Driving to work Part 2

Amazingly enough, today, exactly one week after my first trip to town where I met up with the cows, I saw more. Or rather, I suspect they were the same two cows as I saw last Friday, but....

It appears they found some funny weeds or something, when they crossed that fence. Perhaps, the grass REALLY is greener on the other side.... At any rate, boy, they were messed up!

This picture says it all.

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Actually, I was reading up on "freebie applications" on the internet, and there were comments that if you did not want to pay for the rather expensive Adobe Photoshop application to manipulate photographs, that the GIMP program does the job, for free.

I downloaded it, and was playing around with it. It's got a ton of options - more so than any other 'freebie' or "lite" graphics package I have played with - and to me, was a bit confusing in that respect. However, with a little playing around with it, I could begin to use some of the more advanced features.

And yes, they have documentation available for download - but documentation is for .. other people (grin). Actually, if I have time, I will download the documentation too, and see what I can learn. In the meantime, if anyone's interested in an interesting freebie graphics program, here's the link to this "open source" application.

http://www.gimp.org/windows/

There's a ton of other interesting freeware applications out there these days, including full anti-virus suites that do a bang up job (try AVG Free or Avast both free for home use, anti-spyware applications (including Microsoft's own new Windows Defender for XP), Microsoft-Office like packages such as OpenOffice.Org's OpenOffice.org package (yeah that was a play on words).

Another interesting program is "Google Earth". You can view satellite images (recorded in recent times - not real-time) of most of the world, and more heavily populated areas in fairly fine detail. Where I live, more rural, you can see the valley and the swaths of color where the cornfields and other crops and trees are grown, but in a city environ, like where my in-laws live in Baton Rouge, or my friend in Oklahoma City, you can see cars parked in the driveway of their house. Also, "famous regions" (i.e. Eiffel Tower in Paris, Grand Canyon in Arizona, etc) are shown in fairly good detail. The catch with Google Earth is that you really need to have a high-speed internet connection and fairly good graphics card to be able to get the benefit of the program.

Here's an "editor's pick" of 101 useful freeware applications: http://www.pcworld.com/52516

Many of these have corporate sponsorship, as it's deemed a way for companies to open doors to new customers. If you like the free product, maybe you'll tell your friends, and sooner or later someone will upgrade to a paid version. So, if you're interested in any of these products, Google them (or use yahoo search, or MSN search, etc) and enjoy.

That cow sure did.

Driving to work

Living in central Pennsylvania, I would never have thought that this would be a commonplace event. After all, Pennsylvania was always "up North" or "back East" or "Land of the Yankees" when I was growing up. That is, it was always a part of that big city that is the East Coast.

I even went so far as to say I'd "NEVER" move to a big city - then proved myself wrong by moving into three different state capitals, including Oklahoma City which is a pretty darn large city when you take in all the metro area, too. But I had always managed to stay south of the Mason Dixon line, and in the central time zone, till around 2000, when I moved up north.

So, now I live here. Sure, I live on a paved road, but across the road, right up the road, behind us are acres and acres and acres of corn and other things, like soybeans, and other stuff. Not very far - within sight of our house - is a pleasant pig farm (that is to say, a somewhat malodorous one when the wind is blowing wrong - but otherwise, not too bothersome).

And oftentimes, I take a shortcut to work that for a mile or so is gravel. I get off the paved road a little. And, on Friday, I went this way, and had to stop. There was something blocking my way. My camera had been in the truck overnight, and didn't have much charge left in its battery, but there was enough charge for one photo.

The Tree

I said in last night's post that sooner or later I'd learn how to take a picture of something besides sunsets. On the way into work this morning I spotted this tree. It's not the prettiest tree ever, but it DOES have a touch of character, I am thinking. I have one friend, more adopted big sister than friend, who is half-Druid in her heart, and she "gets" trees.

This one is for her.

 

Grocery Trip

Tonight, my son and I drove into town to get some groceries, and it happened to be along about sunset. I couldn't stop myself from pulling off, and snapping a few pictures. It's getting late enough in the year that I can no longer take a picture of my favorite subject, the Lutheran Church in Powell's Valley from the main road, and get the sunset behind it - the sun sets too far north now.

However, there's a side road that goes down past the cornfields... We pulled off, and climbed the rather steep bank to where there'll be acres and acres of corn in a few months, and took quite a few snapshots, while the church stood there and posed for us. Of all the pictures and different angles I took, I think I liked this picture just about the best.

My son said, it looked like I was taking pictures for the church - showing how God himself was shining his light down on the church and highlighting it for all to see.

After we left the church, and headed on toward town, I had one more occasion to pull off and take another couple of pictures. There's a farm, where we can buy fresh brown eggs pretty much anytime we want (which is what the sign in the middle-left of the picture says).




One of these years, I'll figure out how to use my camera for something other than the occasional sunset shot, but for now, that'll do. I suppose sunsets have always been my favorite natural thing to photograph, even since I was a teenager and won a blue ribbon in the county fair back home for a picture of a sunset, with a small cedar tree in the foreground. I had my flash on, and the bright green foliage, with the reds, oranges, yellows and purples of the sunset in the background - it has endured as one of my favorite all-time photos. Maybe, someday, I will scan it in and post it. But for now, this will do.

