Control of Canadian Thistle

From a site on "mint" production

Biological Control

Ceutorhynchus litura (crown/root weevil)
Distribution within host range: limited sites
Infestation of host: light (>10%)
Control ability on seeds and/or plant density: Good
Availability for redistribution: Limited

Larinus planus (seed head weevil)
Distribution within host range: limited sites
Infestation of host: heavy (> 70%)
Control ability on seeds and/or plant density: fair
Availability for redistribution: mass collections

Rhinocyllus conicus (seed head weevil)
Distribution within host range: widespread
Infestation of host: heavy (> 70%)
Control ability on seeds and/or plant density: fair
Availability for redistribution: mass collections

Urophora cardui (stem gall fly)
Distribution within host range: widespread
Infestation of host: heavy (> 70%)
Control ability on seeds and/or plant density: fair
Availability for redistribution: mass collections

It seems all you can really do is till frequently (no good for pasture), spray in the spring when the shoots are young and try to spot spray through the growing season to starve the creeping root.

WB Needs Help with Critical Reading

BTW, this study refutes the assertion that "SUVs are safer", as it pertains to children.
WaterBoy | Email | Homepage | 01.03.06 - 3:56 pm |

Anytime I see an article headlined about the evils of SUV's I know it is a good opportunity to show my daughters how journalists, "scientists", and commie-rat-bastards will lie in sneaky ways to affect your opinion on a matter.

First : The Headline
Study: SUVs no safer for kids

Right away this fails the common sense test; So, if I run my suburban with my younguns in it into a camry with your younguns in it mine will get hurt and yours won't? Hmmm.

Second: this statement;

rollover crashes occurred twice as frequently in SUVs as in passenger cars and children were three times more likely to be injured in a rollover crash than in a non-rollover accident

Let's give 'em the higher frequency of rollovers and look at the sneaky way the part about children being three times more likely to be injured got slid in there. Children probably ARE three times more likely to be injured in a rollover, but that does not address rollovers specifically in a SUV. A cute bit of slight of hand reminiscent of the clinton era.

Here are the questions to ask :
What percentage of crashes are rollovers? Sorta like the vitamin that decreases your risk of "X" disease by three times when you only had a 1 in 10,000,000 chance of gettin' it in the first place.
Are rollovers more often reported as opposed to idiots running into inanimate objects or high energy fender benders? The "study" looked at crashes reported to StateFarm so obviously somebody had to have full coverage, or be liable for someone else's damage, it had to be reported to the insurance company, and they must have insurance (With StateFarm) for it to make the sample. If you don't see a lot of trouble in those sample qualifications, I can't help you. Go away.

Third:

"The study looked at crashes reported to State Farm involving 3,933 child occupants"

How often are crashes reported with information concerning child occupants where the child did NOT get hurt, or where noone got hurt in the SUV? I'd wager: none or close to it. We've all been involved in a traffic accident; did the cop want to know who was in the car that wasn't injured?

There is a disclaimer of sorts at the end of the article:

heavier vehicles are generally safer than lighter vehicles within their own class. That is, a big car is safer than a small car and a large SUV is safer than a smaller one.

Data, and common sense has also shown that large SUV's are safer than large and small cars, and minivans/small trucks, and damn near everything is safer than a small (that means REALLY small like the kia sportage or the little suzuki) SUV or a mitsubishi montero (? - I don't know what the story is with this mitsubishi but it's there in the "Deaths per Million Produced")

That's enough to give you the idea, keep lookin' at it and you'll see a lot more in there. The point is the average Waterboy will read the headline and maybe a little of the first paragraph and come to the conclusion that "they" say SUV's are dangerous.

WB, I know I hung you out to dry here, but I suspect you only threw that link up 'cause Bill was hard on ya' about rear wheel drive versus front wheel drive. If so, it was a good tactic but poor strategy, at least here in JACIII's House of Large Cars.

The Leisure-Suit of the 90's

Can you see this fella on his 45 horsepower tassled hippo checkin' himself out in the storefront glass downtown? Maybe at Hooter's big-tippin' little girls so they won't act creeped out around him?
~
~
~
~

Ick.

I thought after the campaign to normalize pedophilia beastiality would be peddled as commonplace, but I must admit to being surprised by this.

MR: "Excuse me I feel the need to go french kiss a tree."

WaterBoy: "Man, I miss that about Michigan. Frenching the maples in March."

MR: "Ah, true but for me the real maple syrup still comes from VT."

