For nearly as long as I can remember I've had an active aquarium.
My first aquarium was a metal framed, slate bottomed 5 gallon unit that a friend and neighbor, David Lee, gave to me. My first fish were angels and sword tails. Eventually I discovered the fish that really embroiled me into the world of the fresh water tropical fish hobbyist: The Oscar.
It was wrong, of course, but my first oscar was a baby that I tossed into that 5 gallon aquarium. It grew rapidly and I had to give it away. For my birthday, my dad bought me a 29 gallon aquarium and took me to a pet store in another town with the promise that he would pay for something like $20 of fish. Wow! I bought another Oscar. Not any oscar, THE oscar. He was a red oscar and he was brilliant! He took food from my fingers, was stick trained (when I held up a green stick (glass scraper) he would immediately go to the bottom of the tank, submissively. When I worked in the tank he would simply watch me, but when my brother or father placed their hands in the tank he would attack them. Seriously.
I loved that fish.
Trying to find tank mates was difficult. Had to be other, tough cichlids that were too big to swallow, but not big enough to cause Oskee any grief. One day I brought home a Jack Dempsey. It was about 3 or 4 inches long. Oskee was 8 inches long. I thought I had met the necessary criteria for a tank mate but I was very wrong.
Over night Oskee attempted to eat the Jack. Unfortunately the Jack was far too large to swallow, and his fins lodge themselves in Oskee's throat. Oskee eventually died. I was so upset my parents kept me out of school that day; I made a little grave for him and held a funeral in our back yard.
I haven't been quite so attached to any fish since Oskee, but I do still enjoy them and still find them fascinating.
My most recent large, oddball fish was an Osphronemus goramy named "G". Got him at about 2 or 3 inches and raised him up to about 10 inches or so. He was full of character and all the neighborhood kids thought he was cool because he tried to bite their fingers through the glass. But O. goramy gets BIG. I gave him to a friend who had a more suitable tank and now "G" is happily growing in his new environment (last I saw him I would guess he is about 14 inches long and growing).
My current project is to maintain a (more or less) community aquarium where the fish live together peacefully. That's a hard one for me, as I prefer big, burly, aggressive fish. Still, the little ones have pretty colors and are fun to look at and there is less drama and trauma associated with fish that aren't always fighting.
Still, the old urges slip in and I dropped a couple of baby sunfish into the tank. It's hard to say how that will progress - but sunnies can be terrors. For now, however, all the tetras and other fish are much larger than the baby sunnies.
On a side note, we had to move our crayfish (we caught a baby up at White Horse Lake last July) who had grown to 4 inches in length and had begun hunting and eating the fish. We placed him in Isaac's tank with a full grown male firemouth cichlid. The crayfish can't get him, he fights back. :) So at the moment there is a stalemate. If necessary the crayfish will get his own tank.
Anyway, I cannot foresee a time when I do not have an aquarium.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Song Lyrics in the age of the Internet
When I was a kid we didn't have the internet. We didn't have computers for that matter. One of the things that I love about the internet and modern music players is that they can download and display song lyrics as the song is playing.
Back up 30+ years. I used to listen to my radio (WRKO) at night and every once in awhile I'd hear a song I liked. To help me remember it I'd record it on a tape recorder, then play it over and over again, writing down the lyrics a verse at a time! If the sound quality was bad (and it was usually, recording a song on an AM station being played on a cheap radio) it could take time to figure it out.
Fast forward to the present. There is a song from the late 70's that I like entitled "No Time To Lose" written and played by the Tarney-Spencer band. Found the song on YouTube recently and enjoyed listening to it. I googled the lyrics and found that *gasp* there were only two versions out there and both were bad. Both were missing words, had the wrong words in certain sections, etc. So... I reverted to the olden days and began playing it over and over again on YouTube until I was satisfied that I had them down correctly, or at least 95% correct. I may be missing the word "and" at the beginning of one of the verses. Here you go... in all its glory:
Back up 30+ years. I used to listen to my radio (WRKO) at night and every once in awhile I'd hear a song I liked. To help me remember it I'd record it on a tape recorder, then play it over and over again, writing down the lyrics a verse at a time! If the sound quality was bad (and it was usually, recording a song on an AM station being played on a cheap radio) it could take time to figure it out.
