Anno 2006
01/23/06
We are just freewheeling into the year now, nothing more. Work = steady, home = steady, camping = nonexistent. After the Birch Bay holiday vacation, the trips will be slim for a while. As much as I'd like to pour myself into the warm and embracing goblet of Vegas, it's just not going to happen without some impossible windfall. The same is true of the lovely north, and that being the destination of choice during these cooler months. I'm finding a yearning for the high country more than ever, pulling me into thoughts of wondrous palaces dripping with the frigid and unmoving beauty of the master season, the winter. Until such time as we have never seen before, it will have to remain distant. Sigh.
On another front, the Clodmaster is making progress once again. I have experimented with the steering components, the steps of which had remained where we left off last year, and some tie rod ends and drag links are coming into focus. Also, the redesigned and enhanced cantilevers are complete, and will be mounted once I decide on the manner of actuation for the shocks. This is to say, I have changed my mind once again, and the cantilevered system may go away in favor of a centered-link, single-shock type of suspending, much like the mass of RC crawlers that have invaded the market over the last few years. With too much speed now becoming my enemy, crawling at much lower velocities may serve to prolong the life of this which has commanded my time and muscle for so many dozens of months.
To further parallel my physical progress on the machine, I have finally renamed and streamlined the Clodmaster section of the site. Much easier to navigate, and much nicer to look at.
02/01/06
The year is cruising along as usual, and if I may be so pessimistic, the winter in this area is sorely lacking. I certainly miss the changeable weather of beyond.
For recent developments, plenty of smiles are in order. An upcoming trip to the higher country is reason for celebration. Not far (and not terribly far up), but enough for the time being. As I mentioned earlier, we are amidst the slim season now, primarily weekends close to home, and nothing too pricey. The first camping trip is coming up in April, and there are a few more on the horizon, both with and without 'Das Boot'. The trip to the hills represents the first such this year, and hopefully one of many. The peace and comfort are always a welcome experience.
For the remainder of the year, the slim season will definitely dominate. Next winter, however, the cool beauty of Nevada will be the destination for Christmas. Reno and Tahoe are waiting patiently, as always.
04/06/06
Her voice is enchanting. Entrancing, haunting, and beautiful beyond the understanding of the human mind.
Now, I realize that most of the music to which I listen and spend countless hours within deep thought requires painstaking attention and note to detail, but the significance of the vocals which now wander their way through my mind and heart cannot be overstated. Any vocal masterpiece of such caliber must be raised up and heaped with praise accordingly. We shall stand and praise. Now.
In other matters, the flow of the rain outside my window produces thoughts of the forests in fall. Forests without end, without limit and without summer. Even from my chair so far detached from the Master season I can feel the loving frost around me in an embrace of chilled and secluded need. The darkness is surrounding my senses and deriving its windy flow from an inner need to survive among its own kind. It will not let up -- much to the chagrin of my fellow locals -- yet for me it serves to stretch the season's limit to it's fullest. The threat of summer is looming large on the horizon like some giant fiery form waiting to melt away the beautiful ices of the shrunken winter already in passing. Summer waves of scolding heat will soon attack the cold and drag it, screaming and kicking, into the bright sun's waiting cauldron. The fourth season at its mightiest can physically torment the cool rest and quiet of the master season, but that is all. The shortening winter needs no help whatsoever from the creature that is summer, and in fact will shock the remaining summer heat with ravaging ice and wind that can serve to reduce all warmth beyond its capacity for life. This hellish creature will eventually melt us all down until our liquids are all that remain in memory, slowly flowing into the sewers of the future.
Somehow, my mind is above that last sentiment. I sit here enveloped by the thoughts of the oncoming heat and I can't help but feel relief that the uncertain conditions of the third season are nearly defeated. Within the spring beauty there resides a demon drawn from the reaching heart of the hated flames, and the ever changing climate that represents the approaching furnace. This demon lays in wait for any semblance of weakness that is sensed from a lack of the cool and dark, yet I am floating above that presence, peering ever further into the future and locking my vision on the first turned leaf of the fourth season. I am beyond the worry that is produced by an onslaught of flaming winds, the violent disillusion of the prying sun, and the glaring eye of the public, and can focus, even now, on the prize of that frigid, dark, and peaceful quiet that is the home of my mind: Winter.
04/20/06 17:22 pst
Well, another weekend in the forest. What a draw it can maintain on me. Not as cool as the previous trip, but decent nonetheless. There was plenty of rain and clouds overhead and a multitude of laughter in the air, as always.
Often on a trip such as this, the lifestyle of the norm is questioned in the extreme. These questions and concerns arise from a desire to travel beyond the confines of our all-too-familiar concrete jungle, beyond the limits imposed by our collective responsibilities, and into the fuzzy and unknown realm of the nether regions of this world. Places that only exist in the fiction and lore delivered from long past within a lush, inviting, and delicious package painted solely to draw us close.
The discussion of roaming happens beyond our capable control. It has always, and will continue to gain our full attention through its luscious visions of adventure and frontier which now elude our reality.
