Last prior:
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Finds in the Week: Vintage Poster on Food, 1917
Finds in the Week: Vintage Poster on Food, 1917
We've posted on this topic in the past, but here's one we haven't posted
This particular one is sort of oddly contemporary, combining the current points of folks like Michael Pallin, the paleo diet folks, and even Pope Francis, here and there.
We've posted on this topic in the past, but here's one we haven't posted
This particular one is sort of oddly contemporary, combining the current points of folks like Michael Pallin, the paleo diet folks, and even Pope Francis, here and there.
Y Cross, UW, CSU, Donations, Money, and Lost Opportunity
About 14 years ago the Denver owners of the Albany County Y Cross ranch donated it to the University of Wyoming and Colorado State University. A clause of the accepted donation was that the schools could sell it after 14 years. They now intend to do so.
I don't know much about how the ranch was used in the 14 years the schools have owned it. It was supposed to be used for the purpose of teaching agriculture, but from what I read, it wasn't used much. The former owners now say that they regret donating it to the schools, and frankly they should regret it.
This is hard to understand. A 50,000 acre ranch, situated near both schools, should have provided a variety of opportunities for both schools to both teach practical agriculture and, in this day and age, perhaps also experiment a bit with "sustainable" agriculture, a topic which has been hot in agricultural fields in recent years. Now those opportunities will be lost, and the ranch will simply be sued to generate money.
On that both schools would be well advised to note the history of the results of ignoring the wishes of donors. Potential donors to both schools are now on notice that the schools feel free to sell donated assets as quickly as they can. Not all donations are suitable for long term keeping and preservation, of course, but if that is the wish of the donors, they now know that neither UW or CSU can be depended upon to do any more than accepting the donation requires. That may give such potential donors pause, or at least put them on notice that a restrictive clause in any donation may be necessary. For some it may mean no donation at all, something that at least UW, which is under orders to cut back financially, may wish to rethink
Postscript
This matter remains pending in Court. But, with the new University of Wyoming President emphasizing the land grant nature of the institution, and with a huge amount of turnover going on at the upper levels of the school, I wonder if its too much to hope for that the decision to depart with the Y Cross might be reconsidered? .
Postscript II
This is the Y Cross which UW and CSU jointly own: Y Cross Ranch | Wyoming Ranches for Sale
I've posted an earlier thread, well really a compliant, on the plan to sell this facility. This listing, I suppose, shows why the universities are so tempted, or rather have yielded to the temptation, to sell the place. Quite a nice location.
Well, the answer to this question; "I wonder if its too much to hope for that the decision to depart with the Y Cross might be reconsidered?" appears to be "yes, too much to hope for."
The Wyoming Supreme Court issued its decision yesterday concluding:
Postscript II
This is the Y Cross which UW and CSU jointly own: Y Cross Ranch | Wyoming Ranches for Sale
I've posted an earlier thread, well really a compliant, on the plan to sell this facility. This listing, I suppose, shows why the universities are so tempted, or rather have yielded to the temptation, to sell the place. Quite a nice location.
Well, the answer to this question; "I wonder if its too much to hope for that the decision to depart with the Y Cross might be reconsidered?" appears to be "yes, too much to hope for."
The Wyoming Supreme Court issued its decision yesterday concluding:
I'm not surprised and I'm sure the Court is correct, but it's disappointing anyway. That disappointment must be directed at UW however, which still has the opportunity to behave correctly here, along with CSU, but which probably isn't going to.The district court correctly concluded that the donation from the Davis Interests to the University Foundations was a gift, that the MOA did not create an implied trust, and that only the attorney general has standing to enforce the terms of a charitable gift. We thus affirm the court’s dismissal of the complaint and amended complaint for lack of standing.
Monday, March 3, 2014
The Moving Picture: San Francisco after the 1906 Earthquake
Film from San Francisco, after the 1906 earthquake.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Saturday, March 1, 2014
There's not an App for that. WYDOT
Dear Wyoming Department of Transportation, you need an App.
There's nearly an App for everything, but not for Wyoming road conditions. I know I can sign up for email alerts and the like, but an App is what I really want, and what you really need.
With an App, I could worry just the necessary amount, without having to turn the email on, on my phone, and hear the "ding, ding, ding" stream of emails as every road in the state turned cruddy, save perhaps for the few I care about.
Come on WYDOT, give us an App.
There's nearly an App for everything, but not for Wyoming road conditions. I know I can sign up for email alerts and the like, but an App is what I really want, and what you really need.
With an App, I could worry just the necessary amount, without having to turn the email on, on my phone, and hear the "ding, ding, ding" stream of emails as every road in the state turned cruddy, save perhaps for the few I care about.
Come on WYDOT, give us an App.
Putting the Bond Issue in Prospective. Comparative costs.
Here's another Natrona County School District graphic that helps put the bond in prospective.
As this graphic nicely demonstrates, other Wyoming school districts have also had bond issues in recent years, and the proposed Natrona County one is the most conservative really. Other districts, including Carbon and Albany Counties, are funding much more of their recent construction via bonds. And in our case, the overall amount is naturally higher, as we have four schools, as opposed to just one. Albany County's bond, as we can see, nearly rivals ours in amount, with a much smaller population base and a single school.
As this graphic nicely demonstrates, other Wyoming school districts have also had bond issues in recent years, and the proposed Natrona County one is the most conservative really. Other districts, including Carbon and Albany Counties, are funding much more of their recent construction via bonds. And in our case, the overall amount is naturally higher, as we have four schools, as opposed to just one. Albany County's bond, as we can see, nearly rivals ours in amount, with a much smaller population base and a single school.
Friday, February 28, 2014
The Wyoming Lawyer February 2014: Technology and the pace of practice
Just below, I have an item on Jack Speight's recent article in the The Wyoming Lawyer. In that, I only addressed his comments on the dress code of the 1960s, which was no doubt much like the dress code for the entire history of the Wyoming State Bar at that time, but not so much now. He also had a very interesting comment on technology and the pace of practice, which was:
One of the main differences between now and last century in problem solving is the pace of law practice. We have gone from manual typewriters, carbon paper, onionskin, Dictaphones and ditto machines, to the electronic revolution and the related social media platforms and unlimited websites. We are in the realm now of instant communication, instant crisis, and instant problem solving compared to the good ol’ days of reflection and analysis. Gone are the days of the black rotary phone on the edge of the desk and the IBM electric typewriters. Now we have handhelds of various sizes, shapes, and functions and apps from Smartphones to iPads to tablets. Regardless of how we communicate and represent our clients, our role as problem solvers has not changed in providing service to the clients obtaining satisfactory results and handling their problems successfully.
This is very much the case, and I'm frankly not too certain that the practice of law hasn't suffered as a result.
What the author notes about instant communications is very true. I was an early adopter of computer technology and use it a great deal. Perhaps I shouldn't applaud myself on that, however, as the computer had just arrived when I started practicing law, with the internet arriving on the scene almost at the same time. I'd been taught to use the new technology of Westlaw at law school, although we did did not concentrate on its use for research. When I was first practicing law, almost no firm had a Westlaw account and we went to the county law library in order to use their Westlaw terminal. We were always very careful about using it, and typically sought permission from a client to use it when we did, as it we were charged by the minute to use it. Now, every lawyer everywhere has Westlaw access and younger attorneys can't imagine a world in which it isn't the first thing that a person turns to when researching the law.
I was slower to adopt smartphones, and I've only had one so far. I went to a smartphone so that I could check my email anywhere, but like most busy lawyers, I even use text messaging in practice, albeit carefully.
The revolution in technology certainly has changed this aspect of the practice of law. It must have been the case that in earlier eras lawyers had more time to ponder, if you will, any one legal topic. Chances are high that they call carried more of a variety of legal topics as well, so the list of things they pondered was probably fairly large. But the need to respond within hours, or even minutes, was no doubt relatively rare.
Casper Star Tribune Editorial board: OK the school district bond
The Casper Star Tribune has changed its position (reluctantly, given the pools) and is now supporting the bond.
While I wish the Tribune would more fully endorse the pool, they finally see the wisdom of the bond and are arguing for it. The paper is very much endorsing the CAP enhancements, and essentially indicates that prior to the recent hearings it didn't fully understand the bond proposals. Indeed, it's indicating that its changed its position now that the proposal has been fully explained. It deserves credit for being willing to continue to analyze and to change its opinion, something that takes some degree of courage, but something which deserves respect.
I have to say, I appreciate the Tribune's current editor, even when I disagree with him, much more than the former one. He seems much more careful and thoughtful in his approach to things, and the overall quality of the newspaper has improved.
While I wish the Tribune would more fully endorse the pool, they finally see the wisdom of the bond and are arguing for it. The paper is very much endorsing the CAP enhancements, and essentially indicates that prior to the recent hearings it didn't fully understand the bond proposals. Indeed, it's indicating that its changed its position now that the proposal has been fully explained. It deserves credit for being willing to continue to analyze and to change its opinion, something that takes some degree of courage, but something which deserves respect.
I have to say, I appreciate the Tribune's current editor, even when I disagree with him, much more than the former one. He seems much more careful and thoughtful in his approach to things, and the overall quality of the newspaper has improved.
