The Grackle as they are called in Texas is a small scrappy version of the crow. During my 6 days of travel last year through small town America, I ran into this survivor near Waco Texas. He has a gimped leg and is surviving on scraps of food at a local fast food burger business but is surviving for the time being. ...

With the State of the State and the State of the Union this month, I thought I would throw this out for consideration. A meeting of local business owners at the Manhattan Cafe on Friday the 28th of January at 8:00 a.m., that's tomorrow to discuss the state of business in Mountain Home...

Thirty-five years as a photo journalist has had its ups and downs. High points and low points like nothing I have ever witnessed. This last week has me, for the first time in 5 years, seriously putting a reel together for new clients and to remind old clients I am still a player. It has been fun hiding out for a few years in Idaho but the old demons are knocking at the door once more and it's time to get back in the arena...

This article was passed on to me from the Roanoke Times in Virginia. It just drove home how desperate small town America is for a magic bullet to solve all of their problems. I wonder what would happen if they invested those millions into their own small business community instead of helping to prop up Microsofts stock prices. It is a very good read...

Road trips are my favorite. Last September I made my annual visit to Texas and Oklahoma to visit family. A chance for a real road trip, an opportunity to meander each fork in the road and let intuition make the turns and see what unfolds. The first fork in the road led me to Arco Idaho. ...

I was so pleased to see the coverage on our local CBS Channel 2 last night. Perhaps this is the turning point for local business. Kudos to those who under great financial pressure stepped up to the plate and virtually bought out the whole news cast for the Veterans Day coverage...

It has been observed by behavior science that the words themselves as we hear account for as little as 20 percent of what we interpret when communicating. It was a cool winter Friday morning, like today, in 2007. My job at MHAFB was with the Air Warfare Battlelab and we were at the morning briefing. The phone rings and Whip one of our deployed team members called with a cheery hello every one. We all tried to fill him in on what's going on back home...

‎"A statesman is a man that can do what the politician would like to do but can't, because he is afraid of not being elected." Will Rogers. Perhaps we need more statesman and stateswomen than we need more politicians?

What is it like to accelerate a superbike to over 150 mph, grab a handful of break lever then into a turn at 70 mph plus, and do it safely? I got to find that out at last month at Miller Motorsports Complex in Tooele Utah. Yamaha and our local Cycle City Yamaha sponsored several local riders to participate. ...

Patrick Dorinson gave me permission to share his Fox News article with my readers. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/10/18/patrick-dorinson-real-housewives-maher-reality-tv-idaho/ On Friday night, October 16,Bill Maher went on a rant about legendary NFL quarterback and perpetual teenager Brett Favre's recent troubles regarding his alleged "sexting" to a female employee of the New York Jets...

Getting paid to learn about things has been the number one benefit of my chosen career. Last week I took a job funded by the Western Legacy Alliance, what a treat. The Cowboy life is the west. Who hasn't dreamed of living this lifestyle, riding the open range and experiencing a slice of history? Watching cattle dogs bark orders at the cattle that, begrudgingly, end up doing what they are told. ...

Well, it's the start of the second day for the Yamaha appreciation track day at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele Utah. Sponsored by Yamaha and Cycle City Yamaha of Mountain Home, the entire event was free for Yamaha owners. Our first day was jammed packed with classroom and one-on-one training by professional racers. I have completed the novice school and at the end of day one worked my way up to the top 1/3 of the novice class on the track...

A new bike, some will call me shallow but buying a new bike makes a man a better man. Does this man look depressed or unhappy, does he look like some one that would commit any act of violence or harm, no way! I encourage all that can afford to, buy a new motorcycle and help bring peace and harmony to the universe...

I got this presser today and I just had to share it with the 3 People that read my blog. You will notice at the bottom it is signed by Bill "Valdez", I almost fell on the floor laughing to myself. I wonder if Capt. Joseph Hazelwood is steering the public affairs dept. They should know not to ask someone like me for an opinion!...

Every now and then I actually make it through a book or two. Once I a while one changes the way I look at everything. I recently finished the Quants by Scott Patterson, it was about the electronic stock trading that controls most of the Wall Street money machine...

Two blogs ago and several moons I posted a blog about meeting up with an acquaintance at the National Hare Hound motorcycle races in March. I did get to talk with Chris Blais for a while and thanked him for all that he had accomplished. I just couldn't resist and asked him about the accident, I know that is probably not his favorite subject but I just had to know what happened. Within a few words I had my answer...

After 30 years of covering state and national politics for ABC news I have seen the best and the worst of our political system. I started to see some legislators, who actually passed meaningful legislation, shared a level of maturity preceded by a path to political awareness. Today is the day that I want to put this before the few readers of my blog. These are what I consider the steps to political awareness...

This weekend the first AMA National Hare Hound (NHH) series in Murphy, Idaho will take place on Sunday. I am going to meet some one I greatly admire, some one who exemplifies the spirit of our younger generation, some one who knows nothing but hard work and determination...

After a long hiatus (18 months) working with the Air Force Base on community issues I am back doing what I was meant to do, being a gear-head and news hack. As I sit all night on CBS network-overtime (yeah), at Boise International Airport last week, waiting for Missionaries to return from Haiti I started to get excited about the new year and spring. Planning some of my trips like the first ever Montana 1000 dual sport motorcycle ride this July...

By this time last year our Owyhee adventure time had succumbed to the heat and harsh weather that follows springtime in the desert. This year has become a bonanza of opportunity to explore, find new roads and see new things in this wonder of Idaho we call the Owyhees...