starswarm

I haven't given you a book review in a long time, and as I scanned across my collection of science fiction novels I spotted this one. Starswarm by Jerry Pournelle is a science fiction adventure story set on a research outpost called Starswarm Station. Kip Brewster, a 13-year-old boy living with his uncle at the outpost has had a voice in his head for as long as he can remember. This voice has helped Kip through many problems by giving him advice and counsel. When Kip learns that the outpost is about to be abandoned he asks the voice some difficult questions and in the course of events he begins to discover his past and his impending danger.

I loved this story. Kip and his tight circle of friends lead you through a number of emotionally charged adventures. It’s a quick read. The novel came out in 1997, I believe, and I have read it numerous times. It’s one of those books that I can grab on my way out of town for two or three days and have it read by the time I return home.
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Song 280: Morning Has Broken
Artist: Cat Stevens
Album: Teaser and the Firecat
Year: 1971
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Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

strange ice

As I hit the trail at lunchtime today the temperature was around 38. It was a nice day for viewing strange patterns in the ice which covered most of the puddles along the way. Last night was very windy, so the ice pattern above is a result of the wind on the water. Fortunately the sun was shining and the winds were gone for today's hike. I love the crisp, wintertime air.
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Song 279: Moonshadow
Artist: Cat Stevens
Album: Teaser and the Firecat
Year: 1971
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Oh, Im bein followed by a moonshadow, moonshadow, moonshadow
Leapin and hoppin on a moonshadow, moonshadow, moonshadow

And if I ever lose my hands, lose my plough, lose my land,
Oh if I ever lose my hands, oh if.... I wont have to work no more.
And if I ever lose my eyes, if my colours all run dry,
Yes if I ever lose my eyes, oh if.... I wont have to cry no more.

And if I ever lose my legs, I wont moan, and I wont beg,
Yes if I ever lose my legs, oh if.... I wont have to walk no more.
And if I ever lose my mouth, all my teeth, north and south,
Yes if I ever lose my mouth, oh if.... I wont have to talk...

Did it take long to find me? I asked the faithful light.
Did it take long to find me? and are you gonna stay the night?

there's a new phone in the house

About six months ago (r)ouge lost the use of the display on her phone. We thought it would be a simple process to get it replaced, since it was obviously defective. After looking at phones for an hour the salesman informed us that her phone was not currently available for upgrade since it was only 18 months into the 2-year service agreement.

(r)ouge graciously agreed to suffer through the inconvenience of a broken display until her phone was eligible for upgrade. That date finally arrived this week. We were supposed to visit the phone store on Friday but (r)ouge had to work. We set our sights on Saturday morning but alas her grandmother broke her arm and we spent the day in the emergency room. (r)ouge had to work Saturday night so we pushed our store visit to Sunday after church. We anxiously awaited Sunday afternoon. (r)ouge fell ill and had to stay home from church. After the rest of us came home, she was resting so comfortably that I just couldn't disturb her. Monday seemed like a good enough time to make the change. Monday morning (r)ouge could not attend school due to her continued illness (some kind of flu-like virus) and she was resting so comfortably when I came home from work that I just couldn't disturb her. Tuesday seemed like a good enough time to make the change.

She tried to attend school today but just couldn't make it. One more day of rest. I called her this afternoon and she was feeling much better so we made the phone store trip this evening and she now has a brand new phone . . . with a working display. It's a nice phone with tons of features.

The amazing thing about the past six months has been (r)ouge's ability to memorize her contacts. She figured out what key strokes to make in order to access her phone list and she also memorized how many arrow-downs each one of her friends were on the contact list. All this without the convenience of being able to see her key strokes on screen. Amazing. Simply amazing. Have fun with your new phone (r)ouge. Now my wife wants to upgrade hers to a phone just like (r)ouge's . . . except a different color. That's the only demand from (r)ouge. I suppose there will be another new phone in the house soon. After all, it is eligible for upgrade!
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Song 278: Mississippi Queen
Artist: Mountain
Album: Flowers of Evil
Year: 1971
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Mississippi Queen, If you know what I mean
Mississippi Queen, She taught me everything
Way down around Vicksburg, Around Louisiana way
Lived a cajun lady, Aboard the Mississippi Queen
You know she was a dancer
She moved better on wine

While the rest of them dudes were'a gettin' their kicks,
Boy I beg your pardon, I was getting mine

Mississippi Queen, If you know what I mean
Mississippi Queen, She taught me everything
This lady she asked me, If I would be her man
You know that I told her, I'd do what I can
To keep her looking pretty
Buy her dresses that shine

While the rest of them dudes were making their bread
Boy I beg your pardon, I was losing mine

dreary trail

The cold winter air made the forest seem like the set of a medieval fantasy movie as I made my way through the bottomland today. It seemed quite eerie. The only creatures I saw were an occasional bird or two. No squirrels. No chipmunks. No deer. No people. Just me and the wind. Thoughts of Lord of the Rings and Beastmaster flashed through my mind.
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Song 277: Misty Mountain Hop
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Album: Led Zeppelin 4 (Zoso)
Year: 1971
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Walkin' in the park just the other day, baby,
What do you, what do you think I saw?
Crowds of people sittin' on the grass with flowers in their hair said,
"Hey, Boy, do you wanna score?"
And you know how it is.
I really don't know what time it was, woh, oh,oh
so I asked them if I could stay awhile.

