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Terry, Thank you for sharing your bird shots, and as Luke said the tempo is appreciated, not too fast and the pleasant moosic is relaxing. The shot of the raptor flying with a fish in its talons almost perfectly replicates a photo I got years ago of an Osprey flying over its nest with a fish in hand shot over the Sea of Cortez. Well, maybe not in it's hands exactly, but you know...... You have a beautiful back yard, I am glad to see you are doing well. Keep up the good work. Jeff

Slim, In your initial post you asked, "How can people use anything for an excuse to riot, loot and burn down property that had nothing to do with anything?" In my experience people don't generally riot when their utility rates increase, or when their neighbor has a bbq and does not invite them to the party, or even when politicians are caught with their hand in the cookie jar.... This murder is an affront to the decency of all who have seen the video. Way past anything. It seems most of the posts have acknowledged the truth of each others position, the cop who kneeled for several minutes on the neck of a handcuffed man prone on the street seemingly oblivious to his cries for mercy or assistance, the other cops who either participated in the excessively forceful restraint of the man, or did nothing to intervene and prevent a tragic and unwarranted death are all guilty of using excessive force under the color of authority. I don't know if more training would have changed the outcome, but common sense says that was all wrong. As someone said before, you would not treat a dog like that. Maybe the "prudent man test" is all that is needed to end the debate. Yes the looting is a crime in progress, lots of white youngsters participating. For many it is an opportunity to get some free stuff and have their few minutes of fame. Criminal, senseless and sad. The consequences will be far reaching and play out over a long time. Jeff

SoCal, As Desertpilot mentioned Gorilla glue works for him, I have been using Gorilla wood glue on various non wood projects and found it to work well. If the surface to be bonded is smooth I rough it up with sandpaper and the bond is very strong. (Probably not the thing for assembling a fuselage tho...) I have also had good results using the tubes of construction adhesive from the big box stores, several brands available. Again surface prep. is important, scratch it up, dust off, apply glue and clamp or compress. Now if I could just get these fingers separated.... Have fun. Jeff

Terry, That is a beautiful area, thanks for letting all of us go on a hike with you. Jeff

Thanks for doing this Hermit, young people need to be exposed to mining and agriculture. Many of them don't have a clue where there food and Iphones come from..... Jeff

Good evening all, Well, this is all getting much more understandable thanks to all of the well reasoned and nuanced contributions. Yes, a bit of sarcasm there, I know it when I speak it! Thank you Terry S. for your post, and thank you for volunteering, (is that how you spell volunteering?), as far as the comments regarding the post fromTerry S. as being uncaring about the plight of people of color or whatever the currently acceptable term is I think they are clearly un warranted. Please see the response from Terry S....... As for me, I know a number of health care people, nurses, medics, nurse practitioners etc. I have heard them express their feelings about patients who had serious issues and sometimes bad outcomes and it did not matter what color the patient was. And oh yea, their votes were in support of left, right or who knows where candidates..... Where I live today, my neighbors are all people of color, (whatever that means) and it kind of reminds me of the neighborhood I grew up in in Orange County, Ca. back in the the fifties, except that today I am the only anglo on the block. In my youth my neighbors were white people and we had a good tight knit community, and it was a great block to grow up in. Some years later when a "person of color" bought a home there with a large family, I remember some of the neighbors were all abuzz with talk about how "they" would damage property values, seriously fretting they were. My parents told me, that family is just like us and ignore that crap, nobody panicked and sold and the family who looked different were accepted and life went on..... People need to stop attributing motives to people of a different political persuasion..... I hope the first nations people on the reservations get proper care just as I would hope for anyone. Black, brown or whatever, we are all human beans. I honestly believe there is much more common ground than not. So here is to Olive branches! In light of the current Corona Virus threat I will have another Modelo Especial, thank you. Stay well everyone Jeff

Tom, I was lucky to have caught it quickly and I was kind of aware of the possibility because it had happened before and not knowing better replaced it with copper again. Last time for that!

Bob, I hope you are staying well in your beautiful state, and continuing to make cool critters. I am in California and like most of the world many things here have changed dramatically. I went to my friends restaurant today to join him for lunch, for the first time in a month. His place is gigantic, ten K sq. feet on two levels. They shut down weeks ago and let all of the hourly people go which was very tough and remained completely closed for a few weeks. About ten days ago they opened up to provide take out only using only salaried staff, the GM is taking orders and running food, the VP is cleaning and cooking and the place looks like a ghost town, the menu is very limited but the food they are providing is first quality and well received. Interestingly the state has relaxed the rules dealing with alcohol sales and they are selling pitchers of margaritas and beer for off site consumption, something never allowed before this crisis. They all are wearing masks and gloves and doing their best to comply with best practices advice. It was great to have a killer burger and see people doing their best during difficult times.... Off subject but it is better to ask for forgiveness than wait for permission sometimes.... As to the supply shortages, yes, they exist. I think tho, to attribute all of the problems to one person is going a bit far. The Federal government is an enormous and ungainly organization, or disorganization as the case may be. There is a multitude of departments within which operate with a large degree of autonomy. Department heads do not have to wait for an order from one man to commence operations, distribute supplies, and coordinate efforts. Another branch has been less than cooperative with the executive branch prior to and throughout this pandemic. I have seen governors interact with the president in cordial conversations and to suggest that the president only provides assistance to executives who are being laudatory is not a supportable position, unless of course clear evidence can be presented. I suspect that if the prior top executive were still in office the preparation and response to the crisis would have been very problematic as well and the constant vitriolic media coverage simply would not happen, also as someone mentioned the individual states have a responsibility to have appropriate emergency management plans in place to deal with disasters. If anyone believes that the not to be mentioned official is so venal and of such a low character as that, then we have much to repair as a nation. Stay safe people, Jeff

