No, that wasn't me, was it? ;)
Huntsville Christmas Tree Recycling Project -- 1990
Showing posts with label past. Show all posts
Showing posts with label past. Show all posts
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Who is this person trying to impersonate me 22 years ago?!
Oh, the days when I worked at GE as a schedule analyst on weekdays and a Christmas tree recycling expert on weekends?
No, that wasn't me, was it? ;)
No, that wasn't me, was it? ;)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
A Backward Look Forward
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Another Close Call
Do you ever ask the people in your family, "What are you doing for me on a daily and weekly basis?"
A friend of mine did.
Now she's divorced and her son has moved out, leaving her with a house, a dog, computer and a phone.
She's the sole caretaker of her parents, after her sister died, who was 300+ pounds and her heart couldn't keep up - a great "kid" who literally died at 42 of a broken heart.
We're good friends who have no qualms about sharing our life stories with one another because we have no hangups or emotional baggage getting in the way, no reason to ask each other what we've done for the other on a daily or weekly basis.
I am secure in my marriage and secure in my emotion-based thought set so I can spend time here with you, rather than in paper journals, looking at what is and what might have been.
When I hung around in an office and dealt with business decisions on a minute-by-minute basis, I often asked myself what was the business doing for me on a daily, weekly or life basis?
Sure, it provided me an easy way to feed myself through the collection of labour credits to exchange for nourishment supplements at restaurants and grocer's markets.
It also allowed me to build my investment portfolio and enjoy "free" travel to foreign destinations while conducting business outside the office.
But what was it really doing for me?
I'm a middle-aged guy, looking at life from the comforts of a study piled high with old books and memorabilia.
It's a perspective that I held when I was six, looking out the window in first grade math class, surrounded by the nurturing world of academia which hopes more than passive learning's taking place.
So, in a sense, I have always heralded this position of sitting by the window and wondering in my wandering thoughts.
Socialising has always been a matter of reverifying my understanding of the human condition.
Humour has been my way of filtering out the dusty seriousness that floats out of people's mouths and actions, virtually turning down the volume of voices shouting, "But it really is an emergency this time," another cry of "Wolf!" that I can see doesn't exist.
Do we all tell ourselves, "This is what I do but not who I am?"
In recent conversations with my friend, picking up where we stopped talking 18 years ago, we joke about the difference between what we have done and who we think we are.
Life is a comedy, a grand illusion, where punchlines are punchlines for some joke we think we see but don't.
Meanwhile, we have to figure out how to raise our kids and get along while pretending we're serious most or part of the time.
The parents who can reveal the jokes while instilling a solid set of ethics and morals are the ones I praise.
We all die.
We all have to share resources while we're alive.
Everything else is just pretending.
I'm sorry that the people in North Africa are resorting to deadly violence to sort out how to redistribute resources that have been hoarded by a few. Unfortunately, it is the way of our species - we are young and unable to see the bigger picture.
Nor do we see where those with a large number of social connections can drop millions of pebbles all across the pond and hide their intentions in the cancelling wave patterns.
I will not be remembered. This writing is not significant enough to survive the ravages of population shifts.
Thus, at the end of the day, I have my wife, our cats, our house, our investments, her friends, my friends and our friends and family.
Right before I asked my wife for her hand in marriage, I asked myself if she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
I narrowed down the mental list of potential candidates, looking back at the women I'd dated or with whom I had established a strong, lasting relationship.
I knew who I was and what I wanted.
I also knew that I probably knew little about the women and what they wanted.
Why do people get married? To raise children in a legal manner. To honour their religious upbringing. For tax savings. To make themselves (or one of them) a legal resident of a political entity, perhaps.
Why did I get married? Because it was time. I held a postsecondary diploma and was ready to establish myself financially. Having children was not a priority for me. Sitting by the window thinking and writing was/is.
Thus, which woman would most tolerate my desire to sit and write? Which woman would tell herself, "Rick is not the kind of person who will take the kids to school, play handyman, chair the parent-teacher association or do more than a cursory amount of housecleaning but hopefully will earn enough for us to have a comfortable, if not extravagant, life together"?
I narrowed my choices down to two people - my wife, of course, and the person with whom I have enjoyed conversations over the past few days.