The Bond Issue: The actual cost
This graphic, generated by the Natrona County School District, nicely shows the actual cost to Natrona County property owners for improving the safety and relevancy of their schools. $100,000 is highlighted, although I don't know if that's the median value of a county house or not, real estate values have been rising here. But as the Tribune points out, even for the owner of a $300,000 home the actual cost is only about $65.00 per year, an amount a person with a home of that value would no doubt spend on a night out here, easily. Going to dinner, for a family of four in Casper, no matter where you go, is nearly always going to result in a bill over $80,00. So the costs for the bond are are quite minimal, particularly given the longevity and nature of the improvements.
For those just entering school, no doubt the scientific and technical additions at CAP will result in their graduating with better options in life, making the bond cost on an annual basis worth it in and of itself. So too with the swimming pools, with the 1923 pool at NCHS, coming down this summer, being a prime example, given that the investment there lasted for nearly a century.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wyoming Lawyer February 2014: Standards of Dress.
Fairly typical office attire for me, shirt and tie.
The Wyoming Lawyer February 2014 issue just came out, and in it there's an interesting article by Cheyenne lawyer Jack Speight. Speight's article relates to the topic of this blog in more than one way, as he discusses his practice dating back to the 1960s. I'll probably come back to another topic discussed in his very short article, but what struck me (and apparently him, even in recollection) was this item:
With fond remembrance of the mid- 1960s,Cheyenne attorneys had a helpful little booklet consisting of about 30 pages in a 5 ½” x 8 ½” format with the relatively shocking title “Minimum Fee Schedule.” In addition to the obvious, the last page of this helpful little booklet spelled out a proper dress code for working in the office on Saturday mornings.Only on Saturday, ties were not required but a sports jacket or suit coat was still mandated. Naturally, the good ol’ boys who created the “Minimum Fee Schedule” and dress code did not give any direction on appropriate office attire for women, even though in the mid-1960s Cheyenne enjoyed the services of two outstanding women attorneys, Brooke Wunnicke and Ellen Crowley
This item is interesting for a variety of reasons (I wish somebody would publish a booklet of minimum fee schedules now). The reason I note it here is due to the dress code.
When I was in law school I remember learning in some class, probably trial practice, that dress in court was addressed by a rule, which it was. Shortly after I graduated a new rule on courtroom decorum came in, which was less specific, in part, because the drafter of the rules were having a hard time handling the topic of female dress. It isn't that female dress was inappropriate, its just hard to describe. When I first started practicing we were told, however, what the rules were, and that there was a "warm weather" exception that allowed lawyers to dispense, in courtroom hearings, with jackets.
In the office, there were no longer any formal rules for lawyers, but there were informal ones that were reluctantly dying. In our office, and older staffer informally enforced rules and what a person could and could not wear. Generally, if we weren't going to court, we could wear khakis and polo shirts. I often, even then, wore jeans but not blue jeans.
Over time, this has really changed. I can't say that there are any more real rules anymore, in any office, in so far as I can tell. Many lawyers still wear ties every day, or most days, but many do not. Some routinely wear jeans in about every office. It's been quite a change. In the courtroom the rules haven't really changed, of course, and there's even one judge who made it known that he doesn't appreciate khaki trousers in the courthouse.
The change clearly started coming in during the 1970s. I didn't have any experience with law offices at that time, but I do remember that doctors and dentist always wore ties. Dentists still seem to even now, but doctors often do not.
I can't say if this change is good or bad, but I do know that people expect members of various professions to have a certain look, even depicting them that way in popular media when it no longer reflects reality. Generals in the military are always depicted wearing their dress uniforms, policemen are always depicted in blue. Lawyers are depicted in suit and tie. While I violate this convention frequently myself, there's something to meeting these expectations.
The Bond Issue: The Mike Sedar Swimming Pool
The City of Casper's elected board, the City Council, has just voted to postpone rebuilding the decommissioned Mike Sedar Swimming Pool.
The old pool, which was ripped out either last summer or the summer before, was one of the principal pools in the town. It was a 25 yard pool, and as amazing as it may seem to some, it was used for AAU swimming competitions when I was a kid. Meter pools were rare at the time, and the pool had starting platforms at that time allowing it to be used in that fashion. Principally built as a recreational pool (when most recreational pools were of a conventional construction) it also had a side area for a high dive, which was taken out some time ago based upon some concept of the appropriate depth for that, which it didn't meet.
Now it isn't there at all and now the city is pushing back its plan to rebuild the pool, which was going to be rebuilt in a much more elaborate, recreational pool, fashion. The city noted that costs were going to be higher than what it anticipated but it also noted that it wanted to wait and see how the school district bond issue progressed. In other words, they recognize the need for a pool, but may hold back to see if the school district, whose needs exceed the city's, achieves success in the bond issue thereby giving the city a little breathing room.
This is a distressing development. In an era in which the news media here and all the government entities are telling us that the populations of the county is projected to rise, we seem reluctant to replace and repair (which is all we're really doing) those facilities that earlier generations of Casperites built, with smaller resources. Right now we''re taking out one high school pool entirely and hopefully will be able to replace it. Two others are in distress and need to be addressed. A city pool has been removed and there's some question as to whether it will be replaced. The old outdoor pool at Kelly Walsh was removed some time ago, and it was a city pool, and it was never replaced. A party took a serious run at trying to grossly restrict or take out a local rifle range this past year.
I'm not saying that a city needs to have everything, but in order to be a nice place to live it needs some facilities. And when the ones we have start to disappear and there's questions as to whether they'll be replaced, that's a long term problem.
The old pool, which was ripped out either last summer or the summer before, was one of the principal pools in the town. It was a 25 yard pool, and as amazing as it may seem to some, it was used for AAU swimming competitions when I was a kid. Meter pools were rare at the time, and the pool had starting platforms at that time allowing it to be used in that fashion. Principally built as a recreational pool (when most recreational pools were of a conventional construction) it also had a side area for a high dive, which was taken out some time ago based upon some concept of the appropriate depth for that, which it didn't meet.
Now it isn't there at all and now the city is pushing back its plan to rebuild the pool, which was going to be rebuilt in a much more elaborate, recreational pool, fashion. The city noted that costs were going to be higher than what it anticipated but it also noted that it wanted to wait and see how the school district bond issue progressed. In other words, they recognize the need for a pool, but may hold back to see if the school district, whose needs exceed the city's, achieves success in the bond issue thereby giving the city a little breathing room.
This is a distressing development. In an era in which the news media here and all the government entities are telling us that the populations of the county is projected to rise, we seem reluctant to replace and repair (which is all we're really doing) those facilities that earlier generations of Casperites built, with smaller resources. Right now we''re taking out one high school pool entirely and hopefully will be able to replace it. Two others are in distress and need to be addressed. A city pool has been removed and there's some question as to whether it will be replaced. The old outdoor pool at Kelly Walsh was removed some time ago, and it was a city pool, and it was never replaced. A party took a serious run at trying to grossly restrict or take out a local rifle range this past year.
I'm not saying that a city needs to have everything, but in order to be a nice place to live it needs some facilities. And when the ones we have start to disappear and there's questions as to whether they'll be replaced, that's a long term problem.
Friday, February 27, 1914. The River of Doubt.
Mexican strongman Victoriano Huerta promised an investigation into the death of Clemente Vergara while, at the same time, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan announced that the Texas Rangers would not be allowed to cross into Mexico to arrest the suspect Mexican soldiers.
Theodore Roosevelt's and Brazilian explorer Cândido Rondon's expedition team reached Caceres, Brazil, to begin exploration of the Rio da Dúvida, an event from which Roosevelt's health would never recover by the time it was done.
The Vanderbilt Cup race was held.
Locally, the news was asbestos, but not the way it hits the news currently.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Wednesday February 26, 1914. Suggesting crossing the border.
Governor of Texas Oscar Branch Colquitt suggested in a telegram to Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan that Texas Rangers could cross into Mexico and retrieve the body of murdered Texas Rancher Clemente Vergara. The Federal Government informed Colquitt that would be an act of war and refused his request.
The HMHS Britannic was launched in Belfast.
Closer to home, the news was all local.
I wonder what about the Poodle Dog Cafe made it a "Resort for Gentlemen". That's usually code for something now, but I suspect that isn't what was meant.
Monday, February 24, 2014
The Natrona County School Board votes "yes" on the bond issue
The School Board voted to submit the bond issue, discussed below, to the voters for an election to be held on May 6. I'll post the text of the issue when I have a chance, but here's a "huzzah" to the Board!
Numbers and history. How an inaccurate understadning of history leads to the innaccurate headline that the U.S. Army is being cut to pre World War Two levels
It's being reported today that the Department of Defense is preparing to reduce the size of the Army to between 440,000 to 450,000 active duty soldiers. This is being reported as cutting the size of the Army back to "pre World War Two levels", which is inaccurate. This, in turn, shows how not really understanding history, leads to some erroneous assumptions.
The cuts create the smallest size for the Army since 1940, but that fails to take into account that 1940 saw the introduction of the conscription in anticipation of World War Two and the Federalization of the National Guard. The size of the Army in 1939 was about 200,000 active duty soldiers, with there being an additional 200,000 National Guardsmen. When Congress allowed for the mobilization of the Guard in 1940, it also brought in Conscription. That may mean that there was very briefly a period, in 1940, when the U.S. Army had about 400,000 men in it, but that would have been very brief.
