November 2004 Archives

Restaurant years in Atlanta are worse than dog years; you know 1 year equals 7! South City Kitchen has been around for about 10 years, which, in restaurant years, is forever. I really haven't eaten here very often but have loved every meal. Check them out.

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I've wanted to create 4 different looks for my site, sort of a seasonal thing. Well, I haven't had the time and it's been a low priority. At any rate, here is the winter look. Let it snow!

Printed below, with permission, is an email I recently received from a friend I hadn't heard from in a while. He gives pause for thought.

Doing OK - still trying to deal with the post-election turmoil. I'm really attempting to look at things from a macro sense and be as objective as I can. Besides the heart break which I think many of us share, the part that really disturbs me Tim, is that I don't see any signs/indicators that point to this being anything other than a longer term trend - meaning the extreme direction of this country. I don't say conservative because I don't believe it really has anything to do with conservative. The term fascism seems more appropriate. I was just reading an editorial piece that a friend passed along from the Post. Seems the Swedes as reported in Britain's Sunday times have tracked a G5 (private jet) charted by the U.S. to extradite people we want tortured to countries where it's legal. This has been going on for two years now and is clearly documented. Yet, where is the outcry? Where is the inquiring investigations by our own press?

From a purely financial perspective I see what is happening to the dollar (i.e. the devaluation coupled with the fact that few goods are actually manufactured in this country any more). The direction of the middle class in general - to civil liberties - to the environment - to international law - to the unleashing of hate in this country and the now common demonization of anyone that disagrees with the “official stance.” Look at the recent resignations of the CIA. In short, I'm trying to decide if it's time to make a new start somewhere else. It seems too easy for too many people to just go/say/believe “people will get sick of this and it will all turn around next election.” I'm not even sure that the mechanics are there anymore to allow it to happen.

To me this has the same feel and architecture behind it as the Brown Shirts of pre-war Germany. Are people lulling themselves into such complacency as to believe that Germany just suddenly woke up one day to find themselves in that horrible state? It was planned and it was gradual. The press was slowly removed (is that not going on here?) - a worship was built up around the flag and nationalism (is that not going on here?) - rights were slowly stripped from the general populous (is that not going on here?) - common enemies were found/declared both internally and externally (is that not going on here?) - more and more government operations were done in secret (is that not going on here?).

My apologies for the protracted answer to how I'm doing - but life seems all too complicated at the moment to give 5 second sound-bytes. I believe that's part of what got us in to this mess ! I'm considering taking some time in the next few weeks to maybe scope out an additional place or two. I don't have the answers but I do know burying one's head in the sand isn't one of the answers. I would be very interested in hearing your opinions/insights.

A.

I'm excited! My cousin, Tracy, and her husband just brought more hope, Mallory, into this world!

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NEW DRUGS FOR WOMEN!

BUYAGRA: Stimulant to be taken prior to shopping. Increases potency and duration of spending spree.

MENICILLIN: Potent anti-boy-otic for older women. Increases resistance to such lines as, “You make me want to be a better person. Can we get naked now?”

ST. MOM'S WORT: Plant extract that treats mom's depression by rendering preschoolers unconscious for up to six hours.

EMPTY NESTROGEN: Highly effective supplement that eliminates melancholy by enhancing the memory of how awful they were as teenagers and how you couldn't wait till they moved out.

PEPTO-BIMBO: Liquid silicone for single women. Two full cups swallowed before an evening out increases breast size, decreases intelligence, and improves flirting.

DUMMEROL : When taken with Pepto-bimbo, can cause lowering of IQ, causing enjoyment of loud country music and cheap beer.

FLIPITOR: Increases life expectancy of commuters by controlling road rage and the urge to flip off other drivers.

JACKASSPIRIN: Relieves headache caused by a man who can't remember your birthday, anniversary, or phone number.

ANTI-TALKSIDENT: A spray carried in a purse or wallet to be used on anyone too eager to share their life stories with total strangers.

RAGAMET: When administered to a husband, provides the same irritation as nagging on him all weekend, saving the wife the time and trouble of doing it herself.

DAMMITOL: Take two and the rest of the world can go to hell for 8 hours

... I was in Paris. Wishing I were in Paris now.

(Click to enlarge The Champs-Elysees)

Just a few months ago I was curious about RSS and atom feeds and news readers. I didn't really know what they were or how they worked. Here is the “skinny.”

