This is a true story about my efforts to increase the usefulness of a dog that was formerly just a pet. With a little effort it was possible to turn him into a working dog.

This is a video I created on how a technique I developed for stacking fire wood. I created it, in part, to practice using my new video editing program.

However, it does have some interesting information, so if you’re interested in learning to stack a wood pile feel free to watch it.

Alternate Definition.
Proudledrapper: from the German word “Preutzelsihnleiderdrappen”. Was originally a profanity. Today the word describes a sparsely dressed midget, carrying a basket containing a female fox, a bottle Chianti 1978, no less than three tomatoes, and a selection of fresh, uncanned fruits.

She was created in a government lab and her heart and brain are a computer, probably an Apple.    Though she claims to be invincible, that is up for question.

Neko, also referred to as the Evil Neko Chan, was determined to rule the Earth.   She intended to do this with an army of felines that are subservient to her will.

It turned out the reason she wanted to rule Earth was because the banana-martians were prohibiting her from ruling other planets.    When the banana-martians were turned into banana daiquiris by the cognitive transmogrification gun this opened up new possibilities for her.

When offered the option of drinking the banana-martians turned banana daiquiris she agreed to spare the Earth.

Earthings, at least the ones who knew about her evil plot, were grateful.

Though no longer a threat to the planet, it is unwise to cross her on an individual basis.    She is still prone to assassinate people who forget to take out their garbage, get their mail, or litter.

She also fights crime in the sewers.

When she can not find any of her enemies she picks fights with random hobos and then flies away to the moon.

There are no current reports on how the people on the moon feel about this.

That might explain, in part, why some people consider me a tad eccentric.    I had a good role model.

Francis was an amazingly creative artist, writer, and inventor.

She designed and built buildings out of scrape materials, created beautiful panel sculptures of dragons out of concrete, painted, drew sketches, made pots in her kiln, and, most notably, invented the Self Cleaning House.

When I was in my twenties I lived alone in a cabin in the rural outskirts of Newberg Oregon.    Francis Gabe was my neighbor, my only neighbor.

We were both loners who did not particularly like or relate well with people.    Fortunately we did relate well with each other.    We both recognized our common estrangement from society, and that was our bond.

I eventually adapted to society by developing modicum of social skills and enough grasp of psychology to survive.    Francis adapted by assuming the role of a minor celebrity.

For a time Francis was very popular with the media.    She and her Self Cleaning House appeared on radio, television and in print.   She was a guest numerous times on David Letterman, along with many other television talk shows.

Many articles were written about her and her inventions, including one in the New York Times.   You can still find quite a bit written about her on the web.    Much of that information is wrong, but it is consistent with what she wanted the public to believe.

Perhaps most interesting was a video done of Francis for the web site Weird American Video.   Though the video makes fun of her, which I dislike, I have to admit it captures the essense of what made Francis Gabe so intriguing as a person.   She is, without a doubt, the most interesting person I have ever known.

If you have a minute, watch the video.    Pay particular attention to the house.    She built the entire house out of cinder block and discarded materials … by herself.

This was thirty years before the recycling/rebuilding phenomenon took place.

Francis was always an original thinker and a woman ahead of her time. They don"t make them like that anymore.