February, 2005

2005.02.27 — St. Clairsville, Ohio. This was a nice one. Allan, Linda, Jeanie, and I had a late lunch at Applebee’s. We had not seen each other in many years. Within a minute or two it felt as if there had been no time pass by at all. It was fun catching up and talking about our families. They mentioned going to an Amish New Year’s Eve party and having a good time at it. I’m still working that one around in my mind.

Jeanie and I are headed up to St. Clairsville, Ohio today to do a little shopping and have a meal with old friends. The weather here is bright, cheerful, and sunny. Perfect.

Added a new word to my dictionary of peculiar words today.

2005.02.26 — Alfred, Ohio. Great fun! Today I spent another gift certificate that I had received for Christmas at Amazon. Having a gift certificate is the opportunity to buy things for yourself that you normally just wouldn’t spend the money on. My pick today? The Fantastic Inventions of Nikola Tesla by Nikola Tesla, David H. Childress and The Lost Journals of Nikola Tesla by Tim Swartz, Timothy Beckley. I know what you are thinking. Teaching of a Buddhist monk yesterday and some wacky scientist today… Dave has finally lost it. Nope, lost it long ago. You see the books by and about Tesla have been on my “desired” list for more than 30 years. I know that the author and his inventions are bizarre. The recommendations on Amazon are middle of the road. Reading through them you notice that they are nearly all close to one (by engineers, scientists, and such) or five (by everyone else) make a nice tidy average of nearly three. People either love or hate these books. That is intriguing to me. As inventor of the radio (it wasn’t Marconi, don’t care what you learned in grammar school), I figure that he is worth at least a little of my time.

Update on the Alchemist: Diane wrote that she has received the book and Andy wants to read it after she does. Wow!

2005.02.25 — Athens, Ohio. Nick wrote an interesting story about book introductions on his site. I concur. Book introductions that tell the story ruin the book. Once I see the intro is going to discuss the story, I stop reading it until after I’ve finished the book. The explanations and footnotes are usually pretty lame as well. Just recently I started one that must take all records. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka was first published in November of 1915. The particular copy I have has an eleven page introduction. The story itself is fifty six pages long. This is not an abridged version, it is the complete text. Following the story we have:

• Explanatory Notes to the Text 57–102
• Documents 103–112
• Critical Essays 113–188
• Selected Bibliography 189–194

I read the introduction and the story but am not sure I want to wade through the rest. Like Nick said in his article, how much explanation can there be for so little text?

Misti and Mike gave me a gift certificate to the Athens Book Center for Christmas. Today I finally had time to go to town and visit the store. It is an interesting place with both new and used books. My pick of the day? Essential Writings by Thich Nhat Hanh and a deck of knowledge cards about trees by the Sierra Club. Both of these are items I would likely never buy for myself with my own money. Having the gift certificate in hand enabled me to buy whatever struck my fancy. Thank you Misti and Mike for introducing me to the book store and giving me something that I probably would never have bought on my own. This has been a real treat.

2005.02.24 — Alfred, Ohio. Lisa wrote a recap of the Daytona 500 and offers her picks for the next race.

Have you ever heard the that no two snowflakes are alike? Today we had a nice snow and I was pondering that a little when I went out for lunch. Is it the case that there are no two snowflakes alike in any given snowstorm or just never two alike… ever. If indeed, no two are ever alike, then I have to question why. If we had an exact duplicate today of one the fell in Europe 65 million years ago when the dinosaurs roamed, would something dreadful happen? Carried a little further, I would wonder what would happen if a snowflake fell on an earthlike planet 2 billion light years away from here that is absolutely identical to one I noticed today. Maybe it would have been best to just state that most snowflakes that have been observed bear little resemblence to those nearby.