My wife and I shared a romantic story that had/has a life of its own, one I've recounted here or elsewhere many times, starting when we were 12 at summer camp, acting as penpals for years and dating the first time our freshman year in college, with my "romantic, lovesick poet" phase generating many a poem we've all written in our heads in one way or another when first falling madly in love (and which I've spared tormenting you with here (at least so far (just wait until I get too bored to write a blog entry one day))).
The other person was/is a person many people enjoy being around. We never had overly romantic notions about each other, although we can describe them and imagine them, such as enjoying a quiet walk in the woods or along the beach, holding hands like two companions.
We agree we have made the best choices. She has her wonderful son and a life of her own, including an early retirement. I have a wonderful wife and have taken a midlife retirement. As a bonus, we remain great friends without a worry about one or the other having any ulteriour sexual intentions, so we can talk about anything without wondering about arousing the other's hormones.
All the while, large historic changes of our species go on around us, no matter how much we care or feel involved, emotionally or physically.
This is my life, sitting here, looking out the window at the rain, water dripping off the hanging gutter, no birds to be seen, creating an alternative universe while musing about the one that we say exists, because we can touch trees and watch one another's births and deaths and all the stuff in-between.
This is how I describe happiness. I thank all of you, including my close friends and family, for making this happiness possible. I hope every one of us can find this kind of simple happiness in our lives - it's priceless.
A friend of mine did.
Now she's divorced and her son has moved out, leaving her with a house, a dog, computer and a phone.
She's the sole caretaker of her parents, after her sister died, who was 300+ pounds and her heart couldn't keep up - a great "kid" who literally died at 42 of a broken heart.
We're good friends who have no qualms about sharing our life stories with one another because we have no hangups or emotional baggage getting in the way, no reason to ask each other what we've done for the other on a daily or weekly basis.
I am secure in my marriage and secure in my emotion-based thought set so I can spend time here with you, rather than in paper journals, looking at what is and what might have been.
When I hung around in an office and dealt with business decisions on a minute-by-minute basis, I often asked myself what was the business doing for me on a daily, weekly or life basis?
Sure, it provided me an easy way to feed myself through the collection of labour credits to exchange for nourishment supplements at restaurants and grocer's markets.
It also allowed me to build my investment portfolio and enjoy "free" travel to foreign destinations while conducting business outside the office.
But what was it really doing for me?
I'm a middle-aged guy, looking at life from the comforts of a study piled high with old books and memorabilia.
It's a perspective that I held when I was six, looking out the window in first grade math class, surrounded by the nurturing world of academia which hopes more than passive learning's taking place.
So, in a sense, I have always heralded this position of sitting by the window and wondering in my wandering thoughts.
Socialising has always been a matter of reverifying my understanding of the human condition.
Humour has been my way of filtering out the dusty seriousness that floats out of people's mouths and actions, virtually turning down the volume of voices shouting, "But it really is an emergency this time," another cry of "Wolf!" that I can see doesn't exist.
Do we all tell ourselves, "This is what I do but not who I am?"
In recent conversations with my friend, picking up where we stopped talking 18 years ago, we joke about the difference between what we have done and who we think we are.
Life is a comedy, a grand illusion, where punchlines are punchlines for some joke we think we see but don't.
Meanwhile, we have to figure out how to raise our kids and get along while pretending we're serious most or part of the time.
The parents who can reveal the jokes while instilling a solid set of ethics and morals are the ones I praise.
We all die.
We all have to share resources while we're alive.
Everything else is just pretending.
I'm sorry that the people in North Africa are resorting to deadly violence to sort out how to redistribute resources that have been hoarded by a few. Unfortunately, it is the way of our species - we are young and unable to see the bigger picture.
Nor do we see where those with a large number of social connections can drop millions of pebbles all across the pond and hide their intentions in the cancelling wave patterns.
I will not be remembered. This writing is not significant enough to survive the ravages of population shifts.
Thus, at the end of the day, I have my wife, our cats, our house, our investments, her friends, my friends and our friends and family.
Right before I asked my wife for her hand in marriage, I asked myself if she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
I narrowed down the mental list of potential candidates, looking back at the women I'd dated or with whom I had established a strong, lasting relationship.
I knew who I was and what I wanted.
I also knew that I probably knew little about the women and what they wanted.
Why do people get married? To raise children in a legal manner. To honour their religious upbringing. For tax savings. To make themselves (or one of them) a legal resident of a political entity, perhaps.
