My last post was 3 and a half years ago. I went through a lot of changes as people almost always do.
As I type to you now my friends I am a quite different person. I hope a better person. I think most of us remain basically the same. Just to reach the age of 69 and a half.... that in and of itself is a pretty
good chunk a pie. Then add to that, I was a suburban kid with parents that stayed together 50 years.
Now my wife and I are 31 years married. When I got cancer she saved my life. I've never known not knowing when or where my next meal was to be. Or where I might sleep. When I was a kid, we were not rich, but my dad worked every day. Middle class. Nobody in my family hardly suffered, nor my brothers and sister. Christmas trees. Clothes for Christmas for school. I always had shoes. Not the ones I wanted. I was not spoiled. I happened to live in a land where it is possible to be spoiled. My whole life and having a great life is because I was simply lucky. My DNA and timing in space/time simply gave me an easy life. You would think I should be thanking and celebrating every day. More and more I try to do just that. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be posting this post. My dear friends and readers I wish you a wonderful Solstice, Advent, Xmas Eve, Xmas Day, New Years Eve, New years Day, the Twelve Days, Twelfth night, I'm hoping to post a little more often. So I'll talk to you soon. Thank you.
"Silver-white Winters that melt into Springs"
LLITTY ::::::+::::::
Monday, January 7, 2019
Monday, August 3, 2015
been a while
Summer daze.
My last post was in the Spring. Now it's mid summer. Just had a blue moon on Friday. And now it's August. The mornings have been wonderful. I sit in the shade There is always a bit of a breeze. Wife occasionally joins me. We drink coffee. Evenings have been fantastic. Sunsets. Lightning light shows. Bright moons and moon shadows. Saturday, August 1st I took the little airplane about 14 miles to Cambridge to fill it up with gas. It only holds 14 gallons. My Ford pick up hold 25 gallons. I made this flight in the morning when the temperatures were in the seventies. They have a restaurant at the Cambridge airport, and it was packed. I had a great breakfast and reflected on the great summer and how crowded the "ramp" (airplane parking lot) was. The temp got up to eighty by the time I left for home. Wife had taken her show dog to the doggie workshop. Her dog won big on Sunday. My buddy Clark was over later. It got up to ninety on the temp! We swam in the pool. Too hot to do anything else. Toward sunset when it cooled back down we went to Federalsburg, a town 5 miles away. For dinner in the diner. We took the VW with of course no AC. But it has those little wing windows, remember those? Clark drove, and he used to have a "V" about 35 years ago.
Trump.
I like Trump. He's entertaining. And funny. Everybody likes him. GOP's like him because he's critical of Obama. Dems like him because he will harm the GOP. I like him because he's zest for the boring news cycle. I'm a liberal. All my friends are conservatives. All my friends hate Obama. I love Obama. I'm getting older. I mean we are all getting older. I don't care too much about anything anymore. So I'm not into politics much. But I'm curious about religion and politics and how they mix. I want everyone to like me. So I hope you will still like me if I like Obama. And maybe I can make some points with my conservative friends by liking Trump. Right now there are two things that I don't understand about the coming debate: 1. Why don't we hold off about all this until November when the election is about a year away! This is like xmas decorations before Halloween. 2. Why is the media and electorate so excited about the upcoming debate? The debate is a pseudo event. Invented by a cable network. The number of candidates allowed to debate is arbitrary. You could have such a debate any time you want. It's unofficial. Also, aren't all the candidates Republicans? They are on the same side.
Religion.
Lately I've been hearing more and more folks say the expression "have a blessed day". Some people just can't help but try to advertise the fact that they are Christian. By saying "bye bye" in that way, they are including me in their religious world. Maybe I should reply: "Blessed by whom?" There are lots of gods to choose from. Muslims seem to be doing 90 percent of the terrorism in the world.
Faith based murder. I wish Christianity could distance itself from Islam. Christians don't believe in "killing the infidels". Too bad that the Christian God is the same God that Islam worships. The God of Abraham. Granted, he is a pretty violent God.
