A Memo From Howard Hughes

This is not a joke, just something that fell into my lap I must share. As far as I know it is a real, actual memo written by Howard Hughes at what appears to be the height of his OCD.

OPERATING MEMORANDUM

Subject: Proper operating procedure for Bungalow 1 C Date October 13, 1958

There are certain areas within the Bungalow 1 C area that have been set aside by Johnny Holmes for the storage of my personal things. There are also other areas that have been set aside for future use by Johnny and his people. These designated areas, which Johnny will mark clearly or designate verbally to all concerned, should be avoided by everyone outside of Johnny’s area of operation. I do not want anybody, under any circumstances, no matter what the emergency may be, to touch these areas or go anywhere near them. I do not want anyone to touch the telephone that Johnny uses, nor any of his equipment that he has put away in storage in the Bungalow or any of my things there, or anything connected with my things.

It is extremely important to me that nobody ever, under any circumstances, no matter what the emergency may be, no matter how extreme the emergency, no matter what pressures are put on, no matter how unusual the circumstances may be, goes into any room, closet, cabinet, drawer, or any other area which is either used by Johnny or indicated by Johnny to be reserved by him for my things in connection with my food operation or any other phase of my operation that Johnny takes care of. I want to make sure that nobody opens any doors to any rooms, closets, cabinets, drawers or in any way, touches any portion of these areas.

I say again, no matter how strong the emergency may be, no matter how extreme the emergency may be, no matter how unusual the circumstances may be, no matter how extreme the emergency, it is extremely important to me that nobody - nobody ever, ever goes into any room, closet, cabinet, drawer, bathroom, which is either used by Johnny or indicated by Johnny to be reserved for him, or which is used to store any of the things used in connection with my food, magazines or anything that is used for me.

I say once more, no matter, no matter what the emergency, no matter how extreme the emergency, no matter how unusual the circumstances, it is extremely important to me; I say once more, no matter how extreme the emergency, no matter how unusual the circumstances may be, no matter what may have arisen, it is extremely important to me that nobody ever goes into any room, closet, cabinet, drawer, bathroom or any other area used to store any of the things which are for me - either food, equipment, magazines, paper supplies, Kleenex - no matter what. And, it is also extremely important to me that no matter what the emergency, no matter how unusual the circumstances, no matter what may have come up, no matter what kind of emergency, it is also equally important to me that nobody ever goes into any room or bathroom or any other area which Johnny has indicated is to be reserved to him only, and it is also equally important that nobody ever touches my telephone or piece of furniture or any fixture or anything of that kind which Johnny has indicated is reserved for him.

Instructions should be given for the operators so that they are not allowed to put calls through there into Johnny’s telephone - which is Bung. I C - so that nobody calls there. Sometimes it rings and the third man has to stall around getting through to the operator to have it switched. Something should be done so the other phone is the one that rings - do you have that kind of deal? I don’t want the third man using that phone, and when it rings it’s a temptation for him to pick it up.

I want you to get the third man on the phone and give him all these Instructions and be awfully, awfully sure when you are talking to him, be sure, be certain, be absolutely positive when you are talking to your third man today or any other time, be sure that he is not using Johnny’s phone, that he is not in a room reserved for Johnny and that he is not in a room used to store any of my things. This is awfully, awfully important to me. I want you to be sure, awfully sure, be certain, be positive that nobody goes into any room or cabinet or closet that is used to store any things in connection with my operation. This is equally important to me - it is equally important to me that nobody ever opens any door or opening to any room, cabinet or closet or anything used to store any of my things, even for one-thousandth of an inch for one-thousandth of a second. This applies even when he does not go in, you understand, even if the man does not enter, it is equally important to me that nobody ever opens the door or the drawer even for a fraction of an inch for a fraction of a second - any drawer, closet, or room, you understand - that is used to store any of my things, whether they be stored or just sitting there, because I don’t want the possibility of dust or insects or anything of that nature entering. I want every thing I have indicated here to be followed to the letter.