I didn't notice but it had got very dark and I was really
Really out of my mind.
Just then a policeman stepped up to me and asked us, said, "Please,hey,
would we care to all get in line, Get in line."
Well, you know, they asked us to stay for tea and have some fun; Oh, oh,oh.
he said that his friends would all drop by, ooh.

Why don't you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see,
and baby, baby, baby, do you like it?
There you sit, sitting spare like a book on a shelf rustin',
ah, not trying to fight it.
You really don't care if they're comin'; oh, oh,
I know that it's all a state of mind.

If you go down in the streets today, baby, you better,
you better open your eyes. WOAH WOAH YEAH
Folk down there really don't care, really don't care, don't care , really don't , which, which way the pressure lies,
so I've decided what I'm gonna do now.
So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains
where the spirits go now,
over the hills where the spirits fly.
I really don't know.

blackbird singing in the dead of night

As I opened the door this morning, the sound of blackbirds greeted me. Hundreds of blackbirds. And dotted throughout the entourage of blackbirds were dozens of robins. This is the first year I have seen blackbirds and robins together en masse in our backyard. You can barely make out the birds in the picture above. The little black dots are the blackbirds. The bigger orange dots are robins. I love it when the birds flock to our yard and the pasture just beyond the fence.
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Song 276: Blackbird
Artist: The Beatles
Album: White Album
Year: 1968
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Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,oh
You were only waiting for this moment to arise, oh
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

black ice and broken arm

This was the scene on my street this morning around 7:00 . . . black ice. We got a very thin layer of frozen rain last night and it is really hard to see. With temperatures in the upper twenties, it's easy to imagine that it is not ice at all . . . until you get out on it. The bottom picture is looking through my windshield to the cold garage ahead. It looks like the face of a big winter monster.

And then we got the call. My mother-in-law fell on the black ice this morning as she was going to get the paper and broke her arm. Bummer! We have been at the emergency room all day. My wife is there now. I'm on my way back in a few minutes. I think it was a clean break, so hopefully surgery will no be required.
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Song 275: Mercedez Benz
Artist: Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band
Album: Pearl
Year: 1971
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oh lord, won't you buy me a mercedez benz
my friends all drive porsches
I must make amens
worked hard all my lifetime,
no help from my friends
oh lord, won't you buy me a mercedez benz

oh lord, won't you buy me a color t.v.
dialing for dollars is trying to find me
I'll wait for delivery
each day untill three
oh lord, won't you by a color t.v.

oh lord, won't you buy me a night on the town
i'm counting on you lord,
please don't let me down
prove that you love me, and buy the next round
oh lord, won't you buy me a night on the town


oh lord, won't you buy me a mercedez benz
my friends all drive porsches
I must make amens
worked hard all my lifetime,
no help from my friends
oh lord, won't you by me a mercedez benz

eleven months till christmas

Eleven months from today will be Christmas Day. That's enough reason to celebrate for me. That, plus that fact that's it's Friday. It's somewhat of a tradition to bring donuts to work on Fridays. My boss brought donuts today, but I also stopped for donuts on the way in. There's this great donut shop in my hometown. I love the people that own the shop and the donuts are DEE-licious. I asked Ms(S) if I could come back stage and take a few pictures this morning and she graciously granted permission. I took a few pictures of her as well and will drop printed copies off at the donut shop on Monday morning. The pictures above are before the after shots of hot donuts! My favorite.
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Song 274: Me and Bobby McGee
Artist: Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band
Album: Pearl
Year: 1971
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Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train
And I's feeling nearly as faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained,
It rode us all the way to New Orleans.

I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna,
I was playing soft while Bobby sang the blues.
Windshield wipers slapping time, I was holding Bobby's hand in mine,
We sang every song that driver knew.

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing don't mean nothing honey if it ain't free, now now.
And feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues,
You know feeling good was good enough for me,
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.

From the Kentucky coal mines to the California sun,
Hey, Bobby shared the secrets of my soul.
Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done,
Hey Bobby baby? kept me from the cold.

One day up near Salinas, Lord, I let him slip away,
He's looking for that home and I hope he finds it,
But I'd trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday
To be holding Bobby's body next to mine.

Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing, that's all that Bobby left me, yeah,
But feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues,
Hey, feeling good was good enough for me, hmm hmm,
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee.

La la la, la la la la, la la la, la la la la
La la la la la Bobby McGee.
La la la la la, la la la la la
La la la la la, Bobby McGee, la.

La La la, la la la la la la,
La La la la la la la la la, hey now Bobby now Bobby McGee yeah.
Na na na na na na na na, na na na na na na na na na na na
Hey now Bobby now, Bobby McGee, yeah.

Lord, I'm calling my lover, calling my man,
I said I'm calling my lover just the best I can,
C'mon, hey now Bobby yeah, hey now Bobby McGee, yeah,
Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy Lord
Hey, hey, hey, Bobby McGee, Lord!

Yeah! Whew!

Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy Lordy Lord
Hey, hey, hey, Bobby McGee.

towering reflections

While passing through the courtyard at work today at lunchtime I stopped by the goldfishes' pool to gaze at the reflection of the towers. 31 degrees. Wind chill of 21 degrees. Cool.
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Song 273: Maggie May
Artist: Rod Stewart
Album: Every Picture Tells A Story
Year: 1971
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Wake up maggie I think I got something to say to you
Its late september and I really should be back at school
I know I keep you amused but I feel Im being used
Oh maggie I couldnt have tried any more
You lured me away from home just to save you from being alone
You stole my heart and thats what really hurt

The morning sun when its in your face really shows your age
But that dont worry me none in my eyes youre everything
I laughed at all of your jokes my love you didnt need to coax
Oh, maggie I couldnt have tried any more
You lured me away from home, just to save you from being alone
You stole my soul and thats a pain I can do without

All I needed was a friend to lend a guiding hand
But you turned into a lover and
Mother what a lover, you wore me out
All you did was wreck my bed
And in the morning kick me in the head
Oh maggie I couldnt have tried anymore
You lured me away from home cause you didnt want to be alone
You stole my heart I couldnt leave you if I tried

I suppose I could collect my books and get on back to school
Or steal my daddys cue and make a living out of playing pool
Or find myself a rock and roll band that needs a helpin hand
Oh maggie I wish Id never seen your face
You made a first-class fool out of me
But Im as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart but I love you anyway

Maggie I wish Id never seen your face
Ill get on back home one of these days

a whole new world

The graphic above is the result of about three hours of drawing in Illustrator today. I am very pleased with the outcome. I love it when I get to draw at work. Most of the work of a graphic designer is page layout and photographic work but it is a happy time indeed when I actually get to do an illustration. I remember the day when I used to draw and paint all the time. As I have gotten older, I just don't seem to have time to do those things as much as I used to. One of the sessions that I attended at last year's HOW Design Conference was about incorporating drawing and original art into graphic design. I did a few illustrations for large format display graphics last fall and it was very well received. The above illustrations were presented this afternoon and the reaction was very position. Keep your fingers crossed for final approval.
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Song 272: Love The One You're With
Artist: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Album: 4 Way Street
Year: 1971
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There's a Rose
In a fisted Glove
And the eagle flies with the dove
And if you can't be with the one you love
It's alright
Go ahead and love the one, love the one, love the one your with
Love the one, love the one, love the one your with
If your guy can't come to you
And you don't remember who your talking to
Your concentration slips away
Because your baby, she is so so far away
Chorus: And there's a rose in a fisted glove
And the eagle flies with the dove
And if you cant be with the one you love
Love the one your with
Don't be angry
Don't be sad
Don't sit cryin' for good times you had
There's a girl right next to you
And she's waiting for something to do
Chorus

Do it
Do it
Do it
Turn your heartache into joy
She's a girl and your a boy
Get together, make it tonight,
You ain't gonna need no more advice
Chorus
Just love the one your with

astronaut view of colorado mountains

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains of south-central Colorado stretch dramatically from top left to lower right of this astronaut photograph. The mountains are outlined by dark green forests at lower elevations and white, snow-capped peaks at the highest elevations. Dun-colored dunes, covering an area of 80 square kilometers, are banked up on the west side of the mountains. These dunes make up the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Originally established in 1932 as a National Monument, it was reauthorized as a National Park in 2004. The park contains dunes over 227 meters (about 750 feet) high—among the highest in North America.

Sand grains that make up the dunes are small enough to be moved along by the wind (a process known as saltation), although much of the dune field is now anchored by vegetation. Winds blow predominately to the east, so that sand in the San Luis Valley (part of which appears at image lower left) is driven towards and piled against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The sand of the dunes is mostly derived from ancient exposed lakebed sediments—now the floor of the San Luis Valley—that formed by erosion of rocks in the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountains (located to the west). The action of streams and occasional storms today returns some of the impounded sand back to the valley, where the prevailing winds begin the sand’s migration to the dune field anew.

The dune field has settled in a low spot along the Sangre de Cristo Mountains; the location of snow cover shows the relative altitudes of the mountains. Areas to the north of the dune field (Cleveland Peak and northward), and to the south around Blanca Peak, are higher than the ridgeline next to the dune field, where almost no snow is visible. Since winds are preferentially channeled over the lower parts of any range (hundreds of meters lower here than ridgelines to north and south), sand grains are carried up to, but not over, the low point of the range.

The astronaut photograph above was acquired on October 26, 2007, with a Kodak 760C digital camera fitted with an 800 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment. The image was taken by the Expedition 16 crew, and it is provided by the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. Lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet.

This article and image are courtesy of NASA.
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Song 271: I've Seen All Good People
Artist: Yes
Album: The Yes Album
Year: 1971
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I. Your Move
(Anderson)

I've seen all good people turn their heads each day
so satisfied I'm on my way.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day
so satisfied I'm on my way.

Take a straight and stronger course to the corner of your life.
Make the white queen run so fast she hasn't got time to make you a wife.

'Cause it's time, it's time in time with your time and its news is captured
For the queen to use.
Move me on to any black square,
Use me any time you want,
Just remember that the gold (or goal)
Is for us to capture all we want, anywhere,
Yea, yea, yea.

Don't surround yourself with yourself,
Move on back two squares,
Send an instant karma to me,
Initial it with loving care
Don't surround
Yourself.

'Cause it's time, it's time in time with your time and its news is captured
For the queen to use.
Diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit didda.
Diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit Don't surround
Didda. Yourself with yourself.
Don't surround yourself with yourself, Don't surround yourself.
Move on back two squares,
Send an instant karma to me, Send an instant
Initial it with loving care Karma to me. Don't surround Yourself.

