Someone Else's Posts

Sci-fi life...

This is the third time I have posted a post as a direct link to someone else's story... and it so happens that it's the third time that it's this person's story.

She's good. Gotta give her that. If you don't chuckle at her telling, then you need a band-aid or something.

http://bloogrssblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/my-sci-fi-kind-of-life.html

OK QUE 180

RAM is Random Access Memory
ROM is Read Only Memory

These are, generally, computer terms. ROM is where you can store data, but once it's stored, it's there forever. Read Only means it cannot be erased. RAM is temporary memory and once the program is finished, or the machine rebooted, the data loaded into memory is gone forever.

An old friend and I were discussing memory the other day, and I got to thinking about it. I can remember tidbits of information from work when I first started in this business in the early nineties. Stuff that I'd get called in the middle of the night for a problem, and I'd tell them what to do to fix it, go back to sleep and never even knew I had gotten a call by the next day.

Like, I know what this means: 1GV057083900

I won't even try to explain it. Let's just say it means something to me - going back to 1990-1993 timeframe. Somehow those numbers and codes got burned into my ROM - my Read Only Memory. I can't get rid of them.

Ask me what show I watched last night on television and IF I can somehow remember what show it was, I probably can't tell you the storyline. Forget commercials. I did. I am TERRIBLE with names and trivia - unless it's something that interests me deeply and even then I have to make a concentrated effort to remember it.

But once it's there, it's there.

I have three vehicles at this time, truck, car, van. Don't ask me what the license plate number is on any of them. Haha ha. I've owned quite a few cars over the years, and between owning them and moving into different states with them, I've probably had 30 or 40 license plates at one time or another. Do I know any of them?

As a matter of fact, I do. My white car, now sporting 120,000 miles, but which we originally purchased new in Alabama in 1998, a Ford Aspire of all things (great gas mileage)... It's had 3 or 4 license plates since time began for it. And during our time in Oklahoma (December 98 to around July 00), it had a license plate. An Oklahoma license plate. QUE180.

Why do I remember this, you ask? Well... It's like this. When you go camping, or doing certain other activities, you must fill out paperwork to include your license plate number. I generally carry the clipboard back to the car and fill it in and 30 seconds later I have forgotten. But at Fort Davis, in Oklahoma (come to think of it was the name of the place Fort Davis, or something else? heck, I cannot even remember...), but at that campground in southern Oklahoma, the "book" where I had to register was permanently affixed.

I walked to the car, looked at the plate and started back. Within a few seconds, I had forgotten. So, I went back and looked again. This time, I concentrated on the numbers for a moment, went back to the book, and filled it in. QUE180.

Ya know. I've only got this very limited amount of grey matter up in the old noggin. QUE180 uses several brain cells, I am sure. I wish I could forget...

*sigh* Some things are impossible to forget, though.

Has anyone seen my keys?

Hemlock Natural Area

My son and I had a chance for a weekend all alone. We spent the first night literally sleeping under the stars at a state park in the middle of nowhere PA. Yesterday after we setup camp, we went for a hike.

The area where we were hiking was The Hemlock Natural Area, which is one of the few tracts of virgin (uncut) forest in Pennsylvania, and covers approximately 120 acres. I took a number of photos there, but we only hiked through about half of the trail. The trees are large, but nothing in comparison to the Redwood Forest.... The lifespan of these great trees is much shorter. The area is more or less a true wilderness - camping, and firemaking, and all things of the sort are prohibited, although hiking is allowed and encouraged.

If you click on the image below it will take you to my Picasa WebAlbum. For more information visit the DCNR page here: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/tuscwild.aspx

Hemlock Natural Area

Aug 19, 2006 - 36 Photos

Soaking my sole

Well, I AM from Arkansas.

I don't know if that's a good excuse or not, though.

Sunday we decided to go for a walk. Of course, I was stubborn and went barefooted. Those gravel roads back home never bothered me much, and every summer when we've gone back (prior to this year because of fund issues) I still walk down them in bare feet. The rocks and gravel don't bother me much.

So they just paved our road a month or two ago. Nice smooth asphalt. No gravel to speak of. Should be a breeze, right? Sure thing. No rocks to poke me not that it ever bothered me much anyways.

But there is one thing. Sunday was a nice cool day, mid-70's. Very cool compared to a week or so ago. Blue skies - the weather was awesome. Perfect day for a walk. So we went walking. My daughter came along behind, on roller skates, and wanted Daddy to help her up the hill.

So I went back... Stood there awhile ignoring the burning sensation till she reached me, then we went on up the hill. Finally, we started back down. By that point, she was barefooted, too, but had the good sense to walk on the freshly painted white lines, as they were (really!) much cooler than the black asphalt.