I can hear MR's wife now -

MRsMR -"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?"
MR - It's not sex if you don't have intercourse.
MRsMR - Whap!Whap!Whap!Whap!Whap!
MR - OW! Stopit, Honey! She doesn't mean anything to me! Really OW! It's just for the syrup! I don't even really like michigan maples! You know I prefer vermonts! OW!
MRsMR - Whap!Whap!Whap!Whap!Whap! My mother told me there was something wrong with you. I should *Whap!* have listened.
MR - Waterboy does it, too!
MrsMR - If Waterboy jumped off a cliff...Whap!Whap!Whap!Whap!Whap!

MR wants to drive through Mexico with the family

Y'all think that's a good idea?

I would have to do a lot of research before I went with other adults, much less children. I get the impression mexico is a lot like Jamaica - you need to stay in the resort areas to survive.

The Family Truckster

Now that's family transportation! Just look at the ass on those things. And can you beat rear facing thirdrow seats for the fun factor?

For the Record

SB is right.

*and she's a prety good troll spotter, too*

MiniVan Madness

I see 'em all the time. Minivans darting in and out of traffic, passing at the speed of sound on the interstate. Always some henpecked frustrated wimp behind the wheel.
I ask you, really, what kind of man drives a minivan? And past that; What kind of man drives a Minivan fast?

People didn't drive stationwagons this way. I miss stationwagons.

Anatomy of a Business Call

Phone rings. I see it's a local number I don't recognize. Shit. Somebody probably with a nag that can't walk and hasn't been trimmed in a year, and won't get trimmed again for another year. I let voicemail get it and answer the third call the next day.

JACIII - Yeah. (No sense in encouragin' 'em)
Y - Um, I have some horses that need trimming and one in front shoes that needs to be reset.

JACII - Okay, How many need trimming?
Y - Let's see.... 14. And the one in front shoes.

JACIII - What are they?
Y - What are they??? Uh, they're broodmares. Oh, and a weanling, and a yearling. And two stallions.
JACIII - OK, what are they? (She'll catch on in a minute)
Y - Oh, quarterhorses.

JACIII - When were they trimmed last?
Y - Well, they're three weeks overdue.
JACIII - (Deep calming breath) When were they trimmed last?
Y - Oh, we had 'em on an eight week schedule but, like I said they are three weeks overdue, so... eleven weeks.

JACIII - Got it. Why do you have one in shoes. (It's crippled...)
Y - Oh, that's my baby. I've had her since she was a foal. She's eighteen and I just want her to be comfortable. She has some calcium deposits on her knee and the vet in Wisconsin put special shoes on her. I have them if you want to see them. (These turned out to be cheap caulked shoes someone had beaten the toe square one. Not a bad plan except for the caulks)
JACIII - The vet put shoes on her? (oh, shit, a yankee know-it-all with a yankee know-it-all vet.) What happened to her knee?
Y - It's an old injury. The vet didn't actually put the shoes on, my old blacksnith Larry did. I have them if you want to see them. I don't care what it costs I just want her comfortable.
JACIII - (Get's out the old schedule book) Let's see...
Y - What do you charge?


This Lady's horses were extremely well behaved, had long enough legs to get under them (rare for modern dachshund-like Q-horses), was appreciative of the work, but unappreciative of the bill. Hey! That's a lot of horses! And one of the shoes on the old mare is a twenty dollar (my cost) shoe by it's self. She'd have shit if one of the $400.00 (my cost) shoes had been required.
Note the last question was not the first question she asked as is often the case and tells a farrier where the priorities are in their horses care. She is not your typical quarterhorse owner that wants her horse trimmed in such a manner that it will win a show but become unsound down the road. (No, I don't do that. There are plenty of jack-legs out there who will.) She does, however, think they do it better in Wisconson (yankee - can't help it) where everyone is smarter and knows quite alot about horses, so we shall see how this one goes. After I saw her reaction to the bill, I didn't reschedule her but told her to call in a couple weeks to reschedule . That will give her an out (by not calling) and time to find a cheaper farrier so she wouldn't have to lie were I to call to confirm seven weeks from now.

Such is the life of a horseshoer.

Y'all have a great Christmas !

Don't know how much I'll be around this and next week. The grils are off to Grandma's and as soon as I trim 14 horses and shoe one (That takes care of the Christmas bills!) this afternoon I will be following on the Mothership. I am hoping to ride to the Keys next week weather permitting.

Audioblogger is history, so I can't send ride reports, but there's always Nate's Peep Paradise, or EP's new pad, and Vox is picking on girls again. Pick your poison.

I know, I didn't get everyone's links up here, so do what I do and look through the comments for links to Roci and whosyourhuckleberry and the rest. Good readin' all around.

- Update -
Horses done ($400.00 for 2 1/2 hours work!!!!), bike warmed up, showered (Yes, I washed behind my ears), shaved, clean underwear (in case I'm in an accident). See y'all!

