Saturday, August 29, 2009
Howie at Rantoul
Dad, Howie, and I went to Rantoul, Illinois to see the Half Century of Power tractor show. This was a huge show that sprawled across an old airforce base. We saw Big Bud the worlds largest tractor, the World's largest U.S. Flag, Oral Samuelson and Max Armstrong, as well as a bunch of old farm machinery. Here are some pictures.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
An Optomistic outlook on a nomadic life...
An optimistic view of a nomadic life?
So its been documented before I would like to live life as a nomad (as long as I can have the internet which is becoming a good possibility with satellite technology) However some people are not very positive or supportive of this goal...
meg says:
are you a nomad if you live in a car or does that just make you homeless ?
Dustin says:
no I'd wander around on foot
Dustin says:
http://keithsrestoration.com/images/past_projects/1955chevy_nomad/finished.jpg = the only car for nomads
meg says:
would you eat garbage?
Dustin says:
nope I'd have a herd of animals
meg says:
i love chevy nomads
meg says:
o how would a herd work
meg says:
hmmm i just don't see how this would work
meg says:
you would die or starve
meg says:
or be murdered by a serial killer
meg says:
or be hit by a car
Dustin says:
way to be optimistic
meg says:
or die from an infection during the winter from the sores you would have on your feet, that's what would happen
meg says:
:P
meg says:
i'm not sure
meg says:
maybe it would work for a while
meg says:
what about long term?
meg says:
you never told me how a herd would work
Dustin says:
I would eat them for food
meg says:
are you going to slaughter them on the side of the road and look crazy or what
Dustin says:
I could also gather fruits and berries and the such
Later in the conversation...
meg says:
i think your foot fall off from frost bite really
meg says:
that's pretty realistic
Dustin says:
You don't think I'd wear shoes and socks to keep my feet warm?
meg says:
no
meg says:
:P
meg says:
i think you would get too cold
Dustin says:
ye of little faith
So I'd like to thank Megan for her faith in me....
So its been documented before I would like to live life as a nomad (as long as I can have the internet which is becoming a good possibility with satellite technology) However some people are not very positive or supportive of this goal...
meg says:
are you a nomad if you live in a car or does that just make you homeless ?
Dustin says:
no I'd wander around on foot
Dustin says:
http://keithsrestoration.com/images/past_projects/1955chevy_nomad/finished.jpg = the only car for nomads
meg says:
would you eat garbage?
Dustin says:
nope I'd have a herd of animals
meg says:
i love chevy nomads
meg says:
o how would a herd work
meg says:
hmmm i just don't see how this would work
meg says:
you would die or starve
meg says:
or be murdered by a serial killer
meg says:
or be hit by a car
Dustin says:
way to be optimistic
meg says:
or die from an infection during the winter from the sores you would have on your feet, that's what would happen
meg says:
:P
meg says:
i'm not sure
meg says:
maybe it would work for a while
meg says:
what about long term?
meg says:
you never told me how a herd would work
Dustin says:
I would eat them for food
meg says:
are you going to slaughter them on the side of the road and look crazy or what
Dustin says:
I could also gather fruits and berries and the such
Later in the conversation...
meg says:
i think your foot fall off from frost bite really
meg says:
that's pretty realistic
Dustin says:
You don't think I'd wear shoes and socks to keep my feet warm?
meg says:
no
meg says:
:P
meg says:
i think you would get too cold
Dustin says:
ye of little faith
So I'd like to thank Megan for her faith in me....
Monday, August 17, 2009
Presidental Spam
• All I can say is... I wanted to get some unsolicited mail from the white house !
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 22 mins ago
WASHINGTON – After insisting no one was receiving unsolicited e-mails from the White House, officials reversed their story Monday night and blamed outside political groups for the unwanted messages from the tech-savvy operation.
White House online director Macon Phillips said in a blog posting that independent groups — he didn't name them — had signed up their members to receive regular White House updates about Obama's projects, priorities and speeches.
The White House had consistently denied that anyone who hadn't sought the e-mails had received them.
