Erica Jong

We Deserve What We Get -

Short and very much to the point. All of the candidates are simply second best...or third.

Governor

says he made mistakes -

Whoa! He needs to spend more time doing the 'reflective' thing...

But, considering his history, I am still suspicious.

Typical

My morning has started in the usual way; no surprises at all. Coffee in hand and browsing the RSS feeds. The cat is back in, her ears have been scratched and the fire has been fed. It’s chilly out there. And last, I opened up my journal for today’s entry.

That was when I remembered yesterday’s poetry selection from the Writer’s Almanac. A poem written for me.

Now, what goes in my journal today? A fishhook or a marble?

Social Marketing

by Michelle MacPhearson

'Ponder' is a great word! I already ponder a lot. Every day. And as Michelle notes, I'm not into Twitter. I'm still asking, why?

Could there be...is there a social network for pondering? It has so much more 'weight' to it than Twitter does.

And since I'm always looking for an MBTI connection, I see Twittering for the Extroverts among us. Extroverts talk to enable themselves to think. Introverts think long before speaking. It's the 'weight' of the words. Extroverts words are like balloons, flying off into the breeze, without consequence. "Hey! Don't worry...I've got plenty more!"

Indian Manufacturing Co

1911 Shorpy

The good old days!

Street Smarts

Amazing. The stock market continues to slide downward because of a self fulfilling prophesy…expect doom and gloom on Wall Street and you will get gloom and doom.

And let’s suppose we had tied our retirement fortunes to that same market, as the republicans wanted us to, by abolishing Social Security. Why on earth would you want to invest your financial life line in a marketplace where thousands of investors run about, shouting, ‘The sky is falling! The sky is falling! I read about it in the newspaper!’

I wonder what the average IQ is among these folks? Having money doesn’t make you smart.

Time Goes By

- Crabby knows what she's talking about here!

Flickr: Photos

More from The Library of Congress

I'm pretty sure Shannon will like these photos... :-)

News in the 1910s

- a photoset on Flickr

If you're an old photo nut as I am, you might like this merger of the Library of Congress and Flickr. It's a great idea. The LOC site has always been tough to navigate and this might be much easier. And...these are 'our' pictures.

And try this link as well...

Heavenly

Interesting. Google has done it again. Somehow, Google Books is able to give you reviews and selected text (sometimes) from the books in its database. I spotted it yesterday when I posted something about a book I had just read. Do a book search and if a ‘limited preview’ is available, you can actually read a fair portion of it. Very nice. And here’s what Google has for The Children’s Blizzard. Very cool. I’m currently using Shelfari to create a visual book list on my Good Eats blog, but it’s actually a social network and, to be honest, I’m not really all that social. I just like the cover pictures that it provides.

And even more interesting… I spotted the Nancy Pearl Book Lust site. (it’s an RSS feed as well) Ms Pearl is a librarian and that’s my favorite kind of people. I will never forget the librarian that started me on a lifetime of enjoying books. I only wish I could remember her name? Well, if I ever get to that place where all good librarians go, I will have to look her up and thank her.

Saying Something...again

Confirmation is always nice. Before we left the Sacramento area, I used to rant to a few people that it was wrong to develop the Natomas area; that it was unsafe because of the possibility of flooding. I was certain that the only reason the area was being pushed for removal from the ‘flood plain’ list was for the financial benefit of the developers. Of course, I was just an interested observer of the local political scene; I lived high and dry in Roseville, 20 miles away.

Yesterday’s Sacramento Bee had a front page story; ‘Levee Report Shocks City’. Apparently the Army Corps of Engineers changed their minds about the status of the Natomas area. Playing it safe again, they say that the area is prone to flooding; disastrous flooding. Which it always has been. But, in the meantime, thousands of new residents live there, unaware that they live on the bottom of the river with fragile levees being the only thing keeping the river from reclaiming the land.

Funny things, the levees. Built, beginning in the mid-1800’s, by farmers using a mule and a ‘fresno’, dirt was scraped together to form the channels for the river. And that dirt is still there. That’s the foundation for the current levees. No one has ever said, ‘Let’s tear them down, start over and do it right’. Sure, they have injected grout and driven in pilings, but they can only imagine what the foundation looks like now, 150 years later. Try imagining a highway; paved just once and then imagine it after 150 years of traffic has rolled down it.

Since there are still a few million dollars left to be made in the Natomas area, I would guess that the city and the developers will argue that the Corps is wrong and press for the removal or an amendment to the negative report. And they will probably get one. Just a guess.