'Cause it's time, it's time in time with your time and its news is captured
For the queen to use.
Diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit didda.
Diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit didda.
Diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit didda.
Diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit diddit didda.

'Cause it's time, it's time in time with your time and its news is captured.

II. All Good People
(Squire)

I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.
Yea, yea.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.
I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way.

mercury rising

The MESSENGER spacecraft flew past Mercury on January 14th at a distance of only 124 miles. This historic flyby provided NASA with 500MB of data which has been safely downloaded to earth. The flyby also gave us more than 1200 photos covering nearly six million square miles of previously unseen terrain.

One of the first images beamed back from the spacecraft revealed a side of Mercury researchers have been waiting three decades to see. The cratered expanse pictured above was mostly in darkness 30 years ago when NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft made the first and (until now) only flybys of Mercury. Last week, MESSENGER caught the terrain in sunlight for the first time. Caloris Basin is circled in the photo. At first glance, the photo seems to show little more than a wasteland of craters, but researchers are excited. Caloris Basin is the biggest known impact crater on Mercury and one of the biggest craters in the entire solar system.

In the mid-1970s, Mariner 10 caught a tantalizing glimpse of the basin's edge, a ring of shadowed mountains thrown up long ago by some catastrophic impact. A comet or asteroid had smashed Mercury and gouged a crater bigger than the state of Texas. What was inside? No one could say.

MESSENGER snapped the picture that geologists had long wanted: Caloris in its entirety, a top-down view in broad daylight—and the results were surprising. Many experts expected the interior of Caloris Basin to be dark, like the dark 'seas' of hardened lava that fill major impact basins on the Moon and give anthropomorphic form to the "Man in the Moon." Instead, Caloris is bright inside and pitted with regions of interesting color.

This is just the first of three flybys in preparation for orbit insertion in 2011. The next encounters are scheduled for October 2008 and September 2009. More than a third of Mercury's surface has yet to be photographed and those flybys will fill in many gaps. Meanwhile, researchers are fully occupied with the results of this flyby.

Information for this post courtesy of NASA.
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Song 270: Iron Man
Artist: Black Sabbath
Album: Paranoid
Year: 1971
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Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all,
Or if he moves will he fall?
Is he alive or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
Well just pass him there
Why should we even care?

He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
Where he traveled time
For the future of mankind

Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfold

Now the time is here
For iron man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved

Nobody wants him
They just turn their heads
Nobody helps him
Now he has his revenge

Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron man lives again!

window on the world

Looking out of the panes in my front door provide an abstract view of the world outside. This one looks somewhat like an ichthus to me.

After church today my family dispersed in all directions. (t)onks and (r)ouge joined friends for lunch, then (t)onks returned to campus and (r)ouge went to work at the book store. I think it's neat that both my daughters work at the same place. (t)onks has been employed there for over a year. She was instrumental in getting (r)ouge a job there about a month ago and they both love it. My wife and I visit the book store quite often. So, this afternoon my wife traveled downtown to take part in a stone drilling class. She makes jewelry and today was part of the next step for her. She already makes many of the beads she uses. Now she can drill them as well. She can also drill stones and other things (like quartz crystal points and arrowheads). I think she had a really good time learning her new skill. I took advantage of the time at home to work on website pages and blog entries and to catch up on reading some of my favorite blogs.
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Song 269: Imagine
Artist: John Lennon
Album: Imagine
Year: 1971
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Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

ice ice baby

16 degrees right now. This is the coldest night of the year . . . so far. Today has been very cold. Sunny but very cold. Our guest dogs have moved to the garage. Ruger and banjo are outdoor dogs. The one request from their owners when the dogs came to live with us (temporarily after the fire last weekend) is that we not turn their dogs into house dogs. That's a hard one. All of our dogs have been indoor dogs, but we have honored their request and our boarders have been living in a home-made doggie condo on our back porch for over a week. Today is different though, with the very cold temperatures we felt it necessary to move them into the garage. They have a nice area, complete with big fluffy pillows and a blanket or two. It's actually not bad out there, although I prefer the comfort of my own bed.

My wife and I joined our friends for dinner and a night at the movies. We went to see The Bucket List. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are both outstanding. We all came of the movie vowing to make our own list of things to see and do before we die. Many of the items on the list are personal goals, and many are things that we would all like to do together. We would like to travel to South America together to see Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. On my own personal list . . . I want to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in one trip [over 2,000 miles] from Mount Katadin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia. That would be a commitment of 6 months or so. I have hiked approximately 3,000 on the AT, but I have not hiked the entire trail. I have hiked sections of the AT over and over. For ten years or so I lead 2-week expeditions on the AT every summer. I loved those trips. I love backpacking, but I haven't had the opportunity to do very many backpack trips in recent years. I really want to get back into it. Soon!
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Song 268: I Can Feel Him In The Morning
Artist: Grand Funk Railroad
Album: Survival
Year: 1971
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Child 1:
He kind of started all the plants growing, and he started people. well, I guess hes kind of big and fat.
Child 2:
He can see us wherever we do ... whatever we do. he has such powerful eyes -- he has to have millions and thousands and billions. and he can still see us when were bad.
Child 3:
He could be sitting on the table right now, but you cant see him.
Child 4:
He cant be everywhere at once doing everything for everybdy. everybody cant get what they want.
Child 5:
Well, his job is to make us good and to make us happy and make us parents happy.
Child 6:
Good is the right thing and bad is the wrong thing.
Child 7:
When Im good my mother never yells at me, when Im bad she does.
Child 8:
Good means to obey your mother and father, to do what the teacher says -- the things right. I feel miserable when Im ... when Im bad, I feel miserable on the inside but, on the outside, I just
Like I ... I feel now.
Child 9:
I think ... um, um ... there are more people that are bad than there are good. and, um ... if youre good, youll live forever. and, if youre bad, youll die when you die ... (repeat last sente
Wo more times to fade in echo)
Take me down to the water, let me feel it run over me.
Let me feel the pain and the coldness, the loneliness that there must be.
Whoa, cant you see their dreams, as they go drifting by?
Whoa, cant you see their faces, and their tear-soaked eyes?

