Are we adrift, or is there a grand design behind contemporaneous events? During a recent reading of Herodotus’ history, I was taken aback by the following narrative. The scene was a discussion between Cyrus (the Persian King) and Croesus (the former King of Lydia). Cyrus asked Croesus what he shouldRead More →

Antalgic Gait

Antalgic Gait ‘Observed mild antalgic gait” is what he documented.  Another doctor wrote, “I do think that these injuries potentially could lead to further disability for him.’ He was pretty prescient.    Antalgic gait, what is that?  Have you ever seen an old man walking with that side-to-side waddle, withRead More →

Home Reno

Facelift at the Cottage at Zimmers’ Landing   Upon leaving the Army we retired to the Cottage at Zimmers’ Landing, not because the house was everything we wanted to retire into, but because of the views, the lake and the house had the potential to become everything we wanted toRead More →

reap what we sow

The Reaping Times are upon US ‘You reap what you sow’ is a common adage suggesting that future consequences are shaped by present actions. Yesterday’s violation of the ‘People’s House’ is a consequence of yesterday’s actions. (Rule of Law) The nation is shocked by a mob ascending the Capitol BuildingRead More →

Lake View

Zimmer Annual Holiday Newsletter 2020 Greetings from the little Cottage at Zimmer’s Landing. 2021 is right around the corner, So long 2020!  (Zimmer annual holiday newsletter 2020) Our year moved into full gear as we escaped Alaska’s winter darkness by lounging on a Cabo San Lucas beach with dear friends.Read More →

TSP Screed

Designed obsolescence or in-built incompetence? Which is it?   (TSP and Bigger Government) Our chosen form of Government is a beautiful thing. It can harness an impressive array of powers and abilities to address the most challenging and precarious of scenarios. It can put a man on the moon or mobilizeRead More →

Surviving the Valcano

Trial by Fire Enduring relationships and the volcano gods: There’s an ancient and honored legend of ‘Trial by Fire’ to validate serious relationship of two decades. The mythos is that once in twenty years, couples must circle the brim of a volcanic caldera, as a testament, demonstrating the virtuousness ofRead More →

Alaska Dying Light

It’s dark again. Not so for the past two months. One would fall to sleep in sunlight, wake at mid-morning lightness for the ‘man-walk’ to drain the bladder; no night light needed. At ‘daybreak,’ when the cats meowed, pleading for food (or attention), it was light. When the second, orRead More →

wood turning mallet

Another Cottage project, another Cottage production!  –  DIY Wood Turned Mallet This time the discipline was woodworking, specifically turning a ‘spindle on a wood lathe.  The final result, a turned chisel mallet. This vid captures a novices attempt to turn a chisel mallet on his new lathe. If your intoRead More →

Fishing the Kvichak Bristol Alaska

Fishing the Kvichak, Bristol Alaska   Fishing season explodes onto the inlets and rivers in Alaska every Spring and Summer.  True to form, a small group of us flew out to Igiugig (a Bristol Bay native village) and then boated down to Blueberry Island for a few days of Sockeye, SalmonRead More →

America the Great

Is America a Great Nation? The Make America Great Again (MAGA) political slogan triggers acrimonious debate about      America’s current place in the world and its past. Was America a great country? It’s common rhetoric on news broadcasts, movies, TV shows, and even political rallies to bedevil the character andRead More →

Notre Dame Fire

Notre Dame, the iconoclastic symbology of Paris and the steadfast traditional western values of 25 generations Notre Dame of Parisians, is on fire. While not her first, it is yet to be seen if it will be her last. The glorious spire that overlooked human evolution since 1260 has fallen.Read More →

DIY Davenport Desk

Captain Davenport DIY Desk Build Captain Davenport’s desk is the latest inspiration for my new project.  I designed this project  to discover if the retirement investment in woodworking tools and hours in front of Youtube’s expert’s could produce something other than idle imagination.  With homemade plans on the whiteboard IRead More →

Zimmer Christmas

From the Cottage at Zimmer’s Landing 19 December ’18 Merry Christmas from snowy, cheerful and quaking Alaska – home of the aftershock! Our recent ‘stirred and shaken’ experiences brought a riveting conclusion to our engaging, exciting and far flung year; a year we hope was equally exciting and memorable forRead More →

Ice cracks in lake earthquake

The anatomy of an earthquake. I know what your thinking….and you could be wrong! Earthquakes overpower their victims into violent spasms of fear, horror and brief moments of heroism (or cowardice). OK, so if you think this, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong, just halfway. Earthquakes, violent ones, don’t do this,Read More →

Open doors vs security

Open Doors Vs Security Short Op/Ed from the ‘Cottage at Zimmer’s Landing’, for your reading indulgence.  Drafted back in Nov 2015 during the current ‘crises’ concerning ‘Trump’s Travel Ban.’ ( Open doors vs security) Op/Ed We often decry the lack of critical thinking or reasoning,,,,just before posting the meme thatRead More →