When we got home, I turned my foot up... that burning sensation? Let's just say Monday was darn uncomfortable with these blisters on the soles of my feet. Sunday night, Monday night, and again, right now, as I type, my feet have been soaking in salt water. By this morning, though, most of the soreness was gone. The only reason I soaked tonight is simply because the blisters still ARE there, even if they're not hurting. I figured the salt-water would help heal them quicker.

So then that led to another conversation today, where I said,
"I soaked my sore soles in warm, salty water till they felt better."

And my brain which tends to tangent sometimes (is that a verb?) automatically took that to the next level...

"I soaked my sore soul in warm, salty water till it felt better." That's almost a poetic way to say I healed my wounded soul by crying my heart out, huh? Well, crying didn't help. Much.

But this warm salt water is now getting cold, and it's after my bedtime anyways... So now that my rambly is done, I am gonna shut this thing down, dump my water, and head to the hay.

Good night, John Boy, Sue Ellen, Ma, Pa, Grandma, Grandpa, Ben, and whoever else I might have missed.

True Story

UPDATE: I played the song twice on Friday despite the high pressure system moving in. The weather on Saturday and Sunday was awesome... Highs in the upper 70's to low 80's, blue skies, low humidity. But, we did still need rain, so I broke down and played it again, once, on the way home yesterday from work. At 5am this morning, I awoke to the sound of rain ... accompanied by a rumble of thunder. Don't know yet how much we'll have, but it's a welcome break to the dryness of late. 08/15/2006 05:30am

---------------------------

It's the middle of August already... I think back to my teenage days... and even then, this song was old. But it had a special magic, literally.

In the 70's Tanya Tucker made a hit of a song entitled Lizzie and the Rainman, based, I think, on a movie with a similar name (Google it, I am too lazy *smile*)... And in the 80's, when we'd have a long dry spell, or even a drought, I'd go find my Lizzie and the Rainman tape...

And, I'd drive my brother nuts by playing it over and over... I won't post the entire lyrics here, but you can visit this site (run by volunteers) if you're interested: Here

But the chorus goes:

Step back non-believers
Or the rain will never come
Someone start that fire a burnin
Somebody beat the drum
He said some may think I'm crazy
To make all these claims
But I swear before this day is over
You folks are gonna see some rain

Now... if you believed... IF you believed... and played the song over and over... it WOULD rain. It worked... It really did. We busted a few droughts in those days.

I've gotta say, what brought this to mind is that in June... I found a copy of this song... and started playing without regard to how many times. I did like the song. I DO like the song.

Here are the results of that carelessness:

http://arkansawyer.blogspot.com/2006/06/myo-park.html
http://arkansawyer.blogspot.com/2006/06/walk-in-park.html
http://arkansawyer.blogspot.com/2006/06/walk-in-park-2.html

It was one of the floodingest Junes in Pennsylvania in years and years....

A few weeks ago, when my son went to scout camp, it had been a bit dry. I warned him I was going to play the song, and I did, but only once or twice. Here is the results of that effort:

http://arkansawyer.blogspot.com/2006/07/my-first.html

And yes, he WAS camping in a tent in the woods that night.

-------------------------

Now... It's August... things are getting dry... the yard is beginning to crisp up............

I think it's time. What do you think???

The Door Slams....

Driving to subway yesterday at lunchtime, I looked over, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a tiny sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

Oops. Wrong story. No actually, I saw a door.

Ummm... Over beside the road a little. Not on a car. Not on a house. Not with a mouse.

On the shoulder of the street. Partly in someone's nicely cut lawn. Not a house door. But a car door. Laying there. Peacefully napping, on the edge of the street.

Furtively I glanced around, but there was no one even noticing it. There were no wrecked cars around nor signs of any wreckage. In fact, the door looked pristine and clean. Just laying there, in the edge of the street. White, it was. Unscratched. Just laying there.

Hmmm.. I thought, as I drove past. That's weird.

Harrisburg Pennsylvania

I took a photo yesterday on my lunch hour of the capital area of Harrisburg, from across the Susquehanna River. Gotta love these partly cloudy days around here. The day was pretty, and only maybe 80 degrees or so.... A great day to be out and about. Too bad I had to go back to work.

Notables:
On the lower right side of the photo is the end of city island, an island in the middle of the river, which houses a baseball stadium, in addition to overflow parking for the city.

Above the island, still on the right side of the photo, is a tall building with letters on top. The letters say "Fulton Bank".

To the left of Fulton Bank, the large green dome is that of the state capital itself - the center of Pennsylvania state government.

Hal Spacejock Support Crew

I joined Hal Spacejock's Support Crew I didn't pay anything, I didn't sign anything, and I didn't read the fine print. Just like Hal! No space pilot can exist in a vacuum (hah!), and behind every successful pilot there's a talented and dedicated support crew. Hal Spacejock is one of the least successful space pilots in the history of the galaxy, and a worldwide support crew is needed just to get him off the ground. Join now for free Hal Spacejock goodies! Join the team - - - - - - - - - Hal who?