I want everything I have said here to be clearly gone over, reviewed, and repeated to everyone concerned. Maybe it ought to be written up - typewritten - and given to the men out in Bungalow 1 C. In fact, I think it not only should be written up and handed to them, but they should commit it to memory and repeat it back to you (Kay) so that you are convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they have it down thoroughly.

Until further orders from me, I want nobody ever to set foot in that Bungalow (1 C) or any of those rooms we have anywhere near the Bungalow excepting only Johnny Holmes, and the two waiters - Karl and Charlie - and the number three men and Harvey. This instruction includes Roy, Harris and George.

Everything I Know About Life I Learned From My Cock

• When you’re up, everyone needs to hear about it
• Don’t let anyone tell you where you can and can’t pee
• Fuck everything
• Every once in a while, you may have to eat some shit
• Don’t get near any other cocks, and don’t let them get near you
• It doesn’t matter how big you are, just how loud you are
• Know the pecking order
• They want you, they all want you, you know they want you
• Just because nobody’s listening, it’s no reason to shut up
• The only thing you have to know about sex is “yes”
• Subtlety gets you nowhere
• Brains are overrated
• Everywhere you look, there’s something edible

Extreme LED Sheep Art

As some of you know, I have sheep, and I thought this was pretty nifty!

Not Everything Is Pretty

"Not everything in the All is pretty to our current focus. Also, there are parts of us who resist moving forward and these parts will oppose us, possibly violently. Because we can't quite cope with the thought of opposing ourselves, we make the "opposition" into an outside force. Sometimes this gets downright ugly and even more difficult to own.

Most of us love drama, action and adventure. Therefore we create it in our lives in one way or another. Believing that we do this is often a hard pill to swallow. The power this "other" has over us is really our belief in an "outside force".....our denial of who we are, and a denial of our power.

~Myrddyn (Alaska), Club Recon Moderator

How was your Thanksgiving?

Here's a cute little Thanksgiving day story. And no, it didn't happen to me. Someone I know shared it with me, and now I'm sharing it with you. Isn't that nice?



Jasper and the Unbaked Yeast Rolls

We have a fox terrier by the name of Jasper. He came to us in the summer of 2001 from the fox terrier rescue program.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this type of adoption, imagine taking in a 10 year old child about whom you know nothing and committing to doing your best to be a good parent.

Like a child, the dog came with his own idiosyncrasies. He will only sleep on the bed, on top of the covers, nuzzled as close to my face as he can get without actually performing a French kiss on me.

Lest you think this is a bad case of 'no discipline,' I should tell you that Perry and I tried every means to break him of this habit including locking him in a separate bedroom for several nights. The new door cost over $200. But I digress.

Five weeks ago we began remodeling our house. Although the cost of the project is downright obnoxious, it was 20 years overdue AND it got me out of cooking Thanksgiving for family, extended family, and a lot of friends that I like more than family most of the time.

I was assigned the task of preparing 124 of my famous yeast dinner rolls for the two Thanksgiving feasts we did attend.

I am still cursing the electrician for getting the new oven hooked up so quickly. It was the only appliance in the whole darn house that worked, thus the assignment.

I made the decision to cook the rolls on Wed evening to reheat Thurs am. Since the kitchen was freshly painted, you can imagine the odor. Not wanting the rolls to smell like Sherwin Williams #586, I put the rolls on baking sheets and set them in the living room to rise for 5 hours. After 3 hours, Perry and I decided to go out to eat, returning in about an hour. An hour later the rolls were ready to go in the oven.

It was 8:30 PM. When I went to the living room to retrieve the pans, much to my shock one whole pan of 12 rolls was empty. I called out to Jasper and my worst nightmare became a reality. He literally wobbled over to me. He looked like a combination of the Pillsbury dough boy and the Michelin Tire man wrapped up in fur. He groaned when he walked. I swear even his cheeks were bloated.

I ran to the phone and called our vet. After a few seconds of uproarious laughter, he told me the dog would probably be OK, however, I needed to give him Pepto Bismol every 2 hours for the rest of the night.

God only knows why I thought a dog would like Pepto Bismol any more than my kids did when they were sick. Suffice it to say that by the time we went to bed the dog was black, white and PINK. He was so bloated we had to lift him onto the bed for the night.

