Japan's Ancient Forestry Technique Produces High-Grade Lumber With No Need to Chop Down Trees. The daisugi technique, like bonsai, is a forestry technique that involves heavily pruning the mother tree which allows narrow saplings to shoot ... read more
I'm home after a long trip to Roanoke, VA and back. It was quite an experience overall. The 1-3/4 hour drive to SMF was punctuated by the puppy screaming and howling in the crate behind me in the van. She messed the newspapers once and I ... read more
I just had to share this comment someone left here on FriendsNews. Read it, absorb it, digest it, lather, rinse and repeat it. Then let me know what the %$ it means! Here it is:I comprehend that is genuinely uninteresting and you39 ... read more
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it. Judge a man by his questions, rather than by his answers. Every man is guilty ... read more
Clay and his adopted daughter Jenna look forward to their upcoming "homeland tour" to Russia. His intentions are pure. Hers, not so much. When she goes missing, he goes looking, only to find she is not the innocent little girl he thought she was. Not even close. His only hope is to get her on the Last Train Out.
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Zenya was just two-and-a-half when two very strange people came to visit her orphanage. They talked funny, she thought, as if almost able to speak properly, but with such horrible accents it was difficult to understand them. She assumed they were stupid. Gloopy, in Russian. They were there to see her, though – just her! – so she let it go.
She was devastated when they stopped coming after one week. It was not fair! They had been coming every day, and she had bows in her hair and wore a pretty dress eve... Give your own review HERE! Blurbs, links and more at William Arthur Holmes dot com.
The problem with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence. The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later in ... read more
Acknowledging Receipt of Australopithicus Spiff-arinoThe story behind the letter below is that there is a man in Newport, RI named Scott Williams who digs things out of his backyard and sends the stuff he finds to the Smithsonian Institutio ... read more
After every flight, pilots fill out a form called a gripe sheet, which conveys to the mechanics problems encountered with the aircraft during the flight that need repair or correction. The mechanics read and correct the problem, and then r ... read more
Credit Card BillIn March, 1992, a man living in Newtown near Boston, Massachusetts received a bill for his as-yet unused credit card stating that he owed $0. 00. He ignored it and threw it away. In April he received another and threw that ... read more
After months of cold and winter, we are finally coming up to summer and BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking as it's the only type of cooking a real man will do, prob ... read more
In the twenty minutes that Tara and I left Elizabeth alone, she found some (child-safe) scissors and cut off all her hair. At first I thought it was just wet. Then I realized she'd cut it all off. I laughed and said I was just glad she h ... read more
I slept on the floor most of last night. It's a little after 7 a. m. here. Elizabeth refuses to sleep in her crib, even though we're told that's what she slept in at the orphanage. So, she sleeps with us in our bed. That bed is barely ... read more
Today's my sister's birthday. She must be having a good one, because she has not replied to anyone's email birthday greeting. The previous weekend was our nephew's 2nd birthday party in Smyrna. That kid partied until it was almost dark!I ... read more
We fly out today. It would've been nice to have gotten one last good night's sleep, but the cat made sure that didn't happen. Stupid cat. Anyone want one? Seriously. She's very pretty and sweet when she's not keeping you from sleeping. ... read more
Good news from best friends Julie and Bert in Las Vegas. One of their cats, Tobie, went missing this past January. He was an indoor/outdoor cat and one day just disappeared. Needless to say, they were heartbroken and spent many hours/day ... read more
Dr. Kwane Stewart has been a veterinarian in California for over 20 years. But for the past few years, he's been passionately motivated to impact the lives of homeless pets and their owners. ... read more
Hallelujah! We have paid off our BofA credit card! It was bad enough when it was owned by the original company. But when I saw that Bank of America had bought that company and was now administering my account, I knew ... read more
I don't agree with this calculation, but, for what it's worth, my brother sent this out recently. So, in case I'm wrong and he's right, which almost never happens... 50 years ago (1963) the minimum wage was 1. 25. See ... read more
I took Chandler to the vet this morning to get his teeth cleaned. I know, it sounds crazy, but it's actually very important, just like with humans. Anyway, because of road con ... read more
The Obtuse Moose Vol. 6, No. 3, April 21, 1994 Jeannie finds dog Jeannie and John have a ranch in Tracy, California. To help pay the bills, they board a few horses. One of those horses, a fat old gray Arabian mare, had been particularly ... read more
The Daily Gargoyle Vol. 2, No. 14, November 16, 1990 Just when you thought it was safe to open the mailbox!Editor's note: For those of you who actually believed, or hoped, ... read more
Hoot and a HollerVol. 5, No. 6, September 28, 1993 -- Nashville editionJournalism at its finest! -- Yearly subscription rate: $135 Brouns family buys propertyLATHROP, CA -- John, Jeannie, their kids, Tiffany and Thomas, John's sister and ... read more
Big News Other Stuff Vol. 2, No. 5 Yeah, another new name. March 19, 1990 Mike to return earlyMike has had a change of plans and expects to return from Germany at the end of March, assuming his mom can afford the return airfare. Othe ... read more