Most blogging software and some web designers post a special little file for their web site/blog. Many blogging solutions do this automatically for the user without his/her envolement. The file is often a summary of the site's latest content or even the latest added content in full.

A news reader is a software application. I use PulpFiction from Freshly Squeezed Software. Although, I think the new version of Safari will come with a news reader built into it.

When I launch PulpFiction, I enter the URLs for blogs and websites I like to read regularly. This process is called subscribing to the sites. I can store the subscriptions in categories, or folders, if I want, much like Apple's Mail application. For example, I have a News folder, a Tech folder, a Web Design folder, a Research Projects folder, etc. PulpFiction then automatically checks those sites for me at routine intervals I schedule.

If PulpFiction finds new content added to the site since the last time I visited the site, it lists all of the new entries and provides a summary (and many times an entire entry complete with any media files) at the bottom of the window. I can peruse the entry, and one click will take me directly to the web site/blog if I choose.

Other wonderfully convenient features are included. So what are some practical uses? Aside from just easily keeping current with my friends and various other blogs I frequent without having to go to their sites only to find nothing new posted, you could use a news reader to:

• read web journals (professional)
• read web-zines
• parents could monitor their child's teachers' blogs from school
• monitor tech discussion boards
• quickly search all of the blogs or web sites you frequent for specific content

If you read a lot of blogs and routinely check the same web sites for new information, a news reader, like PulpFiction would be a very convenient way to do it.

...is not Christmas! (which is probably my least favorite) but is rather Thanksgiving.

The indians and the pilgrims? No. The richness and bounty of my life experience has been such a gift; I can not imagine anything more wonderful.

Though I love all of the standard Thanksgiving hymns (regrettably few), one of my favorite hymns of all time is this wonderful hymn of thanksgiving. I print it as a prayer of celebration of Thanksgiving, 2004!

Now thank we all our God,
With heart, and hands, and voices,
Who wonderous things hath done,
In whom his world rejoices;
Who from our mother's arms
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God
Thro' all our life be near us!
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in his grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son, and him who reigns
With them in highest heaven,
Eternal, Triune God,
Whom earth and heaven adore;
For us it was, is now,
And shall be, evermore.
Amen.

I include these wonderful renditions from my music collection, not for the taking, but so that you too may join in a celebration of the deepest gratitude for all that is good, all that is love, all that is kind. To play the selection, click the icon above the title.

Now Thank We All Our God from the album “Te Deum And Other Church Music” by The Cambridge Singers

Now Thank We All Our God by S. Karg-Elert

Now Thank We All Our God from the album “Virgil Fox Encores” by Virgil Fox

Prayer of Thanksgiving from the album “America, The Dream Goes On” by John Williams

I do not remember the last time Fall was so late. For the last 5 years at least, the tree outside my bedroom window has turned bright yellow in mid September. Almost December now, and the tree has just started to lose its leaves. My street is now awash in leaves. The large oak tree next door is just now starting to shed its leaves. I suspect Fall has been so delayed and so colorful because of the tremendous amount of rainfall we received this summer from the hurricanes. Atlanta usually has a severe water shortage during the summer months. No more!

I understand that it has rained for days here in Atlanta. I'm including a little picture of a tree in my neighborhood because, even in the pouring rain, the fallen leaves dance with delight and are vivid yellow against the deep green grass and dark brown tree trunk. You can actually see the yellow leaves reflected in the dark brown underside of the tree limbs in the enlarged view. Beautiful! A study in color contrast and texture...

The picture on the left (zoomed in) was taken with the car window down while I was getting wet. The picture on the right was taken through the rain-covered windshield (an interesting blur effect).

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I had a good laugh today when I saw the sign, pictured below, in my neighborhood. It reminded me that the republicans are in charge and doublespeak abounds everywhere, even on the signs in my neighborhood.

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Traffic humps were added to my street several years ago as part of a traffic abatement strategy. The traffic declined significantly after they were installed. And, despite the fact that I refused to sign the petition to have them installed (you know me, ever the libertarian) I actually feel safer with the traffic humps in place. I live just around a sharp curve. Before the humps people would come flying at absurd rates of speed around the curve. I thought I had a premonition of how I would meet my maker. Now, with the traffic hump right at the curve, people are forced to slow down before approaching my driveway. Yeah!

