Farmer's Tan

Island time falls outside the zones of temporal parameters, but I drove 12 hours straight with my arm out the window hoping to pick up a tan. I'd been to the Island...St. George that is... along the forgotten coast of Florida. My initial route took me through the Black Forest at nightfall, but the scourge of a forest fire blighted my return by day "To the land of the wind chill factor".

Political Scientist

A Sixty Minutes interview of an Arab monarch was great. He was a very intelligent, thoughtful man who also had a "real politic" view of the world. It would be nice to have this guy as your neighbor, even if he didn't have untold wealth. At the end of the session, he was asked "What is going to happen in Afganastan. He stated, quite simply, "When the Americans leave, the Taliban will rule."

My mind flashed back to brother Joe on the eve of the first gulf war. We were talking about some of the things that might be expected. I had been reading many newspaper reports, and other articles that really had me nervous about gas warfare, etc. Joe was unconcerned. "When the carpet bombing starts, the end is in sight, three days is all." Joe's time in Vietnam, "The worlds biggest street fight" gave him the prescience of a political scientist.

Closed

When I got to the barbershop yesterday, there was a note on the door stating that it would reopen later, so I drove to the next town. The Chinese restaurant was closed there, but also had a note saying it would reopen later. Then, on to Walmart to buy some groceries, I wheeled. Another omen, the parking lot had only about 10 cars. Now there is no doubt something has run amuck. My next stop confirmed it. The used book store had only half of its lights working. I had finally reached the line of demarcation. Power on one side, none on the other.

Not Thirty WPM

I felt foolish in typing class, but when I hit 27 wpm, it all clicked.

Local

Yesterday, I slid into the neighboring town to pick up some breakfast. Some years back, a good friend of mine clued me in on the ordering scheme. "The best meal isn't even on the menu. Get local #2."

Apparently, if you know the code, you can get more than enough to eat for four dollars.

I have always wondered if this could be considered a case of insider trading. In other words, do tourists get the same deal, if they don't know the code?

Today, with a hand full of quarters, and a cleansing agent, I'm up at the laundry mat getting three weeks of laundry cleaned. Since I live here, I wonder if I could consider myself local #1? I have all the machines to myself!

Unlikely Hero

Growing up established a number of caveats for me to internalize. Two that quickly come to mind are "Heroes have feet of clay" and "All cats are grey in the dark." I didn't like the feet of clay proposal as JFK was my hero, in fact still is in spite of the prohibition. Not a perfect human being, but definitely a leader.

Now, a person that I really admire comes out of the financial community. "Whoa!" you say, "After all the pain they have collectively caused the country, are you stupid?"

A little while back Warren Buffett gave thirty five billion dollars away to charity. Not only incredible, but he did it with a sense of humor. When he was asked in the Time Magazine interview why he wanted to make a lot of money he replied that he wanted to be independent.

Now that sounds to me like a perfect motive. Most capitalists get caught up in the illusion that money has value in and of itself, but I don't think Warren falls into this camp. My guess would be that he knows the only difference between the richest man in the world and the poorest is one day without food and water. Our county has a huge debt problem that could be partially helped if the rich weren't given so many tax breaks. Recently when talking about the unfairness of tax policy in the U.S. he pointed out that his secretary paid a higher percentage of tax on her income than he did on his. The man is clear sighted and fair even when it would cost him. To me this echoes, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

Post Script

Week Two finished with a flourish, equipment wise. Saturday saw me picking up some gear to complete the term. What you're looking at is a Mini Mac that I have hooked up to my HDTV. I call it "Apple TV" which technically isn't true, but as you can see, I have stretched the truth to make it fit the location. The pursuit of this theme fit very nicely into the winter weather.

Accidental Meditation

For a time in the 70's, I was trying to learn how to meditate. One of my reasons for this was that I thought it would relax me, or at least provide a mental retreat . I would read Alan Watts books by the score, but even with a little education, the technique eluded me. My inner voice screamed, "You're trying too hard!" and it seemed to make me understand.

In the middle of last week, without purpose or design, I dropped into un self consciousness for some time. When I returned, the experience made me wonder if I should start writing everything down. Regular habits were automatically off the hook. "For the mind was conscious, but conscious of nothing." I hope it happens again as chance is partly accident, but I won't start writing everything down if it does.

Snow Day

The academic mill is shut down. The snow plows are running. When I get the snow off my car, and escape the driveway, "The probability of buffoonery" will skyrocket.

64 Dollar Question

Time magazine is full of statistics. Seems to be the quick read that attempts to gain insight into what is happening on the planet. One of these stats stated that the average adult in the U.S. has $69 dollars in his wallet. No way I say! How could this even be measured with any accuracy? Not to say that I've never reached that height, but my own cash carrying capacity fluctuates wildly. Cynical as I was, my own look revealed $69.