We arose at 7:30 and as we always do first thing; put the dog out to relieve himself. Well, the dog was as drunk as a sailor on his first leave. He was running into walls, falling flat on his butt and most of the time when he was walking his front half was going one direction and the other half was either dragging the grass or headed 90 degrees in another direction.

He couldn't lift his leg to pee, so he would just walk and pee at the same time. When he ran down the small incline in our back yard he couldn't stop himself and nearly ended up running into the fence.

His pupils were dilated and he was as dizzy as a loon. I endured another few seconds of laughter from the vet (second call within 12 hours) before he explained that the yeast had fermented in his belly and that he was indeed drunk.

He assured me that, not unlike most binges we humans go through, it would wear off after about 4 or 5 hours and to keep giving him Pepto Bismol.

Afraid to leave him by himself in the house, Perry and I loaded him up and took him with us to my sister's house for the first Thanksgiving meal of the day.

My sister lives outside of Muskogee on a ranch, (10 to 15 minute drive). Rolls firmly secured in the trunk (124 less 12) and drunk dog leaning from the back seat onto the console of the car between Perry and I, we took off.

Now I know you probably don't believe that dogs burp, but believe me when I say that after eating a tray of risen unbaked yeast rolls, DOGS WILL BURP. These burps were pure Old Charter. They would have matched or beat any smell in a drunk tank at the police station. But that's not the worst of it.

Now he was beginning to fart and they smelled like baked rolls. God strike me dead if I am not telling the truth! We endured this for the entire trip to Karen's, thankful she didn't live any further away than she did.

Once Jasper was firmly placed in my sister's garage with the door locked, we finally sat down to enjoy our first Thanksgiving meal of the day. The dog was the topic of conversation all morning long and everyone made trips to the garage to witness my drunken dog, each returning with a tale of Jasper's latest endeavor to walk without running into something. Of course, as the old adage goes, 'what goes in must come out' and Jasper was no exception.

Granted if it had been me that had eaten 12 risen, unbaked yeast rolls, you might as well have put a concrete block up my behind, but alas a dog's digestive system is quite different from yours or mine.

I discovered this was a mixed blessing when we prepared to leave Karen's house.

Having discovered his 'packages' on the garage floor, we loaded him up in the car so we could hose down the floor. This was another naive decision on our part.

The blast of water from the hose hit the poop on the floor and the poop on the floor withstood the blast from the hose. It was like Portland cement beginning to set up and cure. We finally tried to remove it with a shovel.

I (obviously no one else was going to offer their services) had to get on my hands and knees with a coarse brush to get the remnants off of the floor. And as if this wasn't degrading enough, the darn dog in his drunken state had walked through the
poop and left paw prints all over the garage floor that had to be brushed too.

Well, by this time the dog was sobering up nicely so we took him home and dropped him off before we left for our second Thanksgiving dinner at Perry's sister's house.

I am happy to report that as of today (Monday) the dog is back to normal both in size and temperament. He has had a bath and is no longer tri-color. None the worse for wear I presume. I am also happy to report that just this evening I found 2 risen unbaked yeast rolls hidden inside my closet door.

It appears he must have come to his senses after eating 10 of them but decided hiding 2 of them for later would not be a bad idea. Now, I'm doing research on the computer as to: 'How to clean unbaked dough from the carpet.'

And how was your day?

This is a day of change!

Ice mountain melted
ages ago
and made this ridge,
this place of changes.

Now we are rooted in it,
we of the old ones,
we of the new ones from afar,
oat grass meadow, Douglas fir thicket,
we are rooted in the ridge of changes in the time of changes.

The winds carry strange smells, this is a day of change.

Great ones above and below, bless us!
O shining One above, feed us with your light!
O soft ones, sky darkeners, wash us with your raindrops!
O powers above us, bless us with your gifts,
for we reach up to you,
branching wood and sap.

O Earthmother from whom we grow,
sandy gravel into whom our roots branch wood and sap deep down,
bless us in our night-sleep, in our death and decay.