But please, let's not call them “traffic calming devices.” Good lord! The way they cause me to flail about in my car after running over them, only to remain inside my vehicle because I wear a seatbelt...perhaps they should be called “driver exacerbation devices?!” The doublespeak reminds me of the republicans forcing all of the protesters at the Republican National Convention in New York City to hovel together under the heavily trafficked overpasses which they then called “Free Speech Zones.”

Disco Inferno from the album “What's Love Got to Do with It” by Tina Turner

"One car, car for sale. He's going cheap, only $3,500 genies ..."

Anyone want to buy a 1994 Acura Integra? I'm selling it cheap! It has almost 250,000 miles on it and was well cared for when I drove it all over the earth. The poor car has just been sitting in my driveway for over a year begging to be driven. It's name is Kermit, since it looks like a green frog.

Right now I am sitting in the Firestone store replacing the two front tires and having its oil changed and a full inspection. Getting here was an ordeal. Kermit would not start. The new battery in it died from lack of use I guess. I thought it might be a lose battery cable and played with it in the pouring rain. No luck. Only drenched. Completely and utterly! So I had to buy some jumper cables to kick start it. I wanted to do more than just kick it!

So, according to Kelly's Blue Book, the dealer would sell the car (as a "previously owned vehicle" for about $4,800. I am going to ask $3,500 just to get rid of it. It's in fairly decent shape I think (soon to find out). The overwhelming majority of the miles on the car were interstate miles. But let me assure you, grandma didn't drive this car. After today's check up and a good thorough detailing I will list it in the AJC.

I just thought it would be fitting and proper to offer it to all of my loyal and faithful blob readers first. Ain't I just too kind?!

I visited with mother for the past several days. Her internet access has not worked since the hurricane. She was distressed that she has not been able to keep up with my “blob,” as she insisted on calling it. Turns out her cable modem died during the hurricane so I replaced it while I was there. Since she can now read my blob again, I had best get back to blobbing.

I just returned from visiting Pensacola, my first visit since the hurricanes. I was amazed. The city looks young again. Many of the huge trees are gone with much of the underbrush. I actually liked it. The neighborhood in which I grew up now has mostly small trees again–as it did when I was a child some 25 years ago. The city and the old neighborhood looked clean. Many of the roofs around the city still are “blue-tarped;” I would guess about 20% of them.

Perhaps most shocking was the fishing peer over to Gulf Breeze. (In the 2nd photo below, Pensacola is the top land mass, Gulf Breeze is the middle land mass, and Pensacola Beach is the bottom land mass.) The locals call the main bridge the 3 mile bridge. I don't know if it really is 3 miles or not, but it is significantly long. The 3 mile bridge was built when I was a young child and replaced what then became the fishing peer just beside it as the main bridge to Gulf Breeze. The old bridge was a narrow 2 lane draw bridge.

(Click to enlarge--peer is yellow line next to main bridge)

(Click to enlarge--top left bridges; bottom right is Gulf Breeze to Pensacola Beech)

I remember hating to ride over it as I was convinced the big old cars (new at the time) would either sideswipe each other or hit the side of the bridge before plunging into the depths below. It was so narrow! Unlike the old fishing peer, the new 3 mile bridge has a tall center for the boats and ships to pass under without issue.

When the new bridge was built, the center draw bridge section was completely removed from the old narrow bridge which was then turned into a fishing peer accessed from both sides but non-traversable from one side to the other. My grandfather tortured me for many hours of my youth, making me sit with him and my father and fish over the peer. I hated it. It was so boring. I don't ever remember catching much, nothing edible–just blow fish and what we called ribbon fish, which were like long slender eels. The only thing I really liked about it was being outside on the water. I love the coast to this day.

(Blow Fish)

(Ribbon Fish--with really sharp teeth!)

At any rate, all of that to say this: about 33% of the fishing peer is just completely gone, vanished–a section gone here, gone there, sticking up unexpectedly out of the bay here or there but then followed by numerous missing sections. The scene was like some particularly wretched piece of modern art gone horribly wrong. I suppose it is just as well though. I always thought the fishing peer was a terrible eye sore. The metal beams underneath the concrete roadway are so badly rusted out that they had to be reinforced with bolted metal strips.

I am curious what the city fathers will do with what remains of the unusable peer. Wait until the next hurricane tidal surge takes out some more of it?

