I'd really like to help you, man. Nervous messed up marionette. Floating round on a prison ship.

Stages, phases, pages

Close it, set it down, walk away

In search of the sweet spot,

The right shot,

Shaking loose the choking slipknot.




Sliding, slinking, sleek,

Among the inky peaks,

Glittering quicksilver, throwing spray,

Still arcs above the fray,

Ripping, slipping, throwing, flowing.


Clenched fists,

Biting crystalline bliss,

Breathe it in,

You will not pass this way again.



You will not pass this way again.

Hook me up a new revolution, 'cause this one is a lie.

From National Geographic:



August 8, 2005—A U.S. Navy photographer with lightning-fast reflexes captured this image of a fighter plane blasting through a "sonic boom cloud" as the jet broke the sound barrier. Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Chandler shot the picture as the F/A-18F Super Hornet blew past the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk in the Philippine Sea on July 27.

Despite its name, the sonic boom cloud doesn't always come with a sonic boom, and it's not a shock wave of the sound barrier being broken. The clouds only occur in unique weather conditions, when aircraft fly fast enough to cool the air around them, causing moisture in the air to condense into clouds. These halos of vapor appear for only a few seconds when aircraft reach speeds just below or just above the speed of sound (741 miles an hour/1,193 kilometers an hour).

But you don't have to be a top-gun photographer to see a sonic boom cloud. Several observers reported seeing one two days before this picture was taken, as the space shuttle Discovery reached supersonic speed soon after its July 25 launch.

==

Sweet.

'Cause it gets in your brain, drives you insanemakes you crazy...Let me be who I amLet's Kick Out the JamsWE GOTTA KICK 'EM OUT!!!!!!!

I am just listening to the sound that abounds and resounds and rebounds straight off of the ceiling.

Kickin' out the jams.

You know how it is.

When you've got a fever...

and the only prescription is more cowbell.

===
We are trying to arrange an adventure to the Silvergate/Cooke City area, but we are running into some difficulties with animal care. See, our dogs are senior citizens and can only tolerate very slow walks, with a ceiling of 45 minutes. If you push it, they really feel the pain that night and the next day.

So, we can take them along, but that rules out any long hikes.

And when you are going to one of the most beautiful mountain passes in the lower 48, and you don't hike, well... I guess you could enjoy the scenery from the car, but that's really not my style. You get totally shortchanged in this area of the country if you don't get your Cheeto-eating ass out of the car and exert some effort by walking. You will only see about 5-10% of the best sights if you stay in your Dodge Stratus. (I drive a Dodge Stratus! )

The Cooke City/Silvergate area is on Highway 212, which is the famous "Beartooth Highway." Along with the "Going to the Sun Road," in Glacier National Park, Montana, they are widely considered the two most scenic roads in the country.

So, I guess if you are going to pick two areas to passively sit on your ass and soak in scenery via car window, 212 is the place to do it.

We shall see. We shall see.

Here are a few pictures of Hwy 212 from www.wallpaperdave.com




==
By the way, I did not have a heart attack, one of the possible reasons for the enzyme CPK to be present in elevated levels during a blood test. The subsequent blood test showed the enzyme at below normal levels.

I am, however, suffering from another malady that is causing great malaise in my life. I developed plantar faciitis, a persistent pain in the tendons on the bottom of the feet, after a run that was a bit too far, too fast on Sunday. (In fact, it was the fastest I have run over such a distance since I was in high school. Who says life ends at 30? It doesn't end. You just suffer more.)

Anyway, I haven't run for a few days since then, on top of not running much the week before because I had to refrain from exercise for four days before said blood test, and that plays nasty games with my serotonin levels...

It's the only buzz I catch these days.

Anyway, a creeping malaise has set in.

I think I just need to Kick Out The Jams.

And some more cowbell.

A lot more cowbell.