01.21.2010

In the Pigeon world, it has been rather thought provoking as of late.  Having gotten into Fantails, I have been watching birds that are sold and making notes of traits and characteristics in my birds.  There was a group of Fantails recently sold on Eggbid as a loft dispersal for C.B. Jackson.  Some very nice birds were in that group.  However, I have to wonder about some of the prices.  One bird sold for well over $600.00 and I saw where Mr. Jackson was reported to have paid $1,000.00 for that bird.

My question about that is no attack on anyone, it is just a question.  Are people who spend that much money on a single bird, in any breed, trying to buy their way into the top spot, or are they actually buying the bird because they truly believe it will further theie own stock?  Is a $600.00 bird required to better one’s stock or can a breeder find the piece he is missing for a lot less? 

Again, these are just questions I ponder and I, personally, don’t care what people spend on their birds.  I think of the guy who might need one or two good birds to help his stock, but cannot afford those prices.  Is that guy even able to better his stock if those are the prices for “good” birds?

Speaking of Eggbid, have you all seen the recent nonsense on there?  This “Eggbid.com Slander”, etc. stuff?  Now, I know that Eggbid could care less about the hobby, they only like their money and don’t even monitor the site.  Hell, they cannot even credit accounts in the same timeply manner by which they require payment.  I am paid up , but they haven’t credited my account in over a year.  They also don’t even bother to answer emails anymore.

Normally, it would be in order to ask for a boycott, but since you are able to post whatever you want with no consequences and not even pay for auction fees (Yeah, I know people), why not use the service.  However, please be cautioned to use it at your own risk.  The downside of the site is that their customer service is worthless, and I’m being nice about that, so they won’t respond to anything sladerous or libelous that is posted.  If you make someone mad, you are on your own, but remember, if it is an outright lie and is put in writing, it is a serious offense and prosecutable.  You may have the law on your side, but you certainly won’t have Eggbid on your side.

01.21.2010

I am sorry to say that I haven’t so much as written a single word in my novel since my last posting.  Been so busy with basketball games this week and catching up on homework, I just ran out of time.

On another note, I am very excited about an opportunity I was given.  I have been asked to speak to a Literature class at the college.  The instructor wants me to talk about writing, where I get my ideas, and the general writing process.  This is very exciting and I will post how it went after it happens.

Bob

01.18.2010

Well, it seems writer’s block has settled in a bit.  Still stuck in chapter 4.  I had a plan of where things would go, but the story had other plans so now I am stuck, trying to plan the next move.

Now that classes are underway for the semester, I suspect I will be getting busier.  I am taking three classes, one on Computer Customer Supprt, one on Mcrosoft Access (Database), and the last on Web Page Design using HTML and XHTML.

After taking the Web Design class, sometime this year my website will be getting an extreme makeover.  Most likely, I will have to rebuild it from scratch to make it right.  This will be a time-consuming project, but a long overdue one.

I heard from a local friend, Dwight Crewdson, and it sounds like I will be getting another group of Fantails from him in about a month.  He had picked out birds for breeding, but wants to cut them back to around 20 pairs so this group will be the good stuff, better than any others I have gotten from him most likely.  Sounds like there may be 30-40 birds in this group.  This will get me into some top notch Fantails that I can breed and compete with.  Some will be made available to others as well.  Many thanks to Dwight for allowing me this wonderful opportunity.

I have started pairing up birds this last weekend.  Got a few pairs of WOE’s mated and a couple Fantails as well.

Not much else going on.  The weather has been much nicer and the snow is slowly disappearing, but it sure does make for a sloppy mess!  Until next time, God bless you.

Bob

01.14.2010

Well, the spring semester has begun at college now.  I have three IT classes I am taking.  Two of them should be fun, but the database one I dread a little.

Yesterday, I spoke with a friend I hadn’t talked to in quite a while.  I was good to hear from him and talk Pigeons.  I may be getting some birds from him to sell for him later.  They would be Old Style Frills.

I have had a small problem in my loft the last month or so, but I finally took the first step to correct it.  Some of my Fantails would always hang out on the floor.  Normally, I don’t care if they do, but they would stad right under the perches and, well, you know.  Anyway, a couple had gotten really dirty from sitting under other birds, one or two had so much poop on their tails, they couldn’t hold them up any more.  And, with the cold we were having, the poop would freeze very quickly.

