The Event, and New Foots!

My local SCA group sponsored their annual winter event over the weekend, and a fine time was had by all. This one of two events the group sponsors every year. This a "collegium" event, with classes on various subjects, and is indoors because, well, it is winter. The event went well this year, was well attended, and featured a wonderful feast. We were graced with the presence of the Queen and Crown Princess of the kingdom. They held a court, and presented awards to several folks, including two of our own members - our own Corrin was presented with an Award of Arms, and is now Lady Corrin. In addition, my brother Conrad (known in the Society as Sean Oneill, was presented a Grant of Arms; he is now The Honorable Lord Sean Oneill, and will be addressed as "Your Lordship". All of this and $4 will get him coffee at Starbucks, but within our Society, is a well-deserved recognition of his hard work and dedication. Sandy and I arrived at about 8:30 Saturday morning, and by the time it all wound down at 8:30 that evening, I was toast; I barely had the energy to drive home, but a good time was had.
On another subject, Wednesday I went to the prosthetist to be evaluated for new sockets for the fake foots; my stumps have changed a good bit since I got these, and they are becoming difficult to use. The technology has changed a great deal in a few years. The practice in the years I have used these things has been to make a plaster cast of the stumps, and a blank made from those, then the sockets cast around those blanks, in a heavy, semi-polyethelene plastic. These days, to my surprise, an elastic sock was pulled over each stump, markings were made at the bottom of my kneecaps, and the stumps were laser-scanned! These scans will be fed into a computer, which will operate a miller to CNC a reproduction of the stumps,and a pair of plastic test sockets will be made, which I will wear for a week to make sure they are just right (this was not done before) and on my approval, new sockets will be made in carbon fiber, which will be lighter and stronger than the heavy white plastic ones that I now have. I am impressed. Since they will be thinner, and better-fitting at the top of the socket, they should be quite the advantage.

Even more Winter! [sigh]

Saturday, I wrote about the upcoming snow and ice. It did, in fact, arrive Sunday evening, with a twist. I live in a portion of the county which seems, because of topography, wind currents and limited sun exposure because of the aforementioned topography, always to be 2-4 degrees cooler than the rest of the county. This is more common than to be worth me mentioning it, but the past few days, it has become critical. We are far below average temperatures for the past few days, with high temps barely above the freezing point. Unfortunately, that leaves us in my neck of the woods with high temps at or below that magical freezing point. As I write this, the Birmingham airport is reporting 35F; at my house, it is 32. We are still frozen in! Sandy and I tried to get out to run some needed errands, and could not get either vehicle to the street. The snow cover got a bit soft yesterday in the sun, and last night, the 14F low froze it all solid. Now, instead of snow, we have solid ice. As an example of our little winter wonderland here, tomorrow every school in the entire county is open as usual - except for the four schools closest to my house, because the lingering arctic icing makes it too dangerous to run school busses, or in one case, to even get to the school! We will try again tomorrow; if the sun tries to make it a bit soft again, I will get out and try to shovel some tire track areas to the street. Neither Sandy or I are in any condition to get out shoveling, but we have a pharmacy run to be made. In the past week, we have had more snow than we have had in all the years since the Blizzard of '93. Is it time for spring yet?

So this is winter...

So this is winter. It appears that those of us in central Alabama will have two snowfalls this year; a front is due tomorrow night, and the computer models are pretty much agreeing on 2"-4" of snow, with some icing from freezing rain. Around these parts, that will be a major winter event. We average a trace of snow about every eight years, and as a result, the county and cities here have no snow plows, no spreader trucks to lay down cinders, etc. The semi-rural road that meanders out this way has a few places that, because of the topography, never get direct sun this time of year, so icing on those spots may remain for days. It may be entertaining. Sandy and I have no place to go until Tuesday, so we will just hibernate here and see what happens.
I have just finished replacing a failing alternator in my pickup, and outside it does not seem like winter storm potential - 61F and sunny, but with an aggrevating wind, right now reading 24mph from the WSW, and my weather station thingie shows a gust of 39mph a little while ago. We will see.
As to the alternator, what was 10 years ago a 30 minute job today took an hour and a half, and I had to sit and rest twice. Because of neuropathy, I have little feeling in my lower arms and hands, and kept dropping sockets and bolts and things, and I cut my arm somehow, which I did not realize until I saw a drop of blood fall on the fan housing. [sigh] Health problems are not for sissies...
OTOH, I now have a back-in-business pickup, and am relaxing inside, out of the wind, in my recliner, with a cup of good coffee on the end table next to me. It does not suck...