Chorus
I can feel him in the morning, I can feel him in the evening too.
I can hear him in the morning, tellin me what I got to do.
Got to make a new world, ought to make the old one right.
I can see him in the morning, I can see him in the stars at night.

Take me out to the battlefield, let me hear the shells flying by.
Let me hear the sound of the cannons, let me hear them scream and cry.
Whoa, cant you hear their dreams, as they tumble to the blood-soaked ground?
Whoa, hear them scream for shelter, from the world they never found.

Chorus

Oooo, oooo, oooo, oooo-ooo. (repeated out to end)

mesh lamp

Found objects make the best still life arrangements. While helping (r)ouge look for art supplies in our upstairs room, I came across this mesh lamp and couldn't resist taking a few pictures. I think we found the sketch pad we actually went upstairs to look for, because after a few minutes (r)ouge disappeared. I lingered in the upstairs room for an hour, taking pictures of everything in sight . . . books, chairs, ribbons, beads, paint brushes, canvases, finished pieces of art, unfinished masterpieces.
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Song 267: A Horse With No Name
Artist: America
Album: America
Year: 1971
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On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound

Ive been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
cause there aint no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...

After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
After three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead

You see Ive been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
cause there aint no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...

After nine days I let the horse run free
cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with its life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love

You see Ive been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
cause there aint no one for to give you no pain
La, la ...

chocolate light

Not only do dark chocolate kisses and hot chocolate kisses taste great, they also make great out-of-focus pictures. Since I started playing around with out-of-focus photography this past weekend, I have gone crazy. I'm taking pictures of everything out of focus. Oh yea, that's the dark chocolate kisses in the top picture. The best part about taking pictures of chocolate is . . . I get to eat the props!
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Song 266: Grandma's Hands
Artist: Bill Withers
Album: Just As I Am
Year: 1971
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Grandma's hands
Clapped in church on Sunday morning
Grandma's hands
Played a tambourine so well
Grandma's hands
Used to issue out a warning
She'd say, "Billy don't you run so fast
Might fall on a piece of glass
"Might be snakes there in that grass"
Grandma's hands

Grandma's hands
Soothed a local unwed mother
Grandma's hands
Used to ache sometimes and swell
Grandma's hands
Used to lift her face and tell her,
"Baby, Grandma understands
That you really love that man
Put yourself in Jesus hands"
Grandma's hands

Grandma's hands
Used to hand me piece of candy
Grandma's hands
Picked me up each time I fell
Grandma's hands
Boy, they really came in handy
She'd say, "Matty don' you whip that boy
What you want to spank him for?
He didn' drop no apple core"
But I don't have Grandma anymore

If I get to Heaven I'll look for
Grandma's hands

beads

Here's another bead picture from our weekend adventure. I don't know what it is about beads that intrigues me. I really enjoy taking pictures of them, especially the close-ups and out-of-focus ones. The out-of-focus ones make great screen savers. I put a few of yesterday's bead pictures in a folder and set them as my default screen saver.

Just an update on our burned-out friends. They have temporarily moved into a house across town. They will probably be there a few months. In the meantime, we still have banjo and ruger as our houseguests. They are such neat dogs. It will be great having them around for a few months. I hope we don't get too attached. The alternative would have been to send them to live with their grandmother (our friend's mother) in Atlanta. My wife and I talked it over and decided that having them stay with us would be a much better solution. They can see their family often and I think they are enjoying living here. There's not been one complaint from either one of them.
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Song 265: Going To California
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Album: Led Zeppelin IV (zoso)
Year: 1971
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Spent my days with a woman unkind,
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine.
Made up my mind to make a new start,
Going to california with an aching in my heart.
Someone told me theres a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.
Took my chances on a big jet plane,
Never let them tell you that theyre all the same.
The sea was red and the sky was grey,
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today.
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
As the children of the sun began to awake.
Seems that the wrath of the gods
Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow;
I think I might be sinking.
Throw me a line if I reach it in time
Ill meet you up there where the path
Runs straight and high.
To find a queen without a king;
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings.
La la la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin to find a woman whos never, never, never been born.
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams,
Telling myself its not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

the bead warehouse

Scenes from the bead warehouse

My wife and I joined a dozen or so other geology club members and traveled a couple of hours this morning to visit a bead warehouse in a neighboring state. Most of the beads in the warehouse were natural stone beads. My wife is into beading and jewelry making. I am not. But I do enjoy photographing the beads. For a couple of hours, while she and the others were sorting through beads, making stacks of keepers, comparing colors and lusters, I was taking pictures.

