UNFORTUNATELY MONDAY’S LDPCSD MEETING PAPERWORK EXCEEDED THE FILE SIZE PERMITTED (EXPECT THIS FOR NOW ON – lol) SO I WAS UNABLE TO POST THE MEETING AGENDA PACKET CONTAINING THE CALIFORNIA STATE WATER ABOARD VIOLATION NOTICE SENT TO GM PETE KAMPA THAT ACCOMPANIED MR. BARTON’S OPEN LETTER TO CUSTOMERS.

I HAVE CHECKED  A COUPLE OF TIMES ON THE LDPCSD WEBSITE BUT CANNOT ACCESS THE MEETING AGENDA PACKET THERE EITHER.

VERY STRANGE – SO I DECIDED I MIGHT AS WELL TAKE SOME TIME TO SCAN THE INDIVIDUAL VIOLATION NOTICE PAGES SENT TO GM KAMPA BY THE STATE WATER BOARD SO THE BELOW PRE-MEETING MESSAGE BY WES BARTON (REFERRING TO THIS VIOLATION NOTICE) MIGHT MAKE A BIT MORE SENSE.  

sorry!  RUNNING OUT OF INK AGAIN.  (STILL EASIER TO READ THAN THE FINANCIAL ANSWERS TO THE ENGINEER’S QUESTIONS REGARDING KAMPA’S MAPPING PROJECT COSTS ON PAGES 45 & 46 OF THE AGENDA PACKET!  lol)

See you at the meeting!  Lew

2240hrs UPDATE— GOOD NEWS….FOUND A NEW BLACK INK CARTRIDGE!

******************************************

What can I say? Those of you who have lost beloved non-human companions (the description “pet” just doesn’t come close to describing such relationships) know the sort of pain I attempted to express in my newly awakened method. (Could have made a full length feature out of all the photos and video, but I suspicion the 2+ minutes will suffice to make the point.) I’ve wanted to write about this for a while but it’s just still a bit raw. Perhaps such situations will always remain so. It was a very long goodbye.

Well, that’s it for now. Later, Lew (Liz crashed a while ago…..lol)

Hey, hope you accepted the above the way it was intended.  Here are a couple of after thoughts about a very emotional subject for some of us.

You know, I truly believe our long term canine companions eventually become service dogs without any formal training associated with traditional “service dogs (animals)”.   Sure I could teach her to pickup things I drop, but that would be more like a full time job.  Her penchant seems to be for “memory jogging” and schedule assistance” – lol.    Seriously, why do I believe this?  It’s called routine.  Our “non human companions” are (and not just canines – any conditioned animal) very discerning and attentive about their structured environment (aren’t we all?).   When certain things happen, at certain times, for particular reasons a series of learned/programmed responses are presented to us as a result.    I casually pick up my sunglasses, Liz response:  “Oh boy!  We’re going outside! Where’s my ball?”; tune to a particular program on the television response: recognizes the normal routine and she doesn’t interrupt – until the commercial.  This can be a problem when we have conflicting ideas of what needs to be accomplished during commercials.

Then there’s all those environmental “clues” of situational awareness that we as humans are often oblivious to due to our limited sensory acuity.  I read a dog training book once that stated the sense of smell for canines can be anywhere between 10,000 to 100,000 times greater than ours, which would obviously explain why Liz will suddenly wake from sound sleep, “soft woof notice” something is amiss and instantly stick that nose straight up in the air move her head from side to side to identify the scent direction, then start barking and DEMAND to be let outside.

I have unfortunately, as many of you may have likely done in the past as well, inappropriately chastised my canine companions for doing what they are instinctively meant to do – alert that there is potential danger to her “family/flock”.   I’ve noticed with Liz that if I praise her for “alerting me” (about something I often have no idea what it might be) she stops barking because her job was completed to her satisfaction apparently because I ACKNOWLEDGED HER EFFORTS.  Of course this doesn’t work all the time especially with more threatening (or exciting) situations where she “takes a stand” (cornered Rattlesnake, Raccoon, etc.) and refuses to obey (not good, but understandable) which frequently requires a  “field trip” on my part to the location to assess, correct/ameliorate and dismiss her from further duty – but always with well earned praise.

Heck, even poor old Tara towards the end of that dreaded disease and relegated to her homemade mobile “care bed” in the great room, hoarsely (and weakly) managed to bark that something was wrong – waking  us from sleep one night.  Yup – bar-b-que malfunction with a resulting small fire.  Out of the ordinary = sound the alarm (with the best the poor girl could muster – almost a whispered ghost of a life-tired bark.  Crap.  There go the water works again.

