Ted’s essays

somebody moved Darby to Grangeville when I wasn’t looking

I haven’t dealt with snow at this level since I lived on the wet side of the Bitterroot Mountain Range. As wet air moves east into mountain ranges that make it go up the moisture is wrung out of it. That is meteoroligical fact from a century of experience. The west sides of the Sierras, Wasach and Bitterroots have all shown me this in real life, real time. Thus no real surprise a dozen years ago when I had to shovel 8 to 12 inches of snow off my sidewalk and driveway in Grangeville, Idaho, at the foot of the mountians dividing north Idaho from Montana. At a youthful 58 years old, removing 12 inches of snow on my sidewalks […]

snow shoveling for old men

Recognizing the area requiring snow removal FAR EXCEEDED my shoveling capabilities I bought the Ariens snow blower when I moved here August 2017. Age and way too much snow caught up with me. My wrists, right arm, knees and back were not up to the amount of supplemental shoveling required here. Enter our new Polaris Sportsman with plow. HOORAY!!! This combination of tools is exactly what I need to maintain our driveway and parking spaces without beating myself to incapacity. In a week and a half I have become convinced I own the right tools. The combination is perfect with each complimenting the other. I still use the snow shovel and snow pushers a little, but there is very little […]

connected with the cosmos

I have published several articles here regarding the function of the hair growing out of our heads (search this site for “hair”). There is more to it than most understand. History is replete with examples of warriors losing powers when shorn, or retaining inexplicable senses with their long hair. We long-hairs cannot quantify differences nor can short-hairs know what they are missing. A few days ago one of those unaccountable things happened to me. I felt an urgent need to take both dogs for an off-leash walk up the road; something I NEVER DO. I tried to rationalize the urge away, but then let it take me to the far side of the road (because the off-leash dogs went there) […]

figuring people out

We tend to consider people in our immediate world through the lense of who we are, what we feel and how we act. Surely everybody is kind-of like we are. Sometimes, however, you find yourself dealing with someone who just isn’t doing what you expect, or reacting in ways that don’t make sense to you. That is probably time to consider they really are not so much like you are. Here is a little review of what psychologists today call “Antisocial Personality Disorder – APD.” ——————————————– Both sociopaths and psychopaths have a pervasive pattern of disregard for the safety and rights of others. Deceit and manipulation are central features to both types of personality. Contrary to popular belief, a psychopath […]

shell people

A granddaughter moved in with us after failing to thrive in The Big City. We were close to her Mom’s last hope. It was going well, we thought, but were recently smacked upside the head that our great little community and wonderful resources were not enough. We involved adults were of the same mind, landing like a ton of bricks on this ungrateful truant. The girl’s world was shrinking and tightening incrementally as previous sanctions failed to deliver desired results. In retrospect: If what you are doing is not working, “do more of it” is not really the greatest plan. But that is where we were headed. Until a couple of wonderful Darby resources turned a light bulb on in […]

personal nostalgic moment

Reconnecting with an old friend brought my ‘5 minutes of fame’ back to mind. The old video had gone away – again. Having personally backed it up, I was able and inspired to watch it last night for the first time in many years. Ted The Younger got so much right, and now with a more dispassionate view realize I did even better than I remembered. If you removed party labels and were left with one of those two choices to be Idaho governor, I won. Pretty dang good for my first television appearance. Of course that guy with the green tie in 2006 is quite different from this guy who is 12 years older. I would not want to […]

ham class begins in March

I am bringing another amateur radio operator licensing class to Darby, Montana. I have not keept track, but think I have personally assisted 15 or 20 people to earning their FCC licenses through my study groups in the Darby, Montana library. My track record garnered me the assignment as the local ham club (BARC) education coordinator. The club has many people who know radio A LOT better than I do, but none who can teach as well. The snide saying goes, “Those who CAN, DO. Those who cannot, TEACH”. I’m okay wearing that. Good instructors are as rare as good anything else. I did not choose this calling, blessing or curse. It chose me. Run with your talents. If you […]

dark green Pious

While GOING GREEN is popular and feels good for thoughtful inhabitants of this planet, it is often not as simple as many would like to think. While taxpayer subsidies often obfuscate proper accounting, those costs remain very real. Most people purchase their Prius for $30,000 feeling by paying double for an “economy car” is a small price to pay for lower fuel consumption and reduced negative environmental impact. That assumes going 45 miles on a gallon of gasoline instead of 30 is the end of the argument. 45 mpg x $3/gallon x 100,000 miles = $6,667 First let me blow the doors off their personal accounting. I averaged 45 mpg from a ’91 Honda CRX HF that you can buy […]