The techniques used for the pictures above: For the top one, while in macro mode, I shook my camera in little circles only inches in front of several strings of beads. For the bottom two pictures, I set the camera on macro with manual focus. While holding the camera only about three inches away from the beads, I unfocused the lens as far as it would go. These and 120 others were taken without a flash. I don't use a flash unless it is absolutely necessary.
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Song 264: Gimme Shelter
Artist: Grand Funk Railroad
Album: Survival
Year: 1971
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Oooo, oooo, oooo.
Oooo, oooo, oooo.

Oooo, a storm is threatenin', my very life today.
If I don't get some shelter, oh, I'm gonna' fade away.

War children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
War children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.

Oooo, see the fire sweeping, up every street today.
Burns like a red-coal carpet, mad bull lost it's way.

Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.

Oooo, a storm is threatenin', my very life today.
If I don't get some shelter, oh, I'm gonna' fade away.

War children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
It's just a shot away, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.

I said a love sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away.
It's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away, kiss away, kiss away.

Love sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away.
Love sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away.
War children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Love sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away.
War children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Love sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away.

in the fire

The past two days have been crazy. My phone rang at the office yesterday morning. It was my wife. Her voice was shaky. She sounded out of breathe. And then she began to tell me. Our around-the-corner neighbor's house was on fire. The lady across the street from us had been driving by when she noticed smoke pouring out of the attic of this house. She immediately called 911, stopped and pounded on the door until she got the family out. The dad, one daughter and one son were in the house. They all got out safely. The mom, who happens to be one of my wife's very good friends, and the other two children were not in the house at the time. The house and two cars were completely ruined. Hubcaps and tired melted right off the rims. Paint melted away. Insides gone. The fire began in the carport, spread to the attic and down into the house through the kitchen. What a disaster.

My wife has spent every waking-minute the past two days helping her friends piece things together, pull momentos out, brush off charred pictures, sort through children's drawings with burned edges. With hardhat in place, I slowly and softly slipped through the house, taking pictures, documenting contents to help with insurance matters. What was not destroyed by the fire was damaged by water and smoke. That's our neighbor's digital camera in the picture above. The community has really come to the rescue. A local hotel has given the family two rooms for a few days, until they can find temporary housing. A realtor has stepped forward, taken a house of the market temporarily and offered it to the family for three months. Gift cards, toys, clothes, food and essentials have been pouring in.

Our friends lost one dog and 4 tropical birds in the blaze, but two family dogs were unhurt. My family and I have those dogs at our house. My wife and I constructed a mini doggie condo on our back porch yesterday. It's warm and cozy. The black lab and the rat terrier both seem to be quite comfortable and content. My daughter and her friend gave them baths today to help rid them of the soot and smoke smell. The mom and youngest daughter came by our house this afternoon for a while to visit Ruger and Banjo. Tonight we're are all exhausted. It's been a busy time and there are more busy times to come. Possessions can be replaced. Lives cannot. And during it all, lending a helping hand and sharing love and friendship is absolutely necessary.

the flooded trail

The rains came screaming through our area this morning, leaving an incredible amount of groundwater. As I hiked the trail at lunchtime today, there were sections of the trail that were totally underwater. The top picture above was typical of the low spots along the trail. This particular section was about eight inches under water. The entire middle section of the White Trail was under about three inches of water. The bonus from this situation is the reflections. I love takes pictures of reflections in water. The bottom picture is one of several dozen reflection pictures just from today's hike. I took this picture, then flipped it upside down. It looks more interesting to me from that vantage point.

The rains are gone. Winds gusting up to 35 miles an hour ushered in a cold front and it should be much cooler tomorrow. If it's not too cold, I'll probably be right back on the trail.
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Song 263: Get It On! (Bang A Bong)
Artist: T Rex
Album: Electric Warrior
Year: 1971
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Well, you're dirty and sweet
Clad in black, don't look back, and I love you
You're dirty and sweet, oh yeah
Well, you're slim and you're weak
You got the teeth of the hydra upon you
You're dirty, sweet and you're my girl

Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on, bang a gong, get it on

Well, you're built like a car
You got a hubcap diamond star halo
You're built like a car, oh yeah
Well, you're an untamed youth
That's the truth, with your cloak full of eagles
You're dirty, sweet and you're my girl

Well, you're windy and wild
You got the blues in your shoes and your stockings
You're windy and wild, oh yeah
Well, you're built like a car
You got a hubcap diamond star halo
You're dirty, sweet and you're my girl

Well, you're dirty and sweet
Clad in black, don't look back, and I love you
You're dirty and sweet, oh yeah
Well you dance when you walk
So let's dance, take a chance, understand me
You're dirty, sweet and you're my girl