And so this is Christmas

And so this is Christmas. It has been a subdued season around the manse; Sandy is bummed that our daughter did not make it home for the holiday, but she works in retail these days, and could not get away.
On another front, we have come very close to a White Christmas here, something that has not happened in the years that records have been kept, since about 1871. Snowfall is a rare bird here in central Alabama, as we average it about every eight years, normally just "a trace". This time, we have ended up with about an inch, accompanied by sub-freezing temperatures and a wind advisory, but a day late for the White Christmas standard. Yesterday, we went to my brother Bill's house for the Christmas doings, as he and Diann have grandchilluns, and the other two of us brothers do not. Gifting for the little ones (the adults do not gift), too much brunchy food, lots of noise, and all the things that go with it. An enjoyable time had by all.
As I type this, at 10:40am local time, we have 30F, with blowing light snow. Our "average" high temp for this date is 54F. Weather will do what it will do, and we have no control of it, so just go with it. We shall see. I would rather pass on winter of course, as I ride motorscooters, and have a built-in 40 mph wind chill.
Happiest of holiday seasons to all, and everyone enjoy your family and friends.

How poor are you?

I hear much weeping about how poor we are these days, how the middle class endlessly suffers, and how terrible the cost of living is these days. Things have changed, yes, but how much? "Living" is a whole different thing than it used to be. Inflation adjusted, education and health care have far outpaced inflation, while other things vary from about the same to substantially less. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the price of your computer, for example, has fallen about 80% since 1981, a pound of coffee is down 55% from 1955, and gasoline and utility costs are about the same.
There are a number of inflation calculators online which you can use to compare prices, including the government's own CPI calculator. You discover interesting things.
In 1965, Ford Motor Company had a leading seller econo-sedan, the Falcon. The base Falcon came with a 170ci inline six, rated at 120hp, but that was the "gross" hp, as compared to today's "net" ratings, and a car-magazine test at the time estimated about 70hp at the tires. It came standard with a three-on-the-tree transmission, and this fireball would roll from 0-60 in about 11 seconds. It had a single-barrel carb, a points-and-condenser ignition, and required a major tune-up every 10,000 miles. It had fade-prone drum brakes on all four wheels. Power brakes and power steering were not available. It had no radio, no seat belts, and no outside mirrors, all those being optional, but to its credit, in 1965 padded sunvisors became standard equipment. It got 14-18mpg. The price for this gas-sucking death trap was $2182.00 plus destination charges and dealer prep.
In 2010 dollars, this is $15,150.82, about the price of the current econo-sedan, the Ford Focus. Standard equipment includes a 4 cylinder 144ci engine with more power and torque than the old 170 inline six, fuel injection, and computer-controlled ignition system, and suggests a tuneup at 100,000 miles. Four speed with overdrive manual transmission. Performance-wise, it will spank the old Falcon like an unwanted stepchild. Standard equipment includes air conditioning, front and side impact airbags, three point seat belts, tilt steering wheel, power front disc/rear drum brakes with 4 wheel ABS, electronic stability and traction control, rear door child safety locks, AM/FM with CD, MP3 decoder and 4 speakers, keypod entry, power door locks, remote trunk release, and carpet, among a long list. (in the 1965 Falcon, rubber floor mats were standard) The base Focus is rated at 25mpg city/34 highway.
The price of a typical TV has fallen 70% since 1955, but in 1955 it was a one-time investment - there was no cable, no satellite TV, no pay-per-view, no DVDs. There was no internet, nor even personal computers. No cellphones. No MP3 players. No iTunes. No Netflix. No Sirius/XM radio. Add up your annual cost for any of these that you have.
In 1948, the first of the Levittown subdivisions was built in New York, with the houses selling for $8000, about the same, in inflation-adjusted dollars, as the $72,600 that a comparable house goes for today. If that sounds low, remember that we are talking comparables; the standard Levittown house was 1100 sq ft, and the size of a typical American house is now 2349 sq ft, more than double the 1950 average.
How poor are you?