2005.02.22 — Alfred, Ohio. They could not provide a flu shot this year and now they are talking about Avian Influenza A (H5N1) and the possibility of a pandemic. Well, that would be extremely bad news if true so I thought that I’d “do the math” (in this case, check the sources). Here is the press release of Dr. Gerberding’s remarks at the National Press Club conference. The tone is completely different than what the media is reporting. Read both of the links above and judge for yourself. The front page of WHO does mention the Pneumonic plague but otherwise is pretty optimistic. Asian countries are committed to ending polio this year and such. Not a word about H5N1.

2005.02.21 — Alfred, Ohio. National Geographic wrote an article a while back stating the end of cheap oil was near. Part of the reasoning was we may be living in the time of peak oil production. I mentioned the article back on June 1, 2004. Today, I saw this special report from Al Jazeera discussing it again. It is a short article that I encourage you to read. The implications are huge.

Have you ever studied the output of a concordance or word frequency counter? I ran such a utility against a few of the pages in Frogtails and found a word that I use excessively month after month. “That” is the offending word. You may notice my sentence structure and wording a bit awkward as a result of my attempts to improve my choice of words and lessen the frequency with which I use it.

2005.02.20 — Morehead, Kentucky. We drove to Morehead yesterday and started work on Nick’s computer. Today it is running fine when we left. It was nice to visit with Nick, even if only briefly. The weather today was grey and wet all the way home.

Who would think I would ever bother to check? At 8:00 p.m., it hasn’t even made the Google news page under sports. Perhaps I’m the first to announce that Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500. Third place went to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Poor Lisa.

2005.02.19 — Alfred, Ohio. Here are a few of the things I’ve learned already this year by writing a blog and reading those of others.

• The Daytona 500 is a big NASCAR event and is happening tomorrow (somewhere, but not sure where).
• Pictures of you exist that you don't know about.
• My generation has paid extra taxes for years in the name of Social Security. Rather than giving us a bonus when we retire, the government is seriously thinking of slashing our benefits.
• Writing letters to others is a good thing.
• It gets cold in Boston.
• The meaning of and how to spell Anachronism and hawkshaw.
• Reading and writing blogs can help keep you close to those who are physically distant.
• We know a lot of people with unseen connections except through ourselves. I’m thinking of Russell and Scott who are both interested in anachronism or Doug and Lisa who both have an interest in Nascar.

IBM is making a big push to put Linux on the desktop. I’d like to see that happen. This weekend Nick is bringing home a machine that was crippled by a virus for me to rebuild. Unfortunately, I know a fair amount about how to do that and am pretty handy at it by now. What I would prefer is something more like my cell phone, our satellite TV, or the CD player in my car. Each of these things are very complicated systems about which I know next to nothing, and yet am able to use effectively them everyday. So long as computers and operating systems require vast expertise to keep them running, they will remain on the fringes of what they could be. You no longer have to be a mechanic to operate a vehicle. Likewise, you shouldn’t have to be a geek to use a computer. I’ve heard, and even made the argument myself, that people will just have to become more sophisticated in order to run these machines. A little yes. Software engineers, no. Go Linux!

2005.02.18 — Alfred, Ohio. We ate at a Mexican restaurant with Joe and Angie last night. Afterwards, they came over to visit and we watched the Notebook together. A real nice way to end the week.

2005.02.17 — Alfred, Ohio. You probably heard it already but just in case you haven’t, I offer for your enjoyment, the dog story.

2005.02.16 — Alfred, Ohio. Joe ane Angie stopped by tonight. Joe looked a bit under the weather, Angie wanted to give him back. No dice! We talked a little about Angie’s blog titled It’s my life! and she gave me permission to make a link to it. Here, in one place, is a listing of blogs I now read.

Microsoft is building a new version of Internet Explorer. Great! It should have tabbed browsing like all other modern browsers do. You can wait until it arrives, hope that they made it more secure than previous versions, or you can download Firefox today. I seldom use anything else.