Why did I get married? Because it was time. I held a postsecondary diploma and was ready to establish myself financially. Having children was not a priority for me. Sitting by the window thinking and writing was/is.
Thus, which woman would most tolerate my desire to sit and write? Which woman would tell herself, "Rick is not the kind of person who will take the kids to school, play handyman, chair the parent-teacher association or do more than a cursory amount of housecleaning but hopefully will earn enough for us to have a comfortable, if not extravagant, life together"?
I narrowed my choices down to two people - my wife, of course, and the person with whom I have enjoyed conversations over the past few days.
My wife and I shared a romantic story that had/has a life of its own, one I've recounted here or elsewhere many times, starting when we were 12 at summer camp, acting as penpals for years and dating the first time our freshman year in college, with my "romantic, lovesick poet" phase generating many a poem we've all written in our heads in one way or another when first falling madly in love (and which I've spared tormenting you with here (at least so far (just wait until I get too bored to write a blog entry one day))).
The other person was/is a person many people enjoy being around. We never had overly romantic notions about each other, although we can describe them and imagine them, such as enjoying a quiet walk in the woods or along the beach, holding hands like two companions.
We agree we have made the best choices. She has her wonderful son and a life of her own, including an early retirement. I have a wonderful wife and have taken a midlife retirement. As a bonus, we remain great friends without a worry about one or the other having any ulteriour sexual intentions, so we can talk about anything without wondering about arousing the other's hormones.
All the while, large historic changes of our species go on around us, no matter how much we care or feel involved, emotionally or physically.
This is my life, sitting here, looking out the window at the rain, water dripping off the hanging gutter, no birds to be seen, creating an alternative universe while musing about the one that we say exists, because we can touch trees and watch one another's births and deaths and all the stuff in-between.
This is how I describe happiness. I thank all of you, including my close friends and family, for making this happiness possible. I hope every one of us can find this kind of simple happiness in our lives - it's priceless.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Leaving the Flea Circus of the Obvious
In my hand, four items. Can you guess what they are?
Since we're members of the same species on the same planet, it's not an infinite choice so I'll go ahead and tell you:
hoarder...ahem, a collector of memorabilia, I use pieces of data like these for fun inputs into the computer programmers' work.
More as it develops...
Since we're members of the same species on the same planet, it's not an infinite choice so I'll go ahead and tell you:
- My American Red Cross blood donation record from my university days, starting at Georgia Tech.
- A business card from Joe Anderson, Hypnosis Services Unlimited ("Weight, Smoking, Sales, Sports, Phobias, Concentration, Confidence, Impotence & Sex, Problems, Breast Development, Pain Control; Reasonable Rates, Over 20 Yrs. Exp.; 100 Rose Drive, Knoxville, TN 37918").
- Montgomery Ward Chargall card.
- First American's Anytime Banker Transaction Record from 2/07/86.
- One unopened box of Carter's X-PERT(R) Correction Tabs (30 Mylar Tabs, 1"x2-3/4").
- Heritage Federal 24-Hour Banking Card, with ATM Locator Service via 800-number.
- North Port Bank deposit envelope.
More as it develops...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Grey Day On The Charles
"Buffy, darling, something smells absolutely steel-cold dead in here."
"I'm sorry, Tiffany. I'll move the urn of my mother's ashes off the grand piano and into the other room...
There, how does that smell?"
"Much better! Next time, I recommend you spray a little Urn Odour Deodouriser before you have friends over for tea."
"I will, dear, I will. Mother would have preferred it that way."
"Yes, 'Mum always knows best!'"
At my age, friends are starting to drop like flies buzzing through the cloud of hairspray hanging over Dolly Parton's wig.
Reminds me of a poem I wrote (old age is already bringing out memories, the nostalgic "golden years" of the poetic youth in me):
An SUV flies down the road and a group of goldfinches scatters.
Watching the wildlife outside the winter*, these woods a natural traffic lane, I almost think the birds know that mating season is upon us.
[*a double-play on words, including the subcultural pronunciation of window]
Another poem comes to mind, one I may have shared with you already:
At the post office yesterday, while I was mailing some of my wife's homemade cake truffles to our nephew at college, a woman told me that a single person with dogs can get a letter authorising her dogs as her official companions and the dogs will have to be allowed to stay with that person at any hotel/motel/B&B in the U.S.
