I can't call it rain. It is more like living under a waterfall. The rain has been torrential all night and is expected to continue until 11 am. By that time four inches will have fallen in eleven hours.
As of now brooms are grounded; but my wife insures me she will be able to fly tonight.
Born Free, in one of your comments you questioned the idea of relocating to a simpler lifestyle as you age.
For twenty years we lived in a small, two story post and beam chalet in the woods. We were on a private dirt road that had to be maintained by the occupants on the road, we supplemented our heat with firewood, we had to maintain a well and wellhouse through the Maine winters, had to maintain a septic system; mowing, snow removal, maintenance... Being rural we often lost power every winter for three or four days at a time. The demands were great, but it was the life-style we chose. It was good, but I feared that my wife would not be able to maintain the place when I am gone - and it was getting to be a grind for me.
We had never considered living in a mobile home in a park until we started to look at available housing in our area. Places were over priced and we felt we would be inheriting someone else's problems - we just found nothing we liked. After shopping for almost a year we checked out some double-wide mobile homes on the internet. They are not like the trailers of yore. They are built to the same standards as modular homes/ new homes. There are scores of floor plans available at varying price ranges.
The decision came when we found a small park of twenty homes with an opening. The occupants are all older adults with no children. It is rurally located but with easy access to town. The park owners set high standards for all the occupant units. The road is plowed in the winter, the grass is mowed, there is a convenient garbage dumpster emptied twice a week, the septic systems are pumped yearly, we are on town water, there is even a hair dresser at the entrance to the park so my wife can easily walk to get her hair done. We were skeptic of living in a community, as we have always lived somewhat isolated; but the neighbors are nice. The choice of the park was more important then the selection of a home.
We have three bedrooms, living room, dining area, kitchen with a walk-m pantry, laundry room, and two baths. The master bathroom has a large walk-in shower large enough for us both to shower together. All the appliances are new; I even had a generator installed in case of power outages. We absolutely love this place, and being in our later years we could not have made a better choice. The stress factor far less than owning a home and land.
Hope this answers some of your questions.
the Ol'Buzzard
There are
numerous numbering systems. The system
most widely used in society is base ten.
The base ten system has ten numbers: 0123456789. We have ten fingers and ten toes so this is
a system easily visualized. Where the individual
numbers fall (the place value) determines the overall value of the number.
5283.12
The octal (base
eight system) has eight numbers 01234567
The counting
system that runs the world (computer language) is binary or base 2. It only contains two numbers: a one and a
zero.
001 = 1
010 – 2
011 = 3
100 = 4
101 = 5
110 = 6
111 = 7
1000 = 8
1001 = 9
1010 = 10 etc.
Where the
number ‘one’ falls determines the value of the product.
View the place values as a series of switches. Each
switch can be either on or off - one or zero. There
are thousands of switches on a microchip and the order you turn them on or off
determines the value of any certain number.
Mathematics
is a language, and when physicist exceed their ability to express concepts in
verbal language, they resort to mathematics formulas.
OK, where am
I going with this?
We are
constantly looking for intelligent life in the universe. We always view alien life as having a head,
legs, arms and a body, with some similarity to humans, or at least something familiar to us.
We are a carbon
base life form and the general consensus when looking for life in the universe
is to look for elements with carbon base that might indicate life.
But what if
the intelligent life in the universe is not carbon based – but mathematical based. Suppose the dark matter that physicists are always
searching for is actually an intelligent binary life form with energy spikes
falling in a place value system far exceeding anything that we can comprehend. We tend to call it AI or Artificial Intelligence,
when it is possibly OI – Original Intelligence: life that is not physical but intellectual.
My wife and
I have always lived close to each other and close to the earth. Almost everywhere we have lived our life has
been dictated by the seasons.
We have no
friends or associates that visit us, and we see her family only once every few
years. Some people might call us
recluse; but we are not. We enjoy travel,
shopping and eating out - together. We
are pleasant with neighbors and people we have to interact with. We don’t
dislike people; we just don’t like being around them.