Though nothing to do with the above example, when I think of the mistakes I have made with prior companions because of MY FAILURE TO APPRECIATE WHAT THEY KNEW AT THE TIME, it breaks my heart knowing they were only trying to “educate me” as to what they were smelling, seeing, and/or doing due to my incorrect concept of “proper training”, ie, focusing on just obeying commands while remaining ignorant as to the actual nature and circumstances of the incident giving rise to the companion’s disobedience.  A big mistake by the one who is supposed to be in charge.  (So your dog bolts out of the house and chases a cat and will not obey commands to stop and come back.  You call and call, finally the dog returns (generally huffing and puffing and exhausted from the chase) – but if you scold it for running after the cat in the first place (totally forgotten by now in all the excitement) – you are accidentally punishing them for (in their eyes) returning when you called.  See what I mean?   (DOG: “Geez, it was more fun chasing the cat.  I heard the command, eventually obeyed and returned and what do I get as a reward? – Yelled at for returning when that old bastard called me!”)

[Can you imagine punishing a canine in a “disabled canine wheeled cart” for chasing a cat up the cul-de-sac?  I didn’t have the heart – and was astonished with the success of the apparatus.  Scared the heck out of me too —  way to fast on her first “wheeling” lesson!   But you must understand, that cat had been coming over the fence and nonchalantly walking around TARA’S COMPOUND leaving “territorial markers” everywhere because it knew Tara was immobile and could only bark from a stationary position.  Then one day…….it was worth every penny it cost to see Tara wheeling up the street in “semi-hot pursuit”.   (OF COURSE THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO WAY TARA COULD HAVE CAUGHT THE CAT, NOR WOULD I HAVE PERMITTED SUCH, but there was an extra biscuit for my Canine Cart Tara!  And you know?….It did reduce the amount of feline excursions into Tara’s domain.  lol]

We are all animals and learn from our mistakes.

Yes it is difficult losing a beloved companion and obtaining another CERTAINLY DOES NOT REPLACE that love for your former best friend but I believe it does permit a healing of sorts by providing another environment and encouraging a similar type of love, caring, and devotion for another animal.    And because we do generally outlive our companions, if our hearts remain open for that (likely) inevitable loss once again, we can enhance that new growing relationship with what we have learned in the past from our other wonderful non human partners.  Of course, it permits committing some of the same mistakes again also.  Case in point:  two morning biscuits are now the “norm” because of innovative successful “canine pleadings” for an extra one every once in a while.  LOL

Liz a good dog and there will be “give and takes” in every relationship.  I’ve spent too much time indoors lately but she has been extremely tolerant and understanding.   (Here’s a humorous observation –  when creating the monthly meeting videos and she hears a particular GM’s voice over the computer speakers going on and on about how for just a little more money such and such can be done….. she gets a look like “great, another week of this Krapa”.)    She’s very intuitive also.

Yup.  Need to get outside today, (even though extremely smoky again) I think Liz has a Possum carcass she’d like us both to roll around on for a while– evidently, her 100,000 times keener sense of smell has picked up on something we just must acquire and wear on our bodies.  Maybe to the next LDPCSD meeting?   lol

My best to you and yours, Lew

PLAYING MR WECs ?   Merced River Water Entitled CustomerS – of course!

What can I say?  I am still playing around with this editing software and despite the fact much of this antiquated technology was only recently “discovered” (a little late in life to boot)  – so what?  It has still opened another method of expression to augment traditional blah blah blah.   Hey!  I know!   MMM productions? MUSICAL MONTHLY MEETINGS?   Perhaps like a twisted opera?  Designate particular musical instruments (or tunes) to the individual characters of the meeting and then ….  lol   (The “Fargo” series did that, remember?)

DISCLAIMER  Yes.  The sheep could be considered as representing  MR WECs    in some respects, yet in all fairness, how can Lake Don Pedro subdivision property owners be considered apathetic victim “sheeple” if they are not truly cognizant of the issues affecting the situation and them personally?  Yup, situational awareness – a big point in most “confidence crimes” where the victims, to their own detriment, rely on misrepresented information and/or activities furnished by perpetrators of the con game to gain the victim’s trust so as to inevitably “liberate” something of value from the victim “mark”.