And just inside the front page of the Bee was a good column by Dan Walters. This, “…Ever since, Schwarzenegger has been a conventional, deal-making, hot-air-spouting politician. Almost daily, he makes some sort of public appearance somewhere in the state and says something about something, but the value of his words continues to diminish...” says it all.

the resident curmdgeon

and what he's reading now

Here's one I have to read!
What is it about real life disasters that fascinates us so? 'There, but for the grace...'

Courts

strip elders of their independence - The Boston Globe

73 years old and living in Boston? Now that's scary!

There was a big stink about this in California a long time ago. I wonder, has it returned, quietly?

Barbara's Blog

Hillary’s Real MLK Problem

Barbara puts a voice to my thoughts concerning the Senator...

I was fully supportive of Senator Clinton when she began to stir things up in the health care industry; so long ago. I approved of the idea that we could get a 'two-fer' when we elected President Clinton. And anyone that could turn Limbaugh purple with rage was OK in my book!

But now? My ballot sits on the table - blank.

Love that oatmeal!

It’s time for some breakfast while I browse the headlines;

Romney Beats McCain in Michigan Vote
By JOHN M. BRODER
Promising to revitalize the automobile industry, Mitt Romney defeated his principal rival, Senator John McCain, by winning a clear plurality.

He promised? Now there’s a man that knows how to lie in a big way! Definitely presidential material.

Bush Prods Saudi Arabia on Oil Prices
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister appeared to rebuff the president’s appeal to consider the cost to the U.S. economy

I heard this one yesterday. Did bush really think his old pals would listen to him now? Or was he just grandstanding as usual? Nice try, but no cigar.

Jobs Returns to His Mac Roots With a Thin, Ultralight Laptop
By JOHN MARKOFF
Apple’s Steven P. Jobs introduced an elegant new MacBook, and is betting he can mimic his digital music success with movies.

Way cool! I could be persuaded.

Tip of the day

Hmmm? Chilly in here. Perhaps I should turn up the heat for a little bit and give the woodstove a boost. The wind seems to be sucking the heat out of the house and I have the stove on ‘low and slow’. Also, it’s time to get another cup of coffee.

OK, coffee in hand and camera in the other. I took some pic’s of the meatloaf and will post them on the recipe blog.

And speaking of pic’s, our eldest was in an accident the other day. She wasn’t injured and the car only had scratches. She was car #4 and the last in a rear ender. Most of the energy was absorbed by the cars behind her. I was talking to her and mentioned that she could have taken accident photos with her cell phone. Most insurance companies advise you to carry a disposable camera in your car for just such an occasion. But, today we have cell phones that will do that job even better. You could even send the photo immediately to your agent! That would make his day. And I read the other day where a cell phone camera could be used to help you remember where you parked your car. Exit vehicle. Snap photo of landmark. Go shopping. Or catch your plane.

I'm so confused!

Economic worries

put Americans in sour mood Reuters

Let's see how this works. The news media reports that there is a distinct possibility of a recession and then they report that we are all worried about it. And why are worried? because we heard a report...

(In the report...Approval ratings for Congress now UP. All of the way to 14% Bush holds steady at 31%)

Take a look

I was browsing again and came across this data filled site. That data certainly illustrates the fact that agriculture doesn’t serve the people well. I would imagine that you can find your own county, city and state on here.

Trying to stay ahead

The wind. It’s driving me crazy! Just when I thought our ruined fence couldn’t get much worse…it did. The wind picked it up from its reclining position and broke it into two ruined fences. I had it leaning and braced; thinking that the weight alone would hold it in place until the fencing contractor showed up. Wrong.

OK, the good/bad news is that the garage door is working once again, but I don’t get a brand-new door with windows in it. The repair guy started off by telling me that he had never seen anything like it before. That’s not a good beginning. He spent about 10 minutes studying the situation from all angles before he began. Two hours later, the door operates better than it ever did!

So far, we’re ahead on this insurance plan from American Home Shield. The seller of the house had provided it for the first year and we picked up the cost in the following years. We were hesitant at first; it seemed like a lot of money and for what? But history has proven us correct (or lucky). It cost us $55 for the repair yesterday and it was the same last year for the heater repair. And the year before that for the AC repairs. And we have two 20 year old water heaters in this house; covered by insurance. With any luck at all they will fail this year. That’s good!