We avoid all
holiday times like a plague. We have
our own celebration for spring equinox, summer solstice, fall equinox and
winter solstice. Other than that, we decorate
and enjoy Halloween.
I can't take credit for any of the decorations. I would live a solitary drab existence without my wife.
Halloween is the time of witches. How could we not celebrate it?
the Ol'Buzzard
Thanks to Leanna and her Religion In A Nutshell posts, I lay awake from five to six this morning contemplating religions and their God Heads, in respect of the fundamentals of Physics.
There is a
striking similarity between an atom and a solar system. Enough so to form the basis of a new
religion.
The atom’s nucleus (the sun/star) contains all
the energy. Electrons (planets) rotate
around the nucleus forming atoms. Atoms
(solar systems) coalesce together to form a galaxy (molecule). Galaxies
(molecules) group together to form a universe.
Coalescing
universes (molecular groups) could well be the building blocks for a living organism
living on another dimensional planet (electron). The process could start all over again where
that dimensional planet is actually an electron building toward a group of
universes forming yet another living creature living on a higher dimensional planet
(electron) that builds toward another living organism…
Until there
is finally one single organism, not on a planet, floating in the void of some
space, that is the final product (God, if you will) of multiple dimensions
combined.
Of course,
the laws of physics still apply to that chain ending in a God.
So that God would have mass and exert gravity;
and each time that God defecated the shit would fall into orbit rotating around
the deity, until He/She/It was surrounded by an ever-growing shit ball floating
through space, in search of another shit surrounded deity of the opposite gender
in order to have sexual intercourse; because in the end, the Hokey Pokey (getting
laid) is what it is all about.
the Ol’Buzzard
I get up
early with the cats while it is still dark outside. It is quite before the world awakes. I love this time of morning, and especially
today with rain drumming on our metal roof.
After the cats are fed, they go back into the bedroom, onto the bed with
my sleeping wife. I am left alone, with
the dark, and the rain, and I like it.
Some of our
most precious time is our mind time.
When we are alone with our selves and out thoughts.
the Ol’Buzzard
Our climate
is changing. We are past the point of
going back. One good thing about homo-sapiens
is that we are adaptable. When things
become critical, we temporarily join together and adapt.
We shouldn’t
worry about an asteroid strike either. The
world is not going to end similar to the dinosaur extinction. Nations have the technology to destroy or
divert such a catastrophe.
Pestilence
will not kill us all. Medical science has the technology to produce
vaccines and treatments that will allow the majority of us to survive. Pestilence does, however, thin the heard of
the weak and stupid. We are seeing this
happen now. In this way it strengthens
the races.
So, what do
we have to worry about? Is it likely we
will face a massive extinction?
If we do it
will be self-inflicted. We have to fear our own nature and short-comings.
Russia has
enough nuclear weapons to destroy all life on this earth. The United States have even more, and more
powerful nuclear weapons than Russia.
China has a large nuclear weapon stockpile. North Korea possesses nuclear bombs. India and Pakistan are nuclear armed nations.
The U.S. has undoubtedly armed Israel
with nuclear capability. Nuclear
technology is no longer confined to a few, it is accessible to the world. The ability and technology to destroy all
living things on this earth exist today; and it is in the hands of a few
humans.
Add to this,
religious extremism. Islamist who get
dewy eyed at the thought of jihad – dying for a holy war. Fundamentalist Christian groups fantasizing the end times. And just plain crazy, unhinged people that get
access to the nuclear codes. (Trump
asked Kelly; If we have nuclear weapons, why don’t we use them?)