“Geez, a perfect victim!” says the blood swollen fat assed mosquito struggling to take flight from your neck due to the added weight of its recently acquired warm liquid meal.

“Bloodsucker Heavy, this is the tower – are you in need of assistance?”

Yup, unaware victims – that sort of crap can go on for ….. that’s right, case in point, for decades.  Rather like embezzlement where only a little of something is taken at a time, but it occurs multiple times over a long period.   The smaller losses do not draw attention and detection as a “con”.

Now multiply the above potential “innocent ignorance” by variables such as special interest motivation, intentional concealment of fact, misrepresentation, disinformation, etc by a local government agency for an even better defense of   MR WECs  not being unjustly labeled a “sheeple”.

Still, I like the sound effects.

Anyway, hope you find something entertaining (or enlightening) about this “Play As You” learn exercise.   Isn’t that the truth?  We pay as we learn, eh?

My best to you and yours, Lew

REM?  OPEN  – PAUSE – Blah blah blah – then hopefully the first viewing won’t be interrupted with all that buffering.

Figured I’d pair up some old “chicken shots” with the newest audio mix (I don’t know why but the sound affects of all the animals and stuff makes me smile and laugh – hope it has the same effect for you – sure seems to be enough triggers in life for unpleasant feelings.  Still good practice inserting different things and evaluating how they interplay with others.)

Here’s an image of today’s partial audio layout:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Naturally there are always “critters” passing through the property as fences are just mere obstacles to be passed around, under, over or through.  I’ve seen feral cats, Bob Cats, Raccoons, Possums, Skunks, etc., not to mention a whole sky full of flying animals like Eagles, Hawks, Sparrow Hawks, …of course Vultures, etc.  I do not know what happened Sunday night but it sure put a scare into 4 of the 5 hens.  Walked down to the coop like I normally do talking to them as they prepare for their day’s excitement.  Generally they are pretty excited with all the trilling and clucking, huddled together at the main latched door while “jogging in place” waiting to be let out of the coop for another day’s foraging, exploration, and hunkering down when too hot to move around much.   Monday morning was very different and a first.

All five refused to come out initially.  They stayed close together in the darkest area of the coop and only “quietly” conversed among themselves, but it was obvious they were concerned about going outside due to the constant turning of their heads and apprehensively looking outside for something.  After some coaxing the “lead hen” finally exited and ran up to the traditional “free range area” where I have prepared food and water stations.  (A highlight of their day is in the evening when it rains small chopped pieces of cabbage dropped from the deck railing.  Sometimes crushed Oyster shell or egg shells for the recommended calcium.  Supposed to finely crush the egg shells so you do not accidentally teach them to eat their own eggs.)

Frankly I was shocked when Lucy began getting an early morning treat of cabbage (hoping the others would come running for their share) yet instead of a stampede of waddling hens all I could hear was subdued trilling and clucking from the coop.  Checked the coop video – yep, four hens huddled together nervously looking in the direction of the “raining cabbage” but obviously too afraid to leave.  Walked back and eventually “escorted them” to where Lucy was pigging out.  Made sure they all got their share of cabbage and kept an eye out all day for any sign of traditional predators.  You know, I do vaguely recall around that time (Sunday evening I believe) a Hawk taking flight from one of the Oak trees as I exited outside through the deck slider.  Perhaps the hens saw that nearby departure too?  Who knows, maybe my going outside right at that particular time saved one or two of them from a Hawk attack?

Still don’t know.  They are beginning to exit the coop in the morning a little better but they sure are nervous looking hens as they stay close together before making a run across the open driveway for cover.  Liz seems to recognize the situation as well.  She’s always been good about announcing a fly by or alerting to the “sniff” of a nearby passing skunk.  I’ll keep checking and watching because there are already far too many horror stories on the internet of how people have lost their entire flock to an opportunistic predator. (One guy tracked the trail of dismemberment all the way to the limbs of a tree where pieces of several birds were strewn about stuck in the forks of the branches.  Yuk!   Such is the nature of life huh?  Whether life and death, or domination/exploitation  by others, anything valuable requires protection.

Oh yeah….the website counter – I noticed it was malfunctioning a few days ago- don’t know what to do because I had hope this website might actually turn 1 million hits and would prefer not to loose the total count by screwing around with that “widget”..    The counter on the last website (lakedonpedro through ARHC) also got up to over 750,000+ before my portion of that site disappeared into cyber darkness.  (I had been “given” the free space for contributing to their site but the folks who ran it passed away and once the prepaid time had elapsed -PRESTO!  Everything gone except for what I had backed up on disk or hard copy.  Oh well, at least the total number counter still works.  Always something eh?