We went to see Pensacola Beach, one of my favorite places on this earth. I am so glad I was fortunate enough to grow up here. Mother didn't know if we could even get across the bridge to the island. We could! Yippie!!

Once across the bridge, one doesn't travel far before having to decide to go right to Fort Pickens or left to Navarre. We chose Fort Pickens and had gone less than a half mile before we came up to a little “station” in the road. A rude gruff police officer stepped out and said we were trespassing and would arrested if we didn't turn around immediately. What an asshole! (and I hope he reads my blob!) How were we to know? No signs anywhere indicated we shouldn't be where we were and plenty of other vehicles were going through, admittedly though, they looked like construction-related vehicles. The officer had no need to be hateful about it. He was a jerk.

We turned around and started toward Navarre. Again, less than a mile in that direction was another little “station” in the road. We turned around and left the island. What little we could see didn't seem too badly damaged. I fully expected for many of the large hotels and such to just be gone. Many of them appeared to have sustained cosmetic damage. My guess: by this coming summer season, one will hardly be able to tell a hurricane ever passed over the beach.

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I have been down in Pensacola. Mother called and said she was undergoing a heart procedure on Friday to see why she was having “spells.” The results of the test were good news in that she does not have any serious blockage to her heart. The doctor just thinks she is over-medicated and this brings on her symptoms (“spells” just sounds so... Salem, Massachusetts). To terrorize her, I have posted one of the pictures of her heart that her doctor shared with me. If you look closely, you will see me in there.

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The truth is, I find very few musicals of any interest whatsoever. I have produced a number of them. Perhaps that's why they leave me cold. Although, I must profess a love for Oliver!, My Fair Lady, and The Wiz, all three of which I produced back in what now seems like a former life.

So a friend of mine offered me a ticket to see Oliver! at the Fox. I was unsure if I should go or not. Having produced it twice (once fabulously I might add) I didn't know what I would think of seeing it on the stage when I wasn't “in control.” I decided to go. Who can resist the Fox anyway?!

I was immensely impressed! We had good seats. The sets were awesome. The costumes were wonderful. The lighting design was glorious!! The acting was generally very good. The singing was fantastic! The choreography was just great fun. I had forgotten what a commentary Dickens made on the society of his time. Regrettably, nothing has much changed since his day.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was during the intermission. Many children attended the performance. During the intermission a little boy, about the age of the child actors on the stage, was in the aisle dancing the choreography he had just seen in the show. He was so into it! It was a delight.

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I grow increasingly amazed at how simple things can unexpectedly jolt me back 25 to 35 years in the past. Jeeze! I'm getting old! A friend recently sent some angel hair pasta and chicken parmesan my way in a bowl. The bowl sent me back 30 years. It was the same pattern my mother had when I was but a fledgling Tim. So I thought I'd put a picture of it on the blob to remind mom and the sistoid unit of simpler times. I wonder if mother still has that set of dishes–probably. She never throws anything away. :o)

I also vividly remember the glasses we used with these dishes. I think we stumbled upon them at Moulton's Drug Store. [Much to my shock: I just Googled Moulton's and learned they still exist! I don't think they are in Pensacola any longer.] I remember the glasses well because I loved them. They were odd. Regrettably they broke easily and therefore didn't seem to live long at the Tyson household. Perhaps I can place a drawing of them on my blob. What made it “cool” was that the beverage occupied the stem of the glass.

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(Artist rendition of cool vintage glasses)

Compare Apple's dual G5 to the top of the line Dell dual Xeon Precision workstation and the PC has most of the features but costs a thousand bucks more than the Mac. The two lines are closer to even in the midrange, where the Apple 15-inch PowerBook is only about US$180 cheaper than the nearest comparable Dell 15-inch Inspiron.

Read the entire article here: Linux News: Commentary: But There's No Software for the Mac, Right?

Boy is this interesting...a graph on how the exit polls compared with the ballots...

Check it out here.

Well, I spent a good bit of time this weekend finishing the DVD project for work. Burning the DVDs was a little difficult. Everything looked and worked great until I played the finished DVD on a widescreen HDTV. The 16:9 menus were too large for the widescreen 16:9 TV. How can this be?! I am unsure what the problem was/is. To resolve the problem, I just made the menus 4:3 even though the entire project is 16:9 anamorphic video. If anyone has any idea what my problem might be, I'm eager for the help.