Damn Gregg!

Thanks for the video/pics! That's one bigassed tornado!

Tonight's Movie

Unforgiven

Favorite line:
"You just use ya' hand?"

Go See

EP's New Blog and try not to notice that JACIII is listed above Nate's Peep Paradise in the Links frame.

Bow Down

I finally got in a ride under 20F. Went all of 26 miles, speeds up to 95mph @ 19degreesF (That's -7C). My fingertips were a bit frosty even with the heated grips, but the rest of me was toasty due to my new homemade electric jacket/liner under my Harley FXRG riding suit.

Only problem is the grip heaters seem to be getting too hot on the throttle tube and making it stick. I'm callin' the dealer tonight, but anyone with experience with the Kimpex/Dualstar grip heaters feel free to expound. I ran 'em on the low setting and they really didn't seem very warm, but the throttle tube is NOT happy.

Ride Safe, Ride Fast, Ride Far.

It's Always a Good Idea to Be Prepared

Chuck Hawks website has some practical advise on motorcycle safety:

Motorcycle Firearms

By Christopher Lee

With the growing popularity of personal firearms carry among motorcyclists, it's important to find the weapon that best meets our rather specific self defense needs. On occasion, a drunk driver or a car driver experiencing road rage will purposefully ram a motorcycle, which never works out well for the motorcyclist.

Use your superior agility and acceleration to evade the car if you can. However, because the driver is attacking the motorcyclist with a deadly weapon (the car), the motorcyclist is legally entitled to defend him or her self with lethal force, probably a firearm. Will you ever be in this situation? Let's hope not. But should you be, here are some suggestions that might just keep you alive:

1. When selecting a firearm for motorcycle carry, opt for one that has a ported barrel, especially if your choice is a lightweight gun in a magnum caliber. Ported barrels are a relatively new technology, and they significantly reduce the recoil of the firearm. That means that when you are firing from a moving motorcycle, the shot will be less likely to disrupt your balance.

Note: I must add here it is never wrong or even a bad idea to carry a .45 - JACIII

2. Additionally, choose a high velocity medium bore cartridge (.357 Magnum, .38 Super, .357 Sig, or 9mm Luger+P). When you are firing at a moving vehicle, remember that the bullet must penetrate safety glass and still stay on target. .357/9mm high velocity or +P rounds are smaller in diameter than the big bore calibers, but pack a big punch; this translates into more penetration power. I use a Taurus Total Titanium Tracker, which is a very accurate seven shot .357 Magnum revolver.




3. For the same reason, keep relatively heavy weight (for example 158 grain in .357 Magnum) full metal jacket or jacketed soft point ammo in the firearm when on the road. Especially avoid hollow point bullets, which provide less penetration than standard cast lead bullets.


4. Practice firing the weapon from your motorcycle. For this, you need a large, privately owned, sparsely populated property area where you know ahead of time there will be no people wandering around. Start with dry fire practice. Pick a specific target (like a tree) as you are moving and track it, dry firing the gun 3-6 times at the target. Once you are comfortable taking your eyes off the road for the time it takes to fire 3-6 rounds, load the firearm and practice firing one round at a time at a paper target (so you can see where your bullets hit) in front of a safe backstop. Start with a smaller caliber if you have one available. (Another reason I like a .357 Magnum revolver is that you can use the same gun to fire the lighter .38 Special round.) Work your way up until you can empty all the chambers comfortably and accurately with full power ammunition.


5. If you decide to fire, FIRE AT THE DRIVER, NOT THE CAR. Obvious in retrospect, make sure you decide to fire at the driver before you engage to avoid time-consuming, and therefore dangerous, mistakes.


6. Once you hit the driver, get away from the car! The car could go ANYWHERE at that point, and the farther you move away from it, the less likely it is to accidentally hit you.

If you are ever in a situation where you are being attacked with lethal force on the road, it goes without saying that you should try to escape by any means possible that does not endanger your life or the life of innocent bystanders. Evade if you possibly can, resorting to lethal counter-force only as a last resort.

Christopher Lee is a Doctor of Psychology and has been a personal self defense instructor for over twelve years.

I would also like to advocate the use of a left handed crossdraw shoulder rig. All neccessary motorcycle controls are on the right hand. You can up and down shift w/o the clutch with minimal practice so with a left handed draw you retain control of the acceleration and braking functions of you motorcycle while engaging the soon to be remorseful driver with your left hand. I don't believe you will be able to acquire a sight picture so just walk the impacts toward the driver and fire for effect.

Heads Up

This country has gone really bad on two occasions in it's history and with it has gone the hope of the world for free men and free societies.