Ethanol
A few Sundays ago in this beautiful Summer it was another gorgeous day with the usual chance of showers. I was in need of non-ethanol gas. As you know, all our gas at the pumps is 10 percent ethanol. Forced by the government. Why, I don't know. All vehicles run worse because of it. The fuel does not store well. It rots engine parts. Turns everything black with a layer of crud. I
needed some "non eth" for my mower. So I went in my truck with some gas cans to find non eth in Cambridge about 20 miles south. The place I had heard about did not carry it. I had heard of another place further south. So I went looking, but no joy. I found myself about 20 miles north of my friend's new place on Hoopers Island. So I decided to go there. I had never been to Hoopers or Taylors Island. With no directions, I got lost and wound up at Taylor's Island. Got directions to Hoopers. Crossed it's bridge. Got more directions at the general store. Found my friends place.
OMG. I couldn't believe it. 700 feet of bay front with 270 degree view of bay from windows of the house. The sea wall was of incredible quality on the whole 700 feet. The house is a 65 year old cottage in desperate need of renovation. With a small guest cabin and two nice sheds, all in need of renovation. If you want waterfront, then you need to do what my friend did. Go big on land, small on house. I was so impressed, I was speechless. (that's indeed rare for me). I need to do a whole post on this place. I was supposed to go to Easton for a date dinner with wife that night. I followed behind my friend to go back to Cambridge, but I was way late for our dinner plans. I couldn't call with no cell service on the island. But I finally got hold of wife and she agreed to take her car and meet me at our favorite rendezvous. As my friend George was leading me in his truck I got him on his cell and told him we were driving in the area where I had heard about the non eth but there was no station where the directions took me, George then said "Look to your left, a Marine Gas sign! I did, and there it was! I made a ubee and said goodbye to George.
A dark quiet booth. My seafood and her veggies. A Sam Adams summer ale. Wearing a dressy shirt my wife had brought for me to cover my salty grey t shirt. We ate in satisfied silence. I was going to tell her all about Hoopers Island. Finally I said: "Honey, you look like a million dollars clear of taxes"
My last post was in the Spring. Now it's mid summer. Just had a blue moon on Friday. And now it's August. The mornings have been wonderful. I sit in the shade There is always a bit of a breeze. Wife occasionally joins me. We drink coffee. Evenings have been fantastic. Sunsets. Lightning light shows. Bright moons and moon shadows. Saturday, August 1st I took the little airplane about 14 miles to Cambridge to fill it up with gas. It only holds 14 gallons. My Ford pick up hold 25 gallons. I made this flight in the morning when the temperatures were in the seventies. They have a restaurant at the Cambridge airport, and it was packed. I had a great breakfast and reflected on the great summer and how crowded the "ramp" (airplane parking lot) was. The temp got up to eighty by the time I left for home. Wife had taken her show dog to the doggie workshop. Her dog won big on Sunday. My buddy Clark was over later. It got up to ninety on the temp! We swam in the pool. Too hot to do anything else. Toward sunset when it cooled back down we went to Federalsburg, a town 5 miles away. For dinner in the diner. We took the VW with of course no AC. But it has those little wing windows, remember those? Clark drove, and he used to have a "V" about 35 years ago.
Trump.
I like Trump. He's entertaining. And funny. Everybody likes him. GOP's like him because he's critical of Obama. Dems like him because he will harm the GOP. I like him because he's zest for the boring news cycle. I'm a liberal. All my friends are conservatives. All my friends hate Obama. I love Obama. I'm getting older. I mean we are all getting older. I don't care too much about anything anymore. So I'm not into politics much. But I'm curious about religion and politics and how they mix. I want everyone to like me. So I hope you will still like me if I like Obama. And maybe I can make some points with my conservative friends by liking Trump. Right now there are two things that I don't understand about the coming debate: 1. Why don't we hold off about all this until November when the election is about a year away! This is like xmas decorations before Halloween. 2. Why is the media and electorate so excited about the upcoming debate? The debate is a pseudo event. Invented by a cable network. The number of candidates allowed to debate is arbitrary. You could have such a debate any time you want. It's unofficial. Also, aren't all the candidates Republicans? They are on the same side.
Religion.
Lately I've been hearing more and more folks say the expression "have a blessed day". Some people just can't help but try to advertise the fact that they are Christian. By saying "bye bye" in that way, they are including me in their religious world. Maybe I should reply: "Blessed by whom?" There are lots of gods to choose from. Muslims seem to be doing 90 percent of the terrorism in the world.
