Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Holiday Greetings

Holidays are a special time of year. From September to August, there are hundreds of them. Some are particularly American, like Thanksgiving and Fourth of July. Many are religious like Ramadan (a whole month of serious fasting, from sun rise to sunset), Rash Hashanna, Yom Kippur, Christmas, Hannukka,  Kwansa, Passover and Easter. Even these holidays are difficult to characterize as purely religious since some have historical reference, and some have a more spiritual tone. Some of the Christian celebrations have been infused with more than a little of secularism.

And then something flashes on my Facebook page: It's not happy holidays, it's merry Christmas: Like, if you agree. This is so 'in your face'!

Such exclusivity does nothing to raise the spirit of love and kindness that the season is about. Yeah, it could be cute; there is definitely some chest thumping here; certainly a claim is struck for the Christian "side".

And also there is anger fomented, one way or the other. A division that should not exist. A chasm of spirituality among peoples who share the earth, must work together to improve and salvage what is left of it.

Disrespect is engendered in an area of life where there should be harmony: love of god and love of neighbor, ideas which transcend the limits of organized religion, and provide a common  ideal  for living together and sharing the planet, and indeed the universe.

As well-intentioned as the Face book posting may be, I think it is better to say Happy Holidays! Say it often. Say it year round as we all crawl out from our safe shells. There are risks, but in a fragile world, we should be happy to live and work and celebrate everything together.

So celebrate as you wish, in the humble quiet of the winter solstice, the family celebrations around the tree and dinner table (if you are lucky enough to have one), the lighting of candles, songs of life, cheer, and praise.  Just enjoy. Go to church if you want... say merry Christmas to your friends and  fellow worshippers  Be yourself and let people be. And you will have a great gift, and the strife of holiday greetings will end.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Long term forecast/future cast?

This map is from the AccuWeather website as of November 25, 2012.  
  

So this is what it looks like for the coming season. Most of that snow is supposed to come in late January and February. I think I can live with it. And then again, I am skeptical. Where is the ski season? Where are the snowmen? The white Christmas? The sleigh rides? We will have to wait and see.

It is important to note that above means above average amounts, not just above last year. To predict the latter does not take too much equipment or weather savvy.

As I look at the map and think of the Jan-Feb forecast, I will make sure I have a good supply of firewood, candles, kerosene, and food. I will get fresh gas for my snow blower, and add stabilizer to it. the snow shovel will be placed in my hall way. (My health insurance company sent out a newsletter a few years ago that suggested shoveling snow was excellent exercise. What the?)

And then I will get out some travel brochures? Will there be a sunny warm spot that is a better place to be than the great northeast. Probably sunny and warm, but better than here at home, with soup on the wood stove, curled up with a good book or face book? Better than the opportunity to walk for miles on snow shoes and experience the stillness of the winter woods? Better than sitting around with a cuppa'  Joe or hot chocolate waiting for the sting of the wind on your face to dissipate and the feeling to return to your toes? Dreaming of far away places with pleasures that only exist... in the ads and brochures.

And if the snow doesn't come? That's okay too. I will get my exercise another way. Wondering why suddenly weather people are using the term future cast instead of forecast. Perhaps it portends the simple fact that you never know what the future will bring... it is only a guess.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Black Friday Deals

So it's black Friday. I look at my in box and I am missing out on so many bargains. Maybe I should avoid this bright, sunny, relatively warm day; maybe I should vacate this quiet restful place. Maybe I should jump into the stress and clamor of the day, go into the poorly lighted stores with the annoying music (that isn't Sammy Davis, Jr.). I don't think so.

Blsck Fiday is the day the retail stores go from red ink losses to black ink profits. Sales increase immensely over the previous months' sales and profits begin to show, big time. The time between now and the 25th of December, over a month of shopping this year, is important to the bottom line.

But there are deals out there if you have the muscle and the stamina to go after them: a nexus tablet at Staples for $250 with 32 G; wait a minute there are 26 7" tablets online at Walmart for under $100 (sorry about the Gs though, only 4G in some and 8G in others). There is one with a 9" screen.  The first computer I ever owned was a Commodore with 4 k of Ram and I had to hook it up to a TV set so Dan could play pac man. So even these cheap things are way  better than that, and these cheap things cost about the same as that Commodore.

As I think about it, the second computer I ever owned was a Kaypro, and that had no internal memory. Everything was loaded via floppy disk and saved to a floppy disk. And then I graduated to a Radio Shack that actually had 30M of internal memory. It was miraculous. I think this served the family well until we retired from school teaching. For some reason, in retirement, we needed even more memory, so now I have a laptop with 750G, enough for thousands of albums, just as my picutre taking ambitions are fading. Where was this technology when I needed it. There are like 35 albums out there on the shelf. How many years will it take to scan those photos (even just the good ones to a computer) and why?

Sorry about the digression... back to blcak Friday. Some of the "deals" are available only online, and some have the latest software called "Ice Cream Sandwich". Perhaps they are edible. Actually, it is the latest version of Android operating system that just makes things more complicated, unless you are born with one of these implanted in your brain.

There is a 51" plasma TV at Walmart for $478. Wow! Wait, don't run out the door. Turn on 95.5, the "official" radio station for Christmas music, real loud. You have to have cacophony. And belly up to the computer. Load up your shopping cart there, and Santa will deliver.

I hope you read this before you went out. No stores this year. No crowds. Just music and the glow of the screen, and nimble fingers (no stamina, no muscles), oh, and a credit card with lots of credit available. Eventualy, though, you will have to pay for all this, either by mail or by jail.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Getting Back

Harvey mountain has been there forever, another 900 feet in altitude from where we live. The last time I was there was probably ten years ago on a mid fall day, a little cooler than today. Instead of the slight breeze of today, there was a chilling wind driving light snow flakes into our faces.

Unfortuantely, that episode seemed to indicate how life would be the next ten or so years. Only steps away from the rush of a great view, and usually pushed back by forces beyond our control. We carried on, and we come to the beauty of this moment, where we are able to be on top, see the forest, the trees, the clouds,  feel the sun warming us, and the gentle breeze on today's mountain.

It was through the woods on the way up. We always wanted to do that. Over a little stream. Balanced with a thin walking stick. And it would be considered a moderate trail, but doable for us.

We were exhilarated by the view, the accomplishment of standing so high and so close. We walked over the line into Massachsetts, and the trees with knees as Phylls called them, were still there, growing toward the sunlight. We saw the splendid blueberry bushes which define the great summer festival in Austerlitz. We paused and looked south toward the Catamount ski area in Hillsdale, and northwest where the Empire State Plaza appears as a sparkling pearl. We took the logging trail three miles down to the car, a much easier descent than through the woods.

And finally home where I sit with my feet up, after a hot shower. I didn't walk alone; she was with me, the sun, the breeze, the joy of my life.