The current size of the Army National Guard is 358,000 men, which is an enormously smaller number than there were at the Guard's post World War Two Cold War height. However, the size of the Army Reserve adds another 250,000 men. In 1939, the Reserve was very, very small, essentially being made up of officers only, with a few supporting enlisted men. There really weren't any organized Reserve unis, outside of medical ones.
So, if fully mobilzed, for purpose of the comparison, the size of the Army in all is branches today would still be over 1,000,000 men.
In considering these numbers, we also have to keep in mind that the Army of 1939 (and 1940) included Army Air Corps, the predecessor of the U.S. Air Force, which presently has 334,000 active service members, and 178,000 reservists of all types. Therefore, to make the comparison fully accurate the branch that existed prior to World War Two, on the active side, would be compared to a present number of over 1,500,000 active duty personnel.
Still, it is quite a drop in numbers.
But it's not accurate to compare it to the pre World War Two Army.
The cuts create the smallest size for the Army since 1940, but that fails to take into account that 1940 saw the introduction of the conscription in anticipation of World War Two and the Federalization of the National Guard. The size of the Army in 1939 was about 200,000 active duty soldiers, with there being an additional 200,000 National Guardsmen. When Congress allowed for the mobilization of the Guard in 1940, it also brought in Conscription. That may mean that there was very briefly a period, in 1940, when the U.S. Army had about 400,000 men in it, but that would have been very brief.
The current size of the Army National Guard is 358,000 men, which is an enormously smaller number than there were at the Guard's post World War Two Cold War height. However, the size of the Army Reserve adds another 250,000 men. In 1939, the Reserve was very, very small, essentially being made up of officers only, with a few supporting enlisted men. There really weren't any organized Reserve unis, outside of medical ones.
So, if fully mobilzed, for purpose of the comparison, the size of the Army in all is branches today would still be over 1,000,000 men.
In considering these numbers, we also have to keep in mind that the Army of 1939 (and 1940) included Army Air Corps, the predecessor of the U.S. Air Force, which presently has 334,000 active service members, and 178,000 reservists of all types. Therefore, to make the comparison fully accurate the branch that existed prior to World War Two, on the active side, would be compared to a present number of over 1,500,000 active duty personnel.
Still, it is quite a drop in numbers.
But it's not accurate to compare it to the pre World War Two Army.
Natrona County School District Bond Vote
Tonight, February 24, 2014, the Natrona County School District will hold the second of its public meetings to take comments on the proposed bond issue, which will go to the voters, if passed, later this spring.
As Natrona County residents know, our single school district serves a population of at least 80,000 people and covers 5.376 square miles. To put that in a bit of prospective, the state of Rhode Island covers an expanse of 1,214 square miles. Vermont coveres 9,620 square miles. So, the county is about four times the size of the state of Rhode Island and about 60% of the size of the state of Vermont.
That means the single school district serves children that come to its schools from a huge expanse. The number of rural schools is not as large as it once was, in keeping with the reality that modern school requires modern infrastructure, and for the final stage of public schooling, high school, that is particularly true.
The district has four high schools, Natrona County High School, Kelly Walsh High School, Roosevelt and Midwest. NCHS and KWHS are by the far the largest of the schools. Roosevelt is an alternative school, set up for kids who seek the benefits of its programs, and Midwest is a small community on the edge of the county. Many Natrona County residents probably don't even realize that Midwest has a high school. As can be seen, the concentration of high schools is naturally in Casper, simply because Natrona County, in spite of its vast expanse, really only has six towns within it, a couple of which are no longer really full towns. Actual towns are the greater Casper area (Casper, Bar Nunn, Mills, Evanston), Midwest, Edgerton and Alocva. Towns that once existed, and are sort of still there, include Powder River and Arminto. The overwhelming majority of students attend NCHS or KWHS, which have huge student populations.
KWHS and NCHS are undergoing reconstruction. Built in the 1920s, it is simply time for NCHS. It's a beautiful school, but its facilities are dated. This is also true for KWHS which is not nearly as old, but like a lot of buildings built in later areas seems to have borne the test of time less well.
In Wyoming, school construction is basically funded by the state. Education is legally a "fundamental right" in Wyoming, and all of the state's children have the right to the same basic education. This has come to mean, both philosophically and legally, that the state's mineral resources, as reflected in income to the state, are distributed by the state, so that counties with low mineral production are not deprived of the ability to teach their children to the same standards that those with high incomes are.
This is not universal, however, as the state at some point determined that it would not pay for "enhancements". Naturally, the state was concerned about being asked to pay for high dollar athletic facilities and the like.
But what is, and ins not, an enhancement has turned out to be a tricky deal.
In the proposed bond issue, Natrona County School District No. 1 may be asking for funds that are not, in a real sense, "enhancements". They are necessities. The first of these is upgrades to existing schools for school security, something that cannot be ignored now that we have the ability to do it. We blogged about that in an recent entry here.
Directly related to safety is funding for three swimming pools, one at NCHS, one at KWHS, and one at Midwest High School. In a district that covers a territory as vast as that covered by some Eastern states, the need for this should be self evident. These schools will be lifesavers for some, and will benefit all. We have also blogged about that in this entry and in this one.
Finally, but not least in significance, we here in this area continually are told that our mineral extraction economy produces good jobs for local residents, particularly those who grow up here. At the same time, those of us who have lived here for all or the balance of our lives know that quite often Wyoming's biggest single expert is our young people, whom, in lean times (and we have a lot of those) grow up, graduate from high school, and then leave in search of work, never to return. We also know that the oil and gas industry is expressing a need for skilled employees, which in many instances they end up bringing in from out of state. And, additionally, if we're serious about educating our youth for the 21st Century, we have to admit that shops built in the mid 20th Century, aren't going to effectively serve that need. The Bond would fund construction of a Science and Technology center where students who wished to pursue these talents could. We have blogged about that here.
The bond deserves to pass. The School Bard deserves credit for taking this on. The people of Natrona County should come out to support them.
As Natrona County residents know, our single school district serves a population of at least 80,000 people and covers 5.376 square miles. To put that in a bit of prospective, the state of Rhode Island covers an expanse of 1,214 square miles. Vermont coveres 9,620 square miles. So, the county is about four times the size of the state of Rhode Island and about 60% of the size of the state of Vermont.
That means the single school district serves children that come to its schools from a huge expanse. The number of rural schools is not as large as it once was, in keeping with the reality that modern school requires modern infrastructure, and for the final stage of public schooling, high school, that is particularly true.
The district has four high schools, Natrona County High School, Kelly Walsh High School, Roosevelt and Midwest. NCHS and KWHS are by the far the largest of the schools. Roosevelt is an alternative school, set up for kids who seek the benefits of its programs, and Midwest is a small community on the edge of the county. Many Natrona County residents probably don't even realize that Midwest has a high school. As can be seen, the concentration of high schools is naturally in Casper, simply because Natrona County, in spite of its vast expanse, really only has six towns within it, a couple of which are no longer really full towns. Actual towns are the greater Casper area (Casper, Bar Nunn, Mills, Evanston), Midwest, Edgerton and Alocva. Towns that once existed, and are sort of still there, include Powder River and Arminto. The overwhelming majority of students attend NCHS or KWHS, which have huge student populations.
KWHS and NCHS are undergoing reconstruction. Built in the 1920s, it is simply time for NCHS. It's a beautiful school, but its facilities are dated. This is also true for KWHS which is not nearly as old, but like a lot of buildings built in later areas seems to have borne the test of time less well.
In Wyoming, school construction is basically funded by the state. Education is legally a "fundamental right" in Wyoming, and all of the state's children have the right to the same basic education. This has come to mean, both philosophically and legally, that the state's mineral resources, as reflected in income to the state, are distributed by the state, so that counties with low mineral production are not deprived of the ability to teach their children to the same standards that those with high incomes are.
This is not universal, however, as the state at some point determined that it would not pay for "enhancements". Naturally, the state was concerned about being asked to pay for high dollar athletic facilities and the like.
But what is, and ins not, an enhancement has turned out to be a tricky deal.
In the proposed bond issue, Natrona County School District No. 1 may be asking for funds that are not, in a real sense, "enhancements". They are necessities. The first of these is upgrades to existing schools for school security, something that cannot be ignored now that we have the ability to do it. We blogged about that in an recent entry here.
Directly related to safety is funding for three swimming pools, one at NCHS, one at KWHS, and one at Midwest High School. In a district that covers a territory as vast as that covered by some Eastern states, the need for this should be self evident. These schools will be lifesavers for some, and will benefit all. We have also blogged about that in this entry and in this one.
Finally, but not least in significance, we here in this area continually are told that our mineral extraction economy produces good jobs for local residents, particularly those who grow up here. At the same time, those of us who have lived here for all or the balance of our lives know that quite often Wyoming's biggest single expert is our young people, whom, in lean times (and we have a lot of those) grow up, graduate from high school, and then leave in search of work, never to return. We also know that the oil and gas industry is expressing a need for skilled employees, which in many instances they end up bringing in from out of state. And, additionally, if we're serious about educating our youth for the 21st Century, we have to admit that shops built in the mid 20th Century, aren't going to effectively serve that need. The Bond would fund construction of a Science and Technology center where students who wished to pursue these talents could. We have blogged about that here.
The bond deserves to pass. The School Bard deserves credit for taking this on. The people of Natrona County should come out to support them.