Fast forward to the present. There is a song from the late 70's that I like entitled "No Time To Lose" written and played by the Tarney-Spencer band. Found the song on YouTube recently and enjoyed listening to it. I googled the lyrics and found that *gasp* there were only two versions out there and both were bad. Both were missing words, had the wrong words in certain sections, etc. So... I reverted to the olden days and began playing it over and over again on YouTube until I was satisfied that I had them down correctly, or at least 95% correct. I may be missing the word "and" at the beginning of one of the verses. Here you go... in all its glory:
Tarney-Spencer Band... No time to lose...
Every day I walk in shadows
I know not what it is I'm heading for
As the evening light is dying
A gentle heart lies near me sighing
You feel the same
Will you ever change
You can never understand
We can only be like water
Rolling on to find our way
Just get on with the game
With the game, what a game
No time to lose, no time to lose
No time to lose, no time to lose
Go with the flow, never let go
No time to lose...
There ain't no way to see forever
It's only day to day I'm living for
Like a wheel you keep me turning
It's your love inside me burning
The question's plain,
Will your love remain?
You can never understand
We can only be like water
Rolling on to find our way
Just get on with the game
With the game, you know the game
No time to lose, no time to lose
No time to lose, no time to lose
Go with the flow, never let go
No time to lose...
You can never understand
We can only be like water
Rolling on to find our way
Just get on with the game
With the game...
No time to lose, no time to lose
No time to lose, no time to lose
Go with the flow, never let go
No time to lose...
No time to lose, no time to lose
No time to lose, no time to lose...
Monday, February 1, 2010
Better off in a bubble?
There is a lot of hate and hurt in this world. People seem to enjoy attacking other people's beliefs, life styles, education, lack of education, choice of clothing, choice of reading materials, hair styles, make up, etc.
Sometimes I think it is just best to believe what you believe, and live your life according to how you think it should be lived and let it go at that. If there is something good in that, it will be seen. In the end, good is good and nothing can change that.
I, like everyone else, can have some strong opinions but I think that perhaps from now on I will follow Jame's advice (and my favorite quote): be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.
Of course if I am asked for my opinion, that might be a different matter.
Sometimes I think it is just best to believe what you believe, and live your life according to how you think it should be lived and let it go at that. If there is something good in that, it will be seen. In the end, good is good and nothing can change that.
I, like everyone else, can have some strong opinions but I think that perhaps from now on I will follow Jame's advice (and my favorite quote): be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.
Of course if I am asked for my opinion, that might be a different matter.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Sown among thorns...
I don't know about you but the world really has its fingers in me. I absolutely must have my time to play games, go off-roading/geo-caching, etc. I strive for the latest software or hardware technology, at least to what I can afford. I enjoy my hobbies.
Now, there is nothing wrong with those things, but are they what is most important? Are they what I should focus on?
When the commonly reviled Jehovahs Witnesses come to my door I don't say "not now," or "thanks but no thanks," because I see in them a willingness to do the Lord's work that I often lack. Instead I talk with them for awhile, offer them drinks, etc. There are a few who are regulars now that come by to talk and we enjoy our talks. Sometimes they leave me with research to do, sometimes I leave them with some research. It's nice.
But they always remind me how wrong my life is and how unwilling I am to adjust and adapt to what the Lord has in store for me.
From Mark 4 (NET Bible - Parable of the Sower explanation):
4:18 Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word, 4:19 but worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it produces nothing.
Now, there is nothing wrong with those things, but are they what is most important? Are they what I should focus on?
When the commonly reviled Jehovahs Witnesses come to my door I don't say "not now," or "thanks but no thanks," because I see in them a willingness to do the Lord's work that I often lack. Instead I talk with them for awhile, offer them drinks, etc. There are a few who are regulars now that come by to talk and we enjoy our talks. Sometimes they leave me with research to do, sometimes I leave them with some research. It's nice.
But they always remind me how wrong my life is and how unwilling I am to adjust and adapt to what the Lord has in store for me.