The woman showed me her copy of the dog-as-companion letter she carries so she can take her two dogs with her as she travels from Utah to Colorado to Alabama and back.
Wonder if the bluebirds, goldfinches, nuthatches or woodpeckers would serve as my travel companions?
Have you ever scolded a woodpecker for punching holes in your furniture?
"Hey, Woody, there ain't no bugs in those varnished slabs!"
Oh, wait, here's a regulation by the Forest Service I wasn't aware of: "Wild birds may not be caged or carried as domestic companions during mating season - tests have shown there's rarely enough room in the cage, carrier or human on-the-road sleep chamber to accommodate the intricate mating dance required by most avian creatures."
[Hmm, seems like my marriage licence had the same restrictions. Drum roll and rim shot, please! No, no, hold the applause and laughter until the end.]
Let's see, look at my to-do list...
BORN. Check!
MARRY. Check!
HAVE KIDS. Skip!
DIE. Nope, not yet. Still got that nagging issue of making sure we're set up to communicate transuniversally in 2050.
This guy's cycle's not over yet! Miles to go before I give it the ol' heave-ho!
Until next time, Sialia sialis.
"I'm sorry, Tiffany. I'll move the urn of my mother's ashes off the grand piano and into the other room...
There, how does that smell?"
"Much better! Next time, I recommend you spray a little Urn Odour Deodouriser before you have friends over for tea."
"I will, dear, I will. Mother would have preferred it that way."
"Yes, 'Mum always knows best!'"
At my age, friends are starting to drop like flies buzzing through the cloud of hairspray hanging over Dolly Parton's wig.
Reminds me of a poem I wrote (old age is already bringing out memories, the nostalgic "golden years" of the poetic youth in me):
Modern-day MartyrA bluebird is eating in the spindly bushes outside my window right now on this sunny, cool, breezy day in early February, Groundhog's Day, one calendar day short of Chinese New Year (but my clock says the New Year has begun on the other side of the planet), when spring has hinted that the short winter in these parts will soon end.
Anticipating your reluctant smile
And knowing that we sometimes fail to see
Our love (that drive to satisfy), and while
You wiped away the tears, recalling Lee,
I hugged you tighter. Had they told the truth?
I mean, your brother fell. You know the bridge
Was slippery. You know they cannot prove
He killed himself. Just take your privilege
To put these thoughts aside and sleep tonight.
In time, you'll have perspective and the strength
To put your brother's death back in the light,
To recall the times he went to any length
To pull you out of your self-pity. Now
Is not the time for asking "Why?" or "How?"
-- 29 October 1985
An SUV flies down the road and a group of goldfinches scatters.
Watching the wildlife outside the winter*, these woods a natural traffic lane, I almost think the birds know that mating season is upon us.
[*a double-play on words, including the subcultural pronunciation of window]
Another poem comes to mind, one I may have shared with you already:
My religion is based on a formDo you find yourself talking more frequently with your pets than with people?
My religion is based on a form,
neither simple nor complex,
Known nor unknown,
A form that can never be perfected.
The form is based on the shape of a wave,
A wave that completes a revolution,
That revolves around an unfixed position.
The wave does not exist
But its form is imitated by physical phenomena.
My religion is based on a few short words --
Everything goes in a circle.
-- 3 October 1985
At the post office yesterday, while I was mailing some of my wife's homemade cake truffles to our nephew at college, a woman told me that a single person with dogs can get a letter authorising her dogs as her official companions and the dogs will have to be allowed to stay with that person at any hotel/motel/B&B in the U.S.
The woman showed me her copy of the dog-as-companion letter she carries so she can take her two dogs with her as she travels from Utah to Colorado to Alabama and back.
Wonder if the bluebirds, goldfinches, nuthatches or woodpeckers would serve as my travel companions?
Have you ever scolded a woodpecker for punching holes in your furniture?
"Hey, Woody, there ain't no bugs in those varnished slabs!"
Oh, wait, here's a regulation by the Forest Service I wasn't aware of: "Wild birds may not be caged or carried as domestic companions during mating season - tests have shown there's rarely enough room in the cage, carrier or human on-the-road sleep chamber to accommodate the intricate mating dance required by most avian creatures."
[Hmm, seems like my marriage licence had the same restrictions. Drum roll and rim shot, please! No, no, hold the applause and laughter until the end.]
Let's see, look at my to-do list...
BORN. Check!
MARRY. Check!