Things were tickin' along pretty well up until 1861 when the colder and more subservient half of the country (bootlickin' yankee scum; beady-eyed cocksuckers all) became enthusiastic willing cannon fodder for those in power with imperial urges. The better half of he country was raped and pillaged and an attempt was made to remake these occupied territories in the image of the land of beady-eyed cocksucker's . It didn't work, even some of the beady-eyed cocksuckers began to realize their mistake, but the foundation of overreaching federal power was laid.

The second time things really went to shit: FDR, the great depression, the emergency powers act, confiscation of gold, the federal reserve. That finished it. No way back from that. We've been fucked ever since, just by varying degrees.

Lecture over. I'll hear no more surprised indignation from anyone proclaiming their rights violated. The only time said 'rights' are retained or defended is when someone is able to shine the light of truth through the illusion of freedom those runnin' the place hide behind. Even then they only genuflect toward the constitution until the light moves on at which time they creep out from the holes the crawfished into and carry on. Business as usual. 'nuff said.

Quit bitchin'. Hoarde ammo.

DOH!

A friend of mine suffered from horrible back pain that would come and go but after a while seemed to just never go away. So he went to the doctor and went throught the whole nine yards, proctologist, MRI EVERYTHING. His doctor finally broke the news to him that his condition was chronic and that the only relief he might hope to find was through a radical surgery that involved removal of some tissue including his testicles.

Back pain ain't so bad.
But after a while the constant misery and pain or the alternative of a drug induced stupor was just too much to bear, so my friend bit the bullet and opted for the surgery.

Whew!

What a difference! After the surgery he felt like a new... errr... man without balls. But his back pain disappeared.!

Still he was depressed. No balls, who wouldn't e depressed? he was so depressed that his doctor picked up on it. No psychologist, yet a caring empathic kinda man, the doc suggested to my friend that he might feel better after buying some sharp new clothes, a new suit even.

My friend being the obedient type decided to give that a try.
So my friend stops by at JoS Banke. As soon as he walks in one of the salesmen says to my friend "42 long!"

Darned if that isn't his jacket size, and being surprised by the astute young salesman, my friend responds, hey that's right! How'd you know my jacket size?

The salesman replies "that is my job sir. Will you be needing a new jacket and some pants, 34 waist, 36 inseam?"

Again my friend is surprised at the correct estimation of his pants size he replies, "hey that's right! How'd you know my pants size?"

Same response from the salesman, "that's my job sir."

So the salesman gets my friend all set up with new pants, jacket, shirt (yeah he got the size right on the shirt too), tie, even socks. Then while the salesman was ringing up the order my friend stopped him saying "hey, I need some new briefs too, would you add a half dozen size 34 briefs to my order?"

At which the salesman stops cold and says forcefully "NO SIR!" You need a size 36 brief!

My friend a bit taken aback retorted with a hesitant chuckle "sorry you are wrong on that one; I've always worn size 34 briefs."

Looking very serious now, the salesman puts his hand on my friend's shoulder seeming as if to communicate an exceptional graveness of some horrible issue about to befall the world. The salesman then, staring earnestly into my friend's eyes says "oh no sir, if you were to wear size 34 briefs for a prolonged time, they would bind your testicles and cause you to suffer unbearable back pain."

Shout out to Gregg!

This months Motorcyclist has and editorial column where the author raves about the DRZ-400 he's ridin'. Three pages of gushin' over what fun it is. For y'all who don't know this is Gregg's primary mode of transportation and he is justifiably proud of his mount.

The DRZ 400 is in a class of road going semi-serious trail bikes. The class includes the KLR650 (affectionately known as the Swamp Thing - Mine was blue and I called her Blue Yonder), the Honda XR 400 and XR650, Yamaha is curiously absent from the lineup except for the WR400 with is pretty dirt focused.



Now Gregg has the Suzuki and loves it, I've had the Kaw and can either sing it's praises or cuss its foibles by turns. Surely one of y'all has ridden the Honda, yes?

Gary Sticks His Head Up.

There's his shadow right over there. G'night, Gary.

Seriously, Gary has been a busy beaver.... groundhog. Alright consider that analogy stretched. Check out his New Rules for 2006 for a hoot.

My favorite:

New Rule: Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn't make you spiritual. It's right above the crack of your ass. And it translates to "beef with broccoli." The last time you did anything spiritual, you were hoping to goodness you weren't pregnant. You're not spiritual. You're just high.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

From the man who has seen EVERY Leonardo DiCaprio movie:

"Titanic was nothing to be sneezed at. You didn't like it?"

You're right. It was nothing to sneeze at. It's better described as something to wipe your butt with.

Worst.

Movie.

Ever.
Nate | Homepage | 12.11.05 - 2:38 pm | #