2005.02.15 — Alfred, Ohio. Mary Ellen wrote and told me that she has launched a blog titled Life According to Me. I am always happy to see a perspective on the world through anothers eyes. Here are my own rules for writing in public for anyone interested.

A person at work told me that the photo below looked like an album cover from the 80’s. The couch, the lighting, the colors all look like a vinyl record cover titled something like Love songs by Jeanie and Dave.

2005.02.14 — Alfred, Ohio. Happy Valentines Day! Allan recently sent the picture below and said. “I hope you remember where your photo was taken? On Isabel & Steven’s couch in their newlywed apartment at Castlemilk, Glasgow! This, I think, is a wonderful picture of you two… so cute and cuddly… ooooh, ooooh!!” Allan, I can’t thank you enough for sending this photo. It brings back a lot of fond memories. Jeanie and I both love it. We had never seen it before. Perfect for Valentines Day.

My Sweetie

2005.02.13 — Alfred, Ohio. A couple of days ago I mentioned that my brother in Cincinnati had made a small snowman and placed him in the freezer. My sister in Maryland read that and wrote: “…you will be amused to know that I also have a one foot snowman in my freezer. Last week I had the kids outside and we made huge ones, but Tyler always makes little ones first. It was sunny, and on our way into the house she started crying because I casually mentioned that they would all melt. I calmed her down by telling her we would put her baby snowman in the freezer, where it still is.” It must run in the family.

2005.02.12 — Alfred, Ohio. Our crocuses blossomed today. They have been up and with blooms on them for a week or so but had not opened until today. Noticed also that a small Oak tree that is in our side yard is still holding onto its leaves.

We moved furniture around Thursday evening and disconnected the computer. It was over 48 hours before I got back online. I have more email than Santa and boatloads to write. Please be patient.

2005.02.11 — Alfred, Ohio. Finished reading The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho today. I gave two copies of this as Christmas gifts. My brother finished his copy and gave it to me to read last weekend in Cincinnati. He asked that I send it to my sister when finished. My son saw it and asked to borrow it. Diane will have to wait another couple of days. Most books I buy are probably only read once (at best). This one is really making the rounds.

It dawned on me that I’ve been reading quite a bit lately. It was pretty easy to recall what I’ve read this past year since I’ve been writing about each of them. In the past twelve months I’ve managed to read fourteen novels. Looking over the list (below) I fail to see a pattern. A few of these I’ve wanted to read for many years, others I had never heard of until picking up the book and reading it. My readings have included ancient stuff over two thousand years old, that of contemporary living authors, and several in between. The authors themselves are from all over the globe: France, India, U.S., Germany, Colombia, Peru, China, Iceland, and Brazil. It wasn’t planned that way at first. It just happened that way. Sad to say that I have not read this many books in the past twenty or so years. Better late than never.

The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Candide by Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Iceland’s Bell by Halladór Laxness
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu
Cat and Mouse by Günter Grass
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
1984 by George Orwell
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

2005.02.10 — Alfred, Ohio. This is pretty interesting if you haven’t seen it before. I don’t know that it is all true. Even if it is exaggerated, it is still food for thought.

Human cloning is here. For better or worse, the UK has granted a license to Professor Ian Wilmut to clone human embryos. Far from idle talk, this is the same person who first cloned Dolly, the sheep. What to do? My advice: stick your head in the sand and hope that the news will be less controversial next week.

2005.02.09 — Alfred, Ohio. Gung Hey Fat Choy (Happy Chinese New Year)! May good fortune and prosperity be with you this year. This is the biggest holiday in Asia and the beginning of the lunar year of the rooster. Traditions for this day would include visiting family and friends and giving gifts, particularly oranges. Children are often given money in hongbao (bright red envelops or bags).

2005.02.07 — Alfred, Ohio. What a coincidence. In todays mailbag, I received a note from Lisa. She continues the countdown to Daytona with descriptions of the races leading up to the races.

