Bucky Reed

Why are Apple's paws pink?

2009-09-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

Why are Apple's paws pink? She was jealous about not being allowed to play bingo and decided to let us know exactly how she felt about being left behind.

Panda defends Uighur protester from Chinese police

2009-07-11T13:35:00.001-07:00

Panda defends Uighur protester from Chinese police
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Day Laborers in 2009

2009-04-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Cognitive Dissonance

2009-02-16T17:41:00.001-08:00

Cognitive Dissonance
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

The Crowd at Obama's Inauguration

2009-01-20T15:38:00.001-08:00

The crowd at Obama's Inauguration
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Here is a satellite view of the crowd at Obama's inauguration. This was taken from GeoEye's website.

This little guy has grown up big and strong

2009-01-13T17:58:00.001-08:00

My new neighbor
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I came home today to a house filled with the faint aroma of skunk. Apple smelled ever so slightly skunky, was acting very guilty, but clearly hadn't been tagged. As I was investigating the smell our neighbor Mike came over to tell me that Apple had spent the day frantically digging under the shed to get at a skunk. He sat in the safety of his home watching her dig, bark, and successfully avoid getting sprayed. Based on the strength of the smell I can only assume that the little guy is still under or inside the shed.

The coal ash spill in Kingston TN

2008-12-30T10:24:00.001-08:00

Heaps of coal ash sludge
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I was visiting my parents last week for Christmas in Knoxville, TN when I first heard about the coal ash spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant. My dad and I drove 35 miles from his home in Knoxville to the site of the devastation in Kingston. My dad knows all of the backroads around Harriman and Kingston so we were able to get close to the spill despite the police roadblocks. The roads were filled with large trucks carrying gravel to the site and hauling away god knows what! I was completely horrified as we drove through several nice neighborhoods that were directly across the river from the plant. Large waves of ash filled water washed up behind these homes destroying boat docks and spreading the toxic sludge. According to the New York Times the plant produced 45000 pounds of arsenic, 49000 pounds of lead, and 713 ounds of mercury in 2007 alone. Now decades worth of this arsenic and lead have been dumped into the Clinch and Emory rivers polluting the drinking water for over a half a million residents downstream.

United Mountain Defense has published a copy of the initial TVA water test results and the results are awful.

Kingston Fossil Plant
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Wave of sludge washed ashore
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Boat dock with sludge in background
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

The Bush doctrine and locating the US on a map

2008-09-12T07:45:00.001-07:00

There is a striking similarity between these two videos (other than the fact that Sarah Palin is also a former beauty contestant):

What is the difference between a pit bull and Sarah Palin?

2008-09-08T14:31:00.001-07:00

What is the difference between a pit bull and Sarah Palin?
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

One is a sweet dog and the other is an ignorant bitch.

The other answer to this is that pit bulls are more selective with whom and how often they procreate. I hate to involve the children in this, but how dare she compare herself to a wonderful dog like my Apple?

When Beagles Fly

2008-08-30T15:37:00.001-07:00

When Beagles Fly
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Holly took Rufus and Apple to the Dirty Dog Pet Wash and Boutique to get a bath and have their nails done. Rufus HATES getting his nails trimmed and is such an absolute freak about it that I try to take him to a different groomer every time. The owner of the Dirty Dog apparently specializes in high maintenance hounds and had a very effective trick up her sleeve: the floating harness! Rufus dog-paddled in mid-air and chuffed while the trimming was going on, but seemed rather calm when he was allowed to just float unmolested. Holly theorizes that the compression of the harness has a calming effect, but I prefer to think that he was overcome with dreams of ear-powered flight. I can't wait for his next visit.

Obama Branded Air Filling Station

2008-08-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

Who better than Barack Obama to remind you to inflate your tires to the proper pressure? Every gas station air pump should have one of these stickers!

Rufus and his den

2008-06-14T20:51:00.001-07:00

Rufus and his den
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Rufus and Apple are still really freaked out by the construction in the condo. Rufus has decided that the closet is now his lair and has spent the better part of the weekend in here with his herd of cows. He has dragged most of his toys into this closet and is extremely reluctant to leave. I had to bribe him with back scratches and ground beef to get him out.

The great flood of 2008

2008-06-07T12:41:00.001-07:00

Moisture sensor (40 is the max)

Ripping up the Pergo

living room and closet
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

This past Monday morning I woke up at 6:00 to get ready for work. I turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up, and waited, and waited, and waited, and quickly realized that Holly and I were in for an interesting morning. We ran downstairs and stepped off of the last step into our new indoor swimming pool! Our water heater had burst and flooded the entire first floor of the condo. She ran outside to shut off the water and I grabbed the shop vac. 40+ gallons later I had cleaned up most of the water and we managed to get everything off of the floors and out onto the patio.

