“Nothing You See is Real”

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Wikipedia: “Donald David Hoffman is an American cognitive psychologist and popular science author. He is a professor in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, with joint appointments in the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, and the School of Computer Science. Hoffman studies consciousness, visual perception and evolutionary psychology using mathematical models and psychophysical experiments.”

Based on years of meditation and lots of reading on the subject of consciousness, I actually get this.

Homeless Americans

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My friend John spotted this tiny home near the Walmart parking lot in Kennett, MO. Not sure if the owner qualifies as “homeless” but John is seeing more tents these days and tells of a homeless encampment nearby.


No shortage of stories on this problem but the most depressing thing about the following is it’s from 9 years ago.


Kennett is a small community in southern Missouri. A reminder that homeless is not just a problem in big cities like San Francisco and New York. The homeless are everywhere and they can’t be ignored (forever) and they are not going away.

Sticker burrs

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We have some wicked sticker burrs on the property and I got into a patch yesterday. Easier to toss the socks than try to pick these off. I’ve been wearing knee-hight rubber boots but found they didn’t always protect me from chiggers. Knew there had to be a better way and ordered these.

I’ll hose these down with permethrin and see if they’ll protect from chiggers, ticks and burrs. Stay tuned.

Tractor with two seats

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I’ve never been one for off-roading. Feels like dressing up as a cowboy. So the Land Rover and the Jeep don’t get much four-wheel drive time. Today I loaded up the new rock sled with some big ones and used the Jeep (4WD/Low Range) to drag them up a hill and over to the trail head. Paul calls the Jeep a tractor with two seats.
And a little 4WD/low-range exercise for the pickup.

Rock sled

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Much of our ten acres is covered with rocks. Lots of rocks. A few really big ones…and a whole bunch of smaller ones. I’ve spent countless hours moving rocks for various reasons.

I’ve found there’s no easy way to move rocks. In the end, you have to pick one up…carry it to where you want it…and put it down. I’ve used a wheelbarrow from time to time but now trying something different. I built a rock sled.


With a pry bar you can lever a pretty big rock onto a 6 inch high sled. Then it’s just a matter of putting the pickup or Jeep in 4WD and dragging the sled where you want the rocks (see below). A while back I purchased a Jet Sled. A good tool for getting rocks down the hill but not that great for dragging with the truck. The rock sled won’t be much help down in the woods but should do nicely for collecting larger (too heavy to lift/carry) rocks around the property.