At any rate, blank printable DVD-Rs are only a dollar each at Office Depot (15 for $15). I bet this means they are cheap as dirt in bulk. And I stumbled upon the Epson Photo R200 printer (for $100) which prints beautiful CD and DVD labels on the blank printable media. And this is one super fast printer! I recommend it.

Oh, and let me share this piece. It's a great listen. The entire album is good. I Can't Get Next to You from the album “Medusa” by Annie Lennox & Steven Lipson.

Well, I did a quick post of 75 of the pictures I took in the Rocky Mountains last weekend. I haven't taken the time to take out power lines, etc. from the pictures. All in good time...

You will find the link to mountain pictures on the left side. Click on any of the photos to go to the main gallery index. The Rocky Mountain pictures are logically tucked away under the Around the USA Gallery.

Here's a quick link to the Rocky Mountain picture album.

Ground Zero Suicide Inspired by Election

NEW YORK (AP) - A 25-year-old man from Georgia who was apparently distraught over President Bush's re-election shot and killed himself at ground zero. Andrew Veal's body was found Saturday morning inside the off-limits site, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. A shotgun was found nearby, but no suicide note was found, Coleman said.

Veal's mother said her son was upset about the result of the presidential election and had driven to New York, Gus Danese, president of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, told The New York Times in Sunday's editions.

Friends said Veal worked in a computer lab at the University of Georgia and was planning to marry.

``I'm absolutely sure it's a protest,'' Mary Anne Mauney, Veal's supervisor at the lab, told The Daily News. ``I don't know what made him commit suicide, but where he did it was symbolic.''

Source: News

This is well said:

We Barely Recognized Each Other
By Joan Ryan

Somehow, as Bush and his party cut taxes to the rich, sent young Americans to their deaths in a war based on untruths (and managed with stunning incompetence), reneged on its financial commitment to education, and plunged the nation into crushing debt, they became symbols of morality and patriotism. They sold themselves as the party of God and country, offering comfort to people who wouldn't need comforting if the Bush administration had not created the very problems for which it then offered spiritual refuge. ...

... Some have suggested that the Democratic Party needs to reconnect with middle America and its values, that we should take a page from the Republican playbook and talk more about God and faith. Yes, the Democrats need to revamp their strategy. But I would hate to think we would try to win next time around by emulating politicians who get away with destructive and amoral acts by passing them off as directives from God.

Faith and flags won this election. But I haven't lost my belief in another f-word -- facts. They're bound to come back into fashion sooner or later.

Source

... I will try to leave politics alone for a while. :o)

The Work Doesn’t Stop on Election Day
By: Howard Dean
Published: Nov 2, 2004

By the time most readers see this column, unless we have a repeat of the 2000 election, we will know who the president will be for the next four years.

But it is not over. Over the last 40 years, ordinary Americans have become less and less involved in politics. Voter turnout consistently declined between 1960 and 2000; and in non-presidential years, less than 30 percent of eligible adults across America vote, much less volunteer to work on or donate money to campaigns.

This year has been different. There has been enormous intensity on both sides, and a real conviction that individuals can make a difference, even in national elections. Both campaigns, but particularly the Democrats, have rediscovered that hundreds of thousands of small donors giving $25 or $50 at a time can actually raise more money collectively than the so-called “fat cats” and special interests do.

There is more to politics than elections. Thousands of young people have discovered, as generations have before them, their efforts matter. Their actions matter because by getting in the game instead of straying on the sidelines, they are empowered, whether or not their candidate wins.

Historically, whether through the campaign of Gene McCarthy in 1968 or John McCain in 2000, the enthusiasm and hard work waned after the election.

This time we cannot let that happen. Democracy is the most highly evolved system of government ever created by human beings. And like everything else we create, it will wither and die unless we nurture it.

When I was governor of Vermont, I used to go to schools and colleges and tell the students how important it was to vote. I don't think that any more. On an A - F scale, merely voting gets a “D”. It is the bare minimum required to keep our democracy alive. To grow and thrive, ordinary Americans need to run for office. Democracy for America, the political action committee which is an offshoot of my campaign for president, sponsored nearly a thousand candidates, many of whom had never run for office before. A few ran for Congress, but most ran for school board, county commissioner, road commissioner or state legislature. And they ran everywhere, in both traditionally conservative and liberal states. Some have already won, some didn't. Many of those who did not win will try again.