We were driving into town yesterday and listening to NPR when we heard a couple of politicians talking about the reasoning behind the new ‘Term Limits’ law being proposed for California. They both went on at great length explaining that a new legislator is far too inexperienced to do much for his constituents. That it would take years before he or she was really experienced enough and so it was simply wrong to place limits on how long they could serve. And I thought to myself; were these not the same people who told me, during their campaigns, “Elect me to make a change in how things are done in the legislature!”? I guess I didn’t read the fine print in their campaign literature and they didn’t point out the fact that it might take 20 or 30 years. Shame on me.

And the loudest whiner of the politicians was Willie Brown. Remember him? He’s convinced that the original term limits bill was written just for him; a personal vendetta by the voters of the state. And he’s right. (Applause!)

It's them! Not us...

I was just looking at the Dow Jones numbers and they are terrible…again. They have dropped down into scary territory once more and now I wonder how the Republicans can blame the Democrats for this? I’m not worried; I’m sure they will find some tortured logic to place the blame squarely on the deserving; someone else.

See Saw

See More Art

Ah, the power! Huge numbers of blogs on every subject. My list of RSS feeds grows continually. Lately it has been ART that has dominated... but what's next?

Budget analyst

criticizes Schwarzenegger's plan

I stopped posting criticisms about Arnold awhile ago. I mean, what's the point? He is a fool and will remain one. And when I first read about his 10% across the board budget cuts, I knew we were dealing with the same fool. 'Across the board' means that he doesn't want to think about it. He doesn't want to plan and prioritize. He doesn't care about the citizens. Slam dunk...across the board, 10% and he's done for the day. Apparently, Elizabeth Hill, the only sane person in Sacramento, believes the same thing about the governor, except she is polite about it and won't call him a fool in public.

Power of the internet

And speaking of that power… as I was; the Shorpy Photo Blog has lots of old photos from members. (Don’t we all!) That might be a place to troll for information about old family members as well. Believe me; every photo gets scrutinized by thousands of viewers. And I really need to get those photos of ours organized. A task that is always in the back of my mind. Kitty needs a bunch of them and our children shouldn’t be handed a couple of boxes, crammed full of photos and still in need of identification, when we move on.

So, in that same spirit, here’s a photo that needs identification. Who, what, where and when? I better post this one on the Shorpy site.

Conventional wisdom says that the kid in the top hat is my grandfather, Raymond Riddle Fifer...maybe?

Gone Fishing

What an interesting day. Over the weekend I had received a comment on a blog post from a distant relative. An unknown relative. Mr. LaVerne Riddle wanted me to give him a call and so I did, According to what he told me, he is the grandson of a great uncle of mine. I’m not particularly well versed in the ins and outs of genealogy and I don’t always have the right title for a distant relative. His grandfather was William Riddle and my great grandmother was Hattie Letha, William’s sister. All very confusing for me to read as the previous generation used some of the same names. Of course I have a blog on the subject. And that’s where LaVerne spotted the name he was looking for.

Do I go back to my genealogy research? Probably not. It requires a lot of time and energy to do it right. I will fill in the blanks with anything that LaVerne Riddle might be able to provide and then go back to ‘fishing’ as I was. If you do a Google search for some of the family names, ultimately, you will run across my family blog and that’s a ‘nibble’. The power of the internet.

Firmitas

Little Boxes...

They are everywhere! And I have to wonder how many are for sale at any given time? And let me wonder again; how high can you stack them?

Looking

OK, so I did some looking for that house I posted about earlier... but no luck.

And here's a link to some others.

And this one must have been next door to the one we rented. I think it's the same view.

More of the same

US video of Iran speedboats doctored

Why would you even think of doing something like that? Ah! The keyword is 'think'.

Escalation

in the Persian Gulf

Some good points are made...

If it isn’t one thing,

it’s another. I went to close the garage door last night on our way out and that was when everything came off the tracks, literally. Springs, rails and door all became enmeshed. The door is stopped at an acute angle about 3 feet off of the floor and it’s not going any further.

It’s time to call the insurance company. I’ve looked at the language in the policy and I’m 90% certain that I’m covered. Of course it’s that 10% that has me worried. Just how lucky am I?

And if I am lucky and we end up needing a new door, (after all, the insured part, the spring, has damaged the door) then I would probably want to get a door with windows in it. If there’s an upcharge, it would be worth it to have that extra bit of natural light. I’m one of those people that love open windows; no drapes and no blinds for me. Back in the day, when I was traveling, I would turn off the lights in the hotel room and open the drapes at bed time. A full moon, stars and an occasional storm were things that I looked forward to.