Get it on, bang a gong, get it on
Get it on

Take me
Well, meanwhile, I'm still thinking

streaming through the trees

Rays of sunshine streamed through the trees today as I navigated my way along the White, then the Blue and then the Yellow Trail. One section of the White Trail is like a boulevard, flat and paved with pea gravel, allowing easy access to the remainder of the trail system. Once I left that section, the remainder of my lunchtime hike was on rustic trails through bottomland, along the river bluff and through the forest. These lunchtime hikes are almost therapeutic for me. I can get away from the rush of the office for just a few minutes in the middle of the workday and relax, blend into nature, and hike. When I'm out on these trails, I don't think about projects or classes. I just commune with nature, watching and listening for wildlife, looking at the trees and the river, watching the canopy of trees as they sway in the wind. Occasionally my hike is interrupted by the appearance of another person, but most of time I have the trail all to myself.
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Song 262: Footstompin' Music
Artist: Grand Funk RailroaD
Album: E Pluribus Funk
Year: 1971
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Come on everybody, we’re gonna’ have a good time, yeah,
Gimmie’ all the love that’s in ya’, I’m gonna’ give ya’ mine.
I wanna’ hear some hand clappin’, I want you to get in the groove,
We’re gonna’ play this footstompin’ music, everybody get up and groove, yeah.

the trail behind the puddle

Even though I saw the weather report yesterday, it didn't dawn on me until I went outside this morning to go to work that today was going to be a very nice day. The temperature at noon was almost seventy. The wind was blowing briskly when I hit the trail for a quick hike on the White Trail. Rain from the past few days had saturated the trail and puddles of muddy water dotted the landscape. You can see in this picture that the puddles were not particular where they formed. That's the trail going right through this huge puddle. This was typical of the entire bottomland part of the trail. It was almost like navigating an obstacle course. Quite a workout.
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Song 261: Feelin Alright
Artist: Grand Funk Railroad
Album: Survival
Year: 1971
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Seems I got to have a change in scene,
'Cause every night I have the strangest dreams.
Imprisoned by the way things used to be, yeah,
Left here on my own or so it seems.
I got to leave before I start to scream,
'Cause somebody locked the door and took the key.

CHORUS
Feelin' alright? I'm not feelin' too good myself.
Feelin' alright? I'm not feelin' too good myself.

Oooo, Oooo, Oooo, Oooo, Oooo-ooo.

Baby, you sure took me on one big ride,
And, even now I sit and wonder why.
Then, when I think of you, I start to cry,
I know I can't get upset and I must keep dry.
I got to stop believin' in all your lies,
'Cause I got too much to do before I die.

reflections in the wetlands

The wind whistled through the trees. Branches swayed and what remained of the crisp, brown leaves drifted gently to the ground. Water in the wetland bogs left darkened rings on the cypress trees, standing like soldiers on the landscape. Families strolled along the boardwalk, crossing the wetlands to the river, with its log jams and ugly, muddy banks. Boys on inline street boards zipped past, clacking over the boardwalk, quickly twisting their way out of sight. A couple of boys clambered up and down the banks of the river, dark mud dripping from their shirts and jeans. Dogs pulled thier owners along the trail, wanting to go faster, in anticipation of what would be around the next corner and the next. Cypress knees dotted the landscape like props on a fantasy set. A sky filled with layers of grey clouds set the mood for our afternoon hike. Two hours was just not enough to take it all in, but alas, two hours was all the time we could give. My wife and I returned home, refreshed and longing for our next visit to this magical park.
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Song 260: The Family Of Man
Artist: Three Dog Night
Album: Harmony
Year: 1971
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This tired city was somebody's dream
A billboard horizon as black as they seem
A four level highway across the land
We're building a home for the family of man

Prices are rising
The devil to pay,
Moving the mountain that got in the way,
Prayer books and meetings define the plan,
deciding the fate of the family of man,


And it's so hard whatever are we coming to,
Yes it's so hard with so little time,
And so much to do


Memories replacing the loves that are lost
Burning our bridges as soon as they're crossed
Factories built where the rivers ran
And time running out for the family of man

So hard,,,

So hard, so hard, so hard, family of man, so hard, family of man, so hard, family of man,so hard, family of man,so hard family of man,,,

chili's to go

Such a lazy day today. I spent most of the day updating the website for the geology club. The first of each year requires new pages to be added and old ones to be updated. A regular visitor to the site wouldn't be able to tell much difference between yesterday's pages and today's, and yet if I didn't update the pages, everyone could tell. Funny how that works. (r)ouge and (t)onks were both working and my wife was busy preparing lesson plans for her art classes which begin again next week.

All this activity made today a perfect candidate for Chili's To Go. Mmmm!
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Song 259: Family Affair
Artist: Sly and the Family Stone
Album: There's A Riot Going On
Year: 1971
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It's a family affair, it's a family affair
It's a family affair, it's a family affair
One child grows up to be
Somebody that just loves to learn
And another child grows up to be
Somebody you'd just love to burn
Mom loves the both of them
You see it's in the blood
Both kids are good to Mom
'Blood's thicker than mud'
It's a family affair, it's a family affair
Newlywed a year ago
But you're still checking each other out
Nobody wants to blow
Nobody wants to be left out
You can't leave, 'cause your heart is there
But you can't stay, 'cause you been somewhere else!

You can't cry, 'cause you'll look broke down
But you're cryin' anyway 'cause you're all broke down!

It's a family affair
It's a family affair

red skies at morning

I pulled out of the driveway the same as any other morning and started my short twenty-five minute commute to work this morning. As I rounded the corner I glanced out the passenger window and was greeted by a spectacular sunrise. The sun lite the clouds in a brilliant array of reds and yellows. I watched the sunrise carefully until I could find a place without the clutter of houses and businesses, so I could pull off the road and take a picture or two. One of my favorite sunrise picture spots can into view and I quickly turned into the parking lot of a local church, jumped out of the car and found my spot looking out over a partially frozen pond, complete with geese basking in the pond and quietly squawking goose-talk to one another. I have stopped here several times over the last few months to catch the sunrise on my way to work. What a nice way to start the day.
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Song 258: Everything Is Coming Our Way
Artist: Santana
Album: 3
Year: 1971
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Open your eyes,
Let it begin with me.
Brand new day,
Fresh new way to live,
The mornin is callin
Walk with me into the sun.

