cause for business failure. When a news paper with left wing leanings spews out snarky ultra liberal positions to a moderate/conservative audience, well ... it doesn't take a magician to figure out why circulation is down. \\Advertising followers circulation which produces a large group of people who then are exposed to the advertisers products.

Unfortunately we have the cart pulling the horse. Business decisions are based on the supposition that more space is needed for ads leaving the reader with less content, which then loses readers which then loses advertisers. Why they don't learn? Because the bean counters rule instead of the news room. That applies also to television. Perhaps if there were any question as to why news in the paper or on nightly televison is failing and young people are going to their computers, maybe I have answered some of them.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

For Music Lovers

http://www.youtube.com/embed/XlyCLbt3Thk?rel=0>

Party Time

The Captain's Wheel in Bayview is announcing a customer appreciation day, February 2. The festivities will begin about 8:00 pm with a draft beer special (selected brand) of fifty Cents. Hourly drink specials as well. Music will be provided by   Steel Billy Cadallac.
Come on down for a great party. Bringing a designated driver would be a good idea as well.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

New Sheriff is Sworn In

 photo by Duane Rassmusson                                                                       

There's a new Sheriff in town. Ben Wolfinger, 30 year veteran of the Kootenai County Sheriff Department in an unusual gesture by the electorate, was voted in last November and sworn in yesterday. One of the lesser know effects of a new sheriff is that a new swearing in of deputies took place shortly thereafter. It turns out that if not re-sworn within three days, they all lose their authority.

This was followed this morning by rehiring the under sheriff as well as staff that was busy pulling cars our of ditches the snowy morning of the Swearing in ceremony.

One local citizen was heard to ask about the issue of Nepotism regarding the sheriff's son, Depjuty Brad Wolfinger. Sherriff Ben explained. There is a firewall between him and son, Brad. No activity involving his son whether positve or negative will ever cross his desk. Personnel items, promotions would come from way down the ladder in the patrol hierarchy. That and the desire of deputy Brad not to embarrass his father would see to an exemplary career.

No major changes are anticipated as of new. Since Major Wolfinger had his um ... finger on these issues in cooperation with Rocky Watson, it is probable that there are no frictions in the department.

A rumor developed last week of some interagency hijinks.Someone apparently fillied Rocky Watson's office from floor to ceiling with enpty boxes. Suspecting his soon to be successor, as the culprit he came in over the week-end and painted his office walls pink. Paybacks are indeed a ...expected.

Many did not know that Judge Marano is Ben's father-in-law. For that reason, he cannot preside over any trial involving either Sheriff Ben or son Brad as arresting officers. Since he is a judge emeritus, he probably wouldn't anyway.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Winter Has Arrived

Well, four inches of powder snow this morning in Bayview. Looks like winter is here and snowing at 19 degrees as well. Fortunately the storm went south before it changed to freezing rain in the Coeur d'Alene-Spokane corridor.

Currently it is 23 degrees with a promise of the cold hanging around for a while. Still it is nice to see it white out without the excesses of deep snow. To those of you that are wintering in Arizona, while you are gazing over sand brown rock and dirt we are looking across the bay at snow laden trees framing the beauty of Farragut State Park and the Blackwell peninsula.

Things are a little slow this time of year. (read quiet) Two cars went by this morning. One more than yesterday. Restaurants are open and humming along with Ralph's, Bay Cafe and the Wheel open this winter. Lately a small bird has been visiting mhy deck. It is either fat or has it's feathers fluffed out. I think the later. It doesn't seem to care about the snow, or maybe it just can't do anything about it. After all it is a winter bird, still the first what I would call song birds to appear. Prioor to that it was just ea Gulls and Ravens.

I may wander down to the Wheel later, or I might just crank the heat up a degree or two, pour a glass of wine and veg. Hang in there snowbirds. It will get better.

On the other hand, if you lived in Coeur d'Alene or Post Falls, you skated to work today.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Have Dish? See Seahawks

Do not despair. You can see the Seahawk game Sunday morning at the Captain's Wheel Resort in Bayview, Idaho starting at 10:00 am.  The restaurant/bar is opening two hours early to support football fans. Come on down, have brunch or lunch. Enjoy a huge Seahawk win as they bludgeon their way to the Superbowl.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Terminology Without Meaning

Below, I have listed weather terminology that to say the least is somewhat generalized.If anyone can match these with actual meaningful, usable information I would be greatful. I am sending a link to Mike Prager, Spokesman-Review weather guesser in hopes that he can cast some light on this matter.

