In some ways I consider myself to be a man without a country, at least on a temporary basis. I feel as if I am on a mission behind enemy lines, and contact with sympathetic locals is rare. Some days are a little more challenging than others, and on those days I usually try to do something to kick my @ss out of the rut I'm in and get it back between the lines for a while. On some days that means I go for a drive. Some days it means reading a book that sparks my interest, or listening to music, or playing my guitar, or even blogging. You get the idea. Well, tonight I was in one of those moods and was looking for something to set me right, so I started listening to some of the music I have on hand. I went through Knopfler, Rice, Skaggs, Chet, Gil Evans, Marcus Roberts, Charlie Haden; all kinds of stuff. Then, on my mp3 playlist, I spotted a familiar title. I clicked on the track and hit the play button. That did the trick; that was the one I needed to hear. It was a familiar voice with a straight forward folk-rock sound and lyrics that came straight from the unaffected gut. The song was about struggle, pain, and uncertainty, but it was also about hope. After the four and a half minutes it took to play out, I noticed my frame of mind had improved amazingly well, and I had that feeling of wanting to be back home with my friends, playing music and hanging out. That's what the song was all about, "home" and that is indeed why the title of the song is "Home". It's written and recorded by our own Jeff Graham, and it is a truly great song. Jeff has a way of taking epic subjects and condensing his view of them into some really incisive tunes that leave me with the same kind of feeling that I got when I first read "You Can't Go Home Again", by Thomas Wolfe. Jeff has a great visual sense with his lyrics, and he can tie that to some profound statements that don't try to sound profound in some way that takes attention away from the song as is unfortunately done by some of your more earnest singer songwriter types. Jeff doesn't pull stunts like that, and that's why his music still hits me 10 years after it was recorded.
That's my take for the night. be good.

Yes indeed, the atomic clock link is a new one. It is part of an effort to insure that RGNC er's have access to the correct time at all times. We firmly believe in the importance of knowing the correct time, because in order to be late, you have to know what time it is to start with, otherwise you might accidentally leave too early and arrive somewhere on time by mistake.

Atomic clock, hmmm...it's atomic! Think about that: an atomic clock! Sounds dangerous, but from what I understand, it poses minimal risk to users, and it seems to have proven to be rather accurate. Still, it wouldn't hurt to run the ol' geiger counter over the computer from time to time, just to be safe.

be good.

Sweet. I bet that run is even better with snow on it. Never did much skiing. Not on purpose anyway. I have succumbed to a combination of snow and gravity, though.

I notice that we have a link over here to the right for the US Atomic clock. Maybe it's been there all along, and I just never noticed. Well, for what its worth, there's something happenin' here. What it is ain't exactly clear. There's a new mystery link over there. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Got a little carried away there. Sorry. The new mystery link will hook you up with a little freebie that keeps the ole PC synched up with said Atomic clock on a regular basis. Go ahead, hep yersef.

Keep those photos coming, Mark. Very nice scenery.

Be happy and careful

Wow, found a shot of the place I used to work back in the old days in New Mexico. This is the ski lift at Sandia Peak. I was the guy who watched people fall and break body parts as they got off the chair-lift. Ski patrol was busy...a fun place to work with a great view. 

Here's a picture of the state trooper showing one of the local citizens where they were looking for Wilson when there was that APB out for him. We thought he'd gone AWOL, and then just about when we were ready to give up, he walked back into camp with that brown bear slung over his shoulder. Summer 04.

Got some of the pictures from the summer get together out at the RGNC ranch. That's me and Joe racing dune buggies up on Rattlesnake Mesa. More to follow later.