Off to Tennessee
 

Uh.. Huh??

Yep, I will be moving soon to a small town outside of Memphis in the next few weeks. I've been very busy with getting ready to move and the low-rent job Ive had for the last year. The wife got a new position in her company and has was offerred a relocation to Tn. I'll be going out there to look for a new job.

We bought a farm (really!) and the first thing we are going to do is restore the barn. Here is the barn (the house is off the right and in back).

Barn Pic

We have decided to do some travelling so I don't know what type of job I'll get as I'll want flexibility in hours / work days. The big 'ouch' is that I am so far away from things that we will have to get satellite internet (TV too).

We are going to have a website that follows the barn restoration. I hope to keep being able to devote some time to my Trek / 3D passion as well :).

Wife!?!? When I saw you a few years ago in SF you were unattached.

Good luck with the move and the new life on the farm!

Yeah, we were seperated (long story and makes sense if you ever were bored enough to listen). We got back together just over a year ago. ANYWAY... she is an account manager at Sun and they gave her FEDEX to manage. They are in Memphis - so we will be too.

Well, that's good news. I'm glad you got back together.

I've never spent any time in Tennesse. I've driven through on the way to Florida, but that's about it.

You bought the farm? Holy Cow! Err, will there be any cows or other animals on this farm?
You certainly have your work cut out for you with that barn. How's the house?
Best of luck with the move. We will await patienty for your return.
Have you looked into the satellite internet yet? Download speeds are not bad, but upload speeds are roughly twice dialup. Better than nothing.

You mentioned travel. Where are you going to visit? Staying domestic, or looking to go international?

Travel will be modtly domestic though Ireland and Scotland are way up on the list as well. A few years from now Spain looks good too.

Horses are possible and at least one cow. We have (will have) a new neighbor that is building a horse ranch across the road but will be English style (she hails from England I've been told).

Yes on the satellite - working on it this week as well as TV. Cable is a couple of years out. This place is 30 miles from Memphis which means the middle of nowhere in that part of the state.

Sounds like you have it all planned out and have happier times ahead. Do you have any work lined up or are you going to get that barn done first?

Do you have any experience with livestock? Sounds a bit daunting although the fresh milk should be good.

I bet your dollar goes a lot further in Tennessee than in CA.

I'll be looking when I get out to Tenn. but I have some contacts already looking as well. No livestock experence except I've eaten a lot of beef and chicken - does that count? (I have a sister-in-law that is a chicken farmer). The dollar does go farther on some things compared to Calif. but not that much.

You could go into business selling ultra premium beef, sort of like the American version of Kobe beef. Milk fed with daily massages. Just think of it. You could call it Pemberton Beef. You could also produce beef jerky. I can see it now. PB&J.
Sorry. Blathering again.

Ya know - I heard an interview just last week on Kobe beef - I was thinkin....

You really want to spend your days massaging cows? I suppose it's better than being in a cubicle all day.

I can second that comment! At least I have a nice big window to look out on Manhattan's fabulous 8th avenue.
Better start praacticing. You need very strong hands as cows are kind of leathery :)

For the correct Kobe style, you actually have to spit beer onto the area being massaged (really!). Sometimes, though, the cows try to get you to perform an extra-special type of massage. Beware of such bad cows.

Spit beer! No way! What a waste of beer!

Masao, you surprise me. I thought you were this nice university professor, then you post that massage bit. Shocking! But good advice, Thomas.
Why would they spit beer on the cow? I can't see it penetrating the skin. Why not just give the cow some beer to drink?

They do massage it with beer, I believe I heard that in the interview, I missed the spitting part. You can get it in the US but it is not all that popular. Apparently the fat content and marbleing is not to dissimilar from American 'choice-cut' beef that you can get in any supermarket for under $6.00 lb. It is also very difficult to cook, you basically have to be an expert on the Kobe beef or you get leather.

They raise the type of cow in California for some Japanese ranchers and ship them to Japan when they are 'ready'. I've never seen it on a menu out here though and there are some excellent Japanese resturants in San Jose.

But really - spit beer! Sacrilage!!!!

What'd I say?? I just said "special." All I meant was an extra deep, relaxing muscle massage, maybe with some soft singing by the farmer. I hear cows like that! (I grew up in Minnesota, after all). I strenously deny suggesting any sort of farmer/cow impropriety!!! I am quite shocked, skyhawk, that you would suggest such a thing!!! *Snort of indignation*

I think they give the cows beer to drink as well. But I suspect that the farmer misdirects some (or a lot) of the spitting beer. I can't imagine the amount of self-control needed to have beer in your mouth and not swallow it.

Yes, they do get beer to drink.

Ok, so we know that Thomas is going to raise non-Kobe cows and have a some horses while drinking Earl Grey with the neighbor across the way while refurbishing the barn. Will there be any other livestock? Have you considered the Alpaca (www.iloveaplacas.com)? Perhaps some goats or sheep? Pigs (you know, the other white meat)?

Bison are always good. Stay away from ostriches, though. The market's down. I bet there are relatively few allligator farms in Tennessee.

Aren't we such helpful fellows?
I got it! What about a platypus farm? Brilliant!

Yes! I here pickled platypus bills go for a pretty penny in Shanghai. Their eggs are also considered delicacies in Buenos Aires, but nowhere else, strangely. I've also heard that there is a fashion this year in Bangkok for platypus skin coats for house cats. Of course, the bite of an enraged platypus will cause massive inflammation, but only on one side of the body, so that you'll end up looking like a fiddler crab.

This odd fasination you two have with barn yard animals (and others) is very disturbing.

I have a degree in biology, watch the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet obsessively, and grew up in Minnesota. Also, until I was rescued by Quakers, I was being raised by a rogue band of carnivous, self-hating squirrels. I don't blame the squirrels, really; after all they did help me pay for medical school. These facts, I believe, explain a lot but also raise questions that should never be asked. I don't know what Skyhawk's problem is.

Platypus is quite difficult to cook well and tastes nothing like chicken. Strangely, chicken-fried platypus is quite delicious.

My problem? I have no problems. I like animals. They are so tasty :)

I have to turn in my cable equipment today. The cable company cannot come out until a week after I'm gone. They charge to come by seperate from the day they disconnect service. Luckly I live about 6 miles from the office. Point being, I'll be signing off in a few minutes and won't be back for a couple of weeks I'm guessing.

See you then.

See you on the other side! Drive safely.

Ditto that. Take care.

I'm back! Miss me? Great trip but the move in has been work. Just got the dish in the other day and had to get some pesky VPN issues worked out for the wife's PC before we could do anything. Got the router in last night and I'm back in business!

Hey, Farmboy! Glad to hear you've arrived safely. But guess all your free time will be devoted to that smelly old barn rather than to shiny new spaceships.