Tuesday, February 24, 1914. Villa, Ulster Unionist, the doomed Canadian Arctic Expedition and Joshua Chamberlin.
Pancho Villa refused to delivery the body of William S. Benton to US and British authorities but stated he's allow relatives to visit his burial site, escorted.
The Ulster Unionist Party distributed posters addressing concerns about the Ulster Volunteer Force attempting to assure that it was formed solely due to its disputes with London, which probably wasn't particularly comforting.
Captain Robert Barrett led the last survivors from the Canadian Arctic Expedition's Shipwreck Camp to Wrangel Island, leaving a note on their whereabouts in a copper drum in case the icebound camp drifted into an area where it could be found.
Robert Peary, meanwhile, speculated in the press that the Canadian expedition had set up camp near the Alaskan coastline.
Famous Maine commander Joshua Chamberlain, who won a Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg, died at age 85.
He had gone on to serve as the Governor of Maine.
While famous for his role in the Civil War, he had started off his adult life with the intent of becoming a Congregationalist minister, which was his mother's desire. His father had hoped for a military career for him. Marrying in 1855, he took up a career as a teacher before the Civil War. He of course served notably in the Civil War. After the war he served four one year terms as Governor of Maine (what a horrific though to have to run a campaign every year), resumed teaching at the university level, practiced law, and engaged in various business activities.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
A Trip Down Market Street, San Francisco, 1906
A real must watch. Traffic in the early automobile era. Thanks go out to John Morgan for this one.
Same film in HD:
The Bond Issue. Safety
As folks who read this blog (and there's darned few I know) are aware, I've written on several occasions about the upcoming Natrona County School District bond issue, taking the specific topics of the swimming pools and technical and vocational training up. The School District plan to address these topics is so well formed that I think that either one of them would merit the bond being passed in and of itself. The third topic of the funding, which I haven't addressed yet, certainly does, school safety.
This is a topic that's need is so self evident I would argue that no rational person can, after considering it, argue against it. Basically, the District proposes to add features to the existing grade schools to enhance their safety, through new entry ways, lighting and technical additions.
I will not dwell on the current age and why the District would rightfully consider such improvements desirable. Rather, I will point out something that people too often miss. As technology improves, and as experience teaches, if we can improve something within our reasonable ability to do so, we ought to. We particularly should do so where children are involved.
To give an example that is probably fairly obvious, consider the automobile of 1913. Not too safe, right? Mechanical brakes, no air bags, no seat belts, no safety of any kind really. We could make cars like that today. We don't. We don't, because we know how not to, and therefore we make them safer.
Buildings aren't automobiles, they're more permanent. But here too we retrofit builds that are old with sprinkler systems and fire alarms, and remove the asbestos from them with reconstruction calls for it. When we can make buildings reasonably safer, we can, and should.
The State of Wyoming funds new school construction, thanks to the funds that the mineral industry pays through severance taxes. But it doesn't pay for "enhancements". Before we complain of that, we should consider that around here "local control" of schools is a big deal. Well, here's an area that we control, and as those in control, we can and should act responsibly.
This is a topic that's need is so self evident I would argue that no rational person can, after considering it, argue against it. Basically, the District proposes to add features to the existing grade schools to enhance their safety, through new entry ways, lighting and technical additions.
I will not dwell on the current age and why the District would rightfully consider such improvements desirable. Rather, I will point out something that people too often miss. As technology improves, and as experience teaches, if we can improve something within our reasonable ability to do so, we ought to. We particularly should do so where children are involved.
To give an example that is probably fairly obvious, consider the automobile of 1913. Not too safe, right? Mechanical brakes, no air bags, no seat belts, no safety of any kind really. We could make cars like that today. We don't. We don't, because we know how not to, and therefore we make them safer.
Buildings aren't automobiles, they're more permanent. But here too we retrofit builds that are old with sprinkler systems and fire alarms, and remove the asbestos from them with reconstruction calls for it. When we can make buildings reasonably safer, we can, and should.
The State of Wyoming funds new school construction, thanks to the funds that the mineral industry pays through severance taxes. But it doesn't pay for "enhancements". Before we complain of that, we should consider that around here "local control" of schools is a big deal. Well, here's an area that we control, and as those in control, we can and should act responsibly.
Monday, February 23, 1914. Villa Justice, Girl Flirts, and Packing heat.
The news was out about the Villista's having executed a British rancher. Villa insisted that it was an act of official justice due, he claimed, the rancher having attempted to pull a gun on him.
The real reason I'm posting this paper, however, is not for that news, although it appears here in the form of an article that the British did not intend to intervene in the Mexican Revolution due to the incident, but rather for its relation to some things we noted earlier this week, specifically;
Legislatures. Back to the future and other diversions?
Here we see the application of laws of the era. Two young women, ages 18 and 19 respectively, were run out of town in Laramie for leading an "immoral, idle and profligate course of life".
They'd just arrived there, so they couldn't have had the time to engage in too much immorality, idleness etc. Indeed, they'd just taken up quarters.
Maybe a person has to read between the lines, perhaps, on this one.
Also, a Union Pacific clerk was fined for carrying a concealed weapon. You'll commonly hear it suggested that up until recently, everyone was allowed to pack all the time, and in any way they wanted, but that's really not the case.
Related threads:
Legislatures. Back to the future and other diversions?
Packing Heat
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Sunday, February 22, 1914. Mutiny.
Lt. Rodriguez.
Executive Officer Lt. Hilario Rodriguez Malpica and three fellow officers lead a mutiny on the Mexican gunboat Tampico. Their intent was to join the Revolution, but the ship's steering gear failed in a near conflict with another gunboat and they had to put in at Topolobampo.
The boat would remain under Lt. Rodriguez's command until June of that year, when it was sunk in a battle with vessels loyal to Huerta. He chose to go down with the ship.
Friday, February 21, 2014
The Bond Issue. Modern technical and vocational training.
I've posted on the upcoming bond issue here several times before, but I want to switch gears a bit with this post, as I think that perhaps part of the story has been missed, and even when not missed, perhaps the need isn't fully appreciated. That need is for scientific and technical training, and this bond issue would fund a Science and Technology Center as part of the high school facilities for the district.
The need for something like this has been identified by those in the know for some time, but I don't know how widely that need is appreciated in the general public. It's really pressing.
Years and years ago, "technical" training was available in most high schools, and of course it's never gone away. Prior to World War Two a very high percentage of American men never graduated from high school, and the lack of a high school degree itself wasn't an impairment to obtaining employment for the most part. One of the richest men to ever live in this county, Fred Goodstein, did not have a high school degree, but simply started off working in his father's oilfield pipeyard as a teenager. He built that business into a huge success, and expanded from there.
But those days are really over. They are over in part because we live in the Age of Certification, in which having some credentials to obtain employment is a necessity, both because it demonstrates proficiency, and because as the number of high school and college graduates expanded, that became the means of winnowing applicants. That, in turn, caused a certain magic to attach to the certificate, legitimate or not.
But beyond that, the world simply has become more and more technical, making a basic level of introductory knowledge in adequate. To give a poor example of that, I think when I was in basic training in 1982 you could still get into the Army with a GED. As an artillery crewman, we learned how to operate a self propelled howitzer whose systems were all mechanical. Fire Direction Control, the unit that plotted the mission, was by far the most technical, and they actually still used slide rules at the time, to plot their fire missions. When I was later a Forward Observer, I plotted missions using a compass, binoculars and a map. Sometimes I used a BC Scope, a huge set of mounted periscopic binoculars.
Well, all that is a tying of the past and probably looks about as ancient to a modern artillerymen as a muzzle loading cannon does. Now the SP is highly computerized and so is everything about plotting the missions. A person, in order to do the jobs that required just basic knowledge on our part, now has to have a fair degree of technical knowledge.
Now, my point isn't that we need to boost high school education as the Army needs people with a technical background, although I will note that those entering the Army today must have an actual high school diploma. Rather, this is just one example of how much more technical the world is today.
To give another example, many years ago I worked on a drilling rig. It was all a simple mechanical rig. Most of the rigs in use today remain no more advanced than that one. But, that day is ending. I overheard some time ago, in the barber shop (that reservoir of many talk) from a drilling operator who was working on a new rig in North Dakota. He did not do his job from the drilling rig floor like they used to. He was in a warm, clean, inclosed high tech office attached to the rig. He, indeed, could operate all its systems without ever going outside the office, so the arctic North Dakota winter meant little to him. Rigs of that type are a rarity in the United States, but from talking with a tool pusher who just came back from overseas, they aren't rare outside the US. The irony, therefore, is that the US is actually behind in modern rigs, a fact that probably developed as our drilling industry was darned near dead for a long time.
Talking to local industrial employers, I know that they perceive that there's a lack of entry level skilled employees in the state. They'd like to hire them, and there's the work, but the employees aren't there. Why not?
Well, we just don't have the facilities at the high school level to train them. We do still train in some technical fields at the high school level. You can learn some automotive technology, small engine technology, and welding, for example. And that's great. But in order to keep up in this area, we're going to have to provide much more advance training as we enter the second half of the second decade of the 21st Century.
Take cars alone, as an example.
I still retain one old vehicle, a 1962 Dodge truck. I can work on it, as its as old as I am, and its systems are those which I grew up with and learned how work on. Quite simple, really. But on our more modern vehicles, none of which are new, I have no clue how to fix anything. They are all high tech.