Everything is comin our way
Everything is comin our way.
Everything is comin our way.

Heres my hand
Reaching out to you
Take it, darlin
And lead me on, yeah.

Everything is comin our way
Everything is comin our way
Everything is comin our way.
Ah.

Organ solo:

Everything is comin our way
Everything is comin our way
Everything is comin our way.
Ah.

I can feel it in my bones
No man stands alone.
Sister, brother,
From all the same seed

Everything is comin our way
Everything is comin our way
Everything is comin our way.

reflections in the cement pond

As Jed Clampitt might say, "Wooo doggies, the reflections in the cement pond were mighty purty today!" Since the temperature was just about 35 or so today, I didn't take my usual lunchtime hike. Instead I walked to a neighborhood restaurant and just happened to cut through the towers' courtyard on the way. The reflections in our man-made stream caught my eye and I had to stop and visit for a few minutes. There are several small waterfalls in the courtyard and the small ponds are the home of several huge gold fish . . . over two feet long huge. I enjoy walking along the path, watching the fish and looking at the water as it bubbles over the rocks.

Tonight was the third in a series of talks and workshops on digital cameras and photography that I have been doing at the local YMCA. All three of these events have been full and the one scheduled for tomorrow night is full as well. I am having a great time talking about digital photography, sharing tips and techniques, and answering questions about their cameras. I think the class I am most looking forward to is the one scheduled for Saturday morning. It's called Just For Kids: Having Fun With Your Digital Camera. We're going to be talking about angles, subject matter, close-up photography and digital field trips. We'll be taking several mini field trips during the session so the kids can have some fun taking pictures and looking at them on a large screen when we get back to the classroom. Today's song of the day really sums up what these digital photography workshops have been all about.
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Song 257: Every Picture Tells A Story
Artist: Rod Stewart
Album: Every Picture Tells A Story
Year: 1971
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. . . And if they had the words I could tell to you
To help you on the way down the road
I couldnt quote you no dickens, shelley or keats
cause its all been said before
Make the best out of the bad just laugh it off
You didnt have to come here anyway
So remember, every picture tells a story dont it

weather vane

This little weather vane portrays today quite well. It looks cold . . . it is cold. When I woke up this morning and checked the thermometer hanging on the back porch, 18 degrees stared back at me. Admittedly, many of you across the country are experiencing temperatures less than 18 degrees right now, but the humidity in the South makes it seem much colder. Stepping out into the backyard to snap a picture of the weather vane was invigorating.
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Song 256: Day After Day
Artist: Badfinger
Album: Straight Up
Year: 1971
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I remember finding out about you
Every day, my mind is all around you
Looking out from my lonely room, day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you

I remember holding you while you sleep
Every day, I feel the tears that you weep
Looking out of my lonely gloom, day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you

[duel slide guitar solo (Pete Ham and George Harrison)]

Looking out of my lonely room, day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you

I remember finding out about you
Every day, my mind is all around you
Looking out of my lonely gloom, day after day
Bring it home, baby, make it soon
I give my love to you.

woodstock

What a treat . . . a show on satellite this morning featured clips from Woodstock. That's me circled in the picture above. Not really . . . but it could be. I'm in that crowd somewhere close to where the circle is. Santana was on stage as this clip was being shot. Santana was one of my favorite performers at Woodstock. Now this is the original Woodstock back in August of 1969. Records say a half million people were there, but I think there were a million people or more. A cousin of one of my buddies called a few days before Woodstock and told us we should come up to New York. He didn't have a clue what was about to happen, but he thought we should be a part of it, so six of us piled in a red and white Volkswagen bus [complete with beads hanging in the widows, a mattress in the back instead of seats, and a big peace sign instead of the front VW emblem].

The festival was supposed to be in Woodstock, New York, but the good people of Woodstock didn't want to be invaded by thousands of young people and all that rock and roll music. So Max Yasgur graciously offered his dairy farm in Bethel, New York. We drove 14 hours or so to get to Bethel and when we got there we could only get within 10 or 15 miles of the farm. So we abandoned our VW on the side of the road and walked the last few miles. By the time we got to the gate, there wasn't a gate there. Young people had stormed the gate earlier in the day and were flooding into the field. We didn't even have to pay by the time we got there.

What an incredible time. Three days of music and lots of rain and mud. I think the best part of the whole event was watching all the people. Thousands of people. Hardly any food or water. But it was totally amazing how much the people shared and helped each other make it through Woodstock. There was no pushing or storming the stage. When a band took the stage that we wanted to see, we just worked our way to the front of the crowd and others moved back. There were actually three stages there. While a band was performing on one stage, a band was breaking down on another and a band was setting up on the third. Although the whole thing wound up being about 7 or 8 hours behind schedule by the time Monday morning rolled around, I think it went extremely well, considering the number of people who attended. I think the organizers were expecting maybe 50,000, not 500,000!
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Song 255: Brown Sugar
Artist: The Rolling Stones
Album: Sticky Fingers
Year: 1971
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