From Mark 4 (NET Bible - Parable of the Sower explanation):
4:18 Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word, 4:19 but worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it produces nothing.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
3rd Wheel in my own head
Most of my dreams are fairly uneventful. The more interesting dreams are relatively far and few in between. I can count on one hand my three or four most interesting (in all of my life), those being "the turnaround," "big bird," "superhero" and last night "southern belle." Yes, I title my dreams. I'll summarize my previous dreams before going into "southern belle."
"The turnaround" was my anti-nightmare dream. I think I was about 8 years old, and it started out as one of those typical running from a monster but can't move fast enough dreams. But at some point, I just got angry. I had enough of being chased, I turned and even tho' the monster was a LOT bigger, I attacked it. I never had another nightmare of that sort again.
"Big bird..." what can I say? It started out as one of my other more interesting dreams, a repetitive dream. The dream started as it usually does, driving down an alternate world Rt. 93 toward an alternate world Boston. Usually the dream takes me right into downtown Boston but not this time. This time I veered off an exit heading West. The road turned into a country road and there was a pull off area, so I did. I got out of my car and I heard a crashing noise in the surrounding woods and out popped Big Bird. He ran straight at me and all of a sudden I became Big Bird (looking out through the costume and everything) and was heading back into the woods, down a rough path. I began to hear chanting and a man speaking. I snuck up to where the sound was and saw a large circle of people with one man "preaching" and the others all murmuring excitedly and nodding, etc. I listened closely and heard the man speak about... the elliptical orbits of the planets in our solar system. So at that point, I had to get across the circle, my path continued on the other side. I started stepping through the crowd (still Big Bird) saying "excuse me, sorry, excuse me" all the way across and then I ran like crazy. Next thing I knew I was in the kitchen of the house I grew up in (Stoneham) relating the story to my parents.
"Superhero" was just fun! I got to play a spy, then a superhero-like person who could fly and was super-strong and I had to battle with aliens. Enough said about that!
Last night's dream was different. As far as I know, I am always a part of my dreams. Last night I was not. Not only was I not involved in any way, but the dream I had was just bizarre. It was set in the Civil War era and centered around the life of a young woman, a Southern Belle. I was just a 3rd person point of view, a sort of floating camera. It started all happy, her family owned a plantation, she was rich. I will breeze through this a bit: In the process of the North Army coming and going (gaining ground, losing ground) she somehow had half her face shot off. Literally gone, just a sort of pit. She took to wearing a porcelain half-mask and continued on with her life. Fast forward, the North finally took control of the region, she was placed under house arrest and her house was occupied by Northern troops. (Again, I am skipping detail, but the dream itself kept jumping into the future). Finally, she irritated the Northern soldiers in her house so much they took away her porcelain mask and her face was filled with what looked like terracotta instead, and she was chained up with her own slaves.
And that is pretty much how it ended, as I awoke because my arm went numb due to my daughter being in our bed last night and I slept on one side at the edge of the bed all night.
Anyway, that dream will go down as one of my more interesting ones, I think.
Back to work, I have deployments to make and testing to be done.
"The turnaround" was my anti-nightmare dream. I think I was about 8 years old, and it started out as one of those typical running from a monster but can't move fast enough dreams. But at some point, I just got angry. I had enough of being chased, I turned and even tho' the monster was a LOT bigger, I attacked it. I never had another nightmare of that sort again.
"Big bird..." what can I say? It started out as one of my other more interesting dreams, a repetitive dream. The dream started as it usually does, driving down an alternate world Rt. 93 toward an alternate world Boston. Usually the dream takes me right into downtown Boston but not this time. This time I veered off an exit heading West. The road turned into a country road and there was a pull off area, so I did. I got out of my car and I heard a crashing noise in the surrounding woods and out popped Big Bird. He ran straight at me and all of a sudden I became Big Bird (looking out through the costume and everything) and was heading back into the woods, down a rough path. I began to hear chanting and a man speaking. I snuck up to where the sound was and saw a large circle of people with one man "preaching" and the others all murmuring excitedly and nodding, etc. I listened closely and heard the man speak about... the elliptical orbits of the planets in our solar system. So at that point, I had to get across the circle, my path continued on the other side. I started stepping through the crowd (still Big Bird) saying "excuse me, sorry, excuse me" all the way across and then I ran like crazy. Next thing I knew I was in the kitchen of the house I grew up in (Stoneham) relating the story to my parents.