Check out the coincidence:    (Website) counting and chickens.  Kind of go together huh? Counting chickens (before they hatch)?

OK….video should be ready for viewing about now without those annoying pauses.  Someday I hope to actually have something  presented that viewers might actually enjoy and not just politely tolerate as I struggle to learn.   lol   Kids and older folks huh?  Some very strong similarities there also.  Sure doesn’t take much imagination for me to hear my Mother’s traditional response echoing around in my aging grey matter if I make any comment about my getting older ……

“young man……you don’t even know what old is yet”!

She’s right, but what the cluck – I’m not a spring chicken either.  (Had to go for it!) later!

My best to you and yours, Lew

This has been bugging me for a while.  Why did GM Pete Kampa remove from the LDPCSD website the 2014 LAFCo and District approved map illustrating the SERVICE BOUNDARY only to replace it with an antiquated and INCORRECT MAP which left the LAFCO APPROVED  LAKE SHORE RANCH 900 acre proposed subdivision annexation outside the boundary?   Heck, Kampa has been aware of this annexation for 20 years – when working here the first time.   Why repeatedly fail to disclose this information to the public at meetings during outside Merced Irrigation District Place of Use discussions?  Was he concerned such information could be interpreted as the actual motivation for those groundwater wells required to actually develop the property?   There is a reason for all this subterfuge – but what is it?

My best to you and yours, Lew

OK – SCROLL DOWN TO VIDEO – CLICK THE START TO PLAY – THEN PAUSE IT – COME BACK HERE & READ THE BELOW blah blah blah.  OK?

READY? 

SET?    

<BREAK!>

(video buffering right?….good)

Don’t know why.  Other than I was playing around with the audio mixing and had to dispose of another victim mouse.  There are traps all over the place because I am determined to return to a “rodent free environment”.  There have been many victims – but fortunately much fewer now as I discovered two more entries (the first was under the stove vent in the kitchen) – two cable runs from under the house – now neatly sealed.  Think it is doing the trick since fatalities have dropped dramatically in the house yet risen in the shop.

I still feel just a twinge of guilt when I hear that sound.  After all, they are only small creatures trying to survive the best they can.   It’s a bitter-sweet sound of simultaneous remorse and victory.   I’ll be doing something somewhere in the house and hear that unmistakable “snap!”  Liz will look up excitedly and bark – “WE GOT ONE!”  “Yes I know what it means – but where is it?” So start checking traps until discovery of the hapless creature – often with that frozen surprised look .  Poor thing’s existence comes to an abrupt end when only trying to get a bite to eat, (or feeding litter after litter of pups) all because I don’t care for them in the house.  So that makes me a bad human?  I don’t think so.  Seriously, little furry rodents scurrying around the house like they own the frigg’n thing?  When first noticing the critters I sometimes thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, I was tired or looking over the frame of my glasses and only believed I saw  something small and dark move across the floor.  You know, at the height of their foothold I left a bunch of groceries on the island counter and a loaf of bread the next morning had a tunnel right through the middle!  LOOKED LIKE FRIGG’N BAG OF WHITE SQUARE DONUTS!   Luckily they’re never inside the cabinets, but all around them.  Little bastards can jump at least 3 feet!   And fast?  Whoa.  Stealing, eating, contaminating various types of food then causally, though profusely, pissing and crapping all over the place?  Marking what they claim as THEIR HABITAT with potentially disease ridden stink!  FRACK ‘EM ALL if in the house or garage!     lol
OK, video should have loaded by now.  Later, Lew

My best to you and yours, Lew

VIDEO VIEWING SUGGESTION – Likely due to all the experimenting I was doing with options  – the file takes a while to load.  I suggest starting the video, pausing it, then coming back to read this drivel which will allow sufficient “buffering time”.  (That’s what it is called right?  While the file information is accumulated for playing without constant interruption by the “spinning icon”?)  At least that process works here – I don’t know about “OUT THERE IN THE REAL WORLD” with other computers.    lol.

~

Well, what can I say? This is my first true “AUDIO MIX” (other than the audio channels with the video editing program).