It takes
only one disturbed, deranged, irrational paranoid narcist to light the match.
the Ol'Buzzard
1. Propane prices are increasing
2. I need to get my propane tanks filled
before winter
3. There is a spike in coronavirus in
our county
4. Maine economy is suffering from
corona virus pandemic
5. The Democrats are capitulating, as
usual, to Republicans
6. Donald Trump could well be reelected as
President of the United States in 24
7. China is threatening Taiwan
8. A clash between China and the U.S.
could lead to nuclear war
9. The earth’s climate is passed the tipping
point of recovery from climate change
10. Earth is a very fragile planet circling
a minor star in our galaxy
11. There are hundreds of billions of
stars in our galaxy
12. There are hundreds of billions of
galaxies in our universe
13. Our universe is expanding in size
14. For the size of the universe, think
of the largest number possible, then add one
15. There could well be infinite universes.
16. I need to get my propane tanks filled before winter. the
the Ol'Buzzard
We began our
teaching in an Athabaskan Indian village north of Fairbanks Alaska. When we first arrived, we were met by the
Chief and told not to drink the water in the housing, because it was polluted
with fuel oil. The village had electricity
supplied by four massive generators. Two
would run for 24 hours and then the other two would be switched on line. There was a massive fuel oil storage area,
and someone in their questionable wisdom had placed the village well in the oil
farm.
We were told
to haul water from the Lodge for drinking.
The Lodge was a large building with a kitchen, dining room, first aid
room and six rooms to rent to hunters and fishermen that could be guided by the
local Natives. The problem was, that the
men in the village were so hostile to outsiders, non-native sportsmen were
afraid to enter the village.
Two weeks
after we had arrived, the Chief came over and told us the water from the lodge
was found to be polluted. We were told
not to drink the water without boiling.
There were approximately one-hundred and
twenty-five people in the village and probably over two-hundred sled dogs. There were at least five big dog yards, and
almost everyone had from three to five dogs tied in their yard, so it seemed
likely that the well was probably polluted from dog feces.
The nearest
clean water was supposedly in the next village about twenty-five miles away,
via one land dirt road with some harrowing drop-offs – about an hour trip by
truck each way.
My wife had
seen an advertisement for a water distiller from a company called Water Wise, located
in Florida. We immediately sent off for
one. This was in 1985. For
the rest of our time in the villages we distilled our water.
There were high cancer rates in the villages
and I am convinced that was probably due to water impurities.
Since that
time, we have distilled all our drinking water. The electricity cost appears to be about
fifty-cents per gallon. We are now on
our third Water Wise distiller in thirty-six years.
We moved to
a new house last year, and this is the first time in our married life that we
weren’t on well water. I don’t care for the taste of the city water, often
there is a chlorine taste, so we are still distilling our drinking water.
Water Wise
distillers cost about three-hundred and fifty dollars; but if you shop on line you can find them for as little as two-fifty.
And before
you ask; a friend of mine borrowed one of our old distillers and made whiskey
(white lightning.) We both drank it and
didn’t go blind. I am not sure how
alcohol interacts with the aluminum tubing, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
Besides, if
you are looking for rot-gut whiskey, it is cheap enough to buy without taking
chances with alcohol poisoning.
The Ol’Buzzard
YOU’VE GOT
TO BE SHITTING ME.
I just
watched a YouTube video on Windows 11, and I didn’t understand single
word.
Ok, techies,
and most young people, probably require ten-thousand bells and whistles to keep
them interested; but I don’t want to have to learn a hundred step program just
to check my mail, watch a few YouTube videos, make an occasional post on my
blog, and access my word processor.
It has taken
me ten years to get comfortable with Windows 10.
I hate it
the Ol’Buzzard
I just got
through a fifteen-minute work out on my Total Gym.
Occasionally
I post about products I like, or don’t like.
I don’t get any kick-back of any kind from the products. For me it is just sharing my personal opinion
of a product in a time of corporate hype.
Many times,
I have posted about my Total Gym 1400; but I feel so enthusiastic about its
benefits that I am posting again.
I bought my
total gym in 2008 and paid just over $200 for it. As some of you know, I am in my
eighties. I have used the total gym for
fifteen minutes a day, occasionally missing a few days, but not for long stretches.
I do three
sets of five exercises facing forward and seven single sets of exercises facing
backwards. I take no time between
exercise sets, so end up with a good cardiac workout.
I hate to
think what my body would look like and what my strength and endurance, such as
it is, would be without my total gym.
The Total
Gym 1400 can be purchased through Walmart for $249.00. The 1400 is a good basic gym – all you need. Some of the Total Gym products with bells and
whistles can run $800.00 or more; but they are no better than the 1400, just
more glitzy.