Faith based murder. I wish Christianity could distance itself from Islam. Christians don't believe in "killing the infidels". Too bad that the Christian God is the same God that Islam worships. The God of Abraham. Granted, he is a pretty violent God.
Ethanol
A few Sundays ago in this beautiful Summer it was another gorgeous day with the usual chance of showers. I was in need of non-ethanol gas. As you know, all our gas at the pumps is 10 percent ethanol. Forced by the government. Why, I don't know. All vehicles run worse because of it. The fuel does not store well. It rots engine parts. Turns everything black with a layer of crud. I
needed some "non eth" for my mower. So I went in my truck with some gas cans to find non eth in Cambridge about 20 miles south. The place I had heard about did not carry it. I had heard of another place further south. So I went looking, but no joy. I found myself about 20 miles north of my friend's new place on Hoopers Island. So I decided to go there. I had never been to Hoopers or Taylors Island. With no directions, I got lost and wound up at Taylor's Island. Got directions to Hoopers. Crossed it's bridge. Got more directions at the general store. Found my friends place.
OMG. I couldn't believe it. 700 feet of bay front with 270 degree view of bay from windows of the house. The sea wall was of incredible quality on the whole 700 feet. The house is a 65 year old cottage in desperate need of renovation. With a small guest cabin and two nice sheds, all in need of renovation. If you want waterfront, then you need to do what my friend did. Go big on land, small on house. I was so impressed, I was speechless. (that's indeed rare for me). I need to do a whole post on this place. I was supposed to go to Easton for a date dinner with wife that night. I followed behind my friend to go back to Cambridge, but I was way late for our dinner plans. I couldn't call with no cell service on the island. But I finally got hold of wife and she agreed to take her car and meet me at our favorite rendezvous. As my friend George was leading me in his truck I got him on his cell and told him we were driving in the area where I had heard about the non eth but there was no station where the directions took me, George then said "Look to your left, a Marine Gas sign! I did, and there it was! I made a ubee and said goodbye to George.
A dark quiet booth. My seafood and her veggies. A Sam Adams summer ale. Wearing a dressy shirt my wife had brought for me to cover my salty grey t shirt. We ate in satisfied silence. I was going to tell her all about Hoopers Island. Finally I said: "Honey, you look like a million dollars clear of taxes"
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Easton Easter Saturday
The equinox has past. And Easter is today. I was awakened by a cough bothering me. The end of a mild cold I've had for two weeks. Or allergies, or both. So I got out of bed. When I went downstairs to the kitchen and looked out the window, there was the sunrise. I stood there and stared. The bright orange large ball had just broken over the eastern horizon. Bare trees were softening the brightness which helped my eyes and I could see the sun's shape perfectly. I watched the sun rise through the trees and then over the trees. It always happens faster than I expect. And halfway through I could no longer look directly at it. It was a real Sunrise Service just for me. And my thermometer was just above freezing. I was maybe going to have a spiritual rush, But I couldn't slow my mind down enough to meditate. My "me" was standing still at the window watching. My "self" was suggesting things: Hey maybe I should go outside to watch. Hey maybe get bundled up real quick and put shoes on, brew some coffee? Hey that fence line scrub brush really needs some attention. Is my wife awake? Etc. It was over so fast. I was too keyed up to play my sunrise/sunset game where I force myself to visualize the earth spinning. Standing on the earth like you're on a surfboard and you are moving toward that sun and revealing it as you ride.
Then I came upstairs and started writing to you. That's Easter so far. So good. Wife and I are going to Easter dinner with family on the Western shore today as well as visiting her father on the way.
Yesterday was pretty and windy. I had a small load of straw in the truck for my wife's friend and my wife lead me to the location in the Subaru. They were going to lunch, but I was afraid my cold might be contagious. So I took off on my own and spent a few autonomous hours in Easton, my favorite town. I parked the truck on the street downtown and did some walking. I went to the library. (I can say that sentence in Spanish). I wanted any book by my hero Bart Ehrman. I asked and was directed to the card file. Oh God I thought. Will I be fingering through cards? But no, it was just a dedicated computer that could tell you if they had a book and how many copies of it they had. They had one book by Ehrman. So I inquired again and the nice lady came up with a number by looking at her computer. So I checked out the book, his latest. I walked half way across town which takes five or ten minutes and went to the Goodwill store. I looked at the books, but didn't get any.