06/25/06 20:29 pdt
And another sentence beginning with the word 'and'.
Hee.
Over the past several days, the compulsion to travel has been eased a bit. I realize I'm the last individual to be admitting such vulgarities, but necessity can always bring it out with ease. Lately, several short excursions have lightened the burden of dreams and forced the present steadfast lifestyle to the forefront with it's command of attention. This is a very good thing for reasons abundant. The home life has become quite the haven during long spells of writing and can serve to relax even the most confusing periods.
The heated third season can be overwhelming at times, but the current torrent of flame has been rewarding, to put it mildly. Summing the positives of the pool, cold drinks and laid-back time put into the mindful future planning, this heat will most definitely support a superior cold season which, despite the long wait, can heal most inner summer ailments. :-)
As for the camping and warm-weather activities, these are well under way and show no outward sign of ease. The current plan for the Independence day holiday is a four-night excursion to one of the most unrelenting destinations yet. One-hundred-plus degree heat, a lack of showers and cool shade relief, and little sign of comfort in any form turns this camping journey into one of utter survival. This has proven one of the most character-building experiences possible and may yet yield the much needed insight into the mindset of the desert traveler. We'll see if anyone emerges on the far side of the flames.
I shall promptly report thereafter."We sit and drink and show the merry side of life to others, all the while saving throw of the dark and merciless draw of the cold. Even after a day in the flame with so many who worship such an atmosphere, the pulling continues without rest. The possibility of frost and still seems so distant as never before, and the thankful masses can almost draw me into their domain of heat and flexibility."
07/11/06 20:54 pst
The story of the lovely Chrystal is continuing as we sit and breathe. Jennifer Jason Leigh is gracing the HD and the evening is thoroughly entranced as a result. Not my favorite role of hers, but a captivating presence nonetheless.
The past weekend was spent in pursuit of the usual: enhanced states of being and satiating sustenance in the shade. The sun shone down like a fiery demon with a need to scorch the inhabitants of her lair abundant. This demon had control throughout the days spent in the collective and embracing arms of the loved and needed. Absolute control, to be sure. The promised land is so far off now that the mere prospect of achieving even the slightest glance is a mere dream of epic proportions. To see that spire of unending beauty jutting up from the detritus of the daily sludge is such a fleeting hope now that the simplicity of each day's events can underwhelm in the extreme. The yachts of the world continue with their journeys and goings on regardless of the trials of the many and the impossible struggles of the mass of sloth-like inhabitants with which we share this spinning orb.
Somehow and in some form, we achieve forward motion on into the beyond of tomorrow which we face with determined disdain. The forest awaits with open and welcoming arms and all the while those of us aware of it's warm and loving embrace must trudge and plow these endless waves of subconscious force that show no limit nor feeling of lightness with which to ease our journey of life and necessity of a leaping escape. We shall see what the future teaches the beneficiaries of these wondrous and enchanting places of which we can just now only glimpse and dream.
[ 07/28/06 20:00pst ]
Though the weather outside is frightful, the fires are not delightful.
Not so funny or festive, I think. Recent headlines reflect nothing short of an effective slicing of hell on earth. Many power outages, numerous heat-related deaths, and wildfires galore make for an extremely uncomfortable summer season and hardened reinforcement that the master season not only cools and slows a frenetic pace within which we all bumper-car our way, but serves to produce pause and reason for reflection like nothing else in existence.
[ 9/21/06 19:24pst ]
Long time, no nothing... And on the cusp of the autumnal equinox.
Damn, but the weather is improving. I had not calculated it possible after such a dreary 4th season. Who knew? Still, it is a slow transition, and surely not one without it's rewards. A trip to the high country is planned for the holidays, and that thought is enough to carry along those of us whom thrill at the possibility of cool. Cool rules.
Thoughts and dreams of escape to wondrous places have been on the minds of us both lately. Combined with the prospect of a new camper or motorhome, this can be a powerful motivator out of the daily grind. The drive to reorganize and make revolutions for full speed out of here is building. We will see what the fourth and Master seasons bring to the dance before any type of decision is made."Something frightfully akin to clairaudience seems a necessary tool for living life in these late days, and yet still the masses float through with nary a thought toward involvement within circles of knowing -- and knowing little, to be sure -- and remaining in any form other than stagnant and unlearned. I feel this is not tilting us upward and into the future, but placing all aslant, and slipping along, greased with the remains of unconscious thought.
[ 11/11/06 17:07pst ]
The Clodmaster project has progressed nicely over the past several weeks. This is in contrast to the months-long period in which the vehicle sat on the shelf awaiting further inspiration. This has come in the form of the long-lost steering system that has been responsible for so much procrastination. My dream of something unconventional has come to fruition and is moving along very well. In light of my renewed effort in that direction, and also the ever-evolving purpose of said vehicle, the project now enjoys a new moniker: the 'E-ROV', or Experimental Remotely Operated Vehicle.
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