2005.02.06 — Cincinnati, Ohio. One of my brothers is fairly orthodox so it surprised me when he described his making of a minature snowman about a foot tall. He placed it in a freezer where he works with a note, “do not disturb until July 1”. He plans to sit it on a sidewalk at high noon, turn on the videotape, and take wagers on how long it will take to melt. What a great idea! Why didn’t I think of that?

It turns out that he is also interested in Nascar and has been to the Brickyard at least once each year for a half dozen years. He enjoyed reading the earlier article by Lisa about Nascar and thought that, in spite of being a nimcompoop, I asked her some pretty good questions.

Enjoyed visiting with my Dad, brother, and aunt last night and today. Superbowl 39 had already started by the time I got home. Do you remember before there was a superbowl? I do. Do you remember when Paul McCartney was just getting started. I do. It was nice to see the old bloke again. The man just enjoys singing and he does it well. It was a joy for me to watch and listen to his old songs again.

2005.02.05 — Alfred, Ohio. Happy Birthday Dennis!

I am heading for Cincinnati this weekend to visit with my Dad.

2005.02.04 — Alfred, Ohio. My book report on The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. It is about forty years too late for extra credit but it is the thought that counts isn’t it? Here is another story, sent in by Allan, for your reading enjoyment… Chapter 5: New Mexico Weather Report—“Damp” Today, “Hot Tamale”.

President Bush is making waves with Social Security. Without giving much thought to it, here is my first take on the issue. Private savings accounts are good. Forcing people to save may not be. My generation has been paying higher taxes than required most of our lives to create a “surplus” for when we retire. Unfortunately, we all know that the money has been spent all along. The only thing that Social Security has to pay us with are notes from the government saying that there are so many trillions. It is not real money, only promises. I figure that when the time comes for me to collect, rather than giving us our due, they will somehow water down the benefits. It will likely be far less than has been given to anyone since the program started. Wouldn’t that be ironic, we pay extra all our lives and then get less than everyone before us.

2005.02.03 — Alfred, Ohio. Received a letter in the mail today from an old friend. A real letter. It made my day. Quit reading this, sit down right now, and write someone a letter. A card doesn’t count; write a letter. Pen and paper; handwritten. It is good for the soul. The old friend in question is a might peculiar himself. He has been trying to get some of his writings published. The letter he wrote to me was on the back of one of his rejection letters. He claims to have quite of few of these and I’m thinking that I wish I had some. Yes, you read that right. Doesn’t it strike you pitiful that after all these years, I’ve never had enough get up and go to even attempt to publish anything? From now on, don’t talk to me unless you have received at least one rejection letter. Make something up, send it off and tell them it is chapter three of your novel. They have received worse, and probably won’t even notice or know that you are just trying to get a reject letter. Bring to me the proof that you have tested your mettle in the real world. Someone reading this will take my advice and actually get published one day. I can sense it.

2005.02.02 — Alfred, Ohio. I have a few peculiar friends. Today I talked with one who admits to sometimes paying for meals with random amounts of change… for fun. Suppose a lunch bill comes to $6.32. My friend will give the cashier whatever is handy, like $7.78 and watch to see how the cashier deals with the situation. The next time someone does something that seems out on the fringes, just remember, they may be doing it for fun or to see how you will react.

This evening Nick, Joe, and Angie stopped in for dinner. It was good to see everyone of course. The stories over dinner were great fun. This was my favorite. Nick told how he pulled a notebook out to get a sheet of paper to give out his number and found someone had already written on it. He was amazed and we all had a good laugh. Editors note for those not in on this inside joke. Steve has been known to write a message on every other page of Nick’s notebooks since high school. The beauty of this is that Steve is in Boston, didn’t have access to the notebooks over Christmas break, and so had to have done this deed long, long ago.

Today is Groundhog day.

2005.02.01 — Alfred, Ohio. A year ago today our children greeted us back from Hawaii.