HAVE KIDS. Skip!
DIE. Nope, not yet. Still got that nagging issue of making sure we're set up to communicate transuniversally in 2050.
This guy's cycle's not over yet! Miles to go before I give it the ol' heave-ho!
Until next time, Sialia sialis.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Another Reminder To Self...
In telling myself I am not original, I give my thought set over to the storytelling of my ancestors, both direct, through bloodlines, and indirect, through indebtedness to my elders.
Out of Math and Physics is History...
Looking back over some old bookmarks, I came across this.
It is good to remember when there were times that large groups of people got along. Here is one person's view of such times for us to consider when deciding how to react rationally to world events:
Let's hope we do this right and not jump back into recent derogatory quarrels that get us nowhere.
It is good to remember when there were times that large groups of people got along. Here is one person's view of such times for us to consider when deciding how to react rationally to world events:
As you know, Islamic civilizations rise in the 7th century, and start to fall dramatically in the 14th century for many reasons.
When we discuss the history of this civilization, you could understand that fact.
Before start to talk about contribution of Islamic civilization in human civilization, I would like to present some historical facts, also some ‘’western’’ references:
Here are some interested points:
- Baghdad was the center of the world in the 9th century. It population around two millions.
- The first translation university was built in Baghdad in the 9th century. It was called (Dar Al Hikmah) or Wisdom House. They translated hundred thousands of Greek, Persian, Roman, Hebrew, and Indian documents and books to Arabic.
- For the first time, Jews, Muslims and Christian succeeded to live in peace in liberal (semi democratic society) in Spain in the 10th century.
- Many schools of laws were established in 11th and 12 century.
- The largest Islamic State is Indonesia (20% of Muslims in the world), no Islamic army reached this State. The people converted to Islam due to economical relations, the same as Malaysia and SE Asia.
The collapse of Islamic civilization could be concluded by these reasons:
- Crusaders wars: 200 years of religious catholic wars against Muslims, Jews and orthodox Christian. These wars exhausted the ME societies.
- Mongolian wars: Before the end of crusaders wars, Mongolian invaded the East. They destroyed Baghdad, killed 800000 people and burn its well known library.
- Fall of Spain: Muslims lost Spain in the end of 15th after 800 years of great civilization. Spanish changed the trading from ME to South Africa, which had great economical impact.
- Islamic scholars stopped developing the laws since 14 century, which made many of them not suitable for modern societies.
- Ottoman Empire, ruled the Islamic world recently. They involved in many wars with Russia, Romania, Balkan, Greece, UK, France , Egypt … which converted it to military State.
Islamic civilization and Science
Specific Muslims scientists and their contribution in human civilization:
- Alhazen, is considered as the father of modern Optics:
http://www.unhas.ac.id/~rhiza/saintis/haitham.html
http://brightbytes.com/cosite/what.html
-Sample of Muslims scientists and their contribution in different fields:
http://www.unhas.ac.id/~rhiza/saintis/
-The first world map by AL-IDRIS
http://www.soundsofislam.com/idrisi.html
- Islam and medicine:
Guardian Newspapers, 9/10/2003
http://www.buzzle.co.uk/editorials/9-10-2003-45271.asp
Chemical medicine
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/arabic/ch...medicine5.html
Chemistry or al-kimiya
http://www.tlchm.bris.ac.uk/webproje...mer/arabic.htm
Muslims and Weapon
http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sc.../Weapons2.html
- Mathematics
History of mathematics: you can choose from 500 to 1300, most of scientists have Arab or Islamic names:
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~...ogy/index.html
About 810
House of Wisdom set up in Baghdad. There Greek and Indian mathematical and astronomy works are translated into Arabic.
About 810
Al-Khwarizmi writes important works on arithmetic, algebra, geography, and astronomy. In particular Hisab al-jabr w'al-muqabala (Calculation by Completion and Balancing), gives us the word "algebra", from "al-jabr". From al-Khwarizmi's name, as a consequence of his arithmetic book, comes the word "algorithm".
About 850
Thabit ibn Qurra makes important mathematical discoveries such as the extension of the concept of number to (positive) real numbers, integral calculus, theorems in spherical trigonometry, analytic geometry, and non-euclidean geometry.
About 850
Thabit ibn Qurra writes Book on the determination of amicable numbers which contains general methods to construct amicable numbers. He knows the pair of amicable numbers 17296, 18416.