The ServePro repair guys were sent by the insurance company to mitigate the water damage and promptly started ripping out ALL of the Pergo flooring, removing the baseboards, and cutting drywall off of the walls. They used a really cool moisture sensor to determine what got wet and where they needed to hack apart our home. It took them three half-assed days to finish cutting out all of the walls and set up their drying equipment to dry the walls. They managed to let one of their dehumidifiers drain back onto the floor on the first day. They had to remove our downstairs toilet and the washing machine, but they didn't bother to shut off the water supplies to both of these when they did this. We of course only discovered this when we turned the water main back on and re-flooded the bathroom on Thursday. The plumber was laughing his ass off at their attention to detail.

Rufus's Herd of Cows

2008-05-12T16:46:00.001-07:00

Rufus's Herd
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Holly's sister Katie originally gave me the cow that Rufus has adored so much over the last year or so. The cow has been bathed several times, but is still suprisingly grungy. Katie mentioned that the Petco in La Mesa had several more of the same cows for sale so we stopped by and cleaned them out yesterday. I was shocked at how white and aroma-free they were! Today I presented Rufus with two additional cows and watched his little doggie brain implode as I squeaked them and teased him with them. He chuffed and bayed with delight, but soon decided that the well-seasoned beef was still the best.

Apple's Altruistic Birthday Present To Me

2008-04-20T14:38:00.001-07:00

Apple's Altruistic Birthday Present
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

For my birthday a few weeks back Apple and Rufus managed to buy me a present. I'm not quite sure how they got to the store or used the computer to purchase online, but it was certainly clear by the drool and general messiness that they wrapped it themselves. When I unwrapped the remote controlled car Apple feigned disinterest, but she had obviously picked it out for herself! As soon as I tried it out Rufus started baying and Apple freaked. She chased it, but would scramble away in terror when I backed it up into her feet. Rufus grew bored after a while and took the opportunity to steal Apple's rawhide while she was busy chasing the car. It took a while for Apple to get the courage to actually pick it up in her mouth, but now the car is happily covered in drool, hair, and teeth marks.

Gray Whale Encounter

2008-04-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

I've seen gray whales from the shore in Oregon and have seen them several times on whale watching cruises in the San Diego Bay, but this Saturday I saw one up close while sailing with Holly's family. We were sailing out towards the ocean and passed a navy sub being towed out of the submarine base. We watched the sub get hauled out to the ocean and then head down south towards Mexico. We were excited because it was cruising on the surface and we were hoping to see it dive. We made it out to the open ocean and were starting to turn back when I saw a large gray hump surface and disappear. I started gibbering excitedly about a whale, but no one else saw it. It was heading south towards Mexico, so perhaps like the sailors on the sub it was hoping for some lovin' south of the border. We turned back around and criss-crossed over the path it seemed to have been taking, but we over shot where it was. Holly and I saw a blow spout and we headed towards that. After a few minutes it surfaced again about fifteen feet away from us! It showed us its barnacled and scarred back and then showed us its tail before it disappeared for good.

Granny's Sewing Machine

2008-04-10T12:28:00.001-07:00

Granny's Sewing Machine
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Mom and dad brought granny's sewing machine and mom's rocking chair down with them from McMinnville. The sewing machine is a Davis treadle sewing machine that my great-grandmother bought second-hand in the 1930's for $25. The Davis company went out of business in 1924, so this machine has to be close to a hundred years old. When I was a kid I used to love this machine because it was so funky looking and because granny was so protective of it! She took excellent care of it and would only let me pump the treadle when she was present. I'm sure it still works because I remember her sewing things with it. This sewing machine is a reminder of my visits with granny in Kentucky, of my childhood, and of my family's past all rolled up into one beautiful thing.

Chew Toy?

2008-04-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

Chew Toy?
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

We had an unexpected visitor come into our lives while mom and dad were visiting last week. This little guy was hanging out across from the doggies' food bowls and was trying to hide behind a piece of rawhide. Fortunately the dogs were passed out upstairs; Otherwise there would have been a bloody mess. As it was there was plenty of excitement! Mom freaked out when she saw the lizard on the floor not ten feet from the hide-a-bed where she was sleeping, I hesitated as I debated on how to best pick it up without touching it, and then Holly came downstairs to save the day. She walks up bold as brass, says "Oh, a lizard. I'll just take him outside", and scoops him up with her hands while mom and I are wigging out. Apple comes running downstairs to see what's happening and gets so interested in where the lizard had been that she is almost licking the floor. Rufus, my boy that he is, could have cared less.