Good night.

Alien Cow Abduction

So the headline read:

Alien Cow Abduction.
Aliens are brittle and need milk. Please help them.

Actually, it wasn't a headline, but rather, an ad displayed in my Google Adsense code after my last post. I could not help but click the link - it was the first time I've laughed out loud in days. And, it was worth it, if you're into that sort of thing. Check it out.

Speaking of Adsense - this has been an 'experiment' of mine over the past year or so, and one of these days, I'll write a review of the service, and how it has or has not met up to its expectations, and why the heck it is that my site has this commercial aspect to it when I am writing for the joy of writing. Let's just say, that I won't get rich quick anytime soon, but if you feel like clicking on an ad, or performing a search using the searchbar at the top of the page, I may get a few cents added to my account.

I am by no means saying you should make your default search engine be the searchbar on my page (although it might make my year's worth of earning's top a dollar if enough people did... (last time I looked my balance was at about $.95, I think)).

Anyhow, I am getting away from my topic, which has something to do with flying cows and space aliens, I fear. If the link above doesn't work, go to

http://www.planetinneed.com

Enjoy!

Oscar the Grouch

No, not from Sesame Street...

Oscar, you see, is a cat.

For a long time he's lived in our neighborhood - a mostly outside cat, owned by neighbors (if it can be said that any cat is owned by humans. It might be better to say that he owns the neighbors). He was always particularly unfriendly, but liked to have handouts, and would, once in a long while, even let me touch him if I put a bowl of food under his nose. But normally, he'd bite and scratch and fight and try to get away if you attempted to pick him up or anything of the sort. He has been the ultimate "grouch".

He's lived here for a couple of years, and we've had that neighborly relationship, where he comes and goes, and sometimes we don't see him for days at a time. This past December, the first couple of weeks were bitterly cold, at least in the single digits, even if not in the negatives.

I was afraid for Oscar. His family would let him in, but he was NOT an indoor cat, and he'd be ready to go out again, soon. They'd let him out when the parents were at work and kids at school. At that point, my wife was not working, and so I let Oscar come into our house.

He made straight for the basement, and went and hid out there. Our litter box, for "Lucky" (the three-legged, one-eyed, tailless, mangy furball that normally lives here) was in the laundry room, upstairs, and the food, as well. So, we arranged a second litterbox for Oscar, and a bowl of food, and he was quite comfortable just 'hanging out' in the basement.

His family came back and got him, but a day or so later, he was back at our door, so I opened it and he went straight back to the basement. I had some projects to do down there along about then. It's a mostly unfinished basement, one big room, but it's divided by a huge set of bookshelves I have erected over the past couple of years, and one project involved shelving up a few hundred books (many of the kids' books, many of mine from over the years). And as I'd work down there, I'd murmur softly to Oscar, and gradually some of his fear went away.

One day, I put my hand under his belly, and lifted him up to a table. He didn't know how to take that, I think, but put up with it. And over the next couple of weeks, we'd do this again. One day, I carefully picked him up, and carried him to the top of the stairs, to the main floor, and by the time we got there, he was pawing to get down, but he did let me get him that far.

We also have a dog who lives indoors, a small Llaso named Molly. Molly is a fairly calm dog, but she tends to be too close when Oscar is around, so anytime I'd handle him with her around, he'd revert to his wildness... which is part of the reason why the top of the basement stairs seemed to be a "problem area" for him. But, still, we got there.

One evening, I brought him up to my bedroom, and put him up on the bed. Everyone else was away in the house, it was just Oscar and I. I stretched out and started talking to him... and he started purring. A little while later my wife bustled in, moments later followed by Molly and Lucky, and Oscar scooted.

Too loud, too busy, he couldn't hang with that. He was back in the basement in moments. But for 10 or 15 minutes, he had stayed... A few days later, we did this again. When the crowd crowded in, he lasted a little longer this time. And gradually, over the next few days and weeks, Oscar has gotten to where he'll hide, either in the basement, or the bedroom, and when I come home in the evening, he'll make his first appearance.

He'll come rub around my legs, and if I sit in my chair, he'll climb up on me and start his motor to running. A few months ago, I had no idea that he had such a pur-engine... but it's alive and well. And at night, when I lay down, if he's inside, he'll come climb up into bed beside me, and if I pay him the slightest attention, he'll start purring loudly... closing his eyes, kneading the blanket with his paws.. and if ever I've seen happiness and contentment, I see it in him.

One day, a week or so ago, I had opportunity to be home alone for a few hours. I had some work that I needed to get done, and so I sat in my easy chair, perched my work laptop in my lap, and went to work. A little while later, the old Grouch came in and jumped up beside me, and eventually curled up and went to sleep.

There's a comfort there. This world sometimes seems difficult and often I feel out of tune with my surroundings. It's nice to know, even when I doubt myself, that this creature that's been a loner for so long, sees in me the companion he has perhaps craved for a long time. It was a nice, peaceful day. My son was home, but the victim of a sleepover with too little sleep, so had gone to crash out for a few hours, so it was just me and Oscar... sitting there in companionable silence.