I looked at shoes and found two pair perfect for me. They must have just come in because usually all the 9's and 10's are gone. High quality leather dress shoes for $15. Kinda gross? Yea I agree. But I love these shoes and will wear a pair to the Easter dinner. Next stop: "Rise Up" a coffee brewery. I'd been hearing about it and had to see it. Fantastic is all I'm going to say.
Then to Easton Diner. I had a long slow meal in a hidden booth. Started my Ehrman book.
Then the last stop before home. The "Dollar Tree". I've talked about dollar stores before. They are a phenomenon. In this store: everything is actually a dollar. I bought 18 items. One item is worth mentioning here, this Easter morning. I'll get to it in a few more lines. The Dollar Tree had loads of Easter bunnies. Candy eggs. Stuffed animals. Cute stuffed bunnies. Also an isle dedicated to the fourth of July. The stars and stripes on anything you can imagine. They had a top hat made I guess of paper and foil. I will be getting one of those for sure in the near future. Don't know why I didn't buy it, but I will!
OK, I'll tell you about the most AMAZING thing I got at the Dollar Tree and this will wrap up my story. In with the candy eggs, the candy bunnies, bags of jelly beans, Chinese versions of Chuckles, etc. an item caught my eye. It was a chocolate cross. A chocolate cross! For $1. You can't get a very big piece of chocolate for $1. Yet the "presentation" of this product is fairly large. About the size of a paperback book. A cardboard box with a clear window on the front displaying the product. The cross is surrounded and embedded by gold plastic shrink mold.
Unlike virtually everything else in the Dollar Tree, it is American made! When I saw this, I had to buy it. Had to. And I can't explain why. It seems to me that it would be offensive to devout believers and Christopher Hitchens fans alike. And on many levels. I both hate and love this cross.
I'm a cultural Christian. And I want everyone to like me. If I have problems with all the faiths, I think I'm better off keeping them in the closet. I could write a separate post just about this candy cross, but I'm not going to. You can think about all the weird things about the cross. The paradoxes.
I could say a lot. But I'm not going to.
Just permit me one little remark. I want to imagine a Vampire. Picture a defenseless woman cornered. She has no silver bullets, nor a wooden stake. But she had been to the Dollar Tree in Easton and there on the table within her reach is the Palmer Happy Easter Candy Cross. She grabs it and faces it to the bloodthirsty creature. He yelps and backs away like Superman being hit with a kryptonite snowball. He cries in horror. The woman is saved. He agrees to leave, sunrise is near. Then his eyes turn from red to aqua blue and gleam a bit. The woman thinks he is leering at her sexually. The gleam increases and the vampire says: "hey is that cross milk chocolate? Does it have nuts? I don't like nuts or mint. It's not bittersweet is it? I'll be human in an hour. I can hang out."
For me, it seems it's always about the carbs.
Happy Easter.
LLITTY ::::+::::
Then I came upstairs and started writing to you. That's Easter so far. So good. Wife and I are going to Easter dinner with family on the Western shore today as well as visiting her father on the way.
Yesterday was pretty and windy. I had a small load of straw in the truck for my wife's friend and my wife lead me to the location in the Subaru. They were going to lunch, but I was afraid my cold might be contagious. So I took off on my own and spent a few autonomous hours in Easton, my favorite town. I parked the truck on the street downtown and did some walking. I went to the library. (I can say that sentence in Spanish). I wanted any book by my hero Bart Ehrman. I asked and was directed to the card file. Oh God I thought. Will I be fingering through cards? But no, it was just a dedicated computer that could tell you if they had a book and how many copies of it they had. They had one book by Ehrman. So I inquired again and the nice lady came up with a number by looking at her computer. So I checked out the book, his latest. I walked half way across town which takes five or ten minutes and went to the Goodwill store. I looked at the books, but didn't get any.
I looked at shoes and found two pair perfect for me. They must have just come in because usually all the 9's and 10's are gone. High quality leather dress shoes for $15. Kinda gross? Yea I agree. But I love these shoes and will wear a pair to the Easter dinner. Next stop: "Rise Up" a coffee brewery. I'd been hearing about it and had to see it. Fantastic is all I'm going to say.