Rattling Creek and other notes...

I am going to do a two part post today... First, here's a photo to share... taken a couple of days ago, on August first... Which happens to be my sister's birthday.

Happy Birthday, Beth! Sorry it's a little late.

















............

This is something I wrote Sunday morning, while sitting on my deck, typing on the laptop. I actually posted it in a journal elsewhere... and had some feedback and comments... and decided to share it here, too. Only I am going to modify the original based on a bit of the feedback I recieved on it.

............

Mood: Wistful
Listening to: Music of Nature

So I got up this morning, and walked outdoors to walk the dogs... And sitting here on my back deck, I got to thinkin'.

I wish I could capture not only a little piece of the picture that nature and the world creates for us, but also the sound of it. I've had this feeling before - that if you could capture the sounds of the world, that somehow that would be art in and of itself... Or forget "art"... it'd be... well, it'd just be awesome.

I have a few pictures of Knoebels Amusement Park. What kinda makes them special, for me, is that I was there. I heard the things... To me, they are real. Everyone has done that, but my next problem is, I've always "lived" and then, moved on. I often forgot what movie I watched last week. I really like to read, but after I've enjoyed the words and the stories, I often forget about them, and use my precious few brain cells for some new pursuit, instead of remembering those things.

But since my brain is in the habit of doing that, I find myself drawn to things like photography, where we can capture the world at that precise "moment in time". Similar worlds may exist in the future, and we may be able to capture some future that looks almost identical to today... But it's really a different day, a different hour, a different moment in time.

And one of the differentiators, is that the music of the world is usually different. The sounds around us vary day by day. This morning, I sit on the deck, and I hear... my fingertips typing away at this keyboard. Cicadas off over in the trees a few hundred yards away (my trees, for the most part, aren't big enough to attract those creatures) are buzzing and rattling away, a musical sound that I absolutely love - although some people hate them. At the farm down the road, maybe a quarter mile away, I hear the old roosters crowing at the morning. Birds are all around, singing their musical songs... A bumblebee, or two or three, keep buzzing around the deck, in search of flowers. There are momentary pauses as they find their targets, and then the sounds resume as they move on. I hear the clicking of toenails as the dogs restlessly stir on the deck while I type away. Down on the road, I hear the hum of a car passing, growing louder as it approaches, then fading away as it moves on. On the grain silo, a couple of houses away, I heard the rush of a flutter of wings... hmm.. I don't even know if they are "mourning doves" or just pigeons, but as a group of the birds flew away. And, in the far, far distance, a few moments ago, I could hear the sound of an airplane flying.

Every moment I sit here, I can hear more and more sounds.. that was some of the the major ones. But I heard a noisy housefly or two pass. The dog whine a little as it wishes for me to let it in. Birdfeed being scattered around on the flat plastic surface of the two-seater swing on the swingset, where it has fallen from the feeder, and where some of the birds prefer to look for their breakfast. Crickets, and crows, another airplane's very distant hum. Another, noisier, car starting up from the intersection down the way and coming up past our house. The rooster, he still sits there, and two or three times a minute, he announces to the world that he's still here. Another bee just came buzzing by, passing within a foot or two of me. A cicada that has rested in one of my trees, and is VERY loud every few minutes when he makes his call.

I wish I could capture these moments, and share them with you. But I guess the best I can do right now is to write this down and let you use your imagination. My camera does do "video" but I learned a lesson in using that. My Knoebel's trip... I have "video" from there, from the camera, and it is great - it captured the essence of Knoebels, and helps keep it alive for me. One of these days, I'll upload the source audio as an MP3 and let you hear it, too, through a link. The "Swing" picture is a perfect one for that, because in the audio you can hear the roar of the park - the machinery humming, the children screaming... Just for a moment.

But out here, my camera could not possibly capture all these little subtle sounds of the day. My fingertips tapping on the keyboard, the cars humming by down on the road.. Well you've heard it all before. If you have an imagination, and can take my words and form them into your own sounds.

--

In addition to the music of nature.. It's been pointed out to me that I missed something obvious here. There's also the very "feeling" of nature. For example, as I sat there typing the above words, it was a damp, but warm morning. You could already feel the mugginess, although it was a very comfortable temperature. There was dew spread across the ground, and all around an odor... just a faint aroma of farm country.

On this particular morning, it was pleasant, but some mornings, with all other elements almost perfect... that aroma of farm country can be overwhelming. Especially when they've been spreading manure on croplands all around us! But on this morning, when all was perfection, I could just barely sense the dampness in the air... and the odor of damp grass was wafting up to my nose... The morning sun was shining down, warming me, but not heating me up too much, as it would later in the day when I was mowing grass.

I wish you could have been there.