So, I went out yesterday and pulled tails on the dirtiest of them so they would grow out clean.  That gives me just under six weeks to find a solution to the problem.  One thing that will help a lot, is getting the WOE Tumblers out of those pens.  I will do that this weekend when I pair them up.  I am hoping to start pairing up Fantails in another 2-4 weeks.  I will have some really good quality Fantails available when I do start pairing up if anyone is interested.  With the quality of stock that I have, I should be able to raise some top notch Fantails this year.  Can’t wait to get that first one banded!

With my writing, my novel seems to havd ground to a crawl early in Chapter 4.  I have found that I will be sitting here at the computer with a thought of where I want this part of the story to go, then I start writing.  By the time I have written a few paragraphs, the story has taken on a life of its own, going down another path.  It is amazing to watch the letters for words and words for the story right before your eyes. 

My little passion has grown from Lennie’s mouse to Gollum’s ring.  It consumes a great deal of my thoughts.  Although I admit that I tend to be easily distracted, I am going to try and force myself to block off some time every day to write.  60 minutes of uninterrupted creativity. 

Last year, I was accepted into a major university for children’s writing (writing books for children & teens), but finances have prevented me from taking the course.  I will be signing up for a one-day workshop this spring for Screenwriting under renowned screenwriter, Lew Hunter.  Lew told me in a letter that I “have a gift, but I never fully realize it until I’ve opened up the package.  Opening is called ‘writing’.”  Time to start untying the bow and tearing the wrapping paper!

Bob

01.09.2010

Well, I had a wonderful evening last night with family and friends.  We played Catch-phrase and laughed harder than we had in a long time.  Makes me really appreciate some things.  Got other friends coming over tonight for supper and games.  Since none of us drink alcohol, it is especially good because we actually remember the fun we had!

The cold last several days has kept me away from the loft most of the time, but I still manage to practice lacing a Fantail as much as possible.  This is unusually tough when the wind chill factor is minus 25.  They cancelled school Thursday and Friday from the cold and snow and also cancelled my DJ night on Thursday.  It was brutal, but it looks like we will have a break this next week.

I made some real progress on my book yesterday and I hope to work on it today as well.  Lots of writing, then thinking, then writing, then thinking, then changing something, then repeating it all again.  I am finishing up Chapter 3, but at one point I had Chapters 1 and 2 open at the same time, fixing things in all 3 chapters!  Gotta take it slow so I can make it the best story I can.

Well, that’s about it for now.  Back to writing I go…

01.04.2010

Not much to say today.  Thank you to all who have responded to my previous posts.  Please keep them coming.

After talking with a few friends in the hobby, I am getting really excited for the upcoming breeding season.  Now, if all the damned snow would just melt and spring would get here!

My novel is coming along, but it is a slow process.  I keep thinking of things to add, chance, or delete as I go so it takes time.  I’m working on chapter 3.  Will keep everyone posted on this venture.

I will try to post at least once a week on here for an update, more often if time allows or as news-worthy events unfold.  Thank you for taking the time to read this stuff.

Bob

01.02.2010

Here’s wishing all of you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.  I am working on getting over those negative evens from last year and moving on.  I cannot, by my very nature, go cold turkey in not helping people, but I can be much more careful from here on.

I know there are people I forgot to thank in the last post.  These are people who are true friends to me, those who would never letty petty differences or a stupid pigeon club come between our friendships and for that I am truly thankful.  I am looking forward to the 2010 breeding season and will be putting birds together very soon.  Can’t wait to band that first WOE and Fantail!

Didn’t get to write much these last couple days.  Spent New Year’s Eve with some friends and it was a great time.  First time since 2000 came in that I stayed up past Midnight!  We played some baord games and had a wonderful supper.  Since none of those present drink alcohol, it was a blessed time to remember and hopefully repeat again.

The college is open Monday so back to work I go.  The daily routine of life will begin for the first time this year starting Monday.  Gotta run for now, going to my in-laws for the day.  Having Grandma’s homemade tortillas.  What a treat!!

Bob