"Superhero" was just fun! I got to play a spy, then a superhero-like person who could fly and was super-strong and I had to battle with aliens. Enough said about that!
Last night's dream was different. As far as I know, I am always a part of my dreams. Last night I was not. Not only was I not involved in any way, but the dream I had was just bizarre. It was set in the Civil War era and centered around the life of a young woman, a Southern Belle. I was just a 3rd person point of view, a sort of floating camera. It started all happy, her family owned a plantation, she was rich. I will breeze through this a bit: In the process of the North Army coming and going (gaining ground, losing ground) she somehow had half her face shot off. Literally gone, just a sort of pit. She took to wearing a porcelain half-mask and continued on with her life. Fast forward, the North finally took control of the region, she was placed under house arrest and her house was occupied by Northern troops. (Again, I am skipping detail, but the dream itself kept jumping into the future). Finally, she irritated the Northern soldiers in her house so much they took away her porcelain mask and her face was filled with what looked like terracotta instead, and she was chained up with her own slaves.
And that is pretty much how it ended, as I awoke because my arm went numb due to my daughter being in our bed last night and I slept on one side at the edge of the bed all night.
Anyway, that dream will go down as one of my more interesting ones, I think.
Back to work, I have deployments to make and testing to be done.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Just a brief update.
Nothing much going on. That's not true, tons of things are going on, but nothing Earth shattering. Isaac and cub scouts, Anabelle and Space Pirates and soon, Daisies, work for me, choral group for Sandra... Anyway, I just added an RSS feature to my own web site - see if it works for you:
Mike's Junkyard Blog
Select the link and add it to your favorite RSS reader.
As for the site itself; It's my site where I muck around, play mostly. I wrote it in Euphoria. You can see some of the source code by clicking the links on the "links" page.
Mike's Junkyard Blog
Select the link and add it to your favorite RSS reader.
As for the site itself; It's my site where I muck around, play mostly. I wrote it in Euphoria. You can see some of the source code by clicking the links on the "links" page.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Geode Caching and Windows 7
We geo-cached today. We broke a personal record and found a series of 30 caches over 4 hours. It was a blast! Isaac came up with his own joke: What do you get when you cross a rock with geo-caching? Geode-caching (hence the title). Pretty funny!
We also went to the carnival that was in town. Sandi, Isaac and Anabelle drove, I decided to walk Cookie (one of our dogs) to the carnival. We got there and at first she was just a little anxious. Over time she grew more and more anxious until a booth where you threw darts at balloons just pushed her over the edge and the poor thing was terrified. I took her away from the carnival and waited for Sandi and the kids to finish up.
Other than that the only thing left to announce is that I am legal now with Windows 7. My official copy of Win 7 Ultimate arrived today and I've installed it. It was a bit of a pain since there was no upgrade path from beta to final, but that's alright, sort of starting with a clean system and I saved off a lot of my data ahead of time - using the transfer took and some manual backups. I kind of miss the little beta message at the bottom, right-hand corner of the screen.
We also went to the carnival that was in town. Sandi, Isaac and Anabelle drove, I decided to walk Cookie (one of our dogs) to the carnival. We got there and at first she was just a little anxious. Over time she grew more and more anxious until a booth where you threw darts at balloons just pushed her over the edge and the poor thing was terrified. I took her away from the carnival and waited for Sandi and the kids to finish up.
Other than that the only thing left to announce is that I am legal now with Windows 7. My official copy of Win 7 Ultimate arrived today and I've installed it. It was a bit of a pain since there was no upgrade path from beta to final, but that's alright, sort of starting with a clean system and I saved off a lot of my data ahead of time - using the transfer took and some manual backups. I kind of miss the little beta message at the bottom, right-hand corner of the screen.
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