"It has come to our attention that some people may have been subscribed to our e-mail lists without their knowledge — likely as a result of efforts by outside groups of all political stripes — and we regret any inconvenience caused by receiving an unexpected message," Phillips wrote.
"We're certainly not interested in anyone receiving e-mails from the White House who don't want them. That's one reason why we have never — and will never — add names from a commercial or political list to the White House list," he wrote.
The quasi-apology came hours after the top Republican on the House's oversight committee, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., asked the White House about its ambitious e-mail plan, which included a message from top political adviser David Axelrod urging support for a health care overhaul.
Issa also asked White House counsel Greg Craig whether officials were collecting names of the president's critics.
"I am concerned about the possibility that political e-mail address lists are being used for official purposes," Issa wrote. "This, again, raises questions about this administration blurring the lines between political and official business."
Issa also wanted to know how, exactly, the White House was using a separate e-mail account designed to track what it called "fishy" claims about its proposed overhaul — an account that was disabled Monday afternoon.
The White House turned to its blog to respond broadly to its critics — without mentioning Issa by name.
"An ironic development is that the launch of an online program meant to provide facts about health insurance reform has itself become the target of fear-mongering and online rumors that are the tactics of choice for the defenders of the status quo," Phillips wrote.
Issa said he wants an answer on how the administration is archiving those e-mails and what protections would be put in place to prevent it from become an enemies list.
In what seemed to be a reply, Phillips indicated there was little chance for cooperation with Issa, a member of a minority political party without significant power.
"The White House takes online privacy very seriously. As our published privacy policy makes clear, we will not share personal information submitted through the site with anyone," he wrote.
Administration officials had been dismissive of complaints that people had received unsolicited e-mail messages or that the administration was compiling an enemies list as conservative Web sites and talk radio programs have alleged.
"The fear has been expressed that the White House was asking neighbors to inform on neighbors in a government-led data collection effort," said Issa, the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Weeks ago, White House officials asked the public to share critics' e-mails so they could fight back and correct the misconceptions. Because those e-mails are official correspondence with the White House, they must be preserved — unaltered — for decades and eventually released to the public through the National Archives.
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 22 mins ago
WASHINGTON – After insisting no one was receiving unsolicited e-mails from the White House, officials reversed their story Monday night and blamed outside political groups for the unwanted messages from the tech-savvy operation.
White House online director Macon Phillips said in a blog posting that independent groups — he didn't name them — had signed up their members to receive regular White House updates about Obama's projects, priorities and speeches.
The White House had consistently denied that anyone who hadn't sought the e-mails had received them.
"It has come to our attention that some people may have been subscribed to our e-mail lists without their knowledge — likely as a result of efforts by outside groups of all political stripes — and we regret any inconvenience caused by receiving an unexpected message," Phillips wrote.
"We're certainly not interested in anyone receiving e-mails from the White House who don't want them. That's one reason why we have never — and will never — add names from a commercial or political list to the White House list," he wrote.
The quasi-apology came hours after the top Republican on the House's oversight committee, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., asked the White House about its ambitious e-mail plan, which included a message from top political adviser David Axelrod urging support for a health care overhaul.
Issa also asked White House counsel Greg Craig whether officials were collecting names of the president's critics.
"I am concerned about the possibility that political e-mail address lists are being used for official purposes," Issa wrote. "This, again, raises questions about this administration blurring the lines between political and official business."
Issa also wanted to know how, exactly, the White House was using a separate e-mail account designed to track what it called "fishy" claims about its proposed overhaul — an account that was disabled Monday afternoon.
The White House turned to its blog to respond broadly to its critics — without mentioning Issa by name.
"An ironic development is that the launch of an online program meant to provide facts about health insurance reform has itself become the target of fear-mongering and online rumors that are the tactics of choice for the defenders of the status quo," Phillips wrote.
Issa said he wants an answer on how the administration is archiving those e-mails and what protections would be put in place to prevent it from become an enemies list.
In what seemed to be a reply, Phillips indicated there was little chance for cooperation with Issa, a member of a minority political party without significant power.