And the mechanics who work on them have been accordingly trained. They're not shade tree mechanics who were really good and worked into shops. No, they're really trained. They have to be. And that's the direction things are headed. In ten years ago, as electric and hybrid vehicles become more common, this is going to become a highly technical field. And this will expand. It will not be that many years from now that even a thing like a snowblower will be high tech, or a lawn mower, designed not only to do its job well, but to emit little, and use as little in the way of resources as possible.
A person can say, of course, that all of this is fine, and that post high school courses of study can address that. But if we take that approach, it commits everyone to some post high school study. Should we do that? I don't think so.
Universities and colleges have increasingly become not only schools for advance academic knowledge, but advanced technical schools. That is fine, but students who do not wish to attend university or college, and not everyone does, should not be forced to do so. And a high school degree should have some immediate serious employment benefit outside of those which are the most basic jobs. Indeed, that was the original purpose of high school. The thought was that a graduate was ready to enter a shop, or office.
Indeed recently I heard an interesting author interview on the Priztzer Military Library podcast. The author had written a book about his interviews with very elderly World War One veterans, when they were in their 90s. One interview really struck me. The veteran was asked the simple question about joining the Army, but he gave his entire life history in a few short sentences. He'd graduated high school shortly before World War One, and during his last year of high school he'd been recommended to an insurance company. He'd gone to work there immediately after graduating, and save for World War One, he'd worked there his entire career until retirement, rising up in it.
Now, his story would have been impossible.
Of course, this isn't a technical story, in that he didn't enter technical employment, but my point is that here in Casper, where there are many industrial jobs, those jobs are going to get increasingly technical over time. Those who want those jobs, and the state and local community is always noting how these are well paying jobs, can be ready to enter them right out of high school, with the proper training. If we don't give them the proper training, they're going to have to obtain it through an additional couple of years of study, where the public funding for the training is lacking. That isn't serving those students well. This is another reason to back the bond issue.
The need for something like this has been identified by those in the know for some time, but I don't know how widely that need is appreciated in the general public. It's really pressing.
Years and years ago, "technical" training was available in most high schools, and of course it's never gone away. Prior to World War Two a very high percentage of American men never graduated from high school, and the lack of a high school degree itself wasn't an impairment to obtaining employment for the most part. One of the richest men to ever live in this county, Fred Goodstein, did not have a high school degree, but simply started off working in his father's oilfield pipeyard as a teenager. He built that business into a huge success, and expanded from there.
Dodge factory during World War Two. At one time, most high school graduates were qualified to do a job like this simply by having a diploma. This is no longer the case, as vehicles like this are no longer the norm.
But beyond that, the world simply has become more and more technical, making a basic level of introductory knowledge in adequate. To give a poor example of that, I think when I was in basic training in 1982 you could still get into the Army with a GED. As an artillery crewman, we learned how to operate a self propelled howitzer whose systems were all mechanical. Fire Direction Control, the unit that plotted the mission, was by far the most technical, and they actually still used slide rules at the time, to plot their fire missions. When I was later a Forward Observer, I plotted missions using a compass, binoculars and a map. Sometimes I used a BC Scope, a huge set of mounted periscopic binoculars.
The military has always been a source of post high school technical training, but more and more, you need to be at least somewhat proficient to even enter the service.
Now, my point isn't that we need to boost high school education as the Army needs people with a technical background, although I will note that those entering the Army today must have an actual high school diploma. Rather, this is just one example of how much more technical the world is today.
To give another example, many years ago I worked on a drilling rig. It was all a simple mechanical rig. Most of the rigs in use today remain no more advanced than that one. But, that day is ending. I overheard some time ago, in the barber shop (that reservoir of many talk) from a drilling operator who was working on a new rig in North Dakota. He did not do his job from the drilling rig floor like they used to. He was in a warm, clean, inclosed high tech office attached to the rig. He, indeed, could operate all its systems without ever going outside the office, so the arctic North Dakota winter meant little to him. Rigs of that type are a rarity in the United States, but from talking with a tool pusher who just came back from overseas, they aren't rare outside the US. The irony, therefore, is that the US is actually behind in modern rigs, a fact that probably developed as our drilling industry was darned near dead for a long time.
Talking to local industrial employers, I know that they perceive that there's a lack of entry level skilled employees in the state. They'd like to hire them, and there's the work, but the employees aren't there. Why not?
Well, we just don't have the facilities at the high school level to train them. We do still train in some technical fields at the high school level. You can learn some automotive technology, small engine technology, and welding, for example. And that's great. But in order to keep up in this area, we're going to have to provide much more advance training as we enter the second half of the second decade of the 21st Century.
Take cars alone, as an example.
I still retain one old vehicle, a 1962 Dodge truck. I can work on it, as its as old as I am, and its systems are those which I grew up with and learned how work on. Quite simple, really. But on our more modern vehicles, none of which are new, I have no clue how to fix anything. They are all high tech.
And the mechanics who work on them have been accordingly trained. They're not shade tree mechanics who were really good and worked into shops. No, they're really trained. They have to be. And that's the direction things are headed. In ten years ago, as electric and hybrid vehicles become more common, this is going to become a highly technical field. And this will expand. It will not be that many years from now that even a thing like a snowblower will be high tech, or a lawn mower, designed not only to do its job well, but to emit little, and use as little in the way of resources as possible.
A person can say, of course, that all of this is fine, and that post high school courses of study can address that. But if we take that approach, it commits everyone to some post high school study. Should we do that? I don't think so.
Universities and colleges have increasingly become not only schools for advance academic knowledge, but advanced technical schools. That is fine, but students who do not wish to attend university or college, and not everyone does, should not be forced to do so. And a high school degree should have some immediate serious employment benefit outside of those which are the most basic jobs. Indeed, that was the original purpose of high school. The thought was that a graduate was ready to enter a shop, or office.
Indeed recently I heard an interesting author interview on the Priztzer Military Library podcast. The author had written a book about his interviews with very elderly World War One veterans, when they were in their 90s. One interview really struck me. The veteran was asked the simple question about joining the Army, but he gave his entire life history in a few short sentences. He'd graduated high school shortly before World War One, and during his last year of high school he'd been recommended to an insurance company. He'd gone to work there immediately after graduating, and save for World War One, he'd worked there his entire career until retirement, rising up in it.
Now, his story would have been impossible.
Of course, this isn't a technical story, in that he didn't enter technical employment, but my point is that here in Casper, where there are many industrial jobs, those jobs are going to get increasingly technical over time. Those who want those jobs, and the state and local community is always noting how these are well paying jobs, can be ready to enter them right out of high school, with the proper training. If we don't give them the proper training, they're going to have to obtain it through an additional couple of years of study, where the public funding for the training is lacking. That isn't serving those students well. This is another reason to back the bond issue.
Jimi Hendrix Postage Stamp?
Rumor has it that the U.S.Postal Service will be issuing a Jimi Hendrix postage stamp soon.
Cool, if true.
Cool, if true.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Friday, February 20, 1914. Revolutionary execution.
William S. Benton, a British rancher with Chihuahua holdings, was executed in Juarez by Villistas, after a "court-martial". He was accused of making an attempt on Villa's life, but his associates claimed he had no views on the Mexican Revolution at all.
More on this from a Scottish blog:
Pancho Villa murders Keig man
Rosa Luxemburg was tried in a Frankfurt court on charges of encouraging public disobedience and sentenced to a year in prison. In the Court she stated.
When, as I say, the majority of people come to the conclusion that wars are nothing but a barbaric, unsocial, reactionary phenomenon, entirely against the interests of the people, then wars will have become impossible.
Nice sentiment, but shallow thought.
Luxemburg herself has always struck me as not being too deep. Perhaps I'm wrong as she remains the deluded darling of the far left, and maybe there's more to her than my very limited knowledge is aware of.
James William Humphyrs Scotland made the first cross-country flight in New Zealand. On the same day, Winston Churchill, serving as First Lord of the Admiralty, flew as a passenger in a Sopwith Sociable.
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, Feb. 20, 1914, one year before opening day. San Francisco.
Legal, Alberta, was founded.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
On Line Dating: Are we really that busy?
This morning, on my way to work, I was listening to XM Radio when an advertisement came on advertising an on line dating service for busy professionals. The pitch was that they were too busy to get to know anyone, so the service had done all the heavy lifting for them.
Seriously? Are people now so busy that they can't get to know anybody?
If that's true, that's a horrible sign of something seriously amiss in our society. If people are now so busy, they can't even get to know a potential spouse in any sort of conventional way, our society is pretty much doomed.
People are busy, grant it. But at some point certain things are like canaries in coal mines. And if this is actually the case (and I hope its' not) its like a flock of canaries dropping dead all over the coal mine floor.
Seriously? Are people now so busy that they can't get to know anybody?
If that's true, that's a horrible sign of something seriously amiss in our society. If people are now so busy, they can't even get to know a potential spouse in any sort of conventional way, our society is pretty much doomed.
People are busy, grant it. But at some point certain things are like canaries in coal mines. And if this is actually the case (and I hope its' not) its like a flock of canaries dropping dead all over the coal mine floor.
Occupational Identity
According to psychologists, males (but not females) acquire an "occupational identity" as adults. If they fail to do so, supposedly, it's actually supposed to be a problem for the adult male.
