CottonKing

Name: CottonKing
Joined On: Sep 07, 2006
Maintag: CottonKing
Age: 35
Occupation: Agriculture
Location: California
Currently: Offline
Last seen: 9/6/08

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05/14/08

Holy Hotness Batman!

Maxim got it right:  Marissa Miller is "the hottest woman in the world" in 2008 - hell in any year!

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355663,00.html

What say you? 



Posted by CottonKing @ 7:21 pm EDT | Permalink | 7 Comments

03/31/08

The nightmare continues. . .

Probably none of you want to hear about my medical issues, but I need a place to get some of this out and this is going to be it. 

October 2006: I was diagnosed with Valley Fever, caused by a  nasty fungus that has been even studied by the military for use as a biological weapon.  I was miserable for months, but eventually the Fluconazole  started working and I felt better.
April 2007: my doctor feels I am strong enough and healthy enough to stop the Fluconazole  (big mistake) even though most severe cases need the medicine for 1 year.

So I stopped . . .

March 2008: a lump in my arm starts growing and is painful. Finally it needs to be cut open to relieve the pressure and remove the infection. Pus and fluid come out and some is taken to be cultured. A "filamentous fungus" is found in the culture. I don't have a positive id yet, but odds are very high that it is Valley Fever . . .what the hell else could it be?  So the doctor closes the gaping hole in my arm and doesn't put in a drain.  A couple of days later it is swollen again and yesterday they slice me open again.  This time they just pack the big hole in my arm with gauze and send me home.  Here is the G rated pic, scroll down if you want the real deal.

So back on the Fluconazole (antifungal medicine) and in to more tests. This medicine is nasty on the liver and I will have to be on it for a year and guess what else?  NO DRINKING while on the meds!!!  No drinks for a year!  Woohoo! 

The Doctors are not calling me back and I feel like shit. The old tightness in my neck and paleness in my face has returned. I can't believe this is happening. Three little boys and a wife who is organizing an auction (that is this weekend)  for the boys' school . . .the timing of this sucks big time.

"Rest" they say, "Rest". How the hell can I rest? I need blood work done and tests run, I need to help my wife, I need to be with my kids, I need to work . . . etc etc. I know this could be really serious, but what do I do? This is so miserable, yet I know I should be thankful that it is not something even worse (being in the emergency room yesterday showed me that).  Wish me luck and if you pray, say one for me.
Don't scroll down unless you don't mind some gore.  Yes that is a large hole packed with gauze in my arm!


Posted by CottonKing @ 2:17 pm EDT | Permalink | 20 Comments

04/12/07

New Toy

I thought I would show you all what my new (part time) office looks like.  In a couple of months I will be in this thing for 12-14 hours a day.  This is a brand new John Deere 4720 sprayer with a 90' boom.  It will have a gps guidance system that will drive it in a straight line with no help from me.  You take your hands off the wheel and it does the rest.  This thing will cover several hundred acres per day.  Probably not so interesting for the rest of you, but this is "cool stuff" for us farmers.  Sort of has a mech/transformer vibe to it?



Posted by CottonKing @ 3:42 pm EDT | Permalink | 10 Comments

03/30/07

War is Hell

This is from a 19 year old Marine who was killed last year in Iraq.  His family recently found the letter in with his personal effects that were delivered to them by a Marine Casualty Assistance Officer.  No matter what your view is on Iraq, we have some truly amazing young people over there who are fighting for us.  I hope God watches over them and that they come home soon.



Posted by CottonKing @ 1:14 pm EDT | Permalink | 3 Comments

03/15/07

Part 1, Background

Ok. Ok. . . so I suck at blogging. 
 
I have been meaning to follow up my last post, but the past two weeks have been extremely busy.
 
For those of you who want to read my written testimony, you can find it here: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/Media/File/Hearings/20070301b/Testimony_Michael.pdf  I am working on getting my oral testimony online, but haven’t been able to get a copy of it yet.
 
I have gotten some questions what the issue is about and what my position is with regards to the Restoration of the San Joaquin River.
 
The issue is really complex and I don’t know how to present everything in the “blog” format, but I will give it a shot and it may come in a few segments.
 
My family has been farming along the San Joaquin River here in California since my great-great-great grandfather came over from Germany in the 1850’s. He started as a young man with nothing and ended up being a very successful cattle rancher and farmer. I am a 6th generation Californian and I help my uncle run our farm and continue the family tradition.
 
The San Joaquin Valley was not an easy place for the first settlers to live. We don’t get a lot of consistent rainfall here (maybe 8” total for the year) and the summer months get really hot. People knew that they needed to find a consistent supply of water, and diverting some of the flows of the San Joaquin gave them flexibility. This has been the story for many rivers around the world and has happened since the earliest days of human existence. River valleys are fertile and the water from the river can be used for irrigation.
 
The Gold Rush hit California in the 1850’s and suddenly food production became extremely important. Canal systems were created to move water from the San Joaquin River to develop surrounding crop and pasture land to create a stable supply of food for the growing population. In the 1940’s Friant Dam was built and the San Joaquin River ceased to be a free flowing river. The salmon population diminished in the upper reaches of the San Joaquin, but continued to live in some of the downstream tributaries.
 
With a stable supply of water and protection from flooding, the San Joaquin Valley has become one of the most diverse and productive agricultural regions in the entire world. California agriculture provides a safe and reliable supply of food and fiber for our nation.
 
I am going to stop here and add my next segment soon. I plan to get into my personal views on this topic in the next segment, so stay tuned for the ranting and raving!


Posted by CottonKing @ 6:25 pm EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments

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