"The White House takes online privacy very seriously. As our published privacy policy makes clear, we will not share personal information submitted through the site with anyone," he wrote.
Administration officials had been dismissive of complaints that people had received unsolicited e-mail messages or that the administration was compiling an enemies list as conservative Web sites and talk radio programs have alleged.
"The fear has been expressed that the White House was asking neighbors to inform on neighbors in a government-led data collection effort," said Issa, the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Weeks ago, White House officials asked the public to share critics' e-mails so they could fight back and correct the misconceptions. Because those e-mails are official correspondence with the White House, they must be preserved — unaltered — for decades and eventually released to the public through the National Archives.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Aug 1st - Dream
So on August first, I had this really weird dream. Now normally I don’t remember my dreams much past 2-3 minutes of waking up. i.e. about the time I brush my teeth is about the time I totally forget about my dreams from the night before. Also I don’t dream a lot, like sometimes It might be a week or two between dreams, so when I had this very strange and in depth dream that night, I woke up around 2 am and made a whole bunch of notes about the dream so I could remember it later.
So now I begin the task of organizing this into something that flows more coherently and is more grammatically correct than what my mind could piece together that night. I had hoped to get around to doing this the day after, but it got delayed (c’est la vie). However my original notes I typed up that night were over 1,000 words long (that gives a hint as to how interesting/bizarre this dream was to me), so I just have to smooth out the thought process a little bit.
So in the dream I’m working at a hotel in England, and the staff and I are trying to keep the hotel up to date and within standards guidelines on everything, as we know that an inspection will be coming up shortly. The Hotel defiantly has this weird feel to it, the interior design scheme is what I can best describe as Guilded Age (1880’s) British crossed with an American Western design feel.
Well anyway, low and behold our inspector shows up and begins the inspection that has us all nervous, as we are training a new executive housekeeper (though everything does already look nicer than before she started in her position) and have to teach her how everything needs to be done correctly. During the inspection the inspector finds two places to mark us down on. 1. Is that in one of the back offices (which I might add look strange in a Guilded Age / American Western hotel :P ) there was some foam underneath a shelf that was rotten/damaged. The other area was some issues involving the desk and cleaning staff not following instructions properly.
Also I need to note that somehow during the dream I was getting these like random documentary flash backs to how perfect a society the UK had become (no crime / major disease) It had become the utopian symbol of the modern world so to speak. It didn't seem weird I was getting this info just randomly inserted into the dream as if I was watching a television show, with the dream pausing for me to become more fully informed of the background of this dream world.
-----
Anyway here is where the dream gets interesting, and I even felt like I had some control over my actions at the end of this part, not quite lucid dreaming but possibly something close like I had power in the choices I was making in the dream and aware of it and the consequences,,
I apparently bought a football (American) card off of craigslist.
So the first time I visit the guy with the card to look at it, I offer him 20 dollars, American (which seems weird at the time being we were in the UK but it was a dream right?)
So I visit him the next day to complete the transaction and I pull out my $20 dollar bill but he won't take it and says we have to do it online.
Now this online transaction was strange, the screen was purple background with just plain black lettering and he had to send me a code and then I would enter a phrase back and it would complete a $5 transaction, we had to do it in $5 amounts, I have no idea why it had to be done this way but I didn't question it in the dream.
Anyway by like the 2nd time through it I have the reply code busted/cracked and tell him how it is easy to figure out, he shrugs it off but I get the feeling he is irritated. Also during this he sends me back to my car for something (can't remember what it is, just that I did it)
He is walking around the room all this time acting like he is tidying up (his place is kind of messy) when I get up to get the card after completing the 4 transactions of $5 each and go to leave walking towards the door. However, as I'm leaving he pulls out a revolver and demands I leave without taking the card, and giving him the 20 dollars in cash I had because, "he should never sell Sweatness for anything less than $180). It is at this point I first know what card I had bought, apparently a Walter Payton card (he was nicked named "Sweetness" for those out of the sports loop, he played running back for the famous Chicago Bear's teams in the 80's and died about 5 years ago due to liver problems. Anyway he is listed as a top 3 running back of all time on pretty much any sports list you will find.)