Spring Training with the Ecks

2008-03-17T09:57:00.001-07:00

Holly surfing at the game
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I went with Holly and her family to a spring training game in Tucson this weekend. We saw the Oakland A's play against the Chicago White Sox. I'm not a baseball fan at all, but it was fun seeing pros play in a tiny park while eating good mexican food! Holly could have cared less about the game and spent most of her time soaking up rays while surfing on her iPhone. I focused mainly on sampling as many unhealthy food as possible while fending off dehydration with Nimbus Red Ale.

Hard cider in the making

2008-03-03T16:46:00.001-08:00

Hard cider in the making
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

On Saturday I started a batch of hard cider with Ken. He helped me with my first batch of nut brown ale and was again willing to risk getting dowsed for the promise of some free beer. I bought five gallons of Henry's Organic Apple Juice and a vial of White Lab's Champagne Yeast. I boiled one of the gallons of juice along with four pounds of brown sugar and a quarter cup of honey. I added the four cool gallons of juice to the carboy, added the warm juice/sugar syrup, and finally added the yeast. I put the fermentation lock on the carboy and set it in the closet to ferment away for a few weeks. Having misplaced the $1 pint of vodka that I use for the lock I instead had to use a shot of Absolut! The boiled juice and sugar smelled so good that I wanted to taste it right then and there. Every thing I've read about making hard cider indicates that it smells terrible while it is fermenting. Beer usually smells yummy while it is fermenting, but the odors put off by cider are frequently described using the words "sulphur" and "brimstone". Can't wait! I guess it's my hillbilly ancestry that is manifesting itself in my desire to brew alcoholic concoctions at home. But at least this time I'm using real brewing gear (unlike the limoncello I make using hardware I found at Pep Boys.)

Sailing with Rick and Ken

2008-02-27T15:32:00.001-08:00

Three layers of clouds
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I helped Rick and Ken move the boat further back in the slip this past Saturday while the weather was nice. It rained like hell all day Friday, but was beautiful for several hours on Saturday before getting ugly again. We used that window to go out into the ocean for a quick sail. The rainstorm was blowing in from the north, but clouds seemed confused about what kind they were and the wind didn't know if it wanted to blow or not. By the time we got back the temperature had dropped and the storm was clearly on its way.

Legoland

2008-02-20T19:18:00.001-08:00

Picking on Einstein
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Volvo Parking Only
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I went to Legoland this past Saturday with Holly, Katie, and Ken. We had a blast riding the rides, eating lots of bad food, and basically acting like dorks. We asked Katie to drive her Volvo so we could take advantage of the front row parking reserved for anyone in a Volvo. If you ever built Lego models as a kid then this place is heaven. There are thousands of excruciatingly detailed replicas of Vegas, DC, New York, and even Albert Einstein's nose!

Giant Joystick

2008-02-12T13:12:00.001-08:00

Giant Joystick
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

Life-sized Asteroids
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

An exhibit by Mary Flanagan called [giantJoystick] just opened in the art gallery in the Calit2 building at UCSD. She has it hooked up to a game console with a bunch of old 8-bit Atari games that project onto the wall of the gallery. The joystick is so big that it takes two people to play: One to move the stick and one to hit the fire button. I played on my lunch break last week for almost an hour and still couldn't get enough of it. Unfortunately the students have discovered it too, so now there is contention for the big stick.

Interesting Super Tuesday Statistic

2008-02-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

I have been obsessed with the primaries this year and have been following the races closely. I spent last night glued to the tube and the internet as the results came in for the twenty odd Super Tuesday primary states. After enduring all of the hype and inane commentary from the talking heads I finally found a statistic that speaks volumes: In the 19 states that had both a Republican and Democratic primary there were 14,460,149 combined voters for Obama and Clinton versus 8,367,694 voters for McCain, Romney, and Huckabee. 73% more people came out to vote for the two Democratic candidates than for the three Republicans.

Does this mean that the Democrats are more determined to win the presidential election this year? Does this mean that the Republicans are uninspired and lost without the Karl Rove machine driving them? Regardless of who gets the nomination in either party I feel that this disparity in voter turnout gives hope that the Democrats might not screw it up this time.

TV B Gone

2008-02-02T14:52:00.001-08:00

TV B Gone Kit
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

TV B Gone
Originally uploaded by buckyreed

I am really looking forward to the Super Bowl this year now that I have built up my TV B Gone kit. I ordered it from Make Magazine after eating one too many meals in restaurants with blaringly loud TVs. It is basically just a universal remote that turns off any television by cycling through all of the various manufacturer's OFF codes! I soldered it together this morning and am now trying to figure out how to fit it inside my old Nokia cellphone. The LEDs are infrared, so the only way I could check to see if they all worked was to look at it through the viewfinder of my camera. You can try that with your TV remotes; It is pretty cool! Now I'm off to the gym where I can test it on lots of TVs. I'm going to try to hit the sports bars tomorrow and see how well it works in the wild. Hopefully no one will notice why the TVs start turning off during exciting parts of the game.