Speaking of all of those things; many years ago we rented a house on the Mendocino coast for the weekend. Mom, Kitty and Dean and ourselves. And this house was located right above the ocean. Directly above. There were no drapes that I remember? And the view was spectacular; the living room, which dominated the house, had a solid wall of glass on the western exposure and it was there that we could be found; day and night, watching storms, sunrises, sunsets and waves.

A real test for those who claim to love a view was the large bathtub that faced the ocean as well. No drapes or blinds here.

Somehow I’ve segued from

broken garage doors to a bathtub on the Mendocino coast. Not bad.

High Speed...Yes!

I watched the Mavericks surfing contest yesterday; on my computer and only because I could. You have to have a fanatical interest in the sport to do that and I don’t qualify. Surfers have their own language and so watching and listening to the commentator requires some translation. And it’s not exactly a fast paced sport; not every wave can be ridden, so you look at the little picture of little people on little boards, bobbing up and down as the waves pass under them.

I know it’s the size of the picture that makes it all so boring. No camera can show you how terrifying the size of those waves can be when you’re in the water. The only time the shots showed anything close to reality was when they were being taken from the ‘wave runners’. They were surfing with 30’ waves and I’ve only seen that size from a distance. The ones I do remember, from my youth, were huge when they reached half that size. And being caught and punished by one that size was a scary time. I remember being held under and scraped along the bottom by the force of the water; wondering if I would make it back to the top. Helpless.

Of course that brought back some other memories; the sand that was forced into every crevice, seam and fold of your trunks by the force of that swirling water. The bottom of mom’s washing machine always had sparkling coating of very fine sand; as did the shower and bath tub. Also to be feared in the waves were the jellyfish. Even the dismembered jellies were a problem as they could still sting. Last memory; the smell of turpentine, as that was used to take off the tar that you would find on your feet after a day in the water. Most people used to blame the presence of tar on the oil tankers that were always seen, just south of Manhattan, at El Segundo. Truth was, the tar was being ejected from natural sources, far underwater and offshore.

Surfin!

Now, what am I going to do? That’s the question posed to me by my eldest. She seems to think that I have spent far too much time complaining about my internet connection via the Hughes satellite. Hmm? I don’t think I spent any more time on it than it deserved.

But, that’s history. Anyone want to buy a used satellite dish and modem?

The new Clearwire connection is not the fastest in the world, but it is so much better! And there’s already a rumor that they will be implementing WiMax service on the Orland tower. Soon. Be still my heart! (Cynical note: The salesman told me that one)

I have been giving the new service a good test; viewing photos from the 100-year old photo blog, Shorpy and downloading music of the 50’s. And later this morning I will be watching the Mavericks surfing contest…streaming video! Now that was something I couldn’t do via satellite.

Wisdom

increases with age, research says

Duh!

Sciencedebate

2008

I signed up...

Just think what might have happened if such a debate had taken place before the 2000 elections. Imagine!

And imagine how the 'huckster' might do in such a debate!

Powerless Resolutions

Social Marketing

Zack and Michelle's story...

Changing

Aging

I don't know why, but you will have to scroll down to see the story about Circuit City...

Good story; now if it would only happen to Best Buy!

A Little Something for the Congressman

Congressman in Inquiry on Lobbying Will Retire
By PHILIP SHENON
Rep. John T. Doolittle, a California Republican, has suggested he is almost certain to face criminal charges in a Congressional lobbying scandal.

Perhaps a few years of retirement living in the Graybar Hotel would be in order. No, really, he deserves it!

Benazir Bhutto

The final words

How does one make sense of the labyrinth called 'Pakistan'?

Obsolete, again

I was listening to NPR the other day and heard a story from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Ah! My ‘geeky’ mind was enthralled with the news of the new and exciting things that are in store for us. Wouldn’t I love to be there and to see all that the manufacturers have created for our pleasure? Reality check. I would have to fly to Las Vegas. Scratch that. I would be in a huge crowd of people. Scratch that. OK. I’m back to listening to NPR. It’s easier on my psyche. And my wallet.

And then I read Time Goes By this morning and noted that Ronni had a suspicion that the new digital television mandate might have been influenced a little bit by the television manufacturers. You think? Mandate or not, our television is simply wearing out at just the right time. 20 years. So I don’t feel too bad about having to move into the digital age.

But what does bother me… is the fact that whatever I buy, brand new, it will be obsolete before the set is unwrapped.