As I'm walking out of his room I drop the card and the $20, as well as two $10 bills because he demands all of my cash, I had more but he seemed satisfied when I told him it was all I had and since I was walking out of the building backing away from him and the gun he didn't question me or see otherwise.
I get to the Parking lot (which looks like my apartments parking lot for the most part) there is a brief pause when I can't find my car, I kind of freak out but end up finding it and start to drive away as quickly as possible.
As I pull out of the Drive way there is a wreck behind me after I'm on the road, some little old lady, I hear the police sirens getting there really fast but the wreck k didn't involve me so I drive on without looking back.
So I pull down the side street next to the complex and now its suddenly dark and rainy (This changed in weather wasn't a concern in the dream)
I have my window rolled down and see the guy who robbed me walking quickly across the street and he notices me and shoves my car; he somehow has the ability to spin my car around somewhat on the road as he shouts at me to get out of there and never come back.
Now is where I get more control of my dream actions
I am pissed off so finish spinning the car around and honk my horn, I'm going to try and run him over. However I soon find out that honking your horn seems to bring police immediately in this dream world as they will show up mere moments later.
Anyway I'm charging at the guy who is watching me standing in the middle of the street when something darts in front of me and I wreck into it)
*Things get kind of hazy here as I'm starting to forget despite my best efforts not to*
The gist of it is that numerous people get injured/killed in sudden accidents or road rage based on these accidents. As I mentioned earlier the UK had become like a “safety utopia” of sorts and so this was very unusual and everyone was freaking out; as they hadn’t seen car accidents, people dying or fighting in years.
Now we insert a new documentary update of England slipping back into “medieval black death European society”
Suddenly the streets are gravel, and there are people dressed up in the bubonic plague attire with the beak mask roaming the street
Some vendors and people are carrying around animal jaw bones (I have no clue as to why, and this did seem weird to me outside of the news I learned from the documentary update, but it did not appear to be strange to anyone else around me.)
Also all of the houses along the road had these big jars full of preserved things like in Biology class, I couldn't make out what these things were looked like new strange animals to me
Anyway I wake up noticing these things while I'm hiking uphill on this gravel street trying to flee the city, though it’s strange as many people fleeing the city, there was that many entering in from the country side passing me on the opposite side of the road.
So anyone good at interpreting dreams? I’d love to hear what you have to say… Some of the hotel stuff I can relate to real life recent happenings, but the European utopia slipping into a plague ridden city? And the deal for the football card? No clue.
So now I begin the task of organizing this into something that flows more coherently and is more grammatically correct than what my mind could piece together that night. I had hoped to get around to doing this the day after, but it got delayed (c’est la vie). However my original notes I typed up that night were over 1,000 words long (that gives a hint as to how interesting/bizarre this dream was to me), so I just have to smooth out the thought process a little bit.
So in the dream I’m working at a hotel in England, and the staff and I are trying to keep the hotel up to date and within standards guidelines on everything, as we know that an inspection will be coming up shortly. The Hotel defiantly has this weird feel to it, the interior design scheme is what I can best describe as Guilded Age (1880’s) British crossed with an American Western design feel.
Well anyway, low and behold our inspector shows up and begins the inspection that has us all nervous, as we are training a new executive housekeeper (though everything does already look nicer than before she started in her position) and have to teach her how everything needs to be done correctly. During the inspection the inspector finds two places to mark us down on. 1. Is that in one of the back offices (which I might add look strange in a Guilded Age / American Western hotel :P ) there was some foam underneath a shelf that was rotten/damaged. The other area was some issues involving the desk and cleaning staff not following instructions properly.
Also I need to note that somehow during the dream I was getting these like random documentary flash backs to how perfect a society the UK had become (no crime / major disease) It had become the utopian symbol of the modern world so to speak. It didn't seem weird I was getting this info just randomly inserted into the dream as if I was watching a television show, with the dream pausing for me to become more fully informed of the background of this dream world.