Politics is too important to be left to professional politicians. It matters who is in office, from the school board to the presidency. The next election cycle is in a few months for local office, and in two years for federal office. If you love America, it's not enough just to vote. Run for office. If you cannot do that, volunteer or work on a campaign for three hours a week. Donate to a candidate’s campaign. It does not have to be a lot – it can be $5, $10, $20 – every bit helps. That is how you stop politicians from responding only to special interests.

We can change this country. It will take time and hard work, but if we start today ordinary Americans can take this country back.

Source: Howard Dean: The Work Doesn’t Stop on Election Day

I came across this and had to laugh...

Crap, Bush won-oh well, &@!% happens, but life goes on. So… what country shall we invade next?...

I'm utterly glad that this divisive election is all but over.

I mentioned back when I hit 100 posts to my blog that I had actually written over 100 posts. I write on occasion and save the unposted entry for later reflection and pondering. Tonight, well, this morning actually, I have written a post, a prayer, that I am saving as a time capsule. I will not post it in its entirety now. If I am still blogging in 2008, I will revisit that saved time capsule to see how God has answered that prayer over the next four years.

Against the backdrop of talk of “mandates” and “imperatives,” I will share this small part of my prayer in the hopes that we as a people, despite our many differences, can find unity in it: “Forgive us for our senseless fears. Bless all of the people on your earth, not just those we like or understand, with peace and love. Give us a greater capacity to bring genuine love, kindness, compassion, tolerance, wisdom and understanding into our own lives as well as the lives we touch. Help us each find ways to empower the goodness in all human kind to blossom and flourish.”

My hope: that these will not just be words but the real day-to-day business of our nation.

Click on the text below the picture if you wish to watch a video of our nation's president, the leader of the free world, flip a bird at the camera. In the video he prefers to call it “a one finger victory salute.” Now isn't he just the clever christian.

Click here to watch the video.

Well, I think I have fixed the comments issue. The way things are presently set, once a post goes off of my main page and into the archives, comments are closed by a nifty little plugin I downloaded from Alan. Thanks, Alan!

While posts are on the main page, comments are open. I have observed that the comment spam robots seem to always place comment spam on archived pages. Maybe this approach will address my spam problem while only limiting access to commenting on pages on which “real people” are less likely to wish to add a comment anyway. We will see how it goes.

This story is actually true, but the “names” have been changed...

Many speculated it was not natural causes but that she had been murdered by her 3rd husband, if not directly and intentionally (although this was most likely), without doubt because of a lack basic and critically needed medical attention. Her heart condition was extremely serious and getting progressively worse. Any thinking person would not have left someone who could not even sit up in bed alone in the house all day long without access to food and water and without the cordless phone which was found down the hall and in another room. But her 3rd husband did just that after he had spent everything she owned and had re-mortgaged the equity in her house. She died in bed that day. He lost the cash quickly at the casinos in Mississippi. He continued to live in the house until her son got out of prison and hitch-hiked back to town from California. No one ever knew why her son had been in prison.

After a big fight (literally) and threatening to kill the 3rd husband if he ever saw him again, the son took possession of his late mother's house. No job and no prospects for any type of gainful employment, the neighbors speculated (with good reason, but we won't go into those details) that drugs were being manufactured and sold in the house. Drunkenness and riotous behavior were the norm. The police visited frequently. He was seen on more than one occasion walking down the center of the street swearing at all of the cars that had to dodge hitting and killing him. He seemed to especially enjoy sitting in the middle of the road in a folding lawn chair during thunder storms (usually at night) until the police would come and remove him. Through the front window, one of his neighbors just happened to see the fire in his kitchen which he didn't notice until the firemen had put it out. He failed to notice because he was passed out on the kitchen floor.

He stalled the inevitable by renting rooms in the house to passers by. A neighborhood church fixed the leaking roof, paid the electric bill a few times, and tried to help with food several times. For several months toward the end, there was no electricity to the house. Finally the bank took possession of the house, and everyone was evicted, including the son of the woman who originally owned the house before her 3rd husband... The bank sold the house unbelievably below market value to a person who lived in town but chose not to occupy the house.

Recently the neighbors all noticed someone appearing to hide around the back of the house. In fact, two people were frequently seen around the house. Then the two people were spotted climbing out of a broken window on the side of the house. After a week of this, one of the neighbors' sons finally called the police.