The NPR reporter (And Ronni) also mentioned that the HD/Blu-Ray wars are almost over with Blu-Ray getting 70% of the market. The same reporter also mentioned that consumers are getting tired of these format wars. And he said that consumers are tired of needing a degree in electronics just to program their remotes. Does he think the manufacturers care about any of that?

You just never know

I was checking my mail the first thing this morning and I noted that Michelle had updated some posts, so I figured that they must have their power restored. I haven’t read those posts yet, so I’m just assuming that to be the case. And then I saw an Anonymous post with a comment on a story I wrote almost 3 years ago! Of course I had to go back and read the whole thing, including the story I had posted on the 13th of May. I had quite obviously assumed things about that story that just weren’t true. Not that it makes a lot of difference; I was only using the story as the foundation for a work of fiction. Here’s a link to that month in the archives. I still have the story, about three chapters and unfinished. Do I continue on? Or do I take the new information and start over?

Trying to tell me something?

How odd. When I returned from my small chores at the Plant Barn, I found out that the Clearwire guy had been here. He had driven up in his oddly painted little truck, talked with Laurae for a moment, tested the signal strength and pronounced it 'Good!' and then left her a brochure before departing. "Give me a call." From what could be gathered, he had seen a previous inquiry of mine (A long time ago) and now, with increased strength of signal available, he had decided to do the salesman routine with me.

Good timing. All I need to do is change over a few more critical e-mail addresses to the Gmail address and we're good to go. And I do have a few questions, like... can I look at all of the photos on the Shorpy website? On the same day?

And Clearwire does WiMax. No, not here yet. But it is bound to be decades sooner than Hughes satellite service might think about it. Also, I can hook up with a laptop...maybe my Palm?

OK, let's be cynical. It's a two year contract and once you're signed up; you're stuck! All of those promises from the salesman are just that; promises.

The Organ Grinder

1910 Shorpy

I know I'm dating myself, but I have seen an organ grinder and a monkey. I'm sure it was in downtown Los Angeles and in the 1940's...but memories can be tricky!

Odds and Ends III

On a different note; I can’t get over the fantastic photos on the Shorpy website. The only problem I have is with the size of the images. A good broadband connection is a must! And while you are browsing the site, look for the Pie Town New Mexico images. They are definitely worth the visit. 1940 is the year that most of the photos were taken, also the year I was born. I saw most of these images a long time ago and on a different site, and I am glad to see that there are a few more that I hadn’t seen before.

So what’s happening in Pie Town today? (68 years later)

And, if you take a look at my Good Eats blog, you will see a link to a pot roast recipe and then a review. Yes, I tried it yesterday and it was good, very good.

Time to vote?

The rain continues this morning. Not a hard rain, just a misting and it comes without any wind to speak of and that’s a good thing!

A bad thing in the news is the fact that the emotions of Hillary have taken on a life of their own. Certainly this can’t be the defining moment of a campaign? Please! This country has been stuck with a guy who has shown us his stupid side for 8 long years; can’t we have an election where candidates are allowed to show their human side? For only a moment?

The candidates? I’m afraid they all get my skepticism. My personal belief is that anyone who runs for the office of POTUS has to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic. And desperately in ‘need’ of power. This is why we absolutely must have a division of those powers within our government. Just look at the last seven years and you can see what happens when the legislative and judicial branches give up their responsibilities.

I did get my ballot in the mail yesterday and although I wanted to immediately vote for Richardson, I now must wait. Richardson has abandoned his quest for the presidency and I have to make a decision between Obama and Clinton. That’s going to take some time as neither one is deserving of the office. But, that’s nothing new. I could vote for Kucinich, but that’s a throw-away vote; as was the Richardson vote. Now, no matter whom I decide on, my vote could be seen as being simply historic. I wanted to vote for the first black candidate or I wanted to vote for the first woman candidate. Wrong. I really want to vote for the best candidate and it would help if it were a black woman with a 150 IQ. The perfect PC candidate!

On second thought; I'm nominating my granddaughter. All 4 of them!

But, I'm still voting for Richardson

Just got back from the dump. (Yes, it was lovely at this time of year) And on the way over I was listening to the after-the-fact quarterbacking by the political pundits. What struck me as odd was the fact that some were mentioning that Hillary became tearful the other day. What? That's what thinking humans are supposed to do. Duh! Why on earth was it even mentioned? Maybe it was because we've had seven years of leadership? by those who don't know how to do that. Or apologize.

Finances

Interesting. Doesn't have an RSS feed that I can find, so I may have to bookmark it.