Bless us, dark earth as we give back
that which we have received
as we make a forest of blessing a ridge of blessings
for the future to grow upon.

~Chinook Psalter

Just because

Just because you can't see something, it doesn't mean it isn't there... I talked about that earlier when I posted those pictures of that cute little flying lizard. And I'm thinking it's one of those universal truths.

For example... just because I haven't posted here for a while, doesn't mean I'm not here. And just because I haven't actually seen a fairy with my eyes doesn't mean they don't live in my field, and just because I don't know where the money is going to come from to pay for a massage, it doesn't mean I won't get one (Actually I got one today! A christmas present from my boss - cool, huh?). And just because I can't see my little dog, it doesn't mean that she isn't here in Spirit... in my heart... The walls of my house remember her... the floors do too... it "feels" as if she must be here somewhere, sound asleep...

So... that's my thought for today. They say that "seeing is believing" and I used to buy into that one big time. But now? I'm not so sure... seeing - not seeing - I can still believe.

My Recent News

My little dog Cinnamin died yesterday. She had been doing so well, and then one day she somehow poked her eye - probably on some stiff field grass - and had to have eye surgery for a corneal abrasion. It was just too much for her to handle... the underlying issues of cancer, kidney disease, and arthritis.... the pain of the surgery, not being able to see while her eye was healing, the stress of the surgery itself, the anesthesia, and the nausea caused by the antibiotics.

She hung around for almost a week, saying her goodby, and then she was gone...

I cannot believe that the sun had the gall to come up this morning, that the leaves and the grasses sparkle in the afternoon light, that birds still sing, or that life will march relentlessly on... and yet it is so.

If I were not surrounded by friends and family who love me and are taking care of me, I might not have the courage to be here now today. So, be kind... be kind to everyone you meet, we all suffer... we all lose those we love... if not sooner - than later... we are all fighting a great fight. The little kindesses make all the difference. And it's good to have friends, even in hell!

Here is a picture of her little sweet self... and an awesome poem to go with it.
Blessings,
Shirley



For what is it to die but to stand naked in the
wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the
breath from its restless tides, that it may rise

and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence

shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountaintop,

then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs,

then shall you truly dance.

~Kahlil Gibran
From The Prophet on Death

Being Unhappy

"According to Buddhism, your unhappiness is never really caused by circumstances. The real cause of unhappiness is your belief that your happiness is caused by circumstances.

You do not have to accomplish or acquire or earn anything to experience peace, love, and joy now. You do not have to "make" your own happiness all you have to do is to stop making yourself unhappy and to remember your own deepest truth as a being of Spirit.

Does this mean that we simply give up all of our desires and dreams? No, because it's not the goals and dreams that are the problem, but rather how we understand and live toward them. Going for your dreams can be an intrinsic part of the joy and passion of your life and can be how you concretely express the love and joy that are your truth. But as soon as you (choose to) believe that your happiness is dependent on a certain outcome, or that "things" have to change for you to be happy, then you are living in fear. You are no longer expressing your joy, but are desperately trying to achieve or earn it."

~ William R. Yoder Ph.D., D.C. ~

I am a lonely painter

"I am a lonely painter. I live in a box of paints. I'm frightened by the Devil And I am drawn to those who a'int..."

~Joni Mitchell

Monkey Mind

"In this age of skepticism, we are skeptical about everything except the skepticism itself. We have put all our faith in skepticism and doubt all else. Is it a wise course of action? Is there a truth out there? Our mind doubts everything except its own capability to find the truth. We have put all our faith in our limited and doubting mind and doubt that there is anything greater than our limited power of intellect.

Are we than any better than a common beast of burden? Even a dog has put its full faith in its limited mind and in its ignorance; it thinks it’s a top of creation. That’s why it remains to be a dog!

In India, they catch monkeys by putting few seeds in a pitcher with a narrow neck, while monkey is watching. As soon as no one is around, monkey darts and grabs the seeds in a pitcher but now with a clenched fist it cannot get hand out of a pitcher. It will not let go because its mind will not let him.