Then to Easton Diner. I had a long slow meal in a hidden booth. Started my Ehrman book.
Then the last stop before home. The "Dollar Tree". I've talked about dollar stores before. They are a phenomenon. In this store: everything is actually a dollar. I bought 18 items. One item is worth mentioning here, this Easter morning. I'll get to it in a few more lines. The Dollar Tree had loads of Easter bunnies. Candy eggs. Stuffed animals. Cute stuffed bunnies. Also an isle dedicated to the fourth of July. The stars and stripes on anything you can imagine. They had a top hat made I guess of paper and foil. I will be getting one of those for sure in the near future. Don't know why I didn't buy it, but I will!
OK, I'll tell you about the most AMAZING thing I got at the Dollar Tree and this will wrap up my story. In with the candy eggs, the candy bunnies, bags of jelly beans, Chinese versions of Chuckles, etc. an item caught my eye. It was a chocolate cross. A chocolate cross! For $1. You can't get a very big piece of chocolate for $1. Yet the "presentation" of this product is fairly large. About the size of a paperback book. A cardboard box with a clear window on the front displaying the product. The cross is surrounded and embedded by gold plastic shrink mold.
Unlike virtually everything else in the Dollar Tree, it is American made! When I saw this, I had to buy it. Had to. And I can't explain why. It seems to me that it would be offensive to devout believers and Christopher Hitchens fans alike. And on many levels. I both hate and love this cross.
I'm a cultural Christian. And I want everyone to like me. If I have problems with all the faiths, I think I'm better off keeping them in the closet. I could write a separate post just about this candy cross, but I'm not going to. You can think about all the weird things about the cross. The paradoxes.
I could say a lot. But I'm not going to.
Just permit me one little remark. I want to imagine a Vampire. Picture a defenseless woman cornered. She has no silver bullets, nor a wooden stake. But she had been to the Dollar Tree in Easton and there on the table within her reach is the Palmer Happy Easter Candy Cross. She grabs it and faces it to the bloodthirsty creature. He yelps and backs away like Superman being hit with a kryptonite snowball. He cries in horror. The woman is saved. He agrees to leave, sunrise is near. Then his eyes turn from red to aqua blue and gleam a bit. The woman thinks he is leering at her sexually. The gleam increases and the vampire says: "hey is that cross milk chocolate? Does it have nuts? I don't like nuts or mint. It's not bittersweet is it? I'll be human in an hour. I can hang out."
For me, it seems it's always about the carbs.
Happy Easter.
LLITTY ::::+::::
Saturday, November 22, 2014
A Normal Day
I've been living the retired life for 7 years. Like everything else, it has good and bad about it. I think where I am right now is great in every way. Like everything else, it won't stay that way. I may be at the best time of my life right now. But more likely I've already peaked. I am a grumpy old man. No, that's too kind. I'm a grouchy old man, who is losing his memory. But today was paradise. I got up and saw a beautiful day and my room was chilly cold and I think I sleep better that way. I limped downstairs and the coffee was made and my wife had already done her barn stuff and was sitting in her office with her dog. Sort of a normal day. I want that normal day over and over. I already have everything I want. I poured my coffee. I went back to the desk and greeted and talked to my wife. Then I grabbed the coffee and a little snack and went back to bed, sort of.
My computer is slow and needs a tune up. So while it boots up, I'm eating my snack in bed watching a Hallmark Christmas movie. Then I open up e mail and e news. I swing my desk chair around 180 degrees so I can put my feet up on my bed. A little nap. I want this day for my Groundhog Day. I have everything I want. I call my wife on cell phone, she is directly below me downstairs. I ask her if we could go to lunch. She says yes. I could write a thousand posts about my wife and how sharp she is. And this day is just fine. I'll take it. We can call it a normal day, or a best day. It's bright and sunny and we have a pretty ride to Suicide Bridge Marina. The trees are leaving their colors down, soon to be bare. For some reason I think this is paradise. Don't change a thing Mr. Destiny. It's hard to get waterfront tables at "Suicide" They weren't crowded. We got the best table in the place. We had a nice hostess and a great waitress and a fine meal. I guess that's almost in a normal day. I'll take it. The rest of the day I watch Hallmark movies. And I write to you. I have everything I want. And I want everything I have. Except for about three full rooms of junk. Oh yea, we saw a beautiful sunset tonight too.