Nice job on the photos, and the gold ain't too shabby either. We are fortunate that most of our kind that roam around the hills are great people. Maybe three years ago I was ripping down Castle Hot Springs road in my hot rod turbo diesel powered Samurai when my oil pressure went to zero, I was lucky to have noticed it and shut it down. The crankcase had no oil showing on the dip stick and the cause of the crisis was the copper line from the back of the head through the fire wall and into the gauge... The copper had work hardened from vibration and snapped. I was standing there and a local cattle rancher passed by me in his truck and gave me a lift back to camp. I think I went into Wickenberg and got some tubing to repair the problem and filled it up with oil and down the road I went. That part of the road looked like it had been oiled by the county... After getting home I replaced the line with a flexible steel line. Then there was the time Patrick had to find me at night navigating by my signal fire...... Good people. Thank you for a great post!! Jeff

BMc, Thank you for posting, wonderful photo, that is one of the things I enjoy most about Az. The stuff growing is amazing, I still remember several years ago I was in Gold Basin motoring along on my quad going down a wash and as I came around a bend and, WHAM, I was hit in the face with the most intense scent of sage, I think it was sage, and it was amazing yep it has been six or so years and I still remember it. That desert is a constant source of wonder..... Lizards, blooming cacti, snakes, rocks, lead deposits, space rocks, incredible sunsets, and sometimes golden rocks. Not to mention all of the interesting two legged critters wandering around. Cheers, Jeff

Well, the good news is the flowers are still beautiful and smell amazing, the California Poppys are ablaze on the hillsides and my dog seems comfortable. I am a very fortunate guy. Thankfully the kids and my friends are well and observing reasonable protocols. Did some painting today, had an emergency delivery of Modelo Especial, and fixed the swamp cooler. Thanks all for keeping us all informed, throw another log on the fire, it is a fine evening here. You guys stay safe. Jeff

There is a lot of great information to be found here, thank you to members who have made the effort to research the subject and provided information to help others. Community.... Yep, regardless of the many disparate ideas and opinions posted everyone seems to be truly operating from an honest viewpoint. Kind of like a large family with vastly different personalities, education and life experience..... Sometimes keeping the chatter apolitical is a challenge but it seems to be working with a little help from the moderators. Thank you moderators, yours is a challenging task indeed! We as a society are pretty well covered from head to toe with information lately, and I for the most part chosen to keep the news input down to a dull roar.... I figure if something truly important comes to light one of you guys will let everyone know. So gracias amigos! I like Bob's creations, I make stuff from empty beer bottles, cans, railroad stuff, scrap wood etc., in fact a friend recently viewed my unfinished piece and opined , "Horder huh?" Oh well I thought, you just wait until i get my Nevada and Wyoming plates on the piece, then you will see! On the other hand, he wore a green glove, no wait that is not it... On the other hand, I have been taking great pleasure from the reduction of vehicle traffic on freeways and surface streets, the ambient noise level has been reduced significantly at my home. Instead of a constant drone of trucks and cars I hear dove, crows and other feathered friends, the air quality which usually is bad here has improved greatly, beautiful blue skies and nice clouds. The trees are enjoying the respite from the normal dismal skies and are blossoming and swaying happily in the breeze, many of the flowers in the neighborhood are bursting with color and the smell of honeysuckle and jasmine are wafting around. As i told a friend who was kind of going down hill with the new normal stuff, take a walk, put your bare feet on the lawn and enjoy the soft coolness of the grass, take notice of the trees, birds, sky and be grateful.... A huge part of the world would sell their souls to have a small amount of the blessings most of us are lucky to have here.... So thanks to a big strange family gathered around the digital camp fire. Credit to Jim Straight RIP for that comment... Keep it up guys, use your good senses and stay well.... Keep yur powder dry, Jeff

Amazing and inspiring story, thank you for posting it!

Max, Good story, it reminded me of when I was a kid, and we were in Joshua Tree and my dad helped a guy with a mechanical problem of some kind, I don't remember what and the guy had us go to his mine some where in what is now the park. I was very young but fondly remember the giant rock forms and boulders, like a giants playground. Thanks for posting Max. Jeff

Max, Yep, two thumbs for sure! Thank you. Keep em coming!!! Jeff