This is what mind does – it plants the seed of doubt through its endless analyzing, fragmenting and splintering of the simple truth, while in all its wisdom it remains completely oblivious of its own limitations. It’s a great mistake to think that mind is the top of evolution because it is not. The soul is! Without soul, the mind would be a dead piece of matter."

~ Daniel Srsa

Invisiblility - It is possible!

Belive it or not, there is a lizard on the trunk of this tree.
Can you see him?
He really is there!
Don't believe me?


Here's a picture of him in profile - on that same tree.
Give up?
Need a hint? Click here to see the lizard marked out in the bark.

Here's more about this intriguing little lizard.


These small lizards live in trees and are masters of Camouflage. If they are sitting on a bark without moving, its almost impossible to find them. On land they are clumsy and easy victims for predators. When scared, they run up a tree.


When threatened, they leap off the tree. With their "wings" stretched out, these long-tailed, lightly built lizards glide gracefully. The wings act like parachutes. They gently land on another tree, head up. When they land, they run up the tree, getting ready for their next flight.

During mating season, male flying lizards defend their territories. They court females by displaying their bright yellow throat flap as shown in the photograph above. They have to, as they are well camouflaged otherwise.

Pretty cool, huh? Just goes to show that it IS possible to be invisible - and that just because you can't see something doesn't mean it isn't there!

Do You Believe in Fairies?

I posted the folowing question about a year ago over at question of the day. And I thought it would be fun to revisit it...

Fairies
Do you believe in fairies? If so, have you ever seen one? Why do you believe in them? If not, why not? And if there is no such thing as fairies, why are there so many stories about them?

We had 2 Comments:

Cindy H said...
Yes, I do believe in fairies! I don't think they are quite as common here in the midwest US, but there are some here. I haven't ever seen one up close and personal, but maybe someday I will! I think fairies are distant cousins, so to speak, of angels, leprachauns, and other magical beings. September 1, 2007 12:48 AM

shirley said...
I believe in fairies too. I have never seen one with my physical eyes - but I have talked to them... and they have talked to me... and I almost knew what they looked like.I had a friend who had fairies on her property and in her house. I spent a long afternoon there once, painting her woodwork. And they would come and talk to me... it was pretty cool. I didn't hear their voices with my ears - I heard them in my mind... the same way that you hear when you are remembering a conversation with someone... like that. They were very curious ... it was pretty cool. And I know how crazy this sounds!
September 1, 2007 2:48 AM

So here we are - a year later... what do YOU think? Have you ever seen a fairy? Are they for real? What do they look like? Are they big? or little? Do they have wings and fly around? Or are fairies a totally made up story? A complete fantasy? Come on guys... talk to me...

SEED Conference Sketchnotes

SEED Conference: Sketchnotes 17
Originally uploaded by Mike Rohde

Ok... so I found this really cool series of sketch notes... I uploaded the latest set at My Work at Home Job. If you are interested in stuff like this - go check it out.!

The Truth About Brutus

The K9 Above is Brutus, a military K9 at McChord. He's huge - part Boxer and part British Bull Mastiff and tops the scales at 200 lbs. His handler took the picture. Brutus is running toward me because he knows I have some Milk Bone treats, so he's slobbering away! I had to duck around a tree just before he got to me in case he couldn't stop, but he did.

Brutus won the Congressional Medal of Honor last year from his tour in Iraq . His handler and four other soldiers were taken hostage by insurgents. Brutus and his handler communicate by sign language and he gave Brutus the signal that meant 'go away but come back and find me'. The Iraqis paid no attention to Brutus. He came back later and quietly tore the throat out of one guard at one door and another guard at another door. He then jumped against one of the doors repeatedly (the guys were being held in an old warehouse) until it opened. He went in and untied his handler and they all escaped. He's the first K9 to receive this honor.

If he knows you're ok, he's a big old lug and wants to sit in your lap. Enjoys the company of cats.