A pair of Grouches.

Cold Weather

So last week I started developing a cold. The weather was kinda nice, a little warm. But by the end of the week, I was sneezing, fit to be tied. Another guy who works here tossed a box of benadryl capsules over the partition, and I took one, and survived the day. Friday, I was a little better, but not so's you'd notice.

By Saturday I was on the uphill swing. It was in the 70's Saturday, and I sat out on the back porch, my feet propped up on a table, in my short sleeve shirt, soaking up the sunlight, working on some leftover work-work (not home-work or, I mean, not 'around-the-house work' but really work-related work (yes, I do occasionally do something while at work, and on occasions have been known to bring it home, too)).

Saturday night it cooled a little, might have even showered (I've slept since then) but Monday was another beautiful day. Monday night it rained, and yesterday was overcast, a bit, and chilly, in the 40's, and I took a picture on the way home (refer to the prior post). And last night... last night, or rather, this morning, it snowed. It was only a dusting, but still... snow, none-the-less.

And so I sit here, typing away, my throat is already feeling scratchy again from this latest round of changes to the weather patterns... I feel the head beginning to clog. Sooner or later, I am sure, I will end up having to share a sneeze with those around me (yes, I know how to cover). On the positive side, in amongst the dusting of snowflakes in the flowerbed this morning, was a crocus, just beginning to open up. Won't be long now, I am hoping, till warm weather is here to stay.

This "cold" weather stinks, whether it's 30's outside, or 80's... I am ready for some sense of stability and a few less sneezes and sniffles and scratchy throats. Luckily, for me, someone replenished the office candy jar this morning - and dumped in some sweet tarts. There are those of us who think that is the bestest medicine. If you gotta take pills, make em pink, purple, green, and yellow. (just gotta green, yellow, and pink, in that order).

Yas

Yet another sunset (Yas).
(Okay, a little while before sunset)
Powell's Valley, Pennsylvania.
March 14, 2006

 

Reading

When I was small, Mom would read to me and my brother, at naptime - if not every day, then at least, frequently. With my Mom, you could never tell what the tale would be.

It might have been a classic, from Robinson Crusoe to Around the World in 80 Days, a western by Zane Grey or Louis L'amour, a science fiction novel by Andre Norton. Okay, probably no romance, but there had to be limits somewhere. You see, she loved a good story. A well-written tale.

She didn't go for a lot of foul language or smut - but instead enjoyed tales written by authors who could entertain you without all the "extra" stuff that a lot of writers lean on to sell books. That's to say, if there was language or other - as long as it wasn't overdone - she'd accept it and move on (although we didn't get to hear it).

As an adult, I favor these books. That is to say, pretty much anything that's a good tale and is well written. My all-time favorite authors include Mark Twain and Louis L'amour (a couple of weeks ago I finished The Walking Drum again - one of my favorite all-time books), and sci-fi authors like Isaac Asimov (although, truth be told - he wrote much, much, much more than just sci-fi). One author I like - that my Mom does not care for - is Piers Anthony.

He isn't the traditional "clean" author. His tales do not typically dwell on "smut" - although I've read at least one short story that is nothing but - but there's still a fair dose of it in some of his books. I am currently starting book 3 of a 5 part series (that I read many years ago) called Bio of a Space Tyrant. The main character is Hope Hubris. He's a pretty decent guy.

I mean, he was responsible for the deaths of his parents, he allowed very bad things to happen to his sisters (including trading one into slavery). Oh yeah, back to his parents, he had very good reason to eat one of them (gruesome - but we must remember that sometimes things happen beyond our control - and what are we to do?). And he killed, personally, his beloved, his girlfriend, the one he was to marry the very next day - she was even in her wedding dress for rehearsal. All of this - before his 16th birthday.

Yet, Hope... really was a good guy. He really, really was. Despite what some folks may say about his actions. Or at least, that's my humble opinion. Of course, I am only starting the 3rd narrative in his autobiography - there'll be two more yet, once that's complete. So maybe I'll find some reason to change my opinion - but so far... so good.

It's interesting to me (if I try to be detached) that I can "like" this character despite all the things he has done. Many times in our lives, we are put into a position where there's no right answer, so we choose the left one. Hopefully, it's not the wrong one. But just because we may have to do things, does not necessarily mean that we're evil people. We are simply human.

Like Hope.

One of my guiding principles in life has been... "Where there's Life, there's Hope".

Hope survived... he lived through Hell... but he went on to make the world a better place. I hope that someday I will be judged for the seemingly few good things I did, not the glaringly bad things. I will make mistakes - I will make decisions that some regard as unfavorable - even terrible - but I will also never do things with cruel intent, no matter how it may seem at the time.

Hope Hubris made mistakes. Serious ones. Some of the things he did - he had to do. He had to make decisions - choose between evils - and persevere - and eventually his world "righted" itself and became a better place. It was not through inaction that this happened, but through his choosing to effect positive change on the world around him.

Where there's Life, there's Hope.