! TOO MUCH WORDAGE !!

"And the discussion of HESUS JOY CHRIST / Matthew's Three Fold is not worth anything to the casual observer – unless an awareness is cultivated by considering the discussion, but a thorough consideration of the animation would have the same effect of cultivating an awareness, not to mention considering life would cultivate a thorough awareness."

R David Foster, from the overview of the Discussion of Matthew's Three Fold

OVERVIEW

Well here we go ! We're a third of the way through discussing the seventeen verses of HESUS JOY CHRIST / Matthew's Three Fold , so it is time to take a break and consider how to view the wordage that is now pushing seven thousand words !

A body of knowledge has it's limits, and one limit has nothing to do with how many pages are written about such a body of knowledge. When one ( or a group ) creates a body of knowledge they are making many decisions, or rather, assumptions that are not stated outright. These assumptions are made early on in the creation of a body of knowledge but seriously limit the effectiveness of that body of knowledge. So as an example of how creating a body of knowledge can become ridiculous, usually around the point at which academia takes over, I have chosen to write about everything I know about how to pick up a stick.

I was fortunate to make the acquaintance of a man in his fifties who left the aerospace industry to go to school for landscaping. That alone is ridiculous enough, but the point is that this gentleman was accomplished in academia and technological industry, who when he decided he wanted to work outdoors it was only natural that he would go to school to learn an outdoor trade. He studied for three years at Humber College and graduated from the landscaping technician program. Sadly, he only lasted five months as a landscaper, in spite of working for a very reputable, good and established company, and was able to get into good enough shape in spite of his many years of age, but could not tolerate the bystanders looking at him with the expression of 'look at that nice old man picking weeds' ! His academic and thorough understanding was not appreciated by the casual observer, so was it worth anything at all ? Likewise, this thorough understanding of how to pick up a stick is ridiculous and not worth anything at all to the casual observer. And the discussion of HESUS JOY CHRIST / Matthew's Three Fold is not worth anything to the casual observer – unless an awareness is cultivated by considering the discussion, but a thorough consideration of the animation would have the same effect of cultivating an awareness, not to mention considering life would cultivate a thorough awareness.

The moral of the story, here, is PAY ATTENTION !!!

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Tuesday, April 12^th, 2011

HOW TO PICK UP A STICK !

Here is how to pick up a stick.

First determine the size of the stick. Is it a twig, a limb, or a full branch? If it is a twig, how many of them are there? If there are many, then get a rake and a tarp. If there are not enough to warrant a tarp than get a garbage bag or a bucket.

Drop the garbage bag or bucket in the general middle of the twigs, and begin a loop path, starting and finishing at the bucket and extending only far enough to allow you to fill your hands with twigs. If you make the loop path too big you will waste time walking back to the bucket when your hands are full. If you make the loop path too small you will be dumping too few sticks in the bucket for each loop and that wastes time loading too small a load of twigs in the bucket. This becomes a concern when the bucket begins to get full and the twigs must be stuffed into it and can no longer just be dropped into it. If you are using a garbage bag, however, this is always a concern as the twigs must be placed into the bag lengthwise as otherwise the bag cannot hold as much and is too quickly filled.

Actually picking up the twig must be done standing with legs extended but not locked. Lean down like you are touching your toes and bob down to pick up the twig, and as you bob up transfer it to your off hand until it is full, and by that time you should be more than halfway along your loop path. Finish the remaining path holding the sticks in the good hand that picks them up, so that you arrive at the bucket with two full hands. Do not crawl around on your hands and knees because you need your hands to hold as many twigs as possible. It likely isn't good for your knees, crawling in the damp ground. As well, bending your knees to crouch down to pick up the twigs will be too much bending for your knees. Bobbing will get you well stretched out.

In the case of many twigs, a rake can be used to gather the twigs into piles and onto the tarp, to be dragged or carried to the truck. The first sweep of the rake will orient the twigs perpendicular to the sweep of the rake, and then the pile can be rolled like a snowball as it gathers more twigs. Maintain the coherency of the pile if the twigs are to be tied into bundles, as such a fagot can be rolled onto the twine to allow the twine to be wrapped around the fagot and tied. Do not attempt to rake a twig that is parallel to the path of the rake. This will break the rake. It may still be necessary to gather the remaining twigs by hand. Larger sticks may need to be picked up by hand, following the above mentioned method, as they cannot be gathered by a rake. DO NOT BREAK THE RAKE !

Usually, a large area of twigs will occur in the spring as summer or spring maintenance is beginning, but may also occur when pruning. Pruning will produce limbs and perhaps branches. Branches may also need to be picked up at the beginning of spring maintenance or after a storm.

When picking up a limb or a stick that is larger, pick it up by the stump end as that will give you the most leverage over a tapered limb if you pick it up by it's heaviest end. Otherwise the limb will be unwieldy and if you can get it into your armload, you may not be able to toss it in the truck. Gather all that you can hold under one arm and make sure you are on your way back to the truck by the time you have a full load in your arms. Again, bob down and up to pick up the sticks, keeping in mind your armload. There is no way you could crawl or even crouch with an armload of sticks.

Branches are larger sticks that branch into more than one stick. They may be very large. If they are very large, do not cut them up, but instead drag them by the stump end, so that no further branches are broken off, and heave them by the stump end, into the truck. The best place to cut them, to pack them into the truck efficiently, is right in the truck. If one was to cut them up before they are in the truck, that is only more sticks to pick up and more sticks to throw in the truck and more sticks to pack into the truck to get a large load and reduce the number of trips with the truck. Once a few branches are aligned with the stump end at the head of the truck, tread on the branches carefully and with loppers, cut the branches at the crotches where the smaller branches head out from the main branch. It is the crotch that sets the limbs at angles to one another and prevents efficient loading in the truck bed. By cutting the branches at the crotches the limbs are able to fall into alignment with one another. I have seen a load of branches come out of the truck body and maintain the rectangular shape of the truck body as it sits on it's own after being dumped.

Finally, for a good laugh, try to wield a branch by the small end – it will wobble around and you may not even be able to get the stump off the ground ! The use of a wood chipper greatly improves the packing and removal of large branches, but there will still be twigs to be gathered, according to the appropriate method.

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1000 words Tuesday, April 12^th, 2011