Snow Showers

A bit of snow

Stray flurry

Snow much of the time

Snow

Occasional snow

Periods of Snow

Now these generalizations must mean something to the weather people, if they would just share it with us. Perhaps it is their way of never being quite wrong even if the can't be quite right either. In any event, Mike, Please respond.

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

The Old Barn

Right around 1925 or so, a new barn was erected on a hill next to a large hay meadow. It was built in the Finnish tradition with three floors. One on the bottom was for equipment or livestock. Above that was an apartment.The loft above for hay, put up loose as it was in those days.  For twenty years that barn sat serving the farmer well.

While not attending to his farm duties the owner poked around the surrounding hill side prospecting for Lead/Zinc which was the mineral most prevalent in that area, Northern Stevens County, Washington. Lacking an education past the eight grade, as was customary in farm country those days, the farmer read various magazines to further his knowledge. You see he was extraordinarily curious about many things, including the prospecting for minerals. One of those publications was Popular Science.

Reading in one issue he discovered the plans and specs for building a spectroscope. This along with a color chart was the poor man's way of assessing mineral content and type. By burning a substance between two carbon pencil like sticks which created an arc he was able to match the color of the arc to the large wall chart.

One afternoon he had an idea for using his new equipment. Hiking up the hill next to the barn he gridded off sections of the surface using string. After numbering the various sections the man picked up pine needles that had fallen to the ground. He then burned the pine needles in his spectroscope looking for color like a gold panner might look for  gold dust.

He noticed large concentrations of lead showing under the ground. You see, the roots of the pine trees had taken up lead just as they would any other element. He and his nephew, Lewis Love, staked a claim along with others in the surrounding area and proceeded to tunnel back into the hill. He learned blasting with dynamite by doing and pick and shovel which he already knew how to use.

After reaching the ore body it became obvious he had a marketable find. The farmer, turned miner leased out his farm on Deep Creek, the old Pat Grace homestead. Pat was the farmer/miner's step father. His new wife was an elementary teacher who first started at the one room school house in Lead Point. (Still standing) followed by stints at Aladdin, Onion Creek and Spirit School, all grades 1-8 one room schools. Between  1930 and 1937 her meager salary was the only cash they earned. Working farms in those days were self-sufficient in that gardens and livestock provided sustenance.

The farmer's wife had a brother who was a foreman at a foundry in Seattle who offered the man a job. Shortly after reaching Seattle,a  mining company, gearing up for war production bought the mine property and the meadow next to the old barn, which the farmer had purchased at tax sales.

The old barn was converted into offices and an apartment in the old loft. Around 1957 the ore began petering out plus some subsequent lessees  engaged in questionable business practices, skipped out on payroll and beat feet back to Seattle from whence they crawled out from beneath a rock somewhere.

The barn stood in solitary grandeur for many years overlooking a half mile or so of white tailings which still hold zinc, as most of the value was in the lead which was used during world war two for batteries. At the end of the line, the last superintendent who was Ron Nixon a mining engineer stayed on as guardian of the tunnel.

As the years rolled by windstorms would blow the hand cut shingles lovingly formed by the farmer/miner who had left for the coast so that he could feed his family. I was born in Seattle in the year 1938. Shortly thereafter, Dad who was that farmer, Amos E. Huseland, received the check for the mine.  He bought a brick house and five acres in what was then Kennydale, a suburb of Renton and is now part of that city.

Meanwhile, Ron Nixon, a noted Scupturer and Craftsman, started building things out of Dad's shingles. Outhouses, frontier town  models, etc. The barn fell down last year from snow load after ninety years of service as a barn an office and a home, and now just a source for Ron Nixon's models



Sunday, January 06, 2013

Patience Abilgail Huseland

Yesterday, day four in Patience's life, I trekked over to Spokane to visit grandchild number 17. It occurred to me as I travelled toward my newest that of all my grandchildren this was the first born within commuting distance. I am new a proud Grandpa again, not that I was dissatisfied with the existing ones, but this was new.

The last time I held a new baby was Brian, the father of this one. Judging from the beauty and grace of Patience, the wait was worth it. As far as the possibility of this one, it beats cats by a long shot.
Human sacrifices will not be necessary but bowing toward North Spokane would be in order.

First my new Grand Baby now the Seahawks win as well. I'm definitely on a roll. Did I mention that Patience was born on January 1st? I have more family stuff but unrelated to this event so I'll do another post Monday or Tuesday.