I stole the theme of this post from my friend Geoffrey. I credit him with the idea.
llitty :::::0:::::
My computer is slow and needs a tune up. So while it boots up, I'm eating my snack in bed watching a Hallmark Christmas movie. Then I open up e mail and e news. I swing my desk chair around 180 degrees so I can put my feet up on my bed. A little nap. I want this day for my Groundhog Day. I have everything I want. I call my wife on cell phone, she is directly below me downstairs. I ask her if we could go to lunch. She says yes. I could write a thousand posts about my wife and how sharp she is. And this day is just fine. I'll take it. We can call it a normal day, or a best day. It's bright and sunny and we have a pretty ride to Suicide Bridge Marina. The trees are leaving their colors down, soon to be bare. For some reason I think this is paradise. Don't change a thing Mr. Destiny. It's hard to get waterfront tables at "Suicide" They weren't crowded. We got the best table in the place. We had a nice hostess and a great waitress and a fine meal. I guess that's almost in a normal day. I'll take it. The rest of the day I watch Hallmark movies. And I write to you. I have everything I want. And I want everything I have. Except for about three full rooms of junk. Oh yea, we saw a beautiful sunset tonight too.
I stole the theme of this post from my friend Geoffrey. I credit him with the idea.
llitty :::::0:::::
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Glow Ball Warming 2
Time is flying. I guess because I'm old. Today is one of the prettiest days I've ever seen. How pretty a day is would be relative of course. It's been below 20 degrees for about 72 hours. That's wacko here on the Delmarva. Our average high is 46 degrees for this time. We have this three inch layer of powder snow on everything. It looks great. It couldn't melt at twenty degrees. I've shoveled a few paths just for exercise and fun. The snow isn't in our way at all, as you can walk or drive a car right over it. I must be missing something about the snow disaster in Atlanta. That was two inches of snow. I don't see how it could cripple a city. But today and yesterday are so clear blue it just aches. It's so bright one is snowblinded by looking in the direction of the sun. I would like to get my little plane out and fly in this pretty weather. But I'm not going to. I don't want to start the engine, even with a pre heat, for fear of damaging it. There will be many days for flying in the near future. And I am way too lazy to do the work of getting that plane out and ready.
I secretly like winter and being snowed in. I catch up on reading. And notching back stress. I think and worry in the early morning before I get up. I stress over things that I can do little about. Only sometimes am I able to force myself to simply not worry. It is possible to do, but it takes practice and will, and a few tricks. Sometimes problems can go away with time if one only lets them. The key is not worrying while one is waiting for the problem to take care of itself. Most problems are better solved head on. I'm a weeny coward about this head on stuff. I want everyone to like me and think I am a nice guy. I tend to be non confrontational. Then I get fed up with something or somebody, and I over react.
I have a couple of friends who comment about climate change or global warming whenever it is bitterly cold. They like to joke about Global Warming. And make fun of Al Gore and scientists. I laugh along with them. It is funny. But they are serious too when they joke. They feel they are "right" about global warming being some sort of "fake" or liberal agenda. Their minds are made up. They are not really curious to find out much more about it, unless it is info. about the "hoax". I like truth, even if it doesn't line up well with our culture and our moneymakers. I'm convinced by the facts of global warming. And I "know" it's a true situation. But I agree with the deniers too about certain things. I don't deny the statistics and the evidence that gets stronger every day. But I think that the man made part of all this, while true, doesn't make it a hill for some political group to die on. Here's a couple things, FACTS, to show we're all on the same side of this:
1. Let's all agree that the climate changes all the time, day to day, year to year, decade to decade, century to century, millennium to millennium, etc. and let's also all agree that we can dig plugs out and continue to learn our earth's history. Let's all agree we can go back a long time and use computers and technology etc. We've just begun to learn.
2. Let's never debate this topic of climate change without first deciding whether we are talking about the results of a natural temperature cycle OR the results of man made warming overlaid on the natural cycle. Any man made change can not be separated from the natural change. So it's easy to fog that issue. Let's not fog that issue.