I don't know about that, but I do know that males very strongly catalog people by occupations. One of the first things that males do, if they do not know each other, but are engaged in a conversation, is to ask each other "so, what do you do?" Casual male acquaintances usually also get around to asking, "so, how are things at work?" Only men who very deeply know one another will skip the work questions, usually.
I note this as I recently had an odd experience, although its frankly one that I've had in the past as well.
I called a person who is in the business of selling a certain item to ask about an example of it that I had heard, outside of work, that was coming up for sale. I could tell this person was struggling to place me in context, when suddenly he said "Oh! You are the lawyer!" Not only was it like turning on a switch for him, it also told me nearly immediately I wasn't going to be treated seriously.
That may sound odd, but certain professions are not taken seriously in regards to certain things. If, for example, a neurosurgeon went into a used car shop to ask about a beat up Volkswagen, he's not going to be taken seriously.
Here, the item that was going up for sale wasn't for sale just yet, but it was going to be that week. I asked this person to call me back as soon as it was listed. He said he would.
He didn't.
A client of mine, who is in the business that this thing pertains to, is now going to buy it and called me for help on that. Of course, I'll help. But how frustrating.
I've encountered this before. Years and years ago there was some grazing land that was somewhat tempting up for sale around here, and I called the listing agent and the agent never was able to figure out what I was asking about. He kept coming back to me with palatial mountain retreats. In his mind, that must be what I was wanting to buy. I finally gave up on him.
Or, in another instance, I once called a seller about something and left a message. I didn't hear back and didn't hear back. Finally, I called again, and he told me "oh. . . you wouldn't want it, it wouldn't interest a lawyer." Oh? Then why had I called about buying it in the first place? Geez.
In another instance, a rancher friend of mine had an early model Power Wagon which I very much admired. He knew that. He decided to sell it, and never told me. Why? Well, it just isn't the sort of thing he could have seen me wanting. By the same token, I'll admit, I once had a muscle car that I sold and later heard from his wife who complained that had she known I was going to sell it, she would have bought it. I just didn't see that being something she would have wanted.
I don't know what the point of this is, but I guess it's just an interesting observation about how we pigeonhole things. There's no reason that an oilfield worker wouldn't want season tickets at the Met, but I bet they'd have a hard time getting them. Assumptions. . .
I don't know about that, but I do know that males very strongly catalog people by occupations. One of the first things that males do, if they do not know each other, but are engaged in a conversation, is to ask each other "so, what do you do?" Casual male acquaintances usually also get around to asking, "so, how are things at work?" Only men who very deeply know one another will skip the work questions, usually.
I note this as I recently had an odd experience, although its frankly one that I've had in the past as well.
I called a person who is in the business of selling a certain item to ask about an example of it that I had heard, outside of work, that was coming up for sale. I could tell this person was struggling to place me in context, when suddenly he said "Oh! You are the lawyer!" Not only was it like turning on a switch for him, it also told me nearly immediately I wasn't going to be treated seriously.
That may sound odd, but certain professions are not taken seriously in regards to certain things. If, for example, a neurosurgeon went into a used car shop to ask about a beat up Volkswagen, he's not going to be taken seriously.
Here, the item that was going up for sale wasn't for sale just yet, but it was going to be that week. I asked this person to call me back as soon as it was listed. He said he would.
He didn't.
A client of mine, who is in the business that this thing pertains to, is now going to buy it and called me for help on that. Of course, I'll help. But how frustrating.
I've encountered this before. Years and years ago there was some grazing land that was somewhat tempting up for sale around here, and I called the listing agent and the agent never was able to figure out what I was asking about. He kept coming back to me with palatial mountain retreats. In his mind, that must be what I was wanting to buy. I finally gave up on him.
Or, in another instance, I once called a seller about something and left a message. I didn't hear back and didn't hear back. Finally, I called again, and he told me "oh. . . you wouldn't want it, it wouldn't interest a lawyer." Oh? Then why had I called about buying it in the first place? Geez.
In another instance, a rancher friend of mine had an early model Power Wagon which I very much admired. He knew that. He decided to sell it, and never told me. Why? Well, it just isn't the sort of thing he could have seen me wanting. By the same token, I'll admit, I once had a muscle car that I sold and later heard from his wife who complained that had she known I was going to sell it, she would have bought it. I just didn't see that being something she would have wanted.
I don't know what the point of this is, but I guess it's just an interesting observation about how we pigeonhole things. There's no reason that an oilfield worker wouldn't want season tickets at the Met, but I bet they'd have a hard time getting them. Assumptions. . .
Implements of the transportation revolution: Riker Truck
Riker truck being delivered to the U.S. Army, for use in the Punitive Expedition.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Wednesday, February 18, 1914. Insuring Villa and The Tennessee Walz.
Pancho Villa insured his life for $500,000 as a favor of his wife. That was a huge sum at the time.
Pee Wee King, co-writer of the classic Tennessee Waltz, was born.
King died in 2000 at the age of 86.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Old Picture of the Day: Car Dealership
Old Picture of the Day: Car Dealership: We wrap up Denver Week with this picture of a Car Dealership. The picture was taken in about 1900. The dealership was for the Felken Cy...
Old Picture of the Day: Express Wagon
Old Picture of the Day: Express Wagon: Today's picture is from about 1870, and shows a great scene in Denver that could be right out of a Western. The picture shows an E...
Old Picture of the Day: Horse Trolley
Old Picture of the Day: Horse Trolley: Denver week continues with this peculiar picture from 1903 of a horse-drawn trolley. The unusual thing is that the horse is riding, no...
Old Picture of the Day: Denver Stockyards
Old Picture of the Day: Denver Stockyards: Today's picture shows Cattle Buyers at the Denver Stockyards. The picture was taken in 1939. These buyers would be buying for the p...
Old Picture of the Day: Denver Train Station
Old Picture of the Day: Denver Train Station: Today's picture shows a scene from the Denver train station. The picture was taken in 1903. People dressed in grand style back then...
Old Picture of the Day: Dallas Cowboy
Old Picture of the Day: Dallas Cowboy: Welcome to Dallas Texas Week here at OPOD. We will be looking at pictures from times gone by of this great city. We start with this pi...
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Friday, February 14, 1914. Concerned farmers.
Protesting Swedish peasants.
Concerned Swedish farmers gathered in the courtyard of Stockholm Place to demand higher defense spending. There were 32,000 of them. King Gustaf declared to them that he shared their concerns, violating the Swedish constitution by taking an issue in a partisan matter. Conservatives supported higher defense spending and had organized the protest against the sitting Liberal government. The resulting controversy resulted in the downfall of the leadership of the Swedish government and the appointment of a government approved of by the King.
Gustav was king from 1907 until his death in 1950. Up until World War One he still held significant power in the country, and was highly influential in the Swedish government during the war. After the war, parliamentary actions would end up stripping the crown of them. He was the last Swedish monarch to exercise royal prerogatives, and 1974 constitutional changes ended them.
Gustav was pro German and anti Communist during the war and after. During World War Two, he had to be stopped by the Swedish prime minister from sending a congratulatory letter to Hitler for invading the Soviet Union. He nonetheless on behalf of tennis Davis Cup stars Jean Borotra of France and his personal trainer and friend Baron Gottfried von Cramm of Germany for better treatment by the Nazis, the latter of which had been imprisoned on the charge of a homosexual relationship with a Jew. Gustav himself was an ardent tennis player.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Random Snippets: Toyota Pickup Trucks.
Has anyone else noticed that Toyota pickup trucks seem to be the prime mover of every third world irregular army on the planet?
Friday, February 14, 2014
ABA President Silkenat: America's legal response to gun violence is unacceptable
ABA President Silkenat: America's legal response to gun violence is unacceptable
Which shows just how far the ABA has strayed from its original mission, and how whopping irrelevant it now is to the lives of average lawyers.
The ABA started off as a (conservative) organization seeking to regulate the unrestricted practice of law. It was concerned that the rough and tumble nature of the practice, which had existed in its frontier regions from nearly day one, lead to be the law being regarded with disdain. It sought to elevate the practice, and actually to boost its esteem to the level of physicians. As part of that, it emphasized professionalism, and it came to also review Federal judicial nominees and rate law schools.
Well, just like other organizations, it's in decline. Part of this is for the same reasons fraternal organizations are in decline (see also the recent post on the Boy Scouts). Part of it is also for the reasons that labor unions are in decline. The ABA achieved what it sought to do many, many year ago. So it isn't really needed to achieve htat goal, only to maintain it.
But organizations that started off with a cause rarely disband when the cause is achieved. They just move on to a new one, and that's what the ABA has done. It's morphed from a conservative organization concerned with practice standards, to one which is now a liberal organization ready to espouse liberal causes.
The problem with that is that a political cause is a political cause, and most legal practitioners are working in the nuts and bolts of the law. Practitioners are more concerned with developments in tort law, criminal law, civil procedure, and the like. As for social causes, lawyers have their own views like everyone else. Some of those views are grounded in legal interpretation, some in social views, and some in emotion.
Hopefully lawyers involved in social causes, and more particularly legal organizations involved in them, do try to keep the law in mind, but here the ABA is frankly just out to lunch. A person can argue one way or another about gun control, but a legal organization that argues about it should keep the law in mind, and either accept it or argue that it, and by it we have to mean the Constitution here, be changed. It's weak legal reasoning to argue that a strained reading of the Constitution ought to be the approach taken.