So that's the story that came with the picture. And I like that story! Too bad it isn't true. Here's the real story:

The dog's name is not Brutus; in fact, his name is 'Spike," and he was never a military working dog. Spike is a retired Police Service Dog who served honorably during the years 2001 to 2007 with the Scottsdale Police Department's K-9 Unit in Scottsdale, Arizona, under his handler, Officer Scott DiIullo (who is still with the K-9 Unit and working with a new K-9 partner).

Spike is a Belgian Malinois imported from Europe and weighs less than 100 pounds. Furthermore, police and military working dogs are NOT trained to fatally attack a subject they are deployed upon. Dogs used for handler protection are trained to bite and hold the subject until the subject is taken into custody. There is also no training method to teach a working dog to understand a hand signal to command the dog to leave the area, come back later, and then attack.

Did this really happen?

Ok... so in three days I aged considerably!! One day I was 23 years old, and next thing you know I'm 400!! Yowsers! How does shit like that happen?? All I did was walk through this door:



Then I took a dip in this pool:



Later, I put this thingy together:



And then, I played chess on this chess board:



Geez! No wonder I'm tired!

Ok... This is how old I am... Really!

How old are you? You are over 400 years old! You are from the highlands of Scotland. You are immortal. Accept your destiny. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

So... This is how old I am today!!

You Act Like You Are 23 Years Old

You are a twenty-something at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up. The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

What Age Do You Act?

A Dalmatian On A Tricycle

That’s right, it is exactly what the title post indicates, a dalmatian operating a tricycle. How fun is that?

Update on my dog Cinnamin

My little dog is doing so much better - it's almost unbelievable. When she got sick - which was on Aug 23, she was dehydrated, disoriented, wobbly, weak, refusing food or water, and if you looked at her sideways she was likely to fall down.

Today she went for a swim in the pond, rolled on the grass to dry off, trecked into some pretty high grass trying to sniff out a rabbit, barked at and almost chased the sheep (she couldn't work up to an actual run), ate almost 2 cups of food, and didn't fall down once. We have been spending hours outside, walking around probably a total of 7 or 8 times a day.

I don't have the money to have her re-xrayed to see if the cancer is in remission, and I don't know if she is "cured" or just feeling good. I can tell you that she does not look at all like a sick dog. Yes, you can tell that she's elderly - she is 14 years old - and her knees do bother her some (two knee replacements), so there is a bit of stiffness - but all in all - she looks pretty darn good.

So, to what do I attribute her remarkable recovery? Here is a listing of her "treatment" program:

• Reiki - pretty much all day long
• Genesis Tuning Fork - I had to cut back on it because it really knocked her out when I used it, so I'm down to every 4 or 5 days or so. When I use it, I run it over her about 5 or 6 times. That thing is powerful!!
• Radionics - I have a friend who does this cool thing using a piece of her hair. The day he started up on her I noticed a significant improvement in her energy level. I had never heard of it before, and it really does seem to work.
• Angels and Devas - I have asked for assistance from her guardian angels, and the overlighting Deva of animal healing.
• Shamanic Journey Work - I have journeyed with her more than once.
• Animal Communication - Several people (I'm lucky to have such good friends) have talked to her about how she can be healthy if that's what she wants.
• Prayer - Yes... she has been prayed for - a lot.
• Love - very important, I've also practiced Ho' oponopono on her.
• Time and Attention - spending quality time with her, giving her my full attention (but not in a worried hovering way) also seems to make a difference in how "with it" she is.
• Releasing the outcome - she hovered at death's door until I managed to actually do this. The day that I told her she could go if she wanted to, that I would be fine if she did, and that it was entirely up to her.... that was the day she started to get better.
• A Good Diet - she eats better than I do... seriously!
• Pond Water - that first few days when she was barely eating a teaspoon of food at a time, the pond water was the only thing that kept her going. I have this (possibly superstitious) idea that there is healing life in that pond water.
• The Will to Live - without this, she wouldn't be here now.
• Prednisone - OK... well there's that too...

So, I'll keep you all posted. I do feel really encouraged, and am thinking that she is planning to stay with me at least for another several months. I'm going to try to get some video of her tomorrow - if I succeed, I'll upload it to YouTube and post it here. If the video idea falls apart, I'll at least try to get a picture uploaded soon.