English - Circling the drain

I have been assailed recently by abuse and neglect of what was once quite a language. English grows ugly and lapses into deformity. My email staggers under the weight of misused pronouns and homeless participles, even by allegedly educated people. “Your” and “you’re,” “it’s” and “its” are apparently interchangeable. From somewhere, otherwise intelligent people have developed the idea that “ 's “ forms a simple plural, but are unsure with which words – a college graduate recently specified in an email “toddler's and babys”, both words incorrect, and the two words used in entirely different context. I am undecided if this speaks to her ineptness, or to the fact that she was awarded a graduate degree by one of our formerly respectable universities which educated her beyond her intelligence, or perhaps both.
Many years ago, between real job assignments, I was placed as a repair tech for A/V equipment used in the schools. I still keep a repair tag that was attached to a record player sent for repair, apparently having troubles with audio level. The problem specified was “can't here”. The unit was sent by an English teacher.
Just for the record, “partly” does not mean “partially;” nor historic, historical; nor philosophic, philosophical; nor sensuous, sensual; feminine, effeminate; nor beneficent, benevolent; nor continuous, continual; “It is important that you do not smoke” is not the same as “It is important that you not smoke.”
Are there real writers out there? I mean distinctive writers and fine craftsmen, the Mark Twains and Ambrose Bierces and Hunter Thompsons and Joseph Hellers and Chestertons, C. S. Lewis and Tolkien that once made the United States a font of genuine if eccentric talent. They may exist. If so, they aren’t promoted.
We have allowed the schools to fall into the hands of fools and charlatans, and we pay the price.
Good English (or French, or Spanish, or Chinese) depends on a cultivated elite to preserve it. A pride in language is needed to prevent degradation from seeping upward from the lower classes, and only careful schooling instills the fine distinctions that make the difference between the literate and those who recognize words vaguely, like half-forgotten relatives. In England the aristocracy and its schools, as for example Oxford and Cambridge, maintained linguistic standards; in ancient Rome, the ruling classes who studied under the great rhetoricians. In the United States the tradition survived awhile in a variety of schools. Today, we fill the universities with people who have no business being there. We then accept their values. The country has embraced a radical egalitarianism whose pretenses can be maintained only by dragging all to the level of the lowest.
I occasionally see it written that Ebonics is a language to be respected as much as English. Oh? How in Ebonics does one say, “The entropy of a closed system tends to remain the same or to increase”? A more important question is how do decreasingly literate professors write textbooks of subjects that have to be explained clearly? As the distinctions between words are lost, as the grammar degenerates toward bumperstickerhood, people can no longer express, and perhaps cannot think, things that once they could have.
To appreciate literature requires intimate familiarity with the language. Just as you cannot tell good jitterbugging from bad if you do not know the structure of the dance, so you cannot tell good writing from bad if you don’t know how the language works. Few any longer do.
What we have lost we will be a long while in getting back.

The one week point...

I am now at the one-week point of being retired, and I must say that it is still a bit spooky waking up in the morning and not having a job. Strange after all these years, indeed. I accompanied my wife to a store, and out to lunch Monday, and it did seem a bit creepy, being Monday. Today, I did a doctor appointment and did not have to bolt to the office afterward, so more creepiness. This afternoon, I was tinkering with the Elite motorscooter, and thinking about three things I want to do tomorrow, and was mentally planning the logistics for getting it all done tomorrow, being Saturday, and having some energy remaining. I vocalized this to Sandy, who said “don't push it. Just do the lights Monday”. Threw me off for a moment.
So far, my long-suffering wife seems happy to have me here, but that may or may not wear off. I have been trying to assemble a list of Things To Do, but it keeps growing and becoming disorganized, so I will just have to start something and let the rest come as it may. One of the big projects is to collect all my tools together and organize them. This is complicated by having to shovel out the basement first, which will *really* be a job. I will be on a first-name basis with the folks at the landfill and the thrift store.
So we will get up in the morning and go at the Saturday thing, and see what happens.