With the total gym you can pick the exercises and the resistance that best suits you.
The Ol’Buzzard
is just telling you: you can do a routine of ten to fifteen-minutes of exercise
right out of bed each morning and your day will be better. You will be healthier. Your body will be toned. It is one way to rage rage against the dying
of the light.
the Ol'Buzzard
My creds are
that I was a U.S. Navy survival instructor (winter bush specialist) for eight years,
and a Maine State hunting and fishing guide.
So here’s my
advice to all the Mad Max posers.
You don’t need
a bug-out bag to survive. Here are the
most important survival tips you will ever need.
1. Get the Corona virus vaccination
2. Get a flu vaccination
3. Get a pneumonia vaccination
4. Get a tetanus shot
It is not enough to dress up in your Rambo gear and hide out in your basement with your AK-47 while you wait for all the hot women that are going to want to fuck you.
You also have to be immune to all
the diseases that will be rampant after society collapses.
Get Vaccinated.
the Ol’Buzzard
I am a
voracious reader. I am never not reading
at least one book. I have eclectic taste,
but sci-fi futuristic and spy fiction rarely appeal to me.
That said, I
am currently reading Star of the North by D. B. John, and it is a riveting,
can’t put down, thriller. This is the
story of half Korean/American identical twin girls. One
sister is kidnapped by the North Koreans; and the trials of the other sister’s
efforts to get her back. The book gives
an in-depth insight into life in North Korea under the Kim dynasty – an almost
unbelievable dehumanized society.
A second
book that I highly recommend is Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. It is a murder mystery taking place in the
dark society of 1953 Russia; a fearful time when no one was above the scrutiny
of the Russian Security Forces. Child 44
is one of the few books where the movie (DVD) is every bit as good as the book.
the Ol’Buzzard
When I don’t know something I go to places where other people
think.
Neil de Grasse Tyson
The problem
with this concept is separating the wheat from the chaff: where you go for your
information.
We live in a
world where truth is determined more through emotions than logic, and just
because a lot of people believe something doesn’t make it true.
There was a
time when the lunatic fringe was silent, because society gave them no
platform. Then, the Koch brothers organized
and financed the Tea Party revolution, and the inmates realized they could take
over the asylum. Now the lunatic fringe
has become the lunatic mainstream.
These are
the people that rage and rant on Facebook and Twitter. Through algorithms they are grouped with like
minded people, and their delusions are reinforced: Trump won the election,
Covid pandemic is a farce, we should overthrow the government, we should
threaten our opponents with violence, God chose Trump…
Unfortunately,
we can’t put the genie back in the bottle. One entire political party has drunk the Cool
Aid.
We are experiencing
a political Darwinian evolution that will determine whether our 250 year experiment
with democracy will survive.
the Ol’Buzzard
I have
complained about companies cutting cost by reducing the amount of product in
their packaging.
But since I have
gotten older, there are other things that devious society have slipped into my
daily existence.
· Somehow, they have made stairs higher
without my knowing it. I use to be able
to take them two-at-a-time, now I have to hold on the handrail, and am out of
breath at the top.
· Shoes are smaller, I am a size twelve,
but have to buy a size fifteen.
· When did they let teenagers become
nurses and doctors?
· There is something wrong with my
household mirrors. They display how I might
look when I am ancient… I think it is
probably some advertising trick of insurance companies.
· It is one thing for corporations to
cut the size of food products, but now Wrangle is skimping on the length of
material in the waist of their jeans. I
know I am a size 34, but I have to by a size 38 stretch; and I have to open the
top button when I sit down to eat.
· On most TV shows the actors whisper,
and I have to turn the volume up to 90 to hear what they are saying.
· Yesterday some woman opened a door for
me and called me sir – what the fuck!
Things just aren’t
the way they use to be; and I know it’s a conspiracy.
This has happened before: Yelowdog Granny has three post on my reading list, but when I click them I up comes the same post. It is happening with all the other blogs on my reading list. Above the post, on the upper right it reads: REDIRECT NOTICE.
What the fuck?
the Ol'Buzzard