Beyond that, frankly this is a policy issue that has nothing really to do with the law as law. Lawyers don't have much business saying "I'm a lawyer, and therefore I know that this should be the policy." And this has nothing to do with what almost every lawyer in the US actually does for a living.
Which shows just how far the ABA has strayed from its original mission, and how whopping irrelevant it now is to the lives of average lawyers.
The ABA started off as a (conservative) organization seeking to regulate the unrestricted practice of law. It was concerned that the rough and tumble nature of the practice, which had existed in its frontier regions from nearly day one, lead to be the law being regarded with disdain. It sought to elevate the practice, and actually to boost its esteem to the level of physicians. As part of that, it emphasized professionalism, and it came to also review Federal judicial nominees and rate law schools.
Well, just like other organizations, it's in decline. Part of this is for the same reasons fraternal organizations are in decline (see also the recent post on the Boy Scouts). Part of it is also for the reasons that labor unions are in decline. The ABA achieved what it sought to do many, many year ago. So it isn't really needed to achieve htat goal, only to maintain it.
But organizations that started off with a cause rarely disband when the cause is achieved. They just move on to a new one, and that's what the ABA has done. It's morphed from a conservative organization concerned with practice standards, to one which is now a liberal organization ready to espouse liberal causes.
The problem with that is that a political cause is a political cause, and most legal practitioners are working in the nuts and bolts of the law. Practitioners are more concerned with developments in tort law, criminal law, civil procedure, and the like. As for social causes, lawyers have their own views like everyone else. Some of those views are grounded in legal interpretation, some in social views, and some in emotion.
Hopefully lawyers involved in social causes, and more particularly legal organizations involved in them, do try to keep the law in mind, but here the ABA is frankly just out to lunch. A person can argue one way or another about gun control, but a legal organization that argues about it should keep the law in mind, and either accept it or argue that it, and by it we have to mean the Constitution here, be changed. It's weak legal reasoning to argue that a strained reading of the Constitution ought to be the approach taken.
Beyond that, frankly this is a policy issue that has nothing really to do with the law as law. Lawyers don't have much business saying "I'm a lawyer, and therefore I know that this should be the policy." And this has nothing to do with what almost every lawyer in the US actually does for a living.
Lex Anteinternet: The 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic
A while back I blogged about the Lex Anteinternet: The 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic: I was reminded of that as the flu, the real deal, not some bad cold that people mistake for the flu, has really been going around recently. All sorts of people have it.
It's going through NCHS like there's no tomorrow. At least three members of the swim team have it, including my son. And its a nasty H1N1 variant.
H1N1 is bad, but it's not anything like the 1918 flu, which was a H5 variant. Be that as it may, things like this really demonstrate to me how vulnerable to the flu or something like it we are. I'll fly down to Denver today. So far, I haven't had the flu, and I haven't felt like I was getting it, although I'm coughing slightly this morning. I've clearly been exposed to the flu here at home. And at work where at least a couple of the people have had it recently. And I was at a meeting recently where a person was about two weeks out from it, no doubt over the flu, but still suffering from its effects.
My point is that the 1918 flu managed to go clean across the globe with no difficult, over about a two year time span. By that time, however, humans as a species would have had a little time for our own natures to begin to evolve where exposures had occurred, and we would have had some time to prepare where it had not immediately hit. World War One helped spread it around, but at that time it was still the case that transoceanic travel moved no faster than ships. That's certainly not the case now. A flu outbreak could be everywhere before we even knew it was an outbreak.
It's going through NCHS like there's no tomorrow. At least three members of the swim team have it, including my son. And its a nasty H1N1 variant.
H1N1 is bad, but it's not anything like the 1918 flu, which was a H5 variant. Be that as it may, things like this really demonstrate to me how vulnerable to the flu or something like it we are. I'll fly down to Denver today. So far, I haven't had the flu, and I haven't felt like I was getting it, although I'm coughing slightly this morning. I've clearly been exposed to the flu here at home. And at work where at least a couple of the people have had it recently. And I was at a meeting recently where a person was about two weeks out from it, no doubt over the flu, but still suffering from its effects.
My point is that the 1918 flu managed to go clean across the globe with no difficult, over about a two year time span. By that time, however, humans as a species would have had a little time for our own natures to begin to evolve where exposures had occurred, and we would have had some time to prepare where it had not immediately hit. World War One helped spread it around, but at that time it was still the case that transoceanic travel moved no faster than ships. That's certainly not the case now. A flu outbreak could be everywhere before we even knew it was an outbreak.
Today In Wyoming's History: Wyoming History In The Making: Enzi out raised Ch...
Today In Wyoming's History: Wyoming History In The Making: Enzi out raised Ch...: A recent article in the Casper Star Tribune reveals that Mike Enzi's campaign raised more money than Liz Cheney's in the last quarte...
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Friday, February 12, 1914. The assault on Clemente Vergara.
Texan Rancher Clemente Vergara of Laredo was arrested in Mexico by Mexican Federal troops on the Rio Grande. He had previously filed two complaints with the Webb County sheriff over allegations that Mexican Federal troops were stealing horses that he was allowed to graze on the Mexican side of the river.
He had traveled into Mexico to meet with the Mexican commander and was ambushed in route. His nephew, who had accompanied him, escaped.
Vergara's wife and daughter crossed into Mexico the following day and found him severely beaten and jailed in the Hidalgo garrison. The next day, the women were informed he had been moved to Piedras Negras. The Wilson Administration became involved and started to internally debate what to do about the situation. On the 16th, the commander at Piedras Negras reported he had been released, and the horses ordered returned, but witnesses told American officials they had seen Vergara's body hanging from a tree from February 15 onward. On March 7 his body was delivered to his family in Texas, apparently recovered by friends and ranch employees who risked their lives to locate his grave and exhume him, although this is disputed. He was reburied in Cavalry Catholic Cemetery in Laredo, where a prominent tombstone remains.
Some Mexican officials or those who were partisan to some degree claimed that Vergara was smuggling arms to the rebels, although there is no evidence of that. Some even claimed he wasn't murdered at all, but had crossed the border to join them, which is clearly erroneous.
Texas sought to press criminal charges against the Mexican officers, and there was some discussion of sending law enforcement into Mexico. The Wilson administration forbade that.
Clemente was 44 years old at the time of his murder. He left his wife, Antonia, daughter Clara, and a son, Jesus. He also had two sisters. His daughter Clara lived until 1962, and is buried in the same cemetery. What happened to his wife I was not able to determine, but as his daughter and siblings remained in Laredo as late as the 1960s, she likely did as well.
Of some interest, and showing the nature of the border at the time, and perhaps now, both of Clemente's parents were born in Mexico. They had immigrated to the U.S.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Book Announcement: On This Day In Wyoming History
We'd like to announce that our book, On This Day In Wyoming History, will go to press in March and can be pre-ordered from the publisher now.
Lex Anteinternet: Boy Scouts of America--Merit Badges from 1911
Lex Anteinternet: Boy Scouts of America--Merit Badges from 1911:
This is an older thread here, but I'm bumping it up as last Sunday was apparently Scouting Sunday. The Boy Scout Troop associated with St. Anthony's Church acted as servers for Sunday Mass, and I saw a sign on the First Christian Church noting the same.
I have to admit that I didn't even know that St. Anthony's had a Boy Scout organization, even though I probably should have known that. My guess is that it might be associated in some fashion with St. Anthony's Tri Parish School, although I don't know that for sure. I knew that it had one at one time, as a co-worker of mine told me that he'd first met a late co worker of mine when they were both in Boy Scouts, with my living co worker having been in the St. Mark's Episcopal Church troop, while my late partner was in the St. Anthony's troop. My late partner was a strong supporter of the school, so my supposition is that he attended it. I should have been aware that they still had a Troop, but never having been a Boy Scout, I did not. I did know that the First Christian Church had one, as a co workers of mine is a Scout leader there.
Anyhow, I guess that demonstrates the extent to which Boy Scout units were once associated with churches, which is still somewhat true.
Still, I've heard that Scouting has suffered in popularity over the last several decades, which doesn't surprise me. For one thing, it's probably suffered as Americans have generally moved away from organizations of all types. As we've covered in prior posts, Fraternal Organizations have really declined in popularity. But this trend, with some exceptions, goes on beyond that.
Still, I also wonder if Boy Scouts have declines as they've strayed from their original mission, which ironically may be nearly as relevant now as at any time in the past. Scouting was created by Lord Baden Powell as an English movement. He'd been a British career soldiers, served as an unconventional scout in the Boer War, and went on to be the chief of British cavalry. Based upon his Boer War experience, he'd come to believe that British youth had become sort of sissified by city living, and he sought to correct that through exposure to life in the wild and what used to be called "woodcraft".
Scouting, in its heyday, as highly outdoorsy, sometimes agriculturally oriented, highly patriotic and it emphasized Christian virtues. It can still be very outdoorsy, but hat emphasis started to wane in the 1970s, it seems to me. It's also still patriotic and it still emphasizes Christian virtues, but in an age when relativism is the rule of the day, its singular approach to that can draw criticism pretty readily, while at the same time any effort to alter its traditional core values will likewise tend to weaken it a bit. I have to wonder if it still was as rurally oriented as it once was, if it would have declined less, as I suspect that the appeal of that aspect of it is as strong as ever.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Note: Were you a Boy Scout or Girl Scout? Answer our poll!