About 900
Abu Kamil writes Book on algebra which studies applications of algebra to geometrical problems. It will be the book on which Fibonacci will base his works.
920
Al-Battani writes Kitab al-Zij a major work on astronomy in 57 chapters. It contains advances in trigonometry.
About 960
Al-Uqlidisi writes Kitab al-fusul fi al-hisab al-Hindi which is the earliest surviving book that presents the Hindu system.
About 970
Abu'l-Wafa invents the wall quadrant for the accurate measurement of the declination of stars in the sky. He writes important books on arithmetic and geometric constructions. He introduces the tangent function and produces improved methods of calculating trigonometric tables.
976
Codex Vigilanus copied in Spain. Contains the first evidence of decimal numbers in Europe.
About 990Can we see how it is one species here and not groups partitioned by political boundaries?
Al-Karaji writes Al-Fakhri in Baghdad which develops algebra. He gives Pascal's triangle.
About 1000
Ibn al-Haytham (often called Alhazen) writes works on optics, including a theory of light and a theory of vision, astronomy, and mathematics, including geometry and number theory. He gives Alhazen's problem: Given a light source and a spherical mirror, find the point on the mirror were the light will be reflected to the eye of an observer.
About 1010
Al-Biruni writes on many scientific topics. His work on mathematics covers arithmetic, summation of series, combinatorial analysis, the rule of three, irrational numbers, ratio theory, algebraic definitions, method of solving algebraic equations, geometry, Archimedes' theorems, trisection of the angle and other problems which cannot be solved with ruler and compass alone, conic sections, stereometry, stereographic projection, trigonometry, the sine theorem in the plane, and solving spherical triangles.
About 1020
Ibn Sina (usually called Avicenna) writes on philosophy, medicine, psychology, geology, mathematics, astronomy, and logic. His important mathematical work Kitab al-Shifa' (The Book of Healing) divides mathematics into four major topics, geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music.
1040
Ahmad al-Nasawi writes al-Muqni'fi al-Hisab al-Hindi which studies four different number systems. He explains the operations of arithmetic, particularly taking square and cube roots in each system.
1072
Al-Khayyami (usually known as Omar Khayyam) writes Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra which contains a complete classification of cubic equations with geometric solutions found by means of intersecting conic sections. He measures the length of the year to be 365.24219858156 days, a remarkably accurate result.
1130
Jabir ibn Aflah writes works on mathematics which, although not as good as many other Arabic works, are important since they will be translated into Latin and become available to European mathematicians.
1142
Adelard of Bath produces two or three translations of Euclid's Elements from Arabic.
1149
Al-Samawal writes al-Bahir fi'l-jabr (The brilliant in algebra). He develops algebra with polynomials using negative powers and zero. He solves quadratic equations, sums the squares of the first n natural numbers, and looks at combinatorial problems.
1150
Arabic numerals are introduced into Europe with Gherard of Cremona's translation of Ptolemy's Almagest. The name of the "sine" function comes from this translation.
1411
Al-Kashi writes Compendium of the Science of Astronomy.
1424
Al-Kashi writes Treatise on the Circumference giving a remarkably good approximation to in both sexagesimal and decimal forms.
1427
Al-Kashi completes The Key to Arithmetic containing work of great depth on decimal fractions. It applies arithmetical and algebraic methods to the solution of various problems, including several geometric ones and is one of the best textbooks in the whole of medieval literature.
will be continued ..............
Let's hope we do this right and not jump back into recent derogatory quarrels that get us nowhere.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Cranking Up The Wayback Machine
Winter Storm Advisory
We’re in the midst
Of what the weather forecasters call
Blizzard conditions;
That is, we have 5-8 inches of snow on the ground
And the wind is gusting up to 50 miles/hour.
The official temperature is 25°F right now.
Some TV stations are calling this
The Storm Of The Century.
I can see why.
Snow fell in Mobile (two inches),
Birmingham (13 inches),
and Montgomery (3 inches).
Over 12 inches fell in the mountains
Around Mentone (the Lookout Mountain area).
Unfortunately for the birds,
I put the last of the birdseed in the bird feeder out back
So I hope they have enough to last them a couple of days.
- 13 March 1993
= == === ==== === == =
Do Bookies Bet On The Weather?
I walked through the woods yesterday
And saw footprints in the snow
Left by many animals including deer, dogs and birds.