I know why it took so long to notice the new  fry in the pond…..they are extremely skiddish – and for good reason.   Their two parents are all that’s left of the original 101 community!  That’s right, we counted them during a pond cleaning inventory years ago.  [Lined them all up and took left to right-center photographs, measurements of height, weight, water displacement, color, distinguishing marks, started a known associates file……..]  ahh, ok, kidding about the “fish booking process” but we did remove all the fish for a good pond scrubbing.

Use an ultraviolet light now which really reduces the algae and water murkiness. But something sure got to them a few years ago.  Only took a few days.  Figured a bird since there was not one scrap, fin, bone, scale or anything left behind.  No prints in the soil.  Nothing.   Some crane or egret probably saw the pond, swooped down and stood in the middle of the pond and started scooping and eating away.  Darn.   Since then I’ve covered the pond with chicken wire and put up a shade screen cover overhead to obscure the pond from aerial surveillance of potential predators.

Every time I feed the two survivors I have tapped a three part signal on the pond to let them know food has arrived – they have finally started responding to the “code” and come out of hiding.  (They hide out in some 4″ diameter PVC pipe at the bottom of the pond.  Probably the reason they survived the attack years ago. Yup, extremely skiddish whereas before they didn’t mind observers watching them.  Sure learned from that horrible mistake.)

The other day while feeding them and tapping on the pond I observed a bunch of small fry swimming out of the pipes!     Absolutely wild.  I’ve always looked but this is the first time seeing them.  (Apparently at least two productions judging by the different sizes.)  Feel like I should be handing out little “fish stick” cigars or something.  lol  Need to get some more fish food at Wally World (of course don’t want to change anything too much right now because the environment is apparently working quite well.)

Anyway, thought I’d throw my audio creation-abomination in the mix with some poor video of the recently discovered fry.  The ultraviolet  algae sterilization fountain makes photography quite difficult with all the rippling of the water, but like my audio mix, why throw them away?  There’s always some use.

Yup, this audio track manipulation is pretty neat but I still accidentally wipe stuff out now and then and don’t know what I did wrong.  I have a number of ideas I’d like to try with this audio editing — poor viewers never get a break from my playing around with this stuff, do you?  Lol  Later!  Lew

Yes, I’m playing with the audio features again.  Harvested a good bit of firewood with more to go but giving muscles a break.  Wish I could better perform and produce material envisioned but realize everything is subject to priority and compromise, yeah?  Still learning though.    Not sure why focus sometimes goes in and out (other than when I do it on purpose).  Think it has to do with a track conflict.   Still learning.   later, Lew

My best to you and yours, Lew

VIDEO STILL FRAME BELOW

S6  Though a relatively short meeting as well, this is still a major record for me finishing all the video parts of a meeting so quickly – do not regret the new camera purchase one bit!  Rather than just an audio recording from start to finish as a baseline to fill in parts the two cameras could not cover, I now have a complete audio/video recording.  (Poor old digital cameras/batteries were really not designed for such long continuous recordings.  Likely electronic abuse.  If machines ruled now I could be in for some serious punishment.)

Just discovered the last two remaining Comet goldfish (survivors from the 101 that were apparently scooped up by a crane type bird) were able to kick out some fry a few years later!  Whole bunch of various combinations of gold, orange, red, yellow, silver, white, etc. (you get the idea).  So cool seeing the pond populated again- and yes, better protected.

Anyway – dead branches and trees beware – I am available for firewood harvesting!

MEETING IS DONE IN ONLY THREE DAYS!  WOOPeeeeeeee!  later, Lew

My best to you and yours, Lew

You must admit, Kampa puts on a pretty good show during meetings with all the expressive “body language” communication.

Check out the below “still frame” obtained during the “HOPE WE HAVE EMPLOYEES BY THEN”  statement.   Almost looks like prayer, eh?

Of course, there are other “still frames” only nanoseconds away that could easily be “interpreted differently” such as the “BOY AM I GOING TO PROFIT ON THIS….” image below.

But as we all know already …. such images can easily be taken out of context or misinterpreted due to a simple matter of perspective as the following demonstrates.

“NOT A NASAL MINING OPERATION – JUST A NOSE SCRATCH. 

MOVE ALONG FOLKS – NOTHING TO SEE HERE.”    lol

This is amazing (at least to me) I am unequivocally setting a new meeting video completion time record (of course the meeting was pretty limited as well), but still, I believe the new camera has already justified the pry bar scuffs and scars on my wallet. (Had to reluctantly “pry the money out of my wallet for the purchase”.   lol?)

Anyway, here’s the S5 meeting video offering –

My best to you and yours, Lew