This is an older thread here, but I'm bumping it up as last Sunday was apparently Scouting Sunday. The Boy Scout Troop associated with St. Anthony's Church acted as servers for Sunday Mass, and I saw a sign on the First Christian Church noting the same.
I have to admit that I didn't even know that St. Anthony's had a Boy Scout organization, even though I probably should have known that. My guess is that it might be associated in some fashion with St. Anthony's Tri Parish School, although I don't know that for sure. I knew that it had one at one time, as a co-worker of mine told me that he'd first met a late co worker of mine when they were both in Boy Scouts, with my living co worker having been in the St. Mark's Episcopal Church troop, while my late partner was in the St. Anthony's troop. My late partner was a strong supporter of the school, so my supposition is that he attended it. I should have been aware that they still had a Troop, but never having been a Boy Scout, I did not. I did know that the First Christian Church had one, as a co workers of mine is a Scout leader there.
World War One era Boy Scout Liberty Load poster.
Anyhow, I guess that demonstrates the extent to which Boy Scout units were once associated with churches, which is still somewhat true.
Still, I've heard that Scouting has suffered in popularity over the last several decades, which doesn't surprise me. For one thing, it's probably suffered as Americans have generally moved away from organizations of all types. As we've covered in prior posts, Fraternal Organizations have really declined in popularity. But this trend, with some exceptions, goes on beyond that.
Still, I also wonder if Boy Scouts have declines as they've strayed from their original mission, which ironically may be nearly as relevant now as at any time in the past. Scouting was created by Lord Baden Powell as an English movement. He'd been a British career soldiers, served as an unconventional scout in the Boer War, and went on to be the chief of British cavalry. Based upon his Boer War experience, he'd come to believe that British youth had become sort of sissified by city living, and he sought to correct that through exposure to life in the wild and what used to be called "woodcraft".
Scouting, in its heyday, as highly outdoorsy, sometimes agriculturally oriented, highly patriotic and it emphasized Christian virtues. It can still be very outdoorsy, but hat emphasis started to wane in the 1970s, it seems to me. It's also still patriotic and it still emphasizes Christian virtues, but in an age when relativism is the rule of the day, its singular approach to that can draw criticism pretty readily, while at the same time any effort to alter its traditional core values will likewise tend to weaken it a bit. I have to wonder if it still was as rurally oriented as it once was, if it would have declined less, as I suspect that the appeal of that aspect of it is as strong as ever.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Note: Were you a Boy Scout or Girl Scout? Answer our poll!
Thursday, February 12, 1914. Groundbreaking for the Lincoln Memorial.
Ground was broken on this day for the Lincoln Memorial.
Col. William W. Harts, spade in hand, Eagle Scout Graeme T. Smallwood on the left, Henry Bacon to the right of Harts, Senator Joseph C.S. Blackburn.
The groundbreaking was barely attended. Sen. Blackburn stated that "The memorial will show that (President Abraham) Lincoln is now regarded as the greatest of all Americans" in a speech he delivered on the occasion.
Czar Nicolas II recalled Ivan Goremykin into service as Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, replacing Vladimir Kokovtsov.
The Squaw Man, Cecille B. Demille's directorial debut, which is a melodrama set in Wyoming, premiered. Not surprisingly, the film is not without its critics, and certainly would never be named that today. It does feature a Native American heroine played by an actual Native American, Red Wing (Lilian Margaret St. Cyr). St. Cyr died in 1974, at which time she was either 90, or 101, years old.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Change, Period - Attorney at Work - Attorney at Work
Change, Period - Attorney at Work - Attorney at Work
Interesting post, with which I do not fully agree (see comment).
Interesting post, with which I do not fully agree (see comment).
Monday, February 10, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Holscher's Hub: Casper Mountain Sled Dog and Skiijourning Races, F...
Holscher's Hub: Casper Mountain Sled Dog and Skiijourning Races, F...: Today's sequel to yesterday's post on the Casper Mountain Sled Dog and Skiijourning Races . ...
"Amazing" discoveries about early human's and Yeoman's First Law of History
There's been a couple of recent very interesting discoveries about our early ancestors recently, which have drawn some conclusions that, frankly, are less than amazing. Its an application of Yeoman's First Law of History at work.
First of all, within the last couple of days human footprints have been found in the UK which are at least 800,000, if not 1,000,000 years old. That's pretty cool. The temperature of the UK, at that point in time, was also pretty darned cool. Scandinavian like, in fact.
This has lead to a lot of pondering (why were they stomping around in the mud, for example?), but it's also lead to at least one amazingly dense comment from a scientist who wondered aloud if they had the ability to make clothing.
Seriously?
Of course, they did. The question is idiotic.
Which leads me to my second item.
Scientist have recently confirmed that modern human beings of European descent carry a few genes they can trace to Neanderthal human beings, thereby confirming that Neanderthals and what were once commonly called Cro Magnums, but now are generally called "archaic" modern man, um. . .well you know.
No kidding, no surprise there. Or at least there should be. We're actually all in the same species. The bigger surprise there is that apparently Neanderthals, and we were on the edge of genetic comparability. That does surprise me because, as noted, we're in the same species. Neanderthals were only unique in that they were genetically adapted to extreme cold by having short, but stout, bodies. Modern populations of humans now feature quite a variety in body types, which our archaic ancestors actually did not at that time, so that's not as big of a deal as it might seem. Included in our current adaptations are body forms that contemplate high heat and intense cold. That an isolated population of human beings living in Ice Age Europe would have adaptations to their environment isn't that surprising.
But it's been oddly surprising to some that these populations would mix. In our true European "we feel guilty about everything" outlook, we've often assumed that this must have been the result of violence.
Well, some probably were, but our surprise is probably because of the long-standing tradition of depicting Neanderthals as really ugly, which they probably were not. They probably just looked different, as many current populations do. Looking different, while often a cause of hatred amongst people, has often been an attractant too, and so far there hasn't been one single example of any group of people encountering another in which mixing didn't occur. And chances are high that Neanderthals didn't look like brutes, but rather were dressed in a fashion similar to any new population they were encountering. So, it's a pretty good bet that it didn't take long before some archaic member of our species was saying something like, "have you seen that cute Neanderthal girl that gets water down by the stream. . . . I wonder if she'd like to come over and share some Aurochs some evening?"
On this, I'd also note that within the last year I've seen something that seemed to confirm that Neanderthals could "speak". No kidding, they were human beings and talking is something we all seem to be able to do. For what it's worth, their brain cases had bigger volume than modern man's. For that matter, archaic members of our own species also did, and I saw the same speech speculation about them a couple of years ago. I have no doubt that both populations spent the evenings yakking it up and could speak just fine. I also suspect that having a bigger brain case than modern humans means exactly what we might suppose it meant.
First of all, within the last couple of days human footprints have been found in the UK which are at least 800,000, if not 1,000,000 years old. That's pretty cool. The temperature of the UK, at that point in time, was also pretty darned cool. Scandinavian like, in fact.
This has lead to a lot of pondering (why were they stomping around in the mud, for example?), but it's also lead to at least one amazingly dense comment from a scientist who wondered aloud if they had the ability to make clothing.
Seriously?
Of course, they did. The question is idiotic.
Which leads me to my second item.
Scientist have recently confirmed that modern human beings of European descent carry a few genes they can trace to Neanderthal human beings, thereby confirming that Neanderthals and what were once commonly called Cro Magnums, but now are generally called "archaic" modern man, um. . .well you know.
No kidding, no surprise there. Or at least there should be. We're actually all in the same species. The bigger surprise there is that apparently Neanderthals, and we were on the edge of genetic comparability. That does surprise me because, as noted, we're in the same species. Neanderthals were only unique in that they were genetically adapted to extreme cold by having short, but stout, bodies. Modern populations of humans now feature quite a variety in body types, which our archaic ancestors actually did not at that time, so that's not as big of a deal as it might seem. Included in our current adaptations are body forms that contemplate high heat and intense cold. That an isolated population of human beings living in Ice Age Europe would have adaptations to their environment isn't that surprising.
But it's been oddly surprising to some that these populations would mix. In our true European "we feel guilty about everything" outlook, we've often assumed that this must have been the result of violence.
Well, some probably were, but our surprise is probably because of the long-standing tradition of depicting Neanderthals as really ugly, which they probably were not. They probably just looked different, as many current populations do. Looking different, while often a cause of hatred amongst people, has often been an attractant too, and so far there hasn't been one single example of any group of people encountering another in which mixing didn't occur. And chances are high that Neanderthals didn't look like brutes, but rather were dressed in a fashion similar to any new population they were encountering. So, it's a pretty good bet that it didn't take long before some archaic member of our species was saying something like, "have you seen that cute Neanderthal girl that gets water down by the stream. . . . I wonder if she'd like to come over and share some Aurochs some evening?"
On this, I'd also note that within the last year I've seen something that seemed to confirm that Neanderthals could "speak". No kidding, they were human beings and talking is something we all seem to be able to do. For what it's worth, their brain cases had bigger volume than modern man's. For that matter, archaic members of our own species also did, and I saw the same speech speculation about them a couple of years ago. I have no doubt that both populations spent the evenings yakking it up and could speak just fine. I also suspect that having a bigger brain case than modern humans means exactly what we might suppose it meant.
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