3. Let's all agree to stop saying that the earth will be destroyed because of man. Man could damage the earth to a point that man would become extinct. Yes. 99% of all species that have ever lived are extinct. But if man is wiped out in an ice age, or a warming, or a nuclear war, the earth will go on and on. (In the future it might be possible for man to use a big enough nuke or something worse, to decay the earths orbit, and send it into the sun, so at that level, yes, man could destroy the planet). I'm glad it's almost impossible for us men to kill our planet. The planet will survive. If we destroy ourselves, well, we deserve it. Of course lots of innocent animals and plants will die with us men, and they don't deserve it.
4. Here is one the deniers should like. You can say that we are in a warming cycle (and you'd be right). You can say it is man made to some point. But in the big picture, overall analysis, the earth is cooling and always has been and always will be because the core of the earth is molten. That molten magma is cooling. The deniers of global warming will not use this amazing argument in the debate though. Do you know why? Because then the argument would be defined science on both sides and there would be scientific discussions debating the geography, climatology, astrophysics etc. and we would all be learning. The conservatives don't want that argument because they want to believe, not learn and think. Stick with the status quo, which we already "know".
5. We've all heard the term "Follow the Money" or "who benefits?" Since about 2006 some big investors and the country of Canada/UK have been quietly studying global warming and within especially the last two years investing heavily. The Northwest Passage is almost open above Canada.
The ice has been breaking up in the artic and when that big seaway opens, Canada wants to be sure it has it locked up. (or unlocked by icebreakers) Have you heard about this? I heard it on MPR, from the BBC. They like the deniers because it will keep interest in the Artic seaway low and these investors in Canada will win big. The Russians and the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal don't like it either. Of course.
I'm not saying the planet is warming because man cut down the rain forest or has too many cars. It doesn't matter why the planet is warming. Some big shots (besides the Polar bears) know it's warming. And they are putting their money on it. I wouldn't bet against them.
I secretly like winter and being snowed in. I catch up on reading. And notching back stress. I think and worry in the early morning before I get up. I stress over things that I can do little about. Only sometimes am I able to force myself to simply not worry. It is possible to do, but it takes practice and will, and a few tricks. Sometimes problems can go away with time if one only lets them. The key is not worrying while one is waiting for the problem to take care of itself. Most problems are better solved head on. I'm a weeny coward about this head on stuff. I want everyone to like me and think I am a nice guy. I tend to be non confrontational. Then I get fed up with something or somebody, and I over react.
I have a couple of friends who comment about climate change or global warming whenever it is bitterly cold. They like to joke about Global Warming. And make fun of Al Gore and scientists. I laugh along with them. It is funny. But they are serious too when they joke. They feel they are "right" about global warming being some sort of "fake" or liberal agenda. Their minds are made up. They are not really curious to find out much more about it, unless it is info. about the "hoax". I like truth, even if it doesn't line up well with our culture and our moneymakers. I'm convinced by the facts of global warming. And I "know" it's a true situation. But I agree with the deniers too about certain things. I don't deny the statistics and the evidence that gets stronger every day. But I think that the man made part of all this, while true, doesn't make it a hill for some political group to die on. Here's a couple things, FACTS, to show we're all on the same side of this:
1. Let's all agree that the climate changes all the time, day to day, year to year, decade to decade, century to century, millennium to millennium, etc. and let's also all agree that we can dig plugs out and continue to learn our earth's history. Let's all agree we can go back a long time and use computers and technology etc. We've just begun to learn.
2. Let's never debate this topic of climate change without first deciding whether we are talking about the results of a natural temperature cycle OR the results of man made warming overlaid on the natural cycle. Any man made change can not be separated from the natural change. So it's easy to fog that issue. Let's not fog that issue.
3. Let's all agree to stop saying that the earth will be destroyed because of man. Man could damage the earth to a point that man would become extinct. Yes. 99% of all species that have ever lived are extinct. But if man is wiped out in an ice age, or a warming, or a nuclear war, the earth will go on and on. (In the future it might be possible for man to use a big enough nuke or something worse, to decay the earths orbit, and send it into the sun, so at that level, yes, man could destroy the planet). I'm glad it's almost impossible for us men to kill our planet. The planet will survive. If we destroy ourselves, well, we deserve it. Of course lots of innocent animals and plants will die with us men, and they don't deserve it.