The two people who had been living in the house told the police they had rented the house from “some man” named, oh, let's say George. Yes, they were renting the house from the man whose mother had originally owned the place, who had been evicted from the house many months back before the house was sold. They claimed that George told them he had accidentally locked the key inside the house so they broke the window to get in and find the key.

Too bizarre and too strange? ... yep, and also the sad truth. What will happen next? Time will continue to tell this story.

The plains in Wyoming and Colorado were littered with wooden planks built to deflect the wind which blasts across the plains. I had never seen such a thing. And then suddenly sticking out of the ground were these huge windmills: 3 propellor blades spinning slowly but powerfully atop an enormously tall pole, hundreds of them. Very cool.

(Click to enlarge and maybe see the house way out there)

I had never been to Colorado or Wyoming. Since I was so close to Wyoming, I decided to rent a car and drive up to that state and then back down into the Colorado Rockies. It was such a great drive. The terrain was constantly changing. Almost ever curve brought something different: snowing or not, trees or not, flat or mountainous, windmills or not, land or lake, windy or not...well, I think it was always windy.

I was driving in Wyoming. I came to Laramie. I wondered, where have I heard of this place before. I am so bad with names. I was taken with the spaciousness of the expansive landscape. Suddenly, I remembered. This was where Matthew Shepard was murdered--tied to a fence, like one of the many I saw, to die of exposure after being beaten within an inch of his life.

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I became profoundly saddened. When I would get out of the car in the midday sunlight, not a cloud in the sky, to take a picture, I could hardly hold the camera still from shivering, literally, because of the extremely cold, never-ending wind.

I do not understand cruelty. I do not understand intolerance. I do not understand torture or killing. I do not comprehend meanness. I loathe them all. What is worse? Institutionalizing hatred, cruelty, and intolerance because of ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, intelligence, wealth, etc.

There are people in this world I do not understand, some of them I don't particularly want to understand. But I don't have to be unkind or treat them with disrespect. Kindness is just part of human nature. When we marginalize any group of people, we have done injustice to humankind everywhere. I could say a great deal about the poor people victimized by our actions in Iraq, but I won't.

I will just speak my mantra: Just be nice!

It was dark and late. I was hungry. We came upon a rugged little restaurant in the Rockie's, The Hungry Old Bear. We stopped. I had a great steak. Outside the front entrance were huge ice-cycles. I called mother. She loves ice-cycles. I took this picture at her request.

(Click to enlarge)

I dabble with conversation which should always be avoided. But my recent trip to Denver, Colorado, brought it to the fore-front of my thinking.

I had decided many years ago that organized religion per se can be evil, in my mind can be one of the greatest evils. (Conversely it can be good as well.) Personal spirituality is the essence of a life well-lived, and I am not presumptuous enough to speak for God and tell another human soul what their spirituality should be or how it should be manifested in this world. One of the main symptoms I find when organized religion has gone awry is when it places unending emphasis on evangelizing those who do not wish to be “evangelized.” Forcing people to do what one group thinks is right to the exclusion of all others and labeling it as the very desire of God is nothing short of terrifying to me.

Why do I bring this up?

At the hotel at which I stayed in Denver was some religious group holding a convention on evangelism. I saw a sign outside one of their sessions in the lobby. It said, “Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimilated.” Scary! The next day that same room had a session with this sign, “How to Recognize Hopeless Causes.”

I'm sure they mean well. But, God! Save us from your followers.

I was impressed at the number of antique vehicles I saw in Wyoming and Colorado. What was even more noteworthy was how many of them were actually in use as transportation, not collectibles.

On my recent trip to the Rocky Mountains I was delighted to see a lot of wild life out in the...well, wild. I had never seen a live buffalo before. How amazing! My god they are large. I had never seen huge moose with large antlers. I am not sure what the difference is between elk and moose. So I don't know for sure which one I saw. But I saw a whole heard of them feeding in the wild! I also got to see a llama fenced in on this person's property.

Of course, there were the more common beasts of the field which I have seen before: chipmunks (who loved to photographed, thinking they were going to be fed--sorry little critters, I was unprepared for our meeting.), a beaver (swimming up a stream which was in the process of freezing over, silly beast), and deer. Nature is such a profound beauty.

(Click any picture to enlarge)