-----
Anyway here is where the dream gets interesting, and I even felt like I had some control over my actions at the end of this part, not quite lucid dreaming but possibly something close like I had power in the choices I was making in the dream and aware of it and the consequences,,
I apparently bought a football (American) card off of craigslist.
So the first time I visit the guy with the card to look at it, I offer him 20 dollars, American (which seems weird at the time being we were in the UK but it was a dream right?)
So I visit him the next day to complete the transaction and I pull out my $20 dollar bill but he won't take it and says we have to do it online.
Now this online transaction was strange, the screen was purple background with just plain black lettering and he had to send me a code and then I would enter a phrase back and it would complete a $5 transaction, we had to do it in $5 amounts, I have no idea why it had to be done this way but I didn't question it in the dream.
Anyway by like the 2nd time through it I have the reply code busted/cracked and tell him how it is easy to figure out, he shrugs it off but I get the feeling he is irritated. Also during this he sends me back to my car for something (can't remember what it is, just that I did it)
He is walking around the room all this time acting like he is tidying up (his place is kind of messy) when I get up to get the card after completing the 4 transactions of $5 each and go to leave walking towards the door. However, as I'm leaving he pulls out a revolver and demands I leave without taking the card, and giving him the 20 dollars in cash I had because, "he should never sell Sweatness for anything less than $180). It is at this point I first know what card I had bought, apparently a Walter Payton card (he was nicked named "Sweetness" for those out of the sports loop, he played running back for the famous Chicago Bear's teams in the 80's and died about 5 years ago due to liver problems. Anyway he is listed as a top 3 running back of all time on pretty much any sports list you will find.)
As I'm walking out of his room I drop the card and the $20, as well as two $10 bills because he demands all of my cash, I had more but he seemed satisfied when I told him it was all I had and since I was walking out of the building backing away from him and the gun he didn't question me or see otherwise.
I get to the Parking lot (which looks like my apartments parking lot for the most part) there is a brief pause when I can't find my car, I kind of freak out but end up finding it and start to drive away as quickly as possible.
As I pull out of the Drive way there is a wreck behind me after I'm on the road, some little old lady, I hear the police sirens getting there really fast but the wreck k didn't involve me so I drive on without looking back.
So I pull down the side street next to the complex and now its suddenly dark and rainy (This changed in weather wasn't a concern in the dream)
I have my window rolled down and see the guy who robbed me walking quickly across the street and he notices me and shoves my car; he somehow has the ability to spin my car around somewhat on the road as he shouts at me to get out of there and never come back.
Now is where I get more control of my dream actions
I am pissed off so finish spinning the car around and honk my horn, I'm going to try and run him over. However I soon find out that honking your horn seems to bring police immediately in this dream world as they will show up mere moments later.
Anyway I'm charging at the guy who is watching me standing in the middle of the street when something darts in front of me and I wreck into it)
*Things get kind of hazy here as I'm starting to forget despite my best efforts not to*
The gist of it is that numerous people get injured/killed in sudden accidents or road rage based on these accidents. As I mentioned earlier the UK had become like a “safety utopia” of sorts and so this was very unusual and everyone was freaking out; as they hadn’t seen car accidents, people dying or fighting in years.
Now we insert a new documentary update of England slipping back into “medieval black death European society”
Suddenly the streets are gravel, and there are people dressed up in the bubonic plague attire with the beak mask roaming the street
Some vendors and people are carrying around animal jaw bones (I have no clue as to why, and this did seem weird to me outside of the news I learned from the documentary update, but it did not appear to be strange to anyone else around me.)
Also all of the houses along the road had these big jars full of preserved things like in Biology class, I couldn't make out what these things were looked like new strange animals to me
Anyway I wake up noticing these things while I'm hiking uphill on this gravel street trying to flee the city, though it’s strange as many people fleeing the city, there was that many entering in from the country side passing me on the opposite side of the road.
So anyone good at interpreting dreams? I’d love to hear what you have to say… Some of the hotel stuff I can relate to real life recent happenings, but the European utopia slipping into a plague ridden city? And the deal for the football card? No clue.
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