4. Here is one the deniers should like. You can say that we are in a warming cycle (and you'd be right). You can say it is man made to some point. But in the big picture, overall analysis, the earth is cooling and always has been and always will be because the core of the earth is molten. That molten magma is cooling. The deniers of global warming will not use this amazing argument in the debate though. Do you know why? Because then the argument would be defined science on both sides and there would be scientific discussions debating the geography, climatology, astrophysics etc. and we would all be learning. The conservatives don't want that argument because they want to believe, not learn and think. Stick with the status quo, which we already "know".
5. We've all heard the term "Follow the Money" or "who benefits?" Since about 2006 some big investors and the country of Canada/UK have been quietly studying global warming and within especially the last two years investing heavily. The Northwest Passage is almost open above Canada.
The ice has been breaking up in the artic and when that big seaway opens, Canada wants to be sure it has it locked up. (or unlocked by icebreakers) Have you heard about this? I heard it on MPR, from the BBC. They like the deniers because it will keep interest in the Artic seaway low and these investors in Canada will win big. The Russians and the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal don't like it either. Of course.
I'm not saying the planet is warming because man cut down the rain forest or has too many cars. It doesn't matter why the planet is warming. Some big shots (besides the Polar bears) know it's warming. And they are putting their money on it. I wouldn't bet against them.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Deep Freeze
Greetings from Delmarva. I won't even try to complain to anyone about the weather these first two weeks of January. How could I when Minneapolis had fifty below! Week before last the big deep freeze was coming. Wife and I had gone to Salisbury to get something "checked" on her Altima at the dealership. All was fine, except they found $600. worth of other stuff to do on the car. While they worked we looked at new Subarus and new mowers at other dealerships. However we can not afford a new Subaru or a new mower. This killed most of the day. When we got home and I rechecked the weather it looked like single digits over night. I had two hours of daylight to try a last ditch tighten up of our leaky old farmhouse. To keep the pipes from freezing. My energy level is usually pretty low for a lot of reasons. But I had gotten myself caffeinated to a high degree and I was buzzing like a cheap TV. What could I do in two hours. The wind was blowing hard and it was already below freezing. I took the pickup out to my shed I call a "hangar". I threw a dozen bales of straw I had into the truck. And some insulation sheets called "fan-fold". And some sheet plastic and a stapler. I squeezed the truck into the side yard next to the north wall of the house. I stapled about 200 sq. feet of the thin fan-fold against the wall. Every time I picked up a sheet the wind blew it out of my hand. I stacked the straw against the house over the insulation. Now it was dark. And colder. I worked some more under the lights of the running pickup. Next I went into the house and started pulling out window unit air conditioners. Those window units, if you leave them in over the winter, leak horribly. When I took them out, I just set them aside on the floor and closed the storm window and the big sash window. Instant tight seal. Sort of. I did four of them. Then wife and I taped up the leaks in a few other windows with packing tape. I set up some portable heaters near the pipes. And when we went to bed we left the water dripping. That night saw 7 degrees with a wind chill from a twenty mile an hour wind at about 5 below. The next night 13 degrees, but little wind. No frozen pipes. As I type this ten days later, the temperature here is matching the average at 46. Partly sunny. Dogs cats and horse are happy and wanting me to come out and play. I would take the airplane out and go for a ride except: Our airstrip is pretty soggy. No standing water but really soggy. The deep chill from the "solar vortex" is over for now. As for the rest of the winter, I don't think it will be any worse. But it is just too early in the season to start thinking about spring. I can't do that until Groundhog Day 18 days away. But the days are getting longer. And I'm back on a rigid low carb diet and exercise program. And I pulled myself through a period of transitioning to "ketosis" which took a bit of will power. The odd thing about all this is: I actually like being stuck in the house and doing nothing and accomplishing nothing. If I do that for more than a week though, cabin fever sets in. As I get older, I need to move around all day, every day, or I will continually slow down and die. If I have to go under our house into the crawl space for some reason, I would rather die.
Happy New Year my friends. And enjoy the promise of Spring and I am pullin' for you.
Happy New Year my friends. And enjoy the promise of Spring and I am pullin' for you.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
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