Michelle

Criminal!

Oh, you should know that PG&E provides a $100 for those who went without power for 3 days or more. Big Whoopee!

France best,

U.S. worst

Say it isn't so! How can the cheese-eating surrender monkeys do it?

(Remember the scene in Sicko where the $120 inhaler is being purchased for 5 cents...? How do those evil Communists do it?)

Carnival Ride From Hell

The Good old days - 1911

More pic's...

Showering

Naked

I bet it was a Democrat. They do all the bad things in OC.

Storm Over

I have to find a fence contractor now. AAA called last night and will be sending me a check for the damages. It was a phone interview at 6:30 PM and I had to quickly estimate how much fence had been lost. Sixty feet is what I said; the interviewer made some quick calculations and came up with a number. Told me to expect the check and said goodbye. On to the next ‘victim’.

It wasn’t the caring scenario I had in mind. I had hopes that someone would show up to actually fix the fence. But insurance companies don’t provide ‘care’ except in their commercials. It’s X number of $’s; take it or leave it.

Vote Early and Vote Often

The news is…a lot more money has been spent and this time around the winners have different names. It’s Hillary and John this time. Barack and the ‘Huckster’ are the losers. Interesting; as New Hampshire has the wisdom to allow independent voters to vote for candidates from any party at all. So who voted for which one? Independents did. California used to allow that, but the Republican Party bosses didn’t like the thought of actual independence and voted to stop it. They may need to re-think that now that California has such a large bloc of independents. We’re starting to have a real impact now. And I’m voting as soon as I see the ballot in my mailbox. Could be tomorrow.

I just had a thought… what if there was an e-mail vote? A national one? No, not a binding vote, but I could see the different political parties being both interested and scared of it. Declaring a certain week to be National E-Vote Week and millions of people logging in and registering their votes. Could be interesting. It would be fairly simple to do and it would easily allow for write-in candidates. Mickey Mouse and None of the Above. IP addresses would be the identifier for the voters. Sure, there would be some voter fraud, but there always is. Ohio and Florida come to mind.

(And 'Mitt' is now a two-time loser. OK!)

Now What?

I'm looking at All Cams from the Caltrans District 2 website...and it's not a pretty picture out there today.

But here's a nice picture of Bill, contemplating his own winter wonderland.

Gephyrophobia

Bridges Are a Terror -

OK. This would be me... or was me. Some bridges were 'safe' and others un-crossable. (Is that a word?)

I'm always going to blame my kindergarten teacher for it. Dover Elementary School was near the Los Angeles River and at one point the whole class was taken for a walk across a footbridge that spanned the river. A wooden footbridge where there was a gap between the boards that allowed you see all of the way down to the river below...a dry riverbed to be sure, after all it was Los Angeles, but still a long way down to the eyes of a 5 year old.

Surrender?

Another thing to rant about would be the continuing prevalence of Spam. It was just a few years ago that the ‘guvmint’ said that they would tackle the problem and put an end to it. They passed a law, declaring a War on Spam? You can put that one on the shelf right next to the War on Drugs and the War on Terror. The only war that is being won is the War on Common Sense; sometimes known as the Assault on Reason.

(True...Spam has actually increased during the 'War')

Compared

Things to do. I must get away from this terrible Hughes Net satellite service. But first, I will have to change all of my e-mail subscriptions over to my Gmail address. Once that is done, I will have the freedom? to pursue Clearwire. And I’m not even certain that will work. But we have no other options. No DSL. No cable. What a shame. So many other nations have better/faster internet access than we do. And all are cheaper!

You may, if you wish, compare it to our health care system. It’s the same. A shame.

And of course I must rant about the power situation here in California. Yesterday I heard that 3,500 Glenn County residents were without power, 8,000 Chico residents. 26,000 for the entire Northern Sacramento Valley. And this morning I read that Zack and Michelle (and kids) are also without power. 5 days? This morning I’m taking a load of spoiled food from Denise’s house to the dump.

So why am I ranting? Because I remember a time some forty years ago when the utility companies were proclaiming that underground utilities would soon be everywhere and power outages would be a thing of the past. Guess what? And this was also the same era when they were hyping ‘Gold Medallion’ homes. All-Electric! Cleaner and cheaper. If you were a cheap doofus, you might end up with a plain ‘Bronze Medallion’ home. Low end of the social scale. Oh yes, I almost forgot; you would get a special doorbell along with your mortgage. That way, when someone (Avon?) came calling, they would know instantly just how ‘bright’ you were.