Some of the dog-size prints
May have been possum or raccoon since they, too,
Occupy the woods behind my house.
Several cedar trees and limbs had fallen
Or broken off due to snow.
Officially (so to speak),
I measured the snow in our yard on Saturday;
I measured six inches on the driveway
And thirteen and a half inches on the back deck
(An actual snow drift in Huntsville!).
Mount Mitchell in North Carolina recorded 50 inches
While Asheville had around two feet of snow.
Several cities from Alabama to Pennsylvania
Recorded new 24-hour snowfall records.
Therefore, news agencies labeled this storm,
"The storm of the century."
Also, I’ll mention several cities up the East Coast
Recorded new barometric pressure lows.
New low of 12°F on Saturday night.
Janeil and I will try to drive over the mountain
To work this morning.
- 15 March 1993
= == === ==== === == =
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily...
Collecting my thoughts for another ride
Through the valley of no evil, paychecks or worries.
Not a lot to worry about anyway,
Just cruising along the highway -- literally.
I and the passengers of this car
Plan to spend the day
At the Starwood Amphitheater in Nashville.
I look forward to spending the day with friends
But I don’t relish the thought
Of sweating in the hot sun all day.
What the hell --
There’s always pain in pleasure.
Sometimes you just have to look
A little harder for the pleasure.
While aging on this planet,
I notice I allow myself
To let the thinking process slide by
Without recording the words on paper.
That’s okay.
I’ve been living a life
That doesn’t need to be on paper.
I live the eternal dance of BORNMARRYDIE,
which is a short version of
BORNMARRYHAVEKIDSDIE,
The ultimate dance of life.
Some people have argued recently
That MARRY should be replaced with MATE.
I respond to those
That in my world
MARRY is the word for MATE.
- 6 July 1993
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We’re in the midst
Of what the weather forecasters call
Blizzard conditions;
That is, we have 5-8 inches of snow on the ground
And the wind is gusting up to 50 miles/hour.
The official temperature is 25°F right now.
Some TV stations are calling this
The Storm Of The Century.
I can see why.
Snow fell in Mobile (two inches),
Birmingham (13 inches),
and Montgomery (3 inches).
Over 12 inches fell in the mountains
Around Mentone (the Lookout Mountain area).
Unfortunately for the birds,
I put the last of the birdseed in the bird feeder out back
So I hope they have enough to last them a couple of days.
- 13 March 1993
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Do Bookies Bet On The Weather?
I walked through the woods yesterday
And saw footprints in the snow
Left by many animals including deer, dogs and birds.
Some of the dog-size prints
May have been possum or raccoon since they, too,
Occupy the woods behind my house.
Several cedar trees and limbs had fallen
Or broken off due to snow.
Officially (so to speak),
I measured the snow in our yard on Saturday;
I measured six inches on the driveway
And thirteen and a half inches on the back deck
(An actual snow drift in Huntsville!).
Mount Mitchell in North Carolina recorded 50 inches
While Asheville had around two feet of snow.
Several cities from Alabama to Pennsylvania
Recorded new 24-hour snowfall records.
Therefore, news agencies labeled this storm,
"The storm of the century."
Also, I’ll mention several cities up the East Coast
Recorded new barometric pressure lows.
New low of 12°F on Saturday night.
Janeil and I will try to drive over the mountain
To work this morning.
- 15 March 1993
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Merrily, Merrily, Merrily...
Collecting my thoughts for another ride
Through the valley of no evil, paychecks or worries.
Not a lot to worry about anyway,
Just cruising along the highway -- literally.
I and the passengers of this car
Plan to spend the day
At the Starwood Amphitheater in Nashville.
I look forward to spending the day with friends
But I don’t relish the thought
Of sweating in the hot sun all day.
What the hell --
There’s always pain in pleasure.
Sometimes you just have to look
A little harder for the pleasure.
While aging on this planet,
I notice I allow myself
To let the thinking process slide by
Without recording the words on paper.
That’s okay.
I’ve been living a life
That doesn’t need to be on paper.
I live the eternal dance of BORNMARRYDIE,
which is a short version of
BORNMARRYHAVEKIDSDIE,
The ultimate dance of life.
Some people have argued recently
That MARRY should be replaced with MATE.
I respond to those
That in my world
MARRY is the word for MATE.
- 6 July 1993
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