Fact; cynicism is part of the aging process. It’s a ‘defense’ mechanism. Don’t knock it.

How

America Lost the War on Drugs

Let's see... 35 years and $500 billion dollars. (Not counting additional courts, prisons, officers, etc)

What if we tried using...logic? (Silly me!)

(News Headline... Ford Motor Company states that they will continue to build and market the Edsel until the public finally accepts it. Even though it has been over 35 years since anyone bought an Edsel, company officials remain optimistic.)

The All New 2008 Edsel...see image on the right

Gone for a Ride

We went into Chico this afternoon to pick up some fence repair items and to see how Denise was doing...she was without power. And on the way we passed hundreds of downed almond trees. Next fall, the firewood of choice around these parts will be almond. It should be fairly cheap as there is going to be an awful lot of it.

And we found the power situation in Chico to be very odd. You would pass by 3 traffic signals that worked and then the fourth one didn't. Then the next two worked? It was like that everywhere.

At Home Depot, the aisles were crowded with people seeking parts for fence repairs. Cement, 4x4's and dog-eared panels.

Once we arrived home, we got a good news phone call...Denise's power was back on!

Yes, for years to come, this (2008) will be known as the year of the 'Big Storm'.

Shorpy

The 100-Year-Old Photo Blog

Now this is great!

And the photo of Bantam Connecticut? I think I was there in 1966? Or it could have been 1967.

Another Storm

As usual, the recent storm brought memories of storms past. And one in particular because I have a photo from that event. I think it was 1953 and it was in Redondo Beach. The storm surge had been increasing the height of the waves for a few days and the water was threatening the Triangle Shopping Center, right across from the rocky beach named Moonstone Beach. (King Harbor and the breakwater didn’t exist at this time and there were homes that fronted directly on the beach as well.) I had a Kodak Brownie camera and was hoping to get some photos of the destruction caused by the waves hurling large rocks onto the houses (They had all been evacuated) and into the street.

I quickly found out that if I wanted a good picture, I would have to get past the Civil Defense volunteers that were blocking access to the alley that ran between the houses. I waited for my chance and when the volunteer left his post for a minute, I dashed across the street and into the alley. From there I made it to the edge of the beach and could see the waves forming off shore. Well, as you know, everything looks smaller and further away when seen through a camera viewfinder. I looked up just in time to see a wave about to crash on me. I ran, but wasn’t quick enough to avoid being soaked. The camera was OK, so I decided to stay, but a little further away. There was a phone booth nearby and a few times I ran into it to avoid an especially tall wave. Finally, I was spotted and told to leave the area.

A few days later I returned to see what damage had been done. Most of the houses were beyond repair as the large rocks had virtually destroyed them. And there, in the alley, was the phone booth. Destroyed. A very large rock sitting in the middle of it.

Now I’m wondering if have already posted this story? I looked in the Family Matters blog and didn’t see it there, so maybe I’m safe. It also may be that I’ve just told the story too often.

Orland Press Register

Darlene Friesen

Darlene, besides being a local columnist is also active in almost every organization on the Planet Orland. And she's over 80...and she is blind. Believe me, it doesn't slow her down. Old age that is...

And it was nice to find the 'New' Orland Press Register on-line. It must be a recent event, as I have looked for it before without success. There used to be a cheap looking site for the paper, but it wasn't worth looking at. And the real paper isn't either. They want 75 cents for it and you have to do your own proofreading.

Boring

I guess I should look at the weather and see what we’re in for today. All I have to do is run my cursor down the left side of the screen that shows my RSS feeds. All 113 of them. OK, it’s not that bad, I have most of them sorted into folders and that helps to keep me from clicking on every single one every hour of the day. Out of sight; out of mind. Let’s see; Art, Cooking, Elder Blogs, Funny, Geeky, News, Politics and I even have a special folder for the blogs that are rarely updated, Not Very Often. And there is a feed for weather on the Planet Orland. Click on it and it tells me that we have a wet week ahead of us. Boring.

Here's a storm story from the local rag...

Just The Facts

We finally got around to watching Sicko. It’s definitely a movie to be seen. I know that Michael Moore’s style offends some people, but let’s suppose he is only half right. If so, we should simply be furious at the neglect and theft by our elected ‘leaders’ and not in a rage. But, if we look at the facts, the data, he is right. As Americans, we are not anywhere near the top in excellence in healthcare. Third world nations do better…for free.

Of course I had to look at the website of the Michael Moore hater; Moorewatch.com. Oh, he’s a real noble American! He knows how to string together almost all of the four letter words available, to make his replies to any criticism of his convoluted thought processes. You might think that he would be embarrassed by his lack of civility (and intelligence). But, you would be wrong; he seems to be quite proud of himself! And he has some great advertising on the site; t-shirts! “The 2008 political season has begun, and liberals are swarming the streets begging for your vote, like their constituents beg for spare change. A "Zip It Hippie" shirt will make sure the freak with the Hillary clipboard, or the homely chick with the Obama button don't bother asking for your support”

I think he forgot to include elders in his diatribe.

And back to the movie; there really should be a book made from it. I know it’s the other way around; movies are made from books. But there is so much information in the movie, it is easily forgotten. A book would let you go back and look at the data…again and again. It would let you copy snippets of that data and send them to your representatives. Ask them for answers.

Lucky

We went out to get the mail and decided to cruise around town and see what had been damaged. There were the usual tree limbs and missing shingles, nothing really dramatic, but when we drove back home on Road P, we went by some of the almond orchards and you could see some real damage from the storm. We saw hundreds of trees uprooted and that’s just in a few orchards and only as far as we could see into the orchards. And now we have found out that we’re the lucky ones in our family. Denise, Alicia and families are still without power. And they live in the metropolis! We sort of assumed that being country dwellers, we would be last in line to get power restored. Not so. And even among the rural customers, were lucky once again, as there are still thousands without power.

(Better stock up on those garlic flavored almonds now; they will cost you dearly next year!)

Fence Online

- Expert Fence Advice on Wood Fence

Who knew? Anyway, check out the Fencing Estimator program (Link at bottom of page)

Now, must look at insurance policy!

Happy Birthday

Umberto!

If you haven't read 'The Name of the Rose'...you really should. My favorite author. OK, one of my favorites.

mental_floss Blog

My Night at the Caucus

I'm sorry. This has to be the dumbest way in the world for people to be elected to high office. Maybe it would be OK for those running for class president. Middle school. But...even that would be a stretch.

It's no wonder we get such classy people as our leaders.

For Shame!

According to a small article in the Economist, the global economy is facing lean times. Almost all European economies are facing huge budget deficits just as we are here in the US of A. Except for those darned Socialists! I’m sure it’s a trick of some kind but the Nordic countries, a hotbed of socialism, will enjoy budget surpluses this year. Shame on them!

How could it happen, Huckabee?

The Homosexuals Take Over Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Where will they strike next? And a Master Plan? Who knew? And only $14.95. A bargain!

Enterprise Record

- Glenn County takes severe windy punch

More storm stuff...

Trolls

That was interesting. A little after 7 AM yesterday, the power finally went out for good after a half a dozen on/off/on episodes that prompted me to shut down the computer for safety.

We got out the candles and flashlights. It’s really quite dark at that hour; 7:30. And we listened to the battery powered police scanner unit. The news wasn’t good. Trees down. Power poles down. Power lines across roadways. Trees falling into homes. On and on it went. A litany of disaster. And the wind blew.

We tried reading, but the candle light was less than satisfactory. We played solitaire with real cards on the kitchen table. We made tea and hot chocolate with water heated on the woodstove. The local radio stations were off the air so we were stuck with scanner news, where you only hear half of a conversation. And the wind blew.

Sometime around 11, the wind peaked and a 30’ section of our fence blew over, falling into the roses. That was it. We felt somewhat blessed by that. There were plenty of major disasters that day on the Planet Orland, but we only had to deal with a broken fence. We were warm and safe inside a substantial house.

By noon, the wind had died down to a mild roar and the rain continued to fall. Now we began to guess as to when the power would come back. I predicted 10 minutes to 5 and was rewarded (Yes!) when it came back on at 5.

I’ve looked at the weather forecast for today, tomorrow and the rest of the week. Rain and more wind, but nothing like yesterday. The area record was a 67 mph wind gust in Red Bluff and I saw that the Corning station recorded a 61 mph gust. This morning, the best that Corning has come up with is a mere 23 mph gust.

And we’re still warm and secure. But, here on the Planet Orland, there are people that ‘normally’ live under a bridge on 99W. I’m sure they moved when the water in the creek rose, but where are they now?

Something odd happens when our normal world is altered for just a brief span of time. Without electricity, we begin to wonder how we could live without it. We knew that the power was going to come back on. But, what if it didn